The moment before you sign up for anything the confidence is high.  Then you sign up.  A momentary panic.  It’s real.  You’re committed, and you might fail.  In a bike race that could be failure to go fast, or even finish.  What to do?

My dad used to say (he still does), “Todd, you’ll have all the time you want to do all things you want if you’ll… Plan your work and work your plan.”  Bike racers need to have a training plan and follow it.

When PViddy and I were training for Leadville we’d get all panicky the week before, then look at ourselves and say “Trust your training”.  He’s an actual Olympic Gold Medalist, which is a little more weighty than high school varsity tennis.

Having a training partner is ginormous: accountability, sounding board, friendship and confidence.  Going it alone is heroic, but probably increases likelihood of failure 10X.

The event might be a long way off.  You get busy with your plan, and you gain confidence.  Maybe you have a testing day, things go well, you get more confident.

As the date gets closer, I get less confident.  Should I add some new gizmo? Change my diet? What about tire pressure?

The doubts creep in, bloom and scatter more seeds of doubt.

Trust your training… it’s like weed killer for doubts.

Confidence returns.

The morning of of the race, I often think Heck, I don’t even know if I want to do this… I don’t even care… I’ll probably fail.

The gun goes and whadaya know?… The training kicks in.  I feel okay.  A little confidence returns.

Some days, are just magical.  It all comes together.  The doubts are gone.  The confidence is full, and as the finish line approaches the Killer Instinct is on the prowl.

In the ride of your life, what should you be signing up for and seeing through to the finish?  What are you afraid to make happen?  What is calling your soul to do?

Make it happen… we’re counting on you to share your greatness.

Podcasts are awesome.  The selection of topics is much more broad than radio, even satellite radio.  Which means the podcasters can focus on very narrow topics and then go deep.  Find a topic you like, and drown yourself in knowledge and insights.

My top categories are:  cycling, economics, marketing, fitness and “spiritual/wisdom”.

My favorite cycling podcasts are:

SoCal Cyclist – local guy interviewing big time cyclists

Cycling Tips – it’s weird, their website doesn’t showcase the podcast but it’s there.

Cycling Time Trial Podcast – I don’t TT, but you’d be surprised about what can you learn and apply from one discipline to another.

There are many more cycling podcasts.  They all tend to go very deep into an aspect of cycling the host is really into… and you might be too.

Podcast apps are free, just download and search for what you want to listen too.  The app will download new episodes when you are on wifi and delete them once you listen to them.  Love one?  You can save it.

New episodes are always available to teach me and introduce me to new ideas and ways of seeing the world.  For free, with zero data usage.

Turn that car ride into an engaging lecture.

Long slow mountain bike rides are another great place to listen – on the road I prefer to listen for approaching cars.

Download the app, it’s easy.  Search a topic, or one of the podcasts above.  Join the new and deep conversations of podcasters.

When does a race start and finish?

When the gun goes off?

When you get out of bed that morning?

When you start your taper?

When you sign up?

When you start your training block?

When you eye the event on the calendar?

When you decide you want to race?

When you buy a “real” bike?

When take off the training wheels?

When you are born?

When you cross the finish line?

When you recap it with your pals?

When you upload to Strava?

When you unload the car?

When you get cleaned up?

When you go to bed exhausted?

When your legs finally feel good again?

When your ready to find another race?

When you knew you were born to race the good race,

fight the good fight,

and finish knowing you couldn’t have done any better.

Exciting things are happening in bike shops around town.  SERVICE DEPARTMENTS.  Departments are being redesigned.  Work flow is being changed to allow for 24 hour turnaround – instant if it’s just a flat.  “And that’s pretty cool” (shout out to my daughter and our days watching Hanna Montana).

It’s pretty cool because that’s where shops can beat the pants off the interwebs.  The net aint gonna fix your rig, but the net can give shops great scheduling tools and intel to get you and your lovely steed back out riding.

There’s more to it.  This is a signal.  Your local shop is committed to your happiness more than ever.  It’s a signal.  The local shops as a whole are in it to win it.

I’m seeing all these signals as I get out and talk about HUNKR.  There’s an excitement in the air, new energy in many of service departments.

If you haven’t seen it, get out there.

And if you really want to play the game right, slide the mechanic a 5r when nobody’s looking… or bring in a sizzling pizza at lunch time… trust me on this, the very best service you’ve ever had is a fist full of quarters away at your local shop.  Show ’em some love.

The car was idling.  The heater was on.  39 degrees outside.  At 8am, we were two dudes with safety pins and race numbers about to pierce pristine lycra… well, I was.

Not Peter.

Peter had his number turned over and was… taping it?

What is that?

Double-sided tape.

How’s it work?

Like this.  Tape all the edges then put same tape in the middle of the number.  Then peal the back off, and press it onto you jersey… just… like… this!

…and just like that his number was perfectly flat, pressed onto his jersey.  No more number sailing around in the wind while sprinting at 30+ mph  Poof.  Magic…

It was awesome.  Silence vs the sound of holding a piece of paper out the window of a speeding car… during 2 hours of racing.

Not just the sound… being “aero” on a road bike can be the difference between 1st and 10th place.  It matters.  That’s why aero parts and frames and wheels sell for a premium.

To be safe we put two safety pins in.  They weren’t needed.

Thanks Pete!

My friends are flooding FB with requests that we all share pics of our favorite bike. The motivation is to change the conversation from political vitriol to something lighter, more fun and less emotionally charged.

Thats the bike riding community for ya… kids at heart.

The youthful heart of a kid can always overlook social/racial/economical/political/religious differences and find friendship through a common love.

Go ride your bike!

Why have prize money for a bike race?  Two good reasons:  to support the professionals so they can continue to thrill and inspire us; to create a spectacle, a drama and catch the attention of the casual observer.

Nobody really cares if Tiger Woods can sink a 6′ putt until there’s $1,000,000 on the line.

Put up big money, and you bring the general public into your world.  Joe Shmoe instantly has an interest.  He’ll watch.  He might take up the sport as thousands did in the late 90’s.  All of the sudden Grampa’s sport was cool.  Lots of advertisers caught on to this and soon the putts were for much more.

