Bomb This Hill!

An Update...

2010-01-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Since Thanksgiving I have....
1) gotten a job
2) ski'd a lot
3) GOT ENGAGED to a wonderful woman

For the new job I'm an office manager for a small e-commerce outfit. Small being: myself, owner, and a two-day a week college student. Lots of responsibility and lots of upside.

I finally pony'd up and got some nordic skate skis this year. After skating in the park last year with Kristi and wanting to enjoy the season not sitting on a trainer indoors, I have taken full-steam into skate skiing. It combines the endurance training comparable to skiing, lots of tactics, and it's insanely hard. 2hrs of skate skiing at Eldora leaves me wrecked for the day. A good wreck that is. The skiing has brought me some new balance to my life and allows me to enjoy the awesomeness of winter in Colorado and I get to ski with my #1 lady! On the flipside of skiing, I've been doing a bit of alpine as well. Each Sunday, I teach a group of 6 5yr olds. It's fun. Lots of ski carrying and snow eating, not me, but the kids. Hoping for some new pow pow and the weather is shaping up nicely for me.

And lastly but the most awesomeness, I got engaged to Kristi, my #1 lady. We are both very excited and are planning for a September wedding.

Ciao,

Bearclaw

Iowa Thanksgiving...Check!

2009-12-02T20:24:00.002-07:00

After 6 great days, I along with my attractive and gracious host Kristi returned to Boulder. The Wasson Family and their extended members were incredibly gracious and thoughtful. They did an excellent job at engrossing me in all the great Midwestern traditions. It was a big week for me having only spent two dinners with them previously but it always felt like we had been doing it for many Thanksgivings. For our Thanksgiving Day festivities, when in Cedar Rapids you must being your day with brunch. Not just a stuff your face full of all that is great about breakfast and lunch but more a few nibbles of some frittata and shots. Shots of Apfel Schnapps direct from Germany! A close family friend to the Wasson's holds a Thanksgiving Brunch and tradition calls for shots of liquor when new people arrive or when people call the house or calls are made for Thanksgiving wishes. I stood proud and handled my two shots. I was one up on Kristi. Not that it was a competition or anything. Needless to say, it was a fun new tradition. Not sure if it would hold up in my family but maybe. After a short pause in the afternoon, we got down to brass tax...preparing Thanksgiving food. I was in charge of the stuffing. I went a different route this year and pushed the envelope with a artichoke/sundried tomato stuffing. It was quite delicious I thought =) Kristi pulled through as expected with a delicious butternut squash/spinach and blue cheese dish. I was cast as her garde manager(ie prepper for all the squash cutting). Before we ate, I got the big call...I was in charge of cutting the turkey. Once a role left to the patriarch of the family, I felt quite honored with such a distinguishing role. It was a big bird and I had to go through several knife sharpening periods but I earned my star.

After thoroughly feeding ourselves we had to get prepared for meeting the extended family the next day. High on the list was a visit to my lady's alma mater and the John Deere Museum which lead to the greatest burn in family history. The pictures below tell the story...The 2nd pic down is me giving the biggest burn of all time to Eric, my younger brother. Thanks to Kristi for capturing the moment and for the line of young kids who painfully waited while I had my moment in the big combine.

Kristi chillaxing

From the grounds of Augustana College, K's alma mater...

All in all it was a great first trip to Iowa. First of many more to come I predict. Now it's back to reality in the Unreality...

Chow,

Bearclaw

Moving On...Not MoveOn

2009-11-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

This job market makes me feel like the girl that didn't get asked out to prom.
So I'm moving on and trying to keep my ambitions and perseverence high. Deep down I know there is something that I am suppose to do.

Making Sense of it All

2009-11-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have been shirking a bit from the bloggin' as of late. Not exactly sure what to express. Not that I don't have ideas, it's just I don't have the ideas suitable for Bomb This Hill. Catch up on things. The visit by Marc and Sandra was great. I didn't get to spend the whole time with them but we were able to catch some awesome Colorado culture together. Next time they will visit in the summer and Kristi and I will visit Backnang in the summer. As during Kristi's visit we experienced 10 days of rain and snow. Marc and Sandra got a good 4 days of the powder stuff. Before Sandra left we kicked it at The Med here in Boulder. Kristi's exceptional comprehension of the Boulder happy-hour scene didn't leave us disappointed. The Med offers a great happy hour of tapas which we devoured with prowess and efficiency.

This past weekend K & I rolled up to Summit County for a weekend of housework. I am helping with some home improvements for some people here in Boulder. Needlesstosay, it gave us a great opportunity to get up into the mountains. As we were "slumming" it Frisco, Boulder was getting pounded with snow, 11" Sat-Sun. Frisco got a wopping 4". As part of our "atonement," we headed up to Breckenridge on Sunday to check out the nordic swap sale. I tried some skate skis on the groomed trails. The flex was a little too stiff but I did find a nice pair of great boots. Gene, the proprieter of the nordic center was getting me all hooked up. The guy has been doing it for 40 years and his son was the #4 guy on the US Olympic Nordic squad in 2002. So not too shabby. My goal this year is to get some skate skiing lessons and atleast hang with Kristi. Next year, I will go for the win ;-)

This week it's just about hopin', prayin, and finger crossin' about an über-awesome job opportunity.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Unfortunately Natural Selection is Not Working Quick Enough

2009-11-08T18:21:00.002-07:00

Hikin' in Boulder

2009-11-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

Kristi, Sandra, and I headed out for a great hike up to Royal Gorge on the Flatirons. This was my 2nd exercise moment of the day as I did 2.25hrs prior. Yeah, i'm pretty hard core. 6 days of riding this week. Not bad. Fitness is starting to come back so watch out =)

More Snow...

2009-10-29T08:39:00.000-06:00

So it has been snowing without halt since Tuesday early evening. Totals are now surpassing 20"! Is this October? Unfortunately Eldora ski resort is not yet open and the grooming has not started because of permit issues for North Boulder Park so no xc-skiing in town. Tempted to hike up to Chatuaqua and take in some turns. But I reckon this will have to be done under the auspices of the night...ie it would have to be a rogue ski operation because it's ILLEGAL. Found a very cool job prospect yesterday and it's something that I actually qualify for. No far reaching on this one. So if anyone out there knows the insiders at Slipstream Sports shoot me an email. Brother needs to make some money and get to workin'

CU is back open today but the roads and conditions seem much worse than when they closed campus yesterday at 2pm. It's a snow day for all other schools. Unfortunately for me, it has been a snow day for 2 months now.

watch for updated snow pics later...
chow,
Bearclaw

Snow in October?

2009-10-28T12:57:00.000-06:00

A huge snowstorm has hit the motherland...forecasters are saying 18" by tomorrow midday.

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

2009-10-27T20:12:00.000-06:00

My German family, Sandra and Marc, and I rolled north to the park yesterday to show some nice Colorado scenery. Weather was much improved from the snow and clouds on Sunday. Still super windy but nice day.

Sanwald's kommen nach Colorado

2009-10-26T07:47:00.000-06:00

So my great friends from Germany, Sandra and Marc Sanwald, arrived on Saturday. It has been great to catch up with them and show them the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Kristi and I had a great time touring the Pearl Street Mall with them and explaining all the excitement that is Halloween. I also was able to share some of Colorado's finest, Illegal Pete's burritos. And their trip would not be complete without some repayment of snow and cold =) Yesterday we had snow, sun, cold, and more snow. It reminded us of my first days in Backnang with all the snow. Today the weather is better and it looks like we are going to head up towards Estes Park and take in some of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Job prospects are moving along. Hopefully I receive the message I have been waiting for in the next few days.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Home on the Range

2009-10-13T20:05:00.000-06:00

Back in the motherland for a week visiting my family. Very nice visit and relaxing. Granola R&D is in full swing. I am coming close to a reputable product. Now I need to secure a line on a commercial kitchen space to take this project to the next level. Keep you posted....

On another food note, I got my Amigo Mexican Restaurant fix. It was pretty much delicious. Unfortunately my dear sister Megan wasn't able to join. I tried to console her but I think I was too late and she was left looking like this

I hope she feels better soon. My enchilada suiza was very delicious by the way =)

I'll be rolling back to Boulder on Friday just hours away from my big birthday and all the great surprises Miss Kristi has in store...

Chow,
Matthew

Experienced Barista?

2009-10-09T10:22:00.002-06:00

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love coffee...if A then B...no fallacy in that logic.

So how does one become an experienced barista is no one will hire an inexperienced barista? Can't my undying appreciation for that sweet elixir and my sweet skills of learning things quickly suffice for experience?

On a another note, I'm interviewing at Chipotle today...get my burrito making on. Maybe they will sidetrack me right up to corporate. I need an office space Peter moment here...

bearclaw

Winter Hath Cometh and Pause

2009-10-08T11:33:00.002-06:00

Decided to start my pause yesterday. The fact that it's raining, cold and possibly snowing later only highlights my genius more in choosing this period to start my end of season no-bike break. Next week I will be in the motherland...Tennessee. Looking forward to the visit very much.

Yesterday I began the official, unofficial process of applying to culinary school. I filled out my fafsa form. When I was an undergraduate and dependent child on my parent's tax return, I received a token gesture from Uncle Sam to help defray educational costs. Since I left California, I have positioned myself to make just above the poverty line which has allowed me to travel, race my bike a lot, become economically crafty, and above all more eligible for educational funding. The program here at the Culinary School of the Rockies is a 6-month intensive culinary arts program with a 1 month farm-to-table externship. The purveyors previously had a externship in France but I guess that ever-depreciating dollar scraped that idea. They describe the program as such,

"Culinary Arts feeds your passion. You develop your own sensibilities and philosophy about food, ingredients, cooking techniques and dining."

My own philosophy...I like the sound of that. It will be the perfect learning environment to develop my philosophy when I write my book. But developing my philosophy has it's costs...no such thing as a free lunch, or free self-developing philosophy. It's to the tune of $28,450. That is a $38/hr program based upon the 6.5hr day and 23 weeks of delicious enlightenment. During my observation day last December some key things I observed that are included: 1)someone is paid to do the dishes(ie those who know me, know that i spend just as much time cooking and making dirty as I do cleaning) 2)they include lunch b/c you basically cook your own lunch or group lunch 3)coffee is always available 4)they pay for the food at the awesome end of program 5)you get a name embroidered jacket and knife set, hello professional! 6) you get to eat a lot of food 7) you get to work, i mean experience the North Fork Valley in Western Colorado on a farm and restaurant 8) they help you find a job the rest of your life(so far FSU hasn't done anything for me) 9) Wine Appreciate development, yes I could use more of that and finally 10) I learn French Technique which will give me even more rumbling of sophisticated words when I talk about food or when I am in the kitchen(this I'm sure all my loved ones will and should appreciate).

So it's pretty much awesome I think. And of course I will probably bring those techniques to Bearclaw Granola and to the belly of Kristi =)

Yesterday I was thinking that I am too qualified and underqualified. How does this happen? Why won't Starbucks hire me? Why won't Safeway hire me? Why won't these private economic research jobs hire me? Am I flight risk? My story of racing my bike in Germany has now been changed to "the past 6 months I took an educational trip to German." I did take official German language classes, I even forked over some Euros myself for them. I guess educating in the classroom is less flight risk than "i educated myself on the ruthless, no gifts, no pity, no nothing street of Germany pouring every bit of energy into the pedals to say, yeah, I finished in the last group." We will see if it works.

Here is to high hopes! =)
Bearclaw

A Reflection of Reality

2009-10-06T21:27:00.004-06:00

So it has been just over a month since the dream ended. What have I been up too? Or rather what have I not been up too. Namely, working. I began job searching in late July and today it still remains that...a search. I know things will have to turn around at some point. But it's pretty stressful and boring for me. My de facto office has become the Panera Bread here in Boulder which I set up shop in the morning, soak up the free wifi and amp myself on hazelnut coffee. I think I have a pretty credible background...even one that might be judged as unique. Unfortunately, uniqueness is not bringing home th bacon. Not exactly sure what can make my candidacy say "WOW," so any suggestion should be left as comments.

Since California I've been doing a little riding on the cross bike. Nothing serious, but I sourced out some cool trails in the Boulder Open Space. My hematocrit is slowly normalizing to the altitude. My technical and overall strength is better than last year but my recovery from hard efforts is not as good which I blame on the lower concentration of oxygen here. Or maybe I laid every bit on the line in Mecklenberg and left my German team with only enough strength to board that plane. I never remembering crushing myself so far into the pain cave day in, day out. I continue to believe it was the greatest 4 days of racing in my life.

I've gotten back into the full time cooking thing. Catered a friend's birthday party the other night for 20 people. A French theme was requested so I did my part, and it seems it went over well. Being the über self-critic, there are things I wasn't as pleased with but they are teachable moments. Next time it will be better. I did manage to pull off some awesome crêpes, self-made of course. Granola production is back in 50% production. I've sourced out a Costco membership so that should begin to help lower production costs and in turn provide greater product for you my consumers. Currently contemplating whether I should pull the trigger on culinary school which I was close to doing last year. Nothing better in a scheiß economy than to go to school and take on debt. Atleast it would give me a project to focus on and let me fulfill that dream to learn to cook better. Then you can hire me to cook deliciousness in your home =)

Here are some pics to enjoy as you read...
Kristi, Me, and the Palace of Fine Arts(self-timer portrait by me!)
Me, my Lady, and the view from the hill near my old stomping ground(another timer self-portrait by me!)
A Suspicious Me(a long arm self portrait)
Homemade Huevos Rancheros(one of my culinary artistry pics)
The German Consulate in SF(Kristi took this masterpiece)

chow,
Bearclaw

Slackin' in California

2009-09-19T09:57:00.002-06:00

Yes, things have been quiet for me on the blog front. Fortunately, I kind brother and sister lit the fire for me to write some. So I am here in San Francisco, chillin with Kristi on TI before we head up to Napa for a Napa Valley wedding. Fun times with old college buddy Nathaniel. Write more later.
chow,
Matthew

Back to Reality

2009-09-10T09:25:00.002-06:00

It has been just over a week since my euro adventure ended. Excited to be back and catch up with old friends and reacquaint myself with the roads and trails of Colorado. I've been keeping myself busy with job hunting and other projects. Riding is becoming a way to get away from it all and enjoy some stress-reducing exercise. I forgot how important and popular cycling is to the Boulder community. I mentioned to Kristi last evening how many people are out riding every day. Commuters, kids, exercise enthusiasts and those training for that next event. Cycling is quite contagious here.

Right now, I am digesting the season and just enjoying riding the bike. I'll start some cross races here in Colorado and do the cross ride on Wed mornings but it's a no-stress fall season. I'm very pleased with my successes over the past year and I know that next year will a breakout year for me in US.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Summit County Mtn Biking

2009-09-07T13:14:00.004-06:00

Kristi and I ripped up the singletrack of Summit County this past weekend. Schön Wetter und Schön Zeit!

Getting back to the woods was a nice change from the road. There is so much beauty in Colorado. I kept telling Kristi how great it is to be here. Company was also pretty much muy bueno as well =)

Friday evening got rained out from cooking so we hit the local establishment that I seem to go to every time I am up in the mountains, The Dam Brewery. Of course I went with the Tatanka Burger but settled for a Hefeweizen. It was good but lacked what I remember tasting just a week ago. Kristi went with a Quesadilla, pronounced Kay-sah-dilah. It was definitely the largest and most developed Quesadillas I have ever witnessed. Tasted so as well.

Saturday morning we awoke to 37º which in Cº is about 2-3º so pretty friggin cold. We were hungry but our fingers weren't working well and the water was taking quite a long time to heat. But we persevered despite the hardships and nourished ourselves to prepare for the über awesome ride Kristi had planned. We took on the Aquaduct trail which provided lots of killer singletrack and descending ops. Kristi threw down pretty hard, and I was muy impressed with her sweet mtn biking skills. The altitude of 9400-10,800' was quite a change for me. On Sunday we did the Colorado Trail which is a trail going from Denver to Durango. We did a sweet loop on it, 20+mi, 3.5hrs. Pretty difficult climb up as one portion was 2mi in length and topped out at 11,100'. The descending was most excellent. It was a muy fantastic time together. Looking forward to the next one.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Summit County Bound...

2009-09-04T11:41:00.002-06:00

Heading up to Summit County in a bit to get in some late summer camping and mtn biking at 9000'+. I'll probably suffer a bit as my lady Kristi powers away from me on the Colorado Trail. Looking forward to gettin' dirty and increasing my red blood cell count the all natural way. Going to rig up a mount on my Titus for some action photos of Kristi killin' it on the trails and the beautifulness that is the Colorado High Country.

My body is here in Colorado, my time clock still remains in Germany. Sleeping 5 hrs and waking up at 4am every day so far is no bueno. Hopefully things get better soon.

Chow,
Bearcaw

2009 Euro Campaign in the Books

2009-09-01T06:01:00.003-06:00

Nostalgia has once again set in. I'm here in the Stuttgart Flughafen awaiting departure back to Boulder, CO. I can still remember the same moment when i was coming here back in February. In February, 6 months sounded like a long time. Half a year out of the country in a land I'm not familiar with, trying to speak a language I knew literally nothing about, and an untold number of new experiences I would encounter. To explain it all I would need to write a book(in the future) but I'm going to just highlight a few things that forever will impress upon me as I grow older.

Top Eleven Things (b/c 10 is too generic...in no particular order except the last one)
* I learned a new language
* I suffered like I have never suffered before in a race
* I discovered that küchen(cake) is a suitable pre-race food
* I learned what it's like to be part of a true team
* I saw many new lands and rode through countless villages sometimes at very high rates of speed other times not so
* I was part of a championship winning team
* I grew deeper into my relationships with those close to me
* I learned the SuperPrime is very difficult in the race
* I tried many new foods and developed a great appreciation for Schwäbisch food and Deutsche musik.
* I completed a full-season of racing in Europe
***I became part of a family, one that helped me, encouraged me, looked after me, spoke with me, and gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream

Last October, the idea came to make this all happen. Until December, I didn't think I could pull it off. Thanks to all the people who made this happen: my parents and siblings, my ladyfriend Kristi, my friends Karl & Shawn, my team, and my Deutsche Familie, Die Sanwalds! It's amazing to think about what I have experienced over the last half-year. Ich gehe züruck nach Boulder, aber Ich bin ein Backnanger und Ich komme züruck =)

Now onto the next chapter of my life in Boulder with a great girl and the fondest of memories to share with all....

Auf Wiedersehen,
Matthew

Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3

2009-08-31T08:14:00.002-06:00

Saturday's race was grade-A euro mudsling'n of a race. The parcours, 123,3km which looked like a cardiograph on paper. Unfortunately, cardiographs can't display the hellish winds chimed throughout the day. After losing Markus Jahn to a crash on Friday, all remaining resources were to make sure Marcus Kühn can retain the sprinter's jersey. Several riders were very close so it was going to be difficult. We had to drive 30+km to the start upon arriving, the rain came. Not much of a problem until you see the cobblestones and you think, Scheiße! Fortunately the rain let up but it was quite cool, only around 20C. The race started out under neutral, and don't be foolish to think that the neutral isn't a race. If you aren't going full gas, then you might get dropped even before the flag falls. The wind was in full force and the attacks started immediately. I was doing well covering the first few moves then set tempo on one of the climbs as a non-threatening rider went up the road. After doing my time, I drifted back to recover then we started rolling down a long stretch of road that was quite picturesque with the trees lining the road and the farm vistas surrounding. Then the ultimate scheiße moment...a puncture. Front tire nearly rolled off as we went into a turn. I feel back to get a new wheel from team support. Heinz came by first but signaled me to wait for the van which unfortunately for me was in the very back. So I got the wheel changed and a nice push from die Latz and I was off. Ohh yeah, the wind is über scheiße now as it is blowing in the face or on the nose. No bueno when you are alone and the field is jettesoning away from you. Latz made it back up to me and provided a nice draft behind the van. The last 6-7kms then it was trying to make my way back into the field as the commissar was close and wasn't going to allow any tomfoolery from me. Normally all autos are encouraged to keep a small gap between the car in front when riders are coming up b/c we are allowed to use them as a draft and rest 20s behind the cars. Well these gaps weren't the 5meter ones, more like 20-30m. And that is a big no bueno when you are redlined already. Finally after leapfrogging fwd and bkw for 20km I finally caught back on. Heinz and Markus weren't quite proud and it helped to have their encouragement on my journey up. Let's just say that I pretty much burned the book on that one. The rest of the race was absolutely brutal. Rain, wind, up/down, down/up...it had it all. You want to now what is different about racing here than in the US? It's stage 4, GC is pretty much set 30% of the starters in the race are out, and you are riding single file at the +55km/h only to be seated in 78th position. What the hell is wrong with this? 78th position is no in-the-money position but if you don't hold it, either A) you go to 79th or worse B) you fall off the back and don't make time cut. When I was alone I was doing everything I could to not think B. I joked with everyone that I probably lost 5 years of my life with the effort. Fortunately it paid off b/c the 10 or so others that I had came up on while I was chasing never made the jump across to the field and their race ended that day as they missed time cut.

