I have chosen training over blogg inlägg lately and I think this has been a wise choice. My legs feel great and there is some kind of strength developing despite my 'max 3 hour' training philosophy. So here is a quick summary of my last 3 quality passes:

Saturday
This was a 29km of the high intensity sort with my usual Allum - Furulund - Kåsjön - Öjersjö - Delsjön with extra singletrack added in when appropriate. Heading back from Skatås ended a little strange though since I decided to take Bohusleden which somehow went directly over the top of what must be the highest freakin mountain in the whole area. The view was great but carrying my MTB up and down (far too rocky) this hill was slightly annoying. But, like most terrain around here it is impossible to ride all the way. So then I ended up at a local psycho running trail which is a blast on the bike and is good training for handling quick turns in grus. And then to round off the trip I took my premiere tour on the short trail over to Puketorp which is still perfection...  

Sunday
Despite considerable stiffness I took what ended up to be an even more intense 43km. I went over to Jonsered and up into Bokedalens naturreservat which has the potential for perfection even though cycling seems to be discouraged. Anyone who has looked at a map of these parts will see some strange road that goes back and forth north of Aspen in Lerum so the plan was just to find my way to that. After many missed turns, each with an accompanying massive hill, I found my way there. When they call that a road they are really stretching the definition a bit. At best it is a logging track covered in massive stones and each time it goes back and forth it climbs over a seriously nasty hill. Then it turns and repeats twice more. My legs were burning on the way up and I was terrified flying down. Don't need to go to Ludvika or Oslo to practice nasty downhills now. When I finally got to the bottom and could relax along the water at Aspen while watching rock climbers scale the cliff I just rode up on the bike I noticed how still the wind was. Inspiration time...ride over to Riddarsten and along the road over to Olofstorp to take a massive top speed hardest gear tempo ride all the way to the golf course. Vilken fart! ;) So naturally when I turned up the hill at Angereds kyrka and along Lexbydalsvägen it was time to say 'hallå' to Mr. Wall. I slowed for two minutes and was fine again and continued home.  

Tuesday
I was still stiff from the weekend so this was actually a calm ride. Well, sort of. I started with the Puketorp trail and a lap of the running track which is honestly hilly enough to be training alone. But my bike was filthy so I needed to visit Skatås for the water hose. I remembered a trail that connects over to Delsjön and, as usual, it started with a useless rock hill and lots of walking due to wooden planks and crap. My 2.2 tires fall through so some of these trails feel like a cross pass. But it got much better and there were some really fun parts which will make me return for more. And I could also celebrate my first proper vurpa of the year. I fell to the right (as always) but this time my calf muscle hit first and not my shoulder. You see, it is just so massive that it hits the ground first now. :D Anyway, after a serious clean the bike is spotless and shining in white.

All ready for Dalslands XC...

I have kind of stopped updating here since no one is actually visiting and obviously the links to my site are gone too. But that is fine. I am not exactly being all that supportive of Cykel Sverige at the moment. Most of my training is on hold since my mom is here visiting and we have been away on the weekends. I also have my new XT brakes to install which will probably mean no MTB for a couple of weeks while I discover all of the other problems that need fixing.

I do plan to race and for the most part I don't need a licence or club membership at all. Of course it should not be this way but it is. Here is my list at the moment and there are still some things I haven't decided on:
5 maj Dalslands XC
13 maj Dalslandsrundan 70km (LVG or CX in my case)
19 maj Långa Billingeracet
26 maj Karolinertrampet
2-3 juni Kattegattstouren (maybe)
5 juni Herrestadsfjällsloppet
16 juni Farrisrunden (N)
1 juli Ränneslättsturen
6-7 juli Trysilrittet + topprittet (N)
8 juli Mörksuggejakten
28 juli Sandefjordrittet (N)
29 juli Engelbrektsturen
18 aug Mera Lera 12hr
26 aug Finnmarksturen
1 sept Bockstensturen
8 sept Svenska Cykelspelen Falun

Yes, all this without giving SCF or anyone money. It just isn't right...

