The Progression of a "Cyclist"

   It's inevitable. You buy an entry-level bike for a couple hundred dollars and just start riding the thing, not really worrying about or paying attention to the details. Then, over a period of months and years, you slowly start to change. You notice everyone around you and what they are wearing, and how they are riding. Suddenly, your entry-level bike is no longer cutting it, and so it begins.


   I've seen this guy at the Veloway (that I mentally refer to as "Chief") go through that change. At first he showed up riding an old clunker of what we used to call a "ten speed" or "English racer". I make this distinction to differentiate between that 1978-Sears-&-Roebuck-bike-rusting-in-the-corner-of-your-garage, and from what I'd call a real "road bike". So, Chief would show up dressed in blue jeans, backwards ball cap and t-shirt on his ten speed and chug out some laps around the Veloway. Eventually the blue jeans gave way to some baggy shorts. Next, the backwards ball cap was replaced by a helmet. The t-shirt turned into an "athletic shirt", not exactly a bike jersey. Yet. And, lo and behold, the last time I saw him I could have sworn he was on a new bike. A real road bike, complete with clipless pedals and shoes. I'm just waiting for the day he shows up in spandex. I'm taking bets that it'll be less than a month. We'll see...

Photo Credit: Asterix611

My First Mountain Bike Race in 16 Years

   It had been 16 years since my last mountain bike race and while I always intended to attend some races in the years in between I just never managed to get around to it. Finally I decided to "just do it".  It was fitting that the race I chose to enter after all these years was also the very first mountain bike race I ever competed in.  Although I did not finish the race (DNF) I did complete one of the two 7+ mile laps before deciding that I was either going to get hurt, or totally trash my bike, neither of which was acceptable to me.

   I've uploaded some of the video I shot on race day above, however, the youtube video from the Pedal Mashers team is a very accurate depiction of the course - even if it is a couple of years old (see the "brutal" comment below.)

   Anyway... here are some of the things I've discovered.  I'm going to leave out all of the standard stuff you've probably read a million times by now (get sleep, eat right, hydrate, don't make any radical changes to your equipment on race day..) and just give you some of the things I've learned the hard way:

1. Preride the course.
   Riding down a trail you are not familiar with at race speed is not only just plain stupid, it is dangerous.  I've only ridden this trail once (16 years ago) and single-handedly the biggest mistake I made was not preriding.  Of course, had I prerode the trail I probably wouldn't have gone through with entering the race.  So, in a way, ignorance was bliss in this particular case.
   By preriding you can get a rough idea of what to expect and when.  It's also reassuring if you make mental notes of various landmarks and where they occur in conjunction with the overall length of the course.  That way you'll know the "big gnarly tree with rope swing" indicates the half way mark, etc.

2. Don't Stop!

   No matter what happens keep going, or else you'll get passed too quickly by too many people. If you have to get off your bike and push, then jump off and RUN with it.  Jump back once you've gotten enough momentum to keep going.  Perhaps the second biggest mistake I made was stopping.  I didn't quite make the top of one of the "roller-coaster" hills so I had to stop and push the bike over the crest.  The backside was rutted and full of jutting roots and without any kind of momentum I knew I wouldn't be able to just hop on the bike and roll it down the backside (without doing a full-fledged endo).
   So, as I'm pushing along, first one rider zips past me, then another, and another.  By the time I was able to get back in the saddle and start rolling again no less than 10 riders had slipped past me.  It was at this point that I realized that I was going to be lucky just to finish and that the majority of the guys in my heat were now way far ahead of me.  It was demoralizing.

3. Don't race alone.

   Bring a friend, or even a complete stranger if necessary.  Having someone else to hang out with and provide moral support and possibly even SAG duty (if you're not in the same class) will go a long way to keep you in the game and keep pre-race jitters in check.  
   If I were going to race this course again I'd have someone acting as a domestique to hand up water (which would mean I'd have to stop and swap out water bladders) and the designated spot.  Even though I was wearing a Camelback containing 70oz. of water, I still managed to run out by the end of the first lap. 
   I went to the Warda race by myself and felt as if I was the only one there who didn't know at least one other person.  Next time I'll force some unsuspecting sucker to go with me.
 

4. Bring extra water, food, beer & clothes.

   Not only will bringing your own supplies make you self sufficient, it'll make racing much less costly, as well as providing you with a little bargaining power should you need help with a repair or something.  
   Being able to change out of your wet, dirty bike kit will be much more comfortable in addition to making you appear a little more experienced that the rest of your fellow weekend warriors. 
   I personally brought a gallon of water, a small towel, an ice chest containing a six pack of beer, a couple of sandwiches, extra energy bars and some clean clothes.

