stilltryingnottosuck

That's all, folks.

2011-01-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

After mulling it around a while, I have decided that with the new year I need a new attitude. No more suckage. After a fairly good season, albeit lighter in schedule than the past 2 yrs, I am not sucking. At least not a lot :-) Therefore, boom! goes the blog. I will replace it with another when I get some time to play around with it. As for now, weight training, running (uugghh), pilates, and some skiing to take up my time, as well as some riding. Later folks, and peace out ;-)
Here it is, the new bloggie! Complete with no suckage!
http://ohnoiaintsuckingnomore.blogspot.com/

Random post season musings...

2010-12-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

   Started my weight training. Ugghh. This also includes running. Double uugghh. Also pilates. This I like. I should probably do it all year as we cyclists tend to have weak-assed core strength. Should I do the race in Jan? I dunno. Snow would be cool. Haven't been on the real bike since the season ended, but have been on the trainer. Maybe I'll get out this week. And........
   I think I may have to change my attitude and create a new blog. Maybe a "new year's resolution" blog. I have decided, I think, at least for now, that I don't suck. So. I need a new blog name. Suggestions welcome. Of course, if you are convinced I still suck, well, that's OK too.
   Thinking of maybe heading up to NE and doing a race weekend next year. I'll have to see how my schedule pans out and what Sarah's soccer schedule is like (for those of you who don't know, she's my youngest daughter). Of course, she should be driving by then, so that will help out. A lot. But I still like to watch her games.Also, should I plunk down big $$ to get some file treads (Clement) put on FMB casings? I haven't spent much equipment-wise this past year, so WFT not? It wold be sweet if Clement decides to make a tubie version; that would make like MUCH easier.
   Still at 175lbs. If I can keep the weight to below, say 180 this winter, I will be real happy. Ok. That's about it for now.

Last race of the year. PA State Championships and thoughts on my season.

2010-12-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

I did the PA State championships @ Jordan Creek parkway in Allentown, PA. Not exceptionally cold but very windy. I had ridden 1 time the week leading up to this so I wasn't expecting much. Got there, stayed warm and rode my trainer to warm up. Legs didn't feel too bad. Did a lap around the course, which was similar to last year but even better, atmo. This course is on the side of a hill essentially, with a flat section at the top and at the bottom. A really fun technical descent which my Fangos were handling nicely. If there's 1 thing I do fairly well, is descend, and wha-whoo!, barriers that you could come flying into. 46 of us started the combined Masters race. I did OK in the short prologue and then started drifting back a bit. I could see 3 guys ahead of me and with each lap I'd get just a bit closer. 1 of them was too far ahead (Mike Laub) for me to catch but I knew I could get the other 2. The leader came around me right at the finish line for the start of his last lap, so our race was shortened by 1 lap. On the climb up to the finish I got on the wheels of the 2 in front of me and waited. I made a bad turn on the 180% turn before the finish and thought I might not get it done. I passed the 1st guy easily and thought I just missed the second guy (Jay Downs). Turns out I did catch him. 30th out of 46 total, 13th out of 18 in my age group. Legs felt surprisingly good and was pretty happy with my race. It was one of my favorite courses this year. A shout out to Dan K for his weiner hand ups (which I politely refused) and his awesome pecan pie and coffee at the end (which I eagerly accepted). A pretty good end to my season.
As for my season; I was A LOT leaner this year; 176 as I type this now and I was even down to as low as 174. I haven't been this lean since, well, I don't know when. It definitely makes a difference in your performance. I had fewer turns of bad luck (being in the wrong place at the wrong time) and mechanicals, although a dropped chain and rolled tubie cost me a bunch of places. The tubie cost me likely my best finish of the year at Fair Hill. I only raced 8 races as opposed to 15 the previous year, but with my oldest daughter being in college now and not having as much $$ to blow on these things, you gotta cut back. I enjoyed the PA series races that I did and I FINALLY got to do Granogue. I'm making sure that's on my calender every year. Missed a lot of the MABRA races but did mostly PA series and MAC, which I really enjoyed. I'm already looking forward to next year. But for now, I'm taking it easy for a week or so, then I'll get the fixie out and think about starting weight training. But I may not do as much weights this year and instead do core excercises like pilates. I really don't need additional "mass".
It was a weird season of sorts; some of my rivals/friends (Dave Tambeaux and Thor) either didn't race (Thor) or weren't doing as many (Dave) like myself, making things just different. Even though fields have grown significantly. Here's to a good off-season and some skiing perhaps then some road races. Just to get ready for next year.
As an addition; my cross results dot com points are now at 511. I may be on the verge of not sucking :-)

Fair Hill cross, Fair Hill MD

2010-11-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

It was a new course for this race; same location, different course. I was expecting a grass crit. I was wrong. Lots of abrupt ups and downs, some elevation change, that coupled with a head wind, was a beast. Off camber stuff, some mud, a little bit of gravel, a big log, a run up, and a long start/finish straight. About 50 of us Masters B's went off (biknben, K-man) and headed up the hill. I was up with the 1st group for a while , then things slowed down through the off camber turns. A lot of them were only passable single file, and if you got behind someone with less skill than yourself, you were hosed (me). One really nasty one I chose to run; it was faster by far. My legs were not feeling especially good, but after things got sorted out a bit, I felt like I was in a decent position (for me). I was pretty much right. I kept swapping places with a couple of guys from Evolution racing; they'd get ahead of me on the back side of the course and I would pass them up the start/finish stretch. I had it all set in my mind as we went into the last lap; I'd keep them close then pass them at the end. One small problem, though; as I remounted after that nasty off camber turn, I didn't do it very smoothly and coupled with the fact that it was on the side of a hill, I rolled my rear tubie. I tried to get it back and at least finish. I was about to pack it in when I gave it one last try; I got it on. Took off and tried to regain as much ground as I could, but ran out of time. I lost at least 5 places, probably more, but still finished 35th out of 42, which, all things considered, I'll take.
Loved the new course; ranks right up there with Granogue and Rockville bridge in terms of difficulty but still really fun. I had my tires dialed in really well and found some good lines after a lap or so. Effing mechanicals. Oh well, that's cross!

Rockville Bridge Classic Weekend

2010-10-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Rockville Bridge Classic in Marysville, PA. 2 races, 2 days. Not a huge turnout but better than last year. It was a combined Masters field so I knew I was in for an azz whoopin. About 25 of us went off at the gun (ok, whistle) on Saturday. It was the "traditional loop", complete with a steep run up and stairs, more off-camber turns than I cared to count, and a fairly big power section. On the 1st trip over the barriers some relative neophyte to cross was right in back of me when I dismounted so I wound up kicking him. Apparently he was not pleased with this and let me know at the end. Not the best place to be in a cross race, dutch-bag. The really fast guys took off and I pulled away from him and 2 others. I wound up with a guy on my wheel for a while but managed to drop him with 2 to go. He eventually DNF'd. Got caught by the 2 leaders with about 1/3 lap to go, shortening my misery. 22nd of 24 (9th of 11 in my age group) but in that field I wasn't too disappointed. Mike G came out to watch and brought a few brewskies which were greatly appreciated. So much so that I spilled 1/2 of one on the back of his Land Rover...
Day 2 was a smaller but still very formidable field, changed course; a bit shorter, too. Got there early and warmed up for about 45 minutes which was good since my legs were a bit sore. Got to heckle/encourage a fellow RBRer while warming up who was pleading for a beer handup. My buddy from the day before lined up next to me. After the start I hung on through most of the really twisty section (more than day 1) and decided to run a section of 2 logs and mulch into the stairs. I wound up making (or at least not losing) time by doing this. He and another guy and myself were together for about 4 laps; I led them for a couple and let my buddy go around me at one point so I could sit on his wheel for a while. Passed him on the power section and then bobbled going up a steep off camber losing my place to him and the other guy. Got back to them and again passed them at the finish line, this time for good. Wound up getting lapped by the top 5 a bit sooner but this was a shorter, faster course, so I wasn't surprised. Moved up 2 places from my Saturday finish, 6th out 0f 10, so I was happy with that and I got to beat "my buddy" who threatened "to get me" on Sunday. This was a fun, technical course on both days. I hope this race grows because it's a great venue with a fun, challenging course. Also met K-man (finally) on Saturday. Parked next to me. And beat me. Photos were free to all by Joe Mallis as a courteousy to the promotor since it was a "local" race.

Granogue, Day 2

2010-10-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Fall days don't get much better than Sunday was. Beautiful blue sky, cool temps. Great day for a cross race!
Had to get up at about 520am since the start was 930 rather than 10 am. Wassup wit dat? Anyway, it didn't matter; I hadn't slept much in the previous 2 nights and Sat night was no different. But once I got into race prep mode, all my tiredness just seemed to go away. Got there in time to get a decent warm up and a lap in. Really tough course. I lined up way back (as usual) and we headed of. At race speed the course seemed easier; it just kind of flowed. I saw Bob Kuhn from HUP ahead in the 1st couple of rows. The next time I would see him was when he lapped me...

I took some chances on the course and payed for it; went down 3x and lost my chain 2x. Got it back on once, but had to stop the second time right before the road section which really cost me time. Then my chain started jumping but it wasn't too bad. Since I was farther back than normal, I just kept picking guys off; my legs really felt good. Didn't matter, though. With about 1/3 lap left the 2 leaders caught me making my day shorter. At least one was a team mate :-) I wasn't paying attention on the finish road and 2-3 guys past me, which I never let happen, although, really, what's the difference between 71st and say, 68th in the grand scheme of things? At least I raced aggressive and had a good time. I also got to meet Bob Kuhn from HUP South East (?) and ran into Scott Rosenthall from HUP/Zanacato Racing; the guy you can thank/curse for my Blanco kit. I am definately making this a permanent stop on my cross racing calender.

The awesomeness of this cannot be overstated.

2010-10-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

http://slonie.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/cx-comic/

Ugghh. 2 more weekends till my next race.

2010-09-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

And I'm in a funk because of it. I rode yesterday but was too busy today with chores, etc. Don't feel like riding. Hopefully I'll get out of this and get to work when I have time over the weekend and next week. I'm beginning to think that no matter how hard I train or how little I train, I'll still end up getting the same(ish) results, although, in general, I'm feeling better an I think I'm faster than last year. It's just tough making up ground when you're stuck in the back of the pack at the start. Oh well......

Ed Sander cross. Masters 3/4

2010-09-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

After chatting with c-lo (he parked right next to me), got warmed up on the trainer. Thor designed the course and told me it was the same, so I didn't pre-ride. Figured it would be fast, and it was. Lined up on the wrong side of mid-pack and just decided to peg it at the start to gain some places. I did just that and was in decent shape coming into the barriers, then headed into the ponds. No place to pass there so it was status-quo until the climb up to the back 9. It was there that I knew I had gone too hard at the start. Made it up and climbed the run-up where there was a cluster-f*ck of about 6 guys at the top. Ugghh. Finally remounted and took entirely the wrong line over to the steep run/ride-up; hit the tape and went down before it. More passed me. So much for my good start. Finally settled in and picked off a few; mostly on the descent and power sections. I placed 68th out of 76 finishers, 97 startersand felt pretty good. Saw the carnage that c-lo stopped for; good on him and the others for helping him out. Thor kept giving me encouragement as I passed and it was good to see faces I hadn't seen since last yr. Beer and waffles on the back 9 made it a good day Photo by Joe Mallis.

