Friday, October 31, 2008
All Hallows Eve
Happy Halloween! Halloween in Boulder is always entertaining. You can rest assured that at least a couple times that day, you'll find yourself trying to figure out if the person over there is dressed up for the celebration, or just plain dresses that way on any given day. I've already seen that happen twice, and I've been in my cube for the last 7 of 8 hours. Some pictures of pumpkins that I carved a few years ago, which all went on an adventure together;
Crossing dangerous bridges... sitting around a campfire... they did everything together;
I did make it out to vote though. Well, sort of. I hand delivered my mail in ballot today. I decided to skip the lottery of mailing in my ballot, I mean, even handing it in I figure there's only about a 50/50 chance that my vote will count. And even then, it just depends on what my representative in the Electoral College feels like doing anyway. But seriously, I was amazed at the traffic coming in and out of the voting office. They had people directing traffic in the parking lot, traffic was backed up in every direction. Inside, there was a big ol' line for early voting, and there was even a line for simply dropping off your ballot. Back outside, there was even a line of cars waiting to run through the "drive-in" ballot drop off! Even though I was walking, I choose that route, since the line was moving fastest there. Being Boulder, I was a bit surprised they didn't have a "bike-up" drop-off line.
It should be interesting to see the final numbers and percentages of people that actually vote this year, compared to completely embarrassing numbers the past view elections. I think there are a ton of people that are finally ready to see some change, and another ton of people that want to see change - but not "too much" change.
I made a quick stop at the grocery store for some Halloween makeup and just happened to notice that Soda Pop "for drinking" is on sale too! Good news! I checked the toiletries aisle, but it didn't look like the Soda Pop "for bathing" was on sale.
Yep, the perfect night for hording huge bags of candy, dunking for apples and dressing up like some goon... but really what has me excited is that Friday practice is over for the last race of the 2008 Formula 1 season! I actually have mixed feelings, since it's of course the last race of the year, which means I will be going through serious withdrawal in the off-season! But it's bound to be a real nail-biter of a race! The Brazil race is always pretty dramatic, Hamilton has a healthy lead in the World Championship race, but in no way has it won yet - especially with his tendency to force issues when he totally doesn't need to; usually with him screwing himself. At least Massa is in second place, and if anyone took the championship from Hamilton, I'd want it to be Massa. That's not all though! Even the Manufacturer's Championship is up for grabs! Ferrari has a pretty good hold, but mathematically McLaren still has a chance! AND, if that wasn't enough... Ferrari has been dominant at the track at Interlagos, but with a chance of rain in the forecast, the advantage could tip back to McLaren.
As they say, "We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the EEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Crossing dangerous bridges... sitting around a campfire... they did everything together;
I did make it out to vote though. Well, sort of. I hand delivered my mail in ballot today. I decided to skip the lottery of mailing in my ballot, I mean, even handing it in I figure there's only about a 50/50 chance that my vote will count. And even then, it just depends on what my representative in the Electoral College feels like doing anyway. But seriously, I was amazed at the traffic coming in and out of the voting office. They had people directing traffic in the parking lot, traffic was backed up in every direction. Inside, there was a big ol' line for early voting, and there was even a line for simply dropping off your ballot. Back outside, there was even a line of cars waiting to run through the "drive-in" ballot drop off! Even though I was walking, I choose that route, since the line was moving fastest there. Being Boulder, I was a bit surprised they didn't have a "bike-up" drop-off line.
It should be interesting to see the final numbers and percentages of people that actually vote this year, compared to completely embarrassing numbers the past view elections. I think there are a ton of people that are finally ready to see some change, and another ton of people that want to see change - but not "too much" change.
I made a quick stop at the grocery store for some Halloween makeup and just happened to notice that Soda Pop "for drinking" is on sale too! Good news! I checked the toiletries aisle, but it didn't look like the Soda Pop "for bathing" was on sale.
Yep, the perfect night for hording huge bags of candy, dunking for apples and dressing up like some goon... but really what has me excited is that Friday practice is over for the last race of the 2008 Formula 1 season! I actually have mixed feelings, since it's of course the last race of the year, which means I will be going through serious withdrawal in the off-season! But it's bound to be a real nail-biter of a race! The Brazil race is always pretty dramatic, Hamilton has a healthy lead in the World Championship race, but in no way has it won yet - especially with his tendency to force issues when he totally doesn't need to; usually with him screwing himself. At least Massa is in second place, and if anyone took the championship from Hamilton, I'd want it to be Massa. That's not all though! Even the Manufacturer's Championship is up for grabs! Ferrari has a pretty good hold, but mathematically McLaren still has a chance! AND, if that wasn't enough... Ferrari has been dominant at the track at Interlagos, but with a chance of rain in the forecast, the advantage could tip back to McLaren.
