The Lifestlye: 2011 Cyclocross Nationals

The USAC 2012* Cyclocross Nationals will be held in Madison, WI, my alma mater's hometown. I still have tons of friends in Madison, almost all of who race bikes. I love to visit there and I love a good adventure so this 2011 goal was minted as soon as I heard about the venue even though I've only done 1 XC race.

But, in order to better fit the international cyclocross schedule (and those american riders hoping to compete at worlds) USAC as move the US championships from the 2nd week in December (2011) to ... the 1st weekend in January (2012). I don't know if you've ever been to Madison in January but the average high ... is 26 degrees.

Damn.

Not to mention I'll have to peak while traveling to Chicago over Christmas and New Years (definitely no champagne at midnight).

But then I look at this picture of my buddy B-foz doing a little winter CX racing in Madison last winter and I get equal parts scared and excited.

Well, I've got a year. Let's see what happens.


*Technically there will be no 2011 US CX Championships because the championships after the 2010 edition will be held in 2012 because of the change in date.

The Lifestyle: Never

Not ever.

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The Lifestlye: Why We Do This

Tank and I were finishing up our ride last night when we were stopped at a red light in East Baltimore in the Pigtown/Union Station neighborhood. A man waiting to cross the street started talking to us and asked us the usual questions about how far we were going and all that and then he asked us something that caught me off guard.

"What's the goal?"

I blanked for a moment as I tried to come up with a concise statement of why we spend most of our free time clad in spandex, bustin' our asses, risking bones and skin on overly expensive bikes trying to win races that most people don't even know exist. But while I hesitated Tank took the conversation in a different direction:

"The Harbor. We're heading back to the Harbor." 

Before I could figure out what the man really meant by his question the light changed so we said goodbye and rolled on. A few blocks later we passed a building with some words carved in stone along the top. Without turning around Tank pointed at one. There it was in 2 foot high letters:

Growth

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The Lifestyle: I've Done Something Horrible

Tomorrow I am racing my longest race ever and my 2nd MTB race ever: the 4 hr Michoux Mash. It's a low-key race and part of the race is that you get to pick and design your own race number.

For my number I picked 1004 - a vanity number based on my 10:04 high school 2 mile PR. For the design I consulted with Mel, Alyssa and Jen since they're all creative types who are good at this kind of thing. They had great suggestions involving the O's, Baltimore, Crabs, Old Bay and other Baltimore icons. But then the race got rescheduled and I kinda forgot about it for a while.

Then this morning I made this; I think it might be the most inappropriate thing I've ever done.

I'm afraid I've set mountain biking back 10 years.

a

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The Lifestyle: Cherahola Descent Pics (feat. Dr. K)

Found two pics online of Dr. K and I flying down a the back Cherahola Skyway - a roughly 10M descent where we averaged 45 mph. We were crushing it -- or as Dr. K chose to call it "tandem bombing it".

I don't know if it's my fit or what but it's good to know that despite 1,500M of riding this year and sickest bike I could assemble I still look like a total nerd on my bike.

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The Lifestyle: Experience vs Possessions

I came across a blog post on the Unclutter Blog (read the original post here) about a Cornell study (original study here) showing that experiences brings greater happiness and satisfaction than buying or owning possessions. 

It should be obvious to anyone who reads this blog that this idea is central to my lifestyle and the topics I blog about. 

I could write a thesis about this idea. I have a lot to say about how this connects to an athletic lifestyle, traveling, minimalism, risk perception, career decisions, time management, my generation's values, why I own so many damn bikes, etc. But I'm crunched for time so I'll just summarize and say I'm glad, but not surprised, that science is showing what I've been saying for years: 

Life is for having adventures.

More and more as I get older and find myself unsure about a decision I ask myself "What will make a better story?". I once had a friend who told me she thought this was a terrible idea -- why should I live my life based on doing things for the sake of having a story people will want to hear? I told her she was missing the point -- I want my life to be a story I want to hear. 

This might not be the best advice in all situations but it's given me fewer hangovers, cuts, bruises, empty wallets and ruined relationships than you might think. And now there is a study showing that maybe making memories worth remembering is the way to a happy life. 

Makes sense to me.

