I'm either finally doing the work or I just overdid it. Sticking with the positive side I'm going with the former.
yesterday the plan was for some hill running intervals, 10 min warm up followed by 10 repeats. Timing with the car (before the starter) everything was going to work out so I would get here and do the run on the East Side Hill repeat course. Or at least pick one of them. So I picked one.
South Court.
I didn't pick the easier section above that from Congdon st to Prospect on Meeting, no I did the Benefit to Congdon section. I think it is the last three sections on Brent's map here. Oh and Brent, don't use JPGs try PNG files for stuff like that - the aliasing isn't nearly as bad. It starts at 15.8% then drops down to 12.7% finishing off at about 6.1%.
It is hard. 10 of those? Ah hell why not. And of course I lost count somewhere between #3 and #5, So I erred on being on #4 and then did 7 more just in case. I probably should have picked #5 and only have done 5 more, but I didn't. Yeah I should really figure out how to count. But the planning worked out, the final one was to failure. I literally couldn't take another step at the top. And I still had to get up that last stretch of Meeting street, stopping your intervals in the middle of the hill when you need to get to the top is kind of stupid. And honestly I had planned on running that whole last section until I got to Congdon.
I walked up the hill around for about 10-15 minutes cooling down before cleaning up and getting to work.
I'm wrecked today. And that's a good feeling. A POSITIVE feeling.
One that is helping fuel the desire to get better. I know I will never ever see the front end of the category I'm racing in, and getting lapped by Kevin Hines (talent at a level found in one in eight million people) isn't such a terrible thing.
Myerson's points are well taken, a couple days later, wow I can't wait to get back in there. Finding the right line. Getting the start nailed. Being in control of the things that I can control, doing the little stuff, having fun and letting the results sort themselves out as they will. That's the focus. And honestly that's what drives me.
I know there's little chance of me getting fast enough to do much more than hopefully have a race like this one. That's all. And part of me really needs to ignore my places behind jerry or PBJ. 71% of the time he's finished in front of me. Last year at the end of the season the margin narrowed and then I had three in a row, but I found form and he was burning out. gotta focus more on the Williams/Lehman battle. That and the new kid on the block Josh Gunn.
I'm grateful for friends who send me private emails of encouragement with suggestions, "90% of this game is 50% mental." And yeah don't we know it.
Mentally I had a tough second day. But I can't let one bad race define a season. it is a season after all. Hell i can't let a tough month of racing do that either. Success is being there. Starting, AND finishing. Competing and working on this game. It is just a game. But more than that, it provides a focus for me and a challenge. It doesn't come easy for me.
Enough focusing on it. Coach's plan that he pulled from somewhere has "1 hr skills" for tonight. Um. Yeah. Skills? Not my weak point. Sure I can always improve my cornering but look, I need to focus on the speed and fitness side. So I'm going to ignore that and walk the bike home... keep the joints moving and allow active recovery to take place to prepare for tomorrow and then the weekend.
Oh and The Six P's. Love them.
And I definitely gotta "Deal With It" better.
I can't help but wonder if 20 years ago Chip Baker and my brother were at the same race... in the same race maybe...
oh if you haven't been keeping up with Steve Tilford... go give his latest on Thor a read.
heddwch
G
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thanks SOUPS
Oh and who'm I kidding, figure it out? Me? (end of last post - if you are reading it chronologically).... If I figure it out and some how get fast and competitive and stuff, what the hell will I write about?
Struggles in the back, no podiums to show for it so i write about my horrible bike racing, racing to stay on the lead lap now and not always succeeding. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to find some higher measure of success, and it drives me. I crave it. But what can I do but keep working towards it, and I will. Damn it. Even if they manage to turn the East Coast Scene into a Hipster Tractor pull, because that really wouldn't be so bad. Who cares who is showing up to the races as long as they are coming and having fun watching "us" hit ourselves in the head with a hammer. And yeah. Those corners are pretty damn fun when you finally dial them in.
Struggles in the back, no podiums to show for it so i write about my horrible bike racing, racing to stay on the lead lap now and not always succeeding. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to find some higher measure of success, and it drives me. I crave it. But what can I do but keep working towards it, and I will. Damn it. Even if they manage to turn the East Coast Scene into a Hipster Tractor pull, because that really wouldn't be so bad. Who cares who is showing up to the races as long as they are coming and having fun watching "us" hit ourselves in the head with a hammer. And yeah. Those corners are pretty damn fun when you finally dial them in.
Hipster Tractor Pulls
What a divinely inspired phrase to use describing the Cyclocross scene in Portland, OR. Seriously - cracks me up now again thinking about it.
Myerson has gotten way too much patting on the back for that short bit of prose but it's pretty solid, and not that far wrong.
Take my race on Sunday as an example. It didn't go so well. First lap i didn't get off to a great start, thought I did but in my pre-riding I jumped on the course as it went by the startline headed to the triple bypass of spectator crossing death and I completely blanked on checking the start. never really assuming it was going to be changed but not giving it a thought (worse). Not till the start did I realize woops I'm way f'n out of position here - but I managed to slither and slink up a bit but mostly I still came through there pretty close to last. Up and down and around, running. Someone broke the stake on the double off camber 180 and I just stepped over the fencing (invoking the Paul Curly rule: "if it isn't taped it is only a suggestion"). But it was tight through the middle of the triple, then the whole run in into the barriers. I wasn't last but I was doing a damn good job getting there.
Barriers were okay - managed to survive and get around. Until we dropped into the bowl for the first time. Tall Embro guy who I crashed in front of at Gloucester on day two stalled and kind of dove across my line forcing me into the roots and ultimately I didn't have enough momentum/power/skill to recover and was able to reach out and with three finger tips grab the tree bark with enough force that I didn't slide backwards all the way down the hill. A bit later my fingers were burning so much I had to look at them, I thought there was a chance that I had ripped the skin off and they were bleeding (they were numb - couldn't feel a thing from the treebark). But I recovered and managed to get back on the end of the conga line. Yeah. Me. Lantern Rouge. Not even one lap in. Oh so not a good spot to be.
We headed around to the triple for the third pass, down in front of Timmie's van and up the dirt. EVERYONE was riding it. And riding it clean. No issues. It was easy. Everyone EXCEPT THE GUY IN FRONT OF ME. Seriously. I was riding up on his wheel, maybe too fast but I was holding momentum and traction and he started to bail, and I was set up to slide around to his left, leaving a couple feet to spare. Well. He stopped. And put a foot down, except it wasn't just down, it was out to the left and in my line, no room to avoid it and I had to stop and put a foot down, awkwardly. And then he took off.
And then I was riding alone. Saw Buck walking off the course, a couple guys with flats came back through me and then there was CTodd.
That jackass was up by the start finish. But before I realized who was yelling at me at the S/F line I noticed that there were 4 to go. FOUR? MORE? Shit I thought the laps were longer and man - didn't expect 7 laps.
That sucked some anger out, not that my legs were doing anything. To make it all worse Steve Lehman was never behind me all race. He's always behind me and just works his way through me or up to me. Sunday? I dunno what he did, maybe he warmed up or something but he was gone, up there with G-ride and GCD. Of Course Kyle Wolf working as an official didn't help. Kyle and I were in the pits for JONNY BOLD's win and while Roger Asphlom struggled in the ice. Last year Kyle seemed to figure out the cross thing, but he said he'd rather hang out at a cross race and get paid than to pay money to see how much he sucked, he said he knew how much he sucked and didn't need a reminder.
So Ctodd, sitting up there with 3 to go shouted "YOU AREN'T DFL AND YOU AREN'T GOING TO GET LAPPED" and you know what? That fired me up. Not enough to catch anyone (I was so alone at that point) but I dug deep and sucked every last watt out of my poorly trained legs because damn it that would be awesome.
Saddly, I came back around for the next lap and there is a 1 to go sign... shit i'm going to get lapped... and CTodd stands up and covers up the 1 to go and tells me I have 2 to go. Huh, that only means one thing, Leaders are coming through soon.
How soon? Time to untune out Richard and Company on the PA system. On a race like Saturday I don't hear the announcers at all, even going by the speakers, the sound doesn't register, sometimes I need to work on tuning other stuff out while racing. I come through the section off the grass and hear that Mark M is headed past the big Oak. "I wonder if that is the tree over by Kinnen (sp?) at the start, if it is I will be seeing him sooner than later." Uh oh. It is. "ONE TO GO FOR MARK ONE TO GO."
shit.
so I ride, one eye looking over my shoulder. I make it around through the up and down and then through the middle of the triple bypass before he's on me and he goes flying through. I did learn a new line through the post pit corner left hander with the roots where solobreak and g-ride decided to cuddle. And then i had to wait. And pedal really hard. And wait. And keep pedaling before the next gang came through. That was the long haired vandessel rider with Kevin glued on his wheel 18 second of spacing later. Then came Kevin, he caught me going through the pits maybe on the other side from where Mark got me, I got right the hell out of the way for all those guys and even shouted some encouragement.
I knew it was one of my worst days on a bike in a race in a while. Right from the start it was a doomed race. But I worked and wrung every last bit out of me. I didn't give up. I didn't stop hitting myself in the head with the hammer until I crossed the finish line. And it took a long time of being a mopey pissed jackass before I could even act somewhat normally or talk to anyone.
Right away I fired my coach, I was left wondering wtf to do. How to make it work. How could I salvage the whole rest of the season.
But then you know, I knew going into the weekend that I rarely have one good race let alone two after a rest week. Last year I either delayed the rest to the week after PVD or that's how I planned it anyway either way there was no way I could have carried a full program last week (which isn't much but it is more than doing nothing).
So really, with all the distractions, the rest week, the decent day on Saturday, totally didn't sleep well at all Saturday night... considering I finished with out crashing or breaking any equipment, I was able to drive myself home w/o stopping at the hospital on the way home or being picked up from the hospital, it really was okay.
that and the only time I get to cheer for Jonny Bold is when he's lapping me, well I guess that's okay too... once or twice... no more than that though.
Tubular tires were delivered yesterday, got them stretching, going to get them glued up. Kind of odd how when they showed up all the pre-season planning was over. Was that what was killing the mojo? All the bits in line? Now to try and sell that pesky fishing reel, and the wicked cool salmon flies and what ever else I can turn into cash instead of just a box full of cool old junk doing me not much good.
Oh and while G-ride might be a little old Justy, I'm a big old high torque diesel motor in desperate need of new nozzles and a turbo upgrade, maybe a chip tuning. But I think the chip tuning is more in line of how my wife described it (scoop the brains out, throw it on the ground, stomp on it and put it back in), or as Solobreak and others say "Stop thinking so much."
Team Mate and all around awesome guy Mark SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUPS Suprenant sent me a few shots, and I might get around to posting them... maybe...
I did manage, despite the Solenoid on the starter hanging up and getting jammed in the start the motor position but don't extend the bendix and keep buzzing away and changing the whole dynamics, to get a workout in. Coach is giving me the same shit from last year, only a month or two earlier. I think he thinks that hitting Phase 5 in November will be better than hitting it in December. And well, I need to not over think it and just do what he says. Okay so he's not really a coach as much as a trainer. I have Nega-Coach for that, telling me all sorts of things, not nearly enough of which I remember when I need to.
Oh well - one of these days I'll figure it out...
Myerson has gotten way too much patting on the back for that short bit of prose but it's pretty solid, and not that far wrong.
Take my race on Sunday as an example. It didn't go so well. First lap i didn't get off to a great start, thought I did but in my pre-riding I jumped on the course as it went by the startline headed to the triple bypass of spectator crossing death and I completely blanked on checking the start. never really assuming it was going to be changed but not giving it a thought (worse). Not till the start did I realize woops I'm way f'n out of position here - but I managed to slither and slink up a bit but mostly I still came through there pretty close to last. Up and down and around, running. Someone broke the stake on the double off camber 180 and I just stepped over the fencing (invoking the Paul Curly rule: "if it isn't taped it is only a suggestion"). But it was tight through the middle of the triple, then the whole run in into the barriers. I wasn't last but I was doing a damn good job getting there.
Barriers were okay - managed to survive and get around. Until we dropped into the bowl for the first time. Tall Embro guy who I crashed in front of at Gloucester on day two stalled and kind of dove across my line forcing me into the roots and ultimately I didn't have enough momentum/power/skill to recover and was able to reach out and with three finger tips grab the tree bark with enough force that I didn't slide backwards all the way down the hill. A bit later my fingers were burning so much I had to look at them, I thought there was a chance that I had ripped the skin off and they were bleeding (they were numb - couldn't feel a thing from the treebark). But I recovered and managed to get back on the end of the conga line. Yeah. Me. Lantern Rouge. Not even one lap in. Oh so not a good spot to be.
We headed around to the triple for the third pass, down in front of Timmie's van and up the dirt. EVERYONE was riding it. And riding it clean. No issues. It was easy. Everyone EXCEPT THE GUY IN FRONT OF ME. Seriously. I was riding up on his wheel, maybe too fast but I was holding momentum and traction and he started to bail, and I was set up to slide around to his left, leaving a couple feet to spare. Well. He stopped. And put a foot down, except it wasn't just down, it was out to the left and in my line, no room to avoid it and I had to stop and put a foot down, awkwardly. And then he took off.
And then I was riding alone. Saw Buck walking off the course, a couple guys with flats came back through me and then there was CTodd.
That jackass was up by the start finish. But before I realized who was yelling at me at the S/F line I noticed that there were 4 to go. FOUR? MORE? Shit I thought the laps were longer and man - didn't expect 7 laps.
That sucked some anger out, not that my legs were doing anything. To make it all worse Steve Lehman was never behind me all race. He's always behind me and just works his way through me or up to me. Sunday? I dunno what he did, maybe he warmed up or something but he was gone, up there with G-ride and GCD. Of Course Kyle Wolf working as an official didn't help. Kyle and I were in the pits for JONNY BOLD's win and while Roger Asphlom struggled in the ice. Last year Kyle seemed to figure out the cross thing, but he said he'd rather hang out at a cross race and get paid than to pay money to see how much he sucked, he said he knew how much he sucked and didn't need a reminder.
So Ctodd, sitting up there with 3 to go shouted "YOU AREN'T DFL AND YOU AREN'T GOING TO GET LAPPED" and you know what? That fired me up. Not enough to catch anyone (I was so alone at that point) but I dug deep and sucked every last watt out of my poorly trained legs because damn it that would be awesome.
Saddly, I came back around for the next lap and there is a 1 to go sign... shit i'm going to get lapped... and CTodd stands up and covers up the 1 to go and tells me I have 2 to go. Huh, that only means one thing, Leaders are coming through soon.
How soon? Time to untune out Richard and Company on the PA system. On a race like Saturday I don't hear the announcers at all, even going by the speakers, the sound doesn't register, sometimes I need to work on tuning other stuff out while racing. I come through the section off the grass and hear that Mark M is headed past the big Oak. "I wonder if that is the tree over by Kinnen (sp?) at the start, if it is I will be seeing him sooner than later." Uh oh. It is. "ONE TO GO FOR MARK ONE TO GO."
shit.
so I ride, one eye looking over my shoulder. I make it around through the up and down and then through the middle of the triple bypass before he's on me and he goes flying through. I did learn a new line through the post pit corner left hander with the roots where solobreak and g-ride decided to cuddle. And then i had to wait. And pedal really hard. And wait. And keep pedaling before the next gang came through. That was the long haired vandessel rider with Kevin glued on his wheel 18 second of spacing later. Then came Kevin, he caught me going through the pits maybe on the other side from where Mark got me, I got right the hell out of the way for all those guys and even shouted some encouragement.
I knew it was one of my worst days on a bike in a race in a while. Right from the start it was a doomed race. But I worked and wrung every last bit out of me. I didn't give up. I didn't stop hitting myself in the head with the hammer until I crossed the finish line. And it took a long time of being a mopey pissed jackass before I could even act somewhat normally or talk to anyone.
Right away I fired my coach, I was left wondering wtf to do. How to make it work. How could I salvage the whole rest of the season.
But then you know, I knew going into the weekend that I rarely have one good race let alone two after a rest week. Last year I either delayed the rest to the week after PVD or that's how I planned it anyway either way there was no way I could have carried a full program last week (which isn't much but it is more than doing nothing).
So really, with all the distractions, the rest week, the decent day on Saturday, totally didn't sleep well at all Saturday night... considering I finished with out crashing or breaking any equipment, I was able to drive myself home w/o stopping at the hospital on the way home or being picked up from the hospital, it really was okay.
that and the only time I get to cheer for Jonny Bold is when he's lapping me, well I guess that's okay too... once or twice... no more than that though.