5. Don't expect to win (yet).

   Even though you may enter as a Category 3 (beginner/novice) rider, don't be fooled by the name.  There are going to be lots of riders who are way more talented than yourself.  Just remind yourself that you are there to do "recon" the first couple of times you race and just try and hang on.
   Of course that doesn't mean that the spirit of competition won't naturally take over either.  At my first race (Warda, 1994) I started out DFL (dead frigging last) and after I passed the rider in front of me it became addictive.  Our field started out with 105 riders and I still managed to roll across the finish line in 62nd place after starting at the very end.
   Also, don't let the guys up front (the ones covered in tattoos, talking smack) intimidate you.  Either they will be so far off the front you'll never see them again (unless they lap you), or they are going to go so hard, so quickly they are going to blow up in the first couple of miles.  As you ride along you will be surprised how many riders you see who have run completely out of gas.

Some of the other things I observed are:

• I had forgotten how absolutely brutal mountain bike racing can be.
• The quality of racers has gotten much better, very few riders actually fell into the "beginner" category, as it used to be known.  There definitely needs to be Category 4 (or even Cat 5) class in mountain biking.  As a side note: when looking up the stats from 1994, I realized that that race was only one lap (approx 8 miles) as opposed to two laps this time.  Now suddenly I don't feel like such a total loser for bailing out after the first lap.
• Road riding has greatly improved my stamina and aerobic ability - I rode 40+ miles the day before the race and felt great on Sunday.
• Road riding has greatly reduced my technical handling ability.
• The GT is not conducive the racing.  The bike is set up with a very tight cockpit and low rise bar stem. It's very nimble in the tight twisty wooded sections, but as soon a the trail points downward it gets really sketchy.  I cannot race on this bike.  I need a more relaxed, up right geometry in order to feel more secure at that speed.  A 29'er would be more appropriate for racing (where brute force far outweighs finesse.)
• There needs to be more "lead time" between heats in the various classes. At the Warda race there were multiple age brackets catching up with (and thus running into) each other.  Not only is getting passed by a twelve year old embarrassing, but it's not much fun for the kid who has to weed her way through all of the old, fat, slow guys in her way.

Hopefully I have provided some degree of insight into the world of mountain bike racing, and maybe, just maybe, we'll see each other out on the course some day.  I'd love to hear what experiences you've had with competition (in whatever discipline that may be.)

My SxSW Picks for 2010

SxSW is in town with this week kicking off the film festival and next week being the music conference & showcases. I probably won't be attending much (if any) of it, but it's still fun to peruse the listings and compile a "wish list". If I were going in order to hear music that I already know and like (and I could magically teleport around town) then my line up would look something like this:


Wednesday:
-------------------------------
Nneka * 5p * Austin Convention Center
Fireants * 7:30p * Momo's
Marshall Ford Swing Band * 9:30p * Momo's
Ozomatli * 11p * Galaxy Room
Charanga Cakewalk * 10p * Ghost Room
Motorhead * 10:30p * Austin Music Hall
Raul Malo * 12:30am * Continental Club


Thursday:
----------------------------
I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness * 1am * Red 7
Riverboat Gamblers * 1am * Red 7

Friday:
--------------------------
Bodeans * 6:45p * Auditorium Shores
Cheap Trick * 8p * Auditorium Shores
Black Joe Lewis & the Honey Bears * 8p * Austin Music Hall
David Garza * 9pm * Kenny Dorham's
Jimmie Dale Gilmore * 9pm * Beauty Bar
Grupo Fantasma * 12am * Copa
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart * 1am * Mohawk

Saturday:
------------------------------
French Horn Rebellion * 10:40p * The Phoenix  (I've never heard this band but would totally go see them based purely on their name alone)



However, that's not what SxSW is about. It's about taking chances, blindly stumbling across "the next big thing", and just plain getting lucky. Years ago the music festival was much more approachable and the ability to wander from venue to venue was much greater, although most people (then and now) end up "camping out" at a particular venue instead. This is especially true if any kind of "big name" act is playing.

This coming week I expect to start hearing more & more of the "lesser known" bands on the various radio stations as they start ramping up the promotional push. Perhaps the biggest byproduct of SxSW are all of the "unofficial" shows that glom onto the hype. Look for every bar, restaurant, gas station and bus stop to be "showcasing" some form of music in the coming week.

