DJ Sunshine & His Powersticks

Madtown

2010-05-07T21:20:00.002-05:00

Im in madtown...woo...i dont have energy to write funny blogs anymore

It was cold and no one did well....fat people did better than they should have on a tough course because they had more insulation...spose I shoulda raced, I wouldve been able to stay warm...probably couldve got 54th

Oscar the cat...yay!

2009-10-11T18:51:00.002-05:00

there are only a few individuals that will enjoy this, so all 3 people that follow this you probably dont need to watch this video...unless you like seeing cats swat at mouse toys

Yay Mountain Biking!!

2009-09-16T08:57:00.006-05:00

Tiny Tim Big City...this time for more than a day

2009-09-09T09:11:00.002-05:00

I rode through a few cornfields today, I felt a bit nostalgic and at home. I then quickly found myself amongst subdivisions, golf courses, and cars again. Welcome to Rochester, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit located in the richest county in Michigan, Oakland County. It's not too bad here. It doesn't look like a big city. There's a lot of green space, pretty roads, and heck, I even live of a small dirt/gravel/pine tar road. Don't let that fool you, it only looks not like a big city. There is still a bunch of traffic, everything is expensive as hell, and there is absolutely no place to ride a road bike. Lame. I hooked up with the Oakland University Cycling Club and have gone a ride with them, but there are two of them and the roads that they took me on are pretty busy. They would be roads I would've been extremely hesitant to ride on anywhere else, but they seem to be pretty normal roads for here. Perhaps I'll just have to get used to it.

I have managed to get on the velodrome that is only 3 miles from my place. I even raced for the first time on the track last weekend. It was pretty sweet. I did okay in the overall for the night, and managed to get 2nd in a points race and the miss and out. I had a lot of fun, but unfortunately now that classes have started I can only get there one night a week when they are doing their "elite" training. Every night I don't have class it is either kids night or new rider night - not a good night to go rip around and get a workout in.

There are a lot of MTB trails nearby and some crushed limestone doubletrack/old railroad trails. The trails are pretty confusing and more technical than what I am used to. Some of the decents are pretty steep and tricky...and I don't quite have those skills yet. Last time I was there I flew over handlebars a few times, got some poison ivy - it was awesome. I think I am going to head over there this afternoon and get lost for a few hours, maybe I'll learn the trails then.

This sounds all whine whine whine whine, mainly because it is. I'm going to head back to Iowa all fat and out of shape since the riding here blows. Or I'll become a baller MTB racer since that's all I'll be doing all the time. Or maybe I'll become a baller track rider. Or maybe, I'll just suck it up and go ride on the road. Or maybe, I'll go buy some cheese to go with my wine.

Oh yeah, I finished off the season with one last crit on Labor Day over in Auburn Hills, about 4 miles from my place. It was a pretty big race, almost 100 people took the line and the payout was about $3500. I was pleased with how I did, especially considering my amount of consistent race training. I was able to race the race, and not just hang on for dear life at the back. Throughout the race I was in about five or six groups that got gaps on the field, each time with about 10-12 other riders. When the group would get pulled in, I'd head to the back and recover, and then try it all again. I blew up after my last attempt with about 10 minutes to go in the race (it was a 90 minute race). I tried, almost had some things go my way, but ultimately, things did not go my way and I was chewed up and spit back out by the pack. That was my season in a nut shell, and how appropriate that is how I ended it. It was a good confidence boost, though, to end the season as an animator, not pack meat.

Bring on the off season. Time for some fun riding, lack of intervals, beer, some fishing, and perhaps some school. Rode to Lake Michigan with Terry, Jenn, Kiefer, and the ND cycling crew over the weekend. Stopped at a Sweedish bakery (it was awesome) and I rode into (and out of) the bathroom at the lake shore park and used the facilities without ever getting off my bike...yeah, Im a baller.

Epiphany

2009-07-24T07:02:00.003-05:00

so i realized i really only blog when i have nothing better to do....like homework

The possession of water dwelling rodents...within city limts...for recreational..that aint legal either

2009-06-19T10:42:00.004-05:00

So, I figured I should throw down on the blog because I am sitting here in Jenn and Mikes apartment killing some time before the races in Waterloo (where the Trek factory is located) start up. I took the day off of work to come up here and race and see Jenn, but unfortunately she had to work this morning so I have been up ever since waiting for live coverage of the Tour de Swiss to start up...it finally has, and now I am no longer bored. ..yay.

Anyway, I didnt post results from the last races I did about 3 weeks ago. I threw down 17th and 9th place finishes in some local crits here in Wisconsin (the Chiropractic Crit and the Sussex Crit). I managed to make the move both days, which was exciting. I also managed to hang with the move for a while both days, but then I also managed to get dropped from the move both days. Saturday I got dropped with about 20 minutes left and was then gobbled up by what was remaining of the field (about 40 started each race). I hung out there until the finish and came in an unexciting 17th. Sunday was better as I got dropped from a loaded break with 10 minutes left in the race. The break had some of the guy that animated the Memorial Day Weekend races and some other guys that routinely take me behind the woodshed and brutally beat me during the collegiate season...I was pretty happy just to be there and then hold off the pack to place in the money. That $30 made my weekend....Jenn did really well that weekend, too...in fact, way better than me (I have a strong feeling that she is pretty much always going to do better than me from here on out..perhaps even become too good to hang out with the likes me me). She won her first race ever by lapping the field solo Saturday and then she took 3rd Sunday in the field sprint. Shes pretty much a huge badass now, way more badass than I can aspire to be. I suppose I need to start taking tips from her...

Now, I am here in Wisconsin again for the Tour of Americas Dairyland. I am almost thinking it was a $200 donation to Wisconsin racing...but I should really just look at it as an investment of form and race experience. While it would've been nice to stay in Iowa and have a chance to do well, I am here in Wisco to take a beating. My goal is to just finish all the races, if I do that I'll be happy. Of course, I'll give her the 'ole college try and take my chances when I get in a position to do so. Hopefully these won't be as hard as I am making them out to be in my mind, but the amount of quality riders here should set things up for some fast, hard racing. Racing at these speeds can only help me out in the future; either to make other races seem just plain easy, or so that I can get to the point where I can be in the position to win a races like these.

