blog-o'sweeney

Lovely Labor Day w'end, eh?

2010-09-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Made it over to OneGearDoug's for a little barbeeeeque this evening and to meet up with the MRC folk. Good times....most of the CX fanatics were in attendance....next week is pretty much NE 'cross gets going (no disrespect to the good people at Cyclonauts and the Tobacco Road Series, but 'cross in August and in 95 degree heat seems odd...), so it was great to see who's getting ready. For my bit, I'm feeling better after this past week of some intensity. Rode fairly hard 5 days this past week and will continue to build the LT intervals. Cross is crazy hard - the kind of hard when by the end of the race you should be spent and cross-eyed. So hard that in 20 degree weather you're hot as hell in nothing but a skinsuit and beanie under your helmet. So hard that puking is more likely than not. I, like most other fans, enjoy the perversion of pain and pleasure all wrapped into 45 minutes of sliding around in the mud on a knobby-tired road bike. Bring it.

Cheers to the wife for the outstanding idea of bringing the kiddos over to Marlboro HS for fireworks. Huge hit.

Additional reasons why I like bikes....

2010-09-05T14:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday while out on a 90 minute easy ride, I stumbled upon this. One of the coolest things about a bike is exploration....yep, I yammer on upon training, racing, crashing, getting muddy, whatevah...but finding a new road, trail, etc, is the original hook to a bicycle. It's mechanized transport - a new way to explore with some wind in your face. The only issue as I see it (with the above referenced place) is that some d-bags in Stow (and I live there, BTW...) apparently don't want this running thru their respective back yards. I get the NIMBY thing when one is talking about an interstate or an office building. But a bike trail?? Gimme a break! Here's hoping that things get worked out, as the plan is to have this thing go through Stow, into Maynard and over to Concord.
The other reason that I love bikes is that today I discovered how absolutely invaluable those threaded washers that come with inner tubes are. Mind you, they're useless when it comes to the intended purpose, but I was installing a new hallway light and the strapping that you mount the light to (you know, the one that bolts to the face of the electrical box) wasn't fitting. Chalk it up to insufficient manufacturing tolerances....insert one of said washers underneath the strapping and voila: perfect fit!

Summer updates

2010-09-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

Summer has just flown by! Amazing how when I was a kid summer seemed to last forever. I generally looked forward to heading back to school come this time. Nowadays it seems like summer is over in a flash. I suppose having every weekend booked with some damn thing doesn't necessarily help. Friday shows up, I try to shut it down for a couple of days, then find out we have somewhere to be and before I know it, it's Monday again and the hamster wheel picks up speed.

Here's a quick update on things....

1. The master bathroom project has pretty much reached completion. We are waiting for the glass door to be installed, but my involvement for the most part is over. I am happy that it's done...while I have plenty of experience around the house on various projects, bathrooms are complicated and somewhat intimidating. My good buddy Brad is a wiz kid at most things with an especially good skill for laying tile. Brad is always willing and able to help out as well. We would hook up at 7ish on weeknights and work til midnight. I took him to the Sox game to say thanks. I'll post some photos when the glass is installed.

2. With the bathroom done, I can finally finish up the baseboard and closet work in our bedroom. I've decided to build a couple of closet units for wife and me to better utilize the storage available for us. That project is pretty much all finish carpentry - no big deal, just a matter of time. Hopefully my sister can help with closet "door" coverage, because I don't sew and due to the odd-sized opening, we're thinking of creating some kind of modern/cool looking drapery type door.

3. Once that's done, I will finish up the boy's room. I need to install french-style doors on his closet, build a storage unit, and then get the baseboard done there as well.

4. Ahhhhhhhhh, the garden. As a landscape architecture major in college I have pride in how my yard looks and functions. It shouldn't just be a pretty thing to look at, it should be a system of outdoor rooms that you actually use for different activities. I built a really cool deck two years ago that we use often, and I need to create some garden room extensions off of it (first step will be a sitting area with a firepit....the kids LOVE to have fires outside), and the next step will be to create a walking path that connects the side yard to the back yard. I also have this rocky area that has a ridiculous little stone wall that serves no purpose. That needs to come down. Buuuuut my issue with the garden in general is that it's been neglected this year due to the bathroom project. It looks like sh*t to be honest and I'm embarrassed by it. Fall cleanup will be intense and I'll get things prepped for next year. Next spring will be a hard-core gardening thing.

5. Bike stuff - well, road season was interesting to say the least...there is a very specific difference between riding a lot and racing a lot. Riding a lot has no real speed definition....one can ride as hard or as easy as s/he would like. Racing is full gas, all the time.

This is me deep inside the pain cave without a light...

To quote Armstrong, sometimes I was the hammer, other times the nail. What is interesting though is that cyclocross season is here and is generally when I'm really amped to ride....but to be honest, my motivation is pretty low right now. Hopefully that will change soon enough....oh and by the way, gluing tubulars is zero fun.

Well that's about it for now....

Holy Hilltowns!

2010-07-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

How's this for a course profile??

This is considered by many in the NE cycling community to be the hardest one-day race in the region....which is interesting when you consider that Battenkill, Quabbin, and Purgatory are all pretty damn hilly as well! The illustrious JLC had the line of the day when asked how this compared to Quabbin: "Quabbin is a crit compared to Hilltowns".

Really not sure how I did as the results outside the top 10 haven't been posted yet, but I'm hoping top half. I started to cramp pretty badly about a third of the way up the East Hawley Rd climb which is bad. I was within site of the leaders and going at a pretty solid tempo but had to slow way down or risk DNFing. There was one hell of a rainstorm with about 20 miles left that provided some welcome respite from the humidity. I really need to start forcing myself to eat more in the morning before I head out for these longer races. I seem to cramp up pretty easily it seems, especially on hot and humid days and I have to believe it's really hard efforts combined with not enough fuel. I'm just not hungry when I get up though; problem but I need to rectify it. I don't have the same snap and acceleration as a lot of my team mates on the super steep climbs but I can maintain a good tempo that doesn't blow me off the back. If I can keep the leaders in site and then catch back on I should be able to improve my results. Considering that I am stepping up next year, that will be critical.

Well, road season is almost done....3, maybe 4 races left and then it's on to the fun part of the season - 'CROSS baby! Time to start gluin' up those knobby tubulars!

Gotta' stay positive...

2010-06-30T06:55:00.001-07:00

Well, we're at mid-way point of the year and I can't say that I am terribly thrilled with how 2010 has been going. Career-wise, my new position hasn't been what I'd hoped so far. I'm behind on a number that was probably a dream shot for a first year rep as is, and I feel like I'm constantly behind. Every step forward = at least 3 steps backward. I'm learning something new everyday and that's a plus. The subject material is also very interesting as I didn't have much experience on the desktop prior to this one. Gotta' stay positive.
Home-wise, the family is terrific but I constantly feel like I'm missing things. I'm working a lot (but not getting anywhere) and because of that, it feels like life is speeding past me like I'm just a spectator. I can't believe how big my children are! I probably won't be able to go on vacation this summer with the family but am hopeful that I can send them someplace fun-beach camping, the Cape, or something like that. My bathroom project has also taken WAAAAAAAAY too long...in part because of the thumb injury. My hope of getting that done before July 4th is out of the window....if I can get it done before the end of July I'll now be happy.
Bike-wise it's been a mixed bag. I have lingering layer of belly fat that I can't seem to strip off, but to be honest, my discipline in terms of diet is crap. I really should be hitting the gym 3 x's per week and completely stripping carbs out of my diet. With even a bit of structure in this area I'm sure that I could turn the 5 lbs of fat into lean muscle that would help me pounce on the climbs....buuuut, IPA tastes really good. I know, loser attitude.

Well, enough of that diatribe. Time to go back to confusing motion with action....something that I am extremely adept at!

A new hobby?

2010-06-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day and B2B Report

2010-06-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day everyone! I was given the wonderful opportunity to sleep in til 9 this morning - so nice! After yesterday's 90+ degree sufferfest aka the 10th Annual Harpoon B2B the extra couple hours was a blessing.

The ride was actually great and my legs feel pretty good today. I generally don't do well in extreme heat of any sort and with yesterday being pretty much the first pretty hot day of the year, I was concerned about cramping. I drank 12 water bottles, and the equivalent of two beer glasses of straight pickle juice....peed twice all day (which means I sweat the rest out....). I started to cramp a bit at the top of the long climb called "the Leviathan) but other than that I felt pretty good. It was great to see Larry, Kevin and Richey out there. Rich had to bail after about 100 miles due to extreme cramps. Kevin hasn't done much riding this year and smartly stuck to a slower and manageable pace. Larry is the consummate team guy and brought Kevin all the way in. I rode with Billy (per usual it seems) for the majority of the day. My climbing legs felt great and I pulled a big group of MRC'rs up the Willard State Park climb. On the Leviathan I was looking for another strong go, but Billy started to cramp up a bit so I worked with him and a better pace for us.

The only real suck section for me was after the 100 mile mark where I lost Billy and I was essentially solo TTing to try and catch him on windy roads. I hate riding in the wind. Thankfully, thankfully a couple of Team Psycho guys in full-on time trial rigs pulled up and offered a pull. In ten minutes of scootin' along at 26mph we reached him. I kindly thanked the boys for the train ride and sat up to catch a blow with Billy.

Not long after that, we hit a nice section of flat road with a bit of tail wind. I'm not sure where my second (or tenth?) wind came from, but all of a sudden I was ready to jam. We had picked up a group of about 10 or so folks and I hit the gas. Averaged about 25mph for about 10 miles, right up to the covered bridge that brings us into Windsor, VT where the ride ends. The last few miles Billy and I just spun in. I think we were out there for an hour later than last year (I haven't looked at actual ride time yet). Pretty sure we averaged about 19.5mph for the whole 150 which isn't too bad considering how damn hot is was!

Now it's time to get back to reality. The master bathroom project will catch a wave this week. I'm going to prime and paint today. I'm going to put up a second coat of paint tomorrow night and build the mortar bed for the shower, and hopefully get going on the tile install. I really would like to get this buttoned up before the Tour starts!

Summer's here!

2010-06-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

So I always seem to have the best intentions of keeping this up to date, and then excrement happens....my software job has kept me super busy, but I am definitely still ramping into this job and company. While I possess no misinformation when it comes to the differentiation between motion and action, sadly I have been more the former thus far. It takes me no less time to create a quote for 50 seats of my product vs. 5,000 seats of my product. I am struggling with having to touch every opportunity that I have in my territory and staying focused on the larger ones. It's definitely a personality flaw, but I feel like I must be attentive to everything. I am confident that I will continue to improve and be efficient, but it is still a struggle.

On the family front, "the boy" recently turned 3! That's rather amazing to say the least - as with most parents I'm sure, it seemed like yesterday that he was born! We recently put him in a "big boy" bed, which is nothing more than his crib mattress on a little bed frame and he's doing well. Only fallen out of bed a few times, though those proved to be rather traumatic events! The girls are doing really well and are both enjoying sports: Cait is finishing up tee-ball and Meghan is loving softball. As a self-proclaimed baseball nut, this pleases me. I'm 0-2 in soccer so far-that's another story altogether-but baseball seems to be a family favorite so far. And "the boy" can already crush a wiffle ball. Penny maintains beauty, patience, and grace and keeps the engine moving forward. She's so very positive and keeps me centered on what's important. That's helpful as I can be a curmudgeon when things don't go my way.

On the sporting front, it's been a fun cycling season. Good friend JLC has taken to the road and so I have a new training and racing partner. We've had some solid results this year and are planning our collective strategy for moving up early next year to the next category for road racing. All that's left is for him to see the cyclocross light and the circle will be complete!

On the home front, the master bathroom project is coming along - after my tablesaw accident in which I practically bisected my thumb certainly delayed things, but it's getting going again. As I had never before built a shower pan, there was a fair amount of "how to" and "out of what" research to be done. After screwing the first one up, I figured out how to make the shower floor water tight. Per usual, I would have done this differently had I to do it over, but c'est la vie. As my Dad says, "you'll be an expert at this by the time you finish it, but then you'll never do it again." Sage advice.

Well, it's raining out, and I need to get an expense report done, then slap another coat of mud on the walls. Wanna' help?

Pressure!

2010-03-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

I am often my own worst enemy.
I was just given my annual quota and it seems astronomical. The "power of positive thinking" needs to rain on my parade, big time! I hate looking at a goal with no concrete way of reaching it. It scares me. Pressure.
The yard looks like crap as well - with my back the way it's been the last year, my days of throwing a 12-hour landscaping marathon up are over. If I do those, then I'm screwed for a couple of days afterward, even if I stretch out for an hour afterward. But I hate it when my yard looks like crap. Pressure.
Yesterday I lined up with the C guys at Wells Av for my first race pace of the year and definitely had heavier legs until the last few laps. A guy in front of me fell off the pace of the lead group and before I knew it there was a 15 yard gap. That gap grew to 50 yards in just a few seconds and before I knew it I was trying to pull a group of about 5 guys or so back. I couldn't do it. Granted it's only the first race effort, and my training has really only been consistent now for a couple of weeks, but still. If my goal is to upgrade to Cat 4 by the end of summer, I need to get my sh*t together. The first "real race" of the season is this coming Sunday and I'm nervous. I can't get totally schooled. Pressure.
Need to get the master bathroom project started as well-it's half gutted and we've been waiting a bit so that we can just pay cash for the job and not pull money out of savings. I'll likely do most of the work myself (again) - at least the entire demo job. I can also install new fixtures, but my motivation to do all the tiling work with Brad is pretty low. Pressure.

Alone time.

2010-03-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

Couldn't think of a better title....just back from a cold and wet 3 hour base ride. It's really my first full week of consistent effort on the bike. I probably rode 300 miles or so in January and February but to be honest, the workouts were not consistently linked and I maybe did one trainer workout/week. I just had no strong motivation which is interesting considering that I've registered for some early season road races. The legs haven't felt great. After a 3 hour slog last Saturday that saw me cramping up big time after about 2 hours, I had literally been shaken awake. Time to get going. So I licked my wounds from Saturday's debacle, got out for 2.5 hours solo on Sunday and felt a little better. Off on Monday with some solid core and stretching. Tuesday was a good 90 minutes outside with a couple of tempo intervals in. Wednesday was another 90 minutes, this time pretty all at or slightly below tempo pace. Thursday was 60 minutes with 2-10 minute threshold intervals. Friday off with Pilates and stretching, then today a solid 3 hour solo ride.

I like long solo rides on occasions. Pop in the left headphone and catch up on Podcasts or just listen to tunes and think. With 3 little ones occupying most of my "free time", I have a difficult time just thinking about stuff. Granted, my ADD has my thoughts zipping from this to that. This morning for instance I worked through a few design ideas for the master bathroom renovation project to what our family vacation plans will be to how I'll finish up this first quarter at my new job to whether or not I can afford to upgrade the fork on my 'cross bike this fall. Random and everywhere, sure. But nonetheless I find the alone time on the bike during longer base rides to be therapeutic. I think of creative gift ideas for my lovely wife, I wonder what specific lessons I'd like to teach my children, I think about less fortunate families around the world and what they're doing at that particular moment.

