Tuesday, July 12, 2011

You Ask, I Answer - The Horrible Truths

So.....

I asked you to ask and you did.  Here are the answers.

AJH asked...


What would be the most important thing for a beginning cyclist to do for speed improvement?

Just keep riding - time in the saddle will do wonders and your ability to ride farther and faster will come quick.  Once you get some mileage into your legs you can work on pedaling technique and other drills for efficiency improvement, but for now just get out there and ride!

What is a place you have never cycled in that you would like to?

Europe.  Someday I'd like to ride in Belgium and France.

Is there a terrain that would be be too daunting for you to cycle in?

I don't think so.  I'm too big to be a great climber.  But as long as my cycling pals don't mind waiting, I'll give anything a shot.

That said there is a downhill on San Joaquin Road in Newport Beach that I don't like - because of a ill placed and fast changing traffic signal, there have been many accidents, some fatal I'm afraid.


Jennifer asked...


Before you were an athlete, back in the dark days, what did you think when you saw guys in spandex?

I'm sorry to say, but I probably wasn't thinking.  Funny story though: I had an employee who's good friend was a serious road cyclist and this guy would come by the warehouse all the time.  I remember picking up his bike once and being surprised how light it was, but that's about as much thought I put into cycling before I actually started doing it myself a few years later.

ONEHOURIRONMAN asked...

In your photo, you appear to be mimicking Eminem... head down, visor down.  Eminem usually uses a hoodie when he does this pose. What inspired you to use the ball cap??

This is an easy one - the head is down to hide the double chin and the hat is on to hide my bald dome.  Luckily I can hold my head a little higher these days but I still need the hat.

XLMIC asked...

What size running shoes do you wear and is that the same size dress shoes you wear?

Size 11.  My dress size is a 4.  But that's only because I want it to look really tight and slutty.

What was your first pet?

Tara and Willie - Cats; Gigi - Dog

Did you do any sports as a kid?

No not really.

What inspires you?

Questions that ask what inspires me inspire me.  And normal everyday people doing extraordinary things inspire me too.

Do you ever cry at movies? Which ones?

Let me answer this with another question.  Do you know how hard it is to hide tears when you are on an airplane?

What would you choose for your last meal?

Do you mean if I was going to the electric chair or something?  Grilled chicken, brown rice and a spinach salad.  Because all the other mass murderers pick the Rib Eye, so that's played out.


Chris K asked...


1) If you could see any band in the world tomorrow, all expenses paid and all obligations are handled, who do you pick?

Can I go back in time?  Then it's The Clash.  Right now?  I'd like to go to one of the jazz festivals in Europe.  Not because of the music per se, but because the vibe would be something I don't normally experience.

2) Where do you think you will be living in 10 years?

In your guesthouse.

3) What are five things on your bucket list?


Get the training wheels off of Ian's bike
Insure my iPhone lasts more than a year this time
Finish remodeling my living room
Host a flash mob via my blog
Take Mary to Japan

4) On a scale of 1-10, what would your rate your desire to do Kona?

I honestly don't know.  Because I'm quite pleased to have a go at 70.3's for awhile.

5) Are you a metrosexual?

I don't even know what that is.

6) Are you okay wearing shirts with vertical strips? what about horizontal stripes?


Stripes are fine.  I prefer thin vertical stripes and still have a soft spot for the Kurt Cobain style horizontal striped shirts from the early '90's.


Kate asked...

Along the lines of ajh's questions...tips for hill climbing, ways to get better at it? (and I know hill repeats, but anything specific on them other than pedal pedal pedal?)

Here's a couple tips -

 - Work on proper pedal technique.  You need to generate power through your entire pedal stroke, not just when you push down.  Some people assume this means pulling up hard from the 6 to 12 o'clock position.  I don't agree with this, it can ravage your hamstrings.  Instead, pull up just enough so that the opposite down-stroke does not have to compensate for dead weight.  Another technique to try is pulling you heel back like you are wiping mud off of your soles from the 3 to 9 o'clock position.  Again, this should be a lighter movement then your down-stroke.  A good pedal stroke should feel like you are floating straight through the revolution.  There are tons of drills online.

 - Don't slow down your cadence.  Shift down instead.

- I use a rear wheel with a 12/27 climbing cassette when I know I'll be climbing.  It doesn't make me go any faster up the hills, but the 27 tooth ring has saved my butt a few times.

Caroline asked...

If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be?

Andre

Are you happy? I hope you are.

It's been a great couple of years and thank you for asking.

First concert you have ever been to?

Rush (Go Canada!) at the Worcester Centrum, Worcester MA.  This was probably '83 or '84.

The one you would have liked to see?

I missed The Smiths in '85 or so.  I couldn't get a ride into Boston.

Do you like Canadians? :)

I love everyone.

Guilty pleasure? you can say you watch Real Housewives of OC we will not judge.

I'm not sure I have one.  

how did you propose?

It was at a hotel in West Hollywood.  I was still living in New York and was in LA on business so Mary came up from Orange County for a few days.  We had just come back from a show and I got on my knees and asked her to marry me.

