Exploits of a Suck-Ass Bike Racer

Gateway 2011

2011-09-05T18:45:00.001-07:00

Gateway 2011!!!

Well - The theme of Gateway - as always - was the crashes. Gateway Cup is a four day Crit series and the largest bike race that we have in St. Louis. Guys from all over the Midwest come and Continental pro teams show up. This year Ivan (The Cuban Missile) Dominguez and Brad Huff were among the pros. My plan, was to race the first night, Lafayette Square night crit and watch the rest. Lafayette Square is wide open and mostly flat - and I have always been to a degree competitive in the race. However, this year, when we started the temperature was 103 degrees! We were at the end of some bizarre ass heat wave in September - so the Friday and Saturday were in the 100's and Sunday and Monday were in the 70's - I know, fucked up.

So anyway, for The Hub, was me, the brothers, Brett, and Todd and honorary member Phil. the race had 121 guys, was 40 plus 5 and I started in the middle. Obviously, the race started super fast, and was just sitting in fine and dandy. At about 20 minutes into the race, I started to cramp up on the backside. The backside out of turn two has an little uphill into turn three, straight into the wind. The last few laps seemed like I could never pick the right wheel. A few times I tried to move up, but the pace was at my limit. When My stomach started to cramp, that was it, I began to drift back. I stayed in another 2 or so painful laps and then I fell off, I still had the back of the race in front of me and stayed another two laps or so and then I called it a day - I know, it really sucked. On self reflection, I don't think it had as much to do about my fitness as it had to do with the heat. I hate riding like that in extreme humid temps - I never do well, so although I expected more out of myself - my finish was for me predictable.

Obviously at the end of the race there was a 30 man pile up - what's new? Here is film from one guy racing.

I missed Saturday and Monday, but I rode to the hill to support the Master's, Cat 4 and Cat3 at the Giro on the Hill - the Italian neighborhood. I was surprised and then again, not surprised by the low participation by The Hub at Gateway. No Master's, No 4's and only 2 Cat 3's (Chris Miller and Dave Smith - who crashed out on Monday). I think a major reason is the amount of serious crashes that happen in these races. Since I have started racing, I have been in two major crashes - a 50 man pile up at Lafayette 2 years ago and a wipeout in turn 1 at the Hill on the last lap about 5 years ago. I think after the crash at the Webster Crit where that Team Mack racer crashed and later died, guys on the team re-thought Gateway. For the Hill, the entire Hub team was drinking and cheering. The Cat 3's had a major pile up in turn four - here is video.

Anyway - another Gateway Cup and another year of road is over - now I think I will turn my attention to a little cyclecross!

I'm 40!

2011-08-28T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm 40!

My hot wife put up signs all around Webster stating that fact - gotta love her.

My riding is in full force. On the road I have felt so strong. I have kept up on every Hub ride that I have been on - even up front a pulling on Conway during the Wed. Night ride which is fucking nuts for me! The past couple of Saturday's I have felt so strong(hanging with my buddy Phil). I even came in second in on the sprint two weeks ago behind Rock - Yeah me!

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge (or whatever it is called) has been fun to watch on the tube - a few Hubbers took time off work and traveled out West to catch the action first hand. It was cool to see Levi and all of the American's ruling the roost - I really wish Chris Horner raced - I like him. The best sign by far: (courtesy of Support the Tour of Missouri Facebook site)

TRACK RACING

I have had a blast at track this summer (The Faggin, although weighing a ton, was a strong bike for the season. Maybe next year I can upgrade to an Omnium with some deep dish wheels - that would be nice - I picked up Kevin's bike and I think his bike weighed as much as one wheel on my bike) but it has come to an end. The one thing I have not been able to do is transfer my road power to the track. It is kindof weird - I can hammer the shit out of a road race or crit, but on the track, I am slow. I need those long races where I can build up speed - and track is not like that!

State Individuals Track re-cap ( forgot my phone - so I only have one picture thanks to Kevin).

5 Individual races:

Match Sprint (3 laps) - God did I suck at this race. I was the first out!!! AHHHH! I have no speed. On the first race, I was against 2 strong guys - both made the finals, one came in forth and the other came in second - so I was smoked. the next stage was the repechage - I was against Casey and Soli and when we came to turn 4 on the second lap, I was third, great position - we came to a tracks stand, seeing who would go first - I was about ready to go, when Soli jumped and the three of us sped out. Although I stuck Casey, I was not able to take him at the line - he beat me by a wheel or so - so I was out. Andrew for The Hub won first place.

Points Race (30 lap) - Points has always been my worst race - and I lived up to it. I came in -5, which for me is not the worst - but it is what it is. Once we hit about lap 15, I started feeling fine - but the race was over for me.

Pursuit (3K - 9.3 laps) - This was my best race by far - I came in forth! I missed a bronze meddle by less than 1 second! AHHHH! I can't remember my time - the guy who won it beat by at least ten seconds - but I would have loved a meddle - bummer. This was a typical track race for me. I had a terrible start, took me a couple laps to rev up and then I started to gain time. On the last lap, I had no sprint and just continued to cruise.

Scratch - I sat this one out - I was smoked and needed a rest. I was hoping for a good Kilo race and needed a breather.

Kilo - Should of raced the scratch! The Kilo sucked. Honestly, I was smoked by this point. That Points race followed quickly by the Pusuit smoked my for the day.

Oh well, no state jersey for me - but I had a blast. Honestly - I am think on working on track - maybe spending more time on it than I have been - It is a long year - we will see.

Up next - Gateway!!!!

Rockin it

2011-08-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a couple of weeks - my wife and I went to Vegas for the week! Here is a picture from the Playboy Club. This chick's- I mean bunny's - tits were so big and sticking straight out - Judy and I could have used them for a dinner table and had a 7 course meal on them and still had room.

Ever since I have returned from Vegas, I have been feeling great. I have been getting faster with less effort and dropping a couple of lbs, I went to track last Thursday and did great. I raced a 5 lap Scratch and a 7 and 8 lap Tempo race. Judy and I rode to the track and it turned out to be a beautiful night. Judy took some great pictures of a race - here they are - I think I came in forth - but really seventh because I did not pick up any points until the end.

My rides with the Hub, which provides a nice measure of my abilty, have been awesome. The Saturday and Sunday we returned I overslept - Vegas - but last Saturday I got out. It was a fast ride, but I was feeling really strong. I was able to cover every break and kept with the lead group - I felt really good. As we turned on Geyer I had a flat - AHHHH! - everyone slowed up, but I told them all to go, fixed the flat and rode in. Still a good ride. After the ride I went to the Bread Co. with Phil, Stephanie, Bill, Todd, Matthew and Steve.

Today I did the Wednesday Night Throwdown. It was super fast - 21.2 average with 266 avg. watts. Once again I felt great. I moved up to front on Clayton - unheard of I know - I was up front for a huge chunk of the ride. I struggled a tad on Conway, but that was just because of a huge acceleration by Brad (I found out later), but I was able to recover. The whole ride felt great. I am looking forward to Gateway and doing some racing.

Tomorrow I will be doing track again and next week I plan on racing TNW.

I Was the First Loser! (2nd Place that is)

2011-07-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

A really good week of riding! Seemed like a success with everything I did - Last week it seemed like every ride that I did involved my ass getting smoked - this week was a nice turn around. I like weeks like this.

Monday - went for a nice recovery ride - nice and slow - road to Grant's trail to River Des Peres and back home.

Tuesday - No riding

Wednesday - Hub ride super fast, as usual. Nothing really happened special - just hid in the middle and hung on - and that I did.

Thursday Night track. I rode up to the track with Judy - we got there a little late and they were starting the Scratch Races - Scratch is one of my favorite races - I had to switch out my cogs, take off brakes, etc. - I was trying to fly to get it done. Then my rear wheel was a little messed up, so I missed the first race. Thanks to Robert and Soli for letting me borrow a rear and Devin for fixing mine.
*The second race was a match sprint between me and Dave SmithI lined up on the inside. Dave is really fast but I would try my best. He totally smoked me.
*The third race was an unknown distance. About 10 plus lined up. There was a prime between 2-7 and the bell would be between lap 8-15. I did not go for the prime, thought about it and kept myself close. At lap 12 the bell was rung and one guy took off and won by several bike lengths. I was on a fellow Hubbers wheel and as we came out of turn four, three of us lined up for a sprint - and I won it! Yeah me!
*The fourth race - my second match sprint versus DaveI was lined up on the outside - and... Yeah, he smoked me.
*The fifth race was points - but I had to leave before it got dark.

Friday - no riding

Saturday - did the Hub ride (sorry my finger is in the way) finished the ride strong - a good ride. I even felt good going West on Conway.

Saturday Night Hate Hubres - stud female racer - had her 40th Birthday party at CJ Muggs A lot of Hubbers were there - it was a lot of fun (my wife wanted everyone to know that the only reason she is wearing a white shirt with a black bra was we left the party for a metal show - which she looked smoking hot for)

Sunday - did Knucklehead - I was really tired and a little hungover but I woke up just in time and figured, what the hell - so off I went. I was really planning on taking it easy, but when we broke up, I was in the mood to go. Hub guys included Kevin, Tim, Jeff and Eddy. Dean was there for the ride out and it was the second appearance of the Original Fuck Knuckle! This guy is the biggest douche-bag rider I know (He still wears our old Hub jersey even though we kicked him off the team - we asked for our jersey's back and he said "NO!"... and yes, he was wearing our jersey - and yes, he is still a fuck knuckle. The ride was fast and I kept up front just fine. My only hiccup was the hill on Clayton by Principia - Kevin and two other guys jumped - I jumped too late, so when I got to the top I was on my own, the group behind me and two in front, so I closed the gap, but was really gassed and fell off - but this is the end of the ride where we turn off, so no big deal - I t felt really good.
When I got home, I went out to Grant's trail with Judy and the two kids Bella rode the whole trail and Grace looked so cute on her bike!

Plans for next week - I really do not have any - just to keep riding.

Goddam is it hot!

2011-07-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm reflecting back on the posts in the middle of January in which I said, "Goddam it's cold!" Well, today hit 100 with 95% humidity. This shit makes riding really tough - but, like any shitty cyclist, I will persevere.

On a random note - look at this huge concrete monkey I so want this for my yard. I'm thinking about having the paint it any color they want. Ok, back to cycling.

Tour de France - so far the first week of the tour - I swear I can't get enough of this. There have been more crashes than the Cat 4 Gateway Cup series.
Vino, Zabriskie, Van Den Broeck, Wiggens, Boonen - all out. Hoogerland (crazy ass name) getting taken out by a press car, going over the bars and landing in the barb wire fence - that was fucked up - and my biggest loss - Chris Horner. I have always been a fan of Horner and they way he won the Tour of California was tops. I raced in the Chicago Downtown crit that went down Michigan Ave. (truly, one of the coolest crits I have been in) and he was in the race in his Astana kit - that was the year he did not go with the tour because of Contador - cool to see. I had high hopes for him. The only thing that amazes me about the amount of crashes is Vandevelde is still alive - that dude falls down more than me. The highlight of the tour so far was Friday's stage when HTC lined up on the front and drilled it to the finish - they were 9 strong with Cavendish on the back, drilling the pace at over 40 mph - that was textbook cool. Am I a big fan of Cavendish - well my wife is!

Back to me. I need to start re-tooling my riding. I remember showing up to a group ride in Louisville and my buddy, master racer and former Jelly Belly racer said - yeah, this ride has a lot of guys who plan all week to try to hang on - well, that is the way I am feeling lately. I did the Hub ride on Saturday and a few guys up front just drilled the fuck out of it. I feel off going up Conway - I swear I had nothing. It turned out nice and I rode in with a few Hub guys who also called it quits. Sunday I did knucklehead and once again, I gave up on the big hill. Knucklehead is a weird ride (as the name implies) - the ride starts a 6:30, but I pick them up, like most people, along the way. When we pick up the ride, there are about 20 guys. Where I wait adds about 10 guys. After 20 minutes, the ride has grown to over 100. The pace out is really nice, especially for being so fucking early - around 18 or so. After and Clarkson, Clayton takes a huge downhill and the ride splits between long and short at Strucker. I usually take the short which is about 45 miles roundtrip. After the split, the ride gets ridiculously fast as we wind through the bottoms. Going back, the group rapidly dwindles, depending on the fire-power in the group. I took a meaty pull along the bottoms and I kindof gassed myself. I went into the hill giving it up and that was a mistake. They eased up near the top and if I pushed it, I could have caught on at the light - but I missed them by 30 sec. I had some nice alone time riding back.

I missed TNW because we went to the ballgame, missed Wed night Throwdown because of my daughter's birthday, and track was rained out Thursday. Saturday, I did the Hub ride again, but I was feeling really shitty so Adam and I turned off at the outer road and had a nice conversational ride back. Sunday, I rode knucklehead again. This time I had a plan - don't pull in the flats! So I sat in and had a great time. The ride was fast - 21.5 but my avg. watts were really low 215. Mark Gorski was on the ride and he can still ride the shit out of a bike. That guy was such a stud - when I was in grade school I idolized him and Craig Virgin. On the ride was K-dog, Jeff aka. Roadog, Tim, Matthew and Eddie. Good times.

4th of July with the Hub was good times. We met at the shop for the 4th of July parade (man, does my kid look happy) and then had the annual 4th of July Hub softball gameRon trying to give our side a pep talk consisting of - if we drink more beer, we will hit the ball farther.

This week I am planning on riding some track! Oh yeah!

Webster Race

2011-07-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Webster Groves Crit - Good Times for All.

Big Props go to Devin Clark - He travels all the way to Georgia for the National Crit - Elite - racing against Rashaan Bahati - and come in 15th out of 165, drives back home and wins the Webster Crit - Pro,1,2awesome. (1. Props to whomever took the pic that I stole and 2. Why can't that be me!)

Had a great time - I helped with registration again, drove the pace car, and hung out and drank. The plan was to do Master's - What a stupid fucking idea. I was pumped for the race and had high spirits, low hopes. It was fun lining up for the race, getting ready to rock it. For the Hub were all the old fucks - Kevin, Marc, Mark Gowler, Bill, Tim, Todd and honorary member Phil. The first two laps were ungodly fast - 1:54 and 1:56 - that would be over 30 mph average! I was tucked in, near the back, and on the third lap, or something, a guy threw his chain going up the hill. I lost contact with the wheel and that was that - AHHHHH! That little glitch saw the demise of all of us - except for 3: Kevin, Marc and Mark Gowler. Phil, Tim and I, who were just off the back, tried like hell to catch on and played catch up for 17 min, until we cashed it in. Although I had fun, it was really an uneventful race.

The second part of the plan worked out great. The rest of the day was laid back and fun. My kids had a blast driving around in the pace car. I swear, by the end of the day, I was plastered. After everything was cleaned up, we all went to Ron took everyone to Llywelyn's for dinner and more beer.

The worst part of the day was the Cat 5 race. A racer - Randy from Team Mack, was coming into the sprint and clicked pedals with another dude and went into the curb - he went right over onto his face into the curb. It was super bad. The ambulance was already there and if we had to wait for them to be called, he might of died. He has been in ICU at Barnes and has had two head surgeries to relieve the swelling in his brain. Although it was not worst crash I have ever seen, it was the worst result I have ever witnessed. I've seen worse crashes were you are like - that dude is dead, and they pop back right up. This was not the case. I hope all goes well and he recovers.

I rode on Monday and my legs felt dead. Tuesday I went to TNW for a little more racing. It was fast and SKETCHY. I rode fin and was near the front for most of the race. I thought about going for a flyer, but Dave Smith stole it from me - just joking - I need to respond faster. I never felt comfortable around turn two, which is a sharp left at the bottom of a hill. When it came to 3 to go, I dropped out, not because I was spent, I just didn't feel the sprint and I though it was a little sketchy and not worth it.
Props to Rich Witt who raced the C race and did great! Now all he needs to do is join a real team and not the MEC Gay-wads.

Did the Wed. Night Hub Smackdown. The group was huge and super fast. Cat 1-2 guys were driving the pace. I was hanging in fine, but I turned off and rode down Clayton to Lone Wolf Cafe to see Loren El Cavano play with Judy, Andy, Kevin, Alex, Valerie and Tom the Chainbreaker. Loren was great and it was a blast!

Getting Ready For Webster Crit

2011-06-22T20:56:00.001-07:00

Rocking and Rolling since I last posted.

Did Tuesday Night Worlds and had my best finish - It felt good to be sprinting in the finish and not falling off the back with 3 to go. 24.6 mph and 256 avg. watts. I rode down and back with Tim - I forgot to take any pics - so sorry. It was a small Hub crew - Me, Tim, Kevin and Greg.

Wednesday Hub Throwdown - This ride is just getting wicked fast. It was super fast and I fell off the back on Conway - just a little. This ride has a zero warm-up. I swear, guys were sprinting going up Lockwood. The group was super huge many fast cats - it seems like more and more Cat 1-2's are showing up and laying smack down on me! Going down Litzsinger, there is a sharp right and left S-curve right after a downhill - speeds around the curves are around 30mph easily. Also, this is the finale for the ride and guys can get pretty aggressive. Going into the second turn, Caleb took the turn wide and went right off the road - over a metal guard rail he hit it just perfect and his leg hit the metal post holding it up - his leg was toastblood everywhere, etc. 911 was immediately called - it was a mess. Thank God Dr. Eaton was on the ride - Kevin was calling for a Tourniquet and a crankset with rings for a amputation! BTW - Caleb is doing OK!

After the ride, we had our Hub team meeting - which really consists of Ron trying to talk, nobody listening, and everybody drinking a lot of beer emphasis on the beer. For Webster I think I am going to race Masters +40. It's fast, It's old, it's early in the day!

I missed track on Thursday and everything just kindof mellowed out - did some solo riding and that is about it. We have had a lot of thunderstorms and rain. The Saturday group ride was cancelled as a monster storm rolled in. I was getting cabin fever and was determined to ride knucklehead for Father's day. It was wet, but just roads - no rain. It was a really small group - going short was Matthew, Chuck and a Big Shark dude. On the way back we picked up Eddy, Tim and two other guys, doubling our number. Sorry - forgot to take a pic - it was wet after all!

Had to skip Tuesday Night Crits - I was so smoked from working on my deck. I rode the Hub ride today and it was super fast. The were so many fast dudes I swear I almost puked. Oh well - I am alive.

Here is the Show Me St. Louis Track clip web address: http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/263099/78/St-Louis-Velodrome
I could not figure out how to actually post it - sorry.

To Louisville and back with no clothes on!

2011-06-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

My trip to Louisville, KY was a success! On a side note, Sarah Palin is an idiot. Jesus Christ - you don't know about Paul Revere - AHHHHH! If you do not know about American History - I get it. But shut the fuck up if you don't - you sound like a ass-clown making up shit.

Louisville was a little bit of a downer as far as riding. I did not get to ride with my buddy Dr. Tom Zoumaras - the shop that hosted the Tuesday and Thursday Night group racing rides was out of business - but hey, I saw a really fat guy with no shirt on (no - not me on the Naked Bike Ride - asshole). I rode a few days around Shawnee Park, which is awesome - great hills, beautiful scenery, hot chicks riding and running - not bad. I am looking forward to seeing the Worlds Cyclocross races there.

Came back and rode the Hub ride on SaturdayI swear I was going to get dropped by the Church on Lockwood, but I stuck it out. It was fast but somehow I was able to hold on. The best part was seeing Phil on the outer-road and him saying to me, "Dude, I thought you were planning to get dropped!" Afterwards we went to the Bread Co. A nice day.

Saturday Night was the World Naked Bike Ride, St. Louis style. Judy and I kicked the tandem, decorated in Christmas lights - the bike was a talking point for many people. One dude was like, Man I love your bike - I responded - is it because of my hot stoker! So, did the ride live up to its name? Over the top. (I had to use footage from the Riverfront Times - my camera was not working - or something like that). A huge party. Hung out with some fun people and did not get home until 2:00 in the morning - it was really fun. Imagine riding down the street with hundreds of people in various states of dress - and hanging out at The Handlebar with many naked gals - now how can one go wrong! So, who was there? Did I go naked? The Wife? - well - if you weren't there, you will never know, sucka!

