STC - Cycling

By any means possible...

2011-09-29T15:20:00.001-05:00

This time of year everyone is cheesed for cross racing fall riding an generally fun.
I have a full arsenal of excuses( doesn't any good racer??). But this week I have strapped the road bike on the trainer and have 3 straight nights in the bank already. Yeah, it means nothing- but it's small steps. By any means possible...

Cheers!

the Buzz.....

2011-08-30T14:26:00.002-05:00

Ok - so its been a LONG time since i've posted ans about as long since i have had any kind of consistent riding. There is a lot going on at SmottCo.. new addition to the family coming any day now, new job, etc. SO needless to say - most of you probably have already anticipated my excuses.
The good news it that its late august in chicago and that lends to a whole new Buzz in the air.. Yep - its Cross season!
I headed out to the XXX hosted Jackson Park relay cross last sunday - i needed to meet a few people about clothing. It was great to see all the craziness that cros brings - but also to see SOOO many people and families at this fun event. Its super easy to get out and ride, bring the family and have fun. Now i did not race this oast week - but i do have some hopes of pinning a number on shortly and trying not to vomin while i ride on grass in circles..

See you at the races!

Same view

2011-03-03T10:19:00.002-06:00

So my road bike has not moved an inch from the position you see in the pic below this post. The good news is i have gotten pretty good at waking up and being on the bike by 5am. I have managed 2 days of commuting to work, and about 4 additional outside rides. Other than that, its been this same view.

I'm hoping that all pays off in a few weeks when i set out to visit The Enmark and take my game outside for a week. I have sheared through the winter growth to expose my truly pasty legs, and if all goes well i will come home with a sweet sunburn!
Should have some good pics and stories to post.

Fat Kid - Out!

Happy New Year

2011-01-06T14:09:00.002-06:00

So its taken me a WHILE to get the basement back in order, but thanks to some help from friends and neighbors, i think the STC is in better condition now than ever before. Granted there is only drywall on the top half of the walls, but you should be suffering - not looking around!

I already have a list of excuses going, so i know its gonna be a great year! I was going to start monday, but my iPhone had the alarm glitch everyone is talking about. My first ride was tuesday night for a whopping half hour. I did get on wednesday and today for an hour, and neither were as bad as i thought it would be. Hopefully its baby steps back in the right direction.

Here's to everyone in the midwest who is in the middle of Trainer Season!

The Fat Kid

November

2010-11-19T07:19:00.001-06:00

So here we are past the halfway mark in November, and I actually have 12 hours on the bike. Generally I have hung up commuting and rely on the odd weekend ride to get any time in. I've been glad to push a few degrees colder and still enjoy some really nice afternoon rides home. ( thanx Pete!)
I'm still protesting the trainer, but it's now set up and ready for me to haul my carcass out of bed in the mornings.
I'm hoping to end with about 20 hours and stay ahead of where I usually am this time of year. I hope you are doing the same!

Cheers!

Results!

2010-11-01T10:38:00.003-05:00

82 guys lined up for the masters 30+ race. 82!
I remember way back when there weren't 42 guys racing ALL DAY!
Great course and thanx to Rob Kelly and Bicycle Haven for knocking out another classic cross course.
I finished 66th. Pretty happy about that.

Racing

2010-10-30T13:37:00.001-05:00

A wise man once said in order to be a bike racer, you have to race your bike.

So in that case, for the first (and probably last) time in 2010 I will be a bike racer. Im going to line up for a cross race tomorrow, have some fun, probably puke and try not to finish DFL

Wish me luck

Cheers!

Resources

2010-10-25T20:52:00.001-05:00

Can't talk enough about how useful myfooddiary.com is. It has about the bigger database I've seen if foods making searches quite easy. It has a 'fridge' feature allowing you to save favorite foods. with that, I can put a whole day of eating in, in about 90 seconds. When I am diligent about using it, I can easily drop 1-2 lbs a week consistently. I'm down about 7 right now and looking to make a big push to drop about 10 mote thru the winter.

Cheers!

almost Door-ed

2010-10-23T11:46:00.002-05:00

I will start by saying no one was hurt in the writing of this post.

I was rolling home from work wednesday night, yes, after dark. I had a 200 Lumen helmet light and a 300L bar mounted dual light, and the usual array of seat stay, seat bag, and backpack flashers on the rear. Needless to say, I could be seen.
I was just about home an some guy whipped open the car door oblivious to me being about 3 feet from the car. My lesson learned is to ALWAYS pay attention, and perhaps i need to leave an extra foot from parked cars from what i have been leaving.
The part that chaps my ass is as the guy gets out, I say something low key like "whoa, look out". nothing in bad taste or derogatory. As I look back at him ( with a 200L spotlight) he starts yelling and cussing at me. WTF? dude, you almost took me and my bike out, bent the crap out of your car door, all i said was WHOA and I'm the asshole??? I just don't get peoples attitudes sometimes.

Maybe its time for brighter lights.

WHAT THE?????

2010-09-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

Now that just plain funny, i don't care who ya are!!

Church Cross

2010-09-13T09:46:00.002-05:00

I local crew puts on a great event known as Church Cross. Its sunday mornings, and as straightforward as it gets. Show up, race, go home. They had a great course this past week, and i was able to finally make it out. I managed to put myself in the hurt locker for about 45 minutes, which is waaaay harder than i would have pushed my self on a solo ride. Yes I puked, so i know i went hard enough.

Thanx again to the Church Cross Crew for a great morning ride!

Rhythm

2010-09-11T12:43:00.004-05:00

I think its safe to say that most people that ride are type A personalities, high strung at various levels and in general operate well in a normal repetitious schedule.

For me - i have a very "all or none" type of personality, and when i can lock into a routine and knock that out day in and day out, I'm generally happy and progressing toward some form of a goal.

Happy to say that 4 days thin week i was able to ride. 3 days commute into work, and a cross ride an additional day. I know that fall is quickly returning and daylight will get short fast, but i am very much looking forward to the commuting routine to return.

HUGE THANKS to the SRAM crew for helping a brother out. Looks like my road rig will be back on the road soon, and the cross bike will get a handy upgrade. For those of you that have been kicking around changing groups or adding new parts, i can say that hands down SRAM is the gear to have! the stuff works flawlessly and it supports the home team!

its been such a long time....

2010-09-03T17:49:00.003-05:00

what can i say - not much to write about, life happens and rides do not.
Got the cross bike put back together after the July flood. Road bike dumped out about a gallon of water from the head tube when i pulled the fork, no gouda. It needs work. Lighting is my current issue, i have a fleet of different lights, but between smoked batteries and dead chargers from being submerged, i have but a flicker to guide my morning and evening commutes. Gotta tune that up so i can make a return to commuting until the weather turns.

Thinking about 'racing' cross, but then again beer sounds good.

Cheers!!

Its my story, I'll tell it how I want to

2010-07-13T13:49:00.003-05:00

thank you to all my loyal readers, all 2 of them.

So in the past few months, I've held off writing as i though i should create more quality stories, more insightful posts.
Ya know what - that ain't me, not a whole lot about me is insightful.

so here is what i have been up to...

a few weeks ago Andy Caron came back into town. Low key chickenride with him, i gutted out a huge effort to roll across to a final effort he rolled across to.
I sat on, jumped, tried to lead him out but he didn't get there, so i soft pedaled and informed the man to 'get up here, its your ride, you oughta win!'

mostly from there, got some crappy rain days, some so so riding into work and back.

July 5th against better judgement i met up with the alberto's crew and we left Gurnee to head to Lake Geneva. 8 of us rolled along smoothly. it gets pretty punchy up there, and i knew the clock was ticking for me.
The way home i tried to take a few turns but mostly hide, and sure enough, BONK. the 100 miles was 5.5 hrs, i was good for 4.5, oh well.

Hit another chicken just this past week, pretty mellow for the most part, made it up over tough spot to slide into the leadout train. Now i knew i was cooked, but cued in to Andy and tried to get the man a free lift to the finish. He took it, had it locked up and coasted... just enough for Tawse to pimp him on the inside. Kudos to Tawse

Today i rolled in to work, it was just gonna be one of those days. Got pulled out in front of a few times, no biggie, but the icing on the cake was the ass clown that did the 4 lance change from the left side over to chop me, i left a solid handprint in teh front quarter panel to remind her to look before you swerve. Bi - otch.

YELLING!!!

2010-05-10T11:48:00.003-05:00

wow, ok so its been over a month, so feel free to jab at me with all kinds of how come no posts comments. I also hate to be a HATER on my first post back..

But I'm gonna!
What the hell is with all the Douchy Drivers out there that can see a vividly colored person with blinkig lights in front of them??
Today alone, I got Bus Fucked - where the bus races in front of you to stop at the next stop, then had on 2 seperate occasions cars turn IMMEDIATELY in front of me.
Come on man, put down the crackberry or the iMaxipad, and pay attention!

I realize there are a lot of people on 2 wheels that have no regard for pedistrians or traffic, but even with that in the picture, what kind of driver and PERSON needs to use a 3500 lb vehicle to threaten someone. If you wanna make a point with me, step out of your vehicle and say something. Punch me if you gotta, but dont hide behind the steel and 4 wheels as you fondle your electronic device then make me out as the scapegoat!

Peace!

Changing seasons...

2010-03-29T10:43:00.003-05:00

2 weeks ago it was a BEAUTIFUL friday, then the temps dropped about 30 degrees and we had an up and down week. Got a Chilly Chickenride in last week, but not much else to write home about.

This week is looking GOOD. Supposed to be in the 70's later this week, so I sacked up and pedaled into a chilly AM today, looking forward to a much milder ride home.

More to come

Sunny and warm.. with a chance of snow

2010-03-18T17:13:00.002-05:00

A quick recap of the last week or so...
The Midwest if FINALLY starting to escape the grip of winter. Last weekend i got out for a solo Sunday pedal, chilly but i rocked out the knickers. Have i mentioned I LOVE knickers?
Monday i got a good commute in, warm in the morning, and not too shabby at all for the PM ride. Tuesday i was off work and had Daddy duty, so i did spend some time outside, albeit not on the bike. Wednesday = Chickenride - first one of the year. Good to see the crew, MTB Matt proved WAAAAAYYY to strong as usual and put in about 98% of the work. Today i dragged myself out of bed and got the ride to work in, and i am currently looking at warm temps, appx 60; but a stark headwind of about 24mph to greet me in an hour or so.

No for the bad news... Its supposed to snow again Saturday - BLAH.

the bright side is that temps will be seasonable for next week, so i hope for the best there.

Ciao!

Late Nite assault

2010-03-11T12:13:00.002-06:00

So I grumbled all afternoon yesterday, after being tricked by some early rain into NOT riding in and taking the train, the skies cleared and produced a 60 degree day with lots of SUN. I was pretty bent that I could not get on the bike.

The wife had some super yummy burgers that we threw on the grill so that always makes my happy, but fatter.

Around 8:30pm once it all quieted down, I cranked through some emails, and noticed it was still 55 degrees outside. I looked at Sarah and said 'screw it.. I'm going!'
she said "downstairs to ride?" - NOPE strapping on the lights and heading out.

My original target was the zoo path, but the recently melted snow left it UBER wet and slimy in most sections. I quickly U-Turned and began my side street assault.
It was SUPER warm, and I was feelin pretty good. It was fun to have to NAV on the fly to get a route going that kept me off many of the usual main roads. Motorola Training Camp Rules were in effect, and aside from a grimy 50m of Prairie Path, i was able to not use any roads twice. I had a blast. No numbers, no intervals, just out cruising in the night.

