Those hills were pretty nasty.Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Pearls of wisdom...
During the men's race, we were sandwiched in with some very cool Belgian folks. The Erwin Fans Club surrounded us, which was awesome. They asked us all about veldrijden in the US, told us about how Erwin loves to travel and race in the states and told us how they want to come visit. Ironic, isn't it?
One of our cheering-mates was Tom De Kort. He races for the AVB-USSPA Cycling Team, which is the feeder team for Fidea. Super nice guy. He was happy to offer some advice, and I think taking it from him was a no-brainer.
"I focus 110% on my handling techniques. That is my strong point. If I can make 1 second up in 5 corners per lap of a 10 lap race, that's 50 seconds."
Talking with him further brought out that if you are faster in the corners, you must lead through them. It will either a) force your opponent to burn energy to close the gap or b) force your opponent to make a mistake. The feeling I got from him was not to rest by following into the corners because your opponent can then dictate a comfortable pace for himself. Your advantage has effectively been neutralized.
Oh, and he loved the New Belgium flag. So much so that I gave him my sweatshirt.
One of our cheering-mates was Tom De Kort. He races for the AVB-USSPA Cycling Team, which is the feeder team for Fidea. Super nice guy. He was happy to offer some advice, and I think taking it from him was a no-brainer.
"I focus 110% on my handling techniques. That is my strong point. If I can make 1 second up in 5 corners per lap of a 10 lap race, that's 50 seconds."
Talking with him further brought out that if you are faster in the corners, you must lead through them. It will either a) force your opponent to burn energy to close the gap or b) force your opponent to make a mistake. The feeling I got from him was not to rest by following into the corners because your opponent can then dictate a comfortable pace for himself. Your advantage has effectively been neutralized.
Oh, and he loved the New Belgium flag. So much so that I gave him my sweatshirt.
It runs deep...
Met a nice couple at dinner one night...
Italian Lady: Are you here in Bologna for vacation?
Me: Si, we viewed Campionati del Mondo di Ciclocross en Treviso. Then we came here.
Italian Man: Ahhh, ciclismo.
M: Si. Are you a fan?
IM: Some....ahhhh...how you say....I loved Pantani.
M: Me too. He was one of my favorites.
IL: It was a very sad day.
IM: Very hard, I cried.
M: Me too.
Italian Lady: Are you here in Bologna for vacation?
Me: Si, we viewed Campionati del Mondo di Ciclocross en Treviso. Then we came here.
Italian Man: Ahhh, ciclismo.
M: Si. Are you a fan?
IM: Some....ahhhh...how you say....I loved Pantani.
M: Me too. He was one of my favorites.
IL: It was a very sad day.
IM: Very hard, I cried.
M: Me too.
Overheard...
"Vai, Vai, Vai!"
"Hop, Hop, Hop!"
"Venga, Venga, Venga!"
"Allez, Allez, Allez!"
"Hup, Hup, Hup!"
"GO JONATHAN!!!"
The misses has some lungs I tell ya. Do you hear that ringing?
"Hop, Hop, Hop!"
"Venga, Venga, Venga!"
"Allez, Allez, Allez!"
"Hup, Hup, Hup!"
"GO JONATHAN!!!"
The misses has some lungs I tell ya. Do you hear that ringing?
Monday, February 4, 2008
How to look like a jackass in front of Rabo mechanics...
The Rabobank mechanics for Lars Boom stayed at our hotel. His camper was there and everything. Well, everything except Lars. At breakfast Sunday morning, there was a little small talk.
I asked "so will it be Sven Nys or Lars Boom?"
Very puzzled look from Mr. Rabo. "Huh?"
"To win today, Sven Nys or Lars Boom?"
"I don't understand what svennees is"
"Sven or Lars?"
"Oh! You meant to say 'Nys'"
Lesson learned. It's Nys as in nīs, not nēs. Get it right, jackass.
I asked "so will it be Sven Nys or Lars Boom?"
Very puzzled look from Mr. Rabo. "Huh?"
"To win today, Sven Nys or Lars Boom?"
"I don't understand what svennees is"
"Sven or Lars?"
"Oh! You meant to say 'Nys'"
Lesson learned. It's Nys as in nīs, not nēs. Get it right, jackass.
The Belgians love the Belgians. The Italians love everyone. Except maybe...
