tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13815772283354473612024-03-05T18:57:34.176-08:00Velo-Ciraptor AttackBrownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-1319362693757727862009-11-02T01:05:00.000-08:002009-11-02T01:06:16.680-08:00Cadel Evans is a Whiny Stupid Turd.That will be all.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-73574153392319113422009-10-02T15:19:00.001-07:002009-10-04T09:08:46.263-07:00La Bici, le Montagne, e i Castelli RomaniOkay so I promised I would make you jealous. Prepare.<br /><br />The past few days I've been making some excursions out to the mountains east of Roma. They're fairly far away so it's hard to cram too many climbing adventures into a single weekend, but I get there when I can.<br /><br />The first one I did took me away from the coast on Via Cristoforo Colombo, toward Rome, past the remains of some seriously ancient (and still functional!) Roman aqueducts, and up the first climb of the day to Castel Gandolfo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhFSqD1skFZXuWe0ghi1FQLRQm0SyE3H14OTkOT6UHBB9Z2KcPwiCwu8BlxRKquSwDfza1_ma6zYWMMepMHUvACTnIxoeIaZppSxovzseN_F5bUXGoVh5vKVq5vmt0LOCViURlVdXULg/s1600-h/DSC_0108.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrhFSqD1skFZXuWe0ghi1FQLRQm0SyE3H14OTkOT6UHBB9Z2KcPwiCwu8BlxRKquSwDfza1_ma6zYWMMepMHUvACTnIxoeIaZppSxovzseN_F5bUXGoVh5vKVq5vmt0LOCViURlVdXULg/s400/DSC_0108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388772752888984082" border="0" /></a><br />This is the summer home of the Popes, and it was...nice. I then rode around the rim of the series of mountains which surround a nice lil' lake, through hillsides covered in grapevines, and into Frascati. From there, I headed up toward the mountain's peak, which had some pretty awesome ancient Roman ruins. Here's a Map My Ride ride map of the ride I did which I then mapped using Map My Ride:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=6205b40cf3bf5bf3cf99c37f36584012&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/italy/rome---frascati/250125452189115736">10/02/2009 Route</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/italy/rome---frascati">Find more Bike Rides in Rome - Frascati, Italy</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />Then, today I went for a little jaunt with a few other gents who I recently befriended on the roads (my Italian is getting much better). We headed down the coast on the Lungomare to Torvaianica and then cut inland and kept going. The roads got progressively steeper until we reached the edges of a town called Lanuvio, at which point the switchbacks began. Awesome. Here is another map of my ride which I mapped using Map My Ride:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=13f9537785f6ec14ac280c9c2c722bb4&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/italy/rome/608125466415020761">10/04/2009 Route</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/italy/rome">Find more Bike Rides in Rome, Italy</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL --><br /><br />Next Up: A friend of mine has promised to drive us out to Chieti, so we can ride to the climb at Blockhaus on the course used on <a href="http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro0917">Stage 17</a> of this year's Giro d'Italia! Pumped!Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-64865253161908987262009-09-30T02:56:00.000-07:002009-09-30T03:08:50.955-07:00Lungomare to Campo JemelliI love bike racing to death, but sometimes the off-season is so damn good. It feels awesome to just jump on the bike and go for a ride without thinking about watts or time spent pushing the pedals. <br /><br />Today I woke up at the asscrack of dawn to meet with a group of locals down by the water, but nobody showed. Sweet. In any case my solo ride was pretty fun, heading down the Lungomare, as usual, and then cutting inland to do a loop through Campo Jemelli, along the Autostrada to Torvaianica, and back home on the Lungomare again. It was a nice ride, made even nicer by the fact that <span style="font-style: italic;">drivers here actually respect cyclists</span>. You may not believe this, but I didn't hear a single car horn during my entire time on the road today, and part of my ride even took me on the Autostrada (the equivalent of the MassPike for Romans)!<br /><br />Unfortunately, I live on the flat side of Rome, about a two hour ride from the mountains, but when I find the motivation to trek out and do some climbing I'll put up a post and make you all feel jealous. For now I've pasted a Map My Ride...uh...map of my ride...in case anybody is interested.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=05f607de5734c12ea842e95c90ff533e&u=e&t=ride" height="700px" width="100%" frameborder="0"><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/italy/rome/324125430391321631">09/30/2009 Route</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/italy/rome">Find more Bike Rides in Rome, Italy</a></iframe><!-- MMF PARTNER TOOL -->Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-79689734829841803172009-09-27T04:50:00.000-07:002009-09-27T04:59:00.916-07:00Italy UpdateLaura and I have been in Italy for a month now. The following things have happened:<br /><br />-The airline lost my bike.<br />-The airline found my bike.<br />-The airline delivered my bike.<br />-My bike broke.<br />-I fixed my bike.<br />-My friend's car was broken into in Florence and my clothes and camera were stolen.<br />-We almost burned down the apartment while making hot grappa.<br />-I walked into the leg of a bed and dislocated my toe.<br />-I wrote my first blog entry since starting this trip.<br /><br />Obviously these events were separated by considerable amounts of awesome traveling, pasta eating, wine drinking, and bike riding, and when my new camera arrives (thanks Adorama...) I'll get some pics up.<br /><br />Keep on rockin' in the free world.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-39535693103702391012009-04-23T08:10:00.000-07:002009-04-23T09:38:31.842-07:00Guess Who's Back?Okay, I know it would be an understatement to say that I dropped the ball the last couple of weeks with the (lack of) BU race reports. It's more like I spiked the fuckin' thing in some steroid-induced blind freakout, stabbed it in the neck with a sharpened toothbrush, and then stomped on its slowly dying carcass. It might be too late to make amends, but I'll try anyways by using the next half hour (graciously donated my last college lecture EVER) to rope something together.<br /><br />Seriously, it's amazing when a race weekend is close to Boston. We met up at 808 Comm. at 6:00 and made the drive out to Hanover, NH in no time. I think this was the latest we've ever left for a weekend, and the earliest we've ever arrived. Sweet. After hitting up Everything But Anchovies (where flimsy silverware engaged in an epic battle with the world's toughest chicken parmesan and we discovered that Kaybles is some sort of idiot savant when it comes to Trivial Pursuit) we headed to our hotel and watched some baseball until it was time for bed.<br /><br />The next morning we woke up to the greatest continental breakfast ever:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8anpZr513gTLKpBPFjTYn-8Pls7fG6LWq1X-I5nDfBjyEzMFm8TMSV4oFKrJCI_yfwnIYwvU-4bPRhG9qptBT4OGf1eOUqieOiV9wJwEC1rkC_szGeABrqUJTM9yek1jJGQf0OIeRJqo/s1600-h/DSC_9320.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8anpZr513gTLKpBPFjTYn-8Pls7fG6LWq1X-I5nDfBjyEzMFm8TMSV4oFKrJCI_yfwnIYwvU-4bPRhG9qptBT4OGf1eOUqieOiV9wJwEC1rkC_szGeABrqUJTM9yek1jJGQf0OIeRJqo/s400/DSC_9320.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327909480268820114" border="0" /></a><br />Oh yeah, that's a fresh, hot waffle. And they had one for each of us, so we didn't even have to share! We ate, headed out to the TTT and picked up a few points, and then it was time for some crit action. The weather held up for most of the day (<span style="font-style: italic;">but see, e.g., </span>Shit Weather, <span style="font-style: italic;">infra </span>p. 3), and the BU D squad started us off. Here they are getting some pre-race pointers from Kaybles:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyJJkKd-7RMzbLIzG-IGtJENjEjhuCxdXtrak-ZGyfY07nq0ctkQMVopUP3z7pjxaXqS8iW3sRGVFpdqnS8yyjd3Lu1PJU1_EWhl65BZqpXkk4rNaZKO_WoPsCoxugvMX8v20cYsZJeo/s1600-h/DSC_8966.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyJJkKd-7RMzbLIzG-IGtJENjEjhuCxdXtrak-ZGyfY07nq0ctkQMVopUP3z7pjxaXqS8iW3sRGVFpdqnS8yyjd3Lu1PJU1_EWhl65BZqpXkk4rNaZKO_WoPsCoxugvMX8v20cYsZJeo/s400/DSC_8966.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327907593454700578" border="0" /></a><br />They then proceeded to shred. In a totaly strung-out field, Preston kept it full gas until the end and finished in fourth place (plus some prime points), and Dave Garged his way to a pretty sweet 13th place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KvoKYePgo-AoTJFS8kQ0oadT0_5q8bfQVvL0BdWUSwzxV4MrYnaqk4fAtmDq5By495LGwK2mo6k9-2_CvqE1svN8hu_eAAIHwfXXHLnVAZR8c5ubQJwM2N3wXNDFIPPifRM7hLv-XKQ/s1600-h/DSC_9001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KvoKYePgo-AoTJFS8kQ0oadT0_5q8bfQVvL0BdWUSwzxV4MrYnaqk4fAtmDq5By495LGwK2mo6k9-2_CvqE1svN8hu_eAAIHwfXXHLnVAZR8c5ubQJwM2N3wXNDFIPPifRM7hLv-XKQ/s400/DSC_9001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327907603367903042" border="0" /></a><br />Once again, the most exciting race of the day came from the Intro field, where Rob, some guy dressed as a purple cow, and a rapidly improving Joe Kopena launched a daring attack with four to go.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBOJme0hPh4vgQU4QjrIWhkrz6UU8dUqlBRckzDHxRU4pSZ2VpF4SAZ3IBoIx9fIuu1BNyonouS7xT3vvLD84lpg06qdcubqjqFVNrfpiYd9XNzsF4ROXMOI6QJBsg6llI-erxL9VeEI/s1600-h/DSC_9028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBOJme0hPh4vgQU4QjrIWhkrz6UU8dUqlBRckzDHxRU4pSZ2VpF4SAZ3IBoIx9fIuu1BNyonouS7xT3vvLD84lpg06qdcubqjqFVNrfpiYd9XNzsF4ROXMOI6QJBsg6llI-erxL9VeEI/s400/DSC_9028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327907600983990338" border="0" /></a><br />Rob appeared to be doing most of the work in the lead group, but with one to go he forced the purple cow to pull for a while and used his considerable race smarts to take advantage of the cow's leadout and bring home a big W for BU. Note the teammates freaking out in the background:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy22ovwh83k_7FPe_n3KQvtFdG95nQulBPXGxSRTiyn3ugCqsUFON8l-HmEfuDdkBBvZ1b6TOMDs8VBvURWGA5tDgkbgVzDqQpp5GiSkIj3XOfDw-zld3l6WJlkFu-TeKvyrXLAwRme1A/s1600-h/DSC_9037.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy22ovwh83k_7FPe_n3KQvtFdG95nQulBPXGxSRTiyn3ugCqsUFON8l-HmEfuDdkBBvZ1b6TOMDs8VBvURWGA5tDgkbgVzDqQpp5GiSkIj3XOfDw-zld3l6WJlkFu-TeKvyrXLAwRme1A/s400/DSC_9037.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327907612197263346" border="0" /></a><br />Watch out for this guy to be wrecking the D field pretty soon. Seriously. Be afraid.<br /><br />In the C field, Kyle decided to show of his new ink before commencing domination:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb9NzQGNQe-YeFOcQW82PtiQoe6pNsAAOIT8V1pDwBHdlu0uKlWLeQfiHPmlj6Ro3uhgMGtohB2lpUb4gCNeV9fA1AxVwys6Uv-dmE1fzs1oBJigzCELlHAz_OdxLTXESoMkI0jKEQD4/s1600-h/DSC_9039.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIb9NzQGNQe-YeFOcQW82PtiQoe6pNsAAOIT8V1pDwBHdlu0uKlWLeQfiHPmlj6Ro3uhgMGtohB2lpUb4gCNeV9fA1AxVwys6Uv-dmE1fzs1oBJigzCELlHAz_OdxLTXESoMkI0jKEQD4/s400/DSC_9039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327907614575510002" border="0" /></a><br />He relished the "oohs" and "ahhs" for a while, and then he and Cass set out. They did some pedaling, and some turning (a lot of turning, actually), and at some point they did this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QtoZCjlFMH8-d-X9B5A6jWzXvAXJ66re_MQSHcSKR2SYgEASDxcB86fp2NQOji09rGAdRoic82A97ka4bliq1KlDrhVMi9mk2iwjpk-zItu-5T7inZTscc_PtkGa49RsTNDwIXbPGTE/s1600-h/DSC_9047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QtoZCjlFMH8-d-X9B5A6jWzXvAXJ66re_MQSHcSKR2SYgEASDxcB86fp2NQOji09rGAdRoic82A97ka4bliq1KlDrhVMi9mk2iwjpk-zItu-5T7inZTscc_PtkGa49RsTNDwIXbPGTE/s400/DSC_9047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327909469794103650" border="0" /></a><br />They managed to avoid crashing into a lake and finished up mid-pack.<br /><br />It was then time for the A race, and wouldn't ya know it, the rain that had been threatening all day decided to come down. This made for a super cold and very dirty race, involving lots of spitting, eye-wiping, and shaking. Here we are trying not to freeze to death:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CD86-kbit0wpNaLLYCEZF7mFg64OCuxbdKpDIBIJ4SNEXQ64UhBNJoKeoPINYAupkBPgJmApQH_RKt5yppKXXYJKRCeEWUT9Hhc_UwIiWtXgYuIBfeVRysadeHQp1Xd2Wl9vgyDK5GI/s1600-h/DSC_9168.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CD86-kbit0wpNaLLYCEZF7mFg64OCuxbdKpDIBIJ4SNEXQ64UhBNJoKeoPINYAupkBPgJmApQH_RKt5yppKXXYJKRCeEWUT9Hhc_UwIiWtXgYuIBfeVRysadeHQp1Xd2Wl9vgyDK5GI/s400/DSC_9168.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327909476856245266" border="0" /></a><br />The course was super fun, and Natan finished up in 8th, while I was a somewhat disappointing 14th. I then freaked out on Rob for no good reason, took my jacket, and commenced a 20 minute session of violent shivering in front of the car's heat vents, while Natan posed for some pretty awesome dirt-beard photos:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17n50tOFMshnQOH1WMrt791jdETQNgEfWc79k6bGKE4SL3e4-l5G3Wf_5RykqLg7fxGxQLh0vgSFmzGJkVojsz2aLLwMlGVQj6kwPgBivZC6ESzhTG8K1kX6WZhswz9UVv0i4ff5R8Pg/s1600-h/DSC_9298.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17n50tOFMshnQOH1WMrt791jdETQNgEfWc79k6bGKE4SL3e4-l5G3Wf_5RykqLg7fxGxQLh0vgSFmzGJkVojsz2aLLwMlGVQj6kwPgBivZC6ESzhTG8K1kX6WZhswz9UVv0i4ff5R8Pg/s400/DSC_9298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327918654481400930" border="0" /></a><br />We went to dinner where Garg and Cass consumed a large pizza covered in approximately 3.6 pigs worth of pig, and then went back to the hotel and did laundry, watched some baseball, and went to bed.<br /><br />The next day we repeated breakfast and headed out to the road race course which had been completely blanketed in mist:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5SJhQW8TXpW2oHU3GprlS4KCxbRMOV0qc2bAGu8YPavOQG5b8NH1wyuzF2M50qGTlTmxaVoT0yPvXHGOkV-6yjEn2RdkyZB_YrVkdyebOL2QOjn2o_tPRya2gHPDhHFYxaiFj0VGwdg/s1600-h/DSC_9325.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5SJhQW8TXpW2oHU3GprlS4KCxbRMOV0qc2bAGu8YPavOQG5b8NH1wyuzF2M50qGTlTmxaVoT0yPvXHGOkV-6yjEn2RdkyZB_YrVkdyebOL2QOjn2o_tPRya2gHPDhHFYxaiFj0VGwdg/s400/DSC_9325.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327909484733816530" border="0" /></a><br />Awesome, but it burned off real quick and we were forced to race with some actual visibility, which totally took all the fun out of it. Here are the D guys staging:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q7iKn8Dq4SwVWVpZl91f8512O1XLo3hDZIgybc_cAhBItH7vQchIaH4L1eJbT6PJYqdwai04KV-Lwbas-BIakWGOWPjhrW5BovLSXzlMOvl0TBecO8qoG_mUcmzGYEaMnME7gtwCoK8/s1600-h/DSC_9339.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9q7iKn8Dq4SwVWVpZl91f8512O1XLo3hDZIgybc_cAhBItH7vQchIaH4L1eJbT6PJYqdwai04KV-Lwbas-BIakWGOWPjhrW5BovLSXzlMOvl0TBecO8qoG_mUcmzGYEaMnME7gtwCoK8/s400/DSC_9339.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327909486417545666" border="0" /></a><br />This was their longest road race ever, and they both seemed pretty pumped. Garg was especially pumped, as he had brought a couple of leftover slices of coronary lover's pizza from the night before, and promised to eat them mid-race if he was dropped. They started out strong, and Preston was in good position until the final climb when he dropped a chain and finished up in 25th. Garg did indeed have an opportunity to eat his pizza, but stuck in there until the finish and still stomped a good portion of the field.<br /><br />In the Intro field, Rob wasn't all that confident about his odds in the road race. That's because Rob doesn't fancy himself much of a climber. However, Rob proved himself wrong by finishing up in 6th place, just outside of points. He then scurried off to join Joe Kopena for some additional touring of the road course.