Burlingame Criterium

Anna wins Women's Cat 1/2

Anna and Willem (4k)

Phil "Froggy Style" Slama

Jen and Angelo with anxious spectator

Dino in serious concentration mode

Me

Yesterday, I decided to race the Burlingame Criterium at the last minute. Lately, I had been feeling like crap on the bike and my body did not respond at the last PoO (Port of Oakland) ride. Each lap of the PoO ride sucked the life from my body and the legs were abused by the strong cross winds. It was only 4 laps into the ride when I decided to drop back and spin back to the truck. The spin began to slow and I found myself walking along the side of the road with my bike in hand. Once I returned to the parking lot I could feel the acid building in my legs. As the group passed each time - I sat in the truck thinking about my form and lack of strength. The idea of burn out and sickness had crossed my mind and I went home that evening feeling weak and dejected. The next morning I woke up and decided to stop riding for the week until my body and mind had recovered. The trip to Italy had inspired my riding and the first weekend back was spent racing in Pescadero - this was my body's way of pushing back and telling me it was time to rest.

To bring things up to speed...

SATURDAY (EVENING)

Went to Angelo's last night and watched Ghostbusters while he prepped for the race

Downed two Nantucket Nectar lemonades and a bag of chips - yes, chips

Walked to North Beach and had a pint of beer with Angelo

Dino and Phil send several text messages to Angelo about the race

Dino and Phil ask Angelo why Anthony is not racing Burlingame Criterium

Anthony thinks about the question and realizes he might be ready for action

Then he realizes they are at the pub where Anthony has his dinners the night before races

These "secret meals" are part of his "secret training" and have produced good results

Anthony shares his "secret meal" with Angelo and things are good

Finally, Anthony caves into the pressure and decides he wants to spend the remaining portion of his weekend racing with his teammates and friend Phil

Anthony sends Willem (4k) a text

Willem responds to text and the pick-up time is set for 5:50am

Anthony goes home to shave his legs and massages Freddy's Choice Muscle-Relax gel into his legs

Clauss sends Anthony a text to check about his ride status ( Eric is an awesome teammate )

Anthony collects his gear, drinks 3 glasses or water and goes to sleep

SUNDAY (EARLY) MORNING

Woke up feeling great and had two table spoons of peanut butter, one Ensure, two Activia yogurts and a can of Starbucks iced mocha

Pre-rode the course with Matt Triska and sat at the starting line with Clauss, Willem and Matt

Race picked up speed and several attacks were made at the beginning

Third Pillar made several attempts to control the race

Eric Clauss made a nice counter attack

Triska made an appearance up front and was looking incredibly strong

On the last lap I was feeling excellent and decided to attack in the s-bend turns

Started to pull away from the main group and put my head down

Main group picked up speed so I stood up and sprinted to the line from the last turn into the final stretch

Overall, the race was amazing and everyone managed to escape the crashes

Later, Angelo went on to place 6th in the 3's

Jan got 7th in the 1/2's

and Anna won the women's Cat 1/2

Today was a good day

Expression of Words

Crystal Castles

Let's see...

Locate the positions...

Find the appropriate tiles...

Mosaic the appropriate tiles...

Subset the original positions from mosaicked tiles...

Insert the Crystal Castles CD into player...

Play the following tracks...

Album: Crystal Castles

Track 05: Courtship Dating

Track 02 (Live): Crimewave

Track 01: Untrust Us

Repeat steps as necessary...

Pescadero Road Race

On Saturday, Carmi, Mark "Mastoras of the Universe" and myself carpooled to the Pescadero Road Race. The morning started with an Ensure, bagel, Clif Bar and medium iced latte with extra shot at the Java Detour - which has become a pre-race ritual. We got to the venue with plenty of time to change, warm-up and rub some BKW (Belgian Knee Warmers - a.k.a. Freddy's Choice) into the legs. The weather conditions were overcast all morning and Freddy's Choice worked like a charm throughout the race - a little too well in the shower 4 hours later. Anyway, Willem, Clauss and I rode for a few minutes before the race and eventually ditched the vests in Clauss' car only to find out the start had been pushed back 15-30 minutes. Antonio and Matthew joined us at the line and chatted for a bit before the Cat 4 A group rolled out to the hills.

The leaders of the main group set a moderate tempo on the way up to the rollers and a small group sprinted for a preem 10 minutes into the race. Clauss rode to the front of the main group and provided excellent support. Antonio, Willem and Matthew rolled up the sides of the group and made a presence on both climbs before the right turn on to 84. The main group worked together into the light head winds and our team placed themselves in well protected spots. Antonio and I rode next to each other most of the race and made a strong presence on the first climb up Haskin's Hill - we actually set the pace at the front and managed to out descend the main group with 4 riders trailing - who did not want to work together. Later, we re-connected with the main group and went into the second lap with a bit more pressure on the pedals. Willem, Antonio and I rode along the side of the main group again to place ourselves at the front on the descents to 84 with Matthew making an appearance as well. This time the main group rolled faster towards the main climb (Haskin's) and 3 riders made an attack - Willem answered with his aggressive style and managed to shell the Third Pillar rider pulling his teammates. This counter attack brought Antonio and I back to the front of the pack in excellent position before the right turn to Haskin's Hill. One rider attacked in the big chain ring towards the bottom of Haskin's and led a train of riders into the final climb. Antonio and I were in the 9th and 10th position going into the hill and worked back to the front of the group mid way up the climb. I pulled at the front of the group for as long as my legs could handle and 5 riders came around with 300 feet to the top. Luckily, Antonio was in this group of 5 riders and we all fought up the climb for the last few meters. In the end our Cat 4 riders made a strong showing with Antonio in 5th, Willem in 11th (?) and myself in 6th