icy

So today...  oof.

Started off with of course the weather change.

First Smackdown of 2014 in the books

First effort in the legs since, probably Day 1 Supercup Cross. Day 2 in NY wasn't an effort, more of a just ride in circles.  Definitely should have just stayed in Bed at the Hotel until it was warmer than single digits. Car would have been happier starting and I could have avoided that embarassment and maybe not have been so tired I didn't see the tree and wouldn't have crashed and might have been able to race Sterling and NBX.

But hey. At that moment, getting out of bed seemed to be the right thing to do. Hindsight eh?

Why counting calories alone will never work to be healthy

Again C. Todd comes up with another great find.

I agree, the system has failed people.

Steel Cut Oats for breakfast

an item of oft ridicule by many in #NECX
"you start cooking them at night?" HAHAHAHA

SO MUCH WORK.

Well where are we now...

Off the bike since a snow ride on Saturday. Two big snow storms have worked to make sure the bike path stays impassable, I'm not even sure this warm up and rain we are having/hope to have will be enough to clear it by Monday when I'm back on the bike and the temps are forecast to plunge back to walk in deep freezer mode. Might be worth the attempted slog though just in the name of science and exploration and fun and pure brutal torture.

I did manage to get out for a short run on Tuesday. That's the extent of exercise though other than core work shoveling snow. It is total ice world out there now. I got out for the run as the snow was falling. there was almost an inch of snow on the ground when I went out. Footing wasn't too bad except where the snow was on top of ice. And it was a wet snow that kept packing up in the sole of the shoes making for odd pressure points at times. Managed though juts a short run with a decently/acceptable steady pace. I think I figured out a good use for the Obree breathing method. Usually on the bike other than in a full out TT I feel a bit over oxygenated or whatever it is when you get light headed from breathing way more than you need. Running though? the rythmn is odd but it actually seems to work well.  But still like anything when fatigue sets in I tend to find my self back to breathing in sync with footfalls.

It has been an interseting week. Kid 1 got sick to start vacation week, totally undermined any of her plans and changed the rest of ours (mine). But catching up on the house has been good. Outside projects have to wait till the snow melts and the ground thaws, but maybe we'll have this place ready for company by the weekend, or at least before we all go back on Monday.

Got another installment up on the Two Cone Wrenches and a Megaphone column. Gotta remember to put a link on the sidebar or something. Also need to start working on the next topic. Anyone have a commuter opinion peice suggestion? Going to save the commuting in the rain for later in the spring.

This morning Geo S (Battenkill 2007 or 2008) also former BRC Junior, now expat in some southern hemisphere country posted a link to an article this morning.  A long story in the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/10/140210fa_fact_aviv?currentPage=all

my G+ comments on the subject:
"Worthwhile and important reading. Long but good. Well written long form stories are rare in the world of buzzfeed snippets and 140 character news stories.

The topic is important, for everyone. Not just science types.

I learned a very long time ago to always look at the acknowledgements in a scientific paper first. Determine bias of funding.

Cyclists will remember the chocolate milk as recovery drink study? Paid for by Dairy Industry. The findings alone should have been enough to make anyone doubt the much trumpeted public media support for choco milk. Small anecdote.

But bias and ethics, very important in STEM (a term everyone is tossing around now - to me that's a Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope - not Science Technology Engineering Math)."

Heck pick orange juice. I think the Florida Orange Juice growers associations must have G-ride and G-david on payroll to constantly attack me with taunts and bullying when ever I bring up OJ on twitter or anywhere (it is a joke guys but if you ARE getting industry kick backs, share the cash love, or at least give me a commission).

I'm going to try and get back to regular writing here...  But not going to force it. AKA same as always.

Last week was a perfect week. 5 days of work 5 days of riding the bike. First one i think. All the driving the kids and Dr appts and everything seems to have taken at least one day a week since the start of the new year.

Plans for an all day ride today have dissolved. Roads are a disaster number one and two sick kid and work are keeping me here. Plenty of plans though, ideas. Even entertained Morse's Blackstone Blvd century idea. 29 or so laps of the Blvd. It might be something worth trying to do soon though. That or less of a mental challenge: 100 miles on Pine, Homestead, perryville, broad/jacob...  little loop in Rehoboth maybe, still laps and elevation. Or do a flatter loop from 152, brown, pine, read (or walker)... Ideas. Goals. We'll see.

Other goals. Finish getting the Nanoscape catalog together. And get a list of prints to offer up for sale. Not just sort of off hand for sale but like list them and all that. I've started a nanoscape FB page, to go with the tumblr and twitter accounts. All mostly linked together. The Public reception last thursday was unfortunately canceled and the show was taken down, but a few people saw them up there and that was cool.

No more writing time. Coffee is almost gone, time to put the pants on and do some work.

And yes. BTW 2014 GeWilli is more or less on target. It is a moving line but still for the most part trending in the right (positive) direction.

fod yn rhyfeddol
G

Perfect week

At least when it comes to riding every day. With trailer. And zero trips on the bike path. Not even the weather kept me of the bike.

Pizza Dough

So ASG asked for my Pizza dough recipe. And since it isn't a big secret and sauce is the most important part of the pizza I can share this.  Sauce recipe? Not going to share EITHER of mine... I think I have in the past, maybe you can find them, or if you have them, keep em secret.

Sauce is the key to making pizza in my opinion. But Pizza is magical, you can put stuff on it, whatever you want and it can transform stuff.  Good dough, high heat, oven, baking, all that... a magical food.

So here's how I made the dough yesterday. No. It isn't exact. "But GeWilli, this is baking, baking is the most scientific of culinary disciplines."  Yes I know. But here's the deal. It is Pizza dough. Consistency is important but I've found there's pretty much a big wide range of "tolerable" when it comes to how much flour goes into it. The salt and water and yeast are pretty specific. The rest? Feel. Hat tip to Erik V for the suggestion about just doing it till it looks right. He mentioned that a while ago and he's absolutely right.

Keep notes the first time you make it. Too dry? Next time use less flour.  Too wet? add more flour as you are shaping the pizza and add more next time you make it.

Cooking is about practice. I've been making pizza dough and sauce for over 20 years. Not daily but somewhat regularly.  My sauce recipe is an adaptation from what I consider the best place to get pizza on the Kitsap Penninsula. Funny thing is, when I get pizza there I usually order it with pesto sauce not the tomato sauce recipe my sauce is derived from.

Okay to the verbose recipe.

PIZZA DOUGH GEWILLI STYLE.

It seems to work well, the added steps have improved it but made it a bit more about the feel.

Also I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. You can do it by hand but that's gonna be a pain in the ass, or a really good upper body core workout.

Flour: Equal parts organic whole wheat and unbleached white flour (i use 365 brand cause it is the cheapest good shit around).

This last batch is what I'll give you recipie wise:

2 cups hot water (no more than 115°F 100-110 is fine)

1 tblsp sugar dissolved in the water

2 packs of dry active yeast (or measured equivalent from bulk container 4.5 tsp iirc)

let that bloom/activate for 5-10 min

in mixing bowl start with:

3 cups flour (1.5 each)

2 tsp Salt

3 tblsp Olive oil

Then add water. I rinse out the measuring cup using an extra 1/2 cup of hot water in two 1/4 cup batches.  So techincally 2.5 cups of hot water total.

Let the mixer mix for 5-10 min. This should be a really really wet dough. The extra mixing with all the water develops the gluten better.  Needed to make dough all yummy.

I actually use the paddle not the dough hook for this first step.

