A few photos https://goo.gl/photos/1QdswdiV1E1Aj8LF6 from the ride.
June 11 is the day we lost him. Two days before that he rode smackdown with us. I've written about that smackdown ride.
It was as informal as last year, but a bit different. Scotty B was in town from way out in the boonies of Canada, Sandy drove the two of them down from Boston for the ride. And lots of the team showed up. 9 Prov Velo kitted up people. 5 others. Not a HUGE ride but big enough.
Jessica took the team photo for me, and we rolled out, Costa showed up Scott G, PKS, and there was David B's friend. The ride started out on the usual smackdown. Headed to the first sprint point and then veering off towards Burlingame, down Burlingame. This was a no-drop ride. A social, but spirited ride. A few of those who were pushing it a bit or just going faster than the others had to wait a bit but it was pretty awesome.
It is a huge reason why riding is so fun. A group ride, where you can just go out and talk, and relax, and share in your passion, and have fun. Brent and I shared stories and memories of MLFN a bit as we were riding. He planned the route. He's good at it, knows the roads and loves the maps check out Brentacol if you need proof.
Costa mentioned that the original MLFN smackdown route is the first ride he ever did when get got into cycling. He found that route that Mark had laid out and started riding on it.
It was pretty f'n emotional for me honestly. But in a good way. Heck I'm crazy emotional too much of the time anyway. too many feels bottled up. Life's strange, and wonderful. I know I was impacted by just being close to finishing reading the final book in the Hyperion series. I was reading until 12:30am and I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, then woke up and made coffee and read. And had 40 min left in the book (kindle must have some way of guessing how fast one reads, page turns i guess - it is accurate) But I also had 45 min to get to the start of the ride. I was going to have to wait to finish the book when I got back home. Ugh. But also it was at the part of the book where things were blossoming into awesomeness. So it was good stuff that I was getting to. It wasn't the easiest read at times but it was also extemely compelling and well crafted, tragic but fullfilling. And it tied in very much to Mark's love of life, and general loving gentle spirit.
The ride was over almost too soon. Suddenly we were on the blackstone bike path, talking and rolling along, and then... the destination that Andrew and Brent were looking forward to. Hartley's Pork Pies. I didnot partake, but most everyone else did. We lingered there a bit while people ate the pork, beef or chicken pies, dripping sauce and grease through their fingers onto the sidewalk, and everyone seemed to enjoy them.
Initially I'd had hopes of gathering after for coffee somewhere, sitting down and talking, just hanging out. But that wasn't meant to be. I was asked to work at the shop for the Hope Street fair and more or less needed to ride up there, and others sort of split off and around. Brent and a few rolled off first. The rest of us left Hartleys a minute or two later, and Kirk Fox and I were joined by Jessica as we headed to the east side. Jessica peeled off down Main and the three of us headed up to 4th and Hope.
We had a few beers at the shop after wrapping up the day. Lots of laughs, good times. I rolled home, the rest of the gang headed to the Ivy to try and watch that horse race thing.
I made it home, finished the book, had one more beer, and suddenly was really really tired. But good tired, full filled and full of love and hope and warmth. Writing now, knowing I have to head back to the shop to work some more (there's work to do, and bills to pay), and then grab food on the way home to cook dinner, going to drag the trailer. Have to check see if I have any brake pads I can slip in the front on the black blue. Pad holder on Rim... aluminum on aluminum, not good for either, also loud.
One more coffee perhaps, maybe some food... then I join the hoards on the bike path and make my way slowly and patiently along into the big city.
-g
Sunday, June 07, 2015
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
big crazy ride idea for 2015
Big rides - talk floating around off line got me thinking.
I've been grumbling about needing one, and well... shit why do something simple?
Looks like I might get something in this weekend on Saturday, the MLFN memorial ride. A lower key than smackdown team ride in rememberance/memory of Mark Nicholson. Everyone is welcome to join, meet at DePasquale Square at 9am for ~40 miles of spirited conversational paced social kind of ride.
Tonight is smackdown and those two events along will make this one of the biggest weeks in a long time.
Perfect timing after no sleep last night. But hey timing is never really all that favorable for me is it. Nah. But sometimes I get lucky...
Planning big stupid ride.
Got route sort of figured out even. Simple one. Not original, I'm sure someone else has probably done it before.
Basically hit the Northeast corner of RI, then the Northwest, then the Southwest and then head home via Narragansett. Roughtly 175 miles. All in RI. It isn't a 200 in RI but heck would be easy enough to just keep going south for 12.5 miles after getting to my house and maybe even ride across Mt Hope bridge just to put feet down on Aquidneck Island and hit the 200 in RI. But I'm not Ted King or TimmyJ or RTK. From my house to through College Hill then Diamond Hill to Buck Hill to Watch Hill back to College Hill and home...
All the hills. "Four Hills of Rhode Island Ride." https://goo.gl/maps/rVz4U
Maybe have to call it the " Four Hills of the Apocolypse "
There ya go - strava name already.
Typical GeWilli ride = unsupported, ride from home, loop, stupid long. And I'll probably be the bonkiest/slowest of the participants.
Fisher Sci annual vendor cook out was today, I may have had one too many burgers. Hoping the food converts to fuel tonight.
Focusing on work and the big ride have helped brighten the day a bit. But only a little.
Hoping for the legs to show up tonight.
We'll see...
not feeling super wordy at the moment...
heddwch
G
I've been grumbling about needing one, and well... shit why do something simple?
Looks like I might get something in this weekend on Saturday, the MLFN memorial ride. A lower key than smackdown team ride in rememberance/memory of Mark Nicholson. Everyone is welcome to join, meet at DePasquale Square at 9am for ~40 miles of spirited conversational paced social kind of ride.
Tonight is smackdown and those two events along will make this one of the biggest weeks in a long time.
Perfect timing after no sleep last night. But hey timing is never really all that favorable for me is it. Nah. But sometimes I get lucky...
Planning big stupid ride.
Got route sort of figured out even. Simple one. Not original, I'm sure someone else has probably done it before.
Basically hit the Northeast corner of RI, then the Northwest, then the Southwest and then head home via Narragansett. Roughtly 175 miles. All in RI. It isn't a 200 in RI but heck would be easy enough to just keep going south for 12.5 miles after getting to my house and maybe even ride across Mt Hope bridge just to put feet down on Aquidneck Island and hit the 200 in RI. But I'm not Ted King or TimmyJ or RTK. From my house to through College Hill then Diamond Hill to Buck Hill to Watch Hill back to College Hill and home...
All the hills. "Four Hills of Rhode Island Ride." https://goo.gl/maps/rVz4U
Maybe have to call it the " Four Hills of the Apocolypse "
There ya go - strava name already.
Typical GeWilli ride = unsupported, ride from home, loop, stupid long. And I'll probably be the bonkiest/slowest of the participants.
Fisher Sci annual vendor cook out was today, I may have had one too many burgers. Hoping the food converts to fuel tonight.
Focusing on work and the big ride have helped brighten the day a bit. But only a little.
Hoping for the legs to show up tonight.
We'll see...
not feeling super wordy at the moment...
heddwch
G
Thursday, May 28, 2015
RdR2015 closing the book, final installment
Can't focus on anything else today, so instead of eating all the food I wish I had brought for lunch i'm going to try writing to avoid thinking about being hungry with lots of amazing restaurants w/in one block that might as well be miles away for as much good as they are doing for me here.
Too long maybe to capture all the details from the end of the last installment...
I took a break in the story just after we stopped for secret bootleg beers. Dave was in bonky town already and we were all cruising down the trail. Davey wasn't going super fast but I was okay with just hanging out on his wheel, with Alex on my heels. Part of the team was together and we'd catch up again sometime soon. There was a good conga line that we were able to follow w/o much trouble even as the leading edge of the group got away from us.
It got a bit fuzzy from that point. Mostly because of the kind of sectional nature of the ride. Single track here linked with roads there. Groups together, splitting up, reforming.
Over-riding feeling though was one of total awesomeness. A perfect day on the bike.
Eventually we wound up alone, then with a huge group climbing the crazy long hill, where the team waited for DB to get to the top. And at that point we were chilling and cruizing on our own again.
At some point delivered Nutter Butters that had ejected from Roger's jersey pocket back to him. Had to stop and pee, they guys didn't wait but Dr Roy's team was there and changing a flat so I managed to unload the bladder in the trail without exposing myself to anyone and join them as they rolled out. And then they rolled off and the PVD Orange crush crew were waiting for me, we paused and then kept going. Dropping out of one of the last techy single track sections I was taking up the rear, it was a bumpy rough slight down hill and I was just rolling it easy, meaning slower than everyone else I guess, and I emerged from the woods to see Dave mentioning he flatted the same rear tube again.
So I 'grammed it while they changed it. Keeping Solo's advice in mind "don't change anyone elses flat tires." Dave never admitted how he flatted but given where we were I'm guessing he cased the granite curb. A team or two rolled through as the second tube was going in the rear tubeless wheel.
And we started rolling back.
Dave was pretty well cracked. he'd get gapped and dropped anytime the road went up or the pace picked up much.
So I started pushing. Syl gave him a few pushes. It was a dicey proposition because after each push my legs felt like they were going to explode, but w/in a few minutes I was ready to push again. And again.
We spent a good bit of time working together all of us. And the navigators had their shit down by now and the roads were familiar and weather was good and we knew we were close.
Spirits were good. DB was pretty cracked but we were rolling back together. Everyone pretty stoked it felt like.
Got back and asked Michelle to grab a group shot before we all changed and headed in. We loaded up bikes, changed, or in my case took off my helmet and put on the orange jumpsuit, and headed over to the tavern.
It was packed and crowded. The PVD crew got a table in the far corner, but somehow i never made it over there. I grabbed a couple beers from the bartender, not knowing how soon I'd be able to get back and get another one, two beers in hand and Curtis looked at me and I felt bad but also decided to be uncharacteristically selfish and keep them. He had a beer in his hand w/in a few minutes, don't feel too bad for him. I had my beers and Dr. Roy invited me to have a seat at his table there by the door.
Posted a gram or two from that seat, finished the beers... talked, laughed, held the cutest baby in the world... it was amazing, just this small tavern full of super stoked happy people who had just shared one of the coolest rides together. Rosey came around selling raffle tickets, I had $17 cash in my wallet, he took all but $2 and gave me three raffle tickets. I guess I am having liquid sandwiches instead of a post ride burger. Wound up leaving the $2 as tip, yeah cheap bastard of a tip for the over worked bartenders, but it was all I had and hopefully will have a chance to make amends down the road. I had a couple more beers to replace used calories. The raffle was underway, I wound up getting a pair of socks and a Rapha cap. stage 3 i think, the blue one? But I managed a sweet trade for stage 2's orange one. The Folsom stage. Perfect match with my orange jumpsuit, no?
So yeah, a few pints of Dales in me warmed the fire a bit but didn't really push the edge at all, never felt anything but a mild pleasant buzz.
Eventually people started filtering out, heading home, saying good bye. The Bikes not bombs girls were really enthusiastically trying to get me to think about coming up for their ride, I didn't say no, but I didn't say yes. Syl was ready, his wife had had enough hanging around with a bunch of weird cyclists and it was time to go. The PVD crew all headed out, Sandy climbed into DB's car to get a short ride home, and Syl and I got driven home. Lots of stories on the way home, odd coincidences, small world collapsing kind of thing.
We stopped at The Point. A bar Syl was hoping maybe would sponsor the team, but didn't work out. No money me owes Syl for that beer, and elephant brain me won't let me forget, don't worry. I was getting pretty tired at this point. Not quite loopy but close. More or less got home, took a shower and climbed into bed. I think I was asleep at 7-8pm. The exhaustion from the week before, and the early morning and long day in the saddle draining everything and the added impact of a beer or three... out like a light.
It was a great day. One of the best days on the bike. The whole day. So much stress and struggle leading up to it, so much insanity following it.
A brief awesome moment.
Can't thank my team mates enough for joining me on this adventure. Rosey for making it all happen, Camelstache for the bootleg beer, Chip for the keg of Dales at the Tavern, Finnegan for hosting us, and his staff for putting up with us. And everyone else.
-diwedd-
heddwch
G
Too long maybe to capture all the details from the end of the last installment...
I took a break in the story just after we stopped for secret bootleg beers. Dave was in bonky town already and we were all cruising down the trail. Davey wasn't going super fast but I was okay with just hanging out on his wheel, with Alex on my heels. Part of the team was together and we'd catch up again sometime soon. There was a good conga line that we were able to follow w/o much trouble even as the leading edge of the group got away from us.
It got a bit fuzzy from that point. Mostly because of the kind of sectional nature of the ride. Single track here linked with roads there. Groups together, splitting up, reforming.
Over-riding feeling though was one of total awesomeness. A perfect day on the bike.
Eventually we wound up alone, then with a huge group climbing the crazy long hill, where the team waited for DB to get to the top. And at that point we were chilling and cruizing on our own again.
At some point delivered Nutter Butters that had ejected from Roger's jersey pocket back to him. Had to stop and pee, they guys didn't wait but Dr Roy's team was there and changing a flat so I managed to unload the bladder in the trail without exposing myself to anyone and join them as they rolled out. And then they rolled off and the PVD Orange crush crew were waiting for me, we paused and then kept going. Dropping out of one of the last techy single track sections I was taking up the rear, it was a bumpy rough slight down hill and I was just rolling it easy, meaning slower than everyone else I guess, and I emerged from the woods to see Dave mentioning he flatted the same rear tube again.
So I 'grammed it while they changed it. Keeping Solo's advice in mind "don't change anyone elses flat tires." Dave never admitted how he flatted but given where we were I'm guessing he cased the granite curb. A team or two rolled through as the second tube was going in the rear tubeless wheel.
And we started rolling back.
Dave was pretty well cracked. he'd get gapped and dropped anytime the road went up or the pace picked up much.
So I started pushing. Syl gave him a few pushes. It was a dicey proposition because after each push my legs felt like they were going to explode, but w/in a few minutes I was ready to push again. And again.
We spent a good bit of time working together all of us. And the navigators had their shit down by now and the roads were familiar and weather was good and we knew we were close.
Spirits were good. DB was pretty cracked but we were rolling back together. Everyone pretty stoked it felt like.
Got back and asked Michelle to grab a group shot before we all changed and headed in. We loaded up bikes, changed, or in my case took off my helmet and put on the orange jumpsuit, and headed over to the tavern.
It was packed and crowded. The PVD crew got a table in the far corner, but somehow i never made it over there. I grabbed a couple beers from the bartender, not knowing how soon I'd be able to get back and get another one, two beers in hand and Curtis looked at me and I felt bad but also decided to be uncharacteristically selfish and keep them. He had a beer in his hand w/in a few minutes, don't feel too bad for him. I had my beers and Dr. Roy invited me to have a seat at his table there by the door.
Posted a gram or two from that seat, finished the beers... talked, laughed, held the cutest baby in the world... it was amazing, just this small tavern full of super stoked happy people who had just shared one of the coolest rides together. Rosey came around selling raffle tickets, I had $17 cash in my wallet, he took all but $2 and gave me three raffle tickets. I guess I am having liquid sandwiches instead of a post ride burger. Wound up leaving the $2 as tip, yeah cheap bastard of a tip for the over worked bartenders, but it was all I had and hopefully will have a chance to make amends down the road. I had a couple more beers to replace used calories. The raffle was underway, I wound up getting a pair of socks and a Rapha cap. stage 3 i think, the blue one? But I managed a sweet trade for stage 2's orange one. The Folsom stage. Perfect match with my orange jumpsuit, no?
So yeah, a few pints of Dales in me warmed the fire a bit but didn't really push the edge at all, never felt anything but a mild pleasant buzz.
Eventually people started filtering out, heading home, saying good bye. The Bikes not bombs girls were really enthusiastically trying to get me to think about coming up for their ride, I didn't say no, but I didn't say yes. Syl was ready, his wife had had enough hanging around with a bunch of weird cyclists and it was time to go. The PVD crew all headed out, Sandy climbed into DB's car to get a short ride home, and Syl and I got driven home. Lots of stories on the way home, odd coincidences, small world collapsing kind of thing.
We stopped at The Point. A bar Syl was hoping maybe would sponsor the team, but didn't work out. No money me owes Syl for that beer, and elephant brain me won't let me forget, don't worry. I was getting pretty tired at this point. Not quite loopy but close. More or less got home, took a shower and climbed into bed. I think I was asleep at 7-8pm. The exhaustion from the week before, and the early morning and long day in the saddle draining everything and the added impact of a beer or three... out like a light.
It was a great day. One of the best days on the bike. The whole day. So much stress and struggle leading up to it, so much insanity following it.