Can we do that with HUNKR?  That’s certainly the grandmasterflash vision we have.

What about the women, how’s the prize money work for them?

Our singular mission is to grow the sport.  Getting female participation from 10% up to 35% like Triathlon is the first step.  Getting female participation equal to male is the quest.  Men and women are racing the same distance, working as hard as they can.

Prize money for men and women is the same…

…some day that will be a big money spectacle!

You don’t need permission to pull through.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to sprint.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to sit in the back and recover.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to start your own group ride.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to put on a race.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to join Strava.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to join USA Cycling.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to call in sick and go for a ride.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to introduce a friend to bike life.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to bring extra food for others.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to ride some place new.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to write a cycling blog.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to sign up for your first race.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to teach a newbie the basics.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to design your own kit.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to create a team for your company. Do it.

You don’t need permission to thank the local bike shop.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to volunteer at an event.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to give up your spare tube.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to ask for a rule change.  Do it.

You don’t need permission to make a difference.  Do it.

170.8

Scott keeps telling me goals are for losers… Systems man, winners focus on systems.  If your goal is go fast on a bike, that’s sweet… romantic.  Won’t you be cool?  Won’t it feel great?  Fit.  Fast. Svelte.  If you don’t put a system like this in place it’s never, ever gonna happen.

Here’s mine:

Monday – Spin

Tuesday – TMWC group ride – I hate intervals (see Tabata), so it’s hard pulls and suicide attacks for me.

Wednesday – Tempo and play, and lately that’s either Swami’s in the morning or an adventurous MTB ride

Thursday – off is working these days

Friday – easy spin, trying to turn this into a social ride with beginner/out of shape friends.

Saturday – Race or fast group ride or epic MTB.

Sunday – rest

Depending on where the next event is on the calendar I will dial up or dial down the intensity and volume.  Tapering is it’s own system, and how I taper may or may not work for you.

This is very simple and easy to follow.

When I’m really focused I’ll get with my coach… I can only handle about 10 weeks of rigid structure.  It’s worth it to hand off the system to a pro, and my system keeps the baseline high enough for her and me to meld in a win every now and then.

Scott isn’t 100% right, but he gets your attention right?  Moses (I think it was Moses, and I’m not gonna look it up) said, “Where there is no vision the people perish.”  But it was the system of praying for manna every morning that got the people free.

https://youtu.be/2YDUs9nDqDE (not why video player isn’t loading)

A new friend (she wasn’t that mad), pinged me on FB and asked why she should do HUNKR if the women are poised to win less than the men?  Sage that I am, I slept on it.  Pinged her back, and she said let’s chat.

Awesome!

We chatted.  She has some good ideas of how to make it mo’ bettah.

Pulling off a bike race that’s sustainable is hard to do from a profit stand point.  We’ve all seen races come and go over the years. Will parity in the purse will spark more interest from women and get our numbers beyond Triathlon which is 35% women to Marathon which is nearly 50%?

We are both now asking our other friends for their opinions and suggestions regarding the women’s purse:

Equal pay for equal work?

Equal pay for equal numbers racing?

Equal pay for top 3 places?

Start women separate?

Have an all women group for those not going for the win?

Drop me an email to purse@hunkr.com… I’d love you hear what you have to say.

Thank you!, tb

PS  The flyers are in.  The posters will be in tomorrow. That email address will stop working after 25JAN17.

173.2

Figuring out when to eat on Race Day or Big Ride Day is trial and error… the trial is the fun part, the error… well, it is only a big ride/race so it’s not gonna be catastrophic… could hugely foul up your plans.  Take today for instance.

Today had all kinds of miscues.

Normally, I try and gag down my beans and ‘dines (a substantial meal) 2-3 hours before the action.

Today, I made a drop at the airport at 7 which left me 20ish minutes to get home get changed and get out the door for 8am departure from home to Canyon Velo.  We left at 6:15, which meant gagging at 6am.  No problem.  I’m a veteran.

The problem occurred when I installed my charged UI2 battery and all systems were DEAD – I could spin a nasty yarn about this but there’s no need to share my wo’s.

No need to hustle, just text the fella’s “I’m out”.

This gave me time to read “How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big” by Dilbert’s creator – hilarious and good.  Took my time prepping Black Beauty for some sweet single track on San Juan Trail.

Started riding at 10ish.

4 hours is too long.  I was hungry.  Thought I could make it up with my Fluid, but was behind on calories all day. Strava says 1600 calories were burned.  That left me weak.

The ride was still awesome… it was San Juan, after a rain… super clear… not too crowded, not too wet.

Fortunately, I had a Fluid recovery mix ready to drink… if you aren’t drinking a recover drink after a ride, you are blowing it… recovery fuel makes the next ride a lot better, and if you bonk and don’t replenish quickly you can put yourself in a hole for weeks.

Speaking of eating, that Rottweiler freaked me out!

And still speaking of eating, telling the story of HUNKR is the next project I’ve got to eat… and FAST!

_____ 170.6

Who am I?  After I’d been racing in college for an entire year, I graduated and moved back to CA.  I rolled into this little bike shop at in a tiny center at PCH and La Costa.  This old, crusty racer listened to me patiently and said… You won’t know what kind of racer you are for at least 3 years.

He said, Look you have to do all kinds of races to figure out what you’re good at.  And, punk, trust me just because you won a parking lot crit and a puny road race in Utah doesn’t mean you know what you’re good at.

__________

170.6

Nobody knocks on my door these days.  No kids coming over to play.  No neighbors checking in to chat.  It’s all texting and social media, no real humans interacting at the front door.  Tonight it rang, and it was so awesome.

John had found my CDL at the entrance to San Onofre Campground and tracked me down… not easy since the address is incorrect.  Super nice guy.  We chatted for a bit.  I gave him a pair of new cycling socks.  We’ll probably meet again on the road.

How nice is that?!

