Bikers down makes me sad...

Yeah, seeing stories about bikers down makes me sad. Makes me sad because they're our 2 wheeled brothers, and we all brave riding on the road lots of times, and it could happen to each one of us easily, and it has happened to some of us. Big J for one, me for another.

Back in October of 2007, I had left work early, it was an Indian Summer day, about 75 degrees, and it was easy to decide to get a few miles in before heading to a funeral. I've got to take the good with the bad over here. As I was about, oh, 2 miles from the house, I came across a set of railroad tracks, where there was a dirt driveway to my right, and opposing traffic coming at me. I saw a car coming approaching the tracks, no turn signal, and as I came across the tracks, the young woman driving her car turned right in front of me. T-bone style I went into the passenger's side door, taking out the side view mirror, and leaving a "me" sized impression in the door itself.

As I crashed into the car, and then the ground, I did the "status" check as soon as I got off the ground. You all know what I mean by the status check. Stand up? Good. Left leg? OK. Right leg? OK. Left arm? OK. Right arm? OWW! Mother fucker, that hurts. Try again? Ooh, that really hurts. I've crashed plenty of times to know when I've really fucked myself up, and this, well, I had never felt this way before. There was something definitely not right going on in the shoulder.

In the meantime, traffic had stopped, a guy a few cars down who was also a rider, got out, and got my bike and other stuff out of the road for me, the young woman who had been driving the car that turned into me was crying (and not doing much else, she was more concerned with the bright red blood coming from the road rash on my knee than the fact that I couldn't move my right arm very well, or, make that, at all), and everyone was wondering WTF was going on.

After cussing out the driver, a LOT, and getting her to call the wahmbulance for me, the paramedics came, strapped me down to a background (not comfortable at all), and drove me to the hospital. Sadly, the only thing I could think of was that I was hoping that I had just separated my shoulder, so I could get it set straight, and I could ride some more that weekend. I had planned a couple of 5 hour rides since the weather was supposed to be spectacular that weekend, and I love me some riding in the fall. Leaves changing colors, crisp air, yeah, it's pretty great shit.

Anyway, they roll me into the hospital, and bear in mind, the only thing I'm wearing is my cycling shoes, and a pair of bibs. They had removed my jersey at the scene to make sure nothing was sticking out. My second concern here was I was freakin' freezing to death. The pain, fine, not that bad actually (more on this later), but the cold? Get me some blankets please!!

I finally got some of those nicely warmed blankets, that was pretty nice. The attending in the ER, after they had cleared me to get pain meds, asked me what I wanted? I had a choice. Percocet, or Morphine. Hmm, let's see. As one who has never really used anything much stronger than say, Advil, and having seen how nice things were for my then fiance in the summer when she had her appendix out and she was on the Morphine, and also since Morphine was offered to be injected into the IV, I got the Morphine.

OK, first of all, I can see how people like to take drugs now. Again, never did anything much more than Advil in my days (never even smoked the weed-no, it's true), and when that shit hit my bloodstream. Whoo boy, that was nice. And, the best part, they kept giving it to me when I needed it. Even better. Now, it never did make the pain go away, but it did make me not care at all. I was laughing, and joking, and having a good old time, of course, that was until the orthopedic guys came in.

For some reason, I think the ortho guys (and in my case this evening, they were all men) used to be powerlifters, or some other strong guy. Former linebackers, maybe a few offensive linemen, that's how big these jokers are. When they come in, and there again was a string of them (this is what I get for being brought to a teaching hospital, UNC in Chapel Hill) they each in turn take my arm, lift it, move it around, grind things together, and make things, well, feel a hell of a lot worse, until they put it down. Once down, and in the "sling" position, all is well.

I get MRIs, cat scans, x-rays, and a bunch of other stuff, and what was the end result? Well, they know for sure that my scapula is broken, they're just not sure how bad. They're going to call me tomorrow to let me know. Oh, did I mention, that my fiance at the time, was out of town for her bridal shower? Yeah, I didn't really have anyone to pick me up. I had to call her, at her parent's house, and she then had to make about a dozen phone calls. Luckily, she got in touch with some of the guys who lived downstairs from us at the time, and one of them came and scooped me up, and brought me home in my drug addled state. They did send me home with some percocets, and some muscle relaxants for sleeping that night. Which again, you drug addicts, you know what you're talking about. Good stuff.

Turns out, the scapula was busted up, and not only busted up, but the socket portion had been flipped over inside of me. Surgery was the cure. They cut me open, and according to my surgeon, it looked like kibbles and bits in there when he went in. He had to suck out a bunch of bone fragment, and then threw in a few pins, and a small plate to hold everything together. I think I was in there for about 3-4 hours. After I came out, they gave me a nerve block which essentially made everything from my neck through my arm numb for about, oh, 10 hours. Think of it like this. You look at your hand. Your mind tells it to move. It doesn't. It's weird, and I imagine, this is what it's like to be paralyzed. That would suck, but I digress.

