Big Day

There are a million things to blog about. 1st, let me declare this: BUY THE ABOVE MOVIE: SEASONS from the Collective. IT rocks. Whenever you dont have time to ride, put this in and it'll make you feel like a jerk for not riding. Its ultra motivating and prob some of the best cinematography you'll see this year.

Second, Tyler Hamilton won USPro Road Race and is the US National Champ. Rock Racing wins the jersey and he'll wear it all next year as a 38 year old. I have mixed emotions but want to hear what you have to think. Post your comment below.

I was just out for a nice tune up spin today and saw an M5 wasting rubber on a windy 2 mile climb. For those who dont know, twin turbos isnt about bikes. My 335 has been sitting outside (shame on me, I know wick) for a month and lost it's Alaska plate the other day. I feel like I have stripped it of its identity. Its a damn shame that a CA plate will soon deface the rear of the car. At least I was able to get a Navy Vet plate. Thats cool. But I think that I am going to have to burn up some rubber myself soon. More on that in the coming weeks.



Lastly, Metromint Giro di San Francisco is tomorrow for me. I'm stoked. Check out the race course.

TT rewards

So many of you know that bike racing is by no means a glamorous sport. Most of it is tearing up tires around some silly industrial park or other paved way only to win just enough cash to cover your entry fee. That's fine. We are a weird bunch. But occasionally some bike racers (only on the largest stages) are compensated in different or more rich ways. This pic of Christian Vande Velde (taken by Casey Gibson at Time Trial Nats) is one of those rare moments.

Great job to Annie and court for finishing their 1/2 marathons today!

Pretty good pic

So my last pic wasnt as awesome as I'd hoped. I will post more in the future.

This pic of kelly and bryan shipp might be one of the greatest photos of all time!

Cal football game today. Excited about that. Race on Monday in downtown SF. Excited about that!

Are you serious?

First week of school complete. It was actually 90 degrees here
today. That equals really hot. The biggest problem there is that UC
Berkeley doesn't believe in ac. Not good for this kid from alaska.

But it was good to get back on the bike. Check out this view! Holla

THanks Easter Bunny!

I went to the Doc yesterday and he gave me the go ahead to start training again. He was amazed that the swelling of my "business" had decreased so dramatically. I was relieved. Seriously, grapefruit sized tackle is no way to live your life. So I rode my bike today and it was glorious. I guess that I'm a serious risk taker because I rode on the Wolf SL fork that has been recalled. Rob, am I supposed to overnight that thing to Dani? I can never catch him on the phone.

I only rode 18 miles. But riding for the 1st time in 3 weeks requires weird things of your body. I'm ok with that, but my knees hurt and my body just wasnt used to it. Riding made me happy though, and I know that I need to do it alot. So I will.

Spent the evening on my knees scrubbing the hardwood floors downstairs after my younger roomates threw a party last night. Not my cup of tea.

Classes officially start tomorrow. I have a 9 am discussion about rotting fish. I'll let you know how it goes.

Congrats to Tkarnes for finally getting a 3 win and a double victory weekend. Long time coming kid.

Congrats to elliot for two strong showings. Sometimes you just have to put it all out there to see what you've got. I live for long breakaways.

And congrats to annie for putting up with me.

Yesterday was a sad, sad day. I became a CA resident. I almost cried when I watched the young DMV kid punch a hole in Alaska id. I wouldnt have done it, but it was the right thing to do. AK doesnt have state income tax and there is actually a fund that each resident receives each year. This year, the Alaska permanent dividend fund was near $2100. On top of that, each resident is getting a $1300 energy rebate (taxing oil is big business). So I miss out on $3300 there. And it cost me $400 to register my car, smog test it, and get my license. Thats $3700. And now I suffer the shame of california id card. But it was for a good cause. The maxwell fellowship will save $9000 next year in my tuition costs if I am a CA resident for a year. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard--and expensive.

iPod for sale

Brand new still in the plastic 16gb iPod touch for sale. Retails for
$400 and want $275 shipped to you! I will entertain any reasonable
offer! Email me with any questions.

