Canadian Cyclist WOB thread

Sorry everyone, I thought this would be a better outlet than the Canadian Cyclist forum for this topic.  It went a little out of control.  My apologies to anyone who feels they got slandered, and anyone on my team.
I could never have guessed it would get that dirty.

I just thought this would be a forum and fun outlet but it turned very black, very fast.  I think there are a lot of good guys on WOB and also VinylBilt, as well as the entire Master peloton, so I think a lot of the guys who were posting cruel stuff on here represent a small portion of them.   Thanks, and sorry again.

Castro's Lounge

Saturday night is alright for drinking if you don't have a race the next morning, and on this past weekend I had no race.  We set out for Castro's Lounge in the Beaches area of Toronto.  I decided that we had to meet there because I knew they had Westmalle there.  I had been there once before , but like an oaf I didn't look at the beer menu.  I saw that they had Delerium on tap and I just kept ordering that.  Which in and of itself isn't a huge problem, but being in a bar that sells all the Trappist ale's (save the new Gregorios Trappist)....I should have taken a look.

Castro's does boast a picture of the Branch Davidian's David Koresh on the wall which was  pretty cool

We sit down, my pal Tom and I.  With our wonderful dates.  He says to me "this beer list is going to blow your mind'.  It doesn't disappoint.   But tonight I'm in Trappist mode only.  (and by the way , anyone who reads this blog and hasn't at least tried some Trappist Ale is a total idiot). I order a Westmalle.  This is maybe my favorite beer I've had so far.  9.5% and it goes down like a light beer.  Westmalle is a serious beer. It's good enough that I don't risk sullying the evening with any food.  Castro's Lounge has a very cool laid back feel to it....but people don't go there for the stellar service or the awesome menu.  The service isn't bad, but it's not , say, The Bier Bistro.  The food is pretty crappy I'm told by my tablemates.  I wouldn't know cuz I don't dig on swine.

The order of my beer consumption is as follows, and should you find yourself there in the future, or in the past please follow my lead.  I know what I'm doing.  Westmalle Tripel. Rochefort 10. Westvleteren 8, Orval. Now I'm getting drunk.  But I'm not screaming Deicide lyrics or throwing chairs around.  The biggest flaw I can find with this pretty cool establishment is that as serious as they take their beer, they don't have their shit together when it comes to the correct glass.  For each beer I ordered they brought me the wrong kind of glass.  Rochefort doesn't come in a tulip glass. Rochefort uses a chalice or even a wide mouth chalise.  Their efforts were lost on my superior knowledge and palette.

Rocherfort in a tulip glass....has this world gone topsy turvy?

They weren't too far off on the Westvleteren glass.

Considering that they take the care to have all the beers that they advertise, in stock  unlike the BierMarkt Esplinade, that magically 'just ran out'. I will  give a shoutt out for that.  The wrong glasses thing was a real disappointment and I think they need to remedy that if they want to remain one of the city's coolest exotic beer pubs . I didn't actually try any of the food there but all 3 of my friends agreed that the food looked and tasted as if quality was job #2.  Again, I won't say the service was great, but it wasn't bad per se. None of the servers were bitches.  They did screw up our bill by adding 3 $10 beers , but when I questioned it they quickly fixed the problem.  

I'm going out on a limb here and I hope no one tries to cut it off on me.  I would still and will still go back there several more times this week.  I am going to give it an 8.5% out of 10.  If they fixed the glasses thing they are a 9% or more.  Hell they can hire  stinky hippies or ugly women with their kids birthdays tattoo'd across their chest, I wouldn't care , I like the place

Seven Churches, seven priests

I'm sure I'm going to get into this self-appointed new assignment of comparing beers.  I've always had a sort of black or white kind of attitude towards most things.  So I find it pretty easy to totally flog a beer that's not top shelf material.

Tonight's night off brings me to 2 totally different beers.   Representing the dark side I have purchased Leffe Brun, and representing  the pale side I have Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale.

Opening a Leffe is almost like opening an awesome Christmas or birthday present, like if someone gives you a Possessed-Seven Churches 7" record, but cooler because its got a this gold-leaf like tinfoil around the neck.  I like it.