Tubular tires were delivered yesterday, got them stretching, going to get them glued up. Kind of odd how when they showed up all the pre-season planning was over. Was that what was killing the mojo? All the bits in line? Now to try and sell that pesky fishing reel, and the wicked cool salmon flies and what ever else I can turn into cash instead of just a box full of cool old junk doing me not much good.
Oh and while G-ride might be a little old Justy, I'm a big old high torque diesel motor in desperate need of new nozzles and a turbo upgrade, maybe a chip tuning. But I think the chip tuning is more in line of how my wife described it (scoop the brains out, throw it on the ground, stomp on it and put it back in), or as Solobreak and others say "Stop thinking so much."
Team Mate and all around awesome guy Mark SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUPS Suprenant sent me a few shots, and I might get around to posting them... maybe...
I did manage, despite the Solenoid on the starter hanging up and getting jammed in the start the motor position but don't extend the bendix and keep buzzing away and changing the whole dynamics, to get a workout in. Coach is giving me the same shit from last year, only a month or two earlier. I think he thinks that hitting Phase 5 in November will be better than hitting it in December. And well, I need to not over think it and just do what he says. Okay so he's not really a coach as much as a trainer. I have Nega-Coach for that, telling me all sorts of things, not nearly enough of which I remember when I need to.
Oh well - one of these days I'll figure it out...
Monday, October 11, 2010
Providence Cyclocross Festival - day 1
Day 1. Local race. Me getting up early, doing my pre-race thing. Get up, check the twitter feed, email, have a cup of green tea, feed the dog.
Made breakfast that was a whole wheat english muffin, one medium fried egg, some cheese, 50 grams of pork breakfast sausage (precooked weight low fat sausage), radish tops, turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, and a trace of salt.
I made two of them. One went in the fridge for Sunday so I could eat and make a quick getaway (i held the radish tops out of that one, and just put them in before eating).
Got the waterbottles mixed, used the last of the OSJL special Power Bar drink mix (might have to go back to Trial #whatever)... sorted out the shit to bring.
Loaded the tent in the car, the bikes, the wheels, the trainer, and headed out only a few minutes after I planned to. Swung through one of the best coffee shops in the city (Coffee Exchange on wickenden). It is also a quick on and off 195, on my way to almost every race (and the races it isn't on the way to i can go to Coffee Depot in Warren). I usually grab their French Roast coffee. Fill up my travel mug with nice black coffee and head out. I really like their coffee. Good stuff.
Got there, backed down as close as I could to the Pits from the back side to unload. Hauled the tent, the bikes, the cooler, the bag all over to our spot. Turned out to be next to JLS. I got there before the first race started. And was able to watch Nathan T kill it and finish in 3rd in the cat 4 race riding a single speed on a decidedly gear friendly course.
Pre-race was pretty focused, Solobreak was in the race for some reason. Murat was there too, along with Jerry of course. Coach Kurt and the rest of the new england badasses were lined up along with a good half dozen or more people non of us have seen racing this season. I warmed up listening to J-Pow's recommended DJ Scene. Although checking it now he's pimping DJ AM. Hmm. Maybe I have to be more on top of it. Switch it up, DJ Scene got me through G-ster and it worked for day one, but his pod-casts are pretty similar so far. Gotta keep up with that J-Pow kid.
Got a decent warm up in. Hit the course for one lap. Friday I had stopped by and ridden the sections. They weren't linked up yet but, I got a good feel for it and the lines. I felt I had the course pretty well dialed in. And while being only slightly technical we got on and off the bike 4 times per lap. I do actually love that day 1 course. Nice blend of technical stuff and power and on and off. The more dismounts per lap the better. With all the curbs, and everyone flatting I elected to run a bit more pressure in the Racing Ralph Clinchers. I even went as high as 55 on the Giant in the pit. I think I was at 45 f and 48 r. Oh and clearly I'm not skinny or scrappy enough yet. Going to not eat for a week and just train. Maybe I can not be a clydesdale for a change, it is that or boost the power levels enough to compensate.
The tent and that scene was great. Hanging with team mates and having a rallying point for folks to come in and out, check out Burke's power assist bike, it was good but not too distracting. Walked over to the holeshot cafe and bought some more coffee, not bad but not Coffee Exchange good.
Well time to line up on the grid. Got a 4th row start right behind a guy in a white skinsuit and right next to G-ride. Were given the 80% speech, and were sent off. Solobreak was somewhere and Murat was up a row, Lehman was behind me too.
Well White skinsuit guy basically doesn't move, or really just moved so slowly I couldn't go anywhere, G-ride got boxed in pretty good too by the sudden appearance of some orange fencing. But we hit that grass, I nailed it clean and flew into the first hairpin, Around the outside, setting me up for an inside line going to the off camber grass.
Except my front wheel dropped off the inside line into a rut and I had to dab to stay upright. But still wasn't so bad. Decent start. Hit the corners pretty hard, felt good. I felt pretty confident on all the corners. The higher speed barrier approach was awesome. And while there were a few people bogging on the post barrier woops it wasn't so bad. Motored up the climb, settled a bit going into the right hander off the pavement before the concrete stairs, hit my preferred line there. And attacked the pavement. Just attacked it. Didn't get my line around the trees with all the damn traffic, but it wasn't terminal, no one fell off in front of me or stopped in a bad place (like day 2). I wasn't last. Drilled it, flew up the stairs (as fast as I can fly - which isn't). And then worked through the next section around the pits and out to the end turn around, to the up and down didn't bother trying to ride, dismounted early and went. Got around to the pavement and jumped on a wheel as I went around a dieing Murat. I was actually chasing wheels the whole time, riding, not alone.
It was a freaking BLAST. Myette came through though and that wasn't so good. Unhinged me a bit, G-ride and Solo popped on his week and then I rode past them while they were laying on the ground in a tight embrace. And that actually fired me up a bit. The lap before I was yelling (not at him in particular- but about Solo) "YOU ARE NOT IN MY HEAD" and if that didn't work and just make him another racer I wanted to beat... it was great. Soon after that he called G-ride a Subaru Justy and I just about died laughing, as G-ride really was barely powering up the hill before the pavement transition to the concrete stairs. Things were going well. Lehman was no where to be found (yet), I hadn't even felt like i was fading. It was awesome. Maybe you can have a good race after a rest week.
Eventually after their crash I was left alone. I guess I don't ride quite as well when I'm not pushed sometimes, I can ride way faster than I often do mid-race, but I did have one and a half slow laps giving G-ride a chance to power up to me. When he got there though I was go time. And I tried to hang with his wheel, and on Joe's garage wheel. Just barely hanging and they gapped me (i forget where really). But then I noticed Lehman coming up. We were coming in for 1 to go, no leader in sight anywhere, i'd forgotten about 80% rule and still thought we should be fine. And rather than blow myself trying to hold a gap on Steven I eased off a touch until he was on my wheel coming up after the run up.
In my mind I was preparing for an EPIC (yeah i'm using that word) battle royal with my Nemesis and friend Lehman. I felt actually recovered and ready to go destroy that last lap and have a kick ass sprint for 50th place or whatever it was going to be. Coming into the bell lap, no leader in sight and the official jumps out in front of us and says "YOU ARE DONE"
"OFF THE COURSE"
what?
Huh?
sure enough Kim's bike shop guy goes through on the heels of Chabot and the Joes Garage guy and then not 10 seconds later, hell maybe only 5 we get shuffled off the course.
I'm not going to go on a rant here about the 80% rule. They pulled us and I've said my peace with that official and will leave it like that. I was having, not a great race, but it was fun and was so looking forward to that final lap. Lehman has basically had my number all season. Well, of course who doesn't get listed? Lehman. None of the pulled riders were on the prelim results but were all assured that we'd be placed. We weren't lapped though. Not even close. We had time to sit there and argue and complain and bitch as other riders were yanked and finally minutes later, Kevin Hines comes flying through.
It wasn't my best race, but it was fun, it ended on a sour note that had me pretty pissed for a while, but I got over it. Yelled at other racers, generally had a great day. Dragged G-ride back to this place and made everyone some chicken lo mein that got devoured. Easily fell asleep early, only to wake up at 1 then 2 and then for good at 5:30.
Day 1 was in the books. Day 2 was next. In years past I would typically have a better day on Sunday. There are one or two exceptions but not like G-ster and PVD. Could be quite a few reasons, first of which is I'm probably not as rested/recovered as I could be going into the weekend. I'm also probably still out of shape/needing work. But it is odd, usually day 2 is better, or at least consistent. I guess waking up at 5:30 today with the dog probably isn't helping, maybe I'll take a nap.
At least I'm wicked sore today, I felt like I've been through a physical ringer this weekend. I'll try and get out for a nice mellow ride to blow this kack out of the legs. And maybe I'll get a chance to write up Day 2. Although that was a horrible race, nearly a damn copy of G-ster day two but without the flat tire, and instead of one wreck in the first lap it was two near wrecks.
heddwch
G
Made breakfast that was a whole wheat english muffin, one medium fried egg, some cheese, 50 grams of pork breakfast sausage (precooked weight low fat sausage), radish tops, turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, and a trace of salt.
I made two of them. One went in the fridge for Sunday so I could eat and make a quick getaway (i held the radish tops out of that one, and just put them in before eating).
Got the waterbottles mixed, used the last of the OSJL special Power Bar drink mix (might have to go back to Trial #whatever)... sorted out the shit to bring.
Loaded the tent in the car, the bikes, the wheels, the trainer, and headed out only a few minutes after I planned to. Swung through one of the best coffee shops in the city (Coffee Exchange on wickenden). It is also a quick on and off 195, on my way to almost every race (and the races it isn't on the way to i can go to Coffee Depot in Warren). I usually grab their French Roast coffee. Fill up my travel mug with nice black coffee and head out. I really like their coffee. Good stuff.
Got there, backed down as close as I could to the Pits from the back side to unload. Hauled the tent, the bikes, the cooler, the bag all over to our spot. Turned out to be next to JLS. I got there before the first race started. And was able to watch Nathan T kill it and finish in 3rd in the cat 4 race riding a single speed on a decidedly gear friendly course.
Pre-race was pretty focused, Solobreak was in the race for some reason. Murat was there too, along with Jerry of course. Coach Kurt and the rest of the new england badasses were lined up along with a good half dozen or more people non of us have seen racing this season. I warmed up listening to J-Pow's recommended DJ Scene. Although checking it now he's pimping DJ AM. Hmm. Maybe I have to be more on top of it. Switch it up, DJ Scene got me through G-ster and it worked for day one, but his pod-casts are pretty similar so far. Gotta keep up with that J-Pow kid.
Got a decent warm up in. Hit the course for one lap. Friday I had stopped by and ridden the sections. They weren't linked up yet but, I got a good feel for it and the lines. I felt I had the course pretty well dialed in. And while being only slightly technical we got on and off the bike 4 times per lap. I do actually love that day 1 course. Nice blend of technical stuff and power and on and off. The more dismounts per lap the better. With all the curbs, and everyone flatting I elected to run a bit more pressure in the Racing Ralph Clinchers. I even went as high as 55 on the Giant in the pit. I think I was at 45 f and 48 r. Oh and clearly I'm not skinny or scrappy enough yet. Going to not eat for a week and just train. Maybe I can not be a clydesdale for a change, it is that or boost the power levels enough to compensate.
The tent and that scene was great. Hanging with team mates and having a rallying point for folks to come in and out, check out Burke's power assist bike, it was good but not too distracting. Walked over to the holeshot cafe and bought some more coffee, not bad but not Coffee Exchange good.
Well time to line up on the grid. Got a 4th row start right behind a guy in a white skinsuit and right next to G-ride. Were given the 80% speech, and were sent off. Solobreak was somewhere and Murat was up a row, Lehman was behind me too.
Well White skinsuit guy basically doesn't move, or really just moved so slowly I couldn't go anywhere, G-ride got boxed in pretty good too by the sudden appearance of some orange fencing. But we hit that grass, I nailed it clean and flew into the first hairpin, Around the outside, setting me up for an inside line going to the off camber grass.
Except my front wheel dropped off the inside line into a rut and I had to dab to stay upright. But still wasn't so bad. Decent start. Hit the corners pretty hard, felt good. I felt pretty confident on all the corners. The higher speed barrier approach was awesome. And while there were a few people bogging on the post barrier woops it wasn't so bad. Motored up the climb, settled a bit going into the right hander off the pavement before the concrete stairs, hit my preferred line there. And attacked the pavement. Just attacked it. Didn't get my line around the trees with all the damn traffic, but it wasn't terminal, no one fell off in front of me or stopped in a bad place (like day 2). I wasn't last. Drilled it, flew up the stairs (as fast as I can fly - which isn't). And then worked through the next section around the pits and out to the end turn around, to the up and down didn't bother trying to ride, dismounted early and went. Got around to the pavement and jumped on a wheel as I went around a dieing Murat. I was actually chasing wheels the whole time, riding, not alone.
It was a freaking BLAST. Myette came through though and that wasn't so good. Unhinged me a bit, G-ride and Solo popped on his week and then I rode past them while they were laying on the ground in a tight embrace. And that actually fired me up a bit. The lap before I was yelling (not at him in particular- but about Solo) "YOU ARE NOT IN MY HEAD" and if that didn't work and just make him another racer I wanted to beat... it was great. Soon after that he called G-ride a Subaru Justy and I just about died laughing, as G-ride really was barely powering up the hill before the pavement transition to the concrete stairs. Things were going well. Lehman was no where to be found (yet), I hadn't even felt like i was fading. It was awesome. Maybe you can have a good race after a rest week.
Eventually after their crash I was left alone. I guess I don't ride quite as well when I'm not pushed sometimes, I can ride way faster than I often do mid-race, but I did have one and a half slow laps giving G-ride a chance to power up to me. When he got there though I was go time. And I tried to hang with his wheel, and on Joe's garage wheel. Just barely hanging and they gapped me (i forget where really). But then I noticed Lehman coming up. We were coming in for 1 to go, no leader in sight anywhere, i'd forgotten about 80% rule and still thought we should be fine. And rather than blow myself trying to hold a gap on Steven I eased off a touch until he was on my wheel coming up after the run up.
In my mind I was preparing for an EPIC (yeah i'm using that word) battle royal with my Nemesis and friend Lehman. I felt actually recovered and ready to go destroy that last lap and have a kick ass sprint for 50th place or whatever it was going to be. Coming into the bell lap, no leader in sight and the official jumps out in front of us and says "YOU ARE DONE"
"OFF THE COURSE"
what?
Huh?
sure enough Kim's bike shop guy goes through on the heels of Chabot and the Joes Garage guy and then not 10 seconds later, hell maybe only 5 we get shuffled off the course.
I'm not going to go on a rant here about the 80% rule. They pulled us and I've said my peace with that official and will leave it like that. I was having, not a great race, but it was fun and was so looking forward to that final lap. Lehman has basically had my number all season. Well, of course who doesn't get listed? Lehman. None of the pulled riders were on the prelim results but were all assured that we'd be placed. We weren't lapped though. Not even close. We had time to sit there and argue and complain and bitch as other riders were yanked and finally minutes later, Kevin Hines comes flying through.
It wasn't my best race, but it was fun, it ended on a sour note that had me pretty pissed for a while, but I got over it. Yelled at other racers, generally had a great day. Dragged G-ride back to this place and made everyone some chicken lo mein that got devoured. Easily fell asleep early, only to wake up at 1 then 2 and then for good at 5:30.
Day 1 was in the books. Day 2 was next. In years past I would typically have a better day on Sunday. There are one or two exceptions but not like G-ster and PVD. Could be quite a few reasons, first of which is I'm probably not as rested/recovered as I could be going into the weekend. I'm also probably still out of shape/needing work. But it is odd, usually day 2 is better, or at least consistent. I guess waking up at 5:30 today with the dog probably isn't helping, maybe I'll take a nap.
At least I'm wicked sore today, I felt like I've been through a physical ringer this weekend. I'll try and get out for a nice mellow ride to blow this kack out of the legs. And maybe I'll get a chance to write up Day 2. Although that was a horrible race, nearly a damn copy of G-ster day two but without the flat tire, and instead of one wreck in the first lap it was two near wrecks.
heddwch
G
Sunday, October 10, 2010
So...
i WILL write these races up, why? because the races were awesome. Day one i didn't suck so much. Day two I felt like I sucked.
