I like bikes

I've always liked bikes. But this last weekend got me so excited about bikes again that it's pretty much all I can talk about.

I started bike fitting approximately 7 years ago. It's one of the most rewarding things I've learned to do as a physical therapist. There's nothing quite like seeing the smile on someone's face when they bring in that new bike and then seeing that smell get bigger when you fit them in such a way that their low back no longer hurts in their hands stop going numb. This last weekend I took level II, the silver level, of the bike PT certification. This program was started by Erik Moen PT. He has an extensive background in competitive cycling and fits the best of the best in the Pacific Northwest.

So my goal over the next few weeks is to share a bit of what I learned or was reminded of. First off lets talk cleats.

I did a bike fit today and the rider had very worn cleats resulting in more play on the pedal than there should have been.

It reminded me to check and replace my own cleats on my commuter/mtn shoes. These are SPD and they were so rusted in I couldn't get one screw out and had to take a hacksaw to it. The new cleats are working great and I should've replaced them about 8 months ago!

Cleats are cheap and work so much better when they are new. Most cleats have a wear marker on them that you can check. If you let your cleats go too long, it can damage your shoe. A damaged pair of shoes is a lot more expensive than a pair of cleats. This truly is a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Happy riding.

Saddle Sores 101

I did everything you were supposed to do. I found a saddle that worked, I found shorts that worked, I trialed different creams/lubricants, I had my bike fit to me... I have never had saddle sores before but I got them at TransPortugal. I think the difference was that I was off road and the bumping and jarring led to friction blisters over my sit bones.While the reasons why are important, what I want to share here is what to do once you have them.

First of all, stock up on hydrocolloid dressings. These aren't obvious at the pharmacy but you can often find them as a blister care dressing like these that I used. This is actually a nice summary on why hydrocolloids work and how to use them.

But beware, although these dressings are meant to be left in place for multiple days, that's not going to work on a multi-day stage race. You'll have to change them everyday and you'll have to tape them in place to make sure they don't move. Here are your step by step instructions:

1) Clean the wound and the area you expect to tape well with alcohol. You have to get rid of any skin oil or lotions or the tape and dressing won't stay in place.

2) Apply the dressing to the saddle sore.

3) Tape the dressing in place using Kinesiotape. Cut the tape to the desired length and use scissors to round out the corners. Stand on one leg with the opposite foot (the side to be taped) on a chair simulating the position your leg will be in at the top of the pedal stroke. Rip off about 1 inch of the backing on the kinesiotape and apply it without any stress or tension on the tape. Rub it in place to get a good contact point, then tension the tape along it's length as you apply it to the skin, covering the dressing and holding it in place. Leave about 1 inch at the end to be applied to the skin without tension.

4) Grease up with your preferred skin lube over any other friction areas like at the edges of the chamois and seams. I like A&D Lotion, it's cheap and it works.

5) Put on your favorite riding shorts.

6) Put on a second pair of riding shorts. Then go out and ride again.

This routine got me through about another 700 km of mostly off-road riding and my saddle sores were actually healing, not getting worse. Trust me, this works.

TransPortugal, revisited.

I'm home now and a little depressed. You remember the build up to Christmas then the let down when it was all over. It's like that only 10 times worse. I achieved a great thing at TransPortugal, I found my limits and there is something truly spiritual about taking it to your physical edge. It's a way of getting to know yourself deeply.

To continue...

Stage 3 - The Mountain Stage

I woke very stiff and my sit bones were super sore. No open wounds but so tender I was worried I wouldn't be able to tolerate being in the saddle all day. Tom suggested I do a 2 short day and that helped the tenderness even if it didn't help my dead legs get up that first steep hill. In my mind, if I could make it through this day, I could finish the whole race.

There were 3 bigs climbs in the day. Kim Kreb and I started together each day. She is a better climber and is all around faster and fitter than I am, so it's nearly impossible for me to stay with her. But there is some technical descending on day 3 and I was able to pass her on a difficult Roman cobble descent. Then it was all over. She regained a lead on me in no time on the next climb. There were large portions of the climbs that I could not ride. They were steep, I was tired and I was running a 2 x 10 drivetrain. I walked, a lot, but it was apparent very quickly that when I walked, I wasn't going that much slower than those who were passing me. In fact, I was giving my back and my bum a break while being pretty efficient about going up.

