My Superweek Wrap-up

I suck.

Cat - 4/5

7/11 - Blue Island - 36/41 placing
7/12 - Elgin - 38/63 placing
7/14 - Arlington Heights - 31/37 placing
7/15 - Bensenville - 28/32placing

Cat - Masters 4/5

Didn't finish a single race.

Again...I suck. Granted the fields were much larger than what they show as placing but that is little solace. Every day was the same. Race hard...try to hold on...pop...start up a chase group....pull chase group around....then let the guys in the chase group come around me at the end dropping me futher.

To top it off the scale has been climbing for a little over a month. I believe it's muscles but there is definitely some fat in there as well. Scale read 180 this morning for the first time in a long time. I'm wearing 32" waist pants still with no problem so...maybe it is muscle.

I suck.

Time to step up my game. Cyclocross is coming...

Superweek Sucks

Where're you parked? Hold on I have a txt coming in...

Where's registration? Do I need my license again? Are you warming up on the trainer or riding around? Have you ridden the course? What's it like? Are they running late? How late? Seriously...Yes I just asked that.

Dude, what happened yesterday??! How's Bob? Who else is coming? You got bottles? Yeah you can borrow my pump. Espresso Love...awesome.

This turn will suck. That one will too. Someone will attack here thinking they can get away. Dude....look at this corner! It's all you. So what's the plan? Hey man! You racing both? Yeah, I know...I'm an idiot. Yesterday? I sucked. You? Nice job! They lining up?

Hey, rider A is here. Look - rider B. Hey they're is only ___ riders from xXx here. *start humming the evil empire music from star wars* How many newbs are here? Awesome. I had no idea Discovery, Phonack, Garmin and CSC were sending riders here for the 4/5 race today.

-official- You are racing __ laps. The wheel pit is over there. Make sure you talk to an official while in the wheelpit in order to get a free lap. Free laps end with 5 to go. Are there any juniors here? Raise your hands. You must report to rollout after the race. blahblahahahahahahahahahahhahahablahablbbbbbbbllllllaaaaahhhhhh *snore******

-Wisecrack #1- -laughter from the field- -Wisecrack #2- -not as much laughter-

Ridersready*whistle*

*pain, tightness, suffering*

Anticipating that first corner. Are they going to nail it from the gun? Look for squirrels. We're cool. Pick a line. Should I yell at him? Nah...let's see if he does it again. Ok, I'm saying something this time, "Come on Team A....watch your line. I have to go to work after this."

Accelerate. More. More. Brake. Turn right. Accelerate. Brake. Turn left. Quick right. Where did that wind come from? Move up on the outside guys...come on....

"I could be at home sleeping, or at least at work" *laughter*

Accelerate. More. More. Brake. Turn right. Accelerate. Brake. Turn left. Quick right. Oh look....a 'break'. Don't chase that guys. Come on. Damnit! Accelerate, Accelerate, Accelerate, Accelerate, Accelerate. Brake. Turn.

Haven't drank. I should probably drink.

Screws getting turned. Sonnuva. Hold it.....hold it.....gogogogogogogogogo. UUUUUHhhhhhhhhhhhhh......keep it going. They'll slow up in a bit. Hang on.....

"GO PSIMET! GET BACK ON THAT WHEEL!"
"GO DADDY GO!"

Not again! SUCK. Should I just quit now? Why keep going? Oh that's right, because I love torture. Think of it like cross. Just start picking guys off as they come off the back. Man they look like they're going slow now.

Hey...I can work with them. "Hop on!" Where did they go?

Was that something behind me? When did I pick up 10 guys? Have fun with the sprint guys. Enjoy it. I'll hold things down back here.

Thank god that's over.

Wonder how long they'll give us before they start the next one. Eat a gel. Where's the other bottle? "How'd you do? AWESOME! Nice job? Me? Meh. You racing the next one? You coming out tomorrow? See you then!"

Are they lining up?


....yup....it's superweek. I'm tired. I suck. I'm too fat for this sport....and I'm having a blast.

ABD TT#3 Report

Another round of beating your head into a wall is over. I am happy to say I have made no gains over the last couple of months. That said I have found that have made no losses either. Meh...here's the pics. That's all any of you care about anyway...


Showed up early enough to see JAnd do his run.


Cheering section - L to R - JF, Little P, Mrs. P


GO JAND GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Time for us to go. Clipping in for torture....


"Hi...I'm f'n nuts!"


