The best 50 minutes of your day...
Aaron James Draplin
from CreativeMornings/Portland.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Monday, October 01, 2012
Sunday, 21 October 2012, 12:00 pm – High Noon
A good-ol-timey, FREE-OF-CHARGE 60-mile bike race across the gravel roads of Linn County, Iowa. Yes, IOWA!
Everyone gets: A mouthful of dust, satisfaction, a nice view, camaraderie, the attached cue-sheet keepsake (makes a great re-gift just in time for the holidays), and grub at Zoey’s at 6 pm post-race (bring a few bucks if you're hungry and interested: http://zoeyspizza.com/ ). While I can’t guarantee romance, a flat tire or saddle-induced hemorrhoids, if the fates are with ya, you may leave with a story to tell (who said you can’t use ‘romance’ and ‘hemorrhoids’ in the same sentence?).
One person gets: The grand prize, IF:
1 He/she is indeed first,
2 He/she signs in when done with his/her finish time,
3 He/she also includes his/her email address and the phrase “I’m #1, you pathetic losers”.
This year’s grand prize includes the now-traditional 12-pack of Hamm’s (from the land of sky-blue waters), plus a Twin Six short-sleeve jersey of your choice (check ‘em out at TwinSix.com).
Rules: Sign the notebook before the start (just like last year). We roll out as a group at noon (just like last year). Once we hit gravel on the other side of Highway 13, the race is on. (You turds that jumped the gun in 2011 have each been given four demerits to be doled out when you least expect it.) Follow the cue sheets until you hit the finish. Once there, sign the notebook with your name and finish time (using the cheap Timex next to the notebook). No aid stations. No outside help. Don’t cheat. Ride safe. When you cross the highway(s), look and then look again. The roads are open and the farmers are working harder than you, yeah YOU. Stay outta their way. And don't, don't, don't litter.
Start/Finish: Indian Creek Elementary School parking lot (by the OLD football field), 2900 Indian Creek Road, Marion, IA.
Fine print: You’re receiving this because you’re one of a select group (okay, not select…just a friend of a friend of a friend…chances are, I don’t know you and we’ll never meet again). If you want to bring along a kindred spirit, great. In fact, I encourage it. If he/she is a jerk, you and only you will be held accountable in the court of public opinion, in which case I fear for you and your jerk friend.
Finer print: In the event of a tie, the 100-yd Grant Wood Dash of Death will be held at the adjacent track.
Finest print: YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. There is no sag wagon (though I will again ride ceremonial DFL to chat it up with the slow-pokes). If you get a flat, fix it. If you break down, work some magic or start walking. No one is coming to save you (unless you have a very forgiving spouse, child, parent or domestic partner). You got into it, you get out of it. Offer a helping hand if someone needs it.
For more information: There is no more information. It’s all written above.
See you soon,
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,800 yds (ytd 152,500 yds.)
Bike: 106 miles (ytd 3,877 mi.)
Run: 20 miles (ytd 890 mi.)
Swim, Bike, Run...
Swim, Bike, Run...
Swim, Bike, Run...
Swim, Bike, Run...
Dinner
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,200 yds (ytd 144,900 yds.)
Bike: 99 miles (ytd 3,597 mi.)
Run: 29 miles (ytd 809 mi.)
I’ve been wanting a new bike. A road bike. A brand-spanking-new-look-at-this-and-be-jealous-of-the-paint-job road bike. It’s been a while. My kids are grown and gone, I have a good job, I deserve it. Sure, I have a tri-specific bike I race on, but I’m one of those weenies who doesn’t want to spend all his hours training on, wearing down and dirtying up a bike that’s fast, clean and always race-ready.
I also have 12-year-old tri bike that takes a regular beating and has served me well, but also begs me daily for just a little chain lube. Really, I hear it begging, and so does everyone around me. Listen for a moment. Hear it?
I have an older fixie I take for shorter rides (no, I don’t own capri pants or a messenger bag, but I do love the workout that the one fixed gear provides) and a single-speed mountain bike I enjoy on gravel and dirt. There’s even a unicycle I ride occasionally. (I can also juggle, but not at the same time. Baby steps.)
But still, no road bike.
So I started shopping, combing the Web, grabbing magazines in checkout aisles (the ones with bikes on the cover, not celebrities and their makeovers), even talking to a manufacturer’s rep or two.