Belgian goes by...everyone cheers
JP goes by...everyone cheers
Italian goes by...most everyone cheers, but the Italians make up for those who aren't by cheering really freakin' loud and going bonkers
Last placed rider from Norway goes by...I cheer with the Italians and the Belgians look at me funny
Next lap Parbo goes by...I cheer and even the Italians look at me funny
One guy looks at me and points at Parbo.
"Hairy legs."
No respect.
JP goes by...everyone cheers
Italian goes by...most everyone cheers, but the Italians make up for those who aren't by cheering really freakin' loud and going bonkers
Last placed rider from Norway goes by...I cheer with the Italians and the Belgians look at me funny
Next lap Parbo goes by...I cheer and even the Italians look at me funny
One guy looks at me and points at Parbo.
"Hairy legs."
No respect.
Mandatory...
If you like cyclo-cross, you owe it to yourself to go to Worlds at least once in your life.
If you love cyclo-cross, you must go to Worlds as soon as possible.
If you love cyclo-cross, you must go to Worlds as soon as possible.
Water? Nah...
Trattoria Owner: Posso offrirle qualcosa?
Me: Il Vino rosso della casa, per favore.
TO: Aqua?
M: No, grazie.
TO: [in English] Water is for washing in the morning anyway.
Me: Il Vino rosso della casa, per favore.
TO: Aqua?
M: No, grazie.
TO: [in English] Water is for washing in the morning anyway.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
TK rules
So what's on my mind 8 days prior to our departure for Treviso? My pal TK sent me this and it sums it up just about perfectly.
GO USA!!!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Simple setup tricks
After assembling hundreds of bikes over the years, I have refined my approach to how a bike should be cabled. I have two goals when running cables on a bike.
1. Create the cleaniest, most efficient route with very easy loops rather than harsh bends.
2. Keep the housing off the paint.
First, cut the front sections of housing so that there is one arc around the head tube. A lot of riders will try to have the rear derailleur housing on the right side of the head tube. All this does is force the housing onto the head tube and the paint. And it creates another bend in the housing. A SRAM setup will look the same as the Campy setup below. A Shimano setup will have even easier bends coming from the STI levers.
The rear brake enters the left slot, the rear derailleur enters the middle slot and the front derailleur enters the right slot. Then, cross the derailleur cables. This allows the rear derailleur cable to exit from the right slot. On bikes with down tube routing (this includes road bikes of course), the derailleur cables will cross under the down tube. On some frames, the layout of the braze-ons will not allow this. In that case, you will have to run your cables the more common way.
Create your housing loops at the seat cluster such that the housing rest on the seatpost rather than the paint on the frame. And better yet, you may put a wrap of tape on your post for the correct saddle height and then have the housing rest against the tape. Nothing gets rubbed by the housing except the tape. Also remember to run the housing in such a way that you can get to your seat post binder bolt.
And that's it! You are left with very tidy housing runs and none of the housings are touching your frame.
1. Create the cleaniest, most efficient route with very easy loops rather than harsh bends.
2. Keep the housing off the paint.
First, cut the front sections of housing so that there is one arc around the head tube. A lot of riders will try to have the rear derailleur housing on the right side of the head tube. All this does is force the housing onto the head tube and the paint. And it creates another bend in the housing. A SRAM setup will look the same as the Campy setup below. A Shimano setup will have even easier bends coming from the STI levers.
The rear brake enters the left slot, the rear derailleur enters the middle slot and the front derailleur enters the right slot. Then, cross the derailleur cables. This allows the rear derailleur cable to exit from the right slot. On bikes with down tube routing (this includes road bikes of course), the derailleur cables will cross under the down tube. On some frames, the layout of the braze-ons will not allow this. In that case, you will have to run your cables the more common way.
Create your housing loops at the seat cluster such that the housing rest on the seatpost rather than the paint on the frame. And better yet, you may put a wrap of tape on your post for the correct saddle height and then have the housing rest against the tape. Nothing gets rubbed by the housing except the tape. Also remember to run the housing in such a way that you can get to your seat post binder bolt.
And that's it! You are left with very tidy housing runs and none of the housings are touching your frame.Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tim's new kit...
Courtesy of singlestoph over on the WW board. This was the Swiss cat 1 race where he finished 8th. Interesting race venue. Imagine racing on a runway in an airfield? Reminds me of Jalabert's win on the runway in Mende at the 95 Tour .
The slowest month of the year...
Look. I don't complain much. But the boredom is driving me to do this.....
