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Callville Day #2

It looks like rain is on the menu for tomorrow's road race. A section of the course has recently undergone some construction so we'll be riding on packed dirt. I read that there are neutral wheels but, considering how organized this race has been, I can't really count on it.

Today we had the time trial. It was a sub-ten minute hillclimb. I was advised to leave the time trial bike at home but I think it would have been better for the course. It was hilly, but not too steep.

Ben Day won the stage with a sub-nine minute time. Phil Zajicek was second. Floyd Landis took 7th. Ben had an awesome ride today finishing 11th. Norm got 20th and I finished 29th. I wasn't feeling it today. When I get back, I'm climbing the fuck out of the divide—and dieting. It's the end of February, so I'm stoked to be doing as well as I am.

We got really gipped at the last hotel so we vacated and relocated to a nicer/cheaper place on Las Vegas Blvd. The internet is free here. I'm happy.

I'm looking forward to the road race tomorrow. The plan is to shadow Floyd Landis, Ben Day & Co. during the race.

Callville Bay #1

Picked up our new kits on the way out of Salt Lake last night. They look sick!

The drive down was a little intense. I don’t know, 80+ mph in a snowstorm makes me nervous. But, then again, I may just be a Nancy. I don’t know what the distraction was but somehow we almost drove off the side of the road.

We checked into Dixie Palm Springs Hotel around eleven. That room was colder than a witch’s tit. I couldn’t sleep to save my ass.

After a pretty restless night, we left the hotel at ~6:30a.m. Stopped at McDonalds so Ben could get a quality meal in on the road. Mc Coffee is fucking terrible. I believe that it was brewed with clown piss.

We found our way around today without a map. That had me terribly on edge. I guess i have control issues.

I can't lie, today i felt pretty good on the hills with 6,000 feet of climbing for 50 miles and an average speed of about 25mph. I finished in the first chase group. I think Floyd Landis was in the break today.

Have you ever been convinced that you had a flat tire and stopped to check it—only to realize that it wasn't flat? I did that today. I raised my hand and everything. WTF? I felt retarded and spent some unnecessary energy chasing back on. Despite everything, I was able to finish in the group with Burke, Chase and Brad Gherig.


Shout out:
Some retarded Mexican rider from the Helen's team caused a crash bickering with some other rider like an adolescent prick. I saw physical contact then the dude crashed right in front of me. It really put a damper on Ben's race. Props to anybody that beats that guy up!

I'm a problem solver

I just finished sewing up the new arm-rest pad for my TT bike. I took the only remaining armrest pad and traced it onto a piece of foam. I then cut the foam out. I chose to use an old cotton dress shirt with a black/red checker pattern for the outside. I then sewed the shirt fabric onto the cut-out foam. Afterwards, I sewed a piece of plastic onto the bottom of the pad. Then i made a hole in the fabric and zip-tied the new pad into place. Viola. It's ghetto but should work really well. I can't lie to anybody, I'm fucking broke. I need a fucking job.

I will miss butter the most...

So here have been the building blocks of my diet for the last little while:

•Peanut Butter

•Oatmeal

•Hot Chocolate

•Coffee

•cheeses

•eggs

•processed foods

...yeah. pretty terrible. Its time to cut out all the bad stuff. No more refined sugar. No more saturated fats. And, let's cut the coffee intake down to one cup a day (ouch...headache time!)

I really need to get on better footing with my diet before the race season really picks up.

Slideshow Bob

Here's a glimpse into last weekend. Enjoy

back on the bike

There's a yellow sign visible when you leave the Frary Peak trailhead parking lot that states: 23% grade. I was relieved when I saw the sign because it reassured me that the pace I rode was fitting for the gradient of the climb. I wasn't the pansy i had been led to believe while climbing.

The weather was terrific when I met up with Ben to go ride to Antelope Island. I was really put off this morning when i woke up to a thicket of fog more dense than hippie pubes. I really wanted to ride and I really wanted to ride to Antelope Island. Luckily the sky was blue again around noon.

Ben and I rode to the Island, then rode the visitor center loop. His ride called for two hours, so he headed back home and I went to Garr Ranch. Halfway to the ranch, I decided to climb the road to Frary Peak trailhead. I rode it simply because the road and I were two separate entities existing in the same dimension at the same time and there was nothing pressing me to do anything but acquaint myself with this stretch of road. Simple as that.

I enjoyed today. Riding gives me time to detox my mind when I feel shitty or down. It's time to reflect on thoughts and unwind.

Here are some things I thought about from VOS:

• F@#k what other people think: Before the race the armrest pad flew off my TT bike. I had to put a folded up washcloth on with rubber bands because... well, no other option existed. Some people thought it was amusing and made a point to talk shit.... until i used that wash cloth to wipe my ass after shitting on them in the TT.

•Stick to your original plan: Yes, if the original plan calls for waiting until the final two laps of the criterium to TT off the front; don't do it with four laps to go. I wanted to take a time bonus and leapfrog to the podium. I knew the course was technical enough to give the advantage to a solo rider or small group. At four laps to go, two riders jumped and I went with them. Big mistake as we were caught with 1.5 laps to go and I barely hung on for a pack finish.

•Don't panic when shit goes wrong: Nothings going to go perfect. Equipment fails. You forget stuff. Stuff gets lost. going into Panic mode does nothing but harm. Nic's look cleat broke half an hour before his crit on sunday. Instead of panicking, he found someone who he could bum a cleat off of.

•Be prepared: This one ties into the previous headline. Bring spare tubes, some tools, (an extra set of cleats probably doesn't hurt either). Make sure that you bring warmers to the race; even if the weather is supposed to be nice (lesson learned Tour of the Storm 2005!). leave the hotel early enough that rush-hour traffic won't agitate and stress you out.

•Alaskan Hockey Parents should be tied their rotten children and tossed into an abyss: If you are such a f@#k that your kids run through the hotel pulling the fire alarms, playing in the elevators and disturbing everyone on vacation while you sit in the lobby of the hotel drinking beer and leaving empty cans everywhere: Please die.

warm and sunny photos

VOS update #1

So, it's the morning of the crit and I'm 7th overall. Gotta keep it up right in the crit. Need to take home some beer money!

Disenchanted

Blue was the color of the sky today. The sun smiled happily on me as I rode my bike. Nothing in the world can get me down on such a nice day. Well, maybe the fact that I've been turned down after two job interviews not even a week apart from each other. I've been getting really depressed about the whole situation but there's nothing to really do except keep looking around.

promo

Rocky Mountain Bicycles - SOLO RSL from Rocky Mountain Bicycles on Vimeo.

I'm definitely enjoying my Rocky Mountain Solo! You should enjoy one too!

blasphemy?

Shout out:

My favorite Radio Program EVER!

Sickness? Forget this!

Well, QBP called today and confirmed what I already knew: There would be a scheduling conflict with school. Luckily, I was intuitive enough to keep an ace up my sleeve. I have another interview on Saturday (fingers crossed!).

Today has been a kick in the balls. I'm sick. I'm tired. Cross out any hopes for a bike ride. I'll use the down time to get ahead on my homework so that I don't have to worry about anything except VOS next week. If I feel better tonight, maybe I'll ride the trainer. Nothing outside.

Kill Phil

Damn, Phil! You're breakin' my balls!

Regardless, the weather this past week has been nice. I'm trying to lay low and take it easy because I've been feeling a little under the weather. I'm walking a tightrope right now, trying to exercise without getting sick. C'est la vie.