Looking for some opinions, so please leave a comment.

Need some new road shoes, SIDI's always fit and work great, but this is a style decision,



Basic Black?

Goes good with all.

Great at everything from weddings to funerals.















Or Pearl White. Hah.

Is the Pearl White :

Hetero.... ?

Metro.....?

or just plain gay .........? (That's gay-haha, not gay-queer)

Wha'd'ya think?





'cause after all - What is beauty without brains?





thanks BJ!

RideON

JB

Alternated a few days off and a few recovery rides since the Florida mileage orgy. Today's group rides would be the acid test. The acid won. First loop 20 or so riders - my legs felt like wood early, than turned to lead. Thanks to Wild Bill for towing me around. Justin was down from DC bustin' it. He's getting ready for the Valley of the Sun in Az. Looking fit and lean. Heard in the peleton :

Me : "I don't know how I'm going to feel today." (Actually at that point I did, but was hoping I was wrong)

Crazy : "I don't either, but I'm going to find out in a minute............"

As we turn up Independance :

Me : "Looks like Justin is getting away."

Crazy : "Not on MY ride he's not......."

BRAAAAAAP.

Mike puts it overdrive. The lead group pegged it from that point on. Glad someone was prepared to defend the turf.

Went to shed layers after loop 1. Really felt like bailing on the next ride. The balmy 45 degree weather was feeling warm. Back in the group for loop 2 I realized I hadn't fastened my helmet strap. Prayed for a red light so I could. Never got one. Had to stop, take off big glove and fumble about. Chase down the group of 30-40. Finally catch them, only to fall off again. Rolled thru the regroup. Legs finally coming around. Got in a nice 6 person break. Good to see the Dart out there. Last time I saw him in lycra was on a milk carton.

Danbo was there, a year older, and burping wine. Thanks to he and Misty for a nice party last night.



Heard in the break :

whooooooooosh ...................................
whooooooooosh ..............................
whooooooooosh. ...........................

Like the blades of those big wind generators. I looked around, didn't see one. As Art drifted back from a pull I realized it was him suckin' wind.

He must've sucked all of the oxygen out of the air, 'cause during my pull I realized there was none left. The break stayed away. I didn't. Finished with the group. Lots of wind today.




Went to the shop to get new pedals to replace my busted one. Been wanting to go the Keo route for a while now. None in stock. Good thing I could find some of my old (circa 1986) original Look Clipless pedals in a box.


Feels like they weigh about a pound a piece, but they worked for the Badger back in the 80's, and they worked for me today. One thing still bugs me about the whole clipless pedal thing :

If they're "Clipless", than why do we have to clip in and out?


Interesting fact - Clipless pedals were invented BEFORE leather toe straps. REALLY.





and thanks Laura, for giving me some chain rings small enough to get up even the steepest hills. Gotta work on my cadence now.

RideOn

JB

I put some sunny FLA weather in my suitcase AND in my carry-on bag. Soon after I arrived home the cold just sucked it all up and made it disappear.

You've probably seen this, but if you haven't you'll enjoy it. From the World Cup Cross last Sunday in the Netherlands.

Mini-Training camp is done. So are my legs.


"I wear my sunglasses at night........."

Who did that song?

Hard to get off the bike today, knowing I'd be headed back into the c-c-c-cold. 63 degrees at 5AM, high of 83, 2 or 3 degrees from the record high temp.

Sure hope it's like this for Sebring in 1 month. Put icing on the cake of training abuse with a final 15 miles humpin' the 53x12. Starting from stop signs was fun, especially if it was a bit uphill. Was like a aircraft carrier - took about 7 miles to get up to speed.














Then some parting bike love for the R3T (aka - Art's bike). Clean and shine, attach clip ons, new bar tape. It's taken a liking to sunny FLA. Ready to back up the Six13.

Looking forward (what?) to some cold recovery rides.

RideOn

JB

OK, scratch that last post. Had a bad attitude. Pissed and moaned about riding today after a paltry 185m yesterday. Today turned out to be one of the best days on the bike I can remember. Just wish I'd of gone out sooner. Only got 6 hours or so in. Only stopped 'cause it got dark, and I didn't bring a light with me. Felt better at the end than the beginning. As penence I may get up at midnight and ride more.