Alone time is precious for me...so I guess riding my bike in the wee hours of the morning and getting soaked doing it is the price of admission. It's worth it.

CATCHING UP!!!

2010-03-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

Man, it's been a whirlwind few months! New job has been terrific and action packed. My manager is great and an old friend from big telecom. Working for a small software company is just awesome when compared to the daily internal fights that I was used to. Lots of collaboration with my team mates and a can do, go get 'em attitude. Plus I'm learning something completely new which I appreciate. Data security is so critical to today's environments and I feel like what I am doing is relevant and not so much a commodity. I feel refreshed and energized again.

Here is a photo from the New Hire trip to Israel:

This is just inside the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem. Amazing place! The company finds it important to bring new hires from around the world together for a week of exposure to the senior executives and the country itself. Being a bit of a travel fan, I was all in on this opportunity!! Putting my hands on stones that are 2,000 years old was a bit surreal. When we talk about history in the US, 200 years old is well, old. 200 years old in Israel in modernist in comparison!

On the bike front, I'm off to a lousy start. My back has been balky all winter despite diligent stretching and strengthening work on my part. When my back hurts there is simply not much motivation to get on the bike. Which is problematic, as I have a few races on the calendar that I need to get up for. Oh, and my road bike was broken and is being "fixed" by the good folks in Watertown. The dudes at the LBS are taking care of me cost-wise so I should be back out there soon enough. I feel like my base is just not where it was a year ago and I have a lot of homework to catch up on. Some years are better than others I suppose.....

New challenge!

2010-01-11T04:53:00.000-08:00

Like so many others I was thrilled to usher out 2009. I had been laid off unexpectedly the week of Thanksgiving and had pretty much had a shite year overall financially speaking. Telecom has been suffering from a real lack of innovation the last few years in the enterprise space and pricing has followed suit. Products that were considered to have individual and compelling business value just a few years ago are commodities today. Add that to ever-rising sales quotas and product value:quota retirement and you get the picture. Bigger goals and extreme difficulty in reaching them. Those with accounts with business models requiring ever growing geographies continue to do ok (regional banks, service providers, etc), but if an account manager's deck didn't include accounts requiring more and more bandwidth achieving a goal that represents a 50% increase becomes difficult. All in all, my original intent in going to grad school in the first place was to move into another area of technology anyway.
My severance from big telecom as it turns out was the best thing that could have happened to me. I've never really worked networking tools like Facebook or LinkedIn as diligently as some folks I know, but I do pay attention. If nothing else, it's nice to keep in touch with people that I really like that I don't get to see as often as I once did. People move between companies fairly often now whether that's internal colleagues or customers. The internet makes keeping in touch pretty easy. I got extremely lucky when an old friend from big telecom (we were on the same sales team years ago) pinged me to discuss a role at his software company. Talk about serendipity! The interview process moved quickly and I was out of work for only 5 weeks total. I essentially look at it as a much needed vacation in which I got a TON of those stupid little home projects completed. While I didn't ride as much as I would have thought, the overall break was productive and I'm psyched to back at it, learning something completely new, and being part of a smaller (2,000 employees worldwide), flatter, and more nimble organization.
Here's to 2010: new opportunities, fresh outlook, the Winter Olympics, getting my braces OFF, continuing to pick off home re-modeling projects, etc.

The Search...

2009-12-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my career I was "impacted" by a "reduction in force" Thanksgiving week. While it is never a time to get whacked from one's job, having it happen (unexpected as it was....) right before the holidays is even worse. There's good and bad here though...the bad is obviously that I'm now in the midst of a fevered job search. The good though is new opportunities abound! The job market is scary right now with many, many, many qualified candidates for virtually every job that's out there. I am really looking at taking this opportunity to move into a somewhat new industry as well. Carrier services has been good to me but let's face it: it's not the most exciting industry that's out there. It doesn't necessarily improve people's lives in a meaningful way (I know that's debateable) and more important to me, it is certainly not very innovative.
I would really like to work for a high-tech manufacturer which is where I have been focusing my efforts in the short term. If that is 1A, then 1B would be managed services such as web hosting or professional services, and going back to carrier services would come in after that. I know that business and could easily slide into a role there and be effective and impactful to an organization. But I am definitely trying to find something more personally fulfilling such as green technology, internet security, something that matters and is relevant to my value system. Yep, I get it, easy to be altruistic when only the hunt for only a couple of weeks....let's see how hungry he is in February if he still hasn't landed...truth be told, I'm prepared for that. I'll do what I have to do to support my family. But why not aim higher now, right?
In other 'news' the New England cyclocross season ended last week and as I reflect back on the year, I have to be happy. I absolutely improved over last season with mostly top 15's and top 20's with a few top 10's even. I did not reach my goal of hitting a podium this year which is a bummer. I need to get 15-30 seconds faster over the course of a 40 minute effort. It doesn't sound like much and a good place to start would be my starts! They SUCK ASS. Not sure why but I always am late clippin' in and hitting the gas in those first couple of minutes. Before I know it the leaders are up the course and I'm chasing, tongue hanging and completely on the rivet. That's one area I can improve upon and be at the front sooner instead of fighting the whole race to get there. Second off is overall fitness. I feel like I made huge gains this year, but let's face it, I'm still only talking about cat 4 races. I have the experience now to move up to either the 3's or the A masters (the latter being one hell of a beatdown with the top 10 guys all being pretty much former pros). In the 3's I'd be a mid-packer but there are guys I know that I can hang with. The question to move up has two parts: 1. do I want to try and win one before I go up and 2. can I get the permission slip to race at noon instead of 8:30 am.
We'll see....for now, I'm enjoying a month off the bike, getting ready for the holidays and spending as much time as I can with the kids.

Much to be thankful for!

2009-11-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

As they say, 'tis the season....this year more than ever, I have so very much to be thankful for. As is often the case it takes a somewhat tragic incident to knock us back to what's real. A week and a half ago I was unexpectedly laid off from 'big telecom'. While the immediate loss of income is very much real and has kept me up most nights this week, it could also be a quiet blessing. To be honest, I haven't found much in this field to get me fired up. Telecom simply isn't very innovative and with each passing day becomes more and more a commodity/utility. I took on the challenge of going to grad school part time with the responsibilities of being a husband, father, and provider in order to position myself to move out of telecom (or at least to a more impactful segment). The economy and intertia admittedly has kept me here. Now that I'm out of it for now, it is forcing me to open my eyes to new things.

This is the one I am currently checking out: www.gazelle.com - talk about a fantastic idea that is relevant!

So while losing my job is super difficult right now, I am considering how lucky I am in other aspects of my life. I have the most amazing partner - she's smart, she's tough, and she's resilient. Our personalities our different as I have written about in other forums (she's a packrat and I am joe organized, she's a hopeless constituent of Red Sox Nation and my fidelity is betrothed to the 27 time World Series Champion New York Yankees, I love to ride my bike fast against other weekend warriors, she got up today at 4 am to go shopping....you get the idea) but opposites attract. While we have watched good friends get married and then divorced, I cannot imagine sharing life with anyone else. We have been 'blessed' (and I used that word judiciously) with 3 fantastic kids who each have terrific personalities and interests. Our families are healthy and for the most part happy. We have a modest home that I am slowly renovating to make into our own little nest in the woods, and we live in a wonderful community with great folks all around. In simple terms other than the "work thing" (or lack thereof...) we're doing Ok.

I have a cousin who is a West Point grad and is serving his third tour overseas and is currently deployed somewhere in Afghanistan. My aunt and uncle haven't heard from him in almost a month now due to the crap communications infrastructure there. While visiting a prospective new employer in Boston this past week I came across half a dozen homeless folks that were looking for some help in the pouring rain. We have a lot of family that is within driving distance of our house, so Thanksgiving dinner was a fun-filled party with lots of yummy food and cheer. I don't have anything to gripe about.....life's pretty good for me right now.

I'm looking forward to some new adventures and I am hoping that I'll be able to find some work that is more personally fulfilling and interesting and most importantly, makes a difference. Until that though, I am thankful for what I have.

Frustrating....

2009-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

I am officially NOT a packrat. I purge my things regularly - I like to live (as best I can anyway...) an efficient and streamlined lifestyle. I don't own much in the way of clothes, I don't have 10 bikes (I have 3), I don't have closets full of health care products, and I generally speaking am good about excess paper (though I really want to get a paper shredder at some point). There are definitely some areas where I could be even more prudent...I still have a separate fax machine and printer, and I probably hang on to many nuts and bolts and scrap lumber from home projects (but that latter makes for great kindling in the winter months).

I am married to the mother of all packrats. I have "time on my hands" these days and decided this morning to attack our bedroom linen closet (reason being I was looking for the bottle of vitamin C tabs as I'm feeling just a bit of cold coming on...). One thing led to another, as other organized types will understand, and I felt compelled to clean that damn closet out.

12 bath towels. TWELVE!!! For just wife and me. The kids have another set in their newly reno'd bathroom (I'm really happy with how that came out BTW). Well, I could use some new rags....
12 bags of random make-up stuff. I.....I simply don't know what to say about that. She's a gorgeous, beautiful woman. But my god how does she even know what she has in all those bags?
I found a couple of completely dried up make-up things, 4 half empty cans of hair spray crap, and prescriptions dating back to before we moved to this house (which begs the question, why the hell did I move it here in the first place?).
Weeeell, in attempting my best to be supportive and diplomatic, I've laid out all twelve bags of stuff on our bed as well as the questionable "products" that I wasn't sure what to do with (if I were my mother, that whole pile would already be in the dumpster) and have sweetly asked her to go through and consolidate.

The good money's on all of it being shoved right back into the closet by day's end.

Still love her to death though!

You remember...

2009-11-04T17:33:00.001-08:00

...When Morpheus was showing Neo what the Matrix was and he perfectly hit the spaces between the 'people' walking down the street? I tried that at North Station today and it worked!

Unless of course I was simply invisible?

Halloween happenin's +

2009-11-01T04:10:00.000-08:00

Been a bit since I've had the chance to write....seems every time I jump onto my Blogger account, my sister in law has since written a novel which certainly makes me feel a bit slackish...

In no particular order.....
-after a LOOOOT of studying, a preparatory bootcamp in Denver, and some purusing of "those" test prep sites, I successfully passed the Cisco Certified Design Associate exam. Am I now qualified to create an enterprise network with EIGRP, OSFP, and BGP fully functional? No chance. The thing with certification exams is that while the achievement is all well and good, its the substance behind the cert that matters. I need to treat this as simply a check mark but continue to be diligent in studying. I was psyched to pass it on the first go nonetheless, and if nothing else, I learned how to subnet and summarize a network through CIDR. Routing protocols and QoS...well, that's a story for another day.
-the World Series is in full swing and the Yankees pulled out a clutch and gritty win last night and essentially stealing the home field advantage back (though I'm not necessarily convinced it means much considering how both teams have played thus far). A-Rod got a big hit (first in the Series, and hoping his playoff stroke continues after being dormant for the first two games), and Pettite helped out his own cause with a bloop single that scored Swisher. Pettite hung tough and after that sketchy opening. As I had hoped, the Yankees were able to put some numbers up against Hamels, who simply isn't what he was last October. Tonight's game is going to be huge with Sabathia going on short rest against Joe Blanton, who the Yankees line-up simply needs to take advantage of. Number 3/4 starters in the National League should NOT be able to keep American League playoff lineups down. And if the Yankees can win tonight and go up 3-1, the momentum clearly slides over.
-the Commuter Rail offers both good and bad....the good being that it's nice to read on the commute home and not have to deal with traffic. The bad being the dude with the dragon breath that plopped his sorry ass next to mine at the Porter Square stop.....and just my luck that he was in for the whole ride out to metro-west.
-the kids' bathroom project is just about done. I'm working on the punch list stuff now....Penny surprised me by priming the new window y'day so I just need to put a couple of topcoats on it. Billy D. brought the wall cabinet to Canton 'Cross so I need to paint that and hang it and I can pretty much put a fork in it. Bill does fantastic work and I'll be posting some photos later today. Next up after 'cross season is to finish the lingering crap that I've been neglecting for the last couple of years.....namely hanging the double closet doors in Ryan's room (so that I can finish up the baseboard), replacing the baseboard heating covers behind Penny's computer (so that I can do the baseboard in that room), and then hopefully knocking out the linen closet door and baseboard in our bedroom. If I can get all of that stuff done over the winter, then the next project will be the bathroom in our bedroom...it's a very small full bath so it presents some interesting design challenges.
-'Cross season is in full swing here in New England, and another year of experience coupled with some structured training have provided some decent results so far. After two logistical snafus, I finally got the season going at Gloucester and considering I started both days in the very back of the starting grid I was happy with a couple of top 25's (about 100 guys per race each day too!!!). I had to shoot to Denver for work and missed the Providence races which is a bummer because I heard the courses were fantastic. Hit the Hartford 'Cross race and finished 5th last weekend and then put up a solid 13th y'day at Canton (which was ridiculous....120+ starters in my field, about 35 guys across the road at the start). Some asshole from Bike Barn desperately tried to come around me on the slippery pavement section on the last lap and ceremoniously slid out. I have NO problem with aggressive moves on the 'cross course-but this course had P-L-E-N-T-Y of places to pass, so I'm hoping this jackass has road rash and healthy contusion for his stupid move. Assuming I continue to do Ok this year, I'm going to apply for an upgrade either this year or before the start of next year. I know that I can hang with the 3's. Mebbe mid pack to start but there's guys racing 3's now that I know that I'm faster than so I shouldn't DFL in those races. The Noho double weekend is up next on the schedule and I'm looking forward to see how I can fare there. A couple of top 20's there and I'll do the 3's for the remainder of the season. However if I get my ass handed to me then I'll sit tight in the 4's this year and keep the work up.
-We had a blast with the kids trick or treating last night (and how awesome was it to be out in shorts and flip flops?????). Ryan walked pretty much on his own the entire time with big sister Cait being a bit pooped out halfway through. Cait's been battling a cold/flu all week so just being out there was great. Meghan is now 8 and has a pretty good handle on how to maximize the T and T effort and scored a ridiculous amount of loot!

Well that's about it....photos of the latest project soon to come...

Thoughts....

