Snow and Such

So basically, yesterday was my twenty-first birthday. I did it right and went DT with a mangy crew of some of Missoula's finest and it was great. And by that I mean it was really fun. However, there is one detail that I had been planning that I was not able to see through. You see, today I was planning on riding my Madone to hang-over freedom OUTSIDE. This was to be the best birthday activity of all but was deemed not an option by me with the snow storm and such. Instead I was forced to eat scrambled eggs and groan about my kidneys while I watched the snow blow in and cover my birthday wishes in a damp blanket of disappointment. Oh well such is life. I guess this means I'll be showing my twenty-one year old face at the Lab tonight for more pain cave spelunking. I hope the music is good. And by that I mean I hope its cheesy rap music.

UM's own mixes it up in AZ

This weekend UM's Ivy clashes with some early season gladiators down in AZ. In her road cycling debut Ivy is in Phoenix stomping it out at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. I have very limited info on how things are going for her, and the other MT riders who made the trip, but stay tuned. What I do have I got from a text received yesterday telling me she finished the TT somewhere in the middle of her 30 or so women field. I did some stalking and found out Ivy threw down a respectable 40:58 in the TT, only 2 mins. and change behind the leader!

By the looks of things, and knowing how Ivy likes and is capable to riding, if a break goes today and she gets in it without the big stomping TTers she could kill that 2 min. gap in no time...

My vote puts Ivy in the top five by tonight!

Oh, and happy V-Day...

Sloppy Snow, Slippery Skis and Severely Sleepy Cyclists

This past weekend a fleet of local cyclists turned skiers headed north(ish) to Seeley Lake, for the annual OSCR 50k. Naturally, the crew was mangy, with the likes of Radley, Brian, Joel, Jeffro, Ms. Carim, KG, Laurel and myself in attendance.  Having not ski raced in over six years,  I apprehensively committed to racing the night before after a few beers and a healthy dose of peer pressure.

We woke up early Saturday morning, packed up the cars and chugged up to Seeley Lake.  After registration, a few trips to the ol' port-a-loo, a gel or two and some last minute hyperventilation fits, I was ready to race. 

We all lined up, partook in a bit of nervous chatter, and after a shot gun blast, we were off!

After navigating through raging rapids of poles, skies, and tightly spandexed bodies, I found myself in 4th behind Zack Strong. 

I knew from past experience that his namesake describes him well and felt if I stayed with him I could be in the running.   The course was brutal, with soft snow underfoot, we climbed for 25k to the top of a ridge far from anything. By this time, I had dropped Zack while he shed some clothes and was skiing more or less alone.

Over the next hour or so, I would bonk then unbonk, get lost, rebonk, get passed, get passed a few more times, experience complete bio-mechanic shutdown, and eventually, drag myself to the finish in 7th.  Zack played it smart and flew by me with a kilometer or so to go.  

Whilst I was in a complete state of delirium at the finish, the race of the year was unfolding behind me.  Jeffy, Brian, Laurel and Shaun were in a heated battle.  In the end, Jeff came out the victor, barely holding off a late charging Laurel at the finish line, Brian followed and Shaun, who veered way off course, pulled in a few minutes later.  

I'm sure Jeff would like to thank the infamous Joel Brown for his one and only "Hot Bacon Aid-Station" at the 40k mark.  That crispy, cured pork undoubtedly gave him the fuel needed to hold off Laurel in that final kilometer.

After a hot bowl of chili and cornbread, we headed home with sore legs and droopy eyes.  

Nice work everyone, 

Matty Ice

      

  

 

4 x 8 Minutes of Pain Cave Spelunking

This is my first year riding the trainer and it has revealed itself to be a whole new breed of physical punishment. You’re not concerned with balance, people around you, hills, or any kind of obstacle so all you have to think about is working hard. This has fostered an ever growing familiarity with pain and has allowed me to explore my pain cave deeper and more thoroughly than ever before. Oh, the discoveries that await me! I have hardly scratched the surface! Tonight I had a particularly insightful visit...and here it is...

First, the warm-up. I’m out in a field. It’s nice and sunny there but there are dark clouds looming in the distance around a cave. For some horribly stupid reason (curiosity, probably) 10-15 minutes later I leave the nice sunny field and enter “MY PAIN CAVE”.

Minutes 1-2: This place sucks! It’s like pedaling through gravel as all the junk gets flushed out of my legs and my blood starts pumping. I keep running into bats and cobwebs, it’s really narrow, and I hate the music in here. But I keep going.

