2 outta 3 ain't bad...

Today's lunch ride ended up being dry! Admittedly, I was a little bummed- I've been enjoying the hard man/ nutjob reputation I've been building (further) in the office. The past 2 days were very rainy, cold and windy. Today was just cold and windy. I finished the ride with a nice hard sprint up the short hill that leads into our parking lot. It was kind of an afterthought, after struggling up the earlier hill toward the office into a crazy-strong headwind, but I was very pleased with the sensation of power getting to the rear tire. I felt strong. I liked it.

Heading out the door...

Standing in the warehouse freezing like a drowned rat...

Part of the power I felt in the sprint no doubt came from the frame, which is the same Scandium prototype I've been riding for more than a year. It's now my "rain bike"- with a blend of Ritchey WCS parts and SRAM Rival drivetrain. The frame is super stiff- lending to that stiffness is the fact the 60cm frame uses the chainstays of a 58cm, so they are super short and keep the rear end MEGA stiff. The frame is an absolute missile! Also lending to that stiffness is the Ritchey WCS Zeta wheels- which I have mentioned before. I love these wheels- sincerely. They are among the best wheels I've ever ridden that weren't built specifically for me. The low profile rim paired with the spoke pattern creates a super stiff wheel that just rails. In the insane winds I was in today and earlier this week, the low profile helped me keep the wheels under control and the bladed Sapim spokes sliced through the wind just fine. All in all, the wheels and frame create an awesome riding machine when stiffness is the order of the day... and chugging into some mean headwinds requires stiffness!

208lbs. That seems to be my current baseline... 208lbs. Now that I'm back on the bike regularly, it's time to start getting serious about my diet again. I've dropped nearly 10lbs since Christmas, but I'm still a few pounds away from that 195 goal and I know I can get there... since I was just there as recently as September. My wife, who is beginning to look HUGE these days, has been very encouraging and has continued to push me to ride and train. I'm enjoying the feeling of getting some power back- all things being relative, 'cause it ain't like I'm about to win le Tour. However... still kicking around the idea of buying the racing license online soon so I can race the Old Guy division of the local crit on 2/7... so we'll see.

I'm not hearing voices in my head yet (well, new ones), but we've gotten tons of the rain we so very desperately need here in SoCal over the past few days. I'm not sure if I've seen heavier rains here since moving to San Diego in 1986, but I know that my drive home tonight was the most challenging one I've had since '86! Wow... tons of standing water on the freeway and nobody sure how to drive in it. It was chaos. If it rains like this for much longer, I'm collecting lumber and animals...


Tim