Spun off from Twitter:
Closethedoor was complaining about not having a NECX Old Car Matrix, lets help him out
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
do i need to?
Write up Ice Weasels? The video pretty much says it all.
Got there, hung out, rode a lap, heckled, raced, had fun, stayed sober, drove home.
Oh and had a blast.
Was fun.
Great course. First pre-ride it was wet mud. By the time the single speed rolled off the mud had thickened and stiffened, like over worked whipped cream. No longer just oozed out of the way, you had to power through it.Which meant my tall gear choice was made even worse. It was fine on the early lap but two races and two hours later w/o any extra rain meant I was in for a world of hurt.
Raced in the Orange suit too. Why not. I had to jump extra high for the re-mounts but it was okay. Two laps in the black bike single speed changed gears. Not in the good direction. The short bit of der cable through the barrel adjuster was not a good move. Oops. Suddenly it went from being crazy low RPM torque to are you fucking kidding me torque. I ducked into the pits and grabbed the white bike.
Honestly I think the Rocket Rons on the Tubeless set up hooked up amazingly. I had no issues riding pretty much anywhere or turning or what not. Maybe i wasn't going fast enough but fuckinghell i don't think i touched my brakes more than once per lap. You slowed down so fast when you stopped pedaling brakes were just kind of pointless.
The PDX tires worked well too. Hooked up nicely enough.
The start. Oh the start. I lined up on the inside (dumb move #1) but hell i was lined up behind MARK! NBD. Except it was. He missed his pedal and stopped. I think i counted 20 people in front of me before i hit the turn (using photos) maybe more. Mark obviously had no problem with this. He was leading by the time he cross the finish line to start his second lap. Me? It put me into PASS PEOPLE ON THE STRAIGHT and then try to work up and make up deficit. Didn't work super great.
But hey - it was a fucking BLAST.
Trying to survive the week. Trying to make it through this coming weekend. I'm also toying with (not very seriously though) the idea of getting up wicked early and going up for the single speed race. BUT I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get back in time.
Still fighting the backleft lower not quite hip thing but it is definitely getting better... the list of stuff i need to be working on right now is long, but I'm tired and just want to sleep. Brain can't even recall half of what i wanted to write about at the moment.
Oh - right - these http://imgur.com/a/LfwIu I want a pair... i hear good things about them... well not the home made ones but you know, those free ride whatever you call em rollers.
Long ride is already shaping up in my head, mentally going through what will need to happen to get the bike ready for it, weather window watching time. Also, I suppose I need a destination. Maybe Firefly won't be quite out of the old one and not quite into the new one, (and then hit barrington coffee roasters) it has been a while since I've been up Dot Ave. New London is one of the other location destinations for the round trip this year. Might need some Solobreak advice on alternates to Bay this time around. I desperately need something else on the horizon to focus on goal wise, road racing just doesn't really do it for me right now, hoping that these long rides do the trick (again).
I did manage to read The Hobbit, I remember it as a long book. But yeah, not terribly long i guess. Still a good story, kind of wish it was longer hey oh well.
this ploy to stay awake isn't working. eyelids keep drooping closed. Fingers continue to type w/o guidance, words seem to be coming out okay at the moment...
heddwch
G
Got there, hung out, rode a lap, heckled, raced, had fun, stayed sober, drove home.
Oh and had a blast.
Was fun.
Great course. First pre-ride it was wet mud. By the time the single speed rolled off the mud had thickened and stiffened, like over worked whipped cream. No longer just oozed out of the way, you had to power through it.Which meant my tall gear choice was made even worse. It was fine on the early lap but two races and two hours later w/o any extra rain meant I was in for a world of hurt.
Raced in the Orange suit too. Why not. I had to jump extra high for the re-mounts but it was okay. Two laps in the black bike single speed changed gears. Not in the good direction. The short bit of der cable through the barrel adjuster was not a good move. Oops. Suddenly it went from being crazy low RPM torque to are you fucking kidding me torque. I ducked into the pits and grabbed the white bike.
