Changing Tides - and I'm Not Talking about Sandy

It's been slow at work, as evidenced by my facebook-trolling this past week, so I have no excuse not to update my blog. Everyone can relax, though, as I'll be steering clear of anything that might be perceived as political, politically motivated or otherwise biased about the upcoming elections. Frankly, I'll just be happy when they're over so normal, adult-like discourse can resume.

Part of my recent blog-silence has been the sheer amount of change going on, and I don't just mean the weather. Biggest (and possibly best!) change is our move into a house - yes, a real house. Only a few blocks from where we were, right off the Clarendon Cup course.

No more whining about the 1br apt with a boy and a cat. No more whining "I could really use _______ but ... it's in STORAGE" (the boy is especially happy about this). Cassius the Cat is walking around with a lighter demeanor, hissing only once a day or so at the boy and generally thrilled about his access to the out-of-doors. When I don't like what the boy is watching on Netflix (Star Trek, again?), I can retire to a different room. The workout area in the basement is still in process but - WE HAVE A WORKOUT AREA IN THE BASEMENT! It's a beautiful thing.

Of course, with moving into an older house (we're renting), there are going to be issues. Like the no-heat issue during that cold snap earlier this month. Pretty sure that was the tipping point when the boy got a vicious head-cold and, despite (or because of?) his best efforts, passed it on to me. Or the no-hot-water issue last week when the pilot light kept going out - a new hot water tank was quickly installed but me-no-like cold showers. But, we have gorgeous wood floors, lots of windows, no bikes in the living room and two  - count them - two bathrooms! All in all, we're both thrilled to be out of that apartment. And, despite the fact that I moved TWICE IN ONE YEAR, I'm happy to be settling in to a more comfortable space. BIG thanks to Kelley, who sacrificed a weekend to help us move. Don't think we're not on to your ulterior motive to secure a room in the house - but we still appreciate your help.

Other changes: I've been working through P90x again, just for a little cross training and a change in routine. Coach Chris assures me that the hard work on the bike is coming - and I'll be ready for it! I've also been doing Yoga at least 2x a week. A few more weeks of this and you'll be calling me Gumby. But not to my face, because I've got some new-found muscles to kick your scrawny cyclist butt. Thanks to Georgetown Yoga for a few awesome sessions with Alex! 

I've been fairly good with switching my diet around to be more Paleo. I didn't take a baseline number to compare to, but I do feel lighter and more energetic -when I'm not suffering from germs propagated by the boy. The proof will be in the (non-dairy) pudding, as they say.

I was talking to some "normal" (ie. non-cyclists, not overly athletic and prone to pastries and birthday cakes) people at work. They were absolutely incredulous that I would be "so" strict on my diet in order to prepare now for events that are months down the road. It's their mission in life to catch me noshing on a pastry or M&Ms or birthday cake. This is the same way I've been treated in prior workplaces - it's like I'm the resident freak-show and they're determined to make me "normal".

And ... last but not least ... I've decided to step down as president and member of Team Me for the 2013 season. Don't feel bad, it's not you, it's me. Thanks to friends and loved ones for patience, support and encouragement this past year as I tip-toed back into the peloton. Big - HUGE - thanks to Haymarket Bicycles, thank you for the support and the pumpkin-skinsuit. For 2013, I'll be flying new colors as I throw my hat in the ring with a fantastic race team - Thank you, Evolution Cycling, for the opportunity to represent. 

It's the Politics, Stupid!

I first started paying attention to elections, debates and policies about 10 years ago. I know, I probably should have been more aware earlier in life but, hey, I'm just being honest. At that time, I was amazed at the machinations of campaigns, wowed by the orations and offended by the attack ads. I suppose not much has changed, except that I'm more amazed at the audacity and wowed by the outright extremism that I see - not only in the candidates but also in their supporters.