There is not much I can say about last weekend that you don't already know. Perfect weather. Pretty dry in the forest. What could possibly go wrong? And for once I made it through a weekend without breaking any parts on me or my MTB. On Saturday I did the rest of that Kåsjön runt trail and I have to say it was pretty useless for training on afterall. I define a 'good trail' as one where I can spend most of my time actually on the bike and moving. The section towards the western edge of the lake was just a repeated mess of rocky cliffs so about all I could do was run with the MTB. Not easy. Some parts were so crazy that they had installed ropes next to the trail for you to hang on to and pull yourself up. So again I had more upper body training than I would have liked.

There were some sections that were fantastic and others which would have worked if I were in better technical shape. But these parts were surrounded by too many walking bits so I unfortunately can't give this a top score for långlopp training. I need to be moving. But for those of you out in the forest for pure pleasure, this might be a fun one for you.

However, the first part from the beach over to where everyone has their canoes parked is heaven so that will soon form a nice part of my usual hill training route.

I am sure most of you have already felt it. There is someting magical about the first few rides of the MTB year. And since everything is quite dry I can jump right into the singletracks. This feeling is especially strong since I was sick last weekend and generally annoyed with most things.

The other day I had another of those express rides up to Kåsjön because I only had a limited amount of time. I found that I could spice things up a bit by heading directly down to the lake on a bumpy little grusväg and then join the end part of that Kåsjön runt trail I mentioned before. There are quite a few of those wood plank sections which are okay but not my favourite. And that became obvious when I fell through the gap between one with my front tire and took 2012's first vurpa. Very mild though...no injuries. My 2.2 Conti XKing super super race tires are not meant to ride on these boards so I will just have to get some running practice here and there. But it feels lovely to float along a nice trail letting Sid take care of the rough parts.

I should be getting my new brakes today but I think I will take another ride first before dismantling anything.

Ja ja, not much has been going on here in the life of Chris Cross. But I can report that the uniform for CK Chris looks a lot like the one for Mölndals CK except with more mud. So it matches my MTB right now.

Last week I was in Boston on a meeting and also to carb/fat load before, well, nothing. But since coming back I have made one trip to Jonsered and one wall-of-wind pass back from there. I had a nice feeling in my biceps while I was bent over in tempo position trying to be aerodynamic in the wind. It was quite effective compared to others out that had given up and were walking.

And tonight I took a sunset ride up the running trail to Kåsjön and even started on what will be my new favourite trail this year...Kåsjön runt. This trail starts out as a narrow grusväg walkway with enough tight turns to make anyone smile. But then it became a proper singletrack of the långlopp type. Given the size of the lake and the lack of sunlight I will have to explore the rest of this another day.

In other news I guess everyone has seen that GCK will have the first MTB pass of the year sön 18 mars. Sounds like a good start to the year.

I was not the only cyclist out this morning. Can anyone believe that it is not even March yet and we can already have an outdoor ride with sun and 7C? CK Chris definitely took advantage of this.

Okay, it was not superwarm riding towards Utby along Säveån and together with the wall of wind there was a couple km of tire sucking mud. But things got a little more encouraging at Gamlestaden where I could switch back to some small roads over to the Alelyckan road heading north. So this meant a wall of wind from my left side which, to be honest, is not really any better. But I kept on passed that store with the annoying commercials and finally up to the old railway path through Lärjedalen. I could regroup a bit there while preparing for the painfully slow climb up to Gunnilse which went a bit nicer with the tail wind.

That's when the challenge starts. Up the hills to 190 which actually were icy. Then up a nasty hill to Angereds kyrka or Muur-Kapellmuur if you prefer. During this demonstration of massive leg power I several times had to deal with jumping gears so I wonder if I should just upgrade the whole XT set anyway. So after that was supposed to be pure cykelglädje on Lexbyvägen but it was pretty muddy for the first bit and kind of wet for the rest so I couldn't really let loose entirely. But this classic route is good to start with while my Furulund hills are still icy.

