That's one old muh fuh

Damn this birthday I felt old- maybe it was the new drivers license and throwing the old one away with the picture from the Oakland DMV circa 1989, I'll have to white out some info and put em both up for perusal and some chuckles....

Anyway, I had a crap pre- birthday, 5 flats in a row and a wasted training day, never buy the skinny Velox tape, especially when your friend at the bike shop asks you if your sure you want that stuff, get the wide comfy shit, and don't spend your day in the sun patching things and calling the wife who's home sick to come rescue you....

I was so pissed I walked into the gym at work and just popped the bar up thinking there were only two wheels on each side, damn that's a bit much, but I got off three reps then the linebacking corps noted the extra dimes apiece, thats 245 cold off the street baby, not much to most but more than I've put up in a long long time, and yes, when your a old muh fuh, you have to be grateful and happy for small stoopid things at times.....

Anyhow, I got to sleep in the next morning after working late, and had myself a cool day where folks gave me lots of nice stuff, I got adjusted at the chiro, got some new rim strips and some general love, dropped off some vittles for the dudes that keep my pile of bikes rolling, and threw the track bike in the land barge for a night of this...

Superfast track action, good safe racing, Mike and I had a good time playing in the B's and Mike won, very cool, then we did the A/B points, where I rode majorly dumb and wasted tons of energy but stayed on, then mis-timed getting back onto the line which was hauling ass and got dropped, but it was all in good fun and I didn't kill anybody or myself, saw ton's of bloggers and old friends, got some good luck kisses from the missus who finally decided as nervous as she gets for me messing around down there in San Jose she would still come and support, and like I said I tried to not kill myself on her first visit and maybe she would like the picnic on the grass and the girls playing and it's all good.

Carrot Cake

Homemade Champagne and Grapefruit Sorbet

I really don't need to elaborate on that one, but wow and um, wow.

Oh, and maybe YUM.

Then a sleepover so the grownups could play house?

Very rare around here, it was like being on vacation already.

Sweet.

Now tommorrow we leave for some camping and fun, some crazy hillclimb on Saturday followed by this beast on Sunday.

Good times.

Twitchy

My leg muscles seem to be pretty much deciding when to fire at random right now, little buggers woke me up twice while watching the ITT on VS this afternoon.

They are entertaining to watch, though, squirming around of their own volition, as long as they don't get too crazy......

Sucked cramping all the way down Mines today- felt OK but the buggers had other plans and would kick my ass good if I so much as smelled the front of our little group.
That's my fookin' canyon and I don't like riding in the backseat.

But thanks for towing my sorry ass out of there.

93 is right for me

gear inches, that is......

I went to last Sundays' sprint tournament at the track- I'm a complete newbie which is very fun, actually.
My legs were pretty sore after a long couple days in the saddle on Friday and Saturday, but I really want to get my five starts in this year and get my cat 4 upgrade, so I figured I would ride a easier gear and try to work on some leg speed.

I warmed up and noticed people were pedaling some monster gears, as well as sporting disk wheels and funny helmets.
Hmmm, I'm running a 48 x 15 on my goofy Langster with some Weinmann clinchers, but I really didn't realize what was going on until I had the format explained to me as the first guys did their flying 200's.
I got some great advice on lines and strategies, and even was offered to have a extra minute or so in order to change my gear, but it takes me 10 minutes to get it right anyway, and I didn't want to be some prima donna a-hole holding the deal up so I could get 12th v 13th anyway, so I went with 86- something gear inches- sprinted for the first turn and ran out of gear to stand on, had to flop my ass down and hamster pedal all the way around as well as taking a obscenely bad line and doing a extra 50 meters or something, arggh!

So 13 seconds or so was the result and I got placed into a bracket, this is a fun style of racing where you race against everybody of the same speed and get in lots of racing, so way cool.

I got lots and lots of help and feedback from guys, this match sprinting has lots of permutations with strategies and counters, all in two laps.

I kept my gear on for one match, tried to use it to my advantage with a holeshot and controlling the pace up high, but he came around me on the homestretch and I think he got me.

Soooo I went to the little 14 tooth, plunked it on and was able to "step into" the gear again, kind of giving me a extra bit of umph.

