answers to questions you didn't ask

plans for the fall 2010

2010-10-06T12:21:00.004-04:00

summer has finally ended in central texas. the mornings are chilly and the evenings are beautiful, we are gathering firewood for our fireplace, and making plans for some november camping trips. i recently spent some time in providence for my sisters wedding, it was a really great time, abby and i are so happy for them!

the city was just like we left it, and full of people we miss, if only there was more time.

seeing pictures of new england cyclocross is killing me, really love that time of year. maybe i will make a visit next fall and race a little!

in other news, i have been laying pretty low lately, not doing much jiu-jitsu or bike racing, and the main reason is that for some time now i have had an inguinal hernia. at first the condition didn't cause much discomfort and the doctor i was seeing at the time gave me the green light to keep doing the running, riding, grappling, ect. well things have worsened, the pain and discomfort has gotten more frequent, and i have gotten to the point of shying away from racing and other activities for fear of complicating the situation.

thanks to the steeping room (where i work), texhealth, and the new health care legislation i am now insured, and pretty decently. when i recently went for my yearly physical the doctor (a real texan) told me i was, "healthy as a horse" with the exception of the hernia. he told me it was time to get the condition surgically repaired.

a few weeks later i had a consultation with a surgeon who explained to me the two main types of surgical options for this condition. laparoscopic vs. open.

the option i am choosing is the laparoscopic method, it involves smaller incisions, cameras and inflating part of my abdomen with air, which sounds nuts. it supposedly works well and patients have quicker recovery times this way. they staple some mesh over the weak area and most of the time thats it, more more problems, bye bye pain. thats the plan.

the down side is that they use general anesthesia as opposed to local. i never really thought about it before, but i am actually pretty freaked out by idea of being knocked out, and there is always a freak chance of something going wrong.

can't make decisions based on fear though, that never ends well.

i haven't scheduled the date yet, but i think this will go down in late october, leaving me fully up and running for busy winter months at the restaurant, and able to take spring classes at ACC without worrying about missing weeks of class.

two weeks is the estimate of how long i will be on "restricted" activity, thats not so bad. some people are able to get back to work in just a few days, but thats uncertain, so scheduling this is going to be tricky, but i start working on that today.

it will feel great to be able to run the half marathon i planned for this fall in the winter, the 3m in january maybe! to get some solid training in on my bike so i can return to racing for real in 2011. I still hope to be able to run the 2011 austin marathon. to stage race again. to get a blue belt in jiu-jitsu. to fell 100%.

so thats my update for now. wanted you all to be able to know what i am dealing with right now, if you are curious.

next update will be about the volunteer work i am starting this month with austin pets alive!

i hope you are all doing great, wearing sweaters, enjoying the fall.

summers end...

2010-08-14T15:16:00.004-04:00

its the 14th of august, and here in austin it has been about 100 degrees every day for weeks. i have been doing lots of bike commuting, and it is pretty intense in this weather, but it is also really fun. there are some good trails and shortcuts i use to cross the 12 miles from my work to my house, and the post work exercise feels relaxing actually.

i pinned on a race number for the first time in 2010 two weeks ago at the driveway criterium, it went pretty well. i was faster than i thought i would be, but not fast enough in the end. still, i felt that the heat was my number one enemy, and with the summer ending and several more months to the long texas road season, i expect i will be out there again soon.

i have also been running, and have targeted an october half marathon, and plan to run a full some time this year, austin is in february, and the chance of getting up north to run a full in vermont is something i would like to make happen.

abby and i are loving our apartment and the complex we are living in, we swim pretty much every day, we go to exotic swim spots on sunday when we are off work together, we are actually enjoying this hot hot summer.

in just a few weeks we will fly to providence and get to witness my little sisters wedding, its exciting, and i really look forward to seeing folks.

if anybody who owns a 56cm road bike feels like letting me race it for them, i was thinking of dropping in on the ninnigrit race!

i guess thats the update. summer is ending, lots of projects are beginning, and i am looking forward to the fall and the dreamy texas winter.

see you all soon,

scotty-

more may days...

2010-05-25T14:38:00.002-04:00

Abby and i have completed the move to our new apartment. it rules.

we have lots of space, a beautiful living room, a fireplace, a balcony porch, and use of pools and tennis courts, all for what we paid for a smaller place in providence!

we are slowly furnishing the place and having fun with the process.

now that the stress of moving is in the past i am refocusing on some personal goals. i am going to run a half marathon in june in san antonio, i am going to keep training hard at jiu-jitsu and compete in the fall naga tournament, and then switch to cyclocross for a few months. I miss high speed biking, but haven't had the time or money to buy a license and race the road yet this summer, maybe a few criteriums before all is said and done, but who knows.

looking forward to some possible visits from friends in june, and swimming in the springs to escape the afternoon heat!

i have also been working at getting back into school, more on that later, its time to head to alamo drafthouse to see exit through the gift shop, should be good!

May Days

2010-05-06T17:51:00.003-04:00

here in austin the signs of summer have arrived! Its going to be 90 every day this week. barton springs is the place to be, and riding around on the bike means bringing extra clothes with you everywhere. Its really fun so far, talk to me in july and we will see what i have to say.

what have i been doing? you ask.

well, i have been doing a lot of jiu-jitsu. i had to take a break in mid april due to this weird ear condition where i got fluid trapped behind my ear drum! the pressure that the fluid caused in my head made me feel like i was getting punched in the back of the head every 3o seconds for about a week. awful, really bad, not good.

so i went to the clinic and they put me on some drugs. the label of the steroid they put me on (insert doping joke here) warned that use of the drug would lower the effectiveness of my immune system! rad!

sure enough, my ear clears up and i spend the next week and a half sick with a head cold. crap!

last monday i went back to working out and jiu-jitsu, and this past week was great but very difficult, hard workouts and the heat combined double the challenge. but the challenge is the whole point of choosing activities like road racing or grappling, we the people who like to do these kind of activities thrive on the discomfort we create for ourselves, we need it for some reason, we are probably not well mentally. but we like it.

aside from working on my skills with jiu-jitsu and thinking of competing at the september naga tournament, i have started to crave some speed biking and have tentatively marked septembers tour of austin as a nice comeback race!

as for day to day life in austin, i really miss my new england friends. i am shy. thats right, even though i talk your face off if i know you, i am very shy around those folks i don't know, and that makes being in a new city kinda hard. but i am working on it.

there is more to type, but i have to go to work now...may update part II is forthcoming...

spring, sprang, sprung

2010-03-06T11:08:00.003-05:00

things are getting green again here in austin. just had my coffee in the green house and it was almost too hot in there already at 10am.

i am healing up pretty well from my accident and feel almost back to 1oo percent. in order to heal up i had to take it much easier on myself this week than i had planned. tuesday night jiu-jitsu was great but when the competition class started and i got slammed into the ground a few times as we worked on takedowns it became clear to me pretty quickly that i had to call it a night. my lower back was still not ready for getting thrown that hard, however, everyday i am feeling better. next tuesday i think i will be able to go full speed again.

one of the hardest parts of training for any sport is knowing when you need to stop training for a few days. no matter what the sport is that we are focused on there is inevitably an attitude that you need to "tough it out" or "not give up" when you feel hurt. sometimes toughing it out is appropriate, and sometimes it can cause you to become sidelined with a far worse injury.

I have been really getting focused on trying to learn and understand more jiu-jitsu, and it is frustrating to take days off and sit at home when you want to train. but, healing up and avoiding injury is top priority, especially when your main mode of transportation is your bicycle.

so, while sitting around the house this week i had the car towed into the shop for repair. it will be running again on monday giving me the occasional 4 wheel option. i made some progress with the insurance company of the women who smashed me, and i am hoping to get a free doctors visit out of the situation so i can be sure i am healing properly.

my iro (fixed gear commuter) really proved itself to be far stronger than i had expected. the crash was pretty serious and the only damage was to my handlebars, they are now toast, and will be replaced soon. riding a bike with crooked handlebars is not fun or safe.

jay carr has officially made plans to get down here in april which is awesome. mr. st. germain shouldn't be too far behind. all i have to do is convince everyone who visits to stay.

as for bike racing this year, i have not been doing any kind of training at all focusing on the two wheeling. i am sure i will want to make a visit to the weekly criterium series at some point, but for now thats all i have on the radar.

there is a NAGA tournament in may and i am going to see if i can get enough training in to feel ready to compete.

in fact it is time to go train right now.

dear austin, please stop smashing me with your car...

2010-02-23T13:15:00.006-05:00

two car crash incidents in three days! neither were the fault of myself or abigail. just a strange coincidence that us being rear ended and then me getting smashed off my bike by a mini-van came on back to back days off from work.

i have some gnarly road rash, some deep cuts on my wrist, and a lot of aching and bruising, but the strange thing is how i basically feel fine. when the accident replays in my mind it seems like my bike must be wrecked or that i must end up with a broken wrist or elbow. luckily for me, i got up and walked it off, i feel very fortunate.

the driver of the mini-van and her friend spoke no english, and my only spanish is specific to restaurant use, since asking her to, "get me some clean silverwear," wouldn't shed any light onto why she honked at me and they plowed into me, i decided to let the cops do the talking.

when it turned out the woman had no drivers license they impounded her vehicle and then wrote her several citations, one of which was a "failure to yield to cyclist!" (i didn't know such a thing officially existed)

to be fair to the fine city of austin i must note that drivers here are exceptionally kind and nonaggressive with cyclist for the most part. it is a city flooded with cyclists of every level and the drivers have learned over the years how to share the road better, and the laid back austin lifestyle helps with that too.

in other news, i am working at the same restaurant still, but looking for new opportunities. I am training jiu-jitsu four times a week and getting in really good shape from the intensity of the workouts. For the time being my main athletic focus is going to be training for the NAGA (north atlantic grappling association) jiu-jitsu tournament that is in texas in may.

the weekly criteriums start up here in march and i will make some regular appearances and try to just enjoy going fast on a bicycle without any larger goals attached.

holidaze

2009-12-31T12:14:00.002-05:00

i have not been keeping up with my training so well the past few weeks, travel, work (in two states), and the drinking and carrying on that comes along with the holidays and my 32nd birthday have all left me feeling slow and fat.

but here i am back in austin. time to get moving. i want to lose 10 pounds in the next few months which means less cheese, beer, and late night snacking. More running, training rides, and tasty salad style action.

the 3m half marathon is less than a month away and i am still hoping to run my fastest time so far on the largely downhill course, which sounds easy, but, if you had my knees you would know downhill isn't really awesome.

road racing starts in february here and ends in december. i don't have the money or patience to endure a season that long so i will do some early season racing close to home to get ready for bigger events.

i need a new road frame and i'm thinking of trying to get my circle A (aka jays circle A) down here in time to be the racing machine for 2010. I ride a 55cm, anybody with any suggestions, let me know.

tonight is new years eve, abby is in california still, so i don't have any plans really. watch some fireworks, try to avoid eating pizza, and probably watch bad tv.

watch out 2010, i am coming for you...

texas update

2009-12-01T16:50:00.003-05:00

the last three months have been a blur of job hunting, working, struggling, occasionally succeeding, and mostly just trying to get my feet planted firmly on the ground. austin is an amazing place. it is flooded with energy, people running, riding bicycles, playing music, partying at every hour of the day. it is a very distracting place to be if you are trying to get things done.

i am still looking for a new or second job, hopefully something with health benefits of some kind.

that said, i am starting to feel like i am getting closer to finding my way in austin. but focus is everything right now, so i trying to set some goals for this next year. and i don't want to get busy with life and let these goals go unrealized, that has happened to often to me, to us all i bet.

i will run the half marathon in late january and the austin full marathon on valentines day 2010. the goal is to finish, preferably in 3 1/2 hours and not covered in vomit.

road bike racing starts up in february and i will be working hard to get into form for a trip to new mexico to race the tour of the gila in april. my long term cycling goal has always been to upgrade to cat 2. with the weather and racing schedule here in austin i think this upcoming year will be a great opportunity to try and finally reach that goal. but it will be very hard.

i also plan to save as much money as possible as my biggest goal is to become my own boss, or at least make progress in this direction.

there are a lot of ideas in my head, opening a cafe or a really awesome food cart/truck (they are everywhere in austin, and some of them are great). the first step is getting a good work situation together to make enough money to get things happening.

and in other news, i will be in providence from december 21st till 28th to celebrate the holidays with my family and friends. mark it on your calenders. and remember, the race to see who will visit me and abby in austin first still has nobody on the top step of the podium. get moving.

kickoff!