In the end, I finished the stage with 1 hour or so to spare, rocked the technical descents and was featured in the stage's video of the day. That's me from 3:23 on. The stage finished with a chilly fast 10 km descent on pavement into the town of Unhais de Serra, and the very fancy H2Otel.

When I showered I was unhappy to find an open area over my left sit bone but I was exstatic with my performance for the day. For the first time since starting the race I felt like I was going to make it to the finish line.

Stage 4 - A rest day???

I now had the task of getting up even earlier each day to clean, dress and tape my saddle sores to keep them from getting worse. My morning routine was now taking about 1.5 hours and eating further into my sleep time but I was assured that this day was going to be easier.

Apparently 110 km is a rest day in Portugal. To be fair, the first 80 km were relatively flat. Well Portuguese flat which really means rolling. Then we headed up into the amazing villiage of Monsanto. This is one of the oldest settlements in Portugal with houses build into the stones.

When I say up, I mean really up, like greater than 15% grade on Roman cobbles. Ouch.

The rest of the day was rolling and while it may have felt like a rest day to my fellow racers, it didn't to me. The cumulative fatigue was beginning to be a problem.

Stage 5 - Another 144 km with 40 km of climbing at the end??!!

The first 100 km of this day were glorious. Relatively flat with a lot of pavement to give my tush a rest. I was able to stay with Kim for that time and we helped each other out by taking turns drafting. Then the climbing started and I was on my own again. By the end of the day I had finished the stage with about 1.5 hours to spare on the clock. The stage ends with a nasty climb up Roman cobbles, again, to another amazing hilltop villiage, Castelo de Vide. The first signs of knee trouble started to appear...

Stage 6 - The longest day, 165 km.

I woke exhausted and not confident. The weather was perfect, overcast and cool. The first 30 km of the stage were the hardest with some significant climbing but then we were headed into the Alantejo, the farming plains, were the obstacles would be gates instead of hills.

I rode 40 or so km, was having increasing knee pain and was not fast enough to make it to the finish of the stage in the cut-off times. I had tried pushing harder but the knee pain would get worse. I was miserable and had been for nearly 4 hours without any sign of my attitude turning around no matter how many mental tricks I tried. I had to make a choice, push on and risk likely being pulled off the course late in the stage, exhausted or pull out at the 53 km mark at the next checkpoint, get some rest and hope to come back better for the last 3 stages. I decided to pull out. It was a hard choice and I cried when I got in the truck. But the people of TransPortugal are amazing, they consoled me and hugged me like family. I have come to think of them as family, especially Anontio Fael, Lena Ferreira, Pedro Cardoso and Jose Carlos.

There is no race anywhere in the world that can compete with TransPortugal in terms of the Staff.

I hung out at Checkpoint 3 for a while, taking a nap in the truck until Tom came through. He was ready to quit but was convinced otherwise by a Portuguese rider and he went on to have a pretty good day. I went on to have a pretty good rest.

I don't regret my decision to stop that day, even more than a week later when hindsight is 20/20. I know that I was heading for a collapse of some sort and choosing to stop that day held it off and allowed me to finish  the next 3 days.

Stage 7 - What a difference a day can make.

I woke excited about the day ahead of me and while my legs certainly weren't fresh, they were world's better than they had been. I still had saddle sores to deal with but my management stragety was working and they actually seemed to be getting better, not worse.

On this day other riders started having a lot of trouble with gut issues. A virus was going through the ranks, not just the riders but the staff and the companions. By the end of the day, as many as 10 people would be in hospital getting IVs. My starting buddy Kim was affected. The day was long but relatively flat with a fair bit of pavement riding. I decided at the start of the day that the best thing I could do was to stay with Kim all day and make sure she was OK and finished.

It was a long day. Made longer by my mistake of washing all the sunblock off my hands at about km 50 when I spilled perpetuem on them. I had no gloves on and this resulted in a fairly siginificant sunburn. Kim finished with a very unhappy tummy and I rolled in with her, tired but happy with my day. We only had about 45 min to spare on the clock. It makes it difficult to recover when you have so little time in the evening after each stage.

Stage 8 - Another 140 plus km with a ton of climbing!!??

Well, I was exhausted again, my knee was hurting at breakfast and I couldn't eat much. I was looking at one of the hardest stages of the race and not feeling very confident. I went back to the hotel room after breakfast complaining of knee pain and not knowing if I should start. I wanted to tape my knee but I didn't think I'd make my start time. Tom convinced me to tape it even if it meant I was late to my start. So I did a quick clean, dry, tape and wrap and managed to make it to the start just in time. Kim was feeling better and was ready to return the favour today by riding with me all day long.