Party on kids,

a

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The Lifestyle: Spring Break Day -1

T minus 15 hours. I haven't packed shit and I'm still at work but Tank and I did just buy $60 worth of beer. Here is the list of things I need to pack and/or buy tomorrow morning minus about 10 items I forgot.

My favorite items:

• Toofbrush
• Whiskey
• Flannel
• Knife
• Rope
• Flask
• Matches

Git 'er done!

Man, it's going to be a great week.

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The Lifestyle: KBS Pro Cycling Cribs

This is a fun little video from the Pro Team with the same title sponsor as my amateur team (Kelly Benefit Stratagies). I don't know Reid personally but he got his Ph.D. in physics across the street from where I work at Hopkins and a couple of my coworkers are friends with him.


Here is a blurb from the team website:

Reid Mumford, a.k.a. Madness, is an original team member from KBS' 2007 launch, and has been a key part of the team's success since day one. He started out racing mountain bikes in Park City, Utah in the early 90's and got hooked after coming in fifth in a downhill time trial. He transitioned into road racing, competing on the John Hopkins University collegiate team (where he recieved his PhD in High Energy Particle Physics), earning the attention of KBS owner and local cycling patron John Kelly, who signed "Madness" to his amateur team in Baltimore, and the rest is history. Reid had his best season yet in '09, winning a stage in Uruguay and finishing fourth in the USPRO time trial. If not on his bike, Reid can be found in his sweet mobile home, which he uses to travel to and from American races with his wife Jenny and son Magnus "Mini Madness" Mumford in tow.

On the topic of random connections, a new guy showed up to a group ride last night and after a few minutes of conversation we realized we probably ran against each other in high school. Small world as they say.

That's all for now. I have a million things to do at work, on the bike and around the house to get ready to leave for spring break tomorrow. I'll try and write up some more posts on the drive and should be able to post from down in N.C.

Keep it real,

a

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The Lifestyle: Slurpee Sunday!

This was a great week of riding. In addition to 2 workouts and a race I put in just under 16 hours of riding making this my highest volume week of riding (except for spring break last year). Best of all, Tank, Dr. K and I had our first Slupee Sunday of the year today at the end of 4+ hr 67M ride.

A Slurpee Sunday, shaved legs and a race -- today really is the first day of spring!

Tomorrow is our annual team kickoff meeting for LSV and we get our new kits for the season. I'll post some pics of the new gear as well as a race report from this weekend soon.

Have a great week!

a

[Update 03/21/10 22:25 EST -- So something amazing happened on our ride today. We were bombing down a descent -- probably going 40 mph. Tank on the front, Jamie right in his draft and me about 10m back. Right at the bottom Jamie looks back at me with a big shit-eating grin on his face and flashes me a Sneaky Rhino in Tanks direction (if you don't know don't ask).

I almost fell off the bike laughing,

Later Tank was lallygagging on a climb so Jamie and I ducked off the road behind some pine trees and let Tank pass and then starting riding about 200m back from him. As were riding up on him Jamie turns to me and says:

"You know ... this really would be the sneakiest rhino.

The Sneaky Rhino -- Elf's gift to the world.]

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The Lifestyle: Tony Kornheiser Makes My Hate List

I hate incompetent cyclists more than anyone else. Seriously, I do. Every time someone does something dumb on a bike in front of a car or gets into a stupid argument with a driver it means that person is going to have less patience with me and my friends when they come up on us riding single-file and sharing the road.

That being said Tony Kornheiser is a fucking asshole to suggest on ESPN radio that people should give cyclists "a little tap" so they "take a spill" since they are "daring us to run them over". I would love to get up is his face with some anger about this but instead I'm going to file a complaint here. You can hear the broadcast on ESPN radio yourself here. Go to Part 1 of the March 11th broadcast at about the 33 min mark.

I got hip to this bullshit via Lance Armstrong's twitter feed. Here's a related article.

Though this is somewhat besides the point, he rants about cyclists "stupid shiny tights" or something like that. Um, what about football assclown? No beef with them giving you "the angle" in "shiny tights"?  And I would like to think I look waaay better in spandex than a 300 pound linebacker. Then again this is the guy who served a 2 week suspension for making comments about a female sport anchor's outfit - so fuck 'em.

