Bong and a Half: Not Every Day is a Good Day

We rolled to Kansasville, WI at the butt-crack-of-dawn for the 30K Bong and a half - sure to be enormous fun as always. The Bong course is one of my favorites - a few turns, small rollers, a small rise on one side, downhill a bit opposite the rise and usually some wind. Today was fantastic weather-wise: temps in the 60s and sunny skies at go time. I had a solid warm up, not great but good enough. While I was feeling okay I can't say I was terribly confident - I've always had problems with early morning performance and today was no different. I was somewhat dehydrated, didn't plan my pre-race nutrition well and I paid for it.

After about the halfway point it was clear that I was not on a good day. I definitely went out too hard and never felt like I got into a groove. I found myself searching for the right gear, the right cadence, the right mindset - nothing felt smooth and it was a fight the entire time. In fact, at one point I felt like just getting off my bike and lying down on the side of the road. I suffered a lot - mentally and physically - and was very frustrated with my effort today. Retrospective review of my file shows that my average power was off by about 12 watts. There you have it.

So I ended up as first loser to a much better rider today, for the fastest time on the day anyway. Fortunately my time was good enough to win the women's open category - just not the overall. While it burns my ass to lose it also lights a fire under it to get my act together and be more disciplined, especially when it comes to recovery. Really, I ride a bit too much and too hard without enough rest - it caught up with me today and I just plain sucked. So it goes. A few of the PACT/Dishnetwork guys also posted fast times today though I don't know how they placed - turnout was big and a lot of strong riders showed up. We left before all the times were posted. I also have to throw a shout to Mike Wakeley and Tim Glinski - nice work! Update - thanks to Mike, here are some team results (way to go, boys!!):

Bob Burke 4th in 55+, 10th in Cat3
Jim Host 4th in 50+
Mike Jones 2nd in 50+, 4th in P1/2
Andy Tschampa 7th in 40+

Next up, I think I might do a criterium next weekend. There are a couple more TT's to do before nationals so the plan is to have solid performances in Harvard and Paw Paw, be smart and rest so I can be ready to go on July 1.

I just started reading 'The Great Mortality' by John Kelly. It's an intimate history of the black death and while it's morbid and gross, it's also fascinating.

Arriba!!

ABD Masters #3 - Old? My A$$!!

Through turn 1 Photo: R. Delgado

Why do I like to race with the Masters men?

* Lots of them are really good. Like state, national and world champion good. It always helps to race with faster company - it makes you better, and I want to be better.

* There's no drama (well, not really). They all realize that while dedication and commitment are a huge part of doing well, they don't lose sight of the fact this this is supposed to be fun.

* They are all fiercely competitive yet respectful of each other both on and off the bike.

* They're smart, talented, experienced racers - I always take something positive away from racing with them.

* They all call themselves 'old' but I like to think of them as 'of fine vintage' because many of them are stronger than guys who are much younger. How does the saying go? '50 is the new 30?' Indeed.

Me and Andy Kerr - Turn 1 Photo: R. Delgado

So we lined up for 50min +3 laps of fun in Wood Dale today. The course was a combination of Saturday and Sunday's courses - 1.6mi long and essentially flat with a small rise on the back side and another just after the start/finish. There was a fair amount of wind to contend with but temps were comfortable and the pavement was dry. I had a good warm up and was representing for PACT with Jim Host and Mike Jones.

Mike, off the front again Photo: K. Kerr

We'd done a fair amount of standing/rolling around before start time so I was compelled to light things up a little from the gun - just to get my legs open again. Not too long after that the attacking and counter attacking started with Mike eventually getting away by himself - early. Jim moved to the front and controlled the tempo well, pulling things in and sitting on surges. I tried my best to help him while Mike built a sizable lead. There was a lot of firepower in the field but I know a lot of those guys were tired from two days of racing (all of them doing multiple races each day) so while things got pretty hot from time to time, it was pretty manageable. I even scored a prime (thanks, guys - they just let me go).

My favorite quote of the day? Tom Doughty, making an observation as Fabio Orlandi attacks and opens a sizable gap, 'That's not good...'

