Sunday.
Early start in order to prepare for today's race. Got in a good warm-up thankfully including a few laps of the course before the 35+ men headed off. The start was key and for once I clipped in within 30 yards of starting. The first few laps went by in a blur with the heart-rate breaking new personal bests. Everyone knows this race breaks up with gaps occurring so it was imperative to go all out just to maintain a decent position.
I spent most of the race clinging on to the rear of the ever shrinking pack and the first time I recall taking a look at the lap counter it was with 27 laps to go and we were down to about 20 in the group. Team-mate Andy Shaw had been screwed royally having flatted in the break only to be let back in but in the main pack instead of being rightfully put back in the break. The error was resolved five laps later but the damage had been done. Personally, I had nothing to offer (no surprise there) the entire race although the incentive to finish was great - it's now tied at 9-9 with the Swede. He's moaning that the season's come to an abrupt end for him after today but he'll be in Fitchburg, mark my words.
Took in the Pro race which made our race look pedestrian. Great stuff.
I'm playing my first game of softball tomorrow for work - this is what my life has come to.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Here we go again
Monday.
Not sure about the rest of you lot but that last weekend whizzed by. So did today too, in the office for 8am and left at 6:30 and I didn't even leave my desk except to close the door when the annoying new ex-academic guy walks the corridor looking for anyone to visit with. Just p*ss off you annoying w*nker! I'm a little more sensitive than that but he unwittingly comes close on several occasions to full-on abuse.
I did get in just under a couple of hours riding in this evening, the last 40 minutes in the dark. Arriving at Seven Corners roundabout in the dark is never a safe option but since there are no other options I have to battle with all the darting Asians leaving the Eden Center.
Up first thing tomorrow to get in a tough workout and then off to the LA Sports Club downtown in th evening for a spin class - haven't been to one of those in years.
Not sure about the rest of you lot but that last weekend whizzed by. So did today too, in the office for 8am and left at 6:30 and I didn't even leave my desk except to close the door when the annoying new ex-academic guy walks the corridor looking for anyone to visit with. Just p*ss off you annoying w*nker! I'm a little more sensitive than that but he unwittingly comes close on several occasions to full-on abuse.
I did get in just under a couple of hours riding in this evening, the last 40 minutes in the dark. Arriving at Seven Corners roundabout in the dark is never a safe option but since there are no other options I have to battle with all the darting Asians leaving the Eden Center.
Up first thing tomorrow to get in a tough workout and then off to the LA Sports Club downtown in th evening for a spin class - haven't been to one of those in years.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
One back
It's now 9-6 to the Swede. A tie for the weekend overall but he deserves a point deducted just for buying those pair of ghastly red shoes that frankly, say much about his lack of fashion sense. Bring back the brown pair!
Last Man Standing
Sunday
A dubious honour, if you can even call it that.
I believe I said what a difference a week can make, but what a difference a day can make. After Freddie's fourth place yesterday, he managed a grand total of eight minutes racing today courtesy of over-cooking the final corner thus finishing in the grass. A hangover from the day before.
As for the rest of us, three of the team crashed (Zack, Greg and the Rabbi) and I finished last - 16th. After the initial fury of the first few laps, Zack had his crash which if I remember correctly split the field enough to put myself in a chasing group of six - three DC Velo, Pete Custer and Brian Butts. Illustrious company but we pretty much were caught in no-man's land for the rest of our race. As a result, the leaders were close enough that with 6 to go, and being the last group on the road, we were given the one-to-go signal and you guessed it, I took the lantern rouge.
It's difficult to find positives to take from this one. My cornering was embarrassingly horrible at times and I didn't really pull through much at all which I felt bad about. Very mediocre stuff really. I've now resorted to finding solace by starting an internal final placing rivalry with the Rabbi - that's a clear sign of how bad things have become! And according to his rules I'm losing so far this season. Christ.
So to wrap up, after roughly 18 hours of travel and general time spent wasted from this weekend's racing, I raced about 3.5 hours in total. I think the highlight of the weekend was being given the demo on how to change a diaper when I offered to babysit last night for my roommate's kid...that pretty much sums it all up really.