John, my college buddy rang me up today.  Said, Todd this is outta left field but I’ve been watching your videos and I think you’re on to something.  He says I need more lifestyle in there, like I’m a cyclists and ya know what cyclists love chairs just like this one… that kinda flavor.  I’m not sure how I’ll do that, but it’s so thoughtful of him to take time out of his day to encourage the efforts.

How nice is that?

Pretty good day of cycling lifestyle, considering I didn’t ride.

_____

Here’s a link to my favorite jacket

_____

171.4 (got it back down… weak of me not to post all those days above 174)

A wise man said, The best thing I can do for you is take care of myself.  That’s why I carve out about 6% of my week to ride my bike.

Going for a bike ride = cheap therapy, a good workout, and friendship.

But my selfishness isn’t limited to the bike so… I eat the best food I can afford, get to bed early, read uplifting works, hang out with positive people, do work that’s fun and fits my talents.

The results are in:  I’m super selfish, in pretty good shape, have extra time to lend a hand and a few shekels to give and time to listen and write letters and….

… when the energy is Great, the output is great…

and life is good.

______

Managed to lose my CDL, probably pulling out the iPhone to shoot this incredible video.  For some reason, I didn’t put the CDL in the plastic bag with my inner tube… doh!

I share that so you don’t make the same mistake.  What mistakes are you making that you could share with me?

Found a wallet on the base during the ride.  Took it back to the MP’s at the Las Pulgas gate after the ride.  They needed about 45 minutes to fill out a 3 page report by hand.  Super cool guys, apologetic for how long it took.

On a possible brighter note, the MP’s said 3 older guys rode through and had found my license and that they knew me and would get it back to me… hope they find me soon : )

____

Super good night of sleep – wake up at 5am, ride hard, work all day, get a crown on molar #2

Relive is making some pretty cool videos, gonna have to do a write up: https://www.relive.cc/view/836255412

If you have a plan to roll out early, I mean EARLY, then you’d better have a plan that includes laying everything out the night before.  My plan last night for this morning was flawless… it had to be with a 5:38 roll out.

5:38 gives me exactly 12 minutes to leisurely roll over to the first meet up at 5:50.  5:50, gives exactly 40 minutes to the to the official start of the TMWC.  Any earlier and I go slower, which is nice, or get their early which is not nice at today’s temps.

It was all so perfectly planned.  Made my bottles of Fluid.  Checked Weather.com and laid out the appropriate clothing.  Mounted my already charged lights.  Checked my tires to make sure they were full – I top them off in the morning, just want to make sure I don’t have a flat.

Check, check, check, check, check…

Screeching halt!… my shifter battery was flashing, I’d need to top it off.  No big deal.  Popped it in the charger, when to bed, knowing I’d remember to put it in before I left.

Video above for details.

Who says you can’t teach an old diesel knew tricks?!  Just another box to check.

I have to check all these boxes because I wake up at the last moment and everything has to go perfect to get me to the church on time.

(Every now and then, I gotta do a shameless promotion… this is one of about six per year.)

I’ve loved the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday since it was first announced.  There was a lot of controversy, and I believe more than one state refused to honor it.  Not me.

A kid of the 60’s I was fascinated with 4 events:  President Kennedy’s assassination, the Viet Nam war,  MLK’s assassination and the Beatles.  These were big, big events that my parents and their siblings and friends talked about often.  At the dinner table.  At Grampa’s.  At church.  And I just listened, that’s all I could do… listen and try and understand.

Who would shoot a president?

Why was my friend’s brother shipped across the world to die?

Why were black people bad, and why was a popular preacher killed?

… and yeah, How were British people so cool?

Ronald Reagan made MLK’s (no disrespect, it’s just a long name to say in my head every time I type it) holiday a reality.  I was 21, living in Mexico.  So I came home to a new holiday, and it made me happy.

The words “I have a dream” resonated with me… just like it had with millions of others.  I read the speech multiple times.  It was good.

When my kids were kids, I’d always take the day off.  We’d go on a hike of some sort, and we’d talk about their dreams for their lives in a subtle sorta way… and I’d think about my own.

The kids are grown, so today I met up with my friends for a bike ride – the San Juan Trail in amazing form. They are kids too.  Most are at least 10 years younger and on average 15-20 years younger.

What a blessing, to be healthy and have young friends.

It’s like a dream…

The on bike video needs a lot of work.  I’m learning, I’ll get better.

Got into iMovie today.  It’s not too hard to figure out, but I would like to take a class to speed up the learnin’.

A few notes:

Yes, I eat 1/2 a can of organic black beans and a full can of sardines before big rides… also my go to breakfast – easy, fast, tons of protein and fat to power The Old Diesel.  Buy ’em both at Costco.

FLUID is my favorite drink.  Found it a Whiskey 50 last year.  Been drinking ever since – seems to be super even energy and easy on my tummy. Hard to find at shops still… buy online, or at events.

Mike’s rack on the back of Matt’s new truck (which is also awesome) is the 1UP… best rack out there, just saving my pennies to get one for myself.  It’s light, bikes never touch each other, and modular.

Shot all this on my iphone 6+.  Had to rotate some of the views – which is easy to do in imovie.  Did a little cropping and inserting.  Goofed up the kitchen scene and shot portrait vs landscape – Bryan says always shoot landscape.

The worst part of Episode 2 was getting camer(man) shy.  I should have shot the big group for a bit before it went super nova through Elfin Forest.  And the stop at Valley Center Market, which is always entertaining.  The post ride machismo at the trucks should never be skipped.

To really use the iphone, you can’t wear warm winter gloves… gonna have to start riding no gloves.

Check out the ride on Strava and ReLive (ReLive is free and cool)

Monday, I’m trying out the GoPro.  Bought the Chesty from Rock N Road on sale for $20.  Boom!  San Juan Trail here I come.

More notes from Bryan on Numero Uno – you can find him here

Soooooooo… Bryan says I gotta do video, to really make an impact…. and I’m all about growing cycling… here goes VLOG #1.

Little tour of the my office for ya.  There’s lots more outside my door.  Stop by some time, I guarantee you won’t leave empty handed.

