Wednesday, July 25, 2007
A word or 2 about last nights race
I spent most of the day yesterday in and out of meetings and working onsafety studies. Real heady work but my light at the end of the tunnelwas finally being able to go out and ride the crit. After all, it hadbeen 3 weeks since the last one. During those 3 weeks we participatedin the July 4th festivities at the lake with my Dad, went on vacationand hung out at the pool with the kids for very large chunks of time.The underline theme of the last few weeks has been relax, spend timewith family and booze. None of this activity really helps keep thespeed in your legs that is required to ride in the crit. In addition, Ihad only been on the road bike 2 times since the last race Iparticipated in back on July 3rd.
So, the work day ended and I headed for the Bluff Rd. Crit course andwent through the ritual of getting ready. I changed a flat tire andwarmed up with Joel. He told me that he is now a proud Uncle. Congratsto Micha and Simon for the editions to their families.As suspected, I made it to about the 30 minute mark with one token pullat the front and took a free lap. I jumped back in and finished about10th all be it a lap down. I took comfort knowing that some of thefolks behind me had probably taken a free lap as well. This crit didn'tseem as hard as others in years past, but the heat of the afternoon andthe headwind up the rise kept things together for the most part.I rode home in silence with no sports talk radio, took a Hobath(tm) in the grass and plopped my haggard ass in the drive way to have a beer with my neighbor. Good times...
There is some discussion floating around that there is going to be a"Driveway Party" at Shaun's house Friday evening. That soundsinteresting and dangerous considering I'd like to ride Saturday morning.I'm hoping to get one more ride in before Saturday. I need to startmaking Saturdays harder. I've grown accustom to drafting OSP(tm) andBigLegDave(tm).
I spent most of the day yesterday in and out of meetings and working onsafety studies. Real heady work but my light at the end of the tunnelwas finally being able to go out and ride the crit. After all, it hadbeen 3 weeks since the last one. During those 3 weeks we participatedin the July 4th festivities at the lake with my Dad, went on vacationand hung out at the pool with the kids for very large chunks of time.The underline theme of the last few weeks has been relax, spend timewith family and booze. None of this activity really helps keep thespeed in your legs that is required to ride in the crit. In addition, Ihad only been on the road bike 2 times since the last race Iparticipated in back on July 3rd.
So, the work day ended and I headed for the Bluff Rd. Crit course andwent through the ritual of getting ready. I changed a flat tire andwarmed up with Joel. He told me that he is now a proud Uncle. Congratsto Micha and Simon for the editions to their families.As suspected, I made it to about the 30 minute mark with one token pullat the front and took a free lap. I jumped back in and finished about10th all be it a lap down. I took comfort knowing that some of thefolks behind me had probably taken a free lap as well. This crit didn'tseem as hard as others in years past, but the heat of the afternoon andthe headwind up the rise kept things together for the most part.I rode home in silence with no sports talk radio, took a Hobath(tm) in the grass and plopped my haggard ass in the drive way to have a beer with my neighbor. Good times...
There is some discussion floating around that there is going to be a"Driveway Party" at Shaun's house Friday evening. That soundsinteresting and dangerous considering I'd like to ride Saturday morning.I'm hoping to get one more ride in before Saturday. I need to startmaking Saturdays harder. I've grown accustom to drafting OSP(tm) andBigLegDave(tm).
Saturday, July 21, 2007
40 Acres and a Mule
That’s the way it looked today. In cycling terms, that translates loosely to 40 miles and one guy doing all the work. During today’s ride that was to be the theme. We left this morning at 7:45 from the Sandy’s parking lot. We headed west and did the normal loop. We seemed to be moving fairly well. Of course anything above 20 is fairly well considering my near death experience on the bike Thursday night. Anyway, the legs felt better today (I didn’t run 4 miles this morning) and I had a good night sleep.
So we get out to the Windmill Rd. turn off and further west we went. I was beginning to notice that the theme wasn’t one guy doing the work. It was the work of a brisk tail wind carrying us further and further from my digs in East Lexington. Yes folks, Lexington has gotten big enough to section it out like Columbia. If fact, it’s probably more of a pain in the ass to drive through Lexington than it is Columbia. ‘Nother blog for another day!!!
