Quick and Dirty

and the winner is......

2008-03-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Mayo!!!!!! My total bill including ambulance ride, surgery and a night in a private room in the hospital came to a grand total of 1200 euros. That's about $1800.

That is a reasonable amount of money to pay for medical services. That's an amount of money that most people would be able to pay on their own for medical services. What would I have paid if my achilles had ruptured in the US? My guess is upwards of $60,000. That is an incomprehensible and absurd amount of money to be charged. Our system here is broken, I don't have an answer on how to fix it but something needs to be done. As far as I can tell from my dealings with my insurance company it's the insurance companies that are making money. I was informed by Blue Cross that if they deem my surgery a "non emergency" they will pay only $380 after the deductible is met. This irritates me because in this situation I'd be better off having no insurance at all and using the money I saved form having no insurance to pay the bill.

So when I got home I needed an ortho in the states to remove my cast and monitor my progress etc. I logged onto the Blue Cross website and clicked around on the "Find a Doctor" section, found a doctor and went from there. The doctor's office billed BC for me nice and simple right? Love letters from BC are showing up saying they don't cover the services provided by the ortho and nothing is being applied to my deductible. When I called the other day to find out why I was informed that my ortho is not a Preferred Provider. When I told the customer service rep that I found the ortho on their website under the heading Preferred Providers she told me that contracts can change and it's my fault for not knowing this. The people at the Doctor's office must not know either because they willingly bill BC.

Now that my blood pressure has gone up I'm going to hop on the trainer for an hour to calm down. Then I'm off to a warm beach for a week of holiday.

Barb

Two Months

2008-02-23T10:16:00.001-08:00

It's been a bit over two months and I've given the velcro boot the heave ho. I'm over that thing. Now I get to delve into my collection of nice shoes with heels and wear them around. A few things to note in this photo.....first, I'm standing on both feet, second my right leg is skinnier than my left and third the scar is hiding.

I got my bill for surgery yesterday and am starting a little contest. Guess closest to the correct amount (in euros) to my surgery bill and you'll not only get lasting fame but I will send you a personally signed limited edition trading card. The bill includes surgery, a night in the hospital and two inedible meals. Contest ends March 1st. Happy guessing!

Barb

One Month Later

2008-01-24T10:50:00.000-08:00

It's been one month. A month that feels like an eternity. As you can see the wound is healing nicely. Physical therapy starts in two weeks, right now I'm allowed to do little exercises with my foot. I'm still clomping around in the boot, that will continue until mid March when the boot will be shed and I can wear two shoes. Right now I'm working on wearing out left shoes. This afternoon I'm going swimming, my butt can only take so much one legged trainer riding.

Barb

A Moment of Kindness

2008-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

In an effort to continue my life without too many interruptions I've begun taking public transportation to the office in the city a few days a week. In the past I would either ride the entire way or drive to the Golden Gate Bridge park and then ride across the bridge into the city. I can't drive right now so the bus is my alternative.

Last night I was standing at the bus stop in the city when I saw my bus. So I went to the curb and waved my hand. I thought the bus driver saw me but apparently he didn't and he continued past me and through the traffic light. The driver of the bus behind him saw what happened pulled over and told me to jump on. He then proceeded to weave through traffic and get ahead of the bus that passed me by. We caught up to my intended bus and I was able to get on my bus home. Would he have done this if I was not hobbling around on crutches? Who knows but it was really nice of him.

So a big thanks goes out to Joel driving the bus to Santa Rosa.

Barb

A Shower

2008-01-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my cast was sawed off and the staples removed from my leg. My leg is now strapped into a velcro contraption and I'm allowed to put a little tiny bit of weight onto it. Too much weight and pain shoots up my leg. The incision still looks ugly and my leg is already shrinking. My leg disgusts me.

I took a real actual shower this morning. A luxury I've been deprived of for too long. It was marvelous, I stayed in the shower for a long time. I rubbed lotion on my gimpy leg.

One of the few benefits of being gimpy is I now have my own gimp pass. I can park in the blue zones, I don't have to pay for metered parking, and the 20 minute green zones are now my personal park as long as you want zones.

In one more month I can trade my gimp sticks for a pimp stick. During the next few weeks I'll be removing the heel lifts from under my foot slowly (and painfully) stretching my tendon back to it's original length. Or maybe I'll just be going crazy. The ortho did say that I could ride my bike on a trainer one legged. Now I just need a trainer and a cleat on the velcro boot.

Barb

What did I do wrong?

2008-01-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

Who have I offended?
What did I do wrong?
Why is my luck so bad?
If there is a god why does that god hate me so much?

First off the whole achilles thing was a total freak accident, my foot wasn't even touching the ground when it popped. Now just when things are looking good, the staples and first cast are scheduled to come off on Thursday, my leg doesn't hurt anymore, I don't have to sleep with my leg propped up on a pillow, I can make it home on public transport from San Fran without incident, I can clear a flight of stairs up or down without dabbing.

I slip on a treacherous sidewalk and eat shit ten feet from my door and bend my toes backwards. That really hurt (I'm trying not to use swear words even though they are appropriate in this situation). I'm hoping I didn't do any damage to my already damaged foot.

aaaarg.

I'm going to wallow in self pity for a few minutes then eat some painkillers.

Barb

Come check out some track racing at Hellyer!

2008-01-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Come on out everybody, and feel the funk...

More races, louder speakers, faster moto, bigger BBQ,
colder beer, sunny skies....these are the
characteristics of RTWC #2 @ Heyller.

Given the turnout we had @ RTWC #1, we added a Cs
race.

Sat Jan 12th

Track opens @ 1 (after the AM beginner session)

Racing Starts @ 3pm
40 lap Cs
60 lap Bs
100 lap As

$15 To Race
$10 To Ride

Free BBQ and Beer...tunes by DJ Snead

100% of Proceeds go towards sending the Proman Track
Team to World Cup races (Sydney, Beijing, Los Angles,
Copenhagen)

Latest Details
www.ridetheworldcups.com

Well, the girl's coming back...

2008-01-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

I've been scurrying around picking up the house and installing handrails by the toilet. The place is ready for a full blown cripple fight (a la J-j-j-jimmy and Timmay! of Southpark). If we didn't live on the ground floor (actually, the basement), I'd have an elevator installed. I'm also pretty sure that the healing purrs of our magic cat will speed up her recovery process.

Luckily for her, there will be some sweet celebrity events coming up. If you can't race, you might as well party right?

Rachell Lloyd is having her fundraiser on Jan. 5th and I'm bringing out the wheels of steel to provide beats for this hootenanny. That's right, I'll be spinning all my "newest" 45's from yardsales and fleamarkets, my deep, DEEP collection of classic hip hop (thanks Rob!) and funk, soul, etc. and whatever else I can gather up at the last minute. Don't listen too close, I'm perfecting my new "beatmatching by smell" technique.

I'm also playing records at Hellyer again for the next fundraiser to help the Proman track team. I'll gather up the pertinent info regarding all these events and post it soon.

Till then, Hooptie's got another mix of mine from a few months back posted on his blog. Record it to a cassette tape and play it on your Walkman:

http://web.mac.com/robevans1/ODHBikes/Podcast/Archive.html

Packing up

2008-01-02T07:56:00.001-08:00

MMMM, a fresh waffle.

It's almost time to go home. I've arranged for a wheelchair ride through all of the airports and put the bikes into their case. My leg is feeling better and I've dropped the prescribed painkiller and am on Advil only. I've learned how to go down steps on crutches and tried out several different toe covering options. It's been quite a week.

Barb

New Cast

2007-12-31T05:16:00.001-08:00

Had a trip to the doctor today. He took off the old plaster open cast, cleaned my leg and put on a nice lighter weight fiberglass cast.

The wound was a bit more graphic than I had imagined. I was expecting some nice tidy sutures and instead got frankenfoot. I also got another 20 days worth of blood thinners. I have to inject myself every morning (not fun), it's kinda painful and each injection leaves a bruise on my belly. I'm trying to make a pleasing pattern of bruises.

Barb

An Update

2007-12-29T11:00:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for the kind words and support. I finally made it into cycling news, http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/dec07/dec29news scroll down, I'm near the bottom. Not sure what happened on those quotes but I think they went from English to Flemish and back to English. I'll be in a cast for a while and on the bike outside in about three months. My current cast is a heavy old fashioned plaster cast, I'll be requesting a lightweight space age material for the next one. My crutch skills are improving, I made it up the steps without dabbing today. Going down the steps I'm still on the butt slide program. Does anyone know a good PT in the North Bay? Someone that might be willing to trade? I'll try to keep everyone up to date on my progress and there will be a few more cyclingnew.com diaries coming out.

take care,

Barb

Surgery, ouch.

2007-12-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

I got an email from barb and she's back from the hospital. She's feeling pretty crummy, but the surgery went well. She will have a cast for at least 2 weeks. I will get to talk with her tomorrow, but she is planning to stay till Jan.3 as planned rather than spend a bunch of money to get an earlier flight. She has a good support crew over there so I think she's in good hands. Thanks for the kind words- j

Really bad time for Barb at the world cup....

2007-12-26T22:26:00.000-08:00

Barb ruptured her achilles tendon today while racing at the Hofstade world cup race in Belgium.

She had surgery earlier today and I'm still waiting to hear from her. I will post here as I know more.

More epic norcal action!

2007-10-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I had another good weekend but there were some snags...

Yesterday was LARPD #? in Livemore. I showed up late and just put my slithersuit on and raced with no warmup or course inspection. Dang,11:30- I was pretty sure the race was supposed to go off at noon.

Anyway, I just bided my time and only attacked a couple times in the middle part of the race. I just tried to get warmed up for the first few. It was me, Henry Kramer and "mountain" Larry Hibbard off the front for most of the race; we were joined by Jason Rawles later on in the race after we'd dropped Larry. Anyway, on the last lap it was just me and Henry.

I out maneuvered him in the last few corners and I was set up perfectly after the final set of barriers for the last 180 before the very short finishing straight. Henry tried going inside just before this corner and I shut the door on him... we were leaning on each other a little because I kept my line and didn't back down... He was a little chapped after the race but we talked it over- he was acting cheeky and I just rode my way around that final turn. A decent win and a nice prep for today.

Today's Pilarcitos race at Candlestick was a great track on a beautiful day. The plan was to get away at the start with my teamamtes Dave Wyandt and Aron O'Dell and work together to beat Justin Robinson, who's riding well right now and is just ahead of Dave and I in the Pilarcitos series overall.

I was on time to the race today, but late to the start. After warming up, I took a piss and dropped off my jersey in the car, rolled on the suit and headed to the start. Whoa, everyone's lined up... no prob, I'm second callup, they'll let me in... As I'm walking my bike on its back wheel through the bunch the gun goes off... Oh, boy...

I was maybe 30 deep, maybe more. There seemed to be a lot of riders. I started getting wicked; dodging, yelling and flailing through the dust and mayhem. Somehow, by the end of the lap I was on Dave's wheel and we're sitting 5th and 6th. We move through a few more riders and begin clawing our way back up to Justin and Aron, the only one from our team to make the move. We make contact with Justin just as Aron gets a flat on the fastest part of the course... bye Aron...

The rest of the race was really tough for me, the first lap kicked my ass. I couldn't do much attacking, but Dave went away and I got in front of Justin and went slow for the tech parts of the track and let him chase on the straightaways.

This went on for a couple laps till Justin brought Dave back. We slowed after that for a while, but eventually Justin attacked and we stayed on him. Dave got another try or two in and eventually I started feeling alright again and went deep on the paved section. I went too hard- I was turning the 12t cog as fast as I could and I almost lost traction in the dirt section before the finish. I looked back to see a good gap, I was told I had 20 seconds! If this had been the last lap, I might have been able to hold it together but as it was- my eyes started rolling back in my head. I was caught again after a half a lap.

But I didn't go out the back door! I stayed on Justin and Dave and fought through to the last lap. I wanted to try and sprint with Justin and just not get dropped in that lap before the end. Didn't happen, I crashed in a corner and limped in for 3rd. Dave was 2nd. GAWDAMMIT! We got handled by Justin, I can't believe how close we got after our mishaps (Dave was behind an early crash). Very hard race for me, hardest this year. I think today might have been one of my fastest days ever, I feel very fit and I think I can beat Justin soon. Justin is a very good competitor and one of the most well rounded riders I know, I just want to beat him once this year!

Anyway, it was a great weekend and I'm glad I stayed local instead of going to the UCI race in L.A. Barb went there and was 2nd after Rachel Lloyd, so that's good. I saw lots of friends and got to chill at the Rock Lobster tent to watch the women. I brought my portable turntable so it was fun to play some records for everyone and swill some beer. My parents were out watching and my dad was taking pictures so they had a great time. Next weekend will be sweet, it's the Velo Bella Surf City Halloween race!

Barb and I racked up some 3rd place finishes this weekend...

2007-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Barb was in the Hamptons this weekend at dome UCI races and she did what she set out to do- get some UCI points and be at least 3rd after Lynn Bessette and Katie Compton. She did this yesterday and today, so I think it's safe to say she's back to her old ways! There's a report up on cyclingnews.com as well as some hot photo's like this one:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php?id=/photos/2007/oct07/southampton071/WSC_0049

I raced at Pilarcitos #1 today and I raced ok, although I could feel the cold took a little out of me.

I managed to sneak up to the front line at the start, I knew there would be trouble with such a short bit of pavement before we went offroad. I pinned it at the start and kind of got the holeshot, although Cameron Falconer came around me as we hit the dirt. I sat on and just waited to see how things would shake out- with Andy J-M and Justin Robison in the race, I didn't have to wait long.