I had about 600 lumens courtesy of Light in Motion, and as always the SKS Race Blade Fenders kept me dry!

I think I'm gonna throw out the suggestion to get a regular night cruise going, see if I can attract any night owls.

A MUST view

2010-03-09T20:42:00.002-06:00

For all of you out there that are on the back side of clothing orders, if you have been 'the clothing guy" for your team, or just plain like you tube spoofs...

March!

2010-03-06T11:04:00.003-06:00

So with a little help from my neighbor Jay, i have managed not only a good handful of early morning rides, but a couple of evening sessions of some good intervals as well. I had hoped to be ahead of where i am now, but March is here, i think we may be seeing just enough of a warm up to start riding to work. Now i know good and well it can snow for 3 more months still, but I think mother nature is in my favor now. I sacked up and piled on a ton of lycra both Thursday and Friday for the commute to work. It was slow, but went well. Its always a bit bizarre riding through the city in the dark, but its pretty mellow at least.

Looking forward to getting it done next week as well!

Starting over.. again

2010-02-03T15:07:00.002-06:00

this one kinda goes like this..

Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah

Been sick, got better.. Got some good days in on the trainer so far, hoping to get agood streak started and get some good work in

Thats about all for now

Strapped down

2010-01-05T09:32:00.002-06:00

winter in the midwest = indoor trainer season.
There are a few hardmen that ride yearround; I am NOT one of them
i would hesitate to call it a streak yet, but i have several indoor rides for the year already.

woo hoo.

Cross training...

2009-12-24T09:38:00.003-06:00

If you count slugging up the sled hill with sleds and munchkins cross training, then i am money!

Brrrrrrr

2009-12-10T11:47:00.002-06:00

Westchester, Illinois

10:51 AM on Thursday 10 Dec 2009 (Local Time)

Few Clouds 5°F
Feels Like
-16° Station: KMDW
Humidity: 63%
Wind: 22mph
Dew Point: -5°
Visibility: 10mi

For some reason...

2009-11-22T10:48:00.001-06:00

I dig this Bike.

And Tyler Wren rides Pactimo

Missing...

2009-11-08T16:31:00.003-06:00

Getting your stuff stolen sucks. But this kid had a VERY funny sign to post!!

Cheers

Must be Friday

2009-11-06T10:04:00.002-06:00

Its definitely better in the mornings with the time change. I guess thats the optimistic side of it being dark at 4:30pm. Now i have a good am mount of light for 90% of my ride in. That helps. I noticed on SEVERAL occasions today the wafting of some serious ganja smoking going on while I was pedaling in today. Must be a wake and bake Friday for the residents on my route. The legs were groggy and the SSE wind wasn't helping my motivation. I decided to let the legs dictate the pace and made it a leisurely ride in today. The cycle center was almost empty today, always a welcome event. Attendance has been dropping in relation to the falling temps, but there is a SERIOUS group of die hards that go all year round. I wimp out when the snow flies or it drops below 32.
It is supposed to be a warm evening, which i look forward to already today, and the weekend should be sublime.

Fat Kid - OUT

Off Day pedal

2009-11-05T12:14:00.002-06:00

Wrapped up October and looking to ramp up November and get it going early.
I had a day off tuesday, and set out for a 3 hour cross ride. The prairie path was pretty dry and smooth, and the weather was nice for November - high 40's. There was a slight cross headwind going out, I added some extra time to the normal triangle loop, and got a nice tailwind back home down the Great Western Trail.

3 hrs, just over 1900kj, including the second hour where I pumped out 735kj in the hour, and about 75km in the books. Needless to say, the legs were sore tues night, as well as sluggish wednesday AM for the early morning pedal.

Cheers

DPR cross ride

2009-11-02T10:31:00.002-06:00

I finally got a chance to get out and join the Alberto's crew for a great CX ride on the DPR trail. Francine said that I like the epic rides, and this one did not disappoint. It was brisk, low 40's with a stout wind; but the woods provided some good shelter. The rains had the path laden with puddles throughout, and several crossings that were impassable making for some fun hike-a-bike sections. The train tracks underpass juts before Adler park was a pretty deep and wide lake, but Brian decided to try it out, only to end up BB deep and with a pretty wet foot / leg!
I decided to try the high road and go up and over the tracks, so after getting our group of 12 riders up there, we scouted for an opening in the fence to get back thru.
Stathy and I had a great flashback from Stand By Me, and rode a ways down the tracks looking for an opening. Wendy finally found our winner, and we were back on the bikes. Brian and Francine led some great skill building for the crew to work on, and a few hot laps at Adler got the heart rate pumping. Brian was victim of a hazard under e leave pile, and got his wheel stuck in a curb, and catapulted himself onto the pavement. I sure hope B's boxer chin heals up quick!

The ride back was incident free and we did a nice combo of trail and road to avoid any more hike-a-bike sections. I took advantage of the bike wash area in the new Alberto's shop to get most of the gunk off the rig, before heading home for final cleaning.

The ride got me up to 32 hours for the month, so a solid recovery from having a week of being sick. Hopefully good things to come for November!

Cheers!

Is this London??

2009-10-30T13:02:00.002-05:00

Seems like the rain spell we had back from late spring early summer has re-appeared!
I am usually pretty keen on reading a radar report, but in the last 2 weeks - I have rode in the rain 3 times in the last 7 days.

The good news is that it looked pretty bleak 2 weeks ago to get to 30 hours, and right now I am sitting at 28.5 with a group ride planned for tomorrow morning to end the month off right.

For those of you that have been enjoying the off season, its time to get serious in November. Start lifting ( if you haven't already) and starting logging the hours.

Cheers!

Character.

2009-10-26T16:17:00.000-05:00

weather.com said only a 10% chance of rain. rich.com disagrees. full chicken and bluff loop. 3hrs. 80km.
solo. rain. character.

Fenders....

2009-10-21T08:27:00.003-05:00

I had a super sweet ride into work today. Despite the rain overnight that left the roads wet and full of puddles, I stayed dry. It was warm, high 50's for the roll in.
If you have ever had a day like I had this am where I looked out the window and though: hmm, I dunno. BUY FENDERS!
There are several bloggers that some of my links have links to that rave about them more than me. I picked up my SKS race blade fenders a few years ago. They were about $50 bucks at the time, and i thought - Man, $50 bucks for once or twice a year?? Let me tell you - that $50 was worth way more than that to - 1 - allow me to ride in instead of HOPING i could get on the trainer later today and 2 - keep me dry and have a great ride despite the weather.

If you dont know where to find them -
Call Albertos - 847-432-0015 or
Call Joe at Columbus Cyclery - 812-372-7486

Cheers

It can't rain all the time...

2009-10-19T10:33:00.002-05:00

It can't rain all the time... - Sarah, The Crow

In a fine twist of coincidence, it stopped raining in Chicago finally, and i finally got over being sick. After a week of semi feverish, achy, congested, blah blah blah; I am back in the game.
Rolled the cross bike in today, as its supposed to be a good sunny fall day. First time on the bike in over a week, so everything felt flat. Hopefully the roll home will go better!
Hoping to get back into eating lean, and back to dropping some pounds.
With only 10 hours for the month, its gonna be a tough second half, but trying to re-align and finish off with about 25 hrs of pedaling.

VDB - gone

2009-10-12T16:35:00.003-05:00

Breaking news that Frank Vandenbroucke was found dead of a blood clot.
VDB - above winning the 1999 Leige-Bastogne-Liege, had a turbulent career and has most notably been recognized for his off the bike issues more than his performance recently.

Doper or not, they guy made racing interesting, and hats off to his all or none style.

called on an account of rain...

2009-10-09T18:29:00.002-05:00

While I have been able to get a few solid days of commuting in recently, the last 3 have been called off due to rain. Now it IS certainly hardman weather, but come on, do I look like that kinda guy to you???
I do appreciate the moderately cool temps, and despite missing the shorts and short sleeve rides, i don't mind the long sleeves and knee warmers at all.

I have spent a few EARLY mornings on the trainer in a quest to stay on track for 30 hrs on the month. Looking to get out for a good CX, but I have been getting heavily punched in the WORK recently and Sundays being the only day off has resulted in family day taking over for CX day.

Hoping to be back in the groove next week and perhaps even meet up with King for a Wednesday pedal.

Cheers to all of you slugging it out with me.

Fat Kid - Out

Thats BRISK baby

2009-09-29T22:23:00.003-05:00

its officially fall.. if not by calendar, by the number of layers needed to ride in. 48 degrees this am called for some long sleeves, leg warmers, hat and mitts. It was pleasantly tail-windy on the way in and it calmed down enough by sunset to have a decent ride home. Riding in the dark is always a unique experience, as everything seems to move at a different speed. In some strange way, i dig the commute at this time of year. Cross rig, lights, marching to my own beat. Looking to repeat tomorrow and wrap up September.

Out

Chequamegon Fat Tire and changing seasons.

2009-09-24T15:27:00.004-05:00

Its the time of year that all of the racers look forward to. Its the end for the die hard roadies, and the Cross guys are licking their chops. For me its simply September, and a chance to shed a few pounds before Chequamegon.

The last few years I have headed up to the Northwoods with the SRAM crew for some fun. After all, Lenny always loved it. I have a very fond set of memories of being picked up at midnight Friday night, driving the 7 hours north in darkness into the middle of nowhere. Getting in just as the guys were waking up and making breakfast. We got about an hour of sleep, Scott handed me a few pancakes that i literally ate out of my hand, and we headed to the start of the 40 mile MTB race.
Later that weekend, after much underage drinking and a loss of undergarments at a local strip club, 3 of us packed into Lenny's Honda CRX. Yes, that's the one with ONLY 2 seats. Don't ask, but was not too bad stuffed in the back!

Now I head North to remember the fun, honor Lenny, and loose a few golf balls in the annual Lenny Parisi Memorial Northwoods Open. We are a bunch of hacks aside from Scott, but its fun to not keep score, goof off and tell stories. This year did not disappoint. The non golf crew was back at the 'Shangri-Lodge' after a short recon ride and got started making dinner. Kudos to JP and the crew for some super tasty steaks, pasta, vino and all the fixings.

Race day was pretty warm compared to past years. I was able to start in shorts and short sleeves for a change. I started my usual DFL, passed some people on the road and started my off road journey at Rosie's field. I had time splits in my head hoping to shave of another 10-15 minutes from last year. I took advantage of some really nice September weather and had a lot of commuting miles under my belt, a few fast rides as well. I was down 8 lbs from Fat Tire last year, so things were going well. I passed the time check at OO, even faster than I though, and after about another 10 miles at Fire Tower Climb, I was beginning to think i may have a shot of sub 3 hrs. I did start to fade with about 5 miles to go, but just then a Tandem came by and that was just the ride i needed. I snuggled up on their wheel for the next 4 miles, they left me on a section with about a mile to go, but i was home free from there. I crested the final climb, bombed down the ski slope of the Telemark and rolled in with a pretty impressive 2:58:37. Pretty sweet.

Chequamegon gave me 28 hours on the month, and I was hunting for around 40. I decided to honor the changing seasons and get the cross bike ready to take on the riding duties. Monday morning was some pretty wet roads, and Tuesday was worse. I did get to ride in and out on Wednesday, but today i am punched in the work excuse.

