Busted

Until today the weather has been somewhat agreeable the past couple weeks which has enabled me to get in two back-to-back 350+ mile weeks. For me, I actually feel and perform better the more I ride so at last I'm riding and feeling good.

Yesterday I had the esteemed pleasure of being part of the pseudo-organized mayhem known as the Judson ride. With killer cross/head/tail winds it wasn't a particularly nice day but decent enough until I managed to get myself an unintentional ass massage and busted wheel when I nailed a pothole large enough to have it's own zip code. Yeah - I broke my wheel. My Zipp 404 (with wireless Power Tap hub, no less). That is going to be a costly repair - like close to $1000. Over a freaking pothole. I was planning to have it rebuilt after the end of this season, hoping it would survive a few more months but the pothole gods had something else in mind for me. Fortunately the guys I was with were empathetic (for a few minutes anyway - they started killing it once they realized the wheel was ride-able) and made sure I got back to Evanston. Ted was kind enough to loan me a wheel to get home on after dropping my busted Zipp off at the Pony Shop. Thanks Ted!

It's become abundantly clear to me that riding on nice equipment around here is just not a smart idea. I have a deep appreciation for blingin' stuff and I'm the first to oooh and ahhh over superlight, supersexy bike parts but it really doesn't make sense for me to own and use such equipment when it's so easy to damage said stuff. I like to think I take reasonably good care of my bikes and gear - I keep it clean and maintained the best I can. The bottom line is that cycling is an expensive sport and having quality equipment is important - which means choking up the $$ from time to time is part of the game.

Who am I Racing For?

Ted, Dan, Mike and Jim

Bad asses, all of them...

Who am I racing for this season? Well technically, myself but I have to put my license with someone so I decided at the end of last year to become part of PACT/DISHnetwork, a small masters team that's got a bunch of state and national champs. Oh, and a multiple-time world's medal winner too. These guys are good and a lot of fun to ride with. I'm totally cool with the change of direction. This arrangement allows me to basically race when and where I want and also to ride composite without a hassle. That in itself presents a small amount of uncertainty (which races will I do? who will I race for?) but it's okay - in the end I get to decide and that's a very good thing. The freedom to make my own equipment, clothing and competition decisions has been liberating - but sponsorship is nice and I always have and will appreciate it.

The PACT/DISHnetwork team kit for 2009

I miss some of my teammates but it's like leaving a job - you still keep contact with the people you like. The one very cool thing about PACT is that I actually train regularly and race with the guys on the team - we're not spread out all over the place and there's no drama. The bottom line with them all is basically, "shut up and ride your bike." Indeed...

This past weekend turned out to be pretty decent for riding - mornings were COLD but warmed up nicely enough that I managed more than 160mi for the weekend and was at last able to turn off my furnace (hopefully for good!). It was excellent to get outdoors, see the guys and remember why I love to ride the bike. Getting home after 4 hours in the saddle and being totally wasted is a feeling I've been missing lately.

I haven't seen any results but I understand the PACT/DISH guys had a good weekend at the indoor TT and the training crit in Wisconsin - nice job guys, way to represent!!

To Race....or Not!

I can't say that I blame Henrik Stenson for stripping down to make a shot from the mud at Doral - I don't like being dirty either. Indeed....

Temps in the 20s have returned for a short, sharp kick in the head. Yesterday's training session was vicious - the cross/head wind on the lakefront was tough. I counted less than 10 other idiots out there with me from the South end to the North end, excluding the construction worker-idiots who had no choice. It was nearly 5 hours after arriving home before I was able to feel my feet again. Of note, however, is the fact that most of the ice and snow that's accumulated at the shore has pretty much melted, leaving only a few little dirty lumps here and there.

Sooo....the big question I keep getting asked is when I'm going to start racing. People, IT'S ONLY MARCH!! The beauty of it is that I really haven't decided yet. There's an opportunity this weekend in Wisconsin to do a training crit but right now I feel like I need some long, hard rides in my legs. With no trip to warm weather and so much time spent indoors this winter, just getting in some hard, high-quality saddle time outdoors (with the boys, of course) is more what I'm looking for right now. Maybe in a couple weeks I'll jump into a crit, weather permitting. That, and I'd really like to arrive at 'cross season with a fresh head so starting later is a good thing. I'm not too worried - all of my power numbers look very good right now and I feel strong. I'll be doing a full schedule of racing but there are still a few loose ends to tie up and decisions to make.

