Ya know, Cantador is a dope/joke whatever. I have never been much of a fan. So him getting a slap on the wrist is less than meh whatever.
Retroactive ban is dumb. if you have good lawyers you might be able to keep racing and taking a salary and spending money on your fancy house/boat/doctors/lawyers and then if the ban is retroactive? well oops, that money? yeah I don't have any, but If you let me race I will win again (with better doctors this time).
Also 2 year is dumb. Make it lifetime. And not just from racing. Ban from the sport. No need to have convicted/admitted dopers running the show, who cares how guilty they were about doing it when they did it and how much they profess they believe in a clean sport.
Awe fuck it. Does it matter? The sport is just fucking beautiful. There will always be some one who will try and cheat to win, in any competition. Human nature. Some people are so empatheticly [sic] disconnected that they will do what ever it takes to win, to get noticed, to succeed, to get a contract, to get out of where they are. There is little difference from the mentality of a doper and the mentality of a criminal. They are in it for themselves. Sometimes they are in it for those immediately around them.
Just the way it is. Would all of us (amateur bike racers, club riders) physiologically benefit from a daily/weekly dose of HGH? Absolutely no question. We would immensely. healthier, stronger, whatever. Pretty tempting to be able to get the feeling of being 20 years old again, esp once you hit that 40 mark. But the benefits are there for those in their early 30s too.
Oh well.
There will always be riders we love, and riders we hate. That's what it is to be a fan. Dale Earnhardt (Sr) fans hated with a passion that kid who drove the Dupot #24, by having a favorite rider/driver you almost have to have someone you would hate to see win. For a lot of people it was Contador. Probably still is. Some times we root for the under dog.
Or a cross over like Lars Boom, killing it in the spring classics, or making a break away. The rider across the line first may not give us as much joy as a suicidal breakaway, doomed from the start but ridden with so much passion as to be beautiful.
Bike racing is pretty amazing. The Classics are coming up soon. Cyclocross is basically over. Soon it will be time to switch to pirate feeds of road bikes with skinny tires. Maybe the mild winter will translate into some epic cold nasty brutal racing this spring in Belgium. Riders crossing the line with so much dirt that it obscures their paycheck backer.
Life. It is what it is. People want to cheat, to exploit the system for personal gain. To mitigate it is a challenge, a noble cause with far too few champions.
heddwch
G
Monday, February 06, 2012
Saturday, February 04, 2012
i can feel it
the lack of riding today, the itch, the scratch, the anxiety, the stress...
slightly closer to the breaking point...
a good long hard ride seems to help.
doesn't fix any problems but lately i've been finding I'm riding well, my form is solid, hauling the trailer is having the desired impact...
but i do want to ride, double whammy today, no riding and having to say no to a friend who asked for some car help locally, too much family stuff going on. Couple hours hanging at the dealer waiting for the car, not long enough to show up, check the car in and then go for a ride come back and get home in time to get some lunch in the kids and let my wife get her run in and then drive everyone to soccer.
my wife actually rode in the Millennium Falcon aka Rusty Race Wagon this afternoon. contemplated driving it to OBX but the lack of AC is a deal breaker for the carolinas in August. We made it to soccer and back and the car didn't explode, flip, fall apart. Even found myself going with the flow at 85 mph w/o realizing it... yeah i slowed down a bit.
Tomorrow is a no go for riding either...
might have to start looking at the long range forecast for round two of the PVD-BOS-PVD. Thinking stopping at Firefly before heading to the city and back. One crazy idea would leave wicked early and hit Cambridge, pick up a posse and ride out to RSC and then head south back towards PVD from there. Would be a bit longer, but a little change up. weather... schedule... but man that last mental health day did me some good.
heddwch
G
slightly closer to the breaking point...
a good long hard ride seems to help.
doesn't fix any problems but lately i've been finding I'm riding well, my form is solid, hauling the trailer is having the desired impact...
but i do want to ride, double whammy today, no riding and having to say no to a friend who asked for some car help locally, too much family stuff going on. Couple hours hanging at the dealer waiting for the car, not long enough to show up, check the car in and then go for a ride come back and get home in time to get some lunch in the kids and let my wife get her run in and then drive everyone to soccer.
my wife actually rode in the Millennium Falcon aka Rusty Race Wagon this afternoon. contemplated driving it to OBX but the lack of AC is a deal breaker for the carolinas in August. We made it to soccer and back and the car didn't explode, flip, fall apart. Even found myself going with the flow at 85 mph w/o realizing it... yeah i slowed down a bit.
