Every day...look in da mirror.....I da bes'

First crack at those intervals with work:rest 2:1 rather than 1:1. 3 sets 4min on2 off, did at 280W. When I did 4on 4 off I had done them at 290. Wasn't half bad. Not that kind of pukaramo feeling, but more burn/ache.

Kept cadence around 90s, tried to keep HR stable. Alternated standing and sitting towards the end. Hard to stand on a trainer, I prefer the feeling of the bike rocking underneath you. I probably should have tried them at 290, but didn't want to fail. There is like a line drawn in the sand, and you're either on one side or the other. And at 10W increments, I think 290 would have put me on the other side of the line today. Maybe next time.

Was doing the pep talk as I crawled out of bed to get ready to go down to the basement. Reminded me of this guy I had met years and years ago up in DC. Some friends worked at one of those huge mega-lo-mart bicycle stores (Bicycle Exchange) and every year theyd have a huge warehouse supersale, and they hired part timers to help. I went up one year and worked it.

They had this guru mechanic. Real tough 30+ year old from Thailand. He was like a regional or national kick boxing champion from there. If you know anything about Thailand you know that kickboxing is like football, basketball, soccer, and nascar to them. Little kids are punching tree trunks and taking 2x4s inthe stomach. Needless to say this dude was a bad dude.


We are not talking cardio kick at the gym.

After each long day we'd hang out at the warehouse drinking beers, and he was getting pretty lit. For whatever reason he liked me and was talking to me, and getting more and more animated. I was worried that he was gonna pound on me randomly. But he was telling me about kickboxing and how he used to train. Like any sport the mental aspect was just as important,and he was telling me about how he'd keep his confidence up.

In his accented english, he'd say.

Every day, (when) I get up.. I look in the mirror..(say) 'You da bes'. When I get in the car, I look in the (rear view) mirror, 'I da bes'. That's what you do. You have to be the bes. Otherwise you get killed.

OoooooKKKKk. How bout some sparring just for old time's sake......

Sort of like the Stuart Smalley of Thailand.



Remember....You da bes.

Another thing I learned from him...."Everyting for sale"......After working for years at bike shops, he had amassed a small fortune in bike parts. Forks, hubs, etc... This was before Chris King and all, but stuff that was coveted as much or more. And he was always trading and selling stuff. And I couldn't believe that he'd want to sell some of the stuff. I mean stuff I'd just die to own, Like back then Mavic stuff was the shit and there was this wheelset he was selling.

"How can you sell that? That is an awesome wheelset!"

Everyting for sale