Czech your Speed Swed

Day two of CX weekend,Sacto #3

2009-11-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

I like this course, flat technical and the grass is real tight and FAST! Funny how one can get all stoaked for a douple dip specially when the start time is 1PM. Saturday night Got all my equipment ready to go in the Garage.

6 am: Sunday Morning, Man it's gloomy out there, the house is warm, coffee is good,Jammies are snuggly and I just got CXM issue #7! Man do I really want to brake this Folgers moment? Na I'm enjoying this quiet morning. Ummmm Oatmeal.

8:30 Guess I'll shower and do some stuff around the house. Dang it, I did house chores all last week, why should I waste this hall pass, I"m going racing!

9:30 All packed up headed for Sacto, ATM Get some Money, Coffee, Danish and I'm good.

9:42 Almost get pushed off the freeway by some doush-bag in a Suburban, GIDAFINGA-BUMPASS'S!

11:00 Arrive at Disco Park Sacto,Humm Not as big of turnout as last year, Probably because no NCNCA series this year. Fill out Reg, Talk to Cody Kaiser about his Euro season. He's glad to be back in Cali for some, ahem warm weather. I guess so compared to Belgium.

11:15 Start pre-race ritual,Preride course, Humm not a techy as last year, Guess it's the Tufo Flexus for today. Warm-up, What to do about pressure? 35/38 psi or 30/34 psi. bumpy, but fast, 30-34 it is.

12:50 Callup/line up

1:00 Staged rollout 35+ get a 60sec start,Nice. 1:01 Old Farts GO!!!!!!

1:01:12 Moving up through pack got the inside line, WTF! Flat on Ass in turn one, The front let go and hard. CRAP! should have used 35/38, DAMN!

1:01:20 Back on Feet, Chain back on. Going hard but watch it in the corners, watching the field move away with every turn, don't want to go down again.

1:05 Wheel pit, change wheel. Wheel on, GO red dog, go blue dog, go green dog,GO!

1:06~ 1:35 Catching riders in my field, 1,2,3,~10

1:39 2 laps to go, Crap I can't do this anymore,

1:40 I am soooo tired, How long can this go on,been working in a coalmine going down,down.

1:45 Rider #380 Your done! THANK GAWD!

All Said and done I still had a great workout, made some new friends. I chased the whole freaking race, caught a good 10 or so racers, but the real race was well ahead. Would have been nice to be in the mix but that's how CX is Gotta be ready and full on racing from the gun.
Next up Turkey dinner and some good ol mileage to burn off the T-day sins.

Later

CX weekend!

2009-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

LARPD#6

Got a 10th today shoulda woulda coulda done better. Low turnout today 20 or so in the 45+ B's, guess a lot of folks went to the Cow palace and from what I heard it sounded like the place to be for the atmos.

The course was shorter,faster and in the reverse direction which on paper sounded really cool until you went through the forest. WAY bumpy! guess all the dishing out of the bumps from the previous 5 races in the other direction makes for sharper bumps when headed the other direct. I got to the front of the line up and made it with the top 5 in the holeshot. I was leading out for a part of it but should have stayed hidden and ended up blown out getting through the forest.

Not too bad as once I detached from the lead 4 or 5 I had a decent lead on the field, however today I decided today was the day that I need to go single chainring set-up.

Everytime I got over the barriers and wanted to make a shift from the small to the large chaingring it was a hit or miss event. I kept loosing time every time I tried to change ring gear. ARGH!

I ordered the single ring conversion kit from Crossworld and will be making the conversion over the T-day Holidays.

NEXT!

BASP#2 Race Report

2009-10-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

Cat: Mstrs 45+B
Team mates: None
Place:30th (35:42)
Granted the BASP races are a bit more expensive that other races but Boy do they put on a show and it is truly worth the extra $5 reg few for such a well orchestrated event.
The Race: Man this was a hard mans race! The whole course was more or less held at the top of the knoll amongst the eucalyptus and loamy ground. Overall the course had a mixture or dirt, loam, Asphalt, sand and grass. I had to ask myself is it possible to go up hill more than downhill on a closed course.
The Start was from asphalt up the hill and transitioned onto the dirt. Not a hugely heated start but there was a real bad crash with a few riders going down with chains and frames a flying. Once past that crash I was making my way up the side of the group and trying to gain Position. On this course it’s really hard to do as a good portion was more or less single track give the lines were either on a beaten path or through a bunch of soft stuff, sticks and duff. The run up section was rid-able if you could find a clear line most cases you were stuck behind a train of bodies all grabbing for the same section of narrow real-estate. But at one point just before the top you had to dismount. Once up top you either had to hit it or take a moment to recover for the upcoming Sand pit. Once through the pit it was on to the softest grass covered soil I’ve ever been on, I couldn’t wait to get through it so I could hit asphalt and downhill section to try and gain some ground through the technical section. I wish I could recall more of the race as I was in oxygen debt and just trying to survive and it was a blur of passing bodies of both gaining and loosing positions.

The last lap I was being gained on by Jeff Sobul from Kaiser who I had passed when he dropped a chain through the barriers and had a few riders up front of me by maybe 5 secs. I figured, ya I’m not even close to the podium but at least I’m not dead last and I want to make sure of that. In cross racing it’s all about finishing Strong!
We are just getting through the Sandpit and it’s time to leave it all out there.
I put more pressure on the peddles and gain some ground. We get on to the asphalt and I figure I brought all 195lbs of me might as well use in on the gravity section and push harder. I get with in striking distance of a 35+ I need to pass to get to the 2 more 45+ guys. I hit it at the bottom of the next up hill get by the 35’r and just keep going to the top and get the two 45+’rs.

No time to let them figure out what happened and I just keep going. Now on to the last up hill , I just want this sufferfest over with! I get up on to the Finish area totally blown up, DONE!

Ugh..... Can I throw-up now?

You’d think guys hitting 45+ would slowdown, I think they just get faster and become real hard asses, WHOOF! Man that was the hardest CX race I think I’ve ever done for a 30th place, but after looking at the results of the 45+A race our times weren’t too far off at least for the lapped riders.

45+B winner (34:58)
45+A winner (38:14) I’ll have to assume they put a lap on us in the B’s.

I may just have to up my game and enter with the A’s to see just how hard an “A” race really is.
Cheers
Jim

Exercizing the Gear Gremlins LARPD#2

2009-09-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well by the title I'm sure you can tell how this one came out.