On Monday, Show Me St. Louis was filming at the track so I rode up to Penrose for a little racing. Phil and Bill were there - we had to represent The Hub for the TV. Did the Miss and Out and I was knocked out about half way through - a lot better than last time. Props to Phil and Bill - They hung in the Miss and Out to the last three vs Eduardo. As they came across the line - the ref called something - Phil....Bill??? So both pulled up leaving Eduardo for the ride away victory - Damn rhyming names - If only one of them had a name Kamehameha. Had a great time riding around the track. Looking to get serious in the next tow weeks for Webster Crit.

Oh by the way - it is One if by Land and Two if By Sea and he was not screaming that the British were coming to take away your Colt AR-15's.

Summer and cycling

2011-06-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

Summer in the St. Louis - Hot and Humid - and this year there seems to be a head wind from every direction.

Starting to get back into some racing form. The difference is I am able to actually start spending time on the bike. Now if I am able to slim down a little, all should be OK. The themes: Racing, Riding and of course Summer Fun.

Racing:

I have not had much of a chance to do much formal racing. All the local races that have occurred in the last couple weeks I have not been into. This weekend is the O'Fallon Road Race, which is mostly rollers which really suits me, but I will be out of town. The Webster Crit will be coming up soon which I hope to focus on. Did the TNW which is always fun.
I finished in the pack and did nothing spectacular except move through the pack a couple of times. I was actually in good position, in top quarter, but when it hit three to go, I began to lose all steam and I drifted back. The race was three laps too long! The speed was slower - 24.4 mph, 250 avg. watts. One dude did wipe out in front of me - we came into the second turn, which is the only tight turn on the course - at the bottom of a hill - and he lost it. Luckily he went off the course and hit the turn rather than crashing in the field. Started my first season of track racing. Super fun and super tough. We did 5 lap scratch, miss and out, and 20 lap points. Although the fields were small, except for the points race, I kind of sucked. I came in last out of 7 in the scratch race, but finished with the group. I found myself in bad position in the last lap, second down low, and got pinched as the group came around on the blue line and I had no where to go. The miss and out was just bad luck - I was with the group of 8 guys and I was up, so I thought, and I got pinched at the line because I was boxed in - I really needed to get up in the front. The Scratch race was much better - a larger group, maybe about 15 - and although I did win any points, I did not come in last! Track will take some getting used to - Oh, and if you are slower than me and plan on staying that way, please come out to the track!

Riding:

Riding with my team has been one place I have been excelling. Finally started to be able to ride the Wed. Night Throwdown, which has been good.
I have been able to stay with the group and finish the ride in good standing. The ride was fast with Chris Miller, David Mark, Eduardo, Trey etc, putting down some wicked speed. We averaged 20.8. I have also been able to hang in fine on Saturday rides, too. The Speed has been fast for these rides too. Last Saturday we averaged 19.4, which is pretty fast considering the amount of climbing.

Summer Fun:

Have had a nice time riding by myself, which is hard to fit in during the Spring. I think going on solo rides is huge key to me starting to feel faster. With not much training time available during the Spring, this is the one area that suffers - just going out for a couple of hours for a nice ride by yourself. I have yet to do 100 miles of hills since Death by Hills, so I need a nice day to this. I have been able to get out with fellow peeps like Steph and Phil which is always fun. last Thursday we went for a night ride down to Forrest Park for Trailnet's Clips of Faith Film and Beer Tour - which was a blast. It was outside and they had these short cycling movie clips like MCSPandex (always a winner) and served all these New Belgium sample beers, many of which are not on the market. They had this sour beer that was awesome. Nonetheless, along with my Hub buds, I got really tanked - made for a long ride home. Lastly, it has been nice fitting some riding in with my wife. Last Saturday we did our Sasha's ride - which is to ride to both Sasha's and have a beer, which was a blast!

Next week I will be in Louisville - bringing the bike and ready to rock and roll!

Gettin to it

2011-05-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I have last posted. Since it has been a month - and so much riding has happened - I though I would break up my cycling onto four sections. I have had a blast riding on my new Giant - It is sooooo sweet!

First: Tuesday Night Worlds
So far I have done two TNW - both with mediocre success. Magic number 171! Overall I am happy that I finished both races with the pack. My only real complaint is the pace has been so fucking fast. The first race average was 25.4 and the second race was 25.5. With such a quick pace, I have had a hard time moving up in the pack. It seems that I hold my place, somewhat and I finish where I started. The first race was to see how I fared. It was good to be racing with so many familiar faces - although very few Hubbers. My goal was to stay on Chuck Pass' wheel. He seems to ride so smooth in the pack and little by little makes his way to the front so when when the 3 to go sounds, he is in good position. I was on his wheel most of the race and with about 10 min to go, I lost it. I finished with the pack - near the back - so nothing special. I was happy that I finished. The second race was really sketchy - the pace was solid and a few guys were all over the place - no crashes - just sketchy riding. I finished like I did in the first race. After the race it was Ron's birthday and there was tons beer!After more than a few Coronas - I headed home!

Second: HUB Rides.
Saturdays: So far the Hub rides have been going OK. The Saturday rides have been super wet. It seems like every Saturday there has been rain. The pace has been fast this year and I hate riding in the early morning, but overall, it has been OK. Last week was the hardest of the bunch - I was sick, but it was like the first beautiful Saturday and the group was huge so I sucked it up and did it - however, the day did not go well - but I still had fun.
Wednesdays: Wed night throwdowns have been a different story. Since I was teaching night class- I have only been able to ride two Wed. night rides so far. Both Wed night rides have been awesome and I have been strong. Both rides have been super fast. The first Hub ride I made it count and was in the top 6 or 7 up Conway to Ballas. It was a great feeling. Tonight felt just as good. Although there were times I wanted to puke, it felt great to stay with the group. The group started out large, but whittled down over the course of the ride. The pace tonight was 20.2 - a solid fast pace. Going up Conway was shell fest - I was near the back and I swear I had to cover 4 breaks with guys falling off. Also I had to cover a beak on Clayton and one after the super steep hill on Geyer. It seemed like that is all I was doing - so even though I was far from the front, I worked hard.

Third: Velodrome
So in my course of cycling to be a jack of all trades and master of none - I went to the track for the first time with my "new" track bike on a Hub track session. Super excited. The Hub rules the track - winning countless state champion jerseys and the team cup last year. I went out with Tyler, Chris(State Champ), Dave Smith, Bill H, Todd and Stephanie. It was a work-out and half, but a blast. We did a 15 lap team time trial, 5 lap scratch, 5-11 lap unknown distance, and three 200 meters. I was really disappointed in my 200 time - 16 seconds - everyone else was in the 14 second mark. I really have to work on my gearing and sprinting - my goal is to work on 15 second road intervals during my training rides - I think this will help. Tyler taught me the most important lesson of the night - don't stop on the top of a turn - you will slide down - ouch! I am looking forward to track starting.

Four - riding with Judy - Man, does she look hot!I took a day off work and we went on a two hour bike ride

Wanna see my new shit for 2011?

2011-04-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to have warm weather! What a long winter. I have not felt like I have near the racing form to spend money - although my riding and training have been strong and steady. What is keeping me back is my weight - I am starting this season heavy - and when ever you are a little heavy, you feel heavy. The rides I have done to see where my fitness level is have gone just fine. The last Saturday Hub ride I felt great and I was able to finally able to do a Wednesday Night ride. The Wed. night ride has historically been a very fast ride and is a great test to see where you are. I rocked the shit out of this rideas guys were falling off going up Conway, I finished with about 6 other guys - it was a great feeling. This Tuesday night will be my first TNW training crit and I am looking forward to it. After the race we are going to see Subhumans and their famous song Mickey Mouse if Dead and MDC (Millions of Dead Cops) and their famous song John Wayne was a Nazi. Aside from group rides, I have been commuting regularly and today I rode with Phil and Andy into a 30 mph wind for 35 miles - it smoked me! The new Hub travel racing jersey finally came inThanks Dave Smith! I think this jersey increased my power by 15 watts!

OK - my new shit.

First Bikes: (isn't it what this is all about)

Number 1: Race Bike!

I know - sweet. 2011 Giant TCR Advanced - Sram Force Group - Zipp Stem - 3T Ergosum Bars - Reynolds Wheels = FAST! This bike rides so nice - it just flies and I look so good on it!

Number 2: Classic Track Bike - finally 100% finished!

I know - Sweet. 1988 Faggin Columbus - Campagnolo pantographed crankset - Campagnolo fluted seatpost - 3TTT Track Bars - 3TTT pantographed stem - Selle Italia Turbo saddle and Campagnolo Record high flange 36 track hubs laced to Mavic Open 4 rims (even has Campagnolo lock ring, 15 cog and track nuts!) - and finally I got vintage Gem tape and 3TTT bar plugs (overkill - I think not!)

Number 3: Zipp 404 tubular Rear wheel

I know sweet. I finally got my rear Zipp wheel laced up after I switched out the powertap - I still need to get A front.

Number 4: Niterider HID light

This thing is awesome and the best part - I only paid $40 for it - Nice!

OK - enough gloating - now back to riding!
An aside - Judy and I went to Chicago to see Keith Morris and his new band OFF! - Fucking amazing! Anyway - after the concert, we were walking around this neighborhood in Chicago (not the best) and we walked by this one bar, which was mostly windows, and they were showing full blown 70's porn - you could see it from the street - so we had to go in!
Yes, the chick is giving John Holmes head.

Oh Piss!

2011-03-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Fun times on the bike this past two weeks. Daylight savings has made a nice switch for the evenings - summer is around the corner! How do you like the song - a nice touch for the old blog.

Started our Tuesday/Thursday rides in high gear. Michael joined us for one ride, which was awesomeso nice to see that cat again. Rich joined Jeff and I for a ride to FoPo to pre-ride the race course. FoPo is this weekend, but I don't think i am ready for racing. First, I feel a little out of shape - I think I am going to ease into it with TNW crits which started. I had to miss the first one because of parent teacher conferences for my kidos - so I am looking forward to next week. Second - I have no money - $25 - $30 dollars is too much - I have to start picking my races carefully.

Last Saturday the Hub ride was huge - more than 30 plus people on the ride - a very coed group. The ride turned really fast as we were going down Clayton. This one dude near the front hit a pot-hole in the dead center of the road and his handlebars flipped sideways - a good 25 plus mph crash. He went right over the bars and took out Tim pretty hard. This was a front of the pack crash and we were lucky that not more went down. So four cop cars and one ambulance and one firetruck responded, shutting down half of Clayton Road. The one dude really messed himself up, broken collar bone, separated shoulder, 4 broken ribs. Tim was OK, but still went to the hospital because he was really out of it. The ride actually turned into a nice paced ride for the rest of the day.

On Sunday Isabella and I did a little mountain biking - which was a blast. She is getting really good - I need to get her some real shoes and pedals.

Finally, did a little poker night at The Hub - good times. I lost - fuck!

Why Do I Not Own a 12 -27 Cassette Damn it!

2011-02-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

DEATH BY HILLS

California has the Death Ride - Georgia has the 6 Gap Ride - Texas has the Hotter Than Hell 100 - In Missouri, we have the Death By Mother Fucking Hills. Big thanks to the jerks at Team Seagal for hosting this ride. They say 56 left and who knows how many finished. I will say it was one of the hardest rides I have ever done. What makes a hill worthy is when you are climbing a 22% grade, going 2 mph zig-zaging back and forth, guys are actually teetering, loosing their balance and falling over and your taint is gushing blood. (Babler Forest Grade=fucking stupid) Now do that for 90 miles and you have this ride.

The pros - I rode with a great group - the pace was nice, most re-grouped at the top of insane hills - and it was just fun to be out with fellow cyclists. The cons - my fucking cassette. Man, did I need more gears. I think I screwed up right leg climbing - man does it hurt. In attendance was Dave Smith - who is a wild beast - He beat me by over an hour - he finished with the lead group (a total of three) and he just smoked the ride - I hung with large crowd of good guys and rode with Phil (Phil going up a hill - Grade = fucking stupid) and a bunch of other guys I know - Guys from Team Seagal, Tyler, Sandbox, Mitch the Masher, etc.

I took a video of some hill (Grade = fucking stupid) but it came out sideways - here it is:

I stole this video from Team Seagal's site - going up Bartizan (Grade = fucking stupid)

One of the coolest parts was stopping at the monument on old 100 and taking our picture like the pictures of old. Pretty freaking cool. Thanks to Team Seagal for the pic.
Will this ride make me stronger - Hell yes - I lost part of my colon on the ride so I am lighter now.
Was it weird that I went to work on Monday with Chamois butter in my underwear?

WTF!

2011-02-21T08:57:00.001-08:00

How does one week go from temps below freezing to temps in the mid-70's. Well, that is what we got and it was awesome. I put in some quality miles and it paid off.

Saturday:

Started the week doing some mountain biking in the snow with my oldest kid. What a blast - signed her up for a little FrostBike MTB series and she rocked it. She easily stayed up with the group, fell only twice and had a blast. We were out the perfect amount of time on the perfect course with a perfect group of ladies for her. She rocked it - even in the the snow. Later in the day I rode with Andy and Ron - Ron killed it the whole ride - I pulled off early (after 20 miles) to watch my daughter play basketball. Ron is looking strong - I told him on the ride - Dude, you are riding strong, you've been training. He replied - no, it's just you are riding slower. I than find out from Alex and Andy that he has been killing it on the trainer at home - what a suck-ass!

Sunday:

Rode with Phil and large group of guys and dollsand great ride, about 50 miles - did a hybrid of the Knucklehead ride with some nice hills - it was so nice and warm. Phil and I killed it going down Clayton, shelling the entire group - It felt great to let it go.

Monday - did a lot of commuting (33 miles)

Tuesday - Spin at The Huband bee afterwards!

Wednesday - did a lot of commuting (33 miles)

Thursday - Commuted - Judy went on a ride and rode up to my work to ride with me homethat was really nice to have her riding with me. I took my track out bike for it's inaugural ride! That night, I went out with LC, Andy, Alex, Adam for a little night ridewe did the old Maplewood Ride (25 miles) - it was amazing to be riding at night in shorts!

Saturday - Did the Hub Saturday Ride - During the whole ride I felt great - totally fine. The ride had its fast paced moments - a few Cat 1 and 2 guys showed up and helped drive the pace - I felt fine the whole ride - That's the kind of ride that left me so pumped. The last Hub ride, I suffered the whole ride and we were going slow - I guess I just needed a good week of riding to re-start the engine.

The next week is supposed to return to the 40's, so I'll see how it goes. Next week, I am going to start adding some bike candy to the blog to inspire people for the up-coming season. Next Sunday is the opening race of the season with Froze Toes, but I think I going to do Death By Hills. 80 miles, a lot of hills - now that sounds more like it.

A Lift in Spirits

2011-01-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

Just for the record, Bridal-plasty is one fucked up show - and yet I am watching it...WHY? I want a reunion show - after all these chicks get a total plastic-surgury make-over - they are going to go home a look at the fat fuck they were supposed to marry when they were fat, ugly and flat-chested and be like - I'm out of league, loser - a split up with them!

An outdoor century spread over four days!

This week has been awesome - I gotta tell you, not riding outside for almost a month really sucks. It can turn a little depressing. I was thinking about Naples, Florida - this is their race season - riders are prime form - and as I sit here, we are under a winter storm warning and are expecting 14 inches of snow with a half of inch of ice and a temp of zero. That is why this week was so nice!

Tuesday night - spin at The Hub and beer afterwards.

Thursday Night - NIGHT RIDE! Rode with Andy, Alex, and Joe. Left The Hub and did a tour around Forest Park - a nice two hour ride - probably about 25 miles. (I know, crappy pic - why did I not get a phone with a flash?) The temp was in low 30's but felt great. At about 10:00, when we were riding back, about two blocks from the shop, a cop in an unmarked car was waiting on a side street by a stop sign. Nobody was around, not a single car, but luckily Alex saw him and motioned for all of us to come to a stop. We came to a complete stop, going so far as to unclip and put a foot down. When was started up, the cop went on his loud-speaker and said, "WOW, I'm impressed guys!"

Friday - got home and temp was in the high 40's- so I did the hour of power - about 18 miles - nice easy paced ride on my cross bike. I rode down Ballas - that road is gone - it is such disrepair.

Saturday - Hub Ride. A big group - at least 12-15 guys! It was nice to see everybody out - even Ryan Heine was there. It was a moderate to fast ride. The moderate part I could handle, the fast part - ouch! Although I never got "dropped", there were a few times that I was off the back for a spot or two - but was always able to get back on. Early mornings, before breakfast and caffeine, kill me - I have no energy. We came home on Geyer - Thank God no Ballas.

Sunday - Went to the Mid-West Swap Sale! Had no money, but - hey, why not. The Goodies - nothing "big" - there was some nice stuff, a lot of wheels, but no money - so... Judy and I picked up eight 42mm Giant tubes for $3.00 a pop - three 60mm Micheline Ultra-lite tubes - six hand warmers (6 for $1) - A guy was selling something like 8 CO2 tubes for $10 - Judy bought a simple Planet Bike light (front and back) for $25 - reg. $50 - and I bought a NiteRider light for $40 (I really have been needing a light for commuting and our night rides).

When I got back, I went for a ride with Andy, Ron, L.C., Alex, Tyler and David. It was so nice to be out.

4 days, over 100 miles - OK, back to the snow!

TUMMYSTICKS

2011-01-23T18:24:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My apologies to my loyal fans who actually give a shit about my cycling career - I can't believe I went a month without updating this crappy blog. This winter truly sucks - so much indoor - so little outdoor. As I sit here, we have seven inches of snow outside with more falling. Great sledding, but too much time spent goofing around and not enough time road on the road. Even my commuting is on hiatus.

The riding:

I was able to get out Dec. 31 - so here is the last pic of 2010 (a nice solo ride, about 40 miles) and I was able to get out Jan1 - so here is the first pic of the new year (a really nice ride with Phil and a bunch of ladies of Team Rev)!
The most of the time I have been indoors - hitting Club Fitness or riding the trainer. The cool thing is I have perfected riding the rollers with no hands - now all i have to do is master the rollers while playing Playstation! Tuesday and Saturday at The Hub - some days after school, some days in the basement. The cool thing is I have perfected riding the rollers with no hands - now all i have to do is master the rollers while playing Playstation! I also managed to get out with Isabella to Castlewood to do a little mountain biking - great times.

I am really looking forward to my new bike - Giant TCR Advanced - it is so kick ass and getting some nice track wheels for my track bike. I was just fitted by Greg at The Hub for my new bike. Dave Smith also put together a new travel kit for the Hub travel team. I can't say I am going to be traveling much, but the jersey is pretty bad-ass so I sucked it up and bought one. How cool is this. I hope Dave thinks traveling is the other side of River Des Peres to Tuesday Night Crits! I also finally got my rear Zipp 404 up and running after a year of it sitting idol at The Hub. Now I know why it took so long for me to get the fucking wheel!

Over the month my cycling and party have converged on Ultraman! with Phil and Stephanie - man, did they kick ass. The concerts are rocking this year - up next, I'm thinking Motorhead, Clutch and Valiant Thorr and Borean Dusk, both in Feb. We also had poker night at The Hub - Ron Clipp actually won the night and Devin went out twice - now that is fucked up. And to put a crown on the month - The Hub snow ride. This is one of epics of the year! 7 inches of fresh snow, mountain bikes and bars - what more do you want. We took off at 8:30 - rode around the hood, played no touch and did some snow tricks on some stairs and than headed to "suicide hill" - a super steep hill with some wicked moguls - we showed up on our bikes, people flipped out, a few people said, I'm getting my video camera out for this - and than we rode down. Then to top it off, Devin rode up - That is a Cat 1, Expert class dude! We hit cousin Hugo's for a few pitchers and than headed to Weber's for 8 more! I got home a 2:00, of course woke up the wife, so everytime I started to fall asleep, she hit me with a pillow - pretty funny!!!

Oh yeah - TUMMYSTICKS is where two gay guys lay their dicks on each other's stomachs - now I not to sure how that exactly works - Rock and Dave tried to show us on the snow ride after they took each other down in no touch! - but I still don't get it!

Good people-Good Times-Cold Weather

2010-12-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

It has turned very cold - a lot of ice on the roads. Riding in the cold weather sucks. I joined Club Fitness to start my Chris Mileski workout from last year. My goal has been three times a week, but so far, I'm at a regular two. I forgot how much I hate lunges! I've also been pretty irregular on the trainer! I so hate the trainer! I rode outside for the first time in a couple of weeks with Phil, Stephanie, Suzanne, Theresa, and Jamie I stole the photo from Suzanne's facebook because, like a dumbass, I forgot to take a pic while riding.

