Wiped...

I had a great time in Taiwan, but the jetlag is really beating me up. I've been fading in and out ever since returning last Wednesday around midnight. Hopefully I'll be back to "normal" soon...


... hopefully.

Tim

"Rubber side down"

Tonight, I rushed out the door of Masi Global Domination HQ so that I could make it to the Fiesta Island training crit series. I raced the first one of the year about 3 weeks ago, at the start of Daylight Savings and managed to cling to the back of the front group for the entire 45 minutes. I left for Taiwan the following morning, so tonight was my first chance to get to another of the races. This is after 2 weeks of no riding and bad diet while in Taiwan and only a little riding since returning. So while I was gone getting fat, most of the riders tonight were here getting fit and fast!

The first lap was at a slightly "gentleman's pace"... but then things got fast, in a hurry. The weather tonight was cool, cloudy and pretty windy along the western, bay side of the course. I'm glad I was riding the prototype low profile Ritchey WCS Zeta wheels (a full review later) instead of my Spinergy Stealth PBO wheels with 50mm tall rims! My legs felt tired, but not terrible. I rode for an hour, almost, at lunch today to test the new wheels and get the shifting dialed back in since the new wheels changed the chainline a little bit- as did using a Shimano cassette with the SRAM Rival group.

For the first few laps, I was able to sit in and spin reasonably comfortably... reasonably. Then the pace began to pick up and the group got strung out more single file- which really just meant I was farther from the front and had fewer places in the group to hide from the wind. My legs never felt all that bad, really, but I felt tired- again, I think I might've gone a little too hard on my lunch ride.

As we rounded the wind-side of the course and back toward the front of the course, a big acceleration came at the front and the group strung way out again and I momentarily lost contact with the group when the rider in front of me decided to call it a night. I dug deep and ploughed into the wind to try to reach the tail of the moving group, but I got a massive cramp in my right side as I was making a little bit of progress. I tried to sit up a little and stretch it out, but it was not going away... but the group sure was. So, after 30 of the 45 minutes of the race, I threw in the towel and rode one last long lap to stretch the cramp out. The funny thing is that I rode around until the cramp was gone and finished the lap moving pretty quickly, solo, in the wind... go figure.

All in all, even though I was pretty disappointed to not finish this time, I was happy that my only issue was the cramp and that the legs felt strong enough to be in the race. Once the cramp was gone, the legs still felt strong enough to ride that last lap with good speed. So I am still making progress, or at least gaining it back after my trip to Taiwan. Hopefully this means I can keep the progress up as I get ready for a week in Minneapolis (5/18-5/22) shooting pictures for the next catalog. Would be nice to not be in total crap shape when I go there with my bike/s. Would be fun to try and hop into a track race while I am there.

Tonight, after the race and before my dinner (grilled salmon and a big salad), I weighed in at 206.6lbs. Not my goal of 205... but much closer than the 211lbs I weighed when I got back from Taiwan.

It's good to be back on the bike and not feeling too much like a fish with gloves on.

Tim

A good tired...

Tonight I am tired in a way I haven't experienced in months; my legs and body are tired from riding. Multiple days of riding. I can't put into words how nice this feeling is. It is long, long, long overdue- as evidenced by my ever increasing weight. Once things kicked off over the summer with my return to traveling and work completely got busy all the time, riding vanished from my life. Before last week, I probably hadn't done a lunch time bike ride in about 3 months. The ride I did in Taiwan on December 7th was one of the first rides I had done in weeks and the longest I'd done in many months- possibly the longest since my crash in April. However, after that ride, I've only been able to ride on my SoulVille with my daughter for a couple miles at a lazy pace. Not that I'm complaining about riding with my daughter... but it isn't like a training ride.

This past week I actually rode at work during lunch for 3 days in a row. The first time I have done that in 3-4 months. I suffered like a pig to ride over a short loop that I have used as my recovery route or warm up route before race night at the track. Still, it was great to be ON a bike and it always only takes a few seconds for me to remember why I love to ride and why I love what I get to do for a living.

Yesterday and today I got out by myself for a bit of riding. Not much, of course, but a good couple hours each time. Yesterday was a nice loop I have done for the better part of the past 17 years. It was windy as all heck, with gusts reaching 30mph I am sure. Still, in between the moaning and groaning, I was happy as hell to be out. I got out on my wonderful Scandiun/ Carbon Gran Criterium prototype and really reconnected with why I love the bike so much. And... the purple paint is just too sweet!

