Toast Jam!

3 batches of Bing, 2 batches of Sour Cherry, and 3 batches of Olallie! To the untrained eye, that looks like a lot of jam, but trust me, it's barely enough. Oh, and the maslin pan changed my life (as much as a pan can do such a thing).

I have tears in my eyes...

P1000593, originally uploaded by jknotzke.

such a beautiful thing

Wanna play "Go Fish" or "Run Commrade Run! it's a Yperite Attack!"

I'm not really sure what the objectives of this or some of the other games are, but I'm pretty sure they are probably nothing like Candy Land. Pat, little help?

Sometimes...

...riding is just not that fun. Period.

!nice ride.

Pictured is what I'd call a 'Nice Ride', a '55 Bel Air Wagon. It was parked at my local Safeway yesterday. Doubtful if that was a stock color, but jeet sweesus, who cares! Doesn't' it just cry out to be the new Speedvagen Team car?

What I do at lunch is not, however, is not a nice ride. Ya see, I train during my lunch hour. I don't want to train at lunch. I'd rather go to Vik's. I'd rather ride after work. I'd rather come home late and eat dinner on the sofa with my legs up. But such is not my life, so I ride at lunch. Almost without fail, someone will ask as I stink my way back to my office if I had a nice ride. I use to say "Yes". I would tell them what they expected to hear. I use to lie. My rides are never nice. I don't have the hours for 'nice'. Mine are invariably some form of 'ugly'. They range from slightly off-putting to down right Rob Zombie. As a result, my co-workers will no longer ride with me. So I'm alone in my misery, talkin' crazy talk to no one. But I no longer lie.

Here Kitty Kitty!

Last year I got bupkis. This year I got's Boozleys and a small child and that was for 4th place! Ya see, once cross season ends, there's not much to motivate in the off-season. I usually schedule some idiocy mid-year just to give myself something at which to throw darts. Enter the East Bay Rally Cat. My favoritest "race" of that other season. Why is it so great you ask? Do tell.

Great Location? 5 miles from my house!
Great Course? Check!
Great Promoter? Got it!
Great Prizes? Did I mention pickles and kids?
HUGE Purse? BANG!
Great after-party? Yeppers!
Great crowd? in Spades!
Even an illustrious dignitary and PuddinPie!
oh, and entry fee was a fin!

