Well letsee - um I got out on my bike once this week- an hour counter-clockwise at PR. The last time was the previous Tuesday night (do I see a pattern developing?). I seriously feel if I could just get out for another 2 days a week it'd really improve my ability to do more than just hang in the pack. Although when Higgie announced he had just glued new tires I felt compeled to be as far off the front as possible if/when those suckers rolled coming down the S-turns the first time.
Actually I feel pretty spunky when I do ride, and I like to ride as aggressively as I can with my limited bag of tricks; I just don't have too much pre-twins power left in my legs to make it stick. But that doesn't mean I won't quit trying. Watch out at Des Moines & Joe Matava!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Most Challenging Endurance Event EVER!
Week seven with the twins (isn't seven supposed to be lucky?); I have never been so tired in my life. Not through running Marathons, not through Ironman Triathlons, not though 160+ mile bike rides in the heat & humidity of Malaysia; these two 8+ pounds of feeding and fuss are dragging on me like nothing else ever has. Whatever doesn't kill me - right? Phew!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Chasing Clint
Went up to the Methow Valley this weekend to race my first stage race of the year. It was an omnium format - a points race rather than based on overall time - which was OK. Staying in a cabin by the lake at the Sun Mountain Lodge it was going to be a fine weekend no matter what.
Stage 1 - TT
The profile on the opening 10 mile TT in Mazama looked like like a sawtooth and not suitable for the pure TT bike - so it stayed in the garage. Not having too much (read zero) TT specific training at all this year I thought it was also unlikely that I'd place in the points (top 10 or within 10% of the winning time), so I just rode a tempo pace for a decent warm up to the afternoons crit. - I took top 20 or so on the TT and even passed some poor guy (might've been the same guy I saw on the Trek on my fixie the other day?). Clint Chase makes the opening salvo with a 21+ minute effort for maximum points. TT results have me as dead last with some unexplained note (whatthe? #1), when I should be mid-pack.
Stage 2 - Crit
The mid-afternoon crit in downtown Twisp was a standard 4-corner affair with a slight rise out of turn 3 to turn 4 on pretty crappy pavement (maintenance crew take note that last winter has made its mark). I got called up last and was sort of nervous that I'd get gapped before I could make up ground to the front of the group. Race started with about 50+ racers scrambling for position. Lots of testosterone showing early but things settled down into a good rhythm after a few laps. Several good attacks and counter-attacks finally saw Clint Chase get away as I was mid-way up the field. Clint has go-away stay-away power and it was soon apparent that after several unorganized chase attempts that we no longer Chasing Clint & we're all racing for 2nd place. Only a couple of guys really were working to keep the group moving - most seemed to be pretty content to settle in and not do any work. A couple of guys seemed too complacent to just enough to keep their butts in the top 5 or so without doing ever putting their face into the wind to do any work - I hate those guys! Especially when they end up just being in the way during the final sprint.
The field thinned out considerably and in the field sprint I took 7th 0r 8th (though the race results have me as 11th (whatthe? #2) for a whopping 3 points. I was very satisfied with my efforts and should've placed higher but got out of a good position on the final lap. Clint makes it 2 for 2 with maximum points for the day.
Stage 3 - RR
12:30 start for a Master's field is pretty rare and most welcome. 44 mile road race was short by comparison of all the other categories except the Women's Cat 4's (whatthe? #3). Very strong west wind on an otherwise mild afternoon. Pace was very slow early on with only a few minor attack attempts to get up the road early. These were brought back without too much effort as it was a strong power-sapping wind all by yourself. Going up the Chewuch river valley saw the wind turn into a direct cross, and some nice tactical racing was on display. Darren Pollard went up the road to give it a shot, and when the field didn't show any interest I attempted to bridge. A crash at the top of the valley climb thinned the field somewhat and shortly after that on the way down the valley I was caught with Darren dangling just ahead. The turn around came up much more quickly than expected - not at the prescribed point at the River Run Inn - and several guys overran the turnaround (whatthe? #4).
The pace picked up after the turn back up the valley road. Guys figuring the wind might be starting to take it's toll. I got gapped once but fought back on. After the turn back down the valley Clint & and a few others got away, and I thought that'd be the winning break. I fought like hell to bridge the gap and made it just prior to a short hill. Thankfully the pace slowed just a bit, but as it turned out, too slowly as we got caught by the chasing main pack. Coming back into Winthrop the road turned easterly and we had the wind at our backs for the final 10+ miles back to Twisp.
2 racers got up away and that was that. Despite a strong chase by me and a few others, the wind played in their favor. I felt pretty strong and got a gap a few times on the field but they weren't going to give me any gifts. Before I knew it the 1K to go sign came and even more quickly we were at the 200 meters sign, and I finished in the bunch, probably out of the points. Clint finished in the main pack as well and it'll be close as to the points overall as one of the guys in the break had some high standings after the TT & Crit.
