Friday, May 23, 2008
In!
Got the email (finally!) confirming I am actually in for Lotoja this year. Good thing, since I had already started raising money on the assumption I would be. I'm well ahead of where I was last year from a training standpoint and with my surgery shouldn't have to worry about my knee acting up. I'm optimistic that I'll have a good race--as long as the weather holds.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Gavia
In the 1988 Giro d'Italia, Andy Hampsten endeared himself to Italian cycling fans with his legendary performance on the Gavia, a 2,621 meter/8,599 foot pass high in the Lombardy region of Italy. The stage was marked by heavy snows and sub-freezing temperatures, making an already difficult climb something truly extreme. Although Hampsten didn't win the stage (he came in second), he took the overall race lead and held it to become the first and only American to win the Giro.
The remarkable part about this stage was not the snow and cold--such conditions are not unheard of in the high mountains of Italy. The remarkable part was that the stage didn't finish on the mountain top, but required a treacherous descent as well. In Hampsten's own account of the experience, he quotes Italian cycling great Francisco Moser, who said "I have seen stages where it finished on a climb in conditions like this, but never with such a descent."
Yesterday after work, my brother and I decided to head out on a road ride up Emigration Canyon in Salt Lake City. The weather had been wet and windy earlier in the day, but it was clear and relatively mild when we departed. Our intention was to climb to the pass at Big Mountain, a little over 20 miles and 3700 vertical feet from our origin.
Things went fine up Emigration Canyon, but on the climb up Little Mountain, it started to rain lightly. No big deal, just made things a bit wet. We were making good time, so we thought we'd be OK. On the way up Big Mountain, though, I noticed that the rain was turning to snow. I wasn't alarmed, though, and actually thought about the account I read in Bicycling Magazine of Hampsten's ride on the Gavia as I made my way up the switchbacks. At the top, I snapped a picture with my cell phone to document the event, thinking the climb and descent in the snow would make a good story.
It was cold at the top, but I felt OK and figured the descent would be fast. I put my phone back in my jersey, and we started down the road. I think we made it 500 meters. On the climb up, we were moving slow enough and working hard enough that we didn't notice the cold so much. But on the way down, we were wet, weren't working hard, and had the additional 30mph wind to chill us even deeper. I've been hypothermic before, so I know what my limits are. And I knew this descent was beyond them. I pulled off to the side of the road, and told my brother I was calling our dad to come get us. I felt like we were little kids again and needed dad to bail us out, but neither of us cared.
Once the rescue party was called, we tried limping down the road just to make a bit of progress. I was shivering so bad that I couldn't keep the bike going straight, and my hands were cold and numb to the point I couldn't grip the brake levers. Plus moving was a lot colder than just sitting still. So we pulled off to the side of the road and waited. My brother had nothing but a jersey and arm warmers to keep him warm. I had a long-sleeve base layer and a jersey. Both of us had bare legs. It's silly to think that neither of us even brought a vest or a jacket considering what the weather had been like all day. It took about 20 minutes for the cavalry to arrive with coats, hot chocolate, cookies, and most important, shelter from the elements.
At the beginning of the climb we had ridden past Donner Park and joked about the foreboding nature of having a park so named at the base of the climb. On the climb up, I thought about how much worse it could be if instead of a trace of snow, we had several inches, like Hampsten dealt with. I figured I'd have to take it slow and easy to avoid going down on the switchbacks. But the thought never crossed my mind that I wouldn't make the descent at all.
Hampsten's team had the foresight to raid the local ski shop for gloves, hats, jackets, and other cold weather gear. I like to think that properly equipped, we would have rallied the descent rather than bailing out. But I'm probably wrong.
The remarkable part about this stage was not the snow and cold--such conditions are not unheard of in the high mountains of Italy. The remarkable part was that the stage didn't finish on the mountain top, but required a treacherous descent as well. In Hampsten's own account of the experience, he quotes Italian cycling great Francisco Moser, who said "I have seen stages where it finished on a climb in conditions like this, but never with such a descent."
Yesterday after work, my brother and I decided to head out on a road ride up Emigration Canyon in Salt Lake City. The weather had been wet and windy earlier in the day, but it was clear and relatively mild when we departed. Our intention was to climb to the pass at Big Mountain, a little over 20 miles and 3700 vertical feet from our origin.
Things went fine up Emigration Canyon, but on the climb up Little Mountain, it started to rain lightly. No big deal, just made things a bit wet. We were making good time, so we thought we'd be OK. On the way up Big Mountain, though, I noticed that the rain was turning to snow. I wasn't alarmed, though, and actually thought about the account I read in Bicycling Magazine of Hampsten's ride on the Gavia as I made my way up the switchbacks. At the top, I snapped a picture with my cell phone to document the event, thinking the climb and descent in the snow would make a good story.
