It's been a long time since I updated this. I apologize to my legions of loyal fans.
This summer saw some big changes for me. I left my job of 15 months at Eastern Mountain Sports to come out to Yosemite and do something related to what I want to do long-term. I have been volunteering with the Aquatics program in the Wildlife branch at Yosemite National Park since mid June. I was on their "Toad Crew" for most of the summer. This entailed working 8 days straight for 10 hours a day, surveying meadows in the back country for the Yosemite Toad and other amphibians. The Yosemite Toad has declined ~50% recently and hopefully with the data we collected this summer and that other crews collected in the past, this species can be better protected and its range in the park better understood. I don't know too much else about what is specifically causing the declines besides the Chytrid fungus (which can alter the skin of frogs, making it much more difficult or impossible to perform the functions that their bodies have developed for living with their permeable skin) and climate change, along with a bit of impact from trampling in their breeding habitat in the meadows. It was a great and grueling time and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Between our 8 day 'workweeks' we got 6 days off. I used these to rest, drive 1.5 hrs each way to Oakhurst for groceries and other necessities, meet people in the town of El Portal where I was given housing (it's just West of one of the entrance to Yosemite on CA RT140) and even go for a couple bike rides!
Now the field season is all but winding down. I got to go visit a few lakes late in the season (mid August on) helping with the other project they have going, got to cruise around on a float tube with flippers on my feet (a first on this type of on-water locomotion) and had a general good time. Now I'm in the office of the Resources Management and Sciences division-this includes Social and Physical Sciences, Visitor Use, Wildlife and other branches-doing office work 4-5 days a week. It's not glamorous work, I'm either doing data entry from the lake sites this summer or checking the Aquatics literature database for errors. But I'm getting to work with the permanent employees in the Aquatics branch more which should help me for next season!
I volunteered there this season which means I was given housing but not much else... it was a sacrifice I was (and still am) willing to make, but it hasn't been easy. However I have the qualifications now to be on the crew on a paid basis next summer, which I plan to do. My California adventure continues in Mammoth Lakes this winter. I'll be working at Footloose Sports, one of the town's big ski shops. It's sure to be a demanding and fast-paced job but I'm excited for the change and the challenge... And a chance to see my first West coast winter... which should be pretty crazy! So I'll do my best to save some money in an outrageously expensive resort town and make some new friends and reconnect with old ones. I'm pumped as my friend Netana who I raced bikes with at UVM will be instructing at the Mountain and a friend I made at Yosemite this summer is working as a vacation planner at one of the hotels in town. AND my dearest friend Melissa (who I worked with in Muir Woods & Alcatraz in '09 and who is working in Social Sciences at Yosemite now) has a friend who will be swinging through El Portal this month on her way to Mammoth and we will be introduced when she passes through. So I'm off to a good start.
I have been following the buildup to this year's Cyclocross season with bittersweet feelings. I kind-of wish I was back in New England this fall so I wouldn't have to drive ~4 hrs to get to races. And that I had money to afford the drive/entry fees to the Sacramento series races. But good things must come to those who wait. Now that I'm not in the field 8 days straight anymore I can ride more. That started today with a 72 minute ride out on Incline Rd in El Portal going West. This follows an old railroad grade that I believe serviced gold and other mines in the Yosemite area years ago. It's mostly flat and I was on pavement on the mtn bike for ~2/3 of the ride BUT it was my first ride over 10 minutes (i.e. runs to the El Portal Market for a choice few things-those prices hurt!) in about a month and it was AMAZING! I had been getting my endorphins from hiking recently which was good but it was like coming back to an old friend, this ride today. Pure bliss. I was singing lyrics to the "Performance" video (which I watched again recently-HILARIOUS!), telling rodents I saw scurrying off the road "hey! I saw you!" and being a happy idiot in general.
Anyway this post has met its end I believe. I will try to update you folks more as the days go on in my California adventure. Until then, get outside and enjoy life, food and each other!
- El Jefe
P.S. RIP DJ Mehdi... I only had heard one of this guy's tracks before finding today that he died in September... check him out!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Friday, September 10, 2010
Time Off
It breaks my heart to say this. I felt awesome and had no pain in my right knee on an amazing 3.47 hr Mountain Bike ride two weeks ago with Ken and Jon from work at the Kingdom Trails in Vermont. Then later that week while taking pretty good care of myself (stretches, bending my knee straight up and not inwards, etc) I was randomly in pain one day. When I came back from my vaca in quebec for the Mountain Bike World Championships on Tuesday my knee was killing me when we got out to walk and stretch at the Derby Line rest stop in VT. So I'm pulling the plug on the Cyclocross season.
If I find something is seriously off to cause this when getting a bike fit, if replacing my shoes and cleats for my pedals was a big part of it, or something else clicks I may make a run for the November/December races. But for now I'd rather wait and be sure I can get this behind me instead of living week to week, forgetting my injury when I'm feeling good and pretending I can work through it when I'm feeling bad.
I'm trying to have a long term outlook for this whole bike racing thing. It'll always be a part of my life. I certainly won't make any progress through the ranks if I'm nursing an injury though. I have recently realized that I can be way too much of an OCD, train too much/too often type of rider and that's not who I want to be. I want to be a healthy racer in mind, body and spirit. Plus there's a lot of soul searching I need to do to decide if this whole racing thing is worth it. There's a lot of resources (human, material, chemical, etc) going into training for and racing bikes. I'm not sure if that's the type of person I want to be if it means having a massive carbon footprint just to pursue glory.
So we'll see.
Until I can see a specialist for my knee (when I get back on legitimate insurance) I have to find a way to pass the time. here's what I can come up with offhand: 1. Do more hikes 2. Maybe even go on a few backpacking trips 3. Go birding 4. Pursue beautiul women 5. Learn to do more of my own bike maintenance/repair 6. Look for sciency jobs 7. Apply for them 8. Spend more time with friends 9. don't stay up till 11:44 blogging.
Goodnight kids. despite the apparent despair of this post I'm determined to make the life I envision for myself a reality
If I find something is seriously off to cause this when getting a bike fit, if replacing my shoes and cleats for my pedals was a big part of it, or something else clicks I may make a run for the November/December races. But for now I'd rather wait and be sure I can get this behind me instead of living week to week, forgetting my injury when I'm feeling good and pretending I can work through it when I'm feeling bad.
I'm trying to have a long term outlook for this whole bike racing thing. It'll always be a part of my life. I certainly won't make any progress through the ranks if I'm nursing an injury though. I have recently realized that I can be way too much of an OCD, train too much/too often type of rider and that's not who I want to be. I want to be a healthy racer in mind, body and spirit. Plus there's a lot of soul searching I need to do to decide if this whole racing thing is worth it. There's a lot of resources (human, material, chemical, etc) going into training for and racing bikes. I'm not sure if that's the type of person I want to be if it means having a massive carbon footprint just to pursue glory.
So we'll see.
Until I can see a specialist for my knee (when I get back on legitimate insurance) I have to find a way to pass the time. here's what I can come up with offhand: 1. Do more hikes 2. Maybe even go on a few backpacking trips 3. Go birding 4. Pursue beautiul women 5. Learn to do more of my own bike maintenance/repair 6. Look for sciency jobs 7. Apply for them 8. Spend more time with friends 9. don't stay up till 11:44 blogging.
Goodnight kids. despite the apparent despair of this post I'm determined to make the life I envision for myself a reality
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Chromeezy my deezy!
Who is coming with me to Chromeo at the House of Blues in Boston on the 30th of July? Tix are $20
Also, in related (for me) music news: Cake at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT on the 12th of Septembter!
Also, in related (for me) music news: Cake at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT on the 12th of Septembter!
J.A.M. Productions Grand Fundo 2010
The J.A.M. Productions/Jeremy Powers/Wheelworks Sports 2010 Grand Fundo is in the books. If you were looking for a quick read you're in the wrong place. Digest it in sections if you need to.
