Tuesday, November 23, 2010
weird
So first race of the year, and the last one i did, similar points. Finally felt like i was racing the whole time and what do you know - the points are there.
Sweet.
I know, not supposed to pay attention to Crossresults points. no, shouldn't but can't help it. Maybe I am making some progress.
We'll see how Sterling goes. And yeah, I remembered to register before the registration closed. Lets see if I can remember to register before NBX closes.
Sweet.
I know, not supposed to pay attention to Crossresults points. no, shouldn't but can't help it. Maybe I am making some progress.
We'll see how Sterling goes. And yeah, I remembered to register before the registration closed. Lets see if I can remember to register before NBX closes.
Most glorious day today
At least the commute was.
Sunny, warm (48 degrees), no wind...
No gloves, knee warmers and a relaxed ride in. Just the regulars on the path, kind of nice. Soon even most of them will be gone except on the really nice days.
I've been messing up on taking enough food with me during the day, today? oh wow so hungry, it's still early and with just lunch in the bag... i seem to do this way too often. I suppose it is good though, right? Lower calories reduces the effects of aging, not to mention keeps the extra weight off. If i can show even a tiny bit of discipline on Thursday i could probably be sub Clydesdale solidly by NBX. We'll see though, not sure i want to show much restraint, food is sooo good, and yeah, I like thanksgiving. I have to make the Brussels sprouts and probably a desert. the Sprouts I'm going to cook up with some bacon Cut em in half and roll em around in the bacon fat with some olive oil (add complexity to the flavor) some sea salt and maybe not much else, put em in a pan and blast em in the convection oven until they are dark and caramelized and delicious. Ah crap. Thinking/writing about food right now isn't helping. contemplating just going home and making them tonight. Means going shopping tomorrow again though. We'll see what kind of restraint I can show.
Sterling pre-reg closes tomorrow at noon. I should really remember to register. Should probably do that now but then I'd have to unplug and interrupt the flow.
What flow. Yeah I know. Not much going on.
But here, this popped up on the 'open tabs' and man, that looks good. No insect parts in there Murat, unless you suck at washing your own figs. And wow, holy crap, looking at it again I would kill for a big stack of those right now. Okay, i'd kill a bit pile of figs for that.
On a more serious note. One that I should probably post a separate one (might as well) but give it a read until i get there. Or read it again.
Mario Gets it. Seriously. He's got a good balanced point there.
And by balance I don't mean everyone going out to be militant vegans to try and balance the universal scale towards moderation, that works sort of but not nearly as well as focusing on developing good and sustainable ways to address our food situation.
Man I hope the voices rise loud enough to make a difference.
Sunny, warm (48 degrees), no wind...
No gloves, knee warmers and a relaxed ride in. Just the regulars on the path, kind of nice. Soon even most of them will be gone except on the really nice days.
I've been messing up on taking enough food with me during the day, today? oh wow so hungry, it's still early and with just lunch in the bag... i seem to do this way too often. I suppose it is good though, right? Lower calories reduces the effects of aging, not to mention keeps the extra weight off. If i can show even a tiny bit of discipline on Thursday i could probably be sub Clydesdale solidly by NBX. We'll see though, not sure i want to show much restraint, food is sooo good, and yeah, I like thanksgiving. I have to make the Brussels sprouts and probably a desert. the Sprouts I'm going to cook up with some bacon Cut em in half and roll em around in the bacon fat with some olive oil (add complexity to the flavor) some sea salt and maybe not much else, put em in a pan and blast em in the convection oven until they are dark and caramelized and delicious. Ah crap. Thinking/writing about food right now isn't helping. contemplating just going home and making them tonight. Means going shopping tomorrow again though. We'll see what kind of restraint I can show.
Sterling pre-reg closes tomorrow at noon. I should really remember to register. Should probably do that now but then I'd have to unplug and interrupt the flow.
What flow. Yeah I know. Not much going on.
But here, this popped up on the 'open tabs' and man, that looks good. No insect parts in there Murat, unless you suck at washing your own figs. And wow, holy crap, looking at it again I would kill for a big stack of those right now. Okay, i'd kill a bit pile of figs for that.
On a more serious note. One that I should probably post a separate one (might as well) but give it a read until i get there. Or read it again.
Mario Gets it. Seriously. He's got a good balanced point there.
And by balance I don't mean everyone going out to be militant vegans to try and balance the universal scale towards moderation, that works sort of but not nearly as well as focusing on developing good and sustainable ways to address our food situation.
Man I hope the voices rise loud enough to make a difference.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday NIGHT
And some people are watching football... some are not.
I am actually feeling pretty liberated by my lack of having an FFL team for the first time in 10+ years. I can actually just watch the game and not worry about one of the players getting a catch or a TD or the defense sacking or intercepting. I can just watch it if I have a chance and just enjoy it. I never know who is playing who and when the games are but that's okay, my schedule allows me to watch when i can and that isn't decided by who is playing.
I did start a Fantasy Cycling league back in Michigan, hmm must have been 1999 IIRC when I started it. Pretty solid too. Taught me a ton about using MS Excel and forms and autofil/sort/automation. Granted most of it I've forgotten. But it was along time ago. I tell ya, it did make you pay attention to those riders down at the bottom of the UCI rankings, and that was good, esp with a sport that isn't analyzed down the last points getting place by ESPN.