And came up and past me at soon enough and I jumped on his wheel and we were off. I was wondering a bit about my teammates Dave Wyandt and Aron Odell who were nowhere to be seen... They were hung up in the start and missed the train, it turns out. So Andy and I went around the track a couple times, I sat on and just tried not to get dropped as he lit it up every time we got to the pavement or a straightaway. I was pretty psyched to hang on, Andy was back to his old self and seemed faster than last week. After a few laps, Justin rode back up to us which I knew was a problem for me. I think this was about 20 minutes into the race. I wanted to attack right as he got to us, but Andy knows what to do and he kept it steady for a bit to let Justin catch his breath and wouldn't let me by.

Those two started giving me the 1-2 and it didn't feel like there was much I could do about it. Eventually Andy got away and Justin just kept me behind him and blocked. I would go around on the pavement and go as hard as I could till we got to the barriers and he would just go ripping by me before the twisty parts. There's a reason they call him "The Dancing Bear", that guy is murderous on foot.

I think I bobbled somewhere and Justin got his gap. If you give this guy an inch, he'll take a mile and he looked pretty commited to the last part of the race. I actually brought him back to within 10 seconds by the end, but I couldn't catch him. My legs were cramping a bit and I think this is where I was feeling kind of spent, maybe partly from the weeks illness.

Dave Wyandt rode up to 4th, behind me and would have caught me with another lap. He's riding really strong, soon enough I think Dave will have some wins. He hasn't had a clean race yet with mechanicals and crashes, so it's just a matter of time. O'dog was a bit behind him I think, but I don't think he was 5th. So, it was a decent day for the HRS/Rock Lobster team. It would have been a lot more fun if Dave and/or Aron had got up to the action so we could have had a bit more of a fair fight.

Unfortunately, Andy had a trip and fall after the race and broke his collarbone. He was jogging on the course (don't ask me...) and he fell in the barriers and either re-broke his collarbone or maybe broke his other one? I'm not totally sure but I felt really bad whe I heard this news from Josie... Andy was really bummed when he was leaving and I can still hardly believe this happened.

Aside from that, it was a great day.

Yard sale sounds

2007-10-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of time over this last year learning about vinyl records and record collecting. It turns out that Marin is like some kind of a frickin' gold mine for digging after records and I've gotten pretty hooked on searching for interesting music on vinyl.

I am a fiend for yardsales and most of my best finds have come on an early saturday morning. There are a ton of people every weekend trying to get rid of those old heavy records around here. I usually pay about $1 a record at the average yardsale, but today's haul came at $3 per.

I found a sale near my house on craigslist that I thought would yield an interesting collection. I could tell because the guy was selling vintage stereo equipment as well as tools and records. I showed up at 9, when he advertised his sale would start. I was pissed because there were already people rooting around, I try and respect the "no earlybirds" ads. However, none of these people were after records and he hadn't brought his music out.

I got the first try at looking through his collection and I came up with some really great finds, some of which appear to be pretty valuable. I love getting the first look at a collection!

I found several great Zappa albums, a few Talking Heads albums (including a 45 rpm 12" of 3 songs I've never heard and a limited edition clear vinyl of Speaking In Tongues). There was a lot of jazz and I picked out a few promising looking albums of that genre. I don't know a lot about jazz and I don't really know classical either, and there was a lot of classical in there as well.

The big finds of the day were a couple of bootleg recordings from the 70's: The Who "Decidedly Late Response" which is some live recordings from their 1973 north american tour and Van Morrison "Van the Man" which is a live recording from the Fillmore West in 1970. These are in very good condition and both are pretty valuable so I'm hoping to pay a good chunk of next month's rent with these.

I also found a great copy of Lightnin' Hopkins "Live at the Bird Lounge" and a wierd experimental recording from Sweden by Ralph Lundsten and Leo Nilson called "Elektronisk Musik" that appears to be fairly valuable as well.

I should take some pictures, some of these have really remarkable covers. Actually, I should take my camera to the yard sales- this guy had a bunch of really cool stuff. I don't know, people may actually have very little interest in hearing about this kind of thing... Oh well, it keeps me off the streets at least.

A cold got me.

2007-10-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, it sucks to catch a cold when I'm feeling fast. Hopefully it will pass quickly, I'm looking forward to this weekend's Pilarcitos race.

While not training for the last few days I did some bike work. I like how this one came out, I have fun setting cross bikes up.

These Jagwire brake pads seem nice and look cool with the Paul brake.

I use a little hanger from the lower stem faceplate bolt for the front brake cable routing.

Those tires are Challenge Grifo 34's- pretty much the ultimate Nor-Cal sneaker- on some old Bontrager race-lite tubular wheels. Otherwise it's a solid Shimano bike, all Dura-Ace other than the cranks (47t/38 FSA chainrings) and 12-27 cassette which are Ultegra. Ritchey WCS seatpost, Easton EA-50 stem, Ritchey Pro 26.0 bar. Gnarly old Bontrager saddle.

I've glued 13 tires this week too.

Whoa, I didn't even race on sunday...

2007-10-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

I was tired yesterday. I wanted to race and I think I would have probably gone along ok, but the drive back would have been tough. I went to sleep at 9 pm last night! It looks like Dave Wyandt basically held his own against Andy and Justin, but I wish I could have been there to even things out a bit.

Today was a great reminder of how nice my life is. I spent the day hanging out with Barb, pedaling around real slow and playing records. I also managed to coordinate some work type stuff and make a little money, which is always good. The weather was sweet and the sun felt great as we rode. How am I this lucky?

I'm looking at a week of scurrying around setting up cyclocross bikes and gluing tires. Barb is heading to the NY for some UCI action on thursday and her bikes/wheels/tires are nearing completion. I really need to break the camera out and start documenting some of the madness as it unfolds in my underground lair. There are some hot rigs rolling out of my garage lately!

Yar! I got the first place necklace today!

2007-09-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

I started today out thinking I'd be racing for 2nd place- I did a lap with the newly healed but still lightning fast AJM before our race and got to hear a little about his 2(!) top five finishes last weekend at Starcrossed. However, the Rock Lobster numbers were not in his favor and with the likes of Dave Wyandt and Aron O'dell on my side I was figuring we could hopefully make things tough for him.

The course was... interesting. I went out last night and spent some time with Brian the promoter trying to help him do the most with what he had to work with... Todays course wasn't totally to my liking, but Brian took some critical suggestions to heart and made a pretty raceable track for us. White's Hill school is on a small patch of land and although there are some good features for a cross course, but it's pretty tight and there are some very awkward spots that can't be avoided in order to use all the land at his disposal. Although there were a lot of places that spectators had to walk across the course, there were some vigilant marshalls who did their job well and to my knowledge there were no collisions as a result.

After a bit of joking around with Casey at the start (ok guys, there's not a safe part to this course and it's early in the season so just take it easy... oh, and by the way, $500 for the winner...) Casey tooted his whistle and off we went. I knew that after the wide open grassy start there was a very tight spot before the first tricky off-camber so I went out hard. I got to the off camber first and rode it clean as I heard a few curses and the sound of tires loosing traction so I gassed it.

Soon enough, I was out front with a pretty sizable gap to Andy who was being shadowed by Dave and Aron. This is a nice way to start things off- I didn't kill myself, but I was riding easily around the technical parts. I think I was out there for 4 laps till Andy brought me back. I was glad he didn't attack me too hard right then and it was managable to ride with him. We rode around for a few laps while the cheers went a bit like: "Go Andy, Go Santa Claus!". Don't worry, I will soon disassemble my beard, and you'll all be sorry!

We rode till 2 to go and Dave made an attack that seemed to stick. I rode on Andy's wheel till we got to the technical parts where I'd pass him so I could slow things down for Dave. My hope was to let Dave get a gap, then attack Andy when Dave was clear. Dave dropped his chain as he went over a barrier though, and we caught him as he was remounting his bike.

Here was where I felt the pressure of the race again... I was pretty happy to let Dave get the win and then try for second. Now it was my turn to try and I figured that Andy would unleash his fury at any time. As we approached the soccer fields, I knew that I had to lay it down. Incredibly (to me) this worked and I arrived at the far side of the field in front of Andy still! I knew that from this point to the finish it would be very hard for Andy to pass me. He tried, but I was ready and it didn't happen. I didn't crash and sealed the deal for my 3rd win this year. I was genuinely thrilled to put my hands up for this one!

It was really fun to win a race like this when I didn't think I could. I'm happy with my fitness and I'm enjoying the new experience of getting to try for the win each weekend. I had a great time racing with my teammate Dave Wyandt, we work well together and I think we can both have some more wins this year. There was a lot of excited spectators and kids at this race who seemed to really enjoy the spectacle.

I hope I can try for the win again tomorrow at CCCX. I believe The Clown (Wicks) will be in attendance so if I'm lucky he'll have a bad day like Andy had today... although he'll probably still win even if he does.

Ha! If nothing else, I can write about building bikes and getting beat at cyclocross!

2007-09-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

This was a nice day at the races. The first CCCX race, fair weather, just about everybody from my Rock Lobster team, the swiggboss horn- as good as it gets.

Best of all: Barb won her first cyclocross race since her mystery illness. This was a big victory for me too, since I put her bike together and glued her tires last night. As the mechanic, I'd like to make sure everyone knows that even though no one will care (mechanics usually only get credit for mishaps, as you probably know...). Anyway, she rode great so that was cool.

My race went pretty well too. I sat on teammate Aaron O'dell's wheel for the first lap (thanks dude!) and bided my time to see what Justin Robinson would do. Unfortunately, my other teammate Dave Wyandt tried to hop a barrier and had a crash on this lap. Justin decided to race on lap 2, and we were away.

He and I rode together for another couple laps till I had a dab in a corner as he was on the front. This is how races like this are won and lost, so I was pissed as Justin made a gap. I stayed as steady as I could and continued making my laps on the course till I was able to make contact with him again. This was good, and I managed to try and attack a couple times once I got back on. Justin is a very tough rider, and it was very difficult for me to strike a balance between making things hard for him and getting to the end of the race.

As we reached 3 to go, I could see Dave Wyandt catching back up to us so I tried to get in the front and slow Justin and I's pace. He caught on with 2 to go and things were starting to look good for us- Dave seemed ready to attack and still able to race after his big effort.

With 2 to go, Dave and I both took turns throwing out some attacks and making Justin chase. As we got into the last lap, Dave was in front, I was second with Justin on my wheel. I was trying to let Dave do his thing and keep Justin in check when sure enough- Dave ate shit trying to hop the same barrier that took him down on lap 1. I rode hard although my legs were feeling crampy and let Justin pass me before the critical runup; my plan was to sprint him on the pavement. As we came off the last set of barriers, I knew the finishing pavement was too long... It was a mistake to let him sprint first, I didn't have a chance.

So, 2nd for me, 3rd for Dave and 4th for O'dell (I think). 3 in the top 5 is good for our team and Rob Evans (http://web.mac.com/robevans1/ODHBikes/Podcast/Archive.html) was 6th so we had a presence. I enjoyed racing for the win and I'm happy with my fitness (and the 2nd place cash, thanks Rod and Keith!), and I was glad to make Justin suffer. Hopefully I can beat him this year- if I can do it once a season I know I'm doing something right. The Rock Lobster team was looking pretty solid throughout the day's races and I think the Boss (and other sponsors) must be proud of the turnout today.

Next weekend should be pretty wicked, we've got 2 good races on the calendar one of which is in my back yard (Lion of Fairfax). I'm looking forward to that and the party at Cameron's house (come one, come all!) as well as the next installment of CCCX.

Alright that does it!

2007-09-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna write some blogz.

It's cross season, and I'm glad to be back at it. I took a bit of hiatus and didn't do a single race this summer. This left me lots of time to pursue other interests (when you don't race, you get to have other interests).

I've had some fun over the last few weeks at the LARPD races, the DFL in GG park and at the Sacramento race yesterday. I'll be at just about every race on the Nor Cal calendar- I'm only going to travel to the USGP races in OR and nationals for the elite and 30-34 races. Otherwise, I'm staying local.

I'm gonna try and write about stuff other than bike racing, but there will probably be lots about that too. You can expect to see more pictures of the cat, plus other way more interesting stuff.

Tune in, more to come soon...

Kitty in a bucket

2007-03-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

2007-02-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

OK GODDAMNIT! I'll write a new blog post...

2007-02-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

I've really had no motivation to even look at this damned blog, but what the hell. I'll do my best to start it back up again...

I've been practicing on the decks a lot and trying, TRYING! to make a tape that you can listen to and not cringe. It's harder than it might seem. I've moved on from my original turntables that I got at a yardsale, I have the real ones now (technics sl-1200's) with a pretty decent mixer. So I have the basics covered, as far as the gear goes. I have a pretty good couple crates of records now too. Most of them were Hooptie's (http://web.mac.com/robevans1/iWeb/ODHBikes/Home.html), but I've been digging at some record stores and thrift stores and on ebay and I've expanded the collection quite a bit. Here's my setup as it is...

I've been training again, now that it's raining like a bastard. I took nearly 6 weeks off the bike, something I've never really done in at least the last 5 years. I did ride a little here and there, but I was mainly off. It was really pretty nice! But it feels great to do some training again.

Barb has been training again too, her illness seems to have mostly gone away. We've had some fun rides together and we've even done a few laps at Tamarancho- mountain bikes really are fun. Anyway, I'll try and post a little more and make Barb post too. I still need to do a nationals re-cap, that was actually pretty epic...

2006-12-31T23:42:00.000-08:00

Last weeks races...