<br /><br />Cass was our only C rider for the day, since Kaybles had to get back to Boston to have his tattoo removed. This guy is one hell of a strong climber, but due to undisclosed problems he didn't have the opportunity to unleash his vertical fury and ended up with a strong pack finish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ftmiqjrM3CeWTFvdS8J-JLROuVrexWwqvO0gMiUe6rVeZS7WvPov_YSyxgL_0FXgb7lKmlzsq9q7Hs1NnJHuoBMZXZdLUHdwhtQu7yLh2PflRF16t_-4KIjEdvhX7bpTIDpy5G3RAM/s1600-h/DSC_9363.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ftmiqjrM3CeWTFvdS8J-JLROuVrexWwqvO0gMiUe6rVeZS7WvPov_YSyxgL_0FXgb7lKmlzsq9q7Hs1NnJHuoBMZXZdLUHdwhtQu7yLh2PflRF16t_-4KIjEdvhX7bpTIDpy5G3RAM/s400/DSC_9363.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327920498343707522" border="0" /></a><br />I don't have any pics of the A race, but here is a random feed zone photo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JwghGWzFej921MwR_MjG3Pon6lDN2DodLEToW2HSkWQcFlfNR3AIYBVGqo17x5q4-stJUOMHW0O4mclZPpzfyyLvbUtThzOMzU8XfEmHo4YGHZ9hloyb31bPySCLYKzEkNxno8y8XqU/s1600-h/DSC_9361.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JwghGWzFej921MwR_MjG3Pon6lDN2DodLEToW2HSkWQcFlfNR3AIYBVGqo17x5q4-stJUOMHW0O4mclZPpzfyyLvbUtThzOMzU8XfEmHo4YGHZ9hloyb31bPySCLYKzEkNxno8y8XqU/s400/DSC_9361.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327920489235664770" border="0" /></a><br />I'm pretty sure that's the C field, but I could be wrong.<br /><br />Anyways, the A race started out slow. Real slow. Steven Pingree from Army headed off the front early, and we all sat up and waived bon voyage. He was followed shortly thereafter by a UConn rider and a rider from Connecticut College. Again, the field was content to let 'em go, and after a lap or two a UVM guy meandered off the front solo.<br /><br />Enjoying the sunny day, we rolled along in cruise control and although Natan and I put in some solid attacks, nobody else appeared to want to work. Nobody wanted to work, that is, until two laps to go, when Derek from Army and a rider from UVM attacked right after the feed zone. I bridged up to these two, and we were joined shortly thereafter by a Cornell rider. We did a lot of work that lap to get the gap up, eventually caught the UConn and Connecticut College riders and the solo UVM rider, dropped both UVM riders, and headed into the final climb as a group of three. After fighting it out on the climb, I ended up with a third place finish behind Pingree (who we never did catch) and Derek. Natan, who had been aiding the UVM/Army blocking effort back in the main field, hammered it up the last climb and finished in 9th.<br /><br />All in all, this was a great weekend for BU Cycling. We were 6th in the weekend omnium, and we picked up some solid points toward qualifying for the rapidly approaching Nationals weekend. Look out for the red and white at X-Pot!Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-22190947076673497522009-04-17T11:29:00.001-07:002009-04-17T11:41:09.460-07:00News Flash! Hamilton Tests Positive for Banned Steroids!Tyler Hamilton, member of professional cycling team Rock Racing and current American road champion, has tested positive for banned steroid Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in an out-of-competition control.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://members.optusnet.com.au/%7Eweezil0/douchebag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://members.optusnet.com.au/%7Eweezil0/douchebag.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Hamilton, leading a breakaway in the 2009 American Road Championships<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span>Hamilton admitted to knowingly taking the banned substance, which was contained in a supplement intended to treat depression. "I took a banned substance so I need to take whatever penalty they will give me and move forward," Hamilton said.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9296/douchebag326670yv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9296/douchebag326670yv.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Hamilton addresses the media following the announcement of his positive control<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Asked what he will do following the announcement of his positive test, Hamilton said "I will retire immediately from cycling and pursue </span>my true calling - cleaning out dirty vaginas. I mean, seriously, I'm a total douchebag. Didn't you guys notice before now?"<br /></div></div></div></div>Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-33861802586524599842009-04-09T06:26:00.000-07:002009-04-09T07:24:16.305-07:00Totally Absent Army Race ReportSince I'm too lazy to write a race report this week, you'll just have to be satisfied with extra pictures. That's why you read this anyways, right?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNrx3b-Z5QkuzWCgT-TBzEeN3mlk9659sfEXM0mjJ5xr05zrCbM-4_IidRUHNqqa7G5mVGn3zTLIVKsc5YRCXZ_i2NUeYrPvVrBRb7nI9FT-g16KwdB9kN6Vs1DO477CsQvXmzLsS8OI/s1600-h/DSC_7634.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNrx3b-Z5QkuzWCgT-TBzEeN3mlk9659sfEXM0mjJ5xr05zrCbM-4_IidRUHNqqa7G5mVGn3zTLIVKsc5YRCXZ_i2NUeYrPvVrBRb7nI9FT-g16KwdB9kN6Vs1DO477CsQvXmzLsS8OI/s400/DSC_7634.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322684049657680562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Driving through a Monsoon on the way down<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXutaK_10h30LgPw2d2HWRQHHS8Eko8ugL0nRAVbBpnjEAoducfr156D2qyMskztraIAxTZM9Yg2oJnSDW3sa45HQYgfh6VhWemkQWLTwo7Gn3m_tm2W6ptZTt2cykzWOxD5JFMM9I-s/s1600-h/DSC_7683.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXutaK_10h30LgPw2d2HWRQHHS8Eko8ugL0nRAVbBpnjEAoducfr156D2qyMskztraIAxTZM9Yg2oJnSDW3sa45HQYgfh6VhWemkQWLTwo7Gn3m_tm2W6ptZTt2cykzWOxD5JFMM9I-s/s400/DSC_7683.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322684057078392034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Calm, cool, and collected before the D race</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalRYfVy3pe_FaeE1ZI35wYpl83gXmkNt_Ch57EurMmN9XBFjDPSnQbt93kksFiEJtuvrjv6gD_F7W5OESPR3_0wv-0MoTrC44ylGhm6_wh6tAx66CADPbj_7FfUk6WbcirCIMGb3R-Gc/s1600-h/DSC_7693.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgalRYfVy3pe_FaeE1ZI35wYpl83gXmkNt_Ch57EurMmN9XBFjDPSnQbt93kksFiEJtuvrjv6gD_F7W5OESPR3_0wv-0MoTrC44ylGhm6_wh6tAx66CADPbj_7FfUk6WbcirCIMGb3R-Gc/s400/DSC_7693.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322684058466747426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Lap 1<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsU6IFjVxzsrBxg4rXOuRdYjqsMKZYfmn7pYMo__xMNGBaHTjz9_60jaj0HbVlkEJrp2L_CvrsgV6aMiUete6FtArtBMdPmiQ26urC4RybaF6rlzbtkKII5CPf9AGgXd-0ChspC1q8j8/s1600-h/DSC_7706.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNsU6IFjVxzsrBxg4rXOuRdYjqsMKZYfmn7pYMo__xMNGBaHTjz9_60jaj0HbVlkEJrp2L_CvrsgV6aMiUete6FtArtBMdPmiQ26urC4RybaF6rlzbtkKII5CPf9AGgXd-0ChspC1q8j8/s400/DSC_7706.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322684066252253730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Walkin'</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7y4k7JSMlQDiVaTUdLRr5uo5VuNHGDDDmV-5cA94ZC6_uPvGyZAAPP6XVEKGU-8OhQsWQVmPkiecGuMgenmkuQ8ihpORH0gPSGF1Wf5HAd8qLSNYJHQ6YVWyHJFjcETbOHgJvFkADJH0/s1600-h/DSC_7739.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7y4k7JSMlQDiVaTUdLRr5uo5VuNHGDDDmV-5cA94ZC6_uPvGyZAAPP6XVEKGU-8OhQsWQVmPkiecGuMgenmkuQ8ihpORH0gPSGF1Wf5HAd8qLSNYJHQ6YVWyHJFjcETbOHgJvFkADJH0/s400/DSC_7739.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322684070417977890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Dead things<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZFtSI758WYQbtOYCNrr8LbvTgMw_MJuXUU0z8lMUtyaNVDh5P3ZeUY67ohNqrPmHyZ_mQnUzn4ouveeB1GXuHtSsbIQFV1jEHFpFYEajARZjqKXnq7T2w4vs_ZC08IDZaz3QBdWH5Uc/s1600-h/DSC_7752.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZFtSI758WYQbtOYCNrr8LbvTgMw_MJuXUU0z8lMUtyaNVDh5P3ZeUY67ohNqrPmHyZ_mQnUzn4ouveeB1GXuHtSsbIQFV1jEHFpFYEajARZjqKXnq7T2w4vs_ZC08IDZaz3QBdWH5Uc/s400/DSC_7752.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322685985742148386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">I was made for the Army</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCx5JwY-GVaA3prCinJEowjQFxyynjnZoT7lp305PixhVlks_CiFyJD5OuIu5wgIV6tBFtBr5da1d4_vB1kEUD3NQmfOjDmdlHC0hG2cVwgyIqLvjetDOPh39w93v4y31CpfozxSN70l0/s1600-h/DSC_7783.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCx5JwY-GVaA3prCinJEowjQFxyynjnZoT7lp305PixhVlks_CiFyJD5OuIu5wgIV6tBFtBr5da1d4_vB1kEUD3NQmfOjDmdlHC0hG2cVwgyIqLvjetDOPh39w93v4y31CpfozxSN70l0/s400/DSC_7783.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322685992923640514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Hoppin'</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADpxoIO3JXlX1MHfceNkFu52BoM10Aw_RhE-iYU6-y0uF70vIgxsi34aUMAilguHQ-n9a0hXjaWlcLPbMywuCF6ebPFOTsA1_qTH0_hJ-LLTBAsQ5u4DH3yEIoAwzP5Ve0s8TLCw_fz8/s1600-h/DSC_7805.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADpxoIO3JXlX1MHfceNkFu52BoM10Aw_RhE-iYU6-y0uF70vIgxsi34aUMAilguHQ-n9a0hXjaWlcLPbMywuCF6ebPFOTsA1_qTH0_hJ-LLTBAsQ5u4DH3yEIoAwzP5Ve0s8TLCw_fz8/s400/DSC_7805.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322685996752161666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">???</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRQwXGcgj1tzjf9zOf78FttjHTUc-MvZt7lahiDCU9EOwnAds6z3uYkl81HeQAfOmFmHJAZRBrvMulHfTOcb1-_K0rGUbcuoVLVPjnKEd3CsGbiHkn4TwSRpV1JzZdldcb5Mn2PKirq8/s1600-h/DSC_7840.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRQwXGcgj1tzjf9zOf78FttjHTUc-MvZt7lahiDCU9EOwnAds6z3uYkl81HeQAfOmFmHJAZRBrvMulHfTOcb1-_K0rGUbcuoVLVPjnKEd3CsGbiHkn4TwSRpV1JzZdldcb5Mn2PKirq8/s400/DSC_7840.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322686000719129426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The massive C field</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2R6bhub85lITD4gGUp1wTk76u_KfvSlSdp3dV4jL251iMBw5ErLYe__w6yi9fakC6SKVsgvrBPkq6mdcI2Y87oMVxZWHIx3L5mm43kXL3LnjPRvnF_JucWraSZuobbclXjsSPXfofhn8/s1600-h/DSC_7861.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2R6bhub85lITD4gGUp1wTk76u_KfvSlSdp3dV4jL251iMBw5ErLYe__w6yi9fakC6SKVsgvrBPkq6mdcI2Y87oMVxZWHIx3L5mm43kXL3LnjPRvnF_JucWraSZuobbclXjsSPXfofhn8/s400/DSC_7861.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322686008450077362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">D2</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAQyCN3p9yb0_4iZs4ELy5Ei8XpQnUFJr5dumBVKXw_LbxHRA1-8aD-zuV_da6Iy6pgN4HvrNQf69Oz7_SPiB8qnlUXhamHRUyG3i9EADLADzcLqF5zHPLkwh7UvmXmK36JdCOiCFv44/s1600-h/DSC_7872.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAQyCN3p9yb0_4iZs4ELy5Ei8XpQnUFJr5dumBVKXw_LbxHRA1-8aD-zuV_da6Iy6pgN4HvrNQf69Oz7_SPiB8qnlUXhamHRUyG3i9EADLADzcLqF5zHPLkwh7UvmXmK36JdCOiCFv44/s400/DSC_7872.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322688856364108018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Women's B</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcK2tlvSzaOB2Dp46t40NnRXLkOVLNbQIAXgl3v2LhuLp5i1TG76CjQ2xtkNVDggxj3QaRSk_OTAwn5IvxqoBHhcEUjZKPv7ZZdN_PaqlkvoQjd49h8qFb0bMVog3Z00u0Ce7MER0td4/s1600-h/DSC_7907.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcK2tlvSzaOB2Dp46t40NnRXLkOVLNbQIAXgl3v2LhuLp5i1TG76CjQ2xtkNVDggxj3QaRSk_OTAwn5IvxqoBHhcEUjZKPv7ZZdN_PaqlkvoQjd49h8qFb0bMVog3Z00u0Ce7MER0td4/s400/DSC_7907.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322688859633864738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Ask Steve</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBoeNr-oYrfXwq0SEb3axtyT4yJLzT6JqqcYz84sFj2Ug-6jqIgW0vLnt8-rCJJajcK_P1w3dAgdk8_87IKFYjKwbRcOw_OmgI_cN3GtnWxMIa7dfADNo3pwARY3Fa9j_Lhv2wXsNGyM/s1600-h/DSC_7938.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBoeNr-oYrfXwq0SEb3axtyT4yJLzT6JqqcYz84sFj2Ug-6jqIgW0vLnt8-rCJJajcK_P1w3dAgdk8_87IKFYjKwbRcOw_OmgI_cN3GtnWxMIa7dfADNo3pwARY3Fa9j_Lhv2wXsNGyM/s400/DSC_7938.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322688859965267858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Callie on a tear</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlABIXlQ0vbgI_FlgKc-Yp12xPjC38hFO0v356OMy2iOm9jGmOzjqdeUz1TyPEK83XDZ_jU-Qf0hz09S6sJrgtwhAe2ilQQHuIikJpKiv3lT018eR02T9pN2RVI-KRcJ7yPbw1rzLz0rg/s1600-h/DSC_8013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlABIXlQ0vbgI_FlgKc-Yp12xPjC38hFO0v356OMy2iOm9jGmOzjqdeUz1TyPEK83XDZ_jU-Qf0hz09S6sJrgtwhAe2ilQQHuIikJpKiv3lT018eR02T9pN2RVI-KRcJ7yPbw1rzLz0rg/s400/DSC_8013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322688863702033442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Getting some rest</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmHvCq8mQdBwW5jVZabdIzB1XuQl5u5qyGoso6ym8Xx4Y46JY6CuJruoYM4YhKuR4G5glt53AfwC1F-yT9h3ng2cewl4W7OjoUIhxj7txD8IrN9epuLeea7c8zcaYHujHSf4OXrfjrk8/s1600-h/DSC_8196.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmHvCq8mQdBwW5jVZabdIzB1XuQl5u5qyGoso6ym8Xx4Y46JY6CuJruoYM4YhKuR4G5glt53AfwC1F-yT9h3ng2cewl4W7OjoUIhxj7txD8IrN9epuLeea7c8zcaYHujHSf4OXrfjrk8/s400/DSC_8196.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322688865722294098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Sketchball here ate a sixer of fat rings before the HCTT</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4beXyvIN-ki-jTyWZjujeNb-pbVI7P6UGZEqybuwpnDUprYRW65lAUGyv9BvJW386ipLVpl1NrbeBdlxUhNHZwQR7dfzpAIjfEkISaYrtzUJRH77ELX_dorC88LNnnyXOqygZLd3J28o/s1600-h/DSC_8245.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4beXyvIN-ki-jTyWZjujeNb-pbVI7P6UGZEqybuwpnDUprYRW65lAUGyv9BvJW386ipLVpl1NrbeBdlxUhNHZwQR7dfzpAIjfEkISaYrtzUJRH77ELX_dorC88LNnnyXOqygZLd3J28o/s400/DSC_8245.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322691060336693922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Men's D crit</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuaVeKRSuwFSC-mYh1EePffdeQjN2SI-PI2SQG0N37eTqqOcIHrFQN1kNpqn2eN1TJFM2EswJUH-teOKUxWwLiqjRaKjEHsmiVnV6kHNoExL8lnTJQ-FUXXHFVA8wejRiteSbsFQ4qnc/s1600-h/DSC_8207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuaVeKRSuwFSC-mYh1EePffdeQjN2SI-PI2SQG0N37eTqqOcIHrFQN1kNpqn2eN1TJFM2EswJUH-teOKUxWwLiqjRaKjEHsmiVnV6kHNoExL8lnTJQ-FUXXHFVA8wejRiteSbsFQ4qnc/s400/DSC_8207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322691058623836834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Chinkle doesn't even have to race before he wins<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTiO8qyAhPWbWmbGZ5LQMAa1s1DP97hu7Ti5SwWxLPM_eSimOqUfweT_Wf32aK3bNiPasgMucesux8LnJhEW-3eMjNnDjcX2ZLklsGA5vnC8T6KELvP5enDwhGcp1j4s8WxBiLnBsDjA/s1600-h/DSC_8275.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTiO8qyAhPWbWmbGZ5LQMAa1s1DP97hu7Ti5SwWxLPM_eSimOqUfweT_Wf32aK3bNiPasgMucesux8LnJhEW-3eMjNnDjcX2ZLklsGA5vnC8T6KELvP5enDwhGcp1j4s8WxBiLnBsDjA/s400/DSC_8275.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322691064788393810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Suffer</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yDo-akn5eYTUDuImhwbmkpAsWXeDEX2xe9cL2r4lF8Mw1HqVyPnjAhS6rzg8unn6PzRwQadZgoBy6845uvdH51QrBXgbWk9P0v4F3q1Fmabfxc5IZkyhPFZRbyiKkvbA7Uqd6LjV7J8/s1600-h/DSC_8342.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yDo-akn5eYTUDuImhwbmkpAsWXeDEX2xe9cL2r4lF8Mw1HqVyPnjAhS6rzg8unn6PzRwQadZgoBy6845uvdH51QrBXgbWk9P0v4F3q1Fmabfxc5IZkyhPFZRbyiKkvbA7Uqd6LjV7J8/s400/DSC_8342.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322691068526890066" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Rob on a solo break that nearly stuck</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTPq_47v_G7ws-sm7DMzXrqvwsrKqhO71cnCHTvTKaBTHT-bwNmdMwf-KabKpwsR6zepcXJfVw2Q0yvduqrxjYIbFaTRVS4TKXzCF1rLNLgkMoRlgUyvSDm_Z9F7vDQWasMNvcHow_TE/s1600-h/DSC_8390.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTPq_47v_G7ws-sm7DMzXrqvwsrKqhO71cnCHTvTKaBTHT-bwNmdMwf-KabKpwsR6zepcXJfVw2Q0yvduqrxjYIbFaTRVS4TKXzCF1rLNLgkMoRlgUyvSDm_Z9F7vDQWasMNvcHow_TE/s400/DSC_8390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322691072546359954" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Men's C</span><br /><br /></div>Special props go to Rob and Anna for destroying their fields last weekend. Don't worry if you missed it, they'll destroy again at Yale.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-44718441000071957032009-03-31T06:18:00.000-07:002009-03-31T09:33:41.346-07:00Slightly Less Delayed Philly Phlyer Phrace PhreportOkay, I'm on this shit this week. No more of these Thursday reports for me, I've got it covered. My bankruptcy law class can just deal with that fact.