Charm City Elite Masters

2010-09-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Due to family obligations, if i wanted to race at all, I would have to do the Elite Masters Race, cats 1-3. Not being delusional, I realized I would likely get my ass handed to me, but racing and getting thumped is better than not racing at all. What was nice that since the race started at 1:15, it gave me a chance to get a good night sleep, eat breakfast with my wife and youngest daughter, take her (my daughter) to work, then drive the hour drive to Bawlmer.
It was another gorgeous fall-like day, and since some of the larger races had cleared out, I had no trouble finding a good parking place and getting reg'ed up. I took my time getting ready and warmed up, then headed over to pre-ride the course, as it was slightly different from the usual course. A guy who had just finished offered to show me the "good" lines. It helped.
Got a decent starting position considering I was in among some crazy fast guys, and we headed off at the gun. My legs didn't feel quite as good as Nittany, but this was a tougher course, so that may have impacted it, too. After hanging for a while, I settled towards the back and pushed as hard as I could. I kept hearing Dave Tambauux rooting for me at "the tree" which was nice. with a few laps to go I saw Jay Downs and another guy up ahead of me, and 2 guys were charging up on me (they had mechanicals), so I started pushing harder. It was not to be; with 2 laps to go and the leaders coming up on us, they pulled us. We decided that was "OK", as I and the other 2 guys were dying slow deaths.
All in all, I' finished 60th out of 63 finishers, so I'm pretty content with that. Next up is Sanders and I'm really hoping to do well there.

Well. That time has finally arrived!

2010-09-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Nittany Lion Cross in Trexlertown, PA. 1st UCI race of the year. I get there on a beautiful, coolish late summer morning. Registration goes quite easily (as compared to last year) and I get suited up in time to get a quick lap in. the course was pretty much the same as last year except they took away one trip through the roots and made a power section before it. I get a decent warm-up in and head off to the start. last freaking row. Ugghh. Dan managed to get a front row start; he must "know people" :-)
The light goes green (just like World's) and we head off. I tried to gain as much ground as I could but it was just too tight. I settled in and pretty much held my ground; I'd pass some guys and some would pass me. My Fangos were hooking up nice and were great over the root section. With about 2 laps or so to go I see Dan in front of me. I put the hammer down and keep gaining ground on him. With less than 1 lap to go I'm closing in when i hear "on your right" from one of the 55+ guys. Normally I let guys through but this was in the middle of some turns and I learned not to change my line in these cases. No matter, he passes and cuts in front of me, taking out my front wheel and sending me to the ground. I lose surprisingly little time but by then I was running out of real estate. I couldn't catch him. wound up 65th out of 79; felt better than last year, finished better, and all in all had a better race. Maybe if i actually get a decent start I'll get decent results. I met Ian during my cool-down. he got 35th, I think. Decent results for HUP. Next up, Charm City.

I'm a dumbass and racing to "the Old Rugged cross"? WTF??

2010-05-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

I'm getting my race wheels ready. Got 'em glued, look passable, get my 11-23 cassette to put on them. I'm down to the last cog and I notice that it says "11t, 9s". WTF?? So THAT'S why this never fits quite right! Out there is some person who purchased a Sram 9s cassette from me and has a 10s 11t cog on it. Oh well.....
Anyway, I head down to "Bird In Hand" (really-that's the name of the town. Next is "Intercourse". You can't make this shit up). Get there for the Smoketown airport crit. Beautiful day, well organized event with food and registration that is convenient and good. Organized by the International Christian Cycling Club. Good mix of music over the PA system when I hear "the Old Rugged Cross" hymn blaring. I guess I should've expected it. I remark to the guy parked next to met hat that was my dream. Anyway....
I saw Kevin B there. It's his 1st time ON THE BIKE THIS YR. (He does rowing as cross training.) Course is on the runway and not really flat. Windy as crap, esp up the finish straight. We do a rolling start; I am not afan; I get stuck near the back and since there is a narrow "S" turn before the back downhillish straight, I'm doing all I can to catch up to the pack. Doesn't last long; I get pulled. Kevin gets pulled 1 lap later. Oh well; it's training for cross......
Give me a month and I should be in the thick of it. I hope.

1st race of the yr...

2010-05-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

Turkey Hill Country Classic. Road race consisting of a 6ish mile long rolling lap. We (masters 50+/60+) did 4 laps. Hot day. I brought plenty of water/gatorade. Got there with plenty of time to warm up. Got a nice 30 minute warm up in and then headed down to the staging area. had my pre-race gel and Red Bull. Didn't bring any more gel as it was only 25 miles, so no worries, right? Well. We waited. And waited. About 30 minutes later we went off. I was able to stay near the front of the pack; felt pretty good for most of 2 laps. Then the lights went out. On the long climb going to the finish line I lost energy and couldn't keep up with the pack. I was screwed. Dying many deaths I finally finished. Those last 2 laps were painful, but good in a way. This really is training for me and you never push yourself as hard as you do in a race so that was good. Plus, these guys have been racing for several months and this was my 1st race this year, so I'm not too disappointed. I know I wasn't DFL (whew!) but the results still aren't up. Had to get out of there in a hurry. Finished and downed anything wet and or sweet I could get my hands on as I just about passed out at the finish. It wasn't puking, but that's got to count for something, right?

Slowly but surely.

2010-04-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm into my 1st interval session of the season. 2x20's. Went really hard yesterday; today is an off day. Cleaned the house. Yay. Working towards being ready for the Turkey Hill classic May 1. I was going to do a crit next Saturday, but changed my mind. I'll get out and do the World Cup Hammerfest tomorrow am. Hate to get up that early on my weekend but I need to do more fast group rides and that is one of my few options. Besides; I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Ouch. that was hard.

2010-03-16T12:56:00.001-07:00

<a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/new-cumberland/426126876172446545">Roundtop and Moors Mtn. the easy way. :-)</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/pa/new-cumberland">Find more Bike Rides in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania</a>

That was purely unintentional

2010-03-08T16:01:00.001-08:00

I've gained weight this winter. Not unusual. More than last year. I'm officially now getting serious about it. But I have some conflicting info; my bf % is down, close to where it usually is during racing season. Could I have put on some muscle (we're not talking a lot, 2-3 lbs over 3 months or so)? It seems that it might be so. I "feel" lean; my training rides thus far have felt good and I'm not struggling too much climbing, as I usually do at this point, even though I'm carrying 5-10 extra lbs. My plan is to start some intervals later this month and do some early season crits and a few this summer; more than last year.

As they say, " in order to ride fast, you have to ride fast". Here's hoping!

Today it was 60F and I didn't ride. House work. that took an ENORMOUS amount of self-control. No worries; tomorrow promises to be nice, too.

I'm starting to get "cabinet fever"

2010-02-13T14:54:00.000-08:00

re, skiing is a great way to spend winter outdoors. I love flying down the hill at speed. That said, my training doesn't seem as tedious as it did the last several yrs. Still, I need to ride outside. Soon. Hopefully I'll get out this Monday, President's day.I just need to HTFU and do it.

2010-01-30T18:39:00.001-08:00

This is how bored I am at work right now and now much I miss cross; I'm going thru youtube, looking at cross videos. Sigh..............

Yep kids. It's another cross race in Feb!

2010-01-26T20:36:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty much keeping with the program this yr. Lifting more than last; running more, and quiete by accident, riding more. The weather hasn't been great but things are just kind of working out.
Anyway, about the race; SS "Superbowl" in College Pk MD, again. This yr I'm doing the SS race. Hey. It's a 2:20p start time! I'll be using my POS old Gitane that I train on for cross and use as a fixie. Just swapped out bars and the seat, put new brake cables and housing on her, and she's set to go. It's a training cross ride tomorrow so I'll see how she feels with the new seat and saddle.

Don't be this guy.

2010-01-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, besides riding and racing my bikes, I love to ski. Downhill. Fast, usually. I'll ski most anything as long as it's not too ridiculously moguled up; I sucks on the bumps. Anyway; New Year's day had me on the slopes at Roundtop with my girls. They can now ski almost anything I can. I never dragged them onto slopes they couldn't handle; I let them decide. On the way up the chair on one of the 2 "Expert" trails we see this dad, out with his daughter, who can't be more than 5 or 6, on this slope, more or less dragging her down it. What an idiot. Sure isn't going to help her; probably scared the shit out of her. So, if you're a dad (most moms wouldn't do this, I suspect; it's a dude thing), DON'T effing do this to your kid! Be a sport. Wait until they're ready. Then they'll soon be kicking YOUR ass on the slopes.

A day on the road.

2009-12-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

Had to see how warm my new C-dale winter gloves are. :-) I'm here to say that they are great; even better after they stretched out a bit. Beautiful day for a ride; my legs didn't know what to think; riding on a trainer just isn't the same. Almost went down twice; the old black ice was hiding in shaded corners and hills. As it was, I wound up with 27 miles and a good workout. And a dirty (er) bike.

Ugghh.

2009-12-15T06:28:00.001-08:00

My favorite time of yr. Running, weights, and boredom. Start today. Yippee.

Reston and the yr in review. (sorry-long)

2009-12-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

Cold, sunny December day. Got up early to drive the 2 hrs to Reston, VA, for my last race of the yr. It's a tradition and I like the course, although I've never done particularly well, there. As I drive down I see varying amounts of snow on the ground. I LOVE racing in the snow. Reston had about 4-6 inches. I reg, get a decent warm up, and do a few sections of the course. It's mud beneath a lot of the snow. Ugghh. Bob Perna warns "be careful out there". Will do. I get a good start position, IN FRONT OF THOR, mainly because I reg'ed early. Gun goes off and up the road to the snow/grass/mud. My legs are feeling OK at this time. (I raced the day before), we head down a snowy section into a muddy left hand turn, and then up a steep little pitch. Good news is I avoid the guys who stop or go down (not so the case with a lot of my races this yr). Bad news is my legs let me know I'm in for a long race. Feel dead. Through some twisties which are even more interesting in snow, and then up to the steep pitch before we cross the lake. I run. It seems like the fastest way to go through. Across in pretty much single file since there is only a thin line where it isn't icy. Up the steep, long, run up. Legs are screaming. I hear Dream Plus from RBR letting me know he's chasing a competitor (55+) so I let him around. Up the climb where I actually don't feel bad, and down the gnarly singletrackish section across the off camber left and on to the decent, into a thick muddy right turn. All of the lower section is muddy and slow except for a few stretches. Up the next steep pitch, which most of us were running, and through some tight turns that you had to put foot down, out and back on icy asphalt/ grass, and start lap 2. We did 4 laps, I believe. I was close to one of my cross nemesis for a while and kept swapping places with a guy until he pulled away with about a lap to go. wasn't sure how I placed but didn't hang around long since i had to be back i the 'burg to go to Chelsea's winter concert. I find out 2 days later they placed me as "DNF"??? WTF?? They said they had my number when I crossed the line. Oh well. AFAIK, I would have been about 54th out of 69 or 70. About par for the course this yr.