But before I forget, my wife said (in response to my grumpy bad race day) (and I'm going to quote)
"we need to scoop your brain out, throw it on the ground, stomp on it, and put it back in..."
makes sense
but I'm thinking of firing my coach (again). Although maybe I'll wait to see what he has lined up for this week.
The Lo Mein I made last night was tasty but maybe not fast making...
the race was awesome. The scene was awesome. The venue was awesome. All the folks that came out thought it was pretty damn awesome.
If you didn't come down you really missed out.
Missed out on me not being fast, but hey, I've never been good after a rest week. So getting one good feeling day out of the weekend is a success (I still want to fire my coach if I can find a better replacement).
But before I forget, my wife said (in response to my grumpy bad race day) (and I'm going to quote)
"we need to scoop your brain out, throw it on the ground, stomp on it, and put it back in..."
makes sense
but I'm thinking of firing my coach (again). Although maybe I'll wait to see what he has lined up for this week.
The Lo Mein I made last night was tasty but maybe not fast making...
the race was awesome. The scene was awesome. The venue was awesome. All the folks that came out thought it was pretty damn awesome.
If you didn't come down you really missed out.
Missed out on me not being fast, but hey, I've never been good after a rest week. So getting one good feeling day out of the weekend is a success (I still want to fire my coach if I can find a better replacement).
Friday, October 08, 2010
Providence!
Yeah - Providence CX weekend baby!
gonna try and not let stuff happening around this weekend distract from the whole point, racing and trying to go fast.
I've been working on the Buckley theory of "you're gonna blow up anyway, might as well get as much of a cushion as possible." I've also been working hard not to think about Solobreak up and deciding to cat down and race with me. But then the rational goes: He's been racing a lot and for a long time, he's like won a race this year and shit. We've been in two races together in the last 12 months. First one he jumped into our race after the other race and had a legit excuse to finish behind me, and the second one, well I don't remember why he was behind me other than despite me crashing a lot and riding really stupid he still didn't finish in front.
Two doesn't not make good statistics. That and he's faster than me. But way older (not that that matters, Kevin and Jonny are fucking ancient, and kick everyone's ass).
Yeah. He's gotten in my head. But I'm surprised that I've actually been able to ignore him a bit. Although he may have a verge point from VT (I can't remember and don't care to check).
Today's plan was to get done with work at 1:30 and head down to see if they could use an extra set of hands setting up the course. But the factory had other plans for me. And yeah, so I never made it out. Heading to the airport to pick up Michigan Tommy D this afternoon. I'd leave now but have to wait on one more item (that just requires me to sit here and wait for a few more minutes, so I'll write). We'll see if I have time to swing past the park. Pre-ride was hopefully in the cards. Right now, looking less and less likely. Oh well. I'll have time tomorrow. Sounds like all of the NECX list is going to be pre-riding when they aren't supposed to be. I might as well just jump in with the Cat 4 35+ field and try it out at speed. Maybe I'll put on the old Refunds Now kit and see if they'll notice the lack of a number. (kidding).
The rest week has been good, it seems. Still not fully recovered but hopefully after a few Vitamin Bs tonight and some Coffee in the AM i'll be good to go tomorrow. Still gotta repair the damage from Gloucester day 2 on the bike.
there's time tonight maybe...
or tomorrow
maybe
see yall there
heddwch
G
gonna try and not let stuff happening around this weekend distract from the whole point, racing and trying to go fast.
I've been working on the Buckley theory of "you're gonna blow up anyway, might as well get as much of a cushion as possible." I've also been working hard not to think about Solobreak up and deciding to cat down and race with me. But then the rational goes: He's been racing a lot and for a long time, he's like won a race this year and shit. We've been in two races together in the last 12 months. First one he jumped into our race after the other race and had a legit excuse to finish behind me, and the second one, well I don't remember why he was behind me other than despite me crashing a lot and riding really stupid he still didn't finish in front.
Two doesn't not make good statistics. That and he's faster than me. But way older (not that that matters, Kevin and Jonny are fucking ancient, and kick everyone's ass).
Yeah. He's gotten in my head. But I'm surprised that I've actually been able to ignore him a bit. Although he may have a verge point from VT (I can't remember and don't care to check).
Today's plan was to get done with work at 1:30 and head down to see if they could use an extra set of hands setting up the course. But the factory had other plans for me. And yeah, so I never made it out. Heading to the airport to pick up Michigan Tommy D this afternoon. I'd leave now but have to wait on one more item (that just requires me to sit here and wait for a few more minutes, so I'll write). We'll see if I have time to swing past the park. Pre-ride was hopefully in the cards. Right now, looking less and less likely. Oh well. I'll have time tomorrow. Sounds like all of the NECX list is going to be pre-riding when they aren't supposed to be. I might as well just jump in with the Cat 4 35+ field and try it out at speed. Maybe I'll put on the old Refunds Now kit and see if they'll notice the lack of a number. (kidding).
The rest week has been good, it seems. Still not fully recovered but hopefully after a few Vitamin Bs tonight and some Coffee in the AM i'll be good to go tomorrow. Still gotta repair the damage from Gloucester day 2 on the bike.
there's time tonight maybe...
or tomorrow
maybe
see yall there
heddwch
G
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
John Wooden on true success | Video on TED.com
John Wooden on true success | Video on TED.com
most awesome
i need to listen to that a few more times, maybe it will help...
most awesome
i need to listen to that a few more times, maybe it will help...
Bursting bubbles?
Bacon and Roundup? Bursting together? Oh and lets add the new BPA fears.
One has been building for a long time, another a slow steady increase.
The Atlantic Food put a nice little synopsis together with a few cool external links about the Bacon bubble. Check out the link to the woman skating on a skillet with bacon strapped to her feet.
So The Atlantic links to the bacon article in the Wall Street Journal. Many of you better connected than I will have already read it.
2nd and 3rd paragraph:
Bacon is good. Tastes good. Good on basically anything. But that doesn't mean it should be used in everything. My take is you treat like a treat. Don't cook it very often, save it for a special occasion so it remains special.
The other bubble (we won't talk about Cyclocross's bubble - maybe - night weasels is the first indicator that the CX scene has jumped the shark and is headed down the tubes, that or i'm just bitter about not being able to go) is the Monsanto one. The big evil empire. Is it shrinking? Has Food Inc and the rest of the truth in "journalism" hitting home and causing problems? Or is it really like some people have been saying all along. Chemical farming is not sustainable and is NOT the solution to global food shortages (feels odd saying that in a country full of the fattest people on the planet - no excess of calories here /sarcasm).
Wait. Yields are going down? you can't just plant a GMO corn, spray it with a couple hundred thousand tons of crude oil derived fertilizers and herbicide/pesticides and have an amazing yield? Say it isn't so! GASP, what will the farmers plant now?
Bittman pointed the article out yesterday, along with a really gross picture (don't EVER eat a processed chicken thing again - *gag*)
Now setting that chicken paste aside, lets look a bit at the Monsanto problem. What happened? Is it a good thing for non-GMO crops? Is it a good thing for those working to reduce the dependence on oil for farming and increasing the sustainability? Nope.
All that has happened is Pioneer is taking up the slack. They Call it Pioneer more than the company that Pioneer brand really is: Dupont. Oh hey. Look at that. Dupont isn't really all that much better (if at all) than Monsanto. Two big chemical giants making food. Or should we say engineering crops/seeds for farmers to take the risk on growing.
They have all the profits, and none of the risks associated with growing it, kind of convenient and a damn awesome business model, no?
Unit Cost. Americans are dead set and ultra programmed to purchase based on unit costs (i'm so conditioned that it mentally hurts when I go with the higher unit cost items). Unit cost drives the market.
it is cheaper to spray crude oil derived chemicals on the growing crops than natural/organic options...
it is cheaper to line your cans, make your plastic, with BPA than without it...
Thanks chemical companies. Where would we be without you? (probably not the health problem ridden overweight country we are now).
Like Mark Twain's famous saying:
heddwch
G
One has been building for a long time, another a slow steady increase.
The Atlantic Food put a nice little synopsis together with a few cool external links about the Bacon bubble. Check out the link to the woman skating on a skillet with bacon strapped to her feet.
So The Atlantic links to the bacon article in the Wall Street Journal. Many of you better connected than I will have already read it.
2nd and 3rd paragraph:
Chef John Currence, owner of four restaurants in Oxford, Miss., adores bacon and proudly wears a pig tattoo on his arm. But even he says that the bacon craze has gone a bit far. Strike that: The man recently received a gift of bacon-flavored lip balm. It's gone way too far.Like Cupcakes are Cyclocross. Gone too far...
"It's like cussing," Mr. Currence says of today's over-use of bacon in restaurants. "It's easy, it's effective, it always gets a cocked eyebrow, but it just doesn't belong in church." Bacon is a staple of the Southern cuisine he specializes in, but it shouldn't become a crutch—it's facile and everything ends up tasting the same, Mr. Currence says. Lately, he has begun experimenting with less-obvious flavor boosters, including an intense mango vinegar he drizzles on seared scallops. Searching for flavors that "punch you in the mouth," he adds Indian spices to roasted carrot and red pepper sauces.
Bacon is good. Tastes good. Good on basically anything. But that doesn't mean it should be used in everything. My take is you treat like a treat. Don't cook it very often, save it for a special occasion so it remains special.
The other bubble (we won't talk about Cyclocross's bubble - maybe - night weasels is the first indicator that the CX scene has jumped the shark and is headed down the tubes, that or i'm just bitter about not being able to go) is the Monsanto one. The big evil empire. Is it shrinking? Has Food Inc and the rest of the truth in "journalism" hitting home and causing problems? Or is it really like some people have been saying all along. Chemical farming is not sustainable and is NOT the solution to global food shortages (feels odd saying that in a country full of the fattest people on the planet - no excess of calories here /sarcasm).
Wait. Yields are going down? you can't just plant a GMO corn, spray it with a couple hundred thousand tons of crude oil derived fertilizers and herbicide/pesticides and have an amazing yield? Say it isn't so! GASP, what will the farmers plant now?
Bittman pointed the article out yesterday, along with a really gross picture (don't EVER eat a processed chicken thing again - *gag*)
Now setting that chicken paste aside, lets look a bit at the Monsanto problem. What happened? Is it a good thing for non-GMO crops? Is it a good thing for those working to reduce the dependence on oil for farming and increasing the sustainability? Nope.
All that has happened is Pioneer is taking up the slack. They Call it Pioneer more than the company that Pioneer brand really is: Dupont. Oh hey. Look at that. Dupont isn't really all that much better (if at all) than Monsanto. Two big chemical giants making food. Or should we say engineering crops/seeds for farmers to take the risk on growing.
They have all the profits, and none of the risks associated with growing it, kind of convenient and a damn awesome business model, no?
Go back to that BPA article I linked up top:
BPA is bad? No way. But really, how do we know what has BPA in it? buying stuff that is labeled BPA-free is a solution but there really isn't much that is BPA-free. Some canned good companies are going BPA-free, okay, so far only one. BUY EDEN FOODS (and support their effort to keep us healthy). okay so I didn't mean to get into a product endorsement. When Wholefoods goes the way of BPA-free cans then I'll be a lot happier. The Ball Corporation has been doing it for a while (making those cans) why hasn't anyone else jumped in on it?But vom Saal advocates the same precautionary principle that NYU nutritionist Marion Nestle supported last month on the Atlantic Food Channel. "If you set the bar at proof of harm to humans," vom Saal says, "you have failed to protect the public health."
Unit Cost. Americans are dead set and ultra programmed to purchase based on unit costs (i'm so conditioned that it mentally hurts when I go with the higher unit cost items). Unit cost drives the market.
it is cheaper to spray crude oil derived chemicals on the growing crops than natural/organic options...
it is cheaper to line your cans, make your plastic, with BPA than without it...
Thanks chemical companies. Where would we be without you? (probably not the health problem ridden overweight country we are now).
Like Mark Twain's famous saying:
"It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it."Maybe Thoreau's quote is better for this line of pondering:
Every man is the builder of a temple called his body.How strong do you want that temple? Do you want it to last? Any decent builder knows that good construction and maintenance are still not going to keep a structure made with poor materials standing for so long. A more dire problem is that people are building their children's temple with poor materials and hindering the natural construction by allowing too many of these disruptive chemicals into their systems. Our bodies are resiliant. But they can only do so much. Sure greg lemond could eat at McDonalds every day and still win the tour, but look at him now, how is his temple holding up? Maybe it is better than some but it is what it could be? Maybe that's another poor example on my part. Oh well. I'm tired, need some sleep. despite and overwhelming desire to drive up to Night Weasels, I know it would just wreck me and that's not what I need now.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
New Stuff
As much as I hate to admit it, CCR may be on to something. Personally, with my upbringing it is going to be CX-mas.
I haven't been appreciating the new shit as much as I should have. Maybe that last smidge of a lap on the Giant helped. But also there's that period of time when you aren't sure (maybe) if newer was a good idea. Is it really better? Or is it just different.
This weekend we got the new team kits. Photos abound and I'm too tired to dig them up and the only self portrait i took after the race with the new facial hair makes me look like i have a giant double chin (I don't unless I look down into a camera).
I don't like new stuff. Maybe some of you, my friends, have noticed that over time. It is/can be a problem. Often though the new stuff winds up being pretty good despite my initial over-reaction. The kits, well I just had no idea what to expect (you can never tell from the art mock up what it will really look like on you), the kits are pretty damn nice. I like them. Yes, racing in them two days and seeing all the shots in FB and other places, well ya know, they are wicked cool. Also I've been wearing them for a couple days now. Have to break the new stuff in. There's a list of things with the Hincapie clothing that isn't anywhere near as nice as the Vermarc or Verge stuff, but hey, it still works.
Wicked cool details on the Long Sleeve really make it awesome. Like the reflective stripe on the sleeves. Nice touch. Long sleeve is generally going to be worn training and if you train/ride outside for cross, there is a damn good chance it will be dark at some point, and cold. Another nice feature is the gripper sticky strip around the lower hem. Nice touch.
The colors are unique. The yellow reminds me of lemon gelato... subtle yet strong and all good. The pin striping is sort of a bit hipster but it has a nice artistic flair and is super subtle.
So yeah. Having the new kits have helped sort of kick off the season maybe in the way Bedford did and not the way VT and G-ster have.
Sure, I'm a guy and it is all about pictures. Words are good as long as they are descriptive. And it wasn't just the pictures of the kit. It was pictures of the bike.
I look at them and think "Damn that bike DOES look good." It does. At least I like it. I'm getting that 'holy shit that's MY bike?' feeling. Finally. It is exciting. I'm over just how much the frame cost (the parts not so much but i've got a theory on why my luck seems to have drastically switched or spread to G-ride).
Riding it these last two days - out of competition has been pretty informative in a way. That quick jump on the Giant and almost eating shit three times because I was used to how quickly the Blue stopped and how much grip were in the tires and how well it turned sort of sealed the deal. Riding these last two days to work on the new bike have made it seem real. Yes I do mean to mostly commute on the Giant, but wow, can I say just how sweet this thing handles? No effort to move it around, it stays well centered under me, very controllable even when flicking around all the massive debris littering the paths and roads on the commute.
I was going wicked easy yesterday and this morning, but on the way home running a bit late I hit it hard and the bike really responded. That front der still isn't tweaked just right, it is being a pain in the ass. But it is close and it isn't adversely affecting anything and I've got lots of other shit to worry about.
But the new team, and the new bike, these are all sinking in, and it is a good thing.
The rest week has also been important. I've slowly been upping the green tea intake, esp with the last few weeks of waking up before 5:30 to get in an extra work out on top of the commuting, couple that with late nights and stress, and this weekend and all the emotional stuff, wow, I'm run down to rock bottom. I needed to start the season well rested, not at wits end. I needed the whole candle intact to have a good start, but no, I managed to burn it all out before gloucester.
Night Weasels is tomorrow. That Cat 3 race sure looks like fun. But it is a school night and well over an hour away (w/o rush hour traffic to factor in) and as much as I would love to be there, it just won't be happening. Providence? Yeah that's happening. Going to be a biblical (epic has been retired) blogger face off in the 35+ race. CCR, G-ride, Solobreak, Murat, Bold... who else, I'd put Myette in there but he almost updates less frequently than mr advertisement murat. Well Bold obviously wins but the rest of us middling pack-fodder will be locked to the death on the course this weekend. Okay Myette should beat the rest of the bozos pretty handily too. It is going to be fun. Wet for a day or so more but then, boom yeah, sun will come out and it might be almost like G-ster, just slightly damp. Nah, it will likely be worse - that soil has a lot more organic matter in it (and broken glass). Either way it will be fun. I'm trying to keep Thursday clear to offer a hand in setting it all up but work's kinda of doing a great job of putting me in a scheduling conundrum.
