Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi gets a Pinarello

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi poses with a bicycle he received by Italian Cycling team during a meeting at Chigi Palace in Rome December 4, 2007. REUTERS/Tony Gentile (ITALY)

MRC Cross Race

Well if you were in Wrentham yesterday in the 21 degree absence of heat, you saw my dear wife and I freezing our tookas' off while promoting our line of LIKEaBIKE kid's bikes. To those who took an interest and stopped to chat, many thanks for giving us a break from teth chattering. For our part, we contributed two Frog Lights to the merchandise prizes, and the organizers were very accommodating to let us park in the area which was off limits to most. If not for a raw sore throat, I was seriously thinking about considering the possibility that I might want to try to possibly race.. Haha. Maybe next weekend at Goddard I'll show off my pitiful sloth like cyclocross inability.. We had three bloggers (CTodd, Solo and GeWilli) in the 35+ event yesterday and I felt like such a weenie for not counting myself among them. Recorded some video footage which I will share later.   

My coach..

..is in Peru for nine days.. presumably answering my e-mails with his Blackberry. How about that? I had this wicked frightening dream last night, which included among other displeasures.. reading a newspaper obituary of the guy and feeling really sad and isolated about it. Let me tell you, it's awesome to have a person you can bounce questions off of any time you want.. Anyhow, when I awoke, I didn't know where I was, or what day it was.. and at once felt relieved and happy that it was just a dream. I need help with disciplined training. Todd's no nonsense approach and the training program he tailors for me every month, makes a huge difference, if not for results, for motivation, enthusiasm and the satisfaction of knowing I'm doing everything possible, as correctly as possible in order to improve. I have four hour fixed gear rides scheduled for the next couple of weekends! Wish me luck. Anyone selling a fixie?

Reuters Slideshow of Homeless People

To me, these photographs really feel like a swift kick in the chest. I know they're a little dated, but doesn't it amaze you how strong, resilient and adaptive children are? I'm dying to know the stories behind these people's circumstances. There are a million ways to become poor. What was their path? If these photos don't choke you up or make your eyes misty, then check yourself for a pulse.. or have children- you probably don't have any. Or picture your young niece or nephew nuzzling the neck of their penniless mother or father. That's all kids need. Loving parents to cling to, caring parents to protect them. When my son Reis and I share a bed together, he falls asleep with his arm around my neck as if the world would end if I left his side. Here's the whole slideshow

A homeless Indian woman holds her son inside her makeshift house under a bridge in New Delhi, India, July 30, 2005. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A homeless Indian man sleeps beside his child near a highway in Fuleshwar village, about 40 km (25 miles) from the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, February 15, 2006.  

REUTERS/Parth Sanyal

A homeless Indian man sleeps beside his child near a highway in Fuleshwar village, about 40 km (25 miles) from the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, February 15, 2006. REUTERS/Parth Sanyal

lo batt

The Powertap was acting strange lately.. Downloads were all the wrong date and time, workouts from two separate days were being grouped together into one workout on one day, heart rate function isn't working.. So I tried a new battery and discovered that it was the old battery I changed out of the chest strap, which isn't working. So I stole the new battery from the dysfunctional chest strap and put it in the PT. Seems everything is back to normal now.
Back on the rollers for me, how about you? I keep mine in the frigid garage, such that I wear a long sleeve jersey, hat and gloves when I'm training in there. Mp3 player too. Though I'm quite sick of my whole collection of tracks. Boredom and crotch numbness.. I stop every 20 minutes or so, sit up and let the feeling return to the T.D.
Changing tempo, cadence, gearing.. all make the time go by more swiftly. Sometimes I'll see how long I can go one handed, or what I can do with my free hand without falling down. Some close calls. Sometimes I flirt with the edge of the drum, then go into a panic as I try to re-center. Mostly, though.. I'm re-living the best and worst moments of 2007.. mostly in the crits I've done. I'm also visualizing 2008.. in my new kit.. with a fresh perspective and fresh legs.
I've forgiven myself for cramping up in the Bob Beal Road Race.. I finished the miserable race after all, and not DFL.. I give myself more credit for taking 15 seconds off last year's time in the TT, and moving up 7 places in the TT results as well.. in spite of crampy legs. Most peoples' times were slower in 2007, than in 2006. So why beat myself up if I'm part of the minority of guys who posted a better time this year? Just one example of what can vex a racer who falls short of a goal.
My weight's up a few pounds, but still lower than my leanest day in 2006. If I can hold it around 170 max and drop 5-10 pounds by March 1st, I'll be in very good shape. Diet is my weakness, but I try hard to eat smaller portions and eat more often. It's what I eat which kills me. Traveling to jobsites a few times a week, often leaves few choices when I'm on the run.
Yesterday I discovered that Eddy Merckx himself, bought a LikeaBike Jumper for his grandson when he encountered it at a London trade show in 2006. Pret-ty cool.
We're planning on being at Wrentham this weekend and at Goddard the following weekend, promoting the bikes, putting them on display.. Waiting for the organizers to get back to me with their blessing first. If it means adding a little merchandise to the prize lists, so be it. I don't know if I'll be racing. My right foot/ankle still has a lot of weakness from a sprain in 2006. I can't run very well, or without pain. Why press my luck? Though last year I felt ashamed for being at Goddard as a spectator. It looked like so much fun. I know it isn't.. not until it ends. See you around..

