If You Can't Stand The Heat, Get Out Of Ontario.
MON, 29 August 2005

We're having our first real summer heat wave here in SoCal. For the past 5-6 days it's regularly been into the 90s around here and well over 100 further inland. Thankfully, we have air conditioning and it's working well. Not so thankfully, Southern California Edison bills for usage. Oh, but a few extra bucks is a small price to pay for cooling bliss.

It doesn't help the electricity bill that I regularly have three or four computers running upstairs plus one or two secondary monitors and assorted peripherals. Upstairs, the temperature difference is easily +5 to 8 degrees. I suppose my gluttonous use of electricity is what contributed to Thursday afternoon's power outage. As I was nearing the end of a long e-mail, everything shut down. I was typing on my laptop, which normally would be spared from the cruelty of power loss, but it too shut down and the e-mail lost because I didn't have the battery pack in (when I'm home, I usually have my laptop plugged into AC power to avoid having the battery power cycle over and over again, shortening its life).

At first I was a bit startled. We had just watched "The Ring 2" the other night, so (and if you've seen the movie, you'll know what I mean) I was jumpy and started looking for pools of water around the house. Luckily, there was no water or scary demonic girls running around, but I was still without power. I checked the circuit breakers thinking my recent external hard drive upgrade was the peripheral that broke the power usage back. No breakers were tripped, so then I turned on a battery-powered radio and found the news. A half-million SoCal customers were blacked out with high demand for the heat wave and a transmission line problem blamed as the cause. In my return to the semi-dark ages, I listened to more news radio and caught up on some newspaper and magazine reading. About 40 minutes later, power was restored and so was my computing ways.

Sunday was race day in Ontario. It was the second-to-last race of the season. I was not looking forward to it because I'm still trying to fully recover from being sick and Ontario is way inland and expected to be very hot. Still, the team was going to be out and I figured I need every chance I can get to try and snare a few more upgrade points. A 4 PM start time let me sleep in and have plenty of time to get to the race. I was hoping it would also cool down a little by then, but it didn't happen.

I got out of my car and into the Ontario sun and heat. The wind was like a hot blow dryer and the sun hurt after only a few minutes on the skin. Before getting any of my gear, I took out the sunscreen and put it on. With a hat, sunscreen, and in the shade, it was almost tolerable to be there. But then, after getting suited up and riding, I could tell it was going to be miserable racing in the heat. However, nothing could prepare me for the actual agony that was 90 minutes of Pro/1/2 racing at Ontario.

I never got an official temperature reading from anyone, but I've done Ontario in the heat before and no day has matched this day. Of 55-60 racers who started, just over 20 finished. My teammates Gil and Chris were in the big break and the rest of us, Nate, Frank, Jared, and I, did a great job of blocking to see to it that the break stuck. After it was established, the wheels started coming off the pack. Guys would attack, get caught, and people were blowing up off the back often. Some time around 60 minutes to go, I attacked and was off with two other riders in the middle of nowhere. It turned out to be both a wise and unwise decision. The rest of the field, well behind now, was pulled from the race, out of contention. They kept letting our 3-man break race and it hurt like heck. At 30 minutes to go, I was out of water and dehydrating quickly. Our 3-man break was down to two and I was cramping the last 20 minutes but felt committed to finishing. We'd been lapped by the first half of the break group and then came the second half. I dug deep to stick on the last wheel and rode with the group to the end. I went past the finish line and straight to my car where I drank a full-size water bottle of recovery drink and then another 16 ounces of water. A bit later, after I regained some strength and sanity, I met up with Gary and Mike from Velocity to further hydrate with some beer in the shade.

Good news: Gil got 8th, Chris got 9th, both great finishes given the conditions and the competition (including Tony Cruz of the Discovery Channel Team). I finished top 20...well, 20th exactly. Not my finest piece of work but somewhat of a triumph, too, all things considered. Moral of this story: Bicycle racing is hard, racing Pro/1/2 is very hard, racing Pro/1/2 in the Ontario summer heat, miserably hard. But to survive and share a beer with friends at the end seemed to make it worthwhile. And so does being able to drive away to my air conditioned home.

