The Dream

The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my experiences as I transform myself from recreational road cyclist to Cat 5 jugernaut. I realize that as far as goals go this is shooting a bit lower than the Olympics or the Tour de France but I'm over 40 so I need to be realistic.

My plan is to start a winter training program on Dec 3rd, to prepare me for the Cat 5 crit season at Rodale park in Trexlertown, PA. Across the street from Rodale park is the Trexlertown velodrome. I'm lucky to live in the area I consider the epicenter of USA cycling for all areas not in Colorado.

I started riding road bikes in 2008. It was a way to stay in shape and have some fun. To this point all of my time has been spent in training for century and double century group rides. I like the endurance events but I've started to become more aggressive on these rides and want to go faster every time. Recently I met a guy who had raced at the Jr. National level when he was younger and he suggested I find the local crit series. I found it and now I want to see how fast I can be. Don't get me wrong, I'm just an average guy with an average VO2 max and a higher than average ability to suffer.

I'm not currently in the greatest of shape although I'm not dreadfully out of shape either. I'm 5'10" 174 lbs. I plan on dropping some weight over the next 4 months as I go through my training program. 165 seems reasonable based on power to weight ratios I hope to get to. I also don't want to be one of those 5'10" 135 pound waifs that can climb like a billy goat but doesn't have enough strength to carry thier own groceries.

My hope is that you can derive some useful details from my experiences that will limit your mistakes and increase your chances for success.

Me (on the right) and my little brother just after finishing the Seattle to Portland double century.