This post will also serve as a bit of a postrace (are you counting how many times I refer to this "ride" as a "race"?) recap that I usually draft in word and save on my hard drive. So hang on.
Jeremy Powers (A.K.A. JPows) is a professional Road and Cyclocross bike racer who lives in Western Massachusetts, USA. He races Road for Jelly Belly team and Cyclocross (hereafter denoted as "CX") for the Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com team. I first became a fan/follower after first witnessing his hilarious and fun-loving personality on post-race and other videos on . If you're unfamiliar with him and have time, mosey on down to cyclingdirt.org and search for "a day in the life" and "jeremy powers" or "JPows" and once you find the 3-video (I believe) series I believe you will be a fan too. or if you're not converted maybe we won't get along so much. ha
I was visiting JPows' website/blog this summer and saw an entry for the Grand Fundo. I thought oh he's bringing Gran Fondos to the US (note the difference between Grand Fundo and Gran Fondo). From what I know, Gran Fondos are huge rides/races in Italy where thousands of bike riders will show up to throw down/race/ride long distances. kinda like a century ride (100 mi/km rides in the US, usually to benefit some cause) only often they're sponsored by big companies over in Europe (sometimes having to do with bicycles) and not to benefit causes/nonprofits/organizations like century rides in the US. I believe Velonews (the magazine) has an interesting article about the Gran Fondo Campagnolo from Matt Pachoa's "At the Back" column in their August 2008 issue (I only own three issues of Velonews but am a fan and should subscribe to upp my bike racer credibility. or just because I enjoy reading it).
This Grand Fundo was supposed to be quite different from a Gran Fondo in that it was not a race, 'no rider will be left behind' and that it WOULD benefit a local/regional cause. J.A.M. I learned was founded by Jeremy and his friends Alec and Mukunda to "help motivated, young cyclists reach their potential both on and off the bike, all while not being limited by finances." A cause I was more than willing to support as I have often been looking up the technological treadmill of bicycles and parts and have thought 'man, I'm just not making enough money to be successful'. Which is really bullcrap as most of the equation is mental and physical strength. As my friend from UVM Will Dugan once said, it's the legs that matter. But money is definitely a big part that has and will continue to turn prospective racers/rising racers away. Start by imagining how much it would cost for clothing to ride three and a half seasons a year (outside), a good bicycle (we're not talking kmart trash), 25 dollar fees (which can range from 20 to 300 dollars) per race for 10-25 races a year, flying/driving to these races, lodging for the night(s) before/during/after the race(s), food to fuel a body that is working hard and you get the picture. Sure you could cut costs by tweaking the clothing, lodging travel and other parts but the body performs its best when comfortable. From what I've found.
So I knew I wanted to do it. The setting? Picturesque western Massachusetts (the ride started form Southampton). The distance? 70 miles (later changed to 64 with a possible shortcut to make it 61. The route? Some of JPows and his friends' favorite training roads which would not be "that difficult. From miles 12-20 the course has some steep sections. But after that it’s mostly flat and rolls downhill the rest of the way back to Southampton." Knowing I raced on dirt roads in UVM's road race weekend in 2008 (and that I race mountain bikes and cyclocross) I thought I was ready for the dirt roads. I had done a hilly extension on a group ride that I thought was about 40 miles the week before while visiting another UVM friend, Marshall, in VT the week before. Sure I'd only done a maximum of 24 miles in my two hour sloww-as-heck endurance rides previously this year, but 64 miles wouldn't be that tough would it? The weather forecast: fog in the early morning then partly cloudy with a high of 94, thunderstorms possible after 3 P.M. Winds 3-11 miles per hour. The start time: 10:00.
I got lost looking down at my Google directions printout in Northampton and had to ask directions from a Marina on Rt. 9. With their help we realized I had turned onto West St in Northampton, not the West St I needed to look for once I reached Southampton. Ooooh. Thanks guys. I rolled onto the recently cut farm field and drove carefully through about 20 fast looking roadies (road bike riders/racers), parked and started getting ready with about 50 others who were finishing their preride rituals. The vibe was a bit hectic from everyone finishing getting ready and fast people getting antsy to go ride. But it was also a good vibe because I think JPows and everyone else who planned the event didn't think so many would show up. I got changed super quick, got embarrassed at being the only one shouldering a hydration pack full of my tools and extra innertubes, shoved everyting into my jersey pockets including a third water bottle, put two bottles onto the cages on my bike, added air to my tires and we were off!
I stayed at the back of the group for a bit to warmup and I hung with the fast riders who volunteered to watch the goings-on at the back. We took a right turn after about a half mile and the main group was already a bit ahead. A guy I had been following sprinted up to bridge the gap but I didn't want to get hasty that early into the 64 mile ride. I knew people were behind me who would help show the way. A couple of the riders covering the back stopped to help someone fix an early flat tire. There was still one girl behind me who I think I saw race for Army when I was in college because I remembered a dark-haired girl racing for them who always had this girl's long braid and this girl had a camo-painted bike. I started up the first small hill and she was a bit behind me. Maybe she's taking it easier than I am. I roll down the first hill and look back, she's not there. Oh well I'm sure I'll catch the rear part of the group or see them soon. I ride another four minutes, enjoying the semi-rural area. Still no sight of anyone ahead or behind. I ride two more minutes. Now this is making me wonder. Am I really in no-mans-land already? What about "no rider gets left behind?" If I'm so far off the back of the main group how come I haven't seen the SRAM wheel car or the support truck at the absolute back of the group? Did I take a wrong turn? I ask a guy on the side of the road who had been called out to help someone's car if he'd seen a huge group of bikers go by. No he didn't but sorry, he wasn't really paying attention. He would have seen them or heard them if the group had gone by. Maybe he had been called out after the group went by and took a different route to the house he was at? Or maybe the group made a turn and I missed a sign? The route was supposed to be signed with "Grand Fondo" stencils and flags. I took that to mean stand-up signs. I hadn't seen any since we left the farm field and a sign pointed us left of the barn. I guess I should double back and if this is the correct route I'll see people coming up behind me.
Five minutes doubling back and no sign of any riders or support cars. This is starting to worry me. I get back to the road we started on and see two bike riders going by beyond where the guy I was following had signed to make a right turn. I ride out to them and they're a father and son not in the Grand Fundo, just out for a ride. Dad says he has a map and he can show me where I am. That doesn't help because I live nowhere near here and I didn't print the race route to bring with me. A Ford pickup truck stops near us and a girl asks us if we're trying to catch back up to the group. I say yes, I AM. She says they're a ways ahead on the route but I can catch up if I continue on the road past the first turn, make a right at the Opa Opa, then make a right at High street near the cemetery. Thanks!
Take a right and start riding fast but efficiently. I can't push too hard or let my core/head/shoulders wobble if I want to ride 60 more miles after an effort to catch the group. Oh hey there's the Opa Opa steakhouse and brewery let's go right! hey there's the cemetery and High street, another right! Okay this is the end of High Street, am I supposed to wait for the group to pass me or did they already go by? I wait a minute then take a left down to an intersection with a numbered state route. This can't be right the route was supposed to be on roads with next to no traffic. I go the other way to what I would have ridden had I gone right at the end of High St. I pass a farmer out in his freshly cut hayfield, checking out how his tractor is running. Maybe he saw the group and knows which way they passed. I turn around and ask him. He says yes, they passed going up the direction I was going but they did so about a half an hour ago. Huge group, lots of riders. Ok so I'm going the right way. Two minutes later and I see Fomer Rd. going to the right. OH the lady in the ford truck said they would take Fomer Rd! Now I'm on the right track. Fomer Rd turns into a dirt road. JPows said before we left that a lot of the roads had been recently filled with gravel and graded. So much is true for this one. The sides of the road are loose sandy gravel and the center is pretty well packed down. Let's stay to the center. I see dab marks ( go here and look up dab, this doesn't directly translate) from when some riders lost their balance in the loose stuff and left tiny gouge marks in the soft sandy road. I pass a HUGE cement runoff chute with a fence near it that says do not tresspass, town property etc etc (turns out we rode past the Tighe Carmody Reservoir). I crest a hill on the dirt road and there's a right fork branching off. The road bike tire depressions keep going straight, I go that way. I reach the end of the dirt road and Eureka! there's a sign pointing right. I go up a paved hill with two young girls standing behind a card table in their front yard. They say "free water" as I ride up towards them. I've already been gone for a while, might as well fill up a bottle. They top off my least full bottle with fresh cold, water and I see a donation box for something which escapes me now. Sorry girls, I only have a $20 note in my bag and its for roadside emergencies. Maybe I'm a coldhearted bastard for not making a donation. Brokeness is relative. At the time I felt pretty broke. There was a guy (their dad?) jammin on his electric guitar near the garage and a bunch of stuff on the driveway. A combo garage sale/water stop? I don't think this was provided by the race organizers, the Ice Cream Truck rest stop isn't until mile 32...
