gwadzilla

Rants on Cycling and on Life

3.26.2004

funny stuff
I will have to check this out on a faster line when I get home
but it looks like either the slow modem connection down here is making things funky
or some hacker got in and change me from GWADZILLA to WADZILLA
reminds me of when Jay Amernicks sweaty little brother Danny tried to cause damage to my stomach by putting a half of tin of SKOAL in my Chef Boy Ardee Ravioli
tasteed great to me
thought it was a sweet gesture for this pudgy kid brother of a friend of mine to make me and some other people a snack
little did I know it was all an effort to make me hurl
earned me the nickname amoung some (Norm Van Deslyse who lives down the street still calls me) Skoal Gwadz!
kids!
gotta love em
high school antics!
boy we had fun back in the day
not like the geeky kids now who spend all their time online!
hey?

[oh, shaved my big ass amish beard, marks the end of winter for me, will grow it back again starting Thanksgiving next year...so along with the loss of the facial hair I also expect to lose the nicknames Grizzley Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant Man! No Victories in any Dan Haggardy look alike contests for me]

my back is burnt
truck driver's tan on the left arm from heading north no 75 to get to Ft Myers
and a seriously burned back from a day of snorkling down here at Marco
nothing to spectacular
no reef, just sand bar stuff
all sorts of sand dollars, star fish, a variety of live shells (welks, conchs, and such) even some sea urchins
a few fish
but as said
not exactly the reet environment
but a great way to burn your back

that and my sand sculptures had me bent over reavealing my back
wonder if the whale will make it till the morning

SNOWBIRD!
No, not snowboarding at SNOWBIRD!

snowbird (SNO-bird) noun

1. A person who moves to a warmer climate for the winter.

2. Any of various birds (e.g. junco, snow bunting, fieldfare)
seen chiefly in winter.


Lisa and I are down in sunny Florida with Grant and Dean at the inlaws place at Marco Island. Actually there is a Gwadz Gaggle this far south. My brother and his family of four are down here, my sister with her pregnant belly and 2 year old son are her sans husband/father, and my dad is down her as well. We are all visiting my grandmother in Fort Myers. Managed to talk them into coming down here for the day tomorrow, after I drove up there for dinner tonight. It should be madness, but having all the boys on the beach should be nothing shy of a hoot! Dean and Eric together can be an infectious giggle! Just love seeing them together.

Here bikeless. Tried running one day. Did some splashing in the Gulf, but more than anything else just hanging with Dean. Right now Grant is going through some neonate issues, or well perhaps, infant stuff. He has some sort of stomach issues, the lil' guy is in a tad bit of pain, hope it is nothing serious. Got to keep it all in perspective. Hate to see him suffer, also hate to lose sleep, and seeing my wife work so hard to try and make him comforable is also a drag. Lisa is a good mom, Grant and Dean are lucky, guess I am lucky too....occassionally some of that nurturing overflows unto me. (actually before the dogs, Roscoe and Brutus, I got the Lion's Share of the pampering....now I am pretty low on that totem pole)

enough for now
have a good night
as I best get some rest
the morning is never far away

3.22.2004

RACE REPORT: Fitness Concepts Greenbrier Challenge
In many cases arriving underdressed may be better than showing up
overdressed, sorta like choosing not to wear a costume to a costume
party is better than wearing a costume to a none costume party event.
At least that is how I am calling it now after racing yesterday on
the second day of spring, which played itself out more like one of
the last days of winter. By the end of my sport race there was a
strong cold wind blowing over the lake with intermident snow
flurries, at the Expert/Pro starts there was plenty of cold wind, not
enough snow to effect visibility but snow just the same, with a
course that was pretty well beaten to hell from the morning and early
afternoon racers. This day was scripted more for Cyclocross racers
than for Mountainbikers. My guess is that the day's High of 44
degrees was achieved before I arrived at Greenbriar. I was wearing
knickers and just basic socks, sure I had a few layers on top, but I
was cold and that stream crossing on each lap did not help to warm me
up!

