Monday, May 31, 2010
lend a hand
if you're feeling like supporting something good lately please contribute to a friend who's doing the Iron Girl tri down in MD. Drop her some support if you can.
political don't keep reading
why are all the tea baggers and hard core religious republicans all pissy about the VP doing the wreath?
WHY?
Dickhead, i mean Darth, I mean Dick Cheney did it for GWB at least once...
why are your panties all in a bunch now instead of then? Or was it just the democrats who were all pissed about GWB not laying the wreath at Arlington?
Hell I don't car who is POTUS. There is no excuse for NOT laying the wreath.
COC should always be the one not the next in command.
Believe me i'm not happy that the current POTUS decided to skip it this year in favor of a guy with a mouth as dirty as mine, but still.
The wreath got put there. The dead soldiers don't really care, and besides, if even 1% of the outraged people laid a wreath at a Vet's grave then we'd be covering nearly ever grave since WWI and probably cover most of the Civil War.
Just another example of double standards of the two idiotic party system we have here.
What to do?
What to do?
NEVER FORGET.
Don't let this weekend fade as a day for parades that the kids don't have a clue as to why.
Remember the vets who have died in service of this country.
Memorialize them. My grandfather, his brother, the rest of the generation that my great uncle worked for so many years to get a memorial for in DC (WWII). They are becoming a forgotten generation. Lest we forget Desert Storm. Not everyone made it home. Most did, but are we remembering those who didn't properly?
Are "we" too worried about the POTUS and what he does and are we forgetting to memorialize those who didn't come home?
I do thank those who served and paid the ultimate price, I thank them from the depths of my heart and the far reaches of my thoughts.
May their surviving family know that they served with purpose and that their lives were not lost in vain. Thank you.
Thank you.
WHY?
Dickhead, i mean Darth, I mean Dick Cheney did it for GWB at least once...
why are your panties all in a bunch now instead of then? Or was it just the democrats who were all pissed about GWB not laying the wreath at Arlington?
Hell I don't car who is POTUS. There is no excuse for NOT laying the wreath.
COC should always be the one not the next in command.
Believe me i'm not happy that the current POTUS decided to skip it this year in favor of a guy with a mouth as dirty as mine, but still.
The wreath got put there. The dead soldiers don't really care, and besides, if even 1% of the outraged people laid a wreath at a Vet's grave then we'd be covering nearly ever grave since WWI and probably cover most of the Civil War.
Just another example of double standards of the two idiotic party system we have here.
What to do?
What to do?
NEVER FORGET.
Don't let this weekend fade as a day for parades that the kids don't have a clue as to why.
Remember the vets who have died in service of this country.
Memorialize them. My grandfather, his brother, the rest of the generation that my great uncle worked for so many years to get a memorial for in DC (WWII). They are becoming a forgotten generation. Lest we forget Desert Storm. Not everyone made it home. Most did, but are we remembering those who didn't properly?
Are "we" too worried about the POTUS and what he does and are we forgetting to memorialize those who didn't come home?
I do thank those who served and paid the ultimate price, I thank them from the depths of my heart and the far reaches of my thoughts.
May their surviving family know that they served with purpose and that their lives were not lost in vain. Thank you.
Thank you.
~120km day
or half day.
BUT before we get any further:
It is Memorial Day.
Thank you to all the fallen who have fought for this country. Don't ever forget.
4 hours on the bike, two of us, side by side talking and riding, very little drafting even with the wind. really slow cool down on the packed bike path, slowish ride in to the city to start the ride.
legs felt pretty good today. 75 miles no stopping all riding. Great freaking day on the bike again.
had a nice batch of food off the grill last night, first day of summer with some florida/georgia bi-color sweet corn. Grilled Thommy D style, soaked in a bit of water and then put right on the grill husk and all. Damned if the silks don't just fall right off, way cleaner than trying to husk them before cooking. Good stuff.
Going for grill again tonight.
Tried to do a cold bath post ride today and yesterday. Filled the bathtub up with cold water. And then I get in. The tub is long enough that i can sit in there and my heels hit the other side. But my big fat butt and fat cycling legs kind of have a lot of thermal mass. The g-damn water doesn't stay cold for very long. Somewhat disappointing really. If feels awesome for the first minute. Then it just feels like barely cool water. Stupid thermal mass. No wonder football players get those giant vats with ice to climb into. I could have used an ice machine worth of ice for the tub. But even for that first few minutes it was very nice.
Today I worked on really attacking the rises and hitting it hard when I was starting to struggle. It hurt. Alot. And with no drafting it was tough. But I got the fluid and fuel perfectly today. Makes a big difference.
With the week coming up I probably won't be able to hit the smackdown tomorrow, so it was nice to get 360km in two days over a three day weekend. All at pretty solid speeds.
Time to get on with the rest of the day
again:
Memorial Day - show your respect to the fallen.
BUT before we get any further:
It is Memorial Day.
Thank you to all the fallen who have fought for this country. Don't ever forget.
4 hours on the bike, two of us, side by side talking and riding, very little drafting even with the wind. really slow cool down on the packed bike path, slowish ride in to the city to start the ride.
legs felt pretty good today. 75 miles no stopping all riding. Great freaking day on the bike again.
had a nice batch of food off the grill last night, first day of summer with some florida/georgia bi-color sweet corn. Grilled Thommy D style, soaked in a bit of water and then put right on the grill husk and all. Damned if the silks don't just fall right off, way cleaner than trying to husk them before cooking. Good stuff.
Going for grill again tonight.
Tried to do a cold bath post ride today and yesterday. Filled the bathtub up with cold water. And then I get in. The tub is long enough that i can sit in there and my heels hit the other side. But my big fat butt and fat cycling legs kind of have a lot of thermal mass. The g-damn water doesn't stay cold for very long. Somewhat disappointing really. If feels awesome for the first minute. Then it just feels like barely cool water. Stupid thermal mass. No wonder football players get those giant vats with ice to climb into. I could have used an ice machine worth of ice for the tub. But even for that first few minutes it was very nice.
Today I worked on really attacking the rises and hitting it hard when I was starting to struggle. It hurt. Alot. And with no drafting it was tough. But I got the fluid and fuel perfectly today. Makes a big difference.
With the week coming up I probably won't be able to hit the smackdown tomorrow, so it was nice to get 360km in two days over a three day weekend. All at pretty solid speeds.
Time to get on with the rest of the day
again:
Memorial Day - show your respect to the fallen.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
~240km
A weeks worth of mileage in one day.
Left the house at 7:06am, got home a little tired at 3:20pm.
Ride time total around 7h 40m
Three team mates dragged my big slow carcass along with them to Plymouth Rock. We tried to follow the NBW century ride there and back.
On the way there we missed a few turns but nothing too serious, just a few miles maybe. A lot of new paving is covering the white arrows.
We got there though. To the Rock. Saw the rock. Stopped at the DD/Mobil station, reloaded. A gallon of Poland Springs split 4 ways lasted until the next stop.
The way back through the rollers of Myles Standish into the brutal headwind was a bit much for me. 60+ miles into the ride I was starting to crack.
I ate everything except a bag of PowerBar chewy things. And that helped.
And I managed to struggle and hang on into the wind for a bit. Then we took a wrong turn. Arrows were harder to follow and there were these distracting bigger white ones pointing us in a wrong direction. And we wound up somewhere down on Route 6. East of New Bedford.
Turned around and found our way back. The tail wind energized me enough that I was able to set a decent/acceptable pace and Nate had a endurolyte pill. I was on the verge of cramping. Couldn't stand up for fear of locking the legs up. The we hit acusnet road. And thought we knew where we were on the old paper map that Derdowski had brought along. Then we wound up on a road that brought us right back to the same road. But at a corner with a convenience store. And the one thing i knew i needed was salt and fluid and there's only one beverage that will almost totally prevent cramping.
V8/tomato juice.
I dug out my two dollars and found a small 10oz of V8 for 1.89 but then with that in hand I noticed a 32oz of Campbells tomato juice. Not nearly as much potassium as the V8 in a per-serving amount but one serving of the Campbells had 28% of the daily sodium and there were 4 servings in there. Potassium was only about 1/2 that. But still both numbers were in the triple digit mg range.
Had to borrow 50cents to buy it though. Then when the shop wouldn't take a debit card I dug out my emergency 2 dollars in the seat bag for Fatty/Cliff/Curtis/Not Skinny.
And we set off, and I was in much better spirits and legs after that stop. Derdowski wanted to head us off in the wrong direction so I asked an old guy who had stopped to buy a pack of Kools which way was north (where we needed to go). And fortunately we continued the right way.
I think we found every closed bridge between there and PVD in southern Mass. I felt great though. Set pace for a while even.
I kept peaking at Aaron's bike computer, always in the 20+ range. Except I'm sure when they were waiting for me to catch up after a hill.
His trip average including all the turns the back tracking and what not was in the 19.5 mph range. Nate basically didn't slow down all day, again except to wait for me.
The day started off with a planned 8am ride for a couple hours with Dr. Flats. But I was up early, and the girls got up early and I called Aaron to try and convince them to ride down the bike path before heading out on their 100 mile ride. But instead he said - Fatty just got a coffee and they can wait a few and to call when I leave the house.
It was a rush to get going. I filled three bottles with powerbar drink stuff, grabbed two very ripe bananas. Ate 1/2 of a mini-bagel with cream cheese (L's breakfast that she didn't finish) stuffed two Cocoa Mole larabars, a Razz cliff shot, a pack of Cola PowerBar gummies and a pack of Lemon ones. an extra tube and the phone and i cleaned out my wallet of all my cash, a whole wad made up of 4 dollar bills.
I did slather up with Blue Lizard pretty heavily before leaving (it was a bright clear sunny day afterall).
And I headed north in Time trial mode. Nothing like starting a century time trialing.
And then I saw the crew. All 4 of us in matching kits. Different bikes, an IF, Trek, Giant and Klein. All wearing white helmets all with pockets bulging with hopefully enough fuel to get us there and back.
The winds were from the south and increasing. The pollen was so thick that we were litterally riding through green clouds at times. My arms were greenish yellow, the blue panels on the shorts and jersey were turning green. The bikes were covered, the water bottles were covered.
In the end we added 20 more miles than the 110 or so - aaron had 135.5 on his computer and add the 15 or so miles for me and that pushes the day up close to 150.
I don't know for certain as I don't have anything electronic on the bike. No read outs.
How ever long it was, it was a long time to be out there.
feet were hurting, but no mushrooms or saddle sores Jonny.
those cranberry bogs reminded us of riding in Michigan esp with the wind.
Syl reported seeing Nate riding home after the ride and that Nate looked super fresh, not even like he was tired.
This was the inagural ride for the new front training wheel, a 30 year old campy hub laced to the 32h open pro Rim i bought off of JLS. A bit more aero would have undoubtedly helped but it was what it was.
I got out this morning at 7am for 25 minutes or so and felt not so bad. sore but not too bad. Maybe wearing gloves might have prevented the bruise on the palm of my hand but everything else, all the contact points were fine.
Maybe it was a good thing that i didn't ride all week going into yesterday.
KSR? meh i rode 150 miles not slowly yesterday... that works for me
heddwch
G
Left the house at 7:06am, got home a little tired at 3:20pm.
Ride time total around 7h 40m
Three team mates dragged my big slow carcass along with them to Plymouth Rock. We tried to follow the NBW century ride there and back.
On the way there we missed a few turns but nothing too serious, just a few miles maybe. A lot of new paving is covering the white arrows.
We got there though. To the Rock. Saw the rock. Stopped at the DD/Mobil station, reloaded. A gallon of Poland Springs split 4 ways lasted until the next stop.
The way back through the rollers of Myles Standish into the brutal headwind was a bit much for me. 60+ miles into the ride I was starting to crack.
I ate everything except a bag of PowerBar chewy things. And that helped.
And I managed to struggle and hang on into the wind for a bit. Then we took a wrong turn. Arrows were harder to follow and there were these distracting bigger white ones pointing us in a wrong direction. And we wound up somewhere down on Route 6. East of New Bedford.
Turned around and found our way back. The tail wind energized me enough that I was able to set a decent/acceptable pace and Nate had a endurolyte pill. I was on the verge of cramping. Couldn't stand up for fear of locking the legs up. The we hit acusnet road. And thought we knew where we were on the old paper map that Derdowski had brought along. Then we wound up on a road that brought us right back to the same road. But at a corner with a convenience store. And the one thing i knew i needed was salt and fluid and there's only one beverage that will almost totally prevent cramping.
V8/tomato juice.
I dug out my two dollars and found a small 10oz of V8 for 1.89 but then with that in hand I noticed a 32oz of Campbells tomato juice. Not nearly as much potassium as the V8 in a per-serving amount but one serving of the Campbells had 28% of the daily sodium and there were 4 servings in there. Potassium was only about 1/2 that. But still both numbers were in the triple digit mg range.
Had to borrow 50cents to buy it though. Then when the shop wouldn't take a debit card I dug out my emergency 2 dollars in the seat bag for Fatty/Cliff/Curtis/Not Skinny.
And we set off, and I was in much better spirits and legs after that stop. Derdowski wanted to head us off in the wrong direction so I asked an old guy who had stopped to buy a pack of Kools which way was north (where we needed to go). And fortunately we continued the right way.
I think we found every closed bridge between there and PVD in southern Mass. I felt great though. Set pace for a while even.
I kept peaking at Aaron's bike computer, always in the 20+ range. Except I'm sure when they were waiting for me to catch up after a hill.
His trip average including all the turns the back tracking and what not was in the 19.5 mph range. Nate basically didn't slow down all day, again except to wait for me.
The day started off with a planned 8am ride for a couple hours with Dr. Flats. But I was up early, and the girls got up early and I called Aaron to try and convince them to ride down the bike path before heading out on their 100 mile ride. But instead he said - Fatty just got a coffee and they can wait a few and to call when I leave the house.
It was a rush to get going. I filled three bottles with powerbar drink stuff, grabbed two very ripe bananas. Ate 1/2 of a mini-bagel with cream cheese (L's breakfast that she didn't finish) stuffed two Cocoa Mole larabars, a Razz cliff shot, a pack of Cola PowerBar gummies and a pack of Lemon ones. an extra tube and the phone and i cleaned out my wallet of all my cash, a whole wad made up of 4 dollar bills.
I did slather up with Blue Lizard pretty heavily before leaving (it was a bright clear sunny day afterall).
And I headed north in Time trial mode. Nothing like starting a century time trialing.
And then I saw the crew. All 4 of us in matching kits. Different bikes, an IF, Trek, Giant and Klein. All wearing white helmets all with pockets bulging with hopefully enough fuel to get us there and back.
