Como un Culo.............Lo Tenemos

Well..........................................sorry to not have blogged in a while but I thought it appropriate to express my opinion (hence the title of this post) based on the latest events in the cycling world regarding doping, Lance, and a whole bunch of others.................

Many of my cycling pals and non-cycling buddies are asking my take on Lance and doping so here goes.

Like many fans of the sport I am disappointed but I am absolutely amazed at the finger pointing by others in the sport. From my view Lance is being painted as the architect of some insidious doping conspiracy that was all his idea...............too late to ask Marco Pantani and Tom  Simpson for their opinion.

So......................what is also amazing is the hypocrisy of the sports fan. It seems so easy for USADA and UCI to strip Lance of his titles but in baseball there are but a few asterisks next to the steroid users and their homerun titles, no one is taking away the world series rings from other players or players that contributed to a championship. How about a good portion of professional football players and their PEDs? In America it would be tantamount to high-treason to have the NFL take away the Lombardi trophy if it were put out as public knowledge that key players to a championship were on some PED right? Are these athletes "leveling the playing field" as cyclists were?

Therefore......................if we strip Lance of his titles let's do it right..................let's strip Kornelia Ender of her gold medals and give them to Shirley Babashoff, how about going down the line and taking away records from baseball players, probably a handful of track and field stars, and who knows who else and what sports. Golf anyone??

Lance and a bunch of others cheated..........no doubt..................but what is important to consider is the culture of the sport during that time. The only thing I see that Lance did differently was professionalize doping. He was not some drug cartel kingpin but an athlete that paid his mortgage and provided for his family as a cyclist and a businessman--with cycling as his business. To paint him as a conspirator of all conspirators and that his dominant personality pushed other cyclists to dope is flawed. It is the concentration camp prison guard defense.We have cheaters on Wall Street, the mortgage crisis swindlers, politicians, and bunches of others in all kinds of career fields looking for an edge.

Okay.....that is it for now. I only hope that cycling cleans up its act and the rest of the dominoes fall so we can move forward................

JOCMO: The moment will come when this is no longer big news in cycling and we can applaud guys like Froome, Hushovd, Phinney, Wiggins, Evie Stevens, Judith Arndt, and many others for their great talent.,

Los Gatos

For the inquiring minds out there I have now changed my home-life significantly several months ago.....................

So.........................welcome Jamon and Queso........................a couple of Venezuelan born varmint cats that were given to me by a pal that is leaving the area and unable to take care or them anymore. Well, some of you know I have given thought to a pet since my sabbatical last summer and primarily leaning toward a small high energy hound dog but in the end I knew I could not be a good dog owner and be home every day at a particular time to let him out and I was not crazy about crating a dog all day. 


Enter los dos gatos...........................both of them are 11 years old and have been together since they were kittens. Jamon (aka Fatty, Gato) goes about 16.5 big ones and has a short torso compared to Queso. Queso, about 13 lbs, and with a real long body is comparatively skinny so I call him "Skinny" from time to time. Needless to say Jamon is the Alpha male of the two and is amazingly lazy. When I need to  move him to another room he just won't get up so I do this drag-pull motion and eventually he takes the hint and gets up. He is also quite affectionate and needs his deep tissue massage every day.

Jamon (top) and Queso (bottom)

Queso on the other hand is quite skittish to some extent--at least with me. Some women (that's you Judie!!) that have come to the house seem to relate better with him than me. Must be the tone of voice. Anyway...............Queso was in hiding for his first 3 weeks in the house. He slowly worked his way out and would let me touch him a bit but I had to be very careful or he would spook easily.

The first two months went pretty well and I was permitting the Gatos to have the run of the house when I was not around. This was no big deal for a while but then they became demanding and wanted to get in the shower several times a day to lap water from the faucet. They also wanted to sleep in my room but this was not possible because of the nocturnal alley cat noises they would make. So...............at night they were exiled to the basement and I let them out every morning when I woke. 

So let's jump up a bit and go over the not so pleasant last two months...............