I am hoping to get it in tomorrow, even though i will need to have a rain cape ready for the roll home. SKS race blade fenders will do the job of keeping me dry if the skies open. I doubt i have a shot at 40 hrs now, but 35 seems reasonable.

I am down 7 lbs from where i started the 'off season' last year, and hoping to shed some more before i have to start the indoor regime!

Cheers!

Original Homeboy

2009-09-03T07:31:00.000-05:00

The Chickenride had a surprise guest last nite. Christian Vande Velde was in town before he heads down for the Tour of Missouri and he made it out for a ride with us.

Ridin Durty

2009-08-31T11:08:00.002-05:00

Got some good time logged on the MTB this weekend. Met Tawse and King from Western Springs to ride down to Palos for some good off road. Hit some trails over by Swallow Cliff and some of the oldies but goodies. Worked our way over toward Bullfrog to check out the action at the Palos Meltdown MTB race. Skirted the course and rode home to round out the day. It was good to get several hours in the saddle on the MTB heading into Chequamegon in just 3 weeks. Im down a few more pounds, with a goal of being down 10lbs total from last year's Chimmie Change weight.

Sprint work

2009-08-27T10:32:00.002-05:00

So about the only recent glimmer has been the ability to commute into work on a consistent basis for August. Its good to keep the legs going and help keep the weight going down, especially with Chequamegon getting closer.

I hooked up with some SRAMmies on the roll home tuesday - Tawse, Ritzler, Paul, and Schupe. The Badger had angst in the veins and stated ripping of red light sprints from the get go. Once things settled down on Washington blvd, there was some serious sections of speed laid down. We finally broke Shupe's spirit on East ave, only to have him and Ritzler lay down a serious effort while yours truly was on point.
Very fun and very hard ride home, backpacks and all!

News Flash from the Onion!

2009-08-09T16:55:00.002-05:00

if you have not seen this yet - its classic stuff!!

The Onion

aug 1 = cross bike??

2009-08-01T16:11:00.000-05:00

given the weather and the mood.. I opted for the cross bike today. its 71 degrees, cloudy, and a mist in the air. I figure I made the right choice for the october weather.

rollin the trailer.

2009-07-29T17:46:00.001-05:00

now my waistline has been expanding and all, but its been a while since I thre on the 75# load for a ride. With Sarah home tending to new baby Owen, it was a good chance for me to get out and get some time with the boys. I think now that they are entirely smashed into each othere there, they actually fight less!

MERCY!

2009-07-23T15:19:00.002-05:00

Okay - so its been a ridiculously long time since the last post. Most of the reason is that when you don't ride, there is not much to write about. The laundry list of excuses I am sure are familiar to you all. I got punched in the work, rain, schedule, family, etc. Long story short, my legs are hairy, my belly is big, and my motivation is low.
I rode to work tuesday, then doubled my milage for the month and rode home.
The good news is that i have shaken off the excuses, dusted off the bike, and im going to start stringing it together, again.
Our family is about to expand, again, any day now, so i am looking forward to some trailer rides with the boys to give mom some quality time with the newborn.

Thats about it for now - see you all at the Glenview Grand Prix!

Action on the 1/4 mile oval!

2009-06-06T12:56:00.001-05:00

Thursday nite racing at Northbrook Velodrome!
It has been a few years since I suited up for a track race, especially with any intent on being competitive. The 1/4 mile is the same as i remember it, just smoother now. Having 20+ years of going in circles there, i had no issues adjusting to the fixed gear, and i felt back at home in just a few laps.

Event 1 was a Danish, or win and out. there are 3 laps of racing, then the bell rings and the next rider is 1st place, ring the bell again, next lap 2nd place, etc.
Rarely do i PLAN on contesting the V, but as the bell rang and the acceleration went, i was actually pretty surprised how well i handled it. Ended up boxed to take the win, but i had a good feeling about second. Down the backside, again I was able to match the acceleration, move around the first guy moving backwards, and going through turn 3, i was sitting 2nd wheel. A rider was coming over the top of me to leave me boxed, but 20 years of the oval was on my side. A quick flip of the bars opened a substantial whole, i was shocked at how much the guy freaked out. I gassed it, and boom, 2nd place. I was happy to go sit down and not have to keep burning matches.

Event 2 - 30 lap points race. 1st sprint, sat in, no points. 2ns sprint, I took 1 point. 2 lapps later they rang up a Prime, and all I needed to hear was cash, so I lit the rocket on the backside from the front, and a quick glance over my shoulder between 3 and 4 - I WAS CLEAN! no response. $10 bucks in pocket and now - Crap, 2 laps to go for points, and I am still clean. Settle in, get smooth, SUFFER. SUFFER.
Made it to take 1st place points. Field comes through and I am OTB almost immediately as there is a counter attack to my catch. I get caught by another straggler, whom I immediately hang onto and milk for what its worth. I had resigned to finish OTB. but wait, i can take a turn, then the other guys is motoring again. I think we are closing. Another turn for me, and other guy makes a BIG effort to close.. wait, yes.. we will get there. I'm thinking no way, we are gonna get there at the bell. Through 2 to go the kid is HAULING, I am HURTING! I know I have to follow him no matter what. We catch the back just out of turn 4 with the bell ringing. The other guy was dumb enough to work 80% of the time we were together, but smart enough to go immediately over the top when we catch. He lights it going into turn 2, I'm in tow. I punch his ticket going into 3, we are clean, win another points sprint on the final. Haas has to catch me, because i have been cross eyed and drooling for several laps. ended up in 2nd place for the event. I don't think I have placed in a points race in at least 5 years, and was very happy to sack up and put on a decent display of suffering.

Love the Oval.

A fantastic reason to pedal

2009-06-05T16:18:00.001-05:00

Enough said.

Bone Ride - Fail

2009-05-30T12:23:00.003-05:00

So i was super pumped about Bone Ride this year. I had some great miles, feeling pretty fit, dropped a bunch of weight, and even a decent race under the belt already.
Has a great a SRAM crew heading up - Tawse, Bos, King, Feltz, JP, Lyle, danger Dan, and sweet Pete.
Forecast was top notch - starting temp in the low 70's, high in the 80's. Then there was the wind. WSW winds in the 20's with gusts in the 30's.
Rollout from Tom Schuler's house was lighthearted and mellow. Some herky jerky with all the stoplights and high turnout was to be expected, so it was high alert for the first hour.
My weaponry was the 'Dale with my tubbie 404's to keep the train rollin. The SRAMmies had some serious hoops to combat the wind. Tawse was riding Lenny's Cervelo and was sporting an 808 rear with a 404 front. Very slick.

Once we got out of town the severity of the cross-headwind was felt. Very quickly i realized there would be no hiding today, and it would be 4.5 hrs of gutterball just to make it to Madison. General Bone diet is a bunch of bars and gels on the way up, and usually 2 bottles gets you through, maybe a topoff somewhere at a red light. The warm temps were welcome, but i realized that by about halfway there, I was done with a bottle and a half. Ed was the man as always in the SRAM Volvo and usually i can get a quick bottle serviced at a red light. This year he was swamped with takers at all of the convenient locations. I had to get one fillup and chase with a very small group for about 10 minutes to get back into the fold. Several matches burnt there. Several occasions i had to pump out 500w+ to close gaps or to move up to get out of stupid situations. More matches.

The effort took its toll and i was popped off about 10 miles outside Madison, got a bumper ride for some of it. One funny situation, after a bumper ride and seeing that ED needed to move for traffic, the group i was with fanned out, as Ed came back into position, 3 dudes were parked on the bumper already. I looked at the guy closest to me and said 'move'. He was like "what the?" i told him, "see my jersey ( i was fully kitted in SRAM).. thats my bumper". Not long after that i was completely wrecked and pedaled into town solo and cooked.

There was a major inner battle in my head as to if i was going to attempt to even start to head back with the group, or in the car. My ego won. I got some food down, a few cokes, and started to feel a bit better. I can say that this year i was more wasted GETTING to Madison, that in the years I have finished the entire ride.

So we rolled out. It took me about 20 minutes to get close to comfortable again, but i was doing ok. It was less of a crosswind that I anticipated, and we were rolling at about 30-34kph pretty easily. Not bad, on pace for a 4 hour return.
Out of town we caught a section of tailwind and the natives were restless to prove how fast they could go in a tailwind. There was a rotating paceline that started, and it accelerated almost 20kph! WTF? i was popped off on the first rise, several others were dangling, and the group of 18 that we had was left with about 5 guys working. Dumb. Ed came by and i jammed my elbow in the door jam of the Volvo, he gave me a 60kph return to the back of the group with instructions to tell them to slow the hell down! The group listened and we were bar to bar again. Not bad. I recomposed myself, thought positive thoughts, and had convinced myself that I was going to finish this year again!
There is a BP gas station at 200km, which is a key landmark. Its a nice stop for a coke, it means there is only about 55km left to the end, and a huge mental hurdle.
Unfortunately i was no longer able to tell myself I was going to finish, sadly, i packed it in and got in the Volvo.
The group pushed on, and from the backseat of the Volvo, i was able to see the groups form deteriorate, and see who was close to detonating themselves. I was very happy to have jugs of water on hand and to be able to provide bottle service on the fly for the guys, which is a huge benefit with 130 miles in your legs.

Kudos to Tawse for finishing on very limited riding this year, and to King who rode the Bone on a BORROWED bike! He most definitely had an inner battle going on to ride or to stop, for most of the ride.

Bone Ride 2010 is only 355 days away - May 19, 2010

misty chicken

2009-05-27T19:30:00.000-05:00

A small group rolled out for a misty ride. King navigated an alternate route claiming he is starting a new wednesday nite crit series. I think he was several turns short to call it a crit. A fun time was had by all.

Vernon Hills

2009-05-07T20:20:00.004-05:00

I toed the line at the Vernon Hills race - Masters 30+ for me.
I am lined up next to my rock star teammate, Brian Haas, and an old friend Steve Driscoll. He has a great write up about the race here .

Albertos managed to get a guy in the break, Haas made the next split so i figured i was along for the ride and some training. I was pumped up to be able to match the accelerations pretty easily, and to even throw in an occasional effort of my own.
The 1st split and 2nd split came back together with about 5 min to go before laps, and i completely spaced it that there were only 3 guys up the road. I offered a speedy wheel to Haas, and we were well positioned when we took the bell. Jason Garner was the first to light the candle, and i matched it and waited for the second effort. I was waiting for Ventura to go full Ktownmotor on it, as i was ready to get sucked along, but he never went all in. My rear wheel got a bit skippy in the 4th turn sweeper, and Haas kinda got spooked, so i lit the 11 Cog for myself, and gave it good gas, lifted about 50m from the finish thinking i was good for a top 20 or so. Back to the part about forgetting how many guys were up the road, by lifting off before the line, a few guys slid by, and i ended up 9th. Nothing to write home about, but i was pretty happy with it all things considered.

Now i have a few good days of commuting, a Chicken and a Monsters of the Midway to keep things rollin for me.

Not so fat kid - OUT

RAD

2009-05-02T15:15:00.002-05:00

Rad, dance scene from BooomBastic on Vimeo.

Man on man - 1986

I think this movie was one of the reasons i started working at the bike shop!
I had a sweet Schwinn Predator, converted from dirt to street: Skyway tuffwheel II's, California freestyle bars, Potts mod, ACS rotor.. oh yeah

Randy Tischman was a local kid that got picked up by Kuwahara to ride flatland, but the kid could get good air too!

and this movie.. oh man who didn't want to try to ride Helltrack, or even better take "Cru Jones'" spot to show off with Lori Loughlin's character "Christian Hollings". This was and is one of my fav cheesy bike flicks.

