Another Sunny One

My recipe for happiness on a hot day: Iced Raspberry Latte... Might not sound good at first but try one and you be glad you did. Enjoy

Global what?

Coming to you live from the sweet new laptop I got from work... Summer has arrived here in Los Anchorage and yesterday we set a new record high temperature of 76 degrees. That might not mean much to folks in the lower 48, but up here it's great news for late May weather. Last night I had a great ride and was so happy not to have to wear arm wamers or shoe covers. Hopefully the weather is treating you well in your town.

What a Weekend

Following the recent theme of my blog, which Bobby pointed out stands for "Bike-LOG", I'll do my best to bore you with a recap of last Saturday's road race around Bodenburg Butte (although these pics are from a downtown crit a few weeks ago). It was a big success for me and an even bigger success for my old friend Tony. The 12 lap, 82 mile race began innocently enough with the group rolling out nice and easy on the chilly morning north of Anchorage. Tony and I increased the pace only slightly and we got a small gap on the group. We decided to see what we could do with it and before we knew it, the group was out of site. After three laps, I was unable to keep the pace Tony was pushing because on Saturday he was 2/3 animal. As Tony raced on, I tried to recover a bit and thought I was going to have to join the group when I noticed that two riders had broken away and had a good gap on the main field. I joined them and we worked together for the rest of the race and ended up having about a 4 minute lead on the field by the end of the race. Tony was on fire and he beat the three of us by 8 minutes! I tried a sprint for second place but started a bit early and got third place by one second. That put Tony's team - Team Alaska - in first, Team Kaladi in second, and I got my team - Team Alaska Waste - a "podium spot".
Later that night at 9:00 we had a soccer game and needless to say, my legs were a bit tired. By the second half I was o.k. and we won 5-4.
Sunday I cut down 10 trees in our backyard and raked leaves unitl my shoulder was about to pop. Another soccer game at 3:00 on Sunday and I was DONE. So, there's that. Check back in about a week or so to see what's up... That's about as often as I can do this thing. Until later, keep the rubber side down.

Spring Omnium

The new spring stage race was held this weekend. Friday night was the Highland Rd. hillclimb and for me it was, in a word, ruthless. I've yet to become a really good climber and this race was incredibly hard for me. It was 2,230 ft. of climbing in just over 8 miles with some pitches of up to 17% grade. To top it off, it started raining/hailing very hard about halfway up. We rode right into it and I was able to hang on to a couple of riders that blocked to cold wind and allowed me to recover a bit. I pulled in front of one of the guys I was drafting and just at the last second he came around me and finished just in front of me. I've been thinking of filing a suit agianst Highland Rd. to seek damages for pain and suffering and for pounding me down lower than I've ever been - crushing my hopes and shattering my confidence. There were times on that dreaded hill that I wanted to quit, crawl into the ditch on the side of the road, curl up in the fetal position, and die... but when it was over, I was happy to have finished.

Next was a crit out at Fort Richardson and it was a blast. The skies were sunny and the temperatures were approaching the 60's. Captain E went off the front with a rider from another team early in the race and held the lead until the finish, only to come in second in the drag race to the line. I finished in 8th place just after a horrible sounding crash in the second to the last corner just behind me to the left. The rider was o.k. but probably has some bruised ribs.

The third and final stage was a time trail, also at Fort Richardson. It was two laps of a 4.7 mile loop with only about 100 ft. climbing per lap. I finished in 22:35 to take 9th place and gain 22 more points. Based on the top three finishers for each of the three teams, our team - Team Alaska Waste - took second... and I was able to hang on for 10th place of 24 riders. Big props to Captain E, Heavy D, and The Seaman for their efforts. Go AK. Waste!

Today the Mrs. had a great Mother's Day and we won our soccer game 5-3 (I put one in the goal after my daughter took a shot and it bounced off of the keeper's hands). Another player and I knocked heads. I hit the turf hard and now have a silver dollar sized knot on my forehead that will turn a beautiful shade of baby shit green in a day or two. At 6:00 pm I have to board a plane to Naknek and then on Wednesday I'll be in Dillingham and arrive home Thursday night. Next Saturday is the first big road race out at Bodenburg Butte for our team. Sunday I'll be spending the day cutting trees down in the backyard with my new chainsaw. Have a good week.

Mars Drive

Here's one for the siblings... I was obviously enjoying teasing my younger sister with my Shake-n-Bake pork chop. Dig the red shag carpet. Ahh, the 70's in Alaska - those were the days... kids ripping around the neighborhood on dirt bikes and three wheelers, a moose eating our hippy neighbors pot garden and getting so stoned it spent the day in our front yard and might as well have been in a wheelchair, all the neighborhood kids getting together to do our version of The Gong Show in our driveway with parents as judges and a big iron skillet as the gong, broken bones, riding bikes, building forts, playing Kick the Can until midnight, getting stung by bees more times than I care to remember, and exploring hillside trails that are now neighborhoods. Those memories are but a drop in the sea of great times I took with me from my youth. After getting my brains scrambled in an accident a few years ago, I'm more thankful than I can say to still have those timeless moments locked in the vault.

