The Racing Season is Upon Us! - 03/11/07

In just 3 weeks, the racing season will officially open on April 1st, with the Koppenberg race in Louisville. Feedback Sports will be well-represented in both the 4s and 3s. Those of us who moved up to the 3s are confident the switch will occur fairly smoothly. Despite the heightened competition, we raced every bit as fast - and, in a good number of cases, faster - than the 3s did last year (when we were spurring the flanks of the 4s).

My goals are totally focused on the 15-day stretch in July which spans 3 consecutive weekends of racing and hits 3 of the 4 State Champ races - the crit, followed by the HC (also the national championship), and then the RR. This and the fact that 3s races are, for the most part, longer than the 4s races, training consistently this winter was pretty important.

I just looked back at my training log and compared where I am today to the same time last year. In short, it's all good. I've logged more hours on the bike, have put in signficantly more long rides, and am leaner and stronger. Despite the quirky winter we've had which dumped more snow in the valley than I can remember in the past 15 years and brought with it some brutally cold spells which prohibited riding outside for weeks at a stretch. And I have yet to start ramping things up! As an example, I'm about 2 minutes behind my litmus test up Flagstaff Mountain - the climb I use as a benchmark for my climbing fitness. But, it's early-March, so where I am at is about perfect. If I'm 2 minutes behind come June, then I'll be worried!

The team is gelling well, training well and I'm confident we'll show solid results in both categories. While April racing won't necessarily tell the tale of how the entire season will go, it certainly will set the tone. I, for one, am excited to get out there and start racing!

Ride safe,
Nate