So, maybe a couple more decent nights sleep, no waking up for 5:30 am workouts should make a difference... hopefully. Local race without much travel also should help this weekend.
we'll see, maybe things have turned around...
heddwch
G
I haven't been appreciating the new shit as much as I should have. Maybe that last smidge of a lap on the Giant helped. But also there's that period of time when you aren't sure (maybe) if newer was a good idea. Is it really better? Or is it just different.
This weekend we got the new team kits. Photos abound and I'm too tired to dig them up and the only self portrait i took after the race with the new facial hair makes me look like i have a giant double chin (I don't unless I look down into a camera).
I don't like new stuff. Maybe some of you, my friends, have noticed that over time. It is/can be a problem. Often though the new stuff winds up being pretty good despite my initial over-reaction. The kits, well I just had no idea what to expect (you can never tell from the art mock up what it will really look like on you), the kits are pretty damn nice. I like them. Yes, racing in them two days and seeing all the shots in FB and other places, well ya know, they are wicked cool. Also I've been wearing them for a couple days now. Have to break the new stuff in. There's a list of things with the Hincapie clothing that isn't anywhere near as nice as the Vermarc or Verge stuff, but hey, it still works.
Wicked cool details on the Long Sleeve really make it awesome. Like the reflective stripe on the sleeves. Nice touch. Long sleeve is generally going to be worn training and if you train/ride outside for cross, there is a damn good chance it will be dark at some point, and cold. Another nice feature is the gripper sticky strip around the lower hem. Nice touch.
The colors are unique. The yellow reminds me of lemon gelato... subtle yet strong and all good. The pin striping is sort of a bit hipster but it has a nice artistic flair and is super subtle.
So yeah. Having the new kits have helped sort of kick off the season maybe in the way Bedford did and not the way VT and G-ster have.
Sure, I'm a guy and it is all about pictures. Words are good as long as they are descriptive. And it wasn't just the pictures of the kit. It was pictures of the bike.
I look at them and think "Damn that bike DOES look good." It does. At least I like it. I'm getting that 'holy shit that's MY bike?' feeling. Finally. It is exciting. I'm over just how much the frame cost (the parts not so much but i've got a theory on why my luck seems to have drastically switched or spread to G-ride).
Riding it these last two days - out of competition has been pretty informative in a way. That quick jump on the Giant and almost eating shit three times because I was used to how quickly the Blue stopped and how much grip were in the tires and how well it turned sort of sealed the deal. Riding these last two days to work on the new bike have made it seem real. Yes I do mean to mostly commute on the Giant, but wow, can I say just how sweet this thing handles? No effort to move it around, it stays well centered under me, very controllable even when flicking around all the massive debris littering the paths and roads on the commute.
I was going wicked easy yesterday and this morning, but on the way home running a bit late I hit it hard and the bike really responded. That front der still isn't tweaked just right, it is being a pain in the ass. But it is close and it isn't adversely affecting anything and I've got lots of other shit to worry about.
But the new team, and the new bike, these are all sinking in, and it is a good thing.
The rest week has also been important. I've slowly been upping the green tea intake, esp with the last few weeks of waking up before 5:30 to get in an extra work out on top of the commuting, couple that with late nights and stress, and this weekend and all the emotional stuff, wow, I'm run down to rock bottom. I needed to start the season well rested, not at wits end. I needed the whole candle intact to have a good start, but no, I managed to burn it all out before gloucester.
Night Weasels is tomorrow. That Cat 3 race sure looks like fun. But it is a school night and well over an hour away (w/o rush hour traffic to factor in) and as much as I would love to be there, it just won't be happening. Providence? Yeah that's happening. Going to be a biblical (epic has been retired) blogger face off in the 35+ race. CCR, G-ride, Solobreak, Murat, Bold... who else, I'd put Myette in there but he almost updates less frequently than mr advertisement murat. Well Bold obviously wins but the rest of us middling pack-fodder will be locked to the death on the course this weekend. Okay Myette should beat the rest of the bozos pretty handily too. It is going to be fun. Wet for a day or so more but then, boom yeah, sun will come out and it might be almost like G-ster, just slightly damp. Nah, it will likely be worse - that soil has a lot more organic matter in it (and broken glass). Either way it will be fun. I'm trying to keep Thursday clear to offer a hand in setting it all up but work's kinda of doing a great job of putting me in a scheduling conundrum.
So, maybe a couple more decent nights sleep, no waking up for 5:30 am workouts should make a difference... hopefully. Local race without much travel also should help this weekend.
we'll see, maybe things have turned around...
heddwch
G
Monday, October 04, 2010
Flat
More ways than one.
I'd love to shake off the sunday race as bad luck. It happens. But the string is so long I'm just wondering what's next.
First lap crash followed by a flat tire riding around with the Moose, and then me running the whole zig zag section before the sand and the pits. Could have been a longer run I suppose. But it was long enough that I thought about stepping over the tape and walking back to the car. No DNF, no DNF, can't DNF. Get to the pit and get the Giant and finish. By the time I got the bike swap the Leaders were not far behind me. I pulled over way out of the way to let em through and rolled in second from DFL. 1st rider a lap down. But I finished.
I suppose that's enough of an accomplishment. 72 starters and only 63 finishers. I was luckier (maybe) than 9 other folks who didn't cross the line for some reason or another. Although I look at the Crossresults page today and it seems to have added a few more people in front of me.
Oh well. Have to move on. What else am I going to do? Pack it in?
I'd write up a real race report but that isn't really happening right now. What's there to say? I started in the back row, or close to it both days. Day one was a cluster f'k at the start. Day two was typical G-ster and it was still a mess, no where to go, boxed right in at the back. I just didn't have the kill everyone attitude needed to go nuts. Bedford was a great race. Everything else has been horrible results wise. All the fun is still there but it is being overshadowed. I thought it had turned around. Sunday was going to be awesome. And it wasn't going so badly until I crashed. And then I flatted. On the plus side I wasn't going to get lapped and I think if we used the 80% rule I was right on the edge. Not a great place to be but, indexing it with last year I'm "faster." By differential between winner's time and my time. But the rest of the field has gotten even tighter, if that is possible.
So I need to focus on the fact that yes, I AM faster than i was last year. No I didn't race all summer and that's hurting me now. But hopefully I can concentrate this week on the rest. I think I need a down week. I'm so freaking tired after this weekend. It took a ton out of me.
The memorial service, the drive, the races... not much in the tank. Okay there's nothing in the tank. But the car worked great. No problems. Up and back with the bikes on the roof... Bike worked except for the flat tire. I only got lapped with a very late race mechanical, and I finished.
Now to move on to the rest of the week and get ready for the big local race this weekend.
I'd love to shake off the sunday race as bad luck. It happens. But the string is so long I'm just wondering what's next.
First lap crash followed by a flat tire riding around with the Moose, and then me running the whole zig zag section before the sand and the pits. Could have been a longer run I suppose. But it was long enough that I thought about stepping over the tape and walking back to the car. No DNF, no DNF, can't DNF. Get to the pit and get the Giant and finish. By the time I got the bike swap the Leaders were not far behind me. I pulled over way out of the way to let em through and rolled in second from DFL. 1st rider a lap down. But I finished.
I suppose that's enough of an accomplishment. 72 starters and only 63 finishers. I was luckier (maybe) than 9 other folks who didn't cross the line for some reason or another. Although I look at the Crossresults page today and it seems to have added a few more people in front of me.
Oh well. Have to move on. What else am I going to do? Pack it in?
I'd write up a real race report but that isn't really happening right now. What's there to say? I started in the back row, or close to it both days. Day one was a cluster f'k at the start. Day two was typical G-ster and it was still a mess, no where to go, boxed right in at the back. I just didn't have the kill everyone attitude needed to go nuts. Bedford was a great race. Everything else has been horrible results wise. All the fun is still there but it is being overshadowed. I thought it had turned around. Sunday was going to be awesome. And it wasn't going so badly until I crashed. And then I flatted. On the plus side I wasn't going to get lapped and I think if we used the 80% rule I was right on the edge. Not a great place to be but, indexing it with last year I'm "faster." By differential between winner's time and my time. But the rest of the field has gotten even tighter, if that is possible.
So I need to focus on the fact that yes, I AM faster than i was last year. No I didn't race all summer and that's hurting me now. But hopefully I can concentrate this week on the rest. I think I need a down week. I'm so freaking tired after this weekend. It took a ton out of me.
The memorial service, the drive, the races... not much in the tank. Okay there's nothing in the tank. But the car worked great. No problems. Up and back with the bikes on the roof... Bike worked except for the flat tire. I only got lapped with a very late race mechanical, and I finished.
Now to move on to the rest of the week and get ready for the big local race this weekend.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Oops
So that SRAM S900 flex i mentioned? Well turns out that 10mm allen bolt had started loosening up. Must have during the race, I guess maybe i didn't get it all the way to 45nm or something. On the way home the chain ring "flex" was getting worse, and worse.
WTF. So I wiggled my foot and the whole arm moved.
Oops.
Soft pedaled (with a tail wind and a light drizzle) all the way home. It didn't fall off and doesn't look out of shape at all. Cranked that sumbitch down TIGHT, TYYYYYYEEET. F'yeah. Got two sets of knobbies set up. Decommed the discwheel and put that into main duty service. I really hope it is dry and clean enough to run the Racing Ralphs. If it is sloppy I mounted up the most unstoppable mud tires ever (yeah even better than your precious Rhinos). Sure they are clinchers and, yeah sure I have to run em at 50psi or so but. Yeah they'll rock if it is sloppy. But. Man do I hope it isn't.
Giant is ready to go.
Blue is ready to go.
If it stops raining I'll un/load the car right after getting a haircut. There are 24 gallons of B100 sitting in the car now and the full tank. 40 cents cheaper per gallon than the crude oil based stuff. Couldn't pass that up.
Felt good to do a bit of zen bike maintenance after eating a bowl of the leftover curry.
Gloucester, can't wait. Oh and fresh off the twitter feed: Drainage is very good at the park so it will be nothing like last year's mudbath. Maybe a little greasy on corners for early races.
G
WTF. So I wiggled my foot and the whole arm moved.
Oops.
Soft pedaled (with a tail wind and a light drizzle) all the way home. It didn't fall off and doesn't look out of shape at all. Cranked that sumbitch down TIGHT, TYYYYYYEEET. F'yeah. Got two sets of knobbies set up. Decommed the discwheel and put that into main duty service. I really hope it is dry and clean enough to run the Racing Ralphs. If it is sloppy I mounted up the most unstoppable mud tires ever (yeah even better than your precious Rhinos). Sure they are clinchers and, yeah sure I have to run em at 50psi or so but. Yeah they'll rock if it is sloppy. But. Man do I hope it isn't.
Giant is ready to go.
Blue is ready to go.
If it stops raining I'll un/load the car right after getting a haircut. There are 24 gallons of B100 sitting in the car now and the full tank. 40 cents cheaper per gallon than the crude oil based stuff. Couldn't pass that up.
Felt good to do a bit of zen bike maintenance after eating a bowl of the leftover curry.
Gloucester, can't wait. Oh and fresh off the twitter feed: Drainage is very good at the park so it will be nothing like last year's mudbath. Maybe a little greasy on corners for early races.
G
Oh Man
I've heard of the legend of 2005 at Gloucester.
But had not really seen much video from it, and when I did the course and location didn't mean that much to me.
Now after racing there, maybe more than any other venue in New England (have to check crossresults.com), watching Ryan Kelly slip and fall in the snow, wow. Damn that looked like fun.
That's cross racing, sorry Justin and Jack, but dust bowl racing just flat out sucks. Pray for some rain next year maybe. Or better yet a cold front with snow in September (it could happen, I mean, it is about as likely as me getting fast on the bike but hey, it COULD happen).
There was a nice tail wind on the way in today. And I saddled up the Blue Norcross EX, put the S-Works Cross Baldys on there and headed in.
The bike is different than the Klein. Front end is way stiffer. But the seat tube must be identical because I don't have to change the angle on the saddle moving the post between bikes. And honestly I don't notice the difference in the crank length. But i think the S900s are a bit more flexible than maybe I'd like. The two piece spider maybe isn't ideal, but hey, it works. And the bike is pretty solid and damn nice to ride.
On a more serious note, Ezra's latest post is a mixed bag. He's home but faced with a tough road ahead. Damn disease is closing in all around. Friends and Family fighting and many losing the battle. I hope Ezra doesn't lose the battle. He reminds me quite a bit of Mark Nicholson, I hope he can do what Mark wasn't able to do, beat cancer.
We miss you Mark. And... Bill and... Greg and... Christie and... and...
Too many.
Way too many.
Okay - can't leave it at that.
Richard may be down under announcing but he's also posting to his web log again.
So much for the rain that was supposed to be here by 10am. Like someone has put a bit old bowl covering Gloucester, Boston and Providence. Rain's just running in a line just to the west. We'll see if it ever actually gets to Gloucester or here.
Downside of how slow it is moving is that there's no way the front will move through in time for the ride home. Means no bitching tailwind home. Oh well. Call it openers riding into 50+ mph gusts and probably rain. At least maybe it'll wash the dust from SuckerBrook off. (no i have NOT cleaned the bike yet).
heddwch
G
But had not really seen much video from it, and when I did the course and location didn't mean that much to me.
Now after racing there, maybe more than any other venue in New England (have to check crossresults.com), watching Ryan Kelly slip and fall in the snow, wow. Damn that looked like fun.
That's cross racing, sorry Justin and Jack, but dust bowl racing just flat out sucks. Pray for some rain next year maybe. Or better yet a cold front with snow in September (it could happen, I mean, it is about as likely as me getting fast on the bike but hey, it COULD happen).
There was a nice tail wind on the way in today. And I saddled up the Blue Norcross EX, put the S-Works Cross Baldys on there and headed in.
The bike is different than the Klein. Front end is way stiffer. But the seat tube must be identical because I don't have to change the angle on the saddle moving the post between bikes. And honestly I don't notice the difference in the crank length. But i think the S900s are a bit more flexible than maybe I'd like. The two piece spider maybe isn't ideal, but hey, it works. And the bike is pretty solid and damn nice to ride.
On a more serious note, Ezra's latest post is a mixed bag. He's home but faced with a tough road ahead. Damn disease is closing in all around. Friends and Family fighting and many losing the battle. I hope Ezra doesn't lose the battle. He reminds me quite a bit of Mark Nicholson, I hope he can do what Mark wasn't able to do, beat cancer.
We miss you Mark. And... Bill and... Greg and... Christie and... and...
Too many.
Way too many.
Okay - can't leave it at that.
Richard may be down under announcing but he's also posting to his web log again.
So much for the rain that was supposed to be here by 10am. Like someone has put a bit old bowl covering Gloucester, Boston and Providence. Rain's just running in a line just to the west. We'll see if it ever actually gets to Gloucester or here.
Downside of how slow it is moving is that there's no way the front will move through in time for the ride home. Means no bitching tailwind home. Oh well. Call it openers riding into 50+ mph gusts and probably rain. At least maybe it'll wash the dust from SuckerBrook off. (no i have NOT cleaned the bike yet).
heddwch
G
BACON
Okay - sorry but this looks just WAY too awesome.
OM NOM NOM NOM
Bacon,
Hamburger
Hot Dog
Cheese
I'd better see one of these at Gloucester in Luxury Tent Row tomorrow or Sunday (preferably Sunday).
Thanks to Tilford for posting the shot that got me googling BACON TURTLE! And for posting the Pezzo pictures. Mmmm.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Curry for dinner
Yellow curry or what ever it is called, not green curry and def not the red curry with coconut milk.
Plain old turmeric colored curry.
Totally awesome. And despite some protestation and denial I think I'm going to start with one tag: Food.
A concession I will make because someone asked. Why not.
So
I've had it in my mind to make some red lentils and something for a while. I didn't feel like making burritos tonight. Sure they are awesome and so good, but since the clouds in my head rolled back and the mental baggage fell off somewhere along the way, and just like G-Ride had planned the hangers for the Blue were waiting for me.
Food. Right.
So yeah it isn't vegan or vegetarian and hell since I'm using COW it really isn't indian. But I didn't have any ground lamb or turkey, so I used some ground beef.
Beef. Brown in pan...
Add one chopped onion...
then some curry powder, extra turmeric, fresh grated ginger, and cardamom and let it get nice and odorous.
Meanwhile cook 1 cup of lentils in 2.5 cups of water (or use stock if you have some laying around).
