Um... Hi.
It's been a while. A lot has happened. Not much has happened.
I retired from the Air Force. I pretty much immediately started working for a defense contractor on remote radar sites. How remote? Well, when this picture was taken at Point Barrow, I was the most northern roadie in the United States. Maybe North America.
I bought a beat up Ritchey BreakAway CX, had it powder-coated, and built it up in a minimalistic way for trainer-only use to save weight. It's worked well, so maybe I can stay in some sort of shape in my new life. Race shape? That remains to be seen, but at least I'm moving. If the physical and emotional trauma that is the travel trailer project currently dominating my driveway has taught me anything, it's to never stop moving.
I'm very, very heavy. I may not look it, especially compared to my current co-workers, but I am. The fat sits around my waist like an inner tube, and I'm not sure I've completely accepted what the scale tells me each time I stand on it. My lack of belief doesn't change the message. I need to lose the weight. However, first I need to make sure I keep moving.
I'm zig-zagging around the state, dragging my trainer and bike from place to place, most of which are only accessible by small aircraft. I set up my gear, crank up the old race DVDs, and see what the legs are willing to do. Turns out, I can push harder for longer when I'm not distracted by all of the crap on Zwift. I don't hit the same highs, but the averages are significantly better.
The Ritchey BreakAway wasn't the only new addition to my fleet. I realized that the endurance-oriented Moots Vamoots DR wasn't my cup of tea, so I sold it and replaced it with a Moots Vamoots RSL, their lightest and raciest model. At the end of the day, even when I'm not in race shape, that's where my heart is. Little by little I've been collecting the parts to turn it into what I hope will be my main race bike. If the plan works, I'll likely thin the herd of carbon bikes, stripping the parts and selling the framesets on eBay. We'll see...
The Moots Compact is still my go-to bike, day in and day out. It's just fun to ride and it fits. Other than a few small tweaks that are more aethetic than anything, I think it's pretty much done. The build on the RSL will mirror it very closely, because I'm slowly figuring out what I like and don't like on a bike.
Am I going to race again? That's a very large question, and one I can't answer at the moment. My new job takes me out of town a lot. When I'm not out of town, I'm not making any money, so if I want to keep the lights on and buy Chris King bling for my titanium bikes, I need to keep working. My work schedule this first year will be somewhat chaotic, as the new guy gets the crumbs as they fall. I've accepted it, but it keeps me from goal setting or targeting any races. If I'm in town, I'll try to race. I'd love to do the Spring Stage Race, but I have no idea if it will be possible. Crits? As many as I can. Time trials? Sure, why not? Hill climbs... let's not get carried away here.
To be honest, the one race I won't be sorry if I miss is the Tour of Anchorage. Being out of town and limited to relatively short trainer rides while everyone else is putting in serious miles means I'm already on the back foot. Then there's the weight, which may come off or might just hang around. Unlike the Classic-esque stages of the Spring Stage Race, the Tour has veered into a climbing-centric format these last few years. The road races have been replaced with shorter, hilly circuit races. The hill climbs are longer, and even the time trials have included more climbing. Maybe if I was twenty or so pounds lighter, the Tour would seem like a good idea, but it's just not on the radar this year.
And this blog? I don't think I'll return to regularly posting. To be honest, I was seeing it as an obligation, instead of something I did to organize my thoughts and a platform I could use to irritate other people. I'd rather just post when the mood strikes, and if nobody reads I won't have so much time and energy invested. As it was in the beginning, this blog is all about me, not you (whoever you are). My life now is too tied up with things that are obligations, so I don't need to add to them.
Bikes are fun. Let's call that the baseline and go from there.
I retired from the Air Force. I pretty much immediately started working for a defense contractor on remote radar sites. How remote? Well, when this picture was taken at Point Barrow, I was the most northern roadie in the United States. Maybe North America.
I'm very, very heavy. I may not look it, especially compared to my current co-workers, but I am. The fat sits around my waist like an inner tube, and I'm not sure I've completely accepted what the scale tells me each time I stand on it. My lack of belief doesn't change the message. I need to lose the weight. However, first I need to make sure I keep moving.
I'm zig-zagging around the state, dragging my trainer and bike from place to place, most of which are only accessible by small aircraft. I set up my gear, crank up the old race DVDs, and see what the legs are willing to do. Turns out, I can push harder for longer when I'm not distracted by all of the crap on Zwift. I don't hit the same highs, but the averages are significantly better.
The Ritchey BreakAway wasn't the only new addition to my fleet. I realized that the endurance-oriented Moots Vamoots DR wasn't my cup of tea, so I sold it and replaced it with a Moots Vamoots RSL, their lightest and raciest model. At the end of the day, even when I'm not in race shape, that's where my heart is. Little by little I've been collecting the parts to turn it into what I hope will be my main race bike. If the plan works, I'll likely thin the herd of carbon bikes, stripping the parts and selling the framesets on eBay. We'll see...
The Moots Compact is still my go-to bike, day in and day out. It's just fun to ride and it fits. Other than a few small tweaks that are more aethetic than anything, I think it's pretty much done. The build on the RSL will mirror it very closely, because I'm slowly figuring out what I like and don't like on a bike.
Am I going to race again? That's a very large question, and one I can't answer at the moment. My new job takes me out of town a lot. When I'm not out of town, I'm not making any money, so if I want to keep the lights on and buy Chris King bling for my titanium bikes, I need to keep working. My work schedule this first year will be somewhat chaotic, as the new guy gets the crumbs as they fall. I've accepted it, but it keeps me from goal setting or targeting any races. If I'm in town, I'll try to race. I'd love to do the Spring Stage Race, but I have no idea if it will be possible. Crits? As many as I can. Time trials? Sure, why not? Hill climbs... let's not get carried away here.
To be honest, the one race I won't be sorry if I miss is the Tour of Anchorage. Being out of town and limited to relatively short trainer rides while everyone else is putting in serious miles means I'm already on the back foot. Then there's the weight, which may come off or might just hang around. Unlike the Classic-esque stages of the Spring Stage Race, the Tour has veered into a climbing-centric format these last few years. The road races have been replaced with shorter, hilly circuit races. The hill climbs are longer, and even the time trials have included more climbing. Maybe if I was twenty or so pounds lighter, the Tour would seem like a good idea, but it's just not on the radar this year.
And this blog? I don't think I'll return to regularly posting. To be honest, I was seeing it as an obligation, instead of something I did to organize my thoughts and a platform I could use to irritate other people. I'd rather just post when the mood strikes, and if nobody reads I won't have so much time and energy invested. As it was in the beginning, this blog is all about me, not you (whoever you are). My life now is too tied up with things that are obligations, so I don't need to add to them.
Bikes are fun. Let's call that the baseline and go from there.
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