Excellent LikeaBike Video from the UK

When my wife and I chose to proceed with starting a retail business selling children's bikes, we had the bike racing community in mind as a starting point. It made sense to market a high end children's bike to people who spend $1000 on a wheelset, or $300 on a carbon seatpost, or $3500 on a frameset. I guess I consider us collectively to be the LAST people on earth to settle for a cheap knock-off of anything bike related, especially for our kids. That said, let me present you with the finest LikeaBike video production I've ever seen. It's owned by a LikeaBike retailer in the UK, so I doubt they will hardly mind if my little blog or my little company uses it. Bravo.
In case you're in the market for a LikeaBike, please give our site a look. Buy local. Support a fellow bike racer. Join the Weebike.com racing team and buy your LikeaBike for cost plus 10%. Here's the vid:

Family Guy: Say you didn't miss it

Tonight's episode had a new character called "Guy who rides his 10 speed everywhere". Good stuff. Loved it.
I rode OUTSIDE today for 100 minutes. No booties or else I might have continued for a full two hours, like I had planned. Instead I jumped on the rollers for another 20 minutes when I got home. You know, just to satisfy my OCD. Now I feel whole.

Team Millwork One sponsorship updates

So here's a round-up of the sponsors that I've lined up so far:
WeeBike.com: Authorized dealer for all LikeaBike products
WeeBike is going to be the co-title sponsor of the new team, and offer the following benefits to team members: MATCH all cash prizes won, furnish one free kit (jersey/shorts) contingent upon the purchase of two kits (this is to demonstrate a commitment to training and racing), and offer all LikeaBike products at cost plus 10% (NOT 10% off retail! COST plus 10%)
MillworkOne.com: Architectural woodworking company. Millwork One's title sponsorship will pay for all FUEL costs to travel to races. This is especially favorable because it appears that the cost of traveling to races now easily exceeds the cost of registration.
TurinDesign.com: An industrial design company with expertise in brand creation and graphic arts, Turin is charged with designing the team kits and preparing the layouts for the clothing company.
Legaci Coaching: Todd Scheske is an accomplished Cat 1 racer who has been a friend for 20 years, and my personal coach for the past season. Team members will have access to a discounted rate on personal coaching services, for those with or without power meters.
GVCC.com: Genesee Valley Cycling Club will be the organization under which the Millwork One team will be registered. All Millwork One team members will be required to join the GVCC by paying annual dues. (Dues can be paid via Paypal)
Pactimo.com: The clothing company which I've selected for Team Millwork One. They will be represented on the team kits by default.

Bike shop: I am looking for a bike shop to take a sponsorship position, such that all team members get a 10% discount and favorable pricing on complete bikes too. This will hopefully be resolved soon! Suggestions?

There are a few other ideas and deals in the hopper. I'll keep you posted as things develop.
I've been a part of many small teams over the past few years, and I think that so far it's a pretty attractive package. If you're up for it, let me know: reiscotools@yahoo.com

I'm on my own.. it's official

It was inevitable, it's hard to deny and it's really happening. I am starting a new racing team and would like to hear from people who are interested in being a part of it. I don't mind being a one man show.. but why keep all of the sponsorship benefits to myself? I'm especially looking for masters and juniors. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more, please reach out to me: reiscotools@yahoo.com
A clothing order will be placed week of Dec 17th. There will be enough to cover 6 riders with three kits each, or 9 riders with two kits each.. or more if I get a big enough response from consistent racers. Not necessarily looking for superior genetics or single digit results and wins.. just people who train and race consistently.
The team will be under the wing of Genesee Valley Cycling Club in Rochester, NY. (GVCC)
Sponsors will include: Millwork One, www.WeeBike.com, LikeaBike, Legaci Coaching, Turin Design and others. No deal has been made with a bike shop, yet.. but I have a few of them in mind..
One thing which my little company will be offering as a sponsorship benefit is children's LikeaBikes at cost plus 10%, one free kit (contingent upon purchasing at least two kits at cost), and doubling of prize money.. Yup- if you finish in the money or win a prime, I will match it 100%. If any of this interests you, please use the above e-mail address to contact me.
Many thanks.

