Spring Break 2008

BORING!

So here I sit on my livingroom floor, five days into my nine day spring break. All of my plans fell through for this week...In my first plan, I would currently be on a plane to southern California with Ace to spend a week training in Solvang. Due to lack of interest, we had to cancel the trip. So instread of semi-warm, non snowy hills in the California countryside, I get single didgit temperatures and a foot of snow so I am stuck on my trainer. Another plan I had was to travel down to Georgia with the U of M cycling team to train in the hills of the south. But alas, a clause...only U of M students could ride in the U of M vans. I would have just driven down on my own if I could, but I didn't have the money for gas. My final plan was to go to Arizona to visit my best freind Andy who moved down there recently. But I could not find a cheap plane ticket to Phoenix.

So this week I have just been chilling out here at home, reading, riding the trainer, and hanging out with some of my freinds occasionaly. I really wish I could be somewhere relatively warm so i could get in some quality training.

On a brighter note, I recieved an email yesterday stating that the EMU cycling club now has a USAC license. That means that this Saturday and Sunday, providing weather is decent, I will be in Greencastle, Indiana racing.

In random news: I purchased cork break pads so I can test ride and race on my carbon wheels. I also purchased a new adjustable stem for my Giant road bike, thus I can fine tune my TT position to make up more time this season.

Thats all folks!

ToC Feed

Hey everyone,
I am posting to let you know what I discovered today. While the Tour of California is in session...if you go to the website (www.amgentourofcalifornia.com) and click on the "Adobe Tour Tracker" on the top right you get live feed of the race.

This is really a cool website. You get uninterupted feed of the peleton commentated by Frankie Andreu. There is also a chat room so you can talk to other people watching the race. But the really cool this is the rider tracker. You can pick and choose which riders you want to watch and it will show up on a map where each rider is at. It is really neat. The best thing.... its FREE!

I was in watching the chat room, and I saw a name come ont he screen that I know quite well. The name was Joe Lekovish. It was somone asking if Joe was in the chat room. Out of the hundreds, even thousands of people watching on thei site.....I ended up talking to our very own Darrell Anderson, who was looking for Joe. I thought it was cool.

I also ended up meeting and alumni from EMU who rides, and I talked to Logan from camp last year. Pretty neat I must say. You can watch it at work, at home, in your dorm, or like me...while i was on the trainer.

I suggest you try it tomorrow, and I think all major races should have it. (Hey Joe, we could incorporate it into Kensington haha....kidding)

Sweatfest

So last night my roomate, Ryan, and I went to Jackson to hang out, bowl, and sit in the hottub. We did not end up leaving Jackson untill about 1am, putting me in my bed here at 2:30am. I reluctantly woke up at 7:20am to make it to Darrells house for a trainer party.

It was worth it. I have never been in that basement with so many people, but this was only my second time being there. We had Darrell, Scott, Me, Chris, Eric, James, and Alexey all squeezed in tight on our trainers watching an HBO documentary on the 1980 Olympics USA hockey team, then Breaking Away.

We had a window open, and 4 fans going in an attempt to keep us from dying. It was a good ride, most of us were on the bikes from about 2 hours. I got in 2x18 min intervals and 3 sprint intervals.

All-in-all it was good day. After I got back from Darrells, I slept for two hours and I have pretty much spent the rest of the day studying for my fun week of exams. I can't wait for tomorrow evening.... Versus is showing the prologue of the Amgen Tour of California live!

Is anyone else feeling like they want to toss their trainer in an incinerator? I deffinitly am. Of course, I also have a very old school piece of crap trainer that doesn't offer any quality training. Only a week and a half ago I was getting in magnificent training outside, wearing just a long sleeve jersey and a wind vest. But then the weekend comes and so does the snow. I can only get in long rides on the weekend, but due to the weather, that hasn't been possible. So my skill and fitness are not where I would like them to be, and the collegiate road season starts two weekds from yesterday.....I really don't think I am ready. I doupt I will finish the races in the first 2-3 weeks of the season. Anyways.....yeah, this was just writing down what was on my mind, no real structure or flow.

