Equipment changes

Is it true that most guys use 44 cm handlebars? It astonished me to discover that the busted carbon bars shown below are 40cm center to center.

A team mate has a spare set of carbon 44s which I am being encouraged to try out. Common sense tells me that this enhancement offers sprinters and climbers more leverage, assuming that the bike is being rocked side to side using the arms. For the low price that I can get these 44s, it’s worth trying them out during the winter before the racing begins. My bigger concern is having enough room to maneuver through tight spaces. I do believe that I’m built to use 42 but I’ll try these out for short money.

Other news: I’m re-engaging my yellow carbon EPX for the road races. Longer wheelbase, longer cranks, Rolf Vector Pro tubulars, Campy Chorus and it’s in pristine condition. The LOOK 486 is feeling it’s age and looks a bit dated. I’ve also laid it down pretty hard on two occasions. So I’m in the hunt for a newer bike to use in the crits, sized 55 or 56 cm. Who’s selling? Any used Litespeed Archon frames out there? Cervelos are nice too.. TTYL.

Hurled to the ground

Some diagonally running RR tracks in the Boston area (Jerusalem Rd area?) got the best of me on Sunday and I went down like a sack of potatoes. Shredded my hip and knee.. Bruised and swollen. Broke my handlebars. I was in line to cross these tracks and I saw others ahead of me get their rear wheel caught and go sideways and somehow recover.. Watching others do these acrobatics right in front of me meant I squeezed a handful of brakes instead of focusing on a proper bunny hop. I am sore but luckily I suffered no serious damage. Eastion EC90 handlebars are snapped in two though.. I was able to complete the ride- my handlebar tape held the bars together..
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18%!

I weigh 168 pounds, 18% of which is bodyfat, or 30.24 pounds.

Dropping 10 pounds (assuming that all weight lost is bodyfat) means that I will be 158 with 20 pounds of bodyfat or 12.6%. Still too hefty to call myself an “athlete”, I know..

Ten pounds- doesn’t sound like much, does it? Would you consider humping a gallon of milk around in a backpack all day? Because that’s what ten pounds would almost feel like- A gallon of milk is only 8 pounds.

Don’t dismiss the meaning of 10 pounds. It’s a lot of mass which places a lot of demand on the body relative to running, biking, and walking. For older folks, this added heft makes the simple acts of getting up from a chair and walking up a flight of stairs a lot more strenuous. The problem is that while muscles adapt easily to added stress, joints such as knees and hips do not adapt so readily, and the adapted muscles can be strong enough to cause injury to joints. For me, losing 10 pounds is the same as dropping 6% of my bodyweight and I’m cautiously optimistic that this will make me at least 6% faster on my bike. I’m trying.. Staying at race weigh all winter long is more than half of the battle. I did it! The gradually increasing training volume of the next 3 months should get me to where I want to be.

Uninsured Accident

Okay our car didn't catch fire or anything.. but my wife went to Shaws Supermarket last week. Her mother and my son were waiting in the car for her. An uninsured motorist slammed into the rear of our Honda Odyssey. Luckily the occupants are okay, but the van now has $3000 of damage, two days before I am supposed to turn it in (end of lease).. and guess who is stuck with paying a $500 deductible? I now have to extend and pay the lease an extra month or more just to get the repairs done.
Apparently Metlife will pursue the driver for the $500 on our behalf, but it could take months or years to collect. If they do not pay up, they lose their license and registration privileges, according to my Metlife agent. Whatever misery can be heaped upon this P.O.S., is fine and dandy with me. According to wife, the driver [she] could not even be bothered to apologize, and nearly drove away from the scene, were it not for the efforts of my mother in law to stop her.

Merino Wool Long Johns anyone?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and ask for Rhode Islanders to please honor us with just one purchase of our wool apparel or our kid’s bikes at www.WeeBIKE.com

Over the past 2 years, sales are a disappointing goose egg for the ocean state and I am at a loss to understand why.. We’ve sold goods to Australia, New Zealand, Israel, UK, Scotland, Denmark, Canada, Japan, et al. galore,... but nothing in Rhode Island.

I tend to go out of my way to do business with companies which sponsor bike race teams- for example: Chipotle and Metlife Insurance get thousands of my dollars annually. Are you there Karma? It’s me, Murat..

What can I say? We’re disappointed. Today a man in Ohio called me wondering whether to choose 100% merino wool, or to choose the wool blend for the wool long johns kit that he wants to wear while out hunting. After 20 minutes on the phone with me, not only was he fully informed about the processes used to extract lanolin from wool and the expected life expectancy and the proper care and washing instructions, he was sold on the simple fact that someone was willing to talk to him and help him make the correct buying decision. Two minutes later my Blackberry makes the distinctive bike bell sounds that I programmed to go off whenever a sale is made at WeeBIKE.

Oh well.. One day we’ll sell something in Rhode Island. Was it the odds or the probability of a sale that go up, the longer that this continues? Maybe neither, I don’t know. I didn’t take any advance math.

Humor me. www.WeeBIKE.com

 

24 hour bug?

I skipped work yesterday and slept until 11:00- my throat was so sore that I wanted to amputate it. Mid-day I was feeling better and even ventured out to Fairhaven MA for a pre-bid meeting at a new cancer clinic being built there.. This virus is being killed quickly whatever it is. Today I have some residual irritation in my bronchia, but my throat is all better. Weird.

