Sunny Sunday

 The proper jersey for a Sunday morning ride?  Thought so today...

 End State maintenance?  You don't say!!!

 A special picture for Junk.  They shine like frickin' mirrors...

 Riding on the moon...

 The dirt was smoother than most of the pavement around these parts.

 There be dragons...well, alligators...

 I poached a little.  Don't tell nobody...

 A little history to broaden your horizons...

I guess train dudes just clock out for the weekend?

Good 2 hours on the Jericho this morning.  Just sort of spun around.  I saw a big wild turkey hen, a big black snake, and a Kia mini-SUV stuck in the mud out on 12th.  Guess which one of these things made me giggle like a small child?
Yep, you probably guessed correctly...
What possessed the guy to think his 192hp (when new) vehicle with maybe 5 inches of ground clearance could play in the deep Lexington County mud?  For reals?  Hell, I have a 400hp Yukon XL with big off-road tires and wouldn't have even considered driving into the hole he was stuck in.  I wonder how much Tillman Towing got him for?  (I took a picture as I rode by, but it didn't come out well...dammit!)

Time to wash the dog...

Good Saturday CX ride

JBrstl and I met for a little Vitamin D this morning.  And it was gooooood....

In all seriousness, it was actually a really good, really fun ride.  We did my normal loop, but added some extra singletrack, then popped out onto Leesburg.  A tarmac section, and then on to Old Leesburg...up across and back into the trail.
All in all, we...well I...ended up with 2:30 on the bike.  JB had more as he rode over from his casa, then rode home again.  Poor fucker has/had an exam @ 2pm.  I'll be napping...

The file treads got swapped for the monster truck tires too.  700x40 baby!  Sure, they are plush, and handle like a damn dream in the woods, but on the road...well, there are two sides two a coin, eh?  Let's just say that the Clement 33c file treads roll a lot better...

Talk was thrown around of another Columbia-Roubaix ride as well.  I'll send out an email to gauge interest.  The loop was good last time, if a bit too long.  The maps says 93km...it was closer to 105.  Maybe a modification down to about 80km is in order.  I need to scout the loop to see what's rideable, and what's not.  Watch your inbox...and start looking for some Pave-grade tires.
I may actually make the effort to have some special guests come into town for the ride as well.

Everyone will be welcome...

I don't care...

I don't care if the entire peloton was doped to the gills in the 90's.
I don't care if Pantani's hematocrit was 60 (-ish).
I don't care if the bikes were made of metal and the rims were box section.
I don't care that helmets weren't mandated.

And neither should you!

Pantani flats, goes out the back, and gets attacked.
The Mercantone Uno boys ran a fucking leadout train ON A CLIMB!!!

What's better?  Watching a bunch of guys with high-grade equine pharmaceuticals running through their veins, attacking the shit out of each other....

OR

Watching and listening to Andy Schleck whinge and moan, constantly looking over his shoulder to see where Frank is?

Quick Humpy

 How many thousands of kilometers does this old Italian guy have in those legs?  Probably more than you've driven!

 Liege?  Yes.  Hail?  Yes.  Still want to be a Euro-dog?  Eh, not so much...  (pic : Ashley Gruber)

Yes, this is how I feel.  Every time I wash the Yukon, a bird will empty his/her tiny little bowels on either the windshield, or the driver's door handle.  Dirty little bastards...

Good ride last night in WeCola.  Big group, even though it was a bit breezy.  The wind was swirling, so we really never got a break from the headwind.  Only two sections of bloc headwind, but the rest were serious head/cross.
I went out with the plan NOT to make any huge efforts, and I did just that.  Stayed in the front, took my pulls, chased some gaps, and never felt stressed.  I guess the bronchitis may finally be clearing out.  Judging by the sheer volume of "stuff" I've been expelling, it's about time!

Okay, noting more to see here...please move along!

Mini-post

The new Dura-Ace 9000 series crank. Can't decide if I like it, or if it looks like a club foot.