<br /><br />Philly. Wow, this one sure was interesting. I think we were all a bit focused on the weather in the days leading up to the weekend, and everyone was hoping the Weather.com guys had botched it (as usual) and the sun would be shining all weekend long. The forecast called for showers on Saturday and thunderstorms Sunday, and while having to deal with inclement weather is one of the factors that make bike racing such a bad ass sport in the first place, I think it's pretty much settled that racing in the sunshine is at least slightly more enjoyable than racing while drinking a steady stream of water and road grit off of the wheel in front of you.<br /><br />Regardless, after meeting at 808 Comm., loading up our crap, hitting the road, and hitting up Amici's in Union, NJ:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuSNy5BhP474eU026ES8cfgV-4O5Hvt0uRSL8W8MS5jRvGYzv_U8r49w0aRpUG9FcUdpIN5lWKORPpcDvFyegm1v9Ig5Pioxgahvawyw8xTdcUgHT-_G-yv6qIEvRvBi-Wmpx80EIhxg/s1600-h/DSC_7098.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGuSNy5BhP474eU026ES8cfgV-4O5Hvt0uRSL8W8MS5jRvGYzv_U8r49w0aRpUG9FcUdpIN5lWKORPpcDvFyegm1v9Ig5Pioxgahvawyw8xTdcUgHT-_G-yv6qIEvRvBi-Wmpx80EIhxg/s400/DSC_7098.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319344616505842562" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnIbapcRWQTofSk0Ic3Fx9DZNqomC6c2chqCgfXLUmFGLQHTV8cvhz-YgFBRdh8_w4jLC3R4O80zJCXBJIpGQ8Nd1jxcfe8lyunfzURA1bZOfdzSPf4hQJwSikYPO4zx0Jwa_bZG3o4g/s1600-h/DSC_7100.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnIbapcRWQTofSk0Ic3Fx9DZNqomC6c2chqCgfXLUmFGLQHTV8cvhz-YgFBRdh8_w4jLC3R4O80zJCXBJIpGQ8Nd1jxcfe8lyunfzURA1bZOfdzSPf4hQJwSikYPO4zx0Jwa_bZG3o4g/s400/DSC_7100.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319344625504502610" border="0" /></a><br /></div>we arrived six hours later at Kyle Bruley's family home (a/k/a Chez Brulee, a/k/a/ Casa de Kaybles) which was to be our place of lodging for the weekend. We settled right in, fell asleep, and woke up mercifully late on Saturday morning to a smorgasbord of bagels, fruit, granola bars, and so on courtesy of Kaybles' mom. We got out of the house on time (after a little prodding), survived the trip to Fairmount Park, and set up our tent for the day.<br /><br />The D guys were the first to go off, and the roads were still a bit wet from that night. BU's seven D men started out strong. Real strong. And they had a game plan which had been hatched over semi-edible pasta at Amici's the night before.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPKqHe8FCj6UBZFHsq_8kjSvA1SEffTnandxp5QLzkeV2nj7A3wavIsjLAHx5JftVKRsRpzpdqJeglzAx_lsqX8H1YC9Soy7ahjuxrtBW_9FDwrdjDUjVIh6AtTy9ZpywHFrrO19nGMg/s1600-h/DSC_7132.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPKqHe8FCj6UBZFHsq_8kjSvA1SEffTnandxp5QLzkeV2nj7A3wavIsjLAHx5JftVKRsRpzpdqJeglzAx_lsqX8H1YC9Soy7ahjuxrtBW_9FDwrdjDUjVIh6AtTy9ZpywHFrrO19nGMg/s400/DSC_7132.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319348169609422242" border="0" /></a><br />However, that game plan was derailed forever when, by all accounts, someone decided to pull their brakes hard while traveling rapidly in a straight line along the river, resulting in a large pile-up of some 30 riders. Needless to say we were surprised when, out of our seven starters, only two managed to avoid disaster and come through the first lap with the main group.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr5bs3EbZiq7j3D1pt-KbhDKlvYa6sNMtCJoDYjWi9cIY3EQa1EHT8DUnNs-XUGiHkiuNEhwGs1Mmnlh3HBL2HnvAkkIG0p3Hk_z8kKu3J2opeHdkmBfWxdlxW71NLFXz3qgd_9OQrk4/s1600-h/DSC_7148.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfr5bs3EbZiq7j3D1pt-KbhDKlvYa6sNMtCJoDYjWi9cIY3EQa1EHT8DUnNs-XUGiHkiuNEhwGs1Mmnlh3HBL2HnvAkkIG0p3Hk_z8kKu3J2opeHdkmBfWxdlxW71NLFXz3qgd_9OQrk4/s400/DSC_7148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319348176411789650" border="0" /></a><br />We were even more surprised when those remaining two managed to find the tarmac with their faces on the second lap. Our D men straggled in with a multitude of other victims just behind what remained of the tattered main field, bruised and scraped and in some cases, via broom wagon due to busted bikes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauzvS3sy-quW9_EI5MiFMvU1Ma44pPZGREkDwgY4iyFvzsY4G3G-A8hjYKAvknMkgYpcMhxHiktq1ZZ_Uow4DHYFneO8w3-HLIHYNLnpTYFpr4KoZFVctaG3UJxmDQSQwjnRkWEvB8uA/s1600-h/DSC_7185.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiauzvS3sy-quW9_EI5MiFMvU1Ma44pPZGREkDwgY4iyFvzsY4G3G-A8hjYKAvknMkgYpcMhxHiktq1ZZ_Uow4DHYFneO8w3-HLIHYNLnpTYFpr4KoZFVctaG3UJxmDQSQwjnRkWEvB8uA/s400/DSC_7185.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319348185463301586" border="0" /></a><br />Too bad, 'cuz BU was ready to bring the hurt. Notwithstanding the carnage, Parker pulled out a 22nd place finish, Preston was in 24th, and most of our other guys toughed it out and crossed the line to be placed in the middle of the field. The best laid plans of mice and men...<br /><br />Women's B was next, and Kim was the lone BU representative in that group.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFjuS9qTXBVvfDUVubm9iDHYfVFVxIcUEQ2Qtt3kQJVXrfeK9jnDHMsqywxjSjS8LjY4SY27mgiUWcGJpRBndxuYwqp4jBtqBI2rjiEdbgVvp_9FitBlp8vRErcx_K4RsrY8Lsxy2R_o/s1600-h/DSC_7188.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFjuS9qTXBVvfDUVubm9iDHYfVFVxIcUEQ2Qtt3kQJVXrfeK9jnDHMsqywxjSjS8LjY4SY27mgiUWcGJpRBndxuYwqp4jBtqBI2rjiEdbgVvp_9FitBlp8vRErcx_K4RsrY8Lsxy2R_o/s400/DSC_7188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319352405719218514" border="0" /></a><br />Unfortunately the curse of the mighty Schuylkill claimed yet another BU rider, as Kim was hammering solo to catch back up to the field and overcooked a turn, coming away with a tacoed rear wheel. Bummer.<br /><br />Crashes are ordinarily pretty damned rare for our peeps, so by this point BU was started to feel as though the Philly Phlyer had something against us. We said our goodbyes to Robert as he rolled off to join the Intro field, and kept our fingers crossed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbCPp4qSb4skbfqai8eAC05r5pCuJCbOZd5d1FxcOdVUyIE8Adt5mmqdRgrhyphenhyphenO63_7THLEO8K8QLNAIH5e6T6GCmkKMJGTI-2kgDR5TC_d36H7V4MU1PmaccYFsHDC2pGYG59TL2eZpI/s1600-h/DSC_7201.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbCPp4qSb4skbfqai8eAC05r5pCuJCbOZd5d1FxcOdVUyIE8Adt5mmqdRgrhyphenhyphenO63_7THLEO8K8QLNAIH5e6T6GCmkKMJGTI-2kgDR5TC_d36H7V4MU1PmaccYFsHDC2pGYG59TL2eZpI/s400/DSC_7201.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319356039496049522" border="0" /></a><br />Despite the curse, Robert hammered through the hilly terrain and worked closely with some of his competitors to finish 8th out of 18, bringing BU its first crash-free ride of the day. Sweet!<br /><br />Kaybles then partook in the C race. The XL combined C field took the course a lot faster than the previous fields, but had drier roads to deal with and were obviously a bit more comfortable on two wheels, as they didn't seem to have any major mishaps.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60vzl9cBZZQQ_kiVuCVqgj_tZdvrOL8jH-hwhy3FHsOZSO_slkn-A-yjNS4r4zdjipltA9vDWminw-aL_DKMN_0hilcjj3qijE_P5N6zk1KcYXuW3OEELm2-nFLWXwfydFoXoYgtAE_4/s1600-h/DSC_7214.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60vzl9cBZZQQ_kiVuCVqgj_tZdvrOL8jH-hwhy3FHsOZSO_slkn-A-yjNS4r4zdjipltA9vDWminw-aL_DKMN_0hilcjj3qijE_P5N6zk1KcYXuW3OEELm2-nFLWXwfydFoXoYgtAE_4/s400/DSC_7214.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319355111599401314" border="0" /></a><br />Kyle stuck with the huge pack on these narrow roads, and finished up in 36th out of 71(!) starters.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5c5cdXpWxGeWkHtmcru35pgwGEeAYuxw6Ji9seEXjpZgh8t18vOQx8mj8swE7qGYfFZwpr4rcPLLQIceewmVlS11BXS1puGfeA7NgsE86qRa06OPANTf2BBQZcAP3jp5pF8Mt3mZwYK8/s1600-h/DSC_7216.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5c5cdXpWxGeWkHtmcru35pgwGEeAYuxw6Ji9seEXjpZgh8t18vOQx8mj8swE7qGYfFZwpr4rcPLLQIceewmVlS11BXS1puGfeA7NgsE86qRa06OPANTf2BBQZcAP3jp5pF8Mt3mZwYK8/s400/DSC_7216.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319355119623070338" border="0" /></a><br />Finally it was time for the A field to head out, and I think we all suspected a break would stay away on this course. In fact, we were pretty much determined to make it so. On lap 2, a promising break formed off the front which contained UVM, Penn State, Columbia and Army riders, along with hammers Nick Benette and Josh Lipka. I decided to jump in and try my luck, but alas it was not to be and the field pulled us back a lap later. On the next lap a similar break reappeared, and this time Natan snuck his way in. This one stuck and stayed away, and Natan finished up in 10th place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JG90fw1VW1NaugSo3LB_Xno7bxjtIejJ5Gf3OTz1JVizNUGUhHwD0GfsbNHvnfX-21R9nEYmCGvN5bMbgKvpQSySuv1IMmtzl7HV5TCIxEr9JZmmZMjcTB8OomCgRrzwP8fWceKu3Kc/s1600-h/DSC_7452.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JG90fw1VW1NaugSo3LB_Xno7bxjtIejJ5Gf3OTz1JVizNUGUhHwD0GfsbNHvnfX-21R9nEYmCGvN5bMbgKvpQSySuv1IMmtzl7HV5TCIxEr9JZmmZMjcTB8OomCgRrzwP8fWceKu3Kc/s400/DSC_7452.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319359470722479778" border="0" /></a><br />I, meanwhile, hung out in the field and did very little work, and ended my race in 24th.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcN8p9kABYiJVAsRje3__CHHulRMQIbbtrztcFZdd2e-ogJi45BEEXIw1NzDqIo43H3SQjZxaDevT5M8XV8Xe8yj0cEdqc88MMasIkrapICDWk5tndLFRua-A92BRy7StdOWuUrUC9pFY/s1600-h/DSC_7383.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcN8p9kABYiJVAsRje3__CHHulRMQIbbtrztcFZdd2e-ogJi45BEEXIw1NzDqIo43H3SQjZxaDevT5M8XV8Xe8yj0cEdqc88MMasIkrapICDWk5tndLFRua-A92BRy7StdOWuUrUC9pFY/s400/DSC_7383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319359473722107874" border="0" /></a><br />Oh well, the day was over and we went back to Chez Brulee for an impromptu bike repair session necessitated by the day's copious amount of crashing, followed by an awesome dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and chicken.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xbnzkYgDaCkb0HQ8y9-i7vRpb1MsEo0wdlIDs_KiD32RMxzeFr8TkNJ3rrIGva6aej-GQibdwlj53r7Zpyo6iJQUl0vcdTUZxKcirX8f3lIR29xl7DKfuTRMyLcOIm6q35yBU9zGjsM/s1600-h/DSC_7495.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2xbnzkYgDaCkb0HQ8y9-i7vRpb1MsEo0wdlIDs_KiD32RMxzeFr8TkNJ3rrIGva6aej-GQibdwlj53r7Zpyo6iJQUl0vcdTUZxKcirX8f3lIR29xl7DKfuTRMyLcOIm6q35yBU9zGjsM/s400/DSC_7495.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319376584262831170" border="0" /></a><br />Sunday was supposed to be heavy rain and thunderstorms, and when we woke up it was spitting a steady drizzle outside. We ate more bagels and headed out for the TTT, which turned out to be pretty wet and cold. The D guys went out first and came back with 21st place, then we went out and pulled off a 10th place finish to pick up a couple of points. The C guys finished up in 11th. Here is a picture:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHwZ3fZyZaUJSYYtanE_T0VT2ngBnFK491gHW9n9jQrZBuLGlFuhGue6ZS-BMAZvw48LwBv9eUaqxVDQqDiHtjeQhLCj3VyMie4adN7muOk_Bh2PxnsWRu46LYDWr8tP5yvRfMZ_EIRM/s1600-h/DSC_7551.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHwZ3fZyZaUJSYYtanE_T0VT2ngBnFK491gHW9n9jQrZBuLGlFuhGue6ZS-BMAZvw48LwBv9eUaqxVDQqDiHtjeQhLCj3VyMie4adN7muOk_Bh2PxnsWRu46LYDWr8tP5yvRfMZ_EIRM/s400/DSC_7551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319379472658783938" border="0" /></a><br />The weather stayed crappy for most of the crits so I don't have a ton of photos. Kim finished in 14th place and grabbed a few points. In the D field, Cass finished 6th in a bunch sprint, Preston was 18th, and the rest of our guys were scattered throughout the pack.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiAHFlr9ijtDwT2Zrxv20-7gx7YjBt2be3PfQoBWG7yyOkoMiukYBCdC_3k70iK7mgJtIprvbrtBhbK_JTDPDnw6MMbOWRwERXcOP_Q5ibbINu-XbL2zBzjMmeuyv-zFxosz2j5lo0CA/s1600-h/DSC_7589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpiAHFlr9ijtDwT2Zrxv20-7gx7YjBt2be3PfQoBWG7yyOkoMiukYBCdC_3k70iK7mgJtIprvbrtBhbK_JTDPDnw6MMbOWRwERXcOP_Q5ibbINu-XbL2zBzjMmeuyv-zFxosz2j5lo0CA/s400/DSC_7589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319380865052393378" border="0" /></a><br />Kyle also had a solid pack finish in the C field, and made some pretty amazing faces in the process.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtrkmBEiKBhrJC2b8IAhWjJb41emvuGEs38rCx-Owxfs3Ss8yeXHFHGRX37LYQb1QaVIlJepu9TdKUPibXQs_eJHAY8nNON-WCQq1keDUFvwUgu8gsQ2TDk_00d5CL-VgewC2JlweKQU/s1600-h/DSC_7593.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtrkmBEiKBhrJC2b8IAhWjJb41emvuGEs38rCx-Owxfs3Ss8yeXHFHGRX37LYQb1QaVIlJepu9TdKUPibXQs_eJHAY8nNON-WCQq1keDUFvwUgu8gsQ2TDk_00d5CL-VgewC2JlweKQU/s400/DSC_7593.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319380861026864962" border="0" /></a><br />Meanwhile, Robert had his best finish yet in the Intro field, sticking with the bunch the whole time and hammering into 5th place, and in the A crit Chris took off in an ill-fated break while Natan and I did some blocking. The break was inevitably pulled back on this pancake-flat course, and all three of us finished just outside of points.<br /><br />Lots of fun and carnage this weekend, and next week is Army!Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-19424046472909230342009-03-26T07:43:00.001-07:002009-03-26T10:21:50.430-07:00Especially Late Delaware Race ReportMy professor has his face buried in a book, and he is moving his mouth and sounds are coming out and bouncing off of the pages and around the lecture hall. Some of them are entering my ears, but that's where they stop because my brain is refusing to do its job and change the sounds into words. I guess Uniform Commercial Code is never exactly a blast, but once March rolls around and racing starts, sitting in class just seems that much duller by comparison. So, I have decided that I should probably use my class time to try and get my race report over and done today. I'll undoubtedly regret this during finals, but for now it seems like the best course of action.<br /><br />After getting a late start leaving Boston (thanks to Natan's and my tardiness in gathering the vans, trainers, racks, and miscellany required for a full weekend of BU shreddage) we took our overencumbered jank tank and its new friend the clown van onto the Mass Pike. All was well for a few hours, during which time we engaged in our usual team practices of yodeling and booty dancing while chugging cheap champagne. Unfortunately our shenanigans attracted the attention of a New Jersey State police officer who decided to pull the jank tank over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rF9iwQ6Ay0Ya561lMlUOjpnRB_3O7x5W6KlkJCpQF-fx7DP6PBlQmqUWDImnOfJRMcByZ3DX2l1A3lAZ5oI2P6xsB_miDH9PwGatunpPNYHE0uKwYSy72siZ1oR0dvZLlZsuo797UOA/s1600-h/DSC_6354.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rF9iwQ6Ay0Ya561lMlUOjpnRB_3O7x5W6KlkJCpQF-fx7DP6PBlQmqUWDImnOfJRMcByZ3DX2l1A3lAZ5oI2P6xsB_miDH9PwGatunpPNYHE0uKwYSy72siZ1oR0dvZLlZsuo797UOA/s400/DSC_6354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317106815486769074" border="0" /></a><br />After a stern lecture this public servant decided to let us go with a warning, and we rambled on down to our lodging in Maryland, just next to the Delaware border. Our hotel, the Knights Inn, left something to be desired in terms of accommodations, but we were able to cram fourteen people into two rooms somewhat comfortably (BU Cycling travels in style) and get a couple hours sleep before heading out for breakfast on Saturday morning.<br /><br />Due to a miscalculation in our estimated travel time - instead of 40 mins from the start/finish, our hotel was approximately 7 mins away - we were left with a half hour to piss away. So, we headed over to the Waffle House next to our motel and scarfed a few pounds of waffley goodness.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_joNUIBLO35PzKfNpAPP-9gCoJpHfp0c6HCSLlca97ZZX8mYCo2OgYPhOtwi89tCnu_K7WiZm9jNYGGAcadJqIGPWsyAZJBGcvmg9n4DWi8klORdDapr7YCdZrnIdwwc7pp7JJKSvxQ/s1600-h/DSC_6371.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_joNUIBLO35PzKfNpAPP-9gCoJpHfp0c6HCSLlca97ZZX8mYCo2OgYPhOtwi89tCnu_K7WiZm9jNYGGAcadJqIGPWsyAZJBGcvmg9n4DWi8klORdDapr7YCdZrnIdwwc7pp7JJKSvxQ/s400/DSC_6371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317108730869738114" border="0" /></a><br />Having topped up our fat, carb, and salt reserves we again loaded up the caravan for the trek out to the road race staging area.