Reading Rainbow III

Dear Readers,

Finishing up another cycling related book. This one may be one of my favorites of all. It's by Charly Wegelius a former professional cyclists who was a super domestique for Liquigas, Mapei and others. I originally heard of the book while Wegelius had did a really good podcast with Creed. Hell, that was the first time I heard of Charly to be honest. As your team's mid pack racer, I was blown away by the pod cast, and jumped right into the book when I could.

I know what your your are saying to yourself, "JESUS FATMARC, ANOTHER CYCLING BOOK!? I thought you said no more doping stories!"

Well, this one isn't a doping story. Not at all. Wegelius has a great forward where he talks about the doping culture and a few passages where he talks about the culture and what he did see. His story has been an excellent one, and hard to put down. From the outset Wegelius realizes that he's not on teams to be a winner but to make himself indispensable to the team as a worker. He does whatever the team needs to support their leader and goals. A working man's working man.. That's pretty much where I was hooked. Wegelius has a very comfortable, and honest style. It was a great read to follow him on his journey.

The next book I'm looking forward to reading is not a cycling related book. FOR REAL!
It is a rock and roll book about Guided by Voices. So I'll let you know what I think once I get into it a bit.

been getting some good miles in lately. It's been fun. Monk's starting to ride a bit too. Which is nice.

12hr race this weekend, I'm getting pretty stoked. I won't lie I generally get pretty up for these races. One of my first races ever was the 24hrs of Canaan, and frankly I've been hooked on relay style races since. Long time readers of the Vanderblog probably know this already. I'm stoked to be on the team I'm on, and I excited to race. Endurance Relays are just ingrained in how and what I enjoy about racing...
this clip always gets me fired up:

 


thanks for reading.

respect
vanderbacon

Saw the List this moring...

Dear Reader,

while certainly not the full list, I was happy to find myself on the qualified list this morning. I was starting to stress it a bit... I want to thank Jesse Hammond for getting back to me so quickly from USAC and for Tom Mahoney, who quickly identified the issue and had the list updated with Greenbrier's results. USAC often gets criticized, and I've had my complaints, but Jesse and Tom handled this issue quickly and efficiently. They did a great job of calming an OCD, mid pack master's racer... Totally exceeded my expectations...Thanks gentlemen.

best to you all.

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

Ramsey's Revenge

Dear Readers,

I rolled across the finish line and slowly back to my car greeting some of my fellow finishers. It was warm and I was pretty destroyed. The Ramsey's Revenge race and course were awesome, and I had a sense of satisfaction dragging my enormous carcass across the line. Who am I kidding I was proud that I was able to muster enough gumption to finish that last lap. I was in a dark, dark place.

I make it to the car and as I open the rear hatch, I hear my phone ringing. I answer it.

"Hey Monk!?"

"Are you Okay? are you finished ? How did it go? I expected to hear from you sooner" She asks with a bit of worry in voice.

"I'm fine, the race went well. I died on the last lap, and gave up 3-4 spots in the last 3rd of the race, but otherwise it was a good race. It's a process, I'm better than I was a couple weeks ago..."

"Good. I was a little worried, I had expected you to call earlier..." Monkey responds. I can hear relief in her voice that I'm not hurt, and that I'm happy with my ride. I'll admit I was a pretty unbearable human being for a couple of days after the Mother's Day Mauler fiasco.

"did you run longer than you expected?" She follows up.

"About 5 minutes, as I was pretty dead the last lap, but in general everything was cool. They got a late start because some Hooligans decided to un-mark the course this morning and Dusty and crew had to do some emergency course repair. I gotta say they did an amazing job. Everything was outstanding..."

"that sucks someone did that but it's not totally unusual either... Just wanted to make sure you were safe and had fun." She replied.

"I had a blast the course was really fun, I had some good racing, made it over the first climb with the leaders, and through the rock gardens by the hotel it was like a wall of sound as I rode through there it was so loud, it was awesome." I added for good measure, starting to feel a bit more alive...

Lower Rock Garder. Just 15 yard up the trail was a wall of sound.

"Awesome, check your results and I'll meet you at the pool. We can chat more then. Good job babe, love you!" She said wrapping up the call.

"Love you to Monk! Be safe!" I said.

