50%

One out of two ain't bad...
The Saturday ended up being the biggest 8 a.m. group we've had for a LONG time. We all assembled and then rolled out through the fog. It was like riding in Ireland. Visibility was maybe 200 yards as we crested the hill at Hilton Field. It kind of kept everyone together on the way off the Fort though.
We did the long Eastover loop, which includes that long, languid ribbon of black gold that is called Chaingang. On the run out Old Leesburg and up to 378, the pace was very moderate. Either that or I was feeling good, considering we went up the long climb @ 33 kmh. A few stragglers we're off the back, including Der Kaiser. He was damaged goods for the first 2/3 of the ride. It seems that he and the Mrs. consumed mass quantities of alcohol the night before.
Once on Chaingang, we waited for the stragglers. Well, most of us waited...
It seems Doogie, NID, Mrs. Der Kaiser and one other decided to make a break for it. Once the main group got together, the chase was on. We were rolling through just fine @ 48kmh when Reed decided to kill it. I looked down and the PT said 55kmh. Once he rolled off, the pace dropped back down. The gap to the front four was still 250 meters with about a km to go to the town limit sign. I hit the front at @ 500 and just pegged it. We didn't make the catch, but Cisco and I blew by at 60kmh shortly after the sign.
The pace stayed around 40kmh all the way to the GMart. Everyone behaved themselves on Cabin Creek and down Old Hopkins. The normal 'over the tracks' attack went on the back side of Double Homey. I chased across to the attacking group of 4 and then bridged across to Cisco.

Once we got through the light on Shop, the leadout for the sprint was on. Il Professore took a long, damn fast pull, then Philip pulled. I let Philip back in line, but Mark and Cisco were nailing it on the overpass. Philip let a gap open @ 1km, which took a small, yet painful moment to close. I let Cisco hit the gas first and then came around him right at the bridge at 65kmh. I did just enough to win the sprint. I couldn't drop it in the 12, so I was WAY on top of the 13.

It was a great ride. It's always nice to have a big group that has ridden together alot. I got home with 95km and just under 3 hours of ride time. The H.O. was shopping with her sister and the management trainees, so I had some pizza and took a nice nap! Saturday was a good day! I felt good, rode well and seem to be getting this cold out of my system. I did exactly what I planned to do on the ride.
I've been trying to shame my brother into coming back across the river to ride, but Lexington has it's hooks in him. I guess riding with a bunch of fat gapers does have it's advantages.

No ride today. I got up and got a message from Doogie that he wasn't going to ride, so I slept in a bit. The H.O. and I loaded up the boys and all of the shit that goes along with them, and went to the zoo. Another good day was had by all...! Nothing fills a 2 year old with excitement like watching an elephant poop.

See you @ the TNCWC. It'll be shorter because of the daylight, or lack thereof...

Don't tase me...

The little asshole deserved it...

Drizzly and The Planet of the Squirrels

I talked to Doogie right a 5 and he said he was going to ride if it wan't raining. I rolled to the Fort and while I was waiting, seemingly in vain, Der Kaisers rode by and said they were doing a loop. I tagged on and we rode out. Philip joined us at Hilton Field and we did a slow, reverse loop in the pissy rain. It wasn't raining in the truest sense of the word. It was more like a hanging mist that was just enough to spot your glasses and render them useless.

It was a nice ride with pleasant conversation and I ended with 1:45 and 50k. I was pretty stiff when I left the house, but felt better when I got home, even though we rode in the wet.

Now on to the squirrels...

I'd been hearing scratching and squeeking coming from behind the wall, just above the fireplace. It seems the yard rats had discovered a hole, up high, beside the chimney, and proceeded to make it large enough to pass through. After a couple of days of this, I decided I wasn't having glorified rats living inside the wall all winter. I went to Lowes and got a can of that expanding foam and filled the hole. Well, this did nothing more than piss of the homesteaders. I was feeding #2 yesterday afternoon and was glared at through the window by one of the aforementioned squirrels. It was very Hitchcock. He wasn't just looking in the window, he was looking AT me. The little SOB actually chewed a new hole in the foam.
I don't know how you may have handled it, but it was on after that...

I went back to Lowes, got another can of foam and a big container of vermin repellant. It's some sort of granule that has been treated with Oil of Black pepper, capsacin and something that sounds like terrorists would use on the subway against a large city. I filled the hole with foam and then sprinkled that repellant onto the wet glob. I then put down another layer of foam with the granules on top. It looks like a big, irritating sundae. The little SOB hasn't come back today though...! The repellant smelled strong to me and slightly burned my eyes. I can't imagine what it does to a squirrel's olfactory senses.
If he comes back, the ante goes up and I go nuclear...no rattling the saber here! I'll poison the shit out of the bastard.

Saturday 8 a.m. -- See you guys then...

Landis found guilty...

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=3029089


I still don't know what to think...

For whom the Bell(South) tolls...

So the TNCWC went off without a hitch, but ended with one.

The main instigators were in attendance last night, even though the field was relatively small. There just wasn't a whole lot of filler out there last night. The wind was a factor last night as it was completely opposite of normal. The backstretch had a screaming tail and the front was the head. The speeds on the two were very similar somehow!
About 10 minutes in, my phone rings. The H.O.'s grandmother is in the hospital and had open heart surgery 5 days ago, so I'm obliged to answer. The H.O. proceeds to ask me what #1 has eaten through the day and what she should fix him for dinner...??!!! Sweet Baby Jesus, you're his mother, figure the shit out!
So I missed a lap for THAT and jumped back in. The group ebbed and flowed for the next 25 minutes, until Der Kaiser and Toby got off the front and just drilled it. They had a huge gap in less than 2 laps. There really wasn't a concerted effort to chase until about 10 minutes to go. The pace wicked up and guess what...? My GD phone rings again! This time, the H.O. asks me if #1 needed more cold medicine!!!!!!!! So I missed another lap for that! I was quite pissy by this point, so I pulled out @ 45 minutes. I'm at the end of my cold, but am still having trouble breathing properly. The interruptions did nothing but take me out of my rhythm and F up my ride. The phone gets put on vibrate from now on!
Here's where we get to the hitch...
Il Professore took it upon himself to keep the time. No issue with that other than the time kept was incorrect. He started the time @ 6:30 and ran it until 7:20. There would be no problem with that if we actually rolled off at 6:30 every Tuesday. When I rolled up, after dropping out, it was 46-ish minutes and Il Professore was yelling 3 to go. It was, in reality, 4 to go.
Toby and Der Kaiser were away and if the time had been kept correctly, they would have been caught, as the chase group of four was bearing down and was within 100 yards at what should have been the bell lap. If the laps/time had been counted correctly, the outcome would have been different. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that two to go was yelled before the 50 minute mark had been crossed...
The race is 50 minutes plus 2 laps, regardless of what time we leave. I will be keeping time next week to ensure it's correct. If the group crosses at 49:30, it's three to go, period. There's no "-ish" timekeeping in bike racing...
Other than that, it was a good race, everyone was safe and we all got a good workout. I had good legs, but am still fighting the lingering effects of this stupid cold.

See you guys Thursday...it'll be a short one as it's dark early. Be there for a 6:00 sharp departure.

Weekend update

First, let's just jump into the big news...Corbett is stepping down as the DS of Team HealthNet...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/sep07/sep17news

Great, now he can ride more and get fit, and we'll have another dude to chase around! Thanks Jeff, thanks a whole bunch!!

Saturday, the overwhelming majority of the group went to do Caesars Head and was, evidently, punished summarily by Der Kaiser. Seeing as I have parental responsiblities, I was here and showed for the normal 8 a.m. ride. A grand total of 4 folks showed and we headed out for the short Eastover loop. I can tell that I'm still suffering some effects of this flipping cold. I rode well, but felt very flat and was producing serious amounts of "head fluid"!

We ended with 55-ish and 3 hours on the bike.

Sunday, I took advantage of the fact that #1 was at the Gray Hair Spa, and slept until 7:30. I know it doesn't sound like sleeping in, but when you usually catch a 2 year old finger in the face @ 6 a.m., 90 extra minutes of shut eye is like gold.

I got on the new 29er @ 8:30 and did 2 hours on the Palmetto Trail. I've decided that a 29er MTB is the way to go for me. It's more comfortable, rides better and fits my body-type better than a 26 inch wheel bike.

Today was a shakedown run, so I didn't push all that hard. I figured out that I must have a googly eye or something, because the stem was WAAAAY crooked. The other discovery had to do with air pressures. I needed more in the fork and less in the tires. Overall though, it's a damn nice bike and you really can't beat it for the money...(it was inexpensive (not cheap))!!

Monday means back to parental duties, so I'll see you guys at the TNCWC...

Darkness falls...

Man, the days are getting SHORT. That, coupled with the Pacific Northwest overcast that hung around all day, darkness came around 7:30 tonight. The ride was pretty thin as well. Only 10 of us rolled out. We all made it throught the Fort and down Harmon together. We got split by the light and once the second half rolled through, Il Professore came up with a crevasion. He decided to sacrifice himself and told us to go on. Beano got that word and nailed it down the hill. A nice 60kph chase ensued and we brought him back in short order. It was then that I came to the realization that I'm still a bit on the sickly side. I felt like I was breathing through a bendy straw, and that's a killer at 45kmh.
We went across Mineraville, turned on Cabin Creek and then took the left on MLK. Dusk was rolling in quickly, so we went straight through to 378 and Pineview. A RCSO officer came through the intersection with lights and sirens and split the group again. Some waited for him to clear us...and some didn't...! Thankfully, Big Charles R. (BCR) was in the 2nd group. I took a long 45kph pull and then he came around me at 50kph. That guy is a GD horse.
The run to the bridge on Shop was quick. Francisco and CC Mark diced it for the sprint. I was breathing like an asthmatic at this point so I sat down and just rolled to the line.

Overall, I'm glad I got on the bike, as it helped rid me of copious amounts of the bad stuff that's been in my head and chest for the last 5 days. My legs felt fine until the sprint. I'll be fine and back to form in a week or so. Everyone is going to the mountains this weekend, so the Saturday ride may be a bit anorexic. I call around to see who's planning on riding...

My new bike will be here tomorrow... :) I'll post pics once it's done...which will be tomorrow night...