Not fair to be in that bracket anymore, though.

I hate sandbagging and will give no excuses for it, it wasn't my intention to manipulate the dealie and I don't have that fragile of a ego, I just wanted to try some different things.

I liked the " go from the ringing of the bell move out of turn 4", that was fun and it's so early some folks were caught sleepin'...:-)

Things I practiced-
keeping my peripheral vision going and looking under me at the opponent

using the banking and diving like a zero for a carrier

riding the top of the pole lane to hold someone but keeping smooth, not too good on this one and some of it is the bike, when I borrowed my buddies real track machine I definitely noticed a difference in the precision

tuning up the instinct and reflex of when to go.

being willing to play a bit and see.

Loving it and I'll be down next Wednesday for the racing, taking a vacation night or two.....

Big Ring The Dumbarton

Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara for a second, and back to Alameda County.

I rode on the 280 freeway for a minute- not too bad.A kind Pen Velo guy showed me the way south.

Now I understand why the folks that ride the bridge are so damn tough, that thing is nasty, but like ya love it nasty.

Lots of microclimates and a big cross section of the Bay Area and some good people watching. Gawd I like GG park, fun stuff.

Signs

that base training is over..

Don't worry about the thousand mile mark, but when you've gone through one of these jars, it's a good sign some suffering has gone down.

When the helmet is soaked in bleach and hot water all night until it is pink instead of red, yet the weird smell comes back on the first hill.

When the spot of sweat has sat in the left hand corner of the PowerTap so long the display looks hazy.

A few more long days and I can speed it up a bit...... maybe Sunday at the track!

A bike commuting route from San Francisco

Cyclists love maps.

Most runners like them too at first, but seem to feel getting lost is part of the journey. but they wear funny gaiters on their feet even in nice weather, soo.

I like figuring out new ways, even the new subdivisions out this way are putting in some nice roads- too bad there are more cars to go along with it, but.......

I have a coaching gig down at the Marina Green next weekend, my favorite newbie triathletes start a new class.

I need to do miles on miles right now, and am thinking about riding the train into the city early, doing the bike class, then riding south down the peninsula on Skyline and over the Dumbarton, then through Niles Canyon and home.

But I don't really know the peninsula, I go on rides once in a while over there, but am usually rather lost and have no idea about a cool way to get from the hills to the bridge.

Not even sure- looking at maps online if Skyline goes through or if it stops around the reservoir.

Hwy 1 I doubt is a good option, and riding through Hunters Point on my silly little bike sounds dumb too.

Any ideas?

J

The Bad Patch

came to visit me on Saturday.

A likely place- Diablo in the afternoon, trying to squeeze in one more time up before heading home.

I've been doing dumb endurance sports long enough to have the bad patch be a old acquaintance, it slowly creeps in , hidden by pride, ego, and adrenaline until it's too late to do anything but hang on and curse.

The little yellow pod on the handlebars warned me first- the HR was high and the power was mediocre.

Then the sun got just sooooo intense that the helmet had to go over the stem.

A stop in the shade came next, along with the mental grumblings and speculation on what normal middle aged men where doing right now.

Hating the wind and sun- a clear sign things are going south.

A push for the top, to be greeted by twinges in the legs and the realization-

"I'm officially in the bad patch"
" Maybe not screwed, but definitely this shit is gonna hurt"

Once the realization came, though, things were oddly better, even though I couldn't stand that warm Perpetuem any longer, and I like Perpetuem.

Cause survival mode is what I do.

It allows me to stop under trees wherever I like .

It let's me stop at the Extra Mile and buy icy cold Fruit Punch Gatorade and drink two bottles while spinning a 39 x 17 home .

It lets me smile when the cramps go from the toes to the tummy when I get up too fast or pedal too hard, " you dumbass..."

I knew the bad patch would end.

That's the gift of the patch, when one realizes as bad as this feels it will be over soon....

If you're never in the bad patch, you'll never appreciate the great days.

Oh, and today I felt great, rode the cross bike for the first time in 6 months.

