Wannabe Pro

Ohhh Laziness...

2010-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Sooo... whats been going on since, ummm... July? Well, really not that much, at least in the form of cycling. Slowly after finding a job and getting medical coverage again, I had to come to grips with the fact that my knee was... hmmm... how would I put it... proper fucked, as the English would say, or would they.

Anyway, lots of rehab, acupuncture, chiro, physical therapy, PT, message therapy (and not in the cool way) and time off the bike. So as the has winter descended upon California, bringing temperatures down to a blistering 75 degrees, I have slowly began to get the road miles down again. Tendinitis is a pain in the ass, and although it's not all gone, I have been able to ride with out writhing in pain.

Last note on the knee thing... remember to stretch... always stretch. I rode like a jack ass until something had to give. Done.

Ok... sooo... here is my half ass attempt to get back into blogging and wasting at least some of my time writing about my adventures in cycling... and... Yes, my illusive dream of being a Wannabe Pro.

Below is just a quick pic of my new winter project. After being out on a road ride in November, I stumbled upon a cross race in Glendale... at Verdugo Park. I stood and spectated for a while, and decided that Cross looks pretty damn fun, and would like to test my skill at racing next season. So as luck would have it, a couple months later my brother bestowed upon me one of the greatest gifts one man can give to another. He gave me a bike frame... and a really sick one at that. So at the current moment I am scouring Ebay and bike buddies for parts to build up my new toy.

My Slingshot DD-X Cross Bike

So here's to yet another attempt to get this blog going again, hopefully with some more epic rides, race reports, product reviews, bike builds, and anything else cycling related that my average of 8 visitors per day would like to waste sometime reading about.

FYI... Crashed Again on the Saturday Ride... Ugghh, I kinda suck at riding, honestly.

Spooted while cycling....

2009-07-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus from riding, I decided to test the knee out today for an easy spin. Ride not so good, but I always love the crazy things I get to see while riding around the city... Looks like someones having a really bad day.

Correction... and Add On's

2009-07-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

I received a comment about the story, "Father and Son Grand Tour Dream Ends in Tragedy "... it was written by Stephen Box, for City Watch.

Carol Rock covered the story about the accident in Angeles Forest.

I rode the Grand Tour that same day... and lucky for my friend and I we survived it. We rode the same route with ambitions to complete the 400 Mile route. However, a brutal day of heat and wind cut us down to completing the low-land double route.

We rode this same stretch just hours before... in fact we finished at 10pm that night. It makes me sick to think that 3 hours after we finished, a father lost his life doing the thing he loved most. Riding his bike with his little boy.

I have been the victim of driver carelessness time and time again... I have been lucky and despite being hit 3 times I have never walked away with more than a few scrapes and some broken bike parts.

This is becoming a very large problem in Los Angeles especially. The saddest part is that in almost all the online comment and in the public often the blame is placed on the cyclist.

"They shouldn't be riding in the street..."

"Riding a bike in LA is dangerous and they should be more careful..."

It is never the fault of the driver. I am shocked that the driver is not being held on a murder charge as well... after all when you drive drunk that is your mistake, and if you kill someone... then you are a murderer. It is a simple as that, even if it was a mistake... everyone knows better.
If the driver is sober its ALWAYS THE CYCLISTS FAULT. I was hit by a car when she cut through the bike lane. She hit me and my friend in front of the police.

What Happened...???

She was told to exchange information with us and our insurances could deal with it. No citation for making a right hand turn with out a signal... oh yeah... or smashing into two cyclists. It's disgusting.

Contrary to he Bike Snob NYC, I hope the fixed gear epidemic continues its ravenous course of popularity. The more riders on the road the more the city will have to be sensitive to our rights, and our chosen method of transportation.

But for now... we are the minority and you must ride as if you have no rights on the road.

Final Note... I was involved in a hit and run a few weeks ago. Took a picture of the car, after sprinting to catch up. I later made a report to the police. They asked me two questions.

Are you hurt?
Is there damage to the bike?

No, and No... I was really lucky and after she hit me I managed to keep the biked safe and caught myself before falling.

The Answer: "Technically, that is not an accident and would not qualify as a hit and run... if you don' have a doctors note , or damage report to the bike we cannot help in this matter"

Really, really sad... so again... RIDE AS IF YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS

RIDE SAFE but... "RIDE LOTS" - Eddy Merckx

The SAD reality of cycling in Los Angeles...

2009-07-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

TWO IMPORTANT STORIES... EVERYONE SHOULD READ...

Drunk Driver Faces Murder Charges In Cyclist Death

Written by Carol Rock

Canyon Country resident Marco Antonio Valencia, 20, could be facing murder charges Tuesday when he goes to court.

Valencia was arrested Saturday morning after hitting a group of cyclists from Santa Clarita Velo who were riding on Bouquet Canyon Road, killing Joseph Novotny, 43, of Stevenson Ranch.
California Highway Patrol Officer George White said that Valencia was driving a 2001 Ford F150 truck northbound on Bouquet Canyon just south of Big Oaks Lodge at approximately 10:46 a.m. when he crossed over into the oncoming lane of traffic and struck three of the cyclists.

"Two more riders were able to evade the truck, but they hit the rocky embankment," White said. "He hit Novotny head-on."

Novotny was declared dead at the scene.

Two more riders, Rigoberto Jiminez, 53, from Saugus and George Munana, 41, of Valencia, were injured in the accident and were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Valencia initially fled, but deputies in the area of Elizabeth Lake Road were able to spot his damaged truck and arrested him.

Tom Barron, who serves on the board of Santa Clarita Velo, said that the incident has really hit club members hard.

"It's put us into a big re-think about a lot of our routes and our relationship with the motor vehicles in the area," he said, noting that Bouquet Canyon wasn't any more dangerous than other roads the club rides on a regular basis.

Barron said that Novotny was originally from Minnesota and joined the club in March, when he moved into the area from Belgium.

He said that the club is awaiting word from the family about funeral plans, but that there might be some delay because of the criminal charges that will likely be filed.

"It's still a crime scene and the wheels of the authorities are turning on that one," Barron said.
According to White, Valencia has a prior driving under the influence conviction, which allows prosecutors to charge him with murder. He will also face charges of felony DUI and is in custody at Men's Central Jail in lieu of $1.07 million.

Novotny is the third club member killed while riding and the second killed by a drunk driver. In 1993, Chuck Pontius was killed on The Old Road near Rye Canyon Road and in 2006, popular teacher Tony Estrin, who was also a longtime member of Velo, was killed by a drunk driver on Sierra Highway near Sand Canyon.

Ironically, the cyclists riding Saturday morning were supposed to make their return along San Francisquito Road, but chose Bouquet because it was cooler.

"The circumstances of this accident were extraordinary," Barron said. "He (Valencia) hit five riders and sideswiped a car. Because there was vehicular traffic, everyone was on the shoulder in a line, a little spread out, but everybody was in a big heap when it was through."

The club will discuss a tribute at the board meeting coming up next week. It is possible that Novotny's passing will be commemorated during the annual national Ride of Silence.

"The outpouring of interest from club members for the guys in the hospital is profound," Barron said. "Guys are looking at themselves in the mirror at what they should and shouldn't be doing on the road. There is a strong intent to take some action to bring awareness that we cyclists are both entitled to use the road and it's good for us to use the road. It's OK to slow down and share the road.

"It's a tragic outcome, but at the same time, this could have happened to any one of us, and that sense of mortality is really weighing heavy now."

Father and Son Grand Tour Dream Ends With Tragedy

21 years ago, Rodrigo "Rod" Armas strapped on his helmet, hopped onto his bike and set off on the LA Wheelmen's Grand Tour, an annual cycling event that starts and finishes in Malibu, drawing participants from throughout California as well the surrounding Western States. Grand Tour riders typically have an appetite for distance as is evidenced by the route options which range from the 200 Kilometer, 200 mile, 300 mile and 400 mile routes.

The Grand Tour is a fully supported event meaning that there are abundant pit stops and sag teams that patrol the route, offering everything from encouragement and refreshments to medical and mechanical support. The ride starts early on Saturday morning and riders must complete their selected route within 24 hours.

This past Saturday, Rod again saddled up for the Grand Tour, this time accompanied by Christian, his 14 year-old-son. They were among the last cyclists to check in, picking up numbers 473 and 474. Rod strapped on the same helmet he used 21 years before and the father and son team set off on the Highland Double, a 200 mile route that heads up to Port Hueneme and then turns inland over the rural, quieter and hillier back roads of Ventura County.

At around 9pm on Saturday evening, Brian Meek, a cyclist who had stopped with mechanical difficulties was in the Rincon pit stop when two cyclists rode in, stirring cheers and applause. The cyclists were Rod and Christian and they were the two last riders on the Highland Double route. Bryan reports that as Rod sat down he dropped his helmet in the dirt. "One of the guys at the stop took it from him and said he would clean it for him. The father and son were tired but in great spirits and shared some of their ‘stories’ with all of us. I listened as the father shared that he was wearing the same helmet he used 21 years ago the first time he rode the Grand Tour.

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Rod and Christian had approximately 190 miles behind them including 8500 feet of elevation gain and four very challenging hills. They were riding on the shoulder in ideal conditions. the sky was clear, there was great visibility, the roads were dry and there was a slight off shore breeze. All was well and they were within miles of rolling into the finish line in Malibu.

A SAG driver passed the father and son team on PCH and reported that all was well and that the cyclists were making good progress toward the Malibu finish.

At approximately 1:30 am, the next SAG driver came across an emergency scene with medical and law enforcement personnel at work on the two cyclists who lay on the ground at 34000 PCH. The SAG driver radioed back to the the other support teams in order to coordinate the Triple Century cyclists who would soon be riding south on PCH past the emergency scene.

Rod was pronounced dead at the scene and Christian was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center with severe and comprehensive injuries. Their bodies were crushed, their bikes were destroyed, their blood was on the road and yet there was no sign of the person responsible for the mayhem.

The LA County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services for the City of Malibu and they found an abandoned Dodge Ram pickup truck approximately 1 mile farther south on PCH. There was no sign of a driver.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department deployed a K-9 unit to the scene in an effort to locate the person who drove the truck into Rod and Christian and then left them broken and bleeding on the road.

Two hours later at 3:25 am, a security guard at Zuma Bay called from the guard shack to report that he had found the suspect and the Sheriff's Department arrested Robert Sam Sanchez, 30, of Oxnard. Sanchez was transported to a hospital where a blood test was performed and then he was placed in the Lost Hills Station jail where he was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter (191.5a) vehicular DUI resulting in injury (21153a) and felony hit and run (2991a).

The story thus far is chilling and has had a significant impact on the cycling community, who for the most part, will pause for a moment as the realization that "It could have been me!" sinks in and then go back to life as usual.

But for some, this is more than a moment to mourn the loss of one of our own and the opportunity to offer condolences to the broken family left behind, this is the time to ask some hard questions.

1) Robert Sam Sanchez, the suspect who stands accused of running down Rod and Christian, has already bailed out and is at home enjoying freedom and the assumption of innocence, an assumption that will probably prevail if he has access to any decent legal representation.Sanchez was not caught behind the wheel of the vehicle, the investigation is taking place by two Deputies who are part of the traffic division of the Sheriff's Department, not the criminal division, and their Supervisor is on medical leave.What's it going to take for this investigation to be conducted with the full and enthusiastic support of the LA County Sheriff's Department? What's it going to take to get the District Attorney involved now, while the investigation is under way? (btw this is #4 of the Cyclists' Bill of Rights - "cyclists have the right to the full support of our judicial system and the right to expect that those who endanger, injure or kill cyclists be dealt with to the full extent of the law."

2) Lt. Glafkides, the Watch Commander on duty Saturday evening and Sunday morning reports that she has worked this station for 3 and half years but she has never heard of the LA Wheelmen or the Grand Tour. There were 4 Deputies on duty in Malibu that night. There were none on duty in the unincorporated areas around Malibu. The LA Sheriff's Department also handles law enforcement responsibilities for other "contract" communities such as Hidden Hills, Westlake Village, Calabases and Agoura Hills. All totaled, there are approximately 145 square miles in the area that are under the watch of the LASD.

How does the Sheriff's Department not notice the large number of cyclists rolling through the community and how is it that the Watch Commander doesn't know of such a significant event? Lt. Chew relates that he has an email from the LA Wheelmen indicating that an event would be taking place but somehow the Watch Commander never received the message nor noticed in the years prior that the Grand Tour was taking place.

3) PCH has such a horrific record of traffic tragedies and through it all, cyclists find themselves having to argue for their rights on the road. Brad House was hit from behind by a road raging motorist and flipped into the air over the car. The judge found Brad at partial fault, after all, he was in the lane!

Two cyclists, Scott Bleifer and Stanislov Ionov, were hit from behind and killed by the operator of a catering truck. This incident stirred a significant community debate that had many arguing that the cyclists were at fault for riding two abreast and in the lane.

Missing from the discourse is the simple discussion of how pedestrians and cyclists and mass transit passengers and motorists can all use PCH while maintaining some sense of balance based on equality and a guarantee that all modes of transportation will be supported.

After the deaths of Scott and Stanislov, the PCH Task Force was formed and given the mandate of reviewing safety issues for cyclists on PCH, monitoring conditions on PCH and maintaining interagency responsibility for the conditions of PCH. Velo LaGrange and the LACBC and others tout this as one of their accomplishments and yet...the PCH Task Force has gone dormant and cyclists are dying. Why, even the "Share the Road" signs are getting hit by motorists!The City of Malibu refers to the Sheriff's Department who refer to Caltrans. Meanwhile PCH remains a very busy and congested and conflicted corridor that more closely resembles a traffic sewer than a vital community lifeline.Through it all, the cycling community has to ask the hard question "What are we going to do about it?"

4) The speed limit on PCH varies from fast to faster to really fast. The exact numbers vary but range from 45 to 50 to 55. Again, the LASD refers to the State's speed trap law and throws up their hands saying, "It's state law, we set the limits based on the 85% rule." (This is the "science" where motorists vote in an opinion poll with their gas pedals)

Do we really live in communities that are so helpless? Are we not adults with some responsibility for our city, our county and our state? How is it that we tolerate such helplessness from our leadership and from out law enforcement offices?

If PCH needs to be slowed down, let's slow it down. There are 28 miles of PCH through Malibu and on this past Saturday night there were 4 Deputies on duty. Engineer a road diet, implement traffic calming technology, do something other than wring hands and wonder why people are dying!

5) The Office of Traffic Safety put the spotlight on Malibu and reported that "Malibu is #1!" Unfortunately the category was for vehicle injuries. Granted, the report from the Office of Traffic Safety is based on statistics from 2005 but unless something dramatic has changed, Malibu is left with the lingering reality that for a City of their size and with the number of miles traveled, they have been recognized by the State of California as:

#1 for vehicle injuries

#2 for alcohol accidents

#1 for alcohol related accidents for the age group 21 to 34

#1 for speed related accidents

#2 for accidents after dark

Granted, there is a motorcycle cop in Malibu who leads the County in tickets issued but unless he is going to escort me every time I ride my bike to the store, he's an anecdotal anomaly. The brutal reality is this: Malibu is a tough place for pedestrians, for cyclists and for mass transit passengers who must navigate some brutal stretches of PCH.

What are we doing to address the significant danger of the speeding motorists and intoxicated motorists that have Malibu one of the most dangerous communities in the State of California?

6) Motorists who run over pedestrians and cyclists choose to run. They do it time after time and then again. The penalty for running is better than the penalty for being drunk. This inequity in the law needs to shift.

Even worse is the simple fact that hitting a pedestrian or cyclist while sober is hardly a crime. After all, "He came out of nowhere!" is a legal defense and "I didn't see him!" is an acceptable explanation for killing and maiming.

The motorist who ran down LA Wheelmen Bobbi Fisher from behind was sober but had a dog in his lap and was distracted, resulting in a broken back for Bobbi. The motorist wasn't even cited.

The motorist who turned left into oncoming LA Wheelmen on a tandem simply said "I didn't see them." Advanced in age and with failing eyesight, the motorist lost his California license, a small inconvenience he overcame by pulling an out of state license using his vacation property as his address. He still drives to the local pub in Malibu while the cyclists slowly heal.

Putting a motor vehicle on the road is a significant responsibility and yet our leadership acts as if it is a basic right and that any effort to hold a motorist accountable is an infringement of their basic human rights.

What is it going to take for us to take the lead and to establish safety and freedom of fear as basic human rights. (btw - this is #1 of the Cyclists' Bill of Rights. Cyclists have the right to travel safely and free of fear.)

7) Ride organizers and Cycling clubs live in fear of LIABILITY. Why? For encouraging people to get off the sofa and go for a ride?

What is it going to take for "We don't need no stinkin' permits!" to become the battle cry of access to the new public space, the streets of our communities?

In fact, what's it going to take for us to shift the fear of liability and to reverse the relationship. Our leadership should be the ones grimacing and cringing and feeling the full fear of liability every time another pedestrian or cyclist is injured or killed on the public streets that they are responsible for maintaining and supervising!

Why are pedestrians and cyclists treated as 2nd class citizens when they want access to our streets? These streets belong to the public and our leadership is responsible for maintaining fair and equitable access.

Why would we tolerate anything less?

As for me, this is far from over. I'll see you on the Streets!

Tasteless Plug...

2009-07-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

While I should be taking free time to post on the Grand Tour result... I choose to waste your time with a tasteless plug.

