It's Really Effing Cold.

It is -11 Degrees outside. Great.

yay to Champaign Crit and putting tires on properly for better performance in snow !

Champaign Crit !!  Yes!  So excited.

Nice job B Chan, nice post. 

Last night I made my training plan.  It starts next Monday (rest day!) Jan. 19th.  I'm peaking at Quad Cities; hoping to Cat up.  Then I guess I'll peak again for Proctor and maybe Elk Grove and then for the last big one after that.  

Last night it snowed again..  I delivered today on Poprad and found, to my surprise, that putting the tires on properly--the tread in the right direction--greatly improved my performance in snow!  I didn't fishtail quite as much and actually did not crash at all.  Most of the time I was faster than cars.  I find that it takes a lot more energy to ride in snow because I have to concentrate more, and keep my core tighter and actually think about my form...  the moment I become lazy I start losing control of the bike.  Its great practice.  

I would like to commend Axel on his work at the bike shop--it looks great!  Maybe it just looks fresh and new, but really I think it is organized better and there is less clutter and less unsightly overpriced 80's stuff for sale.  When left unattended, the shop slips back into an un-hip decade and collects dust.  Good job Axel.  You and B.Chan have so many great ideas for the/a bike shop; I am always impressed.  Pink tires?  Yes please!

Yesterday I started school!  Anatomy and physiology.  Oh, so quotidian...   I find the topic so easy to visualize because it is so relevant to my daily life.  Before when I was in school I was a weird studying spaz machine; now my life is much more balanced, calm, and healthy...  I want to know how my muscles work and how my body uses energy and everything!  It's exciting!  We'll see if I say that in a few weeks though.  

Champaign Crit

Word on the street is that its back for July 2009. Get pumped.

Brrrreak!

Its been a while since I chimed in here, but Miz Miles has been doing a good job of keeping everyone up to date on whats been going down in the C-U.

Several thoughts/comments on recent posts and other activities:

1. Slumdog Millionaire was relatively entertaining. Not the best movie I've ever seen, but I think its supposed to be over the top, sticking with the spirit of Bollywood productions. In any case, it was much better than the other movie I viewed in theaters during break, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Read: awful.

2. Looking back on the Peoria trip, it was kinda fun. Had I been better prepared I think there would have been a little less melt down on my part. Thanks to my comrades for putting up with me. And to Chevrolet for designing the Impala.

3. We need to make some serious goals for the season. Which is fast upon us! I believe collegiate starts the last weekend in February. I feel horribly unprepared, but isn't getting prepared for the real season what collegiate racing is all about?

4. Additionally we have been on a crafting rampage. Tuesday we decoupaged the kitchen shelf. And a couple nights ago we bedazzled helmets. I think it all looks marvelous.

5. Also, Kitty is getting huge. But more snuggly.

6. Last weekend Axel and I went to The Big City to see Blue Man Group. On the way up we looked at a bunch of different bike shops to see how they are laid out and what they are selling. First stop was Rapid Transit Cycleshop in Wicker Park which was the favorite of the trip due to its friendly mechanics and overall chill vibe. Next we went to Upgrade Cycle Works which had some hot. hot. hot. Felts. Finally we squeezed in a trip to YoJimbo's Garage, which was also way cool, but a little too fixie/track oriented for my ideal kind of shop. (I must say however, they had some hot pink tubulars that I will be keeping an eye out for in the future!) And props to YoJimbo's for starting and maintaining the TrackCats program. The next day we stopped by Turin, always a classic, and Axel almost bought some shoes. Maybe next time. After Turin we hopped on the El and found the new Michigan Avenue Windy City Trek Boutique. It was about what I expected. Lots of Trek. Supposedly its a green shop. Whatever that means.

The neatest thing about these shops were their use of space. Most of the shops are very small and are forced to use all their space from floor to ceiling. I like that feeling of density. And the feeling of needing to look for things. It makes shopping fun.

7. Other than that, I've been enjoying break. There's been lots of trainer riding while screening Transition2 as well as Sex in the City. I hate Sex in the City and I hate myself for watching it. The women in that movie are so stereotypical, their clothing is over the top and I have a great deal of difficulty relating to their characters in anyway. Sarah Jessica Parker (is that her name?) resembles a horse. Yet I can't seem to stop. If anyone has any DVD suggestions, please let me know.

