Cycling, Boob grabbing and the One Kid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.