As for this yr I have to say I was disappounted at my results. I came in feeling good; didn't feel burned out at any point (unlike last yr), and had fun. Did more races than any yr before. I started getting better results in the last month, so that was a good sign. I got to races ( with the exception of Wissahickon) early. Did most things "right". I had a bunch of "being at the wrong place at the wrong time" incidents that likely kept my results down. 1 real DNF at DCCX, and lots of muddy races, not my forte, so there's another reason why the poorer results. Probably the bigest reason is my weight. While
"thin" by every day American standards, I am about 4-5 lbs over what I weighed last yr. Ice cream is the culprit. But that's on me. I think that for next yr I'll prep much the same and just try to be more aggressive. Maybe a Red Bull before the start won't hurt :-)

Rockville Bridge Classic

2009-12-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Marysville Pa. The site of my 1st cross race. And the beginning of an addiction. It was nice to have a 1215 start time AND a 20 minute drive. Got there as the snow started to fall. Took entirely too much time talking and genearlly just taking it easy, but it was OK. Plenty of time. It was cold but bearable. Wore my fleece skinny (my favorite) and my old "No fear" knee warmers. Perfect! Rode 1 lap and it was already getting slick. Finally, the start. About 12 or so strong riders, mostly Elites, Dave Baumgardner, Gary Snyder, and myself. I knew my race would be with Dave and Gary. Took off up the gravel/paved road in decent position and rode down the same hill on the grass, once again in decent shape. Negotiated the off camber right hander well and took off for the next turn. Got off and ran up the hill. Way too slippery to ride fast. remounted and rode OK thru the rest of the 1st technical section, ran the barriers well, and headed off the the next technical section. I really didn't ride that section very well until the last lap. Dave and I kept swapping spots; he'd catch me and pass me on that section; I'd catch up and pass him on the section after the start/finish. I ran the section after the steep run up that seemed to gain me time on Dave. We had put a decent amount of room between us and Gary, but not near anyone else. Finally it showed 2 laps but I figured we'd get lapped, and we did, but not until about 1/2 way through. I had a good lead on Dave by this point but lost it when I dropped my chain after a fall. I managed to holdhim off anyway and took 3rd to last, about where I figured. But it was so much fun I didn't care. Great race. I hope it becomes a regualar race in the following seasons. Photo courtousey of my friend Joe Mallis @ smugmug.

A tale of 3 days or a 3 for 1 race post!

2009-12-03T16:07:00.001-08:00

Sunday, Nov 22nd. Rockburn. Very different course from last yr. Shorter, more technical. The starts were delayed becuase of an accident on I-95, which, fortunately for me, my GPS routed me around. (Have I mentioned how much I love my Garmin?!)

This meant I had a long time to get ready. That was nice. I was able to help Gary out and pin him up since he was one of the unfortunate ones. Got a good lap in on the course and decided that the file treads were not the way to go. I got my usual horriffic start position and went off up the hill. I managed to squeeze up alongside the curb and grab a few places. I'd fairly quickly lose them as someone stopped in front of me. Again. Had to dismount and run a bit.. Then, later, I dropped my chain. ugghh. Carlo passed me at some point during all of this. I saw him with 2 laps to go and kept getting closer to him. I finally caught up with about 1/2 lap to go and decided to pass him at the end so he couldn't pass me. Bad decision. His MTB skills helped him through the last technical section faster than me, so it was no catching him. Great food and pie afterwards almost made up for it.

Saturday, last, PA State championships in Whitehall. A 1230 start. Nice! Windy as shit though. I expected mud. None. I got there early enough to get 2 laps in before I warmed up. Also nice. Small, strong field. I liked the course a lot; it suited me. long, sweeping turns, power sections, and not too much technical stuff. 1 longish climb on asphalt slowed me down, but i wound up fighting off acouple of guys who tried to pass me. wound up getting lapped by the 1st 3 guys with about 1/3 lap to go, finishing 34 out of 42 finishers. Not great but considering the strength of the field, I wasn't too disappointed. Nice to see Dan K there, cheering me on.

Sunday, Taneytown. A short drive, nice weather. I expected a grass crit. Boy was I wrong. It was a friggin bog in lots of places. Got a good start and didn't get tangled up in the melee going into the 1st muddy section. I decided to run quite a bit of it and that was actually a good move. Thor didn't fare so well. Neither did Dave T. I rode hard but the back side just killed me. I also got my bars stuck in the tape 2x because the line was better near the tape, but that's the risk you take. i dropped my chain (again) with about 2 laps to go after falling on the end of the section I had run on lap. I caught 2 guys on the pavement after the last bog and then proceded to get my bars stuck in the tape, letting the 1st guy pass me. I couldn't catch him. 40th out of 62. My best mud finish, ever.

One more weekend. Maybe I'll get a decent result at Marysville or Reston....(where there is a good chance of snow :-) )

USGP @ Mercer

2009-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

Friggin mud-fest. Sticky, thick mud. No place on the course to recover. Ran a good portion of at least the 1st 2 laps. On the + side, my start went well and I was pretty fast. But that was it. This was one of the 5 hardest races I've ever done. Another +, the Fangos did well. A beautiful day, temps in the 60s at race time, 70s by the time the Elites went off. 49th of 54 finishers; not sure how many DNF'd. Since it was a 2-4 Masters race, I wasn't surprised that I got lapped. Actually was kind of glad. That which doesn't kill you......
Also saw another HUP rider doing the B's. Not sure who he was.

Reg'd for the yr

2009-11-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Got all of my races reg'd up for the remainder of the yr. Maybe I'll get a decent start position this way.....
Anywho, I'm doing the USGP at Mercer this Sunday. Hopefully I'll do better than I have been. I plan to go as hard as I can right at the start; then hold on. I'm hoping it'll be an improvement. We'll see.

Why do I suck so bad this yr?

2009-11-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

I just found out my results for Wayne Scott cross. 39th out of 44. WFT? This is really getting frustrating. Last yr I was finishing near mid pack, but I was feeling burnt out, so I tried to train smarter this yr and dial it back a bit. I'm now finishing worse than last yr. I FEEL better, but either the competition has gotten that much better, or I'm slower. It may be a combo of the 2, or maybe turning 50 has something to do with it. I don't know.
FWIW-the course was great, it was a beautiful day, and I had fun. But is does suck to finish that far back.

I should have seen it coming

2009-10-26T06:27:00.001-07:00

DCCX, Washington, DC. Great race. Great venue. Great swag. I've done well at this race. Got there with time to spare, (thanks, in part, to the new Garmin Sam bought me) get a good warmup, take the spare wheels to the pit, and line up about 4 rows from the back. Sign #1.
Great. The whistle blows and I stomp on it-need to get as many places as possible before the cluster-f$ck at the sharp left up the hill. Didn't help. Someone goes down in front of me and Thor plows into the back of me. Sign #2.
recover from that and start going up through the trees, trying to again gain ground. Guys are riding like it's a friggin joy ride.Sign #3.
Get around a few. Head down through some turns and OMGWTF someone bites it RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. No where to go. I ride OVER him. Almost. It causes me to go over the bars. Sign #4.
No one is hurt, fortunately. I race hard and start picking off riders. I see a pack of about 10 that I keep gaining ground on. I have 2 laps to go and I'm pretty confident I can catch them. I rail it around the sharp right up to the barriers, go up as fast as I can, remount, and try to do the same on the next sharo right heading to the steep, but rideable runup. Nail a tree root I didn't see, it knocks my rear wheel up in the air at a weird angle. I recover, quite impressed with myself, but something's wrong. Tire is rubbing the frame. Rolled the friggin tubie. The pit is WAY over the other side of the finish line. I pack it in. Final sign. DNF.
Now I have a weekend off coming up. Guess I'll be gluing that tire.

I will still probably suck

2009-10-20T17:47:00.001-07:00

But I'm going to smell hella good at the start line @ DCCX. Just ordered up some of Mad Alchemy's "chocolate wish" embro. Bam!

A mudder?

2009-10-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

I am not. I think my results can attest to this. 40 something today. I suppose it could have been worse, since I took the wrong exit of the turnpike (I've been to this race at least 4 times, I should know how to get there, right?). Got there with barely enough time to get dressed and out on the course for a brief warm up (5 ish minutes). The course was really muddy but rideable in most spots. I got a decent start but lost places when my legs just didn't respond to the effort, due, largely, to my lack of warm up.

1st time around the spiral of death and down I went. The Fangos were supposed to grip better than that, or so I thought.

I was able to get some real estate back on the grass and pavement but couldn't run the run up very well. I'd lose spots in the turns but gain on the straights.

All in all, it was hard but fun. I wound up going down like 3 times but didn't really care. Wissahickon has always been one of my favorites but this made it a whole lot different. At least I out sprinted a guy for a spot on the finish.

Next week. DCCX. Yay!
(It as nice to meet another HUPster from NH. Matt I believe was his name. Dan says he finished around 26th. Pretty good.)

When will the madness end????

2009-10-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

1st this; http://madalchemy.com/products/ubersecret.html
And now THIS;http://madalchemy.com/products/chocolatewish.html
I don't know what to do. Guess I'll have to get both. Humm. Chocolate or coffee?? I think he should make a coffee/chocolate combo. I'd buy the entire stock.....

Iron Cross lite.

2009-10-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

12:15 start. Whoot! I may want to start racing the Masters's Elites just for the start time. Probably not, tho.
After a night of rain and a dreary morning I had breakfast with my wife and 2 girls; nice change from the earlier starts, plus IC is less than 45 minutes away.
Got to see the end of the Cat 4 race and rooted fellow Hupster on, Gary Sterner. Also cheered Kevin Dillard on who squeeked out a photo finish. Took the long walk back to the car and got ready after depositing the pit bike in the pit. Got ready, warmed up, had a good chat with Bob Perna who parked across from me and Thor, who parked next to me.
We lined up in what was a combined Masters race although they would score us 35+, 45+, and 55+.
As the bell went off Thor, who was right in front of me, unclipped, stopping both of us. We went hard to catch up to the pack; I even passed him a bit until we made it into the turns. He passed me there, and tho I never lost sight of him, I never was able to catch him. I saw Jay Downs ahead of me and he became my "carrot". I knew I could catch him. After about 3ish laps I finally did, on the uphill barrier. I kept seeing Thor, Kevin Breckinmaker, and Perna ahead of me but I just couldn't catch them. I wound up getting lapped with maybe 1/2 lap to go, fighting off Nunzio at the finish line. Had I known it was him, I probably would've let it go since I wasn't really racing him (or Perna, for that matter). All in all, I felt pretty good. I wasn't too sure how I'd do, since I had been fighting a cold all week and really didn't sleep well the night before. 18th out of 26 starters over all; 5th out of 9 45+ racers. Closest to the podium I've ever been.
As for the course; I don't know why it is but this race doesn't get a lot of racers; it should. It's a great course with a little of everything; sand, grass, stones, fast packed dirt, hills, descents, and even a bit of single track. For any of you Mid Atlantic racers that read this. I HIGHLY recommend it, esp if you can't do the Mother of all Cross Races the next day, Iron Cross.

