Amalgamattion

xXx Jackson Park

2011-09-19T13:26:00.005-05:00

Yesterday marked the beginning of the Chicago Cross Cup with the first race taking place at Jackson Park on the southside of Chicago. Same park as Relay Cross, but totally different course. I was excited to race and test out my fitness. I was also curious to see what it would be like racing with 99 other guys. Chicago Cross Cup upped the field limits this year, so my category now has a 100 rider limit. In a race where starting position has a major influence on the outcome, having 99 other people to line up with is an interesting proposition.

I got a ton of rest of Saturday night and felt ready to race on Sunday. We drove down early and got to watch a lot of the races. The temperature was mild and the big question on the day was the rain. It rained in the morning but slowed down to intermittent drizzle by noon. My race went off at 2:45pm so there was no telling what would happen. I had the chance to pre-ride the course twice. The first time, I let Evan adjust my tire pressure with his hands…so my first pre-ride lap was at about 27psi front and back. Being a bigger guy riding clinchers, that was a bit too low. I finished the first lap nervous about how little traction I was getting. After I got a pump, and put my tires back up around 37-38, my second lap felt much better. I was ready to rock…but first, staging.

100 nervous guys excited for the first race of the season, plus a 1/2/3 race that went off about 10 minutes late equaled people staging an hour before our race start. I ended up standing about 45 minutes in the staging area and starting in the fifth row when all was said and done. To add to the nervousness/excitement, it started raining in earnest while we were staging.

The start was fast and aggressive to say the least. The rain added a whole new dimension of slipperiness to the starting chute, but hey, this is cross right? There was a ton of bumping and ridiculous lines through the start, but after racing crits, it’s not all that intimidating doing it on grass. Mid-way down the starting chute, there was a huge pile-up. Probably the gnarliest cross crash I have seen. I leaned into the guy next to me and barely missed out on that pile of fun. The first lap was full of crashes…everywhere. It basically turned into reverse drafting, meaning if there was someone in front of you, you didn’t want to be directly behind them so you could get around them when they went down. I was feeling great on the first lap. I thought that I was holding position where I needed to and moving up where I could. Coming into the second lap I’m fairly sure I was sitting in the upper 30’s or lower 40’s.

The second lap was where things got a bit shaky. My body felt fine but was definitely ready to blow up. I pushed on though and tried to focus on staying upright. I couldn’t believe how many people were going down. Straight aways or turns, everyone was going down. Judging by the traction (or lack thereof) in my back wheel, I knew I would be joining them soon. I went down on the infamous off-camber turn by the pond (no worries, I was nowhere close to falling in). The crash was slow and I didn’t even lose any spots (see the awesome picture from Bill Draper below), but I had the crappy luck of hitting the buckle of my shoe on the ground, which released the main strap on my shoe. I jumped back on and was unable to adjust the buckle because it was caked in mud. I ended up having to stop to fix it and watched a lot of people fly by me. In retrospect, it’s good that was I still in a part of the race that was competitive, but frustrating that I had to watch them ride by me.

The rest of the race went by quickly, as I tried to put as much power as I had left in the pedals. The course became more slippery and my handling skills deteriorated quickly. I stayed up for the most part but was going through turns too slow and putting my foot down too often. I definitely want to try and get more skills practice in this fall. I think it will help me immensely in the end of races where my body is low on oxygen.

Overall, the day was really challenging, but I had a lot of fun. I am excited to keep training and working on my cross skills. Next race will not be for three weeks, so in that time I’ll try to find some other spicy content for you to consume or possibly post a boring updated about training. With that, I leave you with my best pain face of the day (thanks to Eric Goodwin for the pictures.)

I like to watch other people on bikes too!

2011-09-13T14:11:00.004-05:00

First race of the Chicago Cross Cup coming up this weekend at Jackson Park in Chicago! I race at 2:45pm if you want to stop by and heckle. Info here.

In the mean time, I highly recommend you watch this video of guys doing crazy awesome things on bikes:

xXx Relay Cross

2011-09-02T13:05:00.010-05:00

This past Sunday marked the first official unofficial kick-off to the Cyclocross season in Chicago with the second running of xXx's Relay Cross race. Relay Cross has a unique race format where teams of two take turns racing laps. The race also has a "Le Mans" style start where the racers start off without their bikes and run a couple hundred meters to the transition area where their partners are standing waiting to give them their bikes. I raced in the Cat. 4 race with my teammate Dan and the Co-ed race with Melissa, a new Iowan friend that just started racing 'cross with Rhythm's sponsor, Iron Cycles. My training had been going well and I was excited to try out my legs on the grass.

I woke up Sunday hungover and not too excited to race. Since the race was at Jackson Park on the South side of Chicago, and the behemoth Chicago triathalon was taking up just about the entire city between my apartment and Jackson Park, I decided to ride down the race. I met up with Dan and we took a nice leisurely roll through the South side to the race. The ride to the race was a great easy warm up for the legs and got rid of the hangover.

We decided Dan would race the first leg since he could run faster. For those that aren't aware, Dan is a freaking gazelle, at least compared to the other Cat 4's. After a nearly flawless bike exchange, Dan left the transition area in the Top 10. After his lap, we were still Top 10, so there was a little pressure for me. With that, I embarked on my first race-pace cross riding of the season.

Right off the bat, my cornering skills were definitely a bit rusty but my legs felt awesome. I got passed by a couple people that were cornering better than I, but stayed close to them. As we came around to the three-barrier section, I noticed everyone taking the right side of the barriers, so I went left. Someone on the right had trouble and I ended up passing about five people through the barriers. I jumped back on my bike elated and quickly realized I was redlining. This is cross though and that's the point. Plus, my lap was going to be over soon. I kept the legs moving and held my position through the rest of the lap into the transition area. After tagging Dan, I looked down. Max heart-rate for the season. What a great start to cross!

The rest of the race went by without too much excitement. Both Dan and I faded a little bit and we ended up 18th. We were happy with the result though with it being Dan's first time on the cross bike this season and my first time riding my cross bike in earnest.

The coed race was quite the experience. Melissa insisted that I take the start, so I lined up a little nervous to see what my running skills were like, especially in cycling shoes. A lot of people had trouble with traction and I made it in and out of the transition area Top 20. Pretty good for a fat guy! After the race, someone told me "you have impressive running form. I didn't expect you to be so smooth!"

I was pretty tired after already having races once, but I still had a great time. The coed race format was interesting because there were so many people of different abilities out on the course that it felt like I was racing with different people every lap, getting a lot of chances to pass and be passed. In the end, Melissa and I got lapped by the leaders so I lucked out and didn't have to race the last lap. Even better, the officials scored us as if we hadn't been lapped, so we took home a "Top 10" finish in 8th place!

Overall, Relay Cross was a terrific start to what I hope will be an awesome cross season.

It's Been A Season

2011-08-31T13:32:00.006-05:00

It's been exactly a year since I last posted. This fact is mere coincidence, but kind of neat in itself. The past year has been wonderful and at times wonderfully crazy. My life has seen lots of changes. Namely, starting a new cycling team, meeting a wonderful girlfriend, and changing jobs. Thank you to all that supported Amalgamattion through this year of silence. Whether or not you realized it, those random comments (albeit many of them in jest) about the absence of posts is what eventually drove me to re-do the layout and start posting again. Perfect transition into the two-wheeled side of things.

First, the new team. As many of you know, myself and a couple of my teammates chose to leave Spidermonkey at the end of last season and start a new team. For me personally, the decision was based on the fact that I wanted to be a part of team dedicated to racing and also get to be a bit more involved in how the team was run. Specifically, I was interested in working with sponsors. We ended up joining forces with another local team, Rhythm Racing and a few other important characters, to form the new Rhythm Racing. From the beginning I took on an "Executive Board" role as the Vice President of Sponsorship. It has been an interesting and challenging endeavor trying to find sponsors and help with the administrative duties of running an amateur cycling team. For me, the most challenging part has been keeping the "amateur" part in focus while sometime having to put in more than amateur amounts of work. Overall, the team has been a huge success both on and off the road. We are already getting started on putting together huge and awesome plans for next year. (oh and if anyone reading this wants to sponsor us, you know where to find me!)

For me personally, this road season was a bit of wash. I went through a tremendous off-season where I trained diligently, dropped 20 pounds, and was excited to crush the early season crits with my new teammates. However, in February, I decided I needed to focus a bit on real-life and chose to start studying for the GMAT in case I wanted to apply to business school this summer. I took the GMAT in June and got the score I wanted, but my training and racing suffered considerably. When I attempted to start racing in June, I realized that while my brain had been training, my legs had missed out on important training...and too much of it. I put in a couple of starts in June and July without much success even sitting in the pack. Riding off the back of Cat 4 crits on a frequent basis is not something I'm interested in.

I rolled up to the line in Elk Grove at the beginning of August feeling in pretty good shape. I knew the race would be fast as many people target it, but I felt ready to take on whatever. Unfortunately, my race didn't go so well. About half-way through the race, I was caught up behind a crash and ended up in a chase group that didn't want to chase. Feeling good enough to do the work myself I began dragging them back to the pack. This was going well until I hit the hallmark 180-degree turn of the course on the front of the group about 25 meters behind the main pack. Since every lap before I had been behind someone going into the turn, I hadn't been paying attention to the speed we were taking the (wet) corner at. When I hit the corner on the front of a group, I apparently didn't slow down enough as my front wheel washed out and I went sliding through (across?) the turn. Jesse Williams, who I presume was taking pictures of his teammate behind me caught the whole thing on camera. I jumped back in the race and ended up crashing again, this time on a wet crosswalk, but after the first crash, I was pretty much done anyways.

This was my first "real" crash. In cycling terms, I came out great. My helmet did it's job and since I was on wet pavement, I was saved a lot of road rash. Mentally, I was much worse. Even a month later, I will occasionally panic while taking a corner, even on a slow commute to work, and freak out that I am going to wash out. I had planned to race the Gateway Cup in St. Louis over labor day weekend, but after deciding to go, I spent the next few weeks dreading it. I decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to go and try to race three days when I didn't feel like racing three minutes. So I shut down the road racing for the season.

Since July I have been training with a new coach and am excited for the upcoming cross season. I used to think Cat 4's training with coaches was overkill, and it may be, but I have really enjoyed the experience and have enjoyed watching my quads grow. I will try to put together race reports during cross season assuming that my schedule allows me time. xXx's Relay Cross was this past Saturday and was a ton of fun. I will put up a quick report on it later this week or early next week. Thanks for reading!

Ronald Reagan Criterium 2010

2010-08-31T09:36:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, I returned to where it all began. The Ronald Reagan Criterium in sunny Dixon, IL, the childhood home of the last great Republican president.

Last year as a somewhat fatter Cat 5, I raced twice and got dropped twice. This year I came in with a season of racing under my belt, waning fitness, and a recent upgrade. My fitness has gone into the dumps recently with my work schedule being what it is. Sometimes life gets in the way of bike racing, and you have to pay the price. I signed up for the 3/4's race and 4/5's race. I went into the day with low expectations and was just there to enjoy some cham-time and turn the pedals in anger for one last time before things get cold. Zens and I met up around 11 and headed out to Dixon, making one last fateful stop at the Dekalb Oasis for some Panda Express (excessive foreshadowing).

We arrived in time to watch the 5's race. It was a nice feeling getting to watch someone race before my race...haven't had that experience in a while. I got in a good warmup and felt great heading into the 3/4's race. I expected to be nervous, but was really not. I figured things might be faster than normal but I had also heard that 3's brake less in the turns which is helpful for me. Both of these things were true. The race was fairly small, less than 30 starters I think. I was hanging in just fine, sitting midpack, for the first 10 minutes of the race. I was surprised at how good my legs, lungs and head felt, especially with the small hill that was added to the course this year. At around 11 minutes in, coming through the start finish, I knew something was wrong. My legs felt dead and my stomach felt alive. Lets just leave it at: the Panda won my 3/4's race. I was sad to DNF less than half way through the race, but seeing as I had a race more fitting to my ability later in the day, it was not too tough of a decision. I got to watch my teammate Brandon grab an impressive 3rd place. It's awesome to see such a hardworking guy finally get results in a big way.

