Maybe it was the Death Cab followed by the Iron & Wine but while I was looking through some old photos and it brought me back.  The Photo was of my dad and I at a local triathlon both happy with our performances.

The photo was from 2007 and it was one of my last races of the year.  For me… My 2007 season has been my peak.  It was the year I raced well and raced often.  Ever since then I have been doomed to shotty performances and pro field stage fright.  I just haven’t had that same fire I did a few years ago.

Seeing the smile on my face, the sense of accomplishment came flooding back.  I’ve come to realize that Olympic gold is a hoop dream but putting my ego in the back seat and shooting for some pro field top 10’s is a goal I can shoot for next season.

I can’t say I’m back yet, there could still be a long winter just around the bend, but I have realized my fall from grace and it’s most certainly time to be proactive.   We are going to set some goals for 2010 and hit them all.

6 Weeks with the Cervelo S3

6 weeks and the best part of 1500 miles later I’m back with my verdict on the Cervelo S3.

As I said before, this bike has no excuse for anything less than a 10/10 and I’m glad to say is still lives up to the tall order.

Like I said before the most noticeable upgrade from my late SLC-SL is the ride quality.  The thin, more compliant seat stays really start to become apparent after a couple of hours on the bike.  I don’t feel the need to get up and ride out of the saddle to let the blood flow back in to my shorts; I just seem to feel less fatigued.

One of the things that I have noticed on this bike is the attention to detail.  The build quality seems to hover well over the heads of your typical cookie-cutter Taiwanese carbon frame.  There isn’t an aesthetic “carbon fiber” pattern laid below the clear coat there is just a beautiful matrix of iridescent carbon strands suspended in a smooth as glass surface.  There are also additional carbon sheets  reinforcing the water bottle mounts that really highlight the craftsmanship.

I somehow managed to “explode” my rear Zipp Team Issue wheel so for the past week I have been rolling my Zipp 404s.  With the addition of the wheels the bike came alive.  It went from a quick and comfortable bike for training and long days in the saddle… to a violent and brutally fast rocket ship.

The bike just begs to be ridden hard and but up wet, it seems to relish the hard and heavy intervals and short punchy hills that litter the Illinois River Valley.  It accelerates at your first twitch and seems to have enough grip to drag your knee in the bends like a Moto GP rider.

Now…about the graphics.  I’ll admit, I wasn’t crazy about how they looked with I got it but after riding it and having some face time with it the Grey and black has absolutely grown on me.  It is such a simple paint scheme and even with the large CERVELO logo on the down tube it doesn’t seem to scream for attention.

One issue I have seen is the rear wheel clearance.  The spokes on my train wheels come very close to the burly chain stays that act as the main source of power transfer for the bike.  I still have some clearance but I am sure they’re are some wheels that wouldn’t make the grade.

So what is the quick and dirty?  Great bike, best bike I have ever owned to be exact.  Some people could argue that it lacks the passion that some of the high dollar Italian bikes on the market offer but for my money I have to say it is everything I ever wanted and more.  Nearly flawless it is a no compromise, head down, teeth gritting, rockstar that you would still bring out to dinner with your mum and dad.

Lets talk power for a second.

So right next to my folks house is a road.  On this road there is a road race, a 3.6mile ITT to be exact.  In 2007 I raced this course and stopped the clock with a time of 8:03.  To cover the 3.6 miles in 8:03 I averaged 412watts.

While I have been here at my parents house I have been using this hill as a metric to figure where I am in fitness. Today, at the end of my ride, I cleared the top of the hill in 9:39.  That is a total differance of a shade over 90 seconds. In the back of my head I am thinking…”ah, 90 seconds isn’t much”

Well today, when I cleared the hill my average power for the 3.6mile 9min 39second run was 344watts.  That, my freind, puts in to perspective how much power has an effect on time.  I need to somehow find 58 more watts to be back to square one…  I felt like that was a good showing how what type of power = what kind of time.

Today was a good day.  I’m thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given.

Last night, I had a revelation. I had a single simple thought so profound that I feel it could change the way I feel about myself and how I exibit myself to the world entirely.  I realized that my entire life has been about winning.  I have always been told to be the best, even in situations where being “the best” is a goal that I could never attain.

Through this way of thinking, this quest for greatness, I have never been able to be happy with an accomplishment.  No matter what great things I have acheived they are only a step in the latter to a goal I may never reach.

Some people may look at this idea and see the simplicity, saying that is the reason why you set goals both long and short term  But while I have always had short term goals, I have never been able to see them as their own entity.  I have never been able to look at a short term goal I have completed and be happy with my current place, I have always been fixated on the end result.

Well, nevermore.  After nearly 24 years I realized that being happy comes from being able to look at yourself and be satisfied with what you see, to be satisfied with what you accomplished. If you are constantly striveing to be the best you will undoubtibly pass up the small things along the way that you can revel in.

I am truely happy with myself.

*on another note… spell check isn’t working, good luck with the jumbled mess above.