1.5 to go....

The CX bike is ready to roll the smooth, groomed, flowy trails of both Brandywine Creek State Park in Delaware, and  Marsh Creek State Park in Pa.!  New Clement LAS rubber is mounted on the White Industries wheels, and the commensurate cassette has also been fitted.
The Ridley is ready to go as well, but I think a wheelset change will be made tomorrow. 

Now just to do some laundry, and get The Boss' company car packed.  Why not The Beast?  Well, Free Gas in the company car is always nice.  I really don't like driving it, but the $400+ savings makes everything sting a little less.

No ride Tuesday, as the weather looked a bit less than stellar down in LexCo.  Instead, TVH, HWF and I did a big, meandering loop of the Fort last night.  It was just a simple spin-the-legs-around ride.  Nothing more, nothing less...
Saw a few folks out there.  Wasted a wave on one, didn't on the others...

Big sun and new pavement.  I really don't like riding on the Fort, but last night wasn't so bad...

 Your fatbike-fu is weak....

And the new Pinarello Wrong-ma.  Disc brakes.... (smh)

And they took the Stelvio and Gavia out of the Giro because of the threat of bad weather....

Somewhere in Tuscany, Andy Hampsten is wandering his property, kicking stones, muttering something about pussies...

Gavia...1988...get some...

Next post may very well be from Pennsylvania...
I trust you'll be waiting with baited breath...

Have a good Friday, and weekend...

5 to go...no more free laps

4 if I don't count today...but today ain't over yet...

How do you want your bike porn?
Loud and bright...

 ...or muted, and (sort) of understated?

Can we choose both?

 I hate it when they know exactly why you're drifting to the back...

 Photo is from "The Bunny Crit".  Draw your own conclusions...

If you watched the Giro yesterday, you know that it got pretty Alpine at the top of the Galibier.

Here's the video of the last 7.5km directly from RAI TV.  GALIBIER....

Couldn't figure out the embed code.  Click the link...thank me later...

Wonder how much Cav hung onto the car yesterday? 

Nice rides this weekend...
Saturday was the first truly warm and muggy day we've ridden in thus far.  I gotta say, I'm just not acclimated to it yet.  Rode okay, but felt meh.  We did have a nice little group though.  Should have been bigger, but...well...I'll leave it at that...
3 hours and 85km fell under wheels in a tick less than 3 hours, and no efforts were made...sort of what a Saturday ride should be.  Long and steady.

Upon return to Service Course, work on the HMS Back-yaarrrggghhh-d continued...for then next four hours.  It's starting to look like something...pics will follow upon completion...

As is expected of a 43 year old, I woke up Sunday, and my entire body was stiff and sore.  It had just stopped raining.  It was wet.  More rain was expected.  I had to ride to get the parts working again.  CX bike...road wheels...and GO!
Nice 2 hours out thru LexCO and back.  It did look threatening a few times...

And the first 40 minutes felt like being beaten about the hips and legs, but once I turned onto 321, everything was good.  Tailwind all the way home.  I sort of got into a 20mph light tempo groove, and just rode.  2 hours and 60km later...
I did NOT do any construction work on Sunday...

The Ridley is ready for Mancation, and the Salsa will be tonight, as long as Brown Santa hits the door with my new Clement LAS tires.

Hope everyone had a productive weekend.  Mt. Mitchell is today too.  Rubber side down folks...

7 days...

...until Mancation '13.  This is gonna be a long week...

Fun ride last night.  It's funny how much smoother, yet less aggro, because it was FASTER.  How fast you ask?  Well, fast enough to have a nice working lead group.  I don't get into averages, simply because they mean exactly dick.  Let's just say it was faster than a bread basket...
All I know is that the stretch between Gator and the Airport was one of the quickest trips we've ever taken through there.  40-60kmh the whole way.  Yes, 60kmh into South Congaree.  That's 37-ish mph in Old Money.
It was one of those rides where I felt better as it progressed too.  I think I needed the effort to work the stiffness out of my legs that building Junior Management's pirate ship caused.  Bending, stretching, and stooping while framing out the deck just ripped up my hips and hamstrings.
Strangely, they feel fine today...