Then change out for the dough hook and slowly add flour and mix until dough is not sticky anymore.  Depending on the flour and how much water this can be anywhere from 1.5-2.5 or more cups of flour. I try to keep the ratio somewhat equal between the whole wheat and white but you can go in either direction. WW makes it less workable but more flavorful in the end, also a bit tougher. A nice balance of the two is what my family seems to prefer.

once it is a nice solid dryish not terribly sticky wet mess of dough, let it rise. I just keep it in the mixing bowl. I take the ball of dough out and coat the inside of the bowl with olive oil and cover it in a warm place.

ideally you let this rise until it doubles, punch it down, flip it, let it rise again until it doubles. then divide into pizza size portions, and let it rise again.

OR pop divided portions into containers (or bags) in the fridge for a day or two before cooking.

If in the fridge let them come to room temp and rise before you shape them (if too wet when shaping coat with flour)

I use Whole wheat flour on the pan/peel that i use to move them in and out of the oven, not corn meal.

Cook pizza in a 475+ oven. I also find it best to pre-cook the pizza dough for 2-4 minutes before topping with sauce and toppings.

A wee little snow and ice on the commute

and by that i mean I was riding on ice pretty much the whole way in.

and it was awesome.

so i took pictures...

 Looking north just as i got on the path. That wet snow stuck to everything and then the drop in temps into the mid-teens froze it all in place.

not food

and nothing new but here's another two cone wrenches and a megaphone column

http://www.cyclismas.com/biscuits/clothing-for-commuting-in-the-cold/

Got in a wee ride with the oldest on Saturday, nothing sunday or today (yet). Life getting crazy as it is want to do now and then.

Kind of precarious lately, lots of memories and recollections of last year in Louisville for Worlds. I've been good until today at holding on to the good parts, kind of ignoring the rest of it. But a few triggers kind of brought back a bit of the not so much fun memories, and how i was feeling last year at this time.

But hey. that was last year. Pain fades with time. Scars may be left behind.  At some point those scars with enough effort won't be painful reminders, just reminders. Focus on the good memories.

I'm staring at the new scar on my wrist...  where it was before was some unknown mass, a lump, a strange bit of tissue.

Turned out to be something the surgeon had never seen before, the pathology was so rare that well, yeah, figures eh? Good news is this scar just leaves behind the mark of being safe, checking. Not letting it be. Could have been worse.

But this scar is there...  reminding me... different than the lump that was there. But not really all that different i guess.

Scars sometimes never fade, but how we remember them can change. We control how we remember things.

Trying to transform overwhelmingly painful memories into looking deeper at them for the few moments that were good, that were positive, focusing on them. There always are a few positives.

Always a few good ones that we can fixate on.

Good memories that push out the sometimes overwhelmingly negative ones.

Time is helpful in the process. As is focusing on good stuff, reinforce the positive...

World's L'ville. Not easy for me but there was so much awesome, with the fog lifting i can reflect on those bits, still pretty easy to still get caught up on other stuff, a dark time for GeWilli i suppose. But it is good to be where I am today.

Heavy wet snow today. Not too much, maybe 4" total. Will make riding the bike path after it all freezes hard tonight fun and challenging tomorrow.

But i'm going to "Go all GeWilli on it" tomorrow.

No f'n question.

it keeps coming back around to me.

My perspective. The only thing changing really is how i look at it all. But that's kind of the challenge. How i look at things is directly related to how others interact with me and how it makes me feel. maybe their interactions are mis-interpreted by me, mis-read... does it matter? Yes of course, but it happens.

Life is a funny thing you know?

It is what it is.

gotta keep moving

fod yn rhyfeddol
g

Sweet Potato and Beef Tacos

A good indicator of how i'm feeling is how creative I get in the kitchen and how easily i come up with the dinner meal.  Dinner usually also is lunch for most of my permanent roommates and myself.  Unfortunately the youngest is getting bigger and bigger means eating MORE and yeah. I need to increase the quantities for dinner if I ever want to eat lunch again.

Kids grow. And neither of them are small and they are both super active and more or less have their dad's metabolism.  Downside is just none of this yumminess left for me today.

No shame in admitting that the first Skratch labs (Feed Zone) cookbook was the inspiration. I'd made it a few times. The first time was absolutely delicious. Even shared a taco or two with someone outside of the house and got decent reviews of it (made enough that day unlike today I guess but it had more stuff and also rice iirc). Second time was good but not quite as good as the first round.

This time? GeWilli overthinking brain came through with an idea that worked perfectly.

I will also admit I used someone's Barbacoa pre-packaged sauce. Why? All good stuff in it, and the shit tastes REALLY good and has a depth of flavor that I can reproduce but not in the time it takes to cook everything else.

So package of that sauce.
Pile of tortillas (365 organic ones - traditional and whole wheat)
Cheese (i had some cheddar on hand)
1 large onion diced
1.5# ground beef (85% lean)
1 tomatillo diced for topping the taco with
4 large garnet yams
3 medium size russet potatoes
olive oil
fresh ground cumin
black pepper
365 Chili Powder
salt
extra hot cayenne powder

Prep:
Peel the potatoes (i even peeled the russets this time)
Chop them into 1cm cubes. I got this process down, super simple and easy and they come out identical. But it takes a bit of practice. Maybe I'll make a wee little video some day on how to do it.

Put them all in a bowl big enough to mix them w/o sending them all over the kitchen for the dog to clean up.

While chopping get the oven up to 375-400°F (i use convection mode, but regular bake is probably fine). And put a pyrex "lasagna" pan in the oven with some olive oil and 3/4 of the diced onions, check and mix them around so they don't burn while you're chopping the potatoes.

Next up?
Pour a good couple glugs of olive oil over the potatoes, Can't really use too much, good extra virgin olive oil is good stuff.  Cheapest and best quality is that 365 brand basic stuff. can't be beat IMHO and i've tried most everything else.
Then a good pile of Cumin, Chili powder, black pepper, salt, some of the cayenne, and toss to coat all the little cubes evenly.

Once the onions are just about to get browned put the potatoes in the pan. mixing with the onions and oil already in there. You'll need to mix this somewhat regularly while cooking. Cook until done. how long? I dunno. can take a while i suppose.

once those are in plop the ground beef in a pan (you can sub proteins out if you want, this is just what I did, it works it is tasty). Get it nice and browned. once the fat has started to render out put the rest of the diced onion in there. Mix and cook that, then once you get some good maillard reaction in the pan add a bunch of the same spices you put in the potatoes. Give that 5-10 min on low heat to sort of bloom the flavor. Then put 1/2-3/4 of the pack of Barbacoa in with the meat, maybe 1/2 cup of water and let that simmer until the potatoes are cooked.

Best not to undercook either the sweet potatoes or the beef, the longer the better, more flavor and texture, just keep mixing and if the beef gets too dry add a bit of water now and then to keep it not saucey but not dry.

Serve simply by grating some cheese on a warm toasted tortilla, spoon some of the potatoes on there, add a little bit of the beef and garnish with fresh tomatillos.

And eat. And enjoy.

Not insanely high on the carb balance but out of the world in flavor. No big deal. When in doubt, over season. Flavor is your friend. Spice is your metabolism's best ally.

Heck you could use a nice chicken or some fish as the protein in these tacos. or a bit of marinated and baked tofu. So many variations and directions to take it.

fod yn rhyfeddol
G

Well somethings haven't changed

I'm still insane.

What now?

I'm thinking about going for a century ride this week. Taking a mental health day. Well it wasn't my idea. It is actually Russ's goal to ride one century per month.  January is winding down and, yeah that means this week.