Left you hanging

1st things 1st. A couple photos for the homefront. Annie was nice enough to bring me this shirt. Mostly this pick is for wick (refered to as small dick wick on Kblog-whats up with that kblog)?



This my cutie rockin the white hat at a Giants Padres game at AT&T park. Trying to get a pic of her is like trying to photo lock ness, its tough! Glad I was able to sneak this one. Hot track jacket girl!


SF buildings. I had my 1st weekend in and about the city the weekend. It was fun and absolutely packed. However, all that walking resulted in the best CAL track jacket find ever! Score.


This was quite a spectacle. I was circling the marin traffic circle 2 cars behind this giant moving truck. Being a highly trained naval aviator, I decided that following a 50k lb vehicle up a street that posts no vehicles over 8000 lbs was a poor plan. I quickly turned off the 24% incline and found a longer route home. When I parked on my street, I was a little perterbed to find so many people turning down my street. Traffic had increased 10 fold. I noticed most cars were stopping at the intersection before turning onto my street. I walked to the corner and looked down the hill. If you click on the pic and blow it up, you'll see the skid marks. This guy stopped just before he crested the intersection of hilldale and marin aves. He couldnt get going again and started skidding backward. He took out 2 cars behind him, a hedge, a couple mailboxes, and finally came to rest in this horrible jack-knifed position. I have no idea how he got out of the mess. Needless to say, there was a significant amount of damage and someone's household goods inside the truck were undoubtedly destroyed.

This week was crazy busy. 1st week of school was pure orientation. NO class. The UC system found a problem with actual days of class this fall, so we dont kick up again until wed. Thats a good thing because I need to become a california resident to decrease tuition by $9k. I am unhappy that I am about to lose my Alaska license plate. For the longest time I have prided myself on being an Alaskan. I guess when it comes down to it, I am unwilling to pay $9k to keep my Ak state residency. So tomorrow, I have to brave the schwartzennegger reduced CAL DMV force and convince some nice DMV worker that I deserve to be a Californian. I am having a bit of an identity crisis in that respect.

Still no insurance money from my loss.

Happy for Emma and her recent position as head of Vanderkitten relations and non-pro team building! Whoo hoo!

I almost messed my shorts when I found this machine whilst looking for
the bathroom. This is probaby my only jeckle and Hyde vice. Good to
keep me awake yet bad because it hurts my heart and has a lot of sugar.

Good news, $2 with no tax and no crv.

I was falling asleep in orientation and was violently disturbed by
these damn horns. I guess that's a lesson learned.

Crabby?

Crabby time!

Reston HD video

I am freakin out that Brian hooked me up with this video.  All credits go to him!  Thanks Brian.

Reston Town Center GP - Cat 3 from Brian on Vimeo.

I lead this race through the downhill S turns hoping for this exact scenario.  I launched way early and you can see me come around the last corner with a small gap.  But it worked.  It was just enough uphill that my extra distance held everyone off.  I was so tired by the time I pass the camera you can see that I really wasnt even sprinting anymore.

I dont want the drama on Kblogg to overshadow this video.  But I encourage all my readers to read my thoughts in the comments section of Kblogg's latest post.  

Class shenanigans

My accounting summer professor is boring me to tears. The iPhone has
allowed me to see that we scored gold and bronze with kristin
Armstrong and Levi! Cool. Then I became more bored and took this pic
of my working man's classic t shirt. And Haas name tag.
I
Stratton, my keirin culture super chromo shirt was stolen with the
rest of my gear. Any chance I could score another one? There are a
lot of crazie fixie riders here who tear apart their knees attempting
to get up 20% grade hills.

Of, when assets increase, it's called a debit. That seems counter
intuitive and ultra snoozable.

Riding Dirty

Looking for cash.

So I have been up all night trying to solve my insurance problem. They want a receipt for everything that was stolen from me. A pic might work they claim. Well, before I left Norfolk, I shredded all paperwork. So no receipts. Besides, who keeps receipts of clothes and shoes? Tools, maybe, but I didnt have those receipts either.

In my pic search, I found these two pics of Noah and I from Thanksgiving day 2003. This was the period when San Diego's East county burned for 5 days. We didnt realize how poor the air quality was until we got home. These pics are after 55 miles on the road on a sunny day. Weird.

