So one of my molars was chipped, and this was causing some pain, so I went to the dentist. Whee. After 18(!) X-rays (here, let me jam this big piece of plastic in the back of your mouth, m’kay?) and a cleaning (it may pinch a bit as I use this sharp pick against your gums, m’kay?), the dentist came in and told me that I needed, in descending order:
- Antibiotics for an infection in my chipped tooth.
- A root canal in said tooth.
- A crown for said tooth.
- A trip to the oral surgeon to remove a wisdom tooth that has decided to start moving again and is pushing against my other molar.
- A couple of other crowns.
The fun begins on 2 December, assuming the wicked strong antibiotics doesn’t kill me in the interim.
Posted on 6 November 2008
So we’re about three weeks away from the big event. During most of my training rides, there’s a point where I think “why am I doing this?” but I’ll be at the Oval for the start. So, below is my early plan for approaching the hills:
Center Avenue: First hill. I’d like to position myself in the front half of group, just to see what the pace of the leaders is like. The cobbled false flat should give me a chance to move up in the group if necessary.
Ravine Street: Perhaps worth pushing the boat out a bit to see if I can position myself for a tenth place finish? The last stretch on Sharps Hill provides a good opportunity for bridging, if need be.
Berryhill: Position myself in the front half on the descent to the climb, simply to avoid the chaos on the hill. Otherwise, this hill will be a sandbag as I’m not a sprinter.
High/Seavey: Likely a sandbag, unless I happen to be in good position before the start of the hill.
Logan: Get good position before the hill simply to avoid problems.
Rialto: Sandbag.
Suffolk/Burgess/Hazelton: Stay out of trouble at the bottom, and perhaps see if it’s worth taking a dig near the top?
Sycamore: No need to sandbag this one, but at this point, I doubt I could even dream of challenging for a single point.
Canton: Stay. Out. Of. Trouble. Two approaches, I supposed. One: try and stay near the front of the group, knowing that the pace on Coast will be brutal. Two: stay at the back and just wait. The only problem is that there will be a conga line of people trying to successfully do the hill clean.
Boustead: Sandbag and stay out of trouble.
Welsh: Hmmm. Probably best to stay near the front, as there are some sections of poor road surface, so it would be nice to pick my line.
Barry/Holt/Eleanor: I’m guessing that being in the front half is preferable, given the narrow streets and the steepness of Eleanor.
Flowers/Tesla: I need to ride this hill a bit more, just to judge what sort of effort I can put in on Flowers and still have enough juice for Tesla. Likely a sandbag, though, given that it’s number 13.
Posted on 6 November 2008
From “The Most Radical Thing You Can Do by Rebecca Solnit:
For the privileged, the pleasure of staying home means being reunited with, or finally getting to know, or finally settling down to make the beloved place that home can and should be, and it means getting out of the limbo of nowheres that transnational corporate products and their natural habitats—malls, chains, airports, asphalt wastelands—occupy. It means reclaiming home as a rhythmic, coherent kind of time.
Posted on 4 November 2008
The Morning Glory Coffeehouse apparently opened while we were in California. We are very excited about the prospect of a cafe one block away from our house.
Posted on 26 October 2008
Yes, we’re in California. Travel was fine. I, however, didn’t feel terribly well on the flights, and the final leg was downright painful (silly sinuses). But here we are. We spent the night in Vegas (technically Summerlin), then drove through the mountains to Bishop. We spent a few hours at the Buttermilks on Saturday, spending most of our time at the Roadside Boulder, then moving up to Soul Slinger (which, at V9, is beyond most of us for this trip).
Sunday was spent at the Buttermilks as well, this time warming up at the Tut Boulder (where I sent V6–this is a good indication of my fitness (or lack thereof), since just a few years this would have hardly been noteworthy). From there, we moved the Drifter Boulder, where everyone worked on High Plains Drifter (V7). I took two burns, then wandered off to go “buttermilking” with Seb and Oren. Both have been very enthusiastic about climbing up the numerous small boulders that little the landscape here, which is at once both cool and tiring. From here, we stopped at Soul Slinger, then moved over to the Bowling Pin. I begged off doing this highball, but I’m regretting it a bit now.
