Crack Is Baaaad -- Log

I share this with you because i care..

Riding back from the track tonite, we passed this old dude suffering up a hill, and he was wearing these small shorts...so small you could see the bottom of his old, wrinkly, red ass. Horrid.

We had to stop at a light, and he overtook us...we ended up riding very slowly to stay well behind him..no pun intended.

Okay, had to get that out, thanks for staying!

It was Race Night tonite, and it was 'Mystery Night', which is proving to be fairly popular! Several riders are away in Portland for the races there, so only about 10 A's were there...still some good competition!

First up was a Unknown Distance Scratch (thus the 'Mystery' in Mystery Night!) All we know is when 'we hear the bell, go like hell'.

I decided tonite i'd play it smart, and sit in more than usual, and not try to pull too much....which was a pretty good strategy! I was actually feeling quite good and peppy...the rest is a good thing!

In the race there were a few short attacks, but we pretty much held together, dropping a few peeps, until the bell, and i rolled in 4th, not too far from the front. Them legs are doing something special these days! (The race ended up being 32 laps, fyi. Top speed of 55kph for me.)

Next up is the 'Unknown Bell' points race...it was 42 laps, with 7 unknown sprints, plus the final on the 42nd/final lap. I managed to get points in the first five bells, including getting 1st through the fifth bell, which was the lap right after the fourth!

I clung in for the fourth sprint, got 3rd, and before we crossed the line, another bell went! The two guys (Chad and Marcus) in front pulled up a bit, and i just went with my momentum, and zipped by, all the way to the line! Chad and Bart were on my wheel for that. Felt pretty good.

I didn't get anything the next bell, there were a few attacks in there...then i got another 3rd, and then a 2nd (6 laps to go), and then i was spent.. I just sat in, and couldn't barely accelerate for the final sprint...which was fine, i knew i'd done quite well, and wouldn't have made too much difference. Final points tally had Chad with 34, Marcus with 27, and little 'ole me with 14 points for a solid 3rd place finish. (Next guy had 7pts.) I topped 56kph in that one....average speed was in the low to mid 40's.

Good times! If i keep this up, i might even manage to make my goal for the season, and get in the top five of our league. =)

The last week was pretty laid-back, training-wise. I took Friday off (crappy weather) and went to visit friends in Vancouver on Sat & Sun -- time off the bike is a good thing sometimes! I found out that MEC is selling entire Shimano drivetrains...you can buy Dura-Ace shifters, derailleurs, cassettes and probably even the cranks....nuts! I didn't pay too much attention to the prices, not knowing what to compare them to, but i'm sure they're pretty decent.

Mon - Pursuit night, i got a new PB, doing the 3K in 4:26.52, taking about 10 seconds off my previous PB.

Tue - Ride w/Andy, after a couple hrs, Andy had to go, and i started to ride solo, and suddenly had terrible stomach pains.... I had some toast with jam before the ride, and on the mouth of the Crofter's Organic Mango Spread was some mold.....it looked isolated, and there was half a jar left, so i decided i'd finish it off...bad move. Crofter's sucks, i barely had that jar two weeks, and just about every jar of their jam i've ever bought has gone moldy *very* quickly. I won't be buying that crap any more. The Cascadia Farms stuff has been great, i don't recall ever getting any mold with them.

Anyway, after laying down in a field for 5mins, i felt a bit better, and noodled home. Was back to normal within' an hour, but that really ruined my ride. Don't buy Crofter's.

Wed - Rode 2hrs w/Pat, decent pace, and exchanged several attacks for fun, it was a great ride.

The rest of my week is pretty general....gonna do some more solo Tempo riding tomorrow, go with the Burnside crew for some intensity on Sat, fairly easy solo-ride on Sun, and back at the track for Sprints on Monday.

Have a great week, and watch out for old men with short shorts!! And Crofter's jams.