Later on I was nourishing myself and getting the fluids in b/c I still had 80km of racing when I got back in. And it was going to be hellish. At one point the field split as one race vehicle went straight and the other went left. Total catastrophe as nobody new what was going on. Finally they neutralized it and we came back together and had a nice little 4min picnic while the commissar pulled his hair out. Unfortunately that means your legs get cold and the human cyborgs at the front are going to make them cry like a baby without its pacifer.

When we made it into the finish town, I fell back and did what I could to conserve. And I was pretty much cooked, not a shade of pink you could say, only 1min50 down on the stage.

Unfortunately, die Kühn lost the jersey on a tie for points.

I did enjoy some Eis that night which was a nice recovery =)
chow,
Matthew

Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Mannzeitfahren

2009-08-31T01:49:00.002-06:00

Team Trial Video by Heinz Sanwald

Photos from Mecklenberg Rundfahrt

2009-08-31T01:36:00.001-06:00

Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3

2009-08-29T00:30:00.000-06:00

Mecklenberg Rundfahrt Day 3

Sitting in 80th something place. My GC(general classification) position can be attributed to doing quite a bit of work to put my teammates, Markus Jahn and Marcus Kühn in the White Sprinter's jersey. Thursday was the first stage, a 83km jaunt with lots of action. I have been feeling much better recently, and motivation to help the team goal of the sprinter's jersey definitely was motivating. I worked with Daniel Hartmann, Oliver Hager, and Elmar Burke chasing down every attack and move in the first 20km. I was able to get into a few moves that lasted a few kms but nothing was going to sit as the peloton was riding aggressive and hoping for a field sprint. As long as we could represent ourselves in every move and not let anything go then it would put the pressure on the other teams and save the energy for the Kühn and the Jahn. On km 58 or so I put in an attack about 3km from the sprint, I got about 10s. I was hoping to put the work on the other sprinter's teams to drive the pace and thwart attacks coming into the sprint. After getting caught about 1.5km from the sprint, I was drifting back holding my line when some wanker came by and chopped my front wheel. Spoke broken, and I was no bueno. Fortunately, Heinz was driving support and was 2nd auto in the caravan. Wheel changed, the real race for me began. Heinz did a super job at motorpacing me back to the field. After putting in a hard effort just prior to getting chopped, I was not too ready for the effort of getting back. Sure riding inches behind a car is fast, you still have to put in the effort. At times I had to signal Heinz to slow b/c I was blowing up quite spectacularly. Heinz brought me up to about 5 cars deep and then the BDR(German Cycling Federation) gave Heinz the evil finger and quite a bit of words. Heinz played it cool and I was able to use the rest of the auto to make my way back into the field. At this point it was just conserving and saving as much as I could for the rest of the week. I ended up falling a little bit off the pace of the field. I guess my tactic of conservation got a little too aggressive but I managed to only lose 1:10 to the winner, which is quite a bit considering the race is pretty much a sprint finish each stage. But my GC chances were given up prior to the start when I was directed to ride for Marcus and Markus. Cycling is a team sport, the winner is always supported by a great team and a win for one is a win for the team. Well after finishing we pedaled 30km back to the hotel with Heinz motorpacing. I thought I was okay and recovered but the future would tell a different story. Next comes dinner in the hotel. You would think that I would be super motivated to eat but eating was a low motivation as I was feeling the efforts of my work and chasing. I was trying my best to hide the discomfort erupting in my stomach but it was nearly as difficult as the race itself. Upon leaving, I found myself slowing falling behind the group on our way back to the house. Let's just say on the way back I emptied my calories the supermodel way. Doing so is no bueno in any situation but I did feel much better later. But, when you are stage racing, calorie intake and recovery are über important. So going into severe caloric deficit on the first day can wreck the entire race. So you could say that I went a little past my limit in my efforts for the race but the team recognized my efforts and that made it all worth it and we got Markus Jahn into the sprinter jersey.

Yesterday morning, I awoke to feeling better not 100% but better. Able to put in a proper breakfast. Being the last place finisher, I had the privilege of being the first in the individual time trial of 11,3km. Rode it in 16:06. Good enough for 60 something I think. The team gave me strict orders of not going to hard in order to save for the race later in the afternoon and for today. They specifically said they don't want me putting myself into the condition I was the previous night. After some good down time following my race, we all ate some pasta and got ourselves ready for battle in the afternoon. The course was pretty tight with lots of wind and super fast speeds. At each sprint we were hitting over 60km/h with tops at 65km/h! On a wide road this is not so much, but on these narrow country roads with autos lining the roads and partly on the roads, positioning was über critical and sometimes just downright dangerous. Markus Jahn took a big hit on the first sprint when he got pushed off the road and into the sandy side. His race unfortunately ended as he was sent to the hospital. Fortunately no broken bones, just cuts and a huge hematoma on his leg. I tried to do what I could in the next few laps in the sprint but I had difficulty getting close enough. On the last 2 laps I was pulling back breaks and setting tempo on the front. Felt good again. Efforts were rewarded with Marcus Kühn sprinting well and taking the sprinter jersey. Sad to see the Jahn out.

So today is the longest stage at 123km....lots of up and down and the wind is howling. With 4 sprints, our day is going to be very difficult as we have only 1 point above the 2nd person in the sprint jersey competition. Legs are holding up well and motivation is high so we have a lot to prove but I'm confident we can hold it. We got in some good pool time yesterday to help with the recovery. Waterslides are muy important for proper recovery, atleast I hope that theory holds =)
Chow,
Bearclaw

2009 Baden-Württemberg Bergmeisterschaft Fellbach

2009-08-24T03:10:00.001-06:00

Video and Picture Montage from Ba-Wü Bergmeisterschaft

2009-08-24T00:57:00.003-06:00

Zu Viel Kraft atleast that is my story

2009-08-23T03:58:00.003-06:00

After powering up with some muesli and coffee in the morning i boarded the train to Fellbach. All was good, motivation was high and legs were ready to take on the Kappelberg. First round, sitting perfect in top5 as the field was already in pieces. 2nd round, 200m after passing start/finish, the plates on my chain blew apart. My day was done. Scheiß! Ohh well, that is racing. Happens even to the best pros, with the best equipment and the top mechanics. After 5 years of racing, I have had 3 flats in races and that is it. Not too bad. Now I have a broken chain to add to the list. I did get a nice shoutout from Freddy, the announcer. He spoke about my recent good form and how well I looked in the race then mentioned my day ended with a broken chain. Bike racing is not without much frustration followed hopefully with a few joyous moments that make all the work and suffering worth it. Frustrated yes, upset, no. It's racing...mechanicals take out the best in the world. To win a race everything has to go your way. Winning ain't easy and it's only steeper at the top...

Now, it's on to Mecklenberg for the 5-stage rundafarht(stage race). All resources are going for helping Marcus Jahn in the sprints and Markus Kuhn in the overall. I think it will be really good for me to have a specific role of only doing work and not worrying so much about finish except for time cut.

I did make some awesome videos from my van excerpts with Kai while we shuttled people up and down the mountain for the race. I will get those up later today. Must hit the training shortly with the team.

Meow!
Bearclaw

Layin' Rock and other Weekly Happenings

2009-08-21T09:45:00.002-06:00

So this week has been characterized by cutting plants in the garden pond, followed by falling into the pond, to be followed next by breaking the Communistesq sickle while chopping down the pond plants to be continued the next day with garden scissors, mowing grass, going to the dump and today laying down concrete with Heinz for the course tomorrow. Ohh yeah, I climbed a pretty steep ladder and drilled some holes. It definitely made me feel like home. The work we all put into the garden this week makes it look really nice. It also brings dark reminders of what owning a home with a yard requires. The pictures they paint of home ownership don't seem to describe too well the hours of work that go into maintaining your lawn. I suppose we are lead to believe that the picture at the garden store is static and no work is needed to maintain. The course for tomorrow's race is going to be quite a little dandy. Heinz and I laid concrete on the public street today, b/c you can do that here in Germany, to alleviate the potential damage the surface might cause.

So what is this race? It's the Baden-Württemburg Bergmeisterschaft, that translates to the state hill race championship. To appreciate the beauty of this course, you need to close your eyes then imagine this...You are surrounded by beautiful wine vineyards, there is a tiny road, wide enough to host one auto...this fairytale lane wanders up the mountain before taking some sharp turns to take the rider over a glorious view of the region, shortly later, this beautiful image is flushed down the toilet as a 23% golf cart path has arrows pointing up it...so you next slug your way up hoping that you don't get stopped by those too exhausted to make it up....then it's put on your seatbelt but then you remember that you don't have one on this bicycle because the descending is probably even more physically demanding than the climb up...the golf cart paths and tight turns don't give you much room for error. So then you cross the fine craftsmanship of myself and Heinz only to repeat this 10 more times or 13. Right now, I'm doing the C-klasse race unless my teammates convince me to throw my hat into the full monty 14 lap KT/A/B/C race. It's going to be hard no matter what but I have chance to do well in the C, with several big teams coming in the other field, it's likely to be rolling off the back and suffering.

On the food note, Gretel and her sister came by yesterday and made dampfnodel with vanilla soße and fresh apfel nuss(apple sauce). It was hammer! It was a tasty dinner treat following my day at the swimbad with die Kuhn and die Lagler. As I was walking to the pool, I got fingers and laughs from many, especially the young girls. What was it? As my brothers would say, "did you forget to take off your shirt?" Yeah, cycling tans on me are pretty intense. The young girls laughs were anything to worry about, it was the older dudes with more muscles in their pecs and arms than brains that bothered me.

Meow,
Bearclaw

Rockin' the Summer

2009-08-17T12:39:00.002-06:00

The summer was rockin' me yesterday in Ruhlzheim...37˚C is no cat's meow for my American peeps, that is 98.6˚F. It was 93 in the shade. It was so hot that when you were in the field protecting yourself from the wind you are unknowingly entering the Rheinland-Pfalz inferno. I remember going into a turn on the 2k circuit safely protected from the wind only to blasted by hellish streak of Death Valley badness. I never thought that riding in the wind would actually keep your core body fresher. I tried to test this theory by following several attacks in hopes of getting into the breakaway so that I could spend more energy in the legs and get myself in the wind some. It finally worked out on the 6 lap to go when I went solo after countering the prime sprint. I was making good headway and keeping my body cool with all the wind in my face on the 2 leaders up ahead. With 5 to go, 3 riders had bridged up. There wasn't much cohesion and after riding in the wind and in the break for 3 more laps we were swallowed up. At this point, motivation was pretty low and the energy I had just a few moments ago was quickly abandoned. I gave it a go in the finale but motivation was low and body was done. So what did I get? Top 25 with 160+. Nothing too spectacular. I've been trying to get into the break every race. Unfortunately every move I go with or counter I make is kabushed, but that is racing.

So how do you make amends and re-energize after a death march criterium? Well, you roll down to the ice cream dealer and get a double-scoop in a waffle cone. One must eat fast b/c 37˚ is no cats meow. Then you follow that with an concentrated carbohydrate liquid. It is referred around here as "Weizen" and for all you people out of the loop, that is a white yeast beer. Particularly delicious if it is from the town brauerei such as the Bellheimer Brauerei. Sorry no fotos but it was quite delicious.

Today, Marc gave Heinz and I the route tour for this Saturday's Ba-Wü Bergmeistershaft(mountain race). It's going to be all giggles on Saturday but not before I throw down on the Kappelberg, or maybe get thrown down. Depends on how well the muesli powers me through the race =)

Chow,
Bearclaw

Stuff I will miss when I return...

2009-08-17T01:04:00.001-06:00

Currywurst museum celebrates saucy opening in Berlin - The Local

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Preis der Stadt Ladenburg

2009-08-15T01:36:00.002-06:00

Rolled myself into a 5th platz last night in the criterium in Ladenburg. 105-110 starters, 60km on a 1km oval. I was 10th in Points and 2nd in the field sprint after again I chose every break to follow that didn't make it. New tactic, wait till mid race and dangle off the front but don't put in a huge effort. Then be a clandestine agent and slowly increase the pace and the gap before tailgunning it behind the lead vehicle. I will have to try it out tomorrow. A Top-5 was one of my original goals before I arrived here. But I am so close right now and I know my fitness is above the rest in the field. I just need some good ju-ju to pull it all together. Marc and Christian Schröder did a great job last night setting tempo. I just didn't deliver in the way I really wanted to. But that is racing I guess. I think I am being marked as a rider to watch because no one gives me an inch. Next time, I will just unleash some good 'ol Tennessee power and no let them even think about following. Pocketed €25 for my effort with a €5 going to start money.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Road vs Fixie...Brilliant!

2009-08-14T00:30:00.000-06:00

Expat Exchange - Weighty Issues: The Dutch Edition - dutch, netherlands, diet, europe

2009-08-12T14:55:00.001-06:00

Expat Exchange - Weighty Issues: The Dutch Edition - dutch, netherlands, diet, europe

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Mehr Wein Berge Bilds

2009-08-12T14:45:00.001-06:00

Scenes from Ba-Wü

2009-08-11T10:16:00.002-06:00

The Week in Review Part 1

2009-08-10T13:14:00.003-06:00

Kind of slacked off the last week in writing. Not that I had nothing going on up in the idea machine. It was more I was just unmotivated to write. Returning back to the US in 3 weeks is both exciting and a bit stressful. Most of my internet time has been dedicated to finding a place to live and finding a way to support the man, me and supporting The Man. Hopefully less of the latter. But I have had some exciting experiences: bäckerei touring, Tour de Ländle riding, a little racing, and some Eis essen.

On to the first topic...Mildenberger Bäckerei. This is the local bäckerei here in Backnang. It started in the 1950s out of a little shop nearby but has sense grown into many locations throughout the northern suburbs of Stuttgart. It routinely ranks among the tops in bread tasting and pastry making. Heinz set up the visit for me as he will tell you that I only think about food, probably true =) I rolled up to the central office and "factory" which is 300m from the front door, pretty sweet. The cafe attendents were extremely pleasant when I told them I was there for the tour. I had to wait a little bit because I was part of a larger tour group, a young school kid group. After I introduced myself to the kids in my best Deutsch possible, the teacher asked if they understood me. They nodded in unison. So I guess I have made some progress in my learning. They were very excited to learn that I was an American and was going to go on the tour with them. After donning our bakers caps we set off for the kitchen and some proper handwashing. First on the agenda was some brezel making(pretzel making) and derivatives of the brezel. The masterbacker(master baker) was the tour guide and a very engaging man that truly understood how to make the experience great for the kids, and the big kids like me. We each were given a roll of dough which we had to make a brezel. There is some technique if you weren't aware. After the first one we made different designs which have different names based upon how they are rolled. See the pictures below. The 4th and last one was baker's choice. I tried to be creative as possible and I definitely got some questions about my design. Next it was on to the konditorei(pastry) backer. The frauen(woman) gave us each rolls of marzipan which she demonstrated to us on how to make a marzipan mouse. My pastry rolling technique needs some work. I decided to create a mouse with flowing long hair with the dark marizpan she gave us also. I ate the little mouse the next day and it was good. After the konditorei, we went on a tour of the whole facility and the kids got to taste different stuff. It was foodie nirvana you could say. After we had scoped the facility, we all sat down on some bread crates and the masterbacker gave us brezels and getränke(drinks). Food and drink in any tour are awesome but fresh brezels are even better! Lastly we each got a back to take home our freshly baked goods. When the kids left, I was taken on a super-secret tour of the Mildenberger factory. Got to see some Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory-like secrets. I even scored a fresh roll of schwartzbrot(dark pumpernickle). Very delicious. Now I need to learn some basic bread baking techniques, and perhaps opening up a German bäckerei or bread distribution in Boulder might be up my ally along with granola and müsli. Stay tuned...

Thursday was Tour de Ländle day here in Ba-Wü. It's a 10-day bicycle tourer trip. We did the 9th stage from Großaspach to Bretten, 70km. Over 2800 hobby riders and the two strong horses, Heinz and myself. If you can imagine 2800 hobby cyclists then you can understand complete chaos and danger. Heinz and I got a perfect starting position, not that it was a race or anything. I think some thought it was because they tried to circumvent the starter's loud yelling and ride ahead of the start. It was quite comical to watch this early 30s man in full red riding kit using his bike as a barricade to prevent the old people from going in front of him. The arguments that ensued provided many laughs while we sat comfortably in our 2nd row starting position. Finally the gun was off and we were rolling. The danger would continue until we got on board the train in Bretten back to Backnang. I say dangerous because most of these riders were all over the place on the road and the red jesery'd "polizei" were too busy making sure no one crossed the line. I got yelled at a few times. Below are some statistics from the ride. After starting out we road 11km and we met our first pause of the day, an hour long pause with refueling for the people. I was dumbstrucked that we were stopping but I failed to remember that this is a hobby tour. I had the impression that it would be similar to US century rides were you can stop if you want. Nope, everyone had to stop b/c the police escort said you must. So I rolled over to the village square to see what was going on. Lots of free water and apfelschörle along with nourishing fruits and vegetables: cucumbers, carrots, apples, bananas, and tomatoes. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots offer almost nothing in terms of energy. It was also quite funny to see such thing offered. But when stuff is free, you know the people will stuff their mouths and pockets, and that they did. Looking back I should have taken a cucumber because when the heat set in later in the day, and warm, mushy jersey-stored cucumber would have been perfect. The next pause was at km 33, this was our mittagpause, 2hrs. Heinz and I had a nice sandwich at the bäckerei and scored some great seats in the shade. I dozed off a little. I said I was recharging my system for the push ahead. The start after lunch was pretty busy. At the start line I noticed a woman having problems with her v-brakes. Being the mechanic and nice guy that I am, I asked what was wrong then told her I was a "mechaniker." I broke out my multi-tool and fixed the problem in about 60seconds. She was very excited and appreciative. After about 2miles out of town, we had our first casualty, a young guy tried to be cool and took a corner too hot on his hybrid. Result, lacerations on the face and a very confused look. The guy had no helmet. Pretty stupid given the crowd one is riding with and his own experience level. The last pause was after another 15km. At this stop, they had alcohol-free beer, mineral water, and apfelschörle. It was 34C at this point and no clouds in the sky, so pretty hot. There was a pretty steep climb too which probably put most in the hurt locker because half were walking. The last section of the ride covered many farm roads and included many stops because of the "hills" that put everyone into the hurt locker. There was a woman from the die Schweiz with a tri-wheeler and so much shˆt in her baskets. Some guy had to push her up the hill. Keep in mind this is a two bike wide road so go figure what happened to the rest of the people. Finally, we arrived in Bretten. Heinz asked if I wanted a würst. I said I'd prefer Eis(ice cream.) So I put my Eis radar on and we found our Eis local with great seats in the shade very quickly. The Stadt(city) of Bretten is very nice. Lastly we boarded a special DB train direct from Bretten to Backnang. Just as I was getting on the train, danger struck or rather stung. I got stung by a bee in my right ring finger. No it wasn't just a sting, the whole damn stinger and flesh were embedded in my finger. After initially feeling the pain I looked down and was quite curious to see it. Of course this only led to more pain and a wound that has yet to heal. But the bee had it's last day so I got that going for me.

Stats:
Distance: 70km
Ride Time: 4hr30min
Avg Power: 74watts
Total KJs of Work(~calories burned) 1158
Total Time(start-finish): 8hr10min
Tough day at the office you could say =)

chow,
Bearclaw

Gonso Ba–Wü Meisterschaft 1st Place!

2009-08-03T03:02:00.005-06:00

My new hardware! I've never won many trophies, let alone 1st Place! I didn't know what to expect before I came to Germany. My last experience of racing in Europe was quite a challenge. After lots of hard work and great support, I made it back here. I couldn't be more happy with the support I have received from the team and my great teammates. We proved too all of Baden-Württemburg is that we are the best despite our youth. It's an an amazing experience to be part of team where we all can laugh, joke, and race hard together. I even received a new nickname from Herr Sebastian Spengler...Jabronie =)

Apart from my teammates, the support from our Betreuers(support crew) would not have made our season as successful as it has been thus far. So thank you! And all the great sponsors that provide us with the tools to make it happen.

Just to put this all into perspective...Baden-Würtemmburg is one of the largest states in Germany. It also is one of the toughest(if not toughest) bicycle racing leagues in Deutschland. Winning the LBS Gonso Ba-Wü Liga Meisterschaft is saying to all of Germany that we are the best team. Pretty cool stuff.

chow,
Matthew, aka Bearclaw, aka Jabronie

Team Cup Day 3...the climb we repeated 40x

2009-07-31T14:18:00.004-06:00

After cresting the climb one last time

Where Did the Week Go?