The winds were from the south and increasing. The pollen was so thick that we were litterally riding through green clouds at times. My arms were greenish yellow, the blue panels on the shorts and jersey were turning green. The bikes were covered, the water bottles were covered.
In the end we added 20 more miles than the 110 or so - aaron had 135.5 on his computer and add the 15 or so miles for me and that pushes the day up close to 150.
I don't know for certain as I don't have anything electronic on the bike. No read outs.
How ever long it was, it was a long time to be out there.
feet were hurting, but no mushrooms or saddle sores Jonny.
those cranberry bogs reminded us of riding in Michigan esp with the wind.
Syl reported seeing Nate riding home after the ride and that Nate looked super fresh, not even like he was tired.
This was the inagural ride for the new front training wheel, a 30 year old campy hub laced to the 32h open pro Rim i bought off of JLS. A bit more aero would have undoubtedly helped but it was what it was.
I got out this morning at 7am for 25 minutes or so and felt not so bad. sore but not too bad. Maybe wearing gloves might have prevented the bruise on the palm of my hand but everything else, all the contact points were fine.
Maybe it was a good thing that i didn't ride all week going into yesterday.
KSR? meh i rode 150 miles not slowly yesterday... that works for me
heddwch
G
Friday, May 28, 2010
no car today
first day since Bike to Work day that i've biked to work!
at least this week the driving was done with a vehicle fueled with newport biodiesel. Recycled veggie oil turned into diesel fuel. So carbon neutral, well scratch that even better than that because this stuff i'm burning was used once already to help keep america fat (but hey who doesn't love fried foods).
Legs felt okay, and I'll be honest, I'm kinda almost (but not quite) thinking KSR might actually have been fun.
at least this week the driving was done with a vehicle fueled with newport biodiesel. Recycled veggie oil turned into diesel fuel. So carbon neutral, well scratch that even better than that because this stuff i'm burning was used once already to help keep america fat (but hey who doesn't love fried foods).
Legs felt okay, and I'll be honest, I'm kinda almost (but not quite) thinking KSR might actually have been fun.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Neil Browne weighs in a bit
Heavy handed or not, he's saying the same things everyone else is, very consistently but he also brings in the UCI black balling with a bit of precedence, so.
Worth the read (it is short)Down the Rabbit Hole - The Landis Matrix
Worth the read (it is short)Down the Rabbit Hole - The Landis Matrix
Vote for Thom
Yeah lets push him over the top. Maybe the 2 friends i have that read this that don't read Thom's blog can give him a click and tell all your friends to click and vote for him too.
Go Vote...
Do
it
now
Linkage and verbage from his blog today:
Man, the fact that the Breck Epic blogger grant poll is LIVE is a massive time suck for me right now — refresh page, "did I get more votes? Damn!" and repeat. It's extra-ridiculous too because there are fifteen days left in the contest, anything could happen. Right now things are looking good though, thanks to you guys I've closed down the gargantuan gap Sara Uhl had put on me in the first 24 hours. Right now she's only up by two. If you haven't voted yet, go to this link, click the little bubble by my name, which is Thom "Rocky Donizetti" Parsons, and then hit the "Vote Foo" button below. It's wicked easy kid, and word is you no longer have to "expose your privates," or give up your privacy in any way.
Oh and if you aren't a regular reader of his, you should be. He's a way better writer than most web loggers out there, and he's like funny and shit, plus he isn't all old and cranky like solofuckingbreak (who can also write well when he feels like it, just not as humorously).
Go Vote...
Do
it
now
mortar fire at 2am
actually well i have no idea what munition it would be most closely associated with but i was woken up by a massive lightening strike very close to the house. it set off a half dozen car alarms from the shock wave. one by one the cars got quiet again and I was able to go back to sleep but man. that was loud and pretty freaky.
Coupled with the extra running around and getting stuff done it was a late night. Why does that matter?
I'm breaking down and going for a PED today. Yeah I'm going to resort to taking performance enhancing drugs to make it through the day.
Blue State here I come. just have to decide if i'm going with a small black coffee or if I want to gamble on getting a good macchiatto or a over drawn bitter one... I'll make up my mind before I get there.
It is now been nearly a week since I last rode a bike. Last friday. I haven't even sat on a bike seat, much less touched one since then. Almost 6 months w/o more than a couple days off the bike in a row and here I am at 6 days. I'll probably have to ride tomorrow just to keep that number at 6. Maybe the fates will align and I will manage to get out for some long miles this weekend...
peidiwch da
G
Coupled with the extra running around and getting stuff done it was a late night. Why does that matter?
I'm breaking down and going for a PED today. Yeah I'm going to resort to taking performance enhancing drugs to make it through the day.
Blue State here I come. just have to decide if i'm going with a small black coffee or if I want to gamble on getting a good macchiatto or a over drawn bitter one... I'll make up my mind before I get there.
It is now been nearly a week since I last rode a bike. Last friday. I haven't even sat on a bike seat, much less touched one since then. Almost 6 months w/o more than a couple days off the bike in a row and here I am at 6 days. I'll probably have to ride tomorrow just to keep that number at 6. Maybe the fates will align and I will manage to get out for some long miles this weekend...
peidiwch da
G
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One phrase says it all
"men's pro cycling is the WWF"
and not the world wildlife fund...
at least it is cooling down outside - laundry is about ready to go in the dryer - dishwasher is about ready to get unloaded...
beer is still cold and the temp is dropping...
i'll either sleep because it cools down or because I drop from exhaustion...
and not the world wildlife fund...
at least it is cooling down outside - laundry is about ready to go in the dryer - dishwasher is about ready to get unloaded...
beer is still cold and the temp is dropping...
i'll either sleep because it cools down or because I drop from exhaustion...
Pro Tip for the heat
Skip the fancy beers tonight. Get a six pack of your favorite Tall boys, be they PBR, High Life, or 'Gansett, and drink em ice cold.
it's not so cool out there today...
it's not so cool out there today...
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
woa
I haven't been off the bike this long since December. Seriously. And today makes day 4???
tomorrow is def a day off the bike and then thursday *might* be a ride to school with the girls day, depending on the timing of the return of my wife.
managed some walking today (and yesterday) and i'm not really sitting on my ass so that's not the end of the world...
life of a single dad...
it ain't so bad - besides the not riding thing. But in reality i could work in a lunch training session on most days, find time in the morning before the girls have to wake up... night is too crazy and I'm too worn out to make it worth a hill of beans doing any specific training work...
tomorrow is def a day off the bike and then thursday *might* be a ride to school with the girls day, depending on the timing of the return of my wife.
managed some walking today (and yesterday) and i'm not really sitting on my ass so that's not the end of the world...
life of a single dad...
it ain't so bad - besides the not riding thing. But in reality i could work in a lunch training session on most days, find time in the morning before the girls have to wake up... night is too crazy and I'm too worn out to make it worth a hill of beans doing any specific training work...
Remarkable Creatures - Tracking the Ancestry of Corn Back 9,000 Years - NYTimes.com
Remarkable Creatures - Tracking the Ancestry of Corn Back 9,000 Years - NYTimes.com
This topic, the origins of corn, was a subject i was well read on in college. I explored the subject from both a botanical informational database and the archaeological side too. Writing many papers for classes in both subjects. I am fairly confident that I read and found every single peer reviewed journal article and review book on the subject published before 1993-1994.
The remarkable evolution of this plant really is amazing. The one plant that cannot reproduce itself. Humans have made sure that corn is as dependent on us as we are on it.
And, now, we are far too dependent on this "grass" far to dependent.
This topic, the origins of corn, was a subject i was well read on in college. I explored the subject from both a botanical informational database and the archaeological side too. Writing many papers for classes in both subjects. I am fairly confident that I read and found every single peer reviewed journal article and review book on the subject published before 1993-1994.
The remarkable evolution of this plant really is amazing. The one plant that cannot reproduce itself. Humans have made sure that corn is as dependent on us as we are on it.
And, now, we are far too dependent on this "grass" far to dependent.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Radio Silence
Yeah, call it a double meaning. Silence in the house, and me being silent for a while.
Lots to write about. Not much time or opportunity to get it in pixels.
The Anticancer book in light of reading a cyclist's "foodie" blog got me thinking. Wouldn't an Anticancer diet be ideal for a pro athlete? Esp one who isn't trying to get bigger and bigger? Like a cyclist? Eating like that would be wicked helpful with inflammation and cellular repair, not to mention anti-bulking. That's a line of pondering I really want to explore and the only way I can really explore topics it seems is through this medium.
It is wicked hot here tonight. What the hell. Tonight's going to suck a bit.
I didn't make it to Sunapee this weekend. Neither did G-ride and man he's had a GeWilli string of luck this last week. Send him some love, he needs it. I got worried that one of my colleagues was tangled up in the accident not seeing his name on the Cat 4 finish roster, but no he finished. That was a relief getting his email. Golay seemed to have made it through as did Cooper, that's all good news. Teammate and team sponsor man Mike B made it through too. His race report made it sound like a tire exploded and caused a chain reaction at the worst spot on the course. Golay said someone went flying 12' in the air with their bike, then maybe qualified to being high enough that he thought about riding right under them.
Scary stuff. Flat crits are nice. Sure you can eat shit pretty hard but there isn't anyone going faster than they can make their own bike go. The whole down hill stuff isn't a factor. I'm liking my "choice" to stick with flat stuff.
Purgatory has a wicked fast downhill in it. Keep that in mind if you go race there.
I hear a baby screaming, and i don't like that, want to comfort the kid, give it what it wants. Babies don't separate wants and needs, they are one and the same. It reminds me of the first night my wife took off and left me with the baby for the first time. It was July 4th maybe, our oldest was a few weeks old, and she wasn't happy being left with me. Took me 45 minutes to calm her down. I couldn't give her what she wanted (mommy) and she wasn't having the bottle. Eventually we figured it out. Now she's amazing. So long ago that moment that seemed to stretch for eternity...
Now there's some monster beetle buzzing and bouncing against the metal screen on the open window. Big loud sumbitch.
Quiet once again. It is so warm Lucy is sleeping on the hardwoods instead of her blanket on the couch. Silly old dog.
Today was a bike free day, 3rd in a row. Tomorrow looks to be another one. Wed the same and likely Thursday too. I suppose I could get the trainer set back up, but the motivation isn't there right now. Call it an undesigned down week. Down phase. No racing this weekend, so why not make it a super down phase and let it all slide a bit. I got a good bit of walking to the remote facility in today, and will again Thursday. Tomorrow and Wed probably not.
Let the end of may and early june slip through my fingers. Then start turning it around and stoking the fire at the end of june into July. Gotta work on moving last season's "program" a month earlier. No need to end while you're still building - peak at a plateau. Esp if Nationals is looking less and less likely.
And yeah. I missed David Walsh's column over at The Times. Holy hell. What a read. Seems you put all those people into a room who've testified under oath what they saw, and well that's a lot of people's word against one person.
Just noticed a FB friend "liked" a page titled "I hate Floyd Landis." I suppose I would hate him if i sent a ton of money to pay his legal fees or bought is book not realizing it was fiction.
You know, for those of us who thought/knew he was guilty all along, hey i'm happy to hear it. Better late than never is a very appropo phrase.
Just off twitter retweeted by @crossracer:
That Bit link heads you over to this Column. God damn good one too. And it comes back to JLS's hero bit.
"Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."
To me there is a preponderance of evidence that Armstrong and his entourage are nothing but a bunch of bums. Cheating the public out of cash. Not directly but indirectly through the companies sponsored him. Call it money laundering. They use his image to sell us crap and then when we buy more crap because of some hero's association this hero gets more cash the next time. So yeah. anyway. That's capitalism and sport and all that. Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa.
I don't hate Floyd. I hate the system. But, I love bike racing as a participatory sport first. The epic-ness of the grand tours is interesting and entertaining but I've long since given up on giving a shit who wins. Riders are just riders. Like AM said, the Pro-tour can collapse, big races can disappear, but we'll always have local races. Ninigret will still happen. Myles Standish, Turtle Pond... These races will survive. Heck even Battenkill would survive in a post pro-tour apocalypse. Cyclocross? Oh hell it will survive no questions asked. Probably even on the pro level. What cheating doper wants to juice up to go race in super cold temps? If you're going to juice up you might as well wait till the summer when the cash money is bigger and the weather is nicer.
I'm rambling I guess.
I do feel like getting the dinner recipe down on record, but missing the inspiration. The dinner was fantastic. Thanks to those - antibiotic free, steroid free blah blah make you feel good about eating some exploited bird - chicken thighs that were on sale at Wholepaycheck this weekend for $1.49/pound. Sure you can probably get them cheaper at Aldi, but I like to think i can taste a difference between cheap stuff and the good stuff. Maybe I can't but everytime i've tested the hypothesis I've been proven right. Heck we even went with an organic whole wheat pasta and the girls loved it... might have to make that a permanent move... The dish would have been out of this world perfect with some fresh Rosemary.
Anyway, i had a great night with my daughters, playing single dad is fun... Maybe having kept the dog up this late will let the alarm wake me up in the morning. lets find out...
peidiwch da
g
Lots to write about. Not much time or opportunity to get it in pixels.
The Anticancer book in light of reading a cyclist's "foodie" blog got me thinking. Wouldn't an Anticancer diet be ideal for a pro athlete? Esp one who isn't trying to get bigger and bigger? Like a cyclist? Eating like that would be wicked helpful with inflammation and cellular repair, not to mention anti-bulking. That's a line of pondering I really want to explore and the only way I can really explore topics it seems is through this medium.
It is wicked hot here tonight. What the hell. Tonight's going to suck a bit.
I didn't make it to Sunapee this weekend. Neither did G-ride and man he's had a GeWilli string of luck this last week. Send him some love, he needs it. I got worried that one of my colleagues was tangled up in the accident not seeing his name on the Cat 4 finish roster, but no he finished. That was a relief getting his email. Golay seemed to have made it through as did Cooper, that's all good news. Teammate and team sponsor man Mike B made it through too. His race report made it sound like a tire exploded and caused a chain reaction at the worst spot on the course. Golay said someone went flying 12' in the air with their bike, then maybe qualified to being high enough that he thought about riding right under them.
Scary stuff. Flat crits are nice. Sure you can eat shit pretty hard but there isn't anyone going faster than they can make their own bike go. The whole down hill stuff isn't a factor. I'm liking my "choice" to stick with flat stuff.
Purgatory has a wicked fast downhill in it. Keep that in mind if you go race there.
I hear a baby screaming, and i don't like that, want to comfort the kid, give it what it wants. Babies don't separate wants and needs, they are one and the same. It reminds me of the first night my wife took off and left me with the baby for the first time. It was July 4th maybe, our oldest was a few weeks old, and she wasn't happy being left with me. Took me 45 minutes to calm her down. I couldn't give her what she wanted (mommy) and she wasn't having the bottle. Eventually we figured it out. Now she's amazing. So long ago that moment that seemed to stretch for eternity...
