Mmmm Steak

Daily Miles: 15
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 535
2008 Total: 9091.08

Last night, I ate a Sullivan's Steakhouse. 8 of us ran up a $1000 bill. Wow, glad I wasn't paying.

Actually, it was pretty good...no Ruth's Chris, but still pretty good, and a really swanky place.

Anyway, I'm pretty fat and happy today, none of usual piss and vinegar after a meal like that. Wait till after the city fills up with a million morons...then we'll see...

Phuck Phillies Phans

Daily Miles: 25
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 520
2008 Total: 9076.08

You all suck. I mean really? It's pretty sad that you morons define your existence by your overpaid sports teams. Then, after they win, you decide it would fun to trash the city that your beloved sports team represent. Great idea! I ave another one for you, next tie, please take your party to I-95 and play in traffic.

So the scene this morning was disgusting. Glass everywhere, trees uprooted, newspaper boxes thrown in the street and lit on fire.

Way to go Philly, you really suck...but should I have ever really expected anything more?

Political Post of the Week

Daily Miles: 10
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 495
2008 Total: 9051.08

If you've watched TV in the past few weeks, you've been inundated with ads from both campaigns. My personal "favorite" is McSame's add discussing Obama's plan to "Spread the Wealth Around." Not only is the commercial bordering on untruthful, and downright silly given that the people in the add would probably do better under Obama then McCain, the notion that taxing those who have more at a higher rate to "Spread the wealth Around" is socialist is actually pretty funny given the following interview of none other then the most retarded woman in the world:

"The state that she governs has no income or sales tax. Instead, it imposes huge levies on the oil companies that lease its oil fields. The proceeds finance the government’s activities and enable it to issue a four-figure annual check to every man, woman, and child in the state. One of the reasons Palin has been a popular governor is that she added an extra twelve hundred dollars to this year’s check, bringing the per-person total to $3,269. A few weeks before she was nominated for Vice-President, she told a visiting journalist—Philip Gourevitch, of this magazine—that “we’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.” Perhaps there is some meaningful distinction between spreading the wealth and sharing it (“collectively,” no less), but finding it would require the analytic skills of Karl the Marxist."

Ugghhhh..why do Democrats suck so much? This interview should have been played after every McCain attack add...

Word

Daily Miles: 30
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 485
2008 Total: 9041.08

The word is "Winter"

Pretty wild weather today. Snow in the Poconos. Cold rain in Philly. I love it. Can't wait to move out CO where i will get to enjoy this sort of weather much more often.

I was reading through the Mountain Gear catalog where I couldn't help but think how I would love to live in place where i could actually use all the stuff in catalog. Stuff like 800-fill down parkas, fat tele-skiis, ice climbing gear, etc.

I love winter.

Eagles and the Phillies Win?

Daily Miles: 30
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 455
2008 Total: 9011.08

Wow!

That's pretty much all I can say after going down to the Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field. KC and I get off the subway to be greeted by thousands of tailgaters. Every parking space in the hundreds of acres of parking lots was full. It was absolutely crazy.

The tickets were in a great location as well. The Red Zone Suites are in a great place and we had a perfect view of the field and of course, the 60,000+ rabid fans. We both had a really good time.

Then, this morning I find out that the Phillies won as well!

With all this good stuff going on around the city, it begs a question of my inner sociologist: I wonder how many murders there were in the city this weekend? My bet, not many. Every one seems way to happy. So even you don't care about baseball or football, there's certainly a silver lining.

More Riding

Daily Miles: 25
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 425
2008 Total: 8981.08

Good rides yesterday despite the broken spokes. Hauled a bunch of heavy stuff around and at one time I had 80 lbs in my messenger bag. Not a fun haul.

Anyway, I've never seen a hub as smooth or as strong as the Profile hubs. Looking forward to fully testing how well it holds up, but it did pretty well under a 300 lb load yesterday, so initial impressions are pretty positive.

I just can't get over how great the weather has been lately. In fact, for the most part everything's been going great. Business has stayed pretty steady at the shop, I've been able to ride a lot, and my wife will be having a girl. Life is good.

And, this weekend should be great, a little work on Saturday, followed by Seats to the Eagles game in the Red Zone Suites...awesome.