After that, many months of recovery, many months of rehab, and finally, today, all is well. There is no pain any longer in the shoulder, and the range of movement is totally back to what it was before, and the strength is back. I, was lucky. The woman didn't get charged with anything major, something like, failure to yield I think. I did take a big chunk out of her as far as insurance, and lawsuit settlements go. Let's just say, it was enough for the wife and I to put a decent down payment on the house we live in now. I got a new bike to replace the trashed one (went from a Giant TCR advanced to a Pinarello Prince, again, not bad). Essentially, it was a long and painful road back, but I got back. Others, like in some of the stories we see on here, aren't so lucky.

Make sure that the people you know who drive watch out for us. I hate to see my fellow cyclists get hurt, and even more so now that I'm one of the many who has been run the fuck over. As I said, luckily for me, everything pretty much worked out. I have a new bike, a house, and a kick ass scar on my shoulder. Keep an eye out.

Just because...

Yo...

So I was perusing one of my more favorite blogs on the internet the other day, that being Drunkcyclist.com and I saw a posting up there about how the main man Jonny is in law school, doesn't have much time to write on there any longer, and things like that. Well, I volunteered my services, and am now a guest writer on that page. I'll be listed as "giantcu92" so drop on by, and check it out. Whatever I put up on there, I'll put up on here as well.

Over and out, and oh, head on over there to check out my post from yesterday. It's morning, and I don't feel like cutting and pasting.

About group rides...

After speaking to my friend Jason the other night about this topic, and how these things sometimes brought out the worst in us (group rides), I decided to write down some thoughts on this. I think I've done this before, but with the summer heating up, and the local wanna-be hammerheads starting to show up for the group rides during the week, and on the weekend, I thought a little refresher on the etiquette of group rides was in order. Please, if you're heading out for a group ride this weekend, follow these sage words of advice, people will appreciate it.

1. Do not attack at a stop sign, or at an intersection where half of the group is left waiting for cars to go through. This not only proves that you're a toolbag, it will earn you many enemies. Aside from that, it's just a douchebag of a thing to do.

2. Do hold your line, and try not to be too sketchy. I say this because if you are sketchy, you will soon get that moniker affixed to your person, and nobody will ever want to ride around you, and this makes it tough when it is windy out there and you're trying to catch a draft.

3. Do point out things in the road that might take someone down. Little things such as gravel, or a crack, don't bother with it. Large things like say, a tree branch, you might want to point that out. Do it subtly though. Don't yell about it, or make noise, just take a hand off of the bar for a moment, point down, and be done with it.

4. Number 3 brings me to my next point. Calling out of cars. Such as, "CAR BACK!!!", or "CAR FRONT!!!", or even, "CAR ON THE SIDE!!!". Hey, yelling jackass, we know that there are cars out here. Why? It's a freakin' open road. Get a grip, and shut the fuck up. We don't need you Mr. Johnny Information yelling about cars. As with most regular riders, we just assume that there is ALWAYS a car, or cars, in back of us. It makes it safer. Aside from that, it's just annoying, so stop it.

5. Number 4 brings me to number 5 (crazy how that numbering system works isn't it). But this goes along with the yelling of things. When the whole group is coming to a stop sign, or a red light, stop yelling "SLOWING!!!". We know that we're slowing down, and hence why the speed dropped. If we know the route we're riding, we know where the stop signs and stop lights are, we don't need you Mr. Stop Sign to tell us about it. This trait is also annoying.

6. The only ONE acceptable thing to yell about when riding in a group, is the ever dangerous, "DOG LEFT!!" or "DOG RIGHT!!". This is acceptable, only because it does actually serve a purpose. Sometimes those lovable pooches out in the country side are silent killers, and if they're creeping up on a group of say, oh, 40 or so guys in spandex, and bright colors, they like to give chase. I can't tell you how much pain one can go through if taken down by a dog, but let's just leave it at the calling out of dogs, as loud as you can, is NOT annoying, and necessary for the well being of the herd.

7. Do crack jokes. Sure there are some serious assholes out there who think that the Saturday group ride is the end all, and be all of competitive cycling, but. Don't. Be. That. Guy. Be Jokey McJokester out there. People appreciate that more than the ultra serious uptight roadie prick. At least I do. And if someone tells you to shut up, put a frame pump in their spokes just to show them how serious you are. OK, kidding about the frame pump in the spokes, but it is tempting from time to time.

8. Be kind to newbies, and try to teach them the ways of the herd. You too were once someone who didn't know what the fuck they were doing, so try to coddle the newer ones out there, give them some friendly advice, and hope to hell they listen. If they don't, frame pump, in the spokes. That'll show 'em. 