Problem 1: One of these quys was doing the deuce out of the box and I could not explain why. For the first two months I had no issues and then Queso (this took a few weeks to figure out it was him) began doing the deuce out of the box and it was really frustrating me. I did not know what to do and it took a breeder to tell me that I had to retrain him. In the end, Jamon had to deal with the retraining as well because they don't like being apart. 

Thus began the 2-week cat prison. I had to keep both Gatos in the laundry room with the boxes and their food in close proximity. This worked fast and I had both cats back using the boxes. They did not like being isolated to the laundry room and tried to get out when I would come to feed them but life is tough for cat that wants to take liberties with the carpet.... :)

Now let's jump forward a week. The last few days of cat prison are coming to an end and I am about to head out of town for a week to Colorado. I have a pal staying in the house while I am going with her little min pin hound dog  and keeping Jamon and Queso from starving. Two days after I left she sent me an email that the cats have a nasty flea problem. I was oblivious to this. 

So..........................she kept them in the Laundry room until I returned and was a brave soldier to go in there and feed them with fleas all over the place. I think she and her dog were really stressed over this. Needless to say I get back in town a week later and go in to the laundry room and the Gatos are a mess. They were miserable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next morning off to the vet for some pills, drops, and some sprays for the house.

Thus the 2-week anti-flea odyssey began.

Eliminating the fleas from the Gatos took all of 45 min with the pills and drops but cleaning the house was another matter. I started with a full-blown vacuuming, spraying, and then laundering in hot water all the blankets, sheets, or throws in vicinity of Jamon and Queso.

After this was done over several days I took the cats out of the house to a friends for a day so I could flea bomb the house. Then, more vacuuming and I realized my 20+ year old vacuum was not getting it done. So..............welcome the new house tool....

The new Riccar--cutting edge

So over several days of intense vacuuming, mopping, laundry, I was just beginning to sense that the fleas were about to be eradicated. The life cycle was ending and they were few and far between. Then, old Jamon sprouted more fleas. I have since learned because he is less mobile, on the floor more than queso, and developing some hip problems, he is a target for fleas.

So.......................today I  had to go back to the vet and get more pills, more spray, and flea bomb the basement again. Not sure if it is under control or not. Next step.................a professional exterminator. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh



JOCMO: These are good Gatos and have really changed my perspective. I can still be self-absorbed but they have eased my selfishness a little

Crits Anyone

Criterium Defined.... 

So let me continue my story about the challenges of Cat 5 Road Racing. A few weeks ago I competed in a weekend of crits to get a few more mass-start races under my belt so I can cat-up one of these days. Definitely looking like a 2013 objective as I just can't do any more road races this Summer.

Okay, so first up was a Cat 5 crit of 30 min duration with an hour or so rest and then a 60 min crit in the Cat 4/5 Masters division. I did the first race with pal and colleague Lex as he is dabbling in road racing as well. We both made the drive to Hagerstown, MD on a 1 mile course in section of town where the finish area was in a beautiful, old, elegant neighborhood and the other parts of the course were on the "other side of the tracks". For the record it was VERY HOT and the first race started at 8:30 and it was already in the 80's.

Lex and I stacked-up on the line and then we were off for 30 min of pack riding with about 40 other riders. Needless to say this was my first crit since last Summer and no doubt it is intense riding. It must take a while to be comfortable but the close quarters, speeds in the mid-20's, and a lot of inexperienced riders tapping the brakes makes things very stressful.

That's me out of the saddle on the first 90 degree turn

The race was certainly  competitive and there were no breakaways that held but I did struggle a bit coming out of the corners. For several laps I was at the back of the pack and this just saps energy because of the yo-yo effect. The last 3 laps is when the intensity picked-up. The scorers flip a number to let you know how many laps you have left and if you are in a bad position you have no chance for the bunch sprint.