That's all I can think of for now. Time to go ride the trainer. Again.

team garbage

yesterday axel brought home 2 croissants, a calzone, a loaf of bread, and some jam pastry thing  YUM !  We are going back for more tonight and then to Murphy's to "eat our catch" as Sochacki said.  yay yay yay.  so lets see the week...a few days ago we went to see Slumdog Millionaire, which I thought was fairly entertaining, until my friend Mike called it a typical overdone hollywood movie set in bombay...yeah..  it's all wrong in a lot of ways.  on the way to the theatre, B.Chan and Axel went down on the tandem.  Umm  then after the movie we went out and got trashed and left our bikes downtown.  The next day I meant to go get my bike but I couldn't really get up ...  i did ride the trainer for 2 hours though um then i think we got the bikes the next day?  luckily nothing was stolen.  schtolen.  i delivered yesterday and today.  want to buy a mountain bike.  the fisher Xcaliber.  lets see    this is boring.  sochacki is talking to me.  he asked me if being me is anything like being Ollie (the kitten)?  Because I am easily entertained?  No, Sochacki, my life is not exactly the life of a kitten.  ehh he lacerated his liver while dirt jumping.  Ow. Ow. Ow.  I am so scared of crashing.   (!!!!!!!!!!!)

We made it to Peoria!  We left at 4:00 am ...it was cold.  Somewhere before Bloomington, the sun began to rise.  The reflection of the sun behind us onto the frosty fields made it look like the tundra; this is when we promised each other that we would never ride across Siberia.  It was warming up when we got into Bloomington and we stopped at a Starbucks to fix my flat and eat something.  It was cold again when we started riding, but it warmed up more and we stayed pretty warm for the rest of the day.  On of our riders had a sore tendon issue, making riding super uncomfortable, and we realized that the whole ride--Peoria and back--was not going to happen.  I think we were all somewhat relieved!  We had a decent tailwind, enough so that turning around was our least attractive option, so after some phone calls and debate, we decided to ride the 15 miles into Peoria and the 20-25 more miles across town to the airport where we would rent a car and drive back to Champaign.  By this time I was feeling great because we hadn't really pushed it too hard all day.  I think riding back would have been no problem at all physically, but it would have gotten a bit cold when the sun went down.  We ended up packing 4 bikes and 4 people and Axel's huge-ass bum bag into a Chevy Impala...  a century; not a terrible way to end 2008.

Lets see... other than that, I've been riding a bit: a short 1 hour ride with Nick the day after the would-be epic ride, a 2.5 hour ride with Dan to Centerville, a longish trainer ride, a shortish trainer ride, some delivering...  yeah.  Next up: I am going to buy a mountain bike.  Gary Fisher XCaliber.  Nick convinced me (easily) to race MTN.  Kegs?  Woods?  Anyone?  Ok off to deliver.  

Peoria

Hell ride tomorrow to Peoria & back wish us luck ^_^

Just like Lance, we Blend like Daggers

Saturday was the best of holiday merriment; all of us cozied up at the Shire, baking pies and giving haircuts.  B.Chan and I baked a pumpkin (actually squash) pie and an apple pie. We ate a lot of cookies.  We really honed our domestic skills.  The next morning we all got up and stood in the kitchen around D.Penn's new espresso maker (a gift from me!) and made espresso shots for about two hours.  Wired!  Axel also made his delicious steel cut oats.  B.Chan and I rode trainers for an hour and a half while watching "Love Actually"  Ahhh  we did um where you pedal with one foot really fast until your cadence goes all wack.  I really need to work on my pedal stroke.  I need to get insoles for my shoes so they fit better, and then adjust my cleats maybe.

Besides getting fast, our job is to convince the boys that staying around in Champaign for the next few years to work at the bike shop is a lame idea.  GO WEST!  If Becky gets into grad school, she's moving to Oregon and there's really no excuse for us not to follow.  Oregon is the golden land of bikes and chocolate seaside cyclocross heaven with old trees and colorful wooden houses.  Did I mention cyclocross?

Now I am at my parents house in So.IL and unfortunately the weather sucks.  Usually I look forward to 10 degrees warmer than Champaign, but today we got a lot of ice and sleet.  Tomorrow is supposed to clear off in the afternoon and Christmas is supposed to be gorgeous.  I guess my dad and I will get our annual holiday ride in.  I really just want to take off on a long ass epic ride...    but today I rode my parents old trainer (better than I expected it to be!) and watched "Pretty Woman".  

