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Friday, August 18, 2006

the kind of burn that hurts

well ... my unSafeWayMates are racing this weekend ~ and it's killing me not to be out there mixing sticks with them.

and that is what drew me to cycling, don't ya know ... the team.

when i was young and virile ... my athleticism strayed to the pedestrian and I was a running fool like all the rest of the unclean masses. Midnight runs, runs to work, from work, weekend long miles, thursday speed sessions ... running, running, running.

and when i would compete ~ even though i might drive to the race with half a dozen others, even though we might be ostensibly a same-named squad of whatever's-ville USA ... always i ran alone.

and then came triathlon. variations in the theme, you dig? It was me and the water, me and the bike, me and those damn running shoes again. it was a solo endeavor, no matter how many training partners known and enjoyed, no matter how many friends waved to at the start line.

But in cycling ~ everything is dependent on the team. Sure, you can race it solo ... and most of my NRC-chasing days were just that ... but what is purest and most enjoyable about cycling is ... killing it for your team. Setting up, being set up, risking for and with, circling to protect and circling to destroy ... these are the beautiful delights of our sport.

but ... it looks more and more as though my roadie-scum season might be at an end. And it breaks my heart to miss any of it.

for my 'mates.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

i hear ya, blood.

Anonymous said...

I'll be seeing ya at the feedzone passing bottles to the bag boyz

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

i knew the kitty was gonna be the last straw.

i tried to keep the little fire lit with a strategery email yesterday. i figured i'd say something stupid and olaf would feel the need to come and set me straight.

but VB countered my ploy with a kitty.

i just can't compete with that....

-

seriously, take the time you need to heal, regroup and recharge. we'll miss you guys this weekend, but we'll also see y'all soon enough...

X Bunny said...

no one is feeling sorry for you

so you're missing a few bike races

but you are having lots of hunny time, kitty time, and whatever else you want to do time

so enjoy yourself already!

diskzero said...

It's a bummer when your life and your body start to get in the way of not allowing you to pretend you are a full time bike racer.

No racing for me tomorrow either.

Anonymous said...

Living in Santa Cruz made me soft too.....

Hopefully I can do battle in cross

-sissy

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

cross is sounding good

see you there.

Ron Castia said...

Benny J = Hitting the right on the head.

Dunnigan was actually a refreshing change. I would like to see it stay around for a while.

Steve Griffiths said...

Yep Dunnigan was fun. And Safeway had a lock on the field despite your absence OV. I had a pretty funny encounter with one of the Clover riders when he snatched my water bottle in the feedzone. I'll blog it later, but he almost made me cry :(

Anonymous said...

Windy Chilly Harbour Crit:

Most of the backbones showed up.

Vertabrae victorious. 1 & 3.

Bag Boys pondering mathematical equation to wit: 10-1 = 0

Stock Market crashes after heady run up.

Crypto-cism.

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

hey "anonymouse"

bagboys were just pretending to be a bunch of flapping fish out of water to let olaf know how badly he is needed.

it was xbunny's idea--she's so manipulative.

Anonymous said...

It's A. NoNo Moose to you Pab.

Oscars all around to the bags, they played their roles to perfection, the identically dressed minions in a Bond movie, running around frantically after JB caps the evil leader, sans the exploding island.

Buns gets the "Best Director" Oscar.

Me, I need one of them jet packs from Goldfinger.

nosajpalnud said...

OV - your guys did very well at Dunnigan. Maybe I'll see on one of the cross courses if I can find a bike - lookin' for a 54". mtb wont cut it in the A's.

Who crashed at Suisun? Took a rain check on that one.

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

j ~ i recommend going a bit smaller on the cross frame size. being really stretched out on a cross bike makes for bad handling and very, very sore lower back.

i guess Meaney and Gargantuos were off the front and slid out all over the place to hand Hutchy the win. don't think it hurt Meaney too much, cuz he went and spanked the prosey dinkers for the win later.

dunnigan sounded good 'cept for a narrow'ish finishing straight? ah well, that's bike racing.

Ron Castia said...

I get the Gargantuos referece, but I don't know who Meaney refers to.
One person comes to mind, but it will be at least 8.5 months before that person is back on the scene.

nosajpalnud said...

"Meaney" is cool. As for the other guy you mention well...Karma has its way of takin care of business. Crashes=no fun.

Thx for the sizing tip - will have to jump on one and see. Only done one cross race in the Cs a couple years ago on my mtb. and the tri running skills came in handy. There's a couple races on the calendar that are only a few miles away.

nosajpalnud said...

maybe i have it wrong - "meaney"=reaney?

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

reaney is definitely meaney.

damn good racer.

hard as nails. it was the best nickname i could come up with before the black potion mainlined this AM.

apparently he squashed a tire through a corner and Gargantuous followed him, lemming-like.

as for cross, i'm a real believer in a shorter setup. what i like to do is have folks look at their mtb set up (if they are comfy in their technical skills on it) and look at the position of their hands relative to their butt. most riders who rock the cazbah on the dirt don't ride all stretched out. they ride with their hands in a bit, comfy shoulder position, back in a solid, neutral angle.

too many (men) do i see trying to get the low and long position on cross bikes ... and always complain about back pain and ... crashing.

take a look at some of the cross pictures on the websites and examine body positions. it's cool to view and think on.

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

long, low, back pain, crashing...

hey, that's me!

-

new bike is set up way shorter than last year. i definitely feel better control, but still finished the first ride with a bit of grungy trail-induced back pain. Where'd y'all say those happy trails were again?

nosajpalnud said...

good points on the set up - I ride my mtb in a pretty relaxed position with the easton risers and never did like the flat bar set up. part of me also wants to run again and give a 5K pr a shot, but that = no good for bike racing and would require that I actually go out and run.

Ron Castia said...

I did a 3 hour ride with Natwick and a team mate yesterday, Clark said the same thing. Start a little shorter and raise the saddle 1 cm higher than the road bike.
MTB: Mine tends to be just a bit longer, more equal to the reach on the hoods of my road bike. But I also sit "in" the bike a little more and that helps with the low back on long Downieville type climbs. Sitting "in" the bike I get more of a point and shoot type ride.

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

i think Natty prolly said 'lower than the road bike'.

i likes me a shortened road setup, too. makes me feel all big and burly.

Velo Bella said...

oh but honey
you ARE big and burly

shawndoggy said...

I'm just wondering how you can live so close to the beach and not learn to surf?

Ron Castia said...

I said lower.