Giro News :

Wiggins and Hesjedal both dropped out this morning.  Who knew that training to the edge of exhaustion, and starving oneself to the point of looking like a victim of an European War Crime was bad for your health?  They both have "chest infections".

And Cavendish notched his 100th career win yesterday.  Good on him, even though he probably should have been relegated for deviating.  Nothing like looking under your arm, then swinging dead right...



And the Tour of California is going on.  It's brutally boring.  Yesterday, there was some excitement b/c of the crosswinds, and Jens won the stage with a late attack, after driving the break for 50km. 
And it's because he's MFing Jens Voigt!!!

See video in yesterday's post for possibly the best line EVER from Jens...

Pretty pictures...

Gotta feel bad for this guy...

 Laundry time @ Lampre

Why do I think there's a correlation between Sagan's lack of performance in California, and Cannondale's booth girls?

And one (or two) for the road.  I suddenly want a Vespa...

Wx should be beautiful this weekend.  Go outside and play!!!

Just TOO good...

If you don't like Jens, it's a YOU problem...

HumpDay ( and 8 to go until ManCation)

 Oh...Sweet Baby Jesus...

 "Eh, do you ladies need the keycard to my room?"

Wiggo has crashed so much, he's taken to wearing his helmet while reading La Gazzetta.

Speaking of Wiggo crashing...



That was impressive...

Weird ride last night. 
It never seemed 'fast', but the group got blown to hell on the run out 12th.  We made the turn, and no one was there.  A few ran some stop signs and got away...(I'll reserve comment...)
JBrstl and I waited, and a few chased across.  There was really never a "group" until we got to the top of Glenn.  Even the, the ride really never got together.  Odd...
It wasn't just me.  Others said it was "off" for some reason.  Who knows...?
I got some good miles in the sunshine with a bunch a guys I like riding with.  Not much more to ask...

And I think I have the new shoes/pedals figured out.  I guess I need to ride them to let the body adapt to the differences, however minute they may be. 

Gonna be nice for the next 5 or 6 days.  Go ride your bike.

Tuesday picture post

 I DO need a townie/cruiser bike...

 111 degrees at the finish yesterday in California.  Gilbert knows how to cool off...

 Wait...what?  Where the hell did those come from?

 The drawing from Hampsten again.  I'm still batting this one around.  Hampsten frame, Enve fork, D/A 11v, Boyd 44mm wheels...

 Ok...like "The Dude", I can abide most things.  This I cannot let pass.  It's an abomination, and an affront.  Ernesto Colnago has been made aware, and is flying over to slap someone around...

 Beautiful frame...just lovely.  Two things...
1) Lose the Brooks saddle
2) Roll up the damn bars!

Know who this guy is?  If not, well....you should...

That's it.  No wordy words today...

Go ride...it's nice outside...

12 days

...until Mancation '13...not that I'm counting...

Junior Management is psyched that they only have 10 days of school left.  Not that they're actually doing anything anyway.  SC education...50th in the nation...#1 in our hearts...

Bristol and I went out Saturday morning for a CXploration ride. (I should trademark that...).  The dirt was FLOODED last week, so what did we do?  Went out to see the after-effects.  I wouldn't say it was necessarily the brightest decision, but we had a good time, and saw some cool shit.

 More than a few spots of standing water along the way...

 ...and a section of moving water.  The flood water was still receding Saturday morning.  This was 8-12 inches deep, moving, and COLD...
Yes, we rode through it...duh...

 Here's where it was running TO.  This is NOT normally a creek...

 For reference of the height of the flood, JB's head is about 6 feet of so from the road surface while on the bike.  As one can see, the waterline was at, or above his head in this section.  The river itself is a SOLID 1000+ feet from the road at this point. 

