Blast from the Past:1990 Peko Team Rochester NY

This is the first team I raced with during my first year as a Cat 2 senior.. 89 was my last junior year.
Clockwise from the left: Ken Wright, Scott Hollenbeck, Mr Peko, Murat, Jon Wirsing, Dave Bulter, Glenn Kaiser, Todd Scheske. What a sweet deal we had back then- all clothing tires and entry fees covered by the title sponsor, Peko Precision Products. Look at me- youngest member of the team and thin as a rail (150 pounds)

2006 Cox Classic Crit: Murat smells cabbage

This was taken during "warm-up" before the masters event. I quit this horror show after 5 or 6 laps because the rain was freaking me out and also because I had badly sprained my ankle just a few days prior..

As the wheel turns: Murat is s.o.o.l. lately

Saturday's temperature soared to an unseasonable 60+ degrees, and you can be sure that Murat took advantage of it. But my luck has gone to Tahiti or something because for the 4th time in as many rides, I had a mechanical mishap. First there was the off-road incident, where a stick jammed my rear derailleur and shattered it.. I replaced it at considerable expense. A week later I took Reis out for a ride in his trailer, towing him behind me for 1-1/2 hours. On that ride, just 100 meters from our driveway, my chain disintegrated, destroying the newly replaced derailleur.. Grrr. A week or so ago I went for a one hour road ride on the LOOK bike and had a flat tire on the bike path. Today's ride was no different. Another pffffffffft meant that the rear tire was punctured again. Being that the roads were all wet today, my hands turned black with grime by the time I repaired it and rode home.. These Vredestein Fortezza tires have flatted on me about ten times since I bought this bike. So today I ordered a pair of the Continental 4 Season tires which are tried and true. On the bright side, I find that I have not lost much form, in spite of skipping the indoor soccer this winter because of my sprained ankle of last June. My weight is coming down too- 176 today (One year ago today I was over 180) Picture is of a racer who hit the deck in the Elite Cyclocross National Championships last month in Roger Williams Park. His fork snapped from the impact. Ebru and I made sure he had some water to drink after his fall, as you can see by the bottle in his hand. (Blogger is not letting me post pictures! Grrrr.)

Blast from the Past: Cross Nats 1989 Milwaukee

I had no business being in there, believe me.. Got lapped by Bobby Julich, who took gold.. Notice the entry fee..

A startling discovery

My carbon EPX frameset (the one I was riding when I was hit by a car last summer) uses the same derailleur hanger as my Fuji cross bike. I thought I was S.O.O.L. since EPX seems to have gone out of business. (Besides the crushed hanger, the frame seems to be otherwise intact) Guess I can ride the thing again after all... Just as I was getting ready to start converting my old aluminum SOMEC into a time trial bike.. (heavy and quirky frame, the Somec.. can't even get the seatpost to penetrate the seat tube without jamming)
So I guess I'm happy about this discovery.
One positive thing: I've only gained five pounds (179) since my peak of form in September.
If I can limit myself to tis five pounds, I'll bein good shape come March..
Which reminds me, I have permission to go to a one week training camp in February. Anyone out there going to one? Tell me about it and maybe I'll join.. Otherwise, I plan to go to San Diego solo. Ever been?

Sorry for posting so infrequently!

A New Beginning

My stick-to-it-ive-ness has dissipated completely and I find myself with no reasons left to name this blog anything other than what I want to name it, so I've selected the Turkish word for "bicyclist".
Being the sole contributor requires me to take complete ownership and make this change.
You can't push a wet noodle uphill..
So to my handful of regular visitors, I express my sincere and eternal gratitude.. Many thanks.
I hope you will continue to check in at 'Bisikletci' from time to time. The address remains unchanged.
PS: the 'c' is pronounced 'ch'.

