Thursday, October 2, 2008

Show Of Hands .... Who Has Ever Been Locked In A Cemetary?

After a great Matt Marchal cyclocross clinic Tuesday night a few of us (Joe, Rob, Curtis and new Matt) headed off down by the river for some challenging trails. Note to self, do it on a mountain bike next time. After a great time we decided due to the increasing darkness we had best find a road home. We pop up out of the trail to find ourselves smack in the middle of the famed Hollywood Cemetary. Pretty cool tooling around past some graves of Civil War soldiers and the like. Hey it's getting dark, let's head for the gate. Uh oh, big chain and really high fence! Getting a little nervous until we get towards the back and see a regular chain link fence. After some limboing underneath and bike hoisting over the top we were on our way tearing down Cary Street back to Byrd Park.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Reality Bites

We all joke around and have a good time, then reality whacks you upside the head and we are forced to put life into perspective. Our hearts go out to Steve, Nang and all the wonderful people of Tara Thai in this time of tragedy. You are family.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Good Eats


Nothing better post ride then some great eats. Last night was the best, need to make it a regular event.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Perfect ........

A textbook ride today. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Off the Back

So the other night I'm driving across town, weaving my way through traffic to get myself to the regular Wednesday night ride, when I realize I'm running pretty close to being late (we depart at 6PM). I reach into my gear bag on the seat next to me and start pulling on my jersey, gloves, socks, and helmet to speed things up so no one has to wait for me once I get there. About now I'm really glad that I already have my shorts on. By the way, it's already 6:02.

As I turn right onto the road leading to the parking lot where we start (did I mention we depart at 6PM), I see the train of jerseys heading up the road towards me. I'm late.

"Oh, shit! Better hustle."

I park... jump out of the car... get my shoes on... grab the bike out of the trunk... throw on the water bottles and wheels and start chasing. No time to zip the jersey, just go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm no stranger to time trials having just done my 8th one this season just three days earlier, so I throw it into TT mode. At one point seeing a solid 28mph, I start thinking, "I hope my teammates get caught at the light right after the first hill climb because I'm going to be cooked if I have to keep this up." Wasn't last night supposed be be the hard ride?

I get to the first stop light with the HR in the 170s, but they're not there, so I keep on truckin' up the next hill when I suddenly get a glimpse of a long train of riders pulling around a corner and out of sight.

Back into TT mode -- head down, spin the legs, breath and try to relax, this is after all a 35 mile ride!

About another mile or so down the road, I realize that I'm getting slowed in the traffic that's built up behind the pace line that's now looming closer, maybe 500 yards, up the road. This was the first time I had to apply the breaks as the cars were clearly in my way and slowing me down. I quickly flashed in my mind to the pro peloton thinking this must be what it's like for riders who have to maneuver through their team cars to get back on after flatting or some other mishap. This sucks. Cars are dangerous and I am not in the mood for hostile rush hour traffic.

Thank the lord for red lights.

I finally catch on when the group gets caught by one. No time for words to anyone as the light turns green and then we're off. My time trial over, I really appreciate the next few minutes being able to sit in with the group and ride along easily at 23 mph behind a dozen or so friends who are towing me along.

It really sucks to be off the back!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Time Trial, Great Friends and Good Food

Another wonderful day of time trial racing at the PLT where the Spin Mafia represented admirably. Major bummer for our diva Pave Maria who got not one but two flats! Some times you're the windshield, some times you're the bug. Great post race bubbly tasting happy hour. Kudos to Mr. Burns for the suggestion of lunch at an awesome BBQ place with Homer Simpson sized sangwiches.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Drunk West End MILF

We cyclists experience quite a few crazy sights in our travels, but at tonight's shop ride there may have been a new standard set. OK, mid 40's lady in her Range Rover pulls up to where we are congregating and says we look hot. Well, that isn't the first time someone has said that so we let it slide. She starts chatting aimlessly about biking and her million dollar house on River Road. Then she cuts off her car and pulls out a beer (one of many) the whole time complaining that her son at Collegiate drinks too much. Hmm, apple not falling too far from the tree and all. After an eternity of getting far too much of her life story, and Don Vito being given her name, number and address along with an offer to "stop by sometime for a drink" we gladly embark on our ride. A bit up River Road we see her drive by and thank our lucky stars she is out of our life. Not. As we round a bend we see her vehicle pulled over, door open and she is sitting in the road with the remains of her six pack cheering us on. As we buzz by she tumbles backwards in a drunken stupor. They say it's always 5 o'clock somewhere.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

They Brought Game!

