Training and More Training

So you are probably wondering why Seagate would send me to Singapore...well, the answer is training. No, not bike training, work training. I am here deploying and training the Singapore team on a new piece of metrology that a co-worker and I developed. It started out as a skunkworks project based on some ideas he and I were kicking around, but has quickly exploded. We now have sent replicate testers to Colorado, Singapore (duh), China, and Thailand, and more are being requested every day. I can't really talk about what it is or does because it is very confidence IP. I can tell you that it is being accepted well and the training is going better than we anticipated.
If the post project reward is as expected we may be getting another carbon family member...although my basement is getting full=)
I am getting a lot of the other kind of training done too...I started to get carried away and am forcing myself to rest today, so I took a easy 1 hour spin along the SE coast this morning.

I will update with this weekends activities...gonna go exploring on 2 wheels.

Singin' In the Rain

This morning it poured...but it was warm and I was up at 4:30 AM (hey it feels like 2:30 PM to me) so I rode in the rain. I passed another biker that was riding along with an umbrella...and he was singing=) I ended up riding along the coast for a good long while. It was quite pleasant.

When I got back, I took a few shots of the view on my room's balcony. I am staying in the tallest building in Singapore (or so I was told) on the 34th floor.

The skyline

The hotel pools

The equator

I am writing from far far away.
I am off the southern tip of Malaysia in Singapore.
My training/travel fuel is with me.
It feels good to hammer w/out hurting my lungs.
I found 20 miles of super sweet single track and rode myself silly on Sunday.
I still can't sleep much at night so I rode at 5:30 am this morning...dropped it in the dog (big ring and smallest cog) and raced some cabbies.
Now, I must work...updates and pics will follow eventually.

Breaking away

Who needs a break away frame?

I thought I did until the Rochester Cycling and Fitness Czar suggested I get an travel Fuel instead. Well, it worked like a charm, and now I can bring a replica of my race bike along WITHOUT paying the absurd airline charges.

Why do I need a travel bike now? ...to avoid over $400 in airline charges over the next month. I am headed on a business trip to Singapore for two and half weeks (leaving in a couple weeks). They wanted me to go to China and Thailand too. I opted out for now, but I am sure I will be going to one or both in the next year at some point. Following that, Jen's dad was nice enough to fly us down to the condo they rent down at Marco Island Florida. Basically, I am gone for the month of March and am hoping to return to more reasonable weather.

Oh, and a teaser...it is here, the new race rig. Details to follow in late March when it is complete. Charly "Jo Mama" is still helping me gather and assemble all the secret weapons=)

Ice Racin'

At 11:30 am I decided to head up to the Chili Chili Ice Race that started at noon....

I totally fried my legs on Friday in a hockey game and on Saturday during a hard tempo 3.5 hour snowmobile trail ride, so I had basically ruled out any type of intensity on Sunday. I was leaving my house for an easy spin and decided my legs didn't hurt bad enough yet, so I turned around after 5 minutes, hopped in the car and headed to Bush Lake.

After the first corner when several people were out of the saddle hammering I realized why most were running homemade studded tires (sheetmetal screws strategically placed through the studs of mountain bike tires). I had factory made Nokian studded tires that were just good enough to keep me upright.

Out of the gate, I took it easy and was 50 -75 yards behind the leaders on the first straight. I caught them quickly at the bottom of the one climb (maybe the size of the pavement climb at buck hill) and had a 13 second lead by the top. I was thinking, sweet, this isn't so bad...then it started. I crashed on the sketchy downhill and hit my nuts on the handlebar. I took my time getting back on the bike for obvious reasons. After 3 more falls that lap, I decided I should take it easy. I fell probably 15 times or so during the race mostly on the ice and sketchy downhill, but by the end, I just sat in and had a little fun. Thanks to Dana for the pictures.