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Tuesday, May 30, 2006

HamilCrit

random scribbles before a meeting ...

  1. The Mt. Hamilton road race is like getting in a face-punching contest.

    The 20+ mile climb up to the top isn't ridiculously steep or unbearably hot, it's just ... long. That final coupla' miles just seem to provide enough smackdown to separate all the fit'ers from the fakers.

    I'm a faker.

    Then, somebody said it's all downhill after you crest the summit. LIAR! The kicker climbs all the way back soak the life out of you. But, the ride back to the start? Now that's just love-on-a-stick, baby. Rolling around that resevoir on the quiet, shaded road with good company and silly stories ... that shit is priceless, yo.

    It's a helluva good reason to do that race.

  2. The morning geezer-crit at Morgan Hill yesterday was phenomenal. It turned into a mighty duel between us Safeway-ites and the Morgan StanMuscles.

    [I hear tell that MorganStanley is sending a full squad out to SuperWeek this year ... ye, northerners prepare in earnest for this year's contest, for the muscleboys will take no prisoners]

    Though MS and us Blackards were the two dominating teams, there were a ton and a half of singles and teams with 2's and 3's out there playing off of our strategeries and pouncing like hyenas upon the weak spots exposed. It was damn fine racing.

    In the end, a larger than normal break stayed off the front of the raging pack and sprinted it out for the win. For us Blackies we had da'PAB and Bennett being protected by me and LOTHAR. MStanley had the legend Langley (track bike named after him, yo) being protected by DSmith, Russ, and Coates.

    With 2 laps to go, Coates took a monster full lap pull that set it all up. Langley ordered Russ up to start the final lap fireworks and he was up at the front drilling it monster-like. I was next in line and took the train down the backstretch. I kept floating out to check our position and make sure Bennett and PAB were positioned well. I could see Bennett well-placed, but Langley was right on his wheel. I couldn't however, place where PAB was.

    YIKES!

    With about 350 meters to go, DanSmithies decided I didn't have the juice and began to pull around me. I may have been able to last another 4 or 5 seconds, but I was already started to drop fuel rather significantly. I pulled out of the line, but kept tight to see if I couldn't at least move Langley off of Bennett's wheel ... yeah right. That guy could thread his bike through a nun's hoo-haw.

    And then, like a bullet comes daPAB around the left side, bringing a freight of momentum through the corner and shooting around the other boys to take the cleanest, fastest line to the finishing wire. He won it sweet and Bennett hung on for a 4th ... Lothar nabbing a sweet 7th to boot.

    superemely satisfying.

  3. The Proseys race was full of aggression, but little commitment to the suffering. In the end, it was mostly a bunch of geezers doing most of the animating throughout the day. Giant's Reamey and MS's Russ were all over the front of the race. Der Hipptler was spreading his LaborMafia evil in every direction as well. But, in the end, it was a field sprint that I wanted no part of. I'd done my best to shoot off and bridge up to as many breaks as I could and had no gas or stomach for the final lap hargey-bargey. Sterling won another field sprint for Toyota-United ... almost making up for that team's gaylord foto-ads on VelosNooze.

  4. This morning needed to be an eternity.

    I suppose it is, with her, forever.

    But, this morning, laying next to her

    paradise.

25 comments:

Reed Maxwell said...

OV- shouldn't you have called the post "HamatilCrit" ? :) nice job on Monday! see you this Saturday? I'll be "doubling up" and it won't even cost a million bucks....

PAB(a.k.a.CID) said...

lessee,

Anderson = Smitty (Anderson was, I believe, on sidelines with cute puppydog on leash)
and hats off to MS for a damn fine race.

me = like a bullet? hmmm.
perhaps an odd sort of pear-shaped bullet...

olaf = unbelievably selfless for teammates at all times. thanks again.

bagboys = clickin pretty good.

glad you enjoyed your morning!

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

oops, rush job post ... as always.

but, at least i did edit this one!

~ goPABgo ~

diskzero said...

The masters race was more fun for me to watch. It was much more animated.

It looked like you might have had a run in the break during the Pro race. I saw you and and the Hippster in there but the field eventually caught up.

Sterling spent a lot of time floating around at the back of the pack, which I guess is a good strategy if you are on your own, avoid crashes and have the ability to get up to the front when it matters.

Barb said...