As they say, "We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the EEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Thursday, October 30, 2008
It Burns!
Time again for Halloween!
Oddly, it's going to be warm and sunny out, instead of the usual snow that we get on Halloween. It won't be quite as fun watching the gobs of chicks that decide Halloween is the one day a year it's okay to dress all slutty, that are usually trying to stay warm in their tiny outfits, on a cold night in October. It always cracks me up, like watching smokers freezing their asses off in winter, standing out on the loading dock just to cut a butt and feed the habit. Though, the sense of bundling up and going out to ride your bike on a sub-freezing day, just to get your own sort of fix, can be slightly questionable as well... at least I don't stink like cigarettes... just embrocations.
Speaking of embrocations, it's that time of year again. Time to bust out the warming salves. Of course, I say that as it's 78 degrees outside, but you know, October in Colorado. I've been using Greyhound Juice Original Formula which works quite nicely. It's warm, and puts up a good barrier and definitely has the smartest packaging so far. Though, even with the deodorant-style applicator, you still need a good rubbing for proper application. By the way, the Greyhound Juice chamois creme is still the shit, try it out. Always willing to try out something new, I picked up some Mad Alchemy Mellow to try out. It went on quite nicely last night, different smell with the grapeseed and soybean oils. Went on nicely, and seems to give good coverage, but I only used it on the dog walk last night.
Big weekend coming up with the Boulder Cup races in town! They are always a blast, and I'm pretty psyched for the races, since I finally get to do Sunday's course. It totally won't suit me, but it's always looked like a really fun course. I've skipped it in the past, not having a UCI license, and not being old enough for the old-guys category. So this year I'm racing in the old-man's category, and likely riding the SS. I'm definitely looking forward to some racing, especially after taking off last weekend. A little bummed though, see I'm just doing Sunday since the course on Saturday doesn't look as fun AND registration is $40 a race! That's pretty ridiculous... especially when we are battling for one of 3 medals. Sure, it's a big race with the UCI classification, but that's just for the elite categories. And if you look at ANY similar race in the rest of the country, the UCI categories cost that much, but the "regular" categories cost the more typical $20-$25. You might argue the fact that if people will pay, then why not raise costs... but for me, I would have raced both days if it was $25, or even $30 (probably). But not at $40 a pop.
In other developments this week, the new album from The Cure is finally out! I can't help it, I'm addicted. And it was supposed to be out well over 1.5 years ago, so I was definitely anxious to pick it up this week. A good listen, and it seems to get better each time through!
Oddly, it's going to be warm and sunny out, instead of the usual snow that we get on Halloween. It won't be quite as fun watching the gobs of chicks that decide Halloween is the one day a year it's okay to dress all slutty, that are usually trying to stay warm in their tiny outfits, on a cold night in October. It always cracks me up, like watching smokers freezing their asses off in winter, standing out on the loading dock just to cut a butt and feed the habit. Though, the sense of bundling up and going out to ride your bike on a sub-freezing day, just to get your own sort of fix, can be slightly questionable as well... at least I don't stink like cigarettes... just embrocations.
Speaking of embrocations, it's that time of year again. Time to bust out the warming salves. Of course, I say that as it's 78 degrees outside, but you know, October in Colorado. I've been using Greyhound Juice Original Formula which works quite nicely. It's warm, and puts up a good barrier and definitely has the smartest packaging so far. Though, even with the deodorant-style applicator, you still need a good rubbing for proper application. By the way, the Greyhound Juice chamois creme is still the shit, try it out. Always willing to try out something new, I picked up some Mad Alchemy Mellow to try out. It went on quite nicely last night, different smell with the grapeseed and soybean oils. Went on nicely, and seems to give good coverage, but I only used it on the dog walk last night.
Big weekend coming up with the Boulder Cup races in town! They are always a blast, and I'm pretty psyched for the races, since I finally get to do Sunday's course. It totally won't suit me, but it's always looked like a really fun course. I've skipped it in the past, not having a UCI license, and not being old enough for the old-guys category. So this year I'm racing in the old-man's category, and likely riding the SS. I'm definitely looking forward to some racing, especially after taking off last weekend. A little bummed though, see I'm just doing Sunday since the course on Saturday doesn't look as fun AND registration is $40 a race! That's pretty ridiculous... especially when we are battling for one of 3 medals. Sure, it's a big race with the UCI classification, but that's just for the elite categories. And if you look at ANY similar race in the rest of the country, the UCI categories cost that much, but the "regular" categories cost the more typical $20-$25. You might argue the fact that if people will pay, then why not raise costs... but for me, I would have raced both days if it was $25, or even $30 (probably). But not at $40 a pop.
In other developments this week, the new album from The Cure is finally out! I can't help it, I'm addicted. And it was supposed to be out well over 1.5 years ago, so I was definitely anxious to pick it up this week. A good listen, and it seems to get better each time through!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Throw It All In The Pot...
