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).

PHAT Tuesday

That darn paczki keeps making it's way onto my Fat Tuesday post every year...

Fat Tuesday has no religious connotation to me whatsoever - my lifetime quota of time spent in church and on religious endeavors was achieved many years ago. I like to look at it as more of a day to think about all the 'bad for you' food that I love but never eat as doing so would cause said calories to end up taking permanent residence in my ass. Over the last few days I've had discussions with friends about which two 'bad for you' items they would like to be able to eat in any quantity forever without repercussion - makes for good small talk, right? Here's a random smattering from both men and women, all generalizations as there are so many varieties of each:

* hamburgers
* pizza
* chocolate
* cheese
* ice cream
* french fries
* anything deep fried in duck fat
* cake
* beer
* pop tarts - also known to me as crack tarts - just can't have these in the house...
* peanut butter and jelly on white bread
* hot dogs - totally gross but oh so good...one of those things about which the origins need to be ignored while eating
* prime rib
* guacamole
* cookies (any kind)
* BBQ ribs
* macaroni and cheese (the real way - not out of the box)
* authentic Mexican food

Though I don't identify with the whole Lent thing, I can definitely go with the whole sacrifice/give-up something for 40 days in effort to feel the pain of my Catholic brethren. I tried to not cuss last year and we all know what happened with that. So I'm going to try something much easier - no PBJ and no cold cereal, period. I think that's quite enough. Hopefully I won't develop the shakes.

With that in mind, here's today's playlist for class - 6X3min Vo2 efforts:

Fire Woman - The Cult
See a Little Light - Bob Mould
Fall Back Down - Rancid
C'Mon Everybody - The Chevelles
Do You Wanna Dance - The Ramones
Why Go - Pearl Jam
Call in the Cavalry - The Shys
Someday - The Strokes
Stairway to Heaven - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Sick City Sometimes - Buzzcocks
Only the Good Die Young - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
That Great Love Sound - The Ravonettes
What Keeps Your Heart Beatin'? - The Rattlers
(What Do I) Do Right? - Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Riders on the Storm - The Doors

Just finished 'Hell's Angels' - it was fascinating and a fast read. I've started 'An Idiot for All Seasons' by David Feherty and will pick back up on the Goodwin book in a few days. After a week of bike hate I'm back to work and feeling good. Winter started early for us this year so right about now would normally be (4 months of crap weather) time to be outdoors more and it's just not happening yet. I had a little meltdown/submission week and now I'm all good. As my friend Jimmy said this morning, "sometimes you need to go to the zoo." Well said.

Almost forgot - congrats to the PACT/Dishnetwork boys on their fine performances at the indoor TT last weekend. Ted, Jim and Dan - way to represent!

Thursday - Winter Returns & I Master a New Trick

Happy Birthday, Beth!!
yes boys...she's single!! Then again, she's also smart and almost 6ft tall so keep that in mind.

Oh yeah - back to snow, ice and temps in the low teens. Bring it on - no more teasing with the sunny skies and temps around freezing. I did a short ride on the rollers before class today, tried something and was completely surprised - I can ride the rollers with no hands!! I'd never actually tried to do it before but today I got this weird wild hair and there it was - pretty cool. Now I can play two handed air drums in class - no more of this one handed stuff...and air guitar too!

This is what we're listening to today:

Monkey Man - The Rolling Stones
Doesn't Remind Me - Audioslave
Up Tight - The Hives
Danny's Song - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes
Hello Conscience - The Zutons
Authority Song - John Mellencamp
A Tisket a Tasket - Stevie Ray Vaughan (thanks Peter!)
I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs
Crawl - Kings of Leon
Valerie Loves Me - Material Issue
Longview - Green Day
Don't Change - INXS
Warning Sign - Coldplay

I'm thinking a trip to The Art Institute of Chicago is on the schedule tomorrow after finishing with work. I understand the Edvard Munch exhibit is amazing. He was supposedly an anxious boy. I get that. What I'm reading: still working on the tail end of 'No Ordinary Time' and just started 'Hell's Angels' by Hunter S. Thompson.

Soundtrack - Tuesday

I got a lot of really positive feeback when I began publishing my spin class playlists so I'll keep doing it. In class today we talked a bit about being 'average' and how anyone can be average - shutting down early, losing focus, being lazy, etc. - it's easy to be average and just squeak by. Average sucks - be better, be more, work harder, go farther. Not just anyone can do that - only those who do that little bit more, that hang on a little longer and try harder can be better because face it - you can do it, you just have to want to. And I've never really met anyone who really wants to be 'average...'

Shine it all Around - Robert Plant and Strange Sensations
White, Discussion - Live
Weapon of Choice - BRMC
Read My Mind - The Killers
LA Woman - Billy Idol
Red Morning Light - Kings of Leon
Life on a Chain - Peter Yorn
The Pretender - Foo Fighters
Nobody Does it Better - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Porch - Pearl Jam
Release - Pearl Jam

Perfect?

Eddie

Anyone who knows me well is familiar with my feelings about perfection - the 'perfect' designation is not something I give freely so if I say something is perfect, consider it to be a rare occasion. For lots of reasons music is a huge part of my life - not just because my job depends on it but also because it has the ability to communicate emotion and feeling beyond what I am capable of expressing. It can alter mood, behavior and feeling and transcend barriers - I would truly be lost without music in my life.

Yep - I was indeed a 'band fag' back in high school but wasn't treated like a typical band geek because I was a multiple-sport starting athlete. Trust me, I wasn't a great musician but I learned a ton and developed a deep appreciation for all genres of music (except for maybe country - and western, polka (Polish or Latin), soul, hip-hop and rap...sorry). I can easily listen to a classical piece by Silvestre Revueltas and follow it up with some Slayer without a second thought.

So, following up on a previous blog comment, I asked the spinheads for their input into my "most perfect albums" list. I got some good feedback and have gone ahead and listed some of it below. Feel free to make recommendations and if you are too shy to comment, send me an email. These are not in any particular order, just a random brain ramble. I can pretty much listen to any of these start to finish and skip nothing:

10 - Pearl Jam (but of course)
Synchronicity - The Police
1984 - Van Halen
Back in Black - AC/DC
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
IV - Led Zeppelin (then again, everything Zep is perfect)
Dookie - Green Day
Live at Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band
Odelay - Beck
Audio - Blue Man Group
Strange Brew - Cream
Who's Next - The Who
Are You Experienced - Jimi Hendrix
Metallica - Kill 'em All
Substance Disc 1 - New Order
Nevermind - Nirvana
Frampton Comes Alive - Peter Frampton
Eponymous - R.E.M. (Green is a close second)
Sitcky Fingers or Let it Bleed - The Rolling Stones
Chronicles - Rush
Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty
U2 - The Joshua Tree
Eliminator - ZZ Top

What else? Speak up or never be heard....

