On The Move

Back into Motorcycling - Honda FT500

2012-02-04T14:58:00.032-05:00

I've been itching to get a motorcycle that I could commute to work on every since I sold my Honda Element. I've been watching eBay and Craigslist for an older Thumper (single cylinder) or twin to make a cafe racer type of bike with (on a TIGHT budget).

I happened to see a, 1982 Honda FT500 for sale on the east coast of FL pretty inexpensive with low miles and a single owner so I put money down on it to take it off the market and drove there that weekend.
It has minor issues but was really clean and fun to drive so I bought it. Her name is Thumper, btw...these photos show how it looks now to what I started with.

I ended up having to tear apart the front end when the forks started leaking badly and by doing so I saved $100.00 on the fork rebuild.

I ended up putting brag bars on it and lowering the spedo & tach along with replacing the small square headlight with a larger round one....it was much lower than the square one also.

I ended up putting some clubman bars and bar end mirrors on it and really liked how it came out.

It's been a blast to drive...it gets almost 60 mpg and it's saving wear n tear on the 200K+ minivan.

Ciao,
Rick

FL CX Championship - Dade City

2012-02-04T14:57:00.005-05:00

What turned out to be the last race of the season for me....the "State Championships". My back got pretty messed up (I don't know what I did but it's f'd up). I have been taking it easy to rest it but really wanted to do this race...they promised it wouldn't be a dirt crit like last year so I wanted to support it.
I brought Sadie with me....she's been acting weird lately so I didn't want to leave her at home.
I warmed up and thought the layout was pretty sweet. The race started and I was in good position...barely missed a guy biting it hard in the first gravel turn....I was 15 back in the combined 35+/45+ field....and was doing well for 2-3 laps. I was actually catching and passing some folks and thinking I could finish well. Except for the buddy of mine that I've beaten in the other races....he was on fire that day and just pulled away.
The last 2 laps were terrible.....my back was seizing up and I was doing everything I could to loosen it up. I thought the hell with it and I'm going to finish this damn thing. I hung on to keep 10th.
The garmin data is here....

Clermont 'Cross v.2011

2011-12-20T20:38:00.006-05:00

Wow a year has going by quick. This is a tough course and I can remember the course from last year clearly in my mind still. That one was a classic layout. This year's layout was difficult but didn't flow as well as last years; It was something.
The race started on an uphill road climb, then turned left to go down a slight downhill with a hard sandy right hand turn then a climb. It went slightly up then a tough to make climb on the bike after two low hoppable barriers with a short flat section and then a downhill better suited for a mountain bike than a 'cross bike....not a recovery downhill for sure. Back close to the start finish up some stairs across a sandy flat top then up another shorter climb, more climbing then a down hill that swung down to the barrier section and then a flat to the short downhill section, pavement across the start finish line and back up the pavement climb to do it all over again.

The 45 minute race didn't start til noon (a good thing) but there were only 4 flights; I (Masters 45+) was in the same flight as the CAT3 & 4s. We had a 10 meter staggered start but that was kinda nutz. A total of roughly 30+ people were in the flight.

I felt as good as I could for the first two laps; due to the mass start I was in a crappy position, but not too far back. I caught and passed some folks and when I saw Scotty, I knew I needed to stay close to him. I actually passed him and got a gap on him, but by then lap 3 had hit me pretty hard; I was 30 seconds slower than lap two and then lap 4 was 12 seconds slower than 3. The damage was done and Scotty had passed me; I kept him in close sight but not close enough and he finished ahead of me by 15 seconds. 5th place for me. Damn. The Garmin data is here. I finished 16th overall in my flight and 5th in the 45+ Masters cat.

Carol took care of Sadie, I hung out with the 66Fixed crew drank a few adult beverages and helped team mate Scott Atkins with some water hand offs...it was in the 80's by then and hot. Even though I brought my camera, due to the shorten race day, I didn't get any pictures. Big thanks go out to Michelle Blake for taking great shots after kicking butt in her race.

I didn't race the next day due to the course looking like a fast dirt crit.....not my cup of tea and until I get entry fees partially back, I'm going to pick in choose the races I'm willing to travel and pay for.

Still good times.

Ciao,
Rick

Infinity 'Cross Race

2011-12-12T21:13:00.015-05:00

My 2nd race of the "season", yes for most people I know that race; thier season is winding down or finished. That's why it's tough for me to get going on the FL season, but today's race was 75'F at the start...go figure.
I'm not in the shape I'd like to be...keeping the pressure on from the hole shot through the first lap is not where it should be for me.
I started well then dropped back like a bomb then started fighting my way up again....ended up dragging Russel with me for 2+ laps (he said he couldn't help was just trying to stay on - right I thought to myself). At the bell lap I said enough of pulling him...I didn't see anybody in front of me and I wasn't going to pull him to the finish to have him come around me to edge me out so I almost did a track stand to get him to come around to work and he tried to jump on a 35+ plus guy that came around us. He was hoping to gap me with that but I stuck on his wheel and saw him see that and realize I was still on him. I ended up catching him and passing him in the last technical section. He helped make the race a fun one for me....4th again. Garmin data showed I didn't leave much out there so I need to do better training wise for the first 8 minutes of the race.

After the race, I took some pictures with Sadie in tow and drank a couple of adult beverages with Steve the winner of my CAT.

I ended up camping out with Sadie at Sebastian Inlet State Park....it rained most of the time but I'm going back again soon to check the surfing and kayaking out there.

Good times.

Caio,
Rick

Turkey Shoot Cyclocross Race

2011-11-29T10:31:00.006-05:00

We have only just started 'cross season here. Something about racing in above 80' weather makes it tough to think about doing cross!
This race is a favourite of mine; it's in Tampa (close), it's a technical course and it has great views of Tampa bay.
My race (45+) was at 9:30am and I was picking up Tony do it was a 7am leave the house time...

I was liking/hating this technical course...it suited me and I knew it well...I should have done better than 4th. A great battle for 3-5 was going on and the best I could do was 4th. The Garmin data showed what I felt...I didn't leave anything out there.

Here's some photos I took after my race was done.....

Caio,
Rick

Black Mass 6 Alleycat Race 10/27

2011-11-02T09:39:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy (in a sick way) these different types of "races" than what I normally do. Since we were supposed to be in some kind of costume; I decided to pull out my old Cipo kit.

I had done the 5AM ride that morning....34 pretty fast miles so I thought I was going to chill on this and just enjoy a few tasty beverages at the end of the race.

What's this all about...budda skat summed it up pretty well.....

Checkpoints?
9 total, 3 on each manifest

Manned/unmanned?
Unmanned, but marked with glow sticks. Each checkpoint had a scary phrase or name of a B horror movie on it. You had to write this on your manifest. Correctly.

How local did a participant need to be?
Well... there were no maps, just checkpoints on paper with relative addresses. Couldn't even really google map it if you tried. And half the checkpoints were either behind, through, in the back of, or hidden close to where was actually described on the manifest.

How was the winner decided?
First to finish everything correctly.

Was their points?
Nah... only bragging rights.

Timed?
Nope...

How did the race work?
We rode out to the starting point and had to dock our bikes. We were then given a single manifest with 3 checkpoints, north and south of town. We were to return to 66 fixed after completing all checkpoints... as described above. At that time a second manifest was given out, again with three checkpoints. Rinse and repeat... again... totaling 9 checkpoints. From what I've experienced at the Black Mass races... you get there with the intention of it being a fairly decent race, and it then ends up making you either hate yourself for coming out, or hate the organizers for fooling you. (Sarcastic of course... its an awesome race, if you're not a wuss).
www.baddaskat.com

So did I chill? Well, that didn't happen and I tried to chase down Michael with Ted's help but that wasn't going to happen. Rode hard for about 27 miles and came in 3rd with Ted right behind me. Good times.

The results:
Thanks to everyone who made it out and rode that third manifest! I'd like to look forward to more races of similar style, hint, hint.

Results:

1. Ben Pridgeon - St Pete : Overall Winner and first guy

2. Michael Davis - St Pete

3. Rick Adams - Dunedin

4. Ted Lee - St Pete

5. Todd Frain - St Pete

5. Ian Ayotte - St Pete

7. David Horst - Tampa : Best Costume (Alex from Clockwork Orange, or was he Dim?)

8. Justin Ahearn - St Pete

9. Erin McKee - St Pete : First Girl (also first race)

10. Klaus Gopfert - St Pete

11. Leigh Barnard - St Pete

12. Badda Skat - St Pete

13. Brad Marcel - Tampa

14. Brandon House - St Pete

15. Chris Nadeau - St Pete : DFL

DNF:
- Clinton Hamilton - St Pete
- Kelly Campana - Tampa
- Andrew Schlag - Clearwater
- Cate Kaelber - St Pete
- James Thomas - St Pete
- Jonathan Kovalik - St Pete
- Lauren Prestwood - St Pete
- Robert Dunfey - St Pete

DNS:
- Paul Rozelle - St Pete

The biking vibe in St Pete is great....I just found out that the cool shop that has helped put on many of the races is shutting its doors. I hope that doesn't effect the vibe. Best wishes to Michael & Carol of 66Fixed in your next adventure!

Ciao,
Rick

Mountain Bike Race

2011-10-21T10:16:00.011-04:00

No this is not where I raced!

It's been a LONG time since (2004?) I put a number on and raced a MTB. I wanted to try a race since there was one going on somewhat close (1-1/2 hours away) at Alafia State Park. to where I live. After some thought, I decided to race GM-3 (grand masters - base) or the old slow farts race. It would be one 10 mile loop. I left early in the morning to get there in time to do a pre-race lap - it's a tough techincal course depending on how they laid out the race course. I was going to race the only thing I had; my Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er SS. I got there (I had to leave Sadie at home) and got on the course at 8:25am....it was a tough/fun layout and I ended up falling 3 times just in the warm up lap. I watched the 1st wave go off and helped Tony, one of the team's expert racers with the feed area.Tony is #105

It was soon my turn to line up at the start line....I think there was about 15 of us and I knew with my gearing (34/18) I wasn't going to be getting the hole shot against a bunch of geared bikes. To my surprise I still ended up 5th position at the start of the singletrack. Things were going well until my front wheel washed out going pretty fast and I bit it hard - knocking off the visor off my helmet! I lost about 4 places and got back on. Pretty soon I was catching some of the riders that went before my group and a couple in my catagory. I stuck with then passed a guy in my class only to wipe out again and have him pass me. I kept him in sight and was thinking of when to pass again when we came up to 3 riders and he made a great pass where as I couldn't get around them for a long time. By the time I did I thought it wasn't going to happen and just kept going. Finally I saw the guy not far away (he had fallen he told me later) so I got back on him and was closing down on him ready to pass right before the finish line on a dogleg turn and he went down right in front of me....I couldn't get around him and he was able to hold me off and came over the line just in front of me.....5th place for me.