A brief awesome moment.
Can't thank my team mates enough for joining me on this adventure. Rosey for making it all happen, Camelstache for the bootleg beer, Chip for the keg of Dales at the Tavern, Finnegan for hosting us, and his staff for putting up with us. And everyone else.
-diwedd-
heddwch
G
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
smackdown after memorial day here in 2015
life goes on...
one must not focus on the details but more the big picture
but ignoring the details blurs the big picture, you lose perspective anomylies creap in, distortions occur..
impossible, nearly, to keep focus on big picture and the details...
few can
one must not focus on the details but more the big picture
but ignoring the details blurs the big picture, you lose perspective anomylies creap in, distortions occur..
impossible, nearly, to keep focus on big picture and the details...
few can
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Roasted Cauliflower, with mushroom sauce
Maybe the name is misleading, maybe not.
So first, lets set the stage for the cauliflower.
Take a head or two, chop it up (yes even the stem) into smallish (bite size) bits. Spread on a sheet pan. Douse with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss evenly.
Put in convection oven for 375-400F untill golden and carmelized. AKA cooked to perfection. This is pretty critical but on the plus side overcooking is far more desireable than undercooking. Undercooked and it is mushy, overcooked and it is brilliantly complex, loaded with umami. Downside of overcooking is reducing volume. But always, err on the side of overcooking.
Also keep in mind it can be held for a while once cooked w/o suffering in texture flavor of awesomeness.
Now here's the conceptual side/change.
Use the roasted Cauliflower (I used Purple today becuase, WF has purple, orange and white all at the same price and why the fuck NOT go with some cool fancy color?) Now use the roasted cauliflower in place of pasta.
Wut? Yup. You know you eat too many grain based foods. You know that shit is wikked bad for you. It is tolerable but finding things to replace it aren't so bad. No?
Okay, that clear Cauliflower is roasted and amazing and there isn't a millimeter size florette left at the moment after tonights dinner.
To be honest, I just checked, there are a few mm size florettes. That is it though. I think I'll probably be licking the sheet pan clean tonight.
Now on to the Mushroom Sauce.
Now how to say, is it a mushroom sauce, or is it a tomato based sauce with mushrooms?
Here's the break down, there were 4 portabello mushroom caps in there and 4 babby bellas (yeah I know they are just tiny portabello mushrooms but they needed to be used and well got added... so?) in the sauce.
The sauce, it is elaborate, complex and something I've been working on for close to 30 years. No Joke.
Think "Big Night" (1996) level history on the sauce.
This isn't a vegan sauce (although could be made just as awesome in vegan mode but I didn't), and this sauce isn't creamy or only mushrooms. It isn't your grandmother's/mother's can of cream of mushroom soup sauce. This is legit all alone. Sort of.
The foundations of Italian cooking are well documented. Watch some of the PBS chefs, read a few books, and practice and you'll figure it out.
Combine it with the Japanese awareness of Umami and you'll figure it out. Honestly that Umami this is the king pin, the ultimate tie that binds the best food together. If you lose the umami you lose the audience.
Umami rules all. Once you realize you've been hanging with the asshole sugar and the fake bullshit varnished but unsubstantial facade and discover Umami, your mind will be blown.
But hey. Don't mess with Professor Noakes, that guy is smart and knows his shit and is, yes, likely to agree with me.
TO THE SAUCE.
I'm not going to go through the depatures on how to make this vegan, although, my brother and pretty much any other vegans who cook brilliantly can figure it out and be considerate enough to understand my process and recognize the sequence required to make it vegan. Now that said: I'd be happy to have vegan house guests to cook this for, I am 100% confident I can make this as delicious for anyone. How's that for attitude and confidence? I have little confidence outside of the kitchen, please be nice, I'm a big guy but pretty fragile emotionally. Just as GEmoWilli.
0.75# of grass fed ground beef into a stockpot. cook until mostly brown.
Add some Fennel seed (whole) 1 tsp to 1 tblsp
cook and stirr
add a splash of extra virgin olive oil
add one diced onion
add one diced red pepper
sitrr and sautee and cook until onions are clear and peppers are soft and fragrent.
Add 1tsp-1tblsp of balsalmic vinegar and cook and stirr until evaporated
Now chop the mushrooms, in this case 4 portabello caps and 4 baby bella mushrooms.
Put them in the pot. Stirr.
Add a splash or two more of balsalmic vinegar.
Stirr.
Add 1 cup of red wine (cheap or not cheap, up to your budget, i used cheap)
Stirr and mix. Let it cook and simmer at med/med-low heat. Not blazing hot but not tepid temps.
Add some dried oregano and dried basil now. Mix.
Should be soupy a bit.
Now. Add two 28oz cans of organic crushed tomatoes. Yes, two. I could have gone with one but hey, this sauce is something you're going to want to eat with a spoon.
Mix that up, now add 6 cloves of garlic (with a Zyliss press), and then another cup of the red wine.
And some salt. Lots of salt. And fresh black pepper, and maybe a bit more oregano and basil.
Mix.
And let simmer at low heat.
and mix...
and simmer...
and mix...
and taste.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
And keep simmering until your patience wears out. Beacuse perfection in the kitchen can't be rushed. You must pay attention to every fucking detail. And consider all the vairables.
Cooking is in the details. The timing, the feel, the flavors, the smells, the process.
The end result is a rich smooth delicious mushroom heavy red tomato sauce served over the most savory and amazing veggie.
if I had a restaurant, this would be a signature dish. And I would have three sauces, no not four. One vegan, one mushroom free with meat and one like I made tonight. All served over the same thing.
I think for visuals maybe using a mix of purple, orange and white cauliflower would be pretty outsanding but in all honestly, it gets completely drowned in this sauce to the point that it could all be just boring white cauliflower. That said, it doesn't start off that way and the purple stuff roasts brilliantly.
So that's about it.
I'm probably accidentally omitting all the secrets of absolute timing i've taken for granted by constantly overthinking and perfecting the process these last 30+ years. And yes. First thing I started cooking was peanut butter cookies. Second thing? Tomato based sauce.
There's significantly more flexibility/forgiveness in tomato sauce than peanut butter cookies fwiw.
Dinner was delicious, K and I enjoyed it. Maybe this helps you to recreate it. Of couse and as always, please ask questions if something seems unclear, that's my gift, I can explain everything down to the minutia, and often glance over some details that seem insignificant to me but prove to be otherwise to others.
take this recipe with blessing and all my love.
That's why I cook. I pour my soul into the process to nurture those who eat my food. not quite "like water for chocolate" (1992 film) level, but can anything in real live be that passionate? We can only strive to provide as best we can for those we love.
This process is just an example, documentation of it...
heddwch
G
So first, lets set the stage for the cauliflower.
Take a head or two, chop it up (yes even the stem) into smallish (bite size) bits. Spread on a sheet pan. Douse with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss evenly.
Put in convection oven for 375-400F untill golden and carmelized. AKA cooked to perfection. This is pretty critical but on the plus side overcooking is far more desireable than undercooking. Undercooked and it is mushy, overcooked and it is brilliantly complex, loaded with umami. Downside of overcooking is reducing volume. But always, err on the side of overcooking.
Also keep in mind it can be held for a while once cooked w/o suffering in texture flavor of awesomeness.
Now here's the conceptual side/change.
Use the roasted Cauliflower (I used Purple today becuase, WF has purple, orange and white all at the same price and why the fuck NOT go with some cool fancy color?) Now use the roasted cauliflower in place of pasta.
Wut? Yup. You know you eat too many grain based foods. You know that shit is wikked bad for you. It is tolerable but finding things to replace it aren't so bad. No?
Okay, that clear Cauliflower is roasted and amazing and there isn't a millimeter size florette left at the moment after tonights dinner.
To be honest, I just checked, there are a few mm size florettes. That is it though. I think I'll probably be licking the sheet pan clean tonight.
Now on to the Mushroom Sauce.
Now how to say, is it a mushroom sauce, or is it a tomato based sauce with mushrooms?
Here's the break down, there were 4 portabello mushroom caps in there and 4 babby bellas (yeah I know they are just tiny portabello mushrooms but they needed to be used and well got added... so?) in the sauce.
The sauce, it is elaborate, complex and something I've been working on for close to 30 years. No Joke.
Think "Big Night" (1996) level history on the sauce.
This isn't a vegan sauce (although could be made just as awesome in vegan mode but I didn't), and this sauce isn't creamy or only mushrooms. It isn't your grandmother's/mother's can of cream of mushroom soup sauce. This is legit all alone. Sort of.
The foundations of Italian cooking are well documented. Watch some of the PBS chefs, read a few books, and practice and you'll figure it out.
Combine it with the Japanese awareness of Umami and you'll figure it out. Honestly that Umami this is the king pin, the ultimate tie that binds the best food together. If you lose the umami you lose the audience.
Umami rules all. Once you realize you've been hanging with the asshole sugar and the fake bullshit varnished but unsubstantial facade and discover Umami, your mind will be blown.
But hey. Don't mess with Professor Noakes, that guy is smart and knows his shit and is, yes, likely to agree with me.
TO THE SAUCE.
I'm not going to go through the depatures on how to make this vegan, although, my brother and pretty much any other vegans who cook brilliantly can figure it out and be considerate enough to understand my process and recognize the sequence required to make it vegan. Now that said: I'd be happy to have vegan house guests to cook this for, I am 100% confident I can make this as delicious for anyone. How's that for attitude and confidence? I have little confidence outside of the kitchen, please be nice, I'm a big guy but pretty fragile emotionally. Just as GEmoWilli.
0.75# of grass fed ground beef into a stockpot. cook until mostly brown.
Add some Fennel seed (whole) 1 tsp to 1 tblsp
cook and stirr
add a splash of extra virgin olive oil
add one diced onion
add one diced red pepper
sitrr and sautee and cook until onions are clear and peppers are soft and fragrent.
Add 1tsp-1tblsp of balsalmic vinegar and cook and stirr until evaporated
Now chop the mushrooms, in this case 4 portabello caps and 4 baby bella mushrooms.
Put them in the pot. Stirr.
Add a splash or two more of balsalmic vinegar.
Stirr.
Add 1 cup of red wine (cheap or not cheap, up to your budget, i used cheap)
Stirr and mix. Let it cook and simmer at med/med-low heat. Not blazing hot but not tepid temps.
Add some dried oregano and dried basil now. Mix.
Should be soupy a bit.
Now. Add two 28oz cans of organic crushed tomatoes. Yes, two. I could have gone with one but hey, this sauce is something you're going to want to eat with a spoon.
Mix that up, now add 6 cloves of garlic (with a Zyliss press), and then another cup of the red wine.
And some salt. Lots of salt. And fresh black pepper, and maybe a bit more oregano and basil.
Mix.
And let simmer at low heat.
and mix...
and simmer...
and mix...
and taste.
Adjust seasoning if needed.
And keep simmering until your patience wears out. Beacuse perfection in the kitchen can't be rushed. You must pay attention to every fucking detail. And consider all the vairables.
Cooking is in the details. The timing, the feel, the flavors, the smells, the process.
The end result is a rich smooth delicious mushroom heavy red tomato sauce served over the most savory and amazing veggie.
if I had a restaurant, this would be a signature dish. And I would have three sauces, no not four. One vegan, one mushroom free with meat and one like I made tonight. All served over the same thing.
I think for visuals maybe using a mix of purple, orange and white cauliflower would be pretty outsanding but in all honestly, it gets completely drowned in this sauce to the point that it could all be just boring white cauliflower. That said, it doesn't start off that way and the purple stuff roasts brilliantly.
So that's about it.
I'm probably accidentally omitting all the secrets of absolute timing i've taken for granted by constantly overthinking and perfecting the process these last 30+ years. And yes. First thing I started cooking was peanut butter cookies. Second thing? Tomato based sauce.
There's significantly more flexibility/forgiveness in tomato sauce than peanut butter cookies fwiw.
Dinner was delicious, K and I enjoyed it. Maybe this helps you to recreate it. Of couse and as always, please ask questions if something seems unclear, that's my gift, I can explain everything down to the minutia, and often glance over some details that seem insignificant to me but prove to be otherwise to others.
take this recipe with blessing and all my love.
That's why I cook. I pour my soul into the process to nurture those who eat my food. not quite "like water for chocolate" (1992 film) level, but can anything in real live be that passionate? We can only strive to provide as best we can for those we love.
This process is just an example, documentation of it...
heddwch
G
Friday, May 15, 2015
frustrating
stuff i've figured out... but no one cares or listens
Now if you aren't Insulin resistant or a Type 2 diabetic or anywhere close (as most of my active cycling friends are - probably all of the 'readers' here) and you have no issue managing hunger and are at a rock solid weight that doesn't fluxuate.... then this stuff doesn't matter [as much].
But for SO many people it does.
I've watched parents of my kid's classmates over 10 years. Watched them all get slowly bigger and bigger. Been at parties with them, hear them talk about this diet, or watching this, or serving low fat this (dressings) or that (RI pizza... aka big thick flat bread covered in sweet tomato sauce, that's it)... and they all keep getting bigger.
The kids too.
"but we're following the guildelines. We're eating low fat, drinking skim milk with out whole grain cereal in the morning, we're buying low fat ice cream, eating low or no fat yogurt, THAT GREEK STUFF IS WONDERFUL ESP WITH THE FRUIT, oh and the fruit. ALL THE FRUIT WE LOVE FRUIT, SO GOOD FOR YOU!"
And yet somehow they struggle to and are tormented by slowly gaining weight.
I found a link to this Tedx talk this morning. A no meeting day.
I hit the speed button and watched it at 1.5x speed. Didn't feel like trying to catch her talk at full 2x speed but man it helps with the productivity/multi-tasking.
My cousin is running the local ADA ride, and gets INSANELY defensive and absolutely flat out beligerant anytime I bring this topic up. But Sarah Hallberg does it brilliantly. And because I'm not saying it, maybe someone else will listen to it. But unlikely.
I grabbed crappy screen shots from the talk of two graphics she used. The first is basically the whole premise.
Why do I keep being angry about fruits, and fruit juices? IT IS HEALTHY. Yeah okay. How's your insulin level? Yes - i saved it as crappy jpg... deliberate.
Next up, INSULIN. Why is a plate of sausage and eggs, with a bit of arugula/rocket, mushroom and avocado a brilliant kick ass breakfast? BECAUSE IT WILL FILL YOU UP and provide critical energy needs w/o causing an insulin spike. Yes there is protein in there, but you need essential amino acids at the start of the day, CRITICAL ABSOLUTELY because w/o them you can't make the hormones you need or deal with normal cellular functioning.
Here you go.
I'm still looking for the caloric effect of insulin going up. It does it two ways. Takes calories that you ate and stores them. Meaning they are now unavailible and saved for later. What that means is you don't have enough calories on demand. And that makes you hungry. So you eat.
So you start the day with a bowl of oatmeal because that's what everyone says is the best. OMG I LOVE OATMEAL, esp with brownsugar, some maple syrup, maybe some rasins. It is the BEST. Except it is going to make your insulin spike. Store most of those calories as fat (unless you start a CXy race right away or you glycogen is super depleted and you're actively good at replacing it, which most people are not on a physiological level) and then you're hungry way too soon. So you have an apple. Oooo, they are soo good for you. and they spike your glucose, insulin goes up and you need to eat more.
There is a mountain of science behind all this. But that mountain of science pales next to the ingrained 'conventional' wisdom and inertia that has been built up since the last 70s.
If you are exercising to lose weight or to manage your weight you're not doing it right. Exercise is critical for health, make a huge difference for lots of reasons but this food stuff. This is why counting calories doesn't work for most people.
There are people who are wireed differently, have different metabolisms, who can deal with extra carbs w/o hunger pain. There are people who have mental conditioning to be okay with being hungry. There are plenty of exceptions to everything.
Unfortunately there isn't really an exception to this physiological rule. There's variation in expression, and there's tolerance for hunger signalling, but those aren't the same.
Why is it frustrating? It shouldn't be.
Do I walk through the grocery store like an android doing a body scan and a shopping carriage analysis at the same time of EVERYONE THERE? Yes. I do. My brain is always observing, taking in data and processing and cataloging. Always. Can't help it. Do I automatically do it around everyone? Yes.
My daughter made the observation that most people don't listen to me, don't follow my advice. She's smart enough and has a solid understanding of biology and actually understands it pretty well. Why? because I explain things, we talk, she askes really good questions and I work through all the answers, talk about the science, talk about the physiology, talk about muscle fiber types... She also notices what goes on around her too. She's aware of it all.
yeah this ain't no RdR report, GeWilli is close to hulk smash trigger today. Keeping it all in check though, by venting here. Obviously.
eat smart, eat well, eat real food... and ride your bike
heddwch
G
Now if you aren't Insulin resistant or a Type 2 diabetic or anywhere close (as most of my active cycling friends are - probably all of the 'readers' here) and you have no issue managing hunger and are at a rock solid weight that doesn't fluxuate.... then this stuff doesn't matter [as much].