Okay......................so we hit the scorers table and this is when the race picked-up. About 100 yards later we have a right turn with plenty of room but we are also carrying a lot of speed. I am mid-pack and just as we turned a rider went down about 4 bike lengths in front of me and immediately brought down 4-5 other riders. I was able to do the tap-tap, swerve, tap, swerve to avoid the carnage but by this time i was going about 10 mph and there were 7 riders that dodged all of the mess and they were about 200' in front of me. I sprinted but just burned up energy so I had no chance to catch-up. The last 2.5 laps went fast and I ended up 11th but it really did not matter. I was pleased that I did not go down though and am glad I have done all that mountain biking to permit me to react fast on a bike. Lex cleared the wreck clean and finished 5th.

After I was dropped in second race

After the race I cooled off in the shade of my car but the temps were climbing in to the 90s. I kicked back to take a load off my legs but when It was time to get going again I could tell it was not going to be easy to get the blood pumping again.

Starting Line Cat 4/5

In the drops and fading

 Well, let's cut to the chase as that is all I did in the second race was chase the pack for 2 laps and then i was spit out the back. Just no pop. So...............i ended up riding hard, sharing pulls with another guy, and just practiced my turns for the next 50 minutes. In the end it was worthwhile and great practice but the lead group lapped me twice, heck, maybe 3 times. VERY HUMBLING.

Fast forward to the next day at the Chantilly Crit. Again...............very hot. Thankfully Lex and I had done a workout here the previous week so we both knew the .7 mi course and the one 90 degree turn pretty well.

The 30 min of racing was a lot of fun and I did a better job of keeping in the middle of the pack or toward the front third. Heck, I even pulled for about 20 seconds. There was one interesting moment on the back straight away when a rider drifted in and bumped me as we were cruising at about 25mph. I said "Cuidete" and he responded with "you are in my line" and I responded "I have had this line for 30 secs" and he goes on and said "you are all over the place" and I said "then get up front" and he shut up at this point. Lex told me after the race that he was way out of line during this exchange because he (Lex) was on my wheel during the whole exchange and said my line was just fine.

Anyway, when we hit the last two laps just on the top of a short hill, there was a wreck of 4 riders--caused by the same velo club--NCVC/Long and Foster--that caused the wreck the previous day at Hagerstown. It happened at my 2 o'clock position and all I did was swerve a bit and get back on the back of the leaders. Needless to say I kept with the pack and with about 300 yards to go I tried to surge but sprinting is not my forte and I ended up finishing last of this bunch. 21st of 41 total. Lex was caught-up behind the wreck and he was in the same situation as I was at Hagerstown.

JOCMO: 3 more Cat 5s down and counting! Great to ride fast, handle the bike well, and start to get the edge you need for road racing.

The DD

So what is the DD you ask?? Well.................in the vernacular of great rides, hard rides, gran fondos, and pat yourself on the back the DD...............AKA the Diabolical Double................is a double metric century in Garrett County Maryland. The architect of this route is the legendary Kyle Yost................he of the many cycling ventures around the globe......................and a randonneur with few equals................at least in my circles where we don't get paid to ride.

The Queue before the start at 7am

The previous week I rode 148 at the B2B and I felt recovered for this event as I had not ridden much the last few days. After rolling out of DC with a bit of traffic I worked my way toward Appalachia and Garrett County. The three hour drive was not as bad as I had expected and it really only was about 15 min more because of the traffic but I was able to make it to the Wisp Ski Resort for check-in and pre-Fondo dinner.

Old pal Theresa was at the front desk volunteering so we chatted a bit. I then saw Legendary Amy (in town from Boulder)  in the packet pickup room as we had planned to ride part of the Fondo together the next day. During dinner we had the pleasure of listening to Saul Raisin as our guest speaker. He talked to us about his traumatic bike wreck during a professional race and the subsequent brain injury and recovery. I also learned that he would be a roommate for two nights in the guest house that I was in with the Gran Fondo Director Greg Safko.

Sam and Legendary Amy at Aid Station 1

Saul was great to have as a roommate and I could not help but compare his injury and recovery to that of friend Kevin (see post from last September) with whom I did the Nations Tri with as his Captain and guide. Both Kevin and Saul have suffered some short term memory loss and both cope with it in different ways. With Saul he knows he will forget so if he needs something or has to do something he will write it down on his phone or "ask for the $20" for a copy of his book right away so he won't forget to ask later. 

