November 23, 2007

It’s been a while (going on three weeks) since I’ve had the opportunity to put up a blog post and I interpret the silence regarding my posting as being stunned disappointment, as opposed to silent apathy, on behalf of the New York Cycling Community. Well, and thanks to Schmalz and Jammett for picking up my slack, I’m back so get ready hit backspace and read about some real riders. Me, I’m nothing but a hack….

The off season training is going well. I’m not riding as much as I’d like but the rollers are not my enemy and I’ve been able to get in some nice weight lifting sessions and cross training at the gym. Also, it appears that the ITB issues that have dogged me since Placid in July have sorted themselves out. That’s really good news as I’ve missed the running tremendously. Schmalz has made rumblings about going in for a Sherry Bike Fit and I’m signing on board for that. The Roller Races (with TeamOrganic after party with PunkMetalKaraoke at Club Midway – more info to follow) are right around the corner and should be a lot of fun. Fun defined as a near-gladiatorial experience involving bikes and the possibility of serious injury – bring it.

I did some flying about two weeks ago and had the chance to read Lance Armstrong’s War. Now I know that Lance has a wide variety of supporters and detractors in the cycling community and while the book has its obvious faults (i.e. for a book that was supposed to be an insider view of Armstrong’s 2004 TdF experience Lance apparently had editorial control over the final content) it does offer a pretty interesting inside view of the workings of the Tour. Specifically it follows the fortunes of Mayo, Ullrich, Hamilton and Armstrong as they travel the countryside. It’s also interesting to read the book several years after the Tour and see how the fortunes of the four riders have changed over time. I found it ironic that Tyler’s commitment to the film (http://www.wiredtowinthemovie.com/home.html) which kept him riding throughout the tour basically edited him out of existence following the doping allegations.

Speaking of doping allegations, I don’t pretend to know the physical and emotional demands of more highly classified riders and I don’t know Jared Bunde personally. I just feel bad for him and for the local cycling community. It sometimes feel that, as a community, we have enough to deal with regarding canceled races at Harriman, fighting for scraps of time in CPK, the possible loss of Floyd as a Tuesday night venue, etc. etc. It’s just a shame that a local rider who many know and respect (look at the highly emotional public support that many have lent to Jared’s situation on the comment list) has thrust himself and our community into such an affair. Please don’t misunderstand my comments, I don’t feel that Jared plays a role in the other things I’ve mentioned. It’s just another distasteful thing that we have to read and talk about.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to run The Steps. Many of you city dwellers may know of the series of steps found at 187th St. and Overlook (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1467673) Terrace. 100+ steps that lead to a .4 mile loop. Some members of Team Organic (those with a masochistic bent) and myself run them during the winter as part of our off-season training. I usually begin with sets of 10 (about 36 minutes) and build up to 20 by February. My goal is to have a series of 25 by March 1st. It works nicely for interval training as the heart rate drops on the loop and then jumps back up as you hit the steps. Good stuff. Helps to “callous the soul” (Bonus point question – what book is that phrase from?) and I thought often of those sub-freezing winter workouts as I lumbered up App Gap during the GMSR or lap after lap of Floyd in the heat and wind. This was between trying to keep my lunch down and my legs turning over.

Good luck to all who will be doing the final, final race at Prospect on Sunday. The Wee Beasties are singing on Sunday AM and if my choice is to listen to them sing or freeze while riding quickly in circles in Brookly, I gotta go with the singing. I’m sure that I’ll be flamed for my lack of dedication to the gods of cycling but I’ll survive.

Well, if you’re still reading, thanks, and have a great week.

B.