Dan Action

Spills, Thrills, still no Chills. August 1, 2008

Not much break in the heat down here. The city feels like a bacteria breeding ground, god knows what is festering in the humid, sauna-like city known as Philly. I wonder what might be growing on the sugar-water covered triathlete’s bikes. A Cervelo P2C in the heat, the “P” comes to stand for petri.

In the week leading up to the last night I got to spend with my mother, as you might imagine, it was hard to keep my focus on whatever task was at hand without my mind going back to thoughts of her. As this pertained to my riding, my focus was shot. At best I’d sporadically sprint with a short fit of anger or a similar sentiment or my mind would come back around to what I was actually doing and I’d be coasting down to 12 mph or so.  At worst, it meant turfing it. While riding in the dirt, I’d be a little spacey and find myself on the ground. Once after riding myself pretty tired I fell off a little plank ride and damaged my ass, not to mention a few other parts of me. Another time led to missing the sight of an object directly in front of me as it put me in prone position into the ground. I felt my teeth push some dirt around, I also worked up a great abrasion on my face. There is not too much that drives me to enrage than to hit my face or head. Most times with a head injury though, I am able to concuss myself out of the memory and most of the pain. The face however, oooh do I get mad. Luckily I have given up the habit of throwing my bike. Well, except any mountain bike I might have. Mountain bikes don’t really count.

Looking so forward to the D2R2 ride. I keep searching for maps or cue sheets or any other ride reports I can find. Milliman is set to shoot this ride by moto. Sooooo sweeeet.

Been tuning up a bit here and climbing a lot on the dirt with the cross bike. One thing a bout hard dirt climbs; they really let you know where you are as far as your core strength is. Woof.

This just in….

Litchfield ride is up on The Rapha Continental site. Photos were shot by Chris Milliman. So gorgeous.  Check it all out.

Where have I been? June 3, 2008

The answer to that question has many sides and as many asides. I will try to cover a good amount of ground here.

Let’s see, on the home front things are truly spectacular. Two dogs now playfully reside in the house. Work is getting to be a really comfortable place. It is completely full of great folks, I don’t even mind, and in fact, aim to get in early every work day if only to shoot the BS over a cup of coffee with everyone. Not to mention all the help and advice I’ve gleaned from them over minute details of the city. The likes of which make it easier to find the genuinely wonderful things in the city.

“What things could this be?” you may wonder. Well I’ll let you in on some of them.

One- John’s water ice. Folks down here refer to Italian Ice simply as water ice. This place is the tops, and I don’t say that just because it’s 4 blocks from my house. They also make their own ice cream. The mixture of their chocolate ice cream and the cherry water ice sends me to dreamland.

Two- It is not as easy as other places I’ve lived to buy beer here. Seemingly very few stores are allowed to sell. You either buy your beer as a 6-pack to go from a bar or go to the local deli or pizzeria to get some. Both of these, I may add, a re usually exceedingly expensive. Taxes on booze are high, as is public demand, therefore dumb, dumb beer prices. Though if you are of more quantitative thinking, you can also buy cases at a beer distributor. Prices vary pretty wildly, and you can not walk out with anything less than 24 beers.

Three- Travel to NY. There are a myriad of ways open to the auto-less Philadelphian to get themselver to Ney York. There is a series of two commuter rails that are scheduled in tandem to get you ther in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There is also a few different bus companies that run from Chinatown Philly to Chinatown in New York. Each is usually $20 round trip, $12 one way. These buses haul ass and will have you on Canal st. in under 2hrs.

This is the tip of the iceberg as far as the helpful things my friends and co-workers have imparted on me. It works out great.

Riding has been going well. On the Rapha side of things, we all got our new bikes!!! I am riding a Chris Igleheart. It feels amazing!! The other fine folks that made frames for the team of guys were Bilenky, Independent Fabrications, Circle A Cycles (yahoo!) , and Richard Sachs. What a line up. The day after getting them we gave them a 100 mile whirl around the constantly undulating terrain of north-central Massachusetts. Departing from Fitchburg, we plodded north to touch down a little in NH, then returned south and completed the loop just after climbing the mount Wachusett summit. Kind of my old stomping grounds. We made sure to get some good photos, and to stop a lot to make adjustments on our one day old bikes.

Riding here in Philly has been pretty good, and I’m happy to say I’m finally back on a way more consistent schedule. I have actually been getting up to ride before work on most days, starting rodes at 7a.m., and usually going out for a good 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. It’s so much easier when there are people you agreed to meet. Days off, like today I usually do the morning ride, then try to squeeze in a second ride towards the evening. Cross season is beginning to pick at my mind. I need to be in killer shape by the end of September.

