For those on the ride today....

Dave is snorking

Crystaline droplets spinning from under his glove

As the peloton veers madly.

turkey balls

Five and a half hours is way too long for a ride in December for a Cat 4.

At least I felt that way at hour four and a half.

I wish I had that moment of clarity before I said yes to Sierra Road.

Multiple self- face-punching ensued.

And now I am completely vacant.

But I came home to an empty house.

With a empty couch.

And leftover spaghetti and meatballs in the fridge.

When I put them in some tupperware and hid them in the back shelf last night I had a feeling they would come in useful.

And Bruce Aidell is a genius making those little turkey balls.

Yes I said turkey balls.

And it's all good.

Chocolat

Hard to blog when I've been celebrating gluttony for two days now...

Need to shift to some more, ummm calorie burning pursuits....

I bought myself a new circular saw for Christmas.

The clerk asked me if I wanted a extended warranty.

I told him the last one went thirty years and the new Craftsman should go longer.

If that';s not a old guy statement, I dunno what is.

Scary I can even remember 30 years ago.

I should have those new cross barriers done by, oh, July.

Tag-it

Ok, X-bun, I'll play along.
Waiting to get tagged, kind of a mind game with oneself. I was waiting to get tagged somewhere else, and it didn't happen, then I hit the bloggo button, and there ya go. Better for it to come out of the blue, like this.
Chain letters always stop with me.I give their weak karma no love. But a game is always fun.
I'm way more boring than I would like to let on, but a few bits of useless trivia...
1- I once popped a wheelie and had my front wheel fly off. Those who have seen my wrenching skills understand. I would like to tell you I rode it forever like Dave Mirra and was cool, but I ate shit in front of my house and nutted myself something fierce.

2- I once freed a whale shark from a fishing line in the Gulf Of Alaska by cutting it, unlooping it from the sharks tail, and retying it to get my halibut on the other end.
The shark was as long as our 32 foot wooden boat, and placidly floated next to us, easily swaying his tail, till I could get him free.

3- My dad once built a cover over our swimming pool out of 2 x 4's and 8 mil clear plastic so we could swim all winter in Stockton. I loved it, even though it stunk of chlorine gas and was mildewing the adjacent house like crazy.
It was destroyed when my buddies and I started climbing up outside in February and dropping through the hole we made in the top. A couple holes and a winter storm shredded it good.
We left the skeleton up for two more years, though.

4-Destroying a whole box of Honey nut Cheerios while watching gangster movies always cures me of a bad day.

5-My nickname is the first one I have ever had that had nothing to do with my last name. I also had nothing to do with picking it, which is probably why it stuck.

Tagging?
Try Velojuicy, JohnnyJohnnyGo Go, and a two-fer with Merkle and Alicat, as well as The Chap-man, (I enjoy the sckribblins as much as the course designs...)

The beatings will continue until morale improves

At 1:30 today I was ready to sell every goddamn bike in the garage.

At 2:30 I was done with the season and on my way to the pie store.

By 4 I was a little shellshocked and resigned to racing in the B's

At 5:30 I ordered a salad and knew it wasn't over yet.

I couldn't have been stomped by a bunch of nicer guys.

And stomped I was, in the cold wastelands of Live-no-more.

The corral mud was sandy and turned my bike into a singlespeed.

The problem was it kept changing it's mind which speed.

Running it lost gobs of time.

And riding it had many a problem with the hidden log at the far end.

The stairs were the stairs, they are never easy, especially in the seventh lap.

Jimmy rode a great race in the C's.

And fed me excellente.

Bike changes- next year a necessity by December.

I'm thinking the interval work needs a redo- TP has me doing these 10 minute efforts, and I never have had that good snappy feeling this year.
Scientific term for suckage= no snappy feeling.
New word as well for suckage= fracklin'
As in- I was fracklin' my ass off from the second lap on.
Anyhow, I'm gonna try some more VO2 max short style stuff, maybe less fracklin and more pop.
Ridin' tommorrow, baby!

Mad Skillz

So tired right now, I can't sleep.

Cornering, sprintying, and tactics, oh my!

Rigatoni e spinaci=mmmmm

The people at Valley Care are really nice.

And Chico Paul will be fine.

Thanks to all for coming.

Merkle for the hot rocket fuel and bagels every morning.

Petit for taking that wheel.

Groovy for showing the water bottles who's boss.

And X-dawg for looking goooood in December.

Riding with Yoda

Cool things I learned while riding with the Yoad last week-

How to pee while rolling.

This has eluded me for years, and we had some time to work on skills, so...
The crosswind worked for me, not against me, and Altamont got watered, not me.
It's the little things in life, no?

Hawks don't always get their way.

Right after the watering episode, I came across a hawk attempting to lift a football size object into the sky off the road. Mr. Red Tail sees me rolling towards him, and drops it for the safety of the nearest power pole, where he alights and fixes his hawkish glare upon me.
As I continue to roll, I see the object is the fattest ground squirrel known to man, ready for winter with little rolls of squirrel fat wobbling around. Mr Red Tail is way pissed about me getting in the way of him and his double bacon cheeseburger, but now I'm rolling past little Chub-Rock.
I think I startled him or maybe he realized he was still alive since there are no bikers looking like Spiderman if Spidey just got done flashing someone rolling around in the rodent afterlife.
Anyhow, Chub-Rok gathers himself and staggers off the road and rolls, wiggles into the nearest hole, flipping a defiant rear paw to the bird, who now is definitely contemplating dive-bombing my ass in retaliation.
More later, but just a couple observations from this weekend's festivities at CCCP.
Mark Noble is really veiny. And really fast.
The a's can really ride. Not just from a fitness standpoint, but the skill level is mindblowing.
7 minutes off the leaders and it still was a race to those of us on the back of the bus, not sure what that says, but....
After seeing al those sausages and beverages being grilled to perfection, a Taco Bell on 92 was kind of a let down.
More later..

No real reason, but......

Commesso!

Because it's December.

Because the garage was a freaking ice palace this morning.

Just because.

The Large Dog Park.

So after all that running around all week it was no suprise the legs were fairly sluggish come Sunday, but one has to have his priorities, and frankly there are only so many times one can get out of mowing/hiking/shopping by pleading racey race.
I meant
to do the singlespeed race, but Miz C. hadn't been home in 5 days and beating the traffic with a stop at Super Taq was the 2-1 vote.
SOOOO,
I signed up for the 35 A's, and prepared for my wooping.
Bad start, OTB by the top of the hill, but I caught back on along with the 45A field that started 10 seconds behind, then got yo-yo'ed like a fat rat and popped loose from the melee- it looks so mellow, a long line and how can anyone be getting away yet the front is moving at warp speed and gaps are innocuously opening all over the freekin place, and the back is a bad bad place to be, even though it seems so soothing and safe and smart, it's a pure lie.......
Had a great little battle with my buddy Greg of the Black Market Mafia, I put in a decent attack on a couple of fellas, only to see the 3 to go , not the 1 to go like I'm getting used to , and couldn't step on the throat when I had the chance, failure on all levels and I slipped back to my doom, but had a nice view of the 45A unfolding and tried to hang with/learn a few things as my elders came roaring by.
Stayed on the lap so I'll take that small positive, but damn I got to train for this stuff maybe, the new job is hammering the training hours sumthing fierce right now the log is a sea of yellow.....
Arggh.

We rolled down the coast on Wednesday, spending a few days in Big Sur.

Camping in a redwood grove in November can be chilly, dig the wildflowers!

Rode some cool stuff, not really challenging in a tech sense, but the views around every corner? Mindblowing.

Lots of hiking and waterfalls, this one's a classic-

We enjoyed this hike so much, we took the 3 hour tour of the lighthouse the next day-

Those lighthouse keepers had a hard life filled with pure drudge, but occasionally the fog would lift and this was the view out the office window-

I dug the views so much when we returned to the campground, the girls took a nap and I went for a mad 2 hour hike a bike/ singlespeed summit attempt of Andrew Molera SP ridge trail, not exactly a good pre-race ride, but a great place to drink some water and contemplate things a little while .

The snake bites wur vicious

GGGP this weekend, and I just never can get a bit of luck on this course.
2004- flatted twice
2005- ginourmous crashes in the first turn
2006- Most Mechanicals Award? Give me that!
This place is cursed.