A week or so ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about the dip in the national unemployment indicator. This indicator is often referenced as a bellweather, if you will, on our economy. The article - written by Jack Welch - questioned both the timing and the validity of the number - but not just this month's number ....he questions the process and oversight of the number overall. I felt they were valid questions that required some discussion, so I posted the article on LinkedIn and Facebook. Heck, if nothing else, it at least gets us THINKING about the numbers that supposedly reflect our country's economic status.

The posting on Facebook was relatively uneventful, with a couple of comments but no real discussion. The posting on LinkedIn, however, garnered some discussion until one gentleman decided to politicize the comment thread, attacking me, the author of the article, accusing the group (VA Society of CPA's - can we get any more innocuous?) of becoming right-wing etc. I tried to diffuse the gentleman, despite his attacks, by bringing him back to the real questions to be answered but was told, in no uncertain terms, that I can not post any article during an election period without it having a political motive. Seriously. About 5 other people posted thoughtful replies until he started attacking them, as well. Finally, I got a message from the group moderator that the entire comment string/posting was being removed.

The group moderators were very cool - they called to let me know that it wasn't anything I did or the article that I posted - it was the political vitriol and personal attacks that caused the removal. They encouraged me to re-post the article to start a new thread (I thanked them but said I'd save us all the trouble). They also noted that they contacted the poster that caused the issues to let him know that his contributions were unwelcome - they didn't exactly say it that way but that's how it came across. I appreciated their time and the effort they made to ensure that I knew the reasons behind the decision and that it was through no fault of my own.

The thing that really gets me, though, is that this guy essentially "won" - the article link was removed and the discussion was poisoned by his attacks and rants prior to removal. Is everyone really that extreme, that sensitive that we can't have a reasonable discussion - or even debate - about REAL issues without bringing politics into it to the degree of poisoning the discussion and, more importantly, missing the entire point?

The unemployment % is misleading, if not flat-out wrong - it doesn't include those that have given up on looking for work, those that are under-employed, or those that respond to the week-long phone census that they're babysitting a few hours a week for enough cash to give their kid lunch money. There is human error in the system and built in assumptions regarding missing data or misinterpreted data. This is not new, not under the Obama administration, not under the W administration, nor any prior administration. Yes, the fact that the unemployment number went significantly down the month before the presidential election is suspect - but the bigger questions I asked were about the ongoing accuracy (or lackthereof) of this very important number. Who is overseeing the process? What exactly IS the process and is there a margin of error built in? Who is ensuring accuracy of the data? Why isn't this transparent to the public?

Is it true that I will have to wait until after Nov 6th to have a rational, adult-like discussion without political epithets? Or will it be possible even then?

I guess it really is all about politics. What a sad statement on society in these extreme times.

The Gran Fondo

Yeah, that's me. It's fun to be on the Podium!

So ... it's been a while. I can't remember the last time I posted - at least a month ago? With race season over, what else could I possibly ramble about?? Well thank you for asking, I promise not to disappoint!!

I believe the most interesting thing I've done in the past month is the Jeremiah Bishop Gran Fondo. I honestly don't remember who suggested it first or how a half-dozen of us found ourselves in some parking garage that smelled like cat food in Harrisonburg, Virginia - which, incidentally, is not the best way to start a long day in the hills. The boy chose to ride with the big boys while the rest of us chose to keep it real with the "Medio" ... a meager 78 miles. Which was a shock to all of us when we hit the last pit-stop and they told us we had at least 18miles to go when we thought we had about 10. We were so shocked that we made them look again, and then made them show us the map. I'm not kidding. Remember that whole "know your route" thing ... yeah.

The ride started off with very cool temps, a very strange handwashing station outside the portajohns and a very disorganized registration line. Thankful to be out of the kitty-kibble garage, we rolled out en masse. For some reason, I thought they let the big boys (104miles) go first while we little people rolled out with our own groups. Not so. No idea how we managed it, but we all managed to find each other in the chaos and commenced to riding at a pretty nice clip. We were warned that there were essentially three "features" on our route (thank you to the boy for mini-mileage-cue-sheets for the climbs!). The first happened to be the King and Queen of the Mountain competition. Our little group of 5 separated to ride our own pace. Kelley and I kept each other honest after watching Phil ride away from us and knowing Gwenn and Tania were hot on our heels - or wheels, as it were. We came across the "finish" line nearly hand-in-hand ....only that would probably end with us on the ground given our collective coordination, so we did our best to roll across even.