The call disconnected, and I took a swig of water from my bottle.
Yeah, today was a pretty damn good day.

thanks for reading.

best to you.

respect
Vanderbacon

I had three bad things happen to me today- and it was awesome. (Philly Pro Race)

Dear Readers,

Sunday, Diane and I went up to Philly for the Philly Pro races. As it always is, Sunday was an incredible experience and as a bike racing fan, its like a Philly Celebration of all things bike. We couldn't stop smiling all day! If you ride/race/love bikes and are in the region, and you haven't done a day at the race, I would strongly encourage that you do it.

Our morning coffee run in Manyunk.
GURSKY!!! is all smiles...

I will also admit, that I am very lucky to have so many kind and generous friends who have shown Diane and I around  the city, the race and the ropes of the day. I am grateful to the city of Philadelphia for a great day and to all of our hosts that guide us through out the amazing day. We are truly lucky to have Anne Rock as our most gracious guide. We are so lucky to have so many amazing and hospitable hosts: David and Liza who let us crash on their front lawn, Eric and Maureen on the kelly drive, Gary the driver, Dave Lowe and the Philly Ciclismo crew over on Lemon Hill. Thank you all for helping make our day so freakin' incredible.

David and Liza's front yard on the wall...

But on to the 3 bad things:

1. Pulled into Anne Rock's place a little late. I crushed the curb in front of her house, and shredded my front tire. We were running late, so we charged off to the start to see the women stage. I figured we'd just change it when we got back. (we did and it was actually pretty funny too).

2. I have a specially designed townie bike that I set up with chasing the Philly Pro Race around with Anne Rock in mind. As we raced to the top of the wall to catch the women's start,  I crushed a pot hole and my seat shifted up abruptly punching me in my nuts. It hurt badly. Like bleed out the eyes badly. Once the pain subsided, I was lucky to run into the SRAM neutral support guys who happily lent me a wrench so the seat would stop punching me in the nuts. Yeah SRAM.

Can you pick out the Vanderbacon townie special?

3. I lost my phone. Gary Thorton gave us a call and asked if we wanted to ride around in the secruity car with him following the race caravan. We were all stoked.

We weren't having fun at all!

Four of us getting ready to get yelled at by a UCI commissar. 

After two laps around the course, getting a warning from a UCI official for Anne and I hanging out of the car, Gary dropped us off.  We jumped out of the car in a rush so Gary could get back to the caravan. Sure enough I had dropped my phone in the car. Gary had to stop back and there it sat right on the seat. (thanks Gary!)

The entire day was so much fun. I couldn't stop smiling all day... As usual the day, and everyone around was super cool. The ride in the car in the caravan was the cherry on the top. Coming down the from the top of the wall in the car was more fun than any roller coaster I have ever done...

This was totally outstanding. Thanks so much.

So here's what a day of chasing Anne Rock around Philly looks like on Strava:



Yeah, I'm that guy. I'm your team's mid pack masters rider. I am a huge cycling fan/groupie. Today was bliss, and we gobbled it up. An amazing experience despite having 3 kinda bad things happen to me today. We were resplendent as we drove home at 55 mph on our donut tire. Today was pretty much perfect, you know despite 3 little things.

Thanks for reading.

respect
Fatmarc(still stoked)

Hard to Not Dig this...

respect
vanderbacon

a few random thoughts...

Dear Readers.

Here are a few random thoughts I have.

1. Cycle of Lies. 

I found Hamilton's book fascinating. This book is also an incredible read, but frankly makes Armstrong look like Hamilton's portrait of him seem like an alter boy. Now Macur is not a doper, but I have also committed to myself that after this read, I would not read about any more dopers. More importantly, I'm not going to buy a book by a doper that will allow them to continue to profit off of their cheating. Yeah, I hear Hincapie is doing amazing things for juniors and a wonderful developmental team. I don't care. You're a fucker. Levi too. 

Let me be honest. I started to give Armstrong a little wiggle room. I thought the outside magazine commercial was funny. I appreciate someone owning their fuck ups, and bouncing back.  Armstrong is still a bully. Still trying control the narrative. Clearly, the PR machine rolls on. Reading Macur's  book reminds me again what a tremendous ass-hat Armstrong was/is. I won't get fooled again.

