News

I figured out a new Hour of Power(tm) loop. It's got everything you can fit into an hour. A couple of long sections for tempo/efforts, a couple of short hills to big ring up, and options to make it longer, if necessary. If the prevailing wind is blowing, it's also headwind out and tailwind home, which is nice! It will known as HoP2 from here on out.
I didn't try to kill it yesterday, as it was wet, but I did the loop in 1:07. That time can, and will, be easily eclipsed with little effort. Everyone should have a loop like this...

I'll be out on the bike tonight and tomorrow morning, somewhere, if anyone wants to join me. Don't forget Bond's Halloweener ride on Saturday morning. 8:15 at the Food Lion in Blythewood. 8:15 is ROLL OUT! If you show up late, you're chasing us up 21! The planned loop is @ 110km and the pace should be tolerable...30-35kmh.

And if you're following it, the douchebag driver in L.A. took the stand finally. If ever there was a person who truly needed a Kershaw, he's it!

Dumb shit of the day: Courtesy of The Great State of Texas
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/2009/10/28/1028prisonflu.html
So asshole prisoners get preferential treatment over children, the elderly and pregnant women? Nice! Stay classy Texas!

And Contadork has to stay with Astana...ha-ha! Good luck winning Le Tour next year! He and Vino should be good roomies throughout the year. The "tension" between Vino and Alberto will make LeMond/Hinault or Lance/Alberto look like arguments between JV cheerleaders!

Whoa, look at the clock...it's nap time!

Jokey Monday

Courtesy of JB...

Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make you believe that we all can make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time:
A young family moved into a house, next to a vacant lot. One day, a construction crew turned up to start building a house on the empty lot. The young family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in all the activity going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
Eventually the construction crew, all of them "gems-in-the-rough," more or less, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they had coffee and lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs to do here and there to make her feel important. At the end of the first week, they even presented her with a pay envelope containing ten dollars.
The little girl took this home to her mother who suggested that she take her ten dollars "pay" she'd received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.
When the girl and her mom got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at such a young age.
The little girl proudly replied, "I worked last week with a real construction crew building the new house next door to us."
"Oh my goodness gracious," said the teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
The little girl replied, "I will, if those assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the fuckin' sheet rock..."
Kind of brings a tear to the eye - doesn't it?

I discovered something...

I've ridden more this week than I thought...
I gathered up all of my clothes to do a load of laundry and noticed that most of my riding stuff was in the pile. 5 jerseys, 5 bibs and 5 baselayers...did I ride 5 days this week? Yes, yes I did...
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Today!
I didn't race Saturday in Augusta, and feel moderately guilty about it, but I really didn't feel like driving almost 4 hours, roundtrip, solo. Instead, I got up and went out to do a 2 hour solo ride with some tempo-ish efforts. It was 70 and drizzley when I left the house. It was actually quite nice outside, especially the 300% humidity.
I did my normal 2 hour loop, but completely forgot that the State Fair is still in town. If the fair where you live is like the one here in South Crackalacky, then you'll know that it attracts the flotsam and jetsam of society.
Anyway, once I got down within about a mile of the stadium and fairgrounds, the weather changed, and not for the better. The aforementioned 70 degree drizzle turned angry. The wind shifted from a cross/tail to a bloc headwind...and the RAIN picked up. And by 'picked up', I mean that it began to come down in sheets, at a 45 degree angle. The temperature probably dropped 10-15 degrees in the course of 800 meters. It got epic in a hurry!
I decided then and there that I was ready to get the hell home, so I put my head down and went as hard I as I my big ass could go.
Between the weather, the fair/football traffic and the dumbf*ck Columbia cop that stepped out in front of me, it was the closest I've come to death in a long while! I made it home, kissed the Ridley for making it through, and said a small prayer to La Madonna Del Ghisallo.
I figure that my penance for not racing had been paid in full.

This morning, we rolled out on the Il Prof ride and met Ward and Clive from Glory Cycles at the gate. For there, the bunch rolled out on a meandering tour of Lower Richland. It was a really good, uneventful, drama-free ride. It wasn't a deathmarch, but we didn't exactly fiddle-dick around either.
It was nice to talk to Clive a greater length as well. We've ridden together before, but never had the chance to really talk about bikes, life, and all of the other BS that come up on a ride. AND he was riding a completely BADASS carbon Merckx. I'm getting a new bike for my 40th birthday in the spring, and had planned on just getting another Ridley Helium until I saw Clive's Merckx, and talking to him about it. Thanks for throwing that spanner in the works man...!!!