No worse for the wear after that climb!

Following the K/QOM, there was a nice downhill - lots of switchbacks and ... open roads. Sigh. We rolled down pretty well until we encountered some guys who weren't keen on getting dropped on a downhill. They actually turned around, saw us and then proceeded to cut across the YELLOW LINE on a BLIND CURVE to make sure we couldn't pass. We hit the brakes and let them drift away. Idiots.


The second and third "feature" were pretty much the same climb with a short interlude in between. This was a doozy. Again, Kelley and I paced each other, took some pleasure in passing some guys, laughed at some other guys who killed themselves not to be passed by the girls and generally encouraged each other to keep up a respectable pace. I celebrated a little (with my inside voice) when we crested the top and started going down again. On that downhill, I had a lot of time to think. Hmmm... there are alot of warning signs for trucks to slow down. Oh, 9% for the next *4* miles? Wonder why I haven't seen any cars? Is Kelley still behind me - a quick turn on a straight away assured me she was keeping a safe distance behind. I could get up a lot more speed if not for these pesky turns. What's that - ah, a truck run-away ramp. Always a good sign. Ok, finally coming to a flat - whoops, nope, still down hill. At what point does a downhill become un-fun?

Anyway, we all made it down the hill and regrouped at the aforementioned last pit stop. We probably could have skipped it but it was such a gorgeous day and, well, the pitstops had Starbucks Frappachino and we couldn't turn our noses up at that!

Starbucks to keep us going. Cool.

The last leg of the ride should have been noted as a "feature" as well. First there was that gravel road. We all know my issues with hitting the deck and I don't mean to add extra obstacles to the mix. It wasn't a short stretch, either. We finally turned back onto asphalt and I swear the rest of the run-in was all hills. There was one point when Phil and I were climbing next to each other when we turned the corner and I said "Oh, now they're just being MEAN". I like to think he agreed given his silence.

FINALLY we rolled in, all classy and stuff because they announced our names as we came through the finish "gate". After congratulating each other and laughing about the adventure, we grabbed a table and settled in to wait for the boy to finish. I have to admit that I was surprised to see him rolling in very, VERY shortly thereafter ... SUPERSTAR! I believe he was, like, 7th across the line for long route. SuperAwesome!

Meanwhile, Gwenn goes to check our finish times and returns to the table announcing that we had each won. As in, we were each QOM for our respective age category. How cool is that? We each got a fantastic jersey with polka dots on the top and Prostate Awareness all over the rest. Ok, so prostate cancer isn't a laughing matter but - you have to admit that's kinda funny.

As previously posted on facebook - Polka Dot Girls!

This week begins two new "phases" for me ... first, I've committed to do the P90x program again. It did awesome things for me when I did it almost 2 years ago and after a long road race season, I'm ready for some cross training. I won't be able to do the whole program straight through because the off-season isn't long enough (remind me I said the off season wasn't long enough in, oh, February, when I'm whining about when the weather and races will start to shape up) but I'll do enough to make it count.

In lockstep with the P90x program, I've also started back on the Paleo thing. Someone I care about very much recently told me (after stepping out of swinging-range) that weight is holding me back in races. I think I took it well but said person continued to stay at least an arm's length away the rest of the evening. Anyway, the fact of the matter is that besides the gains in racing (as if there's anything worth considering beyond that...), there's enough health evidence to show benefits of cutting out sugar, grains and pretty much anything outside of responsibly raised meat, fresh veggies, some fruits and nuts and ... well, that's about it. There's an athlete-adapted version of the lifestyle that gives some leeway to accounting for the non-caveman-like needs of an endurance athlete and there are tons of Paleo/Primal/ Just eat what's good for you - kind of resources out there so ... I'm gonna give it a go.