I have borrowed the demo Spec. FSR full suspension ride from the shop a few times and gotten out to the trails. There is some super fun riding out here, about four or five miles from the house. I love riding rocky, swoopy trails. The Wissahickon has got them everywhere. Not to mention a couple of long, gross climbs, and some nicely sculpted obstacles and berms. Fast!!!

That’s it for now. I’ll try and scare up a few pictures. Internet here at the house is more or less donated anonomously and sort of cuts in or out frequently, so that is no help for me trying to relieve the absentee-ism from my blog. Thanks.

Where to start? April 20, 2008

As per usual, I’ve had a pretty busy time of late. Last week found me and Nat-a-tat driving up the eastern seaboard to the ever so familiar northeast. We got to New York Friday afternoon, had some stellar Indian food, and went to meet the other members of this Rapha team’s eastern faction. We all met up at R. Bravo’s house in Park Slope, had some great beer via Sam R.’s brewery workplace, and settled in for a meeting of everlasting duration. I felt like a kid on Christmas opening all the cellophane bags holding our new pristine riding togs. We were all trying them on and parading about the apartment. Primping ain’t easy. Saturday morning we were on our way to New Paltz to start our first ride. It was 6:00 am, so needless to say, I slept the whole ride up. All bad weather broke as we hit the road. The sky cleared and the temperature was hitting in the 70’s as we rolled over hill and dale into the Catskills state park. Much clowning around was had throughout the 6 1/2 hour ride that had us climbing an estimated total of 12,000 feet. Much food was consumed, a few stops taken, a couple wardrobe changes, and one crash. Not too shabby considering. I do love riding with a group of guys that love to goof around, but are not afraid to put in some monster efforts.

Sometime late that night we were back in Brooklyn, preparing for a brunch in the morning, then heading to Philadelphia for a few days of job and house hunting. Traffic was pretty brutal, but we got to Philly in the early evening and sat around some friends’ West Philly apartment and caught up a bit. Job hunting went well over our three day stay, landing me a job at the one shop I had my eye on before even getting there: Bicycle Therapy. It’s quality shop on South street. I was incredibly impressed by my first impression upon walking through the door, and even moreso after talking with the owner, Lee, for a while. I believe it is going to be a great fit. We also found a great house just south a few blocks from South st. It is super close to a wonderful outdoor Italian marketplace that is in full swing every day. Cooking will be so nice. Can’t wait to get up there. One more week.

In other recent events, Last night in honor of Wayward Council’s 10th anniversary as a volunteer run record store/ practice space/ community meeting place/ etc., they held a night of rollerskating. I will tell you that few things make me happier that to see all your friends get goofy and klutzy while strapping wheels to their feet and zip around an oval. Since there is no way to be cool at all when skating, nobody seems to try, all defenses are down and that makes for a great time. my hips are a bit sore from stacking up a few times but it was all worth it. I’ll be back up North in a week, but it can’t come soon enough right now.

Next Rapha ride is in New York. I can’t attend because of the move, but I encourage others to check out the events at Cadence in New York, it’s gonna be tight.

More fun in the sun February 18, 2008

   This very evening I am asking myself a very important question.  I am wondering -red or white wine with beanie weenie?  Looking for a robust complimentary taste, I went with the red.

Well, work hours are steadily ticking off down here as are the riding hours.  I had a great weekend recently racing in the crit the UF team held here in town.  I got all dressed up in my new skinsuit  for the occasion.  Nick and Gwen from Boston (formerly Gainesville residents themselves) were her in town and a whole bunch of us got together for pre-race breakfast.  It was really a great time.  The race went fine. The thing about a downtown crit I love is when the course is just packed with people and activity, much like a cross race.  There were the race fans, the folks who were just downtown and had no idea what was going on, there was a large section of drinking, heckling mountain bikers, a barbecue at a house along the course and general cycling fanatics abound.  It made the race a lot more fun.  I stayed towards the front of the 50 or so rider field for the duration of the race and chased down a couple of people trying to get away. One or two times I went to bridge up to someone who’s effort looked promising, but alas, I pulled the field with me then too.  It came down to a field sprint.  They are not my strong point, so I did my best to choose a wheel that looked good and went for it.  For my efforts I got myself into 13th.  Not bad, not great.

There is a video of the finish here.  Look for my pink butt crossing the line.

I just received the first issue of Embrocation magazine. Well done. I’ve been keeping it around the shop I work in, letting people take it in.