I'm not crazy about the new logo, but it's deliciousness hasn't changed a bit

I crack the Leffe and the first thing I can smell is a hint of Caramel.  (Not Carmel, I hate when people say carmel) . I pour it into it's home and the delicious foam rides to the top. Confirming to me that I am nothing if not a masterful pourer. It smells so good.  You know the smell when you are in one of the U-Brew-it  breweries and your mouth is watering?  Like that.  Doesn't smell like bad beer breath, or beer soaked t shirt, or spilled beer or any of the other gross beer related smells.  It just smells like something you want to put in your mouth.  I would seriously consider wearing a Leffe Brun cologne if there was one.  Just drinking it makes all your worries go away, except if it makes you remember how much money you have spent in the past on crap beer, or how much daycare in Toronto costs.  Of all the Belgian beers that I buy this one is the only ones that tastes nothing like anything else.  A total original.  Superior to Leffe Blonde even and one of the best darker Abbey beers ever.

They should qualify that the word "pale" means it pale's in comparison to drinking warm flat Budweiser

Keith's India Pale Ale.  They have really done a diservice to the IPA title and community.  Unless I'm a total idiot (remember no gray area) IPA's were brewed originally to last the entire ship voyage from Britain to India, so they used more hops and more alcohol to retard spoilage.   But c'mon....this can of creamed crap only has 5% alcohol and I can barely taste anything hoppy.  In fact, it's almost absent of any taste.  Its got less fizz than Coors Lite, so it feels rotting apple juice.  There isn't really too much head when it's poured.  It's the flattest beer I've ever had.  As any one who has read more than one of my blogs will surely tell you , I'm not normally prone to hyperbole, but this is one tasteless beverage.  I have had some Pale Ale's before.  I really like Gouden Carolous Ambrio , which I have shown in this blog last year .  That beer has some bite!!! This Keith's Pale ale is like eating a loaf of bread that's been soaking in dirty dish water all day.  Boooo to you guys.  Grow a vagina and learn how to make beer. 

Fairies wear boots

I find myself alone and drinking a lot of strong beer some nights. I imagine it has something to do with partial child custody......being single.....living 5 minutes from a great Liquor/Beer store.........

I was flying.  I could taste vomit .

So yesterday I buy a pile of delicious trappist beers as well as some Leffe and Duvel.  As I walk over to pay I see some lonely cans of Molson Canadian lager.  I used to drink that crap when I was a stupid mountain biker. So I came up with a great plan to do an A to B taste test.   Like Pepsi to Coke.  Or Honda to Toyota. Or chicken to KFC.

So first I grab my trusty steel bottle opener.  I got it from a bar that sells Stella, the manager gave it to me.  It's a nice piece.  I crack open a sweet Duvel and pour it into the corresponding glass.  It looks like a goddamn waterfall of joy and bliss.  Smells like a good dream.  The smell of fruit and spice is damned glorious.   I know beer better than I know spices so  I may be off on my comparisons but I think I can taste corinader and pear .  The head is thick and takes forever to calm down.  I don't even know how long, as I drink it too quickly.  It taste's so good it makes me angry that other beers even exist.  I want to go burn down breweries that make shitty beers, punch their wives and children in the face and kick all the stupid employees in the nuts.  I don't understand why someone wants to make a beer that tastes like .....nothing.  Let's take Coors Lite as the gold standard for shit beer.  There is no reason to drink it.  it's 4%, so you can't get drunk on it.  It has no taste.  Like a lasagna made by a mother who is afraid to go near a spice rack.  No discernible taste.   Just bubbles.

This brings me to my second beer.  The mighty Molson Canadian.  For a short period I drank this beer, many years ago.  I was in bad place.  I had yet to experience the glory that was Leffe Brun.  So my standards we low.
Anyways, this beer has no real smell, except to equate it with that of a crappy alternative dance club at 2:00am.  Similarly, it has no real taste.  Sure it has the fizz that all great beers have.  That's the easy part.  Perrier mastered that. So Molson shouldn't have an issue either.  The problem with Canadian is that they call it "Canadian" as though a bland , low alcohol  by volume beer is representative of our nation.   Why don't they try putting ingredients on the bottles?  I want to know what type of beer flavoring they use , and how little wheat, barley and hops they use as opposed to corn product.  Maybe I'm wrong.  maybe they have half a dozen angry monks living there at the brewery near the airport in Toronto.  Retarded unionized monks that specialize in making really weak, tasteless beer that almost always leaves the drinker with a deadly hangover.  Not me. Not this sucker.  I'm going to drink one more devil beer before bed, then I'm going to do the 120km Donut ride at 9am.