The cycling thing was pretty cool. Turned out the winner picked pretty well way down at the bottom, and when the rest of the league figured out how to work the UCI points bracket, well it was less of a run away but still no one ever tied and the winner got some good stuff (no, I never won that).
anyway
Today I raced.
Not just showing up and riding around and placing. No. I raced. I screwed up at least once, as John G pointed out (i wish he had yelled at me in the race - but he's way too nice). Barring that screw up maybe i'd have placed a bit higher. As it was i beat the race predictor by 1 and had a great race and good time racing my bike THE WHOLE FREAKING RACE.
no, no lawnchair. sure i gave John G 30 seconds or so in the last lap but with only whitey behind me I kinda mailed it in, sort of. Not really. Basically i tried to catch Jack Hayden but couldn't make up the difference before we hit the track and looked back and pedaled only hard enough to make sure Chris W didn't come around me in front of Alan's cameras.
It was an odd race.
9:45 is a bit early for me, esp the last couple years.
The car was sooo no happy. Absolutely no power up the hills. So there's either a fuel or boost problem. And the boost is causing the fuel to be cut off. Damn smoke map is pretty damn effective if that is the case.
So I hit the venue exactly as fast as Google Maps said I would.
That worked out okay. I got a good three laps before the Cat 4 started (Mike Brier won a race, finally, after 75+) and then proceeded to discover that i'd left all my baselayers at home and well - that meant racing only wearing the skinsuit.
cool - more like oh crap, it is 33 degrees MAYBE and slightly windy and, well, no chance to overheat.
sort of. fast forward to the point of fingers being numb from the cold for a lap and my chest being too cold for that long. The rest of me was fine and the fingers and chest warmed right the hell up after a lap or two.
so yeah - it was a bit cold.
Took me an hour bundled up wearing everything warm I brought before I could drink one of Kurt Maw's beers. Just too cold after the race.
So the race? It was intense. Chad showed up with 2 seconds to spare and started at the back only to some how manage to come through me after 1/2 a lap. And he came through so fast I had no chance to follow the game plan of following him as long as possible.
But soon enough there was CTodd to follow. Nothing like trying to hang with the funemployed. Silly people with more time to train than the rest of us. Good stuff. He raced well, seems odd to see him in the B-sample tho.
And that Crossresults guy. He kept hopping shit and riding the hard core tech areas well but blowing the power/motoring sections like a sorority girl on 4loco at a frat party.
So yeah.
The race today was awesome.
Fun
as
hell
yeah.
it was. Sort of quad cross all over again. Or everything between Quad Cross and today sort of didn't count. No I don't think I managed to break the top 50% but I raced, the whole race and with one idiot exception i was racing the whole time.
And man was it awesome.
Best thing is I didn't let the fact that the the car had zero boost and was wicked slow on the way up get to me. Anytime the road sort of tilted up? well i went from the cruise control set at 75 right down to 65mph. Now that's not a big deal but thanks for the cruise control! Meant i didn't have to have a physical reminder that something wasn't right with the car. It was running smoothly, no smoke, smooth, just gutless. So i did what I knew was acceptable, I ignored it hoping it would clear up ala Turtle Pond this spring.
Short story was, well, nope. It was just as gutless outside the torque peak on the way there as it was on the way home. I'll work on it, soon, maybe.
It was a dark and stormy afternoon when I got home... then the girls showed up and now it is mellow and I'm ready to sleep.
Sterling is up next weekend. I should probably register sooner than later, maybe even tag NBX/Goddard park in on the reg. Good couple weekends of racing coming up. Can't wait. Even if I don't have any verge points or hopes of getting one.
peace, be good,
heddwch
G
I am actually feeling pretty liberated by my lack of having an FFL team for the first time in 10+ years. I can actually just watch the game and not worry about one of the players getting a catch or a TD or the defense sacking or intercepting. I can just watch it if I have a chance and just enjoy it. I never know who is playing who and when the games are but that's okay, my schedule allows me to watch when i can and that isn't decided by who is playing.
I did start a Fantasy Cycling league back in Michigan, hmm must have been 1999 IIRC when I started it. Pretty solid too. Taught me a ton about using MS Excel and forms and autofil/sort/automation. Granted most of it I've forgotten. But it was along time ago. I tell ya, it did make you pay attention to those riders down at the bottom of the UCI rankings, and that was good, esp with a sport that isn't analyzed down the last points getting place by ESPN.
The cycling thing was pretty cool. Turned out the winner picked pretty well way down at the bottom, and when the rest of the league figured out how to work the UCI points bracket, well it was less of a run away but still no one ever tied and the winner got some good stuff (no, I never won that).
anyway
Today I raced.
Not just showing up and riding around and placing. No. I raced. I screwed up at least once, as John G pointed out (i wish he had yelled at me in the race - but he's way too nice). Barring that screw up maybe i'd have placed a bit higher. As it was i beat the race predictor by 1 and had a great race and good time racing my bike THE WHOLE FREAKING RACE.
no, no lawnchair. sure i gave John G 30 seconds or so in the last lap but with only whitey behind me I kinda mailed it in, sort of. Not really. Basically i tried to catch Jack Hayden but couldn't make up the difference before we hit the track and looked back and pedaled only hard enough to make sure Chris W didn't come around me in front of Alan's cameras.