-adm

Back In The Saddle Again. Best Buy Bad Guys.
THU, 25 August 2005

My cold was thinning out on Monday and by Tuesday it had pretty much cleared up. That meant it was El Do time! Rode out and felt rested but not fast. I did much better this week than last. A break of about 5, with Paolinetti leading as usual, was well off, so the rest of us mortals were left to battle for the pack sprint. I didn't waste my energy earlier, so I decide I'd give a go at the finish, just to see if the legs were still there. I made good progress through and around the pack, putting myself on the outside and about 8 deep coming around the last corner. I was just about to get up and sprint when I noticed a group of 6-8 slower riders just up the road. I figured it might turn out to cause carnage so instead of getting up on the pedals, I stayed in the saddle and rolled it in. Sure enough, as everyone else sprinted ahead, I saw it get pretty scary. There was lots of yelling and "oh Gods" and some profanity. Typical bike racing.

I feel the need to interject here that for me, El Do is training, not racing. Sure, it's a race, and sure, I'm trying, and yes, I want to win, but it's different. How so? First, it's a Tuesday night "race" and I often do a hard ride before it. That means I'm often not fresh for El Do. Next, I am using the ride as training for my workout schedule and my training efforts may not correspond to the way the race works out. I may have a need to do extra effort that day, so I'll be at the front pulling through and jumping on breaks, or I may have an easier effort scheduled, so I'll sit in and do little to no work at the front, but still get a workout. Then there's the finish. In a "real" race, the weekend points and prize money kind, I feel the extra drive to take risks and reap the rewards. It's especially true in the elbow, shoulder, and handlebar bumping rush to the finish, but it's also true even in the middle of a race. And lastly, other riders ride El Do different. They chase breaks harder, let gaps open more often, and there is usually a terrible imbalance of teams, making the "race" unlike a typical "race".

I close with this gem of a story about Best Buy:

Best Buy offered a really good deal coupon available online [see here]. When I got it (I think it was linked via e-mail, or maybe on their site), I immediately saved it onto my hard drive thinking I'd be likely to use it before it's 09/10 expiration, especially for the $90 discount on memory and installation.

I went to Best Buy last night, with laptop and coupon in hand, but before I entered the store, I saw taped to each door a copy of the coupon and the hand written message something to the effect of, "NO INTERNET OR CUSTOMER PRINTED COUPONS ACCEPTED." What the funk?

I thought I might have missed something, so I re-checked my source of the coupon to be sure it was legit [see here]. Yep, it's right off of Best Buy's servers. Why would a store refuse to accept a coupon issued by the company? I figured I wasn't alone in this, so I started Googling around and found several sites where people were using or trying to use the coupon and getting varying levels of success or resistance.

It seems Best Buy is having second thoughts about the coupon it issued. Some people are saying the stores and corporate are claiming its a fake. Its presence on their site is the result of a hack. I question this because I originally got the coupon on 08/18 and as of this typing, the links and content (coupon PDF) are still live! If you were hacked, wouldn't you fix the problem?

My guess is the coupon is missing a description they intended limiting its use to those who purchase computer systems or a certain total $ amount. The coupon got released without the right info, but rather than admit they made a mistake, Best Buy is jerking customers around. Phooey to you, Best Buy. The FTC will hear about this.

-adm

Midweek Malady.
THU, 18 August 2005

Sunday was great but I woke up Monday with a sore throat, a typical sign of more illness to come. Sure enough, it got worse Tuesday night and was really bugging me last night. I had phlegm and a headache too, so I drugged up to get to bed comfortably (yeah for NyQuil!). No change this morning, however, but it's not terrible. My diagnosis: a minor cold. Obviously I'm not bed ridden, but it sure feels yucky.