We made the turn at Gilbert and headed directly into the wind and for 20+ miles fought the beast. We took Wire Rd to Barr Rd. and into West Lexington. We had no major mishaps and no drama. The one funny thing that happened was while we were at the convenient store in Gilbert. We were standing in line behind this guy decked out in Harley gear. He steps up to bat, slams an empty Red Bull can on the counter and grabs an “Over-the-Counter Male enhancement” pill pack. I thought to myself that I’d hate to be the one that gets in his way. I share the event with the guys that stayed outside. They got a laugh and we pressed on.
Funny thing those pills. I love the disclaimer “If you have an erection that last more than 4 hours, consult your physician”. Seriously, if that happens to me, I’ll be taking my wife to the physician… : ))
That’s the way it looked today. In cycling terms, that translates loosely to 40 miles and one guy doing all the work. During today’s ride that was to be the theme. We left this morning at 7:45 from the Sandy’s parking lot. We headed west and did the normal loop. We seemed to be moving fairly well. Of course anything above 20 is fairly well considering my near death experience on the bike Thursday night. Anyway, the legs felt better today (I didn’t run 4 miles this morning) and I had a good night sleep.
So we get out to the Windmill Rd. turn off and further west we went. I was beginning to notice that the theme wasn’t one guy doing the work. It was the work of a brisk tail wind carrying us further and further from my digs in East Lexington. Yes folks, Lexington has gotten big enough to section it out like Columbia. If fact, it’s probably more of a pain in the ass to drive through Lexington than it is Columbia. ‘Nother blog for another day!!!
We made the turn at Gilbert and headed directly into the wind and for 20+ miles fought the beast. We took Wire Rd to Barr Rd. and into West Lexington. We had no major mishaps and no drama. The one funny thing that happened was while we were at the convenient store in Gilbert. We were standing in line behind this guy decked out in Harley gear. He steps up to bat, slams an empty Red Bull can on the counter and grabs an “Over-the-Counter Male enhancement” pill pack. I thought to myself that I’d hate to be the one that gets in his way. I share the event with the guys that stayed outside. They got a laugh and we pressed on.
Funny thing those pills. I love the disclaimer “If you have an erection that last more than 4 hours, consult your physician”. Seriously, if that happens to me, I’ll be taking my wife to the physician… : ))
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Eleven folks showed up to the crit last night. Why so few you ask? The Fabulous 4 ride is in Saluda this morning and is beginning as I write this. Good luck Mark and to all those that are spending the 4th pedaling bikes. I on the other hand, will be drinkin and playing in the shores of Lake Murray at my Dad's annual "Red Neck Celebration of Life".
Back to the crit. We started with 11 and ended with 5. Perry and I thought that since most of the "Axis of Resistance" wouldn't be there we'd try something new and innovative. I suggested doing the course backwards. Perry suggested adding the round-a-bout circuit at the entrance of the park. We both looked at each other and said "Brilliant"!!! SO we started and made it about 30 minutes on our new and fun ride and Derrick almost crossed hairs with a Fed-Ex truck at the entrance. That would spell the end of our quest to have an evening of defiance. We reversed course and it was back to the old. At about 40 minutes in I bridged a small gap up to Perry and Derrick and immediately decided to take a "Mechanical Lap". Once the 2 of them came back around I jumped in and stayed in to finish 3rd. All be it a lap down. Oh well, with my new fitness program, something has to suffer and what's suffering is cycling. I've spent the better part of the last 15 years trying to become a better cyclist. Now I'm trying to have more total body fitness which means different muscle groups and less time on the bike.
I'm certainly more fit but it has come at the cost at not being as strong on the bike. Frustrating!!! I got home last night, the kids were playing, the wife was cooking and Dave and I decided to sit in the garage and philosophize about religion, sex, beer and fat people.
Got to be about midnight and now were about to leave for Dad's house. I'll write about that tomorrow. Happy 4th everybody.
