Franken-rudy

I combined both my broken Rudy Project glasses to form 1 working pair.

Broken Record

I've had enough character building rides to last me the next 10 years! Today's ride started with soaking wet roads and fog. I'm talking about patches of dense fog that made you wonder if drivers could see you. Half way through the ride, the winds picked up (20 - 30 mph winds). Then the rain started. Not drizzle or sprinkles, but rain showers. At least I had the foresight to carry my rain jacket with me. It poured the last 45 minutes of my ride. On the bright side, it was in the low 50's and the rain got rid of all the fog! I haven't ridden so many times in the rain since I can remember (and never in the fall and winter); I guess I really hate the trainer now.

Group Ride

I haven't done a group ride this off season, other than in Hawaii. There is a group ride that starts ~2 miles from my house. Call me lazy, but getting there by 9am has been tough lately. I decided to get my lazy butt out of bed and head on over (our Team ride is on Sunday - they are calling for Thunder Storms tomorrow). I haven't done such a hilly ride in months! There was only 4 of us. I think the Holiday weekend, wet roads, and starting temperature in the low 30s had a lot to do with that. I really feel it and think I'm heading to bed early tonight.

Another Week...

...more crappy weather. I did an hour and a half ride on Wednesday. Guess what? Yep, it rained for the last 1/2 hour. Another rain ride. At least it was warm - 38 degrees!

I have my Christmas beer already picked out...

And so the Three Wise Men set out from the East bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Along the Way, they follwoed a bright light. The Bible neglects to mention if they brought beer or not. Who goes crossing the desert without beer? How smart are we to believe these wise men were? Since Cristmas is the season of gift giving more than receiving so please be a giver and share the Wisdom found in each and every bottle of our Gift of the Magi.

Can't Wait!

I took my Merlin into the shop last week. I can't wait to get it back. I'm getting it 'rebuilt' with;

• Record Cranks
• Record Shifters
• Chorus deraillers
• Easton EC-90 Equip bar
• ITM carbonio stem
• Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork

The Merlin has always been my farvorit bike, but I've been ignoring it the past couple years. I had 9 speed Record converted to 10 speed, and it just didn't seem 'right'. Once I get it back, this will probably be my primary ride vs. the Torelli.

Losing my confidence...

... in Rody Projects. I broke another pair! These snapped when I was putting them on before Saturday's ride. That makes two pairs that snapped in the exact same spot. On the bright side, I snapped the left side this time (the other pair the right side broke). Between the two, I can make a workable set; but it will have 1 blue arm and 1 silver arm!

On the road again...

I couldn't stand it any longer! After sitting on the trainer for my last 7 works outs, I had to get outside. Yesterday would have been perfect as it got up to 50 degrees and the sun came out, but I had kid duty (Alex and I put up our Christmas lights). Today was another one of those character building rides;

• The roads were wet and there were puddles everywhere (it rained all night),
• I hit patches of misty rain and drizzle, and
• The temperatures were in the low 30s.

A few years ago, I wouldn't ride if it was below 35 degrees. Last year I was riding when it was in the low 20s. I wouldn't ride in the rain in the summer and I've already been out in the 'rain' twice with the temperatures below 35 (thankfully only misty and drizzles today). Either I'm getting used to the colder and miserable weather or I'm losing my common sense in my 'old age'.

With showers in the forecast all week, I may be back on the trainer.

Crash Photos

Looking through some older photos, I came across these two. These are a couple of my favorites. They were taken at a race back in 2004. This happened at the very front (I was in about 5th position) of a 70 strong field.



If you look closely, it looks like the racer who started this crash rolled a tire. I'm the rider on the very left (you can see my blue helmet and orange/yellow jersey tucked in behind).








Here is a photo of me using my cat like reflexes to avoid losing some skin. I was heading straight for a big ass curb but was able to bunny hop it.

It started snowing at lunch time today. Four straight days on the trainer and counting!

I watched these 2 movies while on the trainer the last 2 days. The Grudge 2 really sucked and made my trainer ride seem like 6 hours long. At least 1408 was 'watchable'.

It's a good thing today is a scheduled day off. It is windy outside! Sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts over 50 mph!

Trainer Blues

This weekend, I sat on the trainer for the 1st time in months. I actually rode it on both Saturday & Sunday. It's not even winter, I've only ridden on the trainer twice, and I'm already sick of it. Nothing like a 2 hour session on your trainer (at least I watched a couple movies I've been meaning to get to).

This week looks cold. Highs of 36 means ride time highs of low 30s. At least next Sunday looks warm and toasty!