i'm so mean, i make medicine sick

2011-12-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

It was my Mom's birthday today. Here is a picture of her and my sister from when I didn't exist.

She does not exist now - in time, but time is really irrelevant. This looks like a beautiful moment and that will last forever. And now that this photo is safely ensconced on the internet, it really is about as forever as simple creatures could hope to achieve. My dad seems to agree that time is really irrelevant

Moto Trip

2011-09-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

So kind of on a whim I bought a motorcycle. But I should have been planning this for years. Riding in a car, I have been trained to rush to where I am going - to make sure I get there as quick as possible. On the moto, its all about the journey and it makes where you are that much more enjoyable once you get there. Ben and I did a ride down to Baltimore and made a few stops including this one at the Conowingo Dam.

We dodged rain the whole way and it was great. And as soon as we got there, my fiance was waiting with food and generally got everyone pumped about the great night we were about to have. We basically acted like we were in college again, and I definitely have not been that drunk since my 21st birthday. Here is Lindsay... she can't help being so hot

And to top things off, I was completely suprised that the Baltimore Grand Prix was going on that weekend. Ben and I went over to check out some of the racing, and we got interviewed by the AP about the race:

Nearby, Ben Miller, 26, and Andy Munas, 27, of Trexlertown, Pa., watched part of a race through the windows at Harborplace, where the cars could be seen whizzing past just outside. The pair was in town to visit Munas' fiancee.
"We just decided to come over and check it out," Munas said. "It's really cool."

Awesome weekend.

To be young again

2011-08-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I want to go back to being young and stealing concrete from the sewer project to build a foundation for a clubhouse. Or just running around the woods collecting bits of trash to build into a TeePee. But I guess I am still just a kid - buying a motorcycle for a new toy, riding my bike, etc, etc. I think the thing I miss is not worrying about really anything at all. Recently, I haven't had much to worry about... its been nice.

Here is a note my dad got from our neighbor (I think she is about 9 or 10 years old).

Specialized Tarmac Pro SL Carbon - Campagnolo Chorus 56

2011-08-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

stupid things I've done

2011-07-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

When I first got my Specialized Tarmac, it whistled at any speed above 15 mph. In trying to diagnose the whistling, I replaced the front brake caliper with another one I had on a different bike. I did not readjust the brake pads. Unbeknownst to me, the one brake pad was ever so slightly rubbing against the front tire. I was descending at 50 mph when my front tire blew out.

I told all of my friends that had broke some part of their bike - because they had just driven their cars into their garages with bikes on their roof: "I will never do that". I did it.

I took a ride in a clothes dryer. That is actually my profile picture for this blog. No terrible things happened, but that is just stupid.

There are a few other things that are pretty stupid... but I will save that for an in person story instead of the internets.

Crashing

2011-07-10T17:10:00.000-07:00

It's part of racing. And as much as I can be pissed about the crash that took me out of the finish of Iron Hill with 2 laps to go, I can be happy that this hasn't happened to me:

I am itching to race again and use this good form I have. Hopefully Johnny is too.

3Rensho Frame for Sale (Campy front disc)

2011-07-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

So I am selling this bike. It is a 3Rensho Pursuit Bike (funny bike). It has a 700c rear wheel and a 600c front wheel. It will come with a rather flimsy rear HED track disc wheel (tubular). It will also come with a 600c Campagnolo Ghibli front disc wheel (tubular). The front disc will come with a Continental Olympic track tire on its last legs but that still holds air. Finally it comes with a Shimano hub spoked front wheel (600c).

The bike is fairly rare. The bike was built Yoshi Konno (who was paralyzed in an accident and stopped making frames a number of years ago):

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Japan/3Rensho.htm

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2009/12/yoshi_konno_article.php

I haven't seen many of the funny bikes go up for sale, but the regular track bikes in pristine condition go for around $2000. This one is far from pristine as you can see from the photos, but is in complete working order and ready to be built into one cool project bike.

I am going to start this one off at $1800. That is for all 3 wheels and the frame, fork, and headset.

I may be under-selling this thing, because I know this tension disc from Campagnolo is super rare. I have never seen a 600c before and I know that the 650c versions sell for close to $1000 as collector items. Either way - let me know if you are interested. Or let me know what you think.

Done racing for a bit

2011-06-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

10 days, 8 races, fully gassed now. My results hit a plateau out here, but it was at least good to finish a couple of USA Crits races, and get in the money once, and feel like I got in some seriously good training. Speed Week was alright, but I definitely did not have the fitness to last the whole way through each 90 minute race. This week I was able to get into the mix when I had good legs and I was able to finish the races when I didn't. I am looking forward to a break and hopefully a big boost that comes with that rest.

Update: Last week, a guy promised me his prize money if I led out a local training crit for him. I didn't say a thing after the race, because I didn't really mind not getting the $25 he was taking home. But he bumped into us at the next couple of races and said it was on its way. I said, no problem man. But the next time I saw him at Hyde Park Blast he handed me a wad of money. I didn't count it - just stuffed it in my pocket... until later... and it turns out it was only $5. I wouldn't mind getting nothing - but if you say you are going to do something, you should just do it and fork it all over.

And since Cinci loves it's training park crit, they took about a thousand photos of this race... here is Ryan and I making those guys suffer.

Long Week of Racing Crits

2011-06-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

So after our 5th crit at the Tour of America's Dairyland, we left early to get down to Cincinnati for the Hyde Park Blast weekend. So far we did a local training points race and the Madeira warm-up crit last night. It is good to feel like we are actually bike racers again after not bringing a single dollar back from Wisconsin.

The training crit was the last race of a series and all of the locals were really keen to race for the overall. Ryan, Gabe, and I didn't want to get in their way too much, but we also wanted to at least make our entry back. And we did - we took both primes, and Ryan and I rode the break to take 2nd and 3rd place for our entry fees. And the guy that was 2nd in the series asked me to lead it out for the double points on the last lap and he would give me his prize money. I did just that and he ended up winning but I am still waiting on that prize money!

The Hyde Park Blast weekend starts off with a race in Madeira just outside of Cincinnati. Madeira is a nasty little course with two 180 degree turns and some chicanery before the finish. I was able to stay in front of the splits all night, and ended the night in the money. Gabe was trying to set Nick up for the finish, but crossed handlebars with Jared Babik of GPOA, which derailed the leadout. Both of them still ended up in the money as well.

And so all that is left is Hyde Park. And after 8 crits in 10 days, I have learned one really important lesson:

The thing that made the biggest difference in my performance on any given day was how much of this stuff I drank throughout the day before the race. If I wasn't able to drink a lot, my legs would just struggle to come around and get past that point where you feel like you can't make yourself suffer. If I was actively drinking Nuun all day, I would usually be able to make myself suffer, even if I didn't feel 100%. Aside from getting a knowledgeable coach to review my program, I would say that Nuun has made the biggest difference to my racing.

So give it a shot: www.nuun.com

TOAD

2011-06-18T11:49:00.001-07:00

The MetLife Cycling Crew is out here in Wisconsin this week for the Tour of America's Dairyland. We have put together some half decent leadouts for the first two days, but always just missing out on finishing the job just right (whether because of mistakes or crashes). We will keep at until we get a top 10 out here. Here is Ryan setting Gabe up for the finish on the first night:

Great story of a cop who rides a bike in DC and stuck it to some punks that thought they could push her around: http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2011/6/16/be-careful-who-you-harass.html

Original post here: http://girlonabicycle.blogspot.com/2011/06/victory-sort-of.html

www.racewheelrental.com

2011-05-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

My teammate Gabe has just launched his new website for his race wheel rental business: http://www.racewheelrental.com/

He has had a tough offseason trying to launch clothing distribution in the United States, which has had its ups and downs. (sidebar: its amazing how not a single clothing order I have ever been a part of has been delivered on time with no hiccups). But Gabe has got one thing very right - and that is his new website:

The new RaceWheelRental site is really clean and easy to use and features an interactive rental calendar. You can look at your race dates and see what is available or look at a specific wheel or wheelset and see when it is available.

And as always Gabe has plenty of Zipp HED and Bontranger goodies in stock. Rentals are as low as $26/day with $5/day for crash insurance. Shipping is even more simplified with flat rates based on your location and discounts for shipping to one of his affiliate shops: https://www.racewheelrental.com/findshop/index.php

Check it out and race on the best and fastest wheels for a fraction of what it would cost to buy and maintain them.

The Week of Speed

2011-05-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

There is something about racing your bike every single day that brings a certain calm to any one of those races that you happen to be doing. Especially when your first race is Athens Twilight. I wish I had a picture of that starting line - at least what it looked like from the back... 150+ races in front of me all twitching for the start, 20 people deep crowding the fences at the start/finish, the hazy 9 pm air lit up by the street lights. The first 10 laps of Athens are something like you have never done in bike racing. I could at least move up at Iron Hill - Athens turns men into dogs. It was good fun.
The rest of the week had some ups and downs. At Roswell, I moved Gabe up in the last 5 laps and he got on United HealthCare's leadout train... but lost his spot when he caught a stick in his spokes with 3 or 4 to go. At Beaufort, I was able to ride near the front of the race for the first 30 minutes, but cracked hard when the break was forming without the proper mix of riders in it. The rest of the week I took some shots at winning the Category 2/3 races and came close a few times. At Walterboro, I was able to kilo the last few corners and hold on for 2nd. At Spartanburg, I attacked solo with 5 laps to go and held on until 1 lap to go. And at Dilworth, I conserved my very tired legs all race and was able to get 6th.

