Noon

Everything is a bit off today, my bodytemp is up, the furnace is on full blast. The hunger only leaves for about 5 minutes before it comes back like an avalanche. I think I may have really emptied myself yesterday, it was hard and the weather was a bit hot for cross, I didn't take the waterline along the beach, I stayed up on the more dry sand. Rougher but more consistent, no time to pick a line through it that was faster than the one I was on already. My whole system except the energy levle is in overdrive. I thought I was going to throw-up at around noon and it turns out I was just hungry. A bit of soup and sandwich and I feel normal again, well, relatively normal, I mean more even-keeled, well less out there, you know, more aware of what might be going on around me. Hey at least I can ride a bike today. This is from last Sunday not yesterday, good courses for different reasons.

1385

The proper cross weather we have had left for a few days. The indian summer was back for a near 70 degree day of dry beach cross. A bit like the famous world cup Koksijde course in Belgium where if your man eonugh you can ride it, I'm not, I run. This week they had call ups, Which helped a ton becuase of the enormous field, I got the pole spot and timed the start just right. I jumped out ot hte hole-shot and was comfortable to let the race happen until the splits came. 6 of us were away after the first lap and then the real games began, two Mootry guys started to play attack and sit, to isolate and try to split it up, it only tired them out, they ended up third and fifth. Once there was even a bobble where one of the Mootry guys cut a corner forcing me stop and put a foot down, allowing his teammate a good gap with another guy, after chasing back on the group dynamic was done for the day. That was the last time I let two guys on the same team in front of me. Riding thru lap after lap the leader would change but no splits until the last two laps, I pushed it a bit to make the attacks less likely and then got in front for the final run up the beach and gave all I had to gain a little gap that grew to about 30 seconds on the line. Only one real mistake when I put the foot down, next weekend is it, the USGP. Maybe a rest after that. I could use a break. For pics check out Peloton Photo he should have them up split out for categories.

One day & Manquer

Yesterday was a rest day, of sorts. We had to go to Denver for a number of things so the whole family went to escape winter for a while. The weather there would maybe have been good for a ride but it just didn't work out for time. We went to the Butterfly Pavillion North of Denver, I got to hold a spider with B. It was one of these. The butterfly pavillion is an entomologists dream, I was never that into bugs but this place made me want to go back and learn all about them. Tomorrow is the last test before the USGP I feel good, no ghosts last night and no real aches. Good races for sure are on the way. Check out this stop action movie, Manquer if you like bikes, if you've seen it, watch it again it's worth it.

More Sunday

Another random picture from Sunday's slowfest. The cool thing about the course was how slow and turny it was, I felt like I was barely moving, riding across the field was the slowest part, every lap expecting 6 guys to blow past me. The other guys had to ride same course, it was slow for them too. Little visit from the ghosts last night, later than usual, better to be up early than up late. Not too bad the 5 a.m. up is better than the 1 a.m. no sleep. Antsy and upright when I should be horizontal and asleep. All the way though me, false alarm at 4, then up for good at 5. I'm tired now and I can't help it.

Thursday

16 inches of snow in Breck. Not even a second thought on riding, I was out the door at 7.10 and should have known what I was about to do. That much of the white stuff mid season sets up like a powder day, not today. Heavy and stiff, the bike wouldn't roll thru it. Clogging the gears and making the path impassable. The road was less attractive, I didn't have a choice as the gears were skipping and the bike wasn't happy. Single is the way to go in this stuff, straight up with either sliders or EBB. Running in calf deep snow with the pack and a bike on my shoulder or next to me made me tired. Third day of training this week. USGP will be good, next week maintenance, then open up for saturday, 9 days until my biggest test in years. It all will pay off, one way or the other. Insert snowy shot from any image gallery here. Deep snow.

Dump

The warm weather cross race looks pretty good right now, it snowed a foot plus last night, even cars are covered, the bike slept inside, we'll see if the snow sticks. Photos from Boulder #1.

