It's Been a Bad 8 Days

It started with one of my bikes getting ripped off last Thursday. It is still MIA and I really don't have much hope of getting it back. The insurance company is not exactly jumping over themselves to make me whole on the thing, but I am trying to be patient with them. Makes me wonder what they have been doing with my premiums for the past 15 years. I am hopeful that Kent will be able to have another frame ready for me for the Breckenridge race next month - keep your fingers crossed. All the parts are ordered....

Today was an even more tragic day for me. As has been chronicled in this forum previously, I am not overly 'tight' with the rest of my family (parents and brother). So.... I am out for a ride this morning and having an enjoyable time when I hear my cell ring. As is my custom, I dutifully ignore it until we come to a stopping point when I check to see who called. I thought I saw that it was my brother (it was my Dad), but that no voicemail was left. When I got to my office, I had a message from my Dad asking me to call him but that it was not an emergency. His voice sounded odd and he went so far as to tell me their schedule and to call him on his cell if it was after a certain time. Okay - he very rarely leaves me that much info so I am thinking lots of bad thoughts and that it is closer to an emergency than not. I finally get him on the phone and he asks me if I have spoken with my brother lately, which I hadn't (2 weeks). He then tells me that he is getting divorced and my soon to be ex-sister-in-law is moving to Rock Island, IL with my 3 nephews (where she is from). We talk about the surrounding issues and what he knows and doesn't and what I know and don't know. He then tells me that I am not supposed to know this, he was told by George (brother) that he shouldn't tell anyone.

Now I'm in a quandry. I want to call my bro right away and offer support in any way I can, but I can't violate the trust he has put in my parents. If he is going to them for support, I don't want him to stop and perhaps my ratting them out would cause that. I sit in my office and stew for an hour or so trying to come up with a reason to call him without coming out and blowing the confidence. As I am about to reach for the phone and see if he wants to play golf next week, he calls me. Phew on a very minor level. He then goes into the saga of what is going on and how it seems to be playing out so far.

It is not my life and I have no way of knowing what has been going on inside their house, but let me just say, it is going to suck for my brother and his three young boys. At this point, it looks like they will be living 8 hours away from him. Maybe their marriage wasn't meant to be, but that shouldn't mean that he is removed from their lives in such a dramatic fashion. The adults will almost always come out of these situations okay - it is the kids that are getting completely screwed. And may be screwed up in the future because of it.

I think it was in one of the Airplane movies - "I picked a bad week to quit drinking".

Oh Sh*t!!!

I walked out of my office to get something out of my car this afternoon only to discover that some low-life had ripped off my Kent Eriksen 96er. My 29er was left on the rack is the only good news to come out of it. I am not optimistic about it's return, but please keep your eyes open for it in your travels. I have already ordered another one, irony being that I was on the phone with Kent about 10 minutes before I walked out to make the discovery. I am hoping to pick it up when I go out to race the Breckenridge 100. I am hopeful, but not optimistic.

Interesting question from teh police woman that came to investigate: Are you willing to prosecute? My answer: Hell yeah!

Not a big fan of Chain e-mails

I received this from a friend the other day - there are so many positives in here, be sure to read slowly and pay attention.

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the
warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning
that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special
moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more
"just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used
up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, or say "I
love you."
So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's
broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage ... and old
cars .. and children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and
aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it,
because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate
we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no
matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep
them close!
I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent
it to the people I think of in the same way. Now it's your turn to send
this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life. Suppose one
morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?
I was thinking......... I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I
wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that
needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.
Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they
don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little
words and a smile can do. And just in case GOD calls me home.
I LOVE YA!!!
Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised. If you don't
like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you
think about it!


Anyone that isn't feeling well on Thursday, there will be a healing session at the Pickerel Lake trailhead of Poto beginning at 8:30am.

Cut Down - But not so Short This Time

The Lumberjack 100 - what can I say, heat and sand are constants. Although this year, the heat was not too bad. The only really hot laps were 2 and 3 when the sun came out for a bit. The sand seemed much more prominent this year. Perhaps that was due to the routing being in the opposite direction this year. It made some climbs very difficult and depending on my approach, exercises in walking.

The reality: My goal for the day was to average 2 to 2:10 per lap. The first two laps went well. My pacing was good and hydration/nutrition seemed under control. The first lap is always tough at Big M due to the field stays together much longer than at other tracks. This creates problems on the climbs if someone falters in front of you, it sucks. At the start of the 2nd lap things thinned out enough where I could ride my race and things went much smoother. No worries on the descents.