2009-07-31T13:29:00.002-06:00

My week has been a little stressful. The criterium on Monday left some sour feelings. After 3 crits in the last 4 days, I was a little tired still from Tour de France travel. Head wasn't what I needed it to be for the race. My plan was to go for the SuperPrime which was not a high-pressure washer but a cordless drill(bau machine). This lost in translation moment continued into the race. I heard "SuperPrime" by the race boss and got into super good position. 4th wheel and protecting my spot like the King protects his daughter from the peasant boys. On the last corner there was probably 500m to the finish line. I came out of the turn, which was a cobblestone street in 4th wheel still then I saw my chance and I went guns-a-blazing. I was so determined to get the Bau machine that I wasn't going to let anyone ahead of me. I don't think I have gone full gas like that for so long ever. The shadows of my followers were close but no one could come around so I was getting super amped. I crossed the line and the German behind me said something which I never understood b/c my head lacked all forms of oxygen at this point. I nearly collapsed after the effort. That was the goal, give it everything for the SuperPrime and not care about anything else. My effort did a great job at blowing up the field as the group that followed me, 3-4riders were off the front for the rest of the race, fortunately my teammate was one of them. He ended up 2nd in the race. No back to the SuperPrime...Marc rolled by and said there were 3 up the road. I thought yeah, I brought those guys up after I won the SuperPrime. On the contrary, there were 3 more up the road which I didn't even know about so I was basically sprinting my eyes out for 4th which in prime laps, equates to 0.000000 ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I ended up catching back on and having a little bit of fun in the field sprint. After the race I learned that the SuperPrime is an accumulation of points given to places 1-3 on announced SuperPrime laps. The one with the most points wins the drill. This left a pretty sour feeling inside and frustration. Maybe by the end of my season here I will understand how races work here.

After a 1 day planned Pause, I set out to ride on Wednesday only to discover a loose left crankarm. A simple loose crankarm led me to tightening it and not thinking about it. Thursday morning arrives and I get all ready. I ride 1km and the crankarm is nearly falling off. Frustration is rising. Upon returning home, I remove the crankset and discover that the damn O-Ring, a plastic/metal washer is kaputt. So I can't get it tight enough without the thing binding up. This leads me to spending nearly my entire Thursday and part of today learning everything I can about FSA K-Force cranksets and their German translations along with visiting a bike shop here in Backnang, several phone conversations, hours of internet FSA dealer searches, and a call to the FSA Euro HQ in Milan, Italy. Today, progress was made. The Italians are mailing me "ASAP" new O-rings and Loctite. Keep in mind it's an Italian definition of "ASAP." It's wait and hope time for me. Elmar came through with a crush washer which helped and today Heinz spoke with the Bike 'n Boards mechanic and they said to put Loctite on the crank spindle which is what is recommended on FSA's site. Fortunately, I've got a great support system here with the Sanwalds and the team. Heinz had the special Loctite version that is a metal filler in his shop. I did a short test ride and so far so good. So after nearly 3 days of no progress, things improved today. In all the work, I installed new shifting cables, brake pads, re-greased my dying headset bearings and discovered that my Look Pedal spindle is loose. I guess the scheise crankset issue hid the loose pedal. Tomorrow morning I hope to take apart the pedal and regrease it and hopefully tightened it enough so that my pedal platform remains firm. And it's only Friday....

Race on Sunday in Freiburg am Breisgua. Should be another great battle. Team wrapped up the LBS Cup and the Ba-Wü Liga which is awesome. Sunday we just have to finish the race since we have accumulated enough points over the 2nd place Team Rothaus(beer brand). Tomorrow is Sommerfest at Activity. Going to try my luck at a ropes course. Hopefully, nothing gets lots in translation b/c those consequences could be a little bit more dangerous than a missed drill prime...

Chow,
Matthew

Nostalgia

2009-07-27T01:32:00.007-06:00

Yesterday, 26 July 2009, was another nostalgic moment for me. I'd been thinking about the date for the last couple of weeks but it took me until mid-morning yesterday to remember what day it was. If you have been following my writing then you know that 2 years ago yesterday I was boarding a helicopter in rural New York on my way to a hospital with not-so-good patient care with 7 fractures and a lot of angels watching over me. Last year on this weekend I was in Salida, Colorado for the Salida Ominium. Saturday was a slugfest whereas Sunday last year I was powering to victory in the criterium in a downpour. This year it was another weekend packed with racing. We started the LBS Team Cup on Thursday night with an 80km criterium followed by another 80km criterium on Friday and the finale yesterday, another 80km criterium. Finished in the field on Thursday. Had some problems on Friday, and yesterday, I squeaked out a 25th out of 100+. Yesterday's brutality was enhanced by the heat and the tempo being set on the front from Merida. It was obvious they were a little disappointed with their team's placing thus far so they felt it neccessary to make stuff happen. The 2km course 800m downhill(ever so slight), 400m of flat with 3 sweeping turns and finally 800m of uphill with the last 150-200m being 8-12%. Not demanding on a single lap unless you are going so fast you begin to lose consciousness or the fact that you had to do it 40x! I felt pretty good but I still suffered, maybe just not as bad as I would have suffered on a bad-leg day.

Team put on a great performance with Leif Lampater taking the overall with teammate Simon Horstman in 2nd. Simon defended his jersey bravely but couldn't quite manage it. He is a real powerhouse, and I think he is going to rip over the next few weeks. The team took the overall which puts us in as the Best Team in Baden-Würtenburg. Not too bad! The final LBS Cup race is on Sunday in Opfingen which is in the Schwarzwald(Black Forest). Points wise I think we have wrapped up the LBS Cup which is the top prize for all team in Ba-Wü. Pretty cool stuff.

The racing this weekend was extra special because my younger brother David and his girlfriend Jessie were able to visit during their 7-week Euro Soiree. His comments to Jessie were how much faster it is here. So I have someone to back up my statements I guess =) The race announcer yesterday, Freddy, announced my name several times as I went through the Start/Finish after the climb, "hier ist die Matthew....die Amerikanish....aus Colorado(long a).." He also said that there were some special guests at the race today for Me, "meine Eltern." No my parents weren't here unfortunately, but I guess David and Jessie look much older than their faces my show as they were thought to be my parents. It was a big laugh for everyone on the team.

Today it's another race, a criterium in Rohsbach(Rheinland-Pfalz). C-Klasse. I want to win the super-primi which is a €400 power washer. If not that, hopefully a bottle of wine =)

Chow,
Claw

2009-07-22T14:40:00.000-06:00

Thor Horshov, the Malloit Vert

Boulder's Team, Garmin

Garmin Sprinter, Tyler Farrar

An Exhausted moto cop

Tour de France Ettape 16

2009-07-22T14:35:00.000-06:00

This is Vladamir Karpets, the russian cyborg. I was doing intervals up the Cura climb in Mallorca. As was he =) Looks like they did him well

Armstrong, Contador, Kloden with Popovich doing the work on the front

Fabian!

A Train Ride in Switzerland

2009-07-22T14:12:00.002-06:00

What happens when the train leaves with you in the bike carriage =)

Back to Deutschland

2009-07-22T14:08:00.000-06:00

Heading back to Deutschland. Presently, I’m somewhere in the middle of Die Schweiz. Next stop for me is Basel then it’s on to Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and finally into Backnang. I had a nice stay with Stefen, a new friend from Couchsurfing. The weather was quite nice for me while in Switzerland which is French speaking in this particular area. It has been somewhat of a curveball for me. My mind has been in German for so long, and I don’t speak any French so it was a little strange. I didn’t know whether to speak German or English with people. I guess a country that can’t decide which language to officially adopt as the prima language then it leaves people like me guessing. It was easier when I came from Belgium to France in 2007 because I didn’t know any Flemish so French was just another period of misunderstanding at that point. I did try better to speak French such as Bonjour and Merci, but this time every time I had too, I was speaking German. I guess I have become assimilated somewhat…

On the first train out of Martigny, the bike carriage car was literally an open-air box car. If you need some visual stimulation please see below. It was the first car in the train behind the engine. I had to run to get to it because I was on the other end of the platform. Before I even had the bike hanging from a sketchy hook without a secure holding the train was off. So I did the best I could as the train is ripping out of Martigny. I thought I could just walk through the connector doors to get to the passenger compartment. Well that was no bueno since the door would not open. So I was relegated to the stowaway seats of the box car. It was pretty cool. Maybe me feel a little bit like an outlaw. Probably 100% illegal and against all CFF SBB FFS protocol(Swiss train system) but I didn’t get caught, and I’m writing from a proper seat right now. After finally getting into the passenger compartment I wished to get back to the open-air car because the train lacked any form of ventilation. I guess you can take the outlaw to jail but you can’t take the outlaw out of the man.

I’m currently watching the drama of a relationship unfold. The Swiss guy has been putting his R-rated hands and lips all over his girlfriend. She is a bit frustrated at the situation. It’s definitely a different understanding of public displays of affection than my own. The Swiss trains must be for lovers. I know a little bit about it =)

This morning I scored some local apricots, which have been a delicious treat during my travels today. The valley east of Martigny is known as the “Little California” for its Mediterranean climate surrounded by mountains. Not since I left California have I seen so many apricot trees or vineyards. The entire valley is just a giant goodness producer.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Le Ettape de Tour du France!

2009-07-21T10:19:00.002-06:00

Saw the Grand Boucle yesterday and today. Sure the viewing might be better on TV. But the energy and the emotions of the race just can't be understood until you have seen it in person. Yesterday was a rest day here in Martingy, Switzerland. Rest days are pretty cool for the spectator on the bike b/c it allowed me to scout out many teams and get up close to the riders and all the support crew. Cervelo just started there training ride when i arrived. Very cool stuff. The small town of 10,000, Martigny, CH was insane yesterday and this morning. The Tour brings that energy to every town it stops or starts at. There was dancing, live music, and of course criterium racing in the city center. I didn't realize what the Swiss Guard was doing earlier in the day. If i wasn't still kind of trashed from Sunday's race, I would have given it a go. Today, I set out around 10am to ride to the summit of the HC Col de Grand Saint Behrnard(same one as the dog). The 40km trip was about 30km of climbing. 400m to 2400, so some pretty good vertical. The guards wouldn't let me cross under the banner at that point b/c the race caravan was not too far. So I didn't get to cross into Italy as I had intended. But I did pick up lots of schwag from the sponsor caravan that rolled through. The best way to describe it is a moving circus with loud music. It was crazy! I parked myself about 1-1.5km from the summit. I had prime real estate as it allowed me to view many of the switchbacks coming up. And surprisngly, I parked right next to 3 Americans. We chatted quite a bit while I scarfed down my lunch of a 250g loaf of bread, 2.5 Wurst sticks, and a 150g package of mozzerella. It was tasty. Got lots of pictures to prove I was there =) For the majority of the climb, people were parked on the side of the road and cheering you on. As the road got steeper, the crowds got bigger and the chanting and encouragement followed. It was very cool to have such energy around you. One lady even handed me a small glass of wine which I took like a pro feed zone. I think it surprised her that I took it but they all cheered when i raised my empty glass after drinking it =)

Head back to Germany tomorrow morning. It has provided me with memories for a lifetime.

Pictures will follow...

Chow,
Bearclaw

ps. this was written from the free wifi network at McDonald's...go figure...it's switzerland

Große Reblandtour 2009

2009-07-19T23:02:00.002-06:00

http://www.reblandtour.de/

this is the race from yesterday. Guy who won, Eric Hoffman, road for Giant-Asia last year and was in the Olympics. I was 61st. You can see all the results on the side tab that says, Ergebnisse

Now off to Martigny on the Bahn...
chow,
Matthew

In Turkish Hooka Bar in Freiburg im Breisgau

2009-07-19T10:21:00.002-06:00

Tried to find wi-fi so I can make last minute stuff as I board a DBahn ride in the morning to Switzerland for Le Tour. You can watch for me near the summit on the first climb.

Just finished a great race in Wittnau which is just outside Freiburg. Finished 3rd on the team and in the 2nd group. Wicked hard race. Course was cool though a 19km with 3km climb each lap(6laps). The climb was over 8.5%. Easy in training but in a KT/A/B/C rennen the human cyborgs at the front threw the hammer down. Felt really good. Last lap some cramping but can't complain. Very happy as the race completely blew apart on the first time up. Made the 2nd group and rode smartly. The course took us through all these different villages. Roads were closed as the race came through then we went up through a wine vineyard before the climb. Lots of narrow roads and sketchiness but it was good.

Now, I was trying to find a place to get some wifi as I had some last minute internet stuff. Didn't want to go to Starbuck's here. So I found myself in a Turkish Hooka lounge. Fortunately i'm outside. The latte macchiato was tasty. Trying my best to avoid the hooka toxins but the couple next to me are going at it pretty hard. Normally I would leave but I'm bending my rules b/c of the opportunity and the humor that is my current situation at a hooka bar using the wifi outside. The backroom looks pretty serious. The turkish guys have been going at it for an hour now. No sign of letting down. =)

Tonight, I'm staying in a private pension near the bahnhof. Early ride on the train in the morning 7:34am. Then it's tour de france and Martigny, Switzerland for me! Should be cool. I'll of course be taking many photos. Going to ride the first climb so you can watch for me near the summit on Tuesday. It borders Italy so I hope I can find some nice Italian food. If not, I'll just take my photo next to the border sign =)

Chow,
Bearclaw

Language School Bootcamp

2009-07-17T00:17:00.002-06:00

It's raining again this morning...ugghhh...planned on making a little pause today because the parcours and the field will need everything on Sunday. Legs are feeling good. Looking back at the first 2/3 of my time here, I think I was in deep fatigue. The 1800km of training I did in Mallorca, getting sick multiple times, and just the change in environments took a much deeper toll on me than I thought. But how times have changed.

Today is the last day of my language school "ferien course" (holiday course). I said to Kristi, "I will probably understand most of what I learned in a few weeks." I remember my AP Physics class in high school. It was pretty fast paced with a test every 1.5weeks. The speed in this class supercedes any previous intensive-fast paced learning I have done. If you could take the way and speed a toddler learns, you would understand the speed of the course. But I guess they must keep on schedule because we all must receive a certificate (as long as we don't miss more than 2 days). I've never been one to need a monument of paper, plaque or trophy to certify I have accomplished something. For me it is much more about the journey and taking it all in. I'll probably receive a certificate. I guess it will be something I can post in my house or tell my kids that "yeah, your old man worked his tail off for this prized beauty." Of course I will probably be made fun of but whatever...

The class has been quite a change from my Volkschule experiment. Again, we have two teachers, one is a little more relaxed and one is...well you could say strict. She is to be referred to as the "Iron Fist." Because she rules as an iron fist...never letting the class go off on tangents. In the beginning it was a nice welcome because I prefer order in the class and efficiency. I think we were all a little scared at times. It was quite weird because if you answered correctly she did a great job at boosting your self-esteem, however if you messed up or asked the same question two times, well you might feel like this guy....

Seya, the Japanese student, broke the standard conflict rules of Japanese culture by criticizing the process of learning in the classroom. He wanted more time to figure it out on his own. The Iron Fist wouldn't have it. Enrico, the young 14yr old took a good amount of sarcasm because he wasn't the most attentive or polite person in her eyes. The Iron Fist's version of politeness conflicted directly with the view held by the class. One can't help but just laugh inside because of it all. I think I learned a lot though. When I got it right, it was good, when you messed up, well you got thrown into the pit of low self-esteem. The material for this past week was very difficult as well as we spent the majority of the week going over German grammar, which in my opinion is just simply difficult and without pattern.

Last night Gretel whipped up some delicious Pflädlesuppe und Kirschen süßspeisen of sorts(forget the exact name). The soup is a chicken broth with schwäbisch pfannkuchen(thin pancakes, like crêpes). The pfannkuchen is sliced into long, thin strips. They are with herbs an salt, so a savory crêpe you could say. The Kirschen "cake" was a süßspeisen(sweet dish) with a vanilla soße(sauce). Pretty awesome that you can say you have a sweet, cake like dish for the main meal. It definitely hit the spot last night. Tonight, we are mixing it up and rolling over to La Casa de Gretel for another meal. I will get to meet Sandra's brother and see where all the goodness is made in Schwäikheim, Gretel's stadt.

Chow,
Matthew

Großer Preis der Gemeinde Rheinzabern

2009-07-12T12:07:00.002-06:00

Good sensations are back. After some mishaps two weeks ago in the Pfalz, today was a good day. 7th overall out of 160starters. I was pretty happy after so many less than stellar performances. It was a good confidence boost after feeling so good during training the last few weeks. I really think the 10day of no-bike was the perfect training for me in TN along with seeing my family and Kristi. I can't believe it but today marks less than 7 weeks before I return to the US. Karin, Heinz and I spoke this evening about how fast time flys, and how it seemed that just yesterday was February and I was arriving in Backnang to snow and complete confusion. The snow is gone and has been lately replaced by lots of rain but the confusion remains, just on a much smaller level.

Last night, Sandra, Marc and I went to Ludwigsburg for the Ludwigsburg CityLaufen, ie 10km running race. The current German 10k and h-m champion was there along with over 4400 other starters. Very cool course winding through the city with thousands cheering on with brats, brezels, and biers in hand. I cheered with my Weizen in hand. Lots of music playing and the host from Eurosport.de was announcing. The kids run which probably had 500kids was pretty awesome. Definitely the better race to watch =)

Last week of my intensive German class this week and an A/B/C race in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) just outside Freiburg a.B. The same Freiburg with the Freiburg Clinic. 6 rounds on a 19km course. Should be good. Goal for the week is to remain healthy, become perfect in Deutsch so I can get my diploma for my parent's kuhlshrank(refrigerator) and train hard.

Chow,
Matthew

Just Pluggin' Along

2009-07-11T06:59:00.002-06:00

The last week has been a busy one for me. I started back in language school which has forced me to train early in the morning since school is all afternoon. The class is run by an iron-fist'd woman for two days a week and less than strict one the other 3 days. The class is very professional except for the 15yr old, Enrico. He is being a 15yr old but he would be better suited to a class with people his own age and attention span haha. The iron-fisted teacher, Sonya, is what I have been wanting in a teacher for a while now. No bs. It helps that she speaks like a native English speaker. I think she has taken favor with me more than the others b/c I am an American and she loves America, go figure. Her teaching style is rigorous but I gain a lot out of it b/c she is able to explain things in English at times which the entire class understands. Trying to learn Deutsch in Deutsch is sometimes very difficult when you have grammar questions which was the topic for most of this week. You can ask the Sanwalds that I have used several perfect tense sentences in coversation this week without error. So I no longer have to speak only in the present I can talk about what happened last week or even last year. It's a huge moment for yours truly. Vocabulary continues to increase as well. This upcoming week is the last of the two week class. Surprisingly, 4.5hrs of class per day goes by very quickly. That is the most shocking from my viewpoint.

Training has been going well this week. Fortunately, no signs of illness so I hope to keep it that way. The form is definitely in terms of power numbers is some of the best I have had ever so I hope this translates in too some results. Tomorrow we have a criterium in the Rheinland-Pfalz. Next week another Ba-Wu-Liga KT/A/B/C race. The week after is the Württenburg Team Tour, ie 3 crits over 4 days. Then another crit in the Pfalz. Should be action packed. I'm still figuring out logistics to try to get to the July 20 Tour stage in the Alps. This is going to take all my logistical research prowess. B/c the stage goes through three countries, Deutsche Bahn doesn't give prices on tickets.

My culinary tour of Schwäbian culture continued this week when Gretel rolled out the carpet with Saurbraten und Semmelknödel. The knödel was pretty awesome and will be repeated when I return =)

Former x-c teammate, Beamer, was in Stuttgart this past week. Good to catch up and I shared some traditional Ba-Wu eats with him at a Gästhaus in Stuttgart. He went with the Linsen und Würst which is lentils and sausage with a side of spätzle. I stayed true to my style and love and went right for the käsespätzle.

Summer appears to be showing itself again here in Deutschland. After a week of a lot of rain and spring-like temps, the sun is out today and I was able to ride w/ short sleeves.

Chow,
Matthew

Die Schweiz Part Zwei

2009-07-07T14:57:00.002-06:00

Euroland Exploration

2009-07-06T01:09:00.004-06:00

The Gigathlon camp...

Herr Heinz on the radweg
Landscape of Bodensee

Returned yesterday from a great weekend in die Schweiz with Mr. Heinz. Weather was really good and we took in some great rides and good eats. The Bodensee or Lake Constance for the rest of the world is an amazing region surrounded by the Bad-Wu Allgüa to the North, the Swiss Alps to the South, and the Austrian Alps to the East. The region is very popular for cyclo tourists as numerous pensions(B&Bs) surround the radweg(bike path) that circumnavigates the lake. If you venture off the radweg like we did you are greeted by a pleathora of great options. The region is scattered with shields(bike route signs) and in typical Euro fashion you are really never more than 10km from a village. Friday we took in the radweg along Bodensee to the west of our pension in Steinach. The route was very chill. Later that night we drove down to the start of the Gigathlon in St. Gallen. St. Gallen is an amazingly beautiful city. Beautiful Swiss architecture throughout the Stadt. The race headquarters were at the Universität in St. Gallen. Here is what the base looked like on Friday...all 5500 registered starters. Insane, chaotic, cool, yet highly organized. It made TransGermany look small time and that is saying a lot. Heinz and I took in some recon work. We met Sandra and her team after weaving our way through the minefield that was the living area for the weekend. Not to mess with the craziness of the race, we headed over to a Pizzeria across the street and got some delicious pies. Delicious crispy thin-crust...the way to eat pizza =) I scored some Anti-Doping.CH ink pens from the sponsor area which was pretty much a circus complete with magnetic resonance therapy zone, beanbags, a sponsor sport food shopping bonanza and many fit people.

