Maybe an easier Name that Organism

wish i coulda seen this one

Wings go up 3 zip

Yeah no cable - no chance to watch it... sokay... they won. That is a good thing.

Go Wings!

Oh and the name the plant... it is in the mustard family...

But i doubt anyone will get it...

anyone wanna prove me wrong?

pure stupidity

suspend the gas tax for the summer?

YOU KIDDING?

That is flipping stupid!

That billboard might be familiar to the DC crew, but I saw it over at the local advocacy web log: Bike Providence.

Ain't it true?

Now, just as gas/fuel prices are starting to impact (in a good way) people's driving habits (driving less, picking the more fuel efficient car), they want to cap it?

Stupid.

Ride a damn bike. Commute by bike. Make a difference.

I dunno. Seems pretty stupid to cut the Fed $0.18/gallon gas tax. And why is it a fixed number? Seems they would be smarter to make it a %. Sure that would mean when prices go up they get more money. But THEY being OUR government. OUR country. Our country is kinda Fahked right now when it comes to the revenue/debt load. Esp considering the wonderful war in Afgan and Iraq.

Didn't ANYONE learn ANYTHING from the USSR war in Afganistan years back? Am I the only one who remembers the critique of that 'venture'? People left and right in the US military circles said fighting ANY kind of battle/engagement against the localsin Afganistan was suicide and 100% unwinnable. The Soviet Union proved that right. What has changed since then? Doesn't seem like much. The biggest advantage the locals have there is the terrain. Sure we can spend another 20 years and with mapping and new technology we could do 'better' than the Soviets but I don't think we can do what they couldn't. Heck look at Iraq.

Look at the most painful stat the G-Ride pulled out. Dead to wounded. Compare to Vietnam. Compare to any combat situation. No one talks about wounded. They made a big deal about 4,000 dead. But. How many US citizens are permanently disabled from wounds incurred in the 'war'?

So not only are we hemoraging money into two very challenging conflicts, we've just started cutting over a billion dollars of checks to tax payers here in effort to 'stimulate' the economy, now? Now they wanna cut the fed gas 'tax'?

And since WHEN has the US population on a whole had a hard time not spending more money than they make? Seriously? We aren't a culture like most of europe. Saving money to buy a car is a retarded notion for people here. Why spend 4 years saving money to buy a car? I can buy it now and spend 4 years paying for it and drive it the whole time.

But. It is the culture. There was an interesting thread about that over in the CX section of RBR. Pretty obvious answer to the question but i was suprised that some people came up with good intelligent answers.

I dunno.

I like this country of ours quite a bit. I honestly see this Obama dude as the one who SHOULD be president. But sadly all the indications I see are the democrats becoming bitter and divided and McCain gleefully grinning in the corner thinking "this is gonna be a LANDSLIDE"... Kinda scary.

Sure, I just spend almost $65 to drive 570 miles burning only 20% biofuel. It costs that much for us to fill the volvo and it only goes 2-300 miles/tank.

But where is the major out cry against the cost of coffee? Is coffee a luxury or a necessity? And why is it people are fine with paying $100-150/month for cable TV? Maybe if they thing gas prices are too high they could cut that out. Does it make their lives better? No. Heck turn the TV off. By the less expensive, unprocessed foods. MAKE THE DAMN FOOD YOURSELF! With the time you would have spend parking your fat ass in front of the TV! Eating out? Fast Food? How much money is there to be saved by eating at home vs eating out? Feed a family of four for $100-150/week? Possible? absolutely.

There is so much going wrong, so much waste. Making gasoline cheaper won't help fix the problem.

Ethanol, E85, won't fix the problem. BioDiesel can. It is just that people don't realize how cool Diesel vehicles are, and how clean the new engines are. Even the 10 year old engines are wicked damn clean when burning biodiesel.

But better than that?

Ride your damn bike.

Live to far away? Carpool, hybrid it, bike to a mass transit location. There ARE solutions. Driving yourself is NEVER the best one.

Think.

Heddwch
G

Okay now someone take this damn soap box away...

post lunch coma

esp now that it has been confirmed that our fume hood alarm ain't doing jack.

sucking down bean juice like it is elixir. Wait. it is. Nevermind.

Ben is showing off his super skillz. Thankfully he is okay - or the crumpling sound of him crashing wouldn't nearly be so funny.


And also from the word of blog...

Wendy Simms. Now that's some kick ass solid Mt Bike web logging. Sure she races on the same team as the twin towers, and sure what fellow 6 and a half (or so) foot tall freak can't but be a fan of Treefarm and Nasty? They have euro cross equivalents (Petr, Erwin...) as tall, but these are home boys. In the USA sense. Not to mention Wendy kicks ass too. 248 kick ass people in the men's race? WTF into single track? And people bitched about cross being a holeshot clusterfahk at times. Dude that's like nuts.

And it is nice to know that even folks like Bart Brentjens walk parts of Mt Bike races. Makes me feel not so dumb when I gotta do that (ie Burlingame - or hell, any Mt bike ride around here at the moment). Sure, those guys would clean the stuff i'm walking in a heart beat, not even think about it. But they are pros. I'm doing this cause i think it is fun...

And of course. BSNYC comes out with some new good funny stuff after a while of tiresome craigslist busting. R U a cyclist?
I can't find fault in his statement/definition:

"However, if you opt to ride a bicycle even when it is inconvenient to do so or you could be doing something else, then you’re probably a cyclist."

can you? floor pump? also good. "curling while on mescaline" funny line, no?

the craziest 5 hours begin in a few minutes...

this is gonna be interesting...

nothing like functions that overlap by 15 minutes with travel time between them...

time to roll...

heddwch
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Name that Plant #?

What is it? There should be enough to go on if you know the plant. It might be tough to key it out though from that image.

It is a pretty remarkable plant.

Riding in was also one of the best conversation days as well. I learned that my favorite botanical sample I use for tours on the Scanning Electron Microscope is currently being used as a potential biofuel organism. Duckweed. Amazing little monocot. I also, shamefully didn't realize (or remember maybe) that it is a monocot.

No today's NTP is not duckweed.

Great ride in, great discussion, weather was hot (I over dressed even). No real rain drops (missed them all again - it started spitting as I got to work). Now I know most people won't say 55°F is warm. But I was pretty solidly warm, even despite the fog and drizzle.

Good stuff!

Winner of this edition of NTP will receive some prize yet to be determined. Any individual who witnessed the capturing of the image is excluded from entering the contest.

heddwch
G

Rain

Timing is everything. Making it in this morning dancing between showers was great. Any day you can ride in with a forecast of rain with dry socks is good. Wet roads are fine but dry socks are the litmus test. Dry = good.

As the day winds down bike commuters start refreshing the radar on rainy days. Wondering how the ride home will be. Does the radar image offer a glimmer of hope of dancing between lines of showers?

Some days the bands are lined up so the ride home can happen between them. Other days it is a matter of riding through wave after wave. I like it best when the lines run parallel to my commute home.

The other day I realized most of my commutes by car in michigan or bike here in New England have been north and south, more or less at least. And there is something pretty cool about that. And safe. Never having to ride/drive into the sun is nice, and not only good for the eyes, it is safer too.

Safe is good.

Time to saddle up. it was nice for a while having the rain cover off. It makes communicating with my passenger much easier. A lot less of "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" from both sides. The rain is good. It helps the massive amount of cell division going on right now.

But cruising through a neighborhood this morning I began to wonder. Wonder about how 'healthy' the green green lawns are. Are they no more healthy than the beef cattle force fed corn and soy protein for their lives? And if they aren't all that healthy what does that do to the quality of their muscles (meat)? Salmon is easy to tell and to taste differences between corn and soy meal fed fish and wild. Wild trout vs hatchery raised trout are different too. Those little brookies up in the Colorado streams are very different than the stocked ones pulled from the reservoirs.

I often equate fishing and reading the stream for where the fish are hiding to reading a trail when mt biking or picking a line in cross. Part of it is skill, part of it is knowledge, but the overwhelming factor? Practice.

Ride safe, and send some good thoughts out to Jacquie (the other JP). It is of great fortune that her membership into the Crumpled Bike Club comes at no harm to her physical self. But none-the-less, her loss is saddening.

Heddwch
G

An interesting week ahead

So much going on. Many many visitors will be packing into our small house this weekend. Lots of stuff scheduled... some stuff got nixed. One of the things that got nixed was the father-daughter dance. We've been the last few years and while it has been really really special for us, coming off spring break when the two of us spent lots of time together and all day this past friday, we are not lacking in special father daughter time. That and she doesn't want to go. Afore mentioned crowds will be at the house for an occasion centered around her on Saturday morning. She wants to spend time with the visitors. She spends enough time with boring old daddy.
You'd think I had a 15 year old daughter with that take on things. (for the record i added the boring and old part.)