Luke or Han Solo?

Han Solo.  Even at 8 I realized that the reluctant hero behind the obvious hero was the REAL hero.  By the way, it wasn't until the last couple years that I caught on to the fact that Obi Wan let Darth Vader kill him on the Death Star.  I'd never caught that the first 50 times I saw the movie.

Mike asked...

What would you like us to ask about so you can talk about it? I'll ask that question, so open floor for you :-)

Wait...you want me to tell you what to ask so I can answer a question I want to answer?  I think they only do that on Fox News when Sarah Palin is on.  Chris and Colleen, how do I handle this? 


Kovas asked...

Would you consider a business booking bands at triathlons?

No.  Well maybe.  I'd book the most extreme Swedish metal band I could find and put them at mile 20 of the run so most people would pick up the pace just to get by the noise.  Can you think of a better way to get through the "wall"?  I think not.

How would Mary describe you? (guestpost!)

The greatest guy she knows that is 41 and lives in her house.

If Ian started a band, would you be happy or cringe?

Obviously you haven't heard Sticks on Six.

Any more triathlons for Ian?

This is the summer of getting him comfortable in the water and getting the training wheels off.  So far, we've made progress in the water.

Colleen asked...

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

Any superpower that makes the noise that the Six Million Dollar Man used to make when he was using his powers would be fine.

Craig asked...

1. What is going through your mind when the tempo is beyond high. Let's say when it is push another 100 meters and make it, or let up and get cracked. What are you telling yourself ?

I'm usually telling myself that I won't stay pissed at you for long.

2. How the hell did Doc Martens ever get so popular ?

Somewhere between the original UK punk bands and the Paris & Milan runways during Fashion Week something went horribly wrong.

3. can you sing ?

Sure - as long as I double track all the vocals, sing everything like 6 times, cut and paste a final set of vocal tracks from the best of all the takes and then use tons of pitch correction.

4. are you and your wife planning on more kids ?

Negative.

5. Unlimited $$ - build a bike, what is it and what's on it ?

I'm not sure anymore.  I do know it would have an Easton wheelset and a SRAM gruppo.  Oh yeah, and a Fizik saddle.  Maybe a set of FSA SLK cranks too.  So I can pay $80 for another cab when they fail after only 100 miles.

16 comments:

XLMIC said...

I feel so gypped.

And the thought of you in a size 4 dress... not the kind of slut ANYone wants to see... that whole puke in the mouth thing...

Have you tried taking the pedals AND training wheels off of Ian's bike and making it a coaster to get him feeling the balance w/o needing to worry about pedaling? Totally worked for my middle two kids.

Jennifer said...

Rush was my first concert too, in fact I probably was the same tour.

Thank you very much. Now I will not be able to get the Six Million Dollar Man theme song out of my head for the next week. Urg.

Jason said...

This was fun to read. Thank you for putting this post together.

A little deeper insight into The Road and that is a good thing.

Tri4Success said...

Enjoyed this post. Especially liked your answer to Craig's 1st question. And apparently my method for tracking my own vocals isn't unique. Thank you Melodyne.

KovasP said...

Wow, I can tell that Ian's heavily influenced by your East Coast hardcore stuff.

Rush was my first concert as well! Saga, Jethro Tull, and Rush. The next concert was X and I forget who else and I never saw a big act until after college. Well, I did see GnR when they were called Small Potatoes.

M said...

This was lovely. Thanks for sharing. :-)

And super thanks for the answer to your first question about gaining speed. I needed to hear that today!

misszippy said...

I saw the Clash at a really tiny venue in about 1982. It was awesome!

And Rush was my first concert--9th grade.

Let me know when you put the flash mob together--very cool.

And thanks for sharing all this. Fun stuff.

TRI714 said...

Love it !

I still can listen to Rush like it was 1979.

1st concert, UFO 1978. REMEMBER THEM ?
How cool was Lights Out in London ?
and of course I saw them at Long beach arena, so it was lights out in Long Beach.

Dude you'd look sick in a size 4 dress with knee high Doc's.

ihaverun said...

I like Caroline's questions. Especially about your proposal. Awww...

And I'm trying not to picture you tight and slutty.

ajh said...

Fun post.

Jill said...

You are way more on top of your blog than I am. Loved reading your biking answers though. I'm hoping after I hit 2000 miles, my bike seat won't hurt so much!

Ransick said...

Fun post! I chuckled while reading it :-)

The Green Girl said...

You lie. You never judged the spandex clad cyclists?

Are you taking me to Japan? ::smiles nicely::

Unknown said...

Can't believe I missed this one? Dude you totally bricked the lay-up on the bike build question. You need to sit down and think this one through -- UNLIMITED BUDGET!!! Think how cool that shit would be!!

Chris K said...

I think your bucket list is way doable. When did you go back to an iphone. Boo.

Yeah, The Clash answer didn't surprise me.

Unknown said...

Six million dollar man, Rush and Han Solo...Funny how that "lost era" is refound and loved by our kids too.
Great answers. Loved reading them.

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