cyclocross: super fun, super hard, super sexy

Rode out with a couple of friends to watch a cyclocross race over the weekend in Verdugo Park, Glendale. Man, those are some super cool bikes they ride. It’s amazing the abuse they take - and the riders, too – I don’t know how they manage to push themselves so hard for 45 minutes.

It was a pretty fun time watching them twisting around and around all over that park. The course was really well laid out and took advantage of every topographical aspect the park had to offer. I thought the grass sections would get ripped up but it looked like it was holding up pretty well.

The crowd was a little bigger than the race I went to a couple years ago but still needs to grow for full fun factor. We need more people ringing bells and drinking beer along the course.

One of these seasons I’m going to have to borrow a cx bike and get out there myself. I guess the trick is to push just hard enough so you go around really fast but not so hard that you puke.

The only gripe I have is that 95% (probably) of the racers drove their bikes to a park many miles away so they could ride them around in circles which seems a little wasteful… that, and the lack of beer...

But, just to end on a high note, I do love those sexy knee-high socks!

run like a girl

Ran in the Arroyo this morning – back up to nine in the track shoes – went really slow just to be safe – no foot problems, yet. Focused on taking shorter strides and landing just in front of flat-footed – as in more towards the toe, but just slightly.

I’ve been watching people run a lot lately. I’ve always watched the runners, but recently I’ve been watching their foot landings. It seems like, in general, women have a more natural human stride – they tend to land on the mid-foot, whereas, men tend to land more heavily on their heels. I think it’s some kind of machismo thing. Men don’t like to prance around the neighborhood – they like to be very serious about running hard and getting it done. But I think they run themselves into a lot more injuries because of it. The women’s approach seems a lot more sustainable – and it doesn’t have to be that much slower – you just have to take faster steps and you can pretty much keep up. Actually, now that I think about it, arguably one of the most accomplished distance runners I know of runs like a girl so it must be good enough for me, too. So, that’s what I was trying to do today, run like a girl…

appreciating three (and the unknown)

I went out for a three mile run this morning. I took the last two weeks off after over-running myself into some foot injuries. When I get injured I start to fear the worst – you’ll never run again – and each day that the injury hangs around I get closer and closer to restructuring my lifestyle for the post running era – I start thinking that maybe I’ll string up that banjo and/or join the Roving Archers and limp around the Arroyo with a Peruvian style handmade walking stick. But, today, after 14 days of doomsday thoughts, I ran again. It felt great - so nice to be out there. A short run, sure, and I took it really easy, but no pain. Amazingly, after all my fits and starts in running this year I still have a chance of making my original mileage goal and maybe even doing a bit better than last year – fingers crossed.

The up side of the lull in running has been a lot more time on the bike. Got semi-intentionally lost in the hills above Glendale yesterday. Some of the steepest, toughest roads I’ve ever seen – made all the more challenging because I didn’t know if I’d ever make it out of their maze. Eventually, as I was about to give up and backtrack all the way out, a nice old man gave me the happy directions to get back to the Pasadena side of the mountain and soon I was on familiar ground with lots more energy. Getting lost is good for you.

inspiration fragment

well at least I’m not the only one

Other people seem to be losing their grip, too. On the morning segment of today’s ride I was waiting at a stoplight. A young woman rode her bike in front of me on the crosswalk. Her helmet was on backwards. After riding up onto the sidewalk she stayed on her bike a reached out to press the pedestrian signal button so she could cross to the other corner. She pressed the wrong button – the one for the street she had just crossed – and then fell over at about 0.5 mph. She said, Owooh. I said, Are you okay? She said, I’m alright. She didn’t seem to want my help and there’s not much I could have done to be helpful, but I felt bad because it took her quite a while to get untangled and back on her feet. I wanted to at least say, Don’t worry about it, I’ve been doing that kind of stuff all week – must be the Santa Anas…

L Ankle, R Foot, L/R Knee, L Hip, L Elbow, L Shoulder, R Neck, and obviously something wrong in my head…

I saw another dude running barefoot today. For some reason these guys tend to be shirtless, too. I guess once you start taking it off it’s hard to stop… It made me really jealous. I want to run but my right foot is still a little whack from a long run about a week and a half ago and I figure it’s better to wait it out rather than push through it. It’s hard but considering how many injuries I have right now due to my many recent disasters I really should give my body some recovery time. As soon as I can walk without noticing the foot I’ll give it one more day of rest and then try an easy three in normal shoes. So, I guess I’m out for La Jolla Cyn this weekend. Dang. My goal for the rest of the year: stop beating the crap out of myself…

totally eighties reunited with hot wheels

Patience will eventually bring you a good deal on an old set of Dura Ace hubs (freewheel, not cassette) laced to Mavics and you’ll be so totally stoked at the difference they make, so Totally Eighties Stoked. The previous rims/hubs were suspect since I got the bike. They were okay, but I just felt in my bones that there was something missing. She’s like a whole new bike/personality now – one hundred percent more awesome which makes her pretty awesome. She’s alive!

Blood on the Tracks

“We [rode] that [bike] as far as we could, abandoned it out West…”

Mindful Mule took a fall crossing the railroad tracks over the weekend. Pretty slippy sometimes, those tracks. Black cherry elbow. She’s up and riding again though…

Jonah and The Immovable Object

Fire hydrants are extremely hard and immovable objects. I’m sure I knew this, could have guessed this, but a couple of days ago I found out the real-world-way by smashing my knee into one of those tough little yellow stalwarts.

I was sure I’d cracked my kneecap (but didn’t – low threshold for pain!) It all happened so fast. I was gardening and that little bugger was lying in wait, hiding behind a low bush. Wham! Everything stopped – all forward progress halted. I saw my future flash before my eyes in a blinding light – surgery, months away from running and riding – for all intents and purposes, a death.

If it hadn’t been for the little old lady standing near by I would have let out the most cursed howl of my life (probably more like a yelp) – whole flocks of black birds would have suddenly taken flight from their perches in nearby trees, darkening the skies with their numbers and echoing my cries to the morning turning quickly ominous.

Suddenly, I’m very aware of the presence of these fireplugs all over town. It’s like they’re stalking me. It seems I see one every time I leave the house, every time I round a corner, Ha, there’s another. They’ve definitely got it in for me.

Despite the fact that I smashed my knee a couple days ago I seem to be more or less okay. I made it through a long run yesterday with no ill affects. So with that my 6-month hiatus from 12+ has finally ended.

catch of the day

Saw someone fishing for their breakfast in the LA River this morning on the first half of today’s ride. This is actually a pretty frequent sight but I’m still a bit surprised every time I see it. Just over the weekend I was telling someone who was looking for places to fish that they could fish The River. They wanted to know if you needed a license. Uh, well, yeah, I suppose, I mean, I think you need a license to fish anywhere in the state, technically, but no, you don’t really need a license to fish in the LA River because no body will ever, ever check up on you.

They’ve been working on the bike path that follows the river. It also follows the I-5 freeway. It’s wedged right in between. It could be more beautiful. But it’s still okay, fine, fun, nice-ish. The bike path is still gated off even though they’ve shifted their work to a more southerly section. Luckily, some thoughtful cyclist or hobo or cycling hobo has cut the fence in half so it’s passable again – you just duck your head and ride right through.

experimental drink

Lemon juice – squeeze a few wedges
Agave nectar – a couple spoonfuls
Water – about a pint

Might be a good replacement for Gatorade-ish drinks.