urbanhermitcyclist

and I froze my ass

2009-10-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

">

I was able to escape the office early yesterday to go for an afternoon ride. It was a lovely 48 degrees, the sun was shining, and it was officially my first ride in long sleeves and tights. I took a new route through town and then hit the hills. Climbing was a sweat fest going up and a lesson in hypothermia on the way down. It ended up being about 30 miles total but I felt like I'd ridden a double century. The first ride in the cold always kicks my ass and zaps my motivation to the point where I want to hang up the bike till May...but alas I always climb back on and chances are it will be an even colder day and I'll probably enjoy myself.

Here's some mood music, courtesy of stevil over at ahtbm. Rock!

">

Have a great weekend...and if you're out at the 'Basin or Loveland, I'm jealous as hell!

Speechless...

2009-10-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Think about this:
Here's something that's not going to brighten your day. Matter of fact it may just ruin it, but I feel that I need to put this out there. http://www.tucsonbikelawyer.com/heavy/.

it's the end of the season as we know it.

2009-09-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, first one in 3 months... get comfy and open a Hamm's.

I've been riding my bike to work all summer and it's been awesome. There's no easier way to get in some base miles than just commuting by bike. A Monday thru Friday commute allowed me 100 extra miles a week and with that came a fast and fit summer. Sure, you're increasing your odds of running into the angry motorist and the mess that that can bring, but keep your eyes on your surroundings, always throw the first punch, and you'll be fine.

Next up, Tour de France. I'll just leave it to this. Though I wish they inserted this line from Rocky MCMXLMCII or whatever the hell one it was.

This one's going on the wall . Right next to Team Work and Motivation.

Ever wonder if bike thieves get caught in the act? Well, here it is NYC style.

Links to get you through the work week:

decoration is good

stevil is god

bored on monday nights?

And to prove once and for all that winning IS indeed everything:

until we meet again, enjoy the ride.

talk

2009-06-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

Holy shit, did Garmin actually win something? I have no idea what the Delta Tour Zeeland is, but it appears that they finally got a win.

Valverde won the Dauphine today and will probably be suspended for being a "Top Fuel" athlete any day now. Italy has already banned him and it looks as if the UCI is going to follow suit. Due to the TDF crossing into Italy, he can't ride it without running the risk of getting arrested as soon as be crosses the border. Which reminds me, why do individual countries have the power to say who can ride and who cannot? What really does the UCI do besides come up with some bullshit rules about bike weight and time trail bar design? It seems like sanctions should be handed out by the governing body, not a country holding a grudge.

Wow 3 hours of cycling on Versus today. That means 1 hour of racing and 2 hours of natural enhancement commercials.

Speaking of TDF, here's the route.

LA has been twitting away about training in Aspen with Levi and Simon Garrens. Simon rides for Cervelo and is Australian, what's he doing in Aspen riding with LA every day?

and now it's raining...strange...it was 80 and sunny.

My new favorite blog: competitivecyclist no bullshit from an industry insider.

and now it's hailing like hell...

Will Tom Danielson ever win anything? Will David Millar ever win anything...other than his countries TT championship and hell while we're at it, will DZ ever win anything other than the US TT championship. I like Garmin but winning seems to be something that they're not good at. If you're a team of time trialist's, wouldn't you think you'd win a TT from time to time...

Any expectations or predictions for the TDF? Will LA finish or will some crazed fan body check him on a climb? Does Evans have any chance in hell? This is what I think, I think Contador and Sastre are going to be scary strong. Sastre showed us a little at the Giro and Contador seemed to be "auditing" the Dauphine. The unknown is going to be VdV and one LA. I think that Astana has a chance of sweeping the podium. The big question mark is LA, is he racing or is he fucking off?

Did anyone else expect to see more of Landis this year? It's been pretty quiet but that's probably a good thing in his eyes.

go for a ride, you'll feel better. Promise.

Rad.

2009-06-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Big Ring Classic

Weekend

2009-05-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

So far so good. I had the Friday afternoon group ride with the gang. I felt pretty good, I yo-yo'd a bit but was holding my own until I flatted...and then chased for 10 miles to get back on. I never did and I took about 10 wrong turns...which pushed my mileage up to about 50. No worries though, I got back to Red Eye and replenished some carbs (read: drank heavily).

