I was not worthy.
definitely had some good times on this frameset though…it sure was light. posting on craigslist as we speak.
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Tags: cannondale supersix, for sale
how my brother’s phone started independence day.
the best window is no window at all. look how clear the glass is.
staring towards the front from the back.
girafa next to my grandmother’s house.
waiting for fireworks.
seeing 40% of the fireworks was good enough for me.
the opposite of the walk of shame. I rode my cannondale supersix for the last time with the caad10 strapped to my back. but of course, I forgot the 130mm deda stem I wanted the shop to use for the new build, so I had to turn around on mission to pick it up. once I arrived at the shop, the special order tags and pro-build forms came out. most of the things I had ordered were still enroute, and the shop was stacked with bikes to build. the caad10 is planned for next wednesday. I’m seeing my old podiatrist tomorrow regarding my outward foot positioning when walking. it’s causing my knee to hyperextend and putting too much pivot in my hip since my current walking “technique” no longer utilizes the full length of my right foot. it’s as if I’m only stepping with my heel, and not my arch and the front half of my foot. I’m also trying to schedule my bike fittings for next thursday/friday.
so we will see.
Tags: cannondale caad10, cannondale supersix, daily, freewheel hayes, san francisco
the start/finish banner couldn’t have been any more self explanatory. our e4 race started extra early because race promoters didn’t have a cat5 race – steve and I showed up a hair before 6am to get ready for the race at 7am. I warmed up on the trainer to get my legs going for the short 40 minute race ahead. oddly enough, it didn’t feel awkward being on the bike after resting for a whole week. my knee was nagging at me, but I figured for the last crit of my season, it was worth it.
I headed over to the closed course to ride around for a few minutes before the race started. justin was out there, ready to cheer us on as his ribs and collarbone healed up. at the line, we were about 40+ riders deep: steve (chica sexy), percy (my twin in a freewheel kit), zach, vitaly (colavita), joshua (roaring mouse), and a handful of other people I’m probably forgetting. laps would count down once we had 10 to go. the course was fast, flat, and poorly paved in certain sections. once the whistle blew, I knew it was going to be a fun one.
the picture above is taken from the reverse direction of the race. from the start finish, the course turns 90* right into a wide street, 90* right again, 90* left, 90* right, and then a sweeping right turn towards the line. steve was positioning himself in the pack, he was riding really well near the front. after a couple laps, I decided to feel out my legs in the front of the group. I moved up the left side of the pack and picked a spot right in the front. after a lap or so, I pulled off, dropping back into the middle of the pack. and unfortunately, race officials announced a prime lap just as I slipped back. $30 cash and some girl scout cookies sounded great.
it was just my luck that the pace started ramping up as I tried to catch my breath in the pack. I was just a hair behind a rider, who was barely catching the draft of the pack. half the field was missing, and more continued to fall back as we went around. a two man break formed after some time, with a 3rd rider attempting to bridge. I was riding steadily in the back of the pack, picking my way past riders dropping off the pack. as we came around the only 90* left turn on the backside, a rider came in hot from the right. the two riders in front of him were already riding close. as the rider came into the turn, he realized he couldn’t squeeze in, his body went upright as he grabbed his brakes to slow. the bike went straight, taking out 5+ riders to the right of him. I was able to slide by the inside of the whole thing, nearly avoiding the collision. half of the metal barriers went down on the side as riders and their bikes smashed over everything. I was just hoping that everyone was okay. I saw marc standing there to watch the race as well, he was right in front of it.
we rode on, missing even more people from our pack. as we came back around, the accident seemed as if it was taken care of, only a san jose bike club cyclist stood on the side, waving to the ref. we had about 8 laps to go, the rider could still snag a free lap. we came around, and there he was, getting a push from the neutral zone. joshua from roaring mouse reeled in the 3 man break, we were all back together. steve slipped back towards me and it became clear that neither of us had the legs to hang on the front and sprint for a win. I was infinitely okay with this outcome. I was/am just glad that we avoided the crash, and the individuals involved weren’t seriously injured.
