Back to Everett Washington

The biggest news since my last entry is that I have taken a 6 month contract job in Everett Washington, just in time for summer cycling. I came here with minimal posessions including my 29er hardtail, carbon cross bike, and my steel singlespeed commuter. 

I moved in with some cycling friends who understand my lifestyle and we can really help each other improve as cyclists and eat well or at the very least, provide company on weekend rides. It has been a busy and tiresome few weeks but things are beginning to settle down into a solid training routine of 30 mile work commutes 4 times a week plus 2-3 Social/competitive rides out of Snohomish Bicycle shop or with the Fischer Plumbing team. 

Last weekend I took part in a Fischer Plumbing group century my friend Joe but together. It ended up being 11 hours on the road on for me and my biggest ride of the year by a slim margin. It was a bit hot,  peaking at about 84 degrees. 150 ounces of fluids consumed. 

I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised by my performance last week. It was my longest week of cycling so far at about 280 miles with lots of personal records and 2 KOM's to show for it. Nice!

So far my mileage for the year is 3,500 at a little less than half way through the year.  I want to keep the momentum going to surpass my 7,000 mile goal. 

Lots of fun rides coming soon. I plan on some off road adventures and some road rides that with challenge me further. See you out there!

Early summer fitness and KOM's

June has been an excellent month for me. My fitness and recovery have surprised me this month. I have set several hill climb KOM's  the past two weeks and put in a lot of miles. My weekly average has finally exceeded 100 and I am now on track for a 4,000 miles and 200,000 feet of elevation by the end of the year if I can keep the momentum going. I did the longest ride in about 10 years with the Snohomish shop. We did our own version of the popular Flying Wheels organized ride and averaged 20 mph including 2 significant hill climbs. It was killer! Jeff Reed of the Starbucks team lead the paceline at over 25 mph on the flats. Tim Turner and I duked it out on the hill climbs and ended up sharing the KOM! Awesome for a segment with nearly 800 riders on the list! Thomas Horan took the next one. These guys are strong riders!

That was a lot of fun. The next day I did a 7 mile hike up to lake 22. 

That was the grand fantail to a significant week of training and this week was nearly the same with a fast 55 mile ride (including a KOM up the back of lord hill) followed by a 9 mile hike up to Bridal Vail Falls and lake Serene. Another great week in the state of Washington! My body hurts so good. I would love to hit up another mtb race soon but at the moment I am enjoying the training miles and hiking with my wife. She even did 26 miles with me on her own bike rather than the tandem this week along with a black dimond hike. What a trooper!