The Season Is Here

Summer is here. Not officially, but since the forecast for today is almost 100 degrees, we can safely assume that “the season is here”.

So, what does “the season” mean? For cyclists, it means that the Tuesday/Thursday World Championships (Loop Group rides) are in full swing. The hammerheads converge on TXDOT each Tuesday and Thursday evening, talk a little trash, and then proceed to pound each other on the bike. The rest of us follow in their wake and just enjoy the ride ...

Runners are also “in season”. Late afternoon runs are starting to shift toward early morning sessions when it’s cooler, and there’s a running event almost every weekend. Trail runners have started putting someone out front as the Snake Patrol sacrifice. In addition, flyers are out for Run in the Sun, one of the traditional running events on the San Angelo calendar. Visit http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Runinsun2010flyer.pdf for information.

Triathletes are finally waking up from their cool weather slumber, and starting to venture out of the pool and into the lake for open water swim workouts. New TT bikes, aero wheels, and super-fast transition racing flats have all appeared. Striders Duathlon has come and gone, and tri-geeks are starting to focus on their “A” events for this season.

There’s also a new event on the San Angelo calendar this year. The Loco Lizard Adventure Race is scheduled for June 6 in Middle Concho Park (same location as Striders Duathlon). This event will pit teams of two or three against multiple challenges to include kayaking, mountain biking, trail running/trekking, and land navigation. Christina McBride, an experienced adventure racer, triathlete, and fitness coach, is the promoter and race director. This should be a fun event … details are posted at http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/LocoLizardJun2010.pdf.

For the rest of us, we’re just enjoying rides and runs without wearing multiple layers of clothes. The two-wheeled traffic over Burma is increasing, and the “run till you drop” crowd is meeting up for LSD workouts.

For me, it’s a little different …. my cyclocross season takes place in the dead of winter, so I’m doing base and strength work for the next couple of months. My approach will be a little different this year, with more emphasis on speed and explosive strength than in past seasons. I’ll be doing weekly MSS workouts (“Maximum Sustained Speed”) and even adding some VO2 max sessions occasionally. I’ll also race a few Texas Cup road events with the shaved-leg crowd as part of my summer training. All of this will (hopefully) prepare me for a run at cyclocross Nationals in December and the Texas CX championships in January.

I’m also exploring a new off-road loop that will go around the south and west ends of Twin Buttes reservoir. The goal is to establish a course that can be used next spring for a Paris-Roubaix type of race (a combination of good pavement, bad pavement, and some dirt roads). Maybe we’ll be able to finally determine if roadies or mountain bikers are the strongest cyclists.

Upcoming Events

May 8:  Mountain bike time trial #1, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/
May 8: Critter Crawl 5K, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/CritterCrawlFlyer_2010.pdf
May 8: H.O.T. Ride Brady, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html
May 22: Chips Run, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/ChipsRun_2010flyer2.pdf
May 30:  Road bike time trial, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html
June 6:  Loco Lizard Adventure Race, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/LocoLizardJun2010.pdf
June 12:  Run in the Sun, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Runinsun2010flyer.pdf
June 19:  Tour de Burma, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html


Equipment for Sale

Do Unto Others

During the 1970’s, a Texas oilman named Eddie Chiles did numerous radio commentaries. His trade-mark sign-on of “I’m Eddie Chiles, and I’m mad as hell” led to a widely distributed bumper sticker that read “I’m mad too, Eddie.”

Fast forward to 2010 and yes, Eddie, I’m mad too. In this case, the problem is egos.

As the self-appointed High Sheriff of Athlete Ego Issues, I’ve decided that this is Dodge City and I’m gonna take action.

You see, there’s a very small minority within the local cycling and running community that wants to marginalize the efforts of people who are not (in their opinion) good runners or cyclists.

That attitude bothers me. In fact, it’s best described using words that are not printable.