Today, after putting the bike back together- it's been in my bike case since my return from Montreal in September- I got out on my Speciale Fixed. This is the bike that I have put more miles on than any other bike in my stable of bikes. I'm a spoiled guy and have more bikes than I should... but I love them all. That said, the Fixed is just such a joy to ride. Sure, I customized it a bit with some old track parts I have and a few other goodies... but I do love the way the thing rides.

Not a terrible day in SoCal- lightweight armwarmer day today.


A lot of blue in those skies today!


And there she is! My beloved fixed gear. A real dream to ride. I was very happy to spend a few hours on it.

Jersey is courtesy of my "keirin racing brother" in Tokyo. I figured, since I was on a fixed gear, I'd ride with pride in the special jersey in solidarity!

Admittedly, nearly 3 hours on the fixed gear, with the hills I had to ride, was a bit more than I should've bitten off. My legs, arms and neck were wasted by the time I got home. I was worn out and tired... that good kind of tired that goes deep into the muscles and reminds you why you ride.

After a shower and some lunch, I even hopped out on my SoulVille SS and ran to Trader Joe's for a few staple items. My legs were barking at me and I felt like I'd just finished riding something much more challenging... but I was happy to be spinning again, twice in the same day!

I hope your weekends were full of miles or some other activity that fills you with happiness. My daughter is asleep and snoring now... I will be soon too. The sleep of the tired. The sleep of sore muscles. The good sleep.

Tim

Some stuff and whatnot

I won't go into details of today other than to say; I've had better days.

Tomorrow is going to be better though, without a doubt. Why? Because I am gong to be at Shimano HQ getting the lowdown on what's coming in the next year... the stuff they didn't even whisper about at Interbike. Yeah... the really cool sh@%. What's even better is that not only do I get to see my friends there and then touch and feel the newest of the new, but I also get to go for a ride on the parts! I get to ride a bike as part of "doing my job". Sadly, it won't be a Masi, but I'm sure I'll get over it long enough to enjoy being on a bike ride. Any bike ride is better than no bike ride. And the icing on this joy-filled cake? Sushi. Ah yes, the joys of spending time with Shimano- sushi for lunch! My old friend Daniel Limburg is no longer working for Shimano, having left the industry to pursue a different career, but his "replacement" (which there never really will be) is a great guy- Tyler Meyers. Tyler is new to Shimano, but no stranger to the biz and seems fit for the job. If nothing else he possesses the two main ingredients to a successful Shimano OE Sales contact; 1) a great sense of humour and B) a Shimano credit card! WOO-HOO!

If you're as big a bike dork as I am, and I know many of you are, then you are familiar with New Belgium Brewing and their bicycle friendliness... hell, they have a beer called Fat Tire Ale! And... they have a damned cool website! You should go check it out and play around... man I wish I had that kind of budget! They are in the midst of something they call The New Belgium Brewing Urban Assault Ride. Which brings me to this... scroll down a bit and tell me what you see? That's right; one of the coolest beer brands on the planet is riding around spreading beer-flavored love aboard a Masi SoulVille! Baby... that's damned cool! AND... New Belgium and I are like family; I was photographed on the first day of Outdoor Demo with one of the cuter members of the New Belgium family for the Show Daily that is printed each day by BRaIN. So, if you're 21 or older and into beer, I hope you'll give New Belgium a little look-see.

Thursday is the day I leave for Taiwan and then Japan. I haven't finished unpacking and doing laundry from the East coast demo event last week and I am already heading back out the door. The good news from the week is that I am healing very well. The knee is doing great and if the slight soreness I have around the knee is still bothering me around January/ February, the doc will do arthroscopic surgery on the knee and clean it out- if needed. So... I'm hoping it isn't needed, of course. But it's still good news. The arm is slowly coming along, regaining the last few degrees of extension and the thumbnail is growing back as well. All in all... I'm getting there. Even the blood is doing better and is stabilized with the thinners. I should be off of the thinners by the end of the year as well.

Ok, I gotta get to bed here before the long day tomorrow shows up bright and early. See you all later!