I'm famous...

http://fixedgeargallery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14670

It's funny to me that some of the posters on that board have genuine disdain for me, while about half of them have no problem with it. One guy in particular has his manties in a huge wad. Unfortunately, most of the posters on that board aren't intelligent enough to throw together their thoughts and reply in a coherent manner. Nor do they realize that the title of this post is meant to be ironic....buncha smarties over there!

I will admit, my actions may have been a bit strong-armed, but I initially got out of the truck to check for any damage and to TALK to the aforementioned d-bag, wannbe, hipsters. The escalation of the situation was caused by the hipster guy. I'm sorry, but if I've got my kids in the car and someone decides to run at me, attempting to force a confrontation, it's highly likely that they will get one, regardless of their age and/or size.

I was merely defending myself, my property and most of all, my children. If you can't understand that, then you should probably grow up a bit.

There will come a time when you Chuck Taylor, cut-off Dickies, vintage (bought at American Apparel) t-shirt wearing, fixed gear wannabes have to grow up, move out of your mom's basement and become contributing members of society. I know it's hard not to be "core", but to quote John Stewart, "You just aren't helping...!"

That being said, I'm all about bikes and riding. By all means, ride your bike, but don't act like the laws of society, be they "de jure" or "de facto", don't apply to you. Use common sense!

And don't think for a moment that I have love for the car, because I don't. It's a necessary evil. I can't take the kids to school, or go to Target or go check in on my 90 year old grandmother on my bike. Well, I could, but the amount of time wasted would be staggering. I truly wish I could live in a small village where a car was un-needed.
Believe me when I tell you, in my 23 years on the bike, I have been yelled at, buzzed, swerved at and had more shit throw at me, than I care to remember. Should I tell the story of the full 20oz. Coke bottle that came from an oncoming car, into the group and hit me in the forearm...while going 25 mph?

I will not devote any more time to this folly, nor will I engage in arguments with any of the hipster wannabes...done...over...finished...


Check out the link to BIKESNOB for more info on the fixed gear wannbe trend...

It's official...

The fixed gear, hipster, douchebag trend has made all the way to Columbia. Two weeks ago, there was a "Critical Mass" ride that completely snarled traffic and pissed off pretty much everyone in Shandon and Five Points. The irony? There were only about 30 people on the "ride".
Shortly thereafter, one of the wannabe, legs-like-a-veal calf, hipsters was in CC bragging about the "ride", to which I let him know my general opinion of him, those on the "ride" and the "ride" itself. He wanted to compare mileage and fitness levels, so I invited him out for either the TNCWC or the Thursday ride, his choice. His answer? "Roadies are posers...!" Easy cop out there moron...
This morning, I'm on my way to take #1 to school and run an errand and I get yelled at by two of the aforementioned hipsters for coming too close to them on Heyward St. Needless to say, I gave them a WIDE berth, even though they were taking the entire freaking lane. They pulled up at the light and began berating me. As most of you who know me realize, this isn't always the best angle of attack when confronting me. Both kids were in the car though, so I let it go with a smartass wave and smile. The female hipster proceeded to kick my truck as I pulled away.
Well folks, that shit just doesn't fly around here. I locked it down, stopped, and got out to have a "conversation". The male hipster decided he was feeling frisky, so he jumped right in my face and was met with my right hand around his neck and a small, albeit effective, slam into the side of my truck. Did I mention that this was in the middle of the intersection of Heyward and Woodrow?
At that point, I explained that I was a cyclist and probably had been for about as long as they'd both been taking breath. I also explained that acting like complete douchebags while on the bike only made it worse for everyone who rode, regardless of the what, where, why or how.
After about 30 seconds of being held against his will by someone bigger and stronger, male hipster decided to apologize and agreed that they over-reacted.

I'm all for the rights of cyclists and the need to make Columbia more bike friendly, but over-reaction by the lunatic fringe of the cycling world doesn't help the cause. I hate to say it, but if those two morons kick the wrong vehicle, they might get hurt badly or worse. Nothing says I'm hardcore like a bullet in the ass or a 2 ton SUV crushing your pelvis.

Ride your bike like cars don't see you. That's the only way to stay alive and in one piece.

Rant over...

See you guys Thursday night...

7 for 9 or Signs of the Apocalypse

So I've ridden 7 out of the last 9 days, including the last two Beer rides. I'm thinking I'm pretty much done with the Beer ride. It's getting to dark at the end and too dangerous the rest of the time. The trip down Golden Arrow is an exercise in self-preservation. 20+ gapers with poor, at best, handling skills heading down the hill handlebar to handlebar...scary stuff! They take that ride WAAAY too seriously.

We had a great ride today. It started with the biggest group we've had in literally months. We decided to do the long Eastover loop. Things started out easy enough...

The pace was positively mellow out of the Fort and the entire run up Old Leesburg to 378. Once we crossed 378 and turned onto Chaingang, it got quick and stayed quick. It was a much easier trip down Chaingang this time as the County has decided to pave it. I'm not talking about the old 'tar and chip' that is the norm for rural roads around here. They paved it with honest-to-God, billiard ball smooth asphalt. It made for a rather enjoyable 50kph run down into Eastover. I took my pull in the 53x14 and was just about spun out. With that many people on the ride, the end of the paceline took a while to get to you once you'd done a turn.
We rode through Eastover and out to The Cricket Store, then kept the pace high all the way to GMart.
The remainder of the ride was a slow/medium tempo.

I ended up with right at 100km and considering the head cold I'm fighting, didn't ride all that bad. Some form is starting to creep it's way back into my fat body.

I've decided to take Sunday off the bike as a sick day. I will be NyQuil'd up very shortly and likely either really goofy or asleep after that...

See you Tuesday @ The TNCWC!

And on the 5th day

I felt better than the 3rd...
The crit went off last night with most of the horsepower in attendance. The whole group stayed together for the first 5 minutes and then the attacks came. At one point, there were 7 or 8 up the road and the group (well, 6 or 7 of us) actually worked in unison to bring it back. It was a very hard chase, but the bunch came back together at about 25 minutes and the pace slowed for a few laps.
@ 35 minutes in, I caught the tailend of RW and Der Kaiser plotting and spread the information through the field. When Der Kaiser went, so did the entire group. No soup for you...!
A couple of laps later Charles rolled off the front and a few guys joined him. They stayed out for quite a while. The chase began and only a few decided to help out in the effort. I took several pulls and then sat in to recover for the finish. On the penultimate lap, a counter move of 4 rolled away, including RW, Derek, Doogie and Toby.
Everyone in the group sat in, looking at each other, so I just put the hammer to the mat and figured I'd pull it back together. After my 35+ mph chase down the backstretch, I caught the 4 and looked back for help...I was it!
Unfortunately, the huge effort, combined with my earlier work in chasing breaks, completely shot my wad. I crossed the finish line with one to go and sat up.
The finish came down to Charles, Derek and Toby with Charles winning...again. The remainder of the bunch was split all over creation.

Overall, I felt really good, both mentally and physically. Ending my 5 day block with a hard effort was perfect. I am, in fact, very tired this morning. No riding today or Thursday.

PT update: The noise I heard on Monday was indeed the wheel beginning to come apart. Shrews called yesterday and told me that I had several cracked eyelets on the Mavic rim. Super...

Over and out...

NRC x 4

4 NRC titles in a row for Team Healthnet p/b Maxxis...
Crusty should get a raise or at least a bonus....

Day 4

The original plan was to spin around, relatively easy, for a couple of hours this morning. That quickly got shot in the ass last might when The Velvet Hammer said he wanted to go long. I'm down with riding, so I figured it'd be okay...
This morning rolled around and we all met at the gate @ 8:15. TVH wasn't there so Mrs. Der Kaiser rang him at home. Evidently, he consumed large quantities of quality red wine last night and had a bit of a lingering fuzz this morning.
We rolled out and headed for Double Elon. The tempo wasn't overly fast, but stayed steady, with everyone doing their share of the work. Just before the second climb, I went to the front a took a long pull. When we got to the climb, I stood up and stayed in the big ring about 1/2 way up and then heard a loud "Prrrang". I didn't break a spoke on the PT wheel, but it definitely isn't true anymore. I sat down and pedaled up the rest of the climb. I don't need to break a spoke way out in Eastover and be forced to call the H.O. to come get me. She's already a bit pissy about the ride schedule over the last few days anyway...
After we crossed 378, the tempo picked up and we rode paceline at between 37 and 40 kmh all the way to the GMart. A stop for replenishment and we were on our way.

The remainder of the ride was 30-33 kmh. After 4 days on the bike, it was harder to go 30 kmh than 40.
I rolled home with 3 hours of ride time and right at 60 miles. It was a really good ride!

Stacking days like this really helps me, so we'll see how I'm going in the next couple of weeks. I plan on doing the crit tomorrow night. Nothing like ending a 5 day block of training by racing for an hour!

Or, I could have gone to Michgan with Mandrus for the weekend. He did 4 centuries in four days. He'll either be flying, or shattered when he gets back. Il Professore went to Savannah for a century on Sunday. The problem was the 6" of rain they got Saturday that flooded downtown. I wonder if he took a snorkel...

Congrats to Levi Leipheimer as well. He finally gets to pull on the Stars and Stripes...! Now if he'd just tell us who the F he's riding for next year...

Hell is freezing over...

I've ridden three days in a row! Holy shit!

Friday, I met Il Professore to spin around a bit and we ended up meeting the Beer Ride as it entered the Fort. It wasn't as frightening as it has been in the past. It still had many of the same characters who like to go fast at inopportune times, but it was a relatively safe affair. The Peanut was leading the ride, which is amusing at best. He doesn't come out to ride with the group anymore (not that we miss his complete lack of skill or stellar personality), so he shows for the Beer Ride and acts like the big shot...dope!
Saturday, the State RR was going on, so the group was lean. We ended up doing a modified Thursday night loop and coming back in through Horrell Hill and the Fort. It was one of those ride that just seemed like it took a long time, even though it was 2:30. Derek won the 45+ masters RR and Brian won the 35+. It can't be said that the fast old guys live in Columbia...
This morning, Doogie and I went out and did a 2 hour, 18 mph spin ride through Hopkins and back. It was the anti-thesis of yesterday. The 2 hour ride passed quickly and I actually felt pretty good. No efforts were made AT ALL and the HR never got over 130. Doogie and his young wife went to Greenville to watch the USPRO this afternoon, along with several others from town. I, on the other hand, am hosting the gray hairs for a cookout.

