sticky-fingered lunchtime typing...

There's something especially distasteful (and perhaps degrading) to me about eating meals at my desk. It's just so...grubby.

There are of course several advantages to bringing food to work versus going out. It's cheaper. It's usually healthier. I usually eat less. I save time.

But it just feels so...uncivilized. Perhaps the word I'm looking for is uncouth. (I write between bites of my "Simply Asia Sweet & Sour Chow Mein." Yes, it's not 9:15 am and I'm eating lunch...)

I really miss my office at Vandy. Not only did we have a very nice break room, complete with patio table on deck for nice weather, but there were also so many and varied eating options within very close walking distance, both on and off campus.

Sometimes I really miss that place...

stationary trainers: the anti-awesome

Really?

You've got to be kidding me.

No amount of movie magic is ever going to make a trainer--or riding a trainer--awesome. And the people who made this video know that, and they know people watching this video know that, yet they still made it.

And then they had to punch themselves repeatedly.

(Though, watching this, I'm reminded of desperately wishing the other day that I lived my life to a soundtrack. I mean, really, wouldn't that be awesome?)

a test run with the GoPro

It's not all that awesome, but we're in business, which is awesome. (FB'ers, click here to see vid.)

I recorded A's cross country meet this morning, but it needs some editing (and some inspirational music) before it's ready for public consumption. So, stay tuned...

interbike 2011

Well, I've been terrible at blogging Interbike. I thought I was going to be awesome--posting pictures and witty, insightful comments--but I've been super busy running to and fro and, when not busy, way too tired to blog. So tired that I fell asleep in a couch that was part of the Hammer Nutrition booth, only to be woke up by some Hammer dude who sat down heavily next to me and, when I looked up, said, "Comfortable couches, aren't they?" I was so pissed I sat for another five or six minutes before leaving.

But I've had a great time.

I missed the first day of outdoor demo because my flight was cancelled (due to weather), but I rode 10 bikes the second day and have pictures of six of them.

Wednesday morning was spent setting up the WickWerks tent in the rain at the CrossVegas venue, the day was spent wandering the Expo hall looking at all kinds of cool stuff and quite a bit of lame stuff too. And the late afternoon and evening was spent back at CrossVegas watching the races and selling chain rings. (I bought a GoPro camera at special Interbike pricing yesterday--if anyone wants one while I'm here, let me know quick--and shot a bunch of video at CrossVegas. I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm hoping I've something cool to post when I get home and have time to sort out everything.)

One of the coolest things I saw yesterday was suction cup bike carriers.

It's pretty cool. Clearly, to sell these guys you've got to get over a major mental hurtle, but after seeing the demonstration and watching their videos, I'm convinced. And I want some. What a great, great way to carry your bikes (you can do it on the roof, or the back of your car like the picture above, which I think is really the way to go).

And CrossVegas was awesome. I don't think I've ever seen such an exciting cross race. Out of an elite group of 10 there came attack after attack, but nothing held for more than a couple of laps and the race ended pretty much in a nine-up sprint. The finish was too close to call...between _three_ riders! Good stuff.

there are hard men, and then there's Gilbert

"I'm tougher than the tarmac."

--Gilbert, to his teammates upon their expressing concern at the state of his hand after a crash.

Even when Gilbert doesn't win, he still plays the part of the hero in the last kilometer. Watch.

shipping on two tomato cages from ID to PA = $$$

This picture probably hasn't gotten enough attention:


Taken a few weeks ago, at a campground somewhere between Leadville and Buena Vista, Colorado. (A campground, btw, that was next to impossible to find at night. We drove past seven times before we found it.) Three bikes. Two indestructible tomato cages. Hauled from Idaho Falls all the way to Shippensburg. Via Ontario.

A map, you ask?

Ok. :-)


View Larger Map

Something like that.

Interestingly (to me), getting into Canada with my car thus loaded was no big deal. Getting out (even with two US passports and a PA license plate) was more difficult. Not difficult, per se, but the US border patrol agent had that sort of bad-ass cop attitude that we've all come to resent.

US border patrol agent: "Where are you coming from."

Me: "Idaho. Via Niagara Falls."

US border patrol dude: "You'll need to adjust that rack when you get out of here. A state patrolman will pull you over."

Me: "Oh, you mean like they haven't done in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan...nor in Canada?"

Ok, I didn't really say that. I was all "Yes-sir, no-sir." Cops make me nervous. They have guns. And (yup, I'm going to say it) I don't trust anyone carrying a gun.

I will admit to enjoying a good ride in the rain (sometimes)...

Yup. I admit it. I do enjoy riding in the rain. Quite a bit, actually.

An archive photo. SoYoCo 2011.

What I don't enjoy is the aftermath. I don't enjoy how dirty everything gets, and when I say "everything," what I really mean is my bike. Which is not to say that I don't mind a dirty bike, it's that I mind the performance issues associated with a dirty bike that doesn't ever quite get clean afterward, even when you think it is.

I feel like I need to take things apart (pull the crank, pop the seatpost, take off the wheels and pedals) and let everything dry and wipe everything off. In the nooks and crannies. The bottom bracket bearing races, etc. And brakes, chain, derailleurs, etc.