A dubious honour, if you can even call it that.
I believe I said what a difference a week can make, but what a difference a day can make. After Freddie's fourth place yesterday, he managed a grand total of eight minutes racing today courtesy of over-cooking the final corner thus finishing in the grass. A hangover from the day before.
As for the rest of us, three of the team crashed (Zack, Greg and the Rabbi) and I finished last - 16th. After the initial fury of the first few laps, Zack had his crash which if I remember correctly split the field enough to put myself in a chasing group of six - three DC Velo, Pete Custer and Brian Butts. Illustrious company but we pretty much were caught in no-man's land for the rest of our race. As a result, the leaders were close enough that with 6 to go, and being the last group on the road, we were given the one-to-go signal and you guessed it, I took the lantern rouge.
It's difficult to find positives to take from this one. My cornering was embarrassingly horrible at times and I didn't really pull through much at all which I felt bad about. Very mediocre stuff really. I've now resorted to finding solace by starting an internal final placing rivalry with the Rabbi - that's a clear sign of how bad things have become! And according to his rules I'm losing so far this season. Christ.
So to wrap up, after roughly 18 hours of travel and general time spent wasted from this weekend's racing, I raced about 3.5 hours in total. I think the highlight of the weekend was being given the demo on how to change a diaper when I offered to babysit last night for my roommate's kid...that pretty much sums it all up really.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
P.S.
Oh yes, we left at 8 a.m. for Union Grove and returned at 7 p.m. - what a way to spend an entire day.
And lastly, it's sadly time to re-address the head-to-head count as a protest has been lodged against my tally.
The whinging Swede wants his DNS's removed from the list so in order to placate his grumblings and to include his "W" today, the count now stands at 9 - 5 in his favour. Happy now???
And lastly, it's sadly time to re-address the head-to-head count as a protest has been lodged against my tally.
The whinging Swede wants his DNS's removed from the list so in order to placate his grumblings and to include his "W" today, the count now stands at 9 - 5 in his favour. Happy now???
How to spend an entire day cycling 50 miles
Saturday.
Union Grove was today's destination for the shortened 1/2/3 road race. Originally scheduled for 62 miles, they disappointingly reduced it to 52 mid-week. Poor show in my opinion. Never mind, it was still a new race for me to look forward to.
Determined to arrive early to ensure a warm-up (to avoid a repeat of last weekend's cock-up), the timings were being met in military precision until the Swede was alerted by 'her indoors' that he'd forgotten his carbon wheels. Typical! The decision of whether to continue or return for them was brilliantly given to me and in order to place all guilt on my shoulders, I had no choice but to do a U-turn.
A couple of missed turns and we finally made it to the race, courtesy of averaging 75 mph through Amish country.
The field was certainly lighter than usual of heavy hitters but that still didn't detract from the intensity at certain times during the race. Midway through, and after a few attempts at breaks, 'the' break was established courtesy of Mr. Benitez with seven others including my Scandinavian teammate. The rest of the race for the pack was interesting enough as dissatisfied teams attempted to launch ultimately unsuccessful attempts to eat into the breaks lead. No chance.
Freddie took an excellent 4th, taking 3rd in the sprint as the winner had impressively soloed in from two laps out. The pack's race ended in rather farcical manner - we received the bell lap twice, once for what we thought was the last lap and once more as we, well others excluding myself, sprinted for the finish line. Indecision reigned and we continued to ride the extra lap in unison although some foolishly rode off thinking they could steal 9th place. Upon returning after the extra lap, the placing were confirmed from the previous lap's dash to the line.
We then made a big mistake in choosing this bizarre Italian pizza house for some post-race cuisine. The walls were adorned with cheap Soprano and Godfather memorabilia tattle - how pleasing it must be to champion gangsters as your national heroes. The calzone was remarkable not only in its size but in the massive lump of cheese that had clearly been used to fill it. I surgically extracted most of it and clearly it would've been an ideal specimen of what comes out of someone's body when under the knife to remove layers of fat. Disgusting.