Now there's some monster beetle buzzing and bouncing against the metal screen on the open window. Big loud sumbitch.
Quiet once again. It is so warm Lucy is sleeping on the hardwoods instead of her blanket on the couch. Silly old dog.
Today was a bike free day, 3rd in a row. Tomorrow looks to be another one. Wed the same and likely Thursday too. I suppose I could get the trainer set back up, but the motivation isn't there right now. Call it an undesigned down week. Down phase. No racing this weekend, so why not make it a super down phase and let it all slide a bit. I got a good bit of walking to the remote facility in today, and will again Thursday. Tomorrow and Wed probably not.
Let the end of may and early june slip through my fingers. Then start turning it around and stoking the fire at the end of june into July. Gotta work on moving last season's "program" a month earlier. No need to end while you're still building - peak at a plateau. Esp if Nationals is looking less and less likely.
And yeah. I missed David Walsh's column over at The Times. Holy hell. What a read. Seems you put all those people into a room who've testified under oath what they saw, and well that's a lot of people's word against one person.
Just noticed a FB friend "liked" a page titled "I hate Floyd Landis." I suppose I would hate him if i sent a ton of money to pay his legal fees or bought is book not realizing it was fiction.
You know, for those of us who thought/knew he was guilty all along, hey i'm happy to hear it. Better late than never is a very appropo phrase.
Just off twitter retweeted by @crossracer:
Ben Jacques-Maynes
Do you want to cheer for false heros? Landis has just done us a HUGE favor. RT @BikePure: ESPN weighs in on Landis: http://bit.ly/cQi5MJ
That Bit link heads you over to this Column. God damn good one too. And it comes back to JLS's hero bit.
"Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."
To me there is a preponderance of evidence that Armstrong and his entourage are nothing but a bunch of bums. Cheating the public out of cash. Not directly but indirectly through the companies sponsored him. Call it money laundering. They use his image to sell us crap and then when we buy more crap because of some hero's association this hero gets more cash the next time. So yeah. anyway. That's capitalism and sport and all that. Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa.
I don't hate Floyd. I hate the system. But, I love bike racing as a participatory sport first. The epic-ness of the grand tours is interesting and entertaining but I've long since given up on giving a shit who wins. Riders are just riders. Like AM said, the Pro-tour can collapse, big races can disappear, but we'll always have local races. Ninigret will still happen. Myles Standish, Turtle Pond... These races will survive. Heck even Battenkill would survive in a post pro-tour apocalypse. Cyclocross? Oh hell it will survive no questions asked. Probably even on the pro level. What cheating doper wants to juice up to go race in super cold temps? If you're going to juice up you might as well wait till the summer when the cash money is bigger and the weather is nicer.
I'm rambling I guess.
I do feel like getting the dinner recipe down on record, but missing the inspiration. The dinner was fantastic. Thanks to those - antibiotic free, steroid free blah blah make you feel good about eating some exploited bird - chicken thighs that were on sale at Wholepaycheck this weekend for $1.49/pound. Sure you can probably get them cheaper at Aldi, but I like to think i can taste a difference between cheap stuff and the good stuff. Maybe I can't but everytime i've tested the hypothesis I've been proven right. Heck we even went with an organic whole wheat pasta and the girls loved it... might have to make that a permanent move... The dish would have been out of this world perfect with some fresh Rosemary.
Anyway, i had a great night with my daughters, playing single dad is fun... Maybe having kept the dog up this late will let the alarm wake me up in the morning. lets find out...
peidiwch da
g
Friday, May 21, 2010
Amid the Floyd Lance crap there's a major
Fucking problem in the Gulf.
Watch this video - they narrator says fucking a lot and other choice words, very much on purpose and for a point.
But
watch it...
fucking watch it
Watch this video - they narrator says fucking a lot and other choice words, very much on purpose and for a point.
But
watch it...
fucking watch it
Another really good read on the Landis thing
JLS has a good write up. Similar to Adams in that he pulls an example from the past as a model for the start. I should learn to use fancy things like that, rather than toss in vague literary references that mostly only I get.
Anytime you can pull Pappy into the mix that's a winner right there. God I love that show. Love it. Why? I dunno but I am pretty sure I've seen every episode at least once and mostly 2-3 times just from re-runs over the years.
But James has a good point... and one that is often over looked and glossed over.
The quote he uses "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum." goes hand in hand with "Show me a beautiful woman and I'll show you a man that's tired of sleeping with her."
Put those two together and you've got Lance down to a T, no?
Bike to work day was great this morning.
Yeah I just changed gears with the smoothness of a 15 year old learning to drive stick for the first time.
Anyway. Big bike train. Saw a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a long time. Hung around and crushed a handful of mini-bagels with cream cheese (whole wheat ones) and had a banana or three, and ... and I had a 1/4 cup of the Coffee Exchange coffee. Oh it was so good. And I'm so wired.
Managed to get lunches made and out the door by 6:45am. And caught the group, which hadn't left yet. Timing was good. The company was great. The weather was even better. Glassy calm, clear, sunny. Gorgeous day. Blue sky. Would have like to have kept going. Blow off the whole day and just ride all day long.
But there are people to instruct, scopes to deal with and support to dole out. I may not have windows but that's not helping me not think about how nice of a day it is.
be good, do good, do what you can...
peidiwch da
G
Anytime you can pull Pappy into the mix that's a winner right there. God I love that show. Love it. Why? I dunno but I am pretty sure I've seen every episode at least once and mostly 2-3 times just from re-runs over the years.
But James has a good point... and one that is often over looked and glossed over.
The quote he uses "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum." goes hand in hand with "Show me a beautiful woman and I'll show you a man that's tired of sleeping with her."
Put those two together and you've got Lance down to a T, no?
Bike to work day was great this morning.
Yeah I just changed gears with the smoothness of a 15 year old learning to drive stick for the first time.
Anyway. Big bike train. Saw a bunch of folks I haven't seen in a long time. Hung around and crushed a handful of mini-bagels with cream cheese (whole wheat ones) and had a banana or three, and ... and I had a 1/4 cup of the Coffee Exchange coffee. Oh it was so good. And I'm so wired.
Managed to get lunches made and out the door by 6:45am. And caught the group, which hadn't left yet. Timing was good. The company was great. The weather was even better. Glassy calm, clear, sunny. Gorgeous day. Blue sky. Would have like to have kept going. Blow off the whole day and just ride all day long.
But there are people to instruct, scopes to deal with and support to dole out. I may not have windows but that's not helping me not think about how nice of a day it is.
be good, do good, do what you can...
peidiwch da
G
BIKE TO WORK DAY!
Wait. Everyday is bike to work day for me.
Next week will be different I think but 99% of the time I'm using my own power to get to work.
Today though they set a big party for everyone who does, maybe in an attempt to lure more people to ride in more regularly.
The weather today actually is amazingly nice, which is odd. Normally it is cold or raining or something other than ideal cycling weather.
There is a "bike train" heading in that leaves a bit early. Figuring on getting on that so I can get in and "crush some bagels" like last year. Maybe go with a cup of Coffee Exchange decaf coffee in celebration, listen to some politicians, talk with friends and all that. Before I leave I have to get all the lunches made.
Be Safe on the way in and enjoy the day!
Peidiwch Da
G
Next week will be different I think but 99% of the time I'm using my own power to get to work.
Today though they set a big party for everyone who does, maybe in an attempt to lure more people to ride in more regularly.
The weather today actually is amazingly nice, which is odd. Normally it is cold or raining or something other than ideal cycling weather.
There is a "bike train" heading in that leaves a bit early. Figuring on getting on that so I can get in and "crush some bagels" like last year. Maybe go with a cup of Coffee Exchange decaf coffee in celebration, listen to some politicians, talk with friends and all that. Before I leave I have to get all the lunches made.
Be Safe on the way in and enjoy the day!
Peidiwch Da
G
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tonight was awesome
My daughter sang in the junior chamber at school. And wow. I'm one really proud father right now. All the sacrifices made so far were paid back, esp looking at the path she is on.
It is all about perspective. I got a great dose of it right when I needed it most.
Deep breath of pride here, sleeping with a smile tonight.
It is all about perspective. I got a great dose of it right when I needed it most.
Deep breath of pride here, sleeping with a smile tonight.
Everyone should
if they don't, have Myerson's blog bookmarked.
Why?
sometimes he puts down a gem of a collection of words. Do read the WSJ and ESPN links before the rest of it if you haven't but, seriously. Take a minute to read Adam's comments on the whole Floyd situation right now.
That and I came across two comments today about being sad hearing the news.
One of my team mates on FB: "wonders why the latest news makes everyone so happy. It makes me sad."
When I read that I can say that I heard the announcement more as "finally" than joy. Definitely not happy to hear the news.
Then I read Burt Friggin' Hoovis's Hollow Victory post and this passage explains the sadness and I'm deeply sympathetic to that:
But my comment over at Drunkcyclist is still in play. This is either going to have the staying power of a candle in a hurricane or it is going to start a god damn forest fire.
Either way Lance will likely come out of the flames like a Nomex Lilly. Still white as can be, with maybe only a small smudge of smoke from the carnage.
People have written more eloquently on the subject. People have read more widely than I have on the subject (tho not by much I'm going to guess). And I have no business adding my opinion.
I can see how it is accepted. Everyone at that level is talented, racehorse/mule bit. All Pro sports have it.
Honestly I really disliked Floyd. I knew he couldn't be clean, no way in hell. Not with the company he was keeping. Frankie Andreu wasn't lying, or was it his wife? I don't know, but the whole time duration has expired on his (FA's) chance to blow the whistle and have it count. But now? I want to join Adam in standing in front of the flames to watch it burn. And I will go so much as to promise, that if I see Floyd I will thank him for finally coming clean.
I don't hope to add anything new to the equation. More to mark the sources that have influenced my thinking on the subject.
But grabbing some popcorn (a beer sounds better but doesn't have the same connotations) and sitting back and watching sounds about all that can be done.
news this big hasn't flooded the cycling world in a while, we'll see where the currents take it all and what they reveal when the waters recede.
peidiwch da
G
Why?
sometimes he puts down a gem of a collection of words. Do read the WSJ and ESPN links before the rest of it if you haven't but, seriously. Take a minute to read Adam's comments on the whole Floyd situation right now.
That and I came across two comments today about being sad hearing the news.
One of my team mates on FB: "wonders why the latest news makes everyone so happy. It makes me sad."
When I read that I can say that I heard the announcement more as "finally" than joy. Definitely not happy to hear the news.
Then I read Burt Friggin' Hoovis's Hollow Victory post and this passage explains the sadness and I'm deeply sympathetic to that:
But the emotion that I feel drinking my coffee this morning isn't one of vindication, satisfaction, or even victory. Mostly I just feel sad.I can't deny. The flames aren't going to be pretty if they get going.
These revelations only confirm the great injustice done to people such as Greg Lemond, Gilberto Simeoni, Paul Kimmage, and the great number of riders who's names we'll never know who played by the rules and never achieved success.
My heart breaks for all the people suffering from cancer who, in their greatest moment of desperation, look to an example of a miracle of Lance Armstrong as a reason to preserve with some hope.
And I'm sad for cycling and for what's about to happen.
But my comment over at Drunkcyclist is still in play. This is either going to have the staying power of a candle in a hurricane or it is going to start a god damn forest fire.
Either way Lance will likely come out of the flames like a Nomex Lilly. Still white as can be, with maybe only a small smudge of smoke from the carnage.
People have written more eloquently on the subject. People have read more widely than I have on the subject (tho not by much I'm going to guess). And I have no business adding my opinion.
I can see how it is accepted. Everyone at that level is talented, racehorse/mule bit. All Pro sports have it.
Honestly I really disliked Floyd. I knew he couldn't be clean, no way in hell. Not with the company he was keeping. Frankie Andreu wasn't lying, or was it his wife? I don't know, but the whole time duration has expired on his (FA's) chance to blow the whistle and have it count. But now? I want to join Adam in standing in front of the flames to watch it burn. And I will go so much as to promise, that if I see Floyd I will thank him for finally coming clean.
I don't hope to add anything new to the equation. More to mark the sources that have influenced my thinking on the subject.
But grabbing some popcorn (a beer sounds better but doesn't have the same connotations) and sitting back and watching sounds about all that can be done.
news this big hasn't flooded the cycling world in a while, we'll see where the currents take it all and what they reveal when the waters recede.
peidiwch da
G
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
For Animals, Grass Each Day Keeps Doctors Away - Food - The Atlantic
For Animals, Grass Each Day Keeps Doctors Away - Food - The Atlantic
Good damn article...
Hmmm healthier AND safer (and it tastes better too)???? What isn't there to like about it.
Other than the fact that an overwhelming number (okay all but the tinest fraction of rich hippies and foodies) eat stuff that isn't pasture raised...
Good damn article...
Last year, James McWilliams made the inflammatory argument in the New York Times that keeping livestock outdoors can be unsafe for animals and humans, a thesis he now reprises here. Raising animals on pasture is our particular expertise, so we jumped at The Atlantic's invitation to respond. Regrettably for McWilliams, but fortunately for farm animals, farmers, and consumers, the overwhelming body of scientific evidence confirms what common sense already tells us: animals are happier and healthier when raised with sunshine, fresh air, and grass, and given the opportunity to exercise. Not surprisingly, animals raised on pasture also produce healthier and safer (not to mention tastier) food.
Hmmm healthier AND safer (and it tastes better too)???? What isn't there to like about it.
Other than the fact that an overwhelming number (okay all but the tinest fraction of rich hippies and foodies) eat stuff that isn't pasture raised...
Fog and mist
It was cold.
Okay not cold, but cool on the way in this morning. Full leg warmers mostly to facilitate clean up after getting to work. When the roads are wet leg warmers keep the legs clean, not just warm. Makes it nicer putting pants on after getting in.
I love fog, and I like trying to capture fog through the lens. One of my favorite shots from college is a black and white of the Chapel on a foggy morning. Shot it on Tech Pan film. Super slow and super fine grain. I wish I could put my hands on a copy of that right now. But I can't. I should see about trying to locate those old negatives and do some scans.
Coming in this morning to find my team mate Parke got into a minor accident with a car and that the Cyclonauts crit was canceled sort of put a damper on my mood. Minor accident in that he was able to ride home even with busted bike and road rash. And I guess all my over thinking or pre-thinking really, about the Stafford race yesterday is for naught. No racing memorial day weekend I guess. No way in hell am I headed to Killington. Give me something flat and fast. Maybe I just have to see about trying to get to more Wed Nights. In couple weeks Ballet will be over and well new challenges await then but maybe they will be less of a barrier to getting down and doing laps in the A race.
