Why can racers under 23 years old can race my races for free?  When I started PEDALindustries the hippityhiphip cool tagline was Growing Cycling By Design.  I looked at that phrase every single day, many times a day.  The logic made sense:  more riders, more sales – more riders, more friends – more riders, more healthy people… which lead to what kind of event would grow the sport, which lead to HUNKR.

What does U23 mean?  Traditionally, U23 is an elite racing age group of 19-22 year olds.  The races for this age group serve as sort of a farm league for pro cycling, kind of like college sports in the US.  In fact, if you start too late in cycling as my son did you can’t realistically get a shot at racing in Europe – that’s a story for another day.

What do we mean by U23?  We mean every racer under 23 years old can race a HUNKR for free.  There may come a day when we limit that to a percentage of total racers, and won’t that be an amazing day!

How can you help?  Get your kids or friends’ kids to register and take part in an amazing event.  They don’t need to have ever raced before, the just need to know how to ride a bike and have some good fitness.  If they all ready race, all the better… they can have a real shot of making some real money – why prize money is also a story for another day.

Get Registered: HUNKR

It was warm and sunny.  80 degrees.  Sweat beading off my arms.  The energy!

Wore the light gray jersey to stay cool, zipper cracked just past those two weird bones at the bottom of my neck.

Used my cold bottles to keep my core cold.

Cumulus patches waved hello with spotty shade.

A red-tailed hawk eyed me, one hunter to another?

Days like this day pull me towards summer.

I’m ready.

STANDOUT RIDES: more memorable, more demanding, more re-living it over food, and someone – maybe you – shoots some stills, maybe video to prove it happened.

If you and I were riding together – I wish we were right now – and I asked you to name a standout ride… well, there’s no telling the length of your tale

I’d listen, and we’d revel.

When, where, how far, who… shining from you, lighting up my mind.

HUNKRs are like that:

For OC, we’ll be on the best country road in the county.  It’ll be beautiful.  Some of the course is only accessible with special permission, and will be all new to (most of) you.

You’ll be prepped and out there with other riders.  The energy will thrill you, and push you to cover 100 kilometers… you’ll be getting after your personal record.

When you finish we’ll have a delightful meal for you.  Refueling and re-telling your day with your friends – nothing better.

As you relax we’ll be color correcting and editing your photo(s), and in a day or two you’ll have the digital proof to post up on the interwebs.

We can’t wait to serve you.

PS I’ve been asked lately if HUNKR is for first timers… of course it is, because there’s always time for a Standout Ride!  Just pick your starting group based on your pace, and have a blast.

How do you know?

If you’re fast(er)

If you’re improving

If you can do it

How’d it go?

Awesome

Coulda been better

As I thought, but different

What’d ya do?

I rode one hundred kilometers

On a bike

With these other fun, crazy athletes

Really?

Yep, check out this pic!

Went to dinner with my friend Mckay tonight.  He was in town on business.  Which is weird since he’s the biggest party planner I know, it’s hard to square with his business empire.  The last time we were together was Moab 2016.

His plan: let’s ride the White Rim Trail in a day.  That’s 100 miles of incredible views on 4×4 road.

Before that we did the entire Tour of California.

We did the 24 hours of Moab race on a 4 man team.

We took the families to Moab 20 years ago and walked along dinosaur prints.

We rode a bunch of sweet single track in NorCal where he lives and rented cabins in Tahoe with the families.

Ya need a guy like McKay to be part of your life.  Someone that’s always on the look out for an adventure… a “I wonder if we could ride from here to there in a day”.

He’s always inviting me, and I don’t go nearly enough.

Anytime I come up with an idea, his answer is nearly always the same… “let’s do it!”

On these adventures there’s always time to talk, hash out the ways to approach the current stage in life.

We ended tonight talking about The Life Of Pi.  He’s the only person I’ve met that understood the meaning of the book the same as me.

“If you stumble about believability, what are you living for? Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?”
― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Finally got TB out on the MTB!

It’s so green, and alive… and it was quite warm as the sun settled over coastal fog.  Matt and Robot joined me.  Robot forgot he had to pick up plans for an inspection in the morning, he bailed early at Cactus Trail.  Matt forgot his MTB shoes and painfully pedaled with tenni’s, so we got him a RaceDay Bag and he’ll never forget his shoes again.

This time of year I like to ride from the office on Wednesday evenings.  We are two blocks from Whiting Ranch.  It’s easy to get out and do 60-90 minutes of climbing, either on Harding Truck Trail or Santiago Truck Trail.  That makes for a nice 2-21/2 hour ride.

Those types of climbs are important to be doing for my next targeted event: Whisky 50.

We hit Whiting, then crossed over into Cleveland National Forest.  The plan was to roll to Old Camp, but Matt’s feet were on fire due to shoe selection and we shot down The Luge.