LARPD #2
Teammate: Ron Rel

This time I lined up just behind ol'CX buddy Greg Phipps at the front, Good to see Greg back out there after some phsiology issues got addressed. YA Greg!
The start was typical hurley burley CX start and I was in full gallup headin towards the first turn in about 10 or so for the whole field. I could See Rel got the holeshot, GO RON! around the corner and into the chips, If you can believe it a big guy like me got railed headin across the woodchips but I quickly got back on course after breathing in a woodchip be it a few spots down.

Slight course change from last week, less little Red Riding Hood through the trees, less winding around the grass and an addition of another set of barriers.....YUM! Nice barrier placement as well, the placement forced riders to run up a small bump before remounting. I like this. Oh ya and it rained that morning, not really muddy but at leastthe dust was down.
So onto the grass and MAN is this a power suck! However I am liking how the tubulars arerolling across the grass and bumpy stuff. Last weeks problem with the cut tire was a faulty air gauge I was running probably 15psi not good going across rocks! This time with a good gauge I'm running 40psi. Also I'm race testing a new technique for repairing the Tufo's, a glued in rubber plug. It's holding flawlessly and saved me about $120 for a new Tufo.

The race is settling in I'm catching some of the guys who went out too hard and some are catching me that went out too soft, either way the race is in full swing. I'm now 2 laps in and latched on to a Taleo and unattached riders wheel racing for 9th place sitting in forcing the pace from the back. The unattached eventually falls away and it's me and the Taleo guy for the next half lap. He's beginning to look tired and slowing up a bit. So I figure it's time to take overand make a move. The new barrier section is coming up and a perfect place to take a spot. We get off the bikes over the barriers, up the incline and I hop on the bike just a bit too hard and WHAM! My tire rolls off the rim. SOAB! Luckily the pit is just down the hill and I run the bike over. Unfortunatly the Change didn't go too well, Marianne Bless her heart again was there to help,but I couldn't figure how to get the wheel off. Luckily another Crosser swung over to lend a hand. Turns out the rear Canti and got caught just under the rim causing the wheel not to release.New wheel back on and its out for 2 laps to finish the race. I ended up in 15th even after a not so graceful change on my part. But hey that's what these first few races are for to gauge Fitness (or my lack) and to get the gear sorted out.

Again had a ball, good friends good racing. I'm gonna have to check and see if BBQ's are allowed so we can get some brats and brew going!

Cheers
Jim

Much a'deax about nothing, LARPD#1

2009-09-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Race: Mens 45+ B
Teammates Ron R.& Matt

Always excited for the first race of the season to get started and over with. Us IVCT guys were all lined up and ready to go, Huge turnout for the Mens B's, Me thinkest thar be some Sandbaggin for this first race;)
Pre rode the course to see how the land lays and the course, this race was in a new location across from the usual location at the Rodeo on the grass. Kind of interesting lay-out lots of twisting and turning on a big grass field before it moved over to some dirt trails amungst some scrub trees. I was a bit disappointed in that there was only one sectionof Barriers in the form of logs. then there was a lone log just aroudn the corner. Interesting position for the lone log. It was a choice of either remount just to dismount again or shoulder the bike and run the whole gamut. Seemed like the obvious choice was to run it as the time loss would be less to run. After the wooded area there was a couple of stretches of flat dirt road that if you've got your TT game on, you could make up some time.

So the line up for the race, Always the critical point. Great in theory better if practiced. Me I didn't practice it and should have shoved my way up to the front, Note for next week be agressive and just push my way to the front. They seperated the field into open B's and the ol'fart B's. Fair enough. Whistle goes off and the season is official WAAAAHOOOO! Good start everybody gets off to a safe start. After the first dirt section we are into the Grass I'm about 25 or so back and moving up some side patches. About 3 or 4 turns into the Grass I see Matt stack it up. looks like a little tire washout and he's on the deck. I see Ron Rel just up ahead and the pace is pouring on to get an early dominance. I look across when coming back on the turn Matt went down and he's back on his bike. Good deal!
Still working on some rusty cornering skills I'm loosing a little ground. A quick look at the HRM and WOW 203Bpm. I totally forgotwant a heart buster cx can be. Later I checked my peak and I hit 223! So mystery solved on defective HRM belt, I had replaced last years thinking it was a messed up unit. We're now in the Scrub treed section and headed for the logs.
Over those cleanly and I"m now clear of my bad habit on stomping on my peddle to remount my bike, I'm now officially jumping on to the saddle. For the most part I'm holding my place and not getting passed. I'm pretty happy with that, I see Rel just about 10~15 secs ahead and try to set my target on the Ron-imal. That dude is one tuff cookie, no skirts flapping from under his shorts!
Going past the S/F line and still in decent positionbut those Rocks inbedded in the road are killers. Bike handling skills are good getting through the soft stuff, Note to self go do some work out on Grass, not the medically approved type either!
Going into Lap I think 4, I hit a rock HARD! and cut my tubie. With in about 40' it was flat. Nice thing about Tubulars is that you can ride them flat right to the pit. Unfortunatly the Pit are was about a 1/2 lap into the course. So my race was pretty much over I'm seeing rider after rider go past me,m then finally I see Matt go past and yell to him Flat, good luck!

After a tire change and Bless Mariannes heart she ran from the S/F line to assist and off I went to finish the race. I have no idea where I placed but I do know one thing. I need a new floor pump. What I thought was about 35 Psi was substancially lower as my gauge was off. Oh well thats what these first races are about, get a feel for your fitness or in my case lack, also to dial in the equipment. Much more critical that the gear get ironed out as Cross if a beast on Gear.

The more important question wasn't where I placed but did I have fun? It's Cross of course I had fun!

Better luck next week.
Jim

Warnerville the un-race report

2009-04-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

This will be a short one.I came into the race with questionable fitness after being off the bike for an extended period of time fighting off that real nasty cold, My fitness was in the dumps. My plan for the race if you can call it that was to just sit in and get through the race. If it felt like I couldn't do a Damn thing I'd try to help out in the first or so lap then just grenade it.
So looking back I burned three Matches I didn't own.

> One, Thinking that Rich N was motioning to me to bring him to the front. My bad he didn't
want that.

> Two, Thing that the group was going to power around this hill/corner, I didn't want to be too
far back when we hit the dirt. the surge didn't happen

> Three, Just picked some real bad lines through the dirt section. Moved to the middle and
couldn't get back to the shoulder and just burned up fighting the ruts.