The end of the blog post is here and I have realized that it is pretty much devoid of any sort of humor, which is really kind of lame. I could quote the big lebowski, but I already did that in the title for no reason. I could just point out that I feel really worldly as I have been watching cycling online in just about any language aside from english and have been watching ultimate fighting in spanish....soon enough Ill be able to understand what the hell theyre saying

Sometimes you eat the bar...

2009-05-25T22:44:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar, well, it eats you...

Is that some sort of eastern thing? (Far from it, Dude...)

Anyway, memorial day weekend has come and gone. I was looking forward to it as it is a big weekend of racing (duh). I "raced" all four days, but would say that I really only raced two of the days, and at that, I was really only a factor in one of the days. My typical bad luck carried into the weekend with a flat tire Friday during a little stint off the front. There was a group of 6 or 7 up the road already and the race was just chillaxin, cruising a long at whatever speed. We didn't have anyone up the road and since I was kind of bored, Sean and I decided that I could spice things up a bit. Being a way down on the GC, way behind the other group, and rather large, they figured I wasn't threatening and let me go. I had a decent gap on the field, at least 30 seconds, perhaps some more, and was pretty stoked to be off on my 40 mile solo journey to the finish line (that is if it stuck). At that instant, though, I started to feel the rim of my rear wheel. I just hit the brakes, stood on the side of the road with my hand in the air, and waited for a wheel change. I got it, but was unable to chase back on as I think someone moved to the front and started to reel in the original break after I was chewed up and spit out the back. I rode back in the with the 3/4 field until some ref told me I couldnt after another told me I could. Lame. At least when I flatted, the first 10 people of the field gave me the old groan and that sucks expressions. That made me feel kind of good, they wouldnt have done that had they thought I were a tool...

Snake Alley - it was a short experience, only 8 of 20 laps, which was kind of lame. I just had a bad starting spot and wasnt aggressive enough in moving up. Oh well, it was still fun.

Mellon City - made it about halfway through the race. I just didn't move up enough during the race and yo-yoed off the back for a while until I popped. I guess Im too fat to go up hills?

Rock Island - I actually hung with the race, which I was pretty stoked about. I mean, it was flat so there wasn't really anything to break it up, but it was a fast race. I had worked my way up to maybe the front third once, but then I got caught behind a crash early which put me back at the end. I stayed in the back third of the pack for the rest of the race despite efforts to move up. With a few to go Bryan and I got caught behind a crash on the backside of the course. I kind of sort of went down. I was forced off my bike and my bike got tangled in someone elses bike, but I didnt hit the pavement with anything except my feet. The chainring took a chunk out of my ankle, though, and now I dont know if my PBR socks will ever be white again.

So, in short it was a challenging weekend, but thats alright. Id rather be "racing" in the 1/2 field than animating and winning the 3 race - I want to be the best, so I might as well race with the best. I hated doing well in a 3 race just knowning that I really wasnt the best, that there was someone up the ladder there that had they been in the same race they wouldve shelled me. Now, if I ever win, I can know that infact I was the fastest guy there that day. I've got a ways to go until that happens, but this weekend was a nice eye opener and it just makes me motivated to ride more and harder. Anyway, here's a quote from Bode Miller that I kind of like (thanks R2G)

"When the challenge gets bigger, I just want to ramp it up more. My only worry is that at some point Im just going to die, but Im not that worried about that because, that will be it, and up until then I usually charge pretty hard, and it doesnt seem to get any less fun the harder you push"

Double Flat

2009-05-08T22:23:00.002-05:00

So, getting 2 flats simultaneously at mile 20 of a 110 mile road race sucks. What sucks almost as much is chasing for 4.5 hours and riding 110 miles in a little under 5.5 hours pretty much by yourself only to miss the time cut by a few minutes...

on top of that, my corkscrew broke as I was trying to open my bottle of cheap wine

Perhaps I am going to get hit by a car tomorrow?

bummer man, at least andrew is still in it

H1N1 Flu

2009-04-30T11:20:00.002-05:00

I am pretty sure the whole H1N1 flu thing has only caught on in Iowa as it was Tom Vilsack that wanted everyone to start calling it something other than the swine flu because then people think something is wrong with all the pork in the stores. Anyway, there was a case of H1N1 flu reported here at Notre Dame and I have since contracted it and became the second US death. Yeah, I'm writing to you from beyond the grave and the only reason I am not resting in peace is because I need to spread the word on how dangerous the H1N1 flu is. I didn't get as much press because I wasnt the first (which is crap), but I guess thats how news works. Oh well.

Really, though, I wish this whole swine flu thing would die down. Its just the flu. It poses the same dangers as the flu I managed not to get this winter (and instead, I succumbed to the swine flu...yay). The H1N1 flu thing is getting as hold as the whole ND inviting Obama to speak at graduation. I understand everyone's arguments and where people have their panties in a bunch. Good, academic discussion about it is good - nay, it is welcomed - but when I have crazy activists moving from the vatican to South Bend just so they can hire a biplane to fly around campus with a pro-life banner 5 hours a day and parade around campus with baby strollers with cabbage patch kids doused in ketchup....really? Please, let's move on...the only way you are going to get it changed is by talking to the administration, not by hauling fake dead babies around campus.

Anyway, enough ranting. Here's what I put on the B2U/WOB blog about the Winona Race...

"Yesterday I threw down in a local 65 mile RR so that I could represent the B2U/WOB shops here in Indiana. After the performance I am positive people will be making the trip to Iowa to patronize the shops. Anyway, the field of about 40 guys had some good teams in it - Texas Road House, Alderfer Bergen (the team is stacked with a lot of dudes from my collegiate conference and Indiana University...IU has a wealth of fast dudes), and some guys from the Bissel club team. The field also had some solo guys that had been hauling me around the midwest during the collegiate season. I didn't have high hopes going in, being that I was flying solo, but a guy can't win if he doesn't try.

