surprise epic

got a decent road ride in on saturday, wasn't into it, but knew it was best way to get the "right" effort - spent 3hrs dreaming of the woods...

sunday. at andy's by 715a. managed to bring a busted-up bike, left the new IF at home, didn't want to "beat it up" on a 6hr technical ride. fast forward to 930a (made a trip home for the IF) wheels finally rolling, andy staying relatively calm throughout my boneheaded delay (caused by a lack of bike maintenance, this crap has to end, i think if it doesn't andy's gonna start riding alone). right as we get into a flow, (around 10a) my "new-to-me" carbon railed saddle snaps off. i'm kinda mad, but more relieved that it didn't happen in a race! we call-in the big guns. BARRY RUGO! why the caps and exclamation? well, he's BARRY RUGO! we drop him a line and he meets us a mile or two up the trail w/an "extra" saddle. saved the day! after that, the ride was incredible. tons of sun and what i could only describe as "superb confidence" for the IF. it's by far the easiest handling bike i've ever ridden - crazy responsive - rode a ton of lines i hadn't cleaned before, the new 2.2 super-sticky kenda cortez's certainly helped. i'd just toss the bike against the steep rocky climbs and it'd stick like glue. i have no idea why i thought riding a "trail bike" is better than the steel deluxe! leaning, pulling, hopping, totally keyed-into the terrain, just great riding.

BARRY meets back up with us at 130p, brought sandwiches, water, fruit, we get rolling with him up into Bruce and Tom's in Gloucester. it's a mtb "fun-park" of sorts - all these bridges and rolling "video-game" like lines. pretty wild stuff. right as i'm commenting on how burly this 5' drop is, BARRY skies off it - which for him is no biggie, what's insane is that the guy broke a rib a few wks back. you could see the pain on his face when climbing but not a word. i'd be @ home getting fat, maybe riding the trainer, BARRY's jumpin' off shit. i guess once you've summitted Everest, it's all gravy.

as usual andy had a superb ride. i don't mention how easy he makes it look too often anymore, i figure it's a given by now.

finished-up with a 45min hammer on the road back to hamilton, just ran-out of time to double all the way back on technical singletrack. ended-up being a great way to finish-up the ride, really spin the legs out. rides like today's are what make it all come together, rejuvenate the riding spirit - the entire spirit. good stuff. spent a lot of time grinning foolishly. andy's got some photage action on his blog, only stole the one above from him! nothing worse than a picture-stealing blog thief... but look at that! i love these trails. the climbs aren't very tall, maybe 100-200' per hill, but you just keep going up and down these wicked technical goat climbs, each climb getting you closer to the ocean... you feel so isolated in the low-lands, then break-free onto the rock blasted tops and catch these fantastic views of the water. new england kicks some serious ass on days like these.

the hub

Another perfect day here in the Hub (of the universe that is). stopped on the longfellow bridge and snapped the above photage. my camera skills don't do the view justice. i remember being 23 years old and first coming to boston. i'd ride or walk across this bridge or through boston common and feel so lucky to be in such a great city. now, i'm usually so frustrated by people's attitudes and aggressive driving that i rarely stop and marvel at the city's history and architecture... over the past couple years i've become more aware (mostly through travel) to how expensive things here are. for example, in santa cruz (3 weeks ago) i bought breakfast which consisted of an odwalla juice, large cup of java, bagel w/scrambled egg and jam, and an "extra" bagel for "later" (5 mins after the first). total cost: $8. in boston that same meal would be at least $12. Another reason i can't wait to move to Burlington, VT! and i bet the view of Lake Champlain with the Adirondacks rising behind will be worth a lot more stops for photage's than the Longfellow bridge.

my 16.5" ellsworth truth frame, a Fox 100X (just rebuilt), and various other items are going on eBay this wknd. if interested, look for auctions by "whittij" - it's time to get some loot in the ridin' account, this brutha's tapped the f out!