Regardless......Molson beer is to beer what Walmart is to customer service.   Duvel is to beer what  Bruce Lee, Eddy Merckx and Ron Burgundy are to men.

Stupid Terra Cotta ride May 27th

Today was a day like a lot of other really hot days.  Basically just a regular day , but hotter than most.
Regardless, I headed into Wheels of Bloor to pick up a tube and then started riding. It was only 23 or 24 degrees out so it was perfect for a good 60k ride.   Shortly thereafter I meet up with a dude from the Morning Glory Team.  He persuades me into going way further than I intended.  We ride from downtown out to Terra Cotta.  The distance wasn't the problem it was the heat.  It was getting hotter by the minute.  I only had 2 bottles, but also had no food.  I had intended to just do laps at the Crit course , hit a store on the way back and I would be good.  So this guy Hanz takes me out way past where I want to go, granted it's a nice ride, but my leg just aren't turning.  I kept falling off his wheel, and I don't even think he was pushing it.

We stopped at a small fruit market for more water and some apples.  We each bought 3 waters, all of which were done by the time we got home.  The temperature at the market was 33 degrees in the shade and that felt great compared to being in the sun.  I wager it was closer to 40 on the road.

  

So we ride back into Toronto with nary a hit and run scare.  Those guys from the Morning Glory team all seem , so far, to be really great guys.  Hanz, told me that he works for the guy who invented Paypal, and who also owns Tesla Electric cars.  The company, not just the cars.

Official rules of the Euro cyclist states tan lines must be crisp and defined

I inhaled this in 2 minutes

Prestige Worldwide II

When I was about 11 yrs old I  lived in North York, which is on the north end of Toronto.  In the summer we all used to play at this ravine, there was a small river and trails going through the trees .  It was great fun.  I often tried to coerce my Mom into letting me camp down there with my friends.  She never gave in.  Another great part about the ravine was this storm drain outlet into the creek. It was a huge tunnel that frequently poured  rain water into the creek that eventually drained into Lake Ontario.  We were able to get inside this huge sewer tunnel if the water was low.  There was a steel cage over the entrance but with a little work we could always crawl beneath it.  It wasn't gross and infested with rats as I had always imagined.  It was dark but not dark enough to scare us.  We could tunnel our way up for a while until we hit the  ladders that would take us up to the Man-Holes on the street above.

One time (my last time) we went down into the tunnels with some older kids.  They were all just sitting around near the entrance , too cool  I suppose to go all the way in.  Maybe they had done it too many times...I don't know.  So I crawl in, and I find this huge baseball sized piece of tarmac.  It's gotta be 6 lbs.  I guess I just wanted to see how far I could hurl it down the tunnel.  I wound up and fucking chucked it like I really meant it. I remember  the screaming.  It seemed like the screams began the exact moment the rock left my my hand.  I had hit the oldest, biggest and toughest of the boys right in the temple with my overhand asphalt curveball.  He cried like a much younger kid I thought.........but in his defense , there was a shitload of blood.  Blood. Blood . Blood. His blood.  Everywhere.  I also remember thinking if this kid doesn't come to kill me in the next few days, his parents will.  After a week of worry, I sort of forgot about it.  I hadn't heard he died, or  that he was looking for me.  So I took that as great news.  I haven't hit anyone with rocks ever since.

Yesterday I was on Facebook chatting with some dude from Belgium.  He informs that there is now an 8th Trappistine bier.  I was like 'cut the crap'..........for realsies?   There is now an 8th Trappist monestary/brewery .  Although it's not in Belgium, like those posers at De Koningshoeven in the Netherlands. (i'm just screwing around) but this one is in Austria.  I can't speak to the deliciousness of the beer but I do know one thing.  There is not a crappy Trappist beer.  Chimay is creamy good .  Orval, even tastier.  Westmalle Trippel being the best beer ever to pass my lips, but I can't wait to taste this .

I think me, Jimmi and Tom are going to have to pay another visit to the beer bistro soon.