I am Famous!

2009-10-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well. Maybe not. But my mediocrity is caught on vid. You'll see why I lose places (climbing section). Courtousey, again, of "In the CX hairs".

Well. Better. But not "there" yet.

2009-10-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, sunny day for a cross race in Hagerstown, MD. Arrived 1.5 hrs early, which is nice. I need to keep doing this. Got reg'd and changed and then hopped on the course before the Cat4 race went off. Some major changes to the course this yr, mostly for the better, atmo. Still bumpy as shit , but more turns and they threw in a set of barriers before the sand pit which effectively MADE you run it.
After the call-ups aI got a fairly good start spot right behind Thor. The gun went off and we flew down the start stretch. I picked up some spots and headed into the turns in decent shape. Still stayedf with the pack but dropped back a bit on the steady climbs; I'm just not a climber and I really am not climbing well this yr. Down the narrow decent I was able to raelly rail it but it was so narrow that I couldn't make any passes, so I just hung back. My XS's really held well and I was able to take lines that a lot of guys couldn't. I'm convinced that they are the way to go unless it is muddy. I climbed the steep hill well (powered up it) and then went balls to the walls on the straight back stretch (the start stretch). I saw "1" lap to go and went as hard as I could, only to find that here was ANOTHER lap to go. Ugghh. Held on and outsprinted a guy who tried to pass me on the finish line. 39th out of 59. Not great, but better. Still would like to climb up into the top 50%. And beat Thor :-)
FWIW-the CX hairs guy may have me on his vid, briefly, at the start of the race.

Maybe "the slows" are over?

2009-09-30T20:41:00.001-07:00

The past month I've been riding slow. I don't know why. My average speeds on normal routes have been significantly slower, which may explain my rather dismal cross results thus far. I can't really figure out why, other than I finished plyo and "they" say that running/weight training will slow you down on the bike.

Well, today and yesterday I went back to doing intervals on the bike and to my surprise I found my speed was back near where it was before the plyo. So maybe this is a good sign? Guess I'll find out on Saturday. I mean, really, my victims on Cross results dot com are now people like Gary Kelly, who, even tho he's a great guy, shouldn't be a "victim". Here's to better results.....

From Ed Sander Cross

2009-09-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Courtousey of "In the Crosshairs"

It's all about choices

2009-09-27T14:38:00.001-07:00

Rained pretty much last night after a fairly dry week. Just to be "sure" I put my Kenda Kross Supremes on my Ritchey wheels. I got to Ed Sander Cross in plenty of time. Had enough time to give cxstraggler some shit about getting his ass in gear as he was chsanging and his race started in like 25 minutes. Was going to ride the course before the C race but ran out of time; no worries, I hopped on the trainer for about 1/2 hr. Got down to the pit, taking my extra wheels with me. Got on the corse and my XS's were everywhere in the slop so on my way past the pit I swapped out my wheels and rode the back side on the Kross Supremes. Much better, I thought. Got fairly decent start position and we were off. Thor was maybe 2-3 rows in front of me. Would I beat him today?

We head into the wet grassy area and I'm still good; great traction and I pass a few people. Then we hit the mud around the ponds. Have to get up and run since it's pretty much a cluster-f%ck on the 1st lap. I'm still just off the back of the main field. It's not untill teh 2nd lap that I realize why I don't use those f^cking tires; sure they have good grip, but they also don't shed the mud. My sub 18 lb bike now weighs like a million lbs, or so it felt like. Needless to say my legs were seriously fried and I think we only did like 4? laps. I didn't even beat the fat guy on the SS. I didn't get lapped, so I did beat some people. But it's a shame because my legs pre-race felt great. I should have just run my XS's and ran thru the mud. I would have been far better off.

At least there was Belgian waffles and adult beverages in the party zone. No Idea where I placed. It really doesn't matter....

Maybe next week I'll get Thor.

Today is a "skinny day"

2009-09-25T18:57:00.001-07:00

Some days you feel like a load. Other days, you feel skinny. Today is a skinny day. Feel lean; ready to race. My legs feel toned but not tired. had a good night's sleep. Didn't ride; it's a rest day. Spent the morning running errands with Sam (my wife for those who don't know, and yes she is a she. I'm not ghey, NTTAWWT.) and had a nice lunch at a little Chinese rstruant. Work is slow, so I'll hopefully be leaving early. 1 more day till Ed Sander cross.
Maybe a bit of rain? Sam;"will they cancel the race because of the rain?" Does not "get it". Oh well.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

2009-09-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

2 races to start out the year. Nittany cross in Trexlertown and Charm City in Baltimore. Beautiful weather both days. I met Dan at Nittany-we both raced the Masters B at 10 am. Flat, fast course. Lots of twists and tight turns. Since I hadn't ridden the day befopre, I realy didn't get a good start. Finally, after about 2 laps, my legs started to come around. By then I was way off the back. 51 out of 62? in my cat. Not great, but about the norm for me.
Charm City was on Sunday. Again, great weather. turns out I probably should've kept the skin-suit at home. Got warm by start time. Both races I got there earlier than in the past. This is a good thing; no rushing and I got a good warm up in. Parked in front of Thor and chatted before the race.
I was 83rd of 113ish starters, so Istarted way back. I tried to sprint as soon as the gun went off but it was really tight; picked up a few places but it really was pretty much of a cluster-f&ck until things spread out a bit. Mike G and Gary S could be heard chearing (heckling) me as well as Lithuania from RBR. I ran the barriers well as well as the sand and hammered on the straights as much as I could. 1st 2 laps or so my stomach really didn't feel too well. On the last lap I saw Thor ahead of me. Incentive! I never caught him but got to 4 places behind him finishing 70th out of 96 finishers. Better than before, I suppose, but still not top 1/2. There's work to be done, I suppose.....

Divine intervention?

2009-09-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Seems like the unplanned time off is actually turning out to be a good thing. After going out, doing some intervals today and Sunday, my legs are feeling strong, refreshed, and ready. Did some stair runs on Monday and felt good, too. I am now officially ready for a solid mid pack finish. Yup.

Lord Vadar; Your ride is ready.

2009-09-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Black. Apparently it's the new white. Or something like that. The "old" Empella, updated with the stem flipped down (it was too friggin high), new crankset, slightly lower gear (39 instead of a 40 up front), and new Grifo XS tires. Not the best glueing job, but not the worst, either.
I just need to test ride it. I did a cross workout today on my Gitane because the tires probably weren't ready yet on the Bonfire. Can't wait! 2 races this cominmg weekend! Nittany Lion and Charm City. What a way to start off the season!

3 days off....

2009-09-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

I didn't plan this but here I am; less than 2 weeks away from cross season, and I've taken 3 days off after killing myself for 2 weeks. My rt knee is bothering me a bit so I just decided to work on the bike and rest it. Tomorrow I'll take an easy ride, then 2 more interval/plyo sessions, several days of cross only rides, an interval session top wake up the legs and then it's 2 races, back to back. Top 1/2 finishes are what I'm shooting for this yr. Made it 2x last yr. One can hope, can't I?

Embro? Maybe?

2009-08-31T18:15:00.001-07:00

Temps were in the low 70's today. Tomorrow promises more of the same, with lows in the 50's. I may get to slather on some Belgian Kneewarmers tomorrow while I kill my legs doing Tabata intervals. I may not sleep tonight, eager with anticipation :-)

Rain. Check. Pain. Check. Hurray for intervals!

2009-08-28T14:51:00.001-07:00

I woke up to rain. Bleh. Got breakfast, fed the dogs and kitties, checked the web. Bam. No rain. Yay. Finished cleaning teh bathroom, suited up and went out to do some hill intervals, specifically Stetler road, then Steigerwalt hollow road, repeat. My legs were a bit tired; climbed like a rock. Oh well; it's the workout, not the speed that's important.
Next, on to Lower Allen park to do plyo. Hide away so no one can see me lest they think I'm crazier than they already do. Running the steps seems to be a good training excercise for cross; felt good. Easy pedaled home. Got a little wet. Burned like 1200 calories. This cross season I hope to NOT have tired legs before the season staRts. Looking promising so far.....

Sometimes it's not about racing

2009-08-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Aug 23rd I did the Livestrong Challenge century in Philly. 6k+ riders and about 800 runners. I managed to raise $400, which surprised me. It's hard to find someone who hasn't been affected by cancer, so really, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that people are willing to donate to a cause such as this.
I got up (well, I was up almost all night) bright and early at 4:45am and got ready to drive down. Sunrise on the turnpike is actually quite pretty. After playing phone-tag with Rob, we finally met at the staging area. I met Kurt, his friend, and Pat his brother, all of us comprising Team Fish or cut Bait. We headed out, barely moving. After a while things thinned out and it became easier to keep up a decent pace. Pat would surge ahead on the descents; Kurt was pedaling like a madman up the hills; I just kept my own pace. We skipped the 1st "Power stop" and then Kurt and I pulled ahead to the 2nd stop. Waited for Rob and Pat there.
Off we went in team fashion but it soon became apparant that Kurt and I would be ridng ahead for most of the ride.
Tons of hills-Kurt kept flying. At the bottom of one of the larger climbs I passed him and then never saw him again. I waited for a bit at the next stop but didn't want to wait too long so i went on without them. Lots of killer hills; Satan at the top of 2 for reelz! saw Pat at the 80? mile stop-he was being saged back. 50+ miles for him, which was good since he apparantly hasn't been able to train much.
My legs were hurting since past mile 62 I was in uncharted territory for me; I haven't done a century in over2 or 3 yrs. Kept hydrating and pounding the gels and fruit. Got to ride with some nice people and ended up finishing what turned out to be 95 miles (on my 'puter) in 5' 38". not bad but time wasn't the goal.
I waited for quite while for them to finish and then had to go. Rob called as I was on 76 heading home; they had just finished.
I was a bit sore and extremely tired but I'll do it agin. It effs with my cross training but that's OK.

Someone DID die.

2009-08-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

That's really too bad. A 60 yr old man, doing what he loved. My heart goes out to the family. I'll say it again; these charity "fun" rides can be not so much fun if you don't be careful and pay attention. Be safe out there.

