smackdown and the mis-interpretation of my intent
bikeworks TT week 2
cliff notes version: smackdown had fox and becca and andrew and kyle and anton and me. andrew and fox are impressionable regarding pace and setting a blistering on early would set the tone and the group dynamics gave me the feeling it was something i would have to do. couple it with being way under on the calories and light on fuel and almost no water (just another typical stupid GeWilli move). Also no feed back on the bike, speed or hr not there. hard core speed till i pulled off on prospect and andrew and crew did a good job of keeping it high, turned onto Pine and they set a pace, i started getting gapped and then poof, legs said we're done.
bikeworks TT, cooler by a ton, very damp, so much fog and moisture in the air, slight headwind on tremont, beat last weeks time by 8 secs and barely held off Gary A to finish second behind Steve M. gotta be some kit watts in that ENGVT team kit.
taking a personal day today. slept in a bit, heading out for a brief little ride to flush the TT out.
catch up on everything that needs to be done...
maybe i'll get a chance to write tonight...
Also, go Register for the Concord Crit and the GP Beverly.
do it... only you can save bike racing, by racing.
heddwch
G
Friday, June 28, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
legs...
Saturday riding home I was dead. The headwind was a chore. I was beat down, mentally and physically. Drained.
Sunday I bailed on what turned out to be a f'n amazing ride, but i had nothing and it would have been a mistake... rode easily to the shop in street clothes and back home after blasting through the last of the bikes to assemble.
Monday, SUPER easy ride in and on the way home much the same and I stopped on the way home for a bit of liquid refreshment and to spend a few minutes just sitting on the rock soaking in the surroundings:
Was nice. Sunday was a disaster in every aspect. Total collapse. Crashed hard. Monday turned around. Spent some time with a praying mantis on the SEM (potential internet meme, just need a catch phrase, "Mantis Say What?" leading the pack but it isn't quite right).
Cranked through a pile of work and then home. Ate a big massive salad, had another champagne of beers and sat down to watch the game on the OTA broadcast and be an annoying pest to the social medias (like usual of course, maybe worse than normal maybe).
Tired this morning, wish the game had a different result, really not a blackhawks fan. But my legs were finally feeling not shitty. the lower back strain is going away/gone, feeling not terrible, tired but that's whatever.
Taking time, stepping back, taking it easy. As important as going balls to the wall. Nice to sort of have a realization of the process. good reminder.
Skipping the Tuesday night ride, going to hit the Wednesday Night one and then Thursday TT. Friday is up the the air. weekend? who knows. the C2R3 ride is kind of looking bleak. A good idea but logistically right now a bit of a challenge with the timing, might still try and shoot for it mid-july. We'll see though. Not going to stake any big deal to it if it doesn't happen (for a change).
Gonna get a big pile of mushrooms on the way home. not sure what i'll make with them but it is gonna be gooooooooooood
heddwch
G
Monday, June 24, 2013
MLFN Memorial ride, next installment
So I should back up a bit i suppose, start the story the way I normally do...
Leading up to the ride, I attempted to get the word out that it was going to be an informal but super fun ride, including the route. I printed up a set of cue sheets and more or less memorized the first part of the ride and the middle section. Maybe I should have said the route is NOT marked and to make sure you up load it into your garmin or bring your own cue sheet, or buddy up with someone who knew where we were going.
Problem a bit was none of the fastest did any of that. Which is fine, it worked out well enough, but that's sort of anyway something for next year I guess.
So spreading the word worked better than for the gallery opening i guess. but then people do seem to have more control over their weekends than their friday nights.
That friday, i forget, I think I was at the shop building a few bikes, it was a crazy day of running around picking up dropping off, doing stuff. So I headed in from home on the bike to get a bit of a warm up ride to try and shed the driving in the car all day legs.
And a friend dropped off their dog for us to watch while they were off till Sunday. The dog is a very wonderful beagle, sweet and likes people. Maybe too much. All it wanted to do was get in bed with us. Not happening. So what happened? I spent all night (up till 3am) working on trying to get him to shut up and stop whining. Then Erin took him out and he finally quieted down and I got 3 hours of sleep.
Three.
Just like tour de cure. no sleep.
Well some sleep, enough to survive but not enough to be at full capacity. I at least forced myself to eat some food, drank some extra water, made a second coffee, and probably should have had a 3rd or 4rh. Definitely should have done what I did at the TdC and got a pair of XL black iced for the water bottles on the way.
Except i was out of time and running late. no time. Skratch into the bottles then. Grabbed a mocha Cliff shot, it was all the portable caffeine i had to pack. Will have to work.
I forget what i was running around trying to figure out. The seat bad has decided to not have stitching on the seat post attachment so i kind of needed to find a few things to make it work. But hey, I had cookies. And I packed a pile of them. And they worked well. No fueling problems. Decked out in the black Prov Velo Kit and packing the camera to document the start, but I forgot to get a photo before we rolled out.
Without a specific location to start and gather there were kind of two groups at the park, one at the south side by the road and the other at the northern point. We got it together and eventually wound up a the northern point. People kept showing up, we got a fantastic turnout. Very happy with the size of the group. A range of speed and skills but a good group to honor a great man.
The weather was awesome, sunny and warm but not oppressive or super windy. Pretty much perfect.
We said a few words at the start, and off we went. Rolling en mass to the hills of Rhode Island. And I guess by default or design or who knows I wound up up front, leading us out of town, trying to set a decent pace but not a brutal one. We wound up turning left and somehow PKS or Fox or one of the other guys who was feeling frisky and impatient with the pace ticked it up a touch and the first splits started to happen. I worked a bit to stay with the first one. Then dropped off to check on the gaps to the back.
It wasn't billed as a no-drop ride but I didn't want it to be a true smackdown, but i realized i needed to know the route better than I did. But despite that we managed to re-group just enough to keep the bulk of the gang together going into the first stop. The biggest navigational mistake was hopping on the MNSD route and not getting back off it where we were supposed to, but it was pretty cool riding up Douglas Hill with everyone, and down the backside up to 44. Stopped for water and food at the little store there and decided it was taking a bit long and a few mentioned wanting to get back. So we improvised.