Honestly I think the Rocket Rons on the Tubeless set up hooked up amazingly. I had no issues riding pretty much anywhere or turning or what not. Maybe i wasn't going fast enough but fuckinghell i don't think i touched my brakes more than once per lap. You slowed down so fast when you stopped pedaling brakes were just kind of pointless.
The PDX tires worked well too. Hooked up nicely enough.
The start. Oh the start. I lined up on the inside (dumb move #1) but hell i was lined up behind MARK! NBD. Except it was. He missed his pedal and stopped. I think i counted 20 people in front of me before i hit the turn (using photos) maybe more. Mark obviously had no problem with this. He was leading by the time he cross the finish line to start his second lap. Me? It put me into PASS PEOPLE ON THE STRAIGHT and then try to work up and make up deficit. Didn't work super great.
But hey - it was a fucking BLAST.
Trying to survive the week. Trying to make it through this coming weekend. I'm also toying with (not very seriously though) the idea of getting up wicked early and going up for the single speed race. BUT I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get back in time.
Still fighting the backleft lower not quite hip thing but it is definitely getting better... the list of stuff i need to be working on right now is long, but I'm tired and just want to sleep. Brain can't even recall half of what i wanted to write about at the moment.
Oh - right - these http://imgur.com/a/LfwIu I want a pair... i hear good things about them... well not the home made ones but you know, those free ride whatever you call em rollers.
Long ride is already shaping up in my head, mentally going through what will need to happen to get the bike ready for it, weather window watching time. Also, I suppose I need a destination. Maybe Firefly won't be quite out of the old one and not quite into the new one, (and then hit barrington coffee roasters) it has been a while since I've been up Dot Ave. New London is one of the other location destinations for the round trip this year. Might need some Solobreak advice on alternates to Bay this time around. I desperately need something else on the horizon to focus on goal wise, road racing just doesn't really do it for me right now, hoping that these long rides do the trick (again).
I did manage to read The Hobbit, I remember it as a long book. But yeah, not terribly long i guess. Still a good story, kind of wish it was longer hey oh well.
this ploy to stay awake isn't working. eyelids keep drooping closed. Fingers continue to type w/o guidance, words seem to be coming out okay at the moment...
heddwch
G
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thunder storm in december
The weather always makes for a good web logging for bike commuters. Esp when it gets down right odd.
I missed the rain this morning. A fortuitous circumstance. Always nice to arrive and not have to hang up wet stuff around the office or park the shoes in front of the fan.
I missed the rain this morning. A fortuitous circumstance. Always nice to arrive and not have to hang up wet stuff around the office or park the shoes in front of the fan.
Yin and Yang
Pairings, electron spin, black and white, light and dark, highs and lows, life... and death.
Erza...
Fast Boy's cancer is back. Stage IV. 5-6 months to live w/o treatment. treatment is heavy duty chemo... I've watched through the window he's opened to the world what the chemo was like for him. it wasn't pretty, it was pretty rough.
I remember the last 6 months with MLFN through his last desperate battle to prolong his stay with us...
Life and death.
His words are powerful. Death is the ultimate drama, the final curtain. His art, his work, his passions...
Here's his Aztec Soup:
heddwch
G
Erza...
Fast Boy's cancer is back. Stage IV. 5-6 months to live w/o treatment. treatment is heavy duty chemo... I've watched through the window he's opened to the world what the chemo was like for him. it wasn't pretty, it was pretty rough.
I remember the last 6 months with MLFN through his last desperate battle to prolong his stay with us...
Life and death.
His words are powerful. Death is the ultimate drama, the final curtain. His art, his work, his passions...
Here's his Aztec Soup:
aztec soup from Fast Boy on Vimeo.
heddwch
G
Sunday, December 09, 2012
Ice Weasels
The Ice Weasels Cometh - Cyclocross 2012 from Nick Czerula on Vimeo.
This was like so totally awesome... Nick blew it out of the water.