On a lighter note.....I had alot of fun Thursday and Friday. I attended the Michigan ACSM Conference. I was the only freshman there, yeah I know.....over achiever. But it was alot of fun. ACSM stands for the American College of Sports Medicine. It is the governing body of my feild of study, exercise science. It was held in Gaylord Michigan at Treetops Ski/Golf Resort. I drove up with some seniors in the program Thursday morning. We stayed the night there and drove back Friday afternoon. It was pretty much a bunch of lectures about recent research that had been conducted, and ways to improve our skills (that I do not have yet) I have never felt like I belonged, but incredibly out of place at the same time. Everyone there was interested in the same things I was, but I didn't understand anything that was said. haha. It was a great networking experience though, meeting other majors from MSU, CMU, Adrian, and somewhere else, I don't remember. Yup thats pretty much it.

The random pictures are just a look into my daily life. The first one is my at home playing with my boston terrier, Hobbles. Yes she is hanging a few inches off the ground by the dog toy....shes a strong puppy.

The second picture is my riding my bike around the dorm hall. This ended with some tire marks on the carpet and my RA not extreamly pleased.

Finaly, the last picture is me with my freinds Brandon and Fez up in Gaylord. This was a giant ice block created by constantly running water for several days. (it was running while we were there, we could hear it)

TT Helmet

Hi everyone. If anyone is looking, or knows someone looking, for a time trial helmet, I am selling mine. I just purchased this helmet two months ago. It is a BRAND NEW Small Giro Advantage 2 Time Trial Helmet. I am selling the Giro helmet because I found a deal on the Bell Meteor II Time Trial Helmet that I would prefer to wear in my races. The helmet retails for $150, but I am selling my NEW NEVER USED helmet for $95. If you are interested, please write back via my post on the midwest cycling group forum, or email me at zmaino@gmail.com

New Posts!

All 'in-favor' of Ace, Colton, Chris and Pothole posting something new, say "I."

I

Worst day of the year!

Actually, it wasn't. Last years 'Worst day of the year' ride was much, much worse. Last year it was 17 degrees, blowing snow and I was on a road bike. This year was actually enjoyable. It was in the mid 20s and light wind. However, that is not where my day started...

That morning I woke up, had me a bowl of Cap't Crunch. Then i grabbed the bike, the trainer and headed tword Ann Arbor to Great Lakes Cycling and Fitness to workout with the Junior Team. It was a lot of fun, Mark Lovejoy had a great workout planned.It started out with us warming up and doing a make believe paceline, then we simulated riding sections and climbs of De Ronde Van Vlaanderen (The Tour of Flanders.) It was quite a hard workout, but I guess thats because a workout is only as hard as you make it, and I wanted to get some good training in. The bike shop was a great place to hold the ride. There was more than enough room for all of us, and there was a lot to look at. It was a lot of fun to be there with the Juniors watch their form and help them become more efficient riders. It will be a lot better when we get more Juniors in the program, and we will. The Junior program Mark and the others (I assume Joe and Ace had a large part in it) have come up with sounds great. Full details aren't out yet, but it has a nice structure, and there will be plenty of help for the young riders between our coaches and mentors. So if you are reading this and you have a young child (10+) you should try out cycling, it is a magnificent sport!

After the hour and a half trainer ride, I drove back to EMU to eat and change. Then I headed over to meet up with the 2pm 12 mile ride because I did not have the time to make it for the 40 miles ride which contained everyone I knew. But luck would have it, on my way down the trail to AA, I came across the 40 milers, so I turned around and joined them. I got to talk to Joe, Mark, Nick Boswell (the U of M Cycling Club President), and a few of the U of M riders. I rode with them for 20 miles or so, then went back to campus because I was tired. (Note: when I headed out for AA in the afternoon, my legs were already tired from the trainer workout)

That pretty much sums up my Sunday.

Today after class it was mid 30s and not raining, so I jumped on the bike and went out for a really light one hour ride. As it turns out, I don't know the roads around here as well as I would like. Haha. I knew i didn't know the roads, but I knew my heading, so I knew how to get back. Well I ended up in Wayne County, on the other side of Willow Run Airport, which isn't far, but I dont know roads out that way. So as I was riding around looking for a non-highway road to get back north of the airport I came across a road I thought looked nice when I went by it earlier. Turns out, from the south end of that same road, it is packed down dirt. Me and my bright mind decide to ride down it thinking "It should only be dirt for a block or so." That block turned out to be a mile. Up untill that point, my bike had stayed pretty clean....not anymore. Snowy dirt roads do that. Anyways.....to make a long story short, I made it back to campus in time to drive to Pizza Hut and get a free medium one topping pizza for filling out a credit card form. Its alright, I dont have a credit score so I wont be approved, this is the second time I have done it this year. Haha.