Albert Ranieri: Racing with the Devil

Cross-posted at American Turk..
As promised, here is a story dating back to summer of 1986. Our family relocated to Rochester, NY for reasons I might explain later.. I was 15 years old, and showing more interest than ever in bicycling. Trouble is, I was a young kid in a new city with few friends and no connections in the cycling scene. Late one Thursday afternoon, I was riding my stolen TREK touring bike (which was really a touring bike, and a few sizes too small for me), from Penfield into Brighton on route 441, where it meets East Avenue. As I approached the corner, four super-fit elite bike racers, all wearing the same team kit (GELATO FRESCO!), whizzed through the intersection in front of me. I remember how they appeared to be connected at the hip, riding two abreast in perfect unison. Like an image out of a cycling magazine... I was awestruck by the sight of them. I wanted to BE one of them. I decided then and there that this would be so, inevitably. When I snapped out of this trance, I immediately turned the corner in pursuit of the four Gelatos. With my tongue hanging out, lungs burning and legs scorched from the lactic acid, I managed to catch up to them within a couple of miles... and to meet Steve Paulini, Scott Hollenbeck, Kieran Dunne and Albert Ranieri.
"Hi! Can I ride with you guys? Where are you headed?" I blurted with a mouthful of phlegm..
These monotone words, delivered to me with an arrogance which I believed to be completely justified, changed me forever: "Training race.. every Thursday... this week it's in Victor.. follow us there."
That I did, and for the first time in my short life, I had the chance to join a club and race regularly with a great group of people, known as the Genesee Valley Cycling Club (GVCC). Needless to say, I was blown out the back of these training races about 6 or 8 weeks in a row, completely demoralized and spent, before I gained enough form to eventually finish with the main field, and later, to become a contender for the win. I did the 'A' races from day one, punishing myself mercilessly to become a better bicyclist. A couple of years later, I was an officer of the GVCC, and in the following year, at the tender age of 18, I was elected as it's president (by default because no one else wanted it).. It was during that same year that I found myself racing at an elite level, on the same racing team with two of the four original Gelatos, Scott and Kieran, who I met by chance and followed to my first race only 3 years earlier.. I have a team photo which I'll post one day..
I raced a few times with Steve Paulini, but didn't have much exposure to Albert, the undisputed leader of the old Gelato team. He was known to be a fierce competitor, with a distinguished list of results earned competing in regional and national events.. A google search did not yield any results from 20 years ago, but I believe that Albert was a podium finisher in a junior national road race during the early to mid 1980s.. Having only heard of his legendary ability, it was a treat for me to race with him for the first time in 1990, at the UB Classic Criterium (a real bloodbath of an event, known for being dangerous and filled with crashes) I loved this race, having placed well there the previous two years (4th in 1988, 3rd in 1989) The year 1990 was different though- I was on an elite amateur team, as a category two contender, and this was not an 18 and under event like the previous years. This was the big boy's race.
Our team had not less than five or six of us at the start line, and so was Albert. I made it my mission to mark him closely and not let anything develop into a breakaway. It ws fortunate that I kept a little bit of distance between us, I would later realize.. Early in the 25 lap event, which wound it's way around the bumpy, sinuous roads of the University of Buffalo campus, a prime lap was announced, the bell was rung announcing a prize fore the first to cross the finish line of the following lap. Finding myself in a favorable position in the final corner, I had thoughts of surprising everyone with a sprint to the line to claim the prize.. But he who hesitates, is lost.. because Albert was aleady out of the saddle, opening a gap on all of us about 150 meters from the finish. The rest of us gave chase, but the result was sealed.. until Albert, the perennial favorite at this event for years, hit the deck at full speed, just 20 meters from the line, and skidded in a mangled heap to the curb.. The race was neutralized until his bloody and broken body could be cleared from the course..In the end, I take credit for sprinting to a 7th place finish at the 1990 UB Classic, better than any of my more seasoned, more experienced team mates. And several years later, during a time when I had hung my bike up so that I could get my life and career in order, I was stunned when I read the first developments of this news
..And to borrow Paul Harvey's famous line, now you know the rest of the story..
Thanks for reading.

LikeABike KOKUA Jumper: I'm in love

Saw this thing at the Caster's Grand Prix of Cyclocross today, where we went as a family to see the course and watch middle aged guys in tights hump their bikes through sand pits, carry them over wooden barriers and crash them in off-camber corners.. We were headed back to the car when we spy a toddler, much younger than Reis, straddling an eight pound dream machine of a training bicycle- look! no pedals to bugger up balancing skills. Some friends of ours recently bought Reis a kid's bike, bless their hearts- they meant well.. but it weighs 25-30 pounds and doesn't track a straight line. LOOK at this thing though- the KOKUA is made in Germany with the same precision and quality as an entry level race bike. I drooled at the sight of it while I had flash-backs to the time when I learned to ride a two wheeler... in Kew Gardens, Queens. Our apartment building had a sweeping downhill driveway which led under the building and into the parking lot out back... Without bothering to pedal, I learned to balance myself by coasting down this driveway repeatedly, around the age of 4, unsupervised, no helmet. Reis is one lucky kid, and I'm happily $245 poorer..