9. Don't bring your TT bike out on a 50 mile group ride. There is a time and a place for a TT bike, and that's, yes, in a time trial. Another acceptable use of your shiny and aero TT bike is when you're training and riding alone, or maybe with just one other person. This is absolutely no reason at all to ride your TT bike on a group ride. If you're feeling like doing that, either don't do it, or go and do your own ride. We don't need some asshole who thinks he's Fabian Cancellara riding in his aero bars, not being able to see very well in front of themselves, taking down a bunch of people. Aside from that, if you're riding your TT bike, you MIGHT just get pegged as a tri geek, which is a fate worse than death itself. If you are a tri geek, either don't ride your aero bars, or get a regular road bike, oh, and ditch the 650 wheels, they're not faster. Oh, and one more thing, if you are a tri geek, put a shirt on, you know, one with sleeves and pockets in the rear. They're called cycling jerseys for a reason.

10. If you have a road bike with clip on aero bars, either take them off, or don't use them AT ALL on a group ride. Seriously. If I see you riding in your aero bars, I'm going to smack you in the back of your helmet for being stupid.

11. Do wear a helmet on all group rides. You never know what cat 5 wanna-be is going to show up, and take down about 40 people in one fell swoop.

12. If you don't have a helmet on, and you run into a group ride, and want to tag on, sit on the back. Don't get in the middle, don't get on the front, sit at the back. It's safer back there punching tickets.

13. Don't wear your iPod when riding in a group. Don't get me wrong. I'm a HUGE fan of riding with an iPod blasting in my ears when I'm on the bike. Alone. Don't do it when riding in a group. You look stuck up, and pretty much like a dick.

14. Don't answer your cell phone during a group ride. Yes, I have seen this. And I hate people for it. Matter of fact, if you're in a group ride, you don't need to have a cell phone with you at all, there are a bunch of other like minded individuals with you, and can take care of you should something bad happen. OK, maybe bring it with you, but keep it in the "OFF" position until it's needed for use. Exceptions can be made for say, Doctors who are on-call or some stupid silly bullshit like that.

15. If the front part of the group is riding a rotating paceline, and you don't know what one is, stay at the back with the other people who don't know how to do it. It's better that way for those of us who DO know how to ride one. Watch. Learn. And then try it out the NEXT time you're on a group ride.

16. Don't cross over the yellow line in the road. Why? There are cars coming the other way, and you'll get killed, and possibly might could get someone else killed in the process. Stay on the right side of the yellow. This is especially important when going for those all important town line, and or county line sprints. Cross over, and you deserve that Mack truck that just flattened you like a pancake.

17. If you don't know the route, either ask someone who does, or be fit enough to finish with the group. Simple as that. If you get lost, it's not the group's fault, it's yours for not being strong enough to hang.

18. If you see another cyclist on the side of the road, as you sweep by, ask him/her if they need help. If they do, stop, help them, and continue from there. Karma will be kind to you for this, and aside a fellow cyclist in need is a friend you want to make, because you don't know when you might need the same help.

19. If you are in a group ride, and have several teammates there as well, and one of said teammates gets into a "breakaway" on said group ride, and you're left back in the bunch, do not, I repeat DO NOT go to the front of the group, and block other people from riding hard. This is a common race tactic in cat 5, 4, and 3 races, and it's a fine form of douchebaggery that actually does really deserve a frame pump to the spokes. Look guys, this is a group ride, a training ride. If you've got 6 guys clogging up the front of the group, nobody gets a good training ride. This isn't a race, and even if it WAS a race, this would still not be acceptable. I have seen people who made "the break" only to get caught later yell and scream at their teammates as to WHY they weren't blocking the forward progress of others, and that they would have won if they had done their jobs. Yep, these are the same guys who don't race much, or haven't raced much in their lifetimes. You do that blocking shit in an actual race, you get a reputation really quick as a team that is good to attack over and over again until their last rider is shellacked out the back of the bunch. Just don't do it people. Don't. 

20. If you must spit, or hork a booger while riding in the group, either do it on yourself, or do it so that it doesn't get on the person behind you. For spitting, in between your arm, and your leg works great. It hits the road, and nothing else normally, well, maybe your bike, but it's your bike. Spitting off to the side, only gets into people's faces, and that makes for mad people. Same for snot rockets. If you must, and you're in a group, turn your head towards the middle of your person, and blow one on yourself. Gross? Definitely, but again, better than hitting the guy behind you. 

21. Don't attack up every little knob on the route like they were Alpe d'Huez. Nobody is impressed that you can climb really fast on a 250 meter long bump in the road.

