Mid Week Update

I really don't like putting up new posts when I don't have photos to fill the space between the lines -'cause lets face it, who reads this blog for the words? Ah well...

Okay. Week 3. 21 hours due. I did 6 on monday. 5 on tuesday. And the rest is a piece of cake. Comes out to an average of 2hrs/day for the remaining 5 days in the week. So I took today off. Will probably get 3 tomorrow, and finish the rest of it between friday and sunday.

Monday's ride was killer! A friend of mine, Ben, showed me a new route: The San Gabriel River Bicycle path. 30 miles of flat and unobstructed bike path from Irwindale [east pasadena] to Seal Beach [just south of Long Beach]. I told him i'm just riding at a base-pace (the main dilemma for me this time of year when i'm not riding solo). He was okay with it, but to be honest, the pace was a little hot for me at times...even while in his draft! Ah well, I felt swell, so went with it. Had coffee in Seal Beach and came back the same way. Time flew. I don't use/have a odometer, but I'm sure I got at least 110 that day. Oh, and one thing about the San Gabriel Path...there are some reallllllll gnarly underpass sections. The path is great, but when there's an overpass, there's a bit of a tunnel that the bike path takes. The ramps are steep, cracked, littered with debris, very unlit...I loved it. Keeps you awake. Though, as I told Ben, I'd surely be dead if there were an aggressive little group ride on that thing. You'd just be rolling the dice each time one of those dark caves comes along...and there are at least 15 of them each way. Swell times. The knees liked it.

Tuesday went up to Mt Wilson. In nothing but shorts and a jersey. and some oil on the legs. It's crazy, it was 70 at the top. Though there were some cold pockets on the way up that were in the 50s. On the way down I extended the ride a bit by riding to Velo Pasadena , where I finally met the owner i'd heard so much about: Hrach. One of very few Armenian cycling scenesters in socal. Good guy. We talked it up, I looked through some photos, and while I didn't ask him outright, I deduced from what I heard that I am, in fact, still the world's best vegetarian Armenian cyclist. A huge honour....although my vegetarian status is in question, 'cause of the massive tuna intake of late.

Lastly....finally! Something nice along the team front has finally rolled through. I'll be going to Santa Barbara on sunday to meet and ride with what I hope will become my team for next season. I hope it's just a "ride" and not a hammer-fest, as that's obviously not on my current program. Can't get into details yet, and if there's one thing i've learned so far it's not to get my hopes up....the higher you get -the harder the fall. I'll announce something as soon as It's official. Hopefully as soon as Sunday.


And I'm just going to throw this out there: I Want To Coach

Note: I'm not a coach....but want to learn to be one. An effective one. I realize there are 500 million coaches in SoCal, each with 1000s of athletes and USCF certifications, but I want nothing to do with that. I want to find my own distinct approach. Old school. I'm just looking for a couple local guys who race. Preferably over 15 races a year, in any category (though it'd be weird to race against a guy I coach). I'd cap it at 4 riders total, and will try to meet with these guys individually for a ride about once a week. My rate? Zero. Just a burrito or two per month. More burritos if what I give you works. So if you or anyone you know might be interested, email me at AramDellalian@gmail.com with some general information about you and your racing ambitions. Again, you must be in the Socal area, must plan for at least 10 races next year, not be a "everyone is doped!" conspiracy theorist, and above all, no jerks...it's free coaching!