A different path....and back to my roots a bit!

This is my dog Cadence. Properly named by a friend of mine from Florida. She is 6, lean and fast! We consider her our 1st child. Just ask my family! We have been doing a bit of running together the last few weeks. Running in the snow is fun, but you feel it the next morning. You do not hear me say running and fun very often in the same sentence. Something about running with my dog must be the reason? Great Calf workout for sure!

The past 5 weeks I have chosen to take things in a little different direction for 2011. I have added a true strength training program to the mix. The first few weeks of the deal, I could not move. Seriously, I had to pull myself up our steps and going down I would slide down them with my boy!! He thought it was fun! I laughed, but I knew if I walked down it would be too painful! I am member of https://healthridgefitness.com/ . We have been members here for awhile now, over 2 years. I used the membership when I could not go outside, but avoided the weights like the plague most of the time. Yeah, I did a few things from my past experience as an Athletic Trainer, but it was nothing like I am doing now. Sofia Rodriguez is my strength trainer, she is great! She is a professional in her own right. She does numerous fitness competitions. I felt that it was a good move to go with someone who is a non-cyclist, but understands what and where I am trying to go with everything in 2011. Communication is the key and I still manage my cycling side of my workouts. She handles the strength training. So far, so good! Yes, i have read, studied and can put together a pretty solid program myself. But, knew if I was going to do this right this year. I needed some help in the strength training department!

We started out with some basic stuff to get me back into the groove and some muscle memory back from my past experiences in the weight room. I was very skeptical of my decision to go down this road my first few weeks! But, today marked our 7th session together and it is really starting to pay off! The basics are over and we have moved into the fun stuff! Functional training for the sport you love. We did things today that I have not done in close to 12 years! The fact that my body remembers how to do certain movements has been weird at times and exciting. It is amazing how muscle has memory! I start off some of my sets a bit wobbley and by the 3rd or 4th set it is right on the money and proper form and function is stressed over how much weight we are lifting.

Back in my days before bike racing I speed skated. Today during our workout, we went old school. It was fun! Doing some of my old plyometric exercises had some good memories flowing back. It did nothing but motivate me more during the workout today. Good Stuff!!

THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE:

We did our first re-evaluation on Friday. I was honestly nervous! We checked some basic stuff, body fat, weight, body part measurements, and then put everything into the computer. The numbers were fun to see, not much change on the weight side. But when comparing lean body weight to fat weight, I had gained 3 lbs of muscle and my overall body weight had not changed. I have lost 2 inches on my waist, gained a little in the arms and lost some in the hips. Crazy how the body adapts to different physical stresses! I had read a lot this last few months about proper race weight. So, knowing that my weight had not changed much was a bit concerning after all the working out I have been doing. But, remember we are on a different path! So, this is a good sign! Muscle weighs more than fat and having more lean muscle to produce power and watts with on the bike this Spring and Summer will be just fine by me!

SPIN! and Riding:

This is all part of my Bike Life, but SPIN! and just riding my bike are a part of every week. We have been working on some cool projects for this Summer. It includes deals with Bike Shops, special promotions for select rides, and a grand daddy build up to the best giveaway ever by SPIN! I mean, I was floored by the thought of it, the fact that SPIN! is looking into this is going to be incredible. I am not very good at keeping a secret, so I better move on! Just know that we are going to have another AWESOME SPIN! cycling season! If you do not come out and ride with us, it is your fault! You will miss out!

With all the Snow, my riding outside has been limited. I did get caught out in the snow storm last Wedensday late afternoon which was fun for awhile, but then got kinda weird! I was glad to be home safely. The Bike Trainer is getting some mileage and I have mixed up the routine with some running for cross traininig.

Life is good in my Bike Life. I had two events happen today that could add some more interesting things to the mix this Summer or sooner. I will let you know more as they progress and become a reality? We shall see? But they are really cool opportunities that could benefit many riders in the community and add to my Bike Life experience! Fun Stuff!

Hope to see you on the Road or maybe even in the Gym soon??

JP

Happy New Year! Get out and Ride! GO!

The calendar is Officially telling me it is 2011. The holidays are definetly over and they were very kind to my kids as I stumble over toys just to walk around the house. Work has picked back up, the training for the 2011 season is underway, and the weather has been PERFECT for riding a bike in Kansas for January! Last year at this time I was not riding, I was shoveling snow and contimplating whether to go to the gym, ride the trainer or just call my snow shoveling my training for the day. Not this year! I have definetly been in the gym lifting more over the past 3 weeks. Much more than in years past, but I have been on my road bike more the last 2 weeks than I think I road all of January 2010! When New Years Day is in the 60's in Kansas, you go ride your bike!