2009 Racing Accomplishments

I have 12 minutes left in my 20 minute warm up before I start drillin' it. I'm riding my road bike indoors, attached to a resistance trainer device. To help motivate me for the 30 minutes of self induced suffering which will follow the warm-up, why not frame an outline of 2009's accomplishments? Wow only 9 minutes left- this takes long to do on a Blackberry!
1. Ninigret training criteriums: Four top ten finishes in 2009, including a couple of field sprint wins. Also one 4th place overall finish in a field sprint. This is harder than it sounds.
2. I only raced Wells Ave a couple of times and on the first try I snagged a 5th place finish
::6 minutes left and my HR is still a lowly 119 bpm..
3. Three of our M1 Racing team in the top 7 of the Cyclonauts Crit 35+: J Alain Ferry wins it solo, Matt Kressy takes 4th and Yours Truly takes 7th. In the Pro race which followed, I won a $10 prime which was awesome. Someone tried to follow me for it and could not hold my wheel.
4. Masters Nationals in Turkey: I took 9th in the 10k TT going cannibal against aero kits galore, only 22 seconds off the podium.. 8th in the road race the following day.. Six man break took off right after my little break was caught- base of the hill. This is a long story.. I was dropped like a brick on the first big climb. I thought about giving up.. The guys who were dropped on the flats were catching up to me. This was a T-shaped out and back 70 km course. I still had about 50k to go, and more climbing after the turn-around. Dead legs started to revive on the downhill. I started picking people off and they were all jumping on my wheel. After about 10 minutes of completely burying myself, I caught the main field of about 25 guys, a few guys followed me there the whole way. Caught the field right at the turn-around, with dead legs, at the base of a gradually steepening 4 mile climb. I fought. I bled from my ears in pain. I chewed through my handlebars.. And about 300 meters from the top, I could no longer follow the attacks of these former pros.. Dropped again, this time for good it seemed. Field was blown apart into smithereens. Again, I want to quit so bad, I hate myself, I feel humiliated. But the race is far from over- still 40k to go.. I shake it off after the summit, the main field of about 15 guys is back together up the road, or so I thought. Another 35 mph ten mile time trial later, I caught the field, only to discover that six of the favorites detached themselves.. No one would work except my teammate Murat Akyazi and 1-2 others. Everyone else was content to race for 7th. Murat and I tried repeatedly to escape with two others- an ideal amount of HP to bridge.. No such luck- we kept getting sabotaged by blockers. At the end of the day, largely due to my efforts at the front with Murat, we held the gap to only 2:57. In the field sprint, I followed an attack at 500m to go. Sat there until 300 to go and uncorked it. Unfortunately, a was being used as a lead out by two other former national champs, who both got around me (after an hour of avoiding pulls, it was pretty cheap) one of these two were DQ'ed for taking water from a vehicle, the other one stood- making me 8th overall. What's there to be proud of here? Never giving up, no matter how strong the urge. Fighting tooth and nail from being dead last on the course, to working my way up to 8th. Next year will be different, for both the RR and the TT. Mark my words.
5. The M1 Racing team strikes again at the Concord 35+ Criterium on August 2nd. I was not feeling on form for this one, and had finished mid-field in 2008. Midway through this hammer-fest (faster speed than the previous Pro race, according to the announcer) I found myself following a serious attack and rotating with Ciaran and Billy Y.. And about 5 others. This was not the recipe for success which M1 Racing needed. Not only would I be burning matches needlessly for this group, the big guns of Matt and Alain needed to be up here. My best approach to turn this to our favor was to be an anchor. It came back together. With 10 to go, Alain came alongside and told me not to lose his wheel. I was so gassed I immediately lost him. With 5 to go he came back to get me again, and this time I followed. He went up the road as soon as we saw the front- and we blocked as best we could for a few laps. With 2 to go he was caught and even with blown legs Alain mixed right into the top 10 and stuck it out to the finish 4th place in the field sprint. Matt Kressy took the final corner in 1st place and took his 4th win of the year. For my part, I turned myself inside out to keep close to Alain and finished 9th- an impressive perfomance for me, in my book.
6. Keith Berger Criterium 30+: In 2008 I did my best result here- 6th place. I was off the front from the very start and never saw the field again. In 2009 it was a little different. Wife and I were moving the contents of our house into a condo, and I had the nerve to drop everything and go to East Hartford- tired and out of form, and I snagged 14th out of a large stacked field- which was 8th in the field sprint (5 were off the front) another win in my book, all things considered.
7. Cyclocross- I started five envents and completed four. Of these, I was lapped at only two races and I managed to complete the leader's lap at the other two. This was a first for me! I'm about as graceful as a 3-legged penguin on the barriers and on the run-ups. I expect to pull myself up into the top 50 percentile one of these days. A cross bike that doesn't suck might be helpful!
Thanks for reading.
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There is no children's bike shop..

..in downtown East Greenwich on Main Street..
..Yet.

Stay tuned..

Murat reminds you: Keeping promises to yourself is the best anti-depressant ever, and there is no pill to reverse the regret of not trying your best. Hopefully you do not require such relief for 2009 and may you rip the legs off of 2010 in all regards.

Happy New Year everyone.

Best,

Murat

Nothing like a chance encounter with bike stuff while estimating woodwork

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Happy Holidays from Bisikletci

2009 GP of Cross Day 2 (Goddard Park):

If you want to join me on any of my epic winter weekend rides, reach out to me at: murat at weebike dot com. Come on, it's time! 90 mile rides in January pay huge dividends in May.

Also, I am offering a $5 store credit to those who register at www.WeeBIKE.com. Use it towards one of our many wool undergarments, base layers and tights. (I'm wearing the tights right now- they are the perfect breathable base layer under my work clothing) Anyway.. I update accounts once a day so please allow 24 hours for your $5 store credit to appear. This is the same merino wool that old Solobreak and the entire M1 Racing-WeeBIKE and ArcenCiel Racing Teams are using.

Have a safe and happy Christmas everyone.

Still on the Good side of 170..

My BMI has been steadily declining for the past 4 winters.. 185.. 178..173.. and now, 168..
Is 2010 the year when I break the physical/mental/power threshold of 160 pounds? Very good things will happen if I can make this so. The twice weekly Spinning classes combined with the 4-5 hour rides on the weekends, are working.

Spinning Bike for Grandma?

Problem: My mother in law is 5'-3 and 200 pounds. She has been steadily gaining weight ever since her knee problems surfaced, which not only cause her severe pain, it also prevents her from engaging in any of the kinds of activities which would light the fuse on some weight loss. Coupled with her extremely slow movement to both prevent further injury and to avoid falling down, we have some badly under-utilized and weakened leg muscles and a metabolism that's slowed to a crawl.
Solution: Good friend of mine in the woodworking business was lucky enough to be acquainted to Chris Hinds and back in the day, he bought a nice LeMond spinning bike from Providence Bicycle. It hasn't seen much use and so my friend is offering it to me to borrow or buy for a good price and my hope is that I will be able to take this home and get Grandma into a low impact program of sweatin' to the oldies. (It's in the back of my minivan right now!) She needs surgery on one of the joints, but the Doctor refuses to do it until she drops significant pounds, or else the repairs will not last.
Hopefully this is going to work. She's not quite 60 yet and it's time for an intervention of sorts. Thoughts?