I think that's all I have for now. Review these rules. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Do you want to add some addition rules of your own (that's what the comments section is for). You let me know, but I think these do pretty well cover it. Oh, and you're welcome.

A bib short retrospective...

Today was cleaning day. OK, more like throwing away day. I went into the hopper of cycling clothes and tossed out all of my old bib shorts. How many you might ask could he have leftover? I tossed 10 pairs of bib shorts today. Yes, 10. This leaves me with 6 pairs left, but unfortunately, many of those are now aging, and they are going to need to go as well, soon enough. Which means, for the first time since 1999 I do not have a single pair of Cycles de Oro bib shorts. I hope they find those damn Columbian rebels that hijacked our team clothes somewhere in the hills of Columbia, but so far, we have seen nothing.

The first pair (I won't show you all 7 pair that I threw away) are the Cycles de Oro bibs. Now, these are good shorts. Louis Garneau makes a fairly decent pair of bibs I've got to say. These lasted quite some time, but alas, these, and their 6 brothers, have got to go. Mostly because the lycra in them is cheap, and it wears out quickly, and becomes what I'd like to call transparent, and believe me, if you're riding behind me, the last thing you are going to want to see is my hairy ass through said shorts. It so disturbed Ryan Trebon in one race, that he couldn't help but continue to stare. Apparently, my ass hair is hypnotic or something like that. In the second picture of the same pair of bibs, you can easily see the light through the shorts themselves. Which is why they needed to go. The lycra, once again, wears out, and you're left with one see through pair of shorts. That's just not good for business.

Pair number 2 that went into the trash can were the good old dependable Domo Farm Frites bibs that I got somewhere along the line one year for training bibs. Yes, I was a team kit Fred at one point in time, OK, several points in time as we'll see as we move along memory lane and all. But these were damn good shorts, and they held up well. I think I rode these for a couple of seasons, like a couple of high mileage type seasons, and they were comfortable, almost ridiculously comfortable. I don't know why, maybe they just fit to my bottom nicely, but they did the job. A couple of years ago, they went into a deep dark drawer, and were never seen again, until today, cleaning out day, throwing away day. Sorry Johan Musseuw, but these bad boys need to go. How long has it been since there even was a Domo Farm Frites team anyway? It's been quite awhile now. And when the chamois is chafing and has come undone from the shorts themselves, they no longer remain comfortable. Thanks for the memories Domo, time to go. 

Somewhere I picked up this pair of Marlux shorts. I think these were a purchase off of probikekit.com, because they used to actually have good deals (not any longer), where you could get some team shorts, and if like me, you didn't mind looking like an idiot, you could get some decent cheap shorts. Again, for training. This way, I didn't have to worry about wearing out the team bibs, when I could wear other bibs instead. These shorts pretty much looked like something threw up on them. There is a lot of color going on here, and a lot of busy-ness happening with the shorts. I don't know what I was thinking on this one, but hey, they were probably like $40 or so, and when and where can you get a pair of bibs for $40 that last a couple of years? Yeah, nowhere, that's where chief. I had to toss these because once again, we had chamois short separation. This is never good when this happens, and you end up getting some bad chafe if you wear a pair with chamois separation. 

Next on the hit parade, what I like to call vintage team CSC shorts. Yes, I had a pair of these mostly because Ja-Ja wore a similar pair one year, and let's face it, that doping son of a bitch could ride him some bikes. I do see now that he's made the change to triathlons, and actually finished like in the top 30 or something like that in his first Ironman race. Not bad for a skinny bad skinned Frenchman. I wonder what kind of doping products he's doing now? I know, this is being cynical of me and all, but he was wrapped up in a lot of good doping teams in the past, so it's not a stretch to think that maybe, just maybe, he was doing something like that as well. Hmm? Maybe? Anyway, these shorts, as you might be able to see, had a white side panel. At the time, I thought that hey, this might be cool. Then in hindsight, once again, being the hairy bastard that I am, white anything when it comes to shorts is a B-A-D idea. They served their purpose though once again, and were Castelli, so they weren't a bad brand of shorts at all. The chamois, comfy. The material, not bad. The one gripe that I had about these shorts though was that the little scorpion logo that comes on Castelli products came off about a week after I got them. Again, cheap shorts though, so I can't complain too much.

I lined up my Cycles de Oro team shorts on the bed for a "team picture" before they got tossed into the can. You can see from the layout, that I have been riding for the same team for quite some time now. Yes, I have been riding for De Oro since moving down to North Carolina in 1999. I've got to say, it's been good times for sure. I've met some really good people, and have seen some really good racers move through our team. Chris Foster, Rich Harper, Chad Gibson, Candice Blickem, and even Joey D'Antoni were all fairly strong local area riders, and at least a couple of these folks went on to race pro, at least for a little while and all. Harper is still killing it with Abercrombie and Fitch cycling team, with his teammate winning or leading the US crit series right now. Joey, after serving a 2 year suspension for doping is back on the bike. Candice, taking a year off to have a baby and all. Anyway, the last lineup for the team shorts before they go into the can.