Well Ham on Wheels, like all worthy competitors, accepted the challenge and came out for the infamous Spin Mafia Classic ride. With a group of nearly 30 riders it was bound to be a history making day of pedal pushing. Despite a flat or two and some seriously thick, muggy air, it was a fabulous day in the sadle. New friendships were established, camerderie was high, meat was exchanged and the Spin Mafia has expanded it's influence yet again.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Tee Tee

The Spin Mafia represented very well at the State Time Trial. Pave, Pedro, Joey, Fast Eddie, Paulie Walnuts, Robster and Lizbeth all brough home BAR points and contributed to to the team's meat supply. Kudos to Godfather Ben for bringing out the best in us and to Julie for the great post-race champagne. Karen and Co, always put on a great race. Best of all it was Mexican-free ride home!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Summertime Groove

June 20th -- officially, the longest day of the year. Somehow we got here pretty fast in 2008. I figure today, the official first day of summer, is as good a day as any to post an entry into the "family" blog. So here goes...

I noticed recently that attendance is up at the Saturday 8AM ride. I like that. Now, don't get me wrong. There's something special about the SM wintertime training rides and intimate conversation that the Saturday ride inevitably becomes in January and February when temperatures force most reasonable cyclists onto the trainer and out of the wind. But summertime is good stuff for cyclists. We live for this time of year... a bluebird sky, the sun above, the smell of pine in the air. It's poetry -- youknowwhatI'm saying?

Anyway, after the usual parking lot meet and greet to share stories and get gear together, we roll out casually falling into line (usually 2X2) to work out the legs and get the HR going -- some appear to shake the cobwebs out more easily than others, but we all ride together up our first series of hills and past the lake. That is when things start to get interesting and the SM ride begins to take on a shape and texture that is always unique to that day and determined by the mixture of cyclists who chose to forgo a leisurely breakfast with the paper and to haul ass to the start before (or just at) 8 that day. So when we we hit Duval the pace starts to pick up, and you cannot ride Duval without generating a paceline. That road just screams paceline. It's not negotiable.

Well, so now I could go into to a play-by-play of the ride for those of you who have never experienced it, but words will neither accurately convey the experience nor, as they say, do it justice. So with that, I will digress for a moment to muse about an aspect of the ride that is worth taking a few minutes to describe...

Somewhere along the course of the ride (you never know where exactly), something gels and that is when SM regulars and guests alike get rolling into one of those sections of road when all the legs seem to be spinning in a harmonious orchestration of feet to pedals, wheels to pavement -- making for a smooth, spontaneous groove. Take the new hills we've incorporated into the route ever since a recent detour led to that discovery.

This road is prime cyclist blacktop with a high groove potential.

I love "the groove." "The groove" is different than "the zone" in that "the zone" is a fairly solitary and personal experience that is often discussed in athletic terms about an individual who is performing in a well-balanced peak of mind/body excellence. You hear people say, "he's in 'the zone'." A very solitary experience. Whereas, "the groove" is more akin to a group or communal experience. It mystical almost and much more powerful by definition (due to the basic math).

In fact, there are actually times when one must be in and then pass through "the zone" in order to reach "the groove." If you are able to get enough people into "the zone" at the right time -- and under the right conditions -- an amazing transformation occurs that can elevate the entire group into "the groove" -- it's a beautiful thing to witness.

If the groove were a color it would look like an aurea borealis.

This is what I get out of bed for each Saturday to ride with the SM. But, hey, there's a whole lot of us groovers out there. Of that I'm pretty sure.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The New Hill

Totally rockin'. Beautiful assault with a perfect paceline. Yes, it IS easier when everything comes together. Old guys rule. That's how we roll .........

Friday, May 16, 2008

How to get rid of your bike

"After looking at the chain that Mr. Millar broke today, the mechanics are plain dumbfounded. It didn’t break on the pin, but right in the middle of the link."
- Jonathan Vaughters, Team Slipstream

A broken chain with 800m to go dashed all hopes for a possible stage 5 win for David Millar in the Giro d'Italia. Critical point, critical equipment misbehavior. What are the odds?!Ever feel like this when your bike malfunctions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqTKaDmUr1w

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Cap To Cap Century

Always a great time, best pals, nice and smooth ride. Y'all are the best.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Sometimes You Have To Take A Stand

Family first and always.

Romeo was restless, he was ready to kill.
He jumped out the window cause he couldn't sit still.
Juliet was waiting with a safety net.
He said "Don't bury me cause I'm not dead yet".