RACEMENU

Quickly quickly

I'm done with the "Spinning" classes at the Kent County YMCA, seriously. The trainers are fun-lovable and all, but when I recently asked the alpha-in-charge instructor about being a substitute instructor [for free] I was given a boatload of bullshit such as "you would need to apprentice with me for a few classes". Fuck. Coming from this person, this is quite an insult because s/he sucks at instructing spinning class, and uses the worst possible music ever. When I offered to do some private classes this person had the nerve to inform me that my guests would be required to pay $25 to $30 each for the privilege of using their cramped smelly spin room, which definitely violates life safety codes. Why is insulting my intelligence so fashionable? Sometimes I play the fool to avoid intimidating people, and they are so easily fooled that I should be on broadway I guess.. Back when there was an awesome Union Velo spin class at the Attleboro YMCA, all we had to pay for the private class was $5 each. So I'm contemplating writing an e-mail to this person with words designed to injure, but my calm gentle nurturing demeanor prevails. I could remind them that I donated about $6000 worth of brand new cabinetry to them early this spring, but that would be wrong.. Yes I am indeed a certified Spinning instructor- I took an all day class and read a manual. It's not rocket science, and besides, if you have hundreds of hours of indoor intervals under your belt and understand about perceived exertion and heart rate zones, you are already 1/2 way there.. There's more to it of course- technique, hand positions, music selection, an ability to inspire people to suffer. Oh well. My new Spinning class is the Bally's North Providence. After tonight's excellent workout (I felt like I could rip the cranks right of the bike tonight, after recovering from the torture which NBX GP of Cross put me through this past weekend) I went to the front desk and asked for an application. I won't deny that Bally's has a lot more eye candy and that people seem to go there as much to ogle each other as to work out, but the hormonal surges which are induced undoubtedly make people push a little bit harder, and help them do that extra repetition. Well I 'm way off into the weeds again. All I really wanted to tell you is that NBX toughened the shit out of me and pretty much lit the fuse of my 2010 training plan. I rode like a man possessed in my Spinning class tonight. If you have never tried a Spinning class, it's much like a cross race in duration and intensity, except that you're riding a fixed gear and enjoying the sweaty cleavage and exposed tramp stamps which surround you. Just sayin'.. Thanks for reading.

Buy my wool underwear, tights, base layers and children's pajamas HERE.

Weebike.com now offers Merino Wool Base Layers by HASYUN

I think it's a notable improvement over last year: I completed both NBX 35+ elite races this weekend and avoided crashing, avoided being lapped on day 2 and avoided finishing last both days. On day one I was disappointingly lapped pretty darn close to seeing 1 to go, and only by the top 6 finishers.. Coming from a crit rider who never touches his 5 year old clunker of a cross bike in between cross races, that's something to feel good about. I do this for fun and to stay sharp in the winter, that's it. Okay maybe so does everyone else.. I just tend to do it poorly.
One of these short sleeve merino wool base layers pictured below occupies my wardrobe for the past 3 years. It has been machine washed about 25 times and improperly thrown into the dryer at least 1/2 dozen times. It shows a little bit of wear but it's as comfortable as ever- today I used it as my 2nd skin underneath my long sleeve jersey at the NBX Cross race at Goddard Park. Retail price is only $29.95. You can buy these from me at Weebike.com. It's not the fanciest web site around selling this kind of product, but that's why it only costs you $30 instead of $60. Your support makes it possible for Weebike.com to sponsor three elite racing teams. Below there is a wealth of information relative to the merits of merino wool apparel. Thanks for reading.

TERMERINOLOGY of WOOL

WHY WOOL? Wool is a natural, sustainable and biodegradable resource.

ODOR FREE Wool is antimicrobial. Due to superior wicking, absorbing and moisture evaporation, odor causing bacteria is defeated.

TEMPERATURE REGULATION Wool fibers have tiny pockets of air which provide a buffering layer of natural climate control.

BREATHABILITY Only wool dissipates sweat from the skin immediately as a vapor, keeping you dry and comfortable.

RENEWABLE Harvesting wool uses much less energy than is takes to make fossil-fuel dependent, man made synthetics.

WHY MERINO WOOL? Merino Wool is the most comfortable fiber you can put against your skin!

NO SHRINKING Merino wool does not shrink when properly cared for. Machine washed and sensibly dried wool gets softer and more comfortable.

NO ITCHING Merino wool is prized for it’s fine micron diameter and owes it’s light and airy feel to this distinction. Inferior itch causing wools should be avoided.

4 SEASON FUNCTIONALITY Merino Wool is comfortable in a wider range of temperatures and activities than any other fabric.

HEALTH BENEFITS Merino Wool is comfortable, but wearing it is a healthy choice too!

ALLERGIES Wool’s long fibers don’t stick out to give you that prickle effect. Wool is hypoallergenic. A wool allergy is rare, when existent, is caused by lanolin, a natural coating on the fiber.

BODY TEMPERATURE Wool releases heat better than synthetics, improving body temperature regulation. Lower heat retention helps you to work harder for longer.

NATURAL FIBER Wool’s completely natural moisture management system ensures your skin stays healthy, by removing sweat from the skin’s surface before it condenses into a liquid.

FLAME RETARDANT The wool fiber outperforms all other common textile fibers in terms of fire resistance. Wool is difficult to ignite and never melts, so it can’t stick to the skin like synthetics do when they burn.

WOOL CARE Wool is a very durable material which will outlast all other inferior types, with proper care.

HAND WASHING TIPS Hand washing is not necessary, but is encouraged because it improves the life span of your garment. To wash, use a mild detergent in lukewarm water and then rinse with cool water. Gently squeeze to remove soap and excess water. Never wring your wool garments while washing or rinsing.

MACHINE WASHING TIPS For most wool garments, use the gentle cycle with cold or warm water with a mild non bleach detergent. Powdered soaps should be dissolved completely before adding your garments.

DRYING TIPS Drying wool garments properly will preserve their size, shape and feel. After washing, lay flat or hang to dry. Wool apparel tends to dry more quickly than any other fabric.

Got lemons? Make lemonade.

