Fear-An-Rothair

Power

2010-02-28T20:52:00.004-06:00

I have been a terrible blogger, I know. Too much life has been in the past year. I must catch up.

Starting in November, I renewed my life in the saddle. I've been riding extra miles through the parks after work; strength training on the hills and the gym. December was a little off with a cold and getting trapped in a Nebraska blizzard, but even in the drifts of snow I have been finding my strength again.

In January, I fell into obsession, or as it appears. I have slipped further into the crazy I thought I never had. I found myself with a Tacx virtual reality trainer. It has greatly increased my trainer time. The base software has three simplistic 'islands' on which to ride, but I added a profile of the 30 mile Hub ride as well as a video run of a mountain climb through Austria. It is the first time I've trained with power readings. I initially had some low power readings on it, but after some work on cadence vs. the resistance, the numbers rose as well as the realistic feeling. The trainer can't simulate extreme grades and reverts to a speed/power/resistance calculation to simulate. So my 13% grade in Austria, feels realistic if I stay in the big ring and think like I'm in the little ring. I have a set power test program available and the results indicate my threshold in February is a respectable 320 watts.

So today, I have finally had a chance to put these numbers to the road. Froze Toes is not a definitive race in any means; 60 miles is an afternoon scamper for top amateurs, let alone guys like Huff or Henderson. How much this race compares to their total effort by them is unknown to me, but our strategy today was to just finish as best as possible with the main group. To this end the first lap we were quiet and the pace was easy. On Devin's advice, I stayed back but within sight of the front. The second lap started with a fury. The pace was put on to thin the pack. Strung out I was just happy to stay on, then the break started. I saw it there in front of me, so I set down to chase. My first attempt was my best, nearly making it but coming up just short after a 35 mph burst. The dropped in and recovered. We turned to the second leg of the square. The wind at our backs the whole pack went furious chasing after them, but the elite group of the best riders stayed just out of reach, barely. The second half of this leg I found myself in the front chasing again and again, yo-yo'ing closer but just not quite there. The third leg, the break put down the hammer. My efforts in the front, pulls of about 30 mph. over the next 6-8 miles wasn't enough. A few from the break fell off and we caught them, but that was it. I rolled in on Devin's wheel at 18th place.

I didn't catch the break, but realistically I'm just happy feeling good enough to try it, repeatedly. I put in a lot of work in a field shared with 1/2's. I stayed with the second group of riders across the line. I should say that this was resulting from my training and having my team there, and that is partly true. I know that there is more to this power than that. I am a 32 year old amateur racer. I will never be a pro, never will I have kisses from podium girls. I pay money to do mostly what I could do for free. There is really few good reasons for me to push myself down the pavement. What goes through my mind, but a heart, beautiful.

Grind

2009-11-15T21:27:00.002-06:00

The Bubba CX mud today was thick. I'm am too new to this style, I'm still working out the basics of it all. Even though my results don't show much, the improvement is building. I started fast out of the gate with good position, but two sections of soft sod on the course proved I would not be a contender. I pushed myself to hold my position but I was slowly losing that battle. In the middle I found myself in company of my teammate Mathew. He was fading. I told him we're finishing this thing and so he sticks with it. On the last lap I flatted and I am still without a spare set of wheels -- I'm still using a seriously cheap set for the front line. Mathew was just behind me and we pulled into the pit and he lent me his spare front wheel. I had enough nuts loose in my head to attempt to run the entire last lap, but I know I wouldn't have made it. A good team makes the finish.

After a mess of a year and many things off the saddle distracting me from really enjoying any saddle time, I find myself out of shape and struggling on terrain I used to eat up. The divorce is nearly through and with it's weight and all the problems before it lifted from me, I'm rediscovering good time in the saddle again. The commutes to work are once again refreshing and the trainer time isn't nearly as dreaded. It's good to grind again.

Maelstrom

2009-06-26T17:13:00.001-05:00

June is nearly over and so much has happenned it is hard to pick a point. The whole world is in a mode of destruction.

I abandonned my hopes for the state road race, knowing I could not close the deal given my condition. But I was proud to see Devin ride on to take the jersey home for the team. I was glad I could help. I have ridden little since. This is definitely out of character.

The ground is in upheaval around me. The storms have whipped black and gray; hazardous debris circles, drooling for flesh. I am firm, resolute. Through the darkness I see my path, my line. My heart beats steady, my breath roils of purpose.

We'll see what happens at our home course this weekend. I feel no expectations, but I plan to ride hard and true to the finish. It is just a day in the sun; another day closer to a finish.

The world may fall but I will stand.