Any favorites coming into town that you'd squeeze into a club to go see?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjungling

$12 later, I can sleep better..

A while back I was talking to one of my neighbors and she mentioned that she had her water heater replaced. She said she'd been smelling "a damp, musty smell" in her hallway for a couple of days and then she noticed her carpet was wet. After a bit of investigating she discovered that her water heater had been leaking for some time until it finally soaked through to her carpet. This prompted me to go check on mine.

My water heater is pretty ghetto and I intend on replacing it with a tankless system once it finally goes out, or I save up enough money to do it voluntarily, whichever comes first. In the meantime I've gone to Home Depot and purchased a water alarm for around $12. It's a little box than runs on a 9 volt battery and has a wire with two sensors on it. If water completes the circuit the alarm will sound. You can actually test the circuit by touching it your skin (it doesn't shock.)

Now I can sleep just a little bit better at night.

The Perfect Mexican Martini

I love watching Rick Bayless on PBS (Mexico, One Plate at a Time). His show always gets me in the mood for Mexican food, and of course, we can't have Mexican food without margaritas... So here is my recipe for the perfect Mexican Martini:

Pictured above (from left to right)
3/4 shot of good Tequila
1/4 shot of Grand Marnier
Juice of one small lime (fresh, approx 1/4 shot)
Splash of Margarita mix (approx 1/4 shot)
Teaspoon of Olive Juice

Combine ingredients in shaker with ice (and shake). Strain into a chilled martini glass with salted rim and add a couple of Jalapeno stuffed olives for garnish.

The perfect complement for shrimp tacos (tacos de camarones)*

*Shrimp tacos:

Flour tortillas
Shrimp
White Onion
Cilantro
Avocado (pureed)
Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

Lightly coat shrimp with olive oil and seasoning (I personally prefer Tony Chachere's creole seasoning.) and place on grill along with slices of white onion.
Once cooked, coarsely chop shrimp, grilled onion and fresh cilantro while adding a squeeze of lime juice to mixture.
Spread a thin coating of the pureed avocado on a tortilla, add the shrimp mixture and roll up.
Cut tacos in half and stand up on plate to make it all "foo-foo" like. (I like to spread some tomatillo sauce around the plate for dipping and for color.)

I Found the Perfect Hoodie

I'm soo getting one of these!

Will the New Year be "New"?

As I was typing up some comments on The Bike Noob's blog (I seem to be a better commenter than blogger) it got me to thinking about the New Year and what I want to see happen in the future. I won't make a whole lot of resolutions, but instead I'll make some "likes", as in things I'd like to do.

#1 Cross Training - I need to vary my exercise routine by more than simply cycling. Last year I went as far as filling out an application for gym membership, but never got around to actually turning it in. So even if I don't join a gym (I can only afford so many yearly/monthly subscriptions at one time) I will make an effort to pick up the hand weights currently nestled next to the fireplace more often. I might even start jogging again. One of my co-workers swims year round, he's found several local pools that are either free, or nearly free, and that are heated. I might try that as well.

#2 Entertainment - I will go to a movie, concert, opening and/or other event at least once a month. I've lived in Austin for twenty years and have never been to the art museum, though I've been to the natural history museum like ten times (love me some dinosaur bones..)

#3 Finances - I will (and recently have been) spending only cash - no debit/check card, no American Express card. This year I paid for Christmas in cash. No surprises later.

#4 Laundry - I will put clothes away and hang up shirts (in the closet!) each time. No more piles of clean clothes on the laundry room floor because I had to make room in the dryer for the next load.

#5 Beach - I will make it to the beach *before* late July or early August, even if I have to go by myself - and preferably somewhere in the Caribbean. I will take advantage of every 3 day weekend (Memorial Day, etc.) to go out of town. I will actually use the tent I bought several years ago (and set up once) and go camping.

I think the biggest reason so many of us "fail" at keeping our resolutions is a perception of failure: Resolve to lose weight? Lose some, but the end up gaining a couple of pounds? Then you must have failed and therefore no use even trying any further. The problem is that we try to apply linear logic (on/off, pass/fail, black/white, day/night) to a circular or cyclical world. The world is round, not flat and everything in our lives is a cycle (messy kitchen/clean kitchen). The tide may be high or low, but it's not "either/or" - it's a cycle in that it comes in and goes out and never actually stops.

I Stole a Dollar

I stole a dollar. It wasn't so much outright theft, as much as it was theft by omission.