Hernia schmernia

No hole in my stomach will stop me from blogging. I got asked to blog
for the school today. What should I do?

If I had to give your kid a grade......

If I had to give your kid a grade for this production, it would be an "F." Save your $. This movie wasnt in the same vein as SuperBad, 40 YR Old Virgin, or even KnockedUp. Horrible show, just horrible. I guess the fact that I have never ever smoked pot and was in a minor amount of pain may have had something to do with it. But seriously, save your money. Dont even wait to rent it, just wait for it to come out on USA network. Then, when you watch it, you can at least change the channel.

the 1st 2nd of the year

Surgery wasnt all that great.

930 am showtime for an 1100 surgery. Well, two emergency surgeries were in front of me. I stayed up the night before getting my room finally situated. That made it easy to sleep from 10 to 2 while waiting. There were 3 other people getting surgeries with all their families in front of me. There I was, all by myself just trying to sleep. POOOOORRRRRR me. I joke I joke.

Anyway, one of my roommates and cool new classmate Ryan (notredame grad, navy surface warfare officer turned financial analyst) drove up to pick me up. The only problem was that they arrived at 4 and my surgery didnt start until 5. I didnt see them, but Ryan stuck around to drive me back in my car. Well, I was out of surgery by 7:30 but was all messed up on anesthesia. I would be able to leave as soon as I was able to drink water and pee. Well, I was instructed to stop drinking and eating by midnight the night before. Annie knows that I ALWAYS have something in my hand drinking. No drinks for 20 hours! I couldnt urinate to save my life. Serious. I could barely feel my stomach much less control any muscles down there. So, after Ryan talking about waterfalls, babbling brooks, and the San Francisco Bay, I was still unable to perform. Then, the threat. Ryan quickly started to describe the pain of a catheter. Even with the fear of a catheter, I was just too out of it to complete my task. Rough.

So Ryan the man stayed with me until 1 am. He then woke up the next morning and drove my car to pick me. God Bless Him.

I feel loopy right now but was happy to get a ton of mail from Annie, Mom, rammer, and AT&T.

Thanks everyone for thoughts and prayers. Looks like I will be laid up for a while and riding will go on the back burner. That might drive me crazy!

I noticed today that Frank Deal is way ahead of me in Cat3 bar points now. Good job frank!

Lastly, I want everyone to read the recall about Look pedals below. Please pass this info on.


http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08354.html


NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
______________________________

__
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2008
Release #08-354

Firm's Recall Hotline: (866) 430-5665
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Bicycle Pedals Recalled by Look Cycle; Pedals Can Break Causing Cyclists to Fall

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary
recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using
recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: KéO Bicycle Pedals

Units: About 80,000 (40,000 pairs)

Distributor: Look Cycle USA, of San Jose, Calif.

Hazard: The steel axle inside the pedal can break, posing a fall
hazard to cyclists.

Incidents/Injuries: Look Cycle has received 14 reports of incidents
with broken pedals, including 7 injuries which resulted in scrapes,
cuts, contusions, elbow pain, and a knee injury.

Description: The recalled bicycle pedals were sold separately from
bicycles. Pedal models include KéO Classic, KéO Sprint, KéO HM and KéO
Carbon. The model name is printed in white on the side of the pedal.
Date codes between January 2004 and December 2005 are included in this
recall. The date code for the KéO Classic, Sprint and Carbon pedals is
on a dial stamped onto the pedal. The date code for the KéO HM is on
the bottom of the pedal, with the letters A through L corresponding to
the month, and the numbers 4 and 5 indicating 2004 or 2005. "Ti"
pedals are not included in this recall.

Sold at: Specialty bicycle retailers nationwide from January 2004
through July 2007 for between $100 and $500.

