It seems like I can go around 80-85 miles before the right knee starts acting up. Luckily, I guess, I rarely ride that far. Back in 2005, a mere month before the start of my rookie racing career, I hyper extended my right knee in spinning class. Every now and then it flares up. That happened again with 20 miles left to go at the Mum Festival century.
Sis, Angie and I started in the fog and cold and Angie had a flat about 2.5 miles in. Not a good thing to start with on an overall bad day for her. Speed wasn't a factor as I was out for mileage so we just rode at whatever pace would suit us. At the 60 mile cut off, I was happy to see them follow me on the 100 route. Unfortunately, I didn't know that neither Angie or Sis had spent much time on the bike recently until we were deep into the ride. I felt really bad for pushing them to do the hundred with me. We got to Kaiser Lake and went DOWNHILL to the food stop. They changed the route to go down and not UP the hill. Crap. Anyway, there was one more cut off at 75 miles for the century riders to go and right before that Angie was cramping bad. I decided to take the extra loop and let them ride back. Well, that was a dickhead move on my part, but I paid for that karma about 3 mile later when I blew my knee out. I limped the rest of the way back to the parking lot with a mileage of 98.40. No way was I going to ride circles around the lot just to get 100. Packed up and went home.
Note to the organizers, and how many times does this need to be said? Please put the painted TURN markers farther from the damn intersections!!!!! Some were actually IN the intersection. On a good note, there was plenty of good food at the Kaiser Lake rest stop, but nearly NONE at the first rest stop. By nearly none, I mean "very few cookies" because the 30 milers ate them before I got there. Harumph.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
wine vs whine
In my second departure from the topic of cycling, I will discuss whining while enjoying a glass of wine.
Blogs are funny. Blogs are stupid. Rarely is a blog enlightening. Mainly it seems that blogs are for people to whine about (whatever). I have about 35 blogs saved as bookmarks and just spent the better part of a half hour checking each one. They are all listed under "cycling blogs" because they are all bike riders of some shape or size. One guy decided a while back to quit racing for whatever reason. That's cool, but he's turned his blog into a cry-fest about his job and the government. Complaints about how his life/job sucks and how CEO's are making too much money, etc. and how Republicans are basically the devil incarnate (blame game). People like this fucking irritate me to no end. It's like he wants to go through life with his 9-5 job, have a house, 2.5 kids, a dog and have no worries in the world. Well, guess what? People have hardships. In this day and age, it's "tough out there" for everyone. It's up to you to rise above your own personal issues, get over it and fix your problem. Problems don't get solved by whining about them. Especially on the internet.
Sorry for my whine about whining. I just don't get people who "blog" about not having a fair shake in their own life. If you are healthy enough to work and wealthy enough to afford a roof, electricity, a computer AND have the free time to write your thoughts on a damned internet web log, then your life is better than about 95% of the world's population. Suck it up, cupcake.
Good Lord, it seems that two days off the bike may be too much for me! Good thing I'm riding tomorrow. See you on the road.
Blogs are funny. Blogs are stupid. Rarely is a blog enlightening. Mainly it seems that blogs are for people to whine about (whatever)
Sorry for my whine about whining. I just don't get people who "blog" about not having a fair shake in their own life. If you are healthy enough to work and wealthy enough to afford a roof, electricity, a computer AND have the free time to write your thoughts on a damned internet web log, then your life is better than about 95% of the world's population. Suck it up, cupcake.
Good Lord, it seems that two days off the bike may be too much for me! Good thing I'm riding tomorrow. See you on the road.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Tipp City mum festival bike tour this Sunday
Link to information HERE
I'll be doing the century, probably solo unless someone wants to join. Assumed pace will be 18ish mph with cookie stops MANDATORY.
I'll be doing the century, probably solo unless someone wants to join. Assumed pace will be 18ish mph with cookie stops MANDATORY.
Monday, September 22, 2008
6000
Yesterday's team ride took me over the 6,000 mile mark for the year. This is the earliest I've hit that mark since 2005.
2003 - 5,183.73 miles total
2004 - 5,188.05 miles total
2005 - 6,000 on 9/8 - 8,266.76 miles total
2006 - 6,000 on 10/9 - 7,191.75 miles total
2007 - 6,000 on 11/24 - 6,550.17 miles total with surgery and a 2 week Scotland vacation thrown in.
