Pedals of Fire

Yeah, as the great-Gus once said "You gotta keep it tight Roadie...TIGHT" And well, product speaks louder than words, so here they are. The new pedals. They go well with the color scheme of the XTC...a visual feast of color for your eyes.

The Tour in Chaos

I just read this morning that Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, both are out of the tour becuase their name...THEIR NAME... has been implicated in the spanish doping scandal. 31 riders have been kicked out, Mancebo, Sevilla, Beloki just to name a few. I'm sure by this evening there will be even more riders, what a shame. This really opens the doors to Hincapie, Leipenheimer, Landis, Cadel Evans, Rasmussen, who knows, maybe a few new names but there will always be that asterisk for this year 2006....no Ullrich, no Basso. In utter shock. This is event is something I look forward to every year...now....the luster isn't there. I will still watch and monitor the race every day but its going to miss something. Italian soccer mired in controversy, go Juventis, American Baseball..thanks balco, Cycling, Basketball thugs, Football thugs, Cheating college football stars taking money under the table...this is what sports has become.
Other than that, getting ready for the long weekend. I hope to get some picts posted of the new pedals up pretty soon. It won't be till after tuesday since I'm going to be pretty busy over the holiday. The crank brothers pedals, the candy and Quattro are very nice and shiny but their respective clip-in doesn't feel just right, it feels too soft and the cleat material seems like its going to wear out quickly. Only time will tell.
The Vuth is getting married this weekend...hope the sun stays out for him and his fiancee. He'll have fun either way. I hope to get back on the bike this weekend, its been too long off it, One hour ride one day to get the legs ready and then hill climbs the next day. Maybe a wells ave race on the 9th, we'll see. Gotta get in better shape, too many deserts and not enough fun time on the bike, but i have been able to spend loads of time with the litte one...and he is doing really well, the joy and excitment he brings is pretty amazing.

The big ball of fire in the sky

Tuesdays, a good day to get out and ride, well, instead I'll be at the Sox game loading up on the sausage subs and over-priced beers, but it will be worth it.
Took a nice spin yesterday, able to get about an hour in just before dinner time. Lots of road and washout debri on the roads but I kept motoring along. Met up with some other roadies to get a nice paceline going, however it seemed that my pulls up front were at about 3 mph slower than their pulls, i was eventually dropped......not that they or I was surprised.
Just a few days left before the Tour..Can't wait, hopefully we will some great riding, good break-aways and Chris Horner sitting on the ground at the end of each stage (Get that man a Chair).
Not sure about a new tire for the MTB. I run Panaracer Fire-Pro's right now but was thinking of switching to the Kendal Nevegal 2.1 Stick-E or the Kenda Blue Groove. I'm not sure. I don't want to get a new tire that can't prevent the random pinch flat. So far the Panaracers have been pretty solid during the races, do I dare switch...an ideas?
Gotta start really thinking about this Cyclocross stuff, do i even dare...can I even compete if I can't keep up with a Cat 5 racer...hmm...training time...zero. Rather watch the little one lie on his stomach and roll over...its pretty exciting as a new parent, then again, a shiny object would keep me occupied right about now

Even the Rain Was Wet

What a waste of weekend! I don't know what the rest of the summer will bring but this rain has got to let up. Everything is so damp, nothing will dry. THe only good to come out of it is that at least i don't have to water my plants and crabgrass. The ground was pretty drenched after the deluge on friday evening, that putting some forsythea plants along the fence line was rather easy digging. I actually need more plants to help spruce it up a bit. The yardwork is never ending, we need some serious landscaping of our pit.
Sunday morning, Wells ave training race, drove to the race, and it was cancelled (its just rain...). I waited around to see if more people showed up maybe we could piece together our own little training race. It never happened, only 3 others showed up. I wonder how the Putney VT MTB race was? It had to be pretty slick and with all those hills...I bet it wasn't pretty..
Last night, mexican dinner night out. IT was good to get out with the family and mark. We had some good before he headed out for his improv show, i'm sure it was a super funny show, it always is when they have this group gets together. We missed it though becuase not only being tired ourselves, the little one was gettin' ready for bed time, and any time you can catch some sleep as well..GO FOR IT.
Alright, gotta close this up, time to take the garbage out and do other married man duties as we say. Maybe the sun will come out and I can get back out there on the bike..any bike.....
Till then, everyday is another adventure

Friday dribblings

It's friday. The weather is not looking too good right now for the weekend, but i've come to expect that lately. At least I won't have to water my crab grass and weeds....my yard is in sad shape but the way I see it, crab grass is green and its a form of a grass. Right now a little fishing trip would be nice. Little fly fishing, a cold beer, good company...that would round out this week quite nicely!

