Earlier this year, I awarded Linus Gerdemann the HTFU award. No doubt...dude is strong like ox. Heck, he's a Tour stage winner.
HOWEVER, looking at this photo, it seems he could do with a make-over. Maybe, er, cut the hair, let some stubble grow in, and lose the eyeliner. At first glance, I really thought cyclingnews.com had confused the men's and women's Team High Road team presentations.
SNAP! I added the last sentence of paragraph one after composing paragraph two. Well...looks like he did try to take appropriate measures. He cut the hair, but not quite enough.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sure As Heck!
Drool. And drool. It's what's for post-race recovery.
Once again, DCMTB organized a spectacular event in the District. The mood was awesome, the food and beer were sensational, and the course was a bit better than last year's.
Started off in the third row and, in typical fashion, couldn't really hold the good position coming out of the gates. Onto the grass and things were a bit congested. A few near tangles with teammates and others left me a bit shaky and cautious. That's no way to be in a 'cross race, as nancy-ing around in the technical bits is a sure fire way to allow gaps to open. The natural barriers were probably my other biggest nemesis, as they were waaaaaay too tall for my stubby legs and the spacing also kept me guessing (it didn't help that they didn't sit parallel to one another).
As always, the race was a big blur and it's hard to offer any real play-by-play. I know Ryan Bannon was on my tail for a good part of the race. I know the Kelly Benefits guy (Charly Hermanson, upon scanning results) was another detriment to my confidence, as he twice passed dangerously to very little avail in those sections. More than in any other 'cross race, I rode with small groups. In the past, my interaction with a group involved approaching one, sitting on for no more than 30 seconds, and then giving some gas and riding away. It's something I've usually enjoyed, as it boosts the confidence. Yesterday, I spent a good bit of time playing games with Cargo Mike and a fellow I can only assume was John Hostetter III. The two or three times I tried to use power sections to my advantage and open up the gaps, these guys had enough to claw back. The battles were fun.
Things wrapped up with me and Mike dropping John. Mike promptly opened a 10-20 meter gap for about the last half of the last lap (I could be making that up, as I can't remember a course to save me life). Owing to what I just mentioned in parenthesis, I didn't make an effort to close that gap until it was too late. Having the start and finish areas in different spots on the loop confuses a dim-wit like me. Coming through the start pavement, I really had no idea how much more riding we had left. By the time we hit the finish line paved section, I didn't have enough room to lay it all out in the sprint. Bad strategy, but so is sprinting for 15th! No harm, no foul.
I know. Not much of a report. More of a mere mish-mash of thoughts, but that's kinda all I have post-race. And seeing how little blogging I've done of late, I figure (and maybe wrongly) something is better than nothing.
After I finished, I spent about 1.5 hours refraining from the beers and fries. I thought I might re-dress and give the 1/2/3 a whirl. SVR wisely advised me to give it up and get down to eating and drinking. She knows me.
It was also really exciting to see a very big Bike Doctor presense at the race. Other than DCMTB and C-3, I think we might've fielded the most participants. Mad props to Mike D. for accepting my beer hand up. Not only did he take a sizeable gulp, he dumped the rest on his head. What a guy!!
Looking forward to a packed autumn schedule through Dec. 7th.
Once again, DCMTB organized a spectacular event in the District. The mood was awesome, the food and beer were sensational, and the course was a bit better than last year's.
Started off in the third row and, in typical fashion, couldn't really hold the good position coming out of the gates. Onto the grass and things were a bit congested. A few near tangles with teammates and others left me a bit shaky and cautious. That's no way to be in a 'cross race, as nancy-ing around in the technical bits is a sure fire way to allow gaps to open. The natural barriers were probably my other biggest nemesis, as they were waaaaaay too tall for my stubby legs and the spacing also kept me guessing (it didn't help that they didn't sit parallel to one another).
As always, the race was a big blur and it's hard to offer any real play-by-play. I know Ryan Bannon was on my tail for a good part of the race. I know the Kelly Benefits guy (Charly Hermanson, upon scanning results) was another detriment to my confidence, as he twice passed dangerously to very little avail in those sections. More than in any other 'cross race, I rode with small groups. In the past, my interaction with a group involved approaching one, sitting on for no more than 30 seconds, and then giving some gas and riding away. It's something I've usually enjoyed, as it boosts the confidence. Yesterday, I spent a good bit of time playing games with Cargo Mike and a fellow I can only assume was John Hostetter III. The two or three times I tried to use power sections to my advantage and open up the gaps, these guys had enough to claw back. The battles were fun.
Things wrapped up with me and Mike dropping John. Mike promptly opened a 10-20 meter gap for about the last half of the last lap (I could be making that up, as I can't remember a course to save me life). Owing to what I just mentioned in parenthesis, I didn't make an effort to close that gap until it was too late. Having the start and finish areas in different spots on the loop confuses a dim-wit like me. Coming through the start pavement, I really had no idea how much more riding we had left. By the time we hit the finish line paved section, I didn't have enough room to lay it all out in the sprint. Bad strategy, but so is sprinting for 15th! No harm, no foul.
I know. Not much of a report. More of a mere mish-mash of thoughts, but that's kinda all I have post-race. And seeing how little blogging I've done of late, I figure (and maybe wrongly) something is better than nothing.
After I finished, I spent about 1.5 hours refraining from the beers and fries. I thought I might re-dress and give the 1/2/3 a whirl. SVR wisely advised me to give it up and get down to eating and drinking. She knows me.
It was also really exciting to see a very big Bike Doctor presense at the race. Other than DCMTB and C-3, I think we might've fielded the most participants. Mad props to Mike D. for accepting my beer hand up. Not only did he take a sizeable gulp, he dumped the rest on his head. What a guy!!
Looking forward to a packed autumn schedule through Dec. 7th.
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