About 100 or so feet from the end of the dirt I just blew up and couldn't close the gap and the wind began to rip the meat from my bones like a great white to a sealion. So I figured I needed the mileage and proceeded to ride the course all the while seeing my group just up the road slowing fading away. But one more lap in the 30Mph wind was all I could take, I pulled off to see how my mates would finish off this race.

After the Race I see my buddy Johnny C and asked him how he did. He pretty much had the same day as I only his was rittled with flats and not poor fitness. Since I'm off for a few days I asked him if he's up for some riding on Monday. He informs me he's racing....Monday?
Johnny C: "Ya Jimmy remember last year after Snelling?"
Oh Ya, that meant some self-loathing and punshment training ride. I'm in!

That's it until next time.

Not the only bag of sand! LARPD 11/22/08

2008-11-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

LARPD 11/22/08
Race: Men's C
Field: 40ish
Place: 14th
HR: Avg. 177 Peak 228

So no big expectations here today but I was hoping for a better finish than I did. I was feeling bad as I was "Sand-Bagging", apparently I wasn't the only one there doing the same. At least my excuse was that I had to leave early to take my daughter to her first concert.
I set out thinking I had a chance at a Podium, Guess again! So lining up I pulled up to the front thinking that I'd go for the sprint. Then some clown in a "Ritchey kit" pulls up in front of me. I'm thinking that's pretty ballzy, dude if you're that good upgrade, Whatever!
Off goes the whistle and again I can't clip in worth a darn! I loose about 15 spots just from a bad clip in. Looks like I really need to get out and get those darn clip-ins down or I'll spend the rest of the season catching up to where I should be in the field.
At least this time around I stopped hoping the guys in front of me were actually going to try to chase something down instead of the usual hold on tight and try to get home in one piece. So every chance I got I hauled tailto get past some of the back markers and move up as early as possible.
I finally got to the point where moving up had stopped and the racing began. I'm on this guys tail exchanging pulls every so often and taking advantageof the quick long legs and getting past him every so often over the barriers.Couple of times during the race I had noticed a little chain slap and I'm thinking dang must be that big ol'sandpit Shane has us going though gumming up the works, better be mindful.
We're getting to the final lap and some guy is moving up from behind. Not to worry he's about 10 sec's behind and I'm now looking to make the move on my immediate competitor for a 10th spot. I'm thinking I'll take him on the quint barriers.
We're leaving the corral and into the triple before the little grassy bump. I put or is that drop my bike on to the grass whenI drop my chain.....DAMN! Not to worry I'll throw the chain back on and we're in business.
Stupid me I get back on the bike no momentum thinking I'll get up the hill in good shape when the guy coming up from behind passes me, CRAP! Game over he's gone so is Mr. 10th!

I'll stick to the Cat B 45+ at least those guys are honest about their skills. Except for this guy Chris Stastny, When I was leaving that guy had a good minute lead within the first 2 or 3 laps. Time for that guy to upgrade with speed like that.

Which brings me to the whole Categorization thing. Man they really need to start using a system. The whole self placement thing " C's are for those trying Cross for the first time" blah blah blah, at what point does one move up? I find the B's race to be less intense than the C. And then there are some in the B's just annihilate the field......what's up with that?

Humm what next GG park Cross race, More training and save it for the CCCP race this year. I'm drooling at the thought of that race! It's more like the Euro CX races that I invision.

Later

Sacra-mental CX #4 of the NCNCA series

2008-11-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

Mens B 45+
Field: 60+ 25ish for the 45+ group
Pace: Didn't you get the message the 1st time? IT'S CROSS!
HR Avg. 173 Peak 186
Place: 12th

Course: Combination of tight Grass, Asphalt bike paths, and Mud.
Set of 5 barriers Hoppible, set of 2 tall barriers, and set of 3 moderate.
Somehow they like putting the barriers right after a tight 180 turn.

Not wanting to get up at 5 am to drive down the mountain for the 9:30 start. Dave K and I opted to enter the Mens B 45+ race for 2700 seconds of suffering. This worked out well for my Family that lived in Sac. My Dad all 80 yrs of him who used to take me to all my BMX races as a kid was in attendance, and my brotherditched work to come Cheer me on. What a rush! I was more excited about them being there to watch, than the race. Hell I had to pee one more time before the race cuz my dad was there and gave me a hug 10min before line up, Geez I'm nervous NOW!

Lining up at the start we were under the impression that they'd stagger start the Age groups. 35+, 45+, 55+ no such luck and we're in the back. DAMN IT! Luckily I was able to get a decent clip in and gunned it into the top 25 of the field, GAME ON!
Around the first 180 and down a bit we hit the set of 5 barriers and already a rider stacks it up in front of me. Thanks Mom, Dad and grandpa for these long legs.... I hop around the carnage of about 3 riders and move up the field. Heading down aforementioned bike path we hit the second set just a peddle stroke past the 180, quick right we hit the snotty mud going under the bridge. What the heck is everybody stopping for it's like you never seen mud in a cross race!?!?!
Moving again we're under the bridge and onto a long stretch of grass. The field is stringing out again and the separations are beginning to happen, faster riders getting away, slower riders falling back, other riders being caught behind slower riders. The usual thing that happens in a CX race when you don't line up right or have the fitness to run with the bulls. I end up in a group of 10ish which pick up a 11th from further up the road. Real steady group pace was strong but no one willing to really push up the pace or make any moves.
A few tried but didn’t succeed. About 20 minutes into the race is when the weakness begins to show. I didn't want to get caught behind any of that I moved up on the barriers when I could usually picking up a spot or two every time we hit them. I began to appreciate the barriers right after the 180 turns. I was doing well on the Barriers just before the bridge where you could capitalize on your position gained. Some guys just kept riding around the 180 hoping they could dismount quick before the barriers then waited right after the turn.
This course really paid off if you could deal with Barriers.

With 4 Laps to go a particular member of our small group of 6 who were strong enough to keep with the group but not strong enough to contribute kept insisting on getting on the front. This without mentioning slowed us down. How do I know this? My legs weren't going molten, so a few of us at the back could see riders coming up from behind started barking out to get off the front or speed the hell up.
It felt like a scene from Indiana Jones with the big ball rolling up from behind. We ended up collecting another 5 riders from behind in the back 3/4 of the course. I'm thinking get the hell up to the front these guys are probably tired from the chase and will turn to mush on the next set of Barriers. I gased it up to about 4th Position just before my favorite set of barriers when pokie stacks it on the corner just before the hard 180. Some quick foot, work two others and I hop around the pile up to get clear of the some 8 riders yelling and groveling behind us to get up and back into the race.