Here is the letter I sent into ESPN via the above link. If you are too busy to write your own you may copy and send it in as your own:

I'm sure you've received several letters about this situation already but I have to add my disgusted reaction to Tony Kornheiser's March 11th radio show where he promoted violence against cyclists in response to newly announced DC bike lanes.

Hopefully I don't have to explain to you how the actions he repeatedly and casually advocated ("tapping" cyclists with a car) are dangerous if not deadly and completely illegal.

I "get" that Mr. Kornheiser is "joking" and that his "style" so-to-speak is supposed to be inflammatory and I have enjoyed his show prior to this incident. 

However, Mr. Kornheiser is clearly not a cyclist himself so he does not comprehend the reality of what is coming out of his mouth. ESPN, if not Mr. Kornheiser himself, must understand that he is dealing with REAL issues with REAL consequences.

Vehicular violence against cyclists is something that my friends and I have all directly or indirectly experienced and always with palpable fear.

As I'm writing this one of my friends is immobilized on his couch recovering from his 2nd surgery to repair damage sustained when a negligent motorist pulled out in front of him almost 9 months ago.

Mr. Kornheiser gleefully exploits tensions between angry motorists and cycists. Such specific and detailed advocacy for violence goes well beyond the realm of hypothetical. 

Mr. Kornheiser served a 2 week suspension for harshly criticizing a female anchor's outfit earlier this year. I trust that ESPN will again reprimand Mr. Kornheiser at least as harshly given the content of his statements.

[UPDATE 13:42 EST: I want to add a minor point of clarification here based on a major misunderstanding I'm seeing in op-ed pieces I read on this subject during lunch.

If Mr. Kornheiser (or anyone else for that matter) says they hate cyclists, I would rather they didn't feel that way, but there is no real problem with that. Cyclists aren't whining because Mr. Kornheiser isn't going to invite us to his birthday party.

That's not the problem here.

Some have pointed out that Mr. Kornheiser is just blowing hot air as he's infamous for doing. I agree, and do not for a second think he would actually run a cyclist over with his car. If he though that was  a good idea he would have already done it.

That's not the problem here.

The problem is that if someone says they hate figure skating and think it's a good idea to run a figure skater out of the rink with a zambonie, that's an innocuous statement regardless of whether or not they mean it. That's because it's never going to happen.

This is not that same thing.

When cyclists ride on the roads they literally put their lives in the hands of hundreds of motorists an hour who pass them as they ride. Disgruntled motorists. People who have had bad days. People in a hurry. People with a temper.

Mr. Kornheiser's comments play into those people's frustrations. They tempt listeners to "punish" cyclists and even glorify doing so. This is real. This happens daily around the world.

That's the problem here.]

[UPDATE 03/23/10 23:25: LA went on TK's show the next day and they discussed his comments. LA got to speak his piece and TK apologized for his comments. Some people may disagree but I find this to be a sufficient resolution. LA put it best "bikes and cars are both here to stay" -- what we need is a mutual understanding. And in a media circus like this what happened on the show is as good as we're going to get.

Back to training and racing.]

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The Lifestlye: One Of Those days

Today was just one of those days. Long, frustrating, too many problems - just couldn't get on top of things today. By the time I got to Dr. K's, without being prompted he was ready with a PBR for each of us. A good friend, a PBR, some warm weather, an easy spin around the

neighborhood and a chance to talk things out. What more could you want?

"Sometimes life's OK"

- Modest Mouse

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[Update: I posted the above toasting pic on DailyMile -- the social training site I use. The exchange that followed was so perfect I had to include it here.]

The Lifestyle: Sugar Hill XC Course Preview

So yesterday I was finally able to get on the trails in Patapsco for the first time in 33 days since the first of our two big blizzards this winter. Overall there were a fair number of downed trees to pick around but almost no snow to speak of and the ground was pretty dry. 

This morning I checked out the course map for the Sugar Hill XC race on the 20th. The map is above. Here are the turn-by-turn directions.

One lap is ~7M long.