It was a hell of a day and I will save you the details. Needless to say, I was a really grumpy girl when I turned up that last steep pitch when I thought I was done climbing. Grumpy enough to get off my bike bike to walk and curse a bit. This seemed to amuse Kim somewhat. We rolled into the finish with less than 45 min to spare and I headed straight into the bar for a beer. I knew that if I could finish this stage, I could make it to the sea the next day. I don't think I've ever been more proud of a finish. This day took all I had to get it done.

Stage 9 - How hard can 99 km be?

The last day. The easiest stage. Not flat but short and by km 50 you are riding along cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean with the most amazing views you can imagine. Many ride this day with an easy effort. That was my intention, I wanted to be a tourist. I wanted to stop at cafes and soak up the views, bask in my accomplishment. I did that, for about 45 km then I hooked up with Tom and he pushed me, as hard as I dared go for the last the leg of the journey.

I don't remember much about the stats. I know I came in much earlier than I normally would compared to other riders. It was a beautiful day and the sights did not disappoint.At the end there was beer and food and the sea. And joy.

Here's the day's video. I get a quick shot at 2:00, Tom and I riding together at 2:50 and of course in the staff and athlete shot at the end.

Bottom line: This is an amazing race. It's challenging but worth every bit of misery in what you get back in views, new friendships and support from the race organization.

There's always a first time for everything.

Today was my first DNF for anything other than a mechanical. The cumulative fatigue of 5 long days in the saddle caught up to me. Listen to the interview in this link for the details.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/overthetop1/2013/05/09/over-the-top-radio--trans-portugal--tom-and-cassie

I'm still proud of myself. And I'll come back stronger on the last 3 stages.

In the last 6 days I've ridden my mountain bike 660 km, most of it off road but not true single track. In about 48 or so hours with plenty of climbing, some of it at grades greater than 20%.

Currently I'm in a love/hate relationship with Roman cobbles.

Cassie

Why type when you can link.

Here's the link to the first radio interview Tom and I did with George Thomas. It's a good summary of the race overall.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/overthetop1/2013/05/06/over-the-top-radio--trans-portugal--tom-and-cassie-1

I'll post another link soon with our latest interview.

Cassie

4 stages down, 5 to go

Honestly, I'm exhausted and the thought of writing a blog post is the last thing on my mind.

Here's how a typical TransPortugal day goes:
Wake up really stiff, take 10 min just to get moving. Morning hygiene, apply sunscreen until you look like a mime, eat breakfast at the hotel (yum), finish getting bottles, gel etc ready then sit on your bike and pedal for 8 to 10 hours, eat a ton at the finish, shower and do laundry, clean bikes, eat dinner, prep for the next day and pass out. There is no free time and I'm only getting about 7 hours of sleep a night. Not enough really, but it'll have to do.

Day 1, 142 km. with tons of climbing and rollers.

I woke up and cursed when I remembered what was coming. The first day is the hardest day according to many. I really wasn't sure I could do it in the allowed time. I did, with 1 hour to spare.

The highlights were amazing flowers, great food at the finish line and getting to ride with Tom for the second half.

The most terrifying moment was when a huge, (imagine a street gang version of a white Newfoundlander), dog made a very aggressive a serious chase as I went by. I have never been scared of a dog to that extent.

The day was full of highs and lows for both of us. In the end it was sweet with us cruising the finish line together. Tom wasn't having a good day in general and chose to stay with me. I couldn't have finished without his support.

Day 2, 110 km. moderate climbing.

Woke up stiff and tired. Holy crap, my ass is already really sore, how the hell am I going to do this for another 8 days. Surprisingly, I started riding well and Tom was on too. So we had a sweet moment filing our packs at a water stopin a fortified villiage at the top of the hill. We kissed and he was off. I continued to ride well until I kind of fell apart at km 90. Then it was a 20 km death march. It builds character, right?

More on day 3, 4 and beyond later. Now it's time to sleep. 144 km tomorrow.

Sent from Samsung Galaxy Tab powered by T-Mobile

Made it to Braganca

28 hours of travel to get from Hood River to Lisbon.