Friday at Last

That's a fine looking tat, eh? Oh, nice bicep too...pretty hot

What a week this has been - too much to detail here but suffice to say that I'm happy that we've almost arrived at Friday (the 13th !!) without any animals being hurt along the way. I heard a great quote on the radio the other day and got a good laugh, "hard work pays off in the long run. Laziness pays off now." So I mentioned it in class and got a few laughs before we started to do some tasty VO2 and LT work. Here's the soundtrack (I've been on a PJ binge of sorts lately):

Rifles - BRMC
Jeremy - Pearl Jam
C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies
Get on Your Boots - U2
Breakerfall - Pearl Jam
Unchained - Van Halen
Sheila take a Bow - The Smiths
Porch - Pearl Jam
Leaving on a Jet Plane - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
Early to Bed - Morphine
Spaceman - The Killers
I Want You - Kings of Leon

Looks like maybe some snow this weekend but temps should be sort of agreeable - 30s both days - so I'm hoping that all miles will be completed outdoors. I guess we'll see....

February Fluke

Cupcake, don't EVEN touch my bike-you'll make it slow...

After being called the third most miserable city in the US (due to things like our stupid-high taxes, high unemployment rate, the Cubs and the lousy weather) Chicago decided to be warm for a few days. Of course with that freaky warmth comes the obligatory ubiquitous wind but I'll take mid-60s and wind right about now. It truly is but a fluke as we will be returning to February's normal freezing coldness later in the week but you'd best believe I'll be logging some solid outdoor miles before things get ugly again.

Tuesday's lunch hour soundtrack is below. We'll be doing 5X4min VO2 intervals:

Piss it All Away - Puddle of Mudd
Breath - PJ
Bullet with Butterfly Wings - Smashing Pumpkins
Molly's Chambers - Kings of Leon
Deep - PJ
Astro - The White Stripes
Passive - A Perfect Circle
Rocket Man - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Dirty Little Thing - Velvet Revolver
Ragoo - Kings of Leon
Firestarter - The Prodigy
Release - PJ

Yep - lots of PJ but my lost '10' cd has been replaced (thank you!!) so I included a couple tracks from what I consider to be one of the most perfect albums ever produced. Think about it - how many cd's can you listen to from start to finish without skipping anything along the way? Zeppelin IV? Pearl Jam '10?' The Police 'Synchronicity?' I feel a Top 10 list in the near future....

The Cervelo Comes Home and New Rollers

Home at last and ready to be dialed in.

They're so shiny and quiet!!

This post sends a huge thank-you to Peter at Sportcrafters. I've ridden exclusively on two sets his rollers for close to five years and logged (quite literally) thousands of miles and hours between indoor training, teaching spinning classes and race warm up. I've posted previously about how 'tired' and worn out they are from use so after a little research and a phone conversation, Peter honored his lifetime warranty policy and without hesitation he shipped me two new sets to replace my old ones. Included are resistance units on both sets so now I can do my minute long +500w repeats indoors. Thank you Peter and Sportcrafters!

Uh-Oh...5-0!!

That's right - meteorologists are forecasting high temps near 50 for this weekend! Yeah, that forecast also includes some rain but at this point I'll take it. I doubt my bike cleaning boy will enjoy it but I know that I will. You know things are pretty bad when you walk out and 15 degrees feels almost decent. Steve was in Tampa last weekend and he said the nicest thing was to walk out the door and not have to brace himself against the freezing coldness.

Spin today will be 3X10min threshold efforts on short rest (I only have 50min to work with so we try to squeeze a fair amount of work into that):

Got Me Wrong - Alice in Chains
Breaking the Girl - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Follow You Down - Gin Blossoms
Be Somebody - Kings of Leon
Dr. Feelgood - Motley Crue
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvanva
1969 - Stooges
Morning Glory - Oasis
Infected - The The
Feel a Whole Lot Better - Tom Petty
Blurry - Puddle of Mudd
Even Flow -PJ
The Cisco Kid - War
Closer - Kings of Leon

Still reading 'No Ordinary Time' by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It's a long book that meticulously documents the FDR years focusing especially on domestic and international events that precipitated US involvement in WWII. Fascinating stuff, really - at times I'm finding it difficult to put it down.

Not a whole lot to report other than severe cabin fever that I hope to temporarily suspend with some outdoor miles this afternoon and a new chain. It'll be cold but it beats riding in my living room anyday.

Time for a Chain-ge

Yeah....definitely way overdue for a new chain.

For those of you out there not familiar with the nuances associated with the need for a new chain, you should NEVER not ever be able to see daylight between the chain and the teeth on your chainrings. I'd say this fine example is at least 1000mi overdue for a change. Thankfully there's not any cassette or chainring damage at this point but I'm pretty lucky. How did it get so bad? Well...the chain has been so dirty and grimy for so long that when I was finally able to degrease it this is what I found. Bad, bad bike racer!

Now that football season is over I'm happy that my weekend post-ride ritual of couch time will continue as golf season is under way. That means as soon as the snow melts around here I'll be heading to the driving range for some anger management sessions.

The groundhog saw his shadow yesterday which means 18 more weeks of winter. SERENITY NOW!!

Also - congrats to the PACT/Dishnetwork contingent on killing things at the indoor TT last weekend. Dan, Ted and Mike all had strong rides. They're just beasts - guys, you inspire me!!

Johnny and Other Errata

Johnny 'I don't do tape' at the Pony

I'm tired of whining about the weather around here so until I say it's good, assume that it sucks and we'll take it from there. My set of home rollers has a bad bearing and is obnoxiously loud - so loud that if I turn my TV all the way up (to 100), I still can't hear it over roller, bike and fan noise. To stay on good terms with my neighbors (even those who live across the street) I have been reduced to listening to music while training at home. That's just fine with me - I can tolerate 3+ hours at a time on the rollers if the tunes are good and I have fierce melon Gatorade.

So Greg, the coolest co-worker I have ever had, gave me all of his vintage Metallica. I killed more than 2.5hr on the rollers yesterday and never heard the same song twice. I won't list them all here but the albums ...And Justice for All, Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning, Garage, Inc., Load, Reload, St. Anger and the new one, Death Magnetic were all in the queue. It was a most excellent indoor session. In addition to the Metallica he included some Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Y&T (remember those guys?), Queensryche, Pantera and Anthrax. No, I am not a closet headbanger. I openly embrace hard/heavy metal music. Love it. Always have. It's that Chicago Southside upbringing of mine. Additionally, Greg provided the one Kings of Leon album that my collection lacked. Love those guys - they are fast becoming one of my favorites.

