Hair Loss

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Over Spring Break Robin and I were in Arizona and I let Steve and Cody borrow my car. When we pulled into the garage today we saw they left a nice present on my door.

Arizona was mostly sunny and very nice. The first two days had a some clouds, rain, and even a teeny bit of snow. But after that it was all sun. I spent everyday but one on the Stephen family's spare bicycle. The one day I didn't spend on the bike I spent on a horse, and then later on an airplane.

As much fun as Robin and I had in the sun with horses, bikes, no homework and her sister Meryl's new dog Romeo


(he is a 10 week old Great Dane), we are very happy to be home again.

Group Racin'

The first group ride is in the books, and it went well. With the recent warm temperatures, I expected a large group but was surprised to see that only 12 of us rolled out from the park. I guess a lot of people were concerned about the wet roads and the fact that the frigid winter kept most of us from working on our handling skills. But, the roads outside of town were great, and there wasn't anything even close to a crash. Well, there was a flat, but he stayed upright and we waited for him to change it.

We did the Fry Town loop and it was very enjoyable. We rode a double paceline at a rather easy pace for quite awhile. No one even contested the first three or four "Stop Ahead" signs. It really felt more like a late winter group ride than the first College Green race of the season. But once we headed north and hit a few hills things got a little bit faster. My legs did not have the kind of power it would have taken to keep me in the front. But I spun quickly and was able to stick with them. At the first real "Stop Ahead" sprint it was Jim Cochran who took home the victory for the Atlas/Discovery team. This is not a huge surprise, as Jim is super fast. However, it should be noted that he spent close to three hours riding with The Thrilla before the group ride. It should also be noted that Jim was riding a rather stout cyclocross bike with very beefy (read-heavy) tires. Oh, and full fenders. Almost everyone else was on super trick race bikes.

As we headed back east into town on Black Diamond Rd. the pace quickened and about eight of us kept a nice rotation going. I was happy that I was able to take just about all of my pulls. As we neared the sprint for the creek, though, the group was pulling away from me ever so slightly. Jim, for some reason, was behind me. He bridged the gap to the leaders easily enough and then proceeded to drag Hopson away from the group and then pulled off, letting Hopson get the V. A truce offering between the bitter rivals of Atlas and Mercy? Difficult to tell.

All in all, I would have to say this is one of the best first group rides of the season. I hope it is a sign of things to come.

Back to the Bikes

It appears that I might have skied my last ski of the season Friday. If my counting is correct, I got in 37 days this winter. That is certainly the most skiing I've done in a season, and it is especially good when you consider we had a number of meltdowns and I spent a week in sunny, snowless Arizona. Needless to say, I'm pretty happy about all the skiing and the nice fitness it has brought me.

So this weekend I got two very nice bike rides in. I had planned on skiing on Saturday, but I was pretty sure the conditions would not have been very good. Plus I am very tired of driving around town. The only time I seem to drive my car is when there is snow to ski on and for long trips; so I am looking forward to some car free weeks. Anyways, I called Steve since I knew he was up for a ride. We made plans to ride the mountain bikes as they would probably slow us down and keep us warmer. Steve ultimately made a smart call suggesting we ride our town bikes in comfy street clothes. It was a great time. We got about two hours in and the big hills north of town made my legs tired. Quote of the ride, "I just want hair; I don't want to have hairstyle"--Steve.

The next morning brought more sun and warmer temps. Steve called to let me know that the Eppens and former I.C. fastman Nathan were all slightly hung over and looking to ride at 10:30. When the fastest people in town are hung over and you are not, you do everything you can to get on that ride.

The five of us rode nice and easy on a bunch of gravel roads and a gravel path that only had a couple feet of gravel, the rest was snow and very wet, slick ice. I biffed it right at the beginning. My hips do not have much padding, and as a result, I'm a little sore on the left side today. The rest of the trail, which was really all of it, was a blast. We briefly paused at the Solon Casey's for Coke and Pizza and then took more gravel roads into Iowa City. This was the first ride of the season that did not end in frozen toes. Quote of the ride, "I woke up with the sensation of water running all over the sheets, but I just said 'screw it, I'm drunk' and slept in it anyways"--Nathan. (Nathan claims he rolled over a water bottle in the night. But he is a lawyer, and as GOB would say, "lawyer is Latin for liar.")

Tomorrow is the first group ride of the year. Temps should be nice, so I think I'll give it a go. I might even try the new Teesdale on real roads.