2009-09-13T14:28:00.003-04:00

I have been super busy for the last few weeks, moving to austin, finding work, getting lost, eating tacos, more tacos, and migas!

So far austin pretty much rules. But due to poor packing on my part i have been stuck waiting for our moving truck, which arrives today, for my cycling season to get back on track. However, our things arrive today, i will unpack helmets, kits, other bikes, and the madness will begin. Cross race on tuesday and austin driveway criterium on thursday. i feel fat and lazy, and can't wait for the motivational ass whipping i am surely in for. bring it.

I also found out that the gracie jiu jitsu school is just around the corner from my house, so i plan to get to a class this week!

oh, and here is the truck full of my stuff, gotta run.

big changes...

2009-08-12T17:36:00.003-04:00

well i haven't updated in a long time. partly because my last racing experience was a total bummer, and partly because i am in the midst of a very hectic time in my life. i am moving to austin, texas on the first of september. we will be road tripping and camping on the way there, and the logistics of moving everything half way across the country are pretty complicated.

still, abby and i are totally excited about the new things coming our way. new house, living with friends, new school for abby and eventually for me too, outdoor living all year round, bike rides in jan, feb, and they even have cyclocross (of some kind).

leaving behind friends and family is hard, and i will visit as often as i can, especially if i find a good job, but i really believe its the right time in my life to take this kind of chance and try something new. and the school abby has chosen seems perfect for her, so i am excited about her new challenges...

plus bike racing most of the year. camping in new places. running. swimming, meeting new people...all that!

the down side is that money is so tight i really had to put the breaks on the racing till i get to austin. i will still have a few months of their weekly races to do, and then cross. but my long term goals, really my two main athletic goals right now are to prepare for the Austin Marathon which is february 14th, and the 2010 tour of the gila in late may. i raced gila a few years ago but altitude and mediocre fitness really beat me up, but the scenes and the courses are intense, i really want to take another stab at that race. and i will only be a days drive away.

long term goals are good. i have been running 3 times a week, and i am going to start getting back out on the bike this week. i have been toying with the idea of doing the fall river race this weekend, but i kind of doubt i can make the time. we will see.

i have been lucky to have a good sponsor while here in new england, actually all along. i have raced for circle A cycles, providence velo, casters/majik coffee, nbx briefly (never did get one of those hot jerseys though) and finally millwork one. each one of those teams brought me in contact with really cool and talented people, and i am thankful for that.

i am having a going away party on saturday the 22nd of august in east providence. i will give you more details if you email. please consider yourself invited.

Attleboro

2009-07-09T11:58:00.003-04:00

after a brief hiatus from racing, due to a nasty cold followed by a very hectic week, i am back in action this weekend for the attleboro criterium. i like this race course a bunch and have had some moderate success there over the years. i almost always do the P123 race because it is fast and fun, but this year i am going to focus my efforts in the 30+ race and the cat 3 race. hopefully i will have some teammates in those events, the weather is supposed to be nice!

it was a bummer to stay away from fitchburg again this year. it was nice to see adam and ali in town, and i was really excited about gabe killing it, he just keeps getting faster.

off to walk the dog while the sun is shining.

don't mess with...rhode island?

2009-06-29T14:05:00.002-04:00

While it is still not "official" it is looking like abigail and I will be moving to austin, texas in september. i am really excited and a bit scared about this, scared only because i am a classic rhode islander who thinks kingston is very far away. but its time to take the challenge and live in a new place, and austin is really awesome, sunny, hot, and bike friendly.

not to mention it has the most music venues per capita of any place on earth!

not bad. right.

their midweek races are run like weekend races with category's and prizes, and happen every week march until late october.

rumor has it that they race cross down there too, but i am not at all convinced yet.

mostly the move is about abigail attending one of the best schools for acupuncture in the country which is called AOMA (academy of oriental medicine at austin). she has applied and we should here about the decision soon, i think her chances are great, she rules.

i will establish residence, work, play, and maybe study at the university of texas when i can get the cheap resident prices.

to pull off this move i need to unload some belongings.

i am holding a booksale at 111 wood street, on the stoop, sunday morning July 5th starting at 9am. I have tons of books. fiction, philosophy, poetry (ick), literary journals, text books on anatomy, biology, how to run for public office (its a pamphlet i thought was funny coffee table material), photocopied chapters of edmund hussurl texts nobody should try to read, ever, classics of existentialism, postmodernism, and ismism. (that last one is fake)

really, lots of good books cheap, come get a deal!

also i will be selling my redline singlespeed mountain bike, i want to upgrade anyway, and how many bikes can i guy move with anyway...what do i look like, adam st. germain.

also, i will be selling my guitar amp (musicman 210 75 watt) and some cool effects pedals.

if any of this sounds good to you let me know.

ok so this is a lot of info for right now, but i am overwhelmed, lots to plan.

as for bike racing here in new england, money is suddenly a big deal, so fitchburg is out.

attleboro is in, masters race at new britain as well, and the rest is up in the air.

time to go make a booksale flyer.

Just back from Austin, where training criteriums make the local papers...

2009-06-09T17:13:00.001-04:00

vermont marathon relay update

2009-05-26T12:11:00.002-04:00

quick update (details later)

scotty 13.1 miles in 1:46.30

adam 13.1 miles in 1:42.3o

combined marathon time 3:29.04

44th place of 110 male relay teams

99th out of 622 overall relay teams

beers consumed in celebration: (data not available at this time)

p.s. more details later, this event was pretty amazing.

summer is here

2009-05-22T13:36:00.003-04:00

boom. just like that is 88 degrees and so sun shiny in providence. its really the best time of year in this town, the plants are all blooming, the farmers market is kicking into action, bike riding in just jersey and shorts, cool winds are blowing out around the reservoir.

life is good.

work is busy.

risd had a money meltdown buy abby kept her job despite a brief scare.

and with the warm weather the road racing bug infected me. i have been training hard for a few weeks and much to my surprise, i am pretty fast right now for a guy who didn't do any of the BS winter miles of misery. running, doing jiu-jitsu and mountain biking have really gotten my fitness to a pretty decent level. now adding the right kind of bike training could get me to a good place for july and august racing.

two weeks ago i did my first road event of the year, ninigrit #3 in the king of the world in rhode island series. it was pretty fast but not really windy, and i did nothing, i mean nothing at all in the race. just cruised around making conversation with folks i haven't seen in a while. it was pretty cool. some people still can't corner a bicycle for shit, but hey, if racing bikes was easy to do they would call it football, right. (come on, thats funny)

i made it out to wompatuk this week, man thats a pretty strange race, its basically in a swamp, with no hills, smooth turns, and one million bostonites, and they race much like they drive...willy nilly.

two guys on the same team attacked at the same time and hooked each other hard. one got pretty jacked up and broke a collarbone, i hope he is ok, he looked rough. that crash came at the half way mark, i got in my car and got out of that swamp promptly. i won't be back to that event for while.

in other news, jiu-jitsu is pretty awesome, i go to class twice a week and we fight at the end of class in sessions that vary in length. it is hard to explain but grappling at full speed is so intense it is like sprinting at full tilt for 3 to 5 minutes sustained. and if you let up, you get choked or submitted by your opponent. it is wild, and really beneficial to all around fitness. if you can, you should try it, i mean that.

also, sunday, i run a half marathon again. this time as a relay with adam "hiding out in vermont till we all forget how fast he is, only to return and make us all feel slow again" st. germain. can't wait for the pain.

then off to austin texas, to chill hard, real hard.

then glorious return to criterium racing at a course i really like at walnut hill park, its called the nutmeg criterium.

see you out and about.

ps. i need a hardtail XC mountain bike with gears, holla at me dog.

brief update

2009-05-01T13:50:00.004-04:00

well april is now behind me and it has been a fun but difficult month. i got the DNF at hop brook dam when i forgot to properly pack for the days weather possibilities, i tried like hell to tuff it out and was trading 1st and 2nd position with another rider for the whole first lap. but before long my fingers started freezing so hard i couldn't brake properly, then it got ugly. fearing serious bodily injury i called the tuff guy routine quits, it turns out, i am not actually a tuff guy. but i will fight another day.

then last week i raced winding trails on a sunday after 3 or 4 solid days of bike time, i felt really good, my legs had some snap, i got away instantly with two other riders and we were putting distance on the rest quickly, in my excitement/inexperience i start over-cooking corners and forgetting that my bike does in fact have brake levers, soon i stack it massively while moving really fast. i'm ok though, up again and almost catch back onto the lead two when i goof up again on a bumpy log jump, i hit the deck and think, "dam, i suck." i take a few seconds to collect myself while several riders pass, i finish calmly thinking i need finishing points so i don't get hopelessly behind in the series.

i always race better in the mid/late summer, so this time of year i have to just learn as much as i can and finish with some points at least.

the good news, is that mountain bike racing is really fun, even when you are a hack at it, i cannot really say the same for the road racing.

speaking of road racing, i plan on making a appearance at ninnigrit soon, should be a real shitshow of a way to start your road season.

see you out there...

king of hungover burlingame

2009-04-06T17:23:00.002-04:00

this past saturday night adam st. "running things in burlington" germain rolled up to the red fez and needed a drinking buddy. well, you know i hate to leave my friends hanging, so i stepped up, big time.

needless to say, i had a blast catching up with adam, and went home to sleep for a few hours before waking up and hobbling down to charlestown to put on an epic display of classic bad mountain biking!

i got stuck in mud, i clipped tree branches, i ran sections i totally have ridden several times, i had a rough day. i have been riding down at burlingame a good bit lately and know i could have done way better, but with slow thinking brain and a body full of aches i just focused on having some fun and getting to the finish line in one piece.

after all it was an event that really was all about seeing everyone together having fun at the start of another season of bike endeavors.

dan from dash got the best of me and passed me in the first mile or so, i will return that favor, i promise.

adam got a bad luck flat and missed a really solid chance of wearing the crown. i think johnny bold ended up winning. (borrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnngggg)

nathan from dash had a good day and only crashed once, he probably bested my time even with a good crash.

this saturday i race in the hopbrook dam xc race, singlespeed for now, good times will be had, and i will not have a hangover. its time to go fast.

so that happened...