Time to go to the Merckx website and start figuring out geometries...

Review

Okay, I've gotten some schwag in the past few weeks and I feel the need to share it with you. Mind you, it's not as cool as the bike stuff that Bond has acquired (cough...Di2...cough...), so take that for what it's worth!
First- Easton EA70X tubular wheels. These are marketed by Easton as cyclocross/crit wheels, but I can tell you that the vast majority of folks who buy these hoops glue knobbies on them and rock them through the fall and winter fun that is cross season. This was my intention as well.
The good- Semi-aero rims laced to Easton's C3 hubset using Sapim DB, straight pull spokes. They were dead true and round out of the box. The wheels are handbuilt at Easton and even feature a small touch usually reserved for custom builds...alu NDS and brass DS nips on the rear wheel. You can actually see marks on the nipples where they received their final touch-up before shipping!
I decided that the subtleties of a $100+, cotton cased Challenge, Dugust or FMB tires would be lost of me, so I went with a set of 220 tpi Vittoria Evo XGs. Three thin coats of Conti tubular glue on the hoops, and two on the tires, the setup was ready to rock.
I did my initial shakedown at Owens Field and was impressed. The wheels roll extremely well and are VERY stiff, yet not at all harsh. The tires are handle very predictably, have plenty of give, and even though I was riding them with a bit too much pressure, they gripped the wet grass to the point that I could HEAR the grass tearing while I turned.
Cost for the whole setup? Less than $500!!!
The bad- Easton slams waaaay too much grease in the freehub. It seemed to be dragging when I gave them their first, out of the box tickle. Fortunately, the freehub is VERY easy to remove/service. I cleaned out about 75% of the sticky, Shimano-like grease and SHAZAM, the freehub spun smoothly! I'm quite sure they'll get even better once the break in a little.

I raced the Easton/Vittoria setup last weekend in Greenville and was dutifully satisfied with it's performance. The course was ROUGH and I crashed the living shit out of them, yet they are still arrow true! I like them alot!
They will be my main cross race wheels for the season, and will be under me in Augusta on Saturday...unless it's REALLY shitty and muddy...
I'll probably slap some nice Vittoria Evo CX road tubs on them in the spring and race them on the road as well. I may do a little spoke upgrade though...maybe some straight-pull CX-Rays...hmmm...

For the money, they're pretty hard to beat. Sure, you can buy lighter, fancier, more expensive wheels, but are they necessary? NOPE! Maybe I'll sell out and race some carbon tubs if I ever get super-fit and start kicking ass, but for now, these will be just fine!

Up next week...the Magicshine 900 LED light....

Gordon's garage sale

http://columbia.craigslist.org/bik/1430614648.html

This is GW's TT bike. Carbon P2C in great shape.

Also up for grabs:

08 HED tubular disc w/Tufo tubular

-(2) 10 mile TTs and (1) 40k on it

-will throw in a new Conti tub tire

$400!!! No, that's not a typo!

04/05 Zipp 303 tubs (non-dimpled)

-used

-$300

Northwave Aerator road shoes

-Size 44

-worn once (pics available)(I've seen them...they're basically new)

-$90

Contact me if you want more pics...

Good help is hard to find...

My painting contractor showed up today...

She's expensive, slow and does sloppy work, but there are some things I can see past!

Trying out the new 900 lumen light tonight...

