Bearded Clams and such

Yesterdays News
I went out last night to join in the festivities know as the Tuesday Night World Championship Criterium Series. Also known as the Tuesday Crit. So my bud Mark called me and shamed me into going, citing that I hadn't been out there in a while and that people were asking if I had dropped off the radar. In a way I have dropped slightly under the radar. Since September 1st I've been trying to migrate my fitness away from cycling specific fitness to a whole body fitness. I am a month into it and as of this morning I weighed 172. When I began this program I weighed 181.5. I am seeing some progress and I am feeling better for the change of lifestyle. Having said all that I do miss racing, which is why I was so easily persuaded to join the group and race last night.
One thing about cycling folk, when something changes most of us notice. Mike told me my shorts looked too big. Kenny told me that I looked skinny but my arms looked bigger. Myself, I can't see the changes because I see me every day. I gauge it on how I feel, and so for thetime being I feel better than I did a month ago.

On to last nights race. Again, I felt pretty good considering I hadn't raced in almost 2 months. I exerted as little effort as possible in an effort to ride a controlled race and finish with the group. There were no major mishaps in this group of 35 or so until turn 4 going into the bell lap. Someone behind me crashed on the downhill turn and skidded across the grassy knoll. I think he was shaken up a little but seemed to remain in one piece. So the bell lap came and everyone jockeyed for position. I got behind Lang but got pushed out on turn 3. Turn 4 found me in about 15th position. It was time to turn up the gas. In the last 500 meters I managed to pass about 5 people and with dotted vision and exhausted legs I came across in about 10th position. Not too badconsidering a lot of time had elapsed since the last effort.
Hopefully I'll be able to make it out for a few more before the end of the season.

Lake Loop 2
It’s 11:05 and I’m back from the morning jaunt around Lake Murray. The pace this week was slightly quicker than the last time. Doug and Robert (2 of my old buds from across town) showed up this morning and it was great to see them both. I hadn’t seen Robert since the spring crits.

We took a slightly different route today by going all the way up to Prosperity, SC and then taking a left on 391. That’s where the first head winds were experienced. We had one slight mishap when my bud Bryan D. swerved and ran off the road. He was on the front of the group and everyone simultaneously gasped. Shortly after that some bonehead redneck decided to bolt past us and immediately turn right. We all gasped again and hit the breaks. That, produced a middle finger gesture to the driver. Anyway, he sped off, obviously in a hurry at 9:30am on a Saturday morning in Saluda. Probably ran out of crack, crank, ice or some other narcotic I haven’t heard of.

We stopped at the Saluda traffic circle for about 10 minutes to top off the water bottles and then it was back to it. This time the headwind was more noticeable and the group dwindled down to 5 riders. We made it back in together until we got to the big climb on 378 just before Lexington. I’ve now named and trademarked that hill. It’s now known as S.O.B.Hill™. I got gapped off on the second tier of the beast and OSP™ and I finished together.

Hats off to Bryan D. for making the loop! That was his first group ride in a pace line and it was his first ride over 40 miles. Of course he’s an ex-runner so the heart and lungs are there. He just needs to work on a little form and he’s got it That will come in time.

So anyway, my tribe is at the Library and the house is quiet. Think I’ll go lay on the couch and watch a movie. BTW, The Science of Sleep is a pretty cool flick. We watched it last night. It’s an Indie and I recommend it. Later…

I don't know who all reads this, but we have a ride planned for 8/18/07 (Satyrday Morning). We're meeting at 7AM at the McAlisters parking lot across the street from Bike to Nature. We will leave at 7:15 sharp and do a loop around lake Murray. Apx 75 miles, maybe less. Pace will be about 20-22mph.

An Epic Loop Around Lake Murray
I got a call late yesterday afternoon from OSP(tm) about meeting early and doing the lake loop. It had been years since I'd been all the way around the lake so I decided to do it. We met at 7:10 in the AM and left the McAllister's parking lot promptly at 7:15. Doug R. showed up looking fit as ever and about 10 of us were off.
We started our journey going across the dam first and headed into Chapin. About 5 miles out of Chapin I spotted a lone bike rider up the road. We immediately began chasing this poor bastard as if he had a leaders jersey and we (the peloton) had found our chance to move up the leader board. I've never understood why the pace ramps up so quickly when the group spots a solo rider but it does every time. The lone poor bastard proved to be someone I knew. "Imagine that" I said. All this way and Bryan D. (from work) is out here almost to Chapin riding solo. Later he told me that he tailed us into Chapin and turned back to head back to Irmo.
SO we got north of Chapin and ventured around the north rim of Lake Murray. The one thing worth noting here was the great big lady walking around in her front yard with a black negligee. Yes it was a site to behold and I'll not spend any more time on that topic. Let your imaginations run with it for a second...

...We made 1 wrong turn that ended up costing us about 30 minutes and added about 5 miles. We had to stop and ask a local for directions and with that, we were on our way.
We ended up stopping at the traffic circle to refuel and top off water bottles then it was 378 back into Lexington.
Since I'm a purist, I don't have a computer on my bike. I was later told that we were approaching 80 miles on the day with a butt load of climbing. One thing I'll say is that there are virtually no flat roads all the way around. It's either up or down and by the end of the day it felt like more up than down. Anyway, I got back to the house and took a Hobath-- and about that time Doug showed up. I gave him the 25 cent tour and then I was off to the pool.
Again, I have caught wind of a party that is happening tonight at the pool. Live music, libations and cool water! Sounds like a nice mix to me. I'm supposed to meet my buddy Steve (The Marathoner) for a 7am run in the morning. Ugg! Hopefully I'll make it. Later!!!

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).

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… : ))

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.