The Travels of Il Nessie

CSC

2008-06-01T21:18:00.002-04:00

Sunday.

Early start in order to prepare for today's race. Got in a good warm-up thankfully including a few laps of the course before the 35+ men headed off. The start was key and for once I clipped in within 30 yards of starting. The first few laps went by in a blur with the heart-rate breaking new personal bests. Everyone knows this race breaks up with gaps occurring so it was imperative to go all out just to maintain a decent position.

I spent most of the race clinging on to the rear of the ever shrinking pack and the first time I recall taking a look at the lap counter it was with 27 laps to go and we were down to about 20 in the group. Team-mate Andy Shaw had been screwed royally having flatted in the break only to be let back in but in the main pack instead of being rightfully put back in the break. The error was resolved five laps later but the damage had been done. Personally, I had nothing to offer (no surprise there) the entire race although the incentive to finish was great - it's now tied at 9-9 with the Swede. He's moaning that the season's come to an abrupt end for him after today but he'll be in Fitchburg, mark my words.

Took in the Pro race which made our race look pedestrian. Great stuff.

I'm playing my first game of softball tomorrow for work - this is what my life has come to.

Here we go again

2008-05-19T22:01:00.002-04:00

Monday.

Not sure about the rest of you lot but that last weekend whizzed by. So did today too, in the office for 8am and left at 6:30 and I didn't even leave my desk except to close the door when the annoying new ex-academic guy walks the corridor looking for anyone to visit with. Just p*ss off you annoying w*nker! I'm a little more sensitive than that but he unwittingly comes close on several occasions to full-on abuse.

I did get in just under a couple of hours riding in this evening, the last 40 minutes in the dark. Arriving at Seven Corners roundabout in the dark is never a safe option but since there are no other options I have to battle with all the darting Asians leaving the Eden Center.

Up first thing tomorrow to get in a tough workout and then off to the LA Sports Club downtown in th evening for a spin class - haven't been to one of those in years.

One back

2008-05-18T19:41:00.003-04:00

It's now 9-6 to the Swede. A tie for the weekend overall but he deserves a point deducted just for buying those pair of ghastly red shoes that frankly, say much about his lack of fashion sense. Bring back the brown pair!

Last Man Standing

2008-05-18T19:22:00.003-04:00

Sunday

A dubious honour, if you can even call it that.

I believe I said what a difference a week can make, but what a difference a day can make. After Freddie's fourth place yesterday, he managed a grand total of eight minutes racing today courtesy of over-cooking the final corner thus finishing in the grass. A hangover from the day before.

As for the rest of us, three of the team crashed (Zack, Greg and the Rabbi) and I finished last - 16th. After the initial fury of the first few laps, Zack had his crash which if I remember correctly split the field enough to put myself in a chasing group of six - three DC Velo, Pete Custer and Brian Butts. Illustrious company but we pretty much were caught in no-man's land for the rest of our race. As a result, the leaders were close enough that with 6 to go, and being the last group on the road, we were given the one-to-go signal and you guessed it, I took the lantern rouge.

It's difficult to find positives to take from this one. My cornering was embarrassingly horrible at times and I didn't really pull through much at all which I felt bad about. Very mediocre stuff really. I've now resorted to finding solace by starting an internal final placing rivalry with the Rabbi - that's a clear sign of how bad things have become! And according to his rules I'm losing so far this season. Christ.

So to wrap up, after roughly 18 hours of travel and general time spent wasted from this weekend's racing, I raced about 3.5 hours in total. I think the highlight of the weekend was being given the demo on how to change a diaper when I offered to babysit last night for my roommate's kid...that pretty much sums it all up really.

P.S.

2008-05-17T21:25:00.003-04:00

Oh yes, we left at 8 a.m. for Union Grove and returned at 7 p.m. - what a way to spend an entire day.

And lastly, it's sadly time to re-address the head-to-head count as a protest has been lodged against my tally.

The whinging Swede wants his DNS's removed from the list so in order to placate his grumblings and to include his "W" today, the count now stands at 9 - 5 in his favour. Happy now???

How to spend an entire day cycling 50 miles

2008-05-17T21:02:00.003-04:00

Saturday.

Union Grove was today's destination for the shortened 1/2/3 road race. Originally scheduled for 62 miles, they disappointingly reduced it to 52 mid-week. Poor show in my opinion. Never mind, it was still a new race for me to look forward to.