Seat of the pants route changing, with input from everyone we headed down 102 to 101.
Meanwhile Goldberg was the only one who put turn by turn directions into his garmin and he actually made the turn we missed and was off to follow final 50 miles of the route by himself.
101 takes us up to the highest point in RI. Goal. Yes. But man it is a rolling pain in the ass to get there. I hung on for the first roller. Let a little gap open on the second. By the third I was pretty much not having any of the smackdown pace being driven at the front and Derdowski and JC's comment earlier about just chilling and having fun, echoed with every pedal stroke up the hills. Everytime i got to the top the group was further ahead and more spread out. And I just said fuck it and relaxed and timed it so those two caught up as we got to the top of the state.
I knew where we were going at this point. So I turned where we had all planned despite not seeing everyone. The three of us made our way down, glorious roads, almost no traffic, wonderful day.
Just felt awesome to be on the bike with friends, on an adventure. The caffeine headache was settling in pretty well but there was a planned coffee stop up there.
And this was awesome (and a bit downhill). No clue where the rest of the gang was, half expected them to come swarming up around us.
We rolled down and got to Route 6 and I really wanted to ride back through the corner I marshaled for the rhody race so we turned right and rolled west on 6 for a short bit until we got to Balcom rd. That gave us the chance to ride the length of Central and get a bit of dirt. AND to ride through the covered bridge.
The hills kind of sucked but we were riding together. As a group. And it was good.
Just as we got up to the big road who came flying by as we got to it? Rich and Dave, doing a good impression of a two man TT rotating pulls, i guess there was some urgency to push the pace a bit to get back in time. But only those two. I knew the original route went north off that road we saw them on so I figured they went that way while Rich and Dave took the most direct route into town. And we just poked around into town and sat down in the shade outside to down some refreshment. Biggest iced coffee they had hit the spot. And we were off again. Rolling into town on probably the worst section of pavement in the whole state. but it was still fun and I've ridden plenty on that road with MLFN.
The three keys to the ride: highest point in RI, super hilly ride, Starr/Jenkes combo after riding 75 miles.
We get into town, roll through Kennedy Plaza and turn left onto Main by the church.
I didn't feel up to trying to do Starr and then Jenkes so we rode up South Court first, left on Benefit and recovered a bit as we rolled slowly to it. JC was encouraged to get the full experience, one because he's super strong and two he's never done it before, Derdowski and I have done it many times, no need, esp knowing what Jenkes looks like.
Down JC went, turned around, rolled back up Starr and then right up Jenkes. I followed and it is kind of hard to describe what you see when you make the right turn. It is unexpected and just boom SUPER STEEP. While not insanely long it is kind of just long enough that it isn't easy.
And then it was time to head back to the start and collect my bag with water, and extra cookies. Swung through the shop to say hey and check in.
Time to ride home. Got texts filtering in. Fox checked in, Snyder blew a cleat i guess and pedaled one legged back.
Despite the chaos, the directional uncertainty. The ride was amazing. It was what Mark would have been super proud of. Talking with Corey and Melissa I think we've got a plan to make it bigger and supported for next year. The route is awesome and needs some signage, maybe a shorter version for some to make it more inclusive, tie it in with the NBW maybe, ask for donations so we can make a gift to someone fighting cancer or something in Mark's honor, work a bit more at publicity beyond what we did this year.
Plans, big ones, but you know, everyone had an amazing time (well everyone I talked to) and the ride was awesome, so even if we fall flat and trip over ourselves and can't manage more than we did this year, it will still become an annual tradition.
I hope. That's the plan at least.
Seems that most of everyone who reads this thing was there. Was great to see Bart but I can't remember what band he said he found after starting to listen to a bunch of Alabama3. anyway
Hopefully starting the day writing will keep it spinning in a positive creative direction.
heddwch
G
Leading up to the ride, I attempted to get the word out that it was going to be an informal but super fun ride, including the route. I printed up a set of cue sheets and more or less memorized the first part of the ride and the middle section. Maybe I should have said the route is NOT marked and to make sure you up load it into your garmin or bring your own cue sheet, or buddy up with someone who knew where we were going.
Problem a bit was none of the fastest did any of that. Which is fine, it worked out well enough, but that's sort of anyway something for next year I guess.
So spreading the word worked better than for the gallery opening i guess. but then people do seem to have more control over their weekends than their friday nights.
That friday, i forget, I think I was at the shop building a few bikes, it was a crazy day of running around picking up dropping off, doing stuff. So I headed in from home on the bike to get a bit of a warm up ride to try and shed the driving in the car all day legs.
And a friend dropped off their dog for us to watch while they were off till Sunday. The dog is a very wonderful beagle, sweet and likes people. Maybe too much. All it wanted to do was get in bed with us. Not happening. So what happened? I spent all night (up till 3am) working on trying to get him to shut up and stop whining. Then Erin took him out and he finally quieted down and I got 3 hours of sleep.
Three.
Just like tour de cure. no sleep.
Well some sleep, enough to survive but not enough to be at full capacity. I at least forced myself to eat some food, drank some extra water, made a second coffee, and probably should have had a 3rd or 4rh. Definitely should have done what I did at the TdC and got a pair of XL black iced for the water bottles on the way.
Except i was out of time and running late. no time. Skratch into the bottles then. Grabbed a mocha Cliff shot, it was all the portable caffeine i had to pack. Will have to work.
I forget what i was running around trying to figure out. The seat bad has decided to not have stitching on the seat post attachment so i kind of needed to find a few things to make it work. But hey, I had cookies. And I packed a pile of them. And they worked well. No fueling problems. Decked out in the black Prov Velo Kit and packing the camera to document the start, but I forgot to get a photo before we rolled out.
Without a specific location to start and gather there were kind of two groups at the park, one at the south side by the road and the other at the northern point. We got it together and eventually wound up a the northern point. People kept showing up, we got a fantastic turnout. Very happy with the size of the group. A range of speed and skills but a good group to honor a great man.
The weather was awesome, sunny and warm but not oppressive or super windy. Pretty much perfect.