I decided to ride the SS due to my brakes being thrashed due to me choosing to work on my bike the night before. Me- no mechanic. Old trusty SS- bulletproof, right? First lap and I hear funny noises behind me, then the chain derails right after the pit. Axle came loose, so I fumble, but not having a freekin 15 mm wrench handy in my skin suit I run back to get the cross bike in the pit.
Brakes= questionable. I forget this and while on the drops and attempting to catch the back of the line of guys again flat out drive through the tape and end up down by the Polo Grounds.
The brakes work kind of ok from the tops, so I hack my way around gingerly, catch a few guys, choose some dumb lines up the run up while dodging folks on the ground.... pure hack fest, then my froont wheel comes out on the barriers.Just fell out. I pick it up dumbfounded while all the BOP fellas I caught pay it back and see ya later.
Just one of those days, jist getting stoopider by the minute, but I finished and saved the day with a nice visit to the Tea Garden, beautiful place and the family was appreciative after all the hard work heckling my ass on that hill.
Maybe next week will be better, maybe I'll buy some better brakes and learn how to adjust them.
Still having fun and no junior racers were harmed in the typing of this blog.

Time just keeps rollin'

So today was my little girls b-day party- a very special day for us.

10 years ago things were more than a little dicey with her, and stayed that way for several months.

Hard to believe that the tiny thing I had to buy doll clothes for is such a big girl now.

We showed up at noon and they were expecting us...

These would be put to good use today , all that pre-adolescent energy..

Good thing she got her mom's looks..

But I think she got my dance moves...

Had some presents..

And some sparkles and attitude

Topped off with a talent show and some awesome kareoke..

Happy B-day,

Little C!

Because I had to check myself before I wrecked myself, before I disrespect myself.....

Mp3 files throbbing through my brain, a little Biggie Biggie Biggie just works so well while swerving between pine trees in a muddy slalom..........

Bike racers- a inordinately intelligent lot. Engineers, doctors, double majors in college.

Smarty smart smart.

Which is why the topic of this open letter really should be puzzling.

When cutting through Maiden Lane in the bustling metropolis of Danville on your way to the Mountain Of Pain and Deviltry, please pay attention to the signs saying ROAD WORK AHEAD.

These signs allude to the presence of large yellow machines, open holes, steel plates that move at a alarming rate of speed(even the holes from time to time).

Striking one or more of these objects on your bicycle may not even be noticed by the inhabitant of such machine, but you, dear cyclist, surely will notice.

Teams will not be named here today, but management reserves the right to take pictures and post them at a future 35+ race near you.

And don't even get me started on "chase the truck".

The Watchful Ditchdigger

High Plains Drifter

Congratulations to my old friend Mark M., for completing the Silverman triathlon last weekend.

Mark perservered through a multitude of injuries and put in some big miles solo at oh-dark-thirty this fall to get ready, and it sounds like it paid off.

Tough race, 30mph winds, 9,700 feet of climbing on the bike, and 3,600 feet on the marathon.

Just my kind of course, not some boring, sterile-ass trip back and forth like a hamster on a wheel.

Yakked with him tonight while he was driving home from Vegas, the stud even had the energy to take his wife to a show last night.

Kind of sad that Tyler Hamilton has gone from a premier bike racer to doing any kind of event that will let him in.

Hooked

How did I get here?

Champing for some wheel -to -wheel tommorrow, especially after a week off due to a nasty virus.

It wasn't always like this.

I went away for a long long time, weekends were filled with fishing trips, side work, and nothing-doing.

I could actually tell you most of the NFLs' 300 players' names.

Not now.

As the race seasons change, I become a Saturday morning regular at the Gilroy Starbucks, as opposed to the Vacaville Starbucks.

There is that moment in sports, the perfect pick and roll, the squeeze bunt that scores and gets to first, the sprint to the line through the hole up the gutter.

All those things have happened to me precisely once.

And yet I chase that feeling of wide-eyed clarity and perfection every weekend.

Snifflins'

Well, I tried to say it wuz allergies, that doing 2 hours skillz yesterday under the sycamore trees gave me the symptoms, that an easy ride today would ward it of.

I made it like a year without catching anything, but Miz C, she got some powerfull buggies rolling around in that marathon-weakened body right about now.

Bummed to miss Pilarcitos tommorrow, I actually like run-ups, although concrete stairs woulda hurt tommorrow night.

I'm gonna sleep and watch football, maybe read the whole paper.

That 'll last till noon or so.

Why ya wanna come in here talkin' all of that raspy shit?

Because I've been consolidating files till my new early bedtime for two days now.

Because the garage is a little cold and boring at 4:45 a.m.

Because... Do ya really deserve it?

Spidey don't like sticker bushes

Gawd I love this series.

Thanks you VB and crew for bringing it back once again.

I don't go way way back, but it was my first cross race like 7 years ago. Fort Ord- the sandy side by the beach. Me and the Seal get there early-like with no one there. Dude shows up with a van and starts blasting surf guitar music out of some giant speakers. And the race was on.

Missed it last year with the little owies down below, but all is better than ever now and I have been excited about this one for a while.
Somehow I have never been to Watsonville, but have always heard good things.
When I heard about "The biggest runup this side of Gallipoli", I was on it. I'm stupid like that.

Saturday night we stay in the fairgrounds parking lot with the Nome/ GT clan, huddled together in a Outback circle while a Open Modified race roars on the racetrack, and 700 people attend a berry processing companies' party with a open bar next door in one of the giant buildings.
Nevertheless, we had a goofy fun time and all was calm by 11:30 or so.
35b race went first and it was a doozy. No callup for me after missing the first one, but I have been working on the little things and got myself into about 7th when I noticed a gap opening in front during the spiral of doom. Now or never and I bridge to the top five guys who are steaming away and catch on by the top of the runup. A small crash messes them up some and whittles it down letting PAb-zilla ride away. I had thought about how this might play out before the race and with a huge portion of the course exposed and non-technical, planned to sit on and take a occasional pull.
Now if my fitness would catch up with my bright ideas......
I went for the bridge and was joined, then dropped by a Webcor guy who did make it to PAB and ended up winning. Gave up a couple more places and thought I could get it back, but just ran out of real estate, a race that short (30 minutes) requires a almost crazy impulse to keep the pedal floored like there is no tomorrow, because there isn't.
Ended up fifth which is the best so far and I'm a happy boy.

Costume race- oh how much fun- costumes and bikes, gotta love it.
There are a million pics swirling around the net better than anything I have on my camera, but that was just plain goofy and fun.
Anytime short cuts are not only permitted, but encouraged, that's just silly and cool at the same time.
Oh, and don't run up a hill filled with little thistles in a spidey suit, least you look like a pincushion by the top.

Change is in the air

Well, after 5 years I'm going to work a normal shift again like the rest of the bozos.

Fall turning to Winter always makes me reflect a little, seems all of my major turns in life happen in November.
I'm gonna miss some things, the freedom to just get it done by daybreak, the action at night in the streets, all that adrenaline working in neighborhoods that the cops don't enter after dark. Gonna miss the noon ride with the cast of characters and the fact that my trainer has only been used warming up for races in 5 years.
I'm getting out before it kills me, though.
I promised Miz C I would only do 6 months, now here we are in almost 2007 and Iwonder where the time went.
Little C is changing before my eyes, and I need to be around to make a mess of that parental challenge.
Mostly though, I'm always tired. Deeply sleep deprived , forgetting things in mid -sentence. After a while only the left side of the brain works at all and that's just damn boring.
I'm gonna get some sleep.
I'm gonna face some new challenges.
I'll probably be broke.
I'm dusting off the windtrainer.

Days Of Thunder

Robert Duvall Character To Tommy-Boy Cruz-" Go through the smoke, Cole! You gotta drive through the smoke!"

Yah, there have been days in my short bike racing time that this advice has come in handy.

The Albany Crit comes to mind. I went through the hole that day, only to find another racer laid out in front of me by the madly exploding crash from hell. Had to eat some of the island that day, glad to come away with nothing more serious than some dirt in my mouth and a sore neck for a coupla days.
Well Pilarcitos #2 kicked up a little smoke taday as well.
Good tough race in the 35+b, I got a spot right behind the blessed ones with the callups.
Hard sprint to the first corner with some shoulder action with another fella right from the get go.
Clipped a wheel on the first barriers but stayed in the front game till I had a small problem that got bigger on the last set of barriers when my bike went out from under me in a dismount.
Me= hacker supreme
Drove over a few wheels as guys would attack before a corner and grease it right out in front of me. Missed more than I hit though, so I guess that's a sign of progress.
Battle in the second group was pretty epic, I fell off and chased back more than a few times.
Almost made it back at the end, diced it up with one fine fellow and held back for the sprint.
Patience not one of my virtues but I forced myself to stay on the wheel and not go early, weathered his attacks, got to the chute, saw the hole on the right.... and he shut the door on me into the barriers.
Perfect move, a little nasty, but perfect.
Gotta give some props out for that one.

LA Large and In Charge

Gotta love that Super Robot Chicken..

A new vid making the rounds...