Before it was over a few guys had taken late flyers off the front (including Jim) and stayed somewhere in the abyss between Mike and the field, all finishing ahead of the field sprint. I managed to finish a respectable 10th, same as Saturday. When you're racing with the likes of Tom Doughty, Wayne Simon, Stuart Grinnell, Jim Host, Fabio Orlandi, Andy Kerr and Bob Downs (oh, and Mike) I think that's a decent finish. I'm pleased with my effort and also with my file from the race - my best 1min and 5min power to date. Ever. No way I could have done that in a women's field.

Me and Jim - in the middle during a slow period Photo: K. Kerr

I want to thank all of the Masters men who welcome my presence on the start line - they encourage me when it's obvious that I am suffering, they respect me on and off the bike and can appreciate that I have talent enough to race with them. Thank you for helping to make racing fun and positive for me. I also need to give a shout out to Mike who a year ago sustained very serious injuries in a racing wreck - you work harder on the bike than anyone I know. You earn and deserve all good things that come to you.

Up next, the Bong and a Half 30K TT. This whole crit thing was a nice change from the steady grind of time trialing but I'm ready to get back on the Cervelo - Masters Nats is about a month away and I have a big goal sitting out there to accomplish.

ABD Masters #1: Oh, Are We Sprinting Now?

For the first time in way too many years I am home on Memorial Day weekend - and I'm loving it! I decided to race close to home this year and am happy to have made that choice. Too many years of Quad Cities high drama has burned my brain. I headed to Wood Dale for the first of 3 weekend races specifically for masters racers (30 years old or older). I did the men's 50+ race this morning and ended up finishing with the field (10th) but it was a good race - and fun!

I'd say there were at least 20 guys on the start line (update: 35) and lots of them are very strong, smart racers - some current and former national and state champions, so it was definitely going to be hard (fine with me!). Things stayed together the first 20min or so with the occasional move getting sucked back in and then following a prime a break of 5 exceptional boys got a gap and held it - Tom Doughty, Wayne Simon, Fabio Orlandi, Andy Kerr and Stuart Grinnell. Old. Man. Strength. Indeed....

Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of the road and boxed in when the separation happened or I suspect I might have been able to make it up to them - though surely dead on arrival, hanging on by the skin of my teeth and quite likely shelled at some point later on. When it was clear that they were away for good I decided that the field sprint was my next order of business so I just sort of stayed near the front, pulled from time to time and waited. The break came through us with somewhere between 5 and 10min to go and all the guys in the field started to co-mingle and screw things up. I wish they'd just let the break go through us - it would have made things much more simple.

I was mistakenly under the impression that the break and the field would finish on separate laps, since the break was up a lap. Guess not. I had no idea we were all finishing together and therefore didn't sprint at the end or I surely could have finished better. It didn't matter - they were only paying out 3 places but I always like a solid sprint finish for a crit, so I was sort of bummed to not have that chance. C'est la vie I guess. I don't know who ultimately won but I have to give a huge shout of congrats and 'well done!' to the break - Tom, Andy, Stu, Wayne and Fabio - impressive work, freakin' animals....

I may or may not race tomorrow and if I do, it will likely be the women's event as I'm planning to do the 50+ men's race on Monday so I'd like to have decent legs for that. MetLifeGuy will be back so I'll have a teammate to support. Either way I'll be happy because at last I get to sleep in my own bed on Memorial Day weekend. If I happen to find any photos from today, I'll post them later.

Barstow 20K TT Double - Perfect

Barstow is situated near the Illinois/Iowa border and provides the perfect locale for a flat, fast 20K course. I abstained from racing Monsters the day before because I wanted very badly to break the course record in Barstow on fresh legs. The weather conditions were essentially perfect - winds were 6mph, no clouds and tons of sun with temps getting into the low 60s after a chilly morning. I knew I could break the record if I had a good ride - the course is completely flat, out and back with a few curves. The race director was kind enough to mark the 1K and 5K points on the way out and back - that helped my head a ton.

Fortunately I was assigned a start time a minute behind MetLifeGuy - having him behind me is a major mindf*ck because it's not a matter of IF he will pass me, just a matter of WHEN. Starting a minute behind him is a good place for me - I could see him on the way back after the turnaround. For some reason, that helps my focus.