2009-10-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

So, back from a week in Denver at corp HQ training center for a little Cisco beat down. I'm sitting for the CCDA exam in a few weeks and thought a bootcamp would be helpful....all I can say is selling the stuff for the last decade vs. actually diving into the technical surface (emphasis on surface because the bottom is a few miles down) was a helluva lot more than I bargained for. It took me 3+ nights to figure out subnetting....and it's still not automatic....CIDR isn't too bad now that I've kind of figured it out. And don't even let me get started on routing protocols. Let's just say I'm not all that confident going into this test. Happy thoughts, right? Who can tell me what the network address, first and last host address, and broadcast address for the following:

171.25.63.20/25

On the bike front, things are ok....I never thought I'd be so twisted up bio-mechanics wise at 39 than I am....I'm seeing both a PT and a chiropractor (and the co-pays absof*ckinglutely SUCK, btw) once per week, stretching about 30 minutes per day and now starting to throw in some core strength building stuff. The plus side is that my back pain in the morning isn't as bad as it was this summer (it's still there but it doesn't take an hour to loosen up). The down side is that I feel like I'm spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get it back in shape.....and I'm ACTIVE!!! I ride my bike all the time and race a bit. I don't eat great, but it could be worse. How bad would this be if I was the proverbial couch potato???

On the home front, the kids' bathroom is just about done. I need to case out and paint the window, add some accessories and get my tools out of there. Give me one good day and she's in the books. I do need to finish up the guest room as well since I stole some of the closet to make room for the new vanity. Next project hopefully will be the master bathroom. And I really, really, REALLY need to finish up the lingering baseboard project. While I really don't want to replace any of the baseboard heating covers, I don't see any way around it. No one seems to make the end caps for the ones we have. Bummer that.....

Time to go finish stretchin'....then back to subnetting....let me know when you figure out the answer....

October observations....

2009-10-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Denver on a break from a Cisco class that I'm incredibly under-qualified to be taking but hoping to make the best of....while I should be head down in the books right trying desperately to make sense of SONA, IIN, and the core, distribution, and access architectural modules, I needed a break....so here are some random things....

My cyclocross season FINALLY got underway after two false starts this past weekend at Gloucester. Due to some piss poor scheduling on my part, I was rewarded with back of the pack starts with 100 fellow weekend bike racers. Luckily for me, the back pain has begun to subside just a bit and I managed to finish 27th and 24th respectively over the weekend. Of course no good deed goes unpunished....I dropped my Blackberry in a puddle on Saturday so I'm without a phone while my warranty BB gets shipped to the house. Makes for staying "in touch" interesting...

I had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple of German kids apparently visiting the States during my flight out to CO...too bad they hadn't showered in about a month...nothing like some quality BO to experience for 4+ hours!

The class I'm taking is a bootcamp ahead of a certification test that I'm looking to take in the next couple of weeks. I feel so completely out-matched on this thing....trying to stay positive and focused and hoping that the light bulb moment happens soon or I am screwed come test time!

Miss my kids and can't wait to get back home!

Irritated...

2009-09-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

....how do I measure my irritation today? By the fact that I realized I had forgotten my helmet and shoes for the first 'cross of the season as I was pulling into registration. I am such a collosal asshole sometimes. I got up extra early to stretch out my aching back, had a cup of joe, and did all sorts of wiggling around on the Swiss ball. Jumped on the trainer for 15 minutes for some light spinning, had some more coffee, and a trip to the hopper. I was excited and nervous and fired up and ready to GO! I love to ride my bike, but I really, really, REALLY LOVE to race cyclocross. The lung-bursting effort, the mud, the comraderie, the cupcakes, the fall weather, all of it.

F*CK, I am so pissed off at myself for missing this race! It's a wonderfully fun course and it's wet and mucky today, so I was psyched to blow some of the crap out of my lungs and get going.

Honestly though, this is somewhat indicative of how life is these days....as much as I'm trying desperately to simplify, simplify, simplify, I am running in a thousand directions at once and it is taking its toll. My life is anything but simple. Work has been bananas busy as I am working to build my business in the NE region. I am plugging away with the gut job of the main bathroom in our house (sealing the new floor tile at 10pm last night is likely why I forgot to pack my sh*t correctly for today's race). All of the kids are busy with either school and/or fall sports. Penny is working a couple of days per week so we're both running the household solo most of the time. I am back in chiropractor/physical therapy a couple of days per week to continue to work out my back issues.

UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH. I thought when I got out of school my schedule would free up a bit, but it seems like I am more busy than ever.

I think I need some some professional help! But hey, it's just a bike race, right???

Bathroom model updates

2009-08-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

So I'm about a third of the way through the big remodeling job of the kids bathroom and while it's going fairly well, I'm beginning to rethink some of my attitudes concerning home projects. No doubt, my oft-painful back these last bunch of months coupled with me hanging on to 30-ism is contributing to these thoughts.

I have ALWAYS been a DIY-er. Why pay someone to do a project that I can pretty easily do? Where I generally draw the line is on safety and efficiency. The access in the bathroom is tight and work has been bananas busy the last few weeks, so I opted to sub out the electrical and plumbing. Good move because what would have taken me a whole lot of time was nothing more than after-work fill in for the pros....

Demo-ing the absolute shit that was there previously then framing out the new walls, hanging sheetrock and mudding the walls is all pretty easy stuff, so I've attacked that with an abandon....I would have preferred to use a plasterer because I can't stand flinging mud but the best price I got was 500 bucks to plaster. Nahhh I thought, that's crazy.

Here's where "wisdom" begins to take root....how nice would it have been to spend that 500 bucks and arrive home from the office and be ready to paint? In my earlier 30's the thought would never have entered my mind. Now.....MAN do I wish I had spent that dough! I have one more skim coat to do and I should be able to get that done tonight, but had I just paid the damn plasterer, I'd be getting ready to lay tile instead of getting ready to prime the walls.

What I'm learning is that I need to be more cognizant of the opportunity costs associated with my time. There's not a lot of simple carpentry jobs or landscaping work that I will EVER out-source.....to me simple is pretty much anything that doesn't move the weight bearing structure of the house-those things are just too much in my wheelhouse to do.....but my kiddo's are not going to be the cute little dudes they are forever and I need to remember that. Install a new window, build a wall unit, a deck, a patio, whatever, I'll do that stuff. Rip a rug, re-do a floor, ditto. Hang kitchen cabinets (next big one on the list btw), easy. And with the internet I have a virtual trade school at my finger tips to answer a question I may have.

But today is a landmark day because I'm DONE with hanging board. And frankly, I'm ok with it. From now on, I'll do the jobs that I sort of enjoy (I don't really enjoy any of it frankly....but still) and can whip off pretty easily. I want to make sure my kids also have a good level of self-sufficiency in these areas. But from now on, I'm gonna pick and choose more carefully-life's too short.

Where does the time go?

2009-08-04T15:56:00.001-07:00

MAN, what a long time it's been.....

1. Work is crazy - I'm more about motion right now rather than action and that's definitely frustrating. I'm working much harder but I am having a tough time working smarter. Quotes are flying out the door, but we're not selling much...
2. While work is crazy, I'm grateful to be employed...there's a lot of really great, really talented folks that are not working and I remind myself of that every day.
3. The girls bathroom is coming along slowly....hopefully the plastering contractors won't kill me on the estimates....I really do NOT want to mud that whole thing myself....wimpish, I know, but I just don't like slingin' mud.
4. While I feel like I have a great fitness base this year, probably the best I've ever had, my gimpy back has me feeling disconcerted about 'cross season. I don't want to skip a season, but I can't keep living this way. My back is weak and sore pretty much every day. It doesn't bother me when I'm on the bike, but every morning when I get out of bed....oh man.
5. TOTALLY looking forward to a couple of shows coming up....U2 and the Allman Brothers/Widespread Panic.
6. Family camping trip number two coming up soon....this one will be 5 nights. WAY curious to see how the boy manages....

That's it for now....I'll post up some photos of the BR project as it progresses...

The Hub of my grief...

2009-06-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Late last summer I did the 24 Hours of Great Glen mountain bike race with some of the good folks at MRC. It was a great time, if not wet. It's been great to get back on the trails more the last two years because that's where my passion for bikes began. Amethyst Brook in Amherst, MA, senior year in college on a borrowed rigid hardtail is how this affair all started...

In any event, once upon a time I was an absolute bear about maintaining my mountain bike...these days, not so much. It probably doesn't help that my bike is older than my marriage, and parts are tough to come by. But being the rather frugal yankee I'm trying like hell to keep this limping along. A fancy 29er or full suspension rig just ain't in the budget this year.

As it turns out, I really should have done a better job of cleaning my bike after Great Glen last year....I didn't and one of the cartridge bearings in my circa 1996 Hugi/Coda rear hub has completely seized....

That's about 14 years of trail grime built in there....the seal really wasn't sealing anything at all! I really can't remember if I've seen a sealed bearing actually seize. I mean that inner race has ZERO movement in it! While the other bearing seems to be in terrific shape, it looks like I can get both of them for about 40 bucks shipped. Considering what they are that seems expensive, but assuming I can figure out to press these back into the hub body, it's cheaper than a whole new rear hub. Plus I have been taking a certain amount of pride in keeping this old steed still bouncing off the rocks and roots...

Now if I can just get that god-damned creaking sound out of the bottom bracket (yep, an old White Industries Ti square-taper beauty, same vintage...), all will be well!

Dave at Fenway review....

2009-06-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Have been an ardent fan of Dave Matthews since my senior year in college and have been making it a "guy outing" every year. The last few have been at Great Woods, so it's been a fun tailgating type event. This year however, they're doing the double at Fenway, so the tailgate turned into a mini pub crawl. We decided to start up in Allston at some old hangouts and make our way down to Kenmore Square, keeping in mind that pretty much everything right around Kenmore would be mobbed. The plan worked out really well - we had a beer and food at the Sunset Grill, then stopped at the White Horse.

Then moved further down the road to the other place that Sunset owns near BU (forget the name)...Hugh had joined us at this point making for a quartet of silliness for the afternoon. Steve decided that we ought to start exploring 10% beer in a can (all set for this kid, thanks!), which laid the foundation for...well, for nothing good frankly.

then finally shot down to the House of Blues across the street from Fenway (that's it in the background). Though there was a bit of a line, we had a good time hanging out and revelling with other Lansdowne partiers...

Then we went into the park to see the show....we weren't exactly sure where our seats were at first, but got pretty excited, pretty quickly!

5th row, pretty much center!!!

What a Setlist these guys threw down:

Nanta

Rapunzel

Alligator Pie

Don't Drink...Seven

Gravedigger

So Damn Lucky

Funny the Way it is...

Nancies

Why I am

Spaceman

R and R

Squirm

Crush

Time Bomb

Two Step

Encore: Dirty Water and Stay

Simply an AMAZING SHOW!

After the show we decided on some late night eats (definitely due in part to the aforementioned canned beer silliness....). This one is after Guy consumed the biggest double burger concoction I've ever seen....must have been two lbs of meat alone!

Steve followed that "show" up with this lovely display...

I know everyone has an opinion when it comes to music, but as a lifelong fan of the "Jam Band" genre, there aren't many that I enjoy as much as DMB. The Allman Bros. are probably my all-time favorite closely followed by the Dead, Phish, and Widespread. Then there are the "not as commercially well-known offerings from moe., Stringcheese, Dispatch, etc. But Dave is just a fantastic feel good show and the crowd is generally really cool. The only shows that I can think of that I'd classify as somewhat dissappointing were the two that I traveled to in Charlottesville, VA. My brother and sister-in-law were there for her MBA at UVa, so the trip was fun nonetheless. And considering that DMB got their start there, we figured it would be a lights out show. They weren't, and in fact the band seemed pretty tired and ready for a break. But other than that, I guess I'd consider myself pretty lucky.

Wish I had the guts....

2009-05-28T04:51:00.000-07:00

....some people simply shouldn't wear certain things. I wish I had the guts to either a. politely say something or b. snap a photo and post it. Rather, I sort of smile and shake my head and go on my merry way. Some examples:
1. Belly shirts - don't think I need to add any more description here....either you look good in one or you don't. If you don't, then please find something else to wear.

2. Sneakers with suits - as a fellow Metro-west commuter, please, please, PLEASE guys - stop wearing your $100 Mizuno track flats (which have never seen a track by the way) with your suit. Ten years ago when dress shoes were still stiff as hell, not very comfortable, and had leather soles, fine. Today, with the amount of choices in dress shoes that feel and fit like sneakers, get with it. Women, I see the point....well, I don't really see the point of the shoes you wear to work in the first place, but I'm not an afficionado on women's footwear....anyway, sneaks for the commute are ok with me, as I can't imagine walking from North Station to the Financial District in high heels, god that must suck.

3. Fat guys in cycling gear - Ok, this one hits home....I'm a cyclist and I fully realize that you sort of have to be one to get the whole lycra wearing, leg shaving thing. But guys that are north of three bills and are falling out of their regular clothes (let alone their cycling gear)....sorry, just don't get that one.

Last but not least.....when will women's fashionistas figure out that sun dresses with baseball hats and flip flops are what guys want to see girls wearing? A nice tan, zero make up, and sun-drenched curly hair and the above-mentioned ensemble....Pen...you reading this???

What a weekend!

2009-05-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Man, you just can't ask for a better Memorial Day weekend than what we had up in New England. I took Thursday and Friday off to catch up on some MUCH needed landscaping....on Thursday I cleaned out and edged all the planting beds and then on Friday I spread 12 yards of mulch. While my back literally gave out on me toward the end of the day, the yard looked fabulous and ready for our "Stow-folk" party on Saturday. I say Stow-folk because of last year's soiree....we figured we'd throw a little BBQ for those of our friends that didn't have any other place to go and assumed that it would be a smallish affair. Over a 100 people showed up!!! I ended up flippin' burgers for close to 3.5 hours!!! So this year we limited the guest list to just Stow friends and still had over 50 people! And our "one big party" is supposed to Oktoberfest - but truth be told, we love to entertain and house is set up well for it. Seeing all of the kids bookin' around the house and the parents enjoying adult beverages and funny stories is so well worth it.

I managed to get some fantastic riding in too. 3 hours on the road Saturday, 2 hours on the trails Sunday, and then another 3 hours on the road Monday made for quality training. I'm trying to rack up the miles ahead of the B2B which is upon us in just 4 weeks now!! Overall, I'm pretty happy with my mileage thus far....over 1300 in the books in '09. But not as much long rides that I need...and the event calendar is definitely LIGHT in June and July.

On the back front, overall I'd say I'm feeling better (this weekend's marathon mulch spreading notwithstanding), but morning is still just awful. I think it's our mattress being too soft, but considering that we're still paying for it, I may not have many options in the short term other than sleeping on the floor!!! I have been faithfully stretching and doing the PT exercises though. Am considering some yoga/pilates as well.

Adventures in commuting....

2009-05-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to try and do some commuting by bicycle, and today was the first day. In my previous position, it was difficult. Dress code and meeting schedules were often difficult to predict, but now I have a bit more control over my schedule. The distance/time is also a bit of a factor...not so much for the going into Boston part, but the coming out - I can leave whenever I need to in the morning. I'm usually out of the house before the kids wake up anyway, but I absolutely hate getting home so late that I don't see them before bed too. Plus with the coaching that I'm doing and my wife working part time a couple of nights per week, I can't afford to have a 2+ hour bike commute home. So I drove part way and rode the rest of the way. This morning it was perfect - 15 miles on the bike, about 45 minutes total, nice cruisin' pace. Great way to start the day.