Living the High life

So i couldn't decide which quote to pull out of this one, so check it out for yourself. Take it away Wendell:

More Weightlifting

Daily Miles: 15
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 400
2008 Total: 8956.08

Good times at the Gym. Here's what I did:

5x5 Cleans (Proper Cleans, with a full squat)
3x5 Hang Cleans w/ Split Jerk
3x5 Front Squat
4x5 Back Squat
3x5 Dumbell Lunge
3x5 Power Steps

Whew...Kieren Racing here I come.

Then this morning, while doing standing starts, I blew some spokes out, AGAIN. Am I that strong or are my wheels that shitty and brittle? I'm leaning towards option 2, but it would be nice if I was that strong.

Weightlifting sure is fun.

UPDATE: Oh, and by the way, those busted spokes weren't on the new wheel, it was the old wheel, which makes my imminent replacement that much more important.

Whew

Daily Miles: 45
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 385
2008 Total: 8941.08

Pretty blustery in Philadelphia the last two days and i couldn't be happier. Sure, Headwinds suck, but the cool seasonal temperatures more then make up for it. It's been in the upper 30s in the AM and upper 50s in the PM which is just about perfect.

Hopefully this fall weather will stick around for a while before we sink into the wet cold winters that pretty much define this area.

Anyway, finished lacing up a pair of nice wheels at the shop yesterday. Profile hubs, Open Pro rims, and DT spokes, pretty much gaurantees a bombproof buttery smooth ride both on the cummuter and for training up on the track. Looking forward to getting out on these and abusing them. The best part is that when I break them, I can't blame the craftsman. There's nothing better hen building your own stuff.

Now, if i could only find a good sewing machine so i could make my own Messenger bags I'd be all set. I have great ideas that combines a bit of everything I like about Chrome and ReLoad bags. Each has their strong points, each their weaknesses. And given the abuse I put my bag through, I think I could create a pretty sweet product. Sure I could custom order it from ReLoad for about 2 weeks pay, but I could probably make it for 50 bucks, and have something better...now if i only had an industrial sewing machine

Not Much New

Daily Miles: 25
Avg. Speed: Fast
October Total: 340
2008 Total: 8896.08

Yesterday was a fun day at the shop. Rebuilt some Campy Record Shifters, a SRAM Force Shifter (pain in the ass!) and glued a bunch of tubulars.

I've never ridden on either type, but Challenger Griffos suck. They are a pain in the ass to glue, feel like shit, and whoever "handbuilds" them are on crack. The treads are crooked, and uneven...

Much better are the TUFO LPS tires. Easy to glue. Dead straight tread pattern...very nice...

Anyway, fun times and interesting work...

Granogue and Wissahickon Cross Action

Daily Miles: 50
Avg. Speed: Fast, but it didn't feel like it
October Total: 315
2008 Total: 8871.08

This past weekend was race 3 and 4 of the MAC Cyclocross Series. Saturday, I went down to Granogue for the first race which was held on the DuPont estate. Needless to say, they have a pretty sweet setup. Somebody figured out they could make a shitload of money by charging for parking. I'm not complaining...I hate cars...I think it was friggin brilliant.

Anyway, the course was really nice and really fast. The severe lack of rain around the Delaware Valley has made for wicked fast cross races. The course was also pretty technical, and since I am one of the worst bike handlers ever, I knew I had my work cut out for me and had no choice but to attack as hard as i could on the paved sections while everyone else was getting a breather.

So, for the MAC series, I'm racing "B's" mostly because I don't fell like redlining for an hour. All my track specific training has not prepared me well for cross, so B's it is. As a result, I should be doing pretty well. I was ranked 11th going into the weekend.

Granogue treated me pretty rough though. I had a great start, and eventually moved up to around 7th or 8th with three laps to go. Then i started to get tired and careless. Combining my lack of handling skills with head down riding is a bad idea and i paid for it. The first time i bit it, it hurt pretty bad, but I was generally ok, and more importantly so was the bike. The second time i bit it (not my fault totally, I got my wheel swept) it was game over. Hit my head pretty hard and cracked my knee on some large hard object. Bent the bars and shifters around and knocked the rear wheel pretty wel out of alignment. By the time i jogged to the pits, I'd dropped 15 places. No point in racing for 30th, so it was all spectator for me at that point.