The majority of us put forth a lot of effort encouraging people to exercise. We don’t care if you’re an absolute beginner, slow, overweight, or awkward. We don’t care if you wear the “proper” clothing or use pro-level equipment. We just want to see you working out, becoming more fit, and staying healthy.

Most of the people we encourage will never become a marathoner, an ironman triathlete, or a long distance cyclist. That’s a good thing – it indicates they have a real life and are more socially balanced than most of the extreme athletes.

In a newspaper column that I wrote back in July of last year, I discussed some fitness goals that I set for myself while starting over after a serious illness. Two of those goals were to rebuild my fitness back to where I could comfortably jog four miles at a 9 min/mile pace, and ride a bicycle for one hour at a 17 mile/hour pace.

Those goals, while considered lofty by a fitness beginner, don’t match up to the standards set by the ego-athletes. That’s the problem we need to solve.

As the High Sheriff of Athlete Ego Issues, I’m hereby establishing some Athlete Ego Ordinances that will take effect immediately. No public hearings – no city council approval needed – this is the Wild West and infractions will be dealt with harshly and swiftly.

Athlete Ego Ordinance #1 bans all public display of egos when targeted at fitness beginners. The sole exception will be peer to peer displays of (good natured) kidding about athletic shortfalls.

Athlete Ego Ordinance #2 requires all experienced athletes to encourage, mentor, and support fitness beginners. This includes slowing down while on the bike and actually speaking to slower cyclists, and cheering on beginning joggers who are shuffling along at a slow pace.

Athlete Ego Ordinance #3 will make ridiculing those who don’t wear or own pro-level equipment a class CP misdemeanor offense, punishable by five consecutive days of CP (colonoscopy prep).

In all seriousness, experienced cyclists, runners, and multisport athletes are our best ambassadors for encouraging more people to pursue fitness activities. We’re all proud of what we’ve accomplished (myself included), and best way to leverage our accomplishments is to help other people be successful in achieving their fitness goals.

Doing that may require nothing more than being a helpful, supportive role model and remembering that – at one time – all of us were complete beginners. Luke 6:31 is probably a good place to start.

Ride On, San Angelo, and remember … the new Athlete Ego Ordinances are now in effect!



Upcoming Events

Cycling events: http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com//

Running events: http://www.roadlizards.org/

April 24: Back to School Eola run, http://www.roadlizards.org/

May 1: ASU Physical Therapy run www.angelo.edu/asufit

May 7: Bike-Pedestrian Healthy Communities presentation, www.angelo.edu/asufit

May 8: Critter Crawl run, http://www.roadlizards.org/

May 8: HOT Ride Brady, lmunden@bradyisd.org

June 6: Loco Lizard Adventure Race, http://4.bp.blogspot.com/


Equipment for Sale


Elliptical trainer, Smooth Fitness CE 2.7. Paid 1200.00 but will sell it for 700. Contact Jason at 325 617 4137 or mondiesman@yahoo.com

Pedaling backward?

My apologies …I am way behind schedule in getting this blog update posted. My work load in my real job at Angelo State University has been crazy of late, and since it pays the bills I have to focus on it first. The good news is that one of my ASU projects, the university’s Fitness and Wellness program, is really doing well. More on that program in a future blog posting.

The top multisport athletes in Texas converged on San Angelo this past Sunday to compete in the 2010 Striders Duathlon. State Champions were crowned in the short course division, with other athletes competing for bragging rights in the legendary long course race. The event took place on a Middle Concho Park course that was modified due to muddy conditions.

In the Men’s division, Chris Aarhus of San Antonio blazed through the run and bike legs of the short course event in a time of 1:28:56 to collect the overall win and become a new State Champion. Stefani Langehinning of Austin came out on top in the female division, posting a winning time of 1:39:11.

Long course racers began their day with a 5-mile run, and then transitioned to the bike for a challenging 50 mile ride that took them from Middle Concho Park to Christoval, across a hilly stretch of chip sealed road to Knickerbocker, and then back to San Angelo. After working up a sweat on the first run, racers were quickly cooled off by the stiff north-west wind that seemed to be in their face on all parts of the bike course.

