Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The hundred that would not be.

                                    Doesn't the new kit look awesome?

Today was gorgeous--60's and clear blue sky. The goal today was a cool hundy. That was fine except the legs were screaming No Mas! We are both kinda bummed--we have been talking about the back to back hundies for several months so not to get it done felt like we had failed. To be realistic we have a lot of miles in the legs over the last 4 days--the Greenbrier was a real ass kicker and it's showing.


 We did manage to get in a very meager 50 miles with 5000 ft of climbing--Dave is dead on the sofa with a blistered taint--he titled todays jaunt as the "taint busting butternut squashing fitty" which I guess was pretty accurate after all we were riding in the butternut valley--he later declared he was no longer a jackrabbit but more a box of jackrabbit S#%$. As down and sore as he was he pulled through and was a sport finishing strong--sprinting down main street past the Hall of Fame and roaring cheers from rabid baseball touristas. 


We did get a chance to sprint with Eddy who as always produces big power while in hot pursuit--we won!!--poor Eddy will have to try again next time--He was thinking big Dave's calf was looking awfully meaty. Remember we are trained professionals never drag race Eddy unless you have the proper training.

                                   Eddy is pissed!

Again, Cora was a saint and brought us our half way nutritionals and she had the baby Moose in tow on his bike--he does a fine job as a lead out man. Looks like the Moose and Big dave got the same helmet sponsor?


With some luck tomorrow will be just as nice and we can have at it again--time for a little work on the one speed--as if the quads aren't pissed off enough.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Greenbrier Marathon

What a weekend!! We left at 2 pm Friday and made it to the Harrisburg airport just in time to pick up Big Dave--we ate and headed down to Maryland. We stayed at the "Duck Hotel" --the kid's absolute favorite--it has a pool and free breakfast in front of a widescreen tv--enough said. Greenbrier is a great venue with a park and lake for the kids to play in.

The Bull says, "Me no like bike racing no more!"  It looks like he's going to pursue a career in  plumbing!


Boo bear is working out her nutrition.

We were up early Saturday morning and off to pre-ride the marathon course--it was much drier than last year which made it feel quite a bit different.  Probably more importantly, it was 90+ degrees which really changed the program from last year's race. The course is fun and fast but really bumpy which takes its toll--5 miles with approx. 900 ft of climbing per lap. We rode 2 laps at a slow pace and headed back to the hotel for some R&R.


A little unscheduled maintenance--the night before the race, Big Dave found that he had a broken spoke.  Of course there were no bike shops open at 8:30pm and amazingly, we found a replacement at Dick's Sporting Goods and Big Dave handily trimmed it down to size--no problem!!

The race went well--Big Dave was having a great day until flat #1 then #2 and finally #3 resulted in a mile hike-a-bike which ultimately ended his day, as the USA cycling nazi would not let him take a tube from Cora in the feed station.


Big Dave after #3 flat walking in to meet the nazi--the big guy had 7 total flats over the course of the week--not bad.

A little extra effort to finish up lap #3--about 4 mins faster than last year with 4 to go!

I had no real plan except to have fun and try to do 7 laps in the allotted time. I also wanted to do the first 3 faster than the 3 laps I did last year. I went out pretty hard--something like 31 mins. which would have been doable for 3 laps but I had to slow down if I was going to get 6 more in. I rolled around to start my second lap just in time to catch the tail end of the beginner start which slowed me up more than I would have liked--it was all good and fun riding with them and remembering the good ole days --it did get to be a little frustrating on the first steep climb when they all jumped off their bikes and walked right up the center of the trail without a care in the world--I caught myself screaming like an uptight bike racer as I was trying to avoid a hike myself. Lap 3-6 were uneventful-- each a couple of mins slower than the previous one with a touch more pain added in for good measure. I started watching the clock around lap 5 and knew it would be close making the cut off--I told myself if I make it, I've earned the right to go around for number 7.
I came through the start/finish 3 or 4 mins. before the cut off and pulled into the feed station--now I was not so sure I wanted to go again and I must have looked pretty bad--it's the only time I have ever heard Cora sound a little worried--something about having 3 kids and another lap wasn't worth having a heart attack for. I knew if I got to the feed station and Big Dave was there I'd have zero chance of stopping--I was secretly hoping he'd be absent--no luck, he was there and quite persuasive, so after 3 mins. of rest and some moral support, off I went.


Trying to look like I was not dying as I finished up lap #7.