I don't think I had enough base miles in to really take advantage of the hard training of Speed Week. But I certainly won't be as nervous for bike racing after that week of madness.

Weird things that happened

2011-04-24T21:03:00.001-07:00

Gabe and I were racing in Dahn-Tahn Pittsburgh a week ago, across the bridges right next to PNC Park. Kacey had just won her race, and it was very very windy, and the 'hills' on the bridges made it a pretty tough race.

Right off the bat, Gabe and I messed it up pretty bad. We were too busy following the 'right' wheels that we let the 'wrong' wheels form the winning break. With the race getting to that do or die moment, I decided that I was going to have to bring at least some of the race back together to give Gabe a chance at taking some kind of decent result. So for a lap or two I started setting tempo on the front, and it was really working. The gap to a small group contesting for 5th place was steadily dropping, from around 20-30 seconds, to about 5-10 seconds.

That is when this happened:
I felt the burn of a tire on my leg, my cranks locked up, and then I see a guy pulling even with my front wheel while crashing over the handlebars. I had just been T-boned from behind while on the front of a race. Here is a photo of it moments before impact (note the guy tucked behind me).

It took me a few days of looking at damage to my bike and tire burn and inside of my crank to realize what happened. Mind you all of this happened while going straight (the wind may have played a small factor). The guy ran into my leg with his tire, and this had forced his tire in between my crank and chainstay (this is what locked the crank up). It is also what dented my chainstay and scuffed my crank. How on earth the guy was able to still keep forward momentum enough to pull even with me while crashing is still a little crazy. That was quite literally an attack - a full fledged Kamikaze Attack.

Giving it away

2011-04-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

I recently gave away my first true racing bike. I had it laying around as a frame and fork for quite some time, because I couldn't really bring myself to sell it. It was worth far more than the $150 I would have got on eBay for it. So I put out the call to the PSU Cyclists, and I luckily found the right candidate - someone that wanted to race but had a 1970's Motebecane and not a whole lot of scratch.

I had this bike through most of Collegiate racing. I even won my first race on it: Grant's Tomb (B), and then won my second race the next day (Princeton Circuit B). It's seen countless miles in Western PA, all over Central PA, and countless crits and road races all over the East Coast - including a few trips to the Beanpot Crit:

It took me to Tour de Toona a few times, and brought me into the lead group of 10 on the last climb up Sugar Run... and helped me limp to the finish after cramping that day and suffer through the crit the next day:

It even saw a brief rebirth as a Time Trial bike at my last Collegiate Nationals:

But now it was just hanging on the wall looking like this:

When the kid came to pick it up at The Bike Shop and was very grateful - it felt perfect. Then he threw the bike over his shoulder and jumped on his old Motebecane and made a graceful and sharp one-handed turn down from the sidewalk and back up the road towards campus - weaving through pedestrians on the way out. Thats when I knew I gave it to the right guy.

I highly recommend giving something away that was near and dear to you. It is so much more gratifying then getting a few dollars for it.

Symbolic?

2011-04-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

This broke today after 7 or so years wearing it. I was wearing it for reasons that do not include cycling, as most probably do. Arm feels a little weird without it. I probably won't replace it, but I will keep this broken one. I am keeping it because it has far more meaning to me than the words that it would have in common with a replacement.

What happens while you are riding

2011-03-31T14:35:00.001-07:00

Since leaving College four years ago, life centered around bike racing. I left a job and took a big paycut - to be in a better area and situation for riding (that job sucked, so leaving didn't hurt). I moved around a few times to be close enough to ride to work and then to be in a house with a bunch of cyclists. When I got laid off, I didn't sweat it and gladly let my training fill in the gaps.

Most people asked me "What I was doing" when I got laid off. And I said, I am just going to stick with my current company and work for them when they have the work. Some of those people, I know, would look down on me for not hustling to find a new full time job. I was just not career oriented enough.

But while I wasn't trying to advance my career, it happened anyways. I took a promotion to run the Beach Condo project (somewhat begrudgingly). I got a pay-raise (first raise my company of 100+ people has given in 3 years). I got a bonus (first round of bonuses in 3 years). I get to be in the office when I want. I set my own schedule. I can work from home if I want.

Life, pretty soon, won't be centered around bike racing. But even though it won't have:

Italian Pursuit National Championships

Lapping the field at Bucknell

Getting in the winning break at Fitchburg

I know it will have less of this:

And hopefully a lot more:

Crazy night rides

Brooklyn Death Rides

7 hour rides in Rothrock

Laying first tracks in the snow

Lance Doped

2011-03-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Lance Doped, and now its official, because Bill Strickland thinks so.

We are pretty close to the Bicycling Magazine headquarters in Emmaus, and although I don't know Bill Strickland all that well, we have been to a lot of the same bars, parties, happy hours, etc. He had been talking about this story for a while. It seemed tough for him to write and talk about. I feel the same as him - I still have a LiveSTRONG bracelet, and for years I thought for sure he would have been busted if he had doped. And I definitely did not like it when people would really go on rants about how he was doped to the gills. But the truth is really hard to ignore. This story captures what true fans of cycling feel.

Tourney Time: PA Cycling Edition

2011-03-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

Vote for the best Pennsylvania Cyclists:

http://www.eightplustwo.com/

Wasting time

2011-02-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up my Dad went into work around 5 am and got home around 6. These days, he still goes into work almost as early and has picked up cycling, yoga, sometimes works on cars and friend's computers, and he volunteers at a hospital almost as much as his full time job. Most people think its amazing, and he just brushes it off. I still get exasperated when I feel like something is wasting my time (like work, or chores, or anything). Recently (and I hope the trend remains), I have been feeling less of this anxiety that I get when I feel time slipping away from me.

I guess when I just focus on whatever I am doing at the moment and endeavor to do it the right way, things feel less scattered. Its easy to slip out of that mindset, but I am going to try and stay zen.

I went to Philly Beerfest with some downright awesome people. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the night.

Climbed Mont Ventoux Today

2011-02-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Came back from work. Nuked a quick dinner. Then I jumped on my bike and climbed to the top of Mont Ventoux.

2:55 minutes on the trainer. That is a record. I did the ascent from Bedoin (22 kilometers) in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Iban Mayo did the Mont Ventoux TT in the 2004 Dauphine Libere in 55 minutes!! Granted I didn't go all out (averaged about 250 Watts for the whole climb), but that is just amazing to be able to pedal your bike that fast. It makes you wonder...

Anyways, I wanted to put a picture of Mont Ventoux up, so I google image searched it. And here was the winner:

Trainin'

2011-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Down in Rehoboth again. The travel isn't so bad as long as it stays predictable. But with all this crap weather it throws off the schedule. But I did make a purchase that is keeping me from going completely crazy.

Its a Tacx i-Magic VR Trainer. It is their lowest end model. The Fortius trainer actually uses a motor to power your wheel if you are going "downhill". The i-Magic just fakes the speed in the VR environment. Its pretty cool and I am actually making it to 2 hour long trainer rides, which is something I have never done before. And I just bought an add on which lets you ride a 75 mile route up over the Ventoux which shows you real life video - we will see how that goes, but it should make for a 4 hour ride. For now I just set myself at a pretty solid wattage and hold it there for an hour or two while steering through the rather limited amount of VR environments that come with it.

If you have around $8-900 to drop, and need the escape from the crappy weather I would definitely recommend giving this a try. Most people spend that kind of money on a power meter, and this will do a fairly accurate assessment of power (after the v3.2 software update) and it will provide you a bit of entertainment so as not to go absolutely crazy riding indoors.

http://www.tacxvr.com/en/products/i-magic

I do have a tendency to neglect the fact that I am getting in far more training than I would without this new toy. I tell myself, "This time last year, you were cranking out 5 hour rides daily". And I beat myself up over the alternative. Cyclists and probably everyone has a tendency to ask far too much of themselves instead of realizing that what they can give is enough. Its a big hurdle to overcome in your mind and a challenge every day to not beat yourself up. For today, 2 hours on the trainer was enough.

bike nerds unite

2011-01-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

I have been tasked with making MetLife Cycling's facebook page respectable. So is it respectable?:

http://www.facebook.com/MetLifeCyclingTeam

If so you can just add us to your fan pages. If not tell me I suck.

Here is an interesting article on the Lancaster racing scene over at Eightplustwo.com. Interesting because that is the only place you will find obscure bits of information like that. And maybe I am just a hyper bike nerd, but it is good to know a little local history.

Refraction of Light in Water

2011-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

The mountain biking crew made an epic trip this weekend. We left West Chester, PA on Saturday for my place in Rehoboth. 120 miles, 10-20 mph headwind, and 7 hours later we rolled right into the Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth. The Brewpub manager Jason was expecting us and bought us a round. Matt even got to speak with the Owner Sam Calagione of Brewmasters. We were the talk of the place for that night. Good times.

We took a day off to stink up my place and drink and laugh about the stupid shit cyclists laugh about. I would recount it, but it was really really stupid. Trust me. Then we rode back home. Well 90 miles of it for most of us. Except Big Show and Steve. Those beasts.

