Wedneday Standard Volume 5.0

Fun group tonight. Matt had some inflation issues, but he quickly sorted that out. Joyful cruise around the park. Spring is coming, but she was a little shy tonight- but the sun, the sun was glorious- Melissa had recovery carrots and choclates for after the ride. The chocolate was great. miles and smiles

Wednesday Standard Volume 4.0

Wednesdasy Standard 4.0 looked threatened by impending storms, thankfully, the storms held off. Monk chose a fun route, all close to the parking lot in case the storms came. The forecast also is the reason for the pre-ride selfie. Little Egypt trails are really fun... I'm appreciating them in a way I haven't in a long while. cheers friends.

Wednesday Standard Volume 3.0

Volume 3.O had a hearty crew. Temps were much kinder than last week. Crack Head Bob remains one of my all time favorite trails. Until next week...

Wednesday Standard Volume 2.O

Week two of what I am calling the Wednesday Standard. Temps were about half of what they were last week, but the vibes in the group were very good. The sun was glorious and the trails on point. After a long winter, it felt good to be in the sun...

Wednesday Standard Volume 1.O

"as we gradually stopped racing, no one wanted to slow down the group, or distract from someone else's training, we just sort of all started riding by ourselves, and lost connection with each other a bit..." It was great to get back to this last night, honestly the biggest group ride I've done in years, but damn it was good to get out on this one. Looking forward to many more miles and smiles this year...

thank you.

Dear Reader,

Thank you and good night.

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

The Evil That Socks Do...

Dear Reader,

Yesterday Monkey stood atop our stairs and threw down a pair of socks to me.

"throw these socks away please!" she said.

"These socks look brand new. What's the issue?" I asked.

"they are fucking evil." Monk replied stoically

"Evil!?" I inquired.

"Fucking evil. Horrible mojo, I want them gone, and I wouldn't wish their evil on my worst enemy." She calmly explained.

"What about someone who marginalizes your experience and belittles your skills?" I inquired.

With a smile my wonderful wife replied, "I wouldn't wish these socks on someone who says asinine mean and hurtful things to me."

I replied, "Wow! you're a good person, but I  have to ask what makes these socks so evil?"

"First time I wore them, my knee swelled up. Second time I wore them I seemed to forget how to drive a bike. Third time I wore them my legs felt like wood. They are done. The mojo is a no go." she explained.

"Do I need to burn them? Have an exorcism?" I asked, only half jokingly...

"Just get them out of the house." She said, turning and walking away...

totally normal stuff. totally normal.

Quick shot from the Water Ice Ride: the awesonme shot of Monk and I is how a hack with an
IPhone covers up his thumb in a shot.

thanks for reading.

respect
faticus

GREAT VALLEY DAY!

Dear Readers:

Thursday morning. 7:30am West Grove, Pennsylvania. Not June 30th, 2016.

I call my friend Chris.

Chris groggily answers the phone,  "hello? Fatmarc?"

I reply yelling into my phone, "GOOD MORNING CHRIS, DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS?"

Chris replied cautiously, "Thursday?"

Continuing to yell into my phone, " DUDE! ARE YOU STOKED!? IT'S GREAT VALLEY DAY! IT'S GREAT VALLEY DAY!"

Chris, still wiping the sleepy out of his eyes responded, "oh, yeah, I got your text last night but it was too late to text you back."

I interrupted , " IT'S GREAT VALLEY DAY! GREAT VALLEY DAY! ARE YOU IN??"

Chris responded, "yeah, I'm in. I should be there."

I yell into the phone, " DON'T TRY TO BE THERE, BE THERE, THE TRAIN LEAVES WEST GROVE AT 4:30 BROTHER! GREAT VALLEY DAY!"

Chris, trying to make some sense out of what was going on, " I'll be there, I have some stuff I have to take care of today, but yeah I'll be there/"

My yelling voice not even getting tired a little bit, "YOU BETTER GET OUT OF BED SLEEPY HEAD! GET YOUR STUFF DONE DUDE! IT'S GREAT VALLEY DAY! SEE YOU AT 4:30!"


I love Chris.

thanks for reading.

respect
marc

"I think you need to go...."

