Sunday, October 9, 2011
Only five?
So I was asked if I was going to blog about how I had a rather undramatic fall during a four and a half hour mountain bike ride and sliced my knee open and had to go get five stitches later that day to close it up. So, there, I just did. Never fun to see the little white bits inside of yourself...
Friday, September 16, 2011
A Post for Me That I Won't Keep for Me: It ain't always all about bikes...
Before I chicken out and send this to the saved-but-never-posted pile, I'm going to hit "post" and dedicate this one to all the posts I've kept to myself that maybe didn't deserve it.
It kind of bums me out that I don't write as much as I'd like to. I clearly remember when I fell in love with writing. In grade school (I think it must have been 4th grade) we had a creative writing assignment where we had to take a number of classmates and put them into a story that had a particular beginning scenario (I vaguely remember its having something to do with getting lost in a cave). I became completely engrossed in my story and enjoyed the first experience (of many) of having my brain surge ahead of the words making it onto the page. By the time my cramping little fingers made the pencil catch up with my racing mind I was light-headed and hyperventilating. True story.
From that time on I didn't really need school assignments to make me put words on paper. As I grew older it included WAY too much sappy poetry (although I eventually did get a kind of clever little allegory about a girl who trusted her parachute more than me published in the college "black book." *)
When I met Kris I was doing some writing. It was actually a pretty creative period of my life fueled by an abundance of free time (remember free time? no?). I would work hard, ride my bike hard and spend my lonely evenings working out guitar parts or tapping away on my computer. I kept starting stories but not finishing them. I even outlined a novel and wrote a few character-defining sections of it. And I kept wanting to take some writing courses but didn't have the enterprise to get it done. Like my writing at the time, I was dangerously close to stalling out in my life and not getting to where I wanted to be. Luckily Kris and I were flung toward each other like two lumps of clay at high speed squished into each other so thoroughly no one will ever know ever again where one part begins and the other ends.
Then, like most people who collide with the soul they were destined to meld with, life got really busy and writing became a forgotten pleasure. And along with all the wonderful pleasures all that busyness brings, I came off the rails a little and things got a little dark. I started writing as a way to vent and I really didn't like where it was going and what I was reading from myself. But those never-to-see-the-light-of-day bitter ramblings kind of helped me to work out many things that put me back on the beautiful charmed joyous path I'm on now. Thank fate for putting me with Kris and her being so supportive of the second most important thing that came out of that time, falling back in love with being a cyclist -and returning to the world of a racing cyclist at that. But with all that bike riding, writing has taken a back seat again only to surface with race reports and the occasional guilty, "I really should write something" blather.
So here it is almost midnight on a Thursday night and I just felt the need to write an essay about, well, anything. Hell I'm writing an essay about writing for cripe's sake! I guess it's just a part of who I am that I can no more shut off than this damn love of murdering myself over my handlebars or thinking about my son and Kris and having a warm rush of love fill me up. And that, you dark mother fucker, is the hole you were so desperate to fill up.
* It went...
*Parachute You*
If I were a parachute,
then I think you'd jump.
And I'd set you down to earth,
In a gentle lump.
But... and I can't remember the rest of it but the gist was "If you pack me wrong then I'm just some pathetic sap you won't fall for..." Get it? Fall for. Fucking clever shit right there. And it wasn't even remotely subtle since my muse was very heavily into sky diving... I think I caught her doing about-faces and walking swiftly in the opposite direction from me for quite awhile after that.
It kind of bums me out that I don't write as much as I'd like to. I clearly remember when I fell in love with writing. In grade school (I think it must have been 4th grade) we had a creative writing assignment where we had to take a number of classmates and put them into a story that had a particular beginning scenario (I vaguely remember its having something to do with getting lost in a cave). I became completely engrossed in my story and enjoyed the first experience (of many) of having my brain surge ahead of the words making it onto the page. By the time my cramping little fingers made the pencil catch up with my racing mind I was light-headed and hyperventilating. True story.
From that time on I didn't really need school assignments to make me put words on paper. As I grew older it included WAY too much sappy poetry (although I eventually did get a kind of clever little allegory about a girl who trusted her parachute more than me published in the college "black book." *)
When I met Kris I was doing some writing. It was actually a pretty creative period of my life fueled by an abundance of free time (remember free time? no?). I would work hard, ride my bike hard and spend my lonely evenings working out guitar parts or tapping away on my computer. I kept starting stories but not finishing them. I even outlined a novel and wrote a few character-defining sections of it. And I kept wanting to take some writing courses but didn't have the enterprise to get it done. Like my writing at the time, I was dangerously close to stalling out in my life and not getting to where I wanted to be. Luckily Kris and I were flung toward each other like two lumps of clay at high speed squished into each other so thoroughly no one will ever know ever again where one part begins and the other ends.