These last two days I've managed to catch the final 5 km of the Giro stages live. Yesterday was an Italian broadcast, but Tyler's name was unmistakable. Go big guy! Today I found the english one and man those guys all wearing wind jackets, must not have been very warm.
I have not even heard about any results from the ToC. Got enough time and attention span to keep track of one tour at a time and barely even that.
So the shots from this morning and one from yesterday's ride in with the trailer...
peidiwch da
g
Okay not cold, but cool on the way in this morning. Full leg warmers mostly to facilitate clean up after getting to work. When the roads are wet leg warmers keep the legs clean, not just warm. Makes it nicer putting pants on after getting in.
I love fog, and I like trying to capture fog through the lens. One of my favorite shots from college is a black and white of the Chapel on a foggy morning. Shot it on Tech Pan film. Super slow and super fine grain. I wish I could put my hands on a copy of that right now. But I can't. I should see about trying to locate those old negatives and do some scans.
Coming in this morning to find my team mate Parke got into a minor accident with a car and that the Cyclonauts crit was canceled sort of put a damper on my mood. Minor accident in that he was able to ride home even with busted bike and road rash. And I guess all my over thinking or pre-thinking really, about the Stafford race yesterday is for naught. No racing memorial day weekend I guess. No way in hell am I headed to Killington. Give me something flat and fast. Maybe I just have to see about trying to get to more Wed Nights. In couple weeks Ballet will be over and well new challenges await then but maybe they will be less of a barrier to getting down and doing laps in the A race.
These last two days I've managed to catch the final 5 km of the Giro stages live. Yesterday was an Italian broadcast, but Tyler's name was unmistakable. Go big guy! Today I found the english one and man those guys all wearing wind jackets, must not have been very warm.
I have not even heard about any results from the ToC. Got enough time and attention span to keep track of one tour at a time and barely even that.
So the shots from this morning and one from yesterday's ride in with the trailer...
peidiwch da
g
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunapee And the SmackDown
Both have something more than punchy hills in common.
I will not be attending either one this week.
Sure with G-ride hitching up the horses to the wagon to get to the race it is tempting to make the run up there on Saturday. I probably wouldn't finish last, might even have a chance to survive reasonably well in the race. But it isn't going to happen. It is filled. But hey, that's okay, even if it wasn't full I'd be sticking down here in the south for the day.
Tonight is indeed the smackdown race and I'm still pretty knackered from the Sunday slog in the sun. Combined with not sleeping well for the last handful of nights and the rain and the need to bring the ancient (and now maybe dead) laptop/vag-com tool to work, and some team mates tires to mail in, I am bagging the ride in favor of a trailer day.
Some old gas bag is babbling on and on about the category system again. I have to say I agree with him. There are plenty of people in the 4s that should move up. They train as hard/harder than a lot of the 3s have decent predictably high finishes in the 4s and they should move. But USAC seems to be playing the role of self upgrading. If you want to be a three, send them a note with some excuse thinner than a flea's pubic hair and you will get an upgrade sticker. Then you take other people who just camp in the 4s for a long time (years) without ever moving up.
I don't have a solution. Well I do but it probably has more holes than a cheese grater so I'm going to keep it to myself.
I'm racing more but I have done absolutely nothing in the way of regular regimented intervals or training aside from commuting and smack downs and racing. And I like it that way. Next possible race is Stafford. You see I'm trying to avoid any thing like the TP fiasco. Gotta keep G-ride ego somewhat bouyed by not getting beat by me too much. I figure if I stick with races down at Ninigret, New London CT, or heck anywhere in CT, there are overwhelming odds that it will be too far for him to drive, or a race closer to him to attend. See that way he can remain positive about what ever results he has, that and all the races down here are mostly flat.
Stafford though, it is right turns. I've been turning left too much I think. Myles standish (left), Ninigret (left), TP was right but so few turns as not to count. RIGHT TURNS? Heck for a minute there I got all NASCAR about turning left. Left? Me? Turn left? At speed? No wonder I'm not ready for the sort of old dudes race, I'm not sure if i can turn right in a crit or not. All the crits (all two locations) were left hand turns. Oh boy. At least I just have to decide if i'm going to do the 35+ and the 3/4 race or just the 4 or the 4/5 and the 4 or the 4 and the 35 or just make a day of it and unload a big wheelbarrow full of money and do them all (no, not a chance - of either me finding a wheelbarrow full of money or doing all of them). I guess it will come down to how I get there, and at 65-75 miles i'm not riding there or back. Esp over the little pimples of eastern CT.
After that then maybe Whaling City Cyclone... we'll see. But I will say, I may be pack fill in the back of the pack at the finish line but I'm having fun with this racing stuff. It isn't as much fun as CX, but it's still better than not racing.
peidiwch da
G
I will not be attending either one this week.
Sure with G-ride hitching up the horses to the wagon to get to the race it is tempting to make the run up there on Saturday. I probably wouldn't finish last, might even have a chance to survive reasonably well in the race. But it isn't going to happen. It is filled. But hey, that's okay, even if it wasn't full I'd be sticking down here in the south for the day.
Tonight is indeed the smackdown race and I'm still pretty knackered from the Sunday slog in the sun. Combined with not sleeping well for the last handful of nights and the rain and the need to bring the ancient (and now maybe dead) laptop/vag-com tool to work, and some team mates tires to mail in, I am bagging the ride in favor of a trailer day.
Some old gas bag is babbling on and on about the category system again. I have to say I agree with him. There are plenty of people in the 4s that should move up. They train as hard/harder than a lot of the 3s have decent predictably high finishes in the 4s and they should move. But USAC seems to be playing the role of self upgrading. If you want to be a three, send them a note with some excuse thinner than a flea's pubic hair and you will get an upgrade sticker. Then you take other people who just camp in the 4s for a long time (years) without ever moving up.
I don't have a solution. Well I do but it probably has more holes than a cheese grater so I'm going to keep it to myself.
I'm racing more but I have done absolutely nothing in the way of regular regimented intervals or training aside from commuting and smack downs and racing. And I like it that way. Next possible race is Stafford. You see I'm trying to avoid any thing like the TP fiasco. Gotta keep G-ride ego somewhat bouyed by not getting beat by me too much. I figure if I stick with races down at Ninigret, New London CT, or heck anywhere in CT, there are overwhelming odds that it will be too far for him to drive, or a race closer to him to attend. See that way he can remain positive about what ever results he has, that and all the races down here are mostly flat.
Stafford though, it is right turns. I've been turning left too much I think. Myles standish (left), Ninigret (left), TP was right but so few turns as not to count. RIGHT TURNS? Heck for a minute there I got all NASCAR about turning left. Left? Me? Turn left? At speed? No wonder I'm not ready for the sort of old dudes race, I'm not sure if i can turn right in a crit or not. All the crits (all two locations) were left hand turns. Oh boy. At least I just have to decide if i'm going to do the 35+ and the 3/4 race or just the 4 or the 4/5 and the 4 or the 4 and the 35 or just make a day of it and unload a big wheelbarrow full of money and do them all (no, not a chance - of either me finding a wheelbarrow full of money or doing all of them). I guess it will come down to how I get there, and at 65-75 miles i'm not riding there or back. Esp over the little pimples of eastern CT.
After that then maybe Whaling City Cyclone... we'll see. But I will say, I may be pack fill in the back of the pack at the finish line but I'm having fun with this racing stuff. It isn't as much fun as CX, but it's still better than not racing.
peidiwch da
G
Monday, May 17, 2010
And more...
Esp about the ADHD. Now sure, there are a few bike racer friends of mine who don't have kids and don't give a crap about what causes ADHD. "It wasn't around when they were kids" nope. Diagnosis could be part of it but really the biggest part is being revealed with research coming out.
Big news hit that I linked to in the earlier posts... Here's a few more:
Time
CNN
Take Part
WedMD
PANNA is a big (little?) group pushing for pesticide controls.
I'll see if I can dig up the original source... It is in Pediatrics if you want to look.
Big news hit that I linked to in the earlier posts... Here's a few more:
Time
CNN
Take Part
WedMD
PANNA is a big (little?) group pushing for pesticide controls.
I'll see if I can dig up the original source... It is in Pediatrics if you want to look.
Piling on
Greenwashing.
Hey this is what I'm talking about with the pesticide companies and seed giants (wait some are one and the same)...
yeah.
Hey this is what I'm talking about with the pesticide companies and seed giants (wait some are one and the same)...
yeah.
William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?
William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer? | Video on TED.com
It plays right into what I've been reading in the Anticancer book. I'll be honest that Anticancer web page gives me the creeps. BUT the book is very well written and extremely well cited and researched.
Funny how these things are all precipitating now.
Turns out the food we are eating is the cause of it all?
Eating animals that eat a balanced Omega-3 to 6 ratio can cause people eating the SAME number of calories to be 3-4 pounds lighter after the trial period?
Seriously?
All you have to do is eat right? Same calories even AND YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
No way.
The angiogenesis stuff is pretty insanely cool. The book points out that most drug therapies have a bunch of side effects that aren't really all that good.
Now adding it together I was reading the bit about the xenoestrogens in the book last night and what comes on the TV this morning?
Pesticides linked to ADHD in kids. Wait. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
There is an environmental cause?
And it "COULD" be pesticides?
No
way
i'm
SHOCKED.
F'N SHOCKED!!!
One other bit of info that I knew, but hadn't drawn together was the synergistic effects that happen when things are combined.
William Li goes into it in a POSITIVE way in the TED talk, and David Servan-Schreiber does both the negative and positives of combining. A positive example would be Tumeric, Olive Oil and Black Pepper. Combined are the most anti-inflammatory cocktail you can have. Add some honey if the Tumeric is too bitter. On the negative side is the pesticides and herbicides and fungicides and chemical toxins.
Using examples of normal toxins found in the environment being safe along but lethal in combination with other very common toxins. LETHAL (in small mammals likely) but still.
That's some SERIOUSLY BAD stuff.
No wonder we're a country with an obese cancer ridden population. The Chemical lobbyist believe there isn't a problem, don't want to have any studies affect the use of their huge dollar crops. Conventional Farmers would lose TONS of money if they had to switch to organics in crop losses the way they are farming now, with the seeds and crop rotations they are following. And they don't make much money. They people selling them the seed and the fertilizer make money hand over fist. They aren't the ones suffering if weather hits. They have a guaranteed sale.
The system is busted.
It needs to be fixed or people are just going to keep getting sicker and sicker...
It plays right into what I've been reading in the Anticancer book. I'll be honest that Anticancer web page gives me the creeps. BUT the book is very well written and extremely well cited and researched.
Funny how these things are all precipitating now.
Turns out the food we are eating is the cause of it all?
Eating animals that eat a balanced Omega-3 to 6 ratio can cause people eating the SAME number of calories to be 3-4 pounds lighter after the trial period?
Seriously?
All you have to do is eat right? Same calories even AND YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
No way.
The angiogenesis stuff is pretty insanely cool. The book points out that most drug therapies have a bunch of side effects that aren't really all that good.
Now adding it together I was reading the bit about the xenoestrogens in the book last night and what comes on the TV this morning?
Pesticides linked to ADHD in kids. Wait. ARE YOU SERIOUS?
There is an environmental cause?
And it "COULD" be pesticides?
No
way
i'm
SHOCKED.
F'N SHOCKED!!!
One other bit of info that I knew, but hadn't drawn together was the synergistic effects that happen when things are combined.
William Li goes into it in a POSITIVE way in the TED talk, and David Servan-Schreiber does both the negative and positives of combining. A positive example would be Tumeric, Olive Oil and Black Pepper. Combined are the most anti-inflammatory cocktail you can have. Add some honey if the Tumeric is too bitter. On the negative side is the pesticides and herbicides and fungicides and chemical toxins.
Using examples of normal toxins found in the environment being safe along but lethal in combination with other very common toxins. LETHAL (in small mammals likely) but still.
That's some SERIOUSLY BAD stuff.
No wonder we're a country with an obese cancer ridden population. The Chemical lobbyist believe there isn't a problem, don't want to have any studies affect the use of their huge dollar crops. Conventional Farmers would lose TONS of money if they had to switch to organics in crop losses the way they are farming now, with the seeds and crop rotations they are following. And they don't make much money. They people selling them the seed and the fertilizer make money hand over fist. They aren't the ones suffering if weather hits. They have a guaranteed sale.
The system is busted.
It needs to be fixed or people are just going to keep getting sicker and sicker...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
2800
Yeah, just a number.
Today was intense.
Of course the one morning I don't bother setting the alarm because for 2+ weeks the dog hasn't failed to wake me up at 5:30am. Today I woke up and the clock said 6:20am. Thanks Lucy but I kind of was planning on you waking me almost an hour earlier.
A bit of a rush (left with my bag carrying too much stuff) but I made it to the Coffee Exchange in time. Let Fatty Load the bike on the car while I ran in past the dude smoking a joint there in a chair on the sidewalk, got my cup of Guatemalan French Roast (soooooooooooo good OMG that was like heaven in a cup). And we headed south.
Got there, stood in line for quite a long time while a handful of Day Of Reg people were entered by hand into the sheet, got my number. Pinned up. It was cool and so I chose the long sleeve skinsuit. Yes. I work jersey and shorts in the morning for the ride to the city (with arm and knee warmers and baselayer - it was 50 degrees). And I stuffed both long and short sleeve ss in the bag. Went with long. Rubbed down with some nice cooling ben gay ultra strength (Love the smell) pulled out some Death Magnetic, went to take a shit (in a toilet that was only flushing about a 1/4 of the previous 4 people's crap), then did a few warm up efforts around the park and well got two laps in before our race started.
Lined up 2nd row and boom like an explosion the race was full gas from Bill Dolan's whistle. A couple guys were trying to get a break going. And so I went to the front. We had good representation in the race and so I figured I'd be the one to hit the front to cover the early breaks in case something stuck.
A group got off the front and I bridged up and we had a gap for a while but the pack was hungry and pulled us back in (i was sitting in, maybe should have attacked the group if I wanted it to stick). So for about 5-8 laps or so I was on the front, in the wind or just out of the wind, helping to keep the race more or less single or double file. Thing settled down a bit and I drifted back. But they never really felt like they slowed down.
It was the fastest cat 4 race I've done there on that course. It was crazy. Much faster than the 3/4 race when Gary and Scott went off in a successful break.
There were a good number of total squirrels. Couldn't hold a line for shit, that or they didn't really care and were chopping lines and causing lots of brake checking and pissed off people.