15th Asian Games Doha 2006

Cross posted at American Turk..
Focusing my visit to the official site on cycling, I give you the following:
Happy to see that Iraq was able to send athletes to the road race, but why were Farkad Mohammad and Reauf Mihsien disqualified? Hey at least they won't be tortured or killed..
Award for the most unique name goes to a Phillipino named "Bitbit"
And I thought I was too old to get good results.. Is Mongolian Jamsran Ulzii Orshikh the next Andre Tchmil? (Check his birth date and salute his 4th place in the road race)
Noor Azian Alias of Malaysia is simply the cutest of them all.
While Syria's Kenaz Hamchou looks like she was plucked from a remote village.
Try to tell me that Ali Dilsher of Pakistan doesn't remind you of Borat.
Here's the page where you can find all of the results of the cycling events.
I wish I could have been there to see them compete.

Stedman and Casters Cross Dec 9-10

I'm on the fence about this weekend, and I'm favoring Sunday's event over Saturday's. But I think I will know in the AM whether I want to do the S.K. race. Fields for both seem close to being full (What's the limit? 100?) Being that I had my ass handed to me at the Canton Cup, it didn't come without learning a few lessons.. Such as.. DON'T BE A PUSSY IF YOU WANT TO RACE CROSS. Regrettably, I've already packed on some pounds and stand to have a miserable time, but then again, the guys being lapped aren't suffering any more than the guys doing the lapping, right? Everyone's at their limit, and everyone's every weakness is suddenly revealed completely.. Sunday's weather will be a touch warmer too. We'll see how I feel in the AM. If I leap out of bed like a gazelle, you might see me both tomorrow and Sunday.. Good luck to all.
PS: Tonight I just changed my rear derailleur, replaced the bent hanger and added brand new bar tape. The RD was ripped off the bike last weekend by what appeared to be a twig, stranding me in the middle of the woods at Big River. Rear wheel is a bit wobbly too, but I think it will carry me..

Dryer Road Trail Park in Rochester (Victor) NY

It's been a long four day weekend, one which included a trip to Niagara Falls on Saturday, and I'm terribly tired, especially after that seven hour drive. I am so glad I took my off-road bike with us and I'm so glad and grateful that my brother Ali introduced me to the best mountain biking venue I've ever ridden. If you're ever in town, be sure to bring you're mountain bike, and spend a few hours at Dyer Road Trails Park. Heck I'd pay to get in and use the facilities if I had to. Yes I had that much fun, in spite of a few nasty crashes. To wit:

Click to enlarge. It's like a si resort for bikes! I rode on most every trail at least 3 times each, and I was also the only one in the park using a cyclocross bike. Most everyone else had full front and rear suspension, and disc brakes, the weenies.

Buy Raffle Tickets for a signed Aaron Olsen jersey

Only 250 tickets available, $4.95 each, winner drawn on December 18th, to win an autographed Aaron Olsen jersey plus some other schwag, and proceeds benefit a good cause...

Working for the weekends!

Not sure about most of you out there, but I am limited to riding only on weekends ever since DST... My road bike is covered in dust these days, but the cross bike is loads of fun on the very technical paths in the Big RiverWatershed, where three of us became a little disoreiented last Saturday- going in circles trying to find our way out of the forest. If the weather is nice, I plan to do it again Sat and/or Sun. Want to try it? Meet us at 9:00 am on Route 3, just south of I-95. We roll off at 9:30. We do not ride at race pace, this is a fun ride and we always re-group every few minutes. You will need an orange vest! Write me with questions: reiscotools at yahoo dot com.

Canton Cup: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

My ankle protested from this summer's sprain, my lower back was in knots, my lungs tightened from the cold air, my windpipe was clogged with thick phlegm, and my mouth was completely dry... So I consider it a miracle that I completed 3 full laps of my very first cyclocross race today in the Masters event. A fourth lap just wasn't in me.. I wanted to be fit enough to drive home afterwards! I must salute all of those who tore up the course today... that felt harder than any road race I've ever done. yet strangely... I want to do it again! No, that's just regret talking. DNF's will do that to you.. make an empty glass seem full... My least favorite part of the course? The soft mushy grass fields where the wind pushed me around like a plastic bag... The barriers and run-up were fun. I dismounted reasonably well, for one who practiced it for only the first time ever, this morning. What got me was the sedentary lifestyle I've adopted since Jamestown... and that cold air- my lungs don't like it one bit. After quitting, I hacked and coughed up- I swear to you- not less than 3 or 4 ounces of the thickest phlegm I've ever seen. No wonder I couldn't get enough air! Some water might have helped... Am I the only fool who got thirsty? Does anyone carry a small amount of H2O in their back pocket??
Overall, I'm pleased with myself, believe it or not. Going up there took some courage and resolve. True, I cursed the day that I bought a cross bike, with every pedal stroke and every clumsy leap over the barriers... But in the end, I couldn't stop thinking about the next event, whatever it may be... I must have been dropped on my head as a child...
Great to finally meet Solobreak and see GeWilli today... BTW, do I get any points for not crashing in my first cross race? At some point, Solobreak went past me, and I was happy for it... that kind of suffering should only take place in private, and I wanted to be invisible.

