CRIT practice is not AYSO !

Spring is one week old and the Fred's have a ruined a few more cycling lives. Its a sad commentary but its the current state of cycling. Any Fred with a new bike and a new kit can roll out at Crit practice and take everyone out. Why, Because you cant look at or tell anyone how to ride a bike anymore. They don't listen , they can not be told anything. The current state of rider is a guy with a Wishbone and not a Backbone. If a JT tells him what to do he rides straight home and cry to his fucking wife. Last night a few more people spent the night in a hospital with tubes coming out of there bodies. Well, I guess that's better than someone getting there feelings hurt. If you dont know how to ride in a pack, you don't belong at CRIT practice. If you are on a TT bike you dont belong at CRIT practice. If you are not reading my blog, you don't belong at CRIT practice !!!!!

1. Overlapping Wheels. When riding in a bunch, the golden rule is DO NOT OVERLAP WHEELS. What is meant by “overlapping wheels” is that you shouldn’t ride behind someone in a position where your front wheel is ahead of his rear wheel. This gives me an excuse to use my mini-peloton to illustrate:

As you can see by the red arrow, Rider X (let’s imagine he races for Total Rush) is overlapping wheels with the Rider Y (he races for O2Networks). When Rider Y suddenly pulls out to dominate the sprint in the SKCC Club Champs this Sunday, RiderX has no where to go, his front wheel will clip RiderY’s rear wheel, and RiderX will likely go down. It’s up to RiderX to be careful of the movements of those ahead of him. If you keep overlapping wheels, it’s a sure way to come down in a bunch.

There will always be some degree of overlapping wheels when riding in a bunch, but it’s a bad position to put yourself in. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that you are responsible for your front wheel, not the person ahead.

2. The second crash. When riding in a bunch and you hear that awful sound of carbon and metal cracking and sliding along the pavement behind you, there’s often a second crash quickly after. This is caused by the riders looking behind them to see what happened. When you hear a crash behind you, don’t panic and continue as you were. Unless of course you’re concerned about the rider who might have crashed…(that doesn’t happen here in our bunch rides)

3. Braking while cornering. Most crashes happen on corners. The most common thing that happens is the front wheel washes out and before you know it you’re sliding along the pavement. The biggest thing to remember is not to suddenly grab your brakes while in the middle of a corner. When braking, the weight of the bike and rider moves forward and the front tyre makes the transition from unloaded to loaded. Making this change too quickly won’t allow the front tyre cope with the sudden requirement for additional traction. Progressively using the back brake settles the rear and affects how the weight is distributed during braking (which should only be done in a straight line).

All of your braking should be done before you enter the corner while you are upright (not leaning). If you arrive at corner and suddenly recognise that you are going too fast, straighten the bike and feather the brakes (more rear than front) and get into it again.

4. Changing your line in the middle of a corner. This comes back to entering a corner at the correct speed. When you decrease the radius of your turn, you’ll increase the amount of force pushing you to the outside of the corner. This is when your front tyre can potentially wash out.

5. Too much tyre pressure. This is one of the biggest mistakes made by new cyclists. There’s a misconception that more tyre pressure is better and makes you faster. It’s astonishing how many people pump up their clinchers to 140psi, the road gets a little bit wet, and then someone comes-off though a corner.

6. Riding differently on wet roads. The same rules apply on wet roads as they do on dry roads, however you need to be extra careful and let down your tyre pressure. I have no problem with riding at 90 PSI on wet roads. Many people will change their technique on wet roads. The only difference between wet roads and dry roads is that flaws in technique will be amplified and potentially dangerous.

There are many things you have no control of out on the road, but recognising which situations to stay away from and how to handle your bike properly are the first steps to staying upright.

60 Day DL

2 weeks ago I was taken down on a group ride. We were going 18 mph on a flat road. We had been in the saddle for 4 hours at mile 80. The day was sunny and dry. It was not a race. We were riding in a double pace line. It was the safest stretch of pavement I have ridden on in the last 5 years and now I have a broken arm.