I didn't hear him much hassling me but EVERYONE told me "The Announcer" was really singling you out and telling you to get to the front when you weren't. Thanks Paul. I had no idea you were carrying on your start line advice the whole race. I heard it a few times, and Man with 2 to go I went to the front. Top 10-15 after the finish, moving up and settling in feeling pretty good... then...
one of the line chopping d-bags chopped a guy in front of me who slowed a ton and had to pull and evasive maneuver onto the grass and well i was left with no choice but to kill my momentum and slide pretty much all the way back. Yeah I should have moved up even further.
I was cooked and just sprinted to stick with the pack and rolled in at 37th or something. Dr. Flats-a-lot was 2nd, money man (brier) was 9th? and Fatty was 13th.
Kurt was there and he was going to chill at the back. About 1/2 through he wasn't there. Next lap I looked and his bike was leaning up against his truck. Doh. It was pretty damn fast. At least I thought it was and he did too.
Post race, did the whole debrief with the team, then found Kurt and had a cold beverage on his tailgate before getting my bag and riding back home.
53 miles according to maps.google.com from Ninigret course to my house.
Meh 53? No big deal.
Well I was cooked. sure 22 laps around there is nothing. but other than the Smack downs and races my rides over the last couple months have almost totally consisted of 8.5 mile rides 2x a day (too and from work).
I thought I had lucked out. The wind seemed to have switched over from North to South. Tailwind. Perfect.
And I headed out.
And I picked Murat's choice. Route 1
o
m
g
that road sucks
boring
flat (good)
and not a single other cyclists
and a FLIPPING HEADWIND (yeah, forgot to mention, the wind didn't really switch)
i would get hungry and suck down a bit of sports drink...
it
was
not
much fun but it really wasn't that bad. Kept ticking out a rhythm.
Only got yelled at once by a car (it did scare the shit out of me) and a couple kids in west greenwich shouted "HEY LANCE"
it was tough.
my plan was to get to the team's shop sponsor Casters. I needed to take a leak, refill bottles (i stuffed a 1/2 empty can of Gatorade drink powder in the bag too).
Stopped for about 30 minutes.
And got going. Oh man this sucked. And the wind, kept blowing.
Finally made it to India Point Park. And on my bike path. For a bit there I thought Maybe the wind had shifted and I would have another headwind.
But nope.
Tail wind.
Thankfully.
Made it home at 3:40pm. After leaving at 7:20am.
Felt like I was riding the whole time.
Blue Lizard saved my skin. Except where I missed a few spots. But they are small and not too problematic.
Right around 80 miles today with a race tossed in there there.
Legs feel pretty trashed.
But man it was too nice of a day to waste off the bike.
Ran some 700x25 Ultremo DDs I ditched the fat boys. These 25s are narrow 25s. It has me thinking about getting some Ultremo Rs in the 28s for crits. But these worked great riding from there to here over glass and sand and shitty roads of Route 1 and Allen Ave. And at 85 psi I could corner w/o problem. They stuck very well.
No issues.
And
I'm
freaking
tired.
It was great racing with the team, hanging out with Kurt and his folks post race, saying hey to JD, Bill D, and Paul. Cat 5 team mate paul S got 3rd in his race so the team did pretty well.
Thanks to Mystic Velo for putting on the race, and Bill and the rest of the officials for showing up, Paul for announcing and JD for doing the results.
It was a great day.
Tired but happy.
peidiwch da
g
Today was intense.
Of course the one morning I don't bother setting the alarm because for 2+ weeks the dog hasn't failed to wake me up at 5:30am. Today I woke up and the clock said 6:20am. Thanks Lucy but I kind of was planning on you waking me almost an hour earlier.
A bit of a rush (left with my bag carrying too much stuff) but I made it to the Coffee Exchange in time. Let Fatty Load the bike on the car while I ran in past the dude smoking a joint there in a chair on the sidewalk, got my cup of Guatemalan French Roast (soooooooooooo good OMG that was like heaven in a cup). And we headed south.
Got there, stood in line for quite a long time while a handful of Day Of Reg people were entered by hand into the sheet, got my number. Pinned up. It was cool and so I chose the long sleeve skinsuit. Yes. I work jersey and shorts in the morning for the ride to the city (with arm and knee warmers and baselayer - it was 50 degrees). And I stuffed both long and short sleeve ss in the bag. Went with long. Rubbed down with some nice cooling ben gay ultra strength (Love the smell) pulled out some Death Magnetic, went to take a shit (in a toilet that was only flushing about a 1/4 of the previous 4 people's crap), then did a few warm up efforts around the park and well got two laps in before our race started.
Lined up 2nd row and boom like an explosion the race was full gas from Bill Dolan's whistle. A couple guys were trying to get a break going. And so I went to the front. We had good representation in the race and so I figured I'd be the one to hit the front to cover the early breaks in case something stuck.
A group got off the front and I bridged up and we had a gap for a while but the pack was hungry and pulled us back in (i was sitting in, maybe should have attacked the group if I wanted it to stick). So for about 5-8 laps or so I was on the front, in the wind or just out of the wind, helping to keep the race more or less single or double file. Thing settled down a bit and I drifted back. But they never really felt like they slowed down.
It was the fastest cat 4 race I've done there on that course. It was crazy. Much faster than the 3/4 race when Gary and Scott went off in a successful break.
There were a good number of total squirrels. Couldn't hold a line for shit, that or they didn't really care and were chopping lines and causing lots of brake checking and pissed off people.
I didn't hear him much hassling me but EVERYONE told me "The Announcer" was really singling you out and telling you to get to the front when you weren't. Thanks Paul. I had no idea you were carrying on your start line advice the whole race. I heard it a few times, and Man with 2 to go I went to the front. Top 10-15 after the finish, moving up and settling in feeling pretty good... then...
one of the line chopping d-bags chopped a guy in front of me who slowed a ton and had to pull and evasive maneuver onto the grass and well i was left with no choice but to kill my momentum and slide pretty much all the way back. Yeah I should have moved up even further.
I was cooked and just sprinted to stick with the pack and rolled in at 37th or something. Dr. Flats-a-lot was 2nd, money man (brier) was 9th? and Fatty was 13th.
Kurt was there and he was going to chill at the back. About 1/2 through he wasn't there. Next lap I looked and his bike was leaning up against his truck. Doh. It was pretty damn fast. At least I thought it was and he did too.
Post race, did the whole debrief with the team, then found Kurt and had a cold beverage on his tailgate before getting my bag and riding back home.
53 miles according to maps.google.com from Ninigret course to my house.
Meh 53? No big deal.
Well I was cooked. sure 22 laps around there is nothing. but other than the Smack downs and races my rides over the last couple months have almost totally consisted of 8.5 mile rides 2x a day (too and from work).
I thought I had lucked out. The wind seemed to have switched over from North to South. Tailwind. Perfect.
And I headed out.
And I picked Murat's choice. Route 1
o
m
g
that road sucks
boring
flat (good)
and not a single other cyclists
and a FLIPPING HEADWIND (yeah, forgot to mention, the wind didn't really switch)
i would get hungry and suck down a bit of sports drink...
it
was
not
much fun but it really wasn't that bad. Kept ticking out a rhythm.
Only got yelled at once by a car (it did scare the shit out of me) and a couple kids in west greenwich shouted "HEY LANCE"
it was tough.
my plan was to get to the team's shop sponsor Casters. I needed to take a leak, refill bottles (i stuffed a 1/2 empty can of Gatorade drink powder in the bag too).
Stopped for about 30 minutes.
And got going. Oh man this sucked. And the wind, kept blowing.
Finally made it to India Point Park. And on my bike path. For a bit there I thought Maybe the wind had shifted and I would have another headwind.
But nope.
Tail wind.
Thankfully.
Made it home at 3:40pm. After leaving at 7:20am.
Felt like I was riding the whole time.
Blue Lizard saved my skin. Except where I missed a few spots. But they are small and not too problematic.
Right around 80 miles today with a race tossed in there there.
Legs feel pretty trashed.
But man it was too nice of a day to waste off the bike.
Ran some 700x25 Ultremo DDs I ditched the fat boys. These 25s are narrow 25s. It has me thinking about getting some Ultremo Rs in the 28s for crits. But these worked great riding from there to here over glass and sand and shitty roads of Route 1 and Allen Ave. And at 85 psi I could corner w/o problem. They stuck very well.
No issues.
And
I'm
freaking
tired.
It was great racing with the team, hanging out with Kurt and his folks post race, saying hey to JD, Bill D, and Paul. Cat 5 team mate paul S got 3rd in his race so the team did pretty well.
Thanks to Mystic Velo for putting on the race, and Bill and the rest of the officials for showing up, Paul for announcing and JD for doing the results.
It was a great day.
Tired but happy.
peidiwch da
g
Saturday, May 15, 2010
THAT WAS INCREDIBLE
Holy SH!T that was AMAZING. The Giro.
Todays stage. can't wait for all the pictures to come out. It was brilliant.
Esp the finish. Wow.
wow...
really...
Watching Cadel overcook it in the corner, then fight back and f'n lead them through the tiny streets and then lead out AND F'N WIN!!!
amazing
that was a bike race. all those dirt roads... no big pack everyone split up... true racing
wow
Todays stage. can't wait for all the pictures to come out. It was brilliant.
Esp the finish. Wow.
wow...
really...
Watching Cadel overcook it in the corner, then fight back and f'n lead them through the tiny streets and then lead out AND F'N WIN!!!
amazing
that was a bike race. all those dirt roads... no big pack everyone split up... true racing
wow
Thursday, May 13, 2010
pooped
zero zip in the legs this morning - tired - into a headwind. and yeah i hitched up the trailer. loaded with tires but with the odd chance that the youngest might need to be picked up mid-day and that would be me. We made it through the day w/o incident I guess, and it was nice not lugging 8 tires and a handful of tubes along with the rest of the crap on my back. Even if it was a death march into the wind.
Ooof.
Tired.
Almost broke down and got a coffee this morning. That's how bad it was. Reading this article didn't help much, but then again I probably can't get a real Italian espresso in Providence.
Lost my train of thought - too tired to keep up with it.
But i signed up for Mystic Velo's Crit on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
And If you're looking for a nice sampler 4 pack of tasty beers, grab the Canis Major Mixed pack. Some awesome little bottles of nectar!
that's it for today - if you haven't weighed in on the skewer debate please do, and if your friend is being a dofus with a rear facing skewer, yell at them for me.
peidiwch da
g
Ooof.
Tired.
Almost broke down and got a coffee this morning. That's how bad it was. Reading this article didn't help much, but then again I probably can't get a real Italian espresso in Providence.
Lost my train of thought - too tired to keep up with it.
But i signed up for Mystic Velo's Crit on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
And If you're looking for a nice sampler 4 pack of tasty beers, grab the Canis Major Mixed pack. Some awesome little bottles of nectar!
that's it for today - if you haven't weighed in on the skewer debate please do, and if your friend is being a dofus with a rear facing skewer, yell at them for me.
peidiwch da
g
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Rear QR position location
Someone told me long ago that the front QR either goes straight back or with the campy style up parallel with the front fork. Never forward.
No debate there generally.
But that rear QR.
I know I'm not alone in thinking the QR pointing to the back is both aesthetically annoying and potentially unsafe on the road. Why unsafe? Well I think it was at the Amherst Stage race in the early 90s I witnessed a great example of why. Big bunch making that 180 right turn slightly up hill, lots of rubbing and someone got a wheel in on the non-drive side and flipped open a QR that was pointing back. At least that's what I remember. It was a long freaking time ago. Anyway.
I was always told to run it parallel to the chainstay or tuck it in the middle of the seat and chainstay.
With the old Campy and shimano shaped levers the middle of the triangle made the most sense.
#1 when doing a fast wheel change you had nice stable leverage when opening or closing it (from the frame).
Someone suggested that it is always best to run it back now on the road. But I'm not satisfied with their logic.
So
Internet.
With your comments - lets see what my friends here have to say...
what angle do you secure your rear QR lever and why.
No debate there generally.
But that rear QR.
I know I'm not alone in thinking the QR pointing to the back is both aesthetically annoying and potentially unsafe on the road. Why unsafe? Well I think it was at the Amherst Stage race in the early 90s I witnessed a great example of why. Big bunch making that 180 right turn slightly up hill, lots of rubbing and someone got a wheel in on the non-drive side and flipped open a QR that was pointing back. At least that's what I remember. It was a long freaking time ago. Anyway.
I was always told to run it parallel to the chainstay or tuck it in the middle of the seat and chainstay.
With the old Campy and shimano shaped levers the middle of the triangle made the most sense.
#1 when doing a fast wheel change you had nice stable leverage when opening or closing it (from the frame).
Someone suggested that it is always best to run it back now on the road. But I'm not satisfied with their logic.
So
Internet.
With your comments - lets see what my friends here have to say...
what angle do you secure your rear QR lever and why.
Success
In a way. Honestly I still was unable to hold the wheels when Evan and a few others accelerated up a certain hill on Snake Hill on the way home and I had to ride at the limit to keep them in sight. Then Dr Flats-a-lot joined me towing Derdowski up to me and we had a quick conference after the stop sign; "Soft pedal home or Paceline?"
Um. Duh. Pace Line. And we drilled it. (we'd let the group get out of sight with the traffic and having to wait)
Saw them turning right there at 44, and kept them sort of in view and slowly gaining on them until we hit that light on Greenville. And we had to wait. But less than a 1/4 mile down the bike path we latched on for the cool down section of the ride.
So no getting shelled this week. No it wasn't the fastest of the Tuesday night options, probably not the fastest edition of the Mark Nicholson Smack Down, but it was still good.
What did I do right this time? I hydrated properly during the day. Timing and type of food was correct and my attitude was better. And I raised the saddle about 5mm. It has felt too low the last few times riding it, last night it felt perfect.
I also felt like I had legs. Getting to the second rendezvous point was effortless unlike last time when my legs were luggage.
I did wind up sort of leading out the warm up section through the stop lights, stop signs and then onto the bike path. Pace wasn't pedestrian but it wasn't an effort. Once on Greenville I let a few others set the pace. I stayed out of the wind and realized that I had 8 team mates there with 3 others. So yeah 11? Not so bad. Not a huge group but manageable and we worked it well. And for a change I was never in trouble up austin. (Power of positive thought? or decent legs? or...)
I didn't contest the first sprint, but I matched the lift in the pace. Then the second set of climbs I was hurting a bit, but kept it within striking distance and used a few team mates and some of my own pace making to bridge back up to the yield/left turn after the sheep farm. And then Douglas Hook? I felt great. Didn't match Casey and Evan's attack but I matched the rest and even tossed in a bit of my own acceleration coming up over the last rise. Casey and Evan opened a pretty sizable gap on us and this was the down hill section. All downhill. And I love it. Esp when I'm in the group and chasing some little guys. It was all out for me. I had to make up that gap. Close it.
