Tomorrow morning!
Come buy our stuff. We are decluttering the domain, and you can help!
7-1.
Tomorrow. Do you really need details?
TONS of size small cycling clothing. TONS.
Aa
7.11.2009
7.09.2009
Driving that bike like it was an 4X4
So, rarely does a demo come into the store, or anywhere for that matter, that is ACTUALLY my size. To my amazement the Skirack currently has TWO.
A Serrotta Meivici with Ultegra (seriously?) and a Cervelo R3 with Dura Ace 7900.
One guess as to which I rode on my 6.5 hour "jaunt" through the country side today. The ride included approximately 15 miles of dirt, including some insane golf ball sized gravel, Smuggler's Notch, some other no-name climbs, and over 100 miles. Awesome.
There was a lurking thunderstorm that I had to keep avoiding as well. So, I encountered wet roads, but never got rained on.
Also! Holy hell, how exciting is it to find a bakery that you didn't know existed when you're still over 2 hours from home. Chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting thank you very much.
I am tired.
I am training.
I am faster than I had thought for the last 4 months. This is awesome.
Race schedule, yet to be decided... but hopefully I'll be at the Horror at Harding Hill MTB race next weekend.
The Jetta by the way... is still MIA. Who knows... I am looking into other options at this point. Car Share VT is looking mighty good at the moment.
GMSR is a definite yes. Great Glen 24 hours, maybe. Lots happening.
Time to rest...
A Serrotta Meivici with Ultegra (seriously?) and a Cervelo R3 with Dura Ace 7900.
One guess as to which I rode on my 6.5 hour "jaunt" through the country side today. The ride included approximately 15 miles of dirt, including some insane golf ball sized gravel, Smuggler's Notch, some other no-name climbs, and over 100 miles. Awesome.
There was a lurking thunderstorm that I had to keep avoiding as well. So, I encountered wet roads, but never got rained on.
Also! Holy hell, how exciting is it to find a bakery that you didn't know existed when you're still over 2 hours from home. Chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting thank you very much.
I am tired.
I am training.
I am faster than I had thought for the last 4 months. This is awesome.
Race schedule, yet to be decided... but hopefully I'll be at the Horror at Harding Hill MTB race next weekend.
The Jetta by the way... is still MIA. Who knows... I am looking into other options at this point. Car Share VT is looking mighty good at the moment.
GMSR is a definite yes. Great Glen 24 hours, maybe. Lots happening.
Time to rest...
7.06.2009
A weekend spent on two wheels...
I will most likely go into more detail later...
Fitchburg was this past weekend, as was the birthday of the country.
This also marked the 50th Anniversary of Fitchburg.
Anyway, the breakdown goes something like this...
I did everything you're NOT supposed to do going into, and during the stage race, and you know, it didn't really hamper my efforts very much.
Day 1:
Ride Harley for 4-5 hours in rain/fog to Fitchburg. Arrive. Wet. All dry clothes, now wet. Everything, wet. Find bike. Get dressed, borrow fast wheels with slow tires. Pretend to warm-up and make jokes. Correction, I did no pretend to make jokes, I made them.
Rode TT. Went not so fast, but seriously all things considered, I wasn't last. I felt mediocre and I didn't crash in the rain/fog/cloud. Ride Harley to RI. Get lost along the way, do an extra 30 miles. Hang with Ned. Eat dinner, drink carbohydrate loaded beverages (x3) and go to bed.
Day 2:
Sunshine! Drive to Fitchburg in a small car. Find bike. Get dressed. DO NOT pretend to warm-up. Race starts late, it is hot. Kyle Wolfe Director Superior is in the feed zone, sweet. Ride bike. Gabe gets in break immediately. Sweet. 4 laps to go and field is in a frenzy chasing. Make my way to the front, put the smoosh effect on the chase. Make no friends. Get the hairy eyeball, get questioned, stay there for half a lap. Break gets their gap back, I fade back to the back. Hang out. Average 29.4 MPH for 50 miles. Legs cramping. Ouch. Sit-up on last lap, Gabe's break stays away, he jumps from 8th to 4th overall. Job well done. Drive home, meet up with Ali. Boogie down with friends. More carbohydrate rich beverages (x2.5). Sleep. Hard.