It was cold at the top, but I felt OK and figured the descent would be fast. I put my phone back in my jersey, and we started down the road. I think we made it 500 meters. On the climb up, we were moving slow enough and working hard enough that we didn't notice the cold so much. But on the way down, we were wet, weren't working hard, and had the additional 30mph wind to chill us even deeper. I've been hypothermic before, so I know what my limits are. And I knew this descent was beyond them. I pulled off to the side of the road, and told my brother I was calling our dad to come get us. I felt like we were little kids again and needed dad to bail us out, but neither of us cared.
Once the rescue party was called, we tried limping down the road just to make a bit of progress. I was shivering so bad that I couldn't keep the bike going straight, and my hands were cold and numb to the point I couldn't grip the brake levers. Plus moving was a lot colder than just sitting still. So we pulled off to the side of the road and waited. My brother had nothing but a jersey and arm warmers to keep him warm. I had a long-sleeve base layer and a jersey. Both of us had bare legs. It's silly to think that neither of us even brought a vest or a jacket considering what the weather had been like all day. It took about 20 minutes for the cavalry to arrive with coats, hot chocolate, cookies, and most important, shelter from the elements.
At the beginning of the climb we had ridden past Donner Park and joked about the foreboding nature of having a park so named at the base of the climb. On the climb up, I thought about how much worse it could be if instead of a trace of snow, we had several inches, like Hampsten dealt with. I figured I'd have to take it slow and easy to avoid going down on the switchbacks. But the thought never crossed my mind that I wouldn't make the descent at all.
Hampsten's team had the foresight to raid the local ski shop for gloves, hats, jackets, and other cold weather gear. I like to think that properly equipped, we would have rallied the descent rather than bailing out. But I'm probably wrong.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Moab!
Today I leave for my spring Moab trip. I know what you're thinking--weren't you just there? Yes, I was. Well kind of. I never actually entered Moab city limits. And it was for RAWROD, so it's not really the same as a Moab trip.
Here are some things I'm looking forward to:
Here are some things I'm looking forward to:
- Riding my 29er: this is my first true Moab trip on the 29er. I had it with me last year, but we didn't ride anything but Slickrock. I'm looking forward to getting it out on some other trails.
- Moab diner: the nice thing about riding bikes all day is that I can eat a milkshake every night with a lot less guilt. It won't be guilt-free, though, because that's not how I'm wired.
- Friends: the first three days will just be hanging out with the guys and riding bikes. There's something restorative about having nothing on my agenda but riding my bike.
- Family: wife and kids plus my bro and his family are coming on Friday. It's a ton of fun to see the kids running around together and having a blast in the giant sandbox that is Southern Utah redrock country. And I love just hanging out with my bro and his wife. Not to mention my wife and I honeymooned in Moab, so there's nothing better than being there with her.
- Not working: there is absolutely nothing I look forward to about going to work each day. I won't miss it and will certainly dread going back next week.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Fighting for Susan
I'm not one to be silent for long, so now that my moment of silence for the Nelson family has ended, it's time to get down to business. My brother, Steve, and I have decided to use our Lotoja ride this year as a means to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where Susan had her hip replaced last fall.
My goal is to raise the equivalent of one paycheck for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. To do this I'm seeking 80 donors willing to contribute the equivalent of one hour's wages. Given that my blog is small potatoes compared to Elden's, that means all six of you readers are on the hook to make a donation.
It's really easy: all you have to do is go to http://www.active.com/donate/lotoja08/MAlbrec131 and click on the "make a contribution" box on the right-hand side of the page. Enter your contact information, your credit or debit card number, click submit, and you're done. It will take you less than two minutes--I know because I just primed the pump for you.
I know how these things work--if you don't do it right away, you'll forget. So do it now. Click the link, take your wallet out of your pocket or purse, and punch in the numbers. I'd like to get to $800 in donations by the end of next week. Let's see if we can't get there even faster.
Thanks for your generosity!
Oh, and by the way, Lance Armstrong visited the Huntsman Cancer Institute earlier this week and liked what he saw. He's pulling for Susan to win just like the rest of us.
Monday, May 5, 2008
A moment of silence
Not quite three years ago, I started reading fatcyclist.com. Since then, I have read almost every day. I have met Elden, ridden with him, consider him a friend. And so I have nothing to say about this news other than I am deeply saddened and angered by the injustice of it all. I can think of nothing to say to help and so will observe a moment of silence for the Nelson family. May God bless you and shower you with miracles.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Gas tax moratorium
Apparently John McCain is getting his economic advice from Carly Fiorina. By his own admission, McCain doesn't know much about economics. So of all the people in the world to choose as an advisor, why Carly? If McCain needed some advice on how to waste taxpayer/shareholder money on useless publicity antics, I'm sure Carly could provide some useful advice. But when the economy is in the crapper and needs a jumpstart, why on earth would anyone think she'd have a good idea?