• Starting at the flag go up the Big Hill (blue). 
• At the top of the Big Hill you will make a left onto Rockburn Branch 1 (red).
• Continue from Rockburn Branch 1 (red) onto Rockburn Branch 2 (purple).
• Make a left onto Morning Choice (yellow).
• Make a right onto Cascade Falls (blue).
• Make a right onto Ridge Trail (orange).
• If this is your last lap make a left to go down the Big Hill (blue) and into the finish.  Otherwise, make a right at the end of Ridge Trail, make an immediate left onto Rockburn Branch 1 and continue through another loop.

I've been on all of these trails at one time or another and I would say I'm familiar with about 1/2 of the course. But looking at the map now I'm definitely concerned about the start. I did that "Big Hill" climb yesterday and it was tough. Now seeing that it's the start of the race I'm definitely going to have to go into it with a plan. With 100 guys starting on a 7M course positioning at the top of that climb is going to be a huge factor for how the rest of the race plays out. Especially since I am racing in the most novice category where passing is not going to be "smooth".

Since I have a single speed I really only have 2 options on a big hill like that: grind or run. I'm going to change my gearing up from a 32X19 to a 32x20 which should help a little but I'm going to have to practice that climb to find the best bike/run combo to get up it. I crawled up this climb yesterday and eventually had to bike hike it up when my heart rate hit my LT and I had to reign it in since it was an easy day. While running may be a "strength" of mine since I've been doing it for 10 years I'm not going to outrun someone up a hill who is spinning a granny gear while I'm pushing my giant steel 29er. 

But, when it comes down to it the hill will be steep for everyone. So I'll plan and prepare but come race day you just gotta get out there and have fun (and crush souls if you can).

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The Lifestyle: Alyssa's World

So this is the focus of Alyssa's life (ultras) in a context I can understand (data/plots). Elevation is on the left. Distance is on the bottom. If you squint you can see the Boston Marathon waaay at the bottom. I'm certainly impressed.

I'll have to post some elevation maps from the rides in N.C. at the end of the month. Props to Kelly for the link.

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The Lifestyle: Stickin' To My Roots

Me at the finish of the RRCA 10M Team Challenge doing my best to rep' Falls Road Running. Hopefully I'll get to strike this pose on the bike this season.

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2nd Annual Bryan Fosler Spring Break Facial Hair Contest

Just send this out the UW Team. Can't wait.

_____

Hi --

I think the subject line says it all. 

Here are the rules based on last year's contest (and pending Fosler's approval):

1. Facial hair must cut into whatever form it will take before the start of the Chirahalla ride on Friday April 2nd. It may not be modified through the ride, through dinner, and until judging. This is the minimum amount of time for your facial hair. Longer use is encouraged and should be reflected in the judging.

2. Costumes, hair styling, props, skits, power point presentations, etc are encouraged and should be reflected in the judging.

3. Fake facial hair is acceptable though the same minimum use requirements apply. Women are encouraged to compete under this category. Women competing with natural facial hair will be subject to random drug tests for performance enhancing substances.

4. If anyone can find the mustache Reistad used in his "Mannshaft" interview -- the one that looks like he cut it off a muppet -- that would make me very happy.

5. Judging will be performed in some arbitrary manner. Probably something like a committee will choose some finalists and them the winner will be selected by mob rule ("democracy").

6. Small, meaningless prizes may be presented. Most likely from the dollar store or stolen off peoples bikes while everyone is voting.

7. I just realized I forgot to sent Waite my 2nd spring break payment

8. If these rules seem vague or arbitrary that's probably because it's a facial hair contest we're going to judge while we're drunk.

Put down that razor. You have 25 days.

a

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The Lifestyle: The Week In Pictures

Well it was a good week.

With Michaux coming up next week I bought some new toys

We went out pretty hard with Rez@ in town on Friday night.

Dr. K even got his Falva Flave on.

Saturday during the day, Tank, Dr. K, Zero and myself helped put on skills clinic for the JHU team. Zero, ever true to his triathlon roots showed up on his slick new Cannondale ... with the biggest pie plate I've ever seen:

Saturday night we had a 40th birthday party at the dojo for one of the instructors

Sunday Tank and I got out and rode 75M. We stopped for some sandwiches.

Because we're fat kids.