3-1/2 Hour Death March at Big River Watershed

I met up with some Union folks at Big River this morning: David, Schacte, and Paul. Their median and average age is about 50, I'm only 36. You'd think I had a big advantage and I was faster and all that.. NOT! Though I did have one handicap: my cross bike. These guys all had tricked out mountain bikes with disc brakes and suspension. I had none of that. Heck my brakes hardly stop me on a level road. What I thought would be a 2 hour fun ride turned into a 3-1/2 hour death march, featuring me, bringing up the rear and cramping up violently many times in the final hour. I had one bottle of water and no food, so towards the end I was getting chills, dreaming about the banana bread I stupidly left in the car, and feeling generally weak and miserable. One thing became quite apparent though: on the hard packed surfaces, even the twisty winding ones, I had a big advantage and could open some gaps.. but once we hit the roots and the melon sized boulders and the 25% inclines, I was screwed. My arms and shoulders ache.. My lower back was screaming in the first hour, and later subsided. I'm going to feel this in the morning, that's for sure. Can't wait for next Sunday. Going into Big River with people who know the trails very well is a lot more fun than winging it as I usually do and going in circles or doubling back when I panic about getting lost. I discovered today that mountain bikes are not simply overgrown bmx bikes with gears (my ignorance knows no bounds, I know) and that these 3 fifty somethings deserve a heaping pile of respect. I'm humbled and wiser for it.

Are you inspired yet? Look again you two legged freak..

Tobias Graf of Germany competes to win the gold medal in the men's individual 4,000 meters event in the Para-Panamerican of Cycling Games in Cali, Colombia, November 13, 2007.  REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

What inspires you?

I salute this brave person. Me? I've been weaseling my way out of training indoors on the roller for the past week.. and I still have both my of my fore arms and my hands..

China's Xuetong Kuai competes in the men's individual 4,000 meters pursuit in the Para-Panamerican of Cyclist Games in Cali November 12, 2007.  REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

Sponsoring choices

Say you had a small business (micro, actually) and you allocated about $2000 for advertising, via sponsoring a race team.. I see three choices:

1. Sponsor your current team/club (and maybe compete with other bidders/previous sponsors for the same kit space?)

2. Sponsor 2-4 other teams/clubs and spread the money around a bit. (getting much smaller spaces on the kits, no doubt)

3. Sponsor yourself as title sponsor, (with required affiliation to another club, per USCF rules). Add more riders later on if practical.

What would you do? This all sounds like a big head ache to me. I'd hate to feel regretful later on about getting myself wrapped around this axle.. no matter which path I chose.

We want to sponsor some teams

My ass is dragging big time.. New training program began Monday, I'm already behind schedule. Had to skip the program yesterday because of fatigue.. Wrapped around a lot of axles at work. Trying to develop a business with dear wife. Nothing's easy man...

Anyhow.. been thinking about new ways to promote our little enterprise to the racing community and wouldn't mind looking at some choices. Are there any teams out there which will accept my money in exchange for putting the WeeBike.com name on their kits? I'd be interested in seeing some proposals from New England teams. We can't afford to do more than a few teams, and there's a limit to the overall dollar amount we can afford. If this sounds of interest to anyone, please reach out to me using my e-mail address: reiscotools at yahoo dot com. Please be specific and let me know how much I will be expected to pay for different positioning on the clothing. Thanks! 

A lot on my plate

Holy crap it's been over two weeks since I've posted here. Few reasons for that. My father is here from Turkey getting treatment. Plus, my other blog www.amerikanturk.com has been taking a lot of my time and attention with all the recent news involving the Turkish Republic. (also, October 29th was sort of the Turkish version of "July 4th") My sister visited last weekend from NY.. My brother visited the weekend before that.. Add to all of this three new millwork projects at work and the time and money I've been putting into our new business venture: www.weebike.com... and it's clear to see that I've had no time or energy to ride for the past couple of weeks, much less blog. As for the new business.. it's really in it's infancy.. still developing. We have a lot of interesting ideas we want to try.. such as co-sponsoring a team.. sponsoring criteriums with some prize money.. starting a little bike club for kids age 3-5 with regular meets.. Setting up a display at some of the area crits and giving free trials of the bikes we carry.. even some "run-bike" kid's races at a few local crits. Not every idea is excellent, I know.. but if we're to have any amount of success selling these high end kid's bikes, we need to do more and do it differently than the typical internet retailer (most of which do nothing more than post a single picture of the bike, a list of features and a price.. Lame.)
The new blog contains detailed photographs and detailed descriptive information about every feature and component of the LikeaBikes. I'm hopeful that people make their buying decision based on the company which helps them more than any other, to make an informed buying decision. Makes sense to me!.. I'd love for people to weigh in and tell me I'm nuts or tell me I'm onto something. Hopefully you'll keep me in mind if the subject of kid's bikes ever comes up.
The LikeaBike product line is very strict about retail pricing. The prices are "fixed".. for lack of a better word. But by virtue of the costs to sell on Ebay, plus the cost to get paid from Paypal, plus the cost of shipping (which is free by all retailers) I'm convinced that it would be a reasonable exception to discount the bikes for direct sales.. meaning that with cash sales outside of Ebay and Paypal and delivered in person at a bike race, these cost savings should be passed on to the buyer. For this reason, I want to extend a 10% discount off the list price for any and all sales to my friends in the bike racing community. There are links to my Ebay Store in the www.weebike.com blog. You'll find the list prices there. Racers can take 10% off (but don't bid on Ebay!) Just leave me a comment here and I'll take of you.