I honestly have no idea who won, it wasn’t anyone I knew. as I was packed up to leave, I saw jimmy (taleo) and remember that fergus and dave (chica sexy) would be racing in the e3′s. I figured I should stick around to watch them, it was still hilariously early on a sunday morning.
my supersix’s doppelganger. jimmy recently bought a quarq for his setup. he’s got 22 points so far, and he’ll be a cat2 by the end of the season, no doubt. nothing short of impressive, considering he started the season as a cat5. I’m really stoked for him because acquiring points isn’t easy, no matter what kind of racing a person is doing.
while walking back to the corner where I saw marc, I saw percy chilling at starbucks. he was contemplating doing the 35+ cat4 race…after already racing the e4 race. percy is another great motivator, the guy is a dad, still races, and still places. marc, steve, vitaly, and I watched from the 90* left as the e3 race started. fergus, dave, naveen and joseph (metromint), ryan (team mike’s bikes), and jimmy were all racing.
small breaks formed, but nothing stuck. everyone was riding really well, notably fergus who was top 10 every single lap. with two laps to go, we migrated to the start/finish. on the second to last lap, there was an accident on the backside of the course. jimmy went down, and a handful of others, from what he told me. big bummer, but luckily, everyone seemed okay.
it was an awesome course to race and watch. thanks to justin for coming out and cheering us on. my last crit, a success.
Tags: cannondale supersix, race, spotted, summer, weather
it was still light outside when my head hit the pillow last night. the nyquil was kicking in and I was praying my throat felt better by morning. after all, pescadero would be my last (planned) road race of the season because of my job situation. for a few seconds, I felt like I was in preschool again. sleeping early, fighting off some minor sickness, and the whole-body tingle that is nyquil.
the e4 race started at 7:45 in pescadero. I haven’t driven down highway 1 in years. but a nostalgic feeling overcame me as I drove, remembering the time I had ridden my pista concept down to santa cruz on the same highway. there were about 8 of us, I think – noah and I were the only ones on brakeless track bikes. I kept driving, taking the contour of the coast…I don’t really think I’d ever ride brakeless down to santa cruz again. and definitely not with a hed3 and clips/straps.
anyway, I arrived early enough to get a parking spot at the school we were starting the race at. once registration opened, I stood in the long line, checked in, pinned my number, and waited. the registration was full as of last night, but it was highly unlikely that the e4 field would be completely stacked. steve (chica sexy) was 11th on the waiting list, and was still able to race. at the line, we were briefed about the 28-mile course. we would be racing 1.7 laps, the finish line was a couple miles short of the parking lot. we were roughly 70 riders deep. out of the pack, I knew steve, reed (3rd pillar), marc and will (chica sexy), john (mike’s bikes), jake, vitaly (colavita), jason (de la paz, in a freewheel kit), and derek (buy-cell). big numbers for a big road race, it felt like mt. hamilton all over again.
we made our way onto the course, led by a motorcycle ref. after making our way through the town, and out onto a road, the race started. we passed a line for the sprint prime – the race official that briefed us on the course didn’t even know what the prize would be for the prime. everyone agreed that it’d probably be a mix of a firm handshake, a grin, and a pat on the back. the road rolled along and flattened out at the base of the first small climb. the climb itself wasn’t particularly steep, but it was enough to break up the group a bit. I moved through a couple people to hold a spot near the middle of the pack.
a short descent followed, and led straight into another small climb, slightly steeper than the first, but shorter in distance. the road crested and a descended once more. the course turned right onto a fairly flat section of road. not even 5 minutes later, a rider on the outside of the bunch moved inwards, overlapping wheels with another rider, and causing them to both go down about 2 wheels in front of me. I looked quickly to my right, noticed a small pocket was available, and I swooped in before my front wheel came into contact with a downed bike. everyone in the back caught back up to the group. we were all riding comfor–
the sound of bikes hitting the ground. the sight of a downed rider, wait, 2, 3, 4 riders. I looked up the road for oncoming traffic, noticed it was clear, and jumped across the double yellow for a second to avoid the accident. the road was still fairly flat, and more than wide enough to fit 4-5 riders across. it was a bit disconcerting. we had already had 2 small, flatland accidents and we hadn’t even completed a lap yet.
another right turn, slightly uphill towards the feed. the road curved downwards and eventually led into haskins hill, the final climb to the finish line. it reminded me of the climb out of alpine dam, heading towards 7 sisters, minus the numerous turns. riders were all over the road. I managed to squeeze past a couple, holding onto the back of the main pack. the 2km sign finally showed. then the 1km. and finally the 100m. but it felt three times as long to the line, for some reason. once we crested, the road just dropped. the descent wasn’t as steep as mt. hamilton, nor was it as technical. but that made for a much faster pace. and I wasn’t particularly comfortable with it. I was riding behind a rider with a bottle cage mount on his saddle/seatpost, with his legs neutral in the turns. on one of the turns, he locked up his rear tire, and that scared the living daylights out of me.
