Those close ones

I think I know why I slow down so much in the winter. Nothing to do with intensity zones, watts, temperature, building phase. It's about storing energy and blood pressure for watching basketball. A close sprint like Dominguez's win (left top) in Tour of CA Sunday is played out for hours in a trading-points bball game. ODU and JMU women (right top) were in a game-long slug fest for the line, finished only in the last seconds Sunday. It was like a slow motion sprint that ODU took with head down across the line.

I also watched BTW high (bottom left) play earlier this season before they went on to capture the Eastern Regional title Saturday. And there is Laura Van Gilder (MY age) out there hammering against 100 of the best women in the world in Australia this week, only .18 seconds off winning prologue time (bottom right). Class acts, both of 'em.

Even with a busy March coming, I will be in front of the TV, toggling between cycling spring classics and March Madness. My college hoops championship picks: UConn (Women) and Memphis (Men).

Photo sources: Mitch Clinton (Dominguez), Virginian Pilot (ODU), Jason Hirschfield (BTW) and John Flynn (Van Gilder).

Both Sides Now

Finally, I cleaned my home office. I uncovered lots of images from the pre-Lance cycling years. First, there were not 300 cyclists out there in Pungo every Sunday like there are now. There were 30 and we all met at the Courthouse. The big goal then was to hang onto Troy, Nancy and John, the fastest trio in the area. John still lives in the area, but Nancy and Troy have since moved to NC. Here is Troy racing with John and Nancy cheering:

Also, back in the day, we camped along Coal Road when mountain biking rather than staying in a Wintergreen condo. Here Lori, Susan and I recover on rocks and logs after doing the Big Levels loop near Sherando: I found images of actual “triathletes” who gave “Tripower” its original name. Derek (rear) and Mark (front) are participating in a Richmond duathlon in Tripower singlets. Mark is actually the guy who started the Amphibious Assault race which is now in its 10th year:
The Presidents of Tripower’s past were also hiding in my office. Pictured below are current prez John (circa 1998), past prez Pat (center) wearing the very first Tripower jersey, and early 90’s prez Mike (right).
Of course there are those I saw and miss very much. Paula (1) lives in Arizona. Little John (3) and Adam (5) were shipped somewhere in Navyland and I have lost touch. Don (2) and Dave (4) are still somewhere in town but we have not ridden together in years:
And pre-Lance pre-Postal, you could get within arm’s reach of George Hincapie. Below, he is racing for Motorola in the same race as Keith Johnson in Burlington, NC ('97). Also, I got my picture taken with him at the top of Grandfather Mountain, NC after Bridge to Bridge:

Tell it on the Mountain

I went to the mountains to get me some wisdom. Like Moses, or like Laura Ingalls that time she climbed a mountain thinking she’d get closer to God up high. We rode the Big Levels loop near Sherando on Saturday and Reddish Knob loop (elevation 4397 feet) near Harrisonburg Sunday. After riding two days in the teens on ice, snow and grueling climbs, I expected to start Monday morning with something resembling revelation.

Nothing earth shattering, but I do have some new ideas about how to keep my head warm. Here are a few of the Superbowl Sunday head covering variations:

I also discovered some Kryptonite. For one, Gilmer (left image) needs significantly more sleep than the average cyclist. Cut off his couch time and I bet he slows down. Dan clearly has a weakness for sunrises (right top) and “abundant sunshine” so I bet he falters in overcast conditions. And contrary to popular belief, Kevin’s strength is not in his hair but in his shadow (right bottom). It’s self-image that empowers him which explains his preoccupation with self portraits.

With all that, I still got my butt kicked in a steamy indoor spin class today. I actually drank more Gatorade during the hour-long spin class than I had on either of the 3.5-hour mountain bike days since the bottles kept freezing. Where’s the wisdom in that?