The Third Week of January

The third week in January I was not training quite as much (only 1 hr on the bike). I didn't feel that great on Thursday and Friday, and with my girlfriend Caroline coming to visit, I didn't want to risk getting worse. I did do some good cross training with some weight lifting and a few days on the cross country skis.

But the best part was Caroline's visit. We had a great time, made some really good meals, did a little bit of shopping at the Hadley mall, and went cross country skiing. Below is a picture of our skiing adventure, isn't she pretty?



A nice shot of my favorite horses:


In other news I renewed my Blockbuster online account, so I will be able to get more movies for the trainer. I am starting with the first season of the TV show 24, it comes highly recommended by Nick, who once claimed then when he grows up he wants to be a mix of "Jason Bourne, Jack Bower, and Bruce Wayne." That is a direct quote, and Jack Bauer is the hero in 24 series.

On another note we had a snow day on Wednesday, my first one in about five years. So I decided to celebrate and Sean and I went skiing up at Mt. Snow. It was snowing the whole time and the conditions were great. Below is a picture taken by Sean before we ripped the double diamond:

Training in the second week of January

The second week of Januray was a pretty good week for training. As I am working in the lab full time I unfortunately can't do too much outside because when I get out its dark outside, this leaves me with the weekends and indoor activities. I rode the trainer like ushual, watching some great movies like Joe Dirt and Ray. I hit the gym one day and actually enjoyed myself, doing lots of reps and sets at a lower weight, so I am looking forward to this Wednesday when I plan to hit the gym again. But the highlight of the week was going skiing at Mt. Snow on Sunday. I went with Sean and we were out for about 4 horus. We had some fresh snow, the temperature was just right, and it has been about two months since I skied last, so it was great.

On another note, I got my new UMASS kit (jersey and shorts) and I have to say they look great. They are from Giordana, a brand I have not had before, and they made a great initial impression with a nice fit and nice initial quality. Below you can see my sporting the new outfit, unshaved legs and all, and below that you can see a close look at the back.

The First week of 2009

The first week of 2009 turned out be a great one. I started working in my lab and throughly enjoyed that, and after work I pretty much just rode my bike. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit on the trainer for the Lord of The Rings Trilogy, those movies are great. I also watched Get Smart, which although it looked a little cheesy, was actually pretty funny. Another movie I watched was I Spy, it is not very popular but it had Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson and it is absolutely great, perhaps my favorite comedy, you should check it out. I also purchased Joe Dirt today, so I am looking forward to that (it was $5, worth it in my opinion). I should start up a blog about movie reviews, hmmmm.

I also made my first trip to the gym to lift weights. For a warm up a ran a mile, thats right, a entire mile. I then just did some really light lifting to get my legs back in the swing of things and practice technique on the squats. I ended up being sore for about four days even though I liften relatively lightly, I am sure the sorness time will decrease as I get used to lifting.
On Sunday I was originally going to go downhill skiing with Sean, but I ended up cancelling because I was still sore from lifting (so I made an awesome breakfast).


The day ended up being beautiful so I grabbed the cross country skis and headed out for about an hour. It was a perfect day, and it was fun to explore some of the cross country options. I had some great views, including one with a horse with everything covered in snow, and Mt. Sugarloaf in the background, it was pretty nice (but I didn't bring my camera!)

Goodbye Cycletherapy, Hello Bikers Edge

I am happy to announce that for the 2009 season I will be riding on the Bikers Edge Cycling Team. The team is based out of the Bikers Edge bike shop in Bristol, CT . I went down to meet the team manager Matt and the owner Bob in December and I was really impressed with the shop, so I took a bunch of pictures and made a panaromic shot showing the lower level (if you click on it you can see it better):

Although I am very excited about the new team I am sad to leave the Cycletherapy Racing Team. I had two good years on the team, and many good years with teh bike shop. I would like to thank everyone involved for the great experience, especially the shop owner Ernie, who helped me get my first racing bike and was very supportive throughout my time there. I hope the team continues to grow and improve, and I look forward to stopping by the shop when I head home.