Wissahickon's result was much better, but the journey was miserable. I felt like complete asshole, and I'm pretty sure I raced like it to. I was in no mood to play games with the 150 lb weinies out there on the course, so instead of letting the idiots get away with their usual shit in corners knowing i'd blow by them the next straight away, i threw elbows and chopped riders like the 200 lb person i am should. It felt like 45 minutes turned into 400. But eventually I finished, top 20 (not sure exactly where in the top 20, but...) and grabbed a delicious post race Victory beer. (Props to the team sponsor)

That 15 year old kid might be fast and kick my ass every race, but i can drink beer legally...bitch. Seriously, that kid is ridiculous. As long as he doesn't discover girls and gasoline in the next couple years, he's got a career in Europe waiting for him.

Soo...

"It" is no longer referred to as such. As of this morning, "It" will now be referred to as "Her." Yes, my house will in fact be entirely women...ugghhh...

But seriously, I'm pretty excited to have a daughter...that will kick Taylor's son's ass!

Word...I wonder how old she has to be before I take her out on the bike?

Travel...

Daily Miles: 45
Avg. Speed: Sluggish
October Total: 265
2008 Total: 8821.08

Well boys and girls...today I am in beautiful Rockville MD...well maybe it's not that beautiful...

Anyway, better then having to go to Arlington or the Pentagon. So no ride today, only a morning Beep Test to revive the system after a night in the usual way to soft hotel bed with a way to fluffy pillow. There were like 6 pillows on the bed, you'd think one of them could be firm. I can't bitch too much though. Overall, Marriott is a pretty good place to stay and it's like a block from my destination.

Last night, my wife and I blew my per-diem and went out to eat at Sabrinas II (before I left the city) and the food was, as always, amazing. The menu seems to have expanded a bit as well and everyhting looked great. It was hard to decide, but i eventualy picked the stuffed pork chop which was cooked just right and served with excellent, still crispy, green beans and deliciously garlicky mashed potatoes.

My wife got the stuffed chala french toast which was ridiculously good (and ridiculously large). I ate half of it, and was stuffed...

Positively Beautiful

Daily Miles: 30
Avg. Speed: Like Greased Lightning
October Total: 220
2008 Total: 8776.08

For some reason I felt like crap yesterday. Today not so much. I had one of the best AM rides that I have had in a long time. The smell of the fall leaves crunching under my tires. The cool air. And so much wildlife. Seriously though, I saw more Rabitts, Deer and (GASP!) a Skunk this morning then i have seen in a long while.

As I pedaled through Norristown, into the area of the path bordered by Valley Forge park, the moon was sitting on the western horizon, looking large and orange through the haze like a very dim sunset. It was nice.

Here's a quick quiz:

Wearing Headphones and Listening to Music in Traffic:
a) is a bad idea
b) shouldn't be done
c) (In the words of Mike Tyson) "Keeps Me From Killing Ya'll"

If you answered "c" you are correct. Riding in traffic, I really couldn't care less about what's behind me. Yet, most days, it's what's behind me that pisses me off the most. More accurately, the idiots who honk at you thinking that it's going to accomplish something. I'm not going to move...or pedal any faster...just give you a few choice words and tell you to get your ass back over the river to NJ. With headphones in, I don't care...I just keep blissfully pedaling down the middle of the road. What?

Take Sunday for example. Driver w/ NJ plates on Lancaster Ave. (A 4 lane road mind you). Laying on the horn behind me. Why didn't he just pass me in the other lane? Because I was going as fast as the car in the left lane. (30 in a 25 BTW) Why such a douchebag? Cuz he's from NJ. You know what I heard while he was honking? A faint noise mostly obscured by the new Metallica Album.

Not much going on

Daily Miles: 35 and 25 Sunday
Avg. Speed: hard
October Total: 220
2008 Total: 8776.08

Worked at the shop yesterday fixing everyone's crappy bikes. Then fixed my own. I keep blowing out spokes ever since put a 90 inch gear on the fixie. I think it's too much force on the cheap wheel. I suppose i should probably build some new wheels that can actually be abused a bit.

This time of year appears to be to be the "Mill Every Road that Justin Rides His Bike On" time of the year. I swear, every road I ride on is in some state of being milled. It will be really nice once it's repaved and super smooth but until then...

Ok lots to do...off to it...