But for SO many people it does.
I've watched parents of my kid's classmates over 10 years. Watched them all get slowly bigger and bigger. Been at parties with them, hear them talk about this diet, or watching this, or serving low fat this (dressings) or that (RI pizza... aka big thick flat bread covered in sweet tomato sauce, that's it)... and they all keep getting bigger.
The kids too.
"but we're following the guildelines. We're eating low fat, drinking skim milk with out whole grain cereal in the morning, we're buying low fat ice cream, eating low or no fat yogurt, THAT GREEK STUFF IS WONDERFUL ESP WITH THE FRUIT, oh and the fruit. ALL THE FRUIT WE LOVE FRUIT, SO GOOD FOR YOU!"
And yet somehow they struggle to and are tormented by slowly gaining weight.
I found a link to this Tedx talk this morning. A no meeting day.
I hit the speed button and watched it at 1.5x speed. Didn't feel like trying to catch her talk at full 2x speed but man it helps with the productivity/multi-tasking.
My cousin is running the local ADA ride, and gets INSANELY defensive and absolutely flat out beligerant anytime I bring this topic up. But Sarah Hallberg does it brilliantly. And because I'm not saying it, maybe someone else will listen to it. But unlikely.
I grabbed crappy screen shots from the talk of two graphics she used. The first is basically the whole premise.
Why do I keep being angry about fruits, and fruit juices? IT IS HEALTHY. Yeah okay. How's your insulin level? Yes - i saved it as crappy jpg... deliberate.
Next up, INSULIN. Why is a plate of sausage and eggs, with a bit of arugula/rocket, mushroom and avocado a brilliant kick ass breakfast? BECAUSE IT WILL FILL YOU UP and provide critical energy needs w/o causing an insulin spike. Yes there is protein in there, but you need essential amino acids at the start of the day, CRITICAL ABSOLUTELY because w/o them you can't make the hormones you need or deal with normal cellular functioning.
Here you go.
I'm still looking for the caloric effect of insulin going up. It does it two ways. Takes calories that you ate and stores them. Meaning they are now unavailible and saved for later. What that means is you don't have enough calories on demand. And that makes you hungry. So you eat.
So you start the day with a bowl of oatmeal because that's what everyone says is the best. OMG I LOVE OATMEAL, esp with brownsugar, some maple syrup, maybe some rasins. It is the BEST. Except it is going to make your insulin spike. Store most of those calories as fat (unless you start a CXy race right away or you glycogen is super depleted and you're actively good at replacing it, which most people are not on a physiological level) and then you're hungry way too soon. So you have an apple. Oooo, they are soo good for you. and they spike your glucose, insulin goes up and you need to eat more.
There is a mountain of science behind all this. But that mountain of science pales next to the ingrained 'conventional' wisdom and inertia that has been built up since the last 70s.
If you are exercising to lose weight or to manage your weight you're not doing it right. Exercise is critical for health, make a huge difference for lots of reasons but this food stuff. This is why counting calories doesn't work for most people.
There are people who are wireed differently, have different metabolisms, who can deal with extra carbs w/o hunger pain. There are people who have mental conditioning to be okay with being hungry. There are plenty of exceptions to everything.
Unfortunately there isn't really an exception to this physiological rule. There's variation in expression, and there's tolerance for hunger signalling, but those aren't the same.
Why is it frustrating? It shouldn't be.
Do I walk through the grocery store like an android doing a body scan and a shopping carriage analysis at the same time of EVERYONE THERE? Yes. I do. My brain is always observing, taking in data and processing and cataloging. Always. Can't help it. Do I automatically do it around everyone? Yes.
My daughter made the observation that most people don't listen to me, don't follow my advice. She's smart enough and has a solid understanding of biology and actually understands it pretty well. Why? because I explain things, we talk, she askes really good questions and I work through all the answers, talk about the science, talk about the physiology, talk about muscle fiber types... She also notices what goes on around her too. She's aware of it all.
yeah this ain't no RdR report, GeWilli is close to hulk smash trigger today. Keeping it all in check though, by venting here. Obviously.
eat smart, eat well, eat real food... and ride your bike
heddwch
G
Thursday, May 14, 2015
opinions
I touched on them breifly, or completely at some points in the past, recent and distant.
I'm opinionated. #shocking
Jobst Brandt was opinionated (I'm not saying I'm anywhere at his level of anything it is just a recent focal point on the subject as he's famous for a quote or two about that stuff)
Reading more over at Amanda's web log i hit this quote:
I'm opinionated. #shocking
Jobst Brandt was opinionated (I'm not saying I'm anywhere at his level of anything it is just a recent focal point on the subject as he's famous for a quote or two about that stuff)
Reading more over at Amanda's web log i hit this quote:
The best thing about opinions is that anyone can have them. Having an opinion takes courage. It requires a piece of the holder, and it's an investment. To have an opinion, you have to think. You have to believe in something. Find as much truth as you're able, as much objective information, and form your own. Allow it to change with the tides and morph and grow.
That's the beauty of an opinion: they're out there. It will either be yours or someone else's. Don't drink the sand. Find your own water.
maybe it is working
Of course it is working but I'm too skeptical and whatever to admit to it yet. Could just be a fluke. Could be luck, chance, randomness.
But legs weren't amazing yesterday but they weren't like they were the last handful of Smackdowns.
We were missing a few fast people but we still had this big Eian kid who graduated from UNH and knows of RYAN T KELLY as a legend, Jonathan a young gun student at the ivy branch of colleges here, and Andrew who's in good form and getting in better form. Fox showed up as usual and then there was the appearance of the German sibling bike of my Klein, Burke's Storck. There were a ton of random Brown and RISD kids out riding last night, exam week lately and pretty soon they will all be gone, I guess they were out getting a nice last ride in on our kick ass roads.
No Joke, the riding down here really is pretty sweet.
I worked but skipped a pull here and there, but I still burried myself a good number of times. The Klein felt great, the wheels feel slow, but hey, you train on training wheels and race on race wheels right? If I trained on super fast wheels I wouldn't have to work as hard. Not that this is really training, it is almost my racing lately. But hey. Why make it any easier for myself? in terms of pedaling.
Anyway, the changes I made since last week, seem to be making a difference. And I do need to stick with it, at least most of the week.
I'm not going to rehash the whole ride other than as ride leader and being able to hang with the group, aka not last up Pine (second to Andrew) I was able to force a soft/no pedal until Fox caught back on. He gave a massive pull most of the way up Pine before pulling off. So last night I said If you take a solid pull on one of the 'segments' we'll regroup and wait for you once past the segment.
Simple enough. Sure it means more interval like smackdown. If you get dropped and didn't take a turn, well that was different. But the group was close enough in ability last night that we were able to make that practice work. Eian is a f'n BEAST btw. I haven't results stalked him yet but he's a strong kid.
My legs weren't all there. But they weren't useless like the last few smackdowns.
I do however need to do more than just this one change to start getting some sort of cycling form. I need to do. I wish the WeeBike Grand Prix (this strava segment competition) wasn't so far away. Initially I dismissed it because of the requirments of either HRM or Power data in the strava file... and I have neither. But then I said something and was granted a waiver. Then I looked at the ride there. Now if the kid has indoor soccer practice down at Wideworld South, well then heck yeah, I'll bring the bike. But that's very unlikely, also I never get over to that side of RI. Might as well be New York. But hey if you're down that way - give it a shot. Boost the number of people riding that segment eh?
boring ride report. so much going on. had plans to finally write up the RdR2015 wrap up/conclusion.
But that creative muster is missing. Words aren't flowing quite the way I want, thoughts occupied a bit on the Amanda Batty web log post/PinkGate as Padrig calls it.
I saw Amanda's post almost in real time. I saw a link to it somewhere and read it. And was shocked and angry and sad all at once. There are some really aweful people on the internet. Side topic but I was banned from a forum because I was being a bit too clinical and pointed when pointing out people were wrong, even though I was correct and had all the facts that backed up what I was saying 100%. That whole honey flies vinegar thing (which is a funny contradiction anyway), we were talking about that whole thing at the shop, tuesday maybe? But there is a line to draw, being wrong about knowing the right way to set the timing on a Bosch VE-Pump'ed diesel engine is very different than describing the ride of a mountain bike like someone who's intoxicated. I don't even feel comfortable writing what they guy said in his review.
Padrig's post today was great. Good too see someone in the industry calling more attention to Amanda's story. PinkGate is appropriate. Let me clarify, it isn't great that we have to talk about it, but it was a well crafted bit of writing on the topic.
I know a few people who make super sexist, inappropriate jokes publicly. They say it to make their (other) friends laugh. I've expressed my dissapointment in the jokes, the innapropriateness. I've been the only one in the group not laughing. I don't like being that person, but I'm not going to fake it to fit in. And I won't stop voicing my objection. But then I'm not your normal guy I guess, and I'm okay with that.
I just read the DailyDot article that CCR posted on FB about this (holy SHIT DUDE ghostery has 93 tracking targets!!!!!! NINETY THREE THAT'S LIKE PO R N LEVEL INVASIVE SHIT)
Got to the end, despite the 93 tracking things gathering all my data, and got to this:
All I can think of is #3 on this list that I saw yesterday;
3.) “Don't lie about it. You made a mistake. Admit it and move on. Just don't do it again. Ever”
http://airows.com/travel/23-brilliant-life-lessons-from-anthony-bourdain (pretty low on the ghostery's counter for a clickbait article fwiw 9-15)
Now maybe Coffey isn't lying, but stretching the truth, politicing. positioning in defensive reaction to a substantiated accusation without ever admitting fault and beyond 'yeah maybe we should have done it a little different but it is really not our problem it is her problem, she's ____'
Okay - i'll shut up [for the moment],
heddwch
G
But legs weren't amazing yesterday but they weren't like they were the last handful of Smackdowns.
We were missing a few fast people but we still had this big Eian kid who graduated from UNH and knows of RYAN T KELLY as a legend, Jonathan a young gun student at the ivy branch of colleges here, and Andrew who's in good form and getting in better form. Fox showed up as usual and then there was the appearance of the German sibling bike of my Klein, Burke's Storck. There were a ton of random Brown and RISD kids out riding last night, exam week lately and pretty soon they will all be gone, I guess they were out getting a nice last ride in on our kick ass roads.
No Joke, the riding down here really is pretty sweet.
I worked but skipped a pull here and there, but I still burried myself a good number of times. The Klein felt great, the wheels feel slow, but hey, you train on training wheels and race on race wheels right? If I trained on super fast wheels I wouldn't have to work as hard. Not that this is really training, it is almost my racing lately. But hey. Why make it any easier for myself? in terms of pedaling.
Anyway, the changes I made since last week, seem to be making a difference. And I do need to stick with it, at least most of the week.
I'm not going to rehash the whole ride other than as ride leader and being able to hang with the group, aka not last up Pine (second to Andrew) I was able to force a soft/no pedal until Fox caught back on. He gave a massive pull most of the way up Pine before pulling off. So last night I said If you take a solid pull on one of the 'segments' we'll regroup and wait for you once past the segment.
Simple enough. Sure it means more interval like smackdown. If you get dropped and didn't take a turn, well that was different. But the group was close enough in ability last night that we were able to make that practice work. Eian is a f'n BEAST btw. I haven't results stalked him yet but he's a strong kid.
My legs weren't all there. But they weren't useless like the last few smackdowns.
I do however need to do more than just this one change to start getting some sort of cycling form. I need to do. I wish the WeeBike Grand Prix (this strava segment competition) wasn't so far away. Initially I dismissed it because of the requirments of either HRM or Power data in the strava file... and I have neither. But then I said something and was granted a waiver. Then I looked at the ride there. Now if the kid has indoor soccer practice down at Wideworld South, well then heck yeah, I'll bring the bike. But that's very unlikely, also I never get over to that side of RI. Might as well be New York. But hey if you're down that way - give it a shot. Boost the number of people riding that segment eh?
boring ride report. so much going on. had plans to finally write up the RdR2015 wrap up/conclusion.
But that creative muster is missing. Words aren't flowing quite the way I want, thoughts occupied a bit on the Amanda Batty web log post/PinkGate as Padrig calls it.
I saw Amanda's post almost in real time. I saw a link to it somewhere and read it. And was shocked and angry and sad all at once. There are some really aweful people on the internet. Side topic but I was banned from a forum because I was being a bit too clinical and pointed when pointing out people were wrong, even though I was correct and had all the facts that backed up what I was saying 100%. That whole honey flies vinegar thing (which is a funny contradiction anyway), we were talking about that whole thing at the shop, tuesday maybe? But there is a line to draw, being wrong about knowing the right way to set the timing on a Bosch VE-Pump'ed diesel engine is very different than describing the ride of a mountain bike like someone who's intoxicated. I don't even feel comfortable writing what they guy said in his review.
Padrig's post today was great. Good too see someone in the industry calling more attention to Amanda's story. PinkGate is appropriate. Let me clarify, it isn't great that we have to talk about it, but it was a well crafted bit of writing on the topic.
I know a few people who make super sexist, inappropriate jokes publicly. They say it to make their (other) friends laugh. I've expressed my dissapointment in the jokes, the innapropriateness. I've been the only one in the group not laughing. I don't like being that person, but I'm not going to fake it to fit in. And I won't stop voicing my objection. But then I'm not your normal guy I guess, and I'm okay with that.
I just read the DailyDot article that CCR posted on FB about this (holy SHIT DUDE ghostery has 93 tracking targets!!!!!! NINETY THREE THAT'S LIKE PO R N LEVEL INVASIVE SHIT)
Got to the end, despite the 93 tracking things gathering all my data, and got to this:
[Coffey] said that "the only way to establish a little more balance" on Pinkbike "is to continue to build out our women's initiatives." He added, "We value the female voice but we insist on promoting quality, balanced and well researched articles."I interpret what Coffey says as:
we value our male readership more and don't want to offend them or endanger their particpation or our click revenue, so we want to go very slowly so as not to piss off all the men, but we'll move really slowly because that always works in the best interest of white men in control who don't like change.Lots and lots of backpedaling and defense on the PB side of things. Understandable but still completely unacceptable.
All I can think of is #3 on this list that I saw yesterday;
3.) “Don't lie about it. You made a mistake. Admit it and move on. Just don't do it again. Ever”
http://airows.com/travel/23-brilliant-life-lessons-from-anthony-bourdain (pretty low on the ghostery's counter for a clickbait article fwiw 9-15)
Now maybe Coffey isn't lying, but stretching the truth, politicing. positioning in defensive reaction to a substantiated accusation without ever admitting fault and beyond 'yeah maybe we should have done it a little different but it is really not our problem it is her problem, she's ____'
Okay - i'll shut up [for the moment],
heddwch
G
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Books and books
Reading is an escape. Writing is a release.
Been reading a lot I guess. Works really well as a reset. I think it probably works even better as maintenance.
I'm not sold that there is a difference staring at an android tablet screen/vs reading a book. But some people seem to think there is. That said I'm not about to buy a Paperwhite (yet), but if I had one i'd probably wear it out.
It kind of struck me this morning when I returned on book to the library and filled up the hold cue with 8 books, that I am in the middle of quite a few series of books. Held up by holds.
Funny thing is I can mentally jump between stories, waiting for the book to be automatically checked out from the library. Going from the one I just finished to the next and back to the first. One I've been waiting on for a long time,two three four I'm stuck waiting for Book #2, one I'm just waiting for #4 and can finish, another the 3rd and final book in that series.
Inbetween there are a few stand alone books. A few single books have been put on hold, checked out and read and returned. Finding books to read isn't all that easy, some are better than others, some are just entertaining fluff, most I've found are very well developed, read well and get me thinking a bit more about everything.
A distraction? A diversion? Partly maybe. I find if very cool that I can bounce back and recall all the books in the series I've read recently and am waiting to finish. All seven series. I guess that's sort of like some of the more complex books with multi-threaded storylines that eventually work together. I generally like those books, getting drawn in and jumping around. Movies like that? nope. Don't like them. books? love them.
Reading is a sort of obessive thing I guess. Always has been.
The most memorable binge read was Two Years Before the Mast. My mother debated giving it to me that night. But she did. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I finished it before the sun rose, had an hour or two of sleep and went to school.