Update

So you saw the race number. Best race number ever, period!
Anyway, Doog and I rolled up to Greenville bright and GD early on Saturday morning for a little cross action. Nothing says cross like 48 degrees, mist and wind...great...
We got there early, got kitted up and went out to ride the course. The race was at the old Millstone Golf club, which has obviously been closed for quite a while. To call it overgrown would be an understatement. The course was great, but NOT built for big bodies like me. I was okay, but the fact that it had two homely climbs and one just plain UGLY climb dictated that I would not be dicing for the W.
Once the gun went off, the front 8 stayed together until BIG UGLY. The front three, including our diminitive friend, rode away at this point. I was in the second group...spots 4 through 8. I was riding comfortably, biding my time, secure in the knowledge that I could go harder and maybe get away from the guys I was with. On the second approach to the double barriers, I chose to make a little move, went into the wet grass with entirely too much speed and ate a big, steaming pile of shit. I grabbed too much rear brake and the bike just came out from under me. I crashed HARD on my left hip, elbow and shoulder, which didn't scrub off as much speed as I expected. My forward momentum was finally arrested by the 20" high barrier. It looked a little like I was trying to break up a double play...while still attached to a cross bike! I laid there for a long moment, taking inventory of what, if anything was hurt, bleeding, and/or protruding. Luckily, I was okay, and continued on my happy way about 60 seconds later.
By this point, my little group had vanished, and I was 14th. The fight was pretty much taken out of me at that point, but I still managed to pass a couple of guys and ended up 12th.
As for Doog, he rode away and won solo, about 30 seconds up. It was a course that was tailor made for him and he flat killed it! Nice ride midget!
This morning, I woke up with a stiff neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist and back. I have nice, softball-sized strawberry on my hip, even though I went down in the grass.
Doog and I met, with little fanfare, @ 9 to ride. We rolled through campus and across to 12th street. One big effort later and we decided, in unison, that dead legs and sore bodies were in abundance, so we turned and rolled home. A big 90 minutes on the bike!
As if I'm not stiff and sore enough, I proceeded to cut up, and split (BY HAND!) and entire oak tree. The chainsaw part was about 10 minutes. The balance of the 2 hours was filled with me swinging an axe. Several wheelbarrow trips later, the wood was stacked in a tidy pile and equaled about 1/2 cord. Rocky training MFer!

I have nothing left...empty...

Today's race number...race report to follow in tomorrow's weekend update!

Random Shite

I did another fun ride Tuesday with the CC boys...after I forced myself to suffer through a prolonged cross effort. Everything was good, except for my choice of route. Not thinking about the fact that it was 75 degrees, and that people are fair-weather exercisers, I dropped down to the canal trail. It was polluted with walkers, shufflers, dog walkers and others who only 'workout' when the sun is out and the temps are over 70. I did my effort in the gravel nonetheless. I'm coming, get the F out of the way!
I continued out of the park and did an effort up Washington until I ran into the bunch. We fiddled around down by the baseball stadium and river for a while, then rolled through campus and back to the shop.
I tried out my new Michelin Mud 2 tires as well. They work really well in pea gravel, wet grass, loose dirt and mud. The are for shit on tarmac, but then again, that's not exactly their intended use. The casing is tall and fat which likely allows them to be run at low pressures. The tread is narrow and doesn't venture far down onto the casing sidewall, so leaning the bike over into a corner was a little hinky. I don't think the fact that I was running them @ 50+ psi was helping matters either. Maybe 10 psi lower, but then they would virtually useless on pavement. They were soft and washy @ 50 psi...do the math...! These are definitely soft/wet condition RACE tires only.
Riding tonight and tomorrow morning and then Doog and I are going to G'ville Saturday morning for a little cross action. There's a seat open in the battle wagon, if anyone wants to go race, or just wants to go and take in the madness.

Random...

The Dems can spend $800+ billion on healthcare 'reform', another $1 trillion+ on various 'bailouts', but can't give folks on Social Security a cost of living increase. Douchebags! My 92 year old grandmother thanks you!

Bandwagon Jumpers of the Week: Those who have 'discovered' night rides. I've been driving that bus for more than 10 years. Welcome aboard...

If there was ever a GUY'S movie, this may be it...

R.I.P. VDB

VDB passed today. Frankie was, without a doubt, filled to the brim with talent, but as it happens all too often, he was also consumed by his demons.
A pro since 1994, he kicked everyone's ass in 1999. If you doubt this statement, please go watch Flanders, LBL, absolutely BROKE legs on the climb to Avila in the 1999 Vuelta, including Ullrich's!! There were ups and downs in his cycling career, yet teams kept signing him because the directors all hoped that the past flashes of brilliance would return. Unfortunately, those flashes were fewer and farther between.
Frank rode with style, suplesse and confidence that we all wish we could harness. Troubled or not, doper or not, he was always one of my favorites.

VDB was found dead today in his hotel room in Senegal, while on holiday. He was only 34!

The roads in heaven are freshly paved, the wind is always at your back and it's always a no chain day!

Okay, break's over...

I was feeling a bit punky last week, so I took it a little easier on the bike...that ended Friday.
Friday, I rode the Salsa and did a true, 30 minute cross simulation, including dismounts and mounts and a few run-ups. I concentrated on maintained a consistent effort and metering that effort at certain different points of my double secret practice loop. A certain very strong Cat1/Masters racer from out West turned me on to this idea. Figure out where on the course you NEED to go balls out and where you can recover a bit. It was a good effort, though I think I could have gone harder.
After that, I fiddled around on some singletrack down by the river. I found a KILLER, old-school, W121 Mercedes 190 that's crying out to made into a street-rod. And by old-school, I mean early-60s...! It begging for a ladder frame, tubs and a SBF. Makes me warm thinking about it!
Saturday, I rolled to the gate to see if anyone would show. Lo and behold, there was actually a good group. We did Double Elon across to the flats. On the transition into the flats, we traversed the Straits of Chihuahua. A completely different rodent, er, chihuahua ran out and attempted to remove TVH from his bike. I could have sworn I heard the little pup say his name was Inigo Montoya.