Tomorrow is a no go for riding either...
might have to start looking at the long range forecast for round two of the PVD-BOS-PVD. Thinking stopping at Firefly before heading to the city and back. One crazy idea would leave wicked early and hit Cambridge, pick up a posse and ride out to RSC and then head south back towards PVD from there. Would be a bit longer, but a little change up. weather... schedule... but man that last mental health day did me some good.
heddwch
G
Thursday, February 02, 2012
reusing content
So if you woke up this morning and this was on your radio alarm clock (wait, i wonder if anyone uses those anymore...)
Well then you know you're on the set of the best Groundhog day themed movie EVER.
Maybe the only ground hog day movie.
Stupid fat rodent.
At least that Phat Phil in Punxsutawney PA saw his shadow so I maybe I can justify keeping the studded carbide noise makers on the bike a bit longer.
Oh and this is Bullshit:
Well then you know you're on the set of the best Groundhog day themed movie EVER.
Maybe the only ground hog day movie.
Stupid fat rodent.
At least that Phat Phil in Punxsutawney PA saw his shadow so I maybe I can justify keeping the studded carbide noise makers on the bike a bit longer.
Oh and this is Bullshit:
And while the group has records of Phil’s predictions dating back to 1886, what it doesn’t have is a tally of whether Phil was right.Someone should (maybe they have and i'm too lazy to look for it) do the work to see how accurate this over grown fat fur hat has been over the years.
Johnston said the reason is simple: “He’s never been wrong.” Phil is “incapable of error,” he said, because the groundhog smartly avoids being site-specific in his prognostications.
If Phil predicts six more weeks of winter, said Johnston, “I guarantee you someone’s going to have six more weeks of winter.”
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Quite the contrast
Feb 1 2011 vs Feb 2 2012
Who rode with bare legs on the way home in February? ME. Last year there was snow everywhere. Dumped on the first of the month. A plow truck caught year and it was a massive parking lot on the way in and I pedaled passed everyone in the icy slush and snow.
So yeah I took a picture to document it. It was positively balmy. Such a departure from last year's automobile parking lot in the snow on the way in and home. Still both last year and this year I'm off the bike path. Last year because it was impossible to pedal through it, this year with the sewer project.
And yeah if you think my legs are white, you should see my belly, BLINDING!
Who rode with bare legs on the way home in February? ME. Last year there was snow everywhere. Dumped on the first of the month. A plow truck caught year and it was a massive parking lot on the way in and I pedaled passed everyone in the icy slush and snow.
So yeah I took a picture to document it. It was positively balmy. Such a departure from last year's automobile parking lot in the snow on the way in and home. Still both last year and this year I'm off the bike path. Last year because it was impossible to pedal through it, this year with the sewer project.
And yeah if you think my legs are white, you should see my belly, BLINDING!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunset on January, 2012
Sunset on the last day of a grade A-typical January.
The little bridge is 'my' bike path. Nice and quiet on there. No cars. But right now it is ripped up while they put a sewer line in. So I am on the road.
This was shot from the road. Where car after car goes zipping by. Maybe they notice the sunset. I hope so. Despite an ample shoulder to pull over and look, no one was.
The beauty of the bike. It is just so much easier to stop for a second and snap a picture when you aren't in a steel cage zipping past disconnected from the world around you.
The little bridge is 'my' bike path. Nice and quiet on there. No cars. But right now it is ripped up while they put a sewer line in. So I am on the road.
This was shot from the road. Where car after car goes zipping by. Maybe they notice the sunset. I hope so. Despite an ample shoulder to pull over and look, no one was.
The beauty of the bike. It is just so much easier to stop for a second and snap a picture when you aren't in a steel cage zipping past disconnected from the world around you.
Color...
BUT WHAT ABOUT RGB?????
Good video but sets people up for major confusion IMHO.
This is the clearest way to think about it. Sure it is by a designer for designers but crazy helpful, esp when as it includes all the most important color theory terms.
Good video but sets people up for major confusion IMHO.
This is the clearest way to think about it. Sure it is by a designer for designers but crazy helpful, esp when as it includes all the most important color theory terms.
Monday, January 30, 2012
cycling literally and metaphorically
Yeah, both the pedaling and the metaphor for life... my waveform right now seems to have a very short wavelength, and some pretty high amplitude... I just need to figure out how to tweak the offset so the bottom of the wave isn't so dark.