Saturday was an early start because we wanted to catch the swim stage start which was in in nearby Rorschach. Pretty wild! Glad I was only riding my bike because 3km swimming seemed pretty far...I'm good for body surfing or boogie boarding in the water. After some früstuck at the pension we loaded the bikes and drove to Oberreit. Oberreit is south of St. Gallen along the River Rhein. To the east borders Austria and Lichtenstein. The river winds through the Alps and creates an amazing valley of visual pleasure. And you can rest assured that I took advantage of the opportunity and visited all countries on the 2.5hr ride. First it was Switzerland, then we crossed the Rhein into Lichtenstein. A brief layover and hefty bank deposit later we continued our return journey north along the Rhein radweg in Lichtenstein finally crossing back into Switzerland. In Oberreit, I crossed the bridge to complete the trifecta and landed myself in Austria. Border patrol is rather light you could say. Nonetheless, my list of countries visited continues to rise. In Oberreit, we were able to see Sandra start and former Activity Team rider, Roland, finish up the bike leg. A proper TdF viewing in the pension before a great lakeside dinner with fresh fish from the Bodensee topped off the day.

Another pre-breakfast ride for Heinz and I. Early morning rides are nice because everything is quiet and cool. Mix of the local countryside and the radweg. Sehr schön! We rolled back to Backnang later that morning but stopped outside Murrhardt for some delicious Schwäbian fare at a roadside restaurant. I was thinking Maultaschan but Heinz convinced me the Schnitzel with Kartoffeln Salat, Grün Salat, Spätzle mit Soße, and Halle Löwenbrau was the ticket. He was right.

Leaving shortly to head back to language school. Two weeks of intensive German learning on the way. 4.5hrs a day for two weeks. Should help me or break me. I will probably learn that I have a lot more to learn.

chow,
Matthew
Here is a blender attached to a bike...genius!

Heading to Die Schweiz

2009-07-03T00:06:00.002-06:00

Heinz and I are rolling down to Die Schweiz (Switzerland) today. The plan is to watch Sandra compete in the Gigathlon and take in some riding this weekend along the Bodensee (Lake Constance). Should be muy exciting! The Bodensee is bordered by Germany, Switzerland, and Austria so you could ride through 3 countries in less than 45min by bike. So you could say it's going to be a real international affair. Our accommodation situation remains unsettled. We could be sleeping on a bench along the lake or in a pension. So let the adventure begin...

Follow the race
It's quite interesting and totally euro with the amount of organization and difficulty involved for all racers.

Until Sunday...
chow,
Claw

TransGermany Homemade Videos

2009-06-30T06:35:00.003-06:00

Here is a German capella

Here are the moments just prior to the start. Listen to the AC/DC in the background. Each stage began with a thorough eardrum blasting play of Highway to Hell. The german announcer was too funny to listen too when he announced the song.

The Red Dragon Dojo

2009-06-30T00:11:00.007-06:00

Karl is here in the upper reaches of the RV. He and Shawn took on the Blue Dragon. But it was no dojo. After each tiring day of RV driving, training, cooking, and team directing I retired to enclave of the Red Dragon to seek its reenergizing capacities. The Red Dragon is a force no single, untrained person should try to channel. Fortunately my many year's of strict training and meditation bequethed my ability to channel it's energy and powers.

You can tell by contenanace that the energizing forces were already starting to flow within minutes of the unveiling. The two-finger grip I am demonstrating was not my doing. In fact, the Red Dragon was showing off its power at this point. I relinquished my own ambitions of the power to allow the Red Dragon to take over my fingers and demonstrate its articulate ability to wreak fear amongst the people in the world.

Below is a picture of the Red Dragon in its full entirety. It's a sight of purest of beauty.
Karl tried his best to better the Red Dragon with his Blue version. But a warm energy will always force out the cold energy. Nice try Karl but the Red Dragon had already extinguished the Blue Dragon's power by this point in the day.

Bow to your Sinsei!
Claw

Trans Germany Recap and Little Somethin' Somethin'

2009-06-27T07:52:00.003-06:00

So TransGermany was all the hype and more...Unfortunately more of the "more" persuasion. Weather was challenging every day with rain and cold temps..I thought this was summer. Shawn and Karl did what they could but injuries and wicked deep pain cave fatigue got the better. After 3 stages they pulled out. It was heartbreaking to watch. I on the other hand got to see many beautiful vistas along my rv touring of Germany. Being the driver does lend some benefits. Our typical day consisted of waking up at 6:15 and crawling out of my dojo(more on that later) and whipping up some nectar of life ie french-press coffee, coffee in its purest. One must prioritize during these times and coffee always came before food. As the Sherpa would say, "You people and your addiction! I wouldn't expect anything less." Well the Sherpa was right. Following a proper amount of go-go juice I got cracking on breakfast. How do you eat for a 4-6hr mtn bike race after you did the same the day before? Muesli, bread, nutella, cheese, salami, honey, fruit, eggs, and ham. In the beginning of a stage race, eating is quite pleasurable. Because I like to eat, this bodes well for my day-to-day mood. But it's not much longer that you find eating to be more of a chore. The food you couldn't stop touching yesterday has become bland today and will become even blander tomorrow. But you have to eat to keep the body fueled for tomorrow and the next day. I have reached this point of non-desire. Fortunately, it didn't last =)

The race itself was typical European...big, bad, and crazy. They had a Brazilian dancer with full feather regalia on the start of Day 1. The race caravan and support system was something to behold. I had never been on the non-rider side of such a spectacle and I must admit it was rad. In road races you have lots of autos and motorcycles. In a mtn bike race which takes the riders over some of the gnarliest of German terrain you have ATVs and Dirtbikes. Even the camermen road on the back of the dirtbikes. There were many professional teams in attendance, some of the best if not the best marathon mtn bike teams in the world. In the mechanic area, bikes were getting rebuilt each night because of the heanous terrain and gunk that the riders poured through each day. Food was pretty good. I scored a food pass which entitled me to many tasty pleasures of German regional cuisine each night. As I was not racing, I also enjoyed some nicely crafted beers. All was good for me. The immediate post-race food was quite the spread. It was perfect for me because I would go out and train then roll back to the finish area and have myself a sandwich, fruit, water, maybe a little cake =) and only lifted the lower lip to say, "eine käse brotchen bitte" or "ein schinken brotchen bitte." No more slogging away in the kitchen figuring out what to eat while your stomach is eating itself out. And you can even go back for 2nds! It was in my opinion a magical wonderful.

After my 10-day pause(break), I'm finally feeling fit again after a month or so of deep fatigue and black lung. Hoping the form will continue to build and hold me out till the end of August.

Last night we did a night criterium in Ludwigshafen which is in the Rheinland Pfalz. My front row start ju-ju must of run out because I was stuck in the back. Then after lap 5 of 55, a rider in front crashed causing a huge gap to form. Over the next 30 laps of the 700m course I tried in vain to catch back on but the schmucks with me were keen to ride easy which is quite frustrating. At lap 35, the field caught us and I pulled out. Lame but whatever. I had a good time. And countered the dissappointment with a beer and brotwurst mit brotchen. It was lecker(tasty)! At the race I also spotted an American school group. I have a keen eye for my fellow compatriots. These youth were 13-14yrs old. They hailed from my birthplace, Winston-Salem, NC. Pretty crazy stuff! I rolled up to their group as they sat and ate pasta at an Italian place. And I said, in my "I'm going to speak English slowly so you understand voice" which is what happens to one when they are abroad for any extended period. You don't even think about it until you start speaking and you realize that you sound like an idiot b/c you are speaking your mothertongue to a person/s that speak the same mothertongue. I said to the young girl on the end of the table, "you are American?." As you can imagine she was pretty blown away probably more from the sight of such a charming and good looking cyclist than the fact that I was speaking english to her. But I digress...=) I ended up chatting with their group for a while. They were totally into hearing about my race. It was definitely a cool surprise for them on their last night in Europe. So maybe I will make it in their post-trip writing report as the American from Colorado that we saw racing in Germany. They were blog worthy so I hope that I am report worthy...

chow,
Claw

Back in Backnang

2009-06-18T07:04:00.002-06:00

My two weeks of urlaub at my parent's house went by very quickly. It was bittersweet. I am happy to be back in Germany but it was a very nice time with my family and freundin. Caught up on all things American like some FoodTV, peanut butter, and mexican food.

The wedding post party came together nicely. My fabulous food team of David and Jessie pushed out a sick amount of tatanka and frijoles negros empanadas while Kristi and I got our Spätzle, guac, mango salsa, quinoa salad, and kartofflen salat makin' on. I think there were probably 100 people or so. All the food was completely gone which was perfect. The Spätzle was a huge hit. The mango salsa proved again to be the top puller. Unfortunately the recipe remains guarded. When I release my book of delicious recipes and stories, you will have access to it.

Bearclaw granola captured a few more hearts in Tennessee. When I return to Boulder, I will boost production. I'm thinking the Boulder Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings will be a good place to push the product.

Updates will be a little lacking over the next week as I will be driving and mechanicing for Shawn and Karl, the bosses of the Camp Eden Training Center. They just flew in this morning for the TransGermany MTB stage race. Should be an epic time. Hopefully I can make some blog updates over the course of the race and post some photos.

Chow,
Matthew

Three Days to Go

2009-06-10T14:21:00.004-06:00

It's Wednesday and it's 3 days till Michael stops calling the shots and Jenny takes full control =) Today also marks my first real day of food production for the event on Saturday night. So far things have gone well. The new spätzle machine came in yesterday and is quite the handy tool. I think I need two people to fully maximize its potential along with numerous pots of boiling water. Trial run last night. I opted for whole wheat flour to give it a little twist. Going back to All-Purpose. Unfortunately we don't have an exact replica of Type 405 mehl which is what is used in Deutschland. But one must learn to improvise and rise above. This morning I pushed out two large batches of Bearclaw Granola. With my lady soon to arrive, I have to make this delicious source of nutrition and energy for her, myself and everyone else.

On unrelated news, I am still falling victim to black lung. I read yesterday another rider got caught for doping. I saw this guy in Mallorca on the Cura a Randa climb(6km, 5,8%) as we were both doing intervals. He was with his then teammate the Russian cyborg, Vladimir Efmikin which I wrote about during my time there. My plan called for 5 sessions up the climb. These two were doing the same. Albeit a little faster and with a little less pain in the face. I guess I know why now...

One needs garlic and why not get it already minced when you are making for 100!

Kitchen Aid mixer courtesy of Deborah Soike, makes empanada dough production quick
Dough
Bearclaw Granola 2nd round production
My newest culinary investment, A Spätzle Maker, its crazy efficient
Mango Slicer, yep this guy is totally worth th $10,99 at Kroger

Chow,
Bearclaw

Bike Racing Photos and a Mediterranean Twist on Spätzle

2009-06-08T19:28:00.003-06:00

Photos courtesy of Terri Davis

Homemade Spätzle with Feta and Black Olives. Picture is not good but it tasted pretty good. I followed the traditional technique of scraping the spätzle into the boiling water.
The following sweet photos are courtesy of Megan Barrowclough and her sweet digital photography skills. Of course she had a perfect subject =)

Black Lung Part Drei

2009-06-04T20:54:00.003-06:00

Just when I get better, I'm back with another infection. Felt it on the plane ride on Monday. Unfortunately my 7 levels of denial didn't do anything to ward off the fighting that is going on inside me. I guess two days of racing and atleast 4 days of not very good sleep will do something to you. Hopefully it's better for this weekend. Suppose to race Sat/Sun.

Chow,
Bearclaw

My Return to the Land of Startbucks, Large Belts, and Sunday Shopping

2009-06-02T16:19:00.001-06:00

Sitting here in the Stuttgart Flughauf(airport) awaiting my flight back to the US of A for a 2 week Urlaub with family and friends. It’s a strange feeling. I am definitely looking forward to visiting home and seeing everyone but a part of me will miss the great friends who are like family here. I’ve always said that you need a support system in order to reach your potential. My “family” here has definitely provided that for me during my quest for adventure and worldly experience. Departure in Sept will be sehr schwerig.

Over the past few days I have been to the far reaches of Baden-Württenburg from Heidelberg on Samstag(Saturday) to Freiburg on Montag(Monday). All in all, B-W is a shön region of Germany. In Heidelberg, Karin, Sandra, Heinz and myself set off on taken in the beautiful old city. We started out first with a scenic auto ride along the Neckar. Which I must say is probably one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Germany thus far. In Heidelberg we took the tram to the top of the Berg which overlooks the city and north for many kms. The tram had an insanely steep grade too it, 22-42%. Pretty cool stuff. The system that brings the tram up and down was fairly interesting. It was basically a giant pulley system with some intense tensil strength in the steel cable. Half way down is the old castle of Heidelberg. I said to everyone that this is my home in TN…That lie lasted for maybe 10s. The outside is pretty weathered and possibly war-torn. We took to some essen(eating) at a biergarten adjacent to the castle. It was sehr gut. We managed to time our arrival into Heidelberg just perfect to counter the onslaught of Japanese and American tourists that came in the busloads later. The König Strasse is a massive shopping street with just about everything. The coffee roastery people looked like they could use a happy song. Unfortunately our pleasantries proved worthless despite the opportunity to smell fresh roasted coffee all day. Visited my first German hospital also on Saturday. As a visitor not a client =) Very interesting architecture and quiet. Much unlike the chaos that is an American hospital.

Sontag morgen(morning) we rolled down to Villingen-Schwinnigen for an LBS Cup KT/A/B/C rennen(race). 260starters? Course was pretty tough with rolling terrain and sick wind. I had good legs which translates into I am part of the race rather than pack fodder. By km 50 of 130 I had some mechanical problems. On the tailwind runin section to the final uphill I was stuck in my 53x14. Holding wheels proved difficult and the cord finally snapped. Going 54k/h at 120+rpm is nichts gut for me. Pretty frustrating b/c I’m suppose to be a mechanic. I guess it just wasn’t my day. The race comm gave me the white flag at km 90 so my race ended a little prematurely. Cê la Vie! My teammate Leif Lampater won the race so that was cool. The über awesome teammate Erik Tischler offered up his house for us to crash that night and cooked up some excellent post-rennen nourishment. Of course we celebrated a little bit with the 5L mini-keg of Rathaus Bier that Leif earned as part of his win. I had 1 full glass and it was good.

Montag was freiertag here in Deutschland. Teammate Timur and I had an early departure of 5:30am to get to our race just north of Freiburg in Merdingen. Let’s just say that if you ever wanted to experience the Dukes of Hazardesq driving conditions all you need is a rush to get to the race, a Mercedes Wagon, Landstrasse(think tiny farm roads), and Timur at the wheel. I won’t disclose details but let’s just say that it was another German experience =) The course at Merdingen reminded me of the race in Mallorca except this time it was in German not Spanish. We started out with 110 starters? I think we were left with 60 after the first lap. Within the first 5km, we climbed through a Weinberg and took on some insane descending. Sure it would be okay alone but with a hundred riders scrambling for position and taking that little bit of extra risk it was pretty crazy. Fortunately the race organizers recognized this and strategically placed bed mattresses in the water drainage ditches along the side. But they only covered the holes before they went underground. So if you missed the hole or the dropoff on the side then well you were lucky and got right into bed. Otherwise, it would have been no bueno. I kept making the front group each time. So I was looking good on the final run-in to the finish. Then I experienced my first European bike race crash. Kind of like a badge of honor. Fortunately only a small scratch on my elbow. The rider who took me out cushioned most of my fall as I landed on him. But I was chivalrous and gave him a hand to get up. Then I jumped back on the bike and began my chase. Unfortunately I was 3km from the finish and I was making ground but in the last 500m the jets were turned on and it was over for me. Ohh well, despite positioning myself well in the front, shit happens and that is bike racing. I’ll be back to fight another day. Later the rider apologized to me which was quite the reimbursement of chivalrous ethics =)

Back in Backnang, Heinz, Karin, and Kai cooked up a delicious bbq. Kai demonstrated is worthy skills as the grillmaster. It was sehr gut and with the good company it was great post race time. I can tell my german is improving b/c my joking and sly commentary is keeping par. Last night is 4-3 me over Heinz. I am sure it will be reversed =) I’m going to give myself 30minutes of German practice every day. I know I will lose a little bit but I don’t want to come back and be clueless again. So my family will be getting daily instruction. It will also boost my ego as I will feel like a superstar =)

Last Friday was pretty stressful which is why it’s taken so long to keep my followers updated. I got a haircut. It was much needed but it was a little terrifying inside. I had to pick the perfect time to go so I wouldn’t have any problem getting my locks manicured. It all started out well and I gave the barber my desired look. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a photo to give a better description. So it would become another “lost in translation” moment. You might say that everyday I have one. As we were nearing the end, the sweat began pouring down the back. The look I was going for was reinterpreted as an 80s Val Kilmer. Hair was pulled back and blow-dried which gave lots of “volume” that is stylist talk. I thought it was going to finish with me being a Val Kilmer lookalike. Fortunately, the man demonstrated his styling knowledge and rectified the situation. All was good. Kein Problem.

Tschuß,
Claw

Homeward Bound

2009-06-01T14:26:00.002-06:00

Heading back to TN for a little family action tomorrow. Very much looking forward to the 2 week visit. Busy weekend of racing which I will have to write more about tomorrow with my 3.5hr delay at the Charlotte Airport.

Chow,
Claw

The Assimilation Continues...

2009-05-29T23:40:00.001-06:00

Alpine Adventures

2009-05-27T03:30:00.006-06:00

Returned yesterday from quite an amazing time in Österreich with Karin and Heinz. The homebase was their camping platz in Westendorf which is in the Tirol region of Austria. What is the Tirol region, well its a collection of delicious foods, fun clothing, enchanting music and incredible natural beauty. Training was good. I managed to take on 15hrs and 500km. Sat/Sun I did 172/141km respectively. 4200kjs/3000kjs. Two pretty big days back to back over some good climbs. Saturday's ride took me over parts of this year's Giro d'Italia, Gerols Paß. Altitude is not much of a problem, but the length of the climbs and grad
Here is the map:
Here is the just a little bit of the tasty food that I took my fingers and lips too:
Kaiserschmarrn(Tirolean mehlspeisen). This is a desert dish. Similar to pancakes but so much better. A side of apple sauce or fruit compote is a perfect accompaniement. And yes that gold glass in the background is a local beer =)
Tiroler Gröstel aus der Pfanne(pretty much deliciousness in a pan). A collection of potatoes, local bacon, onions, and eggs. You could argue its the perfect recovery meal after a 5hr day in the saddle. Plus you only have one dish to clean, what could be more perfect?
Germknödel mit Mohn und Vanilla Sauße with a cappuccino to boot! At first I thought this was a cake, but its a yeast dough with plum compote in the middle and swimming in a sea of vanilla sauce. Knödel is a popular dish in Tirol and the Tirolean people love sweets so it's pretty much an anytime meal. It's categorized as a Mehlspeisen(which is flour foods). The Mohn is poppy seeds. Hopefully no USADA checkups anytime soon =)

Here is Apfel Strüdel. It's a mainstay in Tirol. Think you have had it before, you better question that statement b/c you haven't. This is the real deal. We took on this project in the historic glass blowing town of Rattenberg. I scored a nice commemorative glass thanks to Karin and Heinz. Heinz and I took our Strüdel with vanilla sauce while Karin went a la mode with vanilla ice cream. It was piping hot as they cooked it right up for us after ordering.
And what could be more complete to the delicious culinary treats of Tirol than savoring their famous fruit schnapps! An after dinner fruit schnapps is tradition in Tirol. This is a pear flavored one. Or maybe a schnapps flavored pear one...it's mearly how you look at it =) It was quite smooth and satisfying. The german flag was a nice touch even though we were in Austria. This was after a delicious fish dinner at the Erbensee in Brixen im Thale.
And of course, being in Europe offers many interesting sites in the supermarket. Stuff that is the norm here is like precious gold in the US to the culinary eyes. Heinz and I enjoyed this particular Swiss specialty one afternoon. Let's just say that the fatigue I felt in the legs after 4200kjs provided the "flying feeling" I needed to get me through the rest of the day =) haha Again, hopefully USADA is nowhere nearby as my Cannibis tea drinking habit could land me in a place far far away.
Now some riding photos:

Paß Thurn is a super hit pass, compared to what we have in Colorado but with the heat, wind in the face, grades: 5-8%, and already 4.5hrs in the saddle it makes for a good effort.
It was definitely a great recharge and escape from the demands of Volkschule =) The Tirolean people are probably some of the most friendly I have ever met. Never have so many people said hello or "Griste" to me in my life. The drivers are also very pleasant with cyclists. Not the honking and passing just a little too close like in Deutschland and in the US. The area we were in contained hundreds of hiking paths and countless mtn bike trails. I estimate that for every 1 road cyclist, there were 20mtn bikers and all levels too!

Making a pause today before getting back at it tomorrow. Sunday is a big LBS Cup race and Monday is a C-Klasse race. Tuesday I head back to the mother country!

