Back in the Saddle

I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol
I'm riding, I really got a fistful
I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle
I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle..................

The Provincial Championships were today just outside Waterloo on what the locals call The Bamberg Loop. We did 7 laps which was just over 100kms.  It contained no climbs but some very nice rollers that seem to appear in pretty rapid succession.  The temperature was a heavy and humid 30-31 degrees and there was a wind coming out of the north.  The race started off relatively slow.  Everyone was doing a little looking around and trying to secure a decent position in the pack.  The organizers were unquestionably clear about the yellow line rule, and that anyone who crossed it would be disqualified.  I heard them warn several people,  including a buddy of mine.  They needed to take into consideration that the tar filling the cracks in the road near the yellow line was nearly  soft as crap and to avoid going down you needed to roll out of the line or risk crashing.


I stayed in the front from the start and tried either keep with the pace or maintain a good pace myself.  I did chase down 1 small attack and try to get into a quickly failed breakaway.  Just before  the start of the 4th lap I found a good line and took Marc up to the front and continued pulling at the very front.  Shortly thereafter I got the word to go back into the pack and take a rest.  Here was my mistake.  I should have moved back 15 places but instead I drifted near to the very back. Back with a pile of guys I didn't want to be near.  There was less than 3 laps left and the speeds were picking up fast, but also the openings and opportunities to move back up to the front were diminishing even faster.  I tried to pick a few wheels to pull me back up front, but they were duds.  I found a lot of guys were content to just sit in and do nothing.  Which in an unimportant crit race that's fine but at the Provincials????  C'mon.  No fun.  From the moment I drifted back into no man's land I was urgently trying to get back up  .  It was just so damn tough as no one was trying to change their position and no openings were appearing.  When the last lap bell rang I resigned to the fact I wasn't going to be able contest the sprint as I had secretly planned, but I was still making up spaces in the pack.  Last corner we all take off .  The only sound is of derailleurs slamming into faster gears.  An unfortunate crash at the very front took out a couple of top contenders and changed the outcome for the would-be top 10ers.  I still had a lot left in my tank and made the best of it.  I approached the line through a maze of riders, many struggling to find their way.  I just kept zigzagging in and around of others until I found the line .   For the team it was a decent day.  Me, a great day.  After 2.5 months of terrible results  and races that I couldn't even finish I pulled off a near top 20.  I was, am, really happy.  I fully intend to continue my progression through the rest of the season by bettering each race result.  


Team Kurzawinski
Sport Category
Martin:16th


Master B
Marc: 12th
Andy:13th
Phil:16th
Trev:23'd
Marco:41nd
Stan:59th (crash)
out of about 85 riders


Master C
Dave:24th

Coach,  with that stupid farmer hat!!!

Andy and Wes

Special thanks to Extreme Road for setting up such a well organized race, and for sharing the Bamberg loop with everyone.  Great job!!!


Racing photos to follow

YYZ

Tonight we did about 80 kms.  It was pretty hot out out.  When it's this hot you don't really feel it on the bike but what makes you notice, is that you are banging through 2-3 water bottles and hour.  We rode from the Brampton Fairgrounds up to the town of Hockley.  Very hilly , and we set a good pace up, and rocketed on the way back.  No motorpacing back to the parking lot.  It was all us.  Nearly killed me tonight.  I worked a fairly tough day in the heat, so I was pretty wiped when we got on our bikes.

Deadliest Warrior

If anyone watches that show on SPIKE called deadliest Warrior , and at the same time was cool enough to also watch Star Trek TNG they will suspect that the narrators voice is the same guy who played Gowron the Klingon.  Since the wickedest show on TV stopped like 15 yrs ago or more I may be wrong , and it may have been Duras and not Gowron.  But it was for sure the Klingon who handed Worf the blade and said " I give his life......to you".  Then Worf said "I choose to spare his life".  Worf was a pretty nice guy.

Worf,  I've been watching you....and i know you've been watching me.....

I just googled that shit, and it was Gowron.  Boom!

Anyways, I am watching that show now.   Sometimes it's cool, but sometimes the results seem fixed.  Like a Samurai loses to a dorky Viking?  Vikings can't can't screw with a Samurai. Vikings are just pissed off longhairs....Samurai's will kill themselves if they screw up.  They never lose.