Murat Likes It Off-Road

Biiiig lapse in my contributions here this past week. Many thanks to those who still check in on me to see if there's any action at Union Velo Blog.. Been busy as ever at work lately. I have about $2 million worth of high school science laboratories to get delivered, installed and operational in the next 60 days... That's a LOT of cabinets, epoxy resin tops, faucets, valves, fume hoods, acid storage units, apparatus rods, and other millwork to coordinate!
In other news, I was an invited guest on the Open Source Radio program on NPR, hosted by Christopher Lydon... The program was last Thursday, the web page and recording of the program can be found here. It was called "Talking Turkishness".
Last Sunday I met up with some co-workers at the Big River Watershed in Coventry.. I was the only one with a cross bike and no suspension, but I was ripping up the trails and jumping logs like it was second nature.. That was probably the most fun I've had on a bike in a looooong time. Hoping to do it again this Saturday morning with another aspiring roadie, my newbie friend Kaan Duru.
Today I had to go up to Salem MA for a jobsite visit and on the way I stopped at Union Cycle and picked up a pair of mountain shoes (Diadora Habanero, reasonably priced and ample for my first year of off-roading) AND a pair of Crank Brothers stainless steel pedals (I am boycotting French products, so the Time pedals were out of the question) (My road bike is a Look 486, I know..) Hopefully the $200+ I dropped won't bring me any buyer's remorse.
This Sunday there's a cross race in Canton (?) I am planning on trying this out, just for shits and giggles, to see where I stand in the cyclocross food-chain (I'm guessing plankton or paramecium) The cool thing is that my dad is flying in from Turkey tomorrow for a three week visit, and he used to race back inthe 60s, but has no idea what 'cross is all about. I hope to bring him with me and give him a good laugh on Sunday. So anyone out there with some pointers about Sunday's race, please enlighten me and I will be eternally grateful. Should I pre-reg? (only 41 registed in the masters so far- getting a good start position is moot for me- I just want to race and get a few laps in- better I don't endanger others by getting in their way this first time)
Besides that, I'm not riding except for the weekends, so my fitness is going to start seriously slipping away soon! Need to watch my diet, because after a summer of caloric deficiency, I most certainly have a surplus lately..

Back in the Saddle

I took Monday and Tuesday off the bike, but today my skin was crawling at work with the weather so nice outside. Not only did I skip out of work a little early today and go for a 1 hour ride, I also swapped bikes and hit the trails for another 1/2 hour. The fog is beginning to clear I think. Been a little down since Jamestown, where my heart just wasn't into the suffering. Next year will be different. Sorry I don't have more to share.. Still looking to choose and register for my first cross race. Suggestions for a venue would be appreciated, for something preferably before Nov 17th, because my father will be visiting with us from Turkey until that time. Want him to witness the madness.

As The Wheel Turns: Jamestown Meltdown

The depression I've been feeling for the past week got the best of me today. In a race where I had a shot at a respectable finish, I had some kind of mental melt-down after one lap and was kind of like "put a fork in me, I'm done"... As I explained to a team mate via e-mail earlier today:
Coming through the start/finish for the first time, a circuit in my head (or heart?) tripped and I told myself I didn't want to repeat that for another two laps. A touch of burn-out? When it doesn't seem fun anymore, why force it? I no doubt could have finished, and would have if wife and child weren't there... but being with them just seemed a much more attractive past-time than tasting puke for 90 more minutes...
Nice rationalization, eh?? So for the final road race of the year, Murat gets the "Quit race because he's a pussy" award. Damn and blast it. I wanted to get some recognition for finishing too. I'm still breathing fire because the Topsfield promoters STILL have not posted results to USA Cycling. Yeah, I only got 23rd place, but being a Pro-1-2 event, I wanted to see my "name in lights". Pathetically, it's one of those silly things which drives me to be better: some effing recognition.
More than quitting today's race, the end of the season bums me out more than anything. Not a cross-junkie (yet) but perhaps a venture into cyclocross land will lift my spirits. I have a bike, all I need are decent shoes, pedals [and a frontal lobotomy, from what I've been reading lately]. Some one please take pity on me and recommend shoes for this pathetic weenie. The Crank Brothers pedals seem the way to go...
I wish we could tack on another two months of today's weather, re-start Wells Ave, even resurrect the old Wednesday night Lincoln Crit (I loved that race)
Planning on doing a February training camp somewhere far far away. Maybe in Turkey with their national team (if only I can somehow dodge the warrant issued for my arrest over there) Damn and blast it again. Maybe I'll go to Iran or Egypt (Yeah Europe would be sweet, but I want WARMTH, in a place that isn't cost-prohibitive). Believe it or not, Iran and Egypt and Turkey have some very fast elite riders. They're just too cash poor to race in Western Europe...
Whatever, I'm done for 2006. No more riding the bike to work... I really need to focus on my projects better than I have been- riding to work and back has made it impossible to do the 60 hour weeks that this requires... I'll have to really put my head down and play catch up for a few weeks, and use it for a distraction from the onset of fall/winter, which depresses me to no end.
Total mileage for 2006: 3994
Total hours in the saddle: 211
In comparison, I rode only 3028 miles in 189 hours during 2005.
Click the title above to see today's horror show of a Polar chart. (G-d damned blogger won't let me upload pictures on this blog)

