too many numbers

25 miles,
5th place,
14th overall,
34t x 15t,
60psi F&R,
2 bottles of water,
85 degrees farenheit,
1 bee sting on the abdomen,
Average Hr 164, max 176,
first lap in 48:46 167avHr,
second lap in 53:10 161avHr,
total time 1:41:56,
8:17 behind David's 1st place time of 1:33:39,
2 beers.

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of mood swings. I was in a very good mood after the race largely because I thought I'd finished in third place. I inquired politely when I saw the posting of the results... and realized there was nothing I could do. When the race started I was 6th into the woods behind 5 multispeeders after a very fast paved start. My teammate David, who lives near Lake Geneva, passed me a mile or so later and I managed to keep him in sight for most of the first lap. At roughly half-way I was passed by another single speeder wearing a green jersey. We went back and forth for a while. He had a better climbing gear but I had more speed on the flats and downhills. With half a lap to go he lost me on a grade and I wouldn't see him again until nearly the end. There were a few multispeeders from time to time, all of them in my way but going slower. My most satisfying moment came when I set up a pass on a downhill corner. I announced "passing on the left" but he kept to the left side of the trail. There was room so I stayed to the left and passed him anyway. As I pulled abreast he asked why I didn't go right and I told him I was committed. As I completed the pass he uttered "damn, a singlespeed." I kept my tempo amazingly steady as far as my body was concerned but my speed did slip a bit. Once the last set of fallen tree obstacles were ridden over I caught two more multispeeds just before the remaining mile of pavement to the finish. I could hear Phil Liggett's voice describing Jan Ulrich climbing a hill..."he slowly ticks over the pedals like a diesel engine building speed" ...as I wound up my RPM's to maybe 100. I gapped the multi that exited the woods just ahead of me and by the finish line I managed to put 3 seconds on him. 13 minutes later Jesse, shortly followed by Marco, finished the 37.5 mile Expert race. They both rode their Ferrous' set up for single speed, but entered in the Expert/29 & under Category as a "protest." More likely they wanted to fuck with the multispeeders. Ah, to be young and fit again.

Today was marginally better. After a good day at work I ran errands on the Rig and then gave it a bath and lube. the ride was nothing stressful but my body had no aches and didn't protest when I sprinted a few times. Tomorrow after school I hope to ride in spite of the forecast of rain.

Are we there yet?

Not being in the mood to ride is a dangerous thing. I did a quick tune-up on a friend's hybrid and changed into road kit for a spin. I delivered the hybrid riding the Seven and was in a slightly better frame of mind. I decided to entertain myself with an impromtu circuit race around the UW Ag building. It was a 1.14 mile loop from the top of Henry Mall down to Elm & Observatory, then up Observatory to Charter and then down to Linden and back to the front of the Ag building. 20 laps later I needed to go home. A measly 85' of climbing per lap was magnified by climbing in a 53x19 each lap. A quick hammer home at 25mph made me feel as though I'd been productive. Persephone gave my mind a new path to follow when she said upon my return "Did you have a good race" I told her I was just out on a training ride and the race is Sunday. To which she replied "I hope you didn't ride too hard tonight, you need to save your strength for the race."

Rain and results

Tonight was the 4 hour finale of my Structured Cabling class. Thankfully it was raining so I don't feel so bad about having missed a day of training. A quick check of the UW Platteville Cycling Team blogsite had me finding the official result posting from last Saturday's race.




Thursday is a day of pain.