It was a fun ride with a good group. It was also punctuated by a couple of very crisp and painful efforts, courtesy of FK and BenJ. On, and BenJ got a new bike...I know, fucking SHOCKING! AND it's carbon!!!

This morning, the weather was crap. Breezy, overcast and low-60s. The MTs wanted to go to the Airshow @ McEntire ANG base, so I choose to do the road version of the HoP(tm). I did a Bond-style warm-up* and clicked it into the 52. I kept it in the 52 and the pace between 35-40kph until a passed Crusty's house 50 minutes later. A quick turnover and we were on our way to see some firepower!

Unfortunately, the ceiling was @ 1000ft, so the planes couldn't go up. The helicopters put on a good show and the MTs lost their collective shit when the tanks started bombing around on the field. The static displays were very cool as well. I got a special, one-on-one tour of a P-51D fighter. Un-GD-believeable warbird! The old fella that owned it was hella cool as well...how could you own a P-51 and not be?

Yoga and foam roller tomorrow....

*Bond-style warmup is the little ring to the end of the street...

For JB and the crew...

Denise Richards' Funbags from Denise Richards

A ride that was fun? Who knew?

In an effort to do something different, and fun, I went out for a little Urban Assault action with the crew from Cycle Center last night. And a motley crew it was...no two bikes were alike, but it didn't matter.
We went up through campus, down through the Vista, hit some of the Hobo trails, meandered over past the new USC baseball stadium and into Granby park. A big loop through Granby and back up into campus and home. All told, it was leg busting 20km, but it was FUN! There were a few crashes...cough, Shrews, cough...and many, many laughs. Truth be told, I had one near miss on the concrete path. Let's just say that wet leaves, a 90 degree corner and high speed create a high pucker factor. I need to get my 'night-ride-eyes' in shape too...

As a whole, there was virtually no training value, but to think of it that way would be missing the point. I came home with a clear head and considerably less stress than I had when leaving the house.

Sometimes a simple bike ride is needed. No plan, no BS, just a RIDE. There is joy in just going out and farting around for an hour or two. I think this fact is way lost on a lot of people these days...


Wait for it...

3 mo days

3rd day out of this 5 day stack is done and I'm starting to feel better.
Friday- Doog and and I did 2 hours at a relaxed pace, much like last week. Nothing big to report...
Saturday- Great ride! I went off into Calhoun County all by my little self. I rode out to the 176 split, climbed the big, very ugly hill up to the plateau and out to the cut-through. I stopped at the store in Sanday Run on the way back, yet did NOT partake in the World Famous Blondies that are sold out there. If you don't know what that is, you're missing out! Anywho, I kept the pace @ 35kmh for the entire ride and was tired, yet felt really good when I got home. The riding out there is perfect. 2.5 hours for 80 km...I'll take it.
Sunday- I planned on rolling out solo but ran into Il Prof, TVH and the Kaisers. Instead of another monotonous 3 hours alone with my own thoughts (scary!), I rode with them and had a really nice, pleasant ride. It was the kind of ride that is needed this time of year...an even pace, some good conversation, and a few laughs, punctuated by a couple of 5 to 10 minute sharp efforts to remind you that the business of riding a bike is supposed to hurt now and again. And what a beautiful day!!! 60 when I left and 70 when I got home, and no wind. Pretty damn perfect in my book! Oh, and Mrs. Kaiser's new Colnago is very nice...
It's supposed to rain tomorrow...we'll see where my motivation lies. Trainer in the dry of the ManHole(tm), or the cross unit in the wet...

As an aside, GW is selling his Cervelo P2C time trial bike. It's full Dura-Ace with an Ultegra crankset (he had a SRM on it). It comes with a FSA aerobar setup and Ksyrium SL3 wheels (the silver ones)...you can provide your own aero wheelset...or better yet, buy some of Bond's wheels at his "Everything Must Go, Super-Spectacular, Zipp Wheel Blowout Sale". Pics of the bike to follow...lemme know if you want more details...
He's asking $2k.