Sure doesn't look like "flat" Florida.


Explored the Clermont area and Lake County. Clermont is home to the US Triathlon Training Center, and the Great Floridian Tri. It's like dying and waking up in cycling heaven here. Hills and more hills, miles of uncrowded roads, miles and miles of WIDE bike trails. Can't imagine there's a better place in the US (east of the Mississippi) to be riding right now.

Funny thing happened on the ride. A few hours into it I was going around Lake Minneola on Lakeshore Drive. Was standing up and mashing pedals - just 'cause it seemed to be the thing to do at the time. Not like a full on sprint or anything, just trying to work on my stand up power delivery.

Up ahead I see a hose across the road and decide to drop a few gears and sprint to it. As I near it I see a guy watering something out of the corner of my eye. Just about the same time I decide to bunny hop the hose. Not sure why. Because the hose was there? or because the guy was there......... don't know. I think I've gotten pretty good at the old bunny hop. Heck, I've been in, like, 2 Cross races. Never tried bunny hopping from a full on over the bars sprint though. I understand now that was why my weight was so far forward. My front wheel got up maybe 1.5-2 inches, just enough to clear the garden hose. My rear wheel however, must've gotten up at least 2-3 feet, 'cause I distinctly remember looking straight down at the ground, and riding the front wheel for an interminably long time. I was very happy when the rear wheel touched back down, and I tried to act like that what what I planned all along. The guy must've really liked it 'cause he let out a whistle of approval and a small round of applause. All the while he's probably thinking to himself (effin' idiot). Mad Skills, you want 'em ....... I got 'em.........


Oh yeah - it got warmer than 76!!

What a day to get a

RideOn

JB

A "quick" recap: ( Was going to be quick ...... but my legs are telling me to sit and blog instead of going out to ride, wassssup wit dat? are they skeeered?)


Thursday - nice spin after arriving. Why do legs feel like lead after any ride in a plane?

Fast Friday - This is prolly become my favorite group ride anywhere. Why? Cause it kicks my ass everytime. Ride down to Lakewood in the dark for a 7AM rollout, ride back with the group at a nice warmup pace. Then hit the Tuscawilla short loop (~4 mile) for 3 screaming laps at race pace. High 20s, up to low 30s. Like a 12+ mile crit. Only 2 turns, no stops. I've never made it the whole 3 laps. :-(
My time will come. This time I felt fine after a nice 2nd lap pull - all was well. I eased up just a bit too much as I drifted back looking for last wheel. The group had gotten smaller and the trailer came up quick. By the time I reacted they had a 20 yard gap. EFF! Sprinted back up to reconnect. Took a while but finally caught 'em. Before I could catch my breath we hit a turn. As the last wheel I had to brake too much, and just couldn't match the acceleration on the exit. Oh well. Someday. Cori, (our token female), calls this "the negative breakaway ride". But she's always in the positive half of the split........

Saturday - The new halagen street lights around Tuscawilla are so bright you could ride loops all night without a headlight, so that's what I did.

Except I did have MyNewt supplying the lumens. For the record - I've been through 6-7 charging cycles and the light still delivers 3.5-4 hours on high. Even more on low. The battery mounts neatly beneath the stem, and the lights mounts quickly and easily to the bars with a big rubber o-ring. It gives a red signal when the battery is getting low so you can "nurse it" until sunrise.



A universal truth : If you ride long enough in the dark, the sun eventually rises. At the wrong time of the year in Alaska you could have a long wait ........ but this is Sunny F-L-A.

So with over 6 hours and triple digit miles in my legs I went down to Lakeland group rides, totally convinced I'd behave myself, keeping my head down and out of the wind. The ride in theory wouldn't be as fierce, since many of the power brokers were up in Apopka for the "World Championship of Errol's" - But that's another (and good) story. How'd it go up there Todd?

When you've been ridin' most of the night the sunrise ALWAYS gives new life.

