2006 season planning

10 degrees this morning. I skipped the commute. Totally wimped-out. Went to ride the indoor so I wouldn't feel guilty and the chain broke about 30secs into it - my motivation broke with it.

Last 2 months i've been chillin', spent one month riding epics, no bike commuting, 3 even 4 days off in a row, then 2 wks ago started the commute again, riding 4-5days/wk, some strength work, but it's all unfocused. Nothing motivates me more than visualizing being on the course, but i need a course, an event, to visualize. don't want to force or rush the season planning, prefer to the let the options permeate for a bit, then grab the race that keeps percolating to the surface for the big A race of the season. last year i was considering TransRockies, but my partner bailed for fiscal reasons, so focused on 24 of A's, Dalton MA instead - close to home, good strong field and awesome course. With that penciled-in and paid for by jan 1st, I'd wake-up in the morning, think about the 2mile steady climb on every lap of the Dalton course and get my ass on the trainer. This year I'm starting training a full month earlier than last, but have no goal to focus on - yet - so training hasn't been up-to-par.

Again thinking about TransRockies. Last year's potential partner, Nathan Smith, a stronger rider than myself, has committed to the 7-day challenge. However, this year, I'm the one afraid of the costs. A lot going-on right now, lots of work being done on our crib so we can flip it for some big Benjamins, then bang-up to Beverly on the North Shore where we'll settle-in for a while… and I don't want to settle for something less than what we want when we move. Found a real nice area, 1mile from beaches, adjacent to miles of conservation land and great riding/trail running, blocks from a commuter rail stop, about a 16-18 mile bike commute to the city… just want to get a house that we don't need a shoe-horn to get in and out of.

SO, all that being said, the race that keeps percolating to the surface is the 24 hour Nationals. Need to read some forums/blogs on the course design to make sure it jives with my style of riding, from what Jeff K mentioned, it was a fast one, which really isn't advantageous to a technical new england rider… certainly haven't taken TransRockies off the table.

Oh yeah, they released the new EFTA schedule, looking good, lots of changes, a couple Maine Mountain Bike Association races in there to replace the ones we lost to Root66 and underattendance... Bradbury Mtn race in early June, it's gonna be a technically challenging mudfest - can't wait! I'm not big into the NORBA scene, which is Root66 for us in NE... EFTA donates all proceeds (when there are any) to local charities vs NORBA which supposedly goes to rider development, etc… more like into the pockets of the hundreds of administrative staff that make USA Cycling whir along in a cloud of bureaucracy... but i end-up buying a license every year anyway, doing my part.

What would be really great is if EFTA snagged the 3 or 4 marathon distance events hosted in New England / New York and created a 4 race Northeast marathon title... that'd be wicked.