Of course, the markets closed up, quite a bit today... because it's an "even" day. I'm so sick of the news and this silly roller coaster. Stop the ride! I want to get off! I think I'm going to be sick! And if that wasn't enough to make you sick, maybe you should look a little closer at how your 700 billion individual tax dollars is being spent. Weird... it's never "the poor keep getting richer..."
Clarence was still pretty wiped-off from his visit to the Vet on Friday night, so we just hung out. He seemed to be perfectly happy, doing his impression of silly-putty;
Whatever his problem was, I think I caught it on Saturday. I was all about catching up on sleep, then passing sleep, then dropping the hammer while I watched it disappear in my rear-view mirror. Once again, I blame the fact that it's hibernating time. The sun was out, but it was chilly, and my body apparently wanted to conserve calories by sleeping the day away.
That's okay, I had to rest up anyway, since Saturday evening Seth and Melissa had planned a Low Country Boil and I wasn't going to miss that. You don't want to miss cooking with Old Bay Seasoning, sitting on a hay-bale while someone dumps 25lbs. of food onto the table in front of you, and mocking the the people that ask for a fork. I was in charge of cider, and I mixed up a big ol' batch to throw on the stove. Always a fun thing to prepare, because it's hard to screw it up - if it tastes funny, you just add more rum. Everyone else was in charge of side dishes, and I tasted nothing that I did not like.
Sunday we were off to a wedding... no, not the one above. The one for our friends Simon and Brian. They snuck away to elope last month, so instead we were treated to a quick little restating of vows, and an amazing brunch. It was great to meet some of their other friends, and catch up with some other people I hadn't seen in awhile. It was also great to see these two share their ceremony with us, and I wish them the best of luck for the future!
After the wedding I snuck out for a quick ride and froze my butt off. I had missed the racing that day, and had to get out for at least a bit. Yesterday was more of the same... sneaking in a quick ride before it gets much colder and/or completely dark. And while it's warmer today, I'm depressed at the idea that this week is likely the last for any truly productive rides after work. Maybe I should but out the headlight... it's been awhile, but night riding is always fun!
Clarence was still pretty wiped-off from his visit to the Vet on Friday night, so we just hung out. He seemed to be perfectly happy, doing his impression of silly-putty;
Whatever his problem was, I think I caught it on Saturday. I was all about catching up on sleep, then passing sleep, then dropping the hammer while I watched it disappear in my rear-view mirror. Once again, I blame the fact that it's hibernating time. The sun was out, but it was chilly, and my body apparently wanted to conserve calories by sleeping the day away.
That's okay, I had to rest up anyway, since Saturday evening Seth and Melissa had planned a Low Country Boil and I wasn't going to miss that. You don't want to miss cooking with Old Bay Seasoning, sitting on a hay-bale while someone dumps 25lbs. of food onto the table in front of you, and mocking the the people that ask for a fork. I was in charge of cider, and I mixed up a big ol' batch to throw on the stove. Always a fun thing to prepare, because it's hard to screw it up - if it tastes funny, you just add more rum. Everyone else was in charge of side dishes, and I tasted nothing that I did not like.
Sunday we were off to a wedding... no, not the one above. The one for our friends Simon and Brian. They snuck away to elope last month, so instead we were treated to a quick little restating of vows, and an amazing brunch. It was great to meet some of their other friends, and catch up with some other people I hadn't seen in awhile. It was also great to see these two share their ceremony with us, and I wish them the best of luck for the future!
After the wedding I snuck out for a quick ride and froze my butt off. I had missed the racing that day, and had to get out for at least a bit. Yesterday was more of the same... sneaking in a quick ride before it gets much colder and/or completely dark. And while it's warmer today, I'm depressed at the idea that this week is likely the last for any truly productive rides after work. Maybe I should but out the headlight... it's been awhile, but night riding is always fun!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Efficiency
I got a fax today.
Yeah, I know, your first thought should be, "God damn, I didn't even know anyone still used a fax machine". I mean, I worked in this job for 2 full months before I eventually asked someone, "Do we even HAVE a fax machine in the building!?"
But this fax was "special". It seems that the person that was sending it to me, thought I might want a hard copy of the email that she got. So she printed out the email, wrote up a cover sheet, found her fax machine, dialed some sort of magical number or something, faxed it to me, and then I'm guessing likely waited around for the fax machine to do it's magic and then print a confirmation sheet.
In fact, well, I didn't "want" a hard copy, but I "needed" one for record keeping blah blah blah... but she has a forward button, and I have a printer. Hell, my email address even comes up automatically just as you start typing it.
The weekend couldn't be more timely...
