Update & Preview

2009 has not progressed as I had hopped. Accidents, Injuries, Work, and Weather all successfully conspired to derail my plans for the year.

It goes without saying that my preparation for this year's MassBike Pike tour has been a shadow of last year's. Factor in the fact, this year's tour is hillier (including a mountain ascent) with a quicker pace, and things don't look good for me.

That all being said, today's tune-up ride gives me some hope. The hills were bad and the gradients were aggressive, but my legs reacted properly. Two weeks ago I was struggling up these hills, but a week of intensive hill repeats and focusing on my climbing rhythm seems to have paid dividends. Of course, the true test comes in four days.