Jamestown Classic tomorrow... then what !?!?

Tomorrow marks the last hurrah for the road season. The Jamestown Classic will take start in the morning and I will be among the Cat 1-2-3 pack fodder, but who knows, maybe I'll have a really good day and finish top ten. It's been a light week for me.. Didn't ride Tues, Wed, Thurs, or Friday. Yesterday I rode about 37 miles in two hours, feeling regretful for taking so much rest, per usual... Is it just me? or does rest hurt everyone's speed? Noticed my heart rate a little high and a general feeling of weakness the first hour...and legs felt extremely tight... opened up though in the 2nd hour. Today I just took a light and breezy spin with a couple of un-licensed friends.. 24 miles in 1:24. It was good to look down and see my heart rate hover around 100 +/- 5 bpm.. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be for tomorrow's event. In the words of one team mate, "the race isn't decided on the hills, except maybe the last climb before the finish... Otherwise, the wind is a big factor."
We'll see. If the descriptions I've heard of the course profile are true, it will suit me well. Hope to tell you all about it tomorrow night.

As The Wheel Turns: Flickr Update etc

I've just uploaded a bunch of photos from the Cycle for Life Pro-1-2-3 Crit. See the Flickr badge on the right. These were taken by my dear wife, before I flatted before I took the camera from her to shoot some video... Looks like I'm listed as a "pack" finisher on Bikereg Results, even though I had to quit with 13 to go. I'll take it.. better than being shown as a DNF.. Besides, I was primed for a top ten finish if the damn tire would have held air...
I felt like a wad of camel spit at work today.. The Seasonal Blues are upon me... I skipped riding on Sunday due to the weather.. Today I was trapped in a four hour production meeting in which I am a contributor for all of four minutes.. yet I am compelled to sit there and get jabbed by our President each time I doze off... Screw that. If it's inappropriate to be excused, then I'm just getting up and saying I have to go home early. At least then I can get a decent ride in before dark, instead of sitting there in that effing circle jerk. This is what I did...
Feeling depressed about Saturday's misfortune and about no-riding on Sunday, I resolved to go out and punish myself with a timed ride on my designated "hilly fitness test route". It's 26.2 miles, about 1300 feet of climbing, and it's hard enough to grow hair on your chest, at least when you drill it at LT the whole way... I didn't exactly shatter my previous personal best from back on July 3rd, but I did shave 30 seconds off and that counts for something, especially considering that I had to force myself out on the bike (I REALLY didn't feel like riding, but clenched my teeth but used the potential self-hate of being a pussy as a motivator to go)
I don't know how to show you a Polar chart (not without printing and scanning) so I'll give you a very old chart of the same exact route, so you can see the profile. (scratch that- effing Blogger is not letting me upload pictures) It goes like this: Fairview Ave to route 115 to route 116 to Route 12 to Old Plainfield Road to route 102 to Maple Valley Road to Route 117 to Fairview Ave to Maple Ave where I live. Counter-clock-wise. The hills are on Route 12 and Old Plainfield (where it peaks) It's harder than it looks- the two larger hills are 1+ mile long.
Scoping the weather report for Jamestown on Monday.. I hear that the course has some hillyness to it... Hopefully it's easy like Bob Beal or Topsfield. I do well on hills that I can power over in the 53x19, my favorite gear.

Cycle For Life Criterium Video P-1-2-3