While I was dissapointed in 5th place....I did have "fun" (if it's lots of pain you looking for) and was happy but beat up after the race. I'd like to do some more of this race series if the location works out and hopefully I could bring Sadie with me. It looks like I'll be doing more CX races than MTB races though do to the format of the road trip racing over two days for cx instead of just one for MTB.

caio,
Rick

What have I been up to?

2011-09-25T12:03:00.001-04:00

It's been more than a month....with Face Book it seems that's how everyone keeps up to date with each other. With all the changes FB has had I'm thinking maybe it is just a big time suck, but that's a different subject matter for a different post.My training/riding had falling off to almost nothing and the motivation to train/race wasn't really there.What's happened during this time?- I got rid of the Honda Element.....the % was too high and I couldn't get it refi'd

- I purchased a Ocean Kayak Nalu 12.5 hybrid SUP/Kayak; I really like it and Sadie can ride on it with me.

- I'm starting to ramp up the miles (slowly) to get ready for 'cross season down here in FL....it's still 90'F during the day so it's kinda hard to get into the mood so far.- my company I work for is selling me (cheap) my company minivan with mucho (195K) miles on it but it should last another 6-10 months- Aaron came to visit during the Labor Day Holiday and we had a blast.- the job is going well...it will be interesting when my lease is up here in March 2012.Ciao,Rick

F.U.CX. Cyclocross Race

2011-08-12T13:59:00.011-04:00

FUCX - Florida Underground Cyclocross is something I have gotten involved with: we have done one practice race and just did a "real" race last Sunday.

I helped setup the course; yes that means getting up and on the road b/f 6AM. FUCX!

The course design was cool and we (3 of us) got it up and ready by 8:30am.

I was racing with the fast guys (As); we were going to do 1 hour plus two laps but with the heat at 90+ already we decided to make it 45 minutes plus two.

We did a parade lap so everyone would see the course and then started the race.
A video of the race was done by Jeb....

Because of the mixed fields and I wasn't sure who was still ahead of me...I had no idea of how I was doing other than I was deep in the hurt locker. I thought I was doing well and was catching people that were ahead of me; I caught one guy who said to me he had thought I was going to lap him...I wiped out in the deep sand turn and he caught and passed me...I thought no big deal...but wondered why he was putting in a big effort to get a big gap on me.

By that time it didn't matter and I was hurting pretty bad...I sucked it up and finally heard the 2 laps to go....idontknow about you but when I hear the bell go of, it means ONE to go. I used to 2nd to go to recover a bit and make sure nobody caught me and was only lapped by two people so I worked the last lap as hard as I could go....telling myself that I wouldn't have to do any of this stuff again!

Here's the Garmen data of my slow suffering.

With all of that said...I ended up in 4th! The bad news is that the guy that was acting like I was lapping him was actually in front of me and took 3rd! Damn.

It was good times regardless and it only took me 3 days to recover.....:-)

Rick

No More Bunny-Hopping Early in the morning

2011-08-12T13:31:00.009-04:00

I normally do a Tuesday & Thursday EARLY (5:00AM) morning group training ride.

As anybody that knows me well knows I'm not a "morning person". I have worked hard at being able to wake up @ 4:15AM for these rides due to it's the only way I can get in 34 miles each of those mornings b/f I have to go to work.

The rides go like clockwork normally with warm up/attacks/regroup and then turn a round and head back hard.....

This one was much like any other one...'cept once we did the Sand Key bridge and heading behind the hotel row....they were bunching up/slowing down at usually one of the fastest places. I drifted into the center turning lane to see what was up and was looking over at the peloton when I looked in front of me (it's dark and early, right) and saw what looked like a curb. Instead of jamming on my brakes I thought (this happened real fast) I'd just bunny hop the "curb"; I did just that but when in mid-air noticed that there was a second curb behind it that I also needed to clear! "SHIT" I yelled and tried to continue to pull up on the bike to clear both.

My front cleared both but the back hit the second pretty (REAL HARD & A LOUD NOISE)hard and blew out the tire and trashed the rim. Sand Key Group Ride* by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details">Here's the Garmen data on the ride.

Trent was nice enough to get his van, pick me up and drop me off at my house.

After looking at it in close to daylight....I don't think I could have escaped that well if I tried to.

I need to have my coffee before these rides and be more alert!

Rick

12 Hours of St Pete Alleycat Race 7-9-2011

2011-07-21T11:01:00.018-04:00

Jake & Sonny
That's me on the right....

I had wanted to do this race but the other part of my two person team couldn't get off work so it looked like I wasn't going to be racing.

Until Friday afternoon, Sonny contacted me and thought he might be able to expand his two person team into a 4 person team. At about 5-6PM I was on the team.

Sonny, Jake, Ben and I made up the team. I had some mad packing and organizing to do and although I wanted to ride the race on my fixie, I was going to bring my BMC geared bike as the backup.

We were Team Mullet....Ben was going to ride the first two laps, followed by Jake then Sonny with me last.

Ben had a great first lap while we rode the course but then had a crash on the 2nd lap and lost contact with the first (fast) group....which was going to make it tough getting back to the lead group. Jake went next and wanted to do 3-5 laps in a row. In hindsight that kinda sucked for the rest of us because Sonny & I didn't get to do a first lap until the heat of the day the day had set in around 2PM. We had thought each of us would do two laps at a shift but the mid day heat was too much for that so the 3 of us (Ben, Sonny & I) rotated every lap. Jake was done for the day it seemed. The ride with the fixie was fine, I just ended up doing it solo and in the wind the gearing was getting to me a bit. I thought I could shave some time off my laps (as did the rest of my team) by using the BMC. The first two laps I did I messed up 1-2 check points resulting in not so great times....the last two I nailed. It was pretty hot n humid...I ended up changing into a fresh kit for my final 2 laps and I think it helped.

We did OK and I ended up two two consecutive laps at the end so we could finish with 14.

3 yummy beers later after I rolled in with 5 minutes b/f the race was over I started feeling better.

Ciao,
Rick

Le Tour De Dank 4 Alleycat

2011-06-26T14:16:00.012-04:00

I wasn't feeling good about this; I was still getting over my cold with low/no miles under my belt but figured I'd give it a go. I had set up the fixie with brakes due to the bridges (hills). I had kayaked before the race but was feeling OK. I rode to the race and was there just as they were giving out maps. I wanted to go with what would be the lead group and try to get the hole shot. I was able to be in the top 5 at the start and we quickly got a gap b/t us and the 90 some odd people doing the race. I felt pretty good on Memorial and Sand Key bridge but got gapped on Belliare Bridge and right before the 5th check point lost sight of the lead group and got lost trying to find that check point. I was counting on staying on and didn't memorize the map...epic fail on my part. I ended up seeing Michael and he & I found it and started riding hard again. We got to the 6th check point with 7 guys in front of us and headed for the final check point and then the finish. Michael told me to go ahead and I was just trying to hold on to 8th when I took a wrong turn and by the time I got to the start/finish I ended up 11th OA. Pretty disappointing due to this being in my area and getting dropped at the final bridge....still a fun way to spend an afternoon. I didn't know where everyone was going to be so I ended up hanging out with Zach and the crew...and not being able to unlock Zach's lock until it was cut off by Heidi's friend, Mark.

I wasn't really too happy about dropping that many places......in my own neighborhood!

Ciao,
Rick

The Results:
Speed
Fixed – Male
1. Tyler Rose (1 hr)
2. Sean Lynch
3. Taylor Norton
4. Paul Rozelle
5. Mike Weimar
6. David Horst
7. Michael Davis
8. David Fitzgerald
9. Ben Pridgen
10. Rick Adams

Overall Finish
1. Tyler Rose (1 hr)
2. 2. Sean Lynch
3. Gabe Crisler
4. Taylor Norton
5. Paul Rozelle
6. Mike Weimar
7. David Horst
8. Michael Davis
9. David Fitzgerald
10. Ben Pridgen
11. Rick Adams
12. Geoffrey Holtman
13. Kirsten Johnson
14. Bryan McGuine
15. Travis Nolan
16. Mondo Mike Hall
17. TIII
18. Adam Vacha
19. James Mitchell
20. Sonny Kennedy

Here's the Garmen Data:
Tour De Dank AlleyCat race by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details">

Kayaking at Caladesi and Weedon Island State Parks

2011-06-26T14:14:00.017-04:00

John had invited us down to his place in St Pete to try kayaking at Weedon Island and had a Hobie kayak for me to use; the pedaling system in it is really cool...it's like pedaling a bicycle instead of paddling

We did get attached by about 5000 bugs when we went into the mangrove canopy! After a fast retreat we ended up doing 2.5 miles according to my Garmen. We went swimming in his pool afterwards and then to my race.

The Hobie was something that I would get if the $ was available.....

Ciao,
Rick

Kayaking Off the Dunedin Causeway

2011-06-26T14:13:00.010-04:00

Heidi had a friend that would loan me his kayak and trailer so the Element could pull it with my new hitch I had put on it. Heidi wanted to go to one of her faviourite places - Caladesi Island off of the Dunedin Causeway. Other than a few bugs it was fun not having a ton of people around....the water here is pretty warm - 90'F!

Perfect weather and we took out drinks and snacks and had a great time.

Nice and peaceful.

Ciao,
Rick

Sickness strikes

2011-06-26T14:13:00.007-04:00

Long story short...was doing two two hundred plus miles back to back and on my third week of doing 200+ when I got something from (I think) someone in my office.

Knocked me out enough to miss two+ weeks of training and a race plus kill my miles.

It will be a long slow road back.

At least the first part of the race season is done til Fall & I did get in 6 races already....we will see how the fall road season and 'cross season goes.

Ciao,
Rick

BMC is back!

2011-06-22T07:12:00.011-04:00

Everyone knows how bummed I was when the doofus knocked me into a signpost during the GearLink Cup and broke the carbon seat stay on the non-drive side of my BMC SLX01.