Yesterday was good. Got up and watched the women's elite race at 5am, then went back to bed and woke up in time to watch the men's race. missed the start of both of them though. Oh well. Albert's domination was insane. Big old treefarm managed to sort of represent for the USA. But as others have said the USA's performance is not what I gauge the US cyclocross scene by. It is just different here. Louisville may or may not show that, but I think the US contingent will see a bit different results next year, but then we say that every year. Cockslide is just a very unique place. You have to be perfect, or hope that everyone else is screwing up too (ala the U23 race). Vos and Albert had brilliant and perfect rides. Albert said it best in his english interview, alone up front you can pick your lines, and you can slow down before the sand sections to get some recovery to go through them faster. So get the gap like those to and you make the race domination so complete, and even if there are racers as strong behind you, you win from having the lead and the ability to relax and ride the course faster (by going slower in places you wouldn't if you were chasing).
Yesterday was good. Got up and watched the women's elite race at 5am, then went back to bed and woke up in time to watch the men's race. missed the start of both of them though. Oh well. Albert's domination was insane. Big old treefarm managed to sort of represent for the USA. But as others have said the USA's performance is not what I gauge the US cyclocross scene by. It is just different here. Louisville may or may not show that, but I think the US contingent will see a bit different results next year, but then we say that every year. Cockslide is just a very unique place. You have to be perfect, or hope that everyone else is screwing up too (ala the U23 race). Vos and Albert had brilliant and perfect rides. Albert said it best in his english interview, alone up front you can pick your lines, and you can slow down before the sand sections to get some recovery to go through them faster. So get the gap like those to and you make the race domination so complete, and even if there are racers as strong behind you, you win from having the lead and the ability to relax and ride the course faster (by going slower in places you wouldn't if you were chasing).
Saturday, January 28, 2012
lazy day?
I suppose. Blue skies, mid-40s light wind, good day for lots of stuff.
I did manage to wash the bikes a bit, clean and lube the chains on the Blue and the Croll.
One thing i've noticed that is nice about the EVrLube is to clean you need some high pressure water, hit the chain and all the dirt washes out of it and it is nice and smooth again. Relube and all set. But to take it another step, after washing the drive train with water and soap (the soap never strips the chain down to bare metal and that's a good thing), I will dry the chain off and then run it through the park chain cleaning tool using the Lube. Works so well. After the water gets the grit out the lube and the cleaner tool gets the old lube and grease off and then everything is easy to wipe clean, the chainrings, the jockey wheels too. Pretty quickly the bike is clean and the drive train is ready to go. I usually add a bit more fresh lube, work it in and then wipe off the excess before calling it done.
Getting low on lube though. Need to make a trip to the hardware store to get some more mineral spirits.
Right now, 3 quad espressos into the day, really actually not that much for me, i'm ready for a nap. falling asleep on the couch, feet up. doing nothing. being lazy. exhausting all the new naked tumblr pages i've found and too lazy and uninspired to dig for more of them, so i'm writing. the ride has worn off completely now. or i should say that was the top of the roller coaster and now i'm down in a valley trying to find the momentum to carry on a bit in a way. No sleep last night. Just couldn't fall asleep, couldn't stay asleep, and surprisingly not legs related... all in my head. would be nice to get it out...
maybe i'll manage to fall asleep inspite of the coffee today
or not... probably should get back to laundry, unloading the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, and what ever else has to get done
I did manage to wash the bikes a bit, clean and lube the chains on the Blue and the Croll.
One thing i've noticed that is nice about the EVrLube is to clean you need some high pressure water, hit the chain and all the dirt washes out of it and it is nice and smooth again. Relube and all set. But to take it another step, after washing the drive train with water and soap (the soap never strips the chain down to bare metal and that's a good thing), I will dry the chain off and then run it through the park chain cleaning tool using the Lube. Works so well. After the water gets the grit out the lube and the cleaner tool gets the old lube and grease off and then everything is easy to wipe clean, the chainrings, the jockey wheels too. Pretty quickly the bike is clean and the drive train is ready to go. I usually add a bit more fresh lube, work it in and then wipe off the excess before calling it done.
Getting low on lube though. Need to make a trip to the hardware store to get some more mineral spirits.