And it seems to me that riding in the rain significantly decreases the useable life of cable housing, especially brake cable housing. I hate when brakes and derailleurs don't crisply spring back (when releasing tension) due to the crap that gets in there from who knows what. (I probably ought to look into that Gore sealed cable stuff, especially since I actually enjoy riding in the rain, but it seems expensive and complicated.) Seriously, though, riding in the rain leaves grit everywhere...

I also don't like wet shoes. Wet shoes dry quicker in the winter when the heat is on (and you put them next to the vent), but in this weather (and eastern humidity) it seems to take forever. Even with newspaper stuffed in them.

Anyway, I rode today. In the rain. For two hours and ten minutes. It was lovely.

But once home I had to drop everything in a hurry, shower, and get back to campus for a meeting. To which I was 10 minutes late. So I didn't get to take anything apart, and I didn't get to do any cleaning. So, now, when I do get to it, the whole thing will be worse. Which is a pain. But it's probably still worth it. Sometimes.

slumming in Tripoli

You can't make this stuff up...

From The National:

Chris Jeon, 21, a student at at University of California - Los Angeles, decided to travel to Libya to join the rebels for the last six weeks of his summer vacation. Here he is surrounded by rebels who are amassing about 130km from Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's hometown and stronghold.

Wow. What did you do with the last six weeks of your summer vacation?

crank brothers comes through

Last fall I bought a new pair of Eggbeater 3s. By early summer the bearings in one pedal had completely seized, to the point of not being able to turn the pedal with my hand, and only barely with a foot clipped in.

So about a month ago I sent them back to Crank Brothers with a description of the problem. Just now I opened a package to discover my pedals, rebuilt and as good as new. All I had to pay was shipping to one way.

Good on Crank Brothers.

...

So I've been pretty weak with the blog lately. Most readers won't care, but every now and then someone comments on it, lamenting my inactivity. That feels good, at least.

Anyway, I hope to pick things up again. I've a new camera on the to-buy list, and that might give me more to blog. And then last night I booked my trip to Interbike, so I'm hoping to blog a bit of that while I'm there. At least a post a day. So there's that. To look forward to. If you're the type that looks forward to such things.

I am.

And I'm excited!

a gorilla attack

I'm happy for the Gorilla.


Really, I've been a Greipel fan since at least this, and I think it's great he gets to beat Cav in a mano-a-mano shootout. It's good for everybody.

But look at this picture... Look at the size difference between these two! And what I love about the story of stage 10 is that it was Omega Pharma-Lotto's strategy to try to dump as many HTC riders (including, hopefully, Cavendish) on the Cat 4 climb leading up to the finish...assuming that Greipel, the dude nicknamed after the largest and surely the least adept at climbing of the hairy primates, would have a better chance making it through the difficult lead-up to the finish than teeny-tiny Cav.

Crazy.

I wonder how much more power Greipel had to put out over Cav to get over that last climb. I mean, compared to Cav...that dude looks huge!.

2011 mid-year race wrap-up

With the Tour de 'Toona this past weekend my road racing for the year is pretty much done. I may jump into something in late August or September (and hopefully at least one more mountain bike race), but my mind and focus is pretty much on cross from this point forward. Two weeks off, then a comfortable build-up for the mud-slinging good times of the cx circuit. (And the blessed cooler weather of the fall months.)

So, a review of what's gone down in 2011 thus far.

March 19. Philly Phlyer (3/4). 18 of 50+
March 20. Prospect Park CR (3/4). Somewhere in the middle of a pretty big crew.
April 2. Marysville MTB team relay. (Does this race even have results?)
April 9. Fulton RR (3/4). 1 of 50+.
April 16. SoYoCo CR (3/4). 3 of 30+?
April 17. Carlisle 40km TT. 2 of ? (57:02)
May 1. Michaux Maximus (20 mi). 2 of 26 (age group); 4 of 84 (overall)
May 7. Turkey Hill RR (3/4). 37 of 100.
May 14. Poolsville RR (35+). 13 of 75.
May 28. Killington SR, Stage 1, CR (3). 62 of 88.
May 29. Killington SR, Stage 2, TT (3). 18 of 88.
May 30. Killington SR, Stage 3, RR (3). 38 of 85.
-- Killington SR, GC (3). 25th.
June 11. PA Elite State Championship 40km TT (3). 3 of 13. (56:04)
June 17. TOWC Kick-Off Classic Criterium (3/4). 45 of ?
June 17. TOWC Kick-Off Classic Criterium (1/2/3). dnf.
June 18. Guy's Neshaminy Classic (Expert 19-39). dnf.
July 9. Tour de 'Toona SR, Stage 1, RR (3). 21 of 42.
July 10. Tour de 'Toona SR, Stage 2, Crit (3). 23 of 48.

That, friends, is a resume of mediocrity.

I told Valerie after Fulton (easily my biggest result in the past five years) that I should just hang it up for the year...I wasn't going to beat that result (it was a kind of Johann Van Summeren right-place-right-time, just-strong-enough thing). The comment proved prophetic.