I ended up doing two 20Ks and both were good enough to break the course record - the first on by 1:08 and the second by roughly half a minute. It was a good day for PACT/Dishnetwork - Mike also won his category and put up one of the fastest times on the day, well done! Not to be overlooked was a fine performance by Mike 'Wakes' Wakeley who WON THE CAT 4!! Nice job Mike!! Looks to me like you are getting the hang of this time trial thing.

Up next - a Memorial Day Weekend at home for the first time in at least 10 years. What ever will I do???

Monsters of the Midway

Ansgar in the 3s race Photo: J. Gray

No, I didn't race it this year - lots of good reasons for abstaining - but I did head down to U of C after my pre-TT ride to watch friends and gladly be the start/finish 'gear bitch' for my teammates. I've done MoM in the past and won it many times so it was fun to just spectate for a change. The course is one big flat, boring rectangle with a killer dose of fierce wind on the backstretch. The corners can be deceptively tight - especially at speed in a large group so as simple as it seems, there is a fair amount of strategy that needs to go into pulling off a good finish - the sprint is LONG. I arrived just in time to see the 40+ masters race. Dan, Ansgar and Andy were representing for PACT/Dishnetwork and all finished safely in the bunch sprint.

Mike (right) looking for a breakaway companion Photo: K. Kerr

I watched the 50+ masters race from just past the start/finish area. They had a good size field - I want to say there was somewhere between 20 and 30 on the line. Things broke up pretty quickly...Mike hit it pretty hard once and got an immediate response but then tried a second time not long after and was lucky enough to get Andy Kerr as a breakaway companion.

The break in the 50+ Masters race Photo: K. Kerr

The two built a 30sec gap over the next 25min or so and ended up holding it all the way to the end. Andy took the sprint and Mike took all the primes along the way - it was indeed an impressive performance by two very strong guys. Well done, gentlemen. The best part was watching a big chase group with some strong riders attempt to organize and chase multiple times and still not find a way to catch them. So cool.

NBV Opening Night

I have to admit that I have not been feeling the track love for a long time - getting wrecked by the cat 3 men's field last season was the final nail in the coffin of my 2008 mass start track season. I did go on to do some individual pursuit stuff last season but I was so traumatized by a crash at +30mph that it was hard to get my head around the idea of doing it again. So I did it anyway.

Last night was the first evening of racing at Northbrook Velodrome so with an ample amount of anxiety, a nervous head and tired legs leftover from a Tuesday track workout, I went with an open mind hoping to just have some fun. The women's field was small - 4 of us and after the first 10 lap scratch race (which I won) I spent the rest of the night bouncing around with the men in the Cat 3, 40+ masters and P1/2 races. Obviously I wasn't close to a respectable finish but I did have fun and got some good top end work out of it all. In doing a lot of TTs I've lost a lot of my sprint and speed but this is just what I need to get my legs fast again - I'm glad that I went.

PACT/Dishnetwork was well represented - Jim, Ted, Dan, Mike and Andy put on an impressive display with aggressive racing and some top placings. Nice job guys - we had a good team night.

Up next, maybe a crit tomorrow and two 20K time trials on Sunday. I've just started 'The Match' by Mark Frost - it's a golf book and pretty fascinating so far.

In the event I get my hands on any photos from the track, I'll be sure to post them.

2 Person 40K TT Double - Enormous Fun

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

Signing up for two 2-person 40K time trials (the TTTT) is something I might not do again for a while - probably until I forget how it all felt. We drove through rain all the way to Garden Prairie but were pleasantly surprised by dry conditions at race time, though there was a huge dose of nasty wind to contend with. My first TT was with National TT Champ Leigh Thompson - I was looking forward to doing the ride with her, she's super strong and tall which translates to a nice draft to recover in between pulls.

Photo: ABD

As far as 40K TT courses go, the Garden Prairie one is fun - some turns, interstate overpasses, smooth pavement - not boring. There was a killer tailwind on the way out and we held +30mph for a long time before having to grind into the cross/headwind on the way back. It was really tough and we both fought to keep our bikes moving straight much of the way back but we managed the best women's time on the day at 58:13. We worked together seamlessly and exchanges became intuitive very early on - Leigh is a great partner and I'll happily do another team TT with her again any time.