Realizing too late that you used poor judgment is either a defeat or an opportunity. Your hero prefers the latter, as should you. We traveled to Rochester this weekend, and the only bike stuff I brought were:
Winter hat (Rochester is cold)
Two bibs (for Spinning at the Y)
Two ss jerseys (above)
Spd shoes (above above)
Multitool (this was a lucky stowaway)
One base layer (I like to wear as outerwear)
Obviously no bike, pumps, jacket, socks, leg warmers, helmet, spare tubes/levers, powertap, hrm, or other necessities.
As it turned out, the whole reason why I left all that stuff behind- the weather report predicting freezing rain, sleet and snow for Friday and Saturday- was pretty nearly completely wrong. Friday morning's bright sunny weather made my skin crawl. About 9:30 I went out to Starbucks for a large Pike Place (I refuse to say the word "grande")- which happens to be right next door to Park Ave Bike, managed by the inimitable Jonah D, who I went to high school with. The shop was closed but upon hearing his name and recognizing me from my FB profile, he started towards the door. The former Cannondale rep was now managing the most successful bike shop in Rochester, and upon hearing of my poor judgment, he glanced towards a fresh-out-of-the-box 56 cm Specialized Tarmac 'test bike' and said "here you go". What would YOU do??
As happy as a tornado in a trailer park, I drove up to the house with my coffee in hand and my red-headed mistress secured to the roof. The look on future ex wife's face clearly indicated another severe use of poor judgment, but forgiveness is easier to get than permission, and before she had a chance to call her attorney and take 1/2 our stuff, I kitted up with improvised apparel and got the hell out of dodge. In spite of the 35 degree coldness, the first three hours were exquisite, and if not for the freezing rain, sleet and snow which drenched me in the beginning of the 4th hour, it would have been another 85 miler as in the past 3 weekends. I had to settle for a little less, but it was a slightly higher intensity than usual due to being alone the whole time.
The following morning I had the pleasure of meeting up with the GVCC "endurance ride" (as many of the 30 strong group reminded me after the first few rollers). I was President of this club back in 1989. As you can imagine, I was on a short leash with a choker this morning. After traversing part of the old Mendon GVCC road race course in a group heavily populated with fixies, cross bikes and fenders, I peeled off and headed back north towards Pittsford to keep my promise of being home by noon. Besides I also had a demo bike to return and some flowers to buy.. I'm still working on the flowers part..
Poor judgment-0, Murat-1.
Thanks for reading.
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Phoenix Arizona: nice place to read about

The single most impressive thing about Phoenix Arizona is the Rental Car Terminal. Intelligent design has a special place in my heart. The thing that brought me down was the emptiness. Phoenix is a lonely city- all dressed up and waiting for a party to happen, it seems, and everyone is a no-show. The glimmering mini skyscrapers seem to be populated only by the palm trees which surround them. It's a scene out of Grand Theft Auto if I ever saw one. The boring flat landscape is made interesting with shiny hollow trophies of an era which probably ended a little after Y2K and the bottom falling out of tech stocks. I'm well aware of the mountains, canyons and natural beauty that is beyond the perfectly linear matrix of streets, and I begin to wonder if maybe that's where everyone went. Severe time limits prevented me from finding a bike to rent and from exploring the roads for hours like I wanted to. Shit, I only put 30 miles on my rental car for that matter. Phoenix has an abundance of billboards. Some one is getting very rich selling space to all the corporations who pine for your attention. I detest them, almost as much as the car dealer ads on the radio.. You know, the loud ones that sound like you're listening to the preview of an epic movie, followed by a fast talker who reads all the fine print of that zero down zero interest deal that ends tomorrow.. Car dealers are slime, just like billboard owners. One is engaged in noise pollution, the other in sight pollution. Way to make an ugly place uglier Phoenix! I did not turn on my car radio, for reasons I just described.. But you can't close your eyes while driving. I lied there's something else I liked about Phoenix- the Metro running up and down Central Ave is a slick set-up. There's even a car where bicyclists can hang their bikes from the ceiling- a nice touch but one which I can't understand. The climate is near perfect and the roads are perfectly smooth and flat. Why bother jumping on a tram when you're already on your bike in the first place?
The Convention Center is a LEED Silver certified building which is respectable.. LEED and Green construction practices were frequent topics discussed at the trade show I attended in Phoenix. A speaker in one of the workshops I attended said something pretty dramatic:
"In 20 years, 1/3 of the jobs available today will be gone, and 1/2 of them will be replaced by Green-collar jobs". My profession engages me in the construction and renovation of high performance green schools. This is stuff I care about. Furnishing $5 million hi-rise condos on Beacon Street with expensive and exotic woodwork does not turn my crank. Furnishing a public educational facility with responsibly forested, locally harvested and low VOC emitting woodwork, does interest me, immensely.
I will board my flight here in Detroit shortly. My new Blackberry 8900 is junk- I'm trading up to a BOLD. Time to play some Word Mole. Thanks for reading.
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New job = New Bike Commute

For the past five years I was lucky to have an 8 mile bike ride to work. (I used to take the long way home of course..) Now my bike commute is 26 miles each way and I fear that it may be a bit too much, especially in the mornings. This is going to be hard to do more than once a week. I need to leave the house at 6:00 am in order to get there at a reasonable hour, and the logistics of clean clothing, grooming failures and odor control really make it harder than you might think. I rode this route home tonight for the first time and noticed that it was always a very gradual downhill with a tailwind, going north to south. Tomorrow morning it will be colder, it will be uphill and it will be into the wind. What better way to start the day than with a challenging 90 minutes of straining yourself while a backpack humps your torso and every driver acts like they wish you were dead? It will be a relief to reach the bike path tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Gewilli's commute is what, 3 miles? with an over-population of phreds whose primary training goal each year is to avoid being passed by anyone on the bike path? the East Bay bike path is narrow, bumpy, covered in bird shit, and always smells like low tide..The Blackstone Bike Path is stunning. I've seen all five paths in Rhode Island and Blackstone is by far the most scenic, interesting, and beautiful of them all. Thanks for reading.

Looking to sponsor a few good teams

Dear wife and I are slowly but surely growing a couple of small businesses:

WeeBike and another project that is soon to be off the ground. We are going to be the USA distribution arm of a company in Turkey which manufactures WOOL base layers and undergarments of all types. The company is called HASYUN, which translates literally into Pure Wool. We're also negotiating with a sports apparel manufacturer in Turkey for possible introduction of a line of custom racing apparel- bib shorts, jerseys, jackets etc, under the M1 Racing Brand that we have made popular in New England over the past couple of years.