And, last but not least...

Twitchy riding...

Today, being the 4th o' July and all, and just about everyone having a day off, I decided to hang out, and go for a ride at one of the local "group" rides that are held this time of the year. I write "group" rides, because as most of you know, the group rides on days like today are more like a mob scene. Today, no different at all really. I think around about 1000 folks lined up and rolled out from Spin Cycle in Cary this morning at 8:00AM. There was a 50k route, and a 100k. I decided, at the last moment, that maybe the 100k would be OK to do. Nah, just kidding, I decided the 100k way back, I mean it is only 60 some odd miles after all. 

So the ride rolls out, and we get a police escort out of town. Nice, except for the fact that the pace car, and the cop cars rolling with us are stopping in the middle of the intersections with little to no warning that they are stopping. In other words, some movable road furniture. There were almost several crashes heading out of town. Everyone made it out alive though, no worries.

While out on the road, I've got to admit, there are some jackasses on this ride. Look people, it's a large group ride, and we're moving fairly fast. It's not a race though. When things bunch up, do not, I repeat do not go over the yellow mid line of the road, into a blind corner, going uphill, and almost get your stupid ass run over. This happened, time and time again. There is no need for it. No need at all. Why risk your damn life on a group ride. Why risk your life in a race for that matter. Look, rules of the road, stay to the right of the yellow line. You'll live longer. But then again, maybe Darwinism should be practiced, because then we'd have less stupid people out there riding with us. I won't name names, but there seemed to be a certain local team whose riders were doing this the most. Mostly because they seemed to not be able to maintain their position within the group, and decided that the only way to "get ahead" was to dash across the line and then have to dart back in when a tractor trailer truck was coming up the other side of the road, therefore endangering other people, again because the riders had to dash back into the group. Nice work jackasses. I've been to a few races, and I think the bulk of this team are all hero cat. 4's, I could be wrong, but I think that's the level they're at. Ridiculous really. But again, no names, don't want anyone feeling downtrodden by little old me.

Then, coming into town, anyone who has done this ride knows, that there are some traffic lights when rolling back into town. OK, a little lesson for those of you who don't know. If the light is red, you stop. If the light is green, you go. If there is a car in the lane in which you're in, do not go around the car at the stop light. I don't ride in Cary all of the time, or make that hardly ever, but there are a lot of people that do. And guess what? A little respect for their town goes a long way, plus it makes the motorists of Cary a lot less pissed off (I'm talking to the people who go around cars at stop lights and "swarm" the cars - idiots). You see, in a large ride like this, you should obey the laws and rules of the road when rolling back into town. Don't ignore, and run the lights. And I did see people who should know A LOT better than to do this, doing it on the way back into town. You makes us all look bad, so stop it. Then, the topper to all of this. We're about a half mile away from the finish point of the ride. I'm riding in a double paceline with, oh, 60 other people. I see someone come up on the outside of me, he cuts back hard to right, splits the difference of a couple of teammates in front of me, bounces around a little bit, almost knocks over 3-4 people, and then he sort of sprints off up the road. What were you trying to accomplish there super chief? Are you racing for the parking lot? Did you want to get to the bouncy castle first. Unbelievable. Again, this guy was from the same time riding all over the yellow line, so it didn't surprise me when this happened. I yelled at him of course, it's what I do on these things.

My griping aside though, Spin Cycle, and Capital Cycling Club held another great event this year. It was well organized, and well attended. I can't express my thanks enough to those folks for putting this on. It must have been a huge undertaking, and it was for a worthy cause, so I didn't mind tossing in my $30 bucks. Nice work folks. Everyone seemed to have a good time and there was good food, good rest stops, and a nice little post ride party back at the Hibernian. You guys did right. I hate it that people act like assholes out on the road, but what are you going to do? Rides like this attract people like that. People who don't, or can't race, but yet have some fitness and want to show everyone "what they're made of" and all. But, considering the amount of people who attended, it could have been a lot worse. I wasn't aware of any crashes that took place, or anything really bad happening. And again, Spin Cycle, Capital Cycling Club, thanks for having this, and hope to see you at it again next year.

Even though...

Even though I am sort of sick of cycling and doping, and the mix of the 2, I still kind of feel bad for George Hincapie. Especially in the clip seen below. Enjoy!

The Giro d'Italia has ended. Does anyone care?

