Rattle and Humm

Rainy weekends in the summer suck. Not only do they prevent us from enjoying nice rides, but since warm temperatures and summer go hand in hand, putting rain into the mix means damp, sticky, muggy, uncomfortable conditions around the house as well. Saturday morning I could not take it anymore, and got off my butt and put an air conditioner back in the window of my living room/office/computer museum/junkyard/rider's lounge. I'll miss the fresh air, but damn is it nice to escape the humidity, recover and relax without sticking to the chair. There are only so many cold foods I enjoy, so at least now I can cook again without having a meltdown. Right now in the morning, with heavy rain, the birds wouldn't be singing anyway. Their songs will be about the only sound of summer I'll miss, along with maybe the neighborhood roosters; perhaps the biggest bonus of living in an artificial atmosphere is the combination of motor drone and shut windows blocks out the cars, lawnmowers, weedwhackers and power tools that seem to be such an important part of my neighbor's lives.

We got a weekend post treat from gewilli yesterday. Our man comments on blog content, and cyclists always talking about the same things. A week or two ago, going over some of my previous eighty entries, I had the realization the repetition and nostalgia in my work reminded me of a trip to Mom's place, and that is not a good thing! Mom is pretty cool in her own way and all, but she has quite a few years on the planet behind her and many of them were spent living pretty hard. I've heard just about all the stories, most several times. One of the rules I strive to live by is to live for today, not yesterday or tommorow. Yesterday matters, because experience counts for more than anything, but I don't want to fall into the trap of relying on yesterday's experience and not learning from today's.

BTW, nobody anywhere has anything to learn from Dennis Leary Miller. Editor's note: I am a retard. I got my angry white comedians mixed up. These things happen when you are an old fuck like me. Sorry. If you rely on that stale, talentless retard for inspiration, there isn't much anyone can do to help you. Rehashed, inflammatory drivel from a washed up comedian? That's why I don't have cable. All "commentary" TV is the same crap, just tailored for different audiences. Agree with it, or be pissed off by it, but just watch, and whatever you do, don't think for yourself. I'll never understand why that clown endures, I guess it is because his message has adapted to age and greed along with his fanbase, and I suspect beer has a lot to do with it too.

Humor and bikes though, they're good. Riding a bike may be pretty repetitious too, but like laughing, this I don't tire of. Blogging about bikes, well, yeah, it gets repetitious. We now have thousands of publishers covering a fairly limited topic. You turn the pedals and the bike moves. Funny how everyone writes about gears, training, why wheel x is better than wheel y, energy gel, even chain lube, but nobody seems to write about why the bike doesn't just tip over! Or why cars, even F1 cars, lean to the outside of a corner, but bikes, ahhh, they lean into the corner, just like humans and every animal on the planet does when running. Something must be right about these things. Should I write about these things? Would anyone care? Would I enjoy the writing more if I got "cerebral?" That's supposed to be good, right? Good as opposed to bad? Does that mean people who aren't cerebral are bad? Maybe they can't help it. Maybe they are not as lucky as the great thinkers. Or are they the lucky ones? Am I even spelling "cerebral" correctly?

Truth be told, some people do discuss this stuff. If you really want to kill an afternoon, peruse this thread: Hills? At least I think it is the correct thread. It is old, a bit of a physics discussion about riding a bicycle on an inclined treadmill. Eventually it degenerates into few guys with a lot of education and impressive titles calling each other names. The glory of the internet argument...

The AC has cooled and dried my humble living quarters. My fresh pot of Italian Roast mixed with Decaf Sumatra from the evil coffee on every corner conglomerate has just finished brewing, and I'll be able to enjoy my next cup in air conditioned comfort. The weather over Providence looks to be rather wet today. This is rough for the racers, but even rougher for the promoter. The Providence crit did not appeal to me for a number of reasons, the biggest of which was the format combining the 35+ and 45+ into one race, yet keeping the races prizes/placings separate. That's dumb. If they didn't have the venue long enough for two races, they should have just dumped one. Ahhh, but then they lose the entry fees, and after all, at the big Pro events, the lesser categories are only there for one reason, to help pay the bills. I can understand this, but I can also choose not to participate. Having two groups racing at the same time in a sport like bike racing, where the outcome heavily depends on the group dynamic just waters down (pun intended) the strategic component of the race. I still hope it works out well for everyone who goes. We need more successful big races.

