Conversation Goes South!

For the last of the last of the last of the last wintry mix rides, we made the most of it. After boosting the DTI with the late departure, I discovered that there appeared to not be much of an impetus in the group. I found B, Councilman, Cap'n, NoCar, and NoHandle all waiting for me in the parking lot. We quickly got underway and immediately had a wet backside as the minimal rain had begun to immediately pool on the trails as a good indication of wet, wet, wet conditions. We dropped down the sneaker trail to the lower horse climb then transitioned over the the lake loop and Rufus' Rage to drop down the road accessed Fleming descent. Although the downhill was fun the wet conditions made for tough visibility and thus a flatter course was determined for the remainder of the ride. There may be a new handle issued when one super fast rider returns to the fold armed with his alternative to the normal barley based beverage. But that will be discussed later. At the decision to branch out and hit Rock Garden or stay on the lake loop and head home, the soggy consensus was to head for tacos fast. At this point we also began to discuss items that took the conversation to a low not seen in some time. All I can say is: Miley?!?!?! Really? Wow! The reminder of the ride was straightforward up to the point that NoCar broke his chain, that had been deemed go to go. Bike shop quality was brought up, and although the home shop is hard to beat (I have found memories of a grinder) and the Spoke seems to be doing its own to keep us happy, there are a lot of other opinions out there on our choices! Choose wisely my friends, choose wisely!

Tacos:
Quick, full, and quality shells were the order of the day. With the good Belgium weather in the air the conversation flowed quickly to Cross season and Cap'n took a bit of a ribbing on his game day disposition! Hey, I was void of anything near a podium this year, who am I talk! Rubbing is racing and as Cappy says himself: "'Race' here is the optimal word". Actually come to think of it the attacks were flowing last night as NoCar was put on the defensive and questioned why it was a shock that HE was picking good lines on a cross bike. All the talk did get me anxious to see what the new format will be this year. Oh yeah, it was confirmed by a camper or a knot head, never did figure that one out that B is indeed stupid...or was that crazy? Possible crazy like the fox, look out for that guy!

Sunday Ride:
With the calendar saying its close to summer time and hoping the weather is not far behind, it was determined to attempt to institutionalize the "Our Lady of the Skinny Tire" roll. The congregation will meet at the bagel shop at 7:30 from here on out. Mass of Cliff Bars and Gu will occur at noon, or when needed.

Until we ride,
LOtB

May 25th and Its Raining on Tuesday

I need the keyboard command of beyond capital for a big "WTF"! Yes its great for water, snowpack, fishies, and rivers, you name it, but the Tuesday rain is getting a bit...who is that I hear knocking...oh yeah its Peter and his whole flipping family to fill me in on the weather. I kid you not, I think it is warmer in Anchorage this May.

So that's it, I am kicking Peter to the curb and getting on with the business of riding and bikes. We will go ride, get wet, eat tacos and drink beer, because life is good and we are blessed to be able to ride!

The Pro Peleton is still tearing it up, offering up some of the best racing in some time. RG is awaiting his call from Radio Shack to take Lance's place at the tour. The big question is will he wear his Tour of Rancho yellow jersey on Tuesday. The Giro has been pretty fun to keep tabs on...enjoy the quick breakdown of stage 15.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&amp;brand=foxsports&amp;playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:1003e9b6-2299-4ae0-9d52-de93791aafbe&amp;showPlaylist=true&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videosearch&amp;fg=everyzing" target="_new" title="Rough finish to Giro Stage 15">Video: Rough finish to Giro Stage 15</a>

5:45 at Mosquito...Exit 54?

Until We Ride (in the rain)

LOTB

Who Is This Guy?