Got up early on Saturday morning to check out the Giro coverage. I started watching on Universal Sports before the commentary started. The feed was brilliant but the odd thing was that they just had open mikes on the motorcycles, so all you heard was an intermittant word or two of Italian and the "whoosh-whoosh-whoosh" of a TT bike going by. Eventually the commentary came on and it was a great race to watch. I'm looking forward to watching it and you can't beat the price.

According to velonews, Universal Sports signed a 4 year deal to broadcast the Giro and according to that article, they might be showing a lot more cycling in the future. (I think the line about being a "couch potatoes network" was aimed at Versus.) I'm already a fan, as there isn't a commercial every 2 minutes and when there is a commercial it's not for "natural male enhancement." Anyway, have fun this weekend. Check out the Giro, wear your helmet, and try to get someone hooked on bikes.

The best T-shirt ever, get it here.

If you wanna hang out...

2009-05-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

D-U-M-B

pic courtesy of velonews

2009-05-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

So I've always talked alot of shit about the worst BICYCLING magazine on the planet. Taking a cue from the lads over at Competitive Cyclist , I decided to check out a column that they said was pretty good. I'll hand it to them, the column is good and sometimes downright impressive. Check this recent post about everyones favorite team, named for a country that no one can point out on a globe.

I have DZ to thank for this. Also speaking of DZ, he remarked on Twitter that his TT bike flew off the top of a team car, yet none of the usual suspects ever reported on it. Hmmm.

The fuckstick of the week award goes to this ass clown. Good idea, why didn't you just say "Fuck my country" or actually "Fuck il mio paese." Smart thinking there guy.

Next.

2009-04-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Schumacher.
Kohl.
Rebellin.

All on Gerolsteiner last year and now all HOT for Cera. Kohl showed the scrotal fortitude and took the bullett, meanwhile Schumacher stated he was the next contestant on "Science is wrong and I'm the one that's been cheated." Well dumbass, your numbers come up again and this time it's from the IOC and guess what they're saying...CERA! Good luck explaining that to the CAS next month, I'm sure they'll cut you some slack since you pissed positive in a test from the IOC, not one taken by the evil french.

Also congratulations to Mr. Rebellin, who instead of keeping his mouth shut, has already stood up and said he didn't do it. Winner, winner! Here's two years of time-out for you as well.

Who'll be the next ex-gerolsteiner rider to be crowned an idiot? I think only time will tell, but this piece http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/apr09/apr29news3 where the old Gerolsteiner manager says he's disappointed might provide some clues. He may have been naive, not paying attention, or whatever...but clueless? Come on.

April nonsense

2009-04-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I awoke to this scene this morning. I knew it was coming and every meteorologist had a hard-on talking about it on the news last night. With the hill having closed last week, there was nothing more to do than sit and watch it snow the nice big, wet flakes of Spring. I'd planned on maybe doing some nordic if the snow kept up, but as of about noon the snow stopped and chance for more keeps getting dwindled down in probability. I nordic skiied exactly ZERO times this past season. I was too busy at the hill and was having way too much fun skiing over 80 days.

So far, I've riden outside a whopping two times. I've got maybe 500 miles in my legs and all but 60 miles have been on the trainer. My legs are a bright butt-white and hairier than a Hustler shoot from 1970. It should eventually warm up, but it won't be "short" weather for another 4 weeks or so. I have until then to continue to bitch about the weather and my fitness I guess.

Big Jens!

2009-03-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

pic courtesy of velonews.

M-SR

2009-03-21T11:37:00.001-07:00

Working on base miles.

2009-02-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

tuneage

2009-02-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

A day in the life

2009-02-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Go that way very fast, if something gets in your way, turn.

X Games

2009-01-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Dear ESPN,

Are the X Games for real?? I mean, is it really a competition or is it just a really long energy drink commercial?

Skiing, training, and family life.

2009-01-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a week with no posts....

I've been busy at work and time not spent at work was spent at the hill, which I guess is still work. My bike is still in the trainer, where I put it about a month ago, which isn't all-in-all bad, except that I haven't ridden it. I was all super motivated and thought that I'll just leave it in the trainer as a little motivation, "look, all you have to do is get on and spin." Didn't happen, or hasn't happened yet and with all the free hours going to skiing and the urbandaughter...well it doesn't leave much for the biccletta.

