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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

biker shit

this weekend i went pedal partying with the Bella Chicks. It's a refreshed team that has hidden talent, balanced maturity, a dash of impetuous strength, and a big swinging love of biking. We went climbing, did some sprinting, pounded away against the lonely headwinds ... good clean fun.

i had to miss a day of it because of work ... which sucked. and now, 'cuz stoopid work won't let me out to play, i'm not gonna even be able to tag along and docublog some of the Giant Starberry rides (frozen food section).

double suck.

- - -

And so, since I can't mix it up with the fast boys this weekend ~ i'll regale with a few shovel fulls to pass the time.

Yesterday I couldn't get out of the office early enough to join in with the locals who singe flesh for lunch out to BoonyDoon hill. Way late, i thought I might as well turn the screws and burn a TT effort to try and catch any nooner-stragglers' charred remains out on Hwy 1.

None sniffed - so I made my way up the wine country hill until the sweet swoop of the descending pack caught my eye and bristled my backside. I hadn't been in the mood for the TT effort out and was kinda grumpy from having to do it. Instead, what i was looking for was a little test of the top-end power after a holiday weekend's 12-hour training bloc with the Bellas.


The kids regrouped as they reintegrated with Hwy 1 to make the southern migration back toward town and the cubicles. Noon rides always have that giddy sense of "hooky" ... that i find a more than a bit titillating.

i love breakers of the norm.


Captain Sadoff and another veteran of the beltway led the group for a big chunk of time. It was a good strong tempo and I always enjoy thinking of those dirt-hawgs of the true-cross world not having a clue what a silky-smooth roadie the Lobster really is.

... makes me giggle.

Anyway, I was revving to throttle the engine but, since I hadn't been with the group out, etiquette whispered that i defer to what the group's inclinations were and not seek to impose my own selfish desires for accelerations. If you wanna play, you gotta pay.

Luckily, there is this Lombardi rider who ... straight up ... only knows one speed ~ ballbusting. They call him "skully" - which, I find kind of hot - he's straight lipped and you kind of think he's snooting down his nose at you unless you take time to notice he's actually just drooling from going 120% ... all the time.

Well, the skully was the first to decide speed was on order and the shenanigans began with his courteous increase of speed. A few rotations later and the pack was in high flight, a herd of wild mustangs galloping mad across windy ridges overlooking the left coast.

Hwy 1 is a busy road ~ two lanes each direction with sight-seers lookey-looing themselves into bike lanes, commuting kaliforn-I-ates disgusted with anything hinting at a slow down to their important lives, and the occassional cheary-hi jogger waving at you and wondering if "that bike riding might not be fun, after all."


The pack's speed rises as riders fall in and out of the rotation - each churning a bit harder on the pedals as the intensity gathers, like a cloud of electricity. There is the requisite CityLimit sprint at the end of this nooner and, for me, it's that time of year to do a first test of the legs. The Skully has been pulling hard for almost a minute. It's the leadout of leadouts. I'm 5 wheels back watching two boys yo-yo in and out of the non-existent draft of a phenom woman named Kat Tobin.

Tobin is tucked tight 3rd wheel behind a good looking college kid who keeps twitching his head, wondering when the right time is to start his sprint around big Skully's leadout express. At around 600meters to the city sign, the dangling boys finally get snapped and it's a little jump around them to latch onto Tobin's wheel for me.

poor guys ... it was painful watching them suffer a bike length off the pace - forever. they were both really digging to stick with the speed ... but, aerodynamics is a cruel bitch and once they were pushing as much wind as Skully in front ... their tickets came due.


Sprinting ~

I am NOT a sprinter. But, i do love mixing it up in the sprints. I love giving leadouts, dancing hard for positions, and the unthinkable speeds careened through corners. I love the discipline of organized drivetrains and the chaotic crushes to the front when that can't happen. It's pure bike racing madness.


I am NOT a sprinter

... but, I sprint.

17 comments:

X Bunny said...

sure you aren't

just like i am NOT a bike racer

Anonymous said...

brilliant.
"I sprint, therefore, I am (a sprinter)."

Anonymous said...

His name is Skully because if you try to go pull-for-pull with him it will feel like he ripped your eyes out of the sockets and skull-fuc#*d you to death.....

No really it is his last name, but that sounds better. Does it not??

And it does hurt that much when you try to match him by his rules.

jAndy donka-donk said...

**glancing at dirty bike next to me in cube**

The lobster rolls really nice on the road, just dont get it in white.....

Anonymous said...

I'm not a sprinter either.

Every time I go out for a ride I tell myself how awful a rider I am.

Anonymous said...

My new favorite word: docublog.

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

Katrin Tobin--there is a name from the past.

I remember her winning lots of big races back in, well, let's just say, a while back...

Glad to here she is still riding strong. A comeback, perhaps?

Anonymous said...

cycling is almost as gay as nfl football. almost but not quite.

Anonymous said...

Is this vanderhoots alter ego??

And is GAY bad???

Velo Bella said...

She hasn't stopped riding strong.

She does triathlons here and there nowadays. She also did one of our cross races. But mostly she just rides strong.

Anonymous said...

Dude...Go Big or....

VeloNews Editor
Sports publisher seeks editor-in-chief for VeloNews, the leading biweekly competitive cycling title and Web site. The successful candidate will be responsible for contents, look and feel of magazine and Web site; managing editorial staff and designers; and directing freelancers. Proven, strong editing, budgeting, management, writing, design, proofing, copyediting experience required; knowledge of competitive cycling essential; daily newspaper and Web site experience a plus. Deadline and detail-oriented. Some travel to cycling events worldwide. Cover letter and résumé: Attn. HR, Inside Communications, Inc, 1830 N 55th St, Boulder, CO 80301-2700. E-mail: jobs@insideinc.com. No calls, please.

Anonymous said...

I just think the whole thing is funny coming from Mr. I dont do group rides EVER!

But I understand what ya'll talking about.

I'm not a climber or a sprinter but I tend to try my hand at both.......usually at the wrong time.

MS

Anonymous said...

did you get authorized permission to ride with cal giant guys this weekend, i have heard you are one too many for that ride and not welcome.

Anonymous said...

"did you get authorized permission to ride with cal giant guys this weekend, i have heard you are one too many for that ride and not welcome......"

blah, blah, blah

wank.... now that is just being nasty

did you get authorized permission to post?

Anonymous said...

were are the Giant rides publicized? are they team rides? or can any wank ride with them (if they can keep up)?

Anonymous said...

i just heard that the cal giant team did not want safeway riders tagging along. dont be bitter and its not nasty, they just did not want safeway riders joining in their own training camp.

relax

norcalcyclingnews.com said...

oops, forgot about this silliness.

I was going to do a bit of rah-rah about how much work AG (the guy who runs the team) has done for the NorCal and National cycling scene.

AG invited me to ride with them this weekend in the super-secret training camp (uh, highlighted on their website) and I initially said I would and write up as much publicity for them as i could.

cuz, you know ... i like supporting local riders n' teams.

but, i can't take the time off work and i've got happy obligations to help out the VB women at the CalAggurt crit this weekend, so will miss the CalGiant rides.

too bad - though, i still think i want to do an interveiw of AG for cyclingnews. the dude has done a solid for the sport and it'd be cool to see him get mo' props for his dedication to the sport (and for putting up with whiney bitch bike racers).