Chico Wildflower Century

I had a really great day riding the ChicoVelo Wildflower Century ride. My 2nd year and it reminded me why it was my favorite ride last year.
The first climb warmed me up, the second buttered me up, and the third, well the third took a lot out of me. After that third climb it was entirely flat.

The second descent as we came out of paradise had a long straight second at a -6% grade. When the grade picked up to -8%, I got up to 50MPH . It felt very rewarding after that long climb.

I loved my new Soloist. On my previous bike when I hit sharp turns with lots of speed I noticed the bike would often understeer, then i'd have to brake some or really throw the bike down to make the turn. Attempting to brake while turning is just a recipe for disaster so mostly I tried to brake before the turn in the straightaway. For continuous S turns I was SOL.
Yesterday on my I noticed it did not understeer. I imagined a line I wanted the bike to take and I just went where I wanted it to like magic. At first I didn't notice I was braking as usual. But one time I carried too much speed into the turn, "Ut-OH" i thought... but the bike just did the turn the same as if it were going half the speed it really was. "Hmm" I thought and I let it rip into the next turn... perfect..

I spent a lot more money on this bike than the last one. yeah it's 3 lbs lighter, wonderful. But the ability to turn correctly is priceless.

I was not in the aerobars for the whole 100 miles, but I made myself sit in them as long as I could which was a long time. I feel confident I can use this bike at wildflower.

Only one issue. The thing has been squeeking all week. The LBS said it was because I had old cheap pedals. I took the pedals off and it still made the squeeking sound. Well it's probably nothing. I rode on it. at mile 50 I notice a mechanic supporting the race and he takes a look at it. 'Thats not safe!" hs says. Apparently my crank is coming off and my bottom bracket is sliding out. he tightens it. on my way but the squeeking starts quickly. At the next stop I have another mechanic look at it. He says it's too tight now, lubes everything up and says it's Ok to ride on but I should have my LBS look at it.

Salty

This pic is from the oceanside 70.3 I did a few weeks ago. I'm encrusted with salt from head to toe. I was even saltier than what this image shows. Although i slow the whole way through on the run I hit a wall i never got through. I ended up walking half of it. I now know that wall to be an electrolyte problem. It can be easily fixed by popping another salt pill. For Oceanside I used my usual salt intake of about 350mg sodium/hour. I really needed much more, witness my legs. I think I was drinking more water than before and that was the problem.

Also I did my 1st rides on the new bike today. It whistles when I go fast. At first I thought it was music playing in the distance, but no it was me. I was comfortable for a while in the aerobars. going up hills was harder than on my bike, and I really notice that I've lost some powerful gears and easy gears too.

The Soloist has landed

Weighing in at 19.2 lbs, I'm unworthy of this machine.

actually the bike is a bit lighter than that, but I've put Aero bars on it so that adds some.

The scary thing about is that I had to lose my granny gear, so my easiest gear is now about 50% harder to turn than the easiest gear I had on my old bike.

I did get fitted so even though it's a road bike I'll be able to ride in as much of a triathlon position as I'm capable of right now. Unlike a real tri bike I can use it at alcatraz.

My 1st ride will be on the trainer tomorrow to shake it down.

Hot Ski Guide/Instructors.

Taking it easy after my stupid race. It's 11:43 and really I should have gone to bed at 10. I have no intention of following my silly schedule or waking up on time.. I'm going to stay up all night tonight because I have good books that need to be read.

Today, I got in my 2nd day of skiing for the season. Still trying to remember how to ski. I bought 4 tickets to Squaw at the start of the season, I finally used one of them.

I managed to leave SF a little bit after 6, pretty much no traffic going up I80 so staying at speed limit + or - 5 mph I got up there maybe 9:30. I listened to the Harry Potter audio book on the way up.. which works great.

The demo center at gold coast worked well, I probably tried 4 different skis, Nordica Jet Fuel, Nordica Hellcat, Rossignol (some big bandit freeride ski), Volkl AC40. The Hellcat and AC40's were most memorable. Last time I tried skis the Mantra stood out (except for the ankle pain it caused)

At one point I was chatting with a stranger on the lift. Talking about trying out skis, she says she likes her current skis and had demoed them 14 days before buying. I said it must have cost a lot,
"Nah, it's free for cute chicks" she says. Then we're talking about if I'm skiing tomorrow and mumbles something that I didn't catch that ended with an opportunity to ski with hot girls. I must have mis heard her... Nope I didn't mishear her. she's a self described "hot ski instructor/guide" if I want one, and hands me card with picture to prove it. LOL. Who doesn't need a hot ski guide/instructor? She says there are other girls in her company if I wanted someone else.

Actually I do usually get a few ski lessons per year.. not so much this year since I've only been up once before this. She gave me a couple free tips on the run.. "although it was a very controlled run, I was sliding a lot. Be more aggressive, try to feel entire foot from toe to heel" then she went off to film some jumps off cliffs.

I thought it was the funniest thing of the day.