2009-03-17T09:17:00.003-04:00

its done. i ran my first half marathon in 1:48:00. i had targeted 1:40:00 and i had made all the splits at each mile including the 10th mile, then just past the water station on slight incline my right knee started to tighten up, it hurt. i kept running, and hoped that the pain would pass, but the pain forces bad form and at that point in the race bad form dominos the pain into other areas of your body, before long IT band pains started, at mile 11 i was losing pace, at mile 12 i was simple trying to make it through to the finish. when i rounded the corner onto the main street and saw the giant banner that read "finish" i felt great i knew i missed my target time, but i also felt that it was easily within reach if i took some more preventative measures with my knees in the future.

not bad for a first effort i thought. i really didn't know what i was doing, i didn't know how to warm up, or what to eat, or how much to drink, or what to wear.

and runners do some things different, the whole change in your car even if your in the center of some downtown someplace, runners don't see to do that. nudity in public is less their style i guess.

one funny difference abigail pointed out was that at the registration building there weren't any kitted up a-holes running through the sidewalks and streets almost hitting people cause they have a cat 2 or 4 license and think that riding around like that impresses people.

runners are pretty polite and chill. and most cyclists are pretty damn awesome too. just can't help but notice some of the db things that happen at road races when you see how others roll.

oh, did i mention it was over 50 degrees at the the midway point of the race. the sun popped through the clouds just seconds before the start. such a beautiful day.

in the end, i had a great time and despite debilitating pain for the last 3 miles, i ran pretty damn well and fell like it is a feat i will attempt again sometime, maybe not till next year, maybe in may, its a mystery.

its time to get the singlespeed ready for some serious off road driving.

i can't wait.

big weekend

2009-03-13T09:34:00.005-04:00

its 9:25 on friday morning and i am getting ready to bring my kitty jean-luc to get some shots at city kitty. he is doing fine, just needs updates on some vaccines. tomorrow morning i drop jay and his lady friend at the airport early and then cover a swing shift at the restaurant, hopefully i will only have to sit and relax.

sunday its off to new bedford to fun this half marathon. i am really looking forward to it.

yesterday i watched this documentary called the off road to athens, it follows the selection process for the US 2004 olympic mountain bike teams for men and women. there is some great footage from world cup races around the globe, and seeing the riders shred and talk about the racing got me really pumped to get on a bike again.

i plan on switching my training focus to biking monday morning. it is fun to be really excited about racing again!

i honestly don't miss the cold ass march industrial park crits i kept telling myself i had to do to get fast, ick...

this coming week i'm gonna ride the loop at burlingame at least once, scope it for king of the woods race, its gonna be good times.

wish me luck sunday.

P.S. i need a car. i gotta get my monkey ass to the races this year and mooching rides isn't gonna cut it, i don't really even know anyone who is doing the mtn races i plan on doing, so if you got some hot wheels, holla...

snow storm of doom...

2009-03-01T16:32:00.003-05:00

no racing today. i suspect bethel was canceled, but i am not sure, it was snowing in providence and a blizzard may be on the way. so i decided to get brunch with abigail at the garden grille. it was pretty good, jay carr superstar joined us for a bit while we ate.

then we went to REI and the discount pet store across the street. got the puppy a new bed for his crate which he was clearly stoked about it.

then 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym. the snow cleared the place out. it was nice and quite.

tonight is the track 84 curated beer dinner at julians, i will be waiting tables, people will be wild, i will make a million dollars.

next week wells avenue? maybe.

pre-run the loop in new bedford? yes.

get my mountain bike geared up for king of burlingame? most likely.

locate mysteriously vanished providence teammates? hopefully.

all this and more.

here we go...

2009-02-24T19:20:00.002-05:00

tonight it is quite at julians and i am sitting here planning out the rest of my week and looking forward to hopefully getting out to bethel on sunday before coming back to work the evening shift.

it has been really cold the last few days and i have been fighting off a flu that is sweeping through the city like a wildfire. so far i am not feeling great but also not getting knocked out either.

tomorrow i get up extra early for a morning run indoors, then work, then jiu-jitsu.

on thursday i will attempt a long outdoor run testing my speed over a 13.1 mile course that leads from my door to the brown stadium and back!

this weekend i will try to squeeze in a quick training ride out and around central pike and maybe even hit up some dirt roads out that way if conditions are acceptable.

so far i haven't heard from any of the other millwork one racers about their specific race plans!!!

time to start thinking big thoughts...

see you all soon.

1 week to go...

2009-02-22T13:45:00.002-05:00

in one week, weather permitting, the 2009 racing season will kickoff at the first bethel criterium of their winter series. i have started my season in bethel for a few years straight now, last year i placed 10th in the 3 race despite a quite winter with little training.

this year things are different, sort of anyway, since i have been running almost every day training for a half marathon. on top of the running i have been taking a weekly jiu-jitsu class that is very challenging physically. it is really awesome and builds strength and toughness that will surely complement my training to race.

i haven't really touched the road bike since i don't know when. it will most likely feel a little funny to be in the big ring flying around that industrial park, but i like the idea of being at that first event and starting the season at day one, whatever my level of preparation.

top 10? probably not. but who knows, i'll take advantage of whatever opportunites i can, and in a sprint who knows.

hopefully some millwork teammates will make it down to bethel, i plan to drive, fyi.

then its onto running the 1/2 marathon on march 15th, and mountain bike racing starting early april.

i feel great and can't wait to get outside and have some fun...

2009 race plan through July

2009-02-06T15:02:00.004-05:00

2009 racing schedule

March

-Bethel Spring Criterium Series #2

Sunday March 8th

-New Bedford Half Marathon

Sunday, march 15th

April

-King of Burlingame MTN Bike TT

Sunday, April 5th

-HopBrook Dam Root 66 #1

Saturday, April 11th

-Chris Hinds Memorial Criterium (probably not possible)

Saturday, April 11th

-Fat Tire Classic Root 66 #2

Sunday, April 26th

May

-Sterling Road Race

Saturday, May 9th

-Winstead Woods Root 66 #3

Sunday, May 17th

-Coyote Hill Classic Root 66 #4

Sunday, May 24th

June

-The Brandon Specyalski Foundation MTB Race Root 66 #5

Sunday, June 7th

-Nutmeg Criterium

Saturday, June 13th

-Mystic Velo Criterium

Saturday, June 20th

-Apple Blaster Hill Climb Root 66 #6

Saturday, June 27th

-Putney MTB Race Root 66 #7

Sunday, June 28th

July

-Domnarski MTB Race Root 66 #8

Sunday, July 5th

-Attleboro Criterium

Saturday, July 11th

-Pats Peak MTB Festival XC Root 66 #9

Sunday, July 12th

-Mount Snow XC Root 66 #10

Sunday, July 26th

-Major Taylor Hill Climb

same date

whats new...

2009-01-27T10:23:00.003-05:00

abby is back from costa rica this friday!

i have been training for my first half marathon which will be in New Bedford on March 15th. I am getting really fast on the treadmill, but in february i will begin trying to carry that speed into the outside world, the cold icy outside world.

my longest treadmill run was 9 miles on saturday and my pace was just under an hour and 11 minutes, so averaging about 7.7 miles per hour. not bad.

this saturday i will do 11 miles on the treadmill before attempting the whole 1/2 marathon distance of 13.1 miles on the following saturday.

taking that indoor speed and trying to carry it over into the cold will be interesting, the air stings your lungs, the real world isn't flat, and i have old man knees.

but you just keep running...

i have also been doing jiu-jitsu classes on wednesday nights which is awesome.

oh, and playing some music here and there.

i would like to do some mountain biking soon, any takers?

sunny bloody sunny!

2008-12-19T12:56:00.004-05:00

dear everybody,

I am in southern california till after christmas. it beautiful and sunny here today and we are not expecting a foot of snow. sorry, its just true.
When i return to providence i plan on continuing my running program, which is pretty lame right now, but i hope to be up to longer and faster runs in the next month.
As far as cycling goes, when possible i would love to do some mountain biking when i get back to town. I have never been in the snow, should be fun, right?
My plan for the 2009 season will end up being shaped by what school choices i make, but my desire would be to do the root 66 mountain bike series and some criteriums here and there, yes, thats right i think i might officially take a year off of pursuing serious road racing.
I basicially did the same this year but unintentionally. School, work, tiny puppy, and other things just trumped cycling over and over again, and rightfully so.
My long standing goal of getting a cat 2 upgrade is something that for someone of my ability level should be possible but only if i am totally focused on cycling, making pretty much everything else second. i can't justify doing that at 31.
However, i can show up to races in the woods and have a ton of fun, which i will do...
But don't think i won't show up at the wednesday night criterium and bump you out of position in the sprint, or steal your prime, cause i will definitly still be up for that.
Love and miss you all, see you for new years...

winter, for real.

2008-11-24T12:41:00.002-05:00

the cold is here. my school semester is almost over. and i haven't really raced as much cross as i was hoping, but alas i will be at the NBX weekend extravaganza, driving my bike hard. I just joined the new gym that opened by my house, it actually opened for business today. I am going to start a running program in hopes of doing some running races, maybe even the marathon i wanted to do last year. the rumor mill seems to suggest that apples st. vermonster may also hit up the road running!

i plan on doing some mountain biking in the coming weeks, but i am not down with the long, foot freezing, mind numbing, base miles in the cold fests that some of you hardcore folks with great work ethics have planned.

in fact, i am currently speculating on my 09 season consisting of a full root 66 mountain bike season followed by an attempt to host a cross training series in providence on tuesday nights...(more about that in future posts)

meantime, if you want a running partner you should call me!

in other news, i am still playing music, we don't really have a name yet, but i am still calling the band shithawks. we may even have a fourth member soon. we will see.

so then...

2008-10-20T12:06:00.002-04:00

no cyclocross for me this past weekend. the week was difficult and busy, poor abby had a killer cold and we both lost some sleep for several nights straight. somehow i haven't gotten sick yet though, so i am feeling pretty damn good about that!

i will hit the NBX UCI cat 10.5 world cup grand prix of wakefield crank brothers wednesday night showdown on wednesday night! Saturday i will race in wrentham, and probably hit big river on sunday, anybody wanna join me? (probably ride early like 10am)

Speaking of training races, there are several good locations around the city i think we could get a providence cross training race together, if anybody wants to try and work on this for next season i would be really into organizing a tuesday night race perhaps! lets do this! I have several locations in mind, what about you?

oh, and school is going along just fine. I am looking forward to studying some more chemistry and science of nutrition material, the class i have now is more public policy and frankly if i wanted to write grants for a living i wouldn't have come back to school for it, but the class have been very interesting anyhow.

come see me at julians tonight, i will serve you things, and give you high fives, for sure.

some new shit...

2008-10-14T19:40:00.004-04:00

today was the first day of band practice! jay carr and i are working on making some new music and its fun to have a creative outlet again. we are called: shithawks. for real.

last week was a really fun NBX cross race. after joining a 4 man lead group on lap one, and winning the nonexistent first lap prime, adam "hotshit" sullivan accelerated and dropped me like a pile of linty pennies. bummer.

the rest of the hour was spent fighting for second place with bo fuller and some hanger-on, the third fellow never took first wheel so didn't get a good look at him, but me and bo attacked each other till he finally came loose. then, to finish the other rider off i put in a really hard attack and nearly flipped myself over rounding the tree near the first part of course. unfortunately bo was right behind me and did flip over. after that i was all alone till the finish line. my personal best finish at the cross bike practice.

it helped that several strong riders took the night off, but i'll take what i can get!

my goal is still to stay with adam and single-speed guy at least once this season. not an easy goal to satisfy.

my weekend race plan includes the mansfield hollow race on saturday, and the canton cup (a course i really like) on sunday.

hope to see you all soon.

some recent events you didn't ask about...