Give an artist some inspiration...
The race was even more fun than it looks in the video!
Friday, December 07, 2012
Stage IV... never ever ever good
Be strong Ezra.
http://www.teachingcancertocry.com/
I guess it has a bit since I checked in, before the 29th of November at least. At that point only this post was up.
I noticed today a bunch of new content. So I started reading it chronologically.
No, I've never had the chance to meet Ezra. But he is my hero.
he's kind of what I want to be i suppose, a craftsman, a photographer, cooks and makes shit, hangs out with his dog and his wife, spends time up in the Canadian maritimes, lives in NYC... I dunno, sort of that romantic ideal that I sometimes wish I was able to do. I don't not because I can't but because I'm who I am, I do what i do, and that's what makes me. I'm not Ezra, but he's still a hero to me. Am I making sense? Probably not.
Mark Nicholson was/is also my hero. Cancer unites the two of them, and I wish and hope Ezra can do what Mark wasn't able to do, beat cancer.
Stage IV is serious shit.
And everyone knows I'm an emotional basket-case right? Yeah, reading this pegs my empathy meter and yeah. My heart goes out to Ezra and Hillary and Putney. Love that dog.
heddwch
G
http://www.teachingcancertocry.com/
I guess it has a bit since I checked in, before the 29th of November at least. At that point only this post was up.
I noticed today a bunch of new content. So I started reading it chronologically.
No, I've never had the chance to meet Ezra. But he is my hero.
he's kind of what I want to be i suppose, a craftsman, a photographer, cooks and makes shit, hangs out with his dog and his wife, spends time up in the Canadian maritimes, lives in NYC... I dunno, sort of that romantic ideal that I sometimes wish I was able to do. I don't not because I can't but because I'm who I am, I do what i do, and that's what makes me. I'm not Ezra, but he's still a hero to me. Am I making sense? Probably not.
Mark Nicholson was/is also my hero. Cancer unites the two of them, and I wish and hope Ezra can do what Mark wasn't able to do, beat cancer.
Stage IV is serious shit.
And everyone knows I'm an emotional basket-case right? Yeah, reading this pegs my empathy meter and yeah. My heart goes out to Ezra and Hillary and Putney. Love that dog.
heddwch
G
NBX Day 2 (gotta get it done before IW)
So. Sunday at NBX.
Kind of sort of wouldn't mind forgetting about it.
RI State Championship weekend (except that Matt B forgot to tell the officials before the weekend). I was pretty sure there was little competition for the crown of the 40-44 age group. No big deal. Stine is younger, Curtis moved to NH... No one else has been showing up or racing (or raced on saturday) to challenge me. All I had to do was finish. I got this, kind of cool you know.
Kind of sort of wouldn't mind forgetting about it.
RI State Championship weekend (except that Matt B forgot to tell the officials before the weekend). I was pretty sure there was little competition for the crown of the 40-44 age group. No big deal. Stine is younger, Curtis moved to NH... No one else has been showing up or racing (or raced on saturday) to challenge me. All I had to do was finish. I got this, kind of cool you know.
Public Service Announcement
Courtesy of MABRA
Guys, look, Cat 4 isn't for getting podiums. It is for learning to race. 10 and done. Keep Cat 4 a beginner race, so the beginners have fun.
If you've got more than one season back there, even if you are slow, you're not a beginner anymore, you just suck. #toughlove You gotta work at it.
didn't Ctodd write a song about it?
Guys, look, Cat 4 isn't for getting podiums. It is for learning to race. 10 and done. Keep Cat 4 a beginner race, so the beginners have fun.
If you've got more than one season back there, even if you are slow, you're not a beginner anymore, you just suck. #toughlove You gotta work at it.
MABRAcross Public Service Announcement from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.
didn't Ctodd write a song about it?
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Fairytale of New York
This song... means quite a bit to me.
