Last weekend kicked off our 2009 season of racing…and this weekend we’re off for an omnium in Castroville (about 1.5 hrs away). A time trail Saturday morning, a crit in the afternoon, and then a road race Sunday. We’re looking forward to the season. I am particularly excited because we have several knew awesome ladies on the team that are pumped about racing. A few of them are pictured below after their first race last weekend. Check back for race reports (as well as a new surprise from Phil) after the weekend….
This past weekend, Papa and Joyce visited for four days. The first two days had gorgeous weather, which didn’t do Daniele or me much good as we were stuck at work. I was also laid a bit low after hitting a car the night before on my bike which required a chin full of stitches to close up. A brand new Serotta also fell victim to the collision. Thursday night Papa and I played tennis at the local tennis center until he got a little too pooped. Eastside pie was delicious as were the duvel beers we washed it down with.
Friday was a full day at work but there was still time for Papa to ride the cruiser bike alongside me as I went for a run around the ‘hood. We grilled some chicken and veggies knowing that we’d be feasting on Snow’s BBQ early the next morning. At this point it was still almost 80’s out and Saturday’s plans looked full speed ahead.
I woke up at 6:15 Saturday morning to get a 3 hr ride in on the way out to Lexington, TX where Snow’s is conveniently located. It was a bit chilly when i clipped in at 6:30 but once the 25 mph winds blew in a cold front from the North, it dropped below 40 degrees. Flipping cold. It didn’t help I was fighting in the exact direction of the wind which pretty much chilled me to the bone. Hours later and much colder we finally were sitting down to a plate full of Snow’s brisket. As pretty much everyone else that’s visited Snow’s can attest to, the brisket was probably the greatest BBQ in the world. Unbelievable. Below is a pic of papa with the ‘Snowman’. At this point, sailing on Lake Travis was totally out of the question. The winds were way too strong and the temps were frigid.
Somehow instead of sailing we bundled up on the couch and watched some Aussie Open and the Lost double episode. It was Papa and Joyce’s first Lost episode ever so they were part entertained and part confused. We did manage to get cleaned up and took a trip out to the ‘country.’ We went to Hudson’s on the Bend near Lake Travis, a reservation we made when we were still going sailing. It turned out to be a great decision. The meal was endless and delicious. All the courses were funky and tasty and the martini’s even came with another serving in a small ice bowl for a refill. It was a really memorable night.
Sunday we had a slower start to the day but played some doubles tennis with the ladies. I think I was the worst one there because I am so used to running all over the court to set up my shots. Daniele was probably playing tennis for her fifth time ever so major props. After a light lunch of leftovers from the past three days’ daily feasts we packed them up and took one last walk along Lake Austin before heading to the airport. It was a really nice visit and we hope to pay it back with a trip to Asheville in the next six months.
Ok we’re about off. This week was pretty hectic for both D and I at work. There were some high points to a week otherwise ruined by 12 hr work days and missed workouts. Wednesday was our company holiday party which was pretty forgettable except that Daniele got to close the evening with a few rounds of skee ball. Total drink consumption: ~5 cocktails. Total gaffes in front of supervisors: <1. Check. The next night though was a good time. Under the guise of Squadra camp planning I lured the guys out to our local pub. What they were greeted with instead was presents from their love(rs)d ones. For 2009 I’m pleased to announce the team, including young Ting, will all have marching red Fred Perry tracksuits. Ting doesn’t know yet though so don’t spoil it. We just now boarded our flight to Managua where travel guides say strictly not to go out at night for safety reasons. Tomorrow we’ll make our way to see an active volcano on our way to the coast. Last thing, D swung us first class seats behind the bulkhead so you’ll have to excuse any typos. I’m just that relaxed. We’ll check back soon or more likely not til 2009. Happy holidays to all our family and friends!
It doesn’t happen that often so I figured it was worth a post. Actually when it does rain it reminds me why I find myself so happy 362 days of the year. Rain is a pain! This morning when I rolled out of the driveway for my work commute I was no further than across the street when I already found myself sliding on my left hip through ‘The Filthiest Parking Lot in the World.’ It’s ok though. Neither skin nor brand new white saddle leather were broken. I was covered from ankle bone to shoulder in black grime. I nearly fell trying to get back up in my cleats as the parking lot was just that slick. I still had intervals to do and was running late as is so I sucked it up and rolled on.