Which means... cold. Today is balmy. At least at the moment. Temps appear to be ready to plummet overnight. Should be a fantastic 10°F tomorrow morning, a nice 12 on Wednesday, but Thursday starts off at 15 and just keeps getting warmer. Well up until the mid 20s. Friday I can't pedal.

So. Operation keep the schedule clear...

lets see what happens...  i like the ride plan at this point...  top secret now

Today has been about blasting faceplace with Nanoscape stuff. If you're over on that social site, well check out the page. More work to be done I suppose. Maybe some tonight.

For now Time to suit up and ride home on the one balmy day of the week.

fod yn rhyfeddol
-G

also

check this crazy awesomeness out:
https://medium.com/matter/88aa8a185898 

one of the little things falling in place

check it out...

blogging isn't dead but I'm looking forward to the creative challenge and the process
new column from GeWilli:
http://www.cyclismas.com/biscuits/category/features/two-cone-wrenches-and-a-megaphone/ 

Close in a way

writer's block...

how it works

this time sort of not so much writer's block as just busy.

But hey, why not tie in to this cool ass black and white short film about writer's block...

I'll get writing more soon..

have been pedaling through the cold though.

Not another soul on the bike path this morning. Evidence of walkers messing up the riding but just me and the snow, and ice.

and ice.

and snow...

slow going...

but progress...

always forward...

carry what you have, the best of the past, leave the rest behind...

shed the burden, focus on the treasures...

refine rework...

fod yn rhyfeddol
-G

remaking the GeWilli continues

So yes, I've alluded to it, this year is going to be different.

Hit the point where things need to change.  How? In lots of ways.

For the most part 2014 has been completely different, different focus, different motivation focusing on being positive. Actively trying to eschew the negative. Sounds dumb and bugs the hell out of me but a big focus is on glass half full.

The glass still has water in it. Not empty. Sure it is only half full. But some of you saw me in Bend 2009, when did a half full glass stop me? Yeah. It didn't.

So I'm going with cautious optimism. Focusing on the positive.

It doesn't always work as I found out today. But you know what. I have actually found a happy place. Seems weird. But yeah. I've kind of maybe figured that out.

I'm still terrible at dealing with making plans and having forces out of my control change them and destroy my mood but maybe that will change over time.  Only a few weeks into this new paradigm.

I headed into the city today on the bike.

And felt like a kid.

With an idol.

I had just finished watching the Leuven race. Was awesome. I get on the bike, J hop the granite curb, and just power through the sand, over on to the path and had this awesomeness wash over me. I was riding inspired by my heros.

WTF. How does some 42 year old guy have a hero? I dunno. Have you actually watched the CX pros race? Tommy and Kevin and Sven CRUSHED the course and made the race awesome. As I rode in it was pure bliss on the bike.  I was riding a CX bike feeling like the world champ.

For serious.

But then things change, plans put in place, stuff i really needed, like can't explain how much I needed. Figured I had communicated how much I needed it but well I guess not. Changed and mess up the day.
I got what I needed to get done done though.

Barely got home before the sun set. Which was good because I had taken the lights off the bike when I left this morning figuring I'd be home by Lunch. Yeah, not so much.

Point... of post.


Remaking GeWilli


I'm never going to be able to stop wearing my heart on my sleeve, never. That is part of my core, part of what i am. But what can I remake? I can shed the darkness, focus on the positive. Focus on the support of friends who have a hugely positive influence. So I can be a positive influence.

I'm a rather visible part of cyclocross in New England.

I identify as cyclocross. I've been racing in NECX for a f'n long time. Been racing CX since 1997.  It is my happy place. What can I do to be a positive influence.  What can I do to be positive and supportive of the tiny little Niche I love that feeds my passion. Not sure exactly. But fucking hell I need to figure this shit out. I'm tired of being the grumpy sad emotional curmudgeonly one. I'm okay with being a curmudgeon, but only in person, when you can see my smirk and the humorous twinkle in my eye.

So, actively seek out the support of positive friends, that's first.
Second?
Twitter. Unfuckinglocked mother fuckers.

No more private shit. nearly 25k tweets? yeah it is about time to go public.

Lots of reasons. We'll see how this goes. All I can hope going forward that I can keep focusing on the positive, move on from the negative.

Everything has to be re-evaluated. Everything. Top to bottom.  And you know that I'm the big freak in the orange suit. There's a ton of acreage to be covered and detailed.

No time better than now.

Life is an experiment.

Lets see where this leads. I've got some hope. Like I said, not easy, but focusing on the positive.

It started with lots of little things focused on me. I really do wish people would listen when I ask when I need something, that's sort of part of it. Tired of being selfless all of the time, but part of being me is not being able to ask and articulate what it is I really need. You'd figure someone at this point in their life might be better at articulating what they need. But I'm not. I spend all my time making sure everyone else is being taken care of, even if that is just my immediate family. Taking care of me? Has been for ever, on my shoulders. Probably always will. But I may actually start to figure out how to ask for help when I need it. Down side to that? When I ask and sort of depend on it, and it winds up nothing like I had asked or needed, well tends to derail everything. Back to 2013.

Too open? Maybe not. Cryptic? Probably. But here's the deal, I need to change that too. Slowly maybe I can find enough self confidence, self esteem, happiness, joy, positive energy that when that happens I'm not wrapped in a cloud of darkness.

Baby steps. Work on the foundation. Let the scars and the scabs heal. build it solidly. focus forward.

Heck even re-doing my pedal stroke is a big part of it. Knees over the pedals instead of brushing the top tube. Focusing on things I can change for the better.

Kind of a long way to announce unlocking a twitter account, no?

fod yn rhyfeddol
g

Quick tomato sauce.

Chip was asking on the twitter about sauce. Too many characters.

So to the blog.

Start with extra virgin olive oil in the pan..
Dice onion sweat them down till clear
Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, let the acids boil off...
Add the crushed tomatoes.
Garlic. Press or finely diced (or add them just before the vinegar)
Dried basil leaves
Dried oregano
Pepper black and red if you want heat
Salt
Red wine

Let simmer for a while

Put pasta in the sauce so it can absorb the flavor.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

WTF

on the bike. Serious. Seems strange.

Feels great.

Missed it a lot.

Last night it was POURING rain, not super cold but not warm. And wet. Like soaked to the bone wet. Didn't notice any of the water.

Just pedaled. Was F'n GLORIOUS.

was thinking quite a bit, but good thinking i think.  I had a conversation with my doc about one of the issues with my pedal stroke, specifically my knees crossing over the top tube... at some point it was suggested that I need to work on alignment and keep my knees over the pedals and I'd be able to develop more power.

So I talked to my doc (an OMM practicing DO) and she said, yeah no, that's not an alignment issues, that's a muscle memory/habit problem. If you want to fix that you need to make that change on the bike.

Two days now, pedaling what feels like big gut old guy pedaling with knees going way outside has been good. I feel the underused muscles activating.  My knees are now over the pedal. Hey a few % here and there.

Figure I have been off the bike so long that it is actually a good time to try and change something like that up to gain a % or so. Every little bit counts right?  I've got time now, just pedaling. Pedaling. Re-work the dynamics.

Going to take a week or so before I think I'm ready to add the trailer to any routine service use (added KJs to the commute, maybe firewood collection back and forth). Itching for nice long ride too. Not ready yet... patience.

Takes time.

Ideas percolating for motivation, and that's enough for the motivation.  that and just how nice it is to be on the bike just back and forth. back and forth.