And we stopped at Brighton Dam

Which is still icy

As are the shady paths in Patapsco. Which means Michaux should be pretty rad. Lastly, loading photos via Blogger sucks. I've got to find a better way of doing this.

The Lifestyle: Barefoot Running

[Still playing with posting via posterous and decifing if I like it]

This is an interesting video explaining some of the science behind the resurgence in barefoot running. I found it on Vibram Five Finger webite, a company that makes, well, uh they make ... I guess you could call them foot - gloves for running? They look like this:

I've seen them around and didn't know what to make of them. After watching the video and thinking about it I'm not sold but I also don't think it's bullshit. It seems from a physiological point of view the idea seems to be that running barefoot promotes better form. However, running barefoot is not the only way to achieve better form, though it might be the most "natural" way especially compared to endless form drills.

So VFF products have the potential to be a training tool for those who want to change their form. But this is not a new idea. Back in 2004 Nike came out with their Free running shoe with a segmented sole to simulate barefoot running. While some people were converted most people thought it was just a fad or a neat toy at best. Even earlier at the turn of the millennium there were sprinters at my high school, fast ones even, who would do a few barefoot strides at the end of their workouts to strengthen their feet.

But as a cautionary tale let me tell you what happened to me in college. In the spring of 2004, my freshman year, I decided that I was going to "strengthen" my feet ... because ... I don't know I was in college. Anyway, I walked around campus barefoot for a few weeks (I wore shoes inside). The result was ... *drumroll* ... I had plantar fasciitis the entire summer including for my first trialthlon.

The moral of the story is that running barefoot is how your feet were designed to be used ... unless your feet, like mine, weren't really very well designed for running. Enter the running shoe.

What do you think? Share a barefoot running story if you have it!

Thanks for reading.
a
 

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The Lifestyle: B-Foz Gets Rad In Snow Cross

Fellow UW Cycling alumni and blogger B-Foz was out representing the Madison TREK shop team when he got what he called "a big serving of h8ter" coming over the barriers at the annual Cyclo-Frost CX race during the Madison Winter Festival last weekend. Sadly, Fozzy reported that the famous Cyclo-Frost whiskey handup (a flask of whiskey passed around among the racers during the race) was absent this year.

I was at the Winter Festival last year and it was a great time. They put down a layer of snow around the capitol and between that and lake Menona 200m away they have XC skiing, CX biking, speed skating, snow boarding and I think they managed to work a 5k in there somewhere.

Between the olympics and the blizzards we got earlier this month I definitely would have loved to check it out again this year.

Check out Fozzy's blog for more bike racing antics and thanks for reading.

The Lifestyle: The Weight

[It's been a while since I put up any original content on here. Sorry for the delay. I have lot of ideas to share but I tend to sit on them too long. Here's the latest I've been kicking around in my head -- enjoy!]

One of the things that I like about endurance sports is that it reminds people to place experience above possessions. For many of us sunny days training with your friends quickly eclipse nice cars and fancy watches. Sure, as my friend Kelley put it, most of us have a "fetish for nice equipment" but it's just that - equipment. Tools for training.

I was thinking about this as I was listening to one of my favorite records of 2008 (and one of the best breakup albums ever), Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago and I remembered reading that Justin Vernon had recorded the album in the woods or something (his website is here). I looked into it and it turns out that he recorded the entire album while living alone for a winter in a cabin in northern Wisconsin. This was also the inspiration for his recording name Bon Iver which is play on the French bon hiver - good winter.

This got me thinking about running away for a few months -- maybe it would be good for me. I started thinking about what I might learn about myself but then I quickly realized I couldn't do it. I have a lease. And even if I find a subletter I have a car loan to pay off. And even if I sell off the car and use my savings to pay off the remainder of the loan I have student loans to pay. But maybe if I pay the minimum on my student loans I could do it.

Maybe.

And then I remembered the speech that George Clooney's character makes in the recent film Up In The Air. Note that I'm cutting out a pretty significant part of the monologue in the context of the movie but I want to focus on just his first point.

How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff. Clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, your TV... the backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. You go bigger. Your couch, your car, your home... I want you to stuff it all into that backpack ... The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living.

I agree.