I was passed by numerous riders on the way down. it finally flattened out, and the pack was within my sights just a couple hundred feet away. a dropped rider traded pulls with me, but we weren’t getting closer to the group. he dropped back, and I chased alone for a few minutes. a group of 8 guys came up from behind me, the dropped rider and vitaly in the mix. we had a haphazard pace line going, but it didn’t seem like we were going to be catching the group. we passed by the parking lot, wiggled through town, and passed the sprint prime.
no one was switching pulls at the front, vitaly was doing all the work, so I moved up to take a dig. as the road flattened towards the first climb, I saw the pack ahead of us. they were a minute (maybe a bit more) ahead of us. I pushed the pace on the climbs, and by time we had hit the flat section (where the 2 accidents occurred) we had only 5 riders, including myself. we were trading pulls, keeping the pace fairly consistent, but at one point, one of the guys in the group moved out towards vitaly. my heart jumped as their elbows met in front of me. I’m not sure who saved it, but the accident was avoided. thank goodness.
more flatland, and gradual rolling roads. we took the right and I snagged a neutral water. I looked back to only see the initial chase rider that I had on the descent. we traded pulls, deciding not to wait up for the others. haskins hill popped up. after a while, the guy I was riding with said farewell to me, falling off my wheel. I continued on to the top alone, passing john, and nearly catching a dropped roaring mouse rider from the pack. I passed the line a bike length away from him. I guess it didn’t really matter if I was 6 or 7 places from last, but it’s the thought that counts.
the descent and ride back to the parking lot felt much longer than a couple miles. I spun out my legs and sipped on my neutral water bottle, thankful that I had picked one up on the way up. I caught up with jake and a couple others near the parking lot. jake was up there in the pack and had finished 2nd place, congrats! will, marc, and steve were all up in the top 15, as well. if I felt more comfortable with descending, I might’ve been up there as well. I packed the car and started the drive back. my knee felt trashed, and my ankles ached. but it was a great course, and I’m glad to have made it my last road race of the season.
next up, burlingame crit next weekend. my last crit! I’m still eagerly waiting for my caad10 to show up at mike’s bikes as well. I’m picking up some speedplay pedals with the cash I’ve made selling random components off craigslist. and once the supersix sells, I’ll get my bikes fit. july is going to be badass.
Tags: cannondale supersix, race, spotted
the last time I was in benicia or vallejo? hmm, never. it was odd veering off i-80 and heading east. initially, it was kind of a double suck because of the toll fees. one crossing carquinez, and then the bay bridge on the way back. and benicia was just so close from the carquinez…why couldn’t have been on the other side of the bridge, saving me $5…anyway, I showed up at jensen park, thinking there’d be a parking lot somewhere, but after talking to a corner watcher, I found out that the reg booth was on the other end of the course, near the water. so off to the water I went.
what a badass view from the waterfront. I registered, pinned my number, and set up the trainer. it was turning out to be a warm day without too much wind, which would make for a fast race. I didn’t get a chance to pre-ride the course, since the e5 riders were still rolling around. but by time I rode around the block and came back around, it was time to line up. I met a fellow reader named alex (good to meet you!), but didn’t really see anyone else I knew. there were about 35 riders registered for the race when I checked last night, including jason (de la paz), but at the line, he was mia.
above is the map that the race flyer provided. we had a neutral lap around the course, and it became apparent that it was far from a pancake profile. f, 1st, and 2nd street (basically the ones heading north) were all slightly uphill. it was subtle, but noticeable while going around. some of the turns had drainage dips in them, which made for a fast and bouncy apex. we had 2 or 3 primes, and when they were announced, the pace ramped up hard. riders strung out nearly the entire length of the straights and they kept the pace high. I was in the back, again, hanging out.
the 40 minutes went by in a flash, and pretty soon, we were down to just a couple laps to go. I was able to hang onto the back of the group, but various riders dropped off, possibly with flats or mechanicals. there was a break of a rider or two, and on the second to last lap, he still had 12 seconds on the rest of the group. he might’ve been reeled in on the final turn, but I couldn’t see much. I wiggled past a couple stragglers off the back and crossed the line. it was an awesome course, much more technical than it initially looked. as soon as you were at speed, there was another turn approaching. and each turn was so unique that it was hard to just power through them all. the gentle sloping straights tended to slow the group down a lot as well.
with the race set earlier in the day, I was able to make it back to san francisco in less than an hour, beating the sunday slew of traffic. next week is the pescadero road race, which should be a blast.