Murat's Ebay Stuff

Stuff I have for sale is shown in the widget at top right, in case you didn't notice. Not interested? Cool! Scroll down and play Pac Man.

Murat is distracted..

..by the gray weather.. by my brother visiting this past weekend.. by my father being with us from Turkey for more cancer treatment.. by my other, much more famous blog.. Amerikan Turk .. where I vent about everything other than bbike racing. (Avoid clicking if you want to avoid crossing swords with me on matters of politics) Haven't ridden since Sunday.. and already I've added a couple of pounds. Can't seen to restrain myself! What does one do with all the time that they aren't riding? Eat. The end-of-summer/winter doldrums are upon me. Please click on a few of the Google links. It adds a few pennies to my account.. which I might need to help pay for anti-depressant meds. (Kidding. I've never taken any such pill in my life, and won't begin now) Seriously, click some links. Let's see if you can make a blip in my Google earnings. Be nice to see over a dollar a day for once. Make my day.. and you have a great one yourself.

Commuting again

Though I'm not sure for how long. It was cold this morning.. enough that I wore a long sleeve base layer, long sleeve jersey, leg warmers, wool socks and hat. Forgot the gloves and my hands hurt a bit, especially with the stubborn, crusty scabs still on my knuckles.. The ride home should be more pleasant.. I am really not interested in epidermal metabolism. It's not worth risking illness to burn a few more joules.. My fitness is out the window of course.. I shouldn't complain though. I took a nasty spill without breaking or spraining anything and I healed up almost completely in two weeks, didn't break or even scratch my bike (except for the slightly bent rear wheel, blown tire, ripped bar tape, and gouged pedal).. Others are not so lucky.. Like Solobreak.. who is nursing an open cavity next to his ass, once occupied by an ounce of puss. Get well brother..   

Road Rash Update

Pulled the last of the soggy scabs on my fore arm and shoulder OFF this morning.. after bathing of course or why else would they be soggy? Yuck. Seems the only thing really holding them there was some hair. Ablarge scab is left on my kneecap which will take at least another two weeks to heal completely- it's kind of deep. Since crashing on Sunday September 16th, I've ridden the bike twice. Once on a spin up/down the bike path last week, and again yesterday for a little over an hour. Actually pushed myself a bit yesterday, rode tempo the whole time (210 w avg) and it felt like I was friggin time trialing.. Legs feel fresh but weak. Have also added 3 pounds since before my trip Turkey. I'm up to 168-169. I may grab the bike at lunch time and ride to/from work the rest of the week. Kind of miss it, but not that much. I don't enjoy the morning chill.

Facial road rash: You have to watch this crash

Union Velo Cyclocross Training Races: Tuesday Nights

New content

I haven't anything real uplifting, sorry.

My father's health is poor. Been fretting about that quite a bit lately. No bike riding for 11 days now. Seems I'm in quite a deep funk. Spent the past many days clearing our extra lot of trees and brush, just had it hydroseeded yesterday so that our little one has a safe place to play outside. Gonna pave/gravel a little track around the perimeter for him to ride his bike on.. That's about 86 yards around- more than enough for a four year old. Other than that, my new hobby is picking at scabs.. especially the ones still held in place with arm hair. Snip-snip with the mini scissors in my Swiss Army knife.. Lunchtime already? I have no apetite. 

Sandy Martin: Addressing Bob Beal Issues

We received a recent comment from a reader who expresses severe dis-satisfaction with the Bob Beal Road Race. Sandy Martin stumbled upon it and asked that her response be posted here, as follows:

There were supposed to be police on every major corner, there is no way to marshal every drive or side road, I am sorry you felt that I blew you off, I took every comment and added them to the list to make the race better next year. The one road that the police left, which was Switch road, I completely understood as [I later discovered that] there was a fatal [traffic] accident [here previously].. I did not find out till that race was done, or almost done. I did have a talk with the police and we will have more of them next year, or MCRA will have marshals.I do not condone unsafe courses and whenever possible I would correct the problem. As for the arrows, most courses are not even arrowed, I spent 2 hours arrowing that course, and had no complaints about that. Sorry you feel I did not address the issue. Sandy

Pain in the ass: Hemmorhoid surgery

http://solobreak.blogspot.com/2007/09/pain-in-ass.html

Figured I'd mirror Solobreak's latest and weigh in, since I can't comment from work..