Remembering 2010:

The 2010 cycling year was another good one. It found me out on the road leading SPIN! Rides all over KC, riding my mountain bike more than ever, and more importantly meeting new friends and introducing a new crop of riders to the Bike Life! We had a total of 600 new riders attend the SPIN! rides in 2010. We averaged close to 50 riders per ride in 2010, with our biggest ride occuring in August when the Trek-Tradewinds Elite team hit the road with us. We had 96 riders attend that group ride. It was great having Steve Tilford and his crew riding and then hanging out with us post ride. Steve has an incredible blog, www.stevetilford.com . Check it out, he is a cycling legend and just won the 50 plus USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships. He will be heading to Belgium for the world championships in three weeks! It makes me smile to know that many people had some sort of interest in coming to an organized bike ride without the fear of getting dropped or lost out on the road. We try to run a tight ship on the rides and provide people with a great first time experience riding in a group. Which can be very difficult to find when you just start riding a bike. I also think that congregating post ride for 10% off of some of KC #1 Rated Pizza helps just a little bit?? We do have a great time after each ride and it is my hope that my experience and the ride guides various cycling experiences add to the enjoyment.

The racing side of my Bike Life was full of new experiences. The most memorable for me was qualifying for Mountain Bike Nationals and racing at the Sol Vista Mountain Bike Park in Winter Park, Co. Two months prior to Nationals I was laying in a hospital after taking a not so memorable ambulance ride from hitting a tree on a downhill at the St. Joseph, MO Mountain Bike race. I was not sure if I would even race for or ride much for 2 months, but things came together as they were supposed too. I was able to toe the line with my long time friend and teammate Gary Mapes. (http://gmapes-planetofthemapesracing.blogspot.com/) Gary finished a solid 10th and I was just happy to finish in 16th. Racing bikes with my friends is probably one of the big reason's I keep racing. Training together and then reaching or trying to reach our goals can be an interesting journey. The other big race on my Mountain Bike Calendar was Rapture of Misery 12 hour. Gary Mapes, Jeff Smikahl, and myself lead that race as a team in 2009 from start until the last 3 miles when Gary Broke his chain. Gary ran with his bike the last 3 miles in the rain and dark to hold onto 3rd place for us. We were determined to win this thing way before the midnight cut off this year. We reached that goal and it was very satisfying standing on the top of that podium with guys I have ridden my bike with since 1993! The celebration that night lasted late into the wee hours of the a.m. thanks to Gary's home brew. Oh, so good!

The cyclocross season brought dry conditions, fast and bumpy courses for 2010 in Kc. I had a pretty slow start to the season, but would say I had a solid November reaching the podium twice and making the trip up to Iowa City, Ia over Thanksgiving weekend with two of my teammates, Craig Hoppe and Randy Tracy. We did our best to hold our own against some of the top Cross racers in the US. It is always a highlight of my year doing this race. I had a solid Friday night finish in 29th and not so great on Saturday in 41st. The field sizes are 70 plus, so it is a dog fight to get through the group and get into a groove. Always a great cycling experience and when it is over I look forward to racing it again in 2011.

I was also able to attend the Interbike National Bike show in Las Vegas, NV. I had the honor of meeting Eddy Merckx (http://www.eddymerckx.be/) Tony Ellswort (www.ellsworthbikes.com), Alessandro Petacch(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Petacchi) and see some of latest and greatest cycling accessories and bikes known to man. It was like being at my own Disneyworld. I definetly would love to make it back again someday.

Bring on 2011...

I have started my quest for my 2011 race season. Changes have been made, including my team. My team, www.Shoressports.com has merged with Ethos Racing(http://ethosracing.blogspot.com/) Our teams were at a lot of local and regional Mountain Bike races in 2010. I am also glad to be a sponsor of Ethos team and not run a team in 2011. I will race Mountain Bike and Cyclocross for Ethos. It is a Mountain Bike and Cross team. I kept my racing license for the road under Shores Sports. Being on Ethos has already made a difference for all of us who were on Shores Sports in 2010. The sponsors of Ethos have been very good to all of us and we have yet to race! Bikesource (www.bikesource.com) is our 2011 sponsor and they have been incredible to the team. I have a new road bike which I will highlight in another blog post. Let's just say, it is another reason I have been on the road more this early in the year. I kept my license for the Road Races under Shores Sports. I will most likely only do a handful of Road events in 2011, but wanted keep the old colors some what active in cycling. We are designing a new Shores Sports only Jersey for 2011. That should be ready by April, we will see?

