watching the Universal sports video from the woman's race.
no commentary other than the home town PA system and the crowd noise... watching Katie blow it sky high on the first lap... Good shot of Mark with his distinctive choice of hats in the pits.
Looks like a course for Pimp'n Strellos, hard packed cold fast and freaking windy... I wonder if that is Norm with the giant Canadian flag...
so embarrassing for the US with katie's leg warmers being completely ineffective
Wow this is awesome (the Universal sports footage).
CX mag's live stuff was pretty damn exciting, this is just awesome viewing. Gonna have to get this footage and make a trainer ready DVD!!!
I think next year Team USA riders should get a bottle of Sock Glue. I don't know how it works if the weather is wet and soggy but... it wasn't today. KC could have used a bottle pre-race...
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Wow
the women's race was crazy!
Vos just sitting there while Katie and Hanka just drilled it...
Very exciting. Vos had an impressive and very smart race.
can't wait for the VOD.
All of the US women finished in the top 20...
That's pretty big.
a 3rd, 11th, 13th, 17th, 19th
A bronze for Katie is still a damn fine result.
hmm - what to do until the men's race starts... hmmm
Vos just sitting there while Katie and Hanka just drilled it...
Very exciting. Vos had an impressive and very smart race.
can't wait for the VOD.
All of the US women finished in the top 20...
That's pretty big.
a 3rd, 11th, 13th, 17th, 19th
A bronze for Katie is still a damn fine result.
hmm - what to do until the men's race starts... hmmm
insane in the membrane
i'm sitting here watching the live feed from CXmag...
Talk about exciting... this is good... not quite as good as live video but man - this is still AWESOME...
pins and needles... can Katie pull it off?
Will Hanka drag Vos to the front? Will VDB drag Lloyd up there?
It was so worth getting up at 4:45 for this!
6am drama...
2 to go and it is crazy
Talk about exciting... this is good... not quite as good as live video but man - this is still AWESOME...
pins and needles... can Katie pull it off?
Will Hanka drag Vos to the front? Will VDB drag Lloyd up there?
It was so worth getting up at 4:45 for this!
6am drama...
2 to go and it is crazy
Friday, January 30, 2009
Fired UP, Ready to GO
Everyone remembers that particular story from Obama's campaign trail right?
Fired UP. Ready to GO. Fired UP. Ready to GO.
well yeah - i'm fired up for cross at the moment. As a spectator. As a fan.
Wonderboy is such a fitting soundtrack. Although i think the key players this year will be Boom and Nys, not Wellens and Nys. We'll see. We'll see.
Fired UP
Ready to GO
(here's another great vid of the '08 race there...)
Fired UP. Ready to GO. Fired UP. Ready to GO.
well yeah - i'm fired up for cross at the moment. As a spectator. As a fan.
Wonderboy is such a fitting soundtrack. Although i think the key players this year will be Boom and Nys, not Wellens and Nys. We'll see. We'll see.
Fired UP
Ready to GO
(here's another great vid of the '08 race there...)
The men's race just got more exciting
With the news that JP has been added to the Squad. That's freaking awesome!!!
I don't realistically see him on the Podium but you know what? That's why they run the race. He's got plenty of fuel in his head to fire the engines in overdrive, to ramp up his adrenaline for 60 minutes of racing. Ya never know... probably won't be a motor bike taking out the top two this year but mechanicals, crashes and what not happen. I'm sure JP's luck has turned now. Could be huge.
I don't realistically see him on the Podium but you know what? That's why they run the race. He's got plenty of fuel in his head to fire the engines in overdrive, to ramp up his adrenaline for 60 minutes of racing. Ya never know... probably won't be a motor bike taking out the top two this year but mechanicals, crashes and what not happen. I'm sure JP's luck has turned now. Could be huge.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Watching the Course preview
Much better view of the course
one with the cyclists view and one with the elevation profile...
Awesome, jealous - would LOVE to have a north american version of a hoogerheide. I wonder what Van der Pol would do with the venue options we have here... not to discount the course genius of Steamboat Stevens or the other vets of New England cross, it just makes me wonder...
I know, I know. Courses here are different than over there. We don't have the same stuff. People would be bitching up a major hissy fit storm if they showed up to a course like Hoogerheide. Nice set of stairs - lots of turns and hair pins and minor elevation changes. It is pretty awesome.
Can't wait till Sunday!
Oh it looks like the weather for the race will be in the mid-30s getting down to the high 20s at night... nothing crazy... no rain forecast today tomorrow or the weekend. Should be a hard fast race. Vos could pull out a big upset. I don't see this race going well for Daphny with these conditions, but Rachael may actually prove to be a solid contender. Heck LVG's crit dominance and sprinting prowess may prove to be a huge asset on sunday as well.
Damn it will be an awesome race. Men's race wide open too, maybe favoring Boom more than Nys now. But hey, that's why the run the race - gotta see who's got the luck, the legs and the lungs that day!
one with the cyclists view and one with the elevation profile...
Awesome, jealous - would LOVE to have a north american version of a hoogerheide. I wonder what Van der Pol would do with the venue options we have here... not to discount the course genius of Steamboat Stevens or the other vets of New England cross, it just makes me wonder...
I know, I know. Courses here are different than over there. We don't have the same stuff. People would be bitching up a major hissy fit storm if they showed up to a course like Hoogerheide. Nice set of stairs - lots of turns and hair pins and minor elevation changes. It is pretty awesome.
Can't wait till Sunday!