This year was the 2nd annual. 86 bandits. Gone were the unmanned checkpoints, but an ad hoc route between checkpoints 3 & 4 was added. This would prove to be my Flutie. For those unfamiliar (mainly my sisters, the only ones who read this rag), an alley cat is to formal bike racing what a hash run is to the Olympic 10k. You're given a map (Sorry Mary, no ham sandwiches) with checkpoints and sent on your way to navigate a route somewhat of your choosing, collecting stamps along the way. Hopefully you arrive back safely at the keg, er finish line. There are no race numbers, no team tents, no PA system, no race officials. Go Hard, have fun, don't get run over. That's about it. There is always much discussion before the start as to the best routes, the subtle difference between cheating and being cheeky, and how to pull a Rosie Ruiz without getting caught. Successful execution of the latter at this type of event is to be lauded. And while a party atmosphere abounds, the race can be anything but a picnic if you so choose. This year again sent us straight up Tunnel Rd (a 4+ mile climb) and again the pace was brutal. Krishna, Kea, Jon (you bastard), James and a few other nutjobs (Fred?) were killin' it at the front. I clung about 20 meters back. I tried to go with Mark as he bridged up to the lead of 5 or 6 and paid dearly. I backed off, got passed by a few, regrouped, passed a few back, and hit the first checkpoint in about 9th place, maybe a minute back of the leaders. What followed was the crazed mud slick decent in Sibley. I completely forgot how to go downhill, got passed by Murphy, Blake and probably a few others, but passed Murphy back on the butt-steep climb to the water tower (another 2 mile buster where the 1st mile averages 9.5%) . I could see a few other riders strung out on the ridge, but the leaders were now all but gone. At the trail turn off to the tower, I saw a few heading up the ridge, missing the split. "HEY, YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY", I whispered. There, I tried. Once past the water tower, I tip-toed down Pinehurst and settled into tempo trying to save something for the final 6+ mile climb to the third checkpoint. I knew Adam had passed Murphy as well up to the tower so he couldn't be far back. I looked to see him at about 300 meters. I sat up a tad, waiting for the catch so we could work together along the false flats. A minute later, as I looked to check on his progress, a freight train come barreling past. HOLY CRAP! Adam AND Murphy had latched onto some HOSS of a roadie who was driving the pace Hard. I jumped HAAARDerrrr and barely become the caboose as we steamed at 28MPH through the rollers. Didn't have to take a single pull. It was worth it. I was one very Happy Noodle. At the base of south Pinehurst, no one pushed it. We all knew what was coming...the self mortification that is Eastridge trail. Once there, Murphy poured it on and took off. Mercifully, the climb wasn't the wet clay mess of last year so my choice of file treads made me look like Wile E. Coyote. Adam and I yo-yo'ed a bit as two young upstarts had the nerve to catch AND pass us (and Murphy as well). Adam dropped off the pace as I tried in vain to keep those three in site. I was also cramping bad and there was something in my jersey pocket pressing like a rock on my lower back bugging the heck outta me! What the hell was that thing?! Oh Jeet Sweebus. A water bottle. Yeah, now I remember. I'm suppose to be drinking that. Somehow, four of us regroup at Skyline Gate. Click the link. See. Don't I just look daisy fresh. I'm now running 13th. If you remember, it was from this point on that you were on your own. Anyway you could get to checkpoint 4 was fair game. If you followed the map, you were in for another 3+ miles of rolling trails and some hairball decsents. I had no intention of doing any such thing (like last year). I hopped on to Skyline with Murphy and the two youngsters in tow. As we rode along, I was wondering if they were thinking what I was thinking...bust it down Castle and come at the cabin from the opposite direction? Only one way to find out...play dead. I was looking the part anyway. As we approached Moongate, I upped the tempo, took a pull , then faded to the back as we rounded the bend. They held the pace and I faded a bit more. As they swept left, passing the point of no return, I grabbed a handful of binder and dropped it hard right down the descent. A quick look back...Nada! MUWAHAHA! I flew down as fast as I dare, not wanting to miss the unmarked exit of the trail. There it was...with lots of fresh tracks to boot. No sooner had I headed in when Krishna and Kea came flying out...a few seconds later and here came Jeff, Matthias, Mark and a few of the others from the original lead group. So I wasn't the only one with this tidbit of knowledge. I stormed to the cabin trail, stashed the bike, ran down, got the stamp and scrambled back up. I flew back out and rode the last miles to the lake solo, 9th overall! But wait, what,s this...Mark and Jeff had missed the water tower, which put me 7th! Matthias, Kea and some other freak of nature were on SS cross rigs and in a category of their own. That put me 4th in the gear afflicted! Be still my heart! Was I in the "money". Was there enough schwag to go that deep. I decided to use the Force. "You do not want the Bread&Butter pickles". "They will only aggrivate your diverticulitis". "That De La Paz Coffee smells sooo good". Sunshine, CX, Pickles, Family, A very good day. Tip hats to Evan and Jason. Thanks Everyone for the photos.

Check out the streams.

Jon flickr set
Jenny flickr set
hotMARK Flickr set

p.s. PuddinPie, I really didn't want to go that hard. Jon made me.

I've been waiting for this my WHOLE life!

Crappy.

We're sitting outside the Majestic just a few doors down from the Plaza...drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, shootin' shine. Nothing much. The movie has just let out. Frankie says, in almost a whisper, "Isn't that Alie?"I turn and look. I see her. She's holding his hand. She looks happy. I realize she looks happier than I've ever seen her...with me that is. She sees me seeing her and the expression changes to one of profound sadness. No, not sadness, pity. Profound pity, as if to say "Awe Gee, I really didn't mean for you to find out this way." The silence at the table is glacial. "That's cold" someone finally says. I'm not sure who said it. I no longer recognize the voices of my own friends. I'm too numb to notice.

While supplies last!

Total War

Saw a specialist yesterday. He took a look at the CT, looked at the previous med courses and decided on the William Tecumseh Sherman approach. Took me off the Moxifloxacin, put me on a 21 day run of Augmentin (basically the amoxycillin I was on but with an added beta-lactamase inhibitor...damn those pesky beta-lactams) and a 10 day run of prednisone (yikes!). He compared the nasal steroid I was on to "pissing in the ocean" compared to the prednisone. That's her in the picture. She is one mean looking lady. Careful, there's a brick in her purse.

Mr Know-it-all.