The HUNKR poster in the background is part of the promotional collateral we’ve been working on.  Site is super close to launching – I’m behind, and I’m gonna need you’re help to pull this off.

A quick view of my big monitor shows the Pro Canopy Special.  I’ll be emailing it out this weekend.  It’s awesome… fully sublimated top, super light and strong aluminum frame, and a roller bag.  If you just need a top, we can do that too.

Can you tell I have a back molar that in need of a root canal next week?… check out that side breathing – weird.

Swami’s LONG tomorrow, so Brownie gotta go to bed ERly.

I was recently talking with a friend about the ultimate effort he ever gave on a bike.  He’d pushed so hard his vision narrowed and stars popped in and out of the periphery.  Coasting to a finish, he planted his feet.  Unsteady, he puked.

That was my ultimate effort, and until I made that effort I never knew just how much I more I had to give… how much I could resist my body’s wanting to quit was an unknown up to that point.

You can be mediocre and not even know it, I was.

You probably are too.

Slipped out at 4 to get some dry pavement.

Long shadows leapt across the road.  Wet leaves papered the bike trail.  Water gurgled and swirled the flood channel.

A loner bunked down under the bridge.  Moms with kids on bikes.  Dog walkers pulled through crisp air.

Green, green everywhere.

A darkening-blue sky.

It was dry.

For a moment.

Not that I’m a control freak, more like I enjoy every aspect of the business.  Handing over the reigns on certain parts of the business is easier said than done.  So, why hand anything over?

Free up time for my most productive activities.

Plus add talent that is better than what I possess.

Equals serving more people, better.

Back to easier said than done, back to my economics studies of late.  Participation in the labor market is down, yet it takes companies much longer to make new hires.  From my own experience, this means it’s harder than ever to find good people… it also means it’s easier than ever for good people to engage in the economy.

What is good?… well, that’s a dumb question.  Good isn’t good enough.

What is a great addition to your team is a much better question.  We needed an art director for PEDALindustries, great = really creative graphic artist, passionate about cycling.  We also needed a production manager, great = excellent attention to detail and ability to track many moving parts.

As an organization and as people, we want to be irreplaceable to our customers and each other.  When you give up some of what you do, you get much better at making your biggest impact.

8 pull ups was my max for way too long, then I changed up my routine.  I decided to do 20 pull ups/day 4-5 days a week.  Navy Seals have the 40% Rule: you can always do 40% of your last effort, always.  Fair enough.

I did 8, then 5, 3, 2, 1, 1.

Two weeks in, I cruised to 5 (normally where I start to struggle) and right past 8 to 9.  Pretty cool… since I’d been stuck on 8 for about a year.

Today I did 10.

For the last month or so, I’ve committed to push hard up the corkscrew on our TMWC ride… much of last year, I’d pull the plug rather than suffer that final 2 1/2 minutes of the ride.

I’ve been getting there a lot fresher and finishing it out strong… I’m guessing this helped me make the “A” group on Swami’s Long Saturday for the first time.

Makes ya wonder just how much of life can be affected by the 40% rule.

(I also wanted to do 50 push ups a day, but I figured that was not a stretch… I did 25, then 15, 10… between the pull up sets.)

172.4

This is not a stretch, though it stretched my mind.  This is the best book on cycling I’ve read in a while.  Here’s why: winning is about often painful choices in the allocation of scarce resources which have alternative uses.

You can’t get caught up in the moment and just haul tail off the front of a chasing peloton.

You can’t attack and attack and attack.

Human capital is always available to help you make a successful move. But the knowledge and insights are rare and precious in any competitive venture.  This takes time, requires mistakes to be made and learned from.

(insert screeching sound here)

Rather than clumsily attempting a cycling metaphor with Basic Economics as the the foundation, I’d rather share how I picked this book.

First, I’ve read many of Thomas Sowell‘s essays and editorials.

Second, while the book claims basics in the title at 634 pages, I knew I’d be getting an education.

As to why I picked this book, frankly I’m exhausted by the political blowhards who prey on dividing us as citizens and humans and I wanted to better educate myself to better understand how the economy works.

In the process, I received much more than a refresher on Supply and Demand.  Any American my age can see the devastation centrally planned economies have left in their wake, but rarely can we articulate what is going on in our own country and time.  Too easily we are swayed by a sweet policy without digesting the incentives and ultimate nasty results that are created.  Don’t we owe it to ourselves to stop and think using established economic tools to evaluate policies and proposals in terms of their logical implications and empirical consequences?

It took me 6 weeks read, and I still have a lengthy study in the Questions section to review.

Just one idea can change your life, my friend Dan says.

Here are a few takeaways:

As for PEDALindustries, the chapter on Myths About Markets explained what brand names are.  Not just a reason to charge a higher price, brands are a way of economizing on scarce knowledge and forcing producers to compete on quality as well as price.  I had never considered the power of a brand to quickly and efficiently signal to consumers what they are buying.  In short, a business is selling not only a physical product, but also the reputation which surrounds that product.  We need to work more on our brand message in 2017.

For HUNKR, the chapter on The Roll of Profits and Losses helped me better understand the dynamic of making money on a passion I have.  Profit is a price paid for efficiency.  If we can efficiently produce a race, and deliver on our promise we’ll earn a profit.  That is a good thing, it’s that profit which will make our race series sustainable.  When the goal of the series is to grow cycling, you must have sustainable model.

At DHDwear we are constantly learning about distribution, economies of scale, and social media marketing.  This is called Human Capital, which ultimately attracts financial capital to make ideas become reality.  The difference between a rich country or culture or company and a poor one is much more about the human capital.  Like Western Europe after WW2, were we to lose it all today we could quickly rebuild if we wanted to.

For my own personal knowledge two statements stood out: Adam Smith said the wealth of a country is not to be counted in gold or resources but to be considered by the standard of living enjoyed by it’s people.  Thomas Sowell said What scientists share is not simply agreement on various conclusions but, more fundamentally, agreement about the ways of testing and verifying conclusions, beginning with a careful and strict definition of the terms being used.