Of all the ideas McCain has ever had, a moratorium on the gas tax has got to be among the dumbest. Over dinner a few days ago, we were talking about the horrific situation in Haiti as a result of rising food commodity prices. My nine-year-old asked a simple yet reasonable question, "why don't they lower the price of rice?" So I took the opportunity to explain to her the basics of market prices and supply and demand.
I asked her if there were ten people wanting to buy rice but only enough rice for five of them, who would get the rice?
"The five willing to pay the most," was her reply.
And if the first were willing to pay $10, the second $9, the third $8, the fourth $7, and the fifth, $6 for that rice, how much will all of them pay?
She thought for a second, then said "six dollars."
Six dollars, I told her, was therefore the market price for rice. It wasn't set by the sellers, but rather by how much the buyers were willing to pay. And so long as the supply doesn't change, the price will always be set by how much the buyer of the last available unit is willing to pay irrespective of whether that six dollars is all going towards the seller or includes taxes, tariffs, or other fees.
This made sense to her intuitively, and I congratulated her for mastering a basic economic principal that many voting adults fail to grasp.
And apparently 2/3 of viable presidential candidates fail to understand this one either, because so long as the supply of gasoline remains unchanged, removing the federal gasoline tax will do nothing beyond putting the government another $10 billion into debt. Because a given supply will sell for whatever the buyer of the last available unit is willing to pay for it. And if that 18.4 cents per gallon doesn't go towards infrastructure, it will go to those selling the gasoline. But the market price will remain unchanged.
The part about all of this that I find most troubling is not that such a half-baked idea is actually being proposed by presidential candidates. I actually don't think that any of the three are truly so ignorant as to think it would work. It's that two of the three think that the voting public is stupid enough to think that it would work, and since it's too late to actually implement the idea, it's a political gimmick that the candidates can safely use, confident that their bluff will never be called.
I have no delusions that the American people are wise and deliberate decision makers when it comes time to vote. That should be evident to anyone that takes a serious look at the idiots we send to congress. But it's insulting to know that the candidates' assessment of our collective intelligence is such that they can make a suggestion as pathetic as a moratorium on gasoline taxes a campaign issue and actually use it to sway voters in their favor. I'm sure that if it were legal, they'd hand out five dollar bills at the campaign rallies if they thought that would influence voters. And I also wouldn't be surprised if, under the right circumstances, that same five dollars is equal or greater than the value a candidate places on his or her own integrity.
If anyone really wants to do something about gas prices, go ride a bike. The supply curve isn't moving, but we can move the demand curve a step to the right.
Of all the ideas McCain has ever had, a moratorium on the gas tax has got to be among the dumbest. Over dinner a few days ago, we were talking about the horrific situation in Haiti as a result of rising food commodity prices. My nine-year-old asked a simple yet reasonable question, "why don't they lower the price of rice?" So I took the opportunity to explain to her the basics of market prices and supply and demand.
I asked her if there were ten people wanting to buy rice but only enough rice for five of them, who would get the rice?
"The five willing to pay the most," was her reply.
And if the first were willing to pay $10, the second $9, the third $8, the fourth $7, and the fifth, $6 for that rice, how much will all of them pay?
She thought for a second, then said "six dollars."
Six dollars, I told her, was therefore the market price for rice. It wasn't set by the sellers, but rather by how much the buyers were willing to pay. And so long as the supply doesn't change, the price will always be set by how much the buyer of the last available unit is willing to pay irrespective of whether that six dollars is all going towards the seller or includes taxes, tariffs, or other fees.
This made sense to her intuitively, and I congratulated her for mastering a basic economic principal that many voting adults fail to grasp.
And apparently 2/3 of viable presidential candidates fail to understand this one either, because so long as the supply of gasoline remains unchanged, removing the federal gasoline tax will do nothing beyond putting the government another $10 billion into debt. Because a given supply will sell for whatever the buyer of the last available unit is willing to pay for it. And if that 18.4 cents per gallon doesn't go towards infrastructure, it will go to those selling the gasoline. But the market price will remain unchanged.
The part about all of this that I find most troubling is not that such a half-baked idea is actually being proposed by presidential candidates. I actually don't think that any of the three are truly so ignorant as to think it would work. It's that two of the three think that the voting public is stupid enough to think that it would work, and since it's too late to actually implement the idea, it's a political gimmick that the candidates can safely use, confident that their bluff will never be called.