Oh it looks like the weather for the race will be in the mid-30s getting down to the high 20s at night... nothing crazy... no rain forecast today tomorrow or the weekend. Should be a hard fast race. Vos could pull out a big upset. I don't see this race going well for Daphny with these conditions, but Rachael may actually prove to be a solid contender. Heck LVG's crit dominance and sprinting prowess may prove to be a huge asset on sunday as well.
Damn it will be an awesome race. Men's race wide open too, maybe favoring Boom more than Nys now. But hey, that's why the run the race - gotta see who's got the luck, the legs and the lungs that day!
icy out there
well on the roads near the house at least. Closer to the city it was just slush. Managed to hitch a ride up to Burgess and Warren with my wife. The hour delays around here meant everything was just a tad bit melted. The places that got salt last night were in good shape, roads that didn't (our road/neighborhood) were skating rinks. Solid sheet ice. No black ice, it was skating rink stuff. But it is sunny as can be. Very gorgeous out there.
One guy honked at me in his big fancy MB with his easy to remember vanity plate. Honestly. Don't people with vanity plates realize that there isn't an easier way to give someone a way to remember it? Long time ago in maine someone i was riding around the town with got assaulted by a couple of guys. What it was over I won't go into now but because this tough guy (we eventually rode away, hid in the woods till he left) had a vanity plate, the cops were able to get all the info on the guy who did it. Yes i still remember the plate on that Subaru he was driving.
Same this morning. Heck i almost caught back up to him through the city, he was dodging and weaving between the slower moving traffic, seriously cutting between cars and around people pretty recklessly... He turned off a side street and floored it. Total jackass I hope he wraps that big beast around a telephone pole. I hope no one else gets hurt by his actions. His big ass metal cow he's driving will protect him just fine no matter what he hits. His plate is sticking in my head pretty easily.
I was pretty wound up about the incident. Sure it wasn't a big deal... he only honked at me and then waved his fist yelling at me, he had room to go around (two travel lanes, i was in the right lane, no cars were in the left yet he still felt the need to honk at me). Actually kind of funny. The really scary part was how he was driving after he honked and passed me.
There was some talk about forgetting the fuel economy limits as a way to regulate consumption, and going with horsepower limits. Not big policy talks but still. It makes sense. Who needs a giant 400 horsepower car to get around the city? Seriously. And the whole "it is safer to have power" is a crock of shit argument. If you don't have power you just drive so you don't put yourself that kind of situation. The times you need power are generally 100% avoidable. We have speed limits in this country of 75 or 80 in some places. Even a little 90 hp engine can push a reasonably large car that fast. It might not be able to go much faster but hey, why do you need to go any faster? We don't have the Autobaun here. Despite what it feels like driving in New England when there isn't traffic slowing you down.
I feel pretty strongly about regulating consumption instead of emission as well as putting HP limits in. If standards were set to mandate a specific fuel consumption minimum instead of (or maybe in addition to) tail pipe exhaust, well i think that would have a much bigger total overall impact on both green house gasses and pollution. Maybe us a Pound/HP limit. Set it at 45#/Hp. Sure if you want a big fat heavy car, you'll get more HP but you won't be able to go any faster than anyone else. Ah but then that's socialism or something. People want their cars to be a reflection of themselves. Ah well. We're all pretty screwed unless people some how believe everything is turning around. All it takes is people to think it is getting better not worse and it will get better.
Here's to hoping the new generation of energy production and what ever else new "industry" starts taking off soon is enough to bolster consumer confidence and get us out of this freaking mess.
Because what a mess it is.
heddwch
g
One guy honked at me in his big fancy MB with his easy to remember vanity plate. Honestly. Don't people with vanity plates realize that there isn't an easier way to give someone a way to remember it? Long time ago in maine someone i was riding around the town with got assaulted by a couple of guys. What it was over I won't go into now but because this tough guy (we eventually rode away, hid in the woods till he left) had a vanity plate, the cops were able to get all the info on the guy who did it. Yes i still remember the plate on that Subaru he was driving.
Same this morning. Heck i almost caught back up to him through the city, he was dodging and weaving between the slower moving traffic, seriously cutting between cars and around people pretty recklessly... He turned off a side street and floored it. Total jackass I hope he wraps that big beast around a telephone pole. I hope no one else gets hurt by his actions. His big ass metal cow he's driving will protect him just fine no matter what he hits. His plate is sticking in my head pretty easily.
I was pretty wound up about the incident. Sure it wasn't a big deal... he only honked at me and then waved his fist yelling at me, he had room to go around (two travel lanes, i was in the right lane, no cars were in the left yet he still felt the need to honk at me). Actually kind of funny. The really scary part was how he was driving after he honked and passed me.
There was some talk about forgetting the fuel economy limits as a way to regulate consumption, and going with horsepower limits. Not big policy talks but still. It makes sense. Who needs a giant 400 horsepower car to get around the city? Seriously. And the whole "it is safer to have power" is a crock of shit argument. If you don't have power you just drive so you don't put yourself that kind of situation. The times you need power are generally 100% avoidable. We have speed limits in this country of 75 or 80 in some places. Even a little 90 hp engine can push a reasonably large car that fast. It might not be able to go much faster but hey, why do you need to go any faster? We don't have the Autobaun here. Despite what it feels like driving in New England when there isn't traffic slowing you down.