And 1 cup of rice in water with some turmeric and oil to another pot on the stove.
So while rice and lentils are cooking, add some carrots to the ground beef, once they are softened add a bunch of diced sweet potato to the beef.
Then add the lentils and water and salt (if your curry powder doesn't have any in it) to the beef and sweet potato mixture.
So, cook until the potatoes are soft, adding water or stock to keep at the right consistency (stew like).
10 minutes before serving, add a bunch of frozen peas.
To serve put some of the rice in a bowl, add the beef/lentil/sweet potato curry and then a spoonful of yogurt on top (and a bit of Shirachi if you want some more heat than the ginger).
Eat and enjoy. Tasty.
(Oh and the bike is now back together - put the SWorks Baldys for the ride to work tomorrow- gotta sort it out make sure no more bugs are left in it)
(oh and chain looks good but rear der was tweaked... quick twist and it is back and working well)
(oh and what the fuck - a 105 front der is riveted on, can't change it w/o breaking the chain? F'n retarded shimano)
Plain old turmeric colored curry.
Totally awesome. And despite some protestation and denial I think I'm going to start with one tag: Food.
A concession I will make because someone asked. Why not.
So
I've had it in my mind to make some red lentils and something for a while. I didn't feel like making burritos tonight. Sure they are awesome and so good, but since the clouds in my head rolled back and the mental baggage fell off somewhere along the way, and just like G-Ride had planned the hangers for the Blue were waiting for me.
Food. Right.
So yeah it isn't vegan or vegetarian and hell since I'm using COW it really isn't indian. But I didn't have any ground lamb or turkey, so I used some ground beef.
Beef. Brown in pan...
Add one chopped onion...
then some curry powder, extra turmeric, fresh grated ginger, and cardamom and let it get nice and odorous.
Meanwhile cook 1 cup of lentils in 2.5 cups of water (or use stock if you have some laying around).
And 1 cup of rice in water with some turmeric and oil to another pot on the stove.
So while rice and lentils are cooking, add some carrots to the ground beef, once they are softened add a bunch of diced sweet potato to the beef.
Then add the lentils and water and salt (if your curry powder doesn't have any in it) to the beef and sweet potato mixture.
So, cook until the potatoes are soft, adding water or stock to keep at the right consistency (stew like).
10 minutes before serving, add a bunch of frozen peas.
To serve put some of the rice in a bowl, add the beef/lentil/sweet potato curry and then a spoonful of yogurt on top (and a bit of Shirachi if you want some more heat than the ginger).
Eat and enjoy. Tasty.
(Oh and the bike is now back together - put the SWorks Baldys for the ride to work tomorrow- gotta sort it out make sure no more bugs are left in it)
(oh and chain looks good but rear der was tweaked... quick twist and it is back and working well)
(oh and what the fuck - a 105 front der is riveted on, can't change it w/o breaking the chain? F'n retarded shimano)
Jure Robic, RIP
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/sports/cycling/30robic.html
Sad news to hear that he died. That NY Times article from years ago was amazing. This is a brief re-cap of that with some updated information and details on how he died.
Tough luck. Rest in Peace Jure
Sad news to hear that he died. That NY Times article from years ago was amazing. This is a brief re-cap of that with some updated information and details on how he died.
Tough luck. Rest in Peace Jure
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
OLD MOTHER REAGAN
is no more...
I pounded out the last interval with that playlist today, on the revived Giant. As per the photographic evidence my wife thought would be great to capture I put some Tektro 720s on the Giant. Cheap, and not so bad. Cost me less than a set of front and rear Eagle Claw salmon pads. I was never going to use the wicked wide profile ones on the back of the Blue but had thought maybe about putting it up front for both bikes. Well they are both on the Giant now. And when the der hanger shows up I'll be back up to three out of three. Croll has been decom'd, Paramount is sitting with Clip-ons hanging w/o wheels, or rear shifter never having been resurrected for the TT this summer.
So about that rear der failure. Shit happens, and apparently I'm a f'n idiot and a really bad mechanic. Because if I was a GOOD mechanic #1: i would have had the Giant working as a pit bike for Sucker Brook (i should know better than to go there w/o one) #2: the Blue would still be ride-able and I wouldn't be waiting on a rapid shipment of a new Hanger (not here yet BTW), oh and #3: K's bike's pins wouldn't have bounced out allowing the pads to eject. (yes I know - i probably screwed up the use of the colon - so what, not getting much else right why bother with worrying about the writing). Honestly, and truthfully I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed, lots of doubting, fretting and anxiety, stuff I don't deal well with. Yeah Lego_lord, way too much mental baggage, but at least it all goes away when I'm racing. Lately that's about the only time it has gone away. well that and when i was doing the intervals on the trainer this morning, in the dark, with tunes.
So about that #2 failure as a bad mechanic. Yes. I screwed up. When the wheel slipped in the drop outs doing the start practice/microbursts and buzzed the chainstay and I found the QR to be loose. Yes, I should have noticed that the der hanger moves a hell of a lot when you clamp the skewer down.
But honestly I'm pretty fucking new to this whole replaceable drop out gig. The Croll has the Ritchey rear dropouts (stable and strong), the Kleins (all of them) have bomb proof dropouts. The P-mount has some nice strong horizontal ones. The Giant was the first replaceable one. I've got an extra for it. And changing wheels today I noticed how much it moves in when the QR is clamped down tight. Yeah, I shouldn't have overlooked that little bit there, eh?
So with the new skewer tension the rear der limit screw position that was set no longer meant anything and the der was a millimeter closer to the spokes and when I shifted into the big cog on that 180 uphill before the barriers, well... you know the rest of the story. No one to blame but myself. Oh well. Moving on. Despite not wanting to rush to build that Blue, I still wound up rushing to build it. That whole day before Sucker Brook was non-stop from 5:30am until 10:30pm, or so it felt. I'm sure there was a few minutes of sitting on my fat ass. Maybe.
Well nice little hiatus.
There are 94! NINETY FOUR cat 3/4 women signed up. Holy Hell batman. If that isn't the litmus for something, well - forget that metaphor. Results boy's servers will be melted this week with all the people hitting the race predictor and tabulating 1646 (as of right now) racers (divide by two roughly to figure out how many people are going to be racing). Parking? Yeah, that's going to be interesting, CARPOOL PEOPLE (except me, I have somewhere to go and have to drive alone, sorry).
Even Club ROW has sold out. $50 per tent spot. Crazy. Some teams have two tents, just because they are like loaded and have like lots of people racing i guess.
What hasn't sold out? The fast races (I'm calling the 3/4 women as sold out because it might as well be), 35+ 1/2/3, and Elite Men and Women.
Nuts. Look at the top 10 for the 35+ on the predictor:
Jonny Bold
Roger Asphlom
Kevin Hines
Matt Kraus
Kurt Perham
Curtis Boivin
Peter Mogg
Bill Shattuck
Steve Proulx
Rob Hult
this race is going to be capital F fast. Just watch out for the mini-wrecking ball in the Seven kit with the string of profanities coming out of his mouth. There ain't gonna be no party in the back of this field. Gonna be ride for your life. Don't screw up. Hope for a long lap and a tough Tom Stevens course that challenges everyone. Seems the only thing that I've seen that can slow Roger down is ice. And I don't think we're going to be racing on a sheet of ice like he did at nationals, oh well. Hold on, New Jersey coming through.
Anyway - shit's gotta sort it self out one of these days. Just gotta keep moving forward, focus on the positive, try not to let everything else drag ya down. Keep moving forward...
heddwch
G
I pounded out the last interval with that playlist today, on the revived Giant. As per the photographic evidence my wife thought would be great to capture I put some Tektro 720s on the Giant. Cheap, and not so bad. Cost me less than a set of front and rear Eagle Claw salmon pads. I was never going to use the wicked wide profile ones on the back of the Blue but had thought maybe about putting it up front for both bikes. Well they are both on the Giant now. And when the der hanger shows up I'll be back up to three out of three. Croll has been decom'd, Paramount is sitting with Clip-ons hanging w/o wheels, or rear shifter never having been resurrected for the TT this summer.
So about that rear der failure. Shit happens, and apparently I'm a f'n idiot and a really bad mechanic. Because if I was a GOOD mechanic #1: i would have had the Giant working as a pit bike for Sucker Brook (i should know better than to go there w/o one) #2: the Blue would still be ride-able and I wouldn't be waiting on a rapid shipment of a new Hanger (not here yet BTW), oh and #3: K's bike's pins wouldn't have bounced out allowing the pads to eject. (yes I know - i probably screwed up the use of the colon - so what, not getting much else right why bother with worrying about the writing). Honestly, and truthfully I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed, lots of doubting, fretting and anxiety, stuff I don't deal well with. Yeah Lego_lord, way too much mental baggage, but at least it all goes away when I'm racing. Lately that's about the only time it has gone away. well that and when i was doing the intervals on the trainer this morning, in the dark, with tunes.
So about that #2 failure as a bad mechanic. Yes. I screwed up. When the wheel slipped in the drop outs doing the start practice/microbursts and buzzed the chainstay and I found the QR to be loose. Yes, I should have noticed that the der hanger moves a hell of a lot when you clamp the skewer down.
But honestly I'm pretty fucking new to this whole replaceable drop out gig. The Croll has the Ritchey rear dropouts (stable and strong), the Kleins (all of them) have bomb proof dropouts. The P-mount has some nice strong horizontal ones. The Giant was the first replaceable one. I've got an extra for it. And changing wheels today I noticed how much it moves in when the QR is clamped down tight. Yeah, I shouldn't have overlooked that little bit there, eh?
So with the new skewer tension the rear der limit screw position that was set no longer meant anything and the der was a millimeter closer to the spokes and when I shifted into the big cog on that 180 uphill before the barriers, well... you know the rest of the story. No one to blame but myself. Oh well. Moving on. Despite not wanting to rush to build that Blue, I still wound up rushing to build it. That whole day before Sucker Brook was non-stop from 5:30am until 10:30pm, or so it felt. I'm sure there was a few minutes of sitting on my fat ass. Maybe.
Well nice little hiatus.
There are 94! NINETY FOUR cat 3/4 women signed up. Holy Hell batman. If that isn't the litmus for something, well - forget that metaphor. Results boy's servers will be melted this week with all the people hitting the race predictor and tabulating 1646 (as of right now) racers (divide by two roughly to figure out how many people are going to be racing). Parking? Yeah, that's going to be interesting, CARPOOL PEOPLE (except me, I have somewhere to go and have to drive alone, sorry).
Even Club ROW has sold out. $50 per tent spot. Crazy. Some teams have two tents, just because they are like loaded and have like lots of people racing i guess.
What hasn't sold out? The fast races (I'm calling the 3/4 women as sold out because it might as well be), 35+ 1/2/3, and Elite Men and Women.
Nuts. Look at the top 10 for the 35+ on the predictor:
Jonny Bold
Roger Asphlom
Kevin Hines
Matt Kraus
Kurt Perham
Curtis Boivin
Peter Mogg
Bill Shattuck
Steve Proulx
Rob Hult
this race is going to be capital F fast. Just watch out for the mini-wrecking ball in the Seven kit with the string of profanities coming out of his mouth. There ain't gonna be no party in the back of this field. Gonna be ride for your life. Don't screw up. Hope for a long lap and a tough Tom Stevens course that challenges everyone. Seems the only thing that I've seen that can slow Roger down is ice. And I don't think we're going to be racing on a sheet of ice like he did at nationals, oh well. Hold on, New Jersey coming through.
Anyway - shit's gotta sort it self out one of these days. Just gotta keep moving forward, focus on the positive, try not to let everything else drag ya down. Keep moving forward...
heddwch
G
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The bike room
Tonight was "make the giant ridable" and it was a success. A bit of hacksaw'n and the bolts were short enough to work.
A bit of sorting through brake cables found a pair to work.
And boom, two ridable bikes.
When the Der hanger shows up the Blue will be ready to race at G-ster (with a minor limit screw adjustment).
So yeah - the 'shop' is a bit cramped and crowded, most of the bikes are visible there. And man I so meant to have it cleaned up before cyclocross season started
A bit of sorting through brake cables found a pair to work.
And boom, two ridable bikes.
When the Der hanger shows up the Blue will be ready to race at G-ster (with a minor limit screw adjustment).
So yeah - the 'shop' is a bit cramped and crowded, most of the bikes are visible there. And man I so meant to have it cleaned up before cyclocross season started
file this under; You HAVE TO BE KIDDING
USACycling is going to try and do a registration web page?
Really?
oh man.
RyanTKelly has written about it.
I'm sure others have too.
Me too.
WTF?
Bikereg is flat out f'n awesome. Yes, I have complained about the seemingly excessive fees for the really high dollar registrations like at the 24hr of Great Glen. And once I had a hiccup registering for G-ster or NoHo or something. But Steve fixed it and made it right.
I don't go ANYWHERE ELSE to check my race calendar.
If you are a promoter and you put your race on using a non-Bikereg.com I won't go, because I won't f'n know about it. Period.
Seriously.
If it isn't on Bikereg.com I really don't know about it.
My experience with SportsBaseOnline was not awesome. It sucked compared to BikeReg. Their servers sucked. Reg'n for nationals was retarded. Even this year when they changed it all up. Active.com also is not my favorite place to go, why EFTA used it or used it, I'll never know.
Keep kicking ass BikeReg (and I say it Bike Reg (soft g - like registration, for somereason i find it annoying when people say bike REG -like regulation hard G).
USACycling, just go back to what you do best, which is take money from us every year, and providing officials and rules and the rest of the important stuff. Leave the internet to people like Results Boy and Steve Roszko.
Thank you.
G
Really?
oh man.
RyanTKelly has written about it.
I'm sure others have too.
Me too.
WTF?
Bikereg is flat out f'n awesome. Yes, I have complained about the seemingly excessive fees for the really high dollar registrations like at the 24hr of Great Glen. And once I had a hiccup registering for G-ster or NoHo or something. But Steve fixed it and made it right.
I don't go ANYWHERE ELSE to check my race calendar.
If you are a promoter and you put your race on using a non-Bikereg.com I won't go, because I won't f'n know about it. Period.
Seriously.
If it isn't on Bikereg.com I really don't know about it.
My experience with SportsBaseOnline was not awesome. It sucked compared to BikeReg. Their servers sucked. Reg'n for nationals was retarded. Even this year when they changed it all up. Active.com also is not my favorite place to go, why EFTA used it or used it, I'll never know.
Keep kicking ass BikeReg (and I say it Bike Reg (soft g - like registration, for somereason i find it annoying when people say bike REG -like regulation hard G).
USACycling, just go back to what you do best, which is take money from us every year, and providing officials and rules and the rest of the important stuff. Leave the internet to people like Results Boy and Steve Roszko.
Thank you.
G
The Race Report - SBX 2010
So, I left it at the point of warming up on the trainers in the Cyclocrossracing.com team zone.
I headed over to the line, only to pop out of the trees to see everyone already there. The only people NOT lined up yet? Me, G-ride, and Skinny white dude. Yeah. Great planning team. After a bit of a pre-amble by Dick Ring, we were off. 2 minutes ahead of the 45+ guys. As an aside, it is always a nightmare with the results in that race at SBX. You have the 1/2/3 35+ field, the 1/2/3/4 45+ field AND a 1/2/3/4 55+ field. On a pretty short course. I think Kurt P did maybe 7 laps? Or 6 but I think 7. I should ask someone, but maybe someone will chime in with a correction. Anyway.
I'm in Row 3 on the far outside. I like that spot. esp with a left turn, typically opens up there. I started, pretty chill but even pretty chill there were people who were going backwards at the start it seemed. I wasn't last hitting the turn, but i was deep in the pack. The conga line settled in and I grabbed a wheel. I don't remember who's wheel it was. Cross brain as ryan calls it set in. Snap shots. I felt people were slowing down way too much in the corners, but there were no places to pass easily in the twisties by the firehouse esp being 2-3 wide.
There were a few people jumping forward a few spots in the straight section before the left hand turn that lead you to the stairs. And I just focused on not letting a gap open. STAY ON THAT F'N WHEEL!!!! Jump, sprint, turn sprint, turn sprint. I rode the woops before the barrier clean and around others who didn't. Hit the barriers adn then off to the dust bowl brown out. Man it was nasty. All I could think about was particulate size. Thinking that this stuff really is really small - definitely sub-micron size.
I had to float that double track through the trees. I flatted the last time I rode clinchers at this race going through there. not fun. Today it was harsh, just following the bodies, tight pack and a line coming through there.
