29 June 2009

Tired

Friday- The Grandmas came to get the MTs for the weekend, so the H.O. and I decided to go bowling. About halfway through our 2nd game, the lights went out and the disco balls came on. We didn't plan on going to 'Rock and Roll' night at the bowling alley, but it kind of turned out that way. It was a damn good time. I rolled games of 105, 132 and 89 (left-handed).
Saturday- Got up and went to the lightly attended Saturday ride. BSG was going on and it was balls hot, so turnout was poor. We lost two at the water tower on Tank Hill. Coco, Mulo and I stayed together on the run out and turned left on Leesburg, headed for Congress. I took a long pull, rolled off on the next roller and promptly ran over something. I heard a click-click-click, stopped pedaling and looked down to see what I'd hit, then heard 'hhiiisssss'...FUCK! I didn't yell anything and by the time I figured out that I'd flatted, the boyz were up the road. I stopped and found a 1/2" sheet metal screw sticking out of my Open Corsa CX. The stop to change the flat was extended due to the fact I had to boot the tire. Once finished, I just turned up Elon, looped across the flats and went home.
Spackle, caulk and paint filled my afternoon...oh joy!
Saturday night we went to Rosso (average food, overpriced and REALLY bitchy hostesses!) and saw Star Trek (really good movie!).
Sunday- Slept in until almost 8...yes, that's sleeping in around here. Then we buttoned up the paintwork and installed the new Vizio LCD in kitchen. Yes, we have a flat-screen above the fridge...don't hate!

(A Mini-Rant)
WalMart sucks balls, we all know this, but their level of suck reached new heights Sunday afternoon. The H.O. and I went to WallyWorld to get the LCD TV for the kitchen because they had it in stock and their price was 15% cheaper than Target. Well, it turns out that WalSuck doesn't honor their own internet pricing!!! WTF?!?!
I can buy it online and pick it up in the store, but can't just buy it there, FOR THE INTERNET PRICE!!! I hear dumb shit everyday, but that's EASILY the dumbest shit I've heard for a long, long while! We walked out, drove to Target and paid 15% more!! F you WalSuck!!!

I'm tired from last week's riding and going full-steam all weekend! No riding until Tuesday night for me!

26 June 2009

Friday Funnies

In Sanford's defense, 'Argentinian Tail' does sound an awful lot like 'Appalachian Trail' !!!

Michael Jackson actually died of food poisoning!!! He ate an 11 year old weiner!!!







Rode yesterday morning...felt lazy the rest of the day, so I bailed on the night ride. I doubt anyone showed anyway. People are getting ready for BSG and a few went to Greenville to race.

Ride Saturday morning @ 8 from the gate. Figure on 3 hours.

24 June 2009

601

601st post...time flies when you're blabbering on about inane shit!

Tuesday- Got up, did my morning stuff, took the MTs to school and got on the bike. My legs felt like utter garbage from my bonk on Sunday. The first 30 minutes of the ride were iffy, at best. I did an hour and just spun my legs around, trying to get rid of the stiffness.
As usual, the TNCWC went off. I don't know why the turnouts have been so slim lately. One can speculate, but it's still a bit befuddling. Last night we started with @ 30 and that group dwindled down pretty quickly, as there was nowhere to hide. Nothing got too far away all night. I sat in for the most part, still pretty empty inside and pushing around legs that were little more than meat sticks. @ 40 minutes, I'd had enough abuse and dropped out. The group all came together with one to go, but someone must have thrown a grenade on the backstretch. The group was shattered coming to the finish. The top 8 finished pretty much together, but the rest were spread out all over the finish straight.
PV is back in control with 4 in the top 8. Coco took out yet another sprint victory.
This morning, I really didn't feel like riding, but since both MTs are in school this week, I figured I should take advantage of the unusual opportunity. I got on the bike and felt pretty good. I didn't push, but rode 30-35 kmh with relative ease and felt better as the ride progressed.
Another double day tomorrow, including the Thursday ride should set me right. Big KM week with some stacked days including a couple of doubles...