I should write a review of the Ballet. Some amazing parts. The dancing was impressive, quite expressive and very very good. Some of the groups weren't perfectly in sync and the americanized ending made it all lovey but there is something far more compelling and tragic about the original score/story. And it was done to canned music. If this ballet company can get real musicians in the pit, well then they would certainly rival companies like PNB... (the only big company i've seen perform countless ballets in person). The swans were brilliant and the cyngets were amazing. Fantastic point work.

And in a way, I guess, the ballet served as some great father-daughter time. More then than if we go to the dance and she runs around with her friends the whole evening while the dads prop themselves up on the table after a long week.

At least I remembered coffee today.

Speaking of coffee... BikeRadar.com has a bit on caffeine. Suggesting that dosage using anhydrous caffeine is more effective than coffee... great... now you tell me... interesting conclusions AND a well cited article (with actual references to journal articles).

And it is nice to know - sort of - that I'm not the only tall freak that the dizziness happens to on a regular basis. Does it happen to you RP?

Also, if you made it through the one other N.E. Web logger who punches more keys/post than GeWilli post up there today... well i'll answer with i still am not talking about the new bike till I have it in my possession and can take a picture with my own camera. In the mean time a dizzying array of component possibilities swirl around in my head. Yes this bike will officially retire the Paramount, maybe. Or not. I forgot. I don't have a TT bike. The Paramount would make a nice one. All skinny tubed and stuff. Hmmm. Sweeeeeeet, and heck it doesn't really even factor into the wheel of fortune parts determination for the new bike.

Mt Bike ride is on for Thursday. Heading out in the morning for a lung clearing set of intervals chasing skinny whitey up the rocks out at Lincoln Woods. I'll figure out how to ride ONE of my bikes at some point. Maybe.

heddwch
G

Sweetest bike in the stable

And it isn't one that I can ride.

Finally unpacked the very last (and least used) of the bikes from the move. Oh this is a gem.

A brilliant shining diamond.

Fresh off the heels of getting my ass kicked at Lincoln woods Mt bikes are on my brain. And I needed the Speedplay Frogs out of there so we can get my wife's Keen cycling sandals activated.

It is a work of art. Just kicking myself for not hanging on to the original build kit bars and stem. Everything else is cool. Well what else is there besides the EA70 Bontrager Race Lite Seat post and the Weinmann BCX Red and Blue rims? The simple clean complete XT kit. 8speed rapid fire (that shit flat out works - good stuff) V-brakes. It has a tuned Judy XC on there. I think i will swap in the SL lowers I have. Probably leave the weight tuned springs and dampers in there though.

The frame. Oh a sweet deep rich blue Santa Cruz Bontrager OR Race. XS i think, maybe a S. Not sure. It even has a mint condition Julia Furtado (anyone remember her?) Saddle.

I cleaned it up. Aired up the tires. It is a pretty amazing little bike. Had the oldest try and stand over it. Tippi toes. Not quite ready for 26"s but when she is? Oh yeah! Brilliant! Gotta find a nice rigid fork for it and turn it into a CX bike maybe...

Those rear dropouts. The gussets everywhere.

What a bike.

what a bike.

The tires caught my eye and made me thing a bit. I put some Contis on there. Cross Country Pro (R) and Navigator Pro (F) when I built it (put bits on a beautiful frame - not actually built the frame) years ago. And I had forgotten that the Conti Cross country on my Klein is old. Like as in it is probably 12 years old at least... if not older. No wonder the side walls are showing some dry cracking. I think the Leader Pro is just about as old though. Good tires for riding on the road i guess, no? Yes. I needed a break, a refreshing fun ride today. So I rode into the city to check see if anything broke while I was gone yesterday. The rest of the team and most of (road bike racing) New England is probably up racing Palmer right now. And the dirt crowd is getting tuned up to hit Farmington tomorrow. I'm going to swan lake tomorrow. A production of the original score in 4 acts. Should be amazing. Yeah. Ya know what's funny? In my head all I hear is Billy Elliot's dad saying "BALLET?" It is the subtle inflections that make it amusing to me. That and his dad's freaking out that his son's dancing not playing foooooot bahl or something more manly. A damn fine movie if'n I do say so.

Okay- enough ballet talk.

Bike to work day is coming up on the 16th of May.

Last handful of years it has done nothing but pour down cold rain that day. It can be a gorgeous week leading up and a weekend following it, but it seems to be required that Bike To Work day be cold, raining, and windy.

This year? Maybe we'll get lucky.

Our Local one has the press release ready to go already. Looking to be fun.

And I think I might have (hopefully not tho) won my only race of the year today!

GeWilli bought a bike. And one that should actually fit. It also represents a brand GeWilli hasn't ridden before. Should be interesting. Should be interesting.

I'll wait for the goods to arrive and me to photograph said goods before spilling the beans.

In the mean time. It is really time to sell some damn fishing rods. Fly Rods anyone? They'll be hitting EBay soon.

Heddwch
G

figures

After a coupled days of rip roaring headwinds for the commute home, the day I do a hybrid... freaking would be a killer tail wind tonight.

So lunch today was a bit interesting. No leftovers (i ate everything last night). So I grabbed the second half of the whole wheat burger buns, a 1/2 tub of fresh ground peanuts from the market ($3something a pound) -ie Peanut Butter- and a thing of Nutella.

Oh

My

God

Scrumptious lunch.

So simple. So tasty Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches.

Funny, esp in light of K-Man's pointing out (and illustrating) a Nutella Vs Peanut Butter blog entry.

First how can you face off peanut butter and nutella? Just not possible. Together they are brilliant. Alone they stand apart. Nutella, while still full of hazelnutty goodness, falls more on the jam/jelly/sweet side of things than peanut butter. That is unless you are comparing Jiff or other crappy processed sweetened crap that is passed off as "peanut" butter. Oh yeah check out the reduced "fat" versions. Chock full of hydrolized soy protien. Oh yeah, cause that stuff is JUST so good for you.

Anyway. Spread 4 of those delicious peanut butter and nutella goodness sandwiches over an afternoon and I ain't talking about being hungry no more.

Happily answering questions and emails listening to the 20th anniversary collection from alligator records. Some DAMN fine good tunes on there. No worries about food. Maybe it was a pseudo bonk from last night that was carrying over to this morning's ride that made my legs feel like crap. Probably not. Probably the fact that i'm just slow as all mighty get out [ court lawyer voice ] I Would Like to point out exhibit A, 2008 Tour of Battenkill results. [ /court lawyer voice ].

Man, this is some good Tuneage. It has been a while since I've cranked up some Blues. Damn these folks can play!
Albert Collins
Lonnie Brooks
Johnny Winter
and the GOD of gi-tar blues...
Hound Dog Taylor

Ah heck how can you elevate one of those guys over another...

Pure brilliance captured there on digital celluloid and popped on youtube for all to enjoy.

Damn that's some goooooooooooooooood stuff.

heddwch
G

humo(u)r for today

The Demographics of American Newspapers

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who
run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think
they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they
should run the country and who are very good at
crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to
run the country, but don't really understand The New
York Times. They do, however, like their statistics
shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who
wouldn't mind running the country-if they could find
the time-and if they didn't have to leave Southern
California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents
used to run the country and did a poor job of it,
thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who
aren't too sure who's running the country and don't
really care as long as they can get a seat on the
train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care
who is running the country as long as they do
something really scandalous, preferably while
intoxicated, and who like their news as pictures
and/or cartoons.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running
another country, but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who
aren't sure if there is a country or that anyone is
running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand
for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders
are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who
also happen to be illegal aliens from any other
country or galaxy, provided, of course, that they are
not Republicans
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in
line at the grocery store.
12. The Seattle Times is read by people who have
recently caught a fish and need something in which to
wrap it.

And the purported 'original' and quite well delivered:

nothing like...

NOT remembering to bring more coffee in to work UNTIL you go to make a pot the next day. DOH! No coffee. Spare change scrounge for some coins to hit up the blue state for a cuppajoe

Oh well.

Got a solid 2 hours of getting dropped on the Mountain bike. Seems that I can't for the life of me go up hill. And my downhill hucking skills suck. They started coming around abit. But. A 36x28 ain't good for out here. Works great in Michigan. Not so much out here.

Fun, even though I got my ass handed to me. It was very odd. I couldn't suck in enough air climbing. Almost wheezing to a point. The 15+mph head winds last couple nights haven't helped my recovery from battenkill much. I just was cooked. Recovered pretty quickly. And by the end of the ride I started to remember how to do this MTB thing. Issa fun.