I did get to pass on another family tradition the other night though. Oreo's are my only weakness...or well one of them.

Be good or be good at it.

this space for rent

2009-01-16T20:03:00.000-08:00

Have fun.

Wind chill be damned

2009-01-13T19:50:00.000-08:00

It was -7 when I left the house this morning... knowing that there wasn't a chance in hell anyone was going to want a lesson today. I rolled up to the hill and there was no one in the parking lot, I mean no one. The good news was that it had snowed during the night and there was a few inches of freshies, with no one to track it out except for myself and maybe 6 other die hards.

First chair for freshies...it was a great morning!

...long week

2009-01-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

It was a long week at the hill. Lot's of lessons, a few beers with some friends, and a tragic event that devestated a family.
A 25 year old snowboarder was killed on Wednesday night.The report was that he lost control on a mogul run and experienced "blunt force trauma" to the chest. Most of the 'boarders on the hill knew him and it was said that he was a great person and a great snowboarder. The mood on the hill Thursday morning was one of shock and the feeling that something was amiss accompanied everyone that day. They took snowcat's up and flattened the mogul field (as more of a karma move than a liability one)around noon and many of us stated that we were in no big hurry to ski bumps anytime soon. I like to think of myself as a safe skier, I ski in control, I pay attention to my surroundings, and I always wear a helmet. The truth is that you never know...

Live a life that you love.

Teaching Charlie and Lola to ski.

2009-01-05T18:57:00.000-08:00

So if anyone doesn't know, I'm a ski instructor at a local hill here in WI. Over this past weekend I had a group of english kids that were flat out hilarious and reminded me of Charlie and Lola. I've never laughed harder on a chair lift until an 11 year old leaned over and called me a "sausage".

Enjoy:

Another year.

2008-12-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve 2008. It's been another year already...why didn't anyone ever tell me that the older you get, the faster the years seem to click by. I had a great holiday here in WI with my mother and my sister. It's great to get the family together and I'm thankful that we were all able to do it.

I spent the entire day today giving lessons. The hill was packed with families and it never fails to make me smile when I see some 3 year old rippin'. I'm stoked for next winter as the daughter will be old enough for her first set of skis. She already is getting a love of the outdoors from her dad and I cant wait to see her on a bike and on the slopes.

Happy New Year everyone and may the promise of a new year bring you everything that you seek.

Good friends and good snow.

2008-12-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a great past couple of days. I spent the most part of the past two days on the slopes. We got some "freshies" today and no one was schussing the east side. I had a friend come up from Madison and we had a blast. If it was ski-able and wasn't roped off, we skied it. Fresh pow is the best...I almost forgot I was in the midwest for a moment or two.

...this sounds like a draft for a beer commercial.

I'll probably need a gaitor...

2008-12-18T16:35:00.000-08:00

Skills.

2008-12-13T18:22:00.000-08:00

Out for a walk.

2008-12-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day here in Wisconsin. The daughter and I, got to get out and enjoy some fresh air. I loaded her up in the Kelty and away we went. Snow was only about 5 inches deep, so I decided to just hike it instead of strapping on snowshoes. I'm going to xc ski on this route tomorrow and see what lies on the other side of the river. It would be nice to blaze about a mile loop to help with the off-season training and xc skiing is one of those total body activities. I'm working at the hill all weekend, so tomorrow will be my only opportunity to give it a go.

Sunny winter day

2008-12-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

The daughter and I are going to head out and do some snowshoeing. It's turned into a real nice day with bright blue skies and lots of sun. Hopefully we'll run across an animal or two as this makes her point and let out a curious "s'at?"

Winter Storm Warning

2008-12-08T08:27:00.001-08:00

The first big storm of the season is on its way.

Forecast
Snow conditions

Holiday cheer.

2008-12-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Saw this on CNBC and it made me laugh.

Being sick sucks...

2008-12-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

No bueno today...up all night with the pukes and the poops.

Skiing in the Midwest

2008-12-02T13:24:00.001-08:00

So there I was, riding a lift at another one of Wisconsin's finest. I always remember the first lift ride of the season. Partly because you don't want to be that guy that falls getting off the lift and mostly because it only takes a moment or two to get that sudden rush of, "wow...I love to ski!"

