OK, It's decided and done!

Alright, I've made my decision for 2008. And...I'm making it official and in writing by putting my goals down in this blog. First off, let's reflect a little on 2007. Oh, Happy New Year everyone! And...Say happy B-day to Mrs. Mozam, it's her 51st this year on Jan 1, 2008. Ok, back on topic. Like I said before, last year was a banner year for me cycling wise, and I even surpassed my goal for the year. Unfortunately, this month has been a rather dismal month of cycling due to illness, which I can't seem to shake all the way. But, given the situation, I did pretty well and topped off the year just under 8,400 miles. With only one Double and a hand full of centuries this year, I think I did pretty well on the organized cycling front. So, the question remains for what to do in 2008?



Here's the plan (click on titles to follow the link):

Total 2008 miles: 8,800. That's 10% over 2007.

Jan: Lotsa training miles: Shooting for 800 plus for the month, 1 local Century

Feb: Butterfield Double

March: Solvang Double

April: Training carryover, with 1 local Century

May: Davis Double Century, or possibly the Eastern Sierra Double in June

June: LA Wheelmen Grand Tour

July: Training Month with at least 800 miles.

Aug: Desperado Duel Century Option

Sep: HooDoo 500 (50 plus)

Oct: Solvang Fall Double (never done this ride but looks really good)

Nov: Event options open. Looking for 700-800 mile in training.

Dec: Same as November.

Now I guess the question remains can Mozam do all of this? Somebody once said: "Always shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will still hit the stars."

What's Wrong with This Picture?

Indeed, what is wrong with the picture above? Well, Mozam is not on that bike and riding it! That's what is wrong with that picture. We are on a "flexible" work schedule this week between the holidays and I can't ride because of this miserable cold that I've managed to acquire. I had a track coach in college that always said, "treat a cold like you would treat an injury." Well, I have taken that advice but by being so prudent, I've decided not to ride, and expose myself to the elements which could make this malady even worse.

So, I thought I would look at the glass half-full and post a little information about a wonderful discovery me and my cycling buddies came across 2-days ago, The Rivers Mountain Trail. Here's a quick blurb from the website:

The River Mountains Loop Trail is Nevada's first endeavor of its kind. Constructed through a combined effort of many of Nevada's resource management agencies, private land owners and citizens, the trail will provide Nevada residents with an outdoor recreation area offering scenic views, plentiful wildlife and the vast beauty only the Mojave can offer.

When completed, the River Mountains Loop Trail will be approximately 35 miles in length and will surround the River Mountains connecting Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Hoover Dam, Henderson, Boulder City and the rest of the Las Vegas Valley, expanding recreational and alternative transportation opportunities for the region's growing population.

I have alluded to the trail a couple of times on some of my past blogs. A couple of days ago several of us discovered that the good folks who put this trail in have completed a whole new section that follows along the west side of Lake Mead. Most of the trail in that section paralells the main road but after a few miles the trail takes a turn and heads back inland where the "old" lake road used to be. Here's a link to the trail map. I gotta tell ya, they did a magnificent job on this thing. The trail is extremely wide and easy to ride on, even on a road bike. We all remarked, "hey this is like mountain biking, but using your road bike instead!" What a great ride!

A couple of pictures of the newly complete section

The Start of it All

I can feel the sea breeze in this photo: Bellows Beach
Ever wonder how things get started? Well, I was sitting in this very chair on 25 Nov 2005 when I decided to start a photo album for my son. I took on this monumental task because when my 'ole man died back in 1991 I found a bunch of photos of people in his family who I didn't even know. So, that began the journey into the land of scanning, categorizing and organizing hundreds of photos of our family so my son's kids don't have to look at a picture and say, "who the f__k is that." What does that have to do with cycling you ask? Well, while I was thumbing through all our family photos from our days in Hawaii from 1994 to 1997, I came across a few that we took during our very first organized cycling event, the Honolulu Advisor Century ride. And as they say, "that was the start of it all."


Looking back to the North from Hanama Bay and Hawaii Kai area

As I recall, it was a beautiful day, and what day is not beautiful in Hawaii, eh? I bought a Burly Zydeco Tandem back then and thought it was such a great bike. Actually, it was a real POS by today's standards. But hey, we weren't real roadies anyway. We just puttered along the Pearl Harbor bike path and took a few trips around the base on weekends in those days. Anway, like I said, it was a great day and we were really gonna have fun on this one. I remember the routing taking us through downtown Honolulu, up and around Diamond Head, through Hawaii Kai, past Hanama Bay, with the turnaround someplace near Bellows Beach. It was truly an epic ride and probably the reason my son, Keith, has never taken up cycling with me. He learned all about the dreaded bonk monkey and just how grumpy Dad can be when junior decides to ride the tandem instead of pedaling the tandem! Regardless of all of the bad things that happened that day, I only remember how gorgeous the scenery was and how thankful I felt to be part of it all.