Tags: cannondale supersix, race, spotted, weather
today was the joseph mendes criterium out in pleasanton, just a short hour away from the city. initially, it felt odd waking up early to drive out to the east bay, since last week I had no racing at all. the topsport stage race was cancelled due to low registration numbers, and the weather was fairly wet through the weekend. it was gloomy out there today, but there wasn’t any rain. and the wind was heavy across the course, but it seemed better than having wet asphalt. the e4 race started bright and early at 8:00am, the first race of the day. it would be a short 40 minutes around the closed course around the industrial park.
percy (in the freewheel kit) and vitaly (colavita). tim (chica sexy) was also in attendance, as well as a handful of san jose bike club members, webcor, and various others. we were about 45 riders deep at the line. the whistle sounded, and we rounded the course. it was flat, wind blown, and had a long, sweeping right turn, and 3 90* right turns. two primes were thrown into the mix as the laps ticked down. I spent the majority of the race fiddling in the back of the group. I haven’t been on the road bike since mount hamilton, and the constant knee discomfort has been a pain, literally. I’m well overdue for a bike fitting, but until then, I’m hanging tough, trying to avoid injury while racing/riding. the fixed gear has much more float and a wider q-factor, making it an ideal ride in the mean time. but I digress…
the wind was heavy on the backside of the course, and small breaks formed throughout the race, none of them sticking. sharp accelerations were made on the final turns as the wind let up towards the start/finish. then riders mushroomed outwards as the wind hit coming around the backside. luckily, the course was wide and well-paved, providing lots of wiggle room for everyone swerving to avoid the wind, and the numerous bot dots. the last lap came around and a roaring mouse rider had a small gap near the front. as we rounded the second to the last turn, his gap had grown significantly. he was taking full advantage of the low wind, and riders near the front of the group picked up the pace, motivated to catch him. on the last turn, he was caught – I really thought he’d get to the line solo, he put in a huge effort. the sprint came, and I landed myself a spot near the back. tim ended up placing 3rd, and percy took 12th.
look at tim, haha. we stuck around for a bit longer to watch the 35+ master’s cat4 race, since percy was racing again. we cheered (…heckled) him on, lap after lap. it must’ve helped because he landed 4/5th, getting boxed in near the end. not bad, quite a big improvement from the previous race. and considering he had just raced earlier in the day, it was pretty badass. I was proud of my older freewheel twin.
I’m still a fan of bricks.
mavic cosmic carbone’s on a master’s bike. ballin’.
stopped by freewheel on the way back home and caught up with justin, maggie, and ace. justin took a spill on memorial day, breaking his collarbone, and a couple ribs. he’s recovering quick, and has a low track frame hanging up in the shop. the components on the look 464 will be swapped over, and the frame possibly sold for a cyclocross rig.
this guy knows how to support your local. do you? get well soon, justin.
Tags: cannondale supersix, freewheel hayes, race, spotted, spring, track bike, weather
ben hit me up earlier in the week about doing a chill paradise loop, we picked today. we met up at the bridge and left shortly thereafter. he brought out his cousin’s moots vamoots with super record 11. it was quite the looker, and silky smooth. we had a good time reminiscing on all the time we spent in marin in track bikes. I haven’t seen his yamaguchi in forever. I was on my cannondale track back then too…ah, good times. they blend well with the previous good times him and I had in preschool. we go way back, haha!
I foresee more chill rides in the future. good seeing you out, ben. and thanks for the tacos!
Tags: cannondale supersix, paradise loop, spotted
up at 5am to get ready for the mt. hamilton road race. out of the house a bit before 6am, and on the road shortly thereafter. mt. hamilton…I had heard so much about this race all season from various cyclists. the long, grueling climb awaited us, but from what alex (cat3, taleo) had told me about the course, it wasn’t won on the first portion. the initial 20 mile climb up to the top of the observatory was just the beginning of the race. 40 miles of various rolling terrain would await racers…
after arriving in san jose, registering, and doing the number pinning dance with 2 numbers (on the left side, and on the back), alex’s roommate, westley, took my car and proceeded to follow the cat1 caravan before the course was closed off. he would be driving the course, taking photographs of racers, and eventually meeting us at the end, so we wouldn’t have the ride the 45 miles back to the car parking lot. cyclists that did the race as well as the ride back would be subject to 100+ miles, more than half of which were hilly, racing miles. looking back, I’m definitely glad to have been fortunate enough to know someone (that knew someone) to drive my car to the finish. it was a demanding race.