Right now, 3 quad espressos into the day, really actually not that much for me, i'm ready for a nap. falling asleep on the couch, feet up. doing nothing. being lazy. exhausting all the new naked tumblr pages i've found and too lazy and uninspired to dig for more of them, so i'm writing. the ride has worn off completely now. or i should say that was the top of the roller coaster and now i'm down in a valley trying to find the momentum to carry on a bit in a way. No sleep last night. Just couldn't fall asleep, couldn't stay asleep, and surprisingly not legs related... all in my head. would be nice to get it out...
maybe i'll manage to fall asleep inspite of the coffee today
or not... probably should get back to laundry, unloading the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, and what ever else has to get done
Friday, January 27, 2012
a bit wet today
Started the ride off well, but got nailed by a bit of a rain shower up before dropping down on the parkway... by the time I hit the Washington bridge the rain had stopped. And it was just still and foggy...
Pretty amazing day. Felt great to be on the bike again, the endorphin supply from yesterday must have been still amplifying the senses because I was just digging being on the bike again. 7 hours yesterday. Completely alone on the bike, just trying to get there and back. On an adventure on a great day.
Today would have maybe not been so awesome if I had to spend 7 hours on the bike. it wasn't a problem staying warm with the temps right around 40°F yesterday (all the bank clocks were saying 39°F anytime I passed one) while it was dry. Today? Not a dry day. Supposedly 57°F when I left for the ride home. But it felt colder, esp with the rain pelting down.
Can't wait to try the round trip again. Might have to avoid Feb Break though. I expect the minivan moron contingent to be much higher during the day that week.
heddwch
G
G
Solo ride
A long solo ride.
At some point I got an idea in my head. It was after the end of cyclocross season and I was looking for something to get excited about, motivated about. Work's work and we've got cool stuff potentially coming down the pipe (after a mountain of hard work, duh), no I needed something bike related, a ride, a race. Battenkill just doesn't do it for me anymore. Road season? pfft Crits are short and like a CX and I can probably race well enough to do fine w/just the commute. I don't have a ton of time to do the hard work for Road races to be fun. Tim Johnson's ride on Washington sort of popped up on the radar but the logistics and all that and this year just aren't in the cards to lobby for an invitation. So.
Well I had this idea to ride to Boston and back. Since so many friends are working in the city up that way that I enjoy seeing in cross season, well, why not stop in and say hi. Nature of the trip though is not conducive to seeing everyone.
(lots of words below the fold, and pictures AND video!)
At some point I got an idea in my head. It was after the end of cyclocross season and I was looking for something to get excited about, motivated about. Work's work and we've got cool stuff potentially coming down the pipe (after a mountain of hard work, duh), no I needed something bike related, a ride, a race. Battenkill just doesn't do it for me anymore. Road season? pfft Crits are short and like a CX and I can probably race well enough to do fine w/just the commute. I don't have a ton of time to do the hard work for Road races to be fun. Tim Johnson's ride on Washington sort of popped up on the radar but the logistics and all that and this year just aren't in the cards to lobby for an invitation. So.
Well I had this idea to ride to Boston and back. Since so many friends are working in the city up that way that I enjoy seeing in cross season, well, why not stop in and say hi. Nature of the trip though is not conducive to seeing everyone.
(lots of words below the fold, and pictures AND video!)
Monday, January 23, 2012
who doesn't like studs
Esp for winter commutes. So nice to have this morning.
The way home there were only a few spots where they were really helpful. One loooong stretch was the washington bridge.
It was deep with drifted snow and was a challenge to ride through. Brought back memories of last year. Last year was without the trailer and a day like today would have been fast and fun. Bumpy and a challenge but with the tires traction was never an issue and it wasn't that slow.
Today. With the trailer? Oof was really tough to keep headway with the 46x23, esp after spinning my brains out at the US Open Cycling Federation's velosprints over lunch (knocked half a second off my 500m time from 2 weeks ago). Made it through though. Trailer plowed through some deep drifts with the left wheel, but it was a decent ride home. Studs are loud and I have a slight fender rub to address and when the rear tire picks up extra packed snow it can jam. These fenders are really boderline for a tire this big (35c Schwalbe Marathon Winter) Esp on this bike. But hey. My feet were dry when I got home. I like that.
Tomorrow is a car day. Can't get to demo the other SEM scope in time on the bike, so I have to resort to the MF aka Rusty Race Wagon... and with the rain potentially dumping on us tonight (so happy to not have any precipitation on my commute today) and temps staying warm for a while here's to hoping it all disappears leaving niceclean dry roads for Thursday.