To spare everyone the gory details, a break went from the field early in the race, and then halfway through the race a chase group, including me, took off from the field. The chase of 10 was powered by the Bissel and Road House teams. We (and by we, I mean them) shut the gap down from 2 minutes to about 30 seconds, and then the cat and mousing/fireworks started to happen. Bissel and Road House ended up getting guys up the road, along with a few crazy strong guys from other teams. That left me to chase the last 5 miles with 6 guys on my wheel. No one would work with me since they had teammates up the road or were "too tired", and I didn't want to sit up as it would let a lot of guys get back into the race, potentially pushing me out of the money. So, I put the hammer down and hauled into the finish. Somehow (perhaps by the grace of all performance enhancing drugs I've been injecting?) I rode 5 of the guys off my wheel before the finished. That left one Road House guy on my wheel that routinely houses me at collegiate races. I opened up my sprint late since it seemed he wasn't going to come around until I went. The powersticks almost came through, as I was edged out by only half a wheel (when I was expecting to get absolutely wasted) for 8th place.

All things considered, I'll take an 8th place. It felt really good, especially riding everyone off my wheel the last five miles. It made me feel like I was good or something. Next up Joe Martin...woo hoo!"

PS I really didnt die from the H1N1 flu.....

Last tale of pain, ciff notes style, and some other stuff

2009-04-23T09:12:00.003-05:00

See this? This is me dishing out the pain on "the snake." Mike Moritz was kind enough to catch me ripping up the hill (I mean, its kind of hard to miss me, Im huge and obeeeeese). Seeing good 'ole Bryan in the picture means that I must've worked my way up to the front, which I guess is quite the task considering I started in the last row...87th position or some crap like that. I continued my assualt up the course and eventually made my way up to the very, very front. I rode almost half the race in either first, second, or third position. It was great - I could feel the snake alley victory within my chubby fingers. I could go with the skinny dudes up the hill, and then with gravity on my side, I could pull away on the downhill. I had the plan, the last lap I was just going to keep contact up the hill, and once we were on pavement again, I was going to let the fat take over and ride off into the throngs of people for my biggest victory yet. Right before the penultimate time up the snake, though, fate threw a large stick into my wheels. The stick didn't break any spokes, though, it gave me a flat tire. Damn. So, I'm standing at the bottom of the hill yelling for a wheel, anything, as the 2 leaders ride way from me. Im screeeaaaming for a wheel, eyeing the dude with zipps next to me, eyeing the open pro to the left of him, anything! Then, out of no where, Nick comes running with his bike! "Take my bike dude" he yelled. I told him to switch the wheels (since I was afraid i was going to trash it on a downhill...i know, im so lammmee). After a super quick wheel change (the whole thing mightve taken 30 seconds) im back and riding. By this point, though, I had dropped to maybe 8th or 9th position. I pick up Bryan on my next lap and I ride in after he blows by me in the sprint. 7th or 8th...whatever I got there, totally not bad, at all. But soooooooo close to awesomeness.....It just all came spiraling downward so fast...and then I cried, a lot. Ok, no I didn't, but you couldn't blame me if i did, could you?

Anyway, I've been crazy busy the past two months with riding and working and schooling and everything. Hit up a lot of collegiate races - I would've thrown down some race reports if anything interesting happened, but the only interesting this is that I got dropped from every road race and I was off the front of every crit for about 15 minutes in a very promising move, only to get reeled in at the end and place somewhere in the back. The college races were tough this year, 40-60 guys every race, super fast, and little recovery. It was balls to the wall for almost the entire race. There were some good dudes in those races, and while it sucks to get dropped, it can only help racing against the quality of people I raced with this spring. It can only make a guy better. I was probably more excited to watch Jenn race and do well (she's this close to getting a win, I can feel it), and watch Nate and a few of the other guys on the team get better throughout the season.

Im stoked for Iowa City this weekend. I'll be rocking the 1/2 race, so hopefully some good things will come of that. I'll be rocking a new team, which I'm super stoked about. I can't wait to race with all the guys from B2u/WOB - we look sweet, which is by far the most important thing, and we should be putting up some W's this year. Maybe Ill post something afterwards...you know, sooner than two months after this post.

Tales of Pain - Continued

2009-02-25T19:07:00.003-06:00

So, fast forward a year from where we left off. We were no longer in Kansas (right Toto?) and instead, we found ourselves in a place that does not suit us flatlandish Midwesterners - Ft. Collins, Colorado. There were real, legit climbs in the vicinity. We had to go up a few, and while to me they were real, hardcore climbs, to climbers they were just mole hills. I'm such a pansy. The road race went fine. As always, I missed the split. It was more of a who could climb and who couldn't. I popped about 100 meters too early, right before the end of a gradual two mile climb without much of decent afterwards. I never caught back on - it was hardcore lame, I was probably the 2nd to last guy to get popped from the lead group. I brought it home in the laughing group, except none of us were laughing as there was a huge crash on the decent back into town. Mike (R2G) was in that crash, and I honestly thought he might have died. He looked dead as I rode by and as it turns out, he just had some hardcore road rash. When he was on the road, though, he just decided that it would be cool to take a nap while the EMT's tended to everyone else, specifically Sean Noonan who was really, really messed up.

While that all really sucked, the heartbreak comes the next day at the nationals crit in downtown Ft. Collins. We weren't too far away from the New Belgium Brewery - I still kick myself in the ass for not stopping by. Anyway, after a solid performance by Jenn in her race (an awesome 8th place at nationals...I have no doubt in my mind that she had the sprint to win the race, just had some crappy positioning coming in...8th aint bad though), I took the line with Mike, who was a badass and raced after a hardcore crash. He ended up crashing on the very last corner of the race because some dude ran into him and overlapped handlebars. He walked his dead cannondale synapse over the line. I was having a good race from the get go. I had some left in the tank from the day before and the powersticks were jumpy. I was a part of a few early moves that got reeled in. Of course, the move I wasn't in was the one that was going to stick. It was just really weird, though, as people kept leaving the peleton to make it up to the break. At first it was 5, then 6, then 7, then 8. After a lap or two of that, I was like screw this, Im going because no one is going to chase me. I went, and no one chased me. I chased for a lap full gas and was just about to make contact onto the back of the group. I knew this was the group that would take the win, and I was getting gassed trying to catch them. I took a few risks around some corners to make up time and it was paying off. Then, this one corner - well, it sucked. The sidewalk melted into the road and the road narrowed some. I took it going 30-some and hit the little bump from the sidewalk. It threw off my line and before I knew it, I had to bunny hop the curb and then a pile of 5 bikes. Having cleared BOTH and still being on two wheels, I slipped and ate it in the grass. I got back in the race with the pack but could only manage to yo-yo off the back. I think I bounced my head pretty hard when I hit the deck. Of course, the group that I almost made it up to sprinted it out for the win (&$%#) and I managed to flat on the last lap, not finishing.