Then we hit the left then the right and then the log. There was a que to ride the log on the left and I said - screw waiting in line - and jumped off and passed a couple people there. And took my place back in the flow. Keeping the gaps tight, then the sand, plowed in thinking "Wow this seems WAY deeper than it has in the past" and GCDavid had said it was faster to get off and run around the apex and then the second part of the sand, so that was the plan. Jump off and run the corner and run to the next corner, remount and power. God that hurt. Then there was the pavement. Oof. Right into a headwind.
Draft baby draft. One lap and there were a few gaps opening up. not too bad though. Still pretty tight, hanging in there. Round and round we go. Repeat, it does thin out a bit as expected as gaps grow. I found that on the second lap through the start finish on the pavement I wasn't going 100%, why? I was pretty blown and took an easy spot into the headwind to ride "tempo." Fuck'n stupid that. So I figured I need take my wife's advice and break it down and attack each section and move on to the next one. Take a section at a time. Forget where you've been and what's ahead, only what you are one. Break it down.
So I did.
I broke the course down. Pavement stretch: DRILL IT! Next up to the pit, attack that section up until the downhill off camber by the firestation before the tape maze. Then roll through that power up roll around, high line after the right hander drop down to the bottom of the bowl and accelerate out of the corner. Careful not to go straight like every other year (if i wasn't following someone like Marvin through this section on the first couple laps I seriously would have gone straight into the tape). Then wiggle around the next set of turns carrying as much speed as I could but riding smooth flowing like a creek around the rocks. Then I realized that I could really drill it along that straight and I hadn't been. Hit the turns down there and roll up on the back of people hitting the stairs and then attack the next three sets of straights before the run into the bridge and the sandy dusty woops (where I broke the der). Then the double track, ride that hard to the left, then attack to the right, roll over the log recover around the trees hit it hard to the right hand chicane, recover through there, power into the sand with speed, drop to the little ring and float the front wheel into the sand powering with the rear wheel. Dismount and run the corner and around the next and attack to the pavement, roll easy around that first corner, two hard pedal strokes to the next one and then back on the pavement and just burry the needle in the red up the finishing straight... and repeat.
It felt like forever, came through seeing 3 to go with Lehman yelling his crazy "I am coming for you" in the French dude's accent from Talladega Nights just after the pits when the course folded back in on itself... he's been doing that every race, and honestly after watching the trailer for the movie (i haven't actually seen it) just now, I'd say Steven's accent is way better/funnier.
So things were going well, "I AM COMING FOR YOU" Lehman was just about on my wheel then Soups came through and a gap opened (I hopped on Mark's wheel and drilled it) and then down and up and wrecked the bike.
It was terminal. Bummah. Walked slowly, defeated to the pit. Told the official that was it - race over. 2.5 to go. Lehman was the last guy on the lead lap and Sunday there was no way I was going to let him beat me. NO WAY! Damn it. Not that day. Not on that course. Oh well. Marro was just over a minute behind me, and I was on pace to stay in front of him too! Would have been a great day.
The bike really is pretty awesome. And yes, I know I compared it to a 1997-1998 era bike, but Gary was way ahead of his time with that bike. It might be heavier than the Blue and not a cross bike but that Klein is solid. Goes forward when demanded, absorbs just enough shock. The Giant transmits more stuff than either the Klein or the Blue. Kind of sucks there aren't *real* Kleins anymore. But those who have ridden them understand. That level of absolute precision with the front wheel, the handling, the power, the agility. Great bike.
And honestly i didn't notice the shorter cranks. Probably because my ideal length is really closer to 200mm, and 200-180 or 200-177.5, not really much of a difference. There is a touch of chain ring flex that I wasn't expecting. Seriously SRAM, making a BB30 that has chain ring flex? that's kind of lame. or is it just my massive torque overwhelming it? man i need to transition some of that torque to HP.
The under the tape 10sp shifters worked great. I love that clean look and feeling. Not geeked at how heavy the shifters are but with the heavy ass clincher wheels the bike is just under 20 pounds. Put something even reasonably light for hoops and i can drop a good pound or two, not that it matters in the overall body mass to bike mass ratio.
Self portrait post race... just a bit of dust - if you could see the teeth they were brown with dust too... i need a haircut
heddwch
G
I headed over to the line, only to pop out of the trees to see everyone already there. The only people NOT lined up yet? Me, G-ride, and Skinny white dude. Yeah. Great planning team. After a bit of a pre-amble by Dick Ring, we were off. 2 minutes ahead of the 45+ guys. As an aside, it is always a nightmare with the results in that race at SBX. You have the 1/2/3 35+ field, the 1/2/3/4 45+ field AND a 1/2/3/4 55+ field. On a pretty short course. I think Kurt P did maybe 7 laps? Or 6 but I think 7. I should ask someone, but maybe someone will chime in with a correction. Anyway.
I'm in Row 3 on the far outside. I like that spot. esp with a left turn, typically opens up there. I started, pretty chill but even pretty chill there were people who were going backwards at the start it seemed. I wasn't last hitting the turn, but i was deep in the pack. The conga line settled in and I grabbed a wheel. I don't remember who's wheel it was. Cross brain as ryan calls it set in. Snap shots. I felt people were slowing down way too much in the corners, but there were no places to pass easily in the twisties by the firehouse esp being 2-3 wide.
There were a few people jumping forward a few spots in the straight section before the left hand turn that lead you to the stairs. And I just focused on not letting a gap open. STAY ON THAT F'N WHEEL!!!! Jump, sprint, turn sprint, turn sprint. I rode the woops before the barrier clean and around others who didn't. Hit the barriers adn then off to the dust bowl brown out. Man it was nasty. All I could think about was particulate size. Thinking that this stuff really is really small - definitely sub-micron size.
I had to float that double track through the trees. I flatted the last time I rode clinchers at this race going through there. not fun. Today it was harsh, just following the bodies, tight pack and a line coming through there.
Then we hit the left then the right and then the log. There was a que to ride the log on the left and I said - screw waiting in line - and jumped off and passed a couple people there. And took my place back in the flow. Keeping the gaps tight, then the sand, plowed in thinking "Wow this seems WAY deeper than it has in the past" and GCDavid had said it was faster to get off and run around the apex and then the second part of the sand, so that was the plan. Jump off and run the corner and run to the next corner, remount and power. God that hurt. Then there was the pavement. Oof. Right into a headwind.
Draft baby draft. One lap and there were a few gaps opening up. not too bad though. Still pretty tight, hanging in there. Round and round we go. Repeat, it does thin out a bit as expected as gaps grow. I found that on the second lap through the start finish on the pavement I wasn't going 100%, why? I was pretty blown and took an easy spot into the headwind to ride "tempo." Fuck'n stupid that. So I figured I need take my wife's advice and break it down and attack each section and move on to the next one. Take a section at a time. Forget where you've been and what's ahead, only what you are one. Break it down.
So I did.
I broke the course down. Pavement stretch: DRILL IT! Next up to the pit, attack that section up until the downhill off camber by the firestation before the tape maze. Then roll through that power up roll around, high line after the right hander drop down to the bottom of the bowl and accelerate out of the corner. Careful not to go straight like every other year (if i wasn't following someone like Marvin through this section on the first couple laps I seriously would have gone straight into the tape). Then wiggle around the next set of turns carrying as much speed as I could but riding smooth flowing like a creek around the rocks. Then I realized that I could really drill it along that straight and I hadn't been. Hit the turns down there and roll up on the back of people hitting the stairs and then attack the next three sets of straights before the run into the bridge and the sandy dusty woops (where I broke the der). Then the double track, ride that hard to the left, then attack to the right, roll over the log recover around the trees hit it hard to the right hand chicane, recover through there, power into the sand with speed, drop to the little ring and float the front wheel into the sand powering with the rear wheel. Dismount and run the corner and around the next and attack to the pavement, roll easy around that first corner, two hard pedal strokes to the next one and then back on the pavement and just burry the needle in the red up the finishing straight... and repeat.
It felt like forever, came through seeing 3 to go with Lehman yelling his crazy "I am coming for you" in the French dude's accent from Talladega Nights just after the pits when the course folded back in on itself... he's been doing that every race, and honestly after watching the trailer for the movie (i haven't actually seen it) just now, I'd say Steven's accent is way better/funnier.
So things were going well, "I AM COMING FOR YOU" Lehman was just about on my wheel then Soups came through and a gap opened (I hopped on Mark's wheel and drilled it) and then down and up and wrecked the bike.
It was terminal. Bummah. Walked slowly, defeated to the pit. Told the official that was it - race over. 2.5 to go. Lehman was the last guy on the lead lap and Sunday there was no way I was going to let him beat me. NO WAY! Damn it. Not that day. Not on that course. Oh well. Marro was just over a minute behind me, and I was on pace to stay in front of him too! Would have been a great day.
The bike really is pretty awesome. And yes, I know I compared it to a 1997-1998 era bike, but Gary was way ahead of his time with that bike. It might be heavier than the Blue and not a cross bike but that Klein is solid. Goes forward when demanded, absorbs just enough shock. The Giant transmits more stuff than either the Klein or the Blue. Kind of sucks there aren't *real* Kleins anymore. But those who have ridden them understand. That level of absolute precision with the front wheel, the handling, the power, the agility. Great bike.
And honestly i didn't notice the shorter cranks. Probably because my ideal length is really closer to 200mm, and 200-180 or 200-177.5, not really much of a difference. There is a touch of chain ring flex that I wasn't expecting. Seriously SRAM, making a BB30 that has chain ring flex? that's kind of lame. or is it just my massive torque overwhelming it? man i need to transition some of that torque to HP.
The under the tape 10sp shifters worked great. I love that clean look and feeling. Not geeked at how heavy the shifters are but with the heavy ass clincher wheels the bike is just under 20 pounds. Put something even reasonably light for hoops and i can drop a good pound or two, not that it matters in the overall body mass to bike mass ratio.
Self portrait post race... just a bit of dust - if you could see the teeth they were brown with dust too... i need a haircut
heddwch
G
f'n cancer F-you
seriously. enough already.
Sunday my mother's cousin died on sunday. Melanoma. Despite routine dermatologist screenings a tumor developed without any external signs and when it was discovered the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes. I don't have the whole time line or what not but man - it sucks. He was a great guy. Named after his uncle (my grandfather).
That book. Seriously is pretty solid... and I can't help but wonder how many people would still be here if they stuck with that diet, or had at least incorporated the big key elements. Then again there are plenty of cases can't be helped no matter what...
Time for some Green tea. and a few moments of quiet reflection...
heddwch
G
Sunday my mother's cousin died on sunday. Melanoma. Despite routine dermatologist screenings a tumor developed without any external signs and when it was discovered the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes. I don't have the whole time line or what not but man - it sucks. He was a great guy. Named after his uncle (my grandfather).
That book. Seriously is pretty solid... and I can't help but wonder how many people would still be here if they stuck with that diet, or had at least incorporated the big key elements. Then again there are plenty of cases can't be helped no matter what...
Time for some Green tea. and a few moments of quiet reflection...
heddwch
G
Monday, September 27, 2010
made it in
and riding the Klein in, I sort of realized why the Blue didn't feel all that "overwhelmingly" incredible.
it rides just like the Klein.
and that
is awesome
I'll get the brakes on the Giant sorted out tonight or tomorrow and it'll be all good for this weekend. I'd really rather race on the Blue for obvious reasons and hopefully I can find a hanger sooner than later, but it isn't the end of the world to race on the Giant. Even if the Blue feels faster and more comfortable.
Nice cool wet misty ride in. Saw marc T and his new ZINN cross bike with 205mm cranks. He was pedaling through the corners with them - wicked high BB. Pretty damn cool.
it rides just like the Klein.
and that
is awesome
I'll get the brakes on the Giant sorted out tonight or tomorrow and it'll be all good for this weekend. I'd really rather race on the Blue for obvious reasons and hopefully I can find a hanger sooner than later, but it isn't the end of the world to race on the Giant. Even if the Blue feels faster and more comfortable.
Nice cool wet misty ride in. Saw marc T and his new ZINN cross bike with 205mm cranks. He was pedaling through the corners with them - wicked high BB. Pretty damn cool.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
And for the record
as a pre-script to the post i just hit publish on.
I do really like the new bike. The carbon didn't blow me away like i was lead to believe but man - it goes forward with all the energy i put into it. It doesn't flex.
I stand up and it pushes back and goes forward. Not as drastic of a change as it was going from the Croll to the Giant, but man the front end does what i expect. BOOM hit that line, recover from the slide, snake around the tape.
When it was working well, it is pretty nice, really nice.
I do really like the new bike. The carbon didn't blow me away like i was lead to believe but man - it goes forward with all the energy i put into it. It doesn't flex.
I stand up and it pushes back and goes forward. Not as drastic of a change as it was going from the Croll to the Giant, but man the front end does what i expect. BOOM hit that line, recover from the slide, snake around the tape.
When it was working well, it is pretty nice, really nice.
Sucker BROKE
One family, two mechanicals and yes, two withdrawals (ie DNFs). Sucks.
But we did it all together. Lucy too.
What a race. Bone dry, dusty. Worse than Bedford. I should pull the photos out before writing but I'm not going to...
Team Cyclocrossracing.com had the lock on THE parking location at SBX. And I'm not saying what it is because it is our spot. Much like PVD's race. All of us together.
But first up was the Junior 10-14 race. My oldest is old enough to race it now and so we headed up early enough for her to race. Got her number, pinned on and warmed up (she pedaled on the trainer for a while). We even headed out to pre-ride a bit, I ran in front of her leading through the first section until the straight. Got her lined up and off she went and I high tailed it to the car, grabbed the bike, put the shoes on, helmet and took off to find her on the course. At first I was going to ride along side but heading to the woods, well... I asked the official if I could follow her as we passed the pit and he said it was okay. She was doing great through the double track, then there was the left turn. And she stacked it up pretty good (front wheel plowed and went perpendicular tossing her). We got up, straightened it out and she walked it off for a bit, then there was the right turn to the log and we kept walking, then she started running a bit. And some more running and then she hit her knee on the big sharp platform pedals and lost it. She was thirsty, dust was awful, she had crashed bloodied her knee and we had a moment that was tough... but we worked on just relaxing the breathing and she was ready to start riding again. Then Emily C. came FLYING through with Cathy R hot on her heels and a long string of the leaders, so we walked slowly for a bit then we had a chance to ride. And she hopped on and started riding again, and then the right turn chicane and K said "I CAN'T STOP"? "Put the brakes on" "THEY DON'T WORK" sure enough... the pins holding the pads in (re-used her mechanic is an idiot) had bounced out on the right side and in the crash with the bars wrapped around nearly completely backwards and then extracting the bike from the crash must have rolled the wheels back and slip. No brake pads. Drive side, both front and rear, missing pads. Brakes didn't work. Period.
So we finished the walk. And were met with the official asking what we were doing. Parke R had come with a bottle of water for her and was waiting w/o a bike for her to come through. The official was acceptable stern but softened when it was explained I had asked for permission first to follow her. And then we withdrew.
Mechanical #1.
We wound up passing Kerry L as we walked back to the car. K fits on Kerry's fancy new bike. But no, I'm not ordering her a custom Primus Mootry. Not yet. Maybe if she's ready to go to nationals or something.
Time to get me ready to go. Got my extra cassette from G-ride but no backing spacer, fine for a trainer, not for spare wheels. So no big deal for today. Mark W was working the pits with spare wheels. Thanks Mark for being there (Thanks Jack and Justin for hiring him). Got warmed up a bit. Steven Lehman was warming up behind and with the whole squad in Planet Bike were were buzzing those trainers away. Skinny White Dude was working on making his Planet Bike Podium hat emulate the race winner's style (that being Kurt P). I had Metallica Death Magnetic blasting on the iPod. And well, it was going to be a great first race on the new Blue.
Yeah. Racing the new Blue.
Saturday I was up at 5:30am building it. I got the bearings in the bottom bracket installed (James Scott, you left w/o your bearings) Friday night and started with the build. But it got late, I was exhausted and packed it in and hit the hay somewhat early. I stopped working on the bike when it was dark, and started working on it again... in the dark. Fall is here, Eh?!
Got it together. No issues other than I guess you can't stuff a non-new cable through these new Shimano 10sp under the bar cable shifters, even if the ends are pristine. Ugh.