Racing in the homeland

2009-06-12T21:53:00.005-05:00

Last weekend started an exhausting month. Norfolk Classic Road Race started in Stanton, Ne on a wet stormy morning. I arrived the night before at my brother's house to take part. Like last year, I was the only St. Louis racer there, but this year the 3's were racing against the 1/2's and the fields overall were larger and stronger. Riders from Colorado, Kansas, and Minnesota showed up to really stiffen the competition. The course is a simple square, 32 miles in length. The hills are light rollers, and the wind is treacherous. I felt stiff from the 8 hour drive the day before and the rain didn't make me feel very confident. The race had a 1 mile neutral rollout and things seemed nice, then the race started. For the next 15 miles relentless attacks occurred. I stayed back with the group as I was alone in this one, and I had only myself to look out for me. About 20 miles in, I discovered that I had let myself hang back too much and I was gapped and out of the race. I was with a small group and we started to work together because we could barely see the main pack through the fog and rain. On the last leg of the first lap, we were just four guys. 2 guys seem to be fading hard. Turning for the second lap, one of them bowed out, three guys. We start hitting the rollers and the two guys behind me are struggling. I waited for them on a couple of hilltops, but finally they waived me on.
I solo'd for about 30 miles. No pack in sight for most of them. Finally I caught them with about 6 miles to go. I settled in for a rest in the back of the pack. In the last two miles the attacks started again. I just held a wheel, and kept holding. Suddenly I see the finish. I sprinted not for the placing or to beat anyone to the line. I just wanted to end this thing. 3rd in the field sprint, 10th overall. After a post race beer, my brother, his wife, and I packed up and headed over to a local Stanton bar called the Wolf's Den for a true Nebraskan style post race meal:
Can't argue with a 1 lb. burger, Onion rings and a couple of beers and still get change back. Later that night we met up with some friends in Martinsberg for some more beers and more incredibly awesome burgers. However, I didn't test the town law:
I really did try to bribe my brother to test them though.
The next day started with some dime sized hail hitting town. The cat 5's were cut short because of it. I waited it out at my brother's house, not sure if the race was a go.
It went on. The course was wet and fast. Even more out of state pro/1's showed up to put on a real cooker. 25 mph average on an 8 turn course in the rain, it was rough. A crash early really broke things up and it was utter confusion for me since. I just kept trying to go as fast as I could with the guys around me. Somehow my final placing in the 1/2/3's was 11th. I think I was lapped by the leaders, but I'm not sure.
The weekend was fun but the Monday morning I had to leave, this time with another vehicle, borrowed from my brother and another old eagle in tow to scrap for parts on mine. I haven't ridden at all this week, everynight has been spent tearing apart the parts car and collecting the keeper parts. We'll be done with that this weekend and start repairing the damage on the original. The project car will look really good when done.

Just another weekend

2009-05-25T12:35:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure if it was the new TT steed or the fact that I was chased by one Shawn O'Neal in the time trial Saturday, but it looks like my best time trial run yet. I finished with a time of 27:53 and 8th place. This was a definite improvement over the Hermann Time Trial. I don't attribute this entirely to the bike though. At about the 3/4 mark, Shawn passed me and that gave me a little mental edge to go harder. I can even see it in the data from the Garmin. To keep improving I need to improve my mental fitness for TT's I don't think technology can help me near as much as training my mind for the effort.

Danny did a fare better than me at 27:14, enough for 4th. So Sunday as a team, our goal was to get Danny into the top 3 over all for a omnium podium. In general, we had three of us to control the break aways or the field if Danny was lucky to get into a break. The course was a good one for breaks: lots of corners and narrows with just enough climb to be noticed. On the second lap, after the 'climb' the whole pack slowed to a crawl. I wanted this to be faster to weed people out, so I snuck on the side-- a bit dangerous normally, but the curb was a rounded ramp making the sneak really smooth. I meant only to pick up the pace, but I caught people early and made a gap.

I think it was Patrick Hawley who joined me on this little break early and we swung it around to the start finish where they immediately called a prime. Great, just a little more carrot for the rest of the field to chase. We took some even turns on the lap until Patrick slid out on a corner and swung wide onto the sidewalk and maybe into someone's yard. I looked over to see that he was okay and coming back on, but it looked like he was going to drop to the pack at that point. I decided, why not see if I can stick this to the line for the prime. I renewed effort, solo.

I brought it around and picked up the prime and then let up for a recovery pace. If they didn't catch within a half lap I would have renewed a steady pace, but they did and I settled into the field while Devin and Mark handled the breaks and the pace for roughly the next 10 laps.

On the final laps I shadowed Danny. I kept telling him that I'm there and I'll come around to lead him when the time comes. That was the start of the last lap. I came out on the side and powered alongside the field to the front with Danny in tow.

Danny slid into the front of the pack as I started my final pull of the race. I held it for half the lap then slid off the back of the pack. I gathered what I could and latched onto the back to finish the race knowing that Danny was in the top 5 wheels with less than a half lap to go and all the major turns covered. Devin was up there with him, but just in case I pushed to see if I could rejoin. No dice, I was done I filed across the line in the back of the pack. Danny came out a little early on his final sprint but was able to hold on for a 4th place finish, propelling him to a 2nd place over the two days. It was an excellent day to see the team execute nicely and finish with a guy on the podium.