I feel pretty strongly about regulating consumption instead of emission as well as putting HP limits in. If standards were set to mandate a specific fuel consumption minimum instead of (or maybe in addition to) tail pipe exhaust, well i think that would have a much bigger total overall impact on both green house gasses and pollution. Maybe us a Pound/HP limit. Set it at 45#/Hp. Sure if you want a big fat heavy car, you'll get more HP but you won't be able to go any faster than anyone else. Ah but then that's socialism or something. People want their cars to be a reflection of themselves. Ah well. We're all pretty screwed unless people some how believe everything is turning around. All it takes is people to think it is getting better not worse and it will get better.
Here's to hoping the new generation of energy production and what ever else new "industry" starts taking off soon is enough to bolster consumer confidence and get us out of this freaking mess.
Because what a mess it is.
heddwch
g
have you been wondering?
when the races are on sunday?
Well the women race at 11:30 and the men race at 14:30
(Click and scroll to page 10)
So what does that mean for the broadcast at Universal sports? I dunno. I hope it means live. But then it is still a 5:30am start. Hmm... worth waking up at the butt crack of dawn? Quite possibly. I think it just might be.
Now that i've confirmed the 5:30am start, it sort of occurred to me that the CX Mag's coverage was slated to start at that time. Hmmm. Ah well. Now I know when the races actually are. The cross google alter is lit up with people posting the news about Universal's live coverage. That's a good thing.
Well the women race at 11:30 and the men race at 14:30
Sunday 1st February 20092009 UCI Cyclo-cross World ChampionshipsWomen 11:302009 UCI Cyclo-cross World ChampionshipsMen Elite 14:30
So what does that mean for the broadcast at Universal sports? I dunno. I hope it means live. But then it is still a 5:30am start. Hmm... worth waking up at the butt crack of dawn? Quite possibly. I think it just might be.
Now that i've confirmed the 5:30am start, it sort of occurred to me that the CX Mag's coverage was slated to start at that time. Hmmm. Ah well. Now I know when the races actually are. The cross google alter is lit up with people posting the news about Universal's live coverage. That's a good thing.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
CX Worlds, Live TV coverage!!!
Got an email from Rachael Lloyd 45 minutes or so ago. how about this, a free live broadcast!
So it will be a split screen viewing - CXmag's live updates in one window, universal's video coverage in the other...
free live broadcast of the 2009 cyclocross World Championships this weekend. I have enclosed the link where you will find the live broadcast and schedule of events for this weekend.
Schedule with Video Links ( the video links will come up as soon as they are available the day of the event): link
Cycling Channel Page: link
Universal Sports is a website and channel partnered with NBC that highlights Olympic Sports all year long. They are going to be broadcasting the Cyclo-Cross World Championships this Sunday. "The broadcast will be free and we are really just trying to reach out to all the true cycling fans to let them know where they can come to watch these major events." From an email sent to me.
So it will be a split screen viewing - CXmag's live updates in one window, universal's video coverage in the other...
The Wagon
G-ride did point out I've been sparse on the details here.
The car:
What is it? A 1996 TDI Passat Wagon (B4V). 207k on the clock. Well maintained but it has a few issues.
I got it from a dealer yes. That is true. I got it as is, no warranty, no nothing (except endless phone calls and letters thanking me for shopping there and reminding me that they are there to support the car in parts and with anything else I need). How can a dealer do that? Well I heard that a certain someone traded this car in at that dealership for an '05 Jetta TDI Wagon that they had on the lot. I called and offered them some $$ for it, they countered back with a higher number and well I bought it. Problem being that the dealer is in the middle of NJ. Not close. Problem also we don't have space or desire to have three cars. Sure we could have taken the stuff off the Volvo, parked it at the Farm and tried to sell it. Who knows if we could have sold the Volvo easily private party with what is/was wrong with it. Sure it had a mostly good set of blizzak tires on there that I spent $200 on in Michigan years ago, and I've still got a second set of summer tires (anyone need 195 60 15 tires? Nokian NRVs!) and the Volvo factory roof rack for it. It slips out of second gear when not under load (in gear coast down for example). AC doesn't work. Sunroof screen isn't there. Rear tire well fills up with water (had to pound the ice out to get the flat full size spare out of the trunk the day before driving down). Clutch has started to slip occasionally. Starter motor clunks or something when cold. It uses a quart of oil every few months, or every 1000 miles or so. A coolant leak somewhere. The seat back motor is broken. The glove box latch is gone (box closed with tape). Oh what else? I dunno. Low power, had to down shift to keep speed up hills on the way down to trade it in. Works sort of okay on premium fuel but not well on regular gas. Oh and it won't start sometimes. esp if parked on an incline. or if cold. I can usually get it to start by holding the throttle pedal down about 1/2 way. But that doesn't always work either. It has a bit of a rattle in the front end. Could be as simple as the sway bar bushing, it passed inspection in '08 so it isn't unsafe, just rattles like a metal tool box on the streets of this fair city of ours. Considering we didn't pay anything for it way back when, and we sold the '86 240 wagon when we got the '93 850. We did okay getting a c note for the car. That and I didn't have to inconvenience someone to drive down with me, I didn't have to get a bus, train or plane ticket down and figure out how to get to the dealer car-less. Sure there are plenty of issues that could have been fixed. But most of the problems on the old volvo were the expensive or time consuming things. Mostly a headache to try and sell privately. I'll let the dealer spend the time and money to detail it, wax polish and clean it up to make it look good too. And man o man did we make out well all things considering. It was a great swap.