Chow,
Bearclaw

Surviving the Serious Demands of Volkschule

2009-05-19T06:58:00.002-06:00

Today I completed my Volkschule class. Well the rest of the class is meeting tomorrow and 3 days in June, but I begin my Urlaub(holiday) a little bit earlier. It was quite a unique and enriching experience. Perhaps I could say in 30-40 years from now, "ahh yes, when i was 28 I studied in Germany in a most prestigious learning environment." And of course this would be said with a glass of scotch in one hand as I continue to rattle off the long and perhaps embellished stories of my "wild" days.

It's a pretty gorgeous day here in Backnang, close to 80ºF and sunny. Nice change from all the rain we had last week. I'm taking a pause(rest period). Gearing up for my awesome Österreichen experience tomorrow.

At the race on Sunday, I came to the conclusion on why Europe predominately excels over us in the States in bicycle racing. Is is the awesome haircuts, the bling around the neck swinging or the obscure American music that is blasted at all races? No, its the the attention the sport pays to the youth. 75 riders in the U15 categories! Even the U11 raced two laps on the demanding course.
Watching them spin their small chainrings and blast up the climb was just fascinating. Yeah they suffered, but the mountains don't let anyone hide. Some just hide the pain better. There are areas in the US that are doing great things in growing the sport. But it's pretty isolated. Even more isolated than bike racing in the US. Yeah things are improving but if you want to learn to race and learn to race at a new level, you have to give Europe a try. To me it is a difference in mentality. In Europe, cycling is seen as a possible way to the means. In the US its a means for the way. Now not everyone here is looking for a job as a cyclist. The majority are hobby riders. I'm not knocking the American scene. We have done a lot in the last 25-30 years. But we can do more. Developing youth programs and promoting youth cycling or sport in general is my solution to the obesity and lackadaisical pandemic that has gripped the young population. Maybe they aren't all lazy but forgetting how to enjoy the outside without electronics and mom and dad hovering over them has become an ancient practice. I know my family reads this but if my parents knew half of what we(brother and friends) did or where we went on our bikes we would have probably experienced a life-sentence somewhere far, far away. But we survived and we have all grown up to be responsible gentlemen. How does this relate to my writing about my experience here in Germany riding my bike? It all comes full circle like everything else in the world. If you think about it long enough, parallels can be made if they can't, just make one up and hope no one questions you.

Chow,
Claw

My Weekend of Battles

2009-05-18T05:57:00.002-06:00

Raced Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. It was certainly a tale of two completely different races. Saturday was C-Klasse on a 10km flat circuit over 6 laps with 180 starters. Sunday was a KT/A/B/C Gonso Ba-Wu-Liga race over 25 laps on a 4km circuit with 120 starters with a sick 200m climb that probably averaged 12-15%. Fortunately the black lung that made it's presence known to me last week was feeling the wrath of vitamin C and Zinc.

Saturday, I felt really good. It had been a while so I was pretty stoked. I took a really long warmup knowing that it would be full-gas from the get go and not much time to make up as it was only 60km. After scoring probably the best start position(more on this technique later), I was able to position myself very nicely near the front and avoid the carnage that would ensue. Now the key I have found in getting a sick starting spot is to avoid at all possible the standard line up that the keepers put the riders. This is usually a roped off area. Stay near the start line, or just ahead of it on the sidewalk. Also you must pretend that you don't understand anything which they are saying. Fortunately for me, this is nearly completely true. I think my Deutsch thinking portion in my brain turns off as soon as I get near race time. It's a conservation of resources you could say. As the keepers allow the riders to go to the start, a swift and what might be referred to as a "wanker" move is par for the course. Over here, you have to look out for numero uno, ie yourself. The team was quite impressed with my navigational skills. In the first 3km, someone flatted and consequently took out about 20-30 riders immediately. Marc fell victim and suffered flesh wounds and a broken bike. It sounded like the rider was runing 150psi in his tubular. No bueno. From then it got fast and sketchy like most C-Klasse races. I was hoping the pace would stay high to keep it safer and thin out the field. 2nd lap rolls around and all is compacto. 3rd round, and another crash on the slightly uphill section before we entered Kurhart(village). This one took out another 20-30 riders I think. The next two laps were all about watching what is going on and keeping sure nothing serious went without being in it. I tried my luck following a rider in one move but it ended after a few minutes. On the last lap, a rider was about 20-25s up the road. The field was uninterested in him. To me, he looked too strong and I wasn't about to let some rider go off the front when I had some teammates who could shake it in the end. I didn't like the finishing stretch and prefered to do work for the team. So I told Florian, Marcel, and Daniel to sit in and I would bring it back. Having good sensations and a cyborg approach that I was going to pull this guy back no matter what I set out. Immediately I ramped up the pace to 45-50km/h after being at 38-40km/h. I didn't even look but apparently the field was completely strung out. 3km later, I brought the rider back. Rested briefly then brought Daniel(designated sprinter) to the front and drove the pace for as long as I could to halt any attacks before the village. It worked until I blew up just 1.5km from the finish. Daniel got into place but got pinched near the end and had to settle for 12th. I was top30 as only 60 finished I think. For me, it was one of those great moments of riding. Doing the work I did in the race was so much better than scrapping for a top-15, top-10 in the finish.

Sunday presented an improved level of suffering. In the pre-ride, I was watching the Jugen(youth) u-11 category, or u-13 category. Anyways, they were young and the field was all girls. Pretty cool stuff. What I witnessed was a true champion. Sure there was the winner, but the girl who was off the back will forever be the champion to me. She drove as hard as she could and suffered and suffered and suffered. I look over and she got into her little aero position and worked as hard as she could on the demanding course. Closer up, the girl was bleeding from the nose. No not a crash, the girl dug so deep that she was bleeding through the nose. Crazy stuff! I thought later as I was suffering quite a bit that I could never let up after watching this cyborg of a young girl. The race for me was damn hard. I managed what I could but had to settle for the 4th group. Weather was insanely warm, not Colorado July warm but nevertheless, my jersey and shorts could be sold for the delicious salt that encrusted them. On lap 18 the ref told us to sprint on the climb which was also the finish because our race was over. Again, the portion in my head that understands German was obviously completely turned off. As was the rest of my brain. All resources were dedicated to staying on wheels and drinking as much as I could. Fortunately, I spoke with another rider and go the low-down on the course we were taking. Ended up 39th. I believe there were probably 45-46 scored finishers.

One more day of Volkschule for me. Wednesday I am playing hookie and heading to Österreich with Karin and Heinz. We are staying in their camping platz in Kirchberg, right smack in the Alps. Check it out...Kirchberg We will return to Backnang on Monday. Looking forward to adding another country to my resume and doing some Austrian recreation.

Chow,
Claw

And the Ref Shows the Red Card

2009-05-15T13:50:00.002-06:00

No this is not Fußball its Volkschule. Yesterday, the Camerooner threw out the race card. I don't know how it came about but the conversation went from learning a language to discussing and arguing about his difficulties in Esslingen and in Deutschland. What started as a conversation turned into a "Stand Up with Arms" harangue. Yeah that is a big boy word. Use your inferencing skills or your GRE language skills to unravel that one. Or you can just see the definition here
So the whole event went on way too long. Finally the lehrerin took the rheins(1st time) and she put the big kabush on the whole thing. I sat there uninterested and wondering what the hell just happened?

Health is getting better. My infection has moved from my throat to my nose. So now it's like normal, normal being full-on nasal drip, as is par for the course normally for me. Racing tomorrow, C-Klasse then A/B/C Ba-Wu-Liga race on Sunday.

Stepped up the maturity ladder today. My younger sister Lauren gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Which made me the an uncle and consequently a provider of all future things her parents won't give her or take her too. It won't be demanding for quite a few years but I will first expose her to Deutsch. Tomorrow I ride for Lauren and Abigail.

Chow,
Claw

Seinfeld Moment

2009-05-11T12:56:00.003-06:00

Went to battle yesterday and paid dearly. Not sure what is up. Today I feel congested so I'm not sure if I am coming down with something. Hopefully not. Hopefully it's just the aftereffects of yesterday's effort on the pulmonary system. KT/A/B/C Gonso Ba-Wu-Liga race yesterday. I was in the front group in the front 15 on the start of the 2nd climb 2km (8-12%). Felt good the first lap, 2nd lap, I completely blew when the field split. The whole body was screaming from Lactic Acid. Did a lot of chasing to catch the chase groups. At one point in my chase, I had a lapse of thought as 99% of my self was into catching the group up ahead and I found myself riding the gravel just inches from endo-'ng into a ditch. Kind of unnerved me and the social consequences of crashing by oneself would have been quite tough to bare. I had weeds hanging from my shoe. I think I rode 4 laps with it in before I finally was able to grab it. Another rider asked if I went into the weeds. I kind of smiled b/c my brain wasn't working enough to speak Deutsch.

Volschule took it's toll on me this morning. I didn't sleep well last night and it was a bit of struggle but I pressed on. Only 7 more classes...I need to develop solid sleeping habits after races. The adrenalin from the races always prevent me from sleeping well the night of the race. Body temp is up and just restless. Tonight should be a good sleep though.

Last Friday, I had a Seinfeld moment at Volkschule. I was being extra healthy as swine flu takes over the world and washing my hands. Just before I was to dry, a guy blew his nose using the dry cloth. This is not some sheet of brown paper, this is the cloth type that is reused over and over. Let's just say that I won't be using this hand dryer or any other one the rest of my life. And if you need to blow your nose, use toilet paper as this is bad form.

chow,
Bearclaw

Volkschule Throwdown

2009-05-07T13:51:00.002-06:00

Good day today at Volkschule. I had one of those, "all systems are go" type day, ie I was able to create coherent thought in Deutsch and understand a lot better. Some days I have it, some days I don't. Before our "pause" (English=break, recess) this morning the Cameroon guy blew up. I'm probably not the only one but his accent is so not-german that I can barely understand him. Not quite sure if the teacher could either. But he was blasting the way the class is run. He can't learn when everything is spoken so fast and only in Deutsch with no Franciosich(french). That lasted for about 10min. The teacher cowered away. I thought she should have done a better job at redirecting his frustration into an offline discussion. My deutsch is limited so I wasn't able to offer a witty one-liner that would ease the crisis. I was thinking about something like, "I can wipe my own butt" or "I like to eat muesli." I should have just said it and not worried about it 747'n over student's heads. Next time...

At the end of class, we played a classic American game of Hangman. The teacher went first and she chose a rather long word, "telephoneiren." As she was counting the spaces, I spoke up and gave the answer. She was completely bummed and I think a little frustrated. Who is this American?! Its just how I roll...I throw down in Hangman. So she sent me to the board and I gave the class a pretty good run for the money before my word, "antwort" (answer) was answered correctly. Only had two chances left so I chose well. My skilz didn't stop there, each time it was my turn to guess a letter I guessed correct. The Cameroon guy was so excited for me. One might call him a fan of mine...

Cooked up a nice Eggplant marinara for dinner along with some fish. It was a nice touch after a good training session. Karin and Heinz furthered the enjoyment with some ice cream and fresh fruit. Quite the tasty treat. I had forgotten how good ice cream tastes. Perfect day for it as it was sunny, cloudless and 75!

Adios,
Claw

Steeper at the Top

2009-05-05T10:21:00.002-06:00

My race performance went better on Sunday than the experience on Friday. After a proper departure of 7am after a wakeup of 5:50am and cramming down muesli, we were out the door for Geislingen. First we had to meet up with the rest of the team in Fellbach and caravan down. Geislingen is about 1.5hrs south of Backnang. Course was a 12km circuit with a climb at the start then flat, then down, then up for 2km and rolling before a tailwind descent to the start. The field size as always was enormous, atleast 250. Some were saying 300, but I managed to see someone with a pinnummer of 250. Before the race even began it was a race, a race for the front of the start. With the juniors finishing just before us, they left no time for the start for our KT/A/B/C race. I like it this way, no bs'ng around. The keepers were having a difficult time keeping the field at bay. I played it cool and stayed just far enough up that and didn't make eye contact. This kept me from being told to go back. I also got a nice little sidewalk position which helped the cause. My efforts paid off, as I got a 2nd row start. Better start off on the upside I like to think.

The race was again, crazy hard. About half-way through with the break up the road, the field blew up. I was falling back in the first group then the cord snapped and I was in the middle. So I waited till the 2nd group came. Fortunately, two teammates made the front group. I was thinking as the pace went from okay this is hard, to "who the hell is the human cyborg at the front?" Fortunately, we had a pretty big group and several well-conditioned riders. They forced their leadership on the field and kept the pace respectable but not blood coming out the ears. With the race leaders up the road, our race in the Grupetto became who could descend the fastest on the final descent and cross the village sign first. It was pretty funny. You had teams forming leadouts and people going all out for the village sign. When the winner crossed, hands were thrown up in the air. I think the highest i hit was 79km/h. It wasn't very steep but I managed to slingshot myself off some riders and ride the gutter.

Had a good ride yesterday. Legs still felt pretty good. Upcoming week is looking good. Another LBS Cup race on Sunday with Schule the rest of the week.

Chow,
Matthew

Frülingsfest 2009

2009-05-02T07:15:00.009-06:00

After our little battle in Öschellbron, we headed to Bad Cannstatt for Frülingsfest. I came to learn that it's the biggest festival in Europe. I wasn't disappointed.

The race didn't go as I had planned. I learned some things, and I hope that I can continue to work for the team and help them as much as possible. Tomorrow is a new day and a new race so that is where my mind is.

When we arrived at Frülingsfest I started taking pictures like a tourist. I told myself before I came over here that I would do a much better job at photographing the experience. I did a pre-school job in Belgium. I'm planning on making a photo/movie presentation once all is said and done. It will be available to the public after a private viewing with my peeps. So onto the festival experience. I needed an objective for the evening. Something to make the evening comical and provide myself with some needed humor and above all, great blogging material.

The objective: Photograph as many "Eurotrash" haircuts that I can find(for my european readers, eurotrash is american slang, nothing derogatory, just fun slang). The tools: my Olympus digital camera and my superb clandestine skills The place: Frülingsfest, Bad Cannstatt, Germany 1 May 2009

Disclaimer: No individuals were asked permission for their photos. I reserve the right to laugh and describe in my own words the individuals hair.

This is your standard Euro mullet. Notice the top is clean but he keeps a party going on in the rear. The plain white tee adds to the standardness of this guy. He is your good friend, someone that you know is true to the game, much like his mullet.

This is a great example of the melting of eras in Germany. The young gun on the left is posting up a beefed up standard mullet in the rear but added a touch of flair to the top. It's a melting of cultural periods. Quite beautiful. His posse to the right is sporting the Ecstasy Hawk. This is the guy who can roll with the best at the all night ragers. Notice the classy leather with the faux tie on the yellow button up. This has class and party written all over it.

Here is the ÜberHawk as I like to call it. This cut says, "damn, I'm a gangsta. I roll on 24s and I spend 2 hours doin' up my hair yo!" It's loud, it's tough, and it's gangsta all rolled into one. You can't see, but his harem is in tow.
Here is a bleached blond example. The pink hood is a classy and sophisticated touch to the ensemble.

This is, "Honey I'm Home from Work!" Traditional yet sophisticated. Notice the tightly kept backside which rolls down the neck. This is a man of principle and servitude to his community. The finely chiseled beard is just an added bonus. Classic in design and never out of style. Sporting a white tee and posting up a leather jacket is Fonzesq.

Here is a Spiked EuroHawk. Notice the shaved sides. This provides a pleasant accentuation of the top and a good ear shot to insure optimal hearing while at the concert. Here is a 2nd take on the popular Spike EuroHawk.

The Turkish mafia...that's all that needs to be said about that.

We step away a bit from the typical eurotrash haircuts being featured above and focus now on the urban spike. An upclose view found the do' quite spikey and frizzy. It's fun and new, like Spring.
Here is a fine example of the "clean mullet." Nothing too fancy. For the ladies, he is one you can bring home to mom and dad but know that he still has the wild side when he is out.

If there was to be a leader amongst the crowds, someone that all eyes and ears would turn to, it would be this guy. The full hawk on the top and half-way down the back side. Then he throws down a perfectly trimmed, and straightened neck bob. This is a look only few can pull off, and only few who would dare try such a masterpiece of eurotrash style. As you can see, it works well with the ladies. but one must include neck bling and a black leather vest to full accessorize the part.

And finally the boys who could have ended my clandestine work. They weren't too happy about me snapping a photo of them. I thought they looked funny when they were all posting up along the railing of the bumper cars. It was like this was their turf and they were checking out all the ladies walking by. Too nervous to talk to them but they sure did look cool next to the bumper cars.

Over and Out,
Claw

A Little Bit of Humor

2009-05-02T00:22:00.002-06:00

Freirtag...ie May Day

2009-04-30T23:40:00.003-06:00

So while all of you in the US and across most of the developed world, we in Germany are off today from the harsh demands of Volkschule and work. Today is the day to stick it to the man and make hobby. For me, it means a little bit more loungy of a breakfast and some bike racing in the nachmittag(afternoon). Should be a good time.

We are fogged in here in Metro Backnang but a 15:30 race start should provide some nice weather for us. The race is bound to be tough with a 950m circuit with 80 laps. It's an A/B/C race so the heavy hitters will come out swinging. The legs have shown promise this week so I'm thinking a good experience for myself. After we do battle, the plan is to go to Frülingsfest(springfest) in Bad Cannstatt. It's basically an Oktoberfest for the spring. Larger than can be imagined biergarten with carnival rides and carnifolk. It won't get too crazy because some are racing the Deutsche Meisterschaft for Ba-Wü tomorrow. It's the time trial championships for Baden-Würtenburg. As for myself, I'm focusing on Sunday's race in Geilingen. Its the second LBS Cup race. So tomorrow will be some short efforts to just keep the system open. It will be another hard race with KT(continental profi teams) and being an LBS A/B/C race. There is a 2km climb in the 8km circuit. Not super steep, so I think it will be good for me.

Last night was Donnerstag Abend, which means Gretel created Schwäbian Culinary Delight for us. Since Sandra is on holiday and Marc was teaching spin class, it was just the two of us. Through my volkschule learning and general deutsch development, we actually made conversation which was very nice. I think we both understand the difficulty because she speaks Schwäbish which is a dialect of German. The sounds and words are a little different than Hochdeutsch which I am learning in school. It didn't stop us though. She created a delicious fleish spätzle mit gemuse (spatzle with meat and vegetables). It was mighty tasty and provided the needed nourishment before the weekend's battles. Afterwards, Heinz and Karin came over and we enjoyed some Eiswein(ice wine) for nachtisch(desert). Just a tiny bit but it was very tasty.

I was thinking later if I ever write a cooking book, it would titled something to the effect of "Donnerstag Essen" (Thursday Eating) or "Donnerstag mit Gretel" or "Donnerstag Abends." All cookbook authors seem to make a title out of something that happened in their cooking career or life. Something that inspired them about food or opened new doors into food for them. I'm not publishing just yet but perhaps one day I'll write a cookbook. But first I need to get some formal training.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Snapped...

2009-04-29T13:36:00.003-06:00

After a buildup of frustration over how the students in Volkschule act in class, today I snapped. I couldn't take it any longer. The constant interruption by other students when I was trying to answer the question and the lack of respect in allowing me to figure out the correct words in response to the question directed at me all came full center today. Part of it was today being just an off day for me in understanding German. As I have said before, some days are awesome, other days are like, "umm, I just got here and Ich spreche kein Deutsch." oder "Mein Deutsch ist schiss." Regardless, I was just having one of those brain vacation days. Unfortunately it came on Wednesday which has the best teacher.

So now to the story of the day...The lehrenin(teacher) called upon me and ask me a question like she did for everyone else. I struggled to grasp what she was saying. I began my feebled attempt at answering but it wasn't a few words in that other people were shouting out. I stopped, and gave the eye to the teacher. An eye that says, "i'm not going to try to speak above these characters. Either you tell them to shut their pie hole or I don't answer." So next question comes. I struggle with my start and other people begin answering. It's if they need that constant feeling of success and achievement. Why can't they just let me learn too and learn to speak only in their head. At this point, my frustration threshold at burned all its matches. I stopped what I was doing and raised my hands and pointed around and asked in my best deutsch, "do you want me to speak or the class?" She sensed my frustration. She said, "Matthew," which is suppose to signify, "only matthew speaks now." Unfortunately it didn't translate too well to the class. Everyone kind of got a little frightened I think. "Whoa the American is losing it."

The next occurance came when I was suppose to answer questions from a dialogue with the Columbian woman next to me. I really had no idea what this particular exercise was about. Was she, The Columbian, suppose to make up questions based upon the dialogue and I was to answer? I was completely lost. So she procedes, and I'm lost still, and I struggle. The voices start, and I lose it again. I look at the teacher and wave my hands as if they are pointed around at the class and give a look of, "when everyone shuts their pie hole, I'll do my best to answer the question." I was completely over the exercise before it even started. The last question was "what would I like to drink at the cafe." I said, "jack daniels." Enough said.

The Columbian woman apologized later. I don't want or need it, I just want everyone to give the respect of quietness when someone else has the floor. Maybe I should institute the ball standard. Who ever has the ball, gets to speak. It would be a pioneering move at Volkschule. Upon further study with meine awesome Freudin it was determined that its probably cultural differences. For me, respect is binary. You either do or don't.