Since this is the holiday season, good times have still been going on after The Hub Crawl with my fellow cyclists. For the most part, cyclists are great people, many becoming good friends and hanging around them is always a good time. The good times were had at Matthew's 40th Birthday Party at Lleweyln's!!! Not to bash on Matthew - but dammit - one more guy faster than me going into Masters! We had a blast and I was pacing myself just fine until Ron bought the shots! Present was Ron, Andy, Kevin, Dave Smith - and of course Matthew - Happy Birthday Brother.

And Finally - The Hub Christmas Party the second most anticipated day of the cycling year. In attendance - everyone of importance! The Hub of course was out in force - along with Team Rev, Mesa, Big Shark, Gog Fish, Team Segall - truly a party. Ron did get pissed at me when I chucked a piece of cheese across the room and hit him in the head - of all people - lighten up! Santa showed up and Taylor, Kate's husband Mike and Bitch Tits played for the crowd - it was awesome. Overallm, the party was tame - the jello wrestling did not happen and Ron did not bit this year! I got home early - around 3:00 and I woke up at a descent time - vomited a few times and was on the bike to ride by 11:00!

Happy holidays to all who read this crappy blog!
Oh - I did get a special present for myself - but you will have to wait until after Christmas.

My Winter Training so far is BEER!

2010-11-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

HUB CRAWL -2010!

The Riding Element:
Winter has hit us good. In one week we went from shorts to freezing. Still continue to commute. This time of year is tough on the commuting - you leave for work and the temp is below freezing and there is frost on the ground (Damn - I should have taken a picture of the first frost) and you leave to go home and it is in the 50's. It's hard to know how to dress. Also, with the turn in temp. it just feels freezing so I dress over warm.

The only big rides I have done is the Hub ride on Saturday. Good times - always fast - don't know why. I am joining Club Fitness this weekend and start my Chris Maleski weight workout - so many Hub guys have joined, its pretty cool. I need to get on a good winter workout so I can start strong in March - after all I will have my new bike!

The Drinking Element:
On a side note - on the night ride we do on Tuesday, soon to be Thursday, we often ride the old Maplewood ride. It is truly one of my favorite routes. Start at the Hub, through Maplewood, up Southwest to Arsenal - to Grand to Russell, through Soulard, up Broadway all the way to Holly Hills. Holly Hills is a really short but super steep two tier hill. It is always a sprint to the top, and a regroup before we head to Carondolet Park and back to Webster by means of the River Des Peres Trail. At the top of Holly Hills, there is a little hole in the wall, South city bar called - The Little Bar. Everytime we go by it, I always say we need to stop. Judy and I went out Saturday night and Phil and Steph went home, but we were in the mood to go out - so... The Little Bar. It was so hoosier, it was a blast. The gal bartending weighed about 200 lbs plus and had a spaghetti top on with her belly hanging out the bottom. Judy ordered a Vodka/Cranberry and she made it so strong, Judy got ploughed!

Many people have asked - what did the Jersey Shore/Shnookie looking chick who flashed her titties at us at Off Broadway really look likethanks to Kevin for the pic!

THE 2010 HUB CRAWL
Bartender at Mexican restaurant, Smith Patrick Rules, LLC, and Ron Clipp Rules!
Well the rain really sucked on this day. We were expecting a huge turn-out, but the weather really sucked - we were under a tornado advisory, sirens and everything. In attendance was - Andy, Ron, Bryan, Devin, Bitch Tits, Matthew, Kevin, Rock, Dave Smith, Mark Gowler, and Eric Dreamweaver. It was a great crew. What a blast it was to shoot the shit with our team. What I like about the Hub is that, at least at the Cat 3-4 level, our team is tight. Even though we are expanding numbers at the Cat 1-2 level, I hope we keep the Cat3-4 level small and tight. This is what makes The Hub an envied team and what makes people want to join us Started out at The Hub with beer - went to the Mexican place in Webster for Margaritas. The bartender gave everyone a complimentary one or two patron shots for Thanksgiving - NICE

From there went to the 61 Roadhouse and beat the rain by one minute. There was a killer band playing oldies - all these fat over fifty chick parting it up and the Tour de France crew (that's what the band called us). We put so many pitchers away, I fucking lost count. It was extreme. If I said 20 pitchers - that would not be an exaggeration. Every time I looked up, my glass was full. We were up dancing with women - having a blast. . Although I don't know what the bar bill was - I sure it was over $300 - but our sponsor Smith Patrick picked up the bill!

From there we went to Llewelyn's. Ron Clipp and The Hub bought the pitchers - but we were close to closing time and they were dicks. What place sells you two pitchers and than bitches at you for not drinking them fast enough - Fuck Llewelyn's. I really miss not getting kicked out of Tower Pub this year. Next year, we will have to double up at Tower Pub until we get arrested.

Pussy Power!

2010-11-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

Good week for riding - the weather is just starting to turn - It's almost thanksgiving and I have just taken out the long pants! Gotta love global warming.

Still commuting - even in the cold. Today was the first really cold morning - frost on the ground etc.
Rode both days after work - the first Tuesday , Jeff and I just killed it - we did the Carmen loop and averaged over 18 mph, just the two of us. There was a good headwind going out Clayton and by the time we got to whatever road we turn on to go by Queeny Park, we had a 19.8 average - Shit, it's November! On Thursday, Bryan joined us and once again, no rest for the weary. Yeah, I know - good times.

Finally over the weekend it turned cold! Now, I'm thinking cyclocross. I did Bubba in the Seminary - Man, this was the best course I have ever rode on. It just suited me. Two stairs run-ups, fast flat section, a set of jumps and a really fun single track section - a complete blast! Props to the guys who set up this course. The best was I felt in the mix - which makes for fun racing. My race came down to the final lap (Finally I did not get lapped) and this one guy, we were back and forth the whole race, working hard and passing and dropping a few people. On the third to last lap, I let him stay up front the whole time, keeping right on his wheel, making him work. With two to go I passed him and tried to drop him, but failed - AHHH! Now we're seeing the Pussy Power connection! On the last lap, he passed me on a good move on the hill and when we had to jump the log, I screwed up and lost his wheel. He got a gap on me, and I could not catch him. I tried to get up to him on the final stair run-up and could not and he took me at the line by 10 feet. That's what I like about cross - even if I far from winning, those little battles make you feel part of the action. I do not know how much more cross I will do - but if this is the last, it was a good one to go out on.

Did the night ride on Tuesday - did the old Maplewood ride - had a blast - a beautiful night.On the ride was Andy, Alex, Loren and two other guys.

On Monday night we went to Off Broadway to see Tyler's band: Riley James and the Badmen play. The main act was the dude from MXPX in a band called Tumbledown - they were super good. It was a ripe old Hub party - Andy, Ron, Kevin, Loren, Greg, Devin, Eric, Alex - super fun. I became a surreal night. Besides the militant pussy power lesbians, someone cut themselves from a broken glass so there was a pool of blood on the dance floor - a fat slobbering drunk chick that looked like Snookie from Jersey Shore (Fat and shoved into a skin tight dress) came up to us, hung on me and told all of us to live our lives to the fullest. She got so carried away, she flashed us her tits! By the end of the night, we saw her passed out in a chair in the back of the bar. We had a great time.

The track bike is getting that much closer to completion. I was able to sell some cross tires and this is what I gotI know, it's 3TTT pretty! Now for some 3TTT track bars.
Next Up - The Hub Crawl next Wed - PARTY!

Cycling, Boob grabbing and the One Kid

2010-11-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

Man- it has turned cold in the morning! I got to admit I have been quite the pussy when it has come to commuting. My resolve took a blow as the temps dipped into the 30's. It will be turned around next week. Overall, my cycling has sucked this week. I missed out on anything Sunday, missed my Tuesday/Thursday rides, even missed the Sat Hub Ride (It was 27 degrees) - overall - really suck ass.

Although this has nothing to do with cycling - it does involve some good cycling friends. Me, Judy, Phil, and Stephanie went to see Suicidal Tendencies! It was a thrash zone - Boob grabbing concert! Playing was Fuck Off and Die, Death Before Dishonor, HED PE and Suicidal. Although Cyco Mike has aged and the band was one of the largest thrash metal bands I have seen, they were super energetic and played for a solid two hours. We had a great spot, just outside the rim of the thrash pit. When they play I want More - followed up with I shot the Devil - I had to throw down - and yes - I am getting a little old for that shit.

On Thursday I took Isabella to cross practice at Forest Park - Had a wicked good time. Bella was so funny and had a blast. She is a tough little girl - she had one good crash, scrapping her leg - and after a few tears, got right back up and went on. On our last lap, we went up one steep hill, and I got to the top and yelled, without looking back, "if it gets too steep, get off and walk!" Right behind me came a voice - "Dad, I'm right behind you!" Although the crowd was sparse, Matthew and Bryan were out there for The Hub.

On Sunday we took the tandem on Cranksgiving. Cranksgiving is a ride where you cycle from store to store and grab food to donate to the poor...and grab other things Isabella and I rode the tandem and Judy rode her road bike. Bella was a blast on the back of the bike. We did the middle route and altogether rode 20 miles and got a lot of food for people in need. Our group was huge - made up mostly of Team Rev. Overall, it was a good time!
I'm dying to get my track bike put together so I can start riding it during the winter - It looks sooooo cool!

Halloween on Two Wheels

2010-10-31T20:17:00.002-07:00

Ah - the taboo costumeIf Buddy saw this he would be like - Oh No you diddin't! No hand-ups at Bottleworks!

Ah - The naughty costume Major cleavage and thigh-high stockings - NICE!

Ah - The honest costumeI can not tell a lie - I really suck at cyclocross!

Rode last Saturday on the Hub ride - saw the return of Ryan Heini - so obviously it was fast.
I have been struggling on this ride as of late and this, coupled with my cross riding has left me a little discouraged - but I felt strong and I was able to keep the pace - getting up front a time or two. I was one of only 6 at the end, which felt good - Avg. 19.6 for October - WTF

On Wednesday, Judy had her Team Rev costume ride - which is always a fan favorite - seeing the Mrs. ride around the Lou in thigh-highs showing the cleavage - what more can one say but NICE! Instead of the ride, I opted to ride with Phil and we put in a really nice 45 miles on a beautiful Oct. night. After the ride, we went back to the Bottleworks for a little libations, food and girl on girl on girl boob-grabbing- NICE!

Raced on Saturday Night in the Boo-ba cross race. I had a blast. It was a fast course with a super hard sand run - I can't tell a lie - it was tough, tough, tough. Obviously I sucked, but it was fun. I "earned" a dollar hand-up! Partied afterwards and until the wee hours of the night! In our race was Bryan and Caleb - on the SS in our race was Greg, Robert and Erik. I will only be doing four races this year with Suson, Queeny and Concordia to go.

Feeling Like Fall

2010-10-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

To all my loyal followers - sorry for the hiatus -life is busy.

So far, my cycling seems to be sliding. It seems to be getting faster and I seem to be getting slower. I'm not quite sure why - but I will keep plugging away. The Saturday rides are killing me - and I am not quite sure why. It seems like I tire out so fast. I think I am going to the doctor and have him run some blood work on me - also, a little EPO would be OK too.

You can't beat this shit - Rich Whitney (Green Party) is running for Governor of Illinois.About 5,000 ballots were misprinted in urban Chicago and they read - "Rich Whitey" - Yeah - black people in urban Chicago are going to be voting for Rich Whitey!

Cross has been a blast. Bubba series has started and I am excited. I could not do the first weekend - night cross and the Dawn of Bubba. I was never going to do Sunday's race, but I was all set to race Saturday night - fortunately plans turned and I had a nice date night with my wife - trust me, better than cyclocross! Although I have only raced once, I have enjoyed the practice. Matthew and I have been going Tuesday nights to Steger and Thursday nights to Forest Park. Both Bryan and Chris Miller have joined the cross scene - which is totally cool. The past week and this week I have had to cancel Steger and go to Forest Park on Tuesdays. The courses are so much fun. Aside from commuting, riding with Jeff and The Hub ride on Sat. my cycling has been really consistent.

Last weekend, Judy and I did the Ride the Rivers Century. I was outfitted in a Team Rev Jersey and rode with about 15 women. It was a really easy paced ride and I enjoyed the hell out it. The route was awesome - starting in St. Charles - going through the city to Alton and Grafton and than back. The temp was super hot - 94 degrees for October and the heat beat down my poor red-headed wife - bummer. We made it to mile 75 before we had to call it a day. Although we didn't quite hit the 100 mile mark, I had a blast.

On a final note - the track bike is going great - almost finished. I just got my seatpost from ebay - a smoking deal - a 27.0 Campy Nuevo Record for $40.00. Can't wait to have it completed.

And of Cross It Begins

2010-09-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Cyclecross or Pyschocross - That is the question.

The bike is ready - upgrades - Challenge Griffo clinchers with latex tubes - nice, great grip.

This week I started off with the Hub ride after my night of poker winnings. A nice paced ride with a smaller group. I rode with Andy, Matt and Devin. The next morning I did Knucklehead for the first time in since I went to Florida. The ride was a little slower - a lot of big guns were missing to keep the pace constant. I was not in the mood to pull so I sat in and did no work but hang on. Hubbers on the ride were Matthew, Tim, Adam and Jeff - we all did the short ride.

Rode after school with Jeff both Tuesday and Thursday.

Tuesday Night was our cross practice at Steger SchoolMatthew, Dave Smith and Lady racers Stephanie, Jamie and Suzanne Johnson were in attendance. This is a great place to practice.

Thursday was my first Forest Park cross practice. The coarse was really cool. The only negative was a huge hole - which of course I hit - and went right over the bars doing a complete summer-salt. Didn't mess much up - just felt stupid.
After practice, I rode over to the Art Museum to listen to the St. Louis Symphony with Judy and the girls - complete with fireworks. It was an awesome evening!

Saturday Hermann Night Cross!!!! Let the pain begin.
In attendance for the 4's - Me and Tyler and a friend of Alex's. In the 3's was a whole crew: Rock (whom they missed pronounced his name for the State Champ call-up) Matthew, Eric, Robert and Joe. For the 1's was Devin and TimLook, I'm not last!
The good - It was really fun to be out there and I stayed upright - even off the off-camber downhill switchbacks and the sand/mud pit and I got called out by Aero for props. The bad - I sucked. It all began with the start. Great position, the horn sounded and I could not get clipped it. I tried, failed, tried again, failed again. Tried again and I got it. Now I was in the back - Shit. And pretty much, there I sat. The only successes was catching two guys in front of me - but I did get lapped by the leaders and I finished 42 out of 49. I have to face it - I will never be good at cross - but I do have fun so let the season begin!

On a non-related note - what has two thumbs and just bought a track frameset - ME - but details on that later.

The end of my non-racing summer

2010-09-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

My non-racing summer has come to an end - with good time.
Gateway Cup. I got to admit - I really wanted to race Lafayette - but I did not. However, I did have a good time...Drinking Beer!
Lafayette was quite a partyI also made the Hill which was also quite a party
I want to give a shout out to my Cat 3 and 4 buddies in the mix all weekend - Bryan Sauter, Bill Howells, Robert Mayfield, Dave Smith, Chris Miller - If I forgot anyone - my bad.

Did play a little poker at The Hub
which was amazing - Finally I won. After all these years of just giving away 10 dollars - I finally came away a winner OH Yeah!

I have done a little bit of riding:

I have been doing The Hub Saturday rides which has been good. Two weeks ago, I refused to go Ballas and rode home Geyer - I am so done with the Ballas Roubaix - Fool me once = double pinch flat at 30 mph - Fool me twice = Crash at 30 mph - I won't get fooled again. This last Saturday I had a nice laid back ride with Devin, Matt, and Andy. Last Wed. instead of doing the Hub ride, which turned out to be one of the smartest things I have done lately, Phil and I rode with Team Revolution on their Ted Drewes ride - which was fun... bikes, 30 chicks and Ted Drewes - could be heaven - except there would be a lot of nudity. On the Hub ride, Nate was pulling and when he pulled off locked up his breaks and went right over the bars going at 30 mph or so. Bill said his bike went like 10 feet in the air and he landed in the street on his head and back. He was out cold and an ambulance was called and Nate was taken to the Emergency room - I heard he broke three vertebra in his back - bummer. Last Sunday I did one of my few Knucklehead rides which was fun
It was not that fast and I just sat in and did no work up front. Matthew and I did our first cross practice and that was awesome - I am looking forward to riding some cross, The best part of cross so far was taking the bike out to Castlewood with Bella
she rocks!
One final note - Congrats to Devin Clark on finishing 2nd at Edwardsville and earning his points to become a CAT 1!!!! Way to go Devin.

Ballas Sucks

2010-09-01T18:14:00.001-07:00

You know what they say - Shit Happens.

I've been having a great time commuting to work. I have been cutting back a little because of my car. Currently I have a VW EOS Convertible - man, I look good in this car. When I bought the car and watched the top go down, I looked at the salesman and said - I'm leasing it - There would be no way I would keep it outside of warranty with the hydraulics and moving parts - if one thing goes out it would be $1000. I had a front light go out and it was $225 - no kidding, that's insane (it was nothing for me because of the warranty). Well, anyway, in December my car is up - so I figure I have one good month of convertible weather left - and I am going to enjoy it - commuting will have to wait!

The New Belgium Urban Assault - Great times with Judy. We finished and had a blast. The only thing that pissed me off was no costume contest - come on - Dora and Diego Kicked ASS. We were super surprised how many people did not know who Dora and Diego are - God, grow the hell up and have kids already - it's Dora the Explorer

So here it is - my big crash. This has really fucked me up. We were on the Saturday Hub ride 2 weeks ago and I was feeling fine - my form was sort of returning - thoughts of some Gateway racing was in my head - we turned on Ballas and was behind Matthew, mid pack going about 30 mph downhill, when out of nowhere was a good 6-8 inch rock and all I remember was my handlebars turning sideways and me skidding on my shoulder to a stop - and Bryan falling right on top of me! So the damage - Luckily my wheels and frame were OK - the only harm was my handlebars cracked in half and my shifters have cosmetic damage, My helmet cracked, my leg and shoulder left a good amount of skin on the roadI also big time bruised my left side ribs. I did get right back on the bike and commuted on Tuesday and rode the Hub ride on Wed., taking the cut-off which was good for me. Talked with Phil about racing maybe Lafayette Square at Gateway - but at this point - no way. I have just gotten to the point where my ribs have stopped hurting when I breathe - bummer.

Really looking forward to cross season - I signed up for Herman Night Cross - should be a blast. I'm thinking about getting some Challenge Grifo Clinchers for this year - I would love to ride tubulars - just lack the wheels!

Not quite all of the 7 deadly sins = suffering & disappointment

2010-08-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Ok - my extended vacation over the summer was not sinful, but in the cycling world, it definitely has caused me pain and disappointment.

The seven deadly sins committed: Pride, Envy, Sloth, Greed, and GluttonyOh yeah, and lust too, but that probably helped me keep thin!

So How has this affected me --- Well, In June, I believed I hit a new plateau which has all but fallen.
Wed. Night Hub ride was my first team ride back - I made it to... Clayton. That's right, dropped like a leaf. Wow, I leave for a month and The Hub Racing Team has turned into the long lost gay program of Rock Racing - no wonder I was dropped.If you think Florida is hot - Holy Crap - St. L was 100 degrees at 6:00 pm.
Saturday was my second team ride and I made it to Conway (a lot farther) and was dropped again.
It was really fun to get back to doing what I like - I need to work on the performance aspect of it. I hope my weight will drop quickly and my ability return.

The disappointment aspect involves Gateway Cup. Truly my favorite weekend of the year - however, I think I will bow out. It is too expensive to be pack fodder. If Gateway was in June - I would be drooling, but the way I am doing right now, I would be throwing money away. I might do Lafayette because it is so fun racing at night, but we will see if I can get some speed back.

Now the happy part.

On Sunday, Judy and I did the Urban Assault - A great time. Our theme this year - Dora and Diego.
The only negative was no costume contest - WTF - We were the reigning champs from last year - and would have won this year. Also, I was amazed how many people had no fucking clue who Dora or Diego are. I mean, I get the no kids thing - but it is Dora, come on. Our stops this year were Mesa, REI, Big Shit, City Museum, City Garden, Bicycle Works, FoPo Holiday Inn. We cycled, we played, we rode Big Wheels, we drank New Belgiuma great time. Super Props to Judy for finishing the course with a 12 pound helmet in 95 degree temps!