We're looking for a few teams which are looking for sponsors. Cash, merchandise or a combination of the two can be offered depending upon the situation of the teams which are interested. If your team is about to pull the trigger on ordering new apparel for 2010, please reach out to me via e-mail: reiscotools@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Determination

I'm pleased because even though I crashed heavily two times at today's Canton Cup Cyclocross Race, your hero never quit, he avoided being lapped and even caught four people and sprinted past a fifth right at the finish line. My son Reis pulled a similar result in his kid's race for 6 and 7 year olds. He went right off into the weeds on the first slick muddy turn and was dead last.. until he got back on the bike, chased down and passed two kids and finished fourth. Mommy for her part, put up with all the pissing, moaning, whining and bullshit that Reis and I could dish out, all day long, before patiently painting Reis' face like Spider Man so we could all go trick-or-treating. It takes a strong woman to handle a couple of selfish crybabies like Reis and I.. but the knife cuts two ways and we'll leave it at that! Finishing my first cyclo-cross race on the same lap as the leaders feels pretty good. So does catching and passing people and looking back to see the gap on them open steadily. A taste of that could light my fire to try even harder to do well.. Usually I just use cyclocross as a means to keep fitness sharp until January when the road training officially begins. Another home run from today that I'm absolutely beaming about: I found my Powertap bike computer. It was lost in mid September and I've looked everywhere for it, even in the place where it was found: the pocket of my brown camouflage shorts. I've repeatedly fondled these shorts and others over the past weeks, hoping to feel the little device from outside. Well today I said fuck-it and shoved my hand into the pocket for once and [curse your slim profile, Powertap] there it was. I came running down the stairs almost naked to report the search and rescue to Ebru. She thought I found a million dollars, I think she was disappointed. So it goes- I finally finished a race at Canton, on the 3rd try. My doors were blown off [even worse] on the 1st try and again a couple of years ago when I dragged my poor father to the race with me. He froze his balls off watching me pathetically try to ride a bike for 2 laps.. I don't think he was too impressed with me that day.. Maybe today makes up for it. Maybe finding the Powertap was payback for determination. Maybe this should be the last sentence of this story. Thanks for reading.

IRONY

For the past many months and months, Facebook has pretty much hijacked my attention span, taking it away from this blog and leaving readers twisting in the wind.. unless they themselves migrated over to the land of imitation friendships. Let's face it, accepting a friend request is the equivalent of canine crotch sniffing. We proceed to ogle all of the friends, photos and other bullshit which our new "friends" have just exposed. It's a peep show of flashers and consenting victims.

Today something different happened. Something less typical than what I describe. A couple of things happened actually. First I stumbled upon the Facebook link to mywww.americanturk.blogspot.com blog, where I was astonished to discover that I have followers. I can't think of another word which makes my insides tingle more warmly. Okay there were only six of them in there, but I am not acquainted with three- total strangers. This gives me a hard-on, figuratively speaking, and it explains the first irony which my title suggests: that Facebook played a part in getting me interested in blogging again.

The next surprise came in the form of a friend request acceptance and a message posted to my Facebook Wall by my new friend. I sent a friend request to Franz Wright earlier in the afternoon. By the time I got home from a friend's child's birthday party, he had replied with an acceptance and the following message.

Franz Wright Hi, and thanks for befriending me. I remember coming across your blog a long time ago and being greatly encouraged by some good words of yours. FW

4 hours ago · Comment · Unlike · See Wall-to-Wall
I usually have a pretty low opinion of my work, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Franz Wright won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2004. That he stumbled upon my blog and found words fit to encourage him is the biggest compliment I have ever received. Irony No 2 happens to be that for twice in one day, Facebook sent me back to the drawing board (that is, my blog), and wondering why I have let is slip so.
The third thing I want to share with you is partly coincidence and part irony. I resigned from my job last week, and yesterday was my last day after five years of service. While my pre-resignation memo and my resignation memo which followed by one month were both ignored completely by upper management, my memo to all fellow co-workers sent yesterday was much more warmly received. I received dozens of replies from well-wishers and numerous compliments relative to my writing. Even a recent e-mail from my new employer also indicated that my choice of words was impressive. Yesterday a [former] co-worker expressed to me that I could probably make a living using this skill if I put my mind to it. Having said all of this, isn't it ironic that theweakness bird-dogged the most by my former employer was "poor communication"?
Here is my Resignation memo, followed by my Goodbye memo. I think Franz would like these.Resignation Memo:

Gentlemen:

I recognize that the problems at [company] are intense enough to eclipse all other matters but it's impossible to perform at a high level when my concerns are ignored. I can't continue to pretend that it doesn’t hurt me that my previous message entered a vacuum. This lack of communication has made things difficult.

No one stays employed anywhere for 5 years for being a low performer, yet the past few weeks and months make it seem as though I am being encouraged to leave. This does not feel good and I hope that I will be proven wrong somehow. From where I stand, it’s a dishonor to stay in this position and it invites others to disrespect me if I go along with the derision as if it’s acceptable. I need to stop trying to catch a falling knife.
If there are any positive ideas or future changes which I am unaware of, now would be the time to share them with me. Otherwise this will serve as my notice to leave [company] and we should discuss an exit plan.

Best,

Goodbye Memo:

Dear Fellow Co-Workers:

"It's what we do." Remind yourself of this the next time an assignment is getting the best of you.

It has been an honor to count myself among you for the past five years. Working with the caliber of people who populate [company] is a privilege- take pride in being immersed in such a deep pool of talent. As the melancholy of leaving you eclipses the excitement of a new career, it's abundantly clear to me that five years have not been wasted. I leave you carrying a giant payload of personal growth, valuable experience, and great memories.

I humbly encourage everyone to test their limits- it's not possible to become better/faster/stronger if we do not. We all want to be strong. Fortunately, the limits we decide to test are in our control. Let's choose them wisely so that our adaptations are compatible with our goals. You’re the captain.

It is my hope to be considered as one who cares deeply about [company], as one who salutes those who try to be excellent, and that your actions say the same about you.

Best,

Thanks for reading.

There's less of me to go around..