Well I got it ride-able, then out for a test ride. First run, okay. Couple bugs (bar angle, hoods too low, front der, crank settled a bit). Came back sorted it out. Got ready for a second ride (bars not taped yet), and headed to the sand circuit, into the park, then BANG SSSSSSSSSs shit. I nailed a sharp rock that I couldn't see in the leaves pinch flatted front. Shit. At least I wasn't so far from home. So i tried out a few shouldering styles on the way home. Got home and found the rear was completely flat too. DOUBLE? FCKING PINCH FLAT? Yup. Damn it. Where are my SV17s. Only could find my SV16s. Then, at last i found two of them.
Hey it is getting close to time to meet up with the guys for CX practice this morning, bars aren't taped? Shit. Time to make it work. Got it done and was ready to roll when everyone rolled up. Nice.
So with tires at about 75psi we hit the sand track. Sand and clinchers at 75 sucks if you didn't already know. But no real problems with the bike. It drove predictably which was a relieve and a good feeling.
Then we did a few starts. About the second or third one I heard a buzzing of the tire on the frame. WTF? Shit. QR was loose, clear coat is wicked thin and not there anymore. Fixed that. And hey I thought maybe I had gotten rid of the bad luck, i'd blemmed the frame already ready to go race. Sprints, remounts, single track, sand. It survived and felt pretty fast.
Ready to race.
K was going to do the 10-14 race so we needed to leave at 6:30, means for me to get the minivan loaded, breakfast sandwiches made, and all things ready meant waking up at 5:30, but no. I didn't sleep that long. 5am I was up. Hey it is still super dark at 5am. Not any lighter than 5:30am.
Things were going well.
Then it was time to race.
Headed to the start and it was already 3 rows deep, what? I guess everyone didn't get the memo that we were starting 20 minutes late.
And we raced. It was dusty. Wicked Dusty. Hard core brown out down the double track. The bike felt good. Riding well. staying at the end of the conga line.
and now
i have to continue later
cliff notes?
The rear der got ripped off. Busted hanger (i have spare chains, i have extra rear ders, i don't have extra rear hangers - and that online hanger place charges as much either one). I didn't finish.
There is video of hanger busting off with 3 to go.
Race over.
No hanger.
Planned to ride the Blue all week to really get comfortable and familiar with it before Gloucester.
Now, I'm waiting on getting something else shipped to me.
Two weeks ago I was waiting on the cranks... they showed up Friday night.
Then I was waiting for the new bearings... they showed up the next Friday night.
Now? PLEASE have a hanger show up before Friday night. Please?!?!
Oh and yeah, I don't have a working bike right now. Seat and seatpost were taken out of the Klein. Giant doesn't have any brakes on it and the brakes i ordered for it have long post bolts and the Giant is allergic to them, so that bike doesn't have any way to stop. Awesome.
Oh and the Blue doesn't have a hanger - and neither do any local shops IN NEW ENGLAND.
And well time to take the seat post back off the blue and commute on the Klein. Oh well.
At least it feels like I raced today. I'll actually try and write about the race, we'll see... maybe once I get the photos uploaded.
What a way to start the season... here's to hoping the fly reel sells on Ebay for enough to cover the cost of the parts on the bike... because that's hanging over my head way more than it should. And then yeah. It hasn't exactly been the best week.
Maybe this week will be better? I hope so.
-G
But we did it all together. Lucy too.
What a race. Bone dry, dusty. Worse than Bedford. I should pull the photos out before writing but I'm not going to...
Team Cyclocrossracing.com had the lock on THE parking location at SBX. And I'm not saying what it is because it is our spot. Much like PVD's race. All of us together.
But first up was the Junior 10-14 race. My oldest is old enough to race it now and so we headed up early enough for her to race. Got her number, pinned on and warmed up (she pedaled on the trainer for a while). We even headed out to pre-ride a bit, I ran in front of her leading through the first section until the straight. Got her lined up and off she went and I high tailed it to the car, grabbed the bike, put the shoes on, helmet and took off to find her on the course. At first I was going to ride along side but heading to the woods, well... I asked the official if I could follow her as we passed the pit and he said it was okay. She was doing great through the double track, then there was the left turn. And she stacked it up pretty good (front wheel plowed and went perpendicular tossing her). We got up, straightened it out and she walked it off for a bit, then there was the right turn to the log and we kept walking, then she started running a bit. And some more running and then she hit her knee on the big sharp platform pedals and lost it. She was thirsty, dust was awful, she had crashed bloodied her knee and we had a moment that was tough... but we worked on just relaxing the breathing and she was ready to start riding again. Then Emily C. came FLYING through with Cathy R hot on her heels and a long string of the leaders, so we walked slowly for a bit then we had a chance to ride. And she hopped on and started riding again, and then the right turn chicane and K said "I CAN'T STOP"? "Put the brakes on" "THEY DON'T WORK" sure enough... the pins holding the pads in (re-used her mechanic is an idiot) had bounced out on the right side and in the crash with the bars wrapped around nearly completely backwards and then extracting the bike from the crash must have rolled the wheels back and slip. No brake pads. Drive side, both front and rear, missing pads. Brakes didn't work. Period.
So we finished the walk. And were met with the official asking what we were doing. Parke R had come with a bottle of water for her and was waiting w/o a bike for her to come through. The official was acceptable stern but softened when it was explained I had asked for permission first to follow her. And then we withdrew.
Mechanical #1.
We wound up passing Kerry L as we walked back to the car. K fits on Kerry's fancy new bike. But no, I'm not ordering her a custom Primus Mootry. Not yet. Maybe if she's ready to go to nationals or something.
Time to get me ready to go. Got my extra cassette from G-ride but no backing spacer, fine for a trainer, not for spare wheels. So no big deal for today. Mark W was working the pits with spare wheels. Thanks Mark for being there (Thanks Jack and Justin for hiring him). Got warmed up a bit. Steven Lehman was warming up behind and with the whole squad in Planet Bike were were buzzing those trainers away. Skinny White Dude was working on making his Planet Bike Podium hat emulate the race winner's style (that being Kurt P). I had Metallica Death Magnetic blasting on the iPod. And well, it was going to be a great first race on the new Blue.
Yeah. Racing the new Blue.
Saturday I was up at 5:30am building it. I got the bearings in the bottom bracket installed (James Scott, you left w/o your bearings) Friday night and started with the build. But it got late, I was exhausted and packed it in and hit the hay somewhat early. I stopped working on the bike when it was dark, and started working on it again... in the dark. Fall is here, Eh?!
Got it together. No issues other than I guess you can't stuff a non-new cable through these new Shimano 10sp under the bar cable shifters, even if the ends are pristine. Ugh.
Well I got it ride-able, then out for a test ride. First run, okay. Couple bugs (bar angle, hoods too low, front der, crank settled a bit). Came back sorted it out. Got ready for a second ride (bars not taped yet), and headed to the sand circuit, into the park, then BANG SSSSSSSSSs shit. I nailed a sharp rock that I couldn't see in the leaves pinch flatted front. Shit. At least I wasn't so far from home. So i tried out a few shouldering styles on the way home. Got home and found the rear was completely flat too. DOUBLE? FCKING PINCH FLAT? Yup. Damn it. Where are my SV17s. Only could find my SV16s. Then, at last i found two of them.
Hey it is getting close to time to meet up with the guys for CX practice this morning, bars aren't taped? Shit. Time to make it work. Got it done and was ready to roll when everyone rolled up. Nice.
So with tires at about 75psi we hit the sand track. Sand and clinchers at 75 sucks if you didn't already know. But no real problems with the bike. It drove predictably which was a relieve and a good feeling.
Then we did a few starts. About the second or third one I heard a buzzing of the tire on the frame. WTF? Shit. QR was loose, clear coat is wicked thin and not there anymore. Fixed that. And hey I thought maybe I had gotten rid of the bad luck, i'd blemmed the frame already ready to go race. Sprints, remounts, single track, sand. It survived and felt pretty fast.
Ready to race.
K was going to do the 10-14 race so we needed to leave at 6:30, means for me to get the minivan loaded, breakfast sandwiches made, and all things ready meant waking up at 5:30, but no. I didn't sleep that long. 5am I was up. Hey it is still super dark at 5am. Not any lighter than 5:30am.
Things were going well.
Then it was time to race.
Headed to the start and it was already 3 rows deep, what? I guess everyone didn't get the memo that we were starting 20 minutes late.
And we raced. It was dusty. Wicked Dusty. Hard core brown out down the double track. The bike felt good. Riding well. staying at the end of the conga line.
and now
i have to continue later
cliff notes?
The rear der got ripped off. Busted hanger (i have spare chains, i have extra rear ders, i don't have extra rear hangers - and that online hanger place charges as much either one). I didn't finish.
There is video of hanger busting off with 3 to go.
Race over.
No hanger.
Planned to ride the Blue all week to really get comfortable and familiar with it before Gloucester.
Now, I'm waiting on getting something else shipped to me.
Two weeks ago I was waiting on the cranks... they showed up Friday night.
Then I was waiting for the new bearings... they showed up the next Friday night.
Now? PLEASE have a hanger show up before Friday night. Please?!?!
Oh and yeah, I don't have a working bike right now. Seat and seatpost were taken out of the Klein. Giant doesn't have any brakes on it and the brakes i ordered for it have long post bolts and the Giant is allergic to them, so that bike doesn't have any way to stop. Awesome.
Oh and the Blue doesn't have a hanger - and neither do any local shops IN NEW ENGLAND.
And well time to take the seat post back off the blue and commute on the Klein. Oh well.
At least it feels like I raced today. I'll actually try and write about the race, we'll see... maybe once I get the photos uploaded.
What a way to start the season... here's to hoping the fly reel sells on Ebay for enough to cover the cost of the parts on the bike... because that's hanging over my head way more than it should. And then yeah. It hasn't exactly been the best week.
Maybe this week will be better? I hope so.
-G
Friday, September 24, 2010
Organic activist Maria Rodale presents her Manifesto' | AP Books News - The News Tribune
Organic activist Maria Rodale presents her Manifesto' | AP Books News - The News Tribune
I love this part:
I love this part:
Q: What about the argument that we need chemical and GMO farming so we can feed the world.
A: The fact is we have too much food. Biofuels (made with corn and other plants) were created because we have too much food. ... Famine is not about lack of food but lack of access through political dysfunction. What really struck me as inhumane and wrong-minded is that farmers are convinced by chemical companies to believe otherwise.
Unprepared
Wednesday night I got a phone call I wasn't expecting. My aunt Christie had committed suicide. I am actually struggling with putting the details or not, she checked her self into a Motel on Tuesday, and took sleeping pills. She was found on Wednesday. Her story is very tragic but, I would have thought/hoped that the love and support of her two wonderful grown daughters would have been enough to keep her going. It wasn't.
Earlier in the year she lost her Husband and life partner. Life partner often sounds cliché but these two were inseparable, they worked together and lived together their whole lives. To the extent i wasn't really aware of until the memorial service for Greg her husband. He was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer late in the spring last year as they were getting ready to spend the summer on their boat sailing out of Martha's Vineyard. They had a place in Tortola all set up for their winters, they had enough of New England winters. He didn't make it a year. 23 years of pipe smoking and not taking care of yourself certainly contributed to the cancer and how quickly he succumbed to it.
During all this time Christie's mother, my grandmother, Elise Boulding, has been getting worse. I've mentioned her story here briefly. The Alzheimer's specifically. My grandmother was a solid strong healthy woman, her brain failed her and it was a long struggle until she finally moved on early this summer. Christie was the closest, at least by proximity, and maybe more than just that being the only daughter (she had four brothers who all will be gathering at the memorial service on the 2nd). She was there to help Grandma move from the apartment that Greg built for her at their house into the retirement community at North Hill. She was there to help transition her into the assisted living facility as the disease started to take more of her mental capacity away. But she had just begun to let go and move on when Greg got sick.
Early in the spring of this year Greg's condition was getting worse. Chemo and Radiation were not helping, the cancer was too extensive to do anything more. All of Greg's positive feelings and hope for being at the far end of the bell curve were sucked away by the disease. He checked into Hospice and moved on very quickly. Grandma was checked in to hospice not long after Greg. Maybe a month.
But Grandma's body was still strong. She had an infection, but her body fixed that. Only when her liver finally decided it had had enough, did she slip away weeks after checking in. I think that was the hardest for Christie. Having Greg go so suddenly and so quickly once in Hospice care only to watch her mother, who really wasn't much of her mother anymore, hang on so tenaciously.
All that tragedy so tightly packed for her was, well hard to put into words. I really can't quite imagine how she felt, much less how she dealt with it. She put on a solid New England face though. Stoic, strong. Like she was. Tall and healthy like her mother, physically she was going to be around for a long time if genetics were to be any indication. She had lots of friends, but family was spread across the country. Each of her siblings finding their own part of the USA to claim. IN, NC, CO, WA. And she was alone.
And she ripped everyone's hearts out in the most unexpected and tragic way possible. Personally I was prepared for Greg, and for Grandma to go. The loss of my aunt Christie, the circumstances... my mother had send some photos and a note earlier this month, and had received a thank you card in return, saying it was difficult but no indication of how difficult. Granted when someone like that says it is difficult, someone who never complains, that's maybe not the best sign, but sadly, it is also not unexpected.
The memorial service is going to be at the same Friends Meeting house that Greg's was. On the Second of October. The timing works out that I can still race and then pack up and leave right away and head to the service and make it at least for most of it. Of the few memorial services I've been to, I really think the best are the Friend's meeting ones. I really hope I don't have to go to any more any time soon after this one.
If you've made it this far - I should also say, as much of a shock as this is, I am doing okay at managing and dealing with the emotion, I'm sure post race on the 2nd it will be a different story.
Heddwch
G
Earlier in the year she lost her Husband and life partner. Life partner often sounds cliché but these two were inseparable, they worked together and lived together their whole lives. To the extent i wasn't really aware of until the memorial service for Greg her husband. He was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer late in the spring last year as they were getting ready to spend the summer on their boat sailing out of Martha's Vineyard. They had a place in Tortola all set up for their winters, they had enough of New England winters. He didn't make it a year. 23 years of pipe smoking and not taking care of yourself certainly contributed to the cancer and how quickly he succumbed to it.
During all this time Christie's mother, my grandmother, Elise Boulding, has been getting worse. I've mentioned her story here briefly. The Alzheimer's specifically. My grandmother was a solid strong healthy woman, her brain failed her and it was a long struggle until she finally moved on early this summer. Christie was the closest, at least by proximity, and maybe more than just that being the only daughter (she had four brothers who all will be gathering at the memorial service on the 2nd). She was there to help Grandma move from the apartment that Greg built for her at their house into the retirement community at North Hill. She was there to help transition her into the assisted living facility as the disease started to take more of her mental capacity away. But she had just begun to let go and move on when Greg got sick.
Early in the spring of this year Greg's condition was getting worse. Chemo and Radiation were not helping, the cancer was too extensive to do anything more. All of Greg's positive feelings and hope for being at the far end of the bell curve were sucked away by the disease. He checked into Hospice and moved on very quickly. Grandma was checked in to hospice not long after Greg. Maybe a month.
But Grandma's body was still strong. She had an infection, but her body fixed that. Only when her liver finally decided it had had enough, did she slip away weeks after checking in. I think that was the hardest for Christie. Having Greg go so suddenly and so quickly once in Hospice care only to watch her mother, who really wasn't much of her mother anymore, hang on so tenaciously.
All that tragedy so tightly packed for her was, well hard to put into words. I really can't quite imagine how she felt, much less how she dealt with it. She put on a solid New England face though. Stoic, strong. Like she was. Tall and healthy like her mother, physically she was going to be around for a long time if genetics were to be any indication. She had lots of friends, but family was spread across the country. Each of her siblings finding their own part of the USA to claim. IN, NC, CO, WA. And she was alone.
And she ripped everyone's hearts out in the most unexpected and tragic way possible. Personally I was prepared for Greg, and for Grandma to go. The loss of my aunt Christie, the circumstances... my mother had send some photos and a note earlier this month, and had received a thank you card in return, saying it was difficult but no indication of how difficult. Granted when someone like that says it is difficult, someone who never complains, that's maybe not the best sign, but sadly, it is also not unexpected.
The memorial service is going to be at the same Friends Meeting house that Greg's was. On the Second of October. The timing works out that I can still race and then pack up and leave right away and head to the service and make it at least for most of it. Of the few memorial services I've been to, I really think the best are the Friend's meeting ones. I really hope I don't have to go to any more any time soon after this one.
If you've made it this far - I should also say, as much of a shock as this is, I am doing okay at managing and dealing with the emotion, I'm sure post race on the 2nd it will be a different story.
Heddwch
G
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Luscious goodness
These beauties:
Captured by Cyclocross Magazine at Interbike. Man alive that looks freaking sweeeeeeeet.