The one issue though was the tool for the trade....I took my road bike (an older Seven Ti custom beauty). I didn't realize how banged up roads in Waltham and Watertown are....so I ordered up a pair of fat wire bead road tires that I'll put on my 'cross bike and use that. The shorter top tube and more upright position will make bunny hopping a bit easier as well. I thought for sure that I would mis-time a launch at some point and wind up fixing a flat on Mt. Auburn St which would have SUCKED!

I also need to get my morning routine set up once I get to the office. I just assembled an anti-stink/quick cleanup kit with baby wipes, deoderant, and some shampoo. There's no shower at work so that's a bit of an issue that I'll have to work on.

If anyone has any tips to share, please let me know. I'm hoping to ride in twice per week!

Quick Sterling and Sunapee Reports

2009-05-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

So after a few crits, I've finally gotten some actual road racing in the books. Here are some impressions of the events.

Last weekend my club hosted it's 15th annual event, the Sterling Road Race. This has become sort of a fixture of the spring season, and this year was well attended by strong fields across the board. While I have a lot of good experience in riding in general but virtually none in competitive road racing I'm starting with the 35+ beginners. The point is to gain the pack-riding experience necessary to be safe in the category 4 races which is my next step. I lined up at 11ish for 3 laps of an 8+ mile course with a pretty big field (north of 75 guys).

This race was a study in positioning-something that isn't really that big of a deal in cyclocross and mountain bike racing. Conversely, it's of critical importance in road racing. On the last lap into town, I found myself feeling pretty strong for the finishing climb but in shite position to help out the other guys on the team. I felt that I could have provided a solid leadout to our strongest guy in the race-bury myself to string out the field going into the base of the climb and then spring him for the finishing sprint. That's something I was planning to carry into the next race for sure-being more mindful of positioning. I finished 26th overall, which isn't bad for my first go around.

Yesterday was my next go at the Lake Sunapee Race in NH. The race featured two laps of a 25 mile circuit around the lake (beautiful spot). Each lap featured ove 1300 of climbing per lap with lots of rolling terrain. I was determined to be more animated and have a few digs on this one to see what I was capable of, as well as ride for and protect my team mates when we got down to the wire. Each lap had a couple of pretty tough climbs for racing. Racing climbs are harder it seems than training climbs. The peloton doesn't ususally recover after them....hard pace up the climb and then full gas over the top. I am finding that I need to work on that ability to apply the power on the climb and then the ability to accelerate. Right now I don't have that. I was able to get into two mini-breaks yesterday and do some quality pulling. I really thought that the second attempt could go. It looked like we had some cooperation going but just as we were ramping up, our group was neutralized by the pace car. Seemed to be a misunderstanding on our group coming around the race in front of us. They literally stopped us on the road and re-grouped us. So for the last 2/3 lap the entire group drove hard. On the last big climb, I came un-glued. There was push in the pace and I couldn't stay on. Broke myself to catch back up before the rollers and then the pace pushed again and I was gone. I'm not sure of how I did overall but I ended up just spinning in the last 5 miles. Probably mid-pack I'd guess.

Both races were fun (in a twisted sort of way) and also great experience. To be honest, they're harder than I thought (and this is coming from someone who is riding in the Cat 5's). The competition is strong and fitness levels are high. My strengths thus far are interesting--I never considered myself the "breakaway" type but I can get out there and pull hard for stints. I did think I was a better climber than I am right now. I can spin ok with a group, but when the screw gets turned, I run out of gas pretty quickly. And when I pop, I really pop. Time to get to work on that one.

All in all though, I enjoy the competition and the team work. The latter is the interesting aspect of road racing. It's real--keeping the strong team mate out of the wind makes a TON of difference for the finishing sprints and a smart riding team can lead out well and deliver victories. And let's face it, my favorite discipline is 'cross and this racing is money in the bank come fall.

Aging right before my eyes...

2009-04-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

So this morning before my first cup of joe, I noticed my two year old playing with a stuffed panda bear....he was calling it "my doggy"; I was correcting him as follows: "Ryan, this is a polar bear. Can you say 'polar bear'?"

Thankfully, by lovely wife handed me a cup of coffee and asked me if I was sure it was a polar bear.

MAN, I'm getting old. Unless there's evidence of black and white polar bears, of course.....

BTW, pay no attention to crap kitchen floor....we'll get to THAT project soon enough...

Time....or lack of it.

2009-04-29T05:10:00.000-07:00

I never reeeeeeally thought that managing my time effectively was that much of a chore, challenge, task, etc for me. Generally speaking, I've always considered myself relatively organized and able to "fit it all in". Given my schedule these days, clearly I had WAAAAY too much time on my hands!!!

One of my desires/goals post grad school was to become much more engrained in the lives of my children. As a lifelong average athlete but lover of pretty much all sports it's important to me to engage and introduce these things to my children. If they become little Mia Hamm's so much the better, but my goal is to get them in the fresh air with their friends and enjoy the competition and the sweat. To that end I volunteered to coach both soccer and softball. What I didn't realize was how much that absolutely is cutting into training time! While I once laughed at some of the multi-sport athletes in my club for dawn patrol rides, I realize the absolute necessity of them! With Saturday mornings gone (soccer), Sunday afternoons gone (wife working), Mondays shot (need to be in the office in Boston all day), Tuesday nights shot (softball + wife working), Friday nights shot (wife working), there appears to VERY little "Scott time". Add to this that my wife is taking on the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk and is training for that, my schedule is suddenly JAMMED. I've already had to eliminate a couple of races that I really wanted to do.

PHEW, ah well. The sacrifice is definitely worth it (Meghan and Caitlin are loving their sports and I can't ask for anything better), and to be honest, it shouldn't be that hard to start getting my ass out of bed at 4:30 for pre-work rides. Gary gets up that early to go swimming a few days a week (I mean gimmeamutherfingbreak....SWIMMING AT 4:45am???? All SET, thanks....).

I now need to figure out how to Ryan (he's almost 2), to forego ball sports altogether and take the Steve Wright route to athletic fulfillment.....

I'm running out of names for posts....

2009-04-15T18:22:00.000-07:00

"Random is as random does?"

Whatevah....here's a new list of silly noticings and musings for this week:

-It bothers the ever loving shit out of me on the commuter rail when I encounter double-wides; a double-wide is someone that takes up the space of two commuters side by side when exiting the train. You've seen them, the people that are too f-ing lazy to have a regular work bag or backpack, they have to use a rolling bag to carry a laptop. One word: gimmeamotherfingbreak.

-My new niece Cameron is gorgeous! We just did the Skype video thing so that we can talk with Jere and Stacey (they're silly Charlotte folk now....I'm sure my brother will be wearing a NASCAR team hat soon enough). Technology rocks.

-My back is still sore, but gradually less so each week. I think the physical therapy is working, thank god, 'cuz nothing else has!!! Funny thing though, on the bike, it never really seems to bug me. Bending over to pick up the little dude is what hurts the most.

-Speaking of the bike, training's been good. For the first time ever, I'm sort of on a "program" that has been good. So far the fun aspect of riding a bike is still there (though I haven't been on the mountain bike yet). I did get smoked in a super windy race this past weekend, but I'll chalk that up to some tired-ass legs.

-My yard looks like shit which is depressing. Said gimpy back makes a hard core spring clean up tough to fathom right now, and let's face it, with the economy being what it is, outsourcing that just ain't gonna happen. I'm thinking of doing it in "stages". Divy the yard up into quadrants and sort of have it one section at a time. It depresses me that I'm breaking down so quickly at sub-40.

-We just got our tax return and we need to gear up for the one big project we'll likely do this year, which is the kids' bathroom. Big one for a bathroom, we're going to expand it a bit by stealing some of the guest room closet so that I can install a double sink vanity. Man does that room need it because the prior owners, god love 'em, did a crap job.

-Did 24 throw absolutely EVERYONE for a loop last night or was it just me? I mean, C'MON, Tony can't be a bad guy. There MUST be something more here that we're not seeing yet. And BTW, was Kim Bauer smokin', or what????

-Listening to U2's new one, No Line On The Horizon, and it's growing on me. Not as dynamic as the last one (which was a FANTASTIC album IMO, right up there with J-Tree and Unforgettable Fire) but still good. Can't wait to hear Dave's new one....in fact I need to remember to download the new one tonight.

-Lovin' the new job so far, but hating the fact that I need to be in Denver next week for training. The fact that I'll be missing two consecutive racing weekends plus leaving my poor wife with the kids during school vacation week sucks. This too shall pass.

-The Spring Classics are behind us, and once again, one of my personal favorite pro riders of all time, George Hincapie, had some bad luck. Here's hoping that he can gear up for another year or two and win one of his personal favs though admittedly, his time is running out. But how SWEET would it be to see him on the podium for the Ronde or hoisting the cobble over his after a victory lap in the velodrome?

Random crap...

2009-04-02T17:30:00.001-07:00

Just some random randomness.....

-I'm not sure how or why, but my almost 2 year old son loves to watch NASCAR.

-Skype is cool-my brother (who lives in Charlotte) and his wife just had a beautiful baby girl. We hooked up a webcam and have gotten to see our new niece first hand! We even have my folks on it...as long as big brother ain't watchin', all good.

-I've started seeing a physical therapist for my back....it's still REALLY sore pretty much every morning that I wake up (and requires sort of limping around the house for 30 minutes before it starts to loosen up), but the prognosis is good. It's weak abs....we knew that.

-Having fun being on the bike more and more lately. Really trying to be more structured and efficient this year. Duty calls as munchkin soccer and farm league softball coach.

-While I love winter I'm just so damn ready for shorts and flip-flops.

-The high of the new J-O-B took a bit of a downer today when 10% of the sales staff nation-wide got whacked today. When will this madness stop???

-After two back to back killer workouts (y'day I did two hours solid, avg HR about 155 trying to chase Smudger and company around; today I did LT intervals solo) my legs are dead. Good thing tomorrow is an off-day!

-Wonder how the Bombers are going to be this year??? On paper they look great, but not too confident in Burnett's health and Sabathia's longevity. Should be an interesting summah.

Interesting....

2009-03-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, winter's definitely over and it's time to start building fitness. Even though my back is still gimpy (it hurts every morning getting out of bed), I'm now seeing a physical therapist to try and get this corrected. Thus far, the issue seems to be one of core strength (or lack thereof) coupled with riding more. Cyclists are constantly in flexion in the lower back during workouts and without proper "opening up" of the lower back muscles, pain can persist. Couple that with ridiculously weak abdominals and the picture becomes more clear. So I'm now doing some specific core muscle stretching and work with the PT. I'm hopeful that the pain will subside over the next 6 weeks or so....
I also have decided to enlist some pro help with training this year. Since I've gotten more serious with riding the last couple of year, it's becoming apparent that I don't know very much about efficiency when it comes to training. I pretty much just ride my bike a lot. Which is fine, but with 3 amazing little kids and a lovely wife that I want to spend time with, I need to fine tune a plan and eliminate garbage miles. To that end, coach needed to have an understanding of my 30 minute time trial effort. F*ck if I know, I've never actually done a 30 minute TT so it was an adventure in pain. I set up the trainer in the garage, popped on the iPod, warmed up for a good 20 minutes and then cranked. As hard as I could for 30 minutes. The monitor said the avg HR was 163 bpm...I am pretty sure that I gave it everything...I was seeing spots by the last few minutes. My goals are to do a few more road races this year as well as a few MTB races and gear up again for 'cross. I'd really like to grab a couple of podiums next year and I'm hoping that coach will provide the guidance.

In other news we have a beautiful new addition to the Sweeney clan...my brother and sister in law welcomed Cameron Patricia Sweeney into the world this week. Can't wait to meet her!!!

We also have a new string of kids' sports gearing up (which is also why the aforementioned coach was put on the payroll, as Dad is going to start coaching...). Meghan is in farm league softball with her buddies which I think is going to work out better than teeball. She was the only girl on her team last year and it started to wear on her by the end of the season. Caitlin gets her first shot at team sports this spring with Munchkin soccer. It's our belief that she's going to enjoy the conflict and rough-play; getting bounced around pushed Meghan away from soccer and I'm thinking Cait is going into the scrum with elbows up!

It's been awhile...

2009-01-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted in a long-ass time, that's for sure!!! It's been a pretty slow winter thus far...work has been one ridiculous merry go round of management and responsibility changes. I've just about had it with the place to be honest and I'm rather dissappointed in how all of the changes had me feeling about myself. So I've decided to simplify myself a bit and get back to finding fun and joy in the little things: who I am, what makes me happy, and remember how lucky I am. When I strip away all of the bullshit associated with the job and the Jones', life isn't quite as complex as I often make it out to be. My two New Year's resolutions for the year are to be happier and cheerful in who I am and what I am and to try and focus only on the things that I can control, namely attitude, effort, and activity. While those things sound pretty simple, it takes perseverence. Quite frankly, I am surrounded by so many people at work who create and lend no value whatsoever, but their "info-mercials" tend to keep them safe. I guess it's just workplace politics, and I suck at that game. But I can't control it, so out of my mind it goes!!!

This weekend is my oldest daughter Meghan's 8th birthday. WHOAAAA! "Getting old" check here....I took the opportunity to cruise through some of her baby pictures and it's pretty amazing. I'm sure all parents go through this sort of thing, but man the time has just flown by!!! In my little reminiscing sesh I created another resolution that's so cliche but so on point: seize the day, because these amazing little ankle biters will be in college before I know it. Case in point....I was in the office until 6 tonight; the office is in Boston. I live not so close to Boston, so by the time I got home, my little dude was about ready for bed. So in effect I got to spend all of 10 minute today with him. That's just plain wrong in so many ways, and it's going to change. Work doesn't define me. My family and my fun define me. So in the spirit of controlling what I can, I need to figure out how to be more efficient at work so that it doesn't interfere as much with what defines me.

Almost sounds like the beginning of a mission statement....

Serious justification...

2008-12-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

....for my kids being the cutest damn things in the world....as my lovely wife is out trying to make a buck, it's Daddy day-care here at the ranch. After good dinners and some chit chat about what Santa may (or may not) being swinging by with, I put on some tunes. Now it should be stated that while tastes may differ dramatically in our abode, music in general terms is key. My two daughters use the kitchen as their own personal club and rock out to anything from Hannah Montana and the Clique Girlz (yea, I said it....) to Dave Mathews to Tribe to the Dead (well the latter is more Dad rockin' out, but you get the point...).

What has been just a BALL to witness of late is the younger lad's new dedication to joining his sisters on the dance floor. His current favorite seems to be Kate Nash's "Foundations" (as soon as that song ends he starts pointing at the iPod and saying "mo, mo, mo...Dada, mo, mo!", which in Ryan-speak means, "Hey Dad, play that f-er again dude!!!"

Something about the first storm of the year...