Being sick makes me feel a bit better about my lack on legs on Tuesday. I was out at El Do, as usual, but just couldn't find any strength. I went with an early attack and quickly felt way out of my league. It took longer than usual for me to recover from the effort and I never recovered 100%. I spent the rest of the ride near the back, sucking wind, trying to keep on despite someone gapping me out every 30 seconds. I was going to try and make a go at the finish, even with 6 or so riders already off the front. It wouldn't have been about the overall placing, but rather, just another practice for punching through the pack for a good finish. It ended up not happening because into turn 2 I felt a bit of drift and realized I had a flattening front tire. Thankfully, it was only soft and not completely done, otherwise I may not have been able to hold my line. I kept it together, threw my hand up to signal to everyone else I was pulling out, and then headed to the parking lot to fix.

We finally saw "Super Size Me" on DVD the other night. Great flick. It is both entertaining and educational, a tough mix but done wonderfully here. I highly recommend it.

-adm

See, I Don't Entirely Suck.
MON, 15 August 2005

Yesterday's race was the 44th Chevron Manhattan Beach Grand Prix, the country's second-oldest one-day bike race and one of the highlight events of the season. It was a National Racing Calendar (NRC) event and an American Criterium Championship Series event. And on top of those, the USA Cycling Elite National Championships were in town earlier in the week, so there were plenty of fast guys and teams at the start line for the 90 minute bout.

My team agreed we would ride convservatively, saving energy for only the most serious looking of attacks and break attempts, and for the finish, letting the bigger teams do their things. We expected, as is usually the case, for the race to come down to a field sprint, so we took turns keeping at the front and covering, but not too aggressively. It was working. We did miss a break (none of our guys in it) with about 10 laps to go, but our gamble, and some chase work by other teams and our own Nate Deibler, paid off. The break was caught with a half-lap to go and it was a full-throttle charge to the last 180 turn and sprint finish.

Along the back stretch, I mustered the strength to move up along the inside. I was making fantastic progress and could eye the HealthNet train just ahead. I wanted to hitch a ride. However, bogged down by another rider and my diminishing strength, I didn't make my goal of turning the corner in top 6 position. Instead, I swung around about 12th, but well in control of my fate. My legs cried no but my mind yelled yes and prevailed. Up I was, sprinting for the line. It felt so far away. En route, I was passed by about three guys, but I made it and figured I had cracked top 20. Well ahead of me, HealthNet made it a 1-2-3 sweep with Greg Henderson, Tyler Farrar, and Ivan Dominguez.

The nice part about this race is it has a seperate prize list for Cat. 2s. My goal was to finish in the top 20 overall to take a piece of the $10K purse for Pro/1/2. I figured if I did that, I'd also be placed in the top 6 for the Cat. 2s additional $500 purse. Final results: ADM gets 16th overall, 1st in the Cat. 2s!

Making the day even better is my teammates, Chris DeMarchi and Gil Correa, were also in the money for the Cat. 2s finish. Chris got 5th and Gil 6th, so the team took three of six money spots. Not a bad payday at all.

It doesn't happen often so let me show off my podium photo at SoCalCycling.com. See, I don't entirely suck.

-adm

Racing Fast Freddie. DVDs. Jobs.
THU, 11 August 2005

Racing this weekend was okay. I didn't seem to have good legs, probably 'cause I blew them out the weekend prior and went too hard training during the week. On Saturday, I did only one race when I would usually have done two. I decided to do the Masters 30+ race and skip the Pro1/2, not because I'm a wimp, but because of strategy. I was in the CBR Best All Around Racer top 10 in the 30+ and wanted to keep or improve my position for a cut of the $1,000 purse. I didn't have a great race, finishing 11th, but it was good enough for a few more points for a 6th place in the BAR and a $90 check. Thanks Vera & Chris, CBR and VNC Racing.

