Its freaking hot

Small Time?

Queen City crits were yesterday. Small time & not worth the trip down seemed to be what the view of most of Missouri was saying. Funny how when we make the trip North we never utter such phrases. Oh well F it. We had a pretty good turn out regardless of the doubters. Thanks Inmon, JJ, Hopper, Norton, Stokes, Amber Greek, Cokehead, & all the others I'm forgetting that sat in the furnace all day to help.

The Cat 3 field was probably the smallest of the day with only 28 starting, 10 of who were racing for Tyson. We were graced by 3 of the biggest sandbaggers currently in cat 3's RH,JB, BD. Guess what happened? Tyson got J-Rod up the road then sat on any attempt to chase. With most of the St. Louis teams not present the race was over for all intensive purposes by 20 in. I was a little shocked to see TJ get dropped out of the break but like I said can't fight sandbagging @ its finest.

When Tyson is racing en mass you can always count on @ least one of them hitting the deck & them opening ginormous gaps for everyone but them to close. They are proof positive what happens to a club when it gets too big. They need to cat up 1/2 there 3's & split the other 1/2 in 1/2 again into separate teams. Everybody is getting sick of racing a team of 20 guys.

This was my first real race back from my little spill. Did ok, legs felt better than they had all week. I was pretty worried going into it. Glad the field was small & the tempo stayed pretty high since too much speeding up & slowing down probably would have popped me. I realized what had happened so I decided to give my legs a punishing & closed lots of gaps & did probably too much work on the front. Did try & go with 2 to go, a last ditch hail Mary that I knew was doomed but I knew I wasn't going to contest the sprint so had nothing to loose. Hopefully this week will be better training wise & I'll feel even better @ State. Though the forecast calls for Hot followed by continued hot with a chance for melting, so not good.

If I was thinking I would have done an onsite blog. I think most of the BOCOMO blogging community were present for the right turn festivities. It might have been amusing to get some comments from the field especially after Butthead missed his start.

Why I suck & other truths of life

State TT was a big fat flop o rama! I had a pretty good time going till 10k to go then took a big dump right there on the 30k mark. Went from 26mph+ to 23mph- literally as I crossed that mark. The mind was partially willing but the legs refused to cooperate getting on top of the gear. I guess my collarbone has been the nail in the coffin for this year. Granted 3 weeks on the bike isn't much. I did set a PR but not by much. I was hoping for a sub 55 minute time back in May. Was on 56 minute pace for a long time till I lost 2 minutes in 10k. Maybe I should go ahead & join the pro domino tour because I suck @ the bike game. Any one want to buy a low mileage TT bike? I can't make it go very fast maybe you can.

This is how impressed Amber was with my finishing time.

It is a cool venue with the Capital in the background.

The day on the whole was pretty fun Amber & Mia came along. My little sister showed up with my twin nieces Nina & Ashton. So I had a pretty good cheering section for the 10 seconds they got to see me @ the start & finish. Mia did get wore out after waiting for 3 hours for results to not be posted. So we load up the car & headed back to the SPR.

Espenkotter on the P3. So damn fast I couldn't time the shutter. I hope his wife did better than I did getting his pic.

No word on my actual placing. Word has it OG placed 5th breaking the hour in his first attempt @ the 40k. I guess the P3 helped. The Ken won another state title in the almost older than dirt but moves a little quicker category. On the watch comparison I just barely beat him. The Hammer took the bronze in the same cat. EPO got 2nd in the breaking the law 45+ division. You'd think a DR. would know better than to pass an ambulance on a bike. When results are posted I'll get them up. I am curious to see how bad I got my ass handed to me in the master's 35+.

Back to the drawing board.

Shot in the leg part one

Mia sporting her Tylenol mustache

Tuesday was a pretty rough day being new parents. Mia got the first of her vaccinations. Three shots in her legs, 2 in one side & one in the other. She was a trooper & didn't cry for long. Mia is in the 90+ percentile for her age group. She's like 98 percentile for her weight! She's not a fat kid just big. I have an Aunt who is 6'5" so Mia has something to shoot for. She measured in @ 23 & 3/4 inches. Just a 1/4 inch shorter than Jimmy. Speaking of, no word on how he did in Soulard this past Sunday.