Interstate Love Song

Dodgeville never materialized. I lacked the motivation to get out of bed until after 10 am Sunday, possibly because I actually put in a better than average effort Saturday. So instead of riding the bikes I cleaned and adjusted the fleet. The Seven looked like I'd left it in a sandbox for a month and the Rig and the M900 were a bit dirty. By the end of the afternoon they were all shiny and clean.
I'd made up my mind to race Rock Cut this Sunday rather than drive to Iowa. I pulled the 22 and installed a 19. The initial plan was to take the bike to work with me Wednesday and drive directly there to get an idea of what gearing and tires would be best suited. Then I remembered I have my last night class. So this morning I adjusted the plan. I called a shop in Rockford and was advised to run the tallest gear I could handle. At lunch I swapped the 19 for a 15 and packed up the car. After school I was southbound and an hour later I was at the park. Rolling on the 34x15 wasn't bad. After 5 minutes or so I caught a rider in a jersey that had "Bike Patrol" across the back. He wasn't actually Bike Patrol, but he was the Race Director for Sunday's event. Coach Swanson, I forgot his first name but he is a Gym Coach for a school, was kind enough to show me the lap and give me pointers along the way. By the end of the first lap I was considering changing to a 16 or 17. Jesse had advised me last year to find a gear I could push but then go one easier as I'd find it nearly perfect late in a race. Sound advice, but once I left Coach to do a lap at my own pace I found the 29er advantage making the gear easy. Momentum carried me over the minor hills and I felt like I could do a third lap but the sun was starting to make an exit.
Then I had to find my car. I came out of the woods and 20 minutes of road riding at a solid tempo I finally found the VW. An hour later I was in the warmth of a shower while the rice cooked. Today's ride 2:45, avg HR 142 (165 while solo) max HR 175.
Tomorrow will be a rest day with night school getting in the way but Thursday will be back to work with focus.

It ain't easy improving by 10%

Today was the Platteville XC TT. While I think I did well, I only complicated my pending decision about upgrading to Comp. Last year I had no clue how to ride a singlespeed and I had no base miles or conditioning. This year is different. I have the miles. I have a bike dialed in perfectly. I understand how to gear the bike. All that preparation let me improve my time on the ~7 mile course from 46:59 to 42:24. While I was 3rd of 7 and 2nd ss last year, this year I was 5th of 18 and 1st SS. The 34x22 gearing was perfect. I was able to climb everything except the uphill switchback coming out of the creekbed area, I had to trot all of 5 feet. Maybe I could have run a 21 but oh well, what's done is done. John Fang (BKB) did the Expert/Comp race and didn't do so well. He was complaining his body felt wrong. He gutted it out and finished anyway. There were quite a few DNF's in both race but the best reason I saw was in my race. He had started a couple of minutes ahead of me but was sitting on the side of the trail maybe halfway through. The chainstay on his Trek EX7/Fuel7 had broken at the weld right behind the chainrings sending him over the bars. He still managed to get 3rd in his under 18 age group in spite of his DNF. Anyhow, Cory aka Crash was dealing some pain in the Expert race. After his victory last week in MBM was back to his usual tricks doing well. Tomorrow is a long road ride. I can't ride Monday night so I need to put in the miles for a recovery day. Maybe I'll ride to Dodgeville and feel some pain. 42:24, max HR 180, average HR 170.

Indecisive

After a quick motor over to Marshall and back on T & TT in 1:30 at 145bpm I got the Rig ready for Saturday in Platteville. Last year I wasn't ready or in shape for a SS race. I ran the lowest gear I had, 32x19 and I had to walk twice. Yeah, it was a steep section, but I'm pretty sure I can climb it in that gear now. So this year I'm going with a 34x22. I'm going to do the Sport race for a few reasons. While I'd like to move up to Comp for WORS, I don't want to make a fool of myself when I do so. If I can feel confident about my current conditioning, which should continue to improve, then I'll feel better about upgrading. If I don't have a better result compared to last year, I'll either upgrade anyway or I'll stay in the Sport ranks. While I want to be having fun at the races, this season there's the added responsibility of Killing Dreams.

Why some people want dogs is beyond me.