Manufactured in: France

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled bicycle
pedals and return them to any authorized Look Cycle dealer, or contact
Look Cycle USA to arrange for shipping and free repair.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Look Cycle USA
toll-free at (866) 430-5665 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday
through Friday, visit the firm's Web site at www.lookcycle-usa.com, or
email the firm at KeoUpgrade@lookcycle-usa.com

BigWickNasty

It's finally here. The moment you've all been waiting for:

http://bigwicknasty.blogspot.com/

I got to devote this post to the kid. First, the pic. This photo
captures the essence and character of wick better than I could ever
describe. Just look at him. He's a preppy boy at heart. Those plaid
shorts just scream "I used to be a sailor!" he's got on some ragedy t-
shirt because a collar would just be too much. He always wears that
while heels hat because he claims he's from there. Whatever, I grew
up in Alaska and speak more intelligently about the tar heel dynasty
than wick (or fowler or glover for that matter! Bandwagon wannabes!).
Just one of you tell me why jeff lebo was important or the years he
played (without google)!

Back on topic. Wick also has this propensity to run out of shaving
gel every week. You might see him shave 2 times every 5 weeks. I
guess that's tough and manly, but I have never understood the 10 days
growth thing.

The absolute best part about the picture isn't how wick dresses or
manages his hygiene. The astute observer will immediately recognize
that wick doesn't even notice the camera! Rather, he is enjoying the
view to his left and without question has mumbled under his breath or
simply popped outloud: "WHO DISS??????"

I absolutely love it.

Wick was the little brother I never had. He is always breaking my sh!
t and trying to prove me wrong. He is starting to recognize that
simple time on the earth (bike racing or even plain old living) makes
a difference and that being the bigger person can be pretty damn
tough. But I love the kid even if his bike is too light! Now that I
am on the best coast, I hope his blog will help all of you keep tabs
on him. That job can be 24/7, just ask annie. But he needs some
peeps to ride with or he'll fond trouble. I am counting on the entire
tidewater crew to handle this!

Surgery for me in 7 hours. I will do my best to post afterward.
Please keep me in your prayers.

Locked up

Lucky for me my bike didn't get stolen at school today, but I know
some tree sitter was casing it from 55 feet up.

So I have this trash can in my bathroom that is up against the wall.
It's small-holds less than a gallon. The thing is, I have shot so
many baskets in my life (I figured near a million) that I just don't
miss. Serious. Q-tip, coke can, tissue, wadded paper, anything. I
just don't miss. I can make it rain, bank shot, center of the can,
lights out. Which takes me to Brett favre. Hero. One of the
toughest and all time most likeable pro athletes. But aren't you
kindof rooting for Aaron rogers-the 4th year 2nd string qb?

My case is that I think some people revel in being the underdog.
There are a bunch of reasons for this. It might be because no one
expects the underdog to succeed, no pressure. It might be that some
people are tired of seeing winners win. Or it might be that losers,
or people that set themselves up for failure, just expect to fail and
can only dream about besting the incumbent.

Parts of me have felt like an underdog my whole life. I think that is
a byproduct of my upbringing- no one expected my mother to be able to
do what she does-or for any of us kids to have any success.

Well, for the first time in my life, I feel like I have accomplished
something substantial. Granted, annapolis was hard, flight school was
difficult, and landing planes on carriers demands precision. However,
all of those things have laser guided direction. Transitioning from
the navy to where I am now has been full of obstacles and challenges-
all without a playbook.

So I feel like the underdog story that I have identified with my whole
life (including bike racing) has more or less turned the corner. This
place breeds success. People here expect that each and every student
will be immensely successful, and no I don't just mean financially.
It's just a weird, yet positive environment. And I feel like I am
better equiped to deal the challenges than the 26 year old who just
served 4 years as an analyst. I feel like I am no longer an under dog.

My question to you is, will you still root for me?

Doing really great on night 2 of howework

So night two of homework has consisted of selling stuff on craigslist, folding laundry, and getting in a 3 hour ride. Above you see the new Cal Cycling team kit. I am actually pretty stoked to just ride in something different. But its really not that different from the navy kits I used to race. BLue and gold, cant get away from it.