talking to my dad yesterday and he says in a clearly pained voice, "i just wish one of these races would go without mishap for you." that's support. he and my mom were there (and funded) my trip to solo world's in 2004 and had t0 watch as i came into the pits with a clearly f'd-up hand, taking me out of the race. i think that moment had a big effect on them... but, i've had my share of great luck - and some terrible luck. i rode to a 2nd place finish at 24 of A Dalton last year w/o one mechanical mishap (23+ hours of saddle time w/o one mechanical!), but then had a faulty UST tire disentegrate at Jay a month later, but then came back and had a great VT50 (was a bit over-trained, but that happens) and finished the season off with a solid Foliage 400. What's the point of all this babbling? It's time to take my rig more seriously and spend more time on maintenance, try to get my mechanical-free racing from 75% up to 90%. freaks like us work too hard (at our jobs, our training, our lives) to let something as silly as a cheap chain ruin months of preparation.

i hope everyone enjoys their weekend of rides. big choice for me on Sunday. wells ave crit (ride 20miles to race, do the 45min crit, then ride home) or a 5hr early morning technical trail ride w/andy. i know what my heart want's to do - ride dirt! but is it the best thing for training!?

the commute

I love riding my bike to work! in the sun, snow, rain, ass-cold temps, it doesn't matter. it's so freeing to be outside, to not be locked and trapped within the confines of a vehicle, plus the past couple days have been beauty's, cool in the morning (arm warmers), mid-50's by the afternoon.Random pic of some guy riding in front of me along the Charles River in Cambridge into Boston. Couldn't help but photoshop it a bit, give it an artsy look. i really should be working, not doing this... this guy hammered by me this morning, i love it - the efforts folks will give, that is. usually i'll just sit behind folks like this for a while, let them have their moment. i've got plenty of my own...

Have found some good new-to-me commuter blogs off martino's bike lane diary... they say each gallon of gas we use releases 26lbs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere! holy crapola! by riding my bike to work i'm guessing i keep approximately 7,500 lbs of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year. there's also a great list of easy ways to be more energy efficient on this site. jenn and i do most all of them (use a push mower for our small lawn, keep our house at 62 during the day, 53 at night, keep the fridge turned-down, don't use an air conditioner unless guests from the South (i.e., our families) are visting, etc, etc)... it's so easy to get into a practice of saving energy. we also subscribe to GreenStart New England, we pay more for our electric, but the proceeds go to funding "green" energy sources, maybe there's a program in your state? it's even tax deductible.

My bad mood on the Cohutta is ovah. I'm all about the Mohican 100 in June to chase this demon away. Legs feel fantastic this week. Crazy. It's like i didn't even do a 100mile dirt race. One of the best things about the taper is that it counts as a "rest" week, so i can usually get right back into hard rides the wk after an "A" event. Also looking at another switch to the schedule (sorry jason! oh yeah, check-out his write-up on a great race effort in crap conditions) and heading to Mont Sainte Anne on June 17th for the UCI marathon. Jenn is psyched at checking-out Quebec (as am I) and with the race on Saturday morning, we'd have a full day to walk around the city and chill on Sunday. Sounds good to me. Plus it's always fun to get your butt kicked by the pros. To race a UCI event you have to be a semi-pro, so looks like i'll be making the jump. I told Parsons i need to win an Expert race before making the switch, so i guess i only have 2 or 3 chances before Mont Sainte Anne, the pressure's on!
city of boston from the bike path on the cambride side of the charles. was way hazy this morning. but, snagged a digital camera, hoping to get some decent pics in the coming weeks...

Lucky Number Thirteen - Cohutta 100miler Race Report

check-out andy's write-up. good stuff. that brother had a most excellent ride. paced himself perfectly. stoked!

18hr drive. arrive at the ocoee whitewater cntr for registration (i'm registered as #13, doesn't bode well!) around 4p, get the bikes dialed-in, swap-out the tires (go with kenda karma 1.95 in the rear, irc serac 1.95 in front) for expected mud and rain, all that good stuff. we jump on the nearest section of singletrack and both find we have the golden legs! crazy! i guess sitting in the car for two days is the best way to prep for a race. ha! but it was worth it. the singletrack down there was incredible, swooping, flowing stuff. would have been nice to ride more of it, hungry for another race down that way, but not the drive...

hang with harvey minton, his lady lauren and their pup, eddie o'dea and namrita kumar at a sweet condo harvey hooked-up. nice.

