Got It!

So, I got my 2 upgrade following Yuasa. It was an anti-climatic finish to the road season. But, on to 'cross now!

The bike is all set, the tubulars are in the process of being glued, and the dismounts/remounts are getting smoother. Huzzah.

From Drunkcyclist - Thanks, Spice, for the heads up

I’m a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight…..

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re
“exotic, different.”

* Grow up in Alaska, eating moose burgers, you’re the
quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.

*Graduate from Harvard law School, you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well
grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years
as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of
the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years
in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million
people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,
Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you
don’t have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city
council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000
people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people,
then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking
executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while
raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re
not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your
disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a
Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including
the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
* If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your
unwed 17-year-old daughter ends up pregnant , you’re very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in
a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values
don’t represent America’s.

* If you’re husband is nicknamed “First Dude”, with at least one
DWI conviction and no college education, who didn’t register to vote
until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the
secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely
admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

YES!

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/09/matt_damon_wants_to_know_if_sa.html

Watch the video at the bottom. I also want to know if Sarah Palin believes dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago.

Last road race of the season?

Well its a been a really tough season. Not so much physically- more so mentally and emotionally. It's really hard going into a race season having absolutely no idea what you are capable of. I had no miles in my legs and a pretty troubling physical ailment, not to mention a shitload of stress to deal with.

All and all, I guess it went pretty well. Did really well in a few 1/2/3 races, including Basking Ridge which had a star-studded field. I had some pretty good finishes in Cat 3 races, including a last lap solo to 4th at Iron Hill and a 2nd overall at Tour de Millersburg which was comprised of a 2nd in the Crit and 2nd in the Road Race.

I earned 23 points during the '08 season towards my Cat 2 upgrade. I was going to try and put in for the upgrade and do Yuasa as a 2, but in the end I realized I would feel better about racing as a 3 and sewing up those last couple points for real so there is no doubt about whether the upgrade was earned. So, right now the plan is to do the 3 and 1/2/3 races at Yuasa and that will wrap up the road season.

I've already started lifting weights regularly and next week I'll start jogging in preparation for 'cross season. I already built myself some sweet portable barriers to practice with.

I'll rant about the whole "I'm a fat wrinkly old man and must show you my dick as much as possible in the locker room" phenomenon in the next post. Get excited!

Holy Super Cars Batman!

Today I drove a Nissan GTR. If you don't know about this car...you must not have a pulse. Its one of the fastest production cars in the world and spanks all the other super cars at Nuremberg, including the Begatti Veyron. I rang it out pretty good - fucking amazing. 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, 1.4 mile in 11.7 seconds and will go 197 mph flat out.


The Misfits are coming to Lancaster! Fuck yea. Just like the GTR, you better know who the Misfits are. That's all I can say about that.

Mountain biking is so much fun. Especially when the weather is like it was today - like the middle of Fall. The trails are covered in leaves. Something about riding through the woods faster than is probably sane and inhaling the sweet smells of the forest and decomposing leaves brings me so much joy.

Going to get Personal

So everyone is like, "What's the big deal, who cares about getting your 2?"

It means a lot to me. It may be silly to some. But let me lay it out there.

I used to 250 lbs and pretty much hated myself. I found cycling in college and started racing. Won my first race and was hooked. Nothing has brought more joy and passion (and heartache) to my life than cycling. It took from me being a sad fat kid with no focus to a confident person with a true zeal for something.

I prepared so meticulously for the 07 Collegiate season that it blows my mind looking back. I put in all the hours, worked with my coach, and sacrificed the normal "fun" college lifestyle so I could really knock it out of the park. I know most people don't understand collegiate racing, but racing A's is the real deal. Especially collegiate nationals. You are with a lot of good riders, many of whom are 1's, 2's, and some pros.

I nearly had the whole season and my dreams to go to nationals derailed from a problem that no one could figure out. Every doctor told me I was crazy when I told them my legs felt like they were swelling up and going to explode when I rode my bike. Finally, after a year of testing, poking, prodding, and condescending ass doctors, I found an answer after Bobby Lea had surgery to fix his arteries. So I got tested and found out I had a 30% reduction of blood flow to my legs during cycling because of the narrowing of the iliac arteries- which was caused by cycling.

So I spent 6.5 hours under the knife in a very complicated and high risk procedure to prevent the problem from progressing and in attempt to be able to ride at my full potential - something I knew I had not been able to do for a whole year previously. I didn't want to be 40 and ask, "what if I had gotten this problem fixed?"