It was an odd race.
9:45 is a bit early for me, esp the last couple years.
The car was sooo no happy. Absolutely no power up the hills. So there's either a fuel or boost problem. And the boost is causing the fuel to be cut off. Damn smoke map is pretty damn effective if that is the case.
So I hit the venue exactly as fast as Google Maps said I would.
That worked out okay. I got a good three laps before the Cat 4 started (Mike Brier won a race, finally, after 75+) and then proceeded to discover that i'd left all my baselayers at home and well - that meant racing only wearing the skinsuit.
cool - more like oh crap, it is 33 degrees MAYBE and slightly windy and, well, no chance to overheat.
sort of. fast forward to the point of fingers being numb from the cold for a lap and my chest being too cold for that long. The rest of me was fine and the fingers and chest warmed right the hell up after a lap or two.
so yeah - it was a bit cold.
Took me an hour bundled up wearing everything warm I brought before I could drink one of Kurt Maw's beers. Just too cold after the race.
So the race? It was intense. Chad showed up with 2 seconds to spare and started at the back only to some how manage to come through me after 1/2 a lap. And he came through so fast I had no chance to follow the game plan of following him as long as possible.
But soon enough there was CTodd to follow. Nothing like trying to hang with the funemployed. Silly people with more time to train than the rest of us. Good stuff. He raced well, seems odd to see him in the B-sample tho.
And that Crossresults guy. He kept hopping shit and riding the hard core tech areas well but blowing the power/motoring sections like a sorority girl on 4loco at a frat party.
So yeah.
The race today was awesome.
Fun
as
hell
yeah.
it was. Sort of quad cross all over again. Or everything between Quad Cross and today sort of didn't count. No I don't think I managed to break the top 50% but I raced, the whole race and with one idiot exception i was racing the whole time.
And man was it awesome.
Best thing is I didn't let the fact that the the car had zero boost and was wicked slow on the way up get to me. Anytime the road sort of tilted up? well i went from the cruise control set at 75 right down to 65mph. Now that's not a big deal but thanks for the cruise control! Meant i didn't have to have a physical reminder that something wasn't right with the car. It was running smoothly, no smoke, smooth, just gutless. So i did what I knew was acceptable, I ignored it hoping it would clear up ala Turtle Pond this spring.
Short story was, well, nope. It was just as gutless outside the torque peak on the way there as it was on the way home. I'll work on it, soon, maybe.
It was a dark and stormy afternoon when I got home... then the girls showed up and now it is mellow and I'm ready to sleep.
Sterling is up next weekend. I should probably register sooner than later, maybe even tag NBX/Goddard park in on the reg. Good couple weekends of racing coming up. Can't wait. Even if I don't have any verge points or hopes of getting one.
peace, be good,
heddwch
G
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Cook your own damn food already!
Okay?
Read this.
Sorry small biz/restaurant owners - people need to do some stuff for themselves more often.
Read this.
Sorry small biz/restaurant owners - people need to do some stuff for themselves more often.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
No Man's Land/Willi McBride/The Green Fields of France
It's a song that was written about the military cemeteries in Flanders and Northern France. In 1976, my wife and I went to three or four of these military cemeteries and saw all the young soldiers buried there.
—Eric Bogle[1]
Take a look at how many people have covered this song.
it was first burned into my brain by Gordon Bok, Ann Muir and Ed Trickett. Their 1978 verion on their LP "The Ways of Man" is what sticks with me the most. They titled the track "No Man's Land" and the rendition is haunting.
I made a tape copy of that LP we had and literally wore it out. There was a skip on the Golden Vanity track that messes me up when i hear the same song on the CD version.
So my brother stopped by and we had lunch and the Dropkick Murphy's version of the song came on the pandora que...
and now that I have a few minutes between shit i'm fixing, have to share.
Veteran's day is not quite a week past now, but we should never forget... the Dropkick Murphy's version is pretty damn close to how I remember it. Eric Bogle's version (the songwriter) is great, but somehow the purity and meter of the Dropkick's is more to my liking, I just wish they'd slow the song down a bit, the snare and the pipe just make it perfect, but slow the tempo down, let the song lyrics linger.
There isn't a Bok/Muir/Trickett you tube song of it up there...
so take a listen and lets not forget what happened in the mud of flanders or the green fields of france... ever.
Amazing
Go full screen, turn up the sound...
it is amazing. i've never been overwhelmed by Danny's first couple films but this? Holy shit this is magic.
Fucking brilliant. Soundtrack, scenery, cinematography (okay it isn't perfect, i find the panning of the fisheye to be distracting but i've yet to find something perfect).
Wow...
just fucking wow
Monday, November 15, 2010
Race Reports... where
where at they?
I dunno. I guess I was holding out for some hope that maybe I would be able to turn the season around and hit stride like years past at Plymouth. But no.
