shit show!

Raced the Test of Metal today. Sweet race. You and 799 of your best firends. Well things started out really well considering that it was pissing. I got into the start corall in pretty good position, but not amazing. I was able to move up really easy up the paved climb. I passed a ton of people and had good to great legs today. After talking to Ronsonic and getting the recon I deceided to take it chill on the descent that takes you to jacks trail. It goes flat after that and you can catch up. Tons of guys make daring passes and get flats, for nothing, I managed to pass everyone who went by me back. So did I mention that it was raining? Anyways, I got to the runup called roller coaster in a bit under an hour. Not sure if that is fast, but I was riding with strong guys so I think so? Was I Ron? Well after that there are 2 sections that have a ton of turns. At the end of the second set....I broke my chain. Damn! Well, I crossed chained it and with all the mud on it was a bad combo. On the good side it took me a limited amount of time to fix it. I had a sram connector pin taped to my chain tool. This allows you to re attatch your chain quickly and without a tool, pretty pro eh! Well, I got it going again and it was good, but I was bymyself. I got passed by 2 waves, 40 to 50 people I would say. I caught the second wave by the feed zone, then I caught the rest half way up 9 mile hill. I was climbing well. Middle except for one savage, savage steep part. After you turn off the gravel fire road your climb some rockysingle track. I wanted to beg the granny ring there, but it would not shift. At the very top of 9 mile it was freaking cold and just pissing. I had heat balm on my legs and my arms. I did not cramp on the climb at all. I drilled it down to the ring creek rip but my brakes were not working well, it was getting tough to control. What happened is i burned off all the pads on one side of the disk brake caliper so what happens is that only one side of the disk caliper is ppushing in. After I rode one of the harder fast descents I could pull the lever almost to the bar, not good.
Next is Powerhouse Plunge. In the dry I can ride it from top to bottom and it is techincal. In the rain, it is something else. I can't describe it at all. I started to ride the top part really well, then the guy in front of me biffed. I have to stop. Can't get going. Try again, but it is steep rock and root. not the place to get going so I get off and run it. Then I hop back on, then I come up to someone else, they dab, then me too. Off again. It sounds like my brakes are metal on metal. I have no real brake power. I try to ride one steep drop and come into it way too hot and get bounced around, kind of like riding a bull. I don't go down, but it is close and kind of scary. I cannot get on the ribbon and get some flow. I arried at the Plunge at 2:45 into the race. That is not too bad, but it took me a while to get out. I end up running a lot of it and it just seemed more consistant. I think only 2 people rode by me. I passed a few guys. I would say I ran thirty % of the plunge and that is not great. Ah well, at least I get on and off fast. Some people are a little on the slow side on the remount, however others don't need to practice romounting as they never come off. Anyway, I have to ride crumpet woods, pure rolling single track that was rim deep mud. I cleaned the whole thing and did not cramp I had 0 brakes so it was tough. Doubt I lost a ton of time as it is mostly up and I rode everything, all in my middle ring as I still could not get my front shifter to drop. Oh I almost forgot, I had a biff in the plunge. I am running and I hit my foot on a rised root and I am running my foot got caught and down I went. bike ended up on top of me. Jeeezzzzus.
After I get through Crumpet that seemed to take forever it is to some really fast single track. wide open with gradual turns so I don't have to brake much. Then it is too the finish. I finished in aabout 335-340 my fastest time in the bone dry was 320.
things that went well; the long climbs, the start, crumpet woods because I did not blow a quad or a hamstring.
things that went bad; the weather, the plunge, my brakes. I won't put my chain in there because having that conex link was genius....
I had to stop while driving home, I was in downtown and I started cramping in my ankle, ham, and quad, actually had to pull over and was in my car screaming.

Good thing it is fathers day tomorrow as I will be useless.