There were 10 open runs, and 2 open lifts. All of the 15" inch base was man made but it was 100% skiing bliss. Sure I'd rather be in Steamboat drowning in powder or knocking back a beer at Eric's in Breckenridge, but for the time being life has me here and I might as well make the best of it. Here's to the start of a great season. Slainte!

Common Sense

2008-12-01T12:35:00.002-08:00

Todays bikesnobnyc say's it all.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2008/12/partys-over-derailed-by-economy.html

Bonk-a-thon

2008-11-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

I did a group ride with the club yesterday and got hammered. I mean tongue dragging the ground, I wanted to cry hammered. I wasn't expecting the pace to be well, normal. I was expecting a couple of hours with the boys, shooting the shit, and maybe talking some smack about next season. WRONG. Instead of eating correctly and being properly hydrated (beer has water in it right?) I've been eating crap for a week and maybe had one bottle of water in the past 2 weeks. I was a hurtin' unit. Looks like it's training season...

Lance on Twitter

2008-11-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

from twitter today: lancearmstrong- Yet another anti-doping control. This is the 7th one. Here at the house in France. about 2 hours ago from TwitterBerry

He's been back for 3 months and looks like he's already Mr. Popularity. I'm gonna see if I can find another PRO and see how many test's they've had in the same period.

Group ride on Friday!

2008-11-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

Thank God. I'm actually going to have the time to ride outside this week. The trainer is getting fucking boring already...and it's not even December yet. Anyway, it's gonna be a nice balmy day here in Wisconsin, high is projected to be in the thirties and as long as the sun remebers to shine, the Rib Mountain Flyers will be rolling.

Will my tongue stick to the top tube?

2008-11-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

This is supposed to be the high today. The wind is blowing at around 15 mph, bringing the windchill to -5. Looks like I'll be riding indoors today.

you can hug dznuts

2008-11-20T17:28:00.001-08:00

I'd been wanting to try this for some time now and was always taken back by the price...$25. What's even more strange is that if you order it from the DZ site, they charge you $8 for shipping. I thought maybe that the shipping charge included Dave actually delivering it to my house, but my email was never replied to. Oh well. Luckily, the good folks at Chainwheel had it for $20 and since I was physically standing in the store shipping was zero (and as a side note, they hooked me up with a great shipping box so I could get my beloved home safely).

I've used the Assos cream in the past and I've also used the Performance "El cheapo" stuff. Cost wise, obviously Performance is going to be ahead at about $13 for 6 oz ( $2.17 an oz). Assos is gonna be next at $22 for 4.74 oz ( $4.64 an oz) and then DZ at $20 for 4 oz ($5 an oz!). For comparison sake, an oz of Silver traded today for $9.09.

Rubbing them between your thumb and pointer you know immediately that the Assos and DZ is superior to the performance brand. The performance cream dissipates quickly, almost like hand lotion gets rubbed into the skin. The Assos and DZ holds up much longer and provides a gentle glide on the skin, where the performance starts to slip and then stick (no bueno). One thing that stands out about the DZ right outta the tube is the smell. Whereas Assos is slightly medicinal, dz is slightly nightmare hippie girl. Not in the unwashed ass hippie way, but the herbal/incense hippie way. DZ has tea tree oil in it and some sandal wood. Two popular smells that the un-bathed like to dose themselves in (why not just take a fuckin shower?). It's also the tea tree oil that gives "the goods" a little "HELLO!" when you apply it. Applying the Performance you don't feel much, the Assos a little zesty, but the DZ gives you a little pucker factor for a moment or two.
The ride quality is a dead tie between the Assos and the DZ. The Performance is the stuff you let the "friend that always forgets something on the group ride" use. The Assos and DZ is up for the long haul and the Performance will get you a beer from the FTAFSOTGR (maybe). All three wash out of chamois quite well (machine...I ain't handwashin' shit) and wash off easily in the shower. Obviously you'll find all three of these in my quiver right now, but I'm going to call the winner Assos. Strictly because for the first time in cycling history, somebody makes a product that is more expensive than there's. If I could find the DZ cheaper or maybe get a PRO deal on some ( Yo, hit me back Dave!) then I'd be all over it, but until I do...it's Assos for my ass.

http://www.assos.com/
http://www.dz-nuts.com
http://www.performancebike.com/

...and everyone thought I was a dork.

2008-11-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's official. This guy is more of a paste-eater than I am.