We had a solid ride in class this morning - hard but not killer. None of the hung-over people hurled so it couldn't have been that awful. I re-worked a recent playlist and we did a threshold/sub-threshold zig-zag session to this:

Fire Woman - The Cult
Fall Back Down - Rancid
Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
Do You Wanna Dance? - The Ramones
Why Go? - PJ
Call in the Cavalry - The Shys
Sister Surround - The Soundtrack of Our Lives
Kennedy Killed the Hat - Buck 65
Sick City Sometimes - Buzzcocks
Girlfriend in a Coma - The Smiths
That Great Love Sound - The Ravonettes
What Keeps Your Heart Beatin'? - The Rattlers
Do Right - Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Spoon - DMB

I finished 'Cat's Cradle' and started 'Living on the Black' by John Feinstein. It's about the 2007 seasons of pro pitchers Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina with the Mets and Yankees, respectively. As is always the case with Feinstein's work there's a lot of behind the scenes, insider info that provides for an interesting look into the lives of those involved in the 'game behind the game.'

Thanks for reading - hopefully soon there will be something more exciting to blog about.

Tunes...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

Today's soundtrack for Spin is totally classic rock - maybe my favorite genre. I got a bunch of groovin' stuff from P-licious and MetLifeGuy the other day and I'm like a little kid on Christmas going through it all. I got some bootleg Led Zeppelin concert stuff, Frank Zappa live, Bjork, Clash, Buck 65, some good cover tunes, Cream and Janis Joplin that I did not already have and some incredible guitar stuff by Paco DeLucia, John McLaughlin and Al DiMeola. Did I say incredible? Wow...talk about talent. I put it on the shuffle and will have it massaging my eardrums during my afternoon intervals - done OUTDOORS at last...

Lunch hour spin will be 40min of hard tempo with some small spikes to threshold along the way and then a 9min threshold effort that builds to a final intense minute that includes a sprint.

Dirty Laundry (live) - Don Henley
Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC
Room Full of Mirrors - Jimi Hendrix
Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band
Hang Fire - Rolling Stones
Show Me the Way (live) - Peter Frampton
Over Under Sideways Down - The Yardbirds
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

I've solved the problem of Girl Scout cookies - they're being pawned off on my brothers. They don't know it yet but I'm pretty sure they'll be pleased.

It's Official - I'm Old, and Evil Things

No, it is not my birthday (but it will be my half-birthday on Thursday!!). I'm officially old because I got mail from AARP (an evil thing) today - WITH MY NAME ON IT!! Not email, MAIL. No, I did not open it. Yes, it found it's way to the recycle bin within seconds of entering my home.

I also received the two boxes of Girl Scout cookies (evil things) that I paid for three months ago. While watching the news a few days ago it was mentioned that those cookies now cost $3.50. Why is it, then, that I paid $4.25/box? WTF? Is my additional $1.50 getting filtered into criminal defense funds for Blago and Burris? Don't get me started...

But I digress....training is going quite well, now that I'm back from the bitter throes of winter bike hate. Power numbers are looking good and I can say for the first time in a lot of years that I am looking forward to racing my bike this season. No performance pressure, high maintenance sponsors or drama - it's gonna be great!

As for me giving up PB&J, that sort of went the way my cussing thing went last year. Judge me for it if you wish but words are just words. What I say is what I say, what you think is what you think. Back to the point, EVERYONE (except the Ebony Princess) loves PB&J and it's cheap! I can't deny myself one of life's small pleasures, even for 40 days. I admit it, I'm weak. And I'm also cheap. There are worse things in life.

I just finished 'An Idiot for All Seasons' by David Feherty and will finish the Goodwin book this week. Up next - I have some Vonnegut in the queue - 'Mother Night' and 'Cat's Cradle.'

I have to send good thoughts to Mike Wakeley after his recent bout of ugliness - I've been there my friend...narcotics rule!! I hope you are feeling better soon, stoner. Same goes to MetLifeGuy who will surely be killing everyone in a few weeks (he works harder than anyone I know).