What a glorious weekend!!

Two rides, both on the fast bike, both with good friends. Headed North-West-ish on Saturday into a chilly WNW wind, then headed South Eastish with a mild SE wind. It's weird because It's been so long since I've encountered temps above 40, I forgot how to dress for it. Sunday's ride was a little messy and since it was warm way into the evening, I just stayed out and completely cleaned up the race rig and took care of my commuters drivetrain. The Lemond is all shiny now and it makes me want to not ride it. I did take a close look at my big chainring and noticed that I may need a new one soon. It's teeth are starting to show some wear. Of course, I discover this after our team night, so ordering one now would be at regular price. Not gonna happen. Wouldn't be prudent. The commuter has fenders, but I've learned that I needed to install a mudflap on the front. Any regular fender is not going to reach all the way to the ground. The very bottom of the tire does kick up a lot of street crud. My chain/chainrings/cassette/rear derailleur were a dirty rusty mess. So I soaked the chain in simple green, and scrubbed the other parts good and not so cruddy. I then took an old MTB tire, cut a just long enough piece out and zip tied it to the bottom of my fender. I believe this will keep my drivetrain from collecting massive amounts of liquid road grime. I hope.

So anyway, today will be warm and windy so I'll probably head out after work on the commuter for a couple hour ride and enjoy the last of it for a while. Tomorrow isn't looking as bad as they had originally thought. No rain freezing over, but maybe a little snow. Some possible snow later this week, but the weekend is looking very rideable, barring a heavy snow.

I'm hoping the 3 rides I got in this week made a dent in my weight. First I dropped a couple with a 14 hour bike week, then gained them back with a 5 hour bike week. This week was about 8 hours so maybe I dropped 1 pound. Hopefully?

Shabbos +1

Crane Coffee on the Keystone (78th/Cass)
Noon -- or very soon thereafter
2.5 hours or so
Civil pace
make changes as necessary

(I have to be back at Crane a few minutes before 3.)

Shabbos double post

Gonna be mid-30s to low 40s tomorrow. Wind from the west under 10 mph. I say we roll.

Noon?
Bike Masters?
3 hours?

Input needed.

Oh, and Mike -- I saved a copy of the paper with your quote in it.

This one is strong with the cycling gods

Aaron Poole has left frigid Nebraska for Albuquerque to do his training camp thing. So in an email correspondence with him the other day, he finished with this:

" I got a ride to the hotel from the airport with Levi Leipheimer."

Just....Wow....This weekend he's riding among the current strongmen of pro-cycling and will have many stories to tell, I imagine. Looking forward to hearing them when he gets back.

A reading from the Gospel of Munson

"I had all the warm gear on I could have, and it was still a little chilly," said Mike Munson, who rode his bike to work at the University of Nebraska Medical Center this morning. Munson's cycling glasses frosted over because of his breathing.

There it is, folks -- Mike Munson, crazy person.

Morning commute pop quiz.

You know it's cold when:

a. your black balaclava is mysteriously white by end of commute.

b. your tires lose about 15 PSI due to slowing of air molecules.

c. you wear the equivalent of a wetsuit on you legs and they still get cold.

d. in the 20 minutes of riding, your water bottle is frozen.

e. the guy who, on a balmy 15 degree snowy commute last week rolled down his window to call you a freak, could only muster a honk of his horn this time.

f. the temperature is actually, well, I don't know, NEGATIVE 9 /NEGATIVE 16 WITH WINDCHILL!!!!!

g. Munson is a freak.

h. all of the above.

The hardest part is hopping on.

I haven't ridden since Sunday's trainer session at Bryan's. Well I rode to work, but that's like two 15 minute mosies. Not real riding. Today I told myself since I wasn't going to make the trainer ride at High Gear, that I should do my own trainer ride. I got home from work as it was snowing outside and cursed the winter. I grumbled to myself, "Well I already have the bike shorts on...but I really don't feel like subjecting myself to the trainer.....but I wouldn't mind watching Pro the Movie again since it's been a couple years...but it's the friggin trainer, it's gonna suck."

So after glancing down at my (slowly expanding) bare belly, I decided to give it a go. It was *gulp* fun. I put in a 10 minute and 15 minute LT interval at intense parts of the show, for motivation. One of which was Horner's massive attack on Manayunk wall. Man, I forgot how it felt to really dig deep and make your lungs hurt in an interval.

Maybe since I don't ride as much anymore, I get a much larger endorphine rush compared to my competitive days. I felt awesome after the trainer ride. I'm going to have to put in some more trainer time.

Random Post of the Day

I need to shave. My face is furry and my hairy legs are making my work pants clingy because of static.

Nothing else to report. Snow and temps below 20 are not my friends. I fear this weeks weigh-in. Fear it, I tell ya!!!