620a saturday, overcast, foggy, 62 degrees, moist. 710a, race starts on 2miles of road. mark hendershot takes the lead, andy and i sit-in a few wheels back, trying to hit the opening 15miles of singletrack in top 10. no problem. andy's on my wheel, but his handlebars are loose and has to stop to fix. wacky. we exit the singletrack, front group takes a wrong turn and andy's right there on way back, perfect. i was bumming to lose my bro so early in. i manage to get the hole shot into the next section, come around a corner at 20mph, hit a bridge and take a sail! it was pure mold ice. i get back-up crazy quick, only lose 3-4 spots, but nice rash on leg, arm, hip, won't even notice it till cleaning-up in the river 8hrs later. we get through some technical stuff that swallows the group and out onto 1 lane fireroads through the mountains (with occasional traffic, blind corners, sweeping turns, good stuff) where the race goes up and down some solid climbs for the next 70miles before the final 12mile singletrack section to a short section of pavement before the finish back at the ocoee cntr.

the lead group is whittled down to 4 by mile 25-30 when the climbing begins. seems like i'm doing a lot of pulling early-on, but we weren't going that hard. didn't feel hard. after we hit the hills we're chatting like old school chums. all the sudden it wasn't a race, but a group ride. the miles were just flying-by. Hendershot, Prosser (cannondale) and some other cannondale rider who wasn't as gregarious.

aid station 3 comes after 10-15miles of pretty much steady climbing. prosser encourages me to take a leak from the saddle, something i hadn't managed to do before, so that was an interesting first. filled-up my shoe in the process, thankfully it was dumping rain. nasty. i stop to get water, mark goes on, but rides slow so we can catch-up. prosser bridges first and just as i'm bridging-up, i decide to drop into the grannie as the pitch increases and my chain snaps instantly. i mutter "there goes my race", already losing focus and i haven't even dismounted yet! first mistake. i fix it poorly, it breaks again as i'm bridging back-up to group 10-15mins later. second mistake. this time i fix it properly, but miss the part of the front derailleur! have to break it again! ahhhgggg! third mistake. now i've lost 8-10mins total. andy catches-up, tosses me his park chain tool and off we go. after riding together for a bit, i decide to sprint to "make-up time." this is MY race. this is my chance. fourth mistake - and the most fatal.

30-40mins into this up-tempo piece, i totally 100% blow-up, melt-down, start puking and have to dismount and walk for 2-3mins. andy catches back up while i'm walking and rides slow with me for 10-15mins talking constantly, trying to get me going. super-nice guy move, but that's andy. since i puked-up all my nurtition, i begin to bonk on top of melting-down. as andy pulls away i begin drinking water in earnest and 30-45mins later slowly adding food simple foods (bagel) back to the system. can't push heart rate above 130-135 w/o feeling light-headed and sick for the next 1.5 - 2 hours, but the miles fly-by anyway, deep in the pain cave. never think about quitting, just think about how to get through it, how to get my body to rebound, how to catch my friend up ahead on the trail.

then suddenly i'm at aid station 6 and the guy says, "12miles to go, all singletrack from here." i finally eat a goo, other solid foods are starting to fuel the system. i take-off, feel sick again, ease back. after climbing for 1/2mile or so i go the wrong way at this confusing turn, where the singletrack does a 1mile circular loop. a guy i was riding with way earlier is coming down the trail as i'm going up it, i turn around, lose about 5mins, and now some other dude is right on my tail. having andy pass me when i was sick is ok, he's my boy, but this dude? he makes the pass, i can't go down like this. from the possibility of being in the top 3 to this? wtf? i freak and hit the gas around him down into a tight corner, don't look back, you never look back. this time i don't feel sick. my legs rebound and i have a great final 10miles or so into 8th place, energy levels peaking, my heart rate right back up at 170. i did spend 2hours "resting" in the middle of the course! andy finishes in 7th place, 6mins ahead, i in 8th place and harvey only 3-4mins behind me in 9th.

