Getting there...

Things are slowly coming around. No pain/discomfort when riding.
Got the CX shoes/pedals figured out. Still need to get the road setup 100% sorted. A repaired knee equals a different pedal stroke.
The wedges and insoles are set up for my old, jacked up right leg. It'll get sorted shortly. It would probably help if I actually got on the road bike...
Rode 4x last week...all on the CX bike.
All rides were fairly uneventful. At this point, I'm riding to ride, and get a little fitness back.
Tues/Thurs/Fri were pretty normal. Two at some sort of tempo, one hard, to see what's in the tank.
KL and I met Saturday morning, and did a nice, even, planless (is that a word?) ride.
It rained, but the temps were warm, as was the rain. Getting wet wasn't a big deal.
The PowerStation is interesting these days. Muddy...sandy...rocky...hardpack. Something for everyone.

And the giant mudhole is now passable...

Far side...(left side coming in...right side going out) And don't be brave and try to ride the center. That shit is DEEP.
Also found a saddlebag out there. A Barracuda bag w/two two kits, and the normal flat change stuff. If you know who lost it, hit me up, and I'll get it back to them.
Be aware of the wildlife out there as well. I've seen plenty of hawks, owls, snakes, deer, turkeys, and turtles. Just pay attention. You're riding through their living area.

Sunday, I had the day to myself, so I got up late, and watched Gent-Wevelgem.


Fun final 50km or so.
And sad news from Gent...
Following a crash, Antoine Demoitie was struck by a race motorcycle. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Maybe this will be the impetus the UCI needs to reduce the number of "official" and press motos in races.
The LAST place any cyclist should die is DURING a bike race.

It's Spring Break around here, so morning rides are out for the week. I'll probably roll over to the group ride on Tuesday night...likely on the CX bike, or I'll cut it off early if I take the Ridley out.

Have a good Monday!

Some days....

Some days, you make decisions, and pay for them after the fact.
Saturday, sleeping in and MSR were on the docket.



Great race...as usual. And no, Demare did NOT hold onto a car at 90kmh up the Cipressa. I hate Strava, but in this case, it proves he did nothing wrong. Here's his file : MSR.
People are still bitching about time spent not pedaling, or the lack of power data. Blah...Blah...Blah...
If there's no spike in speed going up the Cipressa climb, then there's no smoke...no fire.
He won. Anything else said about it is sour grapes.

As for riding on Saturday, I should have gotten out of bed early and hit The PowerStation. I could have knocked it down, and been home in time for the last 40km. It was sunny and warm...

Sunday broke with 48 degree, windy drizzle. I pulled the Ridley out of Service Course, and went out on a test loop. The "test" was to see if I could get a certain road loop done in under a pre-described amount of time, so I could do it through the week, and still get back to pick up The Duke from school.
Turns out, it got done, and it'll work.
The weather yesterday was Belgian. Windy. Drizzle/rain. North wind. 40s. Character building.
Felt okay. Rode okay. We'll ignore the fact that I was squirreled sideways on the bike. No worries. Dr. Renick cracked and straightened things out this morning.
Should we mention the pollen? No, that's not Roubaix-esque dirt and mud. It's SC's finest tree pollen. Lovely.

 The new Bixxis steel. Closest thing you're gonna get to a steel DeRosa. It actually IS a steel DeRosa...of sorts...

 Speaking of DeRosa...how about a Pininfarina designed aero DeRosa? Yes, it's as spendy as you think it is..

 Mosaic's NAHBS show bike this year. Beautimous.

And I know the whole 'single chainring' thing is gaining momentum, but no...just don't...especially if you live somewhere with altitude. Having a 10/50 cassette is asinine. Holy jumps between cogs Batman!! I usually link manufacturers, but in this case, I'm just not going to do it.

And yes, it's for mountain bikes, but the single ring thing has infiltrated CX, and is trying to make it to the road.
Oh, and that cassette? It weighs 505g. TWICE the weight of a "normal" road cassette. An Ultegra 6800 F/D weighs 87g. A 39t ring weighs 80g. Chainring bolts? 15g for alloy.
All told, running a double weighs less. AND doesn't look stupid...

Happy Monday. Enjoy it.

MidWeek shenanigans

 Campy introduced their own hydro disc brakes. I still like that paint scheme...

 Bus driver training in Spain. Let's the drivers know how it feels to get buzzed by a bus!

 C60 in gold! Quit messing around Mike!!

 Where is this road, and when do we leave?

New Pegoretti. Me-OWWWWWW!

NokereKoerse was this morning. Not "classic" per se, but still a fun race.



Nice little bunch gallop. And did anyone notice the lack of leg/knee warmers? Time to race...

