double wow; miss and out

as mentioned previously, yesterday was my appointment to get a bike fit. holy crap. i can't believe i've been riding around the past few years with my bikes set up the way they were. i'm kinda surprised i'm not crippled. the amount of difference the fit made was immediately noticeable. i wanted to dump my messenger bag and ride 50 more miles last night after we finished.

it might as well have been new bike day. seriously. it felt so right. the only downside was that we confirmed that my cross bike is too small for me, so it will have to be new bike day for real some time soon.

---

i know i had told one or two people that i was going to go to ed rudolph for the track clinic, but it was pretty damn cold after the fit finished and i was unprepared. sorry. holler at your young man and we'll ride or grab beers, or both, soon.

wow

put this in your jersey pocket and smoke, i mean drink it!!! just sent the link to drunk cyclist. god bless america. only in florida (no offense Helge.)

1 weak

it's been a minute...

alot has happened in my world of yachts and bicycles in the past week. it all started with an informal set-together w/ a highly reputable chicago sailor(who used to race track for Turin, fwiw) and news that we've got a new boat for the year. there were some other developments too, so i don't know exactly what to expect or what i should or shouldn't divulge, but it's exciting nonetheless. oh yeah... i learned a s**tton too.

when i wasn't fantasizing about what bunk i was gonna claim on our first p-t-p regatta or who was gonna be the first to 'break in' the head, i was riding and doing bike stuff. while i did remove myself from the trans iowa roster, i still went to Decorah with my friend Julia. she is much more headstrong than i and wasn't worried about subsequent bike-hate, so i couldn't deny her a ride over there so she could attempt it. it was miserable, and preliminary reports have indicated that not many, if any, finished. she made it a respectable 45mi or so. the wind was so bad on saturday that i wanted to call for an ease while i was helming a car! i can't imagine riding in that crap! i do, however, look forward to reading some folk's accounts when i get time.

being out of the city was refreshing, but i was pretty excited to be back a little early. happy birthday to Julie! we celebrated @ her & ben's place. then it was off to another party w/ teammate Amanda. it was exactly like a Jawbreaker song (except w/o makeout sessions and w/ people i went to high school with). it was also two blocks from my house... word.

yesterday i slept the 'eff in. didn't get much real sleep in IA and i'm still tired today, so i needed it. i was woken up by a couple calls and a voicemail from my cousin. it;s kinda rare that he called, so i though there may have been a family issue. well, he was just super amped to gat a bike and wanted me to go w/ him to yojimbo's. done. it had been way too long since my last visit there, so i was ready. i spent yet another sunday w/ Brean as my cousin got a 'track' bike (that i'll admit looks pretty damn cool). then it was a total party. Simon came in -- fresh from Venezuela! some other dudes and dudettes were there too. it was great. bought a bottle cage to match our kit and i was off to ride about 15 more.

tomorrow is bike fit day! after that i'm gonna try to get up to ERV for the track clinic -- at least to hang out. i really wanna do baraboo this sunday because bike season is winding down for me and sailing is heating up. probably looking @ some yard work soon. take it up! and always remember: tack or cross is bullshit! (the hail, not the blog).

peace!

insight/incite

to me, the first is acknowledgement of self and the second is how a riot begins. i can use both to sum up my life right now.

in case you haven't noticed, i've been having fun! having fun rules! a while back i made some plans to have fun. this weekend i had a moment of insight that led me to believe that it was no longer going to be fun. and, i think some of the fun i've been having has effected my fitness a little bit.

i went on a ride w/ ben saturday morning on my touring (nee CX) bike and got f**ked in half. i came home and, to quote my roommate, was 'hating life.' then i made the call. no more TI... i want the good times to keep rollin'. i just could not see myself having fun on that ride... i wasn't gonna be able to let go of what i felt. whatever...

