Puddle Ride

I live off of Mass Ave in Arlington, so the commute to the Studio is a straight shot.  The road is a "false flat" as Neil would say, because it looks flat, but in reality is ever so slightly sloped up all the way to Lexington.  On a day in which I expected to have dead legs, the false flat had no effect and my concerns of lethargy diminished.  I got to the studio around 7:30 and waited for the group to arrive while Rob and Jillian opened up the store and fired up the coffee machines.

The rain was gone but the puddles were present so I wasn't sure who all would make the ride.  We had a good group show up, John and Pamela on their Independent's, Neil and Joe, Jeremy and I.  As has been the trend, there was a chill in the air so arm and leg warmers were all but required to fend off the goose bumps.  When is the summer going to arrive?  We did the same loop as always, and had a great ride.  I got the feeling that John might be unstoppable on a bike, I don't really know what low end torque is but I'm sure he has more than me.  Conveniently he is also a nice guy and it was fun to talk to him along the way, he has logged plenty of miles and has good stories to share because of it.  I also got to speak to Pamela, between her and John they must have 15 bikes in their garage.  Most impressive.  Jeremy also had a strong ride, I think before too long he'll be hard to hold back.

After the ride we hung out and nursed coffees and discussed whether or not we should ride a little more.  I was feeling anything but dead so I suggested the Giro loop that we had done a few weeks back, the one Graham led.  It's not the longest loop but has some short, steep climbs which I thought would put an end to my second wind.  I was so psyched that both Neil and Joe were up for it.  Both guys are great to ride with for a variety of reasons other than just being hilarious.  Neil can just crush the flats and his favorite, "false flats," while Joe can keep pace with anyone and is a good climber.  They are just as likely to crush you, as you are them, which adds a little spice to the ride.  More often than not, no one lays the hammer down, but it's nice to know that it could happen at any moment, and if it does, laughter and retaliation will ensue.

All three of us had energy and we did a decent job of crushing the hills.  Past Wilson Farms, over route 2, up Belmont Hill, into Belmont center, up the water tower, down the water tower, up the water tower, down to Trader Joe's and finally up Charles street for a super short, super steep calf killer.  A nice false flat to the studio and we were cooked.  I think we'll make this an optional post coffee route each week for those with restless, hairless legs.

Coach Calhoun Charity Ride

I woke up Sunday expecting to have no energy left in my legs.  Saturday morning I participated in my hero's charity ride, www.calhounride.com, a 75 mile jaunt in the most underrated state in the nation, Connecticut.  Most of the ride was near Simsbury which provided beautiful scenery, loads of hills, and plenty, plenty of rain.  Prior to the ride I shook hands with another hero, Scottie Burrell, you might just remember him as the guy who had the best in bounds pass in Uconn's storied history.  Need a refresher? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CxbjRXwhY   

Great morning and a great event, I had an absolute blast.

I learned a few things on this ride:

1)  In a down pour, my blue break pads paired with carbon rims make for little or no breaking.  That's an odd feeling to encounter at 42 mph and an eye full of rain.

2)  Campagnolo's racing bibs are my new favorite's I simply can't imagine a more comfortable bib, wet or dry.

3)  Larabar's Cherry Pie bars are the next level better than delicious.  Succulent?  That's an easy word to type but an embarrassing one to say.  Actually I'm blushing, maybe it's not so easy to type either.  I'm going to demand that the Studio carries these bars so I can eat one every Sunday, while I feel important. 

4)  As a first time leg shaver, I learned that a skinny pair of shiny, hairless legs makes me feel that much closer to being a real live cyclist.  After about 5 years of contemplating, I took the dive and can't believe I waited so long.  Before doing so I asked Joe Wignall for some guidance and he said, "just don't do it the night before a big ride, you won't be able to sleep becuase it feels so weird."  He was right, I tossed and turned all night.  Of course I was going to see Jim Calhoun the very next day, so I could have just been excited.  As an added bonus, for the first few nights of hairless-ness, I woke thinking someone else was in my bed.

If you can make it 22 seconds in, I'm up front on the left in Red.  http://theuconnhuskies.blogspot.com/2010/06/jim-calhouns-2010-charity-bike-ride.html.

This was the longest ride of my season so I expected to be pretty spent Sunday morning.  I woke up early, jumped on my still wet Elium SL and headed over to the Studio.