Determined to arrive early to ensure a warm-up (to avoid a repeat of last weekend's cock-up), the timings were being met in military precision until the Swede was alerted by 'her indoors' that he'd forgotten his carbon wheels. Typical! The decision of whether to continue or return for them was brilliantly given to me and in order to place all guilt on my shoulders, I had no choice but to do a U-turn.

A couple of missed turns and we finally made it to the race, courtesy of averaging 75 mph through Amish country.

The field was certainly lighter than usual of heavy hitters but that still didn't detract from the intensity at certain times during the race. Midway through, and after a few attempts at breaks, 'the' break was established courtesy of Mr. Benitez with seven others including my Scandinavian teammate. The rest of the race for the pack was interesting enough as dissatisfied teams attempted to launch ultimately unsuccessful attempts to eat into the breaks lead. No chance.

Freddie took an excellent 4th, taking 3rd in the sprint as the winner had impressively soloed in from two laps out. The pack's race ended in rather farcical manner - we received the bell lap twice, once for what we thought was the last lap and once more as we, well others excluding myself, sprinted for the finish line. Indecision reigned and we continued to ride the extra lap in unison although some foolishly rode off thinking they could steal 9th place. Upon returning after the extra lap, the placing were confirmed from the previous lap's dash to the line.

We then made a big mistake in choosing this bizarre Italian pizza house for some post-race cuisine. The walls were adorned with cheap Soprano and Godfather memorabilia tattle - how pleasing it must be to champion gangsters as your national heroes. The calzone was remarkable not only in its size but in the massive lump of cheese that had clearly been used to fill it. I surgically extracted most of it and clearly it would've been an ideal specimen of what comes out of someone's body when under the knife to remove layers of fat. Disgusting.

So, a fine performance by not-so-young Andersson and the team was most proactive in getting into all or most of the breaks that transpired - I had attacked a few times in the earlier laps and Paul Mica almost stuck a small break on the bell lap - and no, I did not chase him down! What a difference a week makes! Hang on, there's a crit tomorrow...

The week that was

2008-05-17T20:49:00.003-04:00

Saturday.

Brutal week at work. Was doing 15 hour work days for most of it which clearly goes against my values of doing as little as possible to earn as much as possible. Combined with trying to train each morning, it made for long days and large bags under the eyes. Still, it meant the week flew by and low and behold another weekend of racing.

Yesterday Freddie and I went for a pre-race ride taking in a wee bit on the W&OD Trail. Not sure who this bloke is but he did a ridiculous body/bike swerve in the Swede's direction as we passed him which could've resulted in a serious injury. What a twat.

Nevertheless, the evening was spent at the House of Sweden down in Georgetown. Loads of poontang on display and an excellent way to ease into the weekend.

$83.26

2008-05-11T19:43:00.003-04:00

That's the cost of a recent wheel build on my Reynolds Solitude wheel so that's the total up to $4,231.28.

Incredible really so the objective for May is to keep it under $200.

Who's in the lead

2008-05-11T19:26:00.005-04:00

Time to see who's winning the race count for this season so far. Pathetic I know and it of course doesn't take into consideration effort put forth during the race, e.g. the first Greenbelt training race where the bugger got a free ride in our break courtesy of moi for the last few laps and still couldn't close the deal! That should even count against you but I shall rise above the constant whining I have had to put up with recently.

So, including the races in Arizona (because he was going to cry without them included!),we have:

Vos time trial : S 88th vs. N 70th (getting to the start gate late doesn't matter!).
VoS road race : S 61st vs. N 81st
VoS crit : S 65th vs. N 64th (Yes!)
Scottsdale GP cat 2 : S vs. N. 43rd
Scottsdale GP 30+ : S vs. N. 11th
Scottsdale GP P/1/2 : S. vs. N.
Jeff Cup : S. DNF vs. N. 23rd
Walkersville : S. 23rd vs. N. 33rd
Tyson's Corner : S. 15th vs. N. 55th
Mount Joy RR : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata rr : S. DNS vs. N. 45th
Tour de Ephrata tt : S. DNS vs. N. 34th
Tour de Ephrata crit : S. DNS vs. N. 30th
Greenbelt #1 : S. 4th vs. N. 17th (He doesn't deserve this one)
Poolesville : S. DNF vs. N. 8th
Greenbelt #2 : S. DNF vs. N. 4th
Fort Ritchie : S. 15th vs. N. DNF

Swede 8 Nessie 9. Clearly we are covering ourselves in glory as well with all this less-than-amazing final placings.