<br /><br />Things went quick as field after field left for the course. Here are some photos of the pre-race madness:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTRoVshvHar4sE8sC8ov6iZy3DyzgNyTb5s4-RqrTn14dMUFEnGgBju4F-keOA8DrqUZTI7Yk1iE6vXWE0hA-HJVhX4ojDRmYHN8_F6Li0RUpB_B0bteh3aVoVA0AiM56tzquXV_70bE/s1600-h/DSC_6379.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTRoVshvHar4sE8sC8ov6iZy3DyzgNyTb5s4-RqrTn14dMUFEnGgBju4F-keOA8DrqUZTI7Yk1iE6vXWE0hA-HJVhX4ojDRmYHN8_F6Li0RUpB_B0bteh3aVoVA0AiM56tzquXV_70bE/s400/DSC_6379.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317160264628833314" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Natan unloading bikes</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjM2g3U5KlNZ14RWPXsjbbdVff5zZsDDSeYM-wiS6z36TgVqTY9Cz84O46IG3Ey1UZHrBkOfVMvyz0zNCYiVIPajxDbj3kRR_vt4GrYo7nS6tCeZGkUg12PvM0CjHhXcIBxq7V4AS9KY/s1600-h/DSC_6387.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjM2g3U5KlNZ14RWPXsjbbdVff5zZsDDSeYM-wiS6z36TgVqTY9Cz84O46IG3Ey1UZHrBkOfVMvyz0zNCYiVIPajxDbj3kRR_vt4GrYo7nS6tCeZGkUg12PvM0CjHhXcIBxq7V4AS9KY/s400/DSC_6387.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317160267065463138" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Excited about free GU packets...</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJCy1Yt6-hm7f8C18OyrSNvQ11lQ_OzB9gvtTLKuLk8KHDLHsOZFNkfYRvvk1hgBsuldkwjNuC54rj6EPa-pjsqc0yB62Z2aZW7VywbMkH-dtEOiSjgWvwpuaUsOdZgWIfvbj2OSLgbE/s1600-h/DSC_6400.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJCy1Yt6-hm7f8C18OyrSNvQ11lQ_OzB9gvtTLKuLk8KHDLHsOZFNkfYRvvk1hgBsuldkwjNuC54rj6EPa-pjsqc0yB62Z2aZW7VywbMkH-dtEOiSjgWvwpuaUsOdZgWIfvbj2OSLgbE/s400/DSC_6400.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317160274416321778" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Lining up for the Men's Intro race</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKIl1AfFMnUsQ_i8-FFXmV4NClF5O_6PcmaapSiafdxRlnm65G3hWSTLc8-XN4-LekNcuwiqvpUWhE-MhnYvnwKWd8nPzv8-MoVc70euK1tDAHSHs0pCBFLhkp7lwAZHAqvI0HokaHfw/s1600-h/DSC_6461.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaKIl1AfFMnUsQ_i8-FFXmV4NClF5O_6PcmaapSiafdxRlnm65G3hWSTLc8-XN4-LekNcuwiqvpUWhE-MhnYvnwKWd8nPzv8-MoVc70euK1tDAHSHs0pCBFLhkp7lwAZHAqvI0HokaHfw/s400/DSC_6461.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317160276453042546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Men's A field heading out</span><br /></div><br />This was a great first road race of the season. In our Intro group, Dave came away with his first career win, and Kehvon finished close behind in fourth. Rob is starting to look pretty damn strong and held it down in 14th. In the D field a bunch of our guys got their feet wet in their first ever bike race. Ian pulled in in 11th place, Matt was in 8th, and Preston finished 6th. After looking strong all race long, Josh had a little run-in with a buddy's wheel near the finish and hit the deck pretty hard. He took a quick trip to the ER, but came back promptly looking only a little the worse for wear.<br /><br />Chinkle was our only C rider this week, and had a solid pack finish. After going off the front, one by one, of a lazing A field, Natan, Chair and I all held it together for decent finishes, with Natan in 11th, myself in 13th, and Chair in 15th place. All in all, a fairly successful day for BU.<br /><br />We left the staging area, got lost, ate at Seasons Pizza (big mistake), and got back to the hotel to find a curious hotel manager checking out our lodging methods. Apparently his son had seen us drive by in our overloaded vans and ratted us out, and the manager came to bitch, citing extra charges for extra lodgers, and a statutory maximum of five people per room. (Fire Code? Really?) Fortunately Natan was thinking quick and muttered something about dropping the extra people off at another hotel, etc. etc. The manager seemed to buy that, and to convince the guy we had to pack half the people back into the jank tank, drive out of the lot and around town for ten minutes, and then drive back into the lot with everybody hiding under the seats while Natan waived and smiled at the manager. Being cheap sure is fun.<br /><br />The next day we made sure to wake up a half hour early again so we could hit up Waffle House. I now love this place and wish there was one in Boston. The TT went quick after that, and I have no photos of it with which to entertain you. All our guys did a great job again. In Intros, Dave slotted in at 5th place, 30 secs behind the leader, Kehvon was 7th, and Rob was 8th. Top tens all around, and Dave is now officially sandbagging and has to race D next weekend or face severe humiliation. In Ds, our guys mixed into the middle of the pack, with Ian and Cass pulling out top-20 finishes, and Chinkle was 29th in Cs. The A field was basically a bunch of people straggling in behing Lipka's dominating TT effort, but we managed to pull out 23rd (Chair), 16th (myself) and 13th (Natan). Natan continues to whip both Chris in me in ITTs and I may have to get all Tonya Harding on his ass soon so I can regain some pride (by dressing up in extravagant, sparkly outfits and weeping profusely while sliding around on the ice, not by breaking his knee caps, of course.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RqKmNZHyPVlwFObPD_ywy2kRX11aKBaCL5xcUPQKEibTdlokQdtqIjcttPo6nkWl0IIRyGIqyWQFN53SME1TFit9_u0dEj1b4XLBjw0FPcTO2FLJDmLoQ1MUy5UVVXf8GgdUrNcdVlA/s1600-h/tonya-harding.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RqKmNZHyPVlwFObPD_ywy2kRX11aKBaCL5xcUPQKEibTdlokQdtqIjcttPo6nkWl0IIRyGIqyWQFN53SME1TFit9_u0dEj1b4XLBjw0FPcTO2FLJDmLoQ1MUy5UVVXf8GgdUrNcdVlA/s400/tonya-harding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317498121776869250" border="0" /></a><br />After the TT we tried to ride to the crit course, got lost again, other teams got lost because of us, then we got lost because them, and then we found the damned place. As you probably know if you're reading this, the sketch factor on at least one of the turns was medium to medium-high (teal on the DOD's color-coded sketchiness alert system), with a fun cross walk in the apex that created a lip which really, really wanted bike tires to part with the asphalt.<br /><br />Despite the sketch warning, the fields started going off after getting a late start, beginning with the D field where Josh, racing injured after a bad crash on Saturday, still finished 22nd (badass), Preston took 19th in his first crit ever, Ian finished a solid 17th, and Cass ended up in 12th in his first crit. Not too shabby.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpZehGEspSgAkxjQmu6LAqi3LjTPVfcH_xGuOXMYkf9fGt5Hevb92E48Vjt5UgZbMSpOO5fVmCM7m1AKFgyNduWVVhCxsVmqh3F2WfNp8X1_8OEXCa4zBSSlKnkimmFRqYF-A1o_QdKQ/s1600-h/DSC_6573.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpZehGEspSgAkxjQmu6LAqi3LjTPVfcH_xGuOXMYkf9fGt5Hevb92E48Vjt5UgZbMSpOO5fVmCM7m1AKFgyNduWVVhCxsVmqh3F2WfNp8X1_8OEXCa4zBSSlKnkimmFRqYF-A1o_QdKQ/s400/DSC_6573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317500631651591842" border="0" /></a><br />In the Intro field, Kehvon was 7th, Dave was 8th, and Rob finished up in 11th. These guys just keep getting stronger.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ90BdeFK6E5KmWtAbS53ZR5_jhH2dE4TohcV5-S_6Efn2rObI264B89rBkiMjm7n6zP1rPPjNtFHrIfp5OI7IDVfzWmVujmdJJ-JqsXdtGEptd89geuppthfLp_aptePDZslP_v5I5D0/s1600-h/DSC_6661.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ90BdeFK6E5KmWtAbS53ZR5_jhH2dE4TohcV5-S_6Efn2rObI264B89rBkiMjm7n6zP1rPPjNtFHrIfp5OI7IDVfzWmVujmdJJ-JqsXdtGEptd89geuppthfLp_aptePDZslP_v5I5D0/s400/DSC_6661.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317504084992892546" border="0" /></a><br />Since the women's A field consisted of only four riders this weekend (boo), the powers that be decided to merge the A field with the Bs. This exciting race went on for a total of about five minutes before the motoref crashed in the aforementioned turn of death (sketchiness alert level teal):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTQctvGUvXIzoCm6QAkL7RLJaXwIi5lIa3HnjM1sF9vgav3X2jxS90CpNE99ThBdXXXmDh7bVjHIqUO4jRueXw-HRZLLu_R2gShkYTyx0moJdFOFouzKZl0dQx1U9lHErHHkfIXd30m4/s1600-h/DSC_6636.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTQctvGUvXIzoCm6QAkL7RLJaXwIi5lIa3HnjM1sF9vgav3X2jxS90CpNE99ThBdXXXmDh7bVjHIqUO4jRueXw-HRZLLu_R2gShkYTyx0moJdFOFouzKZl0dQx1U9lHErHHkfIXd30m4/s400/DSC_6636.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317518102674711938" border="0" /></a><br />The race was halted as they loaded the ref into the ambulance, then resumed using a new tip-proof pace car. In this real race, Katrina finished up in 13th place, a great job especially considering last week she was racing Intros, and this week she was up against four women from the A field.<br /><br />In Cs, Chinkle had another solid pack finish, and in As Chair finished up in 24th, Natan was 14th (after crashing in the turn-o-doom and still hucking himself back into the field one lap later):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sXlryjQFyMRGnp2Hx7IPGqFl5aLLozWoHZ_PmIpWmV3G4Ibi7I-Xd1RNBx7Ix6nwk4rm4TkspuCZgnI4hYcz57CSe7L1pBrncK4OD1NFc5Uc_fX7WHC8HfJm2DQvHn3C9qCIH-1c5Hg/s1600-h/DSC_6992.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sXlryjQFyMRGnp2Hx7IPGqFl5aLLozWoHZ_PmIpWmV3G4Ibi7I-Xd1RNBx7Ix6nwk4rm4TkspuCZgnI4hYcz57CSe7L1pBrncK4OD1NFc5Uc_fX7WHC8HfJm2DQvHn3C9qCIH-1c5Hg/s400/DSC_6992.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317547250838190674" border="0" /></a><br />and I ended up in 10th after hanging on to a group composed almost entirely of very strong and very organized UVM riders and then botching the field sprint:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgzCY-GSucbv1ucLj8jliNaLGgiYBpjH4EtPHXLiQQ2Lftdej0DA5QrxlRUqGXJkq-QrWdbadPs7UaIjpRXLeVdDEpK_8PHBPIbRR7dG5iicwfWkUTPSw3QtOI7pRaaFL2Zt7QirVKZQ/s1600-h/DSC_7041.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgzCY-GSucbv1ucLj8jliNaLGgiYBpjH4EtPHXLiQQ2Lftdej0DA5QrxlRUqGXJkq-QrWdbadPs7UaIjpRXLeVdDEpK_8PHBPIbRR7dG5iicwfWkUTPSw3QtOI7pRaaFL2Zt7QirVKZQ/s400/DSC_7041.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317547262961088178" border="0" /></a><br />It was a sketchy weekend but a damn fun one, and it's now almost time to head out for Philly, which is definitely one of my favorite weekends. I am PUMPED for the circuit race.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-26982951534211899532009-03-18T06:56:00.000-07:002009-03-18T09:44:33.383-07:00Somewhat Tardy Columbia/Stevens Race ReportI'm sitting in class, so obviously it's time to bang out another entry in my chronically neglected series of race reports. My only other alternative is to pay attention to the lecture, and I just can't allow that to happen. So, without further ado:<br /><br />Last weekend BU's red and white army traveled to the New York Metro area for some hot racing fun, courtesy of Columbia University and Stevens Institute of Technology. We had a big crew, rolling 18-deep, which in itself is a testament to the awesomeness of this year's squad. Saturday was the Columbia Grant's Tomb Criterium, and Sunday was Stevens' insane-o hill repeat crit.<br /><br />The Columbia crit is an ECCC institution, and an awesome one at that. Just like last year's crit (and like I'm sure 07's crit would have been had it not been snowed out), the racing was fast and fun, including three sides of a New York City block and a fast, sweeping left turn around Grant's Tomb that makes one feel like a Moto GP racer (of course substituting skin-tight, bright red leather for skin-tight, bright red Lycra). After waking up FAR too early so that we could watch the early USCF races (thanks Natan...) it was time to chamois up and destroy. For the Columbia/Stevens weekend, BU's D squad consisted of Parker, James, Josh, and Craig. Everybody raced well, Josh killed it and came in 9th, and Craig proved that he is indeed silly strong by stomping his way to second place in a bunch sprint:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOALrSZBuA4aKTlo0n9AwrvsRHPRjYzxZnHoizBEN1bnvqMxDLM1ONoKpJJ2wlTsDGLbyTSPCofwqoSpFiPVVS8aLgAVrvhM9uWy8V659JIu22h-SDoyVMR1yy-bx87EyBgldubdrdqKw/s1600-h/DSC_5623.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOALrSZBuA4aKTlo0n9AwrvsRHPRjYzxZnHoizBEN1bnvqMxDLM1ONoKpJJ2wlTsDGLbyTSPCofwqoSpFiPVVS8aLgAVrvhM9uWy8V659JIu22h-SDoyVMR1yy-bx87EyBgldubdrdqKw/s400/DSC_5623.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314533912573769954" border="0" /></a><br />Next, it was time for the Intro guys and gals to dominate the rest of the conference in the very competitive Third Annual Water Bottle Drill Showdown:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6LMokd7VGc_CM_oxOP1KtAHLIQQuPRj-0kjxZv1_d0PGNA28JZrvTQBty7cCjMP0DyDmnxUSYoisYXDV0ZFdCiXDJFbp8ajyhGge7jTTS4UYOg3euDtUccXR_IbkylQRFVUWxA-c6o0/s1600-h/DSC_5634.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6LMokd7VGc_CM_oxOP1KtAHLIQQuPRj-0kjxZv1_d0PGNA28JZrvTQBty7cCjMP0DyDmnxUSYoisYXDV0ZFdCiXDJFbp8ajyhGge7jTTS4UYOg3euDtUccXR_IbkylQRFVUWxA-c6o0/s400/DSC_5634.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314535315277154594" border="0" /></a><br />After brushing up on their handling skills, the Intro peeps headed out onto the course for some very fast racing. Katrina had a great ride and finished 13th, and Robert and James took 24th and 25th in their field, respectively. These guys are looking stronger and stronger each weekend, and we're stoked to see how things unfold in Delaware this weekend.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilq1iyuW6Aw1Ai7LxB-si5zk5qGkRZokqVFK10dQN-LqHfmsOMoyVLW1czylvuvXzXk5_j8oZNDntFI7SjvgOhHebMMtPMjfcvr3ys4YsvyWA767e-m72O9mk9vIuNJB7cXpUQ8yc43uo/s1600-h/DSC_5686.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilq1iyuW6Aw1Ai7LxB-si5zk5qGkRZokqVFK10dQN-LqHfmsOMoyVLW1czylvuvXzXk5_j8oZNDntFI7SjvgOhHebMMtPMjfcvr3ys4YsvyWA767e-m72O9mk9vIuNJB7cXpUQ8yc43uo/s400/DSC_5686.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314549449451817218" border="0" /></a><br />In the B field, BU's strongwomen put in a very solid performance, with Anna cranking out an 8th place finish and Kim coming in in 23rd position. Both of these gals look very, very comfortable with the Bs, and again, we're expecting big things for the UDel weekend.<br /><br />Our C guys are looking good too. Ben: 20th. Matt: 31st. Kyle and Tom: Looking awesome. Now, more photos.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhVcfqI7JvZhNJ-teWAhhC4mpW5dFJI4nSgQxpTaq_9SC8qfW5NgCoROYOlTvIQCiRg_TTpp8pnttcqo9ZxDElajynW3JlHH2UH_-zelO6BF_HdjzYmYdG_e1o1DgncmA3iIkGRuL6Qk/s1600-h/DSC_5696.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhVcfqI7JvZhNJ-teWAhhC4mpW5dFJI4nSgQxpTaq_9SC8qfW5NgCoROYOlTvIQCiRg_TTpp8pnttcqo9ZxDElajynW3JlHH2UH_-zelO6BF_HdjzYmYdG_e1o1DgncmA3iIkGRuL6Qk/s400/DSC_5696.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314555318707298402" border="0" /></a><br />Sweet.<br /><br />In As, Natan, Chris, and I had an awesome race. After watching a break go off pretty much from the gun, we settled into a nice rhythm and enjoyed the course. In a skittish field that started the long, windswept, uphill sprint waaay too early, Natan finished 24th and I came in 16th for my first points of the season (whew), and Chris chose a bad line and wound up behind a car parked on the roadside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Vw2waTxu8Km3xv-2suL-3IgvbXQFbjyAiGvYDpq9OsLRijMpZ1ADHsDWYesieo4KXRK8WEl-VZLibN3n9GTDoYxaV3qPGSrJfcyRlGNjxd_SqKV7Lp4kpdz6ZpaJ-PBuq-kruzYnwEs/s1600-h/DSC_5854.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Vw2waTxu8Km3xv-2suL-3IgvbXQFbjyAiGvYDpq9OsLRijMpZ1ADHsDWYesieo4KXRK8WEl-VZLibN3n9GTDoYxaV3qPGSrJfcyRlGNjxd_SqKV7Lp4kpdz6ZpaJ-PBuq-kruzYnwEs/s400/DSC_5854.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314559246497918050" border="0" /></a><br />And that's it. The rest of the team went off to Natan's parents' place for some Guitar Hero, and I went out to dinner with my family visiting from CA. I defy you not to smile at my niece, who is objectively the cutest child ever:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1cb13cjvH8eoIgzE2FWoT_M1iK-z95UBb3tql8h78NQkNNALzSnt1C0MZU7shmxAvNXQnW75xRtlwUQTX-G2JDyxjePrwnGbBphs6BMBnP_USy-uMojUY4PZe238Lr0XLNPe49bqtBw/s1600-h/Copy+of+DSC_5863.