Ride No 4: Happiness is...

..forcing yourself to do the right thing, even when far more attractive alternatives tempt you. After watching "Air Force One" with my dad, it was ever so tempting to just veg in front of the tv or surf the blogs... but I was disappointed in today's weather and wimped out on a road ride.. so the only solution was to kick the pedals for an hour on the rollers.. It felt like a friggin eternity.. my shoes were on too tight, so I stopped for a sec to loosen em.. then my testicles went numb so I stopped a few more timed to adjust the equipment.. They still haven't descended, 1/2 hour later.. In the end I have myself a cheerful dispostion, less about a pound in water weight.. Which reminds me, I forgot to wipe up the puddle of sweat I left in the living room. Yes, intend to post every single Polar chart of every race and ride here, all season long. Well... let's see how long that lasts..

Ride No 3: Feeling bloated and heavy

It's been a shit week for me, physically and emotionally. Worrying about things is bad for form. Today I spent some time at work, trying to make up for my absence from the office on Monday and Wednesday.. Around 2:30 I headed over to Casters to buy some new inner tubes to go with my new Conti 4 Seasons tires.. Met some very nice people in the store. I hit the road at about 3:30 after changing my rear tire and tube. Heading up Seven Mile Hill Road (it's only two miles of gradual 200 feet rise) I felt like my brakes were rubbing (and they were) but even so, something wasn't clicking and I made it to the checkpoint at the top (at route 12) with a very crappy time. My Polar HRM is pissing me off too, with frequent loss of signal.. making the record of my riding speed and distance deficient.. Grrrr. The important thing is that I got my ass out there I guess. Admittedly, I had to force myself.. because I'm a weenie when it comes to riding in the cold.. which for me, is anything under 50 degrees..

I'm registered: Long Beach Shoreline Circuit Race

I will be racing on Sunday February 25th in the Long Beach Shoreline Circuit Race, which takes place right before the Amgen Tour of California's 7th and final stage, on the same course. Should I do the Pro-1-2? or the Masters 1-2-3? Maybe I shouldn't bother with either? No way, I'd regret not trying for the rest of my life.. Better just get my ass in shape and perform.. Show those Left Coast weenies what New England racers are all about. I hope I don't eat these words..

Travel plans are finalized

I will be in San Diego February 21 thru 27, staying at the Naval Air Base in Coronado. This was arranged by an old friend who I raced with, back when I first started in the sport of cycling. We were quite the dynamic duo when we raced together, attacking the GVCC club races on a weekly basis. Whenever we took off on an attack, you always heard the words "there they go" from the rest of the field.. So it's been 17 or so years since we've ridden together, and I'm stoked about having good company during my training camp.

It came as no surprise..

..when I found my road bike in the garage with another flat... WTF!

Velonews Photo Contest: Tour de Trump Prologue

I submitted this picture and they posted it in this week's Photo contest Gallery! On that day in 1989, I skipped school and drove to Albany with a friend to watch the prologue. 'Twas a miserable and rainy day. I have a few other pics I took that day.. Gert VanTeunisse (sp?), Ron Keiffel, Eric Vanderaerden, Davis Phinney and Andy Hampsten I think.. Here's the link to this week's Velonews Photo Contest Gallery.

Murat's 2007 fitness: ahead of schedule

Hopefully everyone in New England was able to ride these past two days. I did, though limiting the rides to an hour each left me wanting more.. Today I took a very typical route- one which I use to test fitness. It includes Hope Furnace Road in Coventry, and the first time check is at the point where Maple Valley Road meets Route 117. There's a nice challenging 300 feet of vertical rise for the first four miles.. My best time ever to this intersection is 27:22, and today I did it in 29:41.. What I'm excited about is that last season, the best I could do as of April 25th was 29:55.. I believe the weekend off-roading is paying off, I'm watching my diet very closely this winter, and I'm only about 4 pounds over my in-form weight of 2006. Last year's first edition of Wells Ave [for me] was on April 2nd, and I finished with the field without getting dropped. If I'm about as strong today as I was at the end of April 2006, then I have a feeling that good things will happen in '07. Now I'm motivated.

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.