And I did. I closed that gap right down and caught them on the rollers on the back side. But I was spent. It really takes a lot of energy to go fast down hill. Not just fast but drop the rest of the group fast, which is what I did by the time I caught the leading pair. But that took it all out. Legs were fried coming up that last hill into 44 in Chepachet. We re-grouped, let Derdowski roll up into the group and hit Tuorletot hill road. Brent and I were up front. and we set a moderate pace. Not too fast, but not easy, there was talking behind at first but about 1/2 up the hill it got quiet.
With just over 400 meters to go, maybe a touch farther, Brent upped the pace. I know he's been looking for a hill top victory so since I was riding on the outside lane of a double pace line I just held my speed. It gave him instantly 30 yards. And I wondered why no one was coming around, but I held my pace and finally someone came around. And then I found I could match the accelerations of everyone. Man it was nice going up at a steady pace, no speeding up/slowing down going up hill.
The section after the hill is my favorite. Right up until we get back onto snake hill for the final time. There aren't any sprint points but man it is rolling and slightly down hill and I love to drill it.
And that's what I did. I let it all hang out. Max effort attacking for a while. Sure I was going to pay for the efforts on the last few hills on Snake Hill rd but I kept thinking that JONNY BOLD! and Cronoman would attack the shit out of this section to w/o regard to what's next. And I did. Attack for a while, drag everyone along in the vortex draft of mine, let someone pull through, drift back a bit... and attack who ever was up front. Repeat repeat repeat. and Repeat. I was towing everyone along giving them a ride and sucking every ounce out of my legs but it was fun.
When we hit the second rise there at Snake Hill I didn't quite have the legs, not quite enough recovery. Twinges of protest from the hamstrings and quads were reminding me just how far I pushed it. But I drilled it hard when the road tipped down. Caught between Dr Flats and Derdowski and the group up front I just kept my head down and motored as best I could with fading legs.
We got back to the city and I found I could attack atwells after the recovery cruise. And still have enough to attack the first half of Waterman. Second half? not so much.
Post ride I still had the cool down for the ride home. It was not easy. But I think it was very helpful riding those last 8 miles as slowly as I could. One beer, some pizza and bed (yeah how is that for healthy eh? it was good pizza though).
So yeah.
It was more successful, but not total domination. Still have a ways to go. And yeah it was just a ride. Did I link Brent's write up (which I'm sure many have seen already) from last night? He had his new Garmin 500 on and the data wasn't so bad. Not amazing or anything, not going to be upgrading to Cat 2 anytime soon, much less 3 but I will still admit numbers and data is pretty cool. And that 500 looks sweet. But I should buy road shoes or something before I spend money on that. Well I'll have to get a new pair of CX shoes before road shoes so maybe I won't ever buy new road shoes.
Stay tuned for a quick poll in the next post. I'm curious as to what the internet consensus is.
peidiwch da
G
Um. Duh. Pace Line. And we drilled it. (we'd let the group get out of sight with the traffic and having to wait)
Saw them turning right there at 44, and kept them sort of in view and slowly gaining on them until we hit that light on Greenville. And we had to wait. But less than a 1/4 mile down the bike path we latched on for the cool down section of the ride.
So no getting shelled this week. No it wasn't the fastest of the Tuesday night options, probably not the fastest edition of the Mark Nicholson Smack Down, but it was still good.
What did I do right this time? I hydrated properly during the day. Timing and type of food was correct and my attitude was better. And I raised the saddle about 5mm. It has felt too low the last few times riding it, last night it felt perfect.
I also felt like I had legs. Getting to the second rendezvous point was effortless unlike last time when my legs were luggage.
I did wind up sort of leading out the warm up section through the stop lights, stop signs and then onto the bike path. Pace wasn't pedestrian but it wasn't an effort. Once on Greenville I let a few others set the pace. I stayed out of the wind and realized that I had 8 team mates there with 3 others. So yeah 11? Not so bad. Not a huge group but manageable and we worked it well. And for a change I was never in trouble up austin. (Power of positive thought? or decent legs? or...)
I didn't contest the first sprint, but I matched the lift in the pace. Then the second set of climbs I was hurting a bit, but kept it within striking distance and used a few team mates and some of my own pace making to bridge back up to the yield/left turn after the sheep farm. And then Douglas Hook? I felt great. Didn't match Casey and Evan's attack but I matched the rest and even tossed in a bit of my own acceleration coming up over the last rise. Casey and Evan opened a pretty sizable gap on us and this was the down hill section. All downhill. And I love it. Esp when I'm in the group and chasing some little guys. It was all out for me. I had to make up that gap. Close it.
And I did. I closed that gap right down and caught them on the rollers on the back side. But I was spent. It really takes a lot of energy to go fast down hill. Not just fast but drop the rest of the group fast, which is what I did by the time I caught the leading pair. But that took it all out. Legs were fried coming up that last hill into 44 in Chepachet. We re-grouped, let Derdowski roll up into the group and hit Tuorletot hill road. Brent and I were up front. and we set a moderate pace. Not too fast, but not easy, there was talking behind at first but about 1/2 up the hill it got quiet.
With just over 400 meters to go, maybe a touch farther, Brent upped the pace. I know he's been looking for a hill top victory so since I was riding on the outside lane of a double pace line I just held my speed. It gave him instantly 30 yards. And I wondered why no one was coming around, but I held my pace and finally someone came around. And then I found I could match the accelerations of everyone. Man it was nice going up at a steady pace, no speeding up/slowing down going up hill.
The section after the hill is my favorite. Right up until we get back onto snake hill for the final time. There aren't any sprint points but man it is rolling and slightly down hill and I love to drill it.
And that's what I did. I let it all hang out. Max effort attacking for a while. Sure I was going to pay for the efforts on the last few hills on Snake Hill rd but I kept thinking that JONNY BOLD! and Cronoman would attack the shit out of this section to w/o regard to what's next. And I did. Attack for a while, drag everyone along in the vortex draft of mine, let someone pull through, drift back a bit... and attack who ever was up front. Repeat repeat repeat. and Repeat. I was towing everyone along giving them a ride and sucking every ounce out of my legs but it was fun.
When we hit the second rise there at Snake Hill I didn't quite have the legs, not quite enough recovery. Twinges of protest from the hamstrings and quads were reminding me just how far I pushed it. But I drilled it hard when the road tipped down. Caught between Dr Flats and Derdowski and the group up front I just kept my head down and motored as best I could with fading legs.
We got back to the city and I found I could attack atwells after the recovery cruise. And still have enough to attack the first half of Waterman. Second half? not so much.
Post ride I still had the cool down for the ride home. It was not easy. But I think it was very helpful riding those last 8 miles as slowly as I could. One beer, some pizza and bed (yeah how is that for healthy eh? it was good pizza though).
So yeah.
It was more successful, but not total domination. Still have a ways to go. And yeah it was just a ride. Did I link Brent's write up (which I'm sure many have seen already) from last night? He had his new Garmin 500 on and the data wasn't so bad. Not amazing or anything, not going to be upgrading to Cat 2 anytime soon, much less 3 but I will still admit numbers and data is pretty cool. And that 500 looks sweet. But I should buy road shoes or something before I spend money on that. Well I'll have to get a new pair of CX shoes before road shoes so maybe I won't ever buy new road shoes.
Stay tuned for a quick poll in the next post. I'm curious as to what the internet consensus is.
peidiwch da
G
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sounds good
So good: Pasta in brodo
That's the very sad truth about Stock. The more you have around the more you use it until you don't have it then you don't use it.
When I make stock I will often freeze it in 2 cup amounts because it really doesn't keep very long in the fridge. And even then, I will go for that frozen bit of stock anytime I'm making a tomato based sauce, or rice or a soup or a stir fry or... the list goes on and on.
But right now, a big pile of angel hair pasta in a nice broth topped with buckets of really nice pungent and delicate parm on top...
And my efforts to keep from eating lunch this early are in trouble. Thanks to Mark Bittman, damn it. Can't eat now or i will be bonkitudinal on the Smack Down. I had plenty of breakfast. Ate it at 7:30 instead of 6:30, a delicious sandwich of Kale, cheese, egg, bacon and salami (times 2). I'm making a conscious effort to cut back the evening calories and adding more in the morning. So far I haven't added any weight, and that's a start.
I took a moment and read the whole 7 page thread here about Zanc. Mike's just one of those great guys. Man he really didn't like being called Jiggles. And I'll be honest. I love steel bikes but in my size I think they look silly, no slight meant towards the tall freaks with locally built and sweet ass ferrous bikes (Rich and MIF). Fat aluminum tubes just look "better" in the 60+ cm sizes than steel. All the years riding different bikes I did find the ride of aluminum more suited to me than anything else (for the record I have not tried carbon yet - so that leaves lugged, tigged steel and aluminum alloys). Every bike is different.
No doubt.
And there is no doubt that Mike's stuff is top shelf gorgeous. I know I lusted after that Speedvagen and Dan's bike is pretty off the hook amazing, but given the choice, and with cash in hand and the directive only to buy any Steel CX bike from a small shop, I would, without hesitation, place an order with Mike. Maybe he will hit the aluminum side of things at some point when i am in a position to hand him some cash for a frame.
Maybe I need to get working on that cookbook idea sooner than later.
Peidiwch da
G
That's the very sad truth about Stock. The more you have around the more you use it until you don't have it then you don't use it.
When I make stock I will often freeze it in 2 cup amounts because it really doesn't keep very long in the fridge. And even then, I will go for that frozen bit of stock anytime I'm making a tomato based sauce, or rice or a soup or a stir fry or... the list goes on and on.
But right now, a big pile of angel hair pasta in a nice broth topped with buckets of really nice pungent and delicate parm on top...
And my efforts to keep from eating lunch this early are in trouble. Thanks to Mark Bittman, damn it. Can't eat now or i will be bonkitudinal on the Smack Down. I had plenty of breakfast. Ate it at 7:30 instead of 6:30, a delicious sandwich of Kale, cheese, egg, bacon and salami (times 2). I'm making a conscious effort to cut back the evening calories and adding more in the morning. So far I haven't added any weight, and that's a start.
I took a moment and read the whole 7 page thread here about Zanc. Mike's just one of those great guys. Man he really didn't like being called Jiggles. And I'll be honest. I love steel bikes but in my size I think they look silly, no slight meant towards the tall freaks with locally built and sweet ass ferrous bikes (Rich and MIF). Fat aluminum tubes just look "better" in the 60+ cm sizes than steel. All the years riding different bikes I did find the ride of aluminum more suited to me than anything else (for the record I have not tried carbon yet - so that leaves lugged, tigged steel and aluminum alloys). Every bike is different.
No doubt.
And there is no doubt that Mike's stuff is top shelf gorgeous. I know I lusted after that Speedvagen and Dan's bike is pretty off the hook amazing, but given the choice, and with cash in hand and the directive only to buy any Steel CX bike from a small shop, I would, without hesitation, place an order with Mike. Maybe he will hit the aluminum side of things at some point when i am in a position to hand him some cash for a frame.
Maybe I need to get working on that cookbook idea sooner than later.
Peidiwch da
G
When the going gets weird,
the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson
Good Old (dead) HST.
the ride in was not nearly as cold as it was yesterday, but then that may have been the deletion of the vest and arm warmers replaced by the winter vermarc jacket and the knee warmers replaced by leg warmers. That and the silent effortless of the Klein compared to the rattly fendered Giant.
The smack down is tonight - and no thunderboomers are expected. We'll see who shows up this week. Going to be positive. No negative self talk. I can stay with the group. I can make it to the end. Phone is charged today for a change. All is good. Even the lack of a good night sleep for the past week or so won't be a problem.
Good Old (dead) HST.
the ride in was not nearly as cold as it was yesterday, but then that may have been the deletion of the vest and arm warmers replaced by the winter vermarc jacket and the knee warmers replaced by leg warmers. That and the silent effortless of the Klein compared to the rattly fendered Giant.
The smack down is tonight - and no thunderboomers are expected. We'll see who shows up this week. Going to be positive. No negative self talk. I can stay with the group. I can make it to the end. Phone is charged today for a change. All is good. Even the lack of a good night sleep for the past week or so won't be a problem.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Stopping for red lights
Yeah. I do. And I even stop for them when it is clear and no one is around. granted I only see a half dozen or more on each trip, and I will occasionally take a different route to minimize red light interactions. But I do feel it is important to stop and wait. Let drivers see that while I may not be breaking the speed limit like autos do every place, at least I am no running red lights like most of the cyclists around.
My wife forwarded me the comments to this NY Times Op-Ed. Not a bad read. In a way it is like driving the speed limit on the highway. Sure, you might be the slowest car on the road but if you've tried it, you know it is very relaxing and a calming way to drive.
It builds a bit on what a few callers to the Heidi Swift/Eben Weiss talk show last week.
I was headed in this morning, started to get out the door at 7:40 or so and the temp was still cold, but the sun was shining. Hmm. Maybe if i wait a few minutes it will warm up a touch.
Nope.
It didn't. Still cold.
But. That waiting found me slowly reeling in a rider up ahead. Someone I hadn't come across before on the path. Turned out to be Reed on his way to work. He had the same thoughts (waiting for it to warm up a bit). And that wind was BRUTAL this morning. Killer headwind.
It was nice catching up and chatting. I do like the social aspect of riding, I have to admit. Esp when commuting.
I do wish I had raced at Sterling, sure the course doesn't suit me and I had WAY too much going on, and had a fantastic morning with my youngest instead, but if I didn't have stuff going on more important than bike racing I think it would have been fun. I make no secret to the fact that I kind of like adverse conditions. I like it when it is nasty and all that. My layer of old man blubber does a good job keeping the core temp from plunging like most anorexic bike racers with 1% body fat and water and rain make me feel at home, comfortable. But reading Solo's colorful retelling of the race, well, for a change his wheel choice matched my options. And he successfully destroyed ever last thread of confidence that I could be even marginally competitive against the light carbon hooped masses that are overwhelmingly prevalent even in the Cat 4 field. Oh well. I guess I can still work on making the muscle stronger between my ears and at the same time trying to overcome the handicaps the cards have dealt me. I head the 4s were a mess. 35s had tons of crashes. One of my team mates flatted the second year in a row, this time he blew out his brand, and i mean BRAND new Ultremo Tubulars, yeah they are impossible to get, have been back-ordered for a couple years and he goes and blows on when a guy in front of him juked around a water covered pothole at the last second... This is also the same guy who flatted at Battenkill every year he's ridden it. Once more than once, and that first year when i stopped to give him a tube and let him use my pump, only to have him just ride away from me leaving me alone on the hill only to be saved by Wayne Cunningham's gracious and generous offering of a full bottle. Yeah I'm not a clydesdale, i'm a damn fucking elephant. Seriously, he flats more in races than anyone else I know. Last year he flatted twice. Actually 3 times. The third time his tire exploded while we were driving home. And it would still be funny if it wasn't a $150 tire destroying funny this time. Honestly I probably would have given Kurt a run for his money there as DFL. But then reading Kevin's Sterling Saga, well that doesn't sound much fun. But he's one of those 1% body fat guys. He can totally kick my ass but still, sometimes being a big 9-12% body fat fatty is a good thing.
