21 or 35 ?

ouch. that one is going to leave a mark. two days later and i think i may still be slightly drunk??

another summer and another Jimmy Buffett Concert has come and gone. it was a new venue this year, Toyota Park in Bridgeview. nice stadium park, but i much prefer the tailgating and lawn section at the old WhatEverItsBeingCalledNow Amphithere in Tinley Park.

they really had them packed in like canned sardines.

the concert was, well, Jimmy Buffett. he did his thing and we did our thing. he tossed a nugget or two, with playing Last Mango in Paris being the best.

this year i think i went a little to far. i would like to offer up my official apology to any and all that my drunken actions offended.

aham23 is sorry.

sorry to you, mr coconut bra man for asking your manbra size. sorry to you mrs school teacher grass skirt wearing lady for suggesting we get drunk and screw. i am not 21 anymore, that is for sure.

finally, i am on day two of a planned 4 day break. the JB Induced Coma and some nagging aches and pain are really dragging me down.

later.

wasted away again...

my speak of such an excellent cycling month has seemingly upset the cycling Gods. no, not Lance Armstrong, but the ones who control the cycling universe. they dish out pain & suffering. they keep a roadie in his place.

i have been dragging some serious arse the last two days. i know, TWO DAYS, can you believe it. normally i have to be tied up, drugged and taken on a forced vacation to see two consecutive off days. the 700 Club and title of July Mileage Whore may have to wait???

plus, i got some other things going on this weekend. it is that time of summer again. first, it is my 10 year anniversary. i love you baby!!

let's get drunk and screw!

you guessed it.....it is that wonderful time of the year when Jimmy Buffett makes his return to the Chicago Area. someone i know is a big fan and we go every summer. sometimes we go twice. the party scene at his concert is crazy fun. so, i go and we party like it is 1996 and we are at a Phish Concert.




later.

700 Club

July is shaping up rather nicely for me.

if the family, the weather, the man, and the body cooperate i just may top 700 miles for the month. just may, but you never know.

to date i have 11 rides for 530 miles at a 18.4 mph pace. distance is good, but i need to be faster. want to be faster. must get faster. i like going fast.

later.

A Picture Is Worth............

.....a 130 pounds.

12/31/2005

june 2007

RAIN. the pictures....

happy campers at 6am getting ready to head over to the start.

should the sky be this dark at 7am?

done.

RAIN. the report....

first, much thanks to Team Psimet for guiding us to and from RAIN via the Starship Psimet. Mrs Psi and Little Psi were troopers and provided us excellent SAG. it was much appreciated.

this was my third RAIN. while my mileage was about the same as last year, i think the training & riding efforts have been better, so i was feeling good going into the 160 journey.

we woke up early to some nasty looking skies. very dark with consistent bright flashes of lightning. rain at RAIN....i thought....this should be fun. we arrived at the start early and got a nice spot near the line. eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. with the start of RAIN the rain started.

miles 0-40:

fast & flats. twitchy & itchy. we were rolling with the lead group. riders were flatting left and right. to my right Psimet. to my left it NVR (hey, anyone seen NVR?). shortly after Psimet flatted i decided to drop to the back of the lead pack. despite the conditions (you know, the obvious need to take it easy) riders were all over the road and very impatient. i felt like this could get ugly and wanted none of it. i hung on to the back of the fast pack until mile 25. it was just time to get real and slow it down a bit. this was about the time the rain stopped. the skies remained ominous though. i rolled solo into the 1st stop.

miles 40-60:

we rolled out fully loaded (me, Psi, JT1, Scummer, & Voldemort). the sun was coming out and one could feel the heat & humidity rising. it was going to be very muggy. we pretty much stuck together during this stretch. it was these miles where Psi admitted he was hurting. maybe we shouldn't have rushed him out of the 1st stop :innocent:.

miles 60-90:

rolling into and around Indy we could see a lot of standing water and flooding. we just missed some nasty weather for sure. this section was fun. Scummer power pulled, then went off roading, then more power pulling, then a flat. i rode into lunch slightly ahead of our group. like last year i was really needing the break...........and Oreo cookies.

miles 90-130:

Oreo cookie power. after one samich and 12 Oreo cookies i departed the lunch stop solo. like Psi mentioned this always seem to be the toughest stretch. you pass the 100 mile mark, but realize you have 3 hours to go. the heat and humidity of the day are peaking. it just gets nasty. a couple things kept me going; i hit the century mark at 4 hours 53 minutes, a sub 5 hour 100 & my fastest ever. looking for and dreaming of route 40 kept me going. searching the DMB catalogue in my head for that song Psi & i sang at the rollout, kept me going.

miles 130-160: I can ride my bike with no handlebars. No handlebars. No handlebars.

the pain cave was sucking me in as i rolled into the last rest stop. most of the riders there appeared to be in the same fashion. i didn't stay long. i didn't eat much. i did snag a brown sugar poptart for the car ride home!

i pretty much rode the second half of this ride solo. only getting passed by 2 riders. around 150 i started computer watching. "damn you Garmin Edge, click those freaking miles off already." at mile 158 a lady blew past me on the descent into Richmond. i had passed her group just prior. i thought good for her. no i didn't. i jumped on it and descended into town catching her as she celebrated prematurely. i didn't take the foot off the gas until the turn to the finish line. i got issues.

Eat, drink, and be merry.
For tomorrow we die.
Eat, drink, and be merry.
For tomorrow we die.
'Cause we're Tripping Billies.

my third RAIN was epic. they all have been in some way or the other. from first timer, to perfect conditions, to the pain cave. i will be back next year.

congrats to everyone. way to fight the mind and body Psimet..................AND WIN.

MB Edge Stats

my ride time = 7h 55min for a 20.2 mph avg.
total time was just over 9 hours.

*edit* unofficial slash official RAINride.org time is 9 hours 3 minutes. that puts me 151 out of 911 finishers.

later.

RAIN

one way. one day. 160 miles.

Holiday Resting.....

i think not. time off from work means more time on the bike.

last weekends poor effort up in the hills of Wisconsin had me bumming. then i couldn't get out Wednesday or Thursday for any rides and i was pouting. i started checking stats from last year and this year to date. it seemed i was no better and no worse. flat lined.

on the 4th i did the JBC Metric. a 62 mile ride, but i decided to ride to the ride as it was local. the legs were good. i was at the front and off the front all day. into the wind i was very strong. it was a totally flat and fast ride, but the wind was a bit nasty. i finished the ride faster then last year. just what the doctor ordered.

after 140 miles this weekend (180 this week), late nights & holiday cheer, i am tired. i still need to find a way to change things up and advance my cycling abilities. some fast group rides. more climbing. more time trial type efforts. intervals. racing(?).

one way, one day, 160 miles, is next Saturday. it should be fast and furious.

later.