2008-10-06T11:18:00.002-04:00

well i have been busy lately. pablo, my puppy, is a handful. abby and i are trying to get him crate trained since other efforts to get him housebroken were not effective AT ALL.

i had to drop my biochemistry class at RIC because i had the worst professor i have experienced since i got stuck taking epistemology with a bible-toting-tenure-having-nutbag in the philosophy program at uri. yeah, uri people will know who i'm taking about, the professor who leaves pro-life pamphlets on all the desks at the front of the room.

as for bike racing i got out to the domnarski mountain bike race a few weeks ago and had a killer time racing on a super gnarly course. I finished second in my small division of sport single-speeders. I think next season i am gonna make a run at the root 66 series overall for single-speeds in my class.

I raced my cross bike in the muck at Quad Cross last week and had a good time despite a crummy start i clawed through some traffic to finish in the middle of the pack with pretty much no fitness.

With the midweek NBX world championships of south county and north american cyclocross upon us i plan to step it up. running daily in my fancy running shoes and taking it easy on the french fries. no, on second thought, i will run and eat french fries, maybe at the same time. you can't stop me. don't try.

now he's breaking pedals...

2008-09-25T16:19:00.003-04:00

quick update: I raced at domnarski farm on my singlespeed mountain bike and loved it! I think i am going to make a go at the root 66 series next year. mountain biking is really hard and so damn fun!
I am also really excited about getting back into shape with some cross racing, i will be at all the wednesday night NBX battles, and also plan to race at least once per weekend.
I went up to the Velo cross race in NH but destroyed a crank brother pedal that wasn't even mine on my "warm-up" lap.
as for future racing, unfortunatly for a variety of reasons i won't be at the first verge weekend up in vermont. But i do plan on racing Quad cross this sunday and Eco cross next sunday. see you all out and about!!

FALL!!!!

2008-08-25T10:06:00.002-04:00

here we go, there is a lot of new info in my life...

1. i have a puppy. he is named pablo, he is beyond cute, he weighs 8 pounds and has more energy than any being alive on earth. (pictures later)

2. i have classes starting in a few weeks, biochemistry and class on lipids and metabolism. awesome, right!

3. i have been playing the guitar alot.

4. i have been riding both the mountain and (newish) cross bike, and plan to race them both in the next month!

5. i even got on the road bike a few times. it would be cool to do the bob beal race but i feel like i might do a mountain bike race instead. who really needs to get beat by bill yabroady again at this point in the season, i mean really!

plan for fall (so far)

september 6th and 7th-

root 66 MTN bike races in hingham (and for all those who heckled before i will race the singlespeed sport class, with a bike that has NO suspension, so chill.

september 13th root 66 final at domnarski farm

september 20th cross at londonderry NH

september 27th verge series race #1 at green mountain

late july update

2008-07-29T02:01:00.002-04:00

nothing much to report. i registered today for my first mountain bike race ever! the august 10th root 66 race in oxford, ma. i will race the beginners category on my single-speed and see what happens. i am pretty excited about that. i may even get to the holiday farm race a week earlier, i will wait and see.

i am gonna do my first road ride in a while tomorrow and see how my body and mind react. i haven't really had a total turn-off to road racing like this since i started competing in 2004. hopefully, a little rest and some much needed focus on other areas of life will allow me to hit the bike again fully charged...

i wish all my friends great luck and good results in all the events they are rocking!

yeah, well.

2008-07-22T02:02:00.005-04:00

i took down my "schedule" as i am pretty sure i will be revising it heavily. this summer has been lots of fun, i just took a nice beach vacation, i have paid some bills, and i have gotten my school situation pretty organized. biking though, biking has been the victim of many other priorities, and this season where i felt faster than ever has faded into a total vacation from being a "bike racer."

i miss the burn, and the sprinting, and the climbing so hard and still not going that fast. i don't miss being horribly broke with nothing to show for it, assholes, or crashing.

all in all, i have been mountain biking every week and thinking about cross a bunch. i figure this road season is pretty much over for me. it is time to focus on the aspects of the sport that i am excited about right now, cross mainly.

i am going to get my bike set up soon and start doing rides at chase farm as well as the weekly woods rides.

also i am going to start playing me some tennis, wanna play me, go ahead!

as far as 2008 road goes. i wanna rock the bob beal's stage race, the rest isn't on my radar right now, sorry.

ninigrit world championships of rhode island and the known universe

2008-06-27T14:43:00.002-04:00

the high-speed and fury continued this wednesday at the south county non-invitational championship showdown race. from the looks of it you'd think the winner was going to get a free car or trip to hawaii. it was a tough race and guys who are super were hitting the parking lot with laps to go.
my goal for the night was just to make it through to the finish and feel pretty good. i accomplished that goal which continues a three week trend of significant improvement, all due to consistent riding.
i have been opting to ride in the woods more the last few weeks- since i have new bike fever, but riding hard is the important part for me right now, the focused kind of training i could use to improve my finishing will have to wait till i feel ready for it again- possibly a week or so.
meantime i plan to hit the bikeworks TT on thursday evenings starting this coming thursday july 3rd. the course is very nice, very challenging, safe, and brings out a fun and varied crowd ranging from local legends like johnny bold to first timers. its a great way to get a feeling for how your body responds to training and racing from week to week.
i ride the TT "cannibal style" meaning no aero equipment. the same bike and same setup that i use for my criterium racing. i do this for several reasons:
1. i think TT bikes are wack.
2. if i am going to to a max effort i want it to be on my bike i go to races on, right!
3. i am fairly competitive without the setup which i can't afford anyway.
4. I will time trial in actual competition twice this year. (once at working mans stage race and once at bob beals old man championship.)

anyway. see you at the TT next thursday. see you downtown at the criterium tomorrow. and wish me luck, i think i am gonna need some.

wednesday=bike day!

2008-06-25T10:43:00.002-04:00

no time for a lengthy post. i'm off to big river for a few hours, then back to the city for lunch, drop off abbys car, chill for a bit before meeting team sam for the ride down to the ninigrit world championships of rhode island and the world criterium. hopefully there will be less crybabies there this week, i wanna have some fun.

see ya there.

oh, and who wants to sponsor a two man team for 24 hours of great glen, mike and i promise we will win, for sure, and we mean that, really!

big wheels keep on turning...

2008-06-19T13:38:00.006-04:00

this past friday i splurged and bought myself a redline monocog 29er! let me tell you, this bike rulez! it is my first real mountain bike and mike sam was kind enough to lug me down to big river saturday morning for a few hours of awesome riding. we got a little lost in the end but honestly i was having tons of fun. i feel as excited as i did when i discovered cyclocross.

i am kinda sorry to all who read this blog that i have been kinda on a negative spin lately, talking a lot of trash about road racing issues- i feel that i am fast approaching a longer break than usual with the road.

but i am really excited about this summer and riding my new bike. i am making more money and working less hours, so i can go huck it several times a week and still race on saturdays when the spirit moves me or a good event comes up. plus, i have been getting my beach on, and that is essential.

my next road race is the cox downtown criterium in providence! i expect to have a hard time as the 2's have been combined with the 3's for a pretty rough event. but racing on the streets of your hometown is always a joy!

i am thinking about trying to get some friends together to do the 24 hours of great glen mountain bike race in august. any takers?

yesterday i did a few hours in big river and then hit the training race at night which made for a pretty bikecentric day, especially if you include the time i spent taking out my bottom bracket to get it to stop squeaking. it was fun though, spending a bunch of time on my day off playing with the bikes. i am planning to spend wednesday mornings riding the mtn bike on a regular basis, again- let me know if your interested!

on the racing front, i have been to the last two ninigrits as i try to get my body moving again after a mental health break from training, and i am improving week to week. my personal philosophy about the training race is as follows: show up, race as hard as you can and more aggressively than you might on a weekend, do this till exhaustion. at first exhaustion will come before the last lap, who cares, if you have 25 great minutes in you give everything for 25 minutes- who cares if you finish a training race. after a period of improvement you will be racing at full gas, all that you can do, and finishing- wining primes maybe. this is what i think the race is about. sitting in to sprint is a waste of time. pulling the field around chasing a break you missed with some idea that you will pull yabroudy and the like back is a waste of time. yelling at racers who are better than you to pull harder or faster at the front is a waste of time. just show up and race hard till you can't anymore or the race is over.

a long time ago a very good cat 2 racer gave me some advice when i was starting out as a 4, and what he said still makes a lot of sense to me, he said, "do not pull the field in a race, it is a waste of energy, if you feel strong jump across the gap others will follow and help, if not then none of you are strong enough to bring the group in front back anyway! sit in, block, lead out, or attack, pulling the field isn't a good use of your energy."

well, last night at ninigrit was proof. the field got close with 1 to go, but the front riders were just using there gap and playing cat and mouse, anyone who mistakes that for the weaker field actually gaining on the break is mistaken. sorry, thats just my opinion.

anyhow, i got a good race in and worked hard as hell till my engine shut down, i think in the next few weeks i'll have the endurance back to factor into the finish. i just want to improve and have fun, i only hope that the people who get to worked up about these races can remember why we are there in the first place. to work hard and find personal improvement, while having some fun.

no, where have YOU been?

2008-06-05T02:15:00.007-04:00

i haven't updated this blog in half a month. truthfully, i'm not sure what to update about. i have been working a bunch and making a serious dent in my URI debt from the past two semesters, and thats awesome. i have been having some fun spending time with abby when i get days off. i have been reading a book that is really intense and engaging.

what else.

i haven't seen the last two episodes of lost because i was bowling, which is much better than watching TV, but seriously i love lost.

on the cycling front- well, i feel kinda toasted. not really burnt out, though my season started early, but actually just disconnected.

i haven't had the strong desire to train lately. thats not to say i haven't wanted to be on my bike. i have done some sweet fixed gear riding and picnic having. but i have missed two training races to work (which is simply an issue of having proper priorities) and tonight i worked again after seeing the weather forecast was rain anyhow.

my last race was the stafford crit a few weeks ago. i never updated about that race because, well, it blows. the speedway was filthy and depressing, the course was actually covered in junk and trash actually blew through the air as we raced. lame.

i know this blog must make me seem like a really picky jerk when it comes to bike races. but i think i am fair. going to bike races for those of us who work hard for a living, without making much money, means making sacrifices and there are days it seems totally worth it and those it seems a waste of time and money.

and it isn't about results, apples will tell you that i love the green mountain stage race, i always talk about it favorably. its a great race. i have never done well there. i got a top ten in the crit once when i was cat 4, so thats ok, but really i have never had a good showing at green mountain. still, in my opinion, it is the second best stage race i have been to after gila. why?

green mountain is selective. you don't make the moves, you weren't strong enough. even the crit is so hard that only really talented crit riders can contend.

i am way off subject.

my point was that stafford wasn't an awful event, it just was kinda depressing to show up to a venue that looked like shit, and then do a glorified ninigrit with guys missing corners every lap. i would really have rather had few beers at the beach. 4 real.

whats next? you might ask.