Reset the computer....and.......3.....2......1.....GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I burried my head for the first 5 minutes. I didn't look at the screen because I knew I would go too hard if I saw I was behind in order to catch up....or if I was ahead in order to maintain position. So I didn't look.


I was rocking out to a mix of punk and metal. Total "kill everyone" kind of stuff.

I hit my normal wall about 4-5 mintes in, but pushed through. I looked up to see I was behind...by a lot. JF was in front of me. Honestly he's got the chops even though he's new so I really didn't let that bother me too much, but I was at least gpong to try to pull him back.

Up until now I had been running about 270W. I shifted and started bringing around 300W in the second 5 minutes.

"OOooooo"

With a During the last set of 5 minutes I started to crack. I made myself take it easy for 1.5 minutes. Rode easier than I could just in hopes of recovering to finish strong. It kind of worked, but not really. I tried with about 2.5-3 minutes left to stand and go at it. I was within "50 or 60 feet" of JF when I did. When I stood...so did he. That just told me he wasn't going to just hand anything over.

At first I felt bad because I figured he thought I was standing to sprint to the end, but it was way too early for that. I was just hoping to get a quick jump to turn over the distance between us. Turns out when I stood I didn't upshift so my power dropped. Ooops. I sat back down to compensate, but by then JF had taken the opportunity to lay down some power.

I tried to stand and sprint at the end, but I didn't have much. Not the usual punch I have. When done...I felt like puking. So...I did it right. I definitely left some out there though. Just couldn't tap into the deep well if that makes sense.


Shoot me.


Seriously...shoot me.


JF took the win in style. The guy is a naturl athlete that will accel at this cycling thing with no problem. I keep telling him the only thing that will limit how far he goes is how much time he wants to spend on it. He won't be a 5 long and will be a 4 even shorter.

This time he won the CM 19-29. He also got to pick up his medal from the previous TT


To top it off I still owe him a beer to make up for the last $5 from registration I owe him. Will it never end?

So...I ended up 13th out of 28 who took the start out of Cat 4. Furthest up in the field so far, but 2 seconds slower than my last one on the "Flat" course. I did beat Rob Jungels...by like 7 seconds...which just means there is a story there. I'm guessing he had something go wrong or he was doing it as a recovery in street shoes and blue jeans.

Tuesday night at the shop we're doing the mother of all indoor trainer sessions. We're down to 1x45' at threshold. Those sessions have made it easier to race already. They have convinced me that I can ride at an intense effort for much longer than I thought I could.

Congrats to JAnd, JF and everyone else who went out there (MRIDan). Nothing like paying $25 so you can sit in one place and turn yourself inside out for 16 minutes.

Almost time to shave the legs. Mrs. P is thrilled.

...

That was a crappy race. I sucked so bad I had a job offer from Hoover waiting for me at the finish line.

Cold.

Umm....it was a mtn bike course not a cross course. They have this stuff up in Cheeselandia. They call it "hills." They put some on the course. I have never been lapped on a cross course ....before today.

Mechanicals, loss of care, cross-eyed riding the wrong direction ("whaaa...everyone is going the other way....oh look.....tape....). Total suck of a day.

Form is gone I fear. That and I have never been really good at hills....

MJH2 kept it upright - and still got lapped at the line. Flanman rode 2 hard races and came in frotn of both of us. Nice job!

Hope tomorrow is better. This wasn't worth the drive. :(

Sometimes I hate building wheels

Tonight I stripped the rim off of my new powertap and went to lace it up to my new rim (Kinlin Niobium XR-300 - 30mm). Everything went really well and slick. I was cooking along. Overhauled the hub so it now spins like butter. Prepped the spokes and rim. New Spoke prep which allowed me to realize that my old prep was getting....old.

So...it's late. I ALWAYS make a small stupid mistake when wheel building. It's like making a simple math error. It just sucks. It also always seems to happen when I attempt to build when it's late and my eyes are tired and I am already squinting.

...but no....not tonight right?? :(

I was in a hurry to start getting power numbers at the end of this season. I am in rocking form and I want to set some baseline numbers.

So....I laced the wheel. I get to about the last 5 or so spokes on the drive side when it dawns on me that the spokes are going to be just a tad too short. I check, double check, triple check all of the possible causes and see that I am doing everything right. Now I'm pissed. That means I calculated the spokes wrong...AGAIN. I HATE doing that.

But there's no way. This is a straight forward build. Spokes are within 2mm of each other. The drilling is straight up and I am using the same spokes with the same lacing on both sides. Short spoke on the drive side and long on the non-drive.....

....

