I've been really hoping to get back on the dirt lately. My focus for the year was to get mostly into dirt racing and shy away from all but a few crits and road races. That surely hasn't been happening with the rainfall pattern of dry for a couple days then rain and repeat for the past couple months. I snuck out last Monday for a couple hours of playing around the north side of Summerset and that's been pretty much it other than an out of town excursion to FDR which happened to be dry enough to ride.
I've been supplementing with plenty of road riding which is great for keeping up fitness, but surely doesn't help much with any technical skill. Eyeing the forecast for this week, I saw the heat and thought for sure we'd dry the trails out in time to do a taco ride tonight. Unless you've got flotation devices and a way to magically avoid mud, that's not gonna happen. I'd venture to say that even if it stays hot and dry, we'll be pushed off the trails until sometime Sunday at the earliest and even then it will be muddy in spots. Maybe this weekend will call for some gravel grinding instead.
I'm working the Hy-Vee tri wheel pit for the shop on Saturday during the elite race which should be pretty cool. I hear that's the gig to have as far as being easy and able to enjoy the racing. Sunday morning I might try to make my way out to the Fuller hill on Grand to help with some heckling/cheering on of the not-so-elite athletes. Good luck to all competing!
Tonight and tomorrow I'll be hanging with the PRC ladies for the Papajohn ride tonight and Race Like a Girl tomorrow night. Both are great events and beginner friendly if you're looking to come out and play for a bit. Beyond that, it looks like the next event on the calendar is the BBQ and Blues weekend in Clear Lake. With my schedule full for the 4th weekend, I won't be able to make the jaunt over to Cedar Rapids for the state crit race.
Showing posts with label race like a girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race like a girl. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Race like a girl #2
PRC put on the 2nd installment of Race like a girl last night at Union Park. For those of you who have yet to discover this sweet little grass roots fun "race" AKA training crit, make sure you get over to experience at least one of the races this summer. It's a sweet time whether racing or spectating. Lots of great people and kids just enjoying a fun night of racing.
Come 3 o'clock yesterday I was thinking the weatherman had pulled another trick on us with the cool and overcast skies. Amazingly by 4 the clouds had parted and it was miraculously sunny and much warmer. The usual suspects made their appearances to get the roads blockaded and the equipment set up so we'd be ready for hopefully a glut of racers. As luck would have it, there was no shortage of men, women, or kids ready to race.
Plenty of action early on in the Men's A races with a decently stacked field. The Men's B (including me) had a pretty decent sized group of 14 or so racers as well. I was hoping I'd learned a little bit from the last time out where I spent most of my time leading the group around only to be gassed when it came time to make it count. The first race was a 7 lap race winner take all. I managed to stay in the pack until 1/2 way through the last lap and gave it a go. We;d spit most of the riders off by this time with just 3 or 4 of us within striking distance of each other. At the top of the little rise, one rider got past me and I ended up in 2nd. Definitely a better showing thus far.
The 2nd set of races was a miss and out race. They pulled the last 2 riders each lap until we were down to 5 and then pulled 1 rider a lap. I'm not sure how many laps we did, but I managed to keep myself in the top 3 or 4 for most of the laps until it was finally down to Matt Gumm from A9Y and I. He'd been off the front for most of the race and had soft pedalled back to us for the last lap or two. I trailed him to the top of the rise and then hit it on the outside. I'm not very sure that he gave me a true run, but regardless I pulled out in front and won my first "race". Woohoo! After that we did a 2 lap race with a neutral lap followed by a sprint lap where I just kept up and then let off at the end knowing I didn't want to give it a full go for a single lap that I really couldn't contend for anyway with my lack of sprint skills.
The final race was a 7 lap point race with points given on the odd numbered laps-1, 3, 5, and 7 points respectively. Person with the most points at the end wins. I was hoping to maybe contest for laps 3 and 5 thinking those would be the best to get points and sneak in another W. I was about 6" shy of taking lap 3, but pretty well gassed myself in the process. A small attack from a couple of DMOS riders got away at for the 5th lap and got the points leaving the rest of us gapped and trying to bridge over the 6th lap. I took a hard pull trying to reel them in, but didn't have enough left. I did however get quite the adrenaline shock though as we rounded the rise for the final time. I was out of gas and getting passed on both sides towards the top of the rise. I didn't hold my line and drifted left directly into the rear wheel of Steve Doughty. I heard the distinctive buzzing noise of front tire to back tire and then came off his wheel a split second later. Luckily it just ended with a speed bobble that I kept under control without dumping the bike. It must have shocked Randy as well though since he was slightly behind and saw it happen and threw out a choice expletive that I was thinking.
All in all a great night of racing and a lot of fun.
One of me looking all speedy and stuff.
Sterling and I wistfully pondering a great night of racing.