Yay Nationals!!

So, I have one more tale that makes me want to punch myself in the face. Tune in, well, sometime and Ill throw down and let you know. Maybe this is entertaining? No? Fine, well, this is probably entertaining....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7IESL-R6WE

it's the band of Jason Ellis - a skater and a dude that has a radio program on satellite radio...if you act like a 12 year old like I do (only if you ACT like 12 year olds, not date them) youll probably find him funny

My Career...In a nutshell

2009-02-19T18:21:00.007-06:00

So, as the season creeps ever closer, I started talking about goals and races past with my super hot way better bike racer than me girlfriend. Jenn succeeded in reminding me about how painful my results at big races have been. Yeah, I have had some good results and I have had some good results in some big races, but lets take another trip down memory lane and look at some of these heartbreaks...perhaps youll be able to read the emotion as my heart break again while I write these devastating tales....I'll hit them up one by one over the next couple of days so everyone has a reason to keep checking in. First up is Collegiate Nationals 2007. This is the first really big race that I was hardcore gunning for. The best collegiate bike racers in the nation were there, and I was amongst them, even though I was in the lowly small school division. Anyway, major flooding in Kansas caused our race to be rerouted onto 1.5 mile of gravel which worked out well in our favor because we had been used to riding gravel. We had a road race earlier in the season with some gravel, and we just rode our crappy bikes on gravel for fun. The first 29 mile loop was fine. Sure, it sounded like a warzone with all the tubies popping, but I made it through fine. The 2nd time through I wasn't so lucky. Above is a picture of how unlucky I was (It was on the home page of Velonews...sweet, Graham Watson took a picture of me!). The guy in the read circle? Yeah, thats me attempting to put my head underground after I ran over a pile of people behind me. It was awesome. I ended up getting up and regaining contact with the peleton before the next gravel section, which was pleased with. There was a big hill right before the gravel section and I followed an attack going up the hill only to look back and see that the race had been blown apart. I was so stoked. We hit the gravel section and I was maybe 300 or 400 yards behind the lead group of 6 with my Maddog and R2G (Matt and Mike, my teammates) and some other randos on my wheel. I threw down to get them up to the group and I got them up there with only a little ways left to go on the gravel. This was it, this was the move. I was for sure going to be in the top 15 in the nation. I had me sweet euroburns and was strong as hell, even after wrecking once before. Check out the dirt still on my jersey, check out the extra bottle in my jersey for domestique duties. This is as e were making contact, miliseconds before some dude blew a tire and skidded right in front of me. POWWWW!!! That was it, game over. That was the day the De Rosa sustained her life ending injury. That was the day I trashed a wheel. That was the day a dream was crushed. Maddog ended up getting 8th, and Mike was off the front of the group for 8 or 9 miles. He even got to drop back to the car to get a coke. So euro. Me? It looked like a bear mauled and when a USCF official asked me what happend, I told her "What do you think happened? You rerouted 150 amatuer ROAD cyclists onto 1.5 miles of gravel when most have never seen a gravel road before. You then graded it to make sure there were no good lines through it, and then everyone with super thin racing tubies and no bike handling abilities had to ride through it. How great of an idea was that lady?"

Actually, I may not have told her that...I probably just thought it, but I gave her a dirty look....fo sho.

Check in again to hear another tale of hearbreak. Yay!

Collegiate race season starts in almost a week! yay for 8 hour drive to kentucky!

So, I failed miserably

2009-02-11T14:17:00.002-06:00

The calorie attempt did not go to plan. I put on my spandex and went to Rolfs to hit up the precor. I brought the gigabeat and my "battered and fried stick of butter energy bars" that pound on these record attempts. The first 30 minutes went according to plan and I was on pace, but after that It all went downhill. I still burned 1650 calories, but nowhere near the 2100 that is the record. It was wicked hard, too, I felt like I wanted to die afterwards. Perhaps I was on a crazy machine last time? Perhaps in the pat 3 years I've gotten weaker? Perhaps the recalibrated the machines? Who knows? What I do know is that I need to stop playing on my computer and do some work. I think once it gets cold out again Ill go at 'er again.

Yeah, this is a lame update, but I felt bad that it has been almost 3 months since Ive updated this piece...ill do a better job again soon

Press Release from Notre Dame Cycling

2008-11-11T18:57:00.000-06:00

Campbell to attempt hour calorie record!!

Notre Dame cyclist Tim Campbell is planning an attempt at the hour calorie record for the Precor exercise bikes at Rolfs Fitness Center at the University of Notre Dame. "Just like how some tracks are faster than others, some bikes burn more calories than others...the Precor's at ND just seem to do the trick," Campbell said. Campbell is the current record holder at 2,136 calories and has held the record for 3 years now. "I remember my freshman year when I had a run of attempts at it. I broke 2,000 once on my own, but just barely. It was like 2010 or something like that. The record at the time was 2055. Either SR3K or R2G (SuperRaver 3000 and Rave to the Grave) had the record. We then all had a go at it, Maddog, Mike, and myself had a go. We all broke 2,000 calories, but I somehow rocked the 2,136. It was unreal." Campbell says that his new found zest for the record comes on the verge of him stepping on the scale to check his weight. "Yeah, I knew I was fat, thats not new. I'm just too fat right now." He hopes to generate some interest amongst the team in some record attempts so that he may be surrounded by like minded individuals. He has also started force feeding himself butter on rides so that he may replenish calories quick enough to keep them burning...stay tuned for the attempts on the record!

Sucks to be a Fetus

2008-10-07T23:10:00.003-05:00

I remember now...