sunday i got up for our team ride but everybody else was too busy killing it a MTB & TT. i, of course, noticed other cyclists riding around wp. so i inquired about their ride route and informed them that i'd like to tag along if they'd have me. well, i found the big-gun group ride i've been dreaming about! totally radical. had i some foresight, i would have had about 3 less fun juices the night prior. i also woulda brought some calories along for the festivities.

festivities are the best! sunday night was our team party @ black rock. it was a riot. brean and i did shots and played pool. what else do you need to know?

i don't want to hate bikes, not for one damn second! i knew i would if i did TI. i'm disappointed, but i had nothing to prove to anyone but myself. not hating bikes is a good reason, though. ah insight... oh yeah... i'm going to be cat3 in cross for `08. say what!?

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb...

...ball sports

i love them! but the title of this blog is tack or 'cross not bunt or cover 2. i reeeeeeeeeeally want to write a sox/cub post right now but i'm going to refrain. instead i'm going to inform the e-world that i'm getting a professional bike fitting. i have serious issues. i make some kind of adjustment to saddle height/bar angle/fore-aft/etc about once every 2 weeks. i'm as over it as that guy is sarah marshall. so... here's to stimulating the american economy and having a bike that is comfortable all the time! finally... i'll be in the zone!

oh, and for you wind haters:



i hate these people (photo credit to a areaIII anarchist).

i. want. to. go. sailing. NOW!

and, finally, for those who still don't think i'm lazy.... bike still looks like this

i'm a political satirist

2:06 PM kikos: what up bro
me: yo
bored
kikos: "freedom fries!"
2:07 PM was that you?
me: i've never had them... i like the french
i'm a commie
2:08 PM kikos: "it's 5 in the morning!" was that you?
me: ooooooooohhhhh
yes on both accounts
2:09 PM kikos: yeah that's a catchy record
2:10 PM me: i was pleased with it

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 minutes

2:17 PM kikos: did u move in yet
me: yeah
2:18 PM kikos: i don't mean to imply you're not an authentic communist
2:21 PM me: i go back and forth between communist and republican... i just didn't know that you we're talking about that song
kikos: cuz that's basically what democrats are-------commies
2:23 PM me: like i said... no grey area w/ me... it's either free guns to prostitutes or free prostitutes and guns for all

springy

got a call friday nite from the skipper. didn't answer -- thought it a possible 'yard-work' request and i had ride plans for saturday. he called again as i was packing my crusted ass into zach's car. called him back later saturday afternoon. seems there's gonna be yet another tten on the block soon. also, i'll get to hang out with rick strilky (google him) and learn how to vang sheet.

yeah... limestone ass crust... literally. need to take the whip to the car wash or ride it in the rain or jump it in the lake or something. was epic. was hungry afterwards and realized that i need to learn Polish. mj is coming through with some software to teach me. tak. not good was the fact that i ended up @ taco bell again. the only thing that is greater than my love for TB is my love for cereal. target's bougise brand organic stuff is looking good lately! i stuck with a basic blend, but they've got some of what i lovingly refer to as 'affronts to nature' in the hopper. mark my words: i will eat them all. i also think i may have a similar problem that one other ridiculous righty in town has -- i am addicted to caffeine (i pointing at you, god... it's me, kevin). i'll be sure to limit myself to less than 65468mg if i do this TT on sunday. traffic is super sucky to ride in lately, both vehicular and cycliur[sic] so it's appealing for sure.

speaking of the cub (are your ears ringing, julio?), it appears that if my half-assed plans to go see the sox play oakland tonight fall through (& it's lookin' like they will...) my first baseball game of the season may be a reds game (yes, reds. not them -- going with all reds fans, myself included). wtf? i will certainly feel as foreign and out of place as i did on saturday night when i walked to the closest bar in the hood i knew of, the whirlaway, and i was in there by myself until a tight-pantsed-messenger-bagged-but-no-bike dued walked in and i slammed my beer and jetted.

yeah, so... i am a sociopath... so what?!? an anti-social lebanese man said i was dumb... big city girls; pick up your phones. seriously. txt msging iz lmae. don't make me try to meet girls @ wrigley field. do. not. want.

you down with IPP?