At the beginning of the third lap, I made myself the mental note of going a bit more conservative in order to keep something in the tank for the bell lap. I think I went a bit too conservative and put myself into a spot that cost me a fair amount of time. My brain decided to slow my body waaaaay down and in retrospect I was riding to survive rather than to do well.

This is what I looked like at the end of the third lap, food in mouth:



The fourth lap I started out a little rough, carrying over from the 3rd. My stomach was not feeling very well. The thought of hurling definitley crossed my mind a couple of times. About halfway through the Inner Loop, I started to feel better and began pushing my pace again. I finished out the lap pretty well considering it was the end of the race. I did not achieve my goal, finishing in 8:53, 13 minutes of the 2:10 pace. I am looking forward to seeing my lap splits to see how bad the 3rd lap was.

Congratulations to Danielle for winning the women's race, I can't wait to see her results when she is actually racing and not just training. And to Paula for winning the SS class, someday I want to be that tough.

Huge thanks goes to Dennis (Anne's husband) and Andy. They managed the pit for me and made the race a lot more fun and certainly easier on the tranisitions between laps.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!!!!

One Cool Chiquita!!

My morning was spent riding Poto with my favorite training partner. It was a blast this morning! Started out a little bit cool, but we had coffee on the way up. And reserved some for post ride in the awesome thermos - practicing for cx season. Pulled in to the Pickerel Lake lot with no one in sight. The ritual changing ceremony - with the usual laughs, until THE PURSE was allowed out of the bag. Oh my God, too funny! I wasn't sure we were going to be able to get on the bikes. Apparently there is a matching bag owned by another Bicilibre member that is appropriately labeled "Princess". Unfortunately for us, it was the Princess's birthday and she decided to go to the DMV to get her drivers license renewed.

The ride was a hoot! Pretty fast, some sand, flatted my rear tire (knew the tubeless had a hole, but aren't they supposed to seal themselves?). And one deep ass puddle about 40 feet long by upwards of 18-24 inches deep! It was some nasty looking water! Had to talk Rachel through it, but she is not only a Cool Chiquita, she is occassionally tough as well. It wasn't my fastest ride, but was technically sound and I really was primarily after a mechanical shakedown of the ride before Lumberjack.

I have to tell you, RS is getting to be a pretty good dirt rider. If she had a relatively updated bike, I think she could do some damage in races. Might have to let her borrow my 96er after Lumberjack to see how that works for her.

Post ride was a swim in Pickerel Lake. It was BEAUTIFUL!! What a way to end a ride. I need to figure out how to find lakes at the end of all my hot weather rides. Looking forward to doing it again next week! Anybody wants to join, shoot me an e-mail and I will let you know what day. Usually Tuesday or Thursday, but we are not very predictable that way.

I need to figure out how to put links into this thing.

I must have missed the announcement

Am I the only one that missed this? Apparently I need to pay more attention to the world around me.

Nude cyclists protest around the world

By Susan Westemeyer

"As bare as you dare" was the motto Saturday for cyclists around the world who rode in major cities worldwide wearing as little they wanted.

"We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and exposing the unique dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil and other forms of non-renewable energy, according to protest organizers on their website, worldnakedbikeride.org

Around 300 riders participated in Madrid, and some 400 in Paris, although most of the French riders were either fully clothed or merely topless. Over 200 bared all in Brighton, England, freeing themselves from their clothing as drivers should free themselves from their cars, according to a local organizer. Similar demonstrations were held Friday in Manchester, York, and Southampton.

The protest stretched beyond Europe, with protests also planned over the weekend in Mexico City, eight locations in Canada, and a multitude of cities in the US. Southern hemisphere nude riders could strut their stuff in March of this year.

According to the website, the ride is organized by a variety of groups, who "are only connected by their determination to all be naked on their bikes on WNBR Day, riding in celebration, jubilation to deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-positive world to the masses. We have many great reasons to be celebrating, with all the glory of naked two-wheel sanity. It's time to join hundreds of naked compatriots in a free, non-sexual, fun bike ride!"

The dress code was up to the individual. "You decide what you are comfortable with. No one is excluded or discriminated against based on levels of clothing, body paint, or anything else for that matter!"

First time for everything

Tonight was my first road race. It was put on by the Maumee Valley Wheelman. It was a 7 mile course of which we were to do 4 laps. There was a serious wind out of the south, 20-25 mph. I think I got my money's worth, $2.

