As you can see there is a nice little break in there, which put me in the current club of Bloomington Collarbone Fractures with John Meyers and Randi Cox. We should get a photo together in our crippled states. Anyhow, this is the first time I've ever broken a bone so it's all kind of new to me. The doctors say I should be up and running in 4-6 weeks, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, John and Randi--if you're as bored as I am we should make a cripple club...
6.05.2009
Collarbone
As some of you may have already heard, I had a little bike crash yesterday and ended up breaking my right collarbone. I can't figure out the software on the CD the hospital gave me so I just took this jank photo of my computer screen:
As you can see there is a nice little break in there, which put me in the current club of Bloomington Collarbone Fractures with John Meyers and Randi Cox. We should get a photo together in our crippled states. Anyhow, this is the first time I've ever broken a bone so it's all kind of new to me. The doctors say I should be up and running in 4-6 weeks, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, John and Randi--if you're as bored as I am we should make a cripple club...
As you can see there is a nice little break in there, which put me in the current club of Bloomington Collarbone Fractures with John Meyers and Randi Cox. We should get a photo together in our crippled states. Anyhow, this is the first time I've ever broken a bone so it's all kind of new to me. The doctors say I should be up and running in 4-6 weeks, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, John and Randi--if you're as bored as I am we should make a cripple club...
6.02.2009
Bike Shop Boys
As I cruise to town in the morning, I try to feel out how my legs feel, and also where my head is at. When I arrive at The Bicycle Garage, I see Fred's car...he must have come early to drop some stuff off too. Our meeting place in the alley behind the shop is still empty, not yet teeming with the men and women of the day. It's mid-morning and a small group of bike shop boys are planning to get an early ride in before work. I top off my water bottles and take one last pee break while there is still a toilet available. Slowly the group assembles and rolls out of town.
6 of us lazily roll out of town, even though there is a slight time crunch...after all, we have to open the shops up in a few hours. But, as with any group ride, spirits are high and the group atmosphere fosters gentle conversation. Our pace is slowed further when an untimely red light splits us up. But alas, all is not lost--for some of us that allows more time to roll along slowly, still trying to wake up the legs, for others it's an opportunity to pee again, but nobody is in a rush, so we keep cruising along. Slowly as we leave town the pace picks up and eventually we settle into a collective rhythm. Cadences pick up slightly, the click of shifters is audible, even as cars roll by, and steadily our breathing (and heart) rates rise. We're moving along at a fast tempo, upbeat, but nowhere near an all-out effort. Each rider takes an even, steady pull, a last ditch attempt to warm up before the real speed comes. We make our first turn in the country, and pace increases, and soon we are a chugging along like a locomotive. Silence surrounds us, punctuated by the occasional warning for cars or road hazards, or a laugh when a rider does something stupid (like point at a hole then run into it). Kilometers roll by quickly and before we know it, the first big climb looms ahead. Our group of 6 has diminished to 5, and A.Rod begins to drive it up the climb. The elastic begins to stretch a little. A timely (or untimely depending on who you were) pee break at the top allows A.Fry to regain contact and continue onwards.
Soon, the pace reaches a race-like speed and we hit the second, largest climb. One of the steepest climbs around, it is a legitimate "hors categorie" climb...at least for around here. Our group shrinks to 4, and the rest of the ride is steady. As we roll into town, the mood lightens again and laughs are abundant. As we split up to go clean up before work, I can't help but smile, knowing that next time, it'll be just as fun. The work day looms ahead, but somehow, even being worn out from the efforts of the ride, each of us feels revitalized and ready to help others enjoy their bikes as much as we just did.
Adam enjoys a fine wine occasionally
...and so do I!
