Here's my announcement. I haven't figured out a way to "productively" use Facebook. Maybe I'm an old fuddy-duddy now, though I do have some younger folks that agree with me. Seems to me FB is really just another big time suck... I cannot afford another one, as the interwebs are full enough of things to distract me from what I should be doing while sitting in front of the tube. SO, in a public service kind of way, I found a link with instructions to delete my FB account. YAY!
How to permanently delete your facebook account.
I think THIS is how I should use this social networking thing. No more crazy security concerns. I could link them, but I've seen WAY to many reasons you should make EVERYthing on FB private. So instead... I made it even more private. In 14days, my account SHOULD be gone.
Blogger back up, since it's about racing season. I may even start a new one soon on my other (read the one that pays) life. If I can finish writing my dissertation someday soon.
I find it oddly satisfying to actually do this on April 1. Maybe I'm actively NOT being an April Fool. Un-Fool day.
Besides, I'm way to wordy for FB and other social networks.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The OTHER season.
It is the beginning of the OTHER season, though it's mostly spectateing type. It's classics season... In February Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Then March brings Milan-San Remo, Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke, Ghent-Wevelgem. Then the big ones... Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix! Then we wind it down with Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Ah to have the funds and time to go visit some of those locales.... someday, instead I got the race bike out and added Falls road to my morning commute. It's a nice addition that makes the commute into a real training ride.
And for training. Yes, I should do that. I've been riding and all, and I feel fast. Unfortunately, I can only tell if my "feeling" is reality when I lay it out in competition. Then I can tell that I should have laid off the ice-cream, and put it more miles. Well, I guess I already knew that... so I get to see how far I have to race myself into shape starting on April 11 with the start of the covered bridge series, and it gets hot right away when RATL starts the following weekend.
Here we go!
Ah to have the funds and time to go visit some of those locales.... someday, instead I got the race bike out and added Falls road to my morning commute. It's a nice addition that makes the commute into a real training ride.
And for training. Yes, I should do that. I've been riding and all, and I feel fast. Unfortunately, I can only tell if my "feeling" is reality when I lay it out in competition. Then I can tell that I should have laid off the ice-cream, and put it more miles. Well, I guess I already knew that... so I get to see how far I have to race myself into shape starting on April 11 with the start of the covered bridge series, and it gets hot right away when RATL starts the following weekend.
Here we go!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Hibernation....
Usually, hibernating mammals put on weight in preparation for the long slumber of winter. Humans tend to put on weight while hibernating... well, I have at least. I have recently found that riding a bike is just like riding a bike, i.e. I still remember how. YAY! Throughout the last 3 months or so, I've probably logged a whopping 20 hours on the bike. Some year, I'll work on holding some semblance of consistency... or at least do a real winter training program. That would mean not getting caught up on the rest of life though. Life and work have been a bit all consuming lately.
On another note. I need to sell a car. It's time to retire my 1996 Saturn SL1, because we've come into another vehicle with less mileage. The Saturn has manual transmission with 110,000 miles. Single owner well maintained. I've also got a thule roof rack with two bike carriers. I haven't used the carrier much with the car, because I can fit a bike and a bunch of wheels in the back without the rack.
If you're interested, or know anyone who is, give me a shout in the comments. I do need to clean the CX mud out of the back still though... after the cleanup, I'll be posting it on the car sites.
When does racing season start again? Time to get the legs back on.
On another note. I need to sell a car. It's time to retire my 1996 Saturn SL1, because we've come into another vehicle with less mileage. The Saturn has manual transmission with 110,000 miles. Single owner well maintained. I've also got a thule roof rack with two bike carriers. I haven't used the carrier much with the car, because I can fit a bike and a bunch of wheels in the back without the rack.
If you're interested, or know anyone who is, give me a shout in the comments. I do need to clean the CX mud out of the back still though... after the cleanup, I'll be posting it on the car sites.
When does racing season start again? Time to get the legs back on.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Then that's it.
Raced at Boughton Farms yesterday, the series season final. Got there early, and got a bunch of prelaps in to scope out the course. Really long at about 2.2 miles or so, crossing frozen fields that were melting as the day went on.. claiming quite a few rear derailluers.
I don't have final numbers, but I think there were 22 in the A field. No call ups, so I was lined up on the second row behind one of the guys sitting in last place overall. OK. I had a path to move up, and this time was ready when Lynn said 1, and everyone was already moving. I did wait until 1... and paid as we all sprinted the 100m to the first single track, and came to a stand still. It was enough for Matt Weeks to open the gap he would maintain through the entire race. Starts do count when you get dumped into something like that right away.
Since there were at least 8 derailluers broken in the B race, they had rerouted the course for the A race... making it shorter by about 200m, to cut out the worst mud portion. The reroute was really no better... and I rode through it on the first lap, and then ran it every other time, shouldering it most of those trips.