I am getting psyched about road season and spent a couple of hours looking at the race schedule and at different races and stuff.  It would be awesome to do really well this season.  I want to do a stage race in the mountains so bad.  Racing is confusing to me.  I don't get the point system for catting up.  Do I have to calculate this?  Also I don't understand women's racing.  Do women have separate races from the men's big races?  Sometimes there are women's categories, but not always.  

Lonnie & Roz told me today that "Wally" is the first gender neutral movie.  The viewer assigns gender to the characters.  I am skeptical; must watch.  Until recently, I thought bikes were gender-neutral...

the jersey:

Hooray!

Well, I polished off my last final yesterday morning, and now it is time to ride bikes, finish grad school applications, and ride bikes some more.

Yesterday A. Miles and I rode trainers. We do the same workouts as Lance. Because we want to be fast. Like daggers.

I rode over to CC to meet Karl and try on WILD CARD kits. Which was silly seeing as I already knew what I wanted to order. My plan was to ride from there but as soon as I left it started sleeting and I slid out a few too many times and wimped out. So now I get to ride my trainer. And think about the orange bar tape I'm going to put on the Litespeed to match my lovely kit. Yaaaay!

growl.

i went to Unexceptional [Grill] Racer's blog and she mentioned the junior who won the state cross race:

"he was very polite as he sped past me, calling out '[T]! Coming by!' with a South Chicago Wheelman hot on his heels,"

Well, good.  I am glad.  

grrr

grrrrr

The accumulation of ice on the roads is an excellent excuse not to deliver today.  B.Chan and I are going to ride trainers.  Looks like there will be no outdoor rides this weekend either...the weather is really bad.  Delivering yesterday was not so great; I had a few back-to-back far-away runs that took forever, and I had to give out free samples so didn't get tips for a little bit.  slow in snow la la

hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

what happened to the fotos of when we went to Teutopolis with anne-marie?  i feel like there were pictures on facebook.  umm  that was cold and my moms neon striped watermelon outfit did not keep me warm.  

MMm I wish I had more bike-related things to say.  I'm kind of a low-life considering I go to work when I feel like it and work = delivering sandwiches.  As long as my ebay stuff gets bids, today can be considered to be a productive day, fiscally speaking.  That gives me time to focus on getting fast and staying healthy and fostering meaningful relationships and expanding my mind and chanting hare krishna and making smoothies with my vita-mix, of which I am quite thankful, blah blah blah, this is all so funny...  

I just really need to remember to brush my teeth today.  That is going to be the greatest struggle when I go pro.  

On future rides, chant:

Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare
Hare Rama
Hare Rama
Rama Rama
Hare Hare

And be happy.

...and check the hat rack

because sometimes it IS that simple  

Wash your hands + lock your stuff up + watch out for ice

+ ride bikes.

repeat.

if only it were that simple....

sunday same same

Today B.Chan called me at 10:14 to see if I wanted to ride.  I wasn't sure...I was thinking about the pancake/oatmeal stack I was going to make for breakfast.  Dan and I were making breakfast when Joe called and said he was coming over to ride trainers.  Since we obviously have to be more badass than D.Penn and Joe, I called B.Chan and said I would be ready after pancakes.  Becky, Axel and I headed south at about 1:30 or so.  The wind was fierce again but we rode a comfortable pace.  The whole way we were thinking about a tentative late December ride to Baltimore to celebrate Axel's 23rd year.  (ARG!)  Before we go to Sedorus, B.Chan turned around because she had to work, and Axel and I continued south.  We passed Sedorus on our right and rode until the road came to a T.  Then we turned left and rode for a while until I said it we should go back toward town...it was going to get dark and I didn't have lights.  The tailwind was sweet and my legs seemed to have recovered from yesterday more than I had expected.  We got back to town around 4ish.  Aw..today's ride was a bonding experience for Axel and me; though a mere precursor to the hellish and most badass Baltimore ride ever ever ever and ever and ever and ever and ever (Kinsey throwback)....

I am selling my Fuji Touring wheels to a guy in Asheville.  He is going to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway in late December.  Crazy.

The kitten has yet to learn how to ride a bicycle.

Pictured is my first road bike: posted for posterity.  