Sorry if I really offend someone, but, today they had the million dead baby demonstration on the quad. The right to life people put out more little white crosses than I want count and then say something like this is how many babies die during a ND football game. Then theres a ton of signs that talk about how awful this is and bla bla bla bla bla. Now, I'm not saying I disagree with these folks, but I do hate how its all jammed down my throat. I understand that this is a catholic university and we need to follow the catholic teachings, but shouldnt the university part allow for opposing views? I thought about it, but even at 12:15 at night there are people up guarding the baby graves....I really just wanted to make a giant sign that said "sucks to be a fetus" and put it in the middle of their demonstration, it would at least give people something to talk about in the editorials of the observer for a few weeks...

another funny story. Im walking out of Jenns dorm and I see a cab roll up. It is none other than the famed Jesus cab (guy talks with you about God and the bible as youre on your way to a party or the airport) with all his Jesus stuff magneted on his van. He gives a quality ride with some quality conversation, it is almost better than church. Anyway, out rolls some girls of very low moral integrity....like half the football team and most the hockey team lack of moral integrity....I laughed

Obviously Ano

2008-10-07T17:26:00.009-05:00

There I was sitting in the dining hall by myself because Jenn had to go do something more important than me. I was at a table by myself because I was trying to just get in and get out real quick like when these two "girls" sat down to my left. One only had a sandwich and the other had nothing. The one that had nothing was a twig of an asian "girl" (not that it matters what race she was, I just wanted to give an idea...ya know?). There was nothing to this "girl", she was obviously ano. First off, who the hell goes to the dining hall just to watch people eat? I mean, maybe kudos for her for just being ano. She could be bulemic and have to eat, then puke all the time. At least she has the self control to go to the dining hall and enjoy watching people eat. She probably would've made a good wrestler in that respect since she just enjoys watching someone eat. Secondly, I had a train of thought that went a little like this... "ya know, there are plus sized clothing lines, what about skinny size clothing lines. They could have catchy names, kind of like Obviously Ano." The labels on the jeans could just have pictures of food on them, they'd sell like hotcakes (however well they sell).

Anyway, I had something else I wanted to write about, but I can't really remember it right now. So, I'll go back a little bit to state crit time. I finally loaded all my pictures on to my pooter and I managed to clip this out of a video. See this? This is Nick throwing down a meaaaaan bike stab, like hardcore. Clearly he edged this dude out for 4th right? I just looked at the results and they gave him 5th. This indiscretion should not stand, man. Thats a whole $10 Nick didnt get in prize money and 2 upgrade points. Good thing Im not really caring much about anything right now, otherwise I'd raise hell....okay, not really. But, if anything, isnt that a meannnn bike stab? Look at the form! Look at the intensity! Look how lame his opponent looks! Now, doesnt that guy wish he wouldve done a bike stab? At the very least he wouldve looked cooler...Im so glad Nick and I practice that sort of thing

Speaking of some state crit stuff, check out this video of the Cat 4 finish and the Cat 3 finish

Did you hear that? No, I wasn't talking about me talking to Jenn in a funny voice (you know, the girlfriend voice...). Turn it up and listen to Andrew's gutteral scream as he wins. Kind of scarry. The kid next to me crapped his diaper after he yelled, I heard it and then smelled it. Even scarrier. Anyway, I guess Im going to be a good student now...Boo.

Morons that yell things from cars

2008-09-28T13:57:00.002-05:00

So, I usually just get a bit peeved when people yell things from the car. Lately, on the proform ride on Thursday people have been getting awfully mad at us for no real reason. One lady obnoxiously yelled "sidewalk! sidewalk! sidewalk! sidewalk!!!" as she cut it way to close comfort with on coming traffic. I would really like to try and see her drive her Geo Metro down a sidewalk, or even a bike path, going 25 mph and not maim anyone. She'd be like "no way! no way that could happen! are you crazy?!?" My response? "No, Im not crazy, but you are you stupid (derogatory word referring to females here, doesnt really matter which one...I like them all)." A week later another lady in a ford taurus drove by and she drove up really close to us, then swerved to the side and slammed on it to pass us. She honked and yelled as she screeched by us, and then swerved immediately back in front of us. The waste of human flesh that was her then proceeded to drive partly off the road on the shoulder, and then over corrected herself to put her partly over the yellow line, much to the dismay of an approaching car. Really? How do people like that get their license? How do they think that they are good drivers (because everyone swears they are the best driver in the world)? How do people like that not accidentally kill themselves before they get old enough to harrass cyclists? Anyway, we all have our stories and I could go on forever on what Joe Blow yelled/did as he was passing me in his car on his way to blow joe, as I am sure you could, too.

The thing that someone yelled at us today was actually funny, and it was somewhat of a complex sentence!. It wasn't funny like how old ladies sometimes yell "Screw you!" or give you the finger. That doesn't require thought or mastery of the english language. It requires you to be breathing and kind of upset. What this guy said required not only breathing, but a brain, vocal cords, and at least a weak thought process. I was impressed. It went down like this:

Terry, Kiefer, Josh, Jenn, and I were standing in the lawn of a high school changing a tire. We saw this sweet lilac colored van with a smashed in front rolling our way. Then, this neanderthal of a man stuck his head out of the window. He was sporting the cue ball, with a cut off black t-shirt and a few tatts - he looked like a badass. As he was passing us, he yelled (get ready) "I hope you ride your bike as well as you ride dick!" We all looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. I first took it as he thought we were all gay, like there is something wrong with that. I was impressed because in order to yell something like that, you would have to relate being gay with the enjoyment of sodomy. Thats a huge jump in the brain of a neanderthal. Secondly, though, and less impressively, I guess he could've been hitting on jenn. I kind of doubt, though, that he even noticed she was a girl. Not saying that my super hot/fast girlfriend looks like a guy, but he wouldve had to been close to notice the pony tail and I really dont think he wouldve noticed. I think he wouldve just seen the lycra, and assumed we were all huuuuge flamers and thus the comment.

Regardless, while your humor might have gone over the heads of most, it wasn't lost on me Big Fella.

Poles, Poop, and Protostomes

2008-09-15T21:44:00.005-05:00

So, I have an entomology test tomorrow. I should be studying for it because I unfortunately found out on the first day of class when I got the syllabus that insect diversity only makes up about 3 weeks of 12. Crap. If I didn't already know it, I would not have minded learning it making it easy. Insect embryonic development? The hormones and substances that go into it? I don't really care all that much...so, here I am.