2008 - 6,000 on 9/21
Looks to be a good year mileage wise with no vacations on the books except for a short one to go camping, but that will only be a weekend trip. Training for 2008 began on October 20, 2007. Sounds like a reasonable date to begin training for 2009 so I'm going to be quite lazy over the next month and just ride around with no ambition and play with my TT bike. The good news is that I'll finish 2008 in way better form than I ended 2007. No burnout and no long time off the bike combined with several hard group rides per week has found me in good form. Between the vacation and surgery, I was off the bike for around 5 consecutive weeks. Not this year!
2003 - 5,183.73 miles total
2004 - 5,188.05 miles total
2005 - 6,000 on 9/8 - 8,266.76 miles total
2006 - 6,000 on 10/9 - 7,191.75 miles total
2007 - 6,000 on 11/24 - 6,550.17 miles total with surgery and a 2 week Scotland vacation thrown in.
2008 - 6,000 on 9/21
Looks to be a good year mileage wise with no vacations on the books except for a short one to go camping, but that will only be a weekend trip. Training for 2008 began on October 20, 2007. Sounds like a reasonable date to begin training for 2009 so I'm going to be quite lazy over the next month and just ride around with no ambition and play with my TT bike. The good news is that I'll finish 2008 in way better form than I ended 2007. No burnout and no long time off the bike combined with several hard group rides per week has found me in good form. Between the vacation and surgery, I was off the bike for around 5 consecutive weeks. Not this year!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Yes, we finally have internet access
I never realized how much the internet is vital to my business, not to mention my bicycle gear window shopping.
Anyway, the state road race got pushed back to October 5th. I'm scheduled to go camping that weekend, so I think the season is over officially. I've already started my off season program of core work, which is always UNfun. Pretty soon it will morph into weight lifting and early morning trainer sessions.
Good lord willing and the creek don't rise, I can keep my weight down this offseason. I set myself back last winter and shot to 180 pounds and it made a rough spring to make it down to sub-165. That being said, I was 172.5 after our sushi fest last night. Ooops.
Anyway, the state road race got pushed back to October 5th. I'm scheduled to go camping that weekend, so I think the season is over officially. I've already started my off season program of core work, which is always UNfun. Pretty soon it will morph into weight lifting and early morning trainer sessions.
Good lord willing and the creek don't rise, I can keep my weight down this offseason. I set myself back last winter and shot to 180 pounds and it made a rough spring to make it down to sub-165. That being said, I was 172.5 after our sushi fest last night. Ooops.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
#31 Speedy Feet time trial
A great way to end the season! Conditions were perfect and the bike path was clear so I was feeling really confident going into last night's race. On the line was $50 cash, winner take all. Since I've won all four previous races and I had the new weapons, things looked good.
Anyway, the path is east to west and there was a slight wind from the north. That made things even better because I didn't have to deal with any head winds. I started out hard and kept it up, ending in my highest 15 minute power output since I've had the powertap (311 watts). I also ended up with my fastest time trial ever, at 26.2 mph average (including the turnaround where you basically have to come to a complete stop to negotiate a 180 degree turn on the path). Now I'm $50 dollars richer and I'm taking my wife out for sushi Thursday to celebrate.
I'm still on the fence about Sunday's road race, but chances are I'll probably do it but this was basically the end of my season. Now it's time to tear the TT bike apart and set it up UCI legal.
On a side note: I've been without an internet connection since the storm, hence the lack of updates. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop surrounded by people with laptops. Dorks! Oh wait.
Anyway, the path is east to west and there was a slight wind from the north. That made things even better because I didn't have to deal with any head winds. I started out hard and kept it up, ending in my highest 15 minute power output since I've had the powertap (311 watts). I also ended up with my fastest time trial ever, at 26.2 mph average (including the turnaround where you basically have to come to a complete stop to negotiate a 180 degree turn on the path). Now I'm $50 dollars richer and I'm taking my wife out for sushi Thursday to celebrate.
I'm still on the fence about Sunday's road race, but chances are I'll probably do it but this was basically the end of my season. Now it's time to tear the TT bike apart and set it up UCI legal.
On a side note: I've been without an internet connection since the storm, hence the lack of updates. Now I'm sitting at the coffee shop surrounded by people with laptops. Dorks! Oh wait.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
#30 Colavita September TT
With the weather the way it's been the past two days, it seemed there was little hope of a dry day. When I took the dogs outside around 1:30 this morning, it looked like it just got done pouring down. Luckily when I got to Greenville, the roads were kind of dry but getting dryer, but the bad news was they were freshly fricken chip sealed three weeks ago. Chip seal + cycling = slow and bumpy.