Originally 10/15/10:

..and I mean it literally and figuratively and physically.. It's been nearly 2 months since my last contribution here, but I've become a bit overwhelmed with the amount of attention the internet requires from me. I'm now counting 8 or 9 blogs, plus 3 retail websites, a few social networking venues and of course horoscopes, news, weather, maps, five e-mail accounts, spam and youporn. Needless to say, your hero is spread pretty thin these days..
So a few hours after today's colonoscopy, my dear wife indicated with much amusement how helpless I looked in the recovery room.. that is.. high on drugs, tubes in my nose and arm, drooling on myself as I slowly regained consciousness.. and I couldn't resist asking her why she didn't right then and there take a picture and "Facebook it". Well apparently the idea did cross her mind but she refrained from exploiting my pain for your entertainment. Good girl.. It got me to thinking.. as we drove to the PTO meeting tonight- there must already be some good images of me injured or suffering that I can share.. and bingo! I remembered the self portrait I took of myself 4 years ago, in the ambulance after being hit by a car in Cranston while riding home from work. So after sending Ebru off to bed (she fell asleep while we watched our Netflix movie- "Guru") I resolved to find that picture and explain to you how, if that accident happened today I would have probably broken some bones.. At my annual physical this past Tuesday, I asked my doctor what my weigh-in was two years prior- 183.. one year ago- 173.. and two days ago.. drumroll..... 162 (fully clothed of course..) so at the time of this accident where I destroyed my helmet (I had blood coming out of my ear and I had stitches in my ear canal) I was about 25 pounds heavier, more cushioned with fat, perhaps even more muscular. I don't know how I would fare today in such a T-bone collision.. This morning I weighed in at 157, but of course this was in my birthday suit, and after an 18 hour period of liquid diet, Dulcolax and other bowel cleansing medications I was required to imbibe. I don't miss those extra 25 pounds. After disrobing for today's procedure and laying on the gurney, two nurses attended to my IV, blood pressure and oxygen.. when they took my pulse it was nice to hear them say "heartrate is 46- you are very fit!". Indeed, a big strong heart doesn't need to pump so often- it moves more blood with less work- an advantage which hopefully pays big dividends when I'm an old man. Ebru was with me in the recovery room today- and I don't remember a thing- but she says the alarm kept going off because my heart rate kept falling below 45. Sweet. If I never win another bike race ever again (I hear that stifled laughter- not cool), I still feel like I've won something priceless: more time on this planet with people who I love.. which assumes of course that a piano does not fall onto me or my plane does not crash or other unmentionable abbreviations of life do not occur to me..
I'm reaching an age where it's probably going to be hard resisting the urge to judge myself, judge my achievements, judge my health, judge my life's quality. So far I'm looking forward to the occasion, and hopefully many of the more difficult albeit correct choices I've made and hard work I've done for the past 10-20 years will continue to bear fruit. With so many blessings to count, age does not matter.
For those of you who wondered, my colonoscopy was a success- only one small polyp was found and removed.. and if/when I get my hands on a picture of it, hell yeah I'm going to Facebook it!
Thanks for reading.
Hoscakal.

Posted By Murat Altinbasak to Amerikan Turk™ at 10/14/2010 11:56:00 PM

WeeBike - USA Cycling promotion

You have all seen my boy go from a two wheel LikeaBike to a two wheel FELT and SKIP THE TRAINING WHEELS. Here he is coasting to victory up at the Boston Mayor's Cup.

Anyway, we need to move some bikes and pay some bills, so I am offering the following to anyone who buys a LikeaBike and holds a USA Cycling racing license:

One free race entry fee on us when you purchase any model of Likeabike from WeeBike.

Only one caveat: you must complete your transaction at http://www.weebike.com/ (not Ebay) and take delivery at a local race event. Payment by Paypal is fine. Just indicate your racing license number with your payment and we will issue a refund of $25 after we verify that you're you and that you hold a valid racing license.

This promotion is offered for a limited time.. at least until Christmas.. We've been in business for nearly two years and every penny we've made selling the bikes has been spent on funding the M1 Racing - WeeBike Team. Please, if you're in the market for one of these high end bikes, buy from WeeBike and help us keep this team going. Spread the word!

Three free Livestrong bracelets with each purchase too (two adult and one youth size)

Whyemseeay

I did a SPIN class last night, followed by a little bit of upper body work on the Nautilus machines. Noticed on my chart (still there after all this time) that the last time I lifted weights was on my birthday March 19^th. So I haven’t lifted in six months and 10 days. Interesting… The good news is, I kicked the SPIN class’ ass last night. Where a week ago I was dying just to avoid falling off the bike, last night I was strong and had a good time. Tonight I’m doing Pilates again. Every Tuesday 6:30 at the Kent County Y.. I’m usually the only guy in there.. which is a good ratio for me.. some of the moves we do down on the floor would not make it onto prime time television. I credit a lot of the good racing I did in May to the lifting, Pilates and yoga I did all winter. Now I’m prepping for a better cross season using these disciplines. Let’s see if I can escape being lapped for a change!

Note to self:

Burn-out at work causes burn-out on the bike.

I did a spin class last night after work and basically had to fake my way through and use less resistance than I was supposed to. Couldn’t wait for it to end, because walking out would be too embarrassing.

Dear wife was just diagnosed with Lyme disease, which explains a few things. Now I wonder if I have it too somehow, though it’s not known to be contagious.

My back has been killing me for months. I’m in the care of a chiropractor. An x-ray taken a month ago showed my spine curved sideways from my tailbone up. Looks like the kind of trauma that would be caused by being hit by a car from the left. (ie July 2006 when I was hit)

I’m registered for the Mayor’s Cup but I have very little time to tune myself up. The goal is to hopefully hang in there and tail-gun it to the finish. I have to try, no matter what.

Maybe skipping the racing this weekend and a couple of long zone rides followed by good food and quality rest will get me out of this rut. Good 4-5 hour rides always seem to precede my best results this season.

Pilates tonight at the Y. Should I go? I can ride there I guess, then ride home after. Or not. Fatigue and stress has me cross-eyed.

Thanks for reading.