Freds, Posers, and Douchschnozzles (new word)

2009-08-16T14:08:00.001-07:00

After a yr haitus from any "charity rides", I did the Lancaster Bike Club's covered bridge metric century. I did this for 2 reasons; 1, I was going to ride with my friend, Dave, who I haven't seen in over a yr and 2, I probably should ride a ride >2 hrs if I want to finish the Livestrong Challenge century without dying. I get near the place and traffic is actually backed up onto the interstate. Me, being incredibly clever and hating to sit in that mess, go down to the next exit, head back up, and BAM!, no waiting.
Reg line was well run and quick, meet Dave at the port-o-potties, and notice on the way over, that there are an INCREDIBLE # of Freds, Posers, and soon to be named, Douchschnozzles. A veritable clusterf*ck of them. I am fearful for our lives. I have no worries w/Dave; he's an experienced rider and knows what the h*ll he's doing.
We go off and go zipping by group by group of people totally oblivious to the fact that they are on public roads, not the TdF and yes, there are cops at intersections but there are also cars behind and coming the other way; you DON'T have the right to take up the whole friggin lane. The inevitable "racer dudes" go by in pseudo-pacelines, only to have us (ok, me) pass them at the top of the hills. A side note; do not wear a 1) polka dot 2) green or 3) Maillot Juane if you haven't earned it!
We see Rabbit at the lunch stop. Minus his "posse". Meh. End up in decent shape (miles 42 on were uncharted territory for me this yr). A good ride, no one died (that I know of) and we didn't get taken out by any Douchschnoozles. Yay. I think I may make the century next weekend. Although I won't try to keep a17-18mph pace like we did today. Unless they want to. :-) And tomorrow it's cross training in earnest! Plyo! Intervals! Dead legs! Whee!

The linky

2009-07-27T09:32:00.001-07:00

Please donate what you can! Thanks in advance. Linky over in "linky section", D'oh!

End of the "Eff it" week.

2009-07-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was a rest week. Last week of the Tour. I rode 3 times and when I did it was easy. I'm ready to get back and do some moderate-hard training. Gotta get some longer rides in as I'm doing the "Livestrong Challenge" century in Philly on Aug 23rd. Doing it for Dad and Rasmey (by bro-in-law) who died of ca as well. I'll add a linky soon so any one who checks this blog out can donate. We all have known someone affected by this disease. I'm not a Lance fanboy but what he is doing is this regard is commendable. It's the least I can do.

Well. A break thru of sorts.

2009-07-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Allentown Irving Park Sportsfest. I've done this race 2 x before, as a cat 5. Manned up and did the Masters. Started slow, then about 2 laps in the hammer went down. I was determined to stay in the pack. A few laps later it slowed a bit. This went on for all of the 25 laps. Near the beginning of the race my legs started to scream but I rode thru it. Eventually they felt pretty good. Patrick whats-his-face the track rider rode off the front (as per usual). They stopped calling out the gap at about 50 seconds. But anywho....
I rode strong, pulled the pack at times, jumped on a few breaks, and had a damn good time. I should've jumped coming up the hill after the start/finish line on the last lap but, well, next time (I was climbing as well as anyone and better than most). Wound up 20th out of 24, which ain't great, but i finished pretty strong. And to my anonymous poster; I caused no wrecks; if there's 1 thing I can do is hold a line. Cross tends to help with that.
As and aside, I saw Keith fron HUP in his stylin Blanco kit; I may get me one of those next yr.
Also saw Nick, the guy I sold my K's to. All in all a pretty good day. I'm off now to eat lots of food and drink beer.......

A little ring day.

2009-07-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

After killing my legs at the World Cup Sat AM hammerfest, thanks to the testosterone twins, Scotty and Rod, I went out for a nice, easy, flattish (as flat as it gets around here) ride out towards Mechanicsburg. I made the essential ride along McCormick road; essential because it's just plain fun annd beatiful, plus it's good for some good views. Early and you'll likely see someone fly fishing, which, although it's not my cup-o-tea, is sure purdy to see. Later and you may see a young lass in a bikini enjoying the water. I saw neither today. Oh well. IDID, however, see a DeLorean coming the other way. That is certainly something you don't see every day. Rode past a dad and his 2 youngish kids, on full road bikes (looked to be 7-9ish) out for a spin. Just took it easy. Had a great 36 mile ride.

Damned (fat) softball players

2009-07-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

Since my encounter with CXstraggler on the road the other day, I've had the jones to get out on the cross bike. Yesterday I got the Gitane swapped around to it's SS cross configuration, now with Tufo tubie clinchers. yea, they suck, but they're the fattest best tread I can get on that thing. And they were cheap. I headed over to Lower Allen park to hit the old trails. Well, things have changed. They put in new soccer fields (ggod for the community-not for me) and a paved path. Since the fields were newly seeded I didn' want to be a dick and ride across them, so I used the paved path. that was OK. However, they're having a softfrigginball tournament there so my ritaul of using the row of trees as a slalom course was out. Bah. Oh well, still got to do a few dismounts/remounts and get a little mud on me and the bike.
Softball. A game where fat chicks and doods can play and drink bad beer later. (As opposed to cross, where fit chicks and doods can race till you puke, and then drink GOOD beer later.)

Wow.

2009-05-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

My 1st Masters crit. At the Rodale fitness park. Every one is absolutely right; these guys are FAST. I got kicked out the back about 2 laps in and at that pace I could never catch back up. Got pulled after 5 ish laps. DFL.
Note to self. Try as hard as you possibly can to stay in the pack.
On a positive note, the tubies ride and spin great.

It's been a while.

2009-05-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've been doing intervals now for 3 weeks. I figured it's probably a good idea since I have a race on Sunday. ....
Anyway. The weather a week ago was absolutely phenomenal. This week? Not so much. Still got some good sessions in. My legs have been feeling fairly good except for today. Tabata intervals are killers. I was lazy and had World Cup glue my tubies; I wouldn't have had time this week and I want them for the race PLUS I wanted the wheels checked out by someone who knows what they're doing.
I hope to at least hang with the pack on Sunday. It's my 1st Masters crit and I know it'll be faster than the 5's were, but hopefully, a bit less sketchy. At least Kevin Breckenmaker will be there; a familiar face. Or ass, depending on where I'll be.....
And some good news, I think/hope. Sarah's new soccer team won't be playing a tournament over Iron Cross weekend PLUS their tournaments are late summer so it shouldn't interfere too much with cross season, although the league games are on Sunday, I think, so we'll have to see. Maybe I'll finally get to do Granogue?

Well. That was BRUTAL.

2009-04-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

Fawn Grove Roubaix. 40 miles of undulating roads (not too different than here) and dirt and gravel. My 1st Masters race AND 1st road race. Beautiful day, got there in plenty of time for a change, forgot my pump (no biggie-borrowed one), rode instead of using the trainer to warm up. We lined up next to last group. Went off at a not too insane pace. I kept to the back of the main group, and then we hit the gravel. I rocked it. Too bad I can't climb to save my life. Before long things got strung out. I was in no man's land. Off the back of the main group but in front of the really slow guys. I would make up time on the gravel sections and decents but lose time on the climbs. A bunch of the 4/5's caught me but not a lot, as well as the Pro 1,2,3's who lapped me. No biggie. I have no idea where I finished. Not 1st but not DFL either. Mission accomplished I suppose....
I'll do it again for sure. It was fun in a painful sort of way. My wheels and tires worked great-no flats and my wonderful French bike smoothed out the gravel quite nicely.
I guess I'll find out the placings tomorrow on line. I hope it's not too bad.

Pro. Or no?

2009-03-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

So I'm going up my driveway, out to do my hill workout. As I'm going up, I see Amy, the oh so hawt yes she's my age and she puts women 1/2 her age to shame going up the road. She says "Hi". I say "hi" back. Being "Pro", (ha!) I;
1) exchange pleasantries and go on my way to my sufferfest
2) offer to ride with her for a while and THEN do my sufferfest.
Yes, I choose #2. I'm not stoopid, you know. It was nice to ride with someone for a change, especially someone as nice and good looking as Amy. I still got to go out and head up Andersontown road, then continue up Mountain road, up to Roundtop. That is a nice, grinding climb, with a few little breaks. I'm feeling pretty good on the bike right now. I'm about 200+ miles ahead of last year's mileage total, which is good.
I don't know what to expect with the road race coming up in April. 40 miles. Some climbs, and dirt! Yay! And now I'm FINALLY out of cat5, up to cat4 so now I can race the Masters, which I'm sure will kick my ass. At least I'll see some familiar (older) faces; Bob Perna, Gary Kelly, and others I'm sure from cross.
Oh. It's a good thing I looked at my bike after the ride. My rear tire is through to the belt. Put the Kendas on today. It's always good to have spare stuff laying around....

I love where I live.

2009-02-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Beautiful winterish day. No clouds; minimal wind. Cold, but since there wasn't much wind it wasn't bad. Wore my favorite winter jacket (ok, my ONLY winter jacket), Hind tights, HUP booties, and my cheapo Nashbar winter gloves with liners. It was 20-25F when I started.
The wind is stilll cold, but the sun is feeling like spring. I headed out towards Pinetown road, Silver lake, and Roundtop. Saw that little ski zit against the blue sky. I must say it was quite nice. Appears to be lots of (manmade) snow. I got a good 26 miles in, felt pretty strong and generally had a great ride. Looking forward to tomorrow when I'm off so I can get an easy, long ride in.
Did I mention I only saw about 6 cars the whole friggin ride?
THAT is one of the BIG reasons I love to ride out there.

I didn't plan for THAT.

2009-02-19T10:26:00.000-08:00

It was windy today but I didn't think horribly so so I went out for a ride, figuring I'd head into it as much as possible and then have it at my back on the way home. Everything was going according to plan, got to stop at the bank en route, and then go on. It was Not TOO bad until I got to the other side of Mechanicsburg and then it was hitting me HARD from the right side; I'm sure the bike was leaning. Made a left turn on Stumpstown road and life was wonderful; wind at my back. I crest the hill on Lisburn road, look to my left and it is dark as night. Looked like a storm was coming so I put it in TT mode and hammered. No luck. It hit me going down McCormick road. Snow, sleep, maybe some rain. Epic. Blasting along at 27 mph or so with the wind at your back is kind of fun, except when your face is being pelted with sleet and who-knows-what. Fortuinately, I was only about 15 minutes from home. I get about a milke away from home and it's effing DRY. Still hasn't done anything (1.5 hrs later). Oh well. That which doesn't kill you....

1st ride on ageared bike in 09?!

2009-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Ok. Except the cross race. My KG felt light and smooth as ever. I'm thru with running and weights; it's ride baby, ride. I'm doing it bit different this year (don't I always?) and not doing intervals or lots of weight training before my very limited summer racing season. I think I did too much last yr but also didn't do enough miles. I'm going to do a few races this summer and then do the intervals/plyo program a bit earlier this yr without the 3 in a row interval sessions. At least, that's the plan now.

All aboard the fail-boat!