Sort of like a Rose Lake ride from the shop. Ride out on the roads, do various combinations of trails and what not and head home. Except rose lake is flat, sandy and not terribly technical. Lincoln woods, pretty rocky and Curt was picking some challenging and fun routes. I did wind up not hucking some stuff, but surpised myself when i did huck a few and managed to bike handle my way out of a standstill endo w/o crashing. Well unlike the Rose Lake ride that is through back country and farmish large land plots. This was the urban ride to get there.

Fun stuff. Again though too much thinking while riding. Example: I like cross because it takes the handling part of MTBs but doesn't have the big rocks and drop offs, and puts ya on a road bike and lets you run over the barriers instead of making you ride them. Oh and Gary Klein? Thanks for making such wicked high bottom brackets. They kick ass. WHOOO. I'd have been in deep pedal slacking log stopping on doodoo w/o it. Might try the Mantra out there next. If only because it don't have an early 90s low flat bar position... Talk about saddle to bar drop!

Coffee- must feed the demon before my head essplodes (gotta be a few quarters rattling around here somewhere)

heddwch
G

Contest!

You CX racer fans out there.

Don't forget to check out Henry's content and order a video or two and while you are there enter the contest.

heddwch
G

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.
- Pablo Picasso

Where NOT to look when you are hungry

Mid afternoon - a brief pause waiting for stuff to happen between running between floors and frantic phone calls...

I found myself on the King Arthur Flour blog...

and

it is not good

I tell ya

Chocolate Roll?
Cinnamon Bread in a hurry?
Homemade Toaster Tarts?

Man alive am I' STARVING now.

I'd kill for 1/2 that Cinnamon loaf or a hanful pf those toaster tarts.

Food. Damn Cyclists. Always hungry.

And all I have kicking around the office is a few waterbottles full of... what else? Water.

I actually contemplated running to the corner store here (less than a block away) but, nothing they sell sounds appetizing at all. How can a little debbie snack even hold a candle to these illuminating masterworks from King Arthur Flour.

Assuming the bikes can make it a night without work I might have to bake something after dinner... hmmm no cinnamon chips in the house though... that limits things...

Heddwch
G

PS
i'm still really hungry

I got thinking

Scanning the headlines this morning I noticed the BB30 standard stuff popping up over on BikeRadar.com. Makes sense. And. Well when it comes down to it, it sure as hell seems to be identical to the Klein BB of the past.

Ya know. The straight BB spindle and the green locktited on pressed in bearing that lasts for EVER. Still light strong.

And ever since I adjusted my brand new 9 speed Dura-Ace BB in my Q-pro back in 1998 I've been wondering if it wouldn't be possible to make that work in the MT bike somehow, or machine the BB in the Q-Pro to fit some special bearings.

Now I take a closer look at the BB30 standard (down load the PDF if you are curious about the specs) and think, now that's cool. I wonder, i wonder how close the Adroit is to being able to make use of that.

But what I see is Gary Klein (pre-Trek neutering of the line) being so far ahead of the curve that people forget.

Bottom bracket...
Minimalistic Dropouts... (so what, rear entry ones are a pain but not that bad and are predecessors to other little ones)
And the big one...

Headset. Check it. People RAILED AND RANTED and Bitched and whined and carried on about how STUPID it was to be tied to ONE fork the whole life of the bike, not being able to put a chris king in there was sacrilege. But. Now it seems bikes are designed for a specific fork (sounds familiar) and use proprietary headsets. Wow.

Not to mention the fact that the lower bearing is bigger than the top (where have I seen that recently).

Ya know, when it comes right down to it. My Bike frame and fork with 1991 technology is still as advanced if not more so than some of these fancy 2008 models. Sure it is a bit heavier, but I'm heavier now than I was in 1991...

Like the 29" wheel pioneers, the guys who thought of stuff first often get overlooked as progress eventually catches up to them.

I guess the funniest thing is, when you look at who "owns" the BB30 web page...

It is cannondale.

Once again. They aren't smart enough, talented enough, innovative enough, to come up with really good ideas on their own.

did they wait for Trek to totally stop selling Kleins in the US before launching that page?

I wonder.

Sometimes I think they should have stuck to making cool panniers and bike bags and what ever they did those first handful of years before copying Cunningham and Klein... and copying both badly...

me?

biased?

never... and yes i've owned and ridden cannondales... sold them too...

I guess selling a bike is a great way to learn about the company. You get fed all the sales 'secrets' the key points that separates the bikes from others.

Not just bikes. Microscopes, cars, people need catch phrases to differentiate themselves.

Funniest thing I witness is when a company one year is hard selling a very specific feature that only they offer. Convincingly and intensely selling that feature. Only. In the next new product revision to do things the say way their competitors do. Absolutely hysterical. I've had so much fun with that, getting them to argue against their old arguments. It is very funny to watch them flinch in face of their own arguments that they used "on me" a year or more ago.

Things change. That's cool. reasons are often good ones.

I dunno where the hell i'm going right now with this.

Should can it.

siesta anyone?
heddwch
G

carbon free

Well, both cars got parked at home. One kid in a trailer, one kid on a trail-a-bike!

Whooo.

Carbon Free Day! YAY!

Well, besides the hot water from the shower and all that other energy and stuff used at home and here at work. But car free maybe is a better term!

Picture from last night's ride home. The big tree on the lighthouse island is starting to leaf out. And it was pretty windy. Somewhat captured both:


heddwch
G

Focus on the good stuff

Brooke out in The PDX area mentioned this place in his latest entry.

This place being Stitch Craft.

StitchCraft, is Vancouver, Washington's premier yarn and fabric boutique. Handmade is beautiful.

We feature yarn, fabric, patterns, books and notions with a fashion forward sense using high quality, natural fibers. If you love to sew, knit, crochet, embroider, or embellish, this is a boutique for you. In addition to our wonderful selection of lovely natural fibers, we specialize in organic;

• yarns
• sewing fabrics
• upholstery fabrics
• lace trims
• wallpapers (yes! organic wallpaper).

We welcome artisans of all types. Come and support a locally owned business and discover fine products you won't find in a big box store. Create with products hand picked with sustainability in mind.

Sounds pretty good eh?

Seek out these type of brick and mortar store fronts. Places like that and The Market at Cutler Mills need our support. Think about where you buy stuff. Spending an extra dollar on a handful of items is well worth it, esp when you consider the extra hidden costs at giant 'discount' chains.

heddwch
g

Earth Day, 2008

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day today. Sunshine, no wind, cool but not cold. A perfect 48°F ride in. I felt compelled this morning, even running late, to stop and dig the ancient digital camera out of my bag.

In order of capture:

Something grabbed me about this shot of the coal ship unloading with the tug along side. As we progressed down the path the tug eventually turned around and started heading north (it is facing south right now).

I looked down and saw one of my favorite and most familiar aquatic plants. Bonus points for those who can name the seaweed pictured. (Call it NTP -name that plant-)
After this image I pocketed the camera and hopped on the bike, rolling down the path a bit until...

This lone swan (the second swan I saw and thought I should capture that image) merited me getting off the bike. The first was was sleeping, or just drifting along. I preferred this one, wake and all.

Then I realized just in the field of view was something I've been watching for maybe a month? or at least a few weeks and each time telling myself, take a picture before it washes away!
There it is. A capsized boat. It has been hung up on the rocks here for a while.

And then...
I saw that guy, lurking there, like a round reptile. Fitting for earth day eh?

And finally, looking back from my spot on the abandoned rail ties at the bike and trailer, back lit with the brilliant sun and quiet inlet behind.

Today also was one of the worst traffic back ups I've seen in a long time. A good long back up on the parkway, and the side streets, all trying to feed into the highway headed over the bridge. So sad. All those thousands of cars idling away, on such a brilliant and amazing day. It struck me as logical (yes you can read this as Spock talking) that we combine bike to work day with Earth Day. What better way to save the earth one step at a time than by commuting by bike? For me, if I drive the Volvo it takes 1 gallon or a little more to get back and forth. One gallon isn't much, but that's $3-$4. And it adds up. What are you doing? The back up and lines and lines of cars got me thinking...

Enough to make the Indian cry all over again:

That's the google one...
here is the youtube version:


The remarkable thing? That PSA is as old as I am.

Heddwch
G

food folks - specifically those who cook, not those who just eat

What is it with me and long titles lately.

Ah well.

I had one of those google alerts pop up in my email with a pretty cool link about a sweet resource here in Voh Dy Land. The Culinary Arts Museum.

And if some of you know "digger head" Darcy then a degree of separation will find you reading about a friend of her's a kick ass bread/pastry chef who teaches at Johnson & Wales University.

I chose to "interview" (I'm using this term fairly loosely) Richard not only because I felt I received an excellent foundation in bread baking, but because he has an interesting story that smacks of his commitment to wholesome organic food, and, simply put, well made bread.

