good ideas poorly excuted? or just being dumb

Last night specifically. Dumbby? Me? maybe.

Back up to tuesday, or so. Why? well Tuesday night was get bike ready for Wed night. Wed night was opening night at Riverpoint Park CX. I'd gotten the White bike sorted out on Saturday. I was rideable. But still had issues. Namely couldn't shift the ft der. And I confirmed my quick link serviceable life span study.

Turns out you can get two and a half chain lives out of one quicklink. So now: change link every other chain. Maximize economy (wee save $4-10 over 6k miles or so) without compromise in performance. Yeah sounds dumb doesn't it. But Yeah test pilot here is more crash test dummy for equipment. How long can we go until it fails kind of testing.

So there - definitive long term research.


Tuesday night got the ft der swiched on the bikes. Well I more or less went down to N of 1. Okay actually two bikes are rideable right now. The Adroit and the White Blue. Black blue aka commuter aka falling apart and chain stretched an inch beyond where it should, chain ring looks the same as the jockey wheels, both are sharp and pointy enough to be used as very deadly throwing stars. And now it doesn't have ft shift mechanism. or front cable.

Quantum pro is relegated back to hanging due to wheels being stolen to use on the white blue. Short a ft tubular (to have alloy breaking surface for muds) and rear clincher (to keep one set of road training wheels intact aka the Klein rideable). Yes there is the commuter wheelset, there is the studded tire wheel set, both mounted and ready to go. There is the tubeless set up with the rocket rons on the Ultegra wheels (yes set up tubeless a couple years running w/o problems it seems) and then the wonder wheels the Zipps. The rear Grammo tubular wheel is still in solid shape, the front not so much. I had a garbage can rebuild of a hub with a bit of play that is a decent training clincher.

So I stuck the Racing Ralph Gen1 clincher on that wheel, while I was waiting to see if the extra stans added to the flat front tubeless wheel was going to hold. Then took the Durano Plus tire off the training box section 32 spoke wheel that has been my only road wheelset for years, and slapped the rear RRG1 on there (same wheel set up for RdR). Was tempting to try the tubeless at Riverpoint park but decided eventually to just ride in and to leave the tubeless wheels at home. Clinchers over pressured sound good for Riverpoint. No?

New front Der on the White blue (can shift now). Clinchers and we're ready to get a pile of laps in.

Had a late lunch with Lesli, ate our burritos over looking across at the bench I was sitting in when I heard of Amy D's death. Revisiting now in my head the Deltron "Do You Remember" song ... and that post that i pulled after a bit and probably won't repost, at least not for a while.

Got down there and started doing a few laps with David B and David E and everyone else. It was a good crew and we mostly just kind of did pairs of hot laps, tried out some new super technical features that only a couple people could ride (call em pro-only sections HAH).  That place is hard. Very challenging. Some aspects have gotten easier but some much harder.

80 min or so of riding is what strava said i did. not all of it all out efforts but lots of it was. There were times where I was sprinting past people up the loose hill just to get in front of them before the next section so I was pinning myself regularly all night. And it felt pretty damn good.

The bike was dialed. Tire pressure too high but the position kicked ass. The tweak i did to the bar angle and the hood angle made a big difference. Saddle is still higher than the bars/hoods but not by much. Compared to the Road position on the black blue or the drop on the Klein, I was sitting completely upright. But on the CX course that was perfect. Could turn, could control it and get the weight off the front to muscle through the sandpit (which is the most difficult sand in NECX to ride). Not impossible to ride but super challenging and easy to fuck up.

Sprinted out of the flat grass corners on the top side, used as little brake as I could on the super sketchy downhills (which translates to using as much brake as i f'n had aka i can't stop the white blue so stay out of my way i guess).

If you haven't ridden Riverpoint Park you're missing out. It is technically hard and varied enough that even if you're taking an easy lap or two you're still having to dig into the intensity a bit. And then when you're trying to stay on Bobby Stine's wheel on a hot lap you can't let up and there is absolutely no rest and add all the technical insanity at speed. No rest, no recovery, and it is brutal. In a good way.  But in a way that is more ideal for me for training than racing, but I don't think it is much of a stretch to say that there's some seriously World Cup level potential at this place. Assuming the river doesn't flood and remove the sand and other sections temporarily.

So Riverpoint park was wed.

I'd sent out emails about rides, and well, somehow committed to riding on Thursday night on the smackdown.

