Eh...you have big happt Monday only...

Decent last week on the bike.
Well, it started out okay, got worse, then ended up okay.
Tuesday, I was as crooked as a hickory stick. (It's an old euphemism, but fitting nonetheless). Felt like I was turning left the entire ride. Legs were decent, but my pedal stroke was a bit notchier than usual.
Took Wednesday off...
Thursday, I went to see Dr. Renick, and got my business cracked and stretched. I was crook-ed. When your physio actually comments on how jacked up you are, you know the visit was much needed.
Friday, I rode just to loosen up. easy peasy. Never ride well right after getting beaten by the good Doctor.
Saturday was a fun ride. Felt good, rode well. Actually had a big tailwind home. It's really nice to glass crank @ 40kmh on the way home.

Saw this train car from the bridge on Saxe Gotha. Had to get a picture, so I went fully into the locker, and raced the train to the level crossing. The shot turned out okay, considering I was slightly hypoxic. Also begs the question, is it art? It's more art than some "art"...
Sunday, a smaller group of Heathens met for a big, fun loop out into Swansea. Twas breezy, but the direction of wind would bode well for the run home...

 We saw mini-horses!!!

As you can see, it's pretty bad out there. You should keep riding in the Fort.

Stuff....

 Got a new kit last week. My friends at Feedback Sports hooked me up with a new jersey. Thanks Katie!
Anyway, it's needs to be said that Primal (yes, the folks who make all of the dopey jerseys that you tend to see on the MS150, or on clearance in the Nashbar catalog) makes VERY, VERY nice high end clothing. The jersey is the "Helix" line. You will be hard-pressed to fine a better fitting jersey, made of nicer materials. Stretchy sleeves, durable zipper, vents built into the back/shoulder, and a correct length.
I needed a new pair of bibs anyway, so I picked up a pair of Primal Helix "Onyx" bibs on a pro-deal. Again, outstanding stuff. Compressive. Proper strap length. Proper inseam length. Great chamois. ZERO issues on yesterday's 3.5 hour jaunt. Never even had to adjust luggage.
Scoff if you must, but I can tell you, they're better than ANY other manufacturer at similar price points. Period!

 Also got some Belgie socks from Mad Alchemy. So fresh. So clean. Style. It's a thing.

 The guys at Festka just keep making nice stuff. This is a Columbus XCr stainless frame. Clean and simple. Met them at the NAHBS a few years ago. They know what they're doing, and will talk to you about frames, materials, and theory for as long as you want to talk about it. I'm leaning towards a metal bike. This one has jumped to the top of the list.

Speaking of things Belgie. Belgie blue Noah. Now complimentary colors/graphics needed. Built for bidness.
Yeah, it has discs. Ignore them They're silly and unnecessary on a road bike. They will not make you a better rider.

Finally, if you don't know about the things in this picture, save me your expertise.

Gonna be nice all week. You should go outside and get it on you!!

Eh Mario...you has big happt birstday!

Cipo is 50 today.
He had style before you knew about style...

2002 Zolder



That's a proper leadout, BTW.

Back on the horse

After a couple weeks of relative inactivity...3 days a week...I remounted the horse(s) last week.
I even rode the turbo...WHAAAAT?
Yeah...
Tuesday was a shit morning, and being wet and cold didn't hold much romance, so I rode in Service Course for an hour. Once again, it showed me that I cannot live at any Latitude further North than the one at which we currently reside.
No way in Hell I could ride inside all Winter. I'd be homicidal.
Anyway, after an hour at tempo, some good sweat, and a viewing of 'Road to Roubaix', I climbing off. Of course, as it happens, by the time I got out of the shower, the Sun was out. Whatevs....
Thursday was a CX ride. It was cold. 28F cold. The waterholes on the dirt were frozen. No pictures were taken as I really didn't want to take off my giant gloves. No matter. 2 hours in the book.
Friday was a "not as cold" ride. Plus, the sun was out, and it got warm pretty quickly. Another two hours with a ramping up of effort.
Saturday morning was junk. Dark. Cold. Rain. I went out anyway. Hey...I'll RIDE in the rain, but I won't LEAVE in the rain. Wasn't raining when I left. Got a solid hour before it started.
Once it did start, I had two choices. One was to turn for SC. The other was the finish the loop. Wet either way. Bike dirty either way. Fuck it. Finish the loop.
50 degree rain is fun...sort of.
Same story as Tuesday. Out of the shower. Sun out. Oh well...

Went down Beckham Swamp. Spooky ass road.
Good Heathen ride Sunday. CRAZY wind out in the country. Felt reasonably okay, considering it was the 4th day in a row on the bike. We struggled home together, and got a good 3 hours.
I'm tired today. Legs and back are toast. Legs from riding. Back from TVH trying to knock me off at a light. Only my catlike reflexes kept me from hitting the ground. No harm, no foul.