Juvenile cartoons- one of my guilty pleasures..

Wind, Friends, and Chicken

So while everyone was rolling in the dirt at Soquel High today, a couple of us went to the Riverbank Wine And Cheese Century.
This was supposed to be a tandem-y thing, but Miz C begged off with the Nike Marathon next week and such.
The road bike will be out of commission for a few days more while a hanger gets straight and the boys from Vincenza get some more of my ditch digger pennies.
So I took Snowflake out of retirement for this one, she doesn't get enough miles anymore, partially because I only use her for 3 events a year, but also the old KM40's aren't anything like the new uns. No vertical compliance here, and yes we have a massive seatpost/fairing.
I figured Groove and Nome would put the hammer down and make me grovel, especially with the 4 hours of sleep I got Saturday night.
Good thing they were happy and cruising, as evidenced here- This pic was shot on a particular piece of road that apparently a certain PAB owns the CR for. I got to hear lots of Stanislaus/ Merlock stories(what is a merlock, anyway?) and eat many cookies.
Snowflake was happy and the TT position was fine for a few hours, lots of power and real stable on the downs, though those little wheels kind of beat me up.
After lunch it was time to see a camel-

and roll it home, with a fantastic chicken lunch after.
Doing all of this riding in circles makes me forget that cyclists come in all different shapes and sizes.
But everybody loves cookies.

Maximum Dorkage

How the rear derailleur got into the spokes.......

Ummm, not sure.

Maybe a little Shim/Camp confusion after 4 days on the crosser, whatever.

I'm gonna pay dearly for this one.

When carbon breaks it doesn't goof around.

Just glad I didn't stomp down on the offending pedal and do more damage.

Velomax Circuits- a truly tough wheelset.

New Toy

So I bought Miz C. a new HRM for her birthday.
Sez she- I wanna see how fast I run, how long I run.
We look at Garmin and try one but I'm not liking the water resistance of the thing, as well as the spotty satellite reception under the trees deal.
So I hit E-bay and pick her up a Polar 625x.
This is very similar to OG buyin his first wife a shotgun when they lived outside of Duluth. She might shoot a bird or two, but we all know who really used that shootin' iron.
This thing does all, run speed and distance, bike stuff, available power meter, IR connection.
So I was able to "borrow" it today for my first hard intervals of the cross season.
MAybe I'm a little behind the curve on my training plan for cross, seems like everyone else in the B's has been sharpening the knives since June or some gawdamn thing.
Me, I'm having trouble pushing the accelerator to the floor right now.
But anyhow, I keep looking at WWWoos' world and although I only understand a little of all that graphing, the whole concept of Total Stress Score is very interesting to me. I have a sneaking suspicion I'm overnuking myself lightly all year and may need some kind of graph/number to calm myself down.
Anyhow, I like all the lines, it makes me feel like I'm doing something. And the altitude feature is something that I always thought was stupid, just kind of a ego-stroking number.
But when you put in on a graph with all the other feedback, pretty cool.
Miz C ran the R an R half mary Sunday, while we were all abusing ourselves in some weedwhacked old lot in E- side SJ.
Who was smarter?
I dunno, both involved pain, though I can walk down stairs and she still has the hobble on Wednesday.
I like looking at her graph.
Me = nosy.

Pilarcitos One

Great day in the park, brought along reluctant teammate Jimbobo and the more reluctant daughter o'mine.
Mom was running the Rock'nRoll HAlf Marathon, so I had the childcare du jour.
Super vibe, lots of props and nods, just what cross is all about.
Only bummer was when the ranger asked me to not have our picnic in the road. Huh? I was STRETCHING DUDE and today bikes ruled that parking lot anyhow. The only guy driving around was Ranger Rick.
Fun race, I was busy yakking with Dave from SC when he pointed out I might want one of those places in the 60 guy pack that started the geezer B's. Grabbed a 4th row spot and decided to ride carefully and hit the technical mounts and dismounts well and work my way up.
No crashes and we are off, I moved along into the gaps and employed some new skills I've been practicing on the dismounts, making up spots on the runup every time for the first 4 laps.
Eventually reached a place where I couldn't close to the next racer, I would get close, but he would hold me off.Kept trying though, cause the next group was 10 seconds or so past him and together maybe we could have gotten to them
The back of the course was a weird bumpy with grass over the holes, hard to pick a good line for me, and I lost time here.
Also the juniors ran concurrently and were like little rolling, blocking barriers. Twice I got close to my man and got fouled up by a lapped junior in a barrier section, but that's on me for trying to get around there.
Anyone that bumps a junior while in a race should get a 1 place penalty, new rule. The kids are out there doing their best often with bikes that are too big and heavy as hell to pick up for them,
and for some middle aged loon to scream or otherwise act dumb... just not cool.
Great times, saw so many cool folks out there, I wish I could have stayed and caught the later battles but I had B-day parties and other blah blah to do.

Another Day In Suburbia

Hit the WOT ride this morning after getting about 5 hours sleep, very nice.
So hard to get focused when I've been missing my slumber, and the way the job has been, even after taking two days off the bike this week, have been waking up tired.
Almost all EMC folks out there, probably the fastest no-drop ride in WOT history,21.2 avg.
Anyway, good fun and I got in a little sprint work to open things up-( a term I still don't understand, but get the idea) for tommorrows cross funnies.
Felt more mediocre when I was done than when I started, so we will see manana.
Rode direct to the soccer game and after changin quickly in the burb, caught most of Little C's game.
Little C has played since she was 4 in the San Lorenzo ice cream league. and has always shown a distinct preference for the defensive side of the game. Getting her to cross midfield is like pulling teeth, but she has that natural instinct for the correct angle to play, and loves to roam like Mike Singletary back there. If she was a boy-child, we would have sent her to the football fields without delay.
Little C is kind of like her dad, average athlete that loves a little competition, some good snacks afterwards, and a team to play for. Unfortunately got my asthma as well, another reason to play defense, not so much balls out running.
The new coach, who I have my issues with is very non-competitive and doesn't like to play positions, especially in U-10 house league soccer.
So it was today that I found myself watching my daughter tentatively venturing to the other side of midfield, hovering around to outside, not sure what to do, when the ball came out of the bunch and rolled her way.
She did what she always does when protecting the backfield, she punted that bad boy.

The goalie was on the other side of the net, as it rolled slowly toward the promised land.

And it hit the post and rolled away.

We celebrated anyway. She may never score a goal, but it really don't matter.

bike lust

A dangerous thing.....

Blame Nome for this one.

He started it before running off to Vegas, land of the true bike porn dealers.

I'm having a great time with my 25 lb steel beast this year, but next year-

is Christmas coming soon?

CCCX #2

Wow all I can say is from my perspective people are FLYING already.
Had a decent race for me, a coupla bobbles early, then a fairly good race.
Two years ago when I last raced decently, my fitness today would have got me a 5th or so.
Today I got 12th in the 35+B.
I think I'm honestly coming along, learning a few new things, but doing OK fitness wise.
Them boys are just relentless killers.

The B's got a 15 second head start today and were caught by the first barrier.
I saw a few guys sneak into em ,disappear from view, and that was the race-winning move.
I had me a good battle with my buddy Mark from Pen today, I thought I had outfoxed him by rotating off the front on the climb, and got myself dropped from the group when another guy attacked and held it all the way, kicking myself not to have stayed up front in the gutter and controlled.
Rolled around and socialized for a while, then it was time for singlespeed pleasure.
Man, I need a smaller freewheel.
I ran outta gears early and often again.
Changing to a rigid fork helped alot, and I got away with working on my bike the night before a race.
Watching the A race from my bike was a treat, a vicious battle with falling off the group, attacks and bridging all featured, all the good stuff and clean clean lines.
If I could only ride half that smooth.
The cross vibe- just so damn cool. Many of us battle on the road all year and never speak. Maybe the scene is a little bigger, but I think it's the fear and distrust of the mayhem caused with a slip of attention. In the 4/5's you just never know what's coming, and there's a new loon every minute.
Cross has a way of sorting itself out, and the crashes are usually just a matter of some skin. The nature of the suffering brings out a special breed. Welcoming the suffering into every fiber of your being is what it takes.
Great course, I guess 4 zillion homes will be built here soon and our little playground will be taken away. I'm gonna miss it.
Now to take a few easy days and let the training soak in. It's been 3 weeks of hard hard work, time to relax a little before Hell-yah.

Chicken Murderer

Sitting at one of my fave spots last night in Oakland- Los Petates" The best Chicken In Town"- now that's a owner with some confidence, eh?
New guy on the crew pipes up-"You're an eater.
Huh?
"I've been watching you. You love food."
Ummmm, doesn't everybody?
" Just fuel to me."
No joy? No savory goodness? NO GAWDAMN REWARD?
" Just fuel. I'll have a quarter chicken and a box, please."
Hmmm. This boy is awful funny. I'm gonna keep my eye on him.