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha1cb13cjvH8eoIgzE2FWoT_M1iK-z95UBb3tql8h78NQkNNALzSnt1C0MZU7shmxAvNXQnW75xRtlwUQTX-G2JDyxjePrwnGbBphs6BMBnP_USy-uMojUY4PZe238Lr0XLNPe49bqtBw/s400/Copy+of+DSC_5863.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314560926931288386" border="0" /></a><br />The next day we got up early and, nursing styrofoam cups of coffee which had inexplicably been packed into paper bags, drove to Hoboken. Urban Dictionary <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sketchy">defines the term "sketchy"</a> as "creepy, iffy, fairly unsafe, [having] an air of uncertainty, not kosher, and just generally some[thing] that you don't want to be associated with (or really do want to be associated with, depending on who you are...)." This definition - which is actually more like a string of synonyms than a definitition but let's not quibble - is adequate and does a great job describing the Stevens criterium. (Interestingly, Urban Dictionary also defines "sketchy" as someone that has "taken too much speed and has become untrustworthy and unpredictable," a definition that is equally applicable to the Stevens crit.)<br /><br />This crazy course consisted of one steep-ass, bepotholed climb, followed by a number of speed bumbs which, when taken at race pace, tended to fling one's rear wheel skyward, followed by a steep-ass descent into a hard right turn, followed by a hard right turn back into the jagged and undulating concrete of the steep-ass climb once again. It was sketchy, painful, and honestly pretty damned fun. Every field absolutely shattered within three laps, and the short course meant that tons and tons of racers were lapped and pulled. BU had a bunch of flats, a crash, and some success.<br /><br />In the D field, Craig was definitely on pace to finish well when he flatted with a few laps to go. Without the benefit of a free lap he ended up in 15th, but had an awesome ride nonetheless. Our intro guys brought out the big guns for Stevens, with Dave finishing 13th and Rob in 19th, and flying solo in the women's intro field, Katrina finished an awesome 5th.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0iCzj6TWxI6_Z5EQsLqLDwsA5-1Lge1SOcbL2BWkK99cTCemmke3VwXwyXfa2ziU8vGKPzFpIaxy1Gq6GNAmYY-2ooLZS9i54nin9wy9Sahwujp7I01IcKGKaNO1bZBPhn0J7OAVS-I/s1600-h/DSC_6058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0iCzj6TWxI6_Z5EQsLqLDwsA5-1Lge1SOcbL2BWkK99cTCemmke3VwXwyXfa2ziU8vGKPzFpIaxy1Gq6GNAmYY-2ooLZS9i54nin9wy9Sahwujp7I01IcKGKaNO1bZBPhn0J7OAVS-I/s400/DSC_6058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314565449534635074" border="0" /></a><br />In the C race, Kyle flatted and then promptly crashed out due to a kicker ramp that was apparently built into the turn at the bottom of the big descent, Tom finished 17th, and Ben was 9th. In As, Chris was promptly laid out by someone's bike on lap 2, I spent most of the day in a chase group (Lipka is very fast) and finished 6th, and Natan was out of sight until 2 to go, when he miraculously reappeared and glided into 8th place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlwQHAkdCm8VyCRfqQQ2pY7EgFsfOJVLCanHLWULCK4d2IXOvpmO8ynOZSgio_f9M6Vs9wizhyphenhyphenNldPjKfGa-FZkW01V079uA185jHsCFS-FXZwFuQDv8jISuW1jZYG6ev863r73Kg48U/s1600-h/DSC_6239.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlwQHAkdCm8VyCRfqQQ2pY7EgFsfOJVLCanHLWULCK4d2IXOvpmO8ynOZSgio_f9M6Vs9wizhyphenhyphenNldPjKfGa-FZkW01V079uA185jHsCFS-FXZwFuQDv8jISuW1jZYG6ev863r73Kg48U/s400/DSC_6239.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314566944761733234" border="0" /></a><br />Overall, it was an awesome weekend. Awesome, that is, until the drive home when Kyle decided to use a lubricated condom to hold his deteriorating bandages to his road rash:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiX-msyfjAH6jw83dnC1pdF2WpvX36HpNl3xDO3gDYvky1-F5CSRQhZQqOiTQkREdLkLNXeDAl2ooR_ZbxWl_AZvdFmtCTXn-Z4NT_Lhb6PTewchV0TBLWVSChAvu48eN9k4l8Gz7vI8c/s1600-h/DSC_6279.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiX-msyfjAH6jw83dnC1pdF2WpvX36HpNl3xDO3gDYvky1-F5CSRQhZQqOiTQkREdLkLNXeDAl2ooR_ZbxWl_AZvdFmtCTXn-Z4NT_Lhb6PTewchV0TBLWVSChAvu48eN9k4l8Gz7vI8c/s400/DSC_6279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314567652077552738" border="0" /></a><br />Ew.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-71717273617704515232009-03-11T12:50:00.000-07:002009-03-11T14:06:20.363-07:00Super-Late Rutgers Racing Roundup...Yee-Haw?First, all sarcasm, wit, and funny stuff aside, big thanks to the Rutgers and Princeton crews for putting on an awesome opening weekend! Some seriously great racing went down and I think I speak for the whole of BU Cycling (if not the entire ECCC) when I say thanks for a ridiculously fun bicycling extravaganza.<br /><br />This weekend was basically awesome. On Friday the team met at our usual spot to load up the vans. In attendance were about 12 of BU's finest, 14 bikes (don't ask), 1 bunny, and 1 snowboard. Here we are trying desperately to attach an excruciatingly simple bike rack to the trunk of our clown-themed cyclovan:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadHXQIn1yhfJHIcJXE-7s2YZwjTc0eU9b1107awBLStWHIKwfs6BkU2gMSoQ6QkOhRruvlCQRVhOlWyCMhahzDIWNoq0I6V9VD8zC2CmvaNQmo3FvUgYudSbbEFimTDmMHosEs6HOVSE/s1600-h/DSC_4803.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadHXQIn1yhfJHIcJXE-7s2YZwjTc0eU9b1107awBLStWHIKwfs6BkU2gMSoQ6QkOhRruvlCQRVhOlWyCMhahzDIWNoq0I6V9VD8zC2CmvaNQmo3FvUgYudSbbEFimTDmMHosEs6HOVSE/s400/DSC_4803.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312022061872191378" border="0" /></a><br />Believe it or not, we eventually figured it out and were then able to enter these clown vans and drive them straight to Princeton, except for Kyle's clown van, which at his behest drove most of the way to Albany before making a bee-line straight for Princeton. Here is Kyle after his van tour, consuming mass quantities at our new favorite Jersey hole-in-the-wall Italian place:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMAtDgPt_oyRTiBo4rHb78SUIqcHtcFKCQkTMZRUkIBYDIpU__x3CVHxWO_txI1CHzEHIvOFujdONKfFk3gUB5-b_cg7ycBSfcrI72PtyENB2ZZ6rzCe_z3drxyQrvzNF4XL_ILlPK4I/s1600-h/Copy+of+DSC_4848.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMAtDgPt_oyRTiBo4rHb78SUIqcHtcFKCQkTMZRUkIBYDIpU__x3CVHxWO_txI1CHzEHIvOFujdONKfFk3gUB5-b_cg7ycBSfcrI72PtyENB2ZZ6rzCe_z3drxyQrvzNF4XL_ILlPK4I/s400/Copy+of+DSC_4848.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312024872111114706" border="0" /></a><br />After our joyous reunion - well, joyous for everyone but Kyle, who was obviously busy crying into his spaghetti and red sauce - we headed straight over to Kehvon's house, which was to serve as our base of operations for the weekend. No more eight-people-to-a-hotel-room style lodging for BU! No sir, at Kehvon's parents' place we had room to walk, lie down, and even shower individually. This was quite an improvement from previous years, and things were certainly looking up.<br /><br />The next day we woke up pre-ass crack of dawn, and drove out to the Thrilla' on the Riva' for some hot ITT action. (Incidentally, I think the ECCC calendar could benefit from some more ITTs.) We arrived, warmed up, and kicked ass. Our intro squads did an awesome job with special props going to the women, who took the win:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXJXI6DToohzrbCWY6MWgm0cyVwYw-hhhU51_Zs_awPfoe9Q94pqFXJHHpfrJVfsIBbuPNs_9c9uzGpVYEBEcUi9X40hJQ8lMB-IwGwUYefzH7LHhdNSdPSBfNz7cvlBH2BE1VxcP-Fw/s1600-h/DSC_4875.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXJXI6DToohzrbCWY6MWgm0cyVwYw-hhhU51_Zs_awPfoe9Q94pqFXJHHpfrJVfsIBbuPNs_9c9uzGpVYEBEcUi9X40hJQ8lMB-IwGwUYefzH7LHhdNSdPSBfNz7cvlBH2BE1VxcP-Fw/s400/DSC_4875.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312028886552567714" border="0" /></a><br />The intro men also TT'ed their hearts out and did a great job. Our resident sandbagger Matt Griswold absolutely destroyed the D field, easily winning the event, and the C men finished up in the middle of their field. In the A field, Chair and I also finished in the middle of our bunch, but Natan had apparently been drinking rocket fuel the night before and powered his way to a 15th place finish:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO2S8Gmqc8cM86GjveqZQwWF_06ZZqZQbyEO7vZ9-05qx7TXh_x-uKSgJuwK52_kQodMq6v-7bJHxUPQJIFu5CWlG04WfQX78Cj4nZ4diPlsUIdx7JgsQYfTAnOYzISaropXJLeqKdP0/s1600-h/DSC_4942.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO2S8Gmqc8cM86GjveqZQwWF_06ZZqZQbyEO7vZ9-05qx7TXh_x-uKSgJuwK52_kQodMq6v-7bJHxUPQJIFu5CWlG04WfQX78Cj4nZ4diPlsUIdx7JgsQYfTAnOYzISaropXJLeqKdP0/s400/DSC_4942.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312030739541876674" border="0" /></a><br />It was a very productive prologue for BU, but the real goodness was still to come at the Princeton crit. Whether it was born out of a love for power climbs, a hatred of flat crits, or just plain old sadism, the Nicks (and other names) of Princeton created an awesome course for us to suffer through. The course instantly reminded me of one of these things:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZrB2FpBR6g4JOMdBQ6Cp4hvvoP8CVb_TNlIYKeBtEVV9VHPsszM2jqGwOl_ZcSGaSvpDPE9i63ePDoF1VwApVXFCgZsOzThAVd0Byb9-0JmEeO6bq6lsZDdh0rcVNe_bPZMN3QU3DkQ/s1600-h/Penguin+Thing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZrB2FpBR6g4JOMdBQ6Cp4hvvoP8CVb_TNlIYKeBtEVV9VHPsszM2jqGwOl_ZcSGaSvpDPE9i63ePDoF1VwApVXFCgZsOzThAVd0Byb9-0JmEeO6bq6lsZDdh0rcVNe_bPZMN3QU3DkQ/s400/Penguin+Thing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312031861387516626" border="0" /></a><br />The beginning of the course was dominated by a wall of a climb, followed by a mellow descent that featured three right hand turns, and a flat section at the bottom with another right turn leading back up into the stratosphere.<br /><br />Once again, our Intro women did a great job, and all enjoyed solid pack finishes. Anna finished sixth, and along with her result from the ITT, that put her in line to pick up the weekend omnium (and the gloriously ugly jersey that went along with it). Matt finished second in the D field, giving him a very good shot at the omnium, Craig took 12th, and Ian had a strong pack finish. Kyle and Ben finished in the top 20 in the C field behind a very strong UPenn breakaway, and in the A field, Chris and I again finished in the middle of the very quick main group. Natan, unfortunately, was sidelined halfway through with some gnarly muscle cramps.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOChLOb4Ctgfs1_-Eugs0GlhWMnLza_j6JoVKuXJ4ZGiiwVMam1yICNkQ9TGfjsc4R5MIMAOVr3p_CXeV1Futb9nqzcHJLWOUt9ajkTbSTLvW0QdicWeUg9-yHRsXXt9qiAvNBmUyvaX0/s1600-h/DSC_5193.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOChLOb4Ctgfs1_-Eugs0GlhWMnLza_j6JoVKuXJ4ZGiiwVMam1yICNkQ9TGfjsc4R5MIMAOVr3p_CXeV1Futb9nqzcHJLWOUt9ajkTbSTLvW0QdicWeUg9-yHRsXXt9qiAvNBmUyvaX0/s400/DSC_5193.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312034991492367618" border="0" /></a><br />In the circuit, Anna again dominated the Intro field (and will be upgrading to B next weekend or face severe verbal abuse), and Kim took third. Anna's results were enough to bring her the omnium and aforementioned hideous jersey of glory. Matt also went on to take second in the D field, taking the weekend omnium as well, and Craig unleashed his monster sprint and came up with 7th place.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYdWNOoe8JIx71uVQ7mIwy1gvYx_ImAsibh2CHXYJX8tutqfSeB42d9vYcUlPnfYtB5jdtdWhMiny5_NCbbDAYGcwRzY4nZjymnQ7YsVIrLwPAPeNNTICQpQWS48cRjm45yJMMcdmF7o/s1600-h/DSC_5331.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYdWNOoe8JIx71uVQ7mIwy1gvYx_ImAsibh2CHXYJX8tutqfSeB42d9vYcUlPnfYtB5jdtdWhMiny5_NCbbDAYGcwRzY4nZjymnQ7YsVIrLwPAPeNNTICQpQWS48cRjm45yJMMcdmF7o/s400/DSC_5331.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312036356478840290" border="0" /></a><br />In the C field, Kyle blasted his way to 5th place, and Ben finished a very respectable 11th. Again, in the A field, Chris and I had mid-pack finishes, while Natan came up with some points in 17th place. (I'm starting to notice a pattern here...) <br /><br />All in all, it was one hell of a lot of fun and we're all looking forward to Columbia this weekend. Rutgers/Princeton was a confidence booster in a lot of ways, and - speaking only for myself here - pointed out that there is clearly room for improvement in the future. Pack finishes are well and good, but I want me some of them tasty points! Bring it on, ECCC.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-77725525302482964612009-02-26T19:20:00.000-08:002009-02-26T19:54:00.696-08:00Apparently, My Building Is Ghetto.Okay, first, this has nothing to do with bike racing, but bike racing can be sketchy and this was most certainly sketchy, so <span style="font-style: italic;">cogito ergo sum</span>, it is appropriate to post this here. DO NOT QUESTION MY INFALLIBLE LOGIC.<br /><br />Second, last night I was wearing my Sponge-Bob onesy and drifting off to sleep when I heard someone out on the street screaming like an effing banshee. The screaming was followed by an insane amount of banging, which was followed by a dog barking, which was followed by the sound of gunshots. Now I live in Brookline, which is certainly not Beacon Hill, but is not exactly the sketchiest neighborhood in Boston, either. It's mostly college students and orthodox Jewish families and is relatively quiet, so you can imagine my ever-so-slight surprise at the sound of gunshots just outside of my apartment. Curious, I looked out the window to see a man entering an older Ford Explorer and driving off in something of a hurry. I pondered this for a few minutes, and determining that it was probably safe to emerge, I went downstairs to make sure everything was alright.<br /><br />Well, everything was not alright. A window was broken, a door was off of its hinges, and there were some very shaken up, very stoned individuals milling around that broken door with a very shaken up, very stoned pit bull. I asked them what happened, and apparently a fight occurred outside involving my sketchy ass downstairs neighbor (who is almost certainly a massive drug dealer - my entire building <span style="font-style: italic;">constantly </span>smells of weed) and some dude with a gun. Said dude with a gun pointed said gun at said dealer neighbor, said dealer neighbor screamed like said banshee, and tried to get inside by smashing said door and said window. Said dealer neighbor's pit bull then escaped through said broken door and freaked out on said dude with a gun, and said dude with a gun tried to shoot said dealer neighbor's pit bull in the face, then fled the scene in said older Ford Explorer. The cops came and took statements, then went off to eat crullers (and a bear claw).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV4FWf0iyxiVCVQCZQiwG8GiHVBriRiIvKLFF9W83yyNsW1MV3oYulRn4iKiKeVTAwLe8UjNQETiMQJ3dLVQjp9zZzK62-GaloX9ll1yonWjzmFAoiIw5rX-PRT3-OiaWLCKD_corH4I/s1600-h/Cruller.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXV4FWf0iyxiVCVQCZQiwG8GiHVBriRiIvKLFF9W83yyNsW1MV3oYulRn4iKiKeVTAwLe8UjNQETiMQJ3dLVQjp9zZzK62-GaloX9ll1yonWjzmFAoiIw5rX-PRT3-OiaWLCKD_corH4I/s400/Cruller.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307320350714821554" border="0" /></a><br />Awesome.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-80444484179655491802009-02-25T15:07:00.000-08:002009-02-25T16:53:03.991-08:00PhotorgyI've recently taken a deep look inside my soul and discovered that the gaping hollow void in my spirit from whence my breathtakingly genius blog entries ordinarily flow has been plugged up like Rapunzel's shower drain. At first I was bewildered at this phenomenon, but after some serious peyote use and an intense vision quest I can now attribute this cloggage to the fact that the Tour of California is dead and gone - at least until next February - depriving my amazing literary talents of any appropriate subject matter in which to take form. Nevertheless, after some serious cocaine abuse and a few all-nighters in a Newton crack den, I have come across one idea: since it seems that all of the "cool" kids are posting photos of their rides, I guess I'll go ahead and follow suit.<br /><br />Behold, the outskirts of Boston!