It has been an eventful first coupla weeks of school. I managed to trash the dirt cheap the second day I was here. Long story short I hit a pole the school put in the middle of my favorite sidewalk over the summer. A group of people were standing in front of it and as I got close to them they parted in the middle to reveal a pole. I think I smacked the thing going like 10, but I managed to somehow break the entire derailluer hanger off and crack the frame where it attaches. Bad ass. What an expensive, low speed accident. My back still hurts. It is the worst how you are barely hurt when you eat it going 30 round a corner and your bike is somehow fine, but at 10 mph your bike gets trashed. It doesn't seem like it should work like that. Im borrowing a friends bike for a while. One Terry Martin, probably the sweetest professor you will ever meet in your life, is letting me roll an old Trek OCLV Trek 5200 with some 9 speed shimano on it. Its old, but, better than no bike. Its actually a pretty decent ride, I like it a lot, it just looks kind of ghetto...but I'm still crushin the souls of the weak and making the hearts of women quail, hearts of men quail, hearts of my opponents quail, andhearts of quail quail, when I ride by. This is what is important by my standards, and the Jan would concur.

I also had a very dude like situation where the University literally peed on my rug. Just like how one Jeffery Lebowski, The Dude, wanted his rug back after some china man peed on his rug...DJ Sunshine wanted his rug back after Notre Dame micturated upon my rug. Was ND going to give it to the DJ? No, not without some bitching and moaning.

I'll continute the chronicle of the carpet pissers later, but, I must now retire for the evening so that I can own my bug test in the morning. On a training and actual biking related note, things have been going well...aside from crashing into a pole I spose...but you know me, I loooove the pole

Rehabilitation

2008-08-25T18:12:00.004-05:00

Solid weekend of bike racing; the first for a little while. I'm starting to get some of my snap back which is really encouraging. It almost feels like I belong in a pack again. It reminds me a little of what David Millar was going through after the Tour. He said something along the lines of how he was ashamed to call himself a bike racer because he couldn't pedal in anger at all, only little wimpy please don't hurt me pedal strokes. While I am not as British as he is, or nearly as cool, or nearly as much of an ex-doper (Im still doin it), or I just didn't get done with le Tour, I kind of get where he is coming from. It felt good to be able to put in an effort and know that it was good, strong, and respectable. It was something that made other people hurt, not just something that made me want to say uncle and stop.

The Iowa Crit Championships was a 50k rectangle with a bit of a hill on it. Enough to get out of the saddle, not enough to cause any suffering. Only 14 guys rocked the 1/2 race. While that is lame, it made the race a bit harder. There's no place to hide, especially when you are a recovering triathlete. I went with a few moves that I thought had some promise, ones without Sean Walker in them because I thought he might've been too marked, which might mean something else is more likely to go, but none of those managed to stick. The first one with him in it did stick, which was right after the last one I was in got caught. Sweeeeet. We got lapped by one dude (Lou Wagga-something) and he he hauled our asses back to the rest of the break who was lolligagging and playing grab ass. The sprint was for second, but I didn't really contest it. The powersticks were shot from all the accelerating. I was a bit honored, though, that Jim Cochran tried to give me a lead out. He was out of it because of a tactical mishap (good idea, he though if he dropped back to the break we would catch back up with them and be equal with us, and then launch back off the break...smart, really smart) It was all I could do to get on his wheel, and once I was on, we both kind of crapped out. Well, I guess I don't want to speak for him, too, regardless, I crapped out and said thanks anyway. It was kind of fun to get a lead out from one of the best riders in Iowa, though.

While I was all concerned about me, I nearly forgot how to include how my brother did. He kicked some ass, he did. He was all decked out in his Andalucia jersey and rode a smart race. He stayed tucked in nearly the entire race and only worked when he had to. The best part of the race was most definitely the final sprint. Nick, probably not the best sprinter in the world, managed to eek out his 5th place finish with a bike stab. Without it I am convinced he would've been regulated to 6th, but as is, the bike stab got him the extra couple of dollars. Yeah, we practice those, and it paid off. I got video of it, but I am too lazy to load it on to the pooter. Ill probably get to it soon. With races like that he'll surely be getting his upgrade and wins soon. He's got a brain to win, and legs that are getting as strong as his brain. Plus, hes got a MEAN bike stab...

The Rum Village/Indiana State crit was fast and I raced better. Unfortunately, as we were rolling back into South Bend Jenn pointed out that the Bissell team car was right behind us. I only saw one guy in it, so, I thought second place still isn't that bad. Too bad when I showed up they had 7 or so riders in a field of 45. Awesome. They managed to win all 5 $100 primes and take the top 4 spots while laying waste to the rest of us. Way to leave some for the rest of us, guys. I raced well, tried to win, and was happy with it, even though I got around 14th or 15th. I knew they were just going to keep sending guys off the front until someone stayed, so, I went with moves I thought were promising. It was somewhat of a crap shoot, and I didn't win. Apparently, no one but the Bissell dudes won. I stayed in the front a lot and drafted off their little train they had going on. I felt so pro. At the end of the race, after their break of 3 lapped us, all 7 of them lined up with 2 laps to go and put the hammer down lead out train style. It was pretty dope to see it. The pack strung out in an instant and the elastic snapped and the top 12 guys got on the good end of the spit. I was a little too far back and had to work my balls off to get back up there. I thought I was far enough up. Distance from the front I was probably fine, but, all the guys that were in the pack might have been what caused it? I dont know...dont know if I am going to worry so much about it.

So, good weekend. Didn't win any money, but feel like a bike racer again. Woo hoo! Got a lead out from someone that is likely better than me, and then tailgunned Bissells little train deal. Way cool.

Now that Im back here at school, I suppose I can throw little snipets from school in. I was in the dining hall by myself, mainly because Jenn decided to go get good food with her friend and her parents and because I am now that loser senior that stayed on campus, and I was walking in the dining area after getting my food and could not get through. There was a pack of girls between the regular ice cream and the soft serve "fat free fro yo machine" (which is apparently way healthier than ice cream, it doesnt have any fat!! OH MY GOD! SO HEALTHY!!) When will these little girls learn? They can't stay little hanging out by the fro yo machine - A: so, no fat...that means they make up for it in sugar..morons B: if you at least sat down afterwards youll have to get your fat ass up to refill your bowl, as opposed to just having to reach over C: If your ass is sitting down, then I can get through...which is the most important thing ever.