TT Ebay Special

2009-05-22T15:07:00.005-05:00

First ride on the ebay special time trial frame. I was pleasantly surpised. It isn't the best by any measure, but for the price it is thus far proven unbeatable. I have found only two issues on the build so far. First, I was able do my entire 11 mile rough road commute on it with only dropping the chain to the lower ring once over some RR tracks. It's not a safety issue but an unintentional downshift would probably cost time in a TT. So a front deraileur, regardless of function, would be good insurance. The second is the cheap Bontrager post I borrowed from the commuter has issues staying in place on this frame just like the last. Now it is possible that both frames, being unmarked ebay bargains, suffer from the same defect, but I think that the post is more likely. Clamping it with extra force seems to remedy this for the short term. I'll replace the commuter post with something basic. So after the rework tonight here it is in all it's glory (don't laugh it works):

It has 9spd downtube DA shifters running a 10 spd cassette -- hurray for old fashioned friction. The front deraileur I just added tonight will keep the chain on the big ring for now. I don't plan to shift it in tomorrow's TT. The fork is cheep but it keeps the front wheel in place so I'll run with it for now.

"Not the Victory but the Action; Not the Goal but the Game; In the deed the Glory"

-- Hartley Burr Alexander

Recovery

2009-05-21T22:08:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday's Hellbender lived to its name. I think most people stuck to a strategy of just sit in till the end and hope their still there. However when everyone does this, the result is a race where everyone is just waiting to start. I don't like races like this. The result: I pulled a lot. That's okay I knew the pace would keep my full team refreshed and ready for the end even if I wasn't. The finish hurt alot. A cramp crept in with about 10 miles to go and I kept working to keep it back. But in the end I just decided to fight through it. Painful. I hoped that a jersey was on my wheel as we crossed the bridge, but there wasn't. At that point I just kept going in my position and finished 8th. The next day I was dead tired and all of my muscles hurt. I skipped my ride into work for the Jeep. Tuesday was even worse. By late Tuesday night I was fully blown and contagious. So the next two days' effort have been to shake it off. This was maybe a bout of flu, I'm guessing not the swine type because that's supposed to be an apocalyptic plague, and here I am on the mend after a couple of days. Maybe it's a sign that the dooms day architects are just getting lazy.

Either way I'm hoping this doesn't affect me much for Saturday. I don't have a chance at winning a time trial, but it is a personal goal to do better than bringing up the rear like last year. The new ebay special time trial bike is nearly ready, tomorrow will be a test run.

A view from the 3rd step

2009-04-20T19:32:00.010-05:00

I still have a lot of work to do on my time trial ability. I wasn't very sure of myself coming into this weekend; a lot of things off the bike going on that has hampered my riding. Add the weather factor, I didn't expect much good coming. I figured I'd get a real good look at how much farther I need to work. The time trial went well enough for me, but minutes behind the Cat 3 winner. I clocked a 23:51, better than my goal of under 25. I was satisfied, but at this point I figured my weekend would be for the individual events.

We spent the rest of the day looking at the new road course and dining at Stone Hill Winery. I figured my racing was done, so I indulged in some wine and sauerbraten and waited around for the start.

The rain let up for our race thankfully and the weather was looking good. I did a quick warm up, scouted the super fast descent and lined up. On the first lap, I had to yell at a guy holding his brakes on a straight descent. He gapped big and I got around him just in time to keep from being eliminated quickly. The first time up the hill, I could feel the field splintering. I drifted towards the front, and it no longer felt like a field but a small collection of grueling duels. I felt like I was getting nashed by every little move made by the riders. I was finding it more and more difficult to respond to every move. Then Alex showed up and things calmed down. I was glad to see another jersey.

It was down to a few laps to go, when Alex finally faded to the back of the break and I was mostly alone with these two really strong kids and another good rider guy. I almost started to feel defeat set into me. I could feel my legs just giving out and a pain deep from my pits pull over my body. My thoughts drifted from the wheel in front of me. Just before hitting the hill again, I regrouped my concentration. I forgot about the race. I forgot about the people. I forgot about all the shit. You have two choices, fight or lay down and die, if you fight then you'll either win or die trying. That's when I resolved that these kids aren't going to take me out of this race, and I was going to finish it. I came over the hill with a resolved attack at the top. I could hear the announcer calling out my name as I powered over the hill. I couldn't shake the kid yet. For me at this point it was just me and him in the race. People were running up the side of the hill yelling, cheering. My heartrate was pegged at 200 bpm. Apparently this was a really good race for the spectators. The race leader, a kid with strong legs and a good future, being pushed to his limits by a career amateur 'old' guy.

Last lap, last time up the hill, the top is the finish. I couldn't hear the crowd. I felt like blood was shooting from my eyes. I hit the hill ahead of him.. not a the position I should have. I have to be ready to respond to his attack. I picked my gear I thought could do. He attacks me for the last time. I respond but am gapped by a bike length, then two, then more. Out of the saddle every inch of me wanting to get him before the top. I close one bike length, he's fading and I'm gaining, but it's too little too late for me and roll across the line behind him. I stopped to talk to Rusty, but I could still hardly hear. Alex rolls by a minute later yelling something about another lap. I go after him lightly trying to tell him that it's over but he's convinced he still has to go. I decided to follow. For some reason I thought I heard an old Cake song playing in the background.