And writing about the races just seems to drive home how well I'm not doing, reality has sunk in and I've got to come to terms with it all somehow. Somehow on a positive level. Yes I need to be reminded that it is fun. And yes, I am having fun racing. Well up until the perspective of "results" comes into play.
So writing about the races just hasn't been something I can get excited about doing.
Northampton was awesome. Great time racing, but explaining that I didn't fold on Day 2, and it was just the simple fact of being gapped off the group in front of me and having a monster gap behind me to sink safely into, well, it meant not that I folded physically but that it didn't matter a heap of anything if I kept the pressure on, time gaps? who cares. It isn't a f'n time trial. Who cares how many minutes you were behind the leader. This sport is based on placing, and places, not times. Time dictates how many laps we do, the only time that matters is if you are going fast enough not to get lapped. Time matters if you can close that gap to the guy in front, or keep the person from catching you.
I've done 5 races in 8 days. I managed to get a slow leak in the 3rd race, but start the 4th thinking it was slow enough that i could make it through. Hey dropping 10psi overnight? no problem. Oops. At least Sykes had the PRO-ness to have neutral support at his races (unlike say PVD) and I was able to take a very quick front wheel change and stay on the lead lap. Although instead of sitting comfortably on Grenier's and Stacy's wheel it meant i was solidly completely 100% alone in solo TT land.
Eco-cross was great, except the 9 lap part and the getting a flat. I was feeling okay, and I was nailing the lines riding behind Derek. He was railing the corners, but... but he got a slight gap when I f'ed up the down hill slalom and nearly hugged a tree and then just about took my head off on the corner of the greenhouse in the big loose round rocks. And with that gap I wasn't able to autopilot his lines and I started to see the trees that would send me on a trip in an ambulance instead of the fast way to ride the course. That and having driven there with my daughters, just the three of us put me into hard core self preservation mode. But doing 9 roughly 4 minute laps at least i had put enough time in on the first 5 laps that when I let Derek drift away i could screw up pretty badly and not get lapped. Yeah i just capitalized 1/3 of the 'I's in the last sentence. Awesome. DON'T CARE. Seriously.
Highlight of the race was coming into the barriers pretty hot and I stuck my left leg out as I hit the loose shit there, problem is, it ain't all that easy to dismount at speed with your left leg in a tripod (unclipped outriggering it). Oops. Managed to unclip the right leg and basically use it's momentum to carry my ass off and over the saddle just in time. No smashing body parts on the barriers in front of my kids. Phew. Scared me for a minute though. Old man instincts and reflexes kept that from happening.
My friend who's living down in South Carolina came up for this past weekend. Usually one of my best weekends racing, results and fun wise. It was really awesome hanging out with him, and saturday's field turn out was near verge in stackedness. granted pack fill like myette and company didn't show but the business end of the field was there. Ctodd made a rare appearance then took his pedal off the bike mid-race so that Paul would have to buy me a beer. Very nice of Ctodd to do that. The belgian that Paul came up with on Sunday was really very good.
It's all been a whirlwind. And instead of having more clarity about what *I* should do, it is even more confusing. But if you were to ask me to come up with a generic, sort of typical CX training program for someone else I don't have much trouble. I know what works, but some how in many ways miss applied it to myself. I didn't listen early to myself, I pushed to hard to get the program in and screwed it all up. That and all the negative stuff really has weighed heavily on me.
The season is effectively over. There are some great races coming up. Lowell, but 9:45 is wicked early, right now i'd almost pick staying in bed and watching the euro races on the buffer hell live internet feeds. I've got till friday at 5pm to make up my mind.
The thing is I really do basically live for the race. And it is fun, a rush... I love the racing, but getting stuck in the soloTT mode after a few laps is mentally tough.
So yeah, there ya go, that's about all I'm writing up about those last few races. Done. Moving on.
And that trainer is getting left in the car, running shoes are not going to be run in, no running hill intervals, no stair climbing, no sprints... just commuting to work and racing from here on out, can't get any slower, and that stuff takes time that i don't want to sacrifice and right now don't see any point/benefit in doing.
I did have a complete day off the bike today, first time in a couple weeks at least. But in those weeks there were some pretty light, walk the bike kind of riding, very little medium riding either, mostly commuting slowly or as fast as I could/working intervals into it.
So instead of sleeping I'm writing, trying to move on, trying to get a grip. trying to focus on the bounty of positives and not let the handful of negatives weigh me down...
not so easy this year...
the weight of the last 18 months is heavy...
I dunno. I guess I was holding out for some hope that maybe I would be able to turn the season around and hit stride like years past at Plymouth. But no.
And writing about the races just seems to drive home how well I'm not doing, reality has sunk in and I've got to come to terms with it all somehow. Somehow on a positive level. Yes I need to be reminded that it is fun. And yes, I am having fun racing. Well up until the perspective of "results" comes into play.
So writing about the races just hasn't been something I can get excited about doing.
Northampton was awesome. Great time racing, but explaining that I didn't fold on Day 2, and it was just the simple fact of being gapped off the group in front of me and having a monster gap behind me to sink safely into, well, it meant not that I folded physically but that it didn't matter a heap of anything if I kept the pressure on, time gaps? who cares. It isn't a f'n time trial. Who cares how many minutes you were behind the leader. This sport is based on placing, and places, not times. Time dictates how many laps we do, the only time that matters is if you are going fast enough not to get lapped. Time matters if you can close that gap to the guy in front, or keep the person from catching you.