Chicken fly by

2009-05-02T15:01:00.002-05:00

Here is a quick fly by of the crew on the Chicken. This was about the only time it was slow enough to get the camera out.

Neighborhood crit...

2009-04-24T12:58:00.000-05:00

Lining up for a corner like a champ.

bare knees in april...

2009-04-16T14:48:00.001-05:00

is always a good thing. especially on a sunny afternoon on your day off.
I was able to get out for 2 hours today, there was a decent wind so i took it uopn myself to put the hurt on myself a bit. I felt good, and always glad to try to turn my pasty skin a deeper shade of red.

Out

Against better judgement....

2009-04-09T15:01:00.002-05:00

So against better judgement - i bundeled up and rode into work yesterday, it was a balmy 33 degrees when i left. I didn't want to pass up on the opportunity for a big day by riding in, out AND getting the Chickenride in. The temps warmed up on the afternoon, and the SRAM car was great enough to swing by and grab my bag and i was able to ride load-free on the way out. The ride out was snappy, but not too uncomfortable and Dixon made an appearence and it was good to talk to him on the roll out. The ride was well attended, Brian and Francine Haas made it out, so it was good to see them and have teammates. It was a stiff westerly breeze, which made watching the sprint on frontage road quite an adventure in judging who went too soon.
Needless to say, the turnaround to head back east resembled a Nascar race with the paceline stretching way out with the 18+ riders we had, and rolling at speeds nearing 30mph. MTB Matt was doing all he could to break it open, but the large group would not allow for it. I was able to make it up over Joliet rd hill with the group, and be in decent position coming into the last turn. I had a Feltz in tow, and MTB Matt blasted through the last turn with Bos, Dixon, and JP in front of me still. Dickos gave it a very good roll, Bos put in a monster effort to close the gap, MTB Matt finally had enough leaving Bos on Point, and JP and i trying to close in on it. Feltz was still on my hip, but Bos took the V with myself in tow for 2nd.
Great group ride today, everyone made it to the end together, and there was no lack of speed.

I ended up with just over 4 hrs, and 115km on the day!

Nash-vegas Training Camp 2009

2009-04-07T16:39:00.005-05:00

A couple vids from the Nachez Trace and then a nice valley road we founds.
Rides were great this year and Enmark was in pretty good form, able to work us over pretty good. The drive down was full of laughter and general insults against each other, you know, the traditional way guys say hi. We met up with Suzuki Shane for lunch and he joined us for the 1st 2 days of riding. Shane is a seriously funny dude, and seriously strong as well. He was weary of getting any rain on his sweet new Cervelo, so we rode early on day 2 to avoid the rain and tornadoes that blew in during the late afternoon. Friday was a good ride - started pretty chilly, and Enmark was able to make Bill turn around and quit after just 3 miles, most impressive. The 1st 90 minutes of that ride cost me over 1000kj, so i knew i had to keep the intake going and hide as much as possible. I pleaded with Enmark to let up a bit, and as the temps warmed up i was feeling better. It was on a climb around the 75 mile mark that i completely fell apart and announced i was F*%$#d. I was able to recover slightly at Puckets with a coke and some little debbies, but the rest of that day was sheer torture for me. Day 4 Enmark finally fell victim to his annual tendinitis in his Achilles and the last half of that day he was tame. We went exploring that day for some new roads and found a few good ones with a ball buster of a short & steep climb in it, quite painful. The return trip home was good, but unfortunately the rain slowed us down quite a bit, then as i approached Chicago, it turned to snow really making my progress difficult.

Monday i was pretty wrecked, tuesday i was of work so i was able to get a nap and a recovery spin in, hopefully i will be feeling better for the Chickenride.
Day 1 was super sunny and mild, got in about 70 miles
Day 2 was mild, 90 miles and about 4000' of climbing.
Day 3 was BIG and the day i cracked. 109 miles, 4500' of climbing and over 3800kj for me.
Day 4 was tame, The Enmark wore out his Achilles and we called it a day around the 70 mile mark again.

Headin South!

2009-03-31T10:34:00.002-05:00

Heading down to Nash-vegas for some good weather and great miles! I will have some reports to follow!

March 29, 2009

2009-03-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

really?????

Angry Chicken

2009-03-25T20:49:00.003-05:00

Today was gonna be a good day on paper. I had planned to ride in, ride out, and do the Chicken. I have been looking to get a long day in and figured this would do the trick.
Great start with a nice tailwind push heading into the city. I turned the corner onto Randolph to go up the hill and BLAM - shifter totally took a dump leaving me in the 12.
i cleaned up at the cycle center and rode my new 2 speed to work.
Put a call in to Bos and he told me to bring it in.
I scooted to HQ on lunch and the Ace Mechanic Pete was on the case.
He hooked me up with a fresh rebuild and some tweaks to keep the rig rolling.
I was unable to make the group for the ride out, so i enjoyed the trip out to the Chicken Coop in the SRAM Volvo with Pete. He had to pick me up, and the city crew needed a ride home, so Pete drove to his place and handed me the Volvo to scoot over to the Coop for the ride. Id have to say, its pretty pimp rolling the SRAM-copter. AND i did get to dodge the nasty headwind on the way out.
The ride was full of HorsePower, and we were in the big ring into a stout headwind on the way out to the theaters. I could just about hear Tawse complaining about something we were or were not doing on the way out - i hope he is enjoying Hawaii.
We flipped it around on the way back in, and the tailwind had us cooking. A small group of 3 were up the road and not looking eager on coming back to us, so the pace lifted. To over 30. MPH. I was sitting 3rd wheel of the bridging group when Ritzler swung off, and the guy behind him has about 2 good pedal strokes. Crap. I dug in and posted 500w for as long as i could look at it cross eyed, and got to about 30-40m from the back and imploded.
I rolled in with the groupetto, but it was all good as Andy was in from Germany and i had not seen him in a while.

All in all, not too shabby. I'm pretty trashed right now, it was a pretty angry ride. Definitely not all roses and chit chat. And I'm pretty sure the view was not as good as it could have been.

From the editor - i managed to reset a bunch of max's for the year last night....
5 sec - 760
10 sec - 740
30 sec - 537
1 min - 449
3 min - 347
5 min - 299

2009 Chickenride

2009-03-19T14:20:00.002-05:00

Has officially began for me. I was unable to make last weeks edition, and it sounded like there was some out of the ordinary excitement.
It was great to see the crew again, check out new parts and pieces that everyone is sporting as well.
We had a very nice roll out, and ended up going to the theater after some debate. King took a lion share pull on the way out - like 90% of the way out. We were all ok with that considering the headwind. Once we turned back, the tailwind lent itself to some pacemaking, and it was evident that the leisure part of the ride was ending quickly. We started rotating on 91st and continued up wolf rd, although half the group quit working, me included as we approached joliet rd and the climb.
The 10+ lbs i have lost over the winter was showing thru as i was able to stay on up the hill, and even lend some gas to Bos in an effort to chase down the escape that Pete had lodged. Now mind you the only reason i was able to lend some effort is that i had sat off the last few minutes.
The group had almost caught Pete at the light at Plainfield rd, but he rolled the red and the group could not proceed with the right turn. DQ for Mr Howland. I came back on and made one last kick to line it out for the sprint with King in tow, he launched at about 250m,and i was too cross-eyed to know for sure but i think it was a Feltz V??

a good time was had by all.
Perhaps next week i will remember the camera

Omloop het Prairie Path

2009-03-16T12:07:00.001-05:00

I set out for the prairie path knowing the rains of last weekend would have it soft in places, but i didnt expect this. This picture was on of the few that i could snap, as there was not much time to have my hands off the bars. This, as nasty as it may look was one of the better sections.

The weapons - cross rig, SKS race fenders, iPod with Hate playlist ( NIN, Nitzer Ebb, Bizkit, Ministry, etc)

Once i realized i was in for a slopfest, i relished it. I let the challenge work with me instead of against me. I knew it would be war and i welcomed it with open arms. It the kind of workout that leaves your legs feeling like you did 10,000 squats the day before. I wanted the pain, i needed it. I kept thinking about how it would be in Belgium, trying to ride that fine line on the edge of the road, part grass, part slop. Thinking about the days spent in windswept Muncie, playing Boss of the Bergs and getting it handed to me on a regular basis.

I finished spent, tired, and proud. I hosed off the rig and set it in the sun to dry.

2 hours, 51km, 1465kj.

CVV!!!!

2009-03-11T21:58:00.004-05:00

HUGE shout out to original homeboy Christian Vande Velde.
No question he continues to prove his merit in the PRO peloton.
A true class act, i was privileged to race with and against Christian 20 years ago as juniors.
He makes it a point to come by on occasion and ride with us, and could not be a nicer guy to hang around with.

Wed off + King + wind + 2.5 hrs = bonk

2009-02-25T15:51:00.001-06:00

So I thought it would be a good idea to ride with someone instead of solo. I emailed King and he was IN. I wanted to take advantage of a day off that had temps in the upper 40's and low 50's/. I'd say i was overdressed ( big shocker, i know). I had the cross rig kitted up with the commuter wheels with the 28mm tires, and fenders to keep the wet off from the melting snow. We rolled west into a very stout westerly headwind. 8-10 mph my ass!
Of course i knew kind would take us over anything that resembled an uphill, but i needed it for a good ass kickin to my system.
I was pretty much cooked at the end of it, and was glad to return home to a hot shower.
It was a good day for the ride, and im glad King came out to beat me up some.

I have decided i need to get someone else to take pics on the rides, because just about every post with pics is about the same. Fortunately i change kits, and there is less snow on the ground than last time, otherwise i think people would accuse me of just re-using pics from rides.

Fat kid - tired and out

Winning the lottery... or 20 bucks the Jens way

2009-01-21T16:00:00.001-06:00

So it was just the other day i was talking about how long its been since I've been outdoors on a road ride. Today was winning the lottery, or at least it felt like it. I was fortunate enough to have the day off, and it was sunny and warm, well, warmer than last week when it was 5 below! temps were in the upper 20's and i was determined to harden up and get it done. I pumped the tired on the cross rig, put on an extra layer of everything and headed out. It was breezy but nice. Roads were in pretty good shape except for a few patches of slush on the side streets.
On my way back home, i saw the KKSKI mobile and waived hi to him, shortly after that i had to mash the brakes and double check what i saw. I double back a touch and sure enough, floating in a slush puddle was a soggy 20 bucks! now 20 bucks is 20 bucks, but i figure it all adds up to a killer day for a ride, and since i hardened the F^%$ up and got outside Jens Voigt style, i made some cash while i was at it.

Cheers!

Scouting..