I know your pain Solo.. In 2003 I had multiple 'rhoids and on top of that, a spiral tear inside the rectum.. The result of lots of riding and racing, lots of straining myself to go faster on the bike, combined with a constipating high protein diet.. Long story short, I went in for surgery.. remember doctors looking down at me in the OR and then blackness.. Woke up in the recovery room, all doped up, with a special gauze and spray foam dressing applied to the inside of my exit. Threads from the stitches they had to apply in there, were hanging out.. I had to pee, bad.. or so I thought. Couldn't stand or walk.. Bring on the cathoter! (sp?) A very nice middle aged nurse came and inserted the tube for me (ouch) and I hardly peed a half pint.. As it turns out, they opened me up about the diameter of a can of Red Bull, and went to town stitchng me up INSIDE, and cutting away all of the 'rhoids.. Needless to say, the first time I took a dump a few days later, I thought I might pass out from the pain and terror of it.. Percosets make you constipated.. You will be given stool softening pills.. It will hurt when you pee (or rather when you clench your bladder shut) It will also hurt when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift anything remotely heavy.. I missed about 4 weeks of work, even collected disability for a couple weeks.. and I walked funny.. I took the pain medication non stop for 4 weeks. Always high and loopy! Addictive.. Watch out.. I had some withdrawel after stopping the meds.. Long story short (I said that earlier, yes) I am pain and 'rhoid and tear free ever since. Until I had surgery, it was always a chronic thing for me.. fine one month, then bad for a week.. repeat. I am sooooo glad I had the surgery. Everyone I know who's had this done is always a much happier person afterwards. So good luck with yours.. hopefully it's not as bad as mine was. And it's probably not much consolation, but fall is the best time to do this, after the road season winds down. May it pass quickly.

For il Brucie: Ruprecht goes to Oklahoma

If this fine example of Steve Martin's natural gift doesn't make you "LOL", then check your wrist for a pulse.. This is a classic scene from the movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", which Brucie hasn't ever seen. Reference: My recent comment about Oklahoma

Road Rash: 48 hours and the fore arm has improved

The day after:
48 hours later:
It's not fun when you forget about your injury and thrust your hand in your pocket..
This hurts less than my fore arm, believe it or not. This is the day after.
This is 48 hours later.Fingernail rips are painful. I've bandaged this tight so that it might reconnect a bit.
Not pictured: Hip.

Day three: Lube for the Stiffness

Okay, minds out of the gutter! My shoulder and forearm REALLY HURT when I try to move them around too much. The road rash is slowly drying out, developing scabs around the perimeter.. limiting range of movement.. If I force it, the scabs and regrown skin crack and cause an insane amount of pain. So this SurgiLube stuff will hopefully help me with this, and keep the bandages from sticking. I bought a case of 144 little convenience packets for $12, and another case of 100 of the 3" x 4" non stick pads from the surgical supply store in Cranston.. I'm at work again, trying to be productive.. wondering if I can heal in time for the YMCA Crit and the Jamestown Classic on October 6-7.. How much form can I hang onto until then? Maybe a 5 day break from the bike will recharge the batteries a bit, make me miss it a little. Need to change the tire on my bike and I can't do it with these busted up fingers and knuckles.  

Surgi Lube..

recommended to me by a team mate who crashed this year.. As the road rash heals, it begins to skin over and the draining slows down, making bandages stick to the raw flesh. This SurgiLube stuff is designed to keep injuries moist and prevent the "non-stick" bandages from sticking. Hope it doesn't burn. Anyone tried it?

Looking at the TT times from Bob Beal, I'm consoled by the fact that I only missed a top 5-6 placing by 10-11 seconds, on a bad day. Murat cramped up fiercely at the base of the RR climb on lap two. So much so that I could see the muscles in both quads contort under the skin. I stopped for a full minute and shook it out, walked it off, then continued.. and soon caught up to my four groupetto companions.. At the base of King Factory Road, I could feel the cramps returning, so I sat up and spun, resigning myself to DFL as my friends rode away from me.. As luck would have it, they all took a wrong turn and I beat them to the line, without even realizing what had happened. So ironic.

"Finish what you start" takes on a whole new meaning. It's worth it.

At any rate, I had some residual crampiness in the TT (hamstrings were acting up just before my start), and my confidence was shaken a bit because I was dropped. Hey lasy year we had holders at the start of the TT.. What happened this year?  

The aftermath

I am hurting all over. Knee, shin, hip, fore arm, wrist, both hands, shoulder.. All raw and oozing and clinging to my bandages. I'm at work, but I'm not concentrating too well. One of my carpenter foreman working for me up in Salem remarked that road rash is the equivalent of 3rd degree burns. I think that's over the top because I already see signs of healing, where burns take a lot longer to heal, and hurt constantly no matter what. Taking nothing but some occasional Advil for the pain. Everyone at work is astonished that I'm not doped up with narcotic grade prescription drugs. That stuff is as addictive as heroin. I used it a few years ago when I had a spiral tear in my rectum that needed stitching up. They also removed all my hemorhoids at that time.. That required Percosets, no way I could have managed without them.. This is nothing but nuisance pain.. although I will eat my words the next time I take a shower.. which I am trying to avoid for as long as possible. Starting to get a little gamey.. 

Bob Beal Criterium 2007: Video is Live

2007 Bob Beal 30-39 Criterium from Murat Altinbasak on Vimeo.
Here's the video from the Bob Beal Criterium, as promised. The crash is somewhere in the 8th-9th minute (in slo-mo too), if you want to wind ahead.. Also some footage of the aftermath, cleansing my wounds at the car with dear wife. If she wasn't there with me, I don't know what I would have done.. As I said to her on the drive home.. STILL better than a good day at work!
Also notice: When you're through here, I've posted some cool pictures from our recent trip to Turkey, at the other blog: www.amerikanturk.com
Thanks for looking/reading/watching.