PUT-MY-WALLET-IN-THE-WASH-MACHINE-AND-HIT-RINSE! Upper four and even five figures for a road bike?
Now I know I’m old and it’s been 40 years since I bought my first bike in the back room of a gas station for a whopping $47 after five weeks of delivering newspapers, but I didn’t realize I was THAT outta touch.
So I started thinking.
What if I took that beat-up, tired tri bike, chipped off the bubbling paint, stripped away the aero bars and shifters, set aside the base bars for my fixie, chucked the cracked carbon aero seatpost, removed the tri-specific saddle, scrapped the bent derailleurs, took to the landfill both outta-true wheels (unless you want them or happen to be the local guy who makes lawn ornaments out of bike wheels)…
And then started asking around?
It turns out I’m not the only one with a home that’s full of bikes, parts, tools and grease.
So after tearing down and cleaning my bike (Simple Green, best stuff ever!), I took the wheels that came stock with my racing bike (but were immediately shelved right outta the box); drop bars that once belonged to a friend; STI shifters and derailleurs no longer used by a riding partner; a stem that has a story, I just don’t know what it is; a favorite saddle still with some miles left on it; and…
Loaded the whole mess into the car and headed to my LBS (Sugar Bottom Bikes, try ‘em if you’re in the Midwest).
Two days later and I have a road bike… one that isn’t “new” but new enough, one that fits, one that rolls true and shifts smooth, and one that cost me a whopping, wait for it…
$100.
Think our sport costs too much? Pffft, only if you let it. Open that shed, look in your garage or your neighbor’s, talk during the next group ride, and give the local shop some business. Your new bike is out there, waiting, and you CAN afford it.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 142,700 yds.)
Bike: 103 miles (ytd 3,498 mi.)
Run: 37 miles (ytd 781 mi.)
There are worse places to bond with your father and son.
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Another small waste of your time from C.P. on Vimeo.
Video: 15-mile run, 50 degrees, Summit County, Colorado
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,500 yds (ytd 132,400 yds.)
Bike: 89 miles (ytd 3,209 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 678 mi.)
One last run before leaving home for home.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 09, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,000 yds (ytd 125,700 yds.)
Bike: 111 miles (ytd 3,083 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 614 mi.)
Here we go again… to whom it may concern,
The softening of our sport continues. When I first got into endurance sports, I often worried whether or not I would finish, but I never worried about the cancellation or shortening of an event due to heat. Until now.
I got into this lifestyle because it was a challenge, because it took effort, because it was HARD. I wanted to see if I had what it took to get into real shape, toe the line, suffer, and finish something that few people could.
Now marathons are being cancelled because it’s too hot. Triathlons are being shortened due to the heat. Swims are being stopped because the water’s too cold or there’s too much wind. WTF?! Nut up, people.
If you want easy, shuffle your way through a county fair fun run. If you want to be a marathoner, a triathlete, an Ironman, then do the work. Yeah, it hurts. It’s supposed to. It’s not for everyone. It wasn’t meant to be. You want perfect weather? Bowling is great, I hear. And you can do it all year long, indoors where you’ll be safe and pain-free.
Hell yeah, I’m pissed. I don’t train hard to show up on race day and find out the race was cancelled or shortened because the RD was worried about some pansy throwing down a lawsuit that blames the universe for his/her own laziness.
Years ago I did a tri where the weather was so hot, the road tar stuck to my racing flats. My head felt like it was going to explode on the run. I toughed it out and finished… everyone did. It was hot, REALLY hot. So what?! The whole idea is to conquer your demons and prove that you are tough; tough enough and in shape enough to kick the race’s butt, AT YOUR OWN RISK. That race, once an Ironman qualifier, was cancelled years later due to some lawsuit-happy jerks.
Have some pride, people. Bust your tail and get into shape. Deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at you. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD. If you’re only in it for the finisher’s shirt and bag of swag, buy a T off eBay and brag to someone who cares. The rest of us will earn it…in any conditions. I’ve run in -30 degrees and 100+. One was cold, the other was hot. Nothing more, nothing less.
Hot, cold, rain, drought… it’s weather. Deal with it. Read the waiver, sign it, shut your yap and compete.
Monday, July 02, 2012
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 119,700 yds.)
Bike: 99 miles (ytd 2,972 mi.)
Run: 27 miles (ytd 583 mi.)
Are you my mother?
Monday, June 18, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
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