Patrick Schuster of Arlington, an Ironman triathlete from Arlington, led the long course pack home with a time of 2:28:46. San Angelo’s Christina Templin took top honors in the Female long course division in a time of 3:26:44. Full results for the Striders event are posted at http://www.mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=4559.

I’m troubled by some of what I see happening within the local (San Angelo, Texas) bike-run-multisport community. Through 2008 and most of 2009, there were positive local indicators related to collaborative activities, getting more people involved in endurance sports, and related fitness events. These indicators included things such as a comprehensive master calendar of local/regional events, a monthly meeting of organizations that were working together, and numerous jointly-sponsored events. Fast forward to 2010, and (in my opinion) we’re pedaling backward.

While there has been continued growth in the number of participants, the focus on “community” instead of “my group” seems to have regressed. A master calendar for regional events is non-existent this year, and organizations seem to have gone back to more of a single sport focus (runners, cyclists, etc.). While this may be a good short term growth strategy for some individuals or organizations, it’s detrimental to overall community efforts and to the quality of events. In short, we need to move back to a community effort instead of concentrating on “wear the T-shirt from XXX club”.

On a related note, I attended a TxDot Town Hall meeting last week where we listened to local and state officials talk about transportation issues. My interest was not in learning about how many more reads we’re going to build or re-build, but instead what the outlook is for implementation of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure such as marked bike lanes, off-street paths, and a reversal of the chip seal takeover. The take-home message that I heard was that bike/ped issues are a low priority, and will probably continue to get the same lip service (and lack of action) as has been the case for several years. We need to refocus and re-think our community’s efforts related to that issue. Again, more to come on this in a later blog update.

In my last update, I mentioned a lady who didn’t want to do much cardio exercise “…because I’m naturally thin and don’t want to lose more weight.” That prompted me to add a poll to the blog, and your response indicated that 66% of you prefer a trim, athletic body as compared to movie-star curvy or distance runner thin. The results are in … bike, run, lift, and do the cardio to look good. We like muscles, but we prefer fast ones.

There are some exciting events and activities coming up. On May 7, the ASUFit program at the university will be bringing in Linda DuPriest as the speaker for the monthly Brown Bag luncheon. Linda is a consultant in the field of non-motorized transportation, she’s in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, and … best of all .. she’s an articulate and friendly person. This event is open to the public, so please make plans to attend. Contact Katherine.Garrison@angelo.edu for more info, or call 486-6244.

Other great upcoming events include Tour de Burma, Run in the Sun, and the Loco Lizards Adventure Race scheduled for June 6. Check out the “Upcoming Events” link below FMI.


UPCOMING EVENTS

June 6: Loco Lizards Adventure race (see event flyer above)

June 6: Fredericksburg road race (cycling), http://txbra.org/events/event.asp?EventID=1978

Running events: http://www.roadlizards.org/

Cycling events: http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html


Equipment for Sale

Elliptical trainer, Smooth Fitness CE 2.7. Paid 1200.00 but will sell it for 700. Contact Jason at 325 617 4137 or mondiesman@yahoo.com

Spring is almost here!

Spring is about here, with the time changing next week. The good news will be more time to ride and run after work … bad news is that, for a few weeks, we feel like it’s too dammed early when the alarm clock goes off.

 
I was contacted by a lady a few weeks ago regarding fitness programs. She made a really interesting comment, “I don’t want to do much cardio exercise because I’m naturally thin and don’t want to lose more weight.” Her comment got me to thinking about what is the body type that most people find attractive (i.e., thin like a distance runner, voluptuous like a movie star, or trim but muscular like a multisport athlete?). Cast your vote on the “Body Type” poll to the right.