48 hours later we're mostly past the jet lag. 9 of those hours to get from Lisbon by bus. I got a good look at the terrain we'll be crossing the first day of the race. It looks steep and rolling. Right now my best estimate is about 11 hours for day 1.

We've seen cork and olive trees on the terraced hillside, a stork at the roadside and wild flowers.

There are lots of friendly and very fit looking folks here. It's going to be fun, in a sick sort of a way.

Registration day tomorrow. A nerve racking day of bike building line ups and meetings. The goal for tomorrow is to maintain my sanity.

Blog revival inspired by John Lovie Sr.

When you're a kid, especially a teen, there are so many things that influence you. Obviously your family plays a huge role. But if you're lucky enough like I was, you might have two families that you're very close to. For me my second family was hugely important in my life. The family led by John Lovie Sr.

John's daughter Alison and I became close friends in junior high school. I spent as much time at the Lovie household as I did at my own. John and Janice became my adopted parents. Please don't misinterpret this, there was nothing wrong with my own parents, I was just lucky enough to have a second very loving family take me into their lives and show me many ways to live that were different from my own home. I'm sure that Alison would say the same about my parents, particularly my Mom, since we were either at her house or mine for 5 years straight.

The Lovies taught me to play hockey and helped me find my athleticism.

They taught me that I was loved beyond the expected love of my biological family.

They taught me how to navigate on a road trip. I still love road trips.

They taught me to sing out loud even though I'm a terrible singer.

They let me sleep on the floor under their dining room table when I needed a place to crash and there were no beds to be had. I had free access to their house and their kitchen. Those of you who know me, know how much I eat and can understand that this is a big deal.

The Lovies taught me to say "I love you" openly as you never know what might happen. Perhaps you'll never get a chance to say it again.

John Lovie Senior passed away and I didn't manage to get back to Edmonton to say, "I love you", one more time. I hope you know it.

We'll miss you.

I've revived this blog for 2 reasons. To express my feelings about John's passing and to get the habit going so I can blog about my upcoming race. TransPortugal 2013. I dedicate the greatest race of my life to the memories of my 2 dads, Ronald James Nobbs and John Lovie Sr.

"Well, that depends."

There's been something on my mind lately. Why is it that we all believe ourselves to be unique individuals and yet as a race, humans readily buy into ideas that are marketed as the one right solution? Why do we jump on the band wagon so quickly? Why is it so hard for us to step back, take a deep breath and problem solve our way to the right answer for us as an individual instead of just grasping onto the latest trend?

I had a strained conversation with a client this week that had me thinking about this. He asked me what seems to be a simple question, "What is the better way to train, aerobically or anaerobically?"

My answer was, "Well, that depends." Then I asked him what his goals were. His answer was to be fit. Then I said, "What does fit mean to you? What is your specific fitness goal?" He didn't have an answer for me. He wanted me to give him the one right answer. What I told him was that there is no one right answer. There is only knowledge to draw from and to help us find our way but only if we know what our goal is.

In my experience, that is precisely what most people do not want to hear. And I wonder why that is. Is it that people don't want to have to ask themselves the questions they need to to define their goals? How can you find the right path if you don't know what the desired destination is? If one person wants to go to Alaska and another to Europe, it makes absolutely no sense that they would follow the same path to their destinations.

So if we're willing to accept that each of us is different, how can we expect simple answers to our questions? There is no black and white, only shades of grey. Why are people so uncomfortable with grey?

Strong Chicks Workout Sept. 29

I'm in the middle of my fall push to get people on some strength training and injury prevention. This is the perfect time of year to do it.

As part of this plan, I will be posting examples of overviews of some workouts we do do in my Strong Chicks Strength and Conditioning class on my blog if you're interested in seeing what we've been up to.

The goal of these classes is to get in a whole body workout in one hour. We use body weight based exercises including some plyometrics, some light weights, kettle bells and resistance bands. I try to change it up frequently in terms of the types of exercises we do and the speed we do them. Usually we use a circuit format to minimize down time between exercises.

All of my classes emphasize functional strength, core strength and balance work. Not only will the exercise help people perform better in their chosen sport but it works as great injury prevention.

Here's what we did last Thursday night:

• Medicine ball warm-up
• Dynamic warm-up to prep for running
• 6 times through very short (around 10 sec) hard fast running drills
• Running against band resistance and band resisted biceps
• Pull-up (assisted), partial body weight push-up using exercise ball, squats
• Beginner kipping pull-up, Bosu push-ups, glutes!!
• A whole bunch of different core exercises and triceps using the Bosu ball and medicine balls.