Prosser's rear brakes went-out at like mile 20 (i.e., no pads), then the pistons locked-up and he couldn't hang at the end using a broken bike. Hendershot ends-up outsprinting the other Cannondale rider for the win, posser in 3rd. really would have liked to have been there at the end... woulda, coulda, shoulda! ha! fuel for the fire.

After the race i'm talking with Hendershot and he said some real encouraging things. I'm all like, "dude, you're the man, i only lost 10mins with my mechanical, you beat me by 40, i would have blown-up anyway", he insists that isn't the case, that one mistake led to another, all that positive stuff. point is, that dude Hendershot is good people, as was Garth Prosser, looking fwd to spinning the cranks w/those dudes again. and as usual, i'm always looking fwd to spinnin' 'em with my boy andy. that dude had a great race, a smart race.

i'm definitely bumming about how things turned-out. but, this is bike racing, there's no "if this wouldn't have happened, then i would have finished here." that's pure crapola. for all i know i would have blown-up anyway. one of the things i love about bike racing is that it's so damn hard, you have to do everything right - and make the right decisions when things go wrong. yesterday, a huge part of me just wanted to crawl into bed and lay there for a couple weeks and do nothing, be depressed. of course, i have a real job, so i chamoised-up and pounded on the pedals in the 53-11 yesterday on the way to work, took the scenic route. legs felt fantastic, which is perfect for chasing this demon away. today things are even better. by next week, it'll be a distant memory, one where i'm only taking the positives away and none of the negatives.

one important thing i discovered is 100miles is the perfect endurance distance. the mohican 100 may just have been added to the schedule... and my new custom deluxe rides like a dream. i've never been so comfortable on a bicycle. it was crazy, could have been on my couch it was so damn smooth.

*photos are courtesy of namrita kumar who couldn't race due to back issues, but she's resting-up to kick some arse at the Source Burn 24 in May. sweet!

tires

1130pm, night before we leave for cohutta. everything's ready. bags packed, gear lined-up. jenn made baked goods for the trip. we'll definitely have maximized our "glycogen stores" by the time we get there.

quick wheel fix at the bike shop.
thought it was fixed, then realized it wasn't.
had to freak-out for a minute.
billy solved the problem, but home late.

the new steel deluxe is pimp.
can't wait to take it for it's maiden voyage.
shake-down rides don't count.
only races or epics count.
cohutta should be an epic race, even better.

what am i doing?
bugging-out about what ust tire to run.
happens everytime.
hutchinson python lites?
630grams, but still blame them for crash/dnf at solo world's in 2004.
haven't ridden 'em since.
schwalbe racing ralph 2.1's?
over 700 grams, but have done me right.
irc serac 1.95's?
too narrow, aggressive, could be good for front, though...
kenda kharma 1.95's?
did me right at the ottah...
i'm feeling the python's.
time to give 'em a second chance?
lightest i got.
course is dry and easy.
word.

1210, back upstairs.
wired.
one of the pythons had a piece of patch on it.
don't want to use it, can even remember the thorn that did it now...
while re-mounting one of the schwalbe's noticed a couple decent tears in sidewall, luckily not all the way threw.
two pieces of patch on that tire now.
mounted it anyway.
which patched tire to use?
could go wild w/a bit of sealant...
decisions. decisions.

this writing had the intended effect.
finally tired.

random

been riding my desk so hard my butt hurts.
feels better in a two-four solo effort than this.
maybe i need a new chair.
one shaped like a saddle, w/a soft tissue "channel."
scratch that, i'd rather just sit on my indoor trainer while working.
i'd be an animal.
9hrs of steady spinning per day.
might as well hook me up to a generator, some batteries.
power my own computer, monitor, router and switches.
maybe go off the grid all together.
all on these two legs and enough food for a family of six.
but, probably takes more barrels of the black gold to raise the animals and run the tractors to feed my 9hr/day pedaling arse than to just plug-in the computer.
life's always more complicated than it looks from a glance.

marathon monday

Patriots Day, Marathon Monday, basically the biggest party of the year for under-30 Bostonians. Invariably, you know someone who lives along the final 6-8miles of the Boston Marathon route. You grab a plastic cup, sit on the stoop, stand on the curb and yell as loud as you can for a couple hours while thousands of runners crawl and wimper past, through Newton, up heartbreak hill and past Boston College, then down into Brookline, before rolling into Boston proper where a hundred thousand people gather to cheer you on. By the time runners are within 2-3miles of the finish, folks are crowded onto the sidewalk so thickly, it's a human traffic jam. it took me an hour to go 3 city blocks a bunch of year ago, back when Patriot's day was a party day and not a work day for me... things change.