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPV-npu6phW7BAWnJVUmL0l-kbgtrvGrS6iMU8NnDfHBkibTO72roLDgHLQFdSyEsUWTFCuvqHy2DtTC_z-mDFpje1zjVBBk1htkrQUOg1FxgWlv_DGbmOLPHtVQ94M-6oRP6QVReJYE/s1600-h/CIMG4359.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPV-npu6phW7BAWnJVUmL0l-kbgtrvGrS6iMU8NnDfHBkibTO72roLDgHLQFdSyEsUWTFCuvqHy2DtTC_z-mDFpje1zjVBBk1htkrQUOg1FxgWlv_DGbmOLPHtVQ94M-6oRP6QVReJYE/s400/CIMG4359.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306880881376314626" border="0" /></a><br />That's just some lifeless trees and a waterfall that we always ride past. I've probably seen that thing like a thousand times, but there was something very special about today. That special thing is that we stopped on the side of the road for a natural break, and I stepped in a large pile of dung! While I can't be entirely certain of the species that left me this gift, laboratory analysis has narrowed it down to either dog, human, or sasquatch. Personally I feel that the sasquatch hypothesis may be a bit far-fetched, but who am I to argue with DNA tests? In case you need a visual, I stepped in the sasquatch dung right<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq4AxakfLUuywQgd2LI77w56bhqOUCgLI91qz8CG2tdKYzHkaOjIev0a84Qg0oy_9Db1xQArxc1ujrMiFEF4Kok-IK9b4VvNJdLLu_00zGMB9r3CVqNCdp9rWa1YEJnVJKCPlsSseOBM/s1600-h/CIMG4361.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidq4AxakfLUuywQgd2LI77w56bhqOUCgLI91qz8CG2tdKYzHkaOjIev0a84Qg0oy_9Db1xQArxc1ujrMiFEF4Kok-IK9b4VvNJdLLu_00zGMB9r3CVqNCdp9rWa1YEJnVJKCPlsSseOBM/s400/CIMG4361.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306891125215395442" border="0" /></a><br />I'm assuming you've probably never been unlucky enough to have to scrape abominable snow crap from all of the nooks and crannies of a bike cleat, but just trust me. Not fun.<br /><br />After that point the road turned upward and we started to climb. When I say that, however, please realize that I'm now firmly immersed in Boston cycling culture, and due to the unabashed flat-chestedness of our beautiful state, "turning up" usually means "rising approximately 35 feet in elevation." In this case, that's exactly what it means:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCrvZZHePF3fs2aHC4Q2Mr_1Sk0Q-ifeosa-D04iDhPa1NkFzBFDOT21CAcEufPYrKifS-aLME4xjykVtHofHPTztNO04raUq69fxaJWwuIFn_FxLwE7mld7o9zL8AmcqsHhVJZXGJ5E/s1600-h/CIMG4365.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCrvZZHePF3fs2aHC4Q2Mr_1Sk0Q-ifeosa-D04iDhPa1NkFzBFDOT21CAcEufPYrKifS-aLME4xjykVtHofHPTztNO04raUq69fxaJWwuIFn_FxLwE7mld7o9zL8AmcqsHhVJZXGJ5E/s400/CIMG4365.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306880887801661586" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, that is a "climb" in Boston, a/k/a/ a "speed bump" to Vermonters, a/k/a/ "the Swiss Alps" to Rhode Islanders. Fast-forward thirty grueling seconds of pedal-mashing, swearing, and weeping, and we finally crested the Alps and "descended" the other side. The descent was followed by approximately two additional hours of bicycle riding, during which time I accidentally flung my camera on the ground while doing 45 mph (on the flats - I'm really fast).<br /><br />After nearly smashing my little camera to bits, I decided I'd better be a tad more careful, so I have nothing else for you except for this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52r1JVKwch9EDVZZjOxfGg5rx_wFRRGPnQqUh8PvT7JHxeXLTBIYnjqOPjkNLc93j8TxC0SJggri3QwsHJw4vTtL7Eze6QKE2CIzkozm7-XxB260PZD38YmChB_BC1P1FRR_V-SA1mIA/s1600-h/CIMG4369.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52r1JVKwch9EDVZZjOxfGg5rx_wFRRGPnQqUh8PvT7JHxeXLTBIYnjqOPjkNLc93j8TxC0SJggri3QwsHJw4vTtL7Eze6QKE2CIzkozm7-XxB260PZD38YmChB_BC1P1FRR_V-SA1mIA/s400/CIMG4369.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306880890507670850" border="0" /></a><br />That speck in the filthy white winter jacket is Natan, racing through Wellesley Center on the way home like a mud-encrusted comet making its way around the sun. Wellesley Center is a weird place: a tiny college town inhabited almost entirely by female students, and the makeup of the Wellesley retail community reflects that fact very much indeed. All of these little strip malls are crammed full of very conservative and very expensive clothing stores, punctuated by the occasional ice cream shop.<br /><br />Anyhow, more pedaling followed, and soon I was home where a new friend was waiting for me in front of my garbage cans.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbSxSWdBo1PXF7whoH6Q-6HysYfPipEg_IZuXNM7bVtNOiqAVxtfnPbqzeFgaeQ7Kksayl_RX6p-kSBP1ju8-jUAvr9zTY1DIJxAliwVYl4Dx5WeLnXaWeMMuYZROOdgvADW6jhVVUsg/s1600-h/CIMG4372.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEbSxSWdBo1PXF7whoH6Q-6HysYfPipEg_IZuXNM7bVtNOiqAVxtfnPbqzeFgaeQ7Kksayl_RX6p-kSBP1ju8-jUAvr9zTY1DIJxAliwVYl4Dx5WeLnXaWeMMuYZROOdgvADW6jhVVUsg/s400/CIMG4372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306880889753645602" border="0" /></a><br />Our friendship didn't last long however, as he appeared to be only using me for my recyclables, but c'est la vie I suppose.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-1736399762629092302009-02-19T17:44:00.001-08:002009-02-19T20:05:15.627-08:00Requiem for a SprinterProfessional field sprints are getting boring. Mark Cavendish wins everything. Today's stage of the AToC was almost sad, watching Boonen - the ex-golden boy - fade before the line like MC Hammer's hairdo. I'll bet ol' Tommeke is crying his eyes out right now in a bed full of naked Californian supermodels. That thought is especially sad considering that it's probably tough to get your nose full of Bolivian marching powder when it's running with snot. Just take a look at this photo, in which Cavendish is clearly giving Tom the international sign for "suck it" as he crosses the line:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTRZqOUjC2EB2bfoVcIb5Nw8pag9PIXna9rEo966mGoTZs1aeBuphkZ-PMcLFyv5aU6f47y-oXa5DWL4AWLNsZ0AuwDzcjixGarx_tcCFtuVUEQ4xrJlm9VKjP8Cm9TIMkNjMIPuxCdE/s1600-h/Untitled-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJTRZqOUjC2EB2bfoVcIb5Nw8pag9PIXna9rEo966mGoTZs1aeBuphkZ-PMcLFyv5aU6f47y-oXa5DWL4AWLNsZ0AuwDzcjixGarx_tcCFtuVUEQ4xrJlm9VKjP8Cm9TIMkNjMIPuxCdE/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304722074240140962" border="0" /></a><br />Anyways, after watching Cav stomp the competition (and listening to Craig Hummer's word vomit for a couple of hours) I headed out to an acupuncturist. With the ECCC season drawing near and my Achilles tendons still not at 100%, the situation is getting pretty desperate. So yes, I went and had some dude stick needles into my feet. This being my first run-in with an acupuncturist I was a little bit concerned, but it wasn't <span style="font-style: italic;">nearly </span>as creepy as I thought it would be. The acupuncturist just flicked the needles as they went in and I could barely even feel them. Two went into each Achilles with electrical pulses running through them, and four went into my neck. Then the guy abandoned me there for half an hour while I lay face down, bristling with acupuncture needles like a hedgehog.<br /><br />It's hard to say whether it was effective just yet. My neck feels a bit looser than it did before, but the jury's still out on the Achilles'. Since I know you guys are all waiting with baited breath to hear the status of my lil' tendons, I'll post an update soon.<br /><br />In any case, when I got home and flicked on the TV, whose voice immediately began assaulting my eardrums but that of Versus' newest word jockey, Craig Hummer? The voice was immediately familiar but the context was very different, since this time Craigy wasn't dabbling in cycling, but was announcing a sport with a far longer and richer history: World Extreme Cagefighting. I didn't stick around long enough to really get a feel for his deathmatch announcing style, but I assume he brings the same level of professionalism, detailed knowledge, and insight to the bare-knuckle ass whooping arena as he does to the cycling arena. That level of professionalism, knowledge, and insight, incidentally, is a big 10 (on the usual scale of -4 to 684,007).<br /><br />Oh, and Valverde is totally effed (and balding):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcy6OiyohUuZTlI3nK9ouHWk14nmKGpeiQuiketckXUqIIbJX_DJZNqVJ6IlQmkO0Gx0E81V2V76GkpWEu5lG5zZ697mJs9-XImlN8q34k9iVQzL_RoIeaTdgHsd2ps6N5yXmCImicbA/s1600-h/Valverde.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcy6OiyohUuZTlI3nK9ouHWk14nmKGpeiQuiketckXUqIIbJX_DJZNqVJ6IlQmkO0Gx0E81V2V76GkpWEu5lG5zZ697mJs9-XImlN8q34k9iVQzL_RoIeaTdgHsd2ps6N5yXmCImicbA/s400/Valverde.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304723048782025522" border="0" /></a>Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-37251964516823984632009-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:002009-02-16T13:15:36.477-08:00Craig Hummer - Cycling Commentator ExtraordinaireAfter what seems like an eternity, I'm finally done with my first build period of the season. The last few months of intervals, hill sprints, and TT workouts culminated in a massive team sufferfest this weekend, and my legs are officially whipped. It's lucky for me that today is a rest day and the beginning of an R&R week, and it's also clearly serendipitous that the Amgen Tour of California has now begun. The world clearly intends for me to watch the AToC, and I intend to abide by its intentions.<br /><br />So far the broadcast has been marred by poor weather, which has prevented much of the live video from being seen. However, I have been prevented from tearing my apartment apart in frustration by the genius of the announcer who is Craig Hummer. Yes, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin - who together have 400 combined years of cycling commentating experience - are present as usual. But Versus has thankfully found it appropriate to employ an additional announcer in Mr. Hummer, who despite knowing exactly nothing about cycling and limiting his remarks to either entirely obvious or blatantly incorrect statements, is clearly a rising star in the commentating sky.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBntfpbDrq7gIkkI47pSyNCP2XUU4H-49efUbHWT1gyq4mwQI3mw0yH6N0sfAZ-NlmrwbcGn4MqXSN1ju7SaymeAEg3qlJZO2Pmsk4kDJJhNF4ewBCUiQTJddDNo6lQEPPaC9gFAiJJU/s1600-h/Craig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 387px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBntfpbDrq7gIkkI47pSyNCP2XUU4H-49efUbHWT1gyq4mwQI3mw0yH6N0sfAZ-NlmrwbcGn4MqXSN1ju7SaymeAEg3qlJZO2Pmsk4kDJJhNF4ewBCUiQTJddDNo6lQEPPaC9gFAiJJU/s400/Craig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303488330865844850" border="0" /></a><br />Here are some examples of Mr. Hummer's almost breathtaking genius:<br /><br />"Out front the leaders are trying to do their best to keep that gap as large as possible, while back in the peloton . . . they're trying to close the gap." <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Wait, the chasing group would like to catch the breakaway? Really? </span>It's clear now that it was Mr. Hummer's capacity for making cutting observations like this that inspired the AToC organizers to bring Mr. Hummer on board. After all, if we were at all unaware that the chasing group was interested in catching the break, we would be completely confused as to what was happening. Prior to Mr. Hummer's lucid statement, I was just wondering why everyone was riding in the same direction. Are they all heading to grab some lunch together? What are they having? Couldn't they just have called out for delivery and saved themselves the hassle of such a long ride? I also had no idea why they were moving so <span style="font-style: italic;">quickly</span>. I thought that, perhaps, they were running late for an appointment or reservation of some sort, which would tend to confirm my lunch meeting theory. With one easy statement, Mr. Hummer shattered my now obviously incorrect lunch hypothesis and put the rest of the race in perspective.<br /><br />In discussing the new <a href="http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/07/exclusive-first.html">electronic Dura-Ace gruppo</a> - "Those components will save you valuable milliseconds <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> power."<br /><br />While it makes some minimal sense that faster, smoother electronic shifting could <span style="font-style: italic;">potentially</span> provide a rider with a slight advantage if a shift became necessary under full effort, I was not aware that electronic Dura-Ace could actually save <span style="font-style: italic;">power</span>. How exactly this is possible has not been made clear to me, but I wouldn't presume to contradict the statements of Versus's newest elite commentator. The only explanation for this statement seems to be that, in addition to the electronically-actuated shifting system, Shimano has somehow snuck a small electronic motor into the rear hub which will help to save the rider valuable power. Given that blood doping is now so difficult to pull off without being caught, banned, and subsequently re-welcomed to the peloton in a glorious comeback two years later, it's clear that Shimano saw an opening into the competitive cheating industry and jumped at the opportunity. This also helps to explain the $4,000 cost of the gruppo. While this price tag would be exorbitant for a group that simply shifts slightly smoother than traditional mechanical gruppos, such a sneaky and effective alternative to blood doping is clearly worth its weight in EPO.<br /><br />"Phil mentioned the condors, but I'm going to start calling them the 'chalk-hawks,' are out there chalking up the road."<br /><br />On first blush this statement makes absolutely no sense to me or to anybody else, and so is clear evidence that Mr. Hummer is on another level of cycling expertise. Upon doing some research, what has become clear is that 'chalk-hawks' refers to the violent <a href="http://www.chalkandhawks.org.uk/">non-profit organization</a> dedicated to conservation of the birds and wetlands of Dorset, U.K. (not to be confused with the affiliated but independent 'Chalk & Cheese,' the Dorset rural food production group):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kIl3RJO8l4cjwn4NxGQL6tHeeBgSq43q2VE-FYFpEaAyaQdC9_AfKitmat6eyzVFI0rEA45Gjywbu-AOpfQpjw7Sbopx8cB0-Jbrvd16aMZmPLqfaDlBCpm1bmLix9pD_BT4nzrjuyY/s1600-h/buz_ring0ng_winch_ful.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kIl3RJO8l4cjwn4NxGQL6tHeeBgSq43q2VE-FYFpEaAyaQdC9_AfKitmat6eyzVFI0rEA45Gjywbu-AOpfQpjw7Sbopx8cB0-Jbrvd16aMZmPLqfaDlBCpm1bmLix9pD_BT4nzrjuyY/s400/buz_ring0ng_winch_ful.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303506663396157570" border="0" /></a><br />Only Mr. Hummer knows why, but the Chalk Hawks - perhaps inspired by the activist goals of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong campaign - have arrived in force at the finish line to mark up the street. This is intensely important information as it provides details about possible terrorist activities in the final stretch, and the people of this country and the pro peloton owe Mr. Hummer a great debt for alerting government officials to this fact.<br /><br />Yes, in this coming rest week I will certainly be sure to spend some of my extra time watching the AToC and basking in the glow of Mr. Hummer's genius, a genius which is a valuable asset for the Versus network, the UCI, and the people of the United States.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-68989872280895158582009-02-13T15:48:00.000-08:002009-02-13T19:54:51.241-08:00Ridin' Bikes n' Readin' ChartsThe ECCC Blogosphere's Despot-in-Chief, Mr. Steven Hopengarten of Union College, has apparently <a href="http://partyattheback.blogspot.com/2009/02/guide-to-blogging-in-eccc.html">banned the posting of all power files</a> by fiat. In response I plan to completely flood this blog post with a multitude of completely unnecessary, redundant, obnoxious and otherwise ridiculous charts of all kinds. Starting now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbZCSRacbEP510W9HDoTWdhyxnlAuqKLJEHJDcJ7ecu8avEmPdpcx3lRNUEpAVad1l-NlS2eKLoR97dH5bv-xXam8mCPBQhzSTQ1ZOP-au3fCuMMOSn5X52ke0-_oKj_R_SR0lI0KQ6s/s1600-h/pie+chart.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbZCSRacbEP510W9HDoTWdhyxnlAuqKLJEHJDcJ7ecu8avEmPdpcx3lRNUEpAVad1l-NlS2eKLoR97dH5bv-xXam8mCPBQhzSTQ1ZOP-au3fCuMMOSn5X52ke0-_oKj_R_SR0lI0KQ6s/s400/pie+chart.