2006-12-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

I had some good rides last week, I'm on track for at least some promising fitness for this weekend's championship races. I'll have a 7th row start, so I don't have much hope for a top 20 like last year but I'll race hard and try not to get lapped!

The race last saturday was pretty awesome- The long awaited epic muddy day at the Watsonville fairgrounds. The Velo Bella crew put on a fun event and the weather provided the kind of conditions that Nor-Cal crossers say they crave... but seem to avoid when they finally arrive! I was surprised by the low turnout but oh well, it's easy to get spoiled around these parts.

I had a decent start, John Funke was kind enough to let me slide in in front of him for a second row starting place. John dashed up into the mix on the first lap along with Justin, Andy J-M, and my teammate Dave Wyandt. Ben J-M and The Clown were pretty much gone by the end of lap 1, and that left the rest of us to fight for 3rd.

I knew I had an advantage with a nice clean bike each lap, so I kept cool and waited for Dave and Justin's bikes to get heavy and stop working! It worked, I put some space on them by the end of the 2nd lap and actually rode up to Andy! I was pretty happy with this, but it wasn't long before he ran away from me on one of the horrific muddy-corral runs. I stayed steady and tried to be one with the mud. This pretty much worked since I kept Andy on the run for the rest of the race. I felt good- I don't really enjoy racing in the mud, but it does play to my strengths. I was very with my 4th place finish, but I do wish I could have stayed with Andy to the finish.

Sunday's race was looking to be another messy one, the track at Ft. Ord has a lot more fast pedalling parts though, so I knew it would be tough. I spent the night at my teammate Brent Chapman's house with him and his wife Jen. We had fun since Barb stayed down too so she wouldn't have to drive home in Saturday's raging rainstorm. On Sunday, Brent and I went to the race together and he ended up just helping me with my bikes, etc. since his back was feeling cranky. He put in a pretty big effort on Saturday (and earlier in the week) setting up and tearing down the Surf City course, so he deserved a restful day of cheering and hanging out at Central Coast. Thanks Brent!

So anyway, I got on my bike and rode a slow lap on the course. I cleaned that bike, and got on the other one to pedal around and try to get my legs to move after all the running from the day before. I was having fun saying hi to everyone and putting around when I compulsively yanked the front wheel up to wheelie for Sabine... Whoops, I've got thick gloves on and I can't pull the brake in time! I totally looped out and went down hard on my back on the pavement. I landed on the top of my hip on my lower back and saw a flash of pain. I was really surprised and I couldn't tell if I was ok right away. I walked it off, and pedalled for a bit to see if I could race. I decided to suck it up and pay the price for my dumb move. Let this be a lesson to you all- showboating doesn't pay. And always be sure you can really work the rear brake before you go to ride a wheelie.

The "gun" went off and we hit the gas. I was feeling some adrenaline from my crash and I led out the first lap. This was a bit of a mistake, and Dave Wyandt and Justin Robinson rode up to me for lap 2. Dave and I tried to 1-2 Justin for a while, but we weren't really going hard enough to make it tough for him and soon we all rode together at a less vicious pace. This was a mistake, because you can't let a guy like Justin have a rest in this kind of situation. He was in front when we came into a tricky mud hole and he went through no problem. Dave botched it, and then I botched it. Justin saw this and took off. Dave started to give chase, and tried to tell me to get on his wheel. This was a mistake since I was feeling bad, and Justin extended his gap. Dave chased in earnest after this, and I kind of rolled home for 3rd. Dave was very close to Justin at the end- I think he could have gotten him if this race was a full hour. It ended at 50 minutes, which was good for me but bad for Dave... Oh well.

More great racing in Nor-Cal, perfect training for nat's. I'm actually in Providence right now hanging around in the hotel while Simon, Evan, Paul and Dan do their masters races. So far, I only know that Paul got lapped at the end by Ned Overend. Results soon to come on the others...

NorCal racing at it's finest!

2006-12-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

You know, I had a great time racing yesterday. The first Coyote Point race that Tom did was also my first ever cross race, so that course holds a special place in my heart. I think I may well have raced every 'cross since then at coyote point, I love racing close to home and I appreciate the Pilarcitos gang's effort at these events. Tom and his crew put on a top notch event each and every time, and I love 'em for that!

I had a nice drive down through the city in my shitty Ford Escort Service wagon, with bikes stuffed in and spare wheels up to the ceiling. I had the new DJ Shadow bumping in my blown out speakers and I was feeling fine on the way down.

I made it to the race in time to do some hot laps on both bikes and be sure the tires were dialed. Got to yell at the duffers during their race and caught up with as many cyclocross brothers and sisters as I could while I got my act together. I ran a Dugast 34 Rhino in the front and a silk 32 Typhoon in the back, and I'll tell you that was a very good combo on that track. I lucked out and didn't get anything sharp stuck in them too, so the risk was worth it this time. What good is the killer rubber if it doesn't see the 'cross track?

So, anyway Casey blows the whistle and off we go- I managed to start in the second row behind the series callups. Jeez, I got swarmed! I think I was 15th as we went up the hill on the pre-lap. I just did my thing and by the time we came off the sandy beach I was second wheel, behind Ben J-M. That beach was perfect. If there is a sand obstacle on a cross track, it's best if some run and some ride. That's a sign that it is just right for 'cross.

I settled in and just sat on Ben's wheel. We were riding away from the others, yet the pace didn't seem ridiculous. I was pretty psyched, my goal is always to mark Ben (or Barry, or Andy....) at these local races and see how long I last. This time I didn't last long. We got to the top of the climb and in the deep dirt right before the upper paved section my front wheel went over a fist sized rock that I couldn't see and I was on the ground. Bitch! I couldn't chase back on and in short order the chase group of John Funke, my teammate Dave Wyandt and Chris McGovern were upon me.

As we all made our way back around for the second (third?) lap, Chris dodged around me before the downhill turns in a rather aggressive manner... I regret to say that there were a few sharp words exchanged. I'll admit that I kind of heckled him as he did this, I figured it might be good to put him on edge as we went into the technical parts since a bit of pressure never hurts. Chris managed to botch the next few downhill corners and we made our way to the beach where he ended up having to change bikes- a soft tire was affecting his handling and that kind of ended his race. Chris is a good friend of mine and we had a laugh about the whole thing after the race, but I have to say he's got the mouth of a masters racer on him... and I guess I kind of race like a junior sometimes so I probably deserved it! Chris is super strong right now and I wouldn't have been surprised if he just rode back to Ben had it not been for that flat, the guy's wound tight!

So after that it was just me, Dave and John. We went around a few more times till John had a flat, and then it was just Dave and I. Dave basically drove it home, I went in front here and there but he had that glint in his eye so I let him do his thing. We rode in together for second and third so that was cool.

I'm pretty psyched to race next weekend, I'm feeling good and I'm glad to be home. I will race both the CCCX and Surf City races so that should be good prep for the big show in RI.

Check out http://teamrockblogster.blogspot.com/ to learn about all our other sweet team victories. The HRS-Rock Lobster crew was out in force and we sealed the team competition! Shelly Olds won the womens over-all and Aaron Kereluk was 2nd to old man Funke in the mens GC.

Josh and Barb's Nature Walk

2006-12-02T18:58:00.000-08:00

Josh and I went for a nature walk today. It was a balmy warm December day and we went to Drake's Estero at Point Reyes. I had tried to go here once before but ended up at the lighthouse with the keys locked inside the car. Josh had to leave work and drive all the way out to the lighthouse with a spare key.

I saw a really great tree.

and fantastic mushrooms in the pine forest.

This one looked familiar, where had I seen it before?

Barb

My new favorite bike!

2006-12-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

The other day, I put a new bike together.

I put a new ride together maybe 3 or 4 times a year. At least one new roadbike, rebuild the TT bike, and, if I'm really lucky, a couple of new 'cross bikes.

These are all special purpose racing bikes. And aside from these, I have one other kind of bike that I only use for training and for fun. And that's my fixed gear bike.

I've had a track bike that is ready for road use by virtue of around a 65" gear and a front brake for several years now. It was a good bike to ride, but on the big side. It was a '74 Schwinn Paramount, and since I'm poor and it's highly collectable, I sold it on ebay for a ridiculously high price.

Dave Pearson, who put me up at his house a couple weeks ago gave me this Serrotta track frameset while I was staying with him. This thing is all business- it was really tricky drilling the fork for a brake, and there is not much room for big tires on this bugger. We were just talking about frame size preference and I mentioned that i ride a 53 cm top tube, so he hauls down this old, chipped up Serrotta from the attic and asks "got any use for a track frameset?"

Well, yeah! That thing is perfect!

Check out how close the brake fits on here- I got super lucky when I drilled this fork.

If you don't already have a fixed gear bike, you should think about getting one. The fixed gear bike is a true pleasure to ride, it's not as sketchy as you think. Just because you ride one doesn't mean you have to go out and get some tight jeans, a trucker hat and a studded belt.

Just set it up like your road bike, with brake hoods and at least a front brake. There's no shame in a rear brake too, but it's not really needed once you're used to the direct drive drive-train. Your legs and the front brake can provide more than enough stopping power for most situations, it just takes some getting used to! Skidding the fixed gear is right up there with riding wheelies and doing trackstands for me- easy, fun and best saved for solitary rides for your own entertainment! Skidding the rear wheel doesn't really slow you any better than using the brake, but it is addictive and once you figure it out you'll probably have to do it till your legs are sore. Just put a Specialized Armadillo on the back and change it out once you can see the red stripe...

On your fixed gear, you can feel like your part of a revolution! You can wear special clothes and put little cards in your spokes to show people that you know about a hip new trend! Or you can just set up a fixed gear, learn how to ride it and just enjoy it for yourself. Because fixed gear bikes have been around for a long time, and they'll be there when the hipsters all buy Segways.

Reports from the last few weeks-

2006-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

I've been getting out there and pinning that number on for the last couple weeks, the races in the pacific northwest were pretty fun.

I stayed with my friend Dave Pearson and his family in Washington for the first few nights. Dave is nuts for cross, he's got like 4 bikes that are all set up the same. His daughter Ashley is 13 and she comes out and races as well, on saturday she totally rolled the other under 13 girls at Tacoma! Keep an eye on this girl, she has what it takes!

That runup is definitely not "kid-friendly" but Ashley managed to run it well enough, this was the first time she's had to shoulder her bike...

I had a great time with these guys. The host housing that I've had this year has been really awesome and is often more fun than the racing.

My Washington race... less spectacular than Ashley's, but not bad. I had my usual 5th row call-up and I picked a row on the right side. The gun went off and there was some elbows out, mine included. I don't think I was ever in the top 20, probably close to 30th place after the first time up the runup. I found myself in a group after that and did my best to race it out, I had to sprint Matt "Cyclo" Kraus for 31st and I got him. Lot's of other stuff happened in the race, but I've waited too long to do this report and I've forgotten most of it. I actually felt pretty good after things got going, I had good speed on the flats and I used the 12t cog on several parts of the course. I could notice the motor pacing from earlier in the week, which was cool. I was not going well up the run though- if that thing was about a third as long, this would be my favorite course.

Sunday race in OR was muddy, you've probably seen the photos and read the reports. This race was pretty awesome because it was ridable mud, with only a couple places that you had to run with the bike. It's actually a good thing that it was muddy because this course was flat as a pancake and if it was dry it would have been a really fast crit. Paul Sadoff was in the pits for me with his wife Holly and Allen Ott. These guys were there for me in WA as well and they were very helpful both days- Paul raced really well on sunday, finishing 9th! I think this is almost certainly his best ever result at a big race, and I think he was pretty psyched about it. Good ride Paul!

I lined it up in the 5th row again and the gun went off. I kept cool and I tried to move up while we were still on the pavement. As we hit the mud going full tilt, there was a pretty big crash to my right! I avoided it nicely and pinned it- Paul claims I came by in 15th place after the first lap! I tried to stay steady and not do anything rash, in these conditions you're basically racing against the course. Picking lines that don't bring you to a stop is very difficult, so I rode everything in the 46x25 or 23and just tried to power along. I wanted to keep my place, but in the next few laps there were a lot of really fast guys riding back by me who had been in the crash. On the last few times around, the course was getting considerably worse and there were more spots that you had to run. I managed to saw off a couple guys that I'd been racing with and finished it up. Sheesh, 29th.

This week I've been doing a lot of bike work for people and trying to get my act together and pay some bills, but I've had some good training too. By the way, does anyone need some work done on bikes? If you're in the area, drop me a line.

Yesterday was cccx at Prunedale. I was feeling chipper while warming up in the hours before the race and I like this course so I was optimistic about my chances for a win. I've won this race before and I like it when it comes to a sprint on the uphill pavement. Oops, there's Barry Wicks. Now I'm feeling optimistic about a 2nd place finish... My teammate Dave Wyandt was also on the line. So I figured that at best, he and I could ride ourselves inside out and maybe throw some attacks at Barry so he had something to chuckle about before he just rides off for the win.

We hear the whistle and off we go. Once we get to the end of the pavement, I got to the front and hit the gas. Barry and dave are there, so I just tried to go hard and ride the course. This was not to be, as I slid out crazily in a loose rocky corner and landed on my side and hand. This sucked, and now Barry and Dave were going away and I was with Cameron Falconer and some others. I immediately hit the gas and rode back up to Barry and Dave. I tore a big flap of skin off my palm too, which hurt, as did my ribs.

Barry was riding the short burly runup, for sport. I was behind him for the first one and I ran easily past him- that Barry, such a showboat. He tried it each lap, but I think he only cleaned it about half the time. In this kind of an easy race Barry has time for tricks, kartwheels, somersaults and other whimsical diversions so that he can pass the time more easily.