"Mystery Dance" Elvis Costello - 1977

Ciao.



Monday, April 28, 2008

Bicycling Magazine

Check out the June issue.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Speaking Powhatanese

So Giusseppe called and wanted me to ride today. I said to him that I had to take a long but easy ride, you know keeping the HR below 166 or so. So he tells me that he too needs a nice long easy ride. Now we are talking two different class of riders here. Let's put it this way, after the first couple of miles we hit a slight hill. Giusseppe asks what my HR is and I say 139 and he proceeds to tell me his is 109. At this point I know the next 50 miles will be nothing easy. I learned the secret- just be a wheelsucker for most of the ride. Once in the beautiful countryside of Powhatan we pause to wonder what it would be like to live in such an area with all that space, white fencing, and rolling hills. Somebody rolls by and yells something that I don't understand. I tell him that the first thing you have to do is learn to speak Powhatanese if you want to live out here. Italian and Powhatanese must be closely related because Joe tells me that the guy said "Go Lance". I really don't think that's what he said. Oh yeah, the HR.....way above 166.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Giving Back to the Community

Everyone talks about, yet few actually do the deed. Today members of the Spin Mafia had the opportunity to volunteer their time and expertise to tune up 45 mountain bikes for the James River High School physical education department. Despite finishing another classic spanking Spin Mafia ride less than 60 minutes prior, Joe, Paul and Cherie were out there wrenching the afternoon away with their new friend Tony from NY. A great time was had by all and we left knowing a good deed had been done for the students.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Crit your teeth

Went down to Langley Speedway to cut my teeth with the crit race. My first one of the year. I had a good time just seeing all the familiar faces from last summer. The race was pretty smooth until the last few laps when some guy got wobbly trying to fight for his position of 30th place going into the last lap. I know this because at this point in the race I decided it was time to make sure all was safe at the back of the race, I was fighting it out for 40th. Thankfully we all survived and the best part is that there was a podium girl waiting for the guy who finished in 40th place.

Friday, March 28, 2008

We're Bad, We're Nationwide .....

Not only has the notorious Spin Mafia started a San Francisco chapter (no homo), but we will be profiled in an article complete with photographs in the June issue of Bicycling magazine. Man, this thing is getting big.

Old School

Ah a week of intense training in Southwest Floriduh riding a rusty Panasonic 10 speed around the trailer park. Bet y'all are jealous .......

Monday, March 17, 2008

There Is No Wind Coming Back

Yeah, right! Despite early reports from the cat5 crew, there was a ton of friggin' wind on the return leg. But, that is par for the course for the Dismal Dash Time Trial. Da Mafia was well represented by Pave Maria (1st 40plus), Mr. Burns, Sniper Joe (2nd cat4, 13th overall, sub 1 hour), Pedro, Enzo, Benito, Paolo, Randy Andy, Grambo, New York Eddie and Johnny Law. Everyone looked cool with their skinsuits, astronut helmets and snazzy disc wheels. Sangwiches were pro caliber.

Plus, a special double shout out to Pave who the day before won the 40plus VBW smackdown criterium. C'mon, you were just toying with those other gals!

Does anyone else agree that Jeff Branden is super human?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Triple Oh, Joey The Rifleman and Jack B. Nimble spanked my butt on the Old Gun hills tonight. Thanks guys! Seriously, great ride and nice to have the extra hour of daylight with my mates.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

ASO don't need no stinkin' badges!


Check out Levi's site
Man, talk about some wind today!!!! What I wouldn't give to have had a big guy at the front to hide behind. Great ride, phenomenal company. Good practice for the Dismal Dash.

Friday, March 7, 2008

2 Many Choices

  1. Drive or Ride from the house?
  2. Vest or Jacket?
  3. Road Bike or TT?
  4. Alloy or Carbon?
  5. Shimano or Campy?
  6. RR or Crit?
  7. Pull or Draft?
  8. English or Metric Century?
  9. Accelerade or Heed?
  10. Sprint or Climb?
  11. Bibs or Shorts?
  12. Tempo or Recovery?
  13. Apple or Banana
  14. HR or Power?
  15. Eddie or Lance?
  16. Q10 or EPO?
  17. Rollers or Trainer?
  18. Group Ride or Solo Spin?
  19. Shave or Wax?
  20. Sidi or DMT
  21. Full Zip or 3/4?
  22. Gel or Bar?
  23. Post Ride Brew or Protein Shake?
  24. Shower or Tub?
  25. Burger or Fish?
  26. Grill or Bake?
  27. Movie or Tunes?
  28. Bed or Couch

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Something Unusual...