2009-01-20T09:38:00.004-06:00

Cyclists are very much creatures of habit. Once we find tires we like, we ride them almost exclusively. Helmets, shoes, saddles, and so on.. once we find one or maybe even two we like, we are content and rarely find new items unless a friend strongly recommends it.
Routes are the same way. In my lifetime of cycling, i have been exposed to many many different routes in many many different states. Of those, id say maybe a dozen were the go to rides.
At home, its the usual Chicken route, or on a twist, out to fermi lab; or a few slight variations of such. For college in Muncie, IN- Long way around the Reservoir was a staple. Columbus IN - general variations that included out grandview, a slew of climbs in brown county, through Story etc.
On all of the camps i have done, there was always a route that was a repeat either in the same trip or the following year.
Truth be told, its easy. We know the routes, we know the roads. In a group the times speeds by as conversation passed the tried and true roads. Solo - even a new mix on the iPod can break the monotony of the same roads, with the same winds with the same inner battles.
Last year i took 2 tried and true routes and merged them together. Head out down the Burlington tracks, zig zag through wheaton, come back in thru Glen Ellyn on a route from my junior days. Voila! I did it a few times solo, once with Ritzler and Wasman, and once with King. Everyone had favorable feedback.
Yesterday i went scouting for something new. Took the same format - started out with a nice basic refinery ride, and pieced together a nice additional loop. Now i still have to drive it, but Google Maps has made plotting new routes much easier than the old days of turning and twisting maps, taking notes then heading out to ride it only to find the roads don't exactly go where you hoped.
I am also hoping to plot a course out to an old favorite in the far western burbs - Johnson's Mound. I think i was 16 or 17 when i last rode out there. Its a big long day for sure. I'm sure urban sprawl will challenge us to find new roads to avoid serious traffic, but 18 years ago - it seemed like an easy ride through the country. That being said - if any readers have good ideas or suggestions to get out there from the Fermilab area, let me know.

still snowing...

2009-01-10T14:51:00.001-06:00

ok, so I think its clear which picture was just taken and which picture represents where I would rather be. Even the rainy days in Mallorca were better than here. At a time when many pros and amateurs alike are off somewhere pilling in the hours, im just watching the snow pile up and chained to the trainer.

Hope you are getting yours done where ever you are reading this from!

Gettin there...

2009-01-09T10:32:00.006-06:00

not quite mid month updates, but its gettin there. I'm on track to get 35+ hrs in, if i can ever get a ride outside, it may even be 40 hrs.
The weight is coming off nicely, and i need to share my tool for it - http://www.myfooddiary.com

I rarely recommend stuff, but having a degree and working in the industry for 10 years, this is one of the BEST tools i have seen. Back in the day i used the weight watchers to see what the people who were in the program were using, and it was a pretty good website. myfooddiary.com BLOWS it away. At $9 a month, its a killer deal and it has a sweet mobile app that keeps you connected to your diet on the run. It paints a black and white picture for you and leaves no guess work. You can track food, exercise, weight, water intake, etc.
For example, i had my usual decent breakfast, but management was in yesterday and took us out to Hooters, and a fat kid like me can resist wings, so i knew i was gonna wreck it.
All good, got back to the desk, logged the gut busting lunch, realized i was at 2500 cals for the day - ouch. No worries, chicken noodle soup and water for dinner brought me up to 2700, but my am workout was 500kj, so i sat on the trainer, watched the BCS game, burnt 1000kj more, NET intake - 1200 cals. Got on the scale this am - down another 0.5 lbs.

Cheers!

a spark of light in a dark winter..

2009-01-02T17:19:00.000-06:00

good news to all those dreading the looooooong winter here in Chicago.
Daylight savings is only 9 weekends away!!
Thats less than a macro cycle for all those with fancy coaches!

Wrap it up

2009-01-01T16:04:00.002-06:00

December ended a touch short of the goal.
32 hrs
735km
18,156kj
Down a total of 8 lbs from halloween.
Not too shabby

Early 2008 i got back in the race scene a few times, pinned a number to the jersey and pushed myself past the limit as much as possible.
We had a sunny and mild day for the Bone ride, many a good Chickenrides with all kinds of fun events this year. Lenny's ride was somber, but fun to remember all the fun he would stir up.
Chequamegon was fantastic, even if i did finish in the rain.

Now I'm of to what seems to be my best start to a season in several years. I hope i can keep my current momentum rolling and get healthy and maybe even a little fast for 2009!

Happy New Year!!

are you smarter than a turbo trainer? AKA 20 minutes in the hurt locker

2008-12-30T12:03:00.003-06:00

Anyone who lives north of ohh.. dallas! has at one point or another spent some time on an indoor trainer. Those of us in the midwest that actually race full season spend more hours on an indoor trainer than we do actually racing usually.
That being said, there are hundred if not thousands of ways to pass time and trick the mind while pedaling to nowhere. I'm sure i know a lot of them, and i am sure there are MANY that i have never heard of. Things i have done in my day for hours include the obvious: TV, bike movies, intervals, etc.. and then the not so obvious: playing PlayStation football, watching the Superbowl and doing intervals during commercials, and one of the most memorable was setting up a circuit that 3 of us completed doing crunches, lunges, and roller sprints!
All of these things are done in an effort to pass the time. Intervals are by far the most common, and i started in on the hardest intervals i know to do - the dreaded 20 minutes at threshold.
I have done some 10's, some 5's and a heck of a lot of 2's, but last night was the first voyage of the season into the hurt locker. The 20's are tough because you are trying to average a certain wattage, so you start a little light of the target, cruise into the zone, then hurt like a Mutha! to maintain it for the duration. Its catch 22, because if you start too light, you have to work extra hard late in the game, but start out too strong, then you are squealing with like 7 minutes to go.
I did pretty well last night, the first one averaged 238W, not bad; but the second one averaged 252w! i was pretty happy with that, as i had been assuming my LT was around 240w. I think it may be time to do a performance test and see if my off season efforts are going anywhere.

I will wrap up the year tomorrow, and have updates shortly. We have New Years MTB ride on order, so hopefully i will get outside for a ride for the first time in almost 2 months!

mid month check-up

2008-12-18T16:39:00.002-06:00

so far December has been a good month on the bike for me, despite ZERO outdoor rides due to the lousy 'Autumn' snow storms we have been hit with so far. Just think, we have had well over a foot of snow and its not even officially winter yet...
I have missed a few days and let a few double sessions slide by, but the current total for the month is 22 hours as of this afternoon, looking to add another hour tonight.
I am also down 2 more pounds from Dec 1 - making it down a total of 8 lbs from halloween.

I hope your December has been as good to you!

red zinger to coors...

2008-12-08T21:42:00.001-06:00

for my viewing pleasure this week, I have added a unique dvd to the collection. its a 3 disc set documenting the classic red zinger and following its conversion to the coors classic. it was 1986 when I first saw it on tv, and I bet I can still recite the 1988 coverage. the video features names like jacque boyer, dale stetnia, george mount, bob cook, a very young davis phinney and steve bauer, lemond, and alan mccormick. international names like patro jimenez, bernard hinault, louis herrera.

some great throwback jerseys from gs mengoni, celestial seasonings, elf, denver spoke, bianchi, etc.

its a great disc to watch as a throwback to what really set the scene for american cycling.

its been a fun 60 minutes on the trainer tonight.

A sunday in Hell

2008-12-01T12:10:00.006-06:00

No - i wasn't riding the cobbles in France, and no i wasn't even riding outside. By the time i got a chance to actually ride sunday, it was raining / snowing and i was not about to go out in the gook of the trail today, i didn't need anymore character.

Today i spent 2 hours on the trainer. Luckily i has a new copy of ' A Sunday in Hell' to watch and help pass the time. My review is that it was good entertainment, slightly motivational. But compared to other cycling films, there is not much of a soundtrack, and the commentary is a touch monotone for the significance of the race.

It was my own personal sunday in hell as we all know 2 hours on the trainer is certainly no fun, and it was the first ride on the trainer of that length this year.

November by the numbers.....

33hrs

774km

19230kj

down 4 lbs

Indoor trainer - the inner battle

2008-11-25T11:49:00.005-06:00

Its that time of the year again, like most of us normal working people, outside rides are reserved for weekends only, and daylight and weather force us inside onto the trainer. Its always a struggle to haul your carcass out of bed or to go get on the bike in the evening. There is no instant gratification, we have to be diligent for weeks if not months before we can truly see the fruits of our indoor efforts.

No i do not have the crew show up for the mass indoor group ride like these guys do..

Nor do i have the motivational Talent that some spin classes have to keep me distracted, -although the wife on the treadmill on occasion is always a welcomed distraction :)

I would say that so far i am winning the battle however -

Most days i get both AM and PM rides in, 1 hr each session, and for all of this month, i have got in at least 1 ride a day - no days off!

For all you other indoor warriors out there - keep up the good work!

Chasing....

2008-11-19T15:22:00.003-06:00

Generally in cycling - chasing is a bad thing. It means you missed the break, or even worse you have been popped out of the main group. Chasing is an odd topic for mid November - usually storied of grand chases of all varieties are more for the mid season fury where excuses are as thick as the humidity by the lake.

I am chasing hours now. I have been away from racing for several years now, with a few exceptions here and there to keep my competitive fuel alive. But really - i am behind the ball. Not that I plan a HUGE 2009 campaign, but id like some sort of return to form. More than a stab in the dark, something with some meat to it.

I looked back at my journals of the more successful season i have had, and 30 hours in November seems to be the magic number. Not easy... not hard, but not easy. Most people lack motivation to get that kind of time in at this time of the year, not to mention now is when mother nature just STARTS her hatred of outdoor cyclists in the northern half of the country.

My goal is 35 this month, and its still within reach. Today is Nov 19, and i have banked 17 hours to date, looking to add another one tonight. We have all had our spots of bother on the bike, and been in a spot of difficulty on occasion to put us in a position to chase. We all know that getting halfway across is not 50% of the battle. We know that the last 5 seconds is the tough half. SO for now, i have a good start, but finishing off this month i am looking at the harder half in front of me still.

Fat kid - Pedaling!

its a weekend, must be on the prairie path

2008-11-16T18:44:00.001-06:00

I ventured out for some more hours on the prairie path today. A stiff headwind kept things slow on the way out, but the extra effort helped keep me warm. It was a brisk 36 degrees, mostly overcast and west wind blowing around 15 per. I managed a few snaps here just north of the split in Wheaton. I rolled north a bit until I met up with the great western trail for a big ring ride home.

2.5 hrs

62km

1389kj

logging hours...

2008-11-13T21:36:00.001-06:00

traditionally most cyclists are wrapping up time off the bike, and getting ready to launch the new year.

I have not had a long hard season to take time off from, and I have a bunch of catching up to do.

my goal is to get 35 hours logged in november. so far I have 10, and logging another hour as I finish writing this. my weekend goal is to get 2 to 4 hours in, and during the week, I am posting double sessions on the trainer, am and pm.

more to follow. cheers!

Character

2008-11-11T14:24:00.002-06:00

I'd like to start this post by saying thank you to everyone out there that has served, or is serving our Country.

Its a honor for me to live in the nation you defend. The people that serve our country have a very special character they have developed over time.

Riding out in conditions like today, Enmark would always give me crap and say it builds character. I always responded I had acquired enough character to put on a play! He was right though, it does build character.

I looked at the forecast today, I knew the weather was marginal at best. But I also knew I have been out in worse, and it gave me the motivation to go out and get 3.5 hrs today.

The plan was to recon and complete a new loop, but despite my motivation, the thought of being 30 miles from home on a cross bike in freezing rain led my better judgement to save the recon for another day. I did modify 2 familiar loops to get it done today. I left the house with temps around 38 degrees and the promise of a headwind return trip. I settled into a decent pace and knocked out the first 90 minutes pretty care free. shortly after that point, an occasional section of light sleet dropped, but nothing serious.

It was shortly after the 2 hr mark the sleet picked up but now it was more rain-like. I found a parking garage to dive into for shelter, and put on the rain cape. The last 90 minutes was wet, but I was well dressed and warm enough to not mind it. It was almost enjoyable to have the path to myself and the knowledge that not many others would be out banking the hours I was getting in today.