Still a pile of work to get through to dig out from CX season.

Not just the bike room but the house. Slow accumulation of clutter, between dance, soccer, running races, cyclocross - there's been pretty much zero down time for anyone since the summer.  The Bike room is first. I gotta find the fenders and decide how I'm going to commuter up the stuff.
Probably drop the Black blue into roadie position with slammed and flipped stem. White blue may get shorter stem as an experiment but more importantly fenders. Tired of wet feet.

Focus forward.

BUT. I still mean to look back on the 2013 cyclocross season...  We'll see if time happens to coincide with inspiration.

Right now i'm just happy the fog has lifted.

heddwch
G

Clarity...

It is strange almost.

Wondering if it will last. So skeptical I am. But this feels different. Strange but in "hey, stuff is actually pretty cool" way.  The week is almost over, made it. Survived.

Motivation, incentive. I've sort of set in my mind that I want something tangible, a luxury item if you will, but one I will use nearly everyday. But stuff costs money, there's little to go around, but I've got all these scanning electron microscope images. They are pretty spectacular. And pretty diverse, from food to bikes to insects and blood. I've got a great relationship with a printer and he knows how to transform my digital work into analog print in a way that I am happy with.  So maybe I can leverage it somehow. #jerrynomics I guess, in a way. But selling art is always a challenge. How do you value it. Always a mystery. Factoring the time spent thinking about/acquiring the sample, then preparing it for the microscope and then the time on the scope.  Commercial rates for the system for me running it are in the $400/hr range. I can get a pile of images an hour just churning them out but the creative process isn't always fast, but it is something I do actually feel like I've mastered. The microscope is an extension of me.  And then there is the concrete material cost of archival printing. I should charge a minimum of a $1000 if i want to actually make this a profitably venture. But I'd rather be at an approachable price and have the prints be aesthetically enjoyed, rather than just piling up in my office.

This isn't really part of what's going on, not part of the shift in focus, mental state.

I will say I'm tired of everyone asking me how my holiday break was. It was not so much the most fun. Pretty much anti-fun. BUT. It was needed. Kind of like this I guess.

A wake up slap. Took a while for the fog to lift but as I mentioned, things are a lot clearer it seems.

I've found a bit of the old mojo so to say I guess.

Course direction hasn't been set at all but sort of call it an upgraded nav system. Like going from having a busted compass to redundant GPS nav.

Trying to make sense of the new system I guess. still find myself occasionally looking at the compass wandering and pointing aimlessly and getting a moment of panic, before being able to consciously say hey we've got this.

Going to take time.

Still no pedaling, haven't managed to get the bike room sorted out, just playing solo dad, driving the girls everywhere, soccer, ballet, making dinner, laundry, dishes, all the things.  And that's been good. Very good.

I'm just trying not to get fat, even though I'm losing all fitness/strength. But there's plenty of time. And if I can get a handful of prints sold I think it'll all come together pretty damn well.

heddwch
G

Dead yet?

Pretty close.

It's been pretty much down hill from Supercup Cross in NY.

A few bright spots but not many.

No motivation really to write about it, not sure why I'm bothering right now. Mostly just because I feel an urge to start writing again. Nationals is happening and I'm not headed again this year. Sure given the last 4-6 weeks I've pretty much lost any form I had, I'd get my ass handed to me on a platter at this point. That said if I was going I'd probably be on the bike everyday hitting work outs like an athlete instead of not pedaling, or more or less a nice long bender.

Where to go from here.

Motivation.

I can count the times I've ridden a bike in the last 6 weeks on one hand. Yup. No. It just seems like that I guess.

Never. Happened. Before. Ever.

Ever.

Not since I moved here from Michigan.

This time of year is always a struggle...  But there have been times in the last few days when I think I might have a solution, or at least a few action items to focus on and move forward with. So I've got the making of a plan, we'll see how it shakes out.

Solo dad week starts tomorrow. May try and get the bike room organized enough to leave a bike set up on a trainer in there just to get a few minutes on there. Maybe after the girls go to sleep at night.  Just a few minutes would be a good start.

CX seems so far away. Mental Health days...  probably should start those again. Not sure if I need a new location or not. I like riding into Boston. Maybe it is time to start exploring even more alternate routes.

This past season I was pretty damn happy through most of it.  Sure some frustrations eeked into everything, it wasn't perfect. I was bummed how some races went, but over-all, the season was a major leap for me. Maybe I can re-create that next year.

Right now I think anything I built this year is gone. Starting from Zero now...  time to build though. Will take work. Maybe I'll manage to figure it out. Maybe I'll remember to eat more on the first half of the all day rides, the centuries, the longer rides than in the past. Maybe I'll manage to hang on and not get shelled or bonk.

Stuff to work on.

So many things.

So many things to figure out. But there's some progress that makes it seem possible to figure out.

I finally got over Mittengate I think. Found some warm gloves that should work on the bike. Wore em once on the bike. It worked to shift.  I'm with Jerry on this. Why is everyone buying stupid expensive cycling industry gloves that barely work? So many options out there that are warmer and cheaper.

I'll get back to commuting on the bike soon enough. I hope.

I'll get it sorted out.

Plan is though sometime soon here, actually sort of try and document a bit of the fall, maybe. Or at least make a legit attempt at a true CX season wrap up.

Till then - if you haven't go read this:
http://velocb.blogspot.com/2014/01/bandit4life.html

It was even better than this one: https://vimeo.com/18580120

heddwch
G

this made me smile this morning

Sure i did read the ASI bit on the Cafe Roubaix written by the MAN Steve Frothy, and that started the positive juju flowing...

But then I popped over and saw this splashed all over G+



And yeah... it made me grin even more.

now, cup of coffee in hand,

lets get some microscoping done

Dear Motorist

Take a minute to watch.

Everyone should.

And just like that

It is over.

The season.

The last shred of hope that the knee would be healed up enough to race at NBX is gone.

The ride in today wasn't terrible, felt nice, knee was good.

But it isn't strong enough to attempt pedaling. The initial massive inflammation stretched out the tendons and ligaments and there's still enough swelling and residual fluid around the knee that stuff isn't back to normal and there is actually pain now with certain movements.

Driving the minivan around all day yesterday sort of put an odd torsional load on the knee and it didn't like that at all.

The season was pinned on NBX as the finale. Ice Weasels isn't happening for me because I'm flying to Seattle for the final big stretch of concerts. 35th year. Tacoma on Friday, Seattle on Saturday, Mt Vernon on Sunday and Bellevue on Monday. http://magicalstrings.com/YT_2013.html then I fly home.

Nationals aren't in the cards either...

Season is over.

Just like that.

I'd kind of secretly planned on transitioning from the end of cyclocross into doing some running. work on seeing how fast I could do a 5k with May/June as a targeted peak, maybe doing a 5k in March and April as leading re-learning. At this point, I have to rehab knee as priority. Running probably isn't the best idea. AKA the WORST idea.

So yeah. I don't even have CX to carry me through the holiday season. So much pressure, so many expectations to try and meet, I'll figure it out. I'll find a way to make it work. Have to right? No choice. It'll be okay. I just complain too much. Could be way worse I suppose in so many many different ways.

It was a good season. Best yet by many measures. Maybe I can build on it for next year, or at least focus and build to the start of next season in a similar way.  I know what I need to do, so there's that i suppose.

September isn't that far away, is it?

heddwch
G

SUPERCROSS CUP day two UCI men's race.