Okay, so Roberto is calling recumbents gay! I agree, but just a day before he says that puts up this picture of him racing. He has purple anodized bar ends? WTF! Look at the bend on those things! Did he steal those from Ned Overends 1989 Specialized Epic? Hit me with you address buddy and I will send you some stubby black (ritchey WCS ) bar ends I have lying in a box somewhere. I think that he is wearing his wifes helmet as well.....
Pantani called, he wants his earing back!
love ya buddy!!!

Rusty!

Before I start the Fashionista would like everyone to know that " we don't like Swiper, he is a sneaky fox, Swiper no swiping!!!"

Went and rode mymtb bike today. Awesome, had not riden it in a long time and it showed on my first lap. Man was I bad. Second lap, after an hour on the bike I was pretty close to normal. It was raining the whole time I rode and it was slick. I set my tires up sans tubes, www.notubes.com, and was running them at about 35 psi. As it started to rain harder I dropped them to about 30 psi! Using low tire pressure rocks, I am not using a tire with a lot of tread and they hooked up great. More of the same tomorrow morning. Up at 5:30 today. I will be passing out be 9:00 tonight. It is worth it! Today was awesome!!!

Quick Step

Well, looks like there is another scandal brewing. Quick Step riders and staff members had their homes raided by Police in Belgium. Nice. No big surprise. I know only one person that does not believe that doping is systematic. Meaning that the Directors of the team don't know. The directors set this crap up and basically force the riders hands to dope. The riders aren't a bunch of victims either, if they win then they end up with a $! At the end of the day that is what it is all about.
Vandenbrouke is in critical condition after attempting suicide. You saw it coming from a mile away. The doping, the legal problems, the marital problems. Just like any other addict he hit rock bottom and now he is on death's door step. I hope he pulls through. Even though, he was one of the dirty one's ( not that many weren't ) maybe he can come back and teach kids the right way to win bike races. We don't need another Pantani, dead with bags of coke around him.
When is Riis going to quit cycling and never come back? I don't really hate Riis, he admitted to something ( just before on of his team staff was going to blow the whistle on him ) that happened a long time ago and to me it does not make him some hero or a villain. I just don't think that he can be trusted to work with riders anymore. He didn't know Basso was involved with the Spanish doctor? Come on! He has to go. Where do you find a good team leader now? In the past 15 years doping has been the norm in cycling, so who do you put in the drivers seat? An ex rider that doped his ass off or someone with no pro experience that is clean?
Riders that escaped without getting caught during their careers, must be getting a bit worried. All these people that were considered nutters ( as David miller would call them prior to his admission of EPO ) seem to have a lot of credibility.

Here I am where are you?

Sitting here watching all of the post game review of the stanley cup finals. In case you live in a cave with no TV, the Ducks won. Ahh, hoping for the Sens, but there are 3 Manitoba boys on the team and when you factor in Teemu that is actually 4. Not too shabby. I believe 16 of 18 are from Canada so that is cool.
We are going to Europe! It is going on a short time line ( 2 weeks ), but it will be a great time! Going to Germany and then doing some driving through Germany, Austria, and then into Croatia. We will then make our way to the Coast where the space-in-laws live. Jetting out on the 21st of this month. I may end up doing another road race this weekend. There is a race about 1 hour away. Man, I have not done this much racing in a long time. Especially road. I think that I am the last one of any of my close friends that I started racing with who has a race license? Things move on I guess. Lets face it bikes are pretty frivolous and there are many other worth while things to be doing. I actually feel bad knowing that a lot of my friends have stopped riding/racing and I forge on. I wonder if I have gotten it all wrong. there are things that I miss out on. Getting up at 5:30-9 so that I can ride on the weekends gets old and I miss the Fashionista waking up. I miss the Mrs when I get up that early. I ride a lot by myself, almost exclusively, for many months of the year. It can be a bit of a lonely proposition. I still love to pin a number on though. Not more than I love my family, but I like riding hard. If I get popped in a race or have a bad race I don't care that much. I know that if I have a good race it is probably because I was smart, not the strongest guy given my hours on the bike. I have had like 7 beers since Palm Springs. Seems like if I am going to get up early beers does not make sense, if I try to have a few after a race or a hard ride I pass out at like 9:00 pm.....not that I stay awake past 10:30 on a stellar night.
Talking to Ronsonic today and he was telling me that he is doing an mtb race with his daughter. Cool!! He can ride! His girl can ride too! What a cool thing to be able to do with your kid. Seeing how I had mine at 34 it may not happen that I do that with my kid, but I hope I can at least ride with her or run with her not just be a useless phuck who has a gut.
They are saying that Teemu will retire. I will never forget when he broke Mike Bossy's rookie scoring record and in celebration he threw his glove in the air and shot it out of the air. That was a long time ago! I am old.
I was told that when I go to Croatia that it will be a cultural awakening. Funny how when I took her to Winnipeg she did not view it as such.
If a couple had no ability to have children of your own would you cut those people slack for stealing someone elses child? They found some missing girl in a couples basement locked away somewhere in the states.... Okay rambling now, I should get off this thing
One of my favorite Seinfeld's was on last night. It is the one where the K man walks in a asks if this where you are doing the interference? the K man also tells George to break up with her to turn the tables on her! I could have used that one once or twice in my dating career. The preemptive strike as Jerry would call it. And last but not least the Pez dispenser and the piano recital. the interference! Classic!