Then, like most people who collide with the soul they were destined to meld with, life got really busy and writing became a forgotten pleasure. And along with all the wonderful pleasures all that busyness brings, I came off the rails a little and things got a little dark. I started writing as a way to vent and I really didn't like where it was going and what I was reading from myself. But those never-to-see-the-light-of-day bitter ramblings kind of helped me to work out many things that put me back on the beautiful charmed joyous path I'm on now. Thank fate for putting me with Kris and her being so supportive of the second most important thing that came out of that time, falling back in love with being a cyclist -and returning to the world of a racing cyclist at that. But with all that bike riding, writing has taken a back seat again only to surface with race reports and the occasional guilty, "I really should write something" blather.
So here it is almost midnight on a Thursday night and I just felt the need to write an essay about, well, anything. Hell I'm writing an essay about writing for cripe's sake! I guess it's just a part of who I am that I can no more shut off than this damn love of murdering myself over my handlebars or thinking about my son and Kris and having a warm rush of love fill me up. And that, you dark mother fucker, is the hole you were so desperate to fill up.
* It went...
*Parachute You*
If I were a parachute,
then I think you'd jump.
And I'd set you down to earth,
In a gentle lump.
But... and I can't remember the rest of it but the gist was "If you pack me wrong then I'm just some pathetic sap you won't fall for..." Get it? Fall for. Fucking clever shit right there. And it wasn't even remotely subtle since my muse was very heavily into sky diving... I think I caught her doing about-faces and walking swiftly in the opposite direction from me for quite awhile after that.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
San Ardo Road Race: 8/20/11: YdoIdothistome?
Well this is my third time with this race and I seem to get worse every time I try it! In '97 I had a fun looong breakaway and then had enough legs to survive the field sprint. Two years ago I rode too hard and ended up cramping but still was able to spin in the field sprint.
Since this is a race that tends to get a little boring with everyone plodding along for 63.5 miles and then racing the last kilometer, I wanted to try to get a break going from way out. So I gave myself a 20 minute window to try that at the end of the first lap/ beginning of the second lap. I was hoping to get something going on the flat going into San Ardo and then stretch it and get out of sight on the climb and following rollers going out of town. Unfortunately NOBODY wanted to see that happen. I just can't get a grip on negative racing. Do people really enjoy a boring three hour ride followed by a field sprint? (I know I know it's more about racing and results and if you want fun go for a mtb ride...) That's just not fun racing to me. I attacked and counter attacked and counter counter attacked until I was crosseyed but I simply couldn't stretch the elastic. The biggest gap I was ever able to create was only about 20 seconds and I couldn't get anyone else to go. There were a couple people riding hard at the front but no one was attacking.
Sidebar: Attacking: Riding hard at the front is not attacking. Pulling hard and slowly ramping up to speed is not attacking. Generally any kind of riding hard at the front that does not create gaps is not attacking. If there is a rider with two or three bike lengths ahead and you want to make a breakaway you have to JUMP across that gap. If you ride hard across that gap you are only going to pull the pack with you. Now if only the only two or three other animated riders in yesterday's race would read that... Oh and another thing. If you are trying to get a flyer going with two or three other riders you have to share major efforts with those guys for a few pulls. If you let ANY other rider into that rotation you screwed up.
But. whaddiknow?
Anyway. Despite riding myself crosseyed I just couldn't get away. So I settled back into the pack for a 38 mile snooze. Pathetic (both that I couldn't get away and the negative racing in the pack). Oh, and while I'm whining can I just say how flipping frustrating it is to see CAT FOUR racers on deep dish carbon wheels, and $4,000 + bikes? Oh, and the pinnacle of this absurdity is that I finally saw a CAT FOUR racer on Di2. Let me repeat that. I saw a CAT FOUR racer with a $3800 Dura Ace electronic groupo on a $2000 frameset using $1800 wheels. My car isn't worth that much money.
