Video....Courtesy of ESC

Not Tight

Yes, I look that tired......welcome to bonkville

Just a start

Alan, the Photographer does a great job getting some good shots for the Root66 crowd.

Sprints with the Hometown Crowd

I don't remember what the last post was about, but i'm sure it had to mention the cold/fever I had. I'll just start off with the good stuff and skip the fluff (however fluff, peanut butter with Nutella would be a triple decker combo of sweet sanwichy goodness).... Headed to CT for the Smashing Pumpkins race. A new set up, wife, infant, stroller and the whole family were in tow. The legs weren't exactly up to snuff after a good 3-day fever, sore throat combo infection and limited sleep. Had my cousin and Todd out on the course taking pictures and heckling me to go on. So with the family on the sidelines, had to give it a good shot, or least a good start.
It was a small group, about 12 in my age class. Talk of some new single track out on the backside of the course was all the talk at the starting line. We line up, the whistle blows, and I just decide to Tree Farm it off the line and rocket (Sprint off the line and make everyone crank to catch up...stretching the field out, breaking the rythym, maybe cracking a few riders). Took off, had a good 5 second gap on the field, the heart rate went up, breakfast came with it and I had to settle down to follow AJ for a bit who caught up but he was on a mission, luckily James and I hooked up and paced eachother for most of the first lap. Good start..! Riding hard on the first 3/4 of the lap..felt ok, not great but I was giving it a good show. Picked up a stick in the rear derailleur, chain started skipping like mad. Just kept riding it out becuase riders were behind me, or at least I thought. Tried motoring back to 2nd wheel but no luck, derailleur and drivetrain were having none of that. Todd and Eric were cheerin' me through the fun sections. Gave it a little extra gas, it always helps. Came through for the 2nd lap, nobody behind me, passed by the folks, having a good time, forgot about that puke feeling I had. I should have known that it wasn't going to get better. Midway through, a guy on a CX bike was drafting me so I tried to dump him, only on the single track but he would be right back up there on the wide flats....he did a few jump and jive moves and was around me on a piece of somewhat technical terrain with log rollers (more like a speed bump, I think todd has a photo of that section, i wasn't keeping it "tight"). I should have taken notes for the CX season becuase this guy was like silk, super smooth. One technical section later the rear tire slid off a root and the bike and I went down. The cleat on the right shoe came loose and I could not get unclipped. Decided it was just quicker to take my foot out of the shoe, remounted the bike only to find the rear wheel out of true as well. It was cocked over to one side and the brakes were rubbing, had to disconnect the rear brake. A bunch of 40-49 yr old passed by while I sorted that out. Didn't want to give up. When you fall, you can either get up and ride hard and pissed or allow it shake you off your rythym and kill your motivation. I did a little of both. Rode the last mile out and finished a respectable 3rd. 54 minutes or there abouts I think. Pictures will follow, maybe a video, it was a great race despite the mechanicals. it was good to have the family, grandparents, wife / son, todd, etc. It was a good race. No more beginner, next season...Sport, a whole new level of finishing last! As Coach-G says...Keep it Tight Roadie.

Down and out

Its been 5 days and it has been nothing but a feverish, mucous, sneezin' wheezin' mess. I cannot kick this cold. Those little viral monsters have invaded my system and avoide immune system detection. The lack of sleep probably has not helped much since the little man is sick as well. When he doesn't sleep, we don't sleep. The Last ride was sunday and that was only 30 minutes of pain. Today was the first day riding since then, and the legs feel dead. Hopefully they will come around before sunday. I just want to finish the event, get some training on the legs, maybe try out a few CX moves that the coach-g taught me and see how it goes. I imagine its gonna be tough to breathe when every breath you take is followed by a hacking cough and some rainbow color flem. I thought everyone would want the visual. Just a quick update, thats all I have, it's been an ueventful week. La Casa De Pedro...probably one of the best restaraunts around. Check it out if you are in the area. There steak, chorizo, paella, etc...all amazing dishes and the list goes on.

Landmines and Lapped traffic

Its been quiet a few interesting days on and off the bike. Boston college once agian pulledi to ff in double overtime so it was a good game for the little man to see. The crowd noise definately jolted him a little bit but being able to stare at some many moving objects made his day. The legs felt a little better with a few days off so saturday evening, hit the streets with the CX bike and got the saddle height dialed in as well handle bar tilt. The bike is definately coming around, which is more than I can say for the rider atop. Hit some baseball fields to practice dismounts and remounts. Went pretty well until the legs gave out and decided it was best to ride it home before bonkville set in. Sunday was a day in patience. I did a local CX training race...15 laps, 30 minutes. Didn't sound so bad. It pretty much went as follows: Sprint off the line, taste puke, jump off bike, run, jump a barrier (a horse couldn't jump this thing- i looked like a fat kid at military camp), taste more puke, slide back on the saddle, hammer....get lapped. I finished 4-laps down..luckily there were two other suckers who kept me company and the leaders had no fun passing this wheezing looser. I had the only bike that didn't have an ounce of carbon fiber or some fancy name brand part I couldn't pronounce. Proud that I was keeping it real....at the back...way back of the pack. Sunday late afternoon, the coach showed up and demanded beer and tightness so the schwinn got the Coach-G tune up and the GT got a little TLC as well and then it was off to have the brazilan heckle me in the training fields. Got some good advice, good tips, some strange commentary that makes no sense. After parking it for the day, I noticed my basement smelled rather rank, turns out people don't clean up after their dogs as much as I thought...shoes, tires...nastiness....No more riding for a few days this week...nothing like a fever, a cold and a sore throat to round the weekend off