This morning, on my way to the office, I cruised down Boylston Street, already closed to traffic, past the grandstands and across the freshly painted finish line before banging a right down Claredon street, past our tallest building (the Hancock) and down to my office in the South End. There's something magical about Marathon Monday. All that hard work and effort coming to an end in our city. 20,000 runners, well over a million combined training hours - all coming to a head in this one race - the energy is palatable. For us locals, it's the official start of Spring, for them, it's the end of a hard winter's work.

As I look to the Cohutta 100miler this saturday, it is with inspiration, not just from these runners, but from all the folks who have the drive, the discipline and the enthusiasm to train while others rest. Watching my bro Andy train his ass off all winter (for the first time) in anticipation of this ride was truly epic. riding with him will be an honor.

Personally, after tapering for the Sea Otter, then staying-up late this past wknd w/my oldest friends who were in town, my legs aren't feeling especially fresh, but that doesn't take-away from the experience. I really have no patience for excuses, sometimes you are over-trained, sometimes under-trained, sometimes you're on fire! - it's those athletes who can take something positive away from each experience that i find inspiring. may i be one of them this upcoming wknd.

the freak bike commeth!

i liked coming to my blog this morning and seeing a pic of my wife. she's awfully purty.

got a call from joe at IFab yesterday, the freak bike was done! stopped by the factory on my way home (it's literally right on my commute home), threw the custom steel deluxe into the currier bag, only clipped one car with the frame as it protruded awkwardly out the side out of the bag. car alarm went off, and off i went! for some odd reason I insisted in picking-up my bike by bike, even though Jenn and Dr Mike both offered to grab it for me by car. It just seemed to make sense...

Too bad i don't have a digital camera to snap some photos of this bad boy, it's not just a bike, but a work of art. i told the boyz in somerville that i already feel bad for how much i'm gonna beat the piss out of it. their response, "dude, it's a tool. use it." Nice. dr mike did me a solid and brought the frame and parts up to Western Cycle this morning, as he's got the day off to hang with zoof. Nice! at this point in my biking career, i have almost all the tools and skillz needed to put a bike together, but i'm still enough of a mechanic newbie that i'd rather have the pros do it. AND, they're the shit at western cycle. if ever in Danvers, MA (or Boston), you gotta stop-by. No hard sell, you get what you pay for, and there are no surprises.

my closest friends from high school are in town this wknd (well, actually, we're a man down, our boy Josh is in San Diego...). 13yrs later and we still hang tight. had a few too many beers last night. zoof's flight was delayed, too bad for him and his wife, perfect for me! got a great ride in with the "found time." sweet! chris arrives today at 230, i've got loads of work to get through, but looking fwd to happy hr w/the boys... just need a nap first.

Sea Otter, not just a race, a realization...

The sea otter is like the Daytona 500 - the biggest race of the season is the first race, so this was a great test of fitness. Usually after a race, when I think-back on the experience, I know there are sections where I got lazy mentally and let the tempo down for a bit. Not in this one, this was more of a fight for survival, for a way to make the most of a situation, bad or not. That's not really what this post is about, though… it's more about how much everything has changed in the past 5 years. It's pretty wild that as you crest one hurdle, another appears before you, another goal becomes evident. without Jennifer in my life, I'd still be wasting wknds in the bar, throwing darts, waiting for life to find me. She's given me the strength to tackle life w/o hesitation. With us happily expecting our first child later this summer, I'm anxious… anxious for another great hurdle to appear before us, one that will certainly have effects we cannot even begin to imagine…

For those of you who don't know, each 19.4mile lap of the muddy sea otter course ends on a 5mile climb with a section referred to as "puke hill" by the locals - i found some pics online of me cresting puke hill. since my buddy Doug is a professional photographer, i can't just steal those images and post, it'd be uncool to have such a lack of respect for the folks working hard out on the course... so you'll just have to use your imaginations... Point is, sometimes, when I see myself these days, especially when on a bike in a race, I hardly recognize the person, other times it seems to make perfect sense… all I know is that I wouldn't be the guy in those pics w/o jenn, w/o her support.

