Yes, I know that I have been slack, but not racing leaves me with not much to talk about. So it is Halloween, my sister in law turns 30 tomorrow, hopefully the rains holds off or is gone, so we can ride. Been running a good bit, riding as much as I can.

Not much more than that. Vacation coming up in November.

HUMP

Cadel Evans, New World Champion! Holy Cow!

HUMP

2009 Bridge to Bridge Challenge, 105 miles, 10,000+ feet of climbing.

The day was going to be nasty, weather reports had been talking about rain, and we were not looking forward to riding that long in the rain, but, the entry was paid, so we set off from the house that morning on our way to Lenoir, North Carolina.  I had the Helix packed, and two sets of wheels that I would pick when we got there depending on conditions. I had emailed Rich Hincapie (Hincapie Sportswear) the previous week to see if I could use the carbon wheels to do the event. Rich said sure, come and get them.

For the next couple of days, I rode the Lightweights around, getting used to how they feeled and dreamed up flying up Grandfather mtn with the added weight off the bike….Not too be.  I had them with me in the wheel bags, and that is where they stayed.  The rain was going to come, and I just did not feel it was the best decision to ride a set of carbon wheels in the rain, especially if they were not mine.

So I put on Joey’s front Rolf Sestiere and my old Easton rear wheel, changed out the pads, adjusted them and off I rode to the start in Lenoir. 

This year, the ride was going back up to the top again, after not being able to last year due to construction.  They were also changing the time.  Usually we would go up on Saturday and spend the night, since the ride started early, but this year they were starting two groups, the slower group at 10:00, and the faster group at 11:00…You pick which group you want to ride in, but knowing that the park would not be open to cyclist until 3:00.  I pick 11:00, I was intent on doing a good time, and did not want to chance getting there too early and have to wait for the gate to open.  This however also meant that the ride would leave later, giving the weather more time to get into the area, and make life rough.

11:00- We line up, not too many in this bunch, looked like an actual race where you may have 60-70 riders, apparently a lot of people left at 10:00.  Anyway, Andrew, a guy I have know for a while, except for his last name, that used to work at Ultimate…He is tall, I mean really tall, and a good guy to have there, especially seeing as he tells me that he has been in Belgium for the past 3 months racing, and that he is going to pull for 55 miles and then get in the car…Great, this is exactly what I need, someone willing to do the dirty work of getting us to the first major climbing without me having to be on the front…Go Andrew.  He also has something that I have never before seen and that is an actual 150mm Deda stem…Yes, I said 150mm.  Sick!

As he said, he stayed on the front and I stayed glued to his wheel, the pace was high, but Andrew made sure that the road was safe for all, making sure we made it through the wet corners alive.

He also pulled the first 55 in great time which set us up for a good finishing time.  I am going to find out Andrew’s last name so that I can give him the props that he deserves, kudos to you Andrew and anyone reading this that can contact me and let me know his contact info, do so.

bruce@dieseldiaries.com

Anyway back to the action…Hwy 181, 13 miles of climbing, nothing fierce, but nothing in our area even comes close to that length, so what do I do…attack.  I wait until the road levels a bit and I big ring it for as long as I can, then sit down and spin it so win it. Two other guys, Jay (Mock Orange) and Lucas (Not sure what kit that was, Gold and Red was all I could remember) are coming as well, so I ease up knowing that three over the parkway is much better than solo.  It is raining by now, and from here on it would not let up.  Down the descent to the parkway, I am rolling, the speedo says that my max for the day wqas 45+, and I think it was here that I did that.  Onto the parkway and things slow down.  This area is so unassuming, it does not look bad when you look up the road, but it is either up or down. It was getting colder as well..luckily, I went old school and put a plastic grocery bag under my jersey to cut the wind off my chest, and I tell you right now, I think this saved the day.  I was cold, but I could deal with it much better.

Once we hit 221 and got over 90 miles, I started to smell the barn so to speak.  Some of the climbs before actually made me feel better, got my core temp and heart rate up and that got my spirits and speed up.  I dropped back beside Lucas who at the time did not look like today was so peachy.  A gap was forming now between myself, Lucas with Jay pulling up a bit.  This is where tactics come into play, and I jumped across to Jay.  From there, we kept pushing, and like I said I started feeling better, climbing some of the small pitches in the big ring..Then I picked it up on one of the pitches and got a gap. It was now or never, I had to try and go.  I pushed the pace down 221 around the corners, hoping and praying that the tires would hold and not slip.  Entrance to the park 200 yards…I got it, I am going to be the first out of the group.  I look back and cannot see anyone.  I pass Robbie Jones, who was in the first group, then turn into the park.  I pass Jimmy White, who was in the first group….I knew then that I was going well, catching the first group as well and leading my group. 

This climb hurts, there are sections where you can really get a good rhythm and roll pretty well, some switchbacks, then roll it some more, but there are pitches that test even the best.  Another bad thing about it was that I could not get into my 25, I had to climb every climb that day in the 23….Sheesh, talk about in the drops grinding, I was doing it up the climb.  It was so foggy and rainy, that I did not even know that I was up at the top until people started yelling and screaming.

It felt good to actual go after this one with the intent of being the first and doing it. 

After that, then the cold set in.  I had to climb into Jimmy and Patty White’s van, strip down to my shorts and wrap up in towels and a jacket to keep from dieing right there of hypothermia.

Stacie made it up to the to with my dry clothes and then we headed back down.

This day had to be one of the best and worst days on the bike, the worst because of the conditions, the best because I pushed thru it, and pushed when my body was telling me not to.

HUMP

Bridge to Bridge Challenge is the Sunday, and we are going back to the top. I did this event/ride two seasons ago, got third, felt great, loved the ride.  Last year I did not do it, since because of road construction, the ride did not climb into the park…What is the point? Grandfather Mountain is what makes doing this ride so great, since the park is not open to cyclist.  I feel I am ready for this, meself, Joey, Jimmy and Trey went up to Landrum SC on Saturday morning to get in a good ride in the moutains of upper SC and parts of NC.  We hit just about all the major climbs, Camp Old Indian, The Watershed, Green River Cove road.  We ended up riding for 6 hours, climbed ove 9,000 feet, and I felt great. The bike did great, the Hincapie signature shorts I got at USPRO got better as the day went on, I never thought about them, and that is good, no pulling the chamois around, pulling the legs down or adjusting, just ride.

I rode on Sunday as well, and woke up feeling great, the legs were not sore at all, so after Sunday school, I hit the road again. I cut it shorter, since we were going to a birthday party for our nephew at the in-laws. Two hours this time at a good tempo, still feeling really strong. Last night, time trial night at the local circuit.  This is not official, it is honor system timing, more for our benefit, and just to get a little bit of friendly comp going on.  Joey called and we decided to do the shorter of our three courses…Yes, even in smallville Gaffney, we have designated courses for our time trial practice.  We have two long courses, and one short course.  The longest is 40K (Who doesn’t need a good 40K lung buster every once in a while?) it is painted in 5K increments.  The next is a 20K course, which is incremented as well.  Both of these courses are rolling, no major hills.  The 20K has a hill at the end, but it is short and not steep, but when you are eating heart soup with a side of lung, anything pitching up is serious.  The last course is a 6 mile loop that we do right outside of town.  It starts out flat, hits a downhill, then goes back up, then flat again, then false flat all the way to the line.  Sounds easy enough, but being so short, if you want a good time, you have to bring it. 

So, Trey and Joey show up on their TT rigs, I on the other went into my stable of bikes (small stable) and grabbed the only good horse I have, and that is the HELIX (www.lynskeyperformance.com).  I roll out, it takes me about 12 minutes from the house to get to town, so on the way, I do some leg openers to try and get the system ready.  We line up, Trey going first, Joey second and myself last.  We go at about 1.5 minute intervals.  I am sitting there waiting and think…”I don’t need these water bottles.” I chunk them to the side of the road, lighter is better.  Off I go.  Get a good rhythm…Now push it.  Down hill I go, pushing around 33-35 mph, now the up hill.  Big ring, stay seated and push…HR is up there, 180..185…189…top out, did not drop below 19.3, that was good, could have been better, but no time to analyze.  Flat section, deep breaths, clean out the acid….now onto a good stretch, I see Joey (Carrot), try to catch him….26, 27, 28, 29 mph, starting to pitch up a little…False flat now, tough sections, headdwind…Just keep crfanking, but be smooth, no squares.  In the drops, roll it…starting to flatten out, grab another gear…24.5, 24.8….almost, almost..Stop the time!!  Oh my gosh, I think I am going to puke…Pull over here….breathe…HR-150…140..130…100….90…Now relax… Where is Joey and Trey? There they come.  “Well, how did you do?” 13:16.2, average speed 25.7, beat my time from last time by I think over a minute, Trey beats his old time as well, Joey is rolling good as well.

That is the whole point of this, we don’t rub it in each others faces, we push each other, push each other to do better, whether it be at the local race, the next big century, or the back yard TT.

If anyone wants to come out, email me and we can start doing more of these.  Need to figure out a timing scenario, charge a couple of bucks, but heck, you will not get to do it anywhere else.

bruce@dieseldiaries.com

Later.

Saturday-August 29, 2008.

We awake to any early alarm clock, grab our racing stuff and head down to Fork Shoals, SC to try our legs at the SC state championships.  It has been a while since I raced, but I have been riding and feeling pretty good. I had two options on the day:

Option -1: Sleep in a bit, drive down and do the Pro 1-2 race at 11:00, and be there all day.

Option-2: Get up early, drive down and do the Master’s 30-34 race at 8:20. I do not get to sleep in, but I am in and out before the P1-2 race even starts….HMMMM?

Which one. I run these options by the family. Stacie says for me to decide, but Kolbie makes the decision…Let’s get up early and go.  Alright, it is settled, we do the Master’s race and get home at a decent time.

We arrive with about 30 minutes to spare, I sign in, grab the bike, roll down the road and back in, and line up…so much for a warm up.  I am lined up in the back, finding out that they have combine the Master’s fields, so the range now is 30-39, which is cool, looks to be about 40-50 guys, good crowd, the temp is nice, should be a good day.  We roll out. No problems clipping in, sitting well on the bike, no little niggles to deal with, nice.

We head down the long hill, and up the first hill, one guy is frisky, but it is early, and I am wanting to warm the legs before any festivities.  A couple of other guys go off the front, with some of the teams covered. I sit. I am hovering now in about 5th place in the group, just keeping my eyes open and thinking about when I want to make a move.

They changed the course this year to take out the long stair step climb on the back and replaced it with a long stretch of flat great road leading to a shorter steeper climb..sounds promising.

We get to the climb the first time and I move toward the front. About a third of the way up, I stand and pick up the pace, which feels good at the time. The hill starts to ease off and there is a false flat, which is a good place to make a move, so I push it again. This time I see that Charlie Brown (Carolina Master’s) comes with me and by the next corner we have a gap.  I know from experience that Charlie “Judge” is a good one to have in a break, and since he is from NC, there is no worry of losing the jersey to him, so I push and he pushes. The first lap that we are away, since I attacked on the backside of the first lap, is insane, my heart rate is high, breathing is labored, legs are handling it pretty well though.  We settle down on the second lap with a 40 second lead on the pack.  We continue to work well together, pushing the flatter areas, keeping ourselves right on the climbs, with the lead steady growing.  1:00, 1:40. The last update we had before coming in was that we had 1:50 on the pack with no chasers, so Charlie and I knew then that we had it.  We roll in, with Charlie taking the win, and me taking my first SC State Road Race Championship.  I have tried for a good many years to get this one, and this one feels almost surreal seeing that I have taken time off from racing.

We had the awards given out in front of a huge audience at the US Pro race in Greenville.  My buddy Thad Dulin took the Pro 1-2 race by getting third behind two guys that have raced in the Pro Tour from what I am hearing, so kudos.

HUMP

I have a good friend, Gabe who is a photog. www.gabriellancephotography.com who called me up Saturday while I was out riding.  It is funny, he seems to call me all the time while I am out riding.  Anyway, he says to call him back, it is important.

I get home and give him a ring.  Come to find out, he is doing a shoot in Greenville this past Tuesday at Girl’s Rock, which is an event that happens each month put on by the owner of NV Salons (www.nvsalons.com). Seems that Gabe has been as by Evolve Male, another shop in Greenville that specialises in high end men’s clothing and they need guys to be there and do a photo shoot, so Gabe ask if I want to do it…Let me think…Heck Yeah!

#1-I am a camera hog, I like to have my picture taken when it is random candid pics

#2- I get to wear clothes that I could probably never afford to buy…think $200 plus jeans.

#3-It is for Gabe, and I knew that if he was there, I would have a blast.

We get to Jeff’s shop and get fitted, this is where the fun begins, I have always had a problem finding jeans that fit me right, without having them completely tailored.  Either the waist fits and the thighs are tighter than you know who’s head band, or the legs fit and the waist is floppy, I guess that is what I get for being a cyclist.  We got things worked out, and ended up in a pair of True Religion jeans

(http://www.evolvemale.com/True_Religion_Brand_Jeans_Joey_Big_T_Ridin_Dirty_p/24803nbtdlrd.htm)

Hause of Howe tee

(http://www.evolvemale.com/Hause_of_Howe_Phoenix_Fire_men_s_tee_N61045U_p/n61045u.htm)

Belt

(http://www.evolvemale.com/Factory_Brand_men_s_belt_black_leather_gold_studs_p/fb%20lb%20123.htm)

Rock Band to cap it all off

(http://www.evolvemale.com/Rock_Bands_white_snake_cuff_with_jasper_stone_p/l-swh-s-01.htm)

I was decked out and ready to ROCK!

We head over to Sassafras http://www.sassafrasbistro.com/ for the event. Two guys were playing music, the place was killer.  I commenced to passing out information on Jeff’s Place and Gabe’s Photos, all the while trying to look like I knew what I was doing.

Jeff’s wife tells me I look like Kevin Bacon…What do you think?

kevin-bacon-0808-medium-new.jpg

I don’t know, I guess it could be worse.  Anyway, we took some pictures that I have yet to see.  It was a great experience seeing as I have never done anything like that.

When I see the pics, I will post some.

Later

HUMP

Sounds ominous right…What I am referring to is the fact that I got my new frame in before July 4th, a Lynskey Helix.  I was back and forth on the size, and finally went with the medium, and I am glad I did, because it fits great.  We did not go custom, stock geo, so anyone can ride the same frame.

The deal with the Helix, if you take a look at Lynskey’s website, (www.lynskeyperformance.com) is that the top tube, downtube, and seat stays are twisted titanium.  From what I have read, this allows the tubes to be thinner yet still retain high levels of strength..What does that mean? That means a lighter bike that is still stiff.  Lynskey describes the Helix as the flagship bike.

I got the frame in and after surfing ebay, I rounded up a build kit that would contain a tried and true mix of components.  Nothing light or weight weenie, but stuff that I had used before and knew that once set, I would not have to think about it.  The only thing I had not used before, was the headset, since this is a full titanium frame, the headset is non-integrated, so what better headset to put in than a King?? No question here, I found a black one brand new on the bay, and in my hands before the week was out.  I then thought about what group I was wanting to put on this steed…I thought Campy for about a split second, until I started thinking about the other things that I would need to convert to Campy..I still love you, but not that much right now. I needed a partner on this one that I could depend on, could buy parts anywhere, and could set up and adjust easily on my own…In comes SRAM Force.  I had raced on this stuff last year without any problems, and the ergos are top notch…Check the bay again. Yep, a little last minute jumping on the auction and the group was won.  Now, seat post. The frame needed a larger than normal seat post, so I thought about what I wanted, and decided that a set it and forget it attitude needed to be followed on this part as well, that is why I decided on a Thomson zero setback elite, and you guessed it, ebay.  From there, it was only a matter of taking my Deda Shallow Italian bean bars and one of the numerous stems that I have in my drawer to finish it off.

I took the headset and frame to the local bike shop to have the headset pressed in, since I do not have that capability at home.  They also let me use some of their Ti prep to coat all the points that threads.  Back in the car and back home…Now all I was waiting on was the group…And waiting…And waiting.  Finally, after FedEx assumes that most people do not work during the day, I sign the tab for them to leave the package and it arrives.  It only took me a little while to build the bike, since SRAM is one of the easiest groups to build.  Test ride right before dark and I am blown away.

Bad thing is, I am also sick…I either have a sinus infection or a summer head cold, but needless to say, I have been on the bike twice since building it, one was with the guys, and one was this morning, both for 2 hours each.  The bad thing is, this bike begs me to ride. I have ridden almost all other material frames, from full aluminum to full carbon, to full steel, and I have yet to find one of them that compared to the ride of this frame.  It is a feeling that is hard to explain…silky is a word that I kept coming back to, but silky in a sneaky, if you lift up the skirt, there is a gun in the stocking kind of way.  What I mean by that is that this bike will roll as well.  It is stiff, but it soaks the rode up, and does it very quietly, you hear the wheels and the tires, but that is it.  It is almost like a luxury sports sedan, and M3 for instance, something that you can set the cruise on that float away in blissful solitude, soaking up the road ahead of you, or if need be, grab a butt full of gas and rip the doors off.  That is the Helix, smooth as silk, yet when uncaged, can eat up road enough that the Department of Transportation will be looking for the person ripping up asphalt.

HUMP

POA, stand for Piedmont Orthopedic Associates. They are in Greenville, and this year, they have been doing a crit series over at the old G-Braves stadium, which is now the Municipal Stadium of Greenville.  Joey and Trey had been telling me about going over there, and this past Thursday I decided that it was time to go out and turn the cranks in anger. I emailed TD (Thad Dulin) to see if he was coming out to play, and he came back with a big affirmative, so I was ready to roll.

The course is in a parking lot, so no traffic worries there, it circumnavigates the old stadium, short course, rough road, but hey, it is a cheap race, which is good.  TD said that he would be there around 6pm, and I figured that would be close to when I would get there.  That would give us about and hour and half to spin around and try to get used to the heat, which was pretty nasty, considering this parking lot as most parking lots, does not have any trees or shade, sorta like a large frying pan with people as the eggs.

Thad and I met up after getting our numbers and headed out, the conversation quickly turned to our guv’ner and his exploits, and the jokes insued.

Back to the race. The crowd was not big, but it was a good field none the less, this is a P123 race, so a good mix of all were in there.  The course starts on an uphill, takes a left over the top, then descends down to turn three. Turn four is the tightest, but not bad, then you have the uphill.

A couple of moves took off, I hit it one time up the hill, got away, then was joined by Jim Cunningham.  We were coming around for a prime for some Cytomax, and here come Alan Trip.  We fight for the prime with Alan nipping me at the line…Sucka, I could have used that mix.  We roll back into the field, and a few more moves try to go. Nothing is really getting any distance, so I sit for a bit.  I did not know what time it was, but on the way around, the field slowed, one of those “We have been hitting it for a little while, let’s all slow down a bit feelings.” HMMMM, I think I will see if I can get away…”Who said that?” That little voice in my head said that…”Why do you want to do that?” I say…”Because we can right now.” “Good enough.” I roll off on the left hand side, kinda of Leduc style, not standing, just ramping the speed up to see what happens.

Well, it happened, I got away, and for the next thirty minutes I fought, and I mean I fought.  It was rough, but in the same instance, it was great.  Ten minutes left and I am struggling though, and the pack is starting to really gain on me now, the hand is quickly going toward empty, like someone shot a bullet in my tank, and then I see it…Here comes TD….Classic TD move, let things happen, then strike like a cobra at the end and sley everyone behind.  I am passed, but not after collecting a prime and some good camera time…(Aside: There was no camera, only the imagination of someone in oxygen debt, dehydration, and sicko mind.) Thad passes and I scream at him to rip it, then here come Alan in a small group of three chasing and I scream at him as well.  Then I keep rolling around.  The announcer has been collecting bones from the crowd for a gamblers prime, and the pot is at $48.25.  He tells me on the next lap that I can get in and go for that prime…I point to the guys coming up from behind and motioned that, “I am not going for that, these guys have been working for it and that would be lame on my part to do something like that.”  I roll around until 5 to go and then pull over. Being the publicity hog that I am, I promptly go over and grab the announcers mic to let everyone know that I was throwing in the only dollar that I had to help up that Gambler’s Prime, and just to get to talk on the microphone. I almost broke out into some singing, but was unsure of the way the crowd would take it…Just kidding. 

Thad put the hammer down on them, Alan got second.  I had a great time, and I am sure that next month I will be back over there, trying my hand again.  This is one of those races, that since it is in the same place all the time, you get a chance to try different strategies and see which one works.  That is cool, so I will do that.  Come out and try it, entry is $15 bones, and you have a chance to at least make your money back, and get in a good workout.

HUMP

Today as I said earlier, the Ceasar’s Head Challenge took place, and it was a heck of a ride.  Boyd Johnson had told me about it back in the winter, how he was going to have a hard ride that ended at the top of the mountain. I have not climbed CH since probably 5 years ago, so I was in for a treat.  I also had Thad Dulin coming, and since he and I have not ridden together on a ride in a while, I knew it would be fun.  We had emailed each other back and forth on Friday about seeing how fast we could do it.

What I hoped was that more people would be up there and willing to put in the work, to make it roll fast.  We were to head out from Cleveland, SC at 9:00, and then tool around the upper end of Greenville, Pumpkintown, Pickens and anywhere else up there that I did not mention…It was hot. (Side note: you will see this statement frequently, so get used to it.)

Right out of the parking lot, we were climbing, and right off the bat, Thad and I were on the front.  Up and over the first climb and there were three other guys with us, then we spotted a larger group back a bit.  We rolling along fairly well, when the group caught us on a miss directed left turn.  We righted ourselves and started working well with the group.  I saw a couple of people I knew, George Meyer was there, Mr. Mt. Mitchell himself.

So, onto the festivities..It was HOT! We kept onl rolling along and so did the terrain.  Next up was a rest stop, good deal I needed some water and some other things, then it was off again, this time to head up the Greenville Watershed.  This is my type of climb, not steep, so you can really get a good tempo and keep it rolling.  We catch back up to the main pack and roll on thru.  That left myself, Thad and a guy from Outspoken.  Did not get his name, but he had a foreign acscent.  Anyway, we made a right where I thought we were heading toward Mt. Olivet, which I knew was a tough climb…..It was HOT! We then made a sharp right onto a road at this time I cannot recall the name and up we go again, this one was a bit steeper than what we had just came off of, but we got up to the top fairly well.

This is where Outspoken showed his tail…This guy could go downhill, he had never ridden the area, never saw what was around the next corner, but he was flying.  Thad and I rode down fast, but this guy was moving.  Thad rolled up beside me and said that the climb there had popped him, I was feeling it as well, our early escapades were telling on my legs and I knew that the day was going to get longer.  We made out way off of this road which came out on Pearson Falls road, made a left and was onto the old Saluda grade.  Good climb here as well, but the theme for the day was really taking shape now, down, up, down, up.

We stopped again to top of the bottles and off we go thru Saluda, left onto another road that….You guessed it went up!  Did I mention that it was hot? By this time I am feeling like maybe close to 90 degrees. This is where we head down now and come back out onto the watershed to go up the last leg of it to the top and back down the other side onto another beast, which is Olivet.  Boyd told me once before while he and I were out training that Olivet was a little over 7% for the whole climb.  By this time my legs were starting to rebel, the climbs were not getting me, it was the flats and downhills in between, because we did not let up, we kept pushing a good tempo thru those as well.  Up and over.  Outspoken once again spoke out and took off downhill like he had saw the boogie man.  I think this is where we lost him, because this is where my right leg said “HAHA!” and cramped.  We worked thru it and kept on.  By this time as well, the temp was scorching, and being as we were near creeks and such, it felt like the jungle…Well at least what I think the jungle would feel like…For those of you reading this, it felt sorta like Belize after it rains.

Thad and I decided that today Boyd would not get to time us up CH.  I know, wuss.  We both decided to forgo the last climb and head back to the car for a Coke.  We got back with over 95 miles, and average speed of 19.5 that is with hills and with the last leg of our trip not really pushing.  I was tanked, I headed down the road into Greenville, Thad was in front of me in the sweet Beamer, when a huge hawk, I swear about takes his front windshield out.  I stop and grab some grub and then head down the road to the house.  I can tell you I am tired, we did not let up for the majority of the ride, we would ride the hills hard, then tempo hard between.  It was a good ride though, first time TD and myself have actually ridden out of competition in over a year.

This ride should really start to catch on after this year, the first is always the teaser. The staff learn what they need to do better, and more people do like I am doing and tell you that you need to get up there and do this ride next year.

HUMP

Going to do a big organized mountain event this weekend in the northern part of Greenville County, stay tuned for my post.

I also have something else in the works, so stay tuned for something…..Let’s just say a little twisted