Yeah, I know, your first thought should be, "God damn, I didn't even know anyone still used a fax machine". I mean, I worked in this job for 2 full months before I eventually asked someone, "Do we even HAVE a fax machine in the building!?"
But this fax was "special". It seems that the person that was sending it to me, thought I might want a hard copy of the email that she got. So she printed out the email, wrote up a cover sheet, found her fax machine, dialed some sort of magical number or something, faxed it to me, and then I'm guessing likely waited around for the fax machine to do it's magic and then print a confirmation sheet.
In fact, well, I didn't "want" a hard copy, but I "needed" one for record keeping blah blah blah... but she has a forward button, and I have a printer. Hell, my email address even comes up automatically just as you start typing it.
The weekend couldn't be more timely...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hibernation
"When I discovered YouTube, I didn't work for a week!"
- Michael Scott, Scranton Branch Manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company
Those were my exact thoughts when I came across Crosstube.net!
Speaking of television-type shows... if you haven't caught Chocolate News yet, then you really should tune in. I think this show will teach "winter-olympians", more about black-culture than any show since the Chapelle show.
...that's all I've got...it's too damned cold, and I think my body has entered hibernation, so I'm headed back to sleep.
- Michael Scott, Scranton Branch Manager for the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company
Those were my exact thoughts when I came across Crosstube.net!
Speaking of television-type shows... if you haven't caught Chocolate News yet, then you really should tune in. I think this show will teach "winter-olympians", more about black-culture than any show since the Chapelle show.
...that's all I've got...it's too damned cold, and I think my body has entered hibernation, so I'm headed back to sleep.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
"You can put road tires on a cyclocross bike, but you can't put cyclocross tires on a road bike."
So about a week ago I came across a ridiculous deal on some Hutchinson Piranha "tubeless-ready" cyclocross tires. I had looked at these with a bit of curiosity before. Tubeless mountain bike tires continue to get better, while I have no idea of why you would really want tubeless road tires (yet), but the benefits looked like they just might work for cyclocross. Of course, this is if you weren't willing or able to just go the tubular route, which does admittedly make quite a bit more sense. But like I said, a ridiculous deal... so I figured, why not try some experimenting?
Of course, I have standard, non-tubeless-ready wheels, so I decided to go with Stan's NoTubes set-up. They do have a new cyclocross kit that you can buy, and lots of information on most of the setups, but was lacking a bit in what I wanted to do. I don't really get the cyclocross "kit"... I mean, with all the crap you are adding to the wheels to make them tubeless, you've gone a good deal past the weight of running a standard tire and tube. I opted to try out a modified road set-up, which should work, or work "better" since I was using a true tubeless tire.
I ran a couple layers of Stan's yellow tape to seal up the rim all airtight. After a bit of experimenting, I decided to add a plastic rim strip I had, which tightened up the fit a bit more on the tire. I also opted for Stan's stand-alone 44mm valve stem. After a little bit more experimenting, I managed to get air into the tire and to seat up without much issue, even using my floor pump.
Yesterday I finally got a chance to get out and test them a bit. I had forgotten my pump like a moron, so it was a bit hard to do "scientific testing" on the air pressure. So I pumped them up to something that felt reasonable, and took off. I was a bit worried, because I was hoping for a slightly more round shape to the tires. And I was worried about making the tires "burp", so I took them over to the Research Park, since it's usually quit rocky, and I can hit the jumps as well. I have to say, for a first test, I was pleasantly surprised. They rolled very quick, and seem to soak up the bumps well. I did get a few burps, but again, I was jumping the bike, and hitting the bump sections hard, trying to push the tires. When I got home, I checked the pressure, and I was a good bit lower than I had thought, so I definitely think I could run a bit more pressure, be nearly as smooth and comfy, and have a bit more protection (they were at about 35psi).
They still worry me a bit, throwing them into a race, since it's my one "real" set of wheels for the single speed, and the set-up makes it harder to just swap tires for different courses. But hopefully with more time on them, they'll gain more of my confidence. I also have a few ideas that I came up with for tweaking the Stan's set-up as well, that should give as much or more security, but run you a lot less.
In other news;
Random picture I had forgotten about from Saturday's party... Jake gets to have his very first beer.
Look, I know it's cold out, (I mean I passed a dude on the bike path wearing big wooly socks with his SPD sandals - not surprisingly he was on a recumbent with a wind screen) and I know you're just going the supermarket, but come on! Hiked-up sweatpants, knee-high socks and Chacos!? Have some decency!
So about a week ago I came across a ridiculous deal on some Hutchinson Piranha "tubeless-ready" cyclocross tires. I had looked at these with a bit of curiosity before. Tubeless mountain bike tires continue to get better, while I have no idea of why you would really want tubeless road tires (yet), but the benefits looked like they just might work for cyclocross. Of course, this is if you weren't willing or able to just go the tubular route, which does admittedly make quite a bit more sense. But like I said, a ridiculous deal... so I figured, why not try some experimenting?