I've done 5 races in 8 days. I managed to get a slow leak in the 3rd race, but start the 4th thinking it was slow enough that i could make it through. Hey dropping 10psi overnight? no problem. Oops. At least Sykes had the PRO-ness to have neutral support at his races (unlike say PVD) and I was able to take a very quick front wheel change and stay on the lead lap. Although instead of sitting comfortably on Grenier's and Stacy's wheel it meant i was solidly completely 100% alone in solo TT land.
Eco-cross was great, except the 9 lap part and the getting a flat. I was feeling okay, and I was nailing the lines riding behind Derek. He was railing the corners, but... but he got a slight gap when I f'ed up the down hill slalom and nearly hugged a tree and then just about took my head off on the corner of the greenhouse in the big loose round rocks. And with that gap I wasn't able to autopilot his lines and I started to see the trees that would send me on a trip in an ambulance instead of the fast way to ride the course. That and having driven there with my daughters, just the three of us put me into hard core self preservation mode. But doing 9 roughly 4 minute laps at least i had put enough time in on the first 5 laps that when I let Derek drift away i could screw up pretty badly and not get lapped. Yeah i just capitalized 1/3 of the 'I's in the last sentence. Awesome. DON'T CARE. Seriously.
Highlight of the race was coming into the barriers pretty hot and I stuck my left leg out as I hit the loose shit there, problem is, it ain't all that easy to dismount at speed with your left leg in a tripod (unclipped outriggering it). Oops. Managed to unclip the right leg and basically use it's momentum to carry my ass off and over the saddle just in time. No smashing body parts on the barriers in front of my kids. Phew. Scared me for a minute though. Old man instincts and reflexes kept that from happening.
My friend who's living down in South Carolina came up for this past weekend. Usually one of my best weekends racing, results and fun wise. It was really awesome hanging out with him, and saturday's field turn out was near verge in stackedness. granted pack fill like myette and company didn't show but the business end of the field was there. Ctodd made a rare appearance then took his pedal off the bike mid-race so that Paul would have to buy me a beer. Very nice of Ctodd to do that. The belgian that Paul came up with on Sunday was really very good.
It's all been a whirlwind. And instead of having more clarity about what *I* should do, it is even more confusing. But if you were to ask me to come up with a generic, sort of typical CX training program for someone else I don't have much trouble. I know what works, but some how in many ways miss applied it to myself. I didn't listen early to myself, I pushed to hard to get the program in and screwed it all up. That and all the negative stuff really has weighed heavily on me.
The season is effectively over. There are some great races coming up. Lowell, but 9:45 is wicked early, right now i'd almost pick staying in bed and watching the euro races on the buffer hell live internet feeds. I've got till friday at 5pm to make up my mind.
The thing is I really do basically live for the race. And it is fun, a rush... I love the racing, but getting stuck in the soloTT mode after a few laps is mentally tough.
So yeah, there ya go, that's about all I'm writing up about those last few races. Done. Moving on.
And that trainer is getting left in the car, running shoes are not going to be run in, no running hill intervals, no stair climbing, no sprints... just commuting to work and racing from here on out, can't get any slower, and that stuff takes time that i don't want to sacrifice and right now don't see any point/benefit in doing.
I did have a complete day off the bike today, first time in a couple weeks at least. But in those weeks there were some pretty light, walk the bike kind of riding, very little medium riding either, mostly commuting slowly or as fast as I could/working intervals into it.
So instead of sleeping I'm writing, trying to move on, trying to get a grip. trying to focus on the bounty of positives and not let the handful of negatives weigh me down...
not so easy this year...
the weight of the last 18 months is heavy...
Friday, November 12, 2010
Line Change
Yeah, it is hockey time.
No unlike half or more of the old farts I'm racing with I never played the game, but damn did I like going to see the Spartans in Munn Arena.
To start every game they'd play this song.
Whole fucking arena would be singing along. Religious ya know? Like singing the opening hymn at church, it is part of it.
I've been to two different College hockey games in this town, three if you could men and women teams from one of the schools. Did they play that song? Nope. Maybe it is some east coast vs mid-west thing. Michigan might as well be Canada when it comes to Hockey, compared at least to the rest of the USA.
Sokay, i've got a better tradition than going to a hockey game and watching other people play a game, I go play a game.
This weekend. Battle of the Mitten on Sunday. All I can do is hope my competition decides to go swim 10,000 yards tomorrow, I don't want him to crash on the way to the pits this year though.
No unlike half or more of the old farts I'm racing with I never played the game, but damn did I like going to see the Spartans in Munn Arena.
To start every game they'd play this song.
Whole fucking arena would be singing along. Religious ya know? Like singing the opening hymn at church, it is part of it.
I've been to two different College hockey games in this town, three if you could men and women teams from one of the schools. Did they play that song? Nope. Maybe it is some east coast vs mid-west thing. Michigan might as well be Canada when it comes to Hockey, compared at least to the rest of the USA.
Sokay, i've got a better tradition than going to a hockey game and watching other people play a game, I go play a game.