I've glued hundreds of tires over the years and have perfected my system simply from making almost as many mistakes. I've pretty much got it dialed now though, or so I thought. Zank's post is the best compendium I've seen to date. I even picked up a new trick re: the srynges. I was gluing tires a few weeks back thinking there had to be a better way...and Shazaam! Thanks Zank. I'm also feeling a bit smuggish, as I've been taping cross tires going on 6-7 yrs now! Pthfffft!

post scriptum. I'll repost many of the pics and much of the text shortly for those of you who don't have/want to join velocipede salon.

Honey, bring me my gun. Bring me my biggest gun!

Well, it's not really the biggest gun, but it's pretty big. After developing the symptoms AGAIN, the Doc ordered a CT scan. The bad news is that I have bilateral sinusitis. The good news is that I have bilateral sinusitis, so least they know what they're treating. That makes three bouts in 4 months. Actually, it probably never went away. Two 1o day runs of Amoxicillin weren't enough. So now I'm on Moxifloxacin. That's her in the picture. Pretty hot as far as small molecules go don't you think? Just look at how that cyclopropyl group dangles so tantalizingly off the quinolone. Toooo sexy. Anyway, it's a big time broad-spectrum antibacterial, strong enough to kill almost any bug w/in a 10 foot radius. It make me feel pretty nauseous in the 1st hour, but I'll deal if it will clear this up. I'm also headed to a specialist tomorrow to see why it might be recurring. Hey, I'll take any excuse I can get to explain away this past cross season.

S'over.

I raced one last time. I thought I had gotten a little fitness back. Well, I did, but it was very little. Not enough to match what others already had. Not even close. That was a real hard pill. While it may look like I had fun, I did not. It was not the storybook ending to the season I had envisioned. I couldn't salvage jack the latter part of the it despite what I thought was a decent effort. Instead, in my final attempt to get a point or two, I flatted, cutting the sidewall of an FMB, pitted, gutted out a half lap on the SS, pitted back to the gearie, flatted again, ran 1/2 a lap, pitted, puked it on the SS for another half a lap, and pitted again to finish on the gearie. Thanks to my KPTO mates for the wheels changes. I owe you each a sock in the nose. Couldn't you have just let me die in peace. All I know is, someone had it worse than me as I wasn't DFL. I destroyed more equipement and pitted more times this season that I have in the last 4 combined. I batted one for three on season goals. .333 in baseball gets you signed. In my line of work it gets you fired. At first, I was pretty down in the dumps about the whole mess. When I was finally getting better, someone asked how my season was going and I said "disasterous". That's plain silly. Truth is, I'm lucky to still be racing at all. Thanks to my family for all the support. It matters. A lot.

Where's the ketchup at!

I've been slackin'. If you don't already visit these sites, they're worth checking out. I've been meaning to add them for months. Pave. Good Commentary (but black backgrounds make me carsick),
Velogogo. Pretty Pictures,
Cyclocosm. More good commentary,
Emrocation. What he just said.
Now go waste more time.

Making amends.

I hope this will purge the last post from your brain, A tall order for sure.

DEAR GOD!

I almost want to apologize for posting this...please dont' ask how I found it.

Worst....Band....EVR!

But they are so damn cute I bet they go platinum.

Science always has an answer!

But sometimes it's just not the answer we want.

Why I Don't Have a Girlfriend.

Race report #10. It gets worse!

In a lame attempt to salvage this season, I chose to train too hard, race the wrong tires (see pic), and choose the wrong gear again. File treads? What was I smokin'?!?!?! 42x17? I must be insane.

Race Report #9. Bah! Humbug!

Grrr. Felt like crap. Picked the wrong gear. suffered mightily.
This season sux!

Cyclocross. Something for everyone.

This either needs no explanation or one that is longer than I'm prepared to give...

Cyclocross Fixie from Baylor Blessing on Vimeo.

Thanks Baylor Blessing.

HOLY MOLY!

So what if you crossed the the Andrew sisters with Cirque de Soleil? I think you might get the Ross sisters! Jebus!

Artitst Johannes Vogl. Enjoy!

Bicycles parts and hairspray = Wonderful Mosquito Abatement.



















Fishing Pole + kite.

Christmas isn't over until the tree is in orbit.

I'm so glad I forgot to set the tree out by the curb today!

Nice.

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

DING! We have a winner!

You can watch the original here...but why bother.

ME NEED!

My favorite jersey use to be this one, but now there's a new kit in town. Share the damn road...please.

I feel your pain...