Why Thursday? we'll see... might be long ride time.
okay - got some other stuff like food but i might save that for a bit...
heddwch
G
The way home there were only a few spots where they were really helpful. One loooong stretch was the washington bridge.It was deep with drifted snow and was a challenge to ride through. Brought back memories of last year. Last year was without the trailer and a day like today would have been fast and fun. Bumpy and a challenge but with the tires traction was never an issue and it wasn't that slow.
Today. With the trailer? Oof was really tough to keep headway with the 46x23, esp after spinning my brains out at the US Open Cycling Federation's velosprints over lunch (knocked half a second off my 500m time from 2 weeks ago). Made it through though. Trailer plowed through some deep drifts with the left wheel, but it was a decent ride home. Studs are loud and I have a slight fender rub to address and when the rear tire picks up extra packed snow it can jam. These fenders are really boderline for a tire this big (35c Schwalbe Marathon Winter) Esp on this bike. But hey. My feet were dry when I got home. I like that.
Tomorrow is a car day. Can't get to demo the other SEM scope in time on the bike, so I have to resort to the MF aka Rusty Race Wagon... and with the rain potentially dumping on us tonight (so happy to not have any precipitation on my commute today) and temps staying warm for a while here's to hoping it all disappears leaving nice
Why Thursday? we'll see... might be long ride time.
okay - got some other stuff like food but i might save that for a bit...
heddwch
G
obligatory
finally got duped into clicking on the link to watch it.
and am sharing it #1 for the people who made it and who they made it for...
And no, I didn't laugh, got a couple groans... but it is all accurate and well done.
and am sharing it #1 for the people who made it and who they made it for...
And no, I didn't laugh, got a couple groans... but it is all accurate and well done.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Crazy? Yes.
After riding the trainer inside yesterday for 70 minutes (20 min mid to low cadence threshold, with a bit of recovery followed by 10 min of standing in the 53x12). It was 67°F or so inside, plenty hot and sweaty. With Joe Lindsey's article still fresh in my mind, and needing to get the car spot shoveled before my wife got home I figured - what better way to get the body's core temp back down than shoveling. I did put the baselayer on (only wear it until I warm up inside). It was pretty effective, 10-15 min of shoveling snow while it was snowing in the 20°F weather helped switch from the catabolic phase, and hopefully into the anabolic phase.
The neighbor down the street was running his new snow blower wearing a full snowmobile suit while I was throwing snow in kit. Was funny but hey, it was effective, it takes a long time for those sticks I used to pedal to cool down.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Campy Delta Brakes
Maybe it is me, or my generation. Fucking Old Bike Mechanics or something but... Campy Delta Road brakes are #1 lusty coveted bit of work.
But.
So easy to fuck up the install.
I know how to set them up. How to make them work as they are supposed to. Because I have set many pairs up, either fixing hack mechanic jobs or just installing new ones.
I was never able to acquire a pair. heck my ball bearing Dura-Ace ones worked.
But a perfectly set up Campy Delta brake is something so beautiful. Sure they are heavy. But get everything perfect....
Shiny.
I had ordered a set of Mavic cranks (the ones on the Paramount) in college to replace the 170 Campy Chorus cranks. brand new.
They showed up. I tore into the box walking back to the dorm and my now wife, then just some super star on the college crew team was walking by and, man was I excited about them. Brand fucking new most gorgeous and stiff cranks on the market, in the original Mavic packaging... i had them out and I showed them to her "look at these!!!!!!"
She said, "oh shiny."
Crushed.
There's an intangible about those Delta brakes. Something magical about how they work. About how you have to cut the cable just right inside. how getting the length just right was critical. So much to fuck up in the set up. And yeah. They didn't stop for shit. But they modulated your speed. At the pro level who fucking stops in the grand tours? You just slow down here and there.
Run those brakes and you'll never brake check so hard that you'll cause a pile up and break a couple collar bones.
Brakes. Who needs them. And now the fix dorks have taken them over putting them on shitty cheap 90s bianchis Thom Kn is dead nuts to square when he said, "Sweet Jeebus! What kind of hipster d-bag puts them on a bike like that and then fukcs up the cable routing that bad?"
Would really suck if that's one of the dozen pairs of them that I've bid on over the years. Yes. I actually have placed Ebay bids on Delta brakes. Never winning. Thus preserving the lust and unsatisfied desire for something so obscure.
wrench and live
may your mechanic give as much of a shit about all this as I do
g
But.
So easy to fuck up the install.
I know how to set them up. How to make them work as they are supposed to. Because I have set many pairs up, either fixing hack mechanic jobs or just installing new ones.
I was never able to acquire a pair. heck my ball bearing Dura-Ace ones worked.