Friday Openers

The Friday opening up workout-

A staple, a tradition

The makeup changes during the year some- I shorten it

during cross season some if I have a race the next day,

but during the base period it serves to get the hard efforts of Thursday out of the legs,

for me thats' usually a threshold ride or weights that feel like a threshold ride afterwards.

3-4 hours, 10 short sprints, two longer jams. everything easy and chatty in between.

I often solve the worlds' problems on this ride.

No point for me paying to race right now, way too slow, but I'll be on some local rides tommorrow putting in some miles.

The picture above- Castle Lake - the third climb @ Shasta Super Summit.

Six Point Elk Steaks All The Way From Colorado

and lifting with the linebacker squad before work.

I'll never win the local hill climb but I hope to cut my sleeves off by September.

The wind is up some and I hope to have a decent smokeless ride on Hamilton tommorrow.

Mt Diablo Hillclimb- the juniors do some sufferin'

Snuck back into town Saturday afternoon and was able to ride Sunday- the 3 days off the bicycle was just perfect and my legs feel human again.

I rode the mountain from the south side alone, the smoke was stronger there and I could feel it a bit, turned around just below the elbow and headed back down to catch some finishes at the Mt Diablo Hillclimb.

I wish I had the big camera- because every finisher had the suffer- face on.Way to go.

Big props to "Dave Stoler" in his first year, the dude has been a pleasure to help this year, a open book with a great sense of humor. I think with another year of tempering he's going to be on fire.

And Jasmin winning the JPS was great, every JPS winner got a huge goodie bag and other prizes.

Thanks to the organizers of the JPS, all volunteers. I could tell the kids really dug it.

Juniors cycling, way cool and much more interesting to me than a lot of old guys right now.

Various Camping Pics

Myself and Little C- up on the Russian River for a couple of days. Kayaking was good times and chilling with a book was real nice as well.

No bicycles for 3 days, a good thing.

Casini Ranch Campground- not so nice. Dusty, absolutely no privacy in the spots, and too much party in the adjoining spots for me or my kid.

Seems like more and more people when they leave home, whether to camp, go to a sporting event, or just drive around,leave their brains and common courtesy back at the house.... sigh.

I've been having to have the talk with the neighbors/ phone call to security or sheriff way too much the last couple of years. Bummer.

Anyhow- we'll learn not to go there again.

Headed up to Fort Ross on Saturday, I haven't been here in years, and I forgot how nice and well restored it is- a sweet half day trip.

A beautiful bell next to the chapel.

These guys were well- armed. The Spanish took a look around and decided the Russians could have this remote little corner of California, maybe they realized the fur trade wouldn't last forever.

Best Wishes......

To the happy couple.

Off camping for a bit....

Wednesday Track Night

Took a vacation night off and went to Hellyer- I took a rest for a few days after Sierra Century, but still had quite a bit of fatigue in the legs, but as Pops used to tell me when he would get the old pickup hauling ass down hwy 20 while flipping Oly's into the bed- " sometimes you gotta blow the carbon out".

Lotsa fun and some decent racing save for the occasional sitting on even with a OK split forming- BORING!

I was there to get some starts, help Mike a bit if possible, and go hard- so tactics and whatnot were not what Iwas looking for, just hammer and lots of it, plus I have very little sprint anyway right now, so I would prefer everything to come down to something like the pic on top, some suffering times three.

Beautiful night, warm and the lighted racing was a kick!

Now can someone give me a idea how many TSS points a omnium of racing should generate?
Geekarama with the WKO continues....

Sierra Century and a Williams Wheel Story

Ummmm, I shoulda inspected the profile a bit more before clicking yes, especially with the whole MTB racing team going.

Always either up or down, not a easy day for a crit monkey.

The up was steep and the down had holes with steep.

Ejected the PT CPU on one of the damn bumps, but I found it in the bushes and it's all good.

The data is all there which is good because I'm fascinated on geeking out with the WKO and getting the CTL up, how many TSS points, etc. Great way to train and my hour power has risen every week and is the highest ever .