We said a few words at the start, and off we went. Rolling en mass to the hills of Rhode Island. And I guess by default or design or who knows I wound up up front, leading us out of town, trying to set a decent pace but not a brutal one. We wound up turning left and somehow PKS or Fox or one of the other guys who was feeling frisky and impatient with the pace ticked it up a touch and the first splits started to happen. I worked a bit to stay with the first one. Then dropped off to check on the gaps to the back.
It wasn't billed as a no-drop ride but I didn't want it to be a true smackdown, but i realized i needed to know the route better than I did. But despite that we managed to re-group just enough to keep the bulk of the gang together going into the first stop. The biggest navigational mistake was hopping on the MNSD route and not getting back off it where we were supposed to, but it was pretty cool riding up Douglas Hill with everyone, and down the backside up to 44. Stopped for water and food at the little store there and decided it was taking a bit long and a few mentioned wanting to get back. So we improvised.
Seat of the pants route changing, with input from everyone we headed down 102 to 101.
Meanwhile Goldberg was the only one who put turn by turn directions into his garmin and he actually made the turn we missed and was off to follow final 50 miles of the route by himself.
101 takes us up to the highest point in RI. Goal. Yes. But man it is a rolling pain in the ass to get there. I hung on for the first roller. Let a little gap open on the second. By the third I was pretty much not having any of the smackdown pace being driven at the front and Derdowski and JC's comment earlier about just chilling and having fun, echoed with every pedal stroke up the hills. Everytime i got to the top the group was further ahead and more spread out. And I just said fuck it and relaxed and timed it so those two caught up as we got to the top of the state.
I knew where we were going at this point. So I turned where we had all planned despite not seeing everyone. The three of us made our way down, glorious roads, almost no traffic, wonderful day.
Just felt awesome to be on the bike with friends, on an adventure. The caffeine headache was settling in pretty well but there was a planned coffee stop up there.
And this was awesome (and a bit downhill). No clue where the rest of the gang was, half expected them to come swarming up around us.
We rolled down and got to Route 6 and I really wanted to ride back through the corner I marshaled for the rhody race so we turned right and rolled west on 6 for a short bit until we got to Balcom rd. That gave us the chance to ride the length of Central and get a bit of dirt. AND to ride through the covered bridge.
The hills kind of sucked but we were riding together. As a group. And it was good.
Just as we got up to the big road who came flying by as we got to it? Rich and Dave, doing a good impression of a two man TT rotating pulls, i guess there was some urgency to push the pace a bit to get back in time. But only those two. I knew the original route went north off that road we saw them on so I figured they went that way while Rich and Dave took the most direct route into town. And we just poked around into town and sat down in the shade outside to down some refreshment. Biggest iced coffee they had hit the spot. And we were off again. Rolling into town on probably the worst section of pavement in the whole state. but it was still fun and I've ridden plenty on that road with MLFN.
The three keys to the ride: highest point in RI, super hilly ride, Starr/Jenkes combo after riding 75 miles.
We get into town, roll through Kennedy Plaza and turn left onto Main by the church.
I didn't feel up to trying to do Starr and then Jenkes so we rode up South Court first, left on Benefit and recovered a bit as we rolled slowly to it. JC was encouraged to get the full experience, one because he's super strong and two he's never done it before, Derdowski and I have done it many times, no need, esp knowing what Jenkes looks like.
Down JC went, turned around, rolled back up Starr and then right up Jenkes. I followed and it is kind of hard to describe what you see when you make the right turn. It is unexpected and just boom SUPER STEEP. While not insanely long it is kind of just long enough that it isn't easy.
And then it was time to head back to the start and collect my bag with water, and extra cookies. Swung through the shop to say hey and check in.
Time to ride home. Got texts filtering in. Fox checked in, Snyder blew a cleat i guess and pedaled one legged back.
Despite the chaos, the directional uncertainty. The ride was amazing. It was what Mark would have been super proud of. Talking with Corey and Melissa I think we've got a plan to make it bigger and supported for next year. The route is awesome and needs some signage, maybe a shorter version for some to make it more inclusive, tie it in with the NBW maybe, ask for donations so we can make a gift to someone fighting cancer or something in Mark's honor, work a bit more at publicity beyond what we did this year.
Plans, big ones, but you know, everyone had an amazing time (well everyone I talked to) and the ride was awesome, so even if we fall flat and trip over ourselves and can't manage more than we did this year, it will still become an annual tradition.
I hope. That's the plan at least.
Seems that most of everyone who reads this thing was there. Was great to see Bart but I can't remember what band he said he found after starting to listen to a bunch of Alabama3. anyway
Hopefully starting the day writing will keep it spinning in a positive creative direction.
heddwch
G
Sunday, June 23, 2013
need to
write about a pile of stuff
just not feeling it
worked yesterday and today... full week next week, probably work both days next weekend too.
why not?
no one else is digging,
just not feeling it
worked yesterday and today... full week next week, probably work both days next weekend too.
why not?
no one else is digging,
Thursday, June 20, 2013
MLFN Memorial ride: the map
To start with we had a route.
Brent kicked ass putting it together, literally finding all the hills, all the best hills in the loop.
Brent kicked ass putting it together, literally finding all the hills, all the best hills in the loop.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
and so it begins
just me and the dog, a least for a pretty solid stretch
should have tons of time to write about the amazing saturday ride.
I should. but between everything happening and the craziness we'll see.
Might have to start serializing it or something.
For now it is getting caught up around the picture factory and prepping for the Gallery Opening on Friday night. 5-7pm. Pretty excited about it, kind of a big deal. Have to pick up a 10' long print here in a few minutes and get it to the gallery.
Prime wisdom from these kids (h/t to Fatmarc for the vid):
should have tons of time to write about the amazing saturday ride.
I should. but between everything happening and the craziness we'll see.
Might have to start serializing it or something.
For now it is getting caught up around the picture factory and prepping for the Gallery Opening on Friday night. 5-7pm. Pretty excited about it, kind of a big deal. Have to pick up a 10' long print here in a few minutes and get it to the gallery.