Of course, I have standard, non-tubeless-ready wheels, so I decided to go with Stan's NoTubes set-up. They do have a new cyclocross kit that you can buy, and lots of information on most of the setups, but was lacking a bit in what I wanted to do. I don't really get the cyclocross "kit"... I mean, with all the crap you are adding to the wheels to make them tubeless, you've gone a good deal past the weight of running a standard tire and tube. I opted to try out a modified road set-up, which should work, or work "better" since I was using a true tubeless tire.
I ran a couple layers of Stan's yellow tape to seal up the rim all airtight. After a bit of experimenting, I decided to add a plastic rim strip I had, which tightened up the fit a bit more on the tire. I also opted for Stan's stand-alone 44mm valve stem. After a little bit more experimenting, I managed to get air into the tire and to seat up without much issue, even using my floor pump.
Yesterday I finally got a chance to get out and test them a bit. I had forgotten my pump like a moron, so it was a bit hard to do "scientific testing" on the air pressure. So I pumped them up to something that felt reasonable, and took off. I was a bit worried, because I was hoping for a slightly more round shape to the tires. And I was worried about making the tires "burp", so I took them over to the Research Park, since it's usually quit rocky, and I can hit the jumps as well. I have to say, for a first test, I was pleasantly surprised. They rolled very quick, and seem to soak up the bumps well. I did get a few burps, but again, I was jumping the bike, and hitting the bump sections hard, trying to push the tires. When I got home, I checked the pressure, and I was a good bit lower than I had thought, so I definitely think I could run a bit more pressure, be nearly as smooth and comfy, and have a bit more protection (they were at about 35psi).
They still worry me a bit, throwing them into a race, since it's my one "real" set of wheels for the single speed, and the set-up makes it harder to just swap tires for different courses. But hopefully with more time on them, they'll gain more of my confidence. I also have a few ideas that I came up with for tweaking the Stan's set-up as well, that should give as much or more security, but run you a lot less.
In other news;
Random picture I had forgotten about from Saturday's party... Jake gets to have his very first beer.
Look, I know it's cold out, (I mean I passed a dude on the bike path wearing big wooly socks with his SPD sandals - not surprisingly he was on a recumbent with a wind screen) and I know you're just going the supermarket, but come on! Hiked-up sweatpants, knee-high socks and Chacos!? Have some decency!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
This past weekend was another busy one. Friday night we were off to Denver to catch the last Roller Dolls match of the season. The Bad Apples were squaring off with the Green Barretts for the title, and I wanted to be there to see who won! Jessica and I met up with Jesse and Brittany and we grabbed ourselves some front row seats down on the floor. The girls lined up for the first jam of the night and we were off!
The ladies battle to control things;
But more often than not, it was the Bad Apples that got their Jammer through first!
You never know what you are going to get at halftime, and that's half the fun. From weddings to competitive jump roping, to disco-roller skating... and this time it was passing out a huge number of hula hoops to anyone that was willing to come out on the floor and twist their thang! Jessica gladly jumped up and of course I wanted to see how fast she could get going;
Back to the action, and we're going to need a clean-up in turn number 4!
The match was never terribly close, and I was glad to see the Bad Apples take the trophy home for this year! Congrats ladies!
It would have been fun to go out and celebrate the match with the ladies, but there was racing to be done the next day. Saturday's race was up at the Xilinx course, which tends to offer up a pretty good venue. And the gang at Blue Sky Velo did a great job of putting together a quality event, including a course with lots of different features. It seemed insanely long, but at the same time, it was a little easier, when the lap counter was a lot smaller!
I had signed up for both the 35+ race and the single speed race. I figured I'd do the 35+ on the geared bike, mostly as a warm-up...and warm-up it was! I misjudged, and got to the race a bit later than I had hoped. And before I knew it, I realized that I was heading to the start line without so much as a single lap of the course!
Sadly, the sensations I had all week, were still spot-on when race time rolled around. The legs were no where to be found. I pretty much just rolled around the course, feeling uncomfortable, and unable to get into a good groove. The legs just weren't into it, and they convinced my focus to do the same.
I was worried while riding the geared bike, that this was going to be an ugly course for the single speed. But after a lap, I realized it really wasn't that bad, in fact, I think I preferred it. You had to give up some speed on the pavement, and were a bit over-geared in one section, but that's pretty typical with one gear.
Once again, they insisted on starting us barely a minute behind the 3s, and once again, we caught them within the first 1/4 mile of the course. The legs felt slightly better and smoother this lap, but FAR from good. And with all the traffic to deal with, on a course that was tough for passing, I didn't make much progress through the field. Even less after a huge group seemed to crash in front of me in the sand pit the first three times through. Ugh... frustration and crappy legs means riding around without focus again. I'm not sure why... but once again the single speed was way more fun though.