Shabbos ride anyone???

Well being that it'll be around -5 in the mornings and maybe upper single digits for highs this weekend, I'm thinking we should maybe plan a trainer group ride?

Sunday after 12pm, I could get my place all squared away for something like 3 trainers in front of the TV. We could ride for a few hours while watching a one day classic. I have GU to give out to anyone in attendance (hint, hint, Bryan).

Any other thoughts?

The Ride After. Or, Ooh, magical double post day!!

So after work I decided to ride down to HighGear and pick up the Cables I had ordered on Team Night. Thanks again, Matt, for being a glorious team liaison.

The ride was nice. The only thing that got cold on me was my quads. The clothing? Top to bottom: Balaclava under winterized helmet, Smartwool longsleeve baselayer, Thermal longsleeve jersey, Lobster Gloves, bike shorts, thermal leg warmers, knicker shorts, heavy duty smartwool socks, and these:



I didn't order the fancy Dura-Ace wheels, but instead, invested (with my too-be tax refund money) in some really good winter wear. I guess it didn't help that, when riding with all my teammates that weekend nearly everyone had these boots or older models. Anyone who has had these said they love them.

So with the clothing listed above, I was just fine. The ride home from the shop got a little chilly since the sun was going down and I had been sitting in the warm shop sweating with all that gear on.

The verdict after a 1.5 hr ride in 20*-15* weather: the thermal jersey is the best winter clothing I've ever worn since I felt no cold on my core/arms, and the shoes may not prevent my toes from going numb since I pedal in squares. My toes started to get cold near the end of the ride, but I suppose that could also be the temps. I'm also wondering if warm legs would have sent warmer blood down to the toes to keep them warm. My quads were the only part that really felt cold, but it was just fine.

So I'm continuing with training outside even in these temps. Sure I'll ride slower, but that's what I'm building now anyway, base miles.

What was that comment about being a crazy person?

"Freak!!" is what someone yelled out of their car window at me this morning. This means that they saw me, and decided it was a good idea to roll down their window in 15* weather, and voice their opinion about what they thought of me being on the road......on my bike.

Yes I rode to work today. The streets were barely plowed, and I forgot to switch over to cyclocross tires or ride my MTB. I was rollin on 28s (C). Sure that's fatter than normal 23C tires, but still pretty darn skinny in snow. The thing is, I made it to work just fine. It was a little hairy in spots. The side street getting to Center St had frozen snow with car tire ruts covered in a fresh layer of powder. If my wheels got in those ruts, my bike went where it wanted, even if that wasn't where I wanted. No biggie, just wiggled my way to Center then it was smooth sailing. Center wasn't plowed, really, but enough traffic had packed down or moved away most of the snow. All cars that passed me were only going a few mph faster, instead of the normal 20mph faster, so that was nice.

My motivation for doing this was a blurb on the news last night. They were talking about the snow and mentioned that "it didn't keep this South Omaha man from riding home on his bike," and had video of this guy riding. The video clip was short so I couldn't tell who he was or where he was riding, but I thought, if he can do it, so can I. We'll see what tonights ride will be like. I'd love to ride for an hour or so, but that may not be possible with traffic. I might ride down to the Keystone trail and see if it's rideable. Should be fun regardless!

Do I have Adult A.D.D.?

I'm reading a guide on being an Bicycle Race official and no matter what I do, I can't finish a page without wondering off in my mind. Here's how reading works for me: *read, read* Oh yeah, that reminds me about this time... (eyes are still reading, but brain is elsewhere)...Crap, I finished that whole paragraph and I have no idea what it said.

I noticed this problem happening more as my college years progressed. At the beginning, I was fine. I could read through anything and stay focused. Nowadays, if I'm not completely enthralled with the subject, my brain finds something else to do while reading.

This makes my head hurt to think about since reading is sort of an inner dialogue. Reading is your brain speaking words to yourself, correct? So how can you have an inner dialogue over your inner dialogue? Ouch - brain freeze. Or rather brain argument.

So is it just me? Do I have some form of A.D.D? Or does this happen to everyone? Or is this something that most people don't talk about out in the open for fear of being labeled a crazy person?

So Fresh and So Clean.

As promised I'm cutting into prime sleeping time to post pics of our new team kits.

For your viewing pleasure:





It always baffles me to see how much I look like my little brother. You'd think we were related or something.

Oh yeah, Weight Loss Challenge '08 update. Well I first weighed in at 170 with clothes. After a week of about 14hrs of riding, I was down 2 pounds. I don't know if it'll last though. The future weather outlook is quite glib. Snow tomorrow possibly totaling half a foot, then cold as-the-ass-of-death temps for the foreseeable future. Ugh. This does not bode well for my interest in exercise since the outdoors will be almost dangerous. Crappity crap-crap.