Here's Friday morning's soundtrack:

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - Metallica
Control - Puddle of Mudd
Blitzkreig - Metallica
Girls Got Rhythm - AC/DC
WTFF - Living Color
Run to the Hills - Iron Maiden
Girls - Beastie Boys
Looks That Kill - Motley Crue
Tush - ZZ Top
Fake It - Seether
Breakin' the Law - Judas Priest
I Don't Know - Ozzy Osbourne
Fade - Stain'd


Today was decent enough to get in some outdoor mileage on the 'cross bike with MetLifeGuy. We started downtown and made it up to Highland Park then back to Evanston for some coffee before it got too dark. The ride back to the dirty city (about 12mi for me) was pretty cold but it felt good to get out and open up the legs a bit longer than just for the daily commute. My poor bike is caked with road salt and grime so my bike cleaning boy is going to be on the hook tomorrow.

Some good things coming up - the Cervelo should be coming home this weekend and our new team kits have come in so hopefully I'll retrieve that stuff too. Best wishes to all the guys for a strong performance at the indoor TT on Sunday - I'll be thinking of you!

Yet Another Killer Spin Session

I figured class would be small given the Inauguration festivities but we had 17 - not too bad, all things considered. We did a really interesting session that I bogarted from a friend and it worked incredibly well. I'd already done my 2hrs of training for the day before class started (including - finally - a commute into the Loop) then we did 2 sets of 8X60sec VO2 intervals (not as hard as an AP interval) on 30sec rest with 5min between sets. We were all cooked at the end!

Here's the soundtrack (it includes my ride before class, class itself and then some spin down time):

Drown - Smashing Pumpkins
Seasons - Chris Cornell
Breath - Pearl Jam
Nearly Lost You - Screaming Trees
Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
Low - Cracker
Hello Conscience - The Zutons
Why Does the Sun Shine? - They Might Be Giants
American Idiot - Green Day
Hate to Say I Told You So - The Hives
Can't Stand It - The Greenhornes
California Uber Allies - Dead Kennedys
My Doorbell - The White Stripes
Killer - Boy Kill Boy
If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar
My Kind of Girl - The 45s
Get on Your Boots - U2
Novocaine for the Soul - Eels
City of Blinding Lights -U2

It appears that we're going to be above freezing tomorrow and Thursday so my butt is going to be OUTSIDE!!

I've just started 'No Ordinary Time' about the FDR presidency by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I read her book 'Team of Rivals' (about the Lincoln presidency) a little over two years ago and it remains one of my favorite books. She's got a very engaging style of writing which makes for interesting reading on subject matter that might otherwise be described as boring.

My #1 Fans

Pearl iZumi is my #1 kitty (only because I've had her longest). I call her Zumi for short. She likes to walk dangerously close to the rollers while I'm riding indoors and meow at the top of her lungs to eat when I'm in the middle of an interval. I rescued her from Anti-Cruelty in 2001 and she's moved with me from place to place since then. Her hobbies include watching the birds and squirrels in the front yard, getting 'stoned' on catnip and chewing on shiny things that make crinkly noises as her pointy little teeth crunch down on them.

This is Gandalf who essentially disappears when he hears the rollers and suddenly materializes as soon as my ride ends, looking for something to eat. I rescued him from PAWS in 2003 and he's moved with me once. The vet calls him her 'handsome little gentleman.' Yeah, he's got her fooled on that! He's a delicate kitty who has allergies and is susceptible to all kinds of little bugs but is definitely the alpha cat in this house - he whups zumi's ass pretty regularly. He also likes to crunch on shiny things, bogart chicken from my soup, eat fuzz, get stoned on catnip and keep tabs on the neighborhood dogs, squirrles and birds. Such a boy.

The weather continues to be stellar around here so 2.5hr indoor rides were the plan for the weekend. I made up a playlist of some of my favorite things of late and have listed it below. There are a fair number of things that show up frequently of late basically because I like them (at the moment):

The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegroove - Dead Can Dance
Sunshower - Chris Cornell
Blow Up the Outside World - Soundgarden
Tempted - Squeeze
Novocaine for the Soul - Eels
The Awakening - Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel
One Better - Les Claypool
The Working Hour - Tears for Fears
Cold - Tears for Fears
The Mercy Beat - The The
I Will Possess Your Heart (long version) - Death Cab for Cuite
Forever Yellow Skies - The Cranberries
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello
Fire - Jimi Hendrix
Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter
How We Operate - Gomez
Up Tight - The Hives
Living Well is the Best Revenge - R.E.M.
Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix
Crumblin' Down - John Mellencamp
Turbo Lover - Judas Priest
Ironman - Black Sabbath
Spaceman - The Killers
White, Discussion - Live
Cult of Personality - Living Color
Freedom Highway (Live) - Mavis Staples
I Woke Up this Mornin' - The Mooney Suzuki
Whipping - Pearl Jam
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Breathe - The Prodigy
Jesus Built My Hot Rod - Ministry
Crystal Village - Peter Yorn
Take a Picture - Filter
Everything You Need - Vertical Horizon
Lust - Tori Amos
They're Blind - The Replacements

I finally finished the Feinstein book about the 2004 Baltimore Ravens - it was long but definitely a good read. Not sure what's next - something short. Looks like temps will be in the 20s this week so I'll be outdoors as much as I can - I have some serious cabin fever going on right now.

Gotta go - Howie Long is on tv.......

Uncle George, May You Rest in Peace

Sunday morning I was awakened by an early phone call from my mom. It's never good news when you field a phone call from your mother before sunrise on the weekend. She informed me of the untimely passing of my Godfather, her brother George. Uncle George was a larger than life character (literally and figuratively) who lit up the room wherever he went - a die-hard Cub fan and a funny, authentic, genuinely good man. Driving to funeral services today it made me laugh to see farewell messages on bar signs along US 41 - he was a social guy and everyone loved him. Though I didn't have much opportunity to see him as I got older and moved away, I will surely miss him as will everyone else who had the privilege of knowing him.