So there we are 3 strong working hard to get clear of the 8 and by the time we hit the S/F line we've got a comfortable 20 secs on what’s left of that group.
I keep hearing cheeringor GO JIM! from all sorts of people. Had I just become one of the known few? Nope turnsout there was another Jim in this group of three. Also turned out I was actually racing against these two guys as they were 45 plus'rs.

Pretty interesting racing in the B's some get it some don't and I hit the Jackpot. Neither one of these guys understood that it was going to come down to a sprint (or so I thought) and didn't rotate...... AT ALL!
So in that case I was content to just sit on and test these guys strength to see how and when I was going to take them. I'd sprint it out of the corners to see how they'd respond or if they would. They could move, but were getting sluggish. At Lap two I just sat in acting sluggish out of the corners....who's kidding who here, My legs HURT!
Just about to head under the bridge I thought man I must be turning to jelly the back end of my bike is getting sloppy.
Oh Man, no, NO00000! My tire is getting soft, Crap these are my Tubies, I love these things! Sure enough my rear tire is going flat.
I see Johnny warming up on the road next to the course and think, should I yell out to get my wheel ready? Knowing these guys will hear that and maybe hit it. I yell "I've got a flat, have my wheel ready!" Johnny confirms he'll be ready.
I see Dave K just up the course entering my favorite barriers and just about to be lapped by us. I yell to him I'm coming up and he graciously move to the side. I tell him I'm flatting he offers up his bike but unfortunately we use different peddles. Still on the second guys wheel and easing through the corners keeping my weight on the front wheel I make it to the Pit by the S/F line. I figure the tire is glued on tight and I'll probably loose more time with a wheel change than just going for it.

I go past John in the Pit yelling I'm going for it! He's yells back something like You Animal!, Dog, mouse, cat or something heroic. So now how do I handle this? Back end wants to come around in the corners, I'm on soft grass for the most part. Hum ease the corners, and gas it on the straights that just might work.
So by the time we hit the first set of 5 barriers the tires is pan flat, nothing! I figure I've got to keep what I can by running as fast as I can over the Barriers, Long Legs! Ease the corners, and go as fast as I can on the straights.
By the time we hit the last 1/2 of the course it's apparent that I'll finish behind these guys and go into maintenance mode and save my position. I ended up finishing 12th in the 45's just 3 or 4 seconds behind my breakaway group.

Silver lining is that I feel comfortable in my fitness to get back in with the "B" again and be competitive. I think I finished somewhere in the top 20 of the overall B group.
The Icing on the cake is that I gave Dad and Bro a good thrill for the day. Dad was really excited and mentioned the memories of going to BMX races, Bro was thrilled to see me suffer for a change instead of him.

Sorry for the long read, it's been a while and I need to work on thinning out the dialog.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Back At it!

2008-11-12T15:22:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since my last entry. Remodeled the bathroom took about 5 weeks no training and I decided to go in and start my CX season Cold. Lets just say thatday was a huge failure in that I sprained my ankle and spent 2 weeks off the bikethen another 3 weeks trying to get some resemblance of fitness.

My toe dipping in the waters was at LARPD on Oct 25th which wasn't a huge effort on my part as I wanted to see just how out of shape. I really wasn't in that bad of shape and just enjoyed getting my skillz back. not really sure where I placed but it's not worth mentioning I'm sure. NCNCA Series #3 & #4 So back at it! John C, David K and I decided to make a weekend of CX racing and decided to do #3 & #4 of the NCNCA cross series.
Friday we head up to Kings Beach to Stay at Daves parentscabin to make easy of travel that weekend. First up was Reno "Sagebrush" series which was NCNCA #3 of the Series. Having been off the bike for awhile and working my butt off trying to get something back of my fitness after a delayed period due to remodeling and eventual sprain. I decided to see if I had anything and entered Mens CatC and find out if those Spin classes were helping.

Mens C
Field 20ish
Pace: Cyclocross, IT'S HARD BABY!
Avg HR 169 Peak 213!
Place 5th

So having resolved to the fact that I don't have fitness I just decided to having some fun with this so I signed up in the C race. Interesting course mixture of desert sand, sagebrush, lawn, and volleyball pits. There was a killer run-up with high barriers and set on the grass section. The Grass was pretty deep and a real leg sapper.

Lining up I heard the locals saying this was the biggest turnout they had seen, obviously benefiting from being part of a series. Young 20 something lining up next to me tells me it's his first CX race ever. Found that hard to believe after his start bang he was gone while I was struggling to clip in. Damn there goes that.
So the usual sorting out at the beginning of the race. I moved up into the top 1/3of the group. Dang I forgot how freaking aerobic CX is! I'm in the top 8 moving upinto the top 6. The "Kid' was gone never to be seen, a couple of locals not far behindhim so I was left to my devices with what would be the 4 & 6th place guys. Some how I blew out a bit 3rd time up the run up and lost the 4th place guy and was left fighting for 5th. The guy I was racing 5th for was looking strong on the rolly section, but trouble with his gravitational allotment on the run up.
So after dicing with him on the second to last lap. I decided to gas it going up and over the run up and didn't let off. At that point the knife was twisted in his gut and looked as though he decided to hold his 6th position.
All the while mister 6th and I were battling I kept my eye up the road at Mr. 4th. He just seemed to keep out of range of Me. Every time I put on some pressure and just get in reach, he'd speed up to remain out of reach. Good move on his part as the effort to try and catch him left me in a slump when I got to him. I finished 7 sec behind 4th and 12secs behind 3rd.
Shoulda woulda coulda.
The start really sucked as I missed my clip in for the full on gallop. But hey that's racing and I've got to work on all the skills.

Napa Grand Prix.....Greyhound racing!

2008-06-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Races
35+ 3/4
45+3/4

This isn't so much a Race report as a Journal entry into the twisted workings of me and racing.
So I decided to go ahead and sign up for this race hoping to do well in front of the home crowd. See I grew up in Napa and still have family there, So I figure the only way to get them out there to see a race is if it was on their front door.
I've been going over the course in my head quite a bit and couldn't quite get my head around it. So once I arrive all I could think was AWE CRAP! This sucker was short and the P turn they were boasting about was a down right Turd in a punch bowl, A real Party spoiler. All I could think was all that extra mileage I've been doing over the past month and a half wasn't going to do squat for me here today. Should have been doing intervals and only the Greyhounds have a fighting chance today.
Heck even my brother in law who barely gets in 40 miles a month could see that you had a sprint every lap, and the lap times were 60 seconds or less. Fact is the course was so short that if the leaders were coming through turn 4 and you were crossing the S/F line they pulled you. so Imagine 4 small town blocks and your race is over! that's basically 120 yards.

