Tag Archives: Competition

Alive and Kicking… Silently

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I’m not dead. I’m very much alive, in fact. I’ve just had precious little to write about with regards to the primary focus of this blog… cycling. So instead of blurring the focus of the subject matter, I’ve opted to just wait until I had more to write. However, it’s been a while and some of you know nothing about me but what you find out here. So…

Some very positive things happening personally. Since I decided long ago to keep such things off this blog, you’ll just have to wait to meet her. I will say this… she must be pretty special. I’ve not been to church in 20 years, and she’s gotten me there no less than 4 times since late December… and maybe 5. My attitude towards organized religion is perfectly summed up by the Mohandas Gandhi quote “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” That said, I have met quite a few very nice people through her and the friend that set us up together, all of whom go to their church. It’s an interesting change of pace for me… Besides Church, we’ve done quite a few things together, and have quite a few more on the plate for the next few months. I’m quite optimistic.

I’ve been very busy at work lately. In ’08 I was nearly desk bound the whole year working on this and that. In ’09 I will be much more involved in the daily lives of my fellow employees… not sure how well they’ll like that. I am the local representative for Information Security, after all. It’s like the police without the uniform, firearms, or authority. I can’t arrest anyone. I can’t have anyone fired. What I can do is make them feel really bad about what they’ve done. Sometimes, I get baked goods as apologies. I can live with that.

I’ve been playing a lot of pool lately. Monday night, Wednesday night and Thursday nights all see me at various pool halls in leagues the likes of which I’ve never seen. Wednesday is pretty standard in terms of competition, but Monday and Thursday… let’s just say that if I make one mistake, miss one ball, or dry break, I’m done for the game. The competition is fierce. I like it that way. It makes me really focus, though there are nights when it does get tiring.

Cycling has seen a dramatic decline so far this year… without my daily commuting (logistically impossible at this point, unfortunately – at least not without spending a lot of money on another form of motorized transportation to keep either at work or at home so I’m not bike-bound all day), and with the cold, I’m pretty much limited to roller training. While I did keep up with it for a while, I’ve since fallen into a rather “fat and happy” mindset, and haven’t felt the motivation to roll. The weather is looking to warm up soon, though, and I reckon I’ll get my expanding carcass out on that saddle for some long rides here real soon like. I have to, b/c word is that my brother, as well as our hosts in Colorado are training hard for the Triple Bypass… July 11th is fast approaching! I may not be as fast as I was last year, but I’ve no doubt whatsoever that I’ll make it over them there hills just fine and dandy.

That’s enough for now. Later.

Teh Stupid and Rack Attacking

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Last night I was playing solo on a 9-foot table at the local pool hall. A couple guys come up and want to gamble. $1 a rack. Seriously? $1.00 a rack? Red flag #1. $1.00 is petty change, but I don’t gamble. It’s a principle thing. I have, on occasion, but very rarely, and only with people I know and trust to not break my jaw.

One of the guys, perhaps in his late 40′s or early 50′s and seemingly “in charge”, goes on about the 1, 5 and 9 being money balls… trying to talk the talk, throwing lingo around like it’s rice at a wedding. Red flag #2. I have a tough time convincing him that I don’t gamble, but am certainly willing to share the table for a while. “What’s the 9 mean, then?” he asks. “It means you win?” I respond. “Uh… you get to break the next rack…” Red flag #3. I’m really starting to wonder at this point about the fellow as this line of conversation goes on for about a minute. Finally, we agree to just play. He racks.

In a manner of speaking.

It’s loose. He can’t control the rack and bumps the balls all over when he tries to lift it. Never mind that the head ball is 3 inches from the spot. I gently allow as to how it should be straight, tight, and on the spot. It takes him (seriously) about a minute to finally get the rack reasonably tight, and figure out how to rack. I’m caught between tapping my toes in frustration and laughing out loud at his clumsy ineptitude. And this guy wanted to gamble?

I give some thought to the idea that maybe he’s playing with me. Maybe he’s coming across as a bumbling idiot in the hopes of luring me into some money games, at which time he’ll wipe the floor with me. I don’t spend much time on that line of thinking.

I cleaned the table with him. Over and over again. He never lets on that he actually knows what he’s doing. He’s a loud talker who puts more energy into making fun of those shots I missed than congratulating me on those I make. I’m not easily sharked by such things, and since I neither know the guy, nor want to, it’s of no consequence to me. He tires of racking (but not before I’ve tired of watching his tragic attempts) and wanders aimlessly off to hit on some underage girls. Pure class, that one. I proceed to clean the table with his mumbling friend who, all sweat and B.O. and clearly unaware of personal space and boundaries, was also entirely too “familiar.” It was a little creepy.

Pet Peeve: People who stand next to the table while I’m shooting. Find a seat, slick. Sit down, get out of the way, and let me shoot.

As it started taking them longer and longer to rack the balls after I beat the crap out of them, I started racking them myself and just shooting it out like they weren’t there. Eventually they quietly left. Well, sweaty guy did whine a little bit, but I responded with an unsympathetic “This table costs money and you guys were wasting mine.” Mr. Class was nowhere to be seen, so I allowed myself to simply be grateful for his absence. My increasing misery at their presence was obvious enough that the waitress commented on it after they left.

That painful chapter of my life over, I got in a small “Rack Attack” demo competition with some other guys. I ended up with a less-than-stellar 39 out of 50, but there was a moment. During my second rack I was on shot 9 with 2 balls left and I have a choice. I can make one ball and I get 9 points. Or I can make both balls in one shot and not only get 10 points, but also crazy pool cred and the shouts and worship of all those around watching.

Care to guess which shot I attempted? I won’t make you. I had the shape and saw the pattern, so I rocketed the first ball into a corner pocket, sending the cue ball screaming around the table three rails and perfectly into the second ball, sending it, in turn flying into the same corner pocket. Oh yes. There was shouting. There was praise. There were high-fives and looks of wonder and envy. It was glorious.

I’m not a fan of the name of the game… it seems a little melodramatic to me, but I do like how it lends itself to (designed for?) stats keeping and finding a true average that can’t honestly be determined against opponents of various skill levels.

Bike today? Magic 8-ball says: Maybe.

Seasons Change

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I didn’t ride at all last week. I spent the majority of the work week in Omaha, and neither Sunday nor Saturday saw any saddle time. I did ride the previous Saturday, and again yesterday, but for the entire first week of September, I rode zero miles.

So imagine how drastic the temperature change was to me, when the last time I rode home from work it was nearly 70°F in the morning, and over 90°F in the evening! Today it was 62°F at departure, grey and drizzly. All in all, a rather dismal day.

I was going to take the long way home by way of Indian Creek Trail, and grabbing Gary Haller trail where it intercepts 127th near Ridgeview. That plan changed the instant I walked outside and felt the chill in the air. Rather than enjoy a leisurely ride home, I hammered it pretty well (against a fell wind) the short way home.

I’m really going to have to get back in the habit of paying attention to the weather. I’ve enjoyed being able to ignore the temperature all summer, but methinks those days are over, at least until next summer. We may have another warm spell, but I picture colder and colder days from here through the end of the year. It makes me sad.

Also out enjoying the weather today was Megan Hottman, the owner/operator of Defined Fitness Training, the club I’m a member of. She raced in the women’s criterium being run in conjunction with the Tour of Missouri. Unfortunately, I don’t know how she did yet, but I’ll post it here once I find out.

Time Trial Results

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Let’s just spare the suspense. The results are out, and you can view them all here. If you’re just interested in the top spot, and where I fell in relation to that, I’ll tell you.

1st Place: Not me… 00:12:23 for an average speed of 29.96mph. Cat 1/2.
34th Place: Me… 00:16:09 for an average speed of 22.66mph. Cat 5.

The field consisted of 41 men and 3 women. Not horrible for my first time trial and certainly better in terms of time than I thought I’d do.

The bottom line is I had a blast, and I will definitely do it again. 16 minutes of full effort was hard, but the fun factor was off the chart. I even passed someone, if you can believe that! Two people, in fact, but one of them (the guy who’s been working on my bike so much lately, in fact) answered my pass with one of his own, so he doesn’t count.

Potential New Commuter and a Bonk

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As I was leaving work yesterday, preparing to ride home, I encountered a coworker in the hallway. He asked me about my bike and riding to work. Standard stuff… “How far do you ride?” “How long does it take?” “How much did you spend?” etc. By the end of the conversation, he was psyched to ride to work himself! He’s only 4 miles and change away, so it was easy to convince him to bite the bullet. I assured him that bike transportation can be gotten for *much* cheaper than what I spent (and will continue to spend) on mine, and suggested (rather strongly) that he stay away from department store bikes, and spend a little more money at an LBS to get well fitted and a bike that won’t fall apart on him.

That makes two people who have expressed serious interest in biking to work. The other lives slightly closer than I do, and the majority of our route would overlap. That would be fantastic!

After that uplifting conversation, I went about my way. About halfway home, I got really hungry, and soon lost nearly all the power in my legs. I could go, but I just didn’t have any ooomph. I don’t think it was a full fledged bonk, but it sure didn’t feel great. I was hungry, tired, and even felt a little feverish by the time I got home. Clearly I didn’t have enough to eat yesterday before I left, though I’m sure I was well hydrated… two full water bottles throughout the day, and less coffee than usual. 9.41 miles and I nearly bonk. How pathetic is that?

There’s no fear of bonking today, as I drove in so as to not waste my legs before the (my first) time trial this evening. Given the storms in the area, however, it may be postponed yet again. If it’s not rescheduled, and it’s raining, I won’t be racing. It’s not worth it to me, having just spent all that money getting the bike ready for the TBP. I’m not risking those components now.

Time Trial Rescheduled

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From Chris Hess: The Epic Time Trial is rescheduled for June 12, 2008 due to an unusually severe weather forecast. Kansas City weather and emergency response professionals state there is a high volume of instability in the atmosphere today, June 5. According to reports, the overall atmospheric conditions are similar to those that led to an event on June 8, 1974, when three dozen tornadoes hit the area and killed 22 people. To ensure personal and family safety, particular vigilance should be maintained between 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., then again from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, when sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph carry the potential for property damage due to wind and predicted hail. In other words, don’t go out riding because this event is postponed. Today’s conditions warrant aggressive measures to ensure personal and family safety.

http://www.localcycling.com/content/view/958/42/

Four Wheels Today

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I drove in this morning for a several reasons, where “several” equals exactly three.

  1. I have a time trial tonight at 18:00. I thought it might be a good idea to save my legs for it.
  2. Related to that, it’s freakishly windy this morning. Fighting the wind, as an endeavor unto itself, holds little appeal to me right now, much less while I’m trying to save my legs.
  3. I got to bed very late last night, on account of Pool League running long. I’m running low on sleep, so I would likely exhaust myself against the wind, and be that much cantankerous about it, and bet both tired and of the wrong mindset to ride my best tonight.

It can be argued that my critical lack of sleep is, by itself, cause for concern where my performance tonight goes. I choose to ignore that argument because LOOK! An eagle!!

The weather people have predicted major storms this afternoon, including tornadoes, lightening, and some form of amphibian bombardment. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be disappointed. I’ll manage if the time trial is rescheduled for next week.

Time Trials… Something New for a Change

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At 6:00pm, Epic Bike and Sport, along with Defined Fitness Training (a cycling team the GF and I belong to) are hosting the Epic Time Trials, at 600 New Century Parkway Gardner, KS 66031. This isn’t far from where the Lone Star Century I rode on Sunday started.

I’ve always wondered how I’d do in something like this. It’s time to find out. I get to race for free, due to my membership with DFT, but I’ll still have to pay a for-the-day USCF membership fee. Ah well… it’s for a worthy cause. ;)

Link.
Flyer [pdf]

This will be my first Time Trial. I’m really just riding to see what I can do. I have no idea how it’ll turn out, or what it entails. I just know that for 6.1 miles, I’ll be pushing as hard as I can, without overdoing it in the first few minutes.

6.1 miles at 6.1mph = 1hr (bah!)
6.1 miles at 12.2mph = 30 minutes (ha ha!)
6.1 miles at 18.3mph = 20 minutes (hmmm…)
6.1 miles at 24.4mph = 15 minutes (eeek)

… And that’s about the best I can imagine. I hope to come in between 15 and 20 minutes.

By way of personal perspective, 6.1 miles is a bit shy of twice around the JC Wheeler Downtown Airport, a circuit I’ve ridden many times. That will give me a sense of how to pace myself.

Friendly Competition

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I’ve been noticed, and the gauntlet thrown.

As I commented on his post, competition is the whetstone on which we hone ourselves. I have absolutely no doubt that we’ll both meet our goals. The motivation of friendly competition will only make it easier and more fun. In the end, he’s right. The competition is really with ourselves, but it helps to have someone out there striving just as hard, even if the root motivation is different.

Now there are at least three of us out there watching each other closely. Randy has left me behind on bikejournal.com, with a 150 mile spread. I may not be able to catch up with him, but I can certainly keep trying!

Anyone else?