Cramping!

Raced the Westside Classic today. It is the provincial championships. I raced in the masters 30-39 category. So, the race is held right in Vancouver. We get FULL road closures! Full Grandstand and a big portion of the course is barracaded! It rocks! I have never done another race where you get 100% road closures. This includes SW Marine Drive, 16th Ave. The organizors give all their money to BC cancer. They raised over 120K for the cause. Big props to the Wedgewood cycling club! So, we race together with the 40,50,60,70 year olds. Yes I said 70! So next time you are thinking I can't do this or that, just remember that there are guys who are 70 trying to dangle with guys 40 years younger! I think the few 70 yr old guys got dropped, but two 60 year old guys hung tough to the end. It was like a 200 guy pack. That is big. There was one really hard section on the course, it was the climb up Camousen road. It is bigringable, and it takes about 3 minutes bottom to top. It went well. I rode strong for 6 of 8. on the 6th time up I cramped a bit and was hurting. Did I mention that it was 22 degrees at 7:30am when we started and 28 when we finished. I was drinking a fair bit. Anyway, the group was windleing. I got over the top towards the back but was concerned. On the next lap up I cramped my calf and quads. Ouch. It is getting really thin now and I missed the bus going over the top by abut 6 feet. I chased on the downhill, but the support cars came around me. Way too soon. I basically chased, and chased, knowing that it would ease up. Then someone crashed. I managed to get back on. Last time up I decieded all or nothing and went to the big ring and hammered over the top. It was soooo fast. I was dying. I hurting like a Biotch the whole time. We rolled over the top and I was in the hurt locker, but hung tough, then on the last corner before the start finish straight that was it. I and about 15 others missed the boat for the final sprint. It split and I could not shut down the gap. There are a few small rises and just road it in and watched the other guys sprinting. I was happy with it. Awesome race to do!
What else? someone told me tht they thought that Wille Mitchell of the Canucks was a head hunter for a questionable hit, so I wonder if they would be so liberal with Pronger? What an idiot. That was dirty. Not only dirty, but dirty with intent. that guy may be the best player on his team, but not in the press box he is not.
May be going back to the mother land, no not winnipeg ( that is later in the year), but to the Mrs homeland, Croatia.
Lot of talk about the Test of Metal at the race today. Not a lot of it positive. Todays race brings in a big amount of money and gives it all away. People are starting to think that the TOM organizers need to give some cash money back to the cause, not just volunteers doing trail maint. Not sure I agree. Some people think that given it's size that maybe you need to have time to qualify, sort of like the Boston Marathon. I think people hate the sign up process. It could use some work.
Okay, I have to go look for flights! 3 months to cross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!