Ridiculous thoughts

To date, my Madone has been outside three times. All three were in fairly foul weather. And the one time I actually ran my carbon wheels, it was cold, windy and my fit wasn't dialed in. So, really, I have only a vague idea of how it performs.

It's nice, smooth and fast, I know that much. But not much more. Oh, and it looks awesome.

But, somehow, perhaps because I have access to Trek's Project One builder and plenty of time, I want the bike shown above. Madone 6 Series, SRAM Red, Aeolus 5.0 carbon clinchers. Yeah ... wow.

There's absolutely no need for that bike. There's so little that could justify it, especially considering what I have in my garage already.

But, man, that's a pretty bike.

I used to write this stuff for a living

You may have heard about this already: Apple announced its latest wonderdevice, the iPad (which is a lame name). Put simply, it's not a notebook, it's not an iPod Touch. It's designed for simpler tasks than the former and more complex tasks than the latter.

Or, it's pretty much what I've been wanting for a couple of years now. As a guy who tires of having piles of newspapers in his recycling bin -- and who used to work for a company that, inexplicably, trucked newspapers across Nebraska every day for decades -- digital delivery is my ideal.

No trucking costs being passed down to me, no paper being wasted, no energy being used to run presses. Basically, I want to download a newspaper at 6 a.m. every morning. And when the magazines I read are ready to be delivered, I want that to download automatically, too. Just like the mail, but without the costs and waste.

Can iPad do that? Probably. Will companies -- especially newspaper dinosaurs -- do that? I sure hope so. If they do, I'll gladly fork over $500 or $600 for the device and continue subscribing.

Like most new technology products, it takes about an hour for the dissenting viewpoint to come out. The "oh, wow, neato!" factor gives way to "yeah, but it doesn't ... " and "until is has this, I'm not ... ."

To those who are pissed that it takes extra connectors to link with other devices, or that it doesn't have a camera, or that it doesn't multitask ... come on. It's designed to step between a smartphone and a full-on laptop.

Or, think of it like this: The family computer is downstairs, but you want to, say, be on Facebook in the living room. You don't want to blow $600 or $700 on a laptop that has too much. You want simplicity. Hey, like the iPod Touch -- a simple device that's easy to understand.

Oh, but you want it to be bigger. iPad. $500. It's for people who want to get online, read a book or play a game. The only thing lacking from that standpoint is Flash support. No Flash leaves bare spots in a lot of web pages.

But you know what, I've been without Flash on my iPod Touch for a year-plus. I've turned out OK.

It's not for power users. If you were expecting a miracle wonderdevice for $300 that cures cancer on the side, you're going to be disappointed forever.

Me, I really just want to read my print media subscriptions without a pile of paper, shipping costs and waste getting in the way. And if I can get online, play a game or two or watch a TV show along the way, that's even better.

Mission accomplished

When I got into cycling about five years ago, I longed to be one of the guys who had a stockpile of bike stuff in the garage. I was amazed by a couple of guys on the group rides who had different helmets and shoes and wheels and bikes.

In other words, two of everything? Sweet!

But now, as I survey the inventory ... I have somehow accumulated too much. So things are for sale. And they're reasonably attractive and valuable, so here we go:

Lot No. 1: 2009 SRAM Force shifters, as seen here (sort of). Ha! (OK, here.) Actually, with the exception of a couple of scratches, they're in perfect condition. In all, they got about 3 months' worth of use last year. Since August -- or so -- they've been sitting on my workbench. $200 and they're yours (retail is $450).

Lot No. 2: 2009 Bell Volt helmet (seen here). About four months' worth of use, off and on. It's a great helmet -- I'm getting another one in white and silver. This one needs to go. $90 (retail is $175).

Lot No. 3: Jon Protaskey's Dura-Ace wheels. They look like this. Dura-Ace cassette included. Since Jon doesn't ride anymore, someone might as well use them. Also, he keeps bombing me with obscenities on Facebook. $200, payable to me.

Lot No. 4: One 2009 Team Kaos jersey. Size medium, race cut (note: not all torn up). Last year's sponsors (ie, no red 'S'). Considering the number of times I saw guys wearing the old red and white kit last year, I'm pretty sure nobody will bust you on it. Good for training rides, etc. $20.