I crest the hill and see a yellow and blue jersey in the distance after the coming downhill! Have I found two other Grand Fundo sufferers as well? I takes me another uphill/downhill combo to catch them but yes, these are two guys from the Boston Road Club (a huge road racing club for the greater Boston area) and started after the main group left due to their late arrival. I decide to hang with them for a while. Both of them easily have 8 years on me, one possibly 15. The Grand Fundo, humanity's great equalizer. I ride with them as the oldest guy in the yellow jersey is cussin every other pedal stroke because, guess what? we've hit ANOTHER steep/long hill. We fight through to what 500 feet back appears to be the end of the hill, but NO the pavement keeps streaking to the right and up. The hill turns to DIRT. Does God have no mercy? We get off and walk the dirt end to the hill. We finally get to the top of the dirt section and a paved road intersects our road with another dirt road going up the hill. We better see a "Fundo" arrow pointing to the paved road. It is, we go right. We start to talk to each other, share little bits of how we got there. The younger guy (they were both named Dave) says he's from Fall River, MA and they definitely DON'T have hills like this were he's from. I'm thinking that if there are hills like this near Nashua, NH I haven't found them yet.
The ride goes on. I realize my trip odometer on my bike computer is 2.1 ish miles higher than the younger of my two companions because of my little detour in the first part of the race. oops did I say race? I meant ride. We hit rolling hills and the older guy starts spewing profanities again. the younger guy is laughing so much he's almost unable to keep the pace to crest the hills. I chuckle a little bit, I'm not used to someone swearing that much. But I can see the reason he is, we thought we were entering a leisurely ride where people wouldn't ride fast and the hills were only moderate. Maybe moderate to a pro who raced the Tour of California this year. Now looking back at the elevation profile, I remember the part that says the ride aggregates a total of about 3,000 feet of climbing. We hit another dirt road and near the top of a little rise in the road a truck comes up behind us and we veer to the side. The truck isn't passing us and the younger of my companions says 'jeez pass us already'. The older guy falls back and the truck does too. turns out it was the support truck following the absolute last riders of the ride. Those absolute last riders? The support guy thinks its us, but he says he cut off a big chunk off of the first part of the route. I can't help but think, isn't that risking leaving others behind in a race where they "mean no rider gets left behind"?
We get copious amounts of Gatorade from the support truck and the guys get some Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I don't take any as I still have maybe 5 energy gels and 1 pack of energy chews in my jersey pockets. Ready to ascend Everest, I am. All of it is Honey Stinger. True to the team sponsors to the grave. Except I took some Gatorade. Honey Stinger doesn't make a drink mix so that's technically not being untrue. We soldier on, going down a hill on the dirt road to an intersection. Guess what, its not signed! The support truck had been creeping along behind us since we took on Gatorade. We consult with the driver. Right he says. Just as we start the turn we all see a cardboard sign sticking out of the overgrown grass on the other side of the road we are intersecting. It says to go right. At least there's some consensus. We come up to a left turn and the support truck had been idling behind us the whole time. A(n aggravated?) driver in their yellow Hummer H2 accelerates out of nowhere to pass us (V8 roaring at us) just as we try to navigate the left turn. WOW. I guess death doesn't want us yet.
We poke along on a mostly flat road. Hey this is easy now. How many miles? only 30!? The older guy is rip-sh*&. I'm just trying to stay in a mentally tough state to finish the ride. We climb a few hills and Eureka! the Ice Cream Truck awaits our needs.
We ride up to the Ice Cream Truck, the support pickup truck parking behind it. There are three very cute girls that look my age (I find that as I get into my 20s I'm becoming a poorer judge of the age of young women I see, or so I think). The older guy says holy crap, is this the Jeremy Powers harem? We all laugh and walk up to the window. The girls greet us with smiles. It doesn't matter that were Dead effin Last (DFL). The Ice Cream Truck rest stop does not discriminate. They all have thin (almost see-thru) tanktops on with the same "Fundo" and arrow stencils that denote where the route goes in neon orange on the roads. But their white tanktops have the stencil gaps filled in in black. One of them has a black bra on under the tanktop. The other a white sports bra. The third evidently doesn't want us to know her identity as she doesn't take off her Ray-Ban Wayfarer's the whole time we're there (side note: NOW I know that that line from 'Girls of Summer' about "you got those wayfarers on baby" means! I'm slow on the uptake of pop culture). And we were there a while. The older Dave orders a Choco-Taco and settles for a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. I guess they ran out of Choco-Tacos. I get what they say is an "Italian Ice" and decide on cherry. and a banana. I'm a smart athlete when it comes to nutrition. Always keeping an eye on the nutrient intake. the younger dave gets something I forget and we all sit in the shade on the side of the road. The older guy sitting in the field edge, amongst the tall grass. the younger of my compadres says he'll have lyme disease by tomorrow, he is told to shut the f&$* up. We're getting testy and its only halfway through. In a rare rise of profanity in my mind I'm thinking this cup of high fructose corn syrup, red coloring and cherry pieces I've eaten half of is definitly not f&$*in Italian Ice. Yuck. but I need to keep my muscle glycogen up. We go back to the Ice Cream Truck and get some water, I finish a small bag of lowfat Wise potato chips one of the girls started. We ride another 1/4 mile (UPHILL, why did they put the rest stop in the middle of a hill and not at the top of the hill?) and take a right onto a shortcut that is supposed to cut off a couple miles.
We hit another relatively flat dirt road section after we rejoin with the main route and I start thinking I'm racing Paris-Roubaix. Or reliving the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, because Paris-Roubaix is a spring classic and I always think of mud when I think of Paris-Roubaix. If someone says always you know they're wrong. We hit another paved section and some other hills start slowing us down. They're not that big but we're tired after riding 32+miles in this heat. We come up to a 4-way intersection and the oldest of my riding buddies says we better not be going straight to the only effin dirt road at this intersection. Guess what? the neon "Fundo" arrow is pointing straight to it and there is another one once the dirt road starts. We wait for a big pickup truck to exit the road. The driver and passenger say they saw a big group of bikers go down the road, but they're about a half hour behind. How long till the next paved section? They look at each other and say about another two or three miles. I say to hell with it, lets truck it. We throw our bikes into the back of the support truck. The two daves get into the cab and I climb into the bed with the bikes. An only slightly bumpy and carefully-driven couple of miles ensues. Dirt road ends, truck stops. The driver asks if we want to ride it or if we want him to drive us back. he says if we're sick of riding he has no problem driving us back (we later learned the driver of the support truck was a friend of Jeremy's from Vermont and he probably was itching to start his long drive back home but we were holding him up). I reluctantly say I'd just as well get driven back to the start/finish of the loop. The older Dave says the hell with it we might as well finish. The route description turns true in the last 10-15 miles as the course rolls downhill back into town. Some highlights: I let my brakes mostly go and got ahead on most downhills/dirt road sections. Just trying to limit our losses on the day. A woman at another garage sale yells "wrong way" as we make a right turn at an intersection when we should have gone straight. We finally see a cardboard sign peeking up from above the guard rail that points straight. We ride through downtown Southampton and it looks nice. people dressed well, going out early for a nice dinner on the town on a Saturday night. We 3 riders are just finishing a 60 mile ride from hell. A Toyota Mr2 Spyder (one of the last sporty cars Toyota ever made, axed around the same time as the Celica, maybe before. NO, the stupid Corolla "S" edition does NOT count as sporty!) passes us on a rather well-traveled road with little shoulder near the end of the route and the driver matter-of-factly flips the bird at us when he's well ahead of us.