Bike riding is great, because we can do it.  Were we to live in a third world country, our bike riding might be pleasurable still, but most likely it might be about surviving another day.

Whatever it is… justpedal.

There’s no good reason to blog, I didn’t ride today and riding’s where I get my ideers.  Except… look at this bike!  There’s no good reason to buy it, but me want BAD…

… saw it in my travels today.

Imagine yourself (or me) on this sexy ride… color matching and dead silent belt-drive, the pleasure/challenge/random-leg-spinniness of single-speeding, go anywhere tires, always dependable disc brakes, hung on a brilliant, coral-colored frame!

Perfect bike for a rainy day like today… I would have ridden and had something to write about.

There’s no good reason to buy this bike, except it’s RAD…

… and that’s always a good reason.

Sure, I could strap on a power meter or do a stress test or some other robotic method to figure out my fitness. But, I don’t.  When the training needs to get serious I prefer to make the rounds to the out of town group rides – lots of unknowns make it more real.  This time of year, the rides are peppered with visiting and local pros out for the good weather.

Here’s my list:

Swami’s Long

Swami’s Pre-ride (harder than A) then A-ride

Donut Ride

Simi Ride

I know there are more, but these are the ones I can vouch for.  All fast, all hard, all ready to filet my softer sides.

Typically I make the rounds starting in late November, but this season is an atypical one for me: rain, family and travel.

This Saturday it starts with Swami’s Long.  Most will riders meet in Encinitas.

We all park in Oceanside at 715ish, and ride south to meet the group.  Two reasons for this:  get warmed up, the Long route pops back out to the coast here.  Specifically we park at the free parking across the street and under the bridge from Joe’s Crab Shack.

You’ll notice on the Swami’s website the “World Famous Saturday” ride is 40 miles… only in the winter is the Long route on.

Here’s what you can expect – strava link

1.  Be prepared for the weather – we start on the coast and go inland out to Valley Center.  I’m serious, go look at Weather.com at several towns along the route… might warm up, might get a lot colder.
2. We roll tempo down to Encinitas to meet the A group.
3. The “A” group will have 40-100 very fast cats, ready to claw your out of town eyes out.
4. Visitors I’ve seen – Taylor Phinney, Mark Cavendish, Chris Horner – it’s a little late to see those guys, but ya never know.
5. Once the ride turns East, it’s on… and it’s hilly… and if you come off you have no chance of catching, so no sense in conserving.
6. There used to be a re-group at “the church”, that isn’t happening – probably Andy’s fault.  They will slow a bit, but it’s not the 10 minute water topping, pee stop it once was.
7. After the church, A ride goes South and Long goes North.  For the most part, it’s pretty chill for about 20-30 minutes.
8. Woolford Pass – 2 miles up.  This is where I get dropped and ride my guts out hoping to catch a few guys at the top and be in a group to the store.
9. The store is the only stop.  It’s long for the fast guys, and painfully short for me.  Hustle.  They will NOT wait, and you will NOT know how to get home with Toto.
10. The ride back to the coast is probably my favorite.  Super fast, super rolly, super twisty.  Feels a lot like being in Europe, like you might just be a pro.
11. The final feature is the parade of speed on the long bike trail.  Imagine all kinds of people out walking, skating, riding with the young families and pack of 20-30 riders going 20-30 m’s/h.  Keep your head up, and on a swivel.

We usually hit it back to San Clemente pretty fast, so bring a snack.  Traditionally, the Burger joint at Pico and the 5 is our final stop… but it has been sacrificed to the freeway gods.

Hopefully you and I won’t be sacrificed Saturday.

172.2

So much trust in so little matter… my bike weighs less than two 10lb. weights, the tires have a combined contact area of about 1 square inch, other than a plastic helmet, thin lycra covers my body.  Strava says I hit 52.3 m.p.h., in 39 degree weather.  My palms sweat as I add all that up… because my rear tire was flat when I unloaded tonight.

How many climbing arrows do you have in your quiver?  Snaking up the San Juan Trail switchbacks, my butt was planted in the saddle.  Though a DG (decomposed granite) trail that can handle the rain, it was not a day to stand up and unweight the back end.  Today was a day to sit and spin.

Hunting down my less-tardy friends while slipping through the mist, got me thinking about the climbing styles I use and when I use them.

Sitting and spinning – good for long climbs, and loose terrain climbs.

Low cadence – can work better in rocky sections, especially if you’re out of the saddle.

Knees over top tube – you see this among the pros, their knees appear to come over the top tube.  This allows you to use different muscles while staying seated.  When you try it, think ice or roller skating where your foot contact point is the inside of the arch.

Standing up, hands on top of bar – for some it’s just a chance to stretch the legs and back for others it’s the preferred way to climb.

Standing up, hands on the drops (road) – this is my preferred road climbing position.

It’s good it to be comfortable in all these positions just to change things up.

It’s better to figure out which works best for you.

It’s best to figure out which is best and train that way.

Hint: certain body geometries are better for certain styles, so don’t copy the fastest climber you know.

There’s a brotherhood when it rains. Passing euphoric runners, a smile creeps across your face. You know it’s good to be alive, soaking in smells and vistas other, weaker riders are missing.

On race day you’ll know: old tires puncture, how to corner and sprint and draft, paint is icy, a Lycra beanie = a heaven jacket, treated lenses don’t fog, etc…

…knowing > thinking you know.

The rule is to carry as little as possible – Henry David Thoreau. In ’16 I’ve strived to implement this rule with regards to my bike and body – somehow my office had escaped the goal.  Slowly it had turned into a rat’s nest.

The long list of excuses just got deleted.

Instead, here are the results:

All the old samples and prototypes are gone.  Mostly given away.

Organized samples remain.  Easy to find.

A clean desk to create and launch from.

A new laptop for Steven.

We have too much to accomplish in ’17 to let clutter knock us off track.

Mountain biking today was playful, in a sublime way.  No agenda.  Just the fellas roaming Whiting Ranch.  Doing a little poaching, a little exploring, a lot of teasing.  Being kids, wrinkled with some gray.