I was standing in the checkout line at New Flower Market and the check out lady was scanning all my crap. She had a box of crackers that wouldn't scan. She leaned over and asked the cashier next to her how much the "never-scanning crackers" were again (apparently it was an ongoing problem.)

The other cashier said "99 cents. I think."

She shrugged her shoulders and punched in 99 cents. I was pretty sure the crackers were $1.99, yet for some reason I said nothing, and I don't know why. I'm not a dishonest person - except for that thing with the cheerleader, but hey, she said she was 18. In fact, I had already ran back down one of the aisles to retrieve the code for some organic rolled oats ($1.29 a pound, thank you very much) and would have had the perfect chance to substitute the code for the regular oats if I were so inclined, which I'm not. So it really bugged me why I chose to say nothing. I had plenty of time to have said "Hey, you know what? I think those crackers were actually x." Nope, nothing doing. I just didn't do anything.

Of course when I got home the crackers were all broken from repeated attempts at running them across the scanner, but then again, they always are - and I knew that'd be the case when I put them in the basket. That doesn't make it right.

So last night as I passed a Salvation-Army-Bell-Ringer-Guy I stuffed a dollar in his kettle. Hopefully all is well with the universe once again.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/corrieb/ / CC BY 2.0

The Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day

No I haven't seen the movie, I just thought it'd make a great blog title..

It felt great to be off for four days over the Thanksgiving weekend. My parents, sister, and her family all came into town. My parents stayed with me and my sister, et al., camped out at my brother's house where we all gathered for the traditional Thanksgiving rituals (eating, napping, eating, tv, napping, etc.)

I got up Thursday morning and hung out with my parents long enough to drink a cup of coffee and then headed out the door for a ride. I felt guilty about leaving them alone at my house, but, hey, we've all got our priorities, right? Nah, they didn't mind and it made them happy that they weren't imposing on me (by keeping from riding) so that's how I justified it. Besides everyone knows by now where cycling fits into my scheme of things. (Recently I met some friends out of town and I told them I'd be there Friday night. They wanted me to stay thru Sunday, but I told them I couldn't - that I had other obligations. One of them said "I know what you're going to do.. you're going to ride Friday after work, then come here, and then leave Saturday morning so you can ride that afternoon when you get back home." Umm, I guess that means I got busted?)

Anyway... I cut my ride short on Thursday, only doing about 20 miles, but it was still great to get out and ride on such a beautiful day. In fact, the whole weekend was nice. I managed to log in 110 miles over the four days. So, on Thursday as I rode around the Veloway, I didn't notice the Christmas tree (pictured above) until lap #4. Had it been there the whole time? Hmm.. I suspect it was the handy work of the Hill County Inline Club, but I'm not sure. The roller blade club is always doing some kind of "fun thing" at the Veloway - candy at halloween, baskets and egg hunts at Easter. Since Thanksgiving at least three more trees have been decorated around the three mile loop of the Veloway. Although its been skipped from time to time, it's good to see the tradition continue.

Will My Mango Tree Survive the Winter?

Woke up yesterday morning at 5:30.. walked out onto the front porch (in my underwear) and took a deep breath. It was a cool, crisp morning. I had every intention of riding before work. I clicked on the TV long enough to catch the weather and the current temperature was 37 degrees. I went back to bed. Today was more of the same, except it snowed. Big, giant, corn-flake sized, fluffy white things fell from the sky. Very few actually hit the ground. None stayed around.

Tonight I met Nancy after work for Mexican food, tequila, and about two hours worth of "catching up". By the time I got home, (approx 30 minutes ago) it was near freezing. Currently it's 60 degrees inside my house and I just built a big, roaring fire. However, I don't know if my mango tree is going to survive the night, let alone the winter. I put a garbage bag over it just now, but considering how little it's manage to thrive (and how little I've watered it, or even looked at it) over the summer I somehow don't think it's gonna make it.

I've had avacado plants (ne, trees) that have made it a couple of years but usually manage to succumb to a late spring freeze.. and that's the most "unkindest cut of all". If it's gonna die, then you expect it to happen in January or February - not in late March.. at least not in Texas.

The biggest problem is that I'm what you'd call a "tough love" gardener. I pretty much throw the plants out into the yard and if they make it, they make it. If not, then it was never meant to be. Had my mango plant/tree shown a little more initiative over the summer then maybe I'd feel a little more compelled to actually do more than throw a garbage bag over it. Oh well, you reap what you sow.. I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes. It's time to throw another log on the fire so I gotta go..

BTW, it's STILL 60 degrees inside the house.. if I had to rely solely on the fireplace for heat, I'd totally be screwed.