Dirtiest Jobs

This post has nothing to do with cycling and everything to do with home improvement. As some of you may know I have a brick paver patio and walk. My house is about 15 yrs old and after some time the bricks start to heave which can lead to an uneven and bumpy mess (think cottage cheese on a... er forget it). Well I think everyone knows what I mean. About 5 yrs ago I hired a company called PMS (no not the PMS as in chick PMS, but rather PMS as in Paver Maintence Specialists). They came out and did a rather crappy job. Sure they had nice trucks and the sales guy gave me some song and dance about everything they were going to do, but in the end they basically powerwashed my deck and walk, threw some playground sand down and sealed the whole deal. Now fast forward to 2008 there were more grass and weeds on my walk than on my lawn and really it was quickly becoming an eyesore. My wife had been on my to get er done so I made a few calls and got some estimates. I decided to go with a company called great pavers mostly because they were the cheapest. I figured more money saved= more bike parts that I could buy and also because I felt that after getting ROBBED by PMS on my first job I really didn't feel like taking it in the ass again. Well I can't say enough good things about this company. The two guys Chris and Paul that came out WORKED THEIR ASSES OFF. They pulled the outer rows of my walk and patio then powertamped the whole deal, sanded it and sealed it. Oh and they also replaced the ENTIRE cement retaining barrier that had broken and chipped away over time.....I can't say enough great things about GREAT PAVERS...If anyone needs brick work done give them a call....They worked their asses off for me and I couldn't be happier with the results.

A day at the track....and a night at the Ham

I'll keep this short and sweet....Today's ride adventure started around 9 am when Tim convinced me to ride the Velodrome at Bloomer. Now I have to admit that I've been around it once or twice but not in the shall we say legal manner. So today I decided what the hell I've got nothing else to do for a while so I headed out. I plucked the Cdale off of the rack and rolled out to Bloomer thinking all the way there I hope I don't kill myself. I must say that the banking really intimidated me at first. It's hard to believe that you can stay upright (well more like sideways) at the green line but I just kept thinking about the words of advice that Dale gave me...He said this track is no problem as long as you have speed. Indeed speed is your friend at the velodrome. Lets just say the experience was awesome. I thinked I'm kinda hooked. I don't know if a Track bike is in my future but I'm definately gonna head out there some more for the workouts. Now on to the Ham mer as I like to call it. The ride tonight was good. Admittedly my legs were a little sore from using muscles I hadn't used before but all in all I was pleased with my ride. I think DK was feeling a little fiesty today as he made a break right out of Derby with an Essex guy in tow (I think it was Jeff Gray). Oh well another day in paradise, now if I can figure out a way to retire early so I can ride my bike like that every day I'll be all set.

tell me some more lies

Throughout the course of the summer I've had the pleasure of doing some group rides/races every tueday and thursday night. It's funny to listen to some of the guys talking prior to the rides. There are usually stories about how someone or their team faired in a previous race, or maybe even the spiritual growth that comes from spending time with a loved one or family. However the stories that I love are the excuses that guys come up for their ride performance even before the ride occurs. Here are some classics followed by my interpretation of what the rider really means.

Man I got dropped last week because every time I stood up to hammer my rear derailer jumped. I'm not sure how I'm gonna do today......This really means I just got my shit tuned up and I'm looking to kick your ass tonight.

I'm tired from the previous weekends race (insert your race of choice) and my legs are tired....This really means I just took a day off, got a massage and am looking to kick someone's ass tonight.

Conversely there is the one that goes I'm looking to go easy tonight because there is a big race this weekend (again insert your race of choice) and I'm trying to save my legs and ride easy. Translation is I really want to hold back but if there is any type of break going I'm looking to get in and kick someone's ass.

Finally there is the one that goes like this I have been having problems with the GF or wife and I'm really not into it tonight. Translation is I've got alot of pent up anger and I'm gonna unleash some asskick tonight.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Feeling Cranky

Every so often I find myself feeling like this. I know why I'm feeling like this but at this time really don't feel like discussing it. The only thing that is keeping me sane is the thought of the Tuesday night Ham mer and Thursday at the track.

The Plan.....

I don't know what has gotten into me this year but since the haze of caffeine has left my brain it seems that things have become clearer to me. In the past I spent many days riding in "no mans land" trying to hard to keep up with faster riding partners. This basically left me with nothing in the tank for any attempts at "hard" efforts. I remember talking to Joe one day and he basically said that I ride more than anyone he knows (with the exception of the Simonster) but for as much as I train I should be ALOT FASTER. I always dismissed the notion of going easy on easy days and balls out on hard days but since I've started mixing in the Bham ride on tuesdays with the every other thursday race at Waterford Hills I've noticed some SERIOUS results. I'm feeling much stronger on my hard days and basically riding 2-3 hrs at a nice tempo with the occasional submax effort on my easy days. I've also decided that while I still love riding at PLRA I can get a better workout in riding from my house to either Bloomer or Stoney. Don't get me wrong this ride doesn't have the same adrenalin rush that blowing through Pontiac does, but I can get in a much longer ride without having to drive 45 mins to an hour each way to get to Pontiac. That and with the price of gas for a huge SUV there is some serious $ savings going on. Well that is all for right now. I did get the recipe for The Rayster's Tampopo "Breakfast Stew" clarified and I've got to say I'm looking forward to mixing up a batch. That is all for now. TC

To all the CHOADS out there on the MMBA

website posting crap about how the pontiac TT was going to ruin the trail because it was raining. Get over it. The fact is I think the trail is much better now as much of the ruts have been ridden in. The funny thing is I wonder how many of those people who bitch about the trail actually show up for the trail maintenance days? My guess is not many. So relax the trail is FINE. Go ride it and shut your pieholes.

First dry trail ride of the year

The plan was 3 laps today at Pontiac. I haven't ridden out there since it's been dry and although the crack tends to dry out quickly I have been doing mostly longer rides and holding off on riding the trails. So today I rode 2 laps by myself then hung around to meet Joe for the third. I have to admit that the first lap at speed felt awkward. All the old lines are there it just felt like I didn't have the autopilot set and I kinda sketched out around a few corners. The second lap felt much better and by the time that my third lap came around I had the place dialed in although my legs were starting to ache up the climbs. Several observations about today's ride. Firstly disc brakes are THE ONLY WAY TO GO. I used to be one of "those guys" that said "what do you need disc brakes in Michigan for"? Well after several laps I felt that I could better modulate speed into a corner better, often braking later than I normall would which resulted in smoother cornering and the abililty to take some lines that I never would have thought of before. Secondly while the trail was "dry" for the most part (ie devoid of mud puddles) the ground did feel heavy and slow. I'm sure this won't make some people happy come this weekend at the TT but what did you expect for the beginning of April. I wanted to get some pics of the more gnarled out sections but I just can't seem to stop to take pics when I'm riding. It kinda spoils the moment.