It's nice that the USPRO is hosted, and welcomed so warmly, by Greenville and it's residents. Columbia would NEVER even attempt to do anything of this nature, as it wouldn't be accepted by the inhabitants, or government, of our fair city. Mayor Bob would rather spend money to plant flowers and streetscape the bad parts of town.

Zabriskie won the TT yesterday by 1.4 seconds...

Meet tomorrow @ 8 a.m. at the traffic circle for a 3 hour ride.

A week of no riding

Well, I didn't ride last night either. Rain blew through @ 5:30 and sucked any motivation that I may have had cleanly out of my body. My bike is clean and it's almost September. If it was the middle of March, I would have ridden, at least a loop of the Fort.
I'm planning on meeting Dean @ 6 tonight to spin around and then meet the Beer Ride...(say a prayer for me!) I haven't ridden since Saturday and to be honest, I'm a bit itchy, but not enough to really care.
However, I will be out in the morning, come hell or high water. It won't be another 2 hour ride either, like last Saturday. I want 3+ steady hours tomorrow and Sunday and then a short spin Monday. After a week off the bike, riding 5 days the following week should set me right...

#2 is firing up...time for a feeding...

See you in the morning!

No crit for you

There was no crit for the kid last night. #1's school had Open House and my attendance was mandatory, or so said the H.O.! That being said, it was a HUGE waste of time. He's been going to school there all summer, we know all of the other parents and all of the teachers. We were there a grand total of 15 minutes..., but I suppose it's part of being a good parent. There were a couple of parents who were conspicuous by their absence, but I've had some ideas about their child-rearing skills for quite a while.
I wanted to go watch the end of the race, but we went to Yesterday's for a light dinner instead.

I'm thinking about going out tonight for a short ride to loosen up the legs for Thursday. I haven't ridden since Saturday and I'm a bit stiff. The blinky light needs to go on the bike as well. It was almost dark when I rolled in last Thursday. The long loop may have a couple weeks left in it, then we'll have to start doing the shorter, Elon-free version of the ride. Not that my heart will break if we skip the climb up Elon...

I'm still waiting on the rim that I ordered to show up at CC. It's not that the PT needs to be re-built, I just want it to be...

Time to go put the twin jogger together for the H.O.!

See you Thursday...

So very proud...

Here are some numbers:
#1 Manufactured home sales
#1 (per capita) violent crime
#2 worst schools
#5 fattest
#10 poverty level

And just when you thought things were looking up...

Saturday and I'm tired...

Today was much harder than it really should have been. We rode tempo for barely two hours and it was work. I guess riding hard on Tuesday and Thursday made the old legs a bit tired.
We did the old Tuesday night ride out through Hopkins and came straight back in. No variations, no options to ride further...
I think everyone was a bit tired as there was zero effort to contest any of the sprints throughout the ride.
Mrs. Der Kaiser came out slathered in some new sunscreen she bought online. The stuff actually looked thicker AFTER the ride than when we started. She kind of favored David Millar during the Tour, when he was painted head to toe in some sticky white stuff to keep the sun off of his delicate British flesh.
If I ride at all tomorrow, it'll likely be alone, on the cross bike, through the woods. I've given up on the Sunday road ride.

Trailer Park

I've come to the conclusion that we live in a $130/sq.ft. trailer park. I've taken great pains and take great pride in the work that I've done to my 1937 bungalow. It's 99% restored and looks the part. Unfortunately, there are a myriad of rental houses on our street that are owned by people who just don't give a shit what the houses look like, nor do they care who they rent them to.

The H.O., the management trainees and I just got back from dinner. The wiggers that moved in two doors down have a fucking compressor pulled out in the yard and have a clapped out low-rider truck up on jackstands, doing something to the rear end. They actually pulled an extension cord out to run a fan in an effort to keep them cool while performing the task(s) at hand. It reminds me of an old joke..., "How many dipshits does it take to fix a truck?"
Never have I wished for a truck to fall on people more...

Shortly after the spring bloom, a sign is going in the yard and we are outta here. Time to go to Forest Acres, where the people are old and have good sense.

Just what I needed...

We left with quite a large group Thursday and the next time I turned around, there were 10 of us. I guess people decided to turn off...
The ride itself was pretty calm leaving the Fort and going down to Ridge. The pace quickened a bit on the run to Elon, but it was still very controllable. I used Elon as I normally do, a recovery.
Once past Bunky's, the pace picked up again and we settled into a comfortable rolling paceline. The pace stayed abpout the same once on Airbase. Everyone was together going into the bump. I was stuck in the back and watched Der Kaiser and RW just roll away up the bump. It wasn't that they nailed it, they just kept the pace rolling and the guys in the middle let the gap open. The chase formed and everyone took their turns. We caught them about 1/2 way down Airbase and Karl countered his own move...badass! He took Reed and another guy with him. Again, the chase formed and we all did our parts, except for the Les Amis kid, who wanted to be a hero and fouled up the line everytime he went through. Instead of the old "through and over", he'd pull a Trez and just nail it when he came through. He gave a valiant effort, but his attempted heroics did little more than slow us down and piss me off (I was the one getting hung out in the left line).

The group was together at the Stop and we all rolled to the sprint en masse. Again, the Les Amis kid did his usual, only this time, he hung Reed out to dry. He pulled to about 500 meters and pulled over. I just sat up and slowed to his pace, throwing the nice block for RW. Rich came around @ 300 and rode away. A few stragglers gave chase, but he had it by a long shot.

We rode a piano down Double Homey and most of the way down Shop. The light caught us and when it went green, Kevin and Beano took off. Der Kaiser rode by at the head of the overpass and the train started rolling. Rich jumped to the right and I went around to the left. Mandrus caught my wheel and the three of us got a tow to the sprint. When Der Kaiser got to the front two, he sat up. Normally, with a leadout like this, I'd hit the 12 and go, but when I stood, the legs protested and I sat right back down. Then again, the leadout WAS 60kmh all the way over and down the overpass.

Overall, it was a great ride and I felt okay for the whole thing. My trip to the Chiro seems to have straightened me out, literally and figuratively. Pate told me that I should just plan on coming back every 60-90 days for tune-ups from now on. Sounds like a plan...

Saturday morning...8 a.m.

107 degrees...

The TNCWC went off tonight with a rather large group, considering it was 98 degrees with a heat index of 107 when we started. Thank goodness the humidity was low!
It wasn't a blistering pace, but the pace combined with the heat made for a hard-ish ride. The group stayed together the entire race, except for a few attacks. Each of these was pulled back quickly.
The whole group went into the last lap together and RW threw an attack about 1/2 way down the backstretch. It got pulled back, but the chase spread the group out. I went into the corner sitting 5th, behind Charles and Sundaedae. Charles nailed it with @ 300 to go and flat rode away from us. I sat up, demoralized and coasted across 9th. Considering the fact that I've been at the beach for a week, riding my cross bike, with it's little gears...I'll take a top ten finish.

Edit: I forgot about the crash in turn four on the last lap. As we bombed the corner, taking the proper line through the apex, I noticed a couple of guys way outside. You can take turn four a couple of ways...fast or wide. You cannot, however, take the corner fast AND wide. Two guys went down in a 30+ mph pile. Fortunately, they crashed into the curb and wound up in the grass. SippyNick got up and rode away. The Cycle Center guy wasn't so lucky. He piled his Six13 into the median, but according to Shrews @ CC, there wasn't much damage. The same can't be said for his shoulder. He has the tried and true AC separation. I had a grade four and can tell you, it ain't fun!

There are two kinds of cyclists. Those that have had shoulder injuries, and those that will.

I just ordered an IRD Cadence Aero rim (30mm deep & 460 grams) and some Sapim CX-Ray spokes for a rebuild of the PT. Hopefully, this will make the wheel a bit stiffer and more aero. The Open Pro rim built 2x drive and non-drive with straight 2.0 spokes gets the job done, but I want it to be better. The weight shouldn't change that much either. We'll see...

I'm tired...! As #1 would say, "Night, night...!"

Home from the beach...want to go back

So the beach trip was a fun, albeit not very restful one. Between the boys, the H.O. and the gray hairs, I didn't get much sleep, nor did I get much peace and quiet. Every morning @ 6:15, the gray hairs would start pounding around the house. Quiet is not a word that is associated with those two old birds.

Anyway, I rode with those guys on Tuesday morning and, even in my suck condition, I drug them around for 2 hours. It did beat riding alone and I got some good PT numbers from the effort. We rode around a 1 mile loop for the better part of 90 minutes. I'd pull @ 24-25 for two or three laps, then they'd each take a pull @ 21. It was a decent interval workout to be honest.
There were no really big efforts or sprints.
Wednesday, I rode the crosser around in the marsh for @ 1:15. I went easy and just enjoyed the ride. The trails through the State Park are about 6 feet wide and crushed shells and packed sand. Parts were very hardpacked and parts were Paris Hilton loose. Nothing like sliding the bike around the corner. Oh, well, that's where handling skills come from. I hit one of the boardwalks at a funny angle and blew out my rear tire at the end of the ride. Instead of just limping home, I stopped for the flat change. Evidently, I disturbed a nest of wasps, and I don't mean the "We're going to the Hamptons this weekend..." type. I got out with two stings on opposite ends of my body. One on the cartilage part of my ear and the other on my left butt cheek. Thankfully, the ear hasn't ballooned to Prince Charles proportions. The hiney cheek is red and swollen and hurts like the proverbial female canine breeder. It would have been a funny sight if anyone had been around. I ran and jumped like some sort of lycra clad, slightly touched in the head, ballerina.
Thursday, I rode the crosser HARD for two hours. I caught one of the guys and rode with him for a while. He was "going hard" @ 21. 21mph is very hard on a cross bike with 1700 gram wheels shod with a 700x40 knobby on front and a 700x35 knobby on the rear. I did two more loops through the marsh and headed home with a hard two hours in the saddle. After I rode, the H.O. announced we were going to Beaufort for lunch. It was hot as dookie in Beaufort. I think I got a bit dehydrated from the combination of the ride and the walking while shopping.
I did see a couple large owls in the marsh, one of which flew right across my face. I think I pooped a little. I also ran over a squirrel. He bobbed when he should have weaved and caught the fury that is my fat ass on a cross bike. I looked back and he was limping into the woods, probably wondering WTF just ran him down.
I awoke Friday with a blistering headache, so there was no ride...

The beach was great. There were actually some good sized waves and the breeze knocked the temps down quite a bit. #1 loves the ocean now. We bought him a little PFD to wear, so now he just floats. Friday was rough though. After the second or third wave smashed him in the head, he proclaimed, "All done!" and didn't get back in...! Smart kid.