As of today I am retired from cycling it's not a voluntary decision yet because I have a broken arm and don't have a choice, but I will say that with every day I spend off the bike I can't imagine ever getting back on one.

In the move Fever Pitch the question is asked. You love the Red Sox but have they ever loved you back. Nope cycling has never loved me back.

Never Gets Old

Reward for Information

I was at the Loma Linda Post office last Sunday, when I saw the above picture and the caption. Missing local cyclist. last seen on Barton road heading west.

Well, good news Abel has not been abducted, he has relocated to the Chinchilla area to join the family business and work on his golf game.

Abel was a regular on all the teams and team rides. He rolled raincross, Tuesday nights and crit. The triple crown to those of us in the know. Abel has since confided in me that he was never a cyclist but took up the sport to get in with the higher ups in the Allied Health department. I did the same thing to meet chicks.. It was just a fluke that he climbed the local cycling scene so quickly he said.

Abel said he had pretty much accomplished all he could here in the 909 and it was time to move on. His highlights here included having a baby, marrying one of the better looking cyclists wives, attending Camp Chopper, owning the bitches on the Haystack ride and of course being involved in Crit Riot. Yep Abel left a big mark here in the 909.

On behalf of the Team Redlands unofficial blog we all want to wish Abel and his family good luck on their new journey and his new hobby. We look forward to some pictures from the Golf Haystack foursome. Hit em straight !

Listen to Yogi Bear

1st Warning Letter

Today I received a letter in the mail warning me that I am in violation of Article 2 section 3 of the Team Redlands cycling code and handbook. I was told that I had received this manual and read it a few years back.

Here is an excerpt of the letter:

Dear Chopper:

This last weekend was quite an embarrassment to all of us here at Team Redlands. Your lack of fitness and preparation on the Rain Cross ride was inexcusable. If you find yourself unfit to ride with the A group you might want to find a new team.

Team Redlands was founded on the tradition of great riders like Reid, Big E, JT and Freeman to name a few.  Just one bad outing from a TR rider stands to sully the fine tradition we have worked so hard to establish.

Consider this your first and last warning. We are glad to see you have bought a Gran Fondo kit because another day like Saturday and your gonna need two.

Sincerely,

Ride Secretary General

PS: We don't care how old you are , what medical problems you wine about or that the Red Sox lost 100 games last year.

Election Day

Its election day in Ohio and Florida. I love the electoral college. Where else can you find your fate decided by such a small group of people ?

Last week the delegates from two factions of Team Redlands decided the fate of the upcoming cycling kit. These two groups can aptly be put into two groups. The people I had never met and the people I have never ridden with.

Hopefully next year we can get more than 8 percent of the team out to vote. In the mean time you can always ask yourself what can you do for Team Redlands not what Team Redlands can do for you. Lets all get more active this year. Support the juniors, help out at the women's clinic, come out for the Wednesday night ride, sign up to help out at the classic, take a pull at the Rain Cross ride, don't be a dick at the bike shop, help Freeman at the Tuesday night worlds, fill in a pothole, bring a baked good to crit practice or some cut up oranges.

The opportunities are endless when you area part of a cycling team this big. Because at the end of the day I would like to think you didn't just join for a 20 percent discount did you ?

Jimmy V

Team Meeting follow up

Here is an e-mail the unofficial blog received today:

Dear unofficial blog

Instead of sleeping I am writing this e-mail. Earlier this evening I attended the Team Redlands meeting. I still can't believe I am a part of TR, It seems like just last year I was buying a bike and some Pearl Izumi shorts. Maybe because that was just last year.

I don't want to get into my beliefs or the upcoming election. Let's just say I am very conservative. I have never passed gas in front of my wife.

I really wanted to vote for the "fun" kit but I just couldn't do it. See I don't really want to stand out from all the other teams wearing red,white and black in the so cal cycling scene. The other kit just looked right , something about it just seemed familiar. It's like I have seen it before and I like that.

I went out to the car after the meeting and my current years kit was on the passenger seat. That's when it hit me. The kit I just voted for is exactly like last years except it is turned upside down. Crap.