The Battle

The Defeat

Sunday, we drove back to Hermann through the rain. We got ready through the rain. We warmed up through the rain. We lined up through the rain. Alex and Chris were back and Devin and Mark joined us. We had a good team for the race. For the first 20 miles or so, they kept me well protected. I paid for it with water spraying my in every direction. I could barely see anything at times. Finally, some moves were made and Devin helped me stay with them and when the time was right we started some counters. The large break of 15 or more was made. When Patrick came by and let me know that the race leader wasn't in the group, I decided that it was time to make this stick. It stuck. I knew my team was back with the rest of the field holding them back. Coming back into Hermann I saw that the wheel truck had come behind us. Then the wall. I hit it hard. 16 was too big of a number, we needed to get this down to a more civilized size. Over the top, drop into a strong pace, the wheel truck stayed back and the motorcycle followed us till the wheel truck could return.

We were down to 8. That's a good number. I can do well enough with 8. So I mustered them to work together. Tried to organize some pace lines. The rain was still assailing us from every direction. I was drenched. We almost lost one here or there as the hills came and went, but at the end on the KOM, we were all still together. No one wanted to pull any more. We haven't been making great time, maybe a little paranoid. It didn't seem like the rest of the field should be that far back. I let them attack on the KOM, followed wheels. Over the top, two had a gap, but the descent is fast and by the first turn in Herman we were together again, except two that fell off. My legs were too tired though and I couldn't find a finishing move. I was fifth wheel in the last turn and 5th accross the line.

Thanks to one rider not racing the road race on Sunday, I slid into 3rd place overall. Alex lead the field in at 9th. I couldn't have asked for a better team. The kept me in the race and on Sunday I knew I couldn't let them down. I also have to give thanks to my friend Michelle for the pep talk before the weekend to keep my focus. I don't think I would even showed without her help.

Engineering at Scott

2009-04-03T09:11:00.002-05:00

I just saw this on Cyclingnews.com: http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/tech/2009/news/04-03
As a cyclist and an engineer, the photo shoot is a really cool look at the design and engineering of a TT bike. Maybe I should have stuck to Aerospace engineering to work on bikes. Oh well, I have plenty of electrical toys.

Sunday Bloody Sunday -- "Unnatural"

2009-03-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

We hit the road for Eureka before sunrise this morning for a Bloody Sunday ride. This ride started a few years ago while Danny, me, and Dan took to the roads of Eureka for a no compromise, no mercy hill efforts. My first Bloody Sunday forced me off the bike on its last hill, a first for me in a long time. I hurt so much that I dubbed the name Bloody Sunday. Since, we try to get some of these in every year.

Today, it was some of the strongest riders of the Hub. Within the first 15 miles, I knew something was wrong. The average was a chill 19.9 and we were hammering every flat at 24 - 28 mph. No one mentioned anything about easing up, so I didn't either. I figured someone would say something eventually. This pace was cutting into me at first though. Then we hit an interval up Bartizan -- a 24% wall. Devin looked like he just strolled up it. I seemed to struggle a bit but midway my legs really started to liven up and I felt really good reaching the top just behind Devin. We cruised down and then road up Woods. I started putting a little punch in on the group there and by St. Albans, people were hurting. I felt pretty good from there out -- hurting but always having a reserve ready. The last hill, Danny and Joe dropped early and it was just me and Devin on this long deceptive climb. After a few false summits, Devin jumped out of the saddle for a finish to what he thought was the end. I knew that it was yet another false summit and just stayed in pace. As the summit vanished, all I heard from Devin was a "Graaahh". Even at the top, the hill really just levelled from a 15% to a 4-5% and Devin dissappeared as well. Brutal hill. We cruised back to Danny's at a nice 23-24 mph pace and did the final small 9-10% hill to his place where some cold brews were waiting. Always have a recovery drink.

We coverred 60 miles, 4000 ft of climbing in 3 hours 10 minutes for an avg speed of 19.0 mph.

In the words of Devin afterwards, "What we did today was unnatural".

Beginning to feel like race season.

2009-03-15T23:23:00.004-05:00

Beautiful weather dominated today... I think it was the first time I raced this course in nice weather. Our team came out in its largest showing yet. In my race we had 6 guys in all.
I had a good line up and I jumped at the go. I knew that I'd have no chance in a mass sprint finish and if the pace is allowed to wane after every move, the attrition would not occur. I also wanted to really test the legs a bit and put in a good workman effort. Early in the race I countered every attack with an attack of my own. Unfortunately, after my winter my speed is weak. I couldn't find the separation. Every time I looked back, I could see myself stretching out the pack but not losing them. Mark showed a lot of strength today and helped keep the field from slacking off. We were very aggressively attacking today and everyone showed some power. It was great to see. I think between all of us we kept a jersey near the front through the whole race. With 4 to go, the field really bunched up and people were slowing to a crawl with everyone trying to be second wheel. I jumped out and stretched it till 2 to go and then tried to recover and pull into position for a finish for the team. Devin finished the best at 8th, Dave followed with a 11th. I rolled in at the end of the first bunch across the line at 24th. Not bad, but I'm going to need to have a few good finishes this year sometime. The bike felt fast and the pro 3's I picked up on Saturday felt solid under speed without any break-in. The first ride on the race wheelset for the year might have something to do with that feeling as well.
Looking at all the photos is impressive. It seems the Hub is in the thick of every picture. But now as I look back at the race, we were everywhere on top of everything. We were only 6 guys but the way we road, people probably would think that we had 2 times that number in the field. We were strong but still have work to do.
My compliments to Neil Das for the excellent photo of me off the front.

