back on the bike :-)

It's been a nice long break but I got back on this weekend for a couple of respectable 4 hour days. On Saturday I did the Oval Ride with Brett, Phil and Kate. We did the short south loop and came back over the hills which felt good.

Then on Sunday Phil and Patty and I rode to Carter Lake and back. It felt good to be pushing myself again.

And to mitigate the earlier hotlinking... check out this new Fort Collins website: The Group Ride for all your Fort Collins cycling needs.

Well this is a stupid invention...

http://www.velonews.com/article/80345/tools-instead-of-water

OK I'm sure someone thought this was really clever and there are probably enough Freds to make it a commercial success. But seriously... if you're doing rides short enough that you don't need both your water bottle cages do you really need that much extra space for carrying tools?

Next they're gonna try to re-market those fancy 1990s behind the seat water bottle cages that everyone thought were so aerodynamic because the bottles "drafted off the rider" (read, *#$@ed up the laminar flow and created turbulence like crazy)

i love going downhill :-)

Wednesday Lee's ride. We went south to Loveland and then came north along Glade road and back over the hills into town. I knew I could ride hard on such a short course so I bridged to an early break in Loveland and started driving it for all I was worth. I was fairly sure we had the group cracked when someone crashed in the main pack (we were going around a hairpin and could see them behind us). We all sat up, frustratingly. Then a few guys rolled away while we were sitting around.

Ride re-started and I got away with 2 other guys from the original break. We were flying into the headwind but then one guy sat up. Two guys in the headwind hurt but we still had a big gap so we stayed on the gas. I just wanted to make it over HTMP before they caught us so we wouldn't have to handle attacks.

We made really good time up the first climb and picked up Don Spence near the top. Then my break-mate hit the bottom of Marina hard and I let him go (rather ride my own pace than crack halfway up). At the south end of the resevoir one guy bridged up from what was left of the main group. He, Don and I rotated, chasing my break-mate. Just before the final downhill I jumped and got a gap. Went through the two corners on the downhill way faster than the other 3 and caught the guy up the road in the process. He was dumb enough to keep riding hard while I sat on him until about 100m to go at which point it was fait accompli. The fitness is definitely coming back.

Hey I finally have something to write about!!

I did the Lee's ride today. Normally I skip this in favor of Worlds but I haven't been riding in a month and Lee's is a little slower and more forgiving. We rolled out with a pretty large group (40 maybe?) and took a round-about loop through Timnath, up towards Wellington, down Hwy 1, then turned west on Douglas road and did the sprint at the cement plant. I felt mildly bonked the whole time which is probably because in my month off I've learned that I really dont have to eat on any sort of schedule. I tried to split the group once but didn't really have the legs.

Coming down Hwy 1 I thought we were going to do the speed sign sprint by the lake so I started jumping wheels to get to the front. But we turned right and all my crafty wheel jumping was for naught. Then I got dropped on the little roller on the north end of shields (~3k from the sprint). I chased back on at the stop sign and clung desperately to the back of the group knowing I needed to move up for the sprint but afraid I'd get dropped again if I tried.

We hit the base of the sprint hill and I was about 20 guys back. I stood up and gave it everything and was suddenly reminded that I wasn't on the oval ride and nobody can suffer worth a damn on the Lee's ride. Both legs were cramping with every pedal stroke but I managed to get around everyone but Steve Shepherd who had a huge gap already by the time I hit the front of the group. I think I'll try to win next week and then get back to Worlds the week after :-)

And this weekend I'm contemplating some sweet hikes. Probably Longs and then a hike up near Crystal Mountain in search of a couple of B-17s that crashed up there in the 40s.

flagstone classic?

My last race as a cat3 was Boulder Roubaix (April 2007). I rode the final 3km like an idiot but came to my senses at 600m and got the job done. (The rider on the ground was OK. The Einstein's rider behind him is about to go over the handle bars... he wastaken away in an ambulance but was ultimately OK)

And I got a sweet trophy...
The trophy has been sitting in my shed for 14 months but I finally set it in the walk in front of my house. The plaque is still attached to the underside of the rock... that should be an interesting thing for someone to dig up someday when they reset the stones.

Boxi is dead

Alas, he came wandering across my desk last night with a leg missing and was dead this morning.