Our lives have weight to them. Weight can be good or bad. Weight can keep us grounded, shelter us and give us a home. But sometimes it's important to be able to move, sometimes we need to have the freedom, sometimes we need change.

Everyone has a different level of weight they like to carry. I like to stay light. I never feel more alive then when I'm traveling. Or when I'm biking solo between DC and Bmore. I feel good about throwing things away - uncluttering in my room. I like that I own no furniture larger then a dresser and no TV. It just makes my life seem ... manageable.

I know that we've moved past the "New Year's Resolutions" part of January (and I changed me banner and quotes on this blog to reflect this) but one thing I want to try and do in 2010 is lighten my life a little more. Even though I don't own much I could easily throw out a few boxes of just ... stuff ... crap, things I have no need for. I want to strip my life down to the essentials.

Who knows with time maybe I could just move into one of these:

Yup. That exists. Or maybe I'll just buy a 100 square-foot house:

Kinda neat eh? Yeah it's a yuppy/midlife-crises trailer home but get past that and it's pretty cool. Like a treehouse for grownups. Upside: no mortgage. Downside: the house still costs $45,000. You can check out other models on their website.

My favorite part of this video is how he overtly mentions that the bed can sleep two. Kinda odd. Then in the last few seconds you hear the camera person talk to him and --- would you look at that it's a women! You ODB you just drive around the country and seduce women with your novelty house! Not a bad idea actually!

Anyway, what do all of you think? Is there a correlation between sports and appreciating experience over possessions? How about sports and a minimalism lifestyle? Do possessions feel like "weight" to you or are they comforting? Do you think I'm destined to live in a glorified trailer and become a creepy old man?

Thanks for reading.

The lifestyle: Listen to Your Voices

A friend of mine from aikido recently started working freelance as a "lifecoach" for lack of a better word. Normally I would raise an eyebrow at this but he really has a natural ability to connect with people so I think is a great move for him. The other day he was telling me a little bit about what he does and he made what I think is a very interesting point that applies to readers of this blog.

Currently my friend works almost exclusively with senior management types -- people who are very successful in their careers. These people are very driven and focused. In short they know how to get things done and as a result they have an unique dilemma. Because they are so talented they can accomplish almost anything they set their mind to. So how do they pick? With so many options and so much pressure to be successful how do you find what will make you happy? And then how to you convince yourself to go for it once you decide?

Thinking about it I think this is an issue many readers of this blog face. Most everyone I know who reads this blog fits the bill of my friend's clients. You really can't train and compete at the level many of us do otherwise. Especially now as many people are beginning their training cycles for 2010 I started to thinking about how we pick our goals. But this just led me to thinking about a question I feel we rarely ask ourselves:

What is the little voice in our head telling us to do?

Most of us have been doing the sports we do now for years; we have lifetime goals, we know exactly how to train and we have grudges to settle with other runners or with certain races. It's hard to walk away from that. But what if we pursued those little thoughts we disregard as fantasies?

I'll use myself as an example. Looking back on it, it seems obvious that my whole life I have wanted to fight. Every training scene in any martial arts movies fascinated me. I never had any doubt that I wanted to be the main character who pushed themselves harder than anyone else and became a great fighter. Except of course, I had every doubt in the world.

I was (and still am) skinny. I'm not particularly quick or coordinated. I'm not particularly aggressive and other than a few months of wresting I had in gym class in high school I haven't been in anything even resembling a fight (thankfully).

But in the fall of 2008 a variety of things came together and I gave it a go. I was determined but oddly embarrassed. I didn't even tell my my gf at the time till after about a week and told no one else for about a month. I knew no one at the dojo and I was the youngest one there. I took me a few weeks just to figure out how to tie the obi (belt) on my gi (uniform). It was a month before I could stop greeting every new training partner with "Hi, I'm new, I have no idea how to do this technique."

But it worked out. Doing aikido has made my life better. I realize now that it's something I've always wanted but was too embarrassed/scared/uncertain to try.

I just wanted to put that idea out there; getting over you hesitations and trying something completely new to make your life better.

Are any of you trying anything new in 2010?

Or, are the sports you're training for now the result of listening to that little persistent voice? How many years did you wait till you tried that first triathlon, marathon, Ironman, etc?

Thanks for reading!