Tim

Feels good to ride...

Today being a holiday and me with it off, I slept in today and then lazily got myself motivated to go for a ride in the amazingly beautiful weather- impossibly blue skies and warm... it's the reason why property values are so inflated here.

I dusted off my faithful Scandium Gran Criterium (prototype) with SRAM Red group and sweet Spinergy wheels. There was a layer of dust on the bike because I haven't ridden it since I was in Texas for the Houston-Austin MS150 ride... in mid April.


This is my favorite bike these days. I love our carbon bikes and steel bikes, but for a race machine... this thing is THE BOMB! I have been riding either my SoulVille, my Speciale Fixed or my Speciale road bike since getting back on the back after the crash. I'd almost forgotten how much I love race bikes. There is really nothing quite like a fine-tuned race bike- a pure thoroughbred designed for sheer, powerful speed. The frame geometry was designed by our former (and longtime) Senior Product Development Manager, Mike Varley. It's no secret that Mike and I don't always agree, but I inherited some great bikes from him and the geometry of this frame is my all-time favorite. The handling is perfect; crisp, predictable, stable... telepathic.



I felt so good to be on this bike today. At first, I was sore, stiff and uncomfortable because of how little I have been able to ride so far. A mile or two from home, I even thought of going back home. It felt like I was fighting the bike and my body both, but I stuck with it. After a few more miles, I felt less awkward and a little more like "me". Sure, my right arm and shoulder were already tired, but my legs felt looser and my back and neck began to relax. The sun felt great on my skin (covered in sunscreen, for those about to yell at me) and the wind felt great on my face and flowing through my helmet. On a few corners, I found myself feeling timid and unsure- I am, after all on heavy doses of blood thinners and a crash could lead to severe (and potentially fatal) bleeding... so I was a little uneasy at first. After a few good corners and getting myself reacquainted with my tires, I felt more comfortable and began to attack the turns again... and it felt GREAT!

Speaking of tires, I have to give a big shout of love to my friends at Kenda. I have been riding some 25mm Kenda Kriterium tires for several months now and I absolutely love them. Kenda doesn't have as strong a name on pavement as they do on dirt, but that should change- in my opinion. I can sincerely say that these 25mm tires ride like the best tires I've ever ridden- and that is also compared to many tubular tires. Honest to God. See, the thing is, the wider tires have a better contact patch on the ground without feeling slow. I can rail through turns without any fear and they roll awesome on flat ground as well. The tires just flat out rock... hands down.

Back to the bike and the ride...

I intentionally didn't go too far or ride too hard, since I can't without falling over from exhaustion and lack of fitness. I mean, I left the hospital the second time in May weighing only 184lbs and had ballooned up to 215 at one point. Needless to say, I have some fatness... but little fitness. That said, I did try to put some small amounts of power on the pedals during climbs and tried to remain seated. My quads and hamstrings responded ok, but the hip flexors are still totally blown and weak. My lungs are coming along, but they are still trying to figure out why I am making them hurt... again. My right thumb feels fine when I ride, though some of the road shock feels a little more "shocky" than before. I finished the ride without it bleeding, which is good because it began bleeding like crazy when I was putting air into my flat tires... getting blood on my pretty white spokes. All that said, it was a gorgeous day for a ride and I rolled lazily along most of the time allowing my body to get re-used to the idea of being on a bike again. I actually felt considerably better than I thought I would and really enjoyed getting back into the routine.

After about an hour, my ass had gotten re-familiarized with the saddle and my arms were doing ok with the stress. My knee felt completely normal and my neck was doing ok. For a few moments, I felt almost like nothing had happened back on April 29th. At one point, I felt like I could entertain the thought of actually hammering on the pedals. I had a slight downhill and shifted into the big ring and then started dropping the cogs... 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12 and then the 11. The 11 hurt, even on the downhill, but my head ate it up. The 11. The beloved 11. No pain in the knee as the speed increased and the wind rushed past my ears. The bike felt wonderful underneath me and the sensation of speed and power was intoxicating and I remembered for a moment- I love to ride bicycles!

Eventually I turned back towards home. On the way, I stopped by Bicycle Warehouse. These fine folks have recently begun selling Masi within the past few months. They have a large warehouse (hence the name) for their main store. It has a huge roll-up door and as I rolled by I caught a couple sweet Masi bikes right up front!