We had to wait until 5:30 four the 4/5's race. By that time I was feeling a bit lethargic and bored. But I was somewhat motivated by the fact that most of the people I would be racing with already had a full race in their legs while I had just a warmup. I staged well in the second row and the race went off on time. The race started off fairly slow but was quite smooth for a 4/5's race. The wind was blowing hard in our faces on the backstretch up the hill, so it was difficult to find a place to move up. My race was pretty uneventful. I sat in the top 20 the whole race and tried to stay out of the wind. Coming into the 3 laps to go, I narrowly avoided a crash right at the start/finish line that only took out a couple of riders. I ended up sitting next to my teammates Zens and Dan. Zens said that it was time and set the team strategy in motion (which I was not a part of). Zens and Dan started moving up the outside on the hill to try and meetup with Brandon and eventually lead him out. I was feeling quite good at that point and jumped on Dan's wheel. Dan got pushed out slightly and narrowly avoid a cone which I actually ran over the base of. Happy to not have crashed, I had lost Dan's wheel and a lot of speed. Zens and Dan had successfully made it to the front and Zens laid it down with 2 to go and eventually brought the pack up to the break. Coming into the final two turns I came up the outside, past a shelled Zens, and was gaining position, but there was not enough room in the turn. I scrubbed speed to avoid a "front-yard" ending to my race. As I looked into the next corner I saw two Spidermonkey jersey's flying through the turn in perfect position. It was truly a thing of beauty. Our team tactics had worked...or something close to it! Brandon sprinted for a 3rd and Dan came in right behind him in 4th. I subscribe to the school of thought that sprinting at the back of the pack is pointless and dangerous. So I took an easy roll into the line extremely happy with how I had raced.

What a fantastic day for the Spidermonkeys and a great way to end my season. I am excited to take a break and then get back into training mode for a full season of 4's racing next year.

I will post some reflections on my first season later this week or next so check back for those.

Grayslake Cycling Classic

2010-08-09T20:16:00.004-05:00

This weekend marked the final race in the Illinois Cup (which has nothing to do with me because I'm a 5) at the Grayslake Cycling Classic in Prarie Crossing, IL. Before we get to the cycling, I just want to say that Prairie Crossing is far and away the most beautiful subdivision I have ever encountered. If you ever have the chance to check it out, I highly encourage it. The scenery is astounding, especially for a random community in Northern Illinois.

Grayslake was my second to last race in the 5's and I had high expectations for what I could do. The course was a 2 corner, 3 "bend" loop. It is kind of hard to imagine from a description so here is the map. The course was pancake-flat and the low number of turns meant that I would be able to use my momentum-maintaining build to my advantage.

The race started at 8am, which meant an insanely early wake-up call. Coupled with the fact that I had worked until midnight every night last week except for Friday, I had no idea how my body would respond. I was pinned and on the course with about 30 minutes to warm up. Luckily I had not forgotten how to ride a bike, but my legs felt really stiff. I finished my warm up and hung out by the start/finish and caught up with Mike from Tati and his new bike. I staged in the front row and the race took off pretty close to on time.

I was curious to see how the Cat 5's would handle the bends. My initial thoughts were correct. Since they were not turns, people did not treat them like turns. Needless to say, things got quite squirrely. Luckily they were wide enough that I could avoid the myriad interesting choices made by unattached riders. The race started off slow and there was a ton of wind on the back stretch which caused a lot of swarming. On the second lap a xXx rider rode all the way from the inside of the first turn all the way to the outside (yes, I literally held the guy next to me up and rode in the gutter as captain shittyturn tried to crash out the field, but I digress). At this point, I decided it was time to hopefully get ride of some of the people that were looking to cause others to touch the pavement. I jumped on the front near the final bend and opened up the legs a bit. I held a meaningless bit of separation for about half a lap before the field caught back up. Like clockwork, I rode through turn 2 on the front to hear the sounds of carbon and aluminum hit pavement behind me. It sounded really far back, so I assumed correctly that most of the people I knew would be contending for the win were safe behind me.

I rode well the rest of the race and was able to move around freely. On the second to last lap I was not paying close enough attention to positioning and let myself get 4-across the turn. Since I was on the outside, and did not recognize the kit of the rider next to me, I figured I had the choice of slowing down or riding the turn in the grass. Crap. I scrubbed a lot of speed and made it through the turn but had lost so much ground that the front of the field had actually gapped the group I was in. I sprinted back up to the front group and was sitting top 5 by the time we rolled through start/finish for the bell. Unluckily for me, for one time in the history Cat 5 bike racing, the pace sped up in the bell lap. This was great for preventing swarming, but not great after the effort I had just put in to get back in position. Coming out of turn two, the guy on the front (I believe the eventually winner) turned on the jets. I was able to stay Top 10 coming into the final bend but knew I had nothing left for the sprint. I waited as long as I could to stand up, but had nothing left by a sick feeling in my stomach. I rolled across the line 15th. Normally, I think I could consider this a decent result, but as I am nearing the end of my 5's career, I was hoping for a better result.

Next weekend is Glencoe. 7:15am start. It will be so nice to get out of the 5's.

Tour of Elk Grove

2010-08-04T19:35:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the late post! Work has been crazy this week, and I was unable to find a spare minute until now.

Last weekend was the infamous Tour of Elk Grove. The Tour of Elk Grove is a 3-day long pro-race with 2 days of amateur criterium racing interspersed amongst the pro racing. It is known mainly for two things. One of the highest amateur payouts in the country and an 180 degree turn. Yes, 180 degrees. You literally ride down one side of a street with a median, turn around at the median and come back. For those that are still confused, here is video proof. Coming off of a bunch of 4/5 races I was excited to see what I could do in the 5's. I had also had the chance to go out to Matteson for the Tuesday night crits put on by the South Chicago Wheelmen during the week and had ridden pretty well. My game plan going in would be to stay at the front to avoid the accordion effect (an inevitable crashes) out of the 180 degree turn and see what I could do at the end.

I awoke Saturday morning around 3:30am to rain hitting my A/C unit. I instantly thought about how I was going to be racing around an 180 degree turn in less than 6 hours...and it was now going to be at the very least, a wet 180 degree turn. Needless to say I didn't get a whole lot more sleep. I ate a good breakfast (finally nailed by pre-race fueling process I think!) and met up with my teammate Katie to head up to Elk Grove.

I registered with plenty of time and pinned on my numbers. I decided to race both heats because well, why not? If I'm going to go out and race, might as well take as many opportunities as possible. I got out on the course with plenty of time and got in a nice warm-up. Back to that turn...yeah the 180 degree one? My first time around it, I slowed down what I thought was a lot and barely made it out of the corner without hitting the hay bail on the outside of the turn. Ok, so going through at 19mph was not going to work, or at least if it was going to, I needed to fix my body position. At this point, my nerves started to take hold. Adding to my nerves was the fact that the turn was soaking wet and had brick-lined sidewalks running through it. I had the chance to chat with my teammate from last year, Jason, which calmed my nerves quite a bit as we rolled up to the line. I staged well, grabbing the last spot in the front next to more W2 riders than I had ever seen in one place. The W2 guys are all fairly steady and entertaining people to race with, so I was happy to see so many.

The whistle went off and I was able to get a good spot at the front. The first couple times around the turn were slow and shaky. People were riding just about everywhere in the turn but seemed to get through it ok. The rest of the course was simple and did not cause anything too interesting. On the third or fourth lap, I noticed I was sitting outside of the top ten, further back than I wanted to be. For added motivation, I looked down at the guy in front of me and saw some hairy legs. I knew it was time to move up. Lo and behold, as I'm going through the turn, I hear the pre-crash yell and hear the sound of carbon and aluminum hitting pavement. I'm not blaming hairy legs (I have no idea if he went down) but I was glad to be in the front when the inevitable Cat 5 crash happened. We took off with a group of about 15-20. For those that had been caught behind the crash and not gone down, the race was completely over.

Predictably, the pace picked up after the crash and W2 started sending guys off the front. I knew this was a problem, but there was not much I could do about it. The other W2 guys did a great job of blocking and finally a break of 2 stuck. The other rider turned out to be an unattached rider that only races Elk Grove (he's raced 4 years of Cat 5 races at Elk Grove!). So we were left to fight for third.

Coming into the bell lap, I was sitting top 10 and knew it was time to move up. Coming into the third to last turn, I took a fantastic line in the corner and with my acceleration out of the turn wound up sitting third wheel. Coming into the final turn I was sitting second wheel. I couldn't have asked for a better place to be sitting. Unfortunately for me the guy sitting in front of me was not Mark Renshaw and faded at 400m to go. Thus, I ended up being the final leadout man. I gave the sprint all I could and rolled through in 9th. I was happy to be there for the sprint but the finish left a little bit to be desired...oh well!

I rolled around the course and tried to recover as much as possible in the 5 minutes I had between races. I got to know Sean from xXx who would become an ally of sorts in the next race.

The second race went off and my body was not ready, but my legs felt fine so I gave it what I had. I sat top 20 for most of the race. There was a break with 2 unattached riders that did not stay away but broke up the pack quite a bit. I ended up sitting in what I thought was the pack off the back. Sean and I were trading motivational words and jokes about where we were sitting in terms of position. Coming into the final lap, we were in a group of 3 with a sizable gap on the bigger group behind us. We thought we were sitting in front of the back of the race. As it turned out, we were actually the first chase group and there were only about 5 riders ahead of us! Coming into the final turn, we joked about who would provide the leadout. The other guy in our group took off so I followed and as he faded after a very short time, I took off. I was feeling fine and was waiting for Sean to come around me and take what we thought was a poor placing off the back. Then people started flying around us on both sides. We had not looked back in the final turn because if we had, we would have realized that the main field was actually sitting just off Sean's wheel! After we saw at least 15 people fly by us in the field sprint, all we could do was laugh. The results said 26th which is about how well I had felt I raced...even though had I known what was going on behind me, I probably could have two top ten's in one day...shwoops!

I came away from Elk Grove with some confidence and proud of my top ten. I had raced well and my fitness had been good enough. I am excited for Grayslake this weekend. I have to start thinking about when I'm going to make the move to the 4's...I'm fine holding off for one more weekend.

Superweek(end)

2010-07-13T08:37:00.008-05:00

This past weekend marked the beginning of the infamous Superweek. Known to some as "Stupidweek" or even "Stoopidweek", Superweek is a loose collection of 17 races on consecutive days in the Chicago and Wisconsin area. While the races were not as stoopid as many make them out to be, the organization was laughably poor compared to the Tour of America's Dairyland.

The race on Saturday was in Geneva, IL, a short-jaunt on I-88 from Chicago. I headed out with my teammates Dan and Zens (with a guest soigneur/driver/awesomelogisticsplanner appearance by Jamie) and met up with Drew. As our race was first, we had lots of time to pre-ride the course. The course was a fairly simple 0.8 mile, 6-corner crit. The notable features were 2 brick corners, a small rise on the longest straight away coming out of turn 4 and everyone's favorite turn: turn 3! Turn 3 was a downhill, off-camber, narrow turn with crappy pavement and a manhole. It was scary to take every time, but of course, being 4's and 5's, we followed the rule that if a turn is dangerous, we will take it safely (unfortunately the inverse applies, but we can save that for later.) The race was 20 miles so it was going to be a long and hot one.

I staged well and clipped in well. I raced well for the first couple of laps, maintaining a top 40 position which I thought was fine for me in a 4/5's race. The problem arose with that darn rise after turn four. Midway through the race, huge gaps started forming on the hill and getting caught behind them made my race tough. After tail gunning for a couple of laps, I dropped off and eventually got pulled with 5 to go. Getting pulled sucks, but I was happy with my own performance. Drew made life even better by winning and Dan took a very respectable 5th. I learned an important lesson that I need to quit trying to sit at the back of the main field and move up earlier. Getting caught behind gaps was my fault for not moving up earlier.

Me and the boys after the race.

Sunday was a fantastic course in Homewood, IL. It was an 8-corner crit that was basically flat but had a headwind on the longest stretch of the course. My goal for the race was to move up earlier and finish with the pack. The race went off almost an hour late (ok, stoopid). I raced well but ended up getting dropped after about 8 laps. There was a fairly large contingent of riders off the back and we ended up forming into somewhat of a chase. There was a sizable crash (or two) in the lead group which lent our chase a few additional riders. I felt fairly good in the chase group and planned on finishing with them. However, I ran out of something...whether it was calories, water or just plain fitness and ended up sitting off the back of the group. I was the last rider pulled with a couple laps left which sucked as I got to watch the chase group I was riding with get to finish.

Reflecting on the weekend, I was actually really happy with how I raced...which leaves me in a strange place. I was happy with my effort and performance, but it was not good enough to finish either race. I had a great time in both races and had an immensely enjoyable weekend. However, I was not competitive in either race. So I am left with lots of motivation train and some serious excitement to be back in an all 5's field for a couple of races. Overall, my first season of racing has been an awesome ride so far and I am excited for what is to come.

A little dose of pain face from Downer's Ave (photo credit: John Wilke, Peloton Pix)

Tour of America's Dairyland

2010-06-28T13:06:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I traveled up the Milwaukee area to race the final two races in the Tour of America's Dairyland series. ToAD is a ten-day quasi stage race that has grown quickly since its inception last year and may surpass Superweek next year as the most popular pro racing in the Chicago/Wisconsin area. My teammate Zens raced the whole series (you can get the full coverage here.) Drew and I went up to join him for the final two days and provide some motivation.