I like the bird. One of my favorite tri-relay team names -" Eat More Chicken".
I understood.
I used to swear it off, just eat veggies and such. I also used to feel light headed a lot, especially when busting down a big week of miles.
I got some really good eggs at the market the other day- you can really tell the difference, nice and brown, different sizes from different birds, and a little richer. Yum.

Los Petates- Foothill x 42nd Ave, Oakland. Dude BBQ's in the back like all day and night on the charcoal while the birds soak in chile and epazote. Mister Barbacoa is gonna get emphysema by the time he's 40 with no hoods sucking the bird smoke away, but the smoke fills Foothill blvd on a Sunday and pulls folks right out of their cars.Good tortillas and salsa are all you need to get down.
Roli Roti is like no other truck operation around. They hit various farmers' markets and when their done for the day, they pack it up.
Hit the WOT ride in Pleasanton, then stop for a chicken and some potatoes at the market when you return. Grab a cookie from the feel good bakery next tent over and yer set. Squeeze the lime over it and eat the crispy skin.
Headed over on the ferry to see the Gigantes last year and cheer for the doper. Me and OG got dropped off at the ferry building instead of the ballpark by mistake. I'm pissed and getting worse thinking about OG going ten blocks on foot with a walker, when I see the Roli truck with the fiberglass chicken roof on top of the pier at the SF Farmers' Market. Yesss, I score two birds and some potatoes, and we catch a cab and walk to the seats.
Best food in the park that day, bar none.

New Meat

Got me a couple of these today.

Also got some new titanium tubes. Anything that says Ti immediately engages the geek fixation for me.

I woulda got the tufo, but the euro is way high and my wallet is way low right now. 110 bucks for a tire is crazy. Especially when ya pound it and hack it like I do.

On Any Given Sunday.....

It's on from now till January.
Starting with the dry heat and rocks, but you can feel fall in the air when you wake, to the rain and mud of the late season. It's on and I love it.
Prunedale was like Old Home Week yesterday. Big fun seeing all the folks.
I wish I brought my party hat, though. Woke up feeling sleepy/crappy and never improved. Great warmup, checked the lines out well, just not with it mentally. I had some long nights at work this week and while I slept the night before, I think the residual stress just shut me down Sunday.
The first race was the more disappointing of the two, just letting the lead group ride off, then engaging in the battle to hold my position. Blah blah blah, yada yada.
Second race was the Singlespeed, much fun there, and I actually woke up a little. Needed a little more gear to compete, though, the 34 x 16 is great for riding around, but dropping it a little more and going back to the ridgid fork would have helped lots.
I have decided that singlespeedin' is just as geeky as geared riding, although they front like they don't care.I like it. I think it's good for riders like me that beat the hell out of stuff anyway, less to worry about/break. I bet one of those SS cross bikes just explode out of a corner, mmmmm.
It's all good and two races hurt a lot less this week than last.
I used a recommnedation from a new fave blog- Burritophile, to find a absolute gem in Gilroy. Sliced avocados melted in the cheese, juicy chicken rolled in with rice and smoky beans. MAde the ride home much better.
Next week maybe?

Cross Geek

When the air gets that little snap to it, my mind drifts to more exciting things than pavers and plants.
After last season went to out the window due to surgery and overall stress, I've got two years of the itch saved up.
I want some new tires and can't decide. The Tufo clinchers are not as good as advertised, they can be pinch flatted, as I found last week. Also, they require quite a bit of pressure to keep them on the rims. They are very supple things, though, and quite quick and handle well, not usually things that are used in the same sentence regarding cross meats.
I'd go with real tubies, just getting more wheels is kind of a pain in the ass.
I'm thinking Michelin, time honored and supple.
The Kendas are not bad for training.
The Schwalbes are getting some good press as well.

Hmmmmm.

Figuring out the water bottle/ feed thing. Doing C's and B's, if I had no one to feed me things would be ok for the shorter races.
Doing a hour in September? I need to figure something out. I used a cage last week, not as bad as I thought it would be, though my arm has some strange bruises on it.
Camelbacks?
Damn they ain't cool, but they shore do work.
Maybe a bottle in the jersey for the first few laps? Hard to get in the heat of the moment.

hmmmm.

Goofy cross geek.

Cross crashup

Shot up to Folsom today with the Nome, he talked me into doing the A race followed by singlespeed pleasure.
After a easy ride up, ummmm, I guess I didn't leave enough time, as we had roughly 30 minutes to get our gear together and register.
Not too good, I like to look at the bobble-spots, ride em again and again. Sometimes walking the course has proved smart as well.
Possibly worse than no lookie-loo time was the total lack of a warmup, especially racing with mutant a-class younguns and geezers.
We enjoyed a wacky start Le Mans style over a chip pile, and we are off. Hanging in ok, we drop down some rocky trail and I slingshot around a guy on the right, only to see what he was braking for, as I drive into a hole that deepens by the second off to the right. No time to pop it up, it's about a foot + at the end and I'm in the drops anyhoo.
Pow, I eat shit and enjoy a bloody knee, but miss getting run over by the herd. I jump up and get into the flow again, hit a little paved descent to a dirt connector back to pavement. I then proceed to drill a rock dead on with the tire I forgot to pump up from two weeks ago, and flat a new tufo.
Mmmm, welcome back, Dude!
I run around and back to the car/pit and grab wheel two and restart at the very back of the herd. Slowly work my way up a few spots, and go to school on the45+ A guy in front who is carving the sweet lines and cleaning the back barrier/runup that is eluding me.
One to go and I flat on some rock on the descent again and eat the shyte again on the same freeekin' knee.
No more tires available so I go get the SS MTB and do the last lap on that, at least getting a good feel for the MTB on this course.
We take a break at the burb while I pick rocks out of my leg, then the SS guys and 40+ B are ready to roll together.
I'm running a 32 x 16 and could have gone a little taller, maybe a 14 like Nome, who is barking instructions at me from behind on the first lap. I was running out of gears quickly and would get passed back on all the flats and downhills, but it was much fun on the technical stuff, just letting it roll.
I was chasing the ageless John Elgart and making time when the fellow in front of me decided to throw down a full slide tackle that I had to reset after, but all was good and an hour and forty-five at race pace in the bag.
Kind of questionable results, but I wasn't here for that, just to race with buddies and see where I'm at.
My riding, sloppy, man.More technical riding on the crosser is needed badly.
Running- best it has ever been, the work is paying off, the knees stayed high on a pretty tough runup.
Fitness is about where I thought it would be, no short interval work yet, but once I got warm, I felt pretty good. I'm sure there are some pics of me making the ugly on the internet already, but that's just my style, all snot hangin' like.
Fun to see all the bloggo folks, PAb and XB, Groove and Petit, thanks for cheering!
Bummer to the Nome for taking a nail for the team out there, you were bringing the lumber for the second round, dude!

Rest Week

Halfway done with this project, and trying to complete it before the rain comes.
Spent last week jackhammering out the old concrete and the old wood deck.
I think I'm counting this as core work.

MP3 mashup

When the auto-transfer box is checked...

Hers goes in with mine....

And the shuffle is on...

So I got Reveille followed by Sheryl Crow doing the Rolling Stones...well, that doesn't sound right, but you get the picture.

Very strange, Notorious BIG R.E.S.P.E.C.T. mashing right into Tools' forty six and two. Lot's o' panting on that one.

So far the best though- P.O.D. on the last ridgerval, followed by the sweet tones of Luther Vandross on the easy ride home.

Luther was a schmoopmeister, but he owned a great set of pipes and will be missed.

Got the taste......

and it was gooood.
Headed to Sacramento for some of this action.
Fought all kinds of hellish suburban traffic, Tracy can disappear back into the fourth dimension of hell where it came from for all I care.


Stopped in Stockton and picked up Old Gianni and hauled him with me. You will never fall asleep with OG in the car, and you will learn more about horse racing than you probably care to.
After some nifty driving, we got there about 5, race was to start at 6 sharp. Probably 100 folks total, with about 20-25 in the cross class.

The race was billed as no t-shirts, no trophies, no whining, and if there were only 4 people in a cat, they got combined, basically, all experts, then all SS, then all crossers, dunno after that, though there were lots of families and kids, very cool, especially for the low price of
15 bucks for a first timer, then 10 every week afterwards, just racin', no frills.

The place is a state OHV park that is closed on Wednesdays and only opens for us. Real cool descents, whoops, berms, and sand from all the motos blowing it apart. Cross features were a downed tree we hopped and a set of hay bales as barriers, ooof!