Father time slammed on the brakes. Doesn't January feel like slow motion?
Time began hitting warp speed in August (August!) this season. The anticipation of the weekend cross races made the weeks fly by. The day job was tolerable, for there were great times that lie ahead on Saturday and Sunday. Trips were planned. Friends peppered each other with texts and emails. Things were good.
Cross season ended, but the Christmas season began. Parties, road trips, and plenty of other fun to keep one's mind occupied.
Then, my least favorite day of the year. January 1. The cross season is over. The Christmas season is over. The work season has arrived. It warps space-time worse than a super-massive black hole. And sucks the fun out of the room in a similar fashion.
This blast of nice weather has certainly helped. But can someone please hit the fast forward button? We leave for Treviso on the 24th. It feels like months from now. Thank God our vacation will carve out a week's worth of the slowest month of the year. Just get me through to February.
On a happier note, JP is starting to kill it over in the Motherland. A fine 5th place yesterday ahead of some top runners. And it looks like Tim and Jeremy are finding their legs too. I have to say I am not a big fan of Tim's new National Champion kit. Please just give me the traditional stars and bars in the appropriate colors. I don't think trying to incorporate the national colors into the existing team kit ever looks good. But what do I know. Here's what I know. The last good National Champ kit I can remember was Freddy's Domo kit. Proper.
I'm off to take some freakin' happy pills.
Father time slammed on the brakes. Doesn't January feel like slow motion?
Time began hitting warp speed in August (August!) this season. The anticipation of the weekend cross races made the weeks fly by. The day job was tolerable, for there were great times that lie ahead on Saturday and Sunday. Trips were planned. Friends peppered each other with texts and emails. Things were good.
Cross season ended, but the Christmas season began. Parties, road trips, and plenty of other fun to keep one's mind occupied.
Then, my least favorite day of the year. January 1. The cross season is over. The Christmas season is over. The work season has arrived. It warps space-time worse than a super-massive black hole. And sucks the fun out of the room in a similar fashion.
This blast of nice weather has certainly helped. But can someone please hit the fast forward button? We leave for Treviso on the 24th. It feels like months from now. Thank God our vacation will carve out a week's worth of the slowest month of the year. Just get me through to February.
On a happier note, JP is starting to kill it over in the Motherland. A fine 5th place yesterday ahead of some top runners. And it looks like Tim and Jeremy are finding their legs too. I have to say I am not a big fan of Tim's new National Champion kit. Please just give me the traditional stars and bars in the appropriate colors. I don't think trying to incorporate the national colors into the existing team kit ever looks good. But what do I know. Here's what I know. The last good National Champ kit I can remember was Freddy's Domo kit. Proper.
I'm off to take some freakin' happy pills.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
What's worse than golf?
Being put into a foursome who you don't know and having to pretend like you care. Yup, I'm being pissy about it. I hate golf. It bores the living hell out of me. Throw in a little forced small talk with other sales people I don't know and I am in my own freakin' purgatory.
Maybe I need one of these. The golf sucks survival kit.
Maybe I need one of these. The golf sucks survival kit.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
It's a new year...
Last year was a good year. Lots of great fun. I reflect back and try to figure out ways that I could have had more fun and then set goals based on that. If I was going faster, would that have made the races more fun? Good question. Probably not. How much fun I had at the races this season (and every year in the past) depended largely on the gang of people at the races. I guess that is why I have had more fun at cross races than mountain bike races over the past 5 or 6 years in general. I don't know many people at the mountain bike races anymore. In the early to mid 90's, there was a large group of us from Berkshire County that went to every mtb race. When I was at UMass in the late 90's, a bunch of us from the team went to all of the Pedros races together. We had a blast and it was very much like how the cross scene is today. A lot of those folks don't race anymore. Some don't even ride. Now when I go to a mtb race, I typically go, race, and leave. Hopefully I get to see Kerry, Karen and Jeff, CTodd, Colin R, Rosey, PVB, Milliman, Doug, Sean C, the Oakes family, Johny J and Donna and a few other very friendly folks. But the vibe is just different. So one goal for 2008 is to get to know more of my fellow mtb racers better.
The cross community is just unreal. And I was very privileged to get to know quite a few people much better this year. By the end of the season, our gang of hell raisers and crazy super fans grew to ridiculous proportions. I can only hope the races in WI, MN and IL are similar. Going to the races can't be just about the race itself, can it?