GEORGE F. KUHEL (COOL) ST. JOHN, IN George F. Kuhel, age 55, late of St. John, formerly of South Holland, passed away January 11, 2009. Beloved husband of Millie (nee Vukas); loving father of: Alex (Heather) Kuhel, Adrienne (Tony) Armatore and Erin Kuhel; cherished grandfather of four beautiful grandkids: Shawn, John, Chessa and Caleb; devoted son of Betty and the late Joseph Kuhel; dearest brother of: Joe (Kate), Ron (Cathy), Paul (Wendy), the late Richard Kuhel, Joyce (Richard) Dust and Linda (Chris) Jones; dear brother-in-law of: Mike (Alice) Pesich, Bronco (Karen) Pesich, Pete (Jeanne) Ostrowski, Nick (Chris) Vukas, Helen (Buddy) Copeland, Bob Vukas, Tony Pesich and Dorothy (Chester) Colvin; fond uncle of 29 nieces and nephews, 22 great nieces and nephews; also survived by many wonderful friends. George was a retired Supervisor for Commonwealth Edison State Line.

Well Isn't This Special?

The view from my front door this morning. Thankfully I park in the garage.

I need to rant a bit today - the snow and shit weather here has been annoying beyond belief. I truly don't mind winter in general so long as a good day or two gets stuck between the bad stretches but this is insane. We've not had a break from the snow/wind/freezing temp trifecta since that one freaky Saturday where it was 65 and pissed rain non-stop before the temp instantly dropped 45 degrees and everything froze. Looking out the window now it appears that the sun is peeking out for a short tease before the temps descend below zero. I'm loving this. Rant complete.

At least spin classes have been full and fun lately. We did some intervals this morning and while most of the class was awake, those who slept through the session at least made an attempt to look like they were working (no, they can't fool me anymore...). Here's the soundtrack:

Crystal Village - Peter Yorn
Drift and Die - Puddle of Mudd
You Wreck Me - Tom Petty
Breakerfall - PJ
She Builds Quick Machines - Velvet Revolver
C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies
Better Man - PJ
Isn't She Lovely - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Crystal (long one) - New Order
Rockaway Beach - The Ramones
Ready to Go - Republica
Riders on the Storm - The Doors

Now it's time for a fun-filled 120 minutes of trainer time. Let's hope my ass doesn't fall asleep. Thought for the day: mediocrity sucks so just shut up and ride your bike :)

Indoor Distractions

Yet another fine day of snow here in Chicago made it impossible to ride outdoors so I was stuck on the rollers in the living room for my training session. I have cable tv but it seems there's never anything good to watch when it's time to ride but I got lucky on Saturday - Tyler was on so I parked the rollers in front of 50 inches of unedited HD and enjoyed every second of it. I'm not really into Brad Pitt per se, but I have an appreciation for Fight Club. It's one of those movies you can see 100 times and notice something new every time you watch. Not to mention the eye candy. A few weeks ago I watched Die Hard (uncut, in HD of course) and well, what can I say? Bruce Willis had it goin' on in the 80s!!

That was Saturday. Sunday wasn't quite so bad so I managed a 3 hour ride in the coldness and ice. I swear there must be a foot of snow on the ground by now. Temps are expected to fall as the week progresses so that we'll be seeing subzero highs.

So bored. So very very bored right now and it's only January. At least the Cervelo is in the process of being built so when it's finished I'll post some pics. Also - I'd like to send very good and positive thoughts to someone who's dealing with some bad ju-ju right now. Yes it sucks but it will get better.

Today's lunch hour soundtrack (a hard tempo session):
Machinehead - Bush
Boys of Summer - The Ataris
Pretty Fly - Offspring
Heavy - Collective Soul
Hello Conscience - The Zutons
Spirit in the Sky - Dr. and the Medics
Falling for the First Time - Barenaked Ladies
This Fire - Franz Ferdinand
Dancing with Myself - Billy Idol
Come out and Play - Offspring
Amazing - Madonna
What I Like About You - The Romantics
Spin - Lifehouse
Jung at Heart - Master Cylinder

Snow Ride!

Some of downtown & Lakeshore Drive before the snow ride started

Tuesday night we accumulated some precip which made for perfect snow ride conditions Wednesday morning. Temps were pretty agreeable though still only in the 20s with some stiff West wind. After morning appointments I caught up with some of my favorite boys for a lakefront path snow ride. They were all riding on studded tires so it was hard to keep up with them on my standard cyclocross tread - I found myself going sideways more times than I could count but somehow managed to stay upright for the entire ride.

Heading South the path hadn't been touched by a plow or salt which made for lots of nervous moments and cautious (but fun!) riding. There's something way cool about riding in the untouched snow - the sound of it crunching under your tires and the 'insulated from the outside world' feeling it provides. Heading back North wasn't quite as fun since the plows had come through and dropped salt so it was easy to find a pavement patch to ride on most of the time.

This year's winter has so far made outdoor riding difficult - bitterly cold, windy and snowy conditions have caused me to curtail the amount of outdoor saddle time I've been getting. I truly despise riding indoors so having a day like Wednesday made for a really nice departure from the rollers, if only for a day. Thanks to Lou, Josh and Mike for letting me tag along.

I'm still reading 'Next Man Up' but managed to sneak in a quick read of David Sedaris's 'Holidays on Ice' which was tremendously amusing. Spin classes have been at capacity all week and will probably remain that way for a while until things taper off in February. Here's today's soundtrack:

Season of the Witch - Donovan
You Better You Bet - The Who
Chains of Love - The Dirtbombs
Lips Like Sugar - Echo and the Bunnymen
Whatever Happened to My Rock n Roll - BRMC
Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
Do Right - Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Tonight, Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
This is a Call - Foo Fighters
Alive - PJ
It's Alright - Big Head Todd and the Monsters

(American) Football Rules!

Reason #1 why football on tv rules: Howie Long. 'nuff said.

Happy New Year and stuff! The past week or so I've spent a fair amount of time working, riding or on the couch watching football - college, pro, whatever's on - and not doing much else I'd consider productive. Some killer respiratory bug thing has been kicking my butt so the couch has pretty much been my destination of choice after work and saddle time are over for the day. I've made some observations that I'm going to share with y'all about football on tv:

The Top 10:
1. Howie Long is a stud. Nothing more to say on that one and I don't think there are many guys out there who will disagree with that assessment. Really, man-love is okay in this situation.
2. The SUNY Buffalo Bulls did something amazing this year in getting to the International Bowl even though they lost - and the story of the 1958 team that refused to play in that year's Tangerine Bowl received much deserved attention.
3. Football is one FAST game - even the really fat guys are fast which brings me to observation number 4:
4. Some of those really fat guys should not be allowed to wear white pants in public. Or anywhere else for that matter. Indeed....
5. The really elite receivers are tremendous athletes - speed, soft hands, unbelievable body control, balance and awareness all while this/close to getting hit really hard which brings me to observation number 6:
6. Holy crap those guys hit each other HARD. No wonder why they can only play once a week. I used to date this loser football player a long time ago and I remember him telling me that getting hit or (better yet) popping some other poor guy really hard "makes you feel alive." I didn't totally get it at the time but I certainly do now. It must be kind of like doing all out, "I'd rather be dead oh my god I taste blood" intervals on the bike. I get it.
7. Many of the players are just plain humongous people - a tight end who's 6'6" and weighs 285? Yeah, that's a lot of powerful humanity to tackle, isn't it? The again, there's the 5'6" 185lb running back who busts through the line and runs 60+ yards for a TD. Gotta respect that. And let's not overlook the 40 something kicker who nails a 50 yard field goal to send the game into OT.
8. The vast majority of commercials are for big manly-man trucks, fast food, financial services and beer. Big surprise there.
9. Football is vastly more entertaining in the freezing coldness with some killer wind and precipitation to make things more interesting. Sunny and 80 degrees with a light breeze from the south is best for golf (observations about which I will share in a subsequent post).
10. WTF are the cheerleaders really doing out there anyway? Most of them don't get paid so what's the point? Maybe they get to keep the uniform and tax deduct the boob job. Oh, I'm sorry, they're all attorneys, accountants, CEOs and physicians who are moonlighting. I get it now.

That's about all for now - not a whole lot going on but for lots of cold weather riding and work.

Hello Cervelo!!

This past autumn I sold a couple of my older bikes in effort to raise the funds to upgrade to a nicer time trial bike. I'd been actively looking for a few months when MetLifeGuy came across a used Cervelo P2c on ebay that was the proper size so I watched it for a few days and was lucky enough to place the winning bid with just seconds to go in the auction. Now that was a rush but not something I plan to do again any time soon - auctions and my anxious nature are not compatible.

Spin class this Christmas Eve morning was tough but a solid group of hard-working athletes showed up and crushed out 30+min of threshold efforts to the following soundtrack:

Somewhere a Clock is Ticking - Snow Patrol
WMA - PJ
Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll - BRMC
Suicide Blonde - INXS
I Feel Love - Blue Man Group feat. Tracy Bonham and Rob Swift
Cochise - Audioslave
She Builds Quick Machines - Velvet Revolver
What Difference Does it Make? - The Smiths
Dakota - Stereophonics
The Shock of the Lightning - Oasis
Breathe - The Prodigy
Thirty-Three - Smashing Pumpkins

Not much else to say at the moment - cupcakes are finished, 007 is on the big screen and my feet are up. It's ugly out there - way too much precip but I'm hoping to ride outside tomorrow, my head needs it - bad. The rollers are just not a fun way to spend saddle time.

White Stuff

The Sears Tower Lobby Christmas Tree

Chicago was yet again hammered with overnight snow which necessitated a morning commute on my beloved CTA blue line. Cross-country skiing down Milwaukee Ave. crossed my mind but I wimped out. I have a 5 block walk from the Loop's Jackson Boulevard stop over to the gym which takes me past the Sears Tower and a few other buildings of note. I snapped the above pic while waiting to cross Wacker Drive - nice pile of snow that guy's standing next to, eh? How touristy of me.

Looking North on the Jackson Blvd. bridge over the Chicago River. The light in the center is Boeing World HQ

I was hoping that we'd have a good turnout for early class this morning and we did - everyone worked hard and was very focused. It was definitely a morning where just getting out of bed was a task - as a good friend reminded me the other day, 'champions do it when they don't want to' so that was the underlying theme for class today.

A very cool thing happened on the way home - I saw the prez-elect's motorcade. The federal building where all the transition activity is occurring and where BO keeps an office is on Jackson Blvd. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office is also somewhere around there but unfortunately I've not had the occasion to see him...major bummer. I couldn't snap a pic because the secret service or some such clandestine service agent would probably have ended up taking my phone but it was a pretty cool thing to see.

It's time to complete my second round of morning coffee and then head out to finish clearing the snow around my place. Exciting news: the bike room will be welcoming a new tenant next week - I'll post photos when the Cervelo arrives. Until then, I'll leave you with a thought shared via email this morning:

Illinois - where our governors make our license plates.

6ix

Just looked out the front window and I swear this guy was out there.

Uh yeah - that's the outdoor temp (not the windchill which is surely colder) as I contemplate rolling out this morning for work. Do I drive? Do I ride? I'm SO CONFLICTED. I still have a little time before making the final decision. Maybe I'll ride and bring cab fare for the way home, just in case. This might be beyond an HTFU situation. It's a 30min trip each way. Ugh.

The plan for class today is warm up followed by some tasty threshold/sub-threshold work. Should be great fun. Here's the soundtrack:

Not Enough Time - INXS
Poundcake - Van Halen
Black Math - The White Stripes
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
The Impression that I Get - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Isn't She Lovely? - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet
My Kind of Girl - The 45s
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter... - PJ
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Read My Mind - The Killers
The Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix

Congrats to Wayne Simon (Mr. Pink) on his podium finish at Masters 'Cross Nationals. Shout outs are also in order to fellow Verdigrisians Tim, Chris, Scott and David for fine performances at nationals - way to go guys! June Upshaw deserves recognition for taking the overall title in the Chicago Cross Cup. June had a solid season with consistent finishes - she earned the title and my hat is off to her. Well done, Junebug! Not to be overlooked was Mike Wakeley's successful cross season and respectable showing at nationals. Wakes is an expert mechanic, strong technical rider and all around cool guy - dude, you're one of my favorites. I'll be looking for you on the TT circuit in 2009!

What I'm reading at the moment: 'Next Man Up' by John Feinstein. It's a total-access, in-depth insider account of the Baltimore Ravens' 2004 season. I just finished 'Fates Worse than Death' by Kurt Vonnegut - humorous, insightful and thought-provoking stuff.

That's all for now - I have to begin layering for my bitter cold journey to the Loop...

UPDATE: I caved after speaking with some voices of reason and decided to drive only to find my garage doors frozen shut. That necessitated a CTA blue line commute - something just shy of a living-hell experience....Chicago winter just sucks.

NI9E

That would be the air temperature in the big city at commute-o'clock time this morning. No idea what the windchill was. Didn't want to know. It had to be sub zero. I briefly pondered driving into the loop for work this morning and then thought, 'it's only 30min each way. HTFU. You can do it.' When members at the gym ask me how I could possibly ride in such weather my response is always the same: I hate to drive, find and pay for parking my car more than I hate riding in the freezing coldness. It was a near-hateful experience this morning that could only have been worse in the presence of drifting and blowing snow - and that will indeed happen before the end of this winter. The 'cross bike has become the main commuting ride as of this week. Too much debris on the road and the likelihood of skinny tire flats has forced the switch. Changing a flat in single-digit temps? I think not.

