Thursday, June 28, 2007

You ate a what???!




So, tonight we had our weekly 10-mile Time Trial here in Chico. This one was held, for the first time, out on Aguas Frias Road just south of town. 5 miles out, 5 miles back.....all flat....but sections are exposed to the wind. And today, we had some wind out there - headwind on the way out, tailwind on the way back.

Well, anyway, awhile back I made a bet with my friend Steve Vickery(the EMC dude in the photos above). The bet was this - If Steve could beat 23-minutes in a 10-mile Time Trial, I would eat......of all things......a banana peel. Now, the reason this bet was made was because Steve had come awfully close a couple of times in getting that ever-elusive sub-23 minute time out on our 10-mile Time Trials. But......he just couldn't quite get there.

Tonight, as the pictures show, he made it.........timing a 22:50 for this Time Trial. And.....after this banana peel had been sitting in a warm car for an hour and a half.....then on top of the car during the race.......I downed it.....all of it. And man, let me tell you - those things take awhile to eat! The stem on those banana peels - it's like chewing gum - it just won't dissolve. Bitter, sucks the saliva right out of your mouth, just nasty tasting.

But to me, it was all worth it - just to see my buddy break that time.....and I'd do it again in a second.

So now, the next bet up is this - If Rich Thurman can beat 22 minutes out at these Time Trials......it's dog food or cat food for me......whatever Rich wants.....canned, bagged, dry, wet food.......it's up to him. And I can tell you this - I'm not safe - I'll be eating pet food before the summer's over.

Good job to all of you out there tonight! The Results:

1. Rich Thurman 22:33
2. Steve Vickery 22:50
3. Kris Blee 24:33
4. Kevin Speacht 25:24
5. Michael Rodriguez 25:54
6. Marc Nix 27:10
7. Jenn Gruber 30:20
8. Amy King 30:51

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

More NC Classic pics.......



.....these are a few from the Masters race. What I shoulda done was found the results of the event and taken a picture of that! But, wasn't thinking ahead. Not sure when results will be posted......or if.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Brutal introduction to Criterium Racing......

.......After essentially dominating road races on the northern California racing circuit this past year, Chico's own Category 2 Studette, Janeen Thorpe(riding for Touchstone Climbing), decided to give criterium racing a shot - and from what I understand, Sunday's Nevada City Classic was her first crit-like race. I say crit-like because it's more like a hilly circuit race than a criterium......but the Refs there assured me it was, in fact, a criterium.......or as close to one as you could get in the hills of Nevada City. Your first criterium race is.......Nevada City. Holy. That's some toughness going through the veins of this woman. Can't even imagine - but hey, she did good out there. The lead pack just hammered when Shelley took off for the win. But Janeen rode her own race - stayed focused - rode the tempo - and had a very respectable finish. Although it wasn't a win this time around, I have a feeling we'll be seeing her on the podium at Nevada City in the years to come. Way to go Janeen!

Gotta give Hutch a break.....

.....and move his lung-capacity pic down one.

This is a pic of Chico's own Rich Thurman at the Nevada City Classic on Sunday. Now, I can't be certain from looking at this picture.......but my guess is he's:

1. Had enough of the noxious fumes coming from my stinky body on the sidelines.
Or
2. Wiping the sweat off of his face during this hot day.
Or
3.Realizing that the move off the front may be THE move and he knows he may have missed it.
Or
4. He's upset over the collapse of Olaf's Frayer frame.

Or all of the above.

As for me, I pick #4. I'm still down about that. I don't think it was me and my fumeage 'cause I showered and shaved real good-like before jetting up there. But Geno - hmmm - you know, come to think of it, Geno was sittin' next to me during this pic and he RODE all the up there from Chico that morning. Did you do the Baby Wipe thing Geno??? Hmmmm. Maybe it was noxious fumes Rich was plugging his nose about.

Nah - it had to be #4.

Monday, June 18, 2007

And Hutch......

.....I did catch you flashing your woman at Nevada City! This is just priceless. Hey, she was smiling when she was flying up that hill! Or was it grimacing?? Probably a little of both.....

So, I read on Olaf's blog that his trusty fine steed......


......his Frayer frame.......unluckily cracked in a crash at Mt. Hood. If I remember correctly, Jenny Frayer named that frame Wina. And man, can you imagine the races and training rides that thing has been on??! All those wins, all those lunchervals, all the commutes and punishment sessions. Now I'm getting all sad. I love that bike - and it isn't even mine. Such a timeless thing of beauty she was.......and heck, you could always have it welded again.
Or......you can always get your dream bike Olaf!
Sorry this happened to Wina. It's a sad day. That Steelman is pretty sweet....but the Hunter....man, that thing has got a lusty look to it. Steel is real baby!

Some Nevada City pics from yesterday........



......I took 456 pics again......but 450 turned out to be pretty Chico-Cyclistian......which means, basically, they sucked.

Hey, but these three aren't too bad. Well, hmmm.....maybe they are pretty bad. It was a fun day out there.....to watch! But I still would like to taste the pain again someday. Think I've said that the last five years I've gone to this race. Gotta start somewhere.......