But that's not important now... what IS important is that I'm healthy, not procrastinating as much, moving my circadian cycle backwards (earlier to sleep, earlier to rise) and riding again.

This weekend is Koppenberg. Probably the shortest RR in Colorado which despite it being god-awful hard is probably good for me :-) I don't really know how I'll stack up but with Redlands going on the really fast guys should be in Cali so I'm excited to see what I can do against the normal Boulder cat1s. Also, it is sunny.

My season, thus far...

So here's how my season's gone so far... I train, I get faster, I procrastinate on a deadline for work, I pull an all-nighter to finish the work in time for a demo, I get sick, I don't train, I get slower, I get healthy, repeat.

This is NOT a recipe for success.

Anyway for the last week or so I've been doing a lot of sitting around sick (and working late into the night while sick which is bad) and generally being annoyed with myself for procrastinating last night and getting sick. So this week I'm gonna work consistently and not procrastinate.

good ride today

I had a really good ride today. It was warm, sunny and calm which is kind of a rare combination this time of year. I started with 30 miles of fast tempo on flat roads and then did 3 repeats on Stadium Hill with a downhill sprint after each. I completely cracked during the last one but it was still a good ride.

I like doing stadium Hill repeats because the descents are really good but I didn't get any fast ones today. Cars kept getting in the way and then the last time down it was clear but I hit some oil and stupidly touched my brakes which left me squeaking out of the turn next to the guard rail.

In other news I nearly stepped on Boxi earlier...it was a traumatic experience for me but Boxi (who presumably suffers from poor short term memory) seems to have forgiven all :-)

moving in the right direction...

Well after a rather dismal showing 2 weeks ago Team Legacy Energy got it's shit together today for the P123 crit in Greeley. We all finished (2 weeks ago none of us finished). Brad and Dan were in the break which went early and was gone after a few laps. Phil got in the second break. Patty and Jarred shut down everything else that tried to get away. Paul and I got caught behind a dangerous split about halfway through the race but we both made it across. Paul lead me out for the sprint from the "field" (it was a small field by the end) and he and I went 1 and 3 out of that group. I don't know the exact numbers up the road but Brad, Dan and Phil all ended up top 10 and Paul and I were certainly top 20. Jarred and Patty finished just behind us and may have been top 20 as well.

Dan wins sprint? Really?

Yup. Dan Workman won the sprint at Worlds today. We started out with 12.

I interrupt this ride report to discuss my office mate...
He's a boxelder bug (I call him Boxi). He's been hanging around in my office for at least a couple of weeks now. I'm not really sure what he eats but he seems quite happy here. At first I didn't throw him out because I was normally busy when he'd come crawling through and it was easier to just blow him off the desk and keep working. But now I don't throw him out because it's COLD outside and he keeps me company (turns out working from home is kind of lonely). He's crawling around by my mouse now.

Neway back to Worlds... We started with 12 and rode 2 by 2 almost up to Wellington at which point I got annoyed and attacked. Didn't go anywhere of course but when they caught me the echelon was going which is what I wanted. We rolled around pretty smoothly. Dan Porter put in two attacks but they didn't go anywhere. Then Mike Williams attacked about 6km out and ended up off the front with 2 other guys. In the confusion that followed most of the back group got dropped and by the time we caught the break there were only 3 of us left (so 6 in the front group).

Normally the ride into the sprint is pretty easy since the sprint is so hard but having just shelled half the group we rode hard all the way into the sprint. Andy hit the front at the bottom of the hill and lead it out for way longer than I thought he could. I jumped really hard and thought I had it but Dan held my wheel and then had no trouble coming around! Despite the embarrassment of being owned in a sprint by a climber/TTer I must say I'm very happy that Team Legacy went 1-2... and Dan and I are the lowly cat2s on the team :-)

Oval ride 3/15

Ok I'm tired so here's my summary. We rode hard. I got in the lead group of 6. Andy turned off before Carter leaving me with Rich Davis, Jon Garcia, Dan Porter and a pro triathlete who was riding very well. I got dropped on Carter and did much cursing in my head as I watched the other 4 ride away, sat up and waited for the group behind, rode home with them, won the sprint, such as it was, as we came back into town.