He does make some killer bread stuffs.

Now I'm hungry.

Be like Richard. Make a difference. There really isn't a bigger difference than committing to eating wholesome organic food. Food drives the world. Make it worth while.

Heddwch
G

lets talk bike

Enough about this racing and sucking and gaining wisdom and strength off the back stuff.

Solo pointed readers over to Hill Junkie's web log and well I clicked over there.

And I read the big about the big race. And then scrolled down to see nothing more than a cool ass Ridley Noah staring at me.

Rooming with a guy riding this Ridley and the other guys on the team riding variations of other Ridley road frames (and cross bikes - yeah just like JP) I couldn't help but wonder if they made a bike big enough for me.

Of course they don't make a cross bike big enough. Nope. Head tube is tall enough, seat tube has enough length (not that that matters). Top tube is short. Like waaaaaaaay short (in my size - 62ish).

So I finally click on the road bikes and check the geometry. And of COURSE they aren't big enough.

Hey Ridley this is from the big tall freaks out there, sure there are only a few of us riding around and many of us don't buy many bikes but still... this is for you from me:

.!.. ..!.

CCC dropped me an email about a CL surly. A 62 no less. Frame and fork INCLUDING the star fangled nut.

YES unbelievable, it INCLUDES THE STAR FANGLED NUT ALREADY INSTALLED! I couldn't believe it.

Well frame and fork in Red (who knows when they made red ones - gotta be 3 years old at least right?)

Complete with love scuffs the seller is asking only $100 less than a new frame! how about that. $100s saved gets you a pre-scuffed bike with a fork already cut down and a nut jammed down the steer tube already. Sweet Deal! Not.

Sorry - I'm almost ready to get BSNYC on that. Or to start a Surly-dex. BSNYC has a Pista-dex, bout time we have a surly-dex. No?

$300 is short money for a bike that fits. But if you gonna get GeWilli to buy a bike with someone else's love scuffs it gonna have to be less than $100 bones off new price.

So... well... still no new bike in the stable. Probably should buy new tires for the Golf before getting a new commuter frame. But i do appreciate the heads up on big size frames. I catch a fair bit of the internet, but ebay and craigslist ain't among the regular scheduled content that streams across my eternally connected eyeballs.

heddwch
G

The real report

Okay.

Lunch time.

Need to fire up the nuker and warm some pasta up.

In the mean time. I do feel a slightly more proper race report is due than the thoughts and comments tossed up there.

Who knows how long I was stopped at the lowest point there on Meeting house road helping change the flat. And no, it didn't occur to me to just give mark the pump and tube and ride off in chase of my group. If I had any idea how fast and how well rested Mark was there waiting for me he would have caught me in no time and could have handed me up the pump when he passed. But no. I waited. And gave my little trusty lightweight pump a hundred or so strokes so he wouldn't cramp up too badly inflating it (yeah, maybe I should have brought the CO2). But that is such a small part of the story of the 2008 running of the Tour of the Battenkill, I dare not dwell on it too much.

Skinny Whitey picked me up Friday afternoon and us two masters cyclocrossers (one wicked fast, him, and one wicked tall, me) headed to Bennington VT where we had a room booked for the night. The trip was a breeze once we cleared the moronic back ups on the Mass Pike. Right up 22. Much faster than trying the Lenox/Pittsfield route to Salem. Conversation drifted around about cars food kids general stuff between us skinny bike racer types tipping towards the late 30s in age.

We get there. Get our rooms and head over to meet up with the rest of our team at dinner. Chow down, chat and head back to the room. Settling down to watch a bit of Hockey on TV (Red Wings vs Predators - awesome game). Regulation over and everyone else bails to their rooms, leaving skinny and me to go through the night before pre-race routine, you know, shower, shave the legs, that stuff. He finished up just as Detroit scored in OT and off i went for my round in the crappy ass bathroom with the sweet granite tub surround. Oh yeah, there was no water in there when we checked in. I guess they hadn't turned it on in that wing yet this year? Crazy.

So i get all sorted out. Get some nice badger balm rubbed into the legs and start watching a minute or two of the Ducks game, but well, my eyes were heavy and it was late. I should be able to fall right asleep. WRONG. WTF. G Damn it. Last year sharing a bed with a team mate was my excuse for not sleeping. Now a bed to myself and I still can't fall alseep? Damn it! I should just get up at 5am and drive next year. It hasn't helped that 1/2 of the nights this week were really crappy for sleep. And my routine was thrown way out of whack with spring break and all. Wouldn't trade the week for the normal routine, not at all. So I guess I must have dozed off around midnight only to wake up at pretty regular intervals, took advantage of them to drink and piss (I was well hydrated to start the race at least).

Waking up, made coffee (dissected a filter and filled it with good market coffee instead of the crap that was there). Walked over to the continental breakfast, made a nice belgian waffle, had a few hard boiled eggs an english muffin and some coffee. Talked about the pope and dopers and training and randomness with the team. Then we all rolled over to the race. Me and skinny hadn't picked up our numbers yet. And yup, sure enough, my name was highlighted and they said they needed more information from me. Ah hell what now? Oh, they just don't believe my USAC #. Yes. It is correct. Same number since '94. Yes, as Geo says, I have some old dead guy's number. Three Three Nine IS correct. Walk over to the freebies, grab two packs of Advil liquid caps some cheese and well. Time to take a leak, pin the numbers on. Down a handful yogurt sticks (stonyfield farms of course) some more water and pack the bottles on. What was in the bottles deserves a post all to itself (later).

What to wear was made easy. I wore as little as possible. jersey and shorts. Even didn't wear my faithful cotton cycling cap under the helment, just bare hair under there. Made the choice to go with the Gold Iridium lens instead of the clear I've been wearing all year, and I did one super smart thing. Sun screen. Liberally and thickly applied some Neutrogena SPF 45 to my legs neck face and arms.

What I rode was pretty easy too. The 53-42x12-27, Klein Quantum Pro (WA built) w/9sp dura-ace and Rolf Vector Pro clinchers running conti 4 season 28c. Yeah. 28s. Maybe I should have gone with a slightly skinnier tire, even though they only weigh in at 250 grams each the rolling resistance might have been a big negative, esp looking back on my 45 miles out of 55 that I rode solo. But as people were pinch flatting left and right in the first 10 miles... my wheels held air. I did stick the little orange frog from the january cross race on the stem. But he was the only thing gracing the bars this year. No speed meter, no power meter, no heart rate meter. Nutting. I race the race based on memory and knowing what turn lead to another. "racing" in segments.

So. We headed to the start. And they moved the start down to just on the road. We rolled out. It was pretty mellow. Neutral to the neutral and the pace picked up a touch but not much. It got a bit faster as we tipped down and peeled off the first road. And faster still as we approached the dirt. But it was baby smooth this year (compared to last year). Enough rocks to cause lots of *clink* *pssssssss* or maybe only a few of those. But the pace wasn't really to challenging. Lots of sudden slowing up front following accelerations (or so it seemed from my spot in the middle towards the back). But there was no giant farm equipment blocking the road, we were somewhat neutralized coming into town and things picked up barely heading towards the hill and then, well it got fast at the base of the hill. Uh Oh. I've already consumed 1/2 of a 24oz bottle and we're barely 10 miles into the race. Shit. To back up a few yards, just as we turn on to 64 I notice I'm along side C. White, I say my last words for a long time "Howz it going Whitey?" His reply was a pleasant "good, thank you". That "thank you" tossed in there says volumes. "Class act" I think as he speeds away...

Pace starts picking up. I'm jamming, standing, sitting, spinning, powering. Using what ever i got to get up. And well it was enough to get up and then enough to scream past people heading down and slow for the left turn and just nuke it to get to the hill. And I tag in to the back of the field. Saddly a little CRV like car blew past me just before the crest of the hill and proceeded to follow our race. I was thinking WTF? Who is that following, driving in the middle of our race? (the big wheel truck passed me mid climb first climb sadly). Not only that but I was catching that fahking car quickly on the dirt, and sucking his dirty dry dust leading up to the hill, and fahking it all if I didn't catch and almost pass it climbing the hill. For naught though. It zoomed past the stragglers and left not much dust in its wake, although I got close enough to notice, oh, it is our second wheel car. I passed a few folks heading down the road. I was flying, passing handfuls here and there. There was a somewhat organized group of 4 or 5 up the road, quick check behind and no organization, okay, drill it, get in on that group. WTF. Come on. Catch them! Well, I did. I caught on, but just as a trailing group got there I think, or maybe the trailing group got me just before). All together, then it pitched up a second and my efforts to bridge up alone were for naught. I lost 10 seconds, then a few more as we tipped down towards the bridge. And then yeah i chickenshitted it through the left hander onto the bridge. And then I stupidly decided to try and count how many seconds I was back of that group of 8 or more. 50-60. Uh Oh.