Is your helmet silver or is your hair?  Both, turd.

Cactus is so perfect right now.  The recent trail work smoothed out all the braking bumps, and the berms are ace.

Ty hit it hard 4 times in a row… takes a big man to admit he forgot to turn his suspension on for two of the runs.  The other two runs were the exact same time.  He’s skinny, it was easy for him to admit.

Matt could not say enough about his new fully.  It’s so much faster than my hard-tail, forgot what I was missing.  Ty has the same bike… there were so geeked up, felt like I was 5th wheel on a man-date.

Why ooh and ahh at the sunset, when there’s a left behind can of pepper spray to be shot at your buddies?

The dimming light made railing the trails testy.   Hero dirt made up for poor judgment.  Three of us at 9/10ths, wheel to wheel, bouncing off alternate lines of pristine single-track.

Kids, wrinkled with some gray… thankful for health, especially for Ty’s full return.

28 years ago… good heavens!… gag… gasp… but, yes, 28 years ago when I lived in Pacific Beach I would do the Swami’s Wednesday ride.  I did it once 5 years ago, when I started to get into the bike business.  And, I did it today.

It still rocks!

Back then, the stars of upstart triathlon and duathlon would come out.  The fastest roadies would be out.  And dreamers like me would pull through and hang on… the dangling kind of hanging on.

One day, these two cats showed up on a tandem with a flippin’ fairing… a FAIRING!  Might have been John Howard – follow that link if ya want to learn some real history.  We go through the south entrance to the base and they start hard down to the lagoon.  I see the hill and think Good we’ll get rid of these kooks.  No way.  Hill doesn’t even phase ’em.

Up on the flats they really turn the screws.  A huge wake of bloodied riders is roiling.  In no time, we exit the north side.  The tandem.  Kenny Souza – read about him. A hand full of other pros. And me.

Never before or after have I covered the distance from the run way to the campground gate that fast.  I wasn’t pulling through, all I could do was cover gaps.  Rocketing into the campground I waved the guys through.  No one was there.  Just the tandem and Souza ahead of me.  I died a little that day scratching back onto the 4 man-3 bike train.  I was never better and never worse.  Heaven and hell all at once.

Check please.

I knew I’d never be pro, and didn’t give a darn.  This was good enough.

That was the summer of ’86, I’d just graduated college.

5 years ago, in December, the wind was howling.  Huge Santa Ana’s.  Lot’s of tt machines.  It was going to be a mess.  Would things have changed?

Nope.

We clear the south gate and it’s on.  The 50 or so riders are battling hard for wheels, trying to stay in the bike lane at the same time.  Nobody is letting this old fossil, with awesome wavy hair, into the line.  What the heck?!  I make room for him.  Mistake.  There’s no room for me in the echelon.  Damn, this hurts.  No rest from the gusting side winds.  Who is that old guy, looks like God himself?… of course, It’s John Howard at 74!

Nearing the north gate, God and some pro roll the stop sign and disappear up the hill.  We never saw them again until the turn around.

Legendary stuff.

Today we rolled from my adopted home town, San Clemente.  Adopted in ’78, when we’d take Mike’s mom’s old Mustang to Trestles and camp on the beach.  I’ve been promising to hit the northbound Swami’s train since we moved here in ’15.  Time to do it.

We rolled at 7:10 to be sure and get to the south gate of the base in time.  I wanted to hit that hill.  Kevin and Matt wound up leading the entire group up out of the lagoon.  Mark was right there too.  They were pulling hard… I warned ’em to wander up front cautiously.  At least there was no wind to speak of.

We crest the top and the big dogs start charging. Kevin is gone.

This terrain suits me.  I felt really good today.  Did my fair share of work.  Had enough in the tank to say hi to my San Diego buddies – Dougie and Victor… and hi to the other OC’rs who wandered south this morning: Frank and Hoffy.

Per Starva (sic), it was a fast day for me.  Lots of PR’s.

Accents from around the world, some chatty some gaspy.  Fast girls, like 147mph fast.  Sleeves splashed with all sorts of championship colors.  They call it Wednesday Worlds for a reason.  Official details here.

Gotta work this ride in some more.  Quality.  Speed.  Beauty… and some nostalgia.

48 out of 52 Tuesdays this year I rode TMWC.

First half of the year I woke up about 4:50.

Then La Pata went through and shaved off 20 minutes of riding, added 1000′ feet of climbing.

Second half of the year I woke up at 5:10.

Last quarter of the year, I rode my bike home on Mondays and made the TMWC part of my commute back in.

It’s part habit, part commitment, part passion, part brotherly love.

Woudn’t have it any other way.

I get a lot of inspiration from the auto industry.  Cars, especially performance and race cars, have so much more behind them than bicycles.  More money, more marketing.  Not more history, but better documentation and more nostalgia in the form or rolling relics.

Waiting to see Rogue 1 today, we ducked into the one remaining book store.  They have a huge magazine section.  I miss bookstores, and getting lost in them.  The internet seems more like a rabbit hole.  The glossy covers of magazine are seductive, especially the automobile editions.

Road & Track had a great right up on Team Penske – the most successful US-based race team ever.  Excellence covered three Porsche prototypes that never made it to market.  VW Ultra’s collection of rusty and running busses was awing.  Automobile made a case for big American power with a Continental.

Cycling, at least the circles I ride with, seems all about the black, new, naked carbon.  Light weight over customization.

Yoshizo Shimano pointed out a long time ago that humans make weak engines.  That weakness no doubt diminishes the appeal of old, heavy bikes.

As expensive as running a Tour de France contending team might be, it’s nothing compared to Formula 1… or NASCAR for that matter.

Perhaps it’s knowing that auto racing is beyond my means, maybe it’s the countess layers of automobile competition one must climb to reach the top, it could be the insane sounds of speed gas powered engines blare… whatever it is, it makes we want to clean my bike and train hard for the racing I can enjoy, the bar-to-bar precision required to corner safely and swiftly, the power to pound a hill just a little further than the next guy, the spice to design a striking kit, the drive to develop new products.