I am down in Rehoboth again. I have a lot of dead-time and a lot of pressure packed decision making. Right not is the dead-time phase. During dead-time I think about interesting things, like this:
What do fish catching birds "think" when they re-calculate for the refraction of light in water.

Do the just know to aim a certain amount lower depending on what angle they are flying in at? Or does the brain just learn where the fish actually is and make it look like that is where it is? Or do they have some primitive understanding of what refraction of light in water is?

I have a lot of time on my hands. Until tomorrow morning.

A good thing

2011-01-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

This was high times with Dynaflo, right after graduating College in 2007. I went through a lot of changes as a bike racer with Dynaflo. Its easy not to see the progress until you take a closer look. I can remember pulling on the jersey for the first time in 2006. It was a borrowed jersey from Lou Devlin, and I crashed in it - sorry Lou. Then I went on to win some Category 3 races. And crash some more. Then I went on to help Matt win a lot of Category 2 races. And crashed some more. Then I went on to have a good Category 2 season of my own.
I am moving on from Dynaflo this year. This would have been my 6th year. We didn't always agree on what to do or how to race, but everyone in that photo is a good friend. Some of them best friends. I am moving on to MetLife this year. I don't have too many more years of hard racing left in me, but I am glad I had the opportunity to develop with Dynaflo and get a chance to race with a team like MetLife.

Some Videos

2010-12-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Glad I don't live in a city:

Funny stuff from people with a lot of time on their hands:

Snow on the Beach

2010-12-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

There is something extremely lonely about snow on a beach. The beach is like a magnet. Attracting masses in the summer, and ridding itself of everyone except for a stark few in the winter. I feel like Holden Caulfield walking around on the empty beach, in this empty town, and this empty building.

And here is the building where I am working and staying in the background. Its hard to see, but the oceanfront balconies are removed in that picture.

Here is a picture of a balcony column being removed.

And one of the balconies coming off.

The balconies had steel weldments embeded in them that were welded to the steel beams. When they got close to cutting through each of the welds, it would pop like a gunshot and release so much pressure and shower the worker in rust. The rust from the beam was expanding and pushing the balcony away from the building. It was only a matter of a few years (or less) before one of these balconies cracked a weld and all of them tumbled onto the boardwalk.

Here are close ups of one of the balcony beams after the removal. Nice.

my times are a changing

2010-12-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Every bike racer has that point when they have to think realistically and maybe even stop being a bike racer (to some extent). I have been floating in between the status of being a bike racer and being a responsible adult. Last year went smooth in my in between status. I was able part time the engineer thing about 20 hours a week, without too much interference with training. My training log was always filled out, I did about 10 hours a week for most of the early winter, I did a big training trip out in California for a week, and in the late winter I was hitting 15-20 hours a week. And the consistency paid off in my somewhat insignificant world of Category 2 bike racing.

And I was looking forward to doing it all again.

But the high hopes I had for getting on a bigger team are dwindling. I wanted to do more - USA Crits, NRC, etc and really put my effort into helping people who are better than me. But that is not looking as likely.

And I just got roped into managing a big project down at the beach. This little pool reinforcing job has turned into around $3 million in construction every year from 2009 up through 2012/2013. I will probably be down at the beach 2-3 days a week all the way until April. Too bad its going to be 20 degrees out most of the time.

And I am not sure if I will be living here or in Baltimore in a years time. At this point I am not sure if I will be a real adult or a psuedo-bike racer. One thing I do know for sure is that I would rather just know. You know what I mean?

Before Me Too

2010-11-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

My dad recently posted some photos from before he was born of my Pop-Pop and Gramma Betty. This one is of my Grandfather when he was about my age. I can barely remember my Pop-Pop before his stroke when he would go into the closet to get toys, candy, and other fun things. The one thing I do clearly remember is getting my first bike from him and how it made motorcycle sounds. Needless to say it was the coolest thing on the planet.It makes me want to know all of my family more - to go back in a time machine and get all the good stories that need to be shared. I feel like I don't know my Pop-Pop nearly as well as I should. But when I hear my dad talk about him, it really just makes me think about what I would say about my dad. My dad talks about Pop-Pop spending time with him in the workshop, just bringing back old lawn mowers to tear apart for fun. It makes me think of solo trips with my dad to Ohio where he would listen to me endlessly go on about the new inventions of a 6 year old mind. I am sure they were not always coherent or well thought out, but the beauty of those trips is my dad made me feel like Thomas Edison.

Random Things I've Done Recently

2010-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Had indoor log rolling championships at The Stone House. I had the reach, but Ben had the ninja skills, and Gabe is of course a crit monkey which sometimes extended to being a foam roller monkey. Kacey and Lindsay mainly just fulfilled some fantasies for the guys.

Ran around in a water fountain in late October in Baltimore. Tiz and Lindsay were fulfilling their bucket list, but really they just do what they want. I may not want to live in Baltimore permanently, but I really have a great time when I am there.

Instantly froze a beer after seeing how it's done on Mythbusters. Apparently it has something to do with nucleation sites and super cooling, but I think its just cool. To repeat - just get the beer to about 31-32 degrees F and shake or agitate it.

Woods

2010-11-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

The house I grew up in has endless acres of woods in the backyard. I can remember running around them when I was really young, as I grew up, and even after college building trails. Its suprising to me that it has took me until this year to really get into mountain biking.

Ben even built this teeter totter for riding in our yard. Good times and spills had by all.

Come on over to the Stone House for a ride. Jack said he would ride his motorcycle on it.

American Standard

2010-10-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

I rode up in Jim Thorpe today. Did the American Standard trail up on Broad Mountain. It is State Game Lands so I think it is only open on Sundays these days.

I think technically this trail is not maintained anymore, but it is still in ok condition. It was a fun ride, but really tough with all the leaves covering the endless rock gardens. I will post a picture of the crude trail map that we got at the local sports shop.

Does anyone know a more used and better maintained trail up in Jim Thorpe? I would like to give it another try, cause it is definitely a great area.

Race Idea

2010-09-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

So normally a race gets paid out like this.

1st - $1000
2nd - $500
3rd - $250
4th - $150
5th - $100
6th - $90
7th - $80

and so on...

I am thinking that if I ever promote a race again, I want to try something different. The first requirement is that the race circuit / course would have to be moderately hard to difficult. The second requirement is that it couldn't be too short, probably > 50 miles. The reason for this is because I want to pay out your places prize money only if you come in alone, otherwise you split the total money earned by your group.

i.e.

1st: 2:35:33 - $1000
2nd: @20 sec. - $300
3rd: @20 sec. - $300
4th: @20 sec. - $300
5th: @40 sec. - $95
6th: @40 sec. - $95
7th: @45 sec. - $80

Its basically a really good incentive to racing harder earlier if you think you have a shot a winning. Otherwise you end up with this happening:

1st: 2:35:33 - $348
2nd: @same time - $348
3rd: @same time - $348
4th: @same time - $348
5th: @same time - $348
6th: @same time - $348
7th: @45 sec. - $80

So what do you think people of the internets? Should i promote a race again? And if I did this, would it lead to some hard racing?

Right Turn on Red

2010-09-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Look at these degenerates.

The kiwis called me at 5:45 on a monday afternoon after work. 15 minutes later, I was in a car on my way to NYC. The evening consited of lots of drinking, some wandering about, a bum sleep on the floor of Penn Station, and an early morning drive back to T-Town. I had a 2 hour sleep before work on Tuesday, but it was all worth it. It was their last night in town, we just had to do it.

And I found out that the single greatest thing about America (pronounced 'Murca), is the god given right to TURN RIGHT ON RED.

Cycling Community

2010-09-17T07:39:00.000-07:00

So its happened. I have officially raced against someone who was caught for doping. A lot of people have been talking about domestic amateur doping for years. And while I am all for these people getting caught and facing their punishments, I am not with them on the outrage that they feel.

Brian's (Burt Friggin' Hoovis') thing is that doping is what leaves him and a lot of other elite/amateur and pro cyclists so jaded that they give up on the sport (to some degree).

But I don't feel that way, and maybe I just need another 20 years before I get pissed off about it. And maybe its because I know that I am not fast enough to be a pro. But I like to think that it doesn't matter what other people do that defines my satisfaction with my life.

However, I did notice that he said he started using about 3-1/2 years ago. That puts it around February-March 2007. I raced against him at a Category 3 crit a few months before that in September 2006. I remember it because I got in a three man break and ended up winning the race. Interesting to think about the progression of events, especially with how awkward and what an outsider he seemed at that race. Socially outcast frustrated Category 3 bike racer -> Doping to win Category 3 Fitchburg -> Elite Racer -> Pro Racer. I think it just speaks to how vulnerable the people that end up doping actually are, and how much they think that winning will gain them acceptance.

So instead of burning people at the stake and proselytizing about cheats and fairness, why not just reach out to some of these outcast riders. Make riding a community where you don't have to win to be cool, or be part of the in crowd. In the end, we all should just be a little more like Geronimo.

2010

2010-09-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

So I had a vague notion that I could pull myself together for the Tour of Southland. And when the project seemed like it would definitely happen, my spirits were high. But when I was only able to raise 20% of what we needed, my motivation started to crash. And with that came the burn-out that was the end of my season.