I’m getting the ‘cross bike ready for the Tour de Gainesville this year. A sixty+ mile romp through Gainesville proper’s incredible off-road trail network. Last year this is the ride that left my right shoulder in a state of separation.  This year I am more or less hybridizing the CX bike to give me a more heads-up position as the trails are varying but extremely technical.

Everything else is pretty much the same.  I crushed the little toe of my left foot on a log pedalling through a corner on my local trail, making wearing cycling shoes painful.  I’ve been catching up on everyone else’s blogs and pretty much ignoring my own, but damn, I love to hear what everyone’s up to.  I am adding a bunch to the old blogroll tonight.  I’ll  be back soon, I promise.

Tuesday Tuesday February 5, 2008

2008 has seen the passing of two great names in cycling already. Namely, Mr. Thomson and Mr. Sheldon Brown.

Being from New England, I always knew of Sheldon Brown as being a regional celebrity in cycling circles. Only in the past 5 or 6 years did I start to realize how prolific the man really was, and what a deep mark he made in cycling. How many people ignited their spark of passion by immersing themselves in Sheldon’s online maze of gearing charts, 3speeds, all that is fixed gear, and general lore? How many more simply indulged themselves in the tomes of information put forth by a man who tirelessly worked and researched, but also continued to learn and adapt to new technologies and faces of the industries, therefore maintaining a trait few folks do that have been around as long, that of relevancy. He had a fantastic run here; it was one that touched many, many people.

I had never met Mr. Thomson, though I hope it dosen’t sound too cheesy or shallow when I say I have, like millions more, I have thoroughly enjoyed riding the products he designed and manufactured. I have a deep appreciation for both the model of business he operated, and the quality worksmanship his posts and stems were manufactured to. He seemed like a real decent man.
In other news, the Gainesville Downtown crit is this weekend. There is also a time trial on Saturday, but I am opting out of that one since I work all day. I am as excited to race as I am to just enjoy being at the races. I will get to watch my friend Mike Arena race his first big crit, and also check out Nick M. from Boston race his race. The course pretty much orbits a great park downtown, so watching in easy and enjoyable.

There is one thing I’m a bit amiss about. Here they are requiring racers to rent or buy a timing chip for your race. You can buy one for roughly $100 or you can rent them for $10 per race, with a $90 deposit or your credit card number.

They used the chip system at the two ‘cross races here too, though no deposit or rental fee was needed, just your U.S.A. Cycling license # and your I.D. At a cross race though, if you need to change bikes, it means you’d have to wear your chip on your person, and if it came down to a sprint, it is not your front wheel that is being recorded, it somewhere toward the center of the bike. I also noticed the lack of cameras at the line as well. And to tiop it off, no posted results in two weeks! If the computer timing system is so great and efficient, where are the results?

So buy a chip for a hundred or rent them by the race for ten bucks. How come in New England- road, cross, whatever- with a couple cameras on the line and fields of nearly a hundred riders, they can get it right? Is it because outfits like J.D.’s Pioneer Productions are so superior? That may well be the case, but in any event, making racers pay more money to race with the incentive of more detailed data (lap times, etc.) just seems bunk to me. It’s as lame as unattached rider fees. It seems to me that if this is going to be a mandatory piece of equipment, the promoters are setting the bar, therefore the burden of running the new system should be on them. Especially when the tried and true way of watching the line, having a couple of cameras, and cataloging finishing riders seems to work pretty well. The way they did it at the ‘cross races in Largo seemed well done, if just not that congruent to cyclocross, seemed to work well. No one waked off with their chip, and if someone might have, the promoters have the person’s name and information. Who knows?

Well the fancy and triumphant sounds of Ratatat are getting me pumped to get on with my day here. I’m psyched to eat then get out for me and Mike’s Tuesday tempo + ride. Oh for the record, I’ve put on a bit more weight, putting me up to right about 150lbs. Yeah, eat right!!!!

State Champ Race and more February 4, 2008

Well, last weekend the Florida state championship cyclocross races were held. Again I went down to Largo to see what I could do about winning said race.

The course was pretty much the exact same layout as the week prior with the exception that the first course’s mud pit had pretty much dried up, so as to not deprive a ‘cross racer’s desire for the dirty stuff, they found a nice long stretch of a mud pit for us all to ride through ten or so times.

I blew my own strategy to hell right off the start line because they were putting up a holeshot prime. 200 meters or so down the starting straight a guy in a bright jacket was standing at the line. I have never gotten the holeshot in a race, I’m usually content to be in the first half of the group as it goes into the course, but here I was at the very front! I got a a little power-mad and went all the way for the prime. From there on I led most of the first lap at about as fast as I could ride it. I took along the two people who rounded ut the podium with me the previous week and that’s about it. Gary Yates took over at the front and got through a couple loose twisting sections faster than I could match and i lost his wheel. Similarly, Paul Kavan, riding third had already been dropped of mine and second place was just a matter of riding the course for an hour. I managed to do it, and again, I was on the middle rung of the podium. The race was super fun and the party afterwards was chock full of fun and down to earth folks.

