I was quite busy today at work, but was extremely saddened when I did finally manage to sneak a peek at Velo News. It's been quite some time since we've lost a racer during a race. Not long enough mind you, but considering how dangerous the sport truly is, well....I think it's a miracle it doesn't happen more often. Granted they are pro's, and have so many miles on 2 wheels that they have mad bike handling skills. But given the speeds they travel, in the size groups they ride in, and yes, the very roads themselves that can be quite dangerous if something bad happens at an inopportune time.
I think that without exception, every single time I watch a race I'm just amazed at how close they ride to one another with so very few crashes. All I can compare it to is my friends and I when we ride. And I'm telling you, if you were to stick any one of us in the middle of a peleton, well, it would be carnage of the highest order. I doubt that I could go 5 minutes in a fast moving peleton (even IF I were able to keep up with them for that 5 minutes) without my front wheel touching someone's back wheel, and I'd go down just like that. And then watching them on the big scary descents. How very close they will be to the wheel of the guy in front, all the while riding at ludicrous speeds. Every sport has it's risks, that's for sure. But consider the 'uniform' of the pro cyclist and compare it to any other sport. As I said, it's amazing there aren't more serious injuries. The very fact that there are so very few is a testament to how good these athletes are at their craft. Because the cycling kit isn't really any protection at all, other than the helmet will keep your head from slamming directly into the ground, but not much else.
I can't imagine how the rest of the riders feel when they lose one of their own in this fashion. But it must be horrible. Lance lost one of his teammates many years back on a Tour stage, and it's talked about every time they ride that road. I must admit that I didn't know much about Wouter until today. But it sounds like he was on the right track to a great career, and his untimely passing is a real tragedy. And the cruel irony is that he won stage 3 of last years Giro, and this year he died in it. I just don't know how to make sense of that.
I vividly recall my little brother telling me during one quite hairy mt bike ride many years ago that "the price of failure is steep". I think of that line often when I ride. And that little voice in my mind is VERY adept at keeping me honest. Every single time that I ride he's somewhere in the back of my mind, analyzing the risks at hand, and reminding me of that saying when appropriate. And yet there are times when I somehow manage to NOT listen to that voice, and then suddenly realize (as I'm doing forty-something down a terrible road chasing or being chased by my friends) that even something so simple as a flat front tire would be disastrous. And I also admit that cycling wise, I've led a charmed life thus far!
I have no idea where I'm going with this tonight. I'm very sad to not be able to watch any of this, but I'm glad that I won't be seeing this crash. It's one thing to watch a crash when the riders get back up and go. But to see one where someone is truly hurt is not for me. I remember that crash of Jen's Voigt last year in the tour. It very much looked like he was dead, and it was so horrible to see. That he not only lived but was riding again a fairly short time later was just a miracle. And then we can make humor out of it (Did you hear about the dirt that was pushed up when Jens crashed in last years Tour? They named it the Col de Tourmalet).
Here's hoping the rest of the race goes off safely, with few crashes and no serious injuries. And finally, here's a virtual toast to Wouter and all of his comrades in arms. Be safe ladies and gentlemen, and keep the rubber side down.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Well hello again!
Wow...so much going on, seems every time I think about writing a new post something comes up and I don't. No good reasons, just lots of excuses.
The country sure is in some crazy weather lately....rain, water....the Mississippi river flooding so hugely....WOW! And then all the tornadoes (or I guess I should I say TORNADOES!) Our weather right up until today has been typical Central Coast spring: and by that I mean WINDY AS HELL! And rather chilly too. But compared with the rest of the country, I'll not complain too loud. But then today....holy crapsickles, I can't believe it! We set a record high here in Santa Maria...it hit 90! And light winds too! It was almost unbearable it was so hot! And yet it was quite beautiful too, and I loved every second of it! Ahhh...a warm toasty spring day! Anyway, due to our seemingly ever-whipping winds, it's been Mt biking central for me...haven't been out on the road bike in a month now. Went out on Saturday for a great mt ride...ended up with 44 miles, 5600' of climbing, which took just a bit over 5 hours of actual ride time. I was totally WHIPPED when I finally made it back to the car, but it was a great day. And the WINDS...I was up on a ridgeline and they were flat-out howling, almost driving me off the ridge in spots. And then moments later I'd be in a protected spot and then I'd be too hot. The whole day was like that. It was crazy yet awesome.