Elite Men's Race Day 2



so cold and a bit oops on the interviews but they sort of worked and was still fun. Can't really tell that both Tim and I were shaking like the tape the footage Dan got of the race. So cold.

good footage of the course elements though... Imaging that place if it was raining and 45 degrees instead of windy and 20.

memory lane with Post 4000

Milestones are one thing...

Russ posted this earlier today...

Good memories

Bandit Cross - Wrentham, MA 01.08.2011 from Russ Campbell on Vimeo.

again we should do that, it was fun...

how to have a really bad Monday

So Supercross Cup was in the books.

I was home. Brutally exhausted, and the weather hadn't warmed up an ounce on Monday morning.

Add to it I had to ride into a headwind. Headwinds are a thing, no big deal, but at 19-20 deg F any headwind makes it just that more brutal.  This isn't a CXy course where the headwindis only on part of it, no this is all the way in.

Into the wind.

I was slow to get out of the house. Unmotivated. But I got dressed, was ready to attack the day. And then...  well...

So I'm riding in. Legs actually feeling not terrible. Pushing a decent gear, going fastish.  Some of the time doing the speed skater with both hands behind my back to warm them up because I still haven't replaced my coldest weather hand gear aka the mittens.

Supercros Cup 2013 wrap up

Where to begin? with a fold of course

Supercross cup day 1 brief

Supercross Cup today was awesome. My race not so great but I had to keep my head from esssploding while calling the days races with the legend Joe Sailing. Ton of fun grabbing interviews with Tim from Gnarly Monkey.

Tomorrow's course? More superness. I helped Myles's crew set it up tonight and I like the change up. Can't wait to race it bright and early.

SUPERCROSS CUP

You know you want to go, you know you want to be there.

Is LVG not the best most awesome person in the world?

Winningest Female Cyclist ever. EVER! I kind of wonder if we can just remove the gender from that statement.

Myles, supercross promoter has for the last five years made sure that ever one of his races has equal payouts for men and women.

So you're going to go right? Yes I know. Fitchburg. I'm not the fastest, no chance for jersey, I had fun racing there when Sally and Catherine were in our race but it was super f'n cold and the course/venue leaves me less than enthused.  and legit? My season is winding down.

I've got this weekend, 

Sterling,

NBX

done....

Sterling is close and is what I call the most fun unfun race.  I love how the Christo of cross makes that crazy school ground work for CX. How each day is different enough to be so different but still no easier. It is a brutal course, can be insanely cold or wet or neither. But it is kind of sort of in a very sick way fun.

NBX? Fuck. Goddard Park venue and the evil mad amazing genius of Matt B creates, without question, the best CX course/venue around. It doesn't have a massive expo area, it doesn't have a giant huge crowd, but the course is fantastic, weather is often epic and it is just Fun as hell.  

So yeah. Wrapping up this year in style, one more road trip. On my terms....

anyway

yeah...  now to see if i can bank enough sleep to offset a 4am drive through CT.

heddwch

G

what. the. seriously?

Not sure I was ever expecting this:

Specifically the points...  GeWilli under 300?

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Won't last likely but then maybe it will.  Shed Park was raced with a completely locked up back/neck. Missing a fair bit of power and due to muscle constrictions and pain could only breath at about 75% lung capacity (fixed it today with a visit to my DO).

Lung capacity would have been nice with the really long pedally sections.  An untimely flat by Motram mean we were hanging out together for a good part of the race.  He'd pit, catch back up, we'd ride together he'd drop me, pitted, got his other bike back, caught back up to me and finished 18th/19th.  Was fun racing.

Kind of typical Shed park. But our race timing was probably a bit skewed due to the fact that they actually neutralized the race to get someone in our field off the course in a gurney.  I guess he crashed, or someone else crashed, a pile up and he had a bad enough broken leg that required emergency surgery and an ambulance trip.

Was fun.  Wasn't me at 100% so I'm pretty damn satisfied with the results...  only race this weekend though. Watched the indoor soccer game on saturday. man that is almost too much for me to take.  Two weeks in a row and I'm still calming down. So exciting.  No, i'm not competitive at all.

Heddwch
G

Pendulm is swinging over to Supercross Cup. Looks like a 4am departure Saturday morning though. I guess there isn't a better time to be driving in CT on a Saturday morning.

Supercup Cross

So you gonna be there? Right?

Can you handle the awesomeness?

http://www.supercrosscup.com/

Plymouth... two days of pain

Plymouth weekend.

For some reason this is the magic weekend.

Either is it because of the road trips for a couple years with Mark Nicholson, and the last year with him and Lindsey and all that.  He crushed it when he raced there.  CRUSHED IT.

I also met that G-ride dude, the Sachs kit poser who was either beating me or just beating me in the 3/4 masters races all year to that point on that fancy bike with carbon wheels and tubulars.

Slowly over the last pile of years it sort of marked a peak of my season. My super close friend Alfie came out one year, his wife surprised him for his 40th birthday with CX weekend with me. Was awesome.

Mark Introduced me to LPB there, met a few other very key people there to me.

The race is odd. Used to be just one day at Plymouth north, Tatar separated his collarbone the year i drove there with him.  Then they added North and South.  First time I beat Gary David was at Plymouth South.  May have been my first top 10 in the open race. there. The field gets diluted. People are tired from CSI-CX and for various other reasons the fields are thinner but still pretty stacked.

Last year i got in the money on day two.

This year day one had a pile of the Cyclocrossworld.com riders show up. On a road racey course with an annoying but non-selecting mud pit. WIDE OPEN WATTS.  AKA road race.

I had a nice terrible start, SLOW. swarmed by everyone. Suddenly i'm 10 riders behind CTodd!  C-TODD!!!  WTF? gap, sprint around dude, next guy gaps off, sprint around, next guy gaps, sprint around repeat until I get on Whitey's wheel.

I mean go figure there is HORSEPOWER at the front. Like MOTORING. Fuck. So finally go on Whitey's wheel and then there's a gap. This big watty looking dude in a spinarts gets gapped off and i catch up to him eventually and Whitey gets on his wheel and they chase me around.  Vince passed me when i fuck up a corner and Aumiller says "nice job, you did that on purpose to make him work" No. I just fucked up the corner.

But there was one money corner. The sven line. HOLY SHIT. Ask whitey. we'd come into it and i'd gain a pile of bike lengths just from line choice.. FUCKING ZOOOOOOM.  Was fun. Except for all the pedaling.

But that wasn't too bad.  The 55+ guys on the course at the same time made it very interesting but not a big deal on Saturday as it was COMPLETELY wide open except for the drop into the woods over to the two track.

Wound up 11th. Check the times on the crossresults. Fuuuuck.  I was the fastest of the slowest. 1:20 or so gap to 10th. No chance of making that group for me. but man it was fun racing bikes.

FUN

distracted a bit there that day and my two goals were very selfless and I met them.

The 6:30 am soccer game in the morning wasn't even too bad.  Didn't get there as early as I wanted but I got there early enough.  And L didn't totally kill my phone while i was pre-riding and racing.

And then that was day 1....

11th, stacked field. Beat Whitey (sorry chris, you've been going GOOD this year and it felt awesome to stay in front of you despite my fuck ups).

racing bikes.

FUCK YEAH

was fun

even solo dad for a couple days leading up to it and being totally blown out after NoHo...  i seemed to be able to pedal okay. Shitty start but was fun. And I was racing the whole time.

which is the point. racing the whole time.

fuck yeah bike racing

heddwch
G

realized something just now

That strava stuff? Whats the point when you have crossresults.

Worrying about chasing a KOM/QOMs...  climbing more riding more... social competition is a solid motivator for many people.  And if it gets them riding more? Great. That's a good thing.