The Professional Peloton has had an amazingly interesting week. With Floydgate and the best ToC and Giro's I have ever seen, I am really excited about the bike. Granted with a late night fever and super early morning parent duty, I had to bail on today's ride, sorry Cappy and any others who showed. I am anxiously awaiting today's final shake down in the ToC and came across this video...who is this guy. Don't bother watching the entire thing, it is just the first five seconds, the hair, and the popped collar that have me convinced that the future of US cycling is in odd hands! Floyd be damned...long live crazy cyclist, strada bianche, GC shake ups and pedal power!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid28343239001?bctid=87481913001

Landis Fallout

With cycling poised on an all new high of having Giro highlights in the am and ToC coverage all afternoon, someone had to come along and derail the train. Actually I am going to go as far and blame today's tank in the market to Floyd as well. Running your mouth, cyber-bullying, changing your story...is Landis a 12 year old playground bully?

Lance took notes from RG and led with the head on the crash today! Go job FT3, show em how to get it done.

Good news is that cyclocross is right around the corner and TJ got as far from Landis as he could this year.

Until we Ride
LOtB

Two Years Old and Ready to Roll

Armed with tired legs and general lingering fatigue, Bambi was the first to comment that the recovery from 24hrs and the time since has been not so fast, maybe we are all just getting old, anyway, how is this for a run-on sentence, we made sure to turn two on the trails.

B, RG, Bambi, and I met NoHandle and MathMan (Fellow Teacher and BC skier with B) all headed out for the birthday ride. It was awesome to see all long standing FT3 riders adorned in FT3 kits. We better be careful or someone will accuse us of knowing what we are doing.

Route:
We headed out Road Kill to the classic Back Door return to the lake. The "clearing the forest" project out there sure looked like logging to me? From Back Door, we headed around the Lake Loop to Barnes Back and headed home down Wedding March and Rock Garden 1A. Wedding March is way overgrown and presented some pretty gnarly obstacles. To properly celebrate our age, B and NoHandle participated in the old school practice of splash the guy next to you in the puddle. Classic, we are tow and acting like it.

Tacos:
I feel the need to cry foul play, B produced the three Ace hand last night...no way that's possible, something was amiss. Tacos were good and the entertainment was perfect. The ToC came on for viewing as we finished tacos and hydration. Viva le Tour, of California that is!

Until we Ride,
LOtB

Ride #104 - That's two years my friends!

After a long and laborious absence, I am back in the fold tonight! Had to find my light last night, uncover the charger, locate my shoes, and generally put my riding life back together. Kind of took a plunge there post 24hr race. Nothing intended nor poor DTI, just a busy time of year (and yes some running miles) have kept me off the knobby tires and out of the Knot Hole for too long. However, being able to catch the live updates of the Giro in the am and the ToC in the pm have the cycling fire burning bright again.

Sunday saw a good assortment of FT3 out for the KOM of stage one at the ToC. Green Fro, Cap'n and NoHandle all with kids, were sitting right at the KOM line ready to watch. RG and I were about a half mile down the hill hoping to see some suffering and attacking! In all it seems that the 20 seconds of action were worth every minute (hour) spent road side. Too cool to see the best in the world roll through our extended back yard. Watching the recap last night, I caught a brief glimpse of some of the younger FT3 members on the TV. The dad's must have been a step or two back and did not get any coverage.

The Giro has been an interesting race as well this year. Cap'n and I have had our moments discussing the merits of Cadel. I am the first to admit that the reigning world champion did the rainbow jersey proud on Saturday and brought out some of the old Mt. Biking skills to win a true "Hard Man's" stage. I bet he was listening to some classic 80's punk prior to the race.

Cadel Evans Wins Muddy Giro Stage 7 - from Universal Sports - Click here for funny video clips

By the way, this is year two of FT3 rides. Put on your big boy pull up, switch from bottle to a sippy cup, scream when you don't get your way, and enjoy the terrible two's of FT3.

Mosquito @ 5:45...Exit 54?