Got dumped on my training session today. Good legs though but froze my butt off in the last hour. I was the koch(cook) tonight. I made a pretty nice tomato/mushroom sauce for the fleisch tonight. It was pretty tasty.

Chow,
Matthew

Ich Lerne Deutsch...

2009-04-28T13:30:00.002-06:00

Another day in Esslingen at the Volkschule. Scheduled race day from training. The weather cooperated with me an was cloudy and off and on rain drizzle all day. That helps keep the desire to go out and ride down =)

I'm looking forward to class tomorrow because we have Elizabeth as our lehrenen(teacher). I think she is much more engaging than Juliane. I came to the realization today after class that I am basically paying to force myself to study. I guess we all need some way to motivate us. My earlier thoughts and ideas that I would study each day, well those never quite transpired from thoughts into actions. But atleast I thought about it, right? The class is helpful in some ways, especially with vocabulary. I'm learning some new words as well as verb conjugation which is important to being able to express thoughts that are not only singlular and in the present. I'm learning to talk in the plural and in the past. Pretty good stuff. Soon, I'll be breaking out some past perfect tense and throwing down some impertive. But I can't let myself get too far ahead of the moment. The article genders of nouns doesn't seem to have any real pattern. And it changes from m->f when going from singular to plural. Crazy stuff, crazy stuff.

I have told everyone that the class is slow but its good for me. It forces me to study and learn. Albeit, pioneering through the latter chapters while the class is still in the beginning. Heute Ich gespreche mit meine freundin und Ich sie gesage "Ich mache Buch Zwei für schule." It made for a good laugh. Not sure if my word placement is completely correct, but you will have to translate yourself to figure it out. I'll just say that its me being an overachiever. For me, I'm paying for the course and I am there out of desire to learn. The majority of the others are there because the State forces them to attend and I don't think they have to pay either. Money and desire can do a lot I guess.

So tomorrow, another day at Volkschule. Friday we have off because it is Erster Mai(1st of May) or Tag de Arbeit(Labor Day) which is oxymorontic b/c no one works on this day, May 1. All shops are closed, similar to Sontag. So one bike races on this day =) Tomorrow is also the start of the best race in America, The Tour of the Gila. TofGila is in NM and is a killer 5day race at altitude with sick racing and difficult conditions. They also serve up delicious Green Chili Burritos. Astana is sending their NA trifecta of LA, LL, and CH disguised in non-pro team clothing b/c of some lame UCI ruling. Should make for some insane racing in the Pro/1 field as FL will be there with his crew.

Chow,
Claw

Bike Racing and Little Tractor Riding

2009-04-27T13:02:00.006-06:00

Nothing completes a full day in Germany like Muesli in the morning, bike racing in the afternoon, and a little tractor riding on the road to wind down the day. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. I often go to bed looking forward to breakfast. I don't know what it is but its just comfortable eating. Sweet, Savory, Salty, Spicy...its all good. Especially because you can enjoy it with the world's most delicious surprise from a tree, Coffee. I'm also a morning person. Quiet mornings with good breakfast and coffee are the best. Especially if you have an outdoor deck to enjoy it. I saw quite a few German families in Haßloch taking on a mid-morning breakfast spread while I was preparing for battle. I remained focused on what was to be my quest for the day.

At sign in, I was rider #125 out of 137. Everyone always asks if racing is harder or as hard in the US. After doing my short stint in Belgium in '07 and being here for 2009, I must say that racing is much harder here. Its not the speed, its the sizes of the fields, the aggressive riding, and the tough parcours that make racing in Europe the aura that it is. The smoking bars for sign-in in Belgium to the kaffee und kuchen and wurst setups in family garages at the German races. Its all part of the atmosphere that makes racing here that much bigger. The course in Haßloch yesterday was a short 900m with 4 turns over nicely paved German city roads albeit narrow ones. I got in a brief warmup but had to cut things short for team things. I also wanted to make sure that I got a front row start. I knew the race was going to blow up real fast and if you weren't near the front, it would be an über struggle to get going with the field size over the short course. Consequently, my brief warmup and 15min of standing guard and elbowing my position on the start line didn't do too much to get the legs ready for the onslaught of sprinting. The first 15min were the hardest for me. Not because of the pace but b/c my legs were just not use to the high-power jumps every 25sec interspersed with jockeying for wheels and elbow throwing. One must be skilled in the full-body arts of elbows out and protecting ones rightful spot in the peloton.

I kept myself in the top10-25 for most of the race. I did throw in an attack to try to bridge up to the break after my teammates were all giving it a go. I got a small gap but they weren't going to give me to much of a leash. Ohh well, one must try I guess. It was a good sign for me as I'm beginning to get more acquainted with the racing and riding more aggressively like I know I can do. Soon enough it will all come together. This Friday, I am racing another kriterium in Öschellbron then an A/B/C LBS Cup race on Sunday in Geislingen. Skipping the Deautschemiesterschaf TT championships for Bad-Wür this Saturday.

After my dusche(shower) at the race site, yep they have shower facilites at nearly all the races. I rolled back to Backnang with teammate Sebastian Latz. It was a much more mellow ride after the "full-autobahn" experience on the way to. The part I said about autobahn speeds on my München post...well its not true, the autobahn is true in every sense of the word that is fed to us in American culture. And that is all I'm saying about that. =)

Later that afternoon, I rode with Heinz to Allmersbach to see Heinz(Petra's father) and his antique tractor. There was a big tractor show in the area. I met Heinz at Alena's birthday party in March. He is another patient teacher of Deutsche like Heinz S. We ended up spotting him on the road and we both pulled off and were able to chat. And here is what we were able to chat about...A Kramer KL 12, single cylinder, 900ci engine with electric start. Originally built in 1957 and full restored in 2003.
Afterwards it was all business, Heinz still had to drive the tractor back to Backnang(7km). I rode jumpseat.

Me and Heinz #2 on the road

When we got to Heinz's barn/garage we chatted an made a "Prost"(bottoms up!) with Wasser.

Me, Heinz and Heinz S.
It was a super fantastic day. Finished it up with some Schnitzel and Salat. Another great day in Deutschland...bike racing, food, tractor riding, and good friends.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Good Sensations Again

2009-04-25T06:47:00.002-06:00

Today was probably the best I've felt on the bike in 2 weeks. With the suspected infection last week and the exhaustion that I felt earlier this week, its nice to see things are on the up and up. 1hr and 40min this morning with a little caffé crema to finish up the ride. Just a quick tune up ride before the kriterium tomorrow in Haßlof. Its a C-klasse race. I'm eager to give it a go and finally get back to my old ways of kriterium racing, riding hard and near the front. I remember last year the exact time when things just clicked in the crit for me. I suffered from a bit of confidence in my sprinting and positioning. A talk with Shawn and Karl helped things and gave me the confidence that I had lost. I think we all suffer from low confidence from time to time. Whether it be in bike racing or in our jobs. Since I started going to schule this week, my confidence for the german language is steadily increasing. You can learn so much and improve so much, but confidence, I think is the final determinate. If you i don't think I can speak well, then i probably won't. Same with racing. Mind over body.

My class is quite interesting. Apart from the wide range of cultures, the class operations is the biggest adjustment. In the US, you raise your hand to speak. Elsewhere in the world, its jockying for supremecy like the last corner of criterium. You speak(ride) louder(faster) than the others. I find myself raising my hand when everyone else just blurts out without regard for what is being said. The class exercises are pretty straightforward I think. There is an example with exactly how you are suppose to address the remaining questions. Think fill in the blank with the word in parentheses. Where the disconnect on this occurs, I'm still in black hole of thought. You have people reading the entire thing without putting the new word in or reading the entire sentence and saying the word at the end or just saying the wrong example assigned to them. Perhaps I just need to be patient. And if you pause(1-4sec of thought) to think about how to conjugate the verb the entire class is speaking alound, some incorrect, some correct. Why can't they just keep their mouth shut when its not their turn? Differences in classroom procedures I guess throughout the world. On Friday, I was starting to read my sentence and someone else started saying it after the teacher said, "matthew, C." I paused and just looked at the teacher. She tried as hard as she could to shut the student up by telling her, "Nein! Matthew." Kind of funny. I need to learn the phrase for "please take this conversation offline." On Wed two students began on conversation on the kaffee that was going to be brought to class. keep in mind that another student was reading his example. Well the kaffee conversation escalated and eventually lead to the entire class talking about it and the teacher struggling to regain control. Lack of respect, or just culture differences?

Tonight is the big Geburgstag(birthday) for Dirk and Petra. 40Jahres! Should be a fun party.

chow,
Bearclaw

Interesting Stuff in Deutschland

2009-04-25T02:13:00.000-06:00

Click picture to read

Photos from Waldrems

2009-04-24T13:54:00.004-06:00

Riding strong still
Die Küchen
The Team

Me driving well on the uphill section
Leif in the break

Heinz, my über supporter and teacher
Deep into "Matthew's Own Little World"

photos by Sandra Sanwald

Volkschule and Part Deux

2009-04-23T13:59:00.002-06:00

Here is the 2nd installment of my blogtastic writing for you.

When I was planning for my time over here, I wanted to increase my human capital in more ways than on the bike, i.e. I wanted to learn some Deutsch. Being able to converse even a little would greatly ease the stress of living in a foreign land. Most of the private language programs rack up a über unfantastic bill. I tried doing my best to study on my own but I guess I just don't have the same focus or committment like I do with training. As you can guess, I was slacking with my language learning in the formal sense. So after extensive research, I found a Volkschule(vocational school) in Esslingen which was offering a Deutsch for Integration class. This is the class that all new residents of Deutschland must take and pass before they are entitled to live here on a permanent basis. Sort of a checks/balanaces system for assuring that Germany's citizens and workers can communicate with each other on a certain level. I think its a great idea. I missed the original enrollment date but my suave personality and keen ability to overturn policy, I was able to enroll in the class after I crashed it the first day.

The class is pretty interesting. Its a mix of many nationalities: Türkish, Iranian, Iraqi, Columbian, Brazilian, American(me), Pakistani, Russian, Gambia, Cameroon, and Angola. Its basically the UN of language learning. I remain the only one in the class who is enrolled for "fun" or "human capital development." My classmates are enrolled by virtue of the man, or State regulations. I'm just in it for "shit and giggles." But I want to learn. The first two days were pretty slow as we were just learning to say our name and where we lived, and where we were from. Keep in mind, the class is entirely in Deutsch. Its not your high school foreign language class with 90% English, and 10% foreign language. I could understand most of it but some of the discussion, I tended to zone out b/c it was not about me or more likely above my rank. The woman from Gambia sits next to me. She speaks English but I find us speaking Deutsch. I tried to speak Spanish with the Columbian woman next to me, but my mind was pulling from the Deutsch dictionary, not a Spanish one. Gives me a lot of respect for people who can go between 2,3,4,5,6 languages without pause. I'm not quite there just yet.

The class yesterday and today were much better. We have been learning a lot more vocabulary and sentence structure. This is most helpful to me I think. But more importantly its increased my confidence in understanding things and ability to express my thoughts even if its below the pre-school level =) One must start somewhere. Class last for 5 weeks, or 25-3hr sessions. I'll probably be speaking perfect Deutsch at the end as I supplement my schule learning with my at home tutors, the Sanwalds.

Chow,
Matthew

Waldrems Report Part One

2009-04-23T13:30:00.002-06:00

Because of my utmost slacking of writing, I am going to give you a twofer today because each deserves its on space in the WWW.

As I mentioned last week, I felt flat all week after Schönaich. I think battled with a small infection because I was feeling a little bit sick towards the end of the week. Everything was just lethargic and heavy. Saturday it rained which kept me indoors on the trainer. Sunday arrived, and I was keen to put in a good effort on what is being called the hardest road race of the year. I guess the attrition rate of close to 50% gives it some justification. I knew when I awoke that the day was just not mine. But you have to put those thoughts aside and ride through it. Everyone has their bad days, even the best. One sees the depth of his strength when he goes deep on the hardest of days. The course was a 2.5km circuit with good crowd support, lots of wind, and a nasty little uphill section. It was an uphill section, not a climb, but for the life of me I could never find a positive rhythm to make it up. From the "top" it was a winding golf course path to another uphill section then it was hard left and fast non-flat/non-uphill section into a nasty crosswind. The crosswind finally turned to a headwind which provided some relief but not for long as the laps remained fast and the "uphill" section seemed to be coming every few minutes. On lap 19, with teammate Leif in the winning break, another teammate attacked with a few others. I sat ready to counter if other moves decided to go. I finally made some aggressive riding. Two riders went off the left side. I used the right gutter as best I could to shelter myself from the left to right crosswind. Without really considering my chances or how I felt, I put in huge effort to cover the attacks going off the front. I guess I was contributing some team work. After controlling the move, my options remained dire. They always say that you have so many matches to burn in a race. I think I burned the whole book with that move but retrospectively, I needed to cover the move for my teammates who were riding much better. The next lap, the leash that I thought I had on the diminishing peloton began to stretch and on the uphill section, it snapped. I had nothing.

I was determined to keep my effort going and not throw in the towel. For the life of me, I can't quit. I can't pull out. I can't give in to the ruthlessness of the race. It wasn't two years ago where it all could have ended for me. For me digging deep and finding that dark place of pain is all a critical part to my development as a cyclist and most importantly as a person. Life throws so many obstacles at you. One must accept challenges and attack them head on.

As I continued to race my bike on the course, i was eventually passed by the winning break of 5 riders. Did it bother me to get passed? A little, but I kept making a go at it. Each lap passed and I was beginning to see clapping and hearing my name from people who didn't know me. The support each time I received from the team and from my adopted family, The Sanwalds, didn't go unappreciated. I definitely wasn't the happiest person. But I wasn't sad either. I was angry, frustrated, and focused. The look I had probably worried a few people who know me because it was not my normal, easy-going charm look. Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I think its just my way of dealing with things sometimes. I know I have good fitness. Sunday just was not my day. It was one of those times were I just needed to think and figure things out on m own. I guess you could say that I needed to go into "Matthew's Little Place." Psychologists would probably disagree with my practices but its how I deal. After the race, I went for a 1.5hr ride to think and do my thing. When I returned, i was better. Bike riding does that for me. Alone on my bike with only the voices in my mind to contend with i was able to digest the race. I've said before that I do my best thinking on the bike. I believe its likely do to the sensory awareness and the ability to focus.

When I got home, I was completely exhausted. But my head was clear and all was good. That night we enjoyed some delicious spaghetti bolgnese and conversation on the terrace deck. All was good.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Down But Not Out

2009-04-21T23:16:00.001-06:00

To my faithful congregation of readers...I've been out of the writing the last few days. Lots of stuff which I will update today. Racing, in school again, and other.

Chow,
Matthew

Blueberry Pancakes and Döner Envy

2009-04-18T05:13:00.005-06:00

Literally the largest piece of döner meat I have ever seen. It was probably close to 200lbs. What is döner meat? Here is what Wikipedia has to say. I saw one place offering the döner for €1,50 or 2,50 mit getranke(drink). The going rate seems to be around €3-3.50. Close to €6 in Zürich, I guess they have protecionist issues on döner sales.

Before the devouring of an American staple. Lighting was not very good. Couldn't get the golden brown color. Not sure if it was type of mehl(flour) or the pan but nevertheless, they were tasty.

My Half Birthday!

2009-04-18T04:18:00.003-06:00

Big celebration of the half birthday yesterday. Actually, I had to be reminded by Kristi but nevertheless, I like to think that I made the most of such a great day in history. Being that it rained pretty much all day yesterday, my planned rest day came about at a good time. After a leisurely morning of blueberry pancake making(needed to test my recipe before producing for Sandra and Marc this morning) I ventured on down to the big city, Stuttgart. Despite the rain, the crowds were in full swing. I think kids were out of school all this week b/c of the Easter holiday. Or maybe Germany's education system has shut its doors. Kids of all ages were out and about...the punks, the emos, the gangstas, and the hipsters. In case you were wondering if the emo/hipster scene was only a US phenomena, think again. Its alive and thriving here in Deutschland. It always brings a laugh when I see these kids. I wonder how long they will play this game and what they will think when the look back in 10 years. But I digress...

So in Stuttgart I planned on finding Indian Palace to treat myself to a little Indische mittagessen. I've been craving it for a while now, and finally I found a place which I thought could satisfy my hunger. I went for the buffet which seemed to be the common theme. It was tasty but felt dissappointed. I was hoping for some saag and maybe a little bit more variety as they only had 5 items and seemed to draw blanks on how to properly keep the food supply in check. Ohh well, I did manage to lose myself in translation and pay €2,30 for a small glass of water. Here is another installment on my Guide to Making it in Europe, always preview a menu before answering any questions. Think of the menu as your attorney. I will not speak to you until I have spoken with my attorney present or seen a menu in this case. Before I actually found the Indian Palace, I went through quite an exploration of the Stadtmitte. I did find the Indian grocery market that I will certainly have to visit again. I recognized the name from the restaurants website. Perhaps they use the store as a front for funneling expensive waters to unassuming customers. Nevertheless, the store was vastly supplied with delicious spices and fresh produce of the Asian varietals. Previous to my arrival, I came upon a Sushi restaurant with mittagessen buffet. This was the first moment that my quest for Indian food soothing came into question. It could be labeled as one of the great dilemmas of the 21st century, Indian or Sushi. The sushi place scored "cool" points b/c it had a sushi conveyor belt. I knew both places would be dangerous b/c I was pretty hungry after my quest for Asian food. But I stuck to my guns and went to Indian but promised myself Sushi next time! Now you probably think that I am crazy, but these are delicate moments in one's life. Decisions can't be taken lightly.

Now its Saturday noonish and still raining. Accuweather is suspiciously saying that tomorrow we will have "Brilliant Sunshine." Hope thats the case. Our race begins at 1500 in Waldrems. Started feeling a little congested yesterday so hopefully its nothing too serious. On the VitaminC/Zinc and tea diet.

The new rankings for the Gonso Ba-Wü-Liga were just published. This is the league that we are in for the LBS Cup, numero uno goal for the team. We are atop the standings with 40points! Team Rothaus(beer maker) is in 2nd at 37points. The first race was at Schönaich and they take points from your finishing spot and score the team's top 3 finishers. So my third on the team has helped put the team in first, which I am pretty psyched about. One of my 3 main goals coming over here was to help the team so I'm well on my way. Currently, I'm 16th overall in the standings. I think a top10 is doable. Lots of unfinished business on the race course for me.

You can check it out here...

chow,
Bearclaw

Exhausted

2009-04-15T07:15:00.003-06:00

I think the race took more out of me than I thought. Yesterday I went for 1hr 45min with teammate Sebastian Latz. Legs were saying "no bueno man" at the beginning but it got better. My metabolism has skyrocketed since the race which is probably typical but it left me feeling pretty lethargic towards the end despite a well-balanced breakfast of muesli, toast w/ nutella and banana. Even snacked on the ride. Today was still slow going in the beginning. Didn't have that punch but still managed to do my VO2 1min intervals along with a nice 3km above threshold climb. 2hr 20min today.

Tomorrow I plan on 3.5hrs with quite a bit of tempo work. Hopefully a better sleep tonight will absolve me some of this sleepiness.

Yesterday I did some strength training with Heinz. We painted his patio stones. You ask how is this strength training? Well, we were crouched down like a baseball catcher. Good static strength work.

The weather continues to stay über awesome here. 24ºC today and sunny. Tomorrow and Friday pose threatening chances of rain. Hopefully it will hold off till the afternoon. I'm going to take a rest day on Friday. Maybe 45min at most of easy spinning. I want to be fresh for the big race on Sunday in Waldrems. All the big players will be there. Its only 84km but its going to be guns blazing the entire time. Very tight circuit with wind and little golf cart path to circumnavigate. The word on the street is that this race is famous for the homemade cakes produced and sold by the sponsoring association members. Racers go as far as to "reserve" pieces of cake before they race to ensure they can atleast enjoy something in the event their race turns no bueno on them.

Yesterday was my brother Michael's birthday. The big 27. He is improving his life by getting married in June lol. Hopefully he will read this b/c I'm suspecting that he has been lame about reading my blog since he rarely posts any comments.

Not much else to report so I will benefit you with some photos of the area from my ride on Sunday. It was a pretty quiet Sunday. Mainly just motorbike riders and a few other cyclists.

