Form, Fit, and Function - A Tale of Two Freds

A little while ago, BikeSnobNYC took a blogger to task for pedaling around in high heels. Actually it was more the tone of the high heel wearer's comments that prompted the aside, which came at the end of particularly embarrassing rant about this guy, who tries to make a buck selling "getting started" advice. Normally I read BikeSnob for a good chuckle, and I take his critiques at face value. This one seemed a bit personal, and I guess that "Bike Shrink" offers advice is one thing, but to sell it? Why, thats, thats....

...The American Way. Even if we never know whether the advice is worth the fee. Some of you may scoff, but what Bike Shrink is trying to capitalize on is the fact that a lot of well-meaning people spend tons of cash to get started in the sport of cycling. Simply sorting out the basic necessities, the terminology, and the culture creates all sorts of confusion. Let's face it: the cycling biz is a racket built around slick unhelpful marketing. Caught in the middle are the bike shops that just want to stay in business. I'm not accusing anyone of dishonesty, all I'm saying is that finding gear that really works - and fits - is a crap shoot. I can't say how much cash I've thrown away on gear that wasn't worth the paper it was wrapped in, and I can't be alone. But that's neither here nor there. The real task is figuring out what's what without making a Fred of yourself.

Being a Fred isn't the same thing as being a Newbie. Newbie is a synonym for beginner. Its a friendly word that doesn't carry many negative connotations. Fred, on the other hand, is a pejorative - on the order to poseur - and can sometimes mean "fool". There are all kinds of Freds in all kinds of places, but Freds are only Freds in the cycling world. In the navy, a Fred is a "dink" or a "non-qual" (non-quals are the worst). In the cycling world, a Fred is a person who acts outside of the local or universally accepted mores of the cycling culture. For sure, nobody tries to be a Fred.

But it's not hard to do. Cycling is a semi-exclusive sport that attracts a lot of egos and narcissists. Just look at the professional peleton. Even so, the barrier to entry into cycling isn't insurmountable by the average Joe, but it does require a little well-spent cash. Here I'm reminded of the episode of "Malcolm In The Middle" where Malcolm's father takes up race-walking. The point is, the expense is usually the first detour on the road to Fred-dom. Everybody wants to fit in, and a lot of people come to cycling wide-eyed. Without experience to steer their choices, most wind up committing a few faux-pas that earn them the outward disdain or the sideways glance from some of the established crowd. Thus the niche that the BikeShrink aims to fill.

What's more, there are so very many ways to be a Fred, because we see now that Fredness is a matter of perception. The high-heeled pedaler boasts that she can blow by fully-kitted riders on expensive bikes without the benefit of traditional cycling garb. Indeed, she is woman, hear her roar along the road in boutique jeans and shoes. But she is no Fred because she refuses the to wear the badge of spandex. To her, any rider in a road kit is a Fred. Especially ones on bikes more expensive than hers. To the high-heeled rider, cycling requires style and class, and technical clothing doesn't measure-up.

Aside from bicycles being a cross-cultural thing, I think she's on to something. Fit and function are one thing, but style is quite another. Finding all three elements in cycling gear takes years of trial-and-error and a few shiny pennies. Sometimes its all for naught once one realizes they will never look good in a jersey and shorts. High-heeled pedaler is dismayed because she believes the cycling mores of "looking good" is akin to being confused with bad art school homework or an Old Navy mannequin. I'll agree, there is some very bad design and artwork in the average cycling outfit, but whatever is printed on the kit means something to the wearer. I think the real objection is not finding the necessity to wear in public what amounts to loud, pretentious underwear. Fred or no Fred?

Cycling might be the only sport where its possible to express your style in technical clothes. Myself, I prefer a certain subtlety if I can find it. Pro team kits are right out, and most everything else seems garish. Right now I'm the poster boy for Pearl Izumi. The Hincape stuff might be the worst-looking in terms of price, and Giordana exemplifies everything that's wrong in Europe. I have seen a few things out there that might work for my personal taste, but I have to buy them online. You never know what you'll get if you buy online, or how much it will cost to return it. That goes for anything cycling related, not just clothes. Shoes and saddles make the most difference in cycling and they are the hardest things to buy in terms of form, fit, and function. Unfortunately LBS can't invest in the inventory required to make shopping for gear easy. So its either take your chances on the Internet or buy LBS.

Over the years I've learned to embrace my Fred. In the beginning, my Fred was the over-confidence in my abilities after years out of the saddle. Then it was the goofy clothing because I refused to wear spandex. Then it was looking even goofier after I did. Then as my fitness returned, it was the poor bike handling skills and getting carried away on bike paths. Then it was the mistakes in training and nutrition, and not listening to the mechanics at the bike shop about equipment and adjustments. Then it was the awkwardness of finding a like-abled group, and being a Johnny-come-lately. Now its my white helmet and hairy legs.