On Tuesday, Jeff and I began our after school rides. I miss Michael, my friend. it was a great ride, rode the Carmen loop.
Jeff is riding so strong.

On a super positive note - my shit seems to be getting re-born. I got new cranks for free from Zipp and Garmin is sending me a new Edge 500 at no cost. My new cranks are bad-ass for sure.

Goodbye Naples - Hello Disney World

2010-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Naples - Goodbye 12 million dollar mansion on the beach - Goodbye hot looking people in thongs
I will miss you - until next year (hopefully)

Riding has been light this week - enjoying vacation. The good thing is I have not gained weight. God, I feel like a fat tub - I know - beer every day and ice cream every night - huge meals- but at least I'm still at par from when I left home. Did the normal rides, minus one because of rain. I saw the ride go past the house and about 20 guys still rode - I felt bummed. My last ride was the Saturday morning ride with Drill Sgt. Kitchner. I managed to take a picture of Kitchnerhe's the one in the Marine Corps jersey (go figure). He was a really nice guy. My finale in Naples was Sat. morning coffee a 5th Street Coffee House.
It was kind of cool fitting in with the cycling scene - I swear I have been down here so long, I feel like I have moved here (except my salary could not cover the yearly taxes on this place - no shit)

Oh well, off to the Disney World - no cycling until next weekend - but I will be home for the Sat. Hub ride - just in time to get dropped! Remember, I haven't seen a hill in a month!

Still in Florida - Hell Yeah Sucka!

2010-07-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

Florida - still good times! Highlights - Still on the beach living the good life.

Went to South Beach - For the guys: everything you think of when you think of South Beach is true - yes, girls are laying out topless- yes, girls are walking around in thongs and dental floss bottoms - yes, my wife looks hot. So the question - did my wife lay out topless at South Beach - well, you needed to be here to find out! (this needs to stop becoming a theme)

Onto riding:

Although I am getting fate by consuming too much food and beer, I am still riding fine - maybe a little slower, hard to say.
I have had a blast even riding with Bella and Judy.

It is kind of neat fitting in with the groups down in Florida. In a short time, I know people and have been invited out for post ride beers and coffee (depending on the ride).
It is also funny to match people's personalities with people at home. One guy reminds me so much of Andy Berger, it's like a doppleganger. I have met a Bill, Devin, Ryan, Stephanie (there are very strong women riders down here), kevin - I think I have even met me!
The three rides I have done are:
Tuesday/Thursday Naples Cycles ride during the evening (Naples Cycles is like the Big Shark of the Naples area - huge and pricey bike store) - reminds me of a Wed. night Hub ride.
I have backed off from the A group for two reasons - One, I don't really want to push myself in the red zone down here and Two, the ride way to aggressive - not following any rules of the road. The think it is a race on the road with traffic by blowing through stop lights, etc. - it is kindof like Russian Roulette on this ride - I'll pass. The A- group has been fun. It is still aggressive, but I have never thought it was too tough and I am easily able to finish the ride. Although many people suffer on the A- ride, the people start and finish on a much more friendly grounds, which has been nice. The pace is between 22 to 25 mph - averaging on the lower side.
The Saturday ride is called Kitchner's Ride.
Kitchner is a former Marine drill sergeant and runs the ride like it - barking out the pace and turns from the back - he is the anchor of the ride. His idea is this is to be a weekend warrior training ride. The group keeps together but breaks in half around him. In front of him are the people who take turns pulling and rotate and behind him are people who hang on for dear life - kind of funny. The ride is about the same pace, but is VERY directed by Kitchner - he will yell, "the pace is 24 - not 25, not 20 fucking 6, 24!" It is really funny to hear. Next week I will get a picture of him.
All these rides are huge - much bigger than St. Louis. The Tues/Thurs ride starts out with three groups and has easily 75 plus people. With people joining the ride, the three groups could total 100. The Saturday ride easily has 40 plus people.
I swear I am sitting mid-pack in this photo.

The last thing - and the best - every ride I have been on has had yelling matches - it is a trip. Because the pace lines are long the terrain so flat and people want to keep the groups together - you really do fall into a time trail mode - when someone upsets the process, people get pissed. Last Saturday, two guys were going at it over something and last Tues, the same thing, and then Thursday, one guy got so pissed, he started yelling and turned off. It is quite fucked up. On the last Saturday ride, one guy yelled at me for pulling too fast in the front - nuts.

Well - peace out and I'll see everybody in St. Louis next week - NOT!

Life Is Good (Copyrighted) - and Florida is A Cup Flat

2010-07-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Many of you have missed me, I know - You know you hear people say - yeah my wife's rich uncle - well, Judy really does have one - Oh Yeah - Sucks to be you!

So right now I have temporarily moved to Naples, Florida where I am sitting on the beach typing my blog. This house is the shit. We are staying in the guest house which is two bedrooms and two full baths, kitchen, laundry, and even cable. You got it, I am even getting Versus so I am quite well aware that Lance bombed out and Mark Renshaw lays down a good headbutt during a sprint.

So this is the part where I gloat - I am living in a 12 million dollar mansion on the beach and you aren't!
Now I will gloat with pictures:
This is my view from my left:
This is my view from my right:
This is my view from the front:
This is my view of the house behind me:
This is my hot wife:
These are my kids in front of the house at sunset:
There- now you feel jealous.

On to Cycling:
Saturday, July 3: Judy did the Hub Ride! She hung with group - unitl Mary Queen - but we rode on, caught up with Stephanie and I joined up with the guys and it was all good in the end. Afterwards, we went to the Webster 4th of July Parade in front of The Hub and had a good time with Dave Smith, Rock, and many others!

On the Cycling in Florida:
Florida is flat - Like riding on rollers flat. It takes some getting used to. It has been very difficult to take pictures while riding because the groups of so rank and file. This has to be doing wonders if I wanted to practice my TT skills. Unfortunately I brought my Jake the Snake and not my race bike with deep dish carbons - man, those would rock out here. The terrain is so flat it seems be going downhill both directions. The group rides are super fast - but I'll be honest, it is a little boring with no hills. Guys get into a pace line and that is it - you wait until it is your turn, pull and fall to back, repeat, repeat, etc. I have fallen in with three group rides - Tuesday and Thursday from Naples Cyclery. This is the shit shop out here with a large race team. The ride is super large (maybe 70 plus) and breaks up into 3 groups - an A group (pace 27-28 mph) - an A- group (pace 22-24 mph) and a B Group (pace 20 mph). The first day I arrived (last Thursday) I rode and try to hang with the A group - big mistake - I was wiped out from the drive and I ate Skyline Chili for lunch - it started coming up so I fell back with the A- group. On Tuesday I rode with the A group again and was feeling fine - I pulled, pulled off and there were like 30 people, so I waited for the train to go by and jumped on the back - and than I pulled again later - and the third time a guy opened a gap up to three guys in the front and I tried to close, but we all know I suck at that, so I closed half way and pulled off to let the guy behind me finish, which he did. I pulled off to wait for the train to pull by and,,, there were only like 10 guys left - well shit. I wasn't paying attention and before I knew it they were by me and gone - AHHH I hate that - I felt fine - so I hammered back with this other guy and still had fun. The pace was 27 mph. It seems so fast, but it is so flat, it is so doable. I would love to see what Devin, Ryan, or David Mark would do out here. If Devin can pull 28 out Clayton and David can pull 24 up Conway, I can only imagine what they could do to these guys. On Sat. i did a training ride led by a retired Marine Drill Sergeant. I kid you not - this ride was a trip - he told everybody how fast to ride and did a hell of a job keeping the rather large group together. It was a hilarious. He rode on the back and shouted commands to the person on the front - you have to experience it to understand - I will get a picture of him for next week.

Oh well - I miss riding at home - Peace out! One more time of me at the beach:

More beer than biking- The Webster Crit- and why is my shit falling apart?

2010-06-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Week in Review:

Keep doing the commuter thang - good times.

Could not race on Tuesday - I don't remember why. It was really hot out (high 90's) and I can't remember if that factored into it. I decided to ride with Andy, Loren, Alex and Joe at night. We left at 8:15 to do the Maplewood shop retired ride. While going up Southwest I heard a snap in my right pedal and the next thing I know, I snapped it off - WTF. It was screwed so I turned around and rode back on the spindle.

Wednesday - super freaking hot - the hottest day of the year so far - over 100 - and I did the Hub Wednesday ride. There were only 10 people who showed up and it started out so fast. Since it was such a small group I was pulling up front for the first part. I totally started to bonk - for no real reason. I had to fall off before the hills on Geyer - I was dropped going down hill - man, did I feel like shit. I cut the ride short and met up with the group on Conway and hung with them fine until I was dropped on Litzsinger - Man, this ride sucked - I hate the heat. The whole ride it seemed my bottom bracket was slipping or my left crank was "skipping." So I took it into The Hub on Friday and Ron looked at it - The problem - not the bottom bracket, not the peddle - no the fucking carbon separated from the metal - are you kidding. Devin contacted Zipp and they are going to send a brand new one - in 1.5 months!

Thursday - Went to the Velodrome for the first time with Andy and Ron- what a blast. All the Hubbers were out there racing. Devin is a beast. Chris Miller, Heine, All my Cat 4 peeps - Matthew, Bill, Robert. Stephanie, Kate and Soli representing the women's team, Phil and Todd, my Gizz-Swallow friends were in the mix - Todd even won a C race - rock on!
Andy and Supported the cause by drinking a lot of beer - Bill even let my ride his bike a few times around - I have to do this. I am leaving for Florida next week and this week Thursday is out - so I guess next year!

WEBSTER CRITERIUM

After track night, we went out to patch the road for the race. Me, Ron, Andy, Kevin, Devin and Taylor were all out there - and we were pretty drunk. The whole time I was giving Ron shit about wearing yellow vests so we don't get hit - he, of course, would call me gay and tell me to shut-up. Well, it wasn't long before the cops showed up, lights and all.
Ron and Kevin explained to the cop what we were doing and the cop said OK - the last words he said before he left - "you guys should be wearing yellow vest." Goddam right Ron Clipp! Well, at least Ron Clipp didn't get me killed that night (who hasn't said that once or twice).

Saturday was The Hub Ride - super nice pace - large Hub group
- had a blast. A lot of guys were resting up for Sunday's race.
I rode my Cross bike and while I was going up the outer rode hill, my chain slipped and I almost went down. Somehow I saved it, but I scuffed my right shoe - yes my patent leather SIDI carbon shoes - AHHHH. No, The Hub cycling team is not a gay group

Sunday - The Race. It was a hot day and I did not race - Why - A) I'm a pussy B) I had no bike C) I'm a pussy. It was a blast. I helped set up
and ran registration and drove the pace car for the 4-5 race and the Pro 1,2,3 race. The winner of the pro race lapped the entire field - the guy was crazy fast. I was driving the car and we were closing in on the back of the field so I had to call the refs to find out what to do - crazy. Isabella raced the kids race and came in 4th! You go, girl! Afterwards we partied hard at the race and at Llywelan's - it was a rough morning!

back in the game - oh yeah - and nudity too!

2010-06-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

OK - the WNBR - that stands for World Naked Bike Ride in St. Louis! which equals a lot of boobs.But more on that later!

Still Commuting daily. I took a couple of days off because of the weather and lack of desire - but still keeping it real. The weather has been HOT and some of the rides home have wiped me out.

Tuesday - I decided I need to get back in the game so I raced on TNW. I really wanted to race The Grove - but for $45 - WTF! I mean that is some serious cash. One of my teammates said he feels that he is paying for the higher CATS to race - which I feel the same way. It's great the Pros who showed up got the highest payout in a MO crit - but the lower CATS sure paid for it! They even had to shorten the other races because they started late. I like Bill's comment - They reduced the distance but not the entry fee. SO in the end I said FUCK THAT! Now TNW for $10 - that is more my speed. It felt great to get out and race again. I feel strong, so I was anxious to race. At about 10 min. into the race, I was up front for the first part of the race, feeling strong, and everything seemed to open in front of me and slow down - I was like - GO TIME! - I took off up the hill and was joined by 3 other guys - all strong CAT 3-4 types - not the power dudes. Andy and Loren told me before the race they expected something out of me and when they saw me, they would shout their balls off. Not wanting to disappoint, I came to the top of the hill, in my power break away and there they were, not watching the race and petting a fucking dog - I almost started to stop racing and yell at my small fan base! - Just joking - We were able to stick the break for a full 3 laps which was awesome. The worst part was a pulled the hill on the second lap and that smoked me. When we were caught, I drifted to the back, but a few A racers were tagging along, like Mike Weiss. I tried to snuggle up and rest, but Weiss gapped me and I was blown off the back - I was pissed - That is the thing about the B race - by allowing these big guns to race our race, It ceases to become a true 3/4 race. Example - The guy who won the A race was a pro from Texas Roadhouse Areocat who raced at The Grove. He destroyed the field and won by 30 yards - yeah, he raced our race - and won - what a douchebag. OK, bitching over.

Wednesday - Hub Ride - Although the pace was a little slower (20.8 - 246 Avg watts) it was still super fast and fun. To date - I have not been dropped on a Wed. Night Ride - credit to how good I have been feeling. Ride was awesomeIt's nice to be in the front group at Ballas!

Saturday - did the Hub Ride in the morning - What a great ride. The pace was fast - almost 19 mph with 222 avg watts - but not super fast, so the entire group for the most part stuck together! That was so fun finishing with a large group.
I felt really tired starting the ride, but after a goo or two, I was able to wake up. The best part was going onto Conway - I was second in line, behind Bryan Sauter - When we turned onto the road I said "Man, this is last place in line I want to be - I expect you pull the entire hill!" He laughed and picked up the pace. He made it half way and pulled over and I took over and took it to the top - we kept the pace at 21 mph - I felt rock and roll! It was the Sauter/Saxton Cat 4 team laying the smack down!

Saturday Night - THE NAKED BIKE RIDE! What can I say - A bunch of crazy people acting crazy, mostly cycling posers, riding their bike almost naked and supposedly protesting oil. So let's go through this sentence, phrase by phrase.

First of all there were a bunch of crazy people - including Phil, State Champ Stephanie, Todd, Bob, to name a few
a great group of people!

Second - acting really crazy (how come every ride I do like this we end up taking boob grabbing pics?) So the question is - were the people really ugly? Well, yes and no. There was a lot of flat out nudity - total nudity - there are a lot of bicycle seats that should be destroyed - however, there were a lot of hot chicks too. A huge display of boobs! So... I give it a thumbs up (A thumb - get your mind out of the gutter).

Third - A bunch of cycling posers. The best part was when we were climbing some hills by SLU, people had to get off their bike and walk. When we passed them, one guy yelled - I guess they are too dependent on oil!

Forth - Protesting oil. Most people, including us, drove there and there was even a HUMMER in the parking lot - yeah - I hate oil dependency - let's Critical Mass - what a bunch of DB's! However - Judy and I had a blast, which is why we went! Oh - did the wife go topless - you'll never know because you weren't there!

Louisville

2010-06-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Went to Louisville on work - So... what would a teacher being doing in Louisville for 8 days - grading tests - Oh, about 1,365 essayssounds fun - not.

So onto the cycling. The best part was riding with Tom Zoumaras - former Jelly Belly rider and current Big Shark Masters racer. The guy is a stud and a half
Last year I could barely keep his wheel - this year I am in better shape and did OK.

Showed up on Tuesday and did the Louisville Tuesday Night World's road ride. This was a racer group ride and did not disappoint. I felt great and did great
The Average was 22.1 and my average watts was 246. The ride was fun, but lacked any challenging climbs. Nonetheless, guys were shelled from the back because of the speed at certain points. The ride was large too - probably about 40 to 50.

On Wednesday, I went over to this group ride in Indiana - It was a relaxed 36.6 mile ride on some awesome rolling backroads - almost no cars. The ride was very relaxed, about 18 avg. The scenery in Southern Indiana is really nice.

Thursday - did the smaller version of the fast ride - this was not that large, about 18 guys. Tom went with me on this one. The only thing shitty about this ride is Tom flatted and nobody waited for him. I pulled off, but he yelled at me to go, so I caught back on and stayed with the group. Once the ride picked up, guys started launching mini attacks off the front - why, I do not know, but unlike Tuesday, which had some Cat 1 and 2's, I felt like I was able to contend with the stronger guys. We hit this flat land along the Ohio River (really pretty), Everything opened up in front of me and I launched my own attack, except this one was huge. With grading all day and being really tired, one might ask WHY? and once I did it I strated asking the same thing. Three other guys went with me and after I started getting smoked, I pulled off and let another guy pull through. We had a pretty good break on the group and we started taing short pulls. Everybody was working except for one douche bag who would immediately pull off when it was his turn. Soon we lost one guy and I was left with another dude and douche. We hit a light and I was on the front. I braked into the light and the light turned - the group roared past me and I sprinted up to the back, but I was smoked. I was close to downtown and my hotel and decided to cry uncle - Oh well.

Friday - rode with Tom along the river, had a blast.

Sat - Tuesday, no riding - Too much workbut I did eat a lot!

Wednesday - returned to the Hub ride - It was nice to be back - thought I would get dropped quickly because I was super tired after my trip. Once I started riding, things picked up. I made a great move on Geyer which felt great. On Conway, I was totally getting smoked as the pace picked up to 25 - It seemed like everything was going wrong - I initally got behind FuckKnuckle who cause me to have to close a gap, than another person dropped so I had to close anouther gap, than a Big Shit guy dropped and I had to close another gap. Than I started to fall back and gap, but thank God for Matthew Crews who pushed me back into the mix twice! Matthew is a stud. It was great keeping up and finishing - especially after just returning from my trip - good times.

Still a little uncertain about the Tour de Grove - we'll see. I am kind of happy where I am with cycling and I don;t know if a race is what I want.

Goodbyes

2010-05-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

Goodbyes is the theme for this blog - Goodbye to work! (Summer Vacation) - Goodbye to Michael Rawitscher who is leaving for greener pastures - Goodbye Tues/Thurs after work rides (at least until September) - Goodbye to my stupid ass rear tire that flatted with a tear on Saturday - Goodbye to my family as I am Louisville, KY bound for next week.

Monday - Commuted big time - Rode to work, Rode home, Rode to Bread Co. In Kirkwood, Rode back to work, Rode home in the near-dark with no lights -oops.

Tuesday - Rode to and fro work. After work, Michael, Jeff and I rode our last after school ride. We went on a nice long ride, but Michael felt horrible and we really took it easy. With Michael not coming back next year, I was a really bummed. That night I rode the Alpine Shop ride with Judy. Still a wacky-ass ride. After the ride, Judy, Valerie and I went to the Highlands where they had $2.00 beers. I put more than a few away and we had to, once again, ride home in the dark with no lights - oops. I was a little bummed out I missed Taco Tuesday after TNW.

Wednesday - missed the Hub ride - but I heard it was rained out - a bunch of guys had to take shelter at a gas station because of the nasty storm that came through.

Thursday - Rode during the morning With Jeff L and Rich Witt. A great ride - perfect temps. We rode to High Ridge - one of my favorite rides. The ride to High Ridge is a solid gain in elevation for 15 miles - but coming down - rock and roll!

Friday - nothing.

Saturday - Went on the morning Hub ride - I went in to Hub for a second and when I came back out, my tire just went flat. I quickly ran back in, because I was now holding up the ride and changed it out - then I noticed the tube popping through like a pimple. I quickly rode back home and swapped out a new tire and ride the ride backwards until I met them on the outer-rode. The ride was wicked fast - average for the complete ride was 22.2! Now that is fast. When I joined them - it was haulin' balls. We went Adams at warp speed - Devin was in the front and the Heine took over - I think I was out of my saddle just trying to keep the wheel in front of me - luckily I was fifth wheel or I would have been shelled.

Sunday - Knucklehead - time switched to 6_30 - Rode out with Kevin, Matt (home from college), Matthew and Tim. The ride out was really sketchy - made me a little tense. This fatter fuck in front of me was all over the place and THAN he started to eat - AHHH - finally the ride split into the longer/shorter ride - usually a few guys go long and most go short - today - only like 15 guys went short and like 50 went long - man, I wish - oh well, short it was. Vince DeBlasie was there and he started to lay down the pace. The funniest part was when I took a pull along the flats - this rabbit was in the road and I was barreling down on it. The ribbit reacts and begins to run straight down the rode in front of me - This thing was a riot - I pulled up and let him go on his way. When we hit the hill, Vince took off and I caught his wheel. It was only Me, Vince, Kevin and another guy. After that we continued to push it all the way back to Geyer. It was a really good, fast ride - I was riding really strong and felt good.