Midweek Shuffle

It's only thursday, but at least there is only one day left of work. This week has definately flown by. Wednesday I decided to try a different route home from work. Ended up biking for 90 minutes up through cambridge, arlington, lexington and back to home. I'll call it a training ride but man are my legs garbage today. I think riding in today was a mistake. The black clouds rolling in mean one thing...its gonna be a wet ride home. With the way the past 4 MTB Races have been, riding in the rain will be like another training ride..ha ha...
Big news, the little one has learned to roll over. I'ts pretty exciting, and it seems he even amazes himself...start him off on his stomach and after about a minute or two, he rolls over onto his back, and then he cries, in excitment no less. hahaha
Picked up a 12 pack of naragansett beers, it came with a free Fathers Day Tie, so I thought it was appropriate, I'll just have to find the right occasion to wear it, maybe one of the two weddings I have this summer. Beer tie...real classy.
Wells ave on sunday....maybe. I'm not sure I want to be dropped and destroyed so quickly again, but if I get a green light, i'm going to give it a go...and maybe try not to get lapped until lap 9 this time!!!!
Junkfood review: Marzo 29 in watertown has pretty good homemade Gelato. I have tried the chocolate, hazzlenut, marzzapan, pistacchio, coffee...all have been really tasety..really tastey, as in I could really use one right about now!

Stretched out like an Elastic

So, the weekend has come and gone. It was a busy weekend, fathers day for me as a new dad and Aidans Great-grandfather came to visit. IT was a great saturday, family was in town for a little BBQ and getting to hand out with the little one. The US/Italy game was really good, those refs blew the game though, they should be suspended, but what do I know, I'm just a fair-weather fan.
Big Golf Clap for Barry Wicks and his secret racing line that allowed him to win the Mnt. Snow Super-D race. NICE!!! and I guess his twin tower couldn't be left out so Ryan Trebon took home the short track victory.
Well, sunday morning, I awoke to the sound of crying, not my own of course... At 8am, coach Gus arrived for the morning ride over to Wells ave. It was this roadies first "Race", criterium style, category 5 racer action. I was racing in the C-race, my final effort would be better described as a F-race..."F" for flop. Got some warm-up laps in the parking lot as instructed by "coach". Did not know what to expect. Probably about 30 guys in the group, all looked to be pretty fit. Yupp...they were. The first 3 laps, the avg speed was 27mph..damn, I could barely hang onto the peleton. By lap 8 I was off the back just trying not to puke, the elastic broke. Luckily I had prepared for the race by leaving my water bottle at home. I was lapped around lap 12, I really have no idea, I just didn't want to get lapped again. My heart max'd out by lap 4, the legs were good but I just didn't have the motor or endurance to hang on, so I rode my own race , solo effort 90% of the time, just trying to stay above 22mph, which is pretty slow considering but I never did get lapped again (think positive). I had to laugh though becuase I remember lining up that start line and looking around at everybodies bike and mine had to be the oldest, crappiest bike there. As Francisco said when he looked at my bike "Your bike, I do not like, it is no good." There were road shoes there worth more than my bike. I felt like I was riding a huffy. I do have to say it was a new level of suffering and it can only get better...I hope, becuase if i have a few more weeks like this, i'm gonna take up fishing. Last note on the race, whomever that guy was who kept yelling at me to slow down so I could get caught by his team which was leading the peleton.......why?, but thanks for the encouragement
The rest of sunday was spent doing yard work, sweeping out the garage, rebuilding the MTB, taking out the garbage, drinking beer and eating everything in site. It was a hungry day.