Day 3:
Road race. Originally I thought that without the mountain top finish it would be easier. Wrong. Way faster. Sit in, feel good, not much help to Gabe, get to the front a couple of times, ride through the feedzone at the front once. Hang out. Each snacks, drink 1 millions water bottles. Kyle Wolfe, in the feed zone. It's WINDY. I hide in the field. Chase a couple of could be breakaways... nada. Matt Purdy does the hero ride and stays away ALL day to win solo. Awesome. Also taking the points jersey. I get popped with 4 to go. Then chase down the descent scaring spectators, then navigating through the caravan back into the field. I then get popped with 3 to go, though this time for real. I ride solo for awhile, then with some other guys, then just one other guy, then solo again, and then it's over. And... in doing so, I moved up from 88th to 63rd overall. Sweet.
Day 4:
Crit day. I have done well in this crit before. And if it's back in the future, I will do well there again. I got to the front today, attacked when I knew a GC guy was in trouble and we could move Gabe up a spot, and had some fun. My cornering was not up to it's old standard, but that will come back. And then, on the last lap, I was 15th wheel coming into the last corners, which in reality, it too deep. And someone skipped their rear wheel, and I braked, and I was 30th wheel coming out of the corner, and that was that. Race over. Ate a pizza with Gabe. Hopped on Harley, rode home in the sunshine.
And while the joke was that it was my best Fitchburg overall ever, that's not actually true. Last year I was 37th. Though the year before that I think I was 75th, so...
With few miles in the legs, and not a single road race before this weekend, I finished Fitchburg, nearly comfortably, having a ton of fun, and chomping at the bit for the next race. My mountain bike fitness just got a huge boost (I wanted to say shot in the arm but that seems a bit taboo.)
And now I'm home. Getting ready for worky work.
And it's still sunny
Fitchburg was this past weekend, as was the birthday of the country.
This also marked the 50th Anniversary of Fitchburg.
Anyway, the breakdown goes something like this...
I did everything you're NOT supposed to do going into, and during the stage race, and you know, it didn't really hamper my efforts very much.
Day 1:
Ride Harley for 4-5 hours in rain/fog to Fitchburg. Arrive. Wet. All dry clothes, now wet. Everything, wet. Find bike. Get dressed, borrow fast wheels with slow tires. Pretend to warm-up and make jokes. Correction, I did no pretend to make jokes, I made them.
Rode TT. Went not so fast, but seriously all things considered, I wasn't last. I felt mediocre and I didn't crash in the rain/fog/cloud. Ride Harley to RI. Get lost along the way, do an extra 30 miles. Hang with Ned. Eat dinner, drink carbohydrate loaded beverages (x3) and go to bed.
Day 2:
Sunshine! Drive to Fitchburg in a small car. Find bike. Get dressed. DO NOT pretend to warm-up. Race starts late, it is hot. Kyle Wolfe Director Superior is in the feed zone, sweet. Ride bike. Gabe gets in break immediately. Sweet. 4 laps to go and field is in a frenzy chasing. Make my way to the front, put the smoosh effect on the chase. Make no friends. Get the hairy eyeball, get questioned, stay there for half a lap. Break gets their gap back, I fade back to the back. Hang out. Average 29.4 MPH for 50 miles. Legs cramping. Ouch. Sit-up on last lap, Gabe's break stays away, he jumps from 8th to 4th overall. Job well done. Drive home, meet up with Ali. Boogie down with friends. More carbohydrate rich beverages (x2.5). Sleep. Hard.
Day 3:
Road race. Originally I thought that without the mountain top finish it would be easier. Wrong. Way faster. Sit in, feel good, not much help to Gabe, get to the front a couple of times, ride through the feedzone at the front once. Hang out. Each snacks, drink 1 millions water bottles. Kyle Wolfe, in the feed zone. It's WINDY. I hide in the field. Chase a couple of could be breakaways... nada. Matt Purdy does the hero ride and stays away ALL day to win solo. Awesome. Also taking the points jersey. I get popped with 4 to go. Then chase down the descent scaring spectators, then navigating through the caravan back into the field. I then get popped with 3 to go, though this time for real. I ride solo for awhile, then with some other guys, then just one other guy, then solo again, and then it's over. And... in doing so, I moved up from 88th to 63rd overall. Sweet.