My Williams story- I have some 30X's with a PT that Keith built up for me this winter, my first PT wheel and the wheels have been phenomenal, I raced them through the Valley swing and at Madera, just loved them.
The back one developed a squeak after I skipped a pedal at Visalia, although I couldn't find the source. The rim was true, the hub was OK( good to check this though, I hear it is a common problem with PT hubs to be loose), and the spoke tension was perfect on the drive side with a few off tensions on the non- drive side.
My only guess was the spokes rubbing a bit, and I tried a few different things with that, oiling the j-bends and crosses, but I still couldn't track it down.
Swiss DT 14/15 spokes as well, usually very reliable.

I called Keith on a Monday afternoon and he called me back a half hour later. I really was just curious if he had seen anything that solved this and could help either me or my LBS, who was a bit confused as well.
After talking a bit, Keith offered to rebuild it and check the rim, just to get those variables out of the way, then mentioned he could come by and pick up the wheel on his way home- WOW!
My teammates have had several stories of the fantastic service, but this was a new high point.
I headed out to Stockton on Friday afternoon and picked up the wheel at Keith's' home office, I visit my dad every week anyway and I was headed to Escalon/ Oakdale for a team thing so this was perfect.
Keith had the wheel ready to go and I popped the cassette back on and rode it all day at Sierra ,very rough pavement, banging through holes and shaking the old fillings loose.
Not one noise.
Not one.
I lost a water bottle cage, some allen bolts, and broke my PT mounting bracket.
But the wheel was flawless.

Hmm, will Miz C let me have some 50 carbons?

" If it was smart, that's what I'd do."

VN- Adam Craig on Todd Wells' early season training regimen of " hanging out in Tucson, riding a bunch and doing the group rides"

Supersonic

Rollin' some much needed miles, on a high-iron diet lately, some old school deadlifts and sled throwing, as well as mucho ball work, and finally the injuries from last fall are going away and I feel balanced again.

I just like this pic of Mike throwing Macneill in, gotta love the pink jumpers:-)

We had fun on Saturday out on Mines and tired ourselves out good, and I managed not to knock the happy couple down or even cross wheels, even when cross eyed on the hills.....

Why I love juniors racing- a excerpt of a e-mail from the rainy Sacramento crit this weekend...

I ended up riding w/ a handful of boys to the finish, my sprint was sucky I guess because it was raining too
my tires were slipping on almost every turn when ever I hit a bump while turning it would just slide, but very solemnly.

Just badass.

Congratulations Jasmin!

The phone call made my afternoon yesterday!

The entire club is very proud.

EBC Crit- a couple of pictures

A little behind the scenes look- Did you like your results being posted in a timely manner?

Thank this guy or Dr. X the next time you see them. All day on laptop duty.

Gracias.

Enough medals for top 10 in the Cat 5 and all the kids. Some very swank prizes went into that truck as well.

Complete results posted just to the left of this kind man, usually within 30 minutes of the race finish.

Again, gracias.

Tired race workers enjoying a very tactical 35+ race. Liked the kids' race with Otter Pops and goodie bags? Podium pics? How about 50 bags of soil amendments protecting the fire hydrants from the wayward racers?

Gracias.

Migo walking Bunny. A very nice day to sit on the grass with a beverage in the shade.

Each of the gentlemen in this gruppo has punished me badly in one race or another over the years. I was glad to be snapping pictures this day and not groveling on my stem in the pack.

Docile

The missus likes it when a hard ride knocks me down a rung or two, says it keeps me out of mischief.

Between the heavy weights, which I am getting more dubious about every year, some decent miles, and grinding at work 4 out of five nights for weeks now, I barely can read e-mails at 4 am.

Still I managed to get out for a good solo ride today, 3 and a half hours, 251 TSS points for those of you who drink that WKO koolaid, and some solid avg wattage.

I prefer the solo miles right now anyway, my ego can only take getting dropped on the group tussle so many times. Nothing like the cool wind blowing from the side, a nasty climb, a couple extra pounds just to make things tougher, and some freeking Judas Priest cranking sideways into the eardrums, just makes me so pleased.

Much preparation for our race tommorrow, a parked car had me sweating a bit and going back every couple of hours, but he's gone now and the course is in great shape, the pavement is perfecto and the wind is cracking just a bit on the backside, excellent for the faster races to make a long line of pain tommorrow........

This is Sparta!!! - Dramatic Lemur

After a long day on Mines, this is all I got.....