I think that's it. You know how to find me if you want any of it.

New adventures in soreness

A good portion of last Friday morning was spent on the bike. And then off the bike. And then back on. A lot of times.

After messing with things for a month or so, I had the TT bike adjusted via a fitting with Kent at Highgear. Before the TT bike, though, the Madone got a little tune-up, too.

Apparently, my saddle was too low. Once that got taken care of, we moved along to the TT bike. Lots of big changes -- another saddle raised (and swapped), a shorter stem ... yeah, totally different.

The Madone pretty much instantly felt better. It feels like there's a bit more power on the pedals. Of course, that makes it look even stranger. Super-high seat mast, super-long stem. But it works, and it feels good.

The TT bike ... well, does a TT bike ever really feel good? If nothing else, it feels a lot better. I got on it for about 30 minutes yesterday and was able to get semi-comfortable right away. It's going to take a couple of weeks, but it's going to be a fast position.

One of the downsides to change, of course, is new muscle soreness. Because of a little bit more leg extension, my hip flexors are really tight this morning. That says a lot about how much they were being used before. And their addition to the pedal stroke can only be a good thing.

It's a rest week right now, so I'll spend the next few days spinning easy, getting dialed in to the changes. Also, I'll be plotting. Always plotting.

Way off base

This week, despite all of the banter back and forth about "The List," and how asses are going to be kicked, I'm way off on training hours.

Like, not even close.

-- Monday, I just flat-out didn't ride. Didn't want to.
-- Tuesday was actually very good. I got 50 minutes of zone 4 work in (5x10 minutes) and then some core strength work.
-- Wednesday was form sprinting, which went pretty well, too.
-- Thursday ... nope. A scheduling snafu took away ride time.

And today, I'm getting a bike fit on the TT bike. It's scheduled as an easy day, so that'll be pretty much on target.

But I've missed five hours' worth of riding this week. I guess the bright side is that Tuesday's work was dead-on. I'm about a week or so behind last year's schedule according to the numbers.

It'll take a while before we see how those numbers stack up against everybody else, but I'm optimistic. What else would I be?

New ventures

OK, it's time to spill the beans.

After the great destruction of 2009, I got lucky. I fell into a couple of great situations that are starting to bear some serious fruit. The first, obviously, was the bike shop. There's no way I could have predicted how well that would turn out.

The second great situation was GamJams. It's a bike-racing website focused on the Mid-Atlantic region. I'm not sure how I got hooked up with it, actually, but I'm glad I did. Since March or April or so, I've been contributing a couple of articles per week. It's turned into a nice little side project.

Starting in the next month or two, it's going to be a bigger side project -- GamJams Midwest.

Much like GamJams has become the place for racing news out east, GamJams Midwest is going to focus on racing in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas. It'll have weekly tech features, interviews, race previews and reports and polls. And photos. Lots of photos.

But as much energy as I put into it, it's going to depend upon you -- fellow racers and readers -- to make it go. While sites like VeloNews and Cyclingnews focus on traditional reporting (as in, reporter interviews racer and lists results), GJ Midwest is going to be driven by first-hand reports from racers. And it will have new content every day.

Basically, it'll be everything other local amateur sites aren't. Oh, and see that little GJ newsroll on the right (down a bit)? GJ Midwest will have one of those, too.

If you want to get on board, let me know. We'll need contributors from all over the Midwest.

I'll even send you a pair of socks.

So ... the list.

Every year, I lay out the race calendar for Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas and build the season's plan.

There are definite target races -- ones that deserve a little more attention.

And there are also targeted riders. They find their way into the season's plans, too. I call it "the list."

Last week, a Facebook page called Bryan Redemske's List popped up (here). It was created by a current occupant of the list as a good-natured bit of teasing. Questions ensued, of course, about what the list means, who's on it and what happens next.

Being on the list means you've done something to warrant my attention. Maybe you raced like an idiot last year. Maybe you've talked too much shit. Maybe you questioned my ability to get around a corner in one piece (don't worry, I have too).

Those slights, real or imagined, are enough to put someone on the list. But then what? How does one get crossed off the list?

You'll know when it happens. And after that, you have nothing to worry about.

Well, you will, but at that point it's your problem, not mine.