It was very cool to ride with a dedicated group of spinheads this morning. Our work was steady and hard with a good playlist:

Dirty Laundry (live) - The Eagles
Walk All Over You - AC/DC
Weapon of Choice - BRMC
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
Superman - Goldfinger
How We Operate - Gomez
Everlong - Foo Fighters
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
rearviewmirror - PJ
Middle of the Road - The Pretenders
Fortune Teller - Robert Plant and Allison Krauss
Drift and Die - Puddle of Mudd
Deep Seat - Swervedriver

It appears to me that the temps are going to rise enough for me to ride outdoors this weekend - probably near 20 and maybe a little higher. I really really do not like indoor training so I'll do whatever it takes to avoid roller time. Sunday is the state cross championship at Montrose Harbor. Again this year I will be spectating and don't plan to be there for very long - football starts at noon and my place on the couch will be calling. Good luck to all the crazy racers who toe the line that day - I'm sure it's gonna be great fun. I'll have my cowbell(s)!!!

What I'm reading: 'Candide' by Voltaire (in English) at the moment but I'm not sure what's coming up next. A trip to the used bookstore this afternoon for sure.

That's about all I have for now - thank you for reading. I might have some (HUGE!) interesting news to share next week so stay tuned....

KillerSpin

Some of the SpinHeads - yeah, it's an old picture but none of us are tan anymore...

I don't usually talk about work/what I do for a living. I thoroughly love what I do and the people I work with but it's work, my j-o-b. Interesting to think that my j-o-b time is the 'play time' of those I work with but I guess that's the best way to put it. A long time ago I changed professions and have never looked back. To go back would be to regret and I don't in any way regret the change I made, ever. Leaving a successful career in healthcare administration was one of the very best things I've ever done. I've never missed it since walking away - not a single day.

So what, right? It's odd but lately I've been fielding a bunch of thank-you emails from people who regularly participate in the classes I teach and those I work with individually. This has caused me to stop and think more about exactly what it is that I do and why. Sure, there are days where I just don't want to get out from under the covers but I always do because every last day I have the chance to interact with some of the most amazing and cool people I've ever met. Most of them are so much more than just 'clients' but instead true friends who I am thankful to have in my life. They give meaning to my work, provide much-needed insight, help keep me grounded and keep me sane. So as much as they thank me, I have to thank them as well because without them I could still be stuck in my hospital office, despising every second of it.

This morning was a case in point - bloody freezing coldness in Chicago (17 degrees at commute time) and a bunch of people showed up to spin class at the butt-crack of dawn and worked their asses off. It's simply sublime to look around a classroom full of riders pouring their heart and soul into the challenge I set before them - extending the boundaries of their discomfort and discovering something about themselves along the way. And that goes for more than just today - it's every day. It just happens that it all really hit home with me today. It was freakin' killer, in every way and that's the kind of thing that provides me with a reason to get up every day.

Here's the playlist from this morning - lots of sweat and mental tenacity in todays' intervals...

How Soon is Now - The Smiths
Blow Up the Outside World - Soundgarden
Bite the Hand that Feeds - Nine Inch Nails
The Perfect Drug - Trent Reznor
Chains of Love - The Dirtbombs
VooDoo - Godsmack
Session - Linkin Park
Every Day is Exactly the Same - Nine Inch Nails
Uptown Girl - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Breathe - The Prodigy
Transmission - The Tea Party

That's enough of the sappy, emotional crap (ick). No racing this weekend, just some group ride stuff - it's so much easier to suffer and freeze with good company! Something else that's pretty cool - my picture is in Chicago Athlete magazine in the center of page 24 for the November/December issue. If you click through to their website you can view the issue online. That's all for now - thanks for reading!

Lansing 'Cross Recap - Brrrrrrrr Shiver Shiver

Over the barriers.
photo courtesy of PF

Through the sand pit.
photo courtesy of PF

I needed to have a flame lit under my ass to race this weekend in Lansing. Today was the third time that I have so much as even touched my cross bike this year. It definitely helped that Lou at the Pony spiced up my bike with some new white bar tape and a white saddle. I think the last 'cross race I did was about a month ago. I figured maybe it'd be nice to suit up for the Lansing race, seeing as how I grew up five minutes from the course and actually lived in Lansing for a short time during the dark chapter in my life known as 'The Engagement to Bob.' Sure dodged a bullet on that one.

Weather forecasts were calling for 30 degree temps and snow the past few days so I was totally on the fence until I awakened to see that the ground was dry with a morning temp of 28 degrees. No doubt it was going to be a day for Super Strength Greyhound Juice. Have I ever mentioned the fact that I intensely dislike racing in very cold weather? Yeah - hard to believe isn't it? Freezing coldness makes everything seem slower and more painful to me. I pre-rode the course very easy and then basically found someplace warm to hang out until go time and so never really warmed up, per se, prior to starting. I had to wear a bunch of layers under my skinsuit and felt like the Michelin Man.

The Lansing course is 100% pancake flat, 97% of which is grass with some very short pavement sections and a long sand pit. This year it was set up with a lot of twisty grass stuff, a few barriers and two pavement round-abouts. It didn't really suit me - I'm better on wide-open courses that don't require lots of speed changes. There were about a dozen 1/2/3 women on the start with June and I representing for Verdigris. June is leading the Chicago Cross Cup series and so my main objective was to make sure that she got as many points as possible today. I wasn't paying attention when the gun was fired so I was nowhere near getting the hole shot as we rolled off the start. I essentially settled into second position about 30 seconds into the race. My legwarmers kept falling down which was pretty annoying - they're really old and the grippers are shot.

Without a decent warm-up it took me about three laps to settle into some kind of groove where I could stay until the end. I played it cautious and ran the sand pit almost every time. It was actually faster that way. The twisty grass section was killer - it was intermittently into the wind and just seemed to suck the life out of everyone. June hung pretty close for a long time and I kept yelling at her, 'get up here!!' I was planning to literally stop before the finish line on the last lap so she could get the coveted finishing points but the cat 3 men came through us at the finish, so they ended our race on the same lap. Bummer too because I know things at the top of the standings are close. I was happy to be finished - it was a bit of a suffer fest at times as evidenced by the (simultaneously cool yet nasty/gross) copious amounts of spit and snot stuck to the various surfaces of my bike.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for coming out to spectate a bit and to everyone who shouted encouragement along the way - it definitely helped my psyche today to hear your cheers. Congrats to the Verdigris guys who all posted impressive top finishes and also to the Pony Shop boys - well done, gentlemen! Mr. Pink, you are my hero!!