On Ebay I am selling a NEW WITH TAGS COFIDIS CYCLING KIT...

Scope it out... super good deal... Nalini Size 3... Sizing chart is on there as well.

Pic and Links included of course...

EBAY LINK

FYI... COFIDIS IN THE KOM JERSEY TODAY!!!

400 Miles... 24 Hours...

2009-06-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

So of course I have slipped in to yet another lull of non-posting. I hate when this happens, and I am still not in the mood today. But I thought I should update the site and my recent activities.

Currently I have been mentally occupied with the fact that my boy Steve and I will be riding the Grand Tour this weekend. It is a ride that is put on by the Los Angeles Wheelmen every year. The distances include a 200K Double Metric, Double Century, Triple Century, and a Quad Century. Of course being the idiot that I am, I convinced Steve and myself to enter for the 400 MILE distance.

We have a time cut of 24 hours to complete the distance and qualify as finishers... so the heat is on. We have laid down hour and hour of base miles and mindless hours of cycling at pace. I now sit here a few days before the event resting and trying to clear my mind as much as possible. I am confident that we will complete the distance and achieve the ultimate in bragging rights.

Short and sweet... perhaps a few more update before the event gets off, but definitely a ride report after the event.

We start at 4:30am Saturday June 27th, in Malibu. Below are some links to the routes.

Quadcentury Route

Los Angeles Wheelmen

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

Motivation on my Commute...

2009-05-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

I ride by this everytime I ride to work (52miles round trip)... I find it hilarious... it speaks volumes about the American way

It's all about the PINK!!!

2009-05-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

I special celebration to the greatest stage race in the sport of cycling I have retro fitted my blog a bit.

THE GIRO DE ITALIA has come to WannabePro...

I am grabbing all the essential feeds necessary to make sure you never miss any of the action. Top photo's, results, live feeds, all can be found here for the next 3 weeks.

Who will take the Pink??? Who will make the podium??? Feel free to comment on your top favs, or participate in any upcoming votes. Just one day left before the start of the Giro. Cycling fans all over the world rejoice.

3 Great Loops in Los Angeles...

2009-04-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of my recent loops I pulled of from my house... Lots of climbing and lots of fun. If you put in the work to get out of the city, you will be rewarded with quiet mountain roads.

These are my favorite climbs in the city... Big Tujunga Canyon, Angeles Crest, and of course Mount Wilson.

Scope the loops below:

Silverlake to Angeles Crest

Silverlake to Big Tujunga

Silverlake to Mount Wilson

Email if anyone is down to hit these rides up...

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

A Beautiful Day in LA

2009-04-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Cruising down the LA River bike path

A Sad Day for Cycling...

2009-04-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

When I got into riding my boy came over to my house, threw me a pair of shorts and a jersey and we were off. It was my first big ride around the city. That day we covered about 65miles from Hollywood to Redondo Beach and back. Being a weekend we saw lots of cyclists out and about, riding in groups, riding with friends... everyone enjoying the joy of riding their bicycle. On the ride my boy went through some cycling etiquette... how to point out potential hazards to those behind you, calling out dangers up ahead, basically teaching me how to communicate and watch out for my fellow rider when out on the road.

In the beginning I did not really see the value in this, but as I rode with more and more people I noticed all riders call out to some degree.... and actually it helps you avoid shitty things like glass in the street. I was always taken back by the overall respect that a cyclist would give one another on the road. Every time you pass someone pulled off on the side of the road, you ask them if they need help. I have stopped in the past to offer a tube to a rider with a flat, and have even been on the receiving end. In fact, one day on a dangerous mountain road, ANGELES CREST, I saw a guy get a flat and start walking down the side of the road. I was in my car, but I pulled over, loaded up his bike and drove him back home... because I knew how whack it is to be stuck in that position.

So why am I ranting about cycling etiquette, respect, and the nurturing I have found in my years in the sport? Well, I do it so that you can have perspective on an incident that changed the way I view cycling forever. Something I do not plan to let go easily.

But before I jump into that, let me first and foremost thank everyone, friend and stranger, who in time of need has come to my side and helped me. It is because of these people I am still able to climb on a bike and feel safe.

Cue the Saturday ride...

For those of you unfamiliar, my Saturday ride is also known as the MONTROSE RIDE. It starts at Descanso Gardens and heads out for a loop that ultimately ends in Sierra Madre. Its popularity is hard to match, I have seen this group swell to 150 plus pretty often. I have always been impressed by this ride and love the experience afforded to me by getting to ride along side professional riders like Tyler Hamilton, Iban Dominguez, Rashan Bahati and many more. I have done this ride innumerable times over that past two years. Although I do not ride with a crew or in a team kit, and brag about my latest VO2 max test... I have always thoroughly enjoyed participating as pack fill. On many a day when the legs feel good, I even go up to the front to really push myself.

The front of this group is not a place for the inexperienced... you are expected to understand peloton rules and etiquette. Know how to take a pull and then pull off. I have been in this position several times at this ride and at several sanctioned races, so for me it is pretty natural to be driving the front when the legs allow. The first 10 miles of this ride is just an absolute blast... those who have done it know how fun it really is. Swooping turns, small rollers and tree covered backstreets define this route.

So what happened???

Well, as we came off the climb out of the Rosebowl on to Arroyo the peloton, as usual, was stretched out and we were forming a nice paceline up at the front. I had taken one pull at the front already and I was out there again. As I finished my pull at the front I gave the customary elbow flick to my left and slowly pulled to the right to make room for the group coming through.

It was right at that moment that some asshole fancied himself Daniele Bennati in a TDF stage sprint and came up on my right side, in the gutter of the side walk. The gap was not even wide enough for a bike to pass and there was a large guard rail, blocking against going over the cliff side. Well as he came around he smashed right into the drive side of my bike and started leaning into me... as he came around he snagged my handle bars at about 35mph, and that sent me clear into the guard rail. I flipped up and over the front of the bike but luckily forward movement and a bush kept me from flying off the side. I hit the ground hard... similar to my crash at the MBGP last year. Pain shooting through my whole body, I was laying on the ground only to see the entire group fly by.

MBGP Last Year

HOLD ON DID YOU GET THAT?

The entire group flew right by me... They all saw me go down in a pretty horrific crash and NOT A SINGLE DAMN PERSON STOPPED TO SEE IF I WAS INJURED. What kind of piece of shit people are on this ride. I MEAN FOR REAL, NOT ONE PERSON? Are you going to win the race at the end? Do you get bragging rights for the shit climbs that come later on? Do you want to be the first to get to the red light at Trader Joes? I gotta keep my heart rate in zone 4, I can't stop. All I have to say is that on this Saturday, everyone made me sick to my stomach. For those of you that somehow missed that crash, I guess I can buy that... although I only give one person that credit.

I could have easily broken a bone or smashed in my skull and no one even looked back or stopped for just a quick second to see if I was OK. Oh and I have a news flash... the group isn't that fast, you want a work out you can always just ride back on.

I ended up getting back on my feet and hopped back on the bike and rode with one arm for a bit, mostly because I wasn't sure if had broken something or sprained the hell out of my shoulder. I rode through the discomfort and met up with another rider that had shown up late to this part of the ride... we decided to chase and get back on to the group. I was determined not to let one idiot ruin my Saturday ride. If it hadn't been for my new buddy Eric I wouldn't have kept going, but riding with him was motivating and got my mind off the fact that my entire left side was killing me. It took a while but we finally got back on to the ride at the perfect time, and finished off the final climbs with the front of the group.

When we reached the top of the climbs in Sierra Madre, I believe a REMAX Bicycle John's rider came up to me and said, "looks like you came out of your spill alright." Now I know what your thinking... this is where the fight broke out... sadly no. If I was just a couple years younger this guy would have eaten my chain ring. Instead I just mustered out, "good thing nothing happen to the bike." These people made me so sick that I couldn't even bring myself to really lay in to him. I think he saw the disgust in my face.

I used to feel really safe riding in the Montrose ride... but I guess since I don't know enough people nobody gives a crap if I would have smashed my face into the curb or flown over the guard rail. I know this is a big rant but this single moment has redefined the way I look at the sport... I have never ridden or done any high risk activity with such selfish people. The fact that you can watch someone get hurt and just look the other way is just gross. It doesn't even bug me that the guy that took me down didn't stop, but rather the fact that NOT ONE PERSON could give up there training ride for a couple mins and see if a fellow rider was injured or needed medical attention.

To the guy that took me down:

1. Learn to Ride

2. KARMA

I will stop here... I think my point is clear.

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." - Arthur Conan Doyle

Why Cycling in LOS ANGELES sucks...

2009-03-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

TODAY I WAS LEFT SPEECHLESS, ENJOY....

Actually this is how Gypsy's fix a flat... really

GREAT SUCCESS...

2009-03-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

So after my comment about the Euro's they voted in droves. And I even got a blast in French.

Anonymous said...
Vous êtes un gros porc américain. Vous mangez dans McDonalds journalier et puis comptez monter un vélo. Vous ne savez rien au sujet du mode de vie. Très stupide !

Apparently I am an American Pig... and eat McDonald's, every day. oh ande I know nothing about the way of life... You gotta love the French... I guess I'm lucky they missed Alex (the Romanian) at the end. Otherwise he would have called me a gypsy. Which would have been much more insulting.

I guess my sarcasm was lost across the Atlantic.

Cheers, Alex

BLOW ME...

2009-03-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Well the results are in, and it looks like overwhelmingly people are hating on my reviews. In my attempt drop all the technical BS that is typical in reviews for cycling gear, it seems that I have failed. Instead of using lines like, "the frame demonstrated high caliber vertical compliance," which I think of as lame BS... I would just say that the frame is extremely stiff, compared to the aluminum Specialized Allez. Or I would just say a helmet sucks because of the price... but its super nice if the cost doesn't matter.

Oh well, I hate not having races to write about... but until then I will continue this little cycling online diary. So to those of you that don't like my reviews, blow me... and click over to cycling news for some techy BS review... oh here is a good line,

"Get out of the saddle and throw the bike around for sprints or climbs and there's barely any sideways movement through the frame - the rear triangle doesn't budge off line. The same is true of the fork - it remained steadfast despite our best efforts to coax it into twisting on the hills."

That is far more descriptive... the rear triangle doesn't budge offline? RIGHT. I am in the midst of preparing my ride report for the Palomar part two, so I will bring this to a close.

BTW, the majority of votes were from the Euro's that are always looking for reviews online. So I can't be that annoyed since everyone knows people from Europe are total tools.

Best Regards... Alex (from Romania)

Road Tire Review...

2009-03-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Looks like the economy has been hitting us all pretty hard. It has been a long while since I have bought any new tires... so I have been forced to make old wheels last as long as possible. I won't claim to have tried tons of different tires, but I do ride every other day on the streets of LA. What does this mean? Well in short it means that on a daily basis I throw all there is to throw at a good tire... glass, potholes, crack littered streets, gutter debris, dirt roads, and skid breaking.

With that said I am going to summarize my opinion of the tires I have used in the past and their performance. First up and definitely my favorite set tires I have ever used are the Continental Attack Force combo. I got these guys sometime in '07 and I'm still using the front tire. This is a really tough set and I only got one flat while running these on my rig. This of course is just luck, but I highly recommend this setup to anyone that is looking for good performance and durability... at least in terms of LA Streets. Plus, this is a high end tire that you can grab off Ebay for $65... and that's for the set. Do not be fooled by the retail price from your LBS, at $120. Although I am giving these tires big props, they still get mad cuts. IF YOU RIDE ON SHITTY STREETS YOU WILL GET CUTS IN YOUR TIRES... it is inevitable. However, they are still great performers, and have a good enough casing to really perform on the descents. The tires are front and rear specific giving it some nice added flare and handling. It's a 22 for the front and the classic 23 on the rear. Multi colors available... if you get a set you will not be disappointed and they will last a good while.

I now compare tires simply by how long I can ride on a set with the cuts not causing any flats, and cornering ability. My experience is best with the Continentals. The second is definitely cost. I always recommend going cheap, for your daily commutes and weekend rides.

Next tire up is the Schwable Ultremo. This is by far the best performance tire I have ever ridden. The quality here can be felt for sure. It also inflates round, similar to the shape of a tubular, which gives it the handling performance. On technical descents this tire grabs extremely well and gives you that glued to the ground confidence. I love these tires whole heartedly but sadly, I am barred from there use. Why? Well these tires puncture like balloons that's why. I have read pro reviews and reviews from the company claiming the tire as indestructible and puncture proof. I am here to say that my experience is quite the opposite. This tire is extremely light @195 grams and can be felt in how thin the rubber is. I have yet to ride a better quality clincher, but I had to ditch these after a 5 flats in 2 weeks. It was a pure nightmare, flatting on almost every commute for those couple weeks. I still continued to race on them and take these out for big group rides, the traction is worth it in a race scenario. HOWEVER, if you live in Orange County or any where with buttery smooth roads, then these would be perfect.

Vittoria Rubino's... great tire and super cheap. A set will cost you $30 on Ebay... also check the links to chainreactionscycles.com and the wiggle bike shoppe. British bike shops, with great discounts, especially with the exchange rate in our favor. There is a reason you see these on single speeds all around LA. Actually it is probably related more to color options, but also these tires are pretty damn durable. The quality is so so, but will be just fine for training rides, and even big descents. Just don't expect to ride as far out on the limit. What you gain is a tire that will last you a pretty long time, despite the number of cuts you get. I have sported these on all of my bikes, including my fixie... yes the red ones are cool (I sold out to the trend). There are a couple other tires that are cheap, that I would place in this same category... Vittoria Zaffiro's and Vredestein Fortezza's... all about the same price.

So what have we learned here... honestly, probably not a whole lot except one thing. Everyone has their own preferred tires and what works for one person will not necessarily work for others. So far, this is a small outline of what has worked and has not worked for me. Hopefully in some small way this helps some of you.

Now I will leave you with a couple tips for fixing flats on punctured tires. This may sound sketchy to some of you but has worked wonders for me. First and foremost, always ride with some extra electrical tape on your bike. You can wrap some around the seat post or put on extra around that handle bar tape. Next time you flat and the tire gets punctured, take a few layers of electrical tape and place that like a patch on the inside of the tire. This will make sure the tube does not blow out and will restore the tire good as before. I think it's a great permanent fix on new tires that were prematurely punctured. The same spot flat is only as likely as it is to ride over another piece of sharp debris in that exact spot. It may sound a bit ghetto but it works and can save you a good amount of coin. One of my back wheels has 3 spots with tape in it and works perfectly.

Final Thought

Race on - SCHWABLE ULTREMO

Group/Weekend Ride on - CONTINENTAL ATTACK/FORCE

Daily/Commute on - VITTORIA RUBINO PRO

Mount Wilson - Part Deux

2009-03-16T21:40:00.001-07:00

Well after having had such a devastating first encounter with Mount Wilson, I decided to give it another go a week later. This time around the weather was much more forgiving... nice and sunny in the valley, however you could see that Wilson still had some clouds building in the vicinity. I decided that I wouldn't be unprepared this time. I packed a thermal jacket, which left me with a giant bulge in my back pocket. In fact my jersey was so stuffed I think I looked more like a camel riding a bike.

View from the top

The ride was phenomenal... I will skip the details of the route again as you can grab that in the previous post. BUT HERE IS THE RIDE DATA. This time around I was able to shred a lot of time off the ride as I wasn't freezing my butt off on the descent... and also spent a good amount of time trying kill myself on the climb up. Although, I would like to add that descent this time was ridiculous... without the rain and freezing temps it was much easier to bomb down and maintain grip. The ride scored major points this time.

Mountain top, not so pretty

By the time I got home it had become pretty clear something was off. My knee was killing me... With some experimental cleat positioning it put a lot of stress on it. I woke up the next day with my knee totally blown out. It hurt so bad I could hardly walk on it. My advice, don't ignore knee pain... especially after you just changed your cleats around. It took a few days off, some Ibuprofen, ice and I was back on the bike.

This weekend is the big ride however. My token cycling buddy Steve is getting married, so his bachelor party is this weekend. Being cycling junkies, we're swapping the strippers for Milan-Sanremo and a ride up Mount Palomar... which is the our cycling equivalent of a Vegas getaway. As lame as that sounds to some of you, it's true.

So come this Friday it's a weekend of cycling, boozing, and riding.

The Coldest Day Ever...

2009-03-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

This one is quite a bit overdue, but I finally thawed out enough to write the post. Last week Steve and I decided that we would bust the ride up to Mount Wilson from my pad. Unfortunately, it was raining the day he decided to come up. We though it was cool at first but we learned our lesson later on in the ride.

The ride starts at my place in Silverlake and follows a route that takes you up Angeles Crest to Mount Wilson road and to the summit... which is more of a road that passes by several radio towers. The ride is about 31 miles to the summit from my house and climbs from and elevation of just 345ft to 5,750ft. Needless to say we had a lot of climbing in store for us this day.

We set up in a light drizzle... the heavy rain had stopped coming down an hour before we took off. However, we didn't really make a plan for heavy rain and cold so we only took some lightweight vests for the decent down from Mount Wilson... THIS WOULD LATER BECOME A BIG MISTAKE. The first 12 miles was a nice and wet gradual ascent to the start of the Angeles Crest climb. Although you are climbing the whole way up to Angeles Crest it is mostly through the city so really is more of a non-issue. When you arrive at the foot of Angeles Crest, you have about 22 miles of climbing at an average grade of about 6.5%.