Speaking of which, Fitchburg starts this week. I for one am not doing it. Zoo, despite KL's advice to the contrary, has entered the Cat 4 race, along with fellow BOB'er Scott F. These guys were headed out to Mt Wachusett for a preview ride of the course. Since I am trying to stick to a focused training plan for my one "peak" of the year later next month, and because southern Mass was experiencing much heavier rain than further north, I decided to join them. Leaving the house for the 70 mile drive up to Princeton, the rain was heavy. By the time I got to route 2 the sky was showing some brighter patches. Rolling into the ski area parking lot at 3:15, there was no rain, but the mountain was invisible behind the clouds. There were about a half dozen other riders scattered about doing the same thing we were.

We rolled out and agreed to ride four laps of the 11 mile road race circuit, then take on Wachusett. This would essentially be a simulation of the cat 4 race. The road was wet and we took it easy the first lap. Climbing through Princeton, the skinny (especially for a BOB) Scott F had no problems, but Zoo was not loving the Mur. We regrouped in the feed zone and continued on, finishing the first lap in about 40 minutes. The downhill has been repaved since I last rode here, and is no longer the crack-filled terror fest that nearly claimed the life of Henk Vogels a few years back. When we got to the bottom, I coasted ahead and drilled it hard (huh-huh) in the 12. These guys were probably going to be chasing at this part of the course next Saturday, so they might as well learn now. Scott managed to reel me in after a few k along the slight downgrade on route 140. Zoo came along shortly thereafter. Approaching the Mur de Princeton for the second time, I explained to those guys that my goal for the day was to get in a total of one hour at high intensity (zone 4 or above) and therefore I would be surging on the hills. They said no problem. I motored away on rt 62 and kept it going all the way through the feed and beyond. Going into TT mode, the only place my HR fell was on the big downhill. It is pretty hard to keep pressure on the pedals when you are coasting at 80 kph. When it flattened out, I kept going, all the way back to the climb. The third time up I was feeling the effort, and was a lot slower, but the effort was no less intense. Focusing on applying steady power to the pedals (yes, you can do this even without a power meter) I used all my gears and kept the effort up all the way back to the bottom of the descent for a total of 45 minutes at TT pace.

Turning around, I figured the boys would be coming along any minute. At the base of the descent (well, ascent when headed in this direction), still no sign of them. Reluctantly, I headed up the 140 meter climb (known as One Mile Hill Road). By the time I reached the state park entrance at the top (the road to the summit, where the race finishes) 12 minutes had elapsed since turning around, and still no sign of my BOB compatriots. I figured the fuckers has bagged out a lap early and gone to the summit, so up I went. The road on Wachusett is open to cars, and most of it is one way, so there is an "up" road, and a "down" road. The "down" road is much shorter and thus steeper, and this is the way the race goes up. As this was not race day, I thought it wiser to go follow the "up" road, even though as it turned out the mountain was more or less deserted due to the fog. Doing my best to keep the intensity high, even though the "up" rode has some level spots, the additional 200 meters of climbing took me about 13 minutes. No mates at the top.

I went back down the "down" road, out to the entrance, and continued backwards along the loop. After a few k's there they were. Apparently they had turned around at some point in an attempt to backtrack and head me off. Dumbasses. So I turned around, and now they wanted to go to the summit. Here I go again. Since there were only two cars up there, I advised them it would be OK to go up the "down" road, allowing them to see firsthand what they were in for at the finish next week. I was cooked, but I sucked it up and stayed with Scott as he chatted his way to the summit. I was maxed to stay side by side with him. Zoo came along a few minutes down, but he did OK for a guy with his build.

After going back to the cars in the ski area lot and getting fresh bottles, I headed back out for a cooldown while they headed home. I rode the TT course in reverse, then came back. There were a few CCB's and a Louis Garneau rider out previewing the course as well. By the time I got done it was after 7 pm; what was probably only just over 100k had taken me 3:45 to complete, but that included 1500 meters of climbing and some waiting. My body was drained, especially my arms and shoulders from all the standing climbs. The Polar later revealed I had exceeded my goal of one hour at zone 4 or above by fifteen minutes. After the drive home, dinner came at 10:50, along with a call from KL telling me the Rochester NRC crit had gone OK. The streets down here were still filled with puddles. It took some driving, but I had not only survived a rainy Saturday, but got in one of my best days of training this year.

This morning the rain is even worse. The radar shows clear weather to the north, far, far, north. Should I do it all again? Thanks for reading.