Old form is returning

I have been involved in the San Diego cycling scene since about 1999 and have pretty much done all the SD rides at least once. Done Swamis, SDBC, Stadium, Cyclo-Vets, Tri-ride (Wednesday camp pendelton ride) Tuesday morning fiesta sprints, Thursday Night Fiesta. I'm sure there are more and I hope to do those, too.

But as far as Saturday morning, SDBC is still my favorite. It used to have a reputation as sketchy and not very challenging. The sketchy part was probably due a lot to the fact that it wasn't hard. The number of new riders that could stick the ride (what I called the t-shirt factor: really new riders often ride with t-shirts) would have a big effect on the sketchiness of ride.

Since the advent of the SDBC elite team, the nature of the ride has certainly changed: it's way harder which cuts down on the "T-shirt factor".

The very end of SDBC (AKA: the coast sprint) is probably my favorite part of the ride. It's probably about a 2km sprint with a bit of side wind and a hill at the end. This means that you must be on the left and you gotta wait till the end. It's a hard one if you are not experienced because it requires you be patient but still battle for position.


ANYWAY, a few years ago (circa 2003-2002) the parameters in my life shifted me towards the the time end of the time=money spectrum. In layman's terms: I was unemployed. Which means I had lots of time and no money.

Great for training but not so great for paying bills. So I filled my days with riding and I was pretty freakin' fit.

The Coast Sprint really suits me and I know how it always goes.

During this period when I was super fit I would always be a part of this sprint. Some days I would say to myself "Eh, I don't want to participate today" but just would find myself working my way forward and involved in the sprint.

There were the usual players and we would always dominate this sprint. John Arnold, Vince Fichera, sometimes the Canadian National Track team, local trackies and various other fast guys. This sprint was the very epitome of "playing" on the bike. I was so much fun.

Shortly before the sprint we would quickly hatch a plan and execute it. Didn't matter who "won" the sprint, it was the journey that made it special.

Subsequently, I got a job and shifted towards the money end of the spectrum and my fitness tapered off. I couldn't participate like I used to, party because I wasn't fit and party because the nature of the ride changed.

But over the last year, I have been back on the wagon to fitness. Vince (my coach) has helped me find motivation to train and my bike buddy Alison has rekindled my bike-love and things are starting to come around.

People say I look leaner, faster, and complain that my pulls cause them pain.

So this Saturday, I did the ride and was actually feeling pretty tired. I expected to suck and get blown off the back, but it didn't happen. Folks were laying wood the the pack and the pace was very high today, but magically, I was feeling good. Tired, but good. Staying near the front and in the mix. Not quite fit enough to do stud loop with the new and improved SDBC bad-assess, but still very encouraging.

But the real magic was on the coast sprint. Things were lining up , the usual players were figuring out what was to be done and Vince was going to start things off. I decided that I was going to try and slip into that role so that Vince could come off my wheel at speed with out having to cut that wind.

There were a couple of guys trying to make a break of it and I got myself in front of Vince just past the Charthouse and started my suicide run. My intention was to totally uncork it to get the train up to speed and with clear road ahead. I wound it up till I was seeing double and drooling all over myself and pulled off about half way till the uphill to the actual sprint. When I pulled off, my heart rate was at a new max: 192. I haven't seen 190+ for about 5 years.

Yeah, I really pulled the pin on that grenade.

The best part was when I talked to Vince later that day. He was happy with how hard I went.

I don't think I was really really making people hurt that much or really making Vince hurt, I was just doing my part and was able to participate.

I was just happy to be able to "play" again.

Happy days

Math challenged

Today I went to lunch with some co-workers (two to be exact) and we were served by a very pretty girl who probably was only 20 or so.

We all noted how efficient she was. She did it all by the numbers and she did it well. First you say hi, then you ask what we want to drink, you bring the drinks and that gives us time to decide what we are going to eat. We didn't even have to look around to give her the clue that we needed anything. Our drinks (ice tea and soda.....my company isn't THAT cool) never got empty and the bill was prompt. We were going to leave her a fat tip.

When we divvied up the bill (which was $36) one of the guys owed the other guy lunch so we decided to split the bill by thirds and one guy pays two of those thirds and I pay one third. Everybody with me so far? Ok, that means ya'll successfully passed 6th grade.

Ok so this is the next challange: For a bill of $36 and I am paying 1/3rd, how much should our pretty little server charge to my credit car? Oh, here's the extra credit, how much does the server charge to the other guys bill?