I've been on the St. Louis roads for ten years now. It's taken that long to find all the things that work for me, and I'm finally comfortable with my equipment and my style. I like to train hard if for nothing else but to keep myself in good shape with age, and to maintain the ability to keep up with (and sometimes pull) a group of respectable riders. In the end we are all enthusiasts and we are all competitors and we all have our insecurities. But if you stick with something long enough, blah blah blah. I refuse to shave my legs.

P.S. - I read the other day that I might not be a Fred after all. I have white bar tape on the Masi. Alas, I let it get pretty dingy and I don't care to change it, so its back to the Fred Leagues for me.

A Fine October Day

I rode a new 40 mile loop.

Saturday, I rode about 25 miles of the same new loop. I think would make a great weekday ride.

It was a perfect Fall day. I saw lots of family reunions and birthday parties in the parks, and chatted or tagged along with many, many cyclists on Geyer Road. The air was crisp. It was overcast too, with the smell of dead leaves and charcoal grills hanging on the breeze; and football on the radio from car windows and garages along the streets. I didn't smell any wood fires though. That would have been the topper. Hard to believe its still August.

Performance

WOotW - Change of Scene

You can now find me training here. This was my introduction:

2 sets for time (under 30 mins) --

- 30 barbell deadlifts (155lbs)

- 25 push-ups

- 25 MB Cleans (20lb ball)

- 30 KB Swings (35lb KB)

If you think it looks easy, try it. I dare you.

WOotW - Oh My!

15 barbells cleans (135lbs)
30 toes-to-bar
30 box jumps
15 muscle-ups
30 push presses (30)
30 double-unders
15 thrusters (100lbs)
30 pull-ups
30 burpees
30 OH walking lunges (45lbs)

Just To Be Sure

St. Louis doesn't have an abundance of bike lanes. Where bike lanes are available, its often necessary to remind the driving (and cycling) public what they're for:

The Little Tour That Could

Out on the road we don't talk about it much, the Tour of Missouri. I think the subject has come up only once in a long while, and the conversation was more a comparison of what stages each of us would attend. Me? Whatever stage lands in St. Louis. This year that's Stage 1. A few of the others were wondering if there will be an accessible 'Etape du Tour' like there was last year. The fear being that it will be held at one of the across-the-state stages. Even more important, who will lead it now that Mary Kay as quit Maplewood? To that I'm indifferent because there's no way I can get a kitchen pass for an all-day bike ride; not now; even if it is the Tour of Missouri.

I sometimes wonder how others talk about the Tour. Is there hot debate about the strategies of major teams? Or maybe who will lead the breakaways? Maybe some gossip around a few of the riders? Or is it more like where to sit along the race routes? I can never get a sense of it. We're told the Tour of Missouri is a Big Deal(tm) - one of only two races in the United States rated as worthy of attendance by the biggest and best international teams. Indeed, the biggest teams and the biggest names have, and will, come to town. How did that happen? Are the stages that challenging? C'mon, there's bigger hills in Arkansas. It certainly can't be because of the weather. Maybe its because this is the Midwest and everyone is so nice. One thing's for sure: whoever puts the Tour together must be a fast talker.

That's a good thing. The Tour needed some fast talking to stay alive this year - or so I'm told. On July 10, the Post-Dispatch published an article by Kathleen Nelson and Tony Messenger informing that the race could be cancelled because the Department of Economic Development proposed to eliminate the $1.5 million allocation for the Tour of Missouri from the state's tourism budget. At first the article focused on the reaction of the tour organizers: "devastating". Then the article framed the cut as a poor timing issue: "interest in cycling is growing while Lance is only seconds from the lead in the Tour de France!" Like that has anything to do with it. Then it became an economic development issue: the state has an interest in investing in tourism. But really really, it was a personal political confrontation between the Tour's primary political supporter, Pete Kinder, and the governor, Jay Nixon. That Kinder is expected to challenge Nixon in 2012, and also that Kinder leads the commission from which the money would be cut, the article hints, means it must be personal.

The vacuum drawn by all the butt holes puckering across the state set off the motion detectors at my neighbors house. Those with incurable cases of Compulsive Outrage Disorder came out of the wood work, posting on forums and calling talk shows, accusing anyone who wears spandex of unspeakable crimes against humanity. The Tour pundits and cycling affectionados came out too, demanding the road be shared and threatening to withhold their carbon credits. Yes, it was clear from the article that something was rotten in Jefferson City. What was not clear from the article is why the Tour receives half its operating budget from the state and what that money is used for.