Oops. It was a fantastic book, the details aren't as clear now as they have been but I've done that with many books since. I had a growing collection of physical paper books that I start but just, cant, muscle, through, to, finish. Ugh. Either too familiar of a subject, writing style that just doesn't sit well with me, or just flat out boring.
While working on trying to get a laser to fire yesterday on a system the users were saying something about a new show on Netflix they are watching and were incredulous that we don't have Netflix, or any other on-demand video content service. None. we really don't watch much TV. There's too much going on. My life works well with books. digital or other wise. Reading and writing are two things that can be dropped, and picked back up easily and fit well in a busy life I guess. One with lots going on. In some way maybe keeps one more mentally flexible? Yes I think maybe I've swapping one addiction for another, which one? But it means i'm missing out on the social shared connection by watching orange is the new black or breaking bad or whatever show everyone else is watching and wanting to talk about. What you should be talking about is what the book All the Light You Cannot See makes you think about. How does it stirr your concious and awaken you to your actions? How do books make you interact so much differently than TV shows? I guess the LOTR series is a good example, esp when you follow up with the Hobbit. Even taking the smallest book of those four (the Hobbit) you wind up with a three part movie and still missing lots of nuance and details. sure plenty of extra stuff added, but for better? no not really. Anyway - reading is that old addiction/affliction I guess. Words... like I said - trading one addiction for another? It would be a good one. But which one?
Well sure as hell I'm not giving up coffee. Even if I'm an idiot, like today, and forgot to bring in coffee and was stuck putting 4 green tea bags in the drip coffee maker and making something to drink with maybe a tiny bit of caffeine. Cutting back on coffee? That's probably needed, may happen by default, but not going to give up that one. nope.
The weekend was good for me though. I felt more rested. Friday got to stay home and read, had a couple beers after the shop closed with Don. Came home and made myself some food and started reading. Got everyone out the door on Saturday then read a bit more and went into the shop for a while and got some side work in. Sunday again, got everyone out early for a soccer game, crawled back in bed with a cup of coffee and the book and read some more. Then headed in to a closed shop, cranked up the uncensored House of Pain Pandora station and cranked out more bikes before riding home in the early afternoon.
The reading kind of recharged me, as did just toning it all down. No training, but I did ride. I'm not super good at getting it all perfect, meaning making the commutes effective and not junk. Too close to medium on too many days. But efforts the last few days have felt pretty easy but the times are a bit shorter so maybe there's something there.
I had intended to get the final RdR2015 post out. kind of didn't get that done. I'm going to blame the lack of coffee for the lack of focus. But that's a pretty weak excuse looking back up at this mess of words.
Maybe later. Maybe I'll have a few moments to finish out that last chapter. The final book in the series. Like all those holds I have in the Library. If you want to get to the conclusion, you might need to read a few different things and hope you remember where I left off.
Heddwch
G
Been reading a lot I guess. Works really well as a reset. I think it probably works even better as maintenance.
I'm not sold that there is a difference staring at an android tablet screen/vs reading a book. But some people seem to think there is. That said I'm not about to buy a Paperwhite (yet), but if I had one i'd probably wear it out.
It kind of struck me this morning when I returned on book to the library and filled up the hold cue with 8 books, that I am in the middle of quite a few series of books. Held up by holds.
Funny thing is I can mentally jump between stories, waiting for the book to be automatically checked out from the library. Going from the one I just finished to the next and back to the first. One I've been waiting on for a long time,
Inbetween there are a few stand alone books. A few single books have been put on hold, checked out and read and returned. Finding books to read isn't all that easy, some are better than others, some are just entertaining fluff, most I've found are very well developed, read well and get me thinking a bit more about everything.
A distraction? A diversion? Partly maybe. I find if very cool that I can bounce back and recall all the books in the series I've read recently and am waiting to finish. All seven series. I guess that's sort of like some of the more complex books with multi-threaded storylines that eventually work together. I generally like those books, getting drawn in and jumping around. Movies like that? nope. Don't like them. books? love them.
Reading is a sort of obessive thing I guess. Always has been.
The most memorable binge read was Two Years Before the Mast. My mother debated giving it to me that night. But she did. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. I finished it before the sun rose, had an hour or two of sleep and went to school.
Oops. It was a fantastic book, the details aren't as clear now as they have been but I've done that with many books since. I had a growing collection of physical paper books that I start but just, cant, muscle, through, to, finish. Ugh. Either too familiar of a subject, writing style that just doesn't sit well with me, or just flat out boring.
While working on trying to get a laser to fire yesterday on a system the users were saying something about a new show on Netflix they are watching and were incredulous that we don't have Netflix, or any other on-demand video content service. None. we really don't watch much TV. There's too much going on. My life works well with books. digital or other wise. Reading and writing are two things that can be dropped, and picked back up easily and fit well in a busy life I guess. One with lots going on. In some way maybe keeps one more mentally flexible? Yes I think maybe I've swapping one addiction for another, which one? But it means i'm missing out on the social shared connection by watching orange is the new black or breaking bad or whatever show everyone else is watching and wanting to talk about. What you should be talking about is what the book All the Light You Cannot See makes you think about. How does it stirr your concious and awaken you to your actions? How do books make you interact so much differently than TV shows? I guess the LOTR series is a good example, esp when you follow up with the Hobbit. Even taking the smallest book of those four (the Hobbit) you wind up with a three part movie and still missing lots of nuance and details. sure plenty of extra stuff added, but for better? no not really. Anyway - reading is that old addiction/affliction I guess. Words... like I said - trading one addiction for another? It would be a good one. But which one?
Well sure as hell I'm not giving up coffee. Even if I'm an idiot, like today, and forgot to bring in coffee and was stuck putting 4 green tea bags in the drip coffee maker and making something to drink with maybe a tiny bit of caffeine. Cutting back on coffee? That's probably needed, may happen by default, but not going to give up that one. nope.
The weekend was good for me though. I felt more rested. Friday got to stay home and read, had a couple beers after the shop closed with Don. Came home and made myself some food and started reading. Got everyone out the door on Saturday then read a bit more and went into the shop for a while and got some side work in. Sunday again, got everyone out early for a soccer game, crawled back in bed with a cup of coffee and the book and read some more. Then headed in to a closed shop, cranked up the uncensored House of Pain Pandora station and cranked out more bikes before riding home in the early afternoon.
The reading kind of recharged me, as did just toning it all down. No training, but I did ride. I'm not super good at getting it all perfect, meaning making the commutes effective and not junk. Too close to medium on too many days. But efforts the last few days have felt pretty easy but the times are a bit shorter so maybe there's something there.
I had intended to get the final RdR2015 post out. kind of didn't get that done. I'm going to blame the lack of coffee for the lack of focus. But that's a pretty weak excuse looking back up at this mess of words.
Maybe later. Maybe I'll have a few moments to finish out that last chapter. The final book in the series. Like all those holds I have in the Library. If you want to get to the conclusion, you might need to read a few different things and hope you remember where I left off.
Heddwch
G
Friday, May 08, 2015
Smacked down... again
I managed to get out there. For Smackdown.
How could I not. Peng was going to be there, came back for smackdown. Sandy was riding down. Took half day off and rode is bike from Lexington to PVD for the ride. Terry showed up, Andrew, Nick, Brian, bit shock was PKS rolling in and me. We picked up Fox on the far side. Maybe I'm missing a few but man it was big crew for us, and heavily weighted on the 20 something kids who are fast. I thought maybe with Jules being in a van with Alex and Big Tom that maybe the ride would be more sedate than usual. WRONG. Shit Nick even put it on Video.
Detoured because Broadway was a disaster.
We passed Bruce, I lingered long enough to say hi, long enough to get a gap and need to chase back on. Oops.
Prospect wasn't terrible but it was fast. I snuck in and sat behind Sandy as best as I could. Stayed out of the wind.
I loved the click - BOOM SHIFT vs click, maybe shift maybe not of the worn out CX bike I've been riding. I also LOVED the single tooth steps between gears. AND how the bike felt, Except the hoods. coupled with the bars the hoods are just too small and weirdly located.
Knee never gave me a problem the whole ride. Fit was bang on. Bike was brilliant.
But I really did ride more like I was the one hanging up and resting for 3+ years. Not the bike.
I hung on until the turn on Pine. We started up as a group. Then someone decided we should start going even faster than the fast we were going, not to mention it meant going fast up hill (okay only a couple % grade but that's still noticable for 200# of me).
Boom. Sandy let a bit of a gap open, but he also just rode 65 miles after working all morning, Nick Jumped around. Pretty soon Fox went past, and then I went to the front to help pace Sandy, and pretty soon PKS looked back, saw the gap and drifted back.
Years ago he did that for me a couple times, drifted back and helped pace me back in. I told him not to wait this time, to just go. He said nah.
The fast kids with Fox were gone. Buh bye. I just had nothing. Zip. i could generate power, but not as much, and not as long. Fatigue.
It is amazing, remarkable really, how much fatigue and exhaustion factor into stuff.
Anyway - The three of us kind of pacelined it, Sandy and I kind of at our limits, different levels/reasons for fatigue.
But those two kept me from bailing like the week before.
We found Syl after turning off of Hillside to Pine.
Found Peng waiting for us in EP, and we rolled back in.
Syl and I headed home via the new bridge, and we chatted a bit.
It was good to chat. In person. It was less chat and more serious discussion.
Needed though.
How could I not. Peng was going to be there, came back for smackdown. Sandy was riding down. Took half day off and rode is bike from Lexington to PVD for the ride. Terry showed up, Andrew, Nick, Brian, bit shock was PKS rolling in and me. We picked up Fox on the far side. Maybe I'm missing a few but man it was big crew for us, and heavily weighted on the 20 something kids who are fast. I thought maybe with Jules being in a van with Alex and Big Tom that maybe the ride would be more sedate than usual. WRONG. Shit Nick even put it on Video.
Detoured because Broadway was a disaster.
We passed Bruce, I lingered long enough to say hi, long enough to get a gap and need to chase back on. Oops.
Prospect wasn't terrible but it was fast. I snuck in and sat behind Sandy as best as I could. Stayed out of the wind.
I loved the click - BOOM SHIFT vs click, maybe shift maybe not of the worn out CX bike I've been riding. I also LOVED the single tooth steps between gears. AND how the bike felt, Except the hoods. coupled with the bars the hoods are just too small and weirdly located.
Knee never gave me a problem the whole ride. Fit was bang on. Bike was brilliant.
But I really did ride more like I was the one hanging up and resting for 3+ years. Not the bike.
I hung on until the turn on Pine. We started up as a group. Then someone decided we should start going even faster than the fast we were going, not to mention it meant going fast up hill (okay only a couple % grade but that's still noticable for 200# of me).
Boom. Sandy let a bit of a gap open, but he also just rode 65 miles after working all morning, Nick Jumped around. Pretty soon Fox went past, and then I went to the front to help pace Sandy, and pretty soon PKS looked back, saw the gap and drifted back.
Years ago he did that for me a couple times, drifted back and helped pace me back in. I told him not to wait this time, to just go. He said nah.
The fast kids with Fox were gone. Buh bye. I just had nothing. Zip. i could generate power, but not as much, and not as long. Fatigue.
It is amazing, remarkable really, how much fatigue and exhaustion factor into stuff.
Anyway - The three of us kind of pacelined it, Sandy and I kind of at our limits, different levels/reasons for fatigue.
But those two kept me from bailing like the week before.
We found Syl after turning off of Hillside to Pine.
Found Peng waiting for us in EP, and we rolled back in.
Syl and I headed home via the new bridge, and we chatted a bit.
It was good to chat. In person. It was less chat and more serious discussion.
Needed though.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
RIP Jobst Brandt
Over the twitters - just after eating lunch, after a meeting, frantic catch up...
I saw this entry (retweeted by Service Course)
https://twitter.com/jimlangley/status/596008709676933120 :
"A cycling legend has pedaled into the sunset. RIP Jobst Brandt. Thank you for everything. https://rayhosler.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/jobst-brandt-leaves-behind-memories-to-last-a-lifetime/ …"
crude cut and paste but effective
And this stuck with me:
"If you disagreed and didn’t have the facts to support your argument, you were just another crackpot."
There are a lot of crackpots out there. Facts. Back your shit up. And don't you dare try to think you're going to make friends if you are fighting dogma built on back science/belief with facts.
Reading the story about his rides, I think he would have f'n loved the RdR.
Give Laurence Malone's essay a read (linked there in Ray's blog post).
respect and thank you Jobst, thank you
heddwch
G
I saw this entry (retweeted by Service Course)
https://twitter.com/jimlangley/status/596008709676933120 :
"A cycling legend has pedaled into the sunset. RIP Jobst Brandt. Thank you for everything. https://rayhosler.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/jobst-brandt-leaves-behind-memories-to-last-a-lifetime/ …"
crude cut and paste but effective
And this stuck with me:
"If you disagreed and didn’t have the facts to support your argument, you were just another crackpot."
There are a lot of crackpots out there. Facts. Back your shit up. And don't you dare try to think you're going to make friends if you are fighting dogma built on back science/belief with facts.
Reading the story about his rides, I think he would have f'n loved the RdR.
Give Laurence Malone's essay a read (linked there in Ray's blog post).
respect and thank you Jobst, thank you
heddwch
G
after ~3+ yrs . . . It is alive
The Q Pro
so we will take a break from the serialization of the RdR2015 coverage....
wrap up will have to wait.
or will happen when I finish this thought.
maybe.
truth is inspiration and the energy to give the final RdR installment all that it deserves is lacking at the moment.
got super derailed yesterday, hard core off the track the whole train in a tangled mess of wreckage kind of derailed.
didn't see it coming, knew the potential was lurking lately. not sure how to get a handle on it all but I keep trying, keep putting one foot forward and stuff.
I managed to impress myself with the flavors of dinner at the same time getting the Klein rideable again for the first time in 3? years? Long enough that since getting the smart phone thing i've never ridden it (or created bike profile in Strava).
Downside? I messed up the seat height by a few mms (too high) and now the back of my knee is sore from the ride in, we'll see if it sorts itself out before the smackdown.
The cassette that we had at the shop? an HG-50... a 14-25 (14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25)
Pretty f'n close to a straight block.
Lots of teeth too. Extra contact should make up for less durable and equal longevity of higher quality lower tooth count cassette.
And yeah - i was complaining about the 46x11 high gear. Is this any better? Not really. It is a little better maybe, one gear more. But that's plenty. that and now there's the super tight one tooth difference and the 55t big ring just looks huge, think solobreak's SSCX bike.
On the other end going from a 38x27 to a 42x25 low may be kind of dumb but then hey, you only go as slow as your low gear and now I've got 180mm cranks and a much more efficient bike.
Wheels are the same.
And man is this thing smooth.
I don't like the hoods anymore but they are positive and clicky and work and brakes that work? DAMN gonna have to watch out.
so we will take a break from the serialization of the RdR2015 coverage....
wrap up will have to wait.
or will happen when I finish this thought.
maybe.
truth is inspiration and the energy to give the final RdR installment all that it deserves is lacking at the moment.
got super derailed yesterday, hard core off the track the whole train in a tangled mess of wreckage kind of derailed.
didn't see it coming, knew the potential was lurking lately. not sure how to get a handle on it all but I keep trying, keep putting one foot forward and stuff.
I managed to impress myself with the flavors of dinner at the same time getting the Klein rideable again for the first time in 3? years? Long enough that since getting the smart phone thing i've never ridden it (or created bike profile in Strava).
Downside? I messed up the seat height by a few mms (too high) and now the back of my knee is sore from the ride in, we'll see if it sorts itself out before the smackdown.The cassette that we had at the shop? an HG-50... a 14-25 (14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25)
Pretty f'n close to a straight block.
Lots of teeth too. Extra contact should make up for less durable and equal longevity of higher quality lower tooth count cassette.
And yeah - i was complaining about the 46x11 high gear. Is this any better? Not really. It is a little better maybe, one gear more. But that's plenty. that and now there's the super tight one tooth difference and the 55t big ring just looks huge, think solobreak's SSCX bike.
On the other end going from a 38x27 to a 42x25 low may be kind of dumb but then hey, you only go as slow as your low gear and now I've got 180mm cranks and a much more efficient bike.
Wheels are the same.
And man is this thing smooth.
I don't like the hoods anymore but they are positive and clicky and work and brakes that work? DAMN gonna have to watch out.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
RdR2015 full saga: part 2 (of ?)
Okay, back at it, tiny window of opportunity.
So we roll out. I covered the flat? Right? A couple groups rolled through, including the Firefly Adventure Team ladies once Sandy and I were done gramming the situation we rolled out. Ready to really get the ride started.
We passed the FAT as they re-grouped after a bit of a bridge or technical section or something (brain a wee fuzzy) but how do you not make note of passing them?
