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See http://travelingtiger.com/blog/category/cycling/markleeville-death-ride/ for the continuation of this blog!

ALC kickoff ride

So, I bought and printed out the book that Swampy recommended, and I can't wait to finish reading it--I flipped through the first half over lunch, but haven't gotten into the meat of the second half yet. It looks like it'll be useful.

And the first AIDS Lifecycle training ride is this Sunday! I'm doing the flat, 8-mile option, mainly to support a couch-potato friend who's just committed to do the Ride. Not sure if I'll get a "real" training ride in that same day, but I'll certainly do some more riding afterwards. I unfortunately can't train on Saturday since I have a work social function to go to (I'm with Miss Manners in despising essentially-mandatory work "social" events outside of working hours, but I can't skip this one), and I also have to go shopping at Made in France, prepping for this year's chocolate extravaganza! Yep, it's just about the season for chocolate again. More on that in my main blog.

I debated being a training ride leader for AIDS Lifecycle this year. It's more or less de rigeur for experienced riders/members of the community, but I think I will pass. There are a couple reasons for this, but the biggest one is simply that I have NO sense of direction--there's no way I could keep novice riders on track when I have no idea where *I'm* going! I also don't really enjoy group riding, and because of my Markleeville training I expect to do most of my riding on Mt. Diablo, which is not where the majority of the training rides will go. So it's unlikely I'll be a training ride leader this year. Oh well.

Ah, winter.

Had to shorten the last two workouts, one due to rain and one due to a late start in the day. (I would have been just fine a month ago, but the days are getting shorter dammit!) However, I seem to be doing about as well as ever--1:18 going up Page Mill--so I'm not too worried.

I've also discovered that on days when I eat a hearty breakfast (like, a plateful of spaghetti instead of half a melon), I have much more energy and don't have to spend half the way up talking myself out of giving up and going downhill. Food = blood sugar = mood. Henceforth I will eat a big breakfast before working out.

Not much else going on--I'm doing strength training about twice a week, not as often as I'd like but better than nothing. I'm definitely adding strength in the glutes and my core, don't know about the quads. Well, keep working on it, I guess.

I have now finished my book proposal and am back to working on the book. If I find a publisher, all bets are off--I'll gladly drop Markleeville in order to finish it for publication!

But in the meantime, I continue with maintenance training and wait for December.

Skills Clinic

(Duplicate of post from my main blog--skip if you've already read it)

Well, the Skills Clinic was mildly helpful, but didn't produce any major revelations (not that I expected it to). I did learn some interesting things about steering and countersteering, as well as some ascending and descending skills, but most of it I'd been doing instinctively already. Put in 8000 miles on a bike and you learn a *few* things...although, I still want to improve my skills on a bike. I may do some one-on-one work either with my coach or with the woman who taught the clinic.

We did have a crash at the end of the clinic, though--one of the women slid out on a turn and nearly ended up in a ravine. We waited for the ambulance to arrive, then went home--turns out she's fine except for some road rash and some nasty bruises. I'm relieved.

Unfortunately, this didn't do much to build my confidence in going around turns at high speed...the main reason I signed up for the clinic. So I guess I'll continue being conservative until I've had a chance to practice the skills I've learned. Not a bad plan, I guess.

I did find out that Velo Girls (the local women's cycling club) is having a Markleeville Death Ride training program! It starts in December (another starts in March), and I'm considering training with them instead of on my own.

Oh, and we rode 45 miles during the skills clinic on Sunday, so I'm counting that as my long ride for the week.

Skills clinic this weekend

Just got the agenda for the Girls Got Skills clinic this weekend! Looks like it's going to be a pretty serious two days of cycling...the clinics run 9am to 5pm. Admittedly, much of that is not going to be on the bike (thankfully), but there will be enough cycling to count as a workout in my book.

A brief overview of what's in the class:

Day One

Bike handling skills

• Mounting/dismounting
• Starts & emergency stops
• Looking behind you
• Riding without hands
• Bumping
• Bike handling
• Bunny hopping

Heart Rate based training

• Determining HR zones
• Background information on time trialing
• HR monitor review

Cornering and counter-steering drills

Introduction to Pacelines (single, double, echelons, packs)

Time trial to determine HR training zones

Day 2

Climbing technique review/demonstration

• Body/hand position
• Pedal stroke and Cadence
• Technical tips - how to read a hill - choosing your line

Climbing and descending drills

Sample workouts - Climbing accelerations and Strength Endurance Intervals

Technical climbing & descending

• Training Plan design
• Training vs. riding
• Determining HR training zones
• Developing a periodized program

Nutrition for Cyclists

Definitely suffering

from the two weeks I wasn't able to ride. Made it up Page Mill (which has mostly been repaved now), but had to stop several times along the way, and got back home feeling drained and with distinctly sore quads. I'm hoping this improves after a few more weeks back in the saddle.

I'm feeling relatively uninspired by training at the moment, perhaps because I've made a conscious decision to put the book first, at least until December. Mostly I'm hoping not to lose too much form between now and December.

Honestly, I would probably kill the Markleeville Death Ride attempt for this year, in an attempt to focus on the book, except that I'm already committed to training for AIDS Lifecycle and I suspect that the additional time required to train for Markleeville is probably negligible. So I think I will get to do both anyway. :-)

Down sick

Missed riding last week due to the Fabulous Fiber Fest, and this week I've got some kind of intestinal virus. Went halfway up Page Mill, felt rotten, came back down again.

They're repaving Page Mill, so I think I'm going to have to find somewhere else to train for the next few weeks. I think I'll try getting down to the Peninsula earlier, and doing the loop that goes up Congress Springs Road (Hwy 9). Either that, or go up Old La Honda to Skyline and back.

Bloody intestinal whatever-it-is.