I dragged my unfit, tired self onto the Salsa yesterday. Had no plan, other than to do the normal Powerstation loop. Didn't ride hard...actually dicked around a bit down by the river.
Somehow, I got home with a 1 kmh higher average speed. Not much, but considering my lack of fitness and focus yesterday, I'll take it.
Someone said it was form coming back. I think it was :

(H/T to Stevil for the use of his stuff)

And with that, I bid you adieu. Stay inside today, if you can. The pollen count is approaching the same number as the national debt. Only supposed to get worse by the end of the week. Oh joy...

Happy Pi Day

Isn't the Monday after DST fun? Junior Management was truly enthused about waking up this morning.
I'm tired too...
Last weekend was the first that I've ridden both days since...well...(thinking)...September?
We had a good little group Saturday morning for a normal loop out through the Swamp. The ride itself was great, on what could only be described as a Chamber of Commerce day.
If I could choose ONE set of variables that make up weather, it would be those that fell together Saturday.
80 degrees. Low humidity. Slight SSW breeze. Big blue sky...

A photo posted by MM (@mminsc) on Mar 12, 2016 at 11:05am PST

Sadly, my stomach was less than happy with me. That spicy pad Thai Friday evening caused a bit of a ruckus. Even so, 80km fell under wheels with a jovial group. Kinda what it's about...

Sunday morning...the start of DST...broke with clouds and rain. I got on the CX bike @ 10:30. Roads were wet, and skies were grey.
By the time I got out to the end of The PowerStation, roads were dry...skies were blue. Funny how that works.
And the wind was STRONG out of the SSW. The trip back in on 12th was tailwind the entire way. Nice just tapping out a tempo at 33-35kmh on knobbies. The stomach issues had passed as well.
Twas a good ride.
Once back to Service Course, I hosed off, threw down a sammich, and took Junior Management on a little adventure.

A photo posted by MM (@mminsc) on Mar 13, 2016 at 6:43pm PDT

Nice that their are spots around here where you can let your kids wander down a two lane road.

I would ride today, but I'm knackered. The whole 'coming back from injury' thing is really tiring.
And Saturday, we talked about some of the crazier/more exciting races from Track Worlds...
Madison


Elimination Race


I always wanted to try to have an elimination-style race when the TNWC was going on, but getting the group to agree that the sky was blue was hard enough. Trying to get everyone to agree to something like this would have been akin to herding cats.

Enjoy your Monday kids...even if your body thinks it's still an hour earlier...

The week that was...

It seems that I'm back on some semblance of a riding schedule.
Kind of nice. Now I can start to take off this 11 pounds that were packed on during my injury and convalescence.
I hit The PowerStation Tuesday morning, and again Friday.
Just a note for those who are headed out there. SCE&G is working on the high-pressure gas line that's on the far side of the crevasse. It's about halfway between the ditch, and the end of the closed portion of Old State.
They've been back there with trucks, and heavy equipment. The road is a mess. There are DEEP (ask me how I know), water-filled ruts on both sides of the double track. And to be honest, they guys out there working looked less than pleased that I was riding through their active worksite.
Best bet for now? Ride out to to ditch, and turn around. I'm sure they'll be finished in a couple of weeks. I'll keep checking...
There are also several spots that need to be cleaned up, lest they reach up and strip of someone's rear mech. My plan is to head out there this coming weekend, and enlist the help of my child labor force to clear them.

No ridey Saturday, as I had soccer with Junior Management, and wanted to watch Strade Bianche.


Such a brilliant race. Already a Classic.
And I guess Fabi proved that he doesn't need his motor to break legs.
If you get into such things, or fancy yourself a 'racer', you should pay special attention to the final corner. Watch how Cancellara contols it. Not only his line, but Stybar's line as well. That's how it's done.
Oh, and notice Fabi's bike. It's a Domane...a couple seasons old Domane...with mechanical shifting. No need for that fancy schmancy new stuff.

Read Ashley and Jered's write-up. Better than anything else done.

Woke up Sunday and met The Heathens for a jaunt through Lower Richland. It was breezy, but the trees knocked down a lot of it, and we actaully had a bit of a cross to cross-tail on the way home. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and we were on bicycles.
Sure as shit beat any alternative I could think of.
I tried to get them to ride a section of LR Strade Bianche, but was rebuffed.

My own private Strade Bianche.

A photo posted by MM (@mminsc) on Mar 6, 2016 at 10:46am PST

It was probably smoother than many of the paved roads out that way! Might be time to put together another dirt ride out that way.

Gonna be nice this week. Get outside and get some sun on your pale bodies.