.....right?......wait......does this thing have different size flanges? Is the bigger flange on the non-drive side because fo the torque transfer tube on this thing??!!

MOTHER F'R!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I swapped spokes.

Check the notes! Check the notes! I always tell myself to check the notes and verify everything multiple times but NOOOOOOooooo. I'm too smart for that.....

Hope your day was better.

Tasty

Anticipation is not so tasty. Here's to hoping for another upright race.

Rode 50 fairly easy miles on the trail on Friday. Did a morning 30ish (28 I think) with some of the guys yesterday....net result? I feel it in my legs. Things are tight. Weird stuff. Hopefully it's tight like winding a rubber band kind of tight.

Here's to another day of cross. Rider(s) (not) Ready!

It's time.

Satan lives in Vegas.

Tomorrow. Cyclocross. Race.

A week in Vegas makes one a poor rider.

I will pay for my transgressions while out on the course tomorrow.

Pain is beautiful. Suffering is life.

Cyclocross is hard.

Cyclocross is hard. Very hard. It makes crits look like 30 mile Sunday charity rides.

I am a wussy. I suck at this thing. I got dirty. I got cuts. I got bruised. I'm a roadie.

Don't know if I will do Hawthorne Woods race tomorrow. I might have to sleep on it.

So....

Kind of hit a funk that came out of nowhere. Weird.

The racing last weekend was such a high and for some reason I have not really gotten excited about cyclocross yet. I will be attempting a cyclocross clinic tomorrow morning. If all goes well I will try my first race the next day....

Hawthorne Woods

Again...for those that know nothing about cross....it's apparantly what happens when cyclists try to just go out for a run.

For those running the Chicago insane-a-thon tomorrow...good luck.

Fall Fling Stage #1

Road Race in Westlake Village outside of Rockford.

Citizens/Cat 5 <- sad I know.

Things went well early on. I ended up in the front of the field right off the line AGAIN. I rode slow as crap hoping others would come around and no one did. I take corners well/fast and tookt he first one in front.

I heard MJH2 come along side and say, "no one's coming. Screw 'em. Let's go!" I turned and saw a decent gap that we had ont he field. :wtf: I did not expect that. We gave it a half-assed go and were quickly caught.

From there I found I ended up in 1st or second position. RJBTrek and I were trading up front quite a bit. We were both looking for others to take over. MJH2 later pointed out that everyone must have read online that they were not supposed to work ever so none of them were. I have to agree.

Inputflangeman had decided to join in for today's race. Those of you who have ridden with him know he's a triathlete with a great diesel engine. We "advised" him before the race that it might be a good idea for him to go up front and ride his pace due to his background. He did just that. He went up front and worked hard enough to keep people from coming around, but not hard enough to kill us.

Everything was great....then we got close to the line to start the second lap (7.5mile laps). I heard a guy sprinting by. Started calling out "Left-side!" Then looked and saw it wasn't just one or two or three guys, but a train...and it was trucking. The speed went up drastically and a few of the lesser experienced riders in front on me and MJH2 started popping and getting squirrelly. We both got boxed in....

SUCK! I felt like bumping them out of the way, but just worked with it. We got gapped enough that we had to go nuclear to get back on. That's when I popped. I just couldn't do that effort and recover quick enough.

I dropped like a rock through most of the pack and then solo TT'd the rest of the ride. Picked up a wheel sucker for a while. He didn't understand how to work together. Happens all the freeking time to me during races.

There was no one to sprint when I finished. :( Sucked. I was feeling great today. I had tons of power at the end. I could have ridden really well, but just screwed up the read of the race and couldn't cover that move.

Tomorrow is stage 2 - a crit. I know it will be fast. Don't know how I will do. I guess I will find out. Not nearly as happy tonight as I thought I would be. Oh well. One day I will do well in a race.

I suck.

Hardware

I scored some hardware at today's epic TT. I didn't ride as well as I could have, but I did a good job I believe. I came in 3rd out of 4 in the 30+ category. 1:04:48 seconds for 23.75 miles - about 22mph average.

I say epic because it was a downpour for the whole route. I couldn't see anything through my glasses so I rode looking over them. If I had my head up the rain was so heavy it would sting my eyes.

Standing there getting drenched while in the start house I looked around at a few of the other guys and just had to say it, "you know...we're some pretty messed up guys for coming out here in the rain to put ourselves through the torture that is a TT. We could all be in bed or eating a nice breakfast. We're idiots." I got the obligatory laugh or two, but everyone was thinking, "you wussy. I do it so that I can kick bike weenie ass. Get in line for your ass kickin you weenie."

