Rain go the fuck away already

This islike the third day in a row it has been raining, and I am not stoked on that! Rain or snow for a person who spends most of their time outdoors is a serious mental blow. I am one of those people. When you are stuck inside due to the weather it can be horrible, altho I did make it through last winter without going postal, so I think I will be fine :) There is lots of shit to do during winter for me, hockey of course, riding " when it's not 20 out " and the gym. Which brings me to that subject, the gym!
Today Erin and I went to our gym for the first time since the snow melted last winter. We both have become very involved in our respected activities, so being that it has been pissing rain for a few days, we decided to suck it up and hit the gym. We get there and I obv jump on the stationary bike. Now let me explain this clearly! Big saddles on any bikes are annoying as shit!!! The little seats may look stupid and the cycling tights may look " gay " but for a cyclist it's the perfect match. So I hop on the bike and put my ass on the gigantic brillow pad seat and strap my feet into the pedals and start spinning. Right away my ass starts to hurt and my knees start hurting, but I work past it and stay on the bike for 45 minutes. In that time I def sweated enough to fill a water jug ( it's so fucking hot in the gym) but I told myself I better stop being a bitch cause winter is not even here and I am complaining already. But the gym is not that bad anyway. So Erin and I did our workouts and came home for dinner, " which Erin made and was totaly awesome".
This weekend is erins pre birthday weekend, her birthday usally lasts the whole week, " that's just how it is". I have some sweet plans for us in new paltz on Friday, and Saturday ( as I said in yesterdays blog I think) we are going to Albany for Oktoberfest! I am really excited to see all our Albany friends! What happens every time were in Albany is we get some drinks in us, and erin or I opens our mouth about the rangers and jon " sabres fan " does the same and we all explode into a hockey war. This is scary because pre season is almost over and the rangers play the sabres first game of the season! It's going to be wild. I hope Erin has a great birthday, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it awesome for her! And if she dosent want me to wear my sweet ass orange tie dyed double dragon fight shirt I bought at the renn faire I WILL NOT! Lol.
Thursday group ride update-
The weather is not looking good for the last ride with the guys this season. It's calling for 100% rain, heavy at times and 30mph wind gusts. It looked like the ride was not going to happen....then I checked facebook. The only person who is crazy enough to want to go out and ride in this shit and salvage the last ride was bill " obv!". So I told him I'm in too! I hope people show up other than us lol. What a way to end the darkhorse ride, misrable, pouring rain and windy as shit!!!! Perfect. It beats a good day at work!
Ok I think that might be it. And remember tomorrow is my weekly " top artists ". Or is that Thursday?? Idk whatever. It's my damn blog, I'll do what I want!!
Rubber side down
mike.

Time off the bike......i have a love/hate relationship with it.

So after a long crazy weekend I am finally getting back on track with my nutrition, but I have been off the bike for about four days now and I can feel the slugishness in my body already. But first off, let me tell you about my weekend.
 Thursday was the last time I rode my bike. I was on my usual group ride, but there was only four of us who made it out. We set out at 5:30pm with only a hour n change of sunlight, I felt decent just putting in minimal efforts, hanging and talking with the guys. Then we lost track of time and it started getting very dark way too fast. I took over the workload with about 6 miles to go, and buryed myself. As i started sweating like a mad man, I felt myself starting to get that feeling like you have or are about to have a cold. I got home and showered up, then it was a disaster! my throat was itching my ears itched and it felt like I was swallowing tacks. I finally fell asleep that night and woke up friday feeling like I was hit by a truck. I made it to work only to leave early due to my sickness, on my way home I stopped by the health food store n got my wacky herbs " I refuse to take medicine " and sure as shit I started feeling better saturday morning for my fathers retirement party. The party was great and it was nice to see family I have not seen in a while. Most of my cousins have children now and they are awesome! I spent time with my niece's and nephew which was great also. Then me and Erin ate and drank lol. I ate more in 2 days then I do at my apt in a week, I feel good mentaly but my body is screaming for physical activity.
 I would of got back on the bike today but the forecast is calling for rain like all week! It may sound crappy but I think it may be time to start hitting the gym. I have no clue how erin and I went there so much last winter and didnt go insane. But I plan on doing some heavy core work and some strength training. I will be on the stationary bike obv!!!!! I like the bikes cause they tell me how many watts I push out, which is prob wrong anyway, but I can get an idea. Other than that I usally gear up and hit the road on weekends and days I get outta work early, its damn cold but there is nothing better than being out on the bike at anytime of the year. I guess that may be it for now. The UCI world championship are this weekend and it is ERINS BIRTHDAYYYYY. I should have some cool stories about her birthday weekend since we are heading to albany for a oktoberfest street fair deal lol. K i cant think about anything else, so ill post again soon. I have to make some lunch for tomorrows workday.
rubber side down
 mike