Now im not sayin i'd do it again tomorrow, but it was ok.

the details to keep warm - sports balm medium on the legs and low back, craft windstopper base and smartwool socks. winter jersey, thermal jacket, and finally a rain cape up top, winter shorts and giordana thermal tights on the bottom. diadora winter shoes and shoe covers kept the toes warm all day ( if you don't have winter shoes, these have been fantastic for me).

3.5 hrs, 82km, 1872kj

ending temp 32 and raining

cheers

RDO cross ride

2008-11-10T17:10:00.001-06:00

Nothing beats the ability to work a 5 hr shift on a saturday to get an 8 hr day off during the week, especially when you can string it together for a 4 day weekend! So thats what i did.
Now i did have some honey do stuff to knock out so i started after noon, but it was sunny at least. It didn't get as warm as i had hoped, but the trail was still pretty hard packed despite some rain this weekend, and pretty free of runners or riders.
Ended up with just about 2 hrs today. Tomorrow if the weather cooperates, i have ambitions for the big boy loop to get me north of 100kn tomorrow, i will try to supply a few more pics if it happens.

OUT

I remember why i like the cross bike

2008-11-08T11:49:00.002-06:00

Sorry for n pics, but it was cold and that doesn't lend to taking off the gloves for much.
I headed up north to ride with the Alberto's guys today, we met at Daniel Wright woods for a roll up north on the Des Plaines River Trail. Nothing special, and several years back , we would spend SEVERAL hours on every weekend here from November to February. Its a great trail with some slight elevation changes, crushed limestone throughout and minimal road crossings. Plus its just plain pretty.
I remember i like the feeling of a 8 year old BMX kid when I'm riding the cross bike, darting around turns, the rear wheel skipping out occasionally. Hell, you know me, i throw in the occasional bunny hop and wheelie whenever i can! The cross bike is fun, especially when you are not pinned on the rivet. The scenery is nice, the woods are generally quiet and it always seems to sum up why you ride - its FUN!
I haven't been up to the DPR trail in several years now, but it instantly brought back memories of fun. The king of the ring competitions we would hold to work on handling skills, and the crazy cross madison races we would have when i was coaching with VQ. We got in just shy of 2 hours, it was a chilly 38 degrees to start, and we ended with a headwind and mist in our faces, but id have to say it was the most fun i have had on a bike in a while as far as pure riding pleasure.

I think i may send out an email to lobby for weekly cross rides with the crew in the area here, as i don't always have the time to drive up to do a group ride.

ALSO -
STC indoor is open for anyone that wants to log some trainer time. I'm lobbying for outdoor as much as possible, but once its nasty, we will rock out some indoor time.

cheers!

day 4

2008-11-05T21:06:00.000-06:00

ok so im a dork... its Rocky week on amc and what better way to pass time on the trainer than humming along to eye of the tiger!

2009 campaign - day one

2008-11-02T15:06:00.001-06:00

What better way to start off the next season than a nice roll with temps in the upper 60's.

I got out for about 2 hrs of pedaling, nothing special just enjoying a beautiful day in November.

I do notice the color balance on the camera on my new phone is in question.

Happy trails!

"Its YOUR Hilly ride, not anyone elses"

2008-10-22T16:29:00.004-05:00

The above quote was heard Sunday while we were sitting in a side parking lot of a church somewhere out on the course, enjoying a quick pee break and a clif bar.

Hilly was different indeed this year, and there is no doubt new rules will be set into play for next years' ride. When it started looking like the usual suspects would be out for this year, i invited a few of my friends from Chicago area. Eric was a coworker for many years, super lean and fully aggressive on the MTB. His endurance would be the question, but he was up for the challenge. Jason is my neighbor, a recreational rider on occasion, but always up for fun on a boys trip, he was hoping for rain so we could just hit the sportsbar. Cal is Jason's friend from school, and without question the fittest of any of us going. The only thing i had in my pocket was i know the route, and i had him by probably 40lbs! He didn't like the fact that i could roll away from him downhill, i told him that's how i feel when he can roll away from me uphill--lol.
Eric ended up having to bag it due to a family issue at the last minute.

The 3 of us left chi town around noon on friday and actually headed down to Columbus to see Joe at the shop. Jason got his bike tuned up and picked up some new shades.
We got to the hotel - Hampton In this year, and boys, let me tell ya, as long as i can help it, we will never stay anywhere else. For those of you that haven't been there, the usual choices are super 8, days inn, etc which are usually fine if you are only paying 60 bucks a night, but the bloom-town capitalists realize hilly is in town so we usually shell out 140-170 for a rat hole dump built in 1940. For about 20 bucks more and making reservations in January, the Hampton is MILES above the afore mentioned dumps. The chocolate chip cookies alone are worth the extra cash! Ok - Friday night, head out to Scotty's brewhouse ( i still hold a grudge cause they took over Mugleys at Ball State) but probably the best choice for decent grub, and lots of flatscreens.
Dinner was good, a few beers for me and several for the boys, we closed that place down around 11ish, and started walking toward the car. Unfortunately Jason and I were forcefully sidetracked into Bluebird that had a live band, and a truckload of sorority girls fresh from a fundraiser. Jay and I grabbed a beer and enjoyed the entertainment of watching Cal work the room. Weeellllll, we closed that place too, and by 3:15 we were back at the hotel. Ouch.

Saturday - 8:30am - Denny's run for breakfast, needed more than the hot food at the hotel. Cal slept in, Jay and I enjoyed the gland slams. Drove over to the school, geared up and were rolling by 11ish roughly. The boys were feeling rough, but did ok. Cal puked in his mouth over the second hill, and the Sisters wiped out Jay, he needed to hold still for more than a quick minute and i wasn't sure he would get moving at all. He puked a bit too. The rest of the day got better, the boys finished up in good shape all things considered, and we headed back to the hotel. Showers and naps ensued, and then back to Scottys for grub and all the sports you could dream of. Beers flowed much more slowly, and i think most of us were drinking 3 waters per beer and stopped at 2 or 3 beers that day - go figure. We did get to watch Illinois trounce Indiana, and Texas wallop Mizzou. Back to the hotel and back to bed by 11pm, no late night Hilly activities on saturday this year.

Sunday - Denys again around 8ish, everyone was doing much better today. Frost on the card meant we lingered around the room a while longer before heading over and rolling out around 11am again. The boys did great on sunday, paced themselves better on the climbs and kept it rolling well. We rolled out of Elletsville around 2pm, and headed North at a dangerous rate of speed.

We had a blast, some pics to come, and some good rules for next year for sure!!!

Ridin Durty!! ???

2008-10-09T10:05:00.002-05:00

Now before i launch into my rant for today, i will be the FIRST to admit, i have rolled my fair share of stop signs, yellow lights, and such. Hell, i rolled an orang-ish to pink-ish light on my way in today.
However, i have NEVER, EVER blatantly rolled into an intersection at full speed, not looking at traffic and busted through an intersection. EVER.
Its dumb. Period.
I have been hit by cars, i have been on rides and have seen riders i am with hit by cars, and seriously injured.
WHY WHY WHY would you intentionally put yourself in danger, and even worse, why would you put fellow cyclists in danger.... what do i mean you ask?
I have had a mantra for a long time that its guys like "that" ( that ride dangerously, run lights, piss off traffic) the get guys like 'me' hit. Because that car that has see cyclists dart out in front of them, block up traffic, or whatever, when they see a guy like me on the road, they can use their 2 ton deadly weapon to take out frustrations.
Now to be clear - i am NOT picking on any particular group of riders, commuters, hipsters on their fixie, messengers, racers, and so on, we all have rebels in our own clicks that will ride dangerously, and those that choose to ride safely. I have never been on a ride of any kind, or even a race of any kind, that the prize was so great, that it was worth risking my life for.
I have dropped myself on group rides that blew through red lights blatantly.
ITS NOT WORTH IT! if you are tougher because you can drop me because you blew a light, then fine, you are a better cyclist than i am, be sure you spike the ball when you get to the end zone.
Now i am certainly not safety patrol - 4 way with no traffic, roll it. Red light that i have stopped at and the is NO traffic, maybe roll it, depends on if i know how fast the light changes or not.
Stale green that's gonna go yellow, stand on it and get thru it before it turns orange, then pink , then red.

Be considerate to fellow cyclists on the road, ride safe, ride smart, and at this time of year, right with lights!

Peace out

Acceptance of Fall - UPDATED

2008-10-01T09:15:00.003-05:00

I have accepted that it is fall, mostly because of 2 reasons i am embracing the change.
1 - i have had 3 flats in the last 2 weeks of commuting to work, so i have broke out the 28mmm kevlar tires to help avoid the crap in the roads.
2 - despite having on a longsleeve, a wind vest and knee warmers, i was still cold going home last night.

Today's wake up was 42 degrees with winds from the northwest at 10-15.
Craft baselayer, longsleeve, full legwarmers and even the skullcap were on tap for today.

The good news is Hilly is now only 17 days away

so the good news of the brisk Oct 1 is that i rounded up Tawse and King for a wed night outing. Not only did i commute out from the city but got in another 1:45 with those guys.
Tally for the day??? 4 hrs 115km - what did you do on Oct 1??

rollin the cross rig

2008-09-27T15:47:00.001-05:00

i decided to break out the cross rig today. Its a bit early for it by looking at the weather, but we have already had 2 cross races in the chicagoland area. Not that i intend to race much cross, but its always a fun ride. I traded up this year to a new Cannondale TJ cross rig, all aluminum. Now my last cross bike had a great nickname of the pumpkin, and the cross hog. This rig is not hog at all! Its super light, nimble, quick and stable all at the same time. It just plain feel fast. Perhaps my old Kona was wore out or old geometry, but this bike is night and day. I set out for my old standby triangle route, west on the Prairie Path to Wheaton, north through Winfield, catch the Great Western Trail, and head southeast for a while until it hits the Prairie Path again for the return trip home. Great ride, the bike impressed me the whole way.

60km, 2.25 hrs, 1234kj

I guess i need to start working on a new nickname for the cross rig

Hit by a WHAT???

2008-09-25T20:44:00.003-05:00

So i am rolling in today, no one to talk to so i have one ear bud dangling for entertainment. No need for tunes, the local villagers are all i need for excitement. Just east of Pulaski this morning, i narrowly avoid colliding and being assaulted by - Yup a dude in a motorized wheelchair!!!
Now maybe it was because he had his head cocked all crazy looking at his buddy over his shoulder, or perhaps he was operating a wheelchair under the influence like the crazy guy above. Now i could be wrong, he could have had coffee in the brown paper bag he was holding, but i'm going to go out on a limb and say it was a fine variety of malt liquor, nothing better at 7:30am, breakfast of champions.

For those of you that don't commute in Chicago that read this, if you ever want to experience some of the most bizarre and amusing riding ever, feel free to hook up with me for the commute ride and experience some of the REAL sights of the city.

Keep your eyes on the handicapped, you never know when they might be gunning for you!