Anyway, rode off the giant mountain and through downtown oakland. Yes, it is as scary as you might think. I stayed on the busy streets and found my way to the port of oakland. About 100 guys showed up and I would equate about 25 of them to a cross between bryan sorell, jeff buckles, or keith johnson. It wasnt really a race, it was just a 1.5 mile lap around the port. Flat as the sportsplex but much, much faster. I know all of you have been on lap 22 of the sportsplex tuesday nighter (i guess its wed night now) and bryan or keith are just putting the hurt on the field. I mean, they never put me in difficulty, wait, no, thats not right. Anyway, the entire gamut of ability was there. The field quickly wittled down to around 30 guys. And I was always caught behind the idiot who just couldnt close the gap. I remember one time looking down and seeing 35mph when I was trying to bridge. This ride was no joke and very fast. There were 25 Sorrells and buckles. My biggest problem is that I dont know who is who out here. A couple people gave me a pat for bridging when gaps opened up. Rob D, it was exactly like what you and I would talk about last year when we have to ride the bridge of a lifetime to get on the great bridge worlds.

I felt good and was able to make it to the end of the hour. I finished ahead of 2 other cal kids that were there. However, none of the above really matters because I have surgery this friday. Thats gonna lay me up for at least a week. Hernias suck.

So I am going to ride my indy fab to school tomorrow. I really dont want my bike to get stolen on day 3.

Yes, those are arm warmers, and undershirt, and I wore a vest too. It gets cold here in Aug when the sun goes down. Its weird. The ocean regulates this climate similar to San Diego except that its a bit cooler.

Now that its 1046, I guess I should start my homework.

1st night of Homework

its 1002 and I am just now starting my homework. Maybe this is a sign.

School starts on Monday

THis is me 2 days before New Years building up the R3. I have haphazardly been trying to sell it for a while. If anyone wants it, let me know. 58.

I love working on bikes. So much that I put off cleaning my room in order to put together my indy for commuting and tack on fenders to my roomate's mongoose commuter. Both will prob get stolen within a week. THat'll be interesting.

I need to get to bed because tomorrow is summer school day 1.

Raced an 85 field cat 3 race today. The hills have not robbed me of my power. HOwever, with that many people, it can be difficult to find a result. I tell elliot all the time that people will at least think you are hard if you attack attack attack. I went after completing a single lap. THis one kid recognized me from the race I did 2 weeks ago. They let us get to 15 seconds then the field brought us back. No counter. Weak. Preme, I countered with a 19 year old hot head. 5 laps by ourselves and they were letting us go. I loved it. But the kid blew up and couldnt even sit-on my wheel. I wasnt about to try to TT away from the field by myself for another 1/2 hour.
Another preme and I crossed the line in 5th place just trying to be near the front. I countered and two guys went with me. This one had potential. THe other dude was actually bigger than me, alot bigger. He was at least 6'5" and 230 lbs. But he was fit. Bryan Sorrell tall but seriously wide, yet fit. That was good for me. And then there was a 145#er with us who couldnt put down any power. So we used him to best of our ability. We got 13 seconds on the field and they had to single file chase us for a solid 7 laps. We got caught 400 meters from the finish. I went into the last corner 3rd wheel but just didnt have any power for the sprint after that solid 15 minute Max effort. Ended up 13th. Fun.

Hernia surgery on Friday. Say a prayer for me.

Blow it up

I found this car interesting. First, I don't think that the owner is
attempting to fool anyone with the message portrayed via the words
written. However, from a distance, I think it is fair to asume that
this individual does support some cause. insert what you like here:
cancer, troops, Berkeley trees, ect. That would mislead you to
believe that his/her cause were worthwhile.

So what it comes down to is the ultimate question: who am I to judge
what is noble or worthy?

Today I couldn't get the following notion out of my head: don't expect
too much and you won't be let down. I guess pre-conceived notions
about individuals can be so off base. Which leads me back to the old
testament "judge not lest ye be judged.". Maybe I am most disappointed
with my own inability to predict character. I am happy that true
colors always shine through and people are who they are.

This may seem like a bunch of code. It's not. I am very thankful for
the people in my life that love me. I am also thankful that God
watches over me. I am thankful for the opportunity before me.

Good chatting with you drew! Wicknasty.blogspot.com waits another day
for it's genesis. Annie, how about one less glass of wine at dinner!
Wwwwwhhhhaaaaaatttt!