Time for a nap...

21 June 2009

If it doesn't kill you...

Saturday - 95km 3 hours
Legs were definitely better than Thursday, but still in my little 'funk'. We did the Eastover loop and it was HOT, even though we left @ 7:30. I've been riding in PA for a week, where it was 65-70 and pissing rain. The jump in temps has taken it's toll. I felt okay when I got home, but still needed Five Guys to make it all better. I guess I sould have eaten more...
Sunday - 100km 3:15
We met for the Il Prof ride and did Eastover, across to the Swamp and back in. I felt pretty good for the first two hours or so. Took some long, hard pulls, toed the threshold of the pain cave on Chaingang....then, the wheels pretty much fell off the bus.
Once we got out of the Swamp, my legs decided they they were done for the day and clocked out. There was no warning, no 'hey man, we're gonna bail in 5km' moment, just an acrid burning smell that, after some scene reconstruction, turned out to be my legs. Il Prof and TVH rode away. The last 20km or so was a battle for survival. At one point, I stopped to stretch...it didn't work! Thankfully, the two strongest AARP members in town waited on me and sheparded me home!
I haven't cramped that badly in 10+ years. No bonk either!!!!
To add insult to injury, I hit a broken bottle. The tire didn't flat then, but I'm sure it is now. As long as it was holding a little bit of air, it was getting ridden home!
No ride tomorrow, but 2x on Tuesday...both M.T.s are going to school this week! Sweeet...

19 June 2009

It was a dark and stormy evening...

...well, kind of...
The group left in warm and extremely humid conditions. It seemed that no one, save for Der Kaiser really wanted to ride hard last night. We just kind of rolled around at a half-hearted tempo, which was fine since I felt like hammered shit. No legs and no lungs makes for a suckwad ride!
The clouds were following us, but the weather didn't rear it's ugly head until we got to the end of Airbase. The sky got dark, the wind picked up and the cold rain began to fall. Of course, my Blackberry was, as the kids say these days, blowing up. The H.O. called me once at the beginning of the ride, to warn of our impeding doom and then three more times while we were hustling to get home. Here's a quick tip for the H.O. - If I have to stop to answer a call, it's gonna take me longer to get home! If I need you, I'll call you!
To be honest, it really wasn"t bad. Yeah it rained a bit...so what? Yeah there was lightning, but it wasn't incessant. The wind blew, but not badly.
WIS was doing it's usual bang up job of 'Chicken Little' weather forecasting. It was a summer storm, nothing else...and per the Columbia, SC norm, it lasted all of 30 minutes and moved on.

I am really tired of riding in the rain though...5 out of my last 7 rides have included a damp chamois! Time to find another cheapo frame and build a rain rig!

Ride tomorrow morning @ 7:30 from the Gate. Or, for those who are adventerous, 6:30am from Bond's house.

Sunday??? Who knows?

16 June 2009

Getting itchy...

I haven't ridden since Sunday morning. The H.O. went to Chicago on business and won't be back until Wednesday night late. I'm getting itchy to get on the bike. To quell that itch, I bought some bike stuff from PBK today! If you can't ride...buy stuff!
I also realized that I left my 15 year old Silca Super Pista pump in PA.!!! GDammit!!! It's coming home...if I have to go get the MFer!!!

Now for a rant...
The Car Audio Department @ BestBuy sucks ditch water. I went last night buy a stereo for my truck. The stock one has gone teets up. I went in knowing exactly what I wanted and what it cost on the BestBuy website. The price, of course, is different in the store. I pointed this out and the wannabe gansta/thug/rapper that was "helping" me said that they're price was correct. First of all, hire some guys that actually have a grasp of English. This guy was probably born within shouting distance of the store and my 4 year old spoke more clearly!
Anyway, MushMouth argued price with me and then told me I wanted the in-dash DVD player, an amp and $500 worth of speakers....
NO, I DON'T YOU DUMBFUCK!!! I came in to buy a deck, the harness, the install kit and the antenna adapter. I've done this before.
He then proceeds to tell me that the warranty on the equipment won't be in force unless THEY do the install. At that point, I simply turned and walked off, but not before chewing the General Manager's ass for @ 5 minutes on my way out the door! As most of you know, I can pack a lot of ass-chewing into a 5 minute stretch.
I then fired off an email to BestBuy, including the names of the morons I dealt with last night.
Today, I got an email saying that I would be receiving a $100 gift card by mail with 7 days and an apology from the VP of Sales.
A day late and a dollar short!! The gift card will likely be given away as a gift to someone else. I won't go back into a BestBuy for a long while, if ever.
I also purchased everything I needed online, saving myself @$50 in the process. Assholes!