The first day I raced was the ISCorps Downer Classic in Milwaukee. The Downer Classic is a fairly short three (ish) corner crit. The notable part of the course comes in turn two, which is less than 90 degrees. The corner is fairly wide though and scares most people into slowing down enough to make it safe. ToAD only has Cat 4/5 fields so I would be racing with a lot of 4's, and quite a few who would soon be upgrading. This was a bit intimidating, but I figured worst case scenario, I get dropped...and get dropped is what I did.

I intended to take the 2 or so weeks before these races to work on my fitness and lose a bit of weight. Due to work and in some cases, bad luck, I didn't find time for the training that I wanted. I did lose some weight and rolled up to the line about 5 pounds lighter than my previous race. I mean this not as an excuse, but a learning experience in how quickly I can lose my race fitness, even during the season. Back to the racing...

The overall leader of the Cat 4/5 series attacked off the gun and quickly got away with another rider. Since this was a Cat 4/5's race, of course no break was going to stick...but this just meant that the pace was fast from the start. My staging sucked and I started all the way at the back of a 50+ field without any of my teammates. I was able to move up a couple spots within the first few laps, but sitting in 40th place in this field was brutal. The main reason was turn two where we had to scrub all of our speed and then try and catch back up to the front of the field with only a short straightaway to do it. The other reason was that people were falling off the field at a rapid pace causing me to continually get caught behind huge gaps. I like to think that a month ago I would have had the fitness to overcome this stuff, but alas I did not have it. So about halfway through the race I dropped off the main field and was on my own.

I rode for about 3 laps by myself and eventually waited for the group of about 5 people that had formed behind me. I rode with these guys for the remainder of the race and did a lot of the work on the front. It was good training, and nice to be able to ride with people even when off the back.

In the second to last lap, I was sitting 3rd wheel in the group and wasn't paying enough attention on turn two. I was slightly overlapped with the rider in front of me going into the turn and he took the turn all the way to the curb...which meant that I had run out of real estate. I did a fairly good job of trying to save it, but my back wheel slid out in the sand in the gutter and clipped the curb. I went rolling off the course and hit a cement post that fortunately had padding around it! My bike was fine and I landed in the grass somehow completely avoiding any road rash, which was awesome. I threw my chain back on and jumped in with another group that had dropped off the field.

After Saturday, my goal for Sunday was to warm up better, stage better and try to hang on to the pack for more laps, hopefully all of them.

Sunday was the Carl Zach Cycling Classic in Waukesha. Another fairly simple course with six turns, a small ascent coming out of turn 1, a windy, bumpy back stretch, a small descent in turn 5, and a 250m slightly uphill (not so slightly) bumpy finish. I warmed up and staged much better on Sunday but simply did not have the legs to hang with the pack. There was actually a break of 4 riders that ended up staying away and the chase group was down to less than 10 riders in the end. So I didn't feel so bad falling off the back. I rode a much better race and was able to shut down most of the gaps that formed in front of me. But after about 30 minutes, I was about 25m behind the field for about 2 laps. I was trying to close the gap but I started to realize that it was not going to happen. Repeating Saturday's race report (without the pole), I rode with the same group off the back and got to sprint out the end with them this time.

Overall, I had a great weekend, even if the racing was not so great. I have the motivation I need to get my fitness back, so hopefully that will turn into an increase in my hours on the bike each week...and I really can't wait to get back to the 5's (even if it's short lived!)

Melon City Criterium 2010

2010-06-01T21:31:00.005-05:00

We finished off a great weekend of racing in Iowa with the Melon City Criterium in Muscatine's Weed Park. The race takes place in a somewhat secluded park in Muscatine and is a mile long closed course. Melon City, besides being the filler between Snake Alley and the "Cage Match", is known for it's "speed bump". To explain, the course is fairly simple: slight uphill start, gradual turn, 90 degree turn, slightly left turning descent, SPEED BUMP, climb, 90 degree turn, chicane (Janette's term, I'm not sure I know what "chicane" means) and downhill finish. Hitting a speed bump on a road bike at 40 mph sounds utterly terrifying to me...which is why, as I suspected, it's not what I consider a speed bump but more of a speed "hump". The speed bump was fairly gradual and was more of a ramp than anything else.

EDIT: My teammate Zens did some awesome camera work documenting the speed bump with his flipcam. After watching the video, my only reaction is "holy s*$%!". I guess adrenaline helps in situations like this.

I woke up Sunday morning mentally fried from the day before. My body felt fine but I had no excitement whatsoever. To be perfectly honest, I carried this attitude until around lap 4 of the actual race. I had decided that my embarrassing performance at the Snake was due to being overheated on the start line (among the other obvious factors). On Saturday I think that I had warmed up my legs enough, but my body temperature too much. On Sunday I opted for a quick 15 minute spin with a cold water bottle over the head and a relaxing walk up to the start line.

Our race was about 40 minutes behind schedule which gave me even more time to cool off and wallow in my indifference. When it was finally our turn, I lined up in the first row and our race was off. Right off the start line, some guy attacked. I am pretty sure he was the eventual winner, but I am not positive. I followed because he wasn't going very fast anyways. Being the biggest rider in the race, I of course took the descent faster than everyone else and ended up first on the climb. (The speed bump ended up having no bearing whatsoever on my race. I don't think I took it "correctly" until Lap 7, but it didn't have any effect on me or the race.) I had decided pre-race to take the climb in the big ring and had was undecided on standing vs. sitting. I was feeling fast coming off the descent so I took it standing...in WAY too big of a gear. I killed my rhythm and ended up doing way to much work to maintain a top 10 position going into lap 2. I got to the top of the climb and was red lining...kind of ridiculous for the first lap of an 8 lap crit.

Lap 2 things settled down. The climb had whittled the lead group a bit, down to about 20 riders. The second lap I found my rhythm on the climb and maintained position. Lap 3, I saw some Cat 5 hilarity as a rider launched himself head first over the curb...while trying to take a drink! Unreal. He apparently had not read Luke's Tip #15.

By Lap 4, the lead group was down to 12 riders. On the climb, a rider attacked off the front and two other riders followed. I was sitting second wheel after the attack left and I had no intentions or the adequate energy to chase down the attack...neither did anyone else. I was left in a group of nine that would not grow or shrink at all before the final climb.

I realized during the race that I was saving a lot of energy compared to other riders because of my fat-man descending skills. I did not have to pedal to maintain position until 300 meters or so after the other riders began pedaling up the climb. I hoped that I would be able to use this during the final laps. I decided to try to move up to the front on Lap 7, hit the descent in the front in the final lap from which I thought I could easily take 4th.

We hit the climb in Lap 7 and I was not the only rider that had planned to attack the climb. The pace increased uncomfortably and I found myself at the top in the same position (mid-pack) but with much less oxygen than I would have preferred. The went as hard as I could the final lap. I picked off 3 riders on the final climb but there was no sprint to be had for anyone. I came in 9th, my best result yet. I was extremely happy that I was able to hang in that hilly of a crit. My days as a 5 are quickly coming to an end, but this crit gave me hope that I will have the fitness to be competitive in the next category.

Snake Alley Criterium (in 6 words)

2010-05-31T18:31:00.002-05:00

Big man no go up hill.

(Inspired by Six-Word Memoirs)

EDIT: Proof that I was top 10 the first time up the snake...but more importantly, proof there was an old guy in flat pedals and tube socks in the race. Picture compliments of Vanessa.

Wapello-Burlington Road Race 2010

2010-05-31T17:43:00.004-05:00

This past Friday, I departed, along with teammate Trent, for a weekend of racing in Iowa. I am originally from Iowa and would be staying at my parents house all weekend. I was excited for three races (two of which are quite unique) in one weekend.

The first of the three races was the Wapello-Burlington Road Race. The race was a point-to-point 33 mile road race. Point-to-point road races are fairly uncommon for Cat 5's in the Midwest, so I was excited to be participating in something different. The course was fairly simple, 33 miles of rolling hills with a downhill sprint into downtown Burlington.

I was nervous because this was my first road race. I was coming off of a tough week of work and my head was nowhere near where it needed to be for me to be competitive for 33 miles of racing. My biggest concern was staying hydrated and eating enough. Being a big guy, I tend to sweat more and burn more calories than my competitors. In 30-45 minute crits, this isn't a big deal. But 33 miles in 90 degree heat is a different story. I decided to race with 3 bottles, all filled with Gu Brew and a couple of Gu Energy Gels in my jersey. This ended up not being the right choice, but an ok choice in the end.

They lined us up early and made us stand in the sun for quite a while, but the race went off pretty close to on-time. The race started out so slow that I thought we had a neutral roll-out. There was no neutral roll-out, but we nonetheless rode at 16 mph for almost a mile. Finally a Bike Burlington who was right in front of me moved to the front. I followed him and ended up sitting second wheel for the 4 miles he pulled. We were mostly riding with crosswinds so I was not too concerned about sitting second wheel.

Between miles 5 and 30, nothing too exciting happened. People tried to attack but were always pulled back. Trent and I spent a fair amount of time working on the front trying to keep the pace up and drop some riders off the back but I think our efforts (along with the efforts of others at the front) were generally unsuccessful. The problem we had to deal with was farm equipment on the rode. Such an Iowa problem! The course officials would not let us pass the vehicles by ourselves, so when we came upon one, we would have to slow down, giving everyone time to catch up, and then pass when the course officials let us go around. This was frustrating, but probably did not have much of an effect on the outcome of the race.

Around mile 22, I was moving up on left side of the pack. At the same time, another rider, who was in the middle of the pack decided to move over to the left for no reason, pushing the rider next to me and myself into the other lane. I got a warning from the course official for crossing the line but fortunately he did not pull me. Little did I know how foretelling this incident would be.

The officials had told us at the start that when we saw the Case plant, we were a mile and half from the finish and the finish was downhill. I took this to mean that the course was downhill from the Case plant. Oops. I guess it would have been beneficial to have driven the course before, oh well. I attacked right after the Case plant and was actually able to get some separation. However, after I turned the corner, I realized that there was an uphill before the downhill (there were actually two). So I slowed down and came back into the pack.

After cresting the hill, we were working down the descent when someone on the front tried another attack. I was sitting a bike length behind Trent with no one in between. The rider next to him, the same rider that had swerved earlier, decided to try and cut across two people horizontally (I have no idea why) and clipped the rider next to me's wheel. The rider next to me made a valiant attempt to save it, but he ended up going down hard. The last thing I saw was a carbon wheel near my head, but luckily I escaped unscathed. I looked back and no one had made it past the crash after me. I looked forward to see about 15 riders in front of me. Mentally, I was completely fried and let a gap grow. The lead riders went crested the final hill before the finish and I was a couple bike lengths behind everyone. As I saw the finish about 500m ahead, I got in the drops and gave it all I had. I passed two people and finished a satisfying 14th. Trent rolled in ahead of me picking up 7th. Sprinting at 40 mph on a downhill was an exhilarating experience!

Reflecting on the race, I was quite happy with how well I rode. I was active on the front and finished well considering the circumstances. I will make sure to never try and drink 3 bottles of Gu Brew in a race as I ended up giving myself terrible cottonmouth. I am really not a believer in blaming people for crashes, but the rider error I witnessed in the race was disappointing. I took it as a lesson on what racing in the 5's could be like.

After the race, Trent and I took a quick ride up the Snake (see the next blog entry) and rode the bus back to Burlington. We headed back to Iowa City for some food and quick rest before attempting to conquer one of the toughest crits in the U.S.

Tour of California - Stage 8

2010-05-26T18:19:00.002-05:00

Stage 8 took place in Westlake Village, CA which is a couple miles northwest of Los Angeles. The race started at a mall in Thousand Oaks, CA and had a neutral roll-out until it reached the real start/finish line in Westlake Village. The rider would do 4 laps on a brutal 20 mile(ish) circuit with 2 big climbs each lap. Due the layout of the race, I decided it would be too hard to try and go to the initial start and then jump in my car to try and catch the rest of the race in Westlake Village. This ended up being a great decision as I was able to snag and amazing spot to watch the race.

This post will be much shorter than the previous one, I promise! I spent pretty much the whole day in the same spot because it gave a fantastic view of the race every time it came around and the race announcer kept the fans updated (as well as the flatscreen behind him...more on that later.) My only regret of the day was not somehow procuring a bike and riding out to the the climb where craziness ensued.

The main thing I learned standing in the same spot all day was that there were not a whole lot of people in attendance that knew anything whatsoever about cycling. Now that I sound like an elitist, let me give you some examples. The large family in front of me was decked out in exclusively free t-shirts. They singlehandedly repped just about every sponsor of the tour of California...and cheered more for the police cars than the actual racers. The man standing in front of me at the end of the race remarked to me, "Isn't it funny that the guy leading the race is named Mitt Romney?" For those that are unaware, the race leader, and winner's, name is Michael or "Mick" Rogers. The person near me who seemed to know the most about cycling was the drunk senior citizen who spoke exclusively in a foreign language and was waving a Slovenian flag that appeared to be signed by none other than the Slovenian Time Trial Champion, Jani Brajkovic. This alleged cycling knowledge was unfortunately removed by the Police after he tried to steal a folding chair from the aforementioned family.