Through a buddy of mine (Craig) and the bike shop he goes to (OutSpoken - Clearwater, FL) he told me about The Frame Doctor and I figured that it would be worth the $300.00 to see if it could be fixed....the BMC is a $2K frame.

Before

After

To say I'm happy with the results would be a huge understatement! It only took like 3weeks to do!

So if you have a wreck on a carbon bike...this is the guy to see.

Ciao,
Rick

Brandon Twlight Crit (4-30-11)

2011-05-03T13:02:00.010-04:00

I could only do one race this last weekend and I decided to do the Brandon Twilight Crit. I have developed a real talent for picking the wrong venue to go to and this proved correct also.

I'm not knocking the race or the team (AJ's) that put it on: I like a lot of the guys on that team and thought I'd support them. The course was a closed track and had no bad turns on it. A perfect power riders course.....and my least favorite, except for that there shouldn't be any crashes on it. Add it that the size of the group racing was kinda small (26). The race was at 3PM and by then it was well over 90'F. I also had brought Sadie with me and for once she wasn't behaving too well and she was keeping me from doing a very good warm up.

The race started pretty fast and within 3-4 laps and break had gone without any of my team members in it. We had 3 people and the two other guys went up front to try to bring the break back....AJ's had a guy in the break and was doing everything they could to break up anyone chasing them back in. My two guys & I were trying to work together....after a while I was still feeling like crap and I fell back from them and in the second chase group. The lead 3 riders lapped us with 3 to go; nobody else got by.

I finally felt better and was working to get back some of the guys that went up. By the time the bell lap was rung, the group I was in was bringing more back. At the last turn Scott's team mate Bruno had signaled to Scott that he would lead him out...I jumped before they could set that up and went by them. I ended up coming in 10th. My team mates finished 4th and 9th. The AJ's guy that made the break had fallen off the break and didn't even podium.

My data from the race is here.

This is my best finish so far this season of 6 races that I've done; I'm not happy with my performance but I am making some progress.

Ciao,
Rick

Fixied Fight 5 Alleycat Race (4-23-11)

2011-04-26T11:33:00.008-04:00

I really enjoy doing these AlleyCat races on my fixie....it's a completely different type of race and riding (and group of people). Plus, it's in St. Pete, so I know that area pretty well. An AlleyCat race is basically a race that is styled after what messengers do for a living; go to different stops as quickly as possible and pickup/drop off something to each "check point".

Here's the data on the course from my Garmin.

156 people had signed up for the race; Fixie/Single speed and geared bikes, "racer types" along with the shorts-n-t-shirts crowd. It's a Lemonds style start and unfortunately there was a bad crash at the start behind me once everyone had gotten on their bikes. There were more crashes at this race than normal...I'm sure it was due to the large field size.
The difference for this race was that at each check point you got a map that showed were the next check point was, which made it more difficult but a touch slower than normal. IO was lucky enough to stay on the top group of 5-6 riders (which had to include Pete) the whole time; the first two-three check points had up to twenty riders but it soon thinned out. Flats and crashes/near misses cut our group down to just five people. It was hot and having water was going to be important; I had two bottles with me....unfortunately, on the "pave' section" many people lost one or two of their bottles. I didn't know it until later but I had lost one of mine. We kept going and a guy from Miami and I were hanging on; I had run out of water and didn't know how much longer the race was going to be going on. We only made one wrong turn and that's were I almost got dropped from the lead group...lucky for me the check point was back a long sandy/grassy road and I was able to ride 1/2 of it and catch back on. Pete had ridden the whole thing and had gaped us. We were not going to be able to bring him back and and the guy from Miami flatted there so it was down to three in the chase group with 2 more check points to go I think.
Before the race started the organizer had told everyone that the number card everyone got would determine the placing for everyone....you had to give it at the finish line and that's how placing would be done. right.
Well, at the last check point I knew where we were and where we needed to get to...I was behind Elizabeth and Giorgio had dropped behind me. I sat up the last 100 meters to grab my number out of my kit pocket and that's when Giorgio went by me...I calmly gave my number to them b/f he did and expected to be 3rd OA and 2nd place for male fixie....it didn't work out that way and I should have just gotten to the line first and worry about that damn number later. I did win some cool DVS shoes that I can pick out so 3rd ain't so bad. Lot's of luck is needed to do well in one of these.

The top ten placings:
1 Pete Young Tampa
2 Elizabeth Hill St. Petersburg
3 Giorgio Torregrosa Orlando
4 Rick Adams Dunedin
5 Ben Pridgeon St. Petersburg
6 Daniel Gochneaur Tampa
7 Bryan McGuire St. Petersburg
8 Kirstin Johnson Washington, DC
9 Klaus Gopfert St. Petersburg
10 TIII West Palm Beach

Great times and people along with free PBRs made for a great day.

Ciao,
Rick

Chain of Lakes Road Race and TT (4-2-11)

2011-04-26T11:09:00.013-04:00

After all the crashes and the disappointment I had in the Tampa Crit....I thought a Road Race would be a good way to break out of my funk. Plus, I thought trying a Time Trial would be "fun" to do on the same day. I decided to try again the CAT4s....I knew Craig and David were going to racing that along with some of my GearLink team mates.

Well some team mates help out by watching Sadie for me and I go to get warmed up. It's a big field and the double-yellow line is going to be strictly enforced which means a NASCAR style road race where getting in position will be very tough. True to form, the CAT4s bunch up, attack, set in and bunch up again...interval work and very frustrating to race. On lap two I end up getting pushed off the road by a guy; I recover nicely by "calmly" riding off the road for 10 meters than gently coming back on the road without missing a beat. To say that I'm happy that I didn't freak out and go down is an understatement and the guy that caused it was really bumming that he cause it. No blood, no foul.
It takes me 1 & 1/2 laps on the 13 mile course to work my way up to the front...we slow up again and I say "f it" and go to the front to pull hard and try to string the group out. Two others come up with me and will work but the "Colombians" are more than happy to chase and then sit in/bunch up. Good grief.
So I try to keep in good position for the remainder of the race and will try to lead out a couple of my team mates who are doing well in the points classification. I get great position and talk with Jason on what I'm thinking about and then at the 2K sign to the finish, I suddenly have a terrible cramp in my left thigh....I let Jason know and try to spin out the cramp losing positions as I do. I spin out the cramp and think I can still sprint for a pretty good finish. Well during the race there were 2-4 strong but squirrely riders and I was able to keep away from them most of the time...unfortunately one goes for the sprint, freaks out and somehow losing a tubie right in front of me....
I end up going off road again and almost getting knocked over...I jump back on the road but the best I can do at that point is 19th. Can you see me in the two photos?

Bummer. But that's FL racing.

So in less than 2 hours after finishing the roadrace I'll be doing my first TT ever Merckx style. Let's just say it was 8 miles of pain and hoping I wouldn't cramp up, start crying like a little gurl and be able to finish it. I ended up around 19th in the CAT4s. My lame data on that is here. The course started down hill with the wind at your back, then some rollers with the wind at your side and finishing with the uphill and the wind dead on. I'm glad I tried it and would like to try the fixie at the Ft Desoto TT sometime.

I'm missing my BMC SLX01 by the way.....

Ciao,
Rick

Tampa Twlight Crit (3-26-11)

2011-04-26T10:17:00.007-04:00

This was my A race for the season....it is a technical course that goes on in a cool part of downtown Tampa. I watched it and took pictures last year and wanted to race it but got pretty sick the week before the race.

Due to all of the crashes that I've been involved with while racing with the CAT(Crash)4s I decided to race with the Masters 45+. It should be safer but a lot faster. Some ex-pros were going to doing that race.
I prepared for the race well and felt well during the group rides and the B group training crit; I didn't go out Friday night......all in prep for the afternoon race.
I arrived there on time....hooked up my bike on a trainer provided by the race sponsor and ended up warming up next to the winner of the race, an ex-pro.
The race started and I was in great position; around the top ten for 2-3 laps. The group started coming up and around and I think I was too cautious due to my crash two weeks before and lost 10 spots or so. Another couple of laps went by and after turn two I was towards the back and my legs were cramping up anytime I got out of the saddle to stay in the group coming out of turns. It got bad enough were I ended up getting dropped. I figured to just finish the race and see if I could spin my legs out and jump back on. No such luck.

Despite getting dropped and lapped, I still enjoyed riding the course. I was just extremely bummed that I didn't do better. Everyone said later it was the hardest race they had done so far this season.....yeah, it was hot, but no excuses, I just had a bad day. My data from my Garmin.

At least there wasn't a crash in our race; the CAT4s had one in the bell lap....

There more races to go.

Ciao,
Rick

1st Racing Weekend - Woodlands & GearLink Cup

2011-03-22T15:29:00.004-04:00

Wow, I didn't realize that I haven't done ANY race reports.

My first race of the 2011 Season would be the Woodlands Classic (3/12/11). It's good because it's where we do the training crit every Weds so I know ever bump/crack/hole on the course. I had decided to do the CAT4 group due to lack of fitness and I wanted to race with guys that I was used to racing with. I had decided to ride my bike to the race (20 miles), do the race and ride or get a ride back. I was having two of our Pro's (James & Rad) stay over my place for the race the next day.

I got to the race in plenty of time and kept loose. The race started and went like this when with only 5-6 laps to go a terrible crash happened and the race was neutralized. After the course was cleared, the race resumed....this killed any chance for the stronger riders to separate themselves from the weaker ones and the resulting sprint was a mess....I didn't keep the position I wanted and ended up coming in at 18th. I waited to watch the Pros and then rode home after their race. James and Rad are cool guys and it was nice having them stay over and chat with them.

The next day was my team's race - The Gearlink Cup and everyone was supposed to be there early...I brought Sadie with me and arrived on time only to find out I wasn't needed. I ended up shooting some photos while I waited for the CAT4 race. The course had two technical turns and was fun to ride on. After the crash the day before (the CAT4s are really sketchy) I was either starting at the front or the very back. I chose the front and rode 2nd wheel for 2-3 laps. I faded back a bit then fell back to the back after another 4-5 laps. I was working my way back up when on the S turn I felt a push from the inside right when I was next to the curb moving at around 24-25 and heard someone say "sorry" and then I went off the road and hit a sign post. Next thing is I'm on my back and seeing if I've broken anything...ok, no and I throw my helmet in discuss for having been pushed off the road when I was feeling pretty good. I then look at my bike and realize that it took the brunt of the hit from the sign post. Damn. I get on the bike and ride to the start/finish line for the neutral support tent to check out my bike and see if I can get a "free lap" and get back into the race. With only 5 laps to go....no go on the free lap. Damn. The mechanics said it looked like the seat stay was cracked and I was out of the race....I figured "screw-it" and finish the race anyway. I finished the race and ended up with a broken bike and a super sore thigh. Stats are here.