Put a fork in 2010. Its done.

And now that its done, I realize that I never took a second to appreciate what happened. In 2008, all I wanted was to be a Category 2 cyclist. I thought that is what would make everything feel worth it. And in 2009, all I wanted was to be a good Cat 2 and contest big races like Battenkill and Fitchburg. And this year I did that too, but I never really took the time to enjoy it.

I am not saying I am going to rest easy, because of course I want to keep getting better. But I want to realize that what happened was all I could have dreamed for just one year ago.

There was a top ten at Battenkil l, the first race of the year. I would love to win this race next year if I remain a Cat 2. I think it suits me well.

There was the Tour of High Bridge in the torrential downpours. This one felt good for a number of reasons. One was that seasoned pros were telling me how difficult the course was. Another was that with the rain and the tough course, 85 started and about 20 finished. And the last was the pure suffering and beauty of the race really made me enjoy getting another top ten.

There was Fitchburg.

Even though the national rankings are a little skewed towards Fitchburg, I am currently the 3rd ranked Category 2 Road Racer.

But maybe the best of all was the Grandview Grand Prix. I only managed to get 6th place, but the race was a sufferfest. And for a few laps I was sure I wasn't going to finish. But I pushed through and with 2 laps to go, I seized on an opportunity after Jackie Simes attacked and was heavily marked by the field. I jumped and it ended up working when I got away, not quite catching the break up the road. After crossing the line, I got a pat on the back from Jackie. That right there meant more than any result on the books.

Coal Country

2010-09-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

I rode from Trexlertown to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and caught a ride home from some friends racing up that way.

To get to Wilkes-Barre from T-Town you ride over a bunch of mountain passes and on this particular day a constant headwind. Even a bit of rain and hail at the top of the last climb. The area is called the endless mountains. And from about mile 19 to about mile 80, the mountains really don't end.

The ride took me through the heart of Pennsylvania Coal Country. Old dilapidated coal towns, open-pit mines, and rusting equipment and belt-runs.

I come from a coal family. My great-grandfather and great-uncle died in a mine fire. My grandfather worked in the mines, and my dad worked in the mines when he was in college. I worked for a coal mining company for a year, but aside from walking around the processing plants I never went into the mines. I asked my dad if he had any pictures from the mines - to which he said there were "no Munas family mine pictures". My dad still works for a family mining consulting company, but I guess that going down into the mines is not something that you keep record of with pictures. When my dad talks about the mines, he usually only talks about lunch breaks and being outside when doing work, not too much about going down into the mines.

My great-grandfather and great-uncle were trapped alive and I was told that when they finally brought their bodies out, they were found to have died in each other's arms. Here is an exerpt from a letter one of their co-workers wrote while he was dying:

"Please take care of yourselves and may God bless you," the letter concludes. "But don't send the boys into the coal mine. I want them to have a white collar job on the outside where there is sunshine. Dearest wife, I love you and always will. Take it like a brave mother and do what is best for all of you. God bless you all. Tell Norman and Eric I love them with all my heart."

$100 was given to each family for their loss. I am not sure if I am glad that I have never had to work under ground, or if I am sad that so many other people did before me, for so very little in return.

Tour of Southland

2010-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

So we are trying to put together an American team for the Tour of Southland in New Zealand (November 1-6). My mainest man, James Canny, is helping me set up contact information for a director in New Zealand.

I will hopefully have that contact information and the sponsorship prospects this week. Once I have that, I can start really getting to work on making the trip a reality. I will be looking for two things. The first is the easy part - riders. I already have 5-6 guys that I think will be on board, but will be contacting more people and I am certainly open to suggestions.

The second part is the hard part - an American counterpart for our NZ sponsor. I am not sure that all of the expenses would be covered by the NZ sponsor, so I would want to try to find an American sponsor to help with that.

So what do you say people?

Crosswinds

Ode to JB Weld... and Haynes

2010-08-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

I am not sure why I waited almost two full summers to fix my AC. I knew that fixing it at the Subaru dealer was going to be expensive. And it was -$1200. But I also knew that everything worked, it just had a big leak in the condenser. So Matt and I gave a crack at JB Welding the hole shut.After two attempts and a few cans of refrigerant - SUCCESS!! It might still be leaking a small amount, but after a week it is still holding about the same pressure and working perfectly. Just in time for the recent cool wave...

And just in time for my windshield wipers to break going down the highway at night in the rain. I had to replace the wiper linkage system which is between the dash in and the engine compartment and kind of hard to get to.No amount of JB Weld could fix that old one, so I spent an entire day driving around Baltimore looking for the part I needed. Stopping every time it started to rain. And the rest of the evening installing the new linkage. It was an event.

But the book in that picture was a life-saver. If you have an older car that you ever want to hope to work on to save a few bucks, you need one. Its just a Haynes manual and it tells you how to do everything to your car. Get one - $7. It and JB Weld saved me $1200 on the AC repair and probably $400 on the wiper linkage repair.

Ode to The Bicycle Shop

2010-07-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

I really miss having a good bike shop around. None in the Trexlertown area has really fit the bill quite as well as The Bike Shop in State College, PA.

I recently pulled out my cross race wheels to make sure they were in working order. I noticed that the freehub bearings were seized on the rear wheel. I had this happen before on a similar wheel back when I was in State College. The Bike Shop showed me how to remove the sealed bearings (a very barbaric procedure, that would definitely take confidence that you were doing the right thing before attempting), how you could measure the dimensions of the old bearing, and order a $3 set of bearings to replace it. That is a $3-6 fix compared to a $120 new freehub. They even showed me the little tips to put the new bearings in the freezer before installing to make it easier.

I miss having a shop that would:
1. Take the time to help me so much
2. Kill an easy profit margin on the $120 freehub
3. Teach me to fish so I could do it myself in the future

The cross wheel is back and ready for action.

Thanks again to The one and only Bicycle Shop,
Andy

On the road

2010-07-28T20:16:00.001-07:00

I have been all over the place recently. And will be all over the place for the next few weeks. I went straight from Iron Hill:to a job down in BFE, Maryland. Iron Hill started out promising, but I cracked with about 10 laps to go. A lot of efforts at the front in the first 15 laps and no food put me in the tank.

Working in Maryland was tough. Roof, unconditioned space, worst heat wave ever. I sweat buckets while driving a lift around doing weld inspections on flange braces. The building we are looking at had really poor installation of the flange braces. Check out this picture to understand what a flange brace is:
When a beam continues directly over the top of a column. The beam goes into 'reversal'. Normally the top of the beam is in compression and the bottom is in tension. The side of the beam that is in compression needs to be braced or else it will buckle. When the top side is in compression it is braced by the roof. But when it goes into 'reversal', it needs braced by the flange braces. This location did not have two flange braces installed and you can see the beam starting to buckle. We reviewed 822 flange brace locations in the building. I think maybe 5 total passed weld inspection. I could have welded better with a blind fold.

Did the Grandview Grand Prix in Lancaster. It was a hard as nails race, with 95+ degree heat and a tough course. Bobby made it harder and went solo for a while. I was never in good enough position or form to make it into the counter and so 4 total went up to road. When I did come around there was a few laps to go. I countered an attempt by Jackie to get up the road and went solo for a lap. Got caught by Tim Gresh and rode with him for the last lap. I led it out, which was a mistake because Tim nailed me in the sprint and we still had a pretty good gap over the field. 6th place on a hard day. Not too bad.
I wish I had more time to watch these guys race. It is inspiring to see how these guys have transformed their bodies. It shows so much determination.

Next up:
Crossroads Crit Series in Charlotte, NC
Tour de Millersburg
Tour de Toona Crit is back!: http://www.tourdetoona.com/racers.html
Univest?
Tour of Southland?

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

2010-07-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

I drove up solo, because my car was packed with Echappe wheels. It was nice to be able to leave when I wanted and stay where I wanted, but it was hard not having teammates for the racing.

Circuit Race (50 miles):
Coming into this race, I didn't have any plans and I thought the racing would be too aggressive from too many people to allow a break to gain time. But coming into the 4 laps to go, there was a few groups between 10-20 seconds. And when they held those gaps after a very fast lap from the field, I knew that I had a chance to get some time. So with 4 laps to go, I attacked out of the field and picked off each group on the way to the front. Once there, I set tempo at the front for as long as I could.
The group wasn't the most cohesive, but each time the speed would die down I would get back to the front ASAP. We ended up with 11 guys off the front and coming into the last climb, I had pretty good position, but not the legs to go with the fastest acceleration. I got 6th and we got 35 seconds on the field.
Road Race (75 miles):
Plan was to stick in the race until the decisive last climb. Some guys went out on the attack early and I think 4 or 5 made it work and gained 30-40 or so seconds on me. I held onto 6th in the GC and got 13th on the stage.

Time Trial (9 miles):
Thanks to Ben Miller and Echappe I was rocking some pretty fast equipment, but I slid all the way back to 10th on GC with a 29th place finish 1:30 back from the leader.

Crit (30 miles):

Tried to get some time back with attacks with 8 and 6 laps to go, but didn't really have the legs to hold off the field. And not too many people were too eager to go at that point in the race. Pack finish and held onto 10th in the GC.