But a perfectly set up Campy Delta brake is something so beautiful. Sure they are heavy. But get everything perfect....
Shiny.
I had ordered a set of Mavic cranks (the ones on the Paramount) in college to replace the 170 Campy Chorus cranks. brand new.
They showed up. I tore into the box walking back to the dorm and my now wife, then just some super star on the college crew team was walking by and, man was I excited about them. Brand fucking new most gorgeous and stiff cranks on the market, in the original Mavic packaging... i had them out and I showed them to her "look at these!!!!!!"
She said, "oh shiny."
Crushed.
There's an intangible about those Delta brakes. Something magical about how they work. About how you have to cut the cable just right inside. how getting the length just right was critical. So much to fuck up in the set up. And yeah. They didn't stop for shit. But they modulated your speed. At the pro level who fucking stops in the grand tours? You just slow down here and there.
Run those brakes and you'll never brake check so hard that you'll cause a pile up and break a couple collar bones.
Brakes. Who needs them. And now the fix dorks have taken them over putting them on shitty cheap 90s bianchis Thom Kn is dead nuts to square when he said, "Sweet Jeebus! What kind of hipster d-bag puts them on a bike like that and then fukcs up the cable routing that bad?"
Would really suck if that's one of the dozen pairs of them that I've bid on over the years. Yes. I actually have placed Ebay bids on Delta brakes. Never winning. Thus preserving the lust and unsatisfied desire for something so obscure.
wrench and live
may your mechanic give as much of a shit about all this as I do
g
just saw this
total chain mail "email from mom/grandma" or how ever results boy calls it. but i don't give a shit
it is good
from the Whoa! (potentially NSFW)
it is good
from the Whoa! (potentially NSFW)
Compliment at least one person at least once a day. If you have something nice to say to someone... say it to their face. If they get weirded out by it, that is their problem... don't let it stop you from interacting with people. When you are amongst society take your headphones out of your ears. If you are inside take your sunglasses off. Interact with other human beings. You carry with you the potential to make another person feel good about themselves... do not let that go to waste. Compliment at least one person at least once a day. Don't say it to your phone or to Facebook, say it to someone's face. If you think someone is beautiful... tell them. If you like someone's shoes... tell them. You may make someone happy, you may even make their day, and in turn that will make you feel good about yourself. Compliment at least one person at least once a day... you will be happy that you did.
#TJROW
can you use a hash tag as a title?
no probably not.
I had the idea a bit ago to go through why I would be a great addition to the peloton headed to DC for the National Bike Summit.
Wavering about the wisdom of laying out all the reasons...
Planet Bike Supercommuter,
Commuting by bike since 1990 (with a * for the years 1999-2005 and the 150 miles a day in a car)
but then the rest sort of sound like a bit of yeah whatever...so what. So what if you did the 2 man 25HOGG, drove home and was on the bike a few days later with no issues. 2x a day 5 days a week on the bike most weeks. Halfway decent elite masters CX racer. Pretty knowledgeable about eating and fueling for long (all day) rides, mostly from fucking up. Full compliment of lights and clothing required for the trip in whatever conditions might show up. Big draft for the rest of the riders. Not a problem speaking about my passion for the bike as a mode of transportation. I can bring a totally different demographic to the fundraising angle between G+, FB, (don't worry blogger friends I don't expect anything from you two or three here), Local advocacy groups here in PVD/RI, and shop coverage that the BOS crew might not tap into. Optimistic about hitting the $2500? No clue. Not a freaking clue.
But immaterial. Do I want to make the whole trip from Boston to DC? yes. no question. Do I think I could do it? yes. no question. Esp if I add a couple trips to Boston and back over the next couple months on top of the commuting and trainer time. Would it be awesome to hang out with my friends who are already on the list? no question yes. It would be so cool.
But maybe this year I just need to pop on and hang out for the first day and split off and head home to PVD at some point and thing about it more seriously if Tim does this again next year..
Oh and if yall can talk to the weather gods/mother nature see if you can keep the weather on Thursday next week not so terrible. Might try and shoot for the first BOS trip that day.
heddwch
G
no probably not.
I had the idea a bit ago to go through why I would be a great addition to the peloton headed to DC for the National Bike Summit.
Wavering about the wisdom of laying out all the reasons...