I felt like doing this soo many times, but with not nearly such nice crap! Hurry and clickety-click before it gets pulled.

Here's the description:

Cyclocross Nationals Gear. Everything must go!	Item number: 330386088555
Start position and gear for

Description

2009 Bend Oregon Cyclocross Nationals Epuipment:

I can hardly believe all of this stuff fit in my car.

My loss is your gain. I am selling everything I own that involves cyclocross. I had the car packed and was headed to Bend for cyclocross nationals. The weather report and course conditions sounded brutal. I searched deep into my soul, and I have become too soft to be a real cross racer. This sport has broken my heart and crushed my dreams for the last time. Everything must go. Everything is included. If you win this auction you will have everything you will ever need to race cyclocross, and look like a complete pro. I have decided that I enjoy buying cyclocross stuff more than racing it. So do me a favor and buy it all. Unfortunately for me I will probably buy most of it back piece by piece on Ebay later this summer when my mental stability and optimism return.

The first 2 items you get are priceless. I am selling a front row call-up to the master’s 30-34 race. Last time I checked….. I think I have the #1 call-up and it is yours. Yes, you will be #1 for at least a few seconds. Front damn row! I do not have the skills to ride ice or snow so to be honest I have no business toeing the line. It is all yours. I have spent thousands of dollars chasing top 10 results at nationals, and now you can line up front row for a fraction of what I have invested. Gallons of sweat and thousands of miles ridden were the price for that front row. It is all yours. You won’t have any excuse. If you don’t win you will have to look in the mirror and say you suck. I can’t deal with that. You can have my demons. Just think…….You won’t have to show up early to the start. Actually, I would show up late just to walk through the 100+ racers who have to start behind you. Be sure to enjoy that moment. It will be the only fun you will have during the next 60 minutes. You will also get a UCI call-up for the ELITE race on Sunday. It won’t be anywhere near the front row, I sort of suck…….. but you can pretend with the other semi-elite, self sponsored, wanna-be, never was, not really elite racers that you stand a chance of not getting lapped by Page and Trebon. I will drive to BEND and pick up my numbers and pin them to your 2 NEW skin suits. Yes, you get 2 long sleeve skin-suits. These are super snug and show off your junk quite well. Each come with matching gloves, helmets, shoes, socks, and undergarments to keep you warm. You will look bad-ass I promise. One even has fake abdominals, so you can stop doing your core. Fire your coach now. You have made it to the big time. I also have 2 cans of instant tanning spray. You need a good tan if you want to look super ripped and fast.

Did I mention you get 3 bikes. Yes, I was so obsessed that I bought 3 cross bikes. All 3 are S-Works with full Dura-Ace, XTR, Paul’s brakes, tubular tires, etc. All 3 will get you a profile on PLUS ONE LAP for being sub 17 pounds. You will be the envy of weight weenies everywhere. You can Pre-ride on 1 bike and keep the other 2 clean as new. Did I mention you get wheels. Tons of wheels. I have no idea how many sets I have. I have every Tubular tire made. Dugast, Grifo, File tread, Fango, ETC…. The list goes on……. I have been searching for the best tire set-up for years so I just bought them all. I am including my hand-held electric inflator. If you don’t have one of these you will be blown away. Why pump when you can just pull the trigger? People will stop in the parking lot just to admire your bad ass pump. Now remember you get 5-6 sets of tubulars glued up by a complete Belgian ninja glue master. THEY will not roll. 3 sets of clinchers and 20 clincher tires. I have the old vintage GREEN Michelin’s, I have studded (you will want to try these), fat 29r’s, and every other tire you can imagine. I have searched the globe for a tire that can allow me to corner. Obviously I have not found the correct tire or I would be coming to Bend. The 3^rd bike has a Power-tap and SRM on it. You need both to be sure your power numbers are accurate. I have some training plans I will include, but none will prepare you ride ice and snow. Training is futile for racing on ice. You either have the skills or you don’t. You will also get my trainer so you can get a good warm-up. I have covered the drum on it with gravel so it feels like a cross course. My IPOD is included. With a set of Warm-up songs that will make you feel like ROCKY. No joke...you will feel the beat and won't be able to imagine defeat. I even have some motivational tracks from Tony Robbin’s. “you are a champion!” Say it with me….Believe it. DO it. Dream big or go home.