Well... I am off the Louisville for a whole week. Plan on riding that fast group ride and another shop ride on Wed. - aside from that, just simple peddling.

A Good Groove

2010-05-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Once again, a good week of riding -

Commuted everyday but Thursday. I have been commuting so frequently that I felt guilty about not riding - truly, the weather was horrible - a non-stop day of rain. I would have gone if it was just a slow rain - but in the morning, it was pouring - so I bailed. Friday was National Ride Your Bike To Work Day. So, I of course rode to work the normal way and back home a longer way - both ways taking me down Lockwood/Adams - a main thoroughfare for bikes - normally I see numerous people out enjoying the bike - sometimes meeting up with Hubbers like Adam or Tim - but today - on National Ride Your Damn Bike to Work Day - I saw nobody - nobody commuting, nobody out just riding - I mean - it was a nice day, sun, good temps, etc. It was nuts - I was in the Twlight Zone

This week re-cap:

Tuesday - Rode with Michael, Jeff and Kate - A good, quick-paced ride - did the Carmen Loop.
That night I rode with the night Hub ride. It was awesome night and great to be out riding. We did the Maplewood route, which was awesome. Rode with Andy, Loren, Alex, and Bryan. - Sorry, no stupid pics of people riding. Bryan and I hopped on behind a bus going up Broadway. We were flying until something hit my eye. I dropped off, but Bryan stayed with it until he spun out his gears - we flew up Broadway.

Wednesday - The Hub Throwdown ride. I was feeling like shit the whole day - sinus headache - and I was so pumped to finally do this ride. It was my first one of the year - Last week I joined in halfway through. I was excited because I feel strong but I wanted to see where I stood. There was a good size group that showed up and once I started riding, I started to feel good. The ride started off slower than usual, which affected the overall average, but once we got on Clayton, it was balls out for the rest of the ride. I felt great the entire ride - so much so, that I was first up the steep climb on Conway! It was a great feeling! The average was 20.2 and avg watts was 254. I need to turn to racing soon!

Thursday - Rode after school with Michael, Jeff and Kate.

Saturday - Did the Hub ride - but had to cut it short because of my daughter's birthday party. The ride had great weather - it was a super hot day - but the morning was nice. When we the hill on Geyer, I came up to front a pulled to Clayton. We turned on Clayton and I was on the front. It was a great feeling - I picked up the pace to 24 mph and had the train motoring. The best part - while I was on the front, running our direction on the other side of the rode was this hot chick with an amazing ass - in those tight black running pants. So while I was on the front - I point to the chicks ass on the other side of the rode - nice - and everybody noticed it. I pulled off at Ballas and rode back with Rock, Chris Miller, Tim, and Nate on the tandem.

Sunday - Did the Knucklehead ride with Kevin, Mathew, Tim, Matt, Mark and his wife on a tandem, Jeff - It was the kindof ride that when we started I felt great, but as the ride went on, I got smoked. It was a really hot morning. Once we hit Strucker and Khers Mill, the pace was wicked fast. I pulled on the back stretch and when we hit the big hill, I was second wheel and came around Tim to the top of the hill with Kevin. We opened up a gap, not really meaning to so we were on the front. The group caught up to us and I did a long meaty pull until Matthew came around. I swear, that smoked me. I could not recover the rest of the ride. I did not get dropped and always stayed in good position, but the ride back felt wicked fast. Two Momentum guys along with Matthew and Mark, kept the pace fast. I think I pulled once, but I wanted no part of the front - I was gassed. I pulled up along Kevin, who also looked like he wanted no part of the front, and told him that I had been gassed since that big hill - he told me same thing - man, was it a long ride back - but I kept up nice and good. When I got home - all I wanted to do was lie down! The pace was only 19.2 and my avg watts was 219. I am glad I did not race the State Road Race - 72 miles of hills - the way felt, it would have a tour!

Unseasonable

2010-05-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

So today - I pull up to the light at Woodlawn and Manchester on my way to work and sit there for about 30 seconds or more. This car pulls up on my left in the turn lane and behind the wheel is the 80 plus year old lady, gray hair, and a hearing aid the size of baseball. She motions to me. I pull out my headphones (yeah, I know it's not safe - Shut the f -up) as she rolls down her window. She than says, in an mean old lady voice "I can't see you - you need to wear brighter clothes!" OK - the time - 7:30 in the morning, so it's light out, I am wearing a bright red Chrome backpack, my Hub jacket with bright green, a helmet with a blinky light, and my bike is so neon fucking orange that it glows in the dark - plus I have my blue blinky skull lights on the wheels! Gotta love the orange fender!

Commuting has been good times. I have picked up Adam Eaton as a riding buddy, which has been cool when we meet up. Last Friday, I met up with Adam, Andy and Alex at 6:00 in the morning for a longer ride.
I broke off and made it to work. This was a blast. My weeks have been really steady and constant. My riding and weight has also plateaued. I do feel good and seem to riding stronger than I was - so I will keep it up. Since my night class is over, I joined Andy, Alex, Joe and Tyler for a night ride on Tuesday. This was also a blast. We headed down to Forrest Park, rode around and rode home.

As far as active rides, I have ridden Tuesday and Thursday after school pretty aggressive with Michael and Jeff. Michael informed everyone that he will not be returning to work next year - this has extremely bummed me out. Kate Lincoff has been showing up regularly - which has been really cool. Four people make these rides super fun.

Hub rides - Last Saturday - I got stuck behind Mark and his wife on the tandem going up the hill on Ladue Road when they got a flat. I came to almost a complete stop along with Mathew, Phil and somebody else. Noone in front of the tandem stopped and the group got split - AHHHH - I lost contact with Mathew and Phil and it turned onto a mostly alone ride - WTF. This past Saturday I bagged on riding because it was so cold and wet. I also bagged on Sunday for the same reason. The rain has been pretty much non-stop and it has been unseasonably cold.
Last Wednesday was my first Wed. Night ride. I could not make the start because I had a late meeting, so I met the ride half way through. I had my Jake with my pack on so I was worrited if I could keep up - but I did! It was a blast - I have missed this ride.

One of my favorite episodes of Seinfeld was when Krammer adopts the highway and re-paints the highway from 4 lanes to two - to create a more pleasurable driving experience. When they changed Hwy 44 from 4 lanes to 5 lanes a few years ago, They had this huge lane for small time period while they restriped, it was like a one and half normal lane. It was so wide, it created a pleasurable driving experience. Now that they are changing the lanes back to four - My hope was that they would do this again - and they did - Nice!

Where Metal and Mayhem Hit the Road

2010-05-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

First the Mayhem -

Good week of riding - just feeling great.
Highlights from the week: Commuted everyday but Friday. A few days it was downright nasty - cold and rainy - but I still kept true. Bought a rear fender at The Hub after Monday's rain. It is bright orange so it matches the bike! Will put a picture up when I need it - hopefully not too soon.

Rode Tuesday after work with Michael and Jeff.MAYHEM! While riding up Mason cut-off to Clayton, right by the stop sign at the top of the little incline, right before Clayton, this Old Fucker drives by us with literally 6 inches to spare. I swear his side mirror brushed my arm - this was freaking close. Michael blasts up to Old Fucker and was like - what the hell! Old Fucker actually flicks him off. He then turns right and Michael chases him - so we chase Michael. Old Fucker turns into his subdivision, with Michael chasing him - he finally stop and Michael gives him a little piece of his mind. The best line: I've been a professional racer for 10 years and nobody has ever come that close to me asshole (that would be a professional CAT 4)! I would have taken a picture, because in hindsight it was hilarious, but at the time I thought he was punch the shit out of Old Fucker - so no picture!

The only group ride I did was the Hub ride on Saturday MAYHEM! I felt great the whole ride. We started out with over 30 people
and we averaged 20.1 mph. The ladies also showed up on the ride! The two big challenges on the ride involved me having to cover two breaks. The first was up Conway -Nate on the tandem caused a large separation and I had to go around him. If it wasn't for Mathew, there was no way I would have caught back on - he helped close like a beast. The second close came when I fell back to ride with Andy and than decided to catch back up. We got into a 5 man pace line - each doing 15 rotations and pulling off. It was such a blast - I remember doing that stuff when I rode with the Spirits as a Junior for a short while out by the SmokeHouse before it became all built up. Whie we were going down the outer-road, into the big hill, this new hubber guy got his wheel caught in the groove between the shoulder and road and went down hard. He was a little beat up but was able to limp back. I told Ron Clipp that it is rare to have a crash on the shop ride that he is not in!

Now the METAL!

Went with Phil Nadeau - bike buddy and husband of Hubber and blog follower Stephanie - to see See - I related it to cycling - plus Phil is wearing a Jittery Joe's mechanics shirt - so it is OK to blog about! We drove to Columbia to see a metal-fest - Valiant Thor, Baroness, Buried Between the Dead and Me and MASTODON. The concert was awesome. VT sounded like old school Judas Priest - Baroness was just amazing - I swear they could have stolen the show - Buried Between the Dead and Me, which has been renamed Bored Between my Ears and Eyes (which seemed to be a crowd favorite, which I did not get, but they were the youngest of the four groups, so I think the young kids liked them, but they sounded like shit) and of course Mastodon - which was pure metal. Before the concert, we ate at this Mexican restaurant and seated right next to us was the drummer from Mastodon, Brann Dailor. The place was sold out and we sat in the balcony for the first three shows. At the set change, we were debating about going to the floor, when we decided to take up the task. Amazingly, we were able to move ourselves into a great position, dead center and close to the stage.
Luckily I was able to miss the moshpit by a few feet - I'm too damn old for that. Next up - we are so going to get DRI tickets - now that will be old school awesome.

Riding Stronger

2010-04-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Nice Rack!

I mean nice bike rack!

Things have been going great.
Still Commuting 100 percent - no car baby - and feeling pretty strong. On one day - can;t remember - I met up with Tim, who teachers at Meremac, and rode with him - first time I had a commuting buddy! Michael gave me the coolest gift because he was worried about my saftey - LIGHT UP SKULLS for my wheels!
Tuesday - Rode after school with Michael and Jeff. Felt great. We rode the Carmen hill loop - which is a fan favorite. To tell you how I am feeling - Michael took the first pull down Doughtey Ferry and I cam around him and laid down a huge pace. When I turned on Carmen, no one wanted to pull through so I kept up front into the hill. I than turned it on and dropped everyone. Oh yeah! Felt great!

Thursday - Rode after school with Michael, Jeff and Kate Lincoff. Once again I felt really strong. We came back Bopp Road and it felt great. I kept it above 24 for pretty much the whole road.

Saturday - Hub Ride. I REALLY wanted to race at Carondelet Park - I think I would have done quite well. I still have about 6 pounds to lose - so I am committed to do that - I am too poor for substandard racing! The weather was a little sketchy and because of the races, we had a smaller crowd. Devin, Rock, Mark Growler, Nate on the Tandem, Tim and about 6 or 8 others showed up. The pace was easy at times, and of course, really fast at others. I did just fine - you know it was a smaller crowd if I got to the top of Adams Hill first - however, I did not win the sprint! We had another flat on Ballas RoubaixNate on the Tandem. I told Alex after the ride that Ballas must be the new money maker for The Hub! Sunday was non-stop rain so I took the day off and got fat.

I could have been a State Champ!

2010-04-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

That's right! Courtesy of the Alpenis Shop Swap Salefor $45 you could be a Missouri State Champion!

The Week in review: Overall - getting lighter and stronger - feeling pretty good.

Monday - Commuted big time. Rode to work - home - to Harris - back to work and than home. Close to a fifty mile day.

Tuesday - Commuted and rode after work with Michael and Jeff - a nice paced ride. I was REALLY tired! Invited to ride with Andy (he did the Alpenis ride again- and hated it) but I was too tired and just wanted to relax.

Wednesday - Commuted. Let class out early because of a test so I rode up to the shop to say hi to everyone who rode on the ride. Harris will be over in a couple of weeks and I will be able to pick this ride up again.

Thursday - took the day off - super nice! No riding.

Friday - Commuted

Saturday - Rode the Hub Ride -A good number of guys did Herman this weekend so the ride was a little low on numbers - making sure that I had to work. Felt really strong - stayed with the group the whole ride with pretty much ease. David Mark lit it up a few times. When we hit Ballas, Kevin pulled ahead and I closed up to him, second in line, when I hit one of those long skinny potholes and blew both tires out. A double-flat! I knew the back one went out and pulled right up making sure to call out and pull over. WHile I finished fixing the rear, David Mark, while holding my bike, said I think you have another problem - now that was wheel changing etiquette! Once I finished changing both wheels - we all headed back out again to finish the ride. The shop was hosting a Tour de Cure training ride so all these cyclists were up there and the shop had bagels and coffeewhich we all enjoyed after our ride.

Sunday - took the day off!

Puttin In Da Miles

2010-04-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

What a nice week. The weather could not be nicer in St. Lou. We are talking about nice crisp mornings and afternoons in the high 70's low 80's! That has bike weather written all over it and I was up to the challenge.

The Week in review.

On Monday I commuted my balls off - 40 plus mile commute! Felt great - This commuting thing is rocking. I am feeling really strong when I ride.

Tuesday - Bagged TNW and rode with Andy at the Alpine Shop ride. A few other guys where there that I know like Jeff Kelly. I thought this was going to be a slower ride but it turned out to be a squirrelly quasi-hammerfest. The route kindof sucked. It had so many turns and stops that I swear to you I could not repeat this ride if I tried. By the time we turned one corner, the back was just turning the previous corner. The ride opened up a few times, and although it had efforts (the hill up Kirkham and Old Doughtey Ferry), it was doable. I was able to move from the back third to near the front easily. The ride picked up when we went DOWN Marshall (interesting with about 50 people) and than up Old Doughtey Ferry - which is a great hill climb to tempo on. While going down Marshall - the crosswind was so strong, and I was riding my Reynold's Carbons, that the wheel started to shake - not fun. I don't think I would recommend this ride due to the stop/turns and some squirrelly riding - but I may do it again because it is close and it is fun to pass slow people on hill climbs (kindof a dick thing to say, I know - but it is).

Wednesday - Commuted everywhere

Thursday - Rode to work. Got an email from Andy wanting to do some riding in the evening. Matthew, Andy and I met at the shop and went out on a nice easy pace ride - super cool. Took Adams to Geyer to Bopp to Clayton to Mason South to Doughety Ferry to Sugar Creek/Adams. The only rule was I had to be home by 7:00 to watch SURVIVOR! Which was done almost to the minute.

Friday - Commuted

The Weekend - Bagged out on racing for Hillsboro and Tilles Park. Hillsboro sucks. I know people love this road race and it is part of the Nature Valley Series but I have done nothing but suffer on this race. I have never made it to the second lap and it has always become a 30 mile tour for me AHHHH just thinking about it makes me want to vomit. The only highlight was Devon Clark - what a skinny assed beast. Placed 15th in the 1-2's. Robbie Ventura raced this one and Devin, basically teamless, still came in top 15 - impressive. All my other buds tanked - which is no big deal at this race. Tilles - I do like Tilles - my best result ever - but I have not raced this in two years. Reason - very tight and twisty and because of no hills - a very tight pack. Major wrecks in the Masters (2 ambulances) Shout out to Chuck Pass for the collarbone (super good guy) and two major wrecks in the pro1-2. There were also some super close calls in the 3-4's, which I would have raced if I did not have puss-itis. For a better version on the fucked -up nature of Tilles - read Bill's Blog.
Saturday - Rode the Hub ride - felt great. The pack was large as not many went to Hillsboro and the pace started off slow. On Clayton it picked up dramatically. When we hit Conway, Dived Mark had A LOT of stored up energy and laid it out. When we got to the top, there were only seven of us! You could not even see anybody else. We took the short way so guys could scout out Tilles. When we finished, Kevin, Brayn and myself rode the route backwards until we met the group. After that I headed to the Bread Co. with Phil and Todd. I could tell I am feeling stronger and lighter with every passing week.

Sunday - Rode Knucklehead with Matt McLaughlin. Pace was faster than usual going out and nice fast-paced tempo coming back. Going out, this bus drove next to uskeeping our pace for over a mile plus - it was very odd. Mark Gorski rode this ride - the guy is a powerhouse! and drove the pace coming back (yeah - he wore his US Postal Jersey! and no I didn't get a picture).
Later that day I went to Tilles to root on my fellow team-mates in the 3/4 race - Chris Miller called the race in the beginning and came in fourth - way to go! Bhatti has a roster spot for you! It was nice to watch the raceand drink beer!

Scalin' Back

2010-04-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well - my wife lost her job - which isn't the end of the world. We have been talking about it for awhile - I just we were a little more proactive about saving so it would not be such a money shock. Oh well - so there are a few changes that must be made in regards to cycling - positive and negatives
Negatives:
1st - no new TIME or Giant TCR Advanced - I'm sad
2nd - no front ZIPP Wheel (also looking to sell a rear 404 - rim, tire and hub if interested)
3rd - the coach is gone.
4th - racing is going to take a back seat.
Now you're saying WTF - you have no money to race - OK I could come up with the cash - but I'm not going to race when I am not ready. I need to drop some weight. This starts with eating at home and not as much - hey, my wife losing her job takes care of that! Already I have dropped 5 lbs! When I get to my perfect weight of 167 - I will race! - but as for now - I cannot waste the money to be blown off the back in the pack sprint.
Positives:
I get to commute everyday! This rocks and along with eating is the reason I am losing weight. Today I commuted 40 miles! It was great weather and felt awesome to be out. It's stuff like this that will make me stronger (and the jogging girls with sports bras in Forest Park aren't a bad reason either). Judy has even lost some lbs due to working out during the day and eating at home - not bad - a shout out to Judy for looking HOT!!! in front of Judy's Lounge in the Hoosier Casino

OK - so the riding:
Last Sunday was FoPo - one of my favorite crits - but it was raining big time and I bailed. 21 guys showed up to race and the report was it was slow until the very end - I guess I should have showed up - Oh well - 30 bucks saved.
Wednesday Night Hub Throwdown. What is known as the fastest group ride in St. Louis did not disappoint. I was on Harris Stowe Spring Break and could do the ride. Started out at mock speed until someone flatted at Geyer and Manchester. The ride stopped and than started. I was near the back and going down Clayton there was this huge break and being near the back I missed it. The ride blew apart and I was in a three man chase group - and we caught them by Mason! That felt great - unfortunately I was so smoke from the chase that I fell off again. I cut short with Matt McLaughlin and caught the ride on Conway and stayed up until the end - a great ride. Phil, Steph me and Judy went to the BreadCo after the Team Rev was over.
Thursday - rode after school with Jeff and two girls, one a former student, who do Tri-athalons. Both girls were in great shape and we hit it pretty hard. A little too hard and I was smoked. A good ride though.
Saturday Hub Ride. The ride started out pretty much balls out. My legs were hurting and I wanted to scale back. Somehow on the really steep Geyer Hill I found myself in front and pulled the hill - never know how fast to go, knowing the speed of some of the guys I'm with, so I went way too hard and blew a wad that left me falling off down Clayton. Devin and I rode and we caught them on Conway. Without having any warm-up the slower riding really made me feel strong. By the time we met the group I had gone from feeling weak to feeling great. The rest of the ride was nothing. The worst part however was the flats. 4 flats total! Breaking up the pace sucked. Later in the day I rode Grant's Trail with Isabella and Judy, which was a blast! and even later in the day Michael R. came over on his Mountain bike and I went back out for a ride - and flatted! God do I hate the chip seal shit - cost me 5 bucks for a tube! I trying to save money, dammit!
Good commute today - might ride a group ride tomorrow - Alpine Shop or Maplewood - I'll see tomorrow.

Strugglin'

2010-03-27T12:20:00.002-07:00

First all - Want to welcome back to the cycling scene two very good friends!
First - a celebrity of this shitty blog - Andy Berger!
Andy had not one - but a duel hernia operation - OUCH! He got the hernias (plural) from having too much extra-curricular fun. I told him today he needs a trapeze for the bedroom.
Second - Michael Rawitscher!
Michael had major shoulder surgery - OUCH! He also got that from too much extra-curricular fun. However - instead of a trapeze - Michael needs a sling because he only uses his arm.

Just joking - Come on - Lighten the f- up!

Riding - Good weather has returned!