I have no delusions that the American people are wise and deliberate decision makers when it comes time to vote. That should be evident to anyone that takes a serious look at the idiots we send to congress. But it's insulting to know that the candidates' assessment of our collective intelligence is such that they can make a suggestion as pathetic as a moratorium on gasoline taxes a campaign issue and actually use it to sway voters in their favor. I'm sure that if it were legal, they'd hand out five dollar bills at the campaign rallies if they thought that would influence voters. And I also wouldn't be surprised if, under the right circumstances, that same five dollars is equal or greater than the value a candidate places on his or her own integrity.
If anyone really wants to do something about gas prices, go ride a bike. The supply curve isn't moving, but we can move the demand curve a step to the right.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
I'd hate to be John Arne Riise right now
Yesterday Chelsea beat Liverpool to advance to the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Since Manchester United beat Barcelona earlier in the week, it will be an all-England final. Which I guess is really only cool if you're a fan of English football. Otherwise it's the equivalent of baseball's subway series, bay bridge series, or a (still-theoretical) L.A. gridlock series. Pretty interesting if you live in the town where it's occurring, but less engaging for everyone else in the world.
As you should be aware, I despise Chelsea. Loathe them. Hope that they'll be relegated and never contend for any title again. And now they're in the finals, and since they beat Man U over the weekend, are also contending for the double. And I'm sure John Arne Riise would love to have a mulligan. Literally seconds before the final whistle in the first leg, Riise scored an own goal, effectively giving Chelsea the advantage on away goals.
Yesterday's match was hard-fought, with Chelsea striking first on a stinger by Didier Drogba. Fernando Torres leveled the score, and there it stayed until the end of regulation. Liverpool were first to concede in extra time, which although a psychological blow, really didn't matter. They needed to score and if they did, could afford to concede one and still advance on away goals. Unfortunately, they conceded two in the first period of extra time. Liverpool got one back in the second extra period, but were unable to level, allowing Chelsea to advance.
Now both the Champions League as well as the Premiership are in the hands of the two sides who have dominated English football for the past three years. As an Arsenal supporter, this is hard to bear. My brother called me last week, before any of the Champions League semifinals, to ask me who I would support in the finals.
Chelsea was never an option. Liverpool would usually be his choice, but they've been to the finals twice in three years, and he felt like they'd had their turn. Barcelona is appealing at first blush just because Thierry Henry is there and it's hard not to support the former Gunner, particularly since his move to Barca was motivated by a desire to win the CL. But after attending a match at the Nou Camp, my bro was not impressed with the Barca fans and felt like they don't appreciate the talent they get to watch each game and certainly weren't the kind of people he'd wish to raise a trophy. Which leaves Manchester United.
As an Arsenal fan, is it even possible to get behind Man U and wish them success, particularly when they're vying for the double? When the alternative in both of those contests is Chelsea, the answer is a resounding yes.
As you should be aware, I despise Chelsea. Loathe them. Hope that they'll be relegated and never contend for any title again. And now they're in the finals, and since they beat Man U over the weekend, are also contending for the double. And I'm sure John Arne Riise would love to have a mulligan. Literally seconds before the final whistle in the first leg, Riise scored an own goal, effectively giving Chelsea the advantage on away goals.
Yesterday's match was hard-fought, with Chelsea striking first on a stinger by Didier Drogba. Fernando Torres leveled the score, and there it stayed until the end of regulation. Liverpool were first to concede in extra time, which although a psychological blow, really didn't matter. They needed to score and if they did, could afford to concede one and still advance on away goals. Unfortunately, they conceded two in the first period of extra time. Liverpool got one back in the second extra period, but were unable to level, allowing Chelsea to advance.Now both the Champions League as well as the Premiership are in the hands of the two sides who have dominated English football for the past three years. As an Arsenal supporter, this is hard to bear. My brother called me last week, before any of the Champions League semifinals, to ask me who I would support in the finals.
Chelsea was never an option. Liverpool would usually be his choice, but they've been to the finals twice in three years, and he felt like they'd had their turn. Barcelona is appealing at first blush just because Thierry Henry is there and it's hard not to support the former Gunner, particularly since his move to Barca was motivated by a desire to win the CL. But after attending a match at the Nou Camp, my bro was not impressed with the Barca fans and felt like they don't appreciate the talent they get to watch each game and certainly weren't the kind of people he'd wish to raise a trophy. Which leaves Manchester United.
As an Arsenal fan, is it even possible to get behind Man U and wish them success, particularly when they're vying for the double? When the alternative in both of those contests is Chelsea, the answer is a resounding yes.
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