Look who stopped in...

Today is Friday! The past week has been stressful at work. 2 guys short and lots of cars to get worked on means 11 or 12 hour days. It means little time for bike riding. That means a grumpy Brian. Arriving home this evening, all I wanted to do was relax. Sitting on the back patio and watching the birds was just the ticket. Feeling a tickle on my arm, I found this little guy crawling on me! A baby Praying Mantis.

How old could this little guy be?

Decompression is what I needed. Maybe next week will be better. Better= more time to ride! (Yes that is my hand)

First ride on the new bike!

Put 95 miles on the new bike this weekend. Gary Fisher Cronus Ultimate. A longer stem and my new Bontrager Aeolus 5.0's should be in this week. Hard to fairly compare the Madone and this bike with different wheels. My initial reviews are positive. The bike seems very responsive and stiff, but still a comfy ride. The Sram Red shifts good with the new Dura Ace chain. A few more tweeks to the saddle this week and I should be ready for the Cap 2 Cap Century next weekend! Hope to see you there.

Thanks to Rick Bartels. Thanks to Trek and Gary Fisher for getting me the bike so fast, and for making 2 top notch bikes. Thanks to Rick Young and BikeBeat for helping a brother out. Lots of paper work. For everyone who had to put up with my funk this week... deal with it!

I'll miss you... RIP... or : It's just a bike.

Even all smashed and broken, laying there in tangled mess, your were still beautiful. I miss you already. I remember like it was 8 months ago how I picked out your every cable housing color, wheel color, and many other things to match your frame. Meticulously pouring over every option and combination of paint schemes until I was completely satisfied. Please always remember that I was truly satisfied when I was riding you or even gazing upon you. The ride quality was magnificent. I am glad to have many pictures of us together. This separation is not what I had envisioned for our future, it was not done on purpose. Only a moment of absent mindedness to ruin it all. You were no match for that Suburban, not a fair fight I know. You went down with the most horrible screech imaginable. I don't wish anyone to ever hear that sound. I have started the healing process, it gets easier every day. I'm glad you won't be around to see my new bike arrive, that wouldn't be right. Rest assured no matter how much I enjoy this bike, I will always remember the good times we had together. Then again... you are just a bike.

I'm concerned...

I know we have lots of pressing issues in the world today. Things to be concerned about like: Obamacare, climatechange, and will K-fed keep the weight off? I would like to talk about one of the things that rank right up at the top of world affairs, the bike-wave-ignore. In my vast travels, ( all over Tidewater) I have found this ride-by-snub pervasive in every society. The young and the old, the newbies with cotton t-shirts, to the full on color matching, carbon everything types. This scourge on our biking community must be addressed!

We have all had it happen, you're riding along enjoying your ride, when you spot another cyclist. They are coming toward you, looking right at you. Since you have some things in common, the most obvious of which is riding a bike, you wave as they approach. Confusion sets in as they pass with out a return wave. Did they not see me? Are they mad because "Ugly Betty" has been cancelled? Is my carbon footprint too big? Or are they training so hard, pushing to the very limit, that the mear raising of the hand will cross that line, and cause immediate shut down of the body?

I don't expect every person in a group to wave, but I suspect the ones that don't, wouldn't have waved if they were by themselves. Maybe a lie detector would prove help full. It seems the most often afflicted with R.B.S. (Ride By Snubbing) are the lone riders. Maybe they are just anti-social in every aspect of life. Maybe they just heard the news that Larry King is divorcing his 8th wife.

Now I give the biggest Walmart greeter like smile and wave to every biker that passes my way. There is no denying that you saw it. You can't stare soullessly ahead like a runway model stares at a quart of Haagen Daz. I know you saw me wave! Don't make me go to counseling. It is acceptable to not wave at anyone without clipless pedals, or anyone on a "comfort bike".

Jefferson Cup preride

Last year I really wanted to race the Jefferson Cup, but a bum alternator kept me busy instead. Every year the limit for each category gets filled quickly, and people get on a wait list to fill in for the "no shows". "Your welcome" whoever took my place.
This year I decided early not to race until April. The Snowball Crits have always just been a big frustration, not to mention the nasty weather. Getting lapped by the pack in the cold rain is no fun! Even when the weather was beautiful for both of this years Snowballs, I went for long training rides instead. The plan is working so far, my fitness is starting to come around with more intensity every week.

