Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Forgive me Lord for I have bonked!
I didn’t bonk during a race. I didn’t bonk on the 4.5 hour cross bike ride with Careyluk’s on Sunday. I didn’t bonk last night on a thoroughly enjoyable ride under the redwoods by myself. No tales of having to bum quarters off of UCSC students in order to by coke at the vending machine on campus so I could make it home (this really happened!). Nope, I bonked out of my mind while sitting at my desk at work! I didn’t recognize what was happening at first. I got very crabby and snappy even more than my normal curmudgeonly self. I started to wonder if I was getting sick because I was feeling flu like expect for the hunger that was rising in me. Lunch finally rolled around and mouth full by mouth full I slowly revived myself. I’ve been riding an awful lot recently and even though I had a little bigger breakfast than normal, I guess it wasn’t enough!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday Cross Bike Ride
7 of us went for a cross bike ride last Sunday and it went like this: Nice warm up and then over to the tracks. KABLING! (the sound of a bad bunny hop over the rail), phsst, phsst, phsst. Flat number one. Back on the bikes we continue up tracks picking up the pace as we go. We're now flying when BANG, phsst, phsst, phsst. Flat number two. Back at it and we make 100 feet when KABOOM!, phssssssst! Flat number three. Riding once again we make it to the summer bridge, up a few run ups, up the fire road to the top of hill, do the long single track decent and finally back to the summer bridge and then back to the rail grade for the ride back to the U. KABLEWIE! Phsst, phsst, phsst. Flat tire number four. With all of the flats this ride is starting to take longer than some people’s hall passes will allow and they started bailing out. The fours of us left hit the little single track into the Pogonip and just as we exited flat number five hits. After fixing the last flat the rest of us threw in the towel, went back to Hwy 9 and rode home.
Two things were quite apparent after this ride: frame pumps absolutely rock and carry heaps of spare tubes until everybody remembers how to ride their cross bike again!
Two things were quite apparent after this ride: frame pumps absolutely rock and carry heaps of spare tubes until everybody remembers how to ride their cross bike again!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Alley Cat
David Gill and I were debating what to do last weekend and had decided to hit up CCCX mountain bike race #8 on Saturday, but on Wednesday we saw the ad for the alley cat race in Santa Cruz on the How to Avoid the Bummer Life website http://www.howtoavoidthebummerlife.com/weblog/archives/2007/06/bikes_and_stuff_about_other_st.html#more
and decided to try it instead. We then made a plan that we would do the Saturday morning road ride and go to coffee afterwards and then race back to my house and switch to cross bike and then go to the alley cat race. It was going according to plan until David called me Friday night and said he couldn't’t make the Sat. morning road ride, but would instead meet at my house and then we would go to the alley cat race. Upon hearing the news, Nancy promised to make me pancakes if I wouldn’t get up at the crack of dawn to go riding. I took the hint and slept in. After a late breakfast of eggs and toast (no milk=no pancakes) I went to my house and to meet David. David shows up in his kit smelling like he had just ridden for 2 hours. So asked him what was up. He informed me that his plans had changed and he went on the Sat. ride and had sent me an email at 11:00 the previous night to inform me. By looks of David I thought I had got the better end of the deal!
We rode down to the Bicycle Church on the end of Pacific Ave. Upon arrival I notice two things: 1. David and I appear to be much older than the 50 or so riders milling about. 2. We are the only ones deck out head to toe in lycra. We pay up and sign the release and receive the instructions/map. In no particular order we are to retrieve something from the Boardwalk to prove we were there, go over to the church located in the center of the circles on the Westside and pick up a spoke sitting in a bucket somewhere on the premises, go to Café Pergolesi and have the barista sign our card, go to the Goodwill near Harvey West and by a cup and utensils so you can eat and drink after the race (note: carrying around a glass in my jersey pocket gave me more incentive than normal on not to crash!). After Goodwill we were then supposed to head up the railroad tracks (avoiding north bound tourist train), up Fcon, Ucon, Blair Witch, Chinquapin, through the twin gates, over and down the Woodcutters Trail to Smith Grade, up Smith, down Empire, back into Grey Whale/ Wilder, down to the Eucalyptus grove, over to the Enchanted loop and finally finishing somewhere on Baldwin Loop. As you may have noticed, there was a lot of dirt in this alley cat and this is what appealed to David and me the most!
At the start, half of the herd lined up pointing in one direction and the half the other. Someone yelled go and I was not prepared for what followed: utter disregard for any rules of traffic right of ways! It was a free for all! I was even called a “pussy” for slowing down at a stop sign. With absolutely zero warm up the next thing that happened were my legs turning to cement! I struggled to keep up with David. Apparently his two hour warm up had done wonders for him! The whole urban portion of this race was a complete blur of dodging pedestrians, turistas, car and other cyclist. By the time we hit the train tracks, David had about 25 bike lengths on me and I was pedaling perfect squares. Even though I was feeling terrible, I did manage to pass a few people on the tracks. By the time I got to the top of the Ucon, I was sure I was going to chunder! I had no idea where D. Gill was or where I sat in the race, But I never saw another rider until Smith Grade where I was passed by three other racers. By the time I got to the top of Smith I was starting to feel human again. The decent down into Wilder was very high speed and I over cooked one corner and almost ended up in the forest! I arrived at the finish and counted 7 other riders. David was in second place, but over cooked a corner just before the end and was passed finishing in third. The guy who won was a messenger from S.F. and the guy in second rode a fixed gear! David and I both enjoyed this race a lot and after 3 very foamy beers (yep, somebody hauled a keg up the hill to a remote location in Wilder, plus a very large cooler and food!) we split.
We rode down to the Bicycle Church on the end of Pacific Ave. Upon arrival I notice two things: 1. David and I appear to be much older than the 50 or so riders milling about. 2. We are the only ones deck out head to toe in lycra. We pay up and sign the release and receive the instructions/map. In no particular order we are to retrieve something from the Boardwalk to prove we were there, go over to the church located in the center of the circles on the Westside and pick up a spoke sitting in a bucket somewhere on the premises, go to Café Pergolesi and have the barista sign our card, go to the Goodwill near Harvey West and by a cup and utensils so you can eat and drink after the race (note: carrying around a glass in my jersey pocket gave me more incentive than normal on not to crash!). After Goodwill we were then supposed to head up the railroad tracks (avoiding north bound tourist train), up Fcon, Ucon, Blair Witch, Chinquapin, through the twin gates, over and down the Woodcutters Trail to Smith Grade, up Smith, down Empire, back into Grey Whale/ Wilder, down to the Eucalyptus grove, over to the Enchanted loop and finally finishing somewhere on Baldwin Loop. As you may have noticed, there was a lot of dirt in this alley cat and this is what appealed to David and me the most!