My race went well.
NORBA not offering a Clydesdale Class forced me to enter as a 35+
Men's Master Sport. I can use the excuse of them not offering a one
day NORBA license for why I did not race Expert, but the reality is
that I have not been doing much riding/training and may try to make
that leap from front of the Sport to the tail of the Experts later in
the season when I get some legs and lungs. My intention on this day
was to go out and race/ride hard, no intention to win, no expectation
of a top finish. As we gathered at the starting line I reviewed my
fellow racers and dealt with the prerace jitters. A fellow
Clydesdale, Don Watkins and I looked around and counted Clydesdales,
there were enough in the various fields to have a good size
Clydesdale Class. Weighing in at 240lbs I feel that my size is a
greater factor than my age. Having not done much mountain biking I
felt that I was going to just slide into a groove and see where I fit
into the queue. But when the whistle went off and the pack took off
it looked like no one was going for the "hole shot," so rather than
getting stuck in the bottle neck I took the initiative. I stepped out
of the saddle and stepped up the pace. Having spent my prerace time
catching up with old friends and making new ones, I had not done any
warm up and had not done any scoping out of the course. Having raced
here before I figured that they would follow a similar route to the
prior races. Needless to say, I was wrong, the course turned right up
hill, while in the fall race hosted by a different promoter it
dropped down left.

For the first couple of miles I was in the lead of my category, after
a little time I was passed by a long lean roadie type on a double
banger. I took a look at him and thought that my old school
clydesdale technique could balance his superior strength, speed, and
stamina. I hung to his back wheel, soon learn that I was out
classed. Then on one of the climbs I opted to stay in the middle
ring rather than the granny and reached for one more cog in the back,
got all spokes, that was already my largest cog. Had to dismount and
pull the chain free from the cassette and the spokes. Many
riders/racers passed me and the leader rolled off into the distance.
So I hopped back into a queue far off the leaders of the pack. In no
time I was trying to find my groove and rolling past some of other
racers, maybe some from my class and maybe some from the other
classes. Soon I felt I had passed enough racers that I felt I was
back into the top 5. It is a tough balance racing and pacing. Not
feeling particularly fit or fast I rode in what I thought to be a
good race pace. Water in the Camelback, Hammer Gel tucked under my
shorts trying to sneak out under the elastic band at my quad, and a
mixture of Gatorade and Red Bull in a water bottle cage on the frame,
there were no excues. It is never good when my mind is wondering
when each lap is going to end, getting distracted or spacing out in a
race is bad. When focused I am fast, when I space out, it means I am
going slow. I tried to regain focus, I held pace and was maintaining
a good pace and halfway through the second lap I felt that I was
withing sight with what I believed to be the 4th place rider. Rather
than fight to catch him now, I figured I would wait until the third
and final lap to make a pass. No need to over exert myself and be
left burnt out on the side of the trail. The third lap came around
soon enough, as I rolled towards the START/FINISH, the riders in
front of me headed the other way back into the trail after a hairpin
turnaround just after the START/FINISH LINE. I gave a nod to the 4th
place racer in front of me, he smiled and nodded back. He knew I was
coming for him, it was a healthy friendly feel to the competition.
Not too far into the lap I passed him. He cheered me on and admitted
that it was early season and he was not feeling his best. He spoke
about how he knew I was going to catch him, he just was not sure
when. That gave me added energy and so did my home made rocket fuel
concoction of RED BULL and GATORADE (GATOR-RAGE!) With three hammer
Gels in my belly and three racers in front of me I tried to pick up
the pace. Then just up the hill I saw the Red and White of an NCVCer
who had passed with great speed on one of the technical downhills, he
was the 3rd place rider in my Class. He was just finishing pumping up
his rear tire. I hustled past him on foot with my bike at my side.
Mounted up and started to pedal. Made no effort to check on his
status, figured that if he was going to pass he was going to pass. I
felt strong, not particularly fast, but not entirely exhausted. The
soft sections were really gripping my tires. The sloppy sections were
giving hint to me the level of exhaustion that was present, obstacles
that were not difficult were demanding more attention and perhaps a
little more decrease in speed than I would normally require with with
greater freshness. Being familiar with the course after the two
prior laps I was able to anticipate what was around each bend and
judge better how long I can maintain speed on the downhills before a
sharp bend or turn. Soon enough the familiar last mile started to
unwind. It seemed clear that the racers behind me had settled into
their finishing positions and that I was going to finish in Third
Place. I was pleased with my performance and shocked by my placement.
It was a great event. Awesome to get out so early in the Spring and
start my season. It was good to gather with old friends and to make
new ones. This was an easy race for me to do as my wife had headed
south to Florida with our two kids. There was no need to ask for
permission, no need to arrange for a babysitter, no need to rush home
after the race finish, it was a day of rest and I made the best of
it.

Drove home feeling pretty good, sipping the remainder of my Red Bull.
Got home to a very excited Roscoe and Brutus. Took them for a quick
hike in the woods and did pretty much nothing with the rest of my day!

Not a bad way to spend the weekend or a Sunday. Makes it a great deal
easier to head into work on a Monday morning knowing that my weekend
was well spent.