I rushed home yesterday to get some training in before the sun set so it was time for a 2012 premier for my MTB. Yes, there is a ton of grus over every possible bike/walking path but that just meant I could train riding on a very slippery grusväg. The ride to Jonsered went quickly as always because when I turned around the wall of wind was still there ready to catch me. Actually it was gusting quite a bit so a few times I was losing balance. Anyway, this was a fine 45 minutes.

So now it seems like others have noticed Dalsands XC and it seems like no one really cares about the SCF licens rule. So I can feel stupid for actually signing up with the club CK Chris even though it is funny.

I also heard from Sven that Göteborgs CK is supposed to be focused on CX and MTB but this will not affect MTB SM which will be some kind of collaboration with MCK. But I am still not thrilled about this news because it would mean spending my MTB upgrade money on yet another set of cycling clothes. I just want to ride. No politics please.

I see now that we are all in for a moral dilemma before the 2012 season. It seems that Göteborgs CK has appeared all of a sudden. Probably not everyone will move over but still it messes up the nice little MCK family. With no more loyalty I could just as well go to CK Master because it is closer or even Partille CK which is a block away. Or why not throw out all of the loyalty and join Falu CK instead?

But then my next complaint is about SCF and their 700kr licensavgift. My issue is this:
1.2.019
En licensinnehavare får ej delta i tävling som ej finns upptagen på nationella, kontinent- eller världsprogrammet eller som ej är kända av nationsförbund, världsdelsorganisation eller UCI. SCF kan godkänna speciella undantag för tävlingar eller speciella arrangemang i sitt eget land.

I became aware of this rule from someone at MTB Täby and had to use it before the first Hammarby Hill XC race. When I contacted the race organizers they immediately did all the work to get SCF certified out of fear of losing everyone. And now this is an issue again. I give you Dalsland XC, a nice little 50km on 5 maj. A perfect start to the season. It is even a seednings race for Grenserittet so there will be Norwegians. But I see no SCF approval and it is not in the race calendar. So here we have a perfect start to the långlopp season which you can't do if you already fixed your licence.

I mentioned this last year also because I find it very silly that one can race any of the Långloppscupen races as motionär with no licence or no club. But if you want to start a few minutes before, pay more and do the exact same race then get a licence.

At the moment I have not paid any club membership or licence fees. So for now it is CK Chris...

I love it when things are like this. The second I buy ice spikes for my running shoes it goes up to 6C and everything melts. Gotta love it! So, your welcome Göteborg for this little glimpse of spring. I claim full responsibility! Maybe I will actually take out the MTB or even the cross this weekend?

This morning I tried out my new ice spikes from Intersport and they were certainly a pain to stretch onto the shoe in the first place. Of course that was a hint that they would in fact stay on shoe no matter what I did. +1 Chris approval point.

I was making a hell of a noise on the road...so much that an old lady turned to me and asked if those ones were good. -1 Chris approval point. Hitting the pavement with these things just killed so against all of my better judgement I started running on the pure ice instead.

+50 Chris approval points! This was such a surreal experience. My brain was telling me to avoid the ice which meant I was sliding in the snow. But when I ran directly on the ice it was absolutely perfect. Running almost 12km on solid ice and I only very slightly slipped once. Amazing!

One has to ask the question of whether dubbdäck for bikes work this well. I seriously doubt it...

Yesterday morning I made the foolish attempt of trying to run on solid ice in normal running shoes. After the 4th slip and a total distance of about 400m I confirmed that this was definitely silly. Yes, interval training.

So after a long search I found my pedals and borrowed the quick release from my Tacx workstand and it was trainer time at Casa di Chris. My clock also happens to be a thermometer so I can report that my 30 min workout raises the temperature of the room by 2.5C. Not bad.