I'm living my life while I pretend to live my dream

I find myself thinking alot while I'm driving to my job, it generally takes me about 35-40 minutes to get there. During that time I think about almost everything, life choices, my gf, food and if work is going to suck that day. When I'm at work I barley think about what tasks I have to take care of that day ( mostly because it's the same tasks as the day before). So I throw on the old headphones and listen to my cycling podcasts untill it's time for lunch, then I open up my cycling mags n have some lunch. I always think about what it would be like to be a pro cyclist? I'm kinda doing the same thing the pros are but I don't get payed, don't travel to Europe and I got to buy my own shit. But I DO train my ass off, eat right, ride with a team and race on weekends. Ah simple custodian by day, amateur cyclist by night. But when I get home from training or a ride, I have to help clean my sweet ass apartment that my REAL job pays for. Next season it would be cool to win some money at races so I can throw towards rent or a new couch or anything for that matter. But idc if I don't make a dime, I fucking live cycling.
Today I went out for a ride and sweated my ass off in the 87 degree heat, I was at the farthest point away from my home when the black clouds started to roll in. I freaked out because it was getting dark, and even darker cause of the rain clouds, so I TT'd back home which took me another half hour to get back, and along the way I decided it would be a good idea to hit all the hills I can find on my way back " knowing it is about to pour any time ". On the last climb before I hit flats all the way home the hill kicks to a 20% grade for a lil more than 800meters, at that time I remembered that I didn't eat enough calories for such stressfull riding. Then my mind got fucked! I was fine the whole time untill now! My eyes got red, legs got heavy and my chest felt like it was going to cave in. I finally made it to the top and recovered enought to TT back home. But all that horrible shit that my body did to me happened in less than 2 minutes! Crazy story hu?
Lastly, I got group ride tomorrow! I get so giddy over it. It's just the coolest scene, I leave work at 5, get to the shop, kit up and shoot the shit with George, mike and the guys and then we roll out at 5:30 and ride untill dark ( which is like 7 now ). The only thing that sucks about group ride day is that I have to bring extra food to eat at work before I head out on the rides. Actually that dosent even suck! Lol. Well I think that's it! Another boring post about my daily adventures. I guess I'm going to make wednesdays my top three artists of the mid week. And they are " in no order "
1. Deadmau5
2. Yeasayer
3. Phill Collins
pretty sweet deal!
K I'm out, rubber side down!
Mike

Cycling news, bad tv and boredness

Ahhh the sweet sound of neighborhood idiots burning out on main street. I don't get these stupid teens, even when I was a stupid teen I was not doing burnouts right by the police station. I was actually in parking lots with my friends riding a grind box on our bmx bikes. Bmx is and always will be a part of my life ( even tho I barley ride anymore ). But I still find myself looking at dig bmx or ride bmx online to see the crazy shit people are doing now. It is redic to say the least. Moving on..... I have recently found out that my favorite cyclists of all time are adding heavy hitters to there new team! As of now it's frank and Andy schleck, Brice felliu, and the newest addition Fabian cancellara!!! Holy shit.
I rode today, and nobody called me lance!!! That's a first. But someone flew by and asked me if I raced? Yes asshole I do race. I was also recently informed by a team mate that our Thursday group rides will prob wrap up at the end of this month. Sad.
Typing on my iPhone sucks big time, I wish my mac worked again, I should get on that. If all goes well, I think I might start podcasting? U have all the crap to do it. It's going to be about music, cycling and hockey. All over the spectrum lol.
This weekend I will be heading to my parents for my dads retirement party! Yes I will be riding on my old stomping grounds, and yes I will get drunk with my dad. He deserves retirement! He's worked hard his whole life. So that will be fun. As for tomorrow, Im going to try and wake up early and make coffee ( but I prob won't ) and I'm taking the day off from riding. Me and the girlie got laundry to do :)
k that's it for my rambling. These blogs don't even make sense.
Untill next time
rubberside down
mike

NYC, fixies and training plans.