The very next day, sensing that their first attempt didn't muddy the waters enough, Kathleen Nelson published a combined Tour de France race report/political editorial ironically titled "Tour of Missouri clearer than Tour de France", complete with very bad analogies of peleton strategy and political hegemony. I guess as a counterpart, Tony Messenger filed his own report characterizing the budget proposals as "a high stakes game of chicken between the governor's office and the nonprofit agency that runs the September bike race", as if there were spandex-clad ruffians in Pete Kinder t-shirts staring down the governor though his office window.

The truth of the matter can be found by reading all three articles together, minus the hyperbole. The obvious part is that this state, like so many others, has money problems. I think the governor's staff simply pulled a bunch of non-critical line items out of the budget and asked the responsible departments to justify their expenses. All very straight forward. Of course, when the sports beat reporter and the church beat reporter "broke the news" in twenty different contexts, everybody got defensive and turned on the PR machines. At bottom was the governor's budget director asking what the money would be used for. Not an unreasonable question when the amount is $1.5 million. At top was getting the Tour organizers to turn over their books - which, by the way, the public is still yet to see.

The final word on the matter came from Messenger on July 14 in a blog entry of all things. A blog entry that was basically one long quote from Governor Nixon stating only that people who receive state money should be prepared to show their work. I'm pretty sure that's a governors responsibility. So the Tour organizers came up off the goods, the state budget staff had a look and cut them a check. Problem solved. Now that this ridiculously fabricated "tug of war between the governors office and the tourism commission" is over, you can all go back to your regularly scheduled programming. For me, that'll be riding down to the Central West End on race day to collect some autographs, have a beer, and take in the crowd.

I hope the Tour of Missouri continues. I want the Tour of Missouri to continue. But I want the drama to be on the race course, in the midst of a first class, honest-to-goodness, Pro Tour stage race that I can see up close. Everything worthwhile seems so tenuous these days. What I don't need is a sports reporter who doesn't know anything about the sport stirring up political apoplexy.

WOotW

Here is a very simple 20/10/2 (20 seconds work/10 seconds rest for 2 minutes) interval routine that targets the shoulders, lower back, and abs:

- OH medicine ball squats (keep ball overhead during rest)
- isometric squats w/moderate weight dumbbell (press dumbbell in and out from the chest while holding the squat)
- alternating shoulder presses w/moderate weight dumbbell (hold dumbbells in the "ready" position - about eye level - during rest)
- dumbbell OH situps (leaning hold w/dumbbell overhead during rest)
- push-up position dumbbell rows (2 minutes each side)
- runners
- torso lift (like a superman, but raise and hold only the upper body)
- negative push-ups (push back up to the ready position and hold during rest)

WOotW - Semi-Yawner

I'm taking it easy this week.
Warm up and do each exercise in the circuit for 1 minute. Try to complete 3 sets in 30 minutes:

- jump shots (or wall-ball)
- jumping squats
- kb deadlifts
- push-presses (use a light/moderate weight dumbbell)
- deep squats (slooooowly)

Evolution of Style

I've been trying to improve the conditions around riding the singlespeed. When I bought the bike, I took it as it sat from the shop floor and rode it home. I was thrilled with it. I still am. It's an elegant-looking bike to begin with, and I felt that bolting on typical bicycle accessories like a bottle cage or a saddle bag really detracts from the style and purpose of the bike, which is to sit in the garage ready for action. Owning a bike I can simply jump on and take off for a while with no special preparation is - or was - a great convenience. Lately though, I'm finding reality a little different. The reason?

Well, at work I look like this (really), but at home I look like this (sort of). I live in cargo shorts or jeans when I'm not in the office, and changing into bike gear is a tedious extra step. Riding in street clothes was fine for a while, and as a matter of fact, nothing beats jeans for winter riding (even if you really stand out in group rides). But I quickly found a disconnect between practicality and utility. All over the interwebs are pictures of people merrily moving along on their bikes in all kinds of get-ups: suits, dresses, cargo shorts, dress shoes, high heels, tennis shoes, etc. I don't see how they do it. For one thing, I sweat when I ride; and even if I don't, I tend to absorb the smell of my surroundings. Do they? If not, St. Louis county must be the smelliest, most sweat-condusive place on the planet.

In spite of the utility, on anything but the shortest of rides I found that jeans and street shorts tend to rub and get a little manky in the seat, especially in the summer. I solved the problem by buying a pair of these to wear under my cargo shorts. Later on, I bought a pair of these to go with them, because lets face it, summer here is brutal, and riding in Levi's or cargo shorts just doesn't cut it when the alternative is a nice pair of Zoic's. Of course, once I started wearing bike shorts, it was only a short step to athletic T's. So now I'm back to changing clothes, and the spontaneous hipster-street-clothes aspect of riding the bike is gone. And that was just the beginning.