"30 seconds"

I noticed that my heart rate goes from 50-60 just standing around to in the mid 90s when I get into the start house. Crazy. You want to pee, crap yourself, throw-up, fall over into a fetal position, etc. You know the pain that is coming and you know the little guy with the clipboard isn't going to save you or make the pain stop. He's going to enjoy every minute of it.

"Rider ready. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!"

I don't care how much you warm up, if you are not feeling like you just got hit by a Mack truck within the first 30 seconds to a minut of a TT then you're doing it wrong.

Pain is like crack. Beating someone is like heroin.

I wasn't expecting much and did nothing to prepare for this other than switch my bike over. I think I did OK. This is the first piece of hardware I have ever received from a competitive cycling event. Sure it's no big deal and doesn't mean anything with such a small field on such a crappy day, but it's a medal. I will take it.

Colorchange pulled a 1:00:03<--missed the hour by 3 seconds. Awesome job. He pulled first place in Cat 5. Alien2 was there to finish the series. He placed 2nd overall in the series as well as second today. This is in Cat 3. He's a fast dude. It shows on Tuesday nights. He did the route in something like 56 or 58 minutes. Hella-fast.

Fall fling is coming and I am hoping I can do good things there. The TT is half the distance so I will need to really hammer it out in order to be able to do anything.

The day in psimetville....

Group ride last night = good. Stayed on the whole way. Outclimbed a lot of people (even a few on Braeburn - wtf). Won final sprint - well accepted it when it was given over by the alien.

I was feeling good and can only chalk it up to finally being able to string 2-3 days of riding together - total shocker, but looking at my logs I haven't ridden on 2 consecutive days in a LONG TIME before now.

Thursday is BH ride.

I am winning the battle of the scale. Consistantly says 175 now. Been seeing some 173 and 174's. Still have my fat belly, but I am starting to think that will never go away. I felt the lighter weight on the bike too. Strength has been increasing so I feel like the loss has not been at the expense of muscle.

I had another meeting with the man to continue our discussion from last week. Didn't see the point and know it's just one of those "methods" for handling conflict situations that he most likely learned in a seminar. "Confront the issue head on and then give them a week for reflection then revisit the issue." I'm good in negotiations because I know when I am being played. What sucks is knowing that I am being played, not wanting to stoop to the level of playing along, and knowing that if you don't play along then no good can possibly come of that.

If de-motivation was a food, I would now be fat(er).

I'm in hell...

An hour of indoor strength intervals last night. Even with as bad as I feel I found I skated through this one....and it was a Spinervals DVD. I typically bomb out on those. It was constant 50X12 (sorry guys, I ride a compact) for the whole thing. 1-legged drills. Seated power. Sprints, off bike lunges....

.... and lung cookies. I hate being sick.

Still hacking this morning, but making it. I needed this to get me ready, at least mentally, for Saturday. Colochange posted a video of the course and it looks like one hill will definitely kill me and I get to climb it 10 times unless I get pulled. I had nightmares about it last night.

For some reason I seem to put on quite a bit of weight right after events only to have it shed off the following week. Example: Before DD last weekend I was 176. When I got home I was 183 or 184. Then slowly each day I just whittled it off. Today...176. Sure it's normal fluctuation and most likely water being restored and then burned off, but it's just weird. Nothing like going on an epic ride and gaining weight at the end and not seeing the results for a week or so.

Oh...and I drastically reduced my caffiene intake starting yesterday as well. Boo.

BTW - WHY IN THE HELL AM I RIDING A TRAINER IN AUGUST!!!!! Trainers suck.

Yuk

I feel like the stuff you find sometimes on the bottom of your shoe that makes you think, "I don't know what the hell that is, but I'm not touching it."

The family has been dealing with a virus for a few weeks. I feel like I am pulling out of the worst point, but I am still a mess. I did the Dairyland Dare with it in full effect, but the stress of the Dare put me over the edge. I have been in a serious funk since then. Add on top of that some business travel - late travel and arrival paired with early meeting and half day travel again - and I am struggling to figure out which side is up.

To top all of this off I have to get to the doc to get my regular Rx filled - something I HATE doing. I have no time and scheduling an appointment is like trying to ask the most popular girl out to the dance. You end up getting a semi-polite appointment at a totally inconvenient time and end up leaving there feeling like you've wasted all your time and were just mildly humored.