No one behind me that I could see. Me. Alone. Drilling it at my LT in the 53x14-15 what ever the 3rd cog is in the back. Check again. Yep still 50-60. Oh that totally sucks. They aren't getting any further away, but, that's 8 people and I'm one. That ain't good odds. Then all of a sudden some guy comes up to me, he's flying. And I jump on his wheel. And hang on. Holy crap this guy is strong. I'm sitting there, vainly searching for a draft. Absolutely NONE to be found and he isn't little, it is just the wind direction is strong enough and off center enough to fahk with me. And after a couple thousand meters of hanging on for dear life with my HR maxed out he drifts a foot ahead, then a meter and pretty soon he's gone. A faint speck ahead of me as we enter Cambridge. Alone I soldier through.

Feeling greatly relieved that the Cat 2 field has not caught me prior to going on their extended loop over the mountain. That relief drives me on. Ticking away 53x14 or the 15 back and forth, keeping that cadence as high as I can. Ticking away. Feeling pretty good for being alone and slow. Too hot. Drink more. Not too much, I should have two bottles left when I hit the feedzone. I don't. I start into the second bottle before the feed zone. I need fluid. Fuel I'm doing good with. The mix is right. I ate enough. I'm riding. I'm feeling the pain.

I notice a group behind me as the road tips up. Cool. I soft pedal a touch, resting in the 42. Waiting. They catch up. A rider in Altius kit is leading this bunch up the hill. I can ride with them up the hill, it isn't easy but the tempo won't make me blow up. Wait maybe it is easy. We scream down the hills. A band of bigger guys, absolutely cannon balls when ever the road tips down or is flat, settling into a damage limiting pace when it tips up. Perfect. I can ride with these guys. Heck maybe I'll even get to sprint for 60th place or something. One of the riders in the group is on a Trek Cross bike. No water bottle cages. one bottle tucked into his pocket. He askes everyone along the side of the road for water. He actually stops as we are beginning to crest one of the last hills on meetinghouse to get water from a house. He drops off the group. The group has whittled down. 5 of us. We tip down and see the most epic sight of the whole ride.

The looming up hill that looks like it is 10 miles long, straight up. Riders tipping over as they reach the crest. And we get to go down. SCREAMING down. The leader pauses as we cross an unmarshalled paved road. Good visibility and all clear, the rest of us swarm him.

Hey Ho, there's a ride standing at the lowest point of the dirt road. Hey, he's my team mate Mark. He shouts "Tube?", I'm going way too fast to notice much more than it is him and he isn't on his bike. I hit the brakes.

It takes a long time to slow down on that surface. I chatter and rumble off into the scrub on the side, get out of the hard pack line, let the guys get past me. And I do stop. Finally. Turn around and ride back and dig out the stuff.

Just as I'm getting back to Mark the Trek cyclocross bike riding guy passes.

We get it changed, he remarks, well now starts the Tour of Battenkill. No more race. I'm thinking, cool, we can ride back together. We don't. He gets a good 50 meters on me by the top of the climb. And after the next climb? He is gone. I pick off one or two riders here and there. But not really. Speeds are so disparate at this time working together isn't a reality.

I plug along. Turning as big a gear as I can but working to keep the cadence above 80 or so. Staying at LT. Getting as small and aero as I can when ever the road tips down. Resting only when it tips down enough.

And I start needing water. I've got 1/2 of each bottle left. I slowly consume all but 1/2 of one before greenwich. Holding off drinking more because, well I've still got a fair bit to go and one killer dirt climb left.

At one point I see littered curvy poland spring bottles on the side of the road. most are empty but some are 1/2 full. I contemplate stopping and dumping them over my head. Even start thinking about drinking them. But I keep doing. Big ring ticking over. No stop. Must ride. Ride ride ride. Keep pushing.

The whole race I kept thinking "already here?" "this is going by fast". It was remarkable in a way how quickly the miles slipped under my wheels.

Push, okay that's the lactic burn, ease off just a touch, okay, that hurts but I can keep this up. I ride. Greenwich salvation appeared. Brilliant glowing angels on the side of the road with bottles of Poland Spring water. "CAPS LOOSE" they shout offering bottles up. I grab one, stick it in my mouth and grab a second from a surprised younger female angel at the end of the row. I down them both. Quickly. Stuffing the empty crushed bottle in my left pocket, not wishing to toss them out near the Kill. I feel better. Joy returns. The rushing water of the Kill doesn't look nearly as delicious as it did on the run into Greenwich.

Thank you angels of Greenwich. Thank you.

I soldier on. I catch up to the Trek cyclocross guy. I ride off the shoulder chatting with him. Comment, no worries, my other bike is a cross bike. He says "My only bike is a cross bike." That's why he is riding it in the race. I must keep my pace up. He drops off behind me quickly. But he is also grateful to the angels of Greenwich. Hydration really is salvation in that kind of heat. Esp for us bigger types.

I roll through. The road tips up. I see Hannah heading the wrong direction. Huh? What is she doing? Did she finish already? Odd.

I keep going up it seems. Gently though. The feed zone. Is it right after the police station? Maybe. None-the-less I toss the two crushed bottles into the end of the feedzone, i hope some nice caring person wasn't grumbling when they picked them up.

Head down I motored on. Alone. No tunes in my head. Just the rhythm of the legs. And the sun beating down.

Finally. The turn.

And wow, what a mess. A good thousand skinny tires had probably gone through already, churning the loose mess into a powdery mix of big rocks and sketchiness. But I kept going. Traction wasn't anywhere near a problem. I hear a car.

Shit.

It can't be.

I look back. Yellow lights on the roof, scooby. Cool maybe it is another mail car. I try to take the least challenging lines on the right side of the road. It gets closer, starts to pass me, it is the Cat 4 BLACK car. Black? They started behind the Red group. Oh SHIT.

I look back. No one.

WTF.

Where's the field?

Where is the breakaway rider?

Nothing. Yet this lead car is determined to create as much dust as possible for me and the guy up ahead of me to breath. I say eff this and crank over to the left side, just upwind enough to clear the air slightly and I match that car's pace. I follow it. Digging down, riding to it, I get closer. The car passes someone else. I think I passed it, but maybe not, we hit the pavement. I see a guy coming through who's going faster than me. The pace car picks up speed and the odd pair of car and lone cyclist churn up the paved section of the final climb. Closely behind follows the Cat 4 Red lead car and a few riders. We crest the hill. And it tips down. I'm MUCH bigger than anyone there. I come just SCREAMING past a kid who'd just passed me. easily 10+ mph passing him at the start of the hill and I just let it go. Flying. Soon though, we turn. And that means no more flying down hill.

It means pain. My foot is hurting. My right foot. Inflammation in the ball of my foot. It feels like there is blood pouring out of my toes. I've felt this before, but in my left foot. This sucks. But I just loosen the straps and keep pedaling. Soon a bigger chase group from the 4 Reds passes through me, they have a wheel car. A jeep I think. I sit in the car's draft. I don't know if the car likes that or not, but I do. I'm bummed. I didn't want to get passed by the following groups. That meant I lost a ton of time. More time than I cared to try and calculate.

I thought for a moment: "If i hadn't stopped to help mark, I might not have been caught." But i quickly dismissed that as ridiculous. That is a pretty shitty way to think. I am honestly very happy to have been able to offer help to a friend. Happy to have been caught by the Cat 4 break aways.

Then I hear another car. My god it is coming at me quickly. Holy Shit. No. No no no. it is the 40+. The tail gunning field. The last guys on the course. Funk and Bold. Just fahking DRILLING IT. ZOOM. They are gone. Wow. W.O.W.

I struggle on. A group a 4s comes through at some point. I try to stay out of the sprinting shenanigans. I think i was successful at that. I cross the line, hoping the cameras and the officials get my number. And I roll on back to the car.

Nathan is there with a bottle of cold water. It was great. I was cooked. My back was killing me, my foot hurt, I was nearly out of water. It hurt to breath. But.

I finished.

I swore to never racing in weather that hot again. (A solid lie but hey it sounds good at the time and makes sense for some big guy like me).

We sat around... i had few words to offer... my time, my placing, getting passed by groups turned down the fun meter. But the fun meter never really hit "un-fun" it just hung out in the middle somewhere. Stoically indifferent with a fun leaning angle.

I have no idea how long I was stopped. it wasn't a record fast tube change. Maybe 3-4 minutes? It might change my average speed a touch. But it matters little.

I popped 800 mg of Vitamin I (ibuprofen to be specific) and a couple bottles of water before we headed off to the Burger Den. And then sunday morning I popped 800 mg of the Advil Liquid gel samples from the race. Pain? Nothing lingering.