Me and Saul

Needless to say it was great to pick his brain about cycling, racing on the same team as Thor Hushovd and what it was like to race against others so well known in the sport around the globe. We also had several chats about doping in the sport and Saul will not mince words. He and his teammates were clean and there were a lot of guys he raced against that were not. He is unabashed that a lot of top riders were doping and if when I asked him if titles were stripped from riders in the grand tours how deep would they have to go to find a clean winner and his response "pretty deep".

Next day was an early wake-up for my standard pre-ride meal of oatmeal and almond butter with a banana. Gran Fondos are not races per se but they are timed and this one had timing maps on several of the tough climbs to award King of the Mountains (KOM) points.

Amy working it!

Okay....................so let's start talking about the route. There were no 20+ MPH pacelines with 110 in your legs at this ride like last week at the B2B. The climbs are steep and relentless and with temps in the 80s, humidity, and barely a cloud in the sky, the heat added another challenge. 

Needless to say I rode a good portion of the first 70 miles with Amy and around midday I was slowing a bit. I was just losing some pop and this often hits me in high heat conditions. So, I basically told Amy to keep moving and because she is an elite amateur road cyclist who dabbles in races against pros I know I was slowing her down. 

I kept the legs churning and was holding my own but definitely looking forward to the aid station in Westernport. I stopped on the way DOWN in to town on Westernport Road and stopped at the Wall to check out my brick from 2008. A brief reminder.....................the Wall is 31% gradient and to make it up without clicking out or using a triple ring is TOUGH!

My Brick in the Wall from 2008

 I caught up with Amy at the aid station and after waiting for about 15 min for a spare tube from a flat I had an hour earlier in a gravel road we were off and heading back-up! I was definitely slowing Amy down so I told her to take off and I rode on my own for the rest of the ride. 

The last 30 or so miles went better than expected. My legs were definitely tired but when the heat started to drop a bit and after some calories I started to feel better and this was just before the long schlep of about 6 miles up Kitzmiller road. While refueling another rider asked "who is that woman you were riding with?" So I went on to recount the Legend of Amy and her unwavering power and persistence on long rides, amateur racing career, and natural talent. This guy goes "She is really fast but you are not too bad either!! ;) 

Well...................I launched from the aid station, settled in, put the ego in check, and slalomed up parts of this to keep a rhythm. I passed a handful of riders and started to feel a lot better.

At Finish

I was able to link up with some riders for the last 15 miles or so and that made it a bit easier coming in to town. The last hill to the ski resort was no fun but I was able to keep a good pace and work it up the hill and passed another handful of riders but still slower than I thought I could go.

 

Amy and Theresa from the TriCATs era!

JOCMO: Riding with longtime cycling pals on amazing roads.................if you don't ride you won't understand.

How Far Would You Ride............................

For a Harpoon!!

That is the catch phrase on the jersey given to us for the Harpoon Brewery to Brewery (B2B) from Boston to Windsor, Vermont. I just did this ride last weekend with a cycling buddy Steve from Virginia and college classmate Bill from Massachusetts.

After an efficient drive, surprisingly, from home to Connecticut for a stop at TGOs overnight, and then on to Boston I linked up with Steve at the Harpoon brewery for packet pick, some great free beer, a bit of schwag from IBEX and then we rode over to Pasta Beach for dinner and then I was done for the night. 

Many thanks to my old USAF pal Steve (a different Steve) who let me crash in his house in Charlestown 2.5 miles from the ride start. The 5:15 wake-up was painless and I was out the door and at the brewery in about 7 minutes.

