Weekly long ride.

Well I'm still kicking myself from my long ride...for some odd reason I still have this primal fear of taking sharp curves on descents and it's pissing me off. Today I did the opening of the Griskus Olympic Route including that "drop off the face of the Earth" Right hander...again I slowed way up for it, and again I kicked myself as I descended down the rest of the hill at mach 1. The same thing happended at my "favorite" curve on Route 109 in Washington. I don't know why but I always feel like I'm going to overshoot the curve and end up on some guy's front lawn of in the path of a mack truck or something. I think I'm going to have to go to Spain and ride with either John and Mandy or Claire's "Soggy Homos" in order to learn how to descend like Lance. Anyway all my yellow bellying it on sharp curves aside, I know I need to invest in a 12-27 cassette for the Griskus Olympic, that and I need to start doing some shorter weekday rides..preferably on steep inclines....oh I can't wait until classes end. The first half of today's ride went well and except for some miscues at dangerous intersections ( ie me unclipping and struggling to clip back in.) and my pedal cleat popping out at one inopertune moment it was a good day. On the back half of my route I think I soft pedaled a little too much but after 48 miles in the saddle I think I can cut myself some lee way. I rode up to the lake which had been taken over by the prep school crew teams. I was also wiser on hydration bringing my aero drink and a third waterbottle with me. No dehydrating headaches this time..but that pit stop at the lake definiately added to my ride time. The second half was all down hill until Route 6. I now know why most cyclists refer to it as " Suicide 6" Varying inclines, nearly immpossible to pick the right gear, cars speeding by at 70mph ( 110km I think?) in essence a death wish. Then the climb back to the Griskus course in which I think I really soft pedaled it. Then the back 4 miles of the Griskus course including that damn smiley faced hill. I didn't attack it today, my legs were spent from out of the saddle work in Washington. I heard Eagleman is flat as a pancake with severe winds well I did about 55 miles ( roughly 90k) in 3:27 @ an average speed of 15.7 mph ( I'm thinking a little over 20km) with a headwind on my opening climbs. So I'm not sure if I'll be a dominant force on the bike but I think I'll be able to break 3 hrs. ...I want to add some more cycling just to improve a little more.

Well I've got some more of a paper to crankout....but before I go Bree Wee finshed 3rd for the pro chicks at St. Croix, Mandy's going to Kona and John was 13th for the pro men. Ken well, lets just say John's got a picture of him doing what most of us would do in St. Croix.

Well like I said back to the books....uses for leeches...yummy!

The pyschopath in a pink bike jersey that keeps swerving all over CT 47.
R.D.