Some rides end like this...but others don't
6 of us lazily roll out of town, even though there is a slight time crunch...after all, we have to open the shops up in a few hours. But, as with any group ride, spirits are high and the group atmosphere fosters gentle conversation. Our pace is slowed further when an untimely red light splits us up. But alas, all is not lost--for some of us that allows more time to roll along slowly, still trying to wake up the legs, for others it's an opportunity to pee again, but nobody is in a rush, so we keep cruising along. Slowly as we leave town the pace picks up and eventually we settle into a collective rhythm. Cadences pick up slightly, the click of shifters is audible, even as cars roll by, and steadily our breathing (and heart) rates rise. We're moving along at a fast tempo, upbeat, but nowhere near an all-out effort. Each rider takes an even, steady pull, a last ditch attempt to warm up before the real speed comes. We make our first turn in the country, and pace increases, and soon we are a chugging along like a locomotive. Silence surrounds us, punctuated by the occasional warning for cars or road hazards, or a laugh when a rider does something stupid (like point at a hole then run into it). Kilometers roll by quickly and before we know it, the first big climb looms ahead. Our group of 6 has diminished to 5, and A.Rod begins to drive it up the climb. The elastic begins to stretch a little. A timely (or untimely depending on who you were) pee break at the top allows A.Fry to regain contact and continue onwards.
Soon, the pace reaches a race-like speed and we hit the second, largest climb. One of the steepest climbs around, it is a legitimate "hors categorie" climb...at least for around here. Our group shrinks to 4, and the rest of the ride is steady. As we roll into town, the mood lightens again and laughs are abundant. As we split up to go clean up before work, I can't help but smile, knowing that next time, it'll be just as fun. The work day looms ahead, but somehow, even being worn out from the efforts of the ride, each of us feels revitalized and ready to help others enjoy their bikes as much as we just did.
Adam enjoys a fine wine occasionally
...and so do I!Some rides end like this...but others don't
5.18.2009
Joe Martin Wrap-Up & Rest
I haven't had too much to post about...Joe Martin ended pretty well, I finished in the pack in the crit (22nd I think), and stayed in 18th in the GC, so it was nice to take a little money home along with a top-20 in a GC. Mike rode like a stud and hung in the Pro crit for about an hour (out of 90 mins), and wrapped up the race in 88th in the GC.
Since getting back I've done a lot of sleeping, catching up with friends, a little bike maintenance, and lots of easy riding. Bad news is that my front wheel (which was so adeptly taken out by a rider in Stage 3) is still umm...broken, and Trek does not have the spokes I need. Alternate solutions: use regular 279mm spokes, or get black ones and paint them white...? Anyway, I'll have to get that figured out so that I can get that wheel up and running again, as I really like that wheel. After perusing some old results/photos of the cycling world, I came across this, which I thought I would share:
This picture, from cyclingnews.com, has a caption which reads: "An LPR rider is not sure what he is eating, but it was so cold and snowy at the top of Brasstown Bald, that he did not care." I found this mildly entertaining and equally mildly inspirational.
Another random thought: for you Pandora users, I suggest creating the following stations:
Herbie Hancock Radio
Matt Nathanson Radio
Five o'Clock Somewhere Radio
These are all very different, yet awesome, and I think you will enjoy each thoroughly. Anyway, I'm going to go pass out, hopefully I'll have more to talk about this week!
Since getting back I've done a lot of sleeping, catching up with friends, a little bike maintenance, and lots of easy riding. Bad news is that my front wheel (which was so adeptly taken out by a rider in Stage 3) is still umm...broken, and Trek does not have the spokes I need. Alternate solutions: use regular 279mm spokes, or get black ones and paint them white...? Anyway, I'll have to get that figured out so that I can get that wheel up and running again, as I really like that wheel. After perusing some old results/photos of the cycling world, I came across this, which I thought I would share:
This picture, from cyclingnews.com, has a caption which reads: "An LPR rider is not sure what he is eating, but it was so cold and snowy at the top of Brasstown Bald, that he did not care." I found this mildly entertaining and equally mildly inspirational.Another random thought: for you Pandora users, I suggest creating the following stations:
Herbie Hancock Radio
Matt Nathanson Radio
Five o'Clock Somewhere Radio
These are all very different, yet awesome, and I think you will enjoy each thoroughly. Anyway, I'm going to go pass out, hopefully I'll have more to talk about this week!