Catching Up

2009-03-04T10:55:00.002-06:00

I'm chasing myself with respect to last year at this time. The November to January months were far from ideal training and it showed in Froze Toes. Since I've been trying to hit it hard to try to recover at least a little bit before hitting the big races of the season. This morning I hit the 1000 mile marker for the year. It was a nice ride, too. The switch back to summer tires on the commuter brought a pick up in speed-- this morning's average was 17.7 mph. Just recieved a new TT helmet I picked up from Bonktown and one of these days I'll fix up the Co-motion to make it's transition to a TT bike a little smoother for those few time trials every year. The old junker I was using for working out position is ready for another semi-retirement.

It has begun

2009-02-22T20:12:00.002-06:00

The 2009 season is kicked off finally. The Froze Toes race in Columbia was better and worse than expected. To start, it had racing in parts. On the back stretch the pack actually broke 30 mph in a few places. The team appears to be in good shape. Bill did a nice flier and still had gas to jump after a few moves on the front. He surely earned the most aggressive label of the team for the day. Grman looked strong, just got locked up in the pack at the end. Eddy on his comeback to racing held in for a group finish. Greg stuck with the pack through nearly all the actual racing. I think he dropped on the last fast break on the back side of the course, after which the race was quite calm.
I, on the other hand, entered a race that I should have dominated and instead suffered through it. In the light of Devin racing with the 1,2,3's, I suck today. I couldn't maintain any decent effort in the front. My only move in the end brought me to about 3rd place with 200m to go, and I couldn't hold it. 10 people passed by in the final 200m. I suck. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

This just meanders... there is no good Title. Really.

2009-02-09T20:31:00.004-06:00

Weather like this hurts. Start the weekend before last, the first weekend of warmish weather with slop from the snow still littering the roads. I skipped the indoor ride on Saturday morning for a not-frigid ride at a later time running around town randomly before ending at work 44 miles later. The broken finger was sore after that, but not sore enough to stop in at Chipotle and grab one of those monster calorie burritos. Sadly they can't sell beer to go. I think if the weekday girl was there I might have had some luck. I worked till late then rode home.

The next day, Devin was eager to get a good ride in before his fun in the southwest so there was an impromptu Sunday Hub ride organized. I think the general idea was to do the Saturday loop twice, which worked well for me as I just split off on the second lap and went to work. Superbowl Sunday-- I saw the Red Bull car/truck thing coming down Adams as we were just starting up it. We waved, maybe a cheer (they were young girls driving) and I look back and see they turned around to follow us. They caught us at the top and gave us all a hand up. I'm not a huge drinker of Red Bull but it isn't bad and after the last couple of days, the caffeine was a nice pickup.
The bike was a disaster after that. That Monday night I could see the salt crystals all over the frame like cancerous sandpaper. I had to get it clean.

Tonight its dirty again. This last weekend was even better. Saturday morning the Hub ride was huge and everyone was itching to hit the road. Adam had his new Co-motion Expresso frame painted in near likeness to my Ristretto, same scheme but with metallic green and black. It was a good variation to the Hub based color scheme. My Ristretto has a more utilitarian and efficient-performance facade. That Expresso, however, is a little less performance but more flashy like a porn star-- sexy looks and smooth ride. But back to the day...

The roads were wet from condensation and tires spewed shit over everyone. Joe and I broke off near the end for one of my extended routes. Some people complain that the Hub route is relatively flat, but it is what you make it. With everyone out, that flat ride turns into some pretty intense intervals as the goading starts. The extended routes however are infrequent and less competitive. The terrain starts to pull some punches. We went down to Fenton, via old Gravois Bridge, south to Romaine Creek road following that to Old Sugar Creek. From there we explored a new little idea I that looked good on Google Earth but maybe not so in reality. Eventually, we ended up on Hill Valley road out of High Ridge. I usually like to finish with a trip to Lone Elk Park then up Marshall, but the wind definitely grew intense later that day. Joe and I mutually decided to call it a draw and skip that little loop. The extended route ended up being 43 miles in total. With the 29.5 miles of the Hub ride that made for a 72.5 mile day. I was mostly useless for the rest of the day for any big chores. Sunday all I could do is some light spinning for about an hour. But today I was back at the commuting. I'll eventually get to were I need to be. I'm too tired tonight to clean the bike again. I think I'll wait till later this week.

As an after thought I wish I had some pics from these days. I think I'll have to start shopping for a good option for doing so.

