What a frigid week it has been!  I finally reached the point where I couldn’t spin inside anymore, and I had to get out.  I stayed late at the shop on Thursday night and finished building up the new Roubaix SL2 frameset from the ashes of the bikes that died this year, my Tarmac Pro, my S-Works Tarmac SL2, and what was left over from my Tarmac E5.  Getting the Roubaix out on the road was excellent and invigorating.  Where the Tarmac is a super-agile, reasonably comfortable, and incredibly stiff, the Roubaix by contrast is amazingly smooth, just as fast, but not as nimble.  I set up the Roubaix with some 700×25 Vittoria Rubino Pro tires I had in my stash, so it’s as comfy as a Barcalounger.  My first ride on it, just my 8-mile spin to work, was a great taste of what good engineering can do.  I can’t wait to do a century on this bike - it’s a dream to ride, far better than the Roubaix Expert I rode across the country.

Of course, the thrill of riding a new bike doesn’t entirely make up for the crappy conditions.  My Friday ride was short  enough to finish without getting cold, but this morning my hands were frozen within an hour, in spite of a slightly warmer temperature.  Running a bit late, I hammered over to Erik’s, then we motored over to Westfield to meet up with Don’s Old School Ride

By the time we arrived in Westfield my fingertips were starting to freeze.  Another mile later, I could no longer feel my fingers.  I have lousy circulation in my fingers anyhow, but the cold makes it far worse.  By the time the group reached Plainfield I could no longer work the brakes or shifters.  I peeled off and spun home, barely able to get my key in the lock.  Jen and Stef arrived home from their run a moment later, and Stef tried to warm my hands with hers, which were overheated.  She said mine felt like ice cubes.  As the blood flow returned, the pain was excruciating.  Half an hour later everything was okay, but I’m frustrated that this keeps happening in spite of good gloves and otherwise excellent gear.  Probably I’ve done enough damage to my vascular system over the years and years of riding in cold weather that it’s not likely to get better. I’ll have to adjust my minimum temperature for riding, or keep it short and close to home.  Or move to Arizona.

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I stayed late at work tonight to be there to help out Sam in case the store got suddenly busy, since Marc is out in California visiting Specialized for brainwashing.  I seized the opportunity to build up my newest frameset, the new Roubaix Pro SL2.  Mikey T dropped by the shop for a minute with a sixer of Pilsner Urquell, so I was set to go and determined to finish it.  (The bike, that is, not the 6-pack).  Bit by bit, it all came together, ressurrected from the remains of my crashed Tarmac SL2 and the parts from my E5 Tarmac that I didn’t use on the new Tarmac Pro.  Tomorrow, if all goes well, I’ll ride it to work and back.  I promise to post photos soon.

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One of my heroes died yesterday.  Andrew Wyeth was a pair of eyes for the America of the 20th Century.  He was an artist who stayed true to his own vision despite the modern backlash against realism, a technical master, and an incomparable visual storyteller.

From the New York Times this morning:

“I’m an example of publicity - a great deal of it.  I’m grateful because it gives me the freedom to go and try to do better.  But I never had any great idea that these people are understanding what I’m doing.  And they don’t.”  Wyeth added, “Let’s be sensible about this.  I put a lot of things into my work which are very personal to me.  So how can the public feel these things?  I think most people get to my work through the back door.  They’re attracted by the realism and they sense the emotion and the abstraction - and eventually, I hope, they get their own powerful emotion.”

Take a look.

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My Tarmac E5 has been reborn as a Tarmac Pro SL2.  Phenomenal.  Here are four thousand words.

I’m off to Park Ridge tonight with Sam and Marc to learn all about the new Shimano line-up at their annual dealer expo.  Should be cool.

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It’s snowing, slowly but relentlessly, a fine icy powder making everything slippery.  Winston, who loves this cold weather, was dancing around like a happy little kid catching snowflakes on his tongue.  He refused to come inside after our walk, and plopped down in the yard, making his own doggy snow angel.  Pretty funny.

Jen and I had planned on going out to Teak Restaurant with Otto and Jennifer tonight, but the foul weather scuttled our plans.  That’s fine, as the unexpected expense of auto repairs suddenly raised its ugly head.  On Thursday morning, I dropped the BMW off at Eurosport for an oil change/tire rotation/checkup and headed off to Rock’n Joe for coffee.  A few minutes later, Chris went to start it up and pull into the repair bay, and the car caught fire.  The wiring harness for the engine short-circuited and burned up, but fortunately Chris was able to extinguish it before the onboard computer - or anything else for that matter - burst into flame.  So there goes $1,200.  Ouch.

So instead of dining out, we made a grocery run.  The house is filled with the scent of roasting beef round with sage, thyme, wild mushrooms and cabernet. (From Maxine Clark’s Flavors of Tuscany cookbook - funny, my cat is also named Maxine Clark, but she can neither cook nor write.) We opened a bottle of 2002 Beringer Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and we’re enjoying a great mix of Cowboy Junkies, Mercury Rev, and Over the Rhine while we wait.  Being snowed in isn’t half bad.