When it comes to biking, I'm in it for life, or so I joke. Years of biking both on the road (24 since my very first junior crit) and in the fat tire world have led to some amazing journeys across dozens of states and led to many many friendships and a profoundly extended family. Some of my best days have been spent in the saddle followed, of course, with some manner of celebration afterwards. As well, biking has led to lots of pain and suffering with the many bumps and bruises, cuts, scrapes, a fair amount of road rash, a bruised rib, a broken metacarpal bone, a broken scapula, and two broken clavicles, one of which led to two surgeries and a bone graft with a plate and 8 screws. I'm not bitter about anything -- just noting the delicate balance between the good and the bad.

Recently, however, I discovered something unusual in the area of the body that we rarely want to talk about in public, and I was sent by my doctor to the hospital for an ultrasound and then to a surgeon for a consult. Needless to say, I found myself looking all over the house for my copy of Lance's book "It's Not about the Bike" to refresh myself on the potential horror of testicular cancer and trying to recall whether the color white on a radiological film was bad. I spent several evenings at home with the wife and kids fearing the worst while waiting for my results to come back. By the way, I really love Legos...

Guys - at the risk of getting too personal or sounding like I'm on my soapbox, I have something to say and I hope you are listening. It is really important -- dare I say CRITICALLY important - that you check yourself out in the nether region (i.e, the gonads) on a regular basis. Yes, I'm talking about a testicular self-exam.

I happened to notice something was not right because by chance I was playing with my saddle position and found myself feeling a bit sore. That led to the ache and, well, I just had to see if the family jewels were doing okay. I was completely shocked and in disbelief to feel a bump, or lump, or mass that shouldn't be there. So after a day of denial, and the pea-size lump not going away, I called my doctor.

Long story short, it appears that for me I am doing alright, no immediate threat to life, but I have been fairly stressed over the past few days in learning all the implications of the presence of an extra testicular calcification. Heck, a couple weeks ago I had not even heard of such a thing. You might be there too.

My doctor will be monitoring my situation on an ongoing basis and I am naturally very anxious for my follow up ultrasound. But all appears to be well and prognosis is excellent. My doctor tells me to keep riding which, to a cycling addict such as myself, is very welcome news. Plus, I have been reminded of the important aspects of life that are easy to neglect 5 of 7 days a week: family, friends, our time here on Earth and, of course, our health.

So, in the interest of passing on a little knowledge to my cycling friends, I think you might find these two articles linked below interesting. The first is a bit broader in scope and the second, even though it focuses on mountain bikers, may be of special interest to anyone who spends 5, 10 or more hours in the saddle each week as many of us do.


http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/content/full/75/891/283 (scroll down in the article to the section on Extra testicular calcification)

http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/full/219/2/427 (for you statistics fans, check out the P value in the study)


Now go check!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Spin Mafia Represents at The NASCAR Oval

Oliver or Oscar ......... call him anything just don't call him late for Slurpees. The thrilla from manila, pound for pound the strongest rider around, represented in the Sonny Hutchins Speedway criterium this past Sunday with an awesome 4th place finish in the cat3/4 race against a very strong field of mostly cat3 racers.

Kudos also go out to Rob Cook who despite 2 strains of the flu and enough antibiotics in his system to trigger a major doping scandal, hung in there during the cat4/5 race even attacking several times. Man, imagine what he'll be doing when he's racing healthy!!!

And didn't Maria and Rat just look too sexy in their spiffy new Spin Mafia kits??!!!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Joey Set His Sights On A Higher Goal

Squirrel eradication that is. The critter population in Midlothian has been steadily dropping ever since he got his Red Ryder BB gun. Like a kid the day of Christmas, Joe has been terminating these pests with extreme prejudice. He's our own version of Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Flemmi
Just don't shoot your eye out and keep the BB gun at home during the group rides.

Welcome!

A wise man once said you haven't achieved anything unless you have a blog. Well, he probably is full of crap, but here goes anyway.

The Spin Mafia ........ aahh the name conjures up fear amongst all those in the Richmond, Virginia cycling community. Until now they were just a rumour, a mythical quasi-secret organization oft talked about but rarely spotted ..... kinda like Bigfoot on Bikes. Well, look out cyber world we have arrived in full force. Our goals are simply put; to ride the heck out of our bikes, eat sangwiches and have a damn good time!

It's not unusual ............