I had to switch bikes coming into the second lap, and the pits at this race is on the paved start-finish so I got gapped again for that. This time, Barry actually eased up to let me back on. Unfortunately, I was kind of rattled from my crash and I was riding like a crazy person through the turns. My chain got bounced off to the outside of my chainring and I had to dismount at a stupid place and run a bit before I could pedal it back on- now I'm truly gapped by the guys and I'm feeling spent from my other bridging efforts. I rode the rest of the race at a sporting pace so as to get my training in and not look like a quitter. Dave tried attacking Barry at one point, and after getting to see nice Barry, he was introduced to mean Barry as he paid for his efforts. Dave kept riding strong and came in second. My 3rd place got me my entrance and gas money, so that's nice!

Simple Simon was a pie-man.

2006-11-10T20:52:00.000-08:00

At this time I'd like to raise a glass to my friend and teammate, Simon Vickers. He and I have had some times on the road this year, and the season's not done yet. We've both gotten our asses kicked in some fairly exotic locales like New York, Massachusets and Colorado- not to mention here in California.

I've personally had more races than I care to admit that have ended in some rather dark and unhappy moods. Simon has suffered in a similar fashion, and I think sharing that misery has been helpful for the both of us. In these situations, we've managed to make fun of one another until we both got a good laugh at the others expense and opened beers 'till we no longer cared.

Simon's currently got me beat as far as reasons to feel bad about one's self- he took a pretty savage crash-up in CO and is still off the bike. Word is that he won't be racing at this weekend's Velo Bella race and is not planning on attending the USGP races in the northwest. I'm hopeful that he'll be back on his bike soon and that he can find some good condition for nationals!

Nobody wins when you're playin' Bloody Knuckles.

2006-11-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Actually, the course tape pole won this round. I was ski-racing one of these a bit close and re-opened a scar from earlier this year. I should get some gloves.

I went deep yesterday, as promised. I had a good start, probably top 25 and settled in carefully to a pace I could deal with without blowing sky high. I faded back to about 40th at the worst and battled back in the later part and won a sprint for 31st. All in all, it was a pretty good race considering the brutal lack of oxygen in the air.

I really liked yesterdays course. It was truly a classic track with all the best features that a UCI event should have. Lots of grass with straight and twisty parts, some fast off camber, a paved climb, 1 set of barriers into a short runup, a grassy climb and a wicked sand section. It was very windy, which did a lot to shape the race at the front and throughout the rest of the field. If this thing was about 1000' lower it would be one of my favorites!

I'm pretty glad to be back home, I'm feeling pretty beat down yet again. I feel lucky to have survived this weekend after my goofy crash, Simon's hard crash and worst of all, Josie Beggs gnarly collision with a spectator. From what I know, a kid jumped out in front of her and she went down hard on her face. She broke her cheekbone in 4 places and needs reconstructive surgery. What a shitty freak accident- I have nightmares about this kind of thing and I sure hope Josie gets good care and has a quick recovery.

Well, if you're going to have a cyclocross race at altitude...

2006-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

...why not just have one underwater? Because that's what racing at altitdue feels like when you live at sea level. I got off to an ok start after getting a 4th row line up. I found out how valuable my measly 2 UCI points are since they actually called everyone else up in order of registration and Simon was #87... this was only the start of Simons troubles.

I went along for a couple laps till gradually... painfully... I'm going backwards. I'm getting passed by gangs of 4 and 5 guys and no matter what I do I just can't get going. I keep looking down and seeing my chain on the 25t cog. There was a surprising number of people yelling at me from the sidelines which was encouraging, but in spite of this I did a little math and figured that if I'm looking at no UCI points, no series points and no money- it's time to head for the mini-van. I had a grim 10 or 15 minutes in the van after doing everything I could to resist flinging my bike up into a tree.

Little did I know that Simon had fared way worse than I did. He got claimed by the same whoopty that got me yesterday but he ended up with a mild concussion, a dislocated finger and a bruised up back! He is pretty jacked up tonight, you can get the full scoop at teamrockblogster.blogspot.com/. That poor son of a bitch is definitely not going to be pinning a # on tomorrow.

So anyway, we're watching Planes, Trains and Automobiles and kicking back. I'm planning on definitely finishing tomorrow's sweet underwater race, barring disaster.

Rocky mountain high!

2006-11-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Simon and I went to pre-ride the Xilinx USGP track today and although the course is mostly flat and pretty straight forward, I still almost bit off more than I could chew...

We went over to the course with our gracious host Greg Keller and got in a couple of slow laps for inspection. The course is mostly really bumpy turf and some good bits of pavement. There's a cool part that has some whooptys and a mini-berm turn. It's just enough to pitch you into the air if you're going full speed. There are a few little fly-over bridges that were being built to allow the course to pass over some ditches.

So after a getting warmed up, I was following Simon and Greg into the whoops and it looked like Simon was getting some sweet air as he rolled through, so I thought I'd pop a little ollie as I rolled over the biggest one. All of a sudden I was pitched ass-over and getting piled up in the landing! I guess the takeoff was a little bumpy and I got pretty stuffed up as a result. I took my time picking up, checking myself over and looking for damage... I am ok, but I broke my front shifter. I hurt my ribs kind of too, but I don't think tha will hinder me in the race. Luckily, it's stuck in the big ring so I think it will work tomorrow as long as I set the limit screws on my front derailleur so it can't shift down to the 39t ring unexpectedly. I'll ride the other bike and hope for no more problems...

Afterwards, I realized how lucky I was. Two other guys had crashes there, one breaking his collarbone and Simon actually rode out a sketchy nose wheely as he landed right in front of me and nearly ate it himself.

It's better to be lucky than good, and at least I was lucky today. I'm really hoping I get a bit more good luck throughout the weekend...

This weekend...

2006-10-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

...was a buttload of fun. I'm feeling fit and I've had some great training during the last few weeks at home. I've gotten to do some motor pacing as my mid week "hard workout" and I've had some nice rest. Next weekend is the next USGP races and I think I'm more ready (more ready than at Gloucester, anyway...).

Saturday was fun, it was the first edition of a hopefully annual race that was held at White's Hill Elementary School in Fairfax. I ride past this school just about every day, so it was kind of cool to race near my house. The course was a lot of fun, it incorporated some soccer fields, dirt roads and twisty paved school-campus terrain that is always good to have in a cross race. There was a rather small field assembled for the mens "A" race, maybe 15 or so. This included my HRS-Rock Lobster temmates Simon Vickers, Aaron Kereluk and Rob Evans as well as local boy Cameron Falconer. Casey Kerrigan blew the whistle and off we went- Simon and I rode easily away from the field by the end of the first lap. We rode like gentlemen for the first 35 minutes or so, Simon slowed his pace as I bobbled a technical off-camber section and I shared a bottle with him that someone handed me. We went along at a decent clip but found time for conversation... But I got to thinking with 3 to go... Simon's not going to let me win this without a fight, so I might as well throw down the gauntlet. I attacked as we got to the soccer fields and slowly but surely opened a gap. With 2 to go I was thinking he was popped but kept the gas on just in case and on the last lap I just made sure not to crash. It's been a while since I won a race and it felt good. Our HRS-Rock Lobster team took the top 4 spots on the day, so it went well for everyone! Shelly Olds also was 2nd to Rachel Lloyd in the womens race, another fine performance.

Here's a teeny-tiny picture of me doing a wheelie through the finish...

Today didn't go so well. I got to the Velo Bella Surf City race in Watsonville a little late and really only did one easy lap as a warmup... I thought the race started at 2:30, not 2! Oh well, I got a warmup yesterday. I didn't get a call-up since I haven't done any races in this series, so I was second row in a field of 40 or soof Nor-Cal's finest including both Jaques-Maynes (dressed as each other, I wonder how many times they've done that over the years), Barry Wicks and Justin Robinson as well as all of HRS-Rock Lobster's hardest hitters. The start was a really short bit of pavement (50 feet? probably less.) into a left hander onto dirt and then into the barriers. As Casey blew the whistle yet again, I got chopped within a few pedalstrokes by... Hooptie? Well, not exactly chopped, but his spokes or wheel or something caught my front brake caliper and shoved it down into my wheel renering my bike useless! Once I figured this out and ran to the pits (which were pretty close by) the field was gone! So, with a functional bike I did the only thing I could... I got into the pain bag and I stayed there for a good 3 laps. I rode myself inside out, passing people as safely as I could till I ended up with the internet's own Olaf Vanderhoot, who was wearing a bumble bee outfit. We went back and forth for a while, but he seemed full of vim and vigor so I sat on his wheel for a lap to catch my breath. At this point someone said we were riding for 6th place, which was a surprise. So I set off to try and catch up with Simon and Justin, who I could see up the road a bit. Plus, there's no way Hernando's beating me when he's got a fucking bee suit on. I could never catch on to them, but I rode around for 6th pretty well.

Today's race wasn't too glorious but it was great training for next week since the start will be very fast and I won't have a good call-up with my 2 UCI points. All in all, I think I'm on track for some good racing if I can keep my shit together. I've got no idea what the CO races will be like but I'm game for whatever and I'm travelling with Simon so I'm sure it will be an entertaining trip, I'll try and keep more on top of the blog and bring the entertainment to YOU.

OK, I take back all the bad things I said about 'cross racing.

2006-10-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's pretty darned fun when you feel fit and can battle for a win. I felt killer today, and although I didn't exactly battle for the win, I like to think I could have if things had gone just a little differently...

The start went good, I jumped easily to second wheel from the second row. Right away the group of 5 riders formed and included myself, John Funke, Mark and Chance Noble and Justin Robinson. For the first 3 laps we did take turns making it fast, but noone could really comit to breaking the group down further. I felt good so I tried a couple times.

We all resigned ourselves to riding around together at about the halfway mark, it was feeling pretty casual. Now and then someone would punch it, but to no avail. With 5 laps to go, I think, I went into the pits area on Justin's wheel and he hit the gas out of the corner. As he did that, my rear tire let go and I started doing donuts... I ended up on my ass. My right side remount came in handy as I quickly got on my bike. Mark came around me and promptly stuffed it into the very next corner, about 30' up the track. I t-boned his bike and got tangled up for a few seconds. Once I got him out of the way I pinned it for as long as I could, but Justin was gone. This is how the race finished up with Justin winning, me second and Mark 3rd. Justin's gap was up to almost 30 seconds at one point I think, and I brought it down to under 10, so I feel good about that.

The thing that sucks is that I used my less expensive challenge tires, a grifo 30 in front and a file tread in the back and that rear tire was problematic in the dry flat grass. That rear file tread is why I crashed. I totally looped out the same way when I was warming up- I went into a big sweeping right and ended up pointing the wrong way on the course! So I was pretty much ready for it in the race, but it took me down at the worst moment. Oh well, if I'd run the good tires I probably would have gotten a peice of glass or a nail through them and not even finished. My teammate Larry Bullard got an old rusty nail through his tubular- in one side and out the other!

It was a super fun race and an awesome sunny norcal day. It was fun to race at noon and get to watch the Womens race after. The big news of the day is that my teammate Shelly Olds won the womens race, beating Rachel Lloyd. Rachel did have a mechanical problem which gave Shelly her opportunity, but Shelly raced like a pro and sealed the deal with several fast and solid laps.

I think motor pacing the other day was just the thing to sharpen my fitness, I feel like I can race again and that's a relief after the last few weeks.

Home turf!

2006-10-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

So, I'm missing the Granogue/Wissahickon east coast weekend, but I'm getting a much deserved one-race weekend. I really love those races but I lit my matches at the last 3 week's east coast offerings and I'm damn glad to be back on the west coast, thank you very much! I'm looking forward to patronizing a Pilarcitos event and having a good time with the gang this weekend, UCI points be damned.

I've been feeling pretty good, generally, now that I'm back. I got to do a bit of motor pacing yesterday and I was really given'er, so hopefully that will help sharpen me up for the coming weeks. Nothing like the old 46x11 for an hour or so to hone the form. I was a little puky at the end so I know I did it right.

Next weekend I'll be in town as well, I can't wait to see what kind of course we get for that new Fairfax race!

Oops. Back to sucking at 'cross.

2006-10-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know what was going on today, I couldn't get out of my own way. I had a shitty start and wound up riding along in about 10th-11th place for the first few laps. Then guys started riding up to me and having their way with me. I just couldn't climb worth a fart and there was a signifigant and windy climb again today so I was getting dropped each time up that. I was really pissed when my legs came around on the last lap- I started going fast and it didn't do me any good because the others were way out of range. I also punctured a Dugast while pre-riding the course.

Alright! I now have 2 UCI points.

2006-10-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Today went pretty well and I achieved my goal of a top 10 finish, I was 9th. The race was held on a tough but very straight-forward course. It was a paved, headwindy climb, some barriers, a steep thingy that was just ridable a mud bog and lots of swoopy dirt roads that ended up feeling like singletrack because of the path that was worn in the leaves and pine needles.

I started hard and got myself up into the top 10 and was finally able to stay there for the entire race. I got to battle with Jeremy Powers, Johnny Sundt, Mark McCormack for the first few laps, and as things sorted out I ended up with Justin Spinnelli, Matt Kraus and another guy that I don't know. We were basically battling for 10th by that point so I am very happy that I was able to seal the deal in the final laps. Only Justin was able to beat me at the end (which I'm sure will thrill e-richie!).

I'm hopeful for tomorrow, sounds like the course might not be as rough with the hard climb. I felt really fast on the few technical parts that ther were and I'm pretty sure that my new bikes sizing and geometry is a big advantage now that I'm totally accustomed to it.