I can't feel my face.

So if you want to hear a funny story, just ask me about my experience with 1 Margarita after Tour of KC a couple years ago. The title of this post is included in said story.

That is all.

Putting in time.

I rode 4 hrs total on Sunday, rode to and from work this whole week, Rode 1.5 hrs on Tuesday night, and did the Trainer night ride on Wednesday. So that puts me at....um...carry the 2..... 9-ish hours so far this week. I'm gonna ride at least an hour Friday night , then head over to Lincoln on Saturday for my Team's training camp deal. We're scheduled to ride from 10am to 3pm, but we'll see how long we actually go. So after at least 13 hrs on the bike I can't wait to weigh myself this weekend!!

Here's the goofy part. I gave blood on Monday after work. So I'm starting off a solid training block with diminished red blood cell supplies. I wonder if my body will super-compensate and produce more than normal RBC's. If so, it'll be like taking EPO, but for a good cause and not illegal.

Weight Loss '08 Challenge.

So I don't know how many people really read my blog, but I'm always surprised when someone I seldomly chat with asks, "So you still at 168lbs?" I guess that means more people read my blog than I thought. That's pretty darn cool.

Anywho....

THE WEIGHT LOSS '08 CHALLENGE.

Here's the back story on this crazy idea. The scale is at Trek Store of Omaha as well as a spreadsheet I conjured up with my mad pc skillz. So if you feel like it, hop on the scale and hop into fitness by adding your name to the list(want nachos with that cheese?) . I have 10 name places on the spreadsheet, so if enough people join in, I'll make another list. All you have to do is weigh in the first time as a starting point, then weigh in each week, or monthly, or whatever till the first week of May. I figure that'll give all of us plenty of time to safely lose some of the "winter insulation" that occurs naturally.

We can play for money, or not. I suggested a buck a pound lost, the winner keeps their money and collects other's who agreed to join in the monetary part of the game. I have thought about going to a percentage of weight loss setup, but I'm not sure how that would work. If anyone has any thoughts or experience in this type of fun competition, please respond. Or, just respond anyway with your comments and whether you're planning on joining in.

Here's to everyone having a safe and healthy '08 with as many fun rides as possible.

LET THE GAME BEGIN!!!

Now that's what I'm talkin bout..

Great fun today. With the ride to and from I had just over 4 hrs on the bike. The last hour of hills seemed a little quicker than standard Shabbos (+1) effort, but then again, I was purdy tired.
Missed having Sean and Brady on board, but it was nice having Marco and Matt Pav. tow us for most of the ride. So total headcount was 7 of us: Me, Bryan, John, Ryan, Roxxy, the Pav, and Marco.

Good times all around. We ventured up North then West, then Northwest, turned around, headed back toward Elkhorn and got some of my favorite brick road mashing in before meandering back home. I haven't been on the Bike Masters Wed night ride route in a while. I have many memories of pain on those roads. I really should visit their rides once in a while this coming summer. It's just really convenient to hop into the Trek Store ride since it's right by my house.

So I'm off to a great start of burning calories for the Weight Loss '08 challenge. Ran an hour or so Saturday, didn't do the ride in the afternoon though (Sorry Matt), and put in some good miles today. Now I just have to somewhat watch what I eat and ride just about everyday with at least 2 long rides a week. That'll get me down to fighting weight by May.

Shabbos +1 update.

So according to all weather sources, Sunday is now drastically different than originally thought. High of mid 30s with a N to NW wind only at 7-ish mph(I'm SO pissed at this change). Since wind in the cold is more annoying than in warmth, I say we plan a new route to the North.

Meeting Place: Scooters Coffee at 120th and Blondo. Meeting time still 12:30.

Sound off in the comments if this is doable. I plan on riding from my place (Aksarben area) by noon so if us mid-town folk want to meet up and head out there, we could get more group mileage in. Again, post your thoughts so we can get this worked out.

The Official Shabbos and Shabbos +1 schedule.

Saturday: 8am, Charbucks at 63rd and Center.
Event: 10-12 mile run (ouch)
Also: I'm doing a ride sometime in the afternoon just to work out the legs from running. Easy spin on the trail; give me a call if you want to join.

Sunday: (new and improved time)12:30-ish pm at Crane Coffee, 78th and Cass.
Event: 3-4 hour ride, heading South possibly as far as Glennwood then home.
Also: Much food eating to recover from activities.

Post if times/places need to change.

Shabbos +1: Welcome to 2008

It's gonna be like this on Sunday -- though probably without all the pros. Anyway: sunny, warmish. We need to ride for about 7 hours. I'd settle for 3 or 4, though.

Let's the get the details figured out!