After that fine experience I rolled back to the car, basically fell off my bike, wiped the snot and drool off my face, and sat there a few minutes while Leigh pinned on another number and I whined about doing another 40K. I didn't want to disappoint my partner, Brian Akers, so we rolled back over to the start line (shivering) and did it again. He'd already done one TT (and won the cat 3 men's race - rock star!) and was content to let me essentially suck his wheel the entire distance. I felt really bad for having done that but I was just cooked from the first ride - and we still managed to finish respectably. Thank you Brian - you are also a fantastic TT partner who I will happily ride with again any time (maybe for the first/only ride...). I was trashed after that - everything hurt and I felt completely empty. It was very nice to be finished.

My teammates Mike and Jim also did the double - winning the 50+ and taking 2nd in the P1/2 even with a minor mechanical, very tired legs and smokin' fast times. Those guys are strong! I believe there was another PACT/Dish Network team that took 2nd in the 55+ category - well done, gentlemen - another good team weekend.

Up next, track starts this week, maybe a criterium on Saturday and 2 20K TT's on Sunday - I'm looking forward to it! I'm still reading 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' but am almost finished. Not sure what's up next - I have a few things in the queue but haven't decided yet.

Thanks for reading...

Kenosha Criterium Recap

The winning break in the 40+ masters race

I was able to sleep in Sunday morning before heading up to Kenosha for some criterium racing with the guys - we didn't start until 12:15. I spent some time in the back yard sipping tea and enjoying the morning sun before heading out mid-morning - that was nice.

I lined up with the 50+ masters field for a 45min race on a pretty innocuous flat course - three turns, one of which was a nice downwind sweeper that I could take really fast. Things started off well enough. After a couple small attacks Mike took off and got a gap at about 10min in. He stayed out there for 30min as I worked the front, keeping bridge and catch attempts under control as much as possible. We ended up catching him with 4 laps to go, so I put in a weak attack and was promptly hauled back in. Mike tried again and was also brought back. With two laps remaining I decided to jump and actually try to stay away - no one responded!! I got a huge gap and was able to carry it all the way to the line. It was a very cool win!

I watched the 40+ race - Dan, Ansgar and Mike were representing for PACT/Dishnetwork. Within a few laps Mike managed to get off the front with two other guys and built a gap that held at 40sec for the rest of the race. Dan, Ansgar and one other rider formed a chase group but weren't able to catch the break. In the end, Mike was second, Dan fourth and I believe Ansgar took fifth. I snapped a couple pictures with my lame ass camera phone but was only able to get one good shot - that of the break at the top of this post.

That's all for now - thanks for reading. Up this weekend is a 2 person team TT on Saturday. I'm doing two rides - one with National TT Champ Leigh Thompson and the other with Brian Akers, an incredibly strong time trialist and really nice guy. I'm looking forward to it!

JFMTT Recap

Wakes downing a post-race brownie. He finished 10th in the 40+ men's category.
Nice job Mike!!

"The Frasier" was rescheduled to this past Saturday due to poor weather conditions on the original date and it ended up that the weather was pretty agreeable with temps in the 60s and lots of sun (finally!!). We had to roll at stupid-early-o'clock to get out to Maple Park and I was just not feeling the love. I'd signed up to do two TT's and while warming up for the first one I knew that it was gong to be a difficult day - my legs were MIA and my head was directly connected to them which tends to indicate a sub-par performance was on tap for the day.

Mike and Ted getting ready beforehand - they both had excellent rides

I surprised myself with a decent time on my first ride which somehow ended up to be the fastest women's time on the day, though not by much. We had a pretty killer cross/head wind on the way back on the 8mi course which seemed to get worse as the day wore on. I pretty much just rolled the second one and was happy to finally get off my bike. The most interesting part of the second ride was having to come to a skidding halt right out of the first turn when a big truck somehow managed to be on the course. Nice! My PACT/Dishnetwork teammates put in strong performances in the 40+, 50+, P1/2 and 50+ women's categories as well so it was a good day for the team.

Short Weekend Update

I don't have time for a full post right now but I'll quickly say that it was a great team weekend for PACT/Dishnetwork at Saturday's TT and Sunday's criteriums in Vernon Hills and Kenosha. A full report is forthcoming, with pictures this time!