It goes without saying that I was thrilled to see the bikes there. I stopped in and struck a conversation with one of the sales guys (name escapes me right now... damned brain of mine) and he was very happy to have the bikes to sell and was talking about wanting to get one of the new models for himself... I was very happy. Duh.

In the end, I probably rode for about 25 miles... maybe. It was a long 25 for me and I was struggling up the last 1km climb that ends my ride home. I struggled and groaned, but I was in heaven to be riding. It's a long way to racing fitness... but it's a damned good start to me! I'll be back... I know it.

I hope that each and every one of you had great weekends too and got to enjoy at least one day of riding- or whatever it is that makes your heart sing. Tomorrow brings the return of work, but I'm happy to have gotten out for a ride. It's the little things people... the little things.

Tim

I can feel that.

I needed a little therapy tonight, so I hopped on the Speciale Fixed again and rode my rollers in the driveway. It felt better than riding my turbo trainer, but I had forgotten how much resistance you get from small drum rollers. It only took a few songs on the iPod for my legs to start complaining and for me to start shifting around on the saddle trying to get comfortable. Again, my right arm was feeling tired and sore nearly instantly. Once again my I find myself humbled by my injuries and the road to recovery. Still, I am so fortunate to be able to feel this way- I am literally lucky to be alive, after all.


It seems pretty amazing in some regards that just a little over 3 months ago I was laying in a hospital bed hooked up to a morphine drip, wearing a cervical collar and wondering if I'd ever ride again at all.

Heavy...

Tim

More Friday Silliness...

Lemme just say that this has been one helluva week... a total mixed bag.

I was going to talk about my doctor visit yesterday, but the sad news about Joe Schraff kinda made my good news seem a little out of place in the universe. However, yesterday was my appointment with my orthopedic surgeon to go over the results of the MRI of my right knee. As it turns out, I have been given a total go ahead! I have a small tear in the lateral meniscus, but it insignificant enough to not require surgery. I crashed in '96 or '97 during a night ride, when I was working for NiteRider, and tore my right PCL. There is still a bit of play in the knee from that, but it didn't show up in the MRI... so it's pretty good. All in all, the knee looks great and I am going to begin some official physical therapy. My right arm and thumb are both rehabbing well also. I am, however, going to be wearing a brace on my right arm at night that is designed to straighten the arm a bit more as I sleep. I have very little pain in the arm, but I am still unable to fully straighten it and the muscle strength is nearly gone. When I ride, the right arm gets tired and becomes weak almost immediately. So I will need to begin doing some very light weightlifting to strengthen the arm muscles again. The thumb- though ugly- is healing really well and the new "nail" is growing in and shoving the old, severed nail off. It looks gross, but it works and I have feeling in it so I am making an effort not to complain.

As silly as it may seem, since I have begun riding a little (about every other day), I also shaved my legs this week for the first time in 3+ months. I have no races on the horizon, but I needed to shave my legs- it's our badge, our secret handshake, our "wassup"... and it feels really great to have them back. In the past 26 years, there's only been 4 periods of time where I haven't shaved my legs; the first year and a half out of high school because I had hurt my knees and ankles running track and field, after I hurt my back and tore the PCL in '96/97, when my daughter was born 7 years ago and then just after the crash. I identify with the shaved legs much more than I do the furry ones and I am very happy to have them back. Another silly and trivial thing is that I have my earrings back in as well; after the crash, they had to pull them out for me (since I was unable to stay conscious) when I was having all the MRI's and CT scans in the hospital. But since I had my last MRI a few weeks ago, I got some new earrings and put them in this week. It's a meaningless thing... except it is another step towards regaining my self and sense of identity in this world. Small things really do mean a lot some times.

Now for the silliness;



On 08/08/08, this might just be one of the proudest moments of my life. Yep- I've got 666 messages in my inbox. That's actually down from the nearly 800 I had at one point...



This is the doodling of our Inside Sales Supervisor- Dave Law. He has a pad of recycled office papers that he keeps his notes on during the day and doodles on while on the phone. He also draws some of the illustrations for the various brands at Haro, as well as did the artwork for my Koi fish tattoo. To say the boy has talent is an understatement. I might take this concept and turn it into a fun Masi T-shirt in the future... you just never know.