This weekend. Battle of the Mitten on Sunday. All I can do is hope my competition decides to go swim 10,000 yards tomorrow, I don't want him to crash on the way to the pits this year though.
The Mud of Flanders
http://www.cxmagazine.com/flemish-mud-veterans-day-2010
Go give it a read.
Powerful stuff. The poem there linked at the end of the article too, read that.
Pretty incomprehensible stuff that is. For me at least. I can try and imagine, but I know there's nothing close in my personal experiences to what my grandfathers and their friends dealt with in WWII, much less the generation who fought in the mud in WWI. The cruelty and destruction and absolute misery, and near certainty that you weren't going home.
(read the article before going any further please)
Dan't comments at the end:
We honor the dead by continuing to live.
Okay, fahk, I've got something in my eye and I can't form words, much less blink fast enough to keep the screen from blurring out of focus.
Christie, Greg, Elise, Michael, Mark, Bill, Nate...
And those names I don't connect with personal loss, I know how their loved ones feel and family feel:
James
Robert, Dakota, Anthony, Andrew, Dale, Aaron, Randy...
Of all those names I've written, one, just one was able to live their life to the natural end. The only acceptable loss, but one that is not without pain or emptiness.
We honor the dead by continuing to live.
I'm wrung out - this is an interesting week coming off NoHo, adding a mid week race in tire sucking glue like muddish soil course and to follow up with a pair of killer races at Plymouth.
Yeah - no NoHo report, it's like everyone elses: I had an absolute blast, I raced the whole race, had fun, did better than I had expected crossresults points still suck but who cares, it was a good course. Saturday was better for me, but sunday was fun once we got past the incident with a teammate at the off camber 180. Yesterday's race? ~4 min laps, I think we did 9. Tight shortened course at the farm. One dismount per lap, a handful too many tight single track lines with big tree or building penalties for screwing up, added with me there with the girls and having to drive em home i got off Derek's wheel and started riding conservatively in those sections, ie i slowed way the fuck down. On the flip side the RR tubies did well, some loss of traction but very predictably and hell I think where I slipped even a cubus would have had trouble and I never lost it just a minor slide out. it wasn't for lack of traction, more a lack of integrity in the soil.
now to cheer up and focus on this weekend. solid. of course this is my weekend to remember mark and ride my ass off in his memory. try to ride like he did.
awe shit there we go - i'm all emotional again. time to hit the reset button with a walk outside
Go give it a read.
Powerful stuff. The poem there linked at the end of the article too, read that.
Pretty incomprehensible stuff that is. For me at least. I can try and imagine, but I know there's nothing close in my personal experiences to what my grandfathers and their friends dealt with in WWII, much less the generation who fought in the mud in WWI. The cruelty and destruction and absolute misery, and near certainty that you weren't going home.
(read the article before going any further please)
Dan't comments at the end:
It is, I finally decided. Dulce et decorum est. It is sweet and fitting: we honor the dead by continuing to live. So pedal your bike, revel in the mud, but don’t forget its past.
We honor the dead by continuing to live.
Okay, fahk, I've got something in my eye and I can't form words, much less blink fast enough to keep the screen from blurring out of focus.
Christie, Greg, Elise, Michael, Mark, Bill, Nate...
And those names I don't connect with personal loss, I know how their loved ones feel and family feel:
James
Robert, Dakota, Anthony, Andrew, Dale, Aaron, Randy...
Of all those names I've written, one, just one was able to live their life to the natural end. The only acceptable loss, but one that is not without pain or emptiness.
We honor the dead by continuing to live.
I'm wrung out - this is an interesting week coming off NoHo, adding a mid week race in tire sucking glue like muddish soil course and to follow up with a pair of killer races at Plymouth.
Yeah - no NoHo report, it's like everyone elses: I had an absolute blast, I raced the whole race, had fun, did better than I had expected crossresults points still suck but who cares, it was a good course. Saturday was better for me, but sunday was fun once we got past the incident with a teammate at the off camber 180. Yesterday's race? ~4 min laps, I think we did 9. Tight shortened course at the farm. One dismount per lap, a handful too many tight single track lines with big tree or building penalties for screwing up, added with me there with the girls and having to drive em home i got off Derek's wheel and started riding conservatively in those sections, ie i slowed way the fuck down. On the flip side the RR tubies did well, some loss of traction but very predictably and hell I think where I slipped even a cubus would have had trouble and I never lost it just a minor slide out. it wasn't for lack of traction, more a lack of integrity in the soil.
now to cheer up and focus on this weekend. solid. of course this is my weekend to remember mark and ride my ass off in his memory. try to ride like he did.
awe shit there we go - i'm all emotional again. time to hit the reset button with a walk outside
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Thank you for your service
Thanks to all the Veterans out there who have/are serving this great country of ours.
Words cannot fully express our gratitude.
-GeWilli
Words cannot fully express our gratitude.
-GeWilli
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
nothing new
and man there are so many people who think she's way out in lala loony land...
unfortunately I don't think she is and the reality (i guess as I see it) is way to close to what she's saying...
hungry
so i took a look at the bookmarks I've been stacking up. Much like my office they are a crazy unorganized list (at least the bookmarkbar default location is) but i know where everything is that I use regularly. But sometimes it is good to dig through and see what you can find. Even better to sort it all out and toss the junk and put the rest somewhere that you'll never see them again, I mean organize them.