One day I had a close call with a pile of glass. I was lucky because I had strayed a good distance from home and I would have been stuck otherwise. I started carrying a spare tube banded together with a tire lever and CO2 in the leg pockets of my shorts. Then it dawned on me that the wheels on the Masi are bolt-on. Before the next ride I remembered to grab a 15mm box-end from the tool chest. Then I thought about it, and turned around and put the tube, the wrench, the CO2, and a patch kit in a saddle bag, and strapped the bag to the bike.

The official end to my spartan urban riding came on a hot June day. I was thristy, and felt more than a little silly stuffing bottled water in the pockets of my shorts like some junior high-schooler. I found a bike shop on the way home and bought a bottle cage and a cheap bottle. The bike was now fully decked-out and so was I. Well almost.

The only thing unchanged is the pedals. The bike still sports the cheap-o platform pedals it came with. I've held out on the pedals because they are truely the utilitarian part of the bike - I can still jump on and go if the need arises. I've had more than a few instances of the need arising, and nothing is worse at, say, the moment the kids suddenly want to ride, than telling them "wait while I change my shoes". Its a buzz-kill. And while those times aren't frequent, they aren't rare either. The pedals do offer enough stability when I'm riding with the kids, but they don't begin to cut it when I'm riding on my own - especially in traffic.

Even if nobody walks around in bike shoes, I wanted to. I thought: wouldn't it be cool if there were shoes practical enough for daily wear, that also clip in, but won't scratch the kitchen floor? There is. They're damn comfy and fit my super laid-back street style too. I'm not sure what to do about winter riding yet, but I'm considering these. As for pedals, there's only one choice isn't there?

The most important thing I figured out about riding in street clothes is that I don't need to. Sure, I take short trips with the kids, or pedal to the drug store or to the gym, but I don't have to get around by bike. I'd like to, but I can't. Most of the time I use the bike to wander. I don't stop at coffee shops (or bars), commute to work, pick up groceries, or make it part of hanging out with friends. I guess what I've done is find a happy medium - somewhere this side of depending on the bike - that really suits the way I live. And my style. Without having to run around in a spandex diaper.

Think Your Workout Is Tough?

I was encouraged to drop in here this morning.
If you have the gumption, try this after a decent warm up and stretch. Try to finish in under 30 mins:

- run 1k
- row 1k
10 sets of:
- 5 hanging dips
- 10 pull-ups
- 15 jumping slams
- row 1k
- run 1k

WOotW: Better-Late-Than-Never-Super-Soaker Edition

Love & Rockets

For anyone out there wondering, last week I had to be an employee and a father first, with much family doin's to manage and a major presentation to give. In the process I recycled the Vertical Insanity workout in order to hang on to my sanity. And yes, my smooth is now even smoother.

Before all that, though, was the July 4th weekend and a free Friday afternoon. I lit out after lunch with Ron for one of Stephanie's relaxing hilly holiday rides. I feel kind of bad about this because I talked Curt into going. I was having to pass on our regular Sunday ride and offered this one as a consolation.

We had a great group committed to the ride and Stephanie really wanted to keep everyone together. To cover the unlikely mechanical problem, she offered to make the affair "no drop" and everyone agreed. Now being an experienced lot, we should have had the sense to consider that offering up such freebies to a group of fast riders will always tempt The Fates. And sure enough, not five miles into the ride, we had our first flat.

We shrugged our shoulders and cheerfully stopped and waited. Two tubes later and finally on our way again, there was another flat. Then Curt's front derailleur flopped dead. Then Ed broke his chain. That was enough for Curt, and he decided to go have his derailleur looked at. Two hours had passed and we'd only made it 18 miles and the good feelings were just about gone. At a water stop at the bottom of Old Gravois Rd I noticed Ron didn't look so well and he packed it in. Then I had a flat. Three-and-a-half hours and 40-some-odd miles later I finally made it home.

The following Tuesday at the Alping Shop ride, a few of the die-hards told me they finished about 50 of the planned 65 miles. Nevertheless, I don't think I'll post the route because there seems to be a certain amount of gray karma lingering around it.

Man The Boats

They say that success in the board room translates into success on the road - or is that the other way around? Anyway, with my family nurtured, my presentation presented, and my smooth well blended, it was time for a long ride. Kelly planned an 85-miler last Sunday from Ballwin to Grafton and back, and the potential for a mid-summer century was too good to pass up. I couldn't talk Curt or Matt into going.