This is a big confidence booster for me after having a couple really tough weeks in the east and sure enough "the form" seems to be coming around. I didn't want to race at all today so that's good. I'll be glad to get back home!

Back in Maine!

2006-10-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

This week is feeling very relaxed- I'm staying with the family who owned the first bike shop I worked at when I was 19. These guys are great and they're like a second family to me so I'm having a lot of fun.

I've had some good training here, I rode out to the house I grew up in that is in the town of Appleton yesterday. It is always strange to go back by there, lot's of stuff has changed but there's still many reminders of my childhood. I rode my cross bike with some really big slick tires so it was the perfect setup for exploring some dirt roads and old shortcuts that I used to love to ride. I felt like I really stuck out since I was wearing my rather bright and noticable RHVilla/Montano Velo uniform. It's not like the bay area where people are used to seeing bike riders... I got some funny looks from people that I'm pretty sure didn't recognize me!

The weather has been perfect for the last few days, sunny and about 65. The trees are just turning color so there are many psychedelic views of the countryside. Today is overcast and there appears to be some rain on the way, but I think it will be clear for this weekend's racing.

I'll go over to the good old Camden Snowbowl for some cyclocross practice this afternoon. The Snowbowl is a tiny ski area that is owned by the town and is actually an incredible place for mountain biking. It's totally riddled with trails that were all made by bike riders over the years and it's super tight and technical. I'm tempted to borrow a mountain bike and get some trail time in, but I don't think I'll have time during this trip. I'll poke around on some lower trails when I'm there today, but the good singletrack is just too rough to be enjoyed on a cross bike, especially one with good racing tires...

I'm optimistic about my chances for the coming weekend, looking at who's pre-reg'd I should be able to get some points at these races. You really never know though, I have learned not to take any race for granted and although I feel like I've gotten better over the last few weeks I'm not going to make any brash claims just yet!

Too much fun

2006-10-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

A thorough braising

2006-10-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

Thursday my knees felt better so Lisa and I went for a bike ride. Me on my new Kona Queen Ann and Lisa on her brand new Bianchi Volpe. This is a huge upgrade for Lisa in the way of bikes, her current bike is my old green Stumpjumper from about 1998. Being the ambitious person she is, Lisa thought we should ride up to the Buttermilks road (about 1500 ft elevation gain). Sparkling sun, 80º weather, a strong tailwind, blooming rabbit brush and twinkling aspens made the ride very truly enjoyable. We stopped for a while in a copse of trees near a babbling brook for a break then rolled down the hill back home.

On the way home we stopped and picked apples and pears in a friends yard.

That's not me, it's Lisa dressed as me.

Then we went to Keough Hot Springs. This place hasn't changed much since the 1920's. I think it might still be on its original coat of paint. You can swim in the 85º warm pool, or braise in the 104º hot pool.

To top off a nearly perfect day we made a gourmet pizza dinner followed by fresh apple pie.

Do not read this if you like cyclocross.

2006-10-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today started as well as it could have- thanks to Brent Chapman holding our spots on the line we ended up getting a 4th row start in a field of 107 starters. The gun went off and away we went.

Simon and I were riding together for much of the race, in probably around 25th-30th group. Simon got a front flat and rode to the pits for his other bike, and after that he said he felt terrible and couldn't get back. I rode really hard to not get dropped and I did what I could to make some passes.

I had some light cramping throughout the race and started feeling pretty shitty on the last lap. I got dropped from the group that I was in which included Ryan Leech, Chris McGovern and Johs Huseby and Jeremy Powers. I tried not to go too slow after that, and noone caught me. I doubt I was in the top 30.

On the last lap I was getting the blackouts kind of and feeling pretty bonked. I felt like a dead skeleton that was buried in the graveyard down the road in 1659. It's tough to describe exactly how shitty I felt after the race. I could have puked had there been anything in my stomach. I was in a daze and I was disappointed in my race, although not as pissed as Simon.

I'm pretty tired of sucking at cross. I absolutely went inside out for a 30 something place finish today. I've forgotten exactly why I've spent all my money and time for this shit, for the last few years. If you're not even competitive in the race, it's not really that sweet. I feel like I've been working really, really hard for the last few years and if things don't turn around this year I will have to do some hard thinking about this crap.

Enough crying, I'm off to pedal the trainer for a while and try and prepare for tomorrow.

A different kind of Training

2006-10-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

While Josh is off training and racing on the East Coast, I've headed to the East Side of the Sierras for my own kind off training. I started with jacking my knees Monday night in the climbing gym and not being able to walk on Tuesday. Fortunately I was able to drive and drove over to Bishop, CA. Stopped in Tulomne and watched clouds float around Tenaya Peak and Half Dome. I'm staying with my friend Lisa B. who recently became a homeowner. Her house is fantastic, it was built in 1912 and all of the woodwork, doors, floors and windows are original.

Wednesday was a slow restful day, my knees felt better but were still not up for anything active. So we muckled around, played with the dog, hung out in the sun and drank lots of water. In the late afternoon we headed up the grade to Mammoth for a little stress relief.

Afterwards I did a bit of shopping at the best mountaineering shop ever, Mammoth Mountaineering Supply. If you're ever in the area and need something stop in and buy it there. They have everything you need as well as the latest and greatest for rock climbing, backpacking, telemark, randonee, and nordic skiing. Once I ran out of money, we headed over to my friend Dave's house and I scared the crap out of him by banging on his kitchen window while he was engrossed in removing the meat from a chicken carcass. The carcass had been well picked over and a large bowl of cashews was not enough to eat so we went out for dinner at Roberto's. Dinner at Roberto's has never failed to produce a good case of the refried bean bloat. I was not disappointed this time around. Roberto's has the BEST flour tortilla chips, if you are ever there make sure to ask for them.

That's all for now, I'll fill everyone in on the rest of the week later!

Barb

Primed up for Gloucester

2006-10-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

Simon, Karin (woman that we're staying with who's house-sitting at the house we're at) and I did a good ride today to the course for some inspection and preparatory training. I felt fairly good as I did a few hard efforts, so I'm optimistic about the racing in the coming days.

I'm preparing myself for a full hour of battle- I don't expect to get isolated much when the course is so short and I doubt I'll be better than 5th row or so at the start. It sould be elbow to elbow the whole way- this is it, the first big-time event of the year and I'm sure there will be 90+ starters. It will be fun (in a way...), this is a great course and the weather is expected to be nice. I can only imagine there will be tons of spectators so I plan on just getting in the pain bag and gritting it out. There's really no reason I can't be top-20 if I keep cool and don't do anything dumb. I think my bad luck from last weekend is behind me and I'm ready for a clean fight.

We're planning a nice relaxing evening here at the house, I got a DVD of the movie Super Troopers from Troy Wells (instead of gas money... bitch!) last weekend and so we'll watch that one. It's pretty much my new favorite movie, it's friggin' hilarious.

The wayward cyclocross gypsies move onward...

2006-10-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Simon and I stayed at his friends house on Plum Island last night, that was another scenic and unique place that I never expected to visit! We've surfed some couches on this trip, that's for sure. We got to have a nice walk on the beach at sunset, that was nice..

Today we travelled onward to another gracious host's house in Manchester by the Sea. We've really mangaed to stick to the more affluent, luxurious areas on this trip...

We'll try and get over to the course tomorrow and get some training in. We haven't been able to ride for the last couple days, so at least we're well rested.

Mid-week relaxation.

2006-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Simon and I managed to escape from the Hamptons via some country roads, 3 ferry trips and some time on the interstate. We got to Boston at around 10pm last night and dropped off the rental van with some help from Matt Kraus, our competitor and host for the week. It is good to be in Boston, we've got some time on our hands for exploring and visiting- My aunt and uncle live just around the corner in Cambridge so we'll be meeting them for dinner tonight I think.

I got to talk to Barb this morning and it sounds like Kitty went to the vet the other day and it turns out that she's fat and has to go on a diet. She also may need to have the rest of her back teeth pulled out. Poor kitty!

We're about to go and get some training in, Matt is taking us on the "lexington battlegrounds" loop, it sounds like trails and pavement so that should be fun.

Southampton, day 2

2006-10-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit better than yesterday. I felt pretty ok when I woke up and warmup was easy enough so I figured I was ready to go. I didn't kill myself at the start and was about 15 deep when we hit the hill. I kept cool because I knew people would be crashing and messing up since it rained last night and this morning and there were some fairly tricky places on the track.

Sure enough, I found myself in the top ten after a lap or so after I rode around some flailers. As the laps went on, I lost a few spots but I managed to keep the top 10 in sight and was still feeling fairly chipper. Sure enough I saw Simon coming up in my rear view mirror with Ryan Leech in tow so I thought we could have a little fun at Ryan's expense. As they made contact, Simon and I hatched a plan and we started taking turns on Ryan.

At this point, I was feeling good and I wa pretty sure that we could drop the hell out of Ryan and bring back Matt (cyclo)Kraus in order to get at least one of us in the points.

Unfortunately, Simon ended up accidentally chopping me as we went into a corner/dip and I rolled my front tire... What a suck! I've never rolled a tire so I didn't see that one coming. I popped the rolled part back on as I was on the runup, but I had to nurse it to the pits for a bike change. I got passed up by a couple guys during this fiasco and ended up battling with a dude that I thought I'd totally whipped... He got me by the end and I was 16th. Simon held it together for 11th.

The Timberwolf (Dave Wyandt) was our HRS-Rocklobster team rider of the day, riding into 17th place after a rather discouraging ride yesterday. Dave was as bummed as I was after our dismal performances yesterday so it's good to see that all of us improved on day 1's rough start. Top 20 for all mobsters in attendance!

I felt a lot better today and I feel that I'm on the upswing. Hopefully I'll be good for next weekend. I'd better be, since I'm not getting a call-up! Bitch!

And so, the punishment begins.

2006-09-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

First UCI race here in the Hamptons, it was pretty rough. I had an alright start, I tried not to kill myself and just stay steady for a few laps. I had a 2nd row call-up so I was pretty set up for success. I was solidly in the top 15 after the first 2 laps and I was in a decent group. There was a bit of back and forth with some fellows that were catching up, Troy Wells tried a hilarious pass on the steep switchbacks- he's staying with us and he and I were talking earlier about him trying something like that last year and getting sent into the tape, which I think was actually me... it was pretty sweet.

So, I was riding clean and having a bit of trouble with a kind of stomach ache that I was hoping would go away. Unfortunately, I totally bit the shit on an off camber bit just before the course came back to the pavement. It stunned me a bit and I got up and rode to the pits for a change so I didn't have to try and straighten my bars. I spent a lap trying to decide wether to keep racing- that was a mistake. I saw the promoter on the sidelines and asked how deep he was paying... 30 deep so I kept on riding... Simon came by me with a couple other guys and I wasn't really able to keep on so I tried to plug it up some and make it hard for the guys who were with him. I made at least one of those guys accellerate a couple extra times before I got broke off.

After that I resigned myself to some tough training and finished up the race in 21st. Got my entrance fee back, so that's good. I expect that tomorrow will be more of the same, but unfortunately it is a cat.2 and points only go 10 deep. I'm just determined to get some solid 1 hour races under my belt at this point and hopefully I'll be good next week... It's going to suck because they are doing call-ups based on points accumulated this year, so I'll likely be in the scrum with my elbows out. Oof.

Cool, we made it!

2006-09-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Simon and I had a relatively smooth trip to NY. I did discover that you can talk on your cell phone till the plane is just about mooving and they can't tell. I had to re-reserve our car rental from the plane as we were just about to take off since I accidentally reserved it for 4pm, when we were actually ariving at about 11pm.

Once we got to NY, things went pretty smooth. In JFK airport there is an "airtrain" that you have to ride to get to the car rentals. Apparently there had been some kind of a bomb scare (someones backpack was probably sitting unclaimed somewhere in the airport) and part of the train's territory was not being accessed so there were TONS of people on there. It was pretty funny actually. We made some friends and got to expalin cyclocross a couple times.

As we hit the road in the rental car, the first song that came on the radio was Pantera's "5 minutes alone" which totally stoked us out. I burned some rubber and we got that bitch up to speed, I can assure you.

We got to the host housing around 2am, the place is awesome. We got some good sleep and now we're off to find some coffee and lunch since we just got up and it's noon, we must have missed breakfast.

Some last minute training, and I'm out.

2006-09-27T08:40:00.001-07:00

I'll hit the road tomorrow- Simon and I are meeting at the airport for the start of our east coast campaign. My bikes are all set up with the sweet new Easton, Mavic, Chris King, Paul Components and Crank Brothers parts and we've got the new costumes and the crash-hats from Bell.

I've got 2 races under my belt and I think most of the components of cyclocross fitness are in place- I'm a little nervous that I don't have much in the way of high-end power or speed though. This has been the first season where I've stopped road racing in July (!) and just rested and prepared for cross. For the last 2 years I've been ripping at the start of the season but petered out in November. If things go right, I'll start to feel really fast in the next 2 weeks or so and I'll have a better time of keeping steady fitness throughout the whole season.

So with speed in mind, I spent 50 minutes behind the motorcycle last night with Tom Fox. Tom lives in Stinson and we motor-pace along highway 1 around Bolinas Lagoon. Tom and his son Bjorn have been racing and training with me for the last couple years and they've both gotten really quite good- Tom was 2nd the other day at CCCX in the B mens 35+ race and Bjorn had his first win in the 10-13 year old race! The moto is very good for forcing the high end fitness to develop and I think I was doing ok. Tom said we were going as fast as 40 mph at times and I rode in the 46x11 almost exclusively, so I'm happy with how it went. I'll go and do an easy couple hours that will include some transitions and jogging, etc. and hopefully I'll be ready for the Southampton races!