Near the end of the race, I spotted prolific cycling blogger Neil Browne (a.k.a. @neilroad) of whom I am a huge fan. So I used the zoom on the camera to take a creeper picture that was reminiscent of my sister's pictures of *NSYNC from when she was 14.

I promised this post would be shorter, so I must end the stories. I shot a lot of awesome (or what I consider awesome) video. I have posted it all in chronological order below. Hope you enjoy!

The field rolls through the start line after the neutral roll-out:

Lap 2 begins as the break rolls through, followed by the peloton:

Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) and Mark Renshaw (HTC-Columbia) who dropped out of the race earlier in the week threw on their team kits to take a ride through the finish line! In the middle of the race!

The break begins the third of four laps:

The peloton begins the final lap (I accidentally deleted the video of the break grrrr):

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Transitions) beats out U.S. National Champion George Hincapie (BMC) to take the final stage! Mick Rogers rolls through shortly after in the Golden jersey to take the overall.

Tour of California - Stage 7

2010-05-26T18:18:00.001-05:00

I have been an avid cycling fan for about two years now and I decided it was time to attend my first professional stage race. Luckily, the wonderful people of AEG moved the Tour of California to May and drew an absolutely stunning line up of riders. So I packed my bags and headed off to LA to catch the finals two stages.

The first stage I attended was Stage 7, the individual time trial in LA. I arrived early and had no idea what to expect. I took a quick browse through the "Lifestyle Festival" (read: free stuff) but quickly realized that this was the seventh day in a row that these people had set up their tent, and as I was there an hour and a half before it opened, their grumpiness was understandable. I walked down to the finish line expecting a big crowd of people camping out for the prime spot. I instead found some disappointing news. Unless you were "VIP", you weren't getting any closer than 100m to the finish line. This was made more annoying by the fact that there was a bend in the course just after 50m to go. So I would not be watching the end live.

I grabbed a quick breakfast burrito and some coffee and went back to exploring. I met an awesome dude at the Felt (makers of Garmin-Transitions bikes) tent and chatted for a while about the brand new TT bikes the argyle boys would be riding in the afternoon. I found out he was a former team mechanic and heard some interesting stories about David Millar's finicky bike needs and Tyler Farrar's R-rated rants. He pointed me to the team buses and I headed over to see if I could meet any riders.

After finding the team buses, I learned that time trial days are the worst days to meet riders. Most of the riders I encountered were noticeably nervous and focused on their time trial. I did have the pleasure of chatting with Mike "Meatball" Friedman (Jelly-Belly) a former Garmin rider and Chicagoland native. He had been DQ'ed for drafting a team car the day before, so he had a lot of time to talk. I also had the chance to chat with Steven Cozza (Garmin-Transitions) and his parents. It was fascinating to hear Meatball and Steve chat about "the olden days." I realized that it wasn't that long ago that these guys were working their way up through the amateur ranks that I have recently become familiar with. After an awkward failed attempt to meet Ryder Hesjedal (one of my absolute favorite riders) and Jonathan Vaughters (team director) I decided to go find a spot to watch the time trial.

I ended up finding a prime spot about 150m from the finish line. The problem was, the course was two laps and there was no way to find out riders times. So I was basically watching guys fly by with no idea whether they were finishing or taking another lap; no idea if they were doing well or not; and in many cases I couldn't even tell who the rider was unless it was a national champion (or Fabian Cancellara). I snapped some pictures at a couple of places around the course but got bored of following the race by checking my iPhone, or following just as I would were I at home.

I headed back to the team buses to see if I could see any of the big guns warming up. This was pretty much as unsuccessful as the first attempt to see riders (to give some perspective, Mick Rogers was warming up IN the team bus to avoid people!). I found that the start line was the best place to watch because there was an announcer who kept us up on how people were riding and giving final and intermediate splits.

After all the riders had taken off, I went back up to the finish (or near the finish) and watched Rogers, DZ and Levi finish on the Versus broadcast being shown on a jumbotron on the outside of the ESPNZone. I definitely enjoyed the day but it was a first lesson in the difficulty involved in watching a bike race.

All of my photos and 1 video from Stage 7.

Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge 2010

2010-05-17T21:45:00.005-05:00

Honestly, I did not know about the hill when I signed up. I promise.

For those that don't know, the aptly name Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge is a crit on a 1.2 mile course with an 80 vertical feet climb up the back of a nordic ski jumping hill. For those that know, sorry for just making your stomach churn thinking about that climb.

For those that don't know, I weigh around 230 pounds at the moment. That is a laughable amount of weight to think about carrying up a climb (in a race?). I think that I outweighed the winner of the 1/2/3's race and the 4's race combined. Or maybe the entire juniors podium. I'm not making excuses.

I actually did alright the first time up of the climb, as evidenced by the same guy who recorded Vernon Hills two weeks ago.

If you get a little bit into this video (and parts 2 and 3) you will notice a lack of Matt. Yeah, the race was over for me after lap 1. The second time up hurt infinitely more than the first and left me gasping for air at the top. There was a guy taking pictures at the apex of the climb and I'm sure he had a good time laughing at the pictures of me on Sunday night. On one of the laps I think I even hammed it up a little bit for him and really gritted my teeth.

EDIT - Here's a preview (thanks to Tim Speciale of Psimet and the photographer Katie Cook)

To keep it short (the race was only 20 minutes), I finished, I was not last, and it hurt the whole time. But the descent was fun! There's nothing like bombing a corner while experiencing serious oxygen debt. This will go on the NRTDA (no reason to do again) list for next year assuming I don't lost 70 pounds in the offseason.

Speaking of hills, next up is the Burlington Road Race, Snake Alley and Melon City over Memorial Day weekend in my home state. I am excited to race with some Iowans and see the family.

Monsters of the Midway 2010

2010-05-17T12:59:00.004-05:00

Monsters of the Midway holds a somewhat special place in my heart. It was the first bike race that I attended in person. It was also where I saw my teammate lying on the ground moments after smashing her face on the ground. My emotions going into the day were about the same: excited to race another crit after a successful ride at Vernon Hills but weary of the course that for some reason is home to so many crashes. The 5's filled up before I had a chance to register, so I settled on the 4/5's thinking it would be a safer race and thinking I would probably only race once to save energy for Fox River Grove the next day.

One of the great things about Monsters is that it is only a quick warm-up ride from where I live. I jumped on the lakepath, met up with my teammate Ben, and dodged the four-seater family bikes and stray children and dogs all the way down to the Midway. I arrived with plenty of time to watch a couple races and get a good warm-up. When I got to the Midway my stomach felt like total crap and my hydration was nowhere near where it needed to be due to a late night out celebrating a certain teammates birthday the night before. I tried to take in as much water as I could, but the crappy weather was not helping me want to do anything but stand around. I got about a 30 minute warm-up in on the trainer and finally started to feel hydrated. I threw on some sweats and went to the edge of the course to watch the end of the 4's. The last lap produced a decent sized crash, but as far as I know, everyone (not everyones' bikes) came out alright. My teammate Drew took 3rd with a well-timed sprint on the outside.

They let us on to the course and I took a couple warm-up laps. I noticed that none of the turns seemed that smooth and all of them were a bit off-canter. My pre-race thoughts were mostly focused on the crash that just happened, the fact that I was racing with 4's and that I was racing in the biggest field I had ever raced in. In short, not the best place for my head. I was totally out of it...and the fact that we got about 8 more warm-up laps due to the ambulance on the course did not help. I lined up in a fairly good spot about 3 back from the front.

The whistle went off and the guy in front of me dropped his chain trying to clip in. My race was instantly going better than at least one other persons. I rode around him and was sitting mid-pack around the first turn. I am quickly coming to love the hilarity that ensues in the first couple turns of a crit. All of the nervous talking, profanity and of course, braking...is needless, but is starting to feel like home. I had some great pre-race advice from teammate (more like mentor) Bryan who suggested I shift down into corners 1 and 3 and start shifting up before 2 and 4. This worked out great and I think I was able to save a lot of energy compared to the people that had to stand up coming out of 1 and 3 (and subsequently, every corner).

The first few laps of the race were fairly uneventful. The field was too big to really drop any but the most out of shape. The pattern that seemed to develop was that people would try to move up on the back stretch when there was tailwind and sit in on the front stretch going into the headwind. The problem was that after the crash in the 4's on the back stretch, everyone was moving from the outside of turn 2 to the inside of turn 3 to avoid the bump in the course that had caused the crash. This meant that it was difficult to move up many spots on the back stretch.

Around 20 minutes in, my brain finally turned on and I started to consider what I was going to do. I decided to go on the outside of turn 4 and start moving up the outside. I was in perfect position on the second to last lap and moved up a ton of spots to about mid pack (I'm guessing around 20th.) Problem. I thought it was the third to last lap. Problem. As I was making my move up the outside, I realized (somewhat late) that there were 2 orange cones on the course next to the officials stand that I needed to avoid. In the adrenaline rush caused by the two pesky orange cones, I completely missed the bell. Oops.

I was able to maintain my position all the way into turn 3 when my teammate, birthday boy, did a hilariously bad job of taking the corner and almost crashed me out. I didn't really care, but the guy behind me definitely did. Oops. As I came around turn 4, everyone sprinted like normal...except a lot more than normal. After I was passed by a couple people I started to realize the mistake I made. I stood up and gave the sprint all I had, but everyone that wanted to sprint it out was lonnngg gone. I did nip a guy at the line to ensure a top 40 (haha) finish.

Overall, another great race for me. Being able to hang with the 4's was a good boost of confidence. However, nothing had prepared me for the pain that was to come the next day. Next stop: Fox River Grove.

Vernon Hills Grand Prix 2010

2010-05-03T20:07:00.003-05:00

My blog as it formerly existed is dead for now...but I am still going to use this as a place to post my race reports. For those that have never visited, please feel free to enjoy the 134 posts of complete nonsense (and 1 race report)...for those who were fans of the nonsense, call my bosses and tell them to give me less work!

Quick background: my teammates convinced me last year at a 312 fueled event (thanks to the generous people at Goose Island) that I should try out racing. I got a quick introduction by racing two races (in one day) last year at the Ronald Reagan Crit. I walked away from these races with a couple of thoughts: bike racing is exhilarating and something I want to do again, I am not in good enough shape to be remotely competitive and that was not as scary as advertised. I took those thoughts into the offseason, along with a CycleOps Fluid trainer that I snagged through a great deal from the people at Green River Adventure Sports before I left Dixon that day.

The next 7 months were spent in the gym and logging hours on the trainer with thoughts of what was to come in next season. For those that aren't familiar with winter training as a cyclist living in Chicago, here is a great visualization. As I signed up for Vernon Hills, I wondered (often) was all that misery worth it?

Sunday dawned early for the Cat 5's...we had the pleasure of an 8:10am start time. I woke up at 5:30am with enough nervous energy to power the lights in my dark apartment. Trent and I packed up the car and headed up to Vernon Hills. The ride up was rainy and definitely did not take any nervousness away. At least I remembered my shoes though, thanks to the inside collar of our 2010 jerseys.

We arrived a little later than planned and after Trent tried to register for the kids wrestling tournament, we realized that registration was not inside the high school. By the time we registered and pinned our jerseys, we realized that we did not have enough time to set up the trainers for a proper warm-up. I was not excited about this change in plans because, if you know me, you know I have a big engine that takes some time to get started. We headed up to the course to check things out and try to warm up a bit. The course seemed pretty basic and wide-open. I noticed that on two of the turns, there was a median after the turn that was probably not going to be a lot of fun to navigate with 50 other Cat 5's. I made a mental note to be either on the inside or outside on the turns if it all possible, to avoid making love to the nicely planted trees on the medians. I felt really good after the warm-up and lined up in the 3rd row behind Trent. Trent's number was on wrong so I found myself with something to do to distract me from getting nervous at the line.

The race started off smoothly with both Trent and I clipping in flawlessly. We were sitting about mid-pack as the race got started. At the second turn, I was shocked at how slow things got. We were slowing down to less than 10mph at the 2nd and 3rd turn every time. This of course provided the wonderful accordion effect...every time. After 3 laps of accordion-fun-time, I started to feel the work in my lungs and legs. As I had never finished a race without getting dropped, I only knew second-hand of the fact that crits tend to slow-down a bit after the first couple laps...so I kept telling myself that people were probably right and fought off the ill feelings my body was sending to my brain. The next thing I knew, I heard 5 laps to go.