Planet Bike Supercommuter,
Commuting by bike since 1990 (with a * for the years 1999-2005 and the 150 miles a day in a car)
but then the rest sort of sound like a bit of yeah whatever...so what. So what if you did the 2 man 25HOGG, drove home and was on the bike a few days later with no issues. 2x a day 5 days a week on the bike most weeks. Halfway decent elite masters CX racer. Pretty knowledgeable about eating and fueling for long (all day) rides, mostly from fucking up. Full compliment of lights and clothing required for the trip in whatever conditions might show up. Big draft for the rest of the riders. Not a problem speaking about my passion for the bike as a mode of transportation. I can bring a totally different demographic to the fundraising angle between G+, FB, (don't worry blogger friends I don't expect anything from you two or three here), Local advocacy groups here in PVD/RI, and shop coverage that the BOS crew might not tap into. Optimistic about hitting the $2500? No clue. Not a freaking clue.
But immaterial. Do I want to make the whole trip from Boston to DC? yes. no question. Do I think I could do it? yes. no question. Esp if I add a couple trips to Boston and back over the next couple months on top of the commuting and trainer time. Would it be awesome to hang out with my friends who are already on the list? no question yes. It would be so cool.
But maybe this year I just need to pop on and hang out for the first day and split off and head home to PVD at some point and thing about it more seriously if Tim does this again next year..
Oh and if yall can talk to the weather gods/mother nature see if you can keep the weather on Thursday next week not so terrible. Might try and shoot for the first BOS trip that day.
heddwch
G
Exercise "fads"
cross fit is not a sport
Tae Bo is not a sport
Yoga is not a sport
You can make anything a competition, but making it a competition doesn't make it a sport, no matter how seriously you take it. But then I guess maybe it does.
Just seems wrong. To me. To call it "the sport of fitness"
how about just calling it f'n fitness or something? The Sport of Fit?
I could probably go all GeWilli and be a cranky offensive bastard talking about how silly it is to discuss how many dead lifts of a 150# kettle bell you did or that you can dead lift 600# that for your body weight is an official world record but your gym isn't certified to record and report those sorts of things, or that if it was in competition it would be a WR.
I was fine with all the people talking about "oh my god cross fit is so amazing, can't wait to get punished tomorrow." Awesome. Wonderful. I guess it just means that I'm fucking old and cranky because I've heard it all before. And it all sounds the same. And people do it and then stop because the miracle of endorphins eventually wears off and the hard work becomes harder and there are fewer and fewer rewards and oh look at that shiny new thing... Does anyone do step aerobics anymore? Hell it used to be health clubs were packed with classes all day long doing only that. Now (from pictures) it seems people want a minimalistic gym, industrial, just shit piled around. Don't get me wrong, fucking K'Buck will (and can) kick my ass for disparaging it but he's smart, and he's faster than me on a bike and he runs the show. Different on that side i would think. Kind of like getting in on the top level of an MLM operation at the right time. Now maybe KBuck calls it a sport, but he races bikes. I'd wager (probably incorrectly) that he doesn't.
Lifestyle? Fitness regime? Strength conditioning? Fuck yeah that all hasn't changed and is totally noble and good.
But. Sport?
I guess if it gets people to be more active? great. But lately I think it just serves as an excuse to have that extra serving of ice cream or couple extra beers.
Now my wife was relating a story about a bunch of women runners online discussing some fast dude who was photographed mid running race in a pose that highlighted his quad definition. The women were going on at lengths (hersay via my wife) about how incredible it was that you could see three distinct quad muscles.
I looked down and then flexed and said, "like this?" One of the benefits/side effects of dropping 20 pounds. A no doubt 20 now, really actually more of a 10kg decrease currently. And i did it without touching a fucking weight, rope, kettle bell, box jump... incredible. Maybe.
Comes back to whole package.
call it a holistic approach but if you aren't paying attention to what you are eating, as well as what you are doing, you're doing it wrong. To phrase that more positively, until you focus on every aspect of what you eat, how much you rest and how much you train, you will never realize your full potential.
me? yeah i probably have realized my full potential. I have my strengths and areas that are better than others and some weaknesses that I may be able to improve on, slowly, possibly. But gone are my days of significant jumps in results/placings.
if it hadn't been for that Reebok add, well, i'd probably not have ranted at all about it. But hell it has been a long time since I've pissed anyone off...
Tae Bo is not a sport
Yoga is not a sport
You can make anything a competition, but making it a competition doesn't make it a sport, no matter how seriously you take it. But then I guess maybe it does.
Just seems wrong. To me. To call it "the sport of fitness"
how about just calling it f'n fitness or something? The Sport of Fit?