If you're looking for a place to go where you can just shut off for a week, Edisto is it. I cannot fathom why people go to Myrtle Beach. If I wanted to be around Mexicans and rednecks, I'd stay in Columbia!

I got up for the 8 a.m. ride and, as usual, no one bothered to show up. Go figure...! It's beginning to be a big waste of time. It may be time to start riding the cross bike on the trails and doing some trail maintenance while I'm out there...
My sweat came from working in the yard this morning. At least it looks like white people live here now! One of the morons from next door rolled his still-drunk ass out of bed to stare at me while I mowed. I gave a motion like I was looking at my watch and then waved. Don't blame me if you can't handle your liquor...

Ah, the beach...

I rolled out of the sack this morning at 6:45...as usual. I might be at the beach, but schedule remains constant. That's the beauty of going on vacation with the H.O., the kiddos and the Gray hairs.
Sleep did not come easy last night either. I don't sleep well in new places. That, coupled with the storm that blew through here last night, created much restless rolling.

I was on the bike @ 8 a.m. and did 2 hours on the cross bike. Meandering through the marsh on the trails was really nice. I was riding, my HR was up and my legs were going around, but it was strangely relaxing. I had been on the bike for about 90 minutes when I ran into a couple other roadies who are here on vacay. They were going out when I was coming in, so I turned and gave chase. We rode together for a bit and yapped, as guys on bikes tend to do. Tuesday, we are riding together @ 8. I plan on doing some interval work, so they can either sit in, or laugh hardily at my weaksauce. I'll get a workout one way or the other.

I got back to the house, rinsed off and went to the beach for a couple hours. The front was still blowing through, and the emphasis is on blowing. Nothing like a 20 mph wind sandblasting you. #2 was bothered by it. We built a little shelter and he slept like he owned the place. #1 is leery of the water, but he'll warm to it. I accidently dumped him off the body board into the surf. He wasn't happy!

Wildlife sighting: A big buck and a couple does ran across the road in front of me and I saw a myriad of those little, teeny crabs on the trail.

Time to go eat some skrimps...I'll check in later in the week. My wireless connection is very hit or miss. I'm glomming someone else's signal...

See you bums in a week

Just got back from the Saturday morning ride and it was starting to get hot. Poor Maria moves down here from the frozen North right in the middle of a heat wave. She said she just couldn't get cool...well no shit! It's 92 degress at 10 a.m.
The five of us rolled out around Lower Richland and ended up with 55 miles. Mick rode in from across the river, so he had an easy hour to get home. He'll have a very rare tailwind to finish off his 5 hours on the bike...crazy...

I did a couple of FTP efforts(325w) and a couple efforts around 300w. All were done for 4-5 minutes while I was pulling. I felt pretty good this morning. The week of the bike didn't hurt me a bit, well, except for my right knee. I kicked a soccer ball around with one of the college chicks yesterday, now my knee hurts. I got better as I rode, but it's damn stiff...

I won the sprint on Cabin Creek pretty easily. Francisco said I was lucky because he was about to come around me. Brother, you better pack alunch, 'cause you'll be trying all day...
When I pop off 1250w and really didn't go all out, you aren't coming around! You may think you are, but it ain't happening.

Off to the beach for fun, sun and some QT on the bike...

See you guys next Sunday...maybe...

8 Tours in 11 years...

So long, we hardly knew you. A special thanks goes out to Astana, Michael Rasmussen and all the other dipshits who got caught doping. You've killed the most successful team in pro cycling. How long 'til the others follow...?

I think Jonathan Vaughters is dickhead, but I'll be rooting for Slipstream. I hope they can turn things around for our sport...

And the heat continues

No ride yesterday as it was 104 with a heat index of 112. The 104 temp was culled from my own little weather station on the front porch of the house. Did I mention it's in the shade?
I was waiting to see a pride of lions lazing about under my big tree in the front yard.

It's supposed to break tonight and be a bit cooler tomorrow. Well, they're calling for it to be 94...
I'm glad we're riding at 8 a.m. now. I can't believe we actually used to go @ 10!
I'll be out in the morning for a nice 3 hour jaunt before I climb into the car and go to the beach for a week. It'll be nice to get out of town for a while.

I plan on rolling out of bed, riding for a couple hours, playing with #1 on the beach for a few hours and then laying around for the rest of the day.

Time to go start my pile of crap...

See you guys in the morning...

Spontaneous combustion...

...was a definite possibility tonight. The Temp was 101 and the heat index was well over 110. There was no bloody way I was pulling on bike clothes and going to the crit. I'm taking a bit of an easy/recovery week anyway, so it was down to the ManHole(tm) for some quality time on the wind trainer. I just spun for an hour @ 230-ish watts. With the unit cranked all the way down on the tire, 230 watts equated to 21mph. It was nice to just spin freely and watch the 2004 Tour DVD. Even with the fan running and the A/C on full blast, it was still warm down there and sweat flowed like booze at Lindsay Lohan's house.

The cross bike is sorted out and ready to go on vacation. I can't decide whether to take the Ridley or the Ibis to the beach. I'll likely take the Ibis as I just put a $70 Wipperman chain on the Ridley. No sense in pouring sand on a brand new chain...

Ride Thursday if it isn't balls hot. Then again, I hate the trainer so badly, I may just go out in the heat...

100+

Another good weekend of riding that left me with almost 7 hours on the bike and a bit over 110 miles.
Saturday started out with 9 and quickly turned into 6 as Mrs. Der Kaiser dropped off the back (courtesy her husband and Crusty). Der Kaiser went back for her, as a good husband should. Once the ride turned onto Clarkson, Crusty went to the front and drove the pace, even though Der Kaiser and the Mrs. were within range of catching back on. We never saw them again. If you need to blame someone, it's Crusty's fault.
We went straight across into the Swamp and again, Crusty nailed it on the roughest road we ride. It's the closest thing to cobbles there is around here. Of course, at the end, he turned right and went home while the rest of us soldiered on.
We made the normal stop at the G-Mart and went up the backside of Elon and Old Leesburg to get home. Once on Leesburg, we all just went straight back into town, traffic be damned.
I had to get home to cook for the assembled masses who decided to make their quarterly trip to see our children. Don't get me started...
This morning, we should have had 6 and had 3. Doogie was hungover and feeling pressure from the new wife to stay home and help clean the house. You need to nip that shit in the bud right now, because it isn't going to get any better!
TVH was a no-show and Austin was home studying for Organic Chemistry placement exams. I don't ever hold out much hope for the remainder of the group to show on Sundays.
Il Professore, Maria and I rolled around Lower Richland for a bit over 3 hours. Nothing of much importance happened on the ride. I was a bit over it at the end though.
Thankfully, it was a quiet afternoon at the house. I got a small cat nap and did so much needed bike repair down in the ManHole(tm).

It seems Maria got a job @ OutJokin'...poor gal.

Time for a quick shower and a movie from the DVR...

Don't drink the Kool-Aid

Or Accelerade for that matter. That stuff just plain sucks. It may work for some people, but it has the complete opposite effect on me. I left the house feeling pretty good, maybe a bit of residual stiffness from Tuesday, but good nonetheless. About 30 minutes into the ride, my stomach started churning. I didn't feel all that bad, was taking pulls and did my easy climb over Elon. Once we started down past Bunky's, I started feeling kind of sick. I had a stomach gas bubble of epic proportions. We turned right onto Airbase and Philip attacked. We chased him down and were all together going down the hill to the bump. Der Kaiser is back and was complaining of tired legs...whatever. He jumped up the bump and took RW with him.

At this point, I felt like a had eaten Pop Rocks and washed them down with a warm Coke. I had good legs and the HR was under control, but the stomach was just plain bad! I sat up and rode about 23-24 mph for the rest of Airbase. Kevin ruptured his rear tire, which lead to a 20 minute repair session. 5 of us waited for him and we rode in together. I'm glad the rest of the group felt the need to wait for us...
The break did allow my stomach to settle out a bit, but I still belched (and worse) for 2 hours when I got home.

I felt good last night, but was completely submarined by Accelerade. No more fancy, engineered drinks for me. I'm going back to water and straight up Gatorade.

As an aside, #1 turned 2 years old yesterday. Where did that time go? One of these days, I'll turn around, and he'll be leaving for college.

Ride Saturday @ 8 a.m. I'll go out with the group, but likely have to turn off early. The H.O. decided to have a party for the boy Saturday. I have to play host and cook burgers and dogs for the assembled masses.

Thin Tuesday

The TNCWC was thin tonight. Only about 20 showed up, and that got whittled down to 15 or so by the 2nd lap. None of the absolute, my pecker is bigger than yours, hammers were in attendance, thankfully. On the other hand, the fact that there were only 12 to 15 there meant that hiding places were few and far between. Il Professore commented that it was funny how 50 show up went there's lightning in the sky, but we get less than 20 on a calm, 90 degree evening. There are races at the end of the week, through the weekend, so I guess some folks stayed home.
Little breaks went of all night, but were pulled back by the bunch. I worked and pulled for the first 30 minutes and decided that was enough and decided to surf until the end. It's funny how some people tail-gun in the beginning of the race and then decide to get really vocal at the end, when things aren't going their way. If you have enough breath to yell and bitch, go to the front and pull harder!!!! I came close to jumping in the person's ass, but discretion got the better of me. Parenthood must be making me more patient... ;)
I pulled out with 2 to go and watched the finish. Derek blew everyone out of the water in the sprint with a 1400 watt effort. Of course, he did get to sit out a few laps when he flatted. I was behind him when it happened, which isn't a big deal on a straight, but his tire let go in the middle of turn four. No getting around that one until the road straightened out and a gap had formed. I chased it at 30+ and saw my max of 1150w for the night.

Overall, I'm feeling better on the bike, but just don't have to high, sustained intensity back yet. It's lurking under the surface, like the VC. It'll poke it's head out of the hole one of these days.
I'll be fit again right when time changes...of course...

See you guys on Thursday...OUT!