 The boardwalk in WeCola.  Yes...that's river mud.  Yes again...that's river mud on the railing.  The railing is 48" tall.  At normal level, the river is 20-ish feet below.  The water was DEEP!  Most of the WeCola side was muddy like this...and slicker than goose poop.

You may have ridden farther or faster, but I doubt you had more fun...
After dropping JB at his van, I spun it home and ended with 3 hours on the bike.  That'll do...

Following the Mud Ride, I worked for @ 4 hours in the yard.  Dug 7 20" deep holes, mixed 350 pounds of Quikrete, and planted 7 posts.  I made the mistake of actually ASKING Junior Management what kind of play apparatus they wanted.  Their answer?  Pirate Ship.  Okay...we can do that...
The posts are solid, so it's time to start the framing.  The ship will also double as a severe weather shelter/panic room.  (I overbuild things...)

Sunday was Mother's Day, so I limited my ride to 1:15.  Who says I'm not a giver?  It was random.
I got chased by a Great Dane, who while not looking especially speedy while giving chase, made up surprisingly large chunks of real estate with every gallop.  His owner yelled, "He won't hurt you...he wants to play..."
Ok, sure...he weighed probably close to what I do, and was moving alarmingly quickly.  I didn't around to check the veracity of her statement.
I then saw a really nice Accord, that contained a VERY large human being, get rear-ended by a POS truck on Huger.  The VERY large human got out, and was less than pleased. 
I skated...no need to get involved in a summary ass-kicking on Mother's Day.
And the cherry on the top?  I turned the corner off of one street, onto my own, and broke a spoke.  Perfect...
It was still a good ride in the big sunshine...

And if you watched the Giro, you saw Wiggins ride like the wind, until the wet corners snuck up on him...

(photo credit : Sirotti) 
Square that shit off Brad....

It's Monday...and the mountains are calling.  Well, Target is calling...

Friday...

Junior Management reminded me this morning that they only have 10 days of school left.  Thanks guys!  You really know how to perk up your old dad!
Of course, that also means the time until Mancation is drawing near.  2 weeks from tomorrow actually...not that I'm watching the calendar...

Time to order some CX tires, and change out the 12/23 for something more hill friendly...

Last night's ride was, well...a ride.  I felt horrible.  Unable to regulate neither my breathing, nor my body temperature.  Freaking antibiotics are still coursing through my body.  I DID get rid of some STUFF however.

Still trying to get used to the new shoes and pedals too.  After years of riding the old shoe/pedal combo, the new setup just feels odd.  I can tell there's more stiffness is the shoes, and the new Keos hold me in better.  I guess I just need to ride it to get the old body tuned into the change...

Giro...

Cav won the sprint yesterday.  OPQS finally got a leadout right.  Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while...

So fresh...too bad it's probably getting built up by some hipster DB.

And in case you haven't heard, the river has been really high for the last few days...

 See if you can spot the diversion dam...

 A whirlpool next to the Canal locks.  It was a little eerie.  Deep, and spinning fast.  Made a growling/sucking noise as it gulped air.

The Powerstation is completely underwater!!  End to end!!  I may venture out there on the CX bike tomorrow to check it out.  The water started to recede yesterday...

Probably no ride at the R tomorrow, as a lot of folks are doing the ride around the Lake.  It starts @ 0730, and is $40!  Enjoy yourselves...

Time to get the day going.  No food in the house that I can eat.  Earthfare, here I come...

Long play...

So I'm pretty much (70%) over this sinus stuff.  Even so, I decided to skip the ride last night...
Glad that I did...for a few reasons...