After the initial slog up through La Canada and past the country club you get in to full blown mountain road. It is absolutely gorgeous, and if you're unemployed and can catch this climb on a nice rainy weekday... it is completely dead quiet. We barely saw any traffic on the way up... then from a far we saw several emergency lights. As we got closer we came up on a few blocked cars. The road way was shut down due to a pretty horrific looking accident. The emergency crew let us continue thorough. We had to be careful though as there was still a lot of glass in the roadway, and they we still trying to rescue someone from their destroyed SUV. On a serious note, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims... I hope they are well.

After we passed the accident site, Steve and I kept climbing until he brought to my attention a very exciting detail. We had a road closure behind us, and a very serious one at that. So there we were on a rainy overcast afternoon and Angeles Crest was completely closed down. It was amazing to have a a mountain road like that all to ourselves... it felt like a break away group in a professional stage race. In fact we had the open road all the way to the junction with Angeles Forest road, where you get a slight decent before you make the final climb up to Mount Wilson road. We took a quick snack break here, and photo opp.

Here is where the climbing started to get steeper, and much much colder. Like super cold. The weather had completely disintegrated by the time we reached Mount Wilson road. The fog was thick enough to reduce visibility to about 25 to 50 yards, and the road side was still holding a couple feet of snow. At this point Steve and I decided to take it at our own pace as we were both very miserable. It had started to rain harder and the temp had dropped significantly. The climb is not all that difficult given good conditions... it is more of a traverse with sections of 7% to 8%. At the top of the climb the road opens up to what is usually a beautiful view of the Los Angeles basin. On this day all that happened is exposure the wind blowing up the mountain. It sent a deep cold into me like no other... of course it didn't help that I was sopping wet and sleet was coming down quite hard. Well... I never quite recovered.

THE DESCENT

I sat at the top for about a couple minutes and decided that Steve wouldn't really care about finishing off the climb. I came down and met up with Steve. As we started the descent down the road was sopping wet. It was the coldest I have ever been on a bike. I tried to stay with Steve but by the time we reached the bottom of Mount Wilson, I couldn't hang anymore. I had gotten so cold that I could no longer keep up with him. He dropped me as I pulled off to the side of the road in an attempt to warm up. I had gotten so cold that I could no longer hold that handle bars with out shaking furiously. I had never been in so much pain from the cold... my hands felt burned, and no matter what I did I could not ride with out shaking uncontrollably. I was going down Angeles Crest solo, descending at a speed of about 15 MPH, instead of the usual 40 MPH. It was quite embarrassing and painful at the same time. In short, it was SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER COLD.

THE ACCIDENT

We reconvened down at the bottom of the Crest... frozen solid... and hungry. We were so wiped that all we could do is think about La Cabanita... an AMAZING Mexican joint on the route home. So we headed straight for grub. All of a sudden... about a mile away from La Cab... a woman in a GIANT FORD F-150 made right, right in front of us and laid us straight out. With no signal at all she up and decided to run right into us. Steve smashed face first into the rear view mirror and went down right in front of me... and I came toppling after. Of course we freaked out on her, screaming at the top of our lungs. We flagged down the cops, as she hit us with a cop driving right in front of her. She claimed that she didn't see us. All she could say was that she was sorry. After we chilled out we apologized for yelling but we can't have her being that reckless... especially with such a large truck. When the police arrived she then stated to them that she did see us and that she hadn't realized we were then next to her. Unlike other vehicles, bicycles remain stationary.. so if you see one behind you then feel free to turn willy nilly, as it is very unlikely the bicycle rider would have moved from where you last saw him.

Luckily we were OK... the bikes we a bit jacked up... Steve's more than mine.

So who is it that hit us??? I do this because I only feel that it is right... this woman blatantly saw us and just crashed into us. Be careful of this big black truck...

Lynn Ann Bershtel

LIC# 8P28432
2008 Ford F150 - Black

Well, after we got outta there with our bikes pretty jacked... we headed straight to La Cabanita, it was still raining. We hit the door and it was completely empty... so perfect. We sucked down 4 cups of coffee instantly and grubbed the best plate they have in the house. ENCHILADAS DE MOLE... they are beyond words good. This place is a must go... definitely worth a drive just for dinner. Great prices and the tortilla chips are fresh baked. It was the perfect recovery meal and made the last 10 miles back to the pad in the rain a lot more bearable.

Final Thoughts...

LONG, HARD, FUN AND 9,500FT OF CLIMBING..

This really is an amazing loop... you really have to train well to make sure you don't pop to early. The views you get on a clear day makes it all worth it... it is a long sustained climb and you get a lot of elevation. This loop is pretty much nothing but climbing, it's a great training ride to get the climbing legs under you, and the plus is a really great descent.

Here is the loop info again - MOUNT WILSON

The Amazing Comeback...

2009-03-07T14:21:00.001-08:00

Amazing read and phenominal story... this guy was on the street smoking crack beggin for money for 5 years and came back to cycling... riding along side the world champion. I caught the airing of the intervention last year. Check out the interview from the number one source in cycling news.

Quoted from www.cyclingnews.com/

An interview with Chad Gerlach, March 6, 2009
Chad Gerlach: A new lease on love and life

Addicted to crack and living on the streets just over one year ago, American Chad Gerlach is now making his return to the pro peloton in perhaps the most surprising comeback of the year. Cyclingnews' Laura Weislo spoke to Amore e Vita's newest recruit about his amazing journey.
Few cycling fans outside of the US will have ever heard of Chad Gerlach, and only a small percentage of the fans inside America would remember him. After all, it's been nearly six years since he raced a bike, and his career before then could be described as rocky at best. It's his life in between then and now which makes his story remarkable.

Back in the late 90s, Gerlach was a rider who won races in eight different countries, including two stages of the 1998 Tour de Langkawi. But in just a few years he went from being one of the top domestic riders to being homeless and addicted to drugs and alcohol - a life he would lead for over five years.
Gerlach might have been lost forever had a friend not contacted the television show "Intervention", a series on the A&E channel that chose to feature him and which was critical in getting him to leave his life on the streets and enter a rehab program.
Nine months later, he had turned his life around and was hired to the Amore e Vita team thanks to his old friend and former teammate Roberto Gaggioli. Now he's in Italy after having raced the Giro di Grosseto and Giro di Sardegna, where he rode alongside World Champion Alessandro Ballan, Daniele Bennati and Alessandro Petacchi.
Speaking from a 400-year-old Tuscan villa in Lucca, Italy, Gerlach is eager to tell the story of his plunge into "that madness" in hopes that he can inspire others. His outgoing, energetic personality comes across loud and clear over the telephone, and one can easily see why his episode of "Intervention" was one of the most compelling of the season.
"To be honest, I kind of enjoy being back in the spotlight a little. At first it kind of freaked me out, because I don't want to be known for being a drug addict. But it's still a story in progress. It's nice to be back, and I want people to know the real me," Gerlach admitted.
It's hard to believe the episode was recorded just one year ago - his journey into sobriety began on February 16, 2008 - and his turnaround is nothing short of amazing.
The "Intervention" production crew visited Gerlach in Italy to film an update to be aired this summer, and wound up filming the team's training camp and the first race - something his team was excited about because of the publicity. "The first race that I did in Italy [Giro della Provincia di Grosseto] was the one-year anniversary of me going to the rehab. That was really cool that they were here."
But Gerlach has some mixed feelings about the idea of being on television again. "It's going to be a big deal for me, because that first one was really hard for me. Even though I was clean when I saw it, I was in total shock about what I was like. It's weird to get sober and then go back and see yourself when your addiction is raging. I was in shock.
"I don't think I was the same person then as I am now. I lived without any focus. I didn't have any desire. After a couple years of doing that you talk about getting clean, but getting a beer in the morning is more important. And after you have your first 40oz in the morning you're feeling pretty good and it's like, 'whatever'. Time passes pretty quickly when you live your life like that. Not only months but years. After two or three years you're still saying the same thing.
"Last winter I was pretty depressed because five years had passed, and I was just stuck in the life. It seemed like an insurmountable task to get out of it. Even though just saying 'I'm going to go to rehab and change my life' is all it takes, when you're out on the street and in that position it just seems like such a hard thing to do."
Rocky roads
Gerlach turned to bike racing as a teen after his parents divorced and he began having behavioral issues - serious issues like the arson offense which put him in juvenile detention. He took to the sport rapidly, and began winning races. He turned pro with the Montgomery Bell team in 1995 at 21, and rode alongside the likes of Tyler Hamilton, Marty Jemison and Andy Hampsten on the inaugural US Postal Service team the next year.

While his talents on the bike were undeniable, personality conflicts off the bike became the stuff of legend. A spat with Lance Armstrong at the Olympic Training Center when the two were younger is one story that has been, according to Gerlach, blown out of proportion.
"'Intervention' made it sound like I got kicked off of US Postal Service because of Lance and I was like 'wait a sec, that was five years before that' - this was way before US Postal Service..., and people on the 'net sort of ran with it."
As the story goes, Gerlach poked Armstrong in the stomach and called him 'doughboy', but on the Internet, Gerlach became the guy who punched Lance Armstrong'. "Like I punched Lance... that's not what happened! Lance actually had me around the neck. I laugh about it because I wonder if he ever gets asked about it."
"I totally respect Lance. He doesn't know me - he knows of me. He's like everyone else in the sport. I've raced with Greg LeMond, Jeff Pierce, Ron Kiefel, Michael Engleman - it's a small community, we all know each other."
The small world of cycling can also cause problems, however. After getting kicked off of US Postal (for "personality conflicts"), Gerlach skittered from team to team over the next six years as recreational drug use became an increasing problem.
Downward spiral
Gerlach's descent into self-destruction began to pick up speed in 2001 when his girlfriend of seven years walked out, and he began experimenting with street drugs. But he hoped to put his troubles behind him when he signed with the Sierra Nevada team for 2002, and hoped to ride out his career there.
But those aspirations came to a screeching halt when his best friend and teammate Ryan Smith was brutally murdered. He was already tempermental, tired, and impatient with his younger teammates, and the death of Smith sent him over the edge, even if the fall didn't come until almost a year later.
His time with the Sierra Nevada team would be limited, and despite his good results during the season his contract was not renewed. "The fit just wasn't that great, but I was riding really strong. And then Ryan died, and after that it was really tough."
While he got a contract for 2003 on a new team, that squad disintegrated before it even began, and the bottom fell out of Gerlach's life. "We were down in Arizona for a training camp and the guy told us the team was over. And while I was there I got the most sick I've ever been in the last 10 years, and then my bike breaks at Valley of the Sun, and I was just DONE - I didn't touch my bike for two months after that. I was done paying my entry fees, I was done not having money.
"I think I was snorting a lot of cocaine, but once I tried crack it was over. Like they say - for someone who is in need of something to fill a void, drugs work pretty well, but crack works really well. I had to have more of it."
The road back to life
Looking back on his dark days, Gerlach sounds like a man who has slain his demons, but his road to recovery has been fraught with peaks and valleys.
"I just kind of laugh at it now. I know better. I can't drink or use because that obsession will come back - it doesn't matter if I don't have another drink for five months. If I drink today, that thought's going to be there and I'll be planning my next drink. Even if it's three months away, I'll be like, 'I can wait another few months'.
"When I don't drink and use there's no problem - it's gone."
But it was less than six months ago that he got cocky, fell off the wagon and had to make a second attempt at being sober. After his initial detox followed by 90 days of rehab in Florida, he came back to Sacramento to be closer to his girlfriend. After a few months in a halfway house, the reality of how much work his new life was going to take began to sink in.
"It was like, 'Now what? I've got nothing' It was a shock to go completely sober. I wanted to stop smoking cigarettes, but I couldn't because I had taken all the rest of it out of my body. I knew I needed to put some serious work in, but that in and of itself would almost make you want to drink again."
With the economic recession in the US picking up steam, Gerlach could not find a job, and the pressure of being somewhat famous for the television show began to take its toll.
"The show came out on June 16th, and that was really hard for me because, first of all, people recognized me every day. Like five people a day would be like, aren't you that guy on "Intervention"? Then I started drinking once in a while. Then I was using on and off from July and August, and then there was a week in September where I had moved out of the halfway house - that was another huge mistake.
Thinking he could manage his recovery on his own was his first mistake, but perhaps the biggest one was not taking the process seriously enough. After leaving the halfway house he didn't follow through on all the necessary steps and had a major backsliding episode which made it clear to him that he needed to get serious. His second "sobriety date" is September 17, 2008.
"It's different for everybody. Some people never get sober. After that, I really got focused and got motivated to change my life. That combined with Roberto [Gaggioli] giving me a call and saying 'it's not too late to race your bike, I want you on my team' made a difference."
"He saw that if I was just able to race again that it would be motivation to not just be successful in racing but in anything. So I started training, and it just so happened things started going really well."
About the same time, Gerlach found a job selling sunglasses and embarked on a lifestyle he'd never before experienced. He got up early to train before work, putting in two to three hours before his nine-hour shift, and then returning to ride the trainer in the evening. He was motivated to show up to the team's camp with fitness.
"And I did - they thought I was going to come here and be the guy who was racing again just to feel good about himself. Everyone was really surprised that I was fit, and I made the team for the first couple stage races. I'm not the weakest rider on the team either, I think I'm right in the middle."
Back in the saddle again
To take any rider who has only raced domestically and toss them into the mix with the quality of riders which were present in the February races in Italy would be cruel. But for a rider who has only trained for four months after a five and a half year absence the racing was understandably a shock to the system. That Gerlach was able to finish any of the stages is a testament to his natural talent.

"They're brutal, they're really hard. It's just like I remember racing in Northern France in 1996. It's all out even at this time of the year. Races just aren't like this in the US. For me, I'm struggling to hang on. If there are hills in the race, I pretty much get dropped.
"But I think my body's been able to handle it well. I've actually surprised myself. When I do the races I'm not the last guy - I'm actually surprised I'm in groups with 30-40 guys who have been racing and training for years, which makes me feel pretty good."
After a period of rest, Gerlach will be off to France where he hopes the racing will suit his style, or at least have less climbing.
The one good thing about the intensity of the racing is that it leaves little time to worry about just about anything else. "Staying sober is an easy thing because there are a lot of other things I'm worried about like trying to put a life together after cycling.
"Right now, I just want to enjoy this experience. I can't complain about anything because I've been in a whole lot worse places. I appreciate it so much - it's amazing. Isn't that how it always is though? For people who are given a second chance, or come back to something after years away - I'm just in awe of it. I hope people can learn something from me, too."
"I think everyone's just happy I'm out of that madness. I don't know what makes the story so cool - whether it's the cycling standpoint or the drugs. I'm just happy to be back and I'm going to enjoy it while I'm here. Even if there wasn't one news article about it I'd be happy, because I was miserable and lonely and my life was in ruins. I should be dead after everything I've done.
"A lot of people do die - I don't want to forget that. A lot of people don't make it out of addiction, and I need to remember and be grateful, and do something positive."

It's Official... I'm a Website

2009-03-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

I HAVE OFFICIALLY PURCHASED

http://www.wannabepro.com/

NO MORE WEIRD ADDRESS TO TYPE IN. I STRIVE FOR SIMPLICITY AMONG MY DEDICATED FANBASE. FANBASE? ANYWAY I AM VERY EXCITED AND THOUGHT I WOULD SEND OUT THE UPDATE.

F*@K YOU PALOMAR

2009-03-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I finally rode the infamous MOUNT PALOMAR. It was quite the climb. Our intention was to ride a portion of the final stage of the Tour of California. But of course we cheated a bit, as many others did that day, and started at the Harrah's Casino... approximately 16.5 miles from the summit of Palomar. Although the distance was short to the summit, the climb would bring us from an elevation of 860ft to over 5,400ft... all in 16 miles. It would be a rugged start. From the moment we left the car it was on. Mile after mile had only more percentage points in store for us.

It was just a small group of 3, that decided to take on this endeavour. Myself, Steve (we can count on each other to take on anything ridiculous via bicycle) and his roommate Drew, who has been training for an Ironman. The only reason I mention this is because I need some validation as to why he dropped me at the top of the climb, but I hate to jump ahead. We started off in a nice group together, chatting and having a good time. Slowly but surely as the road continued to pick up the banter slowly came down. We had been climbing for quite a bit when we finally made the turn on to South Grade Road... which is, unfortunately, the official start of the climb. From the here we had 12 miles left... and I was already starting to feel the burn.

Drew and I kept a fast (in my opinion) pace... Ok lets call it brisk. We kept a brisk pace, keeping the chatting going and enjoying the beautiful views, as we rounded the switch backs. Little did Drew know that I have the ability to carry on conversation even when my heart rate is holding a steady 175BPM. So it was, I believe, a bit of a surprise to Drew when he dropped me toward the top of the climb.

The way it played out was quite interesting and completely exposed my farce of comfort. About a mile plus before the summit we were caught. As this 5 foot 5 inch, 135 pound, midget passed on a carbon frame with deep dish carbon wheels he glanced over and gave us the ultimate cycling f#^k you. In the most nonchlant manner he looked over and said... "hey guys" with out even the slightest hint of effort or even a bead of sweat on his brow. Oh, and not to mention at a break neck pace. Well we weren't gonna stand for that... Drew instantly grabbed his wheel and I did Drew's. It only took until the next switch back to drop me. As the grade pitched up once more this guy stands up and just starts bendin' the cranks. I was a goner... I lost contact with them instantly and Drew not much later. But Drew smashed me on the rest of the climb.