Classes are Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm. I keep the class size very small (5 maximum) so that I have time to help people with form and adjust the exercises according to a participant's ability. As such, I cannot take no notice drop-ins. If you'd like to attend class, please contact me directly to confirm that I have room on the night you wish to attend.

The cost is $15 per class but a discount is available if you turn out to be a regular and wish to pay for several classes in advance.

Have fun and play hard. Life is too short to do it any other way.

Cassie

Reflecting on near disaster

High Cascades 100 was the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than Ironman, in my opinion. Mostly because this race took me longer (by 4 hours than my slowest IM finish) and you don't have the benefit of changing activities to break things up. I registered for this race knowing that it would be a true test of my limits. I wasn't sure I could finish 100 miles on a mountain bike. Of course, the biggest challenges present the greatest learning opportunities.

The race started from Wanoga Snow Park outside of Bend OR at 5:45 am. The race was presented as a 100 miler but in the previous 2 years it had been closer to 98 miles. This year we were told that it would it would be 103 miles with 14 000 feet of climbing. It turned out to be 108. It doesn't seem like much, 5 miles, but those 5 miles turned out to be very significant.

I won't bore you with excessive details of the race. Suffice to say that there were a lot of ups and downs. Moments when I was miserable enough to cry, and moments when I giggled with delight as I floated down beautiful single track, swooping on banked corners and easily gliding over drops and log overs. Then I came to mile 75.

The Swampy aid station was the first time cut off. I had just struggled through several miles of climbing with nothing in the tank, a back that was so sore I couldn't climb more that 50% of the time, even on the low grade hills. I made it to Swampy with 30 min to spare, but based on my last few miles, there was no way I was going to make it to the finish line in the light. Tom was there and with his encouragement I continued on to the next aid station, in spite of the fact that I had already been in the saddle for 11:30.

I made the next aid station cut off by less than 10 min. I was in decent shape, still feeling like I had no power but I knew that I had the endurance to make it home. After all, I expected it to only take 2 hours, I was already at mile 87. Unfortunately, I didn't know that I had another 21 miles (the course was longer than advertised) including a huge climb.

2 hours passed, dusk came and I hit 100 miles. I still had to find my way back to the finish in the dark. It turns out, I wasn't alone, there were 14 other riders still out there. I was very happy that I had the foresight to put a headlamp in my pack. It was still a nerve racking hour trying make my way back without overshooting my headlamp, trying to stay alert for course arrows.

When I crossed the finish line. Tom was anxiously awaiting me. He didn't know I had a light and was very worried. I got a big hug from Tom and congratulations from several people. The best was from Justin who manned the last aid station. I can't quote him exactly but it was something to the effect of good job, you probably hate me a little right now. All I could do was stare at him in disbelief. Yes, I did hate him at that moment, 16 hours and 13 min after I had started this crazy adventure. But, in reality, I love Justin. He's worked at several events that I've attended and he does a fantastic job. But sometimes, you have to hate someone when they push you to your edge and he certainly did that.

So here we are 3 days later. I'm still fatigued but not really in pain. This is a vast improvement over my inability to bend over the day after the race. I can stand up for longer than 10 min at a time. I can stay awake for more than 2 hours and I'm not waking suddenly from dreams of falling off my bike. The numb spot on the base of my neck is almost gone, my hands have stopped cramping and I am ready to get back on my bike.

After I've done something like this I always get asked if I had fun. No, I can't really say that it was fun, but there is nothing like pushing yourself to your limit to help discover who you are. That is priceless.

Happy riding.
Cassie

Almost 1/3 of the way

Right now I am composing this email from the car. I am with my massage teammates as we are heading back to H2otel for the end of stage 3. It's been very hard work so far. I am tired.

The Race, Day 1:

The first day was wet and very muddy. Kate, a Canadian-Norwegian was bitten badly by a large dog but still managed to come in 4th overall. There are some very fast women here this year.

Tom had a tough first day. No major problems but lots of little issues that added up to a frustrating day that was slower than he had hoped for. Three mud was horrible and in spite of being very tired he had to do a loot of work on his bike. On the up side, the route was beautiful, the day not too hot and our hotel was a lovely stone B&B in a farm setting. Homemade everything for breakfast including yogurt. It reminded me of my grandma.