So I'm digging and I see this and I start perusing the recipes and damn, there are some good looking ones. The Guinness burgers look esp tasty. Okay the presentation of the Beef Bouruignon looks to die for tasty. And I'd make that in a heart beat. But that is one heck of an expensive meal. Two bottles of wine, and yeah no brandy or cognac in the house either... have to buy those, then the meat. Sure Chuck is cheap but you can't just use any crappy chuck. And then canned beef broth? Really? I suppose. it would be a fantastic holiday special occasion meal. Might get two meals for my family, but they way the kids are eating stuff that tastes good (like I know they'd devour this) it is probably 1.5 meals for us (ie 6 servings even if I double the number of carrots).
So I'm digging and I see this and I start perusing the recipes and damn, there are some good looking ones. The Guinness burgers look esp tasty. Okay the presentation of the Beef Bouruignon looks to die for tasty. And I'd make that in a heart beat. But that is one heck of an expensive meal. Two bottles of wine, and yeah no brandy or cognac in the house either... have to buy those, then the meat. Sure Chuck is cheap but you can't just use any crappy chuck. And then canned beef broth? Really? I suppose. it would be a fantastic holiday special occasion meal. Might get two meals for my family, but they way the kids are eating stuff that tastes good (like I know they'd devour this) it is probably 1.5 meals for us (ie 6 servings even if I double the number of carrots).
On The Turning Away
This song gets to me.
It doesn't directly draw in to the loss of another cyclists to GBM. Word reached new england yesterday and spread over Twitter first... ThomP has a nice post about Michael
There are greater songs, probably songs more appropriate to embed. but hey, when pandora throws something at ya, well take the moment and run with it.
Reading Michael's blog, posthumously is tough. Hearing his voice come out through words although the person is gone, the spirit and his memory live on. No I was never fortunate enough to get to know him. I saw him around at races... I remember running into him at the NBX with the snow for some reason. Might be my brain playing tricks, but Michael was one of those guys who you noticed, like Mark Nicholson. They had a glow, an aura.
Reading his account of the treatment is different than say reading fast boy's battle with cancer. Humbling none the less.
I was thinking about Michael, and Mark a bit on the ride in. These two guys loved cycling so much. Mark was on his bike pushing us all to the limit the day before he checked into the hospital for the final time. Michael at least went through hospice, although I'm going to guess what Mark went through after being transfered back to NY was not much different.
It is hard separating these two remarkable people. So much loss.
So much loss.
There was a big race last weekend. Two of them. A while back there was this Canton Cup race. Pint glass and everything. I got it autographed, but it seems while I was in Northampton it got stuck in the dishwasher (i was going to take it to work as a desk trophy) and it isn't signed anymore. Probably for the better.
The wind has been brutal every morning this week. Each day getting slightly better but still not so much fun/easy riding in. The ride home last night was crazy intense because I was so late. But I managed to tickle the 20 minute mark, well just over it, i don't know specifically, other than i when i turned the computer off it was 5:07 and I had parked the bike and taken my backpack off and was inside a few minutes after arriving and noticed the clock was at 5:30.
I've got a pretty good idea of one thing i was doing wrong early part of the season, hopefully the changes I've made will stick and make it a bit more fun/successful.
Hitting the Sykes triple play starting tomorrow. Hard to wrap my head around a 10:30 am race on a Thursday. Will do a few springs on the way home but not too many, The race will be interesting. Very much a B/C race, but you know what? Who cares. I've got a few friends in the race, and lets face it, it's going to be me trying to beat Chad for a change this season and Chad trying to keep his 3 race streak of beating me going. I bested him last year at Lowell and NBX, but he was the one who witnessed my hooking my shorts on the damn saddle going into the barriers are mach 5 and barely making the save to keep from stacking face first into the planks and came around and the adrenaline rush killed the legs and gave him a few seconds of a gap and I just didn't have anything left to sprint him at the line.
Lets see what the weekend brings. Hell lets see what Tomorrow brings.
Gonna be muddy I'm guessing. it might be way out in the sand pile that is the cape but this is a farm, with some nicely improved soil. Meaning it is going to be muddy and rich blackness. Should be fun.
Really want to revist the Northampton races, but so far, motivation and time haven't coincided yet.
This is all i have for now.
Heddwch
G
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Thursday!
Some of yall have the day off, some of yall have it off because your kids have it off.
Come out to the farm. Lets race!
(registration closes tonight at 5pm, in less than an hour)
Wow - timely reminder on my part eh?
Been meaning to post this for a couple days.
Also meaning to write up NoHo...
Maybe I'll get to it.
Come out to the farm. Lets race!
(registration closes tonight at 5pm, in less than an hour)
Wow - timely reminder on my part eh?
Been meaning to post this for a couple days.
Also meaning to write up NoHo...
Maybe I'll get to it.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Phuc U GBM...
So I'm casually cruising through the open tabs sporadically as I can between stuff on a crazy monday...
and I read Thom's post about Mike Patrick.