Come 3 o'clock yesterday I was thinking the weatherman had pulled another trick on us with the cool and overcast skies. Amazingly by 4 the clouds had parted and it was miraculously sunny and much warmer. The usual suspects made their appearances to get the roads blockaded and the equipment set up so we'd be ready for hopefully a glut of racers. As luck would have it, there was no shortage of men, women, or kids ready to race.
Plenty of action early on in the Men's A races with a decently stacked field. The Men's B (including me) had a pretty decent sized group of 14 or so racers as well. I was hoping I'd learned a little bit from the last time out where I spent most of my time leading the group around only to be gassed when it came time to make it count. The first race was a 7 lap race winner take all. I managed to stay in the pack until 1/2 way through the last lap and gave it a go. We;d spit most of the riders off by this time with just 3 or 4 of us within striking distance of each other. At the top of the little rise, one rider got past me and I ended up in 2nd. Definitely a better showing thus far.
The 2nd set of races was a miss and out race. They pulled the last 2 riders each lap until we were down to 5 and then pulled 1 rider a lap. I'm not sure how many laps we did, but I managed to keep myself in the top 3 or 4 for most of the laps until it was finally down to Matt Gumm from A9Y and I. He'd been off the front for most of the race and had soft pedalled back to us for the last lap or two. I trailed him to the top of the rise and then hit it on the outside. I'm not very sure that he gave me a true run, but regardless I pulled out in front and won my first "race". Woohoo! After that we did a 2 lap race with a neutral lap followed by a sprint lap where I just kept up and then let off at the end knowing I didn't want to give it a full go for a single lap that I really couldn't contend for anyway with my lack of sprint skills.
The final race was a 7 lap point race with points given on the odd numbered laps-1, 3, 5, and 7 points respectively. Person with the most points at the end wins. I was hoping to maybe contest for laps 3 and 5 thinking those would be the best to get points and sneak in another W. I was about 6" shy of taking lap 3, but pretty well gassed myself in the process. A small attack from a couple of DMOS riders got away at for the 5th lap and got the points leaving the rest of us gapped and trying to bridge over the 6th lap. I took a hard pull trying to reel them in, but didn't have enough left. I did however get quite the adrenaline shock though as we rounded the rise for the final time. I was out of gas and getting passed on both sides towards the top of the rise. I didn't hold my line and drifted left directly into the rear wheel of Steve Doughty. I heard the distinctive buzzing noise of front tire to back tire and then came off his wheel a split second later. Luckily it just ended with a speed bobble that I kept under control without dumping the bike. It must have shocked Randy as well though since he was slightly behind and saw it happen and threw out a choice expletive that I was thinking.
All in all a great night of racing and a lot of fun.
One of me looking all speedy and stuff.
Sterling and I wistfully pondering a great night of racing.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Back on the bike
After Almanzo it was time for a weeks worth of vacation and unlike some other lucky people, this one didn't include any sneaking in of bike time. Oh sure, I lugged a mountain bike out to Ohio, but that was to deliver it to it's new owner who I'm happy to report took it out 3 times the very week he got it from me. A great start for a new rider if I do say so. I really hope he enjoys it as much as I did. In any case, it had been a full on week and a half since I'd sat my butt on that little sliver of hard plastic we all lovingly refer to as a "saddle". It had been even longer since I'd been on the Paragon considering the on and off rain we'd had before leaving and my desire to get some hours on the Axis in prep for Almanzo's gravel goodness.
Squirrel was nice enough to put a quick shout out about riding at Summerset last night. While I had my doubts that it was dry enough or would remain dry, I was excited about the possibility. Even looking out from work as I pointed towards home, I was certain we'd be sitting in the parking lot watching the rain stream down the windshield. As I careened towards the meet-up point knowing they'd probably be getting a full lap in before I arrived, Squirrel said they were taking a quick safety break and I should be able to catch up.
The trails were slimy in spots, but not really what I consider muddy. While I was covered head to toe in splatter, I had a minimal amount coating the bike or tires which is a good thing. The slime definitely made the trails that all ready give me a nice pucker factor just that much more interesting. As I noted to Conlan and Gov, just the trail setups elevate my heart rate. Squirrel opted out feeling a bit of guilt on riding the soft trails after one lap, but the rest of us took one more spin through the north side and were greeted with a quickly drying trail that took a lot less effort and was again thoroughly enjoyed.
I'm headed over to Race like a girl tonight put on by the lovely ladies of PRC and then racing the Summerset Shootout on Sunday. This will be my first race in the sport class and I'm thinking 4 laps is going to hurt pretty good by the time all is said and done. I'm betting on roughly a 2 hour finish time for the sport class riders. We also have some good friends coming in to town for the race and I'm looking forward to playing trail tour guide on Saturday for them. I love showing off the goodness that is the Center Trails. Hope to see some of you out there soon.