P-Lip's Blog

had me laughing at my memories of my Bro-in-law Tony's girlfriend's Pomeranian. Tony already had Otter, a typical over-friendly Black Lab when Cheryl moved in with "Kinna", a fairly nice and well behaved Pomeranian. The thing was, Kinna, which Cheryl told me meant "beauty" or "peace" or something like that in Hawaiian, was about as fragile as a dog could get. I've always said "Kinna" was Hawaiian for "animal that should be tossed into the volcano before the gene pool is diluted." When Otter and Kinna stood side by side you could see what Charles Darwin was thinking. Otter loves to fetch as most Labs do. He'd bring back balls, sticks, sizeable branches and when taken down to the shores of Lake Washington (Tony lives in Seattle) he'd fetch rocks. Yes, rocks. I'm not talking golfball sized rocks, I mean rocks the size of your head. No the rocks in Seattle don't float, they sink just like the ones we have here. But Otter would dive down and find a rock if not the rock you'd just tossed into the water. Otter never tires either. One time Tony was flinging a sizable stick into the water for Otter. It was long enough it just cleared the ground when Tony whipped it one-handed out into the water. After a dozen or so throws, you must know how Labs are when playing fetch, Tony's arm was getting tired. On what would be the last throw, Tony felt a slight "catch" just before he released the branch out into the water. He looked down and saw Kinna resting peacefully right next to his foot. Resting isn't accurate, not only was she out cold, Kinna wasn't really breathing. In a typical panic all single guys go through when they realize they've just killed their live-in girlfriend's wisp of a dog, Tony dropped to his knees and tried to revive Kinna. Like a drunken sailor after a 30 day shore leave Kinna's eyes opened and she tried to stand up. Tony scooped her up and carried her back to his large Chevy Z-71 4x4 truck (that's foreshadowing for the truck). Kinna recovered and Cheryl was never told, at least not by any humans.

The other example of Kinna's fragility happened in front of Cheryl. Cheryl, Kinna, Tony and Otter had just returned home from an errand and everyone climbed out of the 4x4 with slightly oversized tires. Otter bounded out as all Labs do when exiting a vehicle but Kinna had hesitation. Normally Cheryl carried Kinna everywhere like you see "Hollywood stars" do when whoring their latest "artistic project." That day Cheryl had her hands full of items from the errand so Kinna was on her own getting out of the truck. So she jumped down. Tony saw her size up the distance and push off from the floor down to the ground. They both heard the "snap" her little front leg made when it buckled under her "mass" as she hit the ground. The rest of that Saturday was spent at the Vet's getting x-rays and a cast.

But I'm sure P-Lip will pick a hearty Pomeranian capable of surviving in a Dream Killer's home.

A better day

After a 45 minute noodle over to the Arb I was let down again. I must be later or early because at 5 there's nobody loitering. So off I went. Southbound for an hour until I found myself just outside Belleville. I rescued the southern-most MBM sign by Hwy 69 which is now displayed proudly with my other cycling pictures and memorabilia. I side tripped to Observatory just west of Paoli and was dissapointed with its lack of steepness. Pine Bluff Observatory is nastier. Anyway, I played cat and mouse with a few guys on the way into Verona before finally digging deep and making a move stick on a flat. The headwind home started to leach the warmth from me but as I turned onto Seminole a backhoe pulled out in front of me from the underground construction site. It was rolling along at a steady 24mph so I ducked in behind him and easily drafted him until he turned toward the MBM trail. Feeling slightly warmer I started picking off cyclists on the way back to the east side Arb entrance. I crossed Park St behind a familiar rider, Steve Silverberg, so I sat in behind him and 3 others until the east side of Brittingham Park. He finally saw me and wondered aloud how I could be comfortable in a sleeveless jersey and bibs when he wanted a parka. He turned back to his office and I took off down John Nolan and home. 3:15 in the saddle, average HR 145, 54 miles and 750' of climbing.

Thanks Steve

Yesterday was a nice day for a family bike ride. So that's exactly what we did. I prepped Sephie's Stardust, Kenisha's Huffy and Karen's 7200 and we were off to the Union Terrace for ice cream. After a brief stop at Machinery Row to check out handlebar baskets for Sephie and Saris racks for the VW, we rolled into the Terrace. There was a light turnout in spite of the relatively warm temps. It could have been the north wind off the lake making things cool enough for a fleece. The return trip was uneventful and the four of us made it home with ice cream mustaches intact.

Today was a different ball of wax. After work I hopped on the Seven and was relatively motivated. I wandered south around Lake Monona and found myself wondering if there was a group ride at the Arb. When I rolled up there was just Steve waiting for anyone fast to show. He'd have to make due with me. Introductions were made and we headed through the Arb toward Paoli. Steve claimed to be a UW student a few points shy of getting his Category 1 upgrade. I never doubted him for a moment. He reminded me of my faster days in the 80's the way he made riding a bike look effortless. He kept me engaged in conversation while we rode side by side which made my constant 174 pulse seem not so high. As we rode down Seminole Hwy into town we saw a group of 20 heading east. I asked if he wanted to try to catch them. He told me he help me get there but he'd have to turn around to go home. So we were off at a blistering... 28 mph. I was baked. He gapped me as he rolled it up to maybe 29 and I had nothing left. Fortunately the group turned south so I pulled the plug on the effort. We shook hands and he did a U turn and vanished. I limped home at 16 mph feeling fine about my ride, but feeling old and slow. 45 miles and 500' of climbing in 3 hours. Tomorrow is another day to ride.