Back in high school, I was given/loaned a cassette tape. The Pogues. The tape couldn't have been more than a few years post release if that. It was a clear plastic cassette. I had a cool sony walkman that i sort of took over from my stepfather. This thing was cool. Without the tape it collapsed into the same size as a cassette tape case. Music skip was part of the FF or RR buttons. It would auto stop at a blank spot.
I hit rewind countless times listening to Fairytale of New York.
25 years ago.
Check this bit out over in the Guardian. If you want.
Give it a listen while you're there.
If i should fall from grace with god was an album that meant a lot to me.
I never burned up that tape, I still have it somewhere, I still have a walkman that I can play it on. That one tape lives, nearly 25 years old.
The songs they are around on Youtube. In grad school there was a used CD shop above the bike shop. I bought ever Pouges album that came through there that I didn't have.
I may be, if i can get my shit together, blasting some Pogues driving up to Wrentham on Saturday.
Granted, i do have to get my shit together and get there in the first place.
Weather looks to be more like Bog Weasels than Ice Weasels. Clement PDX conditions, aka close to EcoX type soil in places.
Hmm, i was going to write about NBX day 2 but i might just watch this instead:
http://youtu.be/h-saY704o4o
heddwch
G
Back in high school, I was given/loaned a cassette tape. The Pogues. The tape couldn't have been more than a few years post release if that. It was a clear plastic cassette. I had a cool sony walkman that i sort of took over from my stepfather. This thing was cool. Without the tape it collapsed into the same size as a cassette tape case. Music skip was part of the FF or RR buttons. It would auto stop at a blank spot.
I hit rewind countless times listening to Fairytale of New York.
25 years ago.
Check this bit out over in the Guardian. If you want.
Give it a listen while you're there.
If i should fall from grace with god was an album that meant a lot to me.
I never burned up that tape, I still have it somewhere, I still have a walkman that I can play it on. That one tape lives, nearly 25 years old.
The songs they are around on Youtube. In grad school there was a used CD shop above the bike shop. I bought ever Pouges album that came through there that I didn't have.
I may be, if i can get my shit together, blasting some Pogues driving up to Wrentham on Saturday.
Granted, i do have to get my shit together and get there in the first place.
Weather looks to be more like Bog Weasels than Ice Weasels. Clement PDX conditions, aka close to EcoX type soil in places.
Hmm, i was going to write about NBX day 2 but i might just watch this instead:
http://youtu.be/h-saY704o4o
heddwch
G
Other writing
I know i don't always read the whole internet anymore, but there are three pro's who've said a bit that's worth reading:
JPow
Myerson
Tillford
And something different: a bit on Meeting Ernest
Still need to try and write up Sunday's race. If nothing else to document it for myself.
Am thinking about Ice Weasels, gearing most. Found Coady's gearing from a few years ago, I think i've got an idea as far as what i'm going to try to run, still not sure about which bike. I've been using the White Blue in all the singlespeed race (all two of them) but Sunday's mid-race swap made me realize how much heavier it is. That said being heavy it didn't feel slow except when I was running with it. I've only been on the IW course once, two years ago. Probably bring both bikes get there early and hang out and figure it out. It is cross y'all, this figuring shit out is most of the fun. The mental part.
Saw Derdowski yesterday, all slinged up. 6 broken bones. No surgery though. Collar bone broken, but not detached, just gonna heal up on its own. Scapula cracked (broken - that's a big f'n bone, takes a lot of force to break them). They didn't see the 4 broken ribs until they did the CT scan to check the lungs. One up front and three around the back. But overall he's still thinking a lot about next year's CX season. Hoping we can keep him in NECX but he's headed where ever the job offers come from.
I did see a tweeted photo of Myette, looking bruised and puffy, hoping y'all heal up fast. A year of injuries... Dean joined me on one of the long rides, when we met up with Nicky, and this summer he had to deal with a detached retina. The recovery from that makes breaking a bone look luxurious.
We are all on a fragile edge of health. Pushing the limits and sometimes paying a price. Sometimes it is doing something optional, sometimes it just happens to us.
But we're alive.