*Started riding after schoolwith Jeff, Michael and Bryan Sauter who has been coming up!
*Rode the HUB ride for the first time this year. This ride has been very typical of the start of this year. The pace was pretty wicked fast. When we hit Conway I was sitting fine and then the group kindof broke apart. I got stuck behind someone who was gassed and got pinched in - that was it - I was playing catch-up. With the help of Matthew, I caught the main group by the return trip on the outer-road. We hit the first hill at a nice slow pace allowing me to catch some breath but the second hill the pace picked way up - straight into the head wind which was super strong. I was sitting in the middle of group but I was hurting bad - I was really pissed at myself - I should of pushed myself harder - but I caved in. The minute I hit the wind my speed dropped by more than a third - they were gone. I could always see them for awhile as I struggled on my own. Jeff caught up with me and we rode in at a nice but aggressive pace. AHHHH!
*Tuesday Nite Worlds #1 - Number 42 is in the housefor all you horny chicks who want to come out a cheer me on! - which would basically be my wife and I'm not sure how horny she is - but it's my blog so I'll be as fictitious as I want.
Rode the first crit of the year - which was awesome. Met up at the Hub with Kevin and Bryan and rode down. In attendance for the B race was Me, Kevin, Bryan, Adam, and Robert. The best part was riding around with everyone all kitted up - it felt great to be back out. During the race I was aggressive and up-front for most of the race - I missed the break - it was on the left side and I was pinched in on the front - about 7 or 8 back - I could not go. This break held some big guns - and I knew it had a good chance to stick - and it did. I was behind Robert and we went off the front to get away - this failed and I found myself out in no-man's land - I was suffering - and fell on the back - but there were some slow fucks breaking even into the turn (no wonder they are on the back) and I was smoked and could not catch my breath - Robert sat on my wheel. After about three laps - there were two to go and I fell off - just like the Sat Hub ride - Shit. Bryan finished 1st in the pack sprint.
*Tuesday Nite Worlds #2 - I felt really tired and I took my sister out for BBQ at Pappy's and my belly was full! Put those two together and you have a suck-ass race. Left the HUb with Kevin, Bryan, Andy and Tim. The pace was wicked fast - a non-stop hammer fast - the speed never let up. In attendance - Kevin, Bryan, Bill, Robert, Stephanie (sorry if I forgot anyone) and a new guy Justin. I started out fine, but my stomach soon started to hurt. Also, I had no push out of the turn. After about 15 min I thought I was going to puke and I dropped out - SHIT this is becoming a 2010 pattern. I am writing this outing off. Kevin finished 5th. A large group rode back - that was fun.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite crits - Forest Park - however there is an 87% chance of T-Storms and based on my current feelings, I might pass. My biggest concern is nutrition - I need to drop some LBS!

Hello Once Again Franks - You Dirty Behemoth Bitch

2010-03-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

It's good to get outside once again!
Friday - partied with Team Rev Grand Cru club. It was fun. I was given the name Seaman Chris.

Saturday - Solo ride outside after weights - was pretty cold but it felt good. DId Wild Horse Creek to Ossenfort to HWY T to St. ALbans and than back - or I should say up - Melrose and back.

Sunday - I rode inside

Monday - took day off

Tuesday - Spun at the Hub. Good times - I think we are at the end. A lot of people showed up and it was quite the party at the end. Judy was sporting the new Hub Team t-shirt (over her awesome big tits!). If you want one, let me know. They are back-ordered and quite in demand! (her boobs, not the t-shirt).

Wednesday - OH yeah! Scream it baby - I finally started to commute to Harris Stowe again. It was a great ride down - tail wind all the way with a nice temp. I saw my good friend Michael R talking with some smoking hot chick - He was "walking the dog"
Coming home was nice but pretty cold.

Thursday - no riding but I did go to The Hub for a little POKER! I made it farther than I have ever before - down to the final table - I lost in the most shitty of ways - but that is luck. Got home way to late - around 1:30 - and a little buzzed - made for a rough start in the morning.

Friday - went on a nice ride with Judy after we got home - rode up Ballas and made her suffer.

Saturday - AH - the ride of pain. 80 miles of gut wrenching pain. The ride:
Parked at Gizz Swallow
to Wild Horse Creek
up Ossenfort (saw the Gizz Swallow ride - looked small
Bouquet
Fox Creek
through Eureka to Pacific
Hwy F (for Fuck)
Hwy FF (for Fat Fuck)
HWY W
to Hwy PP/Twin River Road
Franks (Fucking Hard) I looked down at one several points and Franks had a grade of 27 percent at one point!
When I stopped to take this picture I almost could not get started!
Antire
Jim Weber (Fucking hard)
back Hwy W
to 109 through Eureka
Forby Rd/Alt (Fucking Hard)
HWY 109
Melrose (Fucking Hard)
back to Ossenfort
Wild Horse Creek
and back to Gizz Swallow!

On a side note - I swapped out my powertap in the Zipp and put it in my Reynolds - should be ready early next week. I also got a used Zipp Hub to rebuild the wheel.

Also Judy and Isabella finished their Frostbike ride
- Thanks to Team Rev and Suzanne for helping them!

Will Winter Ever End?

2010-02-22T19:10:00.000-08:00

Check out this photo from MySpace!She forgot to flush - AHHHHHH!

The training has been going good. Trying to keep to the schedule and I have really enjoyed the weights part of it - I thought I would hate it - but it has become a painful pleasure. I also got my power readings -
Functional Threshold Power = 215 watts
Zone 1 active recovery <118 watts
Zone 2 aerobic 120 – 161 watts
Zone 3 tempo 163 – 194 watts
Zone 4 lactate threshold 196 – 226 watts
Zone 5 VO2max 228 – 258 watts
Zone 6 anaerobic capacity 260 – 323 watts
Zone 7 neuromuscular power MAX POWER (>325+)
a little low from what I thought they would be - but I hate doing this stuff inside. I do not know if my numbers were right, but at least it is a place to start.

I got to admit I am tired of riding inside - Tuesday Night Hub spin has gotten huge and co-ed. Judy has been coming which has been really cool.

I decided to bail on Froze Toes. Too far to drive to little of a race - oh well. I am debating about Dogwood but Forest Park Crit is 100 percent a go!

Last Saturday was the first great day all winter. After lifting weights at SEG, I went out for a nice long ride to Saint Albans with about 12 Gizz Swallow guys all kitted out. They laid down a killer pace as we went out Wild Horse Creek to Ossenfort - by the time of the hill, I was smoked and started to drop off. That sucked because I was kitted in Hub, but I was smoked from the 2 hours of weights and plyos - hey, I did over 200 lateral cone hops - and that was just a fraction of it! It was a great ride and it felt great to be out. While we were headed out I took a couple of turns at the front and the Gizz Swallow guy behind me says "I'm glad no one is taking pictures - one Hub guy pulling 12 Gissallo guys!" That felt pretty cool.

The best part of the winter has been Isabella - She joined the Team Rev Frostbike Mountain Bike - and has loved riding! Man - 8 years old and out hitting the trails - even in the snow!
She rocks.

winter has been sucking for me

2010-01-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

This winter has just sucked for - little motivation.
It has consisted of riding inside - and going out.

So here is the re-cap:

Spinning: I have really tired to keep to my training schedule - riding in the basement just sucks.
Spinning at The Hub is a little better.

Going Out - I swear, I have been outside riding maybe three times since the new year. Last week was my longest ride - I started with The Hub and broke out and rode to OTF in Chesterfield. I was planning on riding back home but I was way behind on time and Phil drove me home. We have only had one outside ride and no after school rides! AHHH! I did not ride yesterday because I was so fucked up and I did not ride today because of football and I felt like a lazy ass.

The Other Going Out: I bunch of us (Devin, Ron, Andy, Loren, Matthew, Kate) met last Wed. at the Roadhouse to watch Kevin jam with David's Guitar Loft. He rocked. Kevin played Sultan's of Swing and Moby Dick (I felt awkward when Kevin gave me a shout-out before the second song!)
Friday night I met up with Loren, Andy and Alex, with the wives to see Sarah Borges at a bar in Maplewood. All I know is I got really ripped and missed weights and riding! Oh yeah - check this out - Loren met his doppleganger:
A big Shout out to my kids - not only did we have one nice day to get out and ride - but Grace rode for the 1st time with no training wheels!

Knocked down

2010-01-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

The holidays have come and gone - and man am I feeling it.

First Christmas: See the bikes! Judy's new Scott and Bella's new Kona - Nice.
The big present leaning against Judy's bike is a poster of Mark Cavendish for her office at work. She admires him for all of his wins - or something like that. (why does my wife always stare at the center point of the photo?) Hey - I don't mind. If she gets Cavendish, than I can have Julie Krasniak! All's fair.
A better picture of her.
Travel - Chicago - Went to Garmin store and missed Christian VandeVelde by one day promoting the new Garmin Edge 500.
I did the see window homage to him!

Cycling - Ahhh. now there's the problem. Well the holidays and travel left me with no riding. OK a week off - not the end of the world. While people around me are talking about their commitment to the bike - I'm off and kicking back. I return on Friday just in time to get really sick. Do not know what hit me - but it did - big time. I went to Off The Front on Sat. for weights and out for a quick bite with Phil - and than Bam - I was out with a fever. I missed Sunday, Monday... I was going to ride at The Hub tonight but was not feeling up to it. Tomorrow I will spin.

Bill has high expectations for me - so I must deliver. The Hub has the be strong - all the guys going to this coach of from Ghissalo - mostly cat 4's!!!!! Yeah - I know them all. They are a good bunch of guys - but when it's race time - it's on!

Merry CXMAS

2009-12-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

Man - where to start... Ryan - talked with Eric and he wants to hire you as the mascot for Bunny Cunt! With all those hunters today - you're lucky it's deer season.
*Started with my coach - so far great stuff. Above all it has really made me think about everything - from food to riding - a complete picture. I have started keeping a daily journal of everything. This week the plan was:
Mon - spin 45 min.
Tues - spin 45-90 min - 3X120 in/out sprints
Wed- Spin
Thurs - 2(3X30) sprints
Fri - rest
Sat - 30 - 60 min (hill heater intervals)
Sun - Volume/race simulation

Mon - spinning inside to the Family Guy!
Tuesday - Spinning at The Hub. - I did not follow the tape but did my drills - It's easier to ride with peopleand a beer afterwards always rocks.
Thursday - Unbelievable weather - mid 50's for December. Rode after-school with Jeff. A nice longer ride - did my intervals. That night, decided to keep the riding going by doing our night ride with Rock, Joe and Andy Berger! - rode the Maplewood route - it was awesome to be outside!
Saturday - Went to Off the Front for weight training.
I'm telling you - this was an ass kicker! I think I used muscles not used....ever? It felt great - Chris said I would be sore in about 48 hours - well - it's just about 48 hours and he is pretty much right on! I am in fucking pain!
Saturday night was the HUB PARTY! I arrived late due to a little Christmas shopping - when I arrived the party was in full swing
what I mean is beer - a lot of beer - a keg...coolers... you know shit loads of beer. The beer pong table was totally cool. Everybody was in attendance - the party was rocking. Positives - seeing everybody:
The party lasted until the wee hours - I got home at two o'clock. The party was truly a blast. The tire changing contest took the party to new heights ending in a great shrimp fight from the first to the second floor and Ron getting bit by Lendell. Many people were hurting the next day - for sure.
Sunday - It was on the Donkey Kong's dick - That's right CX-MAS! Year two - bring it on (hey - at least it wasn't 7 degrees!) Rode out with El Cavano and following was Devin, Bitch Tits and Devin's buddy. Was this going to be exciting - hell yeah - going down the highway - Devin pulls along side and yells to look backwards - my bike had flown off loren's rack and was hanging by a bungie cord. After putting the bike back on - out to Lost Valley. The Hub was well represented - In attendance was El Cavano, Devin (last year's runner-up because he throws a Huffy like a pussy), BitchTits, Heine in the bunny suit, Rock, Robert and Nate. I was blown away by the numbers - final count was almost 140 riderscrazy! I saw the usual people and many I have not seen in years - this was awesome. The ride was fantastic - some single track, but mostly double track and gravel roads. The biggest problem was a lot of ice. We started by getting call ups and then the race was on. Devin had to start out on a Huffy until the first checkpoint. we all started and as we headed down the first of the single track - going straight down hill, Devin and BT's friend wiped out right in front of me by going over the bars - he cracked his helmet - and he popped up sitting as I was headed right for him I slammed my breaks - but I have real cross brakes (Spooky with Malhaussen pads) and stopping was not an option, so I bailed into a baseball slide and slid right into him. If I had bailed I would have wrecked hard by t-boning him. I got right up and was like - are you OK? He was not. BT was right there and after a short stop - Joe and I headed off to tell the guys at the first checkpoint - scary stuff - but going down was really common. Going into the first checkpoint, my bike slid right from under me and I landed hard for my second down - luckily it was on my left side (the same side as I did the first time) because although the crash did not hurt - on the ice, my guts on my bike would have been trashed. Also - Carrie Cash was right there to see this and heckled me something good. My left thigh is killing me!
Obstacles - Freaking awesome - 1st stop involved a PBR slam. 2nd stop involved a shot of Jim Beam and a slice of bacon.3rd stop included eggnog - the winner drank 15 cups of eggnog! I could only muster 2.
The ride was great - I rode with Loren and Joe Jr. from Mesa. We had a nice and easy pace and overall did pretty good. The scenery was beautiful with the snow. This ride was one to remember - And Devin won! A kickass trucker hat!
Heini - quit taking pictures of me taking pictures of you!

Winter and Christmas gifts

2009-12-13T17:42:00.001-08:00

Well - winter has set in - Christmas is around the corner - miss the mild temps - Where did Global Warming Go!!!!! I like that stuff!

With winter comes spinning at The Hub:Always fun - always beer afterwards.

Other highlights included Highway 40 with the family:

And a trip to go to Cat 3 Hubber Eric Seaver and his band Bunny Cunt:
They were awesome - or I was really drunk - or both!

Christmas and biking go hand in hand - so after I signed a paycheck over to Ron here it goes:

The one kid: Kona Hula - SWEET! (Too bad the younger one always gets the clothes and the bike hand-me-downs)

The Wife: Scott CR1 Team - nice bike!

Me: Chris King "mango" headset for the Jake the Snake, Lizard Skin orange tape, and a "mango" Salsa Seatpost clamp and a WCS Carbon Seatpost. Soon to come - "mango" spacers and Chris King "mango" bottom bracket! This is one pimp bike.

And - I bought a person! Not like that!
Chris Maleski and Off The Front Coaching. I'm pretty excited about this - beginning tomorrow! I will become a stud!

Hub Crawl II

2009-11-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Do not read this if you are against drinking and riding.

T'was two nights before Thanksgiving and I swear i could not sleep. Thoughts of beer ran through my head. It was that time of year --- HUB CRAWL II

Andy stopped by (dressed in full kit - rebel) and we headed to The Hub with beers in hand. Waiting for everyone - the drink commenced. In attendance - well... I don;t remember all - so here it goes.

After a few beers we headed out. The first plan - Hwy 40 recon. We got on Hwy 40 at Bellevue and rode down to Kingshighway. Nice and smooth.

Place 1 - Atomic Cowboy. The place was packed with a good looking crowd. We rode up and put our bikes in the patio - I think we interrupted a couple having sex and a few pot smokers- and headed in. The drink of choice was Skullsplitter Beer - good stuff. Once again, the place was packed. Planned Parenthood was on a condom mission and I was determined to get a pink scarf. After taking a pledge to hand out 50 to 100 condoms - the scarf was mine. I also ran into some former students from the 1990's - crazy. We stayed at Atomic Cowboy for about an hour and than headed to Lafayette Square.

Place 2 - Square 1 Brewery (thanks to Phil and Stephanie for taking the pics) Had a great time at Square 1 - Started pounding the beer away. Alex met two girls he knew and they would stay with us the rest of the night (even going home with a lucky two). Had some really good smokey porter. When leaving, Mattew Crews put Ron's bike in the fountain while he was in the bathroom. Ron was last person out and we were all standing around - I swear I almost pissed myself laughing (and yes, Ron threw a hissy fit). After we left, we met a guy in full kilt with bagpipes in the middle of street - he busted out a great tune and in return got a payment of condoms!

Stop 3 - Tower Pub
Tower Pub quickly became a blur - the beer and shot of Tequilla was flowing. Stephanie and I handed out the condoms - we were a hit - and after that - I can't really give specifics. Leaving became a problem - We successfully closed the bar and riding home was a chore. I walked out of the pub and saw Kevin laying across the hood of a parked car. Alex couldn't ride 10 feet without taking a fall. Crashes were galore. Alex went down on the River trail, cracked his helmet and took out Matt - awesome crash, Rock went down, Devin went down earlier, and Kevin took a header. Finally got home at three in the morning. Hub Crawl II - epic.

Saturday - did a great ride - rode with The Hub - did not do well - The pace was not that fast but for some reason the cold made my throat freeze up - it burned when I took a breath. I took a short cut and caught the ride and finished in time to meet Judy, Phil, Stephanie, Kate and Alice for round two of the Hub ride. Turned out to be a beautiful day and I was able to ride close to 70 miles. Awesome. I, once again, pussed out on cross. Actually not true - we had symphony tickets for the family concerts - it was really nice.

Summer in November

2009-11-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

Week started off good. Bought a new seatpost for the cross bike - WCS Carbon 2 bolt - super nice - perfect fit - now all I need to do is race the fucking thing! But no luck here.

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Nothing but rain - so bad I did not commute at all

Rode Thursday on our night ride with ANdy, Rock and a friend of Rock's. A really nice ride - great weather - Rock had a flat but nothing else eventful happened - forgot to take a picture. Andy and I hashed out the Hub Crawl for Wednesday - Atomic Cowboy via Hwy 40 - McGurk's - Lafayette Square - and finally Tower Pub! A little new a and a little old!

Rode Saturday on The Hub ride - super fast - 20.5 average for November - the weather was awesome. The group started off large and due to the pace, was whittled down quickly. I felt great and stayed at the front the whole ride with Bill, Heine, Mathew, Dave Smith, and David Mark. Nate brought his son on the tandem and pushed him way too hard. David was pulling down at 28 mph and Nate passed him on the tandem into one of the big hills. When we got to the top at Manchester, the kid was beyond smoked and almost passed out. A little scary - we all waited until things were OK. It was cool to wait as the whole group was able to get caught up and ride in together.

Later that day - Judy and I went on the Thursday Night ride, except on a Saturday afternoon! Judy stopped by The Hub and test rode a new CR1 carbon Scott. She seemed to think it was a really nice ride. Had a really nice ride with her - beautiful weather.

Saturday night was Trail-net Trivia - At our table was Stephanie and Phil and a few others. It was a good time. The questions were really freakin' hard but we did not end up in last place! The quetions were written by some 5 time Jeopardy champion and he sucks!

IT'S FOR CHARITY - DAMMIT!

2009-11-16T19:14:00.000-08:00

The week:

Well, not much to report - no racing and I'm getting fat.

Monday: commuted to Harris Stowe

Tuesday - Saturday - no riding. I went on a work trip to Atlanta which constituted a lot of beer.

Sunday: Cranksgiving. A great ride for a great cause. Rode with Judy, Stephanie (blog follower) Phil and a lot of ladies from Team Revolution. My plan was to buy a complete Thanksgiving meal - minus the turkey. We bought mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, yams, green beans, rice, baby food, gingerbread men cookies, and a bottle of wine! We rode to Trader Joe's, Straub's, Shop and Save, Foodland, and Jay's foods.
It was really fun -
One might say a titty grabbing experience! (for charity, of course)

From rain to shine and heat in November

2009-11-09T06:22:00.001-08:00

Fun week on the bike. No cross - too damn hot. Props to Bill for going out there. Will be there for Augusta.

Monday - Commuted.

Tuesday - Rode with Michael and Jeff after school - Rode my fixed gear. Did the Alternative Maplewood Ride (like the Art Show). In Attendance was a really nice group: Andy, Loren, Judy, Bryan, Stephanie, Joe (mesa Jr.) Todd from Ghissalo, Kube...might be missing a few. It was a great night and fun ride. The Maplewood group caught us at the end of the ride. Not riding with them was a plus. On the way home Rock popped out of nowhere - commuting from work and rode with us. We all thought we rode about 1 mph faster than we wanted so we all agreed to slow it down next week.

Wednesday - No riding - I was being honored by a senior at the football game.