A good way to get faster is to ride with guys faster than yourself. So when Rick invited me to go with him, Steve, and Linda to preride the Jeff Cup, I jumped on. It was a good day. My first ride this year with no base layer, and no arm or leg warmers. The course was fun, a 11 mile loop that is going either up or down, but never flat. After 4 laps, I was done. Rick and Steve dropped me on the 4th and did a fifth. The roads were tore up with potholes, hopefully they get filled before next weekend.
After we picnicked on the side of the road and watched the other riders go by. Steve did his usual naked in public ritual :
This was him scrambling to get his pants on as I ran for the camera. I've caught him before.http://evilgeniusbike.blogspot.com/2008/09/york-river.html You think he would learn his lesson! Thanks to Steve and Linda for the sandwich. It was good training, even if I'm not racing it this year. Looking forward to the Smithfield HAMmerfest!

Putting away the trainer...

So is this Daylight Saving Time, or did we just get off of it? Who cares! All I know is, I rode my bike today after work.
Gregory and I only had time for 23 miles before it was dark. That's okay, I left everything on the road. Know what I mean? You cyclist do. We were not very fast, but that didn't matter, it felt good to push it. First the warm up chat, side by side through the neighborhood. Then as we swing out on to Centerville Turnpike, the traffic causes you to get single file and pick up the tempo. The rush of your senses as your heart rate jumps and cars are passing. No wind in the lungs for conversation now. Turn on to a much less traveled country road, but the cat's out of the bag. The speed will not drop until we hit the 'hood again, or my body gives up. Time to settle in to the rhythm, pull then recover. Over and over. Not at all like intervals on a trainer, I thought as I tryed desperately to grab his wheel after my pull. I found a little protection from the cross wind and grabbed a quick hit off the bottle. The Sun was fading fast, the shadows on the road longer, the temperature dropping. Nothing like a trainer ride. The pace usually gets pushed on the last long straight road before we get into traffic again, this time would be no different. Greg goes by me saying something about a lead-out. He went by me so fast, the Doppler Effect made it hard to understand. So what else could I do, but turn myself inside out to catch him. Not like any ride on the trainer I ever had. Soon we are in cool down mode, and back on speaking terms. Just in time for the Sun to slip away. We roll into the driveway, with the satisfaction of the pain. "Good ride, lets do it again soon!" Never said that when getting off the trainer.

A few pics from 09

A new years resolution?

It was nice to get off my lazy rump and ride new years day. 20 or so riders departed from Hot Tuna about 12:30. It was 43deg. and overcast, but with the right clothing, it was comfortable. Riding double file in the light traffic, and keeping a 19 to 21mph pace, enabled us to make conversation.

Everyone knows the weather is hard to predict. Everyone (yes, including me) complains about the local Weather Forecasters. I don't think you could make a good living with a title like "Weather Guesser ", or " Weather Estimator ". Somewhere in this conversation, I decided to give Weathermen (and ladies) a break.

Now, I have never been big on New Years resolutions. Yeah, you're going to lose weight, spend more time with the cat, solve world hunger... whatever you're NOT going to do, make it a resolution. However, I had a worthy idea : everyone should just give everyone a break! Being that this is doomed to fail, I decided to make it my "mission" to not be so hard on everyone.

Give the Meteorologist a break, they have nice enough hair to be on TV. Give you're parents a break, they had to raise you. Road Workers... give 'em a "brake". Give you're mechanic a break, you're car is a piece of junk. The waiter that didn't come back to refill the Tea for 15 minutes, that cigarette break kept them from urinating in said Tea. The moron that cut me off on the way home, I smiled and waved (with all 5 fingers) as I zoomed by with Flowmasters blaring. See, I could have run him into the jersey wall, but a break was issued. I felt good knowing that I didn't cause property damage or bodily harm.

Hopefully you can all join me this year in my generous break giving. Maybe I will be the recipient of a gracious gift of breakage. Realise that its a 2 way street, its not all about who has the highest gross vehicle weight, or the most airbags. Have a satisfying new year!
P.S. : My wife says I should give her a break too. I knew this resolution thing would crash and burn.