1/14/05: DAMN COLD!

Posted Jan 14, 2005
11,894

Get outta town before we're all frozen in!

1/14/05

Damn cold snap has killed my snowshoeing mojo!

I was so ready to go stomping last night ~ do some sprints at Ewing Park, but that wind chill sorta scared me off.

Yup, we've got the white fluff on the ground and you're going to have to suffer through another edition of 'Why snowshoeing and xc skiing is so damn cool!'

I'll let you in on this much, I've been a little tight on time and only done 30-45 minutes a time on the snowshoes, but if you trot or jog through the powder, you'll feel a burn like none other. Especially if you use a set of poles to include the upper body!

In essence ~ pray for more snow and warmer temperatures with me!!!

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CIAO BELLA! Homeboy Jason Alread is spending the semester in Italy, teaching for Iowa State University. I just got this note the other day...

Buon giorno Marco,

I still haven't been able to get wheels for my bike yet. I've been to 2 shops and the first HAD NOT HEARD of Shimano, the other said no way - solo Campagnolo. I'm running Ultegra so I need a Shimano 9sp. hub. An unexpected pain. In another week if I can't find what I need I'll just have someone send me a hub and build the rear wheel myself. I'm gettinng in good running shape, though.

It's 50 + degrees every day so far and sunny. Very nice.

Ciao - Arrivederci amico,

Jason

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HOMEBOY IN AZ: Wes Hartman, Iowa's newest pro, not to be confused with Jason 'D-Money' McCartney, is training in Arizona with the new squad.

Hey Hey,

Hope all is well. It's been 70 here the last few days and I am loving it!! The tan lines are coming in nicely, I even have the helmet strap tan on my cheek.

I finished up the first week of 05' with over 500 miles and 30 hours of riding time. It's actually kinda wierd, less than a month ago, a 4-5 hour ride happened maybe once a week. Now it's almost standard. If I ride to the west, the ride heads over the Tucson Mtns, and down into the "Old Tucson" area where hollywood filmed old western movies. From what I have seen riding by, looks like an old west downtown area.

If we head south, we usually head out to Madara Canyon out by Green Valley. Nice climb, gets pretty steep the last 2k of the 20k+ climb. North we usually head up hwy77 to Oracle or Mammoth. We stopped out at the Biosphere2 on our first trip out last week, neat place. It's a little hidden on a dirt road and according to a staff member there is a good chance it will close down due to lack of funding.

Here's a neat story for all the cyclists reading this. I did my first real "shootout" ride this last saturday....Wow. The ride starts at 7:30am down by the University and heads south on mission rd out to madara canyon and back. 90 miles. 150 riders. Being a neo-pro and from a state that doesn't harbor to many professional cyclists, I really haven't had the chance to train with more than a few nationally known riders at a time. This particular saturday, Gord Fraiser (Health Net), Mike Sayers (Health Net), John Lieswyn (nice to know a fellow iowan training down south), Justin England (Health Net), Phil Zajicek (Navigators), and Corey Steinbrecher (Jelly Belly) to name a few. Mission road starts out flat and slowly pitches up and stays at 2-4% for 10-15 miles until the uphill sprint where the ride calms down, but at that point only 20-30 really strong riders remain. During those 10-15 miles, I was on edge the entire time. It felt great!

A few more pic's. First picture is on top of Kitt Peak which is 56 miles from our house in Tucson. Gorgeous views all around. The climb is wide open and you can see roads going in many directions all the way across the desert. The top is a shared observitory for the universities in the area, the peak is at around 7300ft. Starts at around 3500ft. Tucson is around 2500ft, So the ride out to the base is all uphill also. Make for a fun ride coming back. From Left-Right. Shane Peltonen (My Teammates Brother), Me, Frank Pipp. First time I have seen over a foot of snow in awhile.

See ya!

-Wes

Ed. Sorry, I can't load graphics at this time.

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FLEX BABY: When you Google someone, you never know what you're going to find... CLICK AT YOUR OWN RISK!

DRINK DOPE: You love 'cross, you live by the dark stuff, and heck, it's for the kids! DOPERS SUCK!

ROLLER RAGING: The first weekend of the winter Kreitler Killer Headwind Roller races is up and more people have been exposed to the Greg Harper phenomenon. 'Two miles on rollers? NO PROBLEM!' Yeah, right. Give it a try this weekend in Washington if you haven't already.

TIRED OF LIVESTRONG YET: Check out this... CRAP or LIVEWRONG

J-MAC LOVE: Homeboy (I get paid a dollar everytime I use the word today) made the DMREG again!

O-LOVE: Damn skippy, finally got my Official Lance Shades. The nosepiece even smells like Crow! Now that's team issue!