Should I have voted for the Eddie Van Halen kit. What would it have felt like to roll up to the Ontario 30+ 4/5 with that kit. Would I have heard " riding with the devil" .Would my game have risen to match my kit. Would I finally be able to pass gas in front of my wife !

Anyhow I hope we get a chance to vote again I didn't see many of the players there who would have voted for the kit. I know Padgett, Abel, Welsh, Bryer, Lanza etc would all vote for the " fun" kit. Because I guess I just realized this is supposed to be fun even if I can't......

LANCE ARMSTRONG

It’s been a few days since the Lance Armstrong debacle. I have sat back quietly. I have read the 202 page USADA report. Watched as Nike and Michelob have distanced themselves and then finally Lance himself step away from LiveStrong Foundation.

To the casual observer of the sport this is coming as a surprise. To anyone who knows the difference between a chain stay and a bottom bracket this is older news than the Hindenburg.

Sports are entertainment. That’s it. The game or event we watch is meant to entertain you. In America we have four major sports. Attempting to enhance those products through any means necessary has always been job #1.

The NFL sells a video called the greatest hits video. In the video you can watch bone shattering helmet to helmet hits. It cost 29.99. The NFL also fines its players for these same hits.

If you want your sports real you should be watching wrestling. In wrestling you could watch Hulk Hogan v Rowdy Roddy Piper. No chance Vince McMahon is going to suspend the title 3 years later because Super Fly Snooka was doping. See wrestling bills itself as entertainment and you are in fact entertained. They don’t dupe you into watching 162 baseball games. Only to find out that Brian Braun won the batting title then tested positive for a banned substance. 

So what’s it all mean for cycling and Lance? How far down the top 10 in the 2002 TDF do you have to go? Is there a rider who trained only on mountain spring water and quinoa? Pretty far and probably not.

For me Lance always got a pass. Why? Because he paid it forward. His creation of The LiveStrong foundation and the support of cancer patients worldwide.

You didn’t buy a yellow bracelet because Lance won a bike race did you? I thought you were supporting the fight against cancer?

You didn’t buy a “I ride for sticker “and put it on you bike because Lance won a bike race did you?

Okay I get it. Maybe it was never about Cancer for you guys for me that all it’s ever been about. Lance beat Cancer. I knew he didn’t beat a drug test.

If Lance’s efforts helped just one person in the fight and support of cancer. For that admire Lance. He may have failed those drug tests and for that he should be stripped of his titles. No questions asked.

As for Nike and Michelob. lets just hope they can get together and create a beer that a 12 year old 25 cent per hour factory worker in the Loon Kong Province can enjoy on there 10 minute lunch break one day.

Wednesday night ride

Its winter here in Redlands. The leaves are changing the temps are dipping into the low 90s and its time for the Wednesday night nighthawk ride.

The nighthawk ride is a big time evening training ride. All participants are required to have a front and rear light on thier trusty Trek. The ride leave from Stells in Redlands at 6:30 pm every Wednesday night all winter long.

The pace of the Nighthawk ride is an all out sausage fest of half wheeling, attacking in the parking lot. KOM surges for no reason what so ever and unexplained sprints every time someone sees a trash can or a fire hydrant.

That was a joke or was it ?

The ride has a climb up Wabash that allows for a faster skinnier rider to go up a hill easier. That rider will wait at the top for the rest of the regular sized riders. Then all the riders will contiune on to sunset for a couple laps. If you are mocked by the smaller rider let Scott Welsh know we dont want anyone to get fussy or have thier feelings hurt.

PS: Anyone who goes " FULL SAUSAGE " will get a nighthawk quad punch.

Hawaii 50

Its been one month since my last post. That may be a record or a sign of things to come. On August 10th I turned 50. The party was limited to only 5 people who ride bikes and there Twinkies. The only instructions I gave were to have plenty of hookers and blow and under no circumstances did I want to look around the room and thank I was at a Bike classic meeting or a Team Redlands function.

If you ride a bike and didn't get one of the party lottery spots consider yourself lucky I vomited for 3 days and am now getting e-mails from a girl on meet an inmate.com

The big 50 party has come and gone. I am now really freaking old and if you think I was bad in my 40's you ain't seen nothing yet. With the early onset of Dementia I fear this Blog will go the path of a senior waiting outside AAA for a map.