At the start, half of the herd lined up pointing in one direction and the half the other. Someone yelled go and I was not prepared for what followed: utter disregard for any rules of traffic right of ways! It was a free for all! I was even called a “pussy” for slowing down at a stop sign. With absolutely zero warm up the next thing that happened were my legs turning to cement! I struggled to keep up with David. Apparently his two hour warm up had done wonders for him! The whole urban portion of this race was a complete blur of dodging pedestrians, turistas, car and other cyclist. By the time we hit the train tracks, David had about 25 bike lengths on me and I was pedaling perfect squares. Even though I was feeling terrible, I did manage to pass a few people on the tracks. By the time I got to the top of the Ucon, I was sure I was going to chunder! I had no idea where D. Gill was or where I sat in the race, But I never saw another rider until Smith Grade where I was passed by three other racers. By the time I got to the top of Smith I was starting to feel human again. The decent down into Wilder was very high speed and I over cooked one corner and almost ended up in the forest! I arrived at the finish and counted 7 other riders. David was in second place, but over cooked a corner just before the end and was passed finishing in third. The guy who won was a messenger from S.F. and the guy in second rode a fixed gear! David and I both enjoyed this race a lot and after 3 very foamy beers (yep, somebody hauled a keg up the hill to a remote location in Wilder, plus a very large cooler and food!) we split.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Stuff
Stuff
Somewhere around Monday Miss Nancy and I decided we would have to have a sushi fix on Friday night after work. Friday finally rolled around and we hopped on our bikes and rode downtown to our favorite sushi bar. We were both very hungry and didn’t care whether we were seated at a table or at the bar. We waited 10 minutes outside on the sidewalk and people watched, this is Santa Cruz after all! The bar open first and we were seated right at the corner of it. Our order showed up in record time and we dug in. A new couple sat down 90 degrees to my right and in one glance I decided that their last name had to be Stickupthebutt. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but these two had I’m really up tight written all over them. From Mrs. Stickupthebutt prim and proper absolutely bolt upright appearance to his immaculate clothing, very taunt facial skin and bludging forehead veins, these two looked like stoke victims in the making. I was ignoring them and concentrating myself on wasabi overdosing when I overheard them ordering. It was tight quarters and I wasn’t trying to ease drop, but after hearing what Mrs. Stickupthebutt ordered I could now understand their current predicament. Mrs. Stickupthebutt didn’t like sushi and was only there to placate Mr. Stickupthebutt appetite for raw fish which of course made them both up tighter. I also knew that the kitchen would never get Mrs. S order right. Just about the time of my 7th wasabi overdose their orders shows up and sure as shit her order is wrong. This caused an instant reaction from Mr. S and by the time we paid the check and were heading out the door. Mr. S had 3 of the wait staff and the manager of the place running in circles to cure the problem.
“Oh, for _uck sacks!” I thought to myself. “Would you go to Mc Donald to order sushi? We you go to your local rib joint and order a veggie burger? Would you go to the Thai restaurant and try and get roast beef?” I think not! “Then why in the hell would you put yourself in this position?” The only answer I could come up with is that is what the Stickupthebutt’s like!
The traffic around town last weekend was monumental. It started building around Wednesday and just got worse everyday. It seems everybody and their dog was graduating from something. If you weren’t riding a bike across town you weren’t going to get there very fast. I could feel the tension mounting with the motorist as we rode to sushi on Friday night. A.K. and Hoppy and I were riding back from the Sat. ride and had a couple of people hanging out of their windows of their cars screaming at us. We weren’t doing any wrong or obnoxious, people were just frustrated and or jealous. We has decided we needed a little extracurricular activity after the morning ride and our plan was to ride our road bikes up through the dirt at UCSC, over to Smith Grade and then back down to the coast and home. We hit the first stop sign on High St. and stopped and waited our turn and then keep going. There was an endless parade of cars going to campus for graduation and apparently we had pissed off another driver who had to punch the accelerator behind us and missed A.K. with her mirror by about an inch. She got her car up to about 45 before she had to hit the brakes and stop for the next stop sign 100 yards in front of us. We all had the same thought at once which was to chase her down, but instead we shook our heads and flipped her off. It reminded me of the song Racing To The Red Light.
Riding road bikes in the dirt is excellent training for cyclocross!
The Continental Divide Race has completely enthralled me! I had absolutely no idea how tuff this race is. The more I read the check in reports, review the maps and look at the pictures the more it makes my jaw drop!!! I cannot believe Rick Hunter is doing this race on a rigid bike!
Somewhere around Monday Miss Nancy and I decided we would have to have a sushi fix on Friday night after work. Friday finally rolled around and we hopped on our bikes and rode downtown to our favorite sushi bar. We were both very hungry and didn’t care whether we were seated at a table or at the bar. We waited 10 minutes outside on the sidewalk and people watched, this is Santa Cruz after all! The bar open first and we were seated right at the corner of it. Our order showed up in record time and we dug in. A new couple sat down 90 degrees to my right and in one glance I decided that their last name had to be Stickupthebutt. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but these two had I’m really up tight written all over them. From Mrs. Stickupthebutt prim and proper absolutely bolt upright appearance to his immaculate clothing, very taunt facial skin and bludging forehead veins, these two looked like stoke victims in the making. I was ignoring them and concentrating myself on wasabi overdosing when I overheard them ordering. It was tight quarters and I wasn’t trying to ease drop, but after hearing what Mrs. Stickupthebutt ordered I could now understand their current predicament. Mrs. Stickupthebutt didn’t like sushi and was only there to placate Mr. Stickupthebutt appetite for raw fish which of course made them both up tighter. I also knew that the kitchen would never get Mrs. S order right. Just about the time of my 7th wasabi overdose their orders shows up and sure as shit her order is wrong. This caused an instant reaction from Mr. S and by the time we paid the check and were heading out the door. Mr. S had 3 of the wait staff and the manager of the place running in circles to cure the problem.
“Oh, for _uck sacks!” I thought to myself. “Would you go to Mc Donald to order sushi? We you go to your local rib joint and order a veggie burger? Would you go to the Thai restaurant and try and get roast beef?” I think not! “Then why in the hell would you put yourself in this position?” The only answer I could come up with is that is what the Stickupthebutt’s like!
The traffic around town last weekend was monumental. It started building around Wednesday and just got worse everyday. It seems everybody and their dog was graduating from something. If you weren’t riding a bike across town you weren’t going to get there very fast. I could feel the tension mounting with the motorist as we rode to sushi on Friday night. A.K. and Hoppy and I were riding back from the Sat. ride and had a couple of people hanging out of their windows of their cars screaming at us. We weren’t doing any wrong or obnoxious, people were just frustrated and or jealous. We has decided we needed a little extracurricular activity after the morning ride and our plan was to ride our road bikes up through the dirt at UCSC, over to Smith Grade and then back down to the coast and home. We hit the first stop sign on High St. and stopped and waited our turn and then keep going. There was an endless parade of cars going to campus for graduation and apparently we had pissed off another driver who had to punch the accelerator behind us and missed A.K. with her mirror by about an inch. She got her car up to about 45 before she had to hit the brakes and stop for the next stop sign 100 yards in front of us. We all had the same thought at once which was to chase her down, but instead we shook our heads and flipped her off. It reminded me of the song Racing To The Red Light.
Riding road bikes in the dirt is excellent training for cyclocross!
The Continental Divide Race has completely enthralled me! I had absolutely no idea how tuff this race is. The more I read the check in reports, review the maps and look at the pictures the more it makes my jaw drop!!! I cannot believe Rick Hunter is doing this race on a rigid bike!
http://www.greatdividerace.com/
We had a great moto on Tuesday night. I felt very strong and could really push on the pedals. I also couldn’t put my wheels in the wrong place. That was until the end of the ride. I somehow managed to scrubbed most of my speed off at the end of this rock garden. This meant I lost the preferred high line and was shifted to the not so preferred low line. In a split second I realized it was going all wrong and ejected just as my bike stopped catapulting me over the bars. I was lucky enough to clear both of my feet over the handlebar and nailed the landing. Unfortunately the landing was sloped so my ass slammed into a rock. It didn’t really start hurting till a couple of days later and I got this really nice scab that runs from cheek to cheek. Just when you feel like superman the reality check hits!
