Unlike Alberto Contador, I will not be employing suspicious masking agents for next month's Lake Desolation Hill Climb. And, for that matter, I will be hoping to avoid tainted food, lest the USADA testers who are sure to be on hand take away my victory.
Instead, I'll be hoping to take my third-consecutive fall hill climb title through hard work, experience, and plain-old knowing the hill better than the other guy.
I put in some good work on Lake D this afternoon, posting three reps on the 3.7-mile climb, where I would usually only tackle the climb twice in an outing. I clocked just a shade better than 19 minutes on the first trip, then met up with some others fools doing the same foolish thing as me and, spurred on by some competition, posted a time around 17:45 on the second trip, not close to the fastest effort I've put in this year, but respectable for a Wednesday evening. I didn't time the third lap, which was more of a recovery effort.
I wouldn't want to piss off a certain Boston-area fan of GBBM who likes to cry about blogging "rules," even as he misplaces commas and otherwise embarrasses himself in a very public venue, but I'm also pleased to report that my power numbers were down slightly, as I've successful lost a little weight that I'd put on toward the end of track season.
Anyway, considering how poorly I felt when I last climbed Lake D, last week, I'm pleased with today's workout. Of course, nothing is ever assured, but I've certainly got a good feeling about the Oct. 10 Hill Climb Challenge.
And, to everyone who can't dream of posting a sub-18 minute time, don't worry, there's still pulled pork to feed us all!
OK, was that cocky enough for you? Sorry. On a more serious note, it was really nice out tonight, and I was glad to get out and ride for a few hours -- at this time of year, you never know how many more nice days are left!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Focusing on the climb, drug free
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12 comments:
Just so long as you're not posting power numbers it is tolerable.
Also, it would only be embarrassing if I took bike related internet seriously.
And stop critisizing my spellign and grammer! your not the boss of me!
You're going down in flames Bernstein. I'm coming through you and your buddy Jamie like a freight train. I will save you some pulled pork.
-Nick
Ha!!! Must be some other Nick that plans on trying their late season legs on Lake D next week...Our Nick (Waller) would NEVER make a verbose statement like the one previously posted. Glad to see that there is enough interest in this "fun ride" to generate a little mock trash talk...too bad Battenkill Classic Fall prep ride is the same day; as I assume any rider serious enough about their 2011 chances wouldn't miss that in spite of the promise of yanked swine...would be interesting to see what GRASSHOPPER could muster after this season though.(3rd hollenback's 4/5; 2nd ESG qualifier; 1st Lake D spring; 2nd Three Village 4/5; 2nd Pawling 5s; 3rd Catskill tt; 2nd stage 2 Catskill; 1st CapitalRegion RR; 5th ESG RR; silver medal ESG team; 3rd NYS TT Championships; 1st Onion River Crit.; 2nd GMSR App Gap RR; 2nd KOM(tied for 1st); 2nd O/A GMSR 4/5...never heard him brag or trash talk once...me on the other hand...every chance I get...David Waller
I'm not sure which of these things is more sad, but we have our pick thanks to Mr. Waller.
1) a parent that openly refers to his 19 year old son as "grasshopper"
2) a parent that has each of its childs results on hand and feels the need to post them on blogs, all of which seem to be Cat 5 results or from unsanctioned events.
3) a parent that monitors local cycling blogs and feels the need to respond to other posts made obviously in jest.
Good luck dealing with life when "the grasshopper" quits riding his bike from the pressure of living up to "the master" and moves into a flat in the east village and becomes an artist.
Ha!!! Again. Damn straight I've got the kid's results committed to memory...most amazing 12 weeks I've ever witnessed. And you know, to compete in the USCF one has to start in the cat.5's. Didn't you know that? Then you probably also didn't know that one also has to compete in (10) mass start USCF races to upgrade. Talk about sad- since when has parental support gone out of vogue? Sounds like you paddled your way out of your mother's womb. Found this blog trying to source info on ESG's when Nick qualified. Didn't know a thing about them unlike yourself who has undoubtably been to them(maybe not in cycling but probably in canoe- I heard you are a prodigy) I'm not sure if your last name is Bauer, Tilford or Roche but one thing is for sure- ask the other two and I'm sure that they will tell you that they had plenty of support from those that cared for them to achieve what they did. Rest assured; if my son showed the same amount of effort in another area of interest besides cycling, I'd support him as wholeheartedly in that as well. This isn't my first rodeo- I've already gotten one child established in a successful career so this is old hat. And for the record, I've made a pretty damn skippy living being an artist. Gives me plenty of time to support those I love. If you have children I weep for them. Happy paddling, David.
My thoughts exactly. Dave, your kid is riding in a beginner category. Lets see how he does against some fast guys when he upgrades. Not trying to snub the results, as it is great that he is doing well, but seriously, lets see how he make out in the Cat 3 or better fields. Speaking from 15 years of expericne, the talent gap is pretty big as you move up.
David,
If your son is the same Nick I rode with on Wednesday, you should know that I suggested he try spinning an easier gear. His bike is set up wrong, with his saddle to high, which causes his hips to rock back and forth.
That, combined with his low cadence, is preventing him from pedaling as efficiently as he could be. That Nick didn't seem interested in my advice, but cat 2 license don't come in Cracker Jack boxes and I do sell road bikes for a living, so it might be worth considering what I've got to say -- if that is your kid.
I rode the ToB course a few weeks ago with Dieter, so I'm going to keep it local on Columbus Day weekend, and spend the time I would be driving back and forth from Cambridge working on my 'cross race. It sounds like you'll be out there riding to get ready for the spring, so I hope you have fun.
Finally, I don't think any of my readers would question you for being proud of your kid. But, my blog is not the appropriate place to enumerate his palmares. No one here is impressed, and you just come off like a blowhard. Perhaps you should start your own blog for readers who would feel differently. Barring that, you should certainly calm down -- more then one person emailed me to let me know that they found your comments on this post "creepy."
Best, AB
AB - I've read several instances on this blog where you have called people out for the type of comments they are posting. I also know that you have comment moderating feature active. Why do you allow such comments to be posted then? Maybe you should turn off the commenting feature?
AB - I've read several instances on this blog where you have called people out for the type of comments they are posting. I also know that you have comment moderating feature active. Why do you allow such comments to be posted then? Maybe you should turn off the commenting feature?
R, Which comments are you referring to?
If 'Anonymous' isn't Nick W, or at least any Nick at all, then that's a pretty lame inflammatory post and I don't fault David for chiming in and trying to squelch the misrepresentation.
Looking forward to the actual story being told by Sunday's results, my legs will be probably ducking out the fray instead pushing a single-speed cross bike over the 65mile Iron Cross course down in PA, but I do wish EVERYBODY their very best on Lake D Sunday.
Andrew -
See you down there on Sunday.!
- sf::
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