This weekend will have a few bike rides in it, though they may just be grocery runs and short errands... but I'll be pedaling instead of driving as much as I possibly can. I might even get to the gym and start that weightlifting regime. But mostly I have lots of neglected chores to catch up on... now that I physically can vacuum, I am going to vacuum. I'm a bit of a pack rat (shut up) and I need to do tons of cleaning before I leave for Vancouver on the 17th... and begin the "silly season" of travel and tradeshows. If I don't clean now, I won't get the chance again until around February! I know it's not exactly glamorous... but it's life- and I'm happy to be getting mine back!

I hope you all have great weekends too. I'll get pictures as I can, I promise.

Tim

Plugging along

Yes, as I normally say when I've missed a few days of posting here; "I've been incredibly busy with..."

There has been a lot of follow up after our National Sales Meeting a few weeks ago. I'm heading to Vancouver, BC on the 17th and return on the 20th (or 21st), for the NORCO (our fantastic distributor) Sales Meeting. In September, I travel back to Montreal for the Canadian equivalent of Interbike, BTAC/ Expo Cycle. Then a few weeks later, it'll be time for Interbike. So there is a lot going on that has a lot of details and a very short time to complete... hence my sporadic posting as of late.

The good news is that I am officially back on the bike and riding a little, but as much as I can handle. Last Friday was my first ride in nearly 4 months, then I did my grocery shopping via my SoulVille on Sunday, then rode my Speciale Fixed on Tuesday night and did a ride at lunch today! 4 rides in the past 6 days! Nothing in the way of mileage or intensity... but it's a lot for this banged up body. Slowly, but certainly, I feel like I am getting some small bits of my lilfe back.

The ride on the Speciale Fixed was a trip! My legs have a lot of relearning to do and the 46x16 gearing felt just barely small enough to get around town on. Today's lunch ride felt really weird though, just because I had so little strength and the loop I rode is one that I would normally use for my recovery days. Today though, it was my own little Spring Classic- we have almost no flat areas to ride near work, so you have rolling hills in every direction you ride. I was stubbornly pigheaded and refused to allow myself to ride in my 39x23 granny gear and would grit my teeth or stand up on the pedals and crest each little rise in my 19t or 21t cog... because I was trying to prove the point to myself. The point was made and I rode without any real pain. My right arm still doesn't straighten completely, so I have a lot of muscle weakness there and the arm fatigues very, very quickly... but I made it. I also have noticed that after 3+ months off the bike, even my favorite saddles seem to hurt my ass!



See- I've got my helmet on! (Thanks Chris!)

Umm, yeah, I know it's a lame shot... but it's all I got using my camera instead of my video camera.

I'll be back again- I promise... but it's back to work now...

Tim

Getting back to the routine...

Last week's sales meeting was great- the overall energy was higher than I have felt in the past few years. Haro MTB, Haro BMX, Premium Products and Masi all seemed to be received well by the sales reps and the consensus is that things are looking good for the next group of products coming out this Fall.

Something romantic to set the mood...


MTB Brand Manager, Jill Hamilton, along with her partner in crime, MTB Product Manager- Pat Crosby.


Eastern Regional Sales Manager, James Ayres, looking terribly brilliant as always.


BMX Brand Manager Tony D, looking spiffy as always... probably mouthing the words "get that thing outta my face"...


THE Boss- Joe Hawk- opening the Sales Meeting first night. (Note the Corona in the background...)


The parent company- Haro Bikes. This year is the 30th anniversary of Haro- that's pretty damned cool.

Ok- more pics and tales to follow.

Two days in to this week and it's already a doozy. Lots of follow-up projects after the meeting and in preparation for Interbike. I'll be in Vancouver, BC in mid August to help with the Norco sales meeting as they plan their distribution of Har and Masi up in Canada. I'll be in the city for a couple days, so let me know if you're in the area for a possible drink/ coffee somewhere.

Alright... I'm calling it quits for tonight. More regular posting to follow now... I promise.

Tim

Wear your damn helmet!

Granted, we have no choice when racing, but please wear your helmet each time you ride your bike. OK?


This overgrown disposable coffee cup is THE reason I am alive and not paralyzed as well.

Done for tonight...