Winter Hub Training Ride

2009-01-28T16:02:00.004-06:00

Last night, in lieu of the standard indoor trainer ride, the Hub gang went for an outdoor ride. I admit having reservations in the afternoon, but after the ride home and the snow picked up... I was stoked. First note, about riding in Forest Park on the once a year snow of St. Louis: The bike path is an extreme workout. Along Skinker the cars had thrown the road grime slush all over to make an interesting ice & fluff mix.
I wussed out and drove to the Hub. When I realized that the ride was at 8, giving me a free hour that I could use to prime the Eagle for a drive. Every once in a while, like when it snows 8", it's nice to take it for a spin. On multiple axi.
So the ride started off at 8pm. The crew was there. I had brought some special warm up juice to fight the cold.
Apparently I didn't get the memo. I came with my trusty commuter, the 34x15 fixed gear, 700x34 Hutchinson Piranhas, rack and fenders. Everyone else had to have regular fat tires. I think though the advantage was won by the cyclocross. The thinner tires cut through the layers of snow better and made better contact to real surfaces below. A lower gear may have been good in a few cases. The snow ride is the ultimate strength workout. My legs are feeling it today.
I cannot lie. We didn't ride the whole three hours. First we had a mechanical and pit stop to reassemble a saddle-post assembly. This shouldn't have been all that difficult, but it was about 15 degrees and the Jager was already passed around once or twice.
Then we made a warm up stop at a local establishment where we could impress the serious Tuesday night bar patrons with our super extremeness. After some meandering around the roads and a little off road, our final destination was the 'suicide hill' sledding spot. So for regular St. Louisians, this was a known place, but I have never been there. On approach, it looked like we ran into a makeshift high school party. A bonfire was lit, and numerous young'n's with random beverages. I think the best quote as we arrived was a cold slurred "Are you a downhiller?", as I parked my fixed gear cyclocross. One by one we ventured forth and down. On the first run, I was the last to go. Given my broken finger and being the only fixie among us, I was hesitant. But I couldn't disappoint the crowd, could I? So I gave one good push then locked the rear wheel and slid down. I didn't let the bike really pick up any speed until the last part of the descent when I'd need some speed to cut through the field. The second time down, I let it out much more, more speed, a little fish tailing and sliding. Everyone thought that going down that on my commuter was remarkable, but really I think it was much easier. After two runs and a few crashes we once again made pit stop. This time we chose to lock the bikes... with one lock. As we did so, met a lifted jeep with mudding tires, that pathetically flatted on a curb in the snow, and all they had was a wimpy factory jack. These people wouldn't make very long outside the comfy city.
While on the second stop we were able to examine some of the glory of the descent. We made one more stop on the way back, to grab some wings and a few more beers, then returned to the Hub. I didn't get to bed till about 1 in the morning. Definitely a little sluggish today.
If you read this far you should have a good idea how we tracked last night.

Back to work... again.

2009-01-20T21:47:00.003-06:00

My finger is on the mend and the doc said its healing faster than expected. The splint is removed and now I'm able really ride again. Just in time for the really nice light snow this morning. I just hope I didn't miss all of the good weather to commute in this winter. Its been really light so far and I'm really wanting to get some really good winter rides in. I'm still not moving as well as I'd like on the commutes but I think it will come back as the hand feels better. At least I'm able to push it in the trainer. I'm still slowed on the road as the bumps and vibrations eventually turn into a slow dull aching pain. Shifting the front rings is a little tough, too. So I'm going to modify my January and February plans accordingly. More trainer time and on road work limited to just commuting and the short 30 mile Hub ride. The trainer sessions will be simple power and speed intervals, as I should be getting decent base and recovery miles from commuting and the Hub rides.
I'm loving the cold just wish for more snow or a full on three day blizzard. Of course the below zero temperatures were not nearly as enjoyed by Meatwad. Here he is after an evening walk around the park a few times:

It's nice to be able to type reasonably again...

Broken

2009-01-08T19:10:00.002-06:00

Well that is the news today: broken.
Last week, New Year's Eve, on my regular ride home from work, I was cruising through Forest Park in the twilight. Comming up on the intersection with the Tamm overpass, I slowed because the traffic has been hectic with the 64/40 closing. ~15 mph wasn't slow enough. A car ran the stop sign. My left hand paid the price. People covered their ears as I laid out a tirade worthy of rating. Today I had the xrays and the news was that my left index finger is broken. Worse is that the break is in a finicky place and might require surgery. I hope not. This has already taken enough out of the winter conditioning. I tried to ride this morning before the news and it was a little difficult. I hope I can continue at least on the trainer.
For future reference, cars can hurt.

2008-12-22T20:53:00.004-06:00

I got up this morning and looked at the weather... 2 degrees. Ugh. My heavy stuff smelled heavy of bonfire and PBR. I tapped my wife on the shoulder and said, "Screw this. I'm taking the car." My will was bent to 2 degrees. I suppose yesterday did its part.
CXmas was incredible. Big thanks to Team Seagal for the great non-race. I came out with a Viking theme on the old commuter. Those who didn't drink too much the night before and could still fit into the pageantry of the day road ahead of the rest of the starters. I needed that help as the only fixed gear crosser, the ride up Terry rd. was painful. My muscles were stone cold sluggish and the wind was whiplashing my head gear. Seeing a 15% grade on the GPS and a 5 mph, I dismounted and started a more comfy jog. Really opened up my legs. By the time we were back on the Katy, I was cooking. The commuter really shined on the open gravel. I was first and last in the fixed gear category, also those with racks and fenders and costumes. My poor battle axe broke in Lost Valley. I came down a rough section at the same time as a gust of wind came across my bow... snap and I see a sad limp axe flopping about the rack. I stopped pulled it and shoved it under the bungee.
The rack was an unknown advantage. Coming out of Lost Valley, we were given a gift. The first ones through were given the most unwieldy and heavy boxes to carry to the next point. I started to carry mine but then came to my senses -- in my defense I mind might have been frost bitten at that point -- that I had a rack. With a Bungee. I strung it onto the rack and started flying down the Katy unimpeded. I passed Rock with his gift hanging from his bar. I tried to hook him with my head gear but missed... probably for the better. I regret not disrespecting my gift more in a true ups fashion but I guess there's always a next time. The last checkpoint I ripped my gift off and jumped through the final obstacles and then fought into the wind to the 5th place finish in Klondike. Well it was kinda like a finish. But once the fire was goin' and the huffy was flingin' and the beer was flowin' it was good times.

