Location

Skate of the Union

I have a big love of racing at a deep level but there is are times in one’s life when the competitive focus lives. For the last couple of years I have not focused on “racing” and at this point in my life my joy from skating has very little to do with “racing”.

Tuesday night skate at CSH

We did the 36 mile route today and the group was in a fast mood. The cyclists hammered the hills and kept a strong pace on the flats.

So far this was the hardest skate of the year for me. We did an 19mph average speed and while that does not sound crazy fast it is a super hilly route.

Kendra shot this short video clip on Friendship RD. The pack was going fairly easy at that point and Kendra was riding her bike shooting video with one hand. The video still turned out pretty good.

I am also really liking my new skate frames and wheels.

Also, let me know if you think I am double pushing.

Moving things from my old blogger site

This is now the new home of my blog.

I am moving my posts, links, and such from my old blogger site.

The import feature of worldpress works fairly well but it does not pick up videos so the imported posts are going to have missing video clips.

Also, I have some work to do to add links and other stuff that did not get imported.

Everything should be fixed in the next couple of days.

Skate and Swim

We decided to do a skate and swim today. It was actually Radovan’s idea so we met at BJP park for a 36 mile route.

Commuting round trip, 30 of 461

Road to work and back.

It is nice to be back in the swing of bike commuting. The bike is riding well and with the dry/dusty summer conditions it is easier to keep the bike clean vs. the wet/muddy conditions I had earlier in the year.

Also, it is nice to ride into work since leaving at 7am I get a chance to enjoy the relative cool of morning.

It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity, 32 of 431 miles

Today was the first hot day of the season. I road moderately hard but with the heat it was difficult to motivate my self.

It was hot in Tucson over the weekend but that was nothing compared to today. Tucson might have heat but we got the humidity and while it is cliché’s it also really does make a big difference.

On a day like this I feel like I am riding in a steam room. The sweat simply drips off and the air never really cools you down.

A little bit of rain

It’s Tuesday so Kendra and I got a chance to do the CSH ride/skate. Today was 35 mile at 19 mph average speed and substantial sections of 25+ bursts plus hill. Basically this is the most fun I have on skates, a good working, and a chance to chat with friends all at the same time.

The ride started with a little bit of rain and I was worried that I would get dropped. On the first hard climb my wheels were slipping and I could not get the traction needed for strong stroking but luckily I made it over the hump and was still in contact with the group just as the rain stopped. I was on Gyro pink wheels and even though they are soft just about all wheels slip a bit in the rain plus this particular hill is not the best pavement.

Since it was hot most of the day, the roads dried fairly quickly and after that first bit grip on the roads was not a problem. The pace was solid with the group especially motivated for some of the sections where we traditionally ramp up the pace.

Near the end of the day the cyclists put things into overdrive and the group split up. I stayed with the middle

Tucson Epic Ride, 24 of 399 miles

Here we are at the start of the ride. The peak between us is the top of the mountain with the observatory.

CSH Skate

Awesome skate tonight from the CSH shop. We did a solid pace for 35 miles, usually around 19mph but with some 20+ sections and hard efforts on the hills. My fitness is coming along and while I am not in 2005 form I am starting to feel stronger and skating way better then at anytime last year.