Long Beach Criterium
Yesterday was the L.A. Wings Long Beach Crit at my favorite four-corner industrial park stomping ground, Hughes Park. The heat wave in SoCal was in full effect, so when we rolled out for our 90 minutes of suffering, it was already near 100 degrees and windy as heck.
The usual SoCal suspects were around including Successful Living, back from fast racing at the Cascade Classic in Oregon. Their boy Gordon McCauley checked everyone's mettle with a hard effort on the first lap. It was a sign of pain to come.
Over the course of the race there was plenty of attacks and slowing. Our team (Frank, Nate, Chris, Gil, me) rode strong and were in or creating every move. Small breaks would go off but then get reeled back in a lap or two. About 20 minutes into the race, McCauley took a flyer and was time trialing off the front. A pair of riders were making some room off the front of the field and I put my head down to roll off the front and join them. Nate took my cue and also escaped the field to join us, making it a break of four after McCauley. We worked together and eventually caught him, then proceeded to put almost a half-lap on the field. Unfortunately, our collective effort waned and wasn't enough to stay away. After 15-20 minutes, we were caught.
More attacks, more breaks and catches. As we approached the end, it appeared it would come down to a sprint. With 5 laps to go, however, Gil and Nate got in a break that looked like it might hold off. A few laps later, we came around turn three to see Gil and Nate had crashed! Nate told me later that he overlapped Rigo Meza's wheel and when Rigo swung out, his front wheel got clipped, he went down, and Gil was behind him with nowhere to go.
Now, with both our guys out of the break, we had to chase. With two to go, I was at the front helping to bring 'em back. On the back side of the last lap, Chris came flying through, catching the break and leading the field into the last corner. I wasn't able to get a wheel fast enough and pretty much finished where I came around the corner, in 16th place. Chris, after leading everyone out, still came up with some cash at 9th.
Cycle For Life Criterium
The Cycle For Life Criterium, Saturday, July 15, was a four-corner course circling the Forum, former home of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings, and Sparks. It moved up on the calendar this year. Last year it was the last race of the season and it kicked my tail, certainly because it was fast, but also because my fitness was waning. And then there's that incline from corner two to corner three that starts to feel like a full-blown climb by the end of the race.
This year it turned out different, except for it was hot again. Nate rolled off the front from the gun and was joined by two others within a few laps. His group of three kept a good lead, and then Chris jumped to join another pair, making it two groups of three up the road. The rest of us (Gil, Frank, Steve, Jared, Lance, me) blocked. Eventually, an opportunity presented itself and Gil and I broke away from the field with four other riders. Still up the road, the two pairs of three became the lead break of six and were growing a nice lead. My group of eight became twelve when Karl "The Viking" Bordine (Labor Power) bridged across carrying three others on his wheel.
Gil and I recognized the lead break was well away so we put in just enough efforts to keep our second group ahead of the field. The lead break was a half-lap ahead of us and lapped the field and then broke away from the field again. Our break lapped the field, too, towards the end, but stayed co-mingled to the finish.
With two to go, Karl attacked our break and Gil followed. I sat up to give them room and they were off. Ahead, Nate attacked the lead break with one to go and stayed away for the win, his first Pro/1/2 win ever. Chris played the others well and hammered in behind Nate for 2nd. Meanwhile, Gil sensed Karl's weakening, jumped before the last turn, and came in at 7th. I battled with the remainder of the second break for the last four money spots (the race paid 12 deep). I was unable to sprint around Nick Onate (Karl Strauss/SDBC) and got nipped at the line by Norm Carter (Jelly Belly/Pool Gel) so I was 11th.
Check out video of the finish by Ken Kendall via YouTube.com
Earlier today I attended the host cities announcement event in Long Beach for the Amgen Tour of California. Long Beach will be home to the eighth and final stage of the 2007 Tour.
Back in the day most water bottle cages were metal and most water bottles were the basic 21 oz. ones with the narrow necks and snap-on lids attached. And I filled them with water. But nowadays, I'm using and trying energy and recovery drinks from Gatorade to Accelerade and love the convenience of the wide-mouth 21 oz. (or larger 24 oz.) bottles with screw on lids for pouring in drink powders, and during the summer, adding ice cubes. Wide-mouth bottles rule!
Still, I have, sometimes get, and work into my rotation a few narrow-necks. When I struggled to get powder into them, I wondered why I bothered to keep them around. Then I got the idea to create a water bottle funnel.