For the record, I did check the weather radar before I rode to the start, and yes, I saw the storm that was advancing east over Kansas City. Let him without sin cast the first stone.

We had 10 riders when we left Ballwin. By the time we stopped to regroup in the parking lot of the Ameristar we had close to 40. I wasn't too cloudy and the wind was calm, and we boomed it out past Meuller Rd./Hwy B to the Golden Eagle Ferry. I kid you not: we had the peleton rolling at 35mph or better on those stretches of road. What a blast.

We decided to stop for lunch at The Loading Dock in Grafton. The sky was turning gray and the wind was picking up, and one of our group called every one's attention to the big screen above the bar tuned to the Weather Channel. There was a big reddish-purple blob over Columbia heading east with purpose. Looking over our shoulders we could see the black horizon. Might as well have a sandwich and wait for the ferry.

It started to rain just as we rolled off the Grafton Ferry on to Hwy 94. The closer we got to St. Charles, the harder it came down. At one point it felt like we were making no progress at all. The sky was flashing with lightening and the black clouds sunk towards the ground with thin protrusions that looked like ghoul fingers. It was getting very dark. We tried to keep the group together, but the wind and the rooster tails from the bikes splintered the pack. Cars began to pass uncomfortably close. Water was building up on the road. At one point, some redneck pulled up close and shouted out his half-cracked window that we belonged on the Katy Trail. I guess he thought he would lift our spirits.

The rain eased to a light pelting as we regrouped at the Ameristar. There was now only six of us. We waited for a bit, heaved a sigh and pushed on. Over the river, through Creve Croeur park, and out onto Creve Croeur Mill Rd we had our first flat. All we could do was laugh as we stood in the rain getting cold by the side of the road. Once rolling we didn't stop again until we got home. For me, the ride was 85 miles in 4:45 - a little better than a 17mph average for all that - and none the worse for the wear. Except for the water in my front wheel.

Feelin' Light
Here's my recovery for the chills and spills of the sudden-thunderstorm century. Superset the exercises, and do each for 1 minute apeice. Try to make it twice through the circuit in under 30 minutes:
- row (or sprint in place)
- jump shots

- burpees
- squat-presses (moderately heavy dumbbell)

- box jumps
- pull-ups

- lunges
- dips

Who Was That Masked Man?

A few posts back I posited that while riding west to Babler one Sunday, we got a lead-out from an unlikely source. I should say that while we never got right up behind this person - or even spoke - we did get close enough for what I thought was a positive ID: the Big Shark kit, the Unmistakable Look 585, the harrowing pace; it had to be the Bugman.

But no. Bugman pointed out that it wasn't him. Nevertheless, Bugman, your dignity is safe. I can assure you that this person was time-trialing-it away from us too; so he didn't want to be seen with our group of Freds either :)

But more important: who was this impostor? This interloper? It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that's cutting it a little fine in my opinion. Now we have a mystery solve.

Call to action lads! We have to be vigilant! We must keep our eyes pealed and a sharp look-out for what most surely must be a dangerous charlatan. If you see this person, resist the impulse to grab for the torch and pitchfork. Just mark the location of the sighting in your Garmin and report it to me immediately. Together we can root out this craven mountebank and make the roads safe for democracy once more.

WOotW - Vertical Insanity

Its hill climbing madness around here. That is to say, I don't climb hills very well, and anyone who climbs faster than me is mad. But I have a twisted sense of dedication, so its my duty to keep up with the pack. Or try to. Mostly. Sometimes.

My excuse is that I weigh alot. Most of the folks I ride with weigh about a buck-seventy or less, so I make out that the extra thirty pounds I carry is all the difference in the world. On the group rides I really like to show off my power by pulling the lead-outs, but when the grade passes 5%, I sit up and take it easy. Truth is, I'm vertically apathetic - I just can't say so in mixed company. Its not cycling-chic. One must cotton to the pain! Or speak of the suffering! Can a brother get some sanity up in this bitch?

An old hand once told me that I "smooth it" up hills. I guess that charaterizes it pretty well. I have a certain cadence and breathing rhythm that I like to maintain, and humping it up Marshall hill with a grimace on isn't smooth. More important, I've noticed over the years that the typical driver is more apt to run you off the road if he sees you hunched over the bars, grinding your teeth. They subconciously think "Fred" and try to do you a favor by putting you out of your misery. Whereas flashing a cool, confident glance from a relaxed, upright position gets you an escort plus half-dressed women and cold beer at the next light. Guess which one I go for?