I'm no clairvoyant, but something really bad is about to happen in the above pic.

Yeah, I think a tear, or two, would be shed...


Francesco Moser is STILL waaay cooler than any of us.

Sun's out...

How was your weekend?

Saturday was a CX singletrack sort of day. Didn't feel great, but just ground it out. Funny part? I was within 1 minute of my usual ride time for that loop, AND rode about a mile longer on the singletrack. I definitely need to swap out the file treads for something more aggressive too. Too much sliding and lack of traction, even with my big rear end over the back wheel!

Sunday...well, it was wet...


And a bit sloppy...


And I came home with some stuff on my legs...


Two hours in 60 degree rain, wind and slop was still better than riding the turbo. Of course, as it usually happens, it stopped raining about 3 minutes for the house...

The highlights of the ride? I actually felt good, and I got honked at by a lady in a Prius WHILE she was pulling into church. The irony was lost on one of us...

The rest of the day was devoted to running around like a headless chicken to get things together for #2's birthday party, and making the effort not to hit my father-in-law in the skull with a parang, all while absorbing his passive/aggressive behavior. I guess haters ARE gonna hate...

To say I was spent at the end of the day is an understatement...

Oh, yeah...I'm 42 today...whoppiiieeeeeee!

Friday update

I twattered and Facebook-elized about this yesterday, and thought it was done, but I just read the article again, and am left no less incredulous. The NY Gran Fondo is drug testing. Really? WTF? Drug testing at a cookie ride?
Of course, my buddy Boyd brought up a good point. He reminded how racers, and wannabes alike, will put someone in the ditch for a prime. The NY Gran Fondo has some damn nice prizes, so why wouldn't certain folks douche out and hook up the T-patch for a few weeks prior?

Still, it boggles the mind. If someone needs to take WHATEVER to win an amateur race, or even a high dollar cookie ride, then they should re-assess the reasons they ride, and their life as a whole.

Another really good ride last night. Big group and plenty quick. My plan was to sit in and just roll the legs over. I stuck to the plan, except for the climb out to 302. It's funny how about 15 seconds of inattention can force one to put it in the PainCave for then next 5 minutes. I let a gap open...on the descent (dumbass! -Ed.), thinking that I would just roll right back into the bunch. Wrong answer.
The gap quickly became 250m. Knowing how the front bunch doesn't sit up at 302, I knew I had a better chance of re-attaching myself to the group on the climb than catching a group of 8 on the downhill run back to town.
Hindsight is 20/20. I got back on AT the turn, but it seemed everyone in the front was on the rivet on the climb as well, as they all slowed to a near crawl. The second group caught us, and we came in with a group of a dozen+.

News :

Andy Schleck does little to assuage the belief that he's a whinger. Maybe he should have gone with Hesjedal @ 9 km to go. Maybe he missed the move while sitting in the back, pining for his brother.

The entire BMC team wants success, indivdually, in the Giro. This means that none of them will actually find it.

Speaking of PainCave. Look at these faces...


When the faces of top level pros look this distorted, the shit hurts, period!

Sea Otter is going on...

And the fine folks at Ritte and TRP just changed the game...
Electronic shifting coupled with hydraulic braking (discs). Welcome to the future, it started yesterday!

Oh, and 5 years ago today, I became a dad for the second time. Happy Birthday #2!

Something wicked this way comes...

So IF is building a frame out of Columbus XcR stainless steel tubing. No big deal, right? Well, the bike shown above is XcR tubing that's drawn on the old Columbus MAX tooling.

For those of you who have trouble putting together 2 and 2, that means it's stainless tubing in MAX dimensions.

Methinks that I may have found my next bicycle frame...

The very thought of it makes me feel all warm on the inside...

Bizarro...

Last night's WeCola ride was really good. Huge group (45-50) and a beautiful evening.

It was really odd though. I felt iffy, but had really good legs. Spinning the gear over was not taxing in the least...until the speeds got over about 43kph. Anything between 30-43kph was easy, just rolling along...on wheels or on the front. HR and PE were very low. Any speed over 44 got hard...
I couldn't get my HR up over about 160 or so.
I'm tired. Tossing and turning night after night will do that...