SPIN! Pizza (www.spinpizza.com) has hired Shores Sports to organize, promote, and be the official ride guides for the 2011 cycling season. We have started planning for 2011 and will have a schedule emerging sometime over the next few months. I have enjoyed working with SPIN! over the past 3 years, they are a HUGE asset to the KC cycling community. They have raised Thousands of dollars through their support of various cycling rides in Kc such as Tour De BBQ ( A Livestrong Event) Bike For the Brain, Joel's Ride for Social Justice, and Tour De Lakes just to name a few. Come join us in 2011 for a ride, we will get rolling with SPIN! Rides in May 2011!

My post will be more frequent and shorter as I get used to doing this blog thing. Happy New Year my cycling friends! Get out and ride, Go!

JP

What does it mean? The Bike Life???

JP's Bike Life.....

If you are reading this, then you know me, have pedaled a bike beside me, or you are family. If you do not know me, then get to know me and the Bike Life! It has been on my mind a lot lately. I have loved those three words for about 10 months now. I have shared those words with a few friends and family, but really have just been trying to LIVE IT and realizing that I have been LIVING IT for most of my life. I have been into riding a bike for many different reason's and disciplines for close to 23 years now. Started doing it as cross training during my Speed Skating days and transitioned into racing a bike. When I line up to race and look down the line these days, sometimes I am racing against people who have not been alive as long as I have enjoyed riding and racing my bike. It makes me smile and set's the stage for my effort! Although most of my racing these day's is done on a Mountain Bike or Cyclocross Bike. Which allow's me to race against the 35 plus crowd, which is not any picnic and can be much more intense and most of the time one of the fastest races of the day. But, it is always fun and not so much about trying to win, but to be as competitive as possible!

As I was warming up for one of the biggest cyclocross races of the 2010 season with one of my teammates and long time local Mountain Bike racing legend, let's just call this person the Hippie. We got into into a discussion about how many different cycling disciplines we have entered over our racing days. We determined that he has raced in all, except for Track. Which I think would be one of his best disciplines if a Velodrome was not an entire state away! I have yet to participate in Track or BMX. But, there is still plenty of time for those disciplines, maybe as my kids get older we can all take to the BMX scene?? I guess where I am going with this thought is no matter what discipline racing has offered, it has been great enjoying each one as they have been attempted! The friends that I have developed from living the Bike Life (Race Life) have been numerous and extend from Coast to Coast. (Yes, I have been in RAAM, only as a Crew Chief for the 3rd place 4 person team in 2003, sponsorship issues caused a last minute cancellation for the team I would have ridden for in 2006) This has all been one aspect of my Bike Life.

Over the last three years, i have been fortunate to have be-friended and brought the joy of The Bike Life to many new riders via my cycling team Shores Sports Racing and business www.Shoressports.com. The team has emerged to the point in which my company is going to be one of the sponsors and merging with another Kansas City Based cycling team which will benefit all of the members. The team is called Etho's Racing! http://ethosracing.blogspot.com/ Shores Sports has been a sponsor for the last year, but has also supported a seperate racing team which I started in December 2008. The effort to merge will build stronger bonds and relationships for all the members on the team and the local sponsors. It is going to be a great team to be associated with in 2011 and beyond as our goals are lofty, but still focused on the Bike Life.

I have also grown to develop a relationship with SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza. (http://www.spinpizza.com/) Together we have developed local neighborhood rides, that provide a ride guide, a dedicated route, and a competition for riders that builds toward the Tour De BBQ held every October in Kansas City. Last year the SPIN! Rides were held at all 4 SPIN! Pizza locations. Our largest turnout was 96 riders strong on a Monday Night in August. We were fortunate to introduce 600 new riders to our SPIN! rides in 2010. The best part is the discount on food post ride and the numerous relationships that have been developed by this community cycling effort. SPIN! has been an amazing partner in this venture and truly is one of the most exciting times of the year for me! It feels like Summer camp and I am the director teaching people about riding and group rides in a family friendly atmosphere. We have some of the most diverse groups of riders in town. Triathletes, road racers, mountain bikers, you name it they are at our rides enjoying a form of The Bike Life! I am excited to say that Shores Sports will be back for another year of ride guiding for SPIN! in 2011! The planning has begun and the sky is the limit for what we will be able to do in the local cycling community in 2011? You will just have to come out and ride with us to experience the events first hand!

I could write for days about what The Bike Life has meant to me throughout my time on this earth. I have started sharing The Bike Life with my kids and hope to develop my little ones as they begin to express interest. You can continue to read about JP's Bike Life via this Blog. You will see all aspects of the Bike Life. I hope you check back from time to time and it inspires you to bring out that inner child and swing your leg over a bike and feel the wind in your face! Trust me you will be glad you did it, it is good for the Soul!

See you on the Road, Dirt, or wherever my Bike takes me!

JP