Squirrel was nice enough to put a quick shout out about riding at Summerset last night. While I had my doubts that it was dry enough or would remain dry, I was excited about the possibility. Even looking out from work as I pointed towards home, I was certain we'd be sitting in the parking lot watching the rain stream down the windshield. As I careened towards the meet-up point knowing they'd probably be getting a full lap in before I arrived, Squirrel said they were taking a quick safety break and I should be able to catch up.
The trails were slimy in spots, but not really what I consider muddy. While I was covered head to toe in splatter, I had a minimal amount coating the bike or tires which is a good thing. The slime definitely made the trails that all ready give me a nice pucker factor just that much more interesting. As I noted to Conlan and Gov, just the trail setups elevate my heart rate. Squirrel opted out feeling a bit of guilt on riding the soft trails after one lap, but the rest of us took one more spin through the north side and were greeted with a quickly drying trail that took a lot less effort and was again thoroughly enjoyed.
I'm headed over to Race like a girl tonight put on by the lovely ladies of PRC and then racing the Summerset Shootout on Sunday. This will be my first race in the sport class and I'm thinking 4 laps is going to hurt pretty good by the time all is said and done. I'm betting on roughly a 2 hour finish time for the sport class riders. We also have some good friends coming in to town for the race and I'm looking forward to playing trail tour guide on Saturday for them. I love showing off the goodness that is the Center Trails. Hope to see some of you out there soon.
Monday, April 27, 2009
A week of riding and a weekend of not
I took a few days off the bike at the beginning of last week, but by Wednesday the pull was too strong to resist. I actually rode into work for the first time this year which was pretty damn nice if I do say so. I chased the gorgeous weather out the door in time to join Maria from PRC for a few hot laps doing hill repeats at McRea Park. She had to bail after just a lap or two so I stayed around for a couple more before heading off to the shop. I joined in on the Papa John's ride as the Paragon was still sitting broken. While I think my off road skills have been doing well, it seems to have come at a cost of my top end on the road. One lap of the route had me on the verge of hurling by the time we hit the top of the soccer hill so naturally, I opted to hit one more lap just to make it fun. Actually, lap #2 wasn't quite as bad as the lead group backed it down a few notches. We headed back to the shop for some free pizza! Woohoo. I took a slice and then hit the road to join the guys for a taco and beer at Gif's before winding my way home enjoying a perfect evening and a little after dark riding. I wound up with a bit over 65 miles on the day.
Thursday was the return of the "Race like a girl" series at Union Park. I headed over early to help with setup and get a few warmup laps in as well. I felt decent during the warmup and thought the racing would be pretty fun. The racing was fun even though I really didn't do much for results other than act as a good lead out guy only to get dropped as soon as the real roadies turned up the volume to 11. I think there's just a combination of things that I need to work on that are keeping me from having that top end snap. I need some more work on sprinting and high end interval training for sure, but having relatively heavy equipment and wheels doesn't do a whole lot for me either. I was really excited to have Miranda and Corley come out to watch the races as it gave me a chance to share more of what I do with them. We also had a nice group of other spectators which was great to see.
I enjoyed Wednesday's ride in so much, I repeated for Friday. I hopped on the cross bike this time and was even pondering a long route home with a detour through Denmans. I haven't had the chance to ride the dirt on anything other than my fat tires, so I was looking forward to the excursion. Fast forward and the plans changed as we got late notice the zoo was having an event that night. Not one to pass up too many opportunities to hang with my girls, it was a no brainer that we were headed to the zoo. We got to watch the trainers put the sea lions and seals through their paces, do a few activities, and wander around a bit before they kicked us out and we went in search of frozen custard to top off the evening.
And that my friends kicked off the weekend of not riding. Oh sure, I had great intentions of riding, but they never materialized. Saturday morning I woke up to threatening skies and decided to give into to snoozing and lounging around for a while longer. I finally made my way out to the garage and got a few things done on the motor I've been tinkering along with. I can't say really that I've been working on it as its taking me forever so I think tinkering is much more apropos.
Miranda was working Saturday night so it was Corley and I hanging for the evening. We ventured off to a friend's wedding to watch them share in the nuptials. It was a really laid back affair and more of a formality than anything else so we just kicked back, enjoyed some free food and cake, bid our best wishes and headed out. We capped off the evening with a trot our Jordan Creek including (to the horror of my wife) a trip into the germ pen of destruction aka the mall play area. Corley had a blast and as figured I had to peel her away from the play area when it came time to depart. I've been in search of a winter coat to replace the trusty yellow steed that has served me the past 4 or so years. I'm about a month late catching the end of season sales and now I can't find a damn thing so I'm thinking I'll have to resort to online clearance houses such as REI and Sierra Trading Post. Anyone got a link to a favorite winter coat they want to share? Preferably, I'd like to find something with a zip out liner so I can use it multi-season.
