Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Yesterday my teammate Crazy UPS invited me out to Fredericksburg to do their Tuesday night ride. I put the bike and bag of equipment in the car, snuck out of work and hauled up to the 'Burg. The ride started at 6:00 and the weather was absolutely beautiful. It was a small crowd consisting of Crazy UPS, The Playboy, a rider in a Mellow Johnny's jersey, and M.

We took off and the pace was intense very quickly. About 5 miles out we approached a small power climb, I pulled up to the climb and Crazy UPS came around to end my pull and upped the pace as he went by. I quickly started going backwards which was the first sign I didn't have the best legs. We all struggled up after Crazy UPS and the Playboy jumped out of the saddle and passed him right at the crest of the hill letting out a "whoop" as he went by. After the short burst of intensity, the Playboy sat up to see if M would get back on and Crazy UPS and Mellow Johnny's decided to see how real that "whoop" was and took off leaving the Playboy to chase. I quickly jumped on partly because it was fun and partly because I had no clue where I was. We hammered down Jung Rd till we reached 290 and then sat up for the Playboy. The Playboy caught back on after absolutely burying himself, his face red with a mix of anger and exertion. He didn't slow down and quickly and continuously tried to punish our attempt to leave him with vicious attacks. I tried to counter one and got a gap before quickly remembering I had no clue where I was going and being off the front alone wasn't the best idea. The attacking and chasing continued till about the 22 mile mark when the road went up and my body decided to give in to the cramps that had been hinting at joining the party. I have never had cramps that bad and watched Crazy UPS, the Playboy, and Mellow Johnny's disappear. The last 8 miles were solo and a lot slower. I was able to enjoy the beautiful country that surrounds the 'Burg.

This was another in series of great rides over the past two weeks that are renewing my love for being on the bike. The guys are planning for States and while I'm very happy with my decision to forgo the 66 miles of brutal racing, I can't wait for cross season and the quirkiness it entails. I love the bike once again....

Thursday, September 24, 2009

FF Update

It's Two Post Thursday!!!!

A quick fantasy football update. Another 1-3 week last week. I won in my friends league and lost in all the others. Tom Brady is absolutely killing me. Willie Parker, what a disappointment. Mad ups to Frank Gore!!

I love this stuff........

World Champion Again

Fabian Cancellara showed his greatness in Mendrisio Switzerland today absolutely crushing the field. After passing on the UCI World TT Championship last year after the Olympics, Cancellara returned to claim his title in dominating fashion. His next closest competitor was a massive 1:27 behind him and Cancellara sat up and celebrated before the line. Absolutely owning the race!!!

Saturday Cancellara competes in the UCI World Road Race Championship and tries to become the first rider to ever do the double and win both in the same year.

What a beast......

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Not Bike Related

Cycling is a fringe sport that is a melting pot of society. It lacks the stereotypical jock element of most popular sports. It's not uncommon to be racing with guys from all walks of life that have no commonality other than cycling. One thing that separates me from most of my two wheel brethren is my love for football. I have found very few cyclist that care about football much less love it the way I do.

The NFL season started last weekend and with it Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football is a game in which you and the other contestants in the league draft players at the beginning of the year and then complete "lineups" each week. Each week you are matched up against another contestant and the score is based on the stats of the players in the "lineup". Last year was the first time I had played Fantasy Football. I finished 2nd in my league and love it so much I am playing in 4 leagues this year. 2 leagues that are friend/coworker leagues which I really want to win and two other leagues that I'm in simply to have fun. The weeks leading up to the season create so much anticipation it's amazing that it can actually live up to it.

Week 1 came and went with all the highs(not many) and lows(more than I'd like) of a Fantasy Football weekend and I am 1-3. I won my match-up in my coworkers league but lost in my friends league and my two other leagues. Now its time to search for great free agents and tinker endlessly with lineups in anticipation of next week. Have I mentioned that I love football?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sweet, Sweet Weather!!

Work has been very busy and required me to run some errands that need a car. Combine this with the rain and I haven't been on the bike in 8 days.

I woke up this morning happy to be commuting once again and enjoyed a beautiful cool 70 degree weather. It felt wonderful to be on the bike again. The ride home was under a perfectly clear sunny sky, about 90 degrees with a light wind out of the north. Factoring in the heat index it was 15-20 degrees cooler than it was a couple of weeks ago.

I can't say I've forgiven this summer but the anger has subsided. C'mon fall!!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A Mount Rushmore of One



There is a man who has been instrumental in the growth cyclocross in the US and is now the unofficial "spokesman" for the sport. He's coined "hup, hup, buttercup" and writes one of the best blogs out there. He is none other than Greg Keller. The one and only author of the MUDandCOWBELLS blog. He is the standard of blogging by which I measure myself and someday I hope to have the impact on cycling that he has had on cross.

Keller, you are the man!!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

On The Road Again....

Recently, I've lacked motivation to train for road racing with cyclocross on the horizon. However, a road race in nearby ATX with 4 other teammates was too tempting to pass up. So I headed up this morning to see what the legs had to offer. It was a strong cast for a flattish course. The Pilot, Skillz-Skelley, The Hall Monitor, and El Wonder Nino. I went in attempting my best homage to the great domestique skills of Jens Voigt.

We lined up to race and after a dry summer of minimal racing, the skies threatened rain. I quickly ran back to the car and traded the carbon wheels for the aluminum tubies. We lined up and light rain ensued. I looked over at Skillz-Skelley and we agreed to go from the beginning to avoid the mayhem of riding in a pack in the rain. The race starts and we immediately take off and try to string out the field and keep ourselves out of trouble. There was a crash 3 miles in that we later found out involved the Hall Monitor who displayed some nice skills staying up but did break a spoke in the front wheel and was unable to get back on.

The next 10 miles settles into a routine of Skillz-Skelley, The Pilot and myself attacking and patrolling the front of the field hoping to soften up the rest of the strong riders. After the first lap the field is smaller and it settles down through the first half of the second lap. Skillz-Skelley and I continue to push the pace on the rollers and my lack of road riding is rearing its ugly head. My recovery is slower and I drift into the back of the field. I worked my way back to the front just in time for some attacks. Velossimo with their new Tri phenom move to the front and attempt two hard attacks which we cover the first one and I find myself covering the second one. After Velossimo sit up I'm at the front again. I pull off and drift back to try to recover. Waiting for the legs to come back...... still waiting..... hmm, still no legs and I'm off the back. I watch the field disappear. Sorry Jens.

Hoping it's enough I roll in the last quarter of the race with another rider. A lonely finish to the race. Unfortunately, we were without any top 10 results with El Wonder Nino putting in the best finish despite spinning out in junior gears. I'll definitely be out for States to support the team again and hopefully this was the spark I need to have some decent training to come in with some form. Having teammates makes racing truly special and we have a great group of guys. Good luck though out the rest of the weekend!!!