We wound up at the trail exit, Alex riding around on the road almost getting hit by car zooming through. Meanwhile the brain trust with all the computers are trying to figure out if they say turn left or right (left). And by that time the FAT have emerged from the single track and we head out together. I had a delightful opportunity to talk with the charming Cindy for a bit as we rolled on. We wound up a bit in the middle, my Orange crushers pushing the pace and her Black cats chilling at a slower pace, So i excused my self and jumped up to latch into a freindly draft and she drifted back with her team.
The roads were familiar and I think Cutler was next, and I was expecting to go in the way we did one year, in the first thing, not go to the second way (thinking left at the lot, not right) but the guys rode all the way to the light and then on the path, i guess someone was actually following the cues on the Garmins.
And we hit Cutler. Teams everywhere. Not sure how much we looped back or how lost others were. We rode through the Hup crew at the peak in one spot. We had to regroup shortly after that with a slipped axle or two on one of the disc brake bikes. and then we rumbled and rolled on. It was fun. Other than the roots. Those weren't fun. Some of the rocks not so much. But it was good. We did a pump track loop as the Flannel wearing single speeders lead by Camelstache with tunes blasting by ROBERT HALE and then tagged on to the back of their group a bit. They took off as they knew the trails but weren't stricktly following the route and we had not clue and only could follow. I think we got off course following them a bit but wound up leaving at the right place.
The flannel crew was up ahead and we made the effort to join in a bit. Myette surprised me, wasn't expecting him to be one of the flannel crew, Uri was in that pack as well. So, yeah, A+ rockstar amazing group to join up with.
From this point it gets a bit mixed up in my head. We wound up merging with so many other teams along the way, Sparky Jamie and Tyler with Josie, were sort of on the notable next level. But i think maybe we spent the most time with the Hupsters. At least one of the Hup teams. The Baker crew, with Roger, Derek, Michele, Ed....and... I dunno It was hard to tell Oh CHURCH (I gotta be forgetting someone else). It was a blast.
So much fun. It was relaxing in that we could just follow Baker's lead. As we hit single track the groups all split up, made sandwiches, rode around.
Getting lost, following one team, seeing another. We lost the camelstache team in the intestinal track of trails that just made me want to get off the bike and walk the few feet to the next section.
Then we saw the PVB crew with CF on the MTBs. Who else? EVERYONE ELSE!
At that point we were taking a wrong turn here or there, and then wound up meeting the Baker crew and THAT's when we jumped in and started riding with them. Turned out I'd lost my early 90s vintage/heirloom Pearl Izumi black vest. But at the start Chip pinned the pair of Hup buttons on it, so it had a homing beacon and they saw the buttons and Wade stuffed it in his backpack. Derek tried to sell it back to me, but I didn't want to lose it again and Wade hung on to it. Still has it because despite saying I needed to get it a few times from him after the ride, somehow we left or he left before I managed to get it. I want the buttons more than the vest but yeah, I wouldn't mind having my vest back.
So we hook up. I think we wound up back with the Flannel boys, picked up a pile more teams and we just kept swelling with riders, seeing friends. C Todd actually picked up and joined us mid-ride to roll around. he bailed as we dove into the next section of woods (the ones I think before the poney hendge?)
Cruising through the big group gets there - takes a few photos, the sky is awesome and I try to document it, I wound up inadvertently catching Alex taking an epic selfie (see the instagram or the first brief post).
Then James asked if i could take a team shot, so i did. Alex is posting and the rest of our guys ride off. I figure we'll catch up. No big deal.
I finish capturing the shot for James and Alex and I head out.
Remember? Here we are, the only two members of the team w/o GPS device (we both have phones but neither of our phones have the map loaded, nor a way to have it tell us where to go). We get to the first 'turn' and the team isn't anywhere in sight. Uh oh. Shit.
The Blue Hills crew rolls up as we're like 'oops' and I think they kind of sensed we were a bit wanting to get back to the group, so tempo went up on the road and we were cranking it.
A few turns later I caught sight of someone, and felt confident enough that I could bridge before a turn and made an effort. Alex jumped with me and we tagged back on. It was a big of an effort and it almost blew up Alex but we got back to our group.
David was getting close to bonky town. I think that was before the corner drug store stop. I think. But doesn't really matter.
The RdR is like a series of short stories that you could read as a novel or pull out in any order. Other than the beginning and the end, the stories all just could but cut or pasted in any order.
I guess the drug store was next. This was just before the abandoned train station. People were out of water (I had only had one sip). We ate a bit, the GeWillies weren't as firm as they have been in the past, I must have messed something up or didn't cook them long enough or? I dunno. I followed the recipe pretty much on the money. I think maybe not long enough baking time. I was super preoccupied/stressed/tired making them. But they were fuel. And David needed fuel. We all did. We all ate. And some people bought gallons of water. Teams rolled up and then through, joined in and were still there when we rolled out.
Providence Orange crush headed out with the Hupsters and on to the waiting abandoned train station, with bootleg beer stashed in the trash cans and under the porch. Lots of beer. Camelstache Matt had secured a sponsorship/donation from Moats and there were cases of tall boys hidden. A few teams were there having a beer.
I had one, then a second. Probably would have gone for a third but the teams had already left... I would have grabbed pocket beers but damnit pockets were full. Grumble. I almost dumped out the water for the beer but I didn't. I knew there was that keg of Dales waiting for us at the Tavern.
But man. I wanted another one. David was dragging. He was really slowing down a bit but he was still going, wee bit of a balance of heckle/support/encoruagement/cajoling kept him going. gave me time to think that if I had worn the orange jumpsuit on the ride i could have had six tall boy pocket beers instead of zero pocket beers. All good though. I wasn't really needing one or wanting one that much and we still had a ways to go.
But riding with everyone was just soooooo sooooo soooo awesome. So much single track. so many good people...
Groups started to fracture and separate. Wrong turns, hoofing it, detours. But sooo much good riding
Maybe I can wrap it up in one more installment...
...too be continued....
heddwch
G
So we roll out. I covered the flat? Right? A couple groups rolled through, including the Firefly Adventure Team ladies once Sandy and I were done gramming the situation we rolled out. Ready to really get the ride started.
We passed the FAT as they re-grouped after a bit of a bridge or technical section or something (brain a wee fuzzy) but how do you not make note of passing them?
We wound up at the trail exit, Alex riding around on the road almost getting hit by car zooming through. Meanwhile the brain trust with all the computers are trying to figure out if they say turn left or right (left). And by that time the FAT have emerged from the single track and we head out together. I had a delightful opportunity to talk with the charming Cindy for a bit as we rolled on. We wound up a bit in the middle, my Orange crushers pushing the pace and her Black cats chilling at a slower pace, So i excused my self and jumped up to latch into a freindly draft and she drifted back with her team.
The roads were familiar and I think Cutler was next, and I was expecting to go in the way we did one year, in the first thing, not go to the second way (thinking left at the lot, not right) but the guys rode all the way to the light and then on the path, i guess someone was actually following the cues on the Garmins.
And we hit Cutler. Teams everywhere. Not sure how much we looped back or how lost others were. We rode through the Hup crew at the peak in one spot. We had to regroup shortly after that with a slipped axle or two on one of the disc brake bikes. and then we rumbled and rolled on. It was fun. Other than the roots. Those weren't fun. Some of the rocks not so much. But it was good. We did a pump track loop as the Flannel wearing single speeders lead by Camelstache with tunes blasting by ROBERT HALE and then tagged on to the back of their group a bit. They took off as they knew the trails but weren't stricktly following the route and we had not clue and only could follow. I think we got off course following them a bit but wound up leaving at the right place.
The flannel crew was up ahead and we made the effort to join in a bit. Myette surprised me, wasn't expecting him to be one of the flannel crew, Uri was in that pack as well. So, yeah, A+ rockstar amazing group to join up with.
From this point it gets a bit mixed up in my head. We wound up merging with so many other teams along the way, Sparky Jamie and Tyler with Josie, were sort of on the notable next level. But i think maybe we spent the most time with the Hupsters. At least one of the Hup teams. The Baker crew, with Roger, Derek, Michele, Ed....and... I dunno It was hard to tell Oh CHURCH (I gotta be forgetting someone else). It was a blast.
So much fun. It was relaxing in that we could just follow Baker's lead. As we hit single track the groups all split up, made sandwiches, rode around.
Getting lost, following one team, seeing another. We lost the camelstache team in the intestinal track of trails that just made me want to get off the bike and walk the few feet to the next section.
Then we saw the PVB crew with CF on the MTBs. Who else? EVERYONE ELSE!
At that point we were taking a wrong turn here or there, and then wound up meeting the Baker crew and THAT's when we jumped in and started riding with them. Turned out I'd lost my early 90s vintage/heirloom Pearl Izumi black vest. But at the start Chip pinned the pair of Hup buttons on it, so it had a homing beacon and they saw the buttons and Wade stuffed it in his backpack. Derek tried to sell it back to me, but I didn't want to lose it again and Wade hung on to it. Still has it because despite saying I needed to get it a few times from him after the ride, somehow we left or he left before I managed to get it. I want the buttons more than the vest but yeah, I wouldn't mind having my vest back.
So we hook up. I think we wound up back with the Flannel boys, picked up a pile more teams and we just kept swelling with riders, seeing friends. C Todd actually picked up and joined us mid-ride to roll around. he bailed as we dove into the next section of woods (the ones I think before the poney hendge?)
Cruising through the big group gets there - takes a few photos, the sky is awesome and I try to document it, I wound up inadvertently catching Alex taking an epic selfie (see the instagram or the first brief post).
Then James asked if i could take a team shot, so i did. Alex is posting and the rest of our guys ride off. I figure we'll catch up. No big deal.
I finish capturing the shot for James and Alex and I head out.
Remember? Here we are, the only two members of the team w/o GPS device (we both have phones but neither of our phones have the map loaded, nor a way to have it tell us where to go). We get to the first 'turn' and the team isn't anywhere in sight. Uh oh. Shit.
The Blue Hills crew rolls up as we're like 'oops' and I think they kind of sensed we were a bit wanting to get back to the group, so tempo went up on the road and we were cranking it.
A few turns later I caught sight of someone, and felt confident enough that I could bridge before a turn and made an effort. Alex jumped with me and we tagged back on. It was a big of an effort and it almost blew up Alex but we got back to our group.
David was getting close to bonky town. I think that was before the corner drug store stop. I think. But doesn't really matter.
The RdR is like a series of short stories that you could read as a novel or pull out in any order. Other than the beginning and the end, the stories all just could but cut or pasted in any order.
I guess the drug store was next. This was just before the abandoned train station. People were out of water (I had only had one sip). We ate a bit, the GeWillies weren't as firm as they have been in the past, I must have messed something up or didn't cook them long enough or? I dunno. I followed the recipe pretty much on the money. I think maybe not long enough baking time. I was super preoccupied/stressed/tired making them. But they were fuel. And David needed fuel. We all did. We all ate. And some people bought gallons of water. Teams rolled up and then through, joined in and were still there when we rolled out.
Providence Orange crush headed out with the Hupsters and on to the waiting abandoned train station, with bootleg beer stashed in the trash cans and under the porch. Lots of beer. Camelstache Matt had secured a sponsorship/donation from Moats and there were cases of tall boys hidden. A few teams were there having a beer.
I had one, then a second. Probably would have gone for a third but the teams had already left... I would have grabbed pocket beers but damnit pockets were full. Grumble. I almost dumped out the water for the beer but I didn't. I knew there was that keg of Dales waiting for us at the Tavern.
But man. I wanted another one. David was dragging. He was really slowing down a bit but he was still going, wee bit of a balance of heckle/support/encoruagement/cajoling kept him going. gave me time to think that if I had worn the orange jumpsuit on the ride i could have had six tall boy pocket beers instead of zero pocket beers. All good though. I wasn't really needing one or wanting one that much and we still had a ways to go.
But riding with everyone was just soooooo sooooo soooo awesome. So much single track. so many good people...
Groups started to fracture and separate. Wrong turns, hoofing it, detours. But sooo much good riding
Maybe I can wrap it up in one more installment...
...too be continued....
heddwch
G
Monday, May 04, 2015
RdR2015 full saga: part 1 (of ?)
Ronde De Rosey... I should really write this up eh?
Motivation? maybe i can muster up a bit here while I'm waiting for a half dozen replies that will make the rest of the week either tolerable or insane.
Of course what seemed simple and maybe routine (with the new routine of building a few bikes a couple nights a week and the new spring soccer practice schedule) got messed up and for a bit looked like the Wed night smackdown might be in jeopardy. Which really would be funny because I broke down and bought a chain and an HG-50 9sp cassette to put on the Quantum Pro, to decrease the disadvantage against all those who show up on their latest and greatest bazzilion speed bikes and fancy light frames and stuff. The QP ain't much lighter if any than the plastic black blue but it is also a road bike designed to go not slow and the CXy bike is a CXy bike, it ain't made for speed. Even if i generally make it go almost fast. Maybe have some scheduling shenanigans sorted so maybe I can resurrect my hopes for getting out there on the Jade Chameleon machine. But we'll see.
Sitting down to write has been tough lately. But the talk went very well on Friday. More follow up questions from more different people and a diverse group of the audience than any of the other talks so that was gratifying. The other talks were cool and the car made it there and back despite some wonderful anxiety triggering speed vibrations. Heck sitting down now has been interuption city. Not sure anyone could tell, but I lost the train or the process a few times, picked it up but like with any good improv, kind of missed the original mark from the start. But then that's life no? You set off in a direction and sometimes encounters push you off path, plow you off course. Sometimes you get wrecked, sometimes something dramatic happens and sets you back on course. But then that's life eh?
#RdR2015 Way back i guess when I first started hearing rumbles and hints from Rosey and Velocb about route planning and all that, I kind of felt it would be really good to go this year. So I asked if I could bring a PVD team up. So we set it up, and I got on the captain list for the first time. It was special. Now who to join me? Well why not the guys I ride with all the time, who share the same kit and come from the same 'hood?
Sent an email out to the team listserve, and got some absolute 'IN's and a maybe. The maybe turned into a week before yes and then we spent 30+ emails trying to figure out how we were all going to get up there. To add to the mix and the urging of Velocb, we stuck in David B's Rasputitas ride partner who happens to be the same guy who graciously loaned me his fat bike to race at Eco-Cross, the one and only internet famous [not-so] old bearded hipster Alex, he even agreeed to fly the PVD team kit colors!
Joining me and Alex on the team roster was Syl L (our crazy french mtbr guy who rides his MTB on smackdowns and road rides and everywhere, and lived a few blocks from Washington Square Tavern for years), David B (they guy who got me to the Deltron 3030 show, a generally all around awesome happy stoked on life guy), Burke (CX star, MTBr, Roadie, world traveler, famous facial hair, and really happy positive enthusiastic and strong cyclist), and our kid, recent Brown grad now working/living up around the Sommerville area Sandy the guy as tall(taller?) than me. I saw Skinnywhitedude's name on the Captain list, but no riders. So I sent him a text. Got no response. Hmm, maybe he's ignoring me too? Sent him email. Oh he changed his number AGAIN and he ain't got a team, and I ran down our team and we became a band of seven.
Lucky number 7
The odds were stacked far against me the weeks leading up to it. So much going on, so much crazy. But we hit it big with that combination. After all the carpool crazy David wound up driving Alex and Burke, Curtis drove down and Sandy rode to the start. Syl picked me up, his wife along for a day wandering BOS while we were pedaling around, and van loaded we headed north.
And the sun was spectacular. Syl nearly took out a car that changed lanes rapidly as we were admiring the Intense low angle of sun lighting up the buildings with a dark dramatic sky to the west. It was one of those magic light days. Unbelievablely gorgeous.
Already I was relaxing and feeling at ease and optimistic. The day before was insane, worked at the bike shop, came home to make the chocolate peanut butter bars, AND dinner, and try and figure out what I was going to take. I had just barely gotten the bike ready. It has been a mechanical pain lately, I guess stuff actually does wear out? Go figure.
Out of the group of 7 only two of us were w/o some sort of navigational device, and everyone else was able to load the route. There were various levels of mapping going on and one of them took a long time to draw the route. The two w/o? Me and Alex (foreshawdowing if i ever get there). Pretty good odds tho.
We get there. Plenty of time. Some go grab coffee, I was wearing kit and the orange jumpsuit. Figuring it was time to put some good mojo in there. Yeah. Orange jumpsuit from the time I left the house until I got back (I should have worn it on the ride, i would have had lots more room for pocket beers).