I know, I know. The little bit of information that I've picked up about the Giro this year indicates that it was a good race, with some good racing, and some hard stages. There were some quality wins, by some quality riders, and let's face facts here. I think Danilo Diluca is a worthy winner of this race. But the question that I really have is this; does anyone much care right now? I might be in the minority of this path of thinking, but I couldn't care less about this race. And that's just sad to me, because in years past, I have been a HUGE fan of this race. Out of the grand tours that are contested every year, the one that takes place in Italy is my most favorite grand tour. The Tour de France is great for the mere size of it, and the Vuelta is good because you can see the passion of the Spanish riders for that race. But they Giro, it is the best. The best courses, the most passionate riders, and most of the time, it ends up being a good race.

This year though, I have no passion for it. Normally, I would be reading updates all during the stages while I'm at work. Getting the blow by blow. I would be checking out the results on a daily basis, arguing with other people on internet forums about who was doing what, what teams are looking strong, which ones are looking weak, and commenting on the various riders and tactics. This year, I've got nothing. I blame my lack of passion, and or interest in this race, and in racing in general due to the most recent doping revelations. It's been like a kick to the head, and has made me not want to follow pro bike racing that much, or at all. Sure I keep myself sort of updated, but I'm sick of it right now. More sick of the doping, and the people and riders wrapped up in it, than the racing itself. It feels like to me that everything is tainted. I have a hard time believing race results, and I have an even harder time believing riders who say, "I only doped for this one race..." or others who have said, "I only doped for a week back in 1996..." or some other nonsense such as that. Come on guys. We're not stupid over here. You're saying that you doped, but that you only did it "once" or maybe "twice". Yeah, come on. Do you see turnip truck around here anywhere? I mean, we all know that doping exists, and that it is probably rampant. It's just that we haven't had this amount of revelation in the sport. Guys coming out, who never got popped for doing anything, saying that they did it.

I know right now, I'm feeling beat down. But I'll get over it. Here's the thing. I'm not a big sports fan for the most part. I watch a game here and there, or go to a game here and there, but cycling for me, is different. It's different because I actually am a big fan of the sport and before I just wanted to believe that the riders weren't doping, and in my mind, I went with the whole, "Well, if they don't test positive, they're good to go." I can't use this assumption any longer really. I'm going to have to go the opposite way. I'm just going to assume from now on that every rider who does win, is most likely doping. Sure, there are going to be exceptions, but I think by far, and by large, the guy first across the line, probably shooting something into his veins to make him go faster. What else are we to think really? I do love the sport, but my patience is starting to wear thin.

Swimming? In March???

I went swimming this past weekend. Yeah, you heard me right, this past weekend I went swimming. No, it wasn't in an indoor warm pool. Yes, it was in an outdoor pool at a friend of mine's apartment complex. Yes, we were drunk. Yes, it was March 24th when we entered the chilly waters of this pool. Yes, it was fun. I, being a sort of warm blooded type of person decided that I needed to be first into the pool, at which point in time I lied to everyone else and said that the water wasn't that bad. Shrieking and yelling ensued after the rest of the tribe jumped in. It was freakin' cold in there, but alas, I had never been swimming before in March, at least not outside that is. Well, unless you count the time I went whitewater rafting in Maine in early March (big water release) and there was still much snow on the banks of the river, along with big chunks of ice floating down the river beside us. Luckily, at that time, we got to wear dry suits provided to us through the rafting company, but it was still cold as balls out there. Especially since, remember, I said it was a big water release from the dam, and well, when there is big water, you get plenty wet. Still the best ride I've ever had down the West Branch of the Penobscot though. So, in a drunken state (well, I was more buzzed really nicely as opposed to drunk) I jumped into the swimming pool this weekend. This bodes well for the rest of the summer though, as the pool wasn't that bad, and they have a large grill sitting poolside. I can see summer nights grilling and swimming over there, well, if I get invited that is. I would hope that I would, as I can always bring the beer. I'll have to make sure to NOT swim immediately after eating, as I might get a cramp and not be able to make it out of the 5 foot deep pool alive. Now, if only they had a hot tub over there as well, now that would be something. I know, not asking for too much am I?

This weekend also represented the first really consistently warm weekend coming into the Spring. Well, actually, it was hot on Saturday and Sunday. Also in accordance with the first really warm weekend, the pink arm warmers made an appearance after the ride on Saturday afternoon. For those of you who are not in "the know", the pink arm warmers refer to the bare arms after they have been exposed to the sun for a long period of time, for the first time in the year, resulting in a semi sun burn that is the same size and length of a regular pair of arm warmers that one would wear when it is cold outside whilst riding the bike. This was just a long explanation of saying that I got a little bit of a sunburn this weekend. It actually wasn't too bad, and today, it has abated already. Yes, I did wear sunscreen on Sunday when I went out riding (I actually forgot on Saturday), and came back much better off after the Sunday ride. This also means that the infamous biker tan line is coming back into effect, full effect, as it never really went away, and actually doesn't go away. It's been a good year and a half now since I stopped riding on a very consistent basis, and the dark line, it's still there on the legs and the arms. The tan line that suffers the most is the sock line near the ankle, that one tends to blend in over time. This one is coming back in dark and distinct as well. Maybe I'll have to get some tan line pictures and get them on here in the near future. Got to work on it some more before posting though. I'm not like certain people who I know, who won't be named, who fake their cycling tan lines in order to get more cred from the cycling peeps. Yeah, it's true, I do know people who go to a tanning salon, or have in the past, who wear their cycling gear into the tanning booth in order to gain the appropriate cycling tan lines. You know who you are out there, so don't deny it.