Thursday - Did the Hub late night rode with Alex, Rock and Andy.
This was a great ride. Great weather and a great pace. We went out to Forest Park and Rock showed us a really cool way home. This route is a keeper.

Friday - no riding.

Saturday - Rode the Hub ride on the Jake. The pace was super fast. The weather was so warm by the time of the ride. When I showed up, everybody was there - pretty much the whole team plus others - all on there race bikes... and me on the Jake. We went out at a fast pace and then ---crash. There was a spray paint can on the shoulder and Ron Clipp hit it and went down hard. He and Andy headed home. We continued and I felt like there were gaps all over. I covered two on Conway and when I got to the top I was smoked but held on with the group. On the South Outer Road, I lost contact trying to cover another gap and was behind. While trying to close up on Ballas, my seat popped right off. Man is my ass fat. The bolt just broke in half. I do not know how I did not crash - going 20 mph plus and you seat pops off.
I called Judy and she had to pick me up. CRAZY.

Later that day I went on the Chocolate Chocolate Treat ride with a very fun group of people. We went to Chocolate, Chocolate - Merbs - and a few other coffee places and finally ending up at Bailey's Chocolate bar. The ride was a very slow 27 miles and I had a very good time.

Sunday - No cross. The temp. was off the charts warm. This was road season weather (plus I had no seatpost). I went on Knucklehead and it was awesome. Hubbers Kevin, Marc (the ride annihilator) Matt and New Hubber Jeff. The pace was great going out and great on the Strucker Road section - really light. When we hit Clayton, Marc took off at the front - I mean really took off. Going back, the pace was 27-28 mph. I took my turns at the front and had a blast.

Rain, Rain Go Away - but it makes for some damn good cross!

2009-11-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks in recap-

First the rain. There have 12 dry days in the entire 31 days in October. Forth wettest month in Missouri history. Every day I wanted to ride - RAIN!

Second - Our fixed gear rides have begun! (sort of - the RAIN!) Our plan is to ride Tuesday at 6:30 with Maplewood and 8:30 on Thursday. The plan on Thursday is to ride to Forest Park, around and back. Maybe if the fucking rain stops long enough to ride, we will actually be able ride it. We officially kicked off the winter with the Tuesday ride. In attendance was myself, Andy and El Cavano. The ride was fast, but the fixed gear proved worthy. I will say two things about this ride. First 0 there are some yea-hoos - who do the whole blow through stop lights which is pretty nuts. We weren't on the road for two minutes and a couple of guys rode through a light and almost got hit. Now some will say they choose not to associate themselves with rides like this - and I say you are approaching it all wrong - GO - Watch - Enjoy.

Third - Still commuting - going good. So far I have rode everyday but one - The RAIN!

Fourth - Nothing to do with me - On Wed. I had the honor of taking the two girls to Miley Cyrus - Yeah - I know - Dad of the year. Judy and the Team Rev girls went on their Halloween ride. On this one - well the old saying goes - A picture is worth a thousand words! Wow - That's the Mrs.

Fifth - Cross:

Jefferson Barracks C Race -
JB sucked. Hubbers in attendance: Bill and Matthew. B Race - Robert, Matthew - Brian A race - German The course was super difficult for me - a lot of technical for me and some power runs in some thick ass grass. Also - The C race is no joke. Guys showing up in deep dish carbons - and many cat 3's. So my run of problems. First - I miss the start. What the hell. The group is lined up and I am on the other side of the course coming down a hill. I jump the course and ride across the field just in time for the whistle. Damn - I started out like a bat out hell to get position and after the first lap I was redlined. Good idea - redlined after lap one with like 10 more to go - WTF. Judy and Grace came out to watch my suffering. Into lap three, I came off the a hill run-up and and as I rode down I rolled the tubeless off the rim as I went sideways off the bike right in front of the family. I popped up and ran, with bike in tow more than half the course to the pit. Although it was a shitty run, it was nice to say to everybody passing me - Hi Bill - Hi Matthew. After I got to the pit, wheel changed, I was back out. As I wound through the technical part, I tried to pass a slower lady on the inside of a turn and Bam - pancake into the mud. I laid on my back and looked at the sky not quite knowing what to say. I sucked so bad I was not even scored. Stupid JB

Halloween Night Cross - Creve Coure Lake C Race -
A blast. Hubbers in attendance: Bill and Alice B Race - Robert, Matthew, Heine and Dave Smith A Race - German
So I dressed up as Abe Lincoln - complete with a top hat, suit and beard. Man, was I frying. The C race was full of costumes including a gorrilla, Super Mario and a crazy dude in some fucked up tie-dyed leotard. The ladies were all decked out including Supergirl and a bevy of Hooters Girls (these stick out in my memory). The best costume was Heine in a full rabbit outfit with the ears sticking through the helmet.
The race itself was fast at times but the course became super muddy. By the end of our race, the course was nothing but soupy mud. There was one section where the mud was 4 to 6 inches deep, Near the end, it was quicker for me to hop off and run it rather than struggle through and ride it. I watched the A race and was amazed how the rode right through it. I finished 22nd with the beard in tact. Judy and the girls came out in full costume after trick or treating to root on Honest Dad and many Hub guys came up for the festivities including Ron, Andy and Kevin - it turned into a regular party - I stole the picture from Bill:

The Hub Party
First day of November and WTF - the sun! What a nice day for a Hub party. Judy and kids went with me and we had a good time beer, food, beer, and hanging out. Danny brought the video from the Tour of Missouri when he and Heine dressed up and ran along side the Tour as they climbed the hills on stage four - Danny looked hilarious as Dog the Bounty Hunter and Heine was wearing no shirt and a Chinaman's hat.

To Hurl or not to Hurl - that was the question?

2009-10-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

It had been forever since my last post - so...Let's JUMP to it!

Nothing memorable to write in the two weeks except it has been unseasonably cold and rainy here n St. Louis - and with that comes a huge degree of illness. My Wife - sick as a dog - my kids became sick - and somehow I have survived, barely - never sick, though never 100 percent.

Over the two weeks, I have commuted every Monday and Wednesday to work - I really like this - even in the cold and rain.

I missed riding after work on Tuesday and Thursday - we had some night duties and when we got the chance, it was pouring.

The one memorable event was riding the Maplewood Night ride. I rode with Judy, Stephanie and Cory. Judy and I left about 5 min early to make sure we got up Southwest and then waited fro the group. We missed a turn, but caught the group on Broadway. These people on the ride were dicks! The four of us were the only sane people there. These guys blew through stop lights and were pricks to us. When Judy and I arrived, no one said hi and they were looking me up and down - fuckwads. To top it all off, Around Kingshighway, Judy had a flat. Nobody waited! Yes, in the middle of the city in the middle of the night one a supposedly no drop ride, nobody waited. Three guys even had to balls to ask - do you guys have everything - to which I replied - yes and then they rode off! As the passed Steph and Cory - they said - don't worry, they have everything, to which Cory replied - and they have friends who wait! What a douche bag group of riders. I changed the flat and we rode back. I have heard Maplewood is canceling the ride.

OK - the biggy - for me Cross racing has begun. Admittedly I suck at this. For some reason (my fat over-weight ass) I can never push as hard as others. I really have fun doing it - I do wish I could do better - so I'll let that be.

BUBBA #1 Night Cross - Faust Park.

*The weather - cold, it even sprinkled during the day.

*The ground, like soup (I stoped once at the run-up because I thought I must have a flat).

*The course - If there was a flat section - I must have been delirious and missed it. The best part was this super steep run-up with a 180, down to a 90 degree into a steep hill around a corner and into another hill.

*The degree of pain - for me this was the hardest cross race hands down. For me finishing it was a victory. There were more than a few drop-outs including a few guys stopping to puke in the woods. SOme didn't even do that. I came up the run-up and saw Yo-Yo standing at the top puking-up telling me to go by.

*The performance by me - not good. I honestly thought I would do better. I know I'm not good at this, but come-on. Robert asked me before the race why I wasn't doing the C race - good fucking question. I really just wanted to race with people I know and at night. The C race was during the day. Also, I thought I would do better than I did. My lungs felt horrible and so did my body. In cross, as hard as I push - I just don't seem to go fast. I don't get it. Oh well. I d enjoy the atmosphere and racing with people I like. I do not know if I will continue on the B race or drop to the C's. It really depends on who is racing. Cross for me is all about the spirit of fun.

*The aftermath - I didn't know they ended the damn race and I did one more lap than I needed to - WTF - the whole race I never could find the lap cards or anything. I was not alone in this. When I got back to car, my lungs were so full of snot I thought I was going to vomit. I kept saying I feel sick and Bill and Heine finally told to shut-up or I was going to make them sick! We got back to the start and had good chili, a brat and beer while we rooted on Devin and Alex. German is an animal. He stayed with Josh Johnson the entire race and finished second. It was awesome to watch. It should be a great year for him. Watching him race, he could go pro he was that good.

*The goals - well, I couldn't race today - family and I had the back stairs to finish (which turned out nice) - so my goals are to push forward. I hope to show up at the Thursday practice at Forest Park - man, I need it!

Dorothy, we're not in Kansas!

2009-10-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

(This thing was in the middle of nowhere - the stange shit you see)

Monday - Commuted to work in a super strong wind - felt good. I really like commuting at night.

Tuesday - rode after work with Michael and Jeff for about 20 miles- felt good. Came up to the light at Lindbergh and Clayton and while we were waiting a hot looking MILF pulled up next to us in a brand new 135i BMW convertible. Michael said something about the make of the car and she heard and started a small talk conversation. Michael said, "Well, that's a good looking car." To which I added, "and you look pretty good in it." Michael than said, "Yeah, the contents aren't bad either." Just than the light turned and she liked giggled and gave us one of those waves and she sped off - you could tell the chick was flattered. We were cracking up. I guarantee there is some fat out of shape fuck living in some big Ladue house who got laid that night and was wondering what the hell came over my wife on a Tuesday! Well, you should thank us, you fat ass.

Wednesday - Commuted my 25 miles

Thursday and Friday - No riding

Saturday - Ok here it goes. Judy did her 5 century's and earned her Jersery. I committed to ride them with her, except one when I was in Kentucky. So...do I do the last one and get the Jersey - Oh, hell yeah. Sandy Creek. 100 lovely and hilly miles in Jefferson County. I did this 4 years ago and they have radically changed and eased the course. Don't get me wrong, it was still a lot of climbing, but it was really doable. The last time, it was 109 miles, in 100 degree heat and had way more fucked up Jefferson County hills - only 30 people (me being one of them) finished. I swear, when I finished that ride I was crying in pain. This time around was not as bad. I counted 8 ball-buster, true Jefferson county hills - you know the messed up - out of control grades. The rest of the ride was nice rollers. I met up with Jeff from work and we decided to ride the first 64 miles together. We had a blast - how could you not, it's Jefferson County, home of Meth and wacknutsWe jammed out the pace and passed people like crazy - we also passed all the rest stops. On the 3rd and last rest stop, the guy told us we were numbers 2 and 3. After lunch, Judy showed up and rode the last 36 miles with me. I swear I thought the first 64 easier than the last 36. Judy started out slow but really picked herself up. It turned out to be a perfect amount of miles for her and it was great riding with her. This was my favorite ride with her this year and she did a great job - this her first taste of Jefferson County! The best part of the ride was this dead skunk in the middle of the road 50 yards from the finishYeah, I bunny hopped the thing! (Don't tell PETA)

Summer is over - but road season isn't?

2009-09-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

First - props to The Hub Cross Team for sweeping the podium at Hermann Night Cross - what a race to miss!

Monday: Commuted to work - It was the last week of summer and cold. It poured on the way home and I was soaked. My new Chrome pack is awesome. I swear I rode in a downpour and my pack was completely dry. The best $26 I remember spending!

Tuesday: Rode after work with Michael and Jeff - I felt really tired. I was getting my ass waxed as I struggled on the hills

Wednesday: Commuted to work. Tomorrow is the last day of summer - to celebrate, as I was riding through Forest Park, a whole sorority from Wash U was out running with almost EVERY girl in a sports-bra - I tried to look sly while doing it, and although it didn't turn out, I had to take a photo for the blog! (man my phone camera sucks!)

Thursday: Rode with Michael and Jeff after work. I felt a lot better.
When I got home, Judy gave me the red light to go to Forest Park Cross Practice. I just got my new Hutchinson Bulldog tubeless on my Sl's so this was my first time on them. Cross practice was pretty cool. They did these three lap races which was pretty fun. My problem was the course was SO twisty that I would loose the course as it overlapped more worn sections. On the last race, 4 guys were on my wheel and I missed a turn a rode everybody right off the course - my bad.

Friday: No riding

Saturday: Did the HUB ride - Felt Ok - I was looking for a milder paced ride, but with these guys it is always game on. My only problem was the transition from Mason to Conway. As we went through the stop sign up the little hill, the guy in front of me(shall remain nameless) let a break form. Mark blasted around and the guy in front of me did not move. So I took the initiative to close the gap. I had to go around him and try to sprint, with him making zero freaking effort. Well I was getting gassed because I suck and this is my weakness, Devin and the other Mark on the tandem came blasting by and the dude who let it all happen was on the tandem's wheel. What a douche - I was blew up and was off the back. It's one thing to suck and get dropped, but I felt fine and this just really pissed me off. Oh well, I finished and that was that. I didn't want to go that hard anyway.

Sunday: Knucklehead - would have taken a picture, but my phone died. We had a great Hub crew - Ron Clipp showed up late, Andy, Kevin, Marc, Mark on the tandem with his wife and Eddy. Michael R. was on the ride. Did the short route and it was freaking fast. Going up Kehr's Mill was a ballbuster - but I was in there fine - Marc M. and Vince from Big Shark was pushing the pace. Everything was fine and then... Deja Vu - my buddy Michael R. put the spank on me this time. I was taking the pull down Clayton by Straubs at 24 mph - a fine strong speed - and Michael came around me at 28+mph laughing, so I had to jump on his wheel and jam to keep up with him. As we come to the short downhill right before the steep sprinter hill be Principia, he pulls off gassed leaving me the front again - I had no choice but to pull into the hill - I tried to jam it at 20mph but I know this game plan. Marc, followed by Kevin came blasting by with the train in tow going right by me. On the back...Yeah you know it, Michael. There was no way I could jump on and that was that. Luckily, we were right at the end of the ride, so caught up with Kevin at Geyer and we waited for Ron and Andy and than rode back. Ok... this is NOT going to happen next week!!!! You hear that Michael and nameless guy!

Feeling Exposed - and missing the good stuff

2009-09-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of the "referees" at Monkey Joe's. This guy is running around with kids and cleaning the floor and his fly is wide open! All Judy and I could do is laugh (and take this picture). He walked over to a table with a mom and her kid and all the mom could do is cover her eyes - hilarious.

Ok - back to biking... I need a new bike - Ok - not this one. You should of seen the fat ass riding the Ghetto-cruiser!

So I've taken some time off from the whole scene. I've missed the Hub ride, Knucklehead, my blog, etc. since Gateway. It's not like I've porked up and not been on the bike, it has just been nice laying up. I have been commuting to work - always a plus to run into peeps like Bill I love riding to work - it makes me so happy. I have also been riding with Michael and Jeff after work, which has also been fun.

On Saturday I had big plans - Judy's last century and Night Cross in Hermann. I was super pumped for both rides. First was Judy's century - The Beer and Brat. This was a super century, great route and weather. Unfortunately, Judy got a little sick during the ride, but to her credit, she pushed through.I am really proud of Judy. She made the commitment to ride all 5 and she did. As I peddle next to her, she always says, "this is nothing to you." Well, it is something for her - and I am proud of her accomplishment- way to go!

The century took a little longer than I thought and I was unable to make Night Cross. We would have arrived too late. The Hub was out strong - In the 4's was Bill, Loren, Dave Smith, and The Hub took the podium with Robert, Rock and Eric Seaver! (EL CAVANO!) The Hub had guys in every race - It should be a great cross season. I turned my SL's into tubeless - can't wait!

Gateway Cup 2009

2009-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a long post with tons of grammatical mistakes so get over it. I just got finished scarfing down an entire Imos Pizza! My Gateway Cup goal: Finish. Congrats to Cat 4's Michael P and myself - signed up for four and completed four! I finished every race, didn't fall off once, and although suffered, had a great weekend. I wished I could had been more effective with teamwork, I wished I would have placed in one race - but for me - this weekend was a success and a good way to end my season. There, you have it in a nutshell!

Race 1: Lafayette Square - 92 riders - Hub: Marc M, Bill, Lendell, Michael P, Bryan S, Peter, and Tom
Question - What do you get when you take 92 Cat4's and race them down the start/finish straight-away at 30 plus mph? This!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf1v3AR3zBE
(I have no idea how to upload a video!)
The biggest crash I have ever been in - a conservative guess, 40-50 went down, including me, hard. I was feeling great during the race. I was sitting in a perfect place, using no energy, waiting for my turn at the front when I was to lead out The Hub train with Marc as our man. I had the game plan all ready, I was going to go and the second to last lap on the back side, right before turn three, take it wide and lead us into the straight-away and turn one before I was gassed. I actually said to Bill right before the crash that the race was getting dicey at the front! So anyway, into the straight-away and a guy at the front in the middle went down, don't ask me much. I was on the far right by the fence, I would guess my speed at around 32 mph, and down I went. All I remember was seeing a guys wheel sticking straight up and my mouth slamming right into it. The next thing I remember was lying on the ground clutching my bleeding knee and Andy helping me up. I slammed my knee hard and think I was balling for a minute. The entire race was neutralized and I lined up at the pit for a quick bike fix. The only thing that pissed me off was the way they restarted - the sent the guys from the line and when they were passing, sent us. Those guys hit thirty by the pit and then we were supposed to go! Bullshit! I took me almost 3/4 of a lap to catch the field - I was smoked. I turned to a guy next to me and I was like - that was tough - and I think he had the same look I did and he was spent. I tried to rest to execute our plan, but the race had changed for me and I called out to Bill that I was out. I finished in the 50's - After all that I was happy. I had fun hanging out afterwards - a good time.

St. Louis Hills - 87 riders - Hub: Michael P, Bill, Peter, Robert
Showed up and my knee was hurting but I was determined to go. This was a great course. It seamed like you just sailed along the whole way. The weather cleared up and it was a great day of racing. The only problem was the sewers - especially on turn three. With the way I was feeling the Gateway Cup was going to become a weekend of survival. This race was a notch faster than Lafayette and yet, it felt really fun. We came into the second to last lap and Robert almost crashed out, somehow saved it, and dropped back. I came into the final turn of the last lap with a full head of steam and this Big Shark guy flew across my path and almost took me out, causing me to break into the turn and I lost a lot of momentum and several places. All said and done, I finished strong and, for me, it was a good race - no pics.

The Giro de Italia (The Hill)- 95 riders- Hub: Michael P, Bill, Lendell, Bryan
This was the race I feared. I knew this was going to be hard - and for Bill - My ASS is fat too! That hill takes it out of you. The first lap, you know its there, the 15th lap...FUCK! I was determined to finish.
My first goal was to get a good start position. This is one of those races where it is non-stop speed and tight corners which makes moving position difficult and will punish you - First goal - failed. Shitty start position - near the back. The race started and guys spazzed going into the first corner and I was forced to brake, losing further ground - AHHH. Oh well, I was mid pack and the race was on. At one point I found myself near the back as I passed Judy in turn 3 and all I thought was "not this race!" I quickly moved up to mid pack and was determined. In the last lap, our main guy Lendell got caught in a crash, which I avoided on the opposite side of the rode and I rode in with the pack. Success for me. Afterwards guys said this was there hardest race of the year. The speed was extreme up that hill - over 30 at times. The best part:

Downtown, Tour of Missouri - 105 riders - Hub: Michael P, Lendell, Peter
This race looked easy, but man was this a cave of pain. I do not know how many fresh legs were in the pack, but the speed was insane for me. The course had a long gradual hill, into a tight turn, with sprinklers on, a straight, and a 110 degree turn (which I never felt good with) a long straight that was bumpy as hell, into a tight turn which was a sprint into the final turn onto the straight. This whole race was a tough it out - that hill turned into a painful experience. Usually during a race, when I start to hurt, I check the time, which usually gives me a pick-up, yo u know, only a couple of min. left, etc. I looked at the time - 16 min. AHHHH only 45 to go! I stayed tough, was never able to do much but survive, and avoid the crashes. The last lap, turn two, crash fast. I saw a ZIPP rear wheel sticking up in my path and I just blasted through it. I saw Tom Valvo after the race and I saw him crash in turn three and I said, "nice baseball slide" He said he crashed twice in the race! When I finished, man did it fell good - Corona time!