But once the racing starts, my racing, cyclocross season...  Strava loses all interest. I am totally out of the habit of tracking every ride. Because all that matters is the actual race. The competition. Lap times between races are nice to see but race conditions change sometimes and the 8am race might have different traction than the noon race than the 3pm race. Those you race with also dictate pace.  But. Bottom line.

You get a result. Sometimes a time, but always a place.  You don't get to go back and do it again because you screwed up the start. Or slowed down before the segment ended.

You have one chance for that one race.

Will you have a good day? Will it be one of those magical days that happens so rarely?

Maybe you start off the day feeling like shit, but habit and routine and going through the well rehearsed checklist sets you up unconsciously to erase the feeling and lets you perform at your best.

Sometimes it just isn't there and sometimes you know it going in, sometimes you get a few laps in and that's all there is and it is over.
The results tell you that.

Sure the phenom that is Resultsboy created something cool and new. What did we used to do before it? Checked bikereg, before that some series had their own online results, sometimes you got them in the mail, sometimes you saw them in the back of a magazine.  But usually you just waited for them to be posted and that was enough. A record of you being there. Competing.

Stepping up.

Yes it is a participation award to see your name there. but this is cross, it isn't about having a PR. there's no way to race yourself event after event, year to year. You're racing the people in front and behind you on that sheet. And there is only ever one winner in each race.

No, everyone is not a winner.  Strava is cool to see where my friends are riding who aren't racing. I don't usually look at the times or the trophies just where, the routes, where they went. That is the cool part to me.

why this now? 'cause i'm not racing Eco-Cross today and have a minute to think i suppose and this was a thought that popped in my head to write about.

heddwch
G

CSI-CX report of sorts

or maybe it is relief for some, no blabbing here for too long. Busy, too much going on in some ways, writing time has gone poof.

the CSI race was already a while ago. Ah the saga of that. The busted cat on Meatball, fixing it with can, spokes and hardware cloth. Driving it up, hanging out, racing, pitting in both the UCI races...  hanging with Jerry and Noah, racing sunday pitting in one of the races got my photo in the pits in VeloNews online.

The racing was racing, and was good. Battled a bit on Saturday, back and forth, blew up on lap 4, recovered a bit. Was fun. Got a bit too far foward i think on the first lap even with a bad start. Pretty much because i was able to pass a dozen people on the first two times up the run up.

Kind of made up for a junior who decided to make a super dumb pass going into Pit 2 the first time. He takes the dumb line. Me and some other old master guy were hitting the turn just right, no brakes and kid blasts around us, then totally washes out and we chain reaction pile into him. Shit Show. Dumb move. And at least I was fortunate enough not to have anything seriously fucked up. Massive bruised on my bicept, smashed my left hand a bit at the index knuckle. bike and tire smashed across my quads, but worst and most critical bit was the shifter. Right shifter was bend in 45 degrees. I pushed it back out but it was loose.  I ride in the hoods pretty much 99% of the time. Sometimes i even sprint in the hoods (and win the sprint for whatever place). So it was loose, and the last two times through that new woods section well I was basically trying to steer with left hand and brake with right but not steer. Was kind of dumb, almost ate it, was slow, no good. Last time through there though AFTER riding through and with the shifter SUPER loose, i kind of realized. Why not go into the drops?????  duh. Shit. Well i did and passed M. Kelly back (he caught and passed me through that woods section).

Nothing was broken, just needed to tighten it back up. But it was kind of interesting. more interesting was Resultsboy's comment "you are looking respectable" while i was racing. or something like that.  But yes. Day one. I was racing. Abysmal start but I worked past and through people until i blew and a pile of them all dropped me hard. oops. Weather was great though. Course was fun. Becca stepped up and raced the UCI race.  Righi helped calm her down with solid advice about the move. It was the right move to move up and not race the 3/4 race. Then I wandered around saying hey to people eventually made it back to the pits to hold the Honey Squirrel's bike.   Left Meatball and my bikes in the park and got in the TRUCK and headed to the hotel. I might have even slept a little. Still wide awake at 2am for an hour or so, then dozed off until 4:30 which my body said HEY TIME CHANGE? FUCK YOU WE WAKE UP NOW. I tried to keep dozing until it was time to head down for the hotel breakfast, stuffed face full of food. and coffee. and more food.

Got to the venue, rode a lap. signed in, did some stuff, rode another lap, some more stuff, rode a lap or something eventually getting to the start. Skinny Craig was less than boisterous but still said he'd see me later. I had a better start but not a great one, more relaxed though and w/o the run up there was a bit different race feel. Shorter laps. Day one in the ball field start I bounced off of Motram in the traffic, maybe more we just kind of kept each other up as people jostled for position. Sunday? Same place a junior tried to stuff his bike in traffic under Shawn into the tape and crash himself and shawn landed on top of him.  That little irish dude was PISSED.  But I got through cleanly and just watted my way up to a good wheel or two and pedaled my butt off. Stayed in line, passed a few here and there that were opening gaps.  Eventually winding up on Kyle's wheel.  Until it felt really slow in some sections. So i passed him. And dropped him and rode up to the next group. and through the next group. one of the groups had skinny craig, going backwards because i saw him and then he was gone. Caught up to Jerry too. He was going backwards but then I dragged him around on the fast pedally sections until he felt better and then dropped me on the turny stuff bridging up to the next group. Was a blast racing though. Good stuff.  Pitted again for the UCI women's race, and then hung out moved things around out of meatball into Becca's car (ride home) and got ready to go. But then there were no keys to be found. Lost. Her. Keys. ho boy.... eventually (after i was dark and only the JAMfun/CSI crew were there) they showed up at the registration and we were able to leave.

I got points, MORE verge points, on day two. ME?!!! WHAT? yup. Bumped up my start position by probably NOTHING but still more points is more points and if i manage to have a good start and hold that position maybe i can not blow up and get more points next time.  Granted Al has 420 points and I have a massive 12.  It is seeming to be undeniable, i'm going better this year than i have ever.

I was super tired though on monday, all week last week. oof. exhausted. stressed. everything. super bad emotional day on tuesday on top of everything and then i tried to do the Union Velo training race. Had a good two laps and then... nothing. Couldn't go fast. Couldn't get out of my own way. so i just rolled around, chilled. turned the bike. hung out on the bike...  felt good but was odd to be so dead. Monday was off the bike, tuesday i did ride in and ride home before the training race. then wed on the bike but thursday was off the bike. I did manage to get legit openers in on Friday, wisely or not i book ended the openers with a commute into work and back. But at the start of the opener workout my legs were horrible. By the time we rolled back they felt much better.  Plymouth weekend though. that was last couple days. and will be a separate entry.  Hopefully soon....

heddwch
G

Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

Repeated over and over again.

For everything. Applicable from music to military.

Usually the start of the season finds me helping a few people who need to clean up their technique on the bike.  Kind of has been like that since I needed the help cleaning my shit up.

I was inconsistent for a while. Christine Vardaros helped a pile, Skinny White Dude did too. And watching footage and thinking about it. Probably Cronoman and Solobreak provided some good tips.

But.

I was inconsistent.  Until.

I slowed it down. A lot.

To the point it felt sill, stupid and a waste.

But you know what?

it works.

Specifically talking about the application of getting on and off the bike in cyclocross I am.

I spent a bit of lunch re-reading some old posts, trying to find where I got it from. Maybe Solobreak's steel trap brain hasn't rusted enough and he remembers but I can't find the original source of the 1000s of dismounts/remounts before racing. I want to say it was old Mud and Cowbells or something. I've since given up looking.