The race didn't really seem to take that long. Barely any time at all. If I had put a slightly thicker sock on my feet probably would have survived. If I had put more than 2 hours on the Quantum Pro at a time I might have made it through w/o the back pain. If i had actually carried through and done the east side hill repeats on a weekly basis instead of just once, if if if.

Lots of ifs.

Lessons learned. Right?

I learned that yes, Skinny and G-Ride probably have the best coffee machine in the world and yes now I do want one. What ever it is that they have (all i know is the particulars of how it works and what ya do - push a button - no idea what brand/make/model).

The outcome of the race certainly pushes me so far solidly towards Mt Biking that I wonder what in the world possessed me to start racing on the road. I should have stuck with my Michigan Mt Biking side as a Cyclcross compliment.

I stick pretty solidly by my first feeling. I would love another shot at this race. I will not give it a shot if it is this warm again.
I think i would have much more fun donning the orange suit and handing bottles out to the gang. Making it a game day choice even. There were many people who started that didn't finish. It is an honor to be among those who finished. It was a wicked challenging day esp when matched up with the caliber of the field.

And that was my race.

I think. Bits might be out of order slightly. It was written as well as I could recall it.

heddwch
g

batten killed

yeah. That is me.

Batten killed.

I've seen the results. And not stopping to offer assistance to my team mate in the way of tube and pump would have only marginally increased my placing. It would have assured me of not getting passed by the break aways in the 4s and 40+s (Funk and Bold were flying - impressive). Big props to team mates Curtis and Nathan. They did well.

I jotted a few notes down - sort of post race thoughts - they start something like this:

A race is only as tough as your competition. 2008 Tour of the Battenkill. Well let us say the 30+ race. Unbelievable.
Sadly for GeWilli it turned into almost a 55 mile solo cannibal style time trial. And a slow one at that. Counting the stopping to offer tube (at the base of the longest -visually- dirt climb/descent I averaged a whopping (and depressing) 17.5 mph. The respect I have for those with the talent to excel at the Tour of the Battenkill is tinged with envy.
Power I have, Weight too. And I just don't have that level needed to hang with that 30+ field.
My results are tempered with being able to offer assistance to a teammate. Who knows how long of a walk he would have had w/o my tube and pump. The group I dropped out of to help him was my only shot at not finishing along, but a selfless acti is how teams work. It felt good. It fetl good even as Mark rode away from me on the next climb.
I suffered.
I don't want to race at those temps. 80°F or what ever it was. Too Hot. Give me 50-55°F for a race. Or, better yet, something like today, 47°F this morning, the only departure from what I wore in the race was an added sleeveless base layer this morning, it was perfect.
I didn't lose a water bottle this year, but even dragging 3 full bottles up the separation climbs didn't help.
Good News? (Besides being there to help a team-mate?) 42-27 was fine. Almost never even got out of the 42-24... except for those first two. And even then a 39 wouldn't have mattered. point of honor: I did not get off and walk or run
I went, I raced and now I'm thinking "yes" for next year BUT
If it is over 60°F and dry I'll put the orange suit on and hand up bottles at the feedzones.

italics were added today

there, that's what I wrote...

It was cool seeing Acerace and company at the Burger Den. Also, I'll admit, it was pretty darn cool to hear 4 women talking about bike parts! Big Congrats to Anna Milkowski for the win in the women's field. Man that's some solid ride. Kinda funny when all 25 finishers in the women's Pro/1/2/3 race were faster than me. Road racing is wicked freaking tough. Hats off to those out there who excel at it. This is just another example demonstrating that GeWilli is NOT putting in enough time to be fast enough on the road.

Time to really solidly dive into the Mt Bike. Whoo Hoo.

When does cyclocross season start?

heddwch
g

how many days and counting?

Heading to Battenkill with skinny whitey in the afternoon. Whoo.

All that's left to do is actually get there and freaking race.

Rode in today with the trailer hooked to the Q-Pro. I figure if I can climb the little wussy hills on my commute with the trailer loaded with 45 pounds of kid and 30 pounds of my change of clothes, lunch, tubes, random shit i have accumulating in my bag using a 42x27... i should be able to get myself up and over any hill. Getting over the hill with the group now, that is a question/problem a 39 will not solve. So stop offering up suggestions of Hey i have a 39 or so and so and all, much appreciated, truely. Just, well I'm going to subscribe to Molly C's vaugely remembered quote from Zabel, train on a 39 race the 42. (as I will be applying the phrase on saturday).

Oh and we have to make sure to add a blog link to the too tall crew. Mr. Misanthropic. He is tall. Races cross. All around good guy from the little I've gotten to know him. Dude was on a war path at NBX on sunday, busted chain, bike change, how many times? and he still worked his way through me to just heap more misery on one of my worst races, but watching him just kick ass and keep coming back was, admittedly pretty fahking inspirational/impressive. Just not enough to get me to ride my own damn self any faster.

Oh about battenkill. The roads and the dirt? Really ain't very bad at all. Granted if you are some cyclocross eschewing tamarc junkie, well... it probably is scary. But, if you race cross, this will be like Gloucester. Smooooooth. Sure there are a few rocks there along the back stretch and if you are a a junk monkey you can surely blow a tire, snake bike or what not. But a reasonably helping of skills will get ya through the race. Sure and look, now that I've said that there will be miles of rock and gravel and nightmares of flat tires and overloaded wheel trucks/vans/broom wagons.

Tires are somewhat helpful to select right. But put it this way. My section of arnenburg(sp) forest with out pavement and all the gravel rocks and dirt haven't slowed me down much even running 60 psi in my 23s. Yes. I'll often find that the tires are as low as 60 psi on the Paramount. I tell ya cyclocross is a great way to get comfortable riding low pressure. And yes. Low pressure does even give you more traction on the road. Even with clinchers. I'm forming a hypothesis with some supporting facts that pinch flats aren't because of the rocks/tires/pressure. They have to do with the rider. But that isn't anything I'm taking to the bank. You know how murphy is with his laws. Yeah. It seems to matter less how much the rider weighs and more how the rider rides.

It is along the same lines as wheel choice. There are always the big guys who can ride an ultra light set of wheels without ever needing to true them and some medium size guys who destroy beefy wheels. Not to mention the big guys who destroy the beefiest wheels out there.

YMMV is what I'm trying to say I guess. That and it is often better to be lucky than good.

Oh and my forecastfox is set on Salem, NY right now. Looking to be 72°F on saturday? Damn.

This morning riding in (started at 31°F at the house) wearing knee warmers sleeveless base layer and arm warmers was perfect. Gonna be right toasty on the way home tonight.

Not only toasty but if the last two nights of driving both girls past the bike path is any indication then, well, it will be a zoo out there. Right a menagerie of cyclists, walkers, joggers, dogs, kids, and hopefully no pathletes or triathletes. The two most dangerous variables that venture out on a multi-use facility when the weather is nice. Not that either are bad people or bad exhibits in the zoo. They just don't work so well with others. But the weather is nice enough, I hope I don't get too annoyed. Oh well. It just would be better if people actually used their bike to actually commute instead of parking at the top of a bike path and riding it. Sure it is a great thing that they are outside, riding a bike, enjoying it. But I guess more people who've stumbled over here have caught on with that.

Speaking of commuting I've been mulling over what would be the most cost effective method to modernize the Paramount and let it retire. $400 would get me a frame and fork from surly. Sweet deal even if it is a heavy slow unresponsive tank. But watching a fellow commuter go from slow to fast jumping from Mt Bike with roadie slicks to a CrossCheck - the evidence that it is appropriate for commuting is strong. And it has a wicked long top tube in the 62 size (it is a 61cm TT).

Solo suggested SOMA. Pricing on the web page has them at ~$500 frame and fork. So not too bad, definately a bit cooler than a Surly. But. Top Tube in the 62 size is 10 mm shorter than the Surly. Which isn't bad, but i should be riding a 130 mm stem on a 61 cm top tube bike. Gives pause.

Now. Giving pause and redirecting the focus on Solobreak yet again:

As a veteran of Pemi-Valley, Westfield, Buckfield, Stow, Killington, Bow, and of course Putney, when I tell you that this is the the most classic of the northeast classics, you should be shocked. All I can say is Dieter and company have put together the most incredible 87 kilometer bike racing test I have ever ridden.

How is that for an endorsement of a race.

For the best blow by blow recouting of the course. Read the full entry. If that doesn't have you juiced for the race. Check your pulse.