Day 4:
Crit day. I have done well in this crit before. And if it's back in the future, I will do well there again. I got to the front today, attacked when I knew a GC guy was in trouble and we could move Gabe up a spot, and had some fun. My cornering was not up to it's old standard, but that will come back. And then, on the last lap, I was 15th wheel coming into the last corners, which in reality, it too deep. And someone skipped their rear wheel, and I braked, and I was 30th wheel coming out of the corner, and that was that. Race over. Ate a pizza with Gabe. Hopped on Harley, rode home in the sunshine.
And while the joke was that it was my best Fitchburg overall ever, that's not actually true. Last year I was 37th. Though the year before that I think I was 75th, so...
With few miles in the legs, and not a single road race before this weekend, I finished Fitchburg, nearly comfortably, having a ton of fun, and chomping at the bit for the next race. My mountain bike fitness just got a huge boost (I wanted to say shot in the arm but that seems a bit taboo.)
And now I'm home. Getting ready for worky work.
And it's still sunny
6.23.2009
Hot Roddin'
Here's the thing about hot rods. In my opinion.
Hot rods to me are this romanticized thing. Like, 1950s muscle cars. 1960s bobbers, and early cyclocross bikes. I really enjoy the idea of taking things OFF your bike/motorcycle/car to make it lighter/faster. I mean, that is cool.
Sure, getting new Zipp wheels is cool but it's not all that clever either.
Hot Roddin, is doing with what you have and making it work. "Run what ya brung." As they say.
What's kind of cool about hot rods too, is that you could be a pretty incompetent driver, but if you were smart, you could probably go pretty dam fast.
Unfortunately this isn't true in the bike world. And hot rods are few and far between these days. At least real ones.
Cross bikes at one point were made from the left over pieces from your road season, last decades mountain bike parts, and whatever was on sale at the shop.
My first cross bike was even scarey. But it work. And I raced it. And then I sold it, and someone else raced it.
Getting spoiled with the latest and greatest stinks.
Do you really need Zipp wheels to be competitive in New England bike racing? I don't know...
I bet you could figure out a way to do it on some old school three cross low profile tubulars. Or maybe some Aksiums that you won in a raffle. Or maybe some 6 year old Dura Ace wheels.
This all came about when I was talking about the Zebra at work the other day and I mentioned it's "vintage" 9 speed Dura Ace components, which honestly, have seen a TON of miles. Someone said, "oh you can't ride that stuff." They were being sarcastic because they know I am a total bike junkie. And it got me thinking. Hot rods.
I built the Zebra with parts I had and only bought what I needed. And of all that stuff, the only things I bought NEW were the rear der. and the cables.
And I talked to Gabe today about his bike. And they weigh the same. Just shy of 17. And you know what? That's good enough to be competitive. Now... if I could only find a quality pilot.
But there is something beautiful about sleepers and dark horses. And then I thought about Vino before he was caught doping. And I was picking him to win the Tour when he was on T-Mobile because he was the Dark Horse. Turns out he was just a cheater.
But the point is... he could have. And that's what makes hot rods cool. They could be fast, and they could be light, and you're never really sure. True hot rods don't get dyno tested and computer monitored. They find a straight road, floor and watch the needle. And you know what, it still feels awesome.
Buying speed has never been all that cool. Sure, everyone wants a fast TT bike... but really? How far is the Hour Record? Somewhere in the 50's, yeah? Just a thought.
Hot rods... big engines, rusted floor boards, bald rear tires. Speed.
Because at the end of the day, going fast is what it's all about, and it doesn't matter if you spend $200 or $20000 on your bike. I'd bet we can both hit 60 mph on the back of Middlebury gap.
Mt. Washington, there are some hot rods. Those bikes are hacked, chopped, bobbed, and LEAN. Sure, some of them are ultra-lite custom PARLEEs with Lightweight wheels, and Power Cordz. But then there are guys who just took off their front brake, big ring, bottle cages, and bar tape.
Yeah, hot rods, dark horses, sleepers... that's the stuff that makes it interesting.
Is it really that surprising to see Cancellara win another World Championship on the 2nd most aerodynamic bike out there? No... but it's still cool.