 Speaking of, he goes pretty well for an old guy. :)

Obligatory product placement shot. Diadora. TwinSix. Ridley. Williams. Vittoria. Stuff that just works.

Stuff :

 McGovern bike from NAHBS. Handbuilt carbon. ALL handbuilt! No pre-made lugs, nor tubes.

 Sagan, Kwiatkowski and Alaphillipe bike throw from MSR. Take a look at Sagan's chain...

Shut. Up. And. Take. My. Money.

MSR :



Yeah...Peto didn't win, but in a post-race interview, he went all Maximus from "Gladiator".
He said something to the effect of, "...it's not always important to win. It's important to put on a show..."



Okay...get to work...
I need to do the same.

Mother Nature

You knew it was coming...
Everyone was enjoying the short sleeve weather. Hell, I loved it. The tanlines are already tightened up...in March.
But you knew it wouldn't last. If you've lived here for longer than a week, then you'd know that Mother Nature does peculiar things.
Sunny and damn nice at the end of last week. I rode W-Th-F, all in shorts and short sleeves. The warmth was nice. The wind...not so much. The pollen...yeah...that's funny.

Yes...that's a cross tire. No, that is not dirt. That's pollen. And it was only 8.8/12 on Wednesday.
Still did 50km on the knobbies.
Thursday was worse. The wind was stiff. Clouds of yellow floated across the road. Lovely. I did a couple of big efforts on the hills, and got nice and sweaty. Thus, I returned to SC with a nice coating of pine pollen. The little yellow crystals on my eye lashes were sublime.
Still got 60km in 2 hours.
The forecast was for rain ovenight. The hope was that the pollen would get washed away. Well, it did...sort of...
It washed into large puddles. The Noah was foul when I got back after 3 hours. The ride started wet, gray, and cloudy. It ended pretty well...

Honestly, I don't think it rained out on the other side of the ridge.
Swansea and back. 3 hours. In the wind. Solo. Big fun.

No ridey over the weekend.
The Duke had a T-Ball thing on Saturday. And Sunday...yeah...Mother Nature took our warn weather and gave us a gray, snowy day. None of it stuck, but I wasn't going out in it.
Back on the horse tomorrow. The group ride is supposed to fire up, but as the first ride is always a dangerous clusterfuck, I'll be Juan Solo in the morning. Not to mention the wind is supposed to be right @ 20mph tomorrow evening. You guys enjoy that. I'll see you next week.

Two more from the "If you don't know..." file...

Lots of stuff going on in both photos. If you don't know who, nor what...well...

Two wheels good!! BMW R90T Scrambler. Change nothing. Send it to Service Course. I'll make room.

 And four wheels not always bad, but in this case...

Seriously? Sorry about your penis Sir.
The perspective is a little off in the pic. That's a full size, crew cab Chevrolet. I could have pulled the hood of my Yukon XL UNDER the side of it.
The amount of impracticality is staggering. I question whether it's actually street legal.

Okay kids. It's Monday. Keep your heads down!
Supposed to be warm again by the middle/end of the week. Go outside.

Sort of a rest week?

Given that I've been fighting an ear infection for the last couple of weeks, and have been on antibiotics, the decision was made to ride easy all week.
I still rode, and still got some decent time on the bike (10 hours +/-), but none of it was with ANY sort of anger.
Tuesday was a tempo-y road ride. Felt like there was a small Rosehead spike driven into my right ear, so no real effort was given.
Friday, I got on the Salsa and headed to The PowerStation to make sure TVH wasn't going to A) Injure himself, B) Perish, and C) would enjoy himself. It was pretty damn sublime out there.
Things are greening up. Trees are budding out.
I will say though, the pollen has started. I came home with a yellow scalp, yellow arms and legs, and the bike was covered.

We even had a nice CX/Dirt mini-group ride on Saturday. To be honest, it was the best ride I've had in a long while, and kind of brought things back into focus.
We went out, rode bikes, had conversations, laughed, and introduced TVH to something new. Lo and behold, once he got on his CX bike, and out on the dirt, he discovered just how fun/good it is out there.
Shocking, I know!
Special thanks to the USC Ladies X-Country team for vastly improving the scenery as well!!
The PowerStation is in fine shape, and there seems to be a new line around the waterhole. It takes a little skill, but it's very passable, and prevents getting mud and water up to one's hubs.
And the day itself? Yeah, if you complained about Saturday, well...

Sunday, we went out for a shorter ride. It was chillier to start, but turned into another Chamber of Commerce day.
I got almost 3 hours, and felt surprisingly good.

Again, no effort was put forth all ride.
Sometimes, just riding your bike is enough...or should be...

Strade Bianche was Saturday. It should be a monument. Period. I don't care if it's only been around for 12 years.

And look!! You CAN ride dirt roads on a road bike. GASP...!

No ridey today. I'm lazy, and have a couple of things to take care of this morning. Mostly lazy...