14 June 2009

Vacation is over...dammit!

Thursday, I did another two hour loop through the hills in Pa.
I got to the turn where the 'longer vs. go home' decision was to be made and since it was 67 degrees and raining, I made the decision to head to the house. I had another good ride though.
We had a little get together Thursday night at MK's house. It was fun to see everyone after so long...too long really...
We stayed up until alomost 1 a.m., which was great, but made for a LONG day Friday.
I got up @ 6 and left at 8 to head home. I made GREAT time until I hit Virginia...less than 3 hours to get from the Philly 'burbs to the other side of DC! I-95 in Virginia really sucks. Bad tarmac, overzealous police and road construction in the middle of the day. I lost 45 minutes waiting in traffic while a crew had 1-1/2 lanes shut down to fix a 15 foot section of damaged guard-rail. 4 trucks and 9 guys are, evidently, needed to effect such a repair...who knew...

I stopped for gas immediately after my time loss, slammed 17.5 gallons into a 18.5 gallon tank and set the speed @ 80 for the rest of the trip. In the middle of NC, I saw lights coming up behind me...FAST...and figured that I was popped. As they lights got close, I could tell they didn't belong to a police vehicle. VERY shortly thereafter, a Porsche 911 Turbo blew by me like I had stopped. As he passed, his wake turbulence shook my truck! He was going 120+ if he was going 11!!!
I got home @ 6...had dinner with Doog, unpacked, showered and went to bed. Saturday involved a lot of sleep. I slept in and then took a 3 hour afternoon nap. The H.O. and M.T.s got home @ 7:30...
Vacation over, peace and silence dead...
I'm going for a ride...

10 June 2009

Wet one day, dry the next...

Woke up Monday and felt like complete crap and just skipped riding. I guess sitting in the hot sun for 4 hours, even though I didn't drink, will make you feel hungover the next day.
Tuesday met me with a serious thunderstorm. It was the kind of storm that makes the local weatherguy in Columbia act like an excited 9 year old girl. After it passed (so I thought), I got dressed and headed out. When I was EXACTLY one hour away from the house, all hell broke loose. No lightning and thunder, but biblical rain. Thankfully, the wind didn't start blowing sideways. I ended up riding as hard as I could muster to get home. On the last 2 miles of rollers, I was bombing turns and caught the white line on the inside. Nothing like having the bike squirm out from under you @ 50kmh. I didn't crash, but it couldn't have been much closer! Ended with 2 hours and some good effort.
I'm @ Mark and MK's house now, about 10 minutes from where I lived in high school. I just DO NOT remember the roads being this hilly back then...
I went out @ 7:45 this morning and just rode wherever the pavement took me. There's no escaping the climbing around here, so I decided to embrace it. I hit more 10 minute+ climbs today than I really care to talk about. One climb was 17 minutes in the 39/23 (all I had!) and it averaged 8 percent with a max of 18 percent! Let's just say I didn't sit and spin on the ascent! It was a standing, 185 HR GRIND!!!! It felt strangely good...
I looped around and finally decided to head home. I borrowed a Garmin 705 for the ride. It showed me 48 miles, 2:45 ride time and 4700 feet of climbing! Like I said, it's hilly around here. Of course, the decent was TdF-esque! Long, sweeping turns, smooth tarmac and silly (read STUPID!) high speeds. Joyous!!!
Same loop tomorrow, then hang out again. We're having a cookout tomorrow night and I'm heading back Friday morning...