Opportunity knocks

At 2:05 the frenzy began. I counted 20 (maybe) riders at the gazebo at Orton Park. Most were astride 'cross bikes. Jesse had a fixed gear 'cross bike. There was a fairly eclectic contingent of single speed fixies of all shapes. There were only two bonefide 29ers, a Rig and a Paragon. After Kittenfactory gave us the route... nobody moved. But then somebody uttered the word "Go!" and the mayhem began. The until we hit the pave any route was fair game. Everyone scattered like roaches. Most of us took the bike trail under/around the Monona Terrace (where Sephie & Karen were watching the Dance Expo) while a few of the craftier and faster riders took the path through campus to Nakoma. I took what I thought was the direct route through Brittingham Park and the Arb. Kittenfactory was on my wheel the whole way until we hit that relatively steep but short hill up to the Beltline, where he dropped me. Jesse whizzed past and taunted "nice day for a ride." But thir lead would be short lived. As I crossed the bridge I caught Kitten. At that moment a Ford F150 came out of a driveway just after we passed. When it came by I was dropping throught the gears and was keeping pace with it so I thought I would take a motorpace. I said to Kitten "I want that truck" and I punched it. Next thing I know I was close enough to reach out and touch the tailgate... So I grabbed it. He accelerated smoothly up to 35 or 40 and we were off! I caught and passed Jesse and two others but I had to let go at the Capital City Trail so I could stay on Kitten's route. A little while later Jesse caught me and Kitten started to bridge up to me.
Once on the pave of the abandoned but unfinished rail bed I found a pretty good tempo. The M900 was set up pretty good. The tires didn't bog down into the soft mud and puddles that occasionally appeared. I started to gap Kittens while keeping the lead group in sight just on the horizon. Just as I hit Basco my cell started to ring. I couldn't answer as I had my hands full with the trail. On the way back I saw the other riders headed out and everyone seemed to be enjoying the mid-50's and sunny day. There was a "how'd I miss that the fist time" moment on the way back. There was sizable tree across the trail that required a dismount and hurdle. On the return trip across I hopped off but paused... when I nearly tripped over the carcas of a decomposing deer.

I managed to keep my head down and hammer all the way back to Orton Park. I did a quick head count and there were 8 or so other riders, though I think some of them took an few short cuts. I know I was behind the Paragon rider so when it came time to figure out where we finished it turned out I was 7th. The 4th place guy had left so 6th & 7th got bumped up a place. For 6th I got the 2007 Discover Cycling Team Official Guide and post cards with all the riders... which I think is pretty cool. We hung out and talked before heading over to the Weary Traveller for a bite to eat.

All in all I'm pleased with my performance. No body problems, no bike problems and it was fun. Including the milage from home the distance for the day was 45 miles, 38 of which was pure hammerfest. Average pulse was 167 and an unofficial time of 2:20.

Earthbound

The house is silent. The girls are soundly sleeping. The cats... Fella's patrolling the 'hood for bunnies, Pallisades is scanning for squirrels from the window perch, Mavic is cuddled with Karen and Merlin is nestled on my sweaters.

I have a "race" today. Madison-Basco-Madison starts at 2pm from Orton Park. I'll finally meet Kittens and the others from the BKB. The route Kittens came up with doesn't look too challenging, mostly railroad bike trail. But there's the human element that will result in me seeing stars and feeling lactic acid burn through my body.

There's no specific bike requirement so anything goes short of a RATO assisted beach cruiser. I'd love to use the Seven. But the shit of the bike trail and the unknown portions of the route make me wonder if I'll be carrying it instead of riding it. The Rig would be good but what gearing? A 34x15 is the tallest I have if I end up trying to keep up with 'cross bikes. M900 has been sitting idle for 18 months since being cannibalized for the Rig. So yesterday I broke my cardinal rule. Never build a bike the day before a race and expect it to work perfectly. It's been years since breaking that rule but still, gremlins will lurk. It's a Tomac-esque ride now. Drop bars, rigid fork and 8 gears via a barend shifter could make it perfect for today.