well i will race at ninigrit this saturday but only because its on the way to the beach where i will drink a few beers, throw a few frisbees, and build some sick sand-condos out of old sand-artspaces.

update that.

quick update

2008-05-16T17:52:00.003-04:00

well i didn't win any primes on wednesday night. with a big field and speeds on turbo early in the race, i thought it would be wise to follow the post prime counter attacks and see if i could get into "the move."

no luck.

i did bridge some small gaps to groups that looked like they would work- but it never came together till billy and peter and some other guy slipped off the front while i stared at speed ring and a few others waiting to see who wanted to chase these guys with me. i shouldn't have stared. i waited to long.

they were gone for good. there wasn't enough firepower in the pack willing to try to bridge or pull. the efforts at the front were strong but uneven.

there was also a bunch of the, "you pull, no you pull, no your team should be pulling" talk going on. kinda lame.

me and brendan did the share of the work we were capable of doing.

with 2 to go i got behind chris "my bike says sprinter right on it" dale and held his wheel to line for 6th or 7th in the field sprint. but who really cares, i missed the move.

try again next time. which for me will be in three weeks since i am doing some fill in shifts to make some cash.

oh, and i am skipping sunapee. to far, to lonely, to few miles of racing.

hopefully i will huck some gnarr(sp?) instead.

time for pinball.

wednesday afternoon

2008-05-14T13:51:00.003-04:00

its been awhile since i have had a few relaxing days in a row, and let me tell you, its awesome!

i got up a little late today. biked over to white electric and read more of the new murikami novel- kafka on the shore.

the book is very intense. there are talking cats, a man who calls himself johnny walker who kills cats and eats there still beating hearts. a man named nakata can speak to cats clearly and ends up having to kill johnny walker.

still with me?

the other major story arch follows a boy who runs away from home and ends up living in a elegant family library after befriending one of its operators- a hemophiliac who drives fast and talks about opera a great deal.

there is also some portion of the story relating to nakata as a child- before he could speak to cats- when a strange incident occured that left his entire elementary school class passed out cold in a field for no apparent reason.

you still here. ok, its strange. but murakami makes it all so real in your imagination that it is often unnerving. at the moment he is my favorite writer.

in an hour or so i am going to hop on my bike and head to south country for the midweek training race. i raced well last wednesday and hope i can improve upon that effort this week. i plan to attempt to win some primes and finish in the break. there is almost always a break.

i will report back later.

sterling report

2008-05-13T01:55:00.004-04:00

it is currently 2 in the morning and i just got home from work. not ready to sleep yet, so instead i will update you all on my first real DNF of 2008.

i will start by pointing out that i was bummed at how boring the palmer road race was, and therefore i approached sterling with a i wanna go fast and screw-all-else race strategy. so, after we roll a few miles to the start finish and get the race out of neutral i wait till the next pitch of the climb and decide- damn it i'm attacking. so i solo'd away on the climb and sat alone for a few minutes till i saw three riders making there way up to me, when they got to me we all started working together really well.

i actually had a lot of fun, we did lap one on turbo, taking all the corners super hard, pulling through at 32+ on the route 12 section and feeling like if we can stay away over the climb we might get some more fire power to bridge up. and after all, the biggest team in the race was represented in the move, so the blocking must get going on.

our best efforts were put forth, but half way up the climb we see a strung out field flying towards us! i settle in for a painful climb-while-trying-to-recover session. i make it though- we are over the top and i sit in for lap 2.

during the lap 2 sit in i have to say i was almost killed a million times, being in a 3/4 field over 100 all killing themselves for every inch of the road sucks. it makes me antsy, so despite my better judgement i wait till we get out onto route 12 again and then i attack hard again.

again i am alone for only a minute or so before a few rides bridge, once more good teams are in the move with me and we get a solid gap. but again, on the big climb the field manages to pull us back, we just didn't have the power hold the gap we built out on route 12.

i suffer HARD to stay in the front group as the pack starts to split form the efforts as we are getting caught.

the next lap i sit at the back feeling like i over did it, but still feeling like a bike racer, i tried to make a move happen, that counts for something.

when we hit the next climb i realize i am hurting, out of water (somehow i forgot to fill the second bottle even though i was in the parking lot longer than most pros) and thats when the lights went out.

for real.

i just shut down.

but i felt ok with everything. i won't race this crazy on purpose any time soon, but when you are getting bored with conservative "smart" racing, the remedy is to just show up and go nuts! remember why you love racing, because going fast is sooooooooo fun!

it is late, i am tired. more later.

see you at ninigrit wed night.

summer break means more bike practice

2008-05-08T18:48:00.006-04:00

tuesday morning i had my final in organic chemistry after working all morning monday at white electric and then going into julians to do my first night shift waiting tables. I left julians at 1 in the morning and then went home and had beer before passing out with my alarm set for 630am. i wake up with the alarm, get dressed, and go to over to white electric for last minute cramming of chemical reactions, good times!
i think i aced the final. i felt confident with my answers and i look forward to getting my grades.

as for biking, i basically haven't touched the road bike since palmer on account of work madness and school stress. but i think i am finally in the clear- between julians and white electric i should get by just fine without working 10 million hours, so i can get back on a serious training plan.

nonetheless, last night was my first ninigrit of the year and i did really well. i won a 10 dollar prime lap and finished 5th in the race. it was really fast too- 28mph avg and strung out for a lot of the race with guys like billy "i win 1000 races a year" yabroudy and adam "speed ring" sullivan making everyone work- still nobody got away all night! field sprint finish and i scored 5th which is "in the money."

i won 15 bucks, some socks, and matt gave us some leftover beer. matt from NBX does a really good job with that race and i'm thankful that he does, it makes for a really valuable and fun midweek race.

in other news, tonight was my last night working at providence bicycle. i was on job overload and somebody had to get voted off the island. they were kind to me for giving me some work when i needed it and i appreciate it.

starting tomorrow i am relaxing a bit more, and training a lot more.

oh, and i have a new phone! so email me your phone number-since i lost all my old ones.

i have to say the sun shining and summer race season starting has me smiling a whole lot!

final week of spring semester!

2008-04-30T14:02:00.004-04:00

life is hectic this week. i just started another new job- waiting tables at julians. i am really liking it there so far which is great. but three jobs and two exams in two weeks has had me keeping my head down and working pretty hard.

as for last weekends race report. there isn't much to say. i did the palmer road race since recent editions of sturbridge were designed by some kinda moron. seriously.

i heard the new course is great and very challenging- so i look forward to trying it out next year. back to palmer though.

i felt strong the whole race, the pace never really got hard, i went into the red a few times bridging up to promising looking breaks, but nothing went, despite a field with some talent everyone seemed resigned to a 80 man field sprint ending. i am mad at myself for not using all my energy to try and force a move to go. i love a field sprint in a criterium, it gets fast, good position is key, i can get to the right places. big field sprints in road races aren't for me, doing 18mph until 200m to go is nuts. cat 4s who could barely hold on coming to the front to wobble around waiting to sprint for 30th. ick.

on the plus side. i did feel great, i did make some moves when the heat was on, and i even bridged to a move on the climb no problem at all.

anytime you finish a race without a result and feel totally fresh, you screwed up. so i learned my lesson, you have to create the finish you can win from, you can't just wait for someone else to do it for you!

i really want to do jiminy peak and redeem myself, but with a big final in chemistry on tuesday and not a lot of time left to study, it looks like i will have to wait for sterling to give it another try.

oh, and my phone is broken. i ordered a new one and will have it by next week. till then contact me through the internet or messenger pigeon.

rick newhouse report and some sick one-speeding

2008-04-22T13:52:00.007-04:00

saturday morning i woke up at 630am to a really amazingly beautiful day outside! i made the decision to ride my 10 speed down to charlestown to do the ninigrit world championships of the world-and rhode island.

i was 100 yards out my front door when i decided to make a small saddle adjustment. i get out the tool, i'm turning the wrench, and SNAP. the seatpost bolt snaps clear in half.

this is the third time this has happened to me, once it happened while i was riding my fixed gear working downtown for dash. total bs.

i run home and steal all the needed clamp parts off of my iro and then fumble around the apartment trying to get going. 645 i try leaving the house again.

this time i get all the way to the lowes where the bike path starts. i decide to ride hard for a few miles to warm up a bit, however, and this is funny- i bear right on the path and i'm flying around this tiny body of water, after a few minutes i realize i'm back where i started, thats right i'm riding around in a circle on this tiny section of bike path that goes around a glorified puddle. so dumb.

i find the spot i should have taken a left and then i'm finally heading south.

the sun was shining and the ride was excellent i did get a little confused about where to get off the bike path to pick up route 2 but i managed to remember just in time.

having left my house on adam st. germain time (thats 15-30 minutes behind schedule) i knew i had to keep my commute at a sporty kinda pace. that meant no coffee in exeter, ohh well.

i got down to ninigrit at 9:20, having actually left my scummy pond crit course at 7am that means the actual commute time was 2hours 20minutes. good times.

i pined up my number and warmed up with brendan and big ring steve. at the start line there were 22 guys, not too many, kinda sucky.

there really isn't much to say about the race itself. a handful of us made the first half of the race a series of uneventful breakaway attempts.

the second half of the race was a staring contest- big time.

last lap the sprint approaches and i think i can get a podium finish for sure. we get into the last to corners and i get dive bombed by some arc-en-ciel riders, my own fault though. i should have had "sharper elbows" since i was on the winning riders wheel till yielding to some cat 5 cornering. thats crit racing. i recover out of the last corner and manage to chase back to the 4th place rider and i attempt to get him at the line with a bike throw- i felt sure i had him nipped. the camera doesn't lie though, so i took 5th.

ok, but in a field that size i wanted a win or a podium at least to feel satisfied.

ninigrit continues to boggle my mind. for the record though, 5th is my personal best at ninigrit. i also finished 5th on one of the wednesday night races which to me was a bigger deal, but life goes on.

palmer this week should be a good test.

yesterday i spent the morning at white electric working. after work with the sun shining and some biking to be done mike, lynn, and i took the bike path (whats left of it) to bristol for some frosty beverages and greasy food. much fun was had. i insisted on riding in peoples backyards most of the way home. we encountered some kids on bmx bikes with a little jump set up. we rode the fixed gears over the jump, then, still drunk mind you, we borrowed one of the little kids bikes and tried to actually jump the jump.

it goes without saying that i bagged heroically, barefoot, like i meant it.

now its tuesday and time to work and study. 2 weeks left of organic chemistry.

fyi- my current wish list includes

a mountain bike

a vacation

a scholarship

vegan ice cream

some of those cookies kipp makes that give me sugar headaches but are soooo worth it

obama to win tonight

all of me and abbys friends from out of town move back

recently and soon

2008-04-16T08:59:00.005-04:00

first off, i raced the P123 at the chris hinds memorial criterium in charlestown last saturday. for the first 60 of the 90 minutes i was feeling really strong, i followed a lot of moves since i believed the race would end with a large group escaping. when the right group got away i missed it and later when peter shapiro and a few others attacked and bridged i should have been with them, but i was out of position and once that front group got together the race was over. the remaining riders tried countless times to make gains on the group but it was just a lot of uneven and unorganized accelerating, which actually takes tons of effort and gains nothing.

i wasn't expecting much more than a field finish anyhow, but when i saw the size of the lead group i felt kinda disappointed i hadn't made it up there.