Wow!  The Luge is in phenomenal shape.  New berms.  Stutter bumps filled in.  I’d say it’s like the luge of old, but it’s actually better.

Daylight was thinning out, and I didn’t mind cutting the ride short.  Still got in a couple of thousand feet of vertical, not a bad start.  10 ten more weeks to get my body ready.

The gear is mostly all there, ‘cept my shoes.

My shoes are in desperate condition.  3 seasons is 2 seasons too many for race shoes.  They are beaten, torn, and have lost quite a bit of support under the tender, aging balls of my feet.

Shoes are always a tough purchase which is probably why I procrastinate it so much.

Top choices are expensive: $300-400.  Most shops don’t carry a good selection, and even when they do you’re trying on a shoe on a floor vs a shoe attached to a cleat and locked into a pedal.  Then, the color selections can be weird.

Generally, I just go with black:  it’s in stock most of the time and I love the look of black shoes and black socks… just looks like they mean business, the mean kind of business.

As much as I think I’ve mellowed over the years, when I target a race I’m just a different guy that day… it’s kinda a weird, this Hulk-like transformation.  It can be embarrassing if I get too wound up.

Maybe I should buy white shoes this time?  NO WAY!

Once the starter’s gun fires all those days of climbing for hours straight up will come to my mind and I’ll remember exactly why I showed up to race.

A wise man once said:

“The best thing you can do for your kids is love their parent.”

… that’s all for today.

Is it okay to race not too lose?  Saturday I raced not too lose, and had a good result.  Two weeks ago I raced to win and had a better result.  Granted, one course I felt fit my skills and build perfectly… which had a decidedly different mindset than this week.  Saturday, I tucked for eight minutes straight at nearly 50 m.p.h. and caught up to two elite climbers… then I tucked my tail between my legs.

I quit my grit.

These two had just freewheeled down the hill.  I was all risk and made up a minute with my extra ballast.

Who was I kidding?  I was lucky to be here.

The good news was the chasers were out of sight.

We hit the climb again.  Rather than go all in as I had two weeks prior, I let them go.  I dosed my effort and raced not to lose.

Why press my luck?

When I got home I compared my times to last year.  This year’s winner, was also last year’s winner.  But this year’s winning times equaled my times of last year.  In other words, my effort from last year would have had me on pace to ride with the leaders this year.

In fact, I made up time on those two as the race wore on.

The point isn’t that I would have won this year… the point is my mindset was different.  I wasn’t feeling it.

Last year we raced an age group down, and had a much bigger field.  I knew the people between me and the winners weren’t “that” much better, and I dug a lot deeper because I “knew” I was good enough to beat the guys close to me.  Some of these other guys were riding buddies and I was confident that I could hang with them.

There was nobody in between me and the leaders this year… lonely pavement and stoic cacti.

Two weeks ago, I’d told myself if I can make it up the hill I have a chance – it was a flat finish after a long descent.  The closer we got to the finishing line the luckier I felt.

Is there something wrong with racing not too lose?  I don’t know the answer to that.

Just sometimes ya feel luckier.

Can you make your luck?  Kinda, by preparing and caring and doing all you can to be ready… picking the right course.

There’s (sic) other things outside of cycling that make me feel lucky.

They seem to spill into all the empty spaces and buoy me.  A clean office, being in synch with the TW, scoring a big order and having some extra coin in the bank, a call from one of my kids just to say hi, a good night’s sleep, seeing the sun shine at day break, taking time to pray and appreciate life before the day starts, a good comedy movie, a Rocky movie…

…maybe it’s age?…

Young TB used to just crank the metal music and get pissed off to unleash the mighty fury…

…what a punk!

The winners of at least two of today’s UCLA Road Race categories attacked towards the top of the climb and built a big enough lead to solo to victory.

This is not Westwood, this is Pearblossom, CA a beautiful high-desert location (4700′) many miles NorthEast of LA.  The course is a 12.5 mile loop with about 1400′ of climbing per lap.  A climber’s course for sure, but it’s also a descenders course.

It’s physics.

The main climb will take the pro’s 10 minutes and the not-so-pro’s up to 15+ minutes.

The main descent will take the aero-big-boned about 8 minutes and the not-so-aero-big-boned up to 9+ minutes.

Don’t freak if you get gapped at the top by some little twig by 30 seconds.  Keep your head in the game.  Get low… there is no need to brake for any of the turns (this is my opinion, use good judgement.)

I saw two of today’s winners attack over the top and never look back… finishing with 2+ minutes gaps.

Putting 30-60 seconds on a group of guys means someone(s) in that group will have to ride awfully hard to catch you.  On a course like this, where the downhill is fast (I hit 49 mph), and at the bottom it rolls, it’s likely the group is going to look at each other and pray you fade on the climb – you might…

…or, you might pull off a victory never to be forgotten.

