Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It's too hot to post.
Yep, that's it. Way too hot to post interest blog topics. Mainly because all I've been doing is sitting on my duffer in the A/C, eating ice cream, and watching the Tour. I'm almost caught up now with my DVR!
This has been one of the craziest tours I've ever seen. Crashes upon crashes, it never seems to end. Those guys are so tough, it's not even funny. How anyone gets sideswiped by a car, hits the ground hard at ~30mph, and then gets back up and carries on is beyond me.
I also can't help but feeling that some of my favorite riders are dirty. Like Thor, for example. He's awesome. He's also a large fella, and shouldn't be climbing like he is. Same for Thomas V. Not a large fella, but he's riding lights out. These guys are doing multiple days of extremely good performances, and I really hope that they are clean. I really do. I wish we could have heroes in cycling again and not be wondering in the back of our minds if these aren't pharmaceutically-enhanced performances.
I sure hope not. It'd be good to have some good news out of Pro Cycling this year. I guess there's always crazy Cadel. Never sure what he is going to do. Case in point.
This has been one of the craziest tours I've ever seen. Crashes upon crashes, it never seems to end. Those guys are so tough, it's not even funny. How anyone gets sideswiped by a car, hits the ground hard at ~30mph, and then gets back up and carries on is beyond me.
I also can't help but feeling that some of my favorite riders are dirty. Like Thor, for example. He's awesome. He's also a large fella, and shouldn't be climbing like he is. Same for Thomas V. Not a large fella, but he's riding lights out. These guys are doing multiple days of extremely good performances, and I really hope that they are clean. I really do. I wish we could have heroes in cycling again and not be wondering in the back of our minds if these aren't pharmaceutically-enhanced performances.
I sure hope not. It'd be good to have some good news out of Pro Cycling this year. I guess there's always crazy Cadel. Never sure what he is going to do. Case in point.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Riding tonight and then...
...I'm digging a hole underneath my basement slab and sleeping until cross season. Blue Moose Ride tonight, should be fast, which should be interesting. Mainly because I've only ridden once since the Tour of Lawrence. Kinda lame. At least I've been watching Le Tour a lot, and I think that provides some psycho-somatic muscle stimulation while I sit on the couch.
This heat is dumb. Here's the forecasted highs for the next week. 90, 94, 94, 97, 97, 99, 97.
I'm sure it'll cool off by Warrior Dash.
This heat is dumb. Here's the forecasted highs for the next week. 90, 94, 94, 97, 97, 99, 97.
I'm sure it'll cool off by Warrior Dash.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tour of Larryville
Decided to sit out Saturday's Circuit race up and over KU Campus, and instead decided to kick all possible ass at the crit on Sunday in downtown Lawrence.
The whole fam decided to go with me, and AB raced his first race, a downhill, 300-yard dash. How no kids fell down, I have no idea. The age range was probably 3-11, and 150 kids started dashing down Mass Street at the same time. One little boy got bumped or something, but he was upright and seemed ok. Here's the action:
My race was decidedly more fast, and no crashes either! We were driving in pouring rain on the way to Lawrence, but it stopped and dried up for my race and the two races afterwards, then started dumping again. Jake and Casey from my team both crashed in the Cat 4 race at 3pm, but I think they'll heal up quick.
As for my race, it was only 20 minutes long so I knew it'd be a flyer since we didn't have any time. Casey raced in the 5's as well (he is technically a 5), and flew off the front on the 2nd or 3rd lap. All of the sudden I see him way up there, pedaling slowly as I think he was gassed. He's strong, just not quite that strong. He's one of those naturally talented/skinny guys, and once he gets a good racing mind, he'll be super strong. Colavita has a lot of those guys it seems this year, that are making the jump to Cat 3 and will do well. Pretty cool to watch everyone progress as racers.
Any way, back to my amateur hour. Like I said, I knew it'd be a fast race, and I think we averaged a little under 25mph, which is a pretty good clip. I stayed in the middle of the pack the whole race, then tried to sprint at the end. I ending up gaining a place or two at the end, which was cool. I really think that I need to try and get up to the front with 3 laps to go, and then sprint, rather than trying to muscle it out from the middle. It makes sense in hindsight, but I guess that why we all start out in the 5's. The fitness levels are all over the place, but the whole point is to learn about racing. It's more than pedaling around as hard as you can, like cross is. Cross is way more fun, but the variables are more the elements than they are the other riders.
Cross training season officially begins now, although I've started running too since I'm running the Warrior Dash at the end of July, and the North Face Endurance Challenge in August with my sister. Hup hup!
The whole fam decided to go with me, and AB raced his first race, a downhill, 300-yard dash. How no kids fell down, I have no idea. The age range was probably 3-11, and 150 kids started dashing down Mass Street at the same time. One little boy got bumped or something, but he was upright and seemed ok. Here's the action:
My race was decidedly more fast, and no crashes either! We were driving in pouring rain on the way to Lawrence, but it stopped and dried up for my race and the two races afterwards, then started dumping again. Jake and Casey from my team both crashed in the Cat 4 race at 3pm, but I think they'll heal up quick.
 |
| Fix your helmet, newb |
 |
| Looking semi-PRO, although mid pack |
As for my race, it was only 20 minutes long so I knew it'd be a flyer since we didn't have any time. Casey raced in the 5's as well (he is technically a 5), and flew off the front on the 2nd or 3rd lap. All of the sudden I see him way up there, pedaling slowly as I think he was gassed. He's strong, just not quite that strong. He's one of those naturally talented/skinny guys, and once he gets a good racing mind, he'll be super strong. Colavita has a lot of those guys it seems this year, that are making the jump to Cat 3 and will do well. Pretty cool to watch everyone progress as racers.
Any way, back to my amateur hour. Like I said, I knew it'd be a fast race, and I think we averaged a little under 25mph, which is a pretty good clip. I stayed in the middle of the pack the whole race, then tried to sprint at the end. I ending up gaining a place or two at the end, which was cool. I really think that I need to try and get up to the front with 3 laps to go, and then sprint, rather than trying to muscle it out from the middle. It makes sense in hindsight, but I guess that why we all start out in the 5's. The fitness levels are all over the place, but the whole point is to learn about racing. It's more than pedaling around as hard as you can, like cross is. Cross is way more fun, but the variables are more the elements than they are the other riders.
Cross training season officially begins now, although I've started running too since I'm running the Warrior Dash at the end of July, and the North Face Endurance Challenge in August with my sister. Hup hup!
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