-Around 2:45, #3 decided to eject out of the Jogger, while still holding my hand that was there to help him.  I didn't let go...neither did he.  I heard, and felt, a very disconcerting crack/pop emanate from his arm, followed by a whole lot of crying.  FUUUUUUUU....
After some pushing and prodding, much to his chagrin, the source of the pain was somewhere in his elbow. 
The feelings of guilt, and feelings that I have injured my sweet, cherubic 21 month old became a bit overwhelming.
I called the Boss, and called the Pediatrician.  Load up, and haul ass to the office...
Such is the beauty of being friends with your kid's Doctor.  One call, and in 15 minutes, you're in a room. 
Anyway, watching a toddler wander around, whimpering, with an arm that's just hanging there is wrenching.  I was starting to get emotional...
When the Doc looked at #3, he said things like this are common...common enough to have a name...Nursemaid's elbow.  Who knew?
The Boss held #3, and the Doc reduced the injury, thus putting the head of the radius back where it was designed to be.
Literally took 8 seconds.  5 minutes later, the midget was back to his normal happy self, using the arm as if nothing happened.
I still felt like shit...

-Second reason I'm glad I didn't ride was the fact that all of the commotion surrounding my abuse of #3 kind of took up the entirety of the late afternoon, and I ate or drank nothing.  I've done this before, and it led to disastrous results. 

-Third?  Even though it was sunny in the 'hood, the group got rained on.  My bike is clean. 

And the Long Play?  Mancation starts in about 17 days.  And Summer is long.  Better to rest, and heal, for the days to come.  Good sense and reason.  Me?  Again...who knew?

Giro Stage 4 highlights...



Another great stage.  Guys RACING their bikes thru some monsterously shit weather.  And DiLuca...
What a horse!!  I know he's a "doper"...blah...blah...blah...
He cooperated with the CONI investigation, served his penalty, and came back.  He's good with me. 
Dude attacked and stayed away until the last 400m...with style.  And the flouro kit?  so cool...

Enrico Battaglin won the day.  With a name like that, how could he not?

Someone...find me one of these for sale...PLEASE!!!

Happy travels to Dean and Alma, as they head out tomorrow on their cross-country trek.  See you in a few weeks my friend...

And with that...I must go.  A trip to Renick awaits...

Good Morning Vancouver...

First week of May.  Been raining for days on end.  Heat in the house just kicked on, again!  If I wanted to live in the PNW, I would have moved there. 
Not that I could have ridden anyway.  It seems like the Z has taken hold.  I'm feeling better by the day. 
Note to self : No more Claritin D after about 3 in the afternoon.  Now I understand why meth-heads stay up for days at a time.  The pseudoephidrine just JACKS me up.  I've slept for MAYBE 3 hours each of the last three nights. 
I truly feel sorry for the poor person that pisses me off today...

The Giro started Saturday, and Cav took out the first stage in true Robbie McEwen style.



No leadout was to be seen, other than that given by Orica-GreenEdge.  It sort of showed just how brilliant Cav's sprinting prowess is, and just how hapless OPQS is right now.  And who the F was directing the team Saturday? 
"OK guys, 20km to go.  Drill it on the front and wear yourselves out for the finish..."
The ghosts of Mapei are rattling their chains...

The TTT was on Ischia, so the teams had to load up on the ferry...

Crazy...

Sky made the vast majority of other teams look a bit...amateur-ish.  And doesn't Ischia look like a terrible, dirty, horrible place to visit?

Enough Giro talk...

 Wiggo's new Pina Bolide.  Just looks fast...

 Wha?  Who?  Where?  How much?  SCs are now available in 25c.  I will have a set headed to Service Course before the day is out. 

This kid is more Euro than you.  Oh, that's the top of the Koppenburg, if you were wondering...

I may throw a leg over this evening, if anyone is down for a short spin.  Shoot me a text...

I'll close with this...

Have a good Monday!

I'm a doper...

So I woke up yesterday with that tingling feeling, like I was "glowing".  Turns out it wasn't the testosterone patches, like Tyler and Floyd were so fond of...
It was a sinus infection boring it's way into my skull...
One phone call later, I was in possession of the best antibiotics that my insurance plan would pay $1.81 for...!  No seriously, after insurance, the drugs cost me $1.81!!  And people are still sick across the planet?  I digress...

So today, I'm on the second day of the five day course of the Z, and have added Claritin D to the mix to dry things up.  If it's the first week of May, I have a sinus infection.  My head is better than a calendar...

ManCation '13 starts in 21 days, so this crap in my head will be killed my fire.  Mot going to Pa. sick, like last year...