Anyway normally I'd have a nice recovery meal but since I keep getting dropped on Carter I've decided I'm not eating again until I make it over that *#$&ing climb with the group! :-)

Also, Jonathan Garcia is fast.

bad week?

It hasn't been a very good week so far. On Sunday 4 of us from Legacy did a crit in City Park in Denver. I missed the break, caused a crash, missed the second break which ended up bridging and then DNFed when the whole field got pulled. To make matters worse the other guy who crashed with me ended up with much worse injuries than I did. Ugh.

Tuesday I did a good workout... 3x10min LT intervals. Two out into a headwind and then one coming home getting to spin big gears.

Then today was Wednesday Worlds (the first of the year) and only 6 of us showed up. Strong wind from WNW. I felt a bit off in the group and ended up crossing wheels and going down again!!! I haven't crashed in almost a year and then I go down twice in 4 days... something is definitely not right. Neway I didn't get any injuries from this crash except a pretty nice bruise on my butt and nobody else crashed so I suppose it could have been a lot worse.

Anyway, clearly it's time for me to go into hermit-mode. More sleep and work and less socializing and whatnot until my head is screwed on again.

Oval ride 3/8

It was a pretty small group today (there were races in Lakewood and north of FC). We rolled out towards Masonville and then cut down through Eaton Valley to Rattlesnake. I made it over all the climbs with the leaders until Rattlesnake where Ian Holt, Brett Kirby, Paul Esposti, and Joe Saperstien dropped me. We rolled back along the same route fairly easy until we got to the back side of the HTMP climb (aka Masonville Pass). Paul set a pretty good tempo up that climb and then did the same thing on Marina Hill. I figured we'd roll turns around the reservoir into the downhill sprint but Paul just drove it all the way with me on his wheel. A couple of guys came around us on the descent and my gut reaction was to go with them but I told myself to chill and trust Paul. Coming out of the sweeping curve he jumped on them and really lit things up for me... left me with an easy 200m and I was able to hold off the rest of the group.

Oh yeah, and we say the Bustop ride out of Boulder... about 70 of them taking up a whole lane and holding each others hands while they all sat in... good job Boulder. Remember, don't ever pull through because then you might get dropped.

freehub?

Ok so I apparently have a fubar freehub. Well, not beyond all recognition... maybe just a little bit. Anyway, when I'm towards the bottom of my cassette and I coast or backpedal i get slack in the top of the chain. This is bad. I put up with stuff like this during base season because... well there's no need to coast during base season and since I've been training on a fixie I don't even coast when I brake anymore.

But now it's race season and on Sunday I'm racing at City Park which involves a lot of coasting around round-abouts so this needs to be fixed. Initial methods have failed so my plan now is to run a bunch of solvent into the freehub with the intent of dissolving all the grease in there (which has clearly thickened with time) and then oil (rather than grease) the freehub. This is not a good solution but we're talking about an $80 wheel so I don't care.

If anyone has a better idea speak up quickly before I start pouring gasoline into my free hub :-)

Of bikes...

Here's the bike I'm riding this year. It's a 5-dollar thrift-store frame with a frankenstein-esque hodge-podge of components (including a replaceable der. hanger, despite the fact that the bike was not originally fitted with one!):



Now, you're probably saying, 'uh, Phil, isn't that the same bike you rode LAST year?'

Yes. It is.

But...

THIS year, I put real pedals on it:
And a shorter stem (turns out 145mm is a bit too long for me...):

It's starting to feel a little like the old farm axe - which has had 2 new bits and half a dozen new handles over the years, but it's still the same old farm axe :) I'm still running 9 speed. My left shifter is almost as old as the frame. My bar tape is dirty and scuffed...

But it was still good enough for a top-10 finish at the Scottsdale Grand Prix last weekend, and I think there might just be another win or two in that old bike... I'm excited for this season!