We realize that we're at the end of the route when we're back on the road we drove to arrive at the start/finish and parking field and people are beeping at us and saying stuff like "Now THAT'S a Grand Fundo!" We speed up and our group splits into three individuals riding to save face and not be the absolute last finisher. There's a guy in a Tuxedo T-shirt, flashy blue Rudy Project sunglasses, maybe boxer shorts and sneakers that says "WOW you guys DEFINITELY didn't take a shortcut." Him and Jeremy do the raffle where cool stuff is given away like bike clothing, tools and a floor pump from Pedros, a helmet, etc. I'm too tired to say hey guys you didn't give us last place finishers a chance to put in for the raffle. The pig that was over the spit when we started (5 hours 8 minutes ago for me) has been cut up and is now on a table as pork pieces and ribs covered with WAY too many hot pepper flakes for my taste. I eat what I can. I have a lot of the pasta salad and some slaw. They have plenty of Watermelon, OOOOOH YEaaaaah! The two Daves and I are in non-spandex clothing now and soaking in the beautiful views of farm fields and Mt. Tom. The older Dave starts telling stories that the younger one says take two hours to tell and don't have any point, exciting ending or punch line. I sit around and look at everyone who completed the ride ahead of us and who is done their food. Beer is available from High & Mighty Brewery and I don't dare have a full glass for fear of falling asleep on the 2 hr 20 minute drive home. Older dave gets some and all they have left is a chocolate brew (chocolate stout?) and he says its ok. he lets me have a sip and its AWESOME. in my opinion. as in I would say that chocolate beer was my JAM! haha anyway. he lets me finish the 1/3 full cup. We part ways and I drive home feeling tired but glad to have finished it. I shake JPows hand as I leave and thank him for putting on the event. He thanks me for coming and seems like a genuine nice guy who enjoys life. Not the in-depth conversation I dreamed about having with a guy who I look up to as far as athletic achievement and life outlook, but you take what you can get. A little rain falls on the bike which is on the roof while I drive home and I get home fine. A little detour through downtown Fitchburg when I end up on route 31 instead of 2A but I found 2A once I got through town. At least I didn't end up going the wrong way on a one way street in downtown Fitchburg when I try to double back to a missed turn like when I was en route to the ride.
Was it tough? Oh momma yes. Did I learn more about where I am mentally, spiritually and physically? yes. Did I meet some cool people? yes. Did I stretch my limits on the bike? yes. was I cursing the poor planning of certain parts of the ride and how badly turns were marked? yes. Did I arrive so late that I probably missed some important info about how to navigate the course and what/where it was marked? yes. Did all the bads get outweighed by goods and fond memories the next day? yes.
Sounds like a good time.
This post will also serve as a bit of a postrace (are you counting how many times I refer to this "ride" as a "race"?) recap that I usually draft in word and save on my hard drive. So hang on.
Jeremy Powers (A.K.A. JPows) is a professional Road and Cyclocross bike racer who lives in Western Massachusetts, USA. He races Road for Jelly Belly team and Cyclocross (hereafter denoted as "CX") for the Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com team. I first became a fan/follower after first witnessing his hilarious and fun-loving personality on post-race and other videos on . If you're unfamiliar with him and have time, mosey on down to cyclingdirt.org and search for "a day in the life" and "jeremy powers" or "JPows" and once you find the 3-video (I believe) series I believe you will be a fan too. or if you're not converted maybe we won't get along so much. ha
I was visiting JPows' website/blog this summer and saw an entry for the Grand Fundo. I thought oh he's bringing Gran Fondos to the US (note the difference between Grand Fundo and Gran Fondo). From what I know, Gran Fondos are huge rides/races in Italy where thousands of bike riders will show up to throw down/race/ride long distances. kinda like a century ride (100 mi/km rides in the US, usually to benefit some cause) only often they're sponsored by big companies over in Europe (sometimes having to do with bicycles) and not to benefit causes/nonprofits/organizations like century rides in the US. I believe Velonews (the magazine) has an interesting article about the Gran Fondo Campagnolo from Matt Pachoa's "At the Back" column in their August 2008 issue (I only own three issues of Velonews but am a fan and should subscribe to upp my bike racer credibility. or just because I enjoy reading it).
This Grand Fundo was supposed to be quite different from a Gran Fondo in that it was not a race, 'no rider will be left behind' and that it WOULD benefit a local/regional cause. J.A.M. I learned was founded by Jeremy and his friends Alec and Mukunda to "help motivated, young cyclists reach their potential both on and off the bike, all while not being limited by finances." A cause I was more than willing to support as I have often been looking up the technological treadmill of bicycles and parts and have thought 'man, I'm just not making enough money to be successful'. Which is really bullcrap as most of the equation is mental and physical strength. As my friend from UVM Will Dugan once said, it's the legs that matter. But money is definitely a big part that has and will continue to turn prospective racers/rising racers away. Start by imagining how much it would cost for clothing to ride three and a half seasons a year (outside), a good bicycle (we're not talking kmart trash), 25 dollar fees (which can range from 20 to 300 dollars) per race for 10-25 races a year, flying/driving to these races, lodging for the night(s) before/during/after the race(s), food to fuel a body that is working hard and you get the picture. Sure you could cut costs by tweaking the clothing, lodging travel and other parts but the body performs its best when comfortable. From what I've found.
So I knew I wanted to do it. The setting? Picturesque western Massachusetts (the ride started form Southampton). The distance? 70 miles (later changed to 64 with a possible shortcut to make it 61. The route? Some of JPows and his friends' favorite training roads which would not be "that difficult. From miles 12-20 the course has some steep sections. But after that it’s mostly flat and rolls downhill the rest of the way back to Southampton." Knowing I raced on dirt roads in UVM's road race weekend in 2008 (and that I race mountain bikes and cyclocross) I thought I was ready for the dirt roads. I had done a hilly extension on a group ride that I thought was about 40 miles the week before while visiting another UVM friend, Marshall, in VT the week before. Sure I'd only done a maximum of 24 miles in my two hour sloww-as-heck endurance rides previously this year, but 64 miles wouldn't be that tough would it? The weather forecast: fog in the early morning then partly cloudy with a high of 94, thunderstorms possible after 3 P.M. Winds 3-11 miles per hour. The start time: 10:00.
I got lost looking down at my Google directions printout in Northampton and had to ask directions from a Marina on Rt. 9. With their help we realized I had turned onto West St in Northampton, not the West St I needed to look for once I reached Southampton. Ooooh. Thanks guys. I rolled onto the recently cut farm field and drove carefully through about 20 fast looking roadies (road bike riders/racers), parked and started getting ready with about 50 others who were finishing their preride rituals. The vibe was a bit hectic from everyone finishing getting ready and fast people getting antsy to go ride. But it was also a good vibe because I think JPows and everyone else who planned the event didn't think so many would show up. I got changed super quick, got embarrassed at being the only one shouldering a hydration pack full of my tools and extra innertubes, shoved everyting into my jersey pockets including a third water bottle, put two bottles onto the cages on my bike, added air to my tires and we were off!