Get sorted out, sunscreened up, I collect start money and waivers. Rosey says wait till just before you start. I hug everyone. So good to see everyone. Little cookie exchange with JLSCX, man it was just good. The energy was awesome, no angst, no stress, everyone was super chill and happy and, just awesome. Curtis was happy and relaxed and just yeah. It was good. Of course I decide that I need to take a shit at 8:10, and get in line in the tavern. And the. line. is. moving. so. slowly. By 8:25 I cut infront of three and get in and mid poop i hear "Is GeWilli in there?"
I rush out, hand the wad of releases and cash to Rosey, we pose for a pre-start photo taken by Velocb and more or less the orange clad crew rolled out from there. The weeks of uncertainty that I had been hiding and supressing, dark cloud of depression looming over, basically dissapeared. We rolled off the two guys w/o navigation in the lead (this is not the foreshawdowing part, just the facts) Alex and I took off first. Okay Alex took off and I rode up with him. Before the first big turn we debated who was going to be navigator. Burke or someone said we should appoint one person, and so we nominated the kid. Except his map drawing computer thing wasn't giving streets or stuff and so it turned into navigate by committee. Before we'd gotten too far another team joined us and so we were nearly a dozen strong when we hit the first section of dirt. Rolling through and around the rocks and roots filtered out who had decent tire set ups and David, who had been maddly pumping up his tubeless rear tire three of four times in the morning before we left announced that he'd burped it.
So we stopped.
4.6 miles into the ride.
And we made him put a tube in.
And lots of teams passed us.
Keeping a list of when or who was passed and where will be tough. Will try to but bottom line it really did feel like we rode with every team out there. Obviously we didn't but we got damn close and every team was full of super super awesome people.
The cool thing about the RdR for me was familiarity. Even though this was my 3rd? time many of the sections I've seen before and lots of them I remember. But then some I don't. They are more of a Deja Vu sort of feel, familiar and it feels right, vs "hey I know where we're going" kind of a thing. A comforting feeling.
The ride was f'n spectacular. Off the bat the group was solid and pretty decently matched. Syl obviously could have SMOKED us on the single track and he did a pretty good job of that a few times but there was no feeling of needing to win, wanting to be first, or any of that.
The overall group feel and dynamic was support, fun, patient and stick together. It was a band of brothers i guess? We were literally a team and holy shit that was an awesome experience. It wasn't struggle free and perfect but I think how everything was handled was super awesome.
Okay so RdR is a single track ride with some road thrown in. SOME ROAD. It really feels more like you spent the whole day on trails and single track. The road sections dissapear from the memory, and you're left with this 5+ hours of riding single track with a group of awesome people with other awesome people joining for bits and spits.
'Our' group would swell and shrink, we'd all get mixed up together, chat, ride together and just really all with a common goal of having fun riding bikes.
Fun.
Bottom line amazing fun. Relaxed and fun.
Did I say fun?
Well now I have to say stay tuned for the next installment, because I'm out of time.
more words soon, hopefully,
heddwch
G
Motivation? maybe i can muster up a bit here while I'm waiting for a half dozen replies that will make the rest of the week either tolerable or insane.
Of course what seemed simple and maybe routine (with the new routine of building a few bikes a couple nights a week and the new spring soccer practice schedule) got messed up and for a bit looked like the Wed night smackdown might be in jeopardy. Which really would be funny because I broke down and bought a chain and an HG-50 9sp cassette to put on the Quantum Pro, to decrease the disadvantage against all those who show up on their latest and greatest bazzilion speed bikes and fancy light frames and stuff. The QP ain't much lighter if any than the plastic black blue but it is also a road bike designed to go not slow and the CXy bike is a CXy bike, it ain't made for speed. Even if i generally make it go almost fast. Maybe have some scheduling shenanigans sorted so maybe I can resurrect my hopes for getting out there on the Jade Chameleon machine. But we'll see.
Sitting down to write has been tough lately. But the talk went very well on Friday. More follow up questions from more different people and a diverse group of the audience than any of the other talks so that was gratifying. The other talks were cool and the car made it there and back despite some wonderful anxiety triggering speed vibrations. Heck sitting down now has been interuption city. Not sure anyone could tell, but I lost the train or the process a few times, picked it up but like with any good improv, kind of missed the original mark from the start. But then that's life no? You set off in a direction and sometimes encounters push you off path, plow you off course. Sometimes you get wrecked, sometimes something dramatic happens and sets you back on course. But then that's life eh?
#RdR2015 Way back i guess when I first started hearing rumbles and hints from Rosey and Velocb about route planning and all that, I kind of felt it would be really good to go this year. So I asked if I could bring a PVD team up. So we set it up, and I got on the captain list for the first time. It was special. Now who to join me? Well why not the guys I ride with all the time, who share the same kit and come from the same 'hood?
Sent an email out to the team listserve, and got some absolute 'IN's and a maybe. The maybe turned into a week before yes and then we spent 30+ emails trying to figure out how we were all going to get up there. To add to the mix and the urging of Velocb, we stuck in David B's Rasputitas ride partner who happens to be the same guy who graciously loaned me his fat bike to race at Eco-Cross, the one and only internet famous [not-so] old bearded hipster Alex, he even agreeed to fly the PVD team kit colors!
Joining me and Alex on the team roster was Syl L (our crazy french mtbr guy who rides his MTB on smackdowns and road rides and everywhere, and lived a few blocks from Washington Square Tavern for years), David B (they guy who got me to the Deltron 3030 show, a generally all around awesome happy stoked on life guy), Burke (CX star, MTBr, Roadie, world traveler, famous facial hair, and really happy positive enthusiastic and strong cyclist), and our kid, recent Brown grad now working/living up around the Sommerville area Sandy the guy as tall(taller?) than me. I saw Skinnywhitedude's name on the Captain list, but no riders. So I sent him a text. Got no response. Hmm, maybe he's ignoring me too? Sent him email. Oh he changed his number AGAIN and he ain't got a team, and I ran down our team and we became a band of seven.
Lucky number 7
The odds were stacked far against me the weeks leading up to it. So much going on, so much crazy. But we hit it big with that combination. After all the carpool crazy David wound up driving Alex and Burke, Curtis drove down and Sandy rode to the start. Syl picked me up, his wife along for a day wandering BOS while we were pedaling around, and van loaded we headed north.
And the sun was spectacular. Syl nearly took out a car that changed lanes rapidly as we were admiring the Intense low angle of sun lighting up the buildings with a dark dramatic sky to the west. It was one of those magic light days. Unbelievablely gorgeous.
Already I was relaxing and feeling at ease and optimistic. The day before was insane, worked at the bike shop, came home to make the chocolate peanut butter bars, AND dinner, and try and figure out what I was going to take. I had just barely gotten the bike ready. It has been a mechanical pain lately, I guess stuff actually does wear out? Go figure.
Out of the group of 7 only two of us were w/o some sort of navigational device, and everyone else was able to load the route. There were various levels of mapping going on and one of them took a long time to draw the route. The two w/o? Me and Alex (foreshawdowing if i ever get there). Pretty good odds tho.
We get there. Plenty of time. Some go grab coffee, I was wearing kit and the orange jumpsuit. Figuring it was time to put some good mojo in there. Yeah. Orange jumpsuit from the time I left the house until I got back (I should have worn it on the ride, i would have had lots more room for pocket beers).
Get sorted out, sunscreened up, I collect start money and waivers. Rosey says wait till just before you start. I hug everyone. So good to see everyone. Little cookie exchange with JLSCX, man it was just good. The energy was awesome, no angst, no stress, everyone was super chill and happy and, just awesome. Curtis was happy and relaxed and just yeah. It was good. Of course I decide that I need to take a shit at 8:10, and get in line in the tavern. And the. line. is. moving. so. slowly. By 8:25 I cut infront of three and get in and mid poop i hear "Is GeWilli in there?"
I rush out, hand the wad of releases and cash to Rosey, we pose for a pre-start photo taken by Velocb and more or less the orange clad crew rolled out from there. The weeks of uncertainty that I had been hiding and supressing, dark cloud of depression looming over, basically dissapeared. We rolled off the two guys w/o navigation in the lead (this is not the foreshawdowing part, just the facts) Alex and I took off first. Okay Alex took off and I rode up with him. Before the first big turn we debated who was going to be navigator. Burke or someone said we should appoint one person, and so we nominated the kid. Except his map drawing computer thing wasn't giving streets or stuff and so it turned into navigate by committee. Before we'd gotten too far another team joined us and so we were nearly a dozen strong when we hit the first section of dirt. Rolling through and around the rocks and roots filtered out who had decent tire set ups and David, who had been maddly pumping up his tubeless rear tire three of four times in the morning before we left announced that he'd burped it.
So we stopped.
4.6 miles into the ride.
And we made him put a tube in.
And lots of teams passed us.
Keeping a list of when or who was passed and where will be tough. Will try to but bottom line it really did feel like we rode with every team out there. Obviously we didn't but we got damn close and every team was full of super super awesome people.
The cool thing about the RdR for me was familiarity. Even though this was my 3rd? time many of the sections I've seen before and lots of them I remember. But then some I don't. They are more of a Deja Vu sort of feel, familiar and it feels right, vs "hey I know where we're going" kind of a thing. A comforting feeling.
The ride was f'n spectacular. Off the bat the group was solid and pretty decently matched. Syl obviously could have SMOKED us on the single track and he did a pretty good job of that a few times but there was no feeling of needing to win, wanting to be first, or any of that.
The overall group feel and dynamic was support, fun, patient and stick together. It was a band of brothers i guess? We were literally a team and holy shit that was an awesome experience. It wasn't struggle free and perfect but I think how everything was handled was super awesome.
Okay so RdR is a single track ride with some road thrown in. SOME ROAD. It really feels more like you spent the whole day on trails and single track. The road sections dissapear from the memory, and you're left with this 5+ hours of riding single track with a group of awesome people with other awesome people joining for bits and spits.
'Our' group would swell and shrink, we'd all get mixed up together, chat, ride together and just really all with a common goal of having fun riding bikes.
Fun.
Bottom line amazing fun. Relaxed and fun.
Did I say fun?
Well now I have to say stay tuned for the next installment, because I'm out of time.
more words soon, hopefully,
heddwch
G
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Ronde de Rosey 2015 - so good
Amazing.
Much needed.
Riding can fix most things.
An attitude adjustment that I needed and that worked.
It was one of the best days every.
Best day on the bike maybe? From the amazing morning sunlight on the city as we drove in. To the team I rode with. To riding with nearly every other team on the road at some point or another. Having a group of 30+ riders all together. from catching up and riding with some just flat out amazing friends.
The hugs, the high fives, the smiles. The beers, the trails.
I'll get to writing it up (probably before I get to writing up Boston ride) more officially.
more completely, things are still super crazy and I have a few minutes, but not enough minutes.
But here's a few photos:
The team before the ride. Such a great crew pretty much smiling the whole day.
The most epic of epic shots... the 'gram crop is one i'm pretty happy with... hangin with the Drifters+ Matt Roy posting it was amazing. High fived those guys and then Matt motioned me over to sit down once i had my beer. I mean just hanging out with everyone, but this shot was grammed and posted with a great suggestion. Not much difference from the raw to the gram, but the minor tweaks... anyway
Such an amazing ride, Thank you Scott. I haven't been to all of them but this had to be the best ever.
heddwch
G
Much needed.
Riding can fix most things.
An attitude adjustment that I needed and that worked.
It was one of the best days every.
Best day on the bike maybe? From the amazing morning sunlight on the city as we drove in. To the team I rode with. To riding with nearly every other team on the road at some point or another. Having a group of 30+ riders all together. from catching up and riding with some just flat out amazing friends.
The hugs, the high fives, the smiles. The beers, the trails.
I'll get to writing it up (probably before I get to writing up Boston ride) more officially.
more completely, things are still super crazy and I have a few minutes, but not enough minutes.
But here's a few photos:
The team before the ride. Such a great crew pretty much smiling the whole day.
this is us after the ride, still smiling
The most epic of epic shots... the 'gram crop is one i'm pretty happy with... hangin with the Drifters+ Matt Roy posting it was amazing. High fived those guys and then Matt motioned me over to sit down once i had my beer. I mean just hanging out with everyone, but this shot was grammed and posted with a great suggestion. Not much difference from the raw to the gram, but the minor tweaks... anyway
Such an amazing ride, Thank you Scott. I haven't been to all of them but this had to be the best ever.
heddwch
G
Friday, April 24, 2015
foggy mush
Usually I start with a title and go from there.
But maybe I need to loosen a bit of the constrains or the issue of having it not be sitting there looking at me saying "dude you are off on a tanget" and of course I always see it as failing to follow objective, aka just flat out failing.
That's me.
Despite measures of success or profeiciency always seem to fail, or feel like a failure. Like my spelling. Fuck it. Mis-spelled words bug you? I got piles of them.
scheduling
juggling calendars, timing, planning... multiple ones, lots of different users and limitations. Usually my strength.
but been taxed way more than usual lately.
to the point even simple scheduling with where to be when with the kids activities is completely breaking me.
can't function.
brain turns to foggy mush and I lose it.
trying to get to RdR with the PVD team is stupid complicated. Everyone has their own limitations, 'won't pick everyone up at their house no way, one stop' or this or that or fuckit i dunno
give up almost
frustrated, exhausted, overwhelmed at work with the complexity of everything.
anxious about the need to go to Thornwood but not having reliable transport. too far to ride... and get work done.
stressin about the talk next week. Should really be working on that now.
i'm not.
back at working the second job, it obviously is adding to the scheduling stress, both pride in building coupled with needing the extra income.
I dunno if i should write about the long ride, everytime i go back to think about it i get depressed. But then maybe it is just one of those things that needs to be put down in words and then move on from there.
Funny how little it takes to unhinge me lately, how i can go from feeling awesome to boom *hands in the air* f'it level
rode in so slowly today. sure didn't help that I put the heavy tires back on. got thinking abit. stupid fucking asshole cold headwind.
thought about some friends who have a show tonight... a short one middle of a set, but timing is of course not going to work out.
that thinking and the wind got me thinking about stuff and then I just started singing Amazing Grace. Just me and the wind on the path. In tune? I think so. I know the words, at least to the first verse, then i started improve.
I liked the flow, i changed the melody, I wrote the lyrics on the fly and I liked the song, I like the meaning of the words and the implications and how i wove them and looped them back a bit but never creating a chorus, just a steady stream of conciousness song. So I'm singing, and as I'm singing and making words and rhyming and creating a melody I'm also at the same time wishing I could remember the words, remember the melody, write it all down and record it.
But. I can't. I didn't. I have tried it in the past, and when I play the tape back the sound of my voice irks me, little comfort in hearing that I'm usually bang on the note, rarely out of tune but, i guess that was a long time ago.
The closest I got to writing the improve down was for one of the Lullabys I sing to the girls at night. It was actually in michigan, a lullaby I made up for my oldest. I sang it one night, then managed to remember it the next. And write it down.
Still now more than 10 years later I sing each of the girls (even though they are in the same room) their own lullaby. Each one gets a different melody, gets different words, similar phrases I suppose, sometimes the lullabys reflect some musical influence from the evening. Usually they are just what ever comes out of my head, a soft comforting melody, soothing words, for my precious girls.
But I sang as I pedaled. Thought about child hood musical influences like Gordon Bok, Hound Dog Taylor, all the poetry I read (and could never memorize), the quotes I'd find and share with someone... even growing up, I would make up lyrics and melodies and songs, like going to feed the chickens in the morning before school. My mother tells the story of sneaking out of the back door just as I went out the front so she could listen to whatever song I would make up walking down to the chicken coop.
The singing today, no just me...
It didn't help much, turned into blues with a lilting meldoy vaguely evocative of Amazing Grace...
Once I got through the morning meetings I cued up the Deltron 3030 station on pandora and yeah, listed to 'rap' or whatever pigeon hole you fit the Pandora algorithm based on that band's genere.
Very lyrical and complex cerebral lyrics for the most part. But then, it is rap, but more to me I guess it is poetry with a bit of a bass line.
Then just now song tangent thanks to to Carl
I should move onto writing something productive, positive, or whatever. Or not.
This ship's got some work do to, the steering linkage is bused and there's no feedback from the engine room, but the merciful winds and currents have kept us safe thus far. The one man crew is working on fixing. But man, he's one over worked, under appreciated and under paid dude. How long can one carry on like that. Who knows, but one set of lyrics I remember from this morning:
One foot down,
and another foot down
we keep moving along
The weekend comes, work and crazy schedule on Saturday, RdR2015 on sunday, back to insanity here on Monday, repeat until Christmas.
heddwch
G
But maybe I need to loosen a bit of the constrains or the issue of having it not be sitting there looking at me saying "dude you are off on a tanget" and of course I always see it as failing to follow objective, aka just flat out failing.