So line up for the first race 35+ 3/4 it's about 94 degrees and rising, we get read the race rules whistle blows I foul my clip in and the first thing that crosses my mind is race over! I'm already 50 back in a field of 75, yep just over 10 minutes and I was pulled.
It took a heroic effort just to stay at the tail end of this beast.
Second race is at 12:15 Mom shows up yeah! Hope I don't foul this one up! there's only 25 guys signed up. Rules read, whistle blows.......Oh wait its 104 degrees.....and rising! In fact my Polar read a peak of 109. Must have been that Blast furnace heading west on 3rd st into the wind!
So Off I go, much better this time around smaller group easier through the turns but still that massing sprint coming out of the P turn. That thing was like slow to 5~10 then Hit it as hard as you can coming out of it....EVERY FREAKIN LAP! I was fine holding on to the group until I got caught behind a crash. Just made it over the guys rear wheel but the damage was done! it was solo time and every rider that was gapped by that wasn't thinking straight enough to regroup and make a concentrated effort to chase back. So Lap after Lap, gulp after gulp of Hot water from my bottle. I was really starting to feel the heat. So much so that I was getting Chills.......Not good I should really pull out. But too freaking stubborn to do that. Heck Mom's watching. I finally made a small group of three and we start sharing pulls just to survive this thing. Then heading back across the S/F line I feel like my front wheel is getting soft. Through turn one I'm now getting that sinking feeling. Then the tire just let go and I did a Zabel two toe skid into a bale of hay at turn 2. Humm how should I respond to this? Rats? Darn? Naaaaaa THANK GAWD!
You gotta love fellow Racers. I had guys in Turn 2 throwing wheels at me. I was No really No thank you. It was a mercy killing. So that ended race 2 and my first jump into the 45's, good group of guys and I'm looking forward to the next time I can get in with them. Just not on a interval course! and not in 100+ degree heat!

so for you stat junkies.

35+ 3/4
Place 44 (Field=66)
Avg speed. 20.7, Max 26.3
Avg, Bpm 181, Max 207
temp. avg 87 max 92
time in race 9;57

45+ 3/4
Place 16th (Field= 27 )
Avg speed. 19.4, Max 26.9
Avg, Bpm 178, Max 195
temp. avg 104 max 109 (felt like the surface of the sun!)
time in race 23;36

I checked my downloads from my Polar and the race was so quick that the read-out just don't show the severity of this race. This race was so tough that a day later I still have track hack.

Jim

Feeding the monster,Position and Intensity

2008-06-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Livermore Crit
Field: 38
Teammates: Xeno, Rich
Avg Mph 22.9, Max 34.3
BPM Avg.165 Max 205
Place 12th (Correction 10th)

Weather was warm, And the wind was picking up. After a good warm up and discussion about what we were going to do for the race we lined up and headed out for our race. Pace started out pretty good as the first laps were more to gauge the course. After that there were the usual attacks and sprints for the primes. Plan for me was to stay in the pack and wait for the finish. I was noticing that I need to do some more intensity work outs depth is pretty good with all the commuter miles I've been doing lately.
Couple of times I caught myself at the back dealing with the usual suspects and their poor handling skills. So I at about lap 3 I made a huge effort and jetted to the front. Well it was actually a lap too late as it was 2 lasp to go. So I was hoping that I could recover quick enough for the Finale. The unfortunate part was I couldn't respond to the top end riders surge and slid back to about 20th. Xeno saw I was in trouble and gave me a wheel to get up to further in the group by turn two and dropped me off wiht a "Don't Give up Jim" so I worked up a bit more in the group but still not enough. We're through turn 3 and the group is moving out, Damn I've got to puch hard and no wheel to follow. I just to another wheel before turn 4 but still not enough speed. I jump again gear up, dang too many gears up I'm mashing hard! Muscle it hard, GO! I'm moving up still not enough space/time to get further up in the placings.
So in the end I moved somewhere from 22~20 to finish it at 12th.

Lesson learned.
>Stop with the self doubt, in the beginning of the race I'm finding it takes me to about the
20~25 minute mark before the engine is warmed up wait until after that point to access my
fitness for the day.

>Stick with the plan and stay in the top 1/4 of the pack. You get too freaked out about the bad
pack skills in the back of the group.

>Get your positioning right need to be in the top five for the sprint. I'm finding that I've got a
deep sprint and have lost a little of my jump not doing sprint intervals over the past month.

That's it
Jim

What's Your Point....Modesto RR

2008-05-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

Race: Modesto RR
Miles: 54
Avg. speed: 23.2
Top speed: 36
HR: Don't know forgot my Strap
Teammate: Adam Martin
Place: 4th
Field: 60+

Well this is a fine surprize! I was seriously thinking about not going today. I had been busy every weekend for the last 5 weeks and was actually looking at resting up and taking notes of
some Honey-do's that need to get Honey Done!
So I get to "Sign-in" with about an hour before my race and spent the next 30 mins waiting in line for the portapottie. Velo Bob strikes again 400+ riders and only 3 outhouses. Time to start an up-rise against "The Man"!

Back to the car I've got about 25 minutes to get geared up to go, I've got my Livestrong band and my HTFU band on but no HRM strap. All ready to go I line up off we go at a fairly civilized pace then bang after the first turn we hit it. Not too bad, but bad enough in that I had no time to warm up.
Plan was to ride my race and stay to the front which for the most part I was in the top 20 and stayed there. Adam in his usual style was attacking some had staying power but most cases no one was willing to go there. Old Teammate Paul Taylor was also showing strong at the front.

The course was pan flat, but the surface went from Nice with a few bumps to meat grinding chipseal! That stuff I did not want to go down in. Watching Adam attack again and again was pretty impressive. Every once in a while He'd comeback and check out how I was doing. Today my allergies were acting up, but not too bad first couple of laps I couldn't get my lungs to open up fully. I did get to the front a few times to do my share of work but not too much. It was more of an effort to get to the front and be safe before we hit the feed zone to stay clear of trouble. I figured as the race progressed and riders got tired there would be greater chances of crashes in the feed zone.
Lap three I somehow spent a tad longer on the front than I'd like. It wasn't too bad and I got back in the pack and out of the wind. Which btw the wind was pretty reasonable.