2008-12-19T17:24:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure what it is, but I've always just loved the first big blowout of a snowstorm of the year ever since I was a little kid. As I look out the window and watch Mother Nature covering our yard with a foot of the fluffy white stuff I can't help but get a little excited. Shoveling will certainly suck, but watching Meghan and Caitlin blast down the killer sledding hill we have next door will be a hoot. Money's tight right now so ski days will be limited...I am hoping to get on some XC ski trails this year both as a workout and as a Daddy-daughter day (I got Meghan some plastic XC skis last winter and she loved it...perhaps a budding endurance athlete here??). I'll likely be the first one up and get the walk shoveled out after a nice hot cup of joe. By then the girls will be up and super psyched to get out in it. And then the little guy will eventually be up (the kid is 18 months old and eats more than his older sisters-he's in the top 9f5th percentile for height and weight and sleeps for 12 hours at a clip--can you say "not my son"???). We'll put him in the baby sled and pull him around the neighborhood too (sure he'll love it). Then we'll pack up the fam and head to the 413 for some holiday cheer with Mom's side of the family.

Love winter!!!

NBX Day 2 Report

2008-12-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

Well, not much to report! The day was just plain silly-about an inch of new fallen snow on the ground with icey corners and my hip really sore from yesterday's bashing. 4th row start with the B masters and I just didn't have it in me. After half a lap I just decided that I wanted to have some fun and not crash. Don't think my heart rate really spiked much at all. I had a bottom 50% finish but I stayed upright and had some good laughs with a couple of BRC guys that seemed to be in the same mind frame I was in. It's been a REALLY fun season and I feel pretty good about my improvements: a couple of top tens, a few top 20's, and some improved skills. It gives me strong motivation to train harder this summer and try to get some top 5's next year!

NBX Report, Day 1

2008-12-06T15:32:00.001-08:00

I love this course....I'm not quite sure why as there are a lot of road sections and it's wicked fast, but I just love it. Lined up for the 4's race today and had a third row start. I felt strong and was rolling well into the final lap when, with a group of about 8 guys, I learned how easy it is to go from 12th to 20th in less than a second. Was taking the sweeping off-camber right hand turn and WHAM!, down she goes. What was sort of funny in retrospect was the crowd's reaction. You know when you see a pretty sick open ice hit in a hockey game and the crowd just yells, "OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" as the dude picks himself up, shakes the stars off and kind of limps back to the bench? That's kind of what happened.....I did my best to jump back on and catch my group but they were gone. I finished the last half lap and rolled in for a 20th. Not bad, but not great either; that's cross though, and tomorrow is another day!

Late Sterling post...

2008-12-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

...not too much to post on this one...it's just not my kind of course unfortunately. While there are some good technical sections, I lack the HP for the long straightaways. Plus the steep runup just about kills me every time. I won't make excuses for this one; I didn't feel great and wasn't super motivated. Finished 19th in the 35+, 35th overall. I think there were 90 guys in the race, so top half. But not great; I felt like I left a lot out there.

It's funny to say this, but I'm ready for a break. My back has been really bugging me all season long. Lately my elbow has been really bothering me too. I feel like I need to take a month off the bike and let some things heal up. Then I need to really work on core strength in the off-season and do a lot of sloooooow and easy base work. I love, love, love being on any of my bikes and 'cross is definitely my favorite. But slugging it out every weekend with a bum back ain't much fun.

On the up side (there's ALWAYS an upside) the MRC crew lit it up overall. Gary and Rich podiumed in the B-masters (behind Mike McKittrick who is fast as hell and regularly finishes top 10 in the killer B's). Anna won (again) the women's B race, and we found out that Manny has been invited to join Geoff Proctor at Euro Cross Camp. That kid is just plain talented and motivated. While Luke Keough is the class of the US Juniors right now (I predict a podium at Worlds this year for him), Manny is hard f'ing core. I guess another bright spot (and sort of funny one) would be that I had my first official run in with Mr. Curley. He took me out on lap one behind the scoreboard. It seems that this icon of New England 'cross racing has rubbed elbows with most of my team mates. Now I feel like I'm part of the crowd!

Why I love Easthampton CX

2008-11-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

1. Cold as hell this morning, starting to feel more like cyclocross season (though personally I prefer sloppy and wet, the cold I can do without, but it IS 'cross).
2. It's in the 413, which gives me an extra reason to schlepp the kids out to my folks house for a visit.
3. My sister lives in Noho which is next door, so another family visit opportunity.
4. REALLY fun, twisty and single-tracky course.
5. I got 7th despite almost coughing up a lung on the last lap's run-up.

Great course-based on some of the comments I heard today regarding the Cheshire, CT race, I am going to see if I can negotiate the double for next year, assuming both races fall on the same weekend!

Daddy Daycare

2008-11-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

Should be an interesting weekend! With the cost of "life" essentially doubling and my salary not keeping pace, my beautiful wife is heading back to the work force. I know this wasn't in the grand plan, and to be honest I'm somewhat ashamed/embarrassed/insert derogative term here, but it is what it is. She's Ok with it, and I think getting out of the house a bit will be a welcome respite from chasing 3 kids under 8 around all day every day.
So we've got a hoops game at 10, a birthday party at 3, a bunch of work-work that needs to get done, a bunch of house-work that needs to get done and a CX race in the 413 on Sunday. Hope to have some fun and not lose my mind doing it!!!

Ahhhhhhh, the results...

2008-11-19T18:26:00.001-08:00

Quick post....I'm playing hooky from some late night work I gotta' get done. Results finally posted for Plymouth South; I guess the promoter lost them for a while. Anyhoo, a 16th in the 4's. Once again, my lack of finishing sprint (what??? Chicken legs got no juice???) put me one place down than I should have been.

This past w'end was perhaps my favorite race of the New England CX scene over at Shedd Park in Lowell. It is such an awesome race and with all the rain the days before the event, there was mud, mud, mud. I love racing in mud. I'm not really sure if it's because I have some perversion about getting dirty, but I love it.

I had a pretty good starting position in the second row. This year the good dudes at BRC wanted to wind it up and out a bit before the slingshot tree turn, hoping for a smaller amount of stacked up riders....great plan, but guys stacked just the same. I got a little caught up there, but I'm trying to learn from experience. Instead of bitching about it, I'm trying to use those situations to my advantage. Jump off and quickly get through the melee on foot and scoot further ahead. This seemed to work pretty well. The next part of the course was the wicked steep ride-up that I was forced to run because my sh*tty shifters aren't working well when they get muddy ( http://blog-o-sweeney.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-really-want-rival.html). I didn't really lose any time on that but my HR was completely pegged for a section I should have been able to ride. The twisty turny sections worked out WELL for me as a fair amount of guys were wiping out and giving me space to pass which was great. By the middle of lap 2 things had strung out a bit and the Psycho guys that I just can't catch were on the front (again). The woodsy section was dramatically different this year and was loved by all (though I wish they hadn't taken the barriers out). Trying to ride that mud bog was by FAR the most fun of the course! I was able to clear it 2 out of 4 laps (stay in ze meeedle!).
By the end of the fun I was racing with a guy from NHCC. As we came out of the woods on the last lap I jumped on his wheel onto the track. Around the last bend and I came alongside him and smiled-he smiled back. We both stomped on it....and, yep, my "sprint" proved second best again. Ah well-I'm still improving (15th out of almost 80 starters) and really, really enjoying the season.
On to Easthampton hopefully! See you there?

Plymouth South

2008-11-11T08:35:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been waiting to post up a report on Plymouth because I have no idea how I finished yet. Due to a yard full of leaves and two lovely little girls that were dying to jump in a pile of them, I had to get home right after I raced. So I did my thing in the 4's (race time was 10 otherwise I would have done the B masters), then watched Gary, Rich, and Jim start, then I took off. As of Tuesday morning, still no results posted. That bothers me....anyway....

The course was great...a mix of everything--some great woodsy single track (GREAT for me), coupled with long and open straight-aways (good for the guys at Psycho that keep f-ing beating me). Despite a lingering chest cold, I felt Ok and got off the line in decent enough shape. My biggest goal for next season though is improving my starts. As with many races this year, the bottlenecks at certain obstacles on lap 1 have a definitive mark on the outcome. I tend to be a decent enough bike handler but if/when I am caught behind guys that struggle on slippery stuff, I lack the power to bridge to the leaders once things open up again. It's my feeling that if I can develop more power and get off the line more quickly and then (theoretically anyway...) be able to stay there for two laps, I can dramatically improve my placings. This race was no different with guys stacking up on the off-camber turns right off the pavement. IMO this was an easy obstacle, even with a couple across going through it, but there were crashes and I was behind them. I caught up to Dave on the second lap and was hoping we could work together a bit to bridge...but my brain shuts off when I go into O2 debt and I just keep going as hard as I can. Need to work more intelligently with team mates from now on, it's doable in cross I am convinced.

Course notes of interest:
-I loved the waterbar descent through the woods-the traction was ideal and I was full gas through this section each time through. On the last lap, a 3/4 woman stacked pretty violently right before the uphill out of the woods....she seemed ok but that looked nasty. The guy from NEBC that was with me in this section literally rode OVER her!!!
-The off-camber S-turn section right off the road was also very cool and Sterling-esque. I wonder how much quicker I could be on that with tubulars at low pressure?
-It's too bad they took that steep downhill by the backstop out of the course, that would have been a BLAST to bomb down.
-The long grassy straightaways by the ball fields again crushed me. It's frustrating to watch somone literally ride away from you when you are giving every ounce of power you've got and the gap is still growing.

In any event, I think I placed top 20 or so, but we'll have to see how it goes.

Next up is the BRC race in Lowell, one of my absolute favorite courses of the year.

Noho report....late

2008-11-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

Not sure if the Farmington race is no longer or what, but Adam and the Cycle-Smart crew put on a fabulous double at Look Park. Enough changes in the course over the two days to be a ton of fun and we had something like 27 MRC'ers on the scoreboards!! Highlights for me were watching Manny dukin' it out at the front of juniors race (that kid is just plain fast), the Professor hitting the podium in the B-masters, and CCC at the front of the killer B's on both days. Bad Brad was sucking wind in the 2/3's but that kid is so good, it'll just take a couple of races to get some fitness back. The MRC women's team is wicked strong--podiums for Christina and Anna; didn't catch how Andrea did, but she's racing against the friggin' pros now! It's great to see; in just a couple of years it seems like the women's fields in NE 'cross have virtually doubled.
For me, well, I did Ok. As much as I love Noho, it's got a lot of roadie sections where I break down later on in the races. The long grass straightaways are the death of me. I need more twisty turny stuff! On Saturday I was 33rd overall and 25th in the 35+, and on Sunday I finished 32nd overall and 19th in the 35+.

The very best of the weekend though was my own personal fan club-Mom came out to watch on Saturday, and on Sunday the whole Sweeney crew was there. Mom and Dad, my wife Penny, and all 3 of my kids, my sister and her boyfriend. There is just NOTHING BETTER than hearing my daughters cheering me on--"go Daddy, go; he's only a couple seconds ahead of you".
My sister caught me doing my best Coley imitation over the barriers and staying upright! Perhaps the funniest thing (in retrospect) was on Saturday when I literally crashed right in front of Mom. On the steep run-up a rider from Cycle Loft inadvertently cut me off (I'm sure it wasn't intentional...) and in my oxygen deprived state I went off after him....just as we were to swing back to the left, I stared right at his rear wheel...and yep, hit it and went down hard. There's Mom on the other side of the tape-"Scotty, look where you want to go....not where you don't want to go". She's a smart one, I tell ya!

Thus far I am happy that I'm improving. Each week I look at my B masters results and transpose them to the cat 4 results list. Obviously it's a different race, but if I'd be placing consistently in the top 20 and even some top 10's in that group. I need to keep it up, it's fun and I'm gettin' better. On to Plymouth!

Wrentham Report

2008-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lined up for the B-Masters, 35+ race on Saturday on a pretty nice day for New England 'cross. This was a huge improvement weather wise over last year, when this race was in mid-December and absolutely freezing. I think I had two sets of leg warmers on and I was still cold! I was in the 5th row and felt pretty good pre-race. The course was pretty rutty in sections, so a half dozen warm-up laps certainly helped me pick out lines to follow.

Whistle goes and I go hard. Considering how crappy last week at Mansfield went (DFL after the MOC, 1 minute into the race) I had to be closer to the front before the grassy turns. I tend to do better on the twisty-turny stuff--I began riding as a moutain biker and I think my handling skills help there. I'm not Coley on the technical stuff by any means (who is?), but I think I can hold my own. Through the twisties and over the first set of barriers. I have worked pretty hard at getting smoother on this skill. Next year I will try to get faster through them. I think I picked off a few guys on the remounts the first two laps.

Through the woods and back out to the open grassy area. At the second set of barriers, literally right in front of me, Steen tried to bunnyhop over. Looks like he caught his front wheel and face-planted. Great attempt! Bigger cahones than me, that's for sure.

Next few laps were typical. I jumped up a bunch of spots....had Mike and Paul in my sites on the bell lap. Couldn't catch Mike and Paul put in a great dig on the last straightaway and I couldn't catch him. My best result ever in a 'cross race....10th out of 70+ starters. I'm pretty happy with that.

I continue to improve and need to keep pushing hard on the intervals.

Big shouts to the MRC winners: Rich won the 4's going away; Anna took the women's 3-4 race, Andrea the women's 1-2-3 (the MRC ladies are just handing to the competition this year!!!). I don't have the full story on Manny yet, but I guess there was a mishap of sorts but he was schoolin' the field...I am so happy to be part of a club where 'cross is a big thing!! On to NoHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I love the 413 and I'm hoping the kids will get to see Dad put up a solid result.

Have you tried this yet???

2008-10-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

So we're having some friends over for a little Oktoberfest fun tomorrow afternoon and I was browsing our local packie's seasonal selection. When I came across this one, I just had to try it:

http://www.butternutsbeerandale.com/

This one is going to give Dale's a run for its money. And the name itself is priceless. Head on down to your local purveyor and ask for it. It's slappin' good!

I really want Rival...

2008-10-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

My 'cross bike has Shimano 105 9-speed shifters. Hey, I'm a B masters racer, mid-packer most of the time, and we're on a pretty tight budget. But I do ride my bike a lot, and I've been racing more this past year or so, and plan to continue that. Anyhoo, the shifting on my 'cross bike lately has begun to flat out suck. In Gloucester, it literally wouldn't shift at all until I just pounded the shifter with a fist and then it finally clicked down a gear. In Mansfield this past weekend it did it again. Please don't offer advice....I've read the blogs, flushed out the unit with degreaser and carefully hit the pivots with some oil, blah, blah, blah.

I want SRAM Rival shifters. I was goofing around with some fellow MRC bikes the last couple of weeks and I really like the action and the stiff, audible "CLICK" of SRAM shifting. Then being the closet weight dork I am from time to time, I read the differences in between 105 and Rival and was stunned. (335 g. for Rival, and 490 for 105)

Now I just need to come up with the dough.....350 for shifters, 75 for a derailleur, and 100 for a 10 speed cassette and chain.