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302495155212619074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span>That's right Mr. Hopengarten, that is a pie chart representing relative quantities of food and beverages I consumed during the 2007 holiday season. And I promise you, it won't end there. It won't even end here:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnumm1dsmMhZSiRLV8ltVkcErO5iXgJ3GmU9B_oULLXcuTwPW3uQ5xmrWWrOwDdlrX1K-nB86gobuKswUIXoz-HUin1lPX6Vkv_c_VyhiPnVKf6k7jdPCWAy1z13WoiywyHwZz9PFXsrI/s1600-h/pricingTable_SeatChart0809.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnumm1dsmMhZSiRLV8ltVkcErO5iXgJ3GmU9B_oULLXcuTwPW3uQ5xmrWWrOwDdlrX1K-nB86gobuKswUIXoz-HUin1lPX6Vkv_c_VyhiPnVKf6k7jdPCWAy1z13WoiywyHwZz9PFXsrI/s400/pricingTable_SeatChart0809.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302495514787250946" border="0" /></a><br />That chart is a depiction of the seating arrangements available at performances by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. I display it here on the off chance that you, Mr. Hopengarten, might wish to don one of the doubtless innumerable tuxedos lining your closet and head out for a night on the town. And in case this brush-in with culture makes you curious about the history of our great nation, I now present you with a strange chart which somehow represents the family tree of the great American president, John Quincy Adams:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXVw9eVWw2xlyRd1hyphenhyphenfhsao0wjK9Uu-oQnE5UgOTD9jq93n-60163h_uXAcb56VT8H6PkXouafVlZ4ASyQC-iNb1XYzM38hRhjnV5gAYon3f4Kh4uhHt4iLsDTehBvEAtEh37uivRtNU/s1600-h/GLFanChartBig.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXVw9eVWw2xlyRd1hyphenhyphenfhsao0wjK9Uu-oQnE5UgOTD9jq93n-60163h_uXAcb56VT8H6PkXouafVlZ4ASyQC-iNb1XYzM38hRhjnV5gAYon3f4Kh4uhHt4iLsDTehBvEAtEh37uivRtNU/s400/GLFanChartBig.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302495880432327602" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span>While I will now move on from this chart-stravaganza, rest assured, Mr. Hopengarten, that this debate is by no means over.<br /><br />Today's ride was a four-hour slog through a somehow omnipresent headwind (in both directions!) out to the oasis of fat, sugar, and more fat that is Honey Dew Donuts of Grafton, MA. Honey Dew has been relegated to the status of second-class citizen in Massachusetts confectionery society, a society ruled by that cruelest of mistresses - Dunkin' Donuts. However,, this one bastion of Honey Dewness remains on the outskirts of the outskirts of Boston, and it was to this amazing natural wonder that we were headed on this cold New England afternoon. To prove the absolute wonderousness of this wonder, here is a donut chart, Mr. Hopengarten:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://dashboardspy.com/img/dashboard-donut-chart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 349px; height: 262px;" src="http://dashboardspy.com/img/dashboard-donut-chart.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Although this donut chart displays no relevant information regarding actual donuts, and is in all reality just a simple pie chart with the center removed, it is shaped just like the donuts served at Honey Dew, and for this reason I have included it here.<br /><br />On the way to Honey Dew Donuts, we rode past a lot of frozen things.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjceyiRG8ZAgySk9v7PK-W01naXt3JkOP1lQU-CyaUAT07jfb8_26mGEpvwXhjYm7SFtpnN6NzAtqrRKjx1HCvwElBcCPbYqotkK3SQSCvzUNV8u91CH3QlgMfqiErPnb6IdXyBHXcUWg/s1600-h/CIMG4345.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjceyiRG8ZAgySk9v7PK-W01naXt3JkOP1lQU-CyaUAT07jfb8_26mGEpvwXhjYm7SFtpnN6NzAtqrRKjx1HCvwElBcCPbYqotkK3SQSCvzUNV8u91CH3QlgMfqiErPnb6IdXyBHXcUWg/s320/CIMG4345.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302486241350629730" border="0" /></a><br />That is Kyle Bruley (a.k.a. Creme Brulee) of the world-famous blog, "<a href="http://huggingtheturns.blogspot.com/">Hugging the Turns</a>," riding past a large frozen body of water. Here is a photograph of Chair and Natan riding past some frozen water which, somehow, has fallen from the sky and congregated on the sides of the road:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBmKPtTgGSuH_HWtDdgTAgVoMgXYHr5-ux7KC9v5PESk5ZWYtnCsI37m4xDPFIrUXMp5l0KMJ_1zcDCc5W5nwqRpmoHND0NELvcVzwmTzEhYTaGHex6Of9pus1z-lq0Wsp3PuX-ZcOLY/s1600-h/CIMG4341.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBmKPtTgGSuH_HWtDdgTAgVoMgXYHr5-ux7KC9v5PESk5ZWYtnCsI37m4xDPFIrUXMp5l0KMJ_1zcDCc5W5nwqRpmoHND0NELvcVzwmTzEhYTaGHex6Of9pus1z-lq0Wsp3PuX-ZcOLY/s320/CIMG4341.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302487031230237202" border="0" /></a><br />And there was other frozen stuff as well, including Gatorade and snot. Yeah, it was a little cold, but nothing compared to last month, so I suppose I can't really complain.<br /><br />Also, on this ride, I had occasion to realize the nutritional oddities that come along with being a very thin individual. On this ride, I personally saw Natan eat two Clif Bars, for a total caloric value of approximately 500 kcal. I also saw Chair eat nothing (as in zero Clif Bars) for a total caloric value of exactly 0.0 kcal. I have no idea what Creme Brulee ate, as I was busy watching Natan and Chair's every move, although I assume something custardy was involved. Finally, I watched myself eat three Clif Bars, four GU packets, and an egg and bagel sandwich, and drink four bottles of Gatorade, for a total caloric value of approximately 2260 kcal. Regardless, it's clear that whereas I need to consume a huge amount of calories in order to keep myself coherent on the bike, my friends do not, a fact which I attribute to my lack of fat, muscle, and other bodily tissue. I'll try keep that in mind come racing season. In order to stay healthy and maintain a balanced diet, I will also, Mr. Hopengarten, keep the nutritional pyramid chart in mind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI0x6nZnTnxgcxSsC9Rg19LtxpDLrqPnCHvyp0U5J6VDO_b8LCaMpNxcpmtgf1uJu8vnly_98YXK8JveWTJJHVAVy8sToJsmYhlHnF5vCmW7lRdDgNomZBWP5ASvj9lPQf1rNJxKBchk/s1600-h/PYRAMID7.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuI0x6nZnTnxgcxSsC9Rg19LtxpDLrqPnCHvyp0U5J6VDO_b8LCaMpNxcpmtgf1uJu8vnly_98YXK8JveWTJJHVAVy8sToJsmYhlHnF5vCmW7lRdDgNomZBWP5ASvj9lPQf1rNJxKBchk/s400/PYRAMID7.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302496277903546610" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span>Oh, and here is my entire PowerTap file from today's ride:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8IAnOCml_HQk5v_RfSVrKXSdhPG3nYQjyi4QLb0OEXZ3naLJn1_NoV9ftF7pR2XFbrkVwJK-6vfY04HaVAMLHP1iMZym7M-zmZEvH59z65yn9A5eQ2pl-NJ2B9rEs01663eplBWa-hc/s1600-h/Fullscreen+capture+2132009+103248+PM.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8IAnOCml_HQk5v_RfSVrKXSdhPG3nYQjyi4QLb0OEXZ3naLJn1_NoV9ftF7pR2XFbrkVwJK-6vfY04HaVAMLHP1iMZym7M-zmZEvH59z65yn9A5eQ2pl-NJ2B9rEs01663eplBWa-hc/s400/Fullscreen+capture+2132009+103248+PM.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302491621044905218" border="0" /></a><br />BOO-YAH!Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-22828626424404763122009-02-11T09:07:00.000-08:002009-02-11T21:13:39.211-08:00Caring is CrepitusOf all the sensations one is likely to have in one's Achilles tendons, crepitus is certainly among the strangest. Oddly, <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crepitus">Dictionary.com</a> defines crepitus as "[t]he noise produced by a sudden discharge of wind from the bowels." Synonyms would be: "fart," "boost," "break wind," "pass gas," and, apparently, "flatus." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus_%28mythology%29">Wikipedia</a> and Baudelaire tend to lend some credibility to this definition in speaking of the hotly (ew?) debated ancient Roman god of flatulence, who was also allegedly named Crepitus. Fortunately for my Achilles, this is not the definition of "crepitus" I have in mind, although "Flatulent Achilles" is a rare but very real and severely disconcerting disorder completely unrelated to tendonitis.<br /><br />No, in the context of sports medicine, "crepitus" does not mean "to break wind." What it does do, however, is connote the sensation of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus">cracking, creaking, or grating sensation</a> under the skin generally associated with certain injuries and inflammations. In my dealings with Achilles tendonitis I have lately been unlucky enough to grow intimately acquainted with crepitus, and have found it to be a strange fellow. Crepitus usually saunters over after I've finished a long ride, acts all crazy and freaks me out a little bit, and doesn't take off until it I fall asleep. It doesn't respond well to my efforts at preventing its arrival, is slow to take a hint that it may have overstayed its welcome, and just generally sucks. Crepitus's habits suggest that it likes to hang around with me one hell of a lot more than I like to hang around with it. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that crepitus is the Steve Urkel of the sports injury world, and I am its Carl Winslow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freewebs.com/psychogorillatvfeatures/fammatters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 700px; height: 1102px;" src="http://www.freewebs.com/psychogorillatvfeatures/fammatters.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Since I've been in the middle of a pretty intense block of training for the last few weeks, Crepitus has been finding more and more opportunities to drop by and harass me, and of course, to blatantly hit on my girlfriend, who's name just so happens to be Laura. Coincidence? I think not. Next week I'll start to taper down for my first peak of the season, and hopefully that will help keep this four-eyed nerd of a symptom out of my home. Pray for me...<br /><br />In other news, today was 55 degrees in Boston. I know I said the other day was warm, but I was full of crap. <span style="font-style: italic;">Today</span> was warm. And of course, with the warmth comes the melting snow, and with the melting snow comes the crust. In order to illustrate the crustaciousness of this crust, I've taken the liberty of adding a few photographs.<br /><br />First:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ_GObr6KnES8kdL50-bXEpFbhHze23aA92Bwn1QIo5hp2Qtl5k-0uB0obmIIlj8hsZm_66Ws993NHsU-qFS_dEGlKn5n0o8whZ1XqMiQDi5bGZd5zwFVVsgE0-Q3m0hsJWbl8RCc_90/s1600-h/DSC_4633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQ_GObr6KnES8kdL50-bXEpFbhHze23aA92Bwn1QIo5hp2Qtl5k-0uB0obmIIlj8hsZm_66Ws993NHsU-qFS_dEGlKn5n0o8whZ1XqMiQDi5bGZd5zwFVVsgE0-Q3m0hsJWbl8RCc_90/s320/DSC_4633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301763038894405858" border="0" /></a><br />That's my bike, covered in crust. It doesn't look like that anymore though, thanks to a very versatile shower head.<br /><br />I think the next one may need some introduction before I post it, so I'll try to do the majesty of this photograph justice with my words. As I mentioned earlier, it was warm today and I was feeling daring, so I headed out of my house into the wild blue yonder in bibs and knee warmers, rather than wearing full-length tights. While this made the ride much more enjoyable, when I arrived back home and removed my socks and said knee warmers, my legs revealed this crazy formation:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtwPeXfmSzqU63apEeKnbtuAIHTymrD65GppCWXZdeJkWYON0JJZVCW1mxF_KUSn38-gCvPtMrMkXSRAKVJHOXVQawLGHaB6vUj33sIrpm4I9OT7oAX2EWZS6XbT8p5ICybXgu4CXxEc/s1600-h/DSC_4631.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtwPeXfmSzqU63apEeKnbtuAIHTymrD65GppCWXZdeJkWYON0JJZVCW1mxF_KUSn38-gCvPtMrMkXSRAKVJHOXVQawLGHaB6vUj33sIrpm4I9OT7oAX2EWZS6XbT8p5ICybXgu4CXxEc/s320/DSC_4631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301762659377996722" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, that is crust. My legs were striped with crust, just like everyone who's ever raced Paris-Roubaix or dipped themselves in tempura batter (it happens more often than you'd think). After doing a little research and consulting <a href="http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/miss-cleo-tarot-power/">Miss Cleo</a>, I discovered that the pattern of crust on my shins actually formed the figure of the <a href="http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t32/FiberFantasies/BlogPhotos/TAROT_TheSkillet_Strength_Card8_The.jpg">"skillet,"</a> a sign favored by, you guessed it, the ancient Roman god of flatulence - Crepitus. This is generally considered to be a positive formation by Miss Cleo and her followers and, aware that Crepitus was most certainly trying to send me a message through my leg crust, I took it to be a strongly favorable omen for the collegiate season to come.<br /><br />T-minus 24 days and counting until Rutgers!Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-51293863439123484442009-02-10T06:42:00.000-08:002009-02-10T18:18:50.092-08:00CrustSunday was warm. I mean seriously, really really warm. Like 45 degrees warm.<br /><br />Sunday was so warm, the snow crust on the side of the road was melting all over the road, bringing all of Boston's dirt, mud, and salt into the road with it. Sunday was also very crusty.<br /><br />After I finished riding my bike, my bike was very crusty. It was crusty with a salty, muddy, dirty dirt-like crust. Cleaning that crust off of my bike was pretty hard, so I put my bike in the shower and the crust went down the drain. Problem solved!<br /><br />Also, I felt <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> strong on Sunday. I put up some good numbers, too, and set a new 5 min personal best while climbing the Great Blue Hill. Check it out:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQWu1mK8H8mBhl9IzWnWHJh8lxSQQpfiLXJKXkmTi7BKxzQPDEavdK2WeUrWUTxjdQjVwwembtSayvW5kwFuPtl64C1rz0IDJ8W04Pf_mjc5xVpRqc3H49Pd3LhQQ2RkxD4kjRI0UF8A/s1600-h/2-8+Power+File.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQWu1mK8H8mBhl9IzWnWHJh8lxSQQpfiLXJKXkmTi7BKxzQPDEavdK2WeUrWUTxjdQjVwwembtSayvW5kwFuPtl64C1rz0IDJ8W04Pf_mjc5xVpRqc3H49Pd3LhQQ2RkxD4kjRI0UF8A/s400/2-8+Power+File.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301181836126185730" border="0" /></a><br />Those are solid Cat 2 numbers for someone with my waifish anatomy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfyrX3WCcmPySVD6ppuSNcaW5AyAVZT5LBVzm1z4YrbxeVEafiDcmoDu3JcyCD4wvl6_-2FnStzX4ouQkGYCl7HpDKIkevXKRjDnAaDr_hnzAUN8ePF3KVarWk44glyInYQ2zTzWLxiI/s1600-h/2-10-2009+Power+Profile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 340px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfyrX3WCcmPySVD6ppuSNcaW5AyAVZT5LBVzm1z4YrbxeVEafiDcmoDu3JcyCD4wvl6_-2FnStzX4ouQkGYCl7HpDKIkevXKRjDnAaDr_hnzAUN8ePF3KVarWk44glyInYQ2zTzWLxiI/s400/2-10-2009+Power+Profile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301182068379380306" border="0" /></a><br />I'm about to head out for three hours today, with a hard threshold workout crammed somewhere in the middle. It looks like it might rain, too. Aw well, bring on the crust.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-1221304233746232612009-02-05T21:06:00.000-08:002009-02-06T10:03:58.485-08:00Fit Werx N EffexOkay all you loyal readers (ha ha), I told you that I would follow up with the results of my fitting session and here they are.<br /><br />It was a beautiful Boston afternoon (-9 degrees with windchill), and after removing the walrus skin parka I had worn for the bike ride to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and picking up my non-shiny, newish Chevy HHR, Laura and I were off to the bike fitting. The drive went quick, and before I knew it I was in Peabody - which is pronounced "pee-buddy" by the denizens of this fair city. <br /><br />Upon arriving, a hot cocoa was placed in my hand and my bike was whisked away to the back room for measuring by Dean, part-owner and bike fitter at Fit Werx, while I changed into my kit. After my bike was finished being prodded (see monkey image below), it was my turn to be measured:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3wEBjmRyFzW8qAio3MEx5jMobnlHQbH-wht_hMotls-84WESW7P3cACQsGXlgDiWVPEgjX7qf1kzBTiIjkd02K7OQy6NNOtAJy36PFIkh9JTj0_iY1LnSc5d6lgKlXddD2DtvjQ0riA/s1600-h/DSC_4476.