I hate healthcare in America. Wife works in the system (RN). She has a Doctor for a sister and the other sister is a nurse as well. Everyone wants to do a better job, but the system seems to never really give them a chance to. Between everyone covering their asses and the occassional individual that just doesn't really know what they're doing....you know where I'm going.

Case in point. I had breathing problems and got bumped around from my primary to a specialist. Specialist needed testing, etc. The total time involved to schedule appointments and get anything done - 6 months. End result - have surgury (nasal polyps). My wife was pregnant at the time so there was no way I was going to take any unecssary risks.

Now that child is 2 1/2. I still have the issue. If I want something done now I will have to start the process all over again. Not to mention if I undergo surgury then I will be laid up for a couple of weeks. So....in order to make sure this happens during the off-season I would have to start this process sometime in July....

....guess I'll wait until next year.

So...what does this mean for Saturday's road race? It means my first event sporting an actual team kit will be a subpar showing. I might have to pull myself to prevent total embarassment to rest of the team who is there.

Pain is what it feels like to get better.......right?

Group Ride 081208

Another group ride is done. Fast. I held on for a long time and was actually climbing really well (for me).

Then I popped. I was so demoralized thinking - Hey I'm going to make it this time....

Then I fired up the Garmin and saw I just set a record for myself on the course. Everyone else just got faster.

I hate pulling into the parking lot within a minute or 2 of the leading group - meaning we were close, but that difference adds up to 1-3mph. Pretty big gap.

Oh well, I never said I was good at this stuff.

Coma

I'm coming down from a wedding induced coma of sugar and alcohol. Driving long distances, family, and celebrations although tons of fun don't make for a healthy self.

Got back in town and found the time to hook up a ride. Hot and heavy. I had raised the saddle a bit and again...I make more power there, but I pay a "price"....physically....

I hammered out about 10 miles then turned around. Ran across CyLowe almost right at the turn around point. We talked for a bit and then he decided to ride the return leg back with me before continuing on his ride.

He's been in a leg burning mood lately so it was nice to make some good time back. For only being out an hour I got some good time in. Still slow, and a tad bit apprehensive about Elgin Crit this week.

Sent e-mails to the organizers so it looks like I will be in the Cat 5 race even though my ABR license says 4. Hopefully the day will be a safe one.

This just in....

...I suck at racing. I was happy with my performance today, but in the big picture I was a giant heaping pile of suck. The races were fast. I knew they would be...come on...it is a race, but they were faster than what I would even expect.

The course is super flat and in the morning there was a tailwind down the longest straight. I held on the the CAT 4/5 for about 5 laps. Then when I was OTB I ended up trying to work with a guy. He was just barely hanging on and I ended up doing most of the work. He was tiny too so even when he was in front I was getting nothing.

Just before we were about to get lapped I took off trying to hold the pack off. It was a pretty impressive effort if I do say so myself. It delayed the inevitable for another lap. We got lapped a seond time with 3 to go. Picked up a xXx rider who kind of worked with us - when he wasn't busy trying to tell us what to do (is there a rolleyes smiley on here?).

The Masters 4/5 was faster. It was brutal. Actually it probably wasn't, but the morning's race had taken a lot out of me. I did manage to stay in the front for a while. I was even in front going over the line one lap. I actually think I was in a 3 man break off the second lap or so, but I was going hard enough that I couldn't see. One guy came flying up and wanted me and the first guy to work with him. We put out heads down and I hammered for a bit. The second lap of that was obvious we were fading.

Pretty soon I did my usual OTB and just tried to hold on. The sun was intense and it is really hot out there today. After getting lapped a second time with only 6 or 7 laps left I decided to call it a day. I shouldn't have because it was then that riders were starting to get shelled and I could have found people to work with, but the gas tank was on "E" and the pounding headache was signaling dehydration.

DFL, DNF.

Rule 5,246 about racing: "Don't expect to ony go out a couple of times a year for races and still do OK."

Stupid Weak...and Aero

So...I'm sitting around after the horrible experience this morning and wanting to totally unload my guads (yes I know it's quads....it's a bike forums thing...crazy internet). I had borrowed a set of Zipp 404s from a friend and co-worker (also relative by marriage) for the TT that I didn't end up doing. They were in the car ready to return and I just thought maybe I should give them a test ride.

With my fatherly responsibilities in play for this evening I knew I wasn't going to be able to go on the Tuesday Night ride, but figured I could make it out on the route during the day. For those of you who don't know Zipp 404s are the hottest wheelset on the domestic poseur scene. They are insanely light, aerodynamic, made of carbon and $$$$$$$$$$.