In other news, February has brought with it a challenge. Will I be able to make it in this balmiest of all winter months? Methinks so, though the days I work the long hours will actually be tough.

With the definitive end to my ‘cross season you might think I’ve all but boxed up the ‘cross bike, but no! I’ve been getting out for two hours + one day a week. There is a ridiculously awesome trail network here in the midst of Gainesville. It does me a lot of good both technically handling the bike for elongated block of time over wildly varying terrain and it breaks up te monotony of solitary road riding. My weekend hours at work pretty much shut me off to the group rides I used to do here. Apart from the Tuesday afternoon rides with Mike Arena, It’s been just me and the pavement. Ho Hum.

Top photo by Carrie Pratt.

What do you know; it’s a new year. January 1, 2008

Well it’s gonna drop down to freezing tonight here in Gainesville, FL. The town is completely dead on this first day of the new year, not that I see that much of it anyway. My ride out on the back roads today was pretty much me on the road and that’s it.

While I’m on the subject of riding, there are a bunch of events coming up here that I’m pretty pumped about. First, the Tour of San Felasco is coming up on the 14th. San Felasco is an incredible nature preserve about 10 miles outside Gainesville that boasts 50 miles or more of continuous trails. The tour there is a well attended event, filling all 450 spots within a week of registration. A guy who works at the shop with me has an entrance form, but is not sure if he’s going to use it. If not I’m hoping to be able to volunteer or something to ride it.

Next are the two ‘cross races in Largo, FL. about two hours south of where I am. I have no idea what to expect from cyclocross in Florida, and I will demur speculations. There are two of them in the same town one on the 20th and another on the 27th. The latter is apparently going to be the Florida state championships. Who Knows?

Other cycling events of note are the training crits that are starting up as early as next Saturday and running for three weeks. Unfortunately for me I work all day on Saturdays and it makes up a big chunk of my paycheck, so You can’t race them all.

Early February there will be the perennial Gainesville Downtown Criterium. I look forward to this one and in preparation, I am going to make myself a new skinsuit. Since I race unattached on the road, I feel I should take advantage of the freedom of choice I have as to what kit I can wear. Look for it.

There’s a lot more I want to add to this post, but I guess it can wait and this one can suffice as a small update. I hope a good number of you were close to a bottle of champagne last night and were able to hear some version of Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne. New Years may be the only holiday that has gotten me consistently choked up. Get right with those you love, make sure they know it.

Getting ready. June 20, 2007

The rain has come in droves starting today. I got rained out of work thoroughly so Dave and I went to l

the lab at his school and he took some sonogram pictures of my heart. Good news, it’s still there.

I’m feeling last night’s ride today pretty well, it was a good one. Only a few folks showed up for the group ride because of the threat of rain, so the ten or so of us set out into the wind. After somewhere around 20 miles, Tony and Ryan Saylor slipped off the front. That didn’t leave us with too many folks strong enough to chase really effectively, but three, and sometimes, four of us took up the task and went for it at the front. With only the few of us working through the rolling hills, recovery time was nil. It took us 15 miles or so to bring the two of them back, and as soon as we did, Tony, who was on the break flatted. I will say, though, I felt way better than I expected and was taking pulls that seemingly came from nowhere, given my earlier feeling of fatigue. I was pleasantly surprised. Every now and again my tenacity shows itself to be a virtue.

In other news, Mike Arena, Brendan McGrath and I are putting on an alleycat down here in early July. The 7th to be exact. In the gross spirit of the fourth of July, we are calling this one Manifest Destiny, to make an even more heinous allusion. The race, in the true horrible spirit works it’s way from the East side of town to the West. It even gets a little more pioneer/ Oregon Trail when the last section send people on a mile or two of trail, complete with river crossings and Donner Party type antics. Well, hopefully not, but you never know.

In still other news, Hannah will be here next week. I am doing laundry in anticipation. And my newest band, Sex Potion, is playing next Saturday. The next six weeks or so are getting pretty packed with things like shows, rides, shows, the alleycat, other alleycats, my 31st birthday, and more shows. The busyness is good, along with working a bit for the last push to have some cash when I get to Providence, I won’t have too much time to really dawdle and miss it so much. I hate to admit it, but I’m actually even excited to get back to work too. Who knew?