Mentally I was crushed and started to look over my shoulder to make sure no one could see my pathetic pace, or see me crying as I gasped at the ever thinning air. It was pretty brutal, I was bummed to come apart like that right at the top of the climb. Shortly, I came up on Drew standing just off to the left of the faded KOM line. It was a great moment... mostly because we had finished the climb, but also because of the work we did to get there. I picked up a lot of fitness at this mountain, and left a lot of sweat behind.

We refueled at the top with some water and calorie rich drinks. After topping off and regrouping we headed down a nice gradual decent toward Lake Henshaw. Which looks more like a snow melt swamp. We worked the decent well... despite the occasional cross winds that, at one point, nearly took us all down in a powerful gust. Then as the road flattened out we cranked the pace hard for about 25miles non-stop... taking turns to work the front. As we got to the final decision point where we would have to make the call, as to whether we hit the final climb up Col Grade Rd, I was spent. We stopped at Valley Center Rd and took a long look down to the car. Steve and I were totally down to cut it short. I could tell that Johnny Ironman was looking for more... but he was good with calling it a day.

This day was one of my harder days I have had outside of racing on the bike... I worked my ass off and it was clear I had a lot more fitness to pick up. Even before my heart rate monitor started to mess up I was churning at my max. The bottom line is this ride killed me. At the end of our ride we attempted to take some self timer photos, but it didn't quit work out. As you will see on the photo's attached.

FINAL THOUGHTS... This is a great ride, it offers beautiful views, great climbs, and fast descents. All the essentials that a cyclist craves in a good ride. Palomoar itself is quite the beast... it's a long, long climb and will never give you a place to stop and recover. Be prepared for steady grades of 6 to 9% way before you even get to the official climb start. It is a great climb to learn to pace and control your efforts for a sustained period. This isn't a climb for the dedicated crit rider or the Bettini's of the world that can sprint on short climbs. This mountain is for the GC wannabe's or rather the "all-arounder." Palomar will make you better and humble you as well.

RIDE DATA >>> MOUNT PALOMAR

Be on the look out for the next challenge. The ride from my pad to the top of Cloud Burst Summit... just above 7000 ft in elevation.

Specialized S-Works Helmet Review...

2009-02-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

Over the past holiday season I was the benefactor of a beautiful Specialized S-Works helmet. I have to admit, the style on the S-Works is top notch. When you have a large head often you find all helmets end up pretty thick. This, however was not and issue with the S-Works. The fit was great, although comparable to my Bell Sweep, and the Giro Atmos The final big plus (as claimed by manufacturer) with the S-Works is the multiple vents and weight.

So how does the Specialized S-Works stack up at the retail price of $230 vs. a something like the Bell R Sweep at $90.... well. I gave the S-Works a thorough testing and I admit that I really enjoyed it and you can definitely feel the additional venting, but com'on. Overall I think the helmet looks pretty good, but style wise it's right up there with the Bell R. I mean the performance was about the same as the my Sweep and the weight at size large really doesn't make a very big difference.

So, the only reason to buy the Specialized S-Works is if you want to show every one at the group ride you got mad flow... or if you get one for free, or deep discount. I mean DEEP DISCOUNT. The performance is no different than that of what you would get with the Sweep, Atmos, Pneumo... or dare I say it... the regular Specialized Decibel. In fact the Decibel offers the same performance, and if you looking for the style, the helmets look almost identical.

After a few tries I finally decided that I would return the helmet. It was just to hard to justify wearing something that will eventually be destroyed in a crash. With the crash return policies today, it's just not worth wearing that much coin on your head.

Ultimately, the helmet is made to protect your head... all of which do the same at this level. So, if you want to drop the coin for a few more vents and marginal style points than by all means grab yourself the Specialized S-Works. There is a lot of competition out there and many better suitors... be wise in your decision.

Final thought... IF YOU RACE, BUY THE CHEAPEST... IT WILL BE DESTROYED, YOU WILL CRASH

hope this revew helped...

Hello GC Weight...

2009-02-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

A stunning blow to the racing season today... I realized that with no job, no medical insurance...

NO MEDICAL INSURANCE, NO RACING

On the not so off chance that I go down in a crit... I like would to have some help paying the docs back for fixing up a broken collarbone.

On a lighter note... pun intended... I clocked in today at

168.2 LBS

Can we say GC weight... or at least lighter and faster than last season so far. Now all I need is a job with benefits so I can go race... and have money for entry fees.

GOOO LANCE, GO LANCE, LANCE!!!!

2009-02-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

This past weekend at the Pasadena stage of the Tour, I caught some good footage of one of the local Lance fans... Keep in mind that Lance and the main peloton are now on the last lap of the circuit and over 4 minutes back. None-the-less my portly victim here had showed up to to chat on his cell phone about how he came down to watch, "Lance Kill It." I just thought it was a good sighting... enjoy. Ford this one is for you...

Listen for the "Gooooo Lance" and then straight back to the phone. I mean really with the Iron Horse kit...He even lied on the phone and told his buddy he was dressed in the diablo kit all red... Okay okay, I'll stop... ENJOY.

Solvang Time Trial Trip

2009-02-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it took sometime but now I got pictures and the data loaded up to make a proper post for our Solvang Time Trial trip.

This year had no shortage of Lance fans... from the moment we showed up on the scene it was Livestrong fever and Lance mania... but all in due time.

We rolled up to Santa Barbara Thursday night and met up with my boys dad for steak dinner and some wine. Despite the fact that we had about 80 miles to put down the next day, we barreled through a decent amount of drinks. It started with wine and dessert was an Irish Pub for another 3 Guinness'... another set of cocktails at a local watering hole by the hotel... and a final bottle of wine from the 7/11 on the walk back to the room. Of course Steve and I were innocent victims that ended up three sheets to the wind, along with Mr. Ford. The good deal for Stevo's pop is that he wasn't planning on riding over the San Marco's Pass to Solvang the next day.

We woke up that morning bright and early, with some hefty headaches as well. Although, the excitement of the ride was upon us, thus, shaking off the hungover feeling was somewhat easy going. After a hearty breakfast and some route planning with google maps we set off. We left SB from downtown and headed for the old San Marcos road that would take us up to the pass via a less congested route. The views from the road were amazing, which was expected on a climb that takes you from 125ft to a max elevation of 2,225ft. This was quite a burly climb given our disposition... we had about 9 miles warm-up (neutral zone) and then from mile 9 to 15 we climbed 2,100 ft to the top of the pass. We luckily were hit with this climb early on and we were rewarded with a solid 4 mile 7% descent on the other side.

The remainder of the ride is very beautiful along the 154 hwy, with mostly rollers and a gradual downhill all the way to Solvang.

Ride Profile: Santa Barbara to Solvang

We were very excited when we arrived in Solvang, the place was off the hook packed. There were about 25,000 fans packed into the small danish city and easy access to catch a view of your favorite cyclists before they hit the course. We arrived before the stage started so we hit up the Belgian Cafe, where we rewarded ourselves with a Belgian waffles and bacon cheeseburgers for the recovery meal. After our calorie rich post ride meal, we hit the course and took several shots cheering on our favorite riders... Photos to follow.

STEVO, LOW PRO

WHO'S THAT IN THE BACK?

LEVI, SETTING COURSE RECORD

GOOOO LANCE!!!! GO LANCE, LANCE LANCE... OH MY GOD LANCE!!!

I ALMOST TAGGED HIM... SERIOUSLY

OH MY GOD, FLOYD GO FLOYD... WHAT CAN I SAY I'M A FAN

After the Stage wrapped up we got ready for our departure, but not before my boy Steve got a quick pic with the coolest rider in the pro peloton. None other than Jens Voigt. He was outside the Saxo-Bank bus signing autographs and setting up for post ride interviews. Other notable sightings were Christian Vandevelde, Bobby Julich, and a quick crossing of paths with David Zabriski.

STEVE AND JENS... TIGHT...

We soon decided it was time to get going... and we were not excited or looking forward to a difficult ride home, in the face of a fading sun as well. We charged out hard and took down the first 20 miles back pretty quickly. Apparently Stevo was riding with a lot of enthusiasm about having just gotten a photo with Jens. I was no good... especially once we hit the big climb back over the pass. The awesome 4 mile 7% grade descent was all of a sudden not so awesome. I got off to a decent start but soon felt the "BONK" coming on. Just shy of the KOM, I slowed to about a 4 cadence and almost jumped off the bike. When I did reach the summit, I stopped to wait for Steve only to find that him and another rider were hot on my tail.
The pain was over... it was time for the descent. A really awesome descent down Old San Marcos road... categorized by Italian Alps style switchbacks, and steep fast swooping turns. It is a very technical downhill and you have to be aware of the occasional car... so you have to be on point for this one. We bombed down this super quick taking only one quick photo of the view.

Ride Profile: Solvang back Santa Barbara

By the time we had gotten back to the car, it was already dark. As we cruised the last few miles into town, I was so bad that I was having trouble maintaining even a moderate pace. But at the end of the ride we got the greatest reward of all. We snuck into the Hotel hot tub and chilled out for about a half hour, which definitely helped for next day recovery. It was also a great way to clean up after a long day. Finally to top it off we hit State St. for a huge Italian meal. We went to Pascucci, which is an amazingly good Italian spot. We had a full pizza for and appetizer and each grubbed a lasagna.

It was an amazing getaway and a great way for the two of us to unwind from the pressures of unemployment and focus on the finer things in life... like wine and cycling.

Now that's a finish

2009-02-19T07:43:00.001-08:00

Big win for my boy Mark Cavendish, and second only by a deep dish rim Tomika Boonen. The next several years of watching these two go toe to toe is going to be awesome. Although with a bit of pre-stage ski pratice I think Tom could have pulled it off... wink-wink.

ONE DAY LEFT TO THE TIME TRIAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we pack up for Santa Barbara and get ready for the Solvang Time Trail. Now lets all cross our fingers for big Floyd Landis to kiil it tomorrow.

Quoted from - www.cyclingnews.com
It wasn't plain sailing however; Cavendish was nearly pipped on the line by a fast-charging Tom Boonen (Quick Step) but held on to take the win, with Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank) in third.
"It's massive for us and for the team," Cavendish said about the win. "The team did so well today. They stayed with me on the climbs and with a flat run in like that there was only one outcome that it could have been... when you have a team like mine.
"We got the lead out right - straight past the Cervélo team - and we saw how strong they were yesterday. But when they [Cavendish's teammates] drop me off with 100 metres to go, there could only be one outcome!"

BIG THOR FOR STAGE 3

2009-02-18T07:36:00.001-08:00

On a personal note, I am getting SUPER AMPED for Friday. Why, you ask? Well, on Friday morning my boy Ford and I will be attending the Stage 6 Time Trial in Solvang. Ahh, the ups of unemployment is freedom. On top of attending the event we will be riding from Santa Barbara to Solvang... it will be the ideal mini cycling get away. The kind that makes girls sick, because we will probably spend 12 hours straight talking cyling non stop. There will definitely be pics to follow.
Now the Stage 3 wrap up...

Another cold and rainy stage yesterday... and aside from the beginning crash with Levi, a pretty boring one at that. Although all was redeemed at the end of that stage in a classic bunch sprint. I am a big Thor fan, but where was Tomika and Cavendish. I was bummed to see Boonen miss out and the sprint and Cavendish struggle to find a wheel. Oh well that's the way it goes... the have another chance for a sprint points Thursday. So for now big ups to Thor.

Quoted from http://www.cyclingnews.com

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo TestTeam) has recorded win number one for 2009 with a powerful sprint on the wet streets of Modesto at the end of stage three. Cervélo rode the perfect train to deliver Hushovd to the line, ahead of Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and former teammate Mark Renshaw (Columbia-Highroad) after an uncomfortably wet and cold day in the saddle.
"Hayden Roulston started it with a little more than one kilometre to go, then Dominique Rollin pulled into the last corner," explained Hushovd. "Then Brett Lancaster took over after the last corner, and I passed him with about 150 metres to go. Our team did a great job today, and I am really thankful. It's the first time we've worked together and it went well, so that was a good start.
Cervélo's leadout was textbook; they lined up three ahead of him before the final kilometre and delivered him precisely to the line ahead of a disorganised peloton, something the experiened Norwegian paid tribute to. "I know that with these guys, we may be one of the best lead-out teams in the world, and I think today that we showed it," he said.

Tour of California Stage 2

2009-02-17T07:41:00.001-08:00

THE BIG STORY YESTERDAY...

All I can say is Wow... Levi's attack on Bonny Doom road yesterday in the Tour of California stage 2 was nothing short of SPECATACULAR. He starts off the climb with a 4 minute time gap on Barredo from Quickstep and ends up taking the KOM.

However, I am bummed to see that my boy Floyd left his legs in Champs-Elysees. So far lack luster performance for Landis but I still have high hopes he will have at least one big stage. So while it's pouring rain and the weather sucks again this year in Cali, make sure you tune in to watch the Tour. Or, if you have a job you can tune in at you desktop. When the picture does come through it's quite impressive.

Quote from http://www.cyclingnews.com/

Leipheimer takes big step to number three
Having told Cyclingnews yesterday that he was still upbeat about his overall chances at the Tour of California, Levi Leipheimer has taken a big step to title number three with a win in Santa Cruz.

The experienced American knew that yesterday's stage winner in the rain may have been hurting on another wet and cold stage. "Mancebo did a big effort yesterday, and we figured he was going to be paying for it today, so we had that to our advantage. We're bike racers, we're not machines," said Leipheimer.
He took advantage of this and put in a solid attack at the base of the Bonny Doon Road climb, and joined by Garmin-Slipstream's Thomas Peterson, the pair shared the spoils at the finish – Peterson the stage, Leipheimer the overall classification lead.
With another three tough stages before the Solvang individual time trial, Leipheimer will most likely call upon the abundant resources of his Astana squad to defend his golden jersey. Lance Armstrong and Chris Horner have already shown they're in excellent form to be assisting their leader, so work has been cut out for those with overall classification aspirations in this year's edition of America's premier race.

The Up's and Down's of Unemployment

2009-02-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

Can you say Racing Season... the Tour of California is coming up and that means the SoCal season will be underway soon. It's been a long time since I have posted and it seems that without racing I don't usually have much to say. Unfortunately, some unfortunate events have played out in my life recently and I have A LOT of extra time on my hands.

I was recently let go from work and have been unemployed now for a bout a week. The downside no money... the upside, lots of time to ride. So far, week 1, I have averaged about 2 hours a day and ridden 6 out of the last 7 days. This time on the bike actually comes at good time, since racing is right around the corner. So with all the extra time I should be able to train up and put up a better season I have also been told that with the time I really do not have excuse to not post daily. So I embark, once again, on a journey to keep my readers happy with fresh posts. It has been said before, but I will say it again... "I'm Back"...

This short entry goes out to all my reader out there... Tara you're the best

Confessions of a Fat Cyclist...

2008-11-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

Its getting colder, the economy is imploding, days are shorter, and everyone is having holiday food parties. Bottom Line: I AM GETTING FAT. As the another moderate winter starts to take hold in CA, I find myself complaining already. A 60degree morning has me cringing, while the pop in gas prices has me driving over riding.

What the hell happens to us in the winter. All of a sudden have lost the will to get up in the morning and head out for my ride. Instead of getting to bed early and planning the weekend ride, I stay up late and focus on a post-booze recovery system. It really is a shame and it has already cost me an additional 10lbs on the scale.

I can only hope that I can muster my energy and put setback aside and get riding again. Don't want to spend the off-season like Jan and end up crashed out in a bakery on ecstasy. Only to scramble to get the extra kilo's off by crash dieting.

Ahhh... these are the ramblings of a weight obsessed cyclist... it is so, so sad

Distractions... I'm coming back

2008-10-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

After a long and well deserved rest from the world of cycling, I am dying to ride. Unfortunately it is an uphill battle of events to get riding again. But lets start with the off season activities. Of course by off season I mean the complete retirement of my bicycle for the month of September.

All of August and September was spent in training mode... not for cycling but backpacking. Tara and I were planning a Labor day weekend backpacking trip, therefore to make sure we were prepared for the high elevation Eastern Sierra terrain, we spent quite a bit of time preparing.

Here are a few of the weekend hikes that replaced my Saturday Big T Loops

Strawberry Peak

Mount Pacifico

Mount Baden-Powell

All of these were awesome day hikes that we did in the San Gabriel mountain range. For those of you unaware, that would be the giant mountains behind Los Angeles that nobody goes too. In fact Mount Baden-Powell climbs to an elevation of about 9,400ft and its not even the highest peak. You can escape LA and all its madness in less than an hour and be surrounded in high altitude forest. Also added benefit for the cyclist out there... AWESOME mountain biking trails, and also miles of roads for the road bike. Check out the links and feel free to contact me for any info on the trails.