Not a great start or even a good start for my season if factoring in breaking my BMC.

That's Racing....

Ciao,
Rick

New Bike/Broken Bike

2011-03-22T10:11:00.006-04:00

Before (new)
and after the wreck (more on that later)

This is the shortest I've owned a bike and then had it break on me. Actually I got pushed into a post during a race and the above is what happened.

Lucky for me Cliff was able to find a demo/loaner for me and get me back racing...
These BMCs are very different bikes; the SLX01 (carbon rear and top tube) has a longer top tube and more std geometery whereas the SL01 (carbon rear seat stays) has a compact frame.
I may have the SLX01 fixed....more later.

Ciao,
Rick

Aaron's Visit

2011-03-03T09:12:00.016-05:00

I was flying my son down from Cleveland to visit me and was taking off (for the first time in 2 years) a Friday & Monday. This 4 days has been a blur so I wanted to jot down what we did before I forgot some of the details.

Friday morning we went to Honeymoon Island's "dog beach" to hang out with Sadie, cook some hot dogs and just hang out at the beach. It was nice (you must keep your dog on a leash at this beach) but was pretty windy, er really windy. We saw the sunset in Dunedin and then to relax in the hot tub and watch a movie.

On Saturday we drove to Tampa and Aaron and Sadie "helped" me keep laps/assign primes/write down the podium for the A & B race at the Tampa Crit. After that we went to the "dog beach" at Davis Island and had a cookout out and played with Sadie; it was a great time. We dropped Sadie off and headed back to my brother's gym and then home; we went to the Dunedin Brewery and then after dinner a friend stopped by to see my place and meet Aaron.

Sunday we took a slow drive down to Pass A Grill after I got back from a 35 mile solo ride. We ate at the Brass Monkey (yum) and then hung out at the beach....it was a perfect day. After getting back we were invited for dinner at a friend's in St Pete and brought Sadie with us; it was a nice evening.

Monday had me renting a tandem kayak and packing up a small cooler, backpack, the dog and Aaron for an adventure. If it wasn't too windy I had wanted to go to Honeymoon Island and paddle to an Island to play/eat at.
Well, the wind had kicked up from 7kts to what I was guessing to be 15-20 kts....I only really knew how windy it was once we got in the water. Long story short, the boat flipped over; luckily, I had secured all the "extra things" we had brought with us...Aaron stayed calm and even though Sadie loves to swim...I took her over to the shore then got back to the kayak, flipped it back over, had Aaron hold on to it and swam out to get the paddles which had drifted away....Aaron helped get the kayak back to the seawall then we put it back onto the van. I asked him if he wanted to drop Sadie off at home and try it again on a more secluded spot and he said sure. That was awesome of him and we put the kayak back into the water at Safety Harbor and had a great time....he even got the hang of paddling.

After that it was getting to be time to get him back to the airport so we dropped off the kayak and went home to shower and go to the airport for pizza and wait on his plane.

It was one of the best times that I have had with him in a long, long time.

Back to work and training on my bike for the race season that has already been underway for a month!

Ciao,
Rick

Settling in & Training

2011-02-10T12:39:00.007-05:00

It's tough to have both as I have found out.
The Dunedin, FL place I've moved into is a 14 month lease and big enough to "hold" all my stuff so aftyer the move it has taken (with more to go)some time to get settled in and organized.
I'm getting close enough where I can relax for the first time in a long time.

What this means as far as my training and miles/per week? Bad, real bad.

The good news is that last week I put 126 miles on the road & I'm on track to do better this week. There are races that I had wanted to do this weekend but I have a convention to do Saturday....I'm still thinking about the crit on Sunday but it would be nice to just do some miles that day and relax a bit.

I'm still thinking about what to do....

Ciao,
Rick

Tampa Training Crit 1-15-2011 with Magnus Backstedt

2011-01-28T16:05:00.004-05:00

How cool was it to be able to race with the Paris-Roubiex and a Tour Stage winner?

That's exactly what happened on the crit race on the 15th.

Magnus Backstedt was in town with the U23 team

The A group crit race info per Garmin.

I was riding really strong and on the very last turn right before the sprint on the last lap....I took the outside line (a first for the race)and someone on the inside of me hit their pedal and moved outside into me....I headed right for the curb and hit the turf. A friend said I had the most gracefull crash he has ever seen.

I'm lucky...bike and rider were fine.

Ciao,
Rick

Tampa Training Crit 1-22-2011

2011-01-28T10:33:00.002-05:00

Due to the large turn out expected; John wisely had the A & B grouped by CAT...it would have been cool to ride with Magnus Backstedt again but I agreed with John G that it would have been too dangerous.

The B group field was pretty large; 40+ riders. Several breaks were attempted and one went away and I thought it would be a good one to jump up to....I did and got in the group of 4-5 of us. Two guys dropped off pretty quick at our 24-25mph pace and the paceline wasn't working too well at the start. I stayed on for 4 laps and was cramping and didn't feel like I was helping enough (I had a GrearLink rider with us) so I backed off to go back to the field.

They stayed away, which kind of bummed me out; I should have been able to stay on and help. I did get good position at the bell lap and was third coming out of the final turn and on the inside; the two in front of me were playing games on not wanting to lead out 300 meters from the finish so I gassed it hard and went for it. I passed them and caught my buddy Cliff (he had jumped with 1K to go) and tried to keep everybody off my back. 10 meters from the finish two AJ riders went around me....so instead of 3rd, I took 5th.

Here are the Garmin stats.

The sad part of the race was that Sandy, after being careful for the whole race and getting the woman's prime, got in a bad crash after the finish...she's better now but it was pretty bad for a bit.

I've been moving ever since....I will be doing the Sunday GearLink ride.

Ciao,
Rick

This is my last move for awhile, REALLY!

2011-01-20T15:06:00.006-05:00

Good Grief.....yup, one more move. I'm signing a 14 month long lease.

A last minute deal happened and I couldn't say no to it so I'm moving this weekend.

Anyone want to help? :-D

Moving to Dunedin, FL from St Petersburg; it's closer to the office by 10-15 minutes,I can ride my bike to work, it's a bigger place, has a swimming pool(s),even a doggie park and puts me in the middle of the county riding/racing wise.

Some b/f moving in shots.

Sadie is going to love this place....me too!

Caio,
Rick

New Year, New Race Team

2011-01-20T14:48:00.005-05:00

I'll be racing for Gearlink Racing this year.

They are a strong team that seems to do everything very well; it is one reason that I'm moving to Dunedin (more on that later).

I'll be updating more on the team and what races that I'm planning to do.

I'm getting new tubies for the carbon wheels...."can you smell that...it smells like...victory". :-)

Caio,
Rick

2010 miles/data

2011-01-11T09:24:00.005-05:00

Interesting to put something like this on 1-11-11 (Speaking of numbers).

I've been in the Tampa area for just over a year now & I'm finally started to feel settled down for the first time since 12-4-08.

Maybe this is a little late, but my stats for 2010:
Total miles:
5056

Total hours:
329

Total Elevation Gain:
59,207'

Total Calories burned:
145,037

One area that I would like to get more miles in is via walking/jogging/running.

My weight for this time of year is dead on....152-155 lbs.

Hopefully by this weekend I'll have a cool announcement to make.....

Caio,
Rick

From St Petersburg with Love Alley Cat Race

2011-01-10T08:51:00.004-05:00

So after getting sick and still not even 70%.....I was bummed that I wasn't going to be able to do the race. I spoke with Sean (who was doing the race b/f moving to NC) and said I couldn't race but would be happy to help main a check point. When I got there he & Stu thought that (if I was interested) I could be a decoy racer, get a flat and whomever stopped to give me a tube to replace the one that "flatted" would get a special "Komrade" award of a Chrome messenger bag from Ben.Sean & I going over the details....

I thought that would be cool and acted like I was going to race and when the race started I jumped up and was in the top 4th position. After the 2nd check point I broke away to go to the 4th check point and got where everyone would see me. I flipped the bike upside down and removed the rear wheel. After about ten people went by Garret stopped and gave me his tube...he ended up finishing 5th!

I took some photos during & after the race.....

It was the most fun I've had NOT racing in a long time!

I'll be easing back into a training program for the upcoming race season.

Caio,
Rick

The Sickness

2011-01-07T12:32:00.004-05:00

Not the name of a band but what I got hit by on 1/2/2011.

Thought it was just a part of the hangover I had but it blossomed into something much more disgusting to me; a bad cold.

I was hoping to continue my training and the temps outside were warming up again. The alleycat race was coming up and so is the race season here for road racing.....

So this week has sucked, but I've tried to do everything possible to get this "killed"; eating right, no drinking, plenty of sleep and I actually called in sick for the first time Weds so I didn't try working when I felt like $hit.

I'm starting to feel better now and will not do anything stupid this weekend; no training group rides and no San Antonio ride....just help out at the Alley Cat race and take a couple of easy rides to loosen my legs up.

Here's to restarting my training program. Plus, Big News soon........

Caio,
Rick

NYE 2010 FL Style

2011-01-07T10:24:00.011-05:00

As it normally happens with me; any set plans were changed early on NYE. I was going to do a Metric Century with the 66 Fixied group but my buddy Chris got ahold of me to go MTB at Alafia at 10am that day. Additionally, I could take Sadie and do some running with her there. Sadie puts up with a lot from me eh?

At the same time Nicole, a friend of mine, had wanted to go to Coco Beach (her car was on the brink) with her for NYE. I never been to Coco Beach and a NYE bonfire on the beach party sounded fun so I said OK.
On New Years Day (1-1-11) we went back to the beach and hung out for awhile (Sadie too)
before heading back....something different and a great way to bring in 2011.

Happy New Years!

Caio,
Rick

From St Petersburg with Love

2010-12-27T10:37:00.006-05:00

January 8th Alley Cat race....it's sure to be a pretty sweet event!

See you there!

Caio,
Rikc

Christmas Holiday Rides....