Saturday ride

Killa ride today !  I was tired on the way over to meet the group...  We fought a strong wind from the south for 30 miles and then turned around and sailed home.  I almost dropped off a few times on the way out but managed to hold on.  I hadn't been on a group ride in months, so I was a bit nervous.  Also, I am not really used to riding my new bike yet outside: it feels so much more flimsy and light than my cross bike or fixie!  The lobster gloves didn't really help my handling confidence either.  On the way back I felt a lot stronger and really cranked cranky crankkkkkkked.  Nick was also tired, and I think everyone else was feeling the wind.  I need to do more group rides though, to get more comfortable and push myself a bit... ahhh so now I am at home feeling a bit goofy ^_^ listening to house music, petting the kitty and trying not to move my legs  ...

I ordered a powertap last night.  I soon will be training...with POWER.

It's taken me a week to write about the State X race...  Sunday:  Dan, Nick and I drive to Chicago for the state race.  B.Chan and Axel were unable to come unfortunately, but for valid reasons.  Despite being a bit skeptical about my fitness after 2 weeks off, I felt great before the race!  It was COLD!  And we were right on the lake in Chicago--so cool.  The course was technical: there was a bit that went down a steep hill and under a bridge, then sharp left turn up a steep hill, then a long slow climb, then down through some barriers and up another steep hill with a barrier...then there was the embankment..and it was snowy!  It was slick and snowy, and it was melting so getting slushier.  I love technical stuff...this was great.  For once I didn't feel sick to my stomach either YES.  

I got a bad start and there was a bottleneck affect and i had to make my way to the front.  I got up there though and felt great--my lungs felt good and i wasn't about to die after the 2nd lap.  I passed the third place and was gaining on the 2nd place girl.  I felt pretty secure about it..i actually felt strong !  Eileen was in front and I didn't see her though.  On the third lap I was climbing a steep slick hill after the bridge bit and I hear someone behind me say "hurry up!" so I climbed..umm duh... and then he was behind me on a flat section and he said "Junior coming up behind!" and since there was a narrow track in the snow and I was in front, I stayed where I was and said "Go around me--or tell me which side!" and he yelled back "Oh, so you're going to fight me for it?!?" and went right through, knocking me down.  Then the Junior who was following him almost crashed into me but missed, and the kid who knocked me down was laughing and climbing.... I got pretty damn pissed.  I got up but the 3rd place girl passed me and the 2nd was way way ahead.  So my reaction was shitty...I was so pissed off that I didn't go quite as hard as I should have.  I am angry at myself for reacting as such.. that's the last time I give up just because someone is being a dumbass.  I think I finished 4th.  After the race I went to find the Junior (xXx) who took em out.  I spotted him and as I approached I heard his buddy say "hey, nice job taking that guy out on the 3rd lap!" ...when he said that I was like "HEY--that wasn't cool.  Next time pick a fucking side and go around"  he said "...ok...um...nice race"   ... fuck...you..     (the photo shows the douchebag Junior)

 note: taking out a women's cat 4 is really lame...  especially if you are a junior, in first place of a field of 3 people, two of whom are half your height.  lame.  

So on a different note, I am delivering a lot more.  I worked for JJ three times this week, and Thursday I did twice as many deliveries as usual, and made twice as much $$$.  It's so fun!  Every day it gets more fun and I feel stronger.  Next week I'll deliver 3 or 4 times, depending on my legs.  Today has been the best lazy rest day...  

This weekend I need to plan the Texas trip!  B.CHan PLAN!

delivered again today; it was cold.  wore many layers and made lots of $$$.  I also scored some kilts!  3 of them!  well, 2 are kiltish skirts that pass.  Nick is definitely the most pleased with his kilt.  

Texas bike & Kilts

hi!  hells yes riding again !  when i got back sunday everyone at the Shire went on a cold ride...felt so good, AND initiated by Axel  :-)  !  Monday we were going to ride cross but it was so cold and snowy so we rode trainers for an hour.  Tuesday I did the shop ride and yesterday I drank beer.  Today I delivered and now I'm wiped.  I'll hopefully deliver tomorrow also...    SO the shop is dead in winter and I will not be needed ...  YAY!  I think I'll deliver for Jimmy Johns more--maybe 3 days a week--and definitely ride more.  Even though its less $$ I'm looking forward to having more time and getting fast fast fast at bikes.  I might pick up a class at Parkland in the spring ...we will see.  Tomorrow I have a mission:  look for kilts for us to wear at the cross race on Sunday 

Oh !  I think it might be good if we ride part of the Texas segment of the Adventure Cyclists Southern Tier route.  It looks like it will be warm enough, the roads will be decent, we can get good maps, there are places to camp, and the route looks relatively interesting and fun.  Want to order maps?