I did get two of the yellow Monopoly properties in my number 5 value meal today (worth 25k if you get the third property). What do you think my chances are???

Mansfield Hollow report + Why Mapquest sucks.

2008-10-20T15:13:00.000-07:00

So the plan this weekend was to race on Saturday at Mansfield Hollow in CT (and sadly miss the big time party at Canton with the MRC crew) so that I could go see Meghan cheer on the Nashoba Pop Warner football team on Sunday. It was her last game cheering and I really wanted to see her.

So let's start with Mansfield-absolutely great course with the exception of the Monster Off Camber (MOC) that was a minute into the race. Unfortunately for me, this obstacle essentially decided the final selection. I got bogged down behind a couple of guys that bobbled at the top and by the time we got it sorted out, the lead group was gone for good. I felt like I had decent legs that morning, so opportunity lost. The course itself deserves some space here though. No less than 5 or 6 dismounts PER lap dependent on one's fitness. There was a single barrier before the MOC at a hairpin left turn, a log barrier right on another hairpin left turn (bunny hoppable, but the sharp turn made that a suspect strategy IMO); two sand runs, a steep run-up with a barrier at the top, and finally a double barrier (regulation height) just out of the woods. The good news is that I felt pretty smooth on my dismounts and mounts-I feel like my skills are improving there. I am beginning to get the feel for what Myerson refers to as "merging with the bicycle" and immediately stomping on the pedals. I hit the sand runs at almost full speed without having to scrub speed ahead of time. My running sucks though and remains a weakness. Because my back has been so torqued for so long I am having a tough time sprinting-big time core strengthening once 'cross ends. In any event, I finished 20th, just behind Gewilli. I was able to stay and watch the first half of the women's MRC team have at the course. Spent some time with Christina, Anna, and Andrea--they're dominating the women's fields right now and stepping onto the podium at most events. I think Anna and Andrea won on Sunday at Canton.

As for Sunday....well, let's just say that Mapquest officially SUCKS. Why on earth that program had us going to Worcester (Holy Cross exit) then driving in a couple of cirles (though now I know where Bicycle Alley is...) to get to Spencer is beyond me. Truth be told, I should have read through all the directions before even leaving the house but hey-we're a busy family, Ryan had a tough night, we were tired and just wanted to GET THERE. Well, we missed the damn game and I missed the Canton race because of it. Ah well....

The MRC race is this weekend, followed by Beer Cross in Dayville, CT on Sunday (same guy that promoted Natz Schmatz last year).

Gloucester report!

2008-10-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering lately why the hell I get SO nervous before the start of virtually any athletic endeavor I'm about to begin. I mean seriously, I had a customer golf tournament last Friday and I was practically hyperventilating on the first tee (I banged it 250 and straight btw). Saturday morning was no exception. Racing is a funny thing....there's wicked fast guys out there with minimalist kits and piece meal bikes and there's old frumpy dudes with bikes worth more than my car. I guess everyone just does their own thing. But I was SO damn nervous!!! I think the show of cycling bling gets me thinking bad thoughts....

Anyway....I'm in the 4th row and when the whistle blows, I hit the gas hard. My goal is try and get to the dirt in the top 20 or so guys. Considering that in the 4's lots of guys falter on the "all so important clip-in" this seemed a reasonable goal. Things started stringing out really quickly though and groups started to form. I think I was sitting in the second or third bunch.

Ran into Rich just off the pavement on lap 2 or 3 (can't remember...) and he was running....it was HIS chain that I had seen on the pavement 200 yards prior. I knew he was in the hunt and offered him my bike (that may be against da rules??) but he declined. Guess he didn't realize that we both run Eggbeaters...

By lap 4 I'm sort of at that spot where I'm really tired, but also wondering if I can push the pain away and catch some more guys (insert State Farm commercial here) when I roll up on Mike Cook and a few guys. Cookie is fast so I'm pretty psyched that I'm here. BUUUUUT, I lack any sort of finishing kick and when we hit the pavement at the end of the bell lap, I don't get a top 25...ah well, something to work on, right? 27th for the day 1.

Day 2 was tough-first time I've raced on consecutive days and the course had some new stuff. A pretty steep run up (but the footing was AWESOME so I didn't lose too much time each lap) was added as were a couple of wicked slippery turns. I felt like complete ASS on the first couple laps but then started feeling better....until lap 4, the long uphill by the baseball field when Scott the dumbass decided to try and downshift under pressure. POP goes the chain and ZoomZoom goes the 8 guys I'm racing with....by the time I caught back up with them I was shot, and yep...once again we hit the pavement and I've got no snap. DFL in the sprint and 31st on day 2.

All things considered, I'm improving and I'm happy about that. Had I not blown my chain at Quad 'Cross I would have been top 20. Gloucester fields have 120+ guys in them so at least my number of top 25% on Colin's site will no longer be bagels!

See ya' in CT this weekend! No Canton for me....Meghan's cheering squad's last football game is Sunday and I have to be there!

Quad 'cross mechanicals

2008-09-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

So the first real race for me was yesterday over at Middlesex Community College in Bedford. Nice to be local, and it was my favorite kind of riding--sloppy and muddy, the way 'cross should be. We had an awesome showing of MRC'rs there, including Mr. Lowry who was getting married later in the day (dude, that is true dedication!!). Steen, Cort, two Todds (only one raced....dude, c'MON), Ric, Rob, Coley, GD, GFG, Jim, Bill, others I'm surely leaving out....a great crew nonetheless. However, in a way that must have been a good foreshadow to today's financial "news"....there were too many mechanical failures for the good guys....

1. Right in front of me, Bill rolled a tire.

2. Same race, I blew out a chain and had to run half the last lap, instantly losing 15 places.

3. Jim broke his saddle on lap 2 and had to race on one cheek.

4. Cort rolled a tire...he was sitting second wheel looking REALLY comfortable, then when I saw him again he was about 7th and on Todd's bike.

5. And not to be outdone, Rich somehow managed to rip a hole in his skinsuit in a place that 'cross racers don't want to rip holes.

This was a fun course and definitely local for me (I love races that are 20 minutes from home).

Well, the season has definitely kicked off. I was pretty pleased with how I was going for the most part. I'm pretty sure that Ric and I were sitting in the top 20 or so going in to the bell lap. I hit the gas on the straightaway and felt like I could pick off another guy or two before the finish. I had heard some unsettling clickety clicks when shifting and said a few quick prayers that the crappy shifting was due to the mud and not a chain ready to blow.....

Ah well...it's bike racing and this stuff happens. Important for me that I felt good in the 3/4 masters and I'm psyched for the season. Bike maintenance tonight and Wrentham on Wednesday!! Let's prayer for more rain!!!

The politics of the book bag...

2008-09-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

So I have a wonderful, amazing, delightful seven year old daughter. Her name is Meghan and she is one of the four most beautiful things in my world. One of the most interesting (and frankly hysterical) aspects of being a Dad is paying attention to the things that pop up in everyday life that other folks would likely consider white noise.

Just such a thing is going on now. I am calling it the 'politics of the book bag'. Meghan, like most kids her age, are 'required' these days to lug more crap to school on a daily basis than I ever was. Therefore, she has a book bag big enough for her to sleep in. But it's a couple of years old and just isn't cool anymore. Now her buddies are lugging around sling bags or messenger bags (HA! I used a messenger bag when I was managing a bike shop 10 years in Minneapolis to carry my crap to work everyday...maybe Dad is more hip than he gets credit for...). Being a bit of a gear head, I am certainly sypathetic to Meghan's plight. She's lucky there I guess--she wants what she wants and I know the feeling.

And since Grammy is subsidizing the effort, she may as well be the coolest kid if she can. So after putting about 250 miles on the VW going from store to store (REI, EMS, Hiltons, Bean, you name it, I've been there) to gather a collection of bags for Meghan to judge (there's less pressure on Project Runway I swear to god...."LL Bean Classic Messenger; you're OUT!" Can't you just hear Heidi Klum banishing that poor thing to the return counter???) she's settled on the Timbuk2 Classic below. Have to admit, it's a pretty cool bag for a 2nd grader. Now if I just get her off the training wheels.....

Thuggery

2008-09-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, just got the photo CD from 24 Hours of Great Glen and there are some beauties....here's the goods...great, great time and I'd like to get one (if not more) MRC teams for next year.

One of me on the last lap....completely destroyed (and no more remotely clean MRC gear left to wear...)

Now BBJ, in full effect

Here's Art, enjoying the bling factor...

And last but not least, el Capitan, Giant Frame Guy, the engineer (even has the WPI jersey to prove it....

No Blunt for me.....

2008-08-25T17:35:00.001-07:00

...the party was awesome. She was Totally and Completely surprised and we all had a wonderful time. My wife maybe too good of a time. We had to make a couple of "pitstops" on the way home; I felt bad for her. But her buddies bought her a few shots and she obliged. And then paid the price.

So I didn't make to Springfield for the Blunt Park race. I haven't even looked at the MRC site to see how the boys fared....I'm still bummed, but it's a long season.

CX, BABY!!!

2008-08-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

So the quandary of quandaries.....

First 'cross season of the year is Sunday. And it's in Springfield--I grew up there. And it's at Blunt Park--my high school is right next door. Sure thing right?

Well, my beautiful wife recently turned 40 a couple weeks ago, and we're going to dinner with some friends to celebrate. She's likely going to tip back more than a couple; and dealing with 3 rambunctious little kids with a hangover isn't fun.

So I have expressed my wishes to get to the Blunt. I haven't pre-reg'd though. It will be a gametime decision early on Sunday.

OOOOOOOOOOOOh, I really want to go.

24HOGG to CX

2008-08-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Will post photos when we get them from the event, but Ca$h Money Thugs did alright--8th in sport and 20th overall. The Ditch Diggers WON the beginner class going away. We are in for next year, this thing was a fun event, and one pretty much tailor made for a hard tail (Gewilli turned some laps on a CX bike and had some fun with it, so I'll try that next year as well). Nothing broken per se other than my shoes getting destroyed (fingers crossed that Lake will either repair or replace these, cuz with CX season coming up, duct tape can only do so much!)

Now on to the real season. I am hopeful as hell to be able to get to the opener at Blunt Park in the 'field this Sunday. Dinner for my wife's 40th with friends on Saturday so I need to be good. But if she goes for the gusto and needs some respite from screamin' kids in the morning, it's not exactly fair to bail at dawn for a race. As I said, fingers crossed. If I cannot make this one, there's plenty else out there.

Need to get going on road intervals though. Haven't done much and I need to tune the top end if I want to earn some upgrade points this year......CCC need some help planning that!!!

Are we in Seattle???

2008-08-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Sixth straight day of RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINNNN!!!

We're running out of ways to keep the kids occupied--got half way up the trail to Arethusa Falls and the sky just opened up...Ryan got friggin' soaked in the baby backpack (doesn't make us bad parents, does it???).

24HOGG is going to be an absolute muddy slogfest. I am going to take the cages off as I'm figuring this is going to turn into a 'cross race. Any technical climb isn't going to be rideable....

Brad, have a new one for your next review: Gritty McDuffs Vacationland Summer

The First Camping Trip!

2008-08-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

We took the kids on their first camping trip and it was a pretty big hit. Despite the fact that Ryan (just turned 1) had a tough first night sleeping in a tent, everything else turned out great. We stayed at Lafayette Campground at the base of Canon Mountain. I love the area, possibly my favorite hike of all time is there (the Little Haystack to Lincoln to Lafayette summit hop), not to mention two stout ice climbs (one I've done-Mt. Flume, one-the Black Dike...someday). For the first real hike for the children we opted to take them to Lonesome Lake which is on the way to the summit of Canon. Meghan (the 7 year old) flew up the hill. Caitlin (only 4) managed to hike on her own (no carrying at all) to the lake and Ryan snored on my back a good way up. Cait was pretty beat so I ended up carrying her back down (with Ryan still on my back....Dad was a bit beat himself when we got back to camp).

On day two, we took them over to the Basin and hiked up to some falls--though we were in the rain, everyone had a good time and the woods provided good cover. Ryan crashed on my back again (all of our kids love the "baby backpack").

Here's some photos....the next trip is being planned!!! Probably an easy beach trip to Welfleet!

Winners and Sinners

2008-07-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

So this evening we ventured over to JHB in Natique (many thanks to Steen for taking good care of us) for some dinner, Gold Spike IPA, and logistics discussion surrounding the 24 Hours of Great Glen, the next goal of the season. What was quickly discovered is that each MRC team clearly has differing goals. Bad Brad, GFG, Art and I are all looking to be pretty competitive. We're going up there to try and ride smart and place. Our comrades have other ideas. Steen, Lowry, Bauer, and Jorge are bringing a keg, and Todd is coming up to help them drink it. So it's going to be the MRC Sinners and the MRC Winners....the question is which title applies to which team???

First trip to the Bronx...

2008-07-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

Took the opportunity for a rare weekday afternoon game to bring Meghan down to Yankee Stadium for her first game (a 2-1 thriller won by the good guys in the bottom of the 10th). She had only previously been to Fenway and (like her mother) her first reaction was, "Wow, this place is BIG".

I love that you can only get Yankees stuff at the shops around the Stadium (conversely my first "official" Yankee hat was purchased at Fenway during a little league trip); saw these beauties at Stan's and felt compelled to capture them:

As a fan of the Bombers, it's fun to see the other side of the rivalry when I'm in NYC. Other observations:

1. It is 2.5 hours from my parents driveway in Springfield to the bat in front of the Stadium-about the same amount of time to get to Fenway from Stow, including traffic, parking 5 miles from the ballpark and paying 40 bucks to do so (17.00 to park in the garage RIGHT next to Yankee Stadium).

2. 8.50 for a Bud Light is ridiculous, but at least they bring it to your seat.

3. No obstructed view bullshit like at Fenway.

4. New stadium that will be amazing opening next year (I won't hold my breath for the same here; though being able to afford a game at the new Yankee Stadium may require a part time job).

While I'm no Mets fan, I need to get down to Shea--never been and it's closing this year too!

New life for the old girl...

2008-07-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

When I first really got into riding, post college, it was in trail riding. I have had this bike since 1997, and it was my second "real" bike (my first one was an M2 Stumpjumper). This past winter, I sort of "re-discovered" how much I love riding off road and have been spending more time on this old rig. The issue is that the parts are wicked old and things are starting to simply fall apart-virtually everything on this is circa '95-97.

So I'm trying to do some sensible upgrades-the first was a replacing a Judy XC from '95 with Arlo Englund Total Air cartridges with a slightly used RockShox Reba from GFG who is now sporting a brand new 29er. All I can say is Wow. What a HUGE difference this thing is-no more pogo sticking down the single track. The steering is a bit off due to the increased travel but I can deal with it. With the new fork I also put on a new headset so the front end is Ok now.

The shifting, however, sucks even with new cables and adjustments....I think the 1996 8-speed GripShift is just breaking down. My buddy Norm may be willing to part with some X.9 shifters and rear derailleur and if I can manage that expenditure, she should be ready to roll for 24 Hours of GG. If I ever get lucky enough to stockpile enough newer parts I can theoretically make the jump to a duel suspension bike next year....it's a pipedream but still....

Note to Rich....hang on to those CrossMax disc wheels, I want to get on your payment plan!!!

...it may be a bit early but....

2008-06-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about cyclocross....a LOT. The Voodoo is on the hook in my home office, so I gaze at it often. I've got the best fitness base now that I have ever had (about 2k miles so far). The first two big goals for the season have been accomplished (and I rode better than I had thought I would), and I've got one more biggie to start planning for (the 24 Hours of Great Glen in early August). So now that trail riding is going to take on more priority (I want to do one or two MTB races as well), it oooooonly makes sense to get on the cross bike too.

I have to say that one of the coolest aspects of joining MRC is the BIG group of folks that are as into 'cross as I am. I think we'll have upwards of 15 people in the red, white, and blue kits every weekend with lots of strong folks challenging for podium spots. My goal is to snag a few top tens and earn upgrade points.

So I'm going to start adding a 'cross workout per week (probably before work for an hour) so I can get used to the bike again and really work on my skills (which suck).

....and perhaps one of the funnier cartoons of the year-enjoy!!

B2B '08

2008-06-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

When I first signed up for the Harpoon B2B ride (146 miles from South Boston to Windsor, VT) I was a bit hesitant as to how effective I would be. The course profile (over 6000 feet of climbing) and the length of the ride had me really concerned. I decided that I would get as many long rides (>70 miles with lots of climbing) in as I possibly could given the constraints of life. Let's face it, with 3 small kids, multiple centuries are difficult to get in.

I think the plan worked out well, as I felt strong throughout the day. Save for the last ten miles of the day when psychologically I was just ready to be done, I rode well. I was able to maintain consistent pace up the looooooooooooooong climbs (I think the "new" one was about 10 miles long) and tuck in behind trains of triathletes on the flats. My max speed on the descents was over 45 mph. I had a slight computer malfunction, so I'm not sure how long my ride time was nor what my average speed was. I seemed to be the strongest (along with Jay) on the overall ride among the UMass guys....I was able to spend some time with Ian and Gary of the MRC crew...not sure how the 22+ mph guys were doing....Cort looked to be having some difficulty when I ran into him at the second rest stop at mile 110, but knowing him he probably rebounded and crushed the last 30+. Vic and Jim looked not the worst for wear when I saw them in Windsor.

I think a big key for me doing well was much more disciplined eating and drinking....I was eating something every hour and hitting the Heed bottle every 15-20 minutes and the Perpetuem bottle every 45 minutes. I had one bit of cramping toward the end (inside the last 10 miles or so) but was able to soft pedal for a bit and get back in a groove. No cramping on a humid and long day with lots of hills was just great and a sign that I was doing something right this time around. On all of the PMCs and other centuries that I have done in the past, cramping has been a problem for me.

I'll be back next year it was a great long distance ride. Penny and I managed to get totally and completely lost trying to find our friends' house in Ludlow, VT (to capsulize, the road had both odd and even numbered houses on the same side of the street, their house had two numbers, 477 and 881, and the numbers were out of sequence-we went past 881 to 1093 only to then pass 439...gotta love Vermont back roads....). The house was built in the late 1700's and doesn't have a flat floor in the entire place! I went down to the dirt floor basement to check out the structure and was amazed to see load carrying beams made of bark clad trees! The property is gorgeous with a little frog pond in the back, a big sweeping deck and wild flower beds all over. Many, many, many thanks to the bartender at the Burger Joint in Ludlow for feeding us a 10:30-we were famished and he hooked us up big time.

Time to start transitioning to the mountain bike with the next big event being the 24 hours of Great Glen. Hoping to have Rich's fork on the hard tail for that event as he is building up a new 29er. I have heard that this course, unlike Pat's Peak, is a bit more suited to hard tails which should be a welcome respite....

Oh, one last thing....was that the greatest clutch putt in the history of pro golf yesterday by Tiger or what?????

Pre B2B

2008-06-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go....the week going into the Harpoon B2B-145 miles....without question my longest one day effort. I'm a bit nervous, but shit, it's just a bike ride, so I'm going to try and enjoy the day. The weather forecast looks to be perfect as of now with a high of 79. There's a bunch of MRC'rs heading in for this event, though varying speeds....Kimball is planning to do the 22 mph group (!!!!!!) as is Koch. Not sure what Cort's signed up, likely the same. I'm hoping to go for 18 or 19 average, we'll see how the endurance goes.

Went out to Wachusett with a couple of friends this past Saturday....~70 miles and 4000 ft of climbing....good effort though I started to feel it toward the end. Followed that up with a 50 mile ride on Sunday on the MRC loop-ran into Kyle on Oak Hill and we headed over to the bike course of the Firm 1/2 Iron race going on through Lancaster and Harvard. While the legs feel generally good going into this weekend, my back hasn't been right since Pat's so I'm taking a couple days off of the bike. Going to try and get the chiropractor to straighten me out Friday.

Pat's Peak

2008-06-06T17:48:00.001-07:00

Six hours on a mountain bike is a long time to ride. Six hours on a hardtail mountain bike on pretty rough single track makes for an epic ride. Went up for the Pat's Peak MTB Festival and decided to pin on a number for the six hour solo with a few of the MRC crew-Billy D., Art, Bad Brad, and Rich "GFG".

Pretty happy with the end result being 8 laps and 40 miles and 14th place. I rode the last 3 laps on a pretty tricked out Trek Fuel trail bike. It was my first time really having at it on a full suspension bike and I have to admit that it was amazing. I was absolutely a better rider and I could fly on the descents! Had I been on that rig from the start I could have done another lap for sure. I felt better after the third lap on that bike than I did after 5 laps on my old bike. So much for being the old cratchedy soul rider....riding courses like this on a hardtail is simply playing against a stacked deck, it's as simple as that.

Next big objective is the Harpoon ride next weekend. I feel pretty unprepared given that I only have one century under my belt thus far, but several rides of 70+. I'll be in a group and will keep it sensible for the majority of the ride. It's 140 + with the climbing all pretty much at the end so I'm just looking to get to Windsor without wanting to throw my bike in the river!!

2008-05-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a while since the last posting....the first two weeks of May I was flat out with finishing up school-I am now officially an alum of the Carroll Graduate School of Management! It's sort of like quitting a part-time job. I ended up with a 3.7 gpa which is just a tad better than my undergraduate achievements....I think it took me two semesters to get a 3.7 at UMass!! I'm planning to have some fun with the kids this summer and try to relax a bit.

On the bike front I managed to complete my first two road races evah-did a couple of the training crits over at Wells Avenue and they were a lot more fun than I had originally thought they would be. While I know that everyone has "best intentions" in these sorts of races there are definitely a few sketchy riders out there. In both of my races we had some near disasters due to some questionable bike handling. As I say I know that this isn't intentional--I seem to be pretty comfortable in the pack zipping around in circles. Of course these races are short and fast, so we'll see how well I do on a more technical course with more distance thrown in. Fatigue has a way of sapping skills.

This past Sunday, I managed a top 5 (I think, may have been 6th though?). Vic and I were the lone MRC'rs in the C race with a group of maybe 30 guys. The first half of the race seemed pretty uneventful with a couple of fliers but nothing substantial. Vic took off with about 4 to go and he was looking great. I cruised to the front and tried to slow the group down a bit and let him stay away but the NEBC guys weren't having it. We caught Vic with about 2 to go. I was feeling pretty strong as we came around the last corner; Vic told me to go for it so I dug. Unfortunately, I possess no sprinting powers and couldn't quite catch the winner--next time I'll try to start a second or two earlier. In the B race the MRC boys cleaned clocks: Cort, Michael, Jim, and Paul controlled it pretty much from the beginning. I think Michael snagged a prime or two, and Cort won the race. Jim and Paul buried themselves on patrol. Watching these guys work together was SO instructional for me. It's good to learn from 'mates.

I also have a couple of objectives coming up-the Pat's Peak 6 hour solo MTB race is this weekend and I am bit nervous but hoping for a good result. My overall mileage has been pretty good so far this year but I haven't had as much time on the trails as I would like going into this. And six hours on any bike is a long stretch let alone ripping through the woods. We have a good bunch of guys doing it--Bad Brad, Giant Frame Guy, Art, and Bill will be representing the MRC, so we should have a good day.

Then in a couple of weeks following is the Harpoon B2B ride....140 miles in one shot. I am looking at this to be an endurance ride, nothing more. I just want to finish it with a smile and not absolutely hate life. Unfortunately I have only one century under my belt right now, had hoped for more. I might be able to squeeze one more in, but it'll be difficult. Saturday's race should definitely help with that regardless.

One VERY cool thing to note is the season's first 'cross race will be at Blunt Park in Springfield in late August. The park is adjacent to my high school, so we should have some family present for that one. We'll try especially hard to grab a top-ten and keep the rubber side down for that one!

My iPod possesses magical powers....

2008-04-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I witnessed magic. And I am not talking about the kind of David Copperfield making the Statue of Liberty vanish sort of crap either. I'm talking about the kind of magic that just makes you smile and wonder! The kind of magic that makes peanut butter and fluff just....go together. Uknowhatimtalkinbout....

One of my customers who shall remain nameless was pissed. His network had crashed hard and while a significant portion of the fault likely lay with "others" this was not the time to point fingers. He's been a good customer and needed to vent on someone. Enter your's truly; part of my daily obligation to my company is to get the crap kicked out me in just these sorts of occasions. Sound like fun? I think we're looking for a few good punching bags, submit vitae here...

So here I am looking forward to a beautiful weekend (about friggin' time by the way...) of some good long rides, goofin' off with the kids, and getting some heavy duty yard work done, when I get the word that the network is down.

I jump in the car and head to the headquarters site essentially preparing to get my ass and my head handed back to me with a plethora of, shall we say, illustrative metaphors for how much my company sucks. So in an attempt to ease my troubled mind, I plug my iPod in and for the 40 minute drive to my customer's site I was hit with the most amazing stringing together of tunes that she could muster. It started off with Rankin' Full Stop and led into this cacophany...

-Peace Frog (Widespread version--amazing) to
-She's Leaving Town (Mudsharks...great California ska band) to
-Shambala to
-54-46
-Live Fool to Think (DMB)
-Tangled Up in Blue (Creek's version)
Sheryl Crow's version of Not Fade Away bled into
-the absolutely killer Lovelight by Phil and Friends.

I was so amazed that my iPod on shuffle could completely remove the thoughts of impending doom from my head!!!

The customer blew his stack and I just took it all in stride, because my iPod is magic. And that's all I have to say about thaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

2008-04-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

Mileage is starting to ramp up....I've been averaging a bit over a 100 miles per week which given the crap weather has been something to be proud of. The Harpoon B2B ride is in June so I need to get at least 3 century rides in before then. I haven't been running at all though, which I am somewhat bummed about. While I never really enjoyed running per se, I did enjoy getting better at it as time went by. But let's face it, riding a bike is just way more fun!!!!

On the home front, my eldest has really taken to climbing-so much so that she's now asking me at least a few times per week to go. Our philosophy has been to try and get the kids into all sorts of activities and see what sticks. Admittedly I am not crazy about going to dance recitals but I could watch her rip off climb after climb all day long. It is also great to see her get really competitive with herself about it. All good stuff!!! Nnow of course the 3 year old wants to go chase the big sister....I guess not a bad problem to have!

Training with Hannah Montana and the Easter Bunny

2008-03-24T13:07:00.001-07:00

Good week on the bike, managed to get close to 200 miles in (and only one 5 mile run, but my achilles is feeling a whole lot better...). Was out for 40+ with Kimball, Cort, Jim, Vic, and GFG for a cold and windy morning ride on Saturday. It is the first time I'd ridden with Steve on the road and the notoriety is well-placed. The guy was on a 'cross bike (with knobby tires mind you), and pulling at 20+. Animal!!! Cort, Jim and Vic are to be highly commended for riding from H2O-Town all the way to Stow (about 25 I'm guessing?) into a stiff head wind to join the MRC crew for our 40 mile "spin" and then all the way back home...they must have done between 70 and 80 miles all told which is just awesome. I followed Saturday up with a pre-Easter 50 mile solo ride and got smoked on the way home by the same headwind that the Watertown boys faced on Saturday....just with no one to help out!!! All in all I am pleased thus far. Cort's advice is to try and get no less than 3 centuries in prior to the Harpoon B2B ride in June, so I need to map those out this week, get them on the calendar and commit to them.

On Satuday I took Meghan out on an indoor climbing trip--she just got her first harness and she really is enjoying it. We had to "rock out" to Hannah Montana all the way there and back...I wonder what music I was into when I was 7? I highly doubt it was anything as cool as Ms. Cyrus that's for sure. Megger knows all the words to all the songs....and insists that I have it on my iPod (which I do....). Perhaps the funnier aspect is her 3 year old sister, who is quickly coming up to speed on the lyrics as well.

Y'day we were all out to the 413 for some Easter fun--spent a wonderful day with my folks and the kids got to enjoy all the "goodness" of Easter....while I'm not a deeply religious sort you just have to wonder....what exactly does a candy carrying adolescent rabbit have to do with the Ressurection??? Did he live in the ground beneath the cross? I never did quite get that-maybe I should have paid more attention in CCD???

OH YEA, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

2008-03-18T18:06:00.001-07:00

Sorry about that....hope there was fun to be HAD!!!!!

2008-03-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well the roads were in great shape today, so I opted to take the road bike out (I had been riding my 'cross bike with road tires on it through the winter) and MAN what a difference. So much smoother....I felt more at one with the bicycle and smoother through my route. I have a really sweet road bike, one that I'm not worthy of, but whatever. It's a custom built Seven Odonata that I got before the kids were born (back when we had a few pennies to rub together), and it's just such an awesome ride. Managed to ride about 35 at tempo pace (which I'm pretty sure for me is about 80% max HR, but I could be totally wrong on that....need to check that to be certain). In any event, I averaged about 18.5 MPH with a HR running between 80 and 85%. I think that's probably too hard for this part of the season but I was having fun and it felt good. I can get back to the slow and steady tomorrow!

On the school front we had our group presentation last night, and I was pretty pleased with the outcome. There were definitely some stressful moments toward the end (I just hate leaving things til the last minute) but the group pulled together and delivered a quality project. My Saturday class (Wireless and Mobility Business Strategy) is going to be a lot more work than I had planned on, but the class seems to be filled with a solid group of people. I had taken an earlier class with this professor and she knows her stuff so I'll be better off for the workload in the end. Only about 7 weeks to go until graduation-I'm totally psyched to finish up. It's been a pretty long grind, that's for sure. But it'll ultimately enable me to move on in my career and get to doing something more interesting and fulfilling personally. While I generally really like the people that I work for and with, the job in and of itself is pretty dull. I'm excited to try something that will make me think more.