We had a great moto on Tuesday night. I felt very strong and could really push on the pedals. I also couldn’t put my wheels in the wrong place. That was until the end of the ride. I somehow managed to scrubbed most of my speed off at the end of this rock garden. This meant I lost the preferred high line and was shifted to the not so preferred low line. In a split second I realized it was going all wrong and ejected just as my bike stopped catapulting me over the bars. I was lucky enough to clear both of my feet over the handlebar and nailed the landing. Unfortunately the landing was sloped so my ass slammed into a rock. It didn’t really start hurting till a couple of days later and I got this really nice scab that runs from cheek to cheek. Just when you feel like superman the reality check hits!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Hey, I own a cross bike!
Melinda and Cheeto at the S.C. crit.
I decided I needed a change. With the cyclocross season a mere 3 months away I changed my riding schedule. I blew off the Monday night road (race) ride in favor of something easier. The Monday night road ride was getting harder and harder to manage after a weekend of increased distances and work load. I decided I would go ride with the Bicycle Trip’s Monday night moto. Although mountain biking does beat you up more than road riding, I knew I could find someone in the group to ride mellow with. This seemed good in theory, except on this particular Monday the Bike Trip was having an all staff meeting after work. Bugger!
I decided on the way home that I would go for a cross bike ride by myself instead. After almost 5 months of racing and a Big Basin ride I had decided that I didn’t want to ride my cross bike ever again! So my cross bike hung in my garage for almost 4 months totally neglected and ignored. The mere fact that I wanted to ride my cross bike I took as a good sign!
Imagine to my surprise when I got home to find David Gill in my front yard feverishly working on his cross bike. I notice that he was installing one of my new road tire on his bike (remind me to change the combo to lock on my garage!).
Mike: “What are you doing?”
David: “I’m installing a road tires on my cross bike”
Mike: “Why?”
David: “So we can go road riding”
Mike: “Where’s your road bike?”
David: “At home; I couldn’t find my (road) shoes”
Mike: “But I’m not going road riding, I was going to ride my cross bike”
I decided on the way home that I would go for a cross bike ride by myself instead. After almost 5 months of racing and a Big Basin ride I had decided that I didn’t want to ride my cross bike ever again! So my cross bike hung in my garage for almost 4 months totally neglected and ignored. The mere fact that I wanted to ride my cross bike I took as a good sign!
Imagine to my surprise when I got home to find David Gill in my front yard feverishly working on his cross bike. I notice that he was installing one of my new road tire on his bike (remind me to change the combo to lock on my garage!).
Mike: “What are you doing?”
David: “I’m installing a road tires on my cross bike”
Mike: “Why?”
David: “So we can go road riding”
Mike: “Where’s your road bike?”
David: “At home; I couldn’t find my (road) shoes”
Mike: “But I’m not going road riding, I was going to ride my cross bike”
David then showed me his rear cross tire with a pinky sized hole in the side wall and the failed boot that had been jury rigged to get him home the last time he road the bike. I walked into the garage and grabbed a cross tire and handed it to David. I walked back into the garage and grabbed my cross bike from the rafters. It was then I noticed that I had a flat as well. I threw on my race spare wheel and we were off.
My cross bike which during the cyclocross season had become an extension of my body felt so wonderfully strange! It was almost like having a new bike. David and I headed up the train tracks, up Fcon and then up Ucon where at the top we ran into Mike Martin and Cheeto the wonder terrier. For those of you that don’t know Cheeto he has a wonderful life! He gets hauled up hill inside a backpack with his head poking out. Upon the arrival at the first single track or downhill, Cheeto is de-packed and set free. Cheeto is a single track machine! The twister it is the harder it is to keep up with him. When the trail straightens out and the mechanical advantages of gears overwhelm his 4” legs Cheeto will let you pass him if he is in the mood and If not, then it’s a fight to the next corner. Cheeto has done more drop/shuttle rides since he was a pup than most gravity junkies with 8” travel bikes will do in a life time!
So David, Mike, Cheeto and I wound and wove and zigzagged our way through loamy redwood forest singletrack behind the U. We then made our way down Mailboxes, bypassed over to Fence Line and then Down into the Poison Oak Forest. By the time we rode out of the ravine and onto Cow Pies, I was absolutely euphoric! I had truly forgotten how much fun it is to ride a drop bar cross bike in the dirt!!! This ride has got the fires burning again for the up coming cross season, but probably more important was having a kick ass ride with a couple of great friends appear out of nowhere!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Tunisian Doughnut
I just got done reading Hernando’s Blog about donuts http://vanderhoot.blogspot.com/ I had decided that all donuts are truly evil. Big boxes of them would magically appear twice a month or more at the office and I would do my absolute best to avoid them. All was going well with donut avoidance program until I was forced to have a bite of a Tunisian donut one night from the Crepe Place in S.C. With a little Nutella and fresh berries I think I have found heaven on a plate. Now I have no defense against this particular species of the donut family. The Tunisian donut made me reconsider my original thought on donuts and I have now decided that not all donuts are evil, just most of them!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Melges 24 Sailing
I spent all of last week racing sailboats in the Melges 24 World Championships here in Santa Cruz. We sucked! We had a terribly hard time with our setup and were pretty slow as compared to everyone else and didn’t really get it together until the last 2 days. On the last day of the event it was all on as the wind was gusting to 35mph. It was pure survival conditions! 19 of the 58 boats that started didn't finish. 5 boats dropped their mast and there were many other equipment failures as well. We had just set our spinnaker at the weather mark and had taken off on a wave when a massive gust of wind hit us from behind, popped our spin. halyard out of the cleat, released 10 to 15 feet of that halyard, re-cleated itself causing the core of the halyard to strip from the cover. What this all means is that we crashed in a most violent way. As we were lying on our sides with the mast in the water trying to recover, our mast and rig were being flogged unmercifully by the wind. I thought for
sure we were going to lose our rig! After 2 or 3 minutes on our side, we were finally able to take the spinnaker down. All four of us really wanted to reset the spinnaker (there is no better way to drain your adrenal gland while planning at almost 20 knots in a 24 foot boat in 30 plus knots of wind and 10 foot seas), but we were afraid the spinnaker halyard had been damage to the point that we could reset the spinnaker, but it might be impossible to get it down. While we debated this fact we were still planning while going down wind with just the main and jib alone. There was a boat next to us when suddenly the driver does a back flip out of the boat and into the water. We without debate or hesitation went into rescue mode. We furled the jib sailed over to swimmer and did a text book rescue. It was like we had practice this maneuver for weeks. The guy who churned out to be French wasn’t in the water for more than 1 minute! When then tried to hail the Race Committee on our handheld VHF to inform them on what had happened, but our power must have been low as we could hear them, but they couldn’t hear us. To make a long story short, we were able to put the French fellow back on his boat after a hairy sailboat to sailboat transfer. We decided enough was enough and headed to the harbor. T
he conditions were so brutal that the Race Committee abandoned the last race and the regatta was over. We didn’t place that well in the overall results, but all four of us had a really great time!
