Weekend Lookback - Long Ride Heaven

This is only about a week late...

Adam was here for a month and it set me on a good path. We rode some long stuff, drank some Belgian beer and tried to set our seasons on the right trajectory....by and large we succeeded. One thing we didn't get done was the "Heart of Darkness" ride - Mia got sick so we had to cancel. It is one of my favorite rides, and is always daunting! Depending on the route you take it can be anywhere from 90 - 110 miles, we'd set out for the 105 option...

but we decided that 95 felt pretty good once we got to the base of Eureka Canyon after enduring a head wind all the way South from Almaden to Redwood Retreat...the better part of 1:50 at 15mph. It's basically the same ride as the 105, but cuts back down to Los Gatos  at Hwy 17 instead of crossing Summit to Hwy 9.
I'd hoped to be at Mt Madonna in 2 hours, it took us 3. Then again the climb up Mt Madonna was pretty awesome, if slow, and full of gorgeous cloud covered beauty around every corner.

Sunday was Clinic Day for the Pen Velo Women's Team and a good time was had. We worked on those close skills that I love so much...and pacelines...and echelons, which they totally rocked at! It worked out to about 3 hours of "on the bike" time..but only about 30 miles.

Monday was a holiday, so I'm counting it! Made plans to ride with a friend - thought we'd do about 3, but ended up north of 4.5 hours, mostly spent tooling around the hills south from Los Altos to Saratoga - all of 53 miles and 5500 feet of climbing. It was a pretty good ride.

We got some altitude!

and I haven't laughed that much on a climb ever I don't think...a couple of highlights that will surely be missed by those reading...

- "You climb pretty good for a fat girl"
- "I'm way harder on others than I am on myself"
- "Big feet make a stable woman"
- "I hate you"

Thursday Rant - The Nanny State

The primary argument against labeling sugar contents in drinks/etc seems to come down to perceptions of a rise in "The Nanny State". While the histrionics over the ACA, the rollout, and the rise in state medicare, etc. trend around a similar rise in government oversight or government handout, that entitles "those" folks who "don't want to work" by those who "don't want to pay" - mis-characterizations both - but it does raise the question...

If we as a society now deign that some form of universal health care is deserved by all, isn't it reasonable to try and deliver the best care in the aggregate? Tons-o-sugar isn't too healthy...so says common sense and lots of research. The pennies, or percentages, are generally small and the payoff for that kid who didn't get fat, for the individual, and for the society overall is pretty big.

So while on the one hand I favor the implementation of a commonsense approach that will help the population and save us a bunch of money in the long run, on the other I'd like to see a little more brisk natural selection for the morons who think that they should be able to roundly kill themselves via lifestyle suicide, ultimately at my (and our) mutual expense.

To the pivot

I'm not pushing Girl Scout Cookies again, ever, until they raise the percentage of sales that go to the individual troops! Girl Scouts - essentially under-represented union workers - receive only like $0.25 per box for each one sold in the Annual Great Cookie Consumption Challenge.

Read that again - I will not advocate for Girl Scout Cookies (except Mia's) until they pay the Girl Scouts A LIVING WAGE! Instead I'm giving 'em cash, better return. Someone is making money on the deal and I don't think GSA Board is cooking up the cookies out back of the board room. I'd rather buy the gals a field trip someplace cool than buy Mr Cookie CEO a new Gulfstream.

I did not however, say that I would not buy them....but probably not $100 worth.

Thursday Rant - Gawdamn It, I'm Annoyed Again....

I'm pretty sick of this shit...this continual quest to be "Elite" "Exclusive" and "First Tier" in all things, pissed enough to make my it part of my Thursday rant...and as usual it started as one thing and became another..

Everyone seems to be selling  "Exclusive" service, the kind of service you'd expect and deserve as the discerning literate you are, let's walk a mile in their shoes...

First we need to get there, so let's get on our charter...I like NetJets b/c it appeals to my "sensible" elite side. My personal preference sits with the Falcon 900 - yours for only $5900/hour

but I also like the Falcon 50, the Cessna CitationJet (mostly cause I've been on one) and who doesn't love the G650...

Then we'll need a place to stay..since it's a road trip I say we stay at the "World Renowned" Hotel Domestique to kick things off. See, it's owned by a doper and that alone is worth the price of admission. And at only $425/night it's a high profile opportunity to be seen in the company of cycling's greatest tour rider ever. Never mind the past...look at that room!

Of course, we're cyclists so we need a ride - let's do the doper ride!

But but...all that money for charity!

STFU!

Slap some DZ nuts on your balls, get yourself a "pro" coach for only $350/mo, maybe take a camp for $2500/wk, then get after it...

What irritates me is that their whole persona, their whole "elite" lifestyle is built on cheating and lying...millions of dollars...stolen. Yet they act like they are deserving, that they have crossed the precipice of greatness, when really all they did was cheat. So F those guys and their whole way of life. I'll give a shout to Tyler and Floyd though....not for any good reason, I just like them more than the others and they've owned their mistakes in a very public arena.

Now, the pivot...

My other annoyance this week is the "Pro" Cat 3 and 4 racer that seems to think they are owed something. I'm lucky enough to have seen many sides of the sponsorship game and, frankly, I don't know where these guys are coming from. I certainly understand ambition - I was out hustling Sanchez Automotive for $200 in sponsorship dollars on my Acquila Team jersey in 1989! It was a sweet jersey...in the 80's

but I don't understand these guys who send emails to teams that trend towards "Hi, I'm an aspiring Cat 3 from X College and I wanted to know what benefits your team offers...." They have facebook pages that are purpose built for their cycling 'careers' and all the potential exploits their 100 "likes" can bring a brand or team. Frankly, it's the hubris that bothers me...and it's probably proof that I'm old...but...
YOU HAVEN"T DONE ANYTHING IN CYCLING...and you want to know what I'm bringing to the table? Sister please....

I've had a license for over 25 years, and during that time I've gotten exactly 3 free bikes. Now, I'll admit that I may not be that savvy with the 'get free sponsored stuff' gig..but I have always operated with integrity and at a level I felt was appropriate. So, until you are winning top flight regional races...

Don't Call It A Career - Only Pro's get to retire

Don't Ask Me What You Will Be Getting - I'll tell you the agreements I've made and if you qualify. Why don't you show up for the Tuesday ride and learn to ride a paceline, take a pull and impress me with your work ethic instead of your Facebook prowess...


Go Ride Your Bike and Quit Posing!

I'm out....