I skipped the Pro/1/2 because it was 100 kilometers. This isn't bad except for I already did one race and I needed to save legs for Sunday's West L.A. Grand Prix, a really hard course. Despite my absense, my teammate, Nate Deibler, was the top Cat. 2 finisher of the race and earned CBR's State Champ title and jersey. Excellent!

The West L.A. GP on Sunday was brutal. It was hot. It's a hard course with a serious climb in it. All the usual big names were there, but this time we had an extra-big name. Fred Rodriguez, 3 time U.S. Pro Cycling champ and current member of the Davitamon-Lotto team. He was there to rip our legs off. He did, and won the race, too. In just four laps, the pack split in two. I missed the break and was in the trailing half, as were my other two teammates. We raced hard and finished, but were placed more than 30 back. Despite the failure to stay with the break or crack top 20, I was somewhat pleased with just finishing. Why? Well, last year I managed only 3 laps with the group and pulled out of the race after 5. Big improvement.

Did I mention we switched from Blockbuster in-store unlimited rentals to Blockbuster online (mail) again? We did. We saw Million Dollar Baby a few nights ago and I really liked it. A solid "A" rating. We saw Constantine, and while it didn't suck totally, it gets just a "C" for being an average flick. And last night, we watched "Guess Who" with Ashton "you got Punk'd" Kutcher and Bernie Mac. We give it a "C+" because it was funny sometimes but just didn't have us loving it. It also seemed to drag at spots, especially in the transitions between comedy and serious scenes.

And finally, I'm still hunting for a job. I've actually sharpened the spear and am running through the jungle now. Any tips, leads, or recommendations are highly welcome. I'm also accepting allowance from any willing rich benefactor. :)

-adm

Google is Watching. Finding A Job. Racing.
WED, 03 August 2005

Google sent me an e-mail saying I violated its policy about "encouraging users to click on the ads". Well, I reviewed the policy, and sure enough, based on what I'd written on 03 May 2005, they were right. Oops. I removed the text. No big deal, except that I was really surprised that they're monitoring stuff like that, and so closely. I feel so watched. It's like if I type "kill" and "the "President" here or in an e-mail, the Feds are gonna come, knock down my door, and drag me away. And if I add "Muslim terrorist cell" and "bio-weapon", then what? If you don't see my blog updated for a while, then you'll know.

I've been spending a lot more time looking for work. My self-imposed deadline of September is fast approaching. I am positive about having good prospects by then but don't actually think I'll be working until maybe mid-September. Nonetheless, I finally started going at it with a lot of gusto and am pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of jobs to be had in my area. In fact, Memorex is based in Cerritos and operates out of the same building in Cerritos Towne Center as Julienne's work, Aspen Education. Wouldn't it be cool to work in the same building? We could tandem bike-pool to work!

And speaking of bike, racing went okay this weekend. I managed a 7th in the Pro/1/2 and 5th in the 30+ races by Velo Allegro. It was the Hughes park course, the same as my Thursday night rides, so I'm very familiar and comfortable with it. Unfortunately, while I may be a Thursday night pro, I'm only one of many when it comes to the real racing. I thank my teammate, Nate Deibler, for working hard in the last lap to get me in a good position for the finish. Nate's a pure workhorse and a great team player so my only disappointmet is that I couldn't finish better to compliment his effort.

The week prior (07/24), L.A. Wings put on their race on this course, too. I only did one race and teammate Chris DeMarchi did a great job to finish 3rd (thanks to Nate and another strong tow). I was well behind, around 15 or so, but the great news is a teammate was on the podium and we all did well in the race. Gil and I were in two breaks each, one of them together, and it was surprising and disappointing the one we were in together didn't stay off. It had all the right players, but maybe too many people overall. But by working hard to be in breaks, we kept our team in the hunt and it played out well. Now that's team racing!

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