Derby

2010-06-28T20:09:00.001-07:00

Reading some banter about the Derby and people seem to want to make the Derby harder or longer and harder. I could see a need for this. So instead of rolling off the front early on the way out of town and trying to stay ahead, why not leave the Velodrome 5-10 minutes late and try to catch the derby. I think I am going to do that the next time I want to get in a solid tempo block. Leave at 5:40 on Wednesday or 10:10 on Sunday... Who's with me?

People also seemed to be pissed about people not wearing helmets. I won't rag on the people that don't wear helmets too much. But if you ride with a helmet draped around your stem... that's a whole different story of stupidity. I mean... maybe you dropped some cash on your stem and its worth more than your head.

For me, taking the piss stop and not actually taking a leak is my biggest bone to pick. Mostly cause I think it's funny. A lot of girls do it. To try and get a peak? To make the guys gun shy? Who knows?

No humidity this day!

Engaging

2010-06-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very engaging on here recently. Too much doing and not really much to say about it. I did get engaged. So I might have to change the 'Best Friends with Benefits' title... naaaahhh, I kind of like it. I will keep it until at least we get married.

Hopefully, I will have more to say after Fitchburg.

Best Friends with Benefits

2010-06-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Lindsay is in town for two weeks for the test run on finally living together, or at least closer than an hour, after three too long years. Its working out pretty amazing. She actually just said, "You are pretty much like a friend with benefits, like a best friend with benefits." She is taking a study course in Reading for her boards. She also got a job at Johns Hopkins in the Cardiac Critical Care unit... you know, no big thing. Really excited to check out Baltimore with her.

Did a cool race up in Clarks Summit the other day. The NEPA Cycling guy, Phil Cable, has been putting on some really great races. The crit on Saturday had a great prize list, great community organization, and a really fun course that even used jersey barriers to block off the traffic from the main road. Some pictures.

We had a house guest for the week that made the trip up with me. Collegiate National Crit Champion - Jen Purcell. She rocked this crit from lap 3 by going solo off the front, and even remembered not to put her hands too high when not wearing bibs for the salute. It was great fun having you Jen, come back out east soon.

Went off to do Somerville on Monday. I like the spectacle of the race, but I really think their course needs a redesign. Not because I can't do well there - which I can't, but mainly because there is just too many opportunities for crashing. The wind and super wide roads lead to a lot of crashes and close calls. The pro race had three large pile ups on just the last lap. Here is an idea for a redesign. The blue shows the current course. Line it out a little bit before the finish. Still a drag race, but a little better than 20 wide like it is now.

I'm turning into my Dad

2010-05-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

So Ben scored this Craftsmen tractor on Craigslist:
And now, instead of riding my bike, or working on my bike, or cleaning my bike, I can't wait to mow the lawn. It is very zen. And the other day, my roommate was struggling to take apart the blender and I channeled my dad and came up with a solution with kitchen utensils.

At least my dad is becoming me: http://michaelboy.livejournal.com/511314.html

Battenkill - an actual race report

2010-04-12T09:34:00.001-07:00

Kyle, Marty, and I took the start with the nerves high in the field. Kyle and I faded to the back for the first 10 miles of pavement, and I was feeling safer there than in the bunch with everyone's elbows flicking and heads swiveling. But coming into the covered bridge and first gravel section, I snuck on up to the front. It was a good thing for me, because I avoided the first crash of the day. Kyle, however, did not and chased like a madman. He made it back on 5 miles later, but just in time for the hardest gravel climb of the day and spent the next 10 miles chasing again until the lights went out.

An early break of 2 riders went up the road at 15 miles in and were long gone for the entire race - Pavel Gonda ended up muscling that break all 60 miles and taking the win! Marty was staying out of trouble by hitting the front before each climb and fading towards the back to save energy. And I was just staying near the front as much as I could. Things started lighting up on the roads leading up to the hardest gravel section - Meeting House Road. Another break of three formed in that section and stayed away to the finish, and my one regret of the race was not being more attentive here, but I was playing it conservative and stayed with the field. Meeting House was fun as I started to play cards and hit the front and stay in good position as the field shrank to about 25 guys.

After Meeting House, I hit the last climb and suffered my way into the remaining 12 guys that would contest for 6th place. I was thinking about this RadioLab Episode about limits and a text message from Lindsay that said "You have no limits", and made it to the descent to contest the sprint for 6th and think about how beautiful the race had been.

Coming into the finish / 2 kilometers to go, 3 guys slipped off the front one and two at a time, with no reaction from our field. Unfortunately Marty was dropped on the very last climb and unable to help keep things together for me. I sat back and hoped that they wouldnt get far enough that I couldnt overtake them in the sprint. I took the last leadout at 500 meters to go and jumped and barely missed out on catching the 3 attackers. Ended up taking the sprint and got 9th overall. Marty was chasing my group the whole way into town and ended up coming in solo for 19th place.

Lanaguage

2010-03-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

I overhear my co-workers talking about people not being able to speak English. And they are really fond of saying that if they went to a different country they would learn to speak their language. I really doubt they would, but I am really not sure why everyone seems to hold the English language in such high esteem:

Lindsay is interviewing for Johns Hopkins this Monday. I am excited to go back and check out Baltimore with her. Cross your fingers for her.

I am excited for this season, probably in the best shape of my life. Just did an LT test. It was a windgate test, so you do an extra 20 watts every minute until failure. I popped at 480 Watts, but my LT was lower than I had hoped at 355 Watts. That is a big gap between my LT and max, so I have some work to do. I am hoping that with some more LT intervals I will be able to push that up to around 375 Watts.

The pictures were from this gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pargon/4469682774/in/set-72157623594187379/

Amazing.

Love Hate

2010-03-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

There is a lot of haters on the internets. Your computer screen provides you a wall and can be empowering. You dont have to look anyone in the eye and see the reaction to what you have to say. Maybe its in more communities than just cycling, but the internet can sometimes get in the way of what cycling has always been for me - a way to meet people that have the same passion.

Its amazing what a little actual human interaction can provide. Don't stay jaded - get out and ride with some new friends.

Emmaus has been doing it right. From simple group rides from South Mountain Cycles to Fifth Street Cross, the cyclists in Emmaus have been creating a nice community of riders. Last Saturday we did the Monkey Knife Fight leaving from SMC. This is a ride organized by Mark Bowman, raising about $1000 for Perimeter Ride Against Cancer. Sprinting to the top of 13 gravel climbs really hurts. Gabe and I worked hard against the Bobby Lea onslaught, and thanks to a timely lack of pressure in Bobby's tires, we got the win. Gabe gave some of the money back to charity, but saved enough to buy me pizza. Sweeeeet.

Unemployment

2010-03-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20100307/cm_huffpost/489050

Tom Delay thinks that people are unemployed because they want to be.

And I can't say he is completely wrong. I was unemployed completely for a while, and that sucked. But I do think our unemployment system allows a little too long of a free pass away from the workforce. I am really lucky to have a company that wants to keep me around and allows me to work part-time and still get health benefits. And part of the reason is that I was able to work a little each week (~10 hours) and still get unemployment benefits. Its a great idea, that keeps workers in touch with their previous employers.

But now that work has picked up, I have started working one week on and the next week off. But, I am working 4 times more than I would need to, to get about the same pay. If I was a more rational guy, I would sit on my couch more and get paid the same.

Snow

2010-02-22T09:41:00.000-08:00

I barely use this blog anymore. Its weird, ever since I got the Droid phone, I have been on my computer less and using the internet less.

So we got a ton of snow, and I finally gave in and got some XC skis. All told $240. Not bad.

Here is Kacey being crazy trying to get cool photos:

Sweet Lighting:

Yeah I rock the cycling gear for XC:

We got that B Roll

2010-01-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

#1 Party School

2010-01-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=396

In the intro, they highlight what a shit-show State College is on a party night. And it is, and for the people that want some peace and quiet, I sympathize with them being mad about the stealing of stop signs, the littering, etc.

But in one part of this intro, they mention that she is right on Garner Street. That means she is literally in the middle of frat row. No wonder the kids there seem "not to care about property, or how loud they are". They are the mass exodus of Freshmen first experiencing a frat party. If you wanted some peace and quiet, I really recommend living up in College Heights at the very least. Its just as close to campus.

So if you are out there, Sarah Koenig, try looking for a place up near JoePa on McKee. Although I did pass out even in his side yard once... On second thought - Just move out another mile or so. Peace and quiet.

trip

2010-01-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Lindsay and I made a quick stop at Raymondskill Falls in Delaware Water Gap. It was 10 degrees out, so we only made it as far as the amazing water fall, but supposedly it has a great set of hiking trails.
Jumped on a plane, landed in Seattle, and celebrated New Years. We barely made it to the waterfront in time to see a few fireworks.

Snowshoeing on Stevens Pass. Our destination was supposed to be Surprise Lake. The surprise was that we missed the trailhead and went here. We were apparently trespassing - being on that land without paying, but how would you know being out in the middle of the woods. The first time I found out was when I rounded the last corner to see naked girls in a hot tub. You will have to forgive me, I didn't take any pictures.

Then it was off to SoCal. I stayed with Eric Barlevav in Northridge, and we did three things - rode, ate, and slept. He loves his riding out there, and it was great having him show me around. 400 miles, 25 hours, and 7 days.
Dan Ramsey and Eric at Camp 9 helicopter pad above the Valley.

