eeeeeaaaasing in

easing into my new levels is going to be hard. I knew it was going to be hard, but today when i went out i wasnt like "oh, this is easier than i thought!" It was more like "Damn, this is gonna be as hard as i thought". I have a plan though. To improve my cadence, i think im going to try and pay attention to just the cadence part of my computer on the roll out portion of the group rides. since i would blow everybody out of their saddles if i rode at my prescribed wattage, i will just make sure im spinning at 95. i'll report back on how that went tomorrow.

i dont know if im tired or lazy

part of me wants to go out and ride because its an excellent cure for lazy.

the other part of me thinks im tired because ive been riding/running hard.

im not going anywhere today. Nowhere but work anyways. Im just not feeling it. Running destroys me, i dont grasp the concept of "recovery run". after running at any speed (which i have discovered i only apparently have 2 speeds, "not at all" or "full blown awesome") i feel like a shaken baby. I do not recover whilst running.

the good news is...

my average wattage is up about 20 watts from the last test i took.

the bad news is, im still a gear masher and now my levels are up a lot higher, so my workouts are going to be a lot harder.

i guess that last part qualifies as good news too...?

nerd alert!

Went to the 7th and final stage of the amgen tour of california today, and nerded the eff out. Got myself

• several "let levi ride" shirts from greg johnson
• a VIP pass to catch the final sprint which hincapie won, also from greg johson
• a rock racing umbrella (only people selling one, and it was raining cats and freaking dogs. i really dont care for their tendencies toward drama)
• A slipstream beanie
• a slipstream shirt
• a highroad shirt
• a highroad team poster
• various samples and knickknack type swag

but thats only where the nerding began my friends. Got a little inside info that team slipstream (faves of mine, second only to maybe highroad) would be at chipotle afterwards. Went their and lost it. Some dude said i had sweet tats. Christian Van de Velde told me to say hi to "toughguy" (johny bairos). Took a picture with David Millar. Got a sweet glossy photo-paper poster of the team signed by everyone who rode in the ATOC (minus dave zabriskie).

then the real nerding began.

Johnathan Vaughters, who as far as im concerned is the freaking man and is totally doing all the pulling when it comes to cleaning up the sport of cycling, was sitting at a seperate booth and i looked over at him and made a pantomime of a signature at him. He pointed over where the talent was sitting and i just kept looking at him. A couple of seconds later he said "oh you want MY signature" and i said "oh yeah" to which he replied "well i dont have a pen, go get a pen" so i went over, bother the talent for a a pen and went back, having him sign the poster. So i then ask "can i get a photo with you?" he said "sure, come on around." I went all the way around the back not wanting to disrupt the table and took a pic with him. I asked him if they would be at the redlands bicycle classic to which he told me they would but it would be the u-23 squad. I couldn't resist and said if he needed a haircut or anybody, i would set 'em up" One of the riders took interest and so did vaughters, so i gave them both cards. The one dude asked if id give him a discount, i told him we'd work something out. Then Vaughters goes, "here". Hands me one of his cards. It reminded me of the scene in American Psycho where everybody is freaking out over Jared Leto's card.

"It was perfect....raised lettering, tastefully textured....Is that a f*@$king watermark?"

im mentally preparing myself....

for my fitness test tomorrow by slamming my nuts in a drawer.

those things are about ability to withstand pain more than anything.

wings

...overrated.

i think i might never go to buffalo wild wings ever again. if i go there, i might get like 5 wings. Or no wings and a soda. Its just too greasy. I mean there was a point in time, when i would have been all about it. But that time is gone. Im not saying im some beacon of healthy diet, but it really does make me feel like crap. So on the list of places i can no longer go based on grease content alone, in no particular order (in case you cant tell i live for bullet-point lists like this)

• buffalo wild wings
• cucas
• dehli palace
• lotus garden
• the fam
• santanas

and im only realizing now that half of these dining establishments make the list AS IM TYPING . Obviously its important for me to make a list to re-enforce the ban on said establishments. Also i should add that im willing to expand on said list (im that excited) anybody who views this blog (both of you) are encouraged to contribute.

in other news, ive got complete and total tour of california fever. Stage 2 is certainly wrapped up by now, im hoping cavendish has moved up in the ranks, he's a fave of mine this year. I dunno why but i just can NOT stand tom boonen. Friere, yes, cavendishm yep, mcewen, absolutely, hushovd, for sure, even haedo and gutierrez make the list i would way rather see win than boonen. Maybe cuz he was blessed with hypnotizing good looks and i was cursed with a mug that would make an orangutan point and laugh, maybe because he got beat by his own lead out man and held the WORST line ive ever seen at a finish, all in the same tour he walked with a green jersey. i think i just dont like him, and thats that.

the continuous roll out

Today, zach didnt screw our heads into the floor, cuz he didnt show up. I dont think turner really likes to climb, cuz the climb into yucaipa was not exactly brootahl. Dont get me wrong, im sure he could out climb everyone in that group outside possibly norm, but, no hammer droppage today. In thru the neighborhood i sorta lost steam, then when we got to the gas stations, i just decided i didnt have the hair on my ass to do the man dance through the canyon. Went to the coffe shop to nerd out with turner norm and mark for a couple of hours, then came home and nerded out on the tour of california. More than anything i would like to be a time trialist. Its the sweetest discipline in cycling, and combination of the stupidest looking gear ever. I would like to reign supreme in the stadium of stupid-looking.

i get it, its cold!

moar humorous pics

everybody and their sister had to tell me how out of my mind i was for underdressing for the weather today. It REALLY wasnt that bad. Im pretty sure cars that passed us by squeezed out a "you gotta be freezin..." or two. Im considering bringing a basket on my rig tomorrow with a campfire in it. I just wish people would figure out that the insane amount of steroids im on has a thermogenic affect, and the hours of roid-rage-induced wife beating have brought my core temp to a sweltering 101 degrees. they probably discount that because if i was on roids i'd be faster.