I just did a 10 min warmup followed by 5st 1+1 min intervals which obviously hurt in my state of unfit. Then I did a couple of minutes alternating between sitting and attack position with more resistance. This whole standing sprint thing is just never used in MTB but cross season is coming in 7 months...

Good good is the summary of this. But now this morning I will in fact run with my newly-bought ice spikes.

Well, it is almost feeling like winter is over for the year. Now we have to deal with this whole thaw-freeze thing every day and risk breaking legs on every trip outside of home. But what would life be without a little adventure?

As for my TC training, it was not quite that I could just jump on the Merida cross and start right away. I had to change tires and wheels because none of my rims had the right combination. Now that I have finished that, I still need to find the Tacx quick release to actually put the wheel on the trainer. I would also like to find the extra set of pedals I had so I can keep the Ridley in working order in case I have a cross urge. It is surprising how easily one can lose these things in a very small room with only a few boxes. Still, the room is ready for some TC and so am I.

I have been looking through the race schedules and I should manage a lagom mix of marathon and XC. Already on 5 maj there is a 50km MTB race I have never seen before so that is good practice before the shock of Långa Billingeracet.

I see that Philip has requested a blog entry so I think it is time to have an entry. It's important to keep the reader happy or the reader may get tempted to just look at silly YouTube clips instead.

At this point I would love to reveal that I have spent the last few weeks on some top-secret training program and that I am superstrong and ready for MTB 2012. But all I have managed in the fury of work that has followed me until last week is one run per weekend. Those runs have been respectful anyway, especially the 12km terrain on that day when it was -13C. And I can manage that distance without trouble or 3 days of träningsvärk. Still, compared to the form I had this time last year from all the skiing, things look bad. But I have not given up because I know that I can get to MTB training with my car now.

I will be giving a lot more priority to training now that things are under control at work. And there is no reason why I can't do some TC at home. Even if it does piss off my neighbour below it would only be for around 30 min a couple times a week. Others are not exactly quiet so why should I set an example.

So...let's start some discussion.
1. What upgrades are you planning before MTB 2012?
2. Have you already bought your 29" and what is the deal with those anyway?
3. Which races are on your schedule for 2012?

After a long work week of answering typical questions of whether Canadians say aboot (no), wear lumberjack shirts (sometimes) or apologize when you run into them (very much so, yes), it was time for a relaxing weekend watching the snow. But enough is enough. I need to run. Last year at this time I was in superb shape from all the skiing and today I could hardly make it up the Furulund hill. Aj. This is supposed to be Super Year 2012!

I took a break around the 5km point where they have some styrkträning bars and stuff which is basically all useless. The one over in Lerum is better. Still, they had the series of chin-up bars so I made an effort at some full body weight ones on the lowest bar (about 15 cm over my head). I did 5 of the bicep curls right away but when I switched to the other way it was 2. Again my shoulders and upper back/neck have no strength at all. I managed to get to 5 anyway and a few more biceps for confidence before finishing off the run. More work is needed as we say.

Anyway, conditions were perfect out today with the fluffy snow and it was not wet or anything. Despite the total lack of cardio or any sort of form whatsoever it was nice to be out...

While other bloggare have been discussing creative ways to get rid of money, I have been taking it easy. I was visiting my family over in Canada for a bit and basically did nothing. I took 4 nice forest walks and made an attempt at some running. This led to paralysis of the kind I have not felt in a long time which is the risk of any interruptions in training. I have no clue when I was running last time. Anyway, it was nice to get away.

Last Saturday I took my usual ride up to Furulund and over to Delsjön which was completely packed with people walking. The legs felt fine so I should keep it up to have a nice start on the 2012 season. Then I have tried to use my Sportlife card before it expires at the end of the month but Exclusive is packed and I can't get into any group passes. Come on people...you know you will give up training by March. So why bother starting? Give your time to me instead. Ja ja, so I seriously doubt I will renew that.