Insert Double Jeapordy music here....

Ok, time's up. Everyone put down your pensils. What's the answer? Well I am assuming that everyone here knows the answer, but here we go: Say it with me....$12 and $24. Yes! Your a winner! You get a gold star!!!!

Well, unfortunately, our pretty little server was not up to the challenge, stating something about not being able to do math. No gold star for her.

I just have one thing to say: WHAT THE FVCK!!?!?!??!?!

I know that registers are pretty good at calculating change (when people use cash, perish the thought) and calculators are EVERYWHERE (even my microwave has a calculator) but does no one teach math anymore? I mean basic crap that I learned in 5th grade!!!! This isn't algebra, or long division. This if FRACTIONS. Geez! Do they just forego math because that might challenge the "Everyone is a winner" mantra? Are our children's self-esteem so fragile that we dare not create any challenges?

Or is this because our pretty little server was so damn pretty that everyone just let her get away with out actually learning anything. Maybe she just smiled real pretty and the dorky math geek did her homework for her.

I know I am biased in that I have had as much math as you can with out actually going into a math major, but this is back in GRADE SCHOOL level!



My broke-dick, white-trash, red-neck eduma-cation got me way beyond fractions, it even got me to...gasp.....algebra, geometry and (wait for it....) TRIG!!! I wasn't even on the college prep track.

Do we think our school system is broken, I sure do.

Bittersweet dreams

I woke up sometime early this morning from a dream. It wasn't a nightmare or a troubling dream.

I dreamt about me Da. We were sitting at my Aunt Eva's house in Winter Haven Florida present day and they talking to each other about me, noting how well I was doing in the very deadpan way they did. They would compliment you and you wouldn't even know it.


This may not seem like strange dream, but the twist is that both my Aunt and my Pop are gone. I lost my Pop back in 2001 and my Aunt in 2004. Since they were both pre internet age (by a significant part of a century) I want to try and immortalize them, just a little bit, by typing their names here:

David Jerome Cooper O'Dell, born: March 14, 1919, died: December 1, 2001

Eve Diane Moore born 1914 in Worcestershire, England died: 2004 Winter Haven Florida
(They were siblings, BTW)

Maybe someday someone will do a Google search and I want there to be at least one hit.

I think about my Dad and Aunt E often as well as my Mom .....who also passed away in 2004...(2004 was not a good year for me), but I don't dream of them often. So this dream was unusual and it kind of hit me.



My Dad is largely responsible for the foundation of my engineering career. Being an engineer himself and recognizing that all those toys I use to take apart meant I had that knack. He would give me LEGOs, Erector Sets and all sorts of build-it toys, but he also gave me things like a differential to a car and electromagnetic relay and a lawnmower engine.

Strange gifts, but if you are an engineer...a REAL engineer, these are better than any bike, rocket, robot or airplane. Because they are real hardware, they click and clack, twirl and whirl.

Additionally, my Dad would help me take them apart and show me how they worked. We would put them back together and (hopefully) they would work again. I remember the time he and I rebuilt a lawnmover. You can't imagine the joy that I felt when the rickety old LanwBoy roared to life again, rejuvenated.

All those things me dad taught me gave me a incredible advantage during engineering school. All the other students would do great with pencil and paper but were useless when they had to either check their answers if they made sense or had to turn it into reality.

Even today, those skills I was given have paid huge dividends. Even though my last job was mostly design and programming, I did my own wiring, assembly, machining and fabrication. The machinists knew me by name and would come visit me in the lab on their breaks. If I needed some work done in an emergency, they would stay late and help me out.

My Dad taught me to machine and instilled the respect for the work and those who made their living by that work.

Unfortunately, my Dad died very early in my career and didn't really get to see my progress. He only knew I worked on computers. His surviving friends would always tell me that he was very proud of me, but I wish he could have seen me now.

As I head out on my ride on this beautiful sunny day in San Diego, I will be thinking of my parents and the family I have lost and appreciate all they have given me.

Fetish Fat Fixie project commences

Fetish Fixie: Part 1

My newly rejuvenated bike lust is beginning to the coalesce into a concrete idea that will hopefully further solidify into a asphalt caressing velo-reality.

My notion was inspired by my new bike buddy to build a fixed gear bike. I was knocking the idea around already but it got kicked to the front burner as part of a joint fixie plan.