Up and Coming...Weekend

Looks like the weekend is almost upon us and its going to be a busy one indeed. The good news is that the sun is going to be out and shinin' bright for two whole days. Unheard of recently. Got the US vs Italy world cup game. We know who is going to dominate that game, unfortunately it won't be the red white and blue. Hope to get a quick ride in on saturday morning before the fathers day plans begin. maybe a little spin along the river to keep the legs firing. Maybe apply some insecticide to the house foundation, sweep out the garage, stain the deck, the list goes on and it only gets longer!!! 2 weeks..Tour De France. SWEET.
Sunday....could be a suprise for this new-father on fathers day...something a little different for this mountian biker. Details to follow

North Shore Classic -Mud Fiesta

I should have known that the race was going to be muddier than I had planned when driving into the State Park we noticed that water was up to each side of the road, just inches from washing over the road. There were swamps and ponds where fields used to be. Not too mention that the drive down route 1, there was still a lot of flooding present. Long story short...Chaos...The mass start was really exciting however I lined up in the wrong spot with a few other Root66-ers and we were at the back of the pack. The whistle went off and it was a mad dash to pass people. Too many people tried to outsprint everyone and some even bonked on the first 1/2 mile. I tried following Dave L. and Todd L. through people since they are insanely fast and talented. Just trying to pick off riders as fast as I could, that seemed to be everybody else's game plan as well. People who got off the line right away were long gone and tough to catch. Settling into the first lap, my heart rate was maxed out so I had to ease off a bit to calm back down and get into a better rhythm. Mile one, treachous with just the number of beginner riders..Mile 2...let the mud bonanza begin. There were 1/2 mile stretches of 8-10 inch deep mud....walking 1/4 mile sections was not un-common. There were one or two hills that were just insanely slick but fun. Lots of walking, Got a few words in with a Kona/Luna lady (always a nice thing) A.B.....she was really hammering up the hill that I was walking but a slower rider prevented her from riding the whole hill. IT was pretty nuts. The mud, did I mention how deep the mud was or how in some sections it just seemed to go on forever. There were points that my tires caked over so bad they wouldn't pass through the chain stays...and the v-brakes, I had to stop at one point and pull out the grass and mud clumps just to get them working again, not that v-brakes were doing much good. Shifting was a whole other debacle. Both front and rear derailleurs worked, but by the end I was having lots of ghost shifting issues. The single track sections were lots of fun, the downhill sections were extra fun but you never knew if you that one mud patch was just a patch or something deeper and more menacing. Luckily there were no sharp turns on the downhills or it would have been washout city. On the final mile or so, the single track dumped out onto the road and I thought that was the end so I just went as hard and fast as I could to pass a few riders while getting a good mud spray in the face. To my surprise the course entered back into the woods and onto some single track before the finishing straight, I held my position as well as the urge to vomit. Crossed the line, finished pretty good considering (7th out of 23 in the age group and 21st out of 89). Photos were compliments of Vuth who mucked about getting some pretty good race shots. I'll post his website up once his race shots are in.

Rain Rain...and more rain

Does it ever stop raining? 3-days....again!!!!
Its gonna be a mudfest tommorrow...North Shore Classic should be legendary....
The mud and water will surely be a factor, not like its going to effect my back of the pack finish. I look forward to the mass start, that should be a great thing. Hundreds of riders sprinting for positions...huffin' and puffing...the suffering is going to be quite a trip
Till then...off to a b-day party...gotta carbo load

Layin' the Groundwork

So, if the twin towers Trebon, Wicks (good riding at Mnt Hood stage race by the way), or if Carlin Dunne, Cowan, need to take a break or start slipping, the little one is ready, waiting, eyeing his chance...right now thats his resting pose....the pressure, the stress...all taken in stride...look how calm he is. Unless ESC steps up with a ride, something we'll have to discuss with the owner.
Whats up with the deluge of rain, my backyard is doubling as a swamp. Whom ever landscaped my place was not thinking, my yard is V-shaped so all the water runs to the middle, and you know whats in the middle...my foundation, so all that water eventually finds its way into the garage/basment. Gotta put down some concrete caulk and seal it up better. Just another house project that I will get to soon.
Speaking or riding, anybody see how the americans did at Dauphine' (Velonews Article. sweet ride on the TT...
The MTB is still awaiting repair and a tune up. Haven't had the time to give it a full tune up and get 'er ready for sunday, not that its going to effect my finish at all, just want to make sure that I use plenty of chain wax and silicon spray, thats my version of a Duct tape fix it all....just throw some chain wax and silicon spray on it and it will be fine!!! Thinking of finally switching out my front rim, a Bontrager Race Lite, to a Cane Creek AeroHeat. Not sure if its gonna ride better or not but that Bontrager is pretty old but the hubs run smooth still. The rear rim ran smooth until the rim started cracking and falling apart. The Cane Creek rear wheel is running strong. Not much play in the hub, tight spokes, maybe the braking surface is a little rough after three races in the mud and dirt.
I should get to it. Gotta run....