Prime wisdom from these kids (h/t to Fatmarc for the vid):
Monday, June 17, 2013
post colonial american food for dinner
Tonight's dinner, a big departure from the more meat light fare normally served in the house, but it will still be a significantly more veggie meal by volume, and it smells super good and feels like a nice indulgence
Start with the simple first:
mashed russet potatoes, simple, butter, some milk, black pepper and salt.
Meatloaf,
wrapped in bacon, two hand formed loaves on a sheet pan (maximize the crust yo) with a BBQ glaze
85% lean ground beef (just over a pound, shy of 1.5 pounds)
bread and left over cornbread
milk
2 med eggs
sage
black pepper
3 cloves garlic
salt
oregano
dash of chili powder
splash or tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce
hand mixed and formed
two strips of bacon over the top
in convection oven at 350F
when bacon looks cooked pour a bit more BBQ sauce over the twin loaves
Succotash,
corn,
carrots
onions,
red pepper,
bacon
shelled edamame beans
olive oil
salt
started browning some diced bacon, added olive oil, then the diced carrots, then the onions, corn, edamame, and then the red pepper.
a bit of salt, some water to steam and cook,
when all finished
serve and eat...
it is in process but initial taste tests of the succotash are proving quite popular with the two younger tasters.
heddwch
G
Start with the simple first:
mashed russet potatoes, simple, butter, some milk, black pepper and salt.
Meatloaf,
wrapped in bacon, two hand formed loaves on a sheet pan (maximize the crust yo) with a BBQ glaze
85% lean ground beef (just over a pound, shy of 1.5 pounds)
bread and left over cornbread
milk
2 med eggs
sage
black pepper
3 cloves garlic
salt
oregano
dash of chili powder
splash or tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce
hand mixed and formed
two strips of bacon over the top
in convection oven at 350F
when bacon looks cooked pour a bit more BBQ sauce over the twin loaves
Succotash,
corn,
carrots
onions,
red pepper,
bacon
shelled edamame beans
olive oil
salt
started browning some diced bacon, added olive oil, then the diced carrots, then the onions, corn, edamame, and then the red pepper.
a bit of salt, some water to steam and cook,
when all finished
serve and eat...
it is in process but initial taste tests of the succotash are proving quite popular with the two younger tasters.
heddwch
G
instead of writing today
i spent two hours trying to extract a busted cable end from inside a ST-5600 Flight Deck 105 right shift lever.
Like with everything you spend a long time trying everything with no success. I got to the point where the reccomendation was to take it back to the shop he bought it have and have them file a warranty claim because these are known to fail and when they fail in a low gear that end jams the mech.
The end was well jammed.
But.
I got it out.
I win. So much futzing, but no blood and I don't think anything is too worse for the wear. Luckily (maybe) the set screw for the pivot was rusted in place or maybe i might have had more of a challenge getting it all back together.
Like with everything you spend a long time trying everything with no success. I got to the point where the reccomendation was to take it back to the shop he bought it have and have them file a warranty claim because these are known to fail and when they fail in a low gear that end jams the mech.
The end was well jammed.
But.
I got it out.
I win. So much futzing, but no blood and I don't think anything is too worse for the wear. Luckily (maybe) the set screw for the pivot was rusted in place or maybe i might have had more of a challenge getting it all back together.
Friday, June 14, 2013
tomorrow 9am Lippitt Park, PVD
The ride http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2634297
join us, everyone is welcome, it isn't a no-drop ride but i'm expecting it to break up a bit based on fitness levels and desires to go fast or slow.
laying the ground work for something bigger next year
been a bit busy otherwise
so much to do some of which is getting done
not all
lots of driving today
back and forth
here and there
realizing that tomorrow isn't just a ride - that's going to be a lot of saddle time, might be a check strava when i get home and do laps until I hit a number, if i can.
join us, everyone is welcome, it isn't a no-drop ride but i'm expecting it to break up a bit based on fitness levels and desires to go fast or slow.
laying the ground work for something bigger next year
been a bit busy otherwise
so much to do some of which is getting done
not all
lots of driving today
back and forth
here and there
realizing that tomorrow isn't just a ride - that's going to be a lot of saddle time, might be a check strava when i get home and do laps until I hit a number, if i can.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
part 2
the sleep i needed was elusive last night, between the legs and brain and then a tweaked back muscle (from working fabricating a light tight enclosure at or above head height all day yesterday) i slept incredibly poorly. And despite eating well last night and this morning I still hit the wall and ran out of leg pedal juice about a mile from work.
Legs were hosed on the way home too. Fortunately there was a nice tailwind.
back to the ride though yeah?
Austin? Yeah somewhere there. We weren't going the fastest ever but we were w/in a few mph of Singmaster and the Derdowski at a peak heading up Greenville.
Austin.
So getting through the light there where it T's into 44 is always a pain but a sympathic Sprinter driver let us in and we rolled in. Despite Greve's warning to stay off the front I found myself on Andrew M's wheel. That's not the front, right? Close enough. Andrew's one of those VO2Max freaks of nature. Skinny + watts. Not a good combo for a guy a few pounds shy of clydesdale, esp up hill.
But you know what? Little ring magic has been working. EVERYONE ONE ELSE WAS IN BiG RING (suckers). Little ring magic.
Also the familar "shit we have more to climb" landmarks were fleeting past. Oh, shit, not, much, left. This isn't so bad.
Literally, the climb wasn't effortless but it was relaxed and I was able to stay on the strongest climber in the bunch drilling it up.
Pretty fucking cool. Gotta think maybe that's how Mark rode that hill every time. Easily. Sort of. Felt nice, not to be dropped on Austin.
It was raining and i was drenching my left arm from Andrew's wheel spray, and then we turned right.
Past the water tower where Mark always shifted into the big ring...
and i shifted into the 46.
YEAH BIG RING... whopping 46. WEEE. All those jackasses with their 50s and 53s. pfft.
And Greve went to the front. First sprint line. Mark's stars were still there. PKS went, Fox is just always reacting to PKS so he went and we lifted the pace. I came around a few climbers and latched on to the heavy jumbo (greve) and we rolled through and down...
And who comes rolling through? Becca. BECCA? Damn she ditched the climbers and bridged to the sprinters and we all rolled through.
AND THEN THE HEAVENS UNLOADED.
