FTP Test results and random thoughts

So I went out riding today to do a little testing. Just looking to check in to see what condition my condition was in. I guess overall it went ok. Not great, but ok to good. I like to test out at Lake Hefner. I guess the dam at the lake to be more precise. Anyway, I had just finished my warm up and short duration efforts and was about to start my 20 minute test, when I had a little run in with a golfer. I was rolling up the road where the dam starts next to the golf course and about 30 seconds away from getting on it, and this guy who had hit his golf ball off the course said something to me about riding on the road and not on the path.

I had my ipod up pretty loud, so I paused it to go back and talk to the guy. Basically it was the same old routine you tend to run into on that stretch of road about being on the road instead of the path. I explained to him I had as much right to be on the road as any other vehicle, and he replied I was really takin' my chances against a 3000 pound car.

I had about a 3 second window for a good burn as he made a u-turn back over the fence to the golf course, but sure enough, I wasn't quick witted enough for a good comeback. I yelled a few names at him and started my interval. I'm not sure if this was a good thing or not. It seemed real easy the first 8 minutes or so with my adrenalin all jacked up. I also had a pretty good tailwind to start with.

So after finishing, the results were power wise about where I had estimated I was at. Not where I want to be in a couple of months, but I think I'm on the right track. My FTP is about 12 watts less than my all time high, but my weight is between 5-10 pounds less than it's been at this time the last 3 years. That makes my power to weight at 4.21 W/kg, which is actually right at it's peaked at the last few years. Pretty stoked about that because I know I can bring the power up.

Anyhow, sometimes I question the point of writing a blog. Sometimes I don't really know, but other times, the reasons are crystal clear. A few of the reasons I can think of are:

1. Sometimes Friends and family want to know how the racing has been going and when the season is underway, and races are going on every weekend, it's hard to keep up with all the details and results. It also time consuming to tell the same story over and over if it's an epic one.
2. I've been in this cycling racket a long time, and I've got a ton of knowledge that I basically had to learn the hard way. If I can pass this knowledge along, that's good. Maybe folks can get something out of it or maybe not. If it seems like nonsense, you don't have to read it or take my advice. I've had a couple people come up to me at races and say they learned how to pin up their numbers from my video, so if I can help out a few people here and there, I'll keep on doing it.
3. In a lot of ways, this is like a personal or training diary in a way. Every race season kind of repeats itself . It's nice to be able to look back and see how things have progressed or remember small details about a certain course or remember how a race went down and what mistakes were made etc.
4. I want to get better at writing. This definitely wasn't my strongest subject all through school. In fact I hated it with a passion. I'm not sure when things changed. Maybe after reading a lot of Henry Rollins' early stuff, not sure, but I really enjoy the challenge now and want to get better at transforming my thoughts into text.
5. This kind of goes back to reason #2, but what if the golfer guy is right and I get taken out by a truck tomorrow. What kind of legacy would I leave behind? What if my daughters wanted to know me (at least more than a 4 and 1 year old can comprehend right now) or know more about me when they get older if I wasn't around. In addition to that it just seems like it would be a waste not to pass on some of the lessons I've learned. I'm not trying to be morbid or anything, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon. I saw a statistic one time that commuting by bicycle is actually safer than commuting by driving a car. I don't see too many people worrying about their daily drive, so I don't really stress about it, but the thought has crossed my mind.

This is day 15 of 31 that I've made a post. It's pretty much what I thought it would be like. A lot of work. Doing this every day is tough.  A couple of times a week would be doable. Maybe I'll try that when January is over.