The bike

So this is a bit overdue but here's the bike I'm riding this year. It's a 57cm Orbea Opal with mostly Ultegra components. I'm not normally much of a gear head but this thing is very nice. Definitely the best bike I've ever ridden. The seat tube angle is a little shallower than I like but I'm not even sure if my old geometry was UCI legal so this is fine :-)

And... count those teeth.I'm running compact cranks. 50T and 34T. A 50x11 is equivalent to a 53x11.66 so I'm not giving up much on that end. And a 34x23 is about like a 39x26 so even when I'm running the 11-23 on the back I've got a great climbing gear. For the really nasty climbing races (like Gila) I'm gonna run an 11x26 on the back which will give me a gear equivalent to a 39x30. I may still not be able to climb but at least I won't have to grind :-)

sound off

Ok, Dave Zabriskie is the man! There's a video interview on Velonews of him saying:

"Honestly, you didn't interview me because of the mustache? Then I'm gonna keep it; stay away from me... crazy people."

And in other news... former Rock Racing soigneur says Leogrande confessed to doping, then rubbed soap on his wrist before the urine sample was taken so he could use the soap to screw up the sample (VN article). OK dope control, listen up... if this allegation is even remotely true you guys need to go find a local probation officer and have them teach you proper UA technique... you gotta observe the urine exit the subject's body.

Which brings me to my next point... have we seriously come to this? Are people really racing their bikes for reasons other than seeing how far they can push themselves?

I gotta work a LOT this week so there will be very little riding for me :-(

Back from Arizona...

My second cycling trip of the year is over. Phil and I spent 10 days in Arizona. We started with Valley of the Sun stage race. I DNFed on the second stage as predicted (I wasn't supposed to start since I had been sick so getting 64 miles before dropping out was fine). We headed down to Tucson on Sunday evening and rented a couple of rooms from a school teacher for the week. We did a lot of sweet rides and got some very solid training in. No pictures on the training rides but here are some random shots...

Phil recovering.Our last day in Arizona we did a crit. I did my first cat2 only race and it felt a lot like a cat3 race... no organization and half the people riding like idiots. I rolled off the front with 5 laps to go but got caught in the last lap and finished 18th. I think I'm gonna go do the Tucson Bicycle Classic next month and see if I can beat up on those Arizona guys when I have some fitness. In other news... Phil (orange jersey, teal bike) learned to DRAFT! :-)

After driving all night I got home at 7AM. Never been so glad to see this sign

I'm racing for primes for the foreseeable future. Not because I need XXL socks and gift certificates I'll never use but because I've gotta start racing more aggressively in crits.

a general updating of things

Well I've been a terrible blogger but I'm ready to make up for it. Well ok maybe not QUITE ready because I have to go eat dinner soon but sometime in the next day there will be pictures and whatnot.

Phil and I are down in Tucson right now riding our bicycles without jackets, neck gators, skull caps or thermal booties. It's wonderful. We haven't climbed Mt Lemmon (went halfway up and realized that the aforementioned attire is required above 6,000') but we've been riding all over the place in the desert.

Oval ride 1/26! :-)

Yesterday was the first real Oval ride of the year. The weather has been crappy and nobody has been doing them but yesterday we got a good group and did the long south loop minus Carter (86 miles for me). For the first time that I can remember I was calm and collected rolling out of town. I don't have to worry about when/where the move is going to go anymore b/c I'm confident I can make it.

The ppl on the front missed a left turn out west of Windsor. I knew the turn and made it on my own and some ppl behind me followed me including Rich and Andy. We rode hard (but not all out) until we got caught at a traffic light coming into Windsor. Some guys got back while we waited for the light. Nobody wanted to drill it into the Wall so we rode easy. Dan Milano got away coming into the Wall and made it over solo! There were about 10 0f us left at this point and we rolled turns down through Johnston and then turned west into the headwind. Nobody wanted to go hard into the headwind so Dan Porter attacked and made us chase. He stayed out there for several miles which was very impressive.

The group dwindled to 7 without any attacks. Then Brad Cole and Dan started sticking it to us west of Loveland. 4 of the seven got dropped; Phil and then I made it back. Then I got dropped again just before we hit Glade Rd and Andy Clark got dropped just after me. We rode up to HTMP together and caught the front 3 (Phil Mann, Dan Porter and Brad Cole) who had stopped for water. I was completely shot and got dropped again on Marina Hill... rode it in alone a minute or two down for 5th. Not quite what I was hoping for but not a bad start to the year.

Bicycle security

My race bike is in the shed, partially dismantled (I'm training on my old bike and fixie). There's a padlock on the shed door but that hardly matters now since two of the neighborhood cats have taken up guard posts in front of the shed. Git'um, kitties!