Mellotron Scratch

2008-08-22T21:59:00.002-05:00

So, the title of this entry has no particular meaning to anything. It is the song I am listening to right now by Porcupine Tree. I thought it sounded kind of cool, and I just didn't want to have a lame "state crit" title. Like I said, that is lame and I can do better than that. I much rather have a nonsense title than a lame one. Plus, the one I have post crit will likely have the words state crit in the title. By the way, I finally figured out why I like the word terriblismic so well. The ending of terriblismic is akin to pessimistic. The connotations of the ending give it the pessimistic feel. I like it, a lot.

Anyway, we are on the eve of the Iowa State Championship Criterium. I sit here with my Michelob Ultra relaxing and unwinding. Normally I drink a more manly brew, even with all the cycling and endurance sport specific advertising the Ultra does. The main reason I drink it is because I got it for free at a 2bee race and as a good college student and beer drinker, The DJ does not discriminate, no sir. Plus, the 12 oz "slimline" cans, a la redbull, are kind of nice; they make me feel slim and trim, just like the can and we all know what slim and team means - FAAAAAASSSSTTT. That is what I will be in the morning, fo sho. My past few races I have tried to play the good kid and not drink or do anything "bad"/"detrimental" before races, but have done worse than I had when my I took part in my few vices before races. So, tonight we'll try to test the hypothesis on whether or not Tim races better with or without beer and hopefully soon we'll see if there is any correlation there. Tonight it might help with all the stress of packing to get ready to take off for school again and bla bla bla bla. Its sucks when you have to pack up your life every couple of months to move it across the country. Honestly, it blows...

My apologies, I digress. Game plan for tomorrow. Objective 1: stay on two wheels. Objective 2: dont get dropped. Objective 3: Mark any move that has a B2u, mercy, and All9Yards dude. Objective 4: Place in the money. We'll see how well this one goes. The legs don't have the snap they used to, but I won't be getting tired over the course of the race, I just might not be able to accelerate with everyone. Like I said, we'll see. I'm actually more excited to watch my brother race, I have a feeling he'll pull a good one out tomorrow. Probably a lot better than me, he nailed Pigman last weekend so there is no reason he can't do the same tomorrow. The Cat 3 race should be exciting to watch - a whole bunch of even matched people with some good teams going at it. I'm looking forward to that, probably just because I know almost all the people in the race. As far as my race goes? I feel like it will be just like the Cat 3 race except with more "old dudes" and less "young dudes." Same type of things - a couple of big teams controlling with a few wild cards....I guess kind of like every other bike race?

I need to put some pictures up from Pigman. While my performance blew, I at least looked good while doing it. I take comfort in knowing, though, that composure and how you look while suffering is as, if not more, important that how you do while you suffer. Hopefully I'll get some pictures from this weekend, too. Smell ya later.

Terriblismic

2008-08-18T21:41:00.006-05:00

So, yeah, I made up a word. So what? Shakespeare made up words and he was considered one of the greatest writers of all time. Get what I'm saying? Anyway, my word is pretty much just terrible with a funny ending. It means about the same thing, but is way more fun to say.

This new word also describes how I raced on Sunday at the Pigman Half Ironman - terriblismic. I had to make up a new word to describe how I raced. I think I used the word awful more than I have the past year in the hour after my race. I have ton of excuses as to why I did so terrible. My swim was awful, 12 minutes slower than my fastest swim this distance. My bike was okay, it was on the low end of acceptable. It would've been more acceptable had I not detonated on the run like I always do. First two year it was fecal explosions, this year...pussitis? I don't know, maybe I was a bit dehydrated or something because I just wasn't there mentally. I could not keep it together for the life of me. The first miles were cooking - 7 minute pace, and it felt like I could've kept it for all 13. Then, as usual, about mile 4 something hits me. I just got this monster headache and lost all mental capabilities. I could not focus on the life of me. I pretty much turned into a big baby right then and there and packed it in. I had hit my nutrition, so I thought. I didn't think I was overly tired, but...I have no idea. The run course is easy, but there is no shade whatsoever and no breeze through the river valley. Maybe I just fried out there? I am almost embarrassed to say how slow I went, but it was 5:20, a good 50 minutes slower than my fastest time. 4:30 is a legit, good time. 5:20 is a time that many people can achieve...women, fat people, old people, people that really aren't as good as me, little kids...you know, people that shouldn't beat me, a guy that probably trains too much. There in lies the problem, though, training too much is just like not training enough - its leads to shit performance. While I don't think I have been training too much because I have barely been training due to work and racing. Hell, I think I have raced every weekend since Ironman. I thought I was going to take 2-3 weeks off, and here I am racing every weekend. Doing too much racing for the base that got beat to hell during Ironman. Great way to recover, dude. I guess sometimes you have to get beat over the head before you finally heed warning. That being said, I guess I wont be hit over the head until next weekend when I attempt to throw down at Pella and South Bend for the Iowa and Indiana State Crit Championships. Hopefully a lot of R & R along with some training to maybe get back in the routine of things. Maybe that will jump start the powersticks? If not, I know a whole month where I don't have anything planned but football watching, beer drinking, causing trouble with the boys, and canoodling with the "old lady"....maybe that will do the trick?

Sorry if you were any of the aforementioned groups above - im just bitter that youre better than me. I'll get over it in time, trust me. Plus, this is the Internet...you can say whatever you want on it without repercussions, right?

Dont Mind This

2008-08-16T12:13:00.002-05:00

BioMechanical

2008-08-16T10:46:00.006-05:00

So, yeah, I'm going to post twice today. Just on different topics, so it's legit, right? Anyway, threw down at the state time trial last Sunday and it went alright. I improved from my time last year by 45 seconds or so, but with the increased amount of people it still was a so so time. I went low 58, which, is decent, but compared to a lot of people I race with it kind of blew. I got blown away by people I can compete with at races. Not sure if I'm a crappy time trialist (I seem to do well in the collegiate TT's, I TT well at tri's, and I generally TT well...so I don't think this is it) or if this is still "curse" of the ironman or I just last some of the bike racing fitness I once had because of it. I mean, just sit down and think about it, I spent months training my body to putz along for 10-11 hours at a decent pace. I trained all the fast out of my body, and I got rid of all my acceleration and power. I traded it all for unlimited amounts of moderate pace and steadiness. I feel like a not exciting GC contender in le tour (Levi, Cadel...), they never accelerate when the going gets tough, they just keep chugging along and seem to do just fine. The big difference is that they would kick the living piss out of me, probably while doing one leg drills. Anyway, now, not even 3 weeks after the event I expect to have it all back? Yeah, lets get realistic here duder. At least I look sweet when I TT, even without a TT bike...and just imagine this picture with a fake disc wheel aka a disc wheel cover!!! So wicked fast....