2010-12-27T10:15:00.007-05:00

Being solo here in Florida wasn't too bad....I ended up doing the Ride-n-Roll group ride Friday morning @ 7:30am. I thought it was supposed to be in the 50's but was in the low 40's instead....it took a long time to warm up but had a great 50 mile ride with some really good people...hit up the Starbucks in Clearwater to warm up....

Saturday a smaller group of us met at 10ish (we wanted it to be warmer at the start of the ride); I made it to the starting point in Largo....."so where are we riding to" I ask. Craig starts grinning...we thought we'd ride to St Pete and back on the bike trail....they laugh....that's exactly where I just drove from! It was a nice spinning ride of 40 miles with a stop in St Pete at Starbucks. Other than the "KOM points" at the overpasses, it was a relaxing, fun ride.
I took sadie to the park for fresbee and hung out next to the water for a bit.

Back at work today and planning the rides this Friday and Saturday....maybe some MTB?

Caio,
Rick

Nutcracker III Alleycat Race

2010-12-20T08:59:00.009-05:00

Brutal but fun race.....garmen info is here. 33 miles on the Pinerallo fixie.

I was in the front group of 5-6 and messed up the first check point by not having my manuscript ready to sign...got gapped and wasn't going to be able to bridge up. I sat up just a bit so Chuck could come up and we worked together the rest of the race. We missed the 3rd check point by roughly a mile; (You never know what each check point will involve....your going as hard as you can go to find/get to each check point. This one we had to get a picture of us with Santa and have the manuscript signed....)

lost 3-4 spots and then buried ourselves trying to make up the spots. We did. I started to have my damn left leg cramp up on me (again) and Chuck was cool enough to take extra pulls.

Results per the Florida Fixed site.

"Fastest results ever.

1. Dave Horst *
2. Pete Young – 1st overall
3. Kelby – 2nd male
4. Ben Pridgeon – 3rd male
5. Chuck – 4th male
6. Rick Adams
7. Mondo
8. Michael Davis
9. Stu G
10. Carol Davis – 1st female
11. Andrew Delia – 1st out of town
12. Jackson Meadows
13. Chad Williams
14. Todd West
15. Dylan Felix – most eggnog – 51 shots without puking
16. Ross Bond
17. Baddaskat
18. Trevor Martin
19. Randon
20. Bradley DFL
21. Aston – 2nd female
*Dave was ineligible for prizes due to winning Nutcracker 1"
35 started the race......

So, three Alleycat races and three 5th places for me. The finish is important but just doing this type of race is a blast.

I hope everybody has a Happy Christmas & New Years! Happy Hanuka too.....

Ciao,
Rick

morning rides and new ride.....

2010-12-16T16:00:00.008-05:00

With daylight running out before I even get home....I've been doing (until the recent cold snap) two 6am morning rides a week. My boss is letting me come to work at 8:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays which allows me to do around 26 miles those two mornings....

It was so cold I ended up trying to surf Tuesday.....it's always good to get back on the water...even if I'm not catching many waves....

I also purchased a Honda Element ('04) as a personal car.....
I have a company provided minivan, so I'll be just driving the Honda on weekends/vacation.....Sadie & I like it a lot.

I've got an Alley Cat Race in St Pete this Saturday....

Lots going on....gotta run!
Ciao,
Rick

Dade City 'Cross Race

2010-12-10T15:54:00.003-05:00

Next to last finish in my age group.....sweet. ugh, the horror, the horror.

Very well run and put on, it unfortunately was a dirt/sand crit course that favoured a "power type" of rider with out much technical skills needed.

Yeah, I hated the course.

Sadie & I hung around for awhile and I shot some photos.

Neat area, but I miss the Northern Ohio and SoCal series for the designs of the courses.

Ciao,
Rick

Clermont, FL cyclocross race

2010-12-03T11:06:00.011-05:00

My first race in FL was a b*tch.....I haven't gone at/over max for 45+minutes in a race in a long time.

The course was pretty cool; here's the garmen on it.

I did well at the mass start but after about 30 minutes the bear jumped on my back and the wheels came off the wagon....I lost some places (the 35+ was racing just behind us) and was hurting...heck, that's what one guy said to another and I passed where they were standing...."that dude looks like he is really hurting"!

I held it together until the last turn right before the bell lap and caught a post coming down a hill into a right hander....I went over the bars hard and laid on the ground for awhile..."well, I got one lap to go" so I got up and finished the last lap.

I ended up coming in 4th in a field of 10....go figure.

The FL championship is this weekend in Dade City...I'll race at least one of the two days depending upon how I feel. I hurt my back on the wipeout during this race.

It's supposed to be cold (40-50's) for FL this weekend so it may even feel like 'cross!

Ciao,
Rick

Turkey Shoot 'Cross Race

2010-12-02T15:26:00.003-05:00

On last Sunday, the 28th we had a "local" cyclocross race that Kelby put on....the first race for Tampa at Picnic Island.

Course layout was great (no paved sections due to park traffic) and the vibe was great.

Everyone started the same time and were supposed to race for 45 minutes with two different groups at the start; the A's and B's.

I had a very good start and settled in to a good pace with some very good riders around me. One Taylor and (?) were both on SS (Taylor was on a Fixie!).....we swapped positions for a few laps and at the bell lap the SS guy comes around me so it's a 3 way race for (I haven't received what place we were in yet) bragging rights....I caught the two guys in the spiral and was able to pass and hold off the guy on the SS but wasn't able to close down the gap on Taylor.....awesome race.

Garmin Data is here.

Not exactly like Cleveland 'cross....maybe like the SoCal Series I did last year...

FL State CX Championships this weekend.....

Ciao,
Rick

T-Day/50th B-Day Family Visit

2010-11-29T13:51:00.006-05:00

For the Big 5-Oh my folks and my son drove down to sunny FL for the Holiday.

It was great seeing and having my son stay with me (my folks stayed in Lutz @ my Bro's place) to celebrate Holiday and Birthday. We watched a friend race in St Pete via walking down with Sadie...

Went to the Ft Desota Dog Beach and went over the Suncoast Skyway Bridge....

We had a great week, plus even I got in 180+ miles and did well at a 'cross race....I miss him already but it's nice I could be with him that week.

Caio,
Rick

Ellsworth Replacement frame

2010-11-29T13:38:00.006-05:00

I decided to replace the Ellsworth with a BMC from a local dealer - St. Pete Bike n Fitness. It was a demo/used frame so the price was were it needed to be and when all was said and done it came in at 16.1 lbs!

I've put almost 180 miles on it in just a week and I'm pleased with the stiffness/comfort of it. I'll give more photos/reviews of it as I dial in the fit.

I'm back with gears!

Caio,
Rick

50th B-Day & T-Day

2010-11-29T06:31:00.004-05:00

Here is the ride that I did on my 50th (52 miles)...via my Garmin 405cx....on the BMC.
:-)

St Pete Group Ride - 50th B-Day & T-Day by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details

Ellsworth Scant Frame

2010-11-12T12:42:00.003-05:00

Being one of my favourite road bike frames that I've owned...I was depressed when it developed a loud "dry wood" creaking sound when riding and really loud when sprinting or climbing. I had two different mechanics look at it and they thought possibly frame separation where the carbon meets the scandium.

It's at Ellsworth now for evaulation.

We will see what happens......I'm bumming big time meanwhile.

Caio,
Rick

APT Update...

2010-11-12T12:32:00.005-05:00

Some more recent photos of the apt.....I'm loving the area!

Yet another move....

2010-10-05T12:19:00.004-04:00

I gotta tell ya I'm so sick of moving I could puke.

But I now have my own place, my own furniture, more room and in a better location (almost downtown St. Pete).

Sadie likes it too....

I have mucho unpacking and organizing to do but am feeling pretty good about things now....just "liv'n my life" now and continuing to more forward.

'Cross season in FL starts in November so I have time to get into shape for it along with another AlleyCat race at the end of this month.

Pictures of the place when I'm done and yes, I'll have room (finally) for visitors this winter...
:-)

Ciao,
Rick

Back to the Basics

2010-08-31T13:03:00.007-04:00

My last big purchase in a long, long time will be the Pinerallo Lungitva SS/Fixie.

This area is perfect for one and the bike, while not a true track bike will work on the track.....hopefully I'll go to the one in the Ft Lauderdale, FL.

I rode in the Tampa Bay AlleyCat race and came in 5th I think out of 55 finishers; due to riding with Paul & Robin, two fast folks that knew the area like the back of their hand! I did the race setup as a SS, but have flipped the wheel and now have it set up as a fixie.....the rear brake comes off next.

Ciao,
Rick

A New Addition

2010-08-19T09:43:00.006-04:00

I finally felt like I was settled in enough to look for a dog. I've had several dogs in the past and for FL thought a Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Healer mix would be good plus I miss the last one I had Cooke.

I found Sadie via Petfinder.com and got her through a rescue house. I was able to meet the owner (2 hrs away in Ft. Myers) and picked her up on August the 8th. She is a 7 yr old female and a touch out of shape.....she's great at catching a Frisbee and just the right mix of laid back and playful. I'll be working with her on getting back in shape and running with me via foot and bike.

At the crit last night some poeple watched her while I raced and she did great....she even ran next to me on the bike back to the car perfectly....I don't think she's ever done that before.

Everything is going well and I'll give updates....

Tampa Training Crit

2010-07-29T12:53:00.004-04:00

I've been doing the Tampa Training Crits almost every Weds night here. They are well run, fun and it has (finally) gotten me back into crit/road racing.

The series started out with the A & B field combined...which was tough. I got sick and missed a couple of weeks and when I started again they had split the A & B groups up and 'cause I'm a CAT4, I was going to be doing the B group race. It's only (roughly) a mile course with 3 sharp but not too tough turns and we race for 30 minutes plus 3 laps. I was able to get back into the grove of it and get two 3rd place finishes and two Saturdays ago get a second in the first race (10 laps) and a first in the second race (5 laps) that was done right after the first. So I got invited up to the As. Last week when I raced As....it was fast and I felt really good to the point of joining a 2 man break and we stayed away for 3-5 laps. I was able to not blow up and stayed on with the group to finish the 1 hour long race. I was stoked.
Last night at the A race I felt like crap all day and during warm ups knew this wasn't going to be good but pushed on ahead anyway.
Mistake.
I felt terrible; in the legs and in the mind. I couldn't mentally push trough and fell off the back, got on the next lap and even though I was cramping a bit didn't toughen up and for the first time in a long time...DNF. I'm not happy.