Good weekend

There were 6 of us for the Saturday ride. A few folks went to Charlotte for the 24 Hours of Booty and a few more are way out West, in Big Sky Country.
We went out through the Fort and did a modified Eastover loop. Instead of taking Old Leesburg, we did Ridge to HH and then right on Blue Johnson and up the back side of Elon, then meandered around into Eastover. Of course, we came back the normal route, but got rained on for the last hour or so. Not a driving rain, but just enough to get you wet and make your bike dirty.
I was having some issues with my rear tire yesterday. I hit something in the Fort and flatted. The cut was about 5-6mm, so I booted it with a PowerGel wrapper and we rode on. Everything was fine until we turned to do the second part of Double Homey. I must have hit a bump a bit too firmly, which is entirely possible with my fat ass on the seat! The 2nd tube blew straight through the wrapper. The second boot was a glueless patch, courtesy of Mandrus, and another piece of PG wrapper. It got me home.
Overall, it was a touch over 3 hours of ride time and right at 60 miles. We rode pretty steady the whole way with a few good efforts here and there.

I did the old "Hour of Power" loop this morning. I had some stiff legs and was pretty tired, so 60 minutes @ 90-100 rpm felt good. And I wanted to watch the end of the Tour...

All in all, a good weekend of riding. I plan on going to the crit Tuesday. It should be interesting.

Feeling better Billy Ray

Another Thursday has passed into the books, only this week, I actually felt like a cyclist and not just a guy who owns a bike.
The evening started with a way too quick run out of the Fort. It's always quick going out, but nudging 20mph on the climbs was beginning to be a bit much for me when we made the turn. At one point, Derek asked me what my wattage was...I was stuck on 430ish for the entire last climb.
Ridge was pretty sedate. Rich pulled through with a flat, and didn't know it. Derek pulled the old bikeshop manager quick change and we were off. I think some folks felt the need to make up the 5 minutes we lost. 5 guys rolled down the hill at 38+ and the kid from the RSA let a big gap open. I shot the gap at 44mph! That pretty much blew my monkey for the rest of the ride down to Elon.
Maria and Austin finally moved to town and came out last night. She got dropped and Austin went back. When I realized that they'd probably miss the turn, I sat up and waited at the foot of Elon. We paced her back on and caught the group at Bunky's.
From Bunky's to the end of Airbase was quick and steady. Every one would keep the tempo up and then Derek would jump through on his pulls. The unspoken decision was made to just chase him down and leave him out there. There were no counter moves.
Headwind or no, the ride down Airbase was a 26mph+ affair.
Doogie and Philip attacked on Double Homey, so we gave chase. I closed down Philip and 'Cisco, but Doog attacked as soon as I got there...little sh*t.
We rode piano until the bridge. Derek would have likely come around me, but it didn't matter as we both got boxed in and couldn't go. It's like watching Tour stages and seeing the sprinters wind it up, only to sit down when there's no path...
The numbers weren't all that impressive last night, but they are getting better. The PT is a harbinger of fitness, that's for sure. The numbers will go up once I get some fitness and actually take more than three pulls on a ride... ;)

Saturday 8 a.m. @ the traffic circle

www.ibelieverasmussen.com

www.ibelievethechicken.com

Rasmussen...I always knew that guy was dirty.

Cadel Evans, FTW!

Thanks

http://www.ibelievevino.com/

First Lindsay Lohan gets popped for DUI and cocaine possession (again) and then Vino fails a dope test...! Where have all the heroes gone?

Il Professore, Doogie and I went out and rolled around in the flats for about 2 hours tonight. No big deal, just a light tempo ride with a few efforts thrown in for effect. It's what I need right now, rather than getting the shit kicked out of me by Der Kaiser and the bunch at the TNCWC. I may go to the crit next week...just for shits and giggles.

It's the end of July and the shadows are already getting long at 7:30pm. I t won't be long until we have to dig out the knee warmers and vests...dammit!

See you guys Thursday night...

Why are weekends so short?

Saturday rides are either hit or miss around here. Two weeks ago, we had 14. Yesterday, there were four of us. It didn't really matter though, as I had planned on doing a bit of my own thing to sort out the PowerTap.
We did the Eastover loop w/o the trip to the Cricket store. A cold front has been working it's way through for the past two days, so we had a headwind out and tailwind home, which is RARE around here. We rode at a medium tempo out Old Leesburg until the climb out of the hole that leads to Congress. I dropped back and used the rise to test LT power figures. I started at 280w and slowly ramped up until that lovely burn feeling started to come into my legs. The burn started at 320w, but I pushed through and maintained between 330-340 for the entire climb. I know how Chris Carmichael says to test your power LT, but I just don't agree with the methodology (another story for later maybe?). I figure my LT power lies somewhere between 325 and 350w.
I didn't feel all that great yesterday either. I had the "Green Apple Quickstep" for most of the morning before the ride and a portion of the afternoon, post ride.
I did a couple of sprint efforts to establish 1sec and 5sec limits...for now. 1sec max was 1240w and my 5sec was 1135w. This brings us to what I don't like about the PT software. It doesn't give 10sec and 20sec readings. It skips from 5sec to 30sec! 30sec was 532w. That's a big flipping gap! Maybe I'll call Cycleops tomorrow and see what they say...
That being said, I can see now that the PT is a valuable training tool. It's like a little man with a whip, cracking you on the back. Look down and don't like the number, go a bit harder...

No one showed on what was a perfect Sunday morning, so Doogie and I meandered around Lower Richland for just shy of 3 hours. No efforts where made other than getting chased by Il Professore's favorite dogs. We were going down the hill this time and had to negotiate a sandy corner to escape. I got through just fine, but Doogie was almost a 130 pound chew toy...

It was a good ride weekend. I figured some things out, got a touch over 100 miles for the two days and the weather was cooperative. Can't complain...

Holy crap, it's hot!

When your body becomes accustomed to sitting in the 76 degree house, the first ride in four days probably shouldn't be in 95 degree heat. Last night was hot, period! My body protested pretty much the whole way. HR was throught the roof, even though I was completely shirking pulls and I just didn't have the energy. My legs felt good, but the heat was making me kind of nauseous at times.
Going out through the Fort, we weren't going all that hard, yet I was feeling like crap. At that early point, I knew the night would be about survival and nothing else. I worked down Ridge, but tail-gunned all the way to Elon. I continued in my role as last man all the way to the tracks, then I had to pull through and do some work.
Der Kaiser went to the front on Airbase on decided it was time to go. Everyone was together until the bump. At that point Francisco came across the road like he was trying to pull off a 7-10 split. He swept Mick's wheel and the six people behind all had to jump on the brakes to keep from eating shit. There goes the front group...
The six of us worked well together in the headwind, but made zero progress towards the leaders. I kind of felt like Moreau. Work your ass off and still lose time.
Everyone re-grouped at the store and rode in together. The guy from South Africa said he was afraid to get dropped and rode way over his head. He was shaking like an epilectic at the store. He was a hell of a nice guy though. I hope someone told him about the weekend rides.

My PT worked as it should, but the numbers were all over the place. Tail-gunning on the group does not produce reliable power figures. My max was 1063 and my 5 sec was 772. Those are likely the only good numbers from last night. I don't know when I hit 1063, but it wasn't on purpose. I didn't sprint or really do anything that required a big effort. 1180 Kj was a bit shocking though...

My fitness is piss poor right now. Hopefully, I can regain some form before time changes. The PT is the true test of how fit you are...or in my case...NOT.

Saturday 8 a.m. @ the Gate.

A short one

Der Kaisers and I met @ 8 this morning and did a modified loop of the Fort. Mrs Der Kaiser turned around to do another loop, while DK and I just came on home. It started to drizzle so I'm sure Mrs DK got pretty wet. It was a damp, windy, dreary day all the way around.
I was a bit tired today and the ride was dog slow, so any power numbers can be disregarded. I did notice that on seated climbs, even without a lot of effort, that I was @ 300 watts. I'm sure my numbers will be high, but then again, it takes alot to move my big ass around. I made one small effort on the back side of the wall and saw 950 watts...!
I'm probably going to go do a loop in the Fort tomorrow night, as the H.O. has a dinner she has to go to on Tuesday. The baseline ride will hopefully be Thursday night.

I need to go to the ManHole and clean the Ridley, then head out to the country to pickup #1 at his Grandma's house. Then again, I may just wait until later to clean the Ridley...

Rasmussen won the stage today. I know you must be skinny to win a stage in the Alps, but damn...
Somebody get that poor guy a cheeseburger basket. He looks like he was just liberated from a concentration camp.

Saturday...a day of mixed outcomes

The 8 a.m. group met this morning and we actually had a decent sized group. The dozen of us rolled out through the Fort and much to my surprise (not really) my GD PowerTap didn't work. It just sat on the stem... looking at me... mocking me, and generally just pissing me off.
Today would have been the PERFECT baseline ride, as we did the big Eastover loop with some good tempo/paceline work. As Steve Martin would say, "But noooooo..."! I traced the problem to the harness. I switched evertything around and it works as it should...(knocks wood). I guess I need to buy another harness for the Ibis.

The ride was really steady and, I'm guessing here, pretty quick. We did the 95km loop in just under three hours. It was a really good group and fun was had by all. Peter Discoe is back in the fold and it was good to actually ride next to him and chat. He got himself a new Raleigh team frame with SRAM Force stuff on it. It's pretty sexy...! I'd rock it.

I'm feeling better by the day. I think the sweating and physical exertion is pushing the drugs and the bad juju out of my body. I'm feeling about 80% right now. We're going on vacation in a bit over three weeks, so I'll have plenty of time to ride and recover. Last year, I was flying when we got back from the beach. Something about riding for a couple hours every day and then just lazing about on the beach always recharges my batteries.

It's raining right now...I'm feeling a nap coming on...

Sunday ride- 8 a.m. @ Outspokin'...

Feeling a bit better

Last night started as any other, if you don't take into account the fact that I forgot my I.D. and had to chase around the Fort to meet the group at Wildcat. I can tell you, Garners Ferry and Leesburg roads are frightening at 6 in the evening. I was glad my life insurance was paid up.
I rode out to the gate and met the group, all the while not knowing quite how I'd feel.
Fortunately, the body is reacting almost as it should. I feel better now than I did on the 4th ride.

The group came along and we headed out the normal route. Since I have no illusions of being at the sharp end right now, I sat in the back, sucking wheel all the way to Elon and beyond. Once we turned onto Airbase, Der Kaiser put the hammer down. I decided I wan't going to bury myself, so I sat up and rode with TVH, Philip, Il Professore and Joel. It was a nice pace that didn't put me in the red, but still allowed for work to be done. Il Professore was killing me last night. He must have had his Geritol, because he was in rare form. He must have yelled at Joel a half dozen times. Laughing doesn't help lungs that are already working way harder than they should.
We caught Mrs. Der Kaiser about 1/2 way down Airbase. She said the lead bunch was having a 30 mph swordfight. More power to 'em. I just don't have that right now. We all gathered up at the store and rode in together.