In 2012 we came to Lancaster for Tour of California. It was a mancation and we were riding every stage. We woke up grabbed $30-40,000 worth of bikes out of the van and took off for Big Bear.

Shane, my son, got in the van an hour later and the tank said empty.

Dad, didn’t we fill up,last night?

Yes.

Why is the tank empty?

Lancaster.  Someone must have drained the tank. Go fill up and catch us.

Dad, I filled up and gas was going through the filler straight to the ground.

Lancaster.  They cut the lines instead of siphoning the gas.

Shane spent all day at a Ford dealer then chasing the peloton.  We spent all day in the glories of Southern California pines.

7am start tomorrow, so we drove up.

Lancaster.  Bikes inside hotel.

I was asked today about the light at Ridgeline. “Will we have to stop?”

“Nope.”

We have received a permit from the City of Lake Forest to close this intersection during HUNKR – OC. This is one of many permits we’ve had to pull in order to provide an excellent day for the participants.

It’s not magic, it’s hard work and diligence on the part of HUNKR and the public servants who manage the roads trails and parks we’ll be using.

We have a great, big, giant vision of the HUNKR experience that fuels this effort.

Part of that experience and vision is making sure you can travel all 100k without stopping – unless you want to. Barring some sort of public emergency, you’ll be free to go for your personal record.

As we add more HUNKR events we’ll be building a database that will allow you to see how you stack up in your age group and against the fastest of the fast. Because the courses will have different features and be over different terrain – road (like OC), gravel and MTB – we assign differing degrees of difficulty.

You may prefer 100k gravel. You may find your best at 100k MTB. You may stick to road HUNKRs. No matter your preference we intend to provide you scenic open courses to challenge and delight you.

How come you can inflict all kinds of pain on yourself in a bike race and you’re such a baby at the dentist?  It’s weird, right?   I’ve cramped so hard at Tahoe 100 that I fell over and couldn’t get up by myself.  Still finished the race.  But I get in that dentist chair and look out…

I wear black t-shirts to the dentist to hide my sweaty pits.

My brow beads and drips.

A death grip on the handles.

Sure I had some youthful trauma, back in the days of hammer and saw dentistry.  But that was a long time ago, and my current dentist Paul is a college bud, nicest guy ever… he floats me a valium to take the edge off, we joke a lot, ask about each other’s kids, then I lay back… prepared to birth an alien.

I pay him for this, like I did this afternoon.

The day started off with Swami’s Wednesday beat down, which is free.  60 top athletes riding blistering through Camp Pendleton, the lungs burn and the throat is raspy, the group is whittled down to 30 after 30 minutes to cover 15 miles.  Do the math.

I control the pain on the bike, and the hurt is exquisite with an after glow and egg burrito at Ellie’s.

Paul controls the potential pain, and the potential hurt is just as real…

…with a mellow drifting into In-n-Out for a chocolate shake.

When the interwebs say rain tomorrow, I still set my alarm just in case.  5AM today came easy, fell asleep early to Silver Streak.  Horizontal, I checked Weather.com.  Cloudy?  Drops falling heavy banged through my cracked window.  Today I’d need the AssSaver.

Barefoot in PJ’s, the very heavy mist sprayed me and the cold, black asphalt below.

No TMWC today.

I read more Scott Adams, hilariously entertained and inspired.

Daylight came.

Still very wet.

Almost dug out the trainer from under the camping chairs.  Just couldn’t bring myself to ride indoors, gave it a loathing look is all.

Rest or Ride?

Ride.

Geared up with the usual:  kit, arm and knee warmers, wind/water resistant race jacket, new Deflect gloves, and the AssSaver.

Is there anything worse than water spraying up from your rear wheel, onto your rear, seeping into your chamois, and super-soaking your special purpose?  Let me just say, the AssSaver works as advertised.

12 miles and 2000′ of vert later, I rolled into the garage.  Shoes, wet.  Jacket, wet.  Warmers, wet.  Beanie, wet.  Bait and tackle, dry.

I got my AssSaver as part of my winnings at the Santa Barbara road race.  When they said I got an AssSaver I thought it was some sort of chamois cream…

…it’s a racy name to remember.

Oh the places you’ll go on a bicycle will not be the same if you’re on a tourist bus or in a car or even on foot.  It’s just different on a bike.  You’re with the people, the culture.  Not quite a part, definitely not apart.

I’ve ridden the entire Tour of California in 2012.  A week of the Tour de France in 2005.  Park City countless times.  Moab many times.  Sedona a few times.  From the sea to volcano on Maui, and all the way around Oahu – once each.

It’s not much of a list, but it’s my list and I’d like to add to it.