So Erin and I went to Brooklyn yesterday to see modest mouse. I will start with the show, then I'll rant about the hipsters. The band was great and I had fun watching grown men freak as if they were 14 year old girls who had beiber fever. Erin is more city savy then I so she guided me around while I judged everyone. We found a bar called whisky town, and I had a awesome margirita that I'm totaly stealing the recipie for. Now I rant! I'm all about bicycle commuting and I love seeing people just riding for the sake of riding. But I can't stand the so called " fixie " cyclist. I like to call the fixie, the suicide bomber of the bike world. They look like bums with their flanel button up " usualy too tight for them " and overly tight pants with the drive side leg pulled up. I don't understand how most of these hipsters I meet say they have no money, but yet they ride around on $3,000 pinarello dogma frames. I also noticed that there is tons of bike lanes in the city, but also noticed that "mrs house mom" feels she has to stroll her semi truck sized stroller right down the middle of the bike lane forcing actual bike riders to ride in the already dangerous NYC street. But I digress.

BATTENKILl-
April 10, 2011
this is when I enter the pain cave! I'm working on plans for a winter training program to get me into form for the battenkill tour. I'm really looking foward to it, but know it's like 7 months away. For the most part I'm done training for the season, I'm starting to put in more endurance rides ( with hill intravels and hitts of course) just to end the season in somewhat decent form. I've already peaked this season during my Albany race" which I fuckin won " and it is difficult to peak twice in a season. So over this winter I will armor up in the winter gear and put in the miles when it's 25F so I'm ready for the tour. Battenkill is also a UCI event. So teams from Europe fly in for what people call the " north American Paris-roubaix " I will have a teammate with me for the race but I think he will be in a different cat than I. But it will still feel comfy having a team member there. All I can say is that I'm going to give it 150% and see what happens. K time for bed. I got to check the weather cause I have group ride tomorrow. There's a chance of rain, and also a chance of me ripping faces off if I can't ride. Jk jk. Untill next post.
Rubber side down
your " road dweeb "
mike

Bad Sunday morning, good Sunday night

The weekend went way too fast, that's all I'm saying. Well let's start this. I abandoned my last race of this season. I woke up in the middle of the night the day of the race, very badly dehydrated and with a horrible case of stomach cramps. At this point ( which was at like 4am ) I knew that I would not be able to race at the best of my abilitys. Then I got really down on myself. When you train your ass off and put in such hard work, it is a shame when shit like this happens. I felt like I let myself down. I was so excited to wear my darkhorse kit with the most pride anyone could have. But instead I was couch bound drinking water untill lunch time. But all in all I had a great season. A 8th place in a ITT and a win upstate in Albany! I am already looking foward to offseason training and I have set a goal for 2011 already. That goal of course is to race the tour of the battenkill. I have here'd it's almost all on dirt roads with brutal climbs. That could suit me well! And I'm letting you all know right now.... I want to fucking win that race! And idc how hard I have to work. As offseason hits I will be doing some crosstraining by playing hockey. I love hockey almost as much as my gf and cycling! I actually just got off the computer from my fantasy hockey draft ( which took like a hour and a half) and my team looks good! For the record, I have no devils on my team. That was a good way to end my night. Well almost as good as laying in bed next to my best friend / gf! We went to the movies today n watched the new resident evil in 3d. It was good! And I even went nuts and ate some twizzlers ( which made my stomach rip apart). I guess when you never touch sweets it happens. Back to cycling. Since it's getting cooler it's time for some nice enduro rides, I think I'll fit a 100 miler in somewhere between now n winter :)My cycling tan is starting to fade " which will make Erin super happy" I worked so hard to get it! I'm sure like 3 weeks into winter I will look like a vampire lol. K I think that's about it for tonight. Back to work Monday so I can daydream about riding and wish I was home with Erin.
Untill next time.....rubber side down

yours in dissapointment
mike

mornings, cycling tours and life.