In short order the race had sorted itself out. Brent was up in the top 5 battling it out through multiple tubbie flats. Jason and Zak had recovered from a start worse than mine, and were making up places. Derek was coming back from his typical great start, and I was being chased by Nate and Scott from Lake Effect.
Jason broke his derailluer, taking him out of contention at about the third lap. I was chasing Derek hoping to catch him so we could work together to drop the Lake Effects. With 3 to go, Derek took a bike change that brought me back to him, but Nate must have found his third of fourth gear, as he was towing Scott back up to us. I got by Derek with 2 to go, and encouraged him that the Lake Effects were hot on our tail. It didn't help as Derek was cooked.
With 1 to Nate got by me, but I was on his wheel. Chris Riccardi got between us going into the first single track, but we were wheel to wheel heading into the first field crossings. Nate opened a small gap before the mud run, that I tried to manage. By the time we exited the second single track, the gap was up over 200m.... though it looked like Nate had sat up a bit. I dropped the gears and went in pursuit as best I could at this point in the race.
I thought Nate would go back work once he saw me coming as he headed into the last three field crossings. I was still closing though. At the big ice puddle bypass, he was noodling along, and I thought I could close that gap... and maybe sneak by him at the line. So I pushed hard and hoped he wouldn't look back. As we made the last corner about 50 feet before the line, he looked over his shoulder and saw me... with enough warning to push to the line and take that place by about a bike length. Just enough... and I was toast.
Another very satisfying race. I think I came in 13th, though results have not been posted yet. Out of 9 cyclocross races, I'm pretty pleased with 6 of them. Two I didn't race to my potential, and one I made an equipment mistake. Well, it's possible all three were equipment related... I'll never know for sure. I think I ended up 12th in the series overall. As I said three races ago, that was completely out of my control.
Special thanks go out to the Lake Effect folks for all the work they do. It's great to have this series, and great that the other teams are taking some of the load off... Solon, Stark, Chagrin River Cycling and Team Spin. Making this a real nice area to race 'cross.
Also thanks to all the B and C racers that hang out and yell for/at us. It really does make a difference.
Off season now. Time to get caught up on a bunch of things I've been ignoring.
I don't have final numbers, but I think there were 22 in the A field. No call ups, so I was lined up on the second row behind one of the guys sitting in last place overall. OK. I had a path to move up, and this time was ready when Lynn said 1, and everyone was already moving. I did wait until 1... and paid as we all sprinted the 100m to the first single track, and came to a stand still. It was enough for Matt Weeks to open the gap he would maintain through the entire race. Starts do count when you get dumped into something like that right away.
Since there were at least 8 derailluers broken in the B race, they had rerouted the course for the A race... making it shorter by about 200m, to cut out the worst mud portion. The reroute was really no better... and I rode through it on the first lap, and then ran it every other time, shouldering it most of those trips.
In short order the race had sorted itself out. Brent was up in the top 5 battling it out through multiple tubbie flats. Jason and Zak had recovered from a start worse than mine, and were making up places. Derek was coming back from his typical great start, and I was being chased by Nate and Scott from Lake Effect.
Jason broke his derailluer, taking him out of contention at about the third lap. I was chasing Derek hoping to catch him so we could work together to drop the Lake Effects. With 3 to go, Derek took a bike change that brought me back to him, but Nate must have found his third of fourth gear, as he was towing Scott back up to us. I got by Derek with 2 to go, and encouraged him that the Lake Effects were hot on our tail. It didn't help as Derek was cooked.
With 1 to Nate got by me, but I was on his wheel. Chris Riccardi got between us going into the first single track, but we were wheel to wheel heading into the first field crossings. Nate opened a small gap before the mud run, that I tried to manage. By the time we exited the second single track, the gap was up over 200m.... though it looked like Nate had sat up a bit. I dropped the gears and went in pursuit as best I could at this point in the race.
I thought Nate would go back work once he saw me coming as he headed into the last three field crossings. I was still closing though. At the big ice puddle bypass, he was noodling along, and I thought I could close that gap... and maybe sneak by him at the line. So I pushed hard and hoped he wouldn't look back. As we made the last corner about 50 feet before the line, he looked over his shoulder and saw me... with enough warning to push to the line and take that place by about a bike length. Just enough... and I was toast.
Another very satisfying race. I think I came in 13th, though results have not been posted yet. Out of 9 cyclocross races, I'm pretty pleased with 6 of them. Two I didn't race to my potential, and one I made an equipment mistake. Well, it's possible all three were equipment related... I'll never know for sure. I think I ended up 12th in the series overall. As I said three races ago, that was completely out of my control.
Special thanks go out to the Lake Effect folks for all the work they do. It's great to have this series, and great that the other teams are taking some of the load off... Solon, Stark, Chagrin River Cycling and Team Spin. Making this a real nice area to race 'cross.
Also thanks to all the B and C racers that hang out and yell for/at us. It really does make a difference.
Off season now. Time to get caught up on a bunch of things I've been ignoring.
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