Bike Pool-ing

2008-09-24T09:04:00.002-05:00

I mentioned in one of my prior posts this year how enjoyable it is to spend some time on a commuting ride with someone else, chatting. I have ridden slower and faster just to spend a few minutes chatting with someone i have not met before, find out where they are headed, where they are going, what they do, etc, and share in the camaraderie of bike commuting.
Today i saw a rider in front of me as i was heading towards Austin, he was pedalling at a pretty good cadence, and was moving pretty well. I shifted up a notch to see if i could close the gap. Fortunately he got caught at the light at Central, and i realized it was MTB Matt Silvia. Its even nicer to share some commute time with a friend. We talked about the morning, cyclocross, traffic and such. He turned north at Ogden and i continued my roll east into the Loop. It was a solid 15minutes of time that passed quickly both in time and speed, as MTB Matt doesn't ride slow too often.
Per the season, I'm leaving the house with the sun barely breaking the morning sky, arm warmers pulled up and gloves on the hands today. This week has been a certainty for lights. Up till now i could squeek by. With the combination of me working til 6 this week, and the evening getting shorter, i need the big lights for a good 20 -30 minutes at the end of the ride. I can tell it wont be too long before i leave the bank with the lights blaring full.

Ride Fast - Jump Logs

Guilty... and Chequamegon narritive.

2008-09-22T17:29:00.003-05:00

Indeed i was almost guilty of the "haven't posted in an month" offense, but just like every good bike racer, i have my excuses ALL LINED UP!
see my posts referring to the dirty chickens held over the first few weeks of september leading up to the Fat Tire Festival.
Fat Tire weekend is always a highlight of the year. It was the 2nd Annual Lenny Parisi Northwoods Open, it was a beautiful day and well attended. Many beers were drank in honor of Lenny, and a good time was had by all.
This year we had 2 Texas Cadillac's in the caravan to the Northwoods. Gatto had the big black Chevy, with Tawse, Bos, Gatto, picked up a Balmer en route.
The SS Valdeez was my big white Ford, with Smooooott, Ritzler, MTB matt, picking up a Dixon en route at Balmers place. Feltz and JP were rocking out the Volvo, and met us up north. The walkie talkie came in handy for some great heckling, and police alerts.
The race was a good one this year for me. It was a warm morning, so there was not much need for extra planning of layers to be removed. I started with armwarmers, and had them rolled down by mile 6. Of course the SRAM crew got rocking early, and i learned from last year to keep my pace on the road roll out, and start picking off people after Rosie's field has settled the nerves and increased the HR. It misted off and on during my ride, the course was wet, but near as muddy as i had thought it would have been. The new wheels i got from Alberto's Sport were handling the conditions excellently, and the suspension tuning from SRAM was spot on for me.
I was eating and drinking on schedule to avoid getting to the last 10 miles with nothing in the tank. I latched onto every wheel i could get on the fire roads, and found one guy with about 6 to go that pulled me along nicely until we got to about 3 to go and i decided i was close enough to gamble on an effort. I finished up the ride in 3:27, taking about 20 minutes off my time from last year. Just as i was finishing, it started to lightly rain, which turned into a downpour after i got out of the shower and cleaned up. Unfortunately we loaded our gear in the rain, and started our journey home back to the Chicago Suburbs. Thanx again to SRAM for hooking me up with a sweet place to crash, not more than 300m from the finish line. I love hanging out with the SRAM crew on Fat Tire Weekend, always good for some laughs!!

Roll in - Roll out, Repeat

2008-08-26T20:00:00.002-05:00

Been status quo the last few days. I can tell fall is coming and it wont be long before i'm on the cross bike for the commute.

As much as we all LOVE summer as a cyclist, fall has its own feel.
It feels like off season, it feels like cross season, it feels like time for Hilly, and all that jazz.
I like having to pull on the arm warmers in the AM only to have a super comfy PM ride home.
The sun is much lower in the sky, and if i had to guess, id say that by mid September, i will need the light for the first 20 minutes and last 20 minutes of the ride in and out.

I usually switch to the cross bike around this time, again it FEELS like fall, i run pretty beefy commuter tires in anticipation of spending more time in the gutter as the sun gets lower and more in the drivers eyes. I do enjoy the feel of fall when its checkout time at work, and i can roll home with the sun having just set, the last glimmer of light and the Nite Riders in full glow. Something kinda fun about rolling the rig in the dark.

Hope all of you are enjoying the fleeting days of summer, getting your MTB ready for Chequamegon, and blowing the caked on dirt off the cros rig for some fall fun!

Ciao

That didnt take long

2008-08-20T10:19:00.004-05:00

it was what - 12 hrs ago i was posting about how its been kinda bland and boring and appologizing that i didn t have much to say??

well after almost getting hit on the ride in this AM - i do..this post is gonna go Brad Davis style..

Now the city of Chicago is a dangerous place to be on a bike, its high alert at ALL times, helmet snugged down tight and Spidey senses working on HI..
but this incident happened in the suburbs.. not that the burbs are any safer, but this incident - WTF?

I have discovered that Ford has a new money saving tactic to help their profits, they do not equip their cars sold in lower class neighborhoods with turn signals.

I am heading eastbound on washington in River Forest - a pretty quiet street at this time of the morning. Some chick is heading westbound and about to hang a left to go south right in front of me. now i know she sees me cause we make eye contact and she pauses, but then the fucking 'Can starts to go again, and not in a big hurry to get out of my way, but just going along, so i yell something like HEY, YO YO, she looks at me and kinda flips her arm up like she was gonna flip me off or somethin and she pauses again; so now that she almost hit me, i am forced to put a foot down cause she wont clear the freakin intersection!
Now fortunately The Enmark is the Prince of Personal Protection ( yeah i though that one up after the fact) and has showed me how handy and how easy it is to use a collapsing baton.
I always have mine strapped to my bag, so this 'Can was lucky enough to have me plant it square in her back quarterpanel, and i think that finally got her attention properly, and at that point she proceeded to take off.
Now i was a bit nervous about the situation because there were 2 or 3 other cars around and i didn't want to seem like a vigilante, but the guy in the car that was behind this lady yells out - 'You OK? crazy lady! good for you for yelling at her' I think he missed the baton part.

Other than that, todays ride in was good. Nice and almost cool in the AM's, but beautiful on the ride home.

yes.. im still alive

2008-08-19T20:53:00.002-05:00

Summer has been lackluster for me..
i have had a great vacation, work is going well, family is good..
but the bike.. well the bike has taken a back seat again.

Its that time of year where all bike racers either forget how to ride their bike, and they pack up the season, or that they toughen up and have a great last month of the season.
Seeing that i have not been much of a bike racer, it was easy for me`to fold up like a house of cards!

After taking several weeks of sporadic rides at best, i am happy to report i am back in the groove, and at least getting the commute to work done on a regular basis. I need to get ready for the last few events of the fall.. Chequamegon is just under a month away, and my loaner MTB has been repo'ed of its wheels, so im having a tough time getting any dirt rides in. Hilly Hundred is just under 2 months away, and despite it being the annual slow race of the year, it still need a small level of fitness to get trough all the hills.

All is well, nothing else to report really. Im sure now that i have good thinking time on the way in and out of work, i will have something good again soon

Peace out

Spiking the Ball on Retards

2008-08-08T08:26:00.002-05:00

About 6 weeks ago, i was writing about how i almost felt like a bike racer again, all was well, i think i may have had a glimmer of fitness even. Now - well now i don't think i would even make the cut in the tryouts for 'fat guys with remote controls' Olympics. like how i worked in the Olympic with some form of electronic device there? wauka wauka?)
So everyone that was asking where i have been, i thank you for the concern - but i have been busy with birthday parties, vacations, and post vacation laziness.
Back in the swing again now though, a few good days of commuting, and of course that brings some stories.
Anyone that rides their bike to work, or has done so in the past knows that although the ride is enjoyable, it is usually done solo, and usually pretty monotonous. Anytime you have the chance to ride with someone else for even a small portion of your commute, its a good day. As a whole, cyclists generally waive, now, lift a hand, etc to acknowledge another biker on the road.
I have mentioned in the past that the city brings all sorts of genres of cyclist out on the roads, and each has a hierarchy of waive-ability to another rider. Today, i am less then 5 minutes from my house, out in the suburbs, where commuters are a much less common site. Some dude on a mountain / city hybrid comes rollin past me so of course i take note and say MORNIN!, loud enough that if he was on the other side of the road, he would have heard me. NO RESPONSE. wtf?
so i take note of the rider, bright yellow jacket, gortex / rian pants of some nature, and realize its a goober. Man its like 67 degrees and even myself as the most overdressed man in the peloton is wearing a jersey and shorts. Now the funny part, so he is riding down the middle to left hand side of the road, not just to pass me, but riding there.. kinda strange. The first time he looked over his shoulder at me i thought nothing of it, but the second time he had to look bit more and it was then i realized i could Spike the Ball on a Retard. The dude swerved and almost bashed the curb, he was proud to roll past a fellow biker on the ride in.
The Enmark has long been a great resource for wit, cynicism and generally fun sayings. Some of my Favorites include 'You can't fix Stoooopid', Douche nozzle and one of my recent favorites, that when you beat up on some guys that are lacking in ability - to "dont spike the ball when you beat up on retards", or for short Dont spike the ball on retards.
Back to the commuting story - so after yellow jacket mas has about taken himself out in an effort to get past me, i decide im going to crush his dreams, shift one gear, lift the rpms's to about 100 and roll past him. The overpass for 290 was all i needed to bust out a whopping 250 watts, and ditch rain pants man.
Gotta love spiking the ball on retards - sometimes!

Crit Racer..

2008-06-25T08:08:00.005-05:00

an old grumpy guy i know has long been a firm beleiver that in order to be a biker racer, you must, on occasion, RACE your bike. My fitness this year is better than last, but not up to snuff where i was hoping to be. This past weekend was the Cobb Park Classic in Kankakee, IL. In the list of favorite races ever, this one is certainly in the top 10. I have been racing there since 1988, and it was missed for a few years when it vanished from the calendar. I have some great memories of racing there as a junior, then going back with The Enmark and Dennis - we watched in delight as The Enmark single handedly devastated and completely decimated the cat 4 field there, going solo for a good chunk of the race, only to fall victim to a late effort by the only remaining few guys that had some gas, and he got caught with the finish in sight. 2 years ago i made an appearance there after building confidence by winning the Monsters of the Midway race the day before. Cobb park has a great set of sweeping corners and 2 tight 90 degree corners. I bring up this point for 2 reasons - the first one, is that there are a lot of jumps in the race, so after having my confidence pulled out from underneath me because i had no fitness for jumps but i could go full gas for 200m, i went from race winner, to race DNF in a weekend.
The second reason i bring this up is to talk about being a Crit Racer. Its no secret that here in the midwest we really don't have many road races, nor are we known for breeding good road racers. For years the midwest was Crit central, a place to work on your speed, bike handling and CORNERING! The sweepers at kankakee are not the wide open easy to get through even if you are a tri geek kind. The 90 degree turns are even tougher. Its a technical course, and a course that guys like me drool over. Having the skill to blast through corners at speed, jump out of turns and get on the gas hard to stretch out the line, these are the things that i distinctly remember from the days when i truly was a Crit Racer. Do we have no more races where bike handling is essential? have we gone too safety conscious that all turns must be gentle? are races planned Dan Daly style like this coming weekends Eagle Creek 500 where there are NO TURNS? its one big oval folks! No i don't think that everyone needs to be a demon through the corners, but in order to progress as a bike racer, you should have a minimal level of competence at turning your bike without screwing up the line, braking in the corner, etc. There was a dude from a certain chicago based, messinger originated , black and white kitted team in the 1/2/3 race at Kankakee that COULD NOT turn. This dude would over brake going in, screw up the line going through, then flat stand on it to get back in line and if i was behind him of course he would gap me off the wheels. Now its my own damn fault for getting gapped, but for god sake dude, we dont need to go through the turn at 17mph!
I was fortunate enough to have some clean air to run in a few times when i was attacking and got a good look through them and BLASTED it at full till. Curb to curb, tubbies on the edge of skipping, full gas on the exit, like a Crit Racer is supposed to turn. Of course i was smug seeing the carnage behind as the accordion was in full effect from my effort.
Over time, those that ride with me have seen me be able to dig deep. To go inside and find another speed, another degree of suffering. Brown County state park is such a place, another was some long training days in Mallorca. Cobb Park is certainly one of those places and for the first time in a few years, i was feeling the juice. I was a Crit Racer again for 45 min + 3 laps.