Next up, Greenbelt #3.

My come uppance

2008-05-11T18:19:00.002-04:00

Sunday.

Soaked like a drowned rat on the way back from Poolesville when the heavens opened. Got in four hours this afternoon which was pretty much my sum total for the weekend after such a woeful effort yesterday at Fort Ritchie. The less said about that the better but it was certainly my worst performance of the season. I'd love to come up with some excuses but I basically struggled at the back, kept getting gapped and my cornering was all over the place. After only a few laps of this nonsense I had enough of my own suffering and headed home - a complete waste of time and very disappointing effort both mentally and physically. Several lessons learned though, none more so than making sure a warm up is done next weekend. It's simply suicide turning up to the start line cold and I was certainly caught cold.

I chose to bounce back from the humbling experience by being a man about it - I went out and got hammered! Actually, it was a pre-arranged night out on the 'Boomerang Bus' - quite the experience being shipped from bar to bar via a converted school bus that was basically a mobile strip club, poles 'n all. Quite an amusing affair although I'm feeling worse for wear from it as a result.

So, time to re-focus the effort now that we are in crit season now and try and work on some of my weaknesses. That's quite the undertaking. If only I had a coach worth his salt...

Mindless training

2008-05-08T22:15:00.002-04:00

Thursday.

But not of the cycling variety. This is the third of four days 'corporate' training learning the culture of my new employer. From what I've heard so far, it would appear I've joined God's own company full of only the finest and most wholesome people. From what I've seen so far, it's every man for himself and sod the rest.

The one big benefit of this training is that it has been finishing around 3pm most days allowing for Greenbelt last night and a good two-plus hours this evening on an endurance ride.

Last night was rather enjoyable even though I suffered like a dog suffering from something completely insufferable. Okay, that was completely over the top and dare I say...American of me.

The finest part of yesterday's race was returning to the car park to see my fellow Euro teammate squeal on pathetically about mechanicals and the like. That's another crushing addition to the 'W' column (currently standing at 8-3 to me by the way). It's good to get in the breaks at Greenbelt if nothing else than to practice the breakaway drills for the upcoming weekend but I've yet to master the final hill sprint. Rather pathetic again last night but this time I had time to reach the line without losing places.

Dinner was in Georgetown with the Rabbi and Mr. Anorexic 2008, Berbert himself. Turn him sideways and he'd disappear. Rabbi does an equally good disappearing act these days but that's only in the races.

Coasting the rest of the week

2008-05-06T07:06:00.002-04:00

Tuesday

Four days of company training now. That means only one thing - how early can I get out to get some riding in. Hopefully it'll allow for the mad scramble that is making Greenbelt. Last week's race was rather enjoyable so hopefully we can have a repeat of that.

Got some nice interval training to do this evening.

Pound of flesh

2008-05-06T07:03:00.002-04:00

Monday

No training today. After Poolesville and the 8:30am ride on Sunday, I was more than happy for once to take my coach's advice and rest up. Actually, I had no choice. I was in the office at 7am and didn't leave until 7pm with a further two hours of work at home. For some unknown reason, I actually enjoyed the day probably because it's the first time in a long time that I actually achieved something!

Choirboy to the fore

2008-05-04T20:22:00.001-04:00

Blair Berbert, aka The Choirboy, took a brilliant 2nd place in the overall GC in the Tour of the Gila in the cat. 2 section:

http://www.tourofthegila.com/#linksection

Poolesville

2008-05-04T19:57:00.003-04:00

Saturday

Probably the most unenjoyable bike race I've yet competed in despite clinging on to 8th place by my finger nails. The race itself played second string to the club duties. It's been an education shall we say being the volunteer co-coordinator. The bulk of the work had been done in the run up to the race but the day itself was actually alittle more stressful than I had envisaged as a result of cancellations and people turning up having seemingly ignored every one of my emails on the instructions.

Never mind. It did mean an early start and a long morning at the school making sure the morning shift got taken care of. As for the 1/2/3 race itself, the opening salvos were marred by the crash involving young Steven Black whose injuries were fortunately less severe than initially thought.