2009-02-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

Cross your heart cross race in Columbia MD. At an RV campground. Nice venue. In keeping with my resolution to get to races earlier, i arrived about 80 min before my start time. Reg went quick and I was unpacking my stuff when Thor literally rode into me, along with his son, Nicholas. It was good to see them. I get ready and I decide on less is more; it felt warm after riding in sub freezing temps for a month or so. Rode the trainer a while and then hit the course. Lots of ice, some mud, leaves, mulch, stones, pavement, steps, logs, you name it. About 35 or so racers lined up as a 1-4 race; the 1-3's went off 2 min prior to us. I got a pretty bad start and wound up stuck in the back at a bottleneck right after the start. Not good. We wound up having to ruin a good section of the 1st area up to the 1st run-up as it was just too slow to ride and too crowded. Got going and my rear tire felt really low. I kept going but as the lap progressed I realized I should swap out my wheel at the pit. I was riding along OK; had Thor about 5 riders ahead of me (he said that I should beat him. Ha!) Got to the pit and swapped out the wheel only to have the chain drop off my chainring. I was now nowhere in the race. I just went out and TT'd my way thru the race. The run-up killed me as did the steep climb to the finish line. I crashed 1x after that but was apparantly catching up to some people before that happened. I got lapped by most of the 1-3 raceers and by a few of the leaders (I think) of my race. I might hjave finishede DFL. Don't know. It doesn't matter. It was a cross race in Feb and sure was better than almost anything else I could have done on the bike.
Then I got to head home and watch the Steelers win #6. Yea, baby!

A race on Sunday?

2009-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Who'da thunk it? Superbowl of SS CX in Columbia MD. In February. Yay! Warm reg area and concessions and beverages available, plus donated winter coats go to a good cause. And there may be snow. Can it get any better?

Cold. Snow. Fixed gear. Questions?

2009-01-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

I went out for a nice little 18 mile ride on the fixie. Started snowing shortly after I started. This is too much fun. Rode down along the Yellow Breaches and up Brenneman road. These are 2 of my favorite roads. Little rollers, some steep pitches, and some flat areas. Perfect for the fixie. I just may swap it back to SS mode and race in the SS cat on Feb 1st. Depends when the Superbowl starts :-) (I am NOT missing any of the Steelers historic 6th Superbowl win!)

187

2009-01-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

That's what the scale said this AM. That's OK. I pretty much haven't done much of anything physical since Capital Cross Classic in early December,and that's only about 5 lbs over what my lowest weight was last yr. It's back to building some base miles, lifting, and some pilates (I noticed I've really gotten inflexible-not good). 2009 will be even better than 2008. Or that's the plan.

The cross yr in review

2008-12-10T06:18:00.000-08:00

What did I do? Am I happy? I suppose.
Good things;
1) didn't get lapped. At all. Not close.
2) actually lapped people in some races. WTF??
3) finished top 50% several times-that was a goal
4) top 25% 1x. That was a surprise!
5) trained better
6) gauged my effort better.
Things to improve on (besides what I mentioned in the previous post)
1) maybe train not as hard once the season starts. There were times my legs just felt tired.
2) go harder at the start.
3) maybe lose a couple more lbs.
Goals for next yr;
1) top 50% unless I DNF...
2) some more top 25%? Possible? I hope.
3) beat Thor :-)
4) a real top 10 in some of the PA races?

Well. It's over my friends...

2008-12-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

Last race of the yr, Capital Cross Classic. One of my favorites. I was not able to do this race last yr so I was really looking forward to this. Got a good start on my drive down. Ominous clouds on the way, driving thru some sketchy sections of road and some heavy snow squalls. Yea, baby!
Get there and the park is changed a bit. It is windy as shit and cold; don't mind the cold but I hate the wind. I scramble to get ready and realize it's like 9:27 and my race starts at 10. Although this was better than Mike G (who took my bike to the pits-thx!) who arrived at this time for his 9am race...
I got an OK warm up and headed for a bit of a pre-ride. Not much mud; mostly frozen ground. I line up pretty far back, the whistle is blown and we're off. I pass a bit on the twisted section after the start. Did I mention the wind was brutal? The barriers are a bit clogged up but I get thru OK. A new section twists down past a little stream then a steep section. Bam. My legs feel like lead. I climb like a lead baloon. Get out and head across the lake and up the run up which is longer this yr. Legs feel OK going up this. There is a bottle-neck going up that nasty gravel climb. I biff a bit but keep going. The single track is really dry and hard to come across that nasty off camber left. Thru that, down the hill and thru the twisty flat seection by the start/finish. A bit of mud there so the corners were a bit sketchy. Up some pavement and up a steep climb. This would kill me. If I'd have known this I probably would have swapped out my 40t for my 38. Next yr. Down a sweeping rt hander, thru some trees and up to do it all over again. I got passed a bit on the climbs but did OK on the flats; this race at least allows you to recover a bit. "Lithuainia" kept egging me on; he's a good guy. My left shoe's top latch loosened and I contemplated stopping to fix it but instead rode on; I doubt it affected me much. Bob Perna, who has been riding great, passed me w/ 1 lap to go. I eventually caught him on the s/f line (he got a flat-good for me!) Corey Twyman, who passed me on the 1st lap, was stopped going up the gravel climb. He said he almost lost it there and contemplated bagging it but got back on and finished. I was surprised when I saw the 2 laps to go sign-I figured 3 or 4. 43rd out of 58. Not a great result. Oh well. Also; Thor was ano show-sick all week and didn't want to push it in the arctic conditions. Don't blame him.
Now; Things I've learned this yr to improve on next:
1) gotta get to the races earlier-need a better warm up
2) I need to get some better bike handleing skills
3) Maybe gear down a bit-I rode faster this yr but I would have benefited from a lower climbing gear in some races
4) keep at it-I'm improving. But I thinkI can't say that I don't suck. Yet.

This could be EPIC!

2008-12-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

Capital cross classic is tomorrow, Dec 7th. It is currently snowing. Now, they are only calling for "dusting", but this could be interesting. I love it when it's cold and snow is involved. Mud? Not as much. Might be some of that, too. After all, it's CROSS.

AAAAAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK!!

2008-12-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

Last race of the yr on Sunday. That is all.....

So I wussed out.

2008-12-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

6:20 am on saturday I wake up to ice hitting the windows. I was going to get up in 30 min or so to get ready for the Mabra championships. I look outside. Ice on our deck. I KNEW that the race would be messy; that's not an issue. It's cross. However, I wasn't sure how the drive down would be. So I decided to bag it. In retrospect, it would have been fine. I was pissed at myself all day because of it. But. Oh well. Happens. I got to spend the day with Sam and the girls so that was good. Now I just have to wait this week until Sunday for Capital Cross.

It's cold. It's snowing. It must be cross!

2008-11-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

2 races this weekend. It had snowed thurs night and there was still snow on the ground. I headed to Lancaster for the Wonderland cross race, which was, thankfully, only about a 40 min drive for me, which was nice. I raced this last yr as the PA state championships.
Got there to see Dan K, Mike G, and Gary S go off in the C race. HUP took 2 or3rd, 4th, and 7th. Great showing for our 2 newest members, Dan and Gary (Dan 2nd or 3rd, Gary 7th).
My race was a combined Masters 35+, 45+, and 55+. There were about 16 in my group, so this was by far my smallest race this yr.
It was almost the same course as last yr; lots of off-camber turns and straights, 3! sets of double barriers, and 2 sets of smaller single barriers, 1 up a steep run up. That last one killed me last yr. I got a good start and the legs really felt good. I sucked for the 1st 2 laps in the 180 turns; finally got good lines the last 3 laps. I caught some guys from the 35+ race (started 1 min b/f us) and swapped places with 2 guys from Evolution and 2 other guys. We stayed together for a couple of laps, then the one Evolution rider and another guy pulled away from me as we dropped the other 2. I just couldn't stay with those 2 guys.
Wound up 8th which is my best result so far. I'm happy with it esp considering there were cat 2's and 3's in there.
Sunday was my typical 1 3/4 hr drive to Leesburg. Never did this race before. It LOOKED like it was fast. Man, was I wrong. Pumped up too mush air in my tubies (I had dialed them in perfectly on Sat). Fortunately had time to pre-ride the course. Lots of steep drops and climbs, off-camber turns, and some long climbs with a few sections of hammer time pavement and dirt/gravel.
I got a decent star, lining up near to Dave T from RBR. I made some passes on various short climbs and even on the long climb. I also lost ground to the faster, skinnier guys on that climb. Dave and I wound up trading places for the last 3 laps or so. My legs felt pretty tired from Sat but started to settle in after about 2 laps.
I caught Dave again on the barriers and went flying by him, hoping this would be it. I ran barriers pretty well both days. Unfortunately, Dave is much lighter than me and he passed me up that long climb. I never was able to catch back up.
37th out of 50 finishers. Not my best but still OK with me as the course was really tough and didn't really play to my strengths, which are fast sections.
Fortunately, they had some really good grub and Vitamin H2O there, so that helped a bit.
All in all, a good weekend of cross. Esp now that it's cold and we gots snow!
Fotos courtesy of Dan K.

I just shaved at least 5 min off my race day prep time...

2008-11-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

After working at my beloved place of work for over 20 friggin yrs I got to choose a gift. Most were actually quite nice. One that caught my eye; a Krups programmable 12 cup coffee maker. I had a programmable before but like an idjuct I broke the carafe and since it was a POS, I opted just to go out and buy a new one. Never got around to it. So, thanks to 20+ yrs of servitude I gets a new coffee maker (yes, kids, some of us stay at a job THAT LONG). Oh. And don't be giving me any shit about how I should be brewing my joe in a french press. They are a PITA and there's not many things better in this life than waking up to a hot pot of freshly brewed coffee.....

I just noticed...

2008-11-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

That in every picture in every cross race I've ever done I look like I'm dying. Check it out. (Thx to fatguyracer-from Rockburn) Maybe it's because I am??

Sometimes you're the windshield...

2008-11-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you're the bug. Arrgghh. I got a good start to the day, got going at a good time, nice ride to the Rockburn race. Made the same wrong turn as I did last yr but it was no biggie; had to use "the facilities" anyway.
Get there, EARLY enough to see the C race go off and was able to give Mike G a shout out. Turns out he finished 13th-he's getting much better. Get warmed up and head down to the start. They changed a lot on this course from last yr. The prologue went rt instead of left and up a short climb. Since I pre-reged kind of late I had a sucky start position. As the whistle blew, I went out. Passed quite a few on the climb and was holding my own thru thew twisties. Saw Thor bite it and get back on. Followed him for a while. The sand pit, tho rideable this yr, was best off run; I would make gains in it and at the barriers. I just didn't have any real power in my legs tho to hammer on the flats and descents; guess maybe it was not riding for 2 days prior and me getting a cold or something? Who knows. Nunzio passed me then I kept him in my sites. There were about 4 of us in close distance. Weren't passing alot but we weren't getting passed, either. I passed him with about 1/2 lap to go as well as another guy. Thought I had them but they got me again in the more technical sections. Something, I hope, I'll get better with in time. Figured I get them in the open areas. No. Legs just weren't there.
As a positive sign, I'm actually passing guys on the climbs now instad of getting passed, even when my legs don't feel great. I wound up 42nd out of 69. About what I expected. Just didn't have it that day.
Now it's 2 weeneds off. Time to go out hard for 2 of them and finish strong with the 2 2 race weekends coming up.

Finally!