Hearing 5 laps to go and passing a lapped rider was exhilarating for me because I knew at that moment that the months of training were worth it. My mental game turned on as my body recovered slightly and I realized that I was damn tired of sprinting out of every corner. So I decided to find a wheel I liked up front and stick to it. I had lots of choices, but I decided that since Joel Friedman had won this race the year before (and subsequently was a Cat 3 at the end of the season) and rode for Bicycle Heaven, that the Bicycle Heaven guy that had been upfront the whole time seemed like a good wheel. I made a good choice and was able to save a lot of energy not having to work as hard out of the corners. With (I think) just over 3 laps to go, I saw Trent sitting up front, so I decided to join him...which for some reason turned into me deciding to increase the pace and pull for almost half a lap. This was silly, and I knew it at the time, but at that point, I was joy riding. Luckily, someone was rocking a helmet cam and recorded the whole race...including my joy-ride on the front.

After my cheeky pull up front, I knew the race for 1st was pretty much over for me (not that it had ever started). At 2 laps to go, the pace increased and since I had lost my position near the front I was back to sprinting out of the corners. As the bell rang for the final lap I was sitting about 20th and remained there until the final corner. Everyone gunned it out of the final corner and (now back-to-back Cat 3 winner) Nate's words of wisdom from the previous week rang through my head "be patient because everyone will sprint too early." The problem was, at this point in the race, Nate would be sitting top 10, not sitting at the back of the lead group...haha, oops. So while everyone took off, I momentarily lost contact and had to sprint just to catch back on to the pack. I sat back down and got ready for my first field sprint...but then realized I didn't have any energy to sprint anyways. I saw the guy immediately in-front of me give up so I stood up to sprint around him and ended up catching someone else. Altogether, a great race and a proud 28th place finish for my first time ending with the pack.

Next stop, Monsters of the Midway.

If you don't love it, leave it!

2010-01-06T13:24:00.003-06:00

As I am sure you are all aware, my Iowa Hawkeyes won their first ever BCS bowl last night when they defeated the Georgia Tech Bees 24-14 in the FedEx Orange Bowl. While I greatly enjoyed watching the game at John Barleycorn, surrounded by hundreds of my fellow Iowans, the best moment occurred after the game.

After Adrian Claybourn was awarded the MVP award, Fox Analyst Chris Myers moved on to interview Ricky Stanzi. Myers managed to rattle off one of the more bizarre questions I have ever heard asked of an athlete after a seminal win:

"I know you're from Middle America, and sometimes you feel like you're representing more than just a school or a conference, maybe an entire group of American citizens out there."

No question mark? Yeah, there was no change in inflection either making it an even more bizarre "question". Regardless, Stanzi, who rears from Mentor, OH (from what I can tell, a suburb of Cleveland) and thus is a certified "Middle American", came back with a gem of a response, "punking" Myers in the process.

"Of course. I mean, there's nothing better than being American. So, I mean, this is the greatest feeling. If you don't love it, leave it! USA, number one!"

You can't really ask for much more from your quarterback. Here's the video:

More Rap Music from Iowa?!

2010-01-05T14:19:00.002-06:00

After my last post, I really didn't think that another YouTube video of such quality (about Iowa) could ever emerge. Well folks, lightening struck twice. This video is even more entertaining, more inappropriate and...I ran out of words. Here is the video. Amazing.

REP. YO. CITY.

2009-12-11T14:04:00.001-06:00

This is pure gold. I condone all stereotypes that it portrays even if I don't embody (any) of them.

My Childhood Dream Realized

2009-12-08T09:07:00.002-06:00

Yes, I know it's been a while since my blog has seen the light of day. I could blame this on a lot of things...but really there is no excuse. Luckily, this morning I was jolted out of my laziness by a video that changed my day...maybe my week.

As a child I was a huge fan of "extreme" sports, specifically the X-Games. While I am ill-equipped for balance-related sports and lack the risk-taking tendencies needed by an extreme athlete, I am borderline obsessed with watching skateboarding, bmx and inline skating on TV. As a kid I always talked about how I thought Razor scooters would eventually be a part of the X-Games. However, my dream has yet to be realized.

Today, I found a video that brings some hope...and if it doesn't bring hope, it definitely does bring a very high level of entertainment. Please enjoy and support extreme-Razoring.

Step Aside Ochocinco

2009-11-16T09:30:00.003-06:00

Chad Ochocinco has accounted for most of the awesome sports news lately whether he was prohibited from sending mustard to the Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, or fined for "bribing" an official...however, there is a new man on the awesome sports news scene. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Bud Adams.

Bud Adams, 86 year-old owner of the Tennessee Titans, made news yesterday by flipping off, yes flipping off, the opposing Buffalo Bills during a 41-17 win. Having trouble contemplating this? Why not just watch a video of it...amazing.

This is pretty great evidence for the argument that as we age we revert back to acting as we did when we were children...

Take Something Simple and Make it Awesome

2009-11-12T14:33:00.003-06:00

This video left my speechless...then I couldn't stop laughing.

Make sure not to miss the "wheel" kid's flop at the end...amazing.

Truly a Party in the USA

2009-10-29T14:07:00.003-05:00

Is it just me, or has Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" inspired a lot of people recently? I heard many people talk/complain about this song for about a week before I was lucky enough to hear it for the first time. My spinning instructor, notorious for his love of Britney and the Pussycat Dolls, put the song on...I remember laughing out of amusement at how "terrible" the song is. "Terrible" because music tastes are relative...bottom-line from my point of view is that the song is catchy and awful at the same time. Back to the important stuff...I recently saw a video of Party in the USA mixed with a Notorious B.I.G. track. The mix is again both awful and catchy. The juxtaposition between Biggie and Miley Cyrus is priceless though. That video was topped big time when I found the reason for today's post. The ASL version of Party in the USA:

Two points about this video to help you enjoy:

If you click the arrow in the bottom right, you can get a literal translation of the ASL...which is both informative and hilarious.
If you were deaf, you wouldn't be hearing the audio (or at least, you wouldn't hear it the same as someone who is not deaf), so do yourself a favor and turn off the sound and watch it again...even more entertaining.

The real "cherry on top" is that this guy apparently does ASL version of other song...I'm going to have to check those out.

So you think you can dance?

2009-10-27T09:48:00.001-05:00

Amazing moves...lovely video for a dreary, but soon to be sunny Tuesday!

This one is obviously better with sound.

Trampoline Dreamz

2009-10-26T14:38:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I found this video last week, but decided to wait until this week to share. This video pretty much sums up all of my trampoline dreams. Unfortunately, I don't have a Cirque de Soleil set in my backyard (nor do I have a backyard). This video is awesome even if you don't have headphones to watch it with the sound. Enjoy!

Need some pumpkin carving ideas for Halloween?

2009-10-23T09:21:00.005-05:00

Barely more than a week until Halloween...have you decided what you're going to carve into your pumpkin this year?

If you need some ideas, check out Extreme Pumpkins

Thanks Julie for the tip!

Oat and About

2009-10-22T11:25:00.003-05:00

If you haven't checked out the list of blogs on the right side of Amalgamattion, I highly recommend them (that's why they're on my blog..duh.) However, I wanted to take a quick minute to highlight a new one I just added.

Oat and About was born out of a creative idea for a blog that one of my friends recently came up with. Basically, she writes reviews of oatmeal (yes, the superior AND trendy breakfast food) that are laced with hilarious tangents and witty comments. It's one of my favorite blogs as of late and I highly recommend you check it out.

Thursday's Mindblowing Video

2009-10-22T11:18:00.002-05:00

I am going to refrain from talking too long because I want to let this beautiful video speak for itself.

Rarely do I see visuals that actually add to the experience of listening to music. I prefer to either focus on visuals or focus on the music. This video has an impressive blend of both. Enjoy!

How to shoot an anvil 200 feet in the air.

2009-10-21T09:41:00.002-05:00

My inspiration has been weak lately...so rather than posting boring crap, I decided to let you all wait in excitement for the next post (or alternatively forget about my blog entirely.) Worry not, I'm back, with a video that is both instructional, entertaining and a bit strange. Enjoy!

Sample some locally grown humor

2009-10-08T11:09:00.003-05:00

My friend time sent me a video last night and recommended that I post it on Amalgamattion. People send me stuff pretty frequently, some of it ends up on the blog, some of it doesn't. However, rarely do people send me stuff that they created. So I present to you "Generous Mouse", produced by Tim and Tessa. (Language NSFW)

Maybe when this video goes viral, I can get an exclusive interview with Tim and Tessa right here on Amalgamattion!

Battle of the Vibes

2009-10-07T11:14:00.003-05:00

I'm a huge fan of music battles whether it be guitar battles, freestyle battles....or vibraphone battles? Yeah, apparently those happen as evidenced by the following video.

I think the vibe playing may be overshadowed by the first guys b-boy stance after he's done playing the first time...

PUPPYWAR

2009-10-06T09:47:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past weeks...it's been a busy couple weeks at work and sometimes my Amalgamattion responsibilities fall by the wayside. But I am back, with something you are going to love.

I was working yesterday evening and happened to stumble upon a fantastic website. In my surfing of the interwebs I have enjoyed such classics as Daily Puppy, The I Can Has Cheezburger empire and of course, the high school favorite: Hot or Not (no I'm not linking to it, but you can guess the website.) However, I always felt like there was something lacking when I was looking at these sites. Luckily for me (and in all likelihood, you) someone has combined all of these concepts. I present to you:

PUPPY WAR

Don't let the website name mislead you...no Michael Vicks were used in the production of this website and no animals were harmed (at least I hope not!) All the website contains is an army of puppies battling it out in mono e mono death-matches armed only with their cuteness. (Seriously, there is no death involved...just click the link already!)

For those of you who prefer the more docile, less rambunctious four-legged domesticated creatures, there is an option for you too.

KITTEN WAR

I personally am allergic, but for those that aren't, all the more power to you!

Everyone Can (and should!) Create Music

2009-09-24T10:46:00.002-05:00

I have seen one of these on the internet before (I might have even posted it on this blog.) This one is much more advanced and better looking. Try it out. It's super easy and quite rewarding in the end.

iNudge

I have included my quick composition below...this thing is addicting!

Twitter Win for the Ages

2009-09-23T14:09:00.003-05:00

Twitter has exploded in popularity during 2009. People have quickly found interesting and awesome uses for it...and it seems to be becoming just another facebook-thorn in the side of technology doubters. I've been a fan since the beginning. Recently, I harvested the fruits of Twitter by winning a free preview-meal at Rick Bayless' new restaurant in Chicago, XOCO. Since then, it appears I have been outdone by some lucky Cincinnati Bengals fans. Last weekend, Chad Ochocinco took a "Lambeau Leap" into famously unfriendly Packers territory, but come to find out, he had planned the whole thing out.

Here is a video of the "leap"...turns out the announcers were completely correct:

My First Race Report - Ronald Reagan Criterium - 9/19/09

2009-09-21T16:31:00.004-05:00

In March, I joined Spidermonkey Cycling, a local cycling club, because I had bought a road bike and wanted other people to ride with. Since I joined, I have become a much stronger rider and I have also gained a lot of awesome new friends. However, I did not realize when I joined, that six months later I would be racing.

At the end of July, while watching the Chicago Criterium and being asked repeatedly how my race went (I did not race that day) I started to have the mental realization that I was capable of going out there and doing what I'd seen many of my teammates do...race! With a little encouragement (and maybe some outright peer-pressure) from my teammates and girlfriend, I finally decided that I would take a crack at racing. I figured if I raced at the end of the season I would miss most of the Cat 5's that had already catted up and even if I finished last, I would have great motivation heading into the dreaded and all-important "trainer season."

On Saturday, the day of my first race arrived. I don't get a lot of performance anxiety, so luckily I was able to sleep well the night before and remain calm on Saturday morning. I made the two-hour trek to Dixon, IL, a place I had previously only driven by on I-88, with my fellow Spidermonkeys (and invaluable teammates) Zens and Bryan. We arrived at 8:30 and set up the tent. This left me an hour and half to prepare mentally and physically. I didn't really have any idea how to do either of those things, so I pumped up my tires, put on my kit and asked Bryan and Zens what I should do. Zens took me on a short ride to recon the course. While I haven't raced any other courses, I can tell you that this course was awesome! (and other more experienced racers agreed.) The course was 0.8 miles, 8 turns, 3 short uphill sections and a downhill finish. I decided which corners I would pedal through and thought a little bit about what gearing I would use on what parts of the course. I got back, jumped on the trainer for about 20 minutes to warm up and then got ready to race.

The field for the 5's race was small. Most of the races I had seen prior to this one had over 50 people. So it was comforting at first to pull up to the line with only about 25 other guys. Later I would find out that this was not as awesome. Once I got to the line, reality set in. The six months of training and learning I had done since buying a road bike were about to be put to the test. The race official was quick with instructions and didn't leave me a lot of time to dwell on what was ahead of me. With that, the whistle was blown, I clipped in, and the race began!