on the up side, i haven't been fit enough to finish a race like that this early in the season in previous years. so things must be looking up, and besides, saturday is another chance to race ninigrit i will be there doing the 3 race as well as the P123.

school is keeping me busy the last few weeks. my lab class ended yesterday but the lecture continues for several more weeks, and we have an exam and a final left to take.

next up for me is a summer session of biochemistry on tuesday and thursday nights starting may 19th, which is really soon, so i have to make work schedule adjustments by the end of the month.

school is my number one priority right now and i need to take this class this summer, so finding work that i can make fit around my ever changing schedule, that still pays me enough to eat periodically is always a major stress factor.

it seems that i lose work at white electric every semester when my schedule changes, it just never works out, tom has really tried to help me out, but i still need to get a plan together for the summer. i have till may 19th to sort it out.

i have this morning off so i am heading out to white electric for some sweet mocha action and then off to the bikeworks TT course to do a little research. (my best "cannibal" time on that course is 19:10 and kipp has the record at 18:47 for non-aero-geek times) i will let you know how that turns out.

saturday i will race twice at ninigrit and probably skip sundays myles standish race unless anyone from millwork wants to convince me otherwise. i could be convinced.

to all who are venturing to the battenkill race- i wish you great luck!

racing, training, and making soap

2008-04-09T18:36:00.003-04:00

this past sunday mike, joe b, my old coworker nathan from dash delivery, and i all packed up the super wagon and went to wells ave to get one more fast training race under our belts before the chris hinds criterium kicks off our season. and folks, its gonna be classic spring weather on saturday! i mean like real classics weather- cold, wet, and windy.
i hate racing crits in the rain but its the chris hinds race and its a rhode island event- so i will throw on the spicy hot lube and hope to stay in the upright position.
other sullivan has a whole team showing up and there will be plenty of fast guys willing to race for 90 minutes in the muck. should be awesome!

training this week has been going pretty well and despite a hectic schedule i feel strong on the bike and think i can expect some solid results this april.

my organic chemistry class ends at the end of the month! the last lab experiment is next week, which i am really happy about since the lab is pretty annoying.
this past tuesday we made soap in the lab! really weird odorless soap. i felt like i was in fight club, but without all the fighting.

hell has offically frozen over

2008-04-02T18:49:00.002-04:00

i did a repair on my own bike. hot damn.
for the longest time i have been fully reliant on other VERY kind folks to help me fix my bikes when they get all jacked up from excessive use. well i recently decided to try and change my style and so far things are going pretty well.
i gave my bike a pretty good tune up last night fixing the brakes, setting the shift levers into better position, new handlebar tape, took out the bottom bracket cleaned it and greased it and put it back- and magically the awful creak disappeared!
i felt pretty good to fix something myself.
i am guessing that there are probably a lot of former pbike employees that owe somebody 10 bucks after they read this. seriously.
did a trainer ride with some long steady intervals. hope to get and outdoor sprint session on tomorrow with the 2 minute pyramid intervals.
then wells ave on sunday where i will try to win a prime and get a in some longer harder efforts.
then hopefully drink a few beers with the new king of burlingame!!

Tour de Toona is reduced to one day race. let me tell you what i think about that...

2008-04-01T07:55:00.002-04:00

in 2005 i went down to altoona pa and raced the weekend points race version of the tour de toona. stage 1 was a fast rolling circuit race that ended in a terrible hectic downtown circuit with 7 tight turns in under a mile- the whole pack makes it to the sprint because the rest of the course is pretty easy. the result is that crashes happen in every race category! big, ugly, high speed crashes.

that same year that i raced toona a category 4 woman crashed on this finishing section and was paralyzed. for life.

you would think that after tons of small crashes and one life altering horrific injury the organizers would get their act together. no such luck.

while i am sure that many great people help to make the tour de toona possible- those at the highest levels made very stupid decisions that resulted in the running a course that was clearly an excessively dangerous one for races in the lower amateur categories.

let the pros do whatever the heck they want! they get paid, they know that part of the sport is facing some dangerous situations, and they collectively possess greater skills to handle tougher courses.

accidents happen, but so does neglect. the race organizers must take the safety of the racers into consideration and take appropriate action when an event becomes too dangerous.

those running toona failed to make these easy decisions and as a result lost one of the countries premier stage race events- they are mired in a lawsuit they should lose with the female athlete who is now paralyzed.

so don't shed a tear for toona. the race has also been fraught with an embezzlement scandal for several years, seriously, wtf.

lets all hope a new race takes toona's place. a new race that delivers all the big name racing and excitement minus the senseless danger.

charge pond report and some free advice

2008-03-30T20:28:00.005-04:00

charge pond was pretty fast and kinda fun considering the road conditions weren't particularly awesome- and the course was being run in the reverse direction from normal. me and mr. hanrahan got to the event just in time to pin our numbers, take a few spins around the parking lot and line up.

the race starts and a break goes from the start.

by the start of lap 3 it is caught- and the counter attack looks good, so i follow the move.

there are 5 of us- the other four are all slick looking pro-am guys from met life, IF, and kenda-raleigh. magically, everyone does what they are supposed to do and we get a big gap, at least for a little while.

i felt really happy to be with good riders in the move and taking my turns at the front, holding my own just fine.

sadly, the big boys were back in the pack and after a few laps we got reeled in- the attacks that followed set a really fast pace, i just held on in the pack waiting to catch my breath.

at some point mccormick gets away with two other guys. race is over.

the boys from the met life team looked very slick and pro when they went to the front of the pack and formed a perfect line and took turns driving the pace hard for several laps. both me and brendan joined in and took some pulls at the front.

alas, the guys off the front were GONE.

6-to-go and i hit a divot in the road and feel my handlebars become "highly adjustable" aka super loose. i had no choice other than to pull out. racing on loose handlebars would be insane.

here is some free advice; don't stop pedaling suddenly when traveling fast on your fixed-gear. i know what your thinking.

"duh!"

well have a good laugh at my expense because i hit the deck really really hard friday morning and landed on my head. not wearing a helmet, of course.

i will pause for a minute to wait for you to laugh and make a smart-ass remark.

now that your done- i have decided to wear a helmet from now on, like i should have been doing all along anyway.

and i will not suddenly try to freewheel on the fixie anymore, ever, ever.

fri, sat, sun!!!

2008-03-28T10:42:00.003-04:00

this week i worked, schooled, and biked. the biking got the short end of the stick this week though- so today my major project is to draw up a realistic schedule that will allow me to get in the training and study time that i need between the shifts at my two jobs.

this past wednesday i got a massage at body sense- a present from abby i have been hoarding since xmas. i really enjoyed it and felt like a superhuman on my way home flying around town on the fixed gear all loose, and fast.

work schedule is kinda wacky on mondays and thursdays when i am pretty much booked from 6:30am till 8pm. this is ok so long as i will be freeing up wednesday evenings for the training race as soon as it starts.

i look forward to finishing up my organic chemistry class at the end of april and then having a few months to focus on bike racing and paying down some school bills.

tomorrow i will race charge pond, another march race series i haven't ever attempted, i think it will be pretty fun. it will mark my forth race day in march- a month i have normally raced one day at the most.

today is abigails birthday so you should call her and tell her she is awesome or perhaps just mark your calendar for a week from today- when we will have a party in her honor at the 111 wood street aka fort scotabby.

off to coffee land!

chemistry, bike, work, repeat...

2008-03-24T19:19:00.005-04:00

Millwork One Racing has new uniforms and Murat did a kickass job making them look really hot. i felt faster the second i put the jersey on, like BANG, so fast!
school is back tomorrow and will continue into the first week of may. i will get my first exam back graded tomorrow and i'm looking forward to seeing if i did score as well as i hope.
training is gonna be in full swing for me this week with shorter trainer rides on the days i'm working a ton- and nice long outdoor rides wed/fri and sunday with racing on saturday at charge pond or plainville.
abigails mom and dad are going to be in town this week for her birthday and its really exciting for her to see them. luckily for me, i really like her parents and look forward to seeing them too.
as for the birthday girl, a party is being planned for the weekend after her birthday and i will tell everyone details soon.

new things...

2008-03-21T10:10:00.004-04:00

lots of new things going on this week.

working at providence bicycle again after a three year hiatus. i have some school bills to pay before i can enroll in my summer class- biochemistry, thats right biochemistry.

millwork one is gonna be rocking new shiny team kits the next time you see us! I might have to test the parameters of said kit at one of next weeks crits.

i finally took the GRE! and for those of you who have been kindly asking, i did pretty well. the scores are off to URI and now i am mostly done with the application process.

this means i can finally do some hardcore bicycle driving practice and get soooooo fast!

this weekend i plan to ease into a good week of riding outside almost everyday and some focused interval work inside at night. today the winds outside are really crazy!! just sitting here in the living room looking out the windows onto wood street is amazing. i heard trash cans blowing all around the neighborhood last night, just crashing into everything in their path.

spring break is nearing a close and haven't been to the beach once or even seen a frat guy throwing up. pretty lame.

oh, and i've been eating this soup that i made with whatever i could find in the kitchen, its spicy and has noodles and soy beef, its pretty good for a leftover surprise.

off to the trainer, then team ride tomorrow morning/trainer in the evening, sunday i'm gonna ride early- who wants in??

C. the two quantities are equal

2008-03-19T09:35:00.002-04:00

it is wednesday morning and i am on my way out the door to go get some coffee and then catch a bus to warwick to finally get this annoying GRE test over with. it will be nice to relax tonight and try to enjoy the rest of my "spring break" till monday when i have to do a slew of chemistry homework.

i will be bike riding, burrito eating, and that purple book i have had with me, as if it had been attached to me surgically, will be a thing of the past!

the next big project will be finalizing my URI application by april 15th. oh, and winning a bike race this spring. also, taking over a small country and ruling it with an iron fist, but like a soft iron.

it is time to go brave this rain storm and kick some standardized ass!

wells ave #1 race report, tiny tacos, and the science of sleep

2008-03-17T12:43:00.004-04:00

adam has already scolded me for not posting more timely race reports, so here it is. ready. ok. here we go.

the plan for wells ave yesterday was to get a feel for the course on the first few laps and then proceed to the attack-every-chance-i-get method of training. i followed the plan pretty well i think.

when the first prime bell rang i got into excellent position with the help of mikes advice about how the sprint usually unfolds. (they begin to ramp up from this part of the course where the pack goes between to parked 18-wheels. weird, i know.) we come to the last- i think 500 meters- and the guy beside me jumps hard, i follow, and we are alone in a two up sprint. i figure he has to fade, its 500 damn meters! he didn't. oh, well.

later the bell rings for another prime and i try like hell to get position but can't. so, i think to myself- what would the vermonster do in this situation- and then i attack hard just after the sprint. two riders followed me and we were away for two laps. (about as long as any break stayed out all day) in the break i felt really strong on lap 1 and pulled us up the "hill." lap 2 i realize i am getting way to gassed by the cat 1/2 guy pulling in front of me at a million watts. thats ok though, i tried. when i felt i was useless i faded back to the group but noticed marky mark mccormick bridging up. however, the race was back together a few minutes later.

