Puttin’ On The Foil, Coach

Just like everyone else.

Here at the Ironclad Reform School for Beginning Cyclists and General Miscreants, we’re puttin’ on the foil and getting ready to throw punches. While the rest of the cycling community is preening and crying, we’re getting into fist fights with bums. Nothing makes you tougher. You go ahead and measure your watts and weigh your food. You, like us, are not going to the Tour next year. You want to get tough? Fight bums. You want to get fast? Try running from a pack of pissed off bums. Want to get even faster? Tempt said pack of bums by attaching fifths of various alcohols from  your person. That will make you move.

Just remember: no Tour, no Giro, lots of fun but plenty of bad breaks. That goes for you, him, her, everybody reading this. Here we train as best we can without sacrificing a real life, prepare as best as possible, execute to the best of our abilities, and accept the result as is. We’re the Hanson brothers, pray you’re not #12. And from a humanist level, we hope you’re not Hanrahan. We’ll lose a hell of a lot more than we’ll win, but we’ll have damn good time doing it.

Things in the office here are good. We’ve returned riders from far off lands (training in black kits, getting injections from long needles from shadowy doctors, etc) and we are preparing to sell off the excess debris at the Velo Swap this Saturday at Roots. Will you be there? Then it’s another long slog of a team training ride on Sunday. We’ve been averaging about 15 folks per ride. Not too bad for a bunch of folks who want to do this. Lots of the new faces, and some of the old. The new folks are adjusting well, getting used to the climate here slow but sure.

And So It Begins…..

2009 is upon us, and we wish you and yours a very Happy New Year! The tinsel is down, tree long since chucked, nog all gone. Goodbye, ye devilish holidays. Hello 2009 and the assault on the impending road season. It’s time to get work, and by that I mean take to the road in gangs.

We had a choice. Ride our bikes, or stay inside and watch this again, just because it’s the funniest thing we’ve seen in a long, long time. It was so funny that a few of us couldn’t make the ride – too busy laughing. It happens.

The first joining of Ironclad in 2009 took place on a nice 3 hour jaunt around North Portland and SW Washington regions this gray Sunday. Gravel. Headwinds on Marine Drive. Couple of flats. Tree bits. Road debris. Wasn’t pretty, but 17 hearty souls struck out, including  some Team Beer guests and had a fun ride. Chilly, but thankfully it stayed dry and the team brought some of the new faces out for a spin. See pictures here.

Vera and The Bringer have a laugh

Flat for all! Guests on board along with the 11 Ironclad team riders were Cheever, Mark, Carolyn, and Kevin, Clint, and Sharon of Team Beer. Good times had by all.

Some huddled together, in bands

And so it has begun. We ride. Prepare. Sharpen the arrows. Stare into the fire.

In the words of a friend, Sweep The Leg, 09.