We didn't stick around for the Open race, since it had already been a long day, and we were off to Craig and Jeff's for some party time! Jeff had recently done some home improvements, and that served as reason enough for breaking out the jello shots, the grill and the pump for the keg.
The evening started with some relatively quiet games of beer pong;
And before we knew it, a very heated game of flip-cup was raging! But our team took off at the start, without looking back, and claimed a solid win!
The ladies had some heated games of beer-pong themselves;
Another great party at Jeff and Craigs... and as usual... that also meant Sunday was mostly spent trying to recover, rehydrate and clean out the system to get it back to normal operating parameters. -it was a long process.
The ladies battle to control things;
But more often than not, it was the Bad Apples that got their Jammer through first!
You never know what you are going to get at halftime, and that's half the fun. From weddings to competitive jump roping, to disco-roller skating... and this time it was passing out a huge number of hula hoops to anyone that was willing to come out on the floor and twist their thang! Jessica gladly jumped up and of course I wanted to see how fast she could get going;
Back to the action, and we're going to need a clean-up in turn number 4!
The match was never terribly close, and I was glad to see the Bad Apples take the trophy home for this year! Congrats ladies!
It would have been fun to go out and celebrate the match with the ladies, but there was racing to be done the next day. Saturday's race was up at the Xilinx course, which tends to offer up a pretty good venue. And the gang at Blue Sky Velo did a great job of putting together a quality event, including a course with lots of different features. It seemed insanely long, but at the same time, it was a little easier, when the lap counter was a lot smaller!
I had signed up for both the 35+ race and the single speed race. I figured I'd do the 35+ on the geared bike, mostly as a warm-up...and warm-up it was! I misjudged, and got to the race a bit later than I had hoped. And before I knew it, I realized that I was heading to the start line without so much as a single lap of the course!
Sadly, the sensations I had all week, were still spot-on when race time rolled around. The legs were no where to be found. I pretty much just rolled around the course, feeling uncomfortable, and unable to get into a good groove. The legs just weren't into it, and they convinced my focus to do the same.
I was worried while riding the geared bike, that this was going to be an ugly course for the single speed. But after a lap, I realized it really wasn't that bad, in fact, I think I preferred it. You had to give up some speed on the pavement, and were a bit over-geared in one section, but that's pretty typical with one gear.
Once again, they insisted on starting us barely a minute behind the 3s, and once again, we caught them within the first 1/4 mile of the course. The legs felt slightly better and smoother this lap, but FAR from good. And with all the traffic to deal with, on a course that was tough for passing, I didn't make much progress through the field. Even less after a huge group seemed to crash in front of me in the sand pit the first three times through. Ugh... frustration and crappy legs means riding around without focus again. I'm not sure why... but once again the single speed was way more fun though.
We didn't stick around for the Open race, since it had already been a long day, and we were off to Craig and Jeff's for some party time! Jeff had recently done some home improvements, and that served as reason enough for breaking out the jello shots, the grill and the pump for the keg.
The evening started with some relatively quiet games of beer pong;
And before we knew it, a very heated game of flip-cup was raging! But our team took off at the start, without looking back, and claimed a solid win!
The ladies had some heated games of beer-pong themselves;
Another great party at Jeff and Craigs... and as usual... that also meant Sunday was mostly spent trying to recover, rehydrate and clean out the system to get it back to normal operating parameters. -it was a long process.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Full Moon, Empty Legs
Tuesday night, I think it was, featured a full moon, and clear skies. So there were some good views. Unfortunately, it was cold too, and the clear skies only made it colder; 24 degrees back at the ranch. Brrr! But Wednesday morning I took my time getting to work, and had to snap a few quick pictures. From the driveway;
Close-up... man do I need to break down and get a tripod;
Over the divide;
And over the divide again, but this time looking back from part of the way down Magnolia;
I wish my legs this week, were as clear as the skies have been. Instead, they're feeling all blocked-up and blah. I tried to pretend that it was just the squishy ground out there right now that was slowing me down, but last night's road ride in the hills proved otherwise. So it will be interesting going into tomorrow's race at Xilinx. Especially since the plan is to do two races. I guess it's good that out of the ordinary, this race had pre-reg, and I already paid. Either way, I'll be on the start line twice.
I think I did too good of a job with the Hulk bike. It's the only bike I want to ride, it's just so much damn simple fun! The week before I did the open race in Frisco and figured I'd ride the geared bike, but the single speed just felt so nice. So tomorrow is a similar plan, one geared race, one single speed race, but we'll see how it works out.