I stayed at the back of the group for a bit to warmup and I hung with the fast riders who volunteered to watch the goings-on at the back. We took a right turn after about a half mile and the main group was already a bit ahead. A guy I had been following sprinted up to bridge the gap but I didn't want to get hasty that early into the 64 mile ride. I knew people were behind me who would help show the way. A couple of the riders covering the back stopped to help someone fix an early flat tire. There was still one girl behind me who I think I saw race for Army when I was in college because I remembered a dark-haired girl racing for them who always had this girl's long braid and this girl had a camo-painted bike. I started up the first small hill and she was a bit behind me. Maybe she's taking it easier than I am. I roll down the first hill and look back, she's not there. Oh well I'm sure I'll catch the rear part of the group or see them soon. I ride another four minutes, enjoying the semi-rural area. Still no sight of anyone ahead or behind. I ride two more minutes. Now this is making me wonder. Am I really in no-mans-land already? What about "no rider gets left behind?" If I'm so far off the back of the main group how come I haven't seen the SRAM wheel car or the support truck at the absolute back of the group? Did I take a wrong turn? I ask a guy on the side of the road who had been called out to help someone's car if he'd seen a huge group of bikers go by. No he didn't but sorry, he wasn't really paying attention. He would have seen them or heard them if the group had gone by. Maybe he had been called out after the group went by and took a different route to the house he was at? Or maybe the group made a turn and I missed a sign? The route was supposed to be signed with "Grand Fondo" stencils and flags. I took that to mean stand-up signs. I hadn't seen any since we left the farm field and a sign pointed us left of the barn. I guess I should double back and if this is the correct route I'll see people coming up behind me.
Five minutes doubling back and no sign of any riders or support cars. This is starting to worry me. I get back to the road we started on and see two bike riders going by beyond where the guy I was following had signed to make a right turn. I ride out to them and they're a father and son not in the Grand Fundo, just out for a ride. Dad says he has a map and he can show me where I am. That doesn't help because I live nowhere near here and I didn't print the race route to bring with me. A Ford pickup truck stops near us and a girl asks us if we're trying to catch back up to the group. I say yes, I AM. She says they're a ways ahead on the route but I can catch up if I continue on the road past the first turn, make a right at the Opa Opa, then make a right at High street near the cemetery. Thanks!
Take a right and start riding fast but efficiently. I can't push too hard or let my core/head/shoulders wobble if I want to ride 60 more miles after an effort to catch the group. Oh hey there's the Opa Opa steakhouse and brewery let's go right! hey there's the cemetery and High street, another right! Okay this is the end of High Street, am I supposed to wait for the group to pass me or did they already go by? I wait a minute then take a left down to an intersection with a numbered state route. This can't be right the route was supposed to be on roads with next to no traffic. I go the other way to what I would have ridden had I gone right at the end of High St. I pass a farmer out in his freshly cut hayfield, checking out how his tractor is running. Maybe he saw the group and knows which way they passed. I turn around and ask him. He says yes, they passed going up the direction I was going but they did so about a half an hour ago. Huge group, lots of riders. Ok so I'm going the right way. Two minutes later and I see Fomer Rd. going to the right. OH the lady in the ford truck said they would take Fomer Rd! Now I'm on the right track. Fomer Rd turns into a dirt road. JPows said before we left that a lot of the roads had been recently filled with gravel and graded. So much is true for this one. The sides of the road are loose sandy gravel and the center is pretty well packed down. Let's stay to the center. I see dab marks ( go here and look up dab, this doesn't directly translate) from when some riders lost their balance in the loose stuff and left tiny gouge marks in the soft sandy road. I pass a HUGE cement runoff chute with a fence near it that says do not tresspass, town property etc etc (turns out we rode past the Tighe Carmody Reservoir). I crest a hill on the dirt road and there's a right fork branching off. The road bike tire depressions keep going straight, I go that way. I reach the end of the dirt road and Eureka! there's a sign pointing right. I go up a paved hill with two young girls standing behind a card table in their front yard. They say "free water" as I ride up towards them. I've already been gone for a while, might as well fill up a bottle. They top off my least full bottle with fresh cold, water and I see a donation box for something which escapes me now. Sorry girls, I only have a $20 note in my bag and its for roadside emergencies. Maybe I'm a coldhearted bastard for not making a donation. Brokeness is relative. At the time I felt pretty broke. There was a guy (their dad?) jammin on his electric guitar near the garage and a bunch of stuff on the driveway. A combo garage sale/water stop? I don't think this was provided by the race organizers, the Ice Cream Truck rest stop isn't until mile 32...
I crest the hill and see a yellow and blue jersey in the distance after the coming downhill! Have I found two other Grand Fundo sufferers as well? I takes me another uphill/downhill combo to catch them but yes, these are two guys from the Boston Road Club (a huge road racing club for the greater Boston area) and started after the main group left due to their late arrival. I decide to hang with them for a while. Both of them easily have 8 years on me, one possibly 15. The Grand Fundo, humanity's great equalizer. I ride with them as the oldest guy in the yellow jersey is cussin every other pedal stroke because, guess what? we've hit ANOTHER steep/long hill. We fight through to what 500 feet back appears to be the end of the hill, but NO the pavement keeps streaking to the right and up. The hill turns to DIRT. Does God have no mercy? We get off and walk the dirt end to the hill. We finally get to the top of the dirt section and a paved road intersects our road with another dirt road going up the hill. We better see a "Fundo" arrow pointing to the paved road. It is, we go right. We start to talk to each other, share little bits of how we got there. The younger guy (they were both named Dave) says he's from Fall River, MA and they definitely DON'T have hills like this were he's from. I'm thinking that if there are hills like this near Nashua, NH I haven't found them yet.
The ride goes on. I realize my trip odometer on my bike computer is 2.1 ish miles higher than the younger of my two companions because of my little detour in the first part of the race. oops did I say race? I meant ride. We hit rolling hills and the older guy starts spewing profanities again. the younger guy is laughing so much he's almost unable to keep the pace to crest the hills. I chuckle a little bit, I'm not used to someone swearing that much. But I can see the reason he is, we thought we were entering a leisurely ride where people wouldn't ride fast and the hills were only moderate. Maybe moderate to a pro who raced the Tour of California this year. Now looking back at the elevation profile, I remember the part that says the ride aggregates a total of about 3,000 feet of climbing. We hit another dirt road and near the top of a little rise in the road a truck comes up behind us and we veer to the side. The truck isn't passing us and the younger of my companions says 'jeez pass us already'. The older guy falls back and the truck does too. turns out it was the support truck following the absolute last riders of the ride. Those absolute last riders? The support guy thinks its us, but he says he cut off a big chunk off of the first part of the route. I can't help but think, isn't that risking leaving others behind in a race where they "mean no rider gets left behind"?
We get copious amounts of Gatorade from the support truck and the guys get some Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I don't take any as I still have maybe 5 energy gels and 1 pack of energy chews in my jersey pockets. Ready to ascend Everest, I am. All of it is Honey Stinger. True to the team sponsors to the grave. Except I took some Gatorade. Honey Stinger doesn't make a drink mix so that's technically not being untrue. We soldier on, going down a hill on the dirt road to an intersection. Guess what, its not signed! The support truck had been creeping along behind us since we took on Gatorade. We consult with the driver. Right he says. Just as we start the turn we all see a cardboard sign sticking out of the overgrown grass on the other side of the road we are intersecting. It says to go right. At least there's some consensus. We come up to a left turn and the support truck had been idling behind us the whole time. A(n aggravated?) driver in their yellow Hummer H2 accelerates out of nowhere to pass us (V8 roaring at us) just as we try to navigate the left turn. WOW. I guess death doesn't want us yet.
We poke along on a mostly flat road. Hey this is easy now. How many miles? only 30!? The older guy is rip-sh*&. I'm just trying to stay in a mentally tough state to finish the ride. We climb a few hills and Eureka! the Ice Cream Truck awaits our needs.