I think Andrew rolled through and attacked with Fox and Greve PKS Becca and I were chasing. none of us could see. Roads were flooded, rain was so intense glasses were ineffective. Becca actually was driving the pace more than anyone else after we passed the sprint points and Andrew and Fox got a gap.
We closed it down just as we got to the farm and just as the rains stopped/subsided a little mangy freaky half bald and probably blind cat started walking out into the road.
I was no way gonna move over into everyone else who could see the cat but fortunately it stopped walking across the road and we didn't run over it but man a few were haunted by that cat last night.
heading over to Douglas hook we regrouped and headed up it. Mark's favorite sprint point. Okay so he didn't have one favorite point IMHO. At least from what I remembered. But PKS did it justice, a solid lead attack then unload. We managed to hang on and then a few attacked after the green stars. Green stars to match his scarf. That's why i have the green tape on the Klein.
After that first hill sprint point the elevation keeps climbing until we FLY down the hill. My hill. Always drag everyone back there. but That day? Greve headed down, then C Burke, everyone else was left... i came around a few and BOMBED down the hill, in the pelting rain. past burke, then after fjording the river across the road I passed greve and we hit the rollers, up and down up to 44, and the rain poured down...
and then PKS attacks, why? Just to mess with Fox. Seriously. Fox doesn't remember the lines and PKS loves that. And last night played it up big time. More than once. But heading into 44 and the traditional re-group point, he suckered more than just Fox. He got everyone. I laughed. Was funny.
Kirk and Kyle and Brent rolled in and we needed to keep rolling. We were warm but it was still pouring rain and standing around not moving is not a good idea so off we went.
PKS leading out, me on his tail, through the construction on 44, so much water, so many puddles.
But hey - there's the last hill. Tourletott. Crank it baby. 1 mile long, not super steep but relentless. Kyle lead out. Then Fox took off. I just put my head down, found a rhythm and pedaled. A few surged past me, then faded. Who? Dunno. PKS totally dominated the hill and the rest of the ride.
But then it was pouring rain again. Regrouped after the turn, Andrew was looking skittish, Becca commented she was unsure who to trust less going downhill in the rain, herself or cars. And PKS and Fox and I took off.
Past the house where the dog ran out and destroyed Naveen's bike. Right on Snake hill, left right away and then right again after some rollers. time to chill. It is down hill. We're rolling, NBD. Kyle says this is where he usually attacks, Burke and I sort of say "Okay? so?" and he went.
This ride was just absolutely fucking amazing. The rain, the trading of body blows, it was not an easy ride but the rain always gives me extra watts and I had pulled it back a notch or two.
And then we turned right. WTF? RIGHT? WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE GOING?
Where's the massive horsepowerfest down Snake hill that Mark LOVED (okay i loved it, esp the time when a whole screw went through Syl's tire, tube and rim at 35mph).
Left right, up down, rollers, shitty roads. Low traffic though. But where's the horsepower drag.
I'm thinking that as I'm dangling a few seconds out of a draft of the top group. Close to catching then not quite, closer, not quite. And then we turn right. Wait. This is greenville. Wait, Greve is taking off for the sprint for the telephone pole before we turn right. Damnit. Ah well.
Dig deep man.
That last ride with Mark. We sprinted for that telephone pole. And there was a gap between me and the lead group (including Mark). And I tried to close that gap.
I worked my ass off, Greenville is all downhill from there but back then in 2009 i couldn't close that gap down. That was NOT going to happen. I got on, then inexplicably Andrew started to leave a bit of a gap... no... no gaps. Jump around bridge up. Fox attacks. PKS and Greve go, I go around Burke and just dig deep to get on that wheel.
ON THE WHEEL.
and i make it... and there's the last downhill... i survived. PKS, Fox, Greve and Me. And we rolled down through the bike path... by the time we headed up to Mt P the gang had all re-grouped. In the rain.
Still raining.
Lots of mad props from people in the door ways. All the way down Atwells people were smiling happy, saying congratulatory comments of admiration. Was cool.
It wasn't cold, but man it was wet.
And the ride was everything.
Couldn't think of any better way to celebrate a man we so admired, and were so touched by.
The ride was amazing. Sand in everything. So much water. Intensely dark belgian sock tan.
Was worth of Mark. Even with the neutering of the speed section of the ride. Granted it has been more than a year since I've made it out on the Tuesday edition, but even though it isn't his route I have to honor him with the wed ride.
Tonight it wasn't going to happen, I was destroyed. No sleep last night despite having eyes too heavy to stay open to write. Eyes closed I was still not able to sleep. Made today a bit tough, fabrication has to happen though.
Legs on the way home were so grateful that there was a tailwind.
Saturday is going to be magical.
Try to make it. If you can. Open to everyone, open ride, not organized other than a gathering for an incredible ride for an incredible person.
heddwch
G
Legs were hosed on the way home too. Fortunately there was a nice tailwind.
back to the ride though yeah?
Austin? Yeah somewhere there. We weren't going the fastest ever but we were w/in a few mph of Singmaster and the Derdowski at a peak heading up Greenville.
Austin.
So getting through the light there where it T's into 44 is always a pain but a sympathic Sprinter driver let us in and we rolled in. Despite Greve's warning to stay off the front I found myself on Andrew M's wheel. That's not the front, right? Close enough. Andrew's one of those VO2Max freaks of nature. Skinny + watts. Not a good combo for a guy a few pounds shy of clydesdale, esp up hill.
But you know what? Little ring magic has been working. EVERYONE ONE ELSE WAS IN BiG RING (suckers). Little ring magic.
Also the familar "shit we have more to climb" landmarks were fleeting past. Oh, shit, not, much, left. This isn't so bad.
Literally, the climb wasn't effortless but it was relaxed and I was able to stay on the strongest climber in the bunch drilling it up.
Pretty fucking cool. Gotta think maybe that's how Mark rode that hill every time. Easily. Sort of. Felt nice, not to be dropped on Austin.
It was raining and i was drenching my left arm from Andrew's wheel spray, and then we turned right.
Past the water tower where Mark always shifted into the big ring...
and i shifted into the 46.
YEAH BIG RING... whopping 46. WEEE. All those jackasses with their 50s and 53s. pfft.