Yesterday sealed the deal on me liking Jens Voight. I've always liked the way he raced, very aggressive, always attacking. In the Giro he gifted a stage after seating on all race. In the tour of Romandie he had the opposite done to him. He was sat on then got jumped on the line. So I couldn't blame him if he returned the favor, but no he's a class act. In the tour he had an impressive victory. Plus it seems he's always in a break taking hard pulls & generally working his ass off for his team. Yesterday he was in a long break were he did a ton of work to help out Frank Schlek. He crashed on a descent chased back on & immediately went to the front to help Dave Z pull. Then when he got dropped & caught by his team leader Carlos Sastre he handed over his bidon & started pulling. Hard enough to drop Denis Menchov. He then exploded & limped in his job done till the next stage. How can you not like this guy? Plus now with Salvodelli gone I need someone to cheer for.

What's been happening?

Let's see quite a bit since my last post. I celebrated Bastille Day as any good Scotsman would. Loads of beer. Amber & I went to Earnie Biggs that night to celebrate her cousins 21st bday. Earnie's is always fun. I started my "night" that AM after work though by having the 1's good, 2's better, 3's half way, 4's getting close, 5 & 6 because who wants to leave 2 in the fridge. That's right what a better way to finish off the week than by drinker a sixer, taking a few hour nap, then getting up & doing it again. Just like when I was in college.

Did get in some riding this weekend. Not the mileage of last weekend but its been too freaking hot to put in the big digits. I did manage to get in a quality ride on my TT bike on Sunday. Not sure what it means for next Sunday's pointy helmet day, will just have to wait & see. The rest of the week will be just that, rest & hydration with some practice on my TT bike for good measure. Word has it there will be a shiny new P3 somewhere behind me. Today was my last night of rehab for the shoulder. Still weak but a lot better than when I started. Tomorrow is a big day for Mia. She gets her first rounds of shots. Amber & are very worried for her. This will be our first traumatic experience as parents. Being my kid I should be prepared for lots more. My mom got to take me to the ER a lot when I was growing up.

Wednesday Night loop

I know when I've had my ass handed to me:

I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.
I am Doug Greek's Bitch.

Just duckie

Being free to ride again I figured there was no better time to get in some race type efforts than the last duck race. OK turnout, though not as good as the last one. Everybody should give Coker a big hug for all his efforts. Pester him enough & he might have some more. Rxjimbo@hotmail.com

The race went about as I would have expected. I wasn't thrilled with my performance nor was I completely disappointed. I've got the base just need the speed back. It was too easy to go into the red instead of sitting @ my LT. Though I think this was helped by a huge week of training last week, not enough rest or sleep, & 20+ miles of pretty hard tempo riding over to the stadium. I've got another pretty hard week planned this week so no rest for the wicked. Hell I've spent the last month resting.

The highlight of my evening was being the eldest Hogan boy's( I get them confused so I'm not going to embarrass myself by naming the wrong one) water bottle cage. Bud told me to carry the bottle for him & what Bud says you do, ask Farasy. I made up for it by laying down my massive sprint on him though. Nothing makes you feel tough like beating a pre teen in a sprint. Man I'm a bad ass mofo.

Hogan posed a good question during the neutral rollout. Kind of a chicken & egg thing. Who's more pathetic people who write Blogs or those who read them? He says the readers. Personally I think its those who read them & bitch about them anonymously.

Had a nice ride back in with Cox, Mertz, Emory fresh back from knee surgery, & Farasy. After splitting off with Emory tried to show us why he needs training wheels doing a nice quasi crash right off the Greenways. During a conversation about my weight Farasy told me Zabrieski is a freak & I'm an amateur freak. I think that was a compliment but not too sure. After splitting of with those 2 & realizing what time it was had to go from cooldown mode to haul ass mode to cover the last 8 miles home. Nothing like going hard, completely cooling down, then doing an 8 mile time trial.