Now that I am 50 you may want to get some ear plugs on the Saturday ride. Because if the 50 year old guy with bad knees, hip, skin cancer and a failing liver chase after the up the hill option and you don't......

Thanks for all the well wishes now turn down that rock n roll and will somebody answer that damn phone for the love of god.

Tube Tuesday

As many of you know the local bike shop Cyclery USA offers a special on Tuesdays. Buy 2 tubes get one free, it's called tube Tuesdays. I always take advantage of Tube Tuesdays.

Last week I rode on Thorn Thursday. I picked up no less than 3 thorns on my ride and discovered many other riders had experienced the same peril. Coincidence maybe or is their a connection between Thorn Thursday and Tube Tuesday ?

Please keep all thorns you have picked up in the last 10 days. I will be collecting samples and forwarding them to the USDA and BLM for review.

If their is a connection between Tube Tuesdays and Thorn Thursdays The unofficial Blog will find out. Until then keep your eyes peeled for rogue thorns.

Hoosier Summer

The Summer of Chopper continued in July with the annual trip to Indiana. Nothing says the 4th of July like the mid-west. This summer has seen the worst draught since the 50's. The corn was only 2 feet tall and the lake was so low you couldn't put the boat in.

In Indiana they play baseball, football and basketball and they ride bikes. The thing I love about Hoosiers is they just do it. They play sports. No douche bags or hey look at me people.

Ever wonder why the greatest sports movies were staged in the state of Indiana. Here are arguably the best sports movies ever produced.

Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman and Jimmy Chitwood. " Don't get caught watching the paint dry". Rudy starring the Golden Dome and Notre Dame. "This is the greatest sight these eyes have seen" and of course Breaking Away a true story about the little 500 held annually at IU and the " Cutters " beating the rich IU frat boys at cycling.

Do yourself a favor this summer and watch a Hoosier movie based somewhat upon a real story with a happy ending. Because God knows we all love a Happy ending.

Red Sox v. The Evil Empire tonight

Attention Defecit ...............

It's not that I'm lazy its that I just don't care. Truer words have never been spoken. Thanks Paul Rudd. I have to say getting up the strength to fire off a blog post on the old commodore 64 has reached a level of historic boredom.

I think its still because at the root of it all I am writing about exercises. Can you really make exercises sound exciting. I guess thats why  its not just enough to join a exercise cult but do you have to put a sticker on your car and buy a t-shirt and wear some hey look at me socks. Yes, we are all looking at you.

If you do 50 push up and you don't tell anyone do you still get the benefits. I don't know maybe.

The TDF did not hold my interest either. I was bored at watching the 2nd tier rider on each team show up the main GC contender. The continual looking back to make sure the pace was just right for Wiggo was the final straw. I turned the channel to the British Open and cheered for Tiger because of his family values.

Fore !

Block Party ?

Did you know that some Team Redlands riders have streets named after them. On a recent ride I came across this gem. Now I know that El Jeffe is kinda a big deal in the Yuciapa area but I had no idea he had this kind of clout.

This got me thinking who else on the team has a street named after them. Here are the results of my search. In Highland they have a Manning Court. Lots of barking dogs. In Redlands they have JT circle and in Mentone they don't have a street named after him but here is a Tickmeyer brewing center.

Team Redlands always ahead of the curve.

TDF Predictions

You can wake up at 4:30 am every morning for the next three weeks, or we can save your marriage right now and tell you who is going to win the Tour de France.

This will be the easiest repeat in TDF history since Lucien Petit-Breton 1908 and 1909 victories. Cadel's BMC squad is built around Cadel and he's Australian mate.

Cadel Evans winner of your 2012 TDF you heard it here first.

Giada Borgato Hello

Before the blog heads to France for the upcoming TDF lets make a quick stop in Italy. Giada missed Wicam. She is the current Italian Road race champion. her favorite foods are Sushi, she enjoys taking long walks on the beach and reading my blog.