Topsfield Circuit Race Results

Topsfield Circuit Race Results

Harrison Harb, 4th place, same time as winner in a Pro cat. 1&2 race. Congratulations!

US Pro Cycling Challenge

Colorado is a great place for a bike race, breath taking scenery, wonderful roads, great mountain roads for climbing, but the TV coverage was disappointing.

Phil and Paul's,  descriptions were redundant and trite. Very little perspective for the true nature of the race came through. I followed the race, know the roads and then watched on TV. The TV coverage was poor, the sponsors need to demand better, and get better advice about how to run the TV presentation.

The Tour de France has many years of experience in bringing cycling to the public, the US Pro Challenge TV producers, have much to learn from the Tour de France coverage. The racers were great, the quality of the racers was superb, to bad the coverage was so poor. I hope they do it for many more years, maybe they'll get it right next year, let's hope. Why waste such a great opportunity to show the world, a great race and our beautiful country, at the same time?

The actual on the road phases of the race were well organized. The state and local police did a great job. Congratulations to the towns and the sponsors for their efforts. 

Major Bike race in Colorado on last big climb, on last day.

NBC did a terrible job of covering the race, three times they rehashed the week, during the last day of TV coverage, no looks of the final climb, they totally missed the great road up Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado.

The road up Lookout mountain

Lead riders near the top

Ride with Geoffda, up the west side of Loveland Pass from Dillion.

Top of Loveland Pass from the West side

Geoff is a good rider, he's tough and hangs in there even on a heavier bike. We did 3800ft in three hours. And we didn't talk about skiing or skis once, right!

Peloton on Cottonwood Pass

Tour of Colorado, USA Pro Cycling Tour scenes

View from the camping spot on the road

Car and tent camping all the way up Independence Pass.

You can pick out Levi in Yellow

                                  Andy,  not having one of his better days.

One of the best climbing days! Serious Business 3 pitches, 3rd, on a 5-11c

First thing, never look down!

Second thing, don't make this Sport confusing.

Diana, fixing the mess

Is that the Highway down there?

On the Way down after a great climbing day.

Dumont to Loveland Pass: One of the most beautiful rides in the world

Gary rides the last big corner to the top of Loveland Pass. It's about 23 miles, over 3000 feet of climbing on roads with no traffic. Sections are on bike trails in beautiful forests. It's cool and fresh, whereas Denver can be 96 degrees, it's in the 60ies from Silver Plume to the top. This can be done in 2 hours, with moderate fitness. Riding it in under two hours starts to get interesting.

Ride to the top of Loveland Pass, 4,000ft climb.

We ride higher than the Tour de France everyday.

Harald                                    Gary

Perfect Colorado day, riding with friend, skier and my dentist Gary. 

Riding to the top of the Rockies, Squaw Pass.

This is a great ride to 11,000ft, 54 miles total round trip, 4 hours, 3000 calories burned and 4700ft of climbing. To day felt like my first real bike training day of the summer.

Serious climbing at the 5-12 level at Rifle.

Diana on Fossil Family a 5-12

                                 Very steep over hanging climbing

                                  Time to clip the draw.

One arm rest

Click on the photo for full view.

Another sled "leg press" type machine

This is another safe leg building machine, it is controlled by weights and a cable. As with any of these exercises start with very light weights. You should warm up with 30 reps easy and slowly feeling all your leg muscles working.

The farther you bring your feet back to your hips the more glute (butt) muscles you will use. This is good for skiing as the are really important stabilizers of the hips and thigh.

My right leg is the surgically repaired Achilles Tendon, the muscles are slowly coming back.

Leg Press, important muscle group for skiing well.

Since I am working on my calf, push off muscles, as well as my legs, my feet are lower than normal to put pressure on the toes and ball of the foot. If you want more glute (butt) and quad training, move your feet forward or up the ramp.

This is just one of the many types of lower back "safe" leg press machines. It works reasonably well and you don't need a spotter or years of squat technique training..

Great Cycling Poster

Use this link to see great poster for the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado. Or click on my Facebook page to view it. (below to the right) 

http://ow.ly/i/f1zD

The best and highest quality Bike race in the history of US Cycling is coming to Colorado.

Check it out at this Facebook address.


http://www.facebook.com/USAProCyclingChallenge




The world's best cyclists: including the best teams.
Cadel Evans- 2011 Tour de France winner


More information to come stay close to this Blog or my Twitter site. http://twitter.com/#!/haraldharbski

Total body training, use a climbing wall.

Moving around on all the holds for two minutes, is a workout on an over hanging wall like this, 45degrees. Do 4 sets of two minutes 3 days a week and you can stay fit and do well on your local crag. As long as it's not Rifle, for Rifle you have to stay on the climbing wall 4 minutes, times 4 sets.

Technique, is  keep your hips up on the wall and keep your shoulder blades pulled back. You want to try to avoid sagging or rounding your back. 

Week 15: Everything is going in the right direction.

Lots of weight training in the gym, has improved my overall leg strength, I know now that I injured more than just my Achilles tendon in the ski accident in April. The back of my knee has been really sore for months. This indicates I stretched or tore calf tendons and ligaments, from this accident. Fortunately, my overall leg strength is building and I can really feel it when cycling. Big gains this week. I can stand on my right (injured side) bike peddle and push down to increase power.


When I started rehabbing my Achilles tendon, and my body, in May, it quickly became evident to me, that the whole right side of the body had atrophied. This can happen in a short period of even 5 or six weeks. I was in great shape and 6 weeks later I was a slug through lack of normal activity. I could not imagine skiing in this condition, even without an injury. I'm sure that most recreational skiers realize, how fitness or lack of fitness, impacts their ability to ski, be safe on snow and improve their skiing.


More on this topic and what you can do to create the best ski season yet,  on this blog, coming up, so check in often.


Harald

Ski season in the distance, but I'm still planning strong bike and climbing season.

Week 13:  rehab of ruptured Achilles tendon:

I was not so good climbing a 5-10b vertical face, which I've done easily many times before. In face climbing, you have to stand on your toes, on small edges. This is really tough of the the calf and achilles tendon.

I did however, successfully climb a 5-11b ( which is a harder rated climb) overhanging climb, but that's a totally different style, which requires much less pressure on the feet to hold you on the rock. It's going to take another two weeks before I have really face climb. But the biking is good. I can finally stand on the steep hills and that is what it is going to take to get the muscles and tendon really strong again.

So my routine today was, this morning,  1 hour weight room upper body and shoulders, afternoon, two hours biking, 2000ft climbing on that ride, and then in the evening, weight room to do a leg routine. The tendon rehab and calf muscles are one thing, but I also have to get that leg in shape, it's lost a lot of muscle mass doing nothing for more than 10 weeks.

In the weight room for the calf muscles,  I do lots of leg presses, toe stands, assisted and unassisted, and some trampoline bouncing.

Ultimately, the goal is to be in top form for the ski season, but I'm hoping to get in some big rides and tough climbs before the ski season starts.
The finish line is in sight.

5 things aging recreational skiers and athletes need to know.

1. Start your activity slower, warm up properly and build to top performance.
2. Better preparation for your season, means more rest days in between hard workouts or activity.
3. The best technique, during training and your sport activity; and the most efficient movements will save you from over working your body.
4. You'll find more aches and pains, so ice and rest are important.
5. In training, less weight and more repetitions are the right formula.

Hardest ride this season so far, 2000 feet climbing.

frontage Road to Bakerville, last exit before Loveland ski area.