Sunday dawned overcast and wet. Though it wasn't raining, I didn't feel like taking the risk of getting soaked by going for a ride so I pitched that out the window again. I opted for a bit more time working in the garage and tinkered a bit further along. Miranda had a gift show that seemed to be a bit of a flop (per most of our excursions) and Corley and I loaded up to do dinner with friends. Miranda joined up with us after her show and me made quite the evening getting together with friends to create a fancy meal with new flavors. All in all, quite an evening. Yup welcome to my life.
Thursday was the return of the "Race like a girl" series at Union Park. I headed over early to help with setup and get a few warmup laps in as well. I felt decent during the warmup and thought the racing would be pretty fun. The racing was fun even though I really didn't do much for results other than act as a good lead out guy only to get dropped as soon as the real roadies turned up the volume to 11. I think there's just a combination of things that I need to work on that are keeping me from having that top end snap. I need some more work on sprinting and high end interval training for sure, but having relatively heavy equipment and wheels doesn't do a whole lot for me either. I was really excited to have Miranda and Corley come out to watch the races as it gave me a chance to share more of what I do with them. We also had a nice group of other spectators which was great to see.
I enjoyed Wednesday's ride in so much, I repeated for Friday. I hopped on the cross bike this time and was even pondering a long route home with a detour through Denmans. I haven't had the chance to ride the dirt on anything other than my fat tires, so I was looking forward to the excursion. Fast forward and the plans changed as we got late notice the zoo was having an event that night. Not one to pass up too many opportunities to hang with my girls, it was a no brainer that we were headed to the zoo. We got to watch the trainers put the sea lions and seals through their paces, do a few activities, and wander around a bit before they kicked us out and we went in search of frozen custard to top off the evening.
And that my friends kicked off the weekend of not riding. Oh sure, I had great intentions of riding, but they never materialized. Saturday morning I woke up to threatening skies and decided to give into to snoozing and lounging around for a while longer. I finally made my way out to the garage and got a few things done on the motor I've been tinkering along with. I can't say really that I've been working on it as its taking me forever so I think tinkering is much more apropos.
Miranda was working Saturday night so it was Corley and I hanging for the evening. We ventured off to a friend's wedding to watch them share in the nuptials. It was a really laid back affair and more of a formality than anything else so we just kicked back, enjoyed some free food and cake, bid our best wishes and headed out. We capped off the evening with a trot our Jordan Creek including (to the horror of my wife) a trip into the germ pen of destruction aka the mall play area. Corley had a blast and as figured I had to peel her away from the play area when it came time to depart. I've been in search of a winter coat to replace the trusty yellow steed that has served me the past 4 or so years. I'm about a month late catching the end of season sales and now I can't find a damn thing so I'm thinking I'll have to resort to online clearance houses such as REI and Sierra Trading Post. Anyone got a link to a favorite winter coat they want to share? Preferably, I'd like to find something with a zip out liner so I can use it multi-season.
Sunday dawned overcast and wet. Though it wasn't raining, I didn't feel like taking the risk of getting soaked by going for a ride so I pitched that out the window again. I opted for a bit more time working in the garage and tinkered a bit further along. Miranda had a gift show that seemed to be a bit of a flop (per most of our excursions) and Corley and I loaded up to do dinner with friends. Miranda joined up with us after her show and me made quite the evening getting together with friends to create a fancy meal with new flavors. All in all, quite an evening. Yup welcome to my life.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Rain and pain
Wow, from driving home in sideways rain last night to seeing several cars in flooded out streets over lunch, it's been a while since I can remember seeing it rain that hard. Hopefully most of you are staying dry. I brought my bike in to work today (on the rack) since I had way too much work with me to possibly ride. So my bike got the chance for repeated washings as the storms moved through. At least it will wash off some of the leftover road grime from Saturday's race. I should probably think about tearing it down and lubing things again though. I'm not sure if Race like a girl will still happen tonight or not.
I'm actually hoping it gets cancelled out for personal reasons. You see, I woke up this morning and felt pretty good. Considering the hours I've put in this week topped off by 6 hours of driving yetserday, I was actually pretty chipper. That was until I bent over to pick something up. I have no idea what in the hell happened, but now I'm stuck with a pain in the small of by back that radiates down my right leg. I'm sure I've pinched some nerve in there, but damn, I didn't even do anything or lift anything over 10 lbs. So, I'm back to hoping RLAG is cancelled so I don't have to struggle with my inner demons telling me to pop a couple tylenol and go for it. Considering I haven't been able to get on a bike since Sunday morning, those demons are screaming pretty loudly.
The flip side is that if I hold off on riding, I might be in better shape to try and help CITA do some work at the center trails on Saturday. I'm hoping I get to do both, but we'll see at this point. I just wish I knew what caused the change in my back. In the mean time, don't forget about the arts festival this weekend in the western gateway park. It should be a great time and it sounds like the weekend weather is going to be killer.