OK, so maybe I lied above. Yeah, it would have been cool if I was faster towards the end of the season and could have hung with Kenny, Rosey , Colin, Cort, Ronnie, Christian and Chris B. They got faster as the year went by. Surely, racing tête-à-tête against your buddies is much more fun than racing some dude you don't know. So yes, I want to get faster.
I know, I know. I'm not going to be racing in New England during the 2008 cross season. I will be racing a bunch of people I don't know, so what does it matter anyway? Well, I still want to get faster. My buddies will get faster this year and I don't want to be way off the back when I get to race them in 2009. Achieving these goals ought to help make that happen.
Goals
1. Get down from 71 kg to 65 kg (there is plenty there to lose)
2. Increase my FTP from 240 watts to 260 watts
3. Increase my 1 min power from 535 watts to 575 watts
4. Increase my 5 min power from 350 watts to 375 watts
5. Increase my 20 second power from 840 watts to 900 watts.
For cross, I think the shorter duration max power numbers are more meaningful than 60 minute FTP. It's not a 40 km time trial. There isn't much steady effort happeneing in a cross race. It's all about hard accelerations followed by 1-3 minute periods of riding over threshold, rest in a corner and repeat. So that is what I am going to focus on. During the spring and early summer, I will focus more on FTP and threshold for the longer mtb races. But I have no use or need to go out and do 4-5 hour L2 rides. Frankly, I don't have time for it and I don't really see how it will help me get faster. I won't be racing at 175 watts. Why the hell do I need to go out and do 175 watts for 5 freakin' hours then?
I don't know if the power goals are attainable, but I think an improvement of 7-9% seems reasonable. I really just started training again in July after quite a few years of just riding (and not riding). So a good step up should be within reach. I think the weight goal is attainable though. I was still pretty chunky at 156#. And looking back in my logs from college, I was down around 145# when I was riding well.
I didn't put any race results in my goals because there are too many variables that go into the outcome of a race. But I would like to win a Sport mountain bike race and earn my Expert upgrade. And I would like to win a cat 3 cross race in WI and earn my cat 2 upgrade. I would like to make it back east for Gloucester. I would also like to make it to KY for the GP and Kansas City for Natz. OK, one stretch race goal would be a top 15 finish at New Belgium Worlds.
So that's it. The main goal this year is the same as every other year. To have fun with the gang, make new friends and hopefully bump into a friend from the past. I don't get paid to ride my bike. I'm not going to act like I do. There's nothing to get stressed out about. After all, we're adults riding bicycles. Why the hell would you want to turn that into work?
The cross community is just unreal. And I was very privileged to get to know quite a few people much better this year. By the end of the season, our gang of hell raisers and crazy super fans grew to ridiculous proportions. I can only hope the races in WI, MN and IL are similar. Going to the races can't be just about the race itself, can it?
OK, so maybe I lied above. Yeah, it would have been cool if I was faster towards the end of the season and could have hung with Kenny, Rosey , Colin, Cort, Ronnie, Christian and Chris B. They got faster as the year went by. Surely, racing tête-à-tête against your buddies is much more fun than racing some dude you don't know. So yes, I want to get faster.
I know, I know. I'm not going to be racing in New England during the 2008 cross season. I will be racing a bunch of people I don't know, so what does it matter anyway? Well, I still want to get faster. My buddies will get faster this year and I don't want to be way off the back when I get to race them in 2009. Achieving these goals ought to help make that happen.
Goals
1. Get down from 71 kg to 65 kg (there is plenty there to lose)
2. Increase my FTP from 240 watts to 260 watts
3. Increase my 1 min power from 535 watts to 575 watts
4. Increase my 5 min power from 350 watts to 375 watts
5. Increase my 20 second power from 840 watts to 900 watts.
For cross, I think the shorter duration max power numbers are more meaningful than 60 minute FTP. It's not a 40 km time trial. There isn't much steady effort happeneing in a cross race. It's all about hard accelerations followed by 1-3 minute periods of riding over threshold, rest in a corner and repeat. So that is what I am going to focus on. During the spring and early summer, I will focus more on FTP and threshold for the longer mtb races. But I have no use or need to go out and do 4-5 hour L2 rides. Frankly, I don't have time for it and I don't really see how it will help me get faster. I won't be racing at 175 watts. Why the hell do I need to go out and do 175 watts for 5 freakin' hours then?