For me the points ended up not being much of a........point. I was hoping to place higher in the crit. & RR but the end result doesn't have to justify my just having a fun experience. Racing in nice weather with some strong guys made for a decent weekend. My form isn't at its peak but not too shabby either - maybe just what I'm looking for if I can get back to Master's Nationals in 3 weeks. Those muscle-tension workouts with the fixie & my eldest seem to be paying dividends.
Great result for Axley teammate Shawn Ongers for taking the Men's 1/2 road race on a solo flyer for a much deserved win after working selflessly for much of the Spring races.
I think the family had a good time getting out for the weekend (first road trip for the twins), topped off by a fine Italian dinner in Leavenworth. What could be better?
Stage 1 - TT
The profile on the opening 10 mile TT in Mazama looked like like a sawtooth and not suitable for the pure TT bike - so it stayed in the garage. Not having too much (read zero) TT specific training at all this year I thought it was also unlikely that I'd place in the points (top 10 or within 10% of the winning time), so I just rode a tempo pace for a decent warm up to the afternoons crit. - I took top 20 or so on the TT and even passed some poor guy (might've been the same guy I saw on the Trek on my fixie the other day?). Clint Chase makes the opening salvo with a 21+ minute effort for maximum points. TT results have me as dead last with some unexplained note (whatthe? #1), when I should be mid-pack.
Stage 2 - Crit
The mid-afternoon crit in downtown Twisp was a standard 4-corner affair with a slight rise out of turn 3 to turn 4 on pretty crappy pavement (maintenance crew take note that last winter has made its mark). I got called up last and was sort of nervous that I'd get gapped before I could make up ground to the front of the group. Race started with about 50+ racers scrambling for position. Lots of testosterone showing early but things settled down into a good rhythm after a few laps. Several good attacks and counter-attacks finally saw Clint Chase get away as I was mid-way up the field. Clint has go-away stay-away power and it was soon apparent that after several unorganized chase attempts that we no longer Chasing Clint & we're all racing for 2nd place. Only a couple of guys really were working to keep the group moving - most seemed to be pretty content to settle in and not do any work. A couple of guys seemed too complacent to just enough to keep their butts in the top 5 or so without doing ever putting their face into the wind to do any work - I hate those guys! Especially when they end up just being in the way during the final sprint.
The field thinned out considerably and in the field sprint I took 7th 0r 8th (though the race results have me as 11th (whatthe? #2) for a whopping 3 points. I was very satisfied with my efforts and should've placed higher but got out of a good position on the final lap. Clint makes it 2 for 2 with maximum points for the day.
Stage 3 - RR
12:30 start for a Master's field is pretty rare and most welcome. 44 mile road race was short by comparison of all the other categories except the Women's Cat 4's (whatthe? #3). Very strong west wind on an otherwise mild afternoon. Pace was very slow early on with only a few minor attack attempts to get up the road early. These were brought back without too much effort as it was a strong power-sapping wind all by yourself. Going up the Chewuch river valley saw the wind turn into a direct cross, and some nice tactical racing was on display. Darren Pollard went up the road to give it a shot, and when the field didn't show any interest I attempted to bridge. A crash at the top of the valley climb thinned the field somewhat and shortly after that on the way down the valley I was caught with Darren dangling just ahead. The turn around came up much more quickly than expected - not at the prescribed point at the River Run Inn - and several guys overran the turnaround (whatthe? #4).
The pace picked up after the turn back up the valley road. Guys figuring the wind might be starting to take it's toll. I got gapped once but fought back on. After the turn back down the valley Clint & and a few others got away, and I thought that'd be the winning break. I fought like hell to bridge the gap and made it just prior to a short hill. Thankfully the pace slowed just a bit, but as it turned out, too slowly as we got caught by the chasing main pack. Coming back into Winthrop the road turned easterly and we had the wind at our backs for the final 10+ miles back to Twisp.
2 racers got up away and that was that. Despite a strong chase by me and a few others, the wind played in their favor. I felt pretty strong and got a gap a few times on the field but they weren't going to give me any gifts. Before I knew it the 1K to go sign came and even more quickly we were at the 200 meters sign, and I finished in the bunch, probably out of the points. Clint finished in the main pack as well and it'll be close as to the points overall as one of the guys in the break had some high standings after the TT & Crit.
For me the points ended up not being much of a........point. I was hoping to place higher in the crit. & RR but the end result doesn't have to justify my just having a fun experience. Racing in nice weather with some strong guys made for a decent weekend. My form isn't at its peak but not too shabby either - maybe just what I'm looking for if I can get back to Master's Nationals in 3 weeks. Those muscle-tension workouts with the fixie & my eldest seem to be paying dividends.