I was successful --and many thanks go to Cora who managed the feed station--the temp. was over 90 and she kept us very well hydrated/fed--she was perfect--thanks, you rock!!
She gave me either a bottle of Cytomax or water every lap with 2 electrolyte tabs plus a random gel with the water bottle laps and something solid every other lap (clif bar and PB&J)--all worked really well except the Starbucks shot which came darn close to making me blow chunks--not good after 5 laps. Next time I'm gonna try the much lighter Rocket legs, as the caffeine is a needed boost.

Cooked!!  The only downer was the 7-hour ride home which actually went by pretty quickly--but next time I'm staying for an extra night.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

It's here!!! And it is fine!!!

Guess what?

Am I mysterious or do I have a secret?

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Bone Bender Fiasco

Well, the Bone Bender was a bust. Rain pretty much ruined what looked to be a very clean and fast trail. I rode 1/2 mile pushed, carried, and cleaned mud for 3 miles...then turned off the trail cleaned for five minutes to get the sled rideable and rode back on asphalt in granny gear (b/c she refused to shift any longer) I followed countless muddy tire tracks back to the start/finish. And met a bunch of cool people who were smart enough to ride in. I felt pretty shitty to quit after throwing a fit and making the clan come to cheer. 6 hours of driving and 1 hour and a half of riding....

Before race...ignorance is bliss.

Where are my shoulders?

Dude, I want Evan and the boys to make me some Rocket Legs...I didn't even open the go fast juice.


Q-Man and Little Red are trying to figure out how I got second place b/c Jess got all excited when she saw me and said "your in second" I said no I quit...it didn't register...I think she still thought I was in second...she was like no only one other person has come in...I said I rode back...she looked spooked like who are you...you skinny quitter...oh well.

The start was LeMans style whatever that is.

I drank more beer than race juice...after the ride if you can call it that...one of the promoters felt sorry for me and gave me one of his 6 beers...now that is a nice race promoter...I will be back next year. Honestly, it wasn't a complete waste...what a great park, and a great group of trail guys. This dude even tossed me a free jacket b/c he felt so darn sorry that the trail wasn't perfect. There were actually people making full laps...so I felt pretty sorry for quitting.



Thanks for trying guys...see you next year.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Randomness


First bit of randomness: I tried to compile a new playlist for this race season--I got it narrowed down to 96 songs--yes, yes, 86 of them are U2 songs. Guess it's a good thing that we got our tickets for the Toronto and Boston shows--looking forward to more...Where or where else shall we go? Hope the shows are as good as the '85 Hollywood Sportatorium shows--good people, good times, good times. Bummer that the European shows conflict with all our A races. For all you U2 aficionados, check out U2start. It's where I feed my habit. How about a bit of random U2 trivia--my arm was in the Rattle and Hum movie--bet you did not know that.


What is up with all the Bogeys around here? I found another one today that must see the same doggy dentist--same bad veneers and overdone whitener. I spoke to Big Dave tonight--he was most incredulous of Bogey No. 1's teeth and was sure that I was the guilty party wielding poor Photoshop skills, rather than the poorly skilled doggy dentist. Dude, let me say it again, DUDE, you're missing the point. If you see one of these *%$kers, stand up and ride like you stole it.



Schwing! Big package from Evan and the boys from 53 x 11 arrived today. Check out the 5 lb. bags of coffee--it's like crack, I swear. We'll go through these puppies in no time. Can't wait to get into the Wondo Bonko--should make a great Rocket Shot--review to come.


It was sensory overload today when I rolled out of bed at 2pm and saw the UPS truck pulling up just as the FedEx truck was driving away after bequeathing us with the coffee jackpot. The UPS man delivered Justin's offerings--check out these babies! All I can say is that they're ridiculously sick, ridiculously light and have ridiculous stopping power for the big 29er hoops. If only looks could make me faster (shoes excluded, of course)...


Most importantly, and not random at all (except for the fact that it was 6 days belated), I finished up my 3-hour ride today by celebrating with the most wonderful woman in my life, the one who makes it all possible, my mother. Happy birthday, Grandy!


Random quote of the day: "Daddy, I know we can have anything we want, except for drugs and weapons, right?" Bella, age 5 1/2 (in response to my telling the kids that they can have anything they want to drink for dinner).

Back on the bike

It was nice to get back out and ride. Two days of work and 3 days of a cheeky little GI bug that is going around sidelined me--actually, if you must know, it left me lounging on the toilet and not wanting to eat--sorry--TMI.

Off I went today looking forward to riding a new loop. I wound up getting in about 27 miles with 3500 ft of climbing.