Tim
(Podcast tomorrow.)

Back to the Track!

Last night was my first night of Tuesday Night Track Racing at the San Diego Velodrome. Last year, I managed only two races at the track... which was twice as many as the year before. The work schedule, the travel and the sheer volume of work make it difficult to get out of the office in time to make it to the races on time. That said, I'm still committed to trying again this year. Thing is, I simply love track racing and every year it kills me to not be there in the action each week.

So anyway... on to the racing! (Blue Squirrel has a good recap too- so I'm pilfering some of his photos.)

It was another chilly early season night of racing with temps in the upper 40's to low 50's and clouds that threatened rain and kept us all a little cautious... as rain turns the track into a death pit.


The evening's festivities began with the usual motorpaced burnout. Since I decided to race the B's, my race was only 30 laps. And as is customary for this time of year, the long paceline inch wormed along and kept getting bunched up and then strung out as people tried to find the rhythm of the track again. The C's sprinted at 15 laps and then it was the B's turn to sprint at 30 laps. So when the motor pulled off, with 3 laps to go I began moving forward and got to the front with a lap+ to go and gunned it. I had a great gap, but got cocky and thought I had the race won and ended up getting swarmed to net 4th place instead.

Lining up at the rail- the full field for the racing was probably around 50 riders.

Hanging on to the rail waiting for the start of the race... and trying not to freeze!

The next race up was a 10 lap Win & Out; that means you race for 10 laps and the winner of that lap is 1st place, the winner of the next lap is 2nd and so on until 5th place. I rode a bit smarter this time, but timed my movement to the front wrong and got kind of boxed in when the winner rolled to the front and took 2nd with him with a sizable gap. I managed to get away from the field with a good gap myself and grabbed 3rd... which felt a lot better.

Next was a 10 lap Scratch race and I was just a victim of poor timing. I blew my energy trying to get off the front with the two guys who'd beaten me in the previous race when they rolled off the front again. I launched a good attack from the field to catch them, but then they sat up- maybe not wanting to bring a sprinter to the line with them. I dunno... but when the field caught us, I faded pretty good and sat about mid pack and finished maybe 10th with dead legs.

My last race of the night was a 25 lap Points race. Everybody knows I hate Points races. I'm a sprinter... and one with poor fitness at that... so 25 laps is like an eternity with sprints every 5 laps. So what do I do? I launch a solo attack on a huge gear with 22 laps to go... The attack looked good, but I quickly faded and was caught by the winning break of 3- 4 riders. I then sat in the middle between the break and the chase for what seemed like 100 laps... but it wasn't. I sat up and joined the chase group, but then slid off the back of that and decided to call it a night.

All in all, I was super happy with how my legs responded to the racing. Far better than I expected they would, since it was my first race in a long time and my first time on the track since December. My legs had great power/ acceleration and my leg speed was better than I thought it'd be- must be from all the roller workouts on the Fixed with the smallish gear (46x16). The first races were all run on a 49x15 (88") gear and then I hopped up to the 49x14 (94") for the Points and I think I was just bogged down. Racing on 170 cranks still feels a little different too, since I'm used to running 167.5 or 168 (depending on the crank). I do have to say that the TruVativ (SRAM) Omnium cranks do feel very stiff. I was also testing a new chainring from a small supplier in Taiwan and I was very happy with how it rode. So now it might find a home on a Masi bike in the full line. Hmmm... Also, the Cane Creek wheels combined with the Vittoria Pista tubulars was an insanely fast feeling set up. I can honestly say that they felt much faster than my tri-spoke wheels... which I've always said were very stiff and fast. If you are considering high-end racing wheels... you HAVE to check out the Cane Creek wheels because these babies are practically an unfair advantage.

On top of it all, I had the distinct pleasure of having both Masibestfriend and Masidaughter there to watch and cheer me on. Masidaughter spent the night running with me around the cool down/ warm up track and standing at the edge of the track screaming "GO DADDY, GO!" By the end of the night, the other guys were teasing me, saying "yeah... go daddy... GO". But I just kept saying, "it's good to have a fan". And it sure is!

Sitting on the rail, waiting for action! Dig the red chainring!

Masidaughter getting her exercise chasing me around during my cool down/ warm up rides. She really enjoys going to the track to watch the races and was already asking if we were coming back next week as we were leaving last night... makes a Masiguy happy.