The massage area was chaos the first night. We all did our best, but it was tough. All of us working until 11 pm at least. I did 12 massages. This will be my own endurance event of sorts.

Day 2:

Riders were already starting to show signs of fatigue. Kate had another great day in spite of her dog bite. A lady in an older age group is also doing very well, Anne Van de Broeke. In this race people start at different times depending on statistics related to gender and age. This means that Anne starts earlier than anyone else. But whoever crosses the finish first winds the stage regardless of how they started. It makes it very exciting because it is quite possible for a woman to win a stage and the young boys all have to chase her down.

Tom had a great day. He felt good, rode all the technical parts well and finished much better than the previous day.

I got worked. 13 massages and couldn't fall asleep until 1am. Back up again at 7 the next morning to eat and head out to the first check point for today.

Day 3:

Anne and Kate came through the first check point first as expected. I became worried when Tom did not come through with his group. It got later and still no Tom. Finally Tom's brother Rich, came through and let me know that Tom had a flat. Not good, but better than an injury. When Tom came through he let me know that he had already had many adventures I will get more of the story later.

Off to the fancy hotel. If we get there soon enough I will get to swim. By the time any one at home reads this, I will be elbow deep in massages.

To be continued...

Cassie

Day 7 - Athena

Tom booked us two nights at the fancy hotel. We arranged to rent a bike for me. After breakfast, we picked up Athena, a very heavy Specialized Hard Rock with mechanical disc brakes.

Tom and I rode for a total of about 4 hours, climbing climbing climbing. Much of it very steep and rocky. At one point we came across a large herd if goats. As we got closer two HUGE dogs jumped up from their nap and started barking. There was one older dog and a younger dog. Three older dog got a good look at us, figured out we were no threat, laid down and got back to his serious business of napping. The other dog marked at us for at least another 45 min. What amazed us was that they were out there, guarding the goats without any human in sight!!

We finished the day with some splashing about in the pools, indulging under the massaging waterfalls then an excellent dinner.

One more night in the fancy hotel. Then slowly driving upheading up to race.

Cassie

Day 6 - The Short Cut

We woke up in Batalha to the sound of church bells outside our window. The little abbey next door made quite a racket. Tom and I decided it had "little church syndrome" and who wouldn't with The Cathedral across the way.

We were the first in The Cathedral that morning, pleasantly surprised to have it nearly to ourselves and with free entry since it was Revolution Day. I do not have words that can describe our experience adequately. Awe inspiring grand spaces. Stone ceilings so high they seemed impossible. Does gravity not have the same effect in these places? Brilliant stained glass casting bright butterflies and stripes of light on the walls and the floor. Stone carvings so delicate, how did the stone not fracture? All of this done with technology that is more than 500 years old!

Try to imagine what life would be like to live as a worker during the construction. You'd be born into your job and die before it's completion.

We left Batalha to head to the mountains. On the way, stopping at a Roman ruins site. Awe inspiring in a different way. Walking on stones, worn deep by people who walked there as many as 2000 years ago. Coming from North America, it's hard to grasp.

We decided to stick to larger roads to get to our fancy hotel in the mountains sooner rather than later. This is not really in keeping with our road trip style, we usually much prefer to get off the beaten path. As we got closer to the mountains, l asked Tom if he'd like to take a "short cut". He looked at me skeptically and asked if I was sure I could navigate us through it, especially given our somewhat serpentine route the day previous. I was confident, so off the beaten path we went.

Now, before I go further I feel a need to defend my decision. Everyone told me that there are no real mountains in Portugal and the roads on the map looked pretty straight. Well, l am here to say that there are serious mountains in Portugal, they may not be tall but they are really steep and the roads look straight on the map because they wind so tightly it would be impossible to map it. Instead they just draw a line in the right general direction. Add this to the fact that there are a million little towns to get turned around in, built in impossible ravines with seriously inadequate signage and you have a recipe for disaster.

I will save you the gory details but in summary:
An extra 2.5 hours traveling time
Roads with grades up to 16%
25% of these roads single lane
Traveling speeds often as low as 25km/hr
1 goat herder complete with herd in the road
Sheer drop offs with no guard rail
The most beautiful villages I have ever seen

We arrived at the fancy H2otel later than planned but much richer for the journey.

Cassie

The magical day

Some days when left unplanned can lead to beautiful coincidences and elegant discovery. This was day 5 in Portugal.