The Goon Ride

This Blog is back by popular demand

Tonight was the weekly ride that leaves High Park (across the street from my house) and heads out to Port Credit.  Its basically like a Donut Ride. I don't know how to make that a hyperlink but you can google 'Donut Ride Toronto'.  The only difference is that there is a smaller group, the ride is shorter, a different route, and the ratio of racers to non racers is higher.  So , basically it has little in common with the Donut Ride.  I guess I just compare the 2 rides because a few of the crazy riders from the Donut show up here.  There's this one dude who is really hairy, he looks like a starving gorilla and he has the weirdest fashion sense, and looks pretty awkward on the bike.  Try to stay in front of him.  There's several guys like that. Fuck, I may be one of them.........They probably say 'that dick in the green and white, with the sweet Italian bike and perfect 100rpm cadence, he is always chopping wheels.....he raced for Kurzawinski last year....'

File Photo: Not the Thursday Goon Ride

Tonight the hero's of the ride tried to take us on a different route.  I guess it was ok.  Seemingly less traffic than going down the Queensway.

Anyways a few of us either got caught behind a light or let the main group get away.....I actually can't remember now, but it was me, and Bobby and Ian from Wheels of Bloor and 1 other dude.  We didn't seem to be catching them, and we were hitting all the lights.  Then after a lot of strong pulls by Ian and even stronger wheelsucking by me , Bobby took a long one  that basically launched Ian into warp 9.7 and he took off and caught those guys up front.  One of which was my Teammate Johnny Power.  The power was on tonight, but still on the ECO mode, always saving some for the sprint at the end.  Although Ian managed to beat down that Sweet Pete's guy like a red-headed step child up the final sprint climb, always good.

Basically it's not that friendly a ride, I mean no one wants to talk with Z-Team in those funny kits, and the guys riding independant.......you can never recognize them from week to week.

Anyways, no crashes, no car accidents, no flats.

Time:	2:07:08
Moving Time:	1:57:47
Elapsed Time:	2:07:08

Avg Speed:	31.4 km/h
Avg Moving Speed:	33.8 km/h
Max Speed:	61.6 km/h

By Jupiter's cock!!!!!

Of course today I had most of the day off, so being that I was already in the west end, I went up to Brampton and rode my Hockley Valley loop.  It was fairly cold, and I had a headwind in my face most of the way there, it seemed.   Its the best 80km ride I do.  A few guys from the new team and I did the loop last week and shredded.  Still in racing shape , even in October.

I have good winter clothes for riding this year, so I'm riding outside for a long as possible again this season.  This time I have a power meter so it will be smarter training chasing a WOB team member!!!!! Boom!!!!

CRIXUS!!!! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!?!?!?!?!?!



strong beer and hard riding = Gladiator power and courage



A gladiator does not fear death. He embraces it.

A Thursday in Hell/ What the Hell have I gotten myself into? Part 2

So I go back to the Sports Study place today for the last bit of my testing.  The guy Saro tells me that there are some changes.  I will still have to do a near  30 minute warm up, but I won't have to ride in the jacket for 90 minutes.  For the purposes of the study he can't tell me how long I will be riding for.  He also hands down some bad news.  I have to do it without any water.  He also asks me how I felt the other day.  How hot was the jacket? He asks.  I was thinking it was hot, but not as hot as I would expect an electric jacket to feel.  He says today will be much worse.  I soon find that as hot as I was the other day......spinning at 90rpm in a room with no fan, while wearing a winter jacket and some compression netting over it, it was going to get way, way worse.

We have the technology
We have the capability to make the worlds first bionic man
Trevor Doyle will be that man
Better than he was before
Better, Stronger, Faster

This jacket feels like an electric blanket, but all over.  Really, really hot.  It was like riding your bike on the hottest day imaginable, but with no wind, and no water.  I could feel this gross food, or remnants of food moving up my throat.  A weird sensation I had never felt before.  I could smell my breakfast.  Fried egg sandwich on 12 grain bread, with tons of Frank Hot sauce, 1 apple, 1 organic banana, and some ciabatta bread.  Anyways, it was bad.

This was the reading for the electronic mercury filled pill I ate, that was slowly being  eaten away at by  hot sauce

I was soaked with sweat to a degree that I had never seen before.  Even worse than when I rode around Red Rock Canyon, Nevada in June during a heat wave, and dry spell, meteor shower, solar flair display.  And smog alert.  It was hot. I can remember.

It's all over with now.  Back to riding the crit course with a nameless teammate.