The first lap didn't really contain anything unexpected...I think. Actually, I don't really remember the first lap at all. I came across the line after the first lap middle of the pack, right where I planned and wanted to be. On the second lap, my mind kicked in and I started thinking about the race. During my course recon, I had decided that I would try to stay in the saddle on the first uphill section. On the second lap, I was in the gear I wanted to be and was still in the saddle on the uphill section. I was getting passed by a few people, but I thought that was ok since I knew, being bigger than anyone else, I would be able to easily make up ground on the downhill sections. We reached the top of the hill and began the downhill and long flat section of the course. My plan to make up ground was foiled by a headwind I had failed to notice during my course recon. By the end of the second lap, I found myself near the back of the pack struggling to stay on. On the next lap, I dangled off the back and was dropped during the flat section on the back stretch. I spent the rest of the race working as hard as I could and enjoying getting the chance to race. I spent the last 5 minutes being happy that I only had 5 minutes left. Around minute 20 (of 30) I got to pass a guy, so I at least got the consolation of not finishing last! Fellow Spidermonkeys Jason and Trent had a great race, both finishing with the pack. Jason even took home a nice grill set prem.

Overall, I was pleased with my first performance. The two main things I was worried about was being scared in the corners and crashing. I found the cornering much less scary than advertised and I didn't ride in the pack long enough to even have the chance to crash. I definitely need to work on my fitness, but that is not at all surprising to me. I have all of winter and spring to work on that.

I thought I was done after my first race, but surprise! there's more. Due to unwavering peer pressure, I decided to race the 4/5's. I was not at all excited about racing again, especially since I finished second to last in the 5's and the 4/5's was 10 minutes longer. So I think I came up to the line mainly feeling anger. Zens had told me to pick a target for how long I wanted to try and stay with the pack. Feeling pretty realistic at the time, I decided I would try to stay in until the first prem when everything was guaranteed to speed up.

The 4/5's race felt a lot different to me. The field was larger which provided for more of a draft and more of an accordion affect in the corners. Having experience on the course and knowing where I needed to be out of the saddle and where I needed to be in the drops helped a lot in the second race. As funny as it was, I actually came across the line in the top 10 on the first two laps. I was able to stay with the field for about 10 minutes and had a great time racing in the pack. My legs eventually gave out and I dropped out of the pack. Sure I got lapped by the leaders twice, but I finished and actually finished farther from last than I had in the 5's! I was even lucky (?) enough to have a couple people around me at the end to sprint against. I'm glad I did the 4/5's race because it gave me much more of a feeling of how fun and fast crit racing is! Zens and Bryan both raced well finishing top 10, with a 3rd place podium spot for Bryan! Jason and Trent also put in another great effort in the 4/5's.

I want to give a huge thanks to all of the people that made racing possible for me...so thanks Ben, Zens, Bryan, Dean, Vanessa, Vanessa, Lil' V and all of the Spidermonkeys that I have ridden with and that have encouraged me. Also, special thanks to Abby for making the 2 hour trip to cheer me on!

I promise my next race report, or any future race report for that matter, will not be this long.

Lastly, here are the 3 pictures from the weekend worth posting (more to come in the future hopefully):

Bryan and I with Dixon's finest, Ronald Reagan (legend has it that he saved over 77 lives when he was a lifeguard in Dixon)

Zens getting Culverized after the races:

Bryan being interviewed after taking 3rd in the 4/5's (and repping our great sponsor, 312)

Enough Kanye Already

2009-09-15T21:06:00.002-05:00

I don't what was more annoying, Kanye's interruption of Taylor Swift's speech or the ensuing media coverage. I guess I do know. The media coverage.

Fortunately, 2 days later, something good finally came of the situation.

This picture:

Guest Blogger: Kelsey Parman

2009-09-09T13:08:00.004-05:00

Due to a busy work week and an inspired friend, I have decided to hand-off the blog writing duties for today to my friend Kelsey. Everything not in italics represents her words and opinions. Hope you enjoy!

Since the recent surge in the popularity of Diva Cups, tampon makers have had to get creative with advertising uses for their product. Now with a little creativity and craft supplies, you too can own your very own tampon toupee! And this is only the beginning. Tampons just aren't for us ladies now, guys. I give you Tampon Crafts!!

Guest blogger Kelsey Parman is a senior from Beloit College studying Anthropology and Museum Studies.

I am T-Pain

2009-09-04T09:39:00.002-05:00

We are all now familiar with the recent trend that is Auto-Tune, or more appropriately, the over-use of Auto-Tune. Auto-Tune has not only brought us the overprocessed music from the likes of Lil' Wayne, Kanye West and T-Pain (and everyone always forgets the original, Cher), but we now also have the parodies, the most famous probably being the Auto-Tune the News series.

Fortunately, the Auto-Tune trend was recently combined (mash-up?) with another popular piece of culture,the iPhone, to bring Auto-Tune to the masses! I present to you, I Am T-Pain. For only $3, you, yes you, can sing like T-Pain (or Cher). I can't wait to get off work today and buy my own copy.

Summer is almost over...but it's always Summertime

2009-09-03T10:45:00.003-05:00

The best of today's amateur music videos on the internet. Honestly, once I saw the melodica, I was sold. The singing leaves a little to be desired...but hey, not every kid can be a prodigy!

Mid-Afternoon Snack

2009-09-02T15:42:00.003-05:00

I can't remember if I ever posted This is Why You're Fat on Amalgamattion. But I'm sure most of you have already seen it. I have some more food for you to look at this afternoon.

My two new favorites are:

Insane Sandwiches

and...

Fancy Fast Food

I'm not sure if either of these are better than the original...but certainly an awesome addition to the collection of bizarre foods on the internet!

If You're Bored

2009-09-01T11:11:00.003-05:00

Loved the reactions from the post yesterday! This is post is not quite as exciting...but still quite entertaining. Warning, if you need to get a lot of work done today, I would not recommend checking this out...however, if you need something to take up your time...

Make Your Own Kaleidoscope

How can combining two songs I don't even really like be so awesome?

2009-08-31T09:50:00.004-05:00

I found an awesome new take on the "mash-up" this morning. This one is really giving Girltalk a run for his money! Jon Schmidt, a composer/arranger has combined "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay to create quite an amazing piece. I probably would not call myself a fan of either of these songs...but the arrangement Schmidt puts together is quite magical. If you are into the sappy stuff, the explanation of how he came upon this mash-up is at the end of the video.

W.W.T.T.D.

2009-08-27T16:00:00.003-05:00

W.W.T.T.D. - What Would Tim Tebow Do?

Sound ridiculous?

After reading about the recent promotion put on by the Fort Myers Miracle, a minor league baseball team, it sounds even more ridiculous.

Someone Catch Her (before it goes viral)

2009-08-25T10:54:00.003-05:00

There are rare occurrences when random actions are caught on tape that end up being hilarious the day after. This happened to my friends a couple nights ago and created a great youtube video. This is more than likely an instance where "it's only funny if you know the people." However, after watching this video over and over I've begun to appreciate how great it is. After seeing it again I began to appreciate the multiple layers...is the focus the girl who is about to fall? or is it the argument going on at the table? I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

A Letter from MIT

2009-08-25T10:09:00.002-05:00

If this letter is real, my guess is he is going to get/he already got what he asked for in the letter: http://www.c4vct.com/kym/humor/mitlettr.htm

The New Mozart Lives in Rockford, IL

2009-08-21T15:15:00.002-05:00

Here's some inspiration to carry you into the weekend...

Best quote: (referring to Mozart) "...I'm kind of like him, he's kind of like me." I'm a believer.

Vote for the Comedian!

2009-08-21T10:33:00.001-05:00

As a shameless plug for a close friend of mine...vote for the comedian!

Barney Frank FTW

2009-08-19T15:05:00.003-05:00

I'm sure many of you have already seen this video...I heard about it but didn't watch until a few minutes ago. I've never been a huge fan of Barney Frank...for various reasons. But, this video is straight up awesome. It's the best answer I've ever heard given to a politically extreme person coming from any side of the spectrum. Frank really seals the deal with his last comment.

A PSA for the 21st Century

2009-08-19T14:15:00.002-05:00

Moral of the story: don't drive and text, while listening to Queen.

So we can all better understand "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

2009-08-19T09:15:00.002-05:00

What did we do before we had YouTube?

2009-08-18T11:50:00.002-05:00

Pretty much everyday I find something, or am sent something, from YouTube that is really entertaining. But rarely do I find something that is so funny merely because it is another human being completely ridiculous seemingly without any idea. This video had me in tears at my desk. I literally could not finish watching it...I challenge you to see if you can get through the whole thing. Would love to hear thoughts on this one...

Insightful Graphic

2009-08-18T11:14:00.001-05:00

Work is crazy busy right now...preventing me from properly making an important announcement that may change this blog forever. So for now, you all will have to wait. In the meantime I leave you with this awesome graphic:

If Websites Were People

Radiohead

2009-08-13T16:48:00.001-05:00

While I'm not a die hard Radiohead fan, I definitely appreciate their music...and their new track is amazing. Take a listen and see what you think...especially because they're not recording albums anymore (thanks Cody.)

Harry Patch

Chicago's New Most Wanted

2009-08-13T14:29:00.003-05:00

After the slew of muggins in my neighborhood last week, you would think Chicago's most wanted would be any one of the various muggers...but that changed last night when a Cubs fan threw a beer on the Phillies' Shane Victorino. Since the Cubs don't seem to do anything right, of course security arrested the wrong guy. Now, the real beer thrower, who can easily be identified in the video below, is on the loose. I ask you join together with me and find this menace to society! Please report all sightings to the Chicago PD. Please report all hilarious jokes about the Cubs that arise out of this situation directly to me. As a friend said last night: "It's almost Bears' season."

7 Truths About Viral Culture

2009-08-13T10:40:00.003-05:00

Recently, I have been fascinated by phenomenon of viral marketing. It seemed to me a couple of years ago when I was in college and viral marketing was beginning to take off, that it would quickly become a fleeting trend. However, over the past couple years, the exact opposite has happened. Take for instance the video I posted yesterday. This video was almost certainly a viral add released by none other than Performance Bicycle, a US discount bike chain. Yes, the references were quite subtle...but in a culture (cycling culture that is) where a subtle difference in your gear (read: non-white bar tape...or a helmet visor) can instantly peg you as an amateur weekend club rider, subtly is king.

Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age has put together a great article about the culture of viral advertising. His second point was what really hammered it home for me.

7 Truths About Viral Culture

In the meantime, I will be sure to post (intentionally and unintentionally) many more viral ads.

The Newest Bike Music Video: Performance

2009-08-12T13:30:00.002-05:00

I found this video today, courtesy of Bike Snob NYC, and I highly enjoyed it. Not only does it make fun of hipsters, but it also makes fun of overly zealous roadies. There's nothing better than a situation where everyone can make fun of each other.

Throw those bikes in lockup!

2009-08-10T09:59:00.004-05:00

After eating breakfast next to some bike-cops on Saturday morning, we came outside to find their bikes locked up next to the front door. However, when you're a bike-cop, you apparently don't need a u-lock...you can just handcuff your bikes together...hilarious:

Day 1 Lollapalooza Reflections/Report

2009-08-08T11:55:00.003-05:00

Alright folks, it's back to the music festival for Matt! No insane live blogging experiments this time...this is after the fact (and much easier).

Yesterday open Lollapalooza in the beautiful city of Chicago. After roughing it for 4 days at Bonnaroo, I was excited to attend an amazing festival right in my back yard. While the weather on Day 1 disappointed, the musicians did not.

I entered through the brand new north entrance (all hype, not much else) around 3:oopm with Mother Nature providing a light drizzle. The first show on the schedule was Bon Iver. After missing them at 'Roo, I was so excited. The rain kept coming, but from 3-4, I was lost in the sounds of Bon Iver and didn't really notice. The common complaint about Bon Iver is people saying "I love their music, but I don't think it would be good live...it's not good music for outside." This is happily false. Sure Bon Iver isn't great music to get crazy to, but the stage show is well worth it. The best moment for me was when Justin played an old resonator for Skinny Love. The sound left me in awe.

As an aside from the music, the porto-potty situation at Lolla sucks again. While the people at Bonnaroo have figured it out, Perry still has not. I don't know what they're thinking, but especially with all of the short sets at Lolla, going pee can mean missing an act...huge bummer.

After Bon Iver, I met up with friends and suffered through 5 minutes of Ben Folds. Luckily I was able to convince them that it was time to go to DJ stage (Perry's). The new and improved Perry's is awesome this year! The stage is circular and there is room for 10,000 people (I heard last year was closer to 2,000.) Great move on Perry's part! We caught an awesome set from A-Trak, a DJ I started listening too quite recently. It was a great way to switch it up after Bon Iver and also a great way to forget about the rain (that was still coming just as hard!) After A-Trak we got some water and food...suffered through another bathroom wait, and then made our way back over to the Playstation Stage.