Gifts.  Given and received.

Xmas – TMWC original Kevin McKenna says “The X is the abbr. for Christ in the Greek alphabet. It is Christ in shorthand.”

Family – this was the first year with one of our kids, Shane, spending Christmas Day with the in-laws… Abbey is a great addition to our family.

Church – there’s no place I’d rather be on a Sunday than with my family at church.  So nice to have Trevor and Shelby with us.  My distant aunt Joanne – mother of TMWCr Todd Udall – visited and played an amazing compilation on the piano.  Mike and his family sang Christ Child, Christ Child.  Paul at 90 shared his question to God each day, Why am I here still… and urged us to recognize the miracles all around us.

Friends – we drove up to Fullerton to take Bob to a late lunch.  He’s ancient, crusty, and hilarious.  Family with no formal ties.  He bought me that red Schwinn Le Tour long ago from Fullerton Bikes.

Toes – We got back in town just in time to walk the darkening sand.  It was cold.  Our hearts warm and full.

Cranks – all wrapped up with the Kranks

Single And Loving It was the title an editor of Competitor Magazine gave to an article I’d written on riding a single-speed mountain bike.  Throngs of babes were instantly stalking me on the trails (not true).  When I rolled out to ride this morning on the still wet streets of San Clemente my shifting was dead.

Completely.  No green light, no flashing green light, no red light.

Hmmm… I know it’s charged, was green on Tuesday, the last day it was dry.  I checked all the wires.  Unplugged and plugged in the battery.  Nada.

Whatever, it was in the 34/17 and would be fun to mix it up. Ride on!

The massive variations of leg speed while stuck in one gear make riding very interesting.  It’s was a gloriously nostalgic change up for me.

Spinning like an electric egg beater, slogging up hills with back muscles fully engaged.

I loved it.

Must have knocked a screw loose too… because I remembered that yesterday I’d driven out to visit some customers with my bike inside the car – on top of boxes!  Shifter must have been pressed in the process.  DOH!!!

Protect your shifters padawan.

It’s hard to comprehend the effort that goes in to developing and promoting an event.  There’s no way I could do this if I wasn’t obsessed with growing the sport we love.  Every step we take towards making this dream real, makes it easier to take the next step.

We updated the HUNKR website today.   It’s not ready to do business.  It tells a little more of what we have planned.

Huge shout out to all those who showed up for the photo shoot!

Hope y’all like what we’ve done.

171.2

Half-wheel Harry is that guy who is constantly half a wheel ahead of you, regardless of the speed.  Most HWH’s are new to the sport and just need a nudge, a loving reminder to take it easy.  Others are chronic HWH’s and no amount of nudging or bludgeoning will cure them.  They make for great, cheap entertainment.

It’s super annoying to ride with CHWH by yourself.  There’s not much to do other than slotting behind him (never seen a female guilty of this), it can be that bad.

It’s endlessly entertaining,,,

…when two CHWH’s find themselves at the front of a double pace-line.

Oh man… sit back and enjoy the ride.  These two dogs are going to half-wheel themselves right down to hell.

Always funny, never gets old, and happening on group rides across the globe.

#halfwheelhell

169.2

The video we shot with the drone on Saturday turned out pretty cool.  Should be a great promo for HUNKR.  Getting the right music is a tricky.  All the good stuff is protected, and it should be.  No Daft Punk, Aerodynamic; No Joe Cocker, Feelin’ Alright; No Stevie Wonder, Superstition.  The songs that get me psyched to rip.

Battle music for battlin’!

Kinda like stadium rock for football.

Sittin’ on the trainer pre-race, getting my head straight and my legs pumped.

We’ll find the music, then we’ll share the video.

171.4

Base layers are awesome this time of year.  So much warmer.  My base layers have lots of base miles.  They come with sleeves – though I often hack them off.  The have zippers too, handy when the rides extend into mid-day.  There are scars from discarded pockets.  Sponsor logos still doing their work long after the contractural commitment.

Old jerseys, make great base layers.

Depending on the day you can go with full jersey sans pockets or cut off the sleeves if it’ll be warming up.  It’s amazing how warm a double jersey set up can be, and how easy to cool off by cracking the zippers.

175.2

My buddy has a new girlfriend.  They were at the race together.  The chemistry was obvious and desirable.  Shoot, I want a girlfriend!  The Trophy Wife had been gone too long… or, maybe not.

Monday she got home.  I said nothing, too soon.

Tuesday, night… hey, Rider X brought his new girl to the race.  It was awesome to see the appreciation in their eyes.

They don’t know each other well enough was not the response I was hoping for.

I want a girlfriend I lobbed… you have your bike bounced back.

Not going as I’d hoped, yet.

Look, I want you to be my girlfriend… sigh.

I’m a man of action.  All week I’ve treated her like my girlfriend.  Called her my girlfriend.  Done the dopy things boyfriends do.  I’ve loved it, and so has she.  Girlfriends are fun, refreshing, energizing.

I doubt my new girlfriend will ever go to a race with me, but that’s okay… I have my bike for that.

171.2

Water.  Bottles.  I don’t even put plain water in them.  I’m a get my calories from the bottle kinda guy.  I’d guess racers and riders are split on water or some sort of “sports drink” in their bottlers.  Doesn’t matter.  Most of us still keep our bottles way too long.

Even me.

They don’t cost much, and they are a vital – maybe the most vital – part of our equipment.

Bad bottles: leak, can make you sick, and look mangey.

Good bottles:  keep the fluid inside and your bike clean, deliver pure water/drink to your quenched body, look pro.

A few bucks can make such a difference. Yet, we keep those old bottles long past their expiration date.

I’ve sold thousands and thousands of Specialized water bottles.  Used them almost exclusively.  Then, outta the blue a few years back they decided to cut off their distributors.  Didn’t matter at first because I had a lot of samples in the warehouse.  And, I was busy focussed on our custom kits and other high-ticket items that were more interesting and profitable.