And I know I have a fancy showy bike, and I like that one too. But then again... it's a sleeper in it's own right.
Fitchburg looms...
Hot rods to me are this romanticized thing. Like, 1950s muscle cars. 1960s bobbers, and early cyclocross bikes. I really enjoy the idea of taking things OFF your bike/motorcycle/car to make it lighter/faster. I mean, that is cool.
Sure, getting new Zipp wheels is cool but it's not all that clever either.
Hot Roddin, is doing with what you have and making it work. "Run what ya brung." As they say.
What's kind of cool about hot rods too, is that you could be a pretty incompetent driver, but if you were smart, you could probably go pretty dam fast.
Unfortunately this isn't true in the bike world. And hot rods are few and far between these days. At least real ones.
Cross bikes at one point were made from the left over pieces from your road season, last decades mountain bike parts, and whatever was on sale at the shop.
My first cross bike was even scarey. But it work. And I raced it. And then I sold it, and someone else raced it.
Getting spoiled with the latest and greatest stinks.
Do you really need Zipp wheels to be competitive in New England bike racing? I don't know...
I bet you could figure out a way to do it on some old school three cross low profile tubulars. Or maybe some Aksiums that you won in a raffle. Or maybe some 6 year old Dura Ace wheels.
This all came about when I was talking about the Zebra at work the other day and I mentioned it's "vintage" 9 speed Dura Ace components, which honestly, have seen a TON of miles. Someone said, "oh you can't ride that stuff." They were being sarcastic because they know I am a total bike junkie. And it got me thinking. Hot rods.
I built the Zebra with parts I had and only bought what I needed. And of all that stuff, the only things I bought NEW were the rear der. and the cables.
And I talked to Gabe today about his bike. And they weigh the same. Just shy of 17. And you know what? That's good enough to be competitive. Now... if I could only find a quality pilot.
But there is something beautiful about sleepers and dark horses. And then I thought about Vino before he was caught doping. And I was picking him to win the Tour when he was on T-Mobile because he was the Dark Horse. Turns out he was just a cheater.
But the point is... he could have. And that's what makes hot rods cool. They could be fast, and they could be light, and you're never really sure. True hot rods don't get dyno tested and computer monitored. They find a straight road, floor and watch the needle. And you know what, it still feels awesome.
Buying speed has never been all that cool. Sure, everyone wants a fast TT bike... but really? How far is the Hour Record? Somewhere in the 50's, yeah? Just a thought.
Hot rods... big engines, rusted floor boards, bald rear tires. Speed.
Because at the end of the day, going fast is what it's all about, and it doesn't matter if you spend $200 or $20000 on your bike. I'd bet we can both hit 60 mph on the back of Middlebury gap.
Mt. Washington, there are some hot rods. Those bikes are hacked, chopped, bobbed, and LEAN. Sure, some of them are ultra-lite custom PARLEEs with Lightweight wheels, and Power Cordz. But then there are guys who just took off their front brake, big ring, bottle cages, and bar tape.
Yeah, hot rods, dark horses, sleepers... that's the stuff that makes it interesting.
Is it really that surprising to see Cancellara win another World Championship on the 2nd most aerodynamic bike out there? No... but it's still cool.
And I know I have a fancy showy bike, and I like that one too. But then again... it's a sleeper in it's own right.
Fitchburg looms...
6.18.2009
The Others...
First there was the Cannibal,
The Lion of Flanders
Mellow Johnny
Cipo
Little Baby Elephant AKA The Pirate
The Killer
And now...
The Zebra of Burlington.
You're been warned.
The Lion of Flanders
Mellow Johnny
Cipo
Little Baby Elephant AKA The Pirate
The Killer
And now...
The Zebra of Burlington.
You're been warned.
6.15.2009
Hello world
So, my eye is healing just fine. No need to worry. So what was going on you may wonder... well. Turns out, the human eye ball was never really intended for contacts, this should come as no surprise. Oxygen, getting to the eye is very important it turns out. And when not enough oxygen gets to the eye, the contact can become a little incubater on your eye. Awesome.
So, at some point I had a small scratch on my eye. This is common, and usually doesn't cause any issues.
However, if you maybe have dirty contacts, or maybe wear them past their date, or maybe we them for too long, then! Oh yes, then! there can be some major eye trouble. I didn't actually do any of the above mentioned things, but some how I ended up with the same result.
