A Good Groove

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.