5.09.2009
Joe Martin Stage Race Day 3
Today was the third stage of Joe Martin, a 92 mile road race. I finished 22nd on the day, but the GC is not posted yet. I was in the main pack, so I suspect I'm probably about the same. Tomorrow is the last day, a crit on a 2K course with a decent sized climb. I'm pretty out of it, so I'm gonna hit the sack. Probably the last update before we get back, again media-less. Other guys did fine, Isaac was 59th in the pack while Mike rolled in 120th after spending the last 50K or so alone.
5.08.2009
Joe Martin Stage Race Day 2
Today was the second day of JMSR, 110 mile road race with 4 decent sized climbs. The rain let up right before the start, so we had a pretty dry day of riding, which was really nice. My race wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but I'm definitely pretty tired now. I rolled in with the pack in 15th place, as a Metro guy soloed off with like 20K to do and held it for the win. John Meyers and Ryan Freund from ABD, who we've been hanging out with, got 6th and 7th, which is pretty sweet. Ryan held onto his 10th place in the GC while I moved up from 19th to 18th, at something like 51 seconds down. Isaac and Mike both finished pretty well today, which was sweet, although Isaac had some bad luck in the last 5K with someone taking out his front wheel. He ended up rolling in right behind the main pack and is in 116th overall I think. Mike had a solid ride for 56th on the stage and moved up to 96th overall. Will had some bad luck, crashing about 8K in. After a pretty decent chase, he wound up too far back and had to drop out. I haven't found any pictures, so this will have to be a media-less post.
All in all it was a pretty fun day, with about 4.5 hours on the bike, and none of it too terribly hard. Funniest moment of the day: with about 5K to go until the huge climb for the day, someone who will go unnamed (hint: he was leading the overall), was riding next to me and naturally I was trying to make conversation. It went something like this:
Me: I hope this climb starts soon, I just want to get it over with
Him: Yeah me too, I really gotta poo
...
Anyhow, tomorrow is a 92 mile road race with more climbing than today, but rolling, so we'll see how that goes.
All in all it was a pretty fun day, with about 4.5 hours on the bike, and none of it too terribly hard. Funniest moment of the day: with about 5K to go until the huge climb for the day, someone who will go unnamed (hint: he was leading the overall), was riding next to me and naturally I was trying to make conversation. It went something like this:
Me: I hope this climb starts soon, I just want to get it over with
Him: Yeah me too, I really gotta poo
...
Anyhow, tomorrow is a 92 mile road race with more climbing than today, but rolling, so we'll see how that goes.
5.07.2009
Joe Martin Stage Race Day 1
Well, today was the first day of the Joe Martin Stage Race, only my 3rd race since getting my upgrade. I'm down here with Mike, Isaac, and Will, all from Alderfer Bergen, but they are all racing the Pro/1 event with guys like Ben Jacque-Mayne and Rory Sutherland (and Floyd Landis), while I'm racing the 1/2 race with good old Duane Dickey and John Meyers. Today's stage was a 2.5 mile TT with a short flat section and then about 2 miles uphill. Ben Jacque-Mayne killed it and won in 8:03 in the Pro Men's race. Isaac had a solid ride with a 9:17, good for 92nd. I managed a 9:26 for 19th in the 1/2 race while Mike and Will both rode 9:31s, good for 115th and 116th. Tomorrow looks like it'll be pretty wet during the 110 mile stage...
Map from today:
Map from today:
4.30.2009
I'm Alive! (And Little 500)
Wow! I just realized it's been almost a month since I've shared my thoughts and activities here. So needless to say a lot has happened. First, the old news: I haven't raced on the road since Michigan, IU did not qualify for nationals as a team for the first time in a long time (Kristina Heath and Jenna Johnson did both qualify as individuals and will be representing us in Colorado though, so congrats to both of them!), umm...I sucked at Miss-N-Out, and we won Team Pursuit and just barely missed going under 9:00 and also just barely missed the white jersey. Ok, onwards!