A week in Italy with Craig.  Moab with the latest in full suspension vs my XC whips.  Across the US would be epic, but I’m not sure my body would make it.  The Netherlands would be cool – flat and super accommodating.  PViddy says Australia is amazing – I’ve got 30 months to take advantage of that.  Definitely need a crack at LoToJa, with a few days in Jackson Hole.   The Main Divide – at least of week or two of it.  I think it would be nuts to do the Megavalance in Alpe D’Huez.  Jeff is always wanting to do one of those kookie 7 day MTB races.  Then there’s the Cape Epic.

Reading that last paragraph over I can see I still have some races I want to do, they crept in at the end… nothing wrong with that.  At this point in my life, once I feel I’ve given an event my best I like to move on.

Which brings up Whisky 50.

That one still needs a good whack.  4 years ago I rode with Trevor, back when he was just figuring out racing.  2 or 3 years ago was the snow year.  Last year I did the 30 but I was still in the over-training hole.  I signed up for the 50 this year, but that as before I realized Shane and Abbey graduate the day before – and 600 miles away.

For sure, I’ve got my excuse in place for this year’s Whiskey 50… let’s see if I can get the legs ready…

…now back to that list…

Conversational paced bike rides are awesome, if you strike up a conversation.  If you’re shy, or unsure, you are a social sandbagger.  Cut loose, add your story and knowledge to our community.  You have something we need to know.  Here are some basic skills to put in your jersey pocket.

Rule number 1… Everybody is too busy thinking about what you think of them to actually think anything about you.  This is #legit and important to remember because as a cyclist you need to conserve energy.  Thinking people are actually thinking about you is a big, fat, FAKE obstacle for you to do a conversational wheelie over.  Once I realized this it was so freeing… you just have to go for it.

First… Introduce yourself.  “Hi, I’m Todd.” is so vulnerable that most people open up from there (refer to #1 if you’re wimping out).  You’ll get either “I’m _____” or if the don’t know about #1 they might just say nice to meet ya.

Second… “Where are you headed?”  Everybody wants to share their ride plan.  It’s easy.

Third… “Where did you start?” is a great follow up.  You can mix the order on these, and I’m probably mixing them up right now.

With these 3 questions you can usually dive down into the rabbit hole of a stranger’s life and make a new friend.  It’s not nosy because this is of interest to you.  You might be heading the same place, or you might meet a neighbor you never knew.  You might have 10 friends in common.  You might get a flat and need a tube or the reverse.

Fourth is my favorite… “What’s your big event or goal for the year?”  I love this question because here I’m going to find out what my new friend is really passionate about doing on a bike.  This question is a gold mine.  Here I’m bound to learn something new:  a race or ride, a diet, a gizmo, a travel destination, a segment of cycling in which I’m super ignorant, etc.

True passion will pour forth and I’ll (you’ll if you remember #1) be inspired – that’s a guarantee.

Fifth is right behind Fourth (see that pun?)… “What got you into riding bikes?”.  This is less about passion and much more interesting.  I ask this question because I’m always thinking about how to grow the sport.  The answers are so random and broad I’ve given up on a formula and decided it’s better to keep the community vibrant because we all get our friends involved in our own unique way.

Today, I met Dave and he shared that he got into cycling because of MS.

What???

You have MS?

No, he said… My brother has MS and I started doing the MS ride once a year to raise money.  I was 57.  I rode a 26 lb mountain bike to San Diego for the first 2 years.  Then, my friend had trouble with his vision and we rode a tandem – it was so fast I wanted more.  Then another friend loaned me his “old” race bike… I needed a seatbelt to hang onto it. Then I signed up for a double century, and I did pretty good.  Then I did a 400 mile race and qualified for RAAM.  I didn’t know what RAAM was.  I did a 500 mile race and they said I qualified for RAAM.  I decided to do RAAM (Race Across America).  I finished 2nd in my age group the first time, and won it the next 2 times.  It took him 12 days.

How cool is that?

It’s super rad.  He told me about his diet and what he’s changed how it’s improved his riding.  We talked about sleep strategies.  I got home and he’d Friended me of FB.  Will we ever ride together again?  Probably, but even if we don’t my friendship cup has been refilled.

Rule #1.

I like to stay out front.  That’s where the action is, that’s where the winning move will come from, and it’s safer.  Staying out front of cold season is the same thing.  You feel a cold coming on, take action quickly or be prepared to suffer needlessly/endlessly.

My solution is an old family recipe…

nnnnnot! my mom turned me onto this remedy and it works like magic…

… but ONLY if you take it at first hint of a cold.  Wait too long and you might miss the winning move.

It’s available at your local grocer.  Get it.  And start a write-in campaign for these cats to sponsor HUNKR – out of industry sponsors have the big bucks!

PS  Wouldn’t it be rad to find this at the local bike shop?!

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.