The Passat isn't perfect. There's a few issues of coolant going somewhere. The Struts are completely done (Bilstein TCs are in the future of it). The sunroof motor is dead. The rear wiper motor is dead. There's a loose fuse/headlight problem that showed up today. Supposedly a Cat converter issue. The exhaust looks a bit rusty and flaky from looking under the car from the back (but the exhaust doesn't smell like coolant). A few minor rust areas on the driver's side door and rear wheel well. It starts well, drives well. Warms up very nicely. A gem of a car. So grateful to the previous owner for the tip as to the dealer it was traded in to.
And it is big. A lot roomier than the new ones even. The seat ergonomics aren't as good as the B5 Passat or the A4 Golf... and I haven't been in the newest styles to see if they kept the same big guy friendliness. It is just front wheel drive but it is pretty damn sweet. Once I clean up the oil off the engine from the broken CCV return hose I can start working on where the coolant is going. The prime suspected joints are covered in oil, one below the fuel pump and one 'plastic' junction into the head. The oil is from basically a 2cm hole in the block (midway between the head and the oil pan - kind of in the crank area) where oil was just shooting out and coating the inside of the engine AND the underside of the car (and the back for that matter). there are a few big oil spots on the 'driveway' stones at the house now, but no new ones since replacing the hose.
I just never mechanically connected with the Volvo. I did grow fond of that 5 cylinder roar at 4-5k rpms. But man. I love the purr of this turbo diesel. Mmm. Yeah. It is good. It is a '96 with the smoke fix GQ ecu. It is a nice addition to the family.
There. That's the briefing catching disney boy up to speed on the new wheels.
heddwch
G
The car:
What is it? A 1996 TDI Passat Wagon (B4V). 207k on the clock. Well maintained but it has a few issues.
I got it from a dealer yes. That is true. I got it as is, no warranty, no nothing (except endless phone calls and letters thanking me for shopping there and reminding me that they are there to support the car in parts and with anything else I need). How can a dealer do that? Well I heard that a certain someone traded this car in at that dealership for an '05 Jetta TDI Wagon that they had on the lot. I called and offered them some $$ for it, they countered back with a higher number and well I bought it. Problem being that the dealer is in the middle of NJ. Not close. Problem also we don't have space or desire to have three cars. Sure we could have taken the stuff off the Volvo, parked it at the Farm and tried to sell it. Who knows if we could have sold the Volvo easily private party with what is/was wrong with it. Sure it had a mostly good set of blizzak tires on there that I spent $200 on in Michigan years ago, and I've still got a second set of summer tires (anyone need 195 60 15 tires? Nokian NRVs!) and the Volvo factory roof rack for it. It slips out of second gear when not under load (in gear coast down for example). AC doesn't work. Sunroof screen isn't there. Rear tire well fills up with water (had to pound the ice out to get the flat full size spare out of the trunk the day before driving down). Clutch has started to slip occasionally. Starter motor clunks or something when cold. It uses a quart of oil every few months, or every 1000 miles or so. A coolant leak somewhere. The seat back motor is broken. The glove box latch is gone (box closed with tape). Oh what else? I dunno. Low power, had to down shift to keep speed up hills on the way down to trade it in. Works sort of okay on premium fuel but not well on regular gas. Oh and it won't start sometimes. esp if parked on an incline. or if cold. I can usually get it to start by holding the throttle pedal down about 1/2 way. But that doesn't always work either. It has a bit of a rattle in the front end. Could be as simple as the sway bar bushing, it passed inspection in '08 so it isn't unsafe, just rattles like a metal tool box on the streets of this fair city of ours. Considering we didn't pay anything for it way back when, and we sold the '86 240 wagon when we got the '93 850. We did okay getting a c note for the car. That and I didn't have to inconvenience someone to drive down with me, I didn't have to get a bus, train or plane ticket down and figure out how to get to the dealer car-less. Sure there are plenty of issues that could have been fixed. But most of the problems on the old volvo were the expensive or time consuming things. Mostly a headache to try and sell privately. I'll let the dealer spend the time and money to detail it, wax polish and clean it up to make it look good too. And man o man did we make out well all things considering. It was a great swap.
The Passat isn't perfect. There's a few issues of coolant going somewhere. The Struts are completely done (Bilstein TCs are in the future of it). The sunroof motor is dead. The rear wiper motor is dead. There's a loose fuse/headlight problem that showed up today. Supposedly a Cat converter issue. The exhaust looks a bit rusty and flaky from looking under the car from the back (but the exhaust doesn't smell like coolant). A few minor rust areas on the driver's side door and rear wheel well. It starts well, drives well. Warms up very nicely. A gem of a car. So grateful to the previous owner for the tip as to the dealer it was traded in to.
And it is big. A lot roomier than the new ones even. The seat ergonomics aren't as good as the B5 Passat or the A4 Golf... and I haven't been in the newest styles to see if they kept the same big guy friendliness. It is just front wheel drive but it is pretty damn sweet. Once I clean up the oil off the engine from the broken CCV return hose I can start working on where the coolant is going. The prime suspected joints are covered in oil, one below the fuel pump and one 'plastic' junction into the head. The oil is from basically a 2cm hole in the block (midway between the head and the oil pan - kind of in the crank area) where oil was just shooting out and coating the inside of the engine AND the underside of the car (and the back for that matter). there are a few big oil spots on the 'driveway' stones at the house now, but no new ones since replacing the hose.
I just never mechanically connected with the Volvo. I did grow fond of that 5 cylinder roar at 4-5k rpms. But man. I love the purr of this turbo diesel. Mmm. Yeah. It is good. It is a '96 with the smoke fix GQ ecu. It is a nice addition to the family.
