Backwards

Made it out sunday for a little repeat wells ave action. However during the warm up spin my legs weren't even drift wood, they were just going through the motions, powerless. Not a good a sign, two many hours at the beach the day before? Chasing the mumbling little man around? I was zapped. It was a super small group for the race. It started with an immediate jump off the front, he was later realed in and then dropped, twice by the group. I think overall he was lapped three times? Tucked in behind Mr. Orange and he took a 2 lap pull, and then it was my turn. My two lap pull wasn't bad but my HR went through the roof and wouldn't come back down, dehydration maybe? Pulled out, no one pulled through, slowed down, the pack slowed down, nobody wanted to come out front. Whats the point of racin' if your just gonna sit in the back and noodle around. Spent a few laps "recovering" before the mid-lap prime, wound it out pretty good trying to help Mr. Orange, but got strung out and thats when it was a downhill slide out the back. Kept fighting to get back on, only to get strung out again. Oh well, I conceded defeat and turned the remaining laps into a personal TT, trying to keep certain speeds through each section. It was not a great peformance but the intensity was good and Mr. Orange got second i think. The guy on the 80's trek really had some power but I don't think he did much during the preivous laps. Saeco, Ibex and Mr. Orange really put a show on with many pulls each. Much fun. Now its off to more than my share of family plans and booked weekends. ESC is gonna drop off the GT, just in time for CX, so thats gotta get prep'd and ready, so I can drop the hurt hammer on myself and fight for last place

The Commuter Files

Managed to log 5 days on the bike, commuting to and from work but unfortunately nothing more. Its been 5 hours and change on the saddle, about 150 kms. The rides home have been the most enjoyable, doing some sprints between blocks, or from intersection to intersection. It has been my most productive week in many however now I'm constantly hungry and i've been knockin' back some tastey treats which aren't exactly considered recovery foods (or healthy) I have noticed the increase in traffic on the bike path as college students return. One observation is that the worst drivers are Lexus drivers. It never ceases to amaze me that number of crappy lexus drivers. I've been cut off, almost run over, scorned, etc etc etc, all in lexus's. This morning would be a prime example, biking in the bike lane, a crazy lady in her Lexus SUV pulls out into the bike lane, and rides right up my lycra covered ass, honks the horn at me....yet the the vehicle lane is completely empty (it is 6:15am)...not to mention that the bike lane is emblazoned with "BIKE LANE"...it was fun to start slowing down, glance over my shoulder and see her just getting frustrated...yet not a single car in the regular car lane...
I'm hoping to get back to Wells ave this week but I know that I probably won't have the same results as in the previous week. I will still manage to have fun and just get some more miles in. Maybe the 1980 Black Nishiki will make an appearence and give the Cervelo crew a run for their 11 bucks......


After 4 years and many miles, the Circuit was sold. Gone but not forgotten.

Wells Ave

Haven't been back there in over a year. Was finally able to free up some time on sunday for the mini-crit. There was some seriously nice bikes on the line that morning and one really old commuter beater bike (black nishiki from 1985). It was a little windy on the front stretch or is it the back stretch, I wanted to be out of the wind, why do more work than you have too! Things didn't really start rolling until a few laps in and I was feeling good. So, I tried jumping off the front only to drag along one person who would rather only draft and not help. I did this for about 1.5 laps before I blew up and slid back, there wasn't much of a gap so what was the point, the field decided to pick up the pace so I remained pack fodder and recovered. I tried the same thing again with the same results. I then just decided to finish out the race and avoid all the sloppiness of the c-race. The final sprint I was in a good position but too many people thought they were going for the Green jersey and it was sloppy-chaos, bikes were being thrown left and right, swerving into other riders lines, sure enough, two bars tangle and one rider goes down directly in front of me. I lock up the brakes, waiting to get run over from behind (I didn't), and avoid the rider on the ground. He lost some serious butt tissue. I made sure he was ok becuase it looked like he bounced his head on the ground but he was up and moving a few minutes later. Always gotta be thinking on your feet. For the qoute Sprinters in our group...you can keep the power bar or Gu packet, whatever it was..but learn to hold a line.

Dusted

This past sunday was the Root66 race at Hodges Village Dam. This has been historically a fast course with a few pieces of technical trailwork thrown in just to keep things even. The race was at peak heat, 2pm. I lined up with 17 other sport riders. They were pretty geared up and when the whistle blew they were all off in a cloud of dust. I hung back a little as to not blow up to quickly, and there about 5 riders in my group. We held together with limited passing the first 2 or 3 miles. There were some wicked fast berms you could just rail the turns and transitions. A few quick ups and downs to keep the momentum going. My least favorite section was when the single track went through this mildly logged area and it was tough to pass people, or be passed. Sticks, branches, ruts, rocks was the layout of the terrain. As the 2nd lap started I picked up two stragglers and we rode together keeping the pace up, just above slow crawl. The 2nd lap my techinical savy was a little better and i was able to shoot through lines and keep pedaling without looking like a rookie. As I rolled into the third lap my lower back began to cramp and act up. I couldn't put the power down at all. Every rock and root just cuased more pain. Still dragging along two stragglers, I hit the berms with good speed but one I misjudged the soil and slipped sideways, crashing into a tree and then tumbling into the woods. By the time I collected myself, the stragglers and a few extras had ridden by. Finishing out the last two mile, Wheeler got on my wheel and he was riding pretty well so i paced him back a few minutes before I red-lined, dehydrated and overcooked all at once, so i let him pass and i noodled it around for minutes to recover but I was bonking pretty nicely and the powerbar drink helped but not enough. Apparantly my pre-race meal was not exactly what my body needed. Finally entered the last mile of terrain and crossed the finish line a respectable 26 minutes off the leader and 2nd from last...Thats how it gets done around here!!! 2nd race of the season done, 3rd time on the MTB all year...I survived. The bike is in a serious need for a washing, so much dust everywhere. Was pretty spent after the ride that MacDonalds had to help out. A cheeseburger and Dr. Pepper for the ride home was perfect! Now it's time to recover.

Fort Rock Revenge

Its been long overdue for an update but I spent a better part of the week recovering from the first race of the year. Decided to run the open class for Fort Rock Revenge race as not to get in the way of the real racers. Started off pretty well, Kept moving through the rocky sections rather well but the lack of riding anything other than the bike path to and from work was my undoing. I had no technical skills what so ever and I was taking bad lines through rock gardens, overall bad line choices really knocked off my momentum. My lower back went out and my wrists hurt so bad I could not grab the brakes which also hurt me in the fun areas. YOu might be thinking, thats alot of bitching and moaning. I will say that I bought sucking to a whole new low and had fun doing it. I was truly a novice in a field of veterans. The course was techinical with some fun bridges, powerline trails, the whole gambit. I was pretty spent when i crossed the line and out of water. I was completely gassed. The weather was perfect,everybody who helped run the race did a good job. I'll quit being lazy soon enough and get some photos up. And maybe I'll talk about the race from this past sunday....and I thought my performance couldn't get any worse...I achieved new levels of suffering