We caught the second half of the Fleet Foxes set (another band I was really hyped about seeing live.) They were also fantastic live. What a bunch of weird guys! They brought the weird and also brought the awesome vocal harmonies that sounds great live. I was quite happy that I didn't miss the whole thing! After Fleet Foxes we had some more administrate issues to take care of and missed out on most of the Andrew Bird set. I would have liked to see more, but he's from Chicago and plays here all the time.

The end of the night for us was Kings of Leon. I started listening to them junior year of college (in '07) and fell in love with the lead singers voice. It is so unique and different that it really makes the band. Their most recent album was a great addition to the ones I already had. They put on quite a show! I think they were somewhat inspired by the fact that they played Lolla a couple years ago before they were big and now they were headlining (the lead singer talked a bit about this too.) They played an inspired set that was of course cut short by the silly Chicago noise ordinance that ended the show promptly at 9:59pm...thanks Mayor Daley!

Altogether a great start! I'm ready to head back now, although I don't think I'm ready for 90 degrees and humid!

FIGHT LIKE SUSAN!

2009-08-06T09:41:00.003-05:00

Something happened last night that shook up my life a little bit and I would be amiss not to give it some space in the blog.

The first blog I ever started following regularly was a blog by a man named Elden "Fatty" Nelson, an avid mountain biker from Utah. Fatty started his blog FatCyclist as a way of chronicling his weight loss and holding himself responsible. However, when his wife Susan fell ill with breast cancer, his blog became something much larger and more important. While FatCyclist remained entertaining and intriguing, a whole new layer was added. The amount of work Fatty has done for the battle against cancer is astounding to me. As of today, he has raised over $500,000 for cancer through his Livestrong Challenge teams. Think about that...$500,000. Wow. I would be amazed if I could raise $500 through my blog for anything.

Over the past couple months, all of Fatty's readers followed the heart-breaking story of Susan's worsening cancer. The inspiring thing for me was that Fatty and Susan both continued to fight and stay strong. Fatty continued to raise loads and loads of money while Susan fought a horrible disease. Sadly, at 7:25pm last night, Susan passed away. I know that many people, myself and Lance Armstrong included, were left speechless. It's a harsh reminder that cancer continues take lives everyday.

I encourage you to check out FatCyclist, be inspired, donate...help defeat cancer.

Get Stumped by Regiftable Robin

2009-08-05T13:42:00.003-05:00

I don't know how long this has been bouncing around the internet, but I found it pretty cool!

I introduce: Regiftable Robin

Obviously she can't read your mind, but the trick was cool enough that it distracted me from figuring out how it was done for quite a while.

Thanks to Vanessa for this!

Bert and Ernie's Rap Career

2009-08-03T14:39:00.003-05:00

Sesame Street + Rap = A great laugh on a Monday.

All props to a man named Football Rob for posting this one.

Stephan Braun just rocked my world, with a bow

2009-07-31T14:08:00.002-05:00

I am always one to be impressed by musicians doing amazing things with conventional instruments. Bela Fleck, Andy McKee, Joe Satriani to name a few...however, I would argue that all of those guys have the advantage of playing fretted instruments. For me, Stephan Braun has broken into new boundaries...by playing virtuoso cello. Enjoy!

Hey Milorad Cavic, no one likes you.

2009-07-31T10:55:00.003-05:00

I have waited a long while to rant on Amalgamattion...but hey, when you have 20 regular readers, you can't be that afraid of losing a couple.

Which brings me to the point of this post...Milorad Cavic, no one likes you.

Not familiar with Cavic? He is probably the most famous Silver Medalist from the Olympic Games (after Shawn Johnson took the Gold on the beam, overcoming her loss in the all-around). Cavic was the swimmer you forgot about who was "out-touched" by Michael Phelps in the "100 meter butterfly half-stroke heard round the world." Cavic is still complaining to this day, even though all of the sensors used in the race as well as high resolution video confirmed that Phelps did in fact win.

The story that many missed out on was that before Cavic became the whiniest sore loser in Olympic history, he was offending people throughout the Balkans. Cavic, an American born, dual citizen of Serbia and the United States, after winning the 50m Butterfly at the European Championships proceeded to wear a shirt that read "Kosovo is Serbia" on the medal stand. His medal was immediately stripped, but later was given back. Cavic proceeded to return to California to train for his eventual loss to Phelps.

Well now Cavic is back on the scene saying outrageous things and making sure that no one likes him. Yesterday, at the World Championships in Rome, he took a shot at Phelps saying that he would buy Phelps a new swimsuit and making fun of Phelps loyalty to the Speedo company. I will let the article, and Cavic's comments speak for themselves.

My question to Cavic, is why he doesn't swim for the United States? If he is so confident in his ability to beat Phelps...why not swim for his native country? I think we can figure out why...

M&M's and Evolution

2009-07-31T10:03:00.004-05:00

I found a story this morning from an interesting character:

If I was this creative and funny, my blog would probably get a lot more hits! Haha.

The Best South Park Clip of All-time

2009-07-30T11:53:00.002-05:00

Trey and Matt really know how to hammer it home:

Priceless Chicago Video

2009-07-24T09:22:00.003-05:00

I am still trying to make sense of this...nonetheless, an amazing display of Chicago love.

The Best Flight Attendant Ever!

2009-07-23T16:51:00.002-05:00

Southwest Airlines have the best prices and best service...and now the best flight attendant of all time:

A good late afternoon laugh

2009-07-22T16:15:00.002-05:00

Funny hand written signs courtesy of funnyjunk.com

I enjoyed the hockey sign the most.

Funny Hand Written Signs

Kenya

2009-07-21T12:56:00.003-05:00

Shawn Johnson v. Nastia Liukin: Round 2

2009-07-20T11:25:00.003-05:00

Anyone who watched any of NBC's blanket coverage of the 2008 Olympics in Bejing at least caught some of the battle between Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin for the women's gymnastics all-around. While Nastia eventually prevailed, the battle rages on today. Shawn Johnson is currently crushing Nastia in the battle for popularity. Johnson's popularity skyrocketed after she won the latest season of Dancing with the Stars. Recently, a new battle begun.

The battle I am referring to, is the battle for the best internet video. The first shot was fired by Johnson in an Ortega Taco add from 2008 that recently became popular on YouTube. The commercial is uncomfortable/hilarious for many reasons...but the one everyone remembers is Shawn's line: "I love Ortega taco sauce, it makes my taco pop!" You also get to hear the Hamm brothers talk, which is bizarre in itself...not to mention eating tacos in a gym...

This weekend, it became clear to me that Nastia was not to be outdone again (referring to her getting schooled by Johnson on the balance beam in Beijing.) She granted an interview to ESPN which turned into an almost Sacha Baron Cohen-esque interview. I will let the video (and your subsequent laughter) speak for itself.

Who wins this round? We will have to wait for the corrupt judges using a confusing system to issue their marks.

The Amazing Ping Pong Ball Video...and the explanation?

2009-07-16T14:21:00.002-05:00

A couple days ago, I found this awesome video of kids throwing ping ping bolls into red solo cups of water. I initially thought this was an impressive display of skill (and an immense amount of practice) gained through extensive beer-pong playing in college. Many of us experienced how after a couple weekends of throwing balls at cups, they started to go in with more ease. Here is the video...I recommend watching the entirety...it's pretty awesome.

Trick Shot Masters

As I said before, to my eyes, this video did not appear to be edited. Furthermore, I wanted to believe that it was real, because if so, it would be really cool.

My bubble was burst somewhat when I came upon the following video demonstrating how easy it is to manipulate video...after watching this, you be the judge...real or fake?

Russian Bike Trick

2009-07-16T14:17:00.002-05:00

I found a great Thursday video featuring a Russian Bike Trick...enjoy

The Helen Keller Simulator

2009-07-15T12:05:00.001-05:00

Sure Helen Keller jokes are getting old at this point...but have you ever wondered what it's like to be Helen Keller on the internet? I present...

The Helen Keller Simulator

The Best Craigslist Man-Dare Ever

2009-07-13T13:36:00.002-05:00

Craigslists casual meet-up ads used to be funny...until Chicago banned them...and someone got murdered after replying to one.

Then someone in Austin, TX decided to redefine funny on Craigslist. I will let his words speak for themselves.

What I miss by being asleep at 4am on a Monday morning

2009-07-13T11:12:00.002-05:00

I found the following photo on the internet this morning:

The photo, taken by a Chicago resident at 4am near the Belmont El Stop (in the background) shows a man trying to carry an open beer, half empty bottle of Carlo and a black blow-up doll onto the El.

Just a glimpse of the things I miss out by having a job!

Coors is making a "shotgunnable" can? Is this for real?

2009-07-10T14:54:00.003-05:00

Apparently, Coors is beginning to court binge drinkers in earnest. Never mind Blue Moon trying to be a classy beer...soon enough you will be able to buy Coors Light in a "shotgunnable" can!

The World's Fastest!

2009-07-10T13:53:00.003-05:00

This video contains a random collection of various "World's Fastest" activities. My favorite is "The World's Fastest Undresser (don't worry, SFW) and my favorite post-"World's Fastest"-celebration is the World's Fastest Pizza Maker. Amazing compilation.

How did this slip through the cracks? Spencer Pratt dominating the hip hop world!

2009-07-10T13:42:00.002-05:00

I don't know how I missed this, but a couple months ago Spencer Pratt, star douche-bag/terrible boyfriend/husband from MTV's The Hills released a rap. This is one of the funniest things that has ever hit my ears. You can listen to it here on Ryan Seacrest's radio show. Be sure to listen to the whole thing. Unbelievable.

He just tweeted all over us?!

2009-07-10T09:58:00.002-05:00

The world of Twitter was shaken up yesterday as a Forbes reported posted what is being hailed as the longest Tweet ever...check it out: Longest Tweet Ever Sucks Up to Boss.

Thanks to Suzie for this one.

The Best Blog on the Internet Right Now

2009-07-08T12:03:00.003-05:00

This blog needs little explanation. It is written by one of my classmates from college and provides the funniest landlord story I have ever read. Enjoy.

Stranger than Eviction

The Best Touchdown Celebration...ever.

2009-07-07T15:14:00.002-05:00

In a CFL game last Wednesday, Toronto Argonauts wide receiver Arland Bruce performed possibly the best touchdown celebration dance. After scoring the touchdown, Bruce ripped off his pads and pretended to lay in a casket to commemerate the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Further adding to the legitimacy of my "best ever" label, Bruce was penalized a whopping 30 yards! Impressive Bruce...you definitely outdid Usher on this one.

Livestrong.

2009-07-07T09:55:00.002-05:00

Being a fairly avid cyclist, I encounter a lot of people with strong opinions about Lance Armstrong. I grew up watching him destroy people in the Tour and saw him as a real hero for overcoming cancer in such an inspiring way. While my image of him today is somewhat different, I still am astounded by how much money and recognition he has raised for the fight against cancer across the world. Recently Nike released a commercial featuring Lance and after hearing all the hype I finally watched it. Every time I watch it, chills run up my spine. Quite an amazing piece.

Don't want to work? I present ZooBorns.

2009-07-06T09:57:00.003-05:00

I know you probably don't feel like working this morning...lets face it, it's Monday morning after a long weekend...does it get any harder to work? I have the perfect cure...and by cure I mean distraction. ZooBorns. Yes, nothing but a daily collection of newborn animals. It doesn't get much cuter than this...

Things that used to be cool to hate

2009-06-30T14:56:00.003-05:00

My friends and I were having a conversation last night about an upcoming Dave Matthews Band concert and I made the comment that "It's no longer cool to hate Dave Matthews." Your feelings about DMB aside, most can agree that it used to be cool to hate DMB. In many music circles, stating your dislike of Dave was your ticket in. However, in today's world, Dave Matthews is completely irrelevant, outside of the people who flock to venues like Alpine Valley, WI every summer to tailgate and see a similar show to the one they saw last summer. I'll be the first to admit that I am one of those people, but I digress.

We had a conversation about other things that used to be cool to hate, but we didn't get very far. Not to be discouraged, I put some more thought into it today and I think we may be onto something. The tough thing is you have to work with a sliding time frame. For instance, it may have been cool to hate something because of your life stage (e.g. high school, college, etc.) Or it may have been cool to hate someone/a group of people because of the actions they undertook years ago. Right now the list is short, but I am interested to hear what other people have to say.

I want your input! Use the comments to post our ideas about things that used to be cool to hate. Here are the short list of examples I have come up with through conversations with people:

It used to be cool to hate Greek life in college.
It used to be cool to hate Michigan football, but then they stopped winning.
It used to be cool to hate sushi, when you were a kid.
It used to be cool to hate the New York Yankees, but they haven't won a world series in 9 years.