I’ve seen a lot more folks riding Burma Road over the past few weeks. For those of you new to San Angelo, Burma is a favorite local ride that has a number of short but moderately steep hills. It’s a great natural interval session … work the up hills hard and then recover on the descents. Most people start their Burma ride in or at the edge of San Angelo, and ride Arden Road out west of town until they reach the Burma turn off. Here’s a link to the Burma route, although the ride can be longer or shorter depending on the start and turn around point: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/29001515. The first local time trial event of the 2010 season will be held on Sunday, March 14, at 2 pm, with the start area being on Burma just past the Burma/Arden intersection. .

Speaking of TT events, the cycling club sent out a request last year soliciting suggestions for trial courses. My personal opinion is that a different course should be used each month to break up the routine and to provide a variety of challenges. Listed below are the suggestions that I submitted. Even if the club chooses not to use any of these courses, they may be useful to you as “TT training rides.”

•  Jamison Road TT (9.5 miles): http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/433124361225123536
• Waling Pecan Road TT (14.8 miles): http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/823124361334922861
• Susan Peak Road TT (15.7 miles): http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/206124361374156509
• Knickerbocker TT (18.3 miles): http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/541124361414138686
• Arden Road TT (22.9 miles): http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/tx/san-angelo/603124361262091653

Ever thought about dropping out during a race or workout? This guy says “no way”: http://www.cxmagazine.com/lee-waldman-takes-time-to-reflect-on-quitting-cyclocross-races#more-11195


UPCOMING EVENTS

•  March 14: Burma Road TT, 2:00 pm, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html
• April 10-11: Hammerfest Stage Race (cycling), Fort Davis, http://www.txbra.org/db/events/2010FortDavis2.pdf
• April 18: Striders Duathlon (Texas championships), www.ironheadrp.com/striders/index.html
• May 2: Spillway Off Road Duathlon, information TBA
• June 6: Fredericksburg road race (cycling), http://txbra.org/events/event.asp?EventID=1978 
• Ongoing: Group training runs, http://www.roadlizards.org/
• Ongoing: Cycling group rides, road and mountain bike, http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html

Equipment for Sale

Elliptical trainer, Smooth Fitness CE 2.7. Paid 1200.00 but will sell it for 700. Contact Jason at 325 617 4137 or mondiesman@yahoo.com
.

 Giant OCR Limited: A beautful carbon fiber road bike, almost new, size should fit anyone between 5’2” and 5’8”, full carbon frame and fork, 10 speed Ultegra, triple crank, includes a set of carbon aero bars. Price $900, retailed for over twice that much. Contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.

 Cannondale R1000: 53 cm compact geometry road bike, Ultegra components, Mavic Open pro wheels, double 53/39 crank set, should fit anyone who is around 5”7”. Price $400, contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.

Race Across America?

Most of us consider 30-40 miles to be a nice long bike ride. Not so for cyclist Dex Tooke of Del Rio – he’s planning to ride across America, west coast to east coast, solo and with very little rest time. Now, Dex isn’t your average cyclist. For starters, he’s 60 and thus considered to be a senior citizen by cycling standards. But more importantly, he’s an accomplished ultra endurance athlete with an impressive resume of long distance events.

He’s completed 24 hour running events during which he runs over 100 miles, a solo 600 mile “workout” on the bike, and has ridden cross country from Del Rio to El Paso. During 2009, his total cycling mileage was over 20,000 miles, with 57 rides over 100 miles in length. Most of us don’t drive 20,000 miles per year in a car, much less ride a bicycle that far.

The event that he’s training for is Race Across America (RAAM). It starts on June 9th and is a non-stop transcontinental bicycle race of over 3000 miles starting in Oceanside, California, and ending in Annapolis, Maryland. Competitors in the solo division of RAAM will finish (if they finish) in 9-12 days covering 250-350 miles per day (read more).