The ride went well. Only 30 or so in the fast group. Pace started smooth and easy in the low 20's. It was pretty clear no one would get away today. Kept good position, one pull into the wind felt fine. Warming sun felt really good. I was at the front for the red light at Lockwood, figured may as well take another pull. Wheel sucking always fills me with pangs of guilt ...... I gotta get over that. Light changes, I put my head down and power up. 2-3 minutes later I decide to take a break. No one there to pull through. WHAT? Turn around and see the group 200 yards back. Ride on another minute or two. Where are they. Sit up, wait, hop back on, wasn't trying to get away. Seems like everyone was saving it for the next turn up Florida Ave - the 4 mile drag race. Someone makes a move, most follow, a few mini gaps. Pace in the high 20's. Nice.

RANT ON - Somehow a car gets in the middle of the group. Some (only a very few) pulling stupid stunts in traffic. Sketchy. That's why people call the Police and complain about cyclists. Then they come out and pull us over. Not good. If I'd of been the driver I'd of called the cops. Or at least yelled obscenaties at the jerks - which I did anyway. Why do people ride in group rides with freakin' IPods on? Hey, I love to listen to music and ride, but I'll NEVER do it in a group, or in traffic. Idiots runnin' red (not yellow) lights while at the front pulling the rest of us in? For what? So they can say they got away? Leave your damn ego at home and ride with your legs and brain. RANT OFF

It was agreat day (and night) to ride. Pulled off on 434, saw they were setting up for a festival.

Hmmmmm.

A little off roadin',










some more laps of Tusca', and back home for a nap.














Then I grabbed the kilt and went to throw the hammer,















the caber,



















and the sheath.

(or at least watch others do it)



'Twas a good day,

Some hills are calling my name, my legs don't want me to hear it. Aw heck I can make it up those hills without legs ...........

Can't I?

We'll see.

JB

A big Wi-Five to everyone from sunny F-L-A

Mega saddle time today. More abuse tomorrow.




















RideOn

JB

Horace Greeley's half brother Steely Greely said that years ago. Who am I to argue?















KITS :

The old and the new - subtle, but significant differences.




Thanks to Liz and Mike for getting them together.





and thanks to my seeester for the nice Christmas present

The kit of the real TdeF winning team ??? Allez Oscar!!, Allez Alejandro!!

RideOn young men

JB

and don't forget about JohnJ who will be 87 hours spinning just after midnight tonight. WOW

So what do you think is going on here?
hint - It's just before 6AM, I'd been riding for about an hour.

a) I was anticipating the rush getting in line for the Bikini Sale,

b) I stopped to deliver some mail in the box,

c) I was checking out a new meeting place for the next group ride.

d) I was having some bike problems and it was the only place that had any light.


















Well if you guessed d) - You are d)arn right (although I may need a new bikini - NOT).

My right pedal started feeling funny toward the end of Sunday's ride. Felt like maybe I had a cleat loose or something. Everything looked OK, so I forgot about..............until Tuesday mornings ride. Went out at 5AM, it was 63 degrees out and I had to enjoy the last warm morning.

After 1 loop the pedal was making some REALLY wierd noises. Like there was an angry chipmunk getting tortured in there or something. Pulled over at the Bikini Shop to what was up. Still everything looked OK. More noises and a loose feeling continued. At the start of the 7:15er I tried to unclip and the whole pedal came off. Slid it back on and rode 25 more miles.

Oh well. Same thing happened last year during a MTB race. Also the right pedal. Maybe I have some biomechanical issues here?

Realized I didn't bring a water bottle or fuel about 2 1/2 hours into the rides. Really felt it during the next hour. Drizzle increased for the last 2 group loops. Sucking pace line road spray was still OK when it's 60 degrees out. It sure isn't warm anymore.

RideOn

JB

Easy Like A Sunday Morning....

As it goes, group rides are fascinating organisms. They take on a persona totally their own that reflects not just the original intentions, but the collective wants and whims of the riders that happen to show up that day.

The Easy Sunday (aka Lionel Ritchie) ride had it's genesis last year sometime. It came about as a later in the morning alternative to the very early ride down to Pungo to chase the Fast Frogs. Piling that Fast Frog Sunday ride onto the Fast Saturday TriPower rides was a one-two punch that could KO all but the most fit and speedy riders. So BJ made the ride official and the turnouts have been large and growing.

