The semester abroad in Berlin was a life experience I'll never forget, in fact I hope to head back to Europe after I close out my stint at Wentworth. Although I would have loved to have had my bike there, the time and money restraints pretty much put me on a three-month vacation from serious riding (I did commute via P.O.S. to studio for the first two months at least).
Needless to say, beer is cheaper than anything else to drink over there, and we drank a lot of it. The food you eat when you're running around all these cities (ever had döner kebab?) isn't the healthiest either. The night I came back to the States, I stood on the scale and noticed I came back a whopping 15 pounds heavier than when I left.
Now, I spent a majority of my funds on that trip, so coming back to do nothing for two months, I went back to work on the Vineyard. It was great because Hutker needed the help, and I was happy going back to see and work on some cool new projects. It was my first time working full time during the winter (ever!), so I was a bit surprised to see all the goodies that clients and vendors were sending us. I would say, on average, every weekday some new box of chocolates or sweets went through office, and a lot of it ended up near my desk. That, plus the food-filled holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, was about all I could take for gaining weight. I never checked (for fear of what it might say) my weight since I came back, but I'm just going to not worry about it and focus on my training for the next few weeks.
My new years resolution was like that of any aspiring cyclist: train and focus more, accomplish your goals. This could be my last year of school (fingers crossed for the master's program!) so I decided I will put some more time in on the bike for collegiate season. I'm motivated to start and finish the season in A's (regardless if I get shelled by the UVM powerhouse) and qualify for nationals. No Wentworth rider (sorry Shane) has ever made it out to collegiate road nationals. My schoolwork is a big priority of course, but I feel as though my workload (other than studio of course) is a bit lighter this semester.
So I've been on the trainer all but three days since I got back to school, and each ride/trainer session has been at least two hours in length. Not seriously riding while abroad and most of my winter break has left me feeling really fresh, but its hard to tell if my form is any good. Anyway, I'm in base miles now, and will be for another few weeks before I start any serious interval workouts. My first target is a preseason favorite for all the Boston kids: the Landry's Indoor ITT. Last year I placed fourth in the collegiate field, just a few seconds off some cool prize. I hope to crack the top three or even win, but we'll see just how good the form is. I think my main competition will be Natan the beast (BU) and maybe Mark T. (NU) if his resistance is correctly calibrated this year.
All in all, I expect a good semester, and an even better racing season. GLV is getting pretty serious, our first year was awesome and now we're looking to get serious with our training rides, our proposed Purgatory Road Race and sponsors. Look for a new site coming your way soon.