The Mighty Burley Zydeco Tandem

The Kid Bonks!

Goals for 2008...Hmmmm?

Decisions, decisions! Last year was a banner year for me on the bike because I rode my bikes more than 8,000 miles in a single year. Having said that, what do I do next year I thought to myself? I would really like to set the bar at 10,000 miles, but I don’t want to be obsessed with striving to attain such a lofty bar. (Mozam, chin in hand, elbow on desk, looking up and to the right…deep in thought). Some quick math tells me that to attain 10,000 miles next year, I would have to average about 833 miles per month. That’s quite a big nut to crack since I scored an average of close to 700 miles per month this year. So, what’s a guy to do? Set the goal and go for it? Or, pussy out and only go for the recommended 10% increase over the previous goal and use that as a guideline?

I was told once that goals should always be achievable. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Who cares if the goal is achievable anyway. The only person who really cares is you, so why would anyone else give a crap? Ooops, why am I putting this in my blog? Frankly, I think riding 10,000 miles in a year is doable, and if it isn’t I can always change the goal, or lower the bar, so to speak. But hey, isn’t that cheating? Let’s see: I’ve already committed to riding 5 Double Centuries next year with my riding buddies so that’s 1,000 miles already in place. And…if I do another, say, 10 Centuries during the year, i.e., one per month or so, that’s another grand, so theoretically I could make it, right?! I love arm chair logic, don’t you? Get’s you all fired up inside and ready to hit the tarmac with a vengeance. Now, how do I crack that 833 miles per month in the summer time when it’s 100+ °F on the roads around here? Things that make you wanna go hmmmm? I would talk this over with Mrs. Mozam, but when I mention stuff like this she just stares at me with that 30-years-of-marriage, evil-eye and says, “you’re crazy!”

Are You a Poser?

Is Mozam a Poser? You decide...

I’ve been trying to think of how to put ths into words for some time now. Am I a poser? Well, I guess the first thing to do is define the word, poser. I mean this label could mean just about anything in any certain context. So, let’s limit the context to cycling. I actually did some research on the subject via the wonderful world of Google and found some interesting references, but most of those references had one thing in common: disrespect. Without exception, every use of the word poser included some derogatory meaning or reference to which the description was applied. For example, mountain bikers use the word poser to describe someone who buys a very expensive mountain bike, but never takes the bike out on the trail. Road bikers tend to describe a poser as someone who wears a racing kit but never really races. Since I fall into the road biker category more than into the mountain biker category, I tend to reserve my usage of the word poser as it applies to road biking.

Lisa, The Ultimate Davitamon Lotto Poser

In light of the road biker definition, it is interesting to digress here a little bit and look at this from a national standpoint as well as an international standpoint. It has been my experience that when international fans wear their favorite team kit, others judge the behavior as showing loyalty and/or admiration for their individual country's cycling heroes. Americans on the other hand, especially in the road cycling community, label this same behavior as being a poser, or one who wishes they could, but can’t or doesn’t. I have even heard of the local “racer dudes” complaining about “non-racer dudes” wearing their same team kit. I guess it’s an ego thing or a, “hey, I earned the right to wear this kit and all this poser did was pay for it” attitude.

Posers, Posers, and More Posers!

So, here is my take on the whole poser thing. Personally, I tend to lean towards the international attitude rather than the good ‘ole boy American attitude. I see nothing wrong with wearing a team kit and riding your bike even if you don’t race; as long as the wearing of the kit is in accordance with the organization’s rules. I do, however, have a problem with wearing a kit/jersey that is unique to an event or accomplishment that you did not complete, or not fulfilling the requirements for wearing such a kit or jersey. For example: If you wear a 508 Finisher’s Jersey, you better have finished that race; or I, personally, think you are a poser…and my judgment is derogatory! On a broader note, let’s take a look at a club kit for example. Does wearing the club kit as in Planet Ultra’s case, make you a poser in my definition of the word. Well, yes and no. If you purchased Planet Ultra’s kit and you participated in a Planet Ultra event, whether you finished or not, I don’t think you are a poser. On the other hand, if you just purchased the kit and never at least attempted one of their events, I would call you a poser.