Sea Otter Classic - XC Race Report

Sea Otter Classic. Results are here. I have so much to say about this race... no pics of me crankin' the mud, but have a good one of thomas down below...

Thom Parsons picked me up Friday, met-up w/his buddies and cruised down to Santa Cruz where we crashed. awesome drive through the mtns to santa cruz, why do i live back east!? Hung-out on Sat in Monterey, watched some downhill, i geeked-out on tire selection, bought a kenda kharma 1.95 for the rear, stayed with the racin' ralph 2.1 for the front... it worked-out great - and am so stoked i got the narrow kharma, as that really helped climbing out of the saddle in the mud - something i'd end-up doing for most of the race. ate lots of good food over the wknd, got the fuel in the system, had a lot of laughs with the solid crew we'd assembled, went to a kinda lame Kona party (but the beer wasn't, damn tasty - only had one!), got some zzz's, time to finally get our race on!

Sunday, race day. Cloudy, 60 degrees, light rain, lots o' mud, but also lots of open fast fireroad. Mass start on the Laguna Seca raceway, big field, movin' fast, locked handlebars w/some dude, but we disengaged and got into the fireroad unscathed. jockied for position throughout the first lap, really battling it out for every pass. folks were real antsy in the singletrack, one guy in particular was being a pain, complaining about someone dabbing up ahead, then would dab himself and start cursing. whatever! by 1/4 of the way into the first 19.4 mile lap, the chain suck was so bad, i'd lost a few spots trying to fix it. when it'd lock-up on the climbs i'd just stop, hop-off, let folks by, pull chain out, then start running - last thing i wanted to do was break a chain or bend the derailluer - that'd end my chance of a good finish. was getting pretty frustrated, saw top 5 slip away, then top 10, then FINALLY, when i was getting back near 15th place or so, realized the only way to rock this course was crossing it over. Big ring up front to big ring in back. Thought of my boy Parsons in the pro ss class running 34-18 and knew it was time to man-up, stop whining and get into the flow! didn't fly 3000miles to let conditions i'm accustomed to get me down! and suddenly i was free. free to ride my race - and i started having a blast!

By the end of the first lap, had moved back within sight of top 10, but still had a lot of work to do. As we entered the singletrack for the 2nd time, my glasses were super-caked with mud, couldn't see so well, missed a few key turns, went-down a couple times, but quickly rallied. the dude who was cursing about the conditions earlier and i had traded places a bunch of times and as i went by him a final time, my legs really opening-up now, i asked if he was having as much fun as i was. he grunted something, i smiled from mud-caked ear to ear and put the hammer-down. IT WAS ON! my legs were feeling sweet and it was time to push the pace. my back was aching like crazy, but it's easy to ignore one thing when everything else is feeling on. at the water-stop i managed to spray my glasses off and it was such a relief, had full vision again! i started yelling "i can see, i can see" at the top of my lungs, it was most excellent to have vision, can barely begin to describe...

some other dudes i'd been fighting for postion w/were dropping-off the pace as the miles settled into their legs, mine were still waking-up it appeared... soon however, the higher pace had my calves and hammy's on edge of cramping due to all the standing climbs in the big ring, not used to that slow of a cadence, but kept thinking of the ss guys pushing bigger ratios and knew i could do it in the 44-34. my upper body began to tire (i stopped doing as many push-ups this season in an effort to lose weight, muscle mass, bad idea, i'm back on the push-up bandwagon!), from pushing the bike from side to side up the muddy climbs, legs were shakey, but it was all good, the miles were piling-up, was moving-up the field, and for the first time in the race thought i could crawl onto the podium.