07 June 2009

Pennsyl-freakin-vanias

SoPro and I started our journey friday, spent the night in Emporia, VA and continued on to Philly Saturday morning. Traffic in DC was to be expected. Once we got close to Philly, traffic sucked. PennDOT decided, in their finite wisdom, to paint the lines on 95N, entering the city, on Saturday...at linchtime. Geniuses!
Fortunately, we go to the hotel in plenty of time for SoPro to meet her team and get ready for their ride of the course. I bailed on the ride and got the hell out of the city. I drove to the general area where I would be staying for the next two days and surveyed the lay of the land. It am be hilly 'round here. I was beginning to question my decision to leave the 23s on both wheelsets I brought with me.
I got to my friend Ray's house @ 3:15 and was welcomed with open arms. We hung out all afternoon, cooked out, played pirates with his 4 year old and generally just caught up. After the kids went to bed, I went to bed. Slept like a baby!
This morning, I woke up at my normal time and I was alone. They are some sleeping fools in this family...even the kids!
I got on the bike @ 7:30 and headed out to make an effort to work some of the sitting-in-the-car-for-10-hours stiffness out of my legs. I ended up just cruising around for two hours. Got a couple of really good climbs in and one blisteringly fast decent back to his house. I think the poor lady the the minivan must have just about pooped when I passed her on the decent going almost 75kmh...big fun! Don't know how far I rode, just that I rode for 2 hours and enjoyed it! And the 39/23 combo is right on the edge of what I could push on a couple of the climbs. This place makes Columbia look board flat! Probably do the same loop tomorrow...maybe do it twice...I have the time!
This afternoon we're having a reunion of sorts. Most of the old crew is getting together for burgers and beers.
More updates to follow as the week progresses...

04 June 2009

Mulo...I knew it!

Well, we all know Mulo lived in Japan for a short while. As the story goes, he was quite popular with a couple of Japanese ladies. While perusing the internet today, I found a photo that proves that he was a bit more of a ManWhore than he lead us all to believe...

...I mean really...he had his own storefront and everything!

02 June 2009

TNCWC #12

Yeah, I went...
Yeah, I felt like crap...7 days on high dose anti-biotics will, in fact, make you feel really bad when exercising. The 90 degree weather was a shock to the system as well.
After @ 20 minutes, JC, Coco and Doog got away...and stayed away. The rest of the group split into two bunches, neither of which had a chance of pulling the break back. I took the pulls I could muster, closed a couple of gaps and just decided that I didn't give a flying monkey crap, so I dropped out @ 35 minutes. By the end, there were more people standing @ the start/finish than actually riding. The PV streak remains...Jay took the win, Doog was 2nd and Coco 3rd.

I have more stuff to do to get the H.O. ready for vacation than I do for myself. My shit is easy. Clothes...check
Riding stuff...check
Bike...check.
As sick and twisted as it sounds, I'm kind of looking forward to the drive. I know I-95 is a clusterfuck of the highest degree, but I haven't been North in such a long time that the task doesn't seem so daunting. I may be singing a different tune in a few days...

Edit-
The time was absolutely correct last night. The break crossed @ 50:03 and the chase group crossed @ 50:20! And to the ONE person who is bitching, either bitch out in the open, OR SHUT THE FUCK UP! Don't grumble like the Hamburglar to whoever will listen. I'll be more than glad to discuss it with you, whenever! I won't be there next week, as I'm going on vacation, so feel free to keep the time. Better yet, get off your dead fucking ass, quit complaining, and do something positive to keep the TNCWC going...like going out with a leafblower, shovel and broom to clean the course like I do @ 6 times a summer.

And lighten the fuck up, it's a practice crit. Garmin isn't going to be calling any of us anytime soon. You still got a workout!

01 June 2009

Another reason to love the Giro...

I know it's over, but it was a great race, through a beautiful country...


It also gave us the hottest podium chicks...


...including this ONE! You're welcome JB!