Like scales on a violin, you start slowly. Warm up slowly, then as you hit every note perfectly you can start speeding up. But if you speed up before you're ready intonation goes to hell and you're going to fuck up.

Why bother?

hard to say really. mostly because it seems to be just elegant to do it right, and doing it right allows you to not be limited by speed, no top end, just your top end.

it is faster. you save valuable seconds doing it smoothly. if you can get on and off effortlessly and the person you are racing is wasting energy, that might be a place in the race, just because you were smoother.

Or it saves you the embarrassment of landing on your wheel or something. Sure that happens even to the best, an ill timed rock bounce of the back wheel when you're tired at the end of the race can be a disaster even with perfect skills.

Is there real value to it? I think so. I believe there is.

If you want to succeed, or just do your best, Cyclocross gives you the opportunity to focus not just on pedaling fast, but on this whole side of minutia, bike, tires, pressure, shouldering bike, running, barriers, stairs, remounts, turns, sand...  mud...  Not just going as fast as you can pedal.

It is still a bike racing competition and honestly if you've got the legs and the technical nature of the course doesn't totally baffle you, you can fuck up the remounts and everything else and still win. Might not be pretty but, the results still count.

Slow is smooth smooth is fast...

100-200/session. Walking pace, just fast enough that you can sit on the saddle w/o pedaling and not fall over.

This is when having someone help with how you do get on is key. Visual feedback, hand position head, arms, all that.

For me counting 1, 2, 3 then getting on was the key element. CV helped with that tip. Left foot, right foot, left foot, swing knee over and slip forward on saddle keeping moment going forward and then pedaling. not up and down. you're moving forward. Not deflecting energy or wasting it or smashing your leg/thigh/junk on the saddle. Not getting air. just moving foward just high enough to clear the saddle and get on.

Slowly.

Walking pace. On, swing leg over, drop off, 1 2 3 on, pedal, off, on...

slowly.  Let the neurons figure it out, not training muscles, you're training a neural network, teaching the proper firing sequence. Ingraining it. Learning it.

after 200 slowly, speed it up a touch. go faster. not much faster.

get that 200 done...  speed it up a little more...  200...

speed it up even more... 200...

final 200 should feel super smooth and super fast.

As always do these on soft grass, no need to bruise feet trying to dismount and run on hard pack in cycling shoes.

I have had a few extra thoughts about it this year. One after watching Lars VDH at the top of the stairs. He gets on and pauses before beginning to pedal.  not pauses momentum, but he just gets on and coasts, before pedaling.

Would be a great drill to watch or build forward skills after remount. get on and coast, no pedaling. no smashing pedals to cover for poor technique or loss of momentum.

I know pretty much the readership either doesn't give a shit, or already is as smooth or smoother than me getting on and off the bike.

but, this has been sort of brewing in my brain for a month or two. Finally getting it out.
Maybe it was triggered by the #likeavos video:
http://www.cxhairs.com/2013/10/30/likeavos-1-0/

either way it is a sputtering burst of non-cranky writing...

deal with it

heddwch
G

Chain talk time

have you exhausted your bottle of chain lube?

Need some more? Out of Pro Gold samples?

Want something that works as well or better?

Pick up some of that EVerLube. Make a gallon of your own for $10-$15. Then fill all your old bottles you have saved and share and convert your friends to this stuff. Sure it doesn't have some big fancy label or decal or brand name behind it but if an OBRA and NECX racer can agree on a lube then, it has to be good.

Dave Moulton put a post up on Friday about how to lube a chain.

I'm not a huge fan of using the gasoline, but it would work too. Mineral spirits work better for me but then again Gasoline is cheaper and may work even better. Fumes though, ugh. At least the odor-less mineral spirits are really actually almost odor-less compared to gasoline.

I mix my chain/lube in a 1:3 ratio of 0W20 synthetic motor oil to mineral spirits (the nasty kind, not the 'green' kind) following the tried and true and well vetted ErikV recipe.

I also actually use a Park chain cleaner thing (fill the chain cleaner with the lube, recycle in screw top jar after cleaning chain, top up with fresh stuff now and then and let junk settle and create sediment layer on the bottom of the jar). Followed by wiping down followed by fresh clean lube.

Or if after a cyclocross race I will hit the chain with the park chain cleaner full of my chain lube mix, then wash the bike down with water and soap. Chain is then brand new clean and silent.

Once the bike and chain are wiped down and dry I hit it with a good soaking of the lube, and if the next race is going to be a dry one I'll wipe the excess off very thoroughly, if wet and muddy I will just let it dry with the excess and sometimes add a second coating to double up the lube going into mud and stuff.

Big key to the post that caught my eye more than the lube similarity is the quick link removal trick. Many people have a problem removing quick links without the special tool. that's the other beauty of Dave's post.

And also.

GeWilli recommends running a Shimano Chain with a SRAM/KMC whatever quick link that is the right width for the chain. I've been doing it for ever even though I don't remove my chain to clean it.

have fun, get dirty, clean up and stay lubed...

heddwch
G

canton...

Another dry and dusty  race. Just the 12th annual Canton cup. Definitely smaller turnout this year but th pointy end of the field was strong in most of the races. At least in mine. 

I totally blew the start. Rolled the dice on which side and rolled wrong, then let caution tap my brakes in self preservation rather than push it. And wound up in pretty close to last, 35th-40th maybe. not many behind me at the turn into the field.

But it was a pass fest after that.  Pickingoff big groups on the first two laps, then one at a time. 

Finally had a solid sprint to take 10th place. 

Legs were great the whole time, felt like puking at the end.
It was good. But holy crap was it dusty. billows of dust in the mown grass path. the run up was a disaster. Rain. 

We haven't had much, nice for bike commuting but not so much for the soil and the cyclocross conditions.

Anyway. Next weekend is the big daddy of the CX races. I call it NoHo, some call it CSI... official title is long:
23rd Annual Cycle-Smart International /Shimano New England Professional Cyclocross Series Rounds 5 and 6/ Verge Series Round 7 and 8 

if you can at all make it, as a spectator or a competitor this is the race to go to. Sausage tent, Beer, kick ass course, great venue, solid intense racing. F'n legendary.

I will be there.  Hopefully with the rest of the ENGVT team.

is there a quintessential CX short video?

I asked the twitters, maybe the blogosphere friends have more links to add?

The thought behind the question was if you could pick just one video to show to someone so they would understand the sport, what would it be.

the verbatim question:
If you could only pick one short video to explain CX what would it be?
what came up?
so... there was the big pile of funny snarky smart ass comments and the completely unhelpful ones.

But mixed in with comments were a pile of great links.

Before that though, this often is my choice. Wish I had gotten my hands on a copy of this DVD:

And there are of course the gold mine of resources that Henry has curated and filmed, but linkage over to the left is kind not right it seems but most of his stuff is over on his youtube account: http://www.youtube.com/user/henryj49

now on to the results of the informal poll

Too nice of a day

Thought about driving. I'm taking about some of my art this afternoon so I have three prints in the box. Zipp 303 spokes came in to the shop yesterday. Gotta get that squared away.

It is just too nice if a day to sit in the car.

Check the SVENNESS 2.3

Over here: http://www.cxhairs.com/2013/10/18/svenness-2-3/ awesome breakdown and analysis

Tips and stuff for everyone who is a student of CX racing.

here's the embedded bit though.