So why everyone on the group ride has to try to fly up these hills is beyond me. The kids? You can't tell them anything anyhow, so I let them go on with their hill-repeats and their suffering-fests. But the older folk? My generation? Its brain washing I guess. Maybe too many Gatorade commercials and "Cyclism" reruns on Versus. I was aghast to find out that one of my Sunday compadres does interval sprints uphill "just like you see in the Tour". May the ghosts of Fat Tire have mercy on his soul.

On the other hand, riding a single-speed puts a whole new perspective on riding. Call me the Gray Hipster, but I enjoy riding a fixie more than my racing bike. Why? Because no matter what I do, I can only go so fast, especially uphill. I tend to get a better look at my surroundings, and cars get a better look at me, too. I've found that my riding is style is perfect for a fixie. That cadence and breathing rhythm that I like keeps my efforts constant, and I can get around any terrain or in any kind of traffic with more power, manuverabilty, and visibility than a multi-gear bike. Its all in the leg speed.

Its also more relaxed. When the grade gets steep, only smooth will do it on a single speed. Sometimes the only choice is to stand up and mash it out; but the effort doesn't feel the same as spinning large in the bottom chainring. As a matter of fact, it doesn't feel much like effort at all. I've tried to find the same gear combinaton on the Litespeed without luck. Experimenting isn't an easy thing to do on fast group rides, and I have to maintain my suffering facade. Nevertheless I keep trying, and so I continuously get dropped on steep hills. Not that I'm really losing anything, its just so tempting to try to keep up.

So in the interest of picking up more style points while improving my climbing power, I must first improve my explosive, mild-mannered smooth. Take a heavy dumbbell and find a spot outside where there is plenty of room - like a playground or a small parking lot - and walk off a 30 yard line. Now warm up and sprint from one end to the other. Then:
- walking lunges, one end to the other;
sprint back to the start
- frog hops
sprint back to the start
- side-step squats
sprint back to the start
- side-step squats (opposite side)
sprint back to the start
- walking lunges
sprint back to the start

Catch your breath, then do each exercise in the circuit slowly and with purpose for one minute. Do the circuit twice to work both sides with the row:
- one-arm dumbbell row
- dumbbell sumo deadlift
- push-up drops
- plank with one leg raised (30 seconds each leg)
- leaning scissor kicks

WOotW - The Anvil Of Summer

I now know what my rides have been missing: HEAT, BABY!! It seems I needed a couple of 100+ degree days to awaken my inner Jens Voigt.

Sunday was the first of it. I headed out west early in the morning with Curt, Rock on his Motobecanne fixie, and Eric on his shiney new Giant Defy. The aim was to do 60 or better. It all started well enough - a comfortable ride west along Clayton Rd. with every other bike in the county. As we came through Frontenac we got behind the BugMan on his Unmistakable Look 585, and let him pace us out past H-141, where he disappeared into the sprawl and let us fend for ourselves. Then it was up into the hills around Babler.

We didn't really notice the heat until we jumped out on Eatherton Rd. We circled past Chesterfield Airport and cut over to Conway Rd. going east. About the time we started running the H-40 access roads between Mason and Ballas, some of us (namely me) started having second thoughts, and we limped in to the BP station at the corner of Ballas and Clayton, beat down by the heat. A couple of turns each at the water fountain and we decided to call it a ride. We still managed a 17.5 average over the 55 we rode in spite of quitting early.

Yesterday the thermometer read 106 as I rolled out of the drive on my way to the Alpine Shop ride. Yeah, it was warm, but it didn't touch me like Sunday. I spent the whole ride in the lead group and turned in a 18.5 average for the 24-mile course. No second thoughts.

The best thing after hot rides is a cold shower; the sort of shower where the water starts warm, then you gradually drop the temperature down past sub-arctic. Another necessity after hot rides is a good stretch. Do each exercise in the circuit for 1 minute using a moderate weight medcine ball:
- squat-jumps (hold medicine ball above the head)
- good mornings (holding the medicine ball straight out)
- push-up plank
- leg drops (holding medicine ball between the feet)
Do the above circuit 3 times, then:
- tuck-jumps (try to hit the medicine ball with the knees)
- seated leaning medicine ball press-ups
Do the above circuit twice, then:
- jump shots
- one-legged skates
Do the above circuit twice and cool down

Too Close To Home

A friend of mine was hit by a car on Doughtery Ferry Road last week, at a spot I - and a lot of you - pass regularly.
I'll let him tell the story:

[My wife] and I were riding single file along the right-hand white line of south-bound Doughtery Ferry, just where the road widens from two lanes to three lanes to make the right-turn lane for Carman Road (about a block away from the front of Barrett Elementary). [My wife] was about 50 meters behind me. It was 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon. As I recall we had a green light to proceed.