I don't know if the power goals are attainable, but I think an improvement of 7-9% seems reasonable. I really just started training again in July after quite a few years of just riding (and not riding). So a good step up should be within reach. I think the weight goal is attainable though. I was still pretty chunky at 156#. And looking back in my logs from college, I was down around 145# when I was riding well.
I didn't put any race results in my goals because there are too many variables that go into the outcome of a race. But I would like to win a Sport mountain bike race and earn my Expert upgrade. And I would like to win a cat 3 cross race in WI and earn my cat 2 upgrade. I would like to make it back east for Gloucester. I would also like to make it to KY for the GP and Kansas City for Natz. OK, one stretch race goal would be a top 15 finish at New Belgium Worlds.
So that's it. The main goal this year is the same as every other year. To have fun with the gang, make new friends and hopefully bump into a friend from the past. I don't get paid to ride my bike. I'm not going to act like I do. There's nothing to get stressed out about. After all, we're adults riding bicycles. Why the hell would you want to turn that into work?
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Cheers!
Here's to a great season. We will miss you all next year. But we will be back to good ol' New Belgium for 2009. In the meantime, if you find yourself in Cheddar Country after August 1st, look us up!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Catching up
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. I am behind in everything. Work, bikes, riding, the house, etc.
A quick recap of Sterling and Palmer before the PDX report.
Sterling
I got my head on right for this race. I started hard, rode in the top 10/15 for the first few laps and faded as my lack of riding and lack of fitness caught up with me. But it gave me great hope for next year. It was fun going that fast for 20 minutes or so. I did what I could to hang on for a top 30, and 29th is where I landed.
Palmer
Super fun course, as it always was all those years in the past. A few of us racked our brains trying to remember the last race there. I was pretty tired from the day before and started pretty conservatively. I got into a groove and started going by a few people. On the last run up I just tagged onto the back wheel of the guy who won the 4 race the day before in Sterling. I gave him a little run for his money but he had some good tactics to keep me behind him at the line. I didn't feel like going straight into the cone at the line, so I backed off. No need to get hurt over 6th place. 7th was fine with me.
I am working on some photos from PDX. All I can say is it was fun, muddy, and well worth the trip out. Portland is an amazing cycling city. Some of the things they have done there to incorporate cycling and bicycles into the daily culture simply blew me away. New Holland? Yeah, I'll take some shit for that one, I'm sure of that.
Preview pictures from last Sundays course after it rained a few inches the night before.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I'm ready
Warning. Sappy ramblings ahead. Mostly for me as therapy.
Lot's of thought over the past couple of days. Hey, I know I'm not making my living at this. But I have always been a competitive person. Primarily competitive with myself.
A timeline
First three races of season
No expectations. Rode as hard as I possibly could. Left it all out on the course. Didn't care if I crashed. Didn't care if I blew apart. Things were good.
Gloucester
Quote from yours truly - "Everything from here is icing on the cake"
What a dumb thing to think or say 5 weeks into the season. I was basically setting myself up for accepting lower results.
Middle of season
Complacency began to set in. I started having expectations. High expectations for 3/4 races and low expectations for 2/3 races. Began looking around more than forward in the races. Became conservative in the first laps. Interestingly, Southington stands out as a race I dug really deep in. I rode as hard as I could for the full 60 minutes. It was a 1/2/3 race. I had no expectations. Just gave it my all. See a pattern developing here?
Trenton
What a learning experience. For the first 5 minutes of each race, I didn't want to risk anything. If someone wanted the line and was prepared to push me for it, I backed off. After there was some sorting out, I started riding and running hard. Hard enough that the top 20 was in reach both days after coming from the mid 40s. The legs were good, but I didn't give them a remote chance of showing it.
Conclusion
So what does all of this mean? What the hell are you getting at zank?
Occam's Razor approach. Take out as many variables as possible. I think it boils down to this.
Good legs + Good mind = Good results
Good legs + Bad mind = Less than Good results
Big surprise, right? Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But it's tought to figure out what's going on at the time.
I'm ready to have some fun again this weekend. A couple of days ago, I thought I peaked at Amesbury. The truth is I think my legs are better now than they were then. My brain just needed a taper. Insert cone head joke here_________________
Happy Thanksgiving to all! And to all a good night.
Lot's of thought over the past couple of days. Hey, I know I'm not making my living at this. But I have always been a competitive person. Primarily competitive with myself.