As it happened, I got myself involved in a four man break with two Harley riders - Barrie and Fader - and an LSV rider. The next four laps were most miserable for me mainly due to trying to work hard but knowing that it was only a matter of time before I was dropped like a lead balloon. As if on cue, this happened going through the feedzone on the bell lap. It occurred to me that they had been playing me all along, especially since we picked up another Harley rider with two laps to go.

The last lap was spent predominantly enjoying my own miserable company before being unceremoniously dropped a further two times. Upon entering the final two miles or so, I could see what was left of the pack closing on me and the goal of a top-10 vanishing at a rate of knots far faster than the pedestrian pace I was pushing out.

However, I was determined not to let go just yet and combined with the small pack's own games as they set up for the sprint, I managed to keep enough of a gap to sneak over the line just in front of the charging group.

So, my first top 10 in a 1/2/3 race. Reasonably pleasing for sure but I suffered much.

After helping clean up after the race, it was off to a bbq with friends. I cramped three times at the dinner table, my body's reminder to me of the afternoon's struggles. Still, that steak tasted pretty fantastic.

Timeline

2008-04-21T22:27:00.003-04:00

Monday.

5:30am and I'm failing miserably to get my heart rate up to endurance level. Two hours later and there's a miniature version of Loch Ness underneath the bike.

8am and I'm in the Geico accident adjustor's office with more work to be completed on my sick car.

8:45am and I'm in the office on a conference call after surviving the traffic on 495-N despite my windscreen wipers not working.

Noon and lunch with the lassie.

6pm leave work.

6:30pm and dinner with my pal Mary. She basically got me my job so she has free dinners for as long as I'm employed.

10pm and most of the volunteering emails are done for Poolesville.

10:30pm here I am updating this bloody thing!

Good night.

Recovering...

2008-04-20T20:19:00.003-04:00

From realizing I have spent over $4k just on cycling and it's only April.

Bought a few bottles from the Chrysalis winery (www.chrysaliswine.com) out near Middleburg so one is being suitably consumed at this present moment to dull the pain of my credit card horror show.

Breaking the $4k barrier

2008-04-20T20:14:00.002-04:00

Ksyrium Elite wheels : $550
Clean Streak can : $8.80
ProLink Lube : $8.80
2 sets of Shimano cleats : $44
Pedal body covers : $8.76

New total for the year is a whopping $4,148.02

F**k.

Thunder

2008-04-20T20:00:00.002-04:00

Sunday.

Carl Dolan circuit race. Having omitted to inform the team captain of my rather longer than suggested ride yesterday and it's subsequent destruction on the old legs, I was hoping to just hang in on what promised to be a fast race.

With all the torrential rain in the morning, it amazingly stayed dry for the hour prior to the 1/2/3 race but an accident in the 3/4 race delayed the start by half an hour. By then, the storm clouds loomed ominously nearby. The race commenced in the now usual fashion of the Harley team being the aggressors. The effects of yesterday were beginning to haunt me but my suffering was short-lived courtesy of the heavens opening above and the race being permanently canceled. I masked my relief as best I could - I've learned my lesson and I blame it all on the Rabbi.

One benefit of starting today's race is I believe that now puts me in a commanding lead over the Nordic Wonder 3 to 2. I'll look to stretch that lead to a convincing 6 to 2 after Ephrata. If only he was ill all season. If he wants to dispute these statistics then I challenge him to start his own blog!

End of the week

2008-04-20T19:41:00.003-04:00

Sunday

Managed to complete week 1 at work without risking redundancy, let's see if we can continue in that same vein for the next few years.

Added once again to the bike tally cost having run out of wheels and patience with my Reynolds Solitudes. I relented to the sales pitch at Conte's and paid too much for a pair of Kysiriums. That's therefore pushed the total well over the $4k mark. I can't even bear to locate the receipt to give you an accurate figure.

Yesterday, the team went on a sensible pre-race training ride. Feeling somewhat lively, the Rabbi and I needed an extra few miles in the legs so I ended up doing roughly 130 miles over seven hours of riding - clearly a perfect tune up for Carl Dolan. Most of that ride was spent chasing and catching up with other groups on the road so come the last few miles under the sun I was suitable cooked and ready for a pint. With only two gels for food all day I was in dire need of some alcohol.

Had a very enjoyable evening spent in the company of friends, and Freddie, at Local 16 on U Street. Bloody packed in like sardines up on the deck but the Heineken went down a treat.

Still employed

2008-04-15T22:31:00.002-04:00

Tuesday.