Final lap coming up, the bell rings and everybody hit it like there was some finish line just down the road....what was that about! We're into about the last 3 miles of the course and the speed picks up really nice. Second to last turn I make sure I'm about 10~15th and moving up. Seemed like everybody else had the same idea but weren't willing to commit to stay up once they got there. We're about 500 meters from the final lefthand and I'm right where I want to be leftside of the road. Earlier I suspected that was the spot. Then some rider comes slamming in trying to force his position in on the wheel I had. His move in was not very smooth in that I had just enough overlap with the wheel in front that when he hit me I touched wheels and had to make some quick adjustments to stay up.
Later Paul T. gave some props later on my bike handling skillz. Any who I'm still pretty cool about this and Adam is up front making a mean pull and keeping it safe for the rest of the pack. I shouted to Adam KEEP IT UP! Props to Adam for the sacrifice of keeping the speed up for a safe finish.

We hit the final turn and Adam swings left over to me still at a good clip. I shouted to him to keep it going, I figure as soon as he shows signs of slowing it would be time to make my move, which was about 2 bike lengths too late. There was a jump from the right side of the course. I moved left. I get a shout from some Dumb bunny trying to make a move from my left which was about 6" from the soft shoulder. Too bad sucka! I kept a tight line as I passed Adam to give that guy what I could and just hit the jets! I come around Adam and I'm gapping the field. But the 4 who jumped earlier are about 15~20 Meters up the road. I'm calling on all the gears I've got and Mashing for all it worth. At one point I'm like 5th and maintain the speed to keep my position, just then these guys look almost like they are sitting up.
So I find I still got my 11 left and hit that badboy and Gas it again and I'm moving up!
I get one guy with about 10 meters to go and just blast past the 1~3rd just after the finish. Damn I should have totally buried it and who knows!?!?!?!

So these are some presious points for me as they are my first in what I hope will be a series of upgrade points.

Gang, the junkie's got the taste now, I'm addicted! I think I've gotten a huge education this week in positioning and self confidence. Some fine tweeks on the art of the sprint and who knows!

Big shout out to Adam, he made that finish work!

Jim

Wente Crashterium 2008

2008-04-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Race: Mstrs 35+ 4
Avg speed: 24.3
Max. Speed: 45.9 (polar might be a little weird...ya think!)
Avg. HR: 159
Max. HR: 213
Finish: Alive!

As you might gather this race was unnecessarily rough. I would have though after about 3 or 4 near misses guys would have allowed more space going through the "mild" chicane, but that was not the case. I have now coined a adjective for racers that want to make his/her on line in a pack that is convergent with others. This type of racer will now be known as the "Creative" racer and should not be used in the positive term. You will know this racer immediately as he/she will "Create" a new line in the middle of the pack that nobody else is using.

So the pre-race planning was that I was to be the sprinter and that Rich would get me to the bridge and I'd unleash my fury. So for most of the race the plan was to stay in the top 20 which was pretty good for the most part with the occasional adjustment to save of ones hide. Twice down the inside of the chicane and the quick adjustment found me back to 50~60 spots back.
Quite a few times I used Rich and John to get myself back up to the front to stay safe. A few times I had to get up there myself and do a bum rush up in the wind. Going into Lap 3 I see Rich moving up the left about 4 lengths ahead and said theirs my ride. Quick acceleration and I’m on his wheel. Things are looking good. Before turn 1 I'm forced onto the Botdots and I'm loosing position trying to get off those to avoid a flat. Coming out of that turn going into the little adjustment to the left I've lost his wheel and I'm about 3 lengths back. No problem I'll catch him before the next hard right. I'm on the left of the nasty little chicane and I hear the mayhem begin, Ah crap! I give a quick look to the left to make room, no luck I'm blocked, time to brace! noise getting louder and closer. The guy to the right of me is coming over and not in a good way, He's leaned over and my next thought is hit the gas to get ahead of the inevitable then bang his head hits my hip, next thought is stay on the gas and hope his bike doesn't grab anything on mine. I felt a quick tug on my bike but I'm still up, Phew! OH OH no chain, hand up to signal those behind to go around. I reach down flip the chain back on thinking game over. Dave rolls by and we get back to the pack for the neutral lap. So my thinking is another lap of cycling verse of Talladega? Do I go up to the front or play it safe finish the race at the back get home in one piece and take on the bathroom remodeling job sans injuries.
Surprisingly we go right to the Bell lap. I'm about 6 rows back and I see DD jump to the front, I follow suit and get on his wheel my plan at that point is to streatch it out, hop wheels to the finish, good if there are wheels willing to continually move forward, bad if there aren't. I figure if Dave can get us through turn one in good shape I'll get through this in one piece. We hit that turn doing about 28, DD blows up shortly after, I then see Peter from 3rd Pillar jumping from Dave’s right, good another wheel. But I've got to jump from Dave’s left. Big old jump and I'm on Peter’s wheel, what a beast! We’re now at 31/32! But what the hell, my legs feel good but why do I feel like I'm dragging an anchor? Peter is throwing down some serious speed. I’m thinking man he's not going to get us to the straight we’re still on the back side. That animal pulled right up through the sweeper, and nobody wants to come through...duh the sprint is just around the next corner, nobody is coming through.
Photo link http://photos.abbiorca.com/gallery/4813672_YzCqe#286152371_C44Bv
Even so My legs were on fire! I pull out nothing left and finish safely at the back.
Later after talking about the race with a few others I lifted my bike and it made a clunk, what the …..My rear QR came loose I finished the race with a loose rear wheel, probably explains the lingering burning rubber smell. I just thought that was left-over from the crash. Good thing I didn’t make it to the sprint I would have dislodged my rear wheel and that would have been a whole new ball game! Crash aside I think it would have been a favorable finish but that’s racing.

Six Degrees in HD or High Depression.

2008-04-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

So today at work I was making some HD files for a VOD server the programming I was converting was National Geographic Channels "SIX Degrees". Real interesting programming on Global warming.........and Real Depressing. It's amazing what we are doing to our planet. Next week it's the commuter train!
Little by little I've been trying to make a difference where I can, CFL bulbs instead of Incandescent bulbs, timers on anything, driving slower, renewable resources etc.
But after reading the news WTF can one person do? It's like spitting into the ocean. Check out this story...http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/business/worldbusiness/11chinacoal.html?ex=1307678400en=e9ac1f6255a24fd8ei=5088partner=rssnytemc=rss
I mean really we can point the fingers at everybody else but to do that with a clear mind, you have clean your own house!