Tom and I had loosely planned to head to two towns that had very old architecture but we left it all open for interpretation and changes on the fly. We started out properly by sleeping in for 2 extra hours to recover from the ride the previous day. In Portugal that means you miss breakfast. So off we went weaving our way out of Lisbon. Cafes are plenty and we found pastries and coffee without trouble.

Our first stop was Tomar, to see a 500 plus year old monastery. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in as it was Easter Sunday. But we had a great look around the outside and snacked on lunch while sitting on an ancient cobblestone road. By road I mean something akin to a sidewalk just wide enough for a horse and carriage.

With some time to absorb the atmosphere, we headed into the town square where we watched children feed and chase the pigeons. It was a perfect afternoon, warm, interesting light created by the high cumulus clouds and happy portuguese taking advantage of their holiday time. Just as we were readying to leave, we heard music. Bagpipes? Really? Yes, bagpipes, drums and a sax, played by men in striped costumes, with face paint. One of them on stilts. It was great. My cheeks hurt I was smiling so broadly.

We left Tomar to head for Batalha to see what promised to be an amazing gothic cathedral. Excited to be on our way, we left Tomar without ensuring that we were on the right road, both of us trusting that we were headed in the right general direction. Wrong, we ended up too far north, had to triangulate our way back to the right road, getting caught again in small towns with narrow one way "you can't get there from here" evil alleys. Finally back on track (our mistake only cost us an hour really) we headed into town.

The cathedral was not hard to find. It's spiked pinnacles visable from all over town. We found a quaint Residecial close by, dropped off our things and scurried over to the cathedral to catch it in the quickly fading afternoon light. Not only where the light angles perfect, a double rainbow appeared. Right over the cathedral. We have the photo to prove it.

Had we not gotten turned around on our way to Batalha, we would have missed it I'm sure. Our photos would have looked like every other tourists and we wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen the rainbow ourselves.

We ate at a nearby restaurant and when we left, the square was dark but the cathedral was gently lit up making it loom eerily in the late twilight.

It was a day full of serendipity and joy.

Cassie

Riding near Lisbon

Time to get caught up on my blog while I sip on a fabulous port in a hotel that we really shouldn't be in. Luxury doesn't quite
describe it. But more about that later. I am trying to keep this chronological.

So let's go back 3 days to our last adventures near Lisbon. I briefly mentioned a ride Tom and I did with friends José and Rui. My description did not do the ride justice. We started out in a small, typical Portuguese village south of Lisbon. We found our friends by following the GPS coordinates José gave us. After two attempts to head south on a bridge from the city (which looks an awful lot like the Golden Gate bridge by they way) we finally managed the task only to get trapped in small cobblestone alleys in the village of our destination. Many villages, well cities too really, have a bad case of "you can't get there from here". We arrived at the appointed meeting area slightly late but ready to ride.

The rest of the day was full of fantastic double track dirt roads, single track through mud and a little pavement to get us to the next village and cafe. We started out in fall weather, drizzle and mist that turned into a full on downpour, at which time we took shelter in a village cafe. We sampled pastries of the area and sipped coffee while trying not to get mud on the white marble tile.

When the rain slowed we continued on our way. Eventually the sun came out and we were treated to beautiful views of the ocean, followed by riding through wine growing areas and cork trees. Mixed in was another fantastic degree stop. The pastries here are amazing!

All tolled, we rode close to 60 km (36 or so miles), 5 hours plus including our time in the cafes. A great prep day for Tom, I was trashed. Big thanks to Rui for loaning me a hard tail, titanium mountain bike (light!!) that was great for this ride. And huge thanks to José Carlos, who led the way, directed us to a room for the night and led us to a fanastic restaurant to help us replenish.

A great day by any standards.

Cassie

The first few days in Portugal

We arrived in Portugal late afternoon on Wednesday. I have to say that flying business class over the Atlantic is the way to go. Champagne before you even sit down, good food and our "pods" allowed us to stretch out completely and sleep for at least 5 hours. Great, except for my "Black Swan" dreams!

Our first night was spent on the coast at a hotel we chose in large part for it's oceanside 100m plus pool. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs. But I did swim and play in the ocean waves. There is nothing like ocean water to cleanse you soul.