Day 2. Unbelievably I haven't been shown the door but it's only a matter of time surely.

Prior to joining the gridlock on the 495 North, I managed to get in a rather decent 90 minutes on the trainer at 6a.m. doing threshold intervals. Not to be outdone by limiting myself to just the one session, I got on the bike after work to participate in the Eisenhower sprints ride. Having navigated King Street at rush hour and joined the group, I didn't even get 50 yards before a spoke, this time in my front wheel, snapped. My jinx struck again. I limped up to Spokes Etc but alas, they didn't have a spare front nor the capabilities to fix a Reynolds rim. Lovely.

The Office

2008-04-14T22:31:00.002-04:00

Monday.

First stop Herndon for my orientation. Must've been about a hundred other new employees in the room lapping up the sales pitch and salivating at the mouth at all the talk of promotions, salary hikes and becoming partner. Trouble is, most of them (including me) probably won't see past the end of the year given the high attrition rate. Still, I got breakfast and lunch out of them and also free viewing of all the lovely poontang on display and there's plenty of it around!

Given my less than intense schedule for the past year or so, I was pretty exhausted come mid-afternoon. It's like being off the bike for a couple of months - the first time back trying to do even 20 miles is painful. Still, at least I have a window in my office even though the view is of car parks and other office buildings - the sensation of being a small cog in a large wheel was not lost on me.

Didn't find the time to get any riding in today, I've a funny feeling this is going to become a recurring theme. A good day though and I'm actually rather looking forward to getting stuck into the project work. At least I'll be getting a pay check for the first time in a long time!

On the wine trail

2008-04-13T19:24:00.003-04:00

Sunday

Got in an easy 3 hours early this morning after four hours kip. Thankfully the Swede is back in the saddle despite still being under the weather.

It was then on the rode out to Middleburg for lunch at the Red Fox Inn and a trip to the Chrysallis winery. We even took in a string quartet performance at the local church, yes I know, the things you do to keep a woman happy. Still, a relaxing afternoon away from home and picked up a few bottles of vino for my troubles.

The big day is almost here - time to dust off the suit, polish the shoes and completely bullsh*t my way till they find me out!

Mount Joy

2008-04-13T18:55:00.004-04:00

Saturday.

Good day in the saddle up in Lancaster County for self and team. Great weather conditions and despite a race distance shorter than normal, 51 miles, it was a decent sized field of 86 riders including a smattering of Rite-Aid, Harley, Kelly and DC Velo. We had a full team there minus Freddie.

Must say the pace was hard, for me anyway, pretty much from the start and I certainly felt the effect of the short steep climb each lap. However, the thought of giving up and conceding a glorious opportunity to pull level on the head-to-head with the Swede kept me in till the end. The team rode well overall. Rabbi got into a good four-man break with George from Evo plus Dave and Pete Custer from Artemis. Sounded like Paul did well more than holding his own so a good day for him despite the break ultimately being brought back.

In the end, it came down to a field sprint and unsurprisingly won by Rite-Aid who must surely be getting bored beating up on us amateurs but our own Zack Allison showed his paces to take an excellent third. I think the team rode strongly all race and I certainly had little left to offer come the end.

Straight back to DC and dinner at Rumbero's restaurant on 14th St with Cinthia. Excellent atmosphere there and good food - www.rumberos-dc.com. Thankfully I used the race as an excuse to avoid humiliation on the dance floor much to her chagrin.

Getting taxed

2008-04-10T23:23:00.003-04:00

Thursday.

My day was dominated by H&R Block. Remarkable set of people in their Clarendon office. Despite keeping me waiting over an hour for my appointment, the Jordanian receptionist kept laughing each time I told her how ridiculous this wait was. It didn't help that I could see and hear the tax 'expert' chatting away to this old biddy giving her his life story when he should've been dealing with me. Wanker. To make matters worse, I left some of my documents at home so a complete and utter waste of time.

On a happier note, even though I enjoy being miserable, I got in 3 hours easy riding today including the hill ride group from Spout Run. I also put in my Reynolds rear wheel to be re-built, another bloody bike expense looming on the horizon.

Still, mustn't grumble as they say. F*ck it, I will! Why? Because I can.

Rangers beat Sporting Lisbon tonight to move into the UEFA Cup semis. They'll face Fiorentina from the land of spaghetti. Welcome to Ibrox ya big jessies!