Being alive, even when it is shitty and dark and depressing, mentally or environmentally, there is really no alternative. Carry on.
We all die, and that's it. Done. We lost Brubeck yesterday, but his music and influence lives on. We all can only hope to leave something as lasting when it is time to go.
What you do does matter. JPow, Adam, those guys get it. Seriously, take time to read Jeremy's words. The choices he makes are worth it, worth it for everyone. And yes, sport is not alone in the corruption and cancer of the egos of men. Business, no different. In all things you can go the route of exploiting the situation to your own singular advantage or you can focus on doing your best, honestly, fairly, with integrity.
heddwch
G
JPow
Myerson
Tillford
And something different: a bit on Meeting Ernest
Still need to try and write up Sunday's race. If nothing else to document it for myself.
Am thinking about Ice Weasels, gearing most. Found Coady's gearing from a few years ago, I think i've got an idea as far as what i'm going to try to run, still not sure about which bike. I've been using the White Blue in all the singlespeed race (all two of them) but Sunday's mid-race swap made me realize how much heavier it is. That said being heavy it didn't feel slow except when I was running with it. I've only been on the IW course once, two years ago. Probably bring both bikes get there early and hang out and figure it out. It is cross y'all, this figuring shit out is most of the fun. The mental part.
Saw Derdowski yesterday, all slinged up. 6 broken bones. No surgery though. Collar bone broken, but not detached, just gonna heal up on its own. Scapula cracked (broken - that's a big f'n bone, takes a lot of force to break them). They didn't see the 4 broken ribs until they did the CT scan to check the lungs. One up front and three around the back. But overall he's still thinking a lot about next year's CX season. Hoping we can keep him in NECX but he's headed where ever the job offers come from.
I did see a tweeted photo of Myette, looking bruised and puffy, hoping y'all heal up fast. A year of injuries... Dean joined me on one of the long rides, when we met up with Nicky, and this summer he had to deal with a detached retina. The recovery from that makes breaking a bone look luxurious.
We are all on a fragile edge of health. Pushing the limits and sometimes paying a price. Sometimes it is doing something optional, sometimes it just happens to us.
But we're alive.
Being alive, even when it is shitty and dark and depressing, mentally or environmentally, there is really no alternative. Carry on.
We all die, and that's it. Done. We lost Brubeck yesterday, but his music and influence lives on. We all can only hope to leave something as lasting when it is time to go.
What you do does matter. JPow, Adam, those guys get it. Seriously, take time to read Jeremy's words. The choices he makes are worth it, worth it for everyone. And yes, sport is not alone in the corruption and cancer of the egos of men. Business, no different. In all things you can go the route of exploiting the situation to your own singular advantage or you can focus on doing your best, honestly, fairly, with integrity.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
coach al
not my coach... but if he was i probably would be faster, my coach is a fucking dumbass, different topic.
Reading the interview with him this described sunday for me:
I was tired on Saturday, but still pretty fresh.
Sunday I was tired, and tired...
There's sort of an awareness that I'm getting, different than before, I knew it was going to be touch and go to get two good days out of NBX, but I allowed myself to set high expectations or hopes. I knew that after two weekends off from racing going into Day 1 at NoHo would be a shock to the system and that I shouldn't expect much, probably from either day honestly. But I didn't. Not quite rookie mistakes but it goes more to managing the mental game and being prepared when you can't get the physical side perfect, either w/o enough intensity or not getting enough rest and recovery.
time to ride home... Today is Day 12 in a row on the bike w/o a day off.
Reading the interview with him this described sunday for me:
“Racing tired,” he argues,” doesn’t work because the racer can’t get a real 100% race effort. They end up with a mediocre start and a sloppy race. Then they get mentally defeated from this performance and tend to spiral downwards into worse races.”That said mostly just the bad start, the sloppy lines, I had pulled my shit together after a few laps, but the damage was done before i got the puncture, but adding the puncture to the mix meant one more hurdle to overcome.