Oh, yeah I tried the new shoes out today--they just go to show that you CAN buy speed. They're pimp and they are fast!! My mom called them "metrolicious"--not sure what that was supposed to mean. She also asked if Cooperstown is ready for them yet--that is probably a very reasonable question--did I mention they are fast!!



I met up with the refueling Tanker on top of the hill only to find out the boom operator blew chunks.
The poor little guy softly said to me--I think I threw up.

                                                    Go ahead click on it.

I've seen a lot of kids puke and this was impressive. As usual, the Bull shook it off. He did take the opportunity to leave some more fluid on the ground while we cleaned him up.


After the lengthy clean up it was back on the bike and over the back of Dog Hill which was just as nice as Hooker Mtn. then over Cornish Hill and home. All told, about 2:25  on the bike in Z2 and only 2 bogey sightings.

                                                         Very angry Bogey

That's one of the nice parts of having the Tanker escort, it somewhat deters the hostile aggressors.  It does, however, convey a certain amount of bravado when you successfully shoot one down with a bottle of Cytomax.

Anyhoo, this was a really nice route and I definitely have to add it in somewhere for CJ--I can hear Big Dave saying No Mas !--just what a good host is supposed to offer.

NYC

Well, it's been a long week. We had to make a quick trip down to NYC for a little bidness, so at least for me, it was not what I would call a relaxing two days. We did get to see old friends, which is always nice and fun to catch up in person.

Cora and Bella spent Friday doing girly stuff. 



No trip to NYC would be complete without a trip to Patsy's for pizza--Bella's first.




Forget the pizza!!! Did they really just put a plate of oily stuff down in front of me and say I could make a mess--I mean dip my bread? No wonder Mommy and Daddy love Patsy's so much.

Bella was surprised to find some Easter Eggs in Chelsea.

I got lucky and  spent a few minutes in a dressing room with a couple of Hotties.

We left in a hurry when I found out those jeans cost 2 large!!

We had fun and can't wait to get back and spend more time. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Getting pretty fired up for the Bone Bender I am going to go hard all week and see how I feel in a 3 hour race after a hard week.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Q-Man is rolling no training wheels.
Q-man and Little Red.





The training wheels are off. There may be a new domestique for team JR. Took'em off yesterday and he is stopping, starting, and off roading already.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Tranquility

Well I hit the trail for the second day in a row. Conditions could not be better here in the big O! I blasted 4 climbs x 3 laps. This is my newest attempt at interval training. Here's what I did. I have a loop that I do which is pretty much the same loop everybody does. Tonight rather than try to blast 3 loops I went super slow for everything except 4 climbs that I sprinted. After 12 sprints I was toast. The funny thing is that this strategy only added 6 minutes to my go hard for 3 laps ride. Kind of weird. What I figured out is that I am really slow at sprinting a climb. Oh well I'll keep working on it. Oh, and I wore team kit today...and looked pretty good in the summer jersey that I could not even zip shut a few months ago. Look out cptn.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Be careful, Macklin...

or they will make you repent for your sins!


Bella came home from school with this note in her folder: "I wus not gud. Love Bella." Translation: "I was not good." The question is whether she meant to sign it "Love, Bella" or whether she meant it as a command "Love Bella." as in "Gotta love that Booty Miles--she rocks!"
I want my Easter eggs in my belly! Now!
               Happy Ending

The day started off on the wrong foot--I woke up way too early to a very sad eldest child who could not find her frog sock. Things continued to slide south when I got downstairs and low and behold, it was 34 degrees and more rain--not looking so good for today's scheduled 40 mile TT.

As so frequently is the case, the Jackrabbit mafia stepped in--the Baby Moose did not miss a beat and invited me for a sit down at the pork shop for a latte--much obliged, little man. Thank you.

As we sat and talked, I mentioned to the Bull that I felt badly that I could not find T Lynn's missing frog sock and she went off to school so sad.  The Bull, after sipping long and deliberately from his latte, suggested I make my wrong doings right when she got home from school. 
He figured I could share one of our bike riding shirts with her--"Fur"--that's it, I thought, a real live Jackrabbit pelt--all would then be well.

T Lynn acknowledged my generosity with a big smile --I melted, then the little mafiosa demanded I kick a taste up.

After all, didn't I know that she was going to need it to by a new pair of frog socks tomorrow when I take her to the store.

Needless to say--I was certainly feeling lighter and it was now about 45 degrees so I rode...

Cold, wet, mud and fog-- the dirt roads were super soft-- it felt like the Crows were glued to the ground and the climbs all seemed a bit tougher today until it dawned on me that I was having a great time because I couldn't stop thinking of my little mobsters.