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio3wEBjmRyFzW8qAio3MEx5jMobnlHQbH-wht_hMotls-84WESW7P3cACQsGXlgDiWVPEgjX7qf1kzBTiIjkd02K7OQy6NNOtAJy36PFIkh9JTj0_iY1LnSc5d6lgKlXddD2DtvjQ0riA/s320/DSC_4476.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299548900507821106" border="0" /></a><br />Despite my apparent structural deformity, Dean surprisingly found me to be acceptably symmetrical, meaning that my arms and legs are the same length (plus or minus 6"). Anyways, after being measured, it was time to be tortured - ahem- measured for flexibility. Dean here ascertained that I can, in fact, touch my toes, that my hamstrings are at least pliant enough to get into awkward positions like the one below, and other interesting anatomical facts.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0AnTvq1Gn2hkWEY-CkwDW7Q5juXnMqd-glqx2kT0z68UyrNrzjUP7aIbM3wu5MOj3d5sdMNnT9LvRs8HZpNI7cso8Tz-cKgu6GmXGirfwDLrPIA6eucDFKqcoF97MBf-qsOn-mz0djo/s1600-h/DSC_4477.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0AnTvq1Gn2hkWEY-CkwDW7Q5juXnMqd-glqx2kT0z68UyrNrzjUP7aIbM3wu5MOj3d5sdMNnT9LvRs8HZpNI7cso8Tz-cKgu6GmXGirfwDLrPIA6eucDFKqcoF97MBf-qsOn-mz0djo/s320/DSC_4477.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299548900830508498" border="0" /></a><br />Then, it was time for the part I had been looking forward to most: walking the runway. I was told to strut shoeless down this beautiful and regal red carpet once, and then to my immense satisfaction, again as an encore. My feet are flatter than Ashley Simpson's voice <span style="font-style: italic;">sans</span> pitch correction software, and they pronate like something very, very pronated. The bunion doesn't make them any more lovable either, so it was a huge victory for them and their self-esteems that somebody actually wanted to watch them at work.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwjqeZAKFDiFWlS8I3NGh1VDykdz5TQ_pVOlqRF9D6RLX4jG_gC9s74KYNLWI_jwoGdigjBijgR6WUFw0Smkt5JfBKgHWI2lIXSCn8sZljHe9U132A_FaRWStQ6VAhk77t_swUOI6ZI0/s1600-h/DSC_4483.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwjqeZAKFDiFWlS8I3NGh1VDykdz5TQ_pVOlqRF9D6RLX4jG_gC9s74KYNLWI_jwoGdigjBijgR6WUFw0Smkt5JfBKgHWI2lIXSCn8sZljHe9U132A_FaRWStQ6VAhk77t_swUOI6ZI0/s320/DSC_4483.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299548906477699410" border="0" /></a><br />After the runway show was over, it was time to mount the sketchiest looking bike imaginable. The Serotta fit bike has no front wheel, and every tube and angle on the thing is completely adjustable. This being my first personal encounter with a Serotta, I was somewhat surprised by its non-race-readiness. Not only was it missing one half of the required wheels pursuant to USCF official rules, but the lack of a downtube, presence of only one single cog and a single large chainring, and lack of working brakes made this only a moderately acceptable bike to keep in one's "quiver" for race day. Here it is in all of its glory:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JNSB3iuiOaaM7w557qMgEOFp5SXWnuOQUsmYB1aND5GfZcqU5zqEle53KQXZX8YrHuqNBZElAiSHa9bXa5UY1_M99bqqQlK49ZrcOhURLDQDJxsAmUQ-iiZG5Dh-xBKLHvP4Z7SQkRM/s1600-h/Size+Cycle+Photo+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JNSB3iuiOaaM7w557qMgEOFp5SXWnuOQUsmYB1aND5GfZcqU5zqEle53KQXZX8YrHuqNBZElAiSHa9bXa5UY1_M99bqqQlK49ZrcOhURLDQDJxsAmUQ-iiZG5Dh-xBKLHvP4Z7SQkRM/s320/Size+Cycle+Photo+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299555547500593634" border="0" /></a><br />Nevertheless, it was set up to exactly match the measurements from my beloved Tarmac, and when I mounted up on this monstrosity it felt very familiar. After spinning for a little while, a video of my pedal stroke as shot from the side popped up on the screen in front of me. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVstFS3ceM7OhDnlRaLn4raGt4bMbSJrn3tfU5HZ58e5x6YchUx6A_aUSELJ455rNj4BqIO-yYCAMuz0zu6ZOLilCYAjiwej5fC9Z6NeG_xUMkNwCGH6tbz3_Yirt31hEsCVsSc64IlE/s1600-h/DSC_4492.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVstFS3ceM7OhDnlRaLn4raGt4bMbSJrn3tfU5HZ58e5x6YchUx6A_aUSELJ455rNj4BqIO-yYCAMuz0zu6ZOLilCYAjiwej5fC9Z6NeG_xUMkNwCGH6tbz3_Yirt31hEsCVsSc64IlE/s320/DSC_4492.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299548909308435474" border="0" /></a><br />Using a computer program called Dartfish - which, despite the common misunderstanding, is <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru">Amazonian vertibrate waiting to swim into unsuspecting orifices</a> - Dean was able to determine the angles formed during my pedal stroke by my legs and upper body. Below is a before/after mashup. On the left, you can see my original position in which my leg is slightly overextended and, due to the bars being too low by a few mm, my upper body is stretched out too far as well. On the right you see the post-fitting position with some moderate changes in body angles. While these may not seem significantly different, my saddle moved forward by a few mm and my bars came up by a mm or two.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVe-74km_P5AgaAcrvA7vHH1-PInx6mbm3eVpaWjygt8wnJwvc6heERPNgHs-TCeYGilAuOTFm_jg3slJv5J_43yirO0UbZKQIHfuEBVZu7rdjvwK_0exyTK7oRBoO3lCky9gk20FkZeg/s1600-h/Before+After+Screenshot+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVe-74km_P5AgaAcrvA7vHH1-PInx6mbm3eVpaWjygt8wnJwvc6heERPNgHs-TCeYGilAuOTFm_jg3slJv5J_43yirO0UbZKQIHfuEBVZu7rdjvwK_0exyTK7oRBoO3lCky9gk20FkZeg/s320/Before+After+Screenshot+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299555551137032242" border="0" /></a><br />The most significant change was to my cleat position and the tracking of my knees. In order to measure this, Dean switched to a camera directly in front of the Serotta unicycle, and fitted my knees with some sensors for the camera to track. Below is another before/after mashup showing the results. On the left, note the red mess showing the path of my left knee. Because I apparently have a twisted pelvis (band name anyone?) on the left side, my leg length is effectively shorter on the left. This was somehow causing my left knee to track to the outside on the upstroke, which is inefficient and can lead to injury and other nasties. In response, Dean took a couple of plastic shims and fitted them under the cleat on my left shoe. He also fitted small varus wedges under both of my shoe insoles to give my mutant feet some more support. The result is on the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeFrMqHo6ZGEpkaeeJiNpciRiMIofoQtTHv4zpDuojDQX_BteGYdwuUc2K_7KBLK1ONdRci9ZVEmvaicsZmbiAPecKdhPPPvK_w5FLAf8BCwycGXsbPF4HT15dcb_jO_oQi9LINFOrfw/s1600-h/Knees+Screenshot+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeFrMqHo6ZGEpkaeeJiNpciRiMIofoQtTHv4zpDuojDQX_BteGYdwuUc2K_7KBLK1ONdRci9ZVEmvaicsZmbiAPecKdhPPPvK_w5FLAf8BCwycGXsbPF4HT15dcb_jO_oQi9LINFOrfw/s320/Knees+Screenshot+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299555557704675458" border="0" /></a><br />As you can see, the left knee is tracking significantly straighter. I haven't had too much of an opportunity to test out the new position yet. I did a few intervals on the trainer last night after the fitting, but today the roads look relatively crap-free so I think I'll head out for a spin. I'll let you (me) know how it goes, but overall I'm pretty excited with the whole thing.<br /><br />Oh and also, this sight was waiting for us on the drive home:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wehmRIQAhutVIj8GmV5ybHE4dvsxiKWOlHAjncQbM6yx5dgSBqUF9-nEweQNfidrpt_LdL_KO8OH3dHm4YjVb2IeZZ4LjhOkChBniIUL95Dg9-eIoDrZoBUwgW50FpxzLr7CxM69EXc/s1600-h/DSC_4518.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wehmRIQAhutVIj8GmV5ybHE4dvsxiKWOlHAjncQbM6yx5dgSBqUF9-nEweQNfidrpt_LdL_KO8OH3dHm4YjVb2IeZZ4LjhOkChBniIUL95Dg9-eIoDrZoBUwgW50FpxzLr7CxM69EXc/s320/DSC_4518.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299550403295511714" border="0" /></a><br />Not bad at all.Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-473524428544406562009-02-04T07:55:00.000-08:002009-02-04T20:53:03.416-08:00Tendonitis, ShmendonitisShortly after my last post I started to develop some weird pulling sensations in my Achilles tendons, particularly the right one. Turned out to be a little bit of Achilles tendonitis. I'm not sure if you guys have tried hammering on a bike with inflamed tendons, but if not I'd suggest that you give it a try sometime. For those of you that haven't and don't plan to take my suggestion, let me give you a visual that might help you understand what you're missing:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/vivisection_apr_05.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 468px; height: 330px;" src="http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/vivisection_apr_05.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, that is a monkey head. If you have any idea what is happening to that monkey head, please let me know because I don't. However, I am pretty sure that whatever is happening to it is hurting it, and (this is where it comes full circle) tendonitis hurts, too. After being poked and prodded by the trainers at the school athletic medicine room for a while - much like the monkey head above is being prodded by the jerk in the white gloves - I've decided to fork out some cash and head up to Peabody, MA to a place that specializes in bike fitting. From what I can tell these people actually know what they're talking about when it comes to fitting, so keep your fingers crossed for me. (Tape, nails, and Krazy Glue should help you keep them crossed for the relevant period.)<br /><br />I'll let you know how it goes (and by you, I mean me, since nobody actually reads this anyways).<br /><br />!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /><br />It has been brought to my attention that this also probably hurts:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0107127/radioStationPictures/images/2003/03/10/ouch%21.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 322px;" src="http://radio.weblogs.com/0107127/radioStationPictures/images/2003/03/10/ouch%21.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-42855677056297055642009-01-11T11:15:00.000-08:002009-01-11T11:23:33.717-08:00Hell is a Crap-Flavored Slurpee<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Miracle of miracles, on Friday and Saturday the roads were clean enough that I was able to get out for some real live bike riding. It was amazing, the frozen snot and sports drinks, the numb face, etc. Thrilling. So imagine how I felt this morning when I woke up to this scene out of my bedroom window:</div><br /><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQnyk-Eazow-q7Ze_6VFb5Rw_xMXOkloSZWifNuNLrMhsC8Ji7-InGfA3ML6fFT7RytYOjN4JAGTCtSUjsPtcI9qKkgZhZpqiLriIskE525Y78zL8BxuDK3jQIAGtkd2SIl47bVT_-Zg/s1600-h/DSC_4330.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQnyk-Eazow-q7Ze_6VFb5Rw_xMXOkloSZWifNuNLrMhsC8Ji7-InGfA3ML6fFT7RytYOjN4JAGTCtSUjsPtcI9qKkgZhZpqiLriIskE525Y78zL8BxuDK3jQIAGtkd2SIl47bVT_-Zg/s320/DSC_4330.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And it didn't really improve. I stepped outside (which I now realize one should never, ever do between the months of November and March) and my beloved Summit Ave. was coated in crap Slushy:<br /><br /></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMWPCCDlLnpLNRrLjPDF8criWEAybW_4nVECHQHvYfcyC0MWcu6WqYdEj9umM_Q6TZbKO9KACYibIKTcEGdHXwmvDKkV8kSuAi9e4ryaL35r7st_6sIgAYzQbXz8WUu4_EX9ajDy3xLo/s1600-h/DSC_4335.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMWPCCDlLnpLNRrLjPDF8criWEAybW_4nVECHQHvYfcyC0MWcu6WqYdEj9umM_Q6TZbKO9KACYibIKTcEGdHXwmvDKkV8kSuAi9e4ryaL35r7st_6sIgAYzQbXz8WUu4_EX9ajDy3xLo/s320/DSC_4335.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><br />Being from San Diego I don't have too much experience riding in crap Slushies, so I usually try to avoid this kind of natural disaster. Saddened, I started to head inside when I was confronted with one of the most amazing documents I've encountered:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELZwpTMb3Nk4A1Aq5wxaEzsOpLoEOSAid0VZFFpgeU-9clK2nGAwziNYWkGw_KeZFKps0NLe63-tKGQ_cc9V7Pl20w4CZ8txL8EvZiNgmV3AVAIanP2Rbkb8Sww2digBTdOejjOeQ3yY/s1600-h/DSC_4341.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELZwpTMb3Nk4A1Aq5wxaEzsOpLoEOSAid0VZFFpgeU-9clK2nGAwziNYWkGw_KeZFKps0NLe63-tKGQ_cc9V7Pl20w4CZ8txL8EvZiNgmV3AVAIanP2Rbkb8Sww2digBTdOejjOeQ3yY/s320/DSC_4341.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290117195409850146" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, that is an advertisement featuring a man jump kicking off of a roof. I know this because the ad actually takes the time to point out the "Corner of Roof."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWivPrnNpN8p61YacFzffFmar_lauc5dRkfbEL4sbMb9XqUU_4dB6zbp2JFRpAbgEEBeDKcKb7BimysEK1qlx7-YKDvz_RX9PeLAWDDd5pSZ4E_FohnYitjd0Zc8Z7f7dtF1JLeTfE_7E/s1600-h/DSC_43412.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWivPrnNpN8p61YacFzffFmar_lauc5dRkfbEL4sbMb9XqUU_4dB6zbp2JFRpAbgEEBeDKcKb7BimysEK1qlx7-YKDvz_RX9PeLAWDDd5pSZ4E_FohnYitjd0Zc8Z7f7dtF1JLeTfE_7E/s320/DSC_43412.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290118578336803186" border="0" /></a><br />I mean, I guess it's possible that this is effective advertising for some consumers out there. Personally, I can think of more enjoyable ways to spend my time than jump kicking to my almost certain doom.<br /><br />Of course if the choice is between jump kicking myself off of a roof and a crap Slushy, well...</div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1381577228335447361.post-73419448646659669332009-01-09T00:39:00.000-08:002009-01-09T00:40:05.853-08:00Winter Sufferfest Extravaganza<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">Well, Boston has now apparently relocated to the barren, frozen wastelands of some hellish slushy hell, and riding outside has become a basically impossible feat. The collegiate racing season is still a few months off, and with the end of base training it's time to put in some serious suffering and interval workouts. Basically, for the next two months I'll be spending a great deal of my time right here:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5IJJUXqkP-U7txkOMgUlUp86v-h2BuulcxaS4o2E8M057idtSn_NepJEaqi9QVXMb2rLBMGzPhuFdB1QY-E1oJKLd-p9tKLKkdzgT0zTN7pkDGPX2GZKHE7cQfLHZGfzkDLvhTitPcs/s1600-h/DSC_4303.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5IJJUXqkP-U7txkOMgUlUp86v-h2BuulcxaS4o2E8M057idtSn_NepJEaqi9QVXMb2rLBMGzPhuFdB1QY-E1oJKLd-p9tKLKkdzgT0zTN7pkDGPX2GZKHE7cQfLHZGfzkDLvhTitPcs/s320/DSC_4303.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And instead of riding around out here:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPObk1jJ36Z8Y9AJ7ZpB-EnuNtaLlJvCN-HnnjTK20d0OxLRafEo5jqCZpZQqxpQSrOnycUcn7raOaOAzKhNeXnffCtjztD7oz6oIyN_mb2yoDRk1OJctBqrHEbMwzHrsIqNtS_6UZtsI/s1600-h/DSC_4310.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPObk1jJ36Z8Y9AJ7ZpB-EnuNtaLlJvCN-HnnjTK20d0OxLRafEo5jqCZpZQqxpQSrOnycUcn7raOaOAzKhNeXnffCtjztD7oz6oIyN_mb2yoDRk1OJctBqrHEbMwzHrsIqNtS_6UZtsI/s320/DSC_4310.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'll be on my trainer, staring longingly out of this window:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZVvTJA5zkAyF2agjezJ6gSq5yIHTCsMi3rCBqD-BOfQWoNQnImYZc9Ud4_uU1_lSEercIPOcDXCdK-Wwky9cjpB3NLb5sHZEVaemV_PcHoP_d5rX_AYqPMrbGqY21k4In5A_e55aYI8/s1600-h/DSC_4322.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZVvTJA5zkAyF2agjezJ6gSq5yIHTCsMi3rCBqD-BOfQWoNQnImYZc9Ud4_uU1_lSEercIPOcDXCdK-Wwky9cjpB3NLb5sHZEVaemV_PcHoP_d5rX_AYqPMrbGqY21k4In5A_e55aYI8/s320/DSC_4322.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So I might decide, out of the incredible boredom that only graduate studies can induce, to update this sham of a blog every now and then with more photos of my indoor training exploits or maybe even an outdoor shot or two, if this shit weather decides to let me out of my progressively sweatier living room. Regardless, I'll be posting race reports, photos, whatnot and etcetera once March rolls around. If you have any interest in that sort of thing, be sure to show up later. It promises to be a moderately tolerable time. Seriously.</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10074403705456368292noreply@blogger.com0