I chose to use a 500ml plastic water bottle but the top of a 2 liter of soda will work, too. Simply cut the top off from the barrel of the body and turn it upside down for a cheap and easy water bottle funnel. The nice part about using the 500ml plastic bottle top is it's just wide enough to handle most powder scoops but narrow enough to store easily. And, the opening where the cap goes is wide enough that powders don't clump up. Instead the powder goes down easily into the bottle and I'm spared frustration and have a few extra seconds of ride time.
Like the idea?
2. Keep in touch with USPS pre-stamped postcards.
One day I went to the post office to buy "additional ounce" stamps (the $0.24 stamps that cover each extra ounce of weight beyond the first ounce). I went to the stamp vending machine, put in my cash, and selected what I thought was a ten-pack of stamps. The product was delivered to the tray with a louder-than-expected thud. I pushed the door to the tray and fished out what ended up being an eight-pack of 3.5x5.5" postcards with the $0.24 postage preprinted. Oops. I had no idea what I'd do with the postcards but they were mine. I put more money, looked carefully this time, picked the right product and went home.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was getting a stamp out to mail in a race entry and I saw the postcards I had stashed there. It dawned on me a postcard would be a great, easy way for me to keep in touch with a long-time family friend who regularly sends cards and writes. I'd been meaning to write back for some time but hadn't. The pre-stamped postcard made it easy to jot down a message and send it off. It's not quite as easy as e-mail but its unique and personal.
About three months ago I decided I'd drop Verizon as my home-office phone line and services provider and DSL provider. This was because I came to realize Verizon was killing us with charges and fees and we could get comparable services elsewhere for significantly cheaper.
The first step was canceling Verizon DSL on my home-office #. This didn't mean canceling Verizon entirely, as I could have moved DSL service to our home #. However, I ended up picking up DSL service from DSL Extreme (contact me if you'd like a DSL Extreme referral so we can both get goodies). Verizon made some enticing offers for us to stay with them for DSL but in the end DSL Extreme offered the same level of service for $3 less a month. I activated DSL Extreme service on our home # and as soon as it was up, canceled it on my home-office #, clearing the way for step 2. Except for some speed issues that have to do with Verizon wiring, not DSL Extreme service, it's been pretty much a transparent change. What's not transparent is moving from what we had paid in annual-contract-obligated charges of $34.99 per month to $14.95 per month.
Step 2 was changing my home-office # from Verizon to another phone provider. Like cell phone #s got freed up about two years ago, most people now have the option to port (transfer) their phone # to other carriers. This includes from traditional "land line" carriers to "wireless" carriers, or vice versa. In my case, I was keeping the # a land line, just looking for a cheaper provider. One of the requirements to do this is there can't be DSL service associated with the line, hence the need to cancel service as mentioned in step 1. Anyhow, after much searching and consideration, I went with voice-over-IP provider Vonage (contact me if you'd like a Vonage referral so we can both get goodies).
I signed up with Vonage in early June and they completed my Local Number Port (LNP) on June 30. It took longer than I had hoped but the problem was Verizon kept identifying the line as still having DSL. I had to get involved in a back and forth with Vonage and Verizon about the fact the DSL was in fact canceled and no longer active on the line, then the usual paperwork shuffle took some days but it finally went through.
I'll save going on about some of the reasons Vonage isn't perfect or for everyone, but I can say it's been mostly a great experience so far, especially since I'll be saving about $25 a month versus Verizon. Mind you, Vonage includes 500 minutes of my outbound local and long distance calling in its lowest-tier package ($14.99 per month), voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, and several other features. Heck, I almost never make international calls but I'm impressed that they include Canada and Puerto Rico as part of the in-plan calling area and they have competitive international rates for other places.
Back to Verizon: Over the weekend I got my final bill for my home-office # (a mailed paper version). Since service was terminated within the billing period and service is billed in advance, I have a credit balance and a check will be issued. Cool, even more savings. As usual, I went online to retrieve an electronic (PDF) copy of the bill for my archiving purposes. But, when I logged into my Verizon online account, I could only see information for my home #, not my home-office. I figured that with the account closed, my online account access for that # had been revoked. No big deal, I thought, I'd just e-mail to ask for a copy.
I clicked around to start to send an e-mail and was offered an online chat option. I decided to try a chat to ask for the electronic bill before sending an e-mail. I'll let the transcript of the chat (edited for privacy and space) tell the rest of the story...
Welcome to Verizon Live Chat. You have selected to chat about.
Subject: My Verizon Bill (View or Pay Current bill online)
Question: Canceled service (562.467.0093) - need electronic (PDF) version of bill.
13:14:59 Agent Tim has joined.