That's me.
Despite measures of success or profeiciency always seem to fail, or feel like a failure. Like my spelling. Fuck it. Mis-spelled words bug you? I got piles of them.
scheduling
juggling calendars, timing, planning... multiple ones, lots of different users and limitations. Usually my strength.
but been taxed way more than usual lately.
to the point even simple scheduling with where to be when with the kids activities is completely breaking me.
can't function.
brain turns to foggy mush and I lose it.
trying to get to RdR with the PVD team is stupid complicated. Everyone has their own limitations, 'won't pick everyone up at their house no way, one stop' or this or that or fuckit i dunno
give up almost
frustrated, exhausted, overwhelmed at work with the complexity of everything.
anxious about the need to go to Thornwood but not having reliable transport. too far to ride... and get work done.
stressin about the talk next week. Should really be working on that now.
i'm not.
back at working the second job, it obviously is adding to the scheduling stress, both pride in building coupled with needing the extra income.
I dunno if i should write about the long ride, everytime i go back to think about it i get depressed. But then maybe it is just one of those things that needs to be put down in words and then move on from there.
Funny how little it takes to unhinge me lately, how i can go from feeling awesome to boom *hands in the air* f'it level
rode in so slowly today. sure didn't help that I put the heavy tires back on. got thinking abit. stupid fucking asshole cold headwind.
thought about some friends who have a show tonight... a short one middle of a set, but timing is of course not going to work out.
that thinking and the wind got me thinking about stuff and then I just started singing Amazing Grace. Just me and the wind on the path. In tune? I think so. I know the words, at least to the first verse, then i started improve.
I liked the flow, i changed the melody, I wrote the lyrics on the fly and I liked the song, I like the meaning of the words and the implications and how i wove them and looped them back a bit but never creating a chorus, just a steady stream of conciousness song. So I'm singing, and as I'm singing and making words and rhyming and creating a melody I'm also at the same time wishing I could remember the words, remember the melody, write it all down and record it.
But. I can't. I didn't. I have tried it in the past, and when I play the tape back the sound of my voice irks me, little comfort in hearing that I'm usually bang on the note, rarely out of tune but, i guess that was a long time ago.
The closest I got to writing the improve down was for one of the Lullabys I sing to the girls at night. It was actually in michigan, a lullaby I made up for my oldest. I sang it one night, then managed to remember it the next. And write it down.
Still now more than 10 years later I sing each of the girls (even though they are in the same room) their own lullaby. Each one gets a different melody, gets different words, similar phrases I suppose, sometimes the lullabys reflect some musical influence from the evening. Usually they are just what ever comes out of my head, a soft comforting melody, soothing words, for my precious girls.
But I sang as I pedaled. Thought about child hood musical influences like Gordon Bok, Hound Dog Taylor, all the poetry I read (and could never memorize), the quotes I'd find and share with someone... even growing up, I would make up lyrics and melodies and songs, like going to feed the chickens in the morning before school. My mother tells the story of sneaking out of the back door just as I went out the front so she could listen to whatever song I would make up walking down to the chicken coop.
The singing today, no just me...
It didn't help much, turned into blues with a lilting meldoy vaguely evocative of Amazing Grace...
Once I got through the morning meetings I cued up the Deltron 3030 station on pandora and yeah, listed to 'rap' or whatever pigeon hole you fit the Pandora algorithm based on that band's genere.
Very lyrical and complex cerebral lyrics for the most part. But then, it is rap, but more to me I guess it is poetry with a bit of a bass line.
Then just now song tangent thanks to to Carl
I should move onto writing something productive, positive, or whatever. Or not.
This ship's got some work do to, the steering linkage is bused and there's no feedback from the engine room, but the merciful winds and currents have kept us safe thus far. The one man crew is working on fixing. But man, he's one over worked, under appreciated and under paid dude. How long can one carry on like that. Who knows, but one set of lyrics I remember from this morning:
One foot down,
and another foot down
we keep moving along
The weekend comes, work and crazy schedule on Saturday, RdR2015 on sunday, back to insanity here on Monday, repeat until Christmas.
heddwch
G
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
back to food and stuff
Read this, I take a few issues with it but mostly can let it stand as it is pretty close to correct.
That said: training isn't doing something once. Training is doing something with enough repetition that you show improvements. Not improving isn't training, that's just recreation, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But if you ARE training (doing specific workouts) or competeing at all, you shouldn't ignore the food side of things and the timing and impact of the food.
Best bottom line from the write up tailor what you eat so what you train is going to be most successful.
The doper enabler that has done more for the eat real food movement than anyone (Allen Lim) says much the same in his first book, and contiunes in he second.
Which I was reminded of when I read this just after the TP one.
That last one brought back up the Insulin issue.
If eat something that will spike your insulin, your body is generally going to store the calories w/o burning them. That's why a bowl of frosted flakes with a few teaspoons of sugar, skim milk and a glass of orange juice is going to be great fuel for a second but if you aren't immediately getting on an hour of HIIT or a CX race simulation most all of those calories are going to be converted to fat and stored. Not burned.
Implication for calorie counters: You'll be hungry way before you think you should because while your calorie count is where it should be (aka Cronoman and his powertap based caloric consumption) you will likely feel hungry and be 'underfueled.' If you have an extended fast and well exercised fat metabolism, and you have a fast before you subject your body to another big insulin spike, there's a good chance you'll burn off those stored fat calories...
Now if you are in glycogen deficit, and you're used to refilling glycogen then much of that pile of sugar you ate will go to the muscles instead of having the liver make it all into fat.
BUT first thing in the morning you will have the highest level of Glycogen (it gets stored overnight, aka why better to have your sugar at night than first thing in the morning).
It is simple. And complicated, and biggest issue is it messes with some people's habitual stuff.
But hey. Smoking was habitual for many people. Why stop smoking. It won't kill me for a while.
Why should I give up my morning breakfast of skim milk, grains(aka sugar) and uber processed chemically flavored premium orange juice?
-- yeah i'll write up the long ride sometime --
10 minutes between dealing with This grant after the sample sorting and trainings and user set up and NO LUNCH - I ate lunch but it was a hurried rushed thing. Links read between, or while waiting for late people.
So people who were late? Thanks. Your delay gave me a chance to read a little.
Oh and this link:
http://belgianwerkx.com/2015/04/the-anti-customer/
I won't say it on Facebook but I'll say it here. If you buy a shit ton of high end bikes but always take them to one shop to get them fixed, but never buy any of these fancy bikes from that shop... well... next time you're ready to dump a giant wad of cash on a bike. Buy one from that shop.
repairs are great, accessories and other stuff, they are nice too. But when you spend a couple grand on a bike, that's really actually pretty important for them to keep the doors open.
When you bring in your custom special bike for work they'll be less begrudging and grumpy behind your back if they know you've also picked up an Emonda, Boone or Superfly or Santa Cruz or something, kids bikes? yeah those are helpful but not really the same.
Like Glen said, shops don't like eating the crumbs if they don't get the cake too.
And to everyone walking in while they are going nuts right now (understaffed and overworked now that the weather has gotten nice) The mechanics in the shop didn't become mechanics to work on your shit for free. Esp when they are two weeks out on repairs for people who are willing to pay for it.
heddwch
G
That said: training isn't doing something once. Training is doing something with enough repetition that you show improvements. Not improving isn't training, that's just recreation, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But if you ARE training (doing specific workouts) or competeing at all, you shouldn't ignore the food side of things and the timing and impact of the food.
Best bottom line from the write up tailor what you eat so what you train is going to be most successful.
The doper enabler that has done more for the eat real food movement than anyone (Allen Lim) says much the same in his first book, and contiunes in he second.
Which I was reminded of when I read this just after the TP one.
That last one brought back up the Insulin issue.
If eat something that will spike your insulin, your body is generally going to store the calories w/o burning them. That's why a bowl of frosted flakes with a few teaspoons of sugar, skim milk and a glass of orange juice is going to be great fuel for a second but if you aren't immediately getting on an hour of HIIT or a CX race simulation most all of those calories are going to be converted to fat and stored. Not burned.
Implication for calorie counters: You'll be hungry way before you think you should because while your calorie count is where it should be (aka Cronoman and his powertap based caloric consumption) you will likely feel hungry and be 'underfueled.' If you have an extended fast and well exercised fat metabolism, and you have a fast before you subject your body to another big insulin spike, there's a good chance you'll burn off those stored fat calories...
Now if you are in glycogen deficit, and you're used to refilling glycogen then much of that pile of sugar you ate will go to the muscles instead of having the liver make it all into fat.
BUT first thing in the morning you will have the highest level of Glycogen (it gets stored overnight, aka why better to have your sugar at night than first thing in the morning).
It is simple. And complicated, and biggest issue is it messes with some people's habitual stuff.
But hey. Smoking was habitual for many people. Why stop smoking. It won't kill me for a while.
Why should I give up my morning breakfast of skim milk, grains(aka sugar) and uber processed chemically flavored premium orange juice?
-- yeah i'll write up the long ride sometime --
10 minutes between dealing with This grant after the sample sorting and trainings and user set up and NO LUNCH - I ate lunch but it was a hurried rushed thing. Links read between, or while waiting for late people.
So people who were late? Thanks. Your delay gave me a chance to read a little.
Oh and this link:
http://belgianwerkx.com/2015/04/the-anti-customer/
I won't say it on Facebook but I'll say it here. If you buy a shit ton of high end bikes but always take them to one shop to get them fixed, but never buy any of these fancy bikes from that shop... well... next time you're ready to dump a giant wad of cash on a bike. Buy one from that shop.
repairs are great, accessories and other stuff, they are nice too. But when you spend a couple grand on a bike, that's really actually pretty important for them to keep the doors open.
When you bring in your custom special bike for work they'll be less begrudging and grumpy behind your back if they know you've also picked up an Emonda, Boone or Superfly or Santa Cruz or something, kids bikes? yeah those are helpful but not really the same.
Like Glen said, shops don't like eating the crumbs if they don't get the cake too.
And to everyone walking in while they are going nuts right now (understaffed and overworked now that the weather has gotten nice) The mechanics in the shop didn't become mechanics to work on your shit for free. Esp when they are two weeks out on repairs for people who are willing to pay for it.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The post that started off with the goal of being about that last ride to Boston/Cambridge
I should probably document it for myself. Not for anyone else because I guess while I was motivated to ride up there in order to support and be there for someone, relationships are two ways streets, but they are also more like double tracks in the woods. If they don't get used they get over grown. You can walk on track down yourself but you can't keep both paths open alone. But you can keep the path between clear alone.
The metaphor works for me as it allows me to imagine one of the many old two-tracks in the forest growing up. Watching them become dis-used and eventually dissapear. When there's no reason to keep traveling on it the barriers of stinging nettles and black berry brambles are a pretty good deterent to look elsewhere for places to walk.
But underlying the overgrowth and pioneer plants are those worn and packed tracks. Takes some effort but they can be recovered and put back into use. But that sort of thing takes two people.
And then there are relationships where the other side deliberately seeds barriers, knocks down a tree or two across the two tracks.
Moving through life is a curious thing. It must be way easier when you can legitimately think about what's best for you and ignore impacts of others. Oh don't worry, I know there's so many times I've been super selfish, thought only about myself, and pretty much every one of those times causes me some variable measure of greif and anquish when I reflect on it.
As much of an effort as I have made to keep writing and get things out of my head here, I've only been moderately successful, aka totally failing in past GeWilli superblogger's mind. But then that's okay. Things are insane and complicated and the demands everywhere are a challenge, sucking up time and energy. That or i'm just getting old and am un-inspired.
Definitely searching for a new muse I guess. Somewhat lost in many ways, not that a muse is a person in the flesh, they can be. Sometimes a dog, a pet, a simple park bench with a view. Maybe I need to go hang out on my favorite bench some more. It is probably soaking wet right now. Kind of miss eating lunch their with friends. Okay I'm not fooling anyone, i've never had friends, maybe a friend now and then will join me there. My mother, on visits, has joined me for lunch and we've eaten at that bench, usually getting something from East Side Pockets.
The other imaging facility across the hall that I'm not a part of has had a steady influx of workers. Guys either fixing the wall, installing stuff, moving stuff. Working together. Talking. With eachother. As I'm sitting here emailing, scheduling, trying to make sense of quotes and figure out what's next on the list of stuff that has to get done. As much as this gig is a part of me, it also kind of, for another part of me, unfulfilling/empty. Forunately bikeshop has gotten busy enough to ask me to come back and that's a nice social/but task oriented and productive kind of outlet. Keeps me balanced I guess, at least until it gets slow there, and CX picks up.
I should really get to the whole point of writing about the long ride, eh?
maybe later...
heddwch
G
The metaphor works for me as it allows me to imagine one of the many old two-tracks in the forest growing up. Watching them become dis-used and eventually dissapear. When there's no reason to keep traveling on it the barriers of stinging nettles and black berry brambles are a pretty good deterent to look elsewhere for places to walk.
But underlying the overgrowth and pioneer plants are those worn and packed tracks. Takes some effort but they can be recovered and put back into use. But that sort of thing takes two people.
And then there are relationships where the other side deliberately seeds barriers, knocks down a tree or two across the two tracks.
Moving through life is a curious thing. It must be way easier when you can legitimately think about what's best for you and ignore impacts of others. Oh don't worry, I know there's so many times I've been super selfish, thought only about myself, and pretty much every one of those times causes me some variable measure of greif and anquish when I reflect on it.
As much of an effort as I have made to keep writing and get things out of my head here, I've only been moderately successful, aka totally failing in past GeWilli superblogger's mind. But then that's okay. Things are insane and complicated and the demands everywhere are a challenge, sucking up time and energy. That or i'm just getting old and am un-inspired.
Definitely searching for a new muse I guess. Somewhat lost in many ways, not that a muse is a person in the flesh, they can be. Sometimes a dog, a pet, a simple park bench with a view. Maybe I need to go hang out on my favorite bench some more. It is probably soaking wet right now. Kind of miss eating lunch their with friends. Okay I'm not fooling anyone, i've never had friends, maybe a friend now and then will join me there. My mother, on visits, has joined me for lunch and we've eaten at that bench, usually getting something from East Side Pockets.
The other imaging facility across the hall that I'm not a part of has had a steady influx of workers. Guys either fixing the wall, installing stuff, moving stuff. Working together. Talking. With eachother. As I'm sitting here emailing, scheduling, trying to make sense of quotes and figure out what's next on the list of stuff that has to get done. As much as this gig is a part of me, it also kind of, for another part of me, unfulfilling/empty. Forunately bikeshop has gotten busy enough to ask me to come back and that's a nice social/but task oriented and productive kind of outlet. Keeps me balanced I guess, at least until it gets slow there, and CX picks up.
I should really get to the whole point of writing about the long ride, eh?
maybe later...
heddwch
G
Monday, April 13, 2015
life of introspection aka the overthinking introvert
nice title - maybe inappropriate for such a short remark (at least it is starting off intenting to be short)
I don't run [much/enough] but this resonates... they [the demons] quiet in my head during intervals, or in races that go well. Races that I'm not doing well in tend to bring them back out in force. All day rides bring out a different set.
But maybe i don't ride to silence them.
I ride maybe to come to terms with them sometimes, to overthink and overthink and overthink. And less overthink and more meditate and process I guess.
Better work for overthinking is processing. It is appropriately descriptive, and less negatively saturated with stigma than overthinking is.
Processing thoughts, feelings, sometimes, and rarely to a positive end. But somethings do work well going through the neruon machine. I've gotten better and filtering stuff together, better at capturing good ideas that arise out of free form processing on the bike, on the commute.
I should really transition into writing about Last monday's ride to Boston and back. I should. But I also need to do taxes today (or at least start them). Anxeity riddled scary baggage associated with it. That said, I know, analytically that it is just sitting down with computer, a stack of numbers and punching it in, entering my credit card/bank info for refund/payment and getting it over. Simple, no? Deadline isn't until the 15th. Usually we have to get it done way early in Feb for financial aid applications, but well they moved those deadlines up to December. Thanks alot for that. Suddenly instead of the Feb deadlines I have April...
With luck the second book in the Hyperion series won't be ready to check out until the 15th (or when taxes are finished), why? because reading that is way more fun and distracting.
But it doesn't silence the demons. Doesn't deal with the anxiety. I know how to deal with it but even as distant and clinical as I can get, it doesn't actually make it easier to do.
I've also sat through my 3rd PhD defense talk in 10 days.
What is science? Stuff. What is effecitve science? Engaging an audience, captivating them and getting them to understand your stuff. Bonus points for keeping the attention of the experts in the field as well as those who don't have a clue.