So that pesto.
Why 40 grams? Well, that's what the basil I bought weighed in at. And so I just used that as the base formula. You could change it to say 1 gram or 100 grams, it is wicked easy to "scale" it up (or down).
Using the gram scale is great for dry ingredients, or ingredients that have air in them. Flour is always best weighed out for a recipe than using a volume measurement.
Now you'll notice I even massed out the oil (a liquid) that generally is well suited to volume measuring. The thing is, liquids are more accurately measured with mass, esp when you have no idea what the calibration or accuracy of your measuring cup is.
Then of course you can use water to test it out. Water has a nice specific gravity: 1gram/ml. Go from there to calibrate your measuring cups (and use an online calculator unless you're good at converting mls to cups/tsp/tbls).
One problem with 5:30am runs is it is too dark to run on the trails w/o headlights. I headed out and realized - oops - bike path/neighborhood run this AM. Trails maybe for next week if I get the headlight out.
Going to start the build of the Blue in anticipation of the bearings showing up tomorrow (why does everything have to show up friday nights).
Tonight it is a take on Chicken cordon blue. Alfredo sauce with a couple different cheeses, chicken cooked in a bit of butter and olive oil, onion, garlic and ham, tossed with some organic whole wheat pasta (365 brand is $1.29/pound). Oh and a brick of the pesto from the other night goes in the sauce.
I finally signed up for Suckerbrook. Everything is solidified for saturday - need to build the blue - hit a kid's soccer game and get some stuff done before G-ster.
Heddwch
G
Captured by Cyclocross Magazine at Interbike. Man alive that looks freaking sweeeeeeeet. So that pesto.
Why 40 grams? Well, that's what the basil I bought weighed in at. And so I just used that as the base formula. You could change it to say 1 gram or 100 grams, it is wicked easy to "scale" it up (or down).
Using the gram scale is great for dry ingredients, or ingredients that have air in them. Flour is always best weighed out for a recipe than using a volume measurement.
Now you'll notice I even massed out the oil (a liquid) that generally is well suited to volume measuring. The thing is, liquids are more accurately measured with mass, esp when you have no idea what the calibration or accuracy of your measuring cup is.
Then of course you can use water to test it out. Water has a nice specific gravity: 1gram/ml. Go from there to calibrate your measuring cups (and use an online calculator unless you're good at converting mls to cups/tsp/tbls).
One problem with 5:30am runs is it is too dark to run on the trails w/o headlights. I headed out and realized - oops - bike path/neighborhood run this AM. Trails maybe for next week if I get the headlight out.
Going to start the build of the Blue in anticipation of the bearings showing up tomorrow (why does everything have to show up friday nights).
Tonight it is a take on Chicken cordon blue. Alfredo sauce with a couple different cheeses, chicken cooked in a bit of butter and olive oil, onion, garlic and ham, tossed with some organic whole wheat pasta (365 brand is $1.29/pound). Oh and a brick of the pesto from the other night goes in the sauce.
I finally signed up for Suckerbrook. Everything is solidified for saturday - need to build the blue - hit a kid's soccer game and get some stuff done before G-ster.
Heddwch
G
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Simple pesto
Not so much as a sauce but as a sauce additive.
40 grams of Fresh Basil leaves
40 grams of peeled fresh Garlic cloves
80 grams of Pine nuts (toasted and browned in a dry pan just before using)
80 grams of good olive oil (not the cheap stuff - gotta taste good)
The weight is key - doing it by volume doesn't work, or i suppose it would if i had bothered to measure but getting a volume on fresh herbs is tough.
Stick the first three in a food processor. Then the pine nuts and finally the oil. Scraping the sides down as needed, processing until smooth.
Put the pesto into an Ice Cube tray and freeze overnight.
Yes there is no cheese. I add this to alfredo sauce, or a tomato sauce instead of using dried basil. Covers the bases and tastes amazing.
Add 40-80 grams of fresh grated block Parmesan cheese if you are making a pesto sauce to stand alone.
40 grams of Fresh Basil leaves
40 grams of peeled fresh Garlic cloves
80 grams of Pine nuts (toasted and browned in a dry pan just before using)
80 grams of good olive oil (not the cheap stuff - gotta taste good)
The weight is key - doing it by volume doesn't work, or i suppose it would if i had bothered to measure but getting a volume on fresh herbs is tough.
Stick the first three in a food processor. Then the pine nuts and finally the oil. Scraping the sides down as needed, processing until smooth.
Put the pesto into an Ice Cube tray and freeze overnight.
Yes there is no cheese. I add this to alfredo sauce, or a tomato sauce instead of using dried basil. Covers the bases and tastes amazing.
Add 40-80 grams of fresh grated block Parmesan cheese if you are making a pesto sauce to stand alone.
Say Hello Wave Goodbye
That's the cool down song after the 30 second Z6 intervals on the play list. Coach said to do 5. I managed 6 before shutting down. They hurt. Alot. The down interval seemed to get shorter and shorter. Waking up at 5:30am getting it done before 6:30 and then riding in as slowly as I could, plus a visit to the remote facility has me seriously falling asleep right now. A coffee would be great right about now but then it would mean not sleeping much tonight. And it just seems like, as tired as I feel now, that sleep is more important than a cup of delicious coffee. Don't have to muddle through much more of the day fortunately.
To be honest the intervals are really about 32 seconds:
at least i don't have to do them until next wed. Then a rest week and then the next phase. I was ready to change out that song for next week but hey, what's one more set
Nice Review of Bittman's new cookbook.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Nice little bit of propaganda Slow Food USA
And I like it (the attention that is on the subject).
Add your signature here if you actually give a shit about what you eat...
Add your signature here if you actually give a shit about what you eat...
Around the food world today
So some cool stuff and interesting stuff popped up this morning that I've had tabs open for meaning to get posted but haven't.
This coffee actually sounds pretty damn good. No? I'd maybe stick some heat in there for the cold steep with the sugar and cinnamon, maybe some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Give it a mexican edge. Sure. Coffee should taste like coffee but, every once in a while it is nice to have a complex flavored beverage.
I like this article. Short and targeted to get Twitter responses to fill the content at the end, but it makes ya think at least a little, maybe.
Of course then you have the Washington Post article today. About restaurant chains putting obesity on the menu. Solid stuff right there.
Gotta love the examples:
NINE SOFT TACOS? WTF man. Granted iirc from 15 years ago when I ate at Taco Bell occasionally those soft tacos aren't really all that big... but a STICK of BUTTER in FAT? Jeepers man.
Scary shit.
For a positive food trend check Bittman's NYTimes article. I'm starving after reading it. The Squid sounds fabulous. And I'll agree, left over pasta is awesome. But some how reading about all his white rice to go with his long run has me thinking back to '09 battenkill when I ate so much white rice pre and post ride (to aid in recovery) that I just aided adding pounds around my waist. 100% medium grain organic brown rice here (pretty cheap too $1 and change/pound).
Oh and I managed to get in my own run this morning. Barely long enough for GCDavid to get his heart rate up but mine was pegged for the whole 22 minutes (trails this time, no 4 legged pace setter).
Following the run this song popped into my head and accompanied my all the way in on the bike. Most of the time I was whistling the tune while riding in (mellow ride).
Ya gotta watch it too, can't just listen. Some of the comments over there on the youtube page are right on. There is a ton of emotion packed into that performance. The Flaming Lips version is the closest non-Paul version up on Youtube. Ya know? Cool Hand Luke, one damn fine movie...
This coffee actually sounds pretty damn good. No? I'd maybe stick some heat in there for the cold steep with the sugar and cinnamon, maybe some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Give it a mexican edge. Sure. Coffee should taste like coffee but, every once in a while it is nice to have a complex flavored beverage.
I like this article. Short and targeted to get Twitter responses to fill the content at the end, but it makes ya think at least a little, maybe.
Of course then you have the Washington Post article today. About restaurant chains putting obesity on the menu. Solid stuff right there.
Gotta love the examples:
-- Quiznos large tuna melt sub sandwich.
The numbers: 1,520 calories, 101 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, 2,020 milligrams sodium.
Equivalent of eating: More than a stick of butter's worth of fat.
-- Chipotle's chicken burrito, filled with rice, pinto beans, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream and guacamole, accompanied by a side of chips.
The numbers: 1,750 calories, 79.5 grams of fat, 23 grams of saturated fat, 2,750 milligrams of sodium.
Equivalent of eating: The calories in more than nine chicken soft tacos at Taco Bell.
NINE SOFT TACOS? WTF man. Granted iirc from 15 years ago when I ate at Taco Bell occasionally those soft tacos aren't really all that big... but a STICK of BUTTER in FAT? Jeepers man.
Scary shit.
For a positive food trend check Bittman's NYTimes article. I'm starving after reading it. The Squid sounds fabulous. And I'll agree, left over pasta is awesome. But some how reading about all his white rice to go with his long run has me thinking back to '09 battenkill when I ate so much white rice pre and post ride (to aid in recovery) that I just aided adding pounds around my waist. 100% medium grain organic brown rice here (pretty cheap too $1 and change/pound).
Oh and I managed to get in my own run this morning. Barely long enough for GCDavid to get his heart rate up but mine was pegged for the whole 22 minutes (trails this time, no 4 legged pace setter).
Following the run this song popped into my head and accompanied my all the way in on the bike. Most of the time I was whistling the tune while riding in (mellow ride).
Ya gotta watch it too, can't just listen. Some of the comments over there on the youtube page are right on. There is a ton of emotion packed into that performance. The Flaming Lips version is the closest non-Paul version up on Youtube. Ya know? Cool Hand Luke, one damn fine movie...
More post race musing
I screwed up. Made a mistake, okay way more than one but one in particular. Well the first was starting intervals last week. Instead of august, or april. But that wasn't the big one I realized. Second really might have been riding the logs instead of running them, my running isn't so terrible that it would have cost me to get off the bike. Might have even saved my legs a touch. Should have probably run it. But no the big mistake was the first two laps or so on day 2.
I sat in. Everyone talked about a "pacing course," "don't blow up early." Well, hey cool. Pacing myself meant that when I was sitting there on G-rides wheel I just sat there instead of going around. It was easy(ish) to sit there and ride around for a few laps. We piled into the pack there at the 180 down/up off the bat and just motored around on the conga line. Going hard but not so hard as to blow up meant i spotted everyone a good handful of seconds that may have prevented me from getting lapped. I was going to blow up anyway on that course, and i could have gone harder in the beginning and given myself some more cushion before the inevitable. Oh well. Learn and move on.
Like Bedford. I had a good start and I went with the leaders and got a solid position. Sure I slid back a bit but I started my slide way farther forward and really only went harder in the sprint than i did anywhere else around the course. So yeah. I screwed up, surprise. Maybe I need a coach. No not a trainer (but I probably need on of those too). A coach to give me a game plan for the race. Someone who knows how I ride and can help me focus on not sucking so much. granted I'm uncoachable, and too cheap to hire someone. Heck I should probably hire that skinny white dude coach with the flat brim to get me going faster. But #1 he'll call me fat, and #2 probably want me to get some sort of power meter. #2 aint' happening. Then again a coach working with me would kill their program "look he can't even make that big GeWilli dude fast, he must really suck as a coach/trainer."
Yeah - so anyway.
Enough about my performance in VT. But hey - my crossresult.com numbers are uncanny. Last year day one when I had a hooooooorible day (rolled tubular, blah, lapped by EVERYONE, blah blah) i got the same points as day 1 this year. But i had a better race (sort of - ie didn't get lapped). But then day two (harder/faster field) this year i did better.by a good bit. The fields were smaller this year, mostly fewer slower guys I'm guessing? Doesn't matter.
Time to move on. Seriously one of these years I'll actually really start training before the season "starts." Or maybe not.
Heddwch
G
I sat in. Everyone talked about a "pacing course," "don't blow up early." Well, hey cool. Pacing myself meant that when I was sitting there on G-rides wheel I just sat there instead of going around. It was easy(ish) to sit there and ride around for a few laps. We piled into the pack there at the 180 down/up off the bat and just motored around on the conga line. Going hard but not so hard as to blow up meant i spotted everyone a good handful of seconds that may have prevented me from getting lapped. I was going to blow up anyway on that course, and i could have gone harder in the beginning and given myself some more cushion before the inevitable. Oh well. Learn and move on.
Like Bedford. I had a good start and I went with the leaders and got a solid position. Sure I slid back a bit but I started my slide way farther forward and really only went harder in the sprint than i did anywhere else around the course. So yeah. I screwed up, surprise. Maybe I need a coach. No not a trainer (but I probably need on of those too). A coach to give me a game plan for the race. Someone who knows how I ride and can help me focus on not sucking so much. granted I'm uncoachable, and too cheap to hire someone. Heck I should probably hire that skinny white dude coach with the flat brim to get me going faster. But #1 he'll call me fat, and #2 probably want me to get some sort of power meter. #2 aint' happening. Then again a coach working with me would kill their program "look he can't even make that big GeWilli dude fast, he must really suck as a coach/trainer."
Yeah - so anyway.
Enough about my performance in VT. But hey - my crossresult.com numbers are uncanny. Last year day one when I had a hooooooorible day (rolled tubular, blah, lapped by EVERYONE, blah blah) i got the same points as day 1 this year. But i had a better race (sort of - ie didn't get lapped). But then day two (harder/faster field) this year i did better.by a good bit. The fields were smaller this year, mostly fewer slower guys I'm guessing? Doesn't matter.
Time to move on. Seriously one of these years I'll actually really start training before the season "starts." Or maybe not.
Heddwch
G
Monday, September 20, 2010
Hey I was there
At the race.
That was not my happiest moment. G-ride was schooling me on that downhill twisty stuff. Hell even Matt 'I haven't raced cross since 2005' Wilson was going better down that than i was. So i guess maybe my "skilz" really aren't all that great. Of course G-ride was on Cubus buzzsaw tubulars running 20 psi less pressure and Matt has forgotten more about racing that I've learned...
So I come out of the corner. I really don't remember which lap, one of the latter ones. Where G-ride rode up with Dan Coady and Onion River guy and dropped me and Matt... But I was hurting. Back hurt, legs weren't responding. I was deep in the wow does this hurt sort of realm. Definitely this was one of those hitting yourself in the head races. It felt so good to stop. I looked up and before the clip started I knew that Henry was standing there with his video Camera. "Oh Boy, don't fuck this up G" ran through my head. Smoooooth he's following you with the camera... It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fast, and it wasn't a perfect sequence. BUT i didn't eat shit/crash or do anything stupid like that.
for the first part of the race i was putting good time into Matt on the logs "run up" by not dismounting. ONE DISMOUNT per LAP? seriously. Both day. I got off the bike a total of 9 or 10 times this weekend (i think only 9 because we did 5 laps each day and I got lapped on day 2 or we did 6 on day two and I did 5). Riding those logs was faster. Matt was just making up time on me in the next couple of sections. Course was sort of kind of wicked Hard. HARD.
Like I want a training race to be. 40-50 minutes of non-stop torture focusing on what I don't do well (riding a bike fast).
That was not my happiest moment. G-ride was schooling me on that downhill twisty stuff. Hell even Matt 'I haven't raced cross since 2005' Wilson was going better down that than i was. So i guess maybe my "skilz" really aren't all that great. Of course G-ride was on Cubus buzzsaw tubulars running 20 psi less pressure and Matt has forgotten more about racing that I've learned...
So I come out of the corner. I really don't remember which lap, one of the latter ones. Where G-ride rode up with Dan Coady and Onion River guy and dropped me and Matt... But I was hurting. Back hurt, legs weren't responding. I was deep in the wow does this hurt sort of realm. Definitely this was one of those hitting yourself in the head races. It felt so good to stop. I looked up and before the clip started I knew that Henry was standing there with his video Camera. "Oh Boy, don't fuck this up G" ran through my head. Smoooooth he's following you with the camera... It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fast, and it wasn't a perfect sequence. BUT i didn't eat shit/crash or do anything stupid like that.
for the first part of the race i was putting good time into Matt on the logs "run up" by not dismounting. ONE DISMOUNT per LAP? seriously. Both day. I got off the bike a total of 9 or 10 times this weekend (i think only 9 because we did 5 laps each day and I got lapped on day 2 or we did 6 on day two and I did 5). Riding those logs was faster. Matt was just making up time on me in the next couple of sections. Course was sort of kind of wicked Hard. HARD.
Like I want a training race to be. 40-50 minutes of non-stop torture focusing on what I don't do well (riding a bike fast).
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