And the year in and year out 'key to the race' is best described here:

The first climb was paved. My Polar data shows it as 1.2k at 7%. To those accustomed to reading the Tour stage profiles, this may not sound like much, but I hit 176 bpm, which is about 3 beats over my max, just staying in the top 25, which was about 5 less than the number of riders who regrouped on the incredibly short descent that followed. By the way, in the middle of this descent, we made a 90 degree turn on to a one lane dirt road. Taking all of two and a half minutes, during which time my heart rate barely came out of the stratosphere, the downhill portion led to a 600 meter long dirt wall of 10%.

So that is it boys and girls. Get/stay in the main group there. The rest is 'cake'. Sort of (not really but if I told you about the death march dirt climb later where all the stagglers from previous groups were walking up - well that would spoil the fun now wouldn't it).

It is an epic race. No bones about it.

And yes, my heart rate and blood pressure increased just reading the account of solobreak's ride in '06.

It is a race about survival. Pack finish? Not likely. Fun? Heck yeah.

Just remember your glasses.
And secure your water bottles (just not too well).
Sleep and eat.

And freaking rip their legs off!!! And kill yourself to stay with the lead group over those first two big rollers. You can rest when you're dead.

heddwch
G

Please pass this on

I could send out a massive email to my contact list but many of the people I know keep tabs on me here. So I will share it here. Contact information will be held back, so drop me an email and I will get you the phone or email (which ever you prefer).

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, last year we opened a natural food store in our town. We became involved in the store, along with 2 other partners, because we felt our own beliefs and goals could be manifested through this business venture.

The Market at Cutler Mills aims to:

• Provide a community market that offers natural, organic, and clean conventional products.
• Support local farmers and businesses.
• Reduce the carbon footprint of our store, employees and customers through education and business practices.

Eventually, through the success of The Market, we hope to pursue the growth of our own organic farm. We feel very strongly that this business can and will be successful and profitable. The natural food industry has continued to grow by leaps and bounds over the past decade.

Unfortunately, due to the current economy and because we are a young business, we have been unable to acquire the necessary funding from conventional sources to secure our success.

We are seeking passionate, like-minded individuals to help support our company and goals by becoming involved as business partners, investors, lenders or donors.

If you are interested in any way, please contact Marshall at:

Please forward this message to anyone who you feel may be interested in supporting our business.

Thank you for your time and your support.

Sincerely,
Marshall & Abigail
The Market at Cutler Mills

So if you know someone who is looking to make a difference in this world. Please pass this on.

Thanks and Heddwch
G

G.D. is this the nicest stretch of weather in 9 months or what?

Yeah, way too long for a title. But it is brilliant. Outside that is. Not the title.

No bike riding today. But I got in an extra set after dinner. Did the Stage 17 bob and chris stuff. Basically, warm up, do a 15 second standing all out sprint in the biggest gear, then ride medium tempo for 3 minutes, do 20 seconds standing 3 minutes then 25 seconds the first 15 standing the last 10 seated all out with 5 min cool down and repeated with a 15 minute cool down to end it all.

Who knows if it will help, nothing probably will at this point other than sleep and I'm not getting nearly enough of it. Ya figure staying at home, vacation style would be relaxing and all that. Nah. Not with visitors last night staying up late doing dishes and all that, waking up early to get the two girls headed out of the house fed and ready to go. With a random get out of bed and wake up completely at 3:30 incident.

I just can't have asked for better weather. Yesterday the whole family was on 2 wheels at one point or another. the littlest on her 'tippy bike' (that's what she calls it) racing around the back yard on a course the oldest layed out (all it needs is a barrier and they've got a cross course - and believe me, they've tried to make one, just not for yesterday's 'race'). We headed home here and put my wife's Lemond Zurich together. Ie put rubber on. it was sitting there all bare rimmed. Well it was great. She headed out for a ride and I got to making dinner, then I got a phone call. Front went flat. Ah shit. I had this feeling about that front tube. Yes I put a patched one in there (it was on hand in the messenger bag for the commuter). And well, I guess that patch didn't quite hold. Although maybe it was something else because the front wheel is still hanging out un-resolved, flat. But she got in a good solid distance and had started heading home when it went poof. And we were there to drive down the path a bit to rescue her.

About the gears, comments were made, yes maybe the 42 is too tall? But here's the thing. I'm not gonna go buy a 39 and it ain't a compact crank so no 36 gonna fit. Too late to do any drastic gear swaps pre-race. Besides that will all cost money. And yeah that juniper swamp is the doozy. Make it over the paved climb w/in your limits and hang on to the tag end of the swamp dirt climb and your race is very different than if you get blown out at that point... We'll see how GeWilli does this year. Eh?

Oh and for you wordy types... damn Jeff Weinert linked the FreeRice (I closed the window - go to Jeff's and click it from there) thing. I gotta stop - i've attained a vocab best level of 40 and closing in on 1380 grains of rice... need to stop... these words are freaking cool. But multiple choice is far easier than just asking to type the meaning. Not sure i could type the meaning but given choices - easy.

Oh and Colin just added more "you should go with the 39" group. Well. I've been "training" on a 26 pound bike with a 40x23 (the 25 wasn't really usable with the current chain line issues, it was either make it work with the 25 or the 12, i picked the twelve since i ain't got no bigger ring on that rig). No problem climbing legolord's driveway. it sucked but i could still get up it in a 40x23... or even if i did manage to get it to stay in the 25 up the 30% grade or what ever yall measured it out at, 40x25 on a 26 pound flexi bike or a 42x27 on a light bike with good power transfer - not much difference. It ain't gonna make a difference. I gotta lug my 200 pound ass up those two hills one way or another, might as well harness these horses... and this time I won't mistake our wheel truck for the lead vehicle in the next field (i rode up the dirt looking behind wondering why that idiot wasn't going around me... oh - he was sitting behind me because i was already caboose - DOH - that was a big mistake on my part last year - yes, one of many).

Shall we list mistakes again?
Waterbottles. Taking small ones (20 vs 24 oz) then losing one a couple miles into the race.

Fuel. One bar and chocolate mocha for a 55 mile race? yeah that was brilliant - not to mention: have you tried swallowing a mocha gu w/o water to wash it down?

tactics. made it over the first paved section w/in my limits but towards the back, dirt section and the truck got me messed up, coupled with the anticipation of someone handing me my glasses and fresh bottles at the first feedzone, then no one there and a spurt of anger/adrenaline fueled pace increase sucked a bunch of needless energy

glasses. lack there of. getting to the line, hanging out and then realizing with 30 seconds to start that my glasses were in the car a couple minute round trip away... not good, esp with the screaming downhill sections.

I know I'm forgetting something stupid.

Oh yeah. Racing with the effing Powertap and the heavy non-aero rear wheel. that was dumb. Nice information. Still stupid though. The info didn't help me at all except on that first climb. yes it did help me stay w/in my limits, like that did any good.

Focusing on making as few mistakes as possible this year. Despite the moronic mistakes last year it was still a ton of fun. And the good thing about making mistakes and trying again is the opportunity NOT to make the same errors. Learning.

And besides, it is gonna be fun.

Heddwch
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Tuesday

The short answer to Solobreak's question:

You're really going to deny us?

Pretty much yes. Why? Well, it is spring break week here in Sunny beautiful Vo Di End. And I'm having a blast. Rode 4 different bikes in the last two days. Got to play pryo and burn all the sticks and twigs in the Kettle Grill that have been accumulating around the house. General clean up. And hanging with my oldest.

Even got on the bike this morning for almost 2 hours. Outside even. Yes, I put the trainer outside in the sun and rode. Kinda funny. But it was nice, did what I decided to call a White Ladder interval. Warmed up to some Shannon Saunders (last two tracks on Cold November) then switched over to David Gray's White Ladder. Starting at about 90-100 rpm and sticking around there I down shifted one cog for each song starting in the 21 (12-27 cassette) keeping the cadence as close to 90-100 as I could. That 42-12 song seemed to go on forever, and then i mentally lost it a bit (spaced out) on the next track and let the cadence slip. But all in all it felt great to be out in the sun. Cooled down with the first two tracks on Shannon's CD that I started with. It felt like I could have ridden forever this morning. Got a session on the trails by the house on the Cross bike yesterday as my daughter ventured off road for the first time on her bike. She did awesome. Today I pulled out the Adroit and she wanted to lead around the trails. Again, just tons of freaking fun. We even rode over to the grocery store (a mile or so away - not the market) to get one or two items they didn't have at the market this weekend.

So I suppose for Solobreak I'll go through and try to answer all his questions...

Hiatus? You would actually leave us out of the Gewilli agonizing over every detail of BKR participation? C'mon, this is one of the highlights of the blogging year. We want to know about tires, tubes, chain lube, facial hair trimming, leg shaving, warmup music, water bottle fastening, homemade Gatorade, gear selection, base-layer omission, the weather report, the price of biodiesel, the pre-race parboiling of the legs, and of course, the all important food preparation strategy. You're really going to deny us?