Looks like the weather is going to suck tomorrow so I'll probably get a run in. I was getting some pain in my achilles the last few times out, so decided to take a week off from running and I seem to feel better. I'll plan to go for an easy 50 minutes and try to find some dirt to run on...I think the pavement is starting to bite back a bit since I've only been running on it since I started running in the first place.

The Wells Ave crit series started up last w'end, and I wasn't able to race (due to the aforementioned school project). We're heading to the 413 for Easter this weekend but probably not until about lunch time, so if they're having the races, I can probably swing it. I'm pretty nervous and anxious to try road racing but it'll be fun!!!

OW!

2008-03-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple of runs have been somewhat frustrating....I'm up to about 5-1/2 miles now and I'm out about 40-45 minutes. Adding some time and distance each week was fairly easy the first month or so, but the last couple times out I'm just spent coming back in toward the house; my achilles have been feeling a bit tight as well, though I suspect that is the pavement telling me to find more dirt to run on...will keep at it a bit and hopefully it'll pass.

On the bike front, I'm learning a lot from the guys in the club...this past weekend's ride was fast, but only really brutal for me on the climbs. As this is really my first year of somewhat structured riding it's important to try and remember that this year is about building a base-as Bruce mentioned, can't frost the cake before it's baked.

On the school front, I have a friggin' group project/presentation due this coming Monday and an all day class on Saturday so this week is going to be really busy. I'm planning to ride to and from class on Saturday so that will give me 50 for the day, and then hopefully I'll get out for another group ride on Sunday.

2008-03-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

Training has been slowly building in volume these past couple of weeks, and I'm happy that I'm getting outside more-riding indoors just really gets dull!

I've continued running through the winter, and I'm up to a little over 5 miles. My running sessions have been as much at base heartrate as possible, though when I'm going up hills it's pretty difficult to keep it low. Overall it's been pretty interesting to feel the body adjust to this addition to training. The first few times I was out hurt really badly-I mean I could barely walk afterwards. Now it takes about 5 minutes to warm up and then I'm on sort of a familiar easy pace. With spring coming, it will be a challenge to keep running twice per week but I'll really try. It's all about building base fitness through springtime and this is adding to it.

On the bike front, I managed to get 3 hours of base mileage in on a wet and chilly Saturday. I went out and did the Concord-Carlisle loop twice then spun home. The only soul out there was a guy on a TT bike in the rain--that's pretty hardcore!! On Sunday I was out with a bunch of the masters riders from MRC and it was fast as hell--again. I was better able to keep up overall, but the pace on the hills is frustrating. I always thought I was a decent climber based on an ability to drop other friends, but with these guys I'm the one bringing up the rear...I guess my "other friends" are just slower than me!!

Stuff diet

2008-02-27T06:30:00.000-08:00

In addition to getting real sick of riding my bike indoors this time of year, I always get a case of the pre-spring cleaning jitters...I'm a fairly restless dude most of the time and when I've gotten a workout in, I'm caught up with work and school, and there's no real house projects that are imminent, watch out--it's time to start taking stock of the accumulated stuff and start purging. I suppose we could refer to this affliction as stuff-lemia. I MUST throw extraneous crap out, and nothing is safe. As can be imagined, I tend to enjoy some rather expensive hobbies: climbing, cycling, golf, home projects requiring expensive (and wicked fun) power tools. I have accumulated a box full of "extra" bike parts when I decide that something new and shiny will make me faster (never happens, I still suck), have enough climbing protection for an 8 pitch ice route (oh yea, there aren't any of those where I live...), etc.

So I'm trying to pare down my crap to what I consider to be more spartan. One suit for work coupled with a couple of blazers and dress pants. As a salesperson, this is more than enough and I can only wear one suit at a time, right? All the oldish and out of style ties? Gone. Baseball hats that I hadn't worn in 6 months. See ya. T-shirts from 5 years ago? Right into the rag bucket. My closet is looking fit and trim, with plenty of room to spare. In fact, I have room to store extra bed linens (don't EVEN get me started on that one). I still have a bunch of cycling jersies that I don't wear anymore but a lot of them are somewhat of a memento from an event, so for now, they stay. But next spring, they'll probably be jettisoned.

Same with the workshop--I went through my toolbox the other day and was astounded to find four (!!!!!) of the EXACT same size and shape philips-head screwdriver. My cycling parts box turned up 3 flat handlebars, two worn cassettes, old-school canti brake levers for a mountain bike, two old pair of busted SPD pedals, and some mostly worn 700cc tires that I keep for my trainer. Gone, gone, gone.

I went through my climbing closet and sold a ton of gear that I just won't use anytime soon (like the 5500 cc Osprey pack--let's face it, I won't be doing any week long backpacking trips anytime soon, especially with 3 little kids). So in simple terms, I have simplified. Now I must fight the urge to replace the crap I have gotten rid of with new crap-it's a rather uplifting feeling to be honest--a life uncluttered! I am also moving this attitude in my work-I am doing my best to reject paper and rely on the digital age. Contracts, proposals, and school work-all on the computer, backed up to the external hard drive. Investment account statements are now viewed online, no need to send me the paper. If I could only get more companies to suppress paper bills and just send us an email that would help even more!

As the primary chef for the family, I have taken this to the kitchen as well-that block of Chicago Cutlery that we so desperately needed 10 years ago? The big boning knife that gets used ONCE per year by my father in law for turkey carving at Thanksgiving? He now owns it, gave him that and the fish filleting knife that hasn't been used in 3 years-I use my chef's knife and my serrated knife only. I also have a small paring knife. Everything else has to go. Do we really need seven wooden spoons? Nope. Two potato mashers, 20(!!!!!) plastic cups for the girls, or that absolutely RIDICULOUS ceramic cow thing for pouring milk??? No, no, no. All gone. Amazing how much less kitchen space we need when we're not storing crap we don't use or need!!!

NOOOOOOW for the tricky part. It seems that my beautiful, blushing bride has a deep dark secret: she's a pack rat. While I am trying to shed things that I firmly believe we don't need she's sabotaging the cleaning!!! A new challenge--I guess I won't be so bored after all!!!

It's all about the base

2008-02-23T05:42:00.001-08:00

With another half foot of snow on the ground, I was up early this morning planning the day's activities with the kids, and I figured I would update some training notes as well. My season's goals are to improve on CX-so what that means now (and a big thanks to Cort for the sage advice) is base, base, base. I had been doing 5 x 10 minute steady state intervals a couple of times per week on the trainer but have been told that's not smart right now. So with all the snow (and no XC skis in the quiver yet) I'm paring the work down to 90 minutes on the trainer at 65-70% HR and watching a movie. Yea, 90 minutes on the sit and spin machine is a lot, but it's also a bit therepeutic-or at least that's what I keep telling myself. But even Maggie (the 12 year old border collie mix and faithful companion on many a moutain hike) looks at me strangely when I pass the 60 min. mark.

To mix things up a bit, I've also added running to my repetoire-I'm up to about 5 miles now and I'm managing that in about 45 minutes. I had planned to do a St. Patrick's Day 10K road race back home in Western Mass., but have since had to bag that as I have an all day Saturday class the day of the race. Which completely sucks. Running for me is by no means fun, but it's putting some base mileage in the bank and it's working out different muscle groups. It's been all pavement miles so far and I'll look forward to hitting the trails a bit in the spring-it has to be more interesting. Next year I want to add XC skiing to the mix-I took our 7 year old out a few back and she really enjoyed it; so much so that I had to buy her a little beginner set which she plows around the yard in now! Another family sport is born!!!

On the climbing front, I think I've finally discovered a new potential partner for swinging the ice tools-my buddy Brad was up for an outing over the Superbowl weekend and he had a ball doing it. He's ready for some easy multi-pitch, that's for sure!

Well, time to finish up my coffee and head out-to shovel!!! Big shout out to Levi and the Astana boys-this year's ATOC should come down to the wire.

Bathtub politics

2008-01-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

Anyone that has young kids can probably relate to this: the relatively constant bickering between siblings over seemingly ridiculous topics. This morning as I was heading out for a couple hours of base mileage on the road bike my lovely bride was trying to get my two daughters in the tub to get cleaned up for a day trip to the Discovery Museum.

As soon as I heard the first squeal from Caitlin I knew this was going to be another 'interesting' fight amongst my girls. Cait wanted the right side of the tub and Meghan wanted the same. If you've read "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" then you may remember that men like to solve problems, and women like to talk about problems. Believe me brother not only is that the absolute truth, it is in the genes. I immediately went into problem solving mode and was promptly corrected by the 6 year old that I should just listen to her problem!!!! Amazing, I'm already being corrected by the youngest of women in my household!!!

So I went out for 40 easy miles and felt pretty good. Got home just in time to clean up and put on the Colts-Chargers game. It was the first time that my little boy and I got to watch a game together just the two of us (he's just 6 months old and rarely away from Mom's side). What a nice peaceful day we had watching Norv Turner pull out the victory. Congratulations to the Chargers, but let's face it, the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I've started mixing some short runs in with my limited riding time-I have been more faithful to the trainer than I have been in the past, managing to get in three rides per week though I can really only stand to be on the thing for an hour max.

My first day out running was a joke-I thought that a few 15 minute "intervals" split by 5 minutes of walking would make sense for the first time out. While the fitness part of this is fine, my legs took an absolute BEATING. I couldn't walk the next day. So I took a couple of days off to recup and then tried again; but the second time I cut the intervals down to 10 minutes, and did only two of them with a 5 minute walk in between. I definitely felt much better the day after (though I don't feel like I'm getting a great workout just yet, my legs apparently need to get used to running). I still have time to build up to an hour before the St. Patrick's Day run, and my only real goal is to have some fun with my sister and not hate it the entire time. Maybe then I can get her out on the bike a bit more.

In other news, Meghan (the illustrious 6 year old in our brood) has completed two successful alpine ski lessons. We're really proud of her and she seems to be having a complete blast. Thus far team sports don't seem to be much more than a social outlet for her; she seems to enjoy individual sports more (tennis was her favorite last summer). I guess at this point the only thing that really matters is interest and enthusiasm though the comaraderie of team sports was always really fun for me when I was a kid.

Well time to go hit the trainer for an hour and then hit the sack.

See you on the road!

Post holiday report

2007-12-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Merry X-Mas!!!
Even though we got nailed with some snow to make Christmas a lovely and snowy affair, I was able to get out for a couple of nice hard sessions on the roads....while there is a lot of sand on the roads, they're pretty much dry so for my sanity I went out and braved some chilly temps rather than sit and spin on the trainer (if you can't tell yet, I hate that friggin' thing).

I did manage to make the idiot move of the season by committing to running a St. Patrick's Day 10k road race with my sister-I am not a runner, I have never been a runner, and I am now "officially" an idiot (prior to this move, that status was safely in the "unofficial" category). So if anyone would care to send me a sensible 3 month training plan to be able to survive a 10k race, please respond here!

The 2008 schedule is beginning to take shape:
-St. Patrick's Day running road race in March
-Marblehead Neck cycling road race in April
-Sterling MRC road race in May
-Harpoon B2B in June
-24 hours of Great Glen in August

I'm going to try some crits this summer too-I'm pretty nervous about this though as the reputation that crits have is crash city and I am really not looking too forward to getting hurt. But I am really motivated to earn some upgrade points in cross next season and I need to improve my fitness for those types of races-so that this going to be my '08 goal.

What are your's?

Trainer blues

2007-12-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

Ohmigod I am in serious trouble! After only 4 trainer sessions due to over a foot and a half snow outside I am hating the thing already!!!! It looks like it's going to be a serious winter so I am going to have to sharpen up the tools and get ready for some ice climbing! The last time I was out sinking the picks I had the pleasure of climbing with Barry Blanchard, alpine extraordinaire from Canada. This guy is cool as hell, and just an amazing mountaineer. Moves that just completely stumped me he would glide through. Better still is his ability to teach and guide. When I finally was able to suss out a particular problem (with his tutelage) he seemed more stoked on it than I. The Mt. Washington Ice Fest is not to be missed if you're a climber looking to spend a day with the superstars of the sport and improve your technique. If my two partners hadn't become friggin' hockey dads.......

Well, I really ought to go ride that damn thing-if I slack on that I have to really do something stupid like start running!

Snow, sledding, the Pats, and Timmy J...

2007-12-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the weather pros were a bit off in their predictions this time....the 3 inches turned into a helluva lot more than that!!

So my plan to try and get out for a couple hours this morning on the cross bike turned into the first sleddin' day of the year with the girls and the neighborhood kids. We had a blast and the old guy actually managed to make a couple of turns on the plastic snowboard that was present. Even our 12 year old mutt Maggie was out goofin' off in the snow.

After checking the various cycling pages after the first round of snow sliding, I was thrilled to see that Tim Johnson pulled off the big win in the cold and mud in KC!!! What an awesome race-based on what I've read thus far, it sounds like it was an epic affair with Jonathon Page battling all the way to the very end. Sounds like Treefarm got taken out by another rider crashing out which is unfortunate. But I have to admit that I'm always pulling for the New England folks so I am psyched that he won.

I'm pretty sure that he's decided to ride in Europe and hit the Worlds this year, and I'm psyched to watch him wear the stars and stripes next season.

In other news, the Pats continued their roll toward peeeeeeeeeeeeeeerfection! Hysterical watching the New England faithful hucking snowballs around the stadium during the game.

Let's give this a whirl...

2007-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well I have had fun perusing the blogs of my club teammates and I'd figured I'd give it a whirl!

This weekend in picturesque Kansas City, the US National Cyclocross Championships are going on in the middle of some pretty eratic weather-looks like the folks from New England are giving the crowd a strong run based on the podiums-Bavineau and Keough plus Cort Cramer posting a top 20-which is awesome! Kevin Hines throwin' down with Tilford is great to see as well. Nice work also by the other MRCers that made the trek: Jorge, Lowry, the Goguen clan, Rich, Rob "I have had zero mechanical luck this year" Bauer, and anyone I may have forgotten? GD's late season form would have been a threat, too bad he didn't make the trip!

My first experience with Nationals was as a spectator last year down in Rhode Island and it's just amazing to see the speed and skills present across the fields. I expect to see 'amazingness' when the elites sprint off the line, but the level of competition across the masters men and women's fields is pretty impressive. I love watching skilled riders going over the barriers-to me they look like expert bump skiers, their heads seeming to stay on the same plane with just their lower bodies zipping by-it's poetry in motion. Me on the other hand....well, I have work to do, let's just leave it at that.

As a newbie to 'cross, my goal for next year is to earn some upgrade points and consistency. I want to do the MRC proud. Most of my results this year were top half which isn't all that bad considering that I have limited racing experience overall. But now the motivation is there to work hard and get better! I need to consistently put in base miles this winter and spring, and then work toward tuning the engine for cross season. Doing my best to keep up the MRC dudes should help!

Good luck to the MRC crew in KC and all the New England riders hittin' it this weekend!!! As for me...well, I'm relegated to trainer sessions at night and finishing the deck railings by day.