Summer and cycling

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

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?

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!

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!

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!

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

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!