So, a fine performance by not-so-young Andersson and the team was most proactive in getting into all or most of the breaks that transpired - I had attacked a few times in the earlier laps and Paul Mica almost stuck a small break on the bell lap - and no, I did not chase him down! What a difference a week makes! Hang on, there's a crit tomorrow...
Union Grove was today's destination for the shortened 1/2/3 road race. Originally scheduled for 62 miles, they disappointingly reduced it to 52 mid-week. Poor show in my opinion. Never mind, it was still a new race for me to look forward to.
Determined to arrive early to ensure a warm-up (to avoid a repeat of last weekend's cock-up), the timings were being met in military precision until the Swede was alerted by 'her indoors' that he'd forgotten his carbon wheels. Typical! The decision of whether to continue or return for them was brilliantly given to me and in order to place all guilt on my shoulders, I had no choice but to do a U-turn.
A couple of missed turns and we finally made it to the race, courtesy of averaging 75 mph through Amish country.
The field was certainly lighter than usual of heavy hitters but that still didn't detract from the intensity at certain times during the race. Midway through, and after a few attempts at breaks, 'the' break was established courtesy of Mr. Benitez with seven others including my Scandinavian teammate. The rest of the race for the pack was interesting enough as dissatisfied teams attempted to launch ultimately unsuccessful attempts to eat into the breaks lead. No chance.
Freddie took an excellent 4th, taking 3rd in the sprint as the winner had impressively soloed in from two laps out. The pack's race ended in rather farcical manner - we received the bell lap twice, once for what we thought was the last lap and once more as we, well others excluding myself, sprinted for the finish line. Indecision reigned and we continued to ride the extra lap in unison although some foolishly rode off thinking they could steal 9th place. Upon returning after the extra lap, the placing were confirmed from the previous lap's dash to the line.
We then made a big mistake in choosing this bizarre Italian pizza house for some post-race cuisine. The walls were adorned with cheap Soprano and Godfather memorabilia tattle - how pleasing it must be to champion gangsters as your national heroes. The calzone was remarkable not only in its size but in the massive lump of cheese that had clearly been used to fill it. I surgically extracted most of it and clearly it would've been an ideal specimen of what comes out of someone's body when under the knife to remove layers of fat. Disgusting.
So, a fine performance by not-so-young Andersson and the team was most proactive in getting into all or most of the breaks that transpired - I had attacked a few times in the earlier laps and Paul Mica almost stuck a small break on the bell lap - and no, I did not chase him down! What a difference a week makes! Hang on, there's a crit tomorrow...
The week that was
Saturday.
Brutal week at work. Was doing 15 hour work days for most of it which clearly goes against my values of doing as little as possible to earn as much as possible. Combined with trying to train each morning, it made for long days and large bags under the eyes. Still, it meant the week flew by and low and behold another weekend of racing.
Yesterday Freddie and I went for a pre-race ride taking in a wee bit on the W&OD Trail. Not sure who this bloke is but he did a ridiculous body/bike swerve in the Swede's direction as we passed him which could've resulted in a serious injury. What a twat.
Nevertheless, the evening was spent at the House of Sweden down in Georgetown. Loads of poontang on display and an excellent way to ease into the weekend.
Brutal week at work. Was doing 15 hour work days for most of it which clearly goes against my values of doing as little as possible to earn as much as possible. Combined with trying to train each morning, it made for long days and large bags under the eyes. Still, it meant the week flew by and low and behold another weekend of racing.
Yesterday Freddie and I went for a pre-race ride taking in a wee bit on the W&OD Trail. Not sure who this bloke is but he did a ridiculous body/bike swerve in the Swede's direction as we passed him which could've resulted in a serious injury. What a twat.
Nevertheless, the evening was spent at the House of Sweden down in Georgetown. Loads of poontang on display and an excellent way to ease into the weekend.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
$83.26
That's the cost of a recent wheel build on my Reynolds Solitude wheel so that's the total up to $4,231.28.
Incredible really so the objective for May is to keep it under $200.
Incredible really so the objective for May is to keep it under $200.
Who's in the lead
Time to see who's winning the race count for this season so far. Pathetic I know and it of course doesn't take into consideration effort put forth during the race, e.g. the first Greenbelt training race where the bugger got a free ride in our break courtesy of moi for the last few laps and still couldn't close the deal! That should even count against you but I shall rise above the constant whining I have had to put up with recently.