And Greve went to the front. First sprint line. Mark's stars were still there. PKS went, Fox is just always reacting to PKS so he went and we lifted the pace. I came around a few climbers and latched on to the heavy jumbo (greve) and we rolled through and down...
And who comes rolling through? Becca. BECCA? Damn she ditched the climbers and bridged to the sprinters and we all rolled through.
AND THEN THE HEAVENS UNLOADED.
I think Andrew rolled through and attacked with Fox and Greve PKS Becca and I were chasing. none of us could see. Roads were flooded, rain was so intense glasses were ineffective. Becca actually was driving the pace more than anyone else after we passed the sprint points and Andrew and Fox got a gap.
We closed it down just as we got to the farm and just as the rains stopped/subsided a little mangy freaky half bald and probably blind cat started walking out into the road.
I was no way gonna move over into everyone else who could see the cat but fortunately it stopped walking across the road and we didn't run over it but man a few were haunted by that cat last night.
heading over to Douglas hook we regrouped and headed up it. Mark's favorite sprint point. Okay so he didn't have one favorite point IMHO. At least from what I remembered. But PKS did it justice, a solid lead attack then unload. We managed to hang on and then a few attacked after the green stars. Green stars to match his scarf. That's why i have the green tape on the Klein.
After that first hill sprint point the elevation keeps climbing until we FLY down the hill. My hill. Always drag everyone back there. but That day? Greve headed down, then C Burke, everyone else was left... i came around a few and BOMBED down the hill, in the pelting rain. past burke, then after fjording the river across the road I passed greve and we hit the rollers, up and down up to 44, and the rain poured down...
and then PKS attacks, why? Just to mess with Fox. Seriously. Fox doesn't remember the lines and PKS loves that. And last night played it up big time. More than once. But heading into 44 and the traditional re-group point, he suckered more than just Fox. He got everyone. I laughed. Was funny.
Kirk and Kyle and Brent rolled in and we needed to keep rolling. We were warm but it was still pouring rain and standing around not moving is not a good idea so off we went.
PKS leading out, me on his tail, through the construction on 44, so much water, so many puddles.
But hey - there's the last hill. Tourletott. Crank it baby. 1 mile long, not super steep but relentless. Kyle lead out. Then Fox took off. I just put my head down, found a rhythm and pedaled. A few surged past me, then faded. Who? Dunno. PKS totally dominated the hill and the rest of the ride.
But then it was pouring rain again. Regrouped after the turn, Andrew was looking skittish, Becca commented she was unsure who to trust less going downhill in the rain, herself or cars. And PKS and Fox and I took off.
Past the house where the dog ran out and destroyed Naveen's bike. Right on Snake hill, left right away and then right again after some rollers. time to chill. It is down hill. We're rolling, NBD. Kyle says this is where he usually attacks, Burke and I sort of say "Okay? so?" and he went.
This ride was just absolutely fucking amazing. The rain, the trading of body blows, it was not an easy ride but the rain always gives me extra watts and I had pulled it back a notch or two.
And then we turned right. WTF? RIGHT? WHERE THE FUCK ARE WE GOING?
Where's the massive horsepowerfest down Snake hill that Mark LOVED (okay i loved it, esp the time when a whole screw went through Syl's tire, tube and rim at 35mph).
Left right, up down, rollers, shitty roads. Low traffic though. But where's the horsepower drag.
I'm thinking that as I'm dangling a few seconds out of a draft of the top group. Close to catching then not quite, closer, not quite. And then we turn right. Wait. This is greenville. Wait, Greve is taking off for the sprint for the telephone pole before we turn right. Damnit. Ah well.
Dig deep man.
That last ride with Mark. We sprinted for that telephone pole. And there was a gap between me and the lead group (including Mark). And I tried to close that gap.
I worked my ass off, Greenville is all downhill from there but back then in 2009 i couldn't close that gap down. That was NOT going to happen. I got on, then inexplicably Andrew started to leave a bit of a gap... no... no gaps. Jump around bridge up. Fox attacks. PKS and Greve go, I go around Burke and just dig deep to get on that wheel.
ON THE WHEEL.
and i make it... and there's the last downhill... i survived. PKS, Fox, Greve and Me. And we rolled down through the bike path... by the time we headed up to Mt P the gang had all re-grouped. In the rain.
Still raining.
Lots of mad props from people in the door ways. All the way down Atwells people were smiling happy, saying congratulatory comments of admiration. Was cool.
It wasn't cold, but man it was wet.
And the ride was everything.
Couldn't think of any better way to celebrate a man we so admired, and were so touched by.
The ride was amazing. Sand in everything. So much water. Intensely dark belgian sock tan.
Was worth of Mark. Even with the neutering of the speed section of the ride. Granted it has been more than a year since I've made it out on the Tuesday edition, but even though it isn't his route I have to honor him with the wed ride.
Tonight it wasn't going to happen, I was destroyed. No sleep last night despite having eyes too heavy to stay open to write. Eyes closed I was still not able to sleep. Made today a bit tough, fabrication has to happen though.
Legs on the way home were so grateful that there was a tailwind.
Saturday is going to be magical.
Try to make it. If you can. Open to everyone, open ride, not organized other than a gathering for an incredible ride for an incredible person.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
that was a ride
Mark would have talked about for years.
We rolled out towards the start under DARK ominous threatening clouds. But you know what? It didn't matter. It wasn't raining when we started and holy fucking shit that was just f'n BRILLIANT.
Was not a small group, was not a huge group, but it was an awesome group.
It was wet, so wet, rain started at some point, light, then steadily getting heavier. Roads were already filled with water, all the holes, the uneven surfaces that are Rhode Island roads, so much standing water. No fenders that did much of anything except for the rider, heck only two bothered with them? and sitting on either of those wheels wasn't any better than a fenderless draft.
So much grit in the teeth, so much rain and spray that glasses were useless.
We rolled out, and headed up greenville. ScottyG and PKS set a matched pace at the start and then eventually peeled off as the grade leveled off. That left me, driving the pace.