Well, it's about 100 degrees and I'm sweating like a dog on the warmup lap, I can't tell if I'm warmed up or just warm, but here we go.
I follow the holeshot guy then let it sort a little. One skinny fella gets a gap and I cross to him, we rolled on just kind of stretching the band a little. I can see the SS bunch ahead of us and figure if we get to them we can use them to hide a little, I guess it worked, because soon we are alone. Another guy joins us and I take a big pull up the hill, then hop the bales. I got a little confused with my direction and the cones and the other two take off spitting gravel behind them.
I catch em but keep burning matches to do it, then flail enough that they get the gap. I then go into a total flail mode with sliding, sand crawling, and hole diving for about five minutes, in which one and two pull away, and three catches me and then drops my sorry ass.
I'm deep in the pain cave and start thinking about golf, then pull myself together and welcome the pain. I think that I won't die in fifteen minutes irregardless of the long line of drool on my chin and the complete inability to spit and actually get face/drool separation.
Once I bucked up, it was much better. I put the glasses away since I can't see through them anyway due to the dust, and start chasing wheels. Unfortunately, 3 is long gone while I wallowed, but I do ride some very nice lines through some gnarl, including a 150 foot drop down a rutted hill with a right turn in a sand pit below, and the sand pits on the back section, which are my personal nemesis.

Drove up the finishing hill the last time, hop the bale/barriers, and see OG wandering around with a cold bottle, thank God.

I got a lot of work to do, a lot of interval work before October and November, but for being in Base, I'll take it.

OG had a flashback and remembered taking me here when I was a snot nosed BMX kid and me fighting with the moto-heads over trails and such. Some things come full circle, I guess.

Oh yeah, I got 2nd in the Geezey, the first two were younguns. Very tough younguns.

It's gonna be a good year.

Words To Live By

Heard from the back'o D'Burley today-

"If my ass ain't happy......., you ain't happy."

Burned Sausage and other random thoughts this weekend

I like alot of things about Pleasantville. Low crime, fancy downtown, great schools with tons of parent participation. I'm not diggin this get on the loudspeaker and tell a group of cyclists that they have to ride single file in a 6 foot bike lane kinda talk, especially when said lane is full of glass because the beancounters downtown fired the streetsweepers and contract it out to save my tax money, Now the lanes get swept like never or every six months, whichever comes first, and some manager is getting a bonus with my tax money .

One can eat too many chocolate chip cookies, even if they are two for one at Albertsons.

Fun little group ride on Saturday, wide range of folks. We hit the hotspot on Highland, I jump off of the Nome/Groove wagons' wheel and make a nice group with me and one other teamie, a nice fellow from eye- treeple-see and a liv-no-more guy that blows off after skipping 5 or six pulls. We catch another feller that is up the road after skipping the pee stop. We are rolling and the rest of the red n' black clubbies shut it down/ attach themselves like limpets to any bridge action. We get to a K, I make a lame jump that actually gets some room, then chased. Teamie Bob counters, he gets the chase. One more push by the strong young buck for the line, and I go for the sign up the centerline. Damn, there's a gardening truck with a frickin' lawnmower sticking out the side oncoming, and I give it the soft pedal for a few and duck back , then whip it up again, but the young fella is too strong and will not be denied, good for him.Still wondering if I coulda got it, but with the amount of tragedy that road has seen, I'll live to fight another day.

I really want to screw with the training plan and do this on Wednesday. Probably not a base 2 activity, unless I call it a skills practice. A real coach would wash his hands of me pretty quick, but the champing is getting loud in my head. Soon it will be time to play every weekend in the dirt, I love it!

Even burned sausage is still charred meat, and that makes it American.

Happy Labor Day, Everybody!

An old classic revisited

No, not the the goofball in the picture, though I'm getting a little bit more classic every day...
























So we hit Spengers Fish Grotto tonight as a special request from the birthday girl.
Pretty cool with her name printed on the menu.


This place got bought out and the kitchen all redone a couple of years ago. Amazing to look at the pictures and see the old restaurant and fish market from 150 years ago.

The menu is updated, though they still have some old faves. I tried to suck the crawfishes' head off, but the eyes stayed in and I gave up...
Damn fine Cioppino, with lots of sourdough bread to sop it up.

The dessert tray, well, that may have been the highlight. I'm pretty basic, and got a berry pie with sugar cookie crust and vanilla ice cream(pretty much negating the 3 hour ride today).

Mama got a lava cake dealio with ganache in the middle, not quite as good.

They had some chocolate house with a berry torte filling that looked unbelievable, but we couldn't eat another bite.

I would say the atmosphere is so good it outweighs the cooking. the soup was kinda bland, but the salad was good, so, kinda hit and miss.

GREAT PLACE FOR OUT OF TOWN VISITORS!

One year later

I stayed up late last night watching When The Levees Broke.

At least the first two acts.

I hope that no one is under the illusion that when the big quake comes, that help will be forthcoming from the government.

We will see which local leaders truly have the right stuff (questionable in my mind at best)

We will see unknown heroes.

Just don't expect help. We are busy elsewhere in the world feeding people and delivering water.

It makes me wonder how much of what happened was truly politics, class and racial differences as opposed to simple ineptitude.

I volunteered to go to the Big Easy last year for a month straight. Ready to go, leaving in two weeks, the whole effort was cancelled." FEMA won't pay" , I was told." They have a private contractor working on it for twice the cost".
Sound familiar?
Worse was the response of many of my coworkers- " Dude, you could get sick!", and my favorite- " they say the French Quarter is up and running, what, we won't be allowed to leave? Aw hell no!"

I always wondered, how would they feel if N.O. decided they couldn't come for us due to funding concerns? If their families were wandering around lost?

Watch it, then go out and buy some bottled water.

Stretch

So I had an opportunity to spend an hour and a half with PT, coach, bike fitter and all around nice guy Curtis Cramblett today.
I won a set of primes at Albany this summer for a bike fit( the biggest payday this MOP er has ever gotten, and a reason I'll be back to that little four corner deathmatch- see Nome's rant on this subject)
Curtis was good on his word, and so I took a trip down to San Ho today to have him take a look at my gimpy ditch digger ass on a bike.
Very, very systematic approach. I was able to understand what we were talking about the whole time, and we will be making some incremental changes over the next few months, provided I do the work required.
20 years in a ditch has beat me up a little, apparently, and I could use a little more work on the core and hammies.
Who knew a foam roller and a tennis ball could bring a grown man to his knees, and fix him up at the same time?
Gotta go suck up for my massage now, send me happy thoughts........

Remembering

Looking at old pictures

Of an old friend

She's smiling in every one

I hate funerals

Seeing the family left behind is the worst

Just so sad

Who me?

The countersurfer struck again, swiping my carefully constructed egg mcmuffin with smoked turkey while I was in the garage helping the missus.
Did it so cool I walked around for 5 minutes wondering why I was still hungry when I just ate.

Old dawg, old trick.

Spent the day today doing my coaching thing in GG park, then hooking up with The Seal fresh off a Alcatraz swim and heading down to Skeggs Point for some dirt.

Nice. Real nice.

How did I ever miss this one? Single track, woopsies, redwoods, ya ya ya.

Not too long, about an hour and a half of single speedin'. Two nice new raspberries on my knee and elbow, and we were off to the burrito joint.

MMMMMM.

Foodie Friday!

FF had to take a break due to work actually requiring my presence, but tonight is slow, so here ya go........

Pizza- mmmm. A dangerous luxury for us weight weenies, but a necessary one.
Easy to find after a gawdawfully hard effort in some gawdawful Central Valley/ Nevada armpit. Even bad pizza is good pizza in these times, and I have never had a bad pizza in Bishop after a few days of sloggin'.

But let's talk about the real deal here, the real classic masterpieces.

WINNER

Cheese Board, Berkeley

Damn, this was tough. Hit the Board on a Friday night and share whatever pie they have decided to make by communal decision on the median on Shattuck. Check out the Chez Panisse crowd across the street and know that you are at the top of your foodie game with a whole lot more scrilla in your pocket.

DAMN CLOSE 2nd

Zacharys Pizza

JS writes poems about this stuff. I have dreams about it. Cash only and long lines, and worth it all.

Makes crit racers out of spindly climbers every time.

Supa- garlicky caesar with those cool breadsticks.

I hear from those in the know that it's hard to find better in Chi-town.

Spinach and Mushroom the day after, when the spices have time to meld= damn.

Coming to San Ramon- I'm in deep.

SOMEBODY HAD TO BE THIRD

Amicis Pizza

Much hype, a little pricey. The best is the most simple, just cheeses on a thin crispy crust.