So then we finally sniffed San Ardo in the distance and the pace went up. Surprisingly, I found myself near the front and in good position. I got swarmed a little coming into town but then worked my way back up the side and into decent position on the climb. I was off to the side maybe five wheels back when the rider in front of me (who I had earlier determined to be a strong finisher) jumped hard. I went too but then going under the freeway just before the turn my legs simply quit on me. I sat down and pushed as hard as I could through the turn and to the finish but pretty much the entire pack went by before the finish line came. I don't think I've ever faded that hard in a sprint in my life. It was quite shocking, really. I'm no stranger to going too early but usually I can hold it and scratch something out of it. But this was more like I put the brakes on. I mean EVERYONE had a sprint left in his legs.
Finishes like that really just make you want to hang up the bike. I did everything right in the sprint. Good position. Fought onto a good wheel. But I went too early and didn't have NEAR the legs to get away with it.
Well at least I had a near-four hour drive home by myself to replay it over and over... Luckily it was all vanquished by the time I got home and forgotten after a solid, yet wobbily, afternoon of swimming, hiking and playing with my boy.
Since this is a race that tends to get a little boring with everyone plodding along for 63.5 miles and then racing the last kilometer, I wanted to try to get a break going from way out. So I gave myself a 20 minute window to try that at the end of the first lap/ beginning of the second lap. I was hoping to get something going on the flat going into San Ardo and then stretch it and get out of sight on the climb and following rollers going out of town. Unfortunately NOBODY wanted to see that happen. I just can't get a grip on negative racing. Do people really enjoy a boring three hour ride followed by a field sprint? (I know I know it's more about racing and results and if you want fun go for a mtb ride...) That's just not fun racing to me. I attacked and counter attacked and counter counter attacked until I was crosseyed but I simply couldn't stretch the elastic. The biggest gap I was ever able to create was only about 20 seconds and I couldn't get anyone else to go. There were a couple people riding hard at the front but no one was attacking.
Sidebar: Attacking: Riding hard at the front is not attacking. Pulling hard and slowly ramping up to speed is not attacking. Generally any kind of riding hard at the front that does not create gaps is not attacking. If there is a rider with two or three bike lengths ahead and you want to make a breakaway you have to JUMP across that gap. If you ride hard across that gap you are only going to pull the pack with you. Now if only the only two or three other animated riders in yesterday's race would read that... Oh and another thing. If you are trying to get a flyer going with two or three other riders you have to share major efforts with those guys for a few pulls. If you let ANY other rider into that rotation you screwed up.
But. whaddiknow?
Anyway. Despite riding myself crosseyed I just couldn't get away. So I settled back into the pack for a 38 mile snooze. Pathetic (both that I couldn't get away and the negative racing in the pack). Oh, and while I'm whining can I just say how flipping frustrating it is to see CAT FOUR racers on deep dish carbon wheels, and $4,000 + bikes? Oh, and the pinnacle of this absurdity is that I finally saw a CAT FOUR racer on Di2. Let me repeat that. I saw a CAT FOUR racer with a $3800 Dura Ace electronic groupo on a $2000 frameset using $1800 wheels. My car isn't worth that much money.
So then we finally sniffed San Ardo in the distance and the pace went up. Surprisingly, I found myself near the front and in good position. I got swarmed a little coming into town but then worked my way back up the side and into decent position on the climb. I was off to the side maybe five wheels back when the rider in front of me (who I had earlier determined to be a strong finisher) jumped hard. I went too but then going under the freeway just before the turn my legs simply quit on me. I sat down and pushed as hard as I could through the turn and to the finish but pretty much the entire pack went by before the finish line came. I don't think I've ever faded that hard in a sprint in my life. It was quite shocking, really. I'm no stranger to going too early but usually I can hold it and scratch something out of it. But this was more like I put the brakes on. I mean EVERYONE had a sprint left in his legs.
Finishes like that really just make you want to hang up the bike. I did everything right in the sprint. Good position. Fought onto a good wheel. But I went too early and didn't have NEAR the legs to get away with it.
Well at least I had a near-four hour drive home by myself to replay it over and over... Luckily it was all vanquished by the time I got home and forgotten after a solid, yet wobbily, afternoon of swimming, hiking and playing with my boy.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sky Tavern Mountain Bike Race: Aug. 14, 2011
This was fun race with a nice mix of everything. I raced as a Cat 2 (old days we called it "sport") for the first time since, um, 1996? Of course back then I wasn't racing in old man age bracket but, hey.
My alarm went off at 2:30 AM and somehow I dragged my butt out of bed, showered and was in the car by 3. Fast forward many hours and I was ready to race. I met up with (soon to be teammate) Ray and he talked me through the course as we warmed up on the opening climb.