Tired Tuesdays

With the skilled help of Master Roadie mechanic, the Schwinn is back up and running. New chaingring is ready to go. However having a lycra clad mechanic in the my basement sure raised a few neighborly eyebrows...Just kidding Gee-man.
The Giant XTC however is in dire need of some work after sundays race. I'm not sure if there isn't a bearing seal that isn't packed with black mud and grime. Gonna have to rebuild the bike before the North Shore Classic. Its gonna need some serious teflon grease action to loosen up those hubs and any other sticking points!! Then again have you ever tried to tune up a bike while holding a squirming kid....its gonna be interesting. Then again i might just hose the bike down with Purple Extreme and go from there.
Monday was pretty productive, got the bike fixed and even had time to cut the lawn which is mostly weeds but at least its green!!! Even had time to make a decent dinner with garlic bread and other unhealthy butter soaked goodness. Its almost like a Sievel meal...garunteed heart attack but tastey on the way down...just don't go toward the light. See ya

Channel 3 MTB Mud Race

Don't fall asleep behind the wheel. Thats all i could think about this morning before the race and I would not DNF...If I had to run the course becuase of a mechanical, I would have...it would have been good exercise too. The little one decided that sleeping was not in his pre-race gameplan so....I didn't have to worry about an alarm clock to wake me up! At the start line, the usual suspects were present along with some new faces. Beginner class....my home of MTB racing. Training rides this week...zero...time on the MTB...limited. The rain stopped and the course looked to be rather mud-free in most sections. At the start whistle I got past quite a few riders (whom would be passing me later) and I was able to get up to 4th for most of the 1st lap, hanging on the back tire of Dave L most of that lap, Chuck and Roadie #2 were no where to be seen, however during the ascent up the twin maidens (or whatever they called those hills), three racers caught back up to me, so much for my climbing capabilities. We entered the switchbacks, a fun little section of ups and downs, tight left and right hairpin turns. The brakes..were caked with mud and grit, but they never really worked that well anyway, the panaracers were caked with mud and slipping over anything they touched but that was predictiable. However I was able to keep the pace high until the first wipe out on a hairpin downhill turn....three guys passed me in a flash. Onto the second lap. Lungs, heart were in overdrive..legs weren't too bad, lower back pain started kicking in but it wasn't too bothersome yet...gotta figure that out as to prevent it again. Some nice bridge crossings and pretty cool rock garden stream crossing made the course interesting and fun. Got passed by a few guys from the 40-49 group, I tried holding their wheel but they had the good speed to drop me like most. Crossed the finish line in 7th (out of 14), not too bad on little sleep. Bike made it through in one piece as did the rider. I was happy with my start, that was pretty cool to hang even just for a few minutes with those guys, I look forward to next weeks event where hopefully I can improve or just survive but with little one and work dictating the hours....just gonna show up and ride it like I stole it......

Yadda Yadda Yadda, HOly crap. Never combine hot wings, high lifes and a late night bowl of ice cream, my intestines are on autopilot right now, they can't decided what to do. I was loading up on the calories getting ready for my big flop in sundays Channel 3 MTB race. I went with the intention of eating something healthy but hot wings, steak / cheese sub followed by a late night bowl of girl scout samoa cooking ice cream could not be resisted. I'm paying the price right now. However it was well worth it!!! The usual suspects also consumed large quantities of food that would make a heart surgeon cringe...Sievel.....you and cheese burgers (do we need to qoute Tommy Boy)...Vuth and the fried whole belly clams....actually....i could eat some tastey fried seafood right about now, one of those fishermans platter where they serve up fried calamari, shrimp, fish, clams...all served over a bed of french fries.....

This is what you do during "down-time"

Just like the title says....down time on company time. I've tried to include an image in the header but apparantly i'm not savy enough to figure it out. Its a process that i'm working on...most likely it will take about another 50 hours to figure it out.