Here is how the racing shook out -
masters 30+ - i was working for Haas. Heavy turnout from Mack and Lucas Oil. I covered some stuff, and would launch the occasional attack to help narrow a gap or make a launching pad for Haas to counter off of. I went all in, light the whole match book and throw gas on it about 9 times in the race. I ended up getting dropped and sitting out a lap on 2 occasions, but they were not pulling guys so it was cool. Seems like every time i would come back from almost dropped or dropped, Haas was ready to give it another shot so i lit the candle again. My last efforts was with about 3 to go, so i bowed out of that one to watch the finish. He ended up in the top 10, after the break of 6 which lapped the field.
Cat 1/2/3 - there were only about 4 cat 1/2 riders, so they combined the 2 races - I was a Crit Racer again. I was totally cooked after the masters race and had even changed and packed up to head home. After guilting Haas into doing the 1/2 race and hearing it was combined, i decided i should race with him. I was able to comfortably ride in the front, this race was all about me. Hung out in the wheels, stayed smart, stayed cool. Prime lap - Smott takes it. Indeed i was beside myself, smiling ear to ear. Crit Racer. the pace dulls, what the hell - ATTACK. Blast through some turns, string it out, be the giver instead of the taker. I was even able to get right back in line with ease. All i needed was some Bolle sunglasses and a sweet Mullet and it was the Rich from years ago at Cobb Park on sunday. Very pleased with the day, but also living in reality that it may be a while for that to come together again.

Ride fast, Turn faster

Smoooooooooottt

chickenride

2008-06-11T19:42:00.001-05:00

ride report...
i suck.
guys that actually ride bikes went fast

for sale:
50cm cannondale system six
full SRAM Red group
SRAM SRM
mavic kyserium equipe wheels ( low mileage)
$2500 or a few grams of coke so i can go party with Boonen

Empty Spaces

2008-06-09T21:27:00.003-05:00

Pink Foyd had a song about empty spaces. BKW has had posts about a space for you rig, a wall or a room, or what-have-you. i am fortunate enoug to have a modest bike room with way too much stuff piled into it as i am a packrat.

there are some classics, such as the 50th anniversary paramount that was my first REAL race bike, that is now the trusty steed for my wife. there is a super nice dual suspension Haro on loan from Tawse. there is my super slick Colian track bike with an old school curve in the top tube. there is my state of the art Cannondale with full SRAM Red and SRM, and so on and so on. i recently sold my old cross bike, the pumpkin has been passed on. for those of you that knew my old cross bike, it was a pile of extra parts, 2 sizes too big for me, but it was orange and it had character (and as a side note it ripped it on the knobstone trail in indiana). she will be missed, but i have a sleeker lighter replacement filling her shoes already. the issue here is an empty hook. a place to park one of my stable-mates. could this be a new project rig? a single speed? or better yet a 29er to romp around at Palos wit the crew?

my friends, i have every cyclists dream problem and every cycle-spouses nightmare... i need a new project rig.

Things i have learned on my commute...

2008-06-06T11:54:00.002-05:00

Wednesday the group rode out from the city to the Chickenride, Bos and i were chatting about all the interesting things we have learned on our commute.
I could put a blurb in here about how this is no intended to harm anyone, or intended to be stereotypical, but lets face it - most stereotypes out there were self imposed and self proliferated.
here is the list...

Most car sold in the inner city, especially Pontiacs and Buicks do not come with Turn Signals

Inner city school have a hard time teaching the alphabet - we hear " A A A A A A" quite a bit when riding. We should focus some efforts on teaching the full alphabet, i try to do my share by coaching them and saying " B B B B"

There must be a Chicago share a bike program that we have not heard of, again we hear " hey gimme your bike" quite a bit

The vision of residents is impaired in the early morning, as they tend to wander out into traffic frequently - on accident I'm sure.

Plastic bottling has not yet reached Chicago, as is evident by the multiple piles of glass in the roads - see next reference for another theory...

Alternate glass theory - in effort to reduce littering on the roads, residents smash and grind down glass bottles to get them back onto the earth's soil. ( i have often pondered how hard it would be to collect these glass piles and relocate them onto area basketball courts so athletes of all kinds can share in the experience of dodging glass, i hate keeping it all to myself as a cyclist)

The bike lane is an excellent place to double park your car and lay on the horn when picking up people in the mornings. I'm sure area neighbors enjoy this, and i especially love having to dart into traffic when traffic invades the bike lane.

for those of you reading that may be under the age of 18 - please have your parents skip this next entry - The hookers on Washington Blvd only come out after 7:30am, and the warmer the weather, the more there are. I rarely see any when i go in early, and when i was wearing tights it was only the occasional one solicitor. Now that its shorts and short sleeves, they are out in force. Now by contrast, the ones i see off of Homan and Fulton going home are much more plentiful, and must have taken the advanced sales classes as they will impose conversation unlike those on Washington that just walk back and forth.

Churches makes great spots to change flats if you need to do so on the commute. They provide a slight sense of sanctuary and i feel less likely that the rest of my bike will be removed from my possession compared to when I'm changing flats in front yards.

That's all for now... happy weekend to all!!!

Smoked...

2008-05-29T08:40:00.004-05:00

The excuse list is as follows:
1 - didn't eat enough for lunch
2 - still tired from the Bone Ride
3 - went too hard on the way out to the ride
4 - shouldn't have gone for that sprint
5 - must be flat legs today
6 - blah blah blah

Facts - i sucked yesterday
i probably suck even more today

Big wednesday - rode in, rode out, attempted to do the chicken - had a minor seismic implosion on the return trip. By the Numbers - 5 hrs 15 min, 2754kj, 130km, 1 meltdown

I will post some pics and tales on the chickenride web page later. Look for the New Column - Pro of the week interview on the Chicken page

Richy's Bone Ride

2008-05-24T16:32:00.002-05:00

For a full ride summary go to http://chickenride.blogspot.com/
to read the full version.
I rolled my Zipp 404 Tubies to help save energy where ever possible.
The ride out was pretty low key, a light to mild west / northwest wind kept things under control.
It was about 4:30 to get into Madison with the wind holding us up. I had polished off 2 bottels, 2 cliff bars, a flask of hammer gel, and 2 packages of sport beans on the way up, i felt like i was ahead of the game again this year. I picked up a footlong from Subway and a big coke to keep the caffeine rolling in me. The ride home wasn't bad, but i had some spots where i was uncomfortable. Our group was caught about 25 miles after we left by a handful of other guys. With the tailwind we were able to roll around 23-24mph pretty easy, but guys constantly wanted to push that up to 26 or more, and with the rollers we encounter close to Madison, i was not as comfy as i had hoped. I think between maybe 170km and 200k i felt the worst, but the BP we stop at for a quick refuel cam up quick which helped moral a TON! that BP is at 200km, and is a huge mental landmark for the ride. It marks about 30 miles to go, and it is also the scene of my complete meltdown in 2006. Personally i like to see the BP, but i only want to stay long enough to recycle fluids and keep moving. We opted for a unique route back into town courtesy of a local guy we know, and that helped mix things up as well. Once we got to about 7 or 8 miles to go, everyone was feeling relief, and the mood was mellow and improving as we neared the finish.
I would say that this year was one of the best rides we have had in the last few years of doing this. It was good to see some old friends for the ride, and i can only say thanx a million to my Ed, and to the guys at SRAM.

Details -
250km - 155 miles
7:57:52 of wheels turning
I did beat last years time with 2:05 of not pedaling!
4483 total KJ burnt ( not bad with 2 hrs not pedaling)
time out was just about 4:30, so that makes 3:30 for the ride home.

Consumed 4 bottles of Gatorade, 3 bottles of water, 2 cokes during the ride, 3 cliff bars, 2 flasks of Hammer Gel, 3 bags of Sport beans, on footlong sandwich, bag of doritos, and a big coke for lunch!

Some of the guys wanted some Starbucks before we rolled out, but Bos was quick to spot the baskin-robbins and i grabbed a chocolate shake for the trip to kenosha area for some fine dinning at Culvers. Noting says recovery like a butter burger.

Now we have just 363 days left till the Bone Ride 2009!!

Final Prep

2008-05-19T10:38:00.001-05:00

The original plan was to get out for Monsters of the Midway crit on saturday - plans went south on that and given that the Bone Ride is now Hours away - i opted to get out for some distance.
I ended up with 3.5 solo, and felt pretty good cruising through a new loop out by Lisle, swooping through a section of Naperville, before turning north to get thru Wheaton, and heading due east thru Glen Ellyn (FYI The Bike Shop has a new home north of the RR tracks in Glen Ellyn Now), Lombard, Villa Park, Elmhurst, etc. Good loop, i added some extra time on the zoo path.

Finally i rode in today - will get a casual pedal home tonight, take Tuesday off (gotta taper ya know!) - then a final tune of the rig for the EARLY wed Am departure.

I don't know why I'm nervous about the ride this year but i am. Same game plan as always - HIDE for the ride up, and only pedal when you have to on the way home. I'm going to see if i can break last years numbers of not pedaling for 2 hrs of the event.

From here - its just a matter of rolling the dice!

the 5/14 chicken and 4 days till Bone

2008-05-16T15:04:00.002-05:00

it was a light turnout of the usual suspects for this weeks edition of the Chicken. A calm crown rolled out toward the theaters, and good conversation was had by all. On the roll into the Romeoville sprint, it was easy to see the group was in no hurry to get there. I gassed it at about 350m and only Bos and Todd came in tow. Bos made quick work of me and punched it past at around 100m to go for the points there. The 3 of us regrouped and continued to roll, which nullified the usual Tawse attack into extra time. Tawse did take advantage of the tailwind, and attacked the group that was rolling bar to bar to get about a 5 sec advantage at the u turn.
We were very thoughtful and left Scooter out there to marinate in the headwind up until the Natural break at frontage road. We had a nice rotating line from there, it was a bit choppy-er than usual, and seemed to be victim of the 'fast-slows'. The roll up Wolf was pretty Piano, but i fell victim to the skinny kids that gassed it hard core up the hill at Joliet Rd. I was left in the fodder and have no idea who took the V. Lousy Skinny Kids. I will warn you all, dont take the sprinter to the right hander on Plainfield Rd!

Now for the Bigger task - Bone Ride 2008
On wednesday May 21 we will ride (weather permitting) from Milwaukee, Wi, to Madison, Wi, consume an extra large coke and a footlong something rather from Subway, and ride back to Milwaukee. Its 160 Miles. 260km. A LOOOONG day in the saddle.
On paper, i have enough long rides in to make it through, but there are a LOT of variables.
Weather, wind, turnout, etc that can influence it. Im hoping to get my 'you finished' hug from ED again this year.

I will keep you all updated

Fat Kid - Out