Well, that was better...

Thankfully, the drama was kept to a minimum around here over the weekend.  Although, the single dramatic event was, in fact, quite large.  The 100+ year old Hickory tree that shades the entire house decided to jettison one of it's large branches...directly onto my roof.  Fortunately, upon inspection, it fell lightly, if there is such a thing when talking about a 50 foot section of tree falling on your house.
I spent Friday morning cutting what I could off the roof in an effort to lighten the load, as the meaty part of the is still connected to the tree about 20 feet above.  The damage, thus far, is minimal, and easily repaired.  Hopefully the tree service will be here before lunch to remove the remainder.

 I did get a decent ride in on Saturday.  2 hours on the CX bike including the singletrack.  I got out early, before the heat came up.  It was quite nice in the woods @ 0800. 

The legs and back were crispy from climbing around on the ladder and roof the day before, but Rule #5 ...

After the ride, my cross-training was dragging out the pile of limbs that #2 son and I assembled Friday morning.  That was fun...
Then Ken brought his new whip over for me to build.

 Scott Foil 20 w/the new Black Ultegra.  Pretty damn nice for an off the peg bike.  It's nice to see that Scott didn't go the route of most other manufacturers and cheap out on certain components.  The entire group is Ultegra!  No crappy Tektro brakes, or FSA cranks.  Hell, if it was mine, the only things I'd change would be the bar/stem and the saddle.

Sunday broke with cloudy skies, and the want to roll the new Kenda Happy Mediums on some dirt, so that's what happened.  Given the fact that I was on my feet most of the previous day, I didn't feel too bad.  I even made the effort to, well...make a couple of efforts. 
There was also a Toby Porter sighting!  What the WHAAA?
2 hours later...back at Service Course.

Now to enjoy the few remaining moments of relative peace and quiet before Junior Management returns from their Corporate Retreat.

Namaste.

(look for a review of the Happy Mediums in the coming days)

RIP MCA 1964-2012

RIP Adam Yauch, better known as 'MCA'.  I'm so incredibly bummed by the news.  The Beastie Boys not only changed rap and hip-hop, but pretty much ALL music...for the better.  Much of my teenage/early 20s life was affected in some way by The Beasties.  Hell, we played 'Licensed to Ill' during basketball pre-game warm-ups my junior year of high school! 

Cancer is a cruel son of a bitch and takes people far sooner than they should go.  Maybe Billy Joel was right...

It's C-O-N-spiracy...

The stars seemed to have aligned against me this week.

Tuesday,  I started feeling really poorly around lunchtime.  By 3, I felt bad.  By 5:30, as I got my stuff together to go ride, I felt like abject shit.  The bike went back to Service Course, and I curled up on the couch.   The time?  6:02.
I woke up, dazed, utterly confused, and soaked through with sweat at 8.  WTF?  A quick, COLD shower, and it was off to bed.  My eyes didn't see light again until the alarm went off @ 6:15 the next morning.
Woke up, did my routine, and slowly got better as the day progressed.  Weird...

Yesterday, as I was feeling a bit better, the plan was to go out for 90 minutes and just spin, to see what happened.  Excitement grew when FedEx hit the door at lunchtime with my new Kenda Happy Mediums.  Sweeeeet!  I would get a quick spin, AND start a new product test....

Bzzzt!  Wrong answer!  The Boss was visiting a satellite office, and stated, and I quote, "I'll be out of there early, and home before 5, so you can go ride."
My Droid powered paperweight rang AT 5, and the voice said, and I quote again, "We're just leaving Spartanburg...I should be home by 7."

Spartanburg?  WTH?  She said she was going to Anderson.  Whatevs.  Once again, the bike went back to Service Course.  She actually hit the door at 7:30...

Now we've come to today.  No ride tonight either, as #1's school picnic is happening @ 5:30.

Tomorrow you ask?  Nope...gotta take the Junior Management team to the Lexington Branch office for the weekend.

Looks like Saturday is the next time chamois will meet Selle Italia...one can hope...

I guess I needed the rest...

Now to buy a pair of bibs to replace the Capos that were brought to ruin by a large pine tree two weeks ago.  The survivability of high dollar lycra shorts is very low when they meet an immovable object.
(Note : Don't wear the Capos in the woods...dummy! -Ed.)

Anyway...time to map out some loops in Pa. for ManCation...

Good morning...is it still Monday?

 Proper TT form.  See...her back is nice and flat!

 This explains a lot about the successes the Spanish have enjoyed lately!

Probably the coolest picture I've seen in a while.  Just ponder it for a moment...

From the "Please, Just Stop It" file...

And yes, I deleted my mini-rant/stupidity about the ride last week as it served no purpose other than to inflame a situation that evidently only existed in my own mind.  If left up, it would only continue to do so.

I do, however, stand behind some of the things I said, while I have happily marinated and eaten some others.

I appreciate those who emailed, sent notes on Facebook, and commented on this very blog.  At least you have the stones, and think enough of me to call me out.
Those who send passive/aggressive tweets, mutter to whoever will listen, and are generally just take from the community, well...if you don't have the fortitude to do what the folks mentioned above have done, then please feel free to shut your cake hole. 

I am a big enough person to admit I was wrong, and attribute my quasi-lunatic, old-man, get-off-my-yard rantings to having a bad day, and perhaps caring a bit too much.
In retrospect, Sam H. was absolutely correct when he said that over-thinking it is bad, and that it's still just riding a 10 speed around the neighborhood! 

I think I hear the oven beeping...my crow is done.  BTW, it's quite good in a clarified butter reduction w/portobellos and basmati rice.

Sunny Sunday

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

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

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

 Riding on the moon...

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

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

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

 A little history to broaden your horizons...

I guess train dudes just clock out for the weekend?

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

Time to wash the dog...

Good Saturday CX ride

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

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

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

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

Everyone will be welcome...

I don't care...

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

And neither should you!

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

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

OR

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

Quick Humpy

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

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

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

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

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

Mini-post

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

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

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


Francesco Moser is STILL waaay cooler than any of us.

Sun's out...

How was your weekend?

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

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


And a bit sloppy...


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


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

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

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

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

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

Friday update

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

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

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

News :

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

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

Speaking of PainCave. Look at these faces...


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

Sea Otter is going on...

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

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

Something wicked this way comes...

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

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

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

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

Bizarro...

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

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

Breaking Fleche Wallonne news...

Evie Stevens (USA) wins the womens race.

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




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


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


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

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

What was that?

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

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

700x33 file treads FTW!

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

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

Here's something to watch on your Monday afternoon :

Mavic @ Roubaix



And OPQS @ Roubaix



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

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

Critter

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

Anyone know where I can get a fern?

Pee stop...

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

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

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

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

Friday the 13th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peace and chicken grease!

Head up...Eyes up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Humps for a Hump Day...


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

Hoy-ly Crap!

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

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

Here's where I was last weekend...



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

DeVlaeminck calls EVERYBODY out.

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

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

And we're done...

Have a good Tuesday!