Overthinking. Demons. Yup.
Does it get easier? No, not really. Because you find more and more people who are doing it all better than you. Doing what? Everything. And my brain can't function or focus on anything I do well enough to leverage it to happiness. Always focusing on failings. There has to be something redeeming about me or my life or some purpose besides just being miserable, right? Sometimes I find a glimmer of reasoning, but usually I don't.
That's why this panel (can be found in the link above) is the most difficult, real, aka woke up all my demons. So keep in mind, everytime an introvert/overthinker tries to offer advice, it is probably because the advice is coming from a good place, a place of wanting to help. Being frustrated or getting emotional and directing anger and frustrations at them for saying something kind of fucks them up. A lot. Keep in mind, if you find one of these people's comments difficult to deal with, imagine how self critical they are, imagine the constant internal dialog that none one else hears.
I guess the post wound up hitting the target and all the tangents.
Oh and I've tried running to escape them. It makes them louder. "How's the form? You look stupid running, keep your arms in line, why are you slowing down? think about the breathing? Why is it taking so long to get there? The bike is so much faster! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING? Oh man this is going to take months before it is going to be anywhere close to efficient? Is that really worth the time off the bike?"
maybe I'll start running anyway... I've started planking.
heddwch
G
PS (after ride home) need to make a correction, in addition to overthinking, i underthink too. super polarized. and then of course i overthink my underthink/immediate reactions and they become demons that follow me around too. Sometimes the underthink stuff is good, sometimes? not so much. but worse is the blackhole. Send email - no response. Should always expect responses i guess. I probably leave enough emails hanging w/o responding to deserve all the silence in return. Also.
i'm still really tired from last week.
But maybe i don't ride to silence them.
I ride maybe to come to terms with them sometimes, to overthink and overthink and overthink. And less overthink and more meditate and process I guess.
Better work for overthinking is processing. It is appropriately descriptive, and less negatively saturated with stigma than overthinking is.
Processing thoughts, feelings, sometimes, and rarely to a positive end. But somethings do work well going through the neruon machine. I've gotten better and filtering stuff together, better at capturing good ideas that arise out of free form processing on the bike, on the commute.
I should really transition into writing about Last monday's ride to Boston and back. I should. But I also need to do taxes today (or at least start them). Anxeity riddled scary baggage associated with it. That said, I know, analytically that it is just sitting down with computer, a stack of numbers and punching it in, entering my credit card/bank info for refund/payment and getting it over. Simple, no? Deadline isn't until the 15th. Usually we have to get it done way early in Feb for financial aid applications, but well they moved those deadlines up to December. Thanks alot for that. Suddenly instead of the Feb deadlines I have April...
With luck the second book in the Hyperion series won't be ready to check out until the 15th (or when taxes are finished), why? because reading that is way more fun and distracting.
But it doesn't silence the demons. Doesn't deal with the anxiety. I know how to deal with it but even as distant and clinical as I can get, it doesn't actually make it easier to do.
I've also sat through my 3rd PhD defense talk in 10 days.
What is science? Stuff. What is effecitve science? Engaging an audience, captivating them and getting them to understand your stuff. Bonus points for keeping the attention of the experts in the field as well as those who don't have a clue.
Overthinking. Demons. Yup.
Does it get easier? No, not really. Because you find more and more people who are doing it all better than you. Doing what? Everything. And my brain can't function or focus on anything I do well enough to leverage it to happiness. Always focusing on failings. There has to be something redeeming about me or my life or some purpose besides just being miserable, right? Sometimes I find a glimmer of reasoning, but usually I don't.
That's why this panel (can be found in the link above) is the most difficult, real, aka woke up all my demons. So keep in mind, everytime an introvert/overthinker tries to offer advice, it is probably because the advice is coming from a good place, a place of wanting to help. Being frustrated or getting emotional and directing anger and frustrations at them for saying something kind of fucks them up. A lot. Keep in mind, if you find one of these people's comments difficult to deal with, imagine how self critical they are, imagine the constant internal dialog that none one else hears.
I guess the post wound up hitting the target and all the tangents.
Oh and I've tried running to escape them. It makes them louder. "How's the form? You look stupid running, keep your arms in line, why are you slowing down? think about the breathing? Why is it taking so long to get there? The bike is so much faster! WHY ARE YOU RUNNING? Oh man this is going to take months before it is going to be anywhere close to efficient? Is that really worth the time off the bike?"
maybe I'll start running anyway... I've started planking.
heddwch
G
PS (after ride home) need to make a correction, in addition to overthinking, i underthink too. super polarized. and then of course i overthink my underthink/immediate reactions and they become demons that follow me around too. Sometimes the underthink stuff is good, sometimes? not so much. but worse is the blackhole. Send email - no response. Should always expect responses i guess. I probably leave enough emails hanging w/o responding to deserve all the silence in return. Also.
i'm still really tired from last week.
Saturday, April 04, 2015
salt good, sugar bad... mkay?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4336865/
sure - just a review, of questionable epidemiological studies and experimental trials.
But, like recent meta data, reviews are usually on the mark, up to date on scientific evidence and well cited.
Not much of an exception here.
Then again I tend to agree with the conclusions drawn.
Salt good (unless you have failing kidneys and then maybe not so much, but you've got bigger problems in that case)
Sugar bad
even cupcakes.
not real food. never ever. horrible little things. have some sugar with your sugar and other sugar. and let me load it with red dye that causes attention disorders and call it velvet. awesome. cupcakes are not real food.
yummy? yup, sure, if you find pancreatic crippling sweetness yummy.
extra bitter tonight i suppose.
eh, what's new. i'm impossible.
sure - just a review, of questionable epidemiological studies and experimental trials.
But, like recent meta data, reviews are usually on the mark, up to date on scientific evidence and well cited.
Not much of an exception here.
Then again I tend to agree with the conclusions drawn.
Salt good (unless you have failing kidneys and then maybe not so much, but you've got bigger problems in that case)
Sugar bad
even cupcakes.
not real food. never ever. horrible little things. have some sugar with your sugar and other sugar. and let me load it with red dye that causes attention disorders and call it velvet. awesome. cupcakes are not real food.
yummy? yup, sure, if you find pancreatic crippling sweetness yummy.
extra bitter tonight i suppose.
eh, what's new. i'm impossible.
Thursday, April 02, 2015
smackdown write up? this week?
I suppose I should.
The lack of turnout let me slip into a debate with someone on twitter who was 'curbing' group rides. Worthless no need why drive to them stupid serve no purpose Roadies are elitest d'bags only concerned with tubular deep section carbon wheels.
Yup. Then you got guys now who only race training races. "They know how to race" um no it is a training race and no one gives a shit. "Group riding is too sketchy" "road races/crits are too sketchy" "roadies are d'bags".
No I'm a CXr. Well first a bike mechanic. I never found my niche in the road scene. Dirtbag mt biker turned into Roadie by buying a Paramount and drafted onto the cycling team by Geo in college.
it came up that someone has been riding for half their life. Damn that's not much. If I go back to my first bike shit i've almost hit the four decade mark riding two wheels. and i'm only in my not quite mid 40s.
But then maybe they are only 20... percentages. I guess some people start late.
the group ride thing. It is different now.
Roadies all nod. It is code. Right? One of my friends commented, roadies always wave, but almost none of the hybrid riders acknowledge anyone. That's his observation.
Last night after the smackdown a there were three cyclists working on a flat change. One cranking a tiny min pump with a turtled bike. I said loud and clearly "NEED HELP?" and the hesitation made me stop.
More code eh? If a cyclists is on the side of the road, always ask if they need help. Yes, even if you are late. Or have no tools or anything. Maybe there is a chance you can provide assistance, or if nothing else just the simple offer is enough to turn their bad day into a good one. Never pass a rider on the side of the road, no matter what bike they are on, w/o offering. Worst case you can't do anything, but if they know that you tried and can't help it is still exponetially better to have stopped than to have ridden by.
This group of cyclists was effusive with thanks for just offering. They had watched countless cyclists ride past not even looking at them much less asking if help was needed. It wasn't. Or at least by the time i got my frame pump out and started switching it from soccer ball filling schrader valve to presta they realized the patch wasn't holding and the one with the flat was going to walk home and the other two were going to continue on.
Drives home two points to me. Always ask. Easiest way is the Ben Folsom Method "NEED HELP?" Simple, clear, unabiguous. The responses are equally clear. A NO is easy to interpret and you can keep going. Anything else and you f'n stop.
Back to smackdown.
I rolled up. It was awesome in the sun but the wind was brutal and cold. I was kind of hoping that no one would show and I could just ride back to the office, get my backpack and head home. But Andrew was there.
Only Andrew. Guess he's gonna keep me honest. He's also prep'n for Battenkill so this wed night thing is important but isn't his only thing and, as y'all know, he's a good 50# lighter than me and a former elite/varsity level lightweight crew dude. Aka #alllungs
Great, We've got big mr watts and the climber dude. Of course we went out. I assumed that Fox's comment about never riding his bike again were joking. But he didn't show like he usually did over on Broadway. Damnit. It really is just the two of us. "I'm gonna get my ass kicked." Bottom line? I did. He crushed me on Pine. We road Rocky Hill together, but I think that was more him sitting on my wheel. He dissapeared on the second pitch of Hillside. And gave a solid power dig in his big (way bigger than mine) big ring and 11/12 cog downhill into the wind. I may have put some pressure on over on Walker but man. It was a good ride. Great ride.
Not the fastest ever, not the slowest but it was great. Almost from the get go i could feel my right calf a bit edging on the cramp side - i knew by a few other signs that I was slightly dehydrated. Not optimal. But I survived. And even just the two of us we had a great smackdown ride.
Dissapointing turnout for a routine well advertised ride. Is it too hard? The beginners get dropped all the time, but hey, who knows. I'm going to keep doing it for a few reasons. One usually at least one or two of my friends shows up and riding with people you like is always something to relish. Second i know that even though I was destroyed by Andrew on the hills, it helps me. It pushes me beyond where I'd normally go with my commute and my riding.
There is value in the group ride.
Yes, a good group ride is more like a training race than a social tea party. And functionally can be better than a training race if the combinations are met just so.
I tired to take it easy riding in this morning to recover, It worked pretty well. But the ride home? Fuuuuuuck. First I was late so I had to push it. Second? BRUTAL F'N HEADWIND. It was a nice reminder that. nope, not recovered from yesterday.
Planning a Monday ride. Long Ride. Boston and back ride.
I miss the whole day in the saddle. Can't wait to be back. Looked for ride partners, got radio silence. Kind of like usual though.
There's a reason they've kept me in the basement w/o windows or social interactions in the IRL category for the last 20+ years. Reinforced by the lack of response. But hey, i'm used to it. finally figuring it out. Finally being okay with the guy left alone way off in isolation. I'm also sort of seeing part of a pattern with why i've wound up friends with socially awkward bullies. Wayne in first grade... it carries on - I only pick his name because I think last i heard he was not maybe the best roll model in South Kidsap county.
That bike racing woman who was a grad student then moved on said something about her two readers in her blog, and I definately think maybe she has more than two. Right now I'm wondering... shit maybe the 6 page views (as tracked by google) are two people clicking from three different devices/IPs. Would make sense.
This journey isn't straighforward. It isn't easy. But it is starting to make sense to me, and I'm more okay lately.
I'm also going to be talking at a fancy PRO meeting about nanoscape on may 1st. So that's pretty amazingly awesome too.
Life's a pretty f'n amazing journey. Even when it sucks it beats the alternative.
heddwch
G
The lack of turnout let me slip into a debate with someone on twitter who was 'curbing' group rides. Worthless no need why drive to them stupid serve no purpose Roadies are elitest d'bags only concerned with tubular deep section carbon wheels.
Yup. Then you got guys now who only race training races. "They know how to race" um no it is a training race and no one gives a shit. "Group riding is too sketchy" "road races/crits are too sketchy" "roadies are d'bags".
No I'm a CXr. Well first a bike mechanic. I never found my niche in the road scene. Dirtbag mt biker turned into Roadie by buying a Paramount and drafted onto the cycling team by Geo in college.
it came up that someone has been riding for half their life. Damn that's not much. If I go back to my first bike shit i've almost hit the four decade mark riding two wheels. and i'm only in my not quite mid 40s.
But then maybe they are only 20... percentages. I guess some people start late.
the group ride thing. It is different now.
Roadies all nod. It is code. Right? One of my friends commented, roadies always wave, but almost none of the hybrid riders acknowledge anyone. That's his observation.
Last night after the smackdown a there were three cyclists working on a flat change. One cranking a tiny min pump with a turtled bike. I said loud and clearly "NEED HELP?" and the hesitation made me stop.
More code eh? If a cyclists is on the side of the road, always ask if they need help. Yes, even if you are late. Or have no tools or anything. Maybe there is a chance you can provide assistance, or if nothing else just the simple offer is enough to turn their bad day into a good one. Never pass a rider on the side of the road, no matter what bike they are on, w/o offering. Worst case you can't do anything, but if they know that you tried and can't help it is still exponetially better to have stopped than to have ridden by.
This group of cyclists was effusive with thanks for just offering. They had watched countless cyclists ride past not even looking at them much less asking if help was needed. It wasn't. Or at least by the time i got my frame pump out and started switching it from soccer ball filling schrader valve to presta they realized the patch wasn't holding and the one with the flat was going to walk home and the other two were going to continue on.
Drives home two points to me. Always ask. Easiest way is the Ben Folsom Method "NEED HELP?" Simple, clear, unabiguous. The responses are equally clear. A NO is easy to interpret and you can keep going. Anything else and you f'n stop.
Back to smackdown.
I rolled up. It was awesome in the sun but the wind was brutal and cold. I was kind of hoping that no one would show and I could just ride back to the office, get my backpack and head home. But Andrew was there.
Only Andrew. Guess he's gonna keep me honest. He's also prep'n for Battenkill so this wed night thing is important but isn't his only thing and, as y'all know, he's a good 50# lighter than me and a former elite/varsity level lightweight crew dude. Aka #alllungs
Great, We've got big mr watts and the climber dude. Of course we went out. I assumed that Fox's comment about never riding his bike again were joking. But he didn't show like he usually did over on Broadway. Damnit. It really is just the two of us. "I'm gonna get my ass kicked." Bottom line? I did. He crushed me on Pine. We road Rocky Hill together, but I think that was more him sitting on my wheel. He dissapeared on the second pitch of Hillside. And gave a solid power dig in his big (way bigger than mine) big ring and 11/12 cog downhill into the wind. I may have put some pressure on over on Walker but man. It was a good ride. Great ride.
Not the fastest ever, not the slowest but it was great. Almost from the get go i could feel my right calf a bit edging on the cramp side - i knew by a few other signs that I was slightly dehydrated. Not optimal. But I survived. And even just the two of us we had a great smackdown ride.
Dissapointing turnout for a routine well advertised ride. Is it too hard? The beginners get dropped all the time, but hey, who knows. I'm going to keep doing it for a few reasons. One usually at least one or two of my friends shows up and riding with people you like is always something to relish. Second i know that even though I was destroyed by Andrew on the hills, it helps me. It pushes me beyond where I'd normally go with my commute and my riding.
There is value in the group ride.
Yes, a good group ride is more like a training race than a social tea party. And functionally can be better than a training race if the combinations are met just so.
I tired to take it easy riding in this morning to recover, It worked pretty well. But the ride home? Fuuuuuuck. First I was late so I had to push it. Second? BRUTAL F'N HEADWIND. It was a nice reminder that. nope, not recovered from yesterday.
Planning a Monday ride. Long Ride. Boston and back ride.
I miss the whole day in the saddle. Can't wait to be back. Looked for ride partners, got radio silence. Kind of like usual though.
There's a reason they've kept me in the basement w/o windows or social interactions in the IRL category for the last 20+ years. Reinforced by the lack of response. But hey, i'm used to it. finally figuring it out. Finally being okay with the guy left alone way off in isolation. I'm also sort of seeing part of a pattern with why i've wound up friends with socially awkward bullies. Wayne in first grade... it carries on - I only pick his name because I think last i heard he was not maybe the best roll model in South Kidsap county.
That bike racing woman who was a grad student then moved on said something about her two readers in her blog, and I definately think maybe she has more than two. Right now I'm wondering... shit maybe the 6 page views (as tracked by google) are two people clicking from three different devices/IPs. Would make sense.
This journey isn't straighforward. It isn't easy. But it is starting to make sense to me, and I'm more okay lately.
I'm also going to be talking at a fancy PRO meeting about nanoscape on may 1st. So that's pretty amazingly awesome too.
Life's a pretty f'n amazing journey. Even when it sucks it beats the alternative.
heddwch
G
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