Green Mountain Stage Race Part 1+2+3

Stage 1 - 9km Prologue

Course Profile

 - A little less than half of the course is uphill. The second half is rolling/downhill. Today there was a relatively strong headwind. 

 - Ended up 14th. Not bad, not great. 

 - It was a good test in that the winner has to be able to climb, roll flats, and sprint at the finish. 

Strava File - http://www.strava.com/activities/187554699

Stage 2 - 120km or Thereabouts Circuit Race

 - Hard duckin' race. Dehydrated as balls. The usual. 

 - Finished 15th, moved up to 3rd on G.C. 

Strava File - http://www.strava.com/activities/187554745

Stage 3 - The Big One

Elevation Map

Duckin' Gross. Baby Gap (left) App Gap (right).

Stage Weather Conditions 

For About Four Hours

Ended up 30th. Pretty much dropped out of the G.C. Great. 

Strava File - http://www.strava.com/activities/188054286/

Big Thanks To 

Shawn Milne

Camilo Zambrano

Taylor Warren

Colin Gibson

Alex Raicer

Excellent teamwork. In the end, App Gap stole my soul. Next year it will be better. 

Rando Photos

Race Cars

Alex Mechanicing

Green Mountain Glory 

Sitting 

Me At The Grocery Store

Thanks For Readin'

Packing + Green Mountain Stage Race

Packing. 

 - It's awful. Especially when you have to plan for a five week bike tour and a stage race. At the same time. Miraculously I'm in the airport and everything is all planned out. 

 - This state of "planned out" was preceded by about a week of panic. I.E. throwing things in bags and hoping for the best. 

If Panicking is the plan then I'm sure as shit planning ahead.

 - 

Other news 

This bike is gone. Really, it was just a vessel for suffering so I'm glad to see it go. Some other lanky male can enjoy it for a while. Bye Bike. 

This is the next one. 

 - I'm pretty excited for this one. Mostly because it's in Vermont. Vermont is crusty yet great. 

 - I first rode for Rio Grande at this race last year. I was in the break everyday and more or less got my ass handed to me. This year I'm going as a team leader. That's pretty neat. 

A quick race preview. 

Stage 1

The Start is at this scenic barn. In the Fall. 

Then

We finish in some beautiful town that probably looks like this. Still Fall. 

Stage 2 +3 = Probably the same. 

Stage 4

Downtown Burlington Crit. Burlington is a lot like Boulder but it's colder.

 And there's a lake. 

The people are more hippy(ish). 

Less entitled. 

But it's Colder. 

*Not a Poem it just happened to rhyme so I put it in different format.*

I'll try to update throughout the race. As long as there is internet. 

Thanks for readin'

Reading Riding Arithmetic + Dumbass Bike Journey Announcement Great Excellent.

First things first. Busy is a horrible word. Busy is not a duckin' virtue but rather something that should be entirely avoided. Check this shit out.. 

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=fb-share&_r=0

Working AND Riding. Nah.

           That being said I've been Craaaaazy busy lately. Out the wazoo busy. Really, I haven't but I'm sure as shit exhausted. For a little, just a little, bike riding wasn't even fun. 

My legs 

Moving on to something interesting...

Presenting Dumbass Bike Journey Announcement Great Excellent

 Some Details 

The Route 

Bar Harbor Maine 

The Place Below Canada

To Boulder Colorado

Probably Finishing Here. In Boulder. 

People On The Ride 

William Buick

Dumbass On the Right

AND

Brett Peters

The Guy on the Right. 

When We Are Leaving 

 - Around September. I still haven't decided if I'm doing this race. 

http://buckscountyclassic.com/ - Big Maybe

This is a problem. By the time we get to Colorado it may be leg warmer time. Gross. 

A legitimate Fear of Mine. This and Kansas. 

What I'm Riding 

Beautiful. Two feet of seatpost or Bust. As "they" say. 

Nothing Else Is Planned. If you have any advice or would like to donate to the Dumbass Bike Journey
Great Excellent Fund or if you have any advice on Touring contact me at my email, 

Bwillb5@gmail.com - It's a pretty horrible email address. Somehow all the other addresses were already taken. 

What We Need Right Now

                                                                      1) Advice

2) Everything 

Finally, I will be updating this blog as I plan and eventually leave for the trip. The best way to follow along is, 

Twitter - @WillBuick

Facebook - Will Buick or Brett Peters. 

Blog - Williambuick.blogspot.com 

Newspaper - Local papers detailing how awesome we are. 

Thanks For Readin'

Late Cascade Review + How To Move Houses As A Cyclist

Cascade - The End 

The race in a single teammate's quote, "Dude, I've seen some shit. For real."

Stage 5
 - Hard demanding course that descended through the nine circles of hell, a quick jaunt through the candy cane forest, and finally finishing on 5-11 route somewhere on Mt. Bachelor. Challenging stuff to say the least.
 - Needless to say I was dropped on the third of five laps. I never saw the group again. Except for the two times on the feedzone climb. I did my best to hide my face to avoid further humiliation.

Course Profile
                                    The entrance to hell is on the top of Mt. Bachelor. I think.

Then

The nine circles of hell according Dante/O.B.R.A. 

Then

A quick rest in the Candy Cane Forest

Then

The finishing climb up Archie Briggs 

                                                                  Good times for all...

Life Post Cascade

 FACT: Stage race responsibilities = Clean and feed thyself (please). 

              Real life responsibilities = Make money, move across town, ride a bike, AND clean And feed thyself. Bull Shit. 

              

Society man

Buck's Quick Tip - Moving For Cyclists

 - Moving is a real pain in the ass. Especially when you look akin to a T-Rex. Follow these guidelines and it will save you 43 seconds over a 40k time trial. Or something like that. 

Hilarious 

Opportunity For Food 

 - Before actually moving one must have their priorities straight. Free food trumps all. 

 - When the fridge is being emptied try this line out, "hell yeah Ima eat that for sure". It usually works. 

 - This is also a great way to score some frozen treats such as half-eaten Evol burritos and maybe even some "Assorted California Vegetables". Hell Yeah. 

Don't Own Heavy Shit

 - Make it a new rule for furniture purchases. It's just a real pain in the ass for everyone involved. 

 - This way you can move without the help of friends. Friends expect to receive food for helping you move. Never hang out with people that expect to be fed by you. That's messed up. 

Nice

If You Can't Move it. Sell It. 

 - Boulder Craigslist. The only place you can sell a box spring mattress in less than ten minutes. 

 - If you don't want to pick up a coffee table. Just have someone come over, give you money, and then have them carry it out. Duck yeah. 

 - You can get a new coffee table later. Drop offs only. 

After you get the box spring you can go back in time. 

Prepare For Move Day

 - Moving is a lot easier with proper nutrition. Have some food at arm's reach in order to keep yourself at a steady mental equilibrium. 

 - Moving = ducked up

 - Hunger = ducked up

 - Moving while hungry = The worst ever. 

Don't let it happen.

Go For It 

 - Despair will occur yet it is necessary to fight through the sore arms. Worst, there will be no time to ride a bicycle. Messed up. 

 - Try and do it in one day. Therefore only one day of training is missed. 

 - Just yolo the shit out of moving. If possible. I don't know if that's possible. 

Nah mean?

Provide Incentives 

 - Example: If I clean the kitchen I get five minutes to read the internet. 

 - Or, After I finish I'm going to drink a singular beer and have pizza. Like a normal person. Or, people you see on TV. The real idols.

 - Either way it's going to be awful. Good luck if you're moving in the near future. Call me if you want to give me food. 

Thanks for Reading.