I'm actually hoping it gets cancelled out for personal reasons. You see, I woke up this morning and felt pretty good. Considering the hours I've put in this week topped off by 6 hours of driving yetserday, I was actually pretty chipper. That was until I bent over to pick something up. I have no idea what in the hell happened, but now I'm stuck with a pain in the small of by back that radiates down my right leg. I'm sure I've pinched some nerve in there, but damn, I didn't even do anything or lift anything over 10 lbs. So, I'm back to hoping RLAG is cancelled so I don't have to struggle with my inner demons telling me to pop a couple tylenol and go for it. Considering I haven't been able to get on a bike since Sunday morning, those demons are screaming pretty loudly.
The flip side is that if I hold off on riding, I might be in better shape to try and help CITA do some work at the center trails on Saturday. I'm hoping I get to do both, but we'll see at this point. I just wish I knew what caused the change in my back. In the mean time, don't forget about the arts festival this weekend in the western gateway park. It should be a great time and it sounds like the weekend weather is going to be killer.
Friday, May 23, 2008
No race like a girl for me (or anyone else)
I can't say I was completely surprised by the race being cancelled last night since the call had to be made roughly by 3 to get everything and everyone halted in time and at 3 it was drizzling pretty decently. Add in the fact that this weekend is arguably one of the biggest race weekends in the midwest and it was almost a no brainer that people weren't going to want to race in the rain for what's pretty much training purposes with the big weekend on the line. Definitely disappointing, but completely understandable.
Having an open Thursday night did give me the opportunity to catch another ride I'd been meaning to this spring. The Thursday night DMCC ride is run by a friend of mine. It was Tuesday nights last year and one of the staples of my weekly rides. I had yet to make it this year, but with the threat of rain mostly passed, I jumped on the opportunity. Of course, one of the reasons I haven't been doing many of the DMCC rides is the pace most run at. I've been working on my strength and speed this year so unless I need to plug along at recovery pace, I'm usually off the front and mostly on my own. I rode a few miles with the group until another rider took the lead and I jumped on with him. Soon enough we were cruising in the low 20's and just kept the pace all the way to Martensdale while doing a bit of chatting. I managed to keep the pace high as we came the last few miles into town and put a decent gap on him. Score one for the work I've been putting in. We rested for about 10 minutes or so before the rest of the group came in and then headed back a few minutes later. I pushed again as my legs felt pretty ugly starting back up, but soon enough I was working well and trying to keep in my drops more than usual. I blasted my way up to Bambino's in Orilla and made the stop for dinner and beer. Another rider joined me and we passed an hour sucking down a couple of brews as I enjoyed my Italian Grinder. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a stop on the Great Western Trail.
The pace was a tad bit slower as we headed back to the trail head. It was getting dark and now fueled by beer and sausage, plus fighting a calf cramp, it was time to ease up. I still managed the out and back in under 2 hours which is pretty close to my best time and no drafting. My best time included a 4 person pace line and really was only a few 10ths of a MPH faster which I probably would have beat if it weren't for the refreshment stop.
For some reason I had a calf cramp last night which is something new for me. I don't think it was hydration or food related. I'm wondering if it was due to spending more time in an "aero" position by either riding in the drops or doing a deep arm bend while holding the hoods. I probably spent 45 minutes or so in those two positions which is probably 30 minutes longer than I ever have before. Any of you wonderful readers have an opinion? Speaking of readers, damn, my readership was way up this week. I'm sure a good portion of it is due to Squirrel and The Almanzo both posting links to my blog, but it's great to see the numbers up after averaging only a reader or two daily on average.
Having an open Thursday night did give me the opportunity to catch another ride I'd been meaning to this spring. The Thursday night DMCC ride is run by a friend of mine. It was Tuesday nights last year and one of the staples of my weekly rides. I had yet to make it this year, but with the threat of rain mostly passed, I jumped on the opportunity. Of course, one of the reasons I haven't been doing many of the DMCC rides is the pace most run at. I've been working on my strength and speed this year so unless I need to plug along at recovery pace, I'm usually off the front and mostly on my own. I rode a few miles with the group until another rider took the lead and I jumped on with him. Soon enough we were cruising in the low 20's and just kept the pace all the way to Martensdale while doing a bit of chatting. I managed to keep the pace high as we came the last few miles into town and put a decent gap on him. Score one for the work I've been putting in. We rested for about 10 minutes or so before the rest of the group came in and then headed back a few minutes later. I pushed again as my legs felt pretty ugly starting back up, but soon enough I was working well and trying to keep in my drops more than usual. I blasted my way up to Bambino's in Orilla and made the stop for dinner and beer. Another rider joined me and we passed an hour sucking down a couple of brews as I enjoyed my Italian Grinder. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a stop on the Great Western Trail.
