LIVING IN A CAVE 2/10/10: (Posted by Sam Schultz @ sam.schultzbrothersracing.com)

With my lack of updates lately it may seem like I have been living in a cave.  Actually I have.  A layman may call it a closet.  Actually it really is a closet, but it's a really big closet, close to the size of a normal room and it makes for the perfect cave-like sleeping spot.  It's nothing that will really impress the ladies or anything, unless said lady really likes to sleep like me.  For over a month now I have been hanging out down in Tucson, AZ at The Cycling House, helping my good friend and TCH owner Owen Gue with his all inclusive cycling bed and breakfast business.  It has worked out perfectly.  Through the gig I get to live in a multi-million dollar home (albeit in a closet) with my brother and some of my really good friends.  The clients that come to the house are escaping their normal 9 to 5 routine as well as cold climates so they give off plenty of positive energy and are always super psyched on hanging out in the desert riding bikes.  Andy and I generally handle cooking the dinners (with me basically just doing what Andy tells me) and I handle other odd jobs around the house, leaving most of the day to get my training in.  It really has been an ideal situation and this is my 3rd season of taking advantage of the gig.  


Since my last update I made the transition from squeezing in all of the ski days that I possibly could in the months of Nov. and Dec. to getting back to work and hitting the training fairly hard.  Transferring from the skis to the bike has been a bit tough and I have had more than one ride where I've caught myself daydreaming about floating through endless powder.  The daydream ends pretty quickly when I  open my eyes and remind myself that riding bikes in a place that has perfect weather 99% of the time is pretty sweet.  My coach (Kristen Dieffenbach) has been putting me to work though.  Instead of the normal 3 day blocks she has had me dabbling with some pretty tough 5 day blocks and that has put me through the wringer.  It's been good to test the limits to see what can handle and this time of year is a good time to play with it.  I had to call Uncle after yesterday's workout and I  took a much enjoyed advance on my rest day today.  Tomorrow it's back to another block of training, I think I'm ready for it. 

So now that I'm back out of my closet, errr cave, I'll try to update more frequently.  Don't believe it until you see it, but it is a goal.

 

WINTER? 2/14/10 (Posted by Sam Schultz @ sam.schultzbrothersracing.com)

Living in the land of cacti and snowbirds it's easy to forget the time of year.  Yesterday I dusted off the MTB and decided to start climbing up Mt. Lemmon.  The trails up there are sweet but I ran into some unfamiliar white stuff.  At least I got first tracks.   

The snow and pine trees didn't last long and shortly after I turned around I was back to a more familiar setting with a 5,000 vertical foot descent down a perfect ribbon of trail and temperatures in the 70's to greet me at the bottom.

Not a bad day in the office and a good reminder that perfect riding weather in February is pretty nice.