At least now, whenever I can't accelerate, I can just think of Paul Sherwinn saying something to the extent of "And now, Campbell is getting those pistons we call legs to wind up that big twin turbo diesel engine of his! He can't match the acceleration of some others, but once he gets up to speed there will be no obstacle capable of slowing this man down!"

Sigh, there goes another one of my Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwinn fantasies, I just wish that they'd announce a race I would do...that would be so sweet.

One of those days

2008-08-08T23:59:00.002-05:00

So, three blown tubes and a ruined tire later I finally had the dirt cheap ready to ride today. I was pretty pissed about that, a good $40 down the drain at least. Then, I couldn't find the Rudy Projects. 2o minutes later found out Aaron took them to a Doctors appointment because he might have his eyes dialated...but he forgot to put them downstairs back in their case. Im sure he wasnt wearing them to try and impress the ladies...Then, out on the ride with Nick I managed to pop not only one but two flats meaning I had to have Aaron come pick me up after getting in only 20 miles. Something makes me think something is wrong with the wheel, but damn, I cannot find a thing wrong with it.....ill look at it again tomorrow and figure something out and im sure ill actually find out whats wrong...just one of those days

time trail championships are on sunday. I think the powersticks are recovering, the last week at work I barely lifting anything. Just some sleeping, some drinking, and some walking...a good relaxing week to cap off the recovery from ironman. Might not have some of the same fitness i had earlier in the year, but im going to give it ago and see what happens. Hopefully it starts to come back.

Midrace adjustment to 9 speed...

2008-08-03T22:12:00.002-05:00

well, my computer sucks and I had a good post written...and then it shut down. Sweet. I should probably utilize the save now button at the bottom...So, this is going to be short and itll suck...just like my computer and my race yesterday. I still have some post ironman cobwebs. Im improving, but I still dont have the snap and the range I had before the race, it still hurts a little too much. Just some more rest and easy training will hopefully take care of that. I also busted my 13 cog mid race...campy 10 doesnt work to well on makeshift campy 9, no sir it does not. I guess it was time for a new cassette anyway, too bad I have to sell my left nut for it. The only advantage is for the little while I was running 9 I had a bit lighter bike, man, could I feel the difference!!

Anyway, one more week of work and then I get to focus on some racing once again. Im pretty pumped for that. No more manual labor to hinder recovery, no more work to get in the way of training. I cant wait.

PS People shouldnt hammer it through feedzones, its very un euro. Being this is America and not Europe, though, I kind of expect it. If i didnt need to pick up a feed damn right I'd hammer through because thats what everyone else would do. So, next time, whoever ahead of me braked in the feed zone im running into you and causing a huge pile up because at least I wont have to waste a ton of energy to catch back onto the peleton I wont catch onto anyway because you let a giant gap open up....and now Im done...catch all 5 of you readers later

State Road Race Sufferfest

2008-08-01T23:29:00.002-05:00

The legs are silky smooth and shiny, they havent been that way since Ironman. That isn't saying much since that was 2 weeks ago, but before that they had been stubly and gross all summer. Finally chicks will be rubbing my legs again, envious of how smooth they are.

108 miles on the bill for tomorrow. Not sure how the powersticks will react to that one with Ironman being a mere two weeks in the past. The fitness is there, fo sho, but have they recharged enough? Will I have enough water/will I be able to get handoffs since there is no neutral support and my team doesn't want to support me in my bid for a state championship (I dont get why they wouldnt want to come out to Iowa from Indiana to help me out, im going to help them out in the crit...)? Will I be able to overcome the powerhouse teams Bikes 2 You, Mercy-Specialized, Atlas, Hawkeye Bike Association, the DEATH SQUAAAAAAD, and whatever other simply amazing teams that I have no chance against that will be there? If I hadn't just done Ironman I probably would've not worried so much about it and just rode off the front for a solo victory. It wouldve been a pretty impressive display of my power and badassness. As is, though, to give the rest the field a chance I through the whole Ironman thing in there so I'd have to contend with all this other stuff. The chess on wheels stuff. I'll come out of it a better bike racer because I have handicapped myself and made myself rely on my cunning and not my fitness. Everyone else has a shot at winning. All in all, everyone wins...

Sha, right! Now time for the super mega realistic ending!

Well, Ill see how long I can hang on and how long I can not do any work. We'll see how much talking the powersticks want to do tomorrow and hopefully they won't want to shut up. If they hole up like 15 year old Tim in front of girls, oh well, I at least achieved what I really wanted this summer. We'll see what happens. Party on, Wayne...

Start of it all...

2008-08-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

So, here I am all jittery and shaky from the coffee I drank 4 hours ago. I never "use" caffeine except for races or every now and then when I don't get enough sleep. I had no reason whatsoever to use it today, except for the fact that a new coffee shop opened up in town and ever since the old one closed I had no place to chill in the mornings when I'm home. I went down there hoping to see most of the same faces as I used to, and much to my pleasure I did. Socialized over some coffee, ya know, chatted with the locals. It's fun...but now I'm hoping I come off the caffeine high real soon, I hate this jittery feeling.

Anyway, I was surfing the net and thinking about how I should update the Notre Dame Cycling blog and found myself checking out blogs and ended up reading what seemed like every blog written by a cyclist here in Iowa. I thought to myself "Im a cyclist in Iowa, I like people to know what I think, I like talking trash about people on the internet but not doing it to their face, I should start a blog, too!" So, I did. I'm getting tired of playing the role of anonymous good cyclist, so, instead of letting my legs do more of the talking, I'll let my blog do some, too. I'll write more, probably today, but I really want to eat my pancakes and I should probably fix the dirt cheap so it doesn't explode at the race tomorrow.