calling it as they see it

I don't really have much to say on this one. Except that there must be irony in there, somewhere.

Sublimity is not sublime

That race was balls-hard.

The field completely detonated - I just read that we had a whopping 16 finishers. Scott tells me there are 1130 ft of climbing per lap. And wind. It's all rollers. It's brutal. I hung on to the front when the chips were down and while the first split of 7 was eventually re-absorbed, we re-split shortly thereafter and were down to 10. A few were yo-yoing pretty hard and one or two seemed to be sitting in - two guys eventually managed to jump off and we never got them back. It was turning into a death march of sorts, and PK was getting perkier as the race went on and started to really turn the screws. A few miles from the end, though, something happened behind me and his front wheel was taken out on one of the final rollers of the day. Some others may have already been off by then, but we were down to 4. I got 2nd in the sprint.

Anyways, we were all channeling the inner Jens Voigt today, and there was definitely some of this going through my head:

Another day at the office

It started with some VO2 intervals on Hawkins, Blanton, and Willamette. The morning mist and rain gave up and went away, leaving big puffy white clouds and sunbreaks coming through.


Down the back side of Fox, I ran into Mike B and joined him for three of his hill repeats - twice the back side of Fox, once McBeth. Vitamin Sunshine began pouring down from above.


By the ride home along the bike path, a perfect spring evening.



3 1/2 hrs, all hard climbing, legs toast. Feels great.

Pie

Five guys rolled off the front of the Cherry Pie course in the 1/2's right from the gun. It seemed early. They never got that far, but as it turned out, it was far enough.

As the gap started to grow, I got nervous about it and spent over an hour doing my damnedest to get away somehow. Time after time - something could get out a ways, but if it got halfway to the break, people got jumpy in the pack and ended up bring it back, possibly while trying to bridge themselves. The most promising move had a Team O and Livestrong power rider in it, and we still got caught right at the top of the finish hill at the end of the first lap. Two guys took off right then, as the break was pretty close by then, and made the junction. Then it went away again.

With about 20k to go (of a terribly short 85) I drifed back and rested, then bumped and jostled my way to the front for the finish. Being out of any serious placings it wasn't super interesting, though the short uphill finishes like that are not good for me (never won a sprint... in my life), I went anyways from about 5th wheel out of the last corner and ended up 8th in the sprint. I was probably helped by the Hutch's rider putting his front wheel into a Therapeutic shoe and snapping the valve stem, it helped clear the bunch right behind me as the usual mayhem ensued, although of course no-one encountered any serious trouble such as crashes. No, that happened in the 3's - I didn't see it but I heard a few stories about five figures $ worth of equipment getting trashed. Seriously, guys, stay safe. And if there's anyone who was doing blatantely dangerous sprinting or some such, y'all talk to them until they really, truly get the point. Peer pressure and embarrassment can do a lot for attention to safety.

Great things to do on a Wednesday afternoon

Did Fox from all 4 sides today: Front, Back, McBeth, Willamette. Might have killed poor McK. But there were some nice views from the top while waiting.

We descended back into town after almost three hours of riding up and down the hills, and found the rain on the way back home. But while we climbed, it was sun, mist, and rainbows. Life is good.

mile 90 and still climbing...

beats the hell out of football. just an opinion.

roads to nowhere

... and back again.

Drove up to Portland in a suit to stand around and get depressed at a MBA career fair. Stood in lines. Socialized with other people in suits. Then, went on a wild goose chase around Portland to try and find some specific place my classmate wanted to eat at, which was full. So we went somewhere else, which was also full. Ended up getting noodles after over an hour of screwing around, and drove home.

Got on the bike today for the CSC ride and went to Cottage Grove via Dillard road and Sears. Hitting Lorane Hwy again, the group went right toward town and I went left over Wolf Creek. Joined by Ms. MM, we got back through town and I kept going until I felt the stress and frustrations finally fall away as I fatigued. Over 100 miles and 6hrs+ in the saddle, and it felt great.

hot sauce

Never a good idea before an all-out effort. I knew this, and yet... it got ugly.

Beers after school. Study after beers. Writing after study. Life is good.

There's a midterm tomorrow, way too much work to be done, and I'll pay for this by working all night, but... I see blue sky outside and it's lunchtime. Time to go ride. There is nothing so important that it can't wait another couple of hours, except for riding with friends. Can't really do that in the dark.

totally random - riding music

and:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKjkPQnHzPg&feature=related

total Another Cynthia kick this week. it's all over the ipod. until i burn out. seems to be good music for hill climbing though.

go figure.