2008-10-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

Beautiful, warm, fall morning. Head down to DC for DCCX. Didn't forget anything. :-) Get my usual 15 min warmup but thanks to Steve (Lithuania fro RBR), who took my pit bike to the pit, I had time to pre-ride parts of the course. It was in great shape. Some soft parts, but no sloppy mud.
Lined up abunch of rows back, probably 5?. The whistle blows and we're off. Up the start paved section and into some tight paths. I'm holding my place pretty well; dropped a bunch of guys up the pavement (losing 10 lbs is a realy good thing) . Up, down, over some bumps and up to a left hand turn up hill from the finish line. I decided to take an inside line and almost pulled it off except someone decided to do the same thing and took me out. I lose about 20 spots. Game is ON now. I recover and go blasting over the 2 hugeass logs (new this yr) and down the hill, over the cobbles, into some twists and off camber stuf, past the pit, and hammer out the out n back. I catch a pack and instead of sucking wheels, I pass them. Drop them. Fly over the grass that they added from last yr and into the trees and turn section. Keep passing guys; my tubies are really hooking up well. I continue to opass guys up the paved section that was the start. I start woirking with a guy from Artemus and we keep taking turns pulling. We keep catching and passing guys. This continues thru the next to last lap where I biff on the up hill barriers. Back up and within 3/4 lap oir so I had him back in my sights. Last lap I let it all on the line. Finally I catch him on the start stretch as we head towards the finish. Knock off a couple before the finish strecth. I see 2 or 3 guys in front of me and pass all of them at the line. I had no idea where I placed but that had to be my best race evar. Some good eats, shooting the shit with Thor and Mike, and head home. Turns out, I was 32nd out of 71, 7th out of 16(afaik) in the 45+! Not bad for 2 biffs. My 1st top 1/2 finish ever. 6 places behind Thor. I can't wait for next week at Rockburn!

The gods are conspiring against me...

2008-10-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

I got up nice and early to get to Wissaghickon on Sunday, one of my favorite races. Still wasn't too early since it's only a hr and 15 minute drive. Got ready, eat breakfast, and left. Without my helmet. I realized this (fortunately) about 5 miles from home, so I drove to the next turnpike exit, headed home, and got the friggin helmet. I get there OK and there's a line at the reg tent. Get thru that and have to hit the john. Big time. Whatever has been working on me this past week performed it's magic. Yea, I know, you didn't need to hear that. I finally get ready 1/2 hr before the race. Do a quick 15 min warmup and head for the start. It was colder so I decided on the fleece skinny. Good move. (Even tho Kerry frtom HUP claimed I need to get tough.) I got a good start pos in the 3rd row (thanks to Thor) and off we went. 80ish riders. Up the asphalt and into the turns, which, at the 1st 180, turned into a cluster-f%ck. 2nd as well. Got thru that without going down, and off I went. Passed a few, got passed, yada yada yada. I didn't feel great running the barriers but felt pretty strong on the roadie sections. I also rode the sand pretty well. The steep left hannd-downhill turn I ran 4 out of the 5 times. People were yelling "ride it, HUP", so as not to disappoint, I did it on the last lap. Absolutely not advantageous to do so. Corey Twyman from Hub racing was following me the last lap and passed me the last set of barriers. I just didn't have the gass or ambition to go after him at that point. I finished 49th out of 74 finishers with 5 or so DNF's. Not as good as I thought but still better than previous yrs. I actually lapped 1 or 2 riders. I'll use the excuse that I was hurried and not feeling 100%. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The inevitable bites me in the ass.

2008-10-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Almost literally. I get to the race and even tho I didn't pre-reg I was able to get thru pretty quickly. The venue? Breast cancer awareness race in Hagerstown MD. I get my stuff out, get on the bike and dressed remarkably early (for me). No rushing around. Nice. Thor stops by and gives me some shit about primping but I let him know I'm about 5 minutes ahead of schedule. For me. Got good and warmed up and actually had time to pre-ride some of the course. Bumpy as shit, but fast and not too difficult. Sweet. I actually get a call up (ok, they went pretty deep), but a decent start position. The bell goes off and we fly down the gravel/paved start into the grass. I pass a few in the corners and short hills and also get passed. Didn't get to ride yesterday so the legs started screaming right before the barriers. I remounted and almost crushed both nuts; worst remount evar. I recover and get into a groove after a lap or so; I was able to fly down the paved /gravel section. I kept trading places with one of Thor's teammates and Nunzio and another rider. Then I dropped my chain. Got it back on and still felt strong. After 4ish laps or so I passed a few lapped riders. Kept gaining ground on the NVCC guy. Until I dropped my chain. Again. Still I felt pretty good and was going strong with 3 laps to go. I hit my remount after the barriers and the seat felt funny but I kept on going. I blasted thru the sand and hit a big pile of it and it threw me towards the tape. Stop and get my bars out of the tape and my m$therf#cking seat fell off; the saddle separated itself from the rails. Would've been REAL fun had it happened while I was on the bike. So. Since I didn't bring the spare bike, I was finished.
As it turns out, lots of people DNF'd, including Thor. Pinch flat. One of the many.
So, next race, it's the tried and true Selle Italia Pro Link. And my spare bike. The Pave saddle is going back to Fizik.

And so it begins...

2008-09-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

1st cross race in HUP kit! Charm City. Got what I thought was an early enough start to head down to Bawlmer. Get there, find a decent parking spot and realize it is quiet a distance to the reg area. D'oh. Ride over and it takes longer than usual to sign in. get back to the car, get the bike on the trainer, get dressed and it's like 9:25 or so. Aaaarggghhhh!
Guess I'll leave more time next time...
So I warm up for about 20 min and head over to staging, deciding not to take the pit wheels along. Since I reg'd earlier this yr I got a decent start position. The gun (ok, whistle) went off and away we went. I got into the "tree" without having to stop this yr and that made a HUGE difference. My legs didn't feel great but after about 2 laps I started feeling better. Stomach was upset a bit, too. Still, I ran the sand pit, which was longer and harder this yr, pretty well, as well as the uphill barriers. Getting off and on the bike is starting to get second nature to me so that's good.
I ended up losing a few places last lap but wound up 55th out of 83 (they didn't have the age breakdown yet) so I am fairly happy with that result; MUCH better than last yr.
I'll get back to intervals this week and I won't go to Hershey park the day before and maybe my legs will feel better at Ed Sander. I would like to see a finish this yr where there are more finishing behind me than ahead of me. I think it's possible.
And I want to beat Thor.
Speaking of which, poor bastid rolled his tubie and had no wheels in the pit. From now on I am taking BOTH bikes and my extra rear wheel to the pit. It would suck MUCHO to have to DNF because of a mechanical.
Hopefully Kevin Dillard will have his pics of the race up soon so I can get a pic on here of me in my HUP kit; WC is so last yr....

Belgian knee warmers

2008-08-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today was coolish. 65ish degrees. Wet. I decided to give the Belgian knee warmers a try. While I don't have Sportsbalm or similar, I DO have Tiger balm. Close enough. Slather it all over my quite sore legs. Aaaaaahhhh. Out I went. OMFG! My legs felt great! 3 sets of Tabata intervals and then off to L A park for some plyo excercises. Even running up the hill my legs still felt great. Now, riding home was pretty slow, but that was mostly intentional. Dayum. I need to remember this. And get some Sports balm. Srsly.

T minus 27 days and counting....

2008-08-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

Till Charm City! Wha-ho! I started the plyo/intervals session yesterday. Did my 2x20's today; plyo yesterday (w3x6's). Surprisingly, my legs felt not too bad even doing the plyo yesterday. Guess my guesstimate at base plyo was OK. I LOVE fall; cross especially but I also enjoy going to Sarah's soccer games. Her team (like me, I hope) probably won't suck this year.

The 1 (ok, 2) lap rule and the kindness of strangers...

2008-08-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Race avenue crit in Lancaster, PA. I had taken it easy this week as it was rest week; only rode twice, but did a few "jumps" on friday to prep for the race. I should've seen this as an omen but when I got my bike ready to go this morning I found that the front tire was flat. WHY I ever bought Conti Latex tubes is a mystery to me. Went to put the spare on and it doesn't hold air. Finally found a cheap, trusty, Kenda tube and was ready to go. I figured that maybe I should bring my spare front wheel "just in case". I get there in plenty of time and find a great spot at Franklin and Marshall college to park and warm up. 1/2 way into the warmup campus security informs me I can't park there, but is cool enough to let me finish my warm up.
I get done taking a shorter warmup so I can move the car. Get to the start and races are running late. Aaack. We wait about 20 extra minutes and FINALLY line up, me securing a primo front row start position.
And we're off!
2nd friggin lap I hear "pisssssssssssss" and guess what? It's me. Flat. Rear. I'm f*cked.
Fortunately a cat 4 rider sees my plight and lets me use his wheel. Also, fortunately, they "bend" the 1 lap rule and allow me 2 since it's just slightly over 0.6 miles per lap.
I hop on and ride like a madman to catch back on. Why the f%ck I didn't bring a spare REAR tire is beyond me. That'll never happen again.
A nice sized group stays away the entire race and we finish several laps in front of many. I hung on until the last stretch and the legs called it a day. I'm pretty sure I made top 15 so I'm pretty content with where my fitness is, esp since I'll be doing a 3 week killer session before cross starts.
Oh. And who said that roadies were all pricks? Much props to WHOVER it was that loaned me the wheel.

Not sucking as much......

2008-08-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Alaric Gayfer crit in Trexlertown, PA. Cat 5 "move up race". Small field, about 15 starters. This course is a 1 mile track that winds thru the park. A steep little left-hander right past the start/finish down thru a series of S turns then a long left sweeper, twisting back and then up a slight grade to the start finish line. 15 laps, started REALLY slow, then some guys picked up the pace. I stayed around mid pack most of the race but EVERY TIME down thru the turns they'd slow. I KNEW that I was faster than anyone thru that series of turns. The usual attacks occured; I stayed put and in the pack. With about 5 to go I positioned myself towards the front. Right past the start/finish on the last lap I heard "on the left" and 2 guys were making an attack up the hill. I decided it was now or never. Caught them and went flying past them down thru the turns pulling ahead by about 10 legnths by the mid point in the left hand sweeper. Then the cavalry came charging and I gave all that I had left, winding up 10th, my best road finish so far.

1st weekend of racing this yr...

2008-07-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Grandview GP and Allntown Sportsfest. Grandview was a nice, shady course, and my legs felt like lead. I stayed with the pack for about 5 of the 10 laps, then fell off the back. No "go" in the legs. Maybe it was the fact that 1) my training ride on thurs was cut short by a snapped chain or 2) I had no training ride on fri. Or both. Whatever. 19th out of 22 starters. Yay me.
The sportsfest found me having better legs but this yr it seemed to be much faster than last yrs snail-like pace. I stayed with the pack the whole time but wound up 17th (missd 16th by a gnat's pube). Stoopid tactics. I kept gaining ground on the hill by the start/finish line, then fell back a bit on the flat. WTF was up with that? Loss of 10ish lbs, maybe? Who knows. All in all I'm OK with it; starting intervals again and I'll race again Aug 16th, hopefully a bit fitter and faster.