I saw Jim Matson in the parking lot and thought "shit, I'm racing for second" as he beat me last month by over 1:30. Nutz.
Armed with my new set of tires and tubes, I started fourth on the day. About 4 miles in I passed my one and two minute men within seconds of each other. There was a little wind, but the weather said it was coming out of SSE, which was odd since I was going West and feeling it. HUH? By the time I hit the turn around I was feeling drained but looking down at my powertap showed that I had a several seconds on my normal "out" section time. Good news!
The trip back was much faster. Ah ha! The wind was coming out of the SSW - now that makes more sense. I was still feeling rough though. A combination of only 3 hours of sleep last night, chip seal and the "out" wind made me hurt more than normal. Praying at the 1 mile to go sign that I had a decent time, I looked down and gave it all I had which didn't feel like much. 301 watts to be exact for the last mile.
At the finish I was spent, but saw a new personal record! I was 26 seconds faster than the previous two months. 29:01 via power tap (29:05 official). At the registration area afterward, almost everyone I heard had stories of how their times were slower due to the chip seal.
In the end, Jim still beat me but this time by only around 30 seconds. I ended up second to him in my division and fourth overall.
Now the bad news - my stupid decision back in March and April (when I was between TT bikes) cost me a free jersey. At those two races (March was actually cancelled due to fog) I chose to race the Orca in the "standard class". For whatever stupid reason I didn't ride age group and since the requirements to repeat as Series Champion was to ride 7 of the 8 tt's I was hosed. Well I was present at all 8 but raced two in the standard class. I'm an idiot. No jersey/championship for me. I'll get it back in 2009.
To add insult to injury, in the April race had I chosen to race age group I would have gotten second place with my time. BUT NO, I got third riding standard class.
I saw Jim Matson in the parking lot and thought "shit, I'm racing for second" as he beat me last month by over 1:30. Nutz.
Armed with my new set of tires and tubes, I started fourth on the day. About 4 miles in I passed my one and two minute men within seconds of each other. There was a little wind, but the weather said it was coming out of SSE, which was odd since I was going West and feeling it. HUH? By the time I hit the turn around I was feeling drained but looking down at my powertap showed that I had a several seconds on my normal "out" section time. Good news!
The trip back was much faster. Ah ha! The wind was coming out of the SSW - now that makes more sense. I was still feeling rough though. A combination of only 3 hours of sleep last night, chip seal and the "out" wind made me hurt more than normal. Praying at the 1 mile to go sign that I had a decent time, I looked down and gave it all I had which didn't feel like much. 301 watts to be exact for the last mile.
At the finish I was spent, but saw a new personal record! I was 26 seconds faster than the previous two months. 29:01 via power tap (29:05 official). At the registration area afterward, almost everyone I heard had stories of how their times were slower due to the chip seal.
In the end, Jim still beat me but this time by only around 30 seconds. I ended up second to him in my division and fourth overall.
Now the bad news - my stupid decision back in March and April (when I was between TT bikes) cost me a free jersey. At those two races (March was actually cancelled due to fog) I chose to race the Orca in the "standard class". For whatever stupid reason I didn't ride age group and since the requirements to repeat as Series Champion was to ride 7 of the 8 tt's I was hosed. Well I was present at all 8 but raced two in the standard class. I'm an idiot. No jersey/championship for me. I'll get it back in 2009.
To add insult to injury, in the April race had I chosen to race age group I would have gotten second place with my time. BUT NO, I got third riding standard class.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Test run
Monday and Tuesday were test runs of the new equipment on the time trial bike. Encouraging preliminary results. Training rides are much different than race day rides though and Saturday will be the real test. It appears that the same wattage gave me about another MPH and my typical MPH average had lower wattage. Then again, these test runs were not done on a race course, just my typical TT practice route. Breezy but not windy so I had to run tests in all four directions, etc. I can only imagine what people think when they see me running tests over and over (and over) on the same stretch of road when they're out mowing the lawn or something.