I started out thinking I would hang at the back of the front group. About 3/4 of the way through the first lap, I realized my legs weren't on the same program. I made it through turn 1 on the 2nd lap and pretty much sat up. I then settled into a nice recovery ride (what the doctor ordered for training today anyway) and proceeded into my own little world. I was caught by a group of 5-6 after about 3/4 of a lap and we started working together to some extent. I say to some extent, because some clearly did not grasp the idea of a rotating pace line. This group lasted for about a lap until a couple dropped off. Somewhere we picked up a couple more so we were 6. Of the six, 4 had a clue and two were of little to no help. As it was, it was really three of us doing most of the work. Mike/Jeff and I kept the pace going, with me pushing more than they were probably comfortable with. I tried to lay it down on the third lap with jeff and promptly dropped my chain. They were nice enough to sit up and wait for me to chase back, with the help of Mike. Jeff and I tried another time to shred the group and they managed to hang on. On the last turn with the wind headed to the finish, I decided to give it everything I had to try to get rid of the group. Mike and Jeff held on nicely and the others were dropped. I think I had it around 36-37mph for about 3/4 of a mile. With about 100 meters to go, I felt Mike come around and just let him go. I am not a sprinter, nor is it beneficial for me to become one a this point. Come cx season, I will work on it.

Bottom line - I'll be doing some more of these. Pretty entertaining. Not as entertaining as racing my mtb, but not bad.

Lucy - You got some 'spainling to do!

Someone needs to explain a couple of things to me: The first are packaging, the second and much more confusing is me (yes me).

On the packaging front, why are the plastic clam shell boxes that stuff from the bakery department at the grocery store so hard to open. And why are the heat sealed packaging on all kinds of different things virtually impossible to open with great risk of personal harm. The bakery packaging is really annoying very early in the morning when everyone else in my house is asleep. It is impossible to open without making a lot of noise. The heat sealed packages, ugh! Someone must have been drinking when they came up with these. It takes more than the average pair of scissors to open them, what is the point? Is someone really going to try to remove the item from the package in the store that often to justify the cost and pain/suffering that this type of packaging brings into play?

About me, what am I thinking when I do these hundred mile races? Why do I think it is a good thing to put my body and mind through this kind of pain. I rode the Mohican 100 yesterday and it was painful! I began cramping around mile 30 and barely held on to finish in 10:13. I must have thought about calling it a day a dozen times only to convince myself that I had to finish. I am still feeling the after affects of the cramping today, sore legs/arms. What is it my brain that thinks this is a good thing? I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment, but I don't feel it at the finish line. It's not until a few days later when someone will ask me how my weekend was or have I done anything interesting lately.

The back side of the Pleasant Hill Dam, nice Hike-a-Bike:


Now for the race report. For those of you with short memories (that's me), I hated last years Mohican. It had rained almost 6 inches in the 24 hours preceding last years race and it was miserable to say the least during the race. This year dawned a beautiful morning, even though it had rained the previous afternoon, things were looking good. It was going to be a hot one, so hydration was going to be vital. Things started well enough, the 'neutral' rollout only got to about 25mph on average before the start line. The first section of single track was much better this year, actually bench cut and pretty fun. Mohican is much tougher than most hundies due to the amount of single track, and very technical at that. At about mile 30, I began to cramp up. Various leg muscles were rebelling. I thought I was taking enough endurolytes, but maybe not. It got pretty bad a couple of time, off the bike and stretching. I somehow convinced myself to keep going. The good news came on the 'flats', my speed was actually pretty good. I managed to pick a few people off along the way and wasn't putting myself further in the hole. The singletrack was a problem, the constant acceleration and movement on the bike was painful, as in very. Lots of hills and pain later, I made it to aid station 5, the last one and only 10 miles to go. Sadly, I remembered what was in store, a nasty climb of about a mile, then a mile or two of easy riding, then 3 miles of nasty single track along the Mohican River. This piece of single track is unrideable in parts by me. I don't mean maybe I could if I hadn't come 95 miles to get here, I mean unrideable. It is rocky/rooty and hanging on the edge of the river. For me, with the cramps and fear factor, it translated into a fair amount of hike-a-bike. Any slips and my cramps fired up in a big way. I got through it and then came the fun, I actually started passing people. It ends at the base of the Pleasant Hill Dam. In the last mile before the dam, I passed one guy and then at the base of the dam, passed two more. On the hike up the dam, I passed another. Once on the road, I passed another. And then on the very last section of two-track, passed another. My day was not a total loss.

Nice looking legs!


Once someone figures out these great mysteries, please give me a clue.