sure we were going to lose our rig! After 2 or 3 minutes on our side, we were finally able to take the spinnaker down. All four of us really wanted to reset the spinnaker (there is no better way to drain your adrenal gland while planning at almost 20 knots in a 24 foot boat in 30 plus knots of wind and 10 foot seas), but we were afraid the spinnaker halyard had been damage to the point that we could reset the spinnaker, but it might be impossible to get it down. While we debated this fact we were still planning while going down wind with just the main and jib alone. There was a boat next to us when suddenly the driver does a back flip out of the boat and into the water. We without debate or hesitation went into rescue mode. We furled the jib sailed over to swimmer and did a text book rescue. It was like we had practice this maneuver for weeks. The guy who churned out to be French wasn’t in the water for more than 1 minute! When then tried to hail the Race Committee on our handheld VHF to inform them on what had happened, but our power must have been low as we could hear them, but they couldn’t hear us. To make a long story short, we were able to put the French fellow back on his boat after a hairy sailboat to sailboat transfer. We decided enough was enough and headed to the harbor. T
he conditions were so brutal that the Race Committee abandoned the last race and the regatta was over. We didn’t place that well in the overall results, but all four of us had a really great time!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Birthday Moto
I got old (#46) again and in honor of the occasion Shauna P. arranged a birthday moto for me. 16 of us hit trail and zigzagged up through the U to the Outback were Shauna pulled a bottle of champagne out of her camelback. Most of us had a big swig or two. David Gill and Simone suddenly appeared with a cooler filled with beer. We had a few more sips and swigs before we were forced to leave as we all started to freeze being it was a cool day and we were sweaty from the climb. On the little climb leaving the trials area at Outback, I suddenly realized that my motor skills had been jeopardized by the alcohol. It wasn’t that I consumed a lot, but rather the fact that I had just spent an hour climbing and my metabolism was rather cranked up. This became even more apparent once the trail pointed down. I was missing apexes, barely missing trees, sliding all over the place and generally on the verge of being completely out of control! By the time we reached Mailboxes most of my motor skills had returned. I must have been feeling a little braver than normal though as I launched everything that I came across my path and went faster down this trail that I ever has before! It was a great ride with a great bunch of friends and certainly makes getting older once a year worth it!
This is not Cytomax
Your turn.
This is not Cytomax
Nice socks!
Barney from the U.K. listens while I tell lies to Juliana!
Your turn.
The crew.
Monday, March 26, 2007
10 hours
I did a couple of rides this weekend that totaled 10 hours exactly with no pain! Well, actually no pain from my injured hamstring, but as I write this I’m very sore and tired!
The first ride on Saturday was a long road ride with the Rock Lobster team. We started a Toro Park across from Laguna Seca on Hwy 68 and then rode down the Salinas Valley on River Rd, rolled up and down on Arroyo Seco Rd., had a pit stop in the middle of nowhere at a tiny country store, up and over the first climb of the day (2400’), down the Carmel Valley into a head wind, stopped in Carmel Valley Village for another pit stop, up the dreaded Laureles Grade and finally down Hwy 68 back to El Toro Park. It was 87 miles long and almost 5000’ of climbing (almost the exact same numbers as a Flamingo ride). This was absolutely a fantastic ride with great bunch of people. I cramped pretty hard going Laureles Grade and had to get off of my bike to unlock, but other than that it was amazingly beautiful ride and roads that I had never ridden on.
The second ride on Sunday was a moto up to and around and down Ursula Mnt, up to the U and then down Mailboxes with Careyluks, X-Terra Matt, Margarita Dave, Gerry-Gerry and Gerry and Shauna P. I was super tired at the beginning of this ride, but about half of the way through, I started feeling much better. In fact, after 3 hours of fun I almost went for another lap with Careyluk and X-Terra Matt as I was in a large state of euphoria from the descent, but knew I had to get home to see Nancy. This was the smartest decision I made all weekend because by the time I got home and showered and feed myself it suddenly felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and I realized just how tired and cranky I was!!
Here are some pictures of the fun:
The first ride on Saturday was a long road ride with the Rock Lobster team. We started a Toro Park across from Laguna Seca on Hwy 68 and then rode down the Salinas Valley on River Rd, rolled up and down on Arroyo Seco Rd., had a pit stop in the middle of nowhere at a tiny country store, up and over the first climb of the day (2400’), down the Carmel Valley into a head wind, stopped in Carmel Valley Village for another pit stop, up the dreaded Laureles Grade and finally down Hwy 68 back to El Toro Park. It was 87 miles long and almost 5000’ of climbing (almost the exact same numbers as a Flamingo ride). This was absolutely a fantastic ride with great bunch of people. I cramped pretty hard going Laureles Grade and had to get off of my bike to unlock, but other than that it was amazingly beautiful ride and roads that I had never ridden on.
The second ride on Sunday was a moto up to and around and down Ursula Mnt, up to the U and then down Mailboxes with Careyluks, X-Terra Matt, Margarita Dave, Gerry-Gerry and Gerry and Shauna P. I was super tired at the beginning of this ride, but about half of the way through, I started feeling much better. In fact, after 3 hours of fun I almost went for another lap with Careyluk and X-Terra Matt as I was in a large state of euphoria from the descent, but knew I had to get home to see Nancy. This was the smartest decision I made all weekend because by the time I got home and showered and feed myself it suddenly felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and I realized just how tired and cranky I was!!
Here are some pictures of the fun:
Everybody was very chipper in the morning including young Max.
Our little peloton.
It was great to see David Gill back on the bike after a lengthy back injury
California in the spring time and top of the first climb.
The last pit stop around mile 70. Max is about to devour a whole bag of Goldfish crackers!Thursday, March 15, 2007
OTB
OFF THE BACK
For the last month and a half i haven't blogged, so here's a random collection of events and thoughts
Last Decemb
er while on a mountain bike ride with Team Careyluk, other friends and teammates I crashed going over a log that I have rode over 100 times before. It was near the end of the ride and I was fatigued. The split second while I was in the air, after going over the bars, my hamstring cramped and I landed awkwardly. It felt like I slightly pulled my hamstring, but it was nothing serious and I dusted myself off and keep riding; no worries. A week later while on a night moto, I felt a weird tinge where my hamstring connects to my ass. This "tinge" steadily became worse and after 4 more cross races, a Big Basin cross bike ride and the first Flamingo of the year I came to the realization that this constant pain was not going away and I decided to pull the plug; I would take the rest of the month off. It was a combination of this injury and complete burnout from the long cross season that made this decision easy to follow. It certainly wasn't because I suddenly learned to listen to my body! I went and got some stim, massage and manipulation. I made love to the dreaded ice bag and tried to hatch the heating pad. March rolled around and I started riding in earnest again. The pain was almost gone while riding, which is a huge improvement, but there is still something there. I promised myself that I wouldn't sprint or do all out efforts uphill while standing as this seems to agitate the injury. This has been particularly difficult during group road rides! It's very difficult not to join in the "reindeer games" that happen before the city limit and other sprint signs!! This business of growing older and taking forever for things to heal or recuperate is wearing thin on me because it makes me feel like a whiny baby!