Unless we have some kind of miraculous break in the weather or I have a weak moment it's likely that today was my final 'cross race for the season. But you never know - I might get a wild hair the morning of the Montrose Harbor race in a few weeks and just show up for the heck of it.

What I'm reading at the moment: 'Fraud' by David Rakoff. I just finished 'A Dog in a Hat' by Joe Parkin and before that 'When You are Engulfed in Flames' by David Sedaris - which was hysterical. Not sure what's up next - maybe some classic American literature that I've never read or some Vonnegut. Depends on what I can find at the book store.

That's the story for now - as always, thanks for reading. If any decent pictures from today find their way into my inbox I'll be sure to post them later.

Saying Good-Bye and The Laziest Weekend - Evar!!

Sitting here at this stupid-early hour and seeing that the temp is 28 degrees makes me realize that indeed we are yet again headed for winter in the Midwest. It also makes me question why I live here anymore as I really cannot stand cold weather. I've tolerated the freezing coldness in the past and just rolled with it but I don't know that I can do that so easily anymore - age has changed me.

So, I'm saying good-bye to decent weather for the next 5 months or so and also saying good-bye to two of my bikes. The time trial bike has been dismantled and the frameset will be retrieved by it's new owner in a couple weeks. My back-up road bike will soon be someone else's number one. We know what that means - something new will be making it's way into the bike room hopefully before the end of the year. The hunt to find the perfect replacement TT bike has begun....

I believe there's something to be said for passing a weekend doing absolutely nothing. In fact, there are lots of things to be said for it - we should all be so lucky to do it once in a while just as a reminder of how good it is to not be a lazy ass all the time. This past weekend is a perfect example of how I did next to nothing and felt so guilty about it that the prospect of doing it again is unthinkable. I watched entire football games and only left my place to go upstairs to feed my neighbor's cat. It's a good thing the fridge was empty or it could have easily been an all-day eating extravaganza. My ass is thankful for that.

Okay, so I did ride my bike both Saturday and Sunday (a fine roller session complete with fierce melon Gatorade) but I didn't race even though there was a 'cross race about 30min away. I indeed feel guilty about that - I really need to get out and race again for Verdigris. I intend to do that next weekend in Lansing. I just wasn't into the idea of freezing my face off after suffering in Saturday's killer 20+ mph cross/head wind and temps in the low 30s, never mind the wet pavement. My hands were so frozen that I was alternately shoving them up under my jersey until I could almost feel them again. Not a whole lot of bike love going on at that point.

Of course, I always tell myself, it could be worse - so just HTFU and live through it. It will all be over in a few months. Think I'll just start planning those early 2009 getaways now....Arizona, California, Florida, where do I go? Maybe San Antonio now that I'll have a friend residing there....

This Makes Me Happy

'nuff said.

Not Feelin' the 'Cross Love & an Announcement

Seems like there are rogue squirrels (and Canada geese) everywhere lately - but I prefer the killer bunny of Caerbannog

We in the Midwest had the opportunity to race 'cross this past weekend and I let it go. I just wasn't feeling the 'cross love and I was out of embrocation so I did the next best thing: I didn't race and just did the weekend group ride with the boys. It was definitely the correct choice for me. 'Cross is still fun, I just needed a weekend away. I'll be back at it next weekend, after the daylight savings time change and an additional hour of insomnia. I do, however, need to send HUGE congrats out to my Verdigris teammate June who won the women's race and to the Verdigris guys who owned the (very windy) day - Well done, everyone - I'll see you next weekend in St. Charles.

Doing the Judson ride is not altogether devoid of anxiety - there are a lot of strong boys that come out and like to hurt themselves and each other (you know who you are...). I sort of hang on for dear life and hope to make it to the end at times. I feel guilty about not taking lots of pulls at the front but doing so could end my ride early - this ain't a no-drop ride. In fact, I suspect the goal of some is to shell as many guys as possible before we reach Fort Sheridan on Chicago's North Shore (again, you know who you are). Fortunately I am strong enough to survive to that point and can hold my own pretty much from there on but I definitely tend to have some painful moments along the way.

I suppose now would be a good time to make an announcement of sorts regarding my plans for next season on the road. We all know that I am no longer part of Kenda. Being with that team was mostly fun while it lasted but things have changed and I have changed so the parting of ways is definitely a good and positive thing for me and my racing. It becomes exhausting to always be required to live up to the expectations of others on the bike - that can make it anything but fun. Racing was expensive the past few years and I really no longer care to shell out lots of money to do the same races season after season. I will definitely miss my teammates but I've taken some good memories away from the time we spent together.

For 2009 I will be racing for a well-supported local team comprised mainly of masters athletes - really strong ones including national and state champs, a multiple-time world silver medalist, some monster time trialists and all around good people who prefer have fun with racing the bike and having a real life. I am proud, thankful and appreciative for the opportunity to race on the road with PACT- Dishnetwork for 2009. I may opt for composite team representation in some NRC races but most everything else will be for PACT, a place where I am comfortable and feel valued for my strengths as a rider and as a person.

That's about all I have to say for now - isn't it enough? As always, thanks for reading....

Wow - VeloNews!!

Check it out here. And here too!! That Imelda - she's a PR machine!!

Not So Dirty - Carpentersville 'Cross

The very best, most excellent part of today's 'cross race in Carpentersville was the DRY course - no mud!! That made me verrrrry happy. I've done the Carpenter Park race twice in the past with reasonable success so I was cautiously optimistic that I could have a decent finish, depending on who decided to show up and what the course would be like. Temp at start time was probably in the mid to upper 50s and the dewy grass had dried out nicely after the masters races - my kind of cross weather. We had a fair amount of wind and it seemed to get stronger as the day progressed.

The new Carpenter Park course absolutely does not suit me. It was nice that laps took longer as they'd added a lot of new elements using the same park but many of those 'elements' were u-turns, not good for my current level (read: absence) of technical skill proficiency. There was a barrier/gully combination that forced a dismount and a pair of barriers at the bottom of a short run-up but the remainder was totally rideable - even the sandpit was completely tame this year. New this year also was a short pavement stretch (with a u-turn) and a small off-camber section before a longish grass stretch.

Since I've decided to race 'cross for fun this season I have to admit that my devotion to the tasks associated with warming up and pre-race preparation has been lacking. I was able to take two slow course inspection laps before applying embrocation and spinning around a bit while watching the guys. Oh yeah - I was really ready to go when Marek blew the whistle. June and I were representing for Verdigris today with maybe a dozen others who came out for what was sure to be great fun. Standing on the line with us was the perpetually strong current national champion Rebecca Much who I found out has been added to the development program for the 2012 Olympic team - this is a fantastic thing as she is a true talent and a genuinely good and nice person.