Meet Ralphie

2008-07-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

He's a 34 lb 1 1/2 yr old chow mix with a severe case of skittishness. He is really warming up to Chelsea and Sarah and is gradually coming around to me. After a near miss with adopting another shiba, we found him at Molly's Place, a really cool shelter. It is great to rescue a dog; I wish we could have taken more home. He's really sweet and wants to play with the cats but they're scared to death of him. Zoe is her usual grumpy self; it's going to take a while for her to get used to him; he just wants to play.

Various and assundry things. Or whatever...

2008-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day in central PA.
I am actually feeling REALLY strong on teh bike. (This is setting myself up for major dissappointment, I'm sure).
I love doggies. All kinds. Well. Check that. Not too fond of chihuahuas.
I look stylin' euro-pro in my new HUP kit and Diadora shoes.

Good bye silly little dog..

2008-07-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Sam and I were going to go to Lowes to get some more pavers and stone to finish under the deck. We hoped in the car, pulled out, and I felt a bump under the wheel. I glance out the side mirror and see Sasha, our youngest Shiba, flailing around and then falling to the ground. She had apparently been under the car and I ran over her. Frantic call to the vet and we get ready to take her there. She was laying on the back seat as I waited for the girls, and it was there that she left us. I still feel like shit. Sam and Sarah are taking it pretty hard; especially Sarah; she's so sensitive. It's a huge hole in our life cut out. I even think the cats miss her; Zoe isn't the same either. She was the eternal puppy; 5 yrs old and still goofy.
I suppose we'll look to get a rescue dog, preferably a Shiba, in a while. But for now it hurts too much.

Wow. It's been a while.

2008-06-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

The girls are home from school. Nice to have company around the house before I go to work. (Besides the pets!) Just finished my series of intervals for now. I'll start again in early August. For now it's a rest week and then just riding and keeping up the intensity. July 27th will be my 1st race (Allentown sports fest crit) this yr. Can't wait. In the meantime I'm going to do some longer rides (hopefully) and just enjoy the girls being home. Man, I'll be teaching Chelsea to drive next month!
Mike G finally has my HUP kit. Guess I'll get it next time he's up this way. I just saw 184.5 on the scale this am. 1st time in I don't know how many yrs I've been below 185. I'd like to get down to about 180 by cross season. Should be real lean at that weight. Maybe I'll even do better this yr? Who knows......
Since redd Rose races has gone belly up, there aren't raelly many races (crits) around this yr, but I should be able to get 3-4 in before cross season. I'd like to place top 10 in the sports fest. Then I'll ask for an upgrade so I can race master's races and really get my ass kicked.

Ok. Time to help out a good cause

2008-05-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Dave Hickey, an avid cyclist and cancer survivor, is, like me, a frequent poster on RoadBike Review message boards. He is one hairy sob. What first started as a joke has turned into a full-blown fund raiser for cancer research going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Dave is going to shave his hairy gams on June 28th. The goal was $200. As I write this it's @ $310 and climbing. If you are like me, you know MANY who have been affected by this killer. While times are a little tight with the price of everything going up, still try to help out. Anything is appreciated. All procedes are tax deductable and you get a receipt on the spot. Donating only takes a few minutes.
kthxby!

Bicycle errand boy today.

2008-05-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today is my day to take it easy. 2 weeks of intervals and my legs are SORE. Had to get my hair cut and get some more coffee and the sun finally came out today so it was on the Gitane and off I went. It took me 15 minutes to get to Houser's house of hair (10 or so by car, wtf??), wore my nylon cargo shorts over my bike shorts so as not to raise any more eyebrows. Got done there in 20 minutes or so and then headed off past Cedar Cliff over to Sugar Mama's for some beans. Took a while but finally got a pound each of reg and decaf. Yumm. Headed home and after all was said and done, it took me about 1.5 hrs. Driving would have shaved off maybe 10-15 minutes. Almost 11 miles, so that's 1/2 gal of gas saved, and at this point,, that's almost 2 bucks. I'll be doing more of this. Plus my legs are feeling much better now after that fairly easy spin.

1st WC ride in over a yr

2008-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Turns out it was a Scotty Schlagel Perry Co death ride. 60 miles, 4x over Sterret's gap, 17+ avg. Sheet. On several positive notes;
1) we didn't get wet
2) I wasn't last back
3) I didn't climb too badly (for me).
I haven't started my hill repeats yet, so I SHOULD get stronger. In theory at least. It is good to go out on those rides as it gets you up to near race pace so it's not such a shock 1st time out. But it IS 7am on a sat am. If I do it 1x month or so, it'll help. Perry Co is really beautiful to ride in. As long as you avoid Leroy and his 1/2 ton pickem up truck.

1st real ride on my geared bike

2008-05-07T16:09:00.001-07:00

With the new Sram Force drivetrain. I went out yesterday to do hill repeats but that was quickly smashed as my derailer wouldn't shift past the 15t cog. 6.2 miles, cursing, wishing I had my D/A back on. I pissed around with the adjustments (after Gregg had set it up after I effed it up) and still couldn't get it in the last 2 cogs. So last night I messed around with it when I got home from work and I had an epiphany. The cable was too tight. D'oh. Worked great after about 10 minutes of adjusting it. So out I went today. Still problems. Then another epiphany. I wasn't pushing the paddles in far enough to upshift. Well. They work great and the bike feels lighter. But that's probably due to riding the fixie all last week. I'll weigh it just for shits and grins, tho. Guess I'll move my hill repeat intervals to next week so I get used to the shifters now that it's wednesday. I'm feeling like I could do that crit in Middletown on the 26th. If my kit ever comes. Can you race for a team and not wear it's kit?

I could ride forever.....

2008-05-02T19:32:00.001-07:00

Today I decided to do the bike courier thing and run some errands on the fixie. The route was as flat as it gets around here and I'm taking it easy this week training so it was an easy choice. Stopped by my lbs and dropped off a bunch o stuff for the swap meet, then headed to the twp rec office to purchase pool passes, then back home and stop along the way at Sugar Moma's to get some good Guatemalan beans. As I was cruising along, almost effortlessly, I realized that on the fixie, once you get going and it's afairly flat route, you can ride almost forever.

Sheesh

2008-05-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while. Legs are feeling great. I killed them the previous 2 weeks doing 2x20's with a fixed gear ride inbetween.I THINK the mini-blocks are working. We'll see. Got to do lots of yard work recently. Putting compost in the garden. Mulch. Cutting the grass. Theraputic, atmo. Easy week this week so it's been good. Putting the Force gruppo on the KG. Get the finishing touches tomorrow at World Cup. Taking a bunch o stuff there for the swap meet. If it doesn't sell, there's always e-bay.
Sarah has been playing really good as of late in soccer. ALMOST had a goal y-day against Chambersburg. Chipped it up and almost over the goalie's arms. Just got a piece of it. Can't say I've seen any girls her age try that, much less pull it off. 'Twas a thing of beauty, fo sho. I sure hope she gets on Div 1 this yr-she deserves it and I can't stand the parents of the d2 team. Won't have to deal with those red-necks no matter what happens, fortunately.

So I wussed out

2008-04-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Getting up at 5:50 am on a sat to do anything but race is just wrong. So I didn't get to World Cup for the ride. No matter. Got 25 in at a pretty good pace in 70 weather! Yay! Plus, this way, I got to have breakfast with my girls, which is some of my favorite times. I don't know if it was the weather or be losing about 8 lbs from last yr, or maybe I'm more fit overall, but I winded up with a 16.8mph avg over a fairly rolling route and I wasn't going that hard. I know avg speed is a poor indicator, but STILL, I don't do that often during peak season. Guess I'll just stick to my training program and see what happens. Oh. And I need to shave my legs. Furry legs are no good for applying sunscreen.

Lots o stuff

2008-04-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

A hard week. 1st week of intervals this yr. It's getting warmer and warmer with each day. I felt pretty good doing the 2x20s. Didn't die, that is. Did something today that I haven't done in almost 2 yrs. Rode the Gitane fixie to work. How the f*ck do I manage to get ready at the same time as I drive and get to work and ready 5-10 minutes faster than I do if I drive???? Don't know, but I'm doing more of it and f&ck Judy Darr if she mentions anything about someone being "offended" by my cycling shit. Jeebus. I think I'll go out with the World Cup crew and ride early sat morning. Something else that I didn't do all of last yr.......

Easy is hard

2008-04-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

After finally feeling better and getting in 2 (yes, "2") rides in last week, it's my "rest week" so even tho I couldn't train like I wanted last week, I'm sticking with the plan. However, it was fairly nice today (not horrible y-day, either) and even tho I got a late start, I went out. The weather, my LeClaire Vie replica jersey, my legs feeling good, I SO wanted to ride hard. But I didn't. That was hard.

Yay.

2008-03-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

I managed to go thru the ENTIRE FRIGGING WINTER without getting sick, and now that it's spring, I caught a lovely cold. Have I mentioned that I <3 pseuadephed? Still, I feel sore, cold, hot, shivery, achy. I'm hoping that maybe tomorrow I'll at least be able to get on the trainer for a while and loosen the legs up. Don't have the ambition to go outside.

It's spring??

2008-03-24T12:48:00.001-07:00

Really? We were just in Waterville Valley the past 4 days over Easter. Skied 3 days. Cold as a witches' tit in a brass bra. 25-50 mph winds on Sun, worse on Sat and Friday. No matter. Great fun! Skied on Head Supermagnum skies. OMFG. I want a pr. Too bad they're about 1k. Oh. It was 4F at the top of the mtn all three days. Oh well. Time to get back on the bike and get some serious miles in.

Did I mention that I hate the wind???

2008-03-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today was decent outside. 45ish, cloudy/partly sunny skies. Not too bad for March 12th. Or so I thought. Get the bibs on, socks, yada yada yada, do downstairs to put the shoes on and I hear the wind hammering the siding. Patio furniture blowing all over the place. I find out that those bastard trash idiots (again) haven't set the recyling bin upside down so the wind blows it, I find out later, about a 1/4 mile down the road. Sooooooo. I wimp out and ride the Johhny G for an eternity; 90 minutes. At least Colbert was on and a pretty decent stand up was on comedy central. FWIW-legs feel much better now. Not sure that would've been the case had I rode the fixie for 90 min or so in that wind.

Mebbe I'll be in better shape this yr.

2008-03-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Or mebbe I'll be dead. Moderate ride today, beautiful weather, pushed a little but not too much. Then, back at home I did plyo. I iz dead. Tomorrow I'm not doing a damn thing. FWIW-I've never been this fast this early before. Gptta get to some WC rides this yr and blow the cobwebs out.

End of weight training. yay!

2008-03-04T09:59:00.000-08:00

Started out to ride. As soon as I did, it started to rain. Bleh. I wussed out. Not in the mood to get cold and wet. So I did the spinning bike for an hr and started then plyo. Jeebus that kicks yer azz. I could really feel it in my legs. Then upstairs to do some pilates. Unfortunately, comcrap deep-sixed most of the pilates except the abs routine so I did that. It's brutal.