89th Officially, 3rd on Team, 204starters

2009-04-14T09:06:00.001-06:00

"GONSO" Ba-Wü-Liga 2009
35. Rund um Schönaich
Elite A-/B-/C 13. April 2009
Platz Nr Name Vorname Verein UCI-Code MRT_ID Zeit
1 283Hoffmann Erik RSV Stuttgart-Vaihingen GER19810822 2:48:47
2 103Hofbauer Rolf Merida Road Team GER 19861202 623
3 238Riedl Tobias Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19851002 731
4 284Genze Hannes Multivan Merida Biking Team GER19811116
5 211Krauß Sven RSV Öschelbronn Ger19830106 321
6 6Lionel Varé GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19850209 179 2:49:45
7 150Jonathan Obländer
Radsport Rhein-Neckar/ MLP-
Radteam GER19880219 520
8 259Schwerdt Christoph VFR Herpersdorf GER 19840810 648
9 119Prieto Pascal AC 1892 Weinheim GER19901214 305
10 217Greger
Steffen
Hannes RVA Empfingen GER19821018 837
11 11Stefan Nägelin GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19800202 178
12 239Riess Christian Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19890430 732
13 164Kindle Christoph RG RACING-STUDENTS GER19831113 651
14 16Wiele Mathias Team Isaac Torgau e.V. GER19860520 803
15 269Marx Torsten DS Rennsport GER19760625
16 187hauschke axel RSV Bad Hersfeld GER19760504 968
17 268Heimpel David Athletik Club 1892 Weinheim GER19870107
18 247Willems Felix Team Physiodom GER 19860421 820
19 131Gollhardt Björn KED Bianchi Radteam Berlin GER19871211 937
20 241Hliza Kai Team Möbel Ehrmann GER19851118 594
21 271Weerts Pascal Athletik Club 1892 Weinheim GER19890326
22 123Wintermantel Janosch AC 1892 Weinheim GER19870208 301
23 10Simon Wyss GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19841119 180
24 20Bantel Ralf MRSC Ottenbach GER19730331 871
25 4Frutschi Patrick GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19850827 174
26 267Näf Ralph Multivan Merida Biking Team SUI19800510
27 104Link-Fritsche Timo RVA Empfingen GER19810609 836
28 174Hardter Uwe GER19770114 Rothaus-Cube
29 245Lautwein Tobias Team Pack Zu Schäfer Shop GER19860813 414
30 260Friberg Calle Team Focus-Strix SWE19810409 1024
31 85Kühn Marcus
Activity-Racing-Team TSV
Schmiden GER 19860212 562
32 5Lionel Bücheli GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19870410 173
33 126Rattelmüller Daniel bike sport ansbach GER19880929 450
34 18Hirsch Stephan Team Radshop Seither - SDC RLP19881019 843
35 230Lehmann Jürg Team Cycling Sports SUI19810219 185
36 282Adrion Lukas RRC Endspurt Mannheim GER19891214
37 157Blümel Matthias RC Die Schwalben München GER 19811129 161
38 121Rettner Rainer AC 1892 Weinheim GER19890519 306
39 54Conzelmann Benjamin RSV Tailfingen / Team Adicom GER19890904 751
40 256Schafbauer Josef Veloclub Ratisbona Regensburg GER19820907 962
41 233Streit Lars Team Cycling Sports SUI19860808 190
42 281Daum Philipp RSV Stuttgart-Vaihingen GER19881103
43 248Coconcelli Jochen TSV Dettingen Erms GER 19840804 168
44 80Lampater Leif
Activity-Racing-Team TSV
Schmiden GER 19821222 649
45 112Huizinga laurens 1. RV Stuttgardia Stuttgart GER 19870126 888
46 159Brödel Jonas AC 1892 Weinheim GER19900109 951
47 61Hetzer Dominik RV Pfeil Magstadt GER19881225 466
48 275Breuer Sebastian Radsport Rhein-Neckar GER19891118
49 96Weissinger Matthias RV Concordia Reute e.V. GER19841029 1008
50 1Bernhard Furger GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19850909 175
51 224Huggenberger Stefan Team AutoForum GER 19810414 801
52 108Schneider Sascha VBC Waldshut-Tiengen GER19870515 254
53 285Schreier Andreas TEAM ROTHAUS GER 19880115
14.04.2009 05:14
54 290Uhlig Patrick RV Concordia Reute e.V. GER19830321
55 125Weber Joa AdW Berlin Stadler Masters GER19660419 252
56 220Willbold Florian SC Vöhringen 1893 GER19861020 768
57 286Dold Dominic TEAM ROTHAUS GER 19890411
58 246Manthey Björn Team Pack Zu Schäfer Shop GER 19810209 795
59 273Schlubkowski Benjamin RRC Endspurt Mannheim GER19890226
60 179Nothof Philipp RSG Heilbronn GER 19870925 794
61 113Schmid Peter 1. RV Stuttgardia Stuttgart GER19821102 767
62 287Diemer Benjamin Multivan Merida Road Team GER19830528
63 117Kremer Andre AC 1892 Weinheim GER19881222 302
64 277Kiechle Martin RSC Kempten GER19750516
65 77Augustin Vincent TEAM ROTHAUS GER19900713 986
66 215Genuit Fabian RV Viktoria Essingen GER19870810 733
67 195Müller Moritz RSV Oberhausen GER19880128 778
68 289Holtz Valentin Multivan Merida Road Team GER19830819
69 139Schäfer Axel MRSC Ottenbach GER19890507 876
70 280Reichert Markus RRC Endspurt Mannheim GER19860611
71 244Krau Markus Team Pack Zu Schäfer Shop GER19841124 413
72 8Roman Andres GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19831208 171
73 272Gathof Daniel KJC Ravensburg GER19810502
74 133Bauer Markus Lexware-Racing-Team GER19890824 536
75 263Flemming Nils Radsportclub 07 Fulda GER19891223
76 236Grandl Felix Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19850918 729
77 200Leppert Andreas RSV Yburg Steinbach GER 19860519 493
78 237Nuber Patrick Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19880314 730
79 75Rupf Martin RSV Schwalbe Ellmendingen 987
80 223Sickmüller Johannes Stevens Racing Team GER19820318 908
81 62Kollross Michael RV Pfeil Magstadt GER19820622 467
82 163Gut Alexander RG RACING-STUDENTS GER19840711 650
83 52Schaar Fabian team cycling sports GER19890313 188
84 228Flühmann Daniel Team Cycling Sports SUI19810321 183
85 182Schweiger Thomas RSG Werdenfels GER19721119 508
86 257Schwarzhuber Markus Veloclub Ratisbona Regensburg GER19890211 963
87 288Mayr Andreas Multivan Merida Road Team GER19830907
88 221Rieber Markus SF Lauffen GER 19690517 471
89 87Barrowclough Matthew TSV Schmiden GER19840323 1010 2:52:50
90 39De Poel Sascha RSC Donaueschingen GER19790724 998
91 58Friedrich Simon RSV Tailfingen / Team Adicom GER19881204 753
92 274Böhme Jens RKV Neuhausen GER19860618
93 83Horstmann Simon
Activity-Racing-Team TSV
Schmiden GER19800317 791
94 38Blahak Tobias RSC Donaueschingen GER19870411 995
95 42Premiati Benjamin RSC Donaueschingen GER19831212 999
96 292Sonnenstädt Björn VMC Konstanz GER19830301
97 2David Jansen GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19860812 176
98 14Pohl Fabian Team Isaac Torgau e.V. GER19790414 802
99 165Kurz Johannes RG RACING-STUDENTS GER19820115 654
100 255Mathias Fiedler Veloclub Ratisbona Regensburg GER19890925 959
101 254Martin Gorges Veloclub Ratisbona Regensburg GER19810907 960
102 246Manthey Björn Team Pack Zu Schäfer Shop GER 19810209 795
103 72Hesse Matthias TEAM ROTHAUS GER 19890403 989
104 138Rogler Philipp MRSC Ottenbach GER19781014 874
105 93Linser Sebastian RV Concordia Reute e.V. GER19800505 1005
106 22Wolf Christian MRSC Ottenbach GER19840323 875
107 40Fahl Jan RSC Donaueschingen GER19840627 1000
108 56Beck Steffen RSV Tailfingen / Team Adicom GER19900720 752
109 248Coconcelli Jochen TSV Dettingen Erms GER 19840804 168
110 50Pfeffer Michael RSV Öschelbronn GER 19870306 940
111 152Schnait Fabian
Radsport Rhein-Neckar/ MLP-
Radteam GER19901027 525
112 34Vollmer Lukas RSG Ludwigsburg GER19900227 906
113 291Vesterling Karsten TSV Schmiden GER19840506
114 161Feistel Andreas RG RACING-STUDENTS GER19720621 655
115 201Herfert Sven RSV Öschelbronn GER 19750601 576 2:55:38
116 97Zavarzin Roman RV Concordia Reute e.V. GER19860809 1009
14.04.2009 05:14
117 47Hugemann Patrick RSV Öschelbronn GER 19890613 470
118 45Duell Frank RSV Öschelbronn GER 19630308 43
119 65Peluso Valentino RV Pfeil Magstadt ITA19870411 469
120 170Höfer Max-Georg RKV Neuhausen GER 19901109 889
121 57Bock Stefan RSV Tailfingen / Team Adicom GER19631028 754
122 52Schaar Fabian team cycling sports GER19890313 188
Kollegium der Kommissäre:
14.04.2009 05:14

Rund um Schönaich

2009-04-13T09:16:00.006-06:00

The awesome support crew!
Leif Lampater, teammate, in the early break
The climb
Post climb
The mayhem before the climb, check out that caravan
Just before the Ziel...
Me giving it a go...I did much better climbing seated than trying to stand. Saved my legs for the top when you had to continue going full gas.

This morning was the first big race of the year and LBS Cup. 126km of Monday morning bliss. Germany is on holiday today due to Osternmontag(Easter Monday). Crowds were in full effect along with huge finish blowup banner a la pro style of the usual loud speakers centered around the course with a commentator going nonstop from his booth at the Start/Ziel(start/finish). I must say that the crowds were unreal. The course was a 9km loop with many ups and downs. At the finish, there was a 400m climb that was approaching 12%. Crowds literally lined from the top to the bottom yelling, making noise, and of course encouraging. You couldn't help but drive hard. After you crest the top it was pretty fast through the village then slight descent with cross winds before a hard left then up and down fast through a village again before going back up then down before the final push up to the finish line. It was fast and on those climbs and descents. The field was single file for 70% of the race. Afterwards, my teammates said that it was one of the hardest. Over 200 starters. All the largest teams represented in the area. I finished in the 3rd group. With 6 laps to go I was starting to cramp and by the last two laps, the quads were not too happy. On the last time up, I managed to distance myself from the group I was with and finish solo so that was good.

It was a hard race, but I know I belong here. Next time I need to be sure to take my electrolyte pills to halt the cramping. But its all a learning experience. Nächste rennen(next race) at Waldrems nächste Sontag. Its a 2.5km circuit race. Very narrow roads. Its just 8km from the house so I'm excited about that.

Yesterday was the big Ostern celebration at Casa de Sanwald. The whole crew was over for kaffee und kuchen at 1500 then afterwards we went outside for the big hunt. Alena and Tim did the hunting, but I did manage to find a little suprise for myself. I felt like a big deal. Afterwards, Karin und Heinz served up a tasty abendessen. It was Schwäbisch I believe. We had bröt mit zwei fleisch(two meats). One was stuffed with käse and the other paprika(red pepper). It was muy delicious and provided some good energy for today's battles.
The Man Himself, Heinz Sanwald
The Hunt is On!

Chow,
Matthew

Photos from Backnang

2009-04-12T00:00:00.005-06:00

Mein Über Fantastische Angenommene Familie...THE SANWALDS!

Road delays in Deutschland

My First Biergarten

2009-04-11T09:51:00.003-06:00

Last night, I rolled down to Schorndorf with Marc & Sandra and we met with Timur, Sebastian Latz, Anja & Oliver Kurz, and Elmar for a little traditional German good weather food and drink. The Schorndorf Stadt Biergarten was the choice rezndevous point. If you haven't been to a biergarten before, I highly recommend it. And not the lame American version of a terrace outside a bar only open during the summer. A proper biergarten must include benches, numerous food selections that you order and pickup, and of course bier on tap. I went with the 0,5L of the Kringer Original. It was tasty. For my food, I did quite a bit of deliberation and menu scouring. One must check over everything as they don't want to cheat themselves of such deliciousness. I finally chose the special for the day, Spinat Strüdel mit fetakäse. This deliciousness included a tomato und zweibel salat(tomato and onion salad). It was a German strudel twist on a mediterranean dish of spinach and feta. If you are keen on your Greecian foods, it would be most similar to a spanakopita. It was basically deliciousness and over too soon before the sensations had a chance to really begin. The biergarten also included its choice selections of a bunch of german boys getting a little hammered. They already were well into their drinking when we arrived around 7:30. I could tell b/c at that point, they had begun filling their 0,5L and 1L glasses with rot wein(red wine). This was a good sign I thought. And of course the teasing of each other and falling off the table part confirmed my observation.

After the delicious had ended, we rolled back through the center of Schorndorf. It was quite a nice city. Many old buildings with good charm. I will be back....

Today, was a recovery day as I have the first big race of the year on Monday. Monday is a holiday here in Germany. Did a very, very mellow 1hr spin. Just to keep the legs moving. I've put in some great training this week and now its just time to recover and keep things loose. Tomorrow I'll be doing my traditional pre-race day warmup of 1.5hrs with some short, intense efforts. Nothing too big, but just keep the legs use to a little pain. I don't want to tire myself out to much before the big Easter egg hunt at the Sanwald's with Alena and Tim. Hopefully, I will be invited to participate =)

Another beautiful day here in Backnang, Low 20s and sunny. Weather went from cold/rain/snow to warm and sun. Not much in between. I finally noticed some leaves sprouting yesterday so spring is upon us.

Now, I must enjoy my first German barbecue experience....

Chow,
Matthew

Asking for Directions...

2009-04-09T14:09:00.003-06:00

I'm not one to ask for directions. Maybe it's part of my X/Y chromosome makeup but I prefer to think its my quest for adventure and to try to prove to myself that I made the right decision. Today, I buckled underneath the stress. Having spent 2hrs on a great endurance ride up to Heilbronn then south towards Lauffen am Necker I was approaching the danger zone of getting returning to Backnang early enough to drive to the Flughafen(airport) to pick up Marc and Heinz. I knew that if I could find the river then I could get on the bike path that parallels the Necker. I was literally about 200m from getting it correct on my own, but the flat land and high buildings hindered my search effort. Of course having no map with me didn't help either. So I did the next best thing. I found a fahrad shop(bike shop) and asked how to get to Ludwigsburg. The shop guy gave some good directions and I was on my way. But the endurance ride was now a tempo/threshold ride for the next 1hr45min. Fortunately, I had good legs today. Had it been yesterday, I would have been pretty deep in the pain cave. Now I said yesterday that I am finally beginning to have a sound understanding of the area. Well, this was a new area to me so I can't be judged too harshly. But now I know, and knowing is half the battle. Overall the route was pretty solid. Nice mix of bike/farm paths and road. Good climbs and some nice flat sections. And of course it was near 20º so one can't complain.

The past two week's training has definitely kicked the metabolism up. I woke up this morning(4am) with hunger pains...then again at 6:30 with hunger pains. No I didn't starve myself at dinner either. After two bowls of nut/fruit muesli and two pieces of toast w/ nutella spread and kiwi fruit on top I hopped on the bike. As soon as I rolled out, I felt that I didn't even eat breakfast. I think its better to go into the ride a little hungry. That way you aren't feeling bloated and full during the first hour. Better to eat a little more on the ride and keep the energy level and blood sugar level stable then boost before you ride only to see it drop off the earth by the end. I've been experimenting with this protocol lately, and it seems to be working better for me. In my former days, I would finish each ride with a hunger knock. So this was bad on so many levels. Sure we all make those mistakes, but mine was nearly every ride. First it depreciates your level of training you can undertake in that session and two, it delays your recovery. Recovery is critical for long, term performance on the bike.

Tonight, as in every Thursday night, I get the true pleasure of enjoying the flavors of the world-renowed Gretel. Tonight she made Chicken Cordon Bleu. Let's just say that I haven't seen four pieces of meat so large in my life. It was tasty. She is coming over on Sontag for the big Ostern fest at the Sanwald's. So while you might be eating the same ol', same ol' at home, rest assured that I am being treated to some Schwäbian delicacies by Gretel here in Backnang.

Here are some pics. The cordon bleu by itself is Marc's piece. I think the chicken it came from could have eaten me.

Chow,
Matthew

Tough Day and Critical Thinking

2009-04-08T13:05:00.002-06:00

Paid my dues today for the hard tempo ride yesterday. Body was just tired...of course it could mean I need more sleep. But the legs didn't have the zap they had yesterday. The good and bads of cycling I guess. Some days you have no chain other days, you are begging for mercy as little kids pass you on their way to school. The former the truth, the latter...maybe but I'm not revealing everything.

The plan for today was to get in a mix of 1min V02 efforts. I scoped a climb from my ride yesterday that I thought would be perfect as the race on Monday has some steep, short climbs in the race. Now I'm not going to become an über sprinter over steep climbs in one week, but everything is all about building for the future. It will also be good to get some sensations in the legs that I might, or rather WILL DEFINITELY experience on Monday. From the looks of the climbs I knew it would be steep, 15-20% steep. I'll admit, I was a little scared before starting lol. So the workout would go like this, go as hard as you can for 1min/recover on the descent for 1min, repeat 5 times. Total interval time of 10min give or take. I ended up making the max efforts longer b/c I wanted to ride up to the bench that was my marker. So like 1.15min-1.26min. By the 5th one, I actually rode a higher power and felt surprisingly better. I did definitely bury myself on it b/c I knew that I would have recovery afterwards. But it was good to go harder on the last one, means I have some endurance I guess. Afterwards, I limped down the hill and road at a pretty mellow recovery pace up the Necker towards Freiburg a.M Necker. Then bolted over the bridge and saw a sign for Ludwigsburg. I'm kind of liking this signage thing. Of course you have to be a little adventurous b/c sometimes the signs don't always appear in sequential order. But one must get the Leif Erickson on and brave the frontier. Ended up riding down to Ludwigsburg and caught the river path and then back to Marbach a.M. Necker. From Marbach, I rode back to Murr then did a 2nd set of 1min max/1min recovery efforts. I was pretty spent by the last one. V02 intervals will do that. Looking back I should have done this yesterday b/c I was so fresh. Always better to do your hardest work when you are feeling well so you get the most benefit. But in racing you don't always feel super good so working hard when it hurts extra builds mental toughness. So I got that going for me. Found some new routes so that was pretty cool too. While on the bike I had a revelation...Today was the first day that I feel that I am actually learning the local area. Every ride before was a adventure, some might call a gamble. B/c I didn't always know where I was going or if I could safely make it back. But my Jedi mapping skills have sorted me out well enough. But today, I could finally say how to get here, here, or there with the best route for cycling and some choice sections for training. Tomorrow, I'm going to do an endurance ride of 4hrs with some power accelerations. Afterwards, I heading to the Flughauf to pick up Marc and Heinz.

Now onto the 2nd component of today's enlightment. My critical thoughts on Performance Evalutions and Job Ratings. First off, I despise them like the gum on your shoe or the dung on the sidewalk. Why? Because they are a waste of time, and never accurately represent the person involved. When I worked for Bank of America long, long ago as a trading desk support staff, I was greeted by this bs program known as Six Sigma, a brain child of GE engineers. I spent days and days filling out my 6 areas and creating metrics for the next year that I would be graded on. I believe that goal setting and discussion is important, I do it every day. But the way Six Sigma works is an economic drain. Fortunately, I left Bank of America for a better position and didn't have to follow through on the my yearly goals. For the record, of the 6, I only cared about 2, the other 4 were for filling in the blanks. Now is that not a drain of talent? In my next job as an economic analyst for a I-Bank, I got the pleasure of being thrown under the gauntlet by my boss in the firm's proprietary evaluation system. Now my boss and I saw eye-to-eye in similar fashion as to how a vegan sees with a normal, every day German. Not so good if you missed any culture reference. I received a pretty low score from her. So this brings me to my complaint after my long KWesq background =) If one is doing there job, ie tasks are being completed, projects are running smoothly, they aren't causing strife, what does an Evaluation do? Besides waste time for the evaluee and the evaluator. Your work should speak for itself whether you are good worker. If a cyclist wins every one of their targeted races, do you need to ask did they have a good year? Well, you can certainly look at things they improved upon and make suggestions for next year but by winning those key targets, didn't they just evaluate themselves and their hard work? Yes. You can never entirely capture someones efforts or skills from a written test or evaluation. We always look at the most recent rather than the entire picture. Winning one day but riding crap the rest of the year may be important to some, but not to me.

Now you have been enlightened with my critical thoughts of job evaluations.

Chow,
Matthew

Tempo Training

2009-04-08T01:14:00.003-06:00

Had a great day of training yesterday. Goal for the day was to work on strength and tempo pacing. Legs felt amazingly good yesterday despite the short recovery period from the Spin class on Monday night. Of course the near 70º temps and sun certainly helped the cause. I rolled out of Backnang, and took in the 8%, 4km climb over to Schorndorf. Kept the cadence pretty low to work on leg strength. Good sensations. Then cruised the various bike routes through the villages to Schorndorf at tempo pace then onto Wablingen. From Wablingen, I rolled along the Necker(river) bike path towards Ludwigsburg and continued onto Murr. After Murr, I was feeling a bit of a hunger knock but took a snack and shortly later, the legs were firing fast again. Just over 3hrs, 2200kjs. I tried to keep the pace at tempo for as long as I could but the numerous villages and slow areas kind of complicate that but it was a great training session.