A timeline
First three races of season
No expectations. Rode as hard as I possibly could. Left it all out on the course. Didn't care if I crashed. Didn't care if I blew apart. Things were good.
Gloucester
Quote from yours truly - "Everything from here is icing on the cake"
What a dumb thing to think or say 5 weeks into the season. I was basically setting myself up for accepting lower results.
Middle of season
Complacency began to set in. I started having expectations. High expectations for 3/4 races and low expectations for 2/3 races. Began looking around more than forward in the races. Became conservative in the first laps. Interestingly, Southington stands out as a race I dug really deep in. I rode as hard as I could for the full 60 minutes. It was a 1/2/3 race. I had no expectations. Just gave it my all. See a pattern developing here?
Trenton
What a learning experience. For the first 5 minutes of each race, I didn't want to risk anything. If someone wanted the line and was prepared to push me for it, I backed off. After there was some sorting out, I started riding and running hard. Hard enough that the top 20 was in reach both days after coming from the mid 40s. The legs were good, but I didn't give them a remote chance of showing it.
Conclusion
So what does all of this mean? What the hell are you getting at zank?
Occam's Razor approach. Take out as many variables as possible. I think it boils down to this.
Good legs + Good mind = Good results
Good legs + Bad mind = Less than Good results
Big surprise, right? Sure, hindsight is 20/20. But it's tought to figure out what's going on at the time.
I'm ready to have some fun again this weekend. A couple of days ago, I thought I peaked at Amesbury. The truth is I think my legs are better now than they were then. My brain just needed a taper. Insert cone head joke here_________________
Happy Thanksgiving to all! And to all a good night.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The legs are there. Same can't be said for the head.
The racing at the USGP in Trenton, NJ was an absolute blast. Lived with Matt, Kenny and Kerry for the two nights. Hung tight with Josh, Sarah, Chris, Brant, Ryan, PVB, Cary, Jeremy and all of the other New Englanders who traveled down. Finally got to do a race that had some slippery mud on the surface. Actually got two really good numbers in the random sort (25 and 36 on the grid Saturday and Sunday, respectively). But, I'm falling back into my old routine. Passive manners have never won a bike race. I am getting spooked by the starts again. Today was silly. Going into the sandpit (about 7 minutes into the lap) on the first lap, someone yelled 46 to me. 46. WTF? How did I get there? Simply put, I let people by. I don't know where my head was at, but it wasn't in Mercer park. The 46 woke me up. By the end of the second lap, I had moved up to 23rd and was closing fast on the top 20. And then I started falling down. I crashed three time on the 3rd lap. I lost a few spots, but hung onto 27th. Why didn't I ride harder at the start? Beats the hell out of me. Yesterday was a similar story. After a very passive start, I was 38th going into the 2nd lap. By lap 6, I moved up to 20th, was with my teammate Josh and felt really good for the final lap. But I sucked my chain up coming out of the sandpit with half a lap to go and lost 8 places. 30 seconds was 8 places. That's racing folks.
Don't get me wrong. I had a blast. Those MAC guys are swell in my book. A few quirky things happened in the races that don't typically happen up here. But they are great hosts and a lot of fun to hang out with. And the course goes down in the top 5 of my favorite course of all time. One particular Devens course and the old UMass course are my favorite courses that are now defunct. And Warwick, RI is my favorite course that is still an active race. But this one was a lot of fun. Some hard false flats, lots of cool off-camber corners, an 80 meter sand pit, a cool fly-over. All good stuff.
Anyone know a good shrink?
See you at Sterling. Maybe Tom Turkey will have some advice for me.
Don't get me wrong. I had a blast. Those MAC guys are swell in my book. A few quirky things happened in the races that don't typically happen up here. But they are great hosts and a lot of fun to hang out with. And the course goes down in the top 5 of my favorite course of all time. One particular Devens course and the old UMass course are my favorite courses that are now defunct. And Warwick, RI is my favorite course that is still an active race. But this one was a lot of fun. Some hard false flats, lots of cool off-camber corners, an 80 meter sand pit, a cool fly-over. All good stuff.
Anyone know a good shrink?
See you at Sterling. Maybe Tom Turkey will have some advice for me.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Quick report
More later. I am running out the door for NH and ME travels this week. Quick thoughts.
Two awesome races. Finally some biting cold temps. Some sweet slick-as-snot mud at Putney.
The Hup women are riding out of their minds.
