GirlAnachronism

Why do I keep agreeing to go on dates on Sunday evenings after a weekend of racing? The last time I did this I decided I was too tired, bailed on the date, and stopped seeing the guy altogether. Oops.

Walter

Have you considered running for office?

Flatballer

Because the guy is just so damn sexy?

Girls are always bailing on dates with me, I can only assume this is the reason.

kensuf

I suspect he's too smart for that.

Hida Yanra

+1

kensuf

I'm stoked. My former teammate, and frequent training partner (and sometimes BF troll) "veloboy8675309" just won the p/1/2 chain of lakes omnium. He won the RR yesterday in a solo 3 mile attack, then got 3rd in the TT, and held on in the crit (finishing 12th) to seal the deal.

That's fantastic, if he was 21 I'd buy him a bottle of champagne!

roadiejorge 

You have to wonder when the idea of the "American Dream" is going to face American reality. It really is fascinating to see how easy it is to get a vast populace to vote against their own economic interests with a few red herring issues though; I do wonder whether it's a stroke of genius by the perpetrators or lack of critical thinking skills of the majority of Americans.

jwible

I beg to differ. In HS I taught sailing and was on the water 4-6 hours a day. At the same time I crewed on a 40' sloop. Racing every weekend was a commitment of a practice race every Wed (beer fest, but our captain was a bit like Racer Ex - focus was on performance for the upcoming races.) and between 6 and 48 hours every weekend depending on the race. So HS was around 30 hours a week on the water.

In college I was heavy air crew (420 optimum combined weight was around 300lbs. Generally a male captain and a female crew unless winds were high.) and a laser racer. I practiced the NCAA allowed max hours per week along with the rest of the team. The top guns on our team basically lived sailing from a very young age and were dedicated to it through and through. I was a scrub as I came from a crewed boat background. I couldn't beat the A guys around the course to save my life. The dedication required to be competitive in the sailing world is tremendous. Just like with any other sport.

You could probably be locally competitive on a limited practice schedule, but if you want to make it to nationals or worlds you need to drop everything and start sailing that damn thing every chance you get. Practice sailing without a rudder, by the lee, backwards, standing on the bow, etc. Know what makes the boat go through the water and how it all works together.

Flatballer

Yeah, competing at a high level takes lots of time. I was more talking about being able to sail well locally, and more in a keelboat than in a dinghy. Being a really good keelboat sailor takes less time than a dinghy, and being a locally good keelboat sailor pretty much just takes knowing what you're doing plus showing up to race and having a good crew and a well set-up boat. Even in the Laser I've read about a guy who sails once every couple weeks and does pretty well for himself in the Masters, as well as in normal competition. But he's been sailing Lasers for 25 years, so he's got a good start.

Compared to being able to race well locally, which I would probably equate with being a Cat 2, takes many many hours of training each week for years (and in my case, would probably take 25+ hours a week, given my genetic predisposition for being slow).

Flatballer

Those of you that shave (your face) have you been able to get a truly smooth shave? Whenever I shave my face (which I just did, got rid of the winter beard) I end up with a constant 5 o'clock shadow. I just can't shave against the grain on my face, even with a brand new razor, it just pulls my skin instead of cutting. On my legs I can cut against the grain and get a super smooth shave, but not on my face.

I'm currently using Barbasol shaving cream and a Fusion Power razor. What's my problem?

patentcad

Correct.

mike868y

already, here's the deal.

conference championships, my goal race for this spring (maybe for the year depending on how my summer activities pan out) is in 2 weeks.

about a week ago I came down with a head cold, but physically felt fine and followed the "keep training if symptoms are above the neck" rule of thumb and trained through it. Got a number of good training days it and didn't notice performance decreasing.

over the past 2 or 3 days though the cold seems to have moved to my lungs. I have a nasty, flemmy cough and I can feel the cold in my lungs. I rode about 6.5 hours over the weekend and definitely noticed a decrease in performance, I seem to have had a tough time breathing.

so, any tips on how to recover? I'm going to try and sleep as much as I can, and take at least a day off the bike. I might ride easy tuesday or take it completely off depending on how I feel. I'll probably try to take emergen-c once a day, anything else I should try? what should I look for to know that I am recovered?

thanks!

ridethecliche

Dude, I would go see a doctor. Sounds like it might be an upper respiratory infection.

I think I have one too. I'm going to see someone tomorrow after not being able to fend it off over the last week. I'm off this entire week (except for a half day thurs) to study and I do not need to come down with something heavy during this time. I suggest you worry about getting yourself healthy instead of worrying about your performance.

Well said. It saddens me to see that education is the first thing that loses funding when $$$$$ are short. That right there is a good part of why the american dream is falling apart. It's basically setting the middle class up for failure in the next generation or two and solidifying the hold that upper class america has on assets, jobs, etc. If the majority of students coming out of high school are going to be dolts, then, uhhh the system is failing them.

mike868y

maybe I'll make a trek to health and wellness tomorrow.

ridethecliche

No matter what they say, insist on a culture.

I was once told that I had a cold/flu. When I went home a week later the ent i went to told me i had a full blown sinus infection. Those guys can be dolts at times. Hopefully the blokes at hoppykins are better than in the westech.

You need some culture anyhow.

Also jeebus i feel like crap...

echappist

Well, technically, it's still a dream, but it just so happens that it's turning into a nightmare...

Damn, most of us here are just preaching to the choir though

Fat Boy

Impressed with how easy it is to change the batteries in a PT hub. Usually things like this are a complete afterthought and a nightmare, but it was a snap.

caloso

Tell me where to send the check to the Racer Ex PAC.

kensuf

Save the money and use it to relocate us all to Costa Rica.

Flatballer

What a sweet bike. Comes in 3 sizes (small, medium, and large, like any good road bike does). Only things listed are that is has SRAM Red. Not a single other component is listed. BUT, it has Gatorskin tires (according to the picture) plus badass disc brakes. Not to mention what appear to be some very expensive Velocity Deep V wheels with the branding removed.

All this can be yours for only $7460. Obviously you can't try it out, because they're all custom made. And you won't have an LBS to take it to when the wood gets eaten by a beaver while you're at Starbucks. But it has Audi on it, so it's worth it.

Just for comparison, you could have this Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3, which won the Tour last year, complete with 45 mm race wheels and a huge LBS network to take it to, for only $7700.

jwible

I like wood bikes. I'd like a Renovo sometime, but have no need for anything new.

Flatballer

They're pretty, but they don't strike me as being very practical. Not to mention the Audi branding apparently costs around $3000.

rankin116

Rubbing elbows with doctors does not make you one. Just sayin'.

Homebrew01

Hogwash !
I have a couple friends that work at a struggling little company named GE, and they had to scratch & claw to barely make $14 Billion in profits last year. Lucky for them that GE didn't owe any federal taxes, or I'm sure they would have gone belly-up.. Those damned fireman and policemen sitting around risking their lives, while raking in thousands of dollars a year are causing all the problems.

aggro_jo

Did I accidentally click on the NPR thread?