We ride up to the Ice Cream Truck, the support pickup truck parking behind it. There are three very cute girls that look my age (I find that as I get into my 20s I'm becoming a poorer judge of the age of young women I see, or so I think). The older guy says holy crap, is this the Jeremy Powers harem? We all laugh and walk up to the window. The girls greet us with smiles. It doesn't matter that were Dead effin Last (DFL). The Ice Cream Truck rest stop does not discriminate. They all have thin (almost see-thru) tanktops on with the same "Fundo" and arrow stencils that denote where the route goes in neon orange on the roads. But their white tanktops have the stencil gaps filled in in black. One of them has a black bra on under the tanktop. The other a white sports bra. The third evidently doesn't want us to know her identity as she doesn't take off her Ray-Ban Wayfarer's the whole time we're there (side note: NOW I know that that line from 'Girls of Summer' about "you got those wayfarers on baby" means! I'm slow on the uptake of pop culture). And we were there a while. The older Dave orders a Choco-Taco and settles for a chocolate chip ice cream sandwich. I guess they ran out of Choco-Tacos. I get what they say is an "Italian Ice" and decide on cherry. and a banana. I'm a smart athlete when it comes to nutrition. Always keeping an eye on the nutrient intake. the younger dave gets something I forget and we all sit in the shade on the side of the road. The older guy sitting in the field edge, amongst the tall grass. the younger of my compadres says he'll have lyme disease by tomorrow, he is told to shut the f&$* up. We're getting testy and its only halfway through. In a rare rise of profanity in my mind I'm thinking this cup of high fructose corn syrup, red coloring and cherry pieces I've eaten half of is definitly not f&$*in Italian Ice. Yuck. but I need to keep my muscle glycogen up. We go back to the Ice Cream Truck and get some water, I finish a small bag of lowfat Wise potato chips one of the girls started. We ride another 1/4 mile (UPHILL, why did they put the rest stop in the middle of a hill and not at the top of the hill?) and take a right onto a shortcut that is supposed to cut off a couple miles.
We hit another relatively flat dirt road section after we rejoin with the main route and I start thinking I'm racing Paris-Roubaix. Or reliving the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, because Paris-Roubaix is a spring classic and I always think of mud when I think of Paris-Roubaix. If someone says always you know they're wrong. We hit another paved section and some other hills start slowing us down. They're not that big but we're tired after riding 32+miles in this heat. We come up to a 4-way intersection and the oldest of my riding buddies says we better not be going straight to the only effin dirt road at this intersection. Guess what? the neon "Fundo" arrow is pointing straight to it and there is another one once the dirt road starts. We wait for a big pickup truck to exit the road. The driver and passenger say they saw a big group of bikers go down the road, but they're about a half hour behind. How long till the next paved section? They look at each other and say about another two or three miles. I say to hell with it, lets truck it. We throw our bikes into the back of the support truck. The two daves get into the cab and I climb into the bed with the bikes. An only slightly bumpy and carefully-driven couple of miles ensues. Dirt road ends, truck stops. The driver asks if we want to ride it or if we want him to drive us back. he says if we're sick of riding he has no problem driving us back (we later learned the driver of the support truck was a friend of Jeremy's from Vermont and he probably was itching to start his long drive back home but we were holding him up). I reluctantly say I'd just as well get driven back to the start/finish of the loop. The older Dave says the hell with it we might as well finish. The route description turns true in the last 10-15 miles as the course rolls downhill back into town. Some highlights: I let my brakes mostly go and got ahead on most downhills/dirt road sections. Just trying to limit our losses on the day. A woman at another garage sale yells "wrong way" as we make a right turn at an intersection when we should have gone straight. We finally see a cardboard sign peeking up from above the guard rail that points straight. We ride through downtown Southampton and it looks nice. people dressed well, going out early for a nice dinner on the town on a Saturday night. We 3 riders are just finishing a 60 mile ride from hell. A Toyota Mr2 Spyder (one of the last sporty cars Toyota ever made, axed around the same time as the Celica, maybe before. NO, the stupid Corolla "S" edition does NOT count as sporty!) passes us on a rather well-traveled road with little shoulder near the end of the route and the driver matter-of-factly flips the bird at us when he's well ahead of us.
We realize that we're at the end of the route when we're back on the road we drove to arrive at the start/finish and parking field and people are beeping at us and saying stuff like "Now THAT'S a Grand Fundo!" We speed up and our group splits into three individuals riding to save face and not be the absolute last finisher. There's a guy in a Tuxedo T-shirt, flashy blue Rudy Project sunglasses, maybe boxer shorts and sneakers that says "WOW you guys DEFINITELY didn't take a shortcut." Him and Jeremy do the raffle where cool stuff is given away like bike clothing, tools and a floor pump from Pedros, a helmet, etc. I'm too tired to say hey guys you didn't give us last place finishers a chance to put in for the raffle. The pig that was over the spit when we started (5 hours 8 minutes ago for me) has been cut up and is now on a table as pork pieces and ribs covered with WAY too many hot pepper flakes for my taste. I eat what I can. I have a lot of the pasta salad and some slaw. They have plenty of Watermelon, OOOOOH YEaaaaah! The two Daves and I are in non-spandex clothing now and soaking in the beautiful views of farm fields and Mt. Tom. The older Dave starts telling stories that the younger one says take two hours to tell and don't have any point, exciting ending or punch line. I sit around and look at everyone who completed the ride ahead of us and who is done their food. Beer is available from High & Mighty Brewery and I don't dare have a full glass for fear of falling asleep on the 2 hr 20 minute drive home. Older dave gets some and all they have left is a chocolate brew (chocolate stout?) and he says its ok. he lets me have a sip and its AWESOME. in my opinion. as in I would say that chocolate beer was my JAM! haha anyway. he lets me finish the 1/3 full cup. We part ways and I drive home feeling tired but glad to have finished it. I shake JPows hand as I leave and thank him for putting on the event. He thanks me for coming and seems like a genuine nice guy who enjoys life. Not the in-depth conversation I dreamed about having with a guy who I look up to as far as athletic achievement and life outlook, but you take what you can get. A little rain falls on the bike which is on the roof while I drive home and I get home fine. A little detour through downtown Fitchburg when I end up on route 31 instead of 2A but I found 2A once I got through town. At least I didn't end up going the wrong way on a one way street in downtown Fitchburg when I try to double back to a missed turn like when I was en route to the ride.
Was it tough? Oh momma yes. Did I learn more about where I am mentally, spiritually and physically? yes. Did I meet some cool people? yes. Did I stretch my limits on the bike? yes. was I cursing the poor planning of certain parts of the ride and how badly turns were marked? yes. Did I arrive so late that I probably missed some important info about how to navigate the course and what/where it was marked? yes. Did all the bads get outweighed by goods and fond memories the next day? yes.
Sounds like a good time.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
a job, a couple bikes, an update!
wow, it's so easy to update my @TheJeffCaisse on Twitter and leavin short updates on FacePlace that I"ve been ignoring the blog. another bedtime update and it will be short.
I'm becoming more and more comfortable and happy with my job at EMS in Nashua, NH. If you haven't stopped in the store lately, please check it out it will be worth it. Club day is the 23 and 24 of April and you will get HUGE discounts! do it. The crew there is amazing, everyone is passionate about outfitting people to get outdoors and enjoy it! I hang out in boots (getting better everyday with fitting and picking 'em and I had a pre-EMS appreciation for good footwear because I've had prescription orthotic inserts in my shoes I walk, hike and run in since freshman year of HS), Men's and bikes mostly so far. it's great. and its nice that I'm finally making money again.
I've been doing my best to fit training in amongst my work at EMS and not overload myself. These last two weeks I think I've been successful. I've had to call off specific workouts on days when I was really fatigued and was at work, we walk around a lot and are lifting boxes etc pretty frequently so it's not like I'm sitting on my arse at home all day. I think those have been good decisions. I'm feeling stronger and stronger in the weight room. I had my first hill workout this Saturday and I was near my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (don't understand? google is your friend) and it felt pretty easy. Part of that is because most of my endurance rides on the road these past five weeks were on my mtb with tires that had some tread and I feel like I"m flying on the road bike now. I'm kinda saddle sore because my road bike seat is much thinner than my mountain bike seat but I"ll get used to it.