er while on a mountain bike ride with Team Careyluk, other friends and teammates I crashed going over a log that I have rode over 100 times before. It was near the end of the ride and I was fatigued. The split second while I was in the air, after going over the bars, my hamstring cramped and I landed awkwardly. It felt like I slightly pulled my hamstring, but it was nothing serious and I dusted myself off and keep riding; no worries. A week later while on a night moto, I felt a weird tinge where my hamstring connects to my ass. This "tinge" steadily became worse and after 4 more cross races, a Big Basin cross bike ride and the first Flamingo of the year I came to the realization that this constant pain was not going away and I decided to pull the plug; I would take the rest of the month off. It was a combination of this injury and complete burnout from the long cross season that made this decision easy to follow. It certainly wasn't because I suddenly learned to listen to my body! I went and got some stim, massage and manipulation. I made love to the dreaded ice bag and tried to hatch the heating pad. March rolled around and I started riding in earnest again. The pain was almost gone while riding, which is a huge improvement, but there is still something there. I promised myself that I wouldn't sprint or do all out efforts uphill while standing as this seems to agitate the injury. This has been particularly difficult during group road rides! It's very difficult not to join in the "reindeer games" that happen before the city limit and other sprint signs!! This business of growing older and taking forever for things to heal or recuperate is wearing thin on me because it makes me feel like a whiny baby! One of my best friends became very sick. Bosco P. Manx, my faithful cat for t
he last 15 years became very ill. Bosco was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. Besides having it come out of both ends (much to the chagrin of my dress shoes!), Bosco dammed near withered away to nothing. It got to the point that I had to hand feed him turkey from the butcher as he would touch anything else, not even his beloved tuna! Bosco is on drugs now and is doing better, but I fear that he is on borrowed time.
he last 15 years became very ill. Bosco was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease. Besides having it come out of both ends (much to the chagrin of my dress shoes!), Bosco dammed near withered away to nothing. It got to the point that I had to hand feed him turkey from the butcher as he would touch anything else, not even his beloved tuna! Bosco is on drugs now and is doing better, but I fear that he is on borrowed time.My girlfri
end Nancy bought a house and moved from a mega termite infested mansion next to the beach to a tiny little house in the Seabright area. I never knew one person could have so much stuff! I'm not much of a plant person so I never noticed that all of the outdoor plants at the termite mansion were in pots. Nancy knew she would eventually move and never put anything into the ground. After filling the tiny new house to the rafters, it was time to move the plants, lots of plants! Here's a picture of Nancy arranging the last of many loads. After the moving was done, then came the task of putting everything in it's place. Nancy soon realized how small her new house is as it became apparent that not everything would fit, but with typical Teutonic efficiency she arrange everything by there importance: used a lot, used sometimes and garage sale. Judging by the ever growing pile in the garage, there's going to be one hell of a garage sale this spring!
end Nancy bought a house and moved from a mega termite infested mansion next to the beach to a tiny little house in the Seabright area. I never knew one person could have so much stuff! I'm not much of a plant person so I never noticed that all of the outdoor plants at the termite mansion were in pots. Nancy knew she would eventually move and never put anything into the ground. After filling the tiny new house to the rafters, it was time to move the plants, lots of plants! Here's a picture of Nancy arranging the last of many loads. After the moving was done, then came the task of putting everything in it's place. Nancy soon realized how small her new house is as it became apparent that not everything would fit, but with typical Teutonic efficiency she arrange everything by there importance: used a lot, used sometimes and garage sale. Judging by the ever growing pile in the garage, there's going to be one hell of a garage sale this spring!What in the world has this guy done to the media for them to completely ignore him during the
Tour of California? Didn't Priority Health or Bissel buy enough air time? Ben has had a great run for the last couple of months. It proves that clean hard work can take you to the top!For the last couple
of months work has been very hectic. This picture sums it well, but unfortunately I'm the chicken!I'm actually a much better sailor than I am a bike racer. I have been
fortunate to sail with some of the best teams around and have won some very big regattas, long distant races, set course records and have won a couple of national championships along the way, but I must admit that my stoke for the local sailing scene had dwindled to the point that I hadn't step foot on a boat in several months. Along with daylight savings change came Wednesday night sailing (race) in Santa Cruz. The Wednesday night race is not officially sanctioned and it’s commonly referred to as a “beer can race” There is no race commit
tee keeping track of the starts and finishes and certainly there are no results posted. It kind of like your local Saturday ride in that it's usually contested pretty hard and there certainly are rivalries that develop with your peers and maybe mentally you may keep track of who won the sprint and who dropped who. It’s the same deal with sailing in Santa Cruz on Wednesdays. I went sailing for the first two Wednesdays nights of the year and had a blast! For the last couple of months some friends have been trying to convince me to race in the Melges 24 World Championships in Santa Cruz in May. I kept telling them I didn’t want to sail, but they were very persistent. In light of the last couple of Wednesday night races the next time they asked me to race I agreed. I came to a couple conclusions before agreeing to go: 1. There’s a world championship happening in my backyard and I should stop
being so grumpy and go. 2. We don’t have a snowball chance in hell to win and in fact a top 20 placing would be great and a top 10 placing would be a miracle! In sailing I’m hypercompetitive, so instead going out with super high expectations, I’m going to go racing with a bunch of good, old (avg. age on the boat is around 48) friends and enjoy the ride! The picture above is the boat I'll be racing on. If you say the name real fast you'll understand!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tom Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle is my favorite political cartoonist. I love his drawing style and I find him to be very funny and pointed. Here are a couple of my favorites:
FDA's new guideline for eating
FDA's new guideline for eating
just before the election
during last year's Tour de France
High stakes poker?
It makes sense now
for more got to: http://www.sfgate.com/comics/meyer/
Monday, February 05, 2007
Flamingo'ed
I got “Flamingo'ed” yesterday. The first part of the ride went well, but after we left the fire station on Skyline my legs started to cramp and I was dropped before Alpine. I rode in the groupetto and until we reached Cloverdale Rd. While the rest of the group headed to Pescadero for lunch, I hung a left onto Cloverdale Rd. and continued on by myself. I ate a sandwich on the fly and prayed that my legs wouldn’t fully lock up. My prayer went unanswered as I hit the tiny hill where big wide open Cloverdale Rd. turns into narrow Cloverdale Rd., my legs completely cramped to the point that I could not pedal anymore. I got off the bike and hobbled to the top of the hill. After a couple of minutes my legs finally released and I plopped down into the dirt. 
Good God, even though I was having a tuff time, it truly was a beautiful day! I sucked down some Cliff Shot and drank a bunch of water and enjoyed the vista. I hopped back onto my bike and continued on. Every hill I encounter put me on the verge of cramping and I was in my own personal world of hurt! I couldn’t pedal hard enough to make all of the little aches and pains go away! I swear time started to expand. By the time I reached Scotts Creek I was starting to feel a bit better, but I had to stop in Davenport for some water.
I’m back on the bike minding my own business when suddenly, right around the red white & blue mailbox, a car is pacing me. I look over and it’s Team Santa Cruz’s Commandant David Gill. David pulls ahead and then pulls over. I stop and we shoot the breeze. A couple of minutes later the rest of the ride flies buy! David and I pull out and David motor paces me almost back to the group, but traffic forces him away just before contact is made. For the next mile I give chase, but the gap hovers right around 50 meters and I just can’t close it. The group hits the Dimeo Lane hill and I can see Aaron Kereluk pull around and attach. I watch as the group splinters into 3 pieces before me. I stop chasing around Wilder and cruise in. I hear later that the sprint was chaotic as somebody flatted just as everybody started their kick for the city limit sign! I haven’t cramped like this in a long time and I hope it will be a long time before it happens again!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Big Bonk
This last weekend was the end of the 06/07 cyclocross season, a season that for me began on September 13th with first DFL race in Golden Gate Park (where David Gill beat me and the rest of the Team Santa Cruz crew). 20 races later the last Peak Season race was upon us and I greeted it with mixed feelings. On one hand it’s been a bloody long season! Getting up long before the sun comes up and loading the van with all of the team equipment, filling bottles (over 300 for the season), loading Tyrant JG, Supreme Justice, Race Director, Team Field Marshal and Dictator-for-Life David Gill into the van, driving to the venue and then setting up and breaking down the team compound had gotten old. The fact that our Team put on the last 3 races made for exceptionally long days/weekends and added to my fatigue.
loading Dave and the van.