So, including the races in Arizona (because he was going to cry without them included!),we have:
Vos time trial : S 88th vs. N 70th (getting to the start gate late doesn't matter!).
VoS road race : S 61st vs. N 81st
VoS crit : S 65th vs. N 64th (Yes!)
Scottsdale GP cat 2 : S vs. N. 43rd
Scottsdale GP 30+ : S vs. N. 11th
Scottsdale GP P/1/2 : S. vs. N.
Jeff Cup : S. DNF vs. N. 23rd
Walkersville : S. 23rd vs. N. 33rd
Tyson's Corner : S. 15th vs. N. 55th
Mount Joy RR : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata rr : S. DNS vs. N. 45th
Tour de Ephrata tt : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata crit : S. DNS vs. N. 30th
Greenbelt #1 : S. 4th vs. N. 17th (He doesn't deserve this one)
Poolesville : S. DNF vs. N. 8th
Greenbelt #2 : S. DNF vs. N. 4th
Fort Ritchie : S. 15th vs. N. DNF
Swede 8 Nessie 9. Clearly we are covering ourselves in glory as well with all this less-than-amazing final placings.
Next up, Greenbelt #3.
So, including the races in Arizona (because he was going to cry without them included!),we have:
Vos time trial : S 88th vs. N 70th (getting to the start gate late doesn't matter!).
VoS road race : S 61st vs. N 81st
VoS crit : S 65th vs. N 64th (Yes!)
Scottsdale GP cat 2 : S vs. N. 43rd
Scottsdale GP 30+ : S vs. N. 11th
Scottsdale GP P/1/2 : S. vs. N.
Jeff Cup : S. DNF vs. N. 23rd
Walkersville : S. 23rd vs. N. 33rd
Tyson's Corner : S. 15th vs. N. 55th
Mount Joy RR : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata rr : S. DNS vs. N. 45th
Tour de Ephrata tt : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata crit : S. DNS vs. N. 30th
Greenbelt #1 : S. 4th vs. N. 17th (He doesn't deserve this one)
Poolesville : S. DNF vs. N. 8th
Greenbelt #2 : S. DNF vs. N. 4th
Fort Ritchie : S. 15th vs. N. DNF
Swede 8 Nessie 9. Clearly we are covering ourselves in glory as well with all this less-than-amazing final placings.
Next up, Greenbelt #3.
My come uppance
Sunday.
Soaked like a drowned rat on the way back from Poolesville when the heavens opened. Got in four hours this afternoon which was pretty much my sum total for the weekend after such a woeful effort yesterday at Fort Ritchie. The less said about that the better but it was certainly my worst performance of the season. I'd love to come up with some excuses but I basically struggled at the back, kept getting gapped and my cornering was all over the place. After only a few laps of this nonsense I had enough of my own suffering and headed home - a complete waste of time and very disappointing effort both mentally and physically. Several lessons learned though, none more so than making sure a warm up is done next weekend. It's simply suicide turning up to the start line cold and I was certainly caught cold.
I chose to bounce back from the humbling experience by being a man about it - I went out and got hammered! Actually, it was a pre-arranged night out on the 'Boomerang Bus' - quite the experience being shipped from bar to bar via a converted school bus that was basically a mobile strip club, poles 'n all. Quite an amusing affair although I'm feeling worse for wear from it as a result.
So, time to re-focus the effort now that we are in crit season now and try and work on some of my weaknesses. That's quite the undertaking. If only I had a coach worth his salt...
Soaked like a drowned rat on the way back from Poolesville when the heavens opened. Got in four hours this afternoon which was pretty much my sum total for the weekend after such a woeful effort yesterday at Fort Ritchie. The less said about that the better but it was certainly my worst performance of the season. I'd love to come up with some excuses but I basically struggled at the back, kept getting gapped and my cornering was all over the place. After only a few laps of this nonsense I had enough of my own suffering and headed home - a complete waste of time and very disappointing effort both mentally and physically. Several lessons learned though, none more so than making sure a warm up is done next weekend. It's simply suicide turning up to the start line cold and I was certainly caught cold.