This past weekend riding though, for the first time in a relatively long time, I felt OK on the bike. The legs were still pretty tired by the time I got home yesterday afternoon, but they're coming around really. I am thinking about another 3-4 weeks of consistent riding, and I'll start to really come around and find some fitness again. This riding, plus starting to do interval work in another month or so, should set me up for a good fitness base for the middle of this summer, when I can start racing my bike again. I'm torn at this time though whether to cat down to a 3 again, or stay racing as a category 2. I think if I had been able to upgrade to a category 1, I would stay there, because the chances of me making it back to that level (if I actually HAD made it to that level) would be slim and none, and I'd like to keep that category, but being a cat 2, is not that big of a deal. I could always drop a category, and IF I'm riding OK towards the end of the season, I should gain enough points to cat back up, or maybe the local official will let me, as I had been there once before. The straight poop though is that cat 3 racing is plenty fast, most of the time, it's just that the race lengths are much shorter. I personally don't have enough time to train properly or intensely to be a higher level racer, and my genetics don't help me on that end either. If I had the time to train, it might be a different story, or if I had a good genetic base from which to work, it might be different as well, but alas, I don't have either of those, so most likely back to cat 3 racing I'll go. And I'll probably get dropped there as well, so no big deal. I do remember though that the best times I had racing bikes was when I was a cat 3 racer, even when I was getting dropped. That might have had more to do with the guys I was racing with, rather than the racing itself, but I do remember those days fondly. And there were a number of races where I did quite well. We'll see…

This time of year in North Carolina, best time of the year ever. The days are longer, the temperatures are more than tolerable, everything is blooming out there, and it's got that good smell of Spring in the air. It's good stuff really. And since we don't get hardly any snow at all down here, there is no "mud" season, as those of you in the Northeast corner of the country know. Mud season is essentially just that, mud. All of the snow melts, and then the ground melts, and what do you have? Mud, and lots of it. It doesn't go away until like, June or so most of the time as far as I can recall. I remember one especially bad year when I was mountain biking a lot. I think I went through 2 sets of wheels, and about 10 sets of brake pads from the time span going from March to July. That's a lot of gear that this mud chewed through. Not to mention everything just being dirty all of the time. And of course you get mud all through wherever it is you're living, no matter how careful you are. It just invades and creeps its way into, well, everything. NO mud season in North Carolina, at least not in Durham.

No political stuff today, as there is just too much of that going on right now to even really comment about. Except for the attorney general, and the way he messed up, bad. Hey, look, Alberto, if you're going to fire some US Attorneys, don't lie about why you fired them in the first place. If you hadn't lied, there wouldn't be this shitstorm brewing all over the place, and it wouldn't even be a story, and there would be no investigations. But, apparently, Gonzales forgot that the democrats control Congress now, and are able to actually complete their oversight duties of the executive branch of the US government unlike the old majority (the republicans). If Gonzales had just come out and said that they fired these 8 prosecutors because they weren't pursuing what the current administration thought was important, there would have been some outcry, but as the law actually states, these people serve at the pleasure of the President. But instead, they said it was for performance issues, when none of them were actually performing badly. And then Gonzales said he wasn't aware of these decisions that were being made of who to fire and when. But, there is a pesky little detail of different meetings that Gonzales had with his staff concerning these firings. And then there was the White House saying that they weren't involved really with any of this (even though DOJ falls under the White House), but turns out, they were involved, deeply involved. Why did they need to lie about this? Like the Scooter Libby perjury case, it's not what actually happened that is the problem, it's what they did to cover it up, and in this case, lie about it. I'd be extremely surprised if Gonzales lasts the rest of this week and does not resign. It's funny for a man (Bush) who said that he was going to bring honor and trust back to the White House, and the executive branch in general, they are doing just the opposite of that, and have been since they entered office in January of 2001. Lots of lying, lots of secrecy never before seen, walking over the Constitution, suspending habeus corpus, and things like that. Yep, doin' a heck of a job there Bushie. Heck of a job. It has gotten to the point now, that whenever someone from the Bush administration speaks, I believe whatever it is that they are saying, to be a lie. They can't help themselves.