Seemed like brilliant idea. Do hard effort back to back to simulate CX race. Except Riverpoint was a bit late, I only had a few peices of Pizza that night and then skipped breakfast, and ate a lighter lunch than I had intended did a bit of grocery shopping with the trailer mid-day and well was not exactly fresh, rested or well fueled going into Thursday's smackdown. And of course Bailey shows up.

But hey - gotta make it happen. Breakfast time was lost because I was trying to get dinner started (cooking the beans that were soaked the day before - of course kid didn't turn them off until they were boiled down to nothing - different drama saga), and not just that but I had to turn the White Blue back into street ready. Aka put the Durano Plus tires back on. Take RRG1 off the rear and put the road tire back on. No big deal really. Right? These wheels were fine on the Klein.

But I guess having your handle bars 10cm higher than normal is kind of a HUGE game changer. No shit you're thinking. Well yeah.  Even Fox asked at the start of the ride, "Did you get taller?" because i was Towering over everyone instead of in super flat back aero road position.

Not only was in in sea anchor body position, I also gave up a good pile of gearing with the 46t big ring. Which historically has been fine. Providing I'm in roadie position. And on the black blue that is over a pound lighter in the frame and even more so with a few other bits hanging on it. So yeah. Heavy bike, under geared, under fueled, non-aero position, tired from day before, what else.

Wanna guess how my smackdown went? Yeah no well. I was pegged and at my limit on Prospect going south IN THE DRAFT, it was all I could do to stay in David E's draft. ALL I COULD DO. Then I hung on to Pine but they went up hill and I didn't. I wasn't not working. I was working my ass off, But out of the draft it was even worse. Colby was feeling the efforts of Ningret or feeling sorry for me or both because he turned back and waited for me and we rode the rest of the route together.

But it was bad. Normally I can roll down hills, even with these non-aero wheels, effortlessly and gain some time on people. I had to work my ass off going down hill just to stay with Colby coasting. AERO IS EVERYTHING.

That said I think while I had the slowest time ever I probably couldn't have gotten a better w/out. I was blow, legs were coooked.

Then I saw Giulia on her way out and she turned around and accompanied me back to get the trailer and groceries and then with me down the bike path into the wind. And of course that was more suffering to keep up with her. Pegged again.

But I woke up with sore legs for the first time that I can remember. And not just a sore back. It was kind of cool.

I can't hang with fit Cat 2 guys riding S5 cervelos on this heavy tank of a CX bike on the road. Man did i wish i had an emonda last night.

Does the bike make a difference? Yes. Am I strong enough to overcome the difference? Not always, and sometimes nope.

I have to get some BB30 bearings for both bikes, I need to get a whole new drive train for the other bike.

Currently thinking maybe I would have a hell of a lot more fun doing the short handled shovel challenge than doing one day at the KMC CX Fest getting slaughtered in the 35+ or 2/3 race. I mean not that I don't love starting mid-pack/back in either of those two fields but with 200 other friends, on that course...  I'd be happy with just the Friday on that course. Maybe not race the weekend out of protest of high fees, lack of 45+ category and parking and everything else. No race means I can just ride over easily, cheer for my friends racing and hang out and just relax. And that actually sounds kind of fun. I have days off to burn, just have to make sure I'm not doing kid shuffleing on Wednesdays.  NoHo is off of my calendar. If they'd stayed on the original weekend I'd be able to race it but not this year. Build to Nationals tho. right? Build to nationals. yes. Or at least use it as a goal.

easy day today on the bike at least. insane training this AM that went long but interacting with great people so that makes it better i suppose. I was contemplating doing some Running on Saturday morning. We'll see about that. Maybe maybe not. Everything has wound down now, most users are off the scopes, interuptions have stopped. Words have flown here. Taking that as a sign that it is time to head out. It has been more of a pressure cooker than usual lately, esp for August. But then I do like the job, i'm not terrible at it and get to interact with some amazingly smart and passionate people, not all of which have a good mechanical/microscope intuition, but then that's why I'm here.

Heading towards the other passion, the bike shop. Turning wrenches and stuff.

So yeah. Judge the hell out of me, i'm an idiot, out of shape and totally fucking up the potential gains gotten from being prepared for a training opportunity. Messing everything up could be labeled my special gift. Weeeeee.

That and I haven't sold the rusty race wagon yet, nor been able to nail down dates go down and get its replacement.

Too much going on...

Had a good bit of recovery on Sunday for the brain. made monday really pleasant, was nice having a real weekend even if it was just a day. A day like most people live. A day off. who knows when the next one of those will be. Also need to find inspiration for the next big ride on the 30th... where am I going????????  Besides to crazy town?

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