Steve in the start Queue

Steve was already in the line to roll out when I arrived so I had to hurry to eat a bagel, park my car, use the loo, and then we waited for 30 minutes for our time to roll out. For safety purposes only 25 riders were allowed to depart every 10 minutes. Ideally we were to ride in a pack of 25 for the first 25-30 miles but that broke up pretty soon after the first water stop and Steve flatted. So, we just linked up with the next pack on its way by. I will say riding through downtown Boston, normally choked with people and traffic, was a great experience but I definitely do not miss the damage a New England winter does to the roads---dodging potholes everywhere!!

Steve a victim of the potholes

The Queue

We stopped briefly at the first aid station for a pee break and then we were back on the road in our pack of riders and that is when Steve hit a pothole dead-on and had his first flat of the day. Anyway, I snapped the phote, watched him change the tube, and then we were back on the road.

About 10 min later one of the sag cars drove by and asked if I needed anything. Well...................of course...............so I asked for an apple fritter and a cup of coffee. She just laughed, sped off for a few min, and then came back and started handing me mini clif bars. After I had 4-5 she said "take a few more because you are skinny" and then she drove off again.

Feeling the heat! About 90!

 The ride continued working our way Northwest and the roads began to improve significantly--did i mention the potholes yet??. Translation.......................fewer potholes but there was one section of about 50 yards where there were a bunch of potholes and at this time there was a pretty good pack moving and boom..............boom.............boom...............about 5 riders were pulling off the road because of flats. What happened was we were riding too fast to be able to see the potholes and react accordingly. JOCMO..................it did not happen to me......................

I rarely drink soda but this Coke was Awesome!

Aid Station 3. Mile 98.

After our rest at Mile 98 it was tough to get going........................for the non-cyclists out there after you have a rhythm and then take a break it is real tough to get the blood going again in the legs. When Steve and I mounted back-up the first 30 minutes were a challenge to get the legs moving.

So after mile 98 and then cresting the century mark the temps were climbing and it was about 90 but humidity bearable..................unlike DC. At about the 110 mark Steve and I linked-up with a few other riders and we had a group of 6-7 and surprisingly we were moving along at a pretty good clip. The terrain was relatively flat so we had some legs left in us.


At this point we just started to push the pace and this is one of those wonderful things about long rides and riding in general. For the next 10-15 miles we just pushed the pace hard and kept the line going. Not sure what the average was as most of us were busy keeping up, watching our line, and taking in fluids but looking down at my Garmin from time to time I would assess we were in the 21-24 mph range for 10-15 miles. Needless to say when we hit a hill about 2 miles from the aid station I was absolutely toast. No Joy left in my legs whatsoever but it was definitely worth the effort to ride that hard..

the next aid station was a desperate need to refuel, dump some cold water over my head to drop my core temp and take in some calories. Not sure why but at the B2B the pickles are a big hit at the aid stations but not for me. I took in some fruit and a lot of fluids.

Bill and Steve with post ride chow and Harpoon IPA

Steve nudged me to get going and said "Let's get this thing done" so we were back on the road with about 20 to go. We kept a good pace and with about 6 miles to go Steve had another flat........................bummer. So I pulled out my spare tube and C02 and he was back on the road in about 5 min.

Rock N Roll

The last few miles in was pretty easy and when we crossed the line, grabbed our pint glasses, my U Maine pal Bill was waiting. Several great brews, a pile of food, and then we were in the shuttle back to Beantown.

I did not need it but MAVIC Wheel Support all Day!

JOCMO: Nothing like a paceline with 110 in your legs and moving along in the 22-24 mph range. This is what makes it worthwhile!!

Pullin the Pins

Just a short post to let you know the pins were pulled from my pinkie on Monday. As expected Dr. Zahir pulled them without anesthetic and then I was out and on my way to the pool for the first time in a month.

Only a little worse for wear

The pool was great and super to get my hand wet for the first time in a month. It is swollen like a sausage and pretty stiff but I am gaining a few degrees of flexibility each day.

JOCMO: On the bike without the splint--yeah

Chile Road Trip Days 10-12

This is a long overdue post from my Chile Trip so I will try to keep it to the point! ;)

After those wonderful beers at the Witches Coven pizzeria we were up the next day and back in the vans to go back to La Angostura to begin the journey over the mountains and back to Chile.