I think everyone is either taking it easy, or just tired from killing it all summer. Either way, it was nice to ride a hard tempo, but not have to turn myself inside out. As 'Cisco reminded me, I haven't really trained for the better part of two months. That changes this weekend. Time to get back on the horse...

Hopefully, my PT computer head will show up today so I can ride the thing this weekend. It'll show...and then it will rain both days...

The legs is healing and doesn't hurt at all. The new skin itches like the devil though.

8 a.m. Saturday @ the gate...

Oh, I forgot...
Doogie took out the sprint on Ridge. It was completely uncontested and looked like someone hit the slo-mo button, but he won it. There, are you happy...

PS-I've enabled anonymous comments, which means you don't need to be registered to leave a note. So do it...

Anybody seen a lung?

I rode for the first time in a week and nearly got rained on. I rolled out to the crit course and spun around for about 45 minutes. The sky began to darken and the conversation shifted to whether or not they would be able to finish the crit. I didn't plan on even starting, so I felt zero shame in turning for home when I felt the first drop of rain.

I rode as hard as my spider-poisioned, prescription-drug-addled body would allow. The issue isn't legs...I didn't even feel the slightest amount of lactic acid. The antibiotics and the prednisone have killed any cardio function that I may have to call on. I got home about 5 minutes before the rain started. It only rained for about 15 minutes, but I didn't get wet and my bike is still clean.

I guess I need to wait until the drugs get out of my system to really attempt rding with any anger. I'm just really itchy and becoming hard to get along with (well, harder...) from the lack of bike time.

I can't even play with the new toy. I bought a PowerTap SL on Ebay and of course, it has a problem. The CPU (computer head) wasn't reading speed. I called PT and talked to them about it. They suggested that I try another head on the cradle before I packed up the whole shooting match and sent it back. Big thanks to RW, who helped me out big. We popped his PT head on the bike and it worked fine. I called PT again and they sent me out a new computer head, before I even sent back the old one. That's customer service people!

The person I bought the PT from is a domestic pro who races for BMC. He assured me that it worked when he sent it and even questioned my ability to set it up properly! I think I'll go up to the race in Charlotte this year and see if he wants to be a wise-ass in person...! I'm betting he doesn't...



Oh, here's a picture of my spider bite...! This was taken yesterday. It actually looks better today. You know something is ugly when a friend, who is a medical professional, sees it and says, "DAMN!..."

Robbie McEwen Back From the Dead - Tour de France 2007 st. 1

Ride-free weekend

No ride today either. The weather looked threatening, both out the window and on the radar. I'm in full wussy mode right now with this leg injury. I woke up to searing pain and decided that the combo of the weather and my pain was enough to bail on the ride. I'm going to have a scar that will be worthy of medical journals.
That and the fact the bike was clean and I didn't want the first ride with the PT to be a rainy one.
I need to set some baselines for the PowerAgent software, so I'll probably go to the crit Tuesday night. I'm injured and not at all fit right now, so the numbers can only go up from here. Bonus!

That's Mr. McEwen to you people...
Crashed 20km out, chased back into the group, rode to the front and crushed everyone in the sprint...! Straight pimpin'!!

No ride today for the kid. The leg is starting to heal a bit, but still looks like I got peppered with buckshot. And I can tell you, the thing is SORE. The wound itself doesn't really hurt all that badly, but the new, pink flesh around it is tennndder!
I did get my new toy yesterday though. It always happens that way. Get something new and want to ride it, but can't for one of several reasons...sucks!

I'll be mowing the grass today and watching the Tour...

Just plain bad...

I honestly don't think that I'm meant to do the 4th of July ride in Tryon. It seems that something happens every year to submarine me. Let's start...

2004- Broken wheel on the descent of the Watershed. Lost @ 10 minutes...
2005- Broken frame at some point of the ride. Couldn't push on the descent for fear of catastrophic frame failure...
2006- Super fit, ready to kill it...until I threw out my back and couldn't ride.
2007- Relatively fit...bitten by spider on top of left thigh. Huge, nasty wound that hurts like a MF'er. Taking antibiotics and steriods that absolutely wrecked my feelings on the bike. Heavy legs, no high HR (I maxed at 163 yesterday. Usual max is 185-ish) and mechanical issues on top of that...! I installed a new chain and a 13/25 cassette. I really wanted the 18 cog, but as my luck runs, it was the only gear that didn't work on the ride! Bastard!

I rode a completely suckwad 3:30 time, which is by far the worst of my three rides, even with the aforementioned failures of '04 and '05. I just couldn't put any power to the ground, so I was forced to just ride the damn thing. I spent more time in the 25 cog than ever before. Now granted, I finished way ahead of a lot of folks, but it was about 15-20 minutes slower than I had hoped. And I felt completely wrecked at the end. Then I had to drive home and play host for a cookout. Oh joy...!

The plan was to stay with Mandrus, but that got thrown out the window at mile 5. He finished in 3:14, while the third passenger in the van finished in a blistering 2:53. Yes, my friends, Doogie is a strong little monkey. He stayed with the lead group through the middle of the Watershed, when the hammer evidently went to the mat. The leaders finished in 2:49.

As much as I hate to say it, I'll probably go back next year...

Ah, the beer ride...

Evidently, there was a big pile up on the beer ride last Friday. Some gaper lost control on Golden Arrow, swerved right into the group and took down three others. The first three landed on the fourth. The poor fucker has a couple broken cervical vertabrae, a few broken ribs, his shoulder is jacked and he almost lost his thumb, and that's just the stuff I can remember...
Any wonder why the "fast" group steers clear of this ride. It's completely out of control. I'm all for everyone riding and riding together, but damn people, know your limitations. The beer ride used to be a slow-ish social ride. Now, it's the Friday Night World Championships for Gapers. There's no need to go down Golden Arrow at 30+ mph if you cannot handle your bike properly, period. Just ride your bike and have fun! I know the competitive juices sometimes take over, but when people are crashing and getting badly injured, it's time for changes to be made.
Something needs to be said to that whole group. Dumbass behaviour like this will get ALL of us kicked out of the Fort. I don't do the ride, so it's not my place to pontificate to the group, but I know there are people who read this blog who work at both shops and do the ride every week. Time for you guys to step up and be the boss! Control the shit before more people get hurt and we lose Base privileges.

Going to the ManHole(tm) now to change out a cassette and install a new chain for tomorrow.
Report on the Fab 4th ride to follow...

8 a.m. is early

It's not so much the riding at 8, it's the getting up at 6 to get ready. As some of you may, or may not, know, I have horrible OCD. I have to do the same routine every morning or my day is just shot to hell. This doesn't bode well for Wednesday, as then plan is to leave between 5 and 5:15, which means I'll be rolling out @ 4:15. That shit is too early...

Anyway, we went off @ 8 this morning. The Sunday 8 a.m. ride is turning out to be a good one. We had a good group this morning and ended up with 55 miles. We did the loop through Eastover and back in the normal way. I didn't feel good when we left and felt progressively worse at the ride got longer. The tailwaind on Pineview did little to make me feel better. A couple of hard pulls at 28-30 absolutely crushed me.

I got home, at a small lunch (very sick to my stomach) and crawled into the sack. I really wanted to watch the F1 race, but the body said it was time to sleep. I fell asleep at 12:30 and woke at 4, for no other reason than I had to use the bathroom. I laid back down until 6! I still feel like a steaming pile of poo. Two days of rest should set me right for Wednesday. If not, I'll ride slow...yeah right!

I've decided I'm going to order a junior geared cassette. A 13/25...! I really never get in the 12, not even to sprint, and the 13/25 gives back the much beloved 18 tooth cog. Sometimes, the jump from the 19 down to the 17 is just too much. I've been riding a 12/23 lately and find myself in the 18 a lot. I thought of riding the 12/23 in NC, but better judgement kicked me soundly in the ass and the 25 went on the light wheels. I'm going to CC tomorrow to pick up a 13/25 though. I'll drive to Hawley's to get it if I have to...

The H.O. still isn't home from the grandparents...nothing like keeping the 2 year old out past his bedtime. He'll be a barrel of fun tomorrow. #2 has the same schedule everyday. Eat...sleep...poop...lather, rinse, repeat...

My bad...

Evidently, there was some miscommunication about the ride this morning. I thought we were meeting @ 9, as usual. 4 of us showed. The other 8, smart folks, met @ 8. I guess I should have trusted my instincts and just gone @ 8. Oh well...! We ended up catching them at the G Mart and all rode in together. Mark your calendars and set your alarms. The rides will go @ 8 for the rest of the summer.
The four of us rode through the Fort, across to the Swamp and met the group. We all rode back in the normal way from G Mart. It was a 30 kph affair, which felt really good to my very tired legs and sleep deprived brain. I slept for a grand total of 90 minutes Thursday night. I don't know what was wrong...I couldn't go to sleep. I just laid on the bed until 1:30am, then got up and headed to the living room. I finally dozed off somewhere around 4:45am. #1 woke me, with a 2 year old poke to the face and a "Daddy?" at 6:30. A good start to a great day...

I did catch a great joke on late night TV though...

What do a Mexican and a cue ball have in common?
The harder you hit them, the more english they pick up...

Whooo, that's funny shit!

I went to the ManHole(tm) to change wheels and cassettes last night. I finshed rubbing the bikes and sat down to watch the end of a Tour stage. I woke up to a blue TV screen and a bit of confusion @ 30 minutes later. I just faded out. The decision to head to bed early was an easy one.

I'll be going to bed early tonight and napping hard tomorrow afternoon. The H.O. is taking the management trainees to the grandparents tomorrow, so I'll have the casa all to myself. I plan to ride, shower, eat and sleep, in that order.

Ride tomorrow morning @ 8am meeting at OutJokin'.