Simple premise - We keep it slow and easy (below 22mph)until well after the Redmill store. Then Wild Bill (with permission of course) takes off on a flyer to get our heart rate up. If you're going to make that break you'd better be up near the front, or you're sure to have a wicked hard effort to bridge up.




We regroup in Creeds, then set out for a ride back.




On the way back it's easy to the first Church, then hammer time. You can't touch this .................






The Return of the Crazy Train.

Now that we have Michael back on the road and riding hard it adds the missing element. He busted a$$ after the regroup from the back of everyone to catch us way up the road. We had a full, albeit slightly squirrelly, head of steam. The Silver Fox aint quite as Foxy after the wreck, but he's back out and riding strong.

This gives rise to one more impromptu regroup in Ocean Lakes where the priviledged get to fuel up on BrennaBars(TM).

So If you aren't doing anything next Sunday - 8AM Conte's Laskin Rd. Come on out and get your

RideOn

JB

PS - My buddy (and all around ultracycling stud) JohnJ is at it again. If all goes well he'll be going for the unofficial record for spinning. So stop by the blog and leave him an encouraging comment or 2.

Up to York River on Friday for a day of riding 3 bikes. The Caffiene isn't as bad as I thought, but it still needs work.

RideOn

JB

So this Sunday I went up to the Cobblestone Bike's Pole Green Cyclocross Race. I started at the back of the age group men and worked my way through all of them to take the win.

After a quick ten minute rest and I lined up at the back of the A men. I worked my way through the group. It was hard catching the 2 leaders, but I did, then passed them. I was pretty whipped at that point. They passed me back and I came in 3rd. It was a good day of racing and a great workout.

OK now, those that know, know I could never do that. Heck, I'd need an upgrade just to get in one of those groups. But DeeDee Winfield was there, and yes, SHE did all the above. Pretty impressive. You can follow the races in the pictures I took. Info on the photo blog. She and her husband Buck are leaving Thursday for Belgium. She'll race 2 UCI Cross races and then the Worlds.

It was great to see Joel, AC, Kevin and the Cobblestone crew. They put on a great event, on a fun, challenging course.

There was a nice flat section off the start, a 180 turn into the barriers, some more flats, then off to the hill section.









One hill was barely rideable, the other was a sure runup.









The hills were a little bigger for some then others.










But were hard on everyone.









After the last hill was a quick 100 yards on pavement, then a nice 5 inch curb to negotiate before heading into the grass for a nice rythym section.

You had three choices with the curb:

Be safe and dismount. After all the pit area was at least 1/2 mile away. A long run if you pinchflat.









Do the one-two bunny hop. First the front, then the rear.










Or get your speed way up, concentrate hard, and levitate you and your bike up and over..........










More grassy flats over to the volleyball court sand pit. You could ride across the sand in a straight line, but making a 180 turn in the soft stuff was near impossible, so it was best to dismount and run.






Big props to everyone out there. Especially all the kids who raced the way we all should - with the selfless, egoless, exuberence of youth.







Stephen De Lisle took the Mens A. Well done.

Best off luck to the whole Winfield family and crew on their European adventure.

It was a great day to go out and get your

RideOn

JB

Went like this :

Normally the cold air and short days usual to this time of year mean many hours through the park in the dark. The warmth is welcome, but the old routine doesn't change......

Monday my heart rate was stuck in first gear. Even the power of the IronCross socks couldn't get it elevated.













Tuesday was better. Nice to have MOPCC (My Own Private Cross Course) to work on runups and technique.






Have to remember to watch out for the hanging cross moss. It'll grab ya when you least expect it.







Wednesday was even nicer








Thursday, nice night ride. Finished the guest house so Danbo has a place to stay when he stops by.



Missed the carnage on the Thursday Chesapeake night ride. Get well quick Michael. I know you're in good hands.



Friday, more of the same.......................








Saturday..... wet dark roads early, turns into a sunny hot day later. Nice crowd at the 7:15er, I'm sure even more at the later rides. Just did 1 loop. 1 last cross race tomorrow - is it in this season or last? ........ does it really matter? ........ The "season" really never ends, it just changes form.



RideOn

JB