At least Wednesday's snow has melted and made conditions just marvelous.

Better effort today

After 8 hours of bullshit in school I hopped on the Seven and headed west with the wind. Noodling through town in the bigring wasn't too bad so I felt brave enough to hit Observatory and Barlow. Doing serious grinding isn't very appealing at my present weight but it's gotta get done. Using my 39x19 up Hwy P wasn't too bad. Using the 19 up Observatory was a bitch, good thing I wasn't trying t keep pace with anyone. I was halfway up Barlow and the 19 wasn't cutting it. I punked out and dropped it to the 23. Not wanting to be home after dark I turned east at Mineral Point Road and began spinning into the wind. The fatigue felt good as I rolled into the driveway. 46 miles and 2100' of climbing in 3 hours. I still suck.

In a groove

The cold snap seems to be waning so it inspired me to call the Southern Kettle Moraine Trail hotline for a trail status. Emma Carlin and the connector trails are open. So I loaded up the Rig in the the Jetta and drove the hour. The temps stayed a relatively mild 35 degrees all day so the trail was relatively moist but overall in great shape. I was able to count 4 other sets of tire tracks on most of the trail but I didn't see anyone until I was leaving. It took me almost 30 minutes before my trail vision was looking more than 3 feet ahead of my front wheel. By the end of the ride I was comfortable looking 50 feet down the trail and easily keeping the trail in front of me in my peripheral vision. I had one minor front tire washout in some sand but a quick dab put me back into a good groove. I found the 34x18 comfortable except on the steeper climbs which would have been ridable witha 21 or 22. So I picked the right gearing. I have no idea what my distance was but it was a solid 2:30 ride on 99% trails.

Winter, again.

This week is a loss. Karen has been suffering thru a sinus infection... at least until this afternoon when she finally listened to her dad when he told her what I'd been saying ... go see a doctor. So a bag of medication later she hopefully will start to feel better by next week. I've been riding herd on Sephie after work ... gotta hold up my end of the parenting obligation after all. This week at work has been better than average. I wrapped up the week with a final service call to the Capital Brewery. With nobody around we poured a pint of Amber directly from a 161 barrel vat. Mmmmm, beer. I know it broke my vow but with today, April 6th, being the anniversary of the repeal of the Prohibition amendment it didn't seem right to not have a beer when I was surrounded by 24 vats of beer. At least beer is cholesterol free.

Pedalling Squares

After an uncomfortable night on the couch only two things could make me feel better. Coffee and a ride. Half a pot later I was ready to go despite the rain and 55 degrees. The remnants of the storm were going to make life tough. A steady ~15mph wind coming from New Glarus suggested I head into the teeth until I was ready to have it push me home. 2 hours later I found myself between Belleville and New Glarus. Having barely travelled 25 miles while "spinning" in the 39x15 & 17 into the wind that continually gusted wasily over 25mph, I decided against making a right to New Glarus and opted for the tailwind into Belleville & home. My quads were cashed and I was able to eek out 22mph in the 53x17. Once I hit Oregon I felt better but my legs were showng signs of betrayal. Not riding hard for a few days was showing. I managed to keep a steady tempo all the way home. 52.1 miles in 3:30. Distance courtesy of http://runningmap.com/ . I wasn't alone out there. I saw 7 other riders and half of them were wearing the same bright yellow jacket I have... odd.

You don't want to do that.

AS I try to get through the night sleeping on the couch I find my mind wandering. No I'm not in the doghouse. Karen's coughing, sweating and general lack of health has forced me to endure a couch 4" too short for me to be comfortable. I definately don't need to repeat what I had in February now that I'm getting some sort of training. What the fuck. All in all a great weekend. Pal can't get his urine pH anywhere close to normal so if he's not suffering from CaOx crystals he's got Triple Phosphate crystals. So there goes another few hundred bucks to the vet. The rain, cold and threat of tornados only enhances my mood. Do not rattle my cage.