On a related note, i had a goal of keeping my face out of the wind the entire ride, unless i was pulling. I met that goal. I was in a group that got spit out about a half a block back from the finish, but i was pulling that group. Also, it should be noted that i have figured ouut how all the old fat dudes from healthnet operate. They take it easy and:

• yell at you if you arent pulling
• get ashamed and start yelling at each other if you are doing all the pulling
• despite the yelling sit in till the fast group eats us
• act like they werent sitting in when the fast group catches us and try to show their ass

those dudes are lame. Im stillwiting for that one dude to open his mouth again sos i can shut it for him. Speaking of which "stormin" norman carter nearly engaged in some fisticuffs with a dude in a car today on victoria. i dont care if mike tyson would have popped out of the car, if norm was yelling at him, he deserved it. I would have choked dude out and taken his shoes.

invisble_bike_crash

invisble_bike_crash
Originally uploaded by steve53x11

i totally crashed today.

lemme tarantino it a bit and backtrack.

about 45 minutes into my ride i encountered a gentleman on a sweet bike who i'd never seen before, he said his name was grant and he was marveling at his new powertap and i was sorta chit chatting with him about it. An hour into the ride there is a spot where if you are on the group ride you turn left but i have my own route that i do, and i turn, you guessed it, right. So i fan way out to make a right and when i make that right, im going at a fair speed of say, 25. I totally slam into him, do a bit of the "concrete waterskier" routine, and finally hit the deck. Dude is screaming like he lost an eye. We are both no worse for the wear besides a little damage to our rigs that is at most cosmetic. Dammit what a bummer. My arms has a couple scratches on it but my hind quarters are shot to hell. Much scratching all over the arse-region. Im so bummed on a lame crash that could have been avoided by either one of us simply indicating which direction we were turning like we had on EVERY turn up to that point. So lame.

wow...

thirty minutes.....heh.... thirty.... heh heh


moar funny pictures

sunday bloody sunday

i am so tired. Got to the top of calimesa with zach mark and some rndm dude. Met up with hector and lisa. The 4 of us went to the canyon even though i TOLD them i didnt have the hair on my ass to pull through the entire duration of the canyon, bam, paceline just like last time when i got left for the wolves. Not this time though. Pulled through the entire duration. I was weeping blood when we got to the train tracks. i couldn't even respond to normal talking. Im SO not feeling hair appointments today. Good clients are hard to find however, so i must remain as loyal to them as they are to me. Im thinking about a shower in the fetal position right about now. The sunday ride is so much worse than the saturday ride. Zach is cruel.

Mark is way too sweet a dude to be going through the kind of pain he's going through. Life sometimes gives you a painful opportunity to make different decisions , i hope mark can make the best of this rotten-ass situation.

saturday

I went for the group ride today even though i was supposed to run. i will probably still run cuz i didnt open my engine up at all on the bike, but there is hair to be done first, namely mom's. Im feeling SUPER good right now, and ive been warned by a dude who used to be pro that if i cant finish my intervals that i need to tell my coach to cut back. It just isnt happening right now. Ive finished them all. Maybe i didnt totally manhandle them, but i finished them as close as i can to perfect (which admittedly isnt anywhere near perfect in the platonic dualism sense), so im not wanting to jinx it. I think everything is perfect right now as far as riding is concerned. Im wiped when i get off the bike, but when i wake up the next day, im ready to go again, unless of course its friday, in which case i welcome recovery with open arms, and hopefully few clients. Feeling positive going into loop/crit practice come beginning of march. Posi posi posi.

a season of change...

thats all. I just need some.

overstanding dah roots.....respectjah

if it wasnt so lame to be a 30 year old skinhead, i would totally be one. I practically am now. I:

1. listen to MUCH reggae nowadays
2. work like a crazy person
3. enjoy sweet 60's brittish fashion (need a tonic suit and steelcaps)
4. own bleached jeans
5. can grow/am growing sweet chops
6. drink and fight (by drink i mean coffee and by fight i mean ride a bicycle)

on a totally unrelated note, i enjoy most of my clients, but some are a royal pain in the keester

on a further unrelated note if you call people your friend, f*cking act like it. If you slam your friends on your blog/to other people, or go to where your friends are hanging out and be total fun sponge, maybe you should re-evaluate who your friends are...? Be a friend to your friends. I have a person in mind that i am referring to as im typing this, but, it is not exclusive to that person. Dont be a drag, stick up for the people you care about, dont take them for granted, and if you cant do that, be honest enough to not act like you are their friend, because truth be told you arent.

i was born the wrong color on the wrong century in the wrong continent. I was a skinhead from jamaica who was a bad ass brittish track cyclist in my past life, its just coming full circle now.

bumoutz

im totally doing the boulevard race.... except...


moar funny pictures

here's the thing. I was going with trevor. Trevor registred as a cat 4. He needed to race in 2 races as planned to race in cat 4, cuz he hasnt yet moved up. Due to ilness/death in the family, no dice on the races previous to boulevard. He's stuck with me in the good old crash 5 category. I ask him if he's going, he says yeah, sign up. I go to sign up and cat 5 is full. BOTH OF US ARE TOTALLY HOSED. According to him its time to gain 20 pounds and get a beer logo jersey. Im thinking 30 pounds and beer dispensing helmet.