I am saving a ton of money on ski equipment and I hope that Pölder Sport is enjoying the total lack of business. Yes, I am still bitter about that whole mess up. And I still haven't even tried the Peltonen skis and I doubt it will happen this season. But it would be nice to take a spin on the Ulricehamn loop just so I don't have completely bad memories of the place. But they have no snow either.

And, yes, it feels great to have a car again. Now I can go places.

I know you guys have probably waited desperately for me to write something positive and get rid of my 2011 curse. And here it is...

My Renault Clio is here and I have to say the colour is perfect for our Scandinavian nature. And nature it has seen already. This was taken on a winding and hilly little road in Lerum.

At first I was paranoid trying to drive it from Mölndal but once I was back in familiar territory I can declare, happily, that car technology has evolved since 1997. This is a completely different experience than my Colt. And when I change from the dubbdäck to summer tires this is going to be even more of a laugh. My Colt used to take off quick from the line but have zero power once I got to highway speed. It was still better than a Peugeot but was useless on hills. The Clio is slower starting and reminds me a lot of VW except that the steering is way more fun and responsive. At highway speeds the 112hk make all the difference and I found myself going a bit fast without noticing and shaking or noise. It is just safe and has a quality feel even though it is not expensive. I understand why there are so many Clios around now...

But my old Mitsubishi Colt was a very good choice as a first car and I have had a lot of cycling experiences with that. I noticed this because I seem to have a picture of it most places I went. So when I have nothing better to write about I can do a little tribute to the car that is probably now on its way to becoming a can of ärtsoppa. Or maybe half a can.

Finally I had that phone call. The one that will save 2011 and make all my cycling goals possible for 2012. The call that will cheer me up even though I am basically sick thanks to my co-workers and their evil plans to spoil both my birthday and Christmas by spreading germs. Yes...THAT call. My car is here! Tomorrow it will be mine!

Yes...my Renault Clio is here! The car that TopGear actually gave 14/20, something they only do for seriously sporty cars. And in true TopGear style they call it 'a huge kick in the balls to the Peugeot 207'. We shall see about that. It appears to be the second most popular car around Sävedalen after the Volvos.

Maybe the subject should say leraning but perhaps some of you are sick of Göteborgsskämt. Anyway, you all know that my training has been extremely uncreative lately. Or maybe repetitive is a better word. So today it was time to throw my brain a nice little trick and see what would happen.

Reversed direction was the theme of the day. Start with the usual tempostyle riding along Säveån (not flooded this time) and then over to Lexby along the road I usually end with. Back along the river in Jonsered and then up the hill of death...halfway up I took a right and went over to that muddy grusväg hill and then continued the rest of the way. Aj. This was more tung than Thåström in Way Out West. Turning left at Knipavägen made things no less tung so by the time I rejoined the road at the top of the hill I was hurting. No more clean MTB either.

I believe that this is the way Tahultsrundan is supposed to go and I can understand. It is much harder in this direction. Those steep uphills I always talked about are short downhills while the rest of the time is a very long gradual up all the way. And then in Landvetter you have to get up to Tahult which is a mother of a hill.

At Öjersjö it was time to turn left and return to the usual route again...except this time with a lot more cycling in my legs. There was no wind today so this was just a transport section until the hill at the golfcourse which I barely managed to attack today. At the start of Delsjön I slowed a bit to have some water and prepare for the rest. This was non-stop and full gas today and by the time I was passing Skatås I was seriously tired. But I pushed on home and now have a nice tingle in my legs.

Yes...a lovely 40km for the legs and under 2 hours. I will probably take a couple weeks off from training now but it is very strange for me to have this much leg strength in December. I think a bit of running would be nice but this distans/hills stuff is perfect for långlopp.

First I want to say how wonderful it was to see everyone on Sunday. It was obvious that Chris Cross has been missed this fall and I feel the same way. Life is crap without MCK. Hmm...maybe we can use that phrase for advertising? Anyway, at least I got to see the season's best CX track.