Remember when you bid that is cross stuff. If you are scared of dents, scuffs, dirt, then don't bid. I rarely wash anything. Most of my Kits and Skin-Suits are clean...but not sterile. My bikes are solid but have been ridden hard. I have 2 dozen PowerGels, a partially full tube of shammy cream, 3 dirty cycling bottles........6 kits for all of your pre-riding. They all match and a few are retro. So if you choose to warm up before the single cog race you will you blend in. All kits have matching gloves, socks, hats, and vests. 99% of cycling is looking cool, and you are going to look like a rock star. I am including what is left of my ENDUROX CHOCLATE recovery drink. About 1/3 of the can is left. This stuff will make you fart like mad, but if you mix it with some milk and coffee it tastes like Starbucks. I have 3 pairs of shoes and 10 pairs of wool socks. Some are short socks and some are super long. You decide what makes you look the coolest. One pair of yellow shoes just so you can look like TJ and POWERS of Cyclocross World. Yellow is the new Black. They were actually black, but I bought some spray paint and gave them a quick paint to make them waterproof. I am throwing in my UCI license that has 8 coveted UCI points on it. Why earn the points when you can buy them. I have a cool Wool jersey you can wear after the race so you blend in perfectly with the screaming crowd. You don’t have to scream too loud because I am including my cow-bell also. Not only do I want you to look like a bad ass racer, I want you also to be equipped to be the SUPER FAN. I can hardly ring the bell now without tears. I am passing the torch. Cross is dead to me. Tons of extras will be thrown in. I will include several *user names and passwords to chat rooms that discuss cyclo-cross. You will blend in like a pro. I have many posts that make me sound fast. It will be easier to draft behind my super cycling intellect than to create your own.

The last items I am including are a National Champion Skin-suit and a bottle of Champagne. I stole the national champion skin-suit from my wife. Sometimes when no one is home I drink a few beers and slip on her skin-suit and stare in the mirror for hours just to feel special. Just pull on the skin-suit and walk around the cyclocross venue in BEND drinking large gulps of cheap Champagne. I promise by the time you finish the entire bottle you will feel like a winner and probably convince yourself to come back next year and race again. Most of the spectators will congratulate you like you’re Katie Compton or Ryan Trebon.

Good luck and Happy Bidding.

A true "BICYCLE REPAIR MAN"!

Great stuff. Why bother taking the wheel off if you know you're just going to patch it! The homemade freewheel removal tool is fantastic. That would have come in handy in the pre-cassette days! I wonder if VAR knows he built a copy their truing stand in his yard.

I like Bob Seger?

Every once and awhile a Bob Seger tune will come on the radio. It happened this morning. I'm not a Bob Seger fan by any stretch. I dont' own a thing he's written, never been to a concert, don't own a t-shirt...and I HATE, HATE "Lke a Rock". Yet there I was, listening, no, almost enjoying "Rock and Roll Never Forgets". Hell, that song didn't even make his "long awaited" Greatest Hits Vol. I CD. So why couldn't I turn it off? I sat and pondered that for awhile. Was it because I could now, only after years of musical training, appreciate the arrangement and musicianship? Maybe it was the hammering piano? Or maybe, and this is that part that started to scare me, it was that Bob Seger had somehow seeped into my genes. Growing up in Detroit, avoiding Bob Seger music was like avoiding air. Not a breath went by when you didn't hear him on the radio. I swear it felt as if W4 only had two albums to spin, Bob, and Ted Nugent. Over time, I think those songs just became part of my growing up whether I liked it or not. What I was feeling was nostalgia; my blue stingray, the backyard pool, Sentry Drugs and games of pickle. Now I just wished I'd a listened to more Stevie Wonder in grade school.

LARPD #7. Race Report #8. The neverending story.