The next day was spent exploring areas around Lisbon. We explored food and art, including amazing works related to maps. Then we got tangled in the craziest traffic ever in Lisbon, trying to park and meet a friend for dinner. We finally found under ground parking, waited in a central square where it rained profusely, watched an insane running race begin from the square and head off into the insane traffic, (I was sure they would all die, but amazingly all the cars made way for the runners). This was just the beginnings of an amazing evening of real Portuguese culture.

The rest of the evening was spent with Patricia, a good we met at Trans Portugal the last time we were here. She and here boyfriend took us to a very authentic restaurant where the waiters were surly, the customers smoking but the good fresh and fantastic. It was a great, fun evening. Then we wandered through historical Lisbon at night over small, wet, square cobblestones. I have no idea how Portuguese women do it in heels.

Yesterday we got up, surfed then walked, through lush forest to fantasy palace in the mist.

Today was another ideal day. Mountain biking south of Lisbon with plenty of stops for coffee, rain storms, wild roses and sunshine. All thanks to Jose Carlos and Rui.

Tonight it was a meal of grilled pork for Tom and cod for me. Time for sleep.

Ciao,
Cassie

Cassie

At what cost?

If you are not getting paid to race or even if you are, why are you risking everything for your sport?

There are plenty of you readers out there that I am sure lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle, this is not about you. It's about those of us that are walking on the edge of a precipice and are about to fall. I am seriously alarmed by the number of people I have encountered over the last year alone to whom that analogy applies.

Yes, strength to weight ratio is important for racing. But you're not going to be any faster if you're starving. Worse than that, when you get too lean (less than 7% body fat for men, 12% for women) bad things start to happen. Your organs don't work right anymore. Your heart starts doing the funky chicken, not to mention your other organs and immune system. And yet every issue of every mag about running, cycling or tri that I have picked up in the last year seems to have an article on how to get leaner. I have yet to see one that cautions against getting too lean.

So I am here to tell you that you can die from being too skinny. If you are trying to optimize your strength to weight ratio, get you body fat tested to get an idea of how much weight you can safely lose. Don't assume that less is more.

Eat well, eat responsibly, enjoy life.

This post was inspired by a friend who fell from the precipice but clawed her way back into competition, at a healthy body weight.

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Power Training on the Bike

There's nothing more intimidating than standing in the middle of a bunch of super lean, hairless legged dudes conversing in bike-geek-speak. I can usually hold my own with the lycra clad warriors but I was starting to feel a little left out when the topic of discussion inevitably turned to Watts. It was time to get a new toy.

Since I wasn't convinced training with power was all it's cracked up to be, I went the cheap route and bought a computer that is calibrated to estimate power when used with my Kurt Kinetic trainer. Not the most accurate tool, I know but it was less than 1/5 the cost of some other power meters. I've been using the trainer and power meter over the last couple of months and I hate to admit it but it does work much better on shorter interval workouts than heart rate data.

Heart rate takes a while to creep up when you are doing a hard interval. So it doesn't give you good feedback on your effort if you are doing shorter intervals, like 1 or even 2 min. You get immediate feedback on how hard you are pushing with the power meter. That's key when you're trying to improve your high end output. Since this is my primary limiter... I guess I should stick with it.

The down side: It really effing hurts to push that hard and I highly recommend you keep a bucket close by. I guess I should also add that it takes some homework to find out what your ideal wattage for training a given interval length should be. That's something that a lot of data hounds out there will embrace. For the rest of us, it's a hassle.

You can download a pdf file at www.trainingbible.com that thoroughly explains training with power called, you guessed it... Training With Power.

The first person to puke wins.

I've had better days.

I set out on my ride today feeling good about how it should go. I was relatively well rested, given that I had been sitting on my bum for two days learning about joint surgery and rehab, (more on this later). I thought that I should have plenty in the tank. I was wrong.

Lesson 1: it's not a ride if you have to walk up 80% of it. Yes I was on a single speed. Yes it was silly steep. Yes it was narrow and off camber and exposed and slippery and sketchy and had deer poop on it...

Lesson 2: sometimes there is crying in mountain biking.

Lesson 3: no matter how safe someone says it is, sometimes your limbic system and adrenals just don't agree.

Lesson 4: the ride can still get better no matter how it starts.

Lesson 5: there is an appropriate time and place for tree hugging, on a mountain bike ride is not usually it.

Lesson 6: every ride turns out well when it ends at Everybody's brewing.

When will I ever actually learn how to rest on Sunday?