Intelligent Design

Wow, good work today, one or two of these a week and I'll have no excuses not to be first 10 at USGP. Motor pace with Jeff, not with a scooter or motorcycle just riding behind a really fast guy on a road bike while I'm on the cross machine with knobbies makes it feel like motor pacing. Great work. Shut the brain off and hold on. I feel tired now, two days of training and then Swan Mtn at the end today for good measure. Certainly a good measure of what it takes to not be slow, will it work for me? Photo dump tonight, nothing to show right now, lots for later. The path isn't getting less sketchy, the snow won't leave the shaded areas and the ground is freezing quickly, more and more time to get to work and home without too much more light to give. Sunday it all gets worse, darkness for the commute home, get the lights warmed up for Monday evening's trip. One line through the snow and ice puts you on it, pick one and hope it works out but the less options you have the more likely you are to touch the ground. Little dabs are expected, full on yardsales end the season early. Collarbones? not very well designed and a liability. Maybe that's an argument against intelligent design? How intelligent is the design of the collarbone? a very fragile poorly supported bone that routinely breaks. Hmmmmmmm, 6000 years of life can only be true. Right? Fossils 3 million years old? Myth!

Highliter

Hiding in plain sight I used to think was the idea that made the most of the different sides of a cube. Now, I see I was wrong, always wrong to the point of a fault. I like to look back and see just how off I was, all the time. When it all came together I was the one who was most shocked, part of growing and maturing. Now, I see the path for what it is, not what I wanted it to be. Getting out on the bike in the snow blowing out whatever shit lingers in my lungs, sharpening my urge to keep at it makes me happy, to know that all is well with the world as I see it. I'll be home early, enough to get the night going with a Saison I earned it, right? Sleep has been coming easy lately, more work, less ghosts seems to be the equation that gets the rest in and the open eyes out. No real secret, i just need to balance the see-saw and cross will continue to go well, I guess cross is going well, no complaints. The bike has never felt better. The roll is there and plenty of drive to get out on it. I always feel very lucky to have such a solid rig to ply my favorite effort on. I get to ride my cross bike, that is good.

Spikes

Mid race photo from yesterday, I didn't have any spikes on my shoes which made me extra slow on this section. It all worked out anyway. Bad timing on my part, bumming a ride to the race and then only getting a partial warmup lap, getting to the start line late made my second row position less of an issue b/c I got there at 11.15 for an 11.30 start. That's to the venue 15 minutes before the start, not just to the line. Pee, get changed and then try to find my number and get to the start. No call ups? WTF??? Why have series overall if you don't do call ups? What's the point? Great soggy course, more wet and grassy than muddy, So far this year only one course has been bone dry hardpack. I feel very lucky to have a season of great cross weather. The start wasn't too bad, the field sprint for the first corner was ok, I moved up a few spots and then hit the second turn already nearing the first 5. By the first stretch of road I had third wheel, OK, this isn't too bad. I then sat back after a few of us blew a corner I hadn't seen yet and we cut about 10 meters off the course, realizing the whine factor I sat up and let a guy or two pass me so I couldn't be accused of gaining as advantage due to the cut. Then I slowed after finding the front again b/c I didn't know the course, I let a guy pass me and then we started to motor a bit. By the first run up I had the lead and pushed the pace to cause an early split, the loop was too turny to allow for a bigger group, I wanted it as small as possible without any passengers, only drivers. A solid group of three with two guys yo-yo-ing off the back of us that made me pretty comfy in that it wasn't going to be too steady, more jumpy, harder on the fast guys that way. Jump out of every corner, hurt the road legs, favor the cross legs. By the midpoint the other guys had made their plays on the front and tried to attack and separate, I was able to work through the attacks and keep the pace high enough. Going into the last lap I was second wheel, he tried to chop me a few times, open the door and slam it shut on me, he made a mistake, I jumped hard around the outside to a slick little ride up and gassed it to the big run with a few seconds in hand. After I got on the run I knew I was safe, the lack of spikes didn't hurt too much (see photo) I rolled across the top and pushed as much I needed to the last minute of racing. Clean race, no real big mistakes other than the late arrival and lack of good starting position. Thanks to Peggy and Jared for the picture.

Mid Winter

  I'm looking forward to going out to visit this guy in his world in a few months, maybe for the singlespeed gathering in February or just a routine desert trip to Fruita to thaw out and lay on a red rock and get warm. The ride home tonight will be sweet the snow has picked up it's pace all day and the commute is going to be pretty stout. Mmmmmmmmmmm stout.