I have a feeling that these races are going to be really hard... it's the week before the first USGP races and it's the final chance for UCI points that will count for the first call-ups at Gloucester. I'm going to need some luck if I'm to snatch some of those!

DJ Snead?

2006-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know why Olaf V started calling me that, but I actually got some DJ turntables a few weeks back from my neighbors yardsale! $60 is what I payed for the turntables and mixer along with a big-ass case that they fit in. I bought about 30 records for $9 from her as well, a fine starter collection with lots of hip hop and old goofy records including Michael jackson "thriller", the soundtrack to "Shaft", some Isaac Hayes record, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and several others. It's wicked fun to play around with and I have them hooked up to a cassette recorder so I can make some sweet mix tapes.

Dang! I've been busy!

2006-09-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

The cross season is upon us, and I think I'm ready for it. I've got both bikes all built up, about half the tires are glued and the legs are coming around. I'm getting excited for my trip to the east coast and I'm looking forward to to having some adventures with my teammate Simon Vickers. I've been staying super busy working at the bike shop and doing repairs at my house.

Raced the first race last weekend, in Folsom. It was a good opener for me, I did my best not to kill myself. Chris Mcgovern was there and he was looking pretty fit, we rode together for about the first 4 laps till I made some mistakes and he got his gap... After that I just rode around and got to remember what an hour of cyclocross feels like! It's always a shock- time just seems to stand still. I'll race tomorrow at the CCCX race. It should be fun, it's a nice course.

I'll leave on thursday for New York. I'm expecting these races to be a lot tougher than last year since it's the week before Gloucester and everyone want's to get some points before then, myself included. This is a fun race in a nice area- The Hamptons. I'll bring my computer and try to update the blog as I travel around. Promise.

AWW YEAH! Plane tickets secured...

2006-09-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm lining things up for an awesome cross season. I just bought the tickets for phase one of my year- 3 weeks on the east coast for a total of 6 UCI events. 2 races in Southampton NY, 2 in Glocester MA and 2 in New Gloucester ME. I'm especially excited for the Maine races- I grew up in Maine and I haven't been back in 5 years I think. I sure hope I'm fit and ready, I want to make the most of it! Things seem good with my training, but I'm still doing mostly base fitness type rides so I really haven't gotten to crack the throttle much. I'll have my chance soon enough, I think!

Tomorrow is the San Raphael crit. I'll be out there watching and cheering for my RHVilla teammates- and partying at Big Red of course! If you're reading this you're invited to stop by, it's gonna rock! Stop by the "team parking" area, we'll start there and see where the day takes us... Guaranteed spectacle.

Up early and ready to train!

2006-09-06T07:23:00.001-07:00

It sure is nice when the first couple weeks are out of the way when starting back to training after takng a break. I was really feeling like a slug for a while there. I'm always anxious for cross season, but I was feeling really de-tuned a couple weeks ago and I'll admit that I was a little concerned! I think the 5 week rest is going to pay of for me this year, I've missed a lot of road races but cyclocross is going to ROCK!

Right now, the new bike is actually going a long way to stoking my motivation. It rides awesome, and I'm having a lot of fun getting used to it and getting to be friends with it. I'm feeling pretty tough now that I've got abs of steel too, I can bust out like 80 crunches and not feel like someone beat me up.

So I'm off to toil around in the fog for a while, looks like I'll be out for about 4 hrs. I'll bring Barb's small new digital camera and take some pictures maybe.

Aaaww, that is sooo cute...

2006-09-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Bikes.

2006-09-04T20:17:00.001-07:00

These new bikes are friggin' killer. Here's the first one, built up.

I'll build up the other one in a few weeks. I've put a few days in on this bike and it's really, really good. I love how it fits and it's a good blend of quick and stable. It's super solid to sprint on. With race wheels and Dugast tubulars this thing is going to slash throats.

What's new?!

2006-09-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, lots of stuff. I haven't raced since Vacaville, so I've been doing some other stuff. Took some time to cool the jets and put some hours in at work. Gotta stash some $$$ for cx season! I've been training all along, of course. Just in the last 3 weeks or so though I've really begun laying the groundwork for a hard season of cyclocross. All the lame stuff- core exercises, jogging (the horror!), the dreaded high knees.

But I've gotten to do a lot of really cool stuff too! Like riding the fixed gear, pedaling the hours away in the fog on the new cross bike and hopping around on a trials bike I got. Yep, the kind with the 20" wheels, hydraulic rim brakes, big fat bouncy rear tire and basically no seat. I think it has a 22tx19t drivetrain. Bashgaurd. It's super fun, maybe it'll help my hops over the barriers... maybe. I can hop it up some stuff and jump it around on the back wheel, it's fun. Makes you arms super sore.

I'm now officially working at Breaking Away Bicycles in Ross. It's been open for about a month and it's really fun! If you're riding through Marin, stop in and say hi. It's right across from Ross commons. I've always got a job or two going on here at the house too, drop me a line if you need a bike dialed in! I've got a pretty solid shop at my house. I'll overhaul Campy levers too, I'd like to start doing more of that since I can do 'em pretty quick now.

Barb and I went to Jamaica 2 weeks ago, it was incredible! We stayed at my road teams namesake, the Russel Hall Villa! I'll post a full report sometime soon, I promise.

I also got some DJ turntables and a mixer for $60.00 at my neighbor's yardsale. Mom totally sold them off while kid's at college- I got about 30 records for an additional $9! It's pretty fun making mix tapes and doing some bad scratching. Defitely sucks time.

That's the main stuff with me. Barb is still not really training and that's a drag. I'm pretty sad that she won't be coming to all the fun 'cross races with me this year, but she'll be back eventually.

Thunderstorms

2006-07-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm in Pittsburgh visiting my family and new nephew and enjoying typical east coast weather. Not kidding about the enjoying, it's actually kind of nice. The humidity here is through the roof but seems pleasant to me. It's nice to go out in the evening without needing a jacket. At night the street lights look like they are enveloped in fog, but it's actually just humidity. I think the humidity here comes from the plant transpiration. Plant life here is out of control, ever bit of dirt small or large bursts with green. Trees droop from the weight of giant green leaves. Hedges spill over sidewalks and weeds try to squeeze out of every crack in pavement. It's like the plants know they only have so many months a year to grow and spread their seeds so the grow with hectic fury.

This afternoon I was treated to a thunderstorms that made me remember childhood storms. It seems that out west rain comes at you in two ways. It either sneaks up during the night and upon awakening it's there. Or, it comes at you like a train, one moment things are calm, then comes the noise and wind and wham there it is pelting down with full force.

Today's storm is what I remember a storm to be. The morning is humid beyond belief and overcast. Then the quiet far away rumbles begine. This storm is letting you know that it's on it's way. After a few hours light drops of rain gently kiss the warm pavement creating that special wet summer smell. The drops increase in size and frequency obscuring your vision and soaking you thoroughly. Lightning flashes, thunder cracks the trees shiver and thrash. For a brief moment water pours out of the sky in buckets then stops. The rumbles recede, a few drops of rain linger then its all gone and the humidity returns.

Barb

Rock Lobster 'cross frame up for auction!

2006-07-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

It's that time again, out with the old and in with the new! Frames that is. This one's up for grabs on ebay, with a sweet fork.

Here's a link to my auction- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&item=120009870981&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

Help me afford my cyclocross season and score a sweet new rig! Bid high and bid often! -josh

Aunti Barb

2006-07-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Terry, had a baby last week. Colby Rush Helbling born June 29th, 7lbs 11oz. I'm very pround of her and can't wait to go to Pittsburgh the end of July to meet my new and only nephew.

Strong work Terry!!

Aquatic Rodents part deux

2006-06-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Read this at your own risk. I'm reluctantly posting the second part of the rat story 'cause I'm afraid someone will send the PETA folks after me. If you feel strongly about the demise of the rat, give me your phone number and I'll ring you the next time one shows up in my toilet at 3am. You can come and remove it for me.

The little devil was still swimming around at 9am, albeit not as vigorously as at 3am. My mother had suggested catching it in a pot and taking it outside. There is no way I'd ever be able to use the pot again so that method was out. My father suggested holding it down with the toilet plunger, but I definitely couldn't do that. I had thought about reaching in and grabbing it but was worried about a rat bite and consequent rat disease and decided that I'd had enought disease for the year. I fretted around the house with a rapidly filling bladder for as long as possible. When it finally imposibble to hold it any longer on went the big turd wrangler.

Down it goes to towards the bowl.

But the bowl is empty.

The empty bowl is concerning. Ratso didn't escape, I think the little guy got tired of treading water. The unpleasant task of removing Ratso began. I thought it would be easy to reach in and remove the rodent. The only problem was that there was no longer a rat in my toilet. I fished around and reached as far down the poo hole as my wrist and the turd wranglers would allow, no rat. With visions of overflowing bowls and floating bloated rats dancing in my head I flushed. All the water went down. Four more flushes later it was clear that nothing was obstructing the sewer line.

A parting shot of the rat.

Nocturnal Aquatic Rodents

2006-06-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

So last nights middle of the night pee turned into an adventure. It was 3 am and I awoke to plopping sounds of water. Odd water sounds are normal in our apartment, the shower drips all the time. Since I was awake it seemed like a good time for a pee. The weird water noises continued, peaking my curiosity so I turned on the light. There was a large rat in the toilet swimming for its life. I was at a loss, Josh is up in Reno for the Tour de Nez so it's just me and kitty and she just wanted to keep sleeping. So I called my parents, it might be 3am here but it's 6 am in Pittsburgh and I know they are awake. Neither of them had any great ideas of what to do with the rat. So I took some pictures, put a weight on the toilet lid and went back to sleep. This morning the rat is still swimming around and I can't take my morning constitutional. I think it's time to head to work.

slackers and clawless kitties

2006-06-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

So our neighbors moved out and took the wireless internet with them. Damn them! So Josh and I sucked it up and are actually paying for internet now. Two days of dial up were enough for us to subscribe to AT&T/SBC's award winning network. Yeah! The modem was delivered to the wrong door, fortunately we live in a low crime area and two days later it was still sitting on the door step. So the service wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow but in a fit of restlessness I hooked up all the wires and cords and stuff (opting out of paying someone $200 to install it for me, there's really only two cords and a power source)----lo and behold internet!!! One last day of free internet has inspired me enough to share this story with everyone.

On a more interesting note, super Kitty has been out defendingher turf each night. A few nights ago after the sounds of a horrible catfight kitty comes trotting into the house. I saw something weird of her face and upon closer inspection determined that a piece of claw was lodged just below her eye. After tugging it out one drop of blood appeared and Kitty broke into thankful purring. She just doesn't remember that her claws are all gone.

Here's a picture of another clawless kitty who treed a bear. It's true, it said so right on National Geographic.

OK, we're back.

2006-05-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy just lately what with getting a cold, a new job, training, racing, you know... Stuff. I'm putting some fancy- schmantzy bikes together at a shop in the Marina district in SF called Bikenut. It's a nice shop that has been in business for about 7 months, it seems like a good fit for me. It's pretty part time, and I can skip work to race, etc. so I think it's good.

I had a rugged cold last week, but it's passed. I think the rainy crit from last weekend in Stockton was the last straw so I was pretty much homebound for a couple days. I'm better now. I'm going to Tulsa this weekend for 3 days of racing with my teammates Christian, Jamiel and Rob. Rob's girlfriend Shellie is coming along as well, she's the one who hit the gas off the start at the Stockton crit and stayed away for the whole race and the win in one of her first p/1/2 races! Jamiel has been riding great lately, he won the Modesto crit last weekend and got 3rd yesterday so I think we're looking good for Tulsa.

Barb seems to be getting better, we rode for 3 hours the other day. She's still pretty tired from any riding (and working!) but generally she's improving. Cyclocross is just around the corner!

Cat's Swill and Berkeley Kills

2006-05-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yes! A really fun weekend of racing! Cat's Hill is one of my favorite races, I had a good time this year and came 9th in the big boys race. My teammate Christian Kearny was 8th, he was off in the chasing break and he did really well to hang in there and rip it. We all rode at the front once he was away, and I had a nice attack on the hill as Wolberg and Ben J-M lapped the group and I jumped on with them to get a good gap with 5 laps to go. The race was neutralized when a rider crashed badly on the descent in the main bunch.

I was told today that the crash occured because he wasn't holding on to his handlebars well enough and when he hit a bump he lost his grip. People, use your thumbs will you? None of this "I once saw a pro ride this way in the tour day france" bullshit where you just hang your hands over the bars or hold the shift cables either. It's STUPID. It will only end in tears. It never makes you faster so it's not worth doing.

Anyway, after a few laps of puttering along waiting for the carnage to be swept away, and watching Ben getting a beer feed from OV (hey, that's fucking BEER!) they did a really good job of restarting the race and I held on to my spot with no trouble for the coveted top 10 position. The beer must have worked because Ben won it pretty easily. If I'd felt talky and set a goal for myself before the race, top 10 is probably what I'd have wished for so I'm quite pleased.

Afterwards, we all had fun at the official Cat's Swill afterparty at Rob, Aaron and Shelly's house. Many heads were in attendance, it was sweet! Kegs, bbq, herb smoke wafting through the crowd, the whole deal. I wasn't able to stay for nearly long enough but I'm sure it got epic. I ended up bailing out pretty quickly after getting a burrito downtown so I could get ready for todays road race.

