Tuesday, March 27, 2007

and Mariah takes it !

I went for a training ride yesterday with the local junior team. Only thing is, they weren't anywhere to be found. I like to ride with them cause I'm faster than a couple of them.

You see, after work I had to scoot up to Reno and pick up some Enduralytes before the ride, so
that made me a few minutes late what with traffic and all. The reason I had to go to Reno is that
it is still cheaper to drive 60 miles round trip than spend the extra money the local bike shop
wants for this stuff. I mean I'm all for shopping local but sometimes it's just so ridiculous.

So, anyway, back to the story; I'm headin' outta town and I notice it's windy. Real windy. Somewhat typical wind 'round these parts...it's just been awhile since we've had winds like this.
So, going into Washoe Valley they have the signs up in real nice Nevada-style lights "Caution:
wind area ahead, Campers and Trailers PROHIBITED." Now, you would think I would clue in to
something like that but we're used to riding in wind and it's not always windy in one valley when
it is in another.

Well, after steering the car left for 30 miles and then right for 30 miles I headed out to the start
spot for the Monday junior ride. I was about 5 to 10 minutes late but I knew they would be at
the local crit course doing a couple of laps while the slackers made their way out to meet up with
everybody. I couldn't wait to ride yesterday. I knew I would be a bit late so I think, "Well, let's
get prepared to be ready when you get there." meaning: Let's change in the car! While driving!
While driving @ 70 mph in a nasty wind storm. With lots of traffic that can easily see into my
dinky little Honda Civic while I'm trying to loose the pants and pull on bibs. Not to mention leg
warmers and jersey. Oops...forgot the HRM, has to go on UNDER the jersey AND bib straps.
Did I mention the Honda has a stick shift?

Driving and using the clutch whilst wearing cycling shoes is really overated.

Man, it sure is blowing out here.

Lots of people in a hurry out here.

Lots of people in a hurry to slow down out here.

Did I mention that the bike bag takes up the entire passenger seat? There were clothes all over
the place...civies coming off, cycling going on... what a loon I've become.

What's that? I failed to mention that I'm also a ham radio operator? And like any good ham, there are at least two radios in the car. Did I mention that radios take up space? Especially in dinky little Honda cars.

Now I finally make it to the meeting spot, jump out of the car and hop onto the bike and I'm off.
Off into a tail wind that has me thinking that it's normal to warm up in a massive gear cause I'm
cruising @ 30 mph and spinning @ 100+ rpm and this is good...until the right hand turn. Ouch!

Like I said, we have wind around here. But yesterday it was REALLY windy. My front tire was
almost swept out from under me on many occasions and more than once I had to stop to keep
from being blown over. A mile or so of this and another turn, this time to the left. OMG! I'm
Flying down the road with NO resistance and all of a sudden there are tumbleweeds passing me.
And sand, real fine sand, the kind that gets into everything, even with protection, is all over the
place, getting into everything. Even everything that has protection.

The crit course...one lap backwards and NO ONE is here. Ya think they canceled? This group?
Naw, not them. It turns out they didn't. Only one junior, being mine, showed up so he and coach went straight to the hill repeat spot we use. And people think I'm nutz.

Now the fun...mashing into a headwind that has me in something like a 39 x 21 and doing all of
7 mph with a heart rate red lining, not to mention the sand REALLY getting into everything now.

Mariah. They call the wind... I hate that song. I used to have to play it constantly when it came
out and I didn't like it then.
She was out in full force. It was like in the movies where they have a big fan just out of camera
range blowing sand on the actors and you can barely see anything. I could barely see anything.
The kind of wind that makes you hear a 747 or some huge jet airplane above you but when you
look there's nothing there. That's because there isn't.

More tumbleweeds. Only now they are coming from the left to the right, as is the dust and sand
and other blowing stuff. And the bike SO wants to lay down and rest, it doesn't understand the
need to get back to the car at all costs because now, off to the west, the snow is a headin' our way. Finally I make it back and all is well, sort of.

I didn't know junior and coach were still out there. I just figured it was too insane to be doing
hill repeats in this weather so he must of ridden home, although I didn't see him on the way there. Took a back road, I'm sure.

Get home and sure enough, Junior's not there. Good news - Coach calls to let me know Micah has just left the building and will have and awesome tail wind. Should take him about 15 minutes
to travel the 10 miles he has to ride to get home. Bad news - The wind has shifted about 5 miles
into the trek home and it's not only raining now,it's beginning to snow. Poor kid showes up drenched, freezing and looking rather Belgian. But that Disco kit he's wearing DOES look cool!
I guess he really is a "hard core biker dude" afterall.
Got a fire going and dried him off, all the while humming to myself: "Away out here they have a
name for rain and wind and fire"...

Monday, March 19, 2007

Sketcherous


Sketcherous : That inability to focus and keep a bicycle going in a straight line...swinging the bike
back and forth so much so while sprinting that you end up washing out the front end and launching over the bars! Or having contact with the guy next to you who is doing the same thing.

There was alot of that style of racing this last weekend at Land Park and Zamora. I was witness
to more crashes in two days than I've ever been involved in in my life and I race with the 55+
geezers! Fortunately, none too bad with the exception of the prime sprint in the pro1-2 race at
the end of Sat. The ambulance came for the EMC rider but am not sure if they took him away or
not.