Back to the crit. We started with 11 and ended with 5. Perry and I thought that since most of the "Axis of Resistance" wouldn't be there we'd try something new and innovative. I suggested doing the course backwards. Perry suggested adding the round-a-bout circuit at the entrance of the park. We both looked at each other and said "Brilliant"!!! SO we started and made it about 30 minutes on our new and fun ride and Derrick almost crossed hairs with a Fed-Ex truck at the entrance. That would spell the end of our quest to have an evening of defiance. We reversed course and it was back to the old. At about 40 minutes in I bridged a small gap up to Perry and Derrick and immediately decided to take a "Mechanical Lap". Once the 2 of them came back around I jumped in and stayed in to finish 3rd. All be it a lap down. Oh well, with my new fitness program, something has to suffer and what's suffering is cycling. I've spent the better part of the last 15 years trying to become a better cyclist. Now I'm trying to have more total body fitness which means different muscle groups and less time on the bike.
I'm certainly more fit but it has come at the cost at not being as strong on the bike. Frustrating!!! I got home last night, the kids were playing, the wife was cooking and Dave and I decided to sit in the garage and philosophize about religion, sex, beer and fat people.
Got to be about midnight and now were about to leave for Dad's house. I'll write about that tomorrow. Happy 4th everybody.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
The last ride of June ‘07
Yesterdays ride was a bit strange. We met as usual in front of Sandy's on 378. We left and tried to meet up with a group that was coming across the dam. I really don't know why this was so important because we only stayed with that group for about 8 miles.
We stopped and waited at the entrance of Hallmark for dropped riders to catch up. Then, we waited some more. At least 20 minutes of precious ride time slipped away. I finally looked over at BigLegDave™ and said "How long are we staying here?" He told me that he needed to get back so he could attend a family reunion on his wife's side. To that, I offered my apologies…
Anyway, 5 of us left the group of riders seemingly stuck and not knowing what to do and did the remainder of the ride. It took my legs a little while to warm up yesterday. I ran a lot last week and spun on the rollers late Friday evening. We worked our way up to a nice pace on Wire Rd/Barr Rd coming back into Lexington from Gilbert. I still can't say enough about these roads out here. They are fun and fast and surprisingly smooth. Except for the one spot on Barr there are very few tore up roads.
Yes folks we had another birthday party yesterday. For our family it's a freaking ritual that seems to have no end in sight. Fortunately, it was at the neighborhood pool. At least it was close and I got to swim in the cool waters of Olde Saluda community pool.
After that, we went out to visit my Dad and my two nephews that were up from Charleston. We had a nice afternoon on the lake. Got the boat out and pulled the kids on the tube and ate chicken wings for dinner. A fine cap to a fine day. We got home about 10 last night to the sound of the giant fireworks show at Lake Murray Dam. Exhausted, we all passed out about 10pm.
Off to The Harvest…
Yesterdays ride was a bit strange. We met as usual in front of Sandy's on 378. We left and tried to meet up with a group that was coming across the dam. I really don't know why this was so important because we only stayed with that group for about 8 miles.
We stopped and waited at the entrance of Hallmark for dropped riders to catch up. Then, we waited some more. At least 20 minutes of precious ride time slipped away. I finally looked over at BigLegDave™ and said "How long are we staying here?" He told me that he needed to get back so he could attend a family reunion on his wife's side. To that, I offered my apologies…
Anyway, 5 of us left the group of riders seemingly stuck and not knowing what to do and did the remainder of the ride. It took my legs a little while to warm up yesterday. I ran a lot last week and spun on the rollers late Friday evening. We worked our way up to a nice pace on Wire Rd/Barr Rd coming back into Lexington from Gilbert. I still can't say enough about these roads out here. They are fun and fast and surprisingly smooth. Except for the one spot on Barr there are very few tore up roads.
Yes folks we had another birthday party yesterday. For our family it's a freaking ritual that seems to have no end in sight. Fortunately, it was at the neighborhood pool. At least it was close and I got to swim in the cool waters of Olde Saluda community pool.
After that, we went out to visit my Dad and my two nephews that were up from Charleston. We had a nice afternoon on the lake. Got the boat out and pulled the kids on the tube and ate chicken wings for dinner. A fine cap to a fine day. We got home about 10 last night to the sound of the giant fireworks show at Lake Murray Dam. Exhausted, we all passed out about 10pm.
Off to The Harvest…
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