Get to see my girlfriend Jess for lunch on Tuesday and I"m excited! She had exams last week and it'll be good to hang out.
My first two races are coming up! 10th of April is Bunny HopBrook Dam XC race in Middlebury, CT and 18th of April is Fat Tire Classic XC race in Farmington, CT. Staying at the siter's place at UCONN before the race on the 18th so that'll be easier. I'll just have to get up early on the 10th of April. I'll try to keep realistic expectations for these as I had a late start to training this season and I haven't quite figured out how to integrate winter training in New England seamlessly into a training plan for summer fitness. But I feel good and hope to have good performances.
That being said I have work at 10 tomorrow for a full day. Woke up 06:15 for an endurance ride before church and I'm kinda tired.
Happy Easter or early summertime everyone!
-El Jefe
I'm becoming more and more comfortable and happy with my job at EMS in Nashua, NH. If you haven't stopped in the store lately, please check it out it will be worth it. Club day is the 23 and 24 of April and you will get HUGE discounts! do it. The crew there is amazing, everyone is passionate about outfitting people to get outdoors and enjoy it! I hang out in boots (getting better everyday with fitting and picking 'em and I had a pre-EMS appreciation for good footwear because I've had prescription orthotic inserts in my shoes I walk, hike and run in since freshman year of HS), Men's and bikes mostly so far. it's great. and its nice that I'm finally making money again.
I've been doing my best to fit training in amongst my work at EMS and not overload myself. These last two weeks I think I've been successful. I've had to call off specific workouts on days when I was really fatigued and was at work, we walk around a lot and are lifting boxes etc pretty frequently so it's not like I'm sitting on my arse at home all day. I think those have been good decisions. I'm feeling stronger and stronger in the weight room. I had my first hill workout this Saturday and I was near my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (don't understand? google is your friend) and it felt pretty easy. Part of that is because most of my endurance rides on the road these past five weeks were on my mtb with tires that had some tread and I feel like I"m flying on the road bike now. I'm kinda saddle sore because my road bike seat is much thinner than my mountain bike seat but I"ll get used to it.
Get to see my girlfriend Jess for lunch on Tuesday and I"m excited! She had exams last week and it'll be good to hang out.
My first two races are coming up! 10th of April is Bunny HopBrook Dam XC race in Middlebury, CT and 18th of April is Fat Tire Classic XC race in Farmington, CT. Staying at the siter's place at UCONN before the race on the 18th so that'll be easier. I'll just have to get up early on the 10th of April. I'll try to keep realistic expectations for these as I had a late start to training this season and I haven't quite figured out how to integrate winter training in New England seamlessly into a training plan for summer fitness. But I feel good and hope to have good performances.
That being said I have work at 10 tomorrow for a full day. Woke up 06:15 for an endurance ride before church and I'm kinda tired.
Happy Easter or early summertime everyone!
-El Jefe
Saturday, March 13, 2010
easin into it!?
this post will be short as its 22:23 as I write this (23 minutes past my bedtime) and I'm feelin kinda under the weather. haha thats rather funny considering how it's raining outside? get it, under the weather, pressure changes... anyway. Where to begin? I've been extremely tired these past three days.
This week was supposed to be R&R for my training. I succeeded Mon-Wed and was feeling great. Then Thursday happened. It was my first day at EMS from 11-4 and I had strength training scheduled that day too. So I hit the gym at 9:30, did three sets of squats, push-ups, seated rows, and abdominals (crunches) with twist. Got home, showered, realized I got to the gym late and my wonderfully planned schedule for making it into work really early was unraveling and made it to work 3 minutes early. phew.
I sat in front of the computer pretty much all day. frikken computer-based training. important stuff but not a very exciting method of transmitting the information. I ended up working only 5 hours so they wouldn't have to send me to a lunch break. ouch. but I understand, managers have to keep the schedule trim sometimes and it was only my first day. then I went home and Thursday night is trash night so I spent the next hour in our backyard picking up after that little furry four-legged monster that is also part of our family.
And I was ready to go to sleep at 6:30 that night.
Friday I worked 10-4, then came home and had a whirlwind cleaning session after I drove to Hannafords for 2lbs Frozen-at-sea, wild caught Sockeye Salmon. Then I proceeded to make dinner for my girlfriend Jess who was going to have dinner with me and my parents. I baked the salmon with some olive oil, oregano and thyme and it came out amazing! Trader Joe's Basmati rice medly (the one with dried veggies and wild rice) gave us some good carbs and then we had green beans. excellent. some ice cream for desert leftover from when two people in my family had cavities filled last week (I know this may seem counter-productive but we did it anyway...) and it was a great meal.
Now its raining. Does anyone else out in the blogworld have problems with their parents freaking out at them when they try to ride in rain like this? I mean light rain isn't a big deal but driving rain with the winds we've had? I might as well be a recently turned 18 year-old girl asking my dad if I can get a tattoo. Dad won't have any of it. I'm sure some of you have run into this and after sliding out in a wet 120 degree, off camber, downhill turn four hours after rain stopped one summer day three years ago I know the danger of riding in the wet. I guess I can just ride less and inside since I haven't done bike workouts inside in about three weeks so I've been good about minimizing the time on the rollers. only thing that sucks is I'm trying to get used to the Mountain bike position and I don't have slick tires so I end up throwing the road bike on. oh, the things I have to put up with right?
anyway I'm gonna go to bed. Things at EMS are going really well and the crew there is great and loves working for the company. I saw my good friend Josh Weinstein tonight, he's finishing up his B.S. in physics at UVM and I need to go visit him sometime soon. what a guy. a day of rest tomorrow, maybe I'll go to church and see if our music director who had to call off men's choir rehearsal this morning because of his flu is feeling better/can play the organ.
This week was supposed to be R&R for my training. I succeeded Mon-Wed and was feeling great. Then Thursday happened. It was my first day at EMS from 11-4 and I had strength training scheduled that day too. So I hit the gym at 9:30, did three sets of squats, push-ups, seated rows, and abdominals (crunches) with twist. Got home, showered, realized I got to the gym late and my wonderfully planned schedule for making it into work really early was unraveling and made it to work 3 minutes early. phew.
I sat in front of the computer pretty much all day. frikken computer-based training. important stuff but not a very exciting method of transmitting the information. I ended up working only 5 hours so they wouldn't have to send me to a lunch break. ouch. but I understand, managers have to keep the schedule trim sometimes and it was only my first day. then I went home and Thursday night is trash night so I spent the next hour in our backyard picking up after that little furry four-legged monster that is also part of our family.
And I was ready to go to sleep at 6:30 that night.
Friday I worked 10-4, then came home and had a whirlwind cleaning session after I drove to Hannafords for 2lbs Frozen-at-sea, wild caught Sockeye Salmon. Then I proceeded to make dinner for my girlfriend Jess who was going to have dinner with me and my parents. I baked the salmon with some olive oil, oregano and thyme and it came out amazing! Trader Joe's Basmati rice medly (the one with dried veggies and wild rice) gave us some good carbs and then we had green beans. excellent. some ice cream for desert leftover from when two people in my family had cavities filled last week (I know this may seem counter-productive but we did it anyway...) and it was a great meal.