Bob Beal Criterium 2007: Cameraman takes a fall

Here's a video grab upon impact with the ground.. I was feeling good, using the corner to gain some position.. then I seem to remember striking a pedal, and my rear wheel lifting.. when it smacked back down on the road, it exploded. Looks like the clincher freed itself from the rim and blew out.. Back to tubulars for me?

The camera man being yours truly... Murat crashed hard today. At the beginning of the 4th or 5th lap, diving into the hard left hand corner, my rear tire blew out, and I went skidding and sliding on my left side for what seemed like an eternity. My first thought upon standing up and checking myself, was taking a free lap and getting back into the race. Then I saw my brake hoods both bent inwards, my knuckles all shredded, and my rear flat.. I limped back to the car and nursed my wounds. I will post the video soon, which includes gratuitous coverage of my injuries, post-crash.. I also recorded a few short clips of the last laps of the crit, which was won my Amos Brumble of CCB in exemplary fashion..solo.. Dan Butler of BRC (who was parked next to me at the TT) took an impressive 2nd (1st for the 35-39), seconds ahead of a charging field. And team mate Rick Kotch took the field sprint for 3rd, bagging valuable (2nd place) points for his overall placing.
I counted a total of 25 isolated areas of skin loss, half of them on my hands. My shoulder, hip, elbow, wrist, knee and shin have all been stripped of skin. I bathed when I got home, and scrubbed every wound in the shower with soap.. The most pain I've felt since being hit by a car last year..

Bob Beal 2007 Road Race 30-39 Part III: Grupetto

Bob Beal 2007 Road Race 30-39 Part II: "the Hill"

Bob Beal 2007 Road Race 30-39 Part I: Start

Bob Beal 2007 Road Race: Start from Murat Altinbasak on Vimeo.

Last minute stuff..

I'm going back to Union Cycle to buy a new cassette. Changed the chain and I fear it will skip.. Also picking up an aero helmet. Almost bought it on my lunch break, and declined.. Now I want it. No shoe covers at the shop, anyone have an extra pair I can borrow?

If anyone has an extra set of Profile or similar clip on aero bars, bring them tomorrow. I know of someone who's looking for a pair to buy, last minute..

JB, you're freaking me out. Turkceyi kimden ogrendin kardesim?

For JB: Bob Beal road course

Yes the course has changed, but I've never been on this new one (just parts of it). A trusted source says that there is some climbing, but that it's only kind of steep for a few hundred feet.. the rest being more gradual, more big ring kind of stuff, like the original course.. Last year I don't remember ever using the small ring. Maybe I'm confusing it with the Topsfield course. 

last minute TT bike change?

Took the old yellow epx out for a spin last night. This is the bike I had before the LOOK 486 came along. Rolf Vector Pro tubulars with Schwalbe top shelf tires on them.. Campy Chorus drivetrain.. 172.5mm cranks!

First I was amazed that I ever raced on the thing.. Then I marveled at the narrowness of the handlebars. Then I noticed how absolutely smooth the thing rides.. Shifts are whisper quiet.. Tires seem to float  across the road.. All brake and shift cables neatly concealed in the bar tape.. Then I got to thinking about whether I'd be hurting or improving my Bob Beal TT time if I decided to use it Saturday afternoon.. There are advantages.. but I'm fearful of injuring my knees or developing an unexpected pain in my back or a pinched nerve.. I'd also be sacrificing the use of my Powertap (such a dirty word these days.. especially for those who've been racing since the Lemond era, as I have been) Big deal, right? It IS a big deal. I'm not a machine that knows how hard I'm pedaling instinctively.. When time trialing is your weakness (as it is for me), you need to know how much effort you're putting out. Months of trainig with the Powertap has established my CP6 to be about 325 watts. So.. it's simply a matter of keeping my eye on the average watts from beginning to end. This avoids blowing up and it insures that I go at a rate that I've proven I can sustain, and it also tells me how much and when to light the afterburners to average it up in the final mile. As for aero gear, I have the Profile clip-on bars and I may tape over the vents in my helmet, lose the bottle cages, and buy or borrow a pair of lycra shoe covers. Oh and the skin suit.. These are all enhancements over last years attempt. So.. I guess I wish my PT whel was a Campy at this point. Switching bikes might be a poor choice. 

Ninigret, Jetlag, Infection, Blah blah blah

In Turkey, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some ancient ruins.