Mmmmm Chicken Wings

Daily Miles: 45
Avg. Speed: hard
October Total: 160
2008 Total: 8716.08

Last night, after what seemed like a very long day, I finally had the chance to relax. Met my wife at her work and went over to Moriarty's for some wings. Moriarty's has the best wings in the city. Instead of giving you 10 wings that are really 5 wings split into two pieces, Moriarty's gives you 10 whole chicken wings in a deliciously spicy sauce. Pair those with two bowls of their Irish Potato soup and you have a great dinner for two for under 20 bucks.

So like I said, best wings in the city...at least I think so...what do you think?

Big Brother

Daily Miles: 30
Avg. Speed: hard
October Total: 115
2008 Total: 8671.08

If you read this blog on a somewhat regular basis, you know that I am a big fan of Libertarian Bob Barr, and the principals behind the libertarian party. Basically, "Big Government=Bad." Don't close your browser yet, I'm going somewhere cycling related with this.

However, there are certain situations where I support a larger scope of government. Basically, I view government as the world's largest investor. They should invest in things that can provide a positive return (whether monetary or humanitary) and then protect those investments. For example, building roads costs a lot of money but also provides a significant return on investment though increased tax revenue, tolls (yes, if you use the road, you should pay for it!) etc. Anyway, I feel that government has a responsibility to protect this investments. Case in point: How many people drive the speed limit on highways in the Deleware Valley? Answer: none, unless you count sitting in bumper to bumper traffic as following the speed limit. Speeding, costs us all a lot of money; increased accident rates (which the state pays for the unisured's medical care), higher road surface wear, etc. Yet police seem to do very little about it. There are millions of dollars left sitting on the table from ticket revenues dealing with moving violations that could be used to lower our taxes if only the existing laws were enforced.

Ok, so here's where I tie it all back to cycling. On my daily 40 miles bike rides, especially in the morning, I see hundreds of speeders, and many red light runners. Each day I put my life in the hands of fellow Philadelphians who couldn't care less about anything becasue there are no consequences for their reckless behavior. I would imagine that a complex system of red light and speeding cameras would work wonders the second that $300 tickets started getting mailed out. The systems would pay for themselves instantly.

I reccomend a program much like this one in the UK. Where:

"Clusters of speed cameras that will monitor drivers’ average speed on all routes across a wide area are to be deployed on hundreds of roads next year. It will be impossible to evade detection because the digital cameras will cover every entry and exit point and, unlike the earlier speed cameras, will never run out of film. "

Imagine a Philadelphia where you don't have to worry about getting run over by red light runners and speeders. I know my wife who walks 3 miles to work every day would be a fan. And just maybe, the city would make enough money to finally enact some wage tax cuts.

The number one reason I hear for more people in the area not biking to work is that the roads aren't safe. This may be a stretch, but what if a side affect of actually enforcing the law is that we could get more cars off the road, easing congestion and improving air quality?

Would it suck to have to go the speed limit? Sure would...but I think it's a worthwhile sacrifice.

Sore and Cold

Daily Miles: 45
Avg. Speed: hard
October Total: 85
2008 Total: 8641.08

Yesterday was the epitomy of muscle overuse days. I had a nice hard ride into work which started the day off right.

However, I recently started trying to get some of my coworkers to workout on a regular basis. It has finally started to work. So yesterday when a big group of people wanted to do a beep test (ok, it's real name is Multi Function Fitness Test) I couldn't say no. Yeah I'm tired, but I'm pretty excited about seeing people who haven't exercised in a decade be excited about working out.

That's kind of the neat thing about the test; it's not like cycling where if one person is fast and the other slow, someone suffers, or weightlifting where it's a pain in the ass to constantly be changing weights for varying abilities. In a beep test, everyone participates and everyone suffers. Weaker people drop out faster, but since the whole test is only 21 minutes and almost anyone can do at least 5 and I don't know anyone who can go the full 21, there isn't a big time gap between the weakest and the strongest participant. Not to mention the fact that usually after a break, people will hop back in for a few more shuttles after they fail intially.

Anyway, after doing a beep test, I had to ride home. So yeah, I'm tired. So tired in fact that I took the bus halfway to work this morning. And as you know if you live in Philly, SEPTA sucks. But it sure beat riding the hills which quite honestly I would have ended up walking. Moving on...

Alas, it's finally chilly outside. Move over uncontrolable persperation. Make way for wildly fluctuating temperatures that make picking clothing a crapshoot. I left my house this morning with temps around 52. Out in the suburbs it was 39. There were pockets along the river (before i hopped on a bus) where the temps would shift dramatically 15 degrees or so. I'd feel almost hot for one second, then fridgid the next. It was too hot for a jacket, then unbearable without one. I guess that's one of the problems with riding at 5 AM. Should be nice this afternoon though...

