On the road again

So after finally kicking that nasty ass flu I managed to ride all week. Monday - Thursday anyway. Pretty much all on the road, and all in the cold, but it was worth it. I've thrown any chance of being "seriously" fit out the window at this point. Still planning on hitting a bunch of early season races such as The King of Burlingame MTB Time Trial on April 6th and a bunch of the Root 66 races. I'm going to have to hit some of the more technical races to have any chance of breaking the top 5. The early races are way too roadie friendly for a guy like me to do too well, never mind the fact that the Sport class races are over in around an hour. It usually takes me a good 30 minutes just to warm up, never mind go full throttle from the get go.

It seems like riding the On One fixed has been helping with power thus far. It's pretty fun, and it had better be since I sold my only geared road bike recently. It's SS or fixed for the foreseeable future on the road. I'm sure the first commute to work next month will be fun... might need to slap on the FW for the ride home. I can't imagine trying to spin down Manville Hill road in WoonCumberSocketLand. That could get ugly real quick. Maybe I could put some pegs on the back and just stand there all the way down, sweet... I think I got an idea of what it might look like last Saturday while watching some brakeless dude blaze down Jenkins St. towards North Main. Next time watch out for the sheet of ice at the bottom of the hill buddy, it's a bitch. That nice headband will probably protect you though, so what do I know?

Oh yeah, anyone know where the hell Adam is? He went from 5,000 posts a day on his blog to none. What happened? Is he too busy mixing granola, talking to cows and driving Volvos to post? Step it up pal, we miss you...

Need a lift??

Yikes, I'm 33 today. Well, I guess it was yesterday, seeing as how it's 12:03 AM on February 16th. Anyway,  if you need a lift down to the Fun Ride on Sunday let me know, just be sure your tetanus shots are up to date. The Chevy is running a little rough these days, what with the missing engine and all.  

In all seriousness, the Subaru will be departing the Camp Street enclave ~ 7:30 AM for the balmier climes of Charleston, RI. Should be a good time with plenty of riding and raffle prizes to go around. Hope to see you there!

Oh yeah, thanks for the beer Jamie!

Spring is almost here

Given the recent spate of nasty weather how can I make such a bold statement? No, I'm not related to prognosticating rodents from PA, but I do have a pretty decent method for discerning the change of seasons. My barometer in this case is the local liquor store. Last weekend I stopped in and found not only Mike Bike, but my favorite springtime beer in the world; Harpoon Hibernian. What does this have to do with bikes? Plenty. As we all know beer and bikes get along uncommonly well. Well, Hibernian and bikes go together even better. Nothing could make riding on an icy night, while flirting with hypothermic shock, better than knowing a really great beer is lurking in my fridge.

Unless you're this guy you're most likely experimenting with new ways to keep yourself warm, or riding a trainer. More often than not our rides nowadays are cold, raw and windy affairs that offer frequent opportunities to get soaking wet, and freezing cold, all at the same time. Dragging your ass off of the couch to ride in a cold and dark environment requires some motivation. While new wool clothing and winter gear are always nice the novelty wears off after a bit (somewhere around the moment the blood flows back to your frozen extremities). So why not give yourself a good reason to ride in February and March? Buy the beer, drink the beer and ride! Just not necessarily in that order...

I know what you're thinking. “Why can't I just skip the bike riding and down a few every night to stave off the winter doldrums?" You most certainly could, but that would leave you a little on the portly side and definitely not ready for this fine event on April 6th. I suppose you could fill out a bit, and just "ride into form". But you know you want to be the real King of Burlingame, and not the guy sporting a muffin top because he can't fit into his lycra. Besides, nicknames like the Sausage King of Burlingame probably aren't flattering. Unless your real name is Abe Froman.

Speaking of events, RI NEMBA is hosting it's first ever Winter Fun Ride on 2/17 at Burlingame SF. If you've never ridden in Burlingame, and you live in RI, drag yourself down for some guided rides, a raffle and some chili and hot cocoa. $5 gets you a guided tour of a really great trail system. If you're a racer type it'll give you the chance to scope out the terrain prior to the previously mentioned KOB TT. All proceeds go to charity, as per usual. Get the details here and/or here.

That's all I've got for now. Get out and ride your bike, even if it is just to the liquor store dammit! Springtime is coming up quick...

Are you ready for some Foosball?!?

Apparently the whole NE Patriots team works here... I didn't realize this until I came to work this morning. All I can say is wow, did they really let themselves go! I never knew Teddy Bruschi was a dumpy accountant. Maybe you knew this already, but it was news to me. Apparently that shifty dude in the mailroom is on Kraft's payroll too, he moonlights as Kevin Faulk on Sundays. Good thing for him Foxboro is just up the road. I wouldn't want his commute betweens jobs to affect his on the field performance.

I also heard a lot of chatter about how "we" were going to win and why the Giants will lose. Really? "We're" going to beat the Giants, are you sure about this? Because, honestly, I think we had all better get our asses on a plane to Arizona and get some practice in ASAP. Half the folks in this joint couldn't lug the chains around on the sidelines, never mind line up on the field. My favorite moments had to be the numerous discussions about the advantages of Under Armour. I know that I, for one, wear a base layer when walking to the printer or fax machine. This isn't Baskin Robbins kids. We're busy people, and busy people sweat. So hell yeah, I want a wicking fabric underneath my replica jersey while I'm running screens on my way to the bathroom. Besides, I never know when that mailroom creep might try to tackle me in the parking lot.

I know I'm a cynical douche bag, and that the above has little to do with cycling. But imagine how absurd the above scenario plays out with other sports... sports like swimming, polo, cycling and figure skating to name a few. What if I'm a HUGE fan of the above mentioned sports? During the Olympics can I walk into the office sporting a Speedo while wearing figure skates and clutching a riding crop? Maybe I could just ride my bike around inside while wearing a water polo helmet and lycra shorts. That should elicit some interesting responses. Maybe I'd hear things like "Hell yeah dude, we're gonna crush the Germans in the Butterfly!" or "Sweet helmet man, we're gonna own the Latvians in the pool"!

As it stands now I already get some wonderful responses when I ride into work, without wearing a Speedo. The general reaction as I walk (quickly) through the cafeteria to the showers is sometimes funny, occasionally hostile and sad all at the same time. Oh yeah, and in July everyone seems to think I know everything about the Tour. Do I look like Bob Roll (God, I hope not)?? Just because I ride bikes doesn't mean I know two shits about a race in France.

With all that said it's time to get back to work. Although I have to confess, I'm really not feeling guilty about posting from the office. Why should I when everyone is preoccupied with the life altering event that is the Super Bowl? So load up your school bus sized vehicles, grab your buddies to help dig up the corpse of Spuds McKenzie and get ready to party like its 1987. Don't worry about those pesky wars, elections and the economy. Crap, I gotta run. Laurence Maroney is headed this way, I think we're running through old car tires on the lawn at noon.