So maybe things will be slow at the shop tomorrow and I can build one of my new bikes.  Yes, that’s bikes plural.  In addition to my new Tarmac Pro frame, I now have a brand new Roubaix SL2 frame in matching trim waiting to be assembled.  I can’t wait to try it out, but I’m heartbroken all the same.  My favorite bike of all time, my first-production S-Works E5 Tarmac, finally gave up the ghost.  A few months ago I noticed the paint bubbling on the headtube where the carbon and aluminum are conjoined, and soon after that ominous noises would occasionally emanate from the frame.  I called the Specialized warranty department, and they were exceptional.  The mark of a truly great company is their incomparable customer service.  Even though I have ridden 30,000+ miles on this bike, they were mostly concerned with keeping me both safe and happy.  And they were flexible enough to honor my request for a Roubaix frameset that would be compatible with one of the proprietary S-Works cranks that I have on my two smashed Tarmac frames hanging in the garage.  So now I’ll have a scary fast Tarmac SL2 for racing and aggressive group rides, and I’ll have a more upright, more comfortable Roubaix SL2 for centuries and longer races.  Tom Boonen won Paris-Roubaix 2008 on this frame, so I don’t think I’ll be able to find fault with it.  It’s going to be pretty damn cool.  I’ll post some pics as soon as the bikes are ready.

RIP, my friend:

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Last night, our cable box died an untimely death.  Not that there was anything worth watching.  I was kind of relieved.  I did some work, but later, after I should have gone to bed, I was in the mood to write.  It felt great to put down a few pages of prose.  But here’s the danger:  in the cold light of day, will I still think it’s good stuff?  Something worth continuing?  Tomorrow, after I’ve been able to distance myself from it, I’ll read it.  And probably delete it.
When Jenn got home today, we headed out for a run with Winston.  It was getting dark, and a few flurries were blowing around.  We headed out smooth and steady, letting Winston off the leash as we ran through the park.  He jumped around happily, in spite of the cold.  The flurries became freezing rain, then just rain.  We were soaked and frozen, but in a groove that kept us going.  Winston managed to trip me by stopping suddenly right in front of me, but I did sort of a quasi handspring that somehow kept me from getting hurt.  No big deal, and we kept going.  Finally, reaching our neighborhood, Winston and I left Jenn behind and had our best ever sprint together, burning up the road to our corner.  He loves it - it’s so cool to see him with his goofy dog grin, tongue hanging out, matching me stride for stride.
Later this evening, with the new cable box installed and working fine, we sat down to watch TV.  Flipping channels, I found Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep. Rarely does anything interesting make it out to the suburban multiplexes around here, so we rarely go to see first run films in the theater.  I remember wanting to see this movie, especially after loving Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gondry’s prior film, but never making it into the city to see it.  I’ve never seen a more inventive, fascinating film.  It was fun, beautiful, imaginative, sometimes hilarious, and the animation reminded me of the stop-motion 8mm films I tried to make as a kid.  Although this is a love story, and back then I was just blowing things up.  All I will say about this movie is: see it.  It’s amazing.

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I stayed late at work tonight and unpacked my new frame.  Finally, months after my near-death experience, I went ahead and bought a new frameset to replace the incomparable Tarmac SL2, which met its demise on a South Plainfield roadside at the hands of Vehicular Sleeping Beauty.  My new ride will be complete later this week, if I can find the time to build it.  A pair of Zipp 404 wheels will complete the package, but those will have to wait a while.

When it’s built it will look something like this:

Otto just sent me a text saying that his New Years resolution is to get back on the bike seriously.  Everyone watch out - The Locomotive returns.  Can’t wait to hammer it out with you, buddy.

Erik and I managed to get our butts on the trainers several times in the last couple of weeks, and I’ve also had several decent runs with Jen and Stef.  So things are looking good.  Four days of detox are on the menu . . . no alcohol, lots of nourishing high-fiber, vitamin and anti-oxidant-rich foods, loads of good old H2O, no hydrogenated oils or synthetic food additives, and plenty of exercise.  It’s going to be tough - our wine rack is full of delicious bottles gifted from our wine-loving friends.  The timing of New Years meant a slight delay to the commencement of my 2009 training program, but the focus is returning tomorrow.  Jennifer goes back to work in the morning, and we’ll be back in our healthy routines instead of staying up until near-dawn with Jill drinking lovely brown liquors and discussing the fine points of life.

The non-stop party of the last four weeks, while beating up my body, has also nourished my imagination.  So I’m going to be writing some fiction once again, for the first time in years.  Be nice, and maybe I’ll share.

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there is much more good stuff to come.  New Year’s Day is always a big click of the refresh button.  I’m not a big resolution guy at all; I just like to try to make the right choices at the right time, rather than making any grand declarations that will last as long as a 6-pack of Yuengling ale at the bike shop on a Wednesday evening.  But it feels good to have a day to recharge, to reflect, to imagine the possibilities of the year ahead.  And to cap off a long month of partying with - you guessed it - a party, a big gathering at Adrian’s. And then life gets back to a routine in which we can train well, write often, and get sufficient sleep.  I’ve been enjoying the party lifestyle very much, but normalcy will be a refreshing change of pace.

We spent a wonderful New Year’s Eve with our friends Kevin and Nicole and a small assortment of their close friends.  Kevin, an actor who also works the bar at Payard, chose some amazing Spanish wines and cheeses, and Nicole made some very tasty paella.  All the food and drinks were delicious, and we blissed out on great flavors and good company.  Before we realized, it was almost 4 a.m., and time to wander home.  It was nice to wake up in our own bed to sunlight streaming through the window, no hint of a hangover, and a surprisingly rested feeling.  Although it was only 17 degrees and extremely windy, we started 2009 in the best way possible:  tossing sticks for Winston in the park.

Have a wonderful 2009.  We’ll be seeing each other soon.

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