Minutes 2-4: Why is this cave going uphill? My legs are already burning and I’m breathing fire but it doesn’t feel that bad. That jerk in the diesel truck who always flips me off tries to pass me, but he can’t match my power. Next up, it’s my high school soccer coach also in a diesel truck. I annihilate him! So long to those losers as well as all the dogs that have ever chased me and that one defender from Stevensville.

Minutes 4-6: The cave starts to open up. This part’s still really hard but I feel like pain isn’t such a bad thing. I kind of like it, almost. Then, in the distance, I see my power animal! It’s a red fox. It says something really inspirational and moving but I’m too hypoxic to understand so I just smile and nod.

Minutes 6-8: My arteries are pumping battery acid but it’s too late to turn back. I have no idea how much further I have so I decide to just push through to the end and hope I make it. Finally, there’s a light and I hear Dusty Slivka yelling something. I don’t care what it is but I just want it to be over with so I take it up another notch that I didn’t know existed. Muscle fibers are literally exploding and then all of sudden it’s time to relax.

Cool down: yadeyahe, yadeyaha, yadeyahaha my life (hey,ey,ey,ey,ey,ey) my life (hey,ey,ey,ey,ey) My life (woo) my life...

And So it Begins...

Happy First Day Back UM Cycling  Folks!

Today marks the beginning of our of our climb to the top! Take good notes, dazzle a teacher or two,  before you know it we'll be skipping class to head west and put our hard work to the test. 

Thank you to everyone who made it out on Thursday...Yes all 16! of you!!! These Tuesday Thursday "Pain Cave Visits" will continue all the way up until we start racing. If you are thinking about racing with the Grizzlies this year, getting on the bike now is key! Again, 7:00 in the WPEM LAb every Tuesday and Thursday. 

spread the word, rumor has it he have 24 interested riders, lets get 'em out!

Something to look forward to: Celebrity Riders have been scheduled to join these rides to give both insight and advice to the collegiate scene and road racing in general. 

Welcome to UM Ivy!

Sludge

Another week of 20 degree weather, overcast skies, and old crusty snow. So, what to do? This is the time of year that if you want life to be exciting you have to make fun for yourself or get really excited about events that or only slightly less mundane. Anyway this week's highlights besides Dusty's superbly designed trianer rides were the giant batch of chocolate milk that I made and Friday's lunch at the MT Club. I wanted to make something delicious to drink for post-trainer rides so I mixed an entire gallon of milk with a whole container of Ovaltine. The fact that I even care to write about this is a testament to my week.

So the other highlight was Friday's lunch at the MT Club. Matty, Bryce, JDunph and I went there to surprise Ivy and lunched with her after she punched out. Really no special reason at all besides we're excited that she is officially signed up for classes and ready to race for UM. Also, I'm especially glad the guys made it out even after a filling Man's Breakfast Club

Me: Bryce, we're going to surprise Ivy at work tommorrow.

Bryce: Why, is it her birthday?

Me: No.

That about sums up my week...absolutely riveting I know.

Untill next time,

Lindsy B Campbell

Getting Golden

This past weekend, Elliot and I headed down south, originally, to the race the Rock 'n Roll Marathon. It was not to be however, over the past 5 weeks I had narrowly survived a fit of anti-biotic resistant TB and Elliot couldn't run more than a mile on a pesky stress fracture. In the end, we found ourselves on the sidelines.

Not all was lost. We decided to take advantage of our 48 hours of sunshine by renting road bikes and logging as many sun-drenched miles as our legs could handle.

We went to Tempe Bicycles that afternoon to pick up a matching pair of Masi road frames. What they lacked in performance (each weighing close to 400 lbs, decked out with Shimano 105 or lower) they made up for in....well, nothing at all. They were grade A pieces of shit. With the knowledge that the shifty piece of American engineering between my legs could rattle apart at any moment, I kicked off and headed north.

Never having any idea where I'm going, I let Elliot do the navigating. We charged for two hours into a head wind. Looking down out my shapeless, rubbery, atrophying legs; I felt like a slightly fuzzier, much whiter version of Gumby. Being out of shape sucks. Eventually, our route took us far from town into the red rocks and scrub brush of southern Arizona. Luckily, after about 40 miles we turned back towards town and the wind pushed us home. The first ride of the season was a killer.

The next morning we rose early and did the same ride before the plane ride home. We both felt stronger and the desert sunrise was unforgettable. We made it to Missoula that evening, with slight tan lines and enough vitamine D to get us through 'till spring.

Everyone, start getting juiced for a spring break training trip. There is nothing better than putting in day after day, of long, hard (that's what she said) sun-soaked miles with your best friends.

Signing off,

Matty