The local duathlon season is just around the corner, with the Striders event scheduled for April 18 and the Spillway Hill Off-Road on May 2nd. Striders is a road event and will have two distances: 5K/40K/5K or 8K/74K/8k. The short course event is the 2010 Texas Short Course Duathlon Championships. The start/finish for Striders is near the front restroom in Middle Concho Park.   The Spillway event has traditionally been a 2.5 mile trail run, 10 mile mountain bike, and a final run in Middle Concho Park that follows the same route as run #1. Information regarding this year’s event has not been released, so the location, course distances, and start times are still TBA.

A cyclist was killed this past week while riding his bike on Knickerbocker Blvd. a few blocks north of Loop 306. This tragedy is a sad reminder that we all need to bike defensibly while riding, especially on roads with heavy traffic. Wear your helmet, use a flashing rear light after sunset, and think about using a route that stays off of main roads. Our condolences go out to his family.

The Trail Running Series concluded on February 20th with the 15K event in San Angelo State Park. Race #3 results and the Overall results are posted on the Road Lizards web site at http://www.roadlizards.org// (click on the Race Results tab on the upper menu bar).


Equipment for Sale

Giant OCR Limited: A beautful carbon fiber road bike, almost new, size should fit anyone between 5’2” and 5’8”, full carbon frame and fork, 10 speed Ultegra, triple crank, includes a set of carbon aero bars. Price $900, retailed for over twice that much. Contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.

Cannondale R1000: 53 cm compact geometry road bike, Ultegra components, Mavic Open pro wheels, double 53/39 crank set, should fit anyone who is around 5”7”. Price $400, contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.









Upcoming Events

March 6: Green River Run 5K and 1-mile run/walk, www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Green_River_Run_2010.pdf

April 10-11: Fort Davis Hammerfest cycling stage race, www.txbra.org/db/events/2010FortDavis.pdf

April 18: Striders Duathlon, Middle Concho Park, San Angelo, www.ironheadrp.com/striders/index.html

May 2:  Spillway Off Road Duathlon, details TBA

Wet and Winter

I spent the longest winter of my life stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. The weather there seemed to be 35-40 degrees and raining most of the time, and I’m starting to think that West Texas has become another Washington State. Our unusually wet and cool weather this winter is causing me to spend more time on the indoor trainer than usual, and I’m even getting some use out of the heavyweight polypro gear that I purchased while living in Colorado. Never fear, however …. we’ll be into spring and summer soon, wishing for some rainy 40 degree days.

If you missed my latest newspaper column, it’s posted on the Web at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/feb/05/venture-off-road-for-a-change-and-give-joint-a/. For the next couple of months, I’ll be writing a weekly column for the Saturday paper (instead of every other week) while another columnist takes a sabbatical from writing. I’m always looking for interesting topics to write about, so drop me an email if you have a good topic in mind. (Email bcullins@verizon.net).

The 2010 Trail Running series is in full swing, with two of the here events completed. Results to date are posted at http://www.roadlizards.org// (select the “results” tab on the upper menu bar). This series is an event that I started back in 2007, and it has grown from a handful of participants the first year to 116 for race # 2 in 2009.  Based on attendance thus far, it appears that the 2010 series events will have about as many runners as in 2009. . One of the good side effects of this series is that I’m seeing more people take their running workouts off road, which is arguably safer and better on the body than constantly pounding the pavement. The final event of the 2010 series will take place on Saturday, February 20th, with the action moving to San Angelo State park. An event flyer is posted on-line at http://www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/2_Page_FLYER_-_SARL_Trail_Series_2.pdf.

I’ve got a new poll up on this blog, asking if you think that San Angelo is making progress toward a “culture of fitness and wellness”. Be sure to take the poll and put your two cents worth in. The poll is located on the right side of this page.

Many people are starting to think about the warm weather that’s just around the corner, and cycling seems to be on a lot of people’s mind. I’ve received numerous inquiries asking for information on used bikes and related equipment, so I’ll start including “Equipment for Sale” as a part of each blog update. If you have something for sale or trade, send me a brief description, picture, and price and I’ll add it to the list.
Equipment for Sale

Giant OCR Limited: A beautful carbon fiber  road bike, almost new, size should fit anyone between 5’2” and 5’8”, full carbon frame and fork, 10 speed Ultegra, triple crank, includes a set of carbon aero bars. Price $900, retailed for over twice that much. Contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.