Trip North

These are a few shots from my trip to Kotzebue last week. The first shot is of Kotzebue from the hill just out of town. Shot two is the hotel (grin). I had a blast riding Fango above the Arctic Circle on Kotzebue Sound and out onto wide, smooth snowmachine trails that rolled through the hills for miles and miles over frozen tundra. I also rode up to the United States Air Force Long Range Radar Site above town and just beyond that to the Kotzebue Electric Association windmill farm. It was still a bit chilly and on one ride, an icy wind kicked up on my way back to the hotel and I was glad to get there when I did. The trip could have been a real drag but I was able to bring my bike... and that made all the difference.

Got the Junk

I'm back from Kotzebue and that trip was alright... pictures and post to follow. Had a downtown crit on Saturday and finished in the group after giving my a buddy on my team a lead out. We placed 3rd on the day. Stayed home from work today with a head/stomach ache. More travel to the bush soon and family coming to visit.

Hooray

Oh, joy. Work is sending me to Kotzebue for an emergency trip to put out the proverbial fire - or at least keep it from spreading. I told them I'd go... on one condition: They would pay for me to bring my bike with me. (Actually it was my wife's idea... and a good one, at that).

TT bike? Maybe next year.

Well, the weather cooperated and the morning was sunny and calm (but cold @ 37 degrees). There was a gentle breeze in the form of a tailwind for the start of the race and I pushed myself very hard, managing to average 24 mph over 21 miles, giving me a time of 52:37. That felt good for me and I recorded the tenth best time (of 64 entrants - one of the nine that beat me was a woman and she set a new women's record of 50:53) but there were some speedster's out there and a new course record was set at 46:00 flat. That's just a tick over 27 mph! My friend Tony has me thinking a lot about how much time I could save with an actual time trial bike with a disc rear wheel and a deep dish front wheel, but it's all about the money and those exotic rigs cost a pretty penny. Maybe I'll get a paper route and save money to get one next year. Until then, I'll just have to try to pedal harder and faster.

Roll the Bones

It's been a few days and the time since has been filled with activities, appointments and spring rides. This time of year always gets me excited for the long daylight hours and the increasing amount of fun that we fit into each day. Tomorrow morning is the Seward Highway TT from Bird Point to the base of Turnagain Pass. It's 21 miles of mainly flat road but in the end, whether the effort proves to result in a fast time depends on how hard and in which direction Mother Nature chooses to blow her wind. The road is notoriously windy but the wind usually picks up later in the day so, with the race starting at 9:00 (ish), hopefully she will not have woken up yet to let out a blast of cold wind from the east. I've been feeling pretty good on the bike recently and have set my mind to push myself as hard as possible while at the same time working to pace myself so that I have virtually nothing left to give when I hit the line... but trying not to run out of gas before I get there. Right now the sun is still high in the sky and the winds of the day are getting ready for bed. I hope they sleep in until, say, noon or so. Either way, I'll be out there to roll the bones and see what I come up with.

Busy Saturday

My nerves didn't keep me up too late last night and I managed to get some sleep. I woke to cloudy skies and cool tempuratures in the mid-30's. Any left over nerves were obliterated by my favorite security blanket - RUSH. I cranked the medley that opens the R30 show (best opener... ever) as I pulled away from the house and, as always, got lost in their intelligent arrangements, rocking power, and intricate transitions. PCF, baby. Pure Canadian Fury. But I digress... I got out to Moose Run and there were loads of people and with this being the first race of the year, the registration took longer than anticipated. I ended up going out onto the 10 mile, slightly hilly course a bit after 11:00 am with a few snowflakes falling from the sky and melting on the road. I hit the turn around at 12:13 and that made me happy - but I could feel the lead beginning to fill my legs and I knew that I still had a bit of climbing to do on the way back. I was only able to muster a 14:43 for my return trip for a grand total of 26:56... 59 seconds slower than I was last June. I'm looking to break into the 24's by June so I've got my work cut out for me... But I'm looking forward to it.

Following this event, I went directly to meet my family at another event at the Kincaid Chalet where the Alaskan Winter Olympic athletes were honored again and the Mayor presented the permit to begin work on a new biathalon course, improved ski trails, and new soccer fields among other improvements to be made with some big bucks coming from the state and private contributions.

In addition to this busy morning, my wife, my oldest daughter and I had an indoor soccer game at 4:00. Our team won 5-4 with one of the goals being a sweet shot lobbed over the keeper's head by my wife and another being sweet cross shot to the corner of the goal by my daughter. NIce moves = proud husband/daddy. We have another game tomorrow at noon and then I'll go for a ride.

Tonight is "Game Night" for my wife and her girlfriends which means I'm bailing out faster than October geese headin' south. Peace... I'm outta here. 5000, G... 5000.