What would I have worn? I don't know. At those temps I would have been actually leaning towards the vermarc winter jacket I have in team colors. But it is pretty heavy when wet, would have added a good 5 pounds of just water. The vest probably would have been mandatory at the least and a good heavy thick coating on the legs. Likely going with my secret embro. But, well, it doesn't matter. I didn't ride, nor race on saturday. I've certainly commuted in that type of conditions plenty of time in the past without dying, but as Solo or some other old curmudgeon will likely point out, commuting for 45 minutes in those conditions is much more like CX than racing for 2 hours in that shit.
Mystic Velo's crit down at Ninigret is Sunday. The girls are otherwise occupied all morning and through most of the afternoon, all I have to do is figure out how to get there. Maybe the weather will be conducive to riding down. Would be a good warm up, and the race isn't until 9:40am... plenty of time, hmm. Maybe not that much time.
Bunch of other stuff to go through but, hey, writing this has taken all freaking day as it is. 30 sec here, a minute there, trying to figure out what the hell the rest of the sentence was supposed to be. Not figuring out where that train of thought was going and then - shit happened again. Three times for this one. Ah well. I've got more pictures to upload and other stuff floating around that will just have to wait.
Peidiwch da
G
My wife forwarded me the comments to this NY Times Op-Ed. Not a bad read. In a way it is like driving the speed limit on the highway. Sure, you might be the slowest car on the road but if you've tried it, you know it is very relaxing and a calming way to drive.
It builds a bit on what a few callers to the Heidi Swift/Eben Weiss talk show last week.
I was headed in this morning, started to get out the door at 7:40 or so and the temp was still cold, but the sun was shining. Hmm. Maybe if i wait a few minutes it will warm up a touch.
Nope.
It didn't. Still cold.
But. That waiting found me slowly reeling in a rider up ahead. Someone I hadn't come across before on the path. Turned out to be Reed on his way to work. He had the same thoughts (waiting for it to warm up a bit). And that wind was BRUTAL this morning. Killer headwind.
It was nice catching up and chatting. I do like the social aspect of riding, I have to admit. Esp when commuting.
I do wish I had raced at Sterling, sure the course doesn't suit me and I had WAY too much going on, and had a fantastic morning with my youngest instead, but if I didn't have stuff going on more important than bike racing I think it would have been fun. I make no secret to the fact that I kind of like adverse conditions. I like it when it is nasty and all that. My layer of old man blubber does a good job keeping the core temp from plunging like most anorexic bike racers with 1% body fat and water and rain make me feel at home, comfortable. But reading Solo's colorful retelling of the race, well, for a change his wheel choice matched my options. And he successfully destroyed ever last thread of confidence that I could be even marginally competitive against the light carbon hooped masses that are overwhelmingly prevalent even in the Cat 4 field. Oh well. I guess I can still work on making the muscle stronger between my ears and at the same time trying to overcome the handicaps the cards have dealt me. I head the 4s were a mess. 35s had tons of crashes. One of my team mates flatted the second year in a row, this time he blew out his brand, and i mean BRAND new Ultremo Tubulars, yeah they are impossible to get, have been back-ordered for a couple years and he goes and blows on when a guy in front of him juked around a water covered pothole at the last second... This is also the same guy who flatted at Battenkill every year he's ridden it. Once more than once, and that first year when i stopped to give him a tube and let him use my pump, only to have him just ride away from me leaving me alone on the hill only to be saved by Wayne Cunningham's gracious and generous offering of a full bottle. Yeah I'm not a clydesdale, i'm a damn fucking elephant. Seriously, he flats more in races than anyone else I know. Last year he flatted twice. Actually 3 times. The third time his tire exploded while we were driving home. And it would still be funny if it wasn't a $150 tire destroying funny this time. Honestly I probably would have given Kurt a run for his money there as DFL. But then reading Kevin's Sterling Saga, well that doesn't sound much fun. But he's one of those 1% body fat guys. He can totally kick my ass but still, sometimes being a big 9-12% body fat fatty is a good thing.
What would I have worn? I don't know. At those temps I would have been actually leaning towards the vermarc winter jacket I have in team colors. But it is pretty heavy when wet, would have added a good 5 pounds of just water. The vest probably would have been mandatory at the least and a good heavy thick coating on the legs. Likely going with my secret embro. But, well, it doesn't matter. I didn't ride, nor race on saturday. I've certainly commuted in that type of conditions plenty of time in the past without dying, but as Solo or some other old curmudgeon will likely point out, commuting for 45 minutes in those conditions is much more like CX than racing for 2 hours in that shit.
Mystic Velo's crit down at Ninigret is Sunday. The girls are otherwise occupied all morning and through most of the afternoon, all I have to do is figure out how to get there. Maybe the weather will be conducive to riding down. Would be a good warm up, and the race isn't until 9:40am... plenty of time, hmm. Maybe not that much time.
Bunch of other stuff to go through but, hey, writing this has taken all freaking day as it is. 30 sec here, a minute there, trying to figure out what the hell the rest of the sentence was supposed to be. Not figuring out where that train of thought was going and then - shit happened again. Three times for this one. Ah well. I've got more pictures to upload and other stuff floating around that will just have to wait.
Peidiwch da
G
Friday, May 07, 2010
BONUS POINTS
Okay so that's a Fetch with Ruff Ruffman allusion.
Anyway. Bonus points to Eben Weiss for using the term WEB LOG! Brilliant. Love it.
Not using the slang "blog" very nice, despite the host constantly using the word blog.
It is actually a pretty decent listen, not awesome but somewhat okay. Not sure how they selected the callers but not a total waste of 46minutes.
Anyway. Bonus points to Eben Weiss for using the term WEB LOG! Brilliant. Love it.
Not using the slang "blog" very nice, despite the host constantly using the word blog.
It is actually a pretty decent listen, not awesome but somewhat okay. Not sure how they selected the callers but not a total waste of 46minutes.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
ride home motivation zero
man it was hard generating any speed - this morning was nice, chill, mellow.
but the week is taking a toll on me.
life stress hit hard last night and this morning.
ride home was deserted. As slow as I was riding I was sure someone would come along and motivate me to lift the pace. Nope. No one.
I've realized that there are two things that keep my mood wicked positive and one of them is Racing. April, when i raced every weekend, was the best month this year. I need to race again. It isn't just about cyclocross, although it really is, it is that competition.
Racing.
As much as I suck at it, and man I might be the slowest big guy out there, and somewhat low on the fitness totem pole too, but it does something to my brain. It works.
It helps.
Mystic Velo is coming up, and i hope that still works to get to and race at. After that one I'm going to have to take a long hard look at the summer... maybe if I can work out a solid plan of racing and not racing with purpose then I'll survive until Cyclocross season starts...
but the week is taking a toll on me.
life stress hit hard last night and this morning.
ride home was deserted. As slow as I was riding I was sure someone would come along and motivate me to lift the pace. Nope. No one.
I've realized that there are two things that keep my mood wicked positive and one of them is Racing. April, when i raced every weekend, was the best month this year. I need to race again. It isn't just about cyclocross, although it really is, it is that competition.
Racing.
As much as I suck at it, and man I might be the slowest big guy out there, and somewhat low on the fitness totem pole too, but it does something to my brain. It works.
It helps.
Mystic Velo is coming up, and i hope that still works to get to and race at. After that one I'm going to have to take a long hard look at the summer... maybe if I can work out a solid plan of racing and not racing with purpose then I'll survive until Cyclocross season starts...
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Anticancer, that book
Nice shout out to Stonyfield Farm in that video. But really. It is the truth. Quality of your food, from the top of the food chain to your plate is important.
It builds/adds to what Food Inc is helping to catalyze.
Quality from beginning to end.
You are what you eat.
I had a good 90 minutes to read while chilling at the hospital while a team mate was getting shot up in the pain center there, read about 1/4 of the book so far. Good stuff. Nice science to back it up and set up the story and the foods and never does does the book discount modern medicine which is a nice aspect, but integrating food greatly with medicine.
Food is important. Yeah I'm supposed to be cooking. I started the rice (organic medium grain BTW) - i'll get to the beans and the rest of it. Timing on this meal is down pretty good. It will be ready to eat when the dancer and the rest of the crew make it home. Yeah, I'm spilling too much out. But hey. This is me. Want a formula blog? Go find one that CTodd's marketing friends write. Hmm, I wonder if Cturd will ever return from Spain...
Well trolling worked today
Sort of. Stuff was not working at work, end of the day and i threw in the towel and said I'll fix it tomorrow. Except I think I've got too much going on to get it done - I'll find out tomorrow.
And circumstances convened such that I wasn't in a race home and I had to return a tiny english three speed to skinny's house so I left the shorts and polo shirt on and headed down hill with my giant over my shoulder. Damn i'm not used to shouldering right now. Ouch, esp as bumpy as the roads are between work and his place. Dropped off the bike and chilled for the ride home.
Was thinking well maybe today I'll troll and see what happens. I didn't really even have to wait long. A young woman with running shoes and the purple splash cork tape (yall know what i'm talking about) on the bars of a 6 speed down tube old steel bike went zipping past me into the little hill along the parkway at the beginning of the path. Not wanting to be too clingy I gave her a decent amount of space just to see how fast she'd wind up going. Head wind out there. Lots of traffic on the path so I just chilled and hung back until the end of the causeway, rode along said hey and sort of just easily rode on. Not going to get bloused today buddy. Well I was moving along pretty well, passed a few more people then I had to stop and take a picture of the lighthouse. A couple pictures. Little runner girl passed in between a really tall old dude I see occasionally on the path and some new fit looking commuter guy with a decked out bike and light system (specialized CX bike with fenders). Okay. Now it isn't about trolling. Time to reel em in.
Catch guy with commuter bike pretty quick, then tall old dude and we get past the Dairy Bee and little runner girls is down ahead and I just sort of chill. And commuter guy sits in on my wheel and i lift the pace a bit and a bit more and more and he sits there - cool. Except I'm not. Wearing non-cycling gear sucks. It's too hot. Pass little runner girl and head home.
And yes - i'm going to stop this experimenting with wearing street clothes on the commute. It ain't fun.
I'll get the pictures up tomorrow maybe.
Right now it is time to start making some burritos tonight. Because, well, you know it is the 5th of May.
Oh and this is what I actually meant to post but got distracted talking about the ride home into the headwind:
All cows (do not usually) eat grass...
a good read... check it out
Time to feed the patient dog and get going with dinner. Too bad there's no tequila around. Maybe that's a good thing
Heddwch
G
And circumstances convened such that I wasn't in a race home and I had to return a tiny english three speed to skinny's house so I left the shorts and polo shirt on and headed down hill with my giant over my shoulder. Damn i'm not used to shouldering right now. Ouch, esp as bumpy as the roads are between work and his place. Dropped off the bike and chilled for the ride home.
Was thinking well maybe today I'll troll and see what happens. I didn't really even have to wait long. A young woman with running shoes and the purple splash cork tape (yall know what i'm talking about) on the bars of a 6 speed down tube old steel bike went zipping past me into the little hill along the parkway at the beginning of the path. Not wanting to be too clingy I gave her a decent amount of space just to see how fast she'd wind up going. Head wind out there. Lots of traffic on the path so I just chilled and hung back until the end of the causeway, rode along said hey and sort of just easily rode on. Not going to get bloused today buddy. Well I was moving along pretty well, passed a few more people then I had to stop and take a picture of the lighthouse. A couple pictures. Little runner girl passed in between a really tall old dude I see occasionally on the path and some new fit looking commuter guy with a decked out bike and light system (specialized CX bike with fenders). Okay. Now it isn't about trolling. Time to reel em in.
Catch guy with commuter bike pretty quick, then tall old dude and we get past the Dairy Bee and little runner girls is down ahead and I just sort of chill. And commuter guy sits in on my wheel and i lift the pace a bit and a bit more and more and he sits there - cool. Except I'm not. Wearing non-cycling gear sucks. It's too hot. Pass little runner girl and head home.
And yes - i'm going to stop this experimenting with wearing street clothes on the commute. It ain't fun.
I'll get the pictures up tomorrow maybe.
Right now it is time to start making some burritos tonight. Because, well, you know it is the 5th of May.
Oh and this is what I actually meant to post but got distracted talking about the ride home into the headwind:
All cows (do not usually) eat grass...
a good read... check it out
Time to feed the patient dog and get going with dinner. Too bad there's no tequila around. Maybe that's a good thing
Heddwch
G
A ship that will give you tetanus just looking at it!
So yeah that's a long title. Oh well. Slept like crap last night for some reason. And despite waiting to feed the dog until well after we are up and moving around she still wants me to wake up early to let her outside.
This ship was offloading coal yesterday, and last night and still this morning. I guess the port is down to one smaller offloading crane (the red crane in the images), the big one is off being repaired somewhere so it is taking a lot longer to empty the vessels in port.
That and the big blue crane is gone. One day riding in I noticed, hey, where the hell did that big crane go???
The shots. One i didn't resize... This really has to be the rustiest ship I've seen here in the port, NOT in the dry dock.
I also dipped into dangerous territory, I rode into work wearing normal clothes. CRAZY? Right? So I was wearing shorts, not pants, and yeah my shirt got sweaty under the bag, but it wasn't so bad. But I did almost get out of the house without a kit for the ride home. in the heat and with cutting it close to get home in time for the turn around i figured it would be faster and more comfortable to be in more cycling specific clothes for the ride home. I think I got the horizons level on there - the ship is a bit stern down and throws off the tweaking a bit.
Peidiwch da
G
This ship was offloading coal yesterday, and last night and still this morning. I guess the port is down to one smaller offloading crane (the red crane in the images), the big one is off being repaired somewhere so it is taking a lot longer to empty the vessels in port.
That and the big blue crane is gone. One day riding in I noticed, hey, where the hell did that big crane go???
The shots. One i didn't resize... This really has to be the rustiest ship I've seen here in the port, NOT in the dry dock.