Per usual my adrenaline spikes in those first few moments of the crit and I'm sprinting through the first couple of corners and dragging a few other opportunists with me, away from the field. Within one lap, we had the gap which was maintained all the way to the end- about 15-20 seconds. Regrettably, I felt weak and tired after the first three laps and had to either sit up or risk an irreversible implosion. I feel very jetlagged and the cold I caught while in Turkey is still working me over, not fully cleared up yet. On a better day, I would have been fine in this break- the speed wasn't mind-blowing. It's been a recurring theme though. I'm terrible at grinding it out at a steady pace, and favor repeated hard accelerations and quick recoveries. I handle it better. All season long I've been putting myself in the breaks which end up winning, but always lack the experience/power to survive for more than 5-6 minutes. As team mate Rick Kotch commented afterwards, maybe I'm burning too many matches, pulling through too hard, or for too long. Maybe it's nerves or maybe it's an overly ambitious desire to be a big contributor to the break. I'm kind of fearful of being fingered as a weak link, so I try to hard to avoid a deliberate "let's drop the dead weight" attack. It ends up costing me. Needless to say, my five team mates were astonished and pissed that I didn't stay up there (rightly so, but this is a training race, and I have team mates who encourage us to chase them when they're in a break). One team mate even promised never to block for me again, which is fine because I've never asked or expected that of anyone. I put myself out there, gave it my best shot (all things considered) and came up short. Where were they at the start? Nothing stops them from co-attacking with me from the gun, right? Oh well.. bygones I guess. I'll continue to do this- get into breaks as much as possible and work on this weakness until it's eliminated. I just need to succeed once and prove to myself I can do it. After that I'm sure that success will breed success. After surrendering from the break, I started to get a little dizzy and a nuisance cramp in my lower right abdomen was really bothering me. With about 12-15 laps to go I took a lap to check myself, catch my breath and refocus. The light headedness might be from the bio clock being all messed up. Racing at 6:00 pm Eastern is like racing at 1:00 am for me right now.. Couple more days and I hope to be back to my former self. I've put on 2-3 pounds since before traveling to Turkey, and it's pretty obvious that this trip- even with all the form-preserving rides I did while over there- has taken something out of me. Shouldn't expect to be 100% for a little while. As for Bob Beal- I hope to simply have lots of fun in the RR and Crit, but I plan to hit the TT with guns blazing and leave everything I have out on the course. There's a 40 ouncer at stake.. and I'm not really sure who is supposed to chug it if they win the bet, which is against me beating last year's time by 40 seconds. If it rains as predicted, the bet's off. We should change the terms to a top ten finish instead. (21st last year) Thanks for reading.

Bob Beal.. Interesting..

I'm all pre-registered and find it hard to believe that they will not accept race day entries, especially given the fact that there are only 25 guys in the 35-39 category (we had 33 last year). What's so interesting is that out of the the 25 guys registered for this weekend, only 3 of them were pre-registered last year. Hypothetically speaking.. if race day entries were accepted on Saturday morning, another 30 riders could potentially be added to the 35-39 start list. On the condition that no one moved up an age group, of course. I'm sure there's some shifting of categories in there. I have team mates in there with me this time! Cool. Last year a few of us were scattered among different age groups. Time to go to Ninigret!

Blackberry me

I'm getting one tomorrow, from work. Every project manager but me already has one, because I was expected to  move into the estimating department and do very limited travel. This transition is going to be delayed, so my unit is on order. I'm not sure if this is something to be happy about, but I love techie stuff, so I guess I'll like it for at least the first few weeks. Any good video games in those things? On that note..

You know what the world needs? A bike race video game. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, except you're an American in Europe, start out broke, doing odd jobs like trafficking dope to survive, to buy bikes, race, get fit etc. It could work. Put me down for one, when it comes out.   

Rankings a joke?

Hey Solo: Does this seem to be a joke too? Did I make it to 5th with my suckiness and by not winning anything? Apparently so. Consistent mediocrity pays.. Besides, you're looking at TT results for a narrow band of masters. Remember that if S.F. has only one or two TT results, he's given default points (maximum) for the deficient events. Give yourself some friggin credit. You're no slouch in the TT department.

Look at the bigger picture in Mass..

Automobiles

Is it me or are the cars on the road in Turkey just so much cooler than the ones we have here? Fiats, Peugeots, Renaults, Citroens.. You have to see some of these things. Our friends in Istanbul have a Citroen Picasso (C4?) It's a minivan like I've never seen before. I won't bore you with details.. except that when you put your hand into the map pockets on the front doors, they light up inside. One example. The dashboard is a-mazing. (Am I easily impressed?) In Istanbul, we spent a little time in Bebek, which in my mind, is the equivalent of Beverly Hills. I saw more Land Rover Discoveries in one short drive than I've seen all year in Providence. An Aston Martin was double parked with it's four ways blinking. WTF. Man, those Citroens are cool.. all of them. And if you haven't seen the new Peugeots (no longer sold in the US for 10-15 years) go to their website and look. They're hot.   

Profile aero bars..

..bought a pair before leaving for Turkey and tried them on one of my rides. Really like the extra leverage and power you can produce by bearing down on the elbow pads.. Nice. I may video myself on the windtrainer and post it for your comments. This TT stuff is new to me.. Not sure if I'm supposed to move the saddle forward a touch.. Looking forward to this weekend! Cautiously optimistic about this weekend.. Now if only I can borrow someone's Oakley MP3 sunglasses for the TT! Jesus of Suburbia!

Home sweet home

We made it home last night, safe and sound. More later!

Checkin in..

