Best Job in the World Candidate.

Oprah's Personal Trainer Bob here has got to have one of the best jobs in the world. Her eating habits when he's not around will keep him in business forever. Way to Go Bob!!!

Anxiety on Days Off.

I don't know about you, but taking a day off the bike, especially after a really good run of days riding, makes me irritable. I know that I should just enjoy the necessary down time because there's plenty of hurtin coming, but still.

As far as my riding goes, I'm getting stronger on the hills, but still don't have much of a snap for the sprint. That sprint isn't just for the finish either I can see. The accelerations out of the corners, especially if you are stuck in the back is pure hell. Gotta be up near the front, just gotta!

Oh, one more thing. I got my confirmation letter last night. I'm in the club! Now I just have to wait for my jersey, shorts and socks to arrive.

Grillin on the Deck.

Tonight after my ride I headed out on the deck to grill a korean style bbq roast. The results were nice. Sides of baked potato, peppers and onions, all grilled, tasted pretty good also. Yuengling Beer while grilling, and Concannon Pinot Noir Wine while eating. Overall, pretty nice evening.

I also got to try out my new Oggi Wine Bottle opener. Worked great.

Tonight's Ride: 30 Miles, recovery, Easy Easy Easy!

Spring-Summer Race Schedule.

I just finished planning the rest of my spring/summer racing schedule. 7 Races total. After that I have a citizen race back home I'm dying to try. 3 Big Mountain Climbs in 75 Miles. FUN!!!

1. Union Grove Road Race
2. Millport Road Race
3. Rapho Road Race
4. Dan Spencer Memorial Road Race, PA State Masters Championships
5. Dutch Country Stage Race - Road Race/Time Trial/Crit

Everything is two weeks apart pretty much. The race I'm really trying to peak for will be the Stage Race. That's gonna be painful, I mean, fun. I might do a couple more over the summer, but not sure which ones yet.

Stay Tuned for Reports!

Rawhide!

Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Rawhide!

Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Though the streams are swollen
Keep them dogies rollin'
Rawhide!
Rain and wind and weather
Hell-bent for leather
Wishin' my gal was by my side.
All the things I'm missin',
Good vittles, love, and kissin',
Are waiting at the end of my ride

CHORUS
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Rawhide
Count 'em out, ride 'em in,
Ride 'em in, count 'em out,
Count 'em out, ride 'em in
Rawhide!

Keep movin', movin', movin'
Though they're disapprovin'
Keep them dogies movin'
Rawhide!

Don't try to understand 'em
Just rope, throw, and brand 'em
Soon we'll be living high and wide.
My hearts calculatin'
My true love will be waitin',
Be waitin' at the end of my ride.

Rawhide!
Rawhide!

I thought of that song out on the road last night, (more the Blues Brothers Version). Kinda fitting I think. Last night's ride, 4 of us, started out at the Lutherville Bike Shop and went out around the Loch Raven Reservoir and points north. In otherwords, I was totally lost. There are some great roads for riding out that way including a few short but nasty steep hills. Fun!

Totals: 2 Hours: About 40 miles, give or take a mile.

Overrun with Deer.

I think Maryland is overrun with Deer. I mean, they are cute and all, but don't people hunt these things? They taste wonderful!

Tonight's Ride: 2 hours. 45 Miles.

Sunday Out with the Girls.

My wife was working today so the girls and I went to the bookstore, with a stop at the bike shop to check stuff out, (Always fun to look right?)

I spotted this hanging way up high,


The Pinarello Kid's KUI, Eric, the Sales guy brought it down from up on the wall and sure enough, Mari fits this thing perfectly. If it was in pink I'd be in major trouble. I'm so glad it's not available in Pink. $1200 for a bike a kid grows out of in a few years is a tough sell for me.

Today's Ride: 2 hours, nice and easy. about 35 miles total.

Race Day Report

Well, today we made our way up to Pennsylvania for the Turkey Hill Country Classic. First off I have to say the Turkey Hill People really know how to put together an event. There was free food, drink, games and events for the kids, great racing, great parking, great race course. I know there were a couple accidents, not in my race, but that is a part of racing unfortunately.

The Race: I felt tired driving up to the race this morning and generally lacking in strength, I think maybe I've actually been riding too many miles and am a little burned out. But it was all good anyway.

The first lap was pretty dicey with guys moving up and around in the field. It wasn't much fun to be riding in the group, and I found myself staying near the back. Not a great idea, since the accelerations out of the corners was actually pretty violent and it was an all out sprint to catch back onto the field. It was a fast course, but had a couple menacing hills that you could really feel, especially going straight into a pretty good headwind.

About 4 miles into the second lap, with a single man breakaway up ahead, the pace slowed down considerably going up those hills. I had moved myself up into the top 10 or so before attacking. I made it clear of the field and didn't look back, but was hoping at least one other guy would jump with me. A guy did and we worked together for about a mile into that fierce headwind, getting a gap, but like I said earlier, my legs were already pretty well gone. Finally at the start/finish corner I took a peek back to see the field had pretty much reeled us in. On the next bunch of hills I found myself drifting back in the pack and a gap actually formed. The peloton went around a sharp corner and started pulling away. I was spent from my breakaway attempt and just didn't have the legs to get back on the train.

I spent the next 1.5 laps by myself. At one point on the biggest hill, I did manage to claw my way closer to the group, but lost it again when they crested the hill and motored away.

Overall, I'm happy I tried something (bridging to the lone-man break attempt), He won the race and must be some kinda monster bike racer. Congrats to him. I also made some crucial mistakes that I paid dearly for. Ride and Learn I guess.

In two weeks I have another race so we'll see how it goes.

Thursday Night Group Ride

Tonight I got home a bit late so it was a rush to make the group ride. Well everyone left without me so I had to time-trial my way out to Hunt Valley to try and catch them. Not a great idea considering I'm racing Saturday but it was fun anyway. I pulled up behind and around a really nice guy on a Bianchi so we rode together a few miles and chatted. He was kind enough to warn me of the big hill ahead. I did finally manage to catch them about 15 miles out. Luckily they decided today was going to be easy considering everyone is either racing Poolesville or Turkey Hill.

Long Story Short: 40 miles hard with an easy finish. Tomorrow I'll go super easy and spin awhile to keep the legs fresh.

The Giro! Left Nut of the Week.

This week I'm giving my left nut to something I've daydreamed about more than a few times; Being in Italy during the Giro d'Italia. I imagine riding, eating and drinking my way across Italy, taking in the Giro as it passes by, or just watching it on tv in some smoky cafe while having a beer. Yeah, that's gotta be nice. At least in the dream it's nice.