But I digress... It was truly nice to get off the bike for a while. After my first race season, I see now how easy it is to get used to pounding yourself into the ground ride after ride. In fact as I started riding again... it actually felt weird to do a leisurely ride. But, as August gave way to September much more important things were up on the calendar. In fact September 2008 Labor Day Weekend marked 2 years since I had met Tara (my special lady). So as we headed off for our backpacking weekend, unbenounced to her I had a secret agenda. We would be backpacking, however it would only be for 2 days, then hike into the Rock Creek Lodge... where we spent our first anniversary together. So as we hiked into a beautiful lake at about 10,400ft... The Hilton Lakes, for reference... I prepared my big surprise. When we finally settled into camp next to our desolate little lake, I decided to propose. Of course she was shocked and said yes and we had a great amount of time to simply enjoy the outdoors and our new engagement. Day 2 I pulled her out of the torturous weather, heavy wind, and we settled into our wooded cabin for the remainder of the weekend.

Start at the Hilton Creek Trail Head

Davis Lake

Camp Hilton Lake 4

View from our Camp

Hidden Lakes Valley

So what did I do in September... well... thanks to a healthy diet I didn't put on a lot of weight, but I did absolutely nothing... and when I say nothing I mean it. I was dormant until the last weekend of September when I finally picked my bike up again and cruised up to SB to ride with my bro (who has just gotten into cycling). Since then I have been trying to get back, but been sick and have a nasty ankle injury... let just say I was working hard for the money.

Labor Day Weekend - Check out the links for the Sierra Hikes... the pics barely do this place justice.

Day 1 & Day 2

Broken Heart Round 2...

2008-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Not again... A couple days ago, the Giro d'Italia, King of the Mountains Emanuele Sella got popped for using the EPO. Reports state that he tested positive for the same EPO that they had found in Riccardo Ricco. He was scheduled to return to racing on the 20th of July, however his team pulled him out last minute due to tendinitis. Keep in mind that Ricco had just tested positive 3 days before... therefore, when he pulled out of the race that threw up the red flags. Yet another fallen hero of mine.

I must say I am a huge fan of climbing specialists, because I know first hand the pain and difficulty of climbing. The way they can rocket up the mountains with no perceived effort and maintain leg-shattering pace is just amazing to me. Watching Sella & Ricco, was a beautiful thing... in the mountains they could crush the competition. Sella, in the Giro this year, was so spectacular you couldn't help but jump out of your seat in shock... as more and more riders drifted off his wheel.

I don't think that riders of this caliber need to use EPO to be competitive and win, but they did none the less. Does that mean that they should be shunned forever, maybe... but not in my opinion. I have never seen a sport with such odd fans. On one end they post all over the web how dopers should be put in jail and banned from the sport for life, however conversely their favorite rider is Marco Pantani or Jan Ulrich. My favorite fans are the David Millar fans, like that guy is so honorable now... he did EPO his whole career and now he's on an anti-doping squad, and you idiot's go and read his blog and throw him mad props all day.

If you hate the dopers in the sport, then fine, hate them. However, you cannot choose to play favorites. One of my favorite riders of all time is Marco Pantani, cliche I know, and he died from a drug overdose. Love cycling for what it is... a beautiful sport. Chances are that unless you ride a bike you don't even give a crap about cycling. So enjoy your own rides and one day perhaps the gods of our sport won't be using performance enhancing substances, not likely, but perhaps.

I leave you with this... I am quite unsure as to how much additional strength is achieved through the use of EPO, but I can guarantee that the stock broker, dentist, GP, and the lawyer at the local group ride could live and train at 18,000 ft, inject EPO until their blood runs like frozen maple syrup and they still couldn't hang with a pro peloton in the flats.

-Pace

Our Voice Was Heard???

2008-08-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

No sooner than I finished posting my complaint about the poor reporting standards of the Southern California race promoters, I go to USA Cycling and see 3 more race results reported. I hope this is a sign of progress... I even got results for the Devil's Punchbowl race and they have never reported their results in the past. The tide is changing... be sure to make your voice heard... like with your own lame blog... I mean tight blog.

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

Weekend Projects

2008-08-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Over this past week and weekend I spent some time building a commuter bike for my girlfriend and did a favor for a friend. First thing on the agenda was a thorough bike cleaning for my boys Torelli. It really is a beautiful bike and probably hadn't been serviced or cleaned for a few years. So, I basically hooked him up with a $200 bike service for free, just because I am obsessed with working on and cleaning bikes. I stripped down his bike and cleaned everything on the bike... and also revamped his beautiful Campy set up. A very aesthetically pleasing Campy Chorus. I also added some orange tires to accent the frame a bit as well. I took a picture before I brought it back to him and thought I would share this with the world... It looks more like art work, after I cleaned it up I drove it back to him... I couldn't bear to ride it anymore.

Now on too my little pride and joy. I bought an old specialized crossover on Craigslist a while back, for about $60. after a while I finally decided to get it revamped and give it some style. Of course a lot of work had to be done here, the bike had been sitting around for several years and was also a beach bike. Operating it was pretty labor intensive, from spinning the knobby's to shifting the push button gears. The gear shifters essentially required the wrist strength of Mariusz Pudzianowski.

So I took her to the living room bike shoppe and stripped her down to the frame and sanded off the nasty green paint. I decided to go with a nice fire engine red for the frame color... I figured the black and red would look sharp. Unfortunately I only got one spray can so I was a bit short on paint for the underside... but it looked pretty good anyway. A quick visit to performance bike, which had a great sale this weekend, and I was able to pick up all new cables, housing, chain and a sharp little commuter rack for cheap. I've got to say that putting the bike together from the ground up was quite an adventure, and a super fun project. If I can liken it to another similar activity, it would be the equivalent of tearing down an old classic car and building it back up from the ground up. So needless to say I was very proud and learned a lot from my work.

The bike is now better than new... great shifting, comparable to shimano 105. I presented this to my girl this past weekend and she loved it... we went for some rides around the southbay. I am hoping this sparks excitement for her to commute to work a couple times a week. Eventually I am going to fix up and sell my old road bike as well, so be on the lookout, for both of these bikes will be available on craigslist soon. I will be trying to raise funds to set her up with a really really nice roadie style commuter. Probably something along the lines of the LaSalsa Casserole.

Build a bike... it's way fun

ATTN: SO CAL CYCLING PROMOTERS

2008-08-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

... REPORT YOUR RESULTS!!!

I am absolutely sure that this will not be a surprise to anyone currently racing in California, however one quick blurb in case you have not been paying attention. As a member of USA Cycling, and clearly a racing license holder, your results for your races are to be reported by the promoter so you maybe ranked against your peers and fellow racing enthusiasts. However, after having participated in about 15 USA Cycling sanctioned events I have only had my results for 3 of these races reported.

Now this to me seems inherently odd, because if I go to SoCalCycling.com, I can access all my results for the year. Clearly there is a break down in communication here. Promoters are reporting results to SoCalCycling but not to USA Cycling... clearly reporting to USA Cycling must be difficult for these absent minded promoters, therefore I have decided to post step by step instructions online.

Results and Rankings

Following you will find the guidelines for submitting your race results online. Please feel free to contact the Results and Rankings Coordinator at rankings@usacycling.org, at any time during the process if you have any questions.

1.You will need to have an account on the USA Cycling website. You do not need to purchase a rider license to have an account; just create a login and password.

2.Once you have created an online account, please complete the online results and rankings agreement (see link below) to have the ranking logo applied to your race. This logo also indicates that the point value level has been set for your race. If this value is not set, the system will not rank your event.

3.When the point value level is set, you will receive an email notification granting permission to submit and edit race results directly from your USA Cycling account.

4.When your race results are set with the proper information (follow example format headings for Mountain Biking and Road/Track/Cyclo-cross), you will just need to follow the directions through the new system submission process.

Here is the Agreement form below, which keep in mind all of the local promoters have had to have established... especially in the event that they post their USA Cycling permit number.

USAC and Promoter Results and Rankings Agreement

USAC and event promoters agree on a process that each will follow for events that are to become part of the USAC Results and Rankings Program. The objective of this agreement is to identify the responsibilities each of us has in keeping the integrity of the rankings program accurate and a value to members at all levels of ability.

Event Promoters

- Agree to submit race results in the 21 days following the conclusion of the event.
- Recognize that should a promoter not live up to this agreement, action may be taken by USAC on future sanctioning of events.

USAC

- Will continue to commit itself to the goal of maintaining an athlete ranking program that distinguishes its value to all of its constituencies.
- Will calculate the rankings on a daily basis.
- Will provide members with access to their ranking on the USAC web site. Riders will be able to compare themselves with other riders on a national level, state level and even by their own zip code.

This agreement is established to serve the USAC membership. USAC, along with our promoters, recognizes the need to continually increase participation and strengthen our sport.

I agree to the conditions listed in the USAC and Promoter Results and Rankings Agreement. I agree to follow the USAC approved format using Excel or any other comma delimited file and submit it directly to the web site or to rankings@usacycling.org. I understand that results need to be submitted within 21 business days after the close of the event.

I would really like to call attention to the line above, "USAC, along with our promoters, recognizes the need to continually increase participation and strengthen our sport." Why has this vision been lost between the promoters and our representatives at USA Cycling. Clearly penalty for missing he 21day reporting deadline must not be very serious, as evidenced by the fact that none of our events are being reported in a timely manner. In fact TORRENCE CRITERIUM just reported last week... only 110 days later. Yet for some reason SoCalCycling had results within 2 days. I cannot believe that the same email that goes to SoCalCycling must be that difficult to forward to USA Cycling. Here is their email one more time, rankings@usacycling.org .

Please let your promoters now by voicing your concern for the reporting. My email requests have undoubtedly ended up in someones junk mail. Perhaps if we get enough out there, crowding enough space in the inbox, we may finally get some of these promoters to add that extra CC in the address box.

Please its not that difficult... please send in your results, otherwise I may never now how much better I am than Mark Vitaliano from Chicago or little Billy Applebee from Podunk, Kentucky... I need the validation of results to finally prove once and for all that not only am I the best racer, but more endowed and able to piss further than all of my competition.

SUPER DEAL HURRY...

2008-07-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well as the race season winds down, I am totally over it. My legs hurt, knees hurt, I'm constantly tired from hours of training, tired of commuting to races every weekend, I have lost an excessive amount of weight, I look mal nourished, I'm convinced my farmers tan is now permanent, and I'm tired of the pre-registration lines. But I digress...

I am here to tell you about my recent experience with http://www.probikekit.com/index.php... I meandered to this web site earlier today looking some deals on spandex, which of course is ridiculously over priced. I mean comon its pretty much girls workout clothing... again, a whole other issue. But, to day I found an amazing deal on a plain set of bib shorts and jersey. I have been desperately searching for a plain kit I can sport at the races. Because unless you are a member of a pro team or a local team you cant wear pro kits. So, despite being destroyed, my Lotto kit is a no go.

So what did I find??? Well to those of you constantly demoralized by industry's Lycra pricing, you will be floored when I reveal my discovery... I was astonished. I found NALINI BIB SHORTS, standard black, for only 22 bucks... are you floored??? I mean are you serious, you can't find 5 season used no name bibs on EBAY for that cheap... these are brand new with no ball crust rubbed into the pad. I instantly bought 2, but stock is limited so I will give the links to hop on it.

Next item I found, was a matching NALINI BLACK JERSEY, nothing fancy here, just totally plain... but the price was perfect... 30 bucks. Great price, but again the bibs are even cheaper... you have to buy those quick.

YES THAT PICTURE IS WAY GAY...

Finally I had to round these items off with a couple sets of Bianchi Black socks and a little black cap. I never thought would be so excited about sporting an ultra blank non descript kit, its really not my style... in fact it's very UN Euro of me, but black is slimming and way in right now.

Keep your eye out for deals on this site... and best of all... they are currently offering FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS TO THE UNITES STATES.

"Ride Lot's" - Eddy Merckx

My Heart is Broken...

2008-07-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

I kept quiet and suffered silently as my young Italian hope was popped for EPO last week. The most exciting climber to hit the pro peloton since Marco Pantani, an cheater... you know it just bums me out. I wish they would have caught him at a different time... not during the tour. It really is a shame, because EPO or no EPO the kid was the Cavendish of climbing. I still think he is a bad ass, but his fall from grace is a shame.

But its not him alone that prompted the midnight entry... After today's stage 16 my Chipotle Burrito Hope Christian Vande Velde got dropped in the final climb and lost a grip of time in a crash trying to get back on.

Tomorrow will be a day from hell and will definitely be a stage where anything can happen... The greatest thing that could happened tomorrow is Damiano Cunego rides to win the top of the Alpe D'Huez with the 10 to 15 mins he needs to win the tour.

I'm just not a big Cadel Evans fan...

LONG BEACH

2008-07-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yes this is the same picture... no good one from the LBC

What up in the LBC... Well to recover a a bruised ego from the day before I attempted to go crush a nice and flat four corner crit. Well to make a long story short the race went very well until the end... with one lap left to go I was exactly where I wanted to be, in the front tucked behind a few wheels. Then out of nowhere this guy shoots out mouthing off to the peloton about being slackers and charged off on a break away. Well being the complete idiot that I am, I charged of on the chase. It really was one of those moments you know your making a mistake but its to late... I used a grip of energy closing the gap, while sprinters stayed on my wheel and then of course the inevitable happend... the guy pulled off with half a lap left to go and I was left out to dry in the wind on the front of the peloton... SHITTY. Well I tried to get back into a good position and I got taken on the inside by a swarm of well rested sprinters.

As we opened up for the bunch sprint any real contention was over... I finished in 9th place overall... again not bad for a field of 71... and yet again

"IF AIN'T FIRST YOU'RE LAST!!!"

COURSE PROFILE

Can we say CHASE???

2008-07-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well I had the pleasure of heading out for the inaugaral Aliso Viejo Grand Prix, as my come back to the season. It was a beutiful Saturday, but unfortunately the course was not quite suited to a sprinter. The was a solid 160 foot climb per lap... what does that add up to??? Well it turned out to be a solid 3800 feet of climbing in only 15 miles. My average heart rate was 183... 183, are you kidding me??? I held my VO2 max for over 40minutes. Probably the most painful race Ihave ever done... I mean it was crazy.

Unfortunately, about 15mins into the race there was a crash about mid-peloton by one of the juniors... which eventually spelled disaster for me. This fall happend right in front of me and it created a separation in the peloton. A gap that would never be closed again. Less than 12 riders went clear ad I never caught back on. I chase for 30mins and every time I tried to get people to work with me afer the climb, they were usually toast. YOU CANNOT CATCH A PELOTON SOLO... so how did I finish. I managed not to get pulled and stayed a respectable distance behing the lead group. I ended up in 14th place out of a field of 65 riders... not to bad.. needless to say I think the result sucked but I have recently come to terms with the fact that I usually get upset if I am not standing on the podium.

Here are the RESULTS and COURSE PROFILE

I am well aware how lame my outfit looks... thats all I have left after two crashes and one destroyed helmet

Still Recovering...

2008-07-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

With another weekend of racing up ahead, I am still struggling to recover from the crash in MBGP & getting hit by a car... its been tough but some podium time is not only worth it but also the best Cure...

Aliso Viejo Grand Prix & Long Beach this weekend...

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

MBGP - Rough Recovery

2008-07-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well it has now been a full week since the Manhattan Grand Prix, and I am just now mustering up the strength to give you the report. As I mentioned previously I have been training most of the season to be in top form for the MBGP... and on that crisp Sunday morning I could not have felt any better. I cruised down to registration, and since CAT 4 was the first race I had a chance to warm up on the course. In the warm up I had a brief run in with my boy Byron... we spent a lap or two warming up together. I think he could tell I had a bit of a game face on... all I could think about was my strategy to be in the right place at the right time.

As we were called to the line the course was still being set up, and we were delayed for quite a bit of time. This time delay also shortened our race by about 10mins, which unfortunately meant there would be quite a few rider in the selections that didn't belong. We finally got the go ahead and the race was on.

I pretty much sat in the middle of the peloton taking in the vibe, watching for strong riders, and trying to stay out of trouble. I have to say that the pace was pretty slow for this level of race... which of course could only mean one thing. Everyone in the peloton was going to be shooting for the win and no one wanted to work. Well with just 3 laps to myself and another rider went on the attack to get the pace going... I let him lead out and grabbed his wheel. We went for a a while and then going into the last lap I took over the pace setting at the front. As I did so behind me a crash came down and wiped a hefty portion of the field and forced a selection of only 15 or so riders.

I wish it would have stayed this way. I was constantly monitoring the group behind me and on the slight climb into turn 1 I let two riders go and established myself behind them we led out a huge train and no chance for the chase group to catch back on. With about 30 seconds left to the finish I was 5 seconds from starting my sprint and in lead position to take the win. This part is conceited but I knew how much power I had in my legs and there was no way with my position I would be deprived of victory. Then with one foul swoop a rider attacked from my right and trying to get on the front... with that move he launched his rear wheel into my front wheel with all his weight. I had about a second before I was down.

Last speed clocked before I made contact with the ground was about 33 miles per hour. The wheels hit and the next thing I knew I was on the ground helmet first then the asphalt cheese grater across my back, a few tumbles and then came the onslaught of bikes about 8 that slammed into me and my bike. Being on the front of course I was the most hurt, my bike was devastated... but all I could think about was how the win was taken from me. I stood there with my bike in hand stunned. My clothes were practically torn off of me... safety crew was talking to me but I couldn't even respond. At that moment I don't think I have ever been to angry and disappointed at the same time. I hobbled to the finish line, only to find out that the junior that had been chopping wheels earlier had taken the win.