Some my observations on the program that were hypocritical, other observations, and possible
solutions.

SIX Degrees documentary

Problem: Scientists studying the effects of green house gases using snowmobiles going
out on the glaciers.
Solution: Why not use Dog sleds? Specially those poor pups you noted that were
Unemployed due to melting of the ice flows.

Hamburgers

Problem: I can't quote verbatim but basically the methane produced by cattle accounts
for more that 5 times of greenhouse gases than that of carbon dioxide pound
per pound.

Solution: Walk you fat butt down to the burger joint.
This leads me to another observation. Obesity!

Human Carbon footprint and subcategories

Problem: Estimation is 4.6 lbs per day now multiply that for the world population
6,602,224,175 (July 2007 est.) that's 30.73 billion pounds of waste per day.

Solution: Now make your little difference on that and eat healthy proportions, go pick those
Soda cans out of the trash and move them to the recycle bin. Find other ways to
Recycle, and if you want to eat a freaking burger offset your Carbon footprint and
walk you butt down to the burger joint.

Sub-cat
Problem: Obesity...COME ON PEOPLE! Gives a new meaning to "eating one out of house and home" should change it to "eating us out of Home and Planet!"

Solution: Find your BMR "Basil Metabolic Rate" what your body "needs!" to maintain a
healthy weight. I'm an active 45 yrsold male, 197lbs, 6'1" my BMR is
1921 Calories/day to maintain my current weight.

Problem: Why does a man/woman family of 3 or 4 that doesn't drive in the snow go
off-road to camp need a 10 mpg SUV? Really! Nothing worse than seeing a single
driver in a BUS aka SUV that 20 years ago would have been shuttling special needs
children to school.

Solution: Need something big for the weekend trip, Rent an SUV or leave the beast in the
driveway and drive the smaller car when it's just you! Kids need to get to soccer
practice 10 blocks down the road, or get to school 5 blocks down the road?
How's about a bicycle? OK so we're worried about the creeps along the way. That's
my next observation.

Problem: Pedophiles, Drug dealers that make it unsafe for our children to walk anywhere
or play in their own front yard.

Solution: Reduce the human carbon footprint ;)

So I could go on and on with this topic about how we are destroying our planet because of this or that. Humorous or not my approach, offensive or not, we need to do as much as we can and influence others to change the course we're sendingthis planet down.

Ya I know what little can I do, it's just spit in a bucket. Well if enough people spit in that bucket we can douse a fire out!

I heard a real stupid quote, "The Earth isn't going to survive, if we don't do something!" Well that's not entirely true. Earth will go on...........but with out us!

Hanford Criterium,Stupid is as stupid does or Hells Bells

2008-03-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

OK my take on events. Quite Obvious I mucked up the countdown to the Finale......did I mention math wasn't my favorite subject in Skool?

Any who it basically the Mastrs 35+ 4/5 came down to letting others think for me when they came in. My bad, My Fault. I had a plan come lap 5 when I got myself into a tasty position about 6 from the front. I had spent the race in whole tucked in about 20~30th looking to stay outta trouble like the crash I got caught behind in the E4/5. Only one time during the race did I go to the front and Pull. It was getting laxed and dangerous So I zoomed up to the front and stretched the field out for a lap. after that Lap 10 came and I moved into the top 10~15, At lap 5 I moved up to the top 5~10 positions and was ready to move to position 2 when we hit the back stretch. About somewhere into Lap 3 Xeno moved up and gave me his wheel, then going into Lap 2 Rich appeared. I was thinking Man this can't be true, it can't get any better than this. We're heading across the S/F line (OH wait did I mention all the Freaking Bells that Toyota United handed out. Those Damn bells were rattling the whole race.) At that Point I saw the 1 lap card and that was the nail in the Coffen. Bells the #1 card and I'm thinking this is it. My problem was that I let my mates down by not controlling their pace as we were in the front too early and I stopped thinking for myself. We're heading into the turny section and Rich had had just about enough and pulled off at turn 6, I'm now thinking this is it, Xeno takes us around turn seven still keeping a lively pace and he pops about 150 before the last two turns before the S/F straight. I figure make these sons a behives hurt and I ramp it up on my 13 then hit the straight and jump to my 11 in full tilt boogy. Would have been great if it were actually the bell lap but who could tell? can't hear the announcer, can't hear the real bell...... Oh and did I mention I stopped thinking for myself at Lap 2?
ARGH! But wait it gets better, to punctuate it I punch the sky at the end of the straight.......
What a Jackass! All in All it was kind of funny how I punctuated it with a fist punch at the end of the straight, The real funky thing was that night before the race I was using visualization for the race and one of those visions was Don't pull a Zabel at the finish, probably why I put in such a ferocious sprint.......... oh freaking well!
Had I known how badly I messed this up I should have kept going as I had probably a good 5~7 second gap on the group and should have tried and regain what little dignity I had left.
OK now for the silver lining.
Prior to this race I was thinking what the hell am I racing for? no real showings other than some good placing in CX. I'm competitive by nature but a bit too timid in a shoulder to shoulder race as I don't want to kill someone due to my brick wall build compared to my compatriots. Seriously considering this to be my last year at racing. Yesterday that Changed.

Here's what I got out of it.
> I had Plenty of Gas left in the Tank leading up to the sprint. Now I know I got what it takes
to finish off a crit
> I had great position in the final 5, I know I can get myself where I need to be.
> I basically went stupid and stopped thinking for myself. I need to Maintain my plan, stay smart, and not give up the control to my teammates. Communication!
> Even though it was a Faux finish the feeling of Ecstasy was great! I want that feeling for real
and I'm gonna get it! AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN!

Mama Always said stupid is as stupid does.
But if you can't be honest with yourself, awknowledge your short comings and mistakes you'll only fool yourself. If you denie what has happened and don't learn or grow from the experience you'll never improve.

To my teammates there at Hanford my sincere Apologies for pulling such a bonehead move and causing embarrassment to the team.