Shout Out to The Chainlink

I wanted to take a quick second and do a shout-out to a great site called The Chainlink. You may have seen it under Stuff to Surf on the right side, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you should. It was started by a girl in my spinning classes named Leah, and it's a pretty great thing for the Chicago cycling community. It's an online community dedicated to Chicago cycling - a one-stop place for all the rides and routes in the area, and it lets cyclists connect with each other. Let's face it, if you're not plugged into the scene, it's kind of hard to meet other cyclists who ride like you do. This helps connect cyclists in the city and gets them out on their bike! Check it out, sign up and leave me a comment - here's my page: http://www.thechainlink.org/profile/Velogoddess

'Double' Single Bong Short Recap and Other Stuff

Don't ask.

UPDATED 4/30

As has been the pattern of late, Sunday morning in Wisconsin greeted us with pissing rain, blustery wind and temps around 40 for the Single Bong 20K time trial. In a moment of weakness I 'd signed up to race in two categories: Women Open and Women 30+. Last weekend's Cherry Valley TT was made much more tolerable with a dry area to warm up - no such thing at the Bong - so with lots of embrocation on my legs and an 'okay' warm up I somehow managed to put up the best women's time on the day. I'm not talking about the second one...it was BAD!! I haven't seen full final results posted anywhere yet so I can't really provide a full team recap though several of the guys also showed up for the fun and as far as I know, all did reasonably well. Mike won his age group with a really good time though I don't know how his P1/2 ride ended up - the dude's a monster. UPDATE: Final results are posted here. As you can see, PACT/DishNetwork had a great team day. Well done, guys!

While racing was fun, I also went to see the Circus Cats of Chicago on Saturday afternoon. I swear - it was the best, most entertaining $12 I've spent in a long time! These kitties make my two cats look like real schleps! I managed to snap a few photos and will post them later, after I do a Blackberry-to-laptop sync. They've got a few more shows scheduled at Bucktown's Gorilla Tango Theater - 60min of quality entertainment not to be missed!

I just finished 'Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation' by Joseph J. Ellis - it was an excellent read about the relationships, politics, ideologies, and personalities of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Alexander Hamilton, among others. I just started 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson.

OH!! And how about the Blackhawks?! Kick ass!! The Bulls too, of course but I'm much more of a hockey fan than any kind of basketball fan (though I do like college basketball).

Coming up - another double TT day on Saturday and maybe a criterium on Sunday. Also - I'll be teaming up with US Masters National champ Leigh Thompson for a two-person 40K TT coming up in a couple weeks. I'm very excited about the chance to throw down with Leigh - she's a fantastic time trialist and a very cool person.

I have to send congratulations out to my client Tim Glinski who road tripped to Florida for the St. Anthony's Triathlon. This is only Tim's second season in the sport and he finished a very respectable 14th in his age group which qualifies him to compete at Nationals this year. Awesome job, Tim!!

Cherry Valley 30K TT Recap

Even though he's changed teams, moved up an age group and come back from a killer wreck, he's still MetLifeGuy. And still damn fast. photo: B. Cassidy

By this time in 2008 I'd already raced several times but everything I'd planned to do in early April was canceled so the Cherry Valley 30K was my first event for the 2009 season. The weather did not disappoint - it rained pretty much the entire day and the wind was definitely a factor in the misery and dampness. A huge thank you has to go out to the ABR organizing crew and Team RVO for making the event happen - they marshaled the corners, managed registration, and made sure the course was safe for everyone.

The morning started pretty early after a night of insomnia. MetLifeGuy retrieved me at dark-o'clock - he had an early start time for the first of his two tt's. I was warming up when he came back to the car after finishing the first one and got a pretty good idea of what was in store for me - serious shivering and frozen coldness. Fortunately we snagged some sheltered area for warm up - it made for a much better pre-race routine. The course in Cherry Valley is out-and-back and pretty much flat with a couple turns, some chip-and-seal pavement and a set of railroad tracks to cross twice. It's especially nice when the pavement is dry...