Im sitting at the computer looking at the screen thinking of what to write about today, IM kinda getting distracted cause the Vuelta A espana is on. Its the last of the three grand tours. For those who do not know, the three grand tours are the giro d italia, the tour de france and the vuelta. To say the least I watch a lot of cycling on tv. I actually watched all three this year lol. But as the season ends, I look foward to the spring classics!!! Even if someone does not even give a shit about cycling, they should watch the two major spring classics. These are the tour of flanders and the Paris Roubaix. They are only one day long but are stupid long and race over crazy cobbles. A must see for any sports fans. Today I am trying to get motivated to do somthing for the first half of the day. I have to take a ride to the music store n pawn off my bass pedal cause it would be nice to have some extra cash this weekend, but that will take all a hour I guess. I was actually going to take a ride to my race location today n ride the course, but obv that didnt happen. I have a group ride tonight and I dont want to kill my legs before the race weekend. As I am writting this Im looking out the window down on main street where I live, and can see the local bike shop right across the street from my apartment. The place is just like 10 steps from my apt, and I refuse to go there. Its such a typical " oh trek bikes are the best cause lance armstrong rides them and ohhhhh were so fucking snobby". I went there once and the guy actually charged me 2 dollars for lubing my chain! U KIDDING ME! For the last year and a few months I have been taking my buisness to dark horse cycles. Those dudes are awesome! They just opened a new shop and deal specialized bikes ( the best bikes ever) I strongly feel that if anyone wants to get any kind of bike to go to darkhorse!
ok this blog is all over the place. My cat is wrecking everything in the apartment so im out.
rubber side down
Mike

What are we to do now?

It's sad to say but it is true, we are comming up to the end of cycling season. This does not make me a happy camper. But I do look on the brightside of things. Hockey season starts! And for all of you who know me, I am a gigantic hockey fan. I play in the cycling off season. Another perk of winter is that I can spend much needed time with Erin. She has been so patient this season and sometimes even bailed on fun plans cause it was a " mikes race weekend ". In fact, this comming up weekend is a race weekend! I will be heading out to stony point ny for a sweet 30 mile road race. There are 50 riders in my cat and I think if Im feeling good I will try and get ahead with the early break. I also think that a fellow darkhorse team mate may join me on this one too, so that's a plus!!! I also will have to have some willpower the weekend of the race. The anual Hudson valley wine festival falls on the day before the race! I'm playing the DD so I don't drink, and hey WTF, I enjoy watching my gf n friends enjoy themselves! Mabye I'll taste a " few " new wines? We usualy hit up a nice resturant after also so that's cool. K it's late n I'm getting thumb cramps! I'll try and post again tomorrow. Untill then....
Rubber side down!!
Mike

Cycling and " monk like " living.

So I'm sitting in a bar in a nearby town to where I live. It's getting late and cause I'm a freak and feel I have to live like a monk I have limited myself to 2 beers. When you get into cycling and it takes over every aspect of your life....I'm not gonna lie it annoys people. I know it is late in the season and I am in no way a pro cyclist. But I feel I owe somthing to my body for being good to me this whole season and keeping me healthy. I don't know if my other cycling companions think the way I do on these subjects. Cycling has made me so mind fucked the past couple years. It's funny how people become obsessed with things " like myself ". I do not have a obsessive personality , well I guess I do considering I refuse to eat dessert and I refuse to have any sort of chocolate because I think that I will get " fat " and it will effect my riding. I guess I'm just rambiling on and letting all of you who don't read this how nuts I am when it comes to everything cycling. So just call me crazy cause I freak if Im out somewhere and I can't eat anything healthy. But anyway, I had a fun group ride today, my friend flatted out a half hour into the ride and I waited for him. So we fixed his flat n played catch up with the group " who we could not find ". So we rode fast as shit back to the shop, and that was that. Well I guess that's it for tonight. This really was not a post about anything important, I'm just trying to kill time in this bar where I'm not drinking a drop of alcohol. I love my friends who are here and I love my gf.
Rubber side down
peace mike.