Then surgery gets fucked up. My arteries are made worse. And I spent the last year wondering if I am ever going to be able to ride well again, or if at all, because once again the doctors didn't believe me there was another problem and refused to retest me. I had to find a doctor at Stanford and fly out there just to have someone listen to me and realize I wasn't crazy.

Meanwhile I see guys I used to race with, some honestly not as talented, going places and racing at levels I knew I was capable of. All my sacrifice for the years before seemed wasted.

Now I have to decide if I want to get my arteries fixed again. It is a lot to have weighing on you. The only thing keeping me going is getting better and faster and realizing every ounce of potential I have with the cards I've been handed.

So, there it is. I know lots of people in the world have it way worse than me. But this is my world and my perspective.

A special thanks to all my friends who have been there for me through all of this and who continue to encourage me. You know who you are. Also a special thanks to my girlfriend, Kathryn, who has put up with all of my shit the last year as I have battled this.

My Mistake

Yo, I'll own up to a mistake. I did NOT have the upgrade points prior to surgery. I thought I did. I calculated them as I was laying in the hospital bed a day after surgery and I fucked up.

So, I'll own up to my misstatement. It still doesn't change the fact that upgrades are handled unfairly and improperly.

I do have to "call you out" about something, Swiatek, How could you be, "tired of hearing me cry day in and day out?" When was the last time we even spoke? I can't even remember what your voice sounds like.

At the end of the day, I've got respect for everyone that rides, races, and doesn't talk shit when it comes time to race. So, no disrespect to anyone. Seriously.

Hot Damn

http://velonews.com/article/82892/sources-lance-armstrong-coming-back

I had to check and see if it were April 1st as I read this.

New Rule

If you have an Under Armour sticker on your car, you are a tool. 

I am Back!

And I am going to start with a rant. I have a lot to talk about. The last year has been absolutely crazy and there is a lot to tell of you (maybe 2 people who will read this?). But before I go in to all the shit about surgery, how it was messed up, what I am going to do, and what everyone should learn from my experience, I have to rant about something that has been pissing me of all season - Upgrade Hypocricy.

Before I had my surgery back in May '07, I had the requried points to upgrade to Cat 2. Then I had surgery and spent the whole season recovering, so I didn't think about upgrading. Then this season I start racing again and realize I had the points and was getting sick of the stupid shit that goes on in Cat 3 races so I requested my uprade based on the fact that I had the points the season before and I have placed top 10 in a couple 1/2/3 races. 

I was denied. Even though I had the points a year earlier. Even though I had more than adequate experience racing at a Cat 2 or higher level. Even though I had raced Men's A in College the year before and gone to Nationals. 

Also, my surgery got messed up. I developed more of the problem they went into fix, so now when I ride at anything above a tempo pace, I have a 50% reduction of blood flow to my legs. So when I got in the break at the 1/2/3 in Marlton with Mike Miller and his Alliance boys and when I soloed off the front for 4th at Iron Hill and when I took 2nd in the Road Race, Crit and Overall at Tour De Millersburg, I did it all with 50% LESS BLOOD TO MY LEGS THAN I SHOULD HAVE.

Think about it - thats 50% less oxygen, nutrients and acid-clearing fresh blood.

That means I am doing well based off racing ability, experience, bike handling, and smarts.

Below are the links to 3 riders who got their 2 upgrades who clearly did not have anywhere near the points. I know of many more, but these are good examples. I am not angry these riders got their 2, I am angry that I was denied for "not having enough points". The process is corrupt. It's all about who know or who ass you kiss. 

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=196716&all=1

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=223905

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?compid=80336&all=1

If you are going to not follow the rules you claim to uphold, then at least have the decency to break them for everyone.

Gotta harden up

I am going nuts.

The recovery has been going well and I have been pretty positive since I saw the Doc last week and he said everything was AOK. But, now I got word tonight that Bobby Lea*might* be having some issues with one of his legs again. I know its only through the grape vine, but it scares the living hell out of me. We are a small group of people, cyclists who have had iliac patch angioplasty, and little data is available about our condition, what to expect, or how to recover properly from surgery. So when I hear one person has an issue, it freaks me out.

I'm pretty sure I have been doing most everything in the way of recovery correct. But, Jesus, I am scared. Maybe I just have to harden the fuck up and learn to be positive and just keep going forward with the faith that I am doing everything I can to make sure I am good to go. But am I really? I just need my own ultrasound so I can look at the patches and look in my arteries 15 times a day. I check the pulses in my feet like 35 times a day. It's getting tiring.