Riding in the high country. If we would have rode any further we would have been in the legit desert.

On the beach after randomly meeting up with Guy East.

10+ miles of gravel roads with no cars. All within 30 minutes ride from LA.

I also caught some cool sights from the plane rides:
Crater Lake

Shiprock

air trip

2010-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Out on the west coast.
Snowshoeing in Seattle.
Riding in socal.
Some pictures when I get back

boom to the power of boom

2009-12-09T19:50:00.001-08:00

This commercial was made for Kuklis

Salisbury

2009-12-06T17:17:00.000-08:00

It snowed this weekend. So we went Mountain Biking. If you can get over the minor headache of having to kick out the ice from your cleats when you have to clip back in, snow riding is a far better alternative to riding on slushy roads. Kyle and I went out on Saturday to Salisbury. The Valley Mt. Bikers have clearly put a lot of work into this network, and it really is amazing.Saturday the snow was blitzing down.

And kept blitzing down all the way to Wegman's for some post-ride food.
Kyle, Matt, and I made the trip back out to Bethlehem for round two on Sunday. It made for some great riding with most of the single-track clearing from the riders that were out that morning. Here is Kyle threading the needle.
If you are ever in the Valley, and looking for some good riding, definitely check out Salisbury for a solid 2-3 hour ride with a decent amount of rocks, plenty of fast switch-backs, and well maintained trails. I rode my cross bike there, which gained some skeptical eyes from the locals. But with the bigger tires it was a perfect fit.

flat back

2009-11-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

I can remember hearing Phil Ligget comment on Stijn Devolder's flat back when he won the 2005 Three Days of de Panne. I remember it cause I wasnt sure why exactly it was a good thing. I have been struggling with back pain and I have come up with a lot of answers over the past 2 or 3 years. Most of them have probably been wrong, but recently I think I am getting close to a solution. I tried strengthening my very deep back muscles with a bunch of different exercises and noticed that I got the same pain that I did when I raced cyclocross. After a few weeks of doing these exercises, I feel like I am starting to make that pain lessen during a cross race.

Maybe I am starting to get that flat back that seems to be so critical to putting the power down. Just take a look at the difference between

Winning:

And a respectable race:

TSS

2009-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

So people have been bragging about their TSS recently. Its kind of like the Wattage number for 2010. So apparently it has an actual training definition, but I like to think that they are bragging about their level of Toxic Shock Syndrome. Anyone else have a better definition?

Went to Lindsay's for Thanksgiving. I like being with her family. Even the extended family. They are all pretty laid back. Did a ride at Vassar Farms while I was there. The trails didnt have any of the crazy bridges or jumps that they used to, but they were pretty well maintained, and even though there was only a 4 mile loop, pretty fun too.I went for a walk in Rodale Park after the cross race today. I was contemplating adding a few trails to the small trail system they have over there. Just scoping out the untouched woods, when I found this little guy:I am guessing it was a hawk, cause that is about 3 inches long.

Marsh Creek

2009-11-24T21:41:00.001-08:00

For a while now, we have been doing Tuesday night rides down at Marsh Creek. The riding is not too technical which makes it passable on a cross bike. But the riding is fun, the people are great, and Victory Brew Pub afterward is always good. Its absolutely worth the hour long drive down there. It is really cool to get to the dock parking area first when it is dark. Here is a photo I tried to get of the water before everyone got there.We usually leave around 5:30-45 ish. Anyone is welcome. I wont be there next week, but there is a 16-man Jazz band at Victory on the first Tuesday of every month.

Cross Dresser

2009-11-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

So I have been using my cross bike as a mountain bike for a few months now. And with the 1" of travel in the head shok, it was working out pretty good. But I wanted to get some new shoes for my cross dressing cross bike. Something with a little pump to it. I took a gamble, hoping that these would fit through the stays and fork:
And they worked perfect. The tires are basically a 1.8" wide 29'er tire. I took them out for a quick test ride, and they were even more impressive. I really like the tread and I think its going to take my cross dressing cross bike to the next level - Rothrock and French Creek here we come. Take a look how mean it looks in drag:It didnt look quite so mean lying in the creek after I hit the dog-legged mossy wood bridge at speed in the rain. You wont find a tire that can grip that.

One-ness

2009-11-20T21:06:00.000-08:00

Shocking.

If I dont want to fall from the stunts and bridges at Vassar Farms, I better absorb some of Danny MacAskill's.... well some of his skills.

Somebody get me off of this reef

2009-11-19T20:19:00.001-08:00

I will give you a nickel if you can guess who this is:

Souplesse

2009-11-16T15:40:00.001-08:00

My friend, Mike Chauner, just started a new business - Velo Souplesse

http://www.velosouplesse.com/coming-soon/

So I took it upon myself to google Souplesse. Apparently it means something that is supple. But, here are the just a few images right from JUST the first page of the google image search. I wish them all the success. And I wish you all the success, getting these images out of your head.

epic

2009-11-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Epic Ride:
4 hours, 30 mile, night mountain bike ride. It hurt. It hurt my head when i ate it on that one descent. It hurt my neck after riding that long for the first time in months. And it hurt my legs when that last hour took forever.

Epic Books:
The Rider - "And the crowd falls for it every time! How often have I seen people clapping and cheering for a rider who, having been lapped six times, pushes on bravely? It's an insulting brand of applause - for where does a winning rider get the right to revel in applause if the crowd isn't obliged to hiss at him when he fails?"

Epic Plea:

VCard

2009-11-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

Working on Dynaflo's budget, schedule, and logistics for 2010. I was coming up with the schedule and going to each race's website if they had one. I was at Chris Thater's when I saw this:
If you didn't notice at first glance, you can get James F. May's vcard at the bottom there. It turns out it is just his contact information... sorry ladies.

Benford's Law

2009-10-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

Benford's Law

That should mess with your head. Remember that this applies to all recorded numbers such as, the heights of buildings, the balance sheet for a company, your credit card statement.

Generally, Benford's Law says that numbers with lower first digits occur more frequently. So that numbers that begin with 1 occur 30% of the time (i.e. 1; $1,004; 102; 19). And this probability steadily and logarithmically decreases until you get to 9 that only occurs 5% of the time.

I checked it against a couple of my credit card statements, and the general idea was spot on. It wasn't exactly 30% for 1's and 5% for 9's, but the pattern was emerging.

That is spooky.

more of that

2009-10-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

The Anthony squared duo attended the racing this weekend. One to terrorize the junior ranks on a cross bike, the other to document how stupid we are as cyclocross racers. Here is the evidence:
And how is it not apparent that this guy is the mysterious 7th member of the Village People.

Mud

2009-10-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Granogue - mostly running through ankle deep mud, some skiing on bicycles, some racing. I got in the flow for some of it though. Wissahickon - muddy, but rideable. It was fun racing, so I was bummed that I dropped my chain after dropping into 15th place or so. I took this cool picture of Georgia Gould the winner of the women's race.
But since that was taken on a cell phone, you really should look at this to get an idea of the kind of mud we are talking about: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/granogue-cross-c2/stages/stage-1/photos/92302

You might not be able to tell but the bike is Bamboo under all that mud. And I kept my streak alive of never checking my own results from a cross race. No clue what I placed.

Nasty Cross Racing

2009-10-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sean: You old guys coming to PSU this weekend?
Me: Naw man. Lots of dirty cross racing

Sean: Yea I like dirty chicks too

So it has been pissing half frozen shit for the past two days, and here is Saturdays forecast:

Sunday doesnt look any better. It will be my introduction to real cross racing as the three races that I have done have all been kinda pleasant. I predict I eat shit.

A Dog in a Hat

2009-10-16T09:07:00.001-07:00

I am reading A Dog in a Hat. Its a book about racing your bike in Belgium. No glory stories here though, its all about the tough parts, and you kind of get the sense the whole time that the author, Joe Parkin, is a few steps away from quitting the whole time. Its got me turning the pages though.

Here is a quote when he was talking about riding on a shit-hole team bus:
"The video monitors, when they worked, played the two porno movies the team had in its inventory...I have never understood the attraction of a group of guys watching porn together, and when they watch the same porn together over and over again, I think there might be something wrong."

time off - time on

2009-10-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

So I hadnt touched my road bike since the Yuasa crit. Over a month. Then Lindsay stopped by on her way back to Hershey. A short 1 hour visit is never enough so I said, "I hope your trunk is big, because I'm gonna put my bike in it."... anyone? Kyle? Stayed the night in Hershey and then rode back here. The roads are actually really nice, direct, and not too hilly - 75 miles around 4:15. Beautiful day, and I was able to get into work for a few hours afterward, and now its off to Taco Tuesday.

Does anyone else think that Sanjay Gupta looks like Geronimo?

Time Tellers

2009-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Is PNC looking for:

a) people that can tell what time it is

b) tellers that work the peak-time

Bonus question: What is the peak-time of a bank that closes at 5 pm?

Collegiate Natz

2009-09-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

I have been busy renting wheels for Echappe for Collegiate Nationals. All the running around has made me miss traveling to those events. Going to Collegiate Track Nationals were my favorite racing experiences.

If anyone is interested in coming out to watch, you should. Its fun racing and free to get in.