First and foremost, thanks TC. I would have never closed the cavernous gap to FTM if it wasn't for that effort of yours. I'm just sorry I didn't have anything left to finish it off. I tried, despite appearances, I really did. It was nice to have the HLN8R there too. 1st time all season. Sorry I couldn't win it for you babe. The truth is, I had no such illusions (or should it be delusioins) going in. Not only was MFS on hand having won the last 5 races and peaking for Nats, but FTM showed up as well as Phil (coming off an illness, but clearly on the rebound). At this point, I have lost so much fitness to think of wins, but I've still been clinging to two modest goals; the series win and upgrade points. As usual, it went off hard and I tried to stay with a few of the Open and Masters As to create some gaps. MFS, FTM and Phil thought like wise and the four of us got away. We didn't stay together long. Phil slide out on a deceptively slick 180 and I went down too. I was milking his wheel fro all it was wirth. MFS and FTM got around. Phil got untangled first and sprinted to latch on. I could not do likewise. A lap later, I saw that FTM had fallen off the pace. It was at this moment that TC came rolling though and I jumped his wheel. That boy can motor. It hurt like hell to hold on the long straights, but we were pulling back FTM. Maybe there was a point up for grabs after all. Unfortunately, TC started to fade about 5 bike lengths from making contact and I faded with him. By the time I had enough oxygen in my brain to form a cogent thought and pull around, that gap had grown to 7 lengths. From there it just kept growing, inch by inch. It's not a course on which one can hide so FTM just marked me. I tried to close the gap, but every acceleration I could muster was countered. I languished there for the remainder of the race, losing more and more ground as my demoralization deepened. As luck would have it, MFS snapped the spider of his crank at the most distant point from the pit and eneded up DFL. Gots me a point afterall, curtesy of those fickle gods of cross. In cross, you just never know.

BASP #4. Race Report #7

Slowth: \'sloh th\. adj. from slow + sloth. f-ing slow.
I was the rip van winkle of sloth this past weekend. oh how the not-so-mighty have fallen, well, tripped really. That was a lot of hurt for such a crap placing. How am I suppose to motivate now. I'd cry if I wasn't so dehydrated. I'm soliciting proposals.

Maybe this will cheer me up...

Say hello to my little friend. Race report #6

So it turns out I had sinusitis. It was moving to my lungs. Can you say "bacterial pneumonia"? 2 days after starting the antibiotics, I was ready to race. Well, sorta. The mind was willing but the body was week. Very, very very,very,week. Turned my self inside out just to hold onto my series placing. Now if there were only a pill I could take to get back 6 weeks of fitness. I don't like shots.

27b/6

Been meaning to blog about this site for a while. It's one of those sites I visit when I need a little cheering up. This post has it in spades. I have these kinds of dialog in my head all the time. David Thorne actually has the B*LLS and apparent self-employed job security that lets him do it in public...on a regular basis. It could also be made up, either way, it's funnt. *WARNING*. lots of F-bombs.

And you thought you could live without the InterWeb

Race Report #6? I wish there was one.

I'm almost hoping the Doc tells me on Thursday that I have mono or something. At least I'll have a reason for the way I feel. I've been sick for 5 of the past 6 weeks. Two completely different vectors.
This last one has been a doozey. Symptoms impervious to remedies both modern and ancient. Can barely ride much less train or race. It's hard to stay positive. My entire year is based around cross season. No Cross=No fun=>Mr Grumpy. One minute I just want to say "F#CK IT and eat every ice cream sandwhich in the freezer, the next I'm lamenting my TSS chart, which looks like I fell off a cliff, and wondering how to scrap the 3lbs I've added.
CRAPCRAPCRAP

Why Cross Rulz #53

Courtesy of Lee, originally uploaded by tedketai.

One Glad, One Sad

Two great animations, but for two different reasons.

Howdy Ladies!

IMG_0838, originally uploaded by J. Suzuki.

It was also good to see PuddinPie back racing. As you can see, the new-baby induced lack of sleep has not worn even a hint of shine off his Cary Grant smooth.

That was one expensive DFL! Race report #5

IMG_0468, originally uploaded by J. Suzuki.

I learn (or re-learn) something new at every race. At yesterday's BASP - Coyote Point I learned the following:
1) The south bay Bay Trail loop JS and I used at warmup makes the East bay version look like a bad asian knock-off. It was so nice, that if we didn't have numbers pinned, we would have just kept on riding.
2) Great team-mates are both a blessing and a curse. More on that later.
3) 28h reflex rims are plenty strong for my 155lbs of bacon, but don't stand a chance against a 175 lbs BUTT side load. More on that later too.
Things I re-learned.
1) Have a pit bike ready to go....I mean REALLY ready to go.
2) Never EVER look back at a crash involving a rider who just face planted on pavement 10 frantic pedal strokes into a race. I mean..WTF happened? 3 seconds into the race and the guy to my right STACK it hard and there's a rear wheel next to me face. I hope he's o.k. It looked baaaad.