So anyways here are some pictures of my dirt bike. I know we have all seen a dirty bike, but i needed something to make this blog not so boring. The picture of the chainstay: I wiped off some of the dirt so you can see how dirty it is. Hope everyone is riding outside in this wonderful weather. (I hear 40s tomarrow)

Dorm Bike Wash

For those of you who are curious, or haven't seen an expensive bike hung from a dorm room shower.

Cold Cold Ride

So today after i took my physiology exam, which im pretty sure i got an A on, I had lunch and prepped the bike for some outdoor riding. I know it wasn't the most optimum conditions to ride in, 18 degrees without windchill, sunny, and semi-strong wind out of the west.....but hey, we're bicycle racers, this shouldnt bother us. Anyways it was a fun ride, after about 10 minutes any exposed skin is numb so the ride is enjoyable when you cant feel anything. I rode over to Geddes Road, east to Prospect, north to Ford, west to Dixboro, and south to Huron River Drive back to campus. I got to do a nice durability test on my frame. Ford turns into Plymouth Road, which intersects Dixboro, that half mile strech of road is really rough if your a cyclist trying not impede rush hour(s) traffic. I had my own little Paris-Roubaix, and I must say "Thanks James Knight!" this bike rode AWESOME over some really rough road, the frame felt great and I was surprised the wheels held up, but they did.

I also had two close encounters with cars. Neither of them were my fault. The first was a car that looked like it was going to run the intersection, and I would almost understand if there were no cars around, but there was a continuous line of cars and both him and I hit our breaks hard and he came close to knocking me out into traffic. The second was on Dixboro road. I was headed south and stopped at the intersection with Geddes. There was, in order from left to right, a left turn lane, a straight lane, a bike lane, and a right turn lane. Well when the light turned green, the car to my right, in the right turn lane, decided he wanted to go straight, and cut me off. He clearly saw me as we were stopped at the red light right next to each other and he looked over at me. I swear some people just should not be allowed to drive.

Due to all of the salt on the road, I am going to wash my bike tonight, I am just waiting for my roomate to get out of the shower so I can use it as a bike wash and hang it up to dry for the night. I have never seen a city use more salt on their roads and sidewalks than dear ole Ypsilanti. Oh well, just killing the fish and water habitat. So, yeeeeeeaaahhhh. Depending on weather, I will try to make it outside, then on Sunday I get a fun filled day of riding (finally!) In the morning I get to do a trainer party with the AAVC juniors. If i understand correctly, this year I am acting as a mentor in the junior program, details are still foggy. After the trainer party it will be the 'Worst Day of the Year Ride' starting at the farmers market in downtown Ann Arbor. There are 4 different loops ranging from 40miles all the way down to 6 miles. There will be a mountain bike course if one is interested. As i understand it, the 40 miler is on all paves roads, as well as the 12 miler, so you should come out and ride (I will be doing the 40 mile ride.)

Here are random pictures of my salt covered bike.

They have arrived!

The new wheels are in, and they are light! UPS delivered them in a hugh box last night, which was funny because the wheels only took up 1/3 - 1/2 of the box. So after they got to my house, I drove back to Ypsi, and put them on my bike to see weight difference, and look. Seeing as I got them from Capital Sports and Entertainment (Team Discovery) used, they said to get them checked so they are rideable. They are, I looked them over last night, but I am still going to take them to a shop today to get looked at. They are Bontrager XXX Lite wheels, with red spokes (as you can see) My next step is to put my orange handlebar tape on, and buy the Team Liquigas issue Fizik Arione saddle (Blue and neon green). Then my bike would stand out. haha. So.....um.....yeah thats about it. I got my wheels. Enjoy the pictures.

PS: Yes the cassette is a 12-27. Deffinitly used for climbing.