Looking at the bike and my wounds, the pain of the road rash started to settle in. Luckily my girlfriend lives close by and she cleaned out the wounds, covering my whole back and hip, and smattered iodine all over them. I didn't think much about how bad the accident hurt more so about the fact that I felt completely robbed of a golden opportunity. Especially since I wanted to slow the season down after the MBGP. Now with the lack luster CAT 4 performance, I need to make sure I can keep my form for the next few weekends.

Unfortunately, the following weak of recovery was much worse than I thought. The road rash was bad enough to keep me out of the Lycra for a couple days, but more importantly... between the La Mirada Crash, the MBGP Crash, and 6 straight weeks of racing my body was completely thrashed. So I waited and waited... with one bike out of commission I decided to take out the coveted BMC, $6,500 bike FYI... so on my normal work commute Thursday morn feeling fresh and glad to be on the bike... BAM!!!!!! Tagged by a car pulling out of driveway. Hit the side of the car, go straight to assessing damage to the bike... sure enough cracked carbon derailleur hanger and some major impact to the dura-ace derailleur. Are you kidding me how much does that suck.
Any way to start wrapping this up, the car wreck tweaked my shoulder (golf ball swelling) injured the elbow, tweaked my hip flexor and gave me a whole new slew of recover time, and mostly joints that need a lot of time to rest.

Prognosis: Missed the race this past weekend, both bikes out of commission, and prospect for the Aliso Viejo Grand Prix are pretty bleak.... especially on form. I anxiously await my new derailleur hanger to piece together my bikes again and hopefully will not need more than just some more cosmetic work.

I will leave you with this... Cyclist are a really sick breed of people... the seat you sit on hurts, the position you ride in hurts, pushing yourself up and over a mountain pass hurts really bad and even makes you sick, racing hurts and makes your heart nearly explode, and then falling at 30+ MPH really hurts and jack up your whole body, broken bones, cuts, road rash, bruises, strains, etc... and then all I can think about is how much it sucks sit around and do nothing... all I want to do is get back on my bike and ride. I'm just saying it's really goofy and if you think about it, it really doesn't make much sense...

I think I'm gonna ride in tomorrow... Peace

State Championship?

2008-06-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Wake up bright and early Sunday morning... "God, I hurt everywhere..." I spent the night icing up, bandaging and disinfecting my wounds. I stare at the alarm clock... it's 6am... race start 9:15. As I get up for breakfast, I feel a sharp pain in the neck... great, I got whiplash also. Oh well... I stare in to the pot of boiling steel cut oats I realize its decision time. I have road rash on my left side, major bruise on the ass, fractured bone in my hand, and feel like crap... so do I race today???

Does a bear shit in the woods and wipe his ass with a fluffy white rabbit? You bet your ass I'm gonna race today. So I pack up and cruise down to the San Pedro Crit, with my bike still bearing the scars of yesterdays crash. It was heating up again but the 9am start would help quite a bit.

As I am getting ready to head up to the line up, I make small talk with some of the guys. Then someone mentions that the race will be really tough since every one will be racing for that jersey. Racing for that jersey? What jersey? This crit was being held as a state championship and the winner would get the honor to wear the state champion jersey for the next year. Then I looked around and saw nothing but teams organized and deep all around me as we pulled to the line. I could feel the nerves in the peloton... there is no messing around here, this race was on.

As soon as we launched the pace was brutal... I have to say that in about 15mins of racing the field of 90 became 60 or so. People were popping left and right. I would be following someones wheel next thing you know they just crack and pull out of the peloton. I must admit I was wondering how I would hold up. I protected my position in the peloton staying the top 20, away from the wind.

The course was interesting... it started off with a false flat that s turned into a hill climb followed by a quick decent into a swooping u-turn. There really wasn't a good time to recover during the race. Into the last few laps I started to make my push toward the front. I managed to get withing contact of the front riders into the last turn. Up at the front the teams were well organized... you had LA Grange, Cynergy and SC Velo controlling the front... not to mention they were running some pretty tight screens to protect the sprinters. I managed to shoot up the middle between the La Grange and Cynergy trains... only to be foiled by one of there teammates pulling off down the middle instead of the outside. Asshole... I nearly smashed right into him going about 35mph. Unfortunately he broke my rhythm and cost me a quite a few spots. A s I picked up again to resume the sprint a few riders came around and I was only able to snag 13th in the bunch sprint.

As I crossed the line I was upset with the finish... I knew I could have placed better but it wasn't bad considering it was a championship and the level of competition that was present. All in all it was an error of experience... I had what it took, but I let myself get boxed in and didn't look far enough ahead of what was going on. I am hoping that I can learn from this so I can better identify opportunity in the MBGP next weekend.

On the books for next weekend is my season highlight, the Manhattan Grand Prix. A year ago I swore I would race the CAT 5's in 08... However they dropped that field this year and only kept CAT 4 and up. Through hard work I managed to get myself out of the CAT 5 field with early approval and now stand ready to contest the MBGP as a CAT 4. This race is what inspired me to race, and having the opportunity to race at this level is already much more than I thought possible in only one year.

I hope to bring home some solid results this weekend for my fans... as always I will keep you posted.

Peace,

3 Laps to GO!!!

2008-06-24T10:55:00.001-07:00

"Three laps to go, three laps to go!!!" screams the announcer as we cross the start/finish line. Its on now, the race is coming down to the wire. The peloton is in full swing and the pace is now brutal... the weak shall be dropped. We hit the quarter mile climb... its a power climb that we were climbing at 2o mph, nothing sort of ungodly. Now for the decent... a very narrow strip, an attack to the left... a loud bang and bikes start hitting the ground. Holy crap... and we're moving at 35 mph... I make it clear of the carnage of bikes & flying guys going down next to me. All of a sudden, BAM... I hit the ground hard. Left side hits and then the back of my head, and I tumble and roll over my helmet I curl into the fetal position and instinctively cover my head. Just in time as three more riders plow into the back of my head and topple over me. I jump to my feet and out of harms way... the only thing I can think about is that the peloton is getting away.

Upon visual inspection bike, the bike seems OK... I put the chain back on and charge after the group, for a futile chase... but I'll be damned if I don't finish my first CAT 4 start. Bleeding from various body parts, and riding on what will later be identified as a fractured hand I charge as hard as I can... picking up dropped rider one after another. Finally I come around the crash site again... and I am met with cheers from the side lined riders as they see me continue the charge to the finish. I sprinted to the uphill finish and picked up 21st overall... not bad from a field of 68 riders.

So this Saturday was the La Mirada Criterium... and like I said before it was a doozy. Welcome to CAT 4, where the competition is much faster and the danger far greater. The course was brutal lots of climbing and rollers... not to mention the fact that the temperature was 102 degrees without a cloud in the sky. After the race was wrapped up I did my best to recover but with the mild concussion from the crash and the dehydration, I ended up puking just a bit from exhaustion. I downed a Gatorade, water, and a few cookies and felt better immediately.

All in all it was a great welcome to the CAT 4's and I had a great time... for the time being it was one of the hardest races I have done... but that will soon change.
Stay tuned for the dramatic follow up to the race weekend.

Did I ride the San Pedro or were the injuries to much?????

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

Time to get points...

2008-06-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was contacted by USA Cycling... there is a problem with your registration. Apparently they caught on that I had registered for the CAT 4 race in the MBGP and I am still a CAT 5. I was told I may have to have my registration canceled. Although upon my appeal I was told that based on my results in that CAT 5 they will have no problem granting me the early upgrade to CAT 4. Needless to say I was floored and super stoked. I was being recognized for my consistent results and granted an upgrade with out the necessary qualifications. I was also informed that he would let me race in the CAT 4 races this weekend as well, instead of the CAT 5. So here I am with two CAT 4 races ahead of me to get warmed up for the MBGP.

I just kept thinking to myself that I could finally race for points. No longer would I get results and have them count for nothing. Although, what would it be like to move up to 120 person fields and step up the level of competition. Well, hopefully the next level of competition will treat me well. I look forward to continuing my progress... and I hope I can be competitive. For now I look forward to the La Mirada Crit in 100 degree heat and the San Pedro Crit on Sunday.

Keep on the look out for the La Mirada race report as a CAT 4... it was quite a dooooozzzyy!!!

Pace

Tour De Romania???

2008-06-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

As a proud citizen of the beautiful country of Romania I am embarrassed to announce that I have not, until now, known about the Tour of Romania cycling race. I am ashamed for having been in the dark for so long, however, take great pride in having learned more about this famous race (famous in Europe). It turns out that this race has been held since 1935, however due to some World Wars and power struggles with communism, this was officially the 45th annual Tour De Romania.
Dan Aghelache

Last year after a 10 year pause, Dan Anghelache was the first Romanian to win in 10 years. Shortly after his victory he was quickly recruited to an Italian Cycling Team. Marking one of the first times a Romanian cyclist has ever been drafted to one of the top regional teams. In his departure teammate Alexandru Ciocan was left to lead the team of Dimano Secrom. In Romanian his last name translates as "Hammer" "Alex the Hammer", which is a great name for a powerful cyclist. Unfortunately, Ciocan was unable to bring home back to back victories, with a disappointing 36th place finish. Top GC finisher in this years 8 stage tour was a dirty Hungarian... by the name of Rida Cador.

Despite the lackluster finish by the Romanian team, I am glad to finally have a team in Romania that I can follow and perhaps one day visit and ride with. The Romanians are a truly friendly bunch and I am sure they would be happy to ride with a fan. I am also hoping that I will be able to get my hands on one of their kits... only time will tell. I had to write them an email in Romanian which is fine but my writing is a bit rusty. Please support the team and visit their blog... its in Romanian but cool nonetheless.

Pace,

Podium for Three

2008-06-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Again I apologize for the absence... but here is the current race report. Things have been going very well for me in the past couple races. I have just come off completing the Dewalt, Chula Vista Crit and the Bicycle John's Grand Prix. Both of these races brought on very strong fields, and have definitely been more challenging. It is getting later in the season and it seems everyone is getting much stronger. However with a little bit of PATIENCE, STRATEGY, & HARD WORK... I was able to get some Podium time at the events.

I placed 3rd in the Chula Vista Crit

I placed 3rd again in the Bicycle Johns Grand Prix

These races mark off number 7 & 8 for the season and I have La Mirada & San Pedro before I upgrade to CAT 4 and go head on into the Criterium of the Year.... the Manhattan Grand Prix. I registered for the CAT 4 race ahead of time to guarantee me the spot in case I get the upgrade in time. I fully expect that CAT 4 will bring an entirely new challenge for me and I hope I will be able to perform, and continue to make my way up the ladder. Now onto another note... an observation.

Remember, when you were a small child and you would tell people what you wanted to do when you grow up how excited they were for you, and how much support and encouragement you would get? How about the last time a kid told you they wanted to be a fireman, or a baseball player... ? What did you tell them? Did you tell them it can't happen? Did you tell them its foolish because he got started to late? Of course not.

So why is it that as a child you are told you can do anything, and to dream is beautiful, then as you get older, your options become limited and your dreams a waste of time and unrealistic?

I tell people everyday that I am going to be a procyclist. I don't give a rats ass what people say but that's my dream and I am willing to work my ass off for it. If it happens great and if not, oh well, I can at least say I tried and had the experience of a life time trying to get there. But everyday I am reminded of how unrealistic, impossible, immature, stupid, etc. this endeavor is. That my dream is silly and I should realize that its not possible. Why is it that as a child you are nurtured into believing you can do anything, but as life drags on the hands of time choke people into accepting the here and now...

Well I am here now to say FUCK YOU... I'm sorry to come out like this, but I am over this. Even amongst close friends I hear... the statistical likely hood for you to be able to become pro is impossible... Do you know how much you have to train to do that?... If you want to make any money you can't do that... Even if you did make it how would you take care of a family (that you don't have right now)... you know you have to have that new kind of bike...

What is wrong with people... I guess as you get older and your childhood dreams don't materialize you get bummed, and you start to think that if your dreams didn't come true neither will the next person's, and so on and so on. This attitude spreads to more and more people as more and more adults miss the mark and then decide its to late. My favorite is when they say "I was exactly you," and it didn't work for me... or "I knew a guy that was right there," and he couldn't bridge the gap. All kinds of reasons for why you too will be unsuccessful.

I guess all my life I have always wanted to be champion. I tried with swimming, water polo, mountain biking, lifting weights, running... I have tried all kind of things in my life, and have been fairly successful... I have won races, I have lost races, I have placed in the middle but have always had fun. And this time around I have found a sport that I truly love... I have tried many, and maybe it took me a long time to find the sport. But, racing bikes is more than I could have ever imagined. So I have set my goals high, and I am hoping to reach the highest level of competition.

To me being a champion has taken many forms throughout my life. I used to think being a champion was all about winning. More recently I have new idea of what a champion really is... to me a champion is one who fights... a true warrior. That is what I do day in day out... whether it comes cycling or life in general.

Perhaps a bit more rambling than I anticipated but it clears my mind a bit... I may post more details on the actual podium finishes later but for now... Capture the Dream... I have no idea how I thought of that.

Pace,

Race Report: Dana Point

2008-06-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen... I will cut to the chase, I had my best finish yet at the Dana Point Criterium. When all said and done I finished 6th. I was super stoked to say the least.

The race started super early... the Cat 5 race started at 7am. It was an early day, but with the early start I lucked out. We were allowed to warm up on the course which was a huge plus. The course was by far the coolest race course I have gotten to ride so far. Instead of the standard four corner crit... this course was L shaped with some nice downhill stretches and a small roller. Lots of good places to attack. I used the same strategy as last time, in the Woodland Hills Crit, I hung in the back... saving as much energy as possible and watching the peloton to see who the strong wheels were. I did my best to make sure I stayed in contact with the front group and in the last 5 laps decided to plan my attacks. In lap 3 and lap 2 I used the roller and turn one to make my move up in the peloton. In the last lap I was in the top fifteen. Before the last turn there is a 500 meter narrow stretch the leads into a sharp 90 degree turn, and finally opens up into a wide open 200 meter sprint. I realized I was in a bad position to challenge for the podium and realized I had to make my final push for the front.

In that stretch I opened up an attack before the turn.... which was greatly unappreciated by the peloton. So as the group slowed down for the turn I charged ahead and around the whole group. Everyone though I was gonna eat shit... but little did they realize that I make a turn like this almost everyday, on Western to Franklin. Its a sharp 90 that I charge everyday, and surrounded with Los Angeles traffic. I gotta say that riding everyday in the streets off Hollywood has really helped hone my pack skills. Well with that final push in the last turn I was in the top ten and my sprint to the finish granted me an additional few spots to land me in 6th. We had a field of 50 and 35 finishers... and luckily no crashes this time.

The competition was much deepr than the Woodland Hills bunch and just as strong as Redlands. This race definitely hurt... but the best part is coming up with a great finish after enduring so much pain. In every sprint I feel like my heart is going to explode and legs fall off... and this time it was for a great finish in my eyes. I must admit that bike racing is the most exciting thing I have ever done in my life. Even after years of competing as a swimmer, I have never gotten the rush I get from cycling. It really is the most beautiful sport in the world.

"To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks."

Ready Go..........

2008-05-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got back into the racing game with the Woodland Hills Crtiterium. The Cat 5 race, as usual, had a bright and early start of 8:15am. I woke up got myself together headed out for Woodland Hills. Now you would think Sunday before Memorial Day at around 7am the freeways would be free and clear. In a logical world this would make perfect sense, however we must remember that we live in Los Angeles. Therefore, at 7am I'm sitting in dead stop traffic on the 101 because, for some odd reason, the city decided to close the freeway right before my exit. I will leave it at that, mostly because the after thought of that situation still pisses me off.

Well thankfully I show up with enough time to get registered and warmed up. Ahhh but yet again that would be to perfect. The pre-reg line was super long and being run by a blabbering idiot... sorry to be so harsh but when your about to miss a race because you can't get your number in time, it becomes a bit ridiculous. I mean I had already paid for the event, showed up, and now this line will stop me from getting in the field... right. So I finally pick up my number @ 8:07 and that Cat 5 field is set to stat at 8:15... perfect. I was steaming mad and bummed as 5 minutes before the race I am still standing in a t-shirt and jeans. I get kitted up as quickly as possible and rush to the line... as soon as I step onto the course, the whistle blows. In my mind I had already considered the race over. No warm up and flustered from trying to get registered, I figured I would just ride in a circle in the back and hang on as long as possible.

We were off and I was hanging in the very back of the field and found myself at a nice warm up pace. I was shocked at the pace and amount of opportunity I was getting to warm up during the race. I was still convinced the pace would pick up and I would get dropped so I still just hung back waiting. Of course there were a few crashes that I was able to avoid early on, and by 20 mins in I was starting to feel pretty good. In fact, my legs were coming around and I was feeling quite strong. Then as we got the notice that there were 5 laps left go I came to the realization that I had been chillin this whole time, and I may actually be able to challenge for a top 10 finish.

I still waited, gradually picking up the pace and studying the moves in the peloton. At 4 laps to go this guy I had been riding with at the back (who finished 2nd) went on the attack... I decided to hold on for one more before I pushed for the front. I knew it would be tall order to maneuver to the front in the final 3 but I decided the risk was worth the extra energy conserved. We hit 3 laps to go and on the first turn... I went for my own attack which was not picked up by anyone in the field and I was able to assert myself in the front 6. Before the final lap, there was a move on my left side and this ass got his handle bars in front of mine and banked right into me before the turn... forcing me to brake and back off the turn. I lost a few spots, but revenge is ever so sweet... I learned my lesson, but I guess he wasn't watching for the back lash. On the last lap I came right back on his side and asserted myself right in front of him and squeezed him out on the second to last turn....