On the other hand I love to race cyclocross and love to go to cyclocross races!! I will never be the fastest, probably never win a race, but I don’t think it’s about that. It’s the comeraderie and the relaxed atmosphere that permeates the venues that sets it apart. Where else but cyclocross race can you have total strangers cheering you on, offer you a bottle when you really need it and let you use their spare wheel? You can ask virtually any rider of higher skill a question about technique or setup and they will be more than happy to talk to you about it. What other form of racing will the pros say thank you on the way by for moving your sorry, slow-as-molasses, about-to-be-lapped butt off the good line to allow them an easy pass? For me personally this has never happened at a road race, crit or even a mountain bike race.
Not to say that all things are roses in the NorCal cross world. There were elbows and fists thrown at some of the beginning classes at the Pilarcitos Series, where the fields were very large, and even one incident of an older rider knocking down a junior on purpose (that guy should be keelhauled!!!), but generally, the Women & Men in the Elite & Master A & Singlespeeder categories show the utmost sportsmanship and set a fine example for everybody. If you race in the morning in the beginning classes and don’t hang out at the venue for the rest of the day, you are surely short-changing yourself an entertaining learning experience. It is perhaps this sportsmanship and spirit that will make the next seven months seem ever so long before the next cx season begins.
Race Report: Peak Season III, Relay Race and final race of the season.
Relay Race:
I was somehow conned into doing the relay race by some of my teammates at the last second. What this meant for me was no warm up! I started the beginning of the season at DFL #1 in Golden Gate Park without a warm up and might as well end it the same way. The usual chaos ensued for the relay, but by the time I was supposed to ride in the anchor position (4th), the race appeared to be running pretty smooth. Teammate Katie London completed her lap and we slapped hands like tag team wrestlers indicating it was my turn to do a lap. Everybody who was racing on a bike with gears had to remove their rear wheel and leave it on the ground. After high fiving their teammates for the exchange they would have to install the rear wheel before they could take off for their lap. Other people, including myself, on singlespeeds could not easily remove our rear wheels and consequently had to run 50 meters to a tree and back as a penalty. At the exact moment that Katie and I slapped hands, so did arch-rival and good friend Stella Carey slap hands with her teammate. Game On!! I beat her in the run to the tree and back and was on my bike first with Stella in hot pursuit! It didn’t take long for her to pass me as I just wasn’t feeling right. By the time I exited the long pig barn, Stella had a pretty big gap on me. As we hit the off camber side hill into the double off chamber chicane I was back on her butt, but when we hit the flat road she pulled away again. She had a bobble at the single barrier on top of the little hill and I again was right on her tail. As we hit the downhill grass section I seem to go into a fog and prepared to turn right toward the corral when suddenly, Stella turns left. Geez, I felt stupid! After all, I helped build this section of the course and put the gate in so we could shorten the course for the relay race. This would not be the last time that I would forget where I was going.
Having fun with Stella!
Stella ended up beating me by about 3 seconds, but afterwards I felt absolutely like _hit!!! “Going as hard as you can for 3.5minutes without a warm up was stupid” I kept telling myself. I was looking for excuses for feeling so bad. After riding around for a bit, I went back to the pits to get ready for my second lap, of which I cannot recall much.
Singlespeed race (21st cx race of the year):
I barely had time to get my singlespeed number pinned on and pop a Clif Shot before it was time to race. The whistle blew and I got the holeshot going into the first turn. Except for one major thing; I forgot the turn was there! _hit, _hit and triple _hit!!! By the time I realized my error it was to late to turn in and I ended up on the wrong side of the tape. I was told later, after the race, that this maneuver caused chaos behind me as riders were lining up on my wheel for the turn. The only thing I can remember for the next two laps was being passed and then re-passing and then being passed again by Dorothy Wong, Andi Mackie, Kathleen Bortolussi and teammates Katie London and Daniel Henderson. Believe it or not, I missed the corner at the end of the straight away again!!!!! Somewhere in there I bonked so hard that I left my body, and in retrospect I’m quite sure I was bonking long before the race started. For the next five laps I rode around in a semi catatonic state. About all I can recall is that I developed a fan club at the end of the start/finish straightaway and every time I would approach the corner they would yell in unison “RIGHT TURN” to ensure no more mishaps. What a swell bunch of folks!
After the race was over I staggered around a bit and then collapsed in van for 15 minutes or so. I made myself get up and popped a Clif Shot, drank two bottles of Cytomax, ate a Clif Bar and had a beer; in 20 minutes I feeling human again! We then broke down and cleaned the course and then dropped all of the equipment off at Jeff’s house. By the time I got home it was 19:00 and I had been going full speed for 15.5 hours. On the way to the shower I hopped on the scale and to my amazement I had dropped 5lbs. I then went over to Nancy’s house for dinner and, incredibly, she cooked marinated tri tip, potatoes au gratin and had made a huge salad. After consuming a huge portion of food and a couple of glasses of wine, I was one happy camper!!
The next morning I hit the scale on the way to the shower and much to my shock, I hadn’t gained an ounce from the night before! This caused me to give this predicament a good ponder while showering and I came to the conclusion that in the 3 chaotic days leading to the race I had basically stopped eating (enough) food. I guess I had allowed myself to get a little wound up about the last race of the season. All day Monday the only thing I could think of was food!
Singlespeed podium
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Day After
I had a grand cross bike ride on Sunday with a bunch of friendly boys and girls: 6.5 hour total time with 6000+ feet of climbing (sometimes walking) in 65 miles. The mellow mood of the crew and an awe inspiring view of Ano Nuevo Island from the top of Chalk Mnt. (I forgot my camera) made all of the pain and cramping on the way home well worth it! Consequently, the pull of gravity felt much stronger on Monday morning and I felt very lethargic! I was having a debate with myself on whether I wanted to go on a lunch ride or not. A visual inspection through the office window and a quick check on the outside temperature via the web confirmed it was the first nice weekday in awhile. So I girded my loins, suited up and stepped out the office door. It was indeed a beautiful day! I was riding along the bike path next to the Uvas Creek which is flat as a pancake and is great for spinning the old legs out. I also particularly like riding the path for 2 reasons: 1. I don’t entirely trust the drivers here in Garlic Town. 2. The rednecks out here haven’t chucked bottles of beer out the window onto the path (yet). I have never ridden in a town with so much glass and or debris on the side of the road (there is nothing more irritating than getting a flat during the lunch ride!). The sun is shining, the music in my ears is kicking and most of my friends may not believe this, but I have a big smile on my face! I come upon a 20 something couple walking on the path with a tiny grey puppy. Just as I swing to the left to pass them the girl kicks the puppy soccer style causing the puppy to somersault 4 or 5 times!!!! I think I audible moaned. I wanted to turn around and scream at them, but I kept on riding. As what I had just seen rewound over and over in my head, sun didn’t seem as bright anymore, the music in my ears was dull and my smile was gone. All I could think and or wish is that people like this don’t breed!
