"Racing is like a knife fight"

Chris Carmichael said that during Lance's reign of terror. And as little respect as I have for the ethics he's shown, that statement has the ring of (melodrama) truth. Too bad I'm not so good at bladed combat, even if I did bring the sharpest tool in the shed...

Since all my podnas were unavailable, and I ain't driving to Sonoma alone, I missed the 1st in the Grasshopper Adventure Series- Old Caz. 50 miles of road/dirt road for cross/road bikes. I'm sure a Good Time was had by some. As a consolation prize, I went to the races locally at Ft. Ord, for the Central Coast Series. Again, a Good Time was had by some. Luckily, I was in that number (8th to be exact). Sport Single Speed, I learned my lesson last season: that while I am an expert at bikes and biking, I am NOT an expert at training and racing. Those guys are fast and fit. It's like, they must have a routine or something.

Setting the scene...

You can just see the fastness coming off me
And the finish, passing guys not in my category just because I could and I'm a jerk

No comments on the form (CB, talking to you here)
Happy to cross that line
So while not as fun as G.A.S. it was a nice day. Boba Fet was there taking pictures, and J and D held bottles as I passed the start/finish each lap, which is awesome. N had a friend over for the weekend, and they both hung out in the car while I was racing. That was not awesome. We had a discussion about the responsibilities of being in a family and respecting and supporting each other in our activities. And by that, I mean I yelled at her about how she expects us to show up at every single one of her lousy school events and dances/recitals/art shows/classroom nights/etc, and we do. And didn't she think we had other interests or things we'd prefer to do, all of which we set aside to support her?!?
Hopefully, some good comes of that.

The course was unexpectedly great. Fast, with better broken up climbing sections than before. Nice work, Rod and Keith! New sections of very well bermed S-turns. Some of them were so tight you just threw the bike back and forth, like ski turns...Eff all the people thinking 29" wheels are a liability in the tight turns. The only liability to that bike is the rider. Speaking of, a guy asked me how it was full rigid, implying that it was "Kuh-Razy". I said it hurt. He said that his back was killing him. I said I felt that was more from pinning it for an hour and a half in one position than any equipment choices. Racers, you're dorks. So much opinion and regurgitation of other people's opinions (magazines, mtbr.com-ugh)...just ride the damn bike. Whatever bike it happens to be. For what it's worth, I think full suspension on that course is OVERKILL.

Then I went to the spa. Did some good work- including a couple Deep Tissues, which typically means the client actually wants some work and not just a light "relaxing" massage, which is boring and feels pointless to me. Felt good. Tired, but no joint ache.


Here's one left over from Halloween

And Sunday we went to the pool, and then I was released into the wild. Fixed Crosscheck in Ft. Ord. The trails are in excellent shape, lots of good traction. It's been a while since I've been able to ride solo (and longer since I was on the fix), but the flow came back after I tried to coast while removing arm warmers. Quick reminder about the nature of fixed. The whole East Garrison side is perfect for it. Took myself over to Mud Hen Express (NOT shitcoaster...) via Blair Witch. Down 50, up 49 to 82, roundy round and back to the Stairs for a beer. Home in time to stuff Pasilla peppers for dinner.

So while we were on the way to the NAHMBS in Portland recently, we stopped at the home of Eric and Randi of Rainy Peak Cyclery. Most excellent folks. And very down. If you're ever in Cottage Grove, OR you should look them up. And if you're not, but you love fine quality woolen cycling wear, look them up here. Randi(who does the sewing) made the hats Hunter Cycles had at the show, and made their team kit ( wool jersey and wool bibs) as well. I had purchased a couple pairs of knickers from Randi 2 years ago, and this past winter someonenotme shrunk the wool pair. I was bummed. The pair had a double fabric front (like Carharts only in a nice wool tweed), cargo pockets perfectly sized to hold a can of beer, and a nylon reinforced seat. Sadly, with the shrinkage the pockets wouldn't hold a beer, and the nylon was puckered (because it did not shrink), and worst the legs were too tight.
And I had a pair of fancy pants, so I asked Randi if she would fix the knickers by using the fancy pants as a gusset. She agreed, and I got them in the mail on Friday. Today, I test rode them, and they feel as good as they look. I do not want this to be a "look what I got" blog, but in the interest of spreading some love around, looky looky


Randi is such a rad lady, she used the leftover fabric to make a couple of hats. Here is the earflapped version
Like the old folks used to, she uses every part of the animal. Look again (closely) at the 1st picture of the knickers. You will see she took the side tabs off the waistband of the fancy pants, split the cuff- and sewed in a gusset- to allow for tightening. What the? She said the only things left were the zipper and the waistband. I believe her. On this hat, she even used the watch pocket
She did this because she "couldn't see such snazzy fabric go to waste". I did not request these hats-well, actually I did think of it and email her last week, but she replied that she was waaaay ahead of me, and she'd already made them and the package was in the mail. So kickass. Truly, if you are considering knickers or hats or jerseys, contact her. You will be stoked at the attention to detail and worksmanship. Thanks Randi!