And then i'm left with this posted on a forum two months ago:
I was amazed by this guy's skills. Sure ThomP was crazy mad that race in '08 but I guess Mike wasn't much of a slouch either. He was dancing over the rocks and roots taking to burke and I was dying and had no hope of keeping up. That guy has more mt bike skills in one toe than i have total.
But the ominous post, and the stage four GBM? That's what Nicholson was ultimately struck down with. Brushes with greatness we have at times.
Somewhere is a post about this weekend, but I couldn't go on without a small memorialized of someone I barely knew and met maybe once, but watched from afar as his skills and legend were revealed to me. And yeah He and ThomP rode that course more than 2x faster than I was able to. Thom won that day btw.
Everytime GBM comes up I think of Mark Nicholson.
And yeah, I still miss that guy, his enthusiasm and attitude, just an awesome guy to talk to, go to races with and hang out with.
Next weekend is my weekend of racing to dedicate in his memory. He only did a few CX races but realizing i was at three of the five I know he did and I drove him to three of them and they were Plymouth North in '07 and both days at Plymouth in '08. That sunday at Plymouth south, he raced, finished 2nd then hung out with my youngest while I raced.
'07 was cold and raining and we had Lucy with us. She ate one of his bananas I think. Chabot was miserable that day (probably because I beat him). It was cold in '08 but not too wet. He had dropped the scarf mid race and I picked it up for him. the next day was cold but super sunny.
So totally didn't intent to head this direction today.
Northampton report will be coming up. Hopefully before this weekend rolls around.
and I read Thom's post about Mike Patrick.
And then i'm left with this posted on a forum two months ago:
I would like to update you on Mike's condition. Mike had a second-opinion de-bulking surgery August 10th in NYC. He had a number of critical post-surgical complications, and was not expected to survive. Mike pulled thru (are you surprised???) and has made it out of the hospital. Although Mike's surgery reduced the horrendous cranial pressure he was suffering, it also revealed that that his cancer is now a GBM IV and is very advanced. The remaining tumor has caused paralyis on his right side and near total aphasia. Amazingly, Mike remains strong and is now in a care facility near his home.I didn't know Mike well. But that fateful race at Gloucester Grind (I actually won a race - yeah I beat exactly one other sport clydesdale) I was starting to ride a bit of the course before the race with Burke and Mike comes riding up and Burke and Mike started chatting a bit.
I was amazed by this guy's skills. Sure ThomP was crazy mad that race in '08 but I guess Mike wasn't much of a slouch either. He was dancing over the rocks and roots taking to burke and I was dying and had no hope of keeping up. That guy has more mt bike skills in one toe than i have total.
But the ominous post, and the stage four GBM? That's what Nicholson was ultimately struck down with. Brushes with greatness we have at times.
Somewhere is a post about this weekend, but I couldn't go on without a small memorialized of someone I barely knew and met maybe once, but watched from afar as his skills and legend were revealed to me. And yeah He and ThomP rode that course more than 2x faster than I was able to. Thom won that day btw.
Everytime GBM comes up I think of Mark Nicholson.
And yeah, I still miss that guy, his enthusiasm and attitude, just an awesome guy to talk to, go to races with and hang out with.
Next weekend is my weekend of racing to dedicate in his memory. He only did a few CX races but realizing i was at three of the five I know he did and I drove him to three of them and they were Plymouth North in '07 and both days at Plymouth in '08. That sunday at Plymouth south, he raced, finished 2nd then hung out with my youngest while I raced.
'07 was cold and raining and we had Lucy with us. She ate one of his bananas I think. Chabot was miserable that day (probably because I beat him). It was cold in '08 but not too wet. He had dropped the scarf mid race and I picked it up for him. the next day was cold but super sunny.
So totally didn't intent to head this direction today.
Northampton report will be coming up. Hopefully before this weekend rolls around.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
road trip
up to NoHo.
time to find out if everything is coming together.
one small burrito eaten, steel cut train with grain oats are made (similar recipe to last year), car is loaded (did that last night). Need to toss in GCD and Pahke's tires in there and my clothes and waterbottles and i'll be out of here, with one stop for coffee on the way.
must remember to pre-ride a couple times
must remember to kill the start but w/in my limits
and
-advance as many places as possible at the start
-dial the turns and sprint the corners
-break the course up into focused sections and rip each one looking for the next
-gain advantage on transitions and the run up (if it is there)
-maintain speed over the bumpy root sections
-focus on the positive, language and actions
-have fun
-race my race
-have fun
time to find out if everything is coming together.
one small burrito eaten, steel cut train with grain oats are made (similar recipe to last year), car is loaded (did that last night). Need to toss in GCD and Pahke's tires in there and my clothes and waterbottles and i'll be out of here, with one stop for coffee on the way.
must remember to pre-ride a couple times
must remember to kill the start but w/in my limits
and
-advance as many places as possible at the start
-dial the turns and sprint the corners
-break the course up into focused sections and rip each one looking for the next
-gain advantage on transitions and the run up (if it is there)
-maintain speed over the bumpy root sections
-focus on the positive, language and actions
-have fun
-race my race
-have fun
Thursday, November 04, 2010
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