The Masi is Finally Done

For those who weren't aware, I recently purchased a 1989 Masi Gran Criterium off of eBay. It was listed on eBay by a pawn shop in Pacoima. $535 and a drive to north LA later and I finally owned a bike that I've wanted for a long time. If you follow the Gran Criterium listings on eBay you'll know that every now and then a mid-70s Masi comes along. While they're beautiful bikes and I guess for a lot of people they're the Holy Grail, for me after already buying my Colnago Arabesque and keeping it in original condition, I was looking for something that I wouldn't feel bad about gutting and building up with modern components. When I bought the bike it had Shimano 600 shifters/derailleurs, a real nice set of wheels (Dura Ace hubs with Mavic Open 4 CD clinchers), some odd Stronglight cranks and some weird bars/stem. Here's the before:



For the rebuild I purchased a new Campy Record 10 speed group, a 3TTT quill stem and alloy handlebar, 3TTT seatpost, a Fizik Antares saddle, Velocity Escape tubular wheels and some 215g Tufo tires. Gord at VeloHangar put the bike together. The new wheels arrived today, so all that's left is to glue the tires on tomorrow. Short of a repaint, this is where she stands:

Can't stop laughing

I could watch this clip of Vancouver Canucks coach Alain Vigneault losing it behind the bench on Sunday afternoon 1000 times and still pull a muscle laughing.



You've gotta love it when things are going so well for you that you can laugh even when a clown like Vern Fiddler makes a fool of himself like this. Now I've got something to keep me laughing for a week or two, no matter how tough things get.

Welcome to the Ghost Town

It seems like blogging has quickly gone the way of the Dodo. What once used to be a media where people took the time to write thought provoking articles and share their insights with the world, has very quickly been replaced by the uber-positive, "let's all love each other", "look at me" worlds of Facebook and Twitter.

Fear not, the Angry Canadian has come out of retirement and will once again be spending some time documenting in this here blog. There's lots of stuff that's going to be happening over the next 3 or 4 months. Stay tuned to this channel, there's lots to discuss.

One Base Phase Done - More to Come

I just finished up 4 weeks of endurance base building. For how long and sporadic I've been with riding my bike the past 6 months, it's nice to get back into a consistent groove, eat better, ride better, and most importantly feel better. I think I've mentioned this before, but regardless of all other things; the one thing that I know I must do to be happy is to maintain an aerobic base. That's not just happy when I'm riding my bike, but happy in general. When I'm exercising regularly and feeling like I'm in shape everything else seems to flow so much better. I sleep better, I am more mentally focused, I'm more dedicated at work, I'm more relaxed and tolerant with people inside and outside of work, etc.

So, the past four weeks have been a start at what I know I need to do regularly for the rest of my life. To be more specific, it's consistent riding and at least two rides per week that are long (3+ hour) endurance rides. Next up, starting today, is three or maybe four weeks of base phase 2. There will still be long rides, but there will also be some more intense riding.

I'm also going to try three week phases; two weeks of hard work, one week of recovery for a while. Normally you do four week phases, but in the past I've found that I'm pretty worn down by the end of three weeks of hard riding. So much so that I almost always get sick by the end of base phase 3, which leads to burn out and lack of desire to be active.

Nice 3 Hour Ride to Work This Morning

I rolled out of bed at 5am this morning and was on the road at 5:30am. Three hours of fun and games up and down some nice hills east of Encinitas:

Getting Back to Consistent Riding

Over the past few weeks I've been doing a lot better with getting out on my bike. This last week I rode every day except for Monday and Friday. I've been sticking to the base building training plan from the Cyclist's Training Bible and eating like Paleo Man. Things are slowing coming back together.

Saturday was a tough one. I wanted to get a 2.5 hour endurance ride in. Not such a big deal, except for the fact that it's been really hot the past few days. Saturday was no exception. What I could normally do with two bottles took six.

This coming week may get a little hairy at work, we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can get six days of riding in. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Pictures from Blind Stokers Ride

Here are some pictures from my first time out with the blind stokers. These are the ones with me and Peter. You can find lots more here - http://cyclingnut.smugmug.com/Sports/2010-Blind-Stokers-Club/12119797_xkSUN#861493523_eh47A