The pace was a tad bit slower as we headed back to the trail head. It was getting dark and now fueled by beer and sausage, plus fighting a calf cramp, it was time to ease up. I still managed the out and back in under 2 hours which is pretty close to my best time and no drafting. My best time included a 4 person pace line and really was only a few 10ths of a MPH faster which I probably would have beat if it weren't for the refreshment stop.
For some reason I had a calf cramp last night which is something new for me. I don't think it was hydration or food related. I'm wondering if it was due to spending more time in an "aero" position by either riding in the drops or doing a deep arm bend while holding the hoods. I probably spent 45 minutes or so in those two positions which is probably 30 minutes longer than I ever have before. Any of you wonderful readers have an opinion? Speaking of readers, damn, my readership was way up this week. I'm sure a good portion of it is due to Squirrel and The Almanzo both posting links to my blog, but it's great to see the numbers up after averaging only a reader or two daily on average.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Taco Ride, whoops...
The Taco ride was on last night. Numbers were down a bit, but we still had about 10 total riders. We hopped the berm over to Denman's and took off. I stayed to the back as I just wanted to ride pretty easy and enjoy myself. I tagged on to a couple other riders and managed to fall down on a single log crossing as I was going to slow. Nothing hurt but my pride, I got back up and just kept the pace nice and easy. I did make an effort to tag back on to the tail of the group by the end of Denman's and found everyone else stopped at Dirty Express.
The railroad track crossing into Squirrel's nest saw the only major crash of the night with a rider shooting over the handlebars after tangling with the steel tracks. More easy flow and swoop through the back sections and it was time for Hillside. I've been working on keeping my breathing even and rythmic as I raise my heart rate so that was the plan for tonight as well. The group turned left at the top of the first climb while I went for some bonus climb to the right. After a short stint I stopped for a second to get my bearings. I looked back and noted that I hadn't zipped my seat pack up before leaving the shop. Hmmm. A quick inspection noted only one item missing- MY KEYS! Shit. Time to turn around and hope for a miracle in finding them along 6 miles or narrow singletrack with mostly grass covering both sides of a 12" path.
I tracked back down Hillside and took a quick swing up to the parking area to let the other guys know I was headed back and hopefully would catch them at Gif's for tacos and beer. I rode off in hopes of finding my keys. After back tracking through roughly 80% of the trail I stopped for a young kid riding a hybrid bike on the trail as he was walking across the log bridge in Denman's. Sure enough, I looked down and my keys were sitting about as perfectly as could be at the base of a tree right after the log bridge. There were situated so perfectly, I couldn't tell if someone else had found them and set them there or if luck was on my side. Either way, I counted my blessings and called of the search and rescue message I had put into Miranda's voicemail.
I swooped back through Denman's in reverse soaking up each foot of singletrack and enjoying every second I was out there. Off to Valley Junction to meet the guy's for refueling and all was right in the world again. I will put one note of caution in though- be prepared for your backside to be inhospitable to anyone in a 20' radius after consuming several Old Styles and tacos after the ride. Wow, talk about a brown cloud!
Just a quick reminder for tonight- hit the Race Like a Girl series in Union Park as long as the weather holds out. I'm planning to make what I'm sure will be a quite unspectacular showing in the men's B race as my first road racing experience. Also, Saturday is another work day for CITA at Summerset park in Indianola. I'll be headed down for my first work day of the year and hopefully see some other people there. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the singletrack for the first time after we're done.
The railroad track crossing into Squirrel's nest saw the only major crash of the night with a rider shooting over the handlebars after tangling with the steel tracks. More easy flow and swoop through the back sections and it was time for Hillside. I've been working on keeping my breathing even and rythmic as I raise my heart rate so that was the plan for tonight as well. The group turned left at the top of the first climb while I went for some bonus climb to the right. After a short stint I stopped for a second to get my bearings. I looked back and noted that I hadn't zipped my seat pack up before leaving the shop. Hmmm. A quick inspection noted only one item missing- MY KEYS! Shit. Time to turn around and hope for a miracle in finding them along 6 miles or narrow singletrack with mostly grass covering both sides of a 12" path.
I tracked back down Hillside and took a quick swing up to the parking area to let the other guys know I was headed back and hopefully would catch them at Gif's for tacos and beer. I rode off in hopes of finding my keys. After back tracking through roughly 80% of the trail I stopped for a young kid riding a hybrid bike on the trail as he was walking across the log bridge in Denman's. Sure enough, I looked down and my keys were sitting about as perfectly as could be at the base of a tree right after the log bridge. There were situated so perfectly, I couldn't tell if someone else had found them and set them there or if luck was on my side. Either way, I counted my blessings and called of the search and rescue message I had put into Miranda's voicemail.
I swooped back through Denman's in reverse soaking up each foot of singletrack and enjoying every second I was out there. Off to Valley Junction to meet the guy's for refueling and all was right in the world again. I will put one note of caution in though- be prepared for your backside to be inhospitable to anyone in a 20' radius after consuming several Old Styles and tacos after the ride. Wow, talk about a brown cloud!