My car is on the way and is probably at Hedin Bil now but I am not going to relax until I have the keys and am sitting in it. The banks have become extremely tough lately and I am worried that they could put a stop to this whole deal. Of course that would be seriously bad for the car dealer too since I know they will have a hard time selling a Clio automatic in blågrå.

So now it is comment time from someone that hasn't even raced this year...
Here Oscar Ekstam has started the discussions and so far there are some decent suggestions.

It sounds like most are trying to get me to do Sportklass next year and that is fine so long as it is 40 minutes and has points. One of the main advantages with the introcross concept is that you don't have to worry about clubs or a licence. Anyone in this sport certainly has insurance already so why should we force people to pay a load of engångslicens cash just to try things out? No one will do Sport and yet I know from our local races there are lots of people with CX bikes who race for fun and enjoy it. As I see it Sport is as doomed as Prestige with the current rules.

Then we have this thing about races in city centres. I know the goal is to bring in crowds but let's be honest...cykel = nörd and a large group of men in tight shorts are not going to attract any public interest. That is the simple reality. If we look at the classic MTB marathons like Mörksuggejakten or Finnmarksturen, there you get local people watching. But that has taken years and we all know that cycling has a much greater following in Dalarna. My point is that we could have much better tracks in Borås and Sthlm. Ymergården is perfect for cross and the same was true for Frescati, Bosön or Drottningholm. If we are to prioritize good tracks we need to get rid of this 'centrum' thing. And if we want more people watching we should all start our own supporter clubs. =)

While we are starting to compare things to the Danish system, I have always agreed with the A-B-C system and moving people up when they win too much. But that kills the whole cup status since people stay in their class just to win the cup. I am thinking a variation on the stafett they have in Västgötacupen except in reverse. Have one cup and give extra points for being in Prestige compared to Super. So then one has an incentive to not just sit in Super for the sake of winning the cup. In Denmark they also only have two starts in their CX races...the first start is for Sport and younger and then the second is for everyone else (Super + Prestige). Of course it would mean more difficulties for keeping track of people but having everyone race 50 minutes could be a good compromise.

I am sure I will come up with more ideas but this is enough for now...

Sitting here at home on a Friday night is probably not something I should admit to. Especially when my most exciting plan for the evening is to try the new kebab-flavoured calzone while watching the Idol final. But when I listen to the mad rainstorm going on outside I think I have made the right choice.

Just like I predicted we had far too much nice weather before and sooner or later we would pay. Now we are paying. This is the second massive windstorm to hit Götet and this one is much worse since it is raining heavily AND windy as hell. I was completely drenched on my way to work this morning and even more thoroughly soaked on my way home since I had to get my kebab calzone from Allum. Waterproof winter jacket my ass...what is the point when the 3C rain is coming directly at you at 20 m/s???

Someone at work said they would rather have this than snow. That someone must be mad. Or they drive to work and actually never go out.

Good news is that the weather looks pretty good for Sunday which is reassuring since I will be outside all day helping and am already half sick. But the track must be in horrible shape after today. Tire-sucking grass? Oh yes.

Things are getting very routine here on Sveriges minsta cykelblogg so I am adopting the 'less is more' approach. After sleeping in a bit too much on Sunday I had what might be my last ride of the year outside given the quick change in weather here and the emergence of ice patches. But I think some running would be a good thing while I get my old Trek into winter mode and prepare to rebuilding my Full Dynamix.

Anyway, Sunday was yet again an Öjersjö experience but with an extra side tour into the centre and a lussebulle stop next to Ullevi. It was kind of raining and very much freezing so those of you doing CX this weekend will freeze. I will be there on Sunday helping and will try for Saturday also. Friday afternoon I have a meeting yet again. =(

And then last night, just to be completely predictable again, I did CXWORXS30 at Exclusive except this time I had warmed up my shoulders a bit to minimize the muscle pain. Just when I get the hang of the routine they started changing parts of it but the new variation on our dear friend plankan is worth remembering and doing at home for longer. The stomach burns nicely when you lift up one arm and make a circle with it while supporting yourself with your stomach and other arm. Aj.