They basically run $2,100 for the set. Seriously. I normally build wheels for around $400 a set. I wanted to experience them.

So I geared up and headed out. I got most of the way there before I realized I hadn't yet swapped out my mtn shoe for the correct road shoe yet. (Stupid!)

Once there I suited up and headed out. Now I said before that the 404s are a primo poseur wheel. I felt obligated to complete the total image - that or the fact that I was wearing bland no-name kit all morning "at the race" - so I donned a 2007 CSC jersey that I received as a gift from a different relative by marriage who happens to work for them. It's Euro and nice and tight. Think I blogged about it before, but it fits nicer now.

So there I am: Carbon Giant TCR with Dura-Ace, Zipp 404 wheels, wearing a CSC team jersey. I was all set to go out and be mediocre.

OK - serious part - the wheel review. I noticed a definite change from before. The bike didn't seem to lurch back in between pedal strokes (yes, I have a crappy spin). They seemed more jittery if that makes sense. The big thing was that I really didn't notice any real benefit....

...until I got them over 20 mph or pointed them downhill. I NEVER run my 12t cog on this course even with a group. I found myself in it every single time I had even a small downhill. It just kept going and going.

Climbing was...meh. I like my wheels better for climbing. My wheels are stiffer than these. The 404s kind of felt mushy at times. For the record I am 179 and can be brutal on my wheels...I took it easy on these. Climbing Braeburn did go extremely well though.

So even though I was going around this course solo I figured I would be matching or even bettering some of my normal times around it OTB. Wasn't far off. I really wasn't pounding it, but I ended up with the same speeds as normal.

You mean the wheels didn't make me fast??!!!!

Go figure.

Final assessment: If you have access to these for TTs then without a doubt use them. Will they make you faster in general? Not really. You can't buy speed. I think they are overkill for crits plain and simple. Road races...OK. Group ride domination...absolutely.

If you have the $$ burning a hole in your pocket and hate helping others with donations to charity then by all means add them to your arsenal (get it....Zipp Speed Weaponry?). If it's going on your credit card and you hope the monthly payments will still allow you to eat Ramen Noodles and occasionally drink a beer with the left over small change....then snap out of it. Stick with quality custom pre-builts.

If you're a "try"-athlete who thinks they need every single edge they can get in a race - so much so that you insist on climbing while in a full aero position - even though you are neglecting the fact that you are 50 lbs overweight....then please walk to your garage and package up your set and give them to a starving College Cat3 or 4 who could use them..........to kick my butt.

...or just polish them with a diaper and set a place of honor for them at the table.

Stupid Week

So I forgot my license on the way to the races today in Bensenville. So I went back from Bensenville to Elgin and got it. Then when I finally got to the race I went to go register and realized that I had 2 different shoes.

Yes one was right and one was left, but one was a mtn bike shoe and one was a road shoe. 2 different cleats. One that would work with my pedals.....the other wouldn't.

I took the start of the 4/5 race anyway. I just pretended I was having pedal problems. I took a lap and according to the official at the start I will be placed. Boo.

Stupid.

Really stupid.

When you race, or go to any event there are a few things you check and check and check again.

1. Helmet
2. Shoes
3. Bike
4. Gloves
5. Water Bottle
6. Pump
7. EDIT - Even here I forgot to put "License".

Everything else is extra. Today I get an F. Still....I did take the start so the day wasn't a total loss.

Crisis of Faith

OK...so last night after the group decided to slow up to wait for me I remembered something I tend to forget every now and then....I suck.

Then it dawned on me: I signed up for 4 races next week alone. 2 of those are with packs of 19 to early 20 somethings who do nothing more than ride their bike all day. My "goals" or rather "intent" had been to be able to pack finish at least one race next week. I will still stick to that, but absolutely no promises (you hear me empty world we call the internet!).

Why was I thinking about cat'n up? I'm an idiot. At this point I wish the USAC system was set up a little differently. You come in as a 5 and race 10 mass starts. If you don't pack finish any of them then you are cat'd DOWN to a cat 6. When you start turning consistant results then you can go to Cat 4.

Yeah...like that will ever happen. USAC is filled with fellow weenies that can actually ride hard and tend to forget about the whole cat 5 thing because it's only temporary. Good riders scream through and forget. Bad ones suffer and quit.

It seems like many organizers have tried over the years to address the people in my position with mediocre success. Wisports series comes to mind. Meh.

The general line of thinking is HTFU. If you don't know what thay means I'll just say that parts of it are: Harden The ____ Up. To which I respond:

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