And then hey...how about the Bin Laden thing? Jeez, the we've been looking for the guy for a DECADE now. And to find him living in a mansion just outside the capital city of Pakistan...hmmm. Pretty embarrassing for them I'd think (gee, sorry......we don't know where he is, but we're sure looking hard!)
And now on to the big leagues...the Giro starts SATURDAY, HOORAY!!! But I won't see a lick of it, either! Well, maybe a few licks, if I can somehow get up on weekends early and watch a little bit online. And then 10 days after THAT, it's the TOUR OF CALIFORNIA! It's almost HERE! I can't believe it's already MAY! Gosh how time flies! This year will be a bit different than most though come ToC time.... not having VS on the satellite will be a bit of a downer for me as I won't be watching the stages for the first time. But I WILL be in (or near actually) Solvang for the TT, and will most likely make the final two stages also. I just can't believe it's here already! I have almost NO formal plans other than to BE there. It's gonna be GREAT!
I had planned on uploading a bunch of pics from my ride Saturday, but somehow I've lost the momentum to get that done. And actually I need some SLEEP! Last night right at 3am we suffered power hits to the house AC. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, however my UPS unit (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for my PC has a beeper that goes off when it senses a loss of the input power. And that wouldn't be a big deal (cuz that's what it's supposed to do) except that it makes the dogs crazy terrified! There's more of a story behind this but suffice to say, poor Sydney is ready to leave when the beeper starts going off. And by leave, I mean leave the house, the property, us. She did it once...climbed the fence and jumped down into the neighbors yard. I still can't believe it didn't kill her...it was a least a 6' drop and she has tiny short front legs. So anyway, I ran to the computer room, shut down the PC and turned off the UPS to shut it up. Too late...damage done. Syd was hiding by the side of the bed, looking for a way out. The other 2 were up and about, freaked out too. So when I came back to bed, I had THREE 50 lb dogs lying ON TOP of me. It took 15 minutes or so but the other 2 finally calmed down and I was able to slide them OFF of me so I could breath...but poor Syd was quaking and shaking like a leaf. I did my best to calm her and such and she finally laid her head right on my neck (hard to breath like that btw). And all I know is that neither she nor I got another wink of sleep right up until my alarm went off, as she was quite agitated and scared. However I just peeked in and she IS sleeping like a baby right now. I'm hoping we can skip tonight's game of 'chew' for a change and just go directly to sleep, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
Wish me luck. And have a GREAT weekend!
5/5/11 update: I forgot to add that if any of you have blogs you frequent that you would like me to add to the blog roll ("blogs I like" is what I called it, on the upper right side of the site) I'd be happy to. So far I have only 3: Fatty's, Jill's n Rants...and I have it setup so I can see the title and date of the last post they did...I really like that! At a quick glance I can see if there's something new for me to check out. I know Theresa and Camile have sites that I peek in on now and then...(T, you need to get something new going there lady!) Cam has stuff almost daily on her artwork...very cool to browse thru and see what all she's been up to. But I don't want to add anybody's site if they don't want it....just my thoughts here...let me know.
And a further update: tonight I did my first road ride in a MONTH! My last road-ride was April 5th...I checked my logbook. Today was another beautiful day here...light winds (I'd say around 10mph, which is QUITE light for us) and sunny, temps in the mid 70's out on the coast. I think I sunburned my legs in the small band of skin that is usually covered by my mtb shorts but exposed w/ road shorts...it was that nice out! My mtb'ing has done me well, I was pretty strong and able to hang w/ my friends (in fact, I pulled a good deal of the ride and was able to sprint away when I needed to...ye-haw!) OK...gotta run...dinner time!