Just a quick reminder for tonight- hit the Race Like a Girl series in Union Park as long as the weather holds out. I'm planning to make what I'm sure will be a quite unspectacular showing in the men's B race as my first road racing experience. Also, Saturday is another work day for CITA at Summerset park in Indianola. I'll be headed down for my first work day of the year and hopefully see some other people there. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the singletrack for the first time after we're done.
Friday, April 25, 2008
WTF man?
That's my general attitude today. I just don't get it. I think life just relishes the opportunity to kick a number of us in the balls on a semi-frequent basis just hard enough to let us know it's there and watching, waiting for our next slip-up. Maybe I'm just stressed and more high strung than usual, but damn.
After a pretty enjoyable evening spent with my daughter. OK, so I had someone else helping keep her entertained and an eye on her for an hour while I helped do something else, but it was still time spent. We went to watch the PRC Race like a girl installment and I lent a hand with registration. Corley was also kind enough to lend her bike horn to be used as the bell for the laps that required such a cacophony of sound. All in all, the racing was good and looked like a lot of fun. So much in fact that I'll probably try my hand at the men's B class next time.
Fast forward to today. I'm perusing the various bike blogs and enjoying my first cup of coffee when my boss walks in talking about a worrisome email he received from one of our bigger customers. Seems there was some tension about a project being delivered late, extra costs, and all the usual shit that goes with it. Not necessarily a big deal, except that the main man at said customer also got copied on the email. As it's my project, I rush to damage control confirming all the information and explaining why it wasn't our fault said project was delayed. An hours worth of anxiety later, I get a call from my contact and a reassurance that this whole mess is actually no fault of our own, but instead an issue between them and the contractor. Whew, my heart can go back to normal pacing, and my panties unbunch. Just enough of a kick to let me know life's watching...
Last night after I got home, my beautiful wife comes home from her mom's night out. Now she should be fully relaxed, in high spirits, and possibly in "the mood". Well, I all ready knew there would be no mood due to certain visitation rights being currently restricted, but to top that off she came home with a headache and requesting deep tissue massage. Damn, that kills my evening plans for fucking off on the net and surfing crap sites for a laugh.
Before mom's night out commenced, she met up with another friend of ours to have a long overdue discussion. Now, I don't plan to offend anyone here, but if so, fuck it. This is just another reason why organised religion bugs the shit out of me. Every single one of them is "the" right one and everyone else is wrong in some way or another. Our friend has managed to find his religion. That's cool by me. I have no issues with people finding something that works for them that they can believe in. However, don't come to me looking for me to fall to my knees, repent, and find God because you did and now you're worried about me or feel it's your duty to God to attempt to save me. Apparently this is our friend's new mission in life. Considering the fact that he and my wife dated in high school, we've been friends as a couple for going on 10 years, and done some things together, we feel we know or at least knew him pretty well. In any case, the discussion with my wife apparently got pretty heated and there was discussion of whether or not we could continue to be friends. On top of that, we're god parents to their son as well. Now this decision was made way before he or his wife found their religion. Now it would seem, we're not good enough to raise him. Fine by me. But man, that's still a kick in the nuts to find out because they've changed that you're dropped off someones "worthy" list.
Speaking of worthy lists, I'm apparently on the shit end of yet another. I applied for membership of a certain yahoo group for the second time now. I'm not sure if it's a misunderstanding or what (I somehow doubt it), but the first time my application expired and therefor wasn't approved. OK, you're busy, I can get that. The second time it was flat out rejected by the list owner. Now I've been told who the list owner/moderator is and actually thought I had some rapore with him considering I've used his services in the past, done some volunteer work for his events, and sing some praise for the things he's done. Just another tap I guess. So I hoist my hands in the air and give the universal signal for WTF man?!
After a pretty enjoyable evening spent with my daughter. OK, so I had someone else helping keep her entertained and an eye on her for an hour while I helped do something else, but it was still time spent. We went to watch the PRC Race like a girl installment and I lent a hand with registration. Corley was also kind enough to lend her bike horn to be used as the bell for the laps that required such a cacophony of sound. All in all, the racing was good and looked like a lot of fun. So much in fact that I'll probably try my hand at the men's B class next time.
Fast forward to today. I'm perusing the various bike blogs and enjoying my first cup of coffee when my boss walks in talking about a worrisome email he received from one of our bigger customers. Seems there was some tension about a project being delivered late, extra costs, and all the usual shit that goes with it. Not necessarily a big deal, except that the main man at said customer also got copied on the email. As it's my project, I rush to damage control confirming all the information and explaining why it wasn't our fault said project was delayed. An hours worth of anxiety later, I get a call from my contact and a reassurance that this whole mess is actually no fault of our own, but instead an issue between them and the contractor. Whew, my heart can go back to normal pacing, and my panties unbunch. Just enough of a kick to let me know life's watching...