I had a grand cross bike ride on Sunday with a bunch of friendly boys and girls: 6.5 hour total time with 6000+ feet of climbing (sometimes walking) in 65 miles. The mellow mood of the crew and an awe inspiring view of Ano Nuevo Island from the top of Chalk Mnt. (I forgot my camera) made all of the pain and cramping on the way home well worth it! Consequently, the pull of gravity felt much stronger on Monday morning and I felt very lethargic! I was having a debate with myself on whether I wanted to go on a lunch ride or not. A visual inspection through the office window and a quick check on the outside temperature via the web confirmed it was the first nice weekday in awhile. So I girded my loins, suited up and stepped out the office door. It was indeed a beautiful day! I was riding along the bike path next to the Uvas Creek which is flat as a pancake and is great for spinning the old legs out. I also particularly like riding the path for 2 reasons: 1. I don’t entirely trust the drivers here in Garlic Town. 2. The rednecks out here haven’t chucked bottles of beer out the window onto the path (yet). I have never ridden in a town with so much glass and or debris on the side of the road (there is nothing more irritating than getting a flat during the lunch ride!). The sun is shining, the music in my ears is kicking and most of my friends may not believe this, but I have a big smile on my face! I come upon a 20 something couple walking on the path with a tiny grey puppy. Just as I swing to the left to pass them the girl kicks the puppy soccer style causing the puppy to somersault 4 or 5 times!!!! I think I audible moaned. I wanted to turn around and scream at them, but I kept on riding. As what I had just seen rewound over and over in my head, sun didn’t seem as bright anymore, the music in my ears was dull and my smile was gone. All I could think and or wish is that people like this don’t breed!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Peak Season #2 01/14/07
I wasn’t feeling all that chipper before the start of my race. During my warm up I couldn’t tell if I was feeling good or bad, but I was feeling very lackadaisical. The Elite Men and Singlespeed classes would start together and managed to slot myself right in the middle of the first row. There was a very long paved straightaway that lead to a right turn onto the dirt. I managed to get the holeshot! I didn’t think this was possible on a singlespeed as the straightaway was so long I thought the geared riders would have smoked past me. I must have looked like a sewing machine at full rpm!
A couple of corners later I was passed by my own bike! Actually, a guy visiting from Ireland borrowed my geared bike to race on. As we hit the race car track I pulled to the right and let a gang of riders buy. I didn’t want to go so hard that I would immediately blow up. I could see teammates Mike Martin and Erik Thunstrom along with some other guy I didn’t recognize, who were all on singlespeeds behind me. I rode moderate tempo until they caught me, but by then, I felt recovered from my initial effort. The rest of the first lap was uneventful.
As we went pass the scoring area/finish line Mike M. who was at front sat up, so I threw an acceleration in to see what would happen. It had no real effect, but it did tell me that I was feeling exceptionally well! By the time we hit the zigzag through the barns, I was riding steady tempo at the front. The next thing I knew Mike M. throws down an attack and on the way buy throws me an elbow! My own teammate throwing me a bow!? His attack did nothing to shake us up. When we hit the climb out of the lower section of the fairgrounds to the top near the parking lot, I went to the front and set a hard tempo. When we reached the top of the climb I looked back and found only Erik on my wheel. The guy I didn’t recognize was long gone and Mike M. had popped. During the next lap I talked to Erik and told him since he was ahead on points, I would work for him and wouldn’t sprint him for the finish.
For the next couple laps we traded pulls, but we couldn’t bring the rider in front of us back. It was kind of bummer that Mike M. blew as I think the 3 of us working together could have brought the rider in front back. The cool thing about this course was it had plenty of places to take visual checks on the riders in front and behind. We kept gaining on Mike M. until we couldn’t see him any more, but suddenly a new rider appeared behind us! I was convinced it was the singlespeeder we had dropped earlier. I started getting paranoid about getting caught from behind as this usually seems to happen to me when a race! Erik and I made a plan on what to do if it happened. Suddenly Pat Schott appeared behind us. He rapidly passed the rider behind us and was making large gains on us.
Going into the last lap Pat had almost closed the gap to us and was ready to lap us and the guy behind him had taken a huge chunk out of us. This certainly increased my paranoia, so I went to the front and started to give it all I had left! Pat caught us half way through zigzag in the barn and I hoped onto his wheel. We started up the hill on Pat’s wheel and about half the way up Pat slowed a bit so I came around to take a pull. In the process I gaped Pat and dropped Erik. Dooh! Pat came back around me and I soft pedaled behind him while waiting for Erik. Pat rode away and Erik finally caught up to me on the finish line straightaway and I let him pass so he could score extra points. All of the paranoia I suffered on the last to laps was unfounded as the rider in question behind us was in the Elite Men class and not the Singlespeed class.
This was most certainly my best race of the year. I felt very strong and didn’t blow once. I have absolutely no idea why I felt so good. I did nothing unusual in the days leading up to the race. I had a lot of fun riding with Erik and he was very stoked to have someone work for him. 17 races down and one to go!
I wasn’t feeling all that chipper before the start of my race. During my warm up I couldn’t tell if I was feeling good or bad, but I was feeling very lackadaisical. The Elite Men and Singlespeed classes would start together and managed to slot myself right in the middle of the first row. There was a very long paved straightaway that lead to a right turn onto the dirt. I managed to get the holeshot! I didn’t think this was possible on a singlespeed as the straightaway was so long I thought the geared riders would have smoked past me. I must have looked like a sewing machine at full rpm!
A couple of corners later I was passed by my own bike! Actually, a guy visiting from Ireland borrowed my geared bike to race on. As we hit the race car track I pulled to the right and let a gang of riders buy. I didn’t want to go so hard that I would immediately blow up. I could see teammates Mike Martin and Erik Thunstrom along with some other guy I didn’t recognize, who were all on singlespeeds behind me. I rode moderate tempo until they caught me, but by then, I felt recovered from my initial effort. The rest of the first lap was uneventful.
As we went pass the scoring area/finish line Mike M. who was at front sat up, so I threw an acceleration in to see what would happen. It had no real effect, but it did tell me that I was feeling exceptionally well! By the time we hit the zigzag through the barns, I was riding steady tempo at the front. The next thing I knew Mike M. throws down an attack and on the way buy throws me an elbow! My own teammate throwing me a bow!? His attack did nothing to shake us up. When we hit the climb out of the lower section of the fairgrounds to the top near the parking lot, I went to the front and set a hard tempo. When we reached the top of the climb I looked back and found only Erik on my wheel. The guy I didn’t recognize was long gone and Mike M. had popped. During the next lap I talked to Erik and told him since he was ahead on points, I would work for him and wouldn’t sprint him for the finish.
For the next couple laps we traded pulls, but we couldn’t bring the rider in front of us back. It was kind of bummer that Mike M. blew as I think the 3 of us working together could have brought the rider in front back. The cool thing about this course was it had plenty of places to take visual checks on the riders in front and behind. We kept gaining on Mike M. until we couldn’t see him any more, but suddenly a new rider appeared behind us! I was convinced it was the singlespeeder we had dropped earlier. I started getting paranoid about getting caught from behind as this usually seems to happen to me when a race! Erik and I made a plan on what to do if it happened. Suddenly Pat Schott appeared behind us. He rapidly passed the rider behind us and was making large gains on us.
Going into the last lap Pat had almost closed the gap to us and was ready to lap us and the guy behind him had taken a huge chunk out of us. This certainly increased my paranoia, so I went to the front and started to give it all I had left! Pat caught us half way through zigzag in the barn and I hoped onto his wheel. We started up the hill on Pat’s wheel and about half the way up Pat slowed a bit so I came around to take a pull. In the process I gaped Pat and dropped Erik. Dooh! Pat came back around me and I soft pedaled behind him while waiting for Erik. Pat rode away and Erik finally caught up to me on the finish line straightaway and I let him pass so he could score extra points. All of the paranoia I suffered on the last to laps was unfounded as the rider in question behind us was in the Elite Men class and not the Singlespeed class.