Breaking Fleche Wallonne news...

Evie Stevens (USA) wins the womens race.

Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) wins the mens. Both won with seering attacks on the Muur.




And say what you want about the Ritte boys, but they make a DAMN sexy TT bike. Actually, all of their offerings are quite libidinous.


Their custom stainless offerings make me feel like I'm climbing the rope in gym class!


And if you read their blog, you'll see that the SS and carbon/SS offerings are nearly as stiff as the full carbon bikes. I'm betting that NONE of us would be able to discern which was which if blindfolded!

And with that...enjoy your Humpday...

What was that?

So I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I'd been on my feet all day, and made a drive to Charlotte and back...wait, I did...
Crunchy back and heavy legs met me for breakfast. I had a bowl of Kashi...
I almost bailed altogether, but Rule #5 swung into the kitchen and smacked me in the back of the head.
CX bike, party of two...your ride is ready...

HA! Suckas!
The Dirt was just fine, thank you!

700x33 file treads FTW!

I felt pretty flat as I left Service Course, but it was one of those rides that get better the longer one stays in the saddle.
Once on the dirt, things opened up and the speed and effort came free and easy. Instead of turning for home, I did the big loop, including poaching some prime double track on the property of a certain Lexington County chemical company.
Once I turned for home, the tailwind was giving me a nice push, so I knocked on the door of the PainCave. No one answered, so I let myself in...
15 minutes later, I left. It was a nice visit...

All told, a quality 2:15 was spent on the Jericho. I came home dusty (thanks big redneck truck on Old State) and happy. Moe's was consumed shortly thereafter...

Here's something to watch on your Monday afternoon :

Mavic @ Roubaix



And OPQS @ Roubaix



Ever wonder how they make the Cobblestone Trophy? Well, wonder no more...

I have a chunk of Belgian Pave. It holds the door open in Service Course...

Critter

I discovered yesterday exactly WHY I was super fit a handful of years ago. It had everything to do with the fact that I did my Palmetto Trail CX loop twice a week. 2 hours of grindy, total body riding. 'Twas big fun.
And a big thanks to whoever is now taking care of the trail out there. New sections have been routed through the recent logging activity, and the entire trail out to Wildcat has been cleared. Don't make a snap judgment though! It's still a task on 35c file tread tires...

Anyone know where I can get a fern?

Pee stop...

Upon my return to Service Course, I participated in some parenting activities before loading up and heading to Charlotte for the big $ Presby Crits. Here's the photographic proof...

It was big fun and super fast racing from both the ladies and the men. Once again, UHC showed how it was done at the end of a race. Hilton Clarke took home the W, and $12,500 for his effort.

I also learned two things that I need to spend money on.
1) An intermediate lens. the 18-55 is too small for some stuff, and the 100-300 is too big.
2) A powered auxiliary flash. The flash on the SLR is neither bright enough, nor does it recycle quickly enough.
Let the Ebay searching commence...

I had offers of spare bedrooms, but being the MENSA member that I am, I chose to come home in the wee hours. I'm tired right now...but I'm gonna go spin in a little while. My back and legs are shot from standing/walking last night.

Friday the 13th

He won Paris-Camembert. Guessing it's not his favorite cheese?

Voeckler won Brabantse-Pijl in a brilliant solo move. It seems he may have also passed a stone...

Got this from my friend Rob yesterday. Coolest thing I've seen in a long time!

Gotta love the guys at GoPro. (FWIW, I use a Contour...)

VICKY, WATCH OUT, IT'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good ride last night. I let the front group go when guys started attacking through the stop signs, across traffic.
I felt okay, but could definitely tell two things. I'm not 100% yet...not even close, and I've taken far too much time away from the bicycle(s).

Since the Saturday group is dead, it looks like a CX ride is in order for tomorrow morning. There's some single (and double) track that's calling me. I just need to grind right now.