But before all of that happens, tonight a few of us are off to the final Denver Roller Dolls bout of the year! And we're getting close to Halloween, so there should be some interesting characters out for sure! If you're looking for something to do, catch the bout, it's always an entertaining time!
Close-up... man do I need to break down and get a tripod;
Over the divide;
And over the divide again, but this time looking back from part of the way down Magnolia;
I wish my legs this week, were as clear as the skies have been. Instead, they're feeling all blocked-up and blah. I tried to pretend that it was just the squishy ground out there right now that was slowing me down, but last night's road ride in the hills proved otherwise. So it will be interesting going into tomorrow's race at Xilinx. Especially since the plan is to do two races. I guess it's good that out of the ordinary, this race had pre-reg, and I already paid. Either way, I'll be on the start line twice.
I think I did too good of a job with the Hulk bike. It's the only bike I want to ride, it's just so much damn simple fun! The week before I did the open race in Frisco and figured I'd ride the geared bike, but the single speed just felt so nice. So tomorrow is a similar plan, one geared race, one single speed race, but we'll see how it works out.
But before all of that happens, tonight a few of us are off to the final Denver Roller Dolls bout of the year! And we're getting close to Halloween, so there should be some interesting characters out for sure! If you're looking for something to do, catch the bout, it's always an entertaining time!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Congrats Stephanie and Craig!
Brrr... 20 degrees when I woke up this morning. I really, really, do not like winter. Nor do I like getting up in the dark, scraping the ice off the car, and sliding my way down the mountain. When does summer come back?
But before this morning's trek back to work, Jessica and I were off to Albuquerque for the wedding of our friends Stephanie and Craig. Sounded like a good plan to head south, since the weather was going to be crap up here. Heading south means going through Colorado Springs. And the only thing I like in Colorado Springs, besides the B-52 Stratofortress sitting outside of the AirForce Academy is Dunkin' Donuts. So of course, we had to make a stop... coming home too. They didn't dissapoint, since it's also the time of year for pumpkin spice donuts!
Somehow, I've never been to New Mexico, so I was pretty excited about the trip. Especially since the wedding was going to coincide with the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It's been awhile since I've been to a balloon festival, and this one is supposed to be pretty huge. Though I quickly realized that as expected, the drive was indeed quite boring.
Nothing over here either;
Though, apparently, a giant dinosaur took a huge dump over here;
We finally made it though, and Saturday morning it was time for the wedding. Sadly, there were some evil winds in the area, and some rainstorms, so the balloon festivities were canceled. Bummer! But the wedding went off without a hitch, other than some high winds, to keep things interesting. Congrats Steph and Craig!
I thought for a few seconds that maybe this was the sweet ride that was reserved to carry the happy couple off to their honeymoon;
The drive home on Sunday was more of the same exciting roads. Scenic clouds at least;
And we stopped off in Wagon Mound to take in our sight-seeing, and history lesson.
NOW are we any closer to Summer!?!?
But before this morning's trek back to work, Jessica and I were off to Albuquerque for the wedding of our friends Stephanie and Craig. Sounded like a good plan to head south, since the weather was going to be crap up here. Heading south means going through Colorado Springs. And the only thing I like in Colorado Springs, besides the B-52 Stratofortress sitting outside of the AirForce Academy is Dunkin' Donuts. So of course, we had to make a stop... coming home too. They didn't dissapoint, since it's also the time of year for pumpkin spice donuts!
Somehow, I've never been to New Mexico, so I was pretty excited about the trip. Especially since the wedding was going to coincide with the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. It's been awhile since I've been to a balloon festival, and this one is supposed to be pretty huge. Though I quickly realized that as expected, the drive was indeed quite boring.
Nothing over here either;
Though, apparently, a giant dinosaur took a huge dump over here;
We finally made it though, and Saturday morning it was time for the wedding. Sadly, there were some evil winds in the area, and some rainstorms, so the balloon festivities were canceled. Bummer! But the wedding went off without a hitch, other than some high winds, to keep things interesting. Congrats Steph and Craig!
I thought for a few seconds that maybe this was the sweet ride that was reserved to carry the happy couple off to their honeymoon;
The drive home on Sunday was more of the same exciting roads. Scenic clouds at least;
And we stopped off in Wagon Mound to take in our sight-seeing, and history lesson.
NOW are we any closer to Summer!?!?
Monday, October 6, 2008
"Suddenly, I feel like being successful in business..."
If you aren't one of those paranoid people that are sure the government is controlling your mind and poisoning your body...
...well then, why not use the "technology" to brainwash YOURSELF with your own subliminal programing!? That's right! Now you too, can lose weight, stop smoking, or become a successful business man, just by installing the Mind Master subliminal message and image software on your computer!
Now who's first in line for their reprogramming!?
