Goals: Both Teenie and I have been working on our personal goals for 2014 season. These are a work in progress. We have some good stuff on paper but the goals are still not finalized. One thing we know is that we want to race together. This means Teenie will likely cross over and race Mens Masters in some USA Cycling races and we will do some mass start races.
Race Schedule: The AZ schedule for 2014 just came out. AZ is very organized and does well at getting the whole year set early. There were a couple of curve balls in the schedule and we will not be racing Valley of the Sun. So, we will be picking up another big race. Tucson Bike Classic will be an 'A' race. Teenie will be competing in MT Lemmon Climb as an 'A' event. For more info on the MADDOG 83 race schedule click here . Summer and late season racing is up in the air but we are pretty sure we will back in Europe.
Kits: Teenie did a great job working with Hincapie on our kits. The company has/is making great improvements in their process but with us doing a complete kit redesign, this year took a lot of time. We were disappointed in the design delays and our kits will not be here until January 15. This is despite starting 6-8 weeks ago. Good news is they are beautiful, original, have hot colors and we have a great logo. Wait until you see the color (I definitely will qualify as metro sexual in these kits……no bubba crap here)!
Tent: There is lots of sun in Arizona. We have ordered and have notification that a 10'x10' pop up has arrived from EZ Up .
Caps: We have procured engineering caps and Teenie has located a company in Tucson that will embroider them. They should be done prior to Christmas.
Shoes: We have gone all out with custom design (to match our kits) and fit shoes from D2 in Eagle, Co. These will be very cool. Delivery is expected before Christmas. Teenie and I teamed this duty. We can thank our pal, Roger Kennedy, for introducing us to D2.
Socks: I handled this duty and we went with Switftwick . We did a sample order and have already worn the socks. They are VERY nice compression (made in the USA)…….we went with black…….just cut the order and should have all in one week. All our winter socks (4" and 7") and summer socks (Zero", 2' and 4") will match in color and design.
Bikes: I am awaiting a warranty frame replacement for my SWorks Stumpjumper but I have a loaner frame. We are learning to use seat droppers. The road bikes are all ready for action. We are learning to use Shimano pedals in a change over from Speedplay. We hope to eliminate 'hot foot' on long efforts.
Training Schedule: I serve as coach for both us. The schedule is being developed now. We will begin formal training after returning from snowboarding in Utah on Dec 28th. We will be trying some new things this year which include 3 weeks hard/one week easy, intense consistent cross training and a lot of training races. We are already working on sprint and climbing skills. More is needed on cornering and descending. Both of us will increase our training load as compared to previous years and most of this increase will come in intensity. Currently we are riding a lot but we are using little, if any, structure.
Support: We are accumulating new cycling friends and groups with which to train. There is a large group of competitors in Tucson, a great community. Any void created by us leaving TEAM headstrong, is being filled. We already have some associates who are ZAPPING us versus SAPPING us. We are not in the same kits as these guys, like we were with our old team, but it feels good.
What's Next? We are racing at Dawn2Dusk on Dec 14 as a 2 person coed team. We have had a lot of fun mountain biking lately. In Sept, we completed a 3 day clinic in Asheville with Better Ride.
Gene Hamilton, our coach/teacher, was terrific. Teenie 'has gotten her mojo back'. We have set a bold goal to increase our lap count from 8 (last year) to 9. I will be working on my night riding next week as the last lap will be 'in the dark'. We will have friends from Tucson riding in the 4 person competition, who will set up next to us and support us. NOTICE: Our goal is set to only better our own performance…….no goal to 'beat' anybody or get any placement. If we perform at our best, results against the field will take care of themselves.
Currently, Teenie and I are both in a good place. Our overall health is very good. Fitness wise I am at all time high. I have reached some very bold training/mid step goals in this off season. Teenie is a step behind due to a long bout with bronchitis. However, she is in the best shape ever at this time of the year, and is gaining ground fast. We will have no problem in bringing her up to speed in time to race.
Emotionally we are strong. Both of us are continually looking forward to riding. I think we feel good about our new situation with the 2 person team. We are in touch with some of our team mates and their new Greenville Velo seems to be going well, which is very encouraging. We have many friends in that organization and we want the best for them. It seems apparent that our decision to leave the team was as good for them as it has been for us. We have spent a lot of time with family in the last months and more is scheduled in December. The deck is cleared to train/race hard during January, February and March.
So, I guess we are on countdown to launch 10, 9, 8…………..
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