Tires? Same as last year, Conti 28c 4 Seasons
Tubes? what ever is still in there
Chain lube? Not sure yet, likely though I will just add a tiny drop of some old Wrench force wet lube watered down with WD-40.
Facial hair? Goatee
Legs? Shaven
Warmup Music? undecided
Waterbottle fastening? Using my heavy duty Cages maybe a touch of gaffer's tape to add extra measure (or rubber bands, or toe straps, or???)
HomeMade Gatorade? Still have a bit of the original gatorade left we'll see if I get any made up before then, thinking probably still with the crap with that fake yellow in it.
Gear Selection? No agonizing over that (more later)
Base Layer? Weather dependent. We'll see...
BioD? I not driving. Gonna be a passenger
Food Prep? Undecided.... (for the moment)

Now i mentioned gears.
Well, I had spend a few minutes wondering. Yes, going back and forth between well do i just leave the 55x42 on there? Do I swap it out for the 53x39? Sort of decided to go with the 53x39 and the 9 speed 12-27 in the back. Until. After a long search I did finally locate my 39 tooth chainring I took off and realized, HOLY CRAP that thing is toast. So, I picked the least worn of my 53s and went with a 53x42. And pulled out my Green Sutherland's Manual and checked just what I would be missing. Turns out? Not much. I'll be okay. I don't have those 180s on there for nuttin. I have been draggin the trailer for a while. One thing I am not short on is torque. One cog won't make or break it. So. There. A few moments of wondering with the realization, it ain't gonna make one hell of a difference What gear I'm in.

The Hurdle I have to overcome is NOT gears. It is the muscle between my ears (as Cronoman calls it I think - or what ever the heck his euphemism is for the brain). Mental. Gotta be able to overcome that damn mental self-preservation mechanism that kicks in too easily for me. Hoping to do that. I guess that is why the trainer is good (for me). That suffering really makes me want to stop but pushing on shows me (mentally) that I can keep pushing and ya know, I CAN do it. I actually CAN. I just gotta figure out how to make happen.

So that's about it. Lots of other stuff I suppose I can go on and on about. Nothing comes to mind yet.

Oh one thing. Rakes, mowers, brooms. People should be forced to clear/clean/cut using hand tools. No vac/blowers, riding mowers. Do it by hand. Burn a few extra calories. it got me thinking about lots of different things... most of which lead to long convoluted ideas that aren't coalescing right now.

Gonna focus on first, remembering my glasses for the race. Doing battenkill without glasses/eye protection is stupid, unless you are one of those birds of prey with the windshield-like see through eyelids. Bombing down hill at 45+mph bare eyed is stupid and painful. And if you bring glasses, don't leave them in the car.

Second, being completely rested and recovered but not unprepared for the effort (well as reasonably possible as I can be ready for the effort).

Anyway. No time to read the whole internet today. It is too nice outside for that.

Heddwch
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e freaking bay

What else would get GeWilli on a computer at 10 freaking thirty at night on a sunday?

The chance to bid on a rare beauty of a bike. And, nabbed by a freaking sniper. Three of them it looks like. But I pushed well past my comfort level. Thought maybe I had a chance, but looking at their max number? Nope. Well the realization hit. Surly framesets can be had new for $400. And they make one that fits me. Hmmm.

Ya see. Some yahoo sent me a "Hey this would make a great pit bike." Yup. Sure would have. Would have made a better commuter bike. Would fit better than the paramount, would match the Croll cross bike I'm riding. Would actually be a Walter Croll bike (not a Bicycle Factory imitation). But well, the final bid price would cover the missing parts I would need to get the paramount decommissioned with full glory and honors.

While I'm somewhat frustrated by not winning the damn bike, I am happy that there was someone out there who was willing to pay more money than I was for that sweet bike. (gotta put a good spin on it).

And maybe this is the imputus to get a crosscheck, yes, i know, heavy, unresponsive, not the best cross bike out there. But as a commuter? Really hard to beat. And it would be inexpensive AND have far lower emotional value attached to it compared to a Croll or my Paramount. Eh? But it does have more 'soul' than a Trek. And I was just going to say and Trek don't even make one big enough... and oop wtf??? They have a Cross bike with a 61.2 EFF Top Tube? Hmmm. I wonder how effective that is? If it is like Solobreak's effective bike he got? well that won't be cool... Still. It is a Trek. Even all those years selling them the closest I got to riding a Trek was a Washington Built Klein. (Oh that mantra is probably a WI bike... still not a trek). Not that they are bad bikes. I've never ridden a specialized or a giant or lots of bikes. Never sold Specklized, did sell ji-ants. Lots of ji-ant but(te)s.

Gonna have an enforced hiatus here.

Call it radio silence leading into what might just be one of the only skinny tire competition appearances of GeWilli. Focus on not getting dropped so hard that my big fat ass can't fall down the hill and tag on the back end of something.

Thanks Eye-Bob for the cool bit on Velonews. I would have missed that completely. And I will freely admit. I've stopped checking in at cyclingnews and have been getting more info from Velonews. Must be the kick ass Job Steve is doing there now!

And Big Boonen Wins. Sweeeeeet.

Usually when I'm this tired typing I reach for more coffee. This time I think I'll just turn off the computer and head home.

heddwch
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afternoon ramblings

some time i just feel compelled to write something...

last night after reading Fancy Nancy (our youngest can finish every line in the book right now...) she told me to read my stuff to her. So I went to grab the last couple articles from PEZ and another cycling related one that i'd printed out to read. Well she preempted that as my hand was lifting them off the night stand. "NO DADDY the food book."

Yeah, for a while I read In Defense of Food out loud. And now, I'm on to Omnivore's Dilemma. I started the chapter on "the Farm" 1 farm 129 people. I found that the words from the page flowed off my tounge on the first read as I had written it and I knew innately what word was coming next. Very odd sensation. Not all reading is like that. Certainly I generally breeze through reading in my head, but out loud things change. One invokes certain performance standards and I find that Pollan's work (okay so far two books) are written, seemingly, for me to read out loud. I even contemplated recording a passage (video) but, well, to go to that effort for all 5-10 people that might watch it? I seemed to let that idea pass.

But mid stride of all that above here, I got a support call, 5th in a row, from our remote facility, help. So. I said sure, but instantly realizing, DOH i forgot to move the damn car again. Shit, wave of panic flows over. You know the kind when you see the gumball machine light up behind even if you are doing 58 in a 55... So i was rather ready to say "I'll be right there." Thinking, I have to move the car anyway. No orange ticket. Odd. Hmmm, seems there are only "don't park between these signs" no "2 hour limit" sweeeeeeeet. Oh well still had to get down there. And even found a killer parking spot after returning. Not even raining. And my first thought parking the car this morning was "I gotta remember to set a reminder alarm to move the car" I promptly forgotten it upon walking in. Nice going dumbass. Better to be lucky than good as my MIL is fond of saying.

I should carry that Luck over to Henry's Contest!

Although for some reason last week a Merrimac race showed up in my mailbox. The Elite race from 2001. Last race before nats in Baltimore. Page, Timmie, and crew. Great race it looked like. Loved all the shots, Mark M hassling about the start location during call ups. The steady bike swapping going on. The sandy loamy mud or what ever it was that people were trying to ride but usually running. That thing looked cool. Maybe '08 will be the year of wet sloppy New England Racing? (yeah right).

And, well I'm officially over Safari. It is pretty cool. Graphics seem better in there but man, it locks up and freezes way more than Firefox. And I've seen enough adds since installing it to last me another couple years of browsing. Damn do i love no-scrip and adblock. Add free browsing ROCKS.

In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
- James M. Barrie

Oh and i hate the fact that Ebay auctions end conveniently when I'm away from a computer. Bastahjez!!!

Oh and it is annoying that Cyclingnews and Bikeradar have freaking the same content. *Yawn*

Here, lets take something good (cyclingnews) and combine it with two things that were never as good. Yeah. That'll work. L A M E

So. I wonder where the cyclingnews 29 vs 26 tech article is? Or has enough time elapsed that people have defacto accepted 29 as the optimal standard for Mt Bikes now?

The weekend is rolling soon. I'm left debating going hard or focusing on complete recovery aiming at one or two high intensity efforts Wed or Thurs leading into Saturday. But, hey, like it will really matter. My goals for the 19th are modest. #1 Finish, #2 Have fun racing with the team, #3 DON'T LOSE WATERBOTTLES, #4 stay with a big group and not suffer the humiliation of getting passed by a different category caravan, #5 finish in the top half of the field. (The last two there are my high goals).

Heddwch... and I hope the hell of the north is a damn good race this weekend!
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