I also dipped into dangerous territory, I rode into work wearing normal clothes. CRAZY? Right? So I was wearing shorts, not pants, and yeah my shirt got sweaty under the bag, but it wasn't so bad. But I did almost get out of the house without a kit for the ride home. in the heat and with cutting it close to get home in time for the turn around i figured it would be faster and more comfortable to be in more cycling specific clothes for the ride home. I think I got the horizons level on there - the ship is a bit stern down and throws off the tweaking a bit.
Peidiwch da
G
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Children's Health = National Security
When he signed the School Lunch Act in 1946, which was in part explicitly “a measure of national security,” President Truman said, “In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children….” It was a simple weak-link argument that no one can deny, hawk or dove.
No one can deny, hawk or dove...
And the MOST damning bit is this:
Since then though our nation’s school lunch program has become little more than a dumping ground for our tax-subsidized, corporate-owned, chemically-processed, fat-and-HFCS-laden surplus food-like substances.
Too true. Too true.
Have some pink milk, chocolate milk or if you are in Rhode Island Coffee milk (same amount of sugar as choco or pink but with the added benefits of caffeine). yeah. Here drink up. Sugar galore.
My oldest has gotten to the point where she looks at the lunch order form for the next month and orders less and less. And this month? Zip, nadda, zilch, no food from the school lunch service and this isn't a public school offering, there are some okay choices. But she would still prefer to bring her own. It is okay, it gets me in the habit of making lunches before the summer starts when i'm packing 4 lunches every morning.
Fix the school lunches.
Get kids off sugar and all those french fries and junk food...
please
Peidiwch da
G
PS - heading home there were three groups of cyclists out for a great ride but totally unprepared to be dumped on, they looked miserable and wet but were still riding back to the city. I call em the "caught outs"
Three bottles for nothing
Well five if you count the two untouched bottles on the bike. So generally my biggest issue at night is being dehydrated after the end of the day. To combat that and prepare for the smack down ride i downed a bottle of sports drink, a bottle of water and then a nasty bottle of a sample "endurance" mix with protein in it. It was kind of cool, not dehydrated. And yes that's some extra calories but I had a smaller lunch than normal to balance out the added sugars and hell I was going to use that fuel.
Yeah there was rain coming but we were still planning on riding. But. Well 2/3 of the executive board met and decided that with the thunderstorm warnings and potential for really crappy weather that it would be not the best thing to lead a group out into it.
So I make the changes, and go about a normal Tuesday of heading home so my wife can go for a run up in the city while the oldest is at dance. So I head home. Ooh it is coldish. Windy as hell. And wet.
No sooner than I rinsed the bike off, my legs and got inside and changed well, the SUN COMES OUT. Damn. We probably could have made it happen. But then I guess there are a bunch more storms on their way (or so i hope so that I feel better about canceling it).
Not to waste the well hydrated and fueled legs I went full gas on the way home. And, wouldn't ya know the legs felt great and responded very well. SUPER. I have good legs and no ride.
Well if the ride doesn't go then well i can't get dropped. A good week!
Yes we could have gone and not canceled the ride. But this is an open ride to the local community and not knowing who is coming each week I don't want to take people out in a group with some roads that aren't so good (holes and what not) underwater holes in a group just begs for trouble and crashes.
Damn the sun is bright. On the bright side I get some quality time with the youngest debating what we're making for dinner. I suggested pesto but she "HATES" pesto sauce. So we're still debating. Her counter was "Daddy's Mac and Cheese" but we had that not too long ago. No we don't have a rigid meal plan here, pretty dynamic still. Well slightly dynamic in that the week's food is based on what I get at the store over the weekend, so there is a limitation. I think we've reached a compromise. "Red sauce with sausage circles," of course i'm going to add some pesto for a nice rich flavor. Add a big salad (dressing made here of course using olive oil and other key ingredients) and we're good. Okay time to start some cooking. And maybe a glass of wine to placate the lack of riding. Good trade off right? Maybe not but I have to use some for the sauce anyway, a little for the sauce a little for the chef.
Peidiwch da
G
Yeah there was rain coming but we were still planning on riding. But. Well 2/3 of the executive board met and decided that with the thunderstorm warnings and potential for really crappy weather that it would be not the best thing to lead a group out into it.
So I make the changes, and go about a normal Tuesday of heading home so my wife can go for a run up in the city while the oldest is at dance. So I head home. Ooh it is coldish. Windy as hell. And wet.
No sooner than I rinsed the bike off, my legs and got inside and changed well, the SUN COMES OUT. Damn. We probably could have made it happen. But then I guess there are a bunch more storms on their way (or so i hope so that I feel better about canceling it).
Not to waste the well hydrated and fueled legs I went full gas on the way home. And, wouldn't ya know the legs felt great and responded very well. SUPER. I have good legs and no ride.
Well if the ride doesn't go then well i can't get dropped. A good week!
Yes we could have gone and not canceled the ride. But this is an open ride to the local community and not knowing who is coming each week I don't want to take people out in a group with some roads that aren't so good (holes and what not) underwater holes in a group just begs for trouble and crashes.
Damn the sun is bright. On the bright side I get some quality time with the youngest debating what we're making for dinner. I suggested pesto but she "HATES" pesto sauce. So we're still debating. Her counter was "Daddy's Mac and Cheese" but we had that not too long ago. No we don't have a rigid meal plan here, pretty dynamic still. Well slightly dynamic in that the week's food is based on what I get at the store over the weekend, so there is a limitation. I think we've reached a compromise. "Red sauce with sausage circles," of course i'm going to add some pesto for a nice rich flavor. Add a big salad (dressing made here of course using olive oil and other key ingredients) and we're good. Okay time to start some cooking. And maybe a glass of wine to placate the lack of riding. Good trade off right? Maybe not but I have to use some for the sauce anyway, a little for the sauce a little for the chef.
Peidiwch da
G
Words? Not so many today
Pictures.
From this morning's glorious ride in.
Hopefully I can channel that positive energy into not being Omaha tonight on the Smack Down. We'll see.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Long weekend
Yeah, that's what this past weekend was. No racing, as I'm sure the Cat 4 fields noticed the lack of a big tall motor mouth running in the middle/front of the pack on Saturday and Sunday. That and the lack of immediate posting of said races. G-ride is telling me that the Wayne Elliot Memorial Race was tailor made for me. Just enough of a rise to make it hard but not enough to kill me and fast. Andy Cooper said he was spinning out his 53x12 going down the hill at 45 mph, so fast. Although I had to mention to him that riding back from the TT course over the summers when I was running the 40t front ring I could hit and hold 39.5mph with the 40x12 so, adding 13 teeth up front and complaining about spinning out at 45 is pretty silly from my POV. But then he is only about 110 pounds soaking wet (okay maybe not that light but he's Litka's fiancée and is smaller than Skinny White dude), so going down hill fast maybe be a bit of a challenge for him. Certainly wasn't a challenge going up hill.
Andy's really right around 140 if he is to be believed, and that's one thing bike racers often know, their weight down to the 1/2 a pound during the season. Esp those who run power meters (which he does). To put into perspective the climb at Turtle Pond lets look at his numbers in watts/kg. Except for the final time up the hill he was sustaining 5.2 watts/kg, then when he and the rest of the too tiny crew of juniors went storming up off the front he was pushing 6.2 w/kg for the duration of the climb (which was about 2x too long for me). I was 94 kg that day. Add between 2.7 and 3kg for the extra heft on my bike and you can figure out my breaking point. In easy to figure numbers I was good for 500 watts up that climb, but couldn't find the 600 needed to match the pace of the front runners on that final lap. Oof. I'm glad I don't have a powermeter. And you can see why spitting out wattage is kind of annoying when there is no frame of reference. That said I think maybe I should be able to punch out 600 watts for 2 minutes or how ever long that hill was (Andy seemed to think it was around that long). I should be able to right? Even going up hill. All it this bit of reflection is just affirming in my mind that I should NOT have been dropped. My brain dropped me, my mental mistake created that gap, not the legs. But that's okay. I learned my lesson. Gained some more insight and experience. Time to move on.
So no racing for me. Heck I didn't get on the bike Friday or Saturday. Not till sunday when the girls headed off to a Ballet Performance did I put the cleats and my helmet on. I noodled over to my brother's house, said hello, wished his mother-in-law happy birthday and noodled back home.
In other words I was trolling, wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a bag (had to pick a few things up while out there) riding the fendered cross bike on the bike path on a great day.
I had high hopes of some wanna be roadie punk who feels they are king of the bike path come zooming past me in their "fancy" cycling gear on their "fancy" road bike. Seriously the odds are pretty good for it to happen. On my way down towards Warren there were a good handful of them coming the other direction. Same thing for the way home. But no one passing me. And I was just noodling, nose breathing, smelling the flowers. Oh well. They would have disrupted my noodle ride anyway. Got a good 45 min on the bike each way. Legs felt it afterwards but I felt good this morning on the way in with the tailwind and the light rain.
Okay i just went through and clicked every one of those links over there on the left. I know some of the best ones are at the bottom, and some haven't been updated in years, and there isn't anything more than a rough alphabetical organization to them. Not to mention I've got a whole host of new links that are on the current daily rotation that need to make their way over there (to the sidebar). For now the really dead ones are gone. The dormant ones are still there, have to decide what the cut off is for keeping them.
FedEx dropped off a book this morning from Viking / Anticancer - Stonyfield Farm. Looks to be some good reading. One bullet point on the jacket is "Why to avoid the sugars and bleached flours so common in the western diet, which contribute to cancer, diabetes, and obesity."
Well we want to avoid them because they make you fat and give you Type II diabetes and cancer. Shouldn't that be enough reason to avoid all that crap in your normal (non-racing/training) diet?
Lots of good stuff in here it looks like. Best is that it is FULL of references to primary research from peer reviewed medical science journals. Now sure science ain't always perfect but there's something to be said for all this. We'll see what I think when/if i finish the book.
should hit publish and get it out there - not sure what else i was going to say, not that i've got much worth saying right now...
Peidiwch da
G
Andy's really right around 140 if he is to be believed, and that's one thing bike racers often know, their weight down to the 1/2 a pound during the season. Esp those who run power meters (which he does). To put into perspective the climb at Turtle Pond lets look at his numbers in watts/kg. Except for the final time up the hill he was sustaining 5.2 watts/kg, then when he and the rest of the too tiny crew of juniors went storming up off the front he was pushing 6.2 w/kg for the duration of the climb (which was about 2x too long for me). I was 94 kg that day. Add between 2.7 and 3kg for the extra heft on my bike and you can figure out my breaking point. In easy to figure numbers I was good for 500 watts up that climb, but couldn't find the 600 needed to match the pace of the front runners on that final lap. Oof. I'm glad I don't have a powermeter. And you can see why spitting out wattage is kind of annoying when there is no frame of reference. That said I think maybe I should be able to punch out 600 watts for 2 minutes or how ever long that hill was (Andy seemed to think it was around that long). I should be able to right? Even going up hill. All it this bit of reflection is just affirming in my mind that I should NOT have been dropped. My brain dropped me, my mental mistake created that gap, not the legs. But that's okay. I learned my lesson. Gained some more insight and experience. Time to move on.
So no racing for me. Heck I didn't get on the bike Friday or Saturday. Not till sunday when the girls headed off to a Ballet Performance did I put the cleats and my helmet on. I noodled over to my brother's house, said hello, wished his mother-in-law happy birthday and noodled back home.
In other words I was trolling, wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a bag (had to pick a few things up while out there) riding the fendered cross bike on the bike path on a great day.
I had high hopes of some wanna be roadie punk who feels they are king of the bike path come zooming past me in their "fancy" cycling gear on their "fancy" road bike. Seriously the odds are pretty good for it to happen. On my way down towards Warren there were a good handful of them coming the other direction. Same thing for the way home. But no one passing me. And I was just noodling, nose breathing, smelling the flowers. Oh well. They would have disrupted my noodle ride anyway. Got a good 45 min on the bike each way. Legs felt it afterwards but I felt good this morning on the way in with the tailwind and the light rain.
Okay i just went through and clicked every one of those links over there on the left. I know some of the best ones are at the bottom, and some haven't been updated in years, and there isn't anything more than a rough alphabetical organization to them. Not to mention I've got a whole host of new links that are on the current daily rotation that need to make their way over there (to the sidebar). For now the really dead ones are gone. The dormant ones are still there, have to decide what the cut off is for keeping them.
FedEx dropped off a book this morning from Viking / Anticancer - Stonyfield Farm. Looks to be some good reading. One bullet point on the jacket is "Why to avoid the sugars and bleached flours so common in the western diet, which contribute to cancer, diabetes, and obesity."
Well we want to avoid them because they make you fat and give you Type II diabetes and cancer. Shouldn't that be enough reason to avoid all that crap in your normal (non-racing/training) diet?
Lots of good stuff in here it looks like. Best is that it is FULL of references to primary research from peer reviewed medical science journals. Now sure science ain't always perfect but there's something to be said for all this. We'll see what I think when/if i finish the book.
should hit publish and get it out there - not sure what else i was going to say, not that i've got much worth saying right now...
Peidiwch da
G
Finally Effective Doping for CX
It is cold racing cyclocross most of the time right? And everyone knows cold muscles don't work all that well. Could it all be just our warm adapted hemoglobin?
Well fear not you legions of dopers and cheats. The answer for cyclocross dominance has been found.
Kevin Campbell, a biologist at the University of Manitoba in Canada, has made synthetic Mammoth hemoglobin. And found it to have a property that would really benefit cold weather racing blood dopers.
Until now the biggest complaint Fuentes and the rest of the blood doping docs have about cyclocross from their clients is it just doesn't help as much as it does in on the road in the warm summer months. And fortunately has kept the cheater list pretty short in cyclocross compared to road racing.
So next fall and winter when it is 20°F and windy and the guy next to you is wearing his short sleeve skinsuit, tip off the drug control folks and have the guy tested for Mammoth hemoglobin. That or have them tested for mental capacity.
Peidiwch da
G
Well fear not you legions of dopers and cheats. The answer for cyclocross dominance has been found.
Kevin Campbell, a biologist at the University of Manitoba in Canada, has made synthetic Mammoth hemoglobin. And found it to have a property that would really benefit cold weather racing blood dopers.
Until now the biggest complaint Fuentes and the rest of the blood doping docs have about cyclocross from their clients is it just doesn't help as much as it does in on the road in the warm summer months. And fortunately has kept the cheater list pretty short in cyclocross compared to road racing.
So next fall and winter when it is 20°F and windy and the guy next to you is wearing his short sleeve skinsuit, tip off the drug control folks and have the guy tested for Mammoth hemoglobin. That or have them tested for mental capacity.
Peidiwch da
G
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