I could probably go all GeWilli and be a cranky offensive bastard talking about how silly it is to discuss how many dead lifts of a 150# kettle bell you did or that you can dead lift 600# that for your body weight is an official world record but your gym isn't certified to record and report those sorts of things, or that if it was in competition it would be a WR.
I was fine with all the people talking about "oh my god cross fit is so amazing, can't wait to get punished tomorrow." Awesome. Wonderful. I guess it just means that I'm fucking old and cranky because I've heard it all before. And it all sounds the same. And people do it and then stop because the miracle of endorphins eventually wears off and the hard work becomes harder and there are fewer and fewer rewards and oh look at that shiny new thing... Does anyone do step aerobics anymore? Hell it used to be health clubs were packed with classes all day long doing only that. Now (from pictures) it seems people want a minimalistic gym, industrial, just shit piled around. Don't get me wrong, fucking K'Buck will (and can) kick my ass for disparaging it but he's smart, and he's faster than me on a bike and he runs the show. Different on that side i would think. Kind of like getting in on the top level of an MLM operation at the right time. Now maybe KBuck calls it a sport, but he races bikes. I'd wager (probably incorrectly) that he doesn't.
Lifestyle? Fitness regime? Strength conditioning? Fuck yeah that all hasn't changed and is totally noble and good.
But. Sport?
I guess if it gets people to be more active? great. But lately I think it just serves as an excuse to have that extra serving of ice cream or couple extra beers.
Now my wife was relating a story about a bunch of women runners online discussing some fast dude who was photographed mid running race in a pose that highlighted his quad definition. The women were going on at lengths (hersay via my wife) about how incredible it was that you could see three distinct quad muscles.
I looked down and then flexed and said, "like this?" One of the benefits/side effects of dropping 20 pounds. A no doubt 20 now, really actually more of a 10kg decrease currently. And i did it without touching a fucking weight, rope, kettle bell, box jump... incredible. Maybe.
Comes back to whole package.
call it a holistic approach but if you aren't paying attention to what you are eating, as well as what you are doing, you're doing it wrong. To phrase that more positively, until you focus on every aspect of what you eat, how much you rest and how much you train, you will never realize your full potential.
me? yeah i probably have realized my full potential. I have my strengths and areas that are better than others and some weaknesses that I may be able to improve on, slowly, possibly. But gone are my days of significant jumps in results/placings.
if it hadn't been for that Reebok add, well, i'd probably not have ranted at all about it. But hell it has been a long time since I've pissed anyone off...
Thursday, January 19, 2012
hey what's this thing
Yeah, writing hasn't percolated to the top of the list for the last few days.
The lead in period to this half of the year is over, peoples stuff is ready to go and suddenly stuff is crazy here, not bad, a good change from the quiet. Although, the quiet was nice.
It does lead into some challenges with the whole planning my goal of riding to Boston and back once in each month this winter. Keeping a day on the schedule open isn't the hard part, but picking that day two or three weeks out with the wonderfully consistent weather we have here is. And the whole once per month is the kicker with January winding down fast and picking up speed.
Still a pile of stuff to do, flush this out a bit more. Maybe. I did actually manage to ride for 3 hours on the trainer on Monday. Yeah. 3 hours. Two 90 minute blocks actually. Was fun actually. Which means I probably didn't train hard enough in CX season if I'm fresh enough to pedal again. That said the last CX race was way back at Fitchburg so maybe that's long enough to reset.
Was fun enough I might actually consider doing it again... If i can find time between birthday parties and the rest of the weekend activities...
heddwch
G
The lead in period to this half of the year is over, peoples stuff is ready to go and suddenly stuff is crazy here, not bad, a good change from the quiet. Although, the quiet was nice.
It does lead into some challenges with the whole planning my goal of riding to Boston and back once in each month this winter. Keeping a day on the schedule open isn't the hard part, but picking that day two or three weeks out with the wonderfully consistent weather we have here is. And the whole once per month is the kicker with January winding down fast and picking up speed.
Still a pile of stuff to do, flush this out a bit more. Maybe. I did actually manage to ride for 3 hours on the trainer on Monday. Yeah. 3 hours. Two 90 minute blocks actually. Was fun actually. Which means I probably didn't train hard enough in CX season if I'm fresh enough to pedal again. That said the last CX race was way back at Fitchburg so maybe that's long enough to reset.
Was fun enough I might actually consider doing it again... If i can find time between birthday parties and the rest of the weekend activities...
heddwch
G
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