...yeah you know me.

ben and i've got a ride planned tomorrow. the weather should be interesting. gotta give mad props to sam from rapid for helping me tune up the jamis. couple last minute touch-ups and she'll be golden. (it's actually green.)

i finished moving some stuff lat night, too. i can finally eat w/ real silverware and dishes, not tupperware and the 1, big plastic spoon i take on the mac. (look reeeeaaaalllly closley at that pic... blue hull aft of everbody else... we got 6th though)

ah.... sailing.... are we there yet? i have a feeling this will be a make or break season for me. i have alot of shit going on this summer that sailing is, essentially, going to take precedence over. i picked up an invite for my 10 year high school reunion from the mail @ my parent's yesterday and found the date to be the saturday of the 2-day chi-waukegan-chi Boat Of the Year port-to-port regatta. i will catch wreck if i miss that shit, so it may be just be like my prom... i'll be getting drunk elsewhere.

the time is now for sailbikes!

butthole surfers

^^^ pic taken YESTERDAY! c/o some dude on SA. must be nice. so f**king jealous.

changes; let it be

preface; so... i'm reading one of the magazines i get @ work -- Association Meetings -- and it totally, randomly mentions, like, 3 things i want to blog about... EVEN DAVID BOWIE!!! how effed up is that?

i think i borke my brain. there have been times i would have loved to be in this state, but not now. no one likes to change things they've grown accustomed to; it goes against human nature. and, no matter how unique you claim to be or different you try to act, change is not good for you. especially initially. a routine helps keep you organized and being organized helps maintain a clear head. toady i got all the way to my front gate (it's kinda far) before realizing i forgot gloves and a lock.

i have issues w/ complacency. it's really lame. i fall victim to it alot, though. while there are many times that i want to completely 'zone out;' in front of the TV, in bed 'til noon, @ the bar w/ a bunch of beers, etc., most of the time i should be doing something productive. having just moved, it would really be in my best interest to proactively try to get some things up and running smoothly. yet, i am having a horrible time adjusting. just the thought of certain tasks makes me almost uncomfortable. my penchant for creativity has also disappeared recently. i sat down last nite w/ both the guitar and the writing utensils and got nothing, zero, dick butkus.

one positive is that i am currently television-less. i'm also w/o internet @ home nor a decent means of listening to music. i have been reading, though, which is good. i just finished this book about The Replacements. Westerberg really had some profound things to say, not only about their music, but about life as a creative individual. some of the ways he portrayed the band's place in music could teach alot of people some valuable lessons on life. it made me feel kinda bad though because, while i share alot of his sentiment, i lack the follow-though. gaining that would be a positive change for sure.

whatever... it's all hunky dory. i've got a new route to work -- elston ave both ways -- which is good because the ever-changing surface of milwaukee ave is the worst. soon enough i'll be less unsatisfied.

maximizing the fun

i love weekends. always have. always will. this past one was no exception. with hillsboro behind me and great weather finally foreseeable, i felt much less pressure to perform on the bike and was most focused on having fun. i've been having some stressful weeks lately and my goal for this weekend was to maximize the fun. i was not going to let anything bike-related deter my quest for utter life enjoyment.

friday afternoon i left work a little early to prep for the riding portion of the weekend. then i went out to the bar for the first time in a while. i had been staying away because of some race-prep i didn't think beer consumption fit into the program for. well... i ran into mike! they also randomly played the replacements' "here comes a regular." it was a trip. --- then i went to see my friends' band play @ beat kitchen, but didn't actually stay long enough to see their set (sorry dudes). i was done for. being overwhelmed by a whirlwind of friends i haven't seen in a hot minute always tires me out. i drank alot of beer too.