See you on the road.

It comes and goes sometimes

(I poached this photo from the 622Realm. There was a bit of fog yesterday. As in, "where's the horizon?")

After a few weeks inside -- almost a month, actually -- I finally got back outside on the Madone on Sunday. It was still a fenders and thermal bits day, but it was good to get out. Mark and Jeremy were along for the ride, and we headed north to Blair and back from Dundee.

A word about my fitness: I'm not out of shape, but I sure don't feel fit. My legs were in and out all day. Steady stuff felt OK, hills felt worse than they should have ... mostly. There were some hills on which I felt like I was killing it.

And the final run through town was fast, too. I felt awesome. But before that was a mixed bag. My back still hurts a little bit when I'm hitting it hard for extended pulls. It tightens up on the lower right side, which is pretty much where most of the damage was.

If nothing else, I felt better than the last time I was out on the road. Large pockets of time today will be spent cleaning the bike, though. Fenders kept me dry, but the bike is a mess.

(By the way, that helmet shown in the picture above is still for sale. Bell Volt, size M, only a couple of months' worth of riding on it. $175 retail, yours for $90.)

It has dawned on me

Yesterday, my hands greasy and a pile of bike parts in front of me, I realized that jobs don't get much better than mine.

Or at least jobs attainable by me.

My day included a conference call (which I don't really mind. Makes me feel important.), a bank run, some boss-type work and then ... building a 6 Series Madone with SRAM Red. Basically, a Team RadioShack bike without the paint. It was pretty cool.

And it was halfway through that, when I stopped for some coffee, that I realized how awesome things are right now. Long hours yes, but I knew that coming in. And I'm lucky to have a mostly understanding wife.

But, really, does it get better? Building cool bikes, listening to music, drinking coffee?

I'll take it.

Well, since you asked

OK, so yesterday's plan said 3.5 hours, with about 90 minutes of heavy, heavy stuff in there. So I figured I'd drop off Chris' car for an oil change and head out on the MTB.

And that I did.

But it wasn't 3.5 hours -- or even 2.5 -- and the only heavy stuff was the snow on the Keystone Trail. In short, that ride kind of sucked.

Plus, on the MTB, the position is a bit different. So after keeping the bike upright for 2 hours through sketchy, slippery slushy stuff and climbing through snowbanks, my back hurts.

And I didn't get the workout in because of all of the crap. Awesome.

You know what makes my back not hurt? Riding on the trainer when the roads suck. You know what results in getting the workout in? Riding on the trainer when the roads suck.

See you when the roads are clear.

This one's for you, Shim

Looking at the forecast, my available time and the fact that I have to to take Chris' car in for an oil change, I can tell you this: I'm riding outside today.

I knew you'd like it, Shim.

Fenders will be necessary, obviously. And I'm not exactly sure what I'll wear. My choices are a little limited right now. But I'll be out there.

And no, not on the Madone. That seems like a bad idea even this early.

It'll be the TT bike. Duh.

2010 Option 2

There's a good chance I'll spend plenty of days in 2010 in this kit, one of two options in the redesigned Midwest Cycling Community closet. The other option is here.

Since things are a little looser now, I'll probably have all sorts of different costumes to try out. Frankly, I'm looking forward to it. Of course, that means my blue and white Bell Volt won't really match with anything. So, if anybody wants a blue and white Bell Volt with about two months' worth of use on it, it's yours for $90 (retail is $175).

ETA on this stuff, by the way, is sometime in March. Keep an eye out on the Trek Store blog for more info.

Hello, rest day

One of the things that came with being the boss at work was a chance to rearrange the schedule. I moved a thing or two around to better suit Chris' schedule at home, but I also made a few changes to the training plan.

The work done is still the same, it's just rearranged a bit to maximize open hours during the week. As such, Fridays are easy days.

So, on tap for today, some coffee. Then some core work. Then probably another cup of coffee.

The first week of Base 3 is going fairly well. There's an issue with the TT bike, likely related to fit, that is of slight concern. That's going to get worked out in the next week or two, hopefully. Considering how I put it together -- attaching a bunch of parts randomly -- it's not terribly surprising.

So that's that.

One week closer to racing.