After a racer talk-to from the promoter we all headed to the start and were sent off in waves. Our wave was the Cat. 2 50+ and 40+. And a wopping six of us took the start. One guy was asking everyone what their age was and I found it slightly annoying but didn't think to ask him his age and figure out what age group he was racing. The promoter did ask a show of hands for the age groups but I wasn't really paying attention so I assumed Ray was the only 50 plusser.
Off we go!
We somewhat slowly took off across the paved parking lot, up a short road and then turned onto a two-track dirt climb that was fairly steep and went for about a mile and a half. About halfway up I was liking what my legs and heart rate were telling me and moved up to the front and set the pace. At the top there was a steep section with some loose dirt/gravel that made traction difficult and could force a hike-a-bike. I was happy to clear it and hadn't looked back yet.
After the climb the dual track continued for another three quarters of a mile with some more altitude gain before heading into the single track. I did look on one curve and was very happy to see only two guys maybe half a minute back.
But then I got clumsy! Unfortunately, the lack of mtb racing and a steady diet of relatively untechnical riding at Del Valle caught up with me and I was struggling to clear easy stuff in the woods. Simple ditch crossings, one or two log hops and very minor rock challenges seemed to cause me to stumble left and right (literally!) and overshoot turns. Pretty shortly a guy in a blue and yellow jersey asked for trail and I gave it to him. I paused to let Ray by but he wasn't there so I jumped and vainly tried to keep up with blue/yellow-dude.
On a rocky dropoff I finally turned from clumsy to crashing and went down pretty gently (though it was enough to pop the bottom of my jersey zipper giving me a distracting wardrobe malfunction that I couldn't correct in the heat of battle). Ray very quickly appeared and I was glad to have him by me so I didn't have to worry about holding him up. The rest of the lap went about the same with lots of clumsy dismounting as I stalled out in mud and sandy sections. I was pretty frustrated and only started to feel like I wasn't a roadie pretender on a very steep decline section over some rocks. "That's more like it" I thought as I cleared it.
The descent back to the finish was a mix of single track and rough fire road and I was doing better.
Past the finish line onto the paved parking lot with a tailwind and a nice smooth time trial back to the start of the climb for laps two and three! Lap two I was feeling more comfortable but never saw a single rider to catch or to have catch me. And lap three was pretty much the same. That last lap was when I finally rode most of the stuff that had been tripping me up earlier. That said, with about five minutes to go I passed a lapped rider just before going from a dirt road to single track section and stacked it pretty good coming down heavily onto a rock and a bush that gave me a couple nice puncture wounds in the leg. On the third lap I was starting to fade and lose motivation. In my head it was just alot of work for second place.
As I finally crossed the finish line, muddy and bloody, shorts torn, and jersey zipper failing Ray (looking altogether too fresh) said, "Hey! I think you won!" Turns out blue/yellow, the guy asking the annoying age questions, was a 50 plus rider. So, yeah, I guess I won since everyone who beat me was in a different age group. I shouldn't qualify a win that way but if that's how it feels, that's how it feels.
The important thing is it was a very fun race, an absolutely GORGEOUS day in the Sierras, a great hangout with friends and mountain bikers and I got to bring home a cute little medal and some shwag. Nice.
Not exactly displaying "look like you've been here before" presence on the podium
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Catching up 3/3: Hellyer 7/19/2011
Started to feel the load of training and probably should have stayed out of this night since it was a rest week but...
Omnium: 4th of 22
Points: DNP: Just couldn't get the legs going and there was some scary riding going on that held me back from getting in the mix. NOT liking racing with new 5's and juniors. That's what's driving me to upgrade.
Scratch: 2nd! I had my rider picked out and was sitting in nice but he went down track behind ten or so riders with two to go and I was losing confidence in him when Super Ted came uptrack and said "let's go." He drilled us around the pack and up to the bell lap and I took over with very fresh legs from that great leadout. I sprinted and thought I had the win but got pipped at the line by the guy I had been marking earlier!
Points: 8th. Not good enough for omnium points and I really had to dig HARD for the crumbs I did get. Definitely stuffed.
Well thanks solely to Ted's great leadout the night wasn't completely lost and I scratched out a couple more upgrade points. I left the track feeling very empty and fatigued, however. Racing four weeks in a row is probably not a good idea.
Then the following Thursday night I went out and played softball and ended up pulling the sartorius muscles (self diagnosed via the interweb...) in both legs and have been hobbling around and unable to push hard ever since. REALLY frustrated by this right now since I've had to skip one big race I was planning for since many months back and am looking at having my fitness peak completely screwed up by this silly injury.