Back to work

2008-12-11T20:32:00.002-06:00

It is December and all has gone as well so far. It is pointless to explain that the second half of November threw me off track just a little. Larissa is recovering and doing well. My little brother is married. This week, I'm back in the saddle, commuting through the cold dark mornings and evenings. I'm updating my music library for these days with some gritty Flogging Molly. Grinding in the wind and fighting the restriction of layers that keep me warm requires a mentality of a drunken bar fight.
I've assembled the old Specialized frame into a trainer for time trials: old and worn out Ultegra shifters, clip-on bars, generic OEM mismatched wheels and a hacked together deraileur and I have a bike to work out my position for time trials. If I can rig together a rear brake on it, I'll use it for the I-64 time trial this Sunday. Currently I've only been using it on the trainer. I have a nice little program on the Garmin for a time trial interval training:
4:oo at 75-95 rpm
3:00 at 140-170 bpm
1:00 at 75-95 rpm
3:00 at 150 - 180 bpm
4:00 at 75-95 rpm
6 mi at 165 - 195 bpm
2:00 at 75 - 95 rpm
6 mi at 165 - 195 bpm
2:00 at 75 - 95 rpm
repeat 3 times:
1:00 at 150-165 bpm
1:00 at 165 - 175 bpm
cool down 5:00 - 8:00

The total time for this has been ranging in the 50-55 minutes range. I have a 'long' TT program that extends the times and miles a bit more I think I'll start in January after I feel comfortable with my position.

The Distraction

2008-11-16T17:31:00.007-06:00

So, I've been missing things on my plan. I've been cutting a few rides short. I've raced only one Bubba race. I have been a little distracted for the last few weeks. Tomorrow morning, my wife will have surgery to remove a 'growth'. I'm not good with medical topics; if it has wires and circuit boards, I'm more comfortable with my knowledge. This has haunted us on the calendar for over a month now, and it always seemed so far away, but too close for comfort. We won't have any definite answers on how good/bad it is until tomorrow. In place of gearing up for a manageable cold winter commute to the office, I'll be in a waiting room coping the unmalleable. I might have been pushing some of the rides harder than I should, but I find solice in the front pounding at the wind. You'll never beat the wind; the battle wanes only on the wind's wim or your surrender. Sometimes it may seem you're winning, but eventually you will succomb. I required regular routs the in these days. Yesterday, the wind truly delivered with freezing rain and piercing cold delivered on its shoulders, lashing me well. My body was relieved when I was finally turned back.

I'd rather face 1000 days of that wind than tomorrow.

Shaking the faith in the Truth

2008-10-22T20:41:00.004-05:00

After the burnin' my faithful Ellsworth was laid up with some wheels that were ready to self destruct at the sight of another rock garden. The old frame shows a few scars from the years, but it is still a quite efficient and supple frame among contemporaries. However, this was an opportunity to check the field out. So last weekend I borrowed Alex's Vassago Jabberwocky from the Hub: full rigid, steel 29'r, single speed and hydraulic discs. Dirt Church was held on the venerable Chub.
We started on the Lone Elk side and cruised down to the river. The rest of the congregation were on full suspension, geared rigs. Through the flats, I was able to keep up reasonable well. The rock gardens were a little difficult initially until I stopped trying to hide from the terrain and let the big wheels start rolling. All the little annoying stuff just dissappeared under the wheels. I definitely think the tubeless set up with ~28 lbs of air helped in this task.
On the climb to the picnic table, the geared fs rigs actually got in the way. I had to pass them up rolling up the hill. There were only a few isolated spots that I wished I had some extra gears. But when the trail got rough, the Jabberwocky showed me a few new things. The low speed control and balance of the frame let me plant the wheels and find traction where ever I wanted. Going down the Flint Quarry was not nearly as smooth as the Ellsworth, no surprise, but it was better than I expected. Again attribute this to the larger wheels and tubeless tires, but also the frame length may come into this as well. Side by side, the Jabberwocky dwarfed my Truth in terms of wheel base. Just like the big ol' Cadillac or Town Car, long wheelbases generally can help smooth out the trail. Of course going down the hill this was an advantage, but in the back of my mind was the switchbacks that we'd face on the way back.
The first couple were rough. It reminded me of the first time I rode on the Chub. The lines I would take on the Ellsworth were not working, though I wouldn't say my lines are that great before either. But after I had the hang of it, I felt really confident through them. Some I only needed a slightly lighter gear and I would've flawlessly cleared them.
Since that ride, I've been questioning what I'd want to ride for the next 12 hour. The Vassago Optimus Ti 29'r with a simple 80mm fork and maybe a 1x9 setup could be light and quick with just enough comfort to last all day. But I still need to check out that dw link full squishy...

