Preparation Begins

So two days ago I registered for the 2011 Butte 50 endurance mountain bike race. I have a training plan, with hourly goals by week, leading up to the race at the end of July. I have a big spreadsheet I have built in Google Docs to track my training and planning. Unfortunately it is still quite wintery out there in this neck of the woods, with a few inches of snow falling two nights ago and still remaining on the roads.

Fed Ex brought me a bike scale and some racey tires on Friday. I have all sorts of things to change for this years race after my experience last year. I have decided tires are the number one upgrade for the least amount of money. I was basically on heavy DH oriented tires last year which had the most rolling resistance possible. So I begin with some low profile race tires for starters. I got the scale to see how much my bikes and parts weigh. I am no weight weenie, but my good friend Josh's advice was to race a bike that is "25lbs max." I think my Heckler last year was around 35! I would ultimately like to have a whole new bike built up for endurance racing by the time the race rolls around, but can't quite afford to do that yet. I will be selling some old bikes, and hopefully my dirt bike to fund this project.

Here is my winter training bike setup:


It is heavy and slow, and that's just fine for ramming around on the snowcovered roads. I don't have studded tires, just big 2.4 knobbies. Studs don't seem to be neccessary here on account that it usually stays cold enough that the snow stays snowy and doesn't get super icy.

Training Hours so far this year:
Jan: 22.8
Feb: 20.1

This time has been a mix of running, backcountry splitboarding, and biking. It has been less than I planned, but more than I have done before in this part of the year. March is usually the turning point when you can really get out on the road around here so hopefully I can ramp it up this month. It may still snow, but the daytime temps and sun are usually enough to melt it off within a day or so. My work is located along one of my favorite after-work routes in Bozeman, so that will help this year with mid-week training efforts. Not far also from Hyalite road, which is a good 12 mile climb which I will be doing intervals on plenty often!

The motivation and focus I am feeling for towards this race goal is something different and new for me. I know I am not going to do great at it, but I just want to do good for myself and my abilities. It's making me get out there and be in the outdoors more which at base is really the best thing I can think of for personal well being. Overall I think this is going to make for a fun year!