I was tired on Saturday, but still pretty fresh.
Sunday I was tired, and tired...
There's sort of an awareness that I'm getting, different than before, I knew it was going to be touch and go to get two good days out of NBX, but I allowed myself to set high expectations or hopes. I knew that after two weekends off from racing going into Day 1 at NoHo would be a shock to the system and that I shouldn't expect much, probably from either day honestly. But I didn't. Not quite rookie mistakes but it goes more to managing the mental game and being prepared when you can't get the physical side perfect, either w/o enough intensity or not getting enough rest and recovery.
time to ride home... Today is Day 12 in a row on the bike w/o a day off.
Monday, December 03, 2012
remix... (not bike racing)
My brother tweeted the link to the Bob Ross PBS melodysheep remix saying: "If you can still have a bad day after watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA … there is something wrong with you."
I watched it, and almost felt sadness, an emptiness. He showed you how to paint, but the fictitious landscapes, the trees and mts that are all the same... i dunno, happy little clouds never did it for me. I've seen it before, 4 million views means it is pretty popular out there. I saw on the side bar this one. Julia Child Remixed.
I watched it... that made me happy. Food is my canvas most of the time. Take the bob ross philosophy add it to Child and you have a potent way to cook. Know how it works, make it happen.
Yes you need fat to absorb your vitamins, and keep your neuron's healthy. You need to eat cholesterol so your body doesn't over produce it. You need to watch what you eat so you don't destroy your pancreas.
Food.
creating...
Dave has a great post about Hand Magic. No. not that kind of hand magic... damn dirty minds.
I think there is a bit of that here. Not so much the whole universal art creative source of power or that something is making the ants or spiders do beautiful stuff, no, that there is beauty in functionality...
beauty is a tough call, who sees it, who responds to it, how do you react to it...
does it make you think, does it draw you in...
food is a canvas for me, tonight, burritos. I'm missing a few items, ate all the lettuce in salad this weekend, going to make due with skipping that, but there are peppers, avocado, beans, rice, sour cream, tomatillos... i think i can pull something together.
In a way, my little brother is right, can't have a bad day after watching that because it pulled me into JC's stuff and allowed me to tie into Dave M's words.
I'm externally thankful, gracious and not nearly internal enough about it. Recognizing how lucky I was to just be racing yesterday, should have been enough to overwhelm the negativity and sadness of a poor race, but the obstacles overcome were worth it. Cathy R is right, focus on the positive, MKR and Domarski has amazing weekends, Cathy and I had pretty good day 1s. Draw from that, move on, don't dwell. Nicky has said that before, snap out of it, turn it off, move on. I think there is maybe some benefit, something to be derived from acknowledging, accepting and not ignoring the pain and the sadness, those emotions are valid. But with any period of grief, there comes a time to move on... I feel okay now, moving on, putting that race behind me. I'm lucky, I didn't get hauled off in a meatwagon... my puncture was sealed with the help of the super friendly Stans No Tubes guy. My physical inconveniences were minor. I have no ill effects from riding around saturday w/o enough clothes on.
It is good.
I'm better.
Lets cook some food.
heddwch
G
I watched it, and almost felt sadness, an emptiness. He showed you how to paint, but the fictitious landscapes, the trees and mts that are all the same... i dunno, happy little clouds never did it for me. I've seen it before, 4 million views means it is pretty popular out there. I saw on the side bar this one. Julia Child Remixed.
I watched it... that made me happy. Food is my canvas most of the time. Take the bob ross philosophy add it to Child and you have a potent way to cook. Know how it works, make it happen.
Yes you need fat to absorb your vitamins, and keep your neuron's healthy. You need to eat cholesterol so your body doesn't over produce it. You need to watch what you eat so you don't destroy your pancreas.
Food.
creating...
Dave has a great post about Hand Magic. No. not that kind of hand magic... damn dirty minds.