Thanks go out to...

Believe it or not, I've got to actually (I can't believe I'm going to do this) the Bush Administration, and the formerly Republican lead Congress of the United States of America. Those of you that know me, and or have frequented this page before, or maybe you've mistakenly clicked over to it in the past, know that I do really loathe George W. Bush as a President. To sum it up, he might not be the worst President of all time, but he probably will be the worst President in my lifetime. I mean, who would have thought I would long for the days of Ronald Regan and George H. W. Bush? I didn't think that would happen on my watch, but alas, here we are. Anyway, back to the thanking part of things.

If there is one thing that Bush as done right in his disastrous 2 terms, it's that he pushed back the start of Daylight Saving Time to this weekend. Now we get that extra hour of daylight the second week of March instead of the first weekend of April, which in my opinion is a kick ass decision right there. I guess this was part of an energy bill that passed through Congress awhile back, and W signed it into law, and here we are. March 11th, and the sun will now be up until 7:30 or so, at least around here. I know that up North in the great cold State of Maine, my Dad is cherishing the extra hour of sunlight. For years when I was a kid, and or at college and living at home at least part of the time, immediately after December 21st or 22nd (whichever one was the shortest day of the year in Maine) he would start tracking the increase in the days almost on a daily basis. And he would tell us about them as he tracked them, so I knew, just knew that he was excited for extra daylight. Now, does this really matter in Maine where they are not only under a blanket of snow, but more like a wall of snow, yeah, it probably does. As having spent a majority of my lifetime in Maine, I can say that in the winter months, it gets dreary when you wake up, it's dark. Drive to work, it's dark. Get to work, it's pretty dark until well after 8AM. Leave work at 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon, yeah, it's still dark out there. It stinks, it drags a man down, but hey, that's what we get for living in the chilly climes of the Northern parts of the country. But now, we have an extra hour of daylight, and in NC where the weather has been getting nicer and nicer over the last few weeks, this means more riding after work for me. Which is something I've promised myself not to take lightly this year. Meaning, don't waste the daylight hours. Get home, change those clothes, get out on the bike. I also have this sort of crazy plan to start riding into work a couple of days per week when the weather warms up more. Why is this crazy? Well, it's a 35 mile ride up, and a 35 mile ride back down in the afternoon, so a 70 mile training day. Which sound nice, if it's a weekend. Could be tough doing that, so we'll see how that all shakes out here in the near future. I would like to do it, because it would give me some crazy hours for training, and I've got to go there, and come home anyway, I might as well get some benefits from doing it, and I think I would arrive at work, a little tired, but feeling better for it. You know, endorphines, feeling good, things like that.

But yeah, thanks Bushie, you've actually done something right for a change. It's much appreciated by the cyclists that I know and speak to.

Good times...

Went out riding today, it is now over 70 degrees (according to my dashboard widget, it's 71. Now, that might not sound that warm and all, but damn when it's January 6th, that's plenty o' warm folks. Plenty. Today, I was shooting for a 3+ hour ride, it being Saturday and all, and the weather being damn fine. I got out in Orange County, NC, and found myself flailing on the bike, feeling like absolute and utter shit. Yeah, I was cracking about an hour into it. I caught a few guys going about my pace, a little slower, but decided to jump in with them. It worked out nice. Good conversation about welding and other things, and I managed to roll in with a 3.5 hour ride. Which considering how I felt about an hour into it, which was like death, it turned out all good. Met some new people out on the road, and got the ride in that I needed to get in.

Now what I really need to do is start really buckling down, and get out on the bike during the week. I have to suck it up, ride more, train right, and eat right. Yeah, I'm starting to get obsessed about riding again. Just for the mere fact that I would like to race the bike again, but even more than that, I want to look damn find at my wedding come December of 2007. Especially since it's going to be on a beach. Got to have that "swimsuit" figure and all. Maybe, someday, I'll get fit again. Start of the race season ain't too far off now, and I don't think I'll be making it to the annual start of the season brouhaha in Greenville, SC. Might be more like Rock Hill weekend. Although, daylight saving starts early this year. 2nd week of March and all, so the light will be going on longer and longer earlier, which makes for more training time outside, well, training time outside when the sun is out. Which is always a good thing.

I'm thinking that this season, we'll give the old Pro 1-2 category another shot, if things don't go well, we might see a downgrade to cat.3 at least for a short while to get some race fitness back under me. We'll see if I can pull it off. My first season racing as a cat. 2 things went not too bad really for the most part, until mid season when I started slacking off and not doing what I was supposed to be doing for training, and then at the end of the season came back strong again. I know I can do well at that level, just have to drop about 50 million pounds, and gain a ton o' fitness. I'll report back on progress as things move along during the off season, and during the season.