Jimbo, Matisonic and Jay looked awesome flying the Hup flag for the men.
Great to see Bob T getting some great results again after his battle with Lyme.
GeWilli makes fantastic cookies.
The Waterboy and his son Sean get stronger every freakin' week.
Brant had a storming ride at Putney.
Cort is now making quick work of the Bs. That didn't take long. Sandbagger :-)
I have to re-glue Josh's other wheel for him. There must have been a glue shortage in ME when these were originally done.
Don't underestimate an expert mtb racer's tactics in a 4-up sprint.
Don't make a tactical blunder going into a 4-up sprint and expect anything better than 4th in said sprint.
Chris B has a big motor.
Two awesome races. Finally some biting cold temps. Some sweet slick-as-snot mud at Putney.
The Hup women are riding out of their minds.
Jimbo, Matisonic and Jay looked awesome flying the Hup flag for the men.
Great to see Bob T getting some great results again after his battle with Lyme.
GeWilli makes fantastic cookies.
The Waterboy and his son Sean get stronger every freakin' week.
Brant had a storming ride at Putney.
Cort is now making quick work of the Bs. That didn't take long. Sandbagger :-)
I have to re-glue Josh's other wheel for him. There must have been a glue shortage in ME when these were originally done.
Don't underestimate an expert mtb racer's tactics in a 4-up sprint.
Don't make a tactical blunder going into a 4-up sprint and expect anything better than 4th in said sprint.
Chris B has a big motor.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Socially Challenged
OK, two things I have witnessed in my work travels this week. Both guarenteed to make your life as someone trying to sell something harder. Sales 101 here people. Don't do either of these things if you want to keep the attention of your customer for more than 5 seconds.
1. When you are sitting in a room with a customer, please turn your freakin' cell phone off. Yes...OFF. Not vibrate. Do you really think that having the damn thing bounce up and down on the table in vibrate mode is any less annoying than having the ringer go off? And beyond that, if you are dumb enough to keep it in vibrate mode, don't just stare at it when it goes off. Freakin' push the button to ignore the call or email. For crying out loud. What message are you trying to send to the customer? Because they are certainly thinking to themselves "wow, she must have some other stuff going on that is way more important than me."
2. Take the dumb bluetooth thing out of your ear when you walk into a meeting. Nothing says "I'm waiting for someone more important to talk to to call me" more than leaving that ridiculous thing in your ear. Not to mention that you look simply foolish with that blue thing flashing every 5 seconds.
Now, both items can be translated to real life. I have been known to be a prick, but only when you are violating a rule of common sense and being socially inept. Don't start a conversation with me with one of those damn bluetooth things in your ear. I will (and have) ask you (tell you) to take it out. Or if you're constantly checking your phone while we are mid-conversation because I'm not important enough to talk to with your full attention, don't be surprised if I walk away.
Honestly, what happened to common courtesy? Give people your full and undivided attention when you are with them. And if you don't, don't be surprised when they tell you to flip off and walk away. You may think the other person is the a-hole, but you are the one who is socially challenged.
1. When you are sitting in a room with a customer, please turn your freakin' cell phone off. Yes...OFF. Not vibrate. Do you really think that having the damn thing bounce up and down on the table in vibrate mode is any less annoying than having the ringer go off? And beyond that, if you are dumb enough to keep it in vibrate mode, don't just stare at it when it goes off. Freakin' push the button to ignore the call or email. For crying out loud. What message are you trying to send to the customer? Because they are certainly thinking to themselves "wow, she must have some other stuff going on that is way more important than me."
2. Take the dumb bluetooth thing out of your ear when you walk into a meeting. Nothing says "I'm waiting for someone more important to talk to to call me" more than leaving that ridiculous thing in your ear. Not to mention that you look simply foolish with that blue thing flashing every 5 seconds.
Now, both items can be translated to real life. I have been known to be a prick, but only when you are violating a rule of common sense and being socially inept. Don't start a conversation with me with one of those damn bluetooth things in your ear. I will (and have) ask you (tell you) to take it out. Or if you're constantly checking your phone while we are mid-conversation because I'm not important enough to talk to with your full attention, don't be surprised if I walk away.
Honestly, what happened to common courtesy? Give people your full and undivided attention when you are with them. And if you don't, don't be surprised when they tell you to flip off and walk away. You may think the other person is the a-hole, but you are the one who is socially challenged.
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