Anthony Morrow: I recently canceled service for telephone # 562.467.0093. It seems that I am no longer able to access the online information for this # through my online account.
I would like to get a copy of my final bill dated 07/07/2006 in electronic format. Would you please e-mail it to me in PDF format?
Tim: Hello. Welcome to Verizon's chat service.
Tim: Unfortunately, I am not able to email you a copy of the bill. However, I can have one mailed to you.
Anthony Morrow: I have a hard copy. I want the electronic one.
Anthony Morrow: Is there a way to access the online account once service is terminated?
Tim: I'm sorry, but once the account is final, you won't be able to access your online account.
Anthony Morrow: And you can't send me an electronic version? Why not?
Tim: We don't have that capability. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Anthony Morrow: Okay, I realize this isn't your fault, but it sure is silly. I mean, here we are, chatting online, and usually with online info and billing available, but there's no way for you to send me an electronic copy. The computer gods must be laughing!
Anthony Morrow: Please pass the word along to whoever's in charge or cares that this is a problem in need of a solution. I'd appreciate it and I'm sure other customers would, too.
Tim: I can do that.
Tim: Do you have any other questions I can help you with today?
Anthony Morrow: Thanks. That's it. Have a good day.
The team race on Sunday was Ontario but I elected to do the CBR Dash For Cash because 1) it's closer, 2) it's cooler, and 3) because I was sitting 3rd overall in the Pro/1/2 Best All-Around Racer (BAR) series and wanted to make sure I protected my spot. I would have said "advanced my position" in the BAR series, but with a 41 point gap between me and the 2nd place racer, Karl "The Viking" Bordine, I was being realistic. A win is 21 points and 2nd is 19 points, then it goes down one point per spot from there. So, unless I could win both this race and the last one AND somehow keep Karl out of the points all together, the reality was I already had the best position I could expect in the BAR series but plenty of competition nipping at my heals.
When I rolled up to park and register the attendance looked light. I expected it to be less than full since Ontario and CBR were splitting racers on the day. It appears that CBR may have taken an attendance hit because of the race format. The Dash For Cash was set up to pay $ per lap ($20 in the Pro/1/2) and nothing but BAR points for the finish. This was probably a turn-off for many racers who'd rather sit in and sprint at the end than have to work hard for their money one lap at a time. And as I knew from past experience, it's a discouraging format when you're stuck in the field and break goes up the road to take all the loot. There's little incentive to the field to work together or even keep racing at all.
I made it a point to get a good warm-up since I expected the race to start fast and not let up. Guys sprinting for cash each lap means speed and jumps and no time to sit in and get going. Obviously my largest goal for the day was to get a good finish to maintain my standing in the BAR series. But with no cash for the finish, I also wanted to nab a few laps to cover my entry fee, gas, and maybe some Taco Bell afterwards.
At the line the field was truly sparse: just 27 or so racers. Again, I think the race format and the dueling races played a large part, as did the fact it was the end of a holiday week and many guys were probably taking the weekend off or on vacation. It didn't go unnoticed that I was without teammates whereas the CBR guys had four that included Mike Booth, back in SoCal for a visit and racing after moving to Utah, Tommy Nelson, Jim Wiznura, and Julio Flores. The BAR series leader, Rudy Napolitano (Helen's), was also in the mix, and so was Rahsaan Bahati (TIAA-CREF) and Harold Martinez (Giant).
I got the party started by taking the first lap by way of sprint ahead of Wiznura and another two guys. $20 almost covered my entry fee but I still had work to do. The next couple of laps were scrambles with lots of speed bursts and drops and various winners. I kept an eye out for opportunities to win laps but chose to stay on pace instead of wearing myself thin. Tommy and Mike turned up the speed and ended up the road for several laps, cashing in on their work. I figured they couldn't stay away forever but also decided I had to do my part to make sure and started attacking and working to bring them back. Rudy, Harold and Bahati contributed, and our efforts split the field. Our group of nine or so riders pulled up to Mike and Tommy after they collected about 10 laps of cash.
Our group of 11 traded jabs for a few laps and I took another $20 lap. Attacks by Tommy and Mike split us up some more, with them, me, Rudy, and Rahsaan pulling away from the rest for the last half of the race. We agreed to split the cash from there on out. I was surprised to see Rahsaan in difficulty, eventually pulling himself out of the break. I found out from him after the race he began suffering back spasms and couldn't continue.
Even without Bahati, Rudy, Tommy, Mike, and I worked well together and managed to stay well ahead of the field. We never came close to lapping them, probably because we chose to keep a good, steady pace instead of drilling it. After all, we had the lap money locked up and there was nothing to gain from lapping the field.