Today we went to the Happy Boulders. Hot. Sunny. Hot. Too hot, really, to even climb in the sun. We warmed up near More Power, Less Water, then moved over the Happy Boulder to work on the Hulk. I felt creaky from the climbing yesterday, and after a few burns on the Hulk, I was done. The boys were also tired, so I offered to take them back to the hotel for naps, so here we are. Right now, we’re likely missing the best conditions of the day, but, oh well. Jen is still out with Paul and April, hopefully taking advantage of the good conditions on Morning Dove White (V7).
Tomorrow is a rest day. I can’t wait.
And sorry, no pictures. We have them, but I forgot to bring the USB cable for the camera.
Posted on 20 October 2008
High->Logan->Sycamore->Welsh->Barry/Holt/Eleanor
I would have liked to do Tesla and Flowers, but was thwarted by the lack of sunlight and lights on my bike.
It was nearly a summertime evening–warm-ish, clear skies, almost-full moon. Riding across Mount Washington at twilight was quite pleasant. The hills generally felt good. My opinion of Barry/Holt/Eleanor is changing–yes, indeed Eleanor is steep (I need to do Suffolk again to remind myself it isn’t the hardest hill), but the roads are narrow and almost craggy, winding their way up the South Side slopes.
Posted on 12 October 2008
Sycamore->Welsh->Barry/Holt/Eleanor
Today’s goal, given the meager 10 miles of distance, was to ride these hills as hard as possible without falling over or throwing up. It should be noted that Eleanor is really quite hard. On Sunday I really need to hit four or five hills, then do Eleanor and Flowers/Tesla to at least partially simulate the pain I’ll feel on the actual Dirty Dozen ride. I imagine that they will hurt. A lot.
Posted on 10 October 2008
Leonardo Piepoli and Stefan Schumacher have tested positive for CERA. If you followed the Tour de France, Piepoli was sacked by his team and kicked out of the Tour thanks to Riccardo Ricco’s positive test during the Tour. Piepoli quickly admitted to doping, then denied in front of the Italian Olympic Committee. Schumacher won both individual time trials during the Tour, and wore the yellow jersey. He’s been caught up in doping issues before, and he is proclaiming his innocence. As a side note, it’s too bad QuickStep forced out Paolo Bettini (who decided to retire) to make room for Schumacher. Anybody think Bettini might get a call that might make him re-evaluate his future?
More good news: Frank Schleck has been tied, at least financially, to dope doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. He is taking a page from the Ivan Basso legal play book by admitting, yes, he sent money, but no, he didn’t actually dope.
And, saving the best for last, Alexander Vinokourov has said he intends to come back (having served his one year suspension), and, wait for it, race for Astana (Vino, remember, started the team when Liberty Seguros folded). He still must tangle with the UCI, who suspended their proceedings against Vino when he retired. Pat McQuaid has already indicated the UCI would bring their case to the CAS and forced the Kazakh rider to serve another year. I suspect Johan Bruyneel isn’t sleeping well at the moment, given that he already he has a power struggle on his hands thanks to Lance Armstrong’s comeback. Should Vino avoid another year’s suspension, it’s hard to imagine the Kazakh rider being denied a spot on the team, given that the team is funded, in part, by Kazakhstan. This move would likely get Astana excluded from each of the Grand Tours and an events controlled by the ASO (who run the Tour de France).
And…the IOC has called out the UCI as a failure in the fight against doping. I am sympathetic to the UCI in this case, as track and field and weightlifting remain in the Games despite a long, well-documented history of systematic doping.
Posted on 7 October 2008
Dirty Dozen hills:
Sycamore->Canton->Boustead->Welsh
Canton, with 34×26 gearing isn’t so bad, given you stay to the right, out of the, umm, grass growing between the cobbles. It is still silly steep, though, and I imagine doing it in a crowd of people is challenging. A good link-up to assess my condition for the ride would be Center->Ravine->Berryhill->High->Logan->Suffolk->Sycamore->Berry/Holt/Eleanor.
Oh, and an observation: the southern hills feel significantly more bike-unfriendly than the northern ones, due to narrower streets and more traffic.
Posted on 5 October 2008