Despite the comedy of errors that befell me yesterday, I was in a surprisingly upbeat mood driving home. Maybe is was the warm-up? Maybe the post-race thermos of coffee or maybe it was the fact that I didn't feel like total crap afterward. I've been sick for almost 3 weeks so it was nice to feel like that monkey was no longer flinging poo at me. I had a decent race, fitness wise, but started so far down in the hole, that I almost....almost packed it in. You see, not more that 5 seconds after that face plant, I got tangled up. At least two of us went down. The other rider got up unscathed. I got up to find his chainring had torn an inch gash in the side wall of my new TUFO, his significant behind had taco'd my rear wheel, and my bars were pointing west while everything else looked north. Now here comes the hard part. Since this was the start, I now stood a good 300 yards from my pit bike. Thrwarting our rapid union was a steep hill and woodchip. Needless to say, by the time I got it, Elvis had left the building. I flail-iantly chased on my SS in a 40x19 with file treads (see lessons re-learned #1). Anyone who raced the course yesterday just laughed at that. It was brutal hard to pedal and keystone-cop funny to steer. I figured it was pointless. I was heading for the truck. Coming into the start finish, I was looking for the exit, when much to my chagrin...er...suprise, my teamates were frantically yelling. "We've got your other bike! We've got your other bike!" They had found a rear, straightened my bars and had my geared vagen waiting for my. You PEOPLE are Awesome. Don't ever do that again! I soon found out that while I had a new rear, I couldn't shift into the small ring. The crash had messed the front shifter. The pit wheel would also only shift into the 23. Oh Joy. Rode the race in a 46x23. Gratned it was better than the 40x19...but only by this much (squeeze thumb and forefinger together). On the drive home I was adding up the damage. $85 tire, $100 to repair the rear, $150 for a new shifter all for a DFL...yet it didn't get me down. I guess feeling better CAN make you feel good. Now to get some fitness back.

Bravery as a way of life.

"The woman at my polling place asked me do I believe in equality for gay and lesbian people. I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her: what do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?"

Gift horse. Race Report #4

I hate racing sick, but I had little choice. Fortuna smiled slightly however, and I managed to come away with 2nd. I will be eternally grateful. General concsensus was that the new kit was worth 5-10 seconds per lap too. I'd have to agree. I wasn't feeling great and knew it during warm up. MFS was on hand, as was the "Cheetah", last years series winner. To my surprise, Cheetah was also sporting a new kit. To my dismay, it was the same as MFS. I was going to have my work cut out. Now two of the fastest singlespeeders out there were teammates. Double crap. My foggy brain thought the tactic of the day was to lead from the front. I was thinking that if we could establish a gap, they'd be content to ride my sorry pace. In hind site, maybe I should have tried to sit on. Sure enough we got the gap I was hoping for, but they weren't content with me snailing around the course and the attacks started early. Cheetah attatcked on the long straight, knowing he out geared me a bit. It hurt big-time to stay on his wheel. On the 2nd or 3rd lap, MFS counter attacked hard and I had no choice but to watch. Cheetah sat on my wheel. Fate interviened moments later however, and Cheetah flatted. The gap we had established was mercifully sufficient for me to settle in and hang on although I didn't know it. I was in a daze the whole race, unable to tell where I was in relation to the chaser. I hope I didn't dig my self into too deep a hole.

Note: Check out "Letters of Note".

Just tuned into Letters of Note. It's a great site that, in there own words "is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at". The letters and whatnot usually involve some famous/infamous fgure/celebrity. They range from the touching to the obscene, the quirky to the down-right educational. Enjoy.

Race Report #3. The Whine Cellar, Mclaren and Myrah

Yep, you saw it here first. My new secret weapon. From the "Ministry of Silly Walks Stretching for Athletes DVD, I'm goose stepping my way into shape just prior to the self mortification of that which is Mclaren. Goose stepping is the new Kettle Ball., didn't you know?
There's no real reason to whine about Mclaren. Lots of people do it better than I. To be honest, it's not the course (Course layout courtesy of PuddinPie) that tweaks me so much. What sucks harder than the run-up-hairballdecent-climbuponclimb is the everything that's not the course. The parking, of which there is none, the surrounding environs, which leave no place to warm up, and the, um, neighborhood. During my 'warm-up' through the streets, I watched a two seperate yoots casing cars. Nice. At least they moved several blocks from my car after saying "Good morning" to them 4 or 5 times as I rode around. I really had unrealistic expectations for the race. I'd been feeling sub-par since Wednesday. My tune-up ride the day before was harder than the numbers would suggest and my legs just wouldn't come around during warm-up. The adrenaline of running top 5 lasted until the base of the paved climb. Then, three minutes into the race, the wheels fell off. I went from 5th to 10th in 10 seconds. 10th to 15th in the next 20 seconds. It's at this point a smart man heads for the car, gets dressed and comes back to the course with a cow bell. I so wish I could be that man. Instead, I continued to suffer, unable to respond to even the push from Tom. Fatigue caused my fumble after the barriers and a mechanical. Just salt on the wound. The only consolation was Don Myrah. Not that I like getting lapped by anyone, but if that anyone is a former world champion, my ego sleeps a bit sounder. He's been poking his way back into cross the last few years, but he's full-time serious this season. And let me tell you, he was putting on a clinic. I was able to stay within sight of him until the decent. He dropped as if on a freerider. A sight to see. Crazy. Just rooster tails and dust. After eating up the 35+ As, he took a switch to the Elite A's. Gonna be fun to watch.



