January 4th Ride Report

It is with some reservations that I share this ride report.  I feel that as the “new guy’ I am not in a position to pass judgment on my fellow team members all of whom have seniority over me as I am the rookie member of the 20/20 Fuel team. Additionally, I can’t recall all of the names of the riders I have met so far. Finally, I usually use nicknames to protect the innocent and the guilty and again as the new guy, I would be out of line assigning monikers so early in my team tenure.

As the darkness was giving way to the daylight on this first Sunday of 2009 the riders quietly rolled up at the assigned time.  After handshakes and introductions, we rolled out with commendable promptness. 

It was 33 degrees when I left my place and the dopler radar indicated we would have a dry ride, so I decided to bring the Ti Flyer and leave my fender-clad rain tool back in the stable to keep the other bikes company. We quickly made our way down to Lake Washington where we were greeted by breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier cloaked in pink snow to the southeast, and a panorama of the Cascade Range leading all the way to Mt. Baker to the north. The sky and water had a golden glow that made us feel alive despite the face numbing wind and near freezing temperatures.

We met up with two more at the top of the I-90 lid and I grabbed a quick picture. The chill kept our pause brief, and in a moment ten of us were sailing across Lake Washington on the I-90 bike lane. 

 

Soon we were circumnavigating Mercer Island and enjoying nearly vacant roads. John showed his strength and Tim seemed ready to go faster. On the east side of the island, Sam, who had been moving up and down amongst the second group took over the pace making and led us in a single file paceline. Gradually we reeled in the three breakaway riders. Although this had been described as a leisurely ride, as we approached the park that marks the end of the route on the east side, testosterone took over and I watched the leaders break away from me despite my indicated speed of 26 mph.

On the return trip I regret to report that I became “that guy” when I flatted. Sam, Kevin, Matthew and Tom stopped and I did my best to make quick work of the tube change (by the way, at home I checked and I got 90 psi from the C02).  After we resumed riding the chill that had set in during the brief stop quickly burned off.

The return was uneventful and as riders peeled off to fulfill various obligations, the balance of us had a friendly gathering for coffee and a snack. It was the perfect ending to a great winter ride. Hank and I waxed eloquent on the finer points of component mixing as Kevin considered his gearing options for the Cyclocross season that is only nine short months away.  I got to babbling on about chain keepers and to make sure there isn't any confusion; here are two photos of the subject weapon.  Not in the second shot you can see that you can adjust the angle (by rotating) and extension (the screw and slot mounting) of the chain keeper.  I got mine from Cyclocrossworld.com

 

36 miles, 2:10 ride time, 16.2 average, 1,900 feet of climbing. Whew..

Just Ducky so far in 2009

It was thirty four degrees and the predawn morning was as dark as my heart when Evo departed for work on the bike this morning. I am trying out the new Craft rain jacket I picked up in Portland at the USGP and was delighted that it wasn’t raining or snowing when I left. The steep hill hits me right off the bat and although it is no doubt bad for my knees to have a Vuelta-quality hill before getting warmed up, the heat I generate climbing the hill usually takes the chill off pretty quick.

It was a joy to be able to go at a nice pace and let my mind wander. Although I was craving more light from my headlight, I have convinced myself that if I got a better light I would just become a junkie and would always want even more. Awesome Mike at work periodically shows me new light systems and I shudder at the cost of those. And for me to shudder at the cost of bike equipment, as you can imagine, they are rather spendy. I am pretty visible from behind and since I trust myself more than others, my priority is to be seen more than to be able to see.

I was surprised at the amount of snow left in the highlands and I had to dab to cross the snow on both sides of Cipollini Bridge. I thought I could channel my cyclocross skills on the snow, but slick road tires and a single loaded pannier kept that concept in the realm of outrageous fantasy. I was able to keep the rubber side down and although some areas of the Burke-Gilman trail necessitated that I alter my route ever so slightly, I arrived intact.

I’ll offer a full review in a later post, but so far the jacket is great.

Flushing 2008 !

Evo is glad to just be standing at the end of '08. It is hard to imagine a worse year, and accordingly, I am glad to see it swirling down the circular porcelain ski slope. That isn't to say we didn't have great moments. In fact it took some amazing tragedies to cancel out the goodness. And tragedies we had a plenty.

Let's hope, no, let's DEMAND 2009 be better.  To those who supported me, my heartfelt thanks. Words to express my gratitude and fail even me. To those I've lost, my heart is broken and aches for peace. 

We have whiteness

Snow in Seattle.....

We have lighted candy canes in the front yard.

This will tell you how much snow we have.....

Fun Summer memories

August 2005

Zach Tim (Garth) Silas and Davo

Backpacking in the Cascades

DETROIT

I'm in Detroit on Business.

That is my rental car on the left. It is a red Mustangsicle.

Ten things I hate/love/notice about Michigan (in no particular order)

1. You get to practice scraping your windshield so much you probably get really good at it

2. If you drive a Japanese car you're not just unamerican, you're a communist

3. When it is quitting time, they scatter like roaches when the light gets turned on

4. They suffer from "Buckeye Envy"

5. In the winter any sports that don't involve "camo" either stop or move indoors

6. Everyone has a cough and a cold

7. Everything that can be bad about unions is alive and spreading the pain in Michigan

8. Michigan "lefts" seem to work pretty well

9. If you want a hill workout, you have to leave either the state or the country

10. Since they have the heat on already, they keep it pretty warm indoors

USGP Portland Baby

This past weekend Hottie and I traveled sans pups down to P-town. Through the kindness of our friends Allen and Michelle we had some pup sitters who moonlight as elves. The gang on 20/20Fuel was super and we had some fun apres' ride fun and feasting. I managed to place in the top 50; and considering my poor season I'll call that good. I had the wrong tires for the conditions but if I had turned the pedals faster that would have helped even more....

My association with the new team leaves John as the last remaining member of the once-dominate TERD Bar Racing Team. John is among the finest men I know and while we all have certain affiliation needs, I am sure John takes pride in his autonomy as well. Portland was muddy and wet and wonderful.