To honor Mark's style for the ride I was committed to my 38. 38 to the top of Austin. No big ring till Mapleville. But I set a sustainable but solid clip.... all the way to the left turn, ScottyG came around me as we started the downhill into the run to meet up with 44. He pegged it in his big ring and little cog, and I sucked that delicious draft till he pulled off, we were hauling but that little ring was working, that said I have spent plenty of time with on a 40x12 as a tall gear... it ain't no big deal. But i wasn't about to give up 2nd wheel 'cause of a damn lack of teeth. ScottyG once again pulled off and I rolled through for a bit and then eased off and big Greve said "watch it, don't spend so much time up there," as I rolled back into his draft.
Over to Austin we rolled. That hill. I always used to get shelled spectacularly there. Like not even funny shelled. Like spend the whole time all the way to 44 killing myself to get back into the group.
---to be continued (sleep... need)
We rolled out towards the start under DARK ominous threatening clouds. But you know what? It didn't matter. It wasn't raining when we started and holy fucking shit that was just f'n BRILLIANT.
Was not a small group, was not a huge group, but it was an awesome group.
It was wet, so wet, rain started at some point, light, then steadily getting heavier. Roads were already filled with water, all the holes, the uneven surfaces that are Rhode Island roads, so much standing water. No fenders that did much of anything except for the rider, heck only two bothered with them? and sitting on either of those wheels wasn't any better than a fenderless draft.
So much grit in the teeth, so much rain and spray that glasses were useless.
We rolled out, and headed up greenville. ScottyG and PKS set a matched pace at the start and then eventually peeled off as the grade leveled off. That left me, driving the pace.
To honor Mark's style for the ride I was committed to my 38. 38 to the top of Austin. No big ring till Mapleville. But I set a sustainable but solid clip.... all the way to the left turn, ScottyG came around me as we started the downhill into the run to meet up with 44. He pegged it in his big ring and little cog, and I sucked that delicious draft till he pulled off, we were hauling but that little ring was working, that said I have spent plenty of time with on a 40x12 as a tall gear... it ain't no big deal. But i wasn't about to give up 2nd wheel 'cause of a damn lack of teeth. ScottyG once again pulled off and I rolled through for a bit and then eased off and big Greve said "watch it, don't spend so much time up there," as I rolled back into his draft.
Over to Austin we rolled. That hill. I always used to get shelled spectacularly there. Like not even funny shelled. Like spend the whole time all the way to 44 killing myself to get back into the group.
---to be continued (sleep... need)
Monday, June 10, 2013
in memoriam
Tomorrow is the anniversary of a very sad day. Four years ago tomorrow (June 11th) I got a call from Derdowski as I was driving up to Maine with the news that Mark Louis Francis Nicholson had died.
Mark fought a brilliant battle in the most noble, joyous and loving manner imaginable. The human race lost the most amazing individual to GBM cancer (brain). He beat the odds longer than almost anyone.
We never could convince him that lower pressure was better in Cyclocross but he still did pretty damn well in Plymouth when we drove out together.
There are going to be two rides in his honor this week. Tomorrow is the smackdown. That it falls on the anniversary of his death is especially powerful, this is a route and a ride he was passionate about. He wanted Providence to have brutally fast and challenging no-drop ride. So he crafted a route. Painted arrows.
And he NEVER EVER EVER shifted into the big ring until after the top of Austin. EVER.
I was there on that last one. That last smackdown. He dropped me. Or I should say he found the strength, even as he was dying, to bridge to the next group when I though I couldn't. He rolled home with Mark Greve and then peeled off to head home and met this tall lanky awkward guy on a bike doing laps on the BLVD. That tall guy was Keith Kelly.
Come ride with us tomorrow. 5pm DePasqualle Square departure.
And on Saturday (big 75 mile ride, 6k+ feet of climbing, highest point in RI, and finishing up Jenkes). Want more details? Just ask. You've got my email or leave a comment.
we miss you mark.
heddwch
G
Mark fought a brilliant battle in the most noble, joyous and loving manner imaginable. The human race lost the most amazing individual to GBM cancer (brain). He beat the odds longer than almost anyone.
We never could convince him that lower pressure was better in Cyclocross but he still did pretty damn well in Plymouth when we drove out together.
There are going to be two rides in his honor this week. Tomorrow is the smackdown. That it falls on the anniversary of his death is especially powerful, this is a route and a ride he was passionate about. He wanted Providence to have brutally fast and challenging no-drop ride. So he crafted a route. Painted arrows.
And he NEVER EVER EVER shifted into the big ring until after the top of Austin. EVER.
I was there on that last one. That last smackdown. He dropped me. Or I should say he found the strength, even as he was dying, to bridge to the next group when I though I couldn't. He rolled home with Mark Greve and then peeled off to head home and met this tall lanky awkward guy on a bike doing laps on the BLVD. That tall guy was Keith Kelly.
Come ride with us tomorrow. 5pm DePasqualle Square departure.
And on Saturday (big 75 mile ride, 6k+ feet of climbing, highest point in RI, and finishing up Jenkes). Want more details? Just ask. You've got my email or leave a comment.
we miss you mark.
heddwch
G
why do you ride
Lots of reasons,
Today was a hybrid ride. Wife had to drop her parents off at the Airport early, leaving me with the kids to shuttle to school with piles of stuff. Bike goes on the roof.
Passed one of the Marks about 4 miles from home, he was on the path. I drove, through stop and go traffic, down main, up college, over to waterman, brown, parked. Took bike off, rode down to office. As I'm fishing out my card to get in, Mark rolls up.
Bike wins, have to ride all over town, today, rain, no rain, at least i'll get to pedal despite having to drive...
Why do you ride?
h/t to deano for the link
Today was a hybrid ride. Wife had to drop her parents off at the Airport early, leaving me with the kids to shuttle to school with piles of stuff. Bike goes on the roof.
Passed one of the Marks about 4 miles from home, he was on the path. I drove, through stop and go traffic, down main, up college, over to waterman, brown, parked. Took bike off, rode down to office. As I'm fishing out my card to get in, Mark rolls up.
Bike wins, have to ride all over town, today, rain, no rain, at least i'll get to pedal despite having to drive...
