Thursday, April 1, 2010
Reign In Blood Or Divine Intervention?
After a weekend filled with controversy and flat tires on the cut-throat, alley-cat, back-woods circuit of extreme suburban group riding, Mongo was ready for a relaxing forty mile jaunt on LPE. The only problem was that Summer showed up on April Fools Day...and it almost freakin' killed me!(Not really...but it was "literally"(I hate when people say that) thirty degrees warmer than the last time I rode on Monday) Needless to say, I was under-hydrated and under-prepared for the heat.Wednesday, March 31, 2010
And From Holding You Down With Me
Mongo just recently celebrated his birthday. I say this not in hopes of receiving congratulations or money, (money is always appreciated) but because though I'm in my early/mid forties, I have had a "Benjamin Button-like" transformation over the past decade and feel like I did when I was in my early twenties...Seriously!
Granted, when I was in my twenties I was "on the dope" and a borderline alcoholic, so my standard of reference is pretty low...but that was twenty years ago!
Between the ages of twenty three and thirty three, Mongo drank, smoked, snorted, and illegal activity'd himself through life. Though I wouldn't change a thing, (except pretty much most of it) my physical health and mental well being suffered.
When I quit drinking a little over ten years ago, my physical and emotional state began a transformation for the better that has helped me to live a healthy and balanced life. Cycling, in turn, has provided me with both inspiration and motivation for my mind and body, but the truth is that because of riding my bikes, I am in the best shape and health of my entire life.
With age comes wisdom and perspective...which provoke the conscience for needed change.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Fifty Miles To Nowhere: A Change In Plans
As far back as Wednesday, Mongo was excited about the possibility of being able to ride five days in a row. I had all day Thursday, Friday evening, Saturday morning, all day Sunday, and to top it off, the 23/2300 Hammerfest on Monday night. It hasn't really worked out that way so far.
It rained all day on Thursday...for about sixty percent of the time. I could have ridden at nine a.m. when I planned to leave, but I kept convincing myself that the rain was about to hit. And it finally did...three hours later. The truth is that I really hate riding in the rain and probably subconsciously sabotaged myself.
On Friday it was finally all systems go. I did the Smyrna Bicycles Friday Night Ride...a twenty five mile jaunt on the Silver Comet Trail. It's ridden at a social/recovery pace, with the last four miles open to racing if anyone feels like it. When Mongo has done this ride in the past, I'm usually on Li'l Pony Express for training purposes. Yesterday was no exception. On this flat'ish track I can keep up with anyone, and with the addition of the Speed Bars on LPE, I'm even faster. I was looking forward to the final few miles when I could mix it up with the fellas.
Here's what happened. With about three miles to go I got a casual fifty yard lead on the group...and took off! I settled into the Speed Bar drops, shifted into the 44-11, and never looked back. I'm still not sure how hard the peloton chased me, but they were several hundred yards behind at the finish. I rode about as hard as I could, and in the process, tweaked my left knee. This injury, in turn, affected my riding plans for today.
I had two very appealing cycling options for this morning. Either go to the mountains and ride some "gaps" with my fellow teammates, or do the Enemy Bike Shop Ride solo. As Mongo is fond of saying concerning my uphill abilities..."I'm a lover not a climber", so even though the day was sunny and the mountains are beautiful, my game is more suited to the Enemy Bike Shop Ride and it's race-like atmosphere. The course fits my skills as a rouleur and maximizes what I'm trying to do with my "Cat 5 Domination" training. As it turned out, I did neither.
I woke up at seven this morning. Early enough to do the "gaps" at nine, or the Enemy Bike Shop Ride at ten. My knee would have none of it. I made a split second decision that if I was going to be able to ride the Hammerfest on Monday, I couldn't risk injuring my knee any further by doing either of these strenuous rides...then I went back to sleep for two hours.
At about nine'ish I got up, had some coffee, and decided not to be a pussy. If I wasn't going to ride hard, then I was going to ride long. I took some Advil, kitted up, got on the Sub-19, and did fifty miles at an 18+ average. The knee didn't hurt much, and I even got to smack down a dude wearing a full Rabobank kit on a Cervelo with Zipp's and a Powertap.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Prodigy Or Protege?: Mellow Johnny 2: Electric Boogaloo
From the loins of champion parents...already a two-time World Champion on the track at age nineteen...groomed in the minor leagues of elite road racing...he is the "Post-Armstrongalyptic" future of American cycling.
Taylor Phinney...Get used to it!
(Photo:AFP/CyclingNews)
Why Ask Why?
People who are knowledgeable about Pro cycling, inside or outside the barricades, universally admire, respect, and even love, Jens Voigt. There are even some who write in prose much more eloquent than my own who can summarize in detail his most heroic traits and accomplishments. I won't trespass onto their domain.
All I will say is this..."Jens Voigt doesn't fuck around!" When he has the legs, he puts his head down and punishes the peloton on the way to victory... as he did today in Stage 4 of the Vuelta a Catalunya. When he doesn't quite have the legs, he will work just as hard to help his team or teammates achieve success. He's Mongo's kind of guy.
(Photo:Bettini/CyclingNews)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
AK47 Update: Let's Try This Again
LBM and AK47 sit 2-3 at the Volta a Catalunya after the second stage. Now is the time, against strong competition, that both of these guys need to step up and show that they are serious about being legitimate GC contenders this year.
Monday, March 22, 2010
When They Call Another Winner
"Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul."
(Henry David Thoreau)
I'll Bet You Didn't Know...
That the first American cyclist to win a stage in a Grand Tour was... Ron "The Wookie" Kiefel. (Stage 15/ Giro d'Italia/ 1985)
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