The hot new thing

At some point during Christmas break, Jack fell head-first into the world of Cars. As in the movie, with Lightning McQueen, Mater the redneck towtruck ... the whole smash.

While he's very young still, it was amazing to see him go bonkers for something. He's seen the movie a couple of times by now and hasn't stopped jabbering since. So after playing with his cousin's Cars toys on Sunday, I figured I'd go find him a couple yesterday.

First off, let me say this: To the marketing people behind it all, well done. I hope you got a big bonus, or at least a cut of the sales. Because that stuff is ridiculous. Every single scene in the movie -- every one of them -- has a toy or toys to correspond. Lightning McQueen spent about 10 seconds of the movie wrapped in barbed wire and hanging from a pole. And there's a toy for that.

He got splattered with tar once ... there's a toy for that. It's exactly like the regular Lightning, but with a black splotch on the fender. That'll be $4, please. There are hundreds of toys based on a movie that came out almost five years ago.

Really, all I was looking for was Lightning and Mater. And the latter is apparently pretty popular, because I found one of them. One. And it's now upstairs ripping around the floor with Lightning.

He carried them around all night, and for a good chunk of the morning. He loves them. Probably about the best $8 we've ever spent.

Structure is my friend

Over the past two weeks, thanks mostly to the holidays and weather and a slight bit of malaise (and a saddle sore), my workouts slipped a bit. Not from the standpoint of "not doing them" but more from the standpoint of "eh, I guess I'll do it."

With this much cold and snow swirling around, that's a bad way to approach the trainer. It kinda sucks to begin with, and that attitude makes it way worse.

Now that school has resumed (well, not today), I'm back on track. It's easy (and totally worth it) to blow off the bike in favor of family time. But when there's nobody else around, getting on the bike is easy.

Yesterday was cruise intervals, the TT-type efforts marked by short rest, tall HR numbers and -- ideally -- high power numbers, too. And yesterday, for the first time, that workout was done on the TT bike. It was interesting. I know for certain that my position is better on an actual TT bike. (Anything has to be better than this.)

But will I make it go fast? Hard to say. I feel fast. I'm fairly skinny. I'm working hard. The position feels better every time.

Guess I'll have to wait. And by the looks of the weather, I'll have to wait until June.

Numbers, or "I don't want to know"

I have generous friends. I've mentioned that before. Last year I was able to use an SRM power meter all winter, and it helped me go fast.

It's back this year, but it won't work on the Madone. So it's on the TT bike. And I'm just now getting into more workouts on the TT bike. And that means more looking at the numbers.

I'll say it right now: I'm a little afraid of the numbers.

Even though I feel like I'm getting stronger every day, which is a nice feel-good tactic, I'm not sure how I compare to, say, everybody else. I know the Big Puma could destroy me at will right now.

The numbers will tell me. I pulled out the training log from last year to see what today's workout looked like. And it's not too bad. I think I can hit those numbers.

If nothing else, it'll give me a picture of myself compared to last year. And last year started well, at least.

Still working on the ending, though.

The start of something new

Long before the snow hit around Christmas, we were planning on staying in Omaha. Jack is two now, and actually understands a good deal of daily life. Though we knew he wouldn't get Christmas, he'd been talking about the tree and being a good boy for Santa Claus.

And when it snowed like crazy, well, that was actually pretty nice. We weren't going anywhere. It was nice to not worry about anything except hanging out. And the downside to all of that was, for the first time in my life, I wasn't in Algona for Christmas. I'm thinking the snow helped us accept that. We couldn't have been there even if we'd planned on it.

The snow turned out to be too much for festivities planned for later in the week, too. So Chris' family gathering on the 26th and 27th was scrapped, too.

The end result was more time at home, which was very nice. And then there was the marathon driving sessions across good chunks of Iowa. On Wednesday we went to see my grandma, aunt and cousin, whom Jack hadn't met.

On Thursday we headed to Chris' grandpa's farm for one last Christmas (probably) in the old house. I headed back Friday, Chris came back Saturday. And then my parents came down on Sunday to finish Christmas off ... on January 3.

Though the last bit was a little hectic -- and tiring -- it was actually kind of nice. We got the same family time as usual, just in a different form.

Now, if we could just get all of the tasty, horrible foods out of the house. I may or may not have overindulged.