There. That's the briefing catching disney boy up to speed on the new wheels.
heddwch
G
World Class commuting advice
http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/
seriously. check ThomP's writing and videos out. want to commute - follow his advice - it's good stuff...
seriously. check ThomP's writing and videos out. want to commute - follow his advice - it's good stuff...
2009 CX Worlds
My feeling on it:
Compton should be a force, don’t count Daphny out on her home turf. Lloyd’s got some serious momentum heading into it. Hanka’s hot no matter what she’s wearing and can’t be counted out. Also look for Laura Van Guilder to make an impression. The French women do seem to be riding well too. All that makes for one exciting race to play out. Only wish I was able to remain blind to the race results so I could watch the women’s race unfold on TV/computer once it is avail to DL.
The elite men's race should be predictably boring. Boom’s got the legs the focus and the home nation behind him. Nys has finally decided to tweak his training to peak for worlds instead of wining every race up until worlds and then dying. He is going to be fierce. I don’t really see anyone else touching those two unless it is Erwin V. Stybar maybe. Treefarm? Nah, he needs to pull his head out of his ass and focus more on what it takes. Needs to have a sit down with Page to learn what the fahk he needs to do inside that big grinning noggin of his to be in the first group in Europe.
Make no mistake, it’ll be a damn fine race… get the popcorn and the live feed and sit back and enjoy, I'm just far more excited about the women's race.
As FnF once said, a race is only worth watching/following if you care who wins, or are a fan of someone in the race. That's the truth. I'm still a huge JP fan, getting lukewarm about the big Kona freak and his "these courses are too hard in europe" grass crit dominance kind of style, heck I'd love it if was able to figure it out and make it work. JPow just doesn't lite my radar up as a contender against the likes of Boom Nys and company. I do wish TJ would have decided to race at Worlds. The whole "road" thing is a pretty lame excuse for being the top and not doing worlds. Sure it is only CX worlds and sure you get paid more to be a roadie (just supposition on my part) but come on man. You're the best hope for the USA in that race (with JP's ribs and other issues). At least we've got some solid kick ass women racing. Looks like Georgia is cooking instead of crossing. That kind of blows I think. Same vein as TJ not racing. Although maybe Georgia is going to start? I dunno, but i bet someone does.
All i gotta say is Go Katie, Rachael, Laura, Sue, Wendy and Daphny!
heddwch
G
Compton should be a force, don’t count Daphny out on her home turf. Lloyd’s got some serious momentum heading into it. Hanka’s hot no matter what she’s wearing and can’t be counted out. Also look for Laura Van Guilder to make an impression. The French women do seem to be riding well too. All that makes for one exciting race to play out. Only wish I was able to remain blind to the race results so I could watch the women’s race unfold on TV/computer once it is avail to DL.
The elite men's race should be predictably boring. Boom’s got the legs the focus and the home nation behind him. Nys has finally decided to tweak his training to peak for worlds instead of wining every race up until worlds and then dying. He is going to be fierce. I don’t really see anyone else touching those two unless it is Erwin V. Stybar maybe. Treefarm? Nah, he needs to pull his head out of his ass and focus more on what it takes. Needs to have a sit down with Page to learn what the fahk he needs to do inside that big grinning noggin of his to be in the first group in Europe.
Make no mistake, it’ll be a damn fine race… get the popcorn and the live feed and sit back and enjoy, I'm just far more excited about the women's race.
As FnF once said, a race is only worth watching/following if you care who wins, or are a fan of someone in the race. That's the truth. I'm still a huge JP fan, getting lukewarm about the big Kona freak and his "these courses are too hard in europe" grass crit dominance kind of style, heck I'd love it if was able to figure it out and make it work. JPow just doesn't lite my radar up as a contender against the likes of Boom Nys and company. I do wish TJ would have decided to race at Worlds. The whole "road" thing is a pretty lame excuse for being the top and not doing worlds. Sure it is only CX worlds and sure you get paid more to be a roadie (just supposition on my part) but come on man. You're the best hope for the USA in that race (with JP's ribs and other issues). At least we've got some solid kick ass women racing. Looks like Georgia is cooking instead of crossing. That kind of blows I think. Same vein as TJ not racing. Although maybe Georgia is going to start? I dunno, but i bet someone does.
All i gotta say is Go Katie, Rachael, Laura, Sue, Wendy and Daphny!
heddwch
G
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
January winding down
And it feels like I've had a grand total of zero rest/recovery days since being in the PacNW. The weekends are packed full of stuff to do, needs to be done and what not. Constantly going. I'm getting burned out in a way. Feeling the real need for a down day. I was hoping a snow day would happen tomorrow and I would get an excuse to stay home and just shovel and relax. But no, looks like I've got to be in three places at once here. Not a bad thing mind you. It is always good to be busy. That's the other part of it. Jan is usually a pretty quiet month. It hasn't been this year. Taking delivery of a new system certainly has added complexity, trying to get the car was a big undertaking (for me because i over think everything and cause myself to load up with needless stress). I am tempted to reach for a cup of coffee but I feel almost now at the point where I'm not sure I would like the taste anymore. In high school i cut out all milk in my diet because it was suspected that it contributed to my acne (not a minor case, I've got some good scar tissue to show for my puberty years, and yeah it probably contributed to the isolation i felt in the years of social development leaving me somewhat paralyzed in situations where i can't talk about cars or bikes or microscopes - and no the acne coupled with a fragile self-esteem and being the tallest and skinniest kid was too much). Anyway, after cutting the milk out for 6 months to a year I would get nauseas tasting it. It has me wondering if I actually would like the bitter taste anymore. My sister stayed with us this weekend and made a few pots of coffee. It smelled good. But hey who doesn't like the smell of coffee. I probably would still like it. My guess is the chemical taste recognition is so well imprinted that I will never not like coffee. Sort of like beer. I went 5-6 months without any and the first one back was pretty good.