The ladies, apparently not wanting to be outdone, had their own slugfest during the crit and car-
nage was spread out all over the course, from what I'm told. I personally saw a group hit the deck coming out of turn 1 in the 4 race and I have to say it did look rather spectacular. One girl launched over the bars and got big air before being planted." F-ing Vello Bellas" was the chant at
that particular moment.

Ah, well.......

Sunday had more of the same. My race saw someperson make contact with someperson else.
At least that's what I'm guessing. All I saw was a sudden void in the pack and guys shooting off
to either side of the road with the sounds of metal and pavement fusing together, yelling, shout-
ing, SCREAMING, rear ends locking up, not to mention the smell of burnt rubber. This not more
than two miles into the first lap. It looked like they were in the 45+ group...us 55ers are more
cautious cause we KNOW how long it takes to heal @ our age. So anyway, it forced me to shoot
off to the right side of the road sending me into the weeds, staying upright, albeit @ about 3 mph
and by the time I, us, we, got back on the tarmac the pack seemed to have upped the pace a bit.
Nothing like trying to chase an attacking group up a hill. Not today. So, regroup with a couple of
guys and get a good workout. The rest of the race was good. No idea how far back I was but, with the exception of the 3rd lap, I felt good. Had nothing left for the last climb of the day and
didn't contest for the sprint cause the boys I was with dragged me around that dreaded third lap and it wouldn't be right to sit in then go for the sprint cause I may need them to drag me around
again some other time.
Junior had a good race sitting up front with the 3's but couldn't hang for the sprint cause he's
running junior gearing and it wasn't an uphill finish. The downhill part of the rollers allowed the
non juniors to get around him in the sprint. That's OK though, as up next is Copperopolis and
I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the podium there, again.

Lastly, why do racers have to sprint like Robbie McKewin (all over the road, jockeying for position) when they obviously don't have the skills to do so? Boneheads! Imagine how impressive they would be if they were actually getting paid to put other people in jeopardy. I
speak of the Cat4 finish at Snelling. Thank God nobody crashed (I was totally AMAZED that
there wasn't one) on that finish. Guys were all over the road, swinging back and forth, side to
side...I couldn't watch. Maybe it wasn't all that bad in the middle of it but from where I was, it
looked like there wouldn't be enough ambulances to take everyone away. Must have good insur-
ance. LVA

Friday, March 16, 2007

Of things Italian



I love almost all things Italian!

Their passion for whatever they do just inspires me to get in touch with whichever side of my brain it is that creates.

The food that comes outta that place is consumed by me on almost a daily basis...their autos, don't even get me started. Their bikes, oh my! I'm only sorry I don't own an Italian bike anymore BUT, Campy is to be found on my two most prized riding machines: a 2003 Giant Team Once screamin' yellow zonker and a 1984 Performance Blue Ridge touring bike with alot of chrome...they both get lots of oogles and such. I'm hoping to do a restoration on the Performance this Spring...new paint job with all the fixins'. Anyway, not to be too one-sided, Shimano is on most of the other bikes...I have an old steel framed racing bike with alot of Modollo and Sugino stuff on it as well. Sort of a half-breed.

I could easily see myself amongst these Giro fans waiting for the race to roll through...actually, I rode my bike up to the top of Spooner Summit way back in '86 to watch the Coors Classic blaze past me and it was AWESOME...Roberto Gaggiolli won that stage from Squaw Valley to Reno and those boys were flying! One reason was that it was considered a training ride for the upcoming World's to be held in Colorado which is where the Classic ended. And who won the World's you ask? An Italian, Moreno Argentin. On a Bianchi no less. Attsa nice.

The first real road bike I owned was a Bianchi but not green, sort of a rust color with a 48x52 up front. Not real good for a smoker living in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. But the good news was that I didn't know any better. Up to that point I only had some 35 pounder with ONE chainring in the front so this Italian job was really happening with two rings up there. Wish I still had that bike...gave it to a girlfriend who ended up driving over it while backing up her car. Duh.

I don't do girlfriends anymore.

LVA

Thursday, March 15, 2007

My first blog that's not a "comment"

I love the age we live in but sometimes I can't stand all the crap that's involved with it.
Ever notice when the page you're tryin' to navigate isn't in agreement with you and won't
do what you have COMMANDED it to do, the fingers start hitting the keyboard harder and
harder? Seems that's how the programmers want it, cause after awhile a key might stickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. Drives me nutz. I'm sure they giggle at it.

On a brighter note...looking foreward to Zamora Sunday. Hopefully not as windy as last year.
At least it'll be warmer by about 20 or so degrees. My goal ( seeing as I'm in the 55+ group
this year) is to finish, and if possible, with somebody behind me. Tis really a drag living in snow
and cold and being a Cat5 and being old and trying to be competitive in a ridiculously hard sport
and knowing I will probably NEVER be much faster than I am at this point in my life, even with
mass amounts of training, which has been unavailable this year due to work, and also knowing I will probably get dropped on the first climb, if not before, and driving 150+ miles one way in order to do so. BUT...all I can think about is racing! I LOVE IT!! and I will still try to get faster
and train and ride and race and remember that if I hadn't stopped smoking, I wouldn't even be at the level of fitness I'm at now.

Note to myself: The spare tire went away last year and it shall again this year. It's only March,
afterall.

The good news is my boy, Micah is blazing fast, won Nevada City last year, is on a smokin' good
team and will be a Cat 2 way before his 18th birthday, Lord willing. So I shall rejoice in his
abillities knowing that some of them actually came from me and spend alot of time in the feed
zone with other dads and coaches enjoying the day. I look foreward to it.


So much for my first post on this site...