clock … watching time, the only true currency

My high school coaches impressed upon me very clearly the importance of getting a good night’s sleep the night before the night before a race or competition. The theory — which I subscribe to — is that nerves and anticipation may disrupt your sleep on the eve of the event. Accept that, and don’t worry [...]

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On New Year’s Day, I entered the San Bruno Hill Climb for the second time. With more prep in recent weeks, and a year of bicycle racing under my belt, I knocked almost two minutes off my time. Official results are in a PDF file. My time was 18:02.91 for the climb, putting me 72nd [...]

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Racing Tactics for Cyclists by Thomas Prehn entertains with its anecdotes about the author’s racing experience. The lessons build slightly on Bike Racing 101. The crosswind echelon described in Chapter 5 was the truly new tactic for me, though I’ve rarely ridden in groups large enough or experienced enough to practice this energy-saving technique. The [...]

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Bike Racing 101 details about what the title promises. I’m foolish enough to read this near the end of my first season of bicycle racing. (I finished the book maybe a fortnight ago.) If I’d read it at the beginning, I might have saved Ken a few questions during the year. Still, even though the [...]

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Never heard of Tim Krabbé (English bio) before, but was very happy to stumble across The Rider earlier this summer in an airport bookstore. While Krabbé is better known for his chess and his screenplays, he pedaled seriously on a bicycle earlier his his life. The Rider recounts a one-day race, as an amateur, from [...]

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I won’t be struggling up the Tourmalet this year, but I’ve added L’Étape du Tour to my mostly-in-my-head life list. I’ve heard about various tour companies which help you ride along the Tour de France course. But it wasn’t until I read the NYTimes blog The Climb that L’Étape crossed my radar. I strongly recommend [...]

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Khoi Vinh watches another generation fall under Tintin’s spell. Been there, and also waiting for the movie. Some of the language in these comic albums isn’t PC anymore (e.g., “dirty gypsies”), but Tintin is never one to stand for injustice. Google News finally answers some of publishers’ questions, and promises more information in the future. [...]

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First bicycle race under my belt yesterday, and I’m happy enough with the results. Official time, 20:03, which put me 115th out of 228 overall. I was 21st out of 37 in the Master 35+…which seems less competitive (slightly) than the Elite Men 5 results. I don’t really understand these groupings yet, but it was [...]

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I’m a bit early for everyone here in America, but Happy New Year! I’m more familiar with UTC (aka GMT) thanks to OpenDNS; that threshold was crossed hours ago. Besides, I won’t make it to midnight tonight, especially with a hill to climb in the morning. As long as my back doesn’t flare up, I’m [...]

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It took longer than expected, but secure bike storage at work is once again a reality. (Thanks, Laura!) I biked to work and home again today for the first time in 6 months. Just in time, too, as I’m signed up for the San Bruno Hill Climb on New Year’s Day.

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