Why do you ride?
h/t to deano for the link
Thursday, June 06, 2013
Bikeworks TT is starting up again
Starts next thursday june 13th. 6:30 start time
Tremont street course. 8.1 mile TT
I should probably break down and replace the drive train on that Paramount, those cogs and that chain are pretty damn tired. Too bad it is so hard to find decent 8sp cassettes anymore.
Tremont street course. 8.1 mile TT
I should probably break down and replace the drive train on that Paramount, those cogs and that chain are pretty damn tired. Too bad it is so hard to find decent 8sp cassettes anymore.
drugs
...or more verbosely: why you should actually give a shit about eating well and taking care of yourself, don't start when you're 35 and overweight, don't wait till you've had your first heart attack...
I will maintain my belief, mis-guided as many think, that western medicine sucks giant donkey balls in treating chronic illness.
To their credit there isn't a better system for treating acute symptoms, assuming you can get diagnosed properly and timely.
I will maintain my belief, mis-guided as many think, that western medicine sucks giant donkey balls in treating chronic illness.
To their credit there isn't a better system for treating acute symptoms, assuming you can get diagnosed properly and timely.
Monday, June 03, 2013
Fast Boy ... latest from Ezra
Take a moment, http://www.teachingcancertocry.com/?p=1646 I've been pushing his story a bit lately.
lately? fuck, forever. I've "known" Ezra since we both 'found' Flickr in 2005, and found a place that was positive and constructively critical and uniquely social to share photos and information... flickr was different then... anyway yes... yeah where was it
So yeah... like in internet worlds that's forever.
The story has been unfolding in a direction no one hoped it would. We wanted this to carry out, I wanted him to beat the odds, take that 6-12 month diagnosis and Mark Louis Francis Nicholson that shit. Take a one year to live sentence and turn it into 5 amazing glorious productive years.
That is what I wanted the scan to tell us. That is what I wanted to hear reading it.
But it didn't take long for the myth to be dispelled. i just about lost it at the "lets start with the arm and the complete totality of his realization that he may never get to ride a bike again.
Let that sink in... I did.
And i kept reading... and got to the last line....
And i lost it.
I was hoping that it would be different
I lost it, literally just broke down. even knowing what was coming...
Mark went through this same thing almost, but despite seeing him a couple times a week, riding bikes, having coffee, Mark never let on how bad it was to anyone but a few, until he checked into the hospital for the last time. We knew, Greve said as much, we knew that one week out of four he was not doing the smack down to get more Chemo. But no clue until he was gone as to how little time we had left with him.
Mark died in 2009 on June 11th... been thinking about him a lot interwoven with the story of Ezra, the auto-biography, documented by video, film, and words and craft has been very compelling, and ultimately as you
said sad...
very sad
and i've lost it again....
On June 11th we're having a memorial smackdown edition. I'm going to be there.
On June 15th we're going to have a kick ass 75 mile hilly ride... Ronde style maybe, maybe just a big mass start heading out on the route, attrition style. We'll see how many show up and how it works out.
My hope is that next year we can take the long ride and make it a benefit and an official named event in his honor, starting somewhere, simple, just starting this year.
heddwch
G
lately? fuck, forever. I've "known" Ezra since we both 'found' Flickr in 2005, and found a place that was positive and constructively critical and uniquely social to share photos and information... flickr was different then... anyway yes... yeah where was it
So yeah... like in internet worlds that's forever.
The story has been unfolding in a direction no one hoped it would. We wanted this to carry out, I wanted him to beat the odds, take that 6-12 month diagnosis and Mark Louis Francis Nicholson that shit. Take a one year to live sentence and turn it into 5 amazing glorious productive years.
That is what I wanted the scan to tell us. That is what I wanted to hear reading it.
But it didn't take long for the myth to be dispelled. i just about lost it at the "lets start with the arm and the complete totality of his realization that he may never get to ride a bike again.
Let that sink in... I did.
And i kept reading... and got to the last line....
And i lost it.
I was hoping that it would be different
I lost it, literally just broke down. even knowing what was coming...
Mark went through this same thing almost, but despite seeing him a couple times a week, riding bikes, having coffee, Mark never let on how bad it was to anyone but a few, until he checked into the hospital for the last time. We knew, Greve said as much, we knew that one week out of four he was not doing the smack down to get more Chemo. But no clue until he was gone as to how little time we had left with him.
Mark died in 2009 on June 11th... been thinking about him a lot interwoven with the story of Ezra, the auto-biography, documented by video, film, and words and craft has been very compelling, and ultimately as you
said sad...
very sad
and i've lost it again....
On June 11th we're having a memorial smackdown edition. I'm going to be there.
On June 15th we're going to have a kick ass 75 mile hilly ride... Ronde style maybe, maybe just a big mass start heading out on the route, attrition style. We'll see how many show up and how it works out.
My hope is that next year we can take the long ride and make it a benefit and an official named event in his honor, starting somewhere, simple, just starting this year.
heddwch
G
Sunday, June 02, 2013
tour de cure ride report
The little hill at the 4hr mark was the final straw, lost the group there, then battled a very stiff headwind and the heat for the last hour. mostly alone. Seeing as I had done almost all the work to the 60 mile point in making the selection (like an idiot).
I did manage to do the ride on 3 bottles for some dumb reason. Two stops. No sleep. Had that oh shit panic falling asleep moment in the car, fortunately it was so quick all it did was wake me up with a surge of adrenaline.
Oh and i forgot how short the sleeves were on the jersey when i put the sun screen on, i've got a nice couple cm of red where the sunscreen faded into nothing. oops. it worked where i did put it.
I'm way more destroyed physically after today than the 140 mile a week or two ago.
http://app.strava.com/activities/57747696
I did manage to do the ride on 3 bottles for some dumb reason. Two stops. No sleep. Had that oh shit panic falling asleep moment in the car, fortunately it was so quick all it did was wake me up with a surge of adrenaline.
Oh and i forgot how short the sleeves were on the jersey when i put the sun screen on, i've got a nice couple cm of red where the sunscreen faded into nothing. oops. it worked where i did put it.
I'm way more destroyed physically after today than the 140 mile a week or two ago.
http://app.strava.com/activities/57747696
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