2. Diane secretly training for the Philly Pro Race.

Shh. Don't tell anyone. It's true. A couple months ago, Diane couldn't ride at all. On a particularly shitty cold dark day, she was lamenting that with her knee injury, we wouldn't be able to chase the Philly race this year. I told her it would be okay.  A few weeks ago she started riding. Twenty minutes at first, and she has worked up to just over an hour. It's been a fun and tough, and a really challenging process. The Vanderbacons are not known for their patience, or perspective. But later this week, She smiled at me and said, I think I could make a day at the Philly race! And so, it is with great excitement that we will prep and get ready to follow the Philly race around again next week! 

3. A Great Ride.

Had an amazing group ride, with some amazing friends today at Brandywine. It's been a very long time since I rode there. It was amazing. We had such a rad time...

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

punch my ticket

Dear Readers,

Yesterday was the Greenbrier Challenge which serves at the Maryland Mountainbike State Championship as well as one of three mid atlantic USAC National Championship Qualifiers.

photo bill white

I described my race as," two fast laps, 1 die 1000x laps, and 1 haul my enormous carcass home lap.."

I didn't race my best today. My bike had some shifting issues. Neither would have impacted my result. While I was disappointed to miss a state championship medal, and I didn't love my overall result- I was very happy with my effort and my focus. It was a hard day, and there were some promising sensations in the legs.

photo Bill White

Most importantly I accomplished goal #1 : Qualify for Nationals!

Punch My Ticket- I'll see you Bear Creek in July! I'm going to the big dance!

Now about finding those race legs...

Not going to lie, I am a still pretty stoked right now...

thanks for reading.

respect.
marc

Reading Rainbow

Dear Readers,

As I have recently finished up school, I am grateful that many of my friends and peers have congratulated me, and they all ask me one or two questions. 1. Are you looking for a new job ? (answer- no) 2. What are you going to do with all the time you have now?  that one is a bit tougher...

First, I want to try to become a strong/fast mountain biker (again ?), and to begin to race well. Based on last weekend's fiasco, that's going to be an on going project...

Next, I want to read. Over the past two years I haven't read anything that wasn't really tied to my program. Along the way, I collected a number of books I want to read, but hadn't had the time to dig in... The past few weeks have I have been at it pretty good. So here's what I have been reading:

I read Sheridan's first book a Fighter's Heart, and I thought it was generally very well done. It was a natural for me to follow up with his second. I'm not an MMA fan, but a HUGE wrestling fan, both books focused on great wrestlers. The first few chapters of this book focused on Gable and then an ultra marathon runner. Needless to say I was hooked. Most interesting to me was Chess prodigy turned Martian Arts National Champ- Josh Waitzken, you know the kid from finding Bobby Fischer. I was blown away by his thoughts on learning, and perseverance. Like Sheridan's first book, it started strong and got weaker. Still a worthy while read.

A lot of hype about this book. I was pretty excited to read it. Jumped in and it didn't grab me. I read about 100 pages, and frankly it still didn't grab me. Looking at my shelf of books I have been collecting for 2 years and wanting to read, I put this down. Not sure I'll pick it up again. A bit of a disappointment for me.

I loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down. The Epic build up to, and battle in the 1989 Ironman was awesome. The book is so well crafted, the story told perfectly. After reading the book I found myself looking for more info on both Dave Scott and Mark Allen. Generally not a huge fan of or hooked in by triathlon stuff, but this was one I couldn't put down. The diversity of styles and approaches was amazing from these two. I found myself reading about Dave Scott and automatically thinking about my favorite local tri guy. Dude's are cut from the same cloth . This book was outstanding, an incredibly well crafted story. I was sad when I was finished, I wanted more. 

My current read, Pro Cycling on $10 a day. You know as a master's cyclist, we all know that guy who started racing a little late, has some natural talent, and does really well in age group, and category races. You know that guy who believes that he really could have been a pro. I am not that guy. Reading this book even further illustrated that fact to me. Another excellent read, I love Gaimon's candor, and how each story has a blog post feel, and a very conversational tone. I have been casually a fan of Phil's for a while, and reading his story I'm quickly becoming a bigger fan. I like his perspective on racing, and frankly the longer view he appears to lay out. Such a great read... I'm about halfway through this one and really enjoying it. My favorite part thus far was when he called Danielson CVV, when he knew it was Danielson.  Always thought Danielson was a prick. It's bad when from a fans standpoint the guy seems like a prick. Armstrong seemed like sunshine and rainbows and he was the world champ of pricks, I can't imagine how unbearable Danielson must be. But I digress, very fun read and has been very enjoyable...