Last night at the mid was I was instructed to attack not once, not twice but thrice.  Then contest the sprint.  I took  all 4 instructions like one of Lance's domestique's who will later rat him out . Anyways........I had my best race to date.  They said I got 5th,  but in truth I really got 9th or 10th.  They gave Marc 8th and I was behind him.....so maybe he got 5th and I got 8th.  Care noty.

there was a big crash in the warm up lap.  This is all I got....

A bunch of the team

Phil and me trying to get away

big group tonight

Martin on Boots's wheel

Stan and Eric

Yuri, Eric, me

Me and Andy shredding that corner

I'll have more to post tomorrow or the next day................

Hotter than Hell II

Damn I wish I hadn't used Hotter than Hell as my album reference last week as it was WAAAAAAY hotter today.

Todays race was in Cobourg. An awesome little town that my Grandfather used to live in.  Biggest beach around. I used to come here as a youngin'.  The Tom Jehlicka memorial race is not an Ontario Cup race, but still a good one to test the legs. The organizers believed that  limited fields would participate so they had an open category and mixed a lot of different  age groups and  skill levels .  We started at just after noon.  the race included all S3, S1, S2 and any masters racers that were willing.  The race started off with a parade lap with the Mayor of Cobourg .  He is about 75 yrs old and was riding a $200 mountain bike.  But the slower lap was a great way to get warmed back up after the 10 minute speech at the line.

The race was hotter than shit and windier even.  The 1/2 km stretch down the start/finish line was really fast.   My 50/11 was having a hard time staying in the pack on a couple of laps, but the rest of the course I found it ok and not too much trouble.

This isn't a race report and I won't profess to know what transpired at the front of the group while I was sitting in the middle of the pack, but I will say that anyone who finished deserved a pat on the back because it was really hot.  Like Mexico hot..... Shopping along that main street in the Mayan Riviera where the buildings block all the wind and the sun just cooks you to death.  That's how hot it was today.  Except we didn't have guys trying to sell us Mexican wrestling masks, and there were a lot fewer aggressive local coke dealers offering us deals.  I did really well compared to the last 2 months since my crash in London and the sickness and bad vibes that followed.

This is what my truck registered the heat as.

What's so funny cool whip?  you get a lot of satisfaction from those $15 dollar hookers?
"I am never satisfied!"

I wish we had a team cool down event at the beach after this race .  You can walk as far out into the lake as you like and it never goes deeper than your chest.

Although this pic doesn't illustrate it, my arms are red, but it does show off that kick ass shirt!

 

                                                         
Best beach ever.  Maybe tied with Sauble Beach............

*all or most pics by Bree, however action limited they may be.  thanks for coming Bree!!!!!!!!!!!

just check this.....

seriously....who doesn't want this poster?

Springbok country

Tonight we rode the Matheson loop, basically whipping by Invita Sport bikes.  We were motorpacing behind Krystophs car most of the time, then we did a variety of sprint drills.  Krystoph had one of those new little actions video cameras attached to the back of the car so he could watch us later.  He may be compiling footage for a video later on.  Being that we are probably the team that trains most together of any Masters team around here it should be an awesome video when its done.

Best part about tonight was after we did our sprints and did our final lap we came around the last sweeping bend and there were two deer galloping alongside the road.  Keeping in mind we were 70' from the 401 highway , which is arguably the busiest highway in north America, and we were maybe 250' away from the Toronto airport.  To see two deer jogging by was pretty cool.  I took off after them and in a turn of insane acceleration on my part I sort of caught one of them.  I wouldn't have believed it but I did gain on it nicely.  Then it turned and crossed the road in front of me.   Krys got a lot of it recorded on his Hero Camera , or whatever it's called.

Tonight I'm rewarding my efforts with a strangely delicious new Belgian treat.  Lindemans Brouwerij Cuvee Rene.  A wild lemony-fruity beer that tastes almost like champagne.  Very carbonated but seemingly with smaller more intense bubbles.  A sour brew.  I only bought one bottle, but I will correct that error tomorrow.

Cobourg race on Sunday.   Fuck=YEAH!!!!

God be with you

Last nights race was fantastic.  All the favorites were there.  More spectators every week.  Special thanks to Sam , Candy and  Max for coming to cheer.  

