1119

more snow last night, quiet trip across the tundra to get in. very few slips, the tires are working very well. the disappointment is fading a little bit, sucks not going to the show. maybe next year. i'll get a jump start on the break a week earlier and by christmas start the ball rolling. maybe sayulita in february for a good little sand and sun fix.

bummer

no nationals for me this year. figured it out last night, work is being as inflexible as my schedule outside of work. no way i can switch days and make the trip, for some bullshit reason work will not allow unpaid leave, family stuff has eaten up what i had and that's it. i guess the corpulent ones see this as leading to troubles down the road.

photovoice

thanks to jeff for putting this story up on his website. very cool to see a totally culture different from the eyes and viewpoint of the local people, not the lens of a photojournalist. the picture in the slideshow of the grandfather and grandson reminded me of learning to fish with my grandfather when i was about that little boy's age. he taught me to fish with a bamboo pole we found in the woods and some second hand fishing line and some baitfish. we caught a good bit of fish that we ate or fed to the cat on the farm at which we were staying. the cormorant birds reminded me of seeing them work in japan on the longboats in the little harbors or coves.

boreas

i had a good spot of work on the way home yesterday, climbed to the top of boreas, couldn't stop thinking about the firecracker 50, except for the feet of snow lining the road the effort was the same. the weather: the opposite. good legs, when i totaled the time it was a half hour of effort. at this point in the season i couldn't have asked for more of an outside workout on the bike. i stopped at the top to put on the other jacket and my balaclava for the trip back down. it took a good 15 minutes before my toes were not aching after i got home. had big songs going in my head, some misfits, descendents and to mellow the end of the ride after the descent to town some smiths. motivation is good for the weekend, the legs are coming around nicely and the taper begins for states and nats.

three

better today, tuesday's run and yesterday's sweatfest on the rollers have me guardedly optimistic for sunday, if i could figure out a way to get in a two hour ride that would close out the training week perfectly. three feet of snow certainly curb the safe outdoor riding, the commute is about all i can do. it just didn't really stop from friday afternoon until monday night. straight home yesterday to get on the rollers. same today unless the roads clear. watched pro last night while on the rollers, pretty cool stuff, motivating to see those bury it so hard without thinking of a result for themselves. getting a good head together for this weekend's race, rollers and good race videos motivate me.

full

cool sky to bring me in today. i guess nearly three feet of snow and a full moon do spell no lights at 5 am. not that cold, probably about 0, far warmer than the expectation. still no octopus, getting antsy to see what he has to offer me. spent 15 minutes last night putting on the studded tire, broke a tire lever and have rubber burns on my thumbs. managed to stay up across the ice. surprised to see so much ice amid the snowpacked roads, it didn't get above 5 all day tuesday. trying to keep focus on the last few weeks of cross, rollers today, need to keep on the work.

esd and questions

i see the light at the end of the tunnel, the end is near when the three week break comes and i get to rest. i hope to get a two month diagnosis of esd (extra slow disorder) base miles are very good for the head. 5 hours on the road in the cold and wind whenever i can get it done. a good winter with music and podcasts to pedal away the kilometers. now the reservations for providence need to be made, do we go? is it worth it? should i save the $ for a week in hanalei in february? would i rather suffer thru hikes and runs with shaubie along the na pali coast than chasing a top 10 at nationals?

pics and pans

a few pics from my one good showing in the open race this year, bad legs snowball into bad seasons, maybe this past weekend put those bad ones away for a while. these are from the gunnison weekend, good show on the twilight race and then sunday put good to my thoughts that i took it too easy thru the spring and summer. now that catch-up has been the program since then, with not much to show for it. not that last weekend was bad, 2nd place is ok but it sucks racing with one lung. i had both of them yesterday.

a win

it came together today, first one in two years, felt good to start the last lap with a good little gap and go full wood to the line. good scrap, couple of regular fast guys made it fun and hard. karlito and dennis thought they had it figured out, bury me on the road and get in front of me before the barriers so i couldn't gap them there. dennis would drill it on the road, karl and i would look at each other, saying with our faces "you want him? you go get him" this went on for a few laps. finally dennis got and gap and forced karl and i to work together till dennis yardsaled it on a barrier, we got around him and that was it for dennis. 4 to go i spilled on a slick offcamber turn and had to work a full lap and a half to bring karl back, soon as i did he got in front of me on the big running section. next time thru with 1.5 to go i drilled it into big running section and gapped carl for the last time, hard effort for 5 minutes or so and that was it, my first win in the 35+ field. maybe the training is coming around in time for the last few weekends of the season. dennis got around karl somewhere after i got away to come second, he seems to be gaining form too, could be a good scrap at states.

blue and a little white

blue water to make an otherwise mundane morning a little sweeter. had to listen to a bureaucrat spew the usual, at least my boss diluted it with the cheers. got to ride the cross bike again today in the weather, little that we got before it all faded into a dry evening. great opening day. global warming is a myth. it might just go the way of that whole so called evolution thing.