i did not. 6th place in expert 30-34. i guess us early 30 dudes are the shizzle on the bizzle, in any other age bracket i'd been in top 3. wild! pretty stoked about that. would also have finished above the top 50% in semi-pro, not great, but better than expected. have a lot to do yet, not time to start patting myself on the back or anything. some missed hours in base training haunt me, seems like i'm always 2hrs short of goal/wk... but that's what goals are for, something to reach for. my life has slowely changed as i've figured-out how to find the hours each day, am always running-out of time... anyway, had a great time out there, and now have a real tale to tell:

Mr Thom Parsons is a friggin' animal! was on the same pace as myself, but on ss! and battled for a 7th place finish in the open ss - gaining his position by way of a sprint finish with none other than Dejay Birtch. Holy crap! Thom's obviously been putting-in the miles, working hard. His company during the trip was most excellent and i'm more than grateful for his generosity in letting me ride his rig - and hang w/his crew while in cali. to many more epic rides!

back in boston

i'm riding to work this morning and a woman in her 60's almost hits me coming-out of a gas station. i see every car as a danger, so was already on the brakes, but what was disturbing is that as i stop short of her door, she yells "asshole" at me. why? she cuts me off, endangers my life and i'm the jerk? i do a track stand while waiting for her to get-out into traffic (she almost hit me not to pull-out into traffic, but to pull halfway out to wait for an opportunity to get into traffic!), then am on her right side and she yells again, "i didn't see you asshole." this is someone's grandmother for god's sake. welcome back to boston. i yell back, "why am i the asshole if YOU treid to kill me?" she doesn't respond, but instead gives me the boston glare, then slams on the brakes to block traffic behind her to turn left into the dunkin' donuts drive-through. welcome home Jeffy, first morning ride and already yelled at. I miss florida. I miss california. the bike lanes are wide and the people kind.

sea otter report coming later t-day. it was wicked!

frreezin'!

we keep our crib in medfa' anywhere between 54-62 degrees in the winter (which is basically from october till may it seems). after getting back from florida for a wk, i'm freezing my arse off! where's summer!? i felt guilty doing it, but got the thermostat "cranked" at 63. my hands are so cold, i'm having trouble typing. where'd my cold-weather mojo go!?

it appears i'll be doing a website for famed frame builder christopher igleheart, formerly of Fat Chance bicycles (i think, there are too many stories to remember from late nights drinkin' beers at the shop). many folks from fat chance started Independent Fabrication, whom i'm lucky enough to be riding for at the grassroots level this year. Speaking of which, Lloyd Graves, the last of the IFab founders in Somerville, let me know my freak-bike will be ready by or before April 15th - in plenty of time for the Cohutta 100miler! It'll be a good test on the new rig for the 24 hours of cutler (or whatever name they've changed it to). all the parts for the freak-bike are in my basement or at the shop, ready to be locked and loaded. the question is, am i?

i'll never say a bad word about florida again.

after playing golf with ron (father-in-law), escaped the clutches of the beast to the left (my cell phone camera works! - thanks andy), took a nap (first one of those in a loooong time), then headed-out on the bike for a hard effort, the final blast before tapering for sea otter. the legs are feeling so primed, it's going to be hard to keep things in check the next 4 days, but it's all for the best - and it's not like i won't be riding, just 25% less than normal, but when you've got one of these compulsive riding disorders and your mind is always telling you TO RIDE, it's hard to say no. Like those old anti-drug ads say, "just say no."

i used to get-down on florida. but not anymore. these folks rock. there are bike lanes everywhere and not one person has honked, yelled, spit at me, given the middle finger or tried to run me off the road. so much for boston and new england being the "educated" state. f'ing massholes. today, i'm stretching on the side of the road, getting ready for a series of LT's after warming-up for 30mins and a guy drives by, turns-around and asks me if i'm ok. i quickly explain i'm stretching, he wishes me well, cranks back-up the country music and blasts back out onto the roadway. that's crazy nice! in boston, you could be run-over, laying on the side of the road bleeding to death, someone will stop, steal your bike, then someone else will stop to pick your pocket, then someone else will slow-down to yell at the others to get-out of the road. you get the point... not to say there aren't good folks in boston, for there are many. it's just that there are more than enough idiots sometimes - and it's been a real nice break to be down here in florida where the temps are warm, the roads w/o stoplights, wide bike lanes and friendly folks all around.