I wonder how much Ralph would eat for free........

Paint on the road

So , I went for a nice ride with Merkle today out Calaveras(leaves are changin just a little), up Sierra and back home. 60 miles of fun and conversatin'.

While slugging it out up Sierra , I had lots of time to survey the names on the road, Levi, DZ was all over the place, Simoni, and Landis.

Forlorn, fading names.

Mixed feelings about pro cycling right now.

I really liked this article by Magnus B. on the doping.

Kind of drew a parallel I could understand. I work in a place were we have been randomly tested for years, yet last month we got a visit from the company drug czar, informing us there have been WAY too many positives this year for amphetamines.
Lot's of rumors fly about individuals, but nobody really knows, and the individuals in question certainly are keeping it under their hats.
Sometimes a name will come out, a firing or resignation. Usually it's a big suprise and not the usual suspects.

Kind of like the bike world sometimes.

I pinch

Silly little link here-

Running Long Today.....

reminded me why I no longer like it.

Kind of funny, since 20+ milers used to be a weekend staple.

I did 2 hours of OV's drills while Miz C shuffled.

That's right, Monty Python dance moves while running, baybee!

The trails were pretty at Lake Chabot.

And the pup, well he had a 4- swim, 10- mile day with some poison oak rolling to top it off.

Pretty good day for a dog.

Cross = training for a 30 second run.

50k= training for a 30 miler.

Kind of different, no?

Gaiter-sporting, shorty short hiking, dirty sock, bandanas on the neck and head, bearded, braided, old race t-shirt from 1992 niche sport.

Ultra running or Santa Cruz cross racing?

The Tandem...

is rolling.

New to us, probably about ten years old. Had to get used to Barcons again, used to have em on the old crosser. Suntour XC shifts ok, you just have to be patient and not pressure the drivetrain, the way we all had to shift before the fancy stuff.

This thing is gonna be fun, I have a new Terry Butterfly coming for Miz C. that hopefully will take the edge off things. I need to find a odd size suspension seatpost in 26.8 also. It has a rack and a light already, perfect for a cold beverage or some sandals or a couple of jackets, depending on the season.

The beast is classic Burley steel, weighs as much as a Sherman tank and drives like one too. The drag brake is a cool invention, keeping comments to a minimum from the aft compartment on long descents.

Now for some corny matching outfits.....

Cave Day

Today was just a great family day. Spent the day with my sisters, Little C., and Cousin B. Stopped in Valley Springs and visited New Cousin D.- 5 months and 20 lbs, gonna be a big boy! Man I gotta finish riding that Hogan Dam Rd out behind their place, I rode it one spring day for an hour an a half, finally turned around when the stream crossings got a little too deep for me and the Kelly. On Yahoo maps it goes through to Milton Rd, which I wanted to do and check out the copper course. Ran out of tubes and tools on the dirt road on the way back, next time I take the crosser.
Went to the California Caverns outside of San Andreas, the sisters stayed outside and took a nap while me and the kids suited up-

Major fun on the one hour tour, a little squinching to fit through some holes, but nothing too serious. Hard to shoot good pics with my crappy camera, but there were some amazing rock formations in there.

I'd love to go back for the big tour, 5 hours of mud-slogging, crawling, rafting across underground lakes....

I'll have to wait for after the mud-slogging, crawling, aboveground lakes crossing with-a-bike season to end before my return, though.
Really looking forward to it. I wish Bob would put up the East Bay schedule. I love tuning up in 100 degrees and dust. I see one in Folsom that fits with the schedule, maybe I'll head up there and get killed by all the guys that started base in June. MMMMmmm, I can't wait.

Anyway, Little C. is going to the Jelly Belly factory tour tommorrow, so Pops slipped her a few extra bucks to get him some black jelly beans and look for the Sport Beans.
Sport Beans and Clif Bloks, who needs real energy food?That shit is gooood.

Dear Joe Friel-

Just a couple of thoughts-

Do guys that make their living in muddy holes doing muddy hole things need a Maximum Strength period? 600 lbs on a leg press is fine for cycling, IMHO. 180 on the seated row is way more than I need to pull on some bars in a sprint.
This concept of functional fitness, that's the name that rolls around in my head and is probably copyrighted somewhere, now that does attract me. Keeping my core muscles strong so I can pick up a piece of equipment at work, or put a bike up, or give my kid a hug without spending a day on the couch, very cool. Being fit enough to enjoy my later years and not be getting endless surgeries like many of my coworkers in their fifties.
Core and stretching- probably 30 minutes twice a week. Real fitness gains with a minimal time investment.

Thanks for giving me a flexible planning tool for all the dumb sports I like and probably some new ones as well. It took me 30 minutes to draw up a plan through December.

Keep telling me to mellow out and ignore my buddies going to Gutterfest 2006 when I'm in Base and not even in a rest week. I won't go to Gutterfest as long as a occasional Tuesday bone is thrown my way to keep the champing to a minimum.

The dreams of crit racing- is this good or bad? Why do my tires never hold air? Why are they in parking garages?

Gracias,
Mr. zn 1

Shadow Cliffs

Ahhh, the things that I finally have time to do in the off season, like find a great unofficial dog park in the east bay.
Lab Central, baby!
Good running and cross practice as well.
In another life I used to swim around in the big lake at 0600 wearing a speedo in 61 degree water, but now I have seen the light. Actually, the best swimming is in the winter, when the water is clean and the coliform counts aren't too high from the zillions of people and their poor hygiene.
Speaking of coliform counts, maybe some bad lettuce took me down this weekend.
No worries, 36 hours of sleep and some Pepto-B and I'm back at it. Even had a damn salad tonight, little hair of the dog action.

Foodie Fridays # 1

Sooo,
Like most bikey folks, I'm equally obsessed with food and starvation. As the season turns towards the dirt and home improvement, I'm giving myself a little latitude to enjoy some of my favorites and share them with my bloggy friends.

Lunch Spot-

WINNER

Intermezzo- Haste and Telegraph, Berkeley. Classic place, best and biggest salad for the money known to man. Huge sammiches as well. I eat there most afternoons/ evenings, so IF ya see a guy in a reflective vest ordering one to go, say hi.

1st Runner -up

El Balazo- Various Contra Costa Locations.

Chicken Caesar Salad will fill anyone with about a pound of warm grilled chicken rubbed with epazote and garlic. Decent burrito, etc., but the salad is the thing.

Coffee- For most bikey types, way more important than food. Bucks' is everywhere, and Peets is chasing them. Some people hate them, but I remember when coffee in the suburbs consisted of 7-11 and mickey-d's, and thank them.

WINNER

Cole Coffee- 63rd and College, Oakland. Name has changed from Royal, everything else is the same. For years Miz C. sent me down there on Saturdays for a lb of Celebes, damn junkies.Way cool people watching from the tables on 63rd. A hub of bikey action.

1st Runner-up

Bellatazza- Bend, Oregon. Absolutely sublime double cappucino with the foam spun in like a cirrus cloud over the desert. Cool and friendly crowd, doggy friendly. I look at a receipt in my wallet from last month and smile at the memory of a lazy hour in July.

Soul Food/ BBQ- probably more open to personal interpretation than anything else, different strokes for different folks.

WINNER

Rodericks BBQ and Seafood- Gilbraltar and Stoneridge, Pleasanton.Soul food in P-town?Roderick is a pure genius in the kitchen, ditching his boring-ass tech job for something he loves. I was worried for a while he wasn't gonna make it in the tri-valley, but the lunch crowd from the offices has come out in droves . Expanding to Oakland soon, not the usual path. Awesome BBQ, my favorite sides are the yams and greens. Hot hot hot red beans and rice, and don't forget the hushpuppies. I only wish the Sunday dinner had worked out, this is food for the heart and soul.

Very high on the rewards meter after a tough race/ season.

1st Runner-up

Nellies- 3rd and Adeline, Oakland. Great Sunday dinner. Favorite spot to eat with my crew on friday nights after a hard week. Classic soul food, oxtails, fried chicken, fried seafood. The yams are sliced and candied, which a lot of people like more. I'm a pureed with butter and nutmeg guy myself.

Tied-

Chicken and Waffle house, Embarcadero x Broadway, Oakland.

Great late night spot. When the clubs let out it's pretty wild around here. If you have never had a hot piece of chicken and a waffle with warm syrup and butter late into the night, I highly recommend it. Good breakfast as well, but stick to what they do.

Happy Birthday to me

I've been obsessed with one of these since Nome and I went to Chico Pauls' for Sattley.Apparently Miz C. occasionally listens to my babbling, because when I got home last night , there it was.
Now I want some cool chickens. Somehow I have a feeling that if the hamsters running Pleasantville don't like a trailer in the driveway, chickens are way off the list. Actually- looking at it, this was some fascinating reading.
Chicken Fight!
I was going to make a Minden reference here, but am going to stop while I'm ahead.