Well reader, thanks for indulging me in my recent reading....

thanks for reading

respect
fm

Bad Day at the Office...

Dear Readers,

My first XC race in a couple of years today.

Didn't go well. Regrettably, I pulled the plug after a lap. I'm embarrassed.
It was muddy and slick. Good Conditions for me. Not today.
Any delusions of grandeur that I may have entertained are clearly out the window.

I'm not fast. I'm not strong. I have lots of work to do.

I'm going to drink a beer, close the door on today, and get back to work.

bad day today.

that's all I have to say about that.

thanks for reading.

respect
fm

Graduation

Dear Readers,

My graduation was Friday night. I'll admit I was really honored and humbled when a number of folks close to me asked to come to the graduation ceremony. I thought they were a little crazy, and I was really humbled. Each student was allotted so many seats, and I have to admit I was probably the only forty-three year old graduate who had to request additional seats. I was probably the also the only forty-three year old who's parents attended. I may have been the luckiest forty-three year old in the world Friday night. For this I am very thankful.

Blake, Jen, Dad, Mom, Travis, Buddy, Rachel, and Diane!

When we arrived, Diane and I met her sister. Diane gave me a kiss and went to gather everyone in our party and get seats. I was corralled into a class room. Each of the programs had their own class room except for mine which had two. As we checked in the honors medallions were handed out. I noticed there were only two gold. These were for students who had earned a 4.0 GPA. I was super stoked to get the gold, especially in the light of the fact that my graduated undergrad with a 2.03. I really wanted that 4.0.  For the first time in my grad career, I sat down in the back of the class and waited for things to get going. I chatted with my friend  Ruichen, and a couple of other folks.

A few minutes later, I was approached by the man with other gold medallion. He smiled and congratulated me, and then coyly asked me, " so what was you concentration?"  I replied "Human Resources" His face beamed as he said, "Mine was a Comprehensive MBA! I'm the only 4.0 in my program!" Which of course meant the same thing for me. I might have surprised him when I offered him up a high five!  Not gonna lie, I was perfectly happy with the 4.0 , but being the only one in my program- yeah that was a nice cherry on top.

Jen's smile all the way to the right is awesome!

Finally, they started to move us to the gym for the ceremony. In the hall way between buildings all of the Graduate Professors had lined the halls, they were clapping and cheering. I got goosebumps.It reminded me of running through my teammates before a wrestling match. As we entered the gym, I couldn't stop smiling as the crowd roared. I spotted my family (Diane, Mom, Dad, Jen, Buddy, Rachel, Travis and Blake). All at once I felt honored, humbled, and incredible proud. I fought back tears of joy, and just couldn't stop smiling.

At our seats, I might have been dancing a bit.

The speaker wasn't very good. But he promised to keep it to 12 minutes and he kept his promise. The ceremony moved promptly and being on the floor was all at once exciting and fun. It was my time to walk to the stage. One of my favorite professors was waiting in the hall, and she gave me a huge hug and a kiss. Dr. Merritt was one of the professors who really had a huge impact on me in this experience.

Dr. Merritt was a key teacher in my program.

 I crossed the stage, my name was called and I was hooded. (for those so inclined check out this video and drop to 1:19:20 in the video...)


Video streaming by Ustream

 We were confirmed as graduates and then it was time to leave. Again, the roar of the crowd was amazing. I got goosebumps all over again!

I saw Diane in the crowd and she was smiling and clapping. She said "I love you" I couldn't hear her but I'm pretty good at reading lips!  I blew her a kiss! I saw my parents . Despite the gruff ushers best efforts to keep us moving, Jen took some pictures of Diane and I, and then of my parents and I.  It was an amazing experience, and one that I will always remember and treasure.

me and dad.

We all met up at Two Stones for some more laughs and a few drinks. I had the steak with scallops, which was very good, but light on scallops.

Pretty amazing night. Pretty Amazing Experience.

thanks for reading.

respect
fm