Let's hear some others!

Bon Iver...if only you could say his name

2009-06-30T10:34:00.002-05:00

Bon Iver is probably my favorite artist right now.

The story of Justin Vernon is a little bizarre, his music is a little bizarre, and the story of his latest album is bizarre...but when it all comes together and hits your ears...it's hard to do anything but enjoy every second of it. You can fill in the missing details here if you want.

Or more importantly, you can check out this awesome video, filmed I think somewhere in France. The video consists of Vernon and his band mates going around performing the title track off their album. I would highly recommend checking out the other videos by this same user. They are all equally awesome...and of course, buy the album too!

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

2009-06-24T16:28:00.002-05:00

The US National Soccer team beat Spain 2-0 in the Confederations cup to advance to the finals against probably Brazil. It will take another shocking performance to get another win...but for now, enjoy these awesome goals!

Ready to Experience My First Night at Bonnaroo?

2009-06-24T11:52:00.002-05:00

The first night of Bonnaroo the storms arrived...in thunderous fashion. When the wind and rain got bad enough, we decided it was our time to enter Centeroo. We put on swimsuits put some cash in a ziploc bag and went for it. I found this video today of one of my favorite moments of Bonnaroo. The first show we saw, and one of the best, was Passion Pit. I am surprised more people haven't heard of them, so I bring you this video.

So what I want you to do is imagine yourself in a swimsuit, soaking wet, covered in mud from foot to waist, hand over your beer so the rain doesn't get in it...and then watch this video...as loud as it goes:

For those that like to complain about the weather!

2009-06-24T10:16:00.001-05:00

You know that co-worker who complained last week that it was cold...and then came in this week complaining about how hot it was outside? Hey! that co-worker might even be you! If you or someone you know like's complaining about the weather...use this site to help you get psyched up about how bad the weather is!

Thanks Abby!

Why The Economist dominates

2009-06-24T09:51:00.003-05:00

I have enjoyed reading The Economist since I started becoming interested in politics early in high school. Every week I receive my copy and read Lexington immediately, sometimes even before I walk up the stairs. I found an insightful article on why The Economist has continued to succeed in a time where print news is increasingly becoming obsolete. You can find the article here. Happy Hump Day!

Keyboard Cat Reaches a New High

2009-06-19T14:14:00.002-05:00

Sometimes trends reach their limit...after a while, everyone got tired of fmylife...then people got tired of mylifeisaverage...and I thought that was what happened to Keyboard Cat. But then I saw this video, and it changed my Keyboard Cat life. (Warning, if you're watching this at work, you might start crying at your desk like I did.)

You want breadsticks with your burrito?

2009-06-19T12:59:00.002-05:00

This has been on the internet for a while...but it's time it made on the blog just in case people have not heart it yet. Yes, a song dedicated to the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. I feel so thankful that Yum! Foods decided to open restaurants with so many choices. It helps families who can't decide on just one type of food for the family, it helps drunk people create challenging, entertaining late night meals and most importantly, it creates a smell like you've never smelled before.

Here is where I take a stand...if you're going to have a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell...why don't you serve TACO PIZZA!?

Here's the song...enjoy

Das Racist - Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)

Cuteness is bipartisan

2009-06-19T11:23:00.003-05:00

Credit to Rachel for finding this...and the Official Whitehouse Photostream for posting it.

Reflections (and Ramblings) on Bonnaroo...plus some more pictures

2009-06-18T10:44:00.005-05:00

I am finally well rested, my body has mostly recovered, my sunburn has healed...I haven't gotten over the obsession with my shower, and my air conditioner, I haven't stopped enjoying having a bathroom nearby every time I need to use one, instead of having to walk half a mile. This means that it is time to start reflecting on the amazing experience of Bonnaroo. I think my friends have been a little perplexed my reactions...my stock reaction has become "It was unreal/unbelievable and I couldn't really use normal words to describe it." This is true. Bonnaroo was more than a music festival, more than a 4 day camping trip with friends, more than a collection of hippies doing drugs...I truly left the grounds on Monday feeling like I had been a part of something amazing. With that, here are some reflections on various topics...

Drugs - one of the main questions people ask me about Bonnaroo was the drugs there. Anyone that has looked into the festival at all has heard about how there are many drugs available at any time of the day or night for whatever price you want to pay...but I was not even prepared for the experience there. Before we had even set up camp, we had been offered drugs. It seems like every time we would sit/stand still for more than 5 minutes, whether we were at the campsite or in Centeroo (the concert area) there would be someone offering us whatever drugs we wanted. All of that said, the interesting part to me (and unbelievable to some) is that no one I was with used any illegal drugs. I could discuss why this is...but the point is that, even without doing drugs. The thing that struck me is that Bonnaroo is such a weird experience and environment, that I don't see why people would need to alter their state of consciousness to enjoy it more?

Festival Organization - I was amazed at how well organized Bonnaroo was. I have only really been to one other major festival, Lollapalooza, but the organization at Lolla could not even hold a candle to the organization at 'Roo. First of all, you have almost 80,000 people camping on one farm, which is a feat in itself. But everything else seemed to be organized enough that it did not cause us undue inconvenience. The parking/traffic situation was organized on the way in for us (I know it was not for everyone). Everyone had enough space to camp. The port-o-potties were cleaned everyday and remained relatively clean the whole time (I'm not joking, it was never a problem.) There were showers you could use during the day without much of a wait. There were water stations located throughout the festival that provided cold, clean water for washing, drinking or whatever else you wanted to use it for. My favorite thing is that the people running the festival went to great lengths to ensure that the ground where people stood to watch the shows was as dry and clean as possible. Before the Bela Fleck show, they cleared everyone out from under the tent we were in to lay down a layer of sawdust and hay to try and dry out the ground. It worked, and I think everyone really appreciated it. The medical staff was always attentive, and when that guy had a bad trip right behind you, the medical staff was always there in seconds to pick him up and take him to their makeshift hospital.

The People - The people at Bonnaroo are one of its greatest assets. I was hoping to meet a lot more people than I did...but this was likely due to the fact that we weren't that outgoing. That being said, I still met and encountered a lot of chill, cool people. When you're camping in heat, rain and mud with 80,000 other people for 4 days, you develop this camaraderie somewhat similar to kids at a summer camp. Everyone helps each other out and makes sure everyone else is having a good time. I noticed on Sunday that I had gone the whole festival without seeing people get pissed about running into each other or someone taking someone elses spot, etc. That stuff happened all the time at Lolla. A bunch of peaceful hippies at a music festival in the middle of nowhere? yep.

Since I've now been writing for much longer than I expected, I realize this is going to take more than one post. So I will end this with one more topic...

Phish - As I've said before, the catalyst that made me buy the ticket and commit to Bonnaroo, was the 2 shows that Phish were to play. When Phish went on Friday night, it was completely surreal. As cheesy as it may sound, I actually did get emotional. I started listening to Phish during high school and they quickly became my favorite band. Seeing them in 2003 from the 6th row at Alpine Valley was by far the best concert experience of my life up that point. When they retired in 2004, I did not realize how much I would miss them. When they stepped on stage at Bonnaroo, all of the waiting and wishing they would return came out of me, and I got to enjoy 3 hours of amazing live music. They ended the weekend with hands down the best set of Bonnaroo. The Tweezer Reprise was my favorite song I saw at Bonnaroo. I can't wait to see them 3 more times this summer.

With that, I will leave you with a link to some great, professional pictures and videos from the festival. This is a little taste of what I experienced.

Roger Ebert on Bill O'Reilly

2009-06-17T11:45:00.002-05:00

My roommate and I have recently been watching the O'Reilly Factor fairly regularly...mostly for entertainment, but also due to curiosity over whether it really is the same every day. We have pretty much concluded that the format is boringly similar but excitingly lively. I found an article today written by Roger Ebert about Bill O'Reilly and the effect his show may/has have/had on debate in America. The article can be found here.

There will be more to come on Bonnaroo when I find more time. Until then, have a great Wednesday!

Phish...and special guest

2009-06-15T08:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was an absolutely astounding end to my first Bonnaroo!

As I told you, we waited all day so we could see Phish from the front. It was definitely a long day, but very worth it.

There were two performances before Phish. Erykah Badu was completely unremarkable. It's hard to have a "comeback" performance when there's nothing to come back to. She spent her hour and a half on stage singing about how she is god; and how she has a large rear end.

Snoop Dogg on the other hand tore up the stage. He busted out all of his classics and rapped over some other artists tracks. He also had one of the cooler stage setups included a drum set made out of a chopper motorcycle that the drummer sat on the seat of.

When 8:30 finally rolled around, I was tired...but that was all gone when Phisb went on. The first set was epic...and ended with Trey bringing on a special guest. We had talked about hoping Phish would bring on Snoop Dogg, since the band had previously covered Gin and Juice...but this special guest we had not even considered. Trey told a story about the first concert he attended at the age of 12. When he started getting choked up at the end of the story, we knew he was going to bring on someone big...and he did. Bruce Springsteen. They played three of The Boss' songs including Glory Days. It was breathtaking seeing my favorite guitarist trade riffs with Bruce. That was only the first set.

The second set did not disappoint. They threw in some of my favorites, like Suzie Greenberg and Farmhouse. They capped off 4 days of unbelievable music with a ridiculously high energy Tweezer Reprise. It was surreal walking out last night. I'm still processing everything I saw, heard and experienced. I will post at least once more with my reflections when I am a little better rested and have an actual keyboard to type on. Happy Monday!

The Boss

2009-06-14T13:26:00.001-05:00

I would not call myself a Bruce Springsteen fan...or I should say, I would not have called myself a Springsteen, until last night. After coming on a half hour late, Bruce absolutely rocked our faces off. He played through the hits, added some new ones, and even threw in some awesome covers. I was impressed and I'm excited to listen to his stuff a little more.

Right now, were sitting in the front row of the main stage, waiting for Phish. Yes, they play at 8:30 tonight, so we have a while to wait. But at least we get to see Snoop Dogg somewhere in the middle of the wait. Here's a preview of our seats:

Catching up on 24+ Hours of Awesomeness

2009-06-13T19:54:00.003-05:00

First off, sorry for the lack of posts! Between lack of cell phone signal/data coverage and lack of an outlet to plug my phone into, posting was a little tough. But we're still here stronger than ever! Here's a recap of what we've been up to...

Bela Fleck - yesterday I got to see one of my favorite artists, Bela Fleck, play with a man named Toumani Diabate. Bela Fleck, probably the world's most renowned banjo player, had been one of my favorite artists since I heard one of his albums, Live Art, which he recorded with his band, the Flecktones (which includes another of my favorite artists, Victor Wooten.). I was a bit bummed when I found out Bela was not playing with his band at Roo. Things changed when I first heard Mr Diabate play!
Toumani is the best kora player in the world. Never heard of the kora? Me neither, until yesterday. The kora is a 21 stringed instrument made of calabash and cowhide. The bass line is played with one thumb, the melody with the other thumb, and the fingers are used to improvise. So it is essentially a one man band. The show was unreal and was capped off by an awesome rendition of Dueling Banjos.

Beastie Boys - our first show on the huge stage was the Beastie Boys. While I listened to them a lot in high school, I hadn't thought much about them recently. I was unsure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by a high energy show which included some favorites like Intergalactic and Sabotage. The best part though was when Nas came out and did a song with them! Amazing! No idea what Nas was doing at Bonnaroo, but it was sweet.

Phish - as you may already know, the deciding factor for me in my decision to attend Bonnaroo was the prospect of seeing Phish twice. The first show was last night and lived up to all expectations. They played some of my favorites, like You Enjoy Myself and Golgi Apparatus. They finished with an encore that consisted of a medley of Beetles songs.

Rodrigo y Gabriela - if you like guitar music, you know R&G. They put on an unbelievable show this afternoon. I, along with the crowd were consistently blown away by the sheer amount of talent emanating from the stage. If you haven't checked them out, go do it!

So here I find myself sitting on the lawn, listening to Jeff Tweedy and Wilco for the first time and waiting for The Boss and the E Street Band to tear it up.

What an amazing experience this has been thus far. There's still another Phish show too! More updates to come hopefully!!!

Good morning!

2009-06-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Wow...not the easiest night of sleep! At least the weather took a break. Getting ready to eat some bacon and eggs.

Today should be an awesome day of shows. We're planning on seeing Bela Fleck, TV on the Radio, Beastie Boys, Phish and Public Enemy. Hopefully the weather cooperates and I can send some pictures!

Torrential downpour

2009-06-12T00:58:00.002-05:00

We decided to go out to the shows in the rain...which was a great, yet muddy decision!

We returned to camp and seconds later were greeted with a severe storm! Stuck in the tent now...goodnight for real this time...if we can sleep!