I knew I was in for a battle when I missed my clip in and ended up sitting too far back in the very beginning stages of the 45min race. Rebecca got the hole shot and was accelerating hard out of all the early u-turns. This sort of hosed me - I had to work through a bunch of riders before finally getting clear of everyone somewhere on the second lap. From there things seemed to settle in nicely. I was able to keep the gap to Rebecca pretty reasonable (typically 10-15sec per the guys on the course) and not really torch myself to do it until I dropped my chain on the run up with about 2 laps to go. I lost a fair amount of time when that happened and the gap grew to a degree that I wouldn't be able to close in time for the finish.

So I was first loser on the day. An acceptable finish because really, I worked hard but I didn't bury myself too horribly, suffer that badly and I didn't break a nail or fall off my bike a single time (yay!!). June rode strong and stayed steady, passing Holly, finishing a solid third on the day and holding onto the lead in the series - another fine showing for the Verdigris women. I didn't linger after things were over so I don't know how all the Verdigris guys did today but I'm pretty sure the Pony Shop boys scored some impressive results in the masters races - well done gentlemen!!

I know there were a bunch of cameras out there so check back later in the week for updates, photos and links to the good stuff.

Dirty Things - Hawthorn Woods 'Cross

My bike was really, really muddy after I finished. I was even more muddy.

I had a weak moment and decided that yes, I am indeed going to race some 'cross this fall. Today was my first stab at the Chicago Cross Cup - the third race of the series held in Hawthorn Woods, not terribly far from the city. It needs to be noted here and now that taking my bike off the hook in my bike room yesterday was the first time I'd so much as touched it since having it overhauled at the Pony Shop more than a month ago. That's right - not a single practice or even a pavement ride. I was rightfully nervous given that I understand the competition at 'cross cup races has been pretty good this year. Honestly, my biggest concern was that I not wreck and hurt myself - self-preservation at it's finest.

I was representing for Verdigris with June on the line with 8 others. The course was actually pretty good and it suited me well. Not sure how long it was but it was mostly flat with lots of grass, some pavement sections, a barrier, an off-camber section that turned into a mud pit (ick), and the premier feature - the sledding hill that we had to climb, descend, jump a barrier then climb and descend again. I was stuck starting in the back since I've accrued no series points which turned out to be a good thing - I was able to sit in for the first lap, ramp up the pace gradually then open a gap at the beginning of the second trip up the sledding hill.

After the second and third laps I settled in and was able to keep an eye on what was happening behind me at various points along the course. June shook off Holly and was sitting 2nd which ended up being how we finished. I even got some inches on truesport.com! The Verdigris men also earned a bunch of top finishes - a great showing for our team today!

Dirty girls post-race (yep - that's mud on June's arm - ick).

I only bit it once when with 2 laps to go an unfortunate Cat 3 guy I'd caught went down in front of me - IN THE MUD. Nice. I was covered - there was mud on my face, on my teeth, in my hair, in my ears....you get the idea. The highlight of it all? I managed to finish the day with all fingernails intact (yes, there was mud under them).

The Pony Shop guys were out tearing it up today too - check out their blog here. Also, Chloe Kuhn got some great shots of the 30+, 40+ and 50+ men's races - see those here. Extra special thanks go out to Roman and Mark who sat on the hill eating pizza and cheering us on through the suffer-fest.

I have to send a 'kick ass dude!' shout to Mike Wakeley who had some great finishes in the Cincinnati area over the weekend. He's really hitting it hard this 'cross season and doing well - way to go Mike!!

What I'm reading right now 'Bluebeard' by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. What I finished, 'Fight Club', 'Fugitives and Refugees' and 'Rant' by Chuck Palahniuk. Up next - dunno!! Maybe some Steinbeck, John Irving or more Vonnegut. As for music, I've been in this jazz mood lately but I'll need to come up with a playlist for next weekend's warm up so I'll post it once I've finished it.

Final Road Event for 2009 - Fall Fling Time Trial

Post-TT cupcakes - yum...guys, are you wearing them or eating them?

I'm sort of a lightweight when it comes to racing in cold weather. I don't mind training in the bitter cold but I really don't enjoy racing when it's cold. My last road event for 2009 was Saturday - a short time trial in Maple Park, IL before I begin cyclocross next weekend. Temps were in the upper 30s in Maple Park when we rolled and fortunately things warmed up to the low 60s by start time. Representing for MetLife/Pony Shop were Josh, myself, Mike, Dan and Ansgar. This was Ansgar's first crack at a TT - he was sitting in 2nd position in the overall for the Fall Fling and needed the points to secure a solid place heading into the final criterium on Sunday.

The TT course was about 9.5mi long and mainly flat with a few turns and two 180 degree turnarounds. Wind was definitely present though not horribly so - headwind on the way out, nice tailwind on the way back. Warm up wasn't great for me but not bad either. Once I got rolling it was difficult to find a decent rhythm with all the turns and turnarounds so I never really felt 'comfortable' out there. When it was all over I ended up first with the fastest women's time on the day. I believe Mike and Josh both nailed top 5 times in the P1/2 and their age groups. Sorry to say that I'm not sure about Dan and Ansgar (I haven't looked at the full results) though I suspect they both managed excellent finishes as well.

It's hard to get my head around the fact that the 2008 road season is over - while there was plenty of racing, travel and training along the way it sure seems to have flown by quickly. There were some little bumps and low spots along the way but on the whole I'm pretty satisfied with how things went for me. I won a couple state championships, had my first top 5 finish in an NRC event, learned how to do a pursuit on the track, and nailed a silver medal in the TT at master's nationals, along with a lot of other good things.

Up next is some cyclocross with my new cross team, Verdigris. I'm really excited to be racing with this group of very talented master's men and women - first race is next weekend and I really need to practice or risk making a fool of myself! Beyond that I will also be riding for a different road team in 2009 though more information to that end is not forthcoming at the moment. It's definitely time for a change of direction and my new team will allow for me to explore some other opportunities on the bike - my way.

I suppose this might be the most important part of this entire post - to all the guys I race and train with, Josh, Ansgar, Ted and especially Mike - thank you. You have no idea how much you have helped me be better, smarter, more patient, more confident and mentally tough (HTFU!!) both on and off the bike. There is no way I would have accomplished so much in 2008 without you.

Go-Go White Sox!!
Sorry Cubs - I guess I was wrong on that one....