So the end of the season is close at hand, at least for us up here in the frozen tundra, and I still can’t help but think about going out for another ride.  I could have maybe gone out tonight, but work got in the way and night time sneaks up very early these days. So it turns out I’m back to being a weekend warrior for a while until the weather gets downright combative.

Not that there is anything wrong with that, I was just getting used to going out almost everyday.

I never thought that I would ride as much as I did and love it.  Sounds counterintuitive, but the more I rode the more I wanted to ride.  Maybe it doesn’t sound counterintuitive, maybe I just wanted to be able to use the word counterintuitive in a blog post. Who knows?  Moving on.  Anyway, I rode more this year than I have ridden in a long time.  10 years ago when I lived out east I used to ride that much, but it’s been a while.  So to all of you that think you just can’t get back into it, you’re 100% wrong. I have a life and I ride. I rode my tail off, oh and yeah, and did some racing too. I’m not tooting my own horn, I’m just saying that if I can get back into doing it, then you certainly can.  Life does get in the way, but that sounds like an excuse.

I learned a ton from riding so much this season.  I learned the importance of a good seat and some good biking shorts.  I learned that going out for three nights in a row and trying to go for a ride on day four is probably not the best idea in the world.  I also learned that I can tear it up still.  You know, mix it up, get it going, take one down. And I learned that I love racing, for as much as it sucks.  I really don’t think it sucks, but I just have an issue with the fact that I enjoy being in that kind of pain for such a long time, I believe it’s called “the pain cave”…  But, besides everything else, I learned that giving up still isn’t an option.  Quitting is still unacceptable.  Sometimes it gets pretty hard out there, I’m not going to lie to you, but you ignore it and move forward.  Cramps and all.

I learned that being out there is sometimes more of a mind game than anything else. I talk to myself a lot out there.  Usually I get a song stuck in my head and it plays over and over and over again and it won’t go away.  Sure, you need to be in top physical shape to contend, but think about the brain power that goes into being a top rider or even to be a worthy adversary. Imagine the amount of mind corking you need to be able to get that deep into the “pain cave” for so long and not break down.  You have to go DEEP.  You have to be strong willed, stubborn and gutsy.  Yeah, “gusty.
You have to know your limits and tell them to go to hell.  It sounds like to me that these top guys are a little tweeked.  A little twisted.  We all look at Lance Armstrong and think he is just a machine, and he is.  His primary cycling arena is road racing, but this year he competed in a 100 mile Elite mountain bike race in Colorado and destroyed the competiton.  He’s a freak of nature that has no concept of pain.  So now my burden is to figure out what to train all winter.  Is this a physical battle or a mental one?

I think I have the physical covered. I have quite the fitness and cycling program all laid out for the winter.  Basically, I’m going to get schooled all winter by a couple of hot shot road racers and mountain bikers.  I get a hard core workout winter that is usually limited to the elite in cycling.  Nothing fun about that.  I’m curious to see how ready I will be for next season.  These guys are going to show me a thing or two about the “pain cave” and how to tune it out.   Come to think of it, that should cover the mental part as well.  Two birds with one stone.

My workouts will start immediately and start off with a couple of weeks of strength training followed by an intense cycling program and a paradigm shift in my eating habits.  This is a full winter program and I should be ready to race earlier next season.  I will be posting the workouts, some videos and menus at some point so you can follow along and use as your winter program.

To get updates of our training program please click below: