New position!

Yeah. My new position looks just like that.

But, you know, not.

I've been feeling too stretched out on my bike lately, so I stopped at Sprocket's after my ride today (more on that later) and had Steve look at my positioning. Turns out I had it all wrong. I am now the proud owner of a 100mm stem instead of my old 110 and I moved my saddle up about a centimeter. Oh, and I moved my seat up a tiny bit. I only rode about two miles on it, but I feel a lot more comfortable, especially in the drops. I used to feel pretty bunched up, but now I'm a lot better. Hopefully power transfer will be better, too.

About the ride today - It was COLD. Really, really cold. And windier than hell. I knew I was riding with a good wind on the way down because I exhausted my 12t cassette no problem on an interval, but I was completely unprepared for what I encountered on the way back up. It was an unrelenting gale of bitter cold. Eventually, I decided to cut my losses and take inland streets back up north. It was like a 45-minute set of intervals. It was waaay more fun than gritting my teeth and putting up with the wind.

Taking tomorrow off from riding on account of my predicted major hangover. Look for more on Monday afternoon, when I might be able to function again. I love Chicago.

Look what I found!

Found this while perusing the photo section of the Joe Martin website. Most of that site blows, but the pictures from 2004 are a gold mine. Just check out this baby - Chris Spence with one bandaged arm, and yellow lenses, riding an old team Giant. And looking meaner than hell. He still looks the same, just thinner and meaner.

Ah.

Before we get into today's post, kids, let's talk about those shoes. Bettini complained to Sidi that the walk to the podium was too slippery in his custom-made cleats. So they grafted on a sole from one of their motorcycle boots so he could have podium shoes. How ridiculous is that.

Great ride today. I woke up nice and early to meet Bryan, who came over because I inadvertently stole his quick release after our trainer ride. He brought Jack, who was very serious the whole time. Dour, even. Still, that kid is hilarious. And HUGE! He's a bruiser. Gonna be a sprinter or a crit specialist once that new helmet comes in. Maybe a Classics rider.

Anyway, the ride. I don't have legwarmers since that unfortunate Southwest debacle, so I had to go out in kneewarmers and just coat my shins with Elite warming embrocation. God that stuff is just fantastic. I don't even know how cold it was outside, but I do know I had a base layer, a jersey, and a PI jacket on my top half, with two pairs of gloves. Then I had exposed shins, and they were perfectly warm. Good stuff.

Two weird things happened on this ride. One, I was hassled my a jerkoff in a big truck. Now this, in itself, is far from unusual. In fact, I would be amazed if it didn't happen on a two hour solo ride. What sets this encounter apart is the fact that after this guy leaned out his window and yelled "Pussy!" at me (which was strange, seeing as he was riding along in a truck and I was out climbing a godawful hill with exposed skin), he drove past and I saw the stickers on the back of the truck. The rear window was dominated my a huge cross, with illustrated beams on light emanating from it. Then there was the "What Would Jesus Do?" bumper sticker.

So there you have it, kids. Apparently Jesus hates cyclists.

The other weird thing that happened - on the way home, I was catcalled by what I could only call a gaggle of high school girls. They drove up beside me in their little Chevy Malibu and said all sorts of obscene things. I felt a little violated, but mostly confused. Here I am, sweaty, dirty, and looking like hell, wearing crappy shorts that sag in the back like a diaper, and they catcalled me. It was weird, man.

I need to post something, I guess

Yeah, I do have to bump Sheldon from the top of the page. It's getting a little weird, with that crazy eagle staring at me all the time.

Great ride on Saturday. Headed out to balmy temps from Munson's place, got in a good couple hours, got my ass kicked my everyone out there, and was thoroughly motivated by the end of the ride. At least I was in better form than that dude in the jeans. But just barely. God, that guy's business must have been on fire.

And now that it's cold again in Nebraska, you might be needing one of these, Bryan.

We'll miss you, Sheldon

Sheldon Brown died on Sunday of a heart attack. He was 63. He will be missed by all those in the cycling community who turned to him with questions about all things bike-related, from rebuilding English three-speeds to lacing up a strong commuter wheel. A memorial page with a guestbook can be found here.

Snowboarding!

Went snowboarding yesterday. I love snowboarding, which is actually a little uncharacteristic - I don't usually like things I'm not good at. Or things I often fall down doing.

In spite of that, I went shredding, buttered some rails, sportin' my gogs for extra steeze. I don't really understand what most of that means. Pretty much all I did was hit some sketchy tricks off a few good sized jumps. Fell on my ass a lot. I'm covered in bruises, including one on my ass that made the ride home a little uncomfortable.

No riding bikes lately. It's been really sloppy in Chicago lately, and I don't feel like getting soaked and freezing cold one block after I get out there.

I love riding outside, but...

But I hate cleaning salt and sand off the bike afterwards. It was 45 in Chicago today, and it started raining about 5 minutes after I got out there. I rode down the lakefront until I saw lightning, then hauled ass home. There were 40mph wind gusts from the south, so it was slow going on the way down. There's really nothing like giving it your all in a sprint and not quite hitting 20mph. On the other hand, there's no feeling like easily exhausting a 10speed cassette on the way back, either. Average speed just shy of 30 on the way back.

And Now I have a few hours of cleaning in front of me. If you'll excuse me.