so mellow

the tale of two rides. yesterday was all-out, race simulation day, never let HR go below 150, managed to look around a bit, see some wildlife, enjoy the views, but by the end was deep in the pain cave, sun beating me down, out of cliff electrolyte drink, stomach tight, just wanted off. right where you want to be when pushing. then today's ride. so mellow. 2hrs and 45mins of just cruising around at about 17-18mph, heart rate chillin' under 120. rode along manasota key, checked-out the azure blue of the ocean on one side, the inland river and manatee habitat on the other. i can't remember a more pleasant ride. on the way back, i rolled through some of the gated golf course communities, relaxed, didn't really want to be done, to get-off the bike. legs are right where i want 'em to be, weather is perfect, the never-ending flat terrain of florida perfect for a recovery spin.

need to think about what interval work to do in the next couple days before tapering-down a bit for the sea otter. here's hoping for a good one. have put about 30% more hours on the saddle during this pre-season (jan-mar), if that doesn't have me close to the front... well, i guess i'll just have to ride more then. then some more. if that doesn't work, i'll ride some more.

so much sunshine it hurts

florida. saw an osprey pluck a talapia out of a golf course pond while playing golf w/my bro-in-law yesterday, came within feet of a HUGE alligator sunning himself in cape canaveral today, saw some flamingos, pelicans, sand cranes, buzzards, lizards, all that crazy florida wildlife stuff. but, riding down here is kinda like riding the indoor trainer while watching a nature show. it's so flat you have to ride over a bridge to get hill-work in, so that's exactly what i've been doing! riding over the banana river. again and again and again.

little re-cap:

friday. opened my bike box and saw that airport security had opened 'er up and removed everything then re-packed it all f'd up. my wheels got compressed and during friday's planned 15o' ride, a couple spokes exploded 105' into it. the wheel was f'd, jenn came to the rescue and we were off to the bike shop with my nieces in tow (while driving my sister's crazy new bmw - that thing's got some ballz!). i digress. casey of revolution cycles in melbourne got me rollin' asap, nice guy, jenn, myself and the nieces made it to the movie. my nieces are the bomb, super-cute, super-smart and just good kids (ages 5 and 7). all was well, minus losing 45' of saddle time - on a planned hard effort day. oh well. wasn't really feeling it anyway, and was worried why the legs haven't gone golden - usually they do about a week after a super hard effort such as last wknd's century...

saturday. my sister and i went for a ride together for the first time up into cocoa. that was sweet, minus forgetting to put suntan lotion on and having my arms catch on fire. sidenote, my sister and bro-in-law have gotten totally jacked, lost crazy weight and are fitness gurus these days. my sister is training for a tri and my bro is mastering golf and running almost everyday. i'm very psyched for them. proud, really. anyway, jenn convinced me to rest-up, so i rode with my sister for 75'-80', then played golf with D (my bro-in-law), ate some giant steaks and watched florida beat-up on poor george mason - no love for george mason in our household with 2 florida grads on-hand!

today. epic! had 200-220' before brunch to get my hard session in. headed across the banana river, then up into cape canaveral and the marietta national seashore. was on fire! started the ride at 23-34, which was a mistake, as about 120' into it really began to feel the tempo. the sun beat me down pretty bad during the last 60', but managed to keep the tempo decent and finished-up the 68m ride in 198' at an avs of 20.3mph - by far the fastest i've ridden for that length of time by myself. of course, it's pancake flat here, so i can't "really" count this one as a personal best, at least not w/o an asterick next to it - but at least it's not the same kind of asterick that they'll need to put next to barry bonds home run record (if he sets it)! dirt bag mofo.

said goodbye to my sister and her fam today, but am looking fwd to more sun, rides, golf, and time with jenn's mom and husband over on the Gulf side of florida for the next few days, before heading back to beantown and out to the otter. i'm finally feeling ready - today's ride was just the breakthrough a brother needed!

24 hours of cutler is looking like a 90% chance now. maybe i'll meet a fellow blogger, turn some laps...

i turn 31 yrs old in 37 minutes. not really excited about it. the yrs are really flying-by these days, but they're good yrs, so i guess i shouldn't compain...