On the Home front Amber has gone to work for a salon in Ozark. As soon as I have all the contact info I'll post so you can book appointments & get me closer to my goal of being a pro domino player.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mia wants to tell her mommie how proud she is that Saturday she passed her Board Certifications for Massage. She smoked her exams getting the top rating in every category. I'm biased but she is very good. If your tired, sore, & need(no pun) those muscles worked over you now know who to call. The more work she gets the sooner she can massage full time & I can finally go on the professional domino tour.

Saturday

Got up way too early & headed out to meet up with the big calf crew for a "big loop" Wednesday night loop. Norton & Joey showed but just did the "little loop". The big calf boys, Peter & Greg, can put the hurt on the flats right now. I guess in the future when Espenkotter shows up with the Speed Weapons I should know the battle is on. I think we ended up with just over 19 avg for 55 very hilly miles. I ended up with 4 good hours, something in the 73 mile range.

Last night Amber, Mia, & I made the trip to Cabool to watch TD Nelson recapture his yute by playing in an alumni game. I have to say I was pretty impressed. He moves pretty good for a big boy & has an arm too. He threw one TD pass & by my count went 5 for 6 passing. Turns out I know one of his class mates who was also playing, Mike Short. Which is funny because I went to Mikes graduation so without knowing it I watched Shane graduate. Went to one of his Senior season games as well. Think when they played Mtn. Grove. It is a small world after all.

Happy BDay America

Sort of. Got in 4 hours yesterday! Felt ok not great. Did my version of the Wednesday night loop(My version has way more climbing). Peter, EPO, The Hammer,& OG all came out to enjoy a guarantee of no rain by Peter. Later when it felt like we we're being hit by a fire hose I was sure to remind every one "Don't worry its not going to rain Peter said so". OG had a great ride pulling most of the way & really turning the screws to all. The Hammer has found new climbing legs just in time for Geezer Nats. Me ok but had to follow wheels on the climbs quite a bit, no zip in my do da. Oh well moral & Motivation are on an upturn since they had no where else to go.

Thinking of switching to the Kilometers.

Back in the saddle again

Haven't blogged in awhile since I've been busy with Rehab, work, & say it ain't so RIDING. Rehab sucks lots & lots of pain. I have to keep the eye on the prize though since this course could save me almost a month in healing time on my shoulder. Finally got permission to get off the windtrainer & back out on the streets. Good thing to I had enough of the trainer & was prepared to take an extended time off. Last week I hit an all time low in motivation. The realization hit me that for the rest of the season I'll just be chasing scraps now that all my season goals went up in smoke with the snap of a bone(no pun intended). Damn dogs! It could be worse & I could be done for good so that was one saving grace.

Enough self loathing onto riding. Got out & did an hour on Sat to test my legs & make sure I still knew how to ride a bike. Sun went out for a solid 2.5 hrs in the heat. I have to say the live coverage of the Tour wasn't worth a near heat stroke. Damn its hot out there. Today I did the big loop of Springfield for a very descent 3.5 hrs. Notice a progression here? Legs are ok for the most part except for forgetting food today which dug me a pretty good hole @ the end of the ride.

I got my tshirt @ skinnywhitebikerdude.com get yours today.

Yesterday Amber & I took Mia to her Aunt Penny's pool for her first experience with swimming. For the most part she didn't want any thing to do with it. She did loosen up a little & started to enjoy it.
That evening Mia went to her Nana's while Amber & I made a trip to the Cardinals game. I'm really starting to get into going to the stadium. 4 hours before game time we bought our tickets & we got to sit behind home 4 rows up. As we were leaving ran into Farasy who was sitting a few rows behind us.

Tomorrow with a little luck I can get in 4+ without suffering a heat stroke or having my legs give out on me again.