I had a good warm-up but wasn't feeling any of my usual pre-race nervousness and anxiety. My attitude was more like, "just get it over with" when I headed out at 11:01. I didn't really ease into any sort of rhythm until i was 2/3 of the way finished and was generally uncomfortable most of the time, probably because it was difficult to see through my fogged eyewear and I felt like I was fighting to keep my bike going straight through the wind. About the bike - it was my first race on the Cervelo and I LOVE IT!! I still might need to do a bit of dialing in on my position but the ride is sweeeeeet!

We headed out before seeing all the results because I was frozen (my lips were blue!) and didn't feel like hanging around. Based on what we saw posted, Mike won his age group and had a high finish in the P1/2. Some other PACT/Dishnetwork teammates were also there and did well - I'll update this post when the final results are posted. At the moment I don't know what my result was - I only know that based on what my power meter file shows my time was faster than what was the fastest women's time on the day when we left. It is entirely possible that the official timing is different - we'll see...

It was good to see and catch up with Mike Wakeley - he's riding my old Blue TT bike and has pimped it out quite nicely with Red and a set of Zipps. He's a strong cyclocross racer, an ace mechanic and a really great guy - not to mention an aspiring time trialist. Mike, I hope to see you often on the TT circuit this season - be sure to bring your biceps!

Up next, the Single Bong 20K in Wisco on Sunday. I'm planning to do two races which makes it a 'double single bong.' Or something. As of right now the weather will be dry and warm - a very welcome change. I'll take some pictures next time - I totally forgot to bust out the camera in Cherry Valley. Here's a link to some YouTube video from the day.

UPDATE: Final results have been posted and can be found here. PACT/Dish Network had a great showing on an unpleasant day. Nicely done, gentlemen.

The Replacement, Tunes and Hostility

After busting my Zipp 404 a couple weekends ago, Lou rebuilt my wireless Power Tap hub into an Edge 68mm carbon clincher wheel. Because the weather continues to *suck* I haven't had a chance to ride it yet - hopefully this week, after the snow and residual slop have vanished. You know it's bad when the White Sox postpone the season's home opener due to the possibility of snow. I love baseball but it just doesn't feel anything at all like baseball season yet - that means I should be able to snag some cheap tickets before things warm up too much!

Tuesday's playlist (very random!!):
What It's Like - Everlast
My Sacrifice - Creed
Rich Woman - Robert Plant and Allison Krause
Lithium - Nirvana
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes
Communication Breakdown - Led Zeppelin
Famous - Puddle of Mudd
I Don't Know - Ozzy Osbourne
That's the Way - Led Zeppelin

In class lately we've been talking about the fact that there's tons of angry, hostile, pissed-off people in the world right now. Seems to me that it tends to carry over especially into people's driving - I've been a party to numerous displays of aggressive, selfish impatience while talking on the phone of late and it just seems to keep getting worse. For a lot of the people who attend class those 60min are sometimes the best part of their day - so we've been using that environment to sort of 'release' and let go of all the anger and hostility in a positive and productive way. It seems to be working - when I have someone say to me, 'I work for AIG and this class is the one thing that has been getting me through the day lately' it speaks volumes about how powerful and positive the whole 'submit' philosophy can be. We can't make angry, anxious people nicer or more patient but we can indeed change how we react to them and their negativity - if only for 60min a few times a week.

OK, now I'm done being philosophical.

This past weekend was lame - the time trial I was scheduled to do on Sunday was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. It ended up not being terribly hateful and we actually managed to get in a decent ride (though we did encounter a little sleet along the way). Seriously, the race should not have been rescheduled - the weather sucked but I've raced and trained in worse. There was also a road race on Saturday that I tend to not do for a lot of reasons, the least of which is the fact that it's a 4hr drive each way for two hours of racing on bad pavement in killer winds. Heck, I can do that without driving anywhere! I'm not too bummed about missing out - there is plenty of good racing to be done in better weather soon enough.

What I'm reading, 'The Soloist' by Steve Lopez - an interesting firsthand account of an LA Times columnist's relationship with a Juilliard-trained homeless paranoid schizophrenic bassist/cellist/violinist. It's a true story and a compelling read so far.

Whoa

I just snagged this pic off VeloNews - it's the German team sprint team from track worlds.

One word: whoa.

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