In place of the coffee I've been drinking something that I picked up from my mother. Hot water with fresh ginger root and lemon. She adds a fresh mint leaf and maple syrup, but I've gone with just the ginger and lemon. Each morning a couple steaming cups of that just feels good. The spice of ginger and the tartness of the lemon are nice sort of eye openers. They've certainly become a habit now after a month. Finding good organic Ginger, or at the least domestic ginger (not from china or Argentina) is actually sort of tough out here. But I'll take the challenge vs the 10-20% higher costs in the stores in the Seattle region. I thought stuff was expensive here in New England, stuff out there in Gig Harbor and Seattle is wicked expensive relative to what I'm used to. I notice little stuff like that, prices and costs/unit. I notice stuff like the car that pulled out behind me as I pass it again as it is waiting in a line of stopped cars a mile or two down the road. I notice which parked cars have stud-less snow tires and find that mostly they are European cars.
The commute bypassing the bike path is longer. Only by about 2 miles or so, but the added hill (reasonably long) certainly contributes to more time on the bike everyday. In the cold sub 25°F weather that seems to be taking a bit out of me as well. I'm needing more and more fuel (food). But on the good side I seem to be finally kicking the cough and the rest of the respiratory junk. I think it isn't tough enough to handle the cold air.
Some of my introspection time has been chewed up by time spent reading up on the new/old car. That's certainly not a small factor in my seemingly more than normal absence around here, ie lack of words. But then maybe it has been the time spent clicking on the gallery's that have been popping up over at DC (big jonny's place not the capital). Who knows what it has been. call it a storm of everything. This recent and latest bikereg action i did certain has pushed me back towards the bike centric writing/thinking. Pondering how the heck I will attempt it this year. Or maybe not bother to do anything at all and just show up. The course change certainly will play a significant factor in motivating me to get my ass in gear rather than rely on memories of pain to get me through each section.
pretty spaced out here - tangents and weird subjects...
time to go ride in the cold... tomorrow might be a snow bike day or a vehicle day... we'll see what the morning brings...
heddwch
g
In place of the coffee I've been drinking something that I picked up from my mother. Hot water with fresh ginger root and lemon. She adds a fresh mint leaf and maple syrup, but I've gone with just the ginger and lemon. Each morning a couple steaming cups of that just feels good. The spice of ginger and the tartness of the lemon are nice sort of eye openers. They've certainly become a habit now after a month. Finding good organic Ginger, or at the least domestic ginger (not from china or Argentina) is actually sort of tough out here. But I'll take the challenge vs the 10-20% higher costs in the stores in the Seattle region. I thought stuff was expensive here in New England, stuff out there in Gig Harbor and Seattle is wicked expensive relative to what I'm used to. I notice little stuff like that, prices and costs/unit. I notice stuff like the car that pulled out behind me as I pass it again as it is waiting in a line of stopped cars a mile or two down the road. I notice which parked cars have stud-less snow tires and find that mostly they are European cars.
The commute bypassing the bike path is longer. Only by about 2 miles or so, but the added hill (reasonably long) certainly contributes to more time on the bike everyday. In the cold sub 25°F weather that seems to be taking a bit out of me as well. I'm needing more and more fuel (food). But on the good side I seem to be finally kicking the cough and the rest of the respiratory junk. I think it isn't tough enough to handle the cold air.
Some of my introspection time has been chewed up by time spent reading up on the new/old car. That's certainly not a small factor in my seemingly more than normal absence around here, ie lack of words. But then maybe it has been the time spent clicking on the gallery's that have been popping up over at DC (big jonny's place not the capital). Who knows what it has been. call it a storm of everything. This recent and latest bikereg action i did certain has pushed me back towards the bike centric writing/thinking. Pondering how the heck I will attempt it this year. Or maybe not bother to do anything at all and just show up. The course change certainly will play a significant factor in motivating me to get my ass in gear rather than rely on memories of pain to get me through each section.
pretty spaced out here - tangents and weird subjects...
time to go ride in the cold... tomorrow might be a snow bike day or a vehicle day... we'll see what the morning brings...
heddwch
g
Monday, January 26, 2009
outline for t'day
That never really got any farther than this:
cayenne pepper post...
---cool blog post here - there's got to be something to it - i eat enough spicy food, i like the chinese food chart linked there - it actually makes a lot of sense...
mittens...
---same vein as the first - i was going to go through my hand wear options and the temp ranges I employ them all in
car...
---finally got a minute to check the timing and the system all warmed up...
g-damn does this thing get toasty fast, way faster than the Golf. pretty amazing actually...
timing was perfectly spot on in the middle of the top, no codes... i adapted the glow plug duration to the long side in both cars earlier in the day and man it does pre-glow longer now, and fires right up. I think the battery is getting a bit tired in the Golf (still has the original from '99 in there).
i'm liking this car alot...
i pulled the egr vac hose off and plugged it, still need to check to see how clogged the intake is and how much oil is in the intercooler. the return hose wasn't stuck between the boost pipes but was flopping loose wearing away on the MAP sensor, so maybe when it all get warm and toasty the coolant can work it's way out of that hose? There was still a bit of vaccuum/pressure in the line when I pulled it to re-route it properly. So i gotta wonder where this leak thing is... need it to warm up before i can clean the engine compartment so i can see the particular junctions that may be cracked or weeping... probably do the compression test after cleaning it, don't want stuff falling into the combustion chamber when I pull the glow plugs out
Cupcakes...
---made a batch of kick ass blueberry cupcakes. Oh so good. Frosting was brilliant as well. o really tasty - did a big pizza party - a quad batch of my normal dough 8 large pizzas worth, cheese, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, pesto and tomato sauce, olives and spinach for the toppings... it was quite the pizza party, only the last of the pizzas made with what ever toppings were left over is left, it is a lightly cheesed spinach and olive pizza.
there that's about it
gonna ride home soon, ready to enjoy the weather out there. Big ass storm coming mid-week. We'll see if they cancel school before it hits or wait until it is actually snowing. Going to keep the day's appointments as clear as possible in case it is a snow day for the kids.
I just need the routine back. One thing I will say I feel grounded in my expression of being a mechanic. And the car is making the bike maintenance take a back seat. Well I need to clean up the bike room. It is still a big pile of mess from the timing belt change (tools and parts strewn about still) and the last CX race. Maybe time to do some organization and cleaning. Esp if I'm going to try and create enough leg strength and endurance to hang with the team mates at some race in April. I'll need the space for the trainer and rollers. It will be nice to focus on something. Even if I fall short on actually achieving the fitness it will prevent me from slipping into muffin top land like G-ride.
heddwch
G
cayenne pepper post...
---cool blog post here - there's got to be something to it - i eat enough spicy food, i like the chinese food chart linked there - it actually makes a lot of sense...
mittens...
---same vein as the first - i was going to go through my hand wear options and the temp ranges I employ them all in
car...
---finally got a minute to check the timing and the system all warmed up...
g-damn does this thing get toasty fast, way faster than the Golf. pretty amazing actually...
timing was perfectly spot on in the middle of the top, no codes... i adapted the glow plug duration to the long side in both cars earlier in the day and man it does pre-glow longer now, and fires right up. I think the battery is getting a bit tired in the Golf (still has the original from '99 in there).
i'm liking this car alot...
i pulled the egr vac hose off and plugged it, still need to check to see how clogged the intake is and how much oil is in the intercooler. the return hose wasn't stuck between the boost pipes but was flopping loose wearing away on the MAP sensor, so maybe when it all get warm and toasty the coolant can work it's way out of that hose? There was still a bit of vaccuum/pressure in the line when I pulled it to re-route it properly. So i gotta wonder where this leak thing is... need it to warm up before i can clean the engine compartment so i can see the particular junctions that may be cracked or weeping... probably do the compression test after cleaning it, don't want stuff falling into the combustion chamber when I pull the glow plugs out
Cupcakes...
---made a batch of kick ass blueberry cupcakes. Oh so good. Frosting was brilliant as well. o really tasty - did a big pizza party - a quad batch of my normal dough 8 large pizzas worth, cheese, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, pesto and tomato sauce, olives and spinach for the toppings... it was quite the pizza party, only the last of the pizzas made with what ever toppings were left over is left, it is a lightly cheesed spinach and olive pizza.
there that's about it
gonna ride home soon, ready to enjoy the weather out there. Big ass storm coming mid-week. We'll see if they cancel school before it hits or wait until it is actually snowing. Going to keep the day's appointments as clear as possible in case it is a snow day for the kids.
I just need the routine back. One thing I will say I feel grounded in my expression of being a mechanic. And the car is making the bike maintenance take a back seat. Well I need to clean up the bike room. It is still a big pile of mess from the timing belt change (tools and parts strewn about still) and the last CX race. Maybe time to do some organization and cleaning. Esp if I'm going to try and create enough leg strength and endurance to hang with the team mates at some race in April. I'll need the space for the trainer and rollers. It will be nice to focus on something. Even if I fall short on actually achieving the fitness it will prevent me from slipping into muffin top land like G-ride.
heddwch
G
wash
I need to wash the Giant cyclocross bike. It is dirty.
very very very dirty...
but it is cold outside, freezing bike parts that get wet kind of cold out there...
if it ever warms up enough on the weekend I'll wash it. Boy does it need it.
Loads of thoughts that were in my head to get out. Some really well developed ones (by my standards) even. But all that I can remember of those were that they were well developed. *shrug*
ah well.
heddwch
G
very very very dirty...
but it is cold outside, freezing bike parts that get wet kind of cold out there...
if it ever warms up enough on the weekend I'll wash it. Boy does it need it.
Loads of thoughts that were in my head to get out. Some really well developed ones (by my standards) even. But all that I can remember of those were that they were well developed. *shrug*
ah well.
heddwch
G
Friday, January 23, 2009
EVerLube chain lube update
still working great. chain is doing fantastic in the cold and the salt and the slush and the snow... this lube totally kicks ass... doesn't build up the same way T-9 does or other wet lubes i've used, and works 10000% times better (based on sound) than any dry lube i've used.
2101
Waking Ned Devine.
ErikV posted a shot of one of the scenes where Michael O'Sullivan gets on Jack's motorcycle naked.... and i found the movie there on flixster. great sound track. hysterically awesome movie. start to finish.
the kind of movie you can watch over and over again.
Good stuff.
