Monday, September 29, 2008

In the Back Yard Doing Laps

The Jonathon Page Cyclocross weekend went spectacular. Everyone told me how great of a time they had and how much fun it was. The guy from Belgium Knee Warmers was even there. Which is really cool seeing that his blog is considered one of the best in cycling. The only downside of the whole thing is that I was not there. That is right, I missed my chance to see world class riders compete in my own backyard. I consider the State my backyard and the lake my front, which is why my crib is so fresh(all that water). I did not attend because my bike is still in the process of being built up, yet I could have spectated. Anyway, I am waiting until Wednesday so Andy can teach me to hook up my derailor a.k.a. do it for me. I suppose that I could do it myself, but all the thinking i have done about not racing cyclocross has left me mentally exhausted. I do have to say congratulations to Jason "mild/wild man" Ludtke for finishing tenth and Cale Wenthur for finishing 11th. It was both there first race in the threes category. Also to James Lalonde for killing it in the threes as well by winning both days on a single speed. Katy "Snacks" Steudel for crushing it, while manging a modeling career too. By the time my bike's put together and I bribe someone to upgrade me to threes everyone will be in the twos! Great job guys!

I did manage to go on a longer ride though. It was nice although it was overcast and it took me an hour or so to actually get out the door. I had already been bumed about missing cross, then I wake up to the weather looking like it was going to rain. I did the old Port Washington ride and felt amazingly strong the whole way there (keep in mind only one way). Once I arrived I descided I needed to make up for my absense in cross, so I headed west to Saukville where after passing thourgh started to go south. I had been feeling great, but I must have left the feeling in Port as my legs started to hurt. I hustled down to Cedaburg, then headed back east to my front yard(the lake). After the short loop up north, I began the ride home while munching on a powerbar that gave me some power gas(not the kind that fuels a bike ride). At about Whitesnake Bay a black s.u.v. layed on the horn next to me. I was exhausted and was to tired to look over, until they rolled the window down then yelled, "Pick up the Pace!". It was a guy I deliver packages for, which I thought was pretty cool. I only see him a couple times a week for probably under five minutes at a time. So I was blown away that he recongised me. I soon was approching Kenwood where I dropped into the little ring where I belonged. The ride made me feel that I had accomplished something this weekend and gave me a bit more pep to get the cross bike together ASAP. So hopefully next time you see me i can give you a high five on my high five or atleast you can watch me ride it.

Congratualtions to everyone at the Sun Prarie race. Sorry if i missed you perhaps next time I can give you a shout out. Although I doubt people actually read this.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

High Fives and Crappy Bike Rides

The High Five is finally here! It came in the morning yesterday, while i was at school. It looks rad, it is all white with a white fork, has silver cursive that says high five and has an integrated headset. I was pleased to see it came with a seat post and a head set, seeing that I have just discovered there is a difference between the money i pick off trees and the stuff i get from my bank. My plan would be to build it up today, but i have to work, then have class until late which will be followed by some homework. This makes for a nerve wrecking day knowing that i have finally got my cyclocross frame and fork, but have to wait to build it up. With any luck it should be built by Thursday, but I imagine that the weekend is more likely. Jonathon Page's CX race is this weekend both Saturday and Sunday. I would like to do both days, Sunday seems more of a real possibility than Saturday. My second thought is just blow off school entirely and build up the frame tonight. This way I would guarantee my readiness for the coming up races, yet an unusual feeling has fallen over me that says I should not go down this route. I remember someone telling me that is what responsibility feel like. I don't think this could be what it is because:
A. I don't want to over exert myself by going over to dictionary.com and find the actual definition.
B. I am 21 and can still get away with being naive
So I am still unclear on the name of the feeling, yet I will be going along with it and sticking to my gut, which has recently grown.

On a different note i took the trek up to Concordia like usual, but had made the mistake of leaving at six, which would make slow and cautious ride home since it gets dark earlier. I was feeling great on the whole ride there except when the sun started to retreat so did my level of comfort, since I didn't bother to bring any lights with me. As I cruised past Virmont Park(not sure of actual name) home I realized that it was completely dark and thoughts of being plowed away by a Soccer mom or Lawyer began to sink in. So I made the drastic choice to slow down by all busy intersections since most people drive like lunatics anyways, the thought of them not seeing me at night seemed very real. On the way back i noticed that Lake Drive has no street lights which added to my paranoia. I eventually turned on to Oakland and took that back deciding it was the safest route. This thought was soon interrupted when i blew the first red light and realized a cop was sitting on the other side of the intersection. My half ass ride was sure to become a complete ass or a complete ass and a half ride if I were to get pulled over. To my relief he had not turned around to pull me over, which was a bit shocking. I have heard they are a bit tougher on the cycling laws in the Shorewood and Whitefolks Bay. I probably will not be doing that again just for safety and financial purposes. Additionally the ticket would certainly make a dent on the already small budget of the HighFive. A budget that needs as much money as it can get.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

I have talked about it before like I usually do, but have never actually done it until now. The blog of Teal has been born like a baby in Bethlehem in a barn on a starry night. I plan to use this as a tool to keep me training throughout the year. This is a tool to keep me motivated to stay on the bike, though the motivation that it will actually deliver I am sure is meager. When I ride I often run into situations that leave me thinking, "what the hell just happened?" then shortly after the ride the memory is forgotten like the motivation that this blog will bring. Even though the story from it would have been mediocre and the number of people I tell that would enjoy it would be less than 1%, I still feel compelled to tell it. So to my reader(s) be prepared for poor grammar, illogical thinking, and a lot of opinion about cycling with very little fact.