I recovered and when the prime bell rang i went up and got great postion again in a small group at the front of the pack, things were looking good out of the last corner, i think i will go 2 million miles and hour, and then we see a car in the road. the sprint is neutral. dang!

from that point until 3 to go i don't know what happened. not much, i guess.

at three to go brendan, mike, and i are all in good position. the pack gets a little wobbly as it become apparent we are in for a field sprint. (i'm told this is rare at wells)

last lap.

i get great positioning by keeping the elbow out and ramming myself into every open spot i can find as the field folds several times. we hit the last corner and i'm in the front 10 wheels, this is great.

i start to sprint and boom an nebc rider pulls in front of me and stops harder that boonen sprints. i mean this guy stopped HARD. and thats that.

i had a ton of fun and was happy to race with teammates for the first time this season. mike made several attempts to set me up but he came by me at jillion miles an hour both times, which is ok, he looked really fast yesterday. we will all have months to figure out our leadouts and what not.

mike made the top twenty and brendan was top 10. good day for millwork one.

later at home i made tiny tacos!!! this is very spicy refried beans, tofu, peppers, corn, and green beans on this awesome soft taco shells from the spanish market around the corner. habanero hot sauce on top and damn thats a tasty taco!

me and abby then watched the science of sleep, a movie by michel gondry. we both love gondrys style and the film is totally one that i'd recommend.

today i woke up at some ungodly hour and went to serve the general public the lattes they so loudly demand. for the rest of the day i will study the GRE and do a pretty easy trainer ride to recover from yesterdays efforts.

i am really happy that racing has been so fun this march, i mean, who would have known racing with frozen toes could be fun.

let there be spinning

2008-03-15T19:17:00.002-04:00

in case you were wondering- i did fix my trainer and ride it last night!!! I was sure i would break it while attempting to fix it. however, i got the awful sound down to a almost unnoticable sound. fixing the trainer 100 percent will require more time, last night i was in a hurry to get in a good hour on the trainer before i was just to tired to do so. and i am happy that i made it happen. i felt great after the ride.

today i woke up and went to white electric to study and drink some sweet soy mocha action. so nice!

tonight we are going up to boston to visit some friends who we stayed with in portland last year when we went to scope-out the great north west. should be a good party but i hope to be back home and in bed kinda early.

tomorrow i will race wells avenue criterium if the weather permits, and then spend the rest of the day working on my test preparations and school stuff.

since michelle asked what i was eating...i will tell you i made gluten free rice pasta with abby and in my bowl added red wine and (soy) cream spicy seitan. thats right. gourmet action.

i hope the race happens tomorrow. i will win a prime or break my legs trying. thats real talk.

broken trainer insanity

2008-03-14T19:18:00.003-04:00

as you will come to understand, i break bike parts and bike-stuff as if it actually were my job. however, it isn't my job to break the plastic protector thing-a-ma-bob that "protects" the magnetic do-hicky on my cyclo-ops trainer. as a result, i will not be getting a nice new trainer to trash. i have to fix this one, myself. so thats tonights challenge. fix the trainer and then ride the trainer. hopefully this plan works.

the past few days i have been putting the GRE on the very top of my priority list. cycling isn't getting tons of attention this week, to be honest. but i have intentionally done lots of trips- like the one to my parents house in east providence yesterday- on the track bike. I have been trying to make the best of my around town time, but real structured training is happening when i can fit it in only, at least until i take this test.

the GRE is wednesday, so after that i plan on hitting a very good month of hard (focused) training leading into the first of my target races which are in late april.

it makes me a little crazy to look at the bike in the next room while i am studying and convince myself not to go ride it. keeping priorities in check is a really central aspect of my life this past year, and it will only become more important when i start my real grad classes in the fall.

in other news, adam "the vermonster" st. germain turned 14 today. he will still be a junior for 4 more years! he and ali came down to providence and we all (like a thousand people) went to the red fez to hang out. even though i was mentally exhausted by the evening it was really cool to see friends who aren't so close by anymore.

i am hoping to get in a race on sunday at wells ave. the weather is up in the air though, so i guess i will wait and see.

time to go try and fix my trainer.

spring racing schedule

2008-03-11T16:35:00.003-04:00

the following is my spring race schedule for 2008. the only bummer is that i will probably have to skip chris hinds because i can't afford to take that day off of work. If the race i was doing was a few hours earlier (like it will be at rick newhouse) i could race and then rush off to work. oh well, i didn't really stand much chance in a 123 race at this point anyway. hopefully something will come up that makes that race day possible. we will see.

march

sunday march 16th wells avenue training race

sunday march 23rd wells avenue or bethel criterium

sunday march 30th nbx adam sullivan training series

april

sunday april 6th tba

saturday april 12th chris hinds (most likely i won't be able to attend due to work conflict)

sunday april 13th turtle pond circuit race

saturday april 19th rick newhouse ninnigrit criterium (early race and then off to work)

sunday april 20th myles standish road race

sunday april 27th palmer library road race

Bethel Race #2 Report (Wells Ave, who is in for sunday?)

2008-03-11T11:39:00.003-04:00

sunday morning mike, bill, and i all headed down to bethel for the second criterium of the six week spring series. Last week i was happy with my 10th place finish and hoped to improve on it this week. I also planned to get in some very hard efforts off the front and see how well i could recover.
when we arrived in bethel it was clear from the winds, which were amazing, that this race was going to be hard to predict. big field splits seemed likely and thats exactly what happened in mikes masters race. so, after a few wobbly laps i decided to get things going and took some really hard digs on the hill. After several laps in a row of trying to force a split it became apparent that the field, which was splitting quite a bit, would come together in the 40+ mph wind on the back stretch.
i decieded to sit in for awhile and wait for the big money under 10 laps-to-go prime. it seemed like nobody realized for several laps of curb to curb racing that a few races had slipped away on one of the more spilt laps and they were long gone by the prime bell at 6 to go. crap.
so i waited and plotted for the ideal position in what was sure to be a nutty field sprint. one to go, everything is order i slide up to about 10th wheel still hiding from the wind. i stay left so i don't get the curb boxing treatment. then shit gets wild. several riders try to get past me on the left and take the wheel i'm following. i give them the sharp elbow and carry on, but one of the dimwits gets his handlebars in full contact with mine about to hook them. then i'm able to break a little bit and get free of him and sprint a few pedal strokes back into position. the hill is coming and i'm still in a good spot, but the effort is making it hurt.
then i hear yelling ahead, breaks squelling, the pack shifts really hard to the left. I'm still upright we are the hill i hear a crash!!! and that my friends was enough for me... i soft pedaled up the hill and decided i will live to fight another day.
i didn't mention this earlier but with under 10 to go there was a fist fight in the peloton. yes, really!
those of you who know me are already aware that i am a magnet for this football team reject bullshit nonsense. luckily, they stay up, and are later disqualified along with the guys actually touching each other (hands off the bars) in the finish sprint.
wild day.
end result is that with more focused training and good safe decisions i think this will be a good spring.
this coming sunday there is no NBX so i think i will do the first Wells Ave race in its place. who wants to come with...

so this happened...

2008-03-08T20:23:00.006-05:00

this week was full of school oriented work and some job hunting to boot. i had all the best intentions of doing a good solid training week but ended up with a more unfocused result. on monday i rested on purpose and prepared my school work for tuesday as well as driving out to my parents house and setting up my GRE test date. MARCH 19th. i can't wait.

tuesday was a really long day at school with an intense 3 hour chemistry lecture followed by a short break and a 3 hour lab experiment that gave my lab group a lot of trouble. we had to set up this strange glass apparatus (pictured above) to heat up a mixture of cyclohexanol and cyclohexene and then separate the two compounds based on their differing boiling points. the glass apparatus has many parts that have to be connected with this stopcock grease that doesn't really do its job...as a result the glass pieces fall apart occasionally and while under pressure. the result is water shooting across the room. not professional. not dry.

our results were not as accurate as was possible and we wasted loads of time on the effort.

wednesday i took the bus, with my track bike, to south county to give a professor the paper work he needed to write me a letter of recommendation to the nutrition program. galen johnson, my favorite philosophy professor, was kind enough to agree to write me a recommendation and given that he has a lot of pull at URI i am lucky to have him on my side.

i had lots of extra time in kingston waiting for the bus and did some fun riding around campus on my goofy 46-15 gearing. i need to fix that gearing.

thursday i work all morning and then go out on a mission to find a new job. no luck yet. i am starting to feel pretty lame about that aspect of my life lately, but it will all work itself out somehow.

friday i sleep in and then go to white electric to do a good GRE study session. i am getting more and more confident about the quantitative (math) section of the test. after work abigails friend galen arrives and we all eat dinner and then go see death vessel and callers at AS220.

the show is amazing and inspirational. i get a little drunk. its awesome.

today i get up late. not hung-over, but not feeling amazing, i hobble over to white electric for a study session for my first organic chemistry exam. i felt productive and got a lot of information shoved in my head. still, no biking.

tonight i am eating well and trying to outline my lab report so i can type it up quickly later. i am excited to be racing tomorrow but feel bummed that life this march isn't really simple enough to be organized around my training. my priorities are in order though, and i feel like there is a very real chance that my racing might actually benefit from being further down on the priority list. we will see anyhow.

bethel #2...WATCH OUT.

bethel race report

2008-03-04T08:16:00.008-05:00

this past week has been a blur of school work, preparation for grad school applications, and job hunting. on top of all that high priority stuff i did manage to get in a few good trainer rides during the week. saturday i didn't touch the bike at all. so sunday morning when i go up to go meet mike and head out to bethel i felt really relaxed. usually the first race of the season is more of a nervous affair, but this time around i have been so focused on other things in my life that the race really was more fun than in past seasons where i might have felt overly invested in the outcomes of my races. at any rate, i had a good time talking to mike on the way to bethel and although we did get a little lost we still arrived on time.

i made sandwiches and sat in the car for about and hour reading hawthorne short stories from a book on the dashboard and not even thinking about the upcoming event till it was time to do my warm-up ride.

after doing a few "openers" and some spinning out on route 53 i headed to watch mike finish the masters race. he looked good and raced at the front of a large group finishing 19th which is very good for march 2nd. we had both agreed that morning the days only objective was to finish and get a sense of how we felt while racing. the next few weeks will be more about being aggressive in the race.

so the 3/4 race starts. and its really fast. we did the first 8-10 laps especially fast and the head wind on the long downhill section trimmed the pack significantly as the laps went on. i felt really good, and rode the front 10 wheels of the peloton pretty much the whole race.

being a solo rider in field with several well represented teams i decided to play it safe and just wait for the sprint.

the lap cards start to head south of 5 to go and we are sprinting full gas over the finishing hill every lap aggressively angling for position on the windy stretch. i do fine and remember from a previous race on this course where apples finished well that the left side of the road is where "its at." sure enough at the sprint everyone fights for the right side of the road boxing themselves in effectively. i go hard to the left get a nice wide open line to the finish and make it to 10th place.

i'm really happy with how the race went. i could have sprinted better but i also plan to be out on the attack next time since small breaks often stick at bethel.

my body felt good. the 28 mph pace was not a problem, and my instinct for how to get around the pack seems to have survived a winter of biking alone in my living room.

good times. next week i am going to go full gas. watch out.

Please give me a job...