I think there is a bit of that here. Not so much the whole universal art creative source of power or that something is making the ants or spiders do beautiful stuff, no, that there is beauty in functionality...
beauty is a tough call, who sees it, who responds to it, how do you react to it...
does it make you think, does it draw you in...
food is a canvas for me, tonight, burritos. I'm missing a few items, ate all the lettuce in salad this weekend, going to make due with skipping that, but there are peppers, avocado, beans, rice, sour cream, tomatillos... i think i can pull something together.
In a way, my little brother is right, can't have a bad day after watching that because it pulled me into JC's stuff and allowed me to tie into Dave M's words.
I'm externally thankful, gracious and not nearly internal enough about it. Recognizing how lucky I was to just be racing yesterday, should have been enough to overwhelm the negativity and sadness of a poor race, but the obstacles overcome were worth it. Cathy R is right, focus on the positive, MKR and Domarski has amazing weekends, Cathy and I had pretty good day 1s. Draw from that, move on, don't dwell. Nicky has said that before, snap out of it, turn it off, move on. I think there is maybe some benefit, something to be derived from acknowledging, accepting and not ignoring the pain and the sadness, those emotions are valid. But with any period of grief, there comes a time to move on... I feel okay now, moving on, putting that race behind me. I'm lucky, I didn't get hauled off in a meatwagon... my puncture was sealed with the help of the super friendly Stans No Tubes guy. My physical inconveniences were minor. I have no ill effects from riding around saturday w/o enough clothes on.
It is good.
I'm better.
Lets cook some food.
heddwch
G
NBX Day 1 attempt at race report #1
NBX... oh NBX.
Goddard Park. Not exactly home field but close enough, still a 35 min drive from the house... About half the distance of last week so no complaining.
But if i had a hovercraft i'd be able to get there quite a bit faster. Head south out of Bullocks cove, blast down around Warwick Point/Neck what ever it is called and up onto the sands there at the beach. but I don't have a hovercraft. Much less a plain old speed boat. Canoe would just be painfully slow and not the best way to warm up for a CX race. Driving around works.
Goddard Park. Not exactly home field but close enough, still a 35 min drive from the house... About half the distance of last week so no complaining.
But if i had a hovercraft i'd be able to get there quite a bit faster. Head south out of Bullocks cove, blast down around Warwick Point/Neck what ever it is called and up onto the sands there at the beach. but I don't have a hovercraft. Much less a plain old speed boat. Canoe would just be painfully slow and not the best way to warm up for a CX race. Driving around works.
Video Report from NBX Day 2
again courtesy of John Mosby (father of our Junior teammate in the race)
Day two, was not the best for me, bad start, bounced over bad lines, ran over something that put a small puncture in my rear tire, rode it until, it was on the rim, ran the rest of the way to the pit (min 1:25 or so in the vid) and hauled the B bike around (it felt soooo much heavier esp on a day like today, lots of running carrying the bike through the sand).
Was hoping for another good result today, mechanical and not DNF and not DNF, have to accept it and chalk it up to 'bike racing.' Some days you feel like you win, some days...
Really though the most gutting part was missing out on an chance to race for the state championship.
After the bad start I had just worked up to Rich Loring's wheel, and the back end felt soft on the roots as we passed the pit. First thought was flat, but it wasn't going down fast and I had the same thought on the same roots yesterday and was fine.
There was a moment that I thought, well it isn't flat, but if i got off my bike i could run back to the entrance of the pit (hadn't passed pit exit yet) and grab the other bike.
But I didn't. Was FLAT by the time I hit the pavement before the barriers. Rode with weight on the front wheel then ran from there to the pit (very twisty section, way faster to run than riding a flat).
Race for RI champ was there, I was feeling good, Wade and company were right up ahead, I was gaining ground on Tom, and then poof...
Got the pit bike and started riding. Tried to race but mostly i just rode around picking lines and trying to ride as much of the sand as I could just because, and because with the long running sections the White Blue weighed a TON (compared to Black Blue).
more write up later, i know it is just bike racing, to ride 1/2 a lap part of it running and not get lapped by the leaders in that race is a huge step for me, in my long range progress.