Squirrel getting all artsy on us with some cool camera angles... but dig the sweet wheels! Damn they are fast! (Even with ME on them.)

Hopefully there will be many more race reports coming this year. This should just be the first of many... as I hope to really race this year. We'll see what the travel schedule yields this time. Off to Texas for the Houston-Austin MS150 over the weekend... more on that tomorrow from Houston!

Time for bed now...

Tim

Back... sorta...

So I'm back from the Taipei show. I'm also in one hell of a jetlag coma too. I never sleep well on planes so I took a few Tylenol PM and had a couple glasses of cheap airplane red wine and slept most of the way back... but I feel like somebody slipped me an elephant tranquilizer.

I have pictures and even a few videos to share, as always, so stay tuned.

I'm gonna go to bed now... sucks to be so wiped out on one of my favorite days of the year (St. Patrick's Day). Tomorrow is also my birthday, so hopefully I'll be semi-coherent long enough to blow out my candles.

Good night,

Tim

Not dead, just busy...

Sorry for the drop in posts and podcasts and vidcasts... it's been a very hectic December/ January time period. Lots happening. Finally finished the copy for the Spring '08 catalog that will be done and printed in March. Just going over the final tweaks of spec information and assessing the last photo needs. All of the Spring sample bikes are done and in our hot little hands. My Product Manager, Wayne Doran, scrambled and managed to get the samples delivered to us and built... so at least we'll have pretty pictures of pretty bikes in the catalog. Also have to work up a PowerPoint presentation for a very important retailer training camp next week out in Boulder City NV... but the good news is that I get 4 days of riding in warm, dry weather in Nevada. Bonus!

Tomorrow is Thursday and already this week is a total blur. Hard to believe I came off of a 4 day weekend because I'm already wiped out... though that could have something to do with the cold I'm still fighting off. Hopefully I can get healthy by Sunday, as one of my all-time favorite crits is this weekend. I don't think I've ever finished out of the top 10 on this course and I've won once and been on the podium a few times, so I have a soft spot for this course. If my head clears up from this cold enough (and I can get my sister or mother to watch my daughter for a couple hours), I'm gonna try to get in the race and mix things up. The last time I did the race was two years ago- and it was won by '84 Olympic gold medalist Steve Hegg. I was 8th that day and I would argue that I have better legs this year. So we'll see.

Ok, I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and need to get a little sleep... so good night folks!

Tim

Jetlag, schmetlag...

If it wasn't for caffeine, I think I would cease to exist this week. Thank God for Juan Valdez and his legion of coffee bean carrying mules. If it weren't for the brown brewed gold, I'd be a dead man this week. But I digress...

So I owe you all some more Taiwan follow-up and pictures. I'm also going to try and create a Flickr gallery of images as well. That may take me a little longer though because I want to get a few more podcasts done also and put up more video stuff. There's lots to talk about, so let's get going...

I have a soft spot for the machines that create bikes. Sure it may not be as romantic an idea as some sweaty person toiling away over each and every detail, but in some cases it's even better- thanks to the precision of the work. However, my fascination has always been with the machines that do some of the more mundane things. I always spend a little time around the wheelbuilding machines. They just fascinate me. There are many types and they range from very precise machines to less precise machines. This one is somewhere in the middle- it's truing up a hand laced BMX wheel that will go on to be hand checked;

It's pretty cool to me at least... but I'm kinda simple like that.

We took the high speed train back and forth between the airport in Taipei and the hotel in Taichung;

It was cool.

Here we have a very happy Brand Manager standing by a container filled with SoulVille bikes headed off to the Ohio warehouse (so go start placing your orders now if you're on the East coast).

I really was happier than I look... I promise. FYI- The SoulVille is currently the best selling bike in the entire Masi line for this season. I had faith in the bike, but never would have guessed sales would be this good. So, thank you for your support of the bike.

A beautiful sunrise...

A beautiful park in Taichung on the night of a beautiful dinner...

The long awaited and much anticipated SoulVille Mixte step-through frame...

Mood lighting in an incredibly beautiful restaurant on an incredible night...

Two very happy Product Managers soaking up the reward of their efforts...

Incredible beauty...