As the laps ticked down, I felt myself tiring, overall and especially in the quads. I'd put in my fair share of the work but could tell I was in trouble. I led our group up past the start/finish, up the rise into the last lap. Into corner two, Tommy attacked and Mike and Rudy followed. I cringed in pain as my quads nearly locked up getting out of the saddle to match the effort. By turn 3, I was gapped and hurting and by the last turn, knew I had no chance to make up the space, let alone sprint. Ahead, Tommy led out Mike for the sprint and the win, Rudy got 2nd, Tommy 3rd, and I rolled in well after but safely ahead of the field for 4th.
In the end, the four of us split 16 laps x $20, $320 total, making my cut $80 and my total for the day $120. I was also awarded a tub of Clif Shot Electrolyte Drink for my effort. And finally, my 4th place earned me 17 points in the BAR series, keeping me in 3rd overall and putting me in a healthy position to stay there as long as I finish top 20 at the next CBR race.
We're enjoying (and sometimes enduring) another warm summer here in SoCal. If it's hot, it must be time for the La Mirada Grand Prix. Even when it changes dates from year to year, the LMGP seems to always fall on a hot day. This year was no exception.
Being the Independence Day holiday weekend, I was expecting a smaller turnout. I figured everyone would be away on vacation or finding something else better to do than racing in the heat. Our team would only have half: Chris, Gil, Lance, and me. It wasn't an overflowing field but it was healthy: Successful Living was out (Gordon McCauley, Ryan Yee...), Kyle Gritters (Health Net/Maxxis), Coates Cyclery Team (Rigo Meza, Edgar Yepez...), Kahal/LaGrange (Kayle LeoGrande, Dan Vinson...), and Labor Power's one-two punch of Chris "The Vampire" Walker and Karl "The Viking" Bordine, among the rest of the usuals.
I knew a good warm-up would be in order since there's no mercy from the first right turn. The climb between corner one and two isn't a killer but if you're not ready, it eats into your legs fast. Apparently, Kayle got a great warm-up because he took off from the gun and was making good time up the first climb. Attacks ensued and a group got off to nab Kayle but was then brought back by a still eager pack. I was in no mood or fitness to try the early breaks and instead chose to stay in the field and match pace.
The field was shrinking each lap as we shed riders up the climb and then along the stretch just after. Eventually, only 30 or so racers would finish. Continuing attacks and pace changes up the climb, as well as the overall speed, were both big reasons, as was the heat. It was about mid-race that I questioned myself as to whether I could keep at it. No rest was in sight as McCauley and Walker go blowing by and then another two riders (one of them Dan Vinson) bridged. That move semi-fell apart with McCauley and Walker keeping off and then joined by an attacking group of Sergio Hernandez (VRC), Rigo, Ryan, Kyle, and Kayle. I remember their attack vividly as I was on Rigo's wheel headed up the climb. He went faster and I couldn't. I didn't have the energy or oxygen to keep up or even wave goodbye.
Chris, Gil, and I put in efforts to try and bridge on the downhill portion and over the next lap or two. After my effort, I came back to the pack and told Gil I was going to die if I did another one of those. Chris had better legs than all of us and launched off to join Dan and Pat Caro in a chase, nearly bridging the group of 10 (three more had gone away somewhere in between). Chris' break stayed off for several laps but it was clear they were eventually coming back. Sensing a weakness in the field and knowing there were only two money spots left, Karl and two other riders attacked up the climb and rolled away. Dan dug deep and latched on ahead. Again, I was on the heels of the move but had no legs to respond.
At the time, I wasn't aware of the total number of riders up the road but I knew once I saw the "Viking" ship sail away, there would be no money spots for me. Still, there was just a few laps left at this point and plenty of pride on the line so the pack pressed on hoping something up the road would fail. No one up the road came back but we still jockeyed for spots and bumped around on the last lap. I set up a good position with a nice climb on the final lap. Around turn three I was sitting fourth wheel or so. Chris found a bit more juice in his legs to make a push on the outside heading into the last corner and I sat about fifth wheel and waited patiently as we sped toward the line. Chris charged to the left, drawing two riders with him and I went on the opposite side. Coming to the line, it was Aram Dellalian (Amgen) shooting through the middle who would win the pride sprint, with me a sliver behind to his right and Chris a sliver more behind on his left.
I'm about to hit the sack for the night but I felt the need to make an entry before I do. This one is dedicated to the rock 'n' roll keyboard guy who thought he was cool...but wasn't.