...well then, why not use the "technology" to brainwash YOURSELF with your own subliminal programing!? That's right! Now you too, can lose weight, stop smoking, or become a successful business man, just by installing the Mind Master subliminal message and image software on your computer!
Now who's first in line for their reprogramming!?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Frisco Weekend
This weekend was Frisco Cross, and the weather forecast was pretty ugly. With no plans to stay in Frisco, I thought I'd end up doing just Saturdays race, since the weather was looking ugly for Sunday. Saturday's weather really wasn't bad, just cloudy, breezy and cool. That is of course, until 5 minutes before the Open race... when it started raining. Happily, it wasn't freezing, and the rain was pretty light, so it didn't mess with the race too badly.
I ended up like 3rd row at the start, and the start went pretty well... until I ran out of gearing as expected. I decided to race on the single speed, in the Open race. After most of a lap, still had some guys behind me, until I was downright stopped by a crash in front of me. Ugh.
Once the first lap jitters got worked out with fellows, I had some room and was free to find the rhythm on the single speed. Not the best course with a mountain of a paved hill climb, followed by a full-on paved descent. But the rest of the course was "okay". Sick, steep, loose run-up, of course with a sketchy off-camber turn-in entrance at the bottom just to keep things interesting.
I felt "pretty good", but could tell I was short some of the top-end power. Still, riding the single speed is always a blast. I started to space out a bit towards the final third of the race. Not so much "space-out" I guess, but the course started to get pretty slippy, which made accelerating out of the turns on the SS pretty interesting. No down-shifting so you could spin your way out. Bouncing back and forth between 45 and 60 minute races makes it a bit interesting as well.
So I wasn't really psyched with letting someone catch me on the final lap, but I was happy to survive a colder, wet race. Usually I completely shut down in the cold. And well, cross racing is just plain fun.
Elgee and his gang were out in full-force, since the race was up at altitude like they like. And they get big props for always being some of the best fans - I think they cheer for half the field. Speaking of Elgee, he's recently announced that the CultCross '09 races ARE on for this spring! So if you're one of those dudes that says you "live for cross", well then I don't want to hear any excuses about making it to these races! You should be missing your cross bike by March, and what could be better than some cyclocross racing, to jumpstart the fitness come March? Head up to Eagle, the vibe and the courses are just insane. You'll wish it was just the start of cross season, trust me.
Today with such an ugly forecast, I decided to stay home... sure enough, that meant the weather was gorgeous. But got to hang out on a fairly lazy morning with Jessica. The weather was holding later still, so I ducked out to go abuse myself. Of course, that's when the weather finally rolled in. I'm not sure how, but all the bad weather stayed just out of reach, just some showers. I got in a run AND some mountain biking, more than I should have been able to do the day after racing - but that's good. I'll sleep well.
I ended up like 3rd row at the start, and the start went pretty well... until I ran out of gearing as expected. I decided to race on the single speed, in the Open race. After most of a lap, still had some guys behind me, until I was downright stopped by a crash in front of me. Ugh.
Once the first lap jitters got worked out with fellows, I had some room and was free to find the rhythm on the single speed. Not the best course with a mountain of a paved hill climb, followed by a full-on paved descent. But the rest of the course was "okay". Sick, steep, loose run-up, of course with a sketchy off-camber turn-in entrance at the bottom just to keep things interesting.
I felt "pretty good", but could tell I was short some of the top-end power. Still, riding the single speed is always a blast. I started to space out a bit towards the final third of the race. Not so much "space-out" I guess, but the course started to get pretty slippy, which made accelerating out of the turns on the SS pretty interesting. No down-shifting so you could spin your way out. Bouncing back and forth between 45 and 60 minute races makes it a bit interesting as well.
So I wasn't really psyched with letting someone catch me on the final lap, but I was happy to survive a colder, wet race. Usually I completely shut down in the cold. And well, cross racing is just plain fun.
Elgee and his gang were out in full-force, since the race was up at altitude like they like. And they get big props for always being some of the best fans - I think they cheer for half the field. Speaking of Elgee, he's recently announced that the CultCross '09 races ARE on for this spring! So if you're one of those dudes that says you "live for cross", well then I don't want to hear any excuses about making it to these races! You should be missing your cross bike by March, and what could be better than some cyclocross racing, to jumpstart the fitness come March? Head up to Eagle, the vibe and the courses are just insane. You'll wish it was just the start of cross season, trust me.
Today with such an ugly forecast, I decided to stay home... sure enough, that meant the weather was gorgeous. But got to hang out on a fairly lazy morning with Jessica. The weather was holding later still, so I ducked out to go abuse myself. Of course, that's when the weather finally rolled in. I'm not sure how, but all the bad weather stayed just out of reach, just some showers. I got in a run AND some mountain biking, more than I should have been able to do the day after racing - but that's good. I'll sleep well.
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