All mine! (And eventually yours...)


You'll have to wait for more... so keep on coming back.

Tim

What a week...

I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. It's been a long week- on lots of levels. I'm glad to get this one into the "done" pile, for sure.

Almost done picking the new colors for the Fall '08 bikes. Just a few more to go and I am done! All I'm gonna say is that if you like what the line looks like now, you're gonna love where it is headed... you can take that to the bank.

Heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. Gonna go spend the weekend with my best friend, the dreaded Blue Squirrel, riding and riding and riding and riding... and then riding. It's our super double secret training camp. It's only two days, but it's intense... I could tell you more, but then I'd have to track you down and kill you. No bags of blood and no syringes, just lots of riding (and lots of me whining about not being a climber) and "dude time". There might be a beer in there somewhere- after all, one of our team sponsors is Peroni.

I took the night off from going to the gym, but the previous two nights I put in very hard work with the weights and nearly hobbled myself, but managed to avoid injury. Today, though they felt a lot like the steel plates I was lifting the night before, my legs felt really good on the bike. They felt heavy, and stiff, and lacking any kind of "snap", but the power felt great. As much as I hate weightlifting, my legs have always responded well to weights. Hopefully this means that I can fight the negative effects of all the travel and loss of training time and still manage to find racing fitness for next season. I want to get some podium time this next season, so I'm trying my best to actually "train" this winter. Hopefully that means that I can get my former racing fitness back and get back to the front of the field.

So, since I'll be away from home for the weekend, there may not be any posting here for a few days... but don't worry, I'll be back... and I'll be thinking of you while I'm gone. I promise.

Tim

Good Sunday.

It's always a good Sunday when the pro team you sponsor wins a big race the day before. I still can't believe that Mark Hekman pulled off the win. I'm so very proud of him and the team... I feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. Seriously... I do.

So, in honor of Mark and the boys, I actually got out and rode my bike today. I did a nice little 45 mile loop that I like- not too many hills, though there are a few really good ones, and plenty of open roads to simply put your head down and plow away! The winds were a little much, since I didn't get out until nearly 3:00, so the coastal winds were coming in pretty good. The sun was mostly behind the marine layer (fog), but it burned through and I got a good day on the bike in the sun (yes, I wore my sunscreen). Since I was still all pumped up on the news of the big win, I put my head down and pretty much spent the whole time hammering like I was in a breakaway of my own. I flogged myself pretty good and powered away, not allowing myself to ease off the power on the pedals. With as little training as I've been able to do, it was kind of cool to just open the throttle and pour on the gas! I was able to blow the crap out of the cylinders and got things firing the way they should. The engine still needs a tune-up, but it still runs.

How cool. My boys pull of the upset win of the young race season... and I get to ride hard on a Sunday. FYI- I ride bikes still because I love them, I love the sport and I love to ride. I felt a lot like I used to when I was 16 years old and would pretend that I was in a break at Flanders, or Roubaix, or on L'Alpe D'Huez. I envisioned a pack of chasers breathing down my neck. They were clawing away at my narrow lead, but they didn't want it as much as me. In between daydreams of race glory, I felt alive and one with my bike. Just like I did as a kid dreaming of Tour glory. The legs felt good. The bike rode well. I climbed as hard as I could, even groaning a little when needed. I sprinted for stop lights. I flew through turns. I fought off cramps. I gritted my teeth and thought, "yeah, I can still do this!" The race isn't over yet, not by a long shot. Maybe, just maybe, my best racing days are still ahead of me. If not, maybe my best riding days are.

My eyes burned with sweat and sunscreen. My right calf cramped so hard I could see the muscle spasming... and I rode it out and powered on into the headwind. I was flying to the finish line and nothing was going to get in the way.

Good Sunday, indeed.

Tim

Daily Drive- I'm back... sorta..

Sorry for the lengthy delay and absence. Lots to talk about, lots going on, lots of photos... lots.

But, since it has been so long and I keep getting emails wondering A) "where are the socks" and B) "are you still alive"... here is a short post, with socks.

Yesterday;

Today;

Socks yesterday;

Socks today;

And I got some new SockGuy socks today... so there will be new goodness to freshen things up.

Thank you all for your support and concern- it means more to me than you know. FYI; Never, ever get bronchitis.

Tim