Time to sit back and reflect a bit.
Couldn't shake the black cloud last night. Riding in this morning slowly, I felt good, legs weren't terrible, felt efficient and strong on the bike.
So there's that...
heddwch
G
Day two, was not the best for me, bad start, bounced over bad lines, ran over something that put a small puncture in my rear tire, rode it until, it was on the rim, ran the rest of the way to the pit (min 1:25 or so in the vid) and hauled the B bike around (it felt soooo much heavier esp on a day like today, lots of running carrying the bike through the sand).
Was hoping for another good result today, mechanical and not DNF and not DNF, have to accept it and chalk it up to 'bike racing.' Some days you feel like you win, some days...
Really though the most gutting part was missing out on an chance to race for the state championship.
After the bad start I had just worked up to Rich Loring's wheel, and the back end felt soft on the roots as we passed the pit. First thought was flat, but it wasn't going down fast and I had the same thought on the same roots yesterday and was fine.
There was a moment that I thought, well it isn't flat, but if i got off my bike i could run back to the entrance of the pit (hadn't passed pit exit yet) and grab the other bike.
But I didn't. Was FLAT by the time I hit the pavement before the barriers. Rode with weight on the front wheel then ran from there to the pit (very twisty section, way faster to run than riding a flat).
Race for RI champ was there, I was feeling good, Wade and company were right up ahead, I was gaining ground on Tom, and then poof...
Got the pit bike and started riding. Tried to race but mostly i just rode around picking lines and trying to ride as much of the sand as I could just because, and because with the long running sections the White Blue weighed a TON (compared to Black Blue).
more write up later, i know it is just bike racing, to ride 1/2 a lap part of it running and not get lapped by the leaders in that race is a huge step for me, in my long range progress.
Time to sit back and reflect a bit.
Couldn't shake the black cloud last night. Riding in this morning slowly, I felt good, legs weren't terrible, felt efficient and strong on the bike.
So there's that...
heddwch
G
Video Report from NBX Day 1
Courtesy of John Mosby:
Cold, snowy, crazy conditions. So cold.
A pretty damn good day racing, was racing the whole day, felt good on the bike, except for being maybe a little cold. There were no more than 4 people with shorts on... half of them are in the video.
Took me about an hour to warm up. Headed bathrooms to change in made all the difference.
Cold, snowy, crazy conditions. So cold.
A pretty damn good day racing, was racing the whole day, felt good on the bike, except for being maybe a little cold. There were no more than 4 people with shorts on... half of them are in the video.
Took me about an hour to warm up. Headed bathrooms to change in made all the difference.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Jekyll and Hyde
that is the title that popped in my head as I was driving home. So tired... so sleepy.... so drained...
yesterday wasn't bad, was pretty good, could have been better, today was horrible
one more race... if you call Ice Weasels a race.
really hoped to have a good race with the state championship... but i didn't
gutted
but hey it is what it is right? i'm going to try and talk positive and shit, I had a pretty decent weekend at Plymouth and Sterling, Saturday wasn't terrible. Today was horrible.
will try and write it up maybe
this week is looking insane again.
last week was a Perfect week. Commuted by bike every day. Started the weekend exhausted, finished further in the hole.
oh well
i survived, i only sucked like I have been racing in the past years, but today that sort of really sucked...
i need a hug
yesterday wasn't bad, was pretty good, could have been better, today was horrible
one more race... if you call Ice Weasels a race.
really hoped to have a good race with the state championship... but i didn't
gutted
but hey it is what it is right? i'm going to try and talk positive and shit, I had a pretty decent weekend at Plymouth and Sterling, Saturday wasn't terrible. Today was horrible.
will try and write it up maybe
this week is looking insane again.
last week was a Perfect week. Commuted by bike every day. Started the weekend exhausted, finished further in the hole.
oh well
i survived, i only sucked like I have been racing in the past years, but today that sort of really sucked...
i need a hug
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