today i was a rabbit. i helped pulling a race, riding at the front, making the first guys faster than they usually are. it was hard. my legs still have not recovered from the training camp, and the hard week i had since then. tomorrow i have a road race. a flat one, at that... i can choose- make it a hard one, by trying to escape, or an easy one, by laying low...
today i had a hard hard climbing session. it started out poorly, with a flat tire, and a totally useless tire. but it ended up as a great workout. 1700 meters of climbing in three 25 minute intervals. by the end i was so hungry... all i could think of was my cereals. hhmmmmm....
i don't miss a lot of people when i am away... i stay in touch with most of the important ones, so i get my weekly dosage of friend related topics.
after three days in the desert sun- "working on my tan", got a whole new meaning. my body is covered in various colours, which represent different exposure time to our beloved "source of life"- the vicious sun. the training sessions were amazing, 465 kilometers of them. and this is the first of 3 weeks of hard work, coming my way!!!
but i can't change time. and the clocks are ticking away, with three and a half weeks to go. i have not managed to make all the arrangements yet, but one thing is already taken care of- the flight date. everything will revolve around it. i know, the clocks are showing different times...
this weekend i am off to another training camp\suicide attempt. the above picture represents the way i feel going into the event, all meaty and ripe, ready to go...
and this one is the way i look and feel, coming back from the 450 kilometers inferno, called: "elite training camp".
took my single speed out for a mud ride. it was cold, wet and slippery, just the way it should be. the mud clearance is nothing to shout about, but nothing beats the hussle free chain line, and the quiet chutter of the drivetrain. the ride got better when the rain really started to pour, and amazingly, the mud does not stick when its too wet!!
its only bike racing. thats it. i have the tendency to complicate every little thing. my obsession with details is to blame. its almost like an OCD kind of thing. wake up, ride fast, go back home.
i forgot just how painful racing is. it is all about suffering, which is somthing i did not have enough of today. well, there are still 40-ish races awaiting me this year.
the first race of the season is always an emotional one. the hard work is starting to come into play, and you don't know how your legs will feel with the rush of blood and lactic acid coming their way. my bike is definitely ready...
some times i feel that one of my motivation incentives, is the will to be recognized. the will to be known. for who i am. for what i have done. the fact that i have accomplished somthing big, or the fact that i have stayed true to my way.
i know, i know...the seat does not look very comfortable, but hey, i got this bike as a present. and i love the color scheme.
at least look like one. this amazing picture was taken yesterday, in manara, by one- lior dayan, our magazine photographer. it is for next month's piece, where i am to race amir caspi, israeli DH champ, on his own turf... i failed. DH is hard, and scary. by the fourth run, i felt more connected to the bike, and the steep-as-hell grade, and started to enjoy the first ride on a DH bike.
last week, the magazine had a little race between the writers, photographers and a few friends. because it is our lunatic mag', the race was held within an ACE (do it yourself) store. needless to say, i used my "look fast" eye wear, and an ACE worker outfit. we raced between the departments, trying not to break anything. it was funny. i did not win, though..
you should try this at home... it is good for your heart rate, for your skills, and everything in between. or, you can get out, and join a 2 day training camp with the offroad national team- i chose the latter, for obvious reasons.
how many pills can you take, before turning green and glow in the dark? one can only take so many supplements... or can he? some people i know take so many, they do seem a little greenish. well, green is a pretty nice colour.
'took it upon myself not to touch another weapon, till the day i die. it was pretty hard to get out of the reserves, as the army is reluctant to let go of trained human resources- yours truly. i am trained in the art of doing nothing, whilst watching T.V, and eating...
there is nothing quite like riding on your own. the kilometers add up, as you sink into your thoughts, no one to speak or share your pain with. i ride alone most of the time, and by now, I know exactly where the points of breaking are, and know how to leverage them into individual growing moments. after all, as the saying goes, there is no I in team.