Being abroad has presented numerous new and different protocols for living. In Germany, no right on red, and you absolutely do not cross crosswalks unless you have a green light. It's funny to watch b/c you look both directions at the crosswalk and there are no cars in sight. Yet, people wait patiently. Not sure if its a more relaxed lifestyle, not the go-go-go American way, or just the desire to obey the man. I've noticed myself following the protocol. More b/c I just don't want to get into a situation that is way above my level of Deutsch language understanding =) I do think that the turn right on red after yield should be changed. Makes driving very slow.

Last night, I watched a tv program that highlighted German culture. It was basically a, "you know you are German because you act or do things like this.." It was really funny, and I actually learned things that I had noticed during my time here. For instance, currywürst is the highest consumed food in Deutschland, over 8million a year. German's also have associations for everything. Whereas in the US, we do not as I explained to Sandra. Some are good associations like sporting teams etc...some are just obscure and ridiculous, like the "laughing association" and the "schnitzel tasting association." A more important one was the association that went to biergartens and measured each beer to assure proper pouring sizes. Can't be cheated on your bier! The laughing association was just stupid. People get together and just laugh. No jokes, no comedy acts, just people making fake laughs. The program also hit a lot on food preferences and Sandra confirmed this. Germans eat only what is familiar to them. So diets are pretty regular. I can see that. The number of German restaurants in Majorca was mind blowing. For me, when I go on vacation, I choose to try flavors of the area and try things that i wouldn't normally eat so its quite different from my style, but to each his/her own.

Chow,
Matthew

Cross Training mit Deutsch Lernen

2009-04-06T14:57:00.002-06:00

Since Marc is in Mallorca, I filled in as a über special guest instructor in his Monday spin class. I spent an hour before the class writing down a game plan but more importantly writing down key phrases and words. That's one way to learn a new language I guess. Nothing like lighting a fire and having to perform. The classes went well. I introduced myself in the beginning and told that I speak "ein besschen deutsch" (a little deutsch). I used my lighthearted and fun personality to keep the humor rolling. Not bragging here because I have been told I exemplify both and I have tests to prove both. Okay, so back to the spin class....fortunately many in the class understood some English so I used my best Deutglish and the class worked out well. I don't think they were expecting to ride like they did tonight. There are lots of way to teach a spin class. If I am going to have to ride indoors then I'm going to make the most of it for me. Selfish? Yes, but for the betterment of the class. I try to follow a standard workout that I would do if I was out training. Albeit its a little bit more condensed. So we worked on threshold efforts with sprints interspersed throughout the interval. In my classes there is not pase(rest). We have recovery periods but we keep spinning throughout. Spin instructors throughout the world would probably say that I am missing the boat on what SPIN and that SPIN is not cycling. Well, I think its better to miss that boat than not get a good workout. But I digress....

Afterwards, Sandra overheard some people. They were asking if I was going to continue teaching the class. They said that it was a very good class. So despite my Deutglish, I brought language confusion, pain, and happiness all in one class. Pretty proud of myself. I probably won't be jumping into any more spin classes on a regular basis. I prefer riding outside but maybe I will dabble in the German spin class instruction from time to time. Resume building? Maybe...

So I broke the axel in my rear Mavic Kysrium Elite today. I took into the local shop and borrowed a 10mm and 4mm to tighten the hub which was loose. Well I tightened it, then tightened it too much. Anyhow, the freehub is on the way out. Hopefully I can use my Mavic MP3 program that I bought into in May 2007, ie 2yr warranty program. The wheel is still usable but not top shape. My DTSwiss 1450 rear has a loose cassette too. can't figure out. I rolled around in CO with no problem. Since I don't have my chainwhip, at home maintenance gets tricky. I might just have to pony up the funds to get a chainwhip rather than relying on trips to the shop. I always keep my stuff in top shape and I can't seem to figure out why these problems surface now. The owner of BikeBox said I had too much power in the legs. I'll go with that excuse for the problems with the wheels =)

chow,
Matthew

Bayern Racing

2009-04-05T13:55:00.002-06:00

Lined up today for my first "official" BDR race...Nürtingen was only a training race albeit they did serve cokes and pretzels at the end. It was an early start for us since Aichach in Bayern(near München) is about 200km away. I rolled down in the Benz with Elmar and Timur. Scheiss wetter mit regen until about 30km from the start then the sun came out and all was dry. Well it was more of a haze but no rain, and dry roads, and warm temps. I got my number and got set up properly. Course was 7km with rolling terrain and some good windy sections. Layout was quite beautiful and it was properly closed off to traffic the entire way so we could take the whole road. The US could learn something here. They even had marshalls sweeping the corners. After pre-riding one time, I had a good feel for the windy sections and where it might get hard. Some proved true, other parts didn't. I rolled to the start about 15min early as I could see crowds forming. Well, I arrived to the tune of about 25m deep in the starting area. They have me racing C Klasse which is the biggest klasse and usually the sketchiest. The BDR(german fed) wouldn't give me a B Klasse license even though I have a US elite license. So I have to work my way up I guess. Okay so back to the race...over 215starters. By the time I crossed the line, the field was strung out 100m! Fortunately, I did some pre-race mind exercises to know that I'm going to have my work cut out for me to move up but I could do it. After the first lap, I was feeling super. In my head I was thinking, if this is the hardest, then I should have a good ride.

Protocol for the race...go hard for 30s on the uphill sections...slow...go fast...slow...on downhill...brake. Made for lot nervewracking moments. Several crashes...one endo into the newly plowed fields. I came through unscathed. On lap 7 I was making my way up nicely then on the in the last 3km something a few bikes in front(which was the front) went awry. Then i slipped back a little. Worked my way back. Anticipated some carnage on the 1k to go hard right. Positioned myself the best of what position I had. Many started sprinting at 600m...well if you are Cancellera but you aren't. I hid myself and watched the holes open up. Unfortunately the break that had about 30s by the end crossed just ahead. I finished top30. Pleased with fitness. Legs responded well and had good power. Positioning is getting better. It was harder the entire race, i think I could have faired better. The up and down allows to many sketchy riders to stay in the mix. But I'm not making excuses b/c if I was good enough I would have just ridden away or been able to position myself to get into the break. Next time. Timur and another teammate, Daniel Hartman, finished close behind.

Afterwards, I got a kaffee from the race stand set up. At the stand was kuchen(cake), brot mit fleisch(meat sandwich), brezzel(pretzel) and bier. I made sure to read the sign multiple times before ordering my kaffee. I handed over my 1€ only to be told no, its "drie euro" (3€)! I paid b/c I wanted my kaffee and it was only drip. Albeit good drip kaffee but nothing special. Feeling like I was taken to the cleaners I made an effort to remember the menu wording so I could look it up and understand where I messed up. The fleisch sandwiches were only 3€. So it was some type of roasted pork on a roll. Basically about 1/3lb of meat and a small roll for 3€ and coke was only 1€. I wondered why the kaffee served in the mugs was so expensive. Well when I turned my mug in, I received 2€ back. Score! Not really b/c it was owed to me, but it did make the kaffee taste that much better in my stomach. Apparently, as I am learning, the race food is prepared and sold by the families of the club who supports the race. I assume they must keep a dungeon full of kaffee mugs for these events and brake them out. It was quite the operation though. Some were making waffles, some making kaffee, cutting kuchen, taking euros, cutting meat and powdering waffles with sugar. The kuchen was nothing you would expect from the US. These were totally legit homemade delicacies. I opted to stick with my banana, apfel, kiwi and baguette mit käse und marmelade und kiwi(yep, I had sliced kiwi on my cheese baguette). Super tasty!

Chow,
Matthew

Eve of Racing

2009-04-04T12:48:00.002-06:00

So I'm going to race tomorrow. I didn't think it was possible as I've yet to fully figure out the whole German Cycling Association way of registering. In the US we can pre-reg by paying with credit card, no problem. You can also reg day of and pay a little bit more but it works. Only a few races actually sell out. Well here you must register 2weeks prior and have money wired from a bank account. And not knowing that I had teammates going to the race until yesterday, I guess I kind of dropped the ball. But the point is that I am racing tomorrow and super eager to race. Just another lost in translation moment you could say.

The masses were out in Backnang today as the Zentrum was crawling with men, women, kids, street vendors, and farmers selling produce. Quite a beautiful sight to see as my last weekend visit to the Zentrum would have been confused with a ghost town. All the cafe seats were taken up and it was just gorgeous to see. I'm kind of a cafe person. The choice for many was kaffee mit milche or latte macchiato which is probably the most popular speciality espresso drink here in Germany. Its served in a glass similar to a pint glass and oozes with goodness. Sandra made one for me a few weeks ago. I just rolled by the sights and sounds as I was finishing up my tune-up ride prior to tomorrow's race in Bayern, yep that's Bavaria for my American peeps. I'm going to roll out with teammates Timur and Elmar. I've been riding pretty well this week so hopefully something will come together tomorrow.

On a much lighter note...I was watching the BBC this morning while consuming kaffee. Big NATO meeting close by in Strasbourg, France which borders Germany. Here is the scene...German chancellor does formal greeting of each political dignitary or hotshot if you will. So its pretty formal and straightforward. Polzei accompany each car and each person is ushered up to the chancellor...take photo, exchange fake smiles, and shake hands. Well now comes the Italy dignitary. Door opens, he steps out with cell phone against ear and rapping off some italian. He turns and walks away...German doesn't know what to do or how to react...BBC commentators having a hayday at questioning his gutso at taking a call during this event....minutes pass, Chancellor looks upset...new cars arrive...time passes...italian still on phone...all dignitaries arrive and leave for the meeting...italian still talking while standing near the river...meeting commences...italian not present, still talking on cell.

Pretty much the most politically hilarious thing I have seen in a long time. The Italian had quite a bit of bravado to pull off such a stunt. Quite disrespectful. I'm not going to get on my high horse about cell phone use when in public or within the company of friends or others but just suffice it to say that his move would have been no bueno. Don't be that person next time you are at some international summit on live television or if you are with your friends.

Chow,
Claw

Spring in Baden-Württenburg

2009-04-03T10:32:00.002-06:00

It appears spring has finally arrived and it couldn't have come early enough. I was getting a little bit exhausted with the cold, rainy rides that I've experienced since moving here. My bike is enjoying the change too. Hopefully the weather will hold out and spare my brake pads and other components from complete destruction. It's been sunny the past two days and highs around 20ºC. Some wind but one can't complain about the temps and the SUN! I took the sunny weather a little bit for granted in CO. I've actually received a bit of a psychological boost. I guess its true that they say the weather does have an impact on the head.

Yesterday, I rolled out some town far east of here. The goal for training was to work on sprinting. So after a proper warmup, I started nailing down some sprints from different speeds and gears. After 5, I kept it in a big gear and plowed through the next hour which included some nasty climbs that put me in the hurt locker but I survived. I did some more 10s jump sprints while climbing at threshold. These hurt but should be beneficial to the plan. Fortunately, on the way back I had a nice cross/tail wind. Kept in the big gear and worked on leg strength. I've always struggled with this. I think I often tend to rely more on my aerobic side and less on strength. Shawn and I addressed it early last fall and did some great work on it. So I'm kind of fine tuning it and "attempting" to improve it.

Today was another gorgeous day. After a proper amount of coffee and muesli I headed out for an endurance ride. More of a ride of "how far can I go, then get lost, then find my way home." Its pretty much the norm when riding in a new area. Fortunately, my salmon returning upstream to their birthplace honing skills paid off and I made it safely back to Backnang. Got to see a great deal of the great German countryside along with about 1000 towns. I covered up the SRM with a cue sheet of key towns I wanted to hit. Well that plan went South after I reached Murr. But nevertheless, I was able to pull my big boy pants up and press on. At some points I tried to follow the regional biking network which routes cyclists along "more cycling friendly confines." This plan worked well some of the time. Other times, it landed me in field with no real signs of anything. But that's what its about right? In Belgium, I always carried my trusty Michelin map with me during riding. Here, no such possession. But the team has provided me with a Garmin 705 that I have yet to install. Waiting on getting the team bike and getting it built up. Don't want to outfit the Lemond with another computer. The SRM is already enough. With the Garmin, I'd appear that I was working for NASA. Don't want that.

There is a race on Sunday...hoping that I can race it. The German way of doing things is that you must always register beforehand, like 2 weeks beforehand. So hopefully there will be space to "drive" on Sunday. Keep you posted.

Chow,
Claw

Zürich and Racing

2009-04-01T10:29:00.004-06:00

My first German race is now in the books. It was a typical mainland euro spring event on Saturday...Wind, Rain, and Cold. I've always enjoyed racing in the bad weather. There is just something about it. No one can hide and it always takes so much mental strength to get through. The course was pretty basic, 4 turns and lots of laps. My team was well represented in the race which is a nice change from my experience of racing in the US. My legs took 35laps to feel in check even after a long warmup. But my teammates were doing an excellent job of placing someone in each move. But nothing was going to stick today. Pace was pretty high the whole time with a lot more attacking than the charity ride I saw in the previous week's edition. It was good to see that people were motivated despite the tough conditions. I opted to not go for glasses as I have trouble seeing through the lenses when they are wet. Well, I guess that vision and comfort would be a lot more tolerable now after picking debris out of my eye the morning after the race. When I stopped, I told Kristi, who was the über awesome girlfriend yelling each lap despite the scheiss wetter, that I can't see. She asked if I was going to do a cool down. I responded, "already cooled down." B/c I don't think my body never really warmed up. Everything was wet and the 5ºC temps made for pretty much cold death upon my body. My fingers were pretty much frozen which made undressing interesting along with shifting during the race. Sandra and Kai also came along and were awesome support. It was very helpful to have them out there encouraging despite the bad weather. After cleaning up I gave back my number and received a fresh pretzel, small cured würst and a coke. Gotta love euro racing. The race director was very helpful to me. Not sure if the race director knew I was American but he was extra helpful with me. Finished top10. I was positioning myself well in the end but didn't read the lap card right...probably b/c I had road grime skewing the vision. Ohh well, it was good.

Later that night, after much searching and recon work, Kristi and I found an authentic Schwäbisch restaurant nearby for dinner. It is a nice little place with bier garten in the forest. We had to complete her experience in Backnang with some authentic gastronomic treats. I went with the käse spätzle and she went with the moltaushun mit champingions. A a little frosty beverage of course...me the dunkel(dark, ale like), she the weiß. After we left, I was driving away and apparently I took a wrong turn b/c about 1.5km in, I said, "I think we are on a bike path?." Kristi gave the most priceless laugh. Yep, I was driving down a bike path which I thought was a road. I continued on and eventually discovered a secret exit point. The road was getting narrow and i thought it would be difficult for two cars to go through. Chalk it up to another great Euro adventure experience.

On Sunday, we rolled ICE down to Zürich for 3 days. Zürich is quite beautiful. I found a nice B&B that catered to the offbeat crowd. It's what they advertise. It was promptly located in the red light district which provided quite a bit of pondering and humor as we walked to and fro each day. I almost created a international incident when I went to make my own kaffee. The proprieter I has a special law that only she is allowed to use the espresso machine b/c people in the past have used it and apparently it caused a global meltdown in her eyes. It wasn't even complicated. It was a tiny espresso machine which took espresso pods. You remove the handle, insert new pod, re-attach handle, push button for kaffee and bam, you are done. There are 3 buttons. She ripped me one. I was just trying to not burden her b/c I wanted a 2nd cup. Then the question came between Kristi and I as to whether I was allowed to pick up the cup from the machine after it had finished. It was a risky move to go and take the cup without her knowing but I did. I just thought it was very inefficient for her to be constantly coming in and out if someone wanted kaffee. Either get a more "user friendly" machine or instruct people and provide instructions on how to use. I think its impossible to get a machine more user friendly. So that leaves only one option. But Susanne is a fiesty dutch living in Zürich. I chose to only ask for 2 extra cups.

On Monday, we "rented" bikes from the Zürich Velo Center. For a 20CHF deposit and a short discussion with mafia-esc guy in a wooden shack, and one passport, you get a sweet urban ride with advertisments on the bike but nevertheless a good running urban hybrid. We took the "city touring" to a new level. Ended up riding about 50km with a long jaunt south along Lake Zürich before catching the ferry across and riding back north to the city. I think we got some looks from people who were wondering what the hell are these two characters doing riding this far away from the city with city bikes. But it was a great adventure. The ferry ride was pretty fun. We took in the Lindt Chocolate Factory Easter Sale Center. The aroma coming from the building could make even the saddest person smile. Exploring by bike was perfect. We got to see so much and just gave us freedom to go beyond the norm. Later that night we scored an awesome käse fondue experience. It was pretty tasty.

Yesterday, was our last day in Zürich and we took to it by foot and train. Did a super long hike and urban walk up to the Uetliberg. Its at 800m with Zürich at 400m. Gave us some pretty cool views. We ended up hiking pretty far south then down to a different S-Bahn station to take back to the Zentrum. The trail was in typical Swiss-fashion...gravel and rails throughout. I can imagine the cost, time, and maintenance that goes into these "hiking trails." But it was fun.

This morning, we had an early start to get Kristi to the Flaughuf Stuttgart. Her trip over to visit went by much quicker than I expected. We definitely covered a lot. Looking forward to our next time together =) After getting back here to Backnang, I went for a good 3.5hr ride. My quads were a little sore from our hiking adventure yesterday(20% descents all the way to the bottom). But I pushed on and kept the good sensations rolling. Weather is improving here. Only cloudy today and warmer. Maybe its actually changing for good now...

Chow,
Matthew

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

2009-03-28T03:40:00.002-06:00

So its been a few days since updating...Kristi and I have been very active exploring the region and I've been getting in some good training sensations. The legs are feeling much better now and the black lung is only leaving an occasional cough so things are good. I am finally feeling that extra gear that I remember feeling in Colorado before I left. Which is now over 1 month ago. Very hard to believe that I have been away for such a time.
On Wednesday, we visited the Mercedes Benz Museum. It was pretty interesting. I will upload the photos shortly. I'm not much of a car afficionado or really a "car" lover. They are more of utilitarean than art to me. Nevertheless, the museum profiled quite a bit of history of Daimler and Benz. A nice portion was devoted to the participation of Mercedes Benz during the World Wars. I also learned how far ahead of the curve Mercedes Daimler Benz have been in the growth and development of eco-friendly autos, trucks, and technology.

On Thursday, we planned out a super logistical algorithm which allowed me to do a nice ride and meet Kristi in the beautiful Stadt of Ludwigsburg. Lots of rain but it was okay. The delicious cappuccino warmed me up nicely. That evening, Gretel came over and made an authentic Schwäbisch meal of spätzle, hackbraten, and kartoffeln salat. SEHR GUT! Hackbraten is minced meat in a au jus sauce with spices. Its kind of a german form of meatloaf. Kristi got some instruction on spätzle making and gave it a whirl. I finished up and was proud of my spätzle making improvement. It was actually authentic looking. Kartofflent Salat is potato salad sans mayo as in Schwäbisch tradtion. I've never been a potato salad fan b/c of the mayo. But its very tasty.

Yesterday, after an early departure to drop Heinz, Marc, Christian S., and Steffen S. at the airport(3:45 departure) I came back. Went for a trainer session b/c the rain was dumping and I just wanted to do an opener workout prior to today's race in Nürtinghem. Afterwards, Kristi and I drove out to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Its a medieval village about 100km from Backnang. The town is surrounded by a wall that once protected it from invaders. It is a very popular place for American and Japanese tourists as it seemed we were the only ones visiting its grounds on the cold, quiet Friday. Not sure how many people still live there but it has many shops, cafes, and hotels. It was funny b/c so much was closed on Friday. Not sure why but we managed to tour the city and took in a walk along the enclosed walkway atop the wall. It was pretty cool b/c it circles the entire town and provides expansive vistas across the region. And of course when in Rothenburg, one must take in a local treat known as the "snowballen." Its a local cookie that is everywhere. From the looks of it, I was anticipating a soft dough similar to a funnel cake but we were surprised byt the crispy confection that emptied into our mouths. We opted to share the schokolade creme snowballen. I think there were probably 12 varieties at the cafe we went too.

This morning, more rain but Karin has said that next week its suppose to be 20º which will be a nice change from the rain/snow mix we have been experiencing. I attempted to produce some french toast with cinnamon apples this morning. It was okay...sort of dry I thought. I'm still adjusting to the electric range at the house. I'm a gas man. We didn't have any maple syrup either so next time, I will go for baking it rather than making it in the pan in the traditional sense. Nevertheless, it was a nice treat I think. Kristi and I are going to frequent a Deutsch restaurant tonight before we head to Zürich in the morning via the ICE train, i.e. 300km/h high speed train. Should be exciting. But first, I will race and race hard!

Pics are of our kaffee and cappuccino with schokolade snowballen.

Chow,
Matthew

Good Sensations and a Little Touring

2009-03-24T11:57:00.002-06:00

So I started back to "training" yesterday after my recovery from black lung. The sensations were good. Did 2hrs with several 5-10min threshold or above efforts on the climbs. It's exciting riding here because everything is new so each training session presents a variety of options for exploration. It also puts you in that unfamiliar zone with thoughts of, "I hope I can remember how to get home." But it wouldn't be as fun and exciting if you didn't have such a challenge. Fortunately, with a bike you can do so much. One just needs to have proper amount of food and water and ability to change an occasional flat. It's amazing how much you can see on a bike. I love it!

After training, Kristi and