Tour of Missouri - Stage 1 Hub - Nobody (Haha!)
After my race, it was cool - went back to all their team trucks with their bikes and stuff. It was really cool - man do they have some equipment! While we were walking through, I had my bike and we passed the Liquigas crew and this Italian mechanic looked my bike up and down with disgust! I was like hey man, I'm poor - back off! It was pretty funny. Judy met Christain Vandervelde and I almost lost her (thank God Cavendish wasn't there, I would have needed a bucket and mop to wipe up all the drool)!
We hung out on Broadway and Lynch which was a great spot because we saw them coming up Broadway and then 2 min. later, turning on Broadway from Lynch. We camped out in the middle of the road and they got so close to us, one time Bella, standing on the curb, fell backwards!
It was funny. Pretty cool to see the pros.

A long post and a good weekend. Now I'm going to bed. Looking forward to Cross - Sept. 19 - Hermann Night Cross - bring it!

By the way - The mechanic who does the Pit for Sram - ponytail guy - he is a tool.

The Night Before

2009-09-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok - here it is - the night before Gateway!
Am I ready? You know, I think so. We will have to wait and see.

A good week - I couldn't commute on Monday - I was really bummed

Tuesday - rode after work with Michael and Jeff. I set it up that Michael would attack a few times - each time he did, I reacted well. I felt really good.

Wednesday - I commuted to work - felt great to ride. I must admit, Forest Park was very disappointing - chilly weather.

Today - Well... I pulled my messenger bag off my desk during class and my laptop fell out and as it was headed for the floor, the corner landed right in the middle of my foot! Man, this laptop is heavy. Luckily, the laptop was saved but my foot is killing me. Just the luck! I'm sure it will be OK for tomorrow. I rode after work on a nice, easy ride.Felt nice to spin! Tomorrow is Lafayette! Bring it on! The Green Machine will roll!

One Week to Go!

2009-08-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well - going into the one week to Gateway - Am I ready?Fuck No - I'm a suck-ass, but it is what it is.

Monday - commuted to Harris Stowe - nice ride and I saw Bill H on the cross bike! The commute is nice - especially through Forest Park (you know it!)

Tuesday - Started the Tour de Ladue - was fun, I had a lot of gas in the tank. Should of raced, but it was the only night I would see the kids. Later that night I dropped Loren's Monster bike off at his house, and while driving back, I saw Ron working late at the shop, so I stopped by. He was in a state as he was trying to put adult training wheels on a bike - no shitting - adult training wheels. This was a two man job, so I stayed and helped - they are the funniest things I have seen on a bike! Of course we had to ride it around the shop.

Wednesday - commuted to Harris Stowe - nice ride and I saw Bill H in the same spot, on the cross bike! Missed The Hub team meeting.

Thursday - rode after work - once again, I had a good amount of gas.

Friday - went to the Cardinals game with Ron, Kevin and Andy.We had a blast! What more could you want, front row parking, great seats (in the Red Bird Club), and walk off home-run by Albert Pujoles and beer. Unfortunately, too much beer (2 before the game, 4 at the game, 3 at Venice Cafe and 4 at Tower Pub) I think you get the story for Saturday - I thought I would take the day off! Props the Ron and Kevin for making The Hub ride - I was "praying" a little in the morning. I'm in Gateway training! I think the training bible said this is what great riders do the week before a big 4 day race!

Sunday - Rode Knucklehead with Mark, Kevin, and Bill. Felt great - did a monster pull through the valley that kind of smoked me, but I recovered and got on the front a bunch more times. The pace was fast, but not ballbusting. The group ended with 12-15 guys at the end. Later that day I rode with Judy and had a really nice ride. It's nice to ride with Judy.

THE HUB BITCHES RULE - 11th Place!

2009-08-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day of school - I was really smoked this week - going back to work when you have the summer off is like winning the lottery and having somebody take it away! Oh yeah - Judy and I made STLTODAY - and yes, everybody at work saw it - AHHHHH!

Tuesday - rode after work by myself for an easy 20 miles - felt really good. That night was Tuesday Night Worlds - I felt pretty good going into it. We had a large HUB crew unlike last week. My goal this year, as said repeatedly, is to go off the front as much as I can. This time I went off the front three times! The race started really sketchy. Into the second turn at the bottom of the hill, three guys crashed into each other - luckily I had my buddy Bryan pushing me into it! - just joking. After the crash I said to this dude next to me - "here we go" knowing the guys on the front would hammer - and they did. Things never settled down - the pace was super fast - not allowing for any breaks on the front. My first time off the front I soloed a whole lap by myself - I went across the start finish line and took into the downhill turns - when I reached the base of the hill, I looked back and I had a quarter of a lap - so I jammed it up the hill and slowed up to recover. The second time - a huge break occurred off the front - One group of four and a second group. I saw Mark go and I jumped too. I was able to close on the group which felt great. The break fell apart right after I got there and we were gobbled up. I went off the front a third time up the hill, but never really got anywhere. By the end of the race I was gassed, but finished with the pack.

Afterward a large group went to TACO TUESDAY at the Tower Pub. A great time. I think there was eight of us and I think we had eight pitchers of beer! Luckily we all made our way home without a BWI (Biking while drunk).

Wednesday Night Throwdown was my last of the year - and it sucked the big dick. Everything was going great - I was near the front and the pace was hammer fast. When we hit Mason going to Conway, I covered two gaps - out of saddle type shit, and by the time we hit Conway, I was smoked. I can't believe I couldn't close that small gap - but I was officially gassed. I rode in with a small group and that was that.

Out t-shirts came in! the look great! Now Chris Miller isn;t the only one with a Hub racing shirtYou hear that Chris Miller - Now I have a t-shirt too - yeah, that's right!

Thursday - I commuted to Harris Stowe - good times!

Friday - The Hub Bitches Ruled. Went to Team Seagal's Non-Race #2 at Lost Valley. A great time and a great spoke card. This is only my third time Mountain Biking and my first time at night. We had a four man relay and copious amounts of beer. Our team: THE HUB BITCHES was made up of Ron, Andy and Devin. Team Seagal always puts on a rockin' event and this was fantastic. I only crashed three times - once into a tree - and I think I consumed 9 Coronas! No matter, I didn't get home until 12:30 and was feeling good! A big thank you to Loren Cavano and his 29'er Kona Unit and lights - I felt like a monster truck on this thing!

Saturday Hub ride - I hung back and rode with the slow group - I even took my cross bike planning for a laid back ride. A lot of people were there and it was a nice ride. I was going to do Knucklehead but Judy and I went out Sat. Night and I was tired and slept in. It was nice to rest.

I Finally Won Something - and turned 38

2009-08-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Week: A great week - full of commuting. I'll tell you, there is something about commuting that makes so much sense. When I get to work, I feel good, awake, refreshed. Commuting is a major key to biking. I was sick of using my messenger with one strap. I know tons of guys who love these things, but they just piss me off, always shift when I ride, and they seem heavy. I wanted the backpack kind - so I checked on ebay and found a mint condition Red Chrome Dually (reg. $140) going for $26 bucks - so I bid and won! Kick Ass!

Monday - Can't remember - it was the last day of daddy day camp - so I think I did no riding.

Tuesday - Commuted to work and drop off Judy's car and...
Tuesday Night Crits - An OK race - didn't do much, just hung in there. The Hub was in low attendance for the race. Pretty much it was me and Mark representing the Cat 4's. I was in the race and finished with the pack. My problem during the race was every time I tried to move my position up, like take to the outside and expend the energy, I would tuck back in and be exactly were I started. I could not advance my position so I finished where I started.

Wed. Commuted to work and to pick up Judy's car. I was unable to ride the Hub ride due to baby sitting issues. I heard it was the Wed. Night record - 22.4 mph - up from 22.1 (which I was a part of!)

Thursday - a big commuting day - rode to St. John's for a stress test - than to work - than to Harris Stowe and than home. The stress test went fine - resting heart rate-57

Friday - took the day off - It was my Birthday!!!! 38 years old!

Saturday - Woke up late for The Hub ride - so I rode the ride backwards and met up with the group. I felt really tired so it was a perfect ride. That night was The Naked Bike Ride: My thoughts - I did not do this (my job and shit like that) but he's the reality - what in the hell are these people protesting. I mean - half these fucks can barely ride a bike. Alright -this chick is hot(one reason to go) but how much commuting or bike riding do these fucks do? Any excuse to ride bikes and go naked is a plus for me - but drop the protest shit unless you really do it!
Support Team Wonderbike!

Sunday: New Belgium Urban Assault - or as I like to call it - MY KNEE HURTS Ride My teammate was Judy - Team: Which way do we go George!
This was a great time - teams dressed up and rode around the city to the City Museum, Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove Park - to name a few places. Challenges included big wheels races, throwing wet sponges at Judy and of course drinkingnaughty girl scout - but always prepared! So what did we win? Best Costume - The Scouts! We got a ton of quality shit for winning - A Timbuktu bike bag, hat, t-shirts, boxes of Cliff Bars, etc. and - who hasn't had a girl scout fantasy!

Prairie Doggin' It

2009-08-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. What a weak week - not a lot of training.

Monday - no go.

Tuesday Night Crits. Fast and a small Hub crew - in attendance was Bryan, Kevin, Mark, Robert and Tom Laury doing his first B race - with a super strong finish!The race was fine - I was sitting in - about 15 or min. into the race I felt I needed to do some work so I moved up near the front as we came across the line when a prime lap was announced - as I came around the back corner - everything opened up in front of me so I went for it. I shouted to Tom as I came by - and took off on Mark's wheel. As we came around the to the start-finish line, two Gateway guys launched a major sprint and took the prime - I came across in fourth behind Mark - two other guys were there also. We had a huge gap on the pack, a good quarter of a lap as we came around the backside - a few tried to get something organized, but I was smoked - I mean really gassed. I pulled to the side and let the pack pass and moved in near the back to relax, but no good. After about two more laps, I fell off the back - AHHHH! I fell back in on the back and rode the rest of the race out.

Wednesday - could it get more sucky. I was doing fine until we hit that back circle around Babler. I fell off the back and that was it. I really tried to put it into gear and make up some ground. I came about 30 seconds to catching them at Litzsinger but missed them. I do not know why I suck on this ride? I should be stronger but I am weak. After the ride we went with Team Revolution to Llywelyn's Pub - me and 20 chicks - OK.

Thursday and Friday - no go (Wow, I wonder why I am weak!)

Saturday - My Wedding Anniversary! (11 years) What better way to celebrate than 100 miles! The Prairie Dog Century. 100 hilly miles in 100 degree heat. Could it get any better. Judy did a great job! This ride was hilly and many people vaged out. At the last rest stop, two guys called contracted pussitiss and called it quits while Judy got and rode on. While we were coming in, we saw another guy knock off the last five miles and cheat. Judy did the whole thing! Four down, one to go.

Into August

2009-08-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

A fairly good week of riding - can't comment much on eating.

Monday - can't remember what the hell I did - but I think I took the day off
Tuesday - I was planning on riding Tuesday Night Crits but it got rained out.

Wednesday Night Throwdown - Fast (21.6) but I held on fine and dandy, even keeping up on Conway and I was in the sprint but finished at the back - it was nice to be there.

Thursday - went with Judy and Rich Witt over to O'Fallon, IL for a Metro East Cycling no-drop group ride. It was 30 miles on the backroads, very nice. The pace was brisker than I thought, 18 mph for the country on a relatively flat/moderate hilly no drop ride - they said it was the fastest they have gone all year. Afterwards we went back to Rich's pad and drank! I could get used to going over there!

Friday - No riding

Saturday - The Hub ride was painful - I was not feeling well - Judy came home sick Friday and I guess I picked a little something up. The whole ride was painful for me. It started on the first big effort up Geyer and continued until I got shelled. The whole 35 miles sucked. No fucking pictures here.

Sunday - Knucklehead. I felt much better. Rode with Kevin and Mark. The ride out is always slow and then the jets were turned on when we hit Strucker Road. Myself, Kevin and this guy Pierre pulled through the bottoms and through the hills shelling most of the group. When we hit Clayton, there were about 12 guys (didn't shell enough). I was taking a drink at the intersection when the light turned so I was on the back, not happy. By this point I was feeling great and wanted up front. I pulled out and passed to the top people, and this one prick would not let me in. This guy is a douchebag and has been yelled at by others on the ride. I was like, listen fuck, this isn;t a race and I have been doing 1/3 of the work. So I got pissed and took off and passed Kevin (not like a break, just came quickly around him) on the front. I jammed a pull and all of sudden this douche rode up along side and passed me. Than I was super pissed - so I hung his wheel and looked for the slightest let up - when we hit half way up a hill (nothing big) I came around him with force, Kevin on my wheel and we pushed him out (this was racing mode!) It would have been cooler if we did not not get stopped at a light. Oh well. I hate fucks like this. This guy is the same guy that one Big Shark racer, nice guy, can't remember name, yelled at a couple weeks ago for not knowing how to ride with a group. When we hit that super tough incline by Principia School, Kevin and I lit it up going way off the front - nice. The group rejoined at Ballas and that was the ride.

I really wanted to ride the State Crit this weekend on Sunday - I think I might have done OK - but my sister's son was being baptized - so that was out. I was kindof siked for doing the Maters 35 plus category - Oh well.

Chicago Sucks! - Not the Crit or the city -I mean the band.

2009-07-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Chicago Criterium - Although I wish I did better - I had a blast!

Judy and I left Friday around seven and we stayed on the outskirts of the city in a cheap hotel. the drive down was the worst - we got caught in a blinding thunderstorm and had to pull off the highway for an hour - truly the worst storm I had been in.

As far as the race goes - my efforts were divided 10% on racing and 90% on a nice get-a-way with Judy. She even took her bike, which was awesome. We finally arrived in the city around 2:00 the next day and had a great time in the city. A perfect example of disproportional efforts was the night be fore the 8:50 race, Judy and I stayed out until 1:00 a.m. eating fondue and drinking! I literally left the port-a-potty 3 min. before start - although I felt a lot lighter!

The race: The venue was amazing - right down Michigan Avenue and back down Columbus - the course had two very sketchy corners and a 100 meter incline that did damage every lap. The field was filled on the starting line - 125 riders. This is no joke - our field was filled with pre-reg and had a waiting list. Next to the pros (200), our field was the largest. I had never raced with so many racers. The start was huge. This was one of the fastest races I had been in. Bill and I showed up ready to race. Before I left, Henie and Ron told me this would be a 35 min. plus 2 sprint and they were not joking. From the gun, it was balls out. Every time I hit that little hill, it was out of saddle, full sprint. The straight away was directly into the wind and every time we came through the line, I looked down and my speed was 30 mph.
On the back side, around the half circle was balls out. Before the race, Bill and I said it would be cool to take a flyer at the 10 min lull. I said, there might not be a 10 min. lull and man, was I right. For most of the race I sat in there fine. Up near the front for a while, dropped back, moved up, grouped up with Bill and a rider from Big Shark who does our Wed. night rides (name skips me). with one lap to go in time, before the final 2, they put a $100 prime on the line. Triple XXX got up front and must have done some killer blocking. Coming into the turn before the hill the pack came to almost a standstill - I mean truly almost a complete stop - and then - Bam up the hill into the two left. This is were a fucked up. I was near the back and the sprint up the hill was equal to an effort at the end of the race - I could not accelerate (FONDUE - MELTED CHEESE!) and found myself gapping into the straight away. Once again, I could not pull 30 mph and the gap widened quickly. If I was up more - no shit - I would have been fine. The entire race was at my max, but I was always in it, until this point. I finished the race at 78 out of 125. I sucked falling off so close to the end. Bill did a lot better, staying with the pack and finishing. The entire race was very sketchy - I guess because it was a constant sprint, I was never able to find a groove and get comfortable. Bill had a little accident and this other dude went beserk on him for bumping into another dude and taking him down. He was yelling, "It's on you Hub, It's on you!" Bill - shake it off - it's crit racing - and thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would have finished 79!

This was one of the best run races I had been a part of. The course marshalls were awesome. Because of blind corners and sweeping circles, each had a whistle and would blow it when riders came by, altering the people up ahead. How they closed these major streets was amazing, and people seemed really cool with it. The 3's race was also fast, but I do not think it was a jerky out of the corners, which was what killed me. Dave Smith and Alex German represented The Hub.

After the race, Judy and I switched hotels and went on a bike ride down the bike path along Michigan Avenue. This was a nice slow ride, with tons of people all along the path. It was really fun to ride next to the beach and check out the scenery - (The beach and lake)! We made it back to watch the pro-race - big names like Chris Horner in his Astana kit was really cool. Brad Huff won the race.

That night myself, Bill and Dave with our families, met up for some good Mexican food, ice-cream and the ESPN zone. A really fun evening - especially for this dude!

Came home today exhausted. I totally plan on doing this event next year, hopefully doing a little better.

Week on the bike

2009-07-23T14:25:00.002-07:00

HELLO Michael Rawitscher! It was good to hear from you.

Sunday: Got home from the lake and did the Hour of Power ride a little easy at 1:10 - nice to be spinning.

Monday: Went over to Illinois to ride with Rich Witt on the Metro East Cycling ride. A really nice, car quiet and fast course - Illinois farm roads - a little hilly - a perfect 30 mile ride. Took it easy, Avg. around 20 mph - which was pretty easy considering the course. It was nice to ride with Rich - especially the fancy drinks after the ride!

Tuesday Night Worlds - a really cool night - I rode to and from with a jacket on (in July)! The race started and I felt really good.
Bryan says "hi to all" When the race began, I quickly moved to the front and was in the top 5-10 for most of the race. With about 10 min into the race, I rode on the outside and Lendel let me in front, about forth from the front. As we came through the start/finish, a break went off the inside and Lendel jumped right on it. I saw it unfold and should of sprung with Lendel - but he jumped first and I was afraid I would pull people up to him - so I sat on the front with Mark and a Big Shark guy and did some awesome blocking. It was a blast. In the break was a Big Shark, Dogfish and of course The Hub - and we did a great job disorganizing any pursuit by Ghisallo and ICCC. One ICCC guy got all worked up that we wouldn't pull through and when we did, laid up. I drove the pace at one point and sat up as we crested the hill! Sweet! My goal was to move off the front, but with not being in the break, I was content to work at the front. With about 25 min in the race, I started to gas and dropped back. I was in the sprint but finished mid-pack.

After the race, we (Bill, Devin, Bitch Tits, Eric and Robert) all rode over to Burrito Loco and did our own Taco Tuesday. I swear they served the biggest burrito I ever had. I could only eat half the thing - this is what was left over: Ole'

Wed. Night Throwdown - BUSTED!: A large group, good weather. I begged Heine for a little warm up before the thrashing began - I think he obliged, not quite sure! When we were climbing the hill on Geyer, we rode through the stop sign and were caught by a sitting cop. Pretty funny and he was really cool, telling us to slow down as we went through - nice. The pace quickly picked up again. My only complaint, which was huge, happened at Babler and Ladue. While turning on Ladue, a car came around the bend and split the group into about 2/3 that went and 1/3 that waited. I was in the wait group. The front group did not wait and lit it up down and up the hill. I jumped on the wheel and Heine pursued back up to the group. This blew up the back of the ride, dropping more than half the chase group. I was able to catch back on, but I was smoked. As we turned on Conway, I was hurting and I fell a little off the back. I was able to catch the group at Ballas. I was sort of pissed I felt fine the whole ride to this point and was saving this ball busting effort for Conway, not chasing the group! I was in the mix the rest of the ride and contested for the sprint - it felt good. AVG. 21.9 We all got stopped by the train at the end of the ride and waited with the Ladies ride and Judy!

That night we went to The Tin Can and met up with New Belgium and Ryan Van Duzer who is being sponsored by New Belgium to ride his bike across the US (Cal. to Wash DC) on a 3 speed New Belgium bike. Ryan was a really nice guy and advocates biking over driving through his program called Team Wonderbike. It was a nice small group (Ron, Andy, Ryan and my Misses from The Hub), great weather and free New Belgium beer! Check out Duzer's website www.ryanvanduzer.com. The guy is really funny and does a dance while crossing each state line - worth the view.

Thursday: Went our for a nice easy spin out West and rode Marshall - always a workout. Looking forward to Chicago this weekend. I am dropping some weight and can feel it in my cycling performance.