Maidan Voyage

Yes, you are looking at the new, slightly used CX bike. Look out C-class riders, for those of you looking to finish last, watch out, cause thats my spot. I'm gonna challenge you for second to last place, just maybe. Podiums, I don't think so, Beers back at the car becuase you didn't DNF, hell yes!!!
I got the maxxis mimo tires on last night and they look pretty tight. However this morning, riding the GT in, I noticed that these tires have amazing traction, they pick up every grain of sand and dust and spit it back in your face...which was a good thing becuase I needed something to wake me up. The bike handles pretty nice. I have to work out the positioning still, raise the seat, get a new stem to push the bars further out for my lanky arms. But the bike is ready to ride. She can handle the bumps really well and when it gets rough, nothing gets rattled loose. It's definately a real looker....and since I ride so slow, everyone will get a long, very long look.
Happy birthday to Vuth, turning the big 30....its all downhill now, so ride it fast and corner hard, becuase its only a few more years till your 40......

I don't have much to update since this day job has been getting in the way of riding and hanging out with friends. Not too mention the drool creature at home is getting rather active these days. Rolling over, eating his hands, rolling over some more, coating most everything in a thick layer of drool. NICE....

Lookin out for the one you love

2 person tent, girlfriend, and a bike....tough decisions have to be made

Hills-Laughs-More Hills

Labor day weekend. If I were to count the calories consumed compared to the calories burned, it would sicken even the hardest individual. It was a great weekend even though it rained pretty good one day. I could give you the detailed synopsis events of the weekend but I wouldn't want to bore you with the mudane details of middle aged newbie parent trying to entertain his son with goofy expressions every 5 seconds that illicit a funky smile or gob of drool. The brief but not brief vesion goes as follows. I brought the roadbike up north so the Schwinn could grace the newly paved route 103. Saturday I went out at turtle pace and just took it a nice 80 minute stroll, creeping along the harbor. I noticed that some maple trees were already turning. Its too soon for this to happen. I made it to the top of Mnt. Aggie, it was pretty tough going, the form just wasn't there so I turned around and headed home. Saturday night, I hung with two familiar faces. Good to see the boys again even though one of them rides around on "Tiger Paw" tires. Those tires sound like they belong on some pink tricycle. I couldn't let that slide. I made it be known. And its good to see that the UNH site has got photo's up, it made for an entertaining evening.
Sunday. Rain and dreary skies. It kept up us cooped up for most of hte day, occasional sneaking out with the little one so he could drool in the fresh ocean air. Not too mention, watching the water run out of the gutters...to him...that was some pretty amazing entertainment.
Monday, i think my legs were made of lead. They could even push the pedals so like a true athlete in training I joined up (more like tagged along) with some bike club. I talked briefly with one fellow about Cross racing. He said it was the ultimate suffer-fest, more pain than i could ever imagine. He wasn't painting a bright picture. The group ride finished their warm up period and put it into high gear. I was dropped pretty damn quickly. They passed me again after they themselves did two laps up Mnt. Aggie. Cyclocross season, still have to think about it.
Gotta get the Giant up an runnin for the Landmine race this weekend but I think to spare my equipment from further super-abuse. If it's raining on sunday, I'm skipping the race and riding sprints in the basement instead. Maybe fire up hte ESC-GT and get her ready for the first foray into "suffer-fest". Why couldn't they say..."its tough but not bad".....

Shutdown - Restart

So, the brain tells the rest of the body what to do
however there are some days when I have to believe the brain is tired, ready to give up, thinking of quiting, but the legs are saying "screw the brain." They just go about their business. They are the engine that just keeps running even after the key has been pulled. They know what to do, i think the legs stopped listening to the brain the other day. 80 minutes of riding in traffic, stop lights, pedestrians, 23.42 miles...thats about an average of 27km/hr. Not too shabby for me. The next day...brain and legs agreed..nap time. Lets see if the form returns tommorrow after a rest day...cuase "I don't think this is a Brains kind of operation"...just have to keep reminding myself of that. Its a weekend, back in a few days after I have mounted the new Maxxis Mimo tires on the ESC-GT...Gotta spin those out on the trails and see how they handle. Get ready for my first cross disaster. Still, DNF's are not acceptable, becuase even a bad race day, can become a training day