saturday i awoke early. re-hydrated. kitted up and ran some errands under the beautiful morning sun. i arrived at ben and julie's, as did zach, and we headed up to whitewater WI to ride. --- we were to stay at teammate dan's lake house and relax afterwards then drive to a race the next day. the drive up was awesome. step 1 to fun maximization was to consume my 1st favorite fast food: taco bell. step 2 was to almost get kicked off the premises of the establishment. step 3 was the remainder of the drive in which i basked in the glow of the rolling countryside. --- the ensuing ride was everything i had hoped for. it was thee embodiment of all the reasons i ride in the first place: good friends. gorgeous weather. beautiful roads. challenges. speed. glory. flatulence. etc. towards the end it was punishing; causing fatigue in that amazing way that's actually euphoric, feeling my legs do something i'd never felt them do before on the last big climb of the day. fun. as. f!*k.
--- the beer started flowing as soon as we finished and i got back in touch w/ my inner pyromaniac after a delicious home-grilled meal.

the fun was not to stop on sunday, but there were times where the maximization was threatened. i woke up to sun blaring in my face across a lake. i ate breakfast #1 and packed up for the "super-crit." breakfast #2 was at taco bell: it was the first moment of non-fun, as it was a horribly feeble attempt at the delicious affronts to nature i know and love TB for. got to the race course and cruised around bullsh%$ting w/ alot of people. then the race began. fun threat level reached orange at about lap 2 or 3 when i heard a crash behind the front. fun threat level reached red a few laps later when a crash happened going into the fastest corner. (teammate, adrian may have been involved, unfortunately, but there were so many crashes neither of us were sure of it.) at that point i was off the back and fine with it. fun threat level yellow. i was even trying to chat up some random dudes and they were ignoring me. it ended up being a slow race and if i felt posed less of a fun level threat i probably could have weaved through alot of the sprint and finished better, but... no dice. no worries either. the fun peaked after we had left the race grounds and i enjoyed a meal at my second favorite purveyor of spectacular culinary creations: hardees. after that i tapered off back into the grey area of fun, where i am at now.

there will be races in the future that i will take more 'seriously,' but this was a weekend to put things in perspective. good results are great for your ego, but doing epic training rides, getting fat on delicious beer and 'food,' and NOT CRASHING are better for my psyche come monday afternoon. i can't help but ask, though, is it cross season yet?!?!?!?!?

(not) alright already

two days. two and i'm already perturbed. i took three days off the bike after Hilly-B. rode a good 30 on Wed. while playing hooky from work. commuted yesterday along the same route i normally would in the morning and then took the same route home except went south on pulaski (not recommended). i was told not to come in to work earlier than 8:30, so today i waited til 7:45 to leave and figured i'd take it real easy despite the fact that i should be riding hard. i don't know if the circus is in town or what, but traffic sucked ass. it was ridiculous. i'm pretty sure i would have been on the road @ the same time regardless of where i left from but this was unlike anything i was used to. getting to the point... i've got some getting used to to do. i'm thinking about doing this route for some extra miles every morning... incorporating some of my old 'training ride' elements. ok... long. story. short: GET @ ME IF U WANT TO RIDE DRTY DUDEZSZ. i no longer break a sweat and i'm considering not even wearing a chamois or jersey to ride to work any more.

to all my faaaaans

now that i've made it big time -- showing up on cbr -- i'd like to point out a few things to people who may be new readers of this blog. i figure that if i air all my dirty laundry now, i can go back to acting like a jagoff in relative obscurity.

1) i'm so NOT over you, sarah marshall. your butt looks so damn GOOD in those jeans and my mom still LOVES you -- she asks about you all the freakin' time.

2) i have an inappropriate, bromantic relationship w/ a goat.

3) my first love, athletically, is not cycling but basketball. kevin garnett and i were switched @ birth.

4) i have a shrine to a yacht in my room

5) i like the eagles.