And I'm headed to Charlotte tomorrow night for the Presby Crit. $25k purse for the ladies, and $50k for the men. Last year was fast from the gun in both races. Should be the same this year.

Peace and chicken grease!

Head up...Eyes up

Scary shit for Tony Martin. What's really scary is the fact that this could happen to any of us. He was just riding along, in the bike lane, and got creamed.
Pay attention, be aware of your surroundings, and keep your head on a swivel!

That was...well...interesting...

Yesterday, as the afternoon progressed, the sky became increasingly cloudy, and the wind seemed to pick up.
I rolled out into a strong NE headwind, thinking that my direction of travel would avoid the impending weather.
Yeah, I was wrong.
Once to 12th St., the wind was blowing at what can only be considered a fevered pace. Couple that with the rain that was falling at acute angles, and you have yourself a bit of a maelstrom. I could have turned for home, and had a ripper of a tailwind back to Service Course, but discretion and intelligence but must have clocked out for the day. I stayed out...
I knew there was going to be trouble when I was doing little more than rolling the cranks over and tipping 50kph. 38kph over the I-77 overpass? Sure, that shit happens everyday....
Over 77, a dust devil was swirling about on the dirt pad that will, one day, be the location of a giant Flying J Truck Stop. Yeah, I kept going...

The 50kph fun continued until the end of 12th. Upon traversing the corner at speed that could be deemed unsafe, my front wheel was sent wildly off course by a gust of wind. As my sphincter returned to normal size and shape, my inner monologue made the decision, finally, that we should probably go home.

The return trip on 12th St. was a 22-25kph fistfight. Just a slog...
The tailwind out was now slapping me, literally and figuratively, in the mouth. The wind was carrying more debris than I've seen in a long time. Fortunately, most of it ended up in my eyes, making my contacts feel like they were affixed to my eyeballs with 1000 tiny hooks.

I finally made it home @ 7:30. It was dark...30 minutes early. My decision to turn around, albeit late, was a good one. Anyone out after about 7:45 was screwed.

Rules 5 and 9 were definitely in play last night, and the line between hard and stupid was blurry, at best.

Humps for a Hump Day...


I'm gonna go wash my eyes out with saline...AGAIN...

Hoy-ly Crap!

Boonen doesn't grab a musette in the feed zone! He uses The Force!!

(speaking in third person) " Andre will sign your item, but Andre will NOT stand to do so..."
OR... ow to sign an autograph...LIKE A BOSS!

Here's where I was last weekend...



Hoy slipped through that gap like he was covered in Astroglide!

DeVlaeminck calls EVERYBODY out.

Good ride by Mini-Phinney. Great ride by Handsome George...a true hardman of the North!! He and Guesdon have knocked down 17 editions each...crazy!

And will everyone PLEASE STFU about Phinney doing so well in his FIRST Roubaix!! Last I checked, he won U23 Roubaix TWICE !!! Yeah, it's U23, but it's not like they ride around an office park, and across 50m of smooth bricks. It's still Roubaix, just a bit shorter...

And we're done...

Have a good Tuesday!

Kinda not work safe

And we're baaaack....

Holy shi-atsu...I'm a bit wrecked right now.

While working at a women only cycling camp is really fun and rewarding for the cycling soul, it's also really fucking tiring. I put down about 50 hours of work in 3.5 days. And how was your weekend?

Even though I'm tired, and only got to ride 3 hours over the weekend, I'm completely satisfied and centered. Being around 14 campers, and 8 staff (not including myself) who just love bikes, will do that for you.

Big thanks to Chad Andrews @ Totalcyclist for allowing me to once again be a part of the great thing he has created. I've made friends, and had experiences that will stay with me for a lifetime.

Okay, enough of the gushy stuff...

Jered Gruber's Roubaix pics...

How about BoomBoom? 60k? Yeah, I thought he'd lost his mind too. The ones who lost their minds are the collection of dumbasses who let he and Terpstra just roll away. What'd they think, he was jumping off the front to go take a pee? Simple fucks...