ONE

Until we ride,
LOtB

Com'n off the couch... there's just no competition

(Out of the office most of the day, thanks to Cap'n and B for the write up...the one editorial suggestion was applied)

How fitting that ride number 103 had only three riders. RG did show up in the right kit with the wrong bike for the Mosquito send off, which helps with FT3 solidarity. We loaded up while the local homies spied us from across the Mosquito lot. With only B, Book, Cap and X present, carpool was at the height of efficiency. Arrival at the Knot lot found that temps were mild but there was some patchy snowy cold on the ground. While donning our FT3 jersey's there was discussion about the sac bee and local news covering our expeditions and individual handle-bearing jerseys selling for top dollar. "The B jersey's are half price this week." Yes, we think highly of ourselves. The departure out Cap'n's trail and across Sly Park Road had us feeling exploratory and we ventured into new grounds. It was decided that if we had taken said route in the dark we might have felt like we were at the deliverance cabin as we passed a partially tarped mobile home. No matter, we found a sweet single track that took us to a rocky fireroad and back down to familiar territory near the spillway. Being only a three pack and not accustom to seeing the spillway actually spill, we stopped for a homey photo shoot there. We then proceeded on to Fleming, which was in good condition, very little snow to ride through and trails were not as wet as we had expected. X was definitely feeling his oats and it is clear that burying it at the 24 has produced some quality fitness for him. He noted that he is already looking forward to next year's 24, indeed the bug has bitten him. B, in spite of having taken down two summits worth of May pow, was still charging. The Fleming decent was sweet in the evening light, damp but the trail was tacky and seemed a bit like the north shore, but what do I know having not ridden there. The fireroad climb near the parking lot produced some sticky mud so we opted out of redneck rising for a road ride up MET in honor of road man RG who gave us the send off, not to mention the TOC this weekend. Our intent was to drop the right lip before sundown, alas, lights were on on the way down. At the bottom the twighlight and light fog coming off the lake was fitting of a haiku but none was produced.

We headed back via horse trail, then took the steep climb up the powerline and decended the powerline trail. X and I were qued up for a granny free ride up until that point. Whilst dropping back to the lake, X's light died and my front tire was going flat. We took the road back to the Knott. With light encouragement, the Knott Dad, who was provided a handle last night, 'even keel,' was encouraged to turn on the Giants/Padres game and he pleasently ablidged. Wille the supposed taco champion was there with his knotthead friends and gave me a bit of flack for taking the Pepper Plant in his vicinity. I still took it. Tacos were good, sauce selection light, although the trifecta of Pain sauces was produced. We met some of Lars' wirey ultra running friends - a couple, the only couple, that has completed 1000 miles worth of Western States 100 runs. Each with knee surgeries and wobbly ankles, another reason Lars should stick with cycling.

(Running with a balanced cycling mix or Cycling with a balanced running mix keeps the mind fresh and body healthy!)

Until we Ride
LOtB

Ride #103

That's right my friends, we are rapidly approaching the two year point. I counted it up last night, thinking that this week was two years, but alas I was a week off. So with snow, yes snow, on the ground, tonight will mark the One Hundred and Third episod of FT3.

Unfortunately I am still on the DL, and will be celebrating my wife's birthday and unable to attend. Let the hidden blow comment field blow up with whatever P3 comments you like, but I will happily take this fine evening with the family!

The Amgen Tour of California rolls through our neck of the woods on Sunday. Sounds like most everyone will be in attendance in some respect or another. While no group viewing seems viable, FT3 will be manning the course and cheering on the best in the world. Is Amgen giving out free samples?

RG took a crit win over the weekend, keeping the train rolling. Cap'n is talking about the off season. and NoHandle and Bambi are talking up the CX season, and I, I have been spied on the El Dorado Trail, yes I admit it, I have been spied, running. Not making rides, running, what is the world coming to?

Until we ride or run (just kidding: I know I run alone)
LOtB



Until we ride,
LOtB

24 Hours Come and Go Pretty Quickly...

But the next 48 hours feel like death warmed over...

I am happy to report that FT3 took over the 24Hrs of Cool. We established ourselves as a force to be reckoned with in the camping meadow. We were almost three 4 man teams strong (A third team ran with two FT3 members and two others), 2+ 8hr Solo riders with Taco Spawn making a brief showing...lots of fans, two amazing wrenches, and tons of fun.

For camp this year we proudly flew a pirate flag and Cap'n provided marching orders via a snare drum that left others wondering, "what the hell is going on over there?!?!". After a few years of this race under our belt, we could easily steal NoHandle's tag line as this was, "not our first rodeo".