But today- Oh, god. I had a hard time getting everything organized and falling asleep last night, so when the alarm went off this am, I was not feeling too perky. I made it to the race, got my # pinned and got my bottles in the feed zone. I had pockets full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, waffles and gel flasks with honey/water mix since I didn't have any modern, prepackaged bike racing food at home. The race went off, and in like the first 3 minutes a breakaway group formed with my teammate Jesse/Andy Mendonca-donc in it. I was feeling none too snappy so I just sat on Wolbergs wheel to see how far he'd let it go. They got about 1:45 on us till Wolberg decides to go to the front and just put the hammer down. I stayed on over the first few climbs, but I popped off through the feed zone. Dang, sawed off on the first lap! Oh well, I got mine yesterday.

'Twas a good weekend, and I'm glad it's behind me! There will be plenty of sweet battle tales from this one, I've no doubt.

OK, sorry for no posts.

2006-05-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

We're slackers.

Anyway, I was totally planning on doing a report from last weeks Madera stage race, but the whole ordeal was so bothersome and tiring that I've just been putting it off. So here's all you need to know.

-Big Red totally broke down on the way to the first stage on friday. We were in Turdlock, and we rented a 29' diesel Uhaul truck. We made it to the race, barely. We all rode horrible TT's, except Dennis who raced in sandals since he forgot his shoes in Big Red. He set the course record for racing in sandals.

-Since we didn't have Big Red, we had to get a motel room. Dennis was our ambassador to the teenage front desk girls. He did some sweet talking to get us a non smoking room. This also got us a phone call to the room to see if we wanted to join the girls for a swim in the pool. I've never heard of motel employees calling guests to see if they want to hang out, so this was a first. We never did get to go swimming with the girls, but it did result in a lot of talk about Aaron "taking one for the team".

-I missed the start of the second TT by around 30 seconds, and about 3 pedal strokes into my race I was stung on the forehead by a bee. I think I had a pretty bad time. I've still never seen any results from this race so I don't really know.

-In the crit we had some seriously poorr communications within our team regarding our plan for the race. This resulted in Christian getting in the winning move and putting 45 seconds into the group which included our GC guy, Jesse. This little prank cost him 3rd place overall. It was a learning experience.

-We ate at a very swanky italian restaurant which had a guy playing accordian and everything. I ate about 3/4 of my meal before realizing that my pasta had meat sauce. Yuck.

-In the road race, we all rode pretty well really. Jesse didn't loose any time and maintained 4th place, and we all pretty much did our jobs. I was able to race 85 miles in the heat and not get cramps, which is pretty much a first for me. It seemed like a pretty easy race actually.

-It was really nice to get home. I hate Madera, Chowchilla, the central valley and meat sauce. I'm very lucky to be on a team that can work together to overcome adversity. Well, we didn't exactly overcome it, but we had some laughs. Actually it was a pretty expensive weekend and we totally took it in the shorts.

Oh well, there's a parking lot crit tomorrow and I've got some cool new wheels so I'm amped. And next weekend- Cat's Swill!

this gives me the creeps

2006-05-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who thought the last picture was a bit creepy.

A little encouragment is all I needed

2006-04-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

So I've been very quiet lately both online and in person. You may or may not know that I got an evil mystery virus in Belgium and had to lay low for a long time. Two months off the bike is scary, even scarier is when you don't care that you aren't riding. Last week I started to feel better and my new favorite doctor told me I could start riding again. One hour a day every other day with HR under 130 was the prescription.

So I'm riding home from work, my second day on the bike in two months going as fast as cold molasses. This was ok by me because it felt good to be pedaling again. I had worn the team skinsuit to work because it doesn't ride up under a backpack, riding around in a skinsuit feels good, and I figured it won't get action anytime soon so why not. As I'm pedaling over the little hill between work and home (which I've ridden at least 1000 times in the last few years) enjoying the evening sun creeping along nearing the top of the climb and woman comes past me. She's got the cap sleeve arm warmer gap thing going on, a bike fashion no no, aero bars and a bento box. Not that there's too much wrong with that, she is definitely going faster than me. As she come by me she says in a you go girl, women power, positive, affirmative chipper voice "you're almost there!". Thanks.

Barb

Wente roller derby race

2006-04-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays crit was really a lot more fun than I expected. My job was to get in breaks, attack the race and make the race fast. I was feeling great and I did just what I said I would- attack with reckless abandon! This is a really fun way to race when you have good legs, I felt like I could do whatever I wanted.

Unfortunately, a very good break of 7-8 guys got up the road and none of my team was in there. The gap was around 20 seconds and Wohlberg was really driving the move. So, against all odds, I witnessed the impossible: all my teammates organizing at the front! I punched it to get there and do my part, it was pretty awesome! We with 4 to go we drilled it for a couple laps and brought the gap down to under 10 seconds. Lombardi took over after that and finished the job, catching the break in the last 300m.

Rob was our best finisher, I think within the top 10. But the big achievement of the day was the cohesive teamwork that we are finally beginning to use. I had a really good time at this race, and even if we didn't get much of a result we looked really cool when we were bringing back the break!

Another highlight was racing with the internet's own Olaf Vanderhoot! That bugger can really crank it up coming out of the corners! I think he tried to help me get a prime at one point when we were off the front, but I didn't really take advantage of it. Fun!

I don't really like flat criteriums...

2006-04-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

But the fact that I have this bike and a skinsuit means I'll go and race it anyway! Today should be pretty fun, my brother is coming to watch and so is Barb. I don't feel too bad after sleeping for like 10 hours so I'm hoping for the best. If I can, I'll attack today in a furious fashion so that I don't have to be near the crashy group... Our man Rob Evans has a good chance at this race (as long as he doesn't miss the start like yesterday), and it's only an hour so how bad can it be?

Wente road race is a hard road race.

2006-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Actually, it seems like all norcal road races are hard road races. Especially when Levi Leipheimer keeps showing up to them. My friend Rich came down with me to work the feed zone and spectate, he did a killer job and was appreciated by all the RHVillains. The field was huge, I figure 70 or 80 starters.
Things started off fairly easy today, a couple Lombardis and Cal Giants were up the road right away and it was civilized for the first ascent of the main climb. It felt really hard to me though, since I had a full stomach, no warmup, etc. I slept poorly last night too and that didn't help. Anyway I made it up and over.
We did a lap and the second time up the big climb a promising looking break went away with John Hunt and Levi in there. I don't know who else, but they looked like they were going along. Lombardies went to the front and did a killer job of chasing down that break. They put all their guys on the front and kept it pinned, it was very nice of them. Several of those guys were never seen again after that little move. All in all, this made lap 2 a very fast lap and I was feeling pretty jammed up after that.
3rd time up the climb wasn't so bad. I can't remember much about that lap except that a few people attacked and everyone else just sat there and looked a Levi. I sat there and looked at Levi.
Coming into the last lap going up the climb, Levi did his thing. A few guys went and there was a group up the road, I was in like the second chasing group. I didn't do a damned thing that lap, and I still got crushed on the final ascent to the line. Actually I beat Mike Buckley at the last bit, I made sure of that at least. I was told that I was top 20, but I think that's optimistic. I basically felt like I was on the verge of getting dropped all day. Till I really did get dropped. Oh well, I finished that bitch and it could have been worse.
Crit time tomorrow, I'll bet we won't be seeing Levi there!

Wente tomorrow!

2006-04-21T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's another awesome weekend coming up! I like the Wente road race and I'll race both days and see what I can do. I don't really want to race the crit, but I will anyway. Barb is coming out with me on sunday I think, she's feeling better! My team will be in full force, it's time to handle some business!

Who has a funny caption for this photo? Let the fun begin!

2006-04-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

"I'll look anywhere for those WMD's!"

Quince

2006-04-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

The quince tree outside our door is in bloom and attracting an endless parade of birds. A pair of hooded orioles frequents the fuscia colored blossoms. Josh has been trying to get pictures of them but they keep flying away. An Anna's hummingbird named Francis flits and chirps all day long and drives kitty crazy with bird catching desire. Josh put half an orange in the tree for the orioles to eat, they ignored it. The orange did attract a blue jay. Here's a picture of our local possum taken a two winters ago. In one of the worst storms of the winter something made us look outside and there was this silly possum up the quince tree. -barb

This is to make up for another dull race report-

2006-04-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks for reading it, anyway. Here is a poem that I wrote using the poetry magnets on the fridge of a host house when we went to Oregon for the Alpenrose Dairy USGP cyclocross race (where I was 12th, my best ever elite 'crossHEY THIS ISN"T A RACE REPORT GODDAMNIT!). They weren't home, and we'd never met them. But it was the "romantic" fridge magnet poetry set, and some of these lines were already partly formed. I definitely came up with some of the more offensive ones. I present to you- The Drunk Girl Show

I left this up and didn't mention it to them- just to see if they had a sense of humor, which they luckily did.

Coppoporolis is bound to be hard...

2006-04-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

...when the likes of Levi Leipheimer shows up. That guy is a friggin' bike riding robot. It was a really hard race, as it always is, but with Levi, BJM, Jackson Stewart, John Hunt, etc. are all in attendance you can be assured that there will not be many finishers! The field wasn't that big to start with which makes it even worse. This might have been partly due to a crit being put on by the Velo Squirrels today as well.

The I went around for the first 2 laps, keeping out of trouble and watching everyone get flats. I went through a pot hole going 40 mph on the downhill and I though I'd broken a spoke. The wheel still looked straight so kept going. As we started our 3rd lap Levi attacked through the feed zone and I didn't hold his wheel, even though I'd been sitting on it for the last 10 miles. It was ridiculous, that guy is so fast. I came apart on the climb. My tire was rubbing my frame when I stood to climb and it was making noise so I stopped to switch wheels with my teammate, Dennis Guikema, who had a flat earlier on. That put my even farther behind the chasing group but I still felt like trying to race. As I was going along on the flats above the big climb with another guy when a car comes burning past us with who else but Dave Fuentes tucked nicely in its draft... That guy just can't seem to race and not cheat. And he wears headphones while racing, which I feel is insulting. I pretty much pulled the plug after that and rode back to our sweet RV, Big Red.

Many may have noticed Big Red in the last few weeks, we had it out at the Pilarcitos races a few weeks back and we drove it to Copperopolis this week! Elliot Jaramillo, team member and ancient warlord is the proud owner of this monstrosity and he and Brian Rutherford have done a hell of a job fixing it up and getting it set for use by the team for racing. The thing sleeps 4 easily and is totally punk rock. Elliot had it out at the feed zone, which means we had to turn it around in the street and drive it back down the narrow road. When groups of riders came past, we were pulling off to the side to let them pass. Finally we hit a soft spot and sure enough- mired. We had that thing sunk on one side right to the running boards. It did not look good. We were really tired, and pissed that our glorious RV was stuck, embarrasingly on the race course. But, luckily enough a trio of helpful and enthusiastic Safeway Bagboys opted to lend a hand and give 'er a push! Incredibly, after some rocking and pushing we managed to get Big Red free! We left a 30' long, foot deep burnout in that mud! It looked like there had been a truck pull contest there. We rewarded our samaritans with a 22oz chocolate stout and hit the road. From there it was a smooth voyage back to Oakland. It was fun even though out of our team of 6, not one of us finished the race!

Corrizo Plains

2006-04-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun time on our mini vacation! We drove down to Corrizo Plains National Monument on tuesday and did some car camping. It turned out to be a pretty nice place, which noone seems to know about. It has a salt lake and the San Andreas goes right down the valley.

There are many rare and endangered animals that live there including pronghorn antelopes, kit foxes, kangaroo rats and many species of birds. There is also some rock paintings by native americans from long ago, but we didn't get ot see these because they aren't available to the public at this time of year.

Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and a bit breezy- I got to ride for a few hours with no leg warmers and enjoy some time on roads with no cars. Truly a treat!

We hiked around a little near our campsite and found a cool sandstone canyon. At night we had fun watching a Kangaroo rat running around at our campsite.

It was good to get out of town and see some new sights. I'd like to go back to this place and see the painted rock and bring a bird book and identify some birds, I think it's a really good place for that. It was another awesome adventure!

AARGH! Car trouble!

2006-04-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to go down to Satan Cruz Crit today. I had everything ready to go- training was perfect all week. Into the truck went my perfectly clean and prepped bike+ bottles, kit, helmet, license, rollers, pump, shoes, spare wheels, snacks, tools. I'm dressed, caffinated, defecated (sorry), hydrated and fed. I gassed up the truck, took a movie back to the rental place and headed out to pick up my dad who was coming with me to spectate and get some photos.

I changed the oil in the truck day before yesterday in anticipation of Barb and I's trip to the desert that's coming up. There's been a "service engine soon" light on for the last couple weeks that has come on and off over the last few years. We've found that it gets triggered by the gas cap not being screwed all the way in, wet weather and Michael Jackson songs. So we've just been ignoring it. For the last couple weeks.

I've kind of noticed that the engine has a kind of "knocking" noise to it at certain RPMs lately, but it's pretty subtle so I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination or not. But when I got my Dad in the truck as we headed off to the race he mentioned it after a half hour of driving. So, not my imagination! I turned back. It totally sucked, I really wanted to race today but better safe than sorry. I'll takethe truck in for service tomorrow, it's probably nothing. So, needless to say, I went out on a rather aggressive training ride.

My team rode killer in my abscence, Christian was 6th! That was a very good result for him, so at least that went well.

Is it still a vacation if you don't have a job?