And The Shame of it all...The Poser Look

Here is another extreme poser example and one for which I have incredible distain. There is this guy, let’s just call him poser-boy. On a ride I was on some time back, poser-boy shows up and just starts blowing off at the mouth about this and that. You know the kinda person who just talks louder than the rest of the group so he makes sure everyone notices him, instead of anyone else. Anyway, poser-boy pulls up beside me during the ride and starts his rendition of a, I’m this, and I’m that, one-way conversation. So, being the nice accepting person I am on occaision, I say: “Oh do you race?” Poser-boy says: “Yep, I was a pro for 21 years!” All proud and peacock like. As time goes on, poser-boy starts telling everyone he raced in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, etc. He was even on Gerolsteiner’s team, Healthnet’s team and a host of others I can’t even remember, but the list is long, let me tell ya. So, myself and a few others, even a few local racer-dudes start researching poser-boy’s past via the wonderment that is Google. Guess what we find? Zero, Nadda, Zippo, not a thing that even references poser-boy. In fact, I researched Gerolsteiner’s team roster from the team’s inception and they’ve had one American on that team: Levi Liepheimer. And believe me, poser-boy doesn’t look anything like Levi. The sad thing is that poser-boy actually believes the drivel that is coming out of his mouth. Amazing! So, poser-boy get’s my vote for the best extreme poser act I’ve witnessed to date. So, I guess the question is: Are you a poser?

BikeJournal Explodes!!

Wow! At last count a few minutes ago, BikeJournal had 555 new members just this week. It appears that all the publicity on RoadBikeReview and RoadBikeRider have opened the doors to TONS of new members. I must say, this site has been great fun for me over the past year. I've met some really interesting cyber-friends and have actually met a few in person. I think the success of the site is due mainly to the insistance that all forum posts are "friendly" in nature and the fact that the content stays cycling focused. That fact along with a few other things I like about the site keep me coming back. So, onward cycling soldiers! "Ride, Log, Repeat."

GOALLLLL !!!!!

In keeping with my tradition of "Going Green" and the fact that Al Gore won the nobel peace prize (for what reason, I have no idea), I thought I would commute to work today on my trusty, Specialized TriCross converted to commuting bike. Actually, I had to commute because I did not get my sorry ass out on the road all weekend! And...Keith's car broke, so I had to lend him mine so he could get to school. As a result of my insightful and philanthropic decision, I surpassed my personal mileage goal for 2007. As you can see from the graphic above, I soared through 8,000 miles for the first time ever. I made it a personal challenge to try and average 700 miles per month this year and the overall average is hovering right at that mark. What's the point you ask? Well, I was told once that if you want to achieve a goal, you first have to write it down. So, I did that. Secondly, I was told that you have to commit to achieving the goal. I did that too! How? By joining one of the neatest sites on the net for cyclists: Bike Journal Bike Journal and all of its thousands of members inspired me to log each and every ride. Their slogan: "Ride, Log, Repeat." By logging my miles, visiting other rider journals, and sharing my experiences on the forum, I not only commited to my goal without actually realizing it, but I made some new and really cool virtual friends along the way. I had toyed with the idea of riding 10,000 miles next year, but that's a big nut to crack! Buy hey, I like cracking big nuts, so I think I'll go for it and just see what happens, eh? Looking at the glass half-full, all I could do is just surpass the 8,000 mile mark I made this year, right?

Ok. Somebody tell me how a fat, former Vice President of the United States won a Nobel Peace Prize anyway? I saw the movie and all it was was a real nice PowerPoint presentation. Heck, at least I'm going green by riding my bicycle to work while this guy jets all over the globe burning up dead dinosaurs, and living in a fuel guzzling house!

Mozam is Doin' Dirt!

Well after my very first experience with "doing dirt" here in Las Vegas many moons ago, I swore never again! I guess I lied. Some of my road friends talked me into getting the Mtn Bike off the wall, tuned up, and ready for an "easy" ride. All in all, I was kinda excited to try some thing new. Not that my road miles are boring or anything, I was just curious to see how I'd feel about this new type of cycling. So, off the wall came the bike, out came the camel back; and off to the dirt I went.

It was a great day to do dirt, as Mike calls it. Windy as hell, cloudy and cold. All the elements for a reason to stay off the road for sure. We met up at the "beginner" section near Blue Diamond and Cottonwood, two very popular places to "do dirt" around here. We started off with a nice 4 mile loop that had a few challenging climbs and some really nice single track. After the first loop, I guess everybody thought I was doing pretty well, so they decided to "graduate" me to some more technical stuff. Holy crap! All I could do was stare at the trail ahead of me, and try like hell not to hit the rocks. That was tough man! I did not realize how much concentration Mtn Biking takes. And, when you start to bonk a little bit, you get real slow and stupid, that's for sure. I've now officially joined the "doin dirt" ranks because I left some skin out there on the rocks. A little of my right shin, which still hurts like hell, and some off my left elbow. Yeah, I'm a tough dirt man now, so look out!