Here is the homepage:
http://www.usacycling.org/events/2009/collegiatetrack/

hater in the house

2009-09-10T08:14:00.001-07:00

Recently Swaitek poked fun at people on facebooking about how they did at the training race or that they won while feeling like shit. You can take that shit however you want. Be offended because you think he is making fun of you. Or you can think its funny. But someone took it upon themselves to anonymously post this: “Matt, when did you become such a dickhead and pathetic ambassador of the sport? Oh, right…no results does that to a guy.” Read what happened afterwards here. The guy ended up apologizing and feeling stupid.

The point of all of this is - A lot of people feel really powerful when they are shielded behind anonymity. And all that power really makes for some hateful conversation. If you have something to say - why not put your name behind it. I dont mind the occasional dickheaded anonymous post, but why not just own up to what you say and who you are.

Let the anonymous comments begin...

you took my urinal

2009-09-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

a few interesting things from the weekend:

-after the Twilight Wilkes-Barre race, we got food at the local restaurant that held the registration. we racked up a decent bill between Matt, BBQ, BLea, Swiatek, the entire Pomajevich family, Kersten, Fitzy, and Abbey. and as we are set to pay, the waiter said that one of the sponsors has taken care of your bill!!! Cool shit man.

-at that same dinner Matt walked into the pisser right behind a really short guy. The really short guy picks one of the two urinals available - the taller one. Matt walks up to the shorter urinal, looks over at the short guy and says, "I believe you took my urinal"

-at the Tour of Basking Ridge, Matt and I missed the move and he attempted to lead me out for the sprint, only managed to get 17th though.

Videos from the Twilight Crit:

Matt off the front-

Me on the move-

One more video-

Twilight Wiredness

2009-09-05T01:49:00.000-07:00

Time: 5 am

Currently can't sleep. Too wired to fall back asleep. That is what twilight racing does to me. At least at the track, the lights make it feel like daytime. Twilight races mess with my head.

Wilkes-Barre Twilight: Matt got in the main break of the day (7 total guys). Odds were not fantastic, but far better than in the field. The finish was going to be dicey - too much room for everyone to move up and really fast. Covered the serious moves, sat on the back to try and get towed up to Matt. I would have started to pull had any of them looked like they might go across. But no luck. Back to the field, with 10 laps to go it started to get really dark and sketchy in parts of the field. I was looking to get into the field sprint but got realistic with about a kilometer to go - sprinting against Ben Kersten, Barlevav, Fitzy, Lanell, Epes, etc just wasnt going to happen on that fast of a course.

Alright, there. I got it out. Hopefully i can go back to sleep now.

it smells like poor kids in there

2009-08-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Chris Thater Memorial - went up to the race in the Mt. Khakhis van with BBQ, Jackie, Justin Williams, Guy East, and Anna Young. On the way up the van got pulled over for the registration being out of date. That was the second time in one summer that has happened to BBQ. Both cars - not his. The officer was really cool, he let us off the hook. But he wrote a ticket for Cyclesafe.org, and had us pass it on to the team. One of the hidden dangers of sponsoring a cycling team - you might get a random ticket in the mail. Anyways we were lucky the officer could tell that cyclists are poor and stuck it to somebody else.

The race was going really well for the first half. Then shit hit the fan on the front and everyone was trying to get away. I remember looking up and seeing the entire 100+ field in single file. The announcer said at one point that the gap from front to back was 30 seconds. I was in a bad spot when that happened, and found myself on all the wrong wheels. Gaps started opening up and that was the end of the show for me. Lesson learned - dont find yourself on the bad wheels even when it is easy, cause its definitely going to get hard sooner or later.

Track

2009-08-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Madison Cup is rained out tonight. Off to Kutztown for a Kiwi farewell.

Tuesday racing went pretty well. 5th in the Points race, but my disc bit it when the rim cracked during that race. It was wobbling pretty hard for the last half of the race, but I managed to finish. 3rd in the 2-km Scratch. 2nd in the Super Sprint. And 2nd in the omnium for the night.

Matt and I also raced in the madison. It was Matt's first madison and his first Tuesday. He did awesome, but I botched one of the sprints and could only manage 4th. That was enough to put us behind coming into the last sprint. I got the exchange and gave it hell, but I came up one wheel short of winning first place points and the race on that last sprint. I was feeling woozy all night, and my neck was killing me. So I decided to pay a visit to vom.com in the bushes. Its been a while since I threw up from racing. I will try not to do that again.

swedish kings of leon

2009-08-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or does this guy:

Kings of Leon

Sound like this guy:

Millersburg

2009-08-19T20:09:00.001-07:00

After soft-pedaling the Time Trial, got ready for the crit. The crit was a 1 mile technical course with a beast of an uphill. Around 150 feet of climbing per lap and 31 laps, so about 4500 feet of climbing... It was going to hurt. I got a bad start, but knew the first few laps were going to be crunch time, so I buried myself to get to the front. Good thing - 35 ppl of the 75 person field were pulled in the first 5 laps. Bad thing - I had to keep racing. I really suffered to make it half way through the race, but got pulled and placed at 35th or so.

Didn't feel any better for most of the road race. Nearly paid a few visits to vom.com during the first half of the race. But at the end of the 90 miles, I was ready for the field sprint. I think we were going for 5th. I took some risks putting myself on the Leaders Jersey's wheel, and was sitting good with two turns to go. But someone just a few wheels up braked far too much through that turn and we were left to a 20 meter gap to about 15 riders with 800 meters left to go. I made the decision to hit it out, and made it across and to the front of the field by the last turn, but I was fading and only managed to hold on to 8th in the field sprint and got 12th.

But the most important thing to be said about the weekend was what a stellar race the Tour of Millersburg is. The town really comes out to help and support it, and the atmosphere really trickles down through the races. Its what I really love about racing, and its given me tons of great friends over the past few years.

Guns

2009-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

I challenge anyone to convince me that this is a good idea:

Man carrying assault weapon attends Obama protest

A Polish Sendoff

2009-08-16T13:11:00.001-07:00

Had a party at our place to say bye to Kamil and Lukasz. It was good having them here. They are in a different class when it comes to racing. They can ride huge gears (up to 51x12) even for endurance races, and still hand it to really quality track racers in just about every event. Super humble considering that they are clearly world-class. We told them we were having a party for them after the racing this Friday, and Kamil and Lukasz dropped off 4 cases of beer and tons of chips and popcorn without us knowing. It was good having you guys, see you again next year hopefully.

I had to hit the bed early that night though. Got up at 6 am drive to Millersburg. Got there 20 minutes before my Time Trial and was literally the last one to pick up my number and literally the last in the Time Trial. More on the rest of the racing later.

PS - From what it sounds like crashing is the natural flow of things at Downers Grove

indecision

2009-08-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

Can't decide if I should go out and do the Tour of Millersburg. I was all set to register when I saw that both days have an 8 am start. I don't mind sucking it up for one day and getting up at 4:30 am for a 2 hour drive. But when I have to do it for the second day in a row right before a 90 mile road race, I start to second guess. Any help?

Also, can anyone explain to me why facebook keeps asking me to be a fan of the stupidest shit ever?

Nude Bike Racing

2009-08-10T14:27:00.001-07:00

Went down to Jay's to visit and pick up some new American Classic Road hubs. Jay recently found out that he has spinal cancer, and its been really tough on him just having to sit around his house. He just got done with surgery and is now in line for a bone marrow transplant. The cancer has probably been with him for over 10 years, and he has been fighting back pain pretty much the whole time. Jay is tough as nails and has a huge heart. He has always been there for the guys on Dynaflo and has asked for nothing in return. It was great to have a chat with him, and hopefully it kept his mind off of the great suckiness it must be to lose your mobility.

His house is like a museum of old cycling posters, cool old bikes, rims, hubs, etc. And that is where I found this photo and poster. You can buy the print for the Nude Race here.A disease like cancer is the great equalizer. You can see mortality creep into the eyes of the hardest man as the reality of cancer sets in. It makes me appreciate even more how brave my mom was to fight for 10 years and not let us kids know she was scared. Cause when the inevitable came, I know I was.

ticket

2009-08-10T07:20:00.001-07:00

Got a ticket in New York. Anyone know what NYS tickets run for running a stop sign? I would fight it to get it reduced, but I am not sure I want to drive 3 hours to court just to get the fine reduced. So whats the fine going to be - $50? $80?

Entourage

2009-08-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Bachelor party for Shawn last night. Party bus to Philly. It was kind of like Entourage, rolling up to different bars, drinking on the way there. We had a person for every character.

Bad News:

lets butt f%*! this race

2009-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

http://twitter.com/michaelballfaux

This is hilarious

Sprint work, beach, racing

2009-08-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

New sprint workout. Michael Freiberg and I did his patented "Make You Cry in a Cornfield" sprint workout. 20 seconds sprinting, 40 seconds coasting... for 20 minutes straight. It hurts, and I had a lot of trouble staying with him on the last 5 sprints. Michael has an SRM and relayed how wicked this workout really is:
-Every sprint he would peak at 1100 Watts
-He burned over 600 calories in 20 minutes
-Including the coasting (zeroes / not pedaling) he averaged over 300 Watts

Went to Long Beach Island for three days with Lindsay's family. LBI is pretty nice even if it is a little over built and over populated. The south tip of the island, though, is part of the Edwin Forsythe national park so it is completely untouched. It is called Holgate and its only open from September 1-March 31. It looks pristine and Lindsay and I are making plans to get back there for a nice weekend in September.