What the hell did I get myself into????

Yesterday I went to the Ontario Sports Center in North York.  I got my VO2 max test done, a useless caliper test of body mass index and got weighed on a guaranteed-to-be- accurate scale.   I sort of felt like a superstar as the place was empty so all eyes were on me.  Basically all I did was ride on a $30,000 SRM stationary bike for 45 minutes so we could dial it in and get me comfortable.   Although it was only a warm up ride I was sweating like a pig.   They told me that the next day would be much, much worse.

Enter the next day.  I show up at 9:30.  After swallowing and electronic pill that measures my core temperature I read the package.  THIS DEVICE CONTAINS MERCURY.  Perfect.  I don't drink water from shit plastic bottles,  don't microwave plastic, don't smoke crack, or wear Aluminum Oxide anti-perspirant.  But here I am eating mercury.  (weird.....my thyroid aches, and there are wolves after me....)

It's hard to believe that I used to have arms....this photo must be stretched.  I am not that skinney.

I show up and they make me do a near 30 minute warm up.  No fan.  No blowing air.  Just riding in a room, at room temperature.  I'm sweating profusely.    Then, as quickly as I'm finished, my man tells me to put on this winter jacket.  And not just a regular winter jacket,  this one plugs into the computer.  So, just like that actress who married that dummy from 'that 70's show"  it can ever so slowly  get hotter and hotter.

Hair getting messy, genitals growing numb.

I have to ride at 90 RPM for 90 minutes while wearing this bad Gap jacket. Again, no fan, no  blowing breeze, no fresh air.  Just me sucking  re-circulated wind from out of a crappy semi-sky scraper.  At least I'm allowed to drink water but in keeping with my usual long rides in the heat, I didn't drink very much.  I ended up losing about 3.5 lbs.  Granted that was 90% fluid but 'man-alive' I looked thin when I was done.

I'm sweating like hell and just riding the bars.

I have to go back in 2 days to do either a worse test or an easier test.  They won't tell me.

Regardless, it still wasn't as bad as trying to chase Bruce Bird and the Wheels of Bloor guys on Sunday.

Here are pics of me doing this thing, accompanied by a wicked picture of my dinner.

The secret to a strong, healthy head of hair is Dove. Blood.

Tonight I got invited to go ride at Albion Hills, a popular mountain bike course.  I haven't ridden my mountain bike for a little over a year, and although I still maintain road racing is harder than cross country mountain bike racing I have always been aware of the not-so-subtle difference between the riders.  Despite the fact that  I have 3 biers in me as I type this I will not be dissuaded from attempting to illustrate these differences.  I will maintain until my death that mountain bikers, in general, are nicer, friendlier people than roadies.

1) I showed up 15 minutes late for tonight's ride.  To my surprise everyone was still waiting for us.  If that were a road ride I most likely would have ridden  alone.

2)During this ride I was fortunate enough to be among the fast group, and at every trail head we stopped and waited for the slower riders to catch up.  No snarky comments, and no boasting about speed.

3)At the end of the ride we met everyone at the parking lot.  All smiling faces, and no one was in a rush to leave.  I pulled out a cooler of beer and offered up its contents to any takers.  Everyone smiled, but then then produced their own beer.  Then one guy pops open his trunk and unloads a pile of firewood and promptly builds a Texas-style wildfire.   Everyone then sits around talking about mountain bike related stuff and drinks their beer.  If that were a road ride the first few guys to get back to the parking lot would have undressed, packed up and left.  Even if everyone caught them before they left there would have been a comment about how how the leaders were hammering, even though they haven't been feeling good, or they haven't ridden much lately.  No one would have produced any beer for themselves, let alone for anyone else.

Mountain bikers, for some reason, are way friendlier, and seem to take their sport much less seriously once they're off the bike.  I say this all as a former mountain bike rider/racer and a now converted Road racer.

Not so much a complaint as it is an observation.

Indirect hit

The season is basically over.  The guys have come back from Belgium, Vic is back from Germany.  I had a better last quarter of the season.  Marc finally convinced me to get a power meter.  (not sure how I feel about that yet....) I've also served my time at Invita Sport and am looking forward to having Saturdays off.  So it's time to think about drinking some beer, watching the CX races, and buying some boots for winter.