After the TT Saturday there is one more next Tuesday then that is it unless QCW has any more on the books that I care to drive 1.5 hours to get to (for a 10 mile TT, I doubt it). After that, more changes are going to happen. When I originally got "fit" on my bike, the "fitter" gave me a hand out with dimensions for both the FIST setup and UCI setup. Subjectively, I (wrongly) chose the FIST setup. With Master Nationals being a priority for next year, I am going to switch over to the UCI setup right after the final TT. I'm going to use the rest of September and October to "fiddle a liddle" with my position while staying within the confines of UCI legality. Depending on the results, it's one of two directions: Find another bike fitter, preferrably a big name in the business, or head to the A2WT wind tunnel. If my own testing is solid and I'm getting decent results, I'll go for the tunnel to tweak. If I am unhappy with my results, it's time to overhaul the position with a fit guru.
After the TT Saturday there is one more next Tuesday then that is it unless QCW has any more on the books that I care to drive 1.5 hours to get to (for a 10 mile TT, I doubt it). After that, more changes are going to happen. When I originally got "fit" on my bike, the "fitter" gave me a hand out with dimensions for both the FIST setup and UCI setup. Subjectively, I (wrongly) chose the FIST setup. With Master Nationals being a priority for next year, I am going to switch over to the UCI setup right after the final TT. I'm going to use the rest of September and October to "fiddle a liddle" with my position while staying within the confines of UCI legality. Depending on the results, it's one of two directions: Find another bike fitter, preferrably a big name in the business, or head to the A2WT wind tunnel. If my own testing is solid and I'm getting decent results, I'll go for the tunnel to tweak. If I am unhappy with my results, it's time to overhaul the position with a fit guru.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
ROCKTOBERFEST
Whatever - should be called fat fest.
Although the beer was good (some German variety), the eyes were put on high alert. I'm kind of surprised a sink hole didn't develop. Being a former lard ass myself, I won't go hard on people, but that being said it's still not easy to see all these people cramming sugar waffles in their cake holes.
On another note for those who get excited over such things (I think that's me only), I put secret time trial weapon #2 on the bike when I got home. Monday will probably be it's first test run.
Had a good ride today - it's too bad more people didn't show up for the event but it just meant more cookies for my own personal cake hole (cookie hole). Dobo and I had a conversational 77 mile ride right at 19.0 average.
Although the beer was good (some German variety), the eyes were put on high alert. I'm kind of surprised a sink hole didn't develop. Being a former lard ass myself, I won't go hard on people, but that being said it's still not easy to see all these people cramming sugar waffles in their cake holes.
On another note for those who get excited over such things (I think that's me only), I put secret time trial weapon #2 on the bike when I got home. Monday will probably be it's first test run.
Had a good ride today - it's too bad more people didn't show up for the event but it just meant more cookies for my own personal cake hole (cookie hole). Dobo and I had a conversational 77 mile ride right at 19.0 average.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Bore ring
I think I am the most boring person on the planet. From the looks of it, I would make a perfect candidate for Vice President. My wife is gone for the weekend so what are my big plans? Bachelor parties, wine and dine social engagements, poker with the boys, college road trip, hookers and blow? No, no, no, no and hell no. It looks like I'm going to sit at home tonight and rest my knee (no, the other knee), my neck and back. I may make it out of the house to go to the grocery. Saturday I'm going to ride a bike tour and follow that up with having a couple of beers with my dad at the Oktober Fest. Sunday, we have an open house so I have to take the dogs and leave. I'll stow them at the farm while I (surprise, surprise) go ride my bike.
Secret time trial weaponry #2 may get a rollout, provided I "have the time" to install it. Colavita's last TT of the year is next Saturday, got to go out on a high note, so I need to have a couple of test runs before that.
Secret time trial weaponry #2 may get a rollout, provided I "have the time" to install it. Colavita's last TT of the year is next Saturday, got to go out on a high note, so I need to have a couple of test runs before that.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Shill post
http://www.projectveloracing.com/waco.php
Blatant shill post for the bike tour that my team is hosting. Proceeds go to supporting youth cycling.
I'll be doing the 75 mile route, but I'm riding from my house to add a few more miles. If anyone wants to join me, leave a comment or email me. I'll be leaving from my house at 7am.
Blatant shill post for the bike tour that my team is hosting. Proceeds go to supporting youth cycling.
I'll be doing the 75 mile route, but I'm riding from my house to add a few more miles. If anyone wants to join me, leave a comment or email me. I'll be leaving from my house at 7am.
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