I warmed up with early race.  I normally need to do that.  Most people need to get warmed up before going all out, I am the poster child for warming up.  I am useless without at least 30 minutes of decent effort before a race.  Last week I did the early race, yet it proved insufficient to get me though the later/faster race.  Last night I was luckier.  I brought the faster of my 2 racing bikes, the Guerciotti (pronounced Gore-cho-tee)  over the Prince.  I was feeling fine all night.  I sat in a lot for the first half and tried to just stay with my marked man.  By the halfway point I was usually in a better spot than he was.  I was even able to take part in 2 attacks, and chase down some of Sound Solutions breakaways.  One time Andy was chasing down an attack and I got on his wheel.  It's true what they say ........when Andy is in the drops and pushing it , its tough to stay on his wheel as not only is he flying but he offers no respite from the wind.

Anyways, I was able to stay near the front and and hang in there, where I couldn't last week.  So I felt good about that.     Can't wait till the Mid Week 99 lap race.  

Tonight I grabbed a bottle I have been saving for a few hours.  I found it in the LCBO in the import section, although its Canadian, which seemed kind of weird.  It has a pretty cool name.  Dominus Vobiscum.  I looked it up, it's latin for God be with you.  That's fine.  At a glance the label looks like a Death Metal album cover, but upon closer inspection it's just a cool font and a nice picture of a weird sunset.  Its apparently brewed in Quebec. I have never been a good reviewer or critiquer other than to say something is shitty or something is awesome.  I have to say this bier is the latter.  If you enjoy Hoegarden ,  for sure you'll like this.  

When  I cracked open the pretty cool looking bottle, which looks like a tall stubby.  It's aroma reminded me instantly of the smell of the Brick Brewery in KitchenerWaterloo.  They used to be the only place to buy beer on holiday weekends, when the liquor and beer stores were closed the mighty Brick brewery was open.

Dominus whatever-its-called  has a slight fruity taste and had slight citrus after taste that left me feeling somewhat like I had just drank a juice.  Its very carbonated, but doesn't have too lively a head.  The opposite of my favorite beer Duvel.    Anyways, the shit tastes good.  

God speed little doodle!

Burn you like the mid day sun.............

IT IS SO FRICKIN' HOT OUT THERE YOU GOTTA PISS EXCELLENCE AND BE ENDOWED WITH BALLS OF IRON TO RACE TONIGHT IN THIS HEAT............................

  

if Farrah says its hot, then it's hot.  

In this kind of heatwave you have to really think about your race preparation carefully.  You don't want to head out with insufficient water.  For god's sake look what happened to Evan Tanner.  Poor guy.  But aside from the obvious, you want to wear your coolest socks (mine are Assos Skin Web), and if can get away with it and break up your team kit you wear a lighter set of bib shorts (again, Assos).   If it's crazy hot I like to wear different, lighter shoes.

Last week I saw 2 guys crash at the same time, on the same corner.  Both had tires blow off.  I can't see that glass would have done that to 2 different guys.  I bet it was over-inflated tires in concert with the intense heat outside, and the heat of the brakes on that corner.  So I am keeping my tires at 110psi tonight so I don't eat pavement.

I like to throw my 2 race water bottles in the freezer for a while before I head out. I don't want them frozen, but a little slushy or frosty is good.  It really sucks when you are in the final third of the race and your water is hot.

I normally don't like wearing gloves.....but I know I'll be sweating like an Arch Bishop at Sunday school class if I don't......... and if I get to wet I can't hold onto my bars.

There's also a lot of accouterments that you also need to sort through prior to leaving to race.  I like to use chapstick so when I start getting dehydrated I can't really taste and feel the salts forming on my lips. I need to apply my skin conditioner/chamois cream at the last moment.  The last thing I want is to get more saddle sores.  Those little non-STD related bastards have ruined more than 1 race for me.

I like to also make sure I have the proper liquid chilled to perfection waiting for me as soon as I get home.  I don't think I've ever raced, or ridden for that matter, and not finished with a cold bier.