The 2009 Little 500 is done and as you probably already know, the Cutters won their 3rd straight, and 10th overall race. None of us (the rest of the field) have an excuse, as the Cutters had not one, but two penalties, and a couple wrecks at various points throughout the race, so being able to come back from that and still win...unbelievable. We had a solid race too, taking 5th place. Two footnotes: we had two mechanicals in the last 40 laps. Not and excuse, as I just mentioned the Cutters had their share of problems too (so did many other teams including Fiji who got 3rd), but just throwing that out there.
BKB on the front of the pack. photo courtesy of Nick Sovinski
Anyway, this was my first time riding in the race and I had a blast and definitely look forward to coming back next year. Starting the race was a lot less nerve-wracking than I thought it would be, and it actually came pretty naturally. Best advice: get up front, go fast, turn left. I also finished the race for our team...this part was also equally less overwhelming. Again, it's down to your instincts and I just came up short and wasn't able to win. But again, same advice: get up front, go fast, turn left.
Staying up front. photo courtesy of Brian Holthouse
So needless to say I did not race the Brown County State Park Road Race the following day, but defending champ Jake Rytlewski finished 3rd with two "newcomers" taking the top two spots. The following night was of course, Jersey Night. Long story short: BKB did pretty well, mostly thanks to Val. Then, Wine and Cheese, again, Val definitely carried us. Last night was the banquet and Jordan and Val earned All-Star awards while I got a Rookie of the Year (along with Dave Ellis, Zach Trogdon, and of course, Eric Young). BKB also got the sportsmanship award, something we're pretty proud of. More importantly, we got Frattiest Independent Team AND Frattiest Independent Rider (Val...duh). I think we got something else, but again, that's mostly thanks to Val (most shameful Jersey Night maybe?). Oh yeah, Steve--I couldn't resist putting this up:
Good help is hard to find...unless you're on BKB! photo courtesy of VeloNews
P.S. I'll be racing up at Winona Lakes this weekend with the full Alderfer Bergen team, so that should be loads of fun, I'll try to keep this updated!
Oh, and Jackie Moeller rocks
The 2009 Little 500 is done and as you probably already know, the Cutters won their 3rd straight, and 10th overall race. None of us (the rest of the field) have an excuse, as the Cutters had not one, but two penalties, and a couple wrecks at various points throughout the race, so being able to come back from that and still win...unbelievable. We had a solid race too, taking 5th place. Two footnotes: we had two mechanicals in the last 40 laps. Not and excuse, as I just mentioned the Cutters had their share of problems too (so did many other teams including Fiji who got 3rd), but just throwing that out there.
BKB on the front of the pack. photo courtesy of Nick SovinskiAnyway, this was my first time riding in the race and I had a blast and definitely look forward to coming back next year. Starting the race was a lot less nerve-wracking than I thought it would be, and it actually came pretty naturally. Best advice: get up front, go fast, turn left. I also finished the race for our team...this part was also equally less overwhelming. Again, it's down to your instincts and I just came up short and wasn't able to win. But again, same advice: get up front, go fast, turn left.
Staying up front. photo courtesy of Brian HolthouseSo needless to say I did not race the Brown County State Park Road Race the following day, but defending champ Jake Rytlewski finished 3rd with two "newcomers" taking the top two spots. The following night was of course, Jersey Night. Long story short: BKB did pretty well, mostly thanks to Val. Then, Wine and Cheese, again, Val definitely carried us. Last night was the banquet and Jordan and Val earned All-Star awards while I got a Rookie of the Year (along with Dave Ellis, Zach Trogdon, and of course, Eric Young). BKB also got the sportsmanship award, something we're pretty proud of. More importantly, we got Frattiest Independent Team AND Frattiest Independent Rider (Val...duh). I think we got something else, but again, that's mostly thanks to Val (most shameful Jersey Night maybe?). Oh yeah, Steve--I couldn't resist putting this up:
Good help is hard to find...unless you're on BKB! photo courtesy of VeloNewsP.S. I'll be racing up at Winona Lakes this weekend with the full Alderfer Bergen team, so that should be loads of fun, I'll try to keep this updated!
Oh, and Jackie Moeller rocks
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