Next year is also looking pretty good for långlopp so that is nice to look forward to. But, most important of all, I get my car in 2 weeks and can return to normal life again.

It seems like even the gym people have been bitten by the CX bug. Sportlife calls theirs CXWORX30 and I already told you about this 30 minutes of torture before. Despite a long day at work and Sunday's return of my F&%#ing shoulder pain, it was time again...

With only 30 min this is yoga on amphetamine and I just can't believe how tired it makes me. This is all for my core which mostly means my stomach, the part of me which likes to attract food and expand every year. There is also an ass song which is probably also good considering how tight our cycling shorts are. If only there were any women that took even the slightest possible interest in our sport. At some point during the sidplanken I could feel my shoulder start to scream again. It just never seems to heal. Bläää

Anyway, this whole experience was better than the first time. And the fact that it still hurts means I am doing something right. Good good.

I had many plans for today. My first idea was to head off to Borås on one of those double-decker buses since I had no other way to get there. But there is this small thing about watching CX in the rain that was discouraging. Also the fact that only 2 people signed up for prestige. After all the time that people like Mattias have certainly spent to get any permit to race in the most central and fine place Borås has to offer, it has to be a disappointment to see the turn-out. I like the original idea of just having some cup races which you have to attend and then let others just arrange if they want.

Anyway, the real problem is SMHI's little forecast of winds at 37 m/s. Yes...37 metres in 1 second or 133.2 km/h if that makes you appreciate things better! I have no desire whatsoever to get hit with that kind of sidewind on a high bus somewhere out on Rv40. And yesterday's wind of half that speed had me wingy as hell on my MTB. I think the farthest I will get today is Allum. At the same time, one has to experience this kind of storm. So I will do my best to try this without ended up flying over Sävedalen...

I was expecting a weather disaster but that came later in the day. So I was able to take a nice ride and stay reasonably dry. Just to be completely boring I did the same route as last Saturday with start up to Kåsjön as usual. Hills etc etc etc followed by stora klingan out on the bus road parallel to Landvettervägen. I kept at it with the stora even after my right turn at Öjersjö which meant heading west and a wall of wind. So it was time to get into my best tempo position (not really effective on an MTB) but my legs did not seem to mind.

There were a lot of rullskidor types to chase down and for those doing classic that is no big challenge. A couple were doing skate but they are no match for a bike...even a bike with me on it. Back over to Delsjön there is quite a solid rullskidor track on the grusväg but it is a bit tricky since the rut is deep sometimes and my tires got stuck. So rather than take the easy/fast way I jumped out into the rough grus and gave some other muscles a bit of abuse.

Next was a cleaning stop at Skatås which was very needed plus an extra little side trip up the hill to Björkekärr which is lovely and has several nice little circle roads with hills in the middle. Yes...GP on an MTB.

So my winter training is off to a good start except it is time I find some better winter pants and a windproof top. Gloves and shoe covers too. But that will have to be a January present...soon it is car time.

I have heard some people talking about Beach 2012 already so why not start too. Last night I was at Sportlife Exclusive for a nice little styrka session. My goal with this is simply to have a base set of functional muscles so that I don't keep getting injured when I fall.

Despite many theories, I still follow the Nautilus method (or should I say Actic now that they changed names?) 12 reps max of anything at the highest weight I can manage. If I can do that, I increase the weight. But if I can only do 8 reps I reduce the weight. This simple and quick method means that about once a month I go up a weight on every machine. That pace of progress is perfectly fine for what I need.

After the 7 minute warmup on the ass machine it was time directly for the dips and chinups which I managed at a respectable amount over half my body weight. Shoulders are of course a problem and I have no strength at all there. But I will. There was one motion that made some very uncomfortable sounds in my right arm/shoulder which is a sign that I still have some problem there. But the most important muscles for MTB are just fine.

And to end things off I did 500m on the SkiErg thing which is a fine way to demonstrate how weak one actually is in the upper body.