I chose to bounce back from the humbling experience by being a man about it - I went out and got hammered! Actually, it was a pre-arranged night out on the 'Boomerang Bus' - quite the experience being shipped from bar to bar via a converted school bus that was basically a mobile strip club, poles 'n all. Quite an amusing affair although I'm feeling worse for wear from it as a result.
So, time to re-focus the effort now that we are in crit season now and try and work on some of my weaknesses. That's quite the undertaking. If only I had a coach worth his salt...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Mindless training
Thursday.
But not of the cycling variety. This is the third of four days 'corporate' training learning the culture of my new employer. From what I've heard so far, it would appear I've joined God's own company full of only the finest and most wholesome people. From what I've seen so far, it's every man for himself and sod the rest.
The one big benefit of this training is that it has been finishing around 3pm most days allowing for Greenbelt last night and a good two-plus hours this evening on an endurance ride.
Last night was rather enjoyable even though I suffered like a dog suffering from something completely insufferable. Okay, that was completely over the top and dare I say...American of me.
The finest part of yesterday's race was returning to the car park to see my fellow Euro teammate squeal on pathetically about mechanicals and the like. That's another crushing addition to the 'W' column (currently standing at 8-3 to me by the way). It's good to get in the breaks at Greenbelt if nothing else than to practice the breakaway drills for the upcoming weekend but I've yet to master the final hill sprint. Rather pathetic again last night but this time I had time to reach the line without losing places.
Dinner was in Georgetown with the Rabbi and Mr. Anorexic 2008, Berbert himself. Turn him sideways and he'd disappear. Rabbi does an equally good disappearing act these days but that's only in the races.
But not of the cycling variety. This is the third of four days 'corporate' training learning the culture of my new employer. From what I've heard so far, it would appear I've joined God's own company full of only the finest and most wholesome people. From what I've seen so far, it's every man for himself and sod the rest.
The one big benefit of this training is that it has been finishing around 3pm most days allowing for Greenbelt last night and a good two-plus hours this evening on an endurance ride.
Last night was rather enjoyable even though I suffered like a dog suffering from something completely insufferable. Okay, that was completely over the top and dare I say...American of me.
The finest part of yesterday's race was returning to the car park to see my fellow Euro teammate squeal on pathetically about mechanicals and the like. That's another crushing addition to the 'W' column (currently standing at 8-3 to me by the way). It's good to get in the breaks at Greenbelt if nothing else than to practice the breakaway drills for the upcoming weekend but I've yet to master the final hill sprint. Rather pathetic again last night but this time I had time to reach the line without losing places.
Dinner was in Georgetown with the Rabbi and Mr. Anorexic 2008, Berbert himself. Turn him sideways and he'd disappear. Rabbi does an equally good disappearing act these days but that's only in the races.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Coasting the rest of the week
Tuesday
Four days of company training now. That means only one thing - how early can I get out to get some riding in. Hopefully it'll allow for the mad scramble that is making Greenbelt. Last week's race was rather enjoyable so hopefully we can have a repeat of that.
Got some nice interval training to do this evening.
Four days of company training now. That means only one thing - how early can I get out to get some riding in. Hopefully it'll allow for the mad scramble that is making Greenbelt. Last week's race was rather enjoyable so hopefully we can have a repeat of that.
Got some nice interval training to do this evening.
Pound of flesh
Monday
No training today. After Poolesville and the 8:30am ride on Sunday, I was more than happy for once to take my coach's advice and rest up. Actually, I had no choice. I was in the office at 7am and didn't leave until 7pm with a further two hours of work at home. For some unknown reason, I actually enjoyed the day probably because it's the first time in a long time that I actually achieved something!
No training today. After Poolesville and the 8:30am ride on Sunday, I was more than happy for once to take my coach's advice and rest up. Actually, I had no choice. I was in the office at 7am and didn't leave until 7pm with a further two hours of work at home. For some unknown reason, I actually enjoyed the day probably because it's the first time in a long time that I actually achieved something!
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