 

Solo Break Racing

Apparently there’s a new team which is sponsored by the mild-mannered alter ego of our beloved Nega-Coach:

www.solobreakracing.com

 

 

 

 

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to the new Powertap head unit that arrived today! I lost my computer at Concord on 8/1 and found a nearly new head unit on Ebay- snagged it for $46. Yay! Data restored!
Jeers to my job and for occupying me for 60-70 hour weeks for the past many weeks. Training volume is sub-100 miles and form is sneaking away from me. Must find a way to evade the long hours!
Cheers to my latest vehicle purchase- a brand new 2009 Honda FIT Sport- bought for under invoice and an awesome 33 mpg. This car is extremely loaded, versatile, and has pretty nice lines for an economy car. Got it in whit so it look like freshly wrapped Pro bar tape.
Jeers to me for not blogging at all for the past week! Too busy too tired..
Cheers for my son Reis- his 6th birthday is on Saturday!
Jeers to me for missing this year's edition of the Chris Thater Criterium. No form, birthday on Saturday- made it impossible.
Cheers to getting my Powertap today! So psyched to see where I stand.. and this new unit has only 60 miles on it. It's the latest generation of the wired units. Liking it lots.

Found this in Facebook!

..thanks to Alain Ferry. Genius indeed! This is good.

Harder than it looks

I did this entire ride in the big ring- forgot to hit the start button for the first 3 miles.. Also kind of upset that a driver who was behind me at a dark intersection rolled down his window and yelled "You are an asssss-hooooole". I was on the left anticipating my left turn long before he ever reached me, so what's the problem? I reached the intersection first and did not delay him. What is it about a bicyclist who's just making his way home, minding his own business on the side of the road in the pitch black darkness, with reflective back pack, blinky and headlight, that brings out the worst in people? This was a new route for me. Kind of challenging. Basically it followed Park Ave (Route 12) out towards the reservoir, all the way to the end. That's about 1/2 of the ride. Then where 94/14/102 split, bear left and follow 102/14. Another few miles up, bear right on 14, then a few miles later, follow signs for 117 East. Take to Sandy Bottom Rd in Coventry- turn right and go to Division Road a few miles up. Left on Division Road takes me straight across route 2 and to Main Street in East Greenwich, which I now call home. Got home about 9. It was dark! If not for the 'Auto-on' being disabled on my Polar, I would surely have cracked 20 mph, which of course, is a requirement for any ride.
Still no sign of my Powertap- lost it at the Concord Crit.. Damn. I could use a little do-re-me for a replacemtn head unit, so if you are looking for a new bike for your 2-5 year old or looking for a few wool base layers for the fall/winter, please go buy some of my stuff: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/WeeBike__W0QQ_armrsZ1 If you find something you like, such as a LikeaBike Jumper, let me know via e-mail and I can knock 10% off the price for cash sales that are delivered to you in person at a race.
Thanks for reading.

2009 Concord Criterium Results

I was on the rivet for the whole entire time, and it took some coaxing and encouragement from a good team mate, but in the end, I found myself in the top ten going into the correct inside line of the corkscrew with 1/2 lap to go. There was a crash in the final corner- on the outside. This was both a curse and a blessing- it required me to shift my weight to the right at high speed and reach for the brakes, losing a touch of speed. On the other hand, it delayed a few guys enough for me to hold onto 9th place with lots of room to spare, or so it seemed. Hopefully the results this year will show a high speed shot of the top 15 as they showed in last year's results. Needless to say, it pleases me immensely that Matt Kressy won, that three of our team populate the top ten finishers, and that all five of our team raced honorably and finished.

Lost my Powertap at 2009 Concord Criterium

I'm offering a reward. The irony is that I didn't even use it- the PT wheel went into the wheel pit and I used my light rear wheel! I left the dang computer on the bike and probably kicked it off with my knee when I got out of the saddle. Looked all around the course, asked people, made an announcement- no luck. Kind of bummed.. I'm not a wealthy person.
The race is one redeeming thing about the day though. Everyone on our team: Adam S, Ralf G, Alain, Matt and I- each of us populated at least one serious break during the 20 lap masters race and in the end, Matt Kressy smoked everyone in the field sprint, our J Alain Ferry was 4th and your hero was 9th, so I'm very pleased.. The announcer reported that our 35+ masters race had faster lap times than the pro race, so it's little wonder that 25 guys DNF'ed. 62 starters and only 37 finished. Running the course in reverse suited me just fine! Absolutely loved it.
Thanks for reading.

2009 Norwell Pro-Am

I trained more in January than I did in June, and the same can be said for July, unless I crack about 100 miles this week- who knows.. My form is systematically being stolen from me week after week by a completely unpredictable, highly demanding and stress-intense career. It wasn't always like this, as you can see from the nice graphic chart I've shared with you showing how my CTL and ATL evolved since January. Look at the blue line during the time between May 20 and May 31, where I can tell you that I was the strongest all year. It comes as no surprise- I did almost 54 hours and over 1000 miles of riding in May. But in June- after returning from Turkey- I was saddled with a new project at work which needs constant nurturing- and it's so large that I'm co-managing it with another PM. Management changes at work make it even more sensitive of an issue because all new eyeballs are looking at this thing extremely closely. There's enough dick-wagging and pissing matches going on that anyone can be violently thrown under the bus at any given moment, even though this train wreck of a project was inherited from a person who drove it into the ground and then got fired. My job is to turn it around, and it has basically consumed me. I've averaged about 100 junk miles a week since returning from Turkey in early June. This is going to change beginning this week, because it's now time to engage in a bail-out plan of my own. I'm going to look very closely at the training I did in April/May and with a few adaptations relative to intensity and volume, I'm going to shoot for a CTL of at least 100 for the week leading up to Chris Thater. That's only 5 weeks from now. At Norwell there were no surprises and I performed about as lousy as I expected to, maybe a little more. The good news is that my 60 minute normalized power has not fallen dramatically- it's still pretty strong even though it's dropped under 300. I was torn between using my light rear wheel and my Powertap, but the need for some quality data made the decision easy- at a race where my participation was purely for enjoyment- who cares about an extra 300 grams at the hub? What's that, half a water bottle's weight? Yes so this is not really a race report- sorry if Google led you here in anticipation of reading something exciting. I finished Norwell even though I was dropped on lap 4. I finished it even though I was lapped.
A bad day of racing is always better than a good day at work!
Thanks for reading.

Above, my son and I at Goddard Park. The bike is a FELT. I bought it a year ago, but never pressured him to ride it- he always preferred scooting around on his pedal-less LikeaBike Jumper. The nice thing is that he went straight to a big boy bike, without falling down once, without ever using training wheels, and without any of the "can only ride in a straight line" syndrome which infects all training wheel users. He corners like he's on rails. After getting on the podium at Attleboro and winning a "nickel", he says he wants to race a thousand times and win a thousand more "nickels". That's what he calls the medal they gave him.