My only weakness

See him flying through the air, if he don't land then he don't care

About 13 or 14 years  ago I had  a cool little house in downtown Kitchener.  I had a fantastic dog named Tajo.  I trained him so well.  He knew his lefts and rights.  He was a great little lead dog for my Dogsled team.  One night the city was hit with a blizzard.  One of those snowstorms where they close the shopping malls early, Taxi cabs won't pick you up, and your Mom calls to say you shouldn't go out to the clubs if you were planning on it  (which I was).   I decided it might be cool to harness up my 2 dogs and see if they could pull me on the sled without the rest of the team.  The roads were shitty with snow.  No cars.  Visibility was near-Ace Frehley conditions.  So we decided take a sled ride to the beer store and pick up a case, and spend the night at home.  We raced down the main street of Kitchener towards the intersection that marked our destination .  I imagine our speed was in the ballpark of 30 kph. ( I had previously clocked my dogs top speed at 48kph when running beside my bike.  This time  there were 2 of them, but they were pulling a 15 lb racing sled, and me.  30kph felt about right.)  We got to the Beer Store and I ran in nonchalantly and ordered a case of Sol.  The guys behind the counter collectively staring at my mode of transportation, which also happened to be  staring at them .  It took a minute to get my beer.  I guess downtown Kitchener Beer stores don't get a lot of dogsled team Beer runs.  Losers.

look at that derailleur . not a scratch!

I just put this BMC Streetfighter  back together today.  It is going to be my new winter transportation.  Actually that's a falsehood.  It will be my winter training bike.  I doubt I'll ever use it to get anywhere.
Note all the awesome parts from racing days gone-by.  I'm totally looking forward to riding it this fall.  Or this summer in the rain.

Cuz he rips. HE RIPS!!! 

Lethal Injection BBQ sauce 2.0

Tonights awesome dinner was a braised* chicken alongside a trash-hill sized pile of Bazmati rice, and a few organic carrots.  I have always hated cooked carrots.  My mother has always overcooked her carrots and for that reason I just can't bring myself to eat them if they are even warm.

I made a pretty awesome BBQ sauce today.  I saw a recipe once for a sauce with pretty cool name, although it escapes me currently I can sort of remember it's ingredient list.  I just adjusted it to my drunken liking.

Pour a bunch of ketchup into a bowl.  Like maybe a 1/3 of a cup.  Heinz is the preferred ketchup, but in many ways its sort of like...whatever.
Add a really hot habanero sauce to it.  At least a tbsp.  At least.  Unless you're a chick.   I use El Yukateco Green,  my old GF (definitely in my top 3 of ex's) went to Cozumel one time and got me this....I got hooked on it like crack.  Any really hot shit like Blairs, Dave's Insanity, etc etc will also do, just use less.  Pure cap is kinda rank.  But again......whatever.
Add a pinch of cinammon.
Add a smaller pinch of onion salt.
Also about 6-12 revolutions of a pepper grinder. (depending on your grinder)
Add a little virgin coconut oil.  Maybe a 1/2 tsp,  olive oil will do.
Stir it intensely  in a  counter-clockwise motion  and then pour or brush it on your BBQ'd-To-be meat.  Make sure when brushing it on the meat you don't actually look at the chicken.  I'm told in some countries that can be considered cruelty to animals.  Or even bestiality.

notice the cherry tomatoes in the not so distant distance.....I didn't touch those.

That rice was the same kind of rice Jesus used as a side dish for all that fish,  Well, some guys got bread.....

* I have no idea what braised means.  I was just taking a stab.......

Team KurzaWINski drinking night at Fregata Nightclub

Tonight was the team party and although Marco didn't make it, and Marc was in damn Paris, and Emilio was in Italia......... it was still fun.

A few new guys scouting out the team for next year I suppose by seeing how we drink.  A more impressive display would be when Marc and I go away in March for training in the states.  Or when we go out with our friend from Wheels of Bloor racing.

Eric Davis from Reika Sport.  Always loud,  Mostly cool.  Alex from the BCC hiding in the rear.

Our new Skin Suit

Andrew from Mid Week Cycling, Krys and some drunken dork who brought a double chin

Stan drinking  his secret weapon.  Not EPO.  thats a different blog.....

Andy the Assassin, Dave, Phils wife, Krys, and Phil Palmer 

Vito, Phil, Krys, Jen, Martin

The photo Jen didn't want posted

The stinky finger getting pointed at Phil