So because of Sinus Infection's (Spring '13) tour stop, I didn't ride last night.  No big deal.  It's just a Thursday ride.  There will be more...

I did help JBrstl figure out the headset on his CX bike, and made a decent trade with the boy.  Thanks homie...

Instead of riding, I lounged around, ate a bit, and went to bed...at 8:30...

In case you need to get choked up this morning...

Video refuse to embed properly...dammit...

Follow this link to the story (and video) of how the Portland Timbers pro soccer team, and 3000 fans made a little boy's Make-A-Wish request into the best thing you'll see for a long, long time...

Portland Timbers v. The Green Machine

If that doesn't hit you right in the gut, and give you a warm, soft, fuzzy feeling, then I feel sorry for you...

The Giro starts this weekend.  I'm ready for some grainy Pirate feeds from Europe!!!

Sorry, this photo may be considered sexist...

Speaking of things pink, how about Ryder's Cervelo?  Not a huge fan of Cervelo bikes, but this one does it for me...

 Cobbled climb...yes, please...

 And who knew that out favorite elbow-warmer wearing, bike riding, college Professor is simply emulating Merckx when he's kitted up with the elbow sleeves?

And finally, I'm not a MTB guy, but if you force me to have one, make it this Groovy rigid.  Something more soulful about this bike than a carbon 5" dually...

And with that, I bid you adieu.  Illness doesn't mean that I can shirk my duties as Head Bottle Washer around here...
Errands await...

MidWeek quickie

So BMC finally intro'd the TMR01.  Funny that the "pro" cycling websites claim they got a scoop.  Remember this post, from June of 2012.  Yeah...I only scooped the scoop by 10 months. 

Another one for JBrstl.

Oy vey...SRAM Red 11 with hydraulics.  Just what people need, more false confidence in their ability.  "Oh, I've got hydraulic brakes.  I can stop on a dime.  Why would I need to learn to modulate?"

And it seems the Omega Pharma-Quick Step-Joe's Crab Shack-Conrad's Shoe and Hat Repair scheme to get Petacchi on board to lead out Cavendish has failed. 
Go figure?  Two things though...
1) What must be going thru the minds of the other guys on the team?  Cav is such a whinger, and trusts the team so little to help him win, that the bosses at OPQSJCBCSHR tried to sneak around UCI rules to bring in a ringer?  I would have "cramping issues" @ 3km to go on every sprint stage.  F Cav...
2) And if the 'retirement' ruse would have worked, it would have created precedent for other riders to jump from team to team...willy nilly. 
Good on the UCI for reaching down and finding their huevos for once...

The ride was quicker last night, but there was a special kind of stupid in the air...all the way around.  Cars doing dumb stuff, triathletes doing dumber stuff, and people riding beyond their ability level, thus creating dumb stuff.
Finally, after the tri dudes tried to kill the group for the third or fourth time, Il Prof and I patrolled the front for about 3 minutes, and let them get up the road.  Out of sight, out of mind.  It was for the benefit of the group, believe me.
There was other stupidity on the ride, and words said, but I just attribute it to the "ability level" rule, and brain fade due to lack of oxygen.
I really liked when aerobar boy, who couldn't ride a straight line if one held a gun to his head, got aggro with me for passing him, even though he...
A) Got on the front, on a downhill, and slowed the group down
B) Was waaaay over his head
C) Came left about 5 feet as I passed (I never deviated...)
D) WAS IN HIS FUCKING AEROBARS!!!!!!!  (Yes, I yelled that part!)

Sorry man, that was your fault, and yours alone.  When guys who admit that they have group ride issues think someone is a squirrel, that person is a squirrel, period!

Anyway...it was still a good, fun, big group ride.  The sun was out, the wind was light, and I got to motorpace a semi at 60-70kmh for a good while.  Had we (the truck and I) caught the light in South Congaree, the group would have never seen me again. Man, I love that vacuum behind a big truck...

Gotta get the day started...

Namaste...