Defeat

2008-10-12T19:10:00.003-05:00

The battle was tough but I was bested. I was bruised and tired; if I went again, I wasn't sure whether my wheel would give before me. Blisters were growing on my hands and my thumbs were locked into a crooked hook around the grip. My knee was swollen and cut, my feet felt like bloody stumps. Lap 1 & 2 went beautiful. I was on pace to be near the top of the field. Then in the middle of lap 3, I hit something on the fast straight away. I think it was a turtle -- brown round and symmetrical and light enough to go flying. I was going fast then in a cartwheel then in a tree. I laid there for a while registering what was still attached. My front wheel was toast. I started to walk, but then as I reassessed my situation and my brazen polo days, I stopped. I pulled the twisted wheel out of the fork and found a hard patch on the ground and started beating back into shape. I was rolling slowly again after ten minutes.
The rim was breaking right at the seam. There's about a 1.5mm edge twisting into the bead of the tire. Lap 4 was hell. I hurt and ground. I must've looked bad after finishing it. They asked if I needed to go to the medical station. I got back on and rolled down the hill to my stash, took stock and swallowed what I could. Then I rolled on. Number 5. I knew I was defeated. I would not make six laps and 12 hours, but I have to keep it close. I needed another to prove my worthiness in the burning. As I started down the single track, the world became numb as I blocked the pain. The trail became mechanical, no adrenaline rush, no pleasure, just the grind. I rolled through that last lap finishing 64 miles, 9 hours and 18 minutes after the start. I put up the bike and cracked open a beer. The burning took me, a thoroughly strong satisfying bloodied defeat.

The Darkside

2008-10-08T11:42:00.003-05:00

Riding at night has an adrenal serenity. A small beam of light poking through the darkness, unless you're being followed by Dave "radioactive handlebar" S. The senses pick up subtle changes in the air; cool moist air softly slams as you dip down towards water, stirred dry heat swirls as you approach the crossing road. Lights flash in a silent disco, weaving through the trees. The night rides have arrived. Here's to the winter season and the many miles of the darkness ahead.

Week 1 -- sort of

2008-10-05T10:14:00.002-05:00

Well this is the first week of the training, sort of. I hope to start with fairly easy and loose base for October. I'll get stricter to the regimon in November.
Saturday's extension went well except Corisande Hill Rd was washout and closed as of last week. The sign indicated that it'll stay that way till next year. I find it nteresting that it survived all the flooding in the spring and summer but gave way at this last unexpected bout in the fall. Oh, well, I'll have to spend a little time reworking the extended rides so that I can still get some good climbing and distance. Despite that, yesterday's ride was a nice 69.3 miles finished off in 3:40. That's a little faster than intended for base mileage, but the 30 mile Hub ride was a touch fast. I'm partly to blame. I just recieved the heart rate monitor for the Garmin 305 and wanted to see its performance. I cooked the ride a little on Clayton going 23-24 for a good stretch, but when we reached Mason Ridge I could see some people just hanging in looking a little tired. I paced it evenly from there on keeping it in the 20-21 mph range. Bryan went with me for the extension and road everything but Lone Elk. He missed the best climbing of the day. The laps through Lone Elk are really enjoyable as long as you can get around the occaisional car.
I started the rebuild of the old Allez frame yesterday. It's going to look just a little pieced together from a junk yard but nothing will have to be 'rigged' together, just a lot of mix and match used parts. I'll have time this week to finish it.
Dirt Church went sort of today. I ran a little late and no one showed so it was a solo ride. Averaged 10 mph through Lone Wolf-grotpeter-rollercoaster loop. As long as I can keep it together over 12 hours, I think I'll do fine next weekend. I'm going to work on my nutrition plan for the 12 hour this week. I think that'll be key to lasting through it for me; it's something I don't think about much for most races as I can usually pack anything into the gut before the start and never have to eat mid race.

Dirt Church-- Pre Burnin'

2008-09-30T19:50:00.000-05:00

So this Sunday I'll lead a Dirt Church. I'll have to dust off the Ellsworth again after a hiatus. For me, this should kick some of the rust out on the trail before jumping head first into the Burning at the Bluffs V 12h solo race. First time for the Burnin' and first time for an epic 12h. I hope I can work out any issues with the tubeless this weekend. The front has been holding well, but the rear never seems to work out. Maybe I should break down and get some real tubeless rather than my cheap ass home made shit. Well for those who want to join, meet at the Hub at 6:42 AM and head to the wood. That should put us right at the park opening (7:00).

Boldly going where too many have gone.

2008-09-30T19:36:00.000-05:00

As if I'm great and important or somehow amazing... I've started this blog to log and plan my training for this offseason for those who are interested. I really don't have any expertise in this stuff other than I do what works and don't make it miserable. If I stopped having fun with bikes I think I'd stop entirely so fun is essential. If this sucks, well quit your whining.