The country sure is in some crazy weather lately....rain, water....the Mississippi river flooding so hugely....WOW! And then all the tornadoes (or I guess I should I say TORNADOES!) Our weather right up until today has been typical Central Coast spring: and by that I mean WINDY AS HELL! And rather chilly too. But compared with the rest of the country, I'll not complain too loud. But then today....holy crapsickles, I can't believe it! We set a record high here in Santa Maria...it hit 90! And light winds too! It was almost unbearable it was so hot! And yet it was quite beautiful too, and I loved every second of it! Ahhh...a warm toasty spring day! Anyway, due to our seemingly ever-whipping winds, it's been Mt biking central for me...haven't been out on the road bike in a month now. Went out on Saturday for a great mt ride...ended up with 44 miles, 5600' of climbing, which took just a bit over 5 hours of actual ride time. I was totally WHIPPED when I finally made it back to the car, but it was a great day. And the WINDS...I was up on a ridgeline and they were flat-out howling, almost driving me off the ridge in spots. And then moments later I'd be in a protected spot and then I'd be too hot. The whole day was like that. It was crazy yet awesome.
And then hey...how about the Bin Laden thing? Jeez, the we've been looking for the guy for a DECADE now. And to find him living in a mansion just outside the capital city of Pakistan...hmmm. Pretty embarrassing for them I'd think (gee, sorry......we don't know where he is, but we're sure looking hard!)
And now on to the big leagues...the Giro starts SATURDAY, HOORAY!!! But I won't see a lick of it, either! Well, maybe a few licks, if I can somehow get up on weekends early and watch a little bit online. And then 10 days after THAT, it's the TOUR OF CALIFORNIA! It's almost HERE! I can't believe it's already MAY! Gosh how time flies! This year will be a bit different than most though come ToC time.... not having VS on the satellite will be a bit of a downer for me as I won't be watching the stages for the first time. But I WILL be in (or near actually) Solvang for the TT, and will most likely make the final two stages also. I just can't believe it's here already! I have almost NO formal plans other than to BE there. It's gonna be GREAT!
I had planned on uploading a bunch of pics from my ride Saturday, but somehow I've lost the momentum to get that done. And actually I need some SLEEP! Last night right at 3am we suffered power hits to the house AC. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, however my UPS unit (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for my PC has a beeper that goes off when it senses a loss of the input power. And that wouldn't be a big deal (cuz that's what it's supposed to do) except that it makes the dogs crazy terrified! There's more of a story behind this but suffice to say, poor Sydney is ready to leave when the beeper starts going off. And by leave, I mean leave the house, the property, us. She did it once...climbed the fence and jumped down into the neighbors yard. I still can't believe it didn't kill her...it was a least a 6' drop and she has tiny short front legs. So anyway, I ran to the computer room, shut down the PC and turned off the UPS to shut it up. Too late...damage done. Syd was hiding by the side of the bed, looking for a way out. The other 2 were up and about, freaked out too. So when I came back to bed, I had THREE 50 lb dogs lying ON TOP of me. It took 15 minutes or so but the other 2 finally calmed down and I was able to slide them OFF of me so I could breath...but poor Syd was quaking and shaking like a leaf. I did my best to calm her and such and she finally laid her head right on my neck (hard to breath like that btw). And all I know is that neither she nor I got another wink of sleep right up until my alarm went off, as she was quite agitated and scared. However I just peeked in and she IS sleeping like a baby right now. I'm hoping we can skip tonight's game of 'chew' for a change and just go directly to sleep, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars.
Wish me luck. And have a GREAT weekend!
5/5/11 update: I forgot to add that if any of you have blogs you frequent that you would like me to add to the blog roll ("blogs I like" is what I called it, on the upper right side of the site) I'd be happy to. So far I have only 3: Fatty's, Jill's n Rants...and I have it setup so I can see the title and date of the last post they did...I really like that! At a quick glance I can see if there's something new for me to check out. I know Theresa and Camile have sites that I peek in on now and then...(T, you need to get something new going there lady!) Cam has stuff almost daily on her artwork...very cool to browse thru and see what all she's been up to. But I don't want to add anybody's site if they don't want it....just my thoughts here...let me know.
And a further update: tonight I did my first road ride in a MONTH! My last road-ride was April 5th...I checked my logbook. Today was another beautiful day here...light winds (I'd say around 10mph, which is QUITE light for us) and sunny, temps in the mid 70's out on the coast. I think I sunburned my legs in the small band of skin that is usually covered by my mtb shorts but exposed w/ road shorts...it was that nice out! My mtb'ing has done me well, I was pretty strong and able to hang w/ my friends (in fact, I pulled a good deal of the ride and was able to sprint away when I needed to...ye-haw!) OK...gotta run...dinner time!
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