I heard there was one spitting-mad Vanderpoop in the pro race breakaway yesterday! He didn't like it that some of his breakawaymates might not have wanted the break to suck-seed! I hope tales I've heard of nasty and un-sportsmanlike conduct aren't true...

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

sadly, too true, too true.

your RHVillian boy needs to learn about the way to ride in the break.

You open up gaps when the rest of the break is rolling through? That's just not how things are done on the road.

You do it over and over, and you're just asking to be reprimanded.

The spit i threw on his legs, not classy ... not classy at all. But, my disgust at how he was riding overtook my better judgment and the venom came out.

Learn how to ride, or stay the hell out of the way.

olaf = a bad boy sometimes.

Barb said...

BwaaHaaHaa! That's friggin' classic! Very childish of you, but at least the breakaway failed... I think Aaron didn't know how to sit on in a non-helpful way without piising people off or he may not have been feeling good (I haven't spoken to him, only read the race report from another teammate). His job was to get in there and slow things up and although it may have been ugly, it sounds like he got the job done! Now go sit in the corner and think about what you've done.

marscat said...

That guy could thread his bike through a nun's hoo-haw


hmmmm??

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

" Now go sit in the corner and think about what you've done. "

naaw, it's more than that. I screwed up and should be punished. Heat of the moment stuff is what it is, but somethings are just below the belt.

i'm going to submit myself to a few snotrockets from the villians in reprimand.

gawddamnit, i can be a screw up.

ah well, try and make it right ... try and not do it again, i suppose.
m

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

"That guy could thread his bike through a nun's hoo-haw


hmmmm??"


... hadn't had coffee yet.

Anonymous said...

Wowzers

I missed an Olaf implosion!

But, honerable enough OV knows how to put on his big boy pants and admit being a dumbass.

Not all can do it and mean it.

Now OV be good

ms

nosajpalnud said...

now as punishment you have to read through all your old posts......

admitting that is admirable

outside of the 1/2 race, sounds like some good racing - nice reports and bummer to have missed it

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

now as punishment you have to read through all your old posts......


shit man, you just said it.

ok, keep the lumps comin'. i deserve that action.

where's "anonymous said..." with a few kicks in the fat head when you need him?

what is getting to me more is that I didn't really begin to realize how big of a mistake i had made until DJSnead called me it. He used the term 'unsportsmanlike' ... and that damn well stings.

I was blind to my own shitty behavior. bad news.

i know it's not invading a sovereign country or committing genocide ... but, it's my own battleground of ethics and I definitely, most definitely failed miserably.

It's actually quite humiliating and I hope I can make it up to the guy.

we bike racers are such a dramatic lot, n'est pas?

shawndoggy said...

That's the thing... a bike race is ALL drama... highs and lows and toil and reward, and sometimes a little frustration, compressed into an hour or two.

everybody f's it up now and then. How you deal with the aftermath is the test that reveals character.

Good seeing you, btw!

Velo Bella said...

you weren't going to be blind for long

nosajpalnud said...

I just thought of something better. What about racing your next one in a pink t-shirt flappin in the wind? :)

Shit happens, we all make mistakes in the heat of battle and i'm sure the guy will accept your apology. That's about all you can do. Don't beat yourself up too much.

Velo Bella said...

pink tshirt flapping? We need to punish him, not encourage...

PAB(a.k.a.CID) said...

you know, in my view of things, you have probably built up more goodwill, good karma, get-out-of-jail-free-cards, or whatever, than just about anyone I know in our little local racing world.

so when you make an apology or admit a mistake, people know it is sincere and from the heart.

you have earned that sort of respect.

--

now go do umpteen suffervals in penance. wait, you LIKE doing suffervals. VB, maybe you can think of a more suitable punishment.

Velo Bella said...

I can and I can't wait

Velojuice said...

Dad, What's a hoo haw??

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

vj - now that is funny.

VB - gimme some.

PAB - you sweetheart ... now get that washing machine working.

nosalplugs - thanks.

shawndiggitydog - good seein' you, too. And you, as much as anyone, know what a schmuck-cake I can be when i put my nose in it.

mcSassy - you'll have a chance to see more, i'm sure. just give me a running chance before you pull out the 12-gauge.

crow killer.

Dennis said...

The prinicpal says, you may take off the dunce cap and stop writing "I will not spit on RHVilla. I will not spit on RHVilla..." on the board. It looks like you have learned your lesson and are ready to play nice.

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

... well, I said I wouldn't spit on one RHVillian ...

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