Hanging out with the family was fun. Lindsay's 4-year-old cousin is the cutest and bravest kid ever. She plows headfirst into waves three times her size and had a huge smile on her face the whole time.

Came back sunburned to race the Tour of Lancaster. Well everything except the TT, which was a good thing because I hear it was a torrential downpour. The road race went fairly well. It was not that fast overall, but every time we hit the new climb (~1/2 mile @11%), we would go ballistic. Freiberg soloed to the win taking advantage of our slow pace through the woods by building up a 4 minute advantage - that kid has got a motor. The main field narrowed down to around 20 guys, from about 60 at the start. I suffered on the last climb but made it back in for the sprint. Ended up 15th. Legs felt like crap for the crit. Just a field finish.

And not that I want to get confused with this blog with the end of post Hot Girl Pictures, but I didn't even have to go looking on the internet for this hot girl ; )

Crashing sucks

2009-07-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

And it sucks even more when it happens to a class act guy. Patrick Gellineau went down tonight at the track. For those of you that don't know Pat, he competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics and has been racing as a World Class Master for the past 20 years. He is the most soft-spoken and humble guy, but still hands it to us Stagaire Trackies in sprints at 58 years old. The crash was stupid, and the guy that caused it had the whole track to avoid going down. Patrick didn't look good, with a cut on his head and an apparent concussion. I really hope he bounces back, and that we see him again soon at the velodrome.

Anyone that knows Pat and might see him at the hospital or back home in NJ, pass on the well wishes.

A Yank, Two Poles, and an Aussie walk into a bar...

2009-07-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Went down to the Grandview Grand Prix with Keirin Cup Champion Kamil, Lukasz, and Freiburg. It is interesting travelling around with two Polish guys and an Aussie... You get a lot of questions. It was good fun. We missed the break so Kyle and I both made attempts to cross to it. I tried to go with Kamil and was putting the hurt on him over the top of the hill, but that got shut down quickly. Kamil later made it with Rodney, so I feel a bit stupid for not giving it another shot. And... for a 200 pound sprinter, Kamil has got heart for being able to cross to a break in a race that fast. Good on him.

Here is a cool shot from Friday night racing from www.cyclingcaptured.com:

PS - Here is Tarsh winning and getting her name on the Keirin Cup.

Friday Night Racing

2009-07-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

Did my first Friday night racing on the track. It was fun with the crowd there and the Keirin Cup going on. Keirin Racing is fun to watch, so I had a hard time focusing on my own events instead of watching it. For those that dont know what the Keirin is like check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGnLDr6jRSI

That video has some crashing, but luckily there wasnt any crashing in these Keirins.

I ended up getting 3rd in the 5 lap final and 2nd in the Super Sprint. 3rd in the omnium. I have a little bit more work to do before I am actually competent enough to win more.

And flattie Tarsh Hansen won the Women's Keirin Cup!!! We celebrated out with Kuklis, Pomajevich, and the crew at Sunset. All in all, not too bad of a night.

Good night!

Race Wheel Rental

2009-07-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of Echappe yet, then take a quick look around: http://www.racewheelrental.com/

Friends of mine - Gabe Lloyd and Dave Wiswell founded Echappe. They both raced for Columbia while I was at Penn State. Both are really cool guys and they seem to have hit the mark with their business. Its growing really fast, and now they are trying to branch into the track market. I am going to be maintaining and renting a few sets of wheels here. Soon I should get the 909 disc to rent out, but here is what we have available now:

Zipp 808 Track

Rental Rate: $20/event ($25 credit) - $20 insurance
Day Rate: $100/day (+$25/extra day) - $40 insurance

Retail: $2650

AC 58 Carbon - Zipp 404 laced to a American Classic hub

Rental Rate: $10/event ($15 credit) - $20 insurance
Day Rate: $75/day (+$25/extra day) - $40 insurance

Retail: $1800

If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to let me know. I am curious to see what everyone thinks of this, and I am hoping to get some traffic on these rentals.

Except Bright Turd

2009-07-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Found this sign on a ride the other day. Think about it for just a few seconds.

Mullica

2009-07-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Went down to South Jersey to race the Ronde van Mullica. I normally make some comment about how Jersey is the armpit of America, but I really thought the area we were in was really cool - beautiful pine trees and sandy landscape.

The race was really flat / easy rolling. Matt promised that he wouldnt try to get in the break, just so he can test out the legs after a few weeks of rest. So what did he do - he got in the break. I got to the front while the chase was disorganized to make sure it didn't get too organized. The break went from 30 seconds up to a minute and 20 seconds. And the best compliment for that hard work is this comment after the race: "Why was Dynaflo chasing their own break?" I take pride in the fact that I can make it look like I am chasing and have the break get further and further up the road. When we hit 20 miles to go with a 1:20 gap I pulled the plug on the stall tactics and faded back to the field. But the break really started to mess around and the field came closing back to the break... more on that later. The break was all over the road and disorganized while we made the catch at around 1 mile to go. I was lucky that Matt was such a beast, cause he was still able to lead me out for the sprint. I ended up getting 11th. Not a horrible result, but I think if I had a little more guts to squeeze by the oncoming car at 300 meters it could have been better.

But after the race, Matt starts talking about two guys from the same team in the break that were dicking around and not pulling or barely pulling, but more than strong enough to pull back any attack that Colavita and/or Matt tried to break it up. The guy, Mark Light, then comes over to explain himself. He said his teammate, John Durso, told him not to pull. I said that he made the wrong decision. He tried to argue that it was the right decision and his teammate was an ex pro and that I wasnt a pro... yada yada yada. In the end, results are all that talks. And in the break was better than 58th and 76th. Your license may say Cat 1 and Racing Age 41, but at Mullica it sure looked like those numbers should be switched.

Added 7/23 - I honestly didn't think that many people read this blog. I won't change anything I said above, but some people have said that you should "leave stuff on the finish line". Agreed. Sorry, for making something public that should not have been. I took the defense of the tactic as a defense of the result, but that really wasn't how I should have done it. John and Mark played their cards in a way that would hopefully deliver the win, and it didn't pan out. In the words of Joe Whitman - you got to risk big to win big. My little joke above, was stupid and not even that funny now that I read it again, but hopefully Durso and Light don't decide to take me into a curb next time we hit a corner. And for everyone else that seems to hate me or Dynaflo or Matt or anybody - there is always a person on the other side of the computer screen. Thats my lesson, I won't assume its only my friends. And for that, I am sorry.

Iron Hill

2009-07-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderfull wizard of PAIN. Iron Hill is tomorrow, and it will be fast.

Check out our tight little Team Webpage. Nothing fancy, but I like it.

Thats all, see you after Iron Hill.

Fitchburg

2009-07-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

My racing was over fairly quick. I did the time trial to make the time cut, so that I could help Matt improve his GC over the next few days. Then on the first lap of the circuit, the guy in front of me swept my front wheel and I went down hard. Cracked my helmet, and ended up not finishing the race.

Matt was He-Man in that race and went off the front in a race that always finishes in a sprint. He basically pulled the break out to a minute with little help from anyone else. Then he held on to take 10th, but more importantly improve from 20th on GC to 10th. Here he is finishing:And that made the next day such a buzz-kill. Matt ended up crashing when the field slammed on the brakes while he was in his pockets for food. He went down hard and had to get neutral support. Kyle did the right thing and stopped for Matt. And Matt did the right thing telling Kyle to go. Matt's bike needed a shit load of work to get it riding again. And Kyle chased for a whole lap before getting back on. Kyle made it back in and was in with a shot for the field sprint for 2nd, but cramped 100 meters from the line - Another buzz-kill... but what can you expect for 87 miles of hilly racing.

The crit ended uneventfully with Kyle sneaking in for 16th I think. Matt tried an early move that was doomed, because he was with 4th place on GC Gabe Lloyd. They gave it a go for 10 laps or so though:

DOMA

2009-06-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Republicans really like the Defense of Marriage Act. Which defends the 'sanctity' of marriage from same sex couples. Who is going to defend marriage from Governor Mark Sanford?

Madison

2009-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ben and I in an exchange. Thanks to Anthony Skorochod for the photo: www.cyclingcaptured.com

track

2009-06-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Just started getting back on the track again. I am committed to riding a small gear until my leg speed comes around, but damn it is hard with so many road miles and no track training. I think next week I will up the gear a couple of inches.

Did another madison with Ben. It is complicated to do a madison with a lot of teams that don't know what they are doing. But I was patient and just tried to ride safe despite what was going on. But what really pisses me off is a certain more experienced rider that tried to give me shit for his missed exchange. The dude was doing exchanges above the blue for no reason, and complains that I came underneath. The one and only time that it happened, I was following wheels and held down low. I am not going to slam back on the pedals, come around, and ride up to the rail just to come over his fat ass.

And if I was more like this guy I would straight up call him out, name and all. But I am going to try and keep my cool after losing it at the track when he confronted me. I do feel bad about that. Not about following all the wheels that are riding underneath while he is up on the blue line.

Amazing

2009-06-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Hopefully they have funding to really put this idea to use.