As we exit turn 3 in the last lap I here a huge crash right behind me in the field... I think few went clear on this one. We opened up for the sprint which had a 90 degree turn for the last 100meters and it was on... I moved far up on the field and as we came into the line I had a lot of steam left. Not more than 50 meters before the line two guys drifted into each other and closed the door on the finish line... experience will teach me better, but this time I had to back off to avoid the crash. This time I was happy... with all that drama I placed 8th overall.

As we did our warm down lap I was over joyed with the finish... I threw congrats to the winner and my buddy in second. I gave a big shout out to my boy Kwon Luu... he doesn't know me that well but introduced myself last race. When you see someone at all the races you go to... you might as well know who you're racing. The camaraderie was shattered for a moment as we rounded turn 3... that crash was still being cleaned up and there was one rider still laying on the curb. It's a sight we all hate to see and I hope that everyone made it out without more than just some cuts and scrapes.

It is the sad reality of the sport that people get hurt and they get hurt bad. I think that part of the culture, is the unknown of what happens next. What fate does this race, this ride, have in store for me. On this day, I had my best finish and another his worst. Bicycle racing is interesting like that, and I believe that it is my draw to the sport. The concept of going out there and putting your life, your body, your pride out on the line... to participate in an event where you can break your body for a shot at victory. I am blessed to participate and race with such men. Regardless of skill or talent... some of us may go further and become great, others may never race again, but for a moment in time we all have the glimmer of hope that we will be victorious.

"Cycling is the most beautiful sport in the world" - Alex

Back to it...

2008-05-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

Well I have been lazy on posting but as part of my commitment to keep this online journal of my journey into racing, I will promise to keep all of you more current. So what have I been up to. I have been doing a lot of interval training and laying down extensive miles. However, with all the training and the racing I have done so far this season, I was starting to feel a bit burnt out. Just as this feeling was starting to consume me and my rides suffering, I decided to bounce out for a weekend... actually my birthday weekend, so it was well deserved. My girlfriend planned a four day weekend getaway, a total surprise... but one thing I knew for sure, no bike or bike related activities. Now some may say six days off the bike in the middle of the season and the weekend before a race is crazy, but I say... F*$% IT!!! It was something I needed... and let me tell you something else... a weekend away with my girl is like taking a trip to heaven with your best friend.

ALRIGHT enough of the sappy... we went up to the central coast in San Simeon. We camped two nights at the San Simeon national park, during which we scoped out the famous Hearst Castle and also took a day to go sea kayaking. Sea kayaking was especially amazing... highly recommend taking on this activity... we tied into kelp beds, saw sea otters, paddled through sea caves... AMAZING. The last two days we spent in an small INN, the Fog Catcher, along on the beach side cliffs of Cambria, a beautiful little town next to San Simeon. Bottom line an amazing weekend.

Now I sit in a resort hotel, on some whack business trip waiting to get back home and back on the bike. My legs now yearn for the bike... having taken the longest rest since the off season last year (September). Coming up next will be the Woodland Hills Criterium.

I only have three days to recover and get my legs back up to racing form, not likely. So this weekend at Woodland Hills will be just to get back into the swing of things. Also, after the race I may go hit the mountains of Malibu with my boy Ford. Stay tuned for updates on how the first ride back goes... I say this after having sucked back a Burger King Chicken Sandwich... God help me tomorrow will be a painful day. And Sunday even worse... So what did you do Memorial day.... well you know, sat around, iced my legs, shaved my legs, washed my mandex... typical gay stuff.

"Ride Lots" - Eddy Merckx

Devil's Punchbowl Race Report

2008-05-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well I think this one is long overdue... The race happend on April 26th, but better late than never. Now this was a truly amazing race, as this time around it was a Road Race and not a Crit. It was my first Road Race and I had an absolute blast. The race was held in Pearlblossom,CA, for those of you familiar, you know it's hot. Pearlblossom is located near Lancaster, southern most portion of the Mojave desert. However, since it is nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains it offers good climbs and descent elevation.

I have to admit I was quite nervous, and also riding solo to the event. The course started with a 4 mile 1,200ft climb so you knew selections would be made early on. After registering I hopped on the trainer for about 10mins before the start...

WARNING... ALWAYS DO A SOLID WARM UP BEFORE A RACE EVENT!!!

I found this out the hard way... we lined up for the uphill start and we were off. The climb started gradually and about a mile in started to pitch up quite a bit. It wasn't so much the gradient... the problem was the pro-mountain biker gone rodie, Lyle Warner at the front. The pace picked up hard into the first climb. I stayed on for about 3 miles in the front group, then my body reminded me that we hadn't warmed up for this. So essentially, in 10mins I went from cold 90bpm, to a hot 185bmp... needless to say I popped for a second and lost contact with the front before the top of the climb. In fact, it was so brutal trying to keep the pace up that for a moment I thought I would need to abandon... but as I rounded the top of the climb... staying up as much as I could I started to feel stronger. Then came the descent and I knew that this would be the only place to really try to make up some spots if the next climb went poorly. I threw caution to the wind, put my head out of the front wheel and dropped like a stone... on that descent, not only did I hit over 50mph but I also picked up about 10 or 12 riders. I blasted by people, and there was no way to grab my wheel.

We then hit the rollers... forget working together. I would catch up to riders and they would grab my wheel, when I turned to take a break I realized I was riding everyone off of my wheel. Another couple climbs and then we hit the big climb up again across the finish line... turns out when looking at the profile... total climb there was about 1500ft over 5miles, so its a grinder. This time around my legs had come around and I was feeling great. I hit the climb hard and continued my forward progress picking up more and more riders that were now starting to bonk a bit. Then as I looked toward the top of the climb there they were... the main peloton. I could see them however, I knew making contact before the descent would be difficult. I could only hope to get closer on the descent and into the rollers. Well, unfortunately I never picked them up again but I was feeling really good and had picked up a lot of spots after having been dropped all the way to the back in the first climb.

As I came into the finish I saw to more bogie's up ahead and I was going to take them if it meant killing myself for the sprint. I kept the pace super high, and rounded off one more rider, and then with about 200 meters left I was spotted coming up and I picked up in to a sprint. His reaction came to late and I sprinted my heart out taking him by a few bike lengths right on the line. It was actually pretty glorious and we were met by several supporters, thanking me for an exciting finish.

So how did I finish, and what position were we sprinting for??? I finished 21st overall out of a pack of 50 with 44 finishers. It really was an awesome experience, and sprinting to pick up that extra spot for me was just determination to race until the line. Also, it showed me that my endurance was far beyond our total Cat 5 distance. I think had we added another lap or two, I wold have been able to continue to gain ground on the front and maybe even break into the top 10. I look forward to participating in more road races in the future, and found that this is my true calling... not the crit circuit. Albeit the next 6 races I have on the schedule are all crits... bummer but we are in socal, so it has to be done.

LESSONS LEARNED:
- Always warm up adequately
- Hydrate & Eat Up - this saved my life

"He who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life." -Frances E. Willard

Results are in...

2008-04-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

I wrapped up the Torrance Criterium this weekend, and I would like to say one thing about it.

WORST RACE EVER

Never really been around so many fast riders that dont know how to ride a bike... I mean for real? Its really not that hard to ride straight... in fact its easier to hold a line at higher speeds. Needless to say the race was really whack... from the start, people yelling "hold your line!" "close the gap" "hold it" "keep it steady!" It's a race jackasses you really think I need to hear all that input from a bunch of random riders, with no teams, all thinking they are going to be the next Lance Armstrong. I pretty much entered a zen state from the beginning, accepting the fact that this was going to be the race I crash. I got slammed into twice coming out of a turn, and then yelled at and blamed by the offender. Of course it's my fault, I come out of the turn ahead of you and you slam into my side, handle bars on my thigh... no explanation needed as to how stupid this guy was/is. Oh well, I ended up in the same position in the field again letting myself sit in the top 15 of the peloton, watching to avoid any major accidents. Then in the last sprint of the final lap, a couple riders slammed into one another and went down in front of me, luckily I was able to skate out of yet another crash and picked up a couple spots for 16th overall. Not to happy with the finish but given the fact that the race just sucked I was happy to finish and get another race under my belt

Track Stands Are Not Stops...

2008-04-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful weekend of cycling... It was summer in LA this past weekend. It was in the mid 90's Saturday and Sunday with clear blue skies. So why not bust out my favorite 85 mile loop... the Montrose Club Ride & Big T. I had planned this ride all week... mostly because I wanted to lay out some serious mile and climbs in anticipation for the next few races coming up. Earlier in the week I had called my boy Ford to come lay out this epic loop with me... but sadly he bailed on the weekend... he had a run in with a big ring, not as violent as johnny armo, however.

The Montrose ride was awesome... good pace from the get go and I even bumped into one of my new crit buddies, I met at my last race. Yes, sad to admit, but I am becoming one of that which I hated. I try to keep it in check, but more and more I know people around the pack and talk about upcoming races... oh how embarrassing. But this ride, this time was way tight... a couple guys from Rock Racing were in the pack, namely, Tyler Hamilton... I mean are you kidding me... he rode up next to me in the front of the pack and started scoping my bike... why you ask? Well he used to ride my same bike when he rode for Phonak. I was riding my BMC that day and we exchanged a few looks and rode side by side for about 8 to 10 mins. In the cycling world this is a big deal. It would be like getting to do a stand in scene next to your favorite actor... I wasn't a big fan guy though... I kept it chill.

So lets step into phase two of the ride... after the pack winded down... I was heading back through Sierra Madre, doing track stands at the stop signs... then while rocking out to some techno tunes I hear... "pull you're vehicle over" I turn around and it was a cop. I was like... for real am I being pulled over ON A BIKE??? And did he just say vehicle... I'm a on a bike guy or should I say Officer Kamchamnan, and YES he was a giant fat round man... He pulled me over because I failed to make a complete stop at the STOP sign. I explained to him that I stopped in a track stand looked both ways and then went, he told me that I did not put my foot down... THEREFORE I DID NOT STOP. So he wrote me up for failure to stop at a posted stop sign.

At exactly mile 40 my ride was ruined... I rode angrily back to the car, and figured I would just go home and cut it short... but no. I decided I wasn't going to let this MAN BEAR PIG COP ruin my ride, so I continued my adventure out to BIG T...

It was HOT en las montañas... with only two bottles of water for a 15 mile climb it was looking pretty ugly for me. It was really painful this time around, but then again that's why we do it. In fact Bike Snob NYC himself said today, that those that race have an odd desire for pain... and those that choose to win hate themselves. The ride started to hurt so bad that I started to hope for a flat, just to have a reason to stop... other than the fact that my legs burned like the fire of a thousand suns. Yet once again, I was triumphant and conquered the loop once again... when you reach the junction with Angeles Crest you know you have a 10 mile descent with beautiful views of LA and the ocean. It really is an amazing loop and feeling is unbelievable when you finish it.

I rounded off the ride with an awesome descent back to the car and that's about it. I am looking forward to my next races. I am training really hard and hoping to keep finishing with the pack and if I am lucky maybe pull off a win. In fact in my last race, places 1-20 all finished in the same second I did... Crazy.

Coming up Ladies and Gents, the Torrance Criterium and the Devils Punchbowl Race... will definitely keep you posted.

Chalk Up One More...

2008-04-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Another weekend chalked full of racing testosterone... well, a little estrogen also. My girl and I both had races this weekend... She ran the Agoura Hills Half Marathon on Saturday, and I rocked the Redlands Classic Bike Race, on Sunday. I let her borrow my Garmin so you can see her results here... TARA's TRAIL RUN.

Redlands was fast... super fast... like oober fast. I maybe just getting started and it maybe Cat 5, but today's competition is strong. The race was an early start 8:10 so we had to bounce out by 5am to get out to the Inland Empire. The course was layed out in the middle D-town Redlands and had a few turns more turns then your standard crit course. Warmed up for a bit and then headed over to the staging area... time to get in the zone. All around me a lot of club riders, surprisingly hanging out with their coaches... I knew this race was a big deal, you could see it all over the crowd.

I am still fairly new, but I definitely still rock my old game face I did when I swam competitively. No offense but don't try to talk to me before a race... I am just not there. This one dude tried to talk to me before we staged, telling me how nervous he was... a big goofy dude... all I wanted to do was tell this guy he's gonna get dropped and to quit before the race start, but I kept my cool... not trying to be a dick but win or lose I am there to focus on the W.

Call to the line... we get set up and the rules laid out. I am so ready for this... and then the whistle blows, I start off with a lead out sprint and set the pace for the first few laps... deciding that I've done enough work on the front I jump back a couple spot in the peloton... in fact I slipped back a bit too much... I moved back about 15 spots or so. Little did I know that this is where I would stay.

The pace was killer I mean when I heard the announcer say we were 9 minutes in I thought I was gonna have to drop out... I mean I hurt and I hurt bad... imagine sprinting a fast as you can and then holding that pace for about 40 mins. But I held on, my biggest problem was the poor peloton riding skills of the rest of the riders... GET OFF THE BRAKES AND LEARN TO HIT THE TURNS... I nearly hit wheels about 5 times, from guys hitting the brakes into the turns. So I wasted a lot of energy constantly sprinting out of the turns. If I had stayed closer to the front I would have worked a bit harder but used less sprinting energy. I hung in there and I pushed for the front... I moved up a bit more, and on the last lap an attack went out super early and I lost and I was already boxed into the inside and couldn't react. So I did my best and I just held my position and picked up a few more riders on the inside... down to the last 200 meters before the last turn I started my sprint before the last turn and defended my rank... I was able to swoop up a couple more spots and when I crossed engrossed in a huge field sprint my heart nearly exploded...

It was all over... and I had finished 14th overall... field started with 50, and 28 finished... the goofy guy did get dropped. I was literally only 2 or 3 seconds behind first... thats how big the field sprint was. I beat myself up about this finsih... but overall I think it went pretty well for my second race.

I wanna throw a special shout out to my girl Tara... during the race I heard her cheering me on, and she ran to all corners of the course just to cheer me on and keep me motivated. I heard you cheering on every lap babe... mwuaghaaaa!!! Sorry inside thing (probably a bit too personal). She is the best girlfriend in the world.

It really was an amazing race, and the speed was blistering... not incliuding my warm down and warm up the average speed for the race was 25mph for 30mins... BTW... the stats for the pro stage on the same crit course wand 26.4mph average. Obviously, for a loger period of time, but we were moving fast as hell.

MY SUMMARY:

It was painful, in fact, it was nothing but pain... my body hurt the whole time... that the cool thing about racing, somehow you push your body to these limits that you never thought possible. For some reason you just push through the pain and keep fighting for the finish. I love this sport, it really is the most beautiful sport in the world.

"Pain is Temporary, Losing is Forever" - Lance Armstrong

DON'T EVER F@#$ WITH A ROADIE!!!

2008-04-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to the little Armenian dudee sporting a 6inch BIG RING gash across the chest...

Here's the deal... if you are a motorist and you see a cyclist biking on the side of the road doing their own thing, let them be. Its not funny to zoom by them flooring it, not funny to cut super close to them, not funny to yell "queer" at them, not funny to throw things at them, and overall not funny to fuck with them at all. And, sometime it will come back and bite you in the ass, when you least expect it.

So it was just another Thursday training ride after work... headed out to the Rosebowl for a couple laps, spotted Ivan Dominguez, Toyota United, and got to chase out into the lead break for a lap before I bounced out to head home. On the way home, nothing out of the ordinary... just my standard traffic march back to Hollywood... until... out of nowhere, a white Nissan Altima comes zooming by sweeping within inches of tagging me and blaring their horn like crazy, scaring the crap out of me. As they passed of course I threw out some choice words and gave them the one finger salute. This caused them to slam on the brakes and start trying to screw around with me in super busy Hollywood traffic... but I stayed back and we finally got up to a stop light. He was in the left turn lane and they started unleashing words on me, and I responded. They got me so riled up I jumped off the bike, sporting my French National Champ Kit, Bouygues Telekom, and threatened to throw the bike in his face...

HE STEPS OUT OF THE CAR... and this was his biggest mistake, I could tell right off the bat he was just trying to look tough thinking someone in spandex is a total push over. Keep in mind, I am 6'2", and this dudee was about 5'8"... so I now have bike held out in front of me, because if we are gonna wear funny shoes and spandex I might as well take advantage of my best weapon. Using the bike as a buffer between us I am now standing in the busiest intersection in Hollywood blocking cars on a green light having an intense standoff with this midget. After a lot of verbal back and forth...

HE COCKED BACK AND SPIT ON ME... ARE YOU KIDDING ME PLAYER??? This guy spit on me, this little angry motorist Persian midget spit on me for something in which he was directly at fault... thinking ha ha lets scare this guy on the bike... REALLY, REALLY, SPIT ON ME... That was the last thing he did...

WITH OUT EVEN A SPLIT SECOND OF HESITATION... I cocked back the and, unlucky for him, my chain wasn't on the BIG RING, and blasted him as hard as I could with adrenaline & heart rate topping out. I was already in fight or flight mode and my body was prepared for a big answer... I hit him straight in the chest with the BIG RING and ripped a 6inch gash across his chest... he flew to the ground and slammed hard screaming... his buddy jumped out of the car to grab him off the ground... but not before I SPIT on him while he was on the ground.