Dear Readers,

25 years ago, long before I knew what cyclocross was, or even considered shaving my legs, I used to spend a lot time riding my skateboard over at Fox Run Shopping Center in Bear. One time, I was there with my lovely girlfriend Diane. I was trying to ollie (jump ) down this weird little gap that had two steps, a little landing and then another 2 steps. Trying to show off for my girlfriend I proceeded to face plant and landed flat on the ground at the bottom of the stairs.  As I got up, ate humble pie and brushed myself off, I remember Monk saying to me, " I think you just need to go a little faster"...

I smiled at her fighting of the urge to say something not nice, and said, "yeah, I get that..."

I tried again, this time with a little more speed. I crashed hard at the bottom of the stairs again...

Last Saturday, I met my young nephews at Glasgow Skatepark, which ironically is right across from the old Fox Run Shopping center. I enjoyed showing the boys how to carve, and work their way around the park. Monk  pulled me aside and encouraged me to try rolling up the bank, and ollie (jump) over the two stairs at the top.  I tried a number of times, but I will admit, I was pretty scared and not really coming close to making it at all.

Finally, Monk waved me down and pulled me aside. She says to me smiling, "I think you just need to go a little faster." The irony was not lost on me. I smiled at Diane, pointing to Fox Run Shopping Center and said, do you remember what happened last time we were skating and you told me that? We both laughed...

while not all that impressive looking it turns out she was right:




Sunday, we loaded up the car and headed out for our first bike race of the year. We headed up to Lancaster for the Race Ave Crit, because you know #CROSSISCOMING!

You're Team's Mid Pack Master's racer in the Cheap Seats!

Photo Courtesy of Annette Weaver Photography

I lined up for the 45+ race. It was really fast. I never made it up higher in the pack then around 20th. No breaks got clear and the pace stayed really high. The last three laps felt totally bonkers. Saying that I was on the rivet would be an understatement as I sat on the edge of my seat, hands in the drops.

more cheap seats: photo courtesy Annette Weaver Photography

Around the final corner, I sat up. I was satisfied  with my ride, and figured the smartest move was to let the sprinters did their thing, and while I had nothing for them, I smiled as  I got everything out of the race that I could have hoped for... It was so much fun...

Monkey!!!  

Photo courtesy Jeff Miesemer/AnnetteWeaver Photography

Diane raced the open women's race next. She came off the front group pretty early on, but continued to battle in really well. She would end up connecting with a few other women, and ultimately much like myself, was really happy with her ride, and effort. She suffered, but had a blast!



My dear readers, in full disclosure, as I was taking this video, I had the best heckle ever come to mind.

BUT THANK GOD DISCRETION IS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR!

three things probably saved me:

1. An ironic heckle is a dangerous heckle. Irony doesn't always land well on a racer in oxygen debt!

2.  I love sleeping in my bed with my awesome wife, and frankly, this risk of #1 going wrong and me landing on the couch for a week was too great. Remember folks: Is the juice worth the squeeze? Not in this case.

3. As cross season quickly approaches, (#crossiscoming) I remember the teachings of Kelly Cline: always heckle nice! #HECKLENICE

Monk sitting on...

The Race Ave Crit was a lot of fun. thanks to Michele Bote and her team for putting on a really fun event.  Racing bikes is so much fun, this was a great place to get things rolling again. I think we'll have another crit appearance in a few weeks...

thank for reading.

respect
fatmarcVDB

the GV30 Blog that wasn't...

Dear Readers,

I had a blog teed up to post this morning about how much I love the GV30. However, after last night's windy, echelon-y, getting guttered-y, people yelling-y, I got a flat with 9 laps to go-y, a great work out, but not the fast, fun, flow-y I have come to love edition of GV30, I figured I'll save it for another day.

To the kind QCW rider who discreetly let me know I was rotating the wrong way off the front, in an evening with lots of people yelling stupid nonsense, you were a gentleman. Thanks for the guidance when I was bleeding out my eyes.

Yelling is sometimes appropriate, but not always. Grace in times of friction my friends.

Instead, I give you video of me skateboarding in my basement.






thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc