Does anyone else think Trek Mt Bike when they see 990? Yeah. 990 posts (this is 991 i think).

One thing i was wondering... didn't see ZoozieQ on the results list for Fitchburg. That kid was all "Fitch is MY #1 Race this year" "It is my A race" "determined to finish in the group this year" that's all we heard until he went all MIA and stuff... Now he's not listed as even starting the cat 4 event? Crazy...

Go check out some wicked damn cool SEM images. I generally take a rather negative position regarding coloring SEM images but these are done quite nicely.

A friend of mine emailed me his Tour predictions. I laughed at his Maillot Blanc choice...

And finally, the maillot blanc will go to Idont Noe of Team EyehavknowEyedeaNordoEyeCair.

Can i pick Idont Noe and his team for the overall win?

Fortunately i will not be tempted to turn on the GeeWizz network's coverage of the tour or should we call it instead of coverage a non-stop bit to get cyclist watching homoerotic bull riding. And while that may be a good thing i'm tired of reading the Cyclingnews style live text "feeds" of the race.

How many years have they been doing that and have i been reading them? Too many for it to be exciting anymore. Maybe if Cyclingnews started doing those sort of feeds for the likes of Fitchburg i'd follow along.

Eurosport? I'm a big Sean Kelly fan but after reading the stuff from Kimmage and all that? I've soured in my regard of that guy.

No, I know i shouldn't Doped or undoped he is/was an amazing cyclist.

I am not one of these "let em dope, it is still entertaining to watch them race" folks.

Oh - Urban Velo #2 just dropped. Go get your copy! The photo on the Contents page freaking rocks. Nice full page ad for DC... Vanderkitten has an ad too so you KNOW this is a cutting edge trendy zine. Publishers could learn buckets about printing a successful cycling mag from these guys. Not to forget the article "Road Racing Doesn't Suck!"

Go get it, read it... ya know the deal. Read it while ya putting your feet up all PRO racer style between stages of Fitchburg!

-G

Did Litka beat Cronoman's time in the TT? Nope... not quite... 22 seconds different.

Did anyone make it out to Rohoboth? Not me.

I didn't start raining till 7-7:30 at our place... rained pretty hard for a while there.

And Josh, thanks for the extra content. Mono ain't no fun. Good luck getting through it.

This morning i got on the bike and rolled on the path, despite having managed to cobble together a working harness i left the busted one on and rode pure HR again. As i do the "anyone ahead or behind riding in that i know?" check i notice the HR still down at 68... hmmm... so ya know what i did? I rode in today ala Solobreak commute style. HR between 95 and 105. Only popping up into the 120s and 140s over the two "hills". Mellow. Took a bit longer (10 minutes maybe) to get in. No rush. Mellow ride.

Last night was one of the first nights in a while the littlest managed to stay in her bed almost the whole night. Unfortunately my body clock seems to be set to wake up at 2 and 4 no matter what. And a friend's granddaughter died in her sleep, choked on her own expectorant. Just 56 days old. So while my daughter slept all night, i didn't. It wasn't naggin at me terribly but i still thought about it. And didn't sleep much. It is a terrifying thought. Curly mentioned a bit about SIDS and what not back a week or two ago. I don't know what they are calling this, but it is wicked sad.

To change your outlook and get out of any glum mood. Head over and watch the new Todd Cast. And just think, if Curly ain't pulling our leg, well then in 2 weeks it is open season on starbucks...

Kerry's TT start (fitch entry 2)... that's pretty scary... glad the story wound up all right in the end. and She's pimpin Ozone stuff just like BKW... hmmm... maybe i should go all PRO (caps in homage to BKW) and start using some of that stuff... or maybe i just start using some Olive oil. Even the most expensive stuff is prolly probably cheaper than the Ozone or any other PRO like stuff...

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Rub Down. That could get kinda kinky... mmm... much better frame of mind now.

Well i hope all that PRO Ozone and stuff is making Litka and the rest of the Men and Women racing there fast as hell. But ya know. If we set up an index of success for the bloggers at fitchburg... Those Horst-Benidorm... guys prolly would have a lock on it.

Ride, Relax, Love and be happy...
G

A made my morning thing. That was completely erased by my embarrassing wheel lock up. So it didn't really make my morning, just about about a minute of it.

The New England Coffee delivery truck was parked at one of the two bars there at the base of the bike path... and blaring out of the cab was Tom Sawyer!

WHOOO HOOO...

so i was singing along putting the flag over to the side and all that on the trailer...

Maybe that was why i locked the wheel up... all that extra power from being amped by good tunes... No. That WAS NOT an endorsement for riding with a fucking iPod. I'm about ready to put a cattle guard on the front of the bike and mowing over people that don't hear me shout "ON YOUR LEFT" because their iPods are turned up too loud.

Put the iPod in on the trainer, in the gym where external stimulus ain't as motivating as the wind and sounds of the earth around you...

I'm rushing out.

peace
G

The crickets chirping across the blogsphere (heard that tossed out on NBC nightly news last night)...

Is it Fitchburg? Is it just burn out? Should someone else call Richy Fries events Chaotic and stirr some more stuff up? Or what?

I'm really tired of looking at Lance's face there over at BKW, and i'll admit to softening abit more on LA, but hardening on that Landis dude, lying about the hip issue certainly sets a precedent for deceit. But thenTBV seems to want to dismiss that and all that rationalization that he didn't tell them about it so he could keep racing... hmmm racing/winning lying about the hip, using drugs to win... nah... no way.

I keep coming back to the bonk thing. Lately perked back up by BKW's Lance article (hell that shit over there is quality, gotta call it an article instead of a post - what ya got here is a post - over there? Article).

Being hungry. Yes. I will say, i know hunger, live with it not quite everyday but close. There is a very fine line between being hungry and bonking. I should be a little less lazy and go back and find the source where Lance talked about the tour stage he bonked on and how fortunate that he wasn't attacked or put under pressure by other teams for a week because he would have lost the tour.

Now, that's a multi-time winner talking there. And ya got Floyd bonking and then the next day coming back?

Back to the bonking thing.

Eating enough to not bonk and being hungry are different. There is a whole thesis to write about hunger. Dealing with it. Managing it. Accepting it. If you are never hungry you are probably gaining weight. That's the tough part of it. I know if i go for a while not being hungry (eating often enough and in quantity) i gain weight and put on fat.

Take a gander over at Time Magazine in the "what the world eats" photo essay. Pretty amazing stuff. Tying in hunger here folks. Bear with me. or not.

If ya going into the using bike racing to drop the pounds, it would see, much as BKW alludes to that Lance is right. Don't eat after the ride. But I would extrapolate to suggest if you DON'T eat before and during the ride you'll suffer.

Suffer in a couple ways. #1 power. low fuel and you won't be making as much power and not as much power means fewer kJ generated and fewer kCal burned. #2 potential. If you don't train to your potential you won't get faster. Like Solobreak keeps hounding, too many medium days makes for a medium rider. Not enough fuel makes "hard" days medium in intensity and that ain't gonna make you fast. Then there is the metal issue and the mistakes made when racing riding with low fuel.

Now training and Racing are different. I'd wager when it came to races Lance was NEVER hungry. Never felt those hunger pangs. When racing ya gotta have the tank full it would seem. No? I ain't got a long storied racing career behind me like many folks but i've done enough to have had a few sub par fueled events and running out of juice flat out sucks. So how do you juggle it when you race and train all the time. I think it depends on who you are, how your body metabolizes stuff. which means: getting to know what works for you. Being hungry all week leading up to Fitchburg to keep the weight off going into the uphill TT today might be like letting 40 PSI out of the tires. You'll get cooked in one day not to mention the whole weekend... Dropping a few pounds at the price of power? No to good it would seem.

But then what do i know... I ain't racin up there right now. I might not make it to the TT tonight T-storm or not. I feel very fortunate to be able to compete when i can. I'd love to be a weekend warrior, hitting every Crit from Memorial day to Labor day, mixing it up in as many races in one day as i can... but i don't. I can't. And that is okay. I've got stuff far more valuable in my life than podium finishes.

Back to food, and Lance and bonking and eating. The whole mess of articles over there in the TIME mag section are pretty damn good. Nice reporting, a bit of a skim coat on the subject but there's alot to think about.

Oh and that brought me back around to another whole way people deal with these 'Holy wars' and stuff. Vegans. Specifically successful vegans. The ones who are winning (Molly, Christine, Dave Noisy for example)... How do they deal with the "meat lovers" and living in a culture that revolves around meat. Maybe it is a little like being frustrated with the whole creationism argument. But maybe wise men are right: it is better to steer way clear of the Holy War shit.

So.

Remember. It is okay to be wrong. Just don't be a dick and not fess up to being wrong when you first realize it. Some folks just don't understand that it they get much more respect by acknowledging their fuck up and moving on in a positive direction.

Anyone of those folks who can swim and run in addition to pedaling a bike gonna do this TRI in my back yard? It is on the 18th (august)... maybe we can see Solo flailing around in the water? That'd be worth paying money to see i think... Or little litka splashing in the bay? Or better yet Il Bruce doing the backstroke like a big floating sidewheeler...

With that image in your mind (certainly not nearly as scary as a topless solobreak or fries) I'm done
G

Ya know, with strangelife, and solobreak pimpin old rides. I gotta big beef with old rides right now.

My P-mount. Yeah. Murat might talk about still owning his 1986 bike. I'm still RIDING my 1986 vintage P-mount. Sure. I got it a few years after that, but still, it has been mine for a long time.

Anyway.

This new trailer has an issue. Or i should say the hitch does. It is slippery. Three times i've over powered the quick release and locked the freaking rear wheel on the non-drive chain stay.

The hitch/QR combo ain't got enough clamping force, or well not that, not enough friction (chrome drop outs and this hitch don't mix). Oh i should mention the horizontal aspect of the drop outs. One more reason to LOVE the Klein rear entry drop outs. Rear entry is the best. All the power you apply just locks the wheel in tighter... not slipping the sucker around.

Sure a vertical drop out can accomplish the same with easier wheel changes (or cleaner more specifically) but hey they are heavier, the der tab is weaker... on and on.

This morning it happened. Embarrassingly it happened on that 75-85 N*M hill. Right in the middle of it. Nothing else to do but look like a wimp or an idiot for trying to climb that hill with a trailer. It sucked having to drag it 1/2 way up the hill. That was a lot of work just pushing it. No wonder it takes lots of torque to get up the hill.

And a few shots from Cox on sunday:

That's Timmie... or part of him at the end of his second race of the day IIRC


That's Timmie and Jim...


Hannah, Rebecca, and Mrs. Wade IIRC... not sure who else is in that frame.

Anyway...

Name That Plant might show up later today.

And

Good luck to all that are racing at Fitch this weekend!
G

Can't let these two go unlinked:

First Mud and Cowbells. Damn, getting me all weepy and gushy thinking about drills and skills.

And made me think. What other cycling discipline demands that you actually practice a specific skill? Dismounting, shouldering and remounting. Skills that get better with practice. Skills that can move ya up many places in a race. Skills that MAKE cross what it is.

Skills that demand stuff other than turning off your brain and going like a freight train through the pain...

Is that why cross is so cool?

Even Hernando is picking up on the gossipy wah wah talk over at crossbabble. (heck even the V-news article he picked up on and how can ya fault his CN vs VN comparison?)

Race.cx has the 2007 Cyclocross Worlds video online now. For those who haven't seen the footage yet.

Wicked damn cool.

Wicked damn cool.

It is an hour twelve long so don't start watching if ya ain't got the time.

peace

Yeah, a link to Velonews. Everyone's favorite cycling mag to bitch about. Add space next to product reviews and on and on. Sure I've/we've heard it all before.

But for those who don't even BOTHER to look over there, this article is nice. Maybe for yall it'll be nicer that it is mostly written by folks OTHER than LennyZ.

http://velonews.com/tech/report/articles/12493.0.html

And Man, as the comments in the previous entry suggest, there's some hoopla covering the whole CXBabble blog's comments. And man i hope anyone reading what i wrote puts on the full GDamn NOMEX suit... flame war city! Sort of. Or are we all just a bunch of cyclocross geeks.

No more counting down the days to the world cup. My Google Desktop looks like this now:

at least until i decide what to start counting down to... to the first cross race, in August? To Gloucester? Bob Beal? To what? sigh... i dunno... Should i start counting down to the World Cup in 2008? Plans slate it to be on Oct 11th. *deep breath* it just bike racing and i am just a two bit blabber mouth on the internet....

it is pretty damn hot out there to, but not as bad as it could be!

-g

you are riding past a time:temp sign on the way to work in the morning and it reads 87°F and the sun is bright and not a sign of cooling off. It ain't so good when you wake up and it is 78°F outside.

it is gonna be a hot one today... dug out my Pearl iZumi Aloft jersey. The only mostly white jersey i got. Nice and wicking and pretty cool. Size medium. When i got here two years ago i couldn't even get the thing on. Now? it is tight but fits fine. Fortunately it is cut long, although with bib tights it no matter as much as shorts.

Shorts, reminds me. Last night heading home just before crossing under the overpasss in riverside a guy working hard passes me, he is wearing a t-shirt, cycling shorts and riding an old non-indexing red cannondale. No worries. I don't mind getting passed. Except i expect (maybe unrealistically) a courtesy "on your left" or at the least a nod or a "hey" as someone goes by. I look over and he is looking straight ahead seeming to completely ignore me. That pushes my button. At the same time i notice i got a wheel sucker hanging off the back of the trailer. "Great" i think. I give this t-shirt wearing (hey at least he had a helmet on) some room, maybe 25 yards and then match pace as we cruise through the town center. Then. Coming down the tree tunnel (slightly down hill) where i normally shut the engine off and cool down, he slows down. I'm not stopping at home though, i'm going on to the pool. He slows down so much that either i hit the brakes or i go around him. I go around him and say "on your left" and then "hey" and maintain speed. So now i got two limpets hanging off the back. No worries. I'm taking it easy slowing down alot before the road crossings, then it takes me a bit more time to get up to speed with the trailer, and the red c-dale dude goes back around. Doesn't say anything this time either. It is hot, too hot to want to run at 100% and just follow him. He goes into the big ring in one open stretch and ups the pace a bit and i match it and the HR climbs up to 160 or so. No worries. He's sweating like a dog and his pedaling form has gone to hell. He ain't a big gutted guy but when he works hard he pedals all knees out (that much i could tell from the short time following him). At one point crossing he finally says how does your kid like the trailer. I reply honestly, she loves it. Then he drops the hammer even harder, my HR climbs and hits the mid 170s and i decide, it is just too damn hot and i gotta get off the bike in a mile or two to drop her off with E & K at the pool so i shut the engine down and cruise on in. Got a nice interval-ish thing in. Rode home kinda mellow like and felt good. At least this time i was "chasing" someone who actually knew they were being chased.

I've been mulling and agonizing over the comment i made about creationism and all that. In a way i guess i dunno, does it really matter? Is it like politics? Do i care if someone voted for GWB? Do i care if they are a socialist, communist, or republican? The problem is basically how intense the emotion runs with it. Creationism is almost always something to be accepted with intense passion and Faith. Faith with a capital F, yes. The amount of faith it takes to believe in God and Jesus, ignoring or not wanting to understand how evolution works or at the least being unwilling to admit that science works and the conclusions are pretty well founded, and unlike faith and religion, sciences conclusions can change with new facts. I guess in a way it is like debating abortion. Can you support the killing of an unborn kid? Even unintended? How is it possible to on one hand hold life so precious yet decide that it should be the mother's choice to terminate the developing fetus? Equally frustrating is the republican stance on killing Muslim terrorists but not wanting to kill unborn babies? Is a life really that much different? Many of them argue that a child has unlimited possibilities in front of it. The terrorist has made the wrong choices and no longer deserves the life the were "given." On the same hand we have people saying Global warming isn't real. The scientists are making this shit up. Those liberal countries are trying to ruing the USA economy by falsely suggesting that carbon dioxide is a problem. The ice caps aren't going to melt. No way. Is that position any different than supporting creation "science" and aggressively or even passively dismissing evolution? The Bible is a collection of stories. Fantastic stories. Well written, well concieved. Good morals. Good messages. It IS a good book. No question. But to say it is unquestionable and 100% accurate even down to the time line is, i feel, somewhat delusional. I know i'm not along but i know many people i consider great and close friends who do. I can almost always overlook it. Like i can overlook how friends feel about abortion, politics, the war, what ever. Being a friend transcends such "trivial" differences. I probably always will say something that i regret, that makes me wish i hadn't. I usually wind up appologizing. One person saw that as fake, manipulative. It is just me. sometimes my mouth reacts faster than my brain (that over thinking issue i have). I wonder if i'm making sense at all.

TT tomorrow night. Should be a go, assuming it doesn't get canceled with the thunderstorms that are forecast for the afternoon. At least the temps shouldn't be too high.

No matter what you believe. Be a good person. If ya gonna call someone a coward make sure you are doing it in jest and that person knows it. Calling them that in anger NOT to their face is just not cool. Not cool...

palate cleanser:
Three Types of Roadies Which one are you? (assuming you are a cyclist/roadie)

peace
G

A year or two ago there was a news bit about the Lake Tahoe region. Specifically highlighting the trees and undergrowth around the area in the residential sections...

Tinderbox then. They had an opportunity to fix it but it cost too much. To go in and mechanically cut trees down to reduce the risk of fire was a big issue. Many people thought the tall old trees (a bit too old for the normal forest succession and starting to die back) should stay and that cutting them down would be interfering with nature or some hippie sierra club bullshit. Basically it was an unmanaged stand of trees that evolved over time synergistically with fire. not annual but close to it low scrub fires clearing out the fuel and creating fertile beds for the new seedlings to germinate. And keeping the space open and park like. Unfortunately fire suppression is its own worst enemy. Especially in areas where fire and the ecosystem have evolved together.

I wonder how all those people who felt that managing their forested neighborhood was too expensive are feeling now that the homes are gone, burnt to the ground? Or are they callous folks who will rebuild with insurance money. Too bad the insurance folks couldn't chip in to help pay the costs of reducing the risk of loss to fire before all the homes burnt to the ground.

Pine trees are pretty cool. Able to survive scrub fires without any loss in growth potential, but if the fire hits the crown of the tree with enough intensity it is like setting off a book of matches. Very unfortunate.

I mourn the loss of the trees more than the property loss. 225 structures is a lot of property damage. How many board feet of lumber was lost in the blaze?

There is a company cutting submerged timber deep in reservoirs up in British Columbia. And the Audubon and Sierra club folks don't want ya cutting trees to manage fire risk, among the tax payers who don't want to pay to 'cut' trees to reduce risk when they can't pay for schools. It is absolutely a tough call. And when you have a disaster like this it prompts questions about historic practices.

Capital is capital. Cash is a resource that many people prize more highly than any other. Fortunately the loss of human life isn't the headline with this fire. Prevention prevention prevention.

All predictions are that this year will be an intense forest fire year. Yet it seems people would rather the forests burn than to establish a management program of active practices that both increase timber harvest and reduce fire risk, and reduce fire damage if it were to sweep through.

Cutting trees to keep the forest alive is far better than standing back and dumping helicopter loads of water on burning trees. But many don't see it that way.

In a way, that quote from yesterday applies here. And again what i said can be taken incorrectly. To be very clear i'm not talking about clear cutting. Not at all.

And shit, i find myself agreeing with the monkey in chief as quoted on the front page of this PDF http://www.ncfirewise.org/pdf/MinimizingWildlfireRisk.pdf. He probably had a speech writer or "special interest" group feed him that line. But you never know. Maybe he did say it all by himself. Some people say he ain't stupid. And while that management PDF is for North Carolina, it still holds essentially true in broad application for most all fire prone areas. Species can change and do change from zone to zone but fire doesn't really care what it is dealing with. Fuel is fuel.

See. Too much floating in my head. I need to get the power tap harness fixed (or just break down and buy a new one) so i can fill my head with power numbers instead of grumbling about management of forests and stuff.

-g

Yeah, one of those again.

As i sit here waiting for someone to show and put this list together i loaded up GrooveRadio.com on the winamp player. Waves. Huh? What? No music? Click over to the now playing link. It is a day of silence.

Savenetradio.org has the scoop. Pandora and Grooveradio are both participating in the day of silence. So for tunage i go back to the archives of what i have here. Right now i'm listing to Bach Partitas for unaccompanied violin, recorded by Nathan Milstein in the mid 1950s. He is an AMAZING musician. Truly masterful in the Bach genre.

Take a minute to show support for the music on the 'net. If you feel like it.

Around the word of blog:
Go Clipless: magazine blogs...

Rice vs Pasta (cyclingnews Q&A) another plus on the brown rice side of things (vs white rice, although pasta still kicks ass)

Pez tool box article on communication. Nice read. One Myserpace's boys in the early "break" in the 'pro' event on sunday at cox was on his radio at the end of the finishing straight at every lap (well the first four or five that we stuck around for). E commented something along the lines of "on the radio this early in the race?" i thought it was pretty amusing. Anyway communication tie in.

Cyclocross Babble's World Cup news elicited a comment from Richard. I couldn't resist adding a few more wooden nickels to the conversation. And yes. I misspelled canceled first! Monkey see monkey do or just both bad spellers? Probably the latter. And yeah. I'm still bummed they couldn't work it out. Madison Avenue. Like Tom, Rich and Lyle are walking door to door with a big presentation folder begging for cash up and down the street.

A new blog that Il Bruce pointed me to is here. Yall give it a few visits eh? What is better than velo and vino? As long as vino consumed isn't measured in liters.

Speaking of Il Bruce. He's back in the content generation biz. Not just saving himself for comment whoring. Gotta love his new Icon. I've got an Alfa Romeo blue short sleeve jersey. circa late 1980 something...

Don't miss Murat's latest video from the NBX race.

Sprinterdellacasa has a nice write up about life and driving and all that. Moral of the story? As i take it: USE YOUR FREAKING BRAIN. nice write up.

Then from Mud and Cowbells a link to a 26x29 shoot out. With Caveman's current 29 obsession i'm wishing to try out the two niner riding. Me a big guy. Me should be on 29... but... i have 26... 'sokay i ain't getting out enough to justify new bike. that and i need a cross frame first.

And finally. Kerry Litka. She's got some new stuff up. And HER race is coming up this weekend.

These Partitas are amazing. The recording is amazing. Music is really really damn cool.

peace, props, and all that
g

putting a stamp on his nickname! Winning big in the 45 age group in Auburn.

It is already sweltering outside here. The kids at day care were already getting the outside time before they moved inside for the day. I like that. they actually are very good about getting them outside play time even on days like today.

My wife mentioned that the news is asking people to set their air conditioner thermostat to 80°F? Damn that is pretty high. But at that temp with low humidity it isn't nearly as bad as 75 and 95% humidity.

Here's a bit of stuff written last week... gonna pop it in here. I still have a few shots to get up and NTP returns. (Name that plant)... i can't wait.

respect,
G

The following was written on June 23 2007:
I know no one is wondering what gewilli did on vay kay. And the bottom line is it doesn’t feel like much of a vacation. But it was way needed, catching up on stuff here quite a bit. Not much extra sleep. No riding. No racing. Yeah, a bike “racer”? No racing? I know, no chance to get better racing if I don’t actually race. No chance to get down to the ‘grit or the ‘tuck. We’ll see if it actually happens. Wicked amount of work to do on the cars. The Golf needs a timing belt and e-brake cable at least. The Volvo needs something, but the immediate (battery) has been replaced. So it looks like the next round of vacation will see me return to the auto mechanic suit, the vocation that made my orange jump suit so “dirty” as meg put it. How did she describe me? He’s like the cliff guys just dirtier when someone asked if I was Greg (or someone). Her emphasis on dirtier was pretty funny. Working on cars, fixing them, ya know in many ways it is way easier than working on a bike and getting a bike set up just right. There isn’t any wiggle room on a car. You figure out what is wrong, put the new part in and if adjustment is needed there is now computer feedback to tell you if it is right or not, and even back in the day with a carb, tweaking the mix really is pretty simple. But then again so is working on a bike I guess. So maybe it isn’t any different. The bike has a bit more fudging/experience required. Building and truing wheels, front der set up… as much as the ‘industry’ has worked to standardize and make components mechanic proof, it seems that it is still overwhelming for the normal person to work on the bike. Does that really come down to the fact that there are mechanics and non-mechanics? Being a mechanic I never understand those who aren’t. how can you not understand how things work? I’ve watched very intelligent people attempt to be mechanics and with good instruction, very detailed and specific they can accomplish the task, but not easily and seemingly not naturally. Yes people are wired differently and maybe these smart folks can do things I can’t do or do things that I struggle with, ya know like win races and stuff. But when you are working with a mechanic, or a person with great mechanical ability it is obvious. Bike mechanics aren’t any different than car mechanics. Well in many ways they are, the bike mechanics are paid far less money and the skill range is more dramatic (assuming you exclude the rip-off-quicky-lube folks).

Wow, a big monster paragraph? What has happened? Oh. Uninterrupted flow. Writing without getting up, letting an idea develop or maybe it is forcing the idea to develop. Writing at home is a rare luxury, and not a regular sort of thing.

can explain the educated masses who support creationism:

I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly.
- Michel de Montaigne

Saw one blog that i was following and had mentioned here a few times and who's content was at times quite educational. At least that is how it seemed. Seems this person went off about professing their faith as a Christian and their belief in creationism. Suggesting that maybe there is something to the evolution but at the same time refutes that "we" evolved from slime. We evolved from early species of the genus Homo and they evolved from some ancestral relative of an ape. baby steps. incomprehensible? no just a really big pictures that is hard to grasp for many.

Yeah, i'm being intolerant. But, being intolerant of ignorance? Intolerant of a view that is rigid and inflexible.

I don't want to get into a debate here, just expressing my frustration. And getting back in the swing of typing in the few seconds if insanity. If these self professed creationists who turn a blind eye to science are doing good, reducing their carbon footprint and carrying on otherwise commendable lifestyles it lessens the blow in some ways but makes it sting much more. I believe strongly that there is room for faith with science. I am not saying anything regarding religion or which is right or if it is anything more than a moral code to base your life on, but that ignoring facts and using illogical circular unreviewed "science" to satisfy your inability to grasp that humans evolved from something else (slowly and over millions and millions of years), it is just disappointing. On one side though i guess it is equally tough for the uneducated and intelligently challenged to grasp just exactly how evolution works.

Still got one more entry on the memory stick to dump here... maybe i'll save it for tomorrow.

I got a boat load of material to beef about. Paper vs Plastic. And yes it is a delimma now. That is unless you are doing the ONLY sensible thing and bringing your own fabric bags to reuse.

Coffee and Cleavage? Yeah i watched sunday morning and that bit on the slightly more revealing baristas in Seattle caught my eye. nice idea.

Bunch of other things. Like the doper's actually having clinical mental illness. And then thinking, is it really mental illness? Isn't it just a biological fuck up in the chemical pathways that comes down to messed up genetics and/or loss of function? And is that mental pysco babble or real doctor area? I don't think we should keep treating the brain as a different branch of science and all that as it "seems" to be to the public. Make it all medical and all that. Although the whole notion of medical stuff is wacked.

lots of tangents built up with a week off. Solobreak's gonna thing i've gone all town square preacher like telling people WHAT TO DO... THE FLOOD IS COMING (don't be me started on that)...

Nah, i'm just venting, getting it off my chest, out of my head. The ramblings here are often contradictory, strange, non-sensical. But they help me keep my head straight. And stay just some what more sane. "But, GeWilli, that is why i go riding!" Well, GeWilli goes riding and winds up with all this stuff floating around in his head. For an overthinker a bike ride is a kick ass physical release but it ain't so much a good mental release. Not like writing anyway.

It feels like lunch right now. I'm hungry so i'm eating. Then i'll go home and make some dinner.

And eat that.

Food, food is good. Eat good food. Can't afford good food? Eat less! Sad to say many of the overweight and obese people in this country are living on very very cheap food and spending many dollars on weight loss products/plans/whatever. Spend MORE money on LESS food that is HIGHER quality and you might be slimmer. There are always exceptions and body type and exercise and all that play into it. You won't get slimmer just changing what you eat and nothing else. great. i've dug a hole and can't get out...

other than by saying...

peace, respect and all it is HOT out, but gonna be hotter tomorrow...
G

or no

SoloBug Trailer from Trek, what, another review?

Trek’s Trailers when I bought them were covered with a lifetime warranty. These new ones? 1 year. But aside from that the how to put it together instructions were deep inside, although not really needed. Oh and the Safety flag being on the right side isn’t so great of a design. One other detraction, it is bigger than the old one. Sort of. There are wheel guards that make the trailer too wide to fit through the back door into the bike room. So they’ll be installed and removed going in and out until I can get the shed cleaned and organized well enough to store it in there. Plus side? I even had a chance to upgrade to a double trailer. But it is even wider, and 100% impossible even to fit in the Shed w/o folding. If we had a garage with big monster doors to bring it in and out and a massively huge car/truck to take it places then I probably would be talking about the GoBug.

First off. The frame is 100% stronger. Seems to be steel tubing instead of aluminum. Big plus there. Also it is incredibly strong and stiff and from first appearances not in danger of getting as flimsy as the trailer I traded in under warranty. Most all the seams are covered in reflective tape/fabric, although honestly it would have been super cool to have the whole damn fabric reflective. Not to worry though I will be loading this thing up with blinkers and reflective tape and stickers.

The seat for the kid is amazing. Pretty much right out of a car seat. 5 point harness as good if not better than you would find in any high quality seat. Padded straps actually make it nicer than the old seat the littlest has just almost grown out of. We’ll see how she likes the fit and all that on Monday most likely. There is a great deal of well supported and enclosed storage behind the seat, and neat little pockets for stuff in the seat area. The domed center support that give the trailer the Bug like appearance might offer a bit of visual interference but might actually make it easier to see out of the trailer. Instead of a plastic window on each side and a big flat screen in front (that it is hard to see out of) it basically is two big windows that should afford some great visibility.

It is heavier. By quite a bit. But that’s not a bad thing. It means, first, that I have to work even harder to accelerate, but secondly, hopefully stronger and longer lasting. I would put this model on par with the quality in any Burley DeLite trailer. The wheels are 20” on the trailer, with lighter weight spoked wheels with a fantastic sealed bearings. So the rolling resistance should be significantly less than the old one, hopefully offsetting the extra weight. The cargo space should make it possible for me to put the messenger bag in the back on all but the biggest load of clothes and food heading to work. And it also is larger enough to accommodate a couple bags worth of groceries from the market.

One potential downside is the lack of integrated rain cover. On the old one the rain flap was attached to the screen cover making a transition from breeze to dry if it started to rain almost instant. Now it becomes slightly more complicated to make the transition. Not impossible, but also as it isn’t integrated it would need a storage space on board somewhere. There looks to be space under the seat though, I might investigate the best location over time as we actually start using it all.

Would I recommend purchasing this trailer at retail? Absolutely. It is defiantly worth the price tag. I will have to update this once I have a few miles on the trailer. But needless to say Trek is first class in my book. And any positive reviews are only a result of Trek’s actions not coercion/begging/pleading from me.

Added:

Okay. So let me add here a few comments after two rides with the trailer. One. it is MUCH heavier. Good in that i've gotta work my ass off to get it moving (more than the old one). Two, that one hill we've got that i was hitting 75 N*M of torque? Well that REALLY hurts. The added weight makes it seemingly better at giving me smooth power feedback. If i one leg it or just mash two legged, the feedback is much more noticable than before, even when i thought i was smooth-ish, i guess i was not. On the positive side, with this new hitch mount style there is almost no out of the saddle side to side feedback compared to the old one. The trailer more or less tracks pretty damn straight. That's good because i can't climb seated up a few things with this heavier trailer.

Double bonus is the cargo area. Even loaded this morning with a full set of clothes, shoes, and the weekly daycare stuff it all fit perfectly behind the seat, enclosed and protected from the elements. Very big bonus. Esp as it gets hotter. not having the big messenger bag on my back is much cooler.

The tires have much lower rolling resistance than the old ones and instead of big plastic high drag mag wheels they are spoked alloy rims. Down side is that i can't run 5-10 psi in these and not worry about the rims. So i either run 25-35 or get bigger fatter 20" slicks. The upside is once at speed it seems to take less work to keep the trailer rolling than the old one. The bug design or the wheels or both make it far easier to keep at speed. And heading home tonight i should have a good chance to test it out in a full hard core headwind in the heat.

The stance is very different. The old trailer's right wheel was basically in line with my right edge of the handlebar. Now? Not so much. the trailer follows exactly behind, the center support is directly behind me. Much better drafting, but it changes how i have to think in terms of picking a line. I was very comfortable placing the trailer tires exactly where i wanted them with the old one, now i'm still learning where they actually ride. The trailer itself is wider by a slight margin and that itself is taking some getting used to.

Overall, light years of improvement. The bucket type seat is fantastic. The little one LOVES it. My wife even got out with it this weekend and tried it as a jogger (yes, it came with a jogger kit even - pretty sweet) and it rolls very well as a jogging stroller. Although she noted that there was not a wrist strap like on the old one. S'okay, most of the running that it will see is pretty flat.

Thumbs up all around. Excellent product. This is really finally a trailer that is all that and worth every penny. (Yes i know, i didn't pay for *this* one but we did buy the other one).

I also must mention and thank Bob at Bikeworks for his help in getting the replacement. Without his relationship as a long standing Trek dealer maybe i would not be gushing so eloquently about their product. Thank you Bob! (he even offered to bring it to the TT last week if I was going to be driving to the course). Great service, great product.

Thanks for reading.

Instead of going to do the TT last night the family headed to a sneak preview of Ratatouille. Yeah the Disney Pixar movie. So I didn’t get to hit the TT course when times were on average 2 minutes faster than last week. Damn. Oh well.

The movie. Great. I laughed hysterically in lots of it. Knowing the story (from a couple books we’d acquired) towards the end I was wondering how they would make it all work – the books were very brief. It is a fun movie. A bit awe man that’s over the top in some spots. The “chef” rise to fame, the pepper spray, the whole godfather like aura Remy’s dad and family have. The animation was of course superb. However, even better than the movie? The Pixar short leading into it: “Lifted” that… was a RIOT… I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. Unbelievably funny.

Anyway. Short simple review. Although I wonder why would the health inspector’s face be on the certification sheet in the first place, it all made for an extremely entertaining movie. My oldest though is a bit easily scared by strong visuals, and man she was freaked out when the rats were being shot at with the shotgun and then through the whole waterfall sewer trip Remy took. While visually stunning and I’m sure a CGI’s wet dream to make and render (they all like water for some reason, rain, waves… ya know processor heavy shit) that intensity and visual fright fest could have been either toned down or left out… sure Remy drifting down the stream into Paris’s sewer might have been wicked boring, but… I don’t think it would have changed the story and it would have certainly left the kids a bit less scared. Why is it every kids movie has to have a crazy scary part to it? And speaking of scary I think the old lady with the shot gun was great for an adult intense scary side but also again too much for kids. Sure, many if not most of the kids there were not phased by the violence and the intensity of that sequence, and unfortunately I think that is a terrible thing, not something to be used to support the inclusion of such violence in children’s movies. Oh but that lightning strike. I was laughing to the point of tears when they got hit…

So, overall, good. Wicked good comedy. Fantastic imagery and a pretty damn good story. Anyone can cook!

Well, someone was right... My hopes are dashed... And i heard it at Cyclocross Babble before i found it anywhere else... Bummer. But maybe Lyle, Richy, and Tom can make it happen in 2008? Maybe? *sigh*

U.S. Cyclo-cross 2007 World Cup plans on hold
US 'cross fans will have to wait another year to see Sven Nys in an American World Cup
Photo ©: Frank Bodenmuller Click for larger image

A planned 2007 World Cup stop in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States has been put off for at least one year according to promoters.

"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."

The UCI has made several concession to GSD Event Productions to facilitate the promotion of the first cyclo-cross World Cup ever held in the U.S. GSD had signed a letter of intent to host the event but realized more time would be required to satisfy sponsorship requirements.

"We’re moving all the chess pieces on the board as fast as we can," said Lyle Fulkerson, operations director. "Given the scrutiny professional cycling is facing on Madison Avenue, we need additional time to give our sponsors the chance to perform due diligence. We want to deliver for them. Waiting one year on their budget cycle allows them to properly support our initiative."

"We were proud of the 2006 nationals that we put on in Rhode Island. We think we put on one of the best nationals ever held. It’s a world class venue," said Tom Stevens, race director. "There is only one way for us to go and that is up to the World Cup level."

Present plans call for the promotion of a three-day event with a UCI World Cup being held on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, followed by two days of racing Oct. 12 and 13.

The GeWilli clan loaded up and headed out to the Cox race with the most ass backwards woman's purse in the world (okay maybe there are other more chauvinistic jackasses promoting racing). We got there for the few final laps of the 35+. Saw Il Brucie and his better half, and Timmieeeeeee, and Jim cruising around in the back. Murat made a killer effort leading the pack up the hill one last time "chasing" the break down. Then we started walking the course backwards and ran into Darcy. Darcy gets mention everywhere. Starring in CTodd's Todd-casts, mentioned over in cyclocosm's Cox race report... We chatted for a second as the girls were warming up then for the first lap or two down by the river bridge crossing (end of the bridge after the long straight after the downhill). We all got a run down of who's who in the field (those who i didn't know anyway). Cheered Michele on and the rest of the IBC gang, not to mention bloggin super star Ace Race. And i might be mistaken but i think Roubaix Girl was there and walked away with an armful of loot from primes. That Vanderkitten kit looked hot at anyrate. I didn't realize that Hannah was in there for a long time, not the IBC Hannah, the local Hannah. She got mention from Richard Fries about one of her emails being Hannahheartattack. Nice of Richard to send props out. Michele (the other web logging one) i think i spotted in the IF kit. I've got some shots and will get those up at some point. And yet again, i did not race this year. But the weather was SOOOO much better. Unfortunately this race won't get me another pair of Pez socks. Or fortunately. I shoulda asked Darcy to pose (kicks self for just now thinking about that)... oh well...

And a big public thanks to Bruce for the passing of the end of the back of popcorn. A big hit and probably the only small measure keeping us there till the start and the first few laps of the "Pro" event. I did shake hands and wished Mahk good luck just as Adam's front tire exploded in the VIT area.

There were a heck of a lot of folks in the "Big race."

And the other name to drop is is JD. One of the few guys who the little one smiles at before being all shy and hiding. Always good to see JD.

A nice way to spend a few (just under 3) hours on a gorgeous sunday afternoon.

pictures coming soon.

respect
G

(i wonder if Hurely knew who that tall dork who said hey as she was heading back to the car after getting yelled at by the official in the car was me...)

Lots of content to come up. okay, not quite true. But there are a few bits of thoughts and a couple reviews coming.

To start it off though:






G-od Cast -- Eh from gewilli on Vimeo

I'll pop in a few bits from the email:
climatecounts.org/ interesting but loopholes abound. Although, you know, appearing to do something is way better than nothing.

Here's the deal. Wanna change the world? Make it cost less than $500 to install an effective solar water heater for anyone. Not some home made duct tape and garden hose hack job. Talking real professional efficient system. Just an idea, just a thought. Think about the reduction in fossil fuels (natural gas or oil - either at the end users house or at the power generating station) and the reduction on the consumer end in lower gas/oil or electric bills. Not replacing but supplementing. The systems are out there. They work. But they are prohibitive for families on a budget and for "average" folks. Now by average i mean the Coach Curly's and the Il Bruce's folks not living dime to dime but not exactly buying a new C-50 every year with Record and Zip 909s... ya know. "Middle" class, upper middle lower middle class no matter. Where a couple grand or more is too much to plunk down. And it would probably get the top 10% income folks to jump too. The folks who have loads of cash but are fiscally self centered. Maybe it "cheap" and they'd jump on too.

But then how, how do you make it cheap? Plenty of ways, but not without work, and initial capital. Make the supply so excessive and then create a demand. If ya can turn a couple million units a month cool. Down side still is installation. Even if the product was free getting it installed for $500 is probably (see FnF, i used probably) even wishful thinking.

oh well.

Damn. didn't mean to get off on that tangent.

Look for a review of Ratatouille : Rat-a-too-ee, and the Trek Solobug. And a few words, maybe a graph of the last time the Power Tap harness worked (riding on HR function now, and, ya know, might not be a bad thing to look at it like that and ignore power numbers for a bit).

peace, respect, ride your damn bike!
G

that's what i'm looking at after the morning... and right now i'm catching my breath waiting for it to flair back up... but really hoping it doesn't... but like that campfire with too much wood and you with not enough water i KNOW it is going to flair in about 30 minutes and no... nothing i can do about it...

So everyone needs to give Solobreak a big round of applause. One for being a big enough dick to kick me in the knees when i am unable to defend myself, and two for actually writing stuff worth reading. Looking around a few of the great places linked over on the left do have nice new content. But many not so much. Found one blog and a trackback that go me suprised: http://leavethefanon.blogspot.com/! Listed with big names like Radio Freddy and Big Jonny! Holy cow that's cool. Undeserved maybe? But appreciated. Thanks Charles. And thanks for putting mud and cowbells back on the map. I'd looked at that for a while but sometime between cross season and now it dropped off the radar.

Heck even CTodd has footage up... Nice is freaking awesome. I spent about 36 hours there, maybe more, took the train down... grabbed a room, walked around the city, grabbed dinner, walked around some more, spent the day exploring. hitting the Chagal Museum the big castle place... wandering the streets of Old Nice (the terra cotta roofed area in Ctodd's vid overview of the city. I didn't eat anywhere as fancy as he did. In fact i was pretty damn frugal. loaf of bread hunk of brie and some jam were the staples of my existence back then 13 years ago. Wishing i had a generous per diem/expense account like those marketing guys...

BKW (mentioned above already) had a nice bit about frame pumps. I might have to try that QR thing but i've a feeling it ain't gonna fit on my giant bike, even my HPx4 prolly is too short. And yeah. I'm riding with the HPx4 all the time. TT'd with it even. I'll go so much as to say, yes i even did the TT with my CO2 inflator and a couple extra carts in the tool bag. Yeah. Big full pockets, frame pump AND CO2 jobber. The frame pump just bascially takes the place of my little mini-pump which while wicked cool and all that is a wicked pain in the ass... Frame pumps STILL rule. Although i do still and have always preferred the Zefal as you can get it as high as you want (pressure)... even if all you want is 90-100 psi.

JB asked for advice for bike commuting. And i've been racking my brain and searching my archives to no avail. What's the name/link to that handbook for safe cycling? Rhodale Press? IIRC there was an online PDF somewhere. Il Brucie? Do you recall what it was? I thought maybe you had sent me the link but, damn i ain't finding it.

The vatican's new driving commandments sound pretty good... now i got another line for people who are driving like dickheads: "Are you catholic?" And here in Rhode Island there's a better than even chance that they are. Ifn yall missed the news bit... here's CBC.ca's version of the report.

Sponge Doors................can't knock 'em!

Oh and speaking of jokes... or teasers or something... Meg's pictures don't work and when she spends a whole entry talking about who's who in the picture and all that and then there ain't no picture? That just ain't fair... funny as in Ha ha, jokes on us. Then her field day? I ain't even able to click it. Maybe i need to check my video settings.

And let me finish off with this:
Almost a shame to drink it... and something you'd never see at a Four Bucks --- at least since Curly stopped pouring...

power ~300 watts for the TT - no aero bars, no DROP bars (yes no drop bar position, basically my option was only to ride on the hoods on that bike).

4 hours on the bike on Thursday (2 hours of solid warm up, then 30 minutes of cooling down -not counted- then race, and ride back). nothing since then until the morning ride in.

overwhelming stuff after vacation... heck i'm only here today even and i can't imagine the mess if i had been gone for a whole freaking week.

Trek is an awesome company, sounds like they are gonna be warrantying the trailer due to the wear on the arms (no replacement parts and it is a safety issue). That should be enough to get someone to spend the extra cash on a well supported product. Or not. People are funny with money.

Vacation is a mixed bag. And anyway at least it didn't rain on the way in this morning.

I like not having any internet access when i'm gone... means no working... no checking work email... no checking any email... so ifn someone needs to get a hold of me and they don't have the cell phone #? Tough patookiss...

That and i do have lots of stuff built up in my head, from not writing in a while. But right now, no motivation to get it down, and some of it i just gonna keep floating in the head and maturing or rotting away... either way it ain't leaving through the fingers...

Looks like i have a movie premier to attend on Thursday that will prevent me from trying to better my time set last week. Shouldn't be a problem tho, just looking at the conditions (wind and temp projections) even if i turn out fewer watts i should be able to better my time. Heck Graham said he was doing better than 400 watts for the whole thing. 400 watts is a heck of a lot of powa i don't care who you are... esp for 18 minutes in the TT position. Speaking of position, yesterday i put the spinach bars on the P-mount. put some padding on the flats and am getting used to the position. It is different, the muscles used are slightly different enough that they need to be practiced. No wonder Graham heads out on a weekly basis on the TT bike.

Anyway. Peace, respect, and be happy...
G

26 pound bike (not counting the two waterbottles. Trailer hitch AND trail-a-bike hitch installed. Frame pump, no aero bars, no drop bars. $12 rear wire bead tire, 12 year old front wire bead tire. 32 spokes box section rims front and back. Stuff in pocket. Wind NE (headwind part of it and never really a tail wind) 17 mph. Pressure 30.11 in. Temp 58 degrees and falling. Oh right, about 70-80 psi in the tires and dirty dry way stretched chain with a 50x12-25 8sp.

No idea what power number to pick to do the race at. No idea what the power tap says now.

No time spend training the TT position muscles, and lemme tell ya, they are just slightly different that i can't make the same power as in the 'normal' riding position. Wow. Go figure...

Also. New course. It takes a right on Reynolds, and then loops back with right turns until it is heading north on 118. For those driving there next week or any other weeks. Park at the "corn crib" on the corner or 118 and Tremont - it's only about 100 yards from the finish (or park at subway and have a longer cool down).

Time: just a hair slower than my last run last year which was done with aero bars: 21:35 for the 8.1 mile course.

So. At least i think by switching bikes, adding a more aero front wheel and some sort of aero bars i could probably beat that time. I hope.

For reference. Graham Garber, mr 16:03 last year put in a 17:55:55 last night. Not only is the course slightly slower, but the conditions were freaking abysmal (for TT speed). I have not yet looked at the PT data. Will do that later and see what kind of numbers i was able to sustain and if i was actually able to hold close to the mark i was hoping to.

I am techincally on vacation right now. But seeing as i left the trailer and my wallet and my bag with all my shit in it at the office i had to stop in with my oldest (out of school for the summer now). The director stopped in and threatened to bar my door to keep me out of here when i'm not supposed to be. But heck one of the scopes lamps was left on and i had a bunch of emails in the work account that needed direct attention.

Yall be good, race well this weekend.
Read write be happy and all that feel good non-sense...
-G

Yeah. Go read that one.

Equipment - Are Deep Carbon Rims Worth The Money?

I asked a good friend of mine the same question when the Zipps first became readily available - probably 12 or 13 years ago. He looked at me and asked "Will you make back the $1000 you're spending on the wheels if you buy them?"

Well, no.

But I also don't make back almost any of the money I spent on my frame, bars, seat, cranks, levers, tires, heck, even my entry fees.

So are deep carbon wheels worth it?

Go read it, Yo!

Molly drops a 'crit reference

So does What i Think!

I wonder what CTodd's is right now... no just kidding, i am not. Although i am wonder what this carbon fiber fancy break-through thing Solobreak teased everyone with a while back but has been mute on the subject. I'll bet he waits till i'm on vacation and can't rip it apart to announce it.

Heard a good one just now...

"They could give a frog's fat ass if the technology is cutting edge or not!"

and then there is Mister Man for all yall New Englanders. Pretend it's Solobreak jabbering in the mic. Give it a listen...
"Quick Break for a Moose"

Good Stuff... I guess ya maybe need to have spend a few summahs working in Maine, Down East there (if ya ain't from they-yar in tha first place) to truely appreciate it...

So...

with a belly fulla lunch and a head hummin with some Rappin Maine'ah i be rocking it TT style tanight! Yeah baby yeah.

G

Big Jonny's crew write good:

Cycling has become more soap opera or reality show than the cinematic masterpiece it once was. We need a Lemond right now to pull the ship out of the drink. We need that innocent, naive 25 year old with his wind in his hair and grin on his face heading into Paris to bring the hearts back to the sport.

Amen Brotha, Amen...

food = energy

must eat enough...

problem with riding alot is doubly a pain. You can't use basal metabolic rate of an average person to judge how much you need because your basal metabolic rate is way higher when you are active. Esp 2x a day. Riding once a day seems way different than riding 2x a day for 50 minutes each. Can't just go based on the kJ=kCal equivalent.

Must eat food. Lately i've been crashing at about 7:30-8pm energy meter goes to about zero and i could almost fall asleep if it wasn't for being attacked with a playful cuddly kid.

Food. Bonk. Bonk is bad. Bonk is when ya can't even turn the pedals over to generate 100 watts. Ride along normally and try riding at 100 watts (powerless people can guess, but the numbers as you see them a wicked amazing). Then bonk, not a mild i'm hungry and distracted bonk, a full on hard core zero reserves loopy headed bonk. 100 watts is almost impossible to generate in any gear.

Recovering from a bonk that hard core takes a day or two. That hurts. That sucks and should always be avoided at all costs. How do you avoid the bonk? Drink SHIFT! Or some other highly calorie drink that tastes "oh so good" faster delivery than eating a damn bar.

And... as Colin has recently re-realized, trying to eat a chocolate Gu/PowerGel/Clifshot flat out is HARD when ya red lined and all that, the thick gooey chocolaty goodness that goes down easy before a race is impossible during...

Fuel is fuel. Fuel is important. Fuel is what i'm doing now. eat french toast while sorting through schedules, writing this, setting up tours, and checking on the how the day will shift out...

Oh and CTodd is an animal alright... a nice svelte 3 toed sloth

respect... eat well and wear a smile...
G

moments...

harassing CTodd in the comment section over there i remembered a thought or two i had.

now i know it has been hashed out pretty extensively but it bore out thinking a bit.

Standing climbing vs Seated climbing. Solo had some commentary jazz about it a while back.

Pros in the long grand tour climbs more often are climbing out of the saddle, so why not undergear and just spin up?

Well remember that water bottle thing that Anquetil or who ever did? They'd put their Bidon in the jersey pocket everytime the hill went up? Myth or not, effective or not i got wondering... (on the bike riding, i don't listen to a death pod on the bike so i think... you deathpod riders can go on not thinking and listening to music till ya get nailed by a car you can't hear)

Seated a large % of your body mass is planted in the saddle. it is a stabilizing force allowing the rider to spin faster an all that... the slower the cadence the more unsupported time your ass is planted in saddle, no? Yes seated your hands don't have a huge amount of weight being supported. But then i thinking again...

When you are standing the energy you are expending to suspend your fat (or skinny ass) off the saddle is typically more active and more helpful in going up hill at lower cadences... Yes your muscles have to work a bit more, but if you have the training and power ceiling it should be more efficient than generating the same forces from the seated position and so rocking the bike back and forth alternating which hand the weight is on and using a bit of upper body to counter the weighted leg... more of your mass is being used.

But yes, studies (iirc) show that ones efficiency (power/speed/whatever metric) is not so different in the standing and seated positions. So why do the "climbers" climb standing? For one most of the climbers are tiny little folk like Kerry. And they don't have much mass and so suspending the mass climbing in a standing position isn't much different than seated, and so balancing fatigue/efficiency is less of an issue relative to a 90kg fat ass like me. Maybe?

If ya look at the force and power numbers. Standing your cadence is almost always lower for a given watt output (think constant speed) than seated. That's the force. No? Yeah. More force. Where does that force come from? Body mass. Downside force hurts. And, little folks need to make less force because of the power to weight advantage, forget the power to weight advantage and just look at the weight issue. Force required to turn the pedals is really a factor of weight. Me with trailer loaded takes WAY more force to go up a 10% grade than me w/o trailer. LOTS more force. Like 20 or more N*m. or roughly 1 extra newton meter per extra kilogram i'm draggin. The weight, dragged or carried is still weight that is working against. On your back, in a trailer. Still a mass that you need to add the energy into lifting it. Now on a bike. Out of the saddle you can use that mass in your fat ass as an asset if your legs are strong enough. Again, this favors the tiny who's asses are small, less strength required to dance out of the pedals for a long time. I think i'm beginning to chase my own tail here in this one sided argument.

It would be curious, those who have power meters and what nots, can ya watch/record the force numbers seated vs standing for a given power output?

I hate to "ask" anyone who happens to read this for feedback in debunking one of my cockamamie ideas, and yes, analytical cycling probably can do it, but real world numbers work better than simulators with too few variables or too many variable with WAGs as entries.

Hmmm, heck it really is a simple equation tho. Power more or less equals pedal force and cadence (speed). So. some easy linear relationship should be possible to figure out easy enough even with Analytical cycling... hmmm i think i'm more apt to run my mouth than run a spreadsheet with the numbers... that and i'd wager the link is physiologically different from individual to individual... which is what makes it different.

Do climbers have a distinct force/power when standing advantage over seated climbing? Is there a body mass or power to weight ratio that can be used as a benchmark for a rider to determine if they climb standing or seated?

I wonder if the power groups have had a discussion like this... (like linked over at Kettle Rechts

Shit Fire Alarm...

must exit building and leave it as it is...

stupid modern systems. Fahking sprinkler code tripped but sprinkler wasn't shooting water... "water pressure drop or something strange"

at least we weren't standing outside for too long. Felt fahkin cold tho... 57 °F supposedly... great...

Anyway, the train was sufficiently derailed. I ain't gonna work on cleaning up the mess in my mind that this major interruption caused. (minor interuptions like phone calls and "why can't i see my sample, can you help" questions are not nearly as disruptive as wondering if i'm gonna be able to get back in to change and get my stuff... fire alarm)...

Ride smart, ride fast and never stop thinking (unless you are racing, then stop thinking and start riding faster)...

respect,
G

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
- Groucho Marx

the stuffing being yanked and off air are unrelated - although gewilliesque style makes em seem linked...

stuffing refers to spending 3 solid challenging hours teaching noobies how to run a half million dollar laser gadget... open tap... empty brains... i suppose i could do my job without pouring every ounce of energy into it, but then that ain't me... and that wouldn't be fair to those who want to learn...

the off air thing is just that i may just actually take some time off... away from this, from the windowless office in the basement of a building with an air handler making wicked damn loud white noise. might even get to ride a bike... maybe not...

not that anyone was wondering or nuttin...

kinda feel like the stuffing has been pulled out... a word of warning - GeWilli is headed off the air for a bit coming up...

I'll get a bit of something up for those who are bored at work randomly but there might be a day or two gap here and there...

Ya know though. If the french were as savy as the wicked damn cool Italians we all could watch the fahking tour adn dauphine and shit live on the internet and that'd be cool. Too bad they ain't as cool and we (as english speaking clowns following the damn tour) have to turn in to hear the annonying as hell Gee Wizz network (OLN/Versus) sugar coat the fahking race or tune into Eurosport to hear the great Sean I won it all on dope Kelly's irish accent talk about how hard the tour is and how tough of a man it takes to finish it... i dunno...

The giro might be just as packed full of dope but somehow the magic of Italy and the stuff like Campy, Colnago, Cippolini and the women of Italy, not to mention RAI sport kick the shizzle out of Mavic, Peugeuot, Moreau, and the women of France? (wait... do i dare slip into the stinky hairy american stereotype of the french woman? nah)... lack of RAI internet equivalent that i've found is enough to have me unequivocally parked in the Italian camp. Despite that fact that French is the only language i've studied for more than a year.

So that's about it. The Bikeworks TT starts tomorrow night. 8 weeks and only 5 of them need to be completed for eligibility for overall prize. 8 mile course. point to point. $6. be there. it is a damn fine event.

I dunno if i'll be able to make it... we'll see...

till later
respect
g

Stop the presses!

She's crawled out of her self imposed writers block and graced the pages of VNews with her poetic prose!

And yes, i'm not being stingy on the praise. If this isn't a brilliant opening paragraph i dunno what is:

An open dialogue about the problem of doping has been, up to this point, the third rail of cycling. Touch it and you die. The culture insists that anyone wishing to continue working in the sport remain silent on the issue, which perpetuates the problem.

Go read the article. Even if you are playing one of the rolls of the hear see speak no evil monkeys... go read her article.

And thanks Big Jonny for the heads up (i might have missed it completely as VNews is growing boring)...

Thank you for the article Doc!

the memory jarring... rich!

awesome little event this morning riding in:

So the set up, riding in the last bit of the path chatting with a Tues/Thurs commuter. We head up to the potter street detour and i stop. I gotta switch the flag over. I'll photo it one day. Anyway it requires stopping, and well he didn't.

I get the flag switched and my passenger says "Go Fast, Catch Him Daddy!" or was it "GO Get Him Daddy!" I'm having doubts now. But damn don't that make ya all motivated, your passenger providing youthful encouragement! so we chug, all up hill, chug chug chug slowly reeling him in.

And i pull a "Rhode Island pick" to cross Taunton Ave and we're on the way. He was also one of the ones somewhat reluctant to cross the big Red Bridge on the roadway. So he shadowed me across and i think realized how much easier/safer it was than trying to get to the sidewalk and all that. Reduced commuting time. Although the detour is a pain it has one dubious consequence. My peak torque numbers are only about 55-60 instead of the 75-80 without the hill up Valley to Brow. Oh well.

Anyway, it is pretty cool that i got someone in the trailer who encourages catching people who pass me or ride away from me when we stop!

Gonna suck down the last big of lunch before surfing the traffic down to the remote facility to give a long training...

respect!
G

on the hangover remedies from yesterday:
first:

Big Glass of water and Milk Thistle herbal supplement, then sleep...

Then:

Rule # 1 on Drinking, Keep an open schedule for the next morning.
Rule # 2 If the schedule is full, only moderate drinking is acceptable.

and...

It's also useful to eat a big meal before drinking... preferably a greasy one.

kinda complicated... you are supposed to remember that when loaded enough to not feel well?

drink all you want...... just do the following before calling it a night

take a pepcid, take some asprin, pop a b12 and drink 3 or 4 pints of water

Wake up feeling great - if you feel a little dizzy still down some gatorade

not a bad option... if you are on the edge but able drink more...

If you are still drinking at 2-3 in the AM, you need to down two more Guinness stouts. That way you are still drunk when you wake up and head to work (or skiing, etc.) No hangover if you are up and moving as you sober up.

and finally

You're probably dehydrated and in need of vitamins.

How about that...

And any lingering hopes of racing this weekend are dashed... so... sigh... another weekend goes by... but that's okay... that's okay...

Chocolate Ice Cream
milk 1 cup, 2 cup heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar, 6.5 oz IBARRA chocolate (two packets, crushed) 1 tblsp of Droste Cocoa powder... ice cream maker...

heat the milk till bubbling around the edges, add the crushed IBARRA chocolate and whisk until smooth, add the Droste, and the sugar and keep mixing till smooth. Transfer to an ice bath and whisk in the cold heavy cream. Stir occasionally until the mixture has chilled completely. I made the Ice Cream in a Cuisinart unit and it works great. mix for about 30 minutes then transfer to quart container (and eat what ever doesn't fit in there) and freeze for a few hours to ripen.

Damn finest chocolate Ice Cream out there... so tasty...

and to change subjects once again... from the New and improved DrunkCyclist:
some scary shit

And last but not least...

I updated the links over there - added a few new ones... Might have to purge a few lame ass ones at some point but i'll wait for a few before doing that...

Today, so far, that is compared to yesterday.

Rained last night, got the plants happy but stopped in time for a beautiful mellow ride in along Narragansett Bay. Made some waffles this morning. Amazing what a good night sleep will do for ya.