An SUV driven by a 19-year old woman talking on a cell phone cut between [my wife] and me, and plowed straight into me at approximately 40 mph, never hitting the brakes until after hitting my bike. The entire episode was witnessed (apparently) by a St. Louis County sheriff who was traveling north on Doughtery Ferry.

The SUV drove my bike seat through the left transverse processes of my lower three lumbar vertebrae, fractured my left pelvis, and broke my left femur into four pieces; fortunately the head stayed in the socket, the highest break occurring at the neck. That impact drove my abdomen into my handlebars, thrusting me horizontally off the bike to the right, into and across the righthand lane. My right scapula fractured into multiple pieces in situ (no repair possible) and broke off the end fragments of my 10th and 11th right thoracic ribs.

After four days in traction, the femur was repaired with plate and five screws, staples removed yesterday. I'm allowed no weightbearing activity of any type on my left leg and right arm, meaning I'm wheelchair bound until Labor Day. PT and OT plus lots of friends have restored my faith in humanity and the value of staying fit (the trauma and OR teams at St. Johns' were pretty convinced that I could easily have died).

That just scares the hell out of me. I think all of us have had a close call at that intersection. Fortunately my friend is alive and on the mend, but it will be a long road back.

WOotW

Ride frequency is starting to pick up in a way I hadn't expected: I'm getting the miles towards the end of the week rather than the beginning. For instance, I turned in 20 with the Masi on Friday afternoon again, followed by 15 more on Saturday afternoon.

Curt and I rode a 60-miler to Babler Park and back on Sunday morning. I'm still running out of steam on long rides, but at least I'm not bonking any more, and recovery time is very short - 24 hours - another testament to the Weekly Workouts.

I can pretty-much count on rain for Tuesdays. Well, it didn't rain yesterday, but the boys had a pack meeting so it might as well have. Next week has the calendar open on Tuesday, so that's just asking for it.

Anyway, time for some supersets. Warm up with a set of 30 push-ups, sit-ups, and squats, then do each exercise in a pair for 1 minute apiece. Do each pair twice then move on to the next. Try to really get the heart going so you can cool down with a short run:

- jump side-to-side
- dips

- knees->elbows
- alternating supermans

- seated twists with moderate weight medicine ball
- one-legged skates

- arm circles with light dumbbells
- kb deadlifts

- run 1 mile then stretch

WOotW

Things are looking up, sort of. I managed to squeeze in 40 miles on Friday afternoon, 40 more on Sunday (I planned 60 before the rain drove me indoors), then an additional 20 with the Masi on Monday. Of course the shop ride was rained out yesterday. What's new? That means back to the gym for some intervals.

This one should cook your bacon, so pace yourself. If you blow up, take some water and stretch for a minute, then resume.

Do each exercise for 1 minute:
- squat thrusts (moderate weight dumbbells)
- runners
- sit-ups
- prone cobra
Repeat the first circuit 4 times, rest, then:
- jump shots (with medicine ball)
- knees->elbows (or jumping pull-ups)
Repeat the second circuit twice, rest, then:
- dips
- jump side-to-side
Repeat the last circuit twice if you can, then stretch and walk it off.

WOotW

Damn rain. It just won't quit! (Trust me, I won't have this attitude in August). A huge storm came whipping through town yesterday knocking down trees, tearing off roofs, and canceling afternoon group rides (grrrr). Power was out to my house for about six hours, and I expect it will take months to clean up all the downed trees around the neighborhood.

The rain continues this morning, so I guess I'm working out inside again:

Warm up: 50 sit-ups
For each exercise, do 15 in a superset, rest for a second, then do 14, then 13 and so-on counting down to 1:
- burpees
- squat-press (with moderate-weight dumbbells)
Now do the same with the following:
- knees >elbows (or pull-ups)
- bench dips

Hi! I'm A Cyclist

A Quick Memo

From: David Lyle, Acting Executive Director of ACS Law
To: ACS Law Staff

Team,

I'd like to talk to all of you today about a very important issue that is right now affecting our public image. So serious in fact that major news outlets may even pick up on it. It is in regards to our publications on copyright, and as members of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, we need to look after each other. We have learned an important lesson today and we must share it with everyone so we don't make the same time wasting mistakes in the future.

That lesson, friends and coworkers, is that violating copyright is totally fucking awesome.

Tell me, we used to spend how many man-hours on one of these reports? 120? 240? Wasted wasted time. The information is out there just waiting to be copied. At first I thought this brilliant new technology would be expensive. I mean, how much do we spend just on the software that turns our computers on? Nope, it's just two simple commands: ctrl-c/ctrl-p. These are the shake-n-bake methods of success.