They bounced out, probably to a hospital, he was definitely gushing blood... Or he had to get to the nearest Armani Exchange for a new shirt. I was left standing there walking across the street with my bike in hand, when all of a sudden... the entire north side of the intersection, exploded in random cheers and props from various motorists, in fact, one van had a grip of dudees arms out the window cheering... I felt good...

I am tired of cars thinking they own the road and no one else has a right to be on it... it says share the road for a reason. And, if your not gonna respect that, trust me at some point its gonna bite you in the ass. It did for that guy, and it did bad... just respect the rules of the road and for crying out loud, just give the damn bike or bikes some space... is it really that big of a deal... is your life really that shitty that you feel you have to compete for a couple feet of street with someone riding a bike. Stop being so insecure out there... and for the men... your penis doesn't get bigger when you kill a biker.

You may think this was harsh on my part but I see it as merciful... This person could have easily killed me, I am going 20mph, he's going 60mph in a 30mph... car weight 3000lbs, I weight 200lbs with the bike... Cyclist are killed all the time around the world by motorist and they barely get a slap on the wrist most of the time... and often blamed for the accident... I call to action all cyclists to, in the right conditions, stand up for your rights and fight.

Bottom line here is... DON'T EVER F#*% WITH A ROADIE!!!

at the end of my ride heart rate spike to max... yet I am not riding... pretty cool

Redlands Classic Bicycle Race

2008-04-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

Once again getting ready for the big day... I decided that I am going to participate in the Redlands Classic this weekend. I have stepped up the training and even did some cadence work on my fixed gear today. I think I am about as prepped as I can be at this point, and definitely feel faster that I did at the LA Circuit Race.

I imagine much of the same scene as my last race. A lot of Rosebowl style riders all talking about their training techniques and blah, blah, blah. All in all it should be fun, and don't have much else to comment on at this point.

To all my homies, this is a big race... so come out and spectate. However, it would be hard for me to get the energy to go to the Inland Empire too... after all it really does suck out there. You definitely have to race and bounce.

"I'M RIDING BACK"

2008-03-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

What can I say except that this weekend was yet another epic weekend on the bike. This time around by epic I mean... EPIC!!!
Flashback to Monday last week, I'm on the phone with my boy, Ford, and he's telling me about his ride plans for the weekend. It went a little like this:

"So, Ford... what the ride sched for the weekend?"
"We're gonna break off that Solana Beach ride again, Irvine to Solana Beach"
"Oh nice, I'm definitely down."
"Same as last time, get down there take the train back up to Irvine."
"No way son, I'm not taking the train... I'M RIDING BACK,"

And that was it, it took Ford about 5 seconds to hop on board for this ridiculous ride idea. With about 4 days of lead time we had just agreed that we would ride down to Solana Beach and back from Irvine train station... for a total anticipated mileage of 130 MILES. Needless to say I was super stoked, in only four days we were going to rock a 130 Mile ride. Most recreational or somewhat serious cyclists usually prep for a ride like this for weeks or even months, and they pay to be part of an event with SAG stops (nice rest areas), friendly support staff, and about another 4,000 people are out there doing the ride with you... and when you finish there is a big finish line with a bunch of people clapping for you and cheering and taking your picture, and you even get a goodie bag. Basically you feel all warm and squishy inside about what you have just conquered.

So now strip all that away and what are you left with... just two guys on bikes, riding... with no support, no big prize at the end, no goodie bags... riding just to ride.

I don't really need to go into epic detail but, we started off with a group of Ford's friends up at the Irvine train station... set off like any other ride. It was a gorgeous day, and the route was pretty much along the coast the whole way. Because of some road closures we needed to take the I-5 freeway for about 17 Miles... picture yourself on the freeway and you see pack of cyclists riding in the emergency lane, its just as crazy as it sounds. At our halfway mark and the other's ride end we stopped at a pizza joint and grubbed. We refueled there and chilled for a pretty long time, probably a bit to long, but then we bid farewell to the rest of the group and Steve and I started our journey back. It took a while to get the legs warmed up again, but ten miles in we started to feel pretty good again. We agreed to stop after 40 miles straight, when we got back in to San Clemente. There we would stop at this coffee shop, grab some treats and sit down for a cappuchino... when we got there we were starting to really feel it, my boy Ford was dying for some coffee, as was I. I looked at the GPS... mile marker 100.3... we still had quite a bit to go and now comes the climbing. We refueled, sucked down a couple coffees and mounted up for the last 25 back to the car. I felt pretty good still but was getting tired, and then we hit the hills, I asked Ford which way to go and we agreed that we would take the climbs at our own pace and meet up the top. We each rode solo for the next 12 or so, having a chance to reflect as it grew darker outside and the temp started to drop... 112 miles in and no one has a clue what you have been through... it's an awesome feeling, and its pretty easy to get smug about it.

About 10 miles left and all of a sudden we felt strong, like super strong, we set a quick pace and a flood of energy came back in to our bodies... we were so close to the end, almost already celebrating... as we came to the train station we pushed hard for the last 1K and we pulled up to the car. Ford rode in just behind me and we were done... it was getting pretty dark, we had left 10 hours earlier... it was quiet and it was just us. We had just rounded off 121.3 miles in a total ride time of about 7hrs 30mins.

We had no finish line, no applause, no goodie bags, and no one took our picture... that day we just rode.

"Ride lots." -Eddy Merckx

I am the Shhhhh!!!

2008-03-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

You might as well have gone to sleep if you saw me comin' this weekend, cause I'da past you like you ain't never turned a crank. Woke up bright and early this Saturday and headed out for the Montrose Club Ride... a big ride that starts in Descanso Gardens in La Canada and rolls all the way out to Glendora and back. Ride pace is fast, first 10 miles avg speed floats at about 28 to 29mph... then the pack meets up with another crew of riders. This ride literally swells to 100 I would guess... it's a lot of peeps. If you wanna get a good work out you got be up front and gotta do some work pulling, besides that's where the fun is at anyway. I hit this ride with my boy from work and I hit it hard... stayed up front, took part in some lead out groups and dropped some of these local drag racers as soon as the road pitched up. Thanks to all the dudees that gave me the pat on the back and the mad props after the climb... Way to be.

Average speed by the time I rolled back to Descanso was about 22.5mph for about 43miles... but the next part was to be the truly amazing part and why I am referring to myself as the king of the weekend. I rolled right past my car and I got this crazy idea on a 90 degree day....

Hmmmm... yup... I'm gonna do it... How about I wrap up this ride with a big Tujunga Canyon Loop. For my fans, you have seen this lop done, under the post of "good memories" that's right I added about 5,000 feet of climbing on to this ride. It's hard to describe the feeling of zeal that swept over me as I started the big ascent in to the San Gabriel mountains. Half way into the climb I was tapped on water and I had officially stopped sweating. I must admit I did not plan this very well... but it turned into mind over the body, and sometimes vice versa... Once the sweat stopped pouring I knew I was hitting the red zone, but I just hunched over Eddy Merckx styleee and laid down the pain... my body was pretty much shutting down but I had been in the rhythm for so long that it was almost robotic, and if I was to stop the machine would just collapse. So I endured the pain and the heat and just kept pounding into the cranks... As I pulled my gaze away from my front wheel I finally could see the top of my climb, out of the saddle for the last half mile, basically sprinting to end the pain, and get ready for the descent. As I rounded the top I threw my hands on to the air and let out a big "whooooohoooo!!!" like I had just taken a stage at the TDF and simultaneously moved into the KOM position. After the decent it was an 85 mile Saturday ride, part pack, part solo challenge... an amazing day.

It was a brutal ride and it took a lot of hard work and slight bit of crazy to make it happen... rides like this are the reason I love this sport so much... its the challenge to take your body and your mind to it limits and see if you can push that threshold a bit farther every time. In a way when you get to the point where you suffer so much you are almost at peace... your mind clears, its euphoric, and for a moment the pain dissipates. How can your body hurt and be in so much pain and still you go on and achieve this clarity, I really have no idea. But what is the point of life if you never find out how far you could have pushed yourself, or how much you could have achieved.

TODAY I WAS THE SHHH!!!

"The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew--and live through it." -Doug Bradbury

Rosebowl... Super Weak

2008-03-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

So another Thursday has rolled around and I decided to go on over to the Rosebowl for a training ride... once again I went up and over the hills to drop down into the Rosebowl did a quick cool down lap (I usually hammer the climb over to the bowl), and then lined up with all the other INTENSE dudees that do this ride, every single Tuesday/Thursday... as I waited for others to get there in my typical anti-social position in the back, I couldn't help but get the feeling that this ride is gonna be really whack. The whole time before the start all you here is, "Hey Bob, how are the kids," "Why yes, I did see your new Porsche... the one with the bike rack for that Litespeed Ghisallo, right" "Sure that race was fun... after we headed down to the country club for a sail"... its just not my vibe, and I was particularly hating it this day.

I kept thinking to myself, am I really gonna spend the rest of this day going around in a circle for an hour and then having this really stressed out city ride home, in the dark... hmmmm... does my bike really want to do this... it was meant to climb... it didn't want to do this ride... OH WELL, I need the training... we set off and in about a mile I had already seen 10 Specialized S-Works, and 6 Specialized Bettini Specials... My bike refused to be in this crowd and bounced me out... I shot out of the group and back up into the hills...
I decided my workout was going to be where the BMC truly feels at home. Shhh... it is just by sheer luck that I own a bike this nice. In fact, I still feel awkward when I show up with it around town. Here is a nice pic for your appetite...

Anyway, on my way home I hit every climb I could between Pasadena and Hollywood. I pounded into each one as hard as I could... every time being rewarded with some pretty spectacular late afternoon views of the city. I really love riding my bike... and for some reason that I cant explain I enjoy the pain of crushing myself on it. It's an odd thing when you really dive into it, but somehow as a cyclist, some of us find this odd pleasure in the insurmountable pain that seems to perpetually build in your legs and chest as you gasp for air and hunch over, draining every last bit of your soul in to those pedals... all for a victory that, most of the time, you celebrate in solitude when you reach the top.

"I ride hard, alone, all day long" -Floyd Landis

So Many Helmets....

2008-03-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think we can all agree that helmets are good for your health, but most of them look so whack. I personally prefer to roll old school, donning the latest in team caps. Unfortunately, in a wreck a candy apple red Saeco cap won't stop my dome from splitting down the middle. So I have embarked on a voyage to find the best, nay, rather the least lame looking helmet.

WAIT... before I dive into my choices, I have one review... don't ever buy the Giro Eclipse... it works and all but you'll look like toad from Super Mario Brothers 2... Enough said on that.

GIRO ATMOS

First on the list, but the one I feel most like a tool if I own is the Giro Atmos or Ionos. What a Livestrong move this helmet is. It looks pretty sharp but there has got to be better and less popular... BTW both look pretty much the same

BELL SWEEP R

Next, the Bell Sweep... this ones kinda tight I tried it on and it looks pretty damn good plus its super comfortable and the adjustment wheel in the back makes it super easy on adjustments. I like this one but, once again, it so popular... I just want to sport at least a bit of originality... hmmm, I'll have to think on this one.

Specialized S-Works

Now this Helmet looks sick, and it has these slick little vents right on the forehead, which is tight because I always get mad sweat streaming into my eyes. Have not heard awesome reviews on comfort but forget that it looks pretty sick, again. Still need to find a place to try this guy on before I pull the trigger.

Now lets dive into the cool looking helmets, but are a bit harder to get... since most of these are Euro Brands... hence the addition in flavor.

SELEV MATRIX & XP

First the Matrix... you kidding me son... mad blaze... not sure if I can scoop this one on EBAY for cheap or if I have to pay full boat foreign order but these helmets are way tight. Not sure on fit or look on head, but may just have to snap one up and return it if no bueno... but scope these pics... you know Bettini would sport this...

... and the XP

Rear View..

More EURO BLAZE... straight out of Italy

MET Inferno Ultimalite & Stradivarius 199
You can grab these from Italy not on the website but through random non English sites... its a best efforts order I guess.

Inferno

Stradivarius

and Zefiro

Etto - Hurricane

A Scandinavian design

Wow, so there it is... after days of searching those are the slew of finalists I came down to. It's gonna be a tough call, but I would appreciate any feedback from the 2 or maybe 3 people that have ever seen this blog. By the way, why are helmets so expensive anyway... pretty much made out of foam and plastic... and only good for a one time crash. Well regardless, I am getting over having all these intense roadies give me a verbal beatdown over not wearing a helmet... sorry dudee my helmet is super lame, and it cheaper to buy $5 hat than $150 helmet... plus it was only in 2003 that helmet finally became mandatory in the TDF, so I'm not far off the mark in wanting to sport comfort and style.

Well that's it for now gonna go lay the smack down at the Rosebowl... oh yeah forgot to mention that I went back last week and I got another flat but this time around I was able to hang with the group and get the training time in... but they are intense days... bike in to work, head the opposite way from home to Rosebowl then back, 50 to 60miles on a work day... I guess its a good thing I love wearing spandex and shaving my legs.
Pace

Los Angeles Circuit Race

2008-03-17T18:54:00.001-07:00

Ladies and gentleman, I have been silent the past few days... mostly because I was trying to just clear my mind prior to race day... I officially participated in the 12th annual LA Circuit Race, held on Wechester Parkway by LAX. Quite a day for a race, let alone your first one ever. Wind dead offshore, gusting 25 to 35mph... no one in the peleton wants the front down wind. I registered in Cat 5B the last race of the day... it was a really intense moment for me. I was finally gonna go out there and race. As soon as we were off for 4 laps, & 16miles... the group started kickin it, right off the bat moving about 28mph down wind... back up the course 21mph into the wind... Sooooo, lots of squirrley riders, can't hold a straight line, hitting wheels, yelling at eachother about nothin, and really lame tacticts... actualy no tacticts. Never the less I established myself in the top of the field and I even led the group in the 3rd lap... last turn for the staright away to the finish, I'm in the lead group, one dudee shoot straight through the group... kid couldn't use his brakes or turn... we slam on the breaks and the sandbaggers go for it... I open it up start miving back up and back at the front of the field, as we open up for the sprints...
ANOTHER dudee twist his bike while sprinting and eats shit right in front of me... HE BOUNCED OFF THE GROUND... I tell you this shit was crazy bad... withing about a few seconds, I am able to shoot in between the flying bike and the bouncing rag doll... with all that I rocked 17th over all... field limited to 50 at start... It was super tight, highly recommended crit... an now on to more racing, and getting people to read my useless banter via web.

"PAIN IS TEMPORARY, QUITTING LAST FOREVER"

Good Memories...

2008-03-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

In an effort to pick myself up today, in light of my last post on how badly schooled I was at the Rosebowl, I thought I would post a loop that I think is just purely amazing... My boy and I went out this past Sunday, starting at none other than the Rosebowl out to Big Tujunga Canyon and back via San Gabriel Mountains. Below is a link to my motionbased account which will give you details on the loop... if you are a cyclist in LA, it is a must. It gets you out of the city and into the beautiful Los Angeles National Forest which so often goes unnoticed.

Big T loop

P.S. Super sick loop almost all gradual climbing

Schooled at the Rosebowl...

2008-03-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

As many in the local Los Angeles are are familiar, once daylight savings kicks in there is a large pack ride that starts riding at the Rosebowl in Pasadena. The pace is blistering and the people super aggressive, I recognized lots of Cat 1 & 2 riders in the mix... so I imagined I would get destroyed, but good practice. Again, I love this sport but intense cyclist are really funny... something odd about a bunch of dudes in spandex dropping attitude. I think we are all a bit angry because of tight fitting clothes and saddle sores. So the rules were laid out and police escort present, apparently that how aggressive this ride gets. After having done a descent size climb to get to the Rosebowl, after work (I ride to work) I got into the pack and we were off. I don't have a lot of experience, but I started off in the top of the group and we started crankin'... about 30mph avg speed, crazy fast... I was good for two laps(about 3miles per lap), then all of a sudden I started dropping like a rock, and I mean a rock... soon as a gap opened up I start getting screamed at "GO GO GO GO... get the F*@% out of the way." I was shot out the back in about 15 seconds I stood up to sprint back in, to no avail. Super demoralized I kept pushing to catch up, but its like trying to chase a car. I couldn't explain what the hell had happened, how I could drop so hard. Finally, I looked down when I was out of the saddle and BINGO... my front tire was going flat... like rim flat and in the excitement I didn't even notice. I pulled over gave it some CO2 and kept feeding it on the ride home, tire was trashed...

I tucked my tail in between my legs and left demoralized, until next week when if I get dropped again... it's because I am really not that fast yet. Flat or no Flat...

I GOT SCHOOLED @ THE ROSEBOWL

WHO AM I???

2008-03-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

I work 8 to 5 like the rest of the US and want to be doing something else. For me that something else is ride as a pro cyclist... I don't mean tour rider but local hero would be cool. So I am not completely new to the sport but in cycling terms I am super fresh. I started riding August 06 on 54cm Cannondale, I am 6'3"... so I obviously had an odd addiction to the sport to ride a bike that tiny and be into it. I am starting my first race season as a cat 5 of course and see if it goes anywhere. I think cycling is one of the most beautiful sports in the world, and regardless of performance I intend to do it for the rest of my life.

P.S. - I also plan to make these postings more interesting, thats just my sappy intro... and yes that is my cheesy picture from the Solvang Prelude '06, my first big ride