My apologies to all of you rock 'n' roll keyboardist out there who may be both talented and cool. But last night as we watched this band with a female lead singer and female bass player, I had to exercise incredible personal restraint to not break out in hyena-level laughter. Rock Keyboard Guy was spinning and gyrating and rocking his half-keyboard-on-a-pedestal thing, trying to grind up against the lead singer and bass player. I kept feeling like the band had so much novelty in the two attractive females that Rock Keyboard Guy, already feeling overshadowed because he's the rock 'n' roll keyboard guy, had to turn up his show that much more to get his share of attention. But it just looked silly.
Up next: My version of the La Mirada Grand Prix (a not-so-good time) and today's CBR Dash For Cash (better, but hopes of winning were dashed).
My DSL connection is down this morning. Bummer. I figured this out after restarting the computer, the router, and then the modem, and still not being able to get online. A call to tech support confirmed there's an area-wide problem with "engineers working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible." Hurry up, dudes. Since I can't spend time online taking care of other stuff, I get to work on my blog offline, to be published whenever I get my connection back.
Last year, the cable company here in Cerritos changed hands and the new company, Wave Broadband, upgraded the network. They wrapped up their work around November and we were quite pleased because the new basic package picked up several channels including two we missed sorely: TV Land and OLN.
The timing was great as the NHL season had just started in October and many of the non-local games (Kings, Ducks) would only be seen on OLN, not ESPN, Fox Sports Net, or the networks. Of course, I also knew that come July, I would finally get to watch the Tour de France daily as well as the many other grand races OLN would show before and after.
The Tour is fantastic, of course, and the great stages are still to come. The whole doping scandal and high-level rider suspensions add to the drama. It's nice to see the nightly news still give attention to the Tour, mentioning the day's results, in spite of the fact every story lead-in starts something like, "In the first Tour de France since Lance Armstrong retired..." Non-cyclist friends who know I ride are even eager to chat about the Tour. It tends to be with the same peculiar interest as most have for the World Cup.
There are some bad effects that come from the Tour. I notice them every year.
1. More riders on the road think they're the next Lance Armstrong, and worse, I am their Jan Ullrich. As I toil up and down the bike path between my home and the beach, I inevitably pick up an overly ambitious rider looking to prove his mettle at my expense. On the way out, I am just starting my ride, looking to warm-up and put in a nice training session. On the way back, I am usually slowing down, tired from the trip I just put in. No matter my condition, the attacks from these Tour hopefuls are relentless. I shouldn't let it bother me, but sometimes I can see them smirk as I keep my pace and they attack and roll by, kitted out in their full-on team wear (two years defunct) or in their generic cycle wear.
Once in a while I'll give in to my pride and open it up on them. It's not fair for me or for them. I'm usually not in the condition (not warmed up on the way out, not much energy left on the way back) but I can't help it. For the attackers, I usually speed up and match their pace, sitting back about 20 yards. When they look back, and they always do, I am there, lurking, waiting. They keep looking and trying harder and I can see their legs and bodies start to wobble ahead. Most only last a mile or two and then realize they've gotten into a contest they're not going to win. I start to ease up, opening a bigger gap to set the runway for my take-off. Then, I ratchet up the speed and blow by them and never look back.
This sets up the situation for the other type of rider, the squatter. Sometimes I misjudged a failing attacker and he's still got energy to jump on my wheel and sit. Most squatters are guys I pass while doing my own pace. They see me go by and immediately jack up their speed to sit on my wheel. Either way, I feel compelled to make them earn the draft. I try not to make it too obvious so I slowly turn up the heat. I take the speed up a mile-per-hour at a time, looking for the shadow, listening for the breathing. Still there? One more mile up. Most guys die off around 24, but I've had some fitter riders stick it out up through 29, though they usually sound like asthmatics by that point and fall off pretty soon after we hit that speed. I always punctuate my point by keeping the pace for at least another minute after I've shed my tail, making sure there's plenty of distance and making it unlikely they'll try again.
Sadly, these are about the only people I've been beating on the bike all year.
2. A large part of #1 is probably here in #2. When the Tour is on and I'm back here riding the bike path in SoCal, everyone knows I'm not in the Tour. This time of year, no matter how well your season is going, unless you're in the Tour, everybody knows you're not and thereby knows you're not good enough. And since for most of America it's the Tour or not, you're either there or you're not. Good or not. I'm not there. I'm not good. Instead, I'm tooling around in my team kit and I'm guessing that probably makes me a bigger target for everyone who knows I'm just a wannabe racer. When the Tour is over, I can go back to pretending I'll be there next year.
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