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.

RAIN...with rain.

Well...it's done. Not my best year by far. It started raining on us before we even started and continued for 20-30-ish miles. Lots of mahem in the front group. Tires were going like fireworks on the 4th of July.

In between the unexplained slow downs and general squirrells out there I ended up t-boning a dropped bottle. Popped it open and covered myself in the brownish contents....most likely Hammer's Perpetuem. Nice.

I was hauling butt then I flatted about 17 miles in. Then I hauled butt again to almost the first stop. The sun came out and everything turned into that oh too familiar Indiana mid-July pressure cooker. Easy to do when everything is covered in water from the rain.

On the South side of Indy dehydration set in. That coupled with poor nutrition made me start to question what I was doing. I was thinking: "I have already done this thing 3 times. I will not be setting a record of any kind this year. What do I have to prove to anyone? " I called for SAG to meet me where we re-join 40 on the East side of Indy.

I figured I would see how things went while filling bottles and cooling off in the car. Well....I popped some gels, refilled and hit the road. With a gel every 30 minutes towards the end I ended up finishing strong.

Actual saddle/ride time was decent, but the extra needed stopping put a cramp in my overall time. Took 11:05. Ride time of 8:44. 160.7 miles at 18.4 mph. Boo...

Highlights of the day were people recognizing me from the jersey. 2 people came up and said something adding the "hey psimet" in there. I have fans ;).

I skipped the TT on Sunday because we got back to Chicago so late (1:00am by the time I got home). Too bad too because the Zipps I borrowed looked absolutely delicious.

Pics to follow. Now I just have 2 races tomorrow morning. :(

- need to work on my setup. With lost weight this season and the attempt at using non-worn out pedals I realized that my saddle is still too low and I really need to work on position. Staying away from the ultra long events will help me change positions more effectively.

EDIT: Finished 447/911 Boo. That puts me at 49% of finishing field. Not my best, but actually second best. Past history:
2005: 74.9% of field
2006: 69.5% of field
2007: 32.9% of field
2008: 49.1% of field

RAIN...

It is upon us again. One day, One way, 160 miles. Ride Across INdiana. We roll out tomorrow.

So far it appears like we might be getting wet as we roll across the state. Boo. But at least we might have a tailwind. Something tells me that this one will be epic. That cycling "spider sense" is tingling.

Epic not in a good way, but in like a "hey I'm going to have a 4 hour story to tell about this one" way.

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:

I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.I suck.

Satan invented the scale

The last day of vacation I was feeling pretty trim. Almost as though I had actually lost weight during the trip. I knew that was impossible but I figured maybe I had at least minimized the damage.

The timing of the trip was kind of bad as far as my weight goes. I had just broken the 180 barrier that I seem to bottom out at every year. From what I know about those weights your body levels out at if you can actually get past them then the weight just sheds off to the next bottoming. I was hoping to start seeing that...then the trip came.

I took it all in stride and hoped for the best. The 2 days of car travel and chain fried food hell on the way back put some hurt on me. I got on the scale when I got back...187. I was pretty dissappointed. I knew that it was reading high and that most of that would come off in a few days so I tried to keep a positive outlook.

The next morning it read 185.5

Yesterday it read 183.

Today in the morning it read 182.

After the ride tonight it read 179.5. That's mostly water loss I know, but it still makes me feel good. I still have a pipedream of 165 sometime this year, but I would definitely settle for a mid 170's or low 170's that is sustainable. It's a lot easier to try to only lose 5-8 lbs next year.

I have said it before and I will say it again. If I can get to 165 the right way (not losing muscle, gradual loss through proper diet/blood sugar level control, etc) then I will be on fire on the bike.

Superweek Registration

nothing like registering for Superweek before they even have their rider bible published. I signed up for 4 events next week. The Bensenville races on the 15th and 16th. Both days I am attempting Cat 4/5 and Masters 4/5.

4 races in 2 days and I will be 1/2 way to my "modern" cat up....not that I actually want to cat up, but having that 5 on there right next to the "member since 01/01/1993" is kind of pathetic.

If all goes well I might take another day or so and try to get in on another day or two of racing during superweek. With this and 2 races on Elgin's race day I could cat up quickly.

I always needed something to hold as a goal after RAIN during my seasons....this looks like it will be it.

Vacation is over

So I am back at work. Moustache is gone. It was starting to come in nicely, but the wife didn't see anything other than White Trash-ness to it. No humor ...

Trying to piece together some upcoming plans:

• Tonight - Possible wrenching in the shop - Voldemort
• Tuesday - Group Ride
• Wednesday - Possible wrenching in the shop - Voldemort
• Thursday - Possible Commute
• Friday - Possible 1/2 commute then leave for RAIN
• Saturday - Ride RAIN and return to Chicago - and convert bike over to TT setup *pain*
• Sunday - Possible Hampshire TT
• Next Tues - Bensenville Races for Superweek
• Next Wednesday - Bensenville Races for Superweek
• Week off - wife working on the weekend so no rides
• Another TT the following weekend - OR - my boss's son's wedding (also my wife's cousin...long story)
• Melon Metric/Chicago Criterium/Oswego Century the next day(?)
• Elgin Crit the next saturday.

Feeling a little overwhelmed....and excited. I wish there was more time for an escape to Wisconsin mixed in there. Might have to take a 1/2 day and head up there sometime. Part of the wellness program....