Around lunch time the rained rolled in just long enough to prevent me from being able to get lunch. Oatmeal meal #2 for the day. My desk at work looks out over a nice wooded park (not a pound of concrete in sight). This is good because I can watch weather roll in from the North in the winter. Today was one of those days. Around 3:30pm 35mph winds came blasting down from Kansas and brought with them a 20 degree drop in temps. My still wet and soiled clothing from the morning commute was pretty chilly on the ride home. I made it home and was immediately warmed by the prospect of delicious meatloaf, sweet potato fries, broccoli/carrots and salad meal Daniele had already prepared for me. It’s still raining now and with my exercise and feeding completed for the day and the Horns (they’re no Tar Heels folks) on TV, life is pretty good. I guess rain isn’t that bad after all.
Since I decided to make a last minute trip to IA, and Phil is going to the UT vs A&M football game today, we had our Wikoff Turkey event last night. The Cajun crowd (i.e., Shontell and Alexis), as well as Alexis’ sister and son, and Kate (Phil’s date for the football game) game over. However, no Cajun turkey this year…and the turkey was not made on the Egg…just a plain ‘ol roasted turkey…and all the fixins - YUM! A good time had by all. Here are a few pictures:
In addition to basketball, Phil has added tennis to his off-season routine this year. He and Pat have been playing several times a week and having a really good time. So much so, Phil decided that we should play, too. He came home with this surprise today (this is also him giving me pointers):
We’ve got a date for tomorrow at 1…wish me luck! And, Dad, be ready to play Phil when you come down to Texas!
Well, let’s just say Kate and I had a good time. Here is a pic of us before the time trial. This was about 5 minutes after I raced to take Kate a new wheel because she had a flat (BEFORE the race). We ended up 2nd, which was fine by us considering that I am pretty sure we were the ONLY people there not geeked out in time trial gear (nor have either of us ever been, or would consider going, to a wind tunnel…see Phil’s post below). We made it to just a few miles from the finish before all the boys passes us. First Dave and Steven….then Phil and Pat….and then Lance and Koriath. Unfortunately they were all going too fast for us even to give them a shout out. Oh well, it was fun anyway. However, Kate and I were VERY disappointed that they didn’t give out mugs this year as prizes, rather a key chain. :( So we bought some left over mugs from last year and we are going to paint “2008″ over the “2007.” HA! After the race we had several beers while waiting for the awards, and then FINALLY headed over to Wurst Fest for some sausage. Yum.
Not only is his picture posted ALL OVER the most recent issue of the Racing Post, but he also wrote an article for it -check it out by going to this link, click on the big red magazine looking thing, then go to about page 10 of the pdf:
http://www.theracingpost.us/
Tonight I’m headed up to College Station, TX to join the pantheon of time trial greats. Yes my name will be uttered with the likes of Lance Armstrong, Damiano Cunego and countless other grand tour winners and world-class chrono men. WHY!? Well I’m going to the TX A&M wind tunnel as a last ditch effort to become a respectable amateur Texas time trialist. This is not a very lofty goal here folks. Most are going to reduce that extra drag that will mean the difference between top or second step on a podium of a world-class race. My goal is to address my cycling achilles heel with this one final measure.
I will hopefully be able to furnish some pictures from this at the end of the weekend and possibly even some video. Of course something this nerdy will come with its own video artifact. The reason I’m optimistic that there is room for improvement and more competitive times is that i’m still a broad-shouldered large guy. My understanding of how low speed air passes around an object is that the air needs to reattach on the trailing edge in order for there to be low drag. Though it’s very easy to cut down frontal area without sophisticated toys (a wind tunnel) you can only take stabs in the dark at how air is traveling around a body at 50kph without them.
So we’ll see. I’ve already had a mortifying November on the time trial bike. I’m not going to link to the cyclingnews.com photos of Pat and me getting the equivalent of ‘posterized‘ (in basketball when you see the doofy 7-footer getting drunked all over, he just got posterized) as Armstrong passed us in the Gruene two-man time trial. And no that’s not exactly an invitation to go find them on your own, you can take my word for it.