I went to meet the team again tonight as per the training schedule, and no one was there.  Why this always happens ?  I don't know.  I rode for a while with Rob D'Amico, which was probably every bit as useful as riding with the team.

this weekend in pictures..........

Vic and Hanka  living it up again. In Germany.

Victor again, with Eric Zabel

                                                             

Not nearly as tasty as you would think

fairly tasty

This meal gave me the strength I needed to pop the cork out of that Chimay

This was actually La Trappe in a Hoegaarden glass, and I can safely wear that shirt.  My last name was O'Doyle 5 or 6 generations ago.

the view from Kevin's awesome Queen and Spadina loft, before we went out for beer in Little italy

I think this is a Corn snake.  On the way up to Hockley Valley.  Alone.  No friends would join me.  MB, DK.....

Adversity introduces a man to himself

Now that the racing season is over I am left wondering about my season's success or lack thereof.  Lately I've been trying to look on the bright side of things, so I'm assuming a more optimistic posture.  "I'm tryin' Ringo, I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd".

A friend recently asked me something after I showed a good race result.  He said 'well have you learned anything from these last few races'? I paused and thought about it, and at first I repsonded 'no, not really'.  He then said 'well, what's different about these last few races?' [referring to the fact that I have gotten several top 10 finishes at the Tuesday races, 6th place at the last OCUP, and a pretty decent place at the Provincials, and the 2 months before that I had races  I couldn't finish]  I paused for another moment and said 'the pain I feel sticking it out and staying in the race is not as bad as the pain I feel when go home after giving up in a race'.

 I think that's all it is in racing .  Which pain is worse? How much can you take? and lastly, how much do you want your desired result?

I suppose next year if I can raise my goals, or better yet, raise the threshold of the pain I'm willing to endure I can have an even better season.  From start to finish.  If I change the goal from wanting to finish the race with the pack to intending to help put a teammate on the podium, or work , no matter how hard, at getting on the podium myself ...............I suppose the pain of doing it will also be less than the pain of disappointment.

Jack Handy

Last Mid Week Race of the year.

Just like the leaves changes their colors, and  the nights get dark darker earlier in the evening so too must end the mighty Mid Week Criterium Races.  Sucks, but true.  I think that's a Metallica song.

Not the biggest pack tonight, but still decent.  I would say 65 racers.  No crashes, but a shit load of attacks.

I wish those races went on into the fall and winter, but I guess in a about 6 weeks it'll start getting dark at 4:30pm.  Sucks, but true.  So an evening race would be impossible.

I'm going to give myself a fine bottled gift for being at every Mid Week Race this season.  Crap, I didn't miss one last year either.  Drink on!

Andy wins the final race.
Stan gets a top 10.
I think I got a 12th.
I'm not aware of Camilo or Marco's result.

Worst sayings ever!

I have to basically take part of this week off from riding as well as this weekend.  I don't have a babysitter and I have my son to myself .  This gives me time to think about other things that aren't  necessarily of the 2 wheel kind.

The worst sayings currently going.  That's what I want to rage about for a minute. I want to break these down a bit and if there are any others that I have missed please make a comment at the bottom.

"Cheers!"  You can say cheers at Xmas dinner.  You can say it at a wedding during  the meal, a waiter could say it to you after handing you your pint of Guinness, and you can say it on a date I suppose but the key to saying cheers is that there is drinking involved.  I hear people say cheers so often as a salutation.  As in 'See you later man, cheers!!!'   Fail!   Don't say it.  It makes you look like you got a discount lobotomy.

"It's all good/no worries."  This is another pair that should really be flushed.  As I hear it, people use it in place of saying 'it's ok', or 'don't worry'.  For some reason I think the phrases originated in Australia.  I think the Crocodile Hunter used to say them, as well as Crocodile Dundee.  It's ok for those dudes to say it because it's colloquial, but not here.  I knew a girl once who went to Australia for a vacation and she came back sounding like a total moron.  When some guy says to me 'no worries man' is he telling me that he has no worries or that I should have no worries?  Because he should worry as I am about to hit him acrosss the head with an escrima stick.

