facebook

i just discovered facebook.com. i'm kinda freaked-out that so many people i know are in it and that i'm behind the times. must be getting old. don't really have the time to f with it, but who wants to be left-out of a social networking thinga-majimmy? L.

if i can throw a leg onto the pain machine today, it'll be 12 days of riding in a row. best bought of training i've done since august, good to be back at it, good to be stiff and sore. need to stop wasting time on the computer, if i'm typing i should be on the trainer doing it! the only thing i've learned from racing is, if you want to do it well, you can't waste time - and that goes for everything.

2 months

NE mtbike racing starts mid-april.
i tell myself i won't bother till mid-may, but it could be tough to ignore.

here,
the snowpack is deep.
the riding cold and dreary at times,
but better than not riding at all.
frozen feet and cables cuts rides short.
at least for me.
where's spring!?
oh yeah, in boston.
andy says it's been beautiful.
i was my idea to move to northern vt.
not their fault,
but that doesn't help the jealousy!

hard to get fit early,
but plenty of time later.
have to fight-off the cabin fever,
as spring will be that much better when it finally rolls-through town.

back to thinking about racing.
just can't stop.

one of my all-day favorite pics. two great guys (and riders) battling it out. that big red tire of Skip's is hard to miss as it rolls over you. race after race. he comes at you like a freight train, engine roaring. thom is more stealth as he rolls over ya'. which he does race after race!

the drug

spend a lot of time thinking about why i race. why i ride is easy, why i race is a tough one... but it came to me on sunday as i grinded-up appalacian gap in the slush, a friend laughing from his car window, skis on top. i saw him again 5mins later at the base of mad river glen and stopped. he laughed said that my 23c tires should "cut through the ice and snow like knives" up higher on the pass. they did not. point is, i'm happiest when climbing the biggest hill and i finally figured out why. drugs. drugs pouring from my brain into my body, spurring me on to get it done, a buzz only outdone by the feeling one gets when finishing a race. at least a race in which you didn't get your ass kicked. ive always known about the drugs, but only the other day realized i was fully under their grasp... learning you're an addict, a junkie! is tough to accept.

i put a lot of time (and effort i guess) and some money into acquiring this buzz. what's funny is that before racing it cost me about $200 for an old beater mtbike i'd ride 10m to work and some clothes to do it in. with racing it's about being competitive and that takes a good sponsor and a pocket full of benjamins.

with the season approaching and i no where near form, i begin to wonder if the buzz of the race, the lack of walking around money, etc, is worth it. is it worth racing when i got all this great riding out the door? problem is, eventually, the snows will melt and the urge will be unstoppable... for now i can wonder and pretend that i can quit this drug anytime i want. doubt does that to you.

jenn told me this morning i could ride the century to her sister's next wknd. i nodded appreciately all the while thinking, "whew!, now i don't have to beg like a dog!"

sunshine?

last week or two it's been hard to catch a ride when the sun's been out. schedule's tight, get yer ride-on when ya' can. of course, it's sunny today and i've got no time to spin! maybe i can get creative and make it happen. writing this blog post isn't helping my time mngmt!

with time tight, if i've only got two hrs, figure i might as well hit it hard. point the bike up a big hill and ride. not sure if this training approach will work-out come racing season, but it's what i got time for - and really fun.

north shore

the snowpack is deep.
needed some dirt!
headed to some of the best biking new england has to offer.
i love it here. there.
drove hard, rode hard, bonked, day 1.
perfect weather, brad rockin' the hardtail,
andy going big, thom borrowed, skip skipping,
barry saving my life,
here's day 2, andy riding along



survived. barely.
day 2. should be breakfast, closer to lunch.
munchin day-old fake crabmeat sushi.
lloyd?
on the wall.
is that...
lloyd?

inspired.
inspiring.
andy and i headed-out.
plenty of sun.
in greenwood, bumped into josh who mentioned a new kicker among other things.
andy bumps into it a few mins later...


so glad to have gotten out!
thnks for not running me over barry.
i owe you.

friday night(s)

not a lot of time to mess around with these days. not that many years ago i'd have thought riding the indoor trainer on a friday night at 9p was pretty wacked. not anymore.

i am jonsing for some dirt! preferable in rolling ribbons, punctuated by blown-out fireroad ascents and insanely technical singletrack.

you see, i'm on "spring break," the mid-term breather, and i'm hitting the dirt with the home team, heading to boston's north shore sunday morning. stoked. it's looking like a double header! even got a nice new conti explorer 2.3 for the front, nice and forgiving, opens big fat lines through the rough stuff... am stoked!