I know you all watched it as well, but here are a few highlights...



Tommeke has never had what could be considered "suplesse", but towards the end of the race, his pedal stroke was U-G-L-Y!! Pedal squares? Not quite. Squares would have been prettier. It looked like some sort of ratcheting was going on. No matter though, as he wasn't slowing down, nor was he coming back.

Riding with FORCE was the theme...

BoomBoom etched himself into the annals of both Roubaix, and true Classics heroes. It was like watching Museeuw or Tchmil ride away. Just brilliant...

One can't help but wonder how the race would have unfolded had Cancellara been in attendance. One thing we could have surely counted on from Fabian was at least one equipment failure...

Back on the horse tomorrow...should be interesting...

Worky Worky

Day 3 of Totalcyclist DivaCamp is about to kick off, so I'll be brief.

14 ladies...14 bikes...

Big fun thus far. I've even snuck in a couple of good, albeit short rides.

We're headed out to Hunting Island State Park today. It's big and blue out there today...go ride your bikes!

There will be a full post, with photo goodness, at some point Sunday.

Time to make the donuts...

This way to Roubaix...

Hey, TVH...I told you the day-glo colors were coming back! AND they're Sidis! You need them!

There ARE, in fact, bicycles in this photo...

Boonen is trying hard to be likable, and it's working. If he wins Roubaix, and pulls that little medallion out...

Roubaix is Sunday. To prime the pump, go pick up this book. It's well worth the $40!

The difference between Belgian/French high school kids and American high school kids....

Pay money. Go to Belgium. Get your ass kicked. Oh, what fun it would be...

Tomorrow a.m., I'm heading to Beaufort for the 3rd edition of DivaCamp. Long days and some hard work, but it's big fun simply because the entire group...campers and staff alike, just love to ride their bicycles. It's 4 days of exactly what cycling should be...
The next camp will be in the fall, somewhere in the mountain of Southern Virginia. If you know someone who might be interested, pass on the link, or contact me. Sorry...ladies only!

Time to go pack...

Keep it classy Kentucky...

Simple, yet effective...

Firefly looks like they are going after some of Trek's market...

Cancellara's collarbone...(no shit). They didn't even bother with plates and screws. They just rodded the flipping thing! Bet that shit feels GOOD today! Hope he enjoys secondary security checks at the airport!

I may need to re-think my stance on swimming.

Now, on to the show...



So Kentucky won the NCAA BouncyBall Championship last night. WooHoo! WooHoo cares?
Evidently, the students of UK, and the residents of Lexington care SO much that they rioted, burned cars, broke windows, and a guy got SHOT! What a celebration of a win! Keep it classy you over-entitled douchebags. Then again, had USC won, no one would have even shown up. That's just how ineffectual Carolina fans are. Another rant for another day...I digress...

Calipari bought the Championship...plain and simple. Let's just say that recruiting violations follow him like a small, well-trained dog. UMass? Memphis? Yeah, vacating wins and Championships is a good way to build a legacy. Kentucky turned the page from the days of Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, and Tubby Smith. All honest guys and great coaches. When you turn to guys like Pitino and Calipari, you seemingly welcome trouble with the NCAA. I guess winning and the almighty dollar have become more important at UK.

Such is the reason that I turned my back on college basketball years ago. It's little more than a minor-league feeder system for the NBA. Sad part? Most of the guys either NEVER go to the NBA, or if they do, only play for 3-4 years. They piss all of their money away, and end up the tallest employee at the Water Department. And most leave college early...without that sheepskin...and don't go back...

It makes the World of professional cycling look squeeky clean. What's worse. whacking up some illegal PEDs in order to provide for your family, or the colleges and NCAA using the "student" athletes as little more than de facto gladiators?



Speaking of the riots in Kentucky, last I checked, I hadn't heard of any riots in Brugge or Kortrijk last Sunday after Boonen won Flanders!