We pulled in to a local grocery store to kit out and start heading west. The road we started on was the part of what I had ridden two days prior to add some miles and really pissed off my traveling partners but today it seemed like everyone was in pretty good spirits.

Ash on a lake near the Argentine Border

Heading up--that is ash in the air

The temps today were REALLY hot. In the low 90s, no clouds, and as we headed up Rt 215 toward Cardenal Pass the ash became more dense. It was breathable but it stuck to our skin, was on our clothes, and to some extent in our mouths from breathing it in. I was in no real hurry today after the long day before so was not trying to push the pace but rather enjoy the ride and chit chat.

Imagine 90 degrees and floating ash

 Prior to the trip we heard from Ecotours that the ash could impact part of our trip but to date it was a non-factor. There was certainly a lot of ash but the roads were clear and until today we had no issues breathing. Welllllllllllllllllll today was a bit different as the wends were up and we were close to the volcano. 

For background the Eruption occurred last Summer and crippled the lake region of Chile and caused substantial damage. Chile also suffered a bad Earthquake in 2011 that hit the central part of the country to include Santiago. 

Cardenal Pass--crossing over in to Chile

The climb up the Cardenal Pass on any other day would have been a breeze but today I was working. I opted to go with my old school wool Ibex jersey and with the blazing sun the climbing was tough. I rode the last few miles to the top with Liza and she told me to keep drinking water given I was all in black and really sweating...................excellent advice.

Looks like snow drifts huh?

At the Top Chino had lunch prepped but no shade!! So we huddled in the vans or in the shadow of the trailer to get out of the sun but we had cold drinks and ice! Yea baby!

The descent was spectacular. I can't remember how far it was but I think it was about 20km all the way down with sweeping turns. Now................I can be a bit of a chicken S#!% descender so I did not try to keep up with Ernesto, John, and Jason.

Lunch Break at the top

After about an hour or so at Chilean customs at the bottom of the hill we got back on the bikes but then Chino told us to get in the vans as the ash was too heavy and we were behind schedule a bit.

In this instance I opted to ride in the Jeep towing the trailer with Chino to learn a bit more about him and maybe something more about the area. While at customs a local police officer asked Chino if we could take two tires to a police station on our way to Osorno. So, I had the opportunity to go with him for a more cultural journey to drop off the tires, go through a few small towns, and probe a bit about the local area. During the drive is when I learned the origin of Ulmo a wonderful raw honey that i had been eating for the previous 6 days at breakfast.


Chino and I drove back to Osorno where we stayed in a Sonesta with great A/C. After a great dinner we went to the basement of the hotel and ordered a lot of beer and bowled.....yes bowled. Some of our group had never seen the sport before but a great party nonetheless and we celebrated Liza B-Day.

Day 11

This day we headed out of town a few K and parked along the side of the road. This was a real flat stretch and immediately launched in to a paceline with a pretty good pace. After about 20 min the paceline whittled down to Jason, John, me, Fernanda and Ernesto of course. We kept pushing and taking our turn up front and hammered in to the town of Frutillar Bajo. 

We regrouped and headed out of town up a tough climb that is part of the Vuelta de Chile. A steep but short climb that a good challenge and for the first time in a week the weather was overcast and cool. 

Heading up from Frutillar

Overall this was a shorter day of about 50km or so and after leaving Frutillar we rode for another 10km and had some short steep climbs to a great place for lunch overlooking a lake. 

Just before lunch

Chino prepping lunch

Neil, John, Jason

After lunch we descended in to town for a few km and then loaded in to the vans for a drive to Puerto Varas. The hotel was great and after arriving I walked to the beach to continue my trend of swimming in each lake we came upon. Much to my disappointment the prevailing winds pushed a lot of trash on to this beach and it was real shallow  in the swimming area so I opted out and went back to the hotel for a sauna and a cortado. 