IMG_8979, originally uploaded by J. Suzuki.

DFL + Bici Girl = Crazy Delicious

David buzzes by, originally uploaded by Bici Girl.

Hard to beat that combo...great pics by Bici Girl and the DFL Crossdresser Series Finale Grande. Awesome.

Check out more here!
note: for those who live outside the 94### zip, The DFL series is a bunch o' bandit cross races held in the SF environs...Wear a dress, race for free. No Dress = Uber Heckle. Le Mans starts. They rule.

Embrace it?

Ok. Several friends have now either sent this to me, told me about it or drawn itfreehand from memory. Some clearly want me to laugh along with them while others seem unable to decide which intersection I most resemble and want my help. Meh.

Close Call. Race Report #2 2009

Phew! that was close. I almost screwed up for the 2nd week in a row. Fortunately I screwed up for real, and MyFavSandwich took advantage. It was the smallest of bobbles at the most inopportune time! Super Genius I am not. I've been racing with MFS for years. We've always been closely matched, but it was always an on/off sorta thing. One week I'd be good, the next week he'd be on fire. This year however, we are both on...on...on. This week was a mirror of last week w/ MFS taking the win. Both races had us glued to one another.....and I mean glued. He's so smooth I can ride 6 inches of his wheel. In cross, that's basically joined at the hip. It appears we're also thinking alike too. Last week, all the SS were lined up on the back row thinking we would go on a separate whistle from the rest of the A's. Nope. Needless to say, we both went hard at the gun this time to put as many bikes in between each other as we could. At least that's what I was thinking ;-) Within half a lap, I was hanging on for dear life as one of MFS's geared teammates was pulling us both around the course. Dear God those 1st two laps almost did me in. Mercifully, the pace eased a bit. We had a gap on 3rd place, neither could shake the other, and here in NorCal, SS races are sadistically 60 minutes so we settled in for the slog. I took the lead with two to go. We kept getting wrapped up w/ a few other A's but it was my own fault when I pushed a loose gravel turn, opened up some daylight and MFS got underneath for the good line through some loose 180s. He shut the door on me around a tree ( I woulda done the same) and gassed it as we hit the straight for the sprint. There was no coming around. Nice racing all around though. Should be a fun season.

Oh Crap....CX Race report #1 2009.

Well now I've gone and done it. I somehow managed to screw up my entire season in a mere 30 seconds. Yep. That's right. The first cross race of the season. A tune up really. I training race. No big deal. So why did I go and do the unthinkable. What did I do? I sprinted. Me. Sprinted...and won. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I did wrong. Ok. Seriously, it was a great day but not for the aforementioned gross error in judgement. It marked the return of the HLN8R and rung in the arrival of the MADDster in her 1st bike race EVR. The smile on her face was...well...unexpected. She really had fun despite nerves, inexperience and a crash. She truly enjoyed herself. If she were to decide tomorrow that her racing days were over, I wouldn't be disapppointed in the least. Ok. a bit.

Blinded by Cute

Three Cheers and a Tiger for you Rep. Barney Frank

I like this very much. No matter what side of the toast you put your jam on, this deserves a nod.

Rep. Barney Frank attempting to talk to a, well one would have to say, slightly to-the extreme-right woman at a town hall.

"You stand there with a picture of the president defaced to look like Hitler and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis," he said, adding such behavior demonstrated the strength of First Amendment guarantees of what he called "contemptible" free speech.

"Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table," Frank said to the woman. "I have no interest in doing it."

More here.

ps. I think he should have taken her on...every argument I've ever had w/ my dining room table I've won.