But I feel good about my result at SoYoCo. Out of how many ever started (a good portion of the pre-registered riders didn't even bother to show up), only about a dozen finished. Conditions were terrible--heavy rain, wind, running water on the roads...and probably my favorite race of the year. Not only do I love that course, but those conditions were just awesome. That was bike racing. (That those who didn't even bother to show up can call themselves bike racers is a travesty.)

The second place at the Michaux Maximus was pretty good too, but I'm sure all the fast guys were doing the 40-miler...

A near miss at Poolsville... I finished 13th...but what that doesn't say is that I finished the day near the back of a select group that saw attack after attack over the last five miles with no one getting anywhere for long. I was in several breaks, the last of which formed on the dirt section of the final lap. There were five or six of us, then another six or seven bridged up within a mile or two after the dirt. Anyway, I felt great, rode a super aggressive race, and among a really stellar field finished right there among the leaders. Thirteenth place overall, fifth cat 3.

But besides feeling good about the bronze medal in the PA Time Trial State Championships (finishing four minutes under an hour in a 40km ITT feels pretty decent), the rest of the season has been mediocre at best. That's not to say I haven't had fun at the races (note the last post), because I have, but I also like to do well, and I finish poorly more often than not. But that seems to be bike racing, when you find your level of incompetence rising through the USAC category system, as apparently I have.

Hurrah for cross season! (Hope springs eternal for the rider...)

'toona

The elevation profile of Saturday's stage...

...except that the race was really more like 70 miles long...apparently our race started some eight miles in from where this profile begins. Anyway...

The first climb was much longer and much steeper in places than I was expecting. It was a haul. But the ride down was great fun. I've become much better at descending. On the steep descents, if I was leading I would invariably look back to see that I'd distanced my riding mates by some considerable margin, or if I started behind others, I was quickly shooting past them...

Perhaps it speaks to my poor finish* (21st of 42) that the most exciting thing about the race for me was the descending, but it really was fun. For me, anyway, there are few chances to really race down long, steep descents. And I found it exhilarating.

The ride that offered this exhilaration: sub-15 lb '08 S-Works SL2 w/ Zipp 404s glued to Vittoria Corsa Evo CX tubulars. It's such a lovely ride. Others have nice bikes too, really nice bikes, but I can't remember looking at anyone else's rig this year and thinking I'd rather have their ride.


*I hate the "what-if" and "could have/should have" post race whine ritual, but I can't help it... Two weeks ago I was just getting over a week-long bout of stomach flu that obviously kept me off the bike, but also fevered, bed-ridden, dehydrated, and running to the toilet...usually making it on time. The week afterward, when back on the bike, I was completely gassed. This last week I felt pretty ok, but on Saturday... Well, I really should have (yup, I said it) been doing better up those climbs. I mean, at Killington, when I was destroyed on the last climb, well I was just destroyed. I felt like I was going pretty good, but there were just a lot of folks going a lot better than me. But Saturday, well, I was capable of much better...

sport

Are there harder men than cyclists?


And this dude (Johnny Hoogerland) not only got on his bike and rode the 24 miles (presumably with a new pair of shorts) left to the finish, he's going to be back on tomorrow to race another 100+ miles. Well, not really tomorrow, as Monday is a rest day, but he'll be back on again Tuesday, and if Monday wasn't a rest day he'd be riding.

Behold, a hard man.

Here's a video (in Flemish) showing what caused the wreck. Someone lost their job today.

But it wasn't all bad for Johnny. Due to his work earlier in the stage, he finished the race with a lead in the climbing competition.

Nice work, man.

stage four

I wonder if Contador is aware that his handlebars offer a more aerodynamic sprinting position. Who knows, he might have won...


Congrats to Evans for a great show in today's final. I got my money's worth.

And how about that Thor Hushovd? I mean, did you see the list of dudes he finished with? Totally out of place in that crowd...and yet maintains his lead in the GC. Crazy impressive.

I'd like to have been inside Evans' head when he turned around at the finish and realized Hushovd was in his group. Nuts. Though, the truth of the matter is that if he (Evans) had attacked at the bottom of the hill and really went for it, regardless of what other riders were doing, he would have lost the stage, but pulled on the yellow. Hard to say which outcome would be preferable. But at least this way he gets to wear polka-dots tomorrow. If he later gets yellow, he'll have been able to spend at least one day in each jersey, as Gilbert already has. That's pretty cool.

I wonder how often that happens... It's probably happened a few times the way Gilbert did it--winning the first road stage. It probably happens a lot less the way Evans may do it--not winning a stage until later (in this case, day four), and wearing yellow the last of the three. My guess is that if that's been done, it's only been once or twice before.

patience

I would guess that by the time I was 25 I had done more door-to-door sales/solicitation/proselytizing/etc. than 99 percent of the people I will ever know.

Ironic, then, that I have zero patience for the odd front door sales call I get now. And while I have sympathy for the poor shleps forced into such endeavors, I'm not going to listen to five seconds of sales pitch.

I am the last person I would want to come across while doing the jobs I did for so many years.