"Good on ya!"  Oh shit, this one is my least favorite saying to hear.  I just want to turn into a raging bull and gore someone to death.  Or better yet grab a trident and just murder the crap out of the person ala Will Ferrell in that Angry Boss skit on SNL.   What the hell is 'Good on ya'?    I think it means good for you, but I'm not sure. Maybe it means there is something good on you, like sunshine, or someone's pet bird, or maybe a nice new shirt. Good for you was a perfectly reasonable saying.  It required no tweaking.  I don't know...... but I do know this- People need to band together and start calling people out when they say 'Good on ya'.  Only thin lipped hookers on 'Thin Lipped Hooker Night" say good on ya.  


Watch this now.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlnObIFBCY4


"My bad!" This quantum anomaly is bad enough that it should be a legal excuse for aggravated assault.  Without a doubt it came from the hip hop , street slang, skateboard sect.  I rarely hear a person over 30yrs ever utter it, but  the few times I have I was brought to nausea and disgust.  "My bad" replaces sorry, my fault.  Or so the user thinks.  Not only have they not issued an admission of fault or an apology, they have succeeded without fail at looking like a 100% douchebag, who wears skinny jeans,  or has a tramp stamp tattoo.  Now I'm no genius.  Far from it.  I can't easily reverse nuclear fusion, or even illegally download music, but the saying of "My bad" is the lowest of the low for people who can actually speak and think.  I take back what I said earlier....... it's waaaaaay worse that saying "good on ya".  My bad, my bad.  Now I'm going to go punch myself in the face repeatedly. 

That was a disappointment, I must say

Today was my first ride with my new power meter.  I got a Cyclops PowerTap.  It did add about a lb or more to the weight of my bike but I do feel that the winter training will benefit me a lot more now that I can train with a bit more structure and feedback.  The only small problem I encountered was that it doesn't work.  I couldn't get my heart rate or my power output to display.

  Last Tuesday was the penultimate night of racing at the Mid Week Crits.  It seemed like a pretty fast night.  It started out really windy and I foresaw several pile ups but luckily there were none.  I like how Craig the organizer has to remind people not to use their cell phones while warming up or racing.  Like how fucking stupid is that ?  Who needs to even bring their cell to the race , unless maybe they rode there, but then turn it off.  I saw the guy using it a few weeks ago.  Dork.  Anyways..........

Total fun kms ridden this Sat/Sun: 200

Thursday I rode from Brampton up to the Hockley General Store and back.  I know I mention it all the time, but that is one hell of a ride.  The best scenery you can ask for and hill after hill.  Even surprise hills that I forget about. Each more surprising than the last.  So close to the city but absolutely no evidence of being close to anything as offensive as a large city.  The store in Hockley has it all.  It's a true general store like I imagine from the good old days.  You can buy beer there, get a meal, or just pick up some groceries or a magazine and nachos and habanero salsa.  They have a great outside sitting area with huge solid pine tables and chairs.  I plan to ride out there though the fall and winter.  

Yesterday I did the Invita group ride form Mississauga to Glen Williams, which is one town south/west of Terra Cotta.  While sitting there at the bakery I enjoyed 2 extra large chocolate chip cookies and a coke.   Some guy comes over and sits with us.  He's riding a Cannondale, and has a strong accent.  As it would happen he is a former pro cyclist and hails from New Zealand.  Told me he raced many of the Spring Classics (not Vlaanderan though....). Even the Tour De Suisse.  His strong accent prevented me from understanding a lot of what he said but what I did get seemed pretty cool.  He was late 50's I would say and in really good shape.  I had to really hammer to catch him on the hill, I'm not even  sure how hard he was going .

Today I met "The Reverend' Jeff Ker downtown and we rode from there out to Stouffville.  Half of the ride, it seems, is just trying to get out of the city.  We held a strong pace, but weren't hammering.  We still needed to be able to talk about the season and the 2012 season as well.  We stopped in town for coffee/smoothies at a new cafe called the Red Bulb.  Awesome smoothies.  The forecast called for rain all morning but we never really got it.  Not enough to even get our shorts wet.  

It appears a good weekend was had by all.

Leprechaun out

Provincial Championships Team pics

Marc and Stanley in the feed zone like sissies

Me getting a feed

Phill doing something

Andy trying to get away

Marc just after the start on the stupid gravel

me just sitting in I guess

Me trying to maybe get away , not sure.  Possibly just reveling  in the fact they announced my name and team 

L-R in black and white Stan , Marc, Phill

Why the hell did they make us start on gravel anyways?  Marco in the middle