Nerves of Canned Asparagus

Yes, the opposite of steel. For one reason or another the first bike race of the season (either a tt or a hill climb) makes me nervous, even if I already have an idea of the outcome based on how much time I put in over the winter and how many unnecessary lbs. I have yet to rid myself of from the dark months. It makes me nervous because the truth is about to be told and although I have an idea, I still don't know for certain... The good thing I have been telling myself is that even if I'm off of my desired pace, it's only April and by June I'll be feeling much stronger and hopefully faster. Of course, this is something I try to get myself to start thinking in December or January but somehow the time seems to drift with sporadic focus. This year I'm trying to focus on the long view and aim for my fitness (and confidence) to consistently increase throughout the summer, fall, and into the winter, unlike in years past where I've had a good June and then let all the miles and hard work fall away by August. So, nerves or not, I'm still going to go out and have some fun... 'cause that's really what it's all about and even though I've got the uncertain-night-before-nerves, once I'm on the road and the clock is tickin', the fun has begun.

Flying

Tonight I was able to go rip around on my road bike for an hour or so before picking up my daughter from soccer practice. I spun out the Old Seward past the relic sign that still stands in the parking lot that was The Rabbit Hutch restaurant and as I was approaching the base of Potter Valley road, I saw an old friend playing with his bike computer on his Cervelo tt bike. We caught up on old times for about 30 seconds and then hopped out on the Seward highway back toward town. We had a brisk tail wind and as I drafted the man on the tt bike, we went 33... 34... 35... 36... 37 mph! That rush lasted for about six minutes until we wrapped around the marsh and started climbing the off ramp for another lap. As we chatted, we were again simply amazed at how fast the pro's are and that they time trial that fast WITHOUT a tail wind. Animals.

One Little Victory

Last Friday night my son and I pulled into the parking lot of the neighborhood pizza place. I went in to pick up our order but it wasn't quite done yet so I went back to the car to kill the three to five minutes. I was shuffling through too many mix CD's trying to find something for us to listen to and he says, "Dad... does that sign with the blue arrow on it say 'Please Use Other Door'?". I said, "You know it" and he says, "Yes!" and I got to thinking about how cool it is from my perspective being able to watch him learn how to read and get excited about it... for him beginning to make sense of all the seemingly jumbled letters that are everywhere. Last year in kindergarten he knew all the letters/numbers/colors/shapes/sounds, etc,. This year he doesn't have to say, "... but I can't read". He just needs a bit more assistance and before you know it, he'll be a readin' menace.

Turnagain

Last night I went for a ride on my road bike and part of it was on the lovely Turnagain Arm out to Rainbow. I rode up Rabbit Creek and down DeArmoun with the sun in my face and although the average temperature of my ride was only 44 degrees, the sun warmed me inside with the promise that very soon I would be able to ride without arm and knee warmers and big shoe covers to keep me toe-sies warm. Get out and go for a ride.

The Creeper

"You're in for surprise... you're in for a SHOOAAACCKKK!!!" Right now the days are getting longer by almost six minutes... The sun is now setting close to 9:30 p.m. It's this time of year when, although there is increasingly more daylight, the season seems to drag. There's more light but no leaves, green grass, or other signs of the new season to come. It's creepin' and all of a sudden - bam... everything is green and growing out of control. It's coming soon and I'll do my best to keep my sanity while I observe... and never turn my back(ack, ack, ack) - on The Creeper... The Creepaaaaah!!

p.s. 25 Rocker Points if you can name the band/song I vaguely referenced

Getting back in the time zone

I landed in Anchorage last night after 10+ hours of travel and had some fantastic sleep in my own bed. Today, though, I've been struggling a bit to get my clock back together after 10 days in the EST zone. But it's like what the monkey said when they cut off his tail: "It won't be long now"... Tomorrow I'll be back on the bike and it won't get dark until about 9:30 so I'll be sure to get in a good ride after work... and speaking of riding, tonight when I was unpacking my bike and putting it back together, I felt a pang of emotion when I saw a spattering of red, Georgia clay on my downtube and thought of the timeless vacation I spent with my younger sister... eating, drinking, riding, walking, laughing, napping, and laughing some more... everything was perfect for me and I can't thank her enough for the time we spent.

Learning

I'm starting to get the hang of this and with some help, I turned on the comment option... hooray for me. Comment if you wish, please. Good day.

Silver Comet

Good day today... Maigh dropped me off at the start of the Silver Comet trail (a defunct train rail that is now a nice, paved path) around 4:00 and off I went. Out 21.5 miles and back the same to make 43 miles in 2:15 @ 19 mph... 78 degrees felt great when I read in the paper today that it was 28 back home... Then it was up to The Mc's for a delicious dinner of salmon, crab, steamed broccoli, bbq'd corn on the cob, baked potato, and wine with a bonus of freshly baked brownies for dessert... Ahhh... great way to finish the day.

APB

A big "thank you" to the guys from the APB team for the rides around Atlanta... You've helped make my time off much more enjoyable... Good luck this weekend in Gainesville!