Real quick.. famous last words. I am as happy as a tornado in a trailer park. Fit and tan.. Even did a little test 3 mile TT today. Burdened with tons of water, two spares, a camera etc, I eeked it out in 7:00 flat, 314 watts average. I had gas left at the end, could have done better, and I was even delayed a touch by a bus.. Took lots of pictures and video of some ancient ruins this morning, on my ride, that is.. Aspendos. Many pictures to come, I think I've taken over 200 so far.

One thing.. and I hate to sound racist.. but the Russians who populate these resorts are bar none the rudest most ignorant pigs I've ever encountered. I may regret saying this later on.. but trust me, these people would sooner spit in your face than piss on an open wound for you, much less smile. Whatever.. No disrespect for Russians in general, just the few who can somehow afford to be here. Douche bags.

Sunday: Turkish F1 Grand Prix

Hey maybe we can catch a glimpse of this as we land in Istanbul Sunday afternoon? -Murat

Ferrari Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Brazil enters the pits during the first practice session at Istanbul Park racetrack in Istanbul August 24, 2007. The Turkish F1 Grand Prix race will be held in Istanbul on Sunday. REUTERS/Max Rossi (TURKEY)

McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain drives during a second free practice session at Istanbul Park race track in Istanbul August 24, 2007. The Turkish F1 Grand Prix race will be held in Istanbul on Sunday. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY)

McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain takes a curve during a free practice session at Istanbul Park race track in Istanbul August 24, 2007. The Turkish F1 Grand Prix race will be held in Istanbul on Sunday. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY)

Break dancing

Last night, Ninigret Criterium. Per usual I find myself in the break that forms right after the start. Actually had to work hard to bridge up to it.. then the pain really began. Five or six of us in a fast rotation put my CP-5-6-7 deep into 300 watts- not something I can sustain for an hour. That's one of the beauties of the Powertap- once you're in a break, you can reset a new interval and track the average watts. If it's early and you see that you are doing 120% of FT, basically going VOmax, then you know in advance that this isn't your break- you're going to pop if you don't ease up.. On the other hand, if there's only 3-4 laps to go, then you might decide that you can hold on.. I look down and after the first 7 minutes I'm averaging 325 watts, and struggling to pull through. The rotation was fast and I wasn't getting the amount of recovery I needed between pulls. With guys like Paul Curley, Billie Mark and Bill Yabroudy in the break, you can be assured that I was hurting more than anyone else in there. With 50 more minutes to race, I smartly drifted back to the field and took up chasing instead, which I've decided is a lot more fun than being chased (for now). They were caught within another lap.. Mid-race I found myself in another high powered five man break for a couple of laps.. but this one disintegrated right after the sprint for the prime.. I was oblivious, didn't even realize the bell had sounded. Later, another three man break forms up the road. Not a big gap, but something that I know will take almost a lap to shut down. I go for it, full gas for 1/2 lap, missing the connection by a couple of car lengths.. Well.. there were two guys on my wheel who fired around me in the instant I discovered them back there. It was Bill Yabroudy and another Gearworks guy, not sure which. I'm left in no man's land, spent.. They connected with the other three and stayed away until the end. With one to go I put another dig at the front (did this many times actually), trying to contribute to the effort to catch these guys (we had no one up there) So I empty the tank up until the final bend before the finish, and let the strung out field swarm past me on the final straight. I think I did an honorable race. Set some new highs for CP6 and CP7 watts too.

No Ninigret Crit next week, according to the pre-race announcement, and the following week the race is Thursday night, with the "A"s starting at 6:00 (not 6:30) Check your sources to verify. 

California has..

930 ranked Masters Criterium racers. OMG... and Michael Hutchinson, who raced with us out here at the NBX Crit in June, is ranked 5th or so in Cali. You can see him ride away from me in the race video I recorded in that day's 35+ event. Talk about mis-matched wattage.  

It's Miller Time..

Only five days to go before we drive to JFK, board an Airbus A340 for Istanbul, fly 10 hours, get a connecting flight to Antalya, then picked up and driven to our resort courtesy of my father in law. The bike will be unpacked and assembled before bed time on Sunday.. Wake up call for 6:00 am.. and I'm out exploring roads which lead to ancient ruins, back in time for breakfast.. Then it's water slides, snorkling, spying topless sunbathers from behind the Rudys and all you can eat gourmet food and drink five times a day.. a room with a water view, a balcony, and a minibar that's all inclusive- no added cost to deplete it completely, as needed.

Keith Berger Criterium:

Keith Berger Full Results

..not the result I expected, but it's an improvement over the previous two editions of this crit. A leg breaking 2 minute 414 watt 30 mph solo pursuit [to what I believed was the winning move with 6 laps to go], took my breath away.. I caught them.. and then a Target Training rider caught us.. and the six of us simply failed to keep turning over the gears and failed to work together in spite of TT guy's sincere encouragement.. I was kaput.. the field was wise to chase.. we were caught with 4 to go..leaving me with only enough recovery, power and position to snag a top 20 out of 55 finishers. I skipped the Pro-Am.