Day 12

Today was our first day of Rain. We woke to a cool and wet day with our most daunting climb ahead of us. We loaded in to the vans to head out of town to do about a 50km ride but with the cold and rain no one was really jazzed. We took a vote and really wanted to do the Osorno Volcano climb so we drove to about 5km from the base of the climb. Not everyone was pumped but I had to do it....so about half of us kitted out and then we on our way. After about 15 min and before the climb the rain stopped and the sun came out and then the rest of the crew opted to ride a bit and give the climb a go. 

Warming up

Okay, for those that don't ride climbing is one of the great personal accomplishments to be able to keep going up and not give in to the gradient. So we had talked about this climb for most of the trip and Ernesto had challenged us that it is not for the meek. 

20% and slaloming

Check out these switchbacks!!

Jason and Trent Slaloming

This climb in many respects was awesome. Tremendous terrain variation, switchbacks, just enough recovery sections to get you wind back, and some open spaces and protection from the wind

Liza being pushed to the curb

The last few k were amazing. The winds were picking up and John, Me, and Ernesto were battling 40mph winds that were pushing us in to the ditch. I had to stop and click out twice just to keep from being knocked over. After a few minutes i figured out how to make it to  the summit--just keep the bike pointed in to the wind................................got it....................John and I crossed the line a min after Ernesto.

Me and John at the Top and fighting the winds

protecting our eyes from the winds

After about 15 min at the top  and waiting for a few other riders we had to head down. The winds were so severe that Chino and Coco were worried for our safety. Check out the video below of Liza, Neil, and Fernanda and what it was doing to them!



Thus..................my Top 5 climbs in no particular order

La Colabra

Cottonwood Pass

Westernport Road and the Wall (31%)

Mount Evans 
Osorno Volcano

Honorable mention goes to Canton Avenue at 37%

Check out this wind with Liza, Neil, and Fernanda!

JOCMO: The climb and the winds. Worth every 1:40 of pain to make it to the top.

Absolute Bargain at $1450

Part Deux from the All American Road Race

Today I went to visit Dr. Zahir. A well respected hand and plastic surgeon in the NOVA area. The good doctor and I chatted for a few minutes and I could tell he was confident in his work and that I was in "good hands". I told him of the accident and he recounted a bike wreck from one of his forays in to road racing years before but I do not think he rides much anymore. He said "I know what you are feeling". Well, maybe.................

When he told me what he was going to do to repair the fracture, which included pins, I asked what he would do if I were Levi Leipheimer. He said "who"? So I said, what treatment would you give if I were Levi Leipheimer or Lance Armstrong? I said it seems like Pros get special care that permits them to get back in the saddle in days rather than weeks.
 

Two Pins--no Ti for me

He went on to say the "same" care and the key is to stabilize the fracture to begin the healing process. He did say that he could hook me up with an orthopaedic lab that could prep me a splint that would permit me to ride and not exacerbate the injury..............yeah baby!! That is what I wanted to hear. 

Well....................after a godawful big needle to numb my finger he put my hand on a fancy X Ray machine and began to move around the bones to align them. After the alignment he pulled out another fancy machine to insert the stainless steel pins. So, a few twists, drills, and 5 min later the pins were in and the procedure was done. Bummer.............I was hoping for Ti!!

Stainless Steel Jewelry

After the procedure we chatted more and he told me to keep him in mind if my vanity ever got the best of me for bad veins, the need for lipo, or an eyelift or two. I told him you never know but I think "you are out of my network"!

JOCMO: We shall see how it goes after I get the new splint

All American Road Race--No Joy Here

This is just a short post from my first official USA cycling sanctioned road race.

I decided to do some road races this year to see what it is like and gain some experience. For this race Cat 5 had a masters division so good for me and fewer young guys that don't know how much it hurts to wreck.

My strategy was simple. Ride smart, learn, and not wreck. I accomplished all of the above but in hindsight maybe I should have been more aggressive. Overall, for Cat 5 we did two 8-mile laps and we had about 40 people in the race. The rules stipulated no crossing the centerline and with this many riders, no one making any breaks, we just did the race in a peloton. The only time the race broke-up was in the corners when the pack would fracture a bit but I was always able to get back in to the pack but had no chances to move-up and pass.