The quick, the dead and the stupid

We had a pretty big group last night for the Thursday deathmarch. As the ride progressed, the group got smaller. The trip out of the Fort was uneventful, which meant that the ride was going to be one of two things later on....subdued or balls out. It was the later, thank you very much.
The pace picked up on Ridge and the trip down to Elon was one of the fastest ever. People were already shirking pulls. I recorded my max speed on the run down...64 kph...
I guess BS&G took some climbing juice out of people's legs as the slog up Elon was pretty slow. I made it over in the middle of the group if that tells you anything. Once we crossed 378 though, the pressure went on and stayed on. PeanutHead created gap #1 at the train tracks. It's pretty amusing to actually watch him ride, what with the deathgrip on his bars (which are flipped up at comical angles) and his complete lack of acceleration. I chased the gap to RW, DerKaiser and a couple of others at well over 50 kph.
Once the turn onto Airbase was complete, all bets were off. DerKaiser and Beano nailed it and got away. The group actually worked well together and pulled them back right at the foot of the bump.
Immediately after the bump, DerKaiser went again and took Doogie with him. They stayed away for the remainder of Airbase. Again, we worked well together until about 2km from the stop. PeanutHead pulled through and just sat up in the middle of the group...at 45 kph. The right line kept chugging along as shit-for-brains threw out the anchor and coasted down to 35 kph. Philip and I were behind him and got gapped out. We made the bridge back, but I got a stitch in my side. You remember those don't you? I haven't had one since 8th grade football. I had the legs and heart to go, but the expansion of my chest felt like someone was removing a rib...with a spoon.
The group fell apart shortly thereafter. I could see 1s and 2s and made the turn very shortly after the lead part of the shattered group.
The ride stayed together for the rest of the night, as no one really wanted to go hard anymore. Of course, PeanutHead rode off the front of the group while we were meandering at 32 kph, as is his M.O.
Overall, it was a great, hard effort ride...the pain in my side notwithstanding.

I think we are just going to continue to meet at 9 on Saturdays and 8 on Sundays. Everyone was pretty ineffectual about it last night, so I'm making the call. If anyone has an opinion, please speak up.

1st Tuesday ride in 8 weeks

...but I still didn't do the crit. TVH, Doogie and I met at the gate and did a modified loop of the Fort. It was a slow ride at best. The skies looked ominous, but it only sprinkled lightly and only on one part of Dixie. We ended up with 2:30 on the bike, so it was a good ride. I just needed to turn my legs over.
The H.O. called at one point to say that there was a big storm on the radar. Of course, I was 15 miles from anywhere, so there was little to be done but ride on. As is often the case, she was wrong about the storm too...it was going the complete opposite direction. I'm turning my phone off on rides from here on out.

I tried a new concoction on the ride of Red Bull and Gatorade. To say it was bad is an understatement. It had all of the qualities of high grade horse urine, including, but not limited to, taste and color. We won't be trying it again.

Shrews touched up the White Industries wheels for the 4th, so they will hang until next week. I'm still waiting on my replacement Giordana bibs, as the first ones came apart after one ride. If these fail, I'll do something else...

#1 and #2 seem to be firing up and the H.O. has found her broom, so I gotta jet...

Ride tomorrow night...we'll discuss leaving at 8 on Saturdays...

Weekend

Saturday was a thin ride as the majority of the normal bunch went to the NC mountains to subject themselves to the punishment of Blood, Sweat and Gears. The four of us went out and meandered through Lower Richland into Eastover and back in. Doogie Howser complained that he was bored with riding the same roads, so we did some different roads and some of the regular roads in the opposite direction. We kept a decent pace and ended up with right at 60 miles. I was a bit tired from the combination of Thursday's ride and laying 1/2 a pallet of sod on Friday afternoon.
TVH, Il Professore, Doogie and I went out early this morning and did 55 miles, again, meandering through the Lower end of the county. It was another easy Sunday ride with a blistering 17 mph average. I did wick the effort up a couple times at the end and felt okay pushing the pace to 50 kph and beyond. We actually had a tailwind coming in on Shop, so why not take advantage of it.

The fitness is definitely coming back and the legs are feeling better and better. The heat is getting pretty oppresive though. It was just plain HUMID this morning. I'm trying to cajole the bunch into going out at 8 on Saturday's for the rest of the summer to avoid the noon sun. I'm sure there will be complaints. I don't care either way to be honest. I'm just trying to make it better for everyone...

#1 was still at the spa this afternoon, so I actually got to take a short nap. I can't remember the last time I got to just lay on the bed and snooze. Nice...

Kinda hard / Summer Solstice / Yoga

So I figured, with BS&G coming up this weekend, the Thursday ride would be a bit thin and a bit easier. I was right on the first part and not so right about the second.
We still started with about a dozen and rolled out through the Fort. Derek graced us with his presence last night. On the run down Ridge, he decided that he would take a 38 mph pull down the hill. This got rid of a couple folks. TVH pulled through at 33 or so and wasn't seen again until the run-in on Double Homey. He and Il Professore took the shortcut across to the flats. We waited for them for a while and then figured they did the cut off. I bridged across before Elon and pretty much shot my monkey for the climb. Nothing like rolling up the climb in your 23 at a blistering 13 mph...!
The ride turned into a rolling 7 man paceline until the bump and we lost 1. We lost another about a click from the stop sign. It was not an easy pace set by the remaining 5. We rolled through at between 26 and 30 for pretty much the entire length of AirBase.
Everything stayed pretty civil for the remainder of the ride. I took the bridge sprint with ease at a tick over 40 mph. I jumped hard in the twelve, after a pretty nice leadout by Philip and Mandrus. Derek said he didn't know where the sprint line was, but I don't think it would have mattered.

As an aside, an hour of yoga is a good thing, except in the case of having a hard ride the next day. My legs and back were damn crispy for the entire ride. I think I'll save the hour class for days before I ride easy. The 30 minute, quicky stretching class is okay for pre-hard day work.
Don't laugh either. I've been an athlete my entire life and have done some things that are difficult at best. If you make the effort to do the class correctly, it will kick your ass.

The H.O. ordered a pallet of sod. I'm going to get the trailer and the sod shortly. I can't wait until she goes back to work...! #1 is going to the spa this weekend, so I figured I might get some rest. I guess I'll rest when I'm dead, which at this pace, might be sooner than later.

PS- There is talk of the weekend rides being moved to 8 a.m. for the remainder of summer. It would help to avoid the heat and get us home a bit quicker. Conversely, it would also allow us to ride longer, if that's what folks want to do, without penalty from home. Either give me a call, or leave comments on here with your opinions of this idea.

Out---

Beautiful morning

I went out for my normal Tuesday morning trip around the Fort, but on this fine, warm day, I had some company. Julie decided to join me for the journey. We went out to do the big loop and ended up doing a bit extra. Instead of thurning left on Dixie, we went right and rode until the pavement ended, which is all of about 4 miles each way. The out trip is tailwind and downhill, so you can figure out the return. Julie hasn't been riding much, as her $5000 Tarmac doesn't fit, so she rode pretty damn slowly. It's cool with me, as I rarely go hard on Tuesday mornings. I ended up with 60 km and a bit over 2 hours. Good ride!

We figured out that her 52cm Tarmac is too long across the top. The top tube is a 53.7 and the seat tube is 74.5 degrees. She's already riding a 100mm stem with 10 degrees of rise, so the shorter stem option is out. Moving the saddle forward is no fix either. That would effectively steepen the seat angle and change the cockpit/front center. Riding with her saddle in the correct KOPS position makes the bike too long. She's a C'dale fan, so a 50cm System Six seems to be the fix for the problem. Cannondales have the geometry that will put her where she needs to be...

#1 actually took a nap today too. First one since #2 came home...! Shocking! I won't hold my breath for it to happen tomorrow.

Weekend

Friday brought more rain in the morning, so I bit the bullet and went to the ManHole(tm) and got on the infernal machine. It's not so bad when you have a big fan blowing on you and a 32" TV staring you in the face. I rode for a bit over an hour while watching the 2000 tour on the tele. Just a medium tempo to get the legs going around...
Saturday morning was beautiful. The majority of the group met at 8 a.m. ( I guess I didn't rate for that phone call...), while the remnants met at 9. The five of us did a medium tempo ride through Lower Richland. We ended up with right at 3 hours and 57 miles.
Il Professore and I met this morning at 8 to do a SLOW spin for 3 hours. We did exactly what we planned and averaged a blistering 16.5 mph. I don't think my HR got much higher than about 120. It was good to ride with him again. We rode side by side for three hours and yapped the entire time. Nothing in the conversation(s) was exactly groundbreaking or especially learned, but that kind of company on a ride makes the time pass more quickly and is entirely enjoyable.
Jules was supposed to meet us to ride, but she bailed because there was a small spinkle at 7 a.m.! Weaksauce! At 8, it was overcast and very comfortable. The roads were damp, but there was zero liquid falling from the sky. She says she'll ride with me Tuesday morning...
I feel like the back in coming around and my legs are getting better by the ride. I haven't really dug deep, nor have I attempted to sprint full out for fear that I'll tweak my back. Overall, I'm way more comfortable on the bike than I was a few weeks ago.

The H.O. got me a leafblower for Father's Day. Thanks for the tool that I have to assemble and that will facilitate more work for me...

Yoga tomorrow...don't knock it 'til you've burped your back...

Radar

The radar was alive with the sound of music this evening. It barely rained at the house, but the radar indicated that the storms were headed directly for the part of the country were we tend to ride.
I didn't feel like a) getting wet , b) cleaning the bike...again, c) getting struck by a large bolt of lightning, or d) some or all of the above.
If it's not raining sideways in the morning, I'm going out...

Il Professore is back from his trip to the Pacific Rim. He says the jetlag is really something that needs to be experienced. I thought lag from the Vegas to Charlotte redeye was bad...

Sick and twisted...

Just follow the link and read...

http://kaibabmonstercross.blogspot.com/

A full day...

#1 rolled out of the sack bright and GD early this morning. I wrestled with him for the better part of 2 hours before the H.O. even cracked a lid. Once the H.O. finally got all systems online, I got on the bike to do my normal Tuesday morning spin.
I went out through the Fort and down into the flats. I really didn't feel all that great, but as I explained in an earlier post, feelings sometimes lie. I vowed to stay at about 75% this morning and did so, but everytime I looked down, I was rolling along at 35 kmh+. My legs were achy and I felt kind of BLAH, but the speed seemed to come with little effort. I saved a box turtle too. The little fella was crossing the road and was in the middle of the lane. I stopped and helped him make it to the other side.
I rolled home with about 50km. Not bad for 90 minutes work. The mp3 player is my friend. I need some new songs though....
I got home and did some needed service to the Ridley. The chain went in a solvent bath and the rear Cane Creek wheel got some attention. The clunking sound was a loose freehub body. Everything went back together and works perfectly.
Once the H.O. got cleaned up from working in the yard, we loaded up the brood and went to the zoo. I think #1 enjoyed himself...right up to the point when he started to have a nervous breakdown. All of the sights and sounds in the penguin house were a bit much. He stopped dead in his tracks, put his hands on his head and started to melt down. Fortunately, I got to him before the reactor went critical. After about 5 minutes outside, all systems returned to normal.