Now its raining. Does anyone else out in the blogworld have problems with their parents freaking out at them when they try to ride in rain like this? I mean light rain isn't a big deal but driving rain with the winds we've had? I might as well be a recently turned 18 year-old girl asking my dad if I can get a tattoo. Dad won't have any of it. I'm sure some of you have run into this and after sliding out in a wet 120 degree, off camber, downhill turn four hours after rain stopped one summer day three years ago I know the danger of riding in the wet. I guess I can just ride less and inside since I haven't done bike workouts inside in about three weeks so I've been good about minimizing the time on the rollers. only thing that sucks is I'm trying to get used to the Mountain bike position and I don't have slick tires so I end up throwing the road bike on. oh, the things I have to put up with right?
anyway I'm gonna go to bed. Things at EMS are going really well and the crew there is great and loves working for the company. I saw my good friend Josh Weinstein tonight, he's finishing up his B.S. in physics at UVM and I need to go visit him sometime soon. what a guy. a day of rest tomorrow, maybe I'll go to church and see if our music director who had to call off men's choir rehearsal this morning because of his flu is feeling better/can play the organ.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
so why do I need a job...
I had one of those compilation CDs when I was in early High School (like NOW but it was kinda indy stuff so it was cool...) WAIT I just found it on my CD rack at home. It's called "Check It Out Now" and was an EMI promo CD. Circa 2000. There was a song by an artist called 'Bare Jr' called "why do i need a job" that talked about how his girlfriend was a stripper and that the hours he "worked" hangin at home were great and he was never late so why did he need a job? Not that I condone that lifestyle or anything but I thought it was an awesome song at the time.
On a lighter note, I was at a meeting in the Nashua Public Library for The Nashua Green Bikes Project which will be like a Bike Recycle VT (for those of you who have been to Burlington and/or are familiar with it. Very exciting opportunity to improve our community. Of course I showed up late. After the presentation was done I introduced myself and the facilitator for the Project asked me what I raced in College. I was like road, then XC and said I hoped to do the EFTA NECS series if I could stay in Nashua and get a job. A guy sitting next to me was from EMS and he turned to me and said "Do you need a job?" I'm like UH, YES so after the meeting adjourned he asked me if I was interested in working Pt time for EMS Nashua, potentially to full time taking over Shipping/Receiving. I was so into it. Went to the store the next Monday and sat down with him, the guy is great and had an interview with him and an assistant manager on Wednesday of last week. I'm hoping I get it!
Also, the Environmental Assistant (Fisheries) position I applied for with VT Fish & Wildlife for March-Sep (ish) called me back and I'm having an interview with one of the state's Fisheries Biologists on Tuesday the 9th! So pumped! We shall see what happens with these two opportunities.
No training whatsoever for me last week. I noticed an ingrown hair that became infected with inflammation that grew to the diameter of a golf ball by the 20th of February. Went to my doctor on the 21st and I was on 500mg Cephalexin 2x daily for 7 days! What passed was a very trying week as it upset my stomach and I lost my ability to eat so much at one time but my body still was cranking full tilt. So I had a lot of inbetween snacks. BUT I had a weight room circuit Monday March 1st with only 1 set of each exercise instead of 2 and rode for an hour and 10 minutes today working on getting "the spin of meat" (see "Bike" magazine from this summer) going. My knee hurt by the end but I'm gonna do my exercises every night this week if I didn't lift that day and every day after that. Let's hope that works. This recurring right knee pain of "unknown etiology" (a.k.a. no diagnosis besides just "pain) lead to me being denied health insurance in May of 2009. DENIED!!! This is why I feel we DESPERATELY need an overhaul of health care in the US as a very healthy, nonsmoking male of 23 years is denied health insurance because the carrier felt I would be making money off them and they wouldn't be making money off me if they offered me coverage.
My mom keeps saying all senators and representatives should be made to apply for 'standard' health insurance like all of us proletariat (my word choice, not hers) pay through the nose for monthly and THEN we'll see how freakin speedy this reform comes.
And there is a new romance in my life. My friend Jess Harris from High School and I are officially dating. I'm very excited about this, just wanted to keep you all in the know.
Now it's 21:14. That's 9:14 P.M. for all you lameos still on 12-hr time. I got up at 03:30 to drive my dad to Manchester Airport so he could fly to Salt Lake City for his company's yearly trade show. J.R. 's Professional Chauffeur Service. I should probably stretch and do my exercises, shower and hit the sack. Thanks for keeping with me for another long update, will hopefully have some photos from my PIMP new camera once I get around to taking up the last 1% of space left on my hard drive with the new pics.
PS: I broke the 17 mpg barrier in my V6 highlander this week~! (shout out to Vanessa Burke with the extra symbol) I gassed up before picking my dad up at the Exit 6 welcome center on the F.E. Turnpike last Wednesday and was so pumped. 17.1 mpg or something like that. I'm gonna try to keep it up. My new car (which I am paying off monthly once I get a job, thanks Mom & Dad) is so nice, but I'm still getting used to an engine that has as much jump in it for so little accelerator pressure from my foot.
On a lighter note, I was at a meeting in the Nashua Public Library for The Nashua Green Bikes Project which will be like a Bike Recycle VT (for those of you who have been to Burlington and/or are familiar with it. Very exciting opportunity to improve our community. Of course I showed up late. After the presentation was done I introduced myself and the facilitator for the Project asked me what I raced in College. I was like road, then XC and said I hoped to do the EFTA NECS series if I could stay in Nashua and get a job. A guy sitting next to me was from EMS and he turned to me and said "Do you need a job?" I'm like UH, YES so after the meeting adjourned he asked me if I was interested in working Pt time for EMS Nashua, potentially to full time taking over Shipping/Receiving. I was so into it. Went to the store the next Monday and sat down with him, the guy is great and had an interview with him and an assistant manager on Wednesday of last week. I'm hoping I get it!
Also, the Environmental Assistant (Fisheries) position I applied for with VT Fish & Wildlife for March-Sep (ish) called me back and I'm having an interview with one of the state's Fisheries Biologists on Tuesday the 9th! So pumped! We shall see what happens with these two opportunities.
No training whatsoever for me last week. I noticed an ingrown hair that became infected with inflammation that grew to the diameter of a golf ball by the 20th of February. Went to my doctor on the 21st and I was on 500mg Cephalexin 2x daily for 7 days! What passed was a very trying week as it upset my stomach and I lost my ability to eat so much at one time but my body still was cranking full tilt. So I had a lot of inbetween snacks. BUT I had a weight room circuit Monday March 1st with only 1 set of each exercise instead of 2 and rode for an hour and 10 minutes today working on getting "the spin of meat" (see "Bike" magazine from this summer) going. My knee hurt by the end but I'm gonna do my exercises every night this week if I didn't lift that day and every day after that. Let's hope that works. This recurring right knee pain of "unknown etiology" (a.k.a. no diagnosis besides just "pain) lead to me being denied health insurance in May of 2009. DENIED!!! This is why I feel we DESPERATELY need an overhaul of health care in the US as a very healthy, nonsmoking male of 23 years is denied health insurance because the carrier felt I would be making money off them and they wouldn't be making money off me if they offered me coverage.
My mom keeps saying all senators and representatives should be made to apply for 'standard' health insurance like all of us proletariat (my word choice, not hers) pay through the nose for monthly and THEN we'll see how freakin speedy this reform comes.
And there is a new romance in my life. My friend Jess Harris from High School and I are officially dating. I'm very excited about this, just wanted to keep you all in the know.
Now it's 21:14. That's 9:14 P.M. for all you lameos still on 12-hr time. I got up at 03:30 to drive my dad to Manchester Airport so he could fly to Salt Lake City for his company's yearly trade show. J.R. 's Professional Chauffeur Service. I should probably stretch and do my exercises, shower and hit the sack. Thanks for keeping with me for another long update, will hopefully have some photos from my PIMP new camera once I get around to taking up the last 1% of space left on my hard drive with the new pics.
PS: I broke the 17 mpg barrier in my V6 highlander this week~! (shout out to Vanessa Burke with the extra symbol) I gassed up before picking my dad up at the Exit 6 welcome center on the F.E. Turnpike last Wednesday and was so pumped. 17.1 mpg or something like that. I'm gonna try to keep it up. My new car (which I am paying off monthly once I get a job, thanks Mom & Dad) is so nice, but I'm still getting used to an engine that has as much jump in it for so little accelerator pressure from my foot.
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