Remember that piece we did on Democracy and Voting? Yeah, take note. I just discovered that using this thing called Google will pull up page-upon-page of data that's as good as - if not better than - the crap we've been slaving over! Ever heard of a site called blackboxvoting.org? Fire up the presses. Frank LoMonte, that piece you did on the First Amendment was good, but Wikipedia's is better. Next time save yourself the trouble. They're practically giving the stuff away out there. Work smarter and faster people. Don't work harder.

And if any of you pansies come up to me like our now ex-employee Jenkins did about credit and citations, you'll be getting a citation yourself: your pink slip! I just wrote a five-hundred page report on the Second Amendment in five minutes! I don't have time for citations. Hell, you're lucky I don't fire the team that figured this out months ago and didn't tell me! We're a team people. We need to work together.

And if you're worried about the media, don't be. I've already bragged about this and told them they should pull their heads out of their asses and use it too. Maybe that's why newspapers are dying business models. Ever think of that? The shit's free and they're paying for it. Morons. And the real icing on the cake is that since this hit the news, page views on our site have tripled. It's a win/win no matter how you look at it.

I'll bet you think I'm a chump typing all this out when I could have just ctrl-c/ctrl-p from The Onion - and if you caught that, good for you. I'm still learning here, so let's grow together.

Your friend and boss,
David Lyle, Acting Executive Director of ACS Law

WOotW

Rained out.

WOotW

The Workout of the Week this week is the Alpine Shop ride.

That's right: I finally made it to a group ride. Not only did I make it, I crushed it. I finished in 1:16:28 with an average of 18.2mph for the 24-mile course that now includes the Barrett Station Rd. climb. That's a full 2mph faster than my best time last year! I spent the whole ride just off the back of the lead group. I was never really with them, but they were never out of my sight until just at the end when we (me and about six others) were separated from the leaders by a traffic light.

Oh yeah, the work-up -- I hit the abs pretty hard the day before:
- run 1/2 mile
- leaning sit-ups (sit and then fold the arms across the chest and lean back until tension is felt on the abs. Hold that position for 10 seconds, then slowly lower the back to the floor. Now do 10 sit-ups. At the top of the 10th, lean back and hold for 10 seconds, then lower to the floor. Now do 9 sit-ups. Repeat counting down to 1 sit-up.)
- 1.5 min prone cobra
- 1 min supermans over a stability ball (hold each side for 10 seconds)
- 40 seated twisties
- 2 mins crouching good-mornings (with a medicine ball held straight out from the chest, crouch slightly and lean forward until tension is felt on the lower back. Hold that position for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat.)

WOotW

Here I am with summer closing in and no time to speak of on the bike. Well, that's not entirely true. I did get out for a 40-miler with Matthew on Saturday. Which reminds me about this post. Unit is pretty good about getting to the nitty-gritty of why we ride. I have to say, a good ride for me is a much skylarking along on the Masi as it is a big chain ring hammer-fest. I don't like to get out of my comfort zone very often, but I will take one for the team if it means the difference between a good ride and a great ride.

Like I was saying, I managed to get out for a ride with Matthew on Saturday. When we met up at the History Museum, I told him I wasn't sure I was up for much; I was just happy to be out on the bike. I got that 'yeah, right' non-reply I usually get from Matthew before he proceeds to tear me a new one. I hung on out past Creve Creour lake, and felt pretty good doing it (I even took a few pulls) - but I ran out of gas at the 35-mile point and had to stop for a breather. We decided to call it a ride, and I coasted the last five miles home.

I guess the new goal is to work my way back up to 50- or 60-milers in and around Babler. A few more rides like that last one, and I might be ready to give it a try. So here's to Unit and getting out of your comfort zone. Every now-and-again its a pretty good idea, and the results are worthwhile.

Here's a recovery workout for after your mid-spring hammer-fest:

Warm up and jog 1/4 mile. Then:
- 1 min bird dogs (hold 15 seconds each side)
- 1 min close-grip planks
- 1 min push-ups
- 1 min sb frogs
Now run through the first set again, jog 1/4 mile, then:
- 1 min bench dips
- 1 min jump shots
- 1 min one-legged hops (30 seconds each side)
- 1 min kneeling good-mornings (hands behind the head)
Run through the second set again, jog 1/4 mile, stretch and cool down.

WOotW

Wow! The sun finally came out. Lets go outside.

For this part do 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest, 8 times for a total of 4 minutes work/rest per exercise:
- walking lunges
- side-step squats
- bunny hops

Now do each exercise for 1 minute. Try to complete the set in 15 minutes:
- push-up rows
- push-up drops
- knees->elbows/jumping pull-ups
- side planks (make it hard: hold the resting arm/leg straight up)
- push-up drops
- hamstring push-outs
- run 1/2 mile