The idea is this: A fixed gear bike built upon a mountain bike frame using 26" wheels with some wide slicks. Mustache bars, a front disk brake are going to round this thing out.
Fitting with my personality (I have own two black Audis in a row and really can't conceive of another color), it will be all black. Black frame, black forks, black, black, black!!!!

Maybe even some fenders. This is intended to be a town bike since I live only 6 blocks from the track and less to most of the local cool places in North Park, University Heights and Hillcrest.

It recently occurred to me that the easiest way to deal with the parking in these areas (which can get ugly) is to not park in these areas. They are all pretty close and riding there is not even an issue. If I put a nice set of lights on this Fat tired Fetish Fixie, I'm golden for what ever the night brings. It's perfect for bopping down to the track to spectate the track racing when I am not actually participating.

The idea of a town bike is something I became familiar with in Davis. As the parking is very limited in Davis, EVERYone has a bike and it's the best way to get around. All the bike racers would take it upon themselves to acquire a town bike that set them apart. Usually these manifested themselves as retired and/or vintage racing bikes. Some of the more hardcore folks would commute on fixed gears. Maybe it was because we felt we had to be cooler than everyone, but no one would actually admit that. And as anyone who is ANYone knows, the first rule of being hip is you can't admit to being hip.

I just placed on order for the following frame from Fethish Bikes in Az:
It's a single speed mountain bike frame that will provide the core for this idea to converge into a reality. The San Diego Velodrome swap meet is next Sunday. Alison and I are going to make a shopping list and do some bike stuff shopping.

She is building herself a sparkly pink fixie that is intended to demonstrate to the world that Pretty Ally is not one to be messed with but is still very much a girl. It will provide the means to teach her how to build and fix her own bike, thus freeing her from the slavery of having to go to the bike shop every time she needs new handlebar tape put on her rig.

Epiphitic

Just recently I have made a new friend who has rekindled an old love in a way that I didn't think was possible. It wasn't a love that I neglected or really took for granted...ok, maybe a little.

This will sound silly to most people: (but if you get me, you will know that this is all me) my first love outside of my parents was my bike. Yes, yes, yes, it's just a bucket of parts, but it's the concept of what my bikes have given me: Freedom, competence, discipline, confidence, toughness, bliss.

I can honestly say that my bike and the exploits therewith have lead to all good things in my life.

My new friend has made me appreciate bikes in their simplest form and even though I ride my bike every day, through her eyes, it is all of a sudden fresh, golden and new.

I have even gotten a new snazzy bling bling bike that is just sublime, but my beloved fish (AKA The Landshark) still makes me giddy with epiphitic glee.

She (the Landshark) is a tank, a full 1/3rd heavier than the new bikes, but riding her makes me feel a joy that is quite.....I can't even describe it.

She is true, solid, capable and enduring.

Full circle

I find it ironic that even though I had my first computer back when I was 14 and understood the ancestral root of the computer (the electromagnetic relay) when most kids were struggling to grasp why they were growing hair in strange places, it has taken me till my late 30s before I would fully embrace my ability with computers and the intricate, abstract art of arranging ones and zeros to make them do the things they can do. I have spent most of my engineering career as a mechanical/control engineer. Funny thing is most software engineers seem strange to me.

When I got my second computer a full 10 years after my first computer (1992), I started actually keeping a journal and I always wanted to post my writing. Not that I really thought my writing was anything to...write home about, but I have always felt that most people just don't get me.

It's very strange to me that I had to wait for another 10-15 years for this online journal called blogging to come to pass before I could let my thoughts to really rise TO (not above) the din of all the other voices out there. In fact, I even wrote my own blogging program for the bicycle racing team website I manage (hell! Manage!? I created it!) www.suncoastveloracing.com.

But so it goes I guess. One might say I was ahead of my time, but I don't believe that at all. I wouldn't really call myself an early adopter. I have been bitten by that way too many times (Can you say VISTA?)

I have been racing on a 8 year old STEEL bike for chrissakes (and doing pretty well, I might add) while everyone one is going on about how they are at such a disadvantage because their $4000 bike's 16lbs is really hurting their race performance. People shake their heads when I roll up on my beloved Landshark, but I figure that 90% of the people on the planet don't get me and I actually think I am being optimistic in that number.

So, here begins my first blog. If your are reading this, maybe you might "get me" one day. If you think you do, please give me a hint. I am doing this blog so that I might be able to articulate who I am one day.

Cheers