Holding my line

Anyway, after the last turn with .5 mile to go the pack fractured a bit and as i sprinted to catch-up about 6 riders crossed the centerline to gain an edge for the bunch sprint and surge to the line. The race official on a motorcycle accelerated, honked the horn, flashed the lights, and this led to a panic of the riders across the line in fear of a penalty. They pushed to get back over the line and in a second 5-6 riders were down in a big wreck. 

I was able to tap the breaks, avoid the down riders, and when I swerved another rider clipped a down rider and he crashed in to the ditch. When he fell his bike bounced in the air and his wheel smacked my left hand. 

BUMMER...............................................Instant pain and swelling in 30 seconds as i rode to the finish. 

Before Emergency Room Visit

 After the race I spoke with my teammate and believe the official caused the panic. If he had just taken the number of the riders and assessed penalties after the race we probably would not have had the crashes.

After the ER Visit--broken pinkie and appt with a hand surgeon

 JOCMO: Only no-cycling moments for a while. I can ride my trainer but that is it until I figure out how long this finger will be splinted.

Frozen Four 2012

Hey Gang, some pics and comments from the NCAA Frozen Four a few weeks ago.

Pre-Game Thursday

This Year's F4 was in sunny Tampa with BC, Ferris State, Minnesota, and Union as the teams vying for the national title. We all arrived in the morning on Thursday the 5th except for Alex who arrived just after lunch.

We went to get the rental car1 and after some strong upsell by the rental agent that included everything except for beer in the trunk we went to Chammp's for lunch of wingsm sandwiches, and adult bevri. We watched a bit of t3he Master's and when Alex texted me we left to get him at the airport.

My company was gracious to let us stay in the corporate house on beautiful Bayshore Blvd and only a few min from the Arena. We stopped briefly, dropped off our bags, had a beer, then off to the arena in 80 degree temps.

Alex and Brian at Breakfast

We arrived to the Arena and unlike most NCAA events were able to have a beer OUTSIDE the building. I should add a very EXPENSIVE beer of about $12 each in a 24oz can


Game 1 was pretty good between Ferris State and Union. Both schools making their first foray to the F4. Union is a small college of 2500 in upstate NY and Ferris St. from the hinterlands of Michigan. In the end the dept3h of Ferris State led to victory.

Jersey Wall

Game 2 was ALL BC. They completely outskated the Gophers and and capitalized on all mistakes. Blowout so we left early.

Alex, Brian, Sandy, Maddy

Dinner in Ybor with Sandy, Greg, Maddy, Hanna

Friday was a day we did some different things. Alex and I went to Bradenton to see an old friend of mine and Gary and Brian went to St. Pete Beach to enjoy the ocean view?? ;)


Friday night we linked-up with Gary's sister Sandy and husband Greg and their girls. They were in town for the F4 andf some Spring Break. We met in Ybor City, the old latin disrtict, for cocktails, a cigar, dinne1r, and some shopping for Tattoos. One thing about Ybor it is a cross section of people and definitely not the upper class snob appeal of Hyde Park.

Great Seats

Championship night included some time at Four Green Fields for snacks and some Guinness. After several rounds, being joined by some other Colgate Campers the Giovanelli's, we headed odd to the Championship.

Small World...................while walking in to the ring I ran in to Orono High School Classmate Lynn McDaniel with her son and sister. We were in Maine gear and she picked me out of the crowd. We chatted a bit and she lives nearby.

Jersey Night

The championship game was better than the score. BC won 4-1 but Ferris was tough and just could not capitalize on its numerous power plays.

Some final thoughts from all:

-4:30 am wake-up on Sunday was brutal

-Wearing shorts at a hockey game?

-Gary's olfactory prowess

-Tattoo shopping for Brian

-Screeching house alarm

-our seats finally better than Drechs!!

-Eye candy at Breakfast

JOCMO: No bike time here. Great moments with friends and nephew Alex