Chickens running around would require this guy to calm his ass down, not an easy thing for him. the four legged killing machine. The mice have left, the snakes don't dare leave their holes, the rats are all dead. The squirrels though, they have no fear. The rabbits out back can't climb trees, so now he stays leashed to avoid further traumatization of Little C, who had no idea her little puppy was the freaking Terminator.Not his fault he's the birdiest dog alive, maybe he'll mellow in another year.

Districts- sometimes your the windshield, sometimes the bug

All weekend at bike racin' and not one bad picture, guess I forgot the camera in the car.

The racing? Not much for me, our ducks were all scrambled this weekend and we just made lemons out of lemonade. Bailed out of the 40+ on Saturday and did the 3/4/5 with the other domestiques.
Kinda wild with a full field of combined juniors, old guys, young guns..... No excuses, I just didn't have it on the climbs. I have been climbing better than ever lately and hoped to stay on and be the finishing punch, but it was not my day.
Seeing the writing on the wall, after the second lap with a little chase, I went to the front in the crosswind and gave em' some gutter time to try to rid some more deadweight from a field that was down by half. Not too effective, but better than nothin contributed. Caught the broomwagon on the next lap and rode in with them. Why do people want to sprint for 23rd? Props to the kids from Alta Alpina, people slam the kids, but they rode real safe while doing 40 downhill, and hit it hard everytime on the climb.
Minden was rippin' and good. Tons of talent on the line, MS and the Baggies had the numbers, Hutch and Roemer have been flying on the lap the field move. Lots of people to watch for only 2 guys.
I bet the farm on the Hutch/Roemer combo and missed the move of the day while regrouping. Reading a race of that caliber is still a couple of years away for me.
All I really had left was one good pack-dragging move to try to hold it together for a remainder of pack sprint, and I got to watch the rest from the sidelines with 10 to go.
Saw a lot of smart racing, no bitching from me. In hindsight keying off Safeway would have been better, why would they let H/R get away with 6-7 guys in the field?
I guess there was lot's of bitching when it was over, I dunno. I can toss out a few MFs and am pretty willing to back it up when the competitive fire is burning, well, sometimes I need to go cool off by myself for a few and remember I'm a 40 year old dad as of Sunday and not on the playground in South Stockton anymore.
Highlights for me-
Sweet campsite! 6 miles from the race, shady with a lake. Kicking it with Nome and DDR after dinner and watching the bats fly around in the meadow was way better than bad TV in Minden.

Soaking up some knowledge all weekend from guys that have done it a looong time.

Rolling with Roemer and looking down at the computer through a corner doing 32. In the flounders we would be SO GONE. Looking back and seeing a long line of determined loons, just savage.

Nice time in the park watching the 35+ race. Lot's of cool people in bike racing, I'll ignore the dumbasses. Great race with Nate, Taz, and the Straw-dude. Killer counter by the Olaf, the Straw-man just wanted it more than anyone else in a extremely motivated bunch from a half-lap in and never let it go .

I came for the pizza but got wine instead

Albany Crits
40+ 3/4

Teammates, Dave A. and Mike B.
Plan, get Dave OTF, and follow Mark Patton at the end. We start in the back, a few minor fender benders, and about 15 minutes in Dave moves up. I follow him off, then soft pedal and gap. He gets a little company, but he's going like a freight train. Berkely works with us, as does Newman's just cause we're cool. Dave wins two primes before being dragged back, and informs me it's my turn. I let a guy go off, bridge to him, but he's gassed. I hear it's a prime lap and gun it on the hill, dropping him and going solo for a few, winning two primes myself. The announcer keeps calling me Dave, he got used to seeing a EMC off the front, I guess. I slide back and slot in with 4 to go, with one to go I'm looking good on Pattens wheel, but we have a mixup and get swarmed as Patten jumps early, I chase and sprint at the end for 9th, cool!

E-4 race- crazy crashfest. The same corner that everyone rolled through 3 wide in the previous race was a mess. Too many crashes to count, I ate a little median strip and got a free lap, then 2 laps later there is another guy on the ground. This time they stop the race, now all the loons that were OTB get a fresh start. There are many more adventures on straights, turns, etc. I start looking for a break cause I'm not staying in this mess. I get in a promising one right as they announce a prime with 2 other guys. I originally wanted to work together but they ran out of steam, so I got a nice Ritchey umbrella.
I hear another prime announced a couple laps later, on the backside they all balloon out looking at one another, so I go again with kind of a wishy-washy move up the inside and get another one. I stay away for one more, but TP has like 10 guys in this race and they are coming hard with 4 to go. I slide to the back, then see my wife and decide to call it a day. Stop to give her a kiss, and finish OTB safe and sound.
Days' total- 4 primes, two bike fits with Curtis Cramblett, noted PT and coach, one wine tasting experience donated to the party kitty, and my favorite, my new cross umbrella for December.
The EMC section of the median strip was rockin', much love, much love.

Little C and Little M got along like gangbusters, going for double overtime on the playdate (thanks, Alicat!)
Some Zacks with friends, a few homemade cookies tonight, just wonderful.
One more set of races next weekend and I'm done for a while, looking forward the season's end.

I wanna be a sprinter.....

Cause they have all the fun.

Diving, ducking, hollering for SOMEONE to take the wind.

They get all the glory.

Even when off the back on the last day,

otherwise sane housewives will run into a open road and scream

"I Love you JJ!"

And with a shy smile and a smooth South American accent, you say

"Thank You"

Nice

Worked the feed for our remaining guys on Sunday, the feed was right up the hill from the campground, so it worked out good.
Set up and got Groove Talkin and Petit to give me some pointers. Groove is El Capitan of the feed, baby! Got it down! Met the famous XB with the cool ears, so we had a good fun bunch up there on the hill.
Dropped the first bottle I tried to hand off, but Petit saved me with a move right out of the Matrix and got Nate the backup bottle.
3rd lap we saw the break taking off with Pasco, Nate and Walker, then a loong time before Larsen appeared, dragging the pack with him. From then on it was hold-yer-breath time, till we saw this pic at the finish.
Nice work, Nate! The guy has been close so many times this year, totally deserving.
All in all, I learned a few things about the beast that is stage racing, the recovery is SO important to focus on. I think specifically for me I needed more long race miles and more experience with nutrition while hammering. The level of racing was a little over my head as well, real easy to burn matches in places that don't matter, keeping track of who was in the break and how this was affecting things. My teammates were great inspiration and a wealth of information helping me out, everybody sucked it up and worked hard till they couldn't turn the pedals anymore.
One thing that I really enjoyed was the level of competition, guys training their asses off all year and ending up 40th for their team's benefit. I saw athletes racing hard and being secure enough in themselves to give a congratulations to another racer win or lose, nice to see. Just because your an amateur doesn't mean you have to act like one.
Real nice.

No Sulking Allowed

So day two started pretty good, most of the previous evening was spent trying to get some calories in and work out the cramps. My chest was very tight and the hamstrings were killing me, but I woke up refreshed and after popping my chest(old accident), things felt OK.
I got out to the TT course early and staked out a good spot. Probably should have rode it, I was a little suprised later.
Got in a good warmup and while still tight, was ready to go. Followed Nome in line and tried to keep him in sight, I had no HRM, so just went old-school, stayed on top of the gear and listened to my body. I had given all my aero goodies to Nate-dawg for the cause, so I felt no pressure. Nome rode a great TT, passing his 30 second man. I was watching the k's pass and figuring I had about 2k more to go when I came around a corner and there ya go.
Got 30th, not bad and opened up my chest and legs. Got a recovery drink and rode with the boys a bit, then went back to base camp and chilled with the girls.
Got downtown early and set up the tent, loosened up on the trainer and focused on stretching and hydrating.
GREAT COURSE, custom made for me, little incline, crosswind, technical chicane and traffic furniture, and a awesome crowd. It was announced there would be a time cut if you didn't make it halfway. causing a few nervous laughs from the back where somehow I ended up.
Race starts and I'm sitting pretty tailgunning it, out of the wind and looking for wheels. Those Oregon boys leave a little more room for each other, and I was real comfy going in 4 wide. Problem- my rear wheel starts shifting wonky and the guy behind me warns me my QR has come open. I'm not a big rule guy and cycling has a million rules,(whole nother' topic there.)
I pull into the top pit OTB and announce my skewer has a little problem, figuring I can fix it and take my free lap. Informed by the blue shirt about rule 7080.45A or something that involves negligence and no free lap.
Oh dear.
I get fixed up and chase the pack that is turning the corner 2 blocks away, get within 100 yards when they zoom away, maybe responding to Larsen/ Roemer or a bridge. not sure cause all I know is I need to last 20 more minutes without getting lapped. I rode as hard as I could, but the dogwalker and Mr. Clover were coming hard. Made it one more lap with a sprint, and realized I needed one more lap that was not there. I let them go( I understand THAT RULE) and got the Sicilian Throat Cut from the head ref, 2 minutes short of the time cut. Went back and bitched a little, but the blue shirts were having none of my stopping for safety's sake/ I drove 9 hours with 2 dogs in a trailer and my family in tow argument.
Watched the rest of the race after taking a minute to cool off, some hard racing by the geezers.
Little C had her race and ended up frustrated just like good old dad after getting cut off in turn one and losing about 10 spots- sounds like a few 4/5 races lately. Hugs and Tropi-wraps made it a little better for all, and we watched about half the pro race, just fantastic.
Health Net was impressive with the whole" we are gonna put the whole team up here and control move". Miz C was oh so happy when her personal dreamboat sprinter won the thing, and another day was done.