2008-02-27T12:09:00.004-05:00

sunday was a nice winter day with temperatures around 40 degrees i got in a fun 3 and half hour ride with teammates as well as Kipp "the cookie man" Bradford and Adam "stealing scotty's last name" Sullivan. the ride was nice, long, and featured some challenging roads in western rhode island. when i got home i changed my clothes, switched bikes, and tacked on another 45 minutes on the bike to ride out to the middle of noplace warwick to see Abigail bellydance.
monday was rest and do homework day. tons of fun i assure you all. ask me about benzene rings and aromatics i would love to tell you all about them.
tuesday was school and the trainer.
today is job hunting. i need another part time job or a totally new full time job. i am getting by right now but it is really hard to pay all the normal life bills and pay for school and find the money to get to races. its always a scramble but i need more work to make it happen.
i have been applying to lots of jobs and even had some strange interviews...but so far its still latte land for me. oh well, if you want to give me a job please email me at theparadigmshifts@hotmail.com. i will also accept funny joke job offers. why not?

field test, bad tv, loving the trainer

2008-02-21T17:44:00.002-05:00

in an ongoing effort to preserve good health in these cold days of late winter i have been riding my trainer every day since feeling human again. (see previous posts about cold from hell)

today i did a 20 minute "field test" in which i rode at a consistent all out effort on the trainer to get my average heart rate over the effort. when the ride was complete i had maintained a 186bpm heart rate average. i rolled the effort out over the whole duration pushing harder and harder, all in the seated position with a good high cadence, eventually reaching 196bmp in the last several minutes. the effort was hard and sweaty and i will confer with coach st. germain later to get some idea what the results "mean."

for the most part i was looking for a point of reference to test again later as the season progresses.

i plan to stick to the trainer through till sunday when i have planed a SHOWDOWN group ride with big sprint efforts.

a week from sunday i will kick off my season at the bethel criterium series. i have no expectations for that event other than to mix it up and get a sense of where i stand on my path to getting good form.

now its time to go to julians and drink in honor of ASG's big move to vermont. the ice cream state. how about that!

the return

2008-02-15T19:17:00.004-05:00

well, its friday and i am almost human again. after falling victim to some sort of flu that made me useless most of the week i am finally feeling pretty normal again today. my cough is pretty much moved on and i only have a runny nose left to battle. i should be feeling really good tomorrow.

i will stick to the trainer tomorrow morning for my workout and if all goes well i will venture out for the previously planned sunday 3 hour ride.

since this week ended up an unscheduled rest week i am going to just start my next training block on monday, fresh.

hopefully i can get right back into a rhythm this week.

fast forward to thursday

2008-02-14T15:31:00.005-05:00

well its late in the week and i am still sick! i have been getting better the last few days but it isn't the cough that is hurting me, its the fever like hot/cold sensations, and the muscle aches. good times, really good times. there are quite a few people around providence reporting similar problems. i am hoping that i wake up feeling human again tomorrow and resume bike practice this weekend. it is up in the air though. i am going to go drink tea.

the cough, oh dear lord, the cough

2008-02-11T22:19:00.001-05:00

i woke up with a pretty annoying cough. i was outside riding in the rain so that could be the cause, but it could also just be my turn to get a winter cold. other than the cough i feel pretty good though and hope to get back to training tomorrow with some trainer time. the forecast calls for a few more nasty days before things get sunny for thursday.

my plan is to do a field test on thursday if the weather conditions stay as predicted. i need a baseline to start comparing against as i train for the upcoming season. my first event is in under three weeks, and while i am not concerned about my results at bethel, i would like to feel strong enough to have a little fun.

so in conclusion, if you want to ride in the rain you have to be prepared for the consequences.

i need to drink some more tea now.

rain drops kept falling on my head, hat, gloves, bike, butt, water bottles, food, cell phone, map, money, pride, ect.

2008-02-10T18:04:00.000-05:00

the story of todays ride really begins last night at the red fez. kevin made me a gin & tonic and i could barely think after i finished drinking it. so when the phone rang this morning it made my head hurt.

but i didn't skip the ride. i rolled out of bed, checked the radar that showed rain far off in the distance, and jumped into my kit. rolled over to the coffee shop because thats how all good bike rides begin. had a bitchin' soy mocha and then sprang into very slow action.

i got out on 14 to peck hill road and then followed peck hill over to byron daniel road. bd road is a small road that runs parallel to 14 up to 116 and has about two houses on it even though it runs for miles. i figured it would be a nice quiet addition to the ride, and then all hell broke lose.

as i took the left turn on the short steep downhill that begins byron daniel road i realize that i am on a giant sheet of ice covered in slush. one wrong move and i am carrot juice. i was freaked out and really wanted to hit the breaks because your instinct says, "hit the breaks!" but your brain says you will get hurt very badly if you take a 20+ mile and hour slide into a bunch of trees.

well i didn't hit the breaks and i am here to type the story.

however, a few miles down the road i saw a storm coming in...but i was so excited to be outside riding instead of on my trainer i plowed ahead! straight into the storm!!!

i got very wet. i did one long interval from the intersection of 12 and 14 too the top of the route 12 wall. throughout the whole effort i was getting soaked and caked in dirt that was flinging everywhere in the crazy cross winds. man, do you wish you were there yet?

all that being said, i had a good time. i want to ride a ton this week and get faster.

and i want to eat more tacos. right now.

more rain and snow

2008-02-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

this week is really dreary. i am going to ride the trainer again today. ick.

it's snowing outside at the moment and i am about to make a pot of coffee and finally do some much avoided homework. then walk to work to get back in bike harmony. then serve espresso. i would really like to see the sun tomorrow.

alkanes, sweating to presidential politics, and risotto

2008-02-07T19:32:00.000-05:00

so far today i have managed to avoid doing my organic chemistry homework, but i need to settle into it pretty soon. the class isn't to bad. its actually very easy so far but the material is going to build on itself and like the last class i think the pace of the material really accelerates as the semester progresses. so for now i am studying alkanes which are hydrocarbons that contain only single bonds. exciting shit.

i did practice biking today. i did a trainer ride today with several longer intervals (10 minutes and later on 20 minutes) i was sweating like crazy and the whole time watching msnbc people discuss the ongoing presidential primary. man thats enough to make you crazy.

for the record i am a obama supporter. that being said, i don't much care for any of the presidential candidates. obama is just my favorite asshole essentially. and like many endeavors in life voting for a president is really just picking the asshole you feel most comfortable spending time with. ok, that was to cynical.

after the trainer ride i made a really bitching kalamata olive, spinach, tomato risotto. it was awesome.

tommorow i get up early and try to get a good three hour ride in before work. some long hard intervals and spinning around my favorite roads. i just checked the weather and it looks good for me getting my first outdoor miles of the week.

i hope the adams run over cactus needles.

chemisty class and rain

2008-02-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

today its raining and dreary outside and i was hoping to get in a ride out in western ri. instead i will be starting my week off with an hour on the trainer and a short run. i have been trying to run regularly but this last month i have been having pains in my right knee (the ACL i think) that hurt so badly i have to stop running and even find myself limping a bit the following day.
i will give running another try tonight after some serious stretching and hopefully i won't get the knee pain. i am hoping to run a marathon this spring but it is totally unrealistic if i can't get past this knee situation.
well, i am on break from my organic chemistry class and its time to get back to work. i can't help but think some jealous thoughts on this rainy day about my friends training out west in the sunshine.

monday

2008-02-04T22:12:00.000-05:00

today i took it easy. this week i aim to ride 14 training hours. the weather forecast isn't looking so good which means i may have to get ready for some serious trainer time. i need some new movies or cycling videos to watch while sweating in my living room.

i am trying to make a plan of which races i will attempt in march and april. most likely i will do the first bethel criterium and then focus on getting ready for the sturbridge/palmer road race weekend. i will be at the chris hinds criterium in early april but only for training so i might ride down south from providence and get lunch at crazy burger afterwords.

its hard not to think about april when it's cold and hard to get motivated. i can't wait to be out training and racing in shorts and jerseys. fuck tights.

weekend

2008-02-03T09:27:00.000-05:00

saturday i got in a nice 3 hour ride with great weather around western rhode island. my teammate murat met up with me on route 14 and helped guide the ride around some roads in the coventry area i am less familiar with. i stayed in the bubble between zone 2/3 most of the ride and got back to the city with a 148 bpm average for the ride.

its sunday morning now and it looks like todays ride will be pushed off till the afternoon as i don't have an even remotely clean set of cycling clothes to wear. yes, its laundry day. whoo hooo!

work was pretty good yesterday. a nice ride in the morning really sets me in a more relaxed mindset for the rest of the day.

My plan for this week was to do 12 hours and i will have 12 by tonight. so next week will be a 14 hour week starting tommorow. tuesday is a rest day on account of school and homework.

In other news, i bought a new fixed gear and IRO still hasn't successfully emailed me a call tag for the bike which arrived dented. very annoying. they aren't working this weekend so i don't know at this rate when i'll get that situation worked out. maybe monday i will send it to them on my own dime.

sunset ride on hope furnace road + trainer ride

2008-01-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

yesterday i got in a two hour training ride with not a moment of sunshine left to spare. i exited providence by route 14 and looped around some farm roads before riding down 116 to hope furnace road to do a long interval. at exactly 4:25 i turned around and headed back past the farms along route 12 which were really beautiful as the sun was coming down. as i reached silver lake the sun finished setting just in time for me to have a particularly scary trip thought olnyville. good times were had.

today i rode the trainer and watched an old episode of curb your enthusiasm. it was the episode with the french cook who has turrets syndrome. he shouts things like cock sucker with a french accent. very funny.

i did several intervals on both rides and feel pretty good in general. i have to get new shoes soon as i have had problems with the bolts staying in my cleats. last year i had to drop out of the chris hinds crit when i nearly crashed out by having my leg suddenly come free from the pedal while accelerating out of a corner. i just have too much power.

what is going on with your training for this upcoming road racing season?

2008-01-28T14:13:00.000-05:00

I plan on keeping a mostly racing related blog here on this page for the entire 2008 racing season beginning today as i start week 1 of my training schedule. I have been riding nonstop this winter but not in a organized enough way to get real benefit from. that changes today.

my goal for the season is to earn the points to upgrade to cat 2 this season and in the process win a bike race. i believe i can do both of those things. it isn't going to be easy. there are always frustrations and let downs. but this season with some good team support and a lot of mental focus i know i can make it happen.

so today i plan on riding a 2 hour outdoor ride or the trainer equivalent. i am going to ease into the routine for the next few weeks building up to 16-18 hour weeks for march. this is a later start to training than i have tried in previous years but i don't plan on being on good racing form till late april and i think thats a good plan for me considering that i don't usually enjoy early season racing anyway.

The big news this winter is that i am racing for the Millwork One Racing team this season. (the team blog is M1racing.blogspot.com) Other team members will include brendan and dave from the original Circle A Cycles team and lots of other cool folks from around ri.

I have had a lot of fun racing for the Casters then NBX teams these past two seasons but the opportunity to race alongside teammates and friends from town is a big attraction to a new team that i think is going to be a good match for me.

keeping a blog like this will hopefully help me to stay focused and keep track of my own efforts and ideas from now till september.

i apologize in advance for that fact that i haven't had much practice expressing myself by writing down sentences since college. so if you cringe while reading the first few entries to this blog remember that i do most of my communicating by shouting my opinions over loud music.

stay tuned and i will answer many questions you probably won't ever ask.

PS... yesterday i bought a new fixed gear bicycle from IRO in PA. it's a mark V, its black, it will arrive in providence this week, and i will ride it around a whole bunch. I'm really excited to get back on a fixed gear bike after all this time riding the single speed setup. fixed is the way to ride in the city...and a pretty good training tool for this time of the year as well.