Omnium: 4th of 22
Points: DNP: Just couldn't get the legs going and there was some scary riding going on that held me back from getting in the mix. NOT liking racing with new 5's and juniors. That's what's driving me to upgrade.
Scratch: 2nd! I had my rider picked out and was sitting in nice but he went down track behind ten or so riders with two to go and I was losing confidence in him when Super Ted came uptrack and said "let's go." He drilled us around the pack and up to the bell lap and I took over with very fresh legs from that great leadout. I sprinted and thought I had the win but got pipped at the line by the guy I had been marking earlier!
Points: 8th. Not good enough for omnium points and I really had to dig HARD for the crumbs I did get. Definitely stuffed.
Well thanks solely to Ted's great leadout the night wasn't completely lost and I scratched out a couple more upgrade points. I left the track feeling very empty and fatigued, however. Racing four weeks in a row is probably not a good idea.
Then the following Thursday night I went out and played softball and ended up pulling the sartorius muscles (self diagnosed via the interweb...) in both legs and have been hobbling around and unable to push hard ever since. REALLY frustrated by this right now since I've had to skip one big race I was planning for since many months back and am looking at having my fitness peak completely screwed up by this silly injury.
Catching up 2/3: Hellyer 7/12/2011
Omnium: 5th of 12
Scratch: 6th. Wasted too much energy riding off the front trying to get the pace hot enough to drop the scary riders. Was right behind the sprint for omnium points but couldn't dig enough to move up.
Miss-n-out: 3rd! My best miss-n-out since becoming a four on the track! I had only one goal and that was to get to the front and die trying. Well I went a little too hard to the front and ended up soloing off the front for the first three or four outs. When the pack came I worked the front with Marino and counted laps. With 6 to go I was starting to feel like it could happen and dug in to stay alive for the next two laps. With four of us left I got lucky and was able to box the fourth guy in and eliminate him. But that was it and I was too cooked to sprint with the other two guys for the win. But I was dang happy to not be one of the first three or four out in this, my LEAST favorite, event.
Points: 2nd. I remember winning one sprint and doing well in another and that was good enough for 2nd. Take it.
Another fun night of racing and had a record of TWO teammates on the track with Pres Ted coming out and Jonathan coming out again. Bummer to mess up the scratch race and fall down the omnium but I'll take the single upgrade point and run with it.
Scratch: 6th. Wasted too much energy riding off the front trying to get the pace hot enough to drop the scary riders. Was right behind the sprint for omnium points but couldn't dig enough to move up.
Miss-n-out: 3rd! My best miss-n-out since becoming a four on the track! I had only one goal and that was to get to the front and die trying. Well I went a little too hard to the front and ended up soloing off the front for the first three or four outs. When the pack came I worked the front with Marino and counted laps. With 6 to go I was starting to feel like it could happen and dug in to stay alive for the next two laps. With four of us left I got lucky and was able to box the fourth guy in and eliminate him. But that was it and I was too cooked to sprint with the other two guys for the win. But I was dang happy to not be one of the first three or four out in this, my LEAST favorite, event.
Points: 2nd. I remember winning one sprint and doing well in another and that was good enough for 2nd. Take it.
Another fun night of racing and had a record of TWO teammates on the track with Pres Ted coming out and Jonathan coming out again. Bummer to mess up the scratch race and fall down the omnium but I'll take the single upgrade point and run with it.
Catching up 1/3: Hellyer July 5, 2011
Ug. I gotta write stuff down more quickly after the races or I forget it. So why bother? I dunno. Compulsion.
Scratch: 2nd of 12
Tempo: 3rd
Points: 4th
Omnium: 3rd?
I remember surprising myself by passing four riders in the last 200 meters of the scratch to take 2nd.
The Tempo was nowheresville for me in the first three quarters then my legs woke up and I scored on the last laps.
I don't remember a dang thing about the points race. But I do remember having good sprint legs all night and being quite satisfied with finally rising above pack fodder and notching some upgrade points.
Good to see Jonathan Quist back out on the track!
Scratch: 2nd of 12
Tempo: 3rd
Points: 4th
Omnium: 3rd?
I remember surprising myself by passing four riders in the last 200 meters of the scratch to take 2nd.
The Tempo was nowheresville for me in the first three quarters then my legs woke up and I scored on the last laps.
I don't remember a dang thing about the points race. But I do remember having good sprint legs all night and being quite satisfied with finally rising above pack fodder and notching some upgrade points.
Good to see Jonathan Quist back out on the track!
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