I'm gonna do a quick Word of Blog Run down for new must read content:
christine vardaros: it's not about the race...

Belgium Knee Warmers: Tubular Tires

Bisikletci: sweat bands are cool? (i dunno about that...)

Ctodd: A Place of Destiny todd-cast? (didn't even make us wait forever...)

Cyclocosm: The Pseudo-Season Continues

ColinR's Mt Bike Race Report (Colin has been demonstrating a great knack for writing up killer race reports... always worth a read)

Slow your Roll: Mad Props Vol 6. Cool stuff...

And how do you ride? Euro or American?

There ya go. Run down...

now go read someone else's stuff for a change,

G

BTW 116 days till World Cup comes to Providence (assuming of course the obvious)

and congrats!
Story
Three of my daily hits are listed there! Granted cyclingnews is a no-brainer, PEZ getting re-lettered and woa...

there ya go...
http://cyclocosm.com/ too! Is that why the page there keeps timing out today?

good stuff...

Not "Sneak preview, more later" or

Oh well. I had a very exciting announcement to make, which will be of the GREATEST INTEREST to all you deep pockets bike geeks, but the non-disclosure agreement ("I'll beat you to death with a pedal wrench if you blog about this now") prevents me from writing anything at this time. Consider the buzz started... Thanks for buzzing.

I went glass for glass with my little brother last night.

ouch... sumbitch red head gets way more practice doing that than me right now... and fact of the matter he's always been better at it than me... you'd think one of these days i would learn? Nah... Minor disruption to the morning... but functionally back in order, just a bit tired.

Kinda not firing on all blogging cylinders, hell writing is a chore, fortunately cutting 80 nm thick sections of epoxy resin is very therapeutic... as is just drinking coffee...

but now that you mention it Rich... a 4 pound tub of Kozy Shack sounds about perfect right now...

Oh and bug season now... go read up on Jim's blog about what to use to keep em off!

And a cyclocross blog that was sitting bookmarked on the lappy here (we got wireless in the building now - so i can have 3 LCD screens on my desk if i want)

That's all.

Here's a new bike racing blog on the radar to read: http://kingoftheapples.blogspot.com/

Can we get an AMEN?

nope...

The interval was indeed 306 avg watts for the duration of the section. Duration was a paltry 10 minutes tho. Musta have hosed my legs more than i realized. On the way home the other half wasn't back from rehearsal yet so we headed south down to the market. Picked up some corn and burger makings and headed back up home. part of the way back i was wondering why the hell 200 watts was hurting so much. WTF? Hello, engine room? WTF is going on down there? No response. Surge to 250... drift back to 150... DAMNIT

Oh...

Well... right. My body doesn't like long rides in the afternoon/evening without preparation. Damnit. Fuel on empty. Go juice gone. Muscles only firing on fat burning power... and that is fahking sissy watts... shoot.

And i remember. Recalling that i generally like the morning rides much better because i'm awake, rested, not tired from the day, and fueled.

So the TTs and what not, will require special focus to eat enough fuel to fire on afterburners for the 20 minutes or so AFTER the tempo warm up ride out there.

Anyway. Mellow ride in sort of. Legs not feeling the same jump as yesterday. And some how Floyd Landis, with a couple shots of JD and some Amstel managed to recover from a late stage bonk to come back and win the tour. Uh huh. Right. I believe it. Sure i do. Yeah. And like it matters. I haven't checked yet. Not really wanting to, afraid of what i might find in the headlines of the cycling "pages" have more people been arrested? Has the Tour been canceled? is Pro Cycling over and done with as we know it?

Change the subject.

Go over and read something positive. Kent's got a nice little feel good story. (credit the bike commuting listserver here at work for the link, no Kent's blog is not on my daily click through).

Public Service announcement:
How NOT to lock you bike.

Do yourself a service and be sure to read the new and improved (still yellow) DC page. Entertaining stuff i tell ya. Entertaining.

Oh and ya know, way to make sure everyone else comes clean. Riis does and he's getting fucking HAMMERED. Reamed in the pooper by pretty much every cycling organization from the Tour to his national whatever it was called. Way to go guys, lets ensure we get the truth from everyone else by being gentle on Riis. Oh wait. THEY DON'T WANT TO KNOW. THEY DON'T WANT THE TRUTH. It is seriously making me all pissed and bitter and shit. He cheated. He didn't get caught. Meaning the people who were supposed to catch the cheating SUCK and should be to blame for his cheating. right? Or well, equally to blame. Ah fahk it... enough to make ya grumpy

Oh and speaking of grumpy... motherfahkin bike path self centered fahk wads...

Narry an acknowledgement nor an alert when overtaking and passing a fellow cyclist. Yeah dipshit i saw you behind me but you too so fucking long to get to me i figured you would wait till i was done passing that jogging lady to go around me and the trailer. Fucking MORON! A friend of mine saw a co-worker all bandaged and Fucked up and asked what happened (B-more area) his co-worker said someone passed him and cut him off on the bike path... he hit the pavement so hard he didn't wake up till he was in the hospital. Fortunately just minor shit.

Riding in i passed a handful of folks. And i get this feeling sometimes i'm like a big Aussie Road Train. Hauling ass (compared to the cyclists who have to ride bowlegged cause their gut is too big) and being wicked deliberate about movement and all that. It takes me longer to slow down than those suckers and well... man i dunno, i be wicked damn defensive and sumbitches who attempt to pass w/o warning or what not? And unless you pass me doing way more than 20 i'm gonna catch your sorry inconsiderate self centered assbagself and politely tell you not to fucking do that again. MANNERS. What has happened to the manners around here?

Sheesh. Go read Strangelife's Dos and Don'ts again.

Well... No Fahking racing for this weekend or next weekend... kinda makes me kinda grumpy... but... sokay... i'm trying to be positive and call this my "off season"

Positive. Gotta be Fahking positive (no i'm not sure why i'm not consistently using either Fahk or the other spelling)... oh well...

maybe i should have a Language warning in here... Nah...

screw it...

120 days till world cup his Providence (assuming the promoters don't fahk it up)
G

we've got cronoman and ctodd signed up for the first New England Cross race already...

it MONTHS away...

and yet...

those two are signed up...

don't believe me?
or want to make them not look too mental?
click here and register (or look) for yourself!!!

Wow, repeat title...

Well there's stuff out there to read. Avoid Solobreak, he hasn't put anything up new since he blew his wad with the 28 comment post.

But check this shit for sure:
Slowyourroll's "'Cuz That's How I Roll"

Couple choice bits:

Do:
-Acknowledge other riders as you roll with a wave or "Hello". Commraderie is cool and fun.

-Support your local bike shop.

-Wash your shorts and jersey after every ride. Riding behind you when you've got three days worth of armpit goo and chamois mushrooms is akin to sticking my head in a bloated opossum corpse.

And the...

Don't:
-Ask me where my helmet is. If it's not on my head, it's pretty fucking obvious it's at home.

-Tell me to get off the road. I pay taxes for these suck ass streets too. Ya bastards.

-Throw your energy gel wrappers on the ground when you're done choking down the goo. Put them in your pocket like a responsible member of society, not a low funtioning dipshit.

Small Things Considered with her Montreal Reports (part 1).

The next thing I knew I was passing the field on the left hand side, and as we neared the summit I found myself at the front of the pack.

Let me repeat that.

I was at the front. Of a WORLD CUP.

And then there is the photographic version report to check.

Anyone guess which one is our little local super star?

A bit of a different gear. A lot of people i know are Vegan, or are very closely related to the causes and what not that embody the principle of ethics and sustainability. Nicomachus.net has fantastic letter to the editor written by a friend about that whole vegan baby dying. Would the kid have survived if fed an animal diet? Who knows. The infant's soul is resting now. Breast fed babies are vegan and parents don't have to worry about formula, or juice or nutrition. Breasts do that and give precious skin to skin contact that help the infant's breathing and heart rates stabilize and learn. Anyway. no I'm not gonna go all breast fed is the way to go (even tho it is, and yes i'm a guy i don't breast feed so what the hell point do i have, shit i'm starting to sound like the wicked insane sailorman who thinks teachers are all lazy).

Give the letter posted there a read.

Oh and i have to recant my dissing of Solobreak. He did post some new content today. Unbelievable. Mountain bike related even.

Big Jonny's new style and guest writers is awesome. What can I say. I was at one point liking the digested stuff. Now? The spontaneous stuff he's popping up is way more entertaining and, being updated with shorter intervals there is a greater chance of fresh material being up through out the day. That is a good thing. And clean too. Amazingly, no p o r n pop ups or flash adds... just cycling adds and links to cool sh!t.

Well... more later? Roll the dice and see...
G