#SVENNESS 2.3 from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

quick food comment

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22810464

it isn't that new, but the data sort of supports a very loooooooong held position of mine.

NO SKIM/FAT FREE DAIRY PRODUCTS. It is just so not smart. Agree or not, science seems to
The publication certainly may not be totally conclusive but it makes sense, a lot of sense.

I'm not saying dairy should ever be a big part of your diet, or even a part of the diet, but when/if you choose a dairy product, go with one that is not a reduced fat/fat free option. it will make a difference.

Eur J Nutr. 2013 Feb;52(1):1-24. doi: 10.1007/s00394-012-0418-1. Epub 2012 Jul 19.

The relationship between high-fat dairy consumption and obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease.

Kratz M, Baars T, Guyenet S.

Source

Division of Public Health Sciences, Cancer Prevention Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue N, Mail Stop M4-B402, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA. mkratz@fhcrc.org

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To comprehensively review the data on the relationship between the consumption of dairy fat and high-fat dairy foods, obesity, and cardiometabolic disease.

METHODS:

We have conducted a systematic literature review of observational studies on the relationship between dairy fat and high-fat dairy foods, obesity, and cardiometabolic disease. We have integrated these findings with data from controlled studies showing effects of several minor dairy fatty acids on adiposity and cardiometabolic risk factors, and data on how bovine feeding practices influence the composition of dairy fat.

RESULTS:

In 11 of 16 studies, high-fat dairy intake was inversely associated with measures of adiposity. Studies examining the relationship between high-fat dairy consumption and metabolic health reported either an inverse or no association. Studies investigating the connection between high-fat dairy intake and diabetes or cardiovascular disease incidence were inconsistent. We discuss factors that may have contributed to the variability between studies, including differences in (1) the potential for residual confounding; (2) the types of high-fat dairy foods consumed; and (3) bovine feeding practices (pasture- vs. grain-based) known to influence the composition of dairy fat.

CONCLUSIONS:

The observational evidence does not support the hypothesis that dairy fat or high-fat dairy foods contribute to obesity or cardiometabolic risk, and suggests that high-fat dairy consumption within typical dietary patterns is inversely associated with obesity risk. Although not conclusive, these findings may provide a rationale for future research into the bioactive properties of dairy fat and the impact of bovine feeding practices on the health effects of dairy fat.

PMID:

 

22810464

 

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 

PMCID:

 

PMC3597284

 

getting way behind

And so little time to catch back up. Or not.

This coming weekend is an off weekend. Have no plans to get in the car and drive a while to race. Need a break from the car or just time to get out for a long road ride and make the muscles do something more than intensity for 40-50 minutes.

We'll see what the weather does, but anyway. Providence Race weekend.

And yes. Totally don't get how it is the Providence Cyclocross Festival Cyclocross (#PCFCX) seems redudant but it sort of goes with the weekend. So awesome in some many ways, and so many routine details we take for granted or that seem obvious completely overlooked.

BEFORE I START THE RANT:
Bottom line. I love this race. I love the course, I have a great and deep appreciation for all that everyone involved in the event did. I just hope at least some of these 'issues' are addressed next year and years to come.

A departure from CX

Around the internet some stuff gets seen by everyone...

some stuff we stumble upon...

this i found as the most recent post at http://cabinporn.com/

rare is the gem that draws out the emotions...
(click through and view full screen in HD - this short film doesn't suck)

JACK from Grace Jackson on Vimeo.

but this did for me...

I've always battled internally between the desire for social interaction with the comfort of silence and being alone away from everything. The reading of my youth is probably responsible for most of that, Edward Abbey, Farley Mowat, Tom Brown's the Tracker...  there are piles of others.

But in many ways my passion for cycling, and racing bikes is not compatible with the desire to have an off the grid tiny cabin alone in isolation...  and I suppose that is where Jack's story resonates even deeper with me, in that it was a retreat for him until it was just him. at a point where with drawing makes sense.

My deep connection to the outdoors, to the tall trees of the Pacific Northwest, drew me into my professional field, and remains a part of me that sometimes gets lost in the challenges of life. I suppose in a way you can say Cyclocross is me embodied. A bit of pavement, some urban aspects, mixed with dirt and you're out there ultimately alone trying to do your personal best. It might be a stretch i suppose.

The surprising element was realizing that "Jack" is Jack English the bow maker.
http://bobtowery.typepad.com/bob_towery/2010/05/new-series-the-legend-of-jack-english-day-one.html
http://www.independent.com/news/2013/jan/30/jack/

I've run across his story a few times over the years with the connection in the music world. My bow is well suited to me. Basically a Viola bow. Thick and heavy, too much of both in the opinion of my sister the professional violinist. But combined with my deeply resonating violin and my slower 1st position play when i can/asked style, it works. I would never get enough use out of a bow Jack made to make it worth seeking one out, but the emotional connection makes the short film and the stories about this remarkable individual even more touching.

Honest truth, I had tears in my eyes at the end of this short film.

Thoughts... a sermon maybe

Riding home in the pouring rain on Friday...  a speech, really a sermon, started to form in my head.

Chipstick had made a few suggestions about how to honor Amy D at the Singlespeed race...  saying a few words was maybe something brought up.

(note: i made a revision to the 'sermon', and I make keep tweaking it a bit as things pop in my head that I meant to put in there originally)

couple links... some comments

This guy. Love him.
gets it...
http://www.fatmarc.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-gift.html

And what I think is probably one of the best books with advice about training, and getting fast... even if i haven't really applied everything there to trying to get fast, it is a great read:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Obree-Way-Graeme/dp/1408196425/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Back on the shelf i guess. Been a while since I've read it. Maybe time to re-read.

This through the twitters a bit too...  somewhere...  I dunno
http://www.ironguides.net/triathlon-on-a-low-carb-high-fat-diet/
I'm pretty sure it is impossible to race CX on a restricted LCHF diet. Might be fine if you just race once per weekend and maybe train at CX level stuff once mid-week. But back to back there just isn't enough time to replace all the lost glycogen.  Obviously having a killer fat burning motor is key to success and body shape and power to weight. But like sprinting, CX is short, high intensity the whole time. This isn't a Triathlon where you can rely on steady state aerobic fat burning for a big part of the event. This is Cyclocross.  You don't race that day, all day even, and then the next day for a Tri. You can't. But CX?

training for CX...  i've hashed out so many theories and ideas of the years, trying this, that, getting amazing advice, ignoring it, following it, tweaking it.

I have something that sort of works. when I do it. But racing three days in a row, after racing two in a row the week before, with a not light pedaling week in between there was room for one very specific work out last week.

one.  in addition to the commute.

hill sprints... in shoes. running shoes. no bike.

Not a long run. Nope. Sprints done just after the bike commute so everything is warm and loose.  Jog up and over the couple hundred yards to the spot. three sets. easy, medium, hard. 17-18 sec first one, 14-16 second 11-13 third. same distance. walk back down after each.

Was going to do them this morning. Ran out of time. Life. it gets in the way. Kind of sad looking at the next pile of weeks. Racing on Saturday, then nothing sunday, and nothing the following weekend. But I think that is going to be good. I'm exhausted after this last batch of stuff. Going FLAT FUCKING OUT since quad cross.

And now my two rear race wheels are fucked. busted spoke, blown sidewall. need to make something work for Saturday then address getting everything ready for maybe Canton I guess.

On the plus side maybe w/o the weekend stuff I can focus on some solid training blocks. Maybe even head up for a Tuesday night training race somewhere.

Also. a good pile of CX races and I feel human again. Happy almost. Very strange.

heddwch
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