I will be out this Saturday and next Weds to see about not having that happening again.

Ciao,
Rick

The Keys

2010-07-29T11:32:00.014-04:00

I only live less than 6 hours away from the FL Keys and with the BP Oil spill, I had wanted to check it out again just in case the worst thing happened.

Jode & I left Friday @ 1ish loaded down with camping gear, snorkeling gear and cameras.

It was a great time...the vibe in the Keys is the best. We stayed (camped) in the Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine Key.

Hanging out at the camp ground watching the sun set, snorkeling, visiting Fort Vachary & running into hanging out with Karol, going to Sloppy Joes for chow and drinks (they got a brain freeze drinking).....it was a great time. I picked up 4 indigious FL plants (Seven Year Apple & Spider Lily) and renewed my love of the Keys and the coral reef there. More pictures are here. I just hope the oil stays away.

Ciao,
Rick

I have moved again?

2010-07-09T09:20:00.002-04:00

Good grief....I needed to move again and this time I'm in my OWN apartment, no more sharing. I like how someone wanted to know if I was in a witness protection program...it has felt like for the last 1.5+ years I have been on the go the whole time.

Clearwater Beach was a cool spot and location for doing the beach thing and riding with the Ride-n-Roll crew, but my room mate's schedule and mine just didn't jibe. After looking for 2-3 days I found a SMALL apartment in St Pete's. I'll post some picts of it soon. It's a year lease so I think things should stablize for me a lot and I definately need some of that right now.

The riding here is really good and if I was ever able to run again...the TRI scene is huge here.

Next weekend I'm heading to the Keys for camping and snorkeling; the the oil disaster that has happened in the Gulf, I want to revisit that special place in case the unthinkable happens to it....

Ciao,
Rick

things are going well

2010-06-13T21:53:00.002-04:00

Update long overdue.
Sold the Mini Cooper Clubman....really liked the car but not the monthly payment and I have a "free" company car....it's just a thing.
Looks like the refi is going to happen and Gary will be moving into my place soon.
I have been riding "naked" without my Garmin 405CX for a week now but will be getting that back Tuesday?
Broke the Ti rail on my Selle Italia SLR seat and that's the next thing to "fix"
Doing a lots of Ride-n-Roll groups rides and having a difficult but good time of it.

Hopefully I'm getting back into shape and things are finally failing into place after all heck breaking loose in Nov 2008....patience is a virtue but it's been a difficult lesson to learn.

Every day is getting better....

Caio,
Rick

Up and Down

2010-05-21T20:53:00.000-04:00

So, I had just moved in, raced my first crit and found a really cool EARLY morning (5:30am) group ride to do....and I get sick again. Real sick this time. A week and a half goes by and I figured I'd do an easy ride over the weekend to see how I'm doing.
Ride from the house to the St Pete ride (22 S) and back by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details">My ride Saturday

"recovery ride" from the house south and back by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details">My ride Sunday

No crit race or fast group ride this week but I will get in more zone 3 miles til I'm 100%.

Here's looking towards the weekend!
Ciao,
Rick

Riding & Moving today

2010-05-01T06:19:00.002-04:00

I'm going on a group ride out of St. Pete this morning then moving to a beach cottage two blocks off of Clearwater Beach. I'm pretty excited cause when (it doesn't happen often)the waves are good, I want to be able to do the Dawn Patrol then go to work.

I'll post some pictures of the place later; Tim is going to be my house mate so I'm hoping we will get along together well....he's dating a TRI gal so it will be nice to have active people around the place.

I did my first training Crit race this week and finished in the pack and felt pretty good. My left leg still hasn't loosened up yet so I'm going to see about getting a message or something to help loosen it up....it's still pretty sore.

Sold the Mini Cooper this week, that helps a lot....I'll miss it but I can always get one later.

Well, mucho packing/riding to do.....I hope everyone has a good weekend and here's to Aimee's doing well at her TRI this weekend.

Ciao,
Rick

Mountain Biking in FL?

2010-04-17T23:05:00.003-04:00

Yes there is great mountain biking in FL. This is the second time I've been to Alafia River State Park and I think it's a blast to ride.

Alafia River State Park by rickadams60 at Garmin Connect - Details

I met up with Chris B and two buddies of his today.

More later....bed time and a road ride tomorrow morning.

Ciao,
Rick

Tampa Crit

2010-04-14T22:35:00.000-04:00

The Tampa Crit is something I wanted to do in a bad way...short story is I was making progress in my conditioning and then got sick again 4-5 days before the race.

That sucked and I'm racing down here as a GDI so I thought it would be dumb to race not feel'n it so I went and took photos of it.

So I got better rode well for another couple of weeks and got hit again by another cold...laying low for a week but am going to go out for an easy ride tomorrow night.

Best of luck for my northern friends entering race season now.

As far as my racing season.....we will see.

Ciao,
Rick

Life in Lutz (Tampa)

2010-03-25T06:26:00.003-04:00

I've been at my new job since Dec 1st and living with my brother in Lutz. It has been quite the "culture shock" coming from San Diego, CA to here and working for Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles to Finn Marketing Group.
I went from surfing 1-2 mornings b/f work and riding on my bike to work to driving to work, gaining mucho weight and not having much to surf.....not bad just different.
Lutz is more like a sleepy suburb whereas Poway (San Diego) was in the middle of a great activity area; surf/road/mountain bike within minutes of where I lived.
I've been doing as many group rides to meet people and get to know the area better; once my house/car situation gets figured out, I'll be looking for a better place to move to activity wise and hopefully ride to my office.
So the weight is coming off, I'm getting over a cold I just got and everything is still going well; the racing will have to take a back burner for awhile I guess.
Oh, due to my new location and a significant kit change, I'm no longer on Team Snakebite Racing. I wish the team and the current officers the best and I'll continue to follow the team and wear the old kit....I think any racing I do this year will be as a GDI....kinda like starting over again, huh?

Ciao,
Rick

getting back at it

2010-01-24T08:01:00.003-05:00

well....my work out schedule has sucked to put it lightly and I finally started doing something about it this last week. 4 straight days of doing some kind of activity weather it would be biking or rollerblading (believe it or not). My left ham/calf have not been the same since suffering a severe cramp months ago. So I'm trying to take it slow and ramp up my work outs.
The weather here is back to normal (70s - I got a slight sunburn yesterday)...sorry Gary we had abnormally cold temps here!

Got alot to do today...enjoy the weekend!

Ciao,
Rick

I'm alive.....

2010-01-12T12:12:00.004-05:00

Wow....a super long time since my last post! I blame it on Facebook!

The move went as well as it could for driving 2500+ miles in three days and starting work two days after I arrive.

I've had family and friends visit and have tried to re-check out the scene; I used to live in the Palma Ceia part of Tampa 15 years ago and have always missed living there. I'm now sharing a house with my (younger) brother in Lutz.

I'll be better at this....it's nice having aaron just a 2 hr plane flight away from me now.

Ciao,
Rick

Moab Ellsworth Owner's Retreat

2009-11-18T16:03:00.007-05:00

November 6-8th was the annual Ellsworth Moab Retreat; 35 people showed up and were treated to some of the best trails around.

I'll post pictures on my FLICKR soon.

I rode slickrock on my Enlightenment 29er SS on Friday, a Moment on Saturday & Sunday. Ate it hard twice, with one time landing on my wrist and head....

UCI Sunday Race

2009-11-03T08:25:00.003-05:00

A little late with this, but I worked the Ellsworth tent the whole day but raised over $500.00 in selling raffle tickets for just that day. Malissa Petrov won the Ellsworth Roots 54cm cyclocross frame and fork.

Donny from SBR did it up along with friends from Spin & Lake Effect.

More later....
Ciao,
Rick

Pre-UCI & Post Cinci Race

2009-10-22T09:21:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure what is going on here......
Gary had wiped out during Friday's race and Brett was helping to clean out Gary's knee....

This was the night b/f our races Saturday....did I mention that Brett & I went out to "carbo load" later that night....mucho carbos!

It must have worked...Brett won his age group, I came in 4th in mine and Gary got 5th in his. Donny wowed the crowd with his superior skilz and his refined style.

Pictures are here.

I'll add more what took place on Sunday's race later.

Ciao,
Rick

'Cross race in Cali (SoCal Prestige Series)

2009-10-21T09:20:00.004-04:00

I'm way behind in any posts...my first race in this series was the third race. I ended up lining up in the last row; Ellsworth is helping sponsor the race and I was helping others in my booth and didn't get to the line early enough. Great course design and short story is that I started last (27th) and ended up getting 19th for a first effort of the season.

The UCI races in Cinci are up next.

Cioa,
Rick

A teaser from my climb

2009-09-29T23:44:00.010-04:00

InterBike was great....mucho contacts and work to do, but it's good to be back and be able to ride to & from the office again.

Here's up the first part of the 1,200 foot climb I get to take in the morning....

This is the recovery section....I can't ride one handed and "film" on most of the climb.

Finally

2009-09-08T23:48:00.006-04:00

Finally a new post.....been busy but no excuse.
- new 'cross bike out and Ellsworth is (help) sponsoring:
*So Cal 'Cross Prestige Series
*UCI - Cincy/Bio-Wheels
*Velo Bella Women's Racing Team

Interbike is coming up and Ellsworth has 7+ new bikes coming out including a new hardtail Enlightenment carbon 29er that is sure to kick some a$$. Lord knows that I try kicking some on my "old" Ellsworth Enlightenment Scandium/Carbon Hardtail; both can be rigged as a SS or a geared bike via removable drop outs.
WORD.

My continuing efforts on becoming a better surfer....

Still figuring out what to do with my home back in Brecksville, OH.

Things will work out.

Life's Good.
Rick

The Fox Fork Came in!

2009-07-19T21:49:00.004-04:00

Mucho thanks to Jesper who loaned me his White Bros Carbon rigid fork for my Enlightenment hardtail 29er SS.

The Fox fork just showed up this week and I rode with it on Saturday.....Jesper has way higher skilz than I and I love the Fox fork with 15mm through axle performance.

Better pictures of it later...after I get back from working at the 24 hrs of 9 Mile in WI.

Ciao,
Rick

Time for Change

2009-07-13T00:58:00.003-04:00

To the Ellsworth Scant road bike for me.

First time on it with the parts from my Cervelo R3 was very nice. I'm looking forward to riding it to work tomorrow and throwing it on the scales...any guesses?