Curses

Curses to this weather. Its become such that I get headaches when its sunny out- not used to it.
I raced Ninigret last night, it was nice and warm and fun. Jumped onto a late flyer with two to go and got smoked. The field swarmed us with one to go and I coasted home, watching a winnable field sprint unfold before me. Bad judgment like that makes my skin crawl, but I should remind myself that I wasn't there to win, I wanted to test limits and see where I stand. I already know that I have a decent sprint. What I really need to learn how to do is hold 27 mph for an extended period of time, as in a breakaway- seeing as the typical masters crit averages about 26 mph..
So lately, I'm less interested in watts and more interested in speed. I want to practise going 30+mph for 2-4 minute durations, such as during the last 2-3 laps of a crit. I didn't even use my power meter at the Attleboro Crit- instead I used my much lighter Easton wheel.
I'm pre-registered for Norwell, now if only I could train a little bit for it.. I'm averaging 2-3 rides a week lately.
Thanks for reading.

Scene from a 2008 Crit

This is one of my favorite pictures. I am populating a smart little rotation with a couple of cool guys. Its pretty pathetic when your best result for an entire season is 6th place in a crit. Or 7th. but you take what you can get and you must avoid second guessing yourself because no matter the result, remember that our class of athlete usually isn't satisfied until we've pushed ourselves to the point of cramps, nausea, tendonitis, dehydration, road rash, broken ribs and collarbones. No one can push you harder, than You. There's always a few times in a race where you either crack, or don't crack, ("the moment") but you never discover that breaking point unless you're on the rivet and going for broke. Hopefully my rambling does not pollute an otherwise serene scene. We were in between the 4 guys up the road and the 40 behind us, and that's how it finished. Sure I cracked and had no choice but to excuse myself from the winning break, but persistence paid off and after about 5 solo laps, two others reached me, as you can see. It was a good day no matter how you look at it. Thanks for reading.

Post 701 = Millwork One Racing slideshow

Hope you like it.

My new favorite park:

Goddard Park
There is a one mile loop in the middle of the park  that's ideal for intervals of one minute or less. Also ideal for an early Sat morning crit a la Prospect Park. Goddard is also just a mile or two from my house.

3667 miles thru 6/30

2009 Attleboro Criterium Results

I have a few pics that I will add later.

A day in the life

Alarm goes off at 5:30
Out the door at 6:25
Bike ride to work is 29 minutes
Change into street clothes in time for 7:00 am meeting
Meeting ends at 8:30
Head out for Boston at 9:00, after a pit stop at DD for toasted sesame bagel and coffee
Arrive on Beacon Street 10:30
Go to work at project- keep busy til 12:30- time to feed the meter, change parking space and get lunch
Walk to Viga and use Davio's bathroom
Line at Viga is out the door all the way to the corner- I grab two slices of pizza and a Coke.
Walk over to the Park and grab a park bench, eat pizza, drink Coke, feed pigeons and squirrels (you can't spell "Pigeon" without P-I-G! These things were huge!) Squirrels get right up on park bench and beg for piza crusts. Awesome.
Head back to project for more project managwr stuff. Leave Beacon St at 4:30- lots of traffic.
Get back to the office at 6:30
Suit up and hit the road- head down to Narragansett Town Beach on Route 1/1A. Takes 1:15 to get there- a city bus almost kills me- - catch the mofo at a red light and have words (he could not hear, with elderly driver, who keeps pointing to the sidewalk.. Get to beach at 8:00 to meet wife and son. They're packing up, but there's time to stick my feet in the water and have a beer.
Wife drives us home- we quickly change and we're walking up Main Street to get ice cream for dinner. We stroll around for a bit and get home at 10:00. Time for bed.
Tomorrow I'm up at 4:30 so I can be in Bridgeport by 8:00.

Life gets in the way

Where I work, two project managers were fired last week. Another project manager committed suicide the week before.. Requiring me to move from my cushy new estimating position to their former office, in order to co-manage and "turn-around" a $3 million hospital project that's in a nosedive death spiral. I'm going to work earlier and earlier, getting home later and later.. Not only am I missing a lot of training, I'm also feeling more stressed and fatigued than ever, so even if there were 27 hours in a day, I'd probably not spend the 3 extra hours training. So, as much as I would have loved to race Attleboro on Saturday all pumped and primed and ready, I'm going to have to just do it for the fun of it, if I do it at all. I think I'm expected to be in the office Sat and Sunday.. It's another cool gray New England morning and I'm headed up to Beacon Street to babysit some carpenters. Thanks for reading.

2009 Keith Berger Criterium 30+

I always enjoy racing in East Hartford. So much so, that I avoid missing it even when I haven't been training right for 2 weeks and on a weekend when I'm in the middle of moving all our furniture and belongings to a new residence. My balls are bigger than my brains I guess, and it's a miracle my wife didn't leave me, but I pulled it off somehow. I traveled to East Hartford, registered, raced as best I could (14th out of 65 starters) and headed straight home for more packing and furniture humping. I'm still doing it and it's 8:30. This morning, every muscle was screaming in pain from Saturday's movement of possessions. I debated for many many minutes what I wanted to do, and in the end, I found myself throwing the bike, shoes and helmet in the car and taking off.
Race-wise, I have little to report since I did nothing of great merit, there is little to tell. Five good riders broke away and the rest of the field sprinted for 6th or 7th. Targettraining and Spooky seemed to dominate and to wit, their lead out person (SB?) sat up and coasted just before the final corner where everyone was trying to accelerate. This caused a bunch of us to grab the brakes and avoid stacking it up on top of him, and this could not have hurt his team mate take the field sprint for 6th.. Well played I guess.. I ended up 8th or 9th in the sprint and 14th overall. One crash took me out of the race completely- I had to come to a complete stop, to avoid smooshing a certain recently crashed GA who was curled up in fetal position, eyes closed, under his bike. I only really stopped to make sure he was okay, and he was just bracing for me to leave tire tracks on his cadaver I think. He and I and a few others took a free lap for this delay. I wish I could have cracked top 10, but I've ridden one time all week since Harlem, and only twice the week before. Feeling fresh, but not particularly fast. Thanks for reading.

Turkish Eye Candy: Nil Karaibrahimgil

Yes and the next puke to ask me about deserts and camels or other ignorant shit gets a swift backhand to the mouth. I swear..