--
Riding home last night I had the realization that the bike path tends to make me a bit laconic. I go at my pace. There i'm the fastest thing I encounter. When I hit the surface streets (now that the path is still under a foot of ice and snow) I'm the slow mover unless there's a walker on the shoulder (not uncommon lately). And that has the effect of upping my pace considerably. Not a bad thing. Toss in the extra hill and the couple of sprints to merge and clear intersections it is a lot more work/KJ than heading home on the path. That's a good thing. Esp since there isn't a good shot of the path getting clear this month, probably stick around well into next month.
I've added Ecogeek.org into my open tabs routine and there are a couple gems over there today. My alma mater (more specifically someone at it) won a cool award for sweet ass efficient air conditioning.
And THIS i got to say is a brilliant idea. Set up the wind farm and make it off limits to fishing. Heck even boating for that matter. It would create much needed fish sanctuaries. Replace oil rigs with wind farms. Sounds pretty damn much of a no brain solution.
yeah... no brain... that's me
heddwch
G
ErikV posted a shot of one of the scenes where Michael O'Sullivan gets on Jack's motorcycle naked.... and i found the movie there on flixster. great sound track. hysterically awesome movie. start to finish.
the kind of movie you can watch over and over again.
Good stuff.
--
Riding home last night I had the realization that the bike path tends to make me a bit laconic. I go at my pace. There i'm the fastest thing I encounter. When I hit the surface streets (now that the path is still under a foot of ice and snow) I'm the slow mover unless there's a walker on the shoulder (not uncommon lately). And that has the effect of upping my pace considerably. Not a bad thing. Toss in the extra hill and the couple of sprints to merge and clear intersections it is a lot more work/KJ than heading home on the path. That's a good thing. Esp since there isn't a good shot of the path getting clear this month, probably stick around well into next month.
I've added Ecogeek.org into my open tabs routine and there are a couple gems over there today. My alma mater (more specifically someone at it) won a cool award for sweet ass efficient air conditioning.
And THIS i got to say is a brilliant idea. Set up the wind farm and make it off limits to fishing. Heck even boating for that matter. It would create much needed fish sanctuaries. Replace oil rigs with wind farms. Sounds pretty damn much of a no brain solution.
yeah... no brain... that's me
heddwch
G
Thursday, January 22, 2009
for real... call them
Not Big Ring:
Trebon complaining that the course was too hard, and that he is never coming back. Someone needs to call the wahbulance to take Tree-farm back to the Cross-Crusade where he can pretend to be tough.
-Dr X
JP finished in front of Treefarm and had this to say about it: "Raced the race but not really. Was more riding around." Sure Ryan complained about the crazy downhills. But I bet Rachael Lloyd wasn't complaining about them. Well what DID she say anyway?
This:
The course... is a good course, pretty technical... it has pretty much everything in it. It starts on the track, does a lap and turns off to a sharp right hand turn. Then it winds its way back and forth around the seats (dirt path) and up/down a few steep hills (that are pretty slick because of the rain. I can make all the uphills, but then it goes to a very steep run up with these stairs that are about 2ft tall each step, and very steep. You know what that means... a very steep downhill. I had heard about these, but with the mud, and the deep ruts that had formed, it was a little sketchy. Then the course wraps around and pops out on the road to head to the other part of the course. Around soccer fields, working the embankment around the fields... it's hard to tell if the hillside will be ride able tomorrow, I would make it today but it was slick. Then there is a deep fluffy sand pit (which I could ride fairly well... I saw a lot of other girls having problems with it.) and a couple turns, then over the tallest barriers I have ever done in a UCI race, (they are almost 2ft tall.) and a quick left/right into a small 8ft long sand pit, then straight, and sharp right onto the track again. The track is cement, and wet, and painted... with the inside of it being sand... and a 3inch lip from the sand to the track... so that is interesting.Lloyd called the downhills "a little sketchy."
Yeah. Sure, I'd be freaked out by them too i bet. Maybe Treefarm needs to raise his bars up a bit so he can be more comfortable on the downhills. Certainly would keep the internet monkeys at RBR from yearly wondering why he has such an effed up riding position.
Bottom line?
Treefarm got bloused by one of the best US female cyclists. Sure she's a Super D national champ, but hey she's freaking fast on the cross bike.
I think it sounds like Ryan needs a good dose of HTFU... No?
Oh and one of the bakers passed on the world CX preview Velonews to me (looks more like a large format Winning Mag now). Pretty cool. That was a super nice thing to do, very much appreciated. But there is one thing that stood out...
big big big WTF
one small short column about the women, two + pages of the men...
The women's team this year is amazing. Way stronger/deeper/more talented than any Men's team the USA has sent or been able to ever create. The USA female squad is as strong or stronger than the Belgian Men's team relative to the competition. What did Velonews use for photos? Daphny, Katie, and Hanka (don't have it here just pulling from memory).
The other thing i see, and sure it is justified by demographic data, there is no balance. Is Title 9 dead? Maybe I'm an anomaly, a male cyclist who is genuinely interested in the female side of the sport? There's good stuff in there, but the impression that I get is they are just a bunch of guys who'd rather look at other guys in spandex and talk about other guys in spandex/lycra/technical fabric and what those guys ride... It isn't like there are just as compelling female athletes out there racing their butts off with as good or better stories to tell. Maybe I've just missed the issues with better balance.
Can't wait to see how the women fair at worlds this year. Odds should favor Katie for the top podium spot, but depending on the weather and luck I still see Lloyd getting a fair shot at getting up on the steps. Put Katie as gold, with Lloyd and Daphny rounding out the podium and that would be flat out awesome (gotta put Daphny up there, cause well she's, um, daphny, ya know?).
Heddwch
G
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