Update:
Got the saddle dialed in and it weighed as shown - 15.65

Ciao,
Rick

Granny Gears 24hrs at Big Bear

2009-06-15T18:24:00.002-04:00

A complete write up soon.....photos are here

Uhm I forgot to

2009-06-07T23:03:00.007-04:00

Yeah, I have forgotten to keep up with this.

Ever since getting the OK to do this Mid West Demo Days Tour and The Granny Gears 24hrs of Big Bear it has been a blur of activity. Felt like I was moving again and having to pack the van perfectly and then try to see if the items that didn't arrive in time to get shipped to me (laptop/wheels/SS kit/Fork & 2 bikes). Jeese.

I stopped in Boulder to visit w/Jen & Jesper and do the Death Ride....should have been called the death march for me...being out of shape and the altitude killed me w/in 30 minutes or so...still the 5 mile downhill was big fun.

The rest of the trip was long and boring, well the dude I picked up that looked like he was in big trouble and took him the rest of the way to Moab (40 miles) made that park interesting....'cept in Chicago where Kristin made Martinis that brutalized my head and made the next day way too much fun....not.

I'll download some photos and more updating; tonight I got back from leaving on last Thursday to meet w/a new dealer in C-bus for us (Northland Cycles - High St, Columbus) and then head to BioWheels for a Friday activity where after hours Nate crushed me on a little 33 mile road ride. Another hotel and then the Harbin Park Opening Day MTB festivities that were fun....'cept no riding for me. Lots of demos though and fun for all. After that drove up to C-bus....slept at a Relatives empty house (kinda weird) and then off today for the CORA/Ellsworth Demo Day at Alum Creek. Great weather and I did get to ride the Phase II course and had a blast doing it.

Looks like some sales will result from these two days of Demos and more to come!

A couple more demos this week and it's off to see Da Bear in WV.

Nite!
Rick

The Weekend....

2009-05-18T00:03:00.008-04:00

Went surfing for the first time at San Onofre Park, CA yesterday with Beverly...rock not sand bottom made for good consistent long waves and some of the best rides I've had yet. Each ride on the board is getting better.

Rode the Ritchey Ti 'cross bike today with the AlphaQ fork on it and quick stop 'cross brake pads and had NO brake chatter!
I rode the bike on the nearby MTB trial where I got a few weird looks at me blasting by on the 'cross bike with Duro ties and Ellsworth wheels on it. The 'cross scene isn't big here, go figure. Tires hooked up real well...I did get a rear flat....snakebit no doubt! So all the new stuff I was checking out worked great and felt fast.

Met Beverly to go hiking and then some great Mexican food...a great weekend.

Getting ready for my Trip to the Mid West for 3-4 demo day weekends and the Granny gears 24hrs of Big Bear Race in June....hope to see you there!

Ciao,
Rick

Ellsworth Featured in San Diego Union-Tribune

2009-05-15T13:35:00.007-04:00

This photo shows the Seal Team and our Solo Marine Competitor.

Here's a story on the Navy Seal team we help sponsor and has my photo that I took featured.

Our 29er, full suspension, 4" travel, Evolve is a great weapon to use for 24hrs races.

Stay tuned for more news.

Rick

Night Riding

2009-05-15T09:18:00.004-04:00

(The new MiNewt.X2 is on the right)

I don't know why I don't do this more often.

I've ridden with lights three times this week; twice on the road and twice mountain biking. None of them have been hard rides....just fun ones.

However, one of my favourite rides since moving out here was the night ride before the 24hrs of Adrenaline at Hurkey Park was held. Lots of climbing and the descents were wild; I did them faster at night that I could in the day, go figure.

I recently bought a NiteRider MiNewt.X2 from one of the Navy Seal Race team members (Eric) that we help sponsor. Wow the difference it is compaired to my old NiteRider light is unbelievable! Lighter, more powerful, quicker charging......NICE.

I'll definitely be doing more rides at night.....

Ciao,
Rick

The weekend

2009-05-10T22:49:00.006-04:00

why am i not smiling?

This was the first completely non-Ellsworth event weekend that I've had for almost a month. I'm not complaining, but it was nice planning to do whatever I wanted and when I wanted to do it.

Saturday, I picked up the surf board (it had another ding in that was non-surfing related), I went bike apparel shopping with a friend, then surfing at Solana Beach, followed by tasty shrimp and fish tacos capped off but a night ride on the Bianchi SISS (which is for sale, BTW).

Today was surfing at Del Mar beach, relaxing at bit at "home" then going for a 40 mile ride along the PCH. It was waaaaaaay nice. I'm sore right now but in pretty good spirits. BTW, Red Stripe beer is pretty good stuff.

Have a good week everyone!

Cioa,
Rick

Pua & Ron's House Warming Ride/Party

2009-05-07T09:57:00.004-04:00

Working at Ellsworth does have it's perks....

Had mucho climbing with some fantastic decents....definately feel'n the love again for riding MTB.

More later...gotta get to work.

Ciao,
Rick

24 Hours of Adrenalin™ - Hurkey Creek Spring (2009)

2009-05-07T01:51:00.005-04:00

This race brought back sooooo many memories of the three Granny Gear 24 hrs of Snow Shoe that I did (1 crewed and two raced) back in 2000/2001/2002....so Donny, Alex & Billy, yeah, I was thinking of ya!

Anyway, the Navy Seal team we help sponsor and crewed for won their division by two laps, the Marine who tried the race for the first time (and did it solo) finished with 11 laps...outstanding. Nothing like being sleep deprived & drinking many malted beverages, riding the course at night and riding all over the place shooting photos for Ellsworth of the great people who raced this.

People who know ride Ellsworth.

Ciao,
Rick

My first crash this year

2009-04-29T16:37:00.007-04:00

I was going to post on the 24 Hours of Adrenalin™ at Hurkey Creek Park after my road ride this morning around the office. 'Cept on the way back from the turn-a-round I was just getting into some tasty turns in a decent when a white pick up truck passes me in a big hurry and heads into the turns in front of me. I'm watching it and start to pick up some speed thinking that sob better keep moving so I can enjoy the fruits of doing all of this climbing. Right in the turn I see "him" put the brakes and slow waaaay down; I'm thinking wtf and before I can think about it I'm on him and am forced to hit the back of him or put the bike down.

You'll be happy to know I sacrificed myself to keep the bike from getting hurt.

That and when I locked up the back & I could feel the tubular tire come off I'm thinking, "oh no, not a Beloki"....luckly I didn't break anything but did get a big bunch of road rash. I can't sit down for sure...let's just keep it at that...no pictures. That and I'm already stiff-n-sore....

I can't wait to get out again....I'll be more careful next time.

Ciao,
Rick

Sea Otter 2009

2009-04-20T23:26:00.007-04:00

Pro Neven Steinmetz showing the gurlz (and guys) how to fly on her Project Pink Dare
This shot of Pro Team Rider Neven Steinmetz is a fav cause you can see where she is looking at...this is her practicing for the slalom race on her Project Pink Moment
Real heroes that race bikes very fast, Active duty Navy Seals that have a race team we help sponsor
Navy Seal Ted racing the Super D

I'm disappointed that I didn't get a shot of our XC star Pua Sawicki racing; I did have a chance to meet her.

8 hours of driving in a crew cab pulling a trailer, 4 guys sleeping in one room for 4 nights with one bathroom, thousands of spectators and competitors in every aspect of bike racing, meeting pro racers, riding different Ellsworth bikes to take photos of them and others, meeting and helping current & future customers, getting sunburned and working long days with refreshing beverages......followed by a long drive home, getting in late and then starting the work week again on Monday.

That is Sea Otter.

Is this great or what......

Photos are here....I wish I would have taken more of the venue and the people, but I did need to get back to the booth and work also.

Today's ride on the Ellsworth Evolve

2009-04-12T22:26:00.010-04:00

I met up with three guys EARLY this morning and headed up to Vail Park to get in some riding before the other guys had to get home for family commitments. Yeah and I actually wore my baggy bike shorts...I'm sure many of you would be surprised that I actually own a pair!

I have never ridden a 29er before, let along a 4" travel full suspension one. We ended up riding for 2:40 and climbed (ok, some hike-n-bike) 1920'. The trails here do not have any logs to worry about but plenty of sand & rocks....that and a long fall down off of the ridge line!

I was surprised to not feel a big difference in handling of the 29er Evolve. In fact it seemed to take all my bad lines in stride and make for an enjoyable experience. I can tell you it climbs really well and descends even better. The other three guys had gone down a steep decent and yelled up to me to stay left....what do I do? Take the right line and had visions of a huge endo....the Evolve took it in stride and had the guys laughing that the bike had more skilz than me. No doubt.

My friend Jeff just rode it and couldn't stop talking about how much better it felt. Uh, Rick, how much does this cost he asked? :-) Looks like his Specialized FSR full suspension may end up being on "Craigslist".

Anyway, a great day and I'm loving getting back into mountain biking and will consider making the Evolve my ride. Well, after I ride the 5-1/4" travel Epiphany!

Oh, I did (finally) get in an hour of surfing today on the "old/new" board that I have now. Just an hour? Well it seems that the good conditions are more consistent here so just an hour was enough to get me happy to be out in the surf again.

I'm just starting to have fun (work & pleasure) out here but I do miss you guys. Good luck to all at RATL & the Covered Bridge Races!

Ciao,
Rick

The move and time change....

2009-04-08T00:15:00.001-04:00

I'm struggling with getting everything together and feel like the great Jimmy H says...(cue the music)

Riding the Ellsworth Scant

2009-04-07T16:29:00.011-04:00

The Scant is the road bike that Ellsworth makes here in the US and I wanted to take one out to see how it felt & climbed. Tony was nice enough to loan me his and I took it out for some quick climbing and compared it to my Cervelo R3 this morning.

The Scant was a small (53cm effective length top tube) and had different geometery than the Cervelo. The Scant felt lower; Tony said that he had designed it per Pros feedback that they wanted a lower bike with a roomy cockpit. It felt great and decended fantastic. The wheels shown are the carbon clinchers.

I'll see if I can take it out on a longer ride for more feedback on it, but I was very pleased by the looks and ride of it. Don't be surprised if you see me racing on it this season.

Ciao,
Rick

First Day at Ellsworth

2009-04-06T22:59:00.004-04:00

Is history and it was a good one. It was like being a kid at a candy store seeing all of the bike & frames. People there are great....