Great result for Axley teammate Shawn Ongers for taking the Men's 1/2 road race on a solo flyer for a much deserved win after working selflessly for much of the Spring races.
I think the family had a good time getting out for the weekend (first road trip for the twins), topped off by a fine Italian dinner in Leavenworth. What could be better?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Seniority is EVERYTHING!!
Well in my line of work anyway. The manner in which we bid our monthly schedules, trade trips, equipment bids, & vacations - just to name a few - are all governed by our date-of-hire (and then by age within the same new hire class). Some of it is related to our overall Company seniority, some of it relates to our relative seniority (where we are in our seat position, i.e. Captain 737 Anchorage, or FO MD80 Seattle, etc.). It is possible that someone can have pretty high relative seniority (in their seat position and Base) but fairly average to low overall seniority.
Anyway somewhere along the line the copy of my latest FAA Medical (required every 6 months) got lost and they crew planners didn't award me a schedule for July. This really pissed me off, as my relative seniority should have allowed me to have a pretty decent schedule.
Our monthly schedule is what we have some control over - days off, trip length, layover cities (and for how long); are just some of the items we bid for on a monthly basis. I dropped off the copy of my FAA Medical on June 6th in the Company's internal mail system. The bids didn't close until the next Tuesday (so almost a week later) and the medical failed to get to the proper person to record it in time. So the line(s) of flying that I could have held, SHOULD HAVE HELD - which would have been preferable to me - was awarded to someone junior to me. This isn't how seniority is supposed to work.
Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Phew - I feel better now.
So after a few back-and-forths with various managers at the Company we've come to an acceptable resolution, but one that certainly isn't up to par with what should have been obtained within the normal process. But I can't go unscramble the eggs so I'll take what is the best of the rest and go on with my life. I just hope it's at least comparable to what I could've originally held - perhaps, just perhaps, it'll be even better!?
Anyway somewhere along the line the copy of my latest FAA Medical (required every 6 months) got lost and they crew planners didn't award me a schedule for July. This really pissed me off, as my relative seniority should have allowed me to have a pretty decent schedule.
Our monthly schedule is what we have some control over - days off, trip length, layover cities (and for how long); are just some of the items we bid for on a monthly basis. I dropped off the copy of my FAA Medical on June 6th in the Company's internal mail system. The bids didn't close until the next Tuesday (so almost a week later) and the medical failed to get to the proper person to record it in time. So the line(s) of flying that I could have held, SHOULD HAVE HELD - which would have been preferable to me - was awarded to someone junior to me. This isn't how seniority is supposed to work.
Ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Phew - I feel better now.
So after a few back-and-forths with various managers at the Company we've come to an acceptable resolution, but one that certainly isn't up to par with what should have been obtained within the normal process. But I can't go unscramble the eggs so I'll take what is the best of the rest and go on with my life. I just hope it's at least comparable to what I could've originally held - perhaps, just perhaps, it'll be even better!?
Monday, June 11, 2007
Fixie rules
Got out on my Raleigh Rush Hour yesterday with my eldest daughter in the copilot position (good for an extra 30#) for a spin around the "Harbor."
For those of you that know the local terrain, the flat sections of road in the Gig Harbor area are few are far between. So it was good fast spinning on the downhills (aided periodically by my brakes) and muscle tension workouts on the uphills (39 x 16). Nice workout actually, and it gets the girl out for some fresh air wth her Dad.
Our 2-hour ride was broken by a stop at Olalla Elementary for a playground break. And after a brief milk stop at Al's we demoralized some poor bastard by passing him mid-way up the hill just south of the Olalla bridge. I don't know what this poor guy (on a nice carbon Trek) must've been thinking as we cruised past - with my daughter waving and saying bye bye - but it couldn't have been good for his moral. Perhaps he was just finishing a 5 hour tempo ride with several hill intervals thrown in and was spinning down prior to going home - but I think I might've inadvertently converted another guy into picking up the sport of shuffleboard.
Of course maybe he doesn't have any competitive aspersions and was just enjoying a beautiful afternoon out on the bike - but if you see a nice Trek on eBay all of a sudden, you can blame me (and Makenna). Happy bidding!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Dip my toes...
...into the road racing scene - this time as a promoter. Trying to organize the Master & Juniors WA State Championship RR at the last minute; as previous guy cancelled his host date of June 10th. I am scrambling to get it back on the calendar in a different venue (now at Longbranch, which also hosted this years State Seniors RR Championship) now slated for Sunday July 8th. Here's a draft of the proposed schedule and should be up on www.wsbaracing.com any time. Also of note is a combined Men's CAT 1/2/3 race for those not meeting the Master's age eligibility with decent prize money and a KOM prime (details provided at the race). All other races will be for State Championship medals and bragging rights! Volunteers needed so contact me at justfivegrins@hotmail.com if you or family member or friend or your boss is interested.
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