Bittersweet

Cascade was big, kind of a lot to get an understanding of. I kind of didn't realize what I was getting into, although all my buddies would give me a funny look when I said I was going, kind of a Tim Allen in Christmas With The Kranks when he gets the Botox injection look, with the eyebrows WAY UP THERE.
I asked questions, put together a training plan, and rode lots of climbs. Long climbs mostly, but also lots of short hill intervals. I looked at profiles, ate salads, and rode more climbs. A big problem is the shortness of most Cat 4 races, only 47 miles at Pescadero, 38 miles at MT. Hamilton. The supergeezers rip, and they do it for hours. They have been doing it for years, as evidenced by the low USCF numbers surrounding my lone 20,0000 number in the standings.
We came up Tuesday from Mt. Shasta, and cruised around. I rode the circuit course which was right outside the campground and drove the RR course, stopping at a cool fish hatchery, a yuppie market in Sunriver, and a way cool Lava cave.
Thursday was marked by riding with the team and the dogwalker, then going downtown and chillin' at Bellatazza, killer cappucinno! Met the team for dinner at their house and tried to soak up some insight as well as some pasta.
I had visions of getting dropped on the first climb and was happy to see a little headwind to help it stay together. 6 miles and change is still a long way to climb for this 185 pounder, but I stayed protected and made it over, first goal a success!
Promptly got dropped on the 50+ descent with J-money who had the speed wobbles, but chased back on and rolled up front to see what was happening.
Much concern shared with the Bagboys about the Vampire getting loose, they put a guy up with him and J and I manage the gap. Not alot of concern coming from the local boys at this point. I roll to the back to grab extra bottles at the feed and burn a big match getting back,but we all have lot's to drink. Unfortunately I can't seem to absorb it well, the Powerbar that seemed like such a good idea is pushing its way out my side, and the salt pill is right behind it. I can feel the warning signs and try to conserve.
We go back through the feed zone and in trying to get extras, I damn near get dropped. The end is near and I am just hanging on over every roller. I look over and Walker is sitting in getting ready, this is gonna suck. Boom the attacks start again on the rollers leading to the last climb, and like a giant hand pulling me back, I get dropped.
The implosion was pretty spectacular, I could barely pedal the bike. The wheel car comes up and gives me a cold water, and holds on for a second to the bottle, giving me a tiny break.
I talk to Groove and Petit Lutin who are chasing the pack in the van, then I am left to my own devices. If I stand I cramp, if I sit my calves and side hurt. I know if I stop it will be over, and I'm not ready for this to be over.
Long -ass climb solo at 5 miles an hour. The 3's pass me on the steep part, then it eases off and I actually catch a few before the finish.
I get a Coke and a water and we roll to the cars, 12 miles downhill. This was probably the toughest part of the day, my body was one large cramp, just rolling from side to side. I called Miz C., she was seriously concerned when she saw me, kinda green and sucked up. She doesn't normally worry about me, Lord knows I've pushed the limit before, so it must have been an ugly sight.
A few numbers- 87 miles with the trip back to the car. 20.5 avg with the last half hour at 5 mph solo.4038 calories burned- maybe the last number tells the tale the best, I probably got in 800 calories at best . Winning time for 75 miles of hills, 3 and change, with me 24 minutes back at the end of the first day.
Proud to be hanging with a bunch of guys not afraid to put it out there for each other, makes me work a little harder.

Cross in July?

Lafayette turned out better than I had hoped, Taco Bell Hill was a non-event. However, the hairpin was an adventure that I solved about 90% of the time. Oh yeah, don't pedal in that thing, the sneaky camber/angle grabbed many a pedal and chucked yours truly about 2 feet sideways, rolling the front tire.
I had a responsibility to Original Joe to watch one guy, James from Trumer for the GC omnium thingy and we marked him heavily with mixed success. I recognized a few names from cross and MTB out there today, guys that if they raced on the road regularly would be 3's and 2's. I attacked from the gun with the Big Volsansky per our plan to stretch it out. The cross/MTB fellas soon joined me while Jimmy took a break and we had a little gap. I was hurting and trying to do mental GC math at the same time and skipped a few rotations. We never organized and got caught about 10 laps in. I slid back a little looking for help from the boys and got some from Rich, Mo, El Patron and Paul, who marked the GC threat some and kept things together. Unfortunately, while I was rallying, WTB guy rolls off and gets 15 seconds. We burn half our guys while most teams watch but there is no real organization and WTB Guy stays away, hats off to him.
I had my moment of flight with 6 laps to go and rode to the pit quickly before the 5 lap rule would kick in, first successful wheel change in my career. I had to chase a little after a crazy push, but I was glad to be back in it for better or worse.
Moved up on Mark Estes' wheel to the front and found Joe sitting pretty while Rich was pulling away. Joe informs me it is the bell lap and we slot in behind 3 peggy boys. The first one takes a nice pull to the backside, then there is indecision in front about who is gonna win it? Not really sure what the conversation was , maybe Gianni will lead out anyway, let's just wait. Not sure, but I got my GC man on my wheel and I can hear the buzzing behind me from the herd. I have decided to just race with my instincts for better or worse and quit overthinking this shit. I definitely do not want to be 10 wide into the corner, and punch it from 600-700 meters. I take the corner smooth and alone and get it on to the finish. I kept waiting for the herd and they finally showed up with 50 meters to go, I see a flash of the red and black from Mo, and Joe a second later, apparently lots of argie-bargie behind me caught him up and knocked him off my wheel, bummer.
Very happy with 8th place and all parts intact, caught Nome's race, sweet win on the omnium!
OV was too cool on the bridge, damn that was some strong move across, all us sporties were just going to school at the bottom of Taco Bell on the supergeezer race, very impressive .
Leaving for Oregon tommorrow, I just hope I'm not last by the first day :-)

Rest Week........

and it's gonna kill me.
No doubt I needed it, 3 weeks of miles, intervals, climbs had my legs just frickin' sore. I couldn't get my HR up anymore cause my legs wouldn't move fast enuff.
Now if I could only REST in the rest week I'd be cool. 2 yard work sessions, sprinkler repair, door repair, blah blah. Gashed the hell out of my knuckle last night when I just HAD to put a 56t pie plate on the km40. Tape measures and air tools are stating to come out all over the place, an idle mind is a dangerous thing. The life of a master's racer- I saw a quote from Chris Horner in Velosnooze Especial about" at this level, you don't walk dogs, wash cars, or clean up dogshit, you just train". Promptly showed it to Miz C., and in infallible spousal logic, it was pointed out there has been 45 bucks and a bottle of wine to show for this years' exploits, and if CH only had a bottle of wine to show for his efforts, he'd be cleanin' up a whole lotta dogshit.
On another note, it has been nice to hang with the family this week. Little C. is swimming really well at her new school, and the Alameda County Fair was fairly mellow this year, no massive nutritional debacles to report.
Looking forward to Taco Bell Hill tommorrow, then we are outta here for a while!
Oh yeah, I gotta figure out how to post pictures where I want em in the text, why is this eluding me? Maybe another rest week would help?

Bring it Redux

Why am I fascinated with this? I'm lovin' the training aspects, the periodization, the bitching to the refs,
Oh yeah!

Bring it

Nuthin' like good ol American pride, baby!

El Diablo

Apparently a overload of training, heat, and salt pills can make Gianni a little loopy. I have been passing this sign for months on my regular excursions to the North Gate Of Hell.
It always makes me contemplate exactly what condition are they referring to today- mine, theirs, ours?
After tonights meet at the Hopyard, it seemed more than a little apropos.