Tony is letting me take out his personal Scant (road bike) for a taste test tomorrow morning. It will take place on the twisty, steep but tasty climb/decent road right where the office is. I'll be riding it and then the Cervelo R3 to compare how they feel. They weigh about the same 16ish and change. The test should be a good one except that the Ellsworth will have the Ellsworth carbon clinchers on it and the Cervelo the Tubies....maybe I'll use the same wheelset for both?

This weekend may have have some Truth or an Epiphany to it? Yummy trail riding it looks like.

It's been a long but good day.

Ciao,
Rick

It's been a blur...or should i say an Epiphany?

2009-04-06T00:13:00.002-04:00

The drive to get here and then getting settled in have been crazy and my first day at Ellsworth is tomorrow.

Pictures and more of the story later.

Ciao,
Rick

Ellsworth

2009-03-24T16:21:00.003-04:00

Yes, it looks as though I'll be leaving Ohio for 3 months to work at Ellsworth as a contractor/intern with becoming the manager there as the goal after 3 months.

This is a huge move for me even though I'll be back in 3 months to take care of my house, cat, furniture, etc......it's pretty wild leaving everything here except what I can put into the Mini Cooper Clubman.

I'll be at the shop by April 6th and helping out at our booth at Sea Otter April 16-19th so if anyone is going, stop by and say "hi"!

No formal good byes yet....but I am excited by this opportunity and want to thank everyone for the help and support you given me.

I'll be updating the blog with the trip and Ellsworth happenings.

Peace,
Rick

California dreaming

2009-03-22T22:32:00.002-04:00

I'm hoping to get an offer to work for a company tomorrow.

If not I'll be doing the 9-5 thing in Cleveland which isn't all so bad after all......hope fully I'll know soon.

Ciao,
Rick

Sunday Ride

2009-03-22T22:08:00.005-04:00

Was a struggle for me but a good time for all. Seems like the 10+ HRS OF DRIVING I did to unload the motorcycle that AG had to have took a tool on my knee. Still a great 35 mile ride.

Life is getting better by the day.

Ciao,
Rick

what am I thinking about?

2009-03-19T08:44:00.006-04:00

So during my fun 40+ mile ride to Chagrin Falls and back on Tuesday, I'm listening to my iPod on shuffle and Offspring comes on...a big smile hits me and I can't help but think this song is what Billy B kept saying ___ was all about and I agree....

Hopefully within a week I'll know if I'll be off on an adventure soon....

Ciao,
Rick

Mountain Bikes for Sale

2009-03-18T18:09:00.008-04:00

2003 Bianchi SISS w/Chris King headset, Marzoc Bomber fork & the rigid one - $639.00
1999 Klein Mantra w/upgraded ISIS crank & air shock front fork - SOLD.
I gotta tell ya I have an empty feeling inside watching the Klein leave.....
1997 Trek VW "Limited Edition" SS Mountain bike with upgraded ISIS crank, Surly flip-flop hub (20 & 16) and upgraded front brake and fork (it was rigid) - SOLD to Eric! This was my first real mountain bike and then converted it to a single speed; I'm glad Eric bought it...

Ciao,
Rick

Ellsworth 'Cross Bike?

2009-03-18T08:54:00.002-04:00

Check it out......Ellsworth sold out of last year's issue.

I don't know about you....but it is getting me pretty "excited".
:-)

Here's the information on it.

I'll post more information as I get it.

Ciao,
Rick

A ride at the "Chip" yesterday

2009-03-17T10:12:00.005-04:00

I was able to get away for just about an hour yesterday and I'm blessed with being riding distance to the MetroPark in Brecksville.

So I was going to do an easy ride....well, if you've ever ridden the Chippewa Road (Race) course....it's tough to just soft pedal it.

I saw Ted on the road and got in a fun workout.....about 3 laps worth.

Could Spring be here?

Ciao,
Rick

LSD Ride with Donny Sunday

2009-03-17T10:04:00.003-04:00

Yep, I got to ride outside with Donny on Sunday.

A nice 3 hr ride with the high light being the Boston Mills climb.

A great day and we had a lot of fun...if you discount Donny's poor "twig & berries" issue.

Ciao,
Rick

Velodrome Fundraiser March 26th @ The Blind Pig

2009-03-12T11:01:00.003-04:00

Dave is setting this up....

The bar tabs go to Fast Track Cycling and Dave will be raffling off some free stuff.
A frame, fork, cranks, and wheelset from alien bikes.
A bag from seagull bags
A bag from dirtbag packworks
A subscription to urban velo
A prize basket from the grog shop.

The Blind Pig is at:

Let's support this...you could be riding in an indoor velodrome this time next year if everyone gets on the bandwagon!

Rick

Two Days of Nice Weather

2009-03-08T19:52:00.006-04:00

Wow...was that nice! Got in two days of roughly 35 miles each day....solo the first day on Valley Parkway and then met up with some SBR folks (and two guests) for a nice group ride.

Way glad I got out...today was perfect Ohio weather....rainy and 47'F.

Back in Black

2009-03-02T18:49:00.007-05:00

Well, back in Cleveland.

Despite a tender knee, I put in over 400 miles and avg'd 10 hrs per week of activity (2 days of surfing).

So I promptly got the chest cold crap that has been going around last Thursday and it's still hanging on today.

Regardless, I'll be doing some kind of trainer workout tomorrow. And it will be on the Ritchey....gotta spread the luv around with the gurlz. The Cervelo got plenty of action in FL.

It's depressing to come to the snow and cold of Cleveland, but I'm glad I was able to get out as much and meet as many people as I did down in FL.

Yeah, the photos don't match coming back....almost in the opposite.

As Eric says,
GAME ON!

Surfing Part Duex

2009-02-20T17:32:00.007-05:00

(no this is NOT me, I just took the photo)

So today didn't go as well as yesterday, way bigger waves and I was already worn out before I even got going.

My board decided to let me know I wasn't worthy by adding a lump to my head after one spectacular ejection from the board.

I finally wised up after two hours and got out the trusty NIKON for some shots of the real surfers.

Please note what this guy is doing with a LONG BOARD....whoa!

Later.

Dude

2009-02-20T08:43:00.002-05:00

The language of surfers.....

Went out for 4 hours yesterday and am leaving soon for more this morning.

Peace out, Brah.

More biking in FL

2009-02-15T09:11:00.007-05:00

Pictures from the San Antonio Road Race....yes there are some nasty rollers/hills in FL!

I'm riding almost everyday...I haven't raced down here yet. I don't think my conditioning is there yet and it's mid season for folks down here. I have taken photos of an old SBR team mate, Chris B on two races. It's a BIG scene down here and there are some nice folks that I've ridden with and met. I did ride 20 miles during the race getting into position to take photos lugging my NIKON D40X around!

My right knee is killing me; I think it's from using my Specialized old shoes with my new Crank Brothers Quattro pedals. My left foot went numb and then hurt to the point that I couldn't hardly pedal with it during my 77 mile ride. I think my right leg/knee over compensated for that and is why it hurts. I think with the cleats on better shoes the Quattros would work out fine. Once I get back to Ohio I'll put them on the Ritchey Ti for a better evaluation using my SIDI storm winter shoes....it's still snowing up there. right?
:-D

Soooooo, in the mean time I've put the Speed Plays back on and will see if that helps.

Biking in FL

2009-02-12T11:48:00.003-05:00

Other than interviews/trade shows and taking personality profiles, I have been back on the bike (finally).
Last week Chris B. was kind enough to let me stay at his place during the show and we went on several rides together and one day I rode with the Trigators (trigators.com). The last ride shook me out of my funk....rough totals for that week....118 miles and 3100 cals (yes, I'm trying to loose my Jan weight gain).
So far this week 3 rides and roughly 125 miles....I'm taking today off or just a short recovery ride after yesterday's 77 miles and going to the beach.
I really don't want to come back up north until the weather gets better!
:-D

Ciao,
Rick

R & R Time in FL

2009-02-11T10:22:00.003-05:00

Finally.....I've been interviewing & doing fun things like personality profile tests and have just completed the last of them this morning.

I'm going to check out the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail; it looks like 33 miles one way and shouldn't be crowded during the week...no cars to worry about. It's the same ride Gary & I did a couple of years ago except I'm doing the whole route (and no Pat - sorry).

More later....gotta get out.

Ciao,
Rick

Cervelo News from Bike Authority

2009-01-30T16:22:00.004-05:00

The picture from my cell doesn't do it justice.

Unfortunately due to the terrible weather we had on Wedsnesday....not many people got to see this tasty piece of biking porn.

Bike Authority will be one of the few shops getting many of these in this year.

Call them to check it out.

Ciao,
Rick

Bike Fitting at Bike Authority

2009-01-30T16:21:00.002-05:00

The Bike Authority now offers Dartfish.......and I wanted to see if anything had changed on my Cervelo R3 (I had been changing parts on it) and compare it to my Ritchey Ti.

It's a great way to get fitted and Mike did a great job at fine tuning my fit....he had nailed it down at the start of the season and this confirmed it. Plus with Dartfish we were able to see how much my left foot was moving during the pedal stroke and set up some CrankBrothers pedals to evaluate if limiting my pedal float would help or hurt the left knee pain that I get sometimes.

You should check this out.

Oh, and can you see what is wrong with the picture of the Ritchey? Thanks, Rudy for taking care of it and no more drinking while I wrench!

Ciao, Rick

Training, what training?

2009-01-25T12:31:00.003-05:00

You would think that by being unemployed that I'd have all of this free time to train and get in killer condition for the season fast approaching.

It's actually tougher to do b/c of the time I'm spending job searching and the extremely fixed income that I'm on right now. Nothing like knowing that if you don't find employment within a fixed amount of weeks/days your screwed.

The employment search is going OK, but is scary as hell. I have several "leads" and have completed a second interview w/a company, but it would be nice to have an offer on the table right now. It would also be nice to find local employment instead of having to look outside of Ohio. I'd rather stay here, keep the townhouse, stay close to my son and teammates, velodrome, etc.

I have been x-c skiing (it's free & close by) here and with a friend from Chicago that I've met who will be returning to work after being laid off since April of '08. The next two weeks will be big for me; I'm going to a convention in Orlando, FL in two weeks to set up and interview with some companies that will be attending the show. And yes the Cervelo & Surf board will be going down with me. All work and no play make for a dull rick.

I still have a positive attitude....it's just been a huge distraction.

Ciao,
Rick