Anyway, the contact acted as a warm little home for some bacteria that that cozied up inside that small scratch on the lense and blammo! I had my contacts all day and didn't feel anything, everything felt great. As soon as I took the contact out, it was awful. And I mean awful. It felt like there was bleach in my eye.
i figured, well, I must have gotten something in there.
I slept it off.
Or well, I tried to sleep it off. I woke up a bunch of times. It sucked.
I went to the ER. They told me all about the bacteria in my eye and how it had formed a tiny .5mmx.5mm hole in the lense. Which honestly, doesn't really sound THAT small to me. I have allen wrenches that size. Some eye drops and a week or so later and I'm back in business.
Why this has put a big damper on my training.
Not being able to wear sunglasses is a bummer, but I'm not that shallow. And I skipped the weekly mountain bike race because I didn't want dirt to get into an already sensitive eye, but the real problem was my eye became oddly light sensitive. Somehow the eye ball gets so caught up on fighting off the bacteria that it forgets to shut out the light so it was hard for me to keep my left open. As you can imagine, riding your bike like this, while doable, is not ideal. And it was pretty painful.
So, after finishing up my round of antibiotics today I will be back in action tomorrow on the Tuesday night World Championships so that I may slightly prepare myself for the Fitchburg so I can finish in annynomity.
Rad.
And for those that feared for the Circle A in what is always a hellfire of a crit, I have procured some older Rival bits to put onto the Zebra bike that I used as a TT bike last year. I am a big fan of this older S-Works bike. You can see the same frame moving quickly while piloted by Scott. However, he has the more appealing and less obnoxious red paint job.
And that's the word.
Oh! And my mom and Jerry came to visit this weekend and had a blast. So that was awesome.
It is raining today and I don't like it.
Aa
So, at some point I had a small scratch on my eye. This is common, and usually doesn't cause any issues.
However, if you maybe have dirty contacts, or maybe wear them past their date, or maybe we them for too long, then! Oh yes, then! there can be some major eye trouble. I didn't actually do any of the above mentioned things, but some how I ended up with the same result.
Anyway, the contact acted as a warm little home for some bacteria that that cozied up inside that small scratch on the lense and blammo! I had my contacts all day and didn't feel anything, everything felt great. As soon as I took the contact out, it was awful. And I mean awful. It felt like there was bleach in my eye.
i figured, well, I must have gotten something in there.
I slept it off.
Or well, I tried to sleep it off. I woke up a bunch of times. It sucked.
I went to the ER. They told me all about the bacteria in my eye and how it had formed a tiny .5mmx.5mm hole in the lense. Which honestly, doesn't really sound THAT small to me. I have allen wrenches that size. Some eye drops and a week or so later and I'm back in business.
Why this has put a big damper on my training.
Not being able to wear sunglasses is a bummer, but I'm not that shallow. And I skipped the weekly mountain bike race because I didn't want dirt to get into an already sensitive eye, but the real problem was my eye became oddly light sensitive. Somehow the eye ball gets so caught up on fighting off the bacteria that it forgets to shut out the light so it was hard for me to keep my left open. As you can imagine, riding your bike like this, while doable, is not ideal. And it was pretty painful.
So, after finishing up my round of antibiotics today I will be back in action tomorrow on the Tuesday night World Championships so that I may slightly prepare myself for the Fitchburg so I can finish in annynomity.
Rad.
And for those that feared for the Circle A in what is always a hellfire of a crit, I have procured some older Rival bits to put onto the Zebra bike that I used as a TT bike last year. I am a big fan of this older S-Works bike. You can see the same frame moving quickly while piloted by Scott. However, he has the more appealing and less obnoxious red paint job.
And that's the word.
Oh! And my mom and Jerry came to visit this weekend and had a blast. So that was awesome.
It is raining today and I don't like it.
Aa
6.09.2009
Corneal Ulser?!?
WTF?
There is a hole in my eyeball.
It is being treated and healing.
I am sensitive to sunlight and it is putting a damper on my training.
More news on that, later.
There is a hole in my eyeball.
It is being treated and healing.
I am sensitive to sunlight and it is putting a damper on my training.
More news on that, later.
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