Then I came up with an idea for a really cool image on a bottle – reveal will be soon – and rang up my friends (?) in Morgan Hill.  A new sheriff is in town up there, and we were able to strike a new business relationship.

First batch is in.

There’s nothing like fresh bottles.  Let me know if you need a new batch.

171.2

by

I. Ride Freely

He knew it would be there.  It had to be.  But, maybe it not.  The grades were rather lousy.  He’d gotten in a fight with the little turd (a.k.a. “baby” brother).  Somehow he’d forgotten to take out the trash – “it’s your only chore!”.

In a redemptive move, he’d taken the little turd to the park for the morning.  He’d forgotten how fun the swings were.  The little turd was happy.  He pretended he wasn’t pretending that he was happy too.

That was a start.

Dad had gone golfing with Uncle Jim and left his car behind.  In the driveway.  He hosed it down, soaped it up, dried off, polished it shiny.  It felt good to see it gleam.

More.

Mom loved her barbecue and he knew she’d be grilling turkey tonight… “god I love that woman!” Dad would sing.  Brillo pad and Mr. Clean never worked so hard.  Cold winter sweat dripped as he hummed a favorite… carol?… it WAS beginning to feel a lot like…

…so tired…

The little turd was calm.  Dad’s car was bright. Glories grilled… he lay his head down… dreaming of a new bike, by the tree, covered by a sheet.

It’s dark.  I’m up.  The rest of the crew will be rolling to the corner.  Won’t be able to see their faces, just their red blinky lights.

Don’t matter none.

It’s still pure fun.

Just like our new Black Smiley shirt.

171

All the Ghost of Christmas Past shows me is red.  Red sells.  Red looks fast.  Red is…

RED!

My trike was red.  I remember it well.  Red paint, white stripes.  Solid rubber black wheels.  Just the thing to escape over to Jamie Figueroa’s.

My scooter was red.  It was a forerunner to the Razor.  Red platform, silver steerer.  Air filled white tires.  Stupid as it sounds, I was known as the Steve McQueen of Gnat Park.

My Big Wheel was red… I was like 14, way to old, but we’d found this giant hill planted with that crazy long grass.  First we bombed it on cardboard, but then we realized a Big Wheel was much more fun.  It lasted about a week.

My Schwinn Sting Ray started off red.  Probably put more miles on that bike than any other… rode it to school, to the store, to the beach, to my friends, to the orthodontist (hated that), to the huge drainage ditch we’d drop into and pop out of… and ride through in pitch black… and every Saturday morning to the new home construction sites with the terraced plots to jump off.  It died silver I think… we took those things apart and sanded and painted them constantly.

My Schwinn Le Tour was red.  This one was over $100, and I begged and begged for it.  I wanted to be able to ride the 8 miles from home to the tennis club, I wanted to get places.  I had no idea what “Le Tour” would come to mean later.  It was so light, and fast… even with my canvas back pack filled with tennis gear.

My final kid Christmas bike was not red.  The unicycle was silver.  I was 17, and wanted a toy.  Even though I had a red Honda Civic, I’d still ride the uni 2 miles to Sonora High School just because I could.

Pre-kids, the Trophy Wife surprised me with a red Cannondale… aluminum with giant tubes.  Rode that thing from Cat IV to III.  So fun.

174 : (

The trophy wife doesn’t dig the lame mustache I sport for Movember.  I do, and I’m all about grooming it through Jan 1. This year it’s a hideous chinstache.  But, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do… like grow – well try – a chinstache and let the legs get hairy too.

The general idea is that these will serve as reminders that it’s the “off season” for cycling, that I should dial back the riding, shed some .lbs… the chinstache in the mirror, the hairy legs when I kit up.

Fortunately, I guess, the TW has been spending a lot time taking care of her mother in Utah… sparing me complaints about how much more awful it is to make out.

Unfortunately, the new Speed bibs we released this year with the I-Feel-Naked-Technology leg gripper do not cling so well to the ugly, hairy diesel motors.

Look at that edge, so clean and crisp.  The band itself is wide and provides excellent compression.  On me, and this lucky mannequin, the band doesn’t move at all when I’m clean-shaven.  And after a year of abuse, it’s holding form perfectly.

Here’s a super-biased link to the entire Speed Kit.  Yes, I am aware the graphics aren’t for everybody… but, they show how we print on every panel and how awesome we are at lining everything up correctly.

The pad on these bibs is amazing… I had a sponsored rider come up to me yesterday long-faced about his new sponsor’s bibs – “it’s like riding in your underwear, it’s horrible”.

Chuck Barry just gonged me.

Ouch.

Anyway, the TW is coming home Wednesday.  I’ll be clean shaven…

…so my bibs stay put! ;)

PS In case you aren’t clear on why bibs matter: Save A Life

174.4

Unlike my fellow TMWC’rs, I was not on the podium today.  Three cheers for Gould, Roundy, Hill, Adams, McGee, and Brown.

Now I can spend countless hours on Strava analyzing how and where I was beaten.

Strava… Strava… Strava… (Rosebud)

Zero time will be spent on Johnny O’s file, he’s an alien. I don’t follow 2nd place,  nor do I know his name.

That leaves Jeff who was 3rd and nice enough to say I rode fast… he beat me by two minutes… what he meant was I usually destroy you, and Even though I could see you today I was able to back off and coast in.

Can’t hate the genuine humility… or can I?

Can I get ticked off… ride harder… train and eat better?

Crank up the GnR!

Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here everyday
You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see you’ll take it eventually
You can have everything you want but you better not take it from me

173

So my buddy Mike signed up with a coach I recommended.  She’s tiny.  Sweet. The oracle of wisdom.  Cycling’s secret sauce… and when needed she’ll kick you in the @$$.

We were shaking down the MTB’s for the race tomorrow, and his electronic shifting was not working.

Better to find out today than tomorrow, I delivered.

She said to ride road today.  If I’d done that, tomorrow would have been terrible with this shifting.

That was to let your body rest – which we were failing at.

Ah-ha.

Ya gotta shake down the bike you’re racing the day before, you could just ride the MTB on the road…

…and there’s the nugget.