This was most certainly my best race of the year. I felt very strong and didn’t blow once. I have absolutely no idea why I felt so good. I did nothing unusual in the days leading up to the race. I had a lot of fun riding with Erik and he was very stoked to have someone work for him. 17 races down and one to go!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Preface:
Usual morning drill: Get up at the crack of darkness, load van, wait for Supreme Justice, Race Director, Team Field Marshal and Dictator-for-Life David Gill, load David into the van and drive to Coffeetopia for liquid stimulates. The drive was very pleasant, but not because of David’s company; it just happen to be a very beautiful morning!
The Course:
Instead of racing in the usual spot at the East Garrison of the old Fort Ord, we were racing at the old campground section where they usually hold the CCCX mountain bike series. This could only mean one thing, lots of elevation change! This certainly was not your typical cross course. There was heaps of high speed singletrack, a blazing fast paved downhill section, and lots of low speed turns, barriers, and two little logs that you could bunny hop and one big one that you could not. The big story though was the climbing. I can’t ever remember racing a cross course that climbed so much. The climb started before the finish line and was broken up by a little run up with a rideable steep climb directly afterwards that led to a false flat double track to a set of double barriers at the very top of the hill.
Race # 1
Master A 45+:
What a disaster! I had a bad start and was pinched off twice causing me to lose a lot of places and all of my momentum. I then somehow managed to kick my left side rear brake arm on the remount at the top of the course and knocked the retaining spring off of its perch. I stopped and tried to fix it, but to no avail. It never occurred to me to in my anaerobic state unhook my brake cable; instead I rode 2/3 of a lap with the left side brake pad jammed against the rim. UGH! I saw teammate Karen Kefauver and asked her to have my singlespeed ready for a bike change. She made it to the pits before I did and the exchange was made. I rode my singlespeed for half of a lap and was meet by Supreme Justice, Race Director, Team Field Marshal and Dictator-for-Life David Gill in the feed zone where we did another change back to my original bike. After a couple of laps on my geared bike I was feeling very sloth like. I figured I was having a really bad day and put it on cruise control and finished the race. It wasn’t until I loaded the bike into the van at the end of the day that I realized that with even the retaining spring in the proper position, the brake pad was still rubbing the rim. I finished the race in last place and ended 7th overall for the series (I tied for 6th, but lost the tie breaker).
Race #2
Singlespeed:
After the long uphill at the start of the race, I ended up behind a rider who I will call “the Kid”. The Kid and I were the tail end of a lone pack of riders as we snaked down the singletrack. The Kid was having a very hard time staying on course. By the time we reentered the dirt after the long paved section, there was a small gap between us and teammate Eric Thunstrom and Tim of Buy-Cell. The Kid was sliding all over the place and buy the time we hit the dirt straight away next to the parking lot I got pass him. As I passed the Kid he made some discouraging remark (smack) to me. The Kid re-passed me in the next corner, but I was not concerned being that we hadn’t even completed one lap yet. I was taking the old bull vs. the young bull approach. We hit the double small log section and the Kid made an error and I got a gap on him. There were sections of this course that doubled back upon itself and you could tell if you were gaining or losing on the riders in front or behind you. For the next couple of laps the gap to Eric and the Buy Cell guy held steady while the gap on the Kid increased.
By the third lap I couldn’t see the Kid anymore and Eric and Tim were slowly pulling away. The climb on this course was taking its toll on me. Except for being lapped, I rode the rest of the race by myself. I got a nice tow from Pat Schott for half of a lap. It was a pleasure to follow Pat in the singletrack section. This was in stark contrast to following Olaf Vanderhoot who almost missed a couple of corners and carved large divots into the dirt with his tires. I’m not sure the word finesse is Olaf vocabulary when it comes to riding on the dirt. I ended up finishing 6th overall in the singlespeed class. 4 cyclocross series down and one to go!
Usual morning drill: Get up at the crack of darkness, load van, wait for Supreme Justice, Race Director, Team Field Marshal and Dictator-for-Life David Gill, load David into the van and drive to Coffeetopia for liquid stimulates. The drive was very pleasant, but not because of David’s company; it just happen to be a very beautiful morning!
The Course:
Instead of racing in the usual spot at the East Garrison of the old Fort Ord, we were racing at the old campground section where they usually hold the CCCX mountain bike series. This could only mean one thing, lots of elevation change! This certainly was not your typical cross course. There was heaps of high speed singletrack, a blazing fast paved downhill section, and lots of low speed turns, barriers, and two little logs that you could bunny hop and one big one that you could not. The big story though was the climbing. I can’t ever remember racing a cross course that climbed so much. The climb started before the finish line and was broken up by a little run up with a rideable steep climb directly afterwards that led to a false flat double track to a set of double barriers at the very top of the hill.
Race # 1
Master A 45+:
What a disaster! I had a bad start and was pinched off twice causing me to lose a lot of places and all of my momentum. I then somehow managed to kick my left side rear brake arm on the remount at the top of the course and knocked the retaining spring off of its perch. I stopped and tried to fix it, but to no avail. It never occurred to me to in my anaerobic state unhook my brake cable; instead I rode 2/3 of a lap with the left side brake pad jammed against the rim. UGH! I saw teammate Karen Kefauver and asked her to have my singlespeed ready for a bike change. She made it to the pits before I did and the exchange was made. I rode my singlespeed for half of a lap and was meet by Supreme Justice, Race Director, Team Field Marshal and Dictator-for-Life David Gill in the feed zone where we did another change back to my original bike. After a couple of laps on my geared bike I was feeling very sloth like. I figured I was having a really bad day and put it on cruise control and finished the race. It wasn’t until I loaded the bike into the van at the end of the day that I realized that with even the retaining spring in the proper position, the brake pad was still rubbing the rim. I finished the race in last place and ended 7th overall for the series (I tied for 6th, but lost the tie breaker).
Race #2
Singlespeed:
After the long uphill at the start of the race, I ended up behind a rider who I will call “the Kid”. The Kid and I were the tail end of a lone pack of riders as we snaked down the singletrack. The Kid was having a very hard time staying on course. By the time we reentered the dirt after the long paved section, there was a small gap between us and teammate Eric Thunstrom and Tim of Buy-Cell. The Kid was sliding all over the place and buy the time we hit the dirt straight away next to the parking lot I got pass him. As I passed the Kid he made some discouraging remark (smack) to me. The Kid re-passed me in the next corner, but I was not concerned being that we hadn’t even completed one lap yet. I was taking the old bull vs. the young bull approach. We hit the double small log section and the Kid made an error and I got a gap on him. There were sections of this course that doubled back upon itself and you could tell if you were gaining or losing on the riders in front or behind you. For the next couple of laps the gap to Eric and the Buy Cell guy held steady while the gap on the Kid increased.
By the third lap I couldn’t see the Kid anymore and Eric and Tim were slowly pulling away. The climb on this course was taking its toll on me. Except for being lapped, I rode the rest of the race by myself. I got a nice tow from Pat Schott for half of a lap. It was a pleasure to follow Pat in the singletrack section. This was in stark contrast to following Olaf Vanderhoot who almost missed a couple of corners and carved large divots into the dirt with his tires. I’m not sure the word finesse is Olaf vocabulary when it comes to riding on the dirt. I ended up finishing 6th overall in the singlespeed class. 4 cyclocross series down and one to go!
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