I've got to get out and work on my math skills
Jim

Harden the F-up

2008-02-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

It's 7:28 am I'm enjoying my 3rd cup of coffee and I'm contemplating the posibility of getting out for a ride when it clears up a bit when my cell phone rings. Who the heck is that but mr. "I don't ride when it's raining" Dave Dalton. In his sumwhat subdued NY accent I hear
DD: Hey! whadya doin...You comin out?
Me: Ah ya I was thinking when it drys out a bit, just finishing my 3rd cup here.
DD: well get yourself together and get over here we're leaving at 8.
Me: Ah OK I might be a little late, It was about that time I look down at the wristband I had just purchased for motivation "Harden the F!%K up" From Stuart O'Grady's website I just relized I wasn't being very HTFU! OK I'm there!
So I quickly toss some riding closes on and the balance into my ride bag and head out for what was going to be a cold, wet, Windy ride...and Hilly.
So we head out with a group of 6 of the usual characters, Damn I forgot my booties oh well you can only get so wet. At least the rain let up and it was mostly road splash getting into my shoes. After a while you just get used to it.
Well we he a junction and some looking for Superbowl Sunday and another buddy not feeling his oats 2 peel off and we are now 4. So off to Patterson Pass Rd. I can only imagine what is going to be like on the way back going up Old Altamont Pass into a head wind.
So up the climb we go......did I mention I'm not a climber. But all in all I was feeling OK must have been that 25~30 mph tailwind. We regroup at the top and down we go heading into the central valley, make our turn on to Mtn House and back towards Ol'Altamont Rd. So we're trying to make some head way but the wind was really cutting into our Speed.
I slid off the back as I just couldn't move forward, It was about 2 miles up the rd I decided to take off the dragchute like Raincape as I was feeling like crap. Suddenly I felt like a new man and off I go. At the first part of the day I was ok during the climb I felt like crap. But heading up Highland I felt pretty strong. Set a pretty good pace up the short climb. So we hit the mid sprint zone and it doesn't look like anyone is going for it so I back off a bit but set a a low gear so I can make a jump if needed.....then I catch glimps of a shadow over my left and it's Dave making a go of it. No such luck Dave it's my hill! and Off I go with a good jump. I figure what the hell lets make a break for it and see if they'll chase me down. I guess all the wind took it's toll on everybody. I'm not sure if it's I'm a strong rider or the guys never want to chase. After a huge effort I made it to the bridge again with a good 30~40 sec Gap.
So we all limp back to the the coffee shop for some hot Joe good conversation then it was time to pack it up get home for a Hot shouwer and some soup.
I was totally glad Dave called and got me out with the guys, it's been a while and was a great yet wet/cold day or riding. Guess I put in some points for HTFU.
I need more days like this Snelling is just around the corner and I really want to do well in that race.
Later
Jim

Happy New Year, UP diablo we go

2008-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
Well this is a short one, Got out for the New Year ride up Diablo. Man I've got to do more climbing and loose some weight! Long slow slog is all I can say. But well worth the view.
That's it I'm going to get a nap.

Later
Jim

Finally a Muddy Day for CX

2007-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

So I got out for a CX race yesterday and is was muddy! So I started the morning out thinking I wasn't gonna make it. The Night before my stomach was a little upset, when the alarm went off in the morning I was still a little under the weather but not bad. I figured if I could Get my daugheter out the door I'm good to go. So Car packed and off we go. Gotta hand it to her she's a trooper once you get her going.
Looked like it was gonna be a good day one quick trip around the course and the Legs were feeling a bit hollow. I'm here lets race. So lined up and off we go! first set of barriers and I'm in 6th Position this looks good. just after the barrier and my chain Brakes! DAMN! then something cool happens a CX racer warming up for his race shouts out, What Peddles! I shout back Crank Brothers! He's all "Use my bike!" So I run over with my bike about 20 Meters up the course and he hands me his real Nice LaPierre adn off I go, He shouts he'll try to get my chain on.
So about 2 laps later there he is with my bike ready to go......too Bad I was really liking his bike. At first I thought man he's tall but after a bit I was real comfortable with it. Big debt of gratitude to John! floks that's the brotherhood of Cyclocross. We're all out there to Race but more so to have a good time.
So wish I could say I made a heroic effort and Caught on and placed but I did catch a few on the way. Most important my daughter and I had a great day her watching me race and cheering, and use cheering out our friends and others.....good times and good friends.
I plan on making a few other races before the season is over, I better hurry!

Be Careful what you click for!

2007-12-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

Wow that was interesting, I hit "next blog" button thinking I was going to make a new entry and the next thing I see is a title "Sexy Indian Photo's" note to self, don't do that again!

Funny when you do something randon how is sparks memories of days past. While working for a Broadcast Integration Group I was in the proposal department putting together....duh proposals. This was during the infantcy of the internet and the porn peddlers were making great use of the information age.
Well we used the internet for Manufacturers pages to pull down product info to build Proposals. So I'm looking for Teleconferencing equipment and I get a wild idea.....Hey what if I type in "teleconference.com", This has got to lead me to the right stuff?

BANG! all the pop-up porn you never want to show up on a your work computer, it was like Captain Kirk opening the overhead cabinet in "Trouble with Tribbles"
(Disclaimer here, I'm 40+ yearsold I got over that stuff when I was twelve, I've just got a good memory for useless information)
So there I am trying to close all those pop-ups as my Monitor is facing the the main walkthrough area in the office, those things JUST WOULDN'T STOP! I'm gonna get fired I worse yet Therapy! I finally had to hit power button to stop the insanity. Shish!

OK I said be prepared for Randomness

Back to writting what I intended

First Posting hope I Don't screw it up

2007-12-22T06:36:00.001-08:00

So this is my first dive into the world of Blogging. After miles and miles of commuting down to SJ working in the tech world, thinking about the usefulness of Posting ones rambling thoughts and pushing it out into Cyberspace I've decided to give blogging a shot.
So here I am 5:30 in the morning 2 days before Christmas stressing about whether or not I've gotten enough presents to properly represent Saint Nicholas. Eh I think I'm good. Now where did I put my riding gear I need to work off the winter fat.
Yep, yet another Cyclist pushing his guilts and desires of being thinner,faster stronger in a intraspective narrative onto the unsuspecting web-wonderer. It'll also be the ramblings of a father trying to navigate he perils of raising a teenage, a mildly OK handyman trying to stay on top of maintaining the hut.

So, Deal with it, you followed the link here.

What can you expect from this blog? Pretty much anything! Personal views on the state of human exsistance, Race logs, Smacking down whinners that ran with the Scissors and gutted themself like a fish and then blamed Fiskars for making them too sharp!
You can even expect some good old fashion useful tips on stuff I didn't learn in school.

So sitdown, shut-up and buckle your seatbelts you're in for some sporatic Rambling.