so westley left, and alex’s race was shortly after. the elite 4′s would be starting at 9:15, I had nearly an hour before I needed to be anywhere. after witnessing a latex tube exploding outside of the men’s bathroom, sitting around, spinning on city streets, and catching up with various riders, it was time to line up. our field looked fair, possibly 50-55 riders deep, including marc and will (chica sexy), derek (sports basement), isaac (dolce vita), vitaly (colavita), reed (3rd pillar), and a handful of other guys I knew. we were neutral, rolling out from just outside the school parking lot, and headed out to the road that would eventually lead to the observatory at the top of mt. hamilton.
as riders got their legs warmed up to the race, the pace slowly began to ramp up. it was subtle, but after a couple miles of gradual climbing, it was apparently that the pace wouldn’t slow for anything. well, except for overlapping wheels. 2 riders in the middle of the pack went down, possibly because of some lateral movement, and the back of the pack, slowly crept around the two downed riders. that scattered the group for a second, I was near the back, and everyone around me had to hustle back to the group to catch wheels. it wasn’t looking so dense anymore. our group had lost a handful of riders already, and more seemed to drop off after the descent.
yes, there was a descent after several miles. it opened back up to more climbing, and I completely forgot we were still on the same mountain. we were still climbing mt. hamilton. the road started creeping up once more. riders near the front stomped the pace and we began making our way to the observatory at roughly 4000ft elevation. I’ve never been on a climb for so long before. it seemed endless. I was 16th wheel back from the front racer, there was only 1 rider behind me. we had dropped more than half of the e4 field, and we hadn’t even raced 20 miles yet. just 5k to go to the top. at the sign, I looked up to see the observatory. it didn’t seem so far away. but the road switched back and forth, crossing closer to the top each time, we were far from the top.
as the 200m sign popped, riders in the group of 15 punched it, gapping me as the descent started. it was steep, twisty, bumpy, and technical. there weren’t many rails, and as I made my way down, it became apparent that I’d be riding in no man’s land for a while. possibly until the end of the race. it was unfortunate, but I wasn’t comfortable in the descent at all. the long, fairly steep roads were just straight frightening. I saw one rider changing out a rear tube, his side scuffed up from a fall. then 2 more riders were in a ditch, a motorcycle ref beside them. I was passed by will, and a handful of other e4′s.
the road finally flattened out for a second. it rolled past a neutral feed. it rolled into another descent. john (team mike’s bikes) and reed caught and passed me up. more rollers, more flats. and honestly, I lost track of how the road contoured around. I remember it flattening out for a bit, heading into another neutral feed. a group of 4 racers from my category passed me up. I was gassed, and my legs were shot from the hard effort on the climb. riding solo through the gusty rollers probably didn’t help much either. a slender hill gradually carved through the canyon. I caught some cyclists that weren’t in my category, and started to feel decent again. I paced in front of a 45+ master for a mile or two before pulling to the side to let him pass. so much for that decent feeling…
we were still 10+ miles out from the line. all the riding I had done past the 20 mile point had been alone, and it was starting to take it’s toll on my legs. I wanted to finish and be done with the race, but there was still so much technical terrain left. more winding roads, more gradual inclines and declines…isaac passed me with a webcor cyclist and yelled out to me, “you can go faster than that!”. I knew he was right, but in the moment, I was feeling horrible. I didn’t have the legs to go. not now.
the road opened back up into an awesome landscape, and I was swooped up by derek and another cyclist. I hung onto the back, thinking I’d get popped off within a couple minutes, but I started feeling better, and moved to the front to drive the pace. the road curved up, down, around, and every single direction imaginable. the descent came, and I hung back, knowing my downhill handling skills were bad. a small group of 3 riders formed and finished together as the road turned right, and straight into the line. I finished behind them, finally glad the race was over. I probably placed 20+ riders back, many, many minutes after the lead group had finished. not overly disappointed, just deeply exhausted.
the course was challenging. it was perfect for an all-arounder. someone that had climbing ability, flatland speed/power, and that could descend like a hero. in the e3 category, that person is daniel (team mike’s bikes). he broke away near the end and finished a couple minutes ahead of everyone else in the field, solo. congrats on the win, daniel. that’s nothing short of impressive.
Tags: cannondale supersix, race, spotted, spring, weather
all clean for the weekend!
Tags: cannondale supersix
non toxic revolution – an offshoot of the keep a breast foundation. interesting poster placement on the side of a produce market.
slightly damp.
before.
after.
then I dropped the ball on alex, initially showing up to hill repeats in plain clothes…I swear he said (re)peat(zza), or something to that degree. we still got in some quality climbing, some quick calculations on google earth show 12-13% gradients on the 2 sections we hit repetitively.
Tags: cannondale supersix, rain, san francisco, spring, weather