Cannondale R1000: 53 cm compact geometry road bike, Ultegra components, Mavic Open pro wheels, double 53/39 crank set, should fit anyone who is around 5”7”. Price $400, contact Dean McKenzie at dpmck@juno.com, or (325) 896-2083.







Upcoming Events

Feb. 20: Trail Running Series race #3, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/SARLTrailSeries_2009.pdf

March 6: Green River Run 5K and 1-mile run/walk, www.roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/Green_River_Run_2010.pdf

April 10-11: Fort Davis Hammerfest cycling stage race, www.txbra.org/db/events/2010FortDavis.pdf

April 18: Striders Duathlon, Middle Concho Park, San Angelo, www.ironheadrp.com/striders/index.html

June 6: Fredericksburg road race, www.txbra.org/events/event.asp?EventID=1978

Looking Ahead

This time last winter I was finishing cyclocross season and starting base training for the upcoming year. The 2009 season didn’t work out the way I had planned, with health issues forcing me to miss most of the events I normally partcipate in. However, I've finished all of the cancer-related treatments, and I celebrated by racing the 2010 Texas Cyclocross Championships on January 16. Fittingly enough, the event proved to be a classic CX event with mud and more mud. What a great way to return to my favorite sport! If you want to get a sense of what the conditions were like, take a look at the pictures posted at http://cxmagazine.com/lonestar-cyclocross-austin-day-1.

January means trail running time here in San Angelo, with the three event Trail Running Series kicking off on January 23 and continuing with event #2 on Feb. 6 and the final race on Feb.20th. This year’s event is being directed by the San Angelo Road Lizards running club. There will be a long course race on each of the three event dates (10K, 12K, and 15K), in addition to a shorter 5K run on each date. If you haven’t given trail running a try, come on out – this is the most fun you’ll ever have with your running shoes on.

San Angelo will host the Texas short course duathlon championships on April 18. This event, Striders Duathlon, is one of the oldest and best multisport events in the state. The race will be a 5K run, 40K bike, 5K run, with the start/finish located in Middle Concho Park. The run course is on the roads in Middle Concho and the “Dirt Road from Hell” outside the back gate, with the bike course leaving Middle Concho and going to the turn around point at the base of the “big hill” on the Knickerbocker road.

The SABA road and mountain time trial series will kick off in April with the first road TT scheduled for April 3. Note that these events are scheduled for Saturdays this year. For more information, visit http://www.sanangelobicycleassociation.com/events/calendar.html.

ASUFit was the subject of a nice article in the Standard Times last week. If you missed the article, click on this link to read it on-line. ASUFit is putting on a 70 day Spring Fitness Challenge starting January 31st that is open to the public. Take a look at the event information at and get your team signed up!

There are some great out of town events coming up this year. Here are a few to think about:
   * April 10-11: Fort Davis Hammerfest cycling stage race,
     www.txbra.org/db/events/2010FortDavis.pdf
   * April 11: Austin Statesman Capitol 10K,
     http://www.statesman.com/cap10k/
   * May 29-30: Mellow Johnny’s mountain bike classic,
      http://www.tmbra.org/
   * June 6: Fredericksburg road race,
      http://www.txbra.org/events/event.asp?EventID=1978
   * August 15: XTERRA Camp Eagle, http://www.xterraplanet.com/



UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

Jan 23: Trail Running Series race #1, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/SARLTrailSeries_2009.pdf.

February 6: Trail Running Series race #2, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/SARLTrailSeries_2009.pdf

February 20: Trail Running Series race #3, http://roadlizards.org/Upcoming%20Races/SARLTrailSeries_2009.pdf