I think the crit got rained on tonight. It started to rain @ 6:00 and got worse as the evening progressed. At 6:45, lightning hit about 100 feet from the house.

See you Thursday...

Slow and easy

Sometimes, you just want to ride. I don't mean a hard, fast, 175 HR, lung-searing deathmarch, but merely a ride. Not a stress relieving, get out of the house, away from the family kind of thing either.
Today, I rolled out of bed zero-dark-thirty and got my day going. I decided to get on the bike @ 9 and head out. I went past Outjokin' and not surprisingly, there was no one there for the Sunday ride. Sad really...! The Sunday ride used to be the big ride for the week. Now, the gapers and fat employees don't even show for it. Sundays will be solo days or rides that have been determined in advance from now on. No sense to even waste the time to roll up there...

Anyway, I went out to do a loop of the Fort and rode just hard enough to keep the bike upright. There were no efforts, no high HR, no lactic acid, no straining of the back...are you getting the picture? I rode SLOW and actually had a nice tailwind on the way back in.

I got home with a tick under two hours in the saddle. I had a small snack and the H.O. and I loaded the offspring into the van and headed to Lexington. My lovely mother was gracious enough to watch the kids so the H.O. and I could go to the movies and have 2 hours to ourselves. I joked that I was going to use the time in the theater to nap...even if it did cost me $6.00.
We saw Ocean's 13. Pretty entertaining flick all the way around. You can leave your thinking cap in the car for this one though.

Joel brought his frame to the house for me to pull some parts. It's trash. The crack is directly though one of the welds. I hope Litespeed warranties it...

Hot and sticky...

Much like a weekend I once spent in Hilton Head...with a female who shall remain nameless, today's ride was hot and sticky. 6 of us met @ 9am...well, more like 9:20 because Mick forgot his helmet. He and Doug drove to Doug's house and got a spare. Once they made it back, we were off. We tooled out of the Fort and went out Leesburg, all the way to Congress. Then left on Willie Wilson and the old downhill run into Eastover. The rest of the trip was the usual Cabin Creek to Double Homey. We had a good ride, averaging just shy of 30 km/h. I ended up with 57 miles in a tick over three hours.
The temps were manageable when we started, but it got damn hot towards the end. I vowed to stay hydrated and drank 5 bottles in 3 hours. I only need one 'break au naturel'. Sweat production was definitely on the high end. I got some good sun on the old pale body today too.

Once I got to the house, I started thinking about having an ice cold Coke, only for my plans to be scuttled on the shores of 'Locked out of the House' beach. The H.O. had gone walkabout and didn't leave keys in the mailbox. I tried, in vain, to get into a window...all locked. I could have broken in, but there's no sense in ruining part of the house.
So I did what any grown, 37 year old man would do. I went to the backyard, filled #1's baby pool and sat my fat ass in the cool water. Man, did that shock the system. I sat in the cool water, under the shade of 100 year old hickory and oak trees, further cooled by a light breeze and lamented that life was pretty flipping good.

Good ride, good group, back feels better, and a dip in the pool...not a bad morning.

I'm not fit!

The fact that I haven't ridden with any anger for the better part of three weeks, coupled with a back injury that has prevented most physical activity and two kids under two in the house, I am not very fit right now.
I survived the ride last night, period. I felt really good on the way out, but my lack of fitness reared it's ugly head going down Ridge towards Elon. It wasn't as fast as I've seen it, but it was enough to make me start clicking and popping. Suffice to say, I was the last man up the climb. Philip is in an active rest week, so he towed me to the top.
Once over Elon, I actually felt pretty good. The legs are definitely rested and still have the ability to make needed power, but the heart and lungs just aren't there right now. The back felt okay last night. I couldn't pull on the bars with the fervor needed to make it over the hump on Airbase. Rich and Karl went, of course, and shattered the group. I made it over just behind the second group and bridged across with help from Philip (seems to be a recurring theme...). Once onto the second group, I recovered and took my pulls. We were actually working well together and pulling the front group back when we got the the stop sign. Of course, there was a RCSO officer at the stop, so we were obliged to actually stop. Bye-bye front group...

They waited at the turn and we rolled on through double homey. Jay took a 28 mile an hour pull that was like motorpacing. Beautiful...
I felt good and planned to dice for the sprint on Shop. Philip did his normal lead across the bridge and the group lined out. I made the mistake of being on ThePeanut's wheel. He was sitting sixth wheel and promptly blew up in the middle of the bridge. I saw it coming, as it's his M.O., but didn't jump around. He just let the gap go and had the balls to wave everyone around. If you can't hold the pace, don't get in the middle of the line!!!! I explained this to him, succinctly, and he said he'd take it under advisement. Don't be a wise-ass either!!! I'm way out of shape and still dropped him more than a couple of times last night. I'll get fitter, he won't...

Anyway, rant about ThePeanut notwithstanding, it was a good ride and I felt pretty good for not getting too shelled.

Poor Joel! The creaking he was experiencing on his Litespeed was actually a broken frame. OutJokin' wants $125 to tear it down and ship it!! Are you fucking kidding me? I'll do it for a pizza. A teardown, especially a fast and dirty one, takes about 25 minutes. I'm sure those bozos will want another $125 to rebuild it...
The best part is the fact that their #1 wrench told Joel that Litespeed would just weld in another tube...! Yeah, good luck with that, considering you can't re-weld Ti, especially 10 year old Ti...
Inspires confidence in their ability to work on your bike, huh? And they're the 'pro-shop' in town...whose racers take their stuff to CC for Tim to wrench on...head-scratcher...

Feelings...

Isn't riding a funny thing? Last Thursday, I went out with the group, only to turn and ride a loop of the Fort alone. I felt really good. Good legs, good heart and lungs...

Yesterday, I went out early in the A.M. to do the same loop. I had no plans to make any efforts or to even go all that hard. I just wanted to ride my bike. My legs felt iffy, my HR was all over the place and my back felt kind of twingy. I just rode at the pace I felt was comfortable. Granted, it was pretty windy on the Fort yesterday, but not enough to ride poorly. The big kicker in this whole thing is the fact that my ride times for Thursday and Saturday were with 90 seconds of one another. I guess the difference between super and shitty can actually be measured in increments.

I'm going out tomorrow night and make the effort to stay with the group. It should be interesting at best.

The H.O. is gone with #2 this morning and #1 is at pre-school. The house is QUIET. I have some yardwork to do, but it can wait until this afternoon. That way, I can take #1 outside and keep him occupied for a while.

He seems to really dig going to pre-school. This morning was his 3rd day and he just walked in like he owned the place. He's the youngest in the class and there is only one kid bigger than him. I think it'll be good for him to be around other kids. I know it's good for my sanity.

Check out the TRS (Toddler Retrieval System)-

The 3 amigos

Saturday's ride was just three of us, as 10 folks headed to the mountain for a 100 mile deathmarch loop. You can read about it at RW's blog. Sounds like they had an enjoyable ride and a good time. I really need to sack up and go do that ride with those guys one day. Maybe I'll have a year where I don't injure myself and actually have some form. Even then, I'll likely be the last guy up the climbs.
Anywho, Nick, Joel and I had a good ride on Saturday. We rolled around in Lower Richland for right at 3 hours. It was cloudy and cool, but the humidity was pretty high. TD Barry was bearing down on us, but it gave us some monster tailwinds on the return trip.

My back felt okay. I think riding is good for me right now, but just not too much or too hard. 3 hours is my limit though. I was crampy like a grampy when I rolled into the front yard. #1 was whipping the H.O.'s ass the enitre time I was gone. My phone has blown up twice in as many rides with the H.O. on the other end asking where I am and when I'll be home. Cowboy up honey, I deal with the little terrorist everyday...

This week's review of the Specialized socks is a different one. I didn't actually ride in them. I put them on, slapped the Diadoras on my feet, tightened the straps and quickly decided that the socks SUCKED. They made my shoes too tight and felt way too thick. The 'pad' that they have integrated under the ball of your foot is for shock absoption I guess. In reality, it feels like the sock is wadded up under your foot. I did wear them for the day with my crosstrainers and they were wholly average.
My advice is to stick with Sockguy, DeFeet or whoever you choose to wear. There are just some things that should be left to certain companies.

#1 started pre-school today. The house is eeriely quiet. I'm gonna ride over with the trailer to pick him up at lunchtime. That'll be my ride for the day. I'm going out for a couple hours tomorrow morning though...time to get back on the horse.

Thursday night

The group met, as usual, last night @ the Circle. I stuck to my original plan of riding out with them, but turning and just doing the Big Loop. The way the plan was carried out was wholly different though. About 1/3 of the way out Hartsville Guard, the pace quickened. Wanting to test my back, I decided to go along until I blew up. I didn't blow up, which came as a surprise. The pace on the last section of the climb was tickling 20mph and I felt just fine. The legs were fresh (10 days of inactivity will do that for you), but I could tell that I've lost some fitness. It'll come back quickly...I hope.
I turned left, put the MP3 player in my ears and did the loop. There was a girl in town from Asheville that stayed with the group on the run out and made the left just behind me. I waited for her and her father and we rode together for a short time. About 1/2 way down Dixie, they started to slow so I went to the front. I rode away from them on the climb and never saw them again. I saw two guys ahead of me on the penultimate climb, so I decided to chase. I caught them at the guard shack just before Golden Arrow.
My back felt pretty good. I can put about 75% power down. Once I have to make a dig, I can feel the pulling of the muscles. I'll be fine in about 4 weeks. Just in time for the 4th of July ride in NC...

The main part of the group is going to the mountains on Saturday, but I'm sure there will still be folks out to ride. If not, I'll get some QT with the MP3 player again.

Next week's product review: Specialized Body Geometry socks. That's right folks, they are making special socks that are supposed to help your feet, legs and alignment...can you tell I'm a skeptic at heart?

I added a couple of links to the right side. RW's racing and wattage blog. Reading it and looking at his wattage graphs will show you that training with power WORKS. I also added Joel's non-cycling blog. It's title in the NavBar speaks for itself.