And every time I feel tightness in my legs or a little crampy feeling somewhere I think its all over. The surgery failed. I am going to be like I was before. Damnit!

See, my brain thinks shit like, "what if you get scarring inside the arteries from where they were cut? will that block the arteries up like before?" and, "maybe you have been doing too much and are going to screw up the patches," and my favorite, "You're gonna fuckin' die!"

Yea, I just gotta harden the fuck up.

Finished Wheels

So I finally finished those wheels I have been building up. Aluminum nipples suck. Building with them sucks. These wheels shave nearly 200 grams off of my Mavic Ksyrium SSL's. The Chris King rear hub is actually quieter on the road than I had thought, but I'm sure it'll get louder as the grease thins up in the freehub. Here is some eye candy. Blue was the right color. And yes, I know I need to cut the rear skewer axle. Damn Salsa making one size fits all rear skewers.

Wheel Building

There are few things more awesome than building a wheel. I am not sure why. It's just damn cool.



I started building up my new wheelset. King hubs laced to Reflex CD Tubular rims via Sapim CX-Ray spokes. Aww yea baby.

Phoenix

Blogging is like training- You have to slowly get back into it if you have been away from it for a while.

It has been 3 weeks since the surgery and I have started to ride again! Here I am on my first time back on the bike this past Monday. Like the Phoenix, I am rising from the mother f'ing ashes a new man.

I rode for a 2nd time on the trainer today. Just 30 minutes, but damn it feels good. I feel amazing on the bike. KNOCK ON WOOD. Seriously. Everyone knock on wood right now. 3 times.
I'll explain the Cervelo logos taped on to my bike later. So, perhaps the surgery is going to work. Feels promising so far.

That is all. There is much more to update and the updating will increase (linearly, so don't get too excited) with the increase in training.

Peace

Might as well update

I have so much to talk about. Graduation, Collegiate Cycling Nationals, and surgery.

We'll start with the surgery since thats what I am currently dealing with. I am sitting in a bed at the UVa hospital. It turns out that many of the problems I have been encountering this year with my training have been caused by narrow Illiac arteries. So basically, I just have not been getting blood flow to my legs. I heard that Bobby Lea had this surgery done so I came down here and did a stress test and the found that during intense efforts, the blood pressure to my legs actually dropped!

How about that shit. So, they cut me open and cut open my arteries and made them the correct size. They also cut a grove in my inguinal ligament to allow the artery to pass though without being pinched. You see, because of being on the bike, the ateries get stretched, and that causes them to narrow (imagine stretching a staw).

It turns out that they think 1 in 5 elite level cyclists are affected by this. Well, thats all I got for now. Will update about Nats and all that stuff next.

Escape Artist

My new profession in 2007 will be as an escape artist:

Goat Races!

I was forced to take a couple days off of my bike following my encounter with the ice (see below), not because of injury, but because in the fall my saddle broke and I couldn't get a hold of another one. But, yesterday I was rewarded with this on my first ride back:


This was a little town right near Three Mile Island. A connection perhaps?

Fuck Ice

Ex-Wanna-be baseball players

So, I had a great ride out to Gettysburg and back today, but something happened on the way home that really pissed me off. On the way back I was riding through a green light and opposing traffic was stopped waiting for their light to turn green. So I pass this GOLD Nissan Altima and glance over and this old fuck was giving me the finger. For absolutely no reason.

He was that old guy that you know used to think he was going to be a Major League baseball player. You know the type. The middle-aged, heavy-set man with the blue mirror frameless Oakleys and spikey crew-cut grey hair. Like a washed up pitcher from the 90's. Remember them?

Anyway, just as he did this his light turned green and he took of. I signaled for his fat ass to turn around, but I guess he's too washed up to have any balls left.

Which brings me to baseball. Baseball really does seem to breed assholes. Maybe its becuase its not a sport, rather it is a GAME. Maybe it is due to the fact that there is no athleticism involved. Oh, and they get paid ridiculous amounts for being overweight and having 'roid rage.

Another Year Down

Another year under the belt. I could go on highlighting the ups and downs, but thanks to the girl of my dreams, the downs were softened and the ups were highlighted. So, I dedicate this past year and the one to come to Kathryn Elizabeth Ann Stevens. She is my driving force. She is the best support system I could ask for. She sticks with me through the hard times and creates some real magical times. I couldn't ask for better.

So, thank you, my love.