Course:
The course this year was a classic Olmstead loop with nothing really exciting added in. There were several bridges over some of the deeper mud holes or streams. Even with the bridges, there was plenty of mud. The first half of the course was marked by two or three ridiculous mud pits that kept growing and growing throughout the race. I dreaded these holes taking off for each lap, and felt moral and speed pick up as soon as I passed through the last one. Once you were through Knickerbocker, the course was fantastic. You still had lots of climbing to do, but conditions were good and fast. The pain cave was actually one of my better sections as it led to a screaming run back into the start finish area. The basic lap allowed for high speeds and a full on throw down to occur. The reality of an hour avg quickly became evident to several teams!

Racing:
8HR: VD, Ghost, and Spawn all rolled out for the solo event this year. I can't remember the last time I spent 8hrs in the saddle. In fact, I don't think I have ever spent 8hrs in the saddle at race pace...It seems some enthusiasm got the best of both Spawn and Ghost as they pulled early not feeling it. VD rolled on a bit longer before settling in to the camp chair and partaking in a longer endurance event of consumption and stamina. Sorry for the briefness of the 8hr report, I didn't get much in the way of details.

24HR: FT3 was out in force in these divisions.

In the open division, I believe the combo team made the podium after racing a consistent hard pace throughout. We never heard panic or catastrophe coming from this group so it seems like things went well.

FT3 team 2 showed some first time poise coming from a spot down in the early laps to race hard for the second spot on the podium. NoCar learned the the importance of Salt! Team 1 learned the importance of Joe! and Poptart may have learned the importance of gears (joking aside, he kept an amazing pace rolling on just one)! Team 2 did FT3 proud putting down lap after lap of solid effort to finish in a solid third and gain a podium spot! In the end the race for second come down to the last lap with Xteric putting down a monster sub hour 6th lap to send CMan out for one last loop. CMan put it down in an attempt to beat the clock and MadCat and left it all on the course. It took all day, but finally Knickerbocker "gnashed is terrible teeth and roared its terrible roars" thus putting an end to CMan's attempt at lap 6. Spot on mates, spot on.

FT3 Team 1: Came with a purpose and delivered on that purpose. Unfortunately, the fifth team in our category pulled out at the last minute leaving us with a four team category and no prize money. Therefore with pride on the line, we went out and went out hard. Bambi was a man possessed! Simply put, he dominated the dojo delivering lap after lap (6 of them in all) all under the 60 minute mark! There was some quality racing and laps had by all, but my hats off to you my friend, hats off, well done. NoHandle took the Mr. Consistency award for the 4 second variance from lap one to two and then never wavered too far off that mark. Cap'n took the Hard Man title to a new level, guaranteeing himself a place in lore, he race the entire event with an abscessed tooth, having a last minute root canal Mon. morning!!! Here I thought my hang nail would suffice! I, for my part, continued my roll as the chaser, doing my best to keep my teammates in my sights.

Special Thanks!
This is going to sound a bit corny, but for the two Four Man teams out there I count, at least 13 children (Don't know if Poptart has any strudels at home?). There is no way we would be able to pull this off with out amazing support from our families. That is 30 some odd hours without Dad at home over the weekend and many more hours of Dad being absolutely cashed! Thank you, thank you thank you. (In all honesty, I don't know if any of you actually read this thing either in secret or to keep up on us, but wife's Rock and ours are the best in the world!!!!)

Trevor, Joe, and the G Spoke kept us running "Fast and Loose"! There is no way I would roll out on a clean bike if it was up to me. Worth noting, Trevor had to bleed my brakes twice! Thanks a bunch for the help and support.

Councilman had a friend posted up with a trailer...never saw the trailer or the shower, or the tacos, or any of it for that matter, but others did and it sounds like I really missed out.

The rest of the FT3 family that kept us going fast all winter long on night ride, after wet ride, after snowy ride, the speed paid off with two podium spots!

Oh yeah, its Tuesday, I am out, actually would like to ride, but we have Open House at the kiddos school, probably should make that one. Mosquito @ 5:45...exit 54? If that 54 guys shows, look out, he is fast.

Until we ride,
LOtB