Last night after I got home, my beautiful wife comes home from her mom's night out. Now she should be fully relaxed, in high spirits, and possibly in "the mood". Well, I all ready knew there would be no mood due to certain visitation rights being currently restricted, but to top that off she came home with a headache and requesting deep tissue massage. Damn, that kills my evening plans for fucking off on the net and surfing crap sites for a laugh.
Before mom's night out commenced, she met up with another friend of ours to have a long overdue discussion. Now, I don't plan to offend anyone here, but if so, fuck it. This is just another reason why organised religion bugs the shit out of me. Every single one of them is "the" right one and everyone else is wrong in some way or another. Our friend has managed to find his religion. That's cool by me. I have no issues with people finding something that works for them that they can believe in. However, don't come to me looking for me to fall to my knees, repent, and find God because you did and now you're worried about me or feel it's your duty to God to attempt to save me. Apparently this is our friend's new mission in life. Considering the fact that he and my wife dated in high school, we've been friends as a couple for going on 10 years, and done some things together, we feel we know or at least knew him pretty well. In any case, the discussion with my wife apparently got pretty heated and there was discussion of whether or not we could continue to be friends. On top of that, we're god parents to their son as well. Now this decision was made way before he or his wife found their religion. Now it would seem, we're not good enough to raise him. Fine by me. But man, that's still a kick in the nuts to find out because they've changed that you're dropped off someones "worthy" list.
Speaking of worthy lists, I'm apparently on the shit end of yet another. I applied for membership of a certain yahoo group for the second time now. I'm not sure if it's a misunderstanding or what (I somehow doubt it), but the first time my application expired and therefor wasn't approved. OK, you're busy, I can get that. The second time it was flat out rejected by the list owner. Now I've been told who the list owner/moderator is and actually thought I had some rapore with him considering I've used his services in the past, done some volunteer work for his events, and sing some praise for the things he's done. Just another tap I guess. So I hoist my hands in the air and give the universal signal for WTF man?!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday ritual
I hit the Ritual ride again last night. It's quickly become my favorite group ride this year. There are enough people of different abilities that I can ride as hard or easy as I like and typically never end up riding alone. Someone said there were almost 50 riders last night! That's just awesome. There were also a lot more women last night making up the contingent which was also great to see.
We did our typical ride route with a split up for the faster group to do an additional loop through Water works park. That gave the other riders a chance to get out in front and have us catch back on. I think we caught them about the time we started the road portion of the loop. As usual, the two big hills created the separation again. There's one hill just before the turn off Maffit road and then another down by the soccer fields. Both are just long enough and hard enough that it really separates out the pack into a number of smaller groups. A small group rolled up to the stop light at 63rd street and took off from there to hit the bike trail again. We rolled pretty leisurely back to Ritual Cafe and waited for the rest.
Ritual graciously stayed open until 8 for our group and it was good to see people taking advantage of that fact by spending some money with those nice folks. After hanging out for about a half hour a few of us rolled up to A-Dong for a great dinner. I headed home about nine in the dark. I'm still pretty new to night riding so the novelty of it is great for me. My wife- not so much. She's definitely not happy if I'm riding in the dark. About my only thing I need to change is to pick up a stronger headlight. I'm all ready running a Planet Bike superflash on the rear, but the front light is a cheap lightweight unit that just gives me enough light to add some safety marking, but not really light the road. Another awesome Wednesday in the books!
A reminder for the few that actually read this- Race like a girl is starting tonight. I'm trying to head over early enough to help with registration, but I'll have my hands full with my daughter as well. I hope to see you there!
We did our typical ride route with a split up for the faster group to do an additional loop through Water works park. That gave the other riders a chance to get out in front and have us catch back on. I think we caught them about the time we started the road portion of the loop. As usual, the two big hills created the separation again. There's one hill just before the turn off Maffit road and then another down by the soccer fields. Both are just long enough and hard enough that it really separates out the pack into a number of smaller groups. A small group rolled up to the stop light at 63rd street and took off from there to hit the bike trail again. We rolled pretty leisurely back to Ritual Cafe and waited for the rest.
Ritual graciously stayed open until 8 for our group and it was good to see people taking advantage of that fact by spending some money with those nice folks. After hanging out for about a half hour a few of us rolled up to A-Dong for a great dinner. I headed home about nine in the dark. I'm still pretty new to night riding so the novelty of it is great for me. My wife- not so much. She's definitely not happy if I'm riding in the dark. About my only thing I need to change is to pick up a stronger headlight. I'm all ready running a Planet Bike superflash on the rear, but the front light is a cheap lightweight unit that just gives me enough light to add some safety marking, but not really light the road. Another awesome Wednesday in the books!
A reminder for the few that actually read this- Race like a girl is starting tonight. I'm trying to head over early enough to help with registration, but I'll have my hands full with my daughter as well. I hope to see you there!
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