Speed Work in October?

Daily Miles: 40
Avg. Speed: hard
October Total: 40
2008 Total: 8596.08

Yeah, whatever...like i said in an email to labrat earlier:

I don't buy into the whole mantra of "go slow during the winter" Do whatever you enjoy doing. If you're going to race crits for the most part next year, long slow days and climbing won't do shit for you.

I personally will be doing nothing but sprint workouts and weightlifting (but that's because I probably will do 2 non-track races next year) with a little 'cross thrown in because it's fun.

Here's the question I ask: Is it a workout? Or is it fun? I do what I do because while it is technically a workout, it's really fun...And allows me to eat and drink what I want :)

This is what I try to explain to people at the shop who consider themselves to be racers: I, along with 99% of the racing community, don't race enough during the "season" to justify taking 2 months off. I'm on the high side of amateur cycling miles and I'm still 3K short of what would considered pro miles. Additionally, I ride my bike because it's fun, not a job. If I'm tired, I don't ride. If I feel good, I go hammer. To me paying $750 bucks a month to have a coach tell me to ride slow and build my base all winter so I can finsh (insert mediocre result in mediocre race here) is ridiculous. Just ride you friggin bike as much as you can as hard as you can and the results will follow. We (being amateurs) don't ride enough to benefit from the sort of tapering that pros do. Most of us aren't anywhere close to our peak fitness plateaus. Get there first then maybe it's time for the expensive coaching.

Now if you need motivation to get off your ass, i can provide that for much less :)

Long's Peak

Got some things done early before i had to come back to Philly and managed to get out on the trail around noon. Since most of the group on I’m travel with are (or aspire to be) outdoors people, I figured a hike on the Long’s Peak Trail would be a lot of fun. The day did not disappoint. I knew full damn well we wouldn’t summit. Long’s is snow covered right now, but it was possible to reach the Keyhole without significant technical challenges.

We departed around 2pm which gave us 2.5 hours of uphill hiking before we needed to turn around. Colorado autumn did not disappoint. We started with temps in the high 50s and as we climbed, the temps dropped. By the time we turned around, we had temps in the high 30s and driving snow. The views were amazing. The weather was as good as it could be, the company quite enjoyable.

As we looked down upon the plains to the east and Rocky Mountain National park that surrounded us, the four of us decided that is was not going to be much fun returning to Filthadelphia. The only real question is how long would it be before I relocate to CO. I’m thinking next week. In actuality, it will probably be next May. Either way, trips like these make you realize how much Philly, PA, and ultimately the East Coast as a whole suck…hard…
Not to be negative though, I had a great week out here. Got to love the fresh clean air

September Catch Up

Daily Miles: 35
Avg. Speed: hard
September Total: 800
2008 Total: 8556.08

I am really beginning to see some solid positive gains from my lifting program. I was a little afraid that after years of military endurance training and more recently cycling that basically starved my body, I would never get that fast twitch muscle back. I’m no expert, but I think my worries were for nothing. Despite all my efforts towards becoming an endurance athlete, my body is naturally explosive. It’s why even when I did not sprint training I could win field sprints and do pretty well at the track, and why after 15,000 training miles in ’07, I would be smoked by the groups on hard endurance rides.

Anyway, glad I finally embraced the fact that the longest race I should ever do is a criterium, and those should be handpicked to ensure elevation changes are nominal.

Anyway, I’m at the point in the gym where I’ve basically made back 80% of the gains I had before my futile attempts at endurance sports. Not only that, but despite being much stronger I haven’t gained any weight. I’m still a svelte 190 lbs. That said, after my hard leg days I still have a trouble walking the next day…seriously…I’m sure it’s funny to watch, but it hurts like a bitch. There’s a reason I stopped Olympic Lifting.

Anyway, my mileage total for September is pretty much wrapped up. I’m in Deer Creek, CO all week and despite (again) being in the cycling mecca, I’ll be Sans Bike since it wouldn’t fit in the shared rental car…(friggin “UmptyBillion Dollar Revenue Company” can’t spring for a rental….grrrr)

Anyway, I've been doing Beep Tests all week. (which are quite literally the hardest running workouts you can do) Google it…seriously…brutal…