2006-04-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Barb and I are planning a trip to the Mojave desert next week! She's been affected by a strange low-energy virus kind of thing for the last few months(!) and the rainy weather has been bumming her (and me) out. So we're hoping for sunshine, or at least t-shirt temps. It'll be nice for her to get away from the bike shop, I really have no excuse since I'm kind of unemployed... I'm bringing my bike, I think there's some roads to go around on so I'll be doing some training in preparation for Copperopolis. I probably won't do a full blown week in anticipation of that race, but just be on the saddle enough so I'm not blown off the back on the first lap. We're hoping to have an adventure, get out of town, and just see what it's like down there. We're going to be camping and sleeping out in the tent! I'm really hoping we'll get some sun, it's just been ridiculous around here this spring. I'm tired of training (and racing) in the rain, it's true, but at least I'm training and racing! Barb has kept a pretty good outlook on life during her illness, but the weather has really put her over the edge! She's very tough, but a mystery virus combined with this kind of weather is enough to drive any bike racer to madness... I'll try and provoke her to post here, I've been (barely) holding down the fort so maybe she will check in- She could probably use some fan mail right about now so if you're reading this and you feel like it, give her a shout!

Why are these kinds of freaky photos so easy to find?

2006-04-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Oh my god! My last 2 posts are so boring.

2006-04-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures!

Sunday report, blah, blah, blah.

2006-04-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

So sunday was a lot better. This crit course was cool, there was some weird off camber turns and a 180 haipin and lots of rain. I won the single prime of the race for omnium points after 20 minutes of racing or so. This also initiated a breakaway, and soon I was rolling along at a breakneck pace with 4 other guys. It started dumping rain. We went like hell and I worked too hard. On the las lap I tried to follow Ben Standish when he attacked but he was too fast and he went on to win. I attacked again after that and was seeing black and white. I'm surprised I didn't crash on that last lap because my eyes were rolled back up in my head. I was caught, and I had nothing in the sprint so I was 5th. This made me 4th in the "omnium" for the weekend and my teammate Christian was 8th, so we landed us some cash. I'm glad I went out and raced, I usually puss out on rainy races and crits in general but it was fun in the break. Can't wait for Santa Cruz!

2006-04-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I squandered my stellar fitness today by riding busily and wasting it chasing breaks and attacking early. No breaks were even close to sticking and I could have sat in and had a nice kick at the end. Instead, I got 10th -best on our team- which means I got at least one point towards the omnium, and I have to go and race a rainy crit tomorrow. I kind of wish I had been 11th... We have all vowed to race smarter tomorrow, and I think I really am going to get to sit in and have a go at the finish. Pays out top 8, so we could get paid and BAT points.

Anyway it was our first day in the new uniforms, which look totally pimp so that was fun. I get to try the longsleeve skinny tomorrow, yay! Anyway, legs felt good but I raced like a numbskull and so did the rest of my team so perhaps tomorrow can be better.

Anyway, I feel I should post a sweet pic, so as I was looking through our iphoto album I discovered this gem. I present to you, Chef Mark.

Ridin' wheelies!

2006-03-31T14:47:00.000-08:00

Each week my friend Bjorn Fox comes over for a couple hours for bike repair lessons. He's 13 and if you've been out at Nor-Cal cx races you might have seen him racing the juniors, he has tons of hand-me-down uniforms and often races in an old Kelly team kit, and he's got red hair. We always have a pretty good time. We get his and his family's bikes dialed in and do other repairs that he wants to understand. He's got a pretty good grasp on a lot of basic and not-so-basic stuff and he can probably wrap handlebars better than you. So anyway, we got stuff mostly done the other day and went out to do a bit of test riding. I can't resist roosting a wheelie as a vital part of any test ride. So soon enough it turned into a step by step wheelie lesson! Bjorn really picked it up pretty quickly, he has the arm strength and coordination to get the basics pretty figured out. I got him on the right track for the important stuff- the rear brake is everything, don't try to do it out of the saddle, etc. It totally reminded me of being his age and whiling away the hours trying some new trick that I could almost, almost! do. He was able to get the front wheel up high enough to really feel the balance point, and figured out the most critical thing- if you just stab the rear brake the front wheel comes right down so you don't flip onto your back! I'm sure he'll end up on his back a few times anyway but that's part of the process. And he's 13 so he's still made of rubber. He was really excited that he could do it. My parting advice was to wait till he's got it totally mastered before he even tells anyone he can do it. On a bike, and in general, actions speak loudest!

I'm tired, and in no mood to type. So here's all you get this time.

2006-03-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

The ol' Track Iron vs. The Rain

2006-03-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today I got to toil around in the POURING rain on my fixed gear. It was windy too. But my legs felt good so I got to just go around smiling at people who I could tell were totally pissed to be caught in the rain. I was pretty cold when I was done, but I managed to get the prescribed hours in so I was pleased. I pretty much had enough rain on saturday, but oh well. At least there weren't any derailleur cables to foul up. Looks like more of the same for tomorrow. I think I can crank it on the trainer instead, sensibly. I'm starting to get excited for the Brisbane races this weekend, I won that circuit once when I was a cat3 and I'd sure like to do that again.
YES!!!

Orosi is a very hard NorCal race.

2006-03-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

I think that course profile has to be among the toughest on the calendar. Add some cool rain and some wind and you've got yourself one hard bike race! People must know this, because there was only 30 or less starters in my P/1/2 race. Things staeyd pretty civil, I thought, for a lot of the lower part of the climb. But when the attacks started coming, it was on the steeper parts of the hill and that was quite painful. I managed to survive a few splits until we were down to about 10. My teammate Aaron O'dell and I popped off near the top and that was the end of that! Our teammate Jesse stayed with the next group ahead of us and ended up 6th, which is pretty amazing since his hip is still broken and he hasn't raced in about a month. Jesse=a bag of nails. Aaron and I rode tempo for the rest of that lap, and then slowed way down and kind of puttered for the rest of the second lap. We were joined late in the lap by our teammate Dennis, who was determined to finish. I was very cold though, and I went for the car. Aaron soldiered on with Dennis. I saw him coming back down to the finish, about 15 minutes later with blue lips and a clacking jaw- he too got the chill, but it got him bad. I helped get him back to the car which was about 6 miles away and he was having a pretty hard time! In the end he was fine, just a touch of the old hypothermia. Jesse was 6th and Dennis was 7th, good for them- that's a hard day in the rain! There were only 7 finishers anyway. All in all, it was pretty fun- the roads of this race were incredibly cool, it was an amazingly beautiful area and if it hadn't been raining I think it would have been a pretty awesome day. After the race we all met up in Fresno at a diner where we all powered some chow, and I got to see Dennis and Aaron have an ice cream eating contest which they both "won" (there are really no winners in an ice cream eating contest...). -j

Put this in your pipe and smoke it...

2006-03-23T15:14:00.000-08:00

The Kitty!

2006-03-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

So, I'm sure everyone must really be anxious to see some pictures of our kitty! People who have met her will be thrilled, and those who haven't will probably want to come to our house to pet her. She's the nicest kitty I've ever met, and she has a poochy "flabber" belly from getting fixed long ago. It's NOT just because she's fat! Which she isn't! She also has no claws, which is kind of sad, but she can somehow still climb things and I've even seen her box other cats into submission. She doesn't try and scratch or bite, and if she does bite it's like a playful love bite that doesn't hurt. So, here she is! -j

tiny trails

2006-03-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

An evening
+tiny trails
+some wine
= indoor wheelie contest

Oh, that was a tough little wednesday afternoon!

2006-03-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

Originally, today would have been pretty fun. About 3 hours of riding around, meet up with the moto. 45 minutes of rolling along in the draft, then 10 minutes or so of just getting my legs rippied off. This is what I like to see on my training plan because although it hurts, the time passes quickly and it's more than just staring at the HRM. Behind the moto, you have to accellerate, move subtlly to follow the draft, feather brakes, accellerate again, and watch that rear tire! You get to feel fast and use big gears at a pace that can't really be experienced except at an NRC crit. And those final hard minutes are what gives you the true ability to dig deep when you're in the pain box! The cool thing about a couple weeks of this once a week turns you into a draft- demon and gives you the ability to stick to any wheel! In the days after pacing my legs always feel like they want to churn on the flats, so I can't wait to get a moto lined up in the coming weeks...

But today, I could not round up a derny or a cigar smoking pilot and so I had to resort to the plan-b workout which is pretty torturous. It goes kind of like- 10min. @ painful into 8min. of beyond painful into 5min. of intolerable, all done someplace flat and usually windy. This is followed by some rest and dryheaving, then 20 minutes of tempo. But once a minute I have to jump hard out of the saddle, so 20 hard jumps in there. Today, by the time I'd done this stuff I was at Stinson Beach which means I get to start climbing. I chose Panoramic as my exscape route and it was a slow and uncomfortable half hour to the top. When I got home I had a good solid 4.5 hours in the saddle.

My legs hurt when I woke up, but now they really hurt! I'll spend tomorrow on the couch, and do my race-prep on friday and then BANG-O I'll be ripping on saturday (hopefully...).

Things to do with those dumb little extra brake levers...

2006-03-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

Put 'em on your TT bike and use them once or twice a year, in an extra twisty time trial or a team TT...

And don't forget that old v-brake noodle so the cable moves smooth!

Racing in the wind can be fun!

2006-03-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

That's what I did today, and it was fun in a difficult and painful kind of way. I have spent the day riding with the group on windy days at flat races and it sucks. When breaks go away, they usually stick and are never seen again. So, today I just started attacking as soon as the race started and hey, it worked! I got in a good break with my teammate Dennis Guikema and a few others. I felt really good, I maybe put in some efforts early on that were a little much but that's how it goes sometimes when you're not used to being fit. We should have been able to figure out a way to win, but we had to settle for second (him) and third (me). It was sweet, although the field was small and most of the pros were at San Dimas. But heck, it was a race! We were going pretty good, by the end we had about 8 minutes on the field. Today was my first time in the top 3 at a P/1/2 race, and I made some $$$ so that was good. Dennis won the silly King Of the Mountains points contest too, I only say it was silly because there really wasn't much of a mountain. So, I'm pretty happy with it- I feel better after pussing out last weekend, the training was perfect so I guess it was a good choice. -j

A Piercing Moment

2006-03-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

My earlier post about riding outside was premature. That little ride did me in for two days. Today I tried acupuncture for the first time. It was an interesting experience all around. My boss, Tony, swears by Dr. You in San Francisco so that's where I went. Dr. You spent some time grilling me about my condition-low energy, constricted throat......, my lifestyle, eating and drinking habits etc. Then while laying on a table he put little needles into my legs, hands, arms, and lots of needles in my ears and neck. I was told to take a nap. You don't really feel the needles going in but you know they are there and that's a bit disconcerting. Twice a nurse came in and "adjusted" the needles. It felt like she twirled them deeper into my epidermis. This was also a bit disconcerting as one needle caused my leg to tingle. After an eternity and two adjustments I was done for the moment. Part of the treatment involves drinking potent rank teas. I was given three bags of herbs to boil into tea. Right now there is the smelliest pot of seed pods, dried banana peels, twigs, bark, slivered dinosaur bones and other unidentifiable plant matter boiling on the stove. Wish me luck in drinking that stuff.

Barb

Presenting the team RHVilla/Montano Velo special edition Rock Lobster!

2006-03-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

Got the new frame today, and it is looking pretty ultimate! Easton Scandium front triangle, aluminum seat and chain stays- all business, no poofy cabrone fiber! The sizing is spot-on, Paul got it right- as usual! The bright white looks awesome with the black RL logos and team decals under the clear. I just wish it wasn't raining, I think I will probably just ride this thing on the rollers today...

Good News

2006-03-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a breakthrough day in the fight against the evil Belgian Waffle Virus. I actually rode my bike outside for two entire hours!!! This might not seem like a lot to many of you but I haven't even felt like riding my bike for the last three weeks. It's the little things right now that make a difference.

B

Skippin' races...

2006-03-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

So I bailed on the Central Valley Classic omnium race this weekend. I've had a pretty good time racing the last few weeks, but I saw the weather for this weekend and I just figured I'll train here at home instead of driving all the way to Fresno for that crazyness. My tough and manly RHVilla/ Montano Velo teammates went, and I'm still waiting to here how that all turned out. I do know that Christian flatted out of the circuit race in classic Christian style. I hope those guys finish up safe and sound.

Just because I didn't go down to the rainy sufferfest doesn't mean I don't have some seriously tired legs after these last few days! The last 4 days have included a rugged mix of fixed gear riding, TT workouts and a 5.5 hr solo ride in the wind yesterday with lots of painful accellerations on the hills. Today is more fixed gear, but easy for recovery. It's pretty yucky out though, I'll ride it on the rollers.

Enough boring training talk. This week is going to be like christmas for team RHVilla/ Montano Velo! I'll post pics of my new, custom, Scandium tubed wonder built by Paul Sadoff of Rock Lobster later this week. These things are going to be super awesome, no cabrone fiber on these bad dogs. All business, stiff and light. Oh yes, nothing like a new rig! Team uniforms should show soon too. It's been quite a wait and our old kits are getting a bit scandalous- those guys are probably showing some cheeks in the rain! Uvex helmets and glasses should show soon too. We will go from rag-tag to euro-pro in a matter of days, I think this will help us get some results! Everyone is really looking fit so it shouldn't be long now.

Snow?

2006-03-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, it snowed on Coastal California the other day. It doesn't snow here, well maybe sometimes just a little. When it snows people say "I remember when it snowed back in '82, we all got the day off of second grade." Here it was again and it caused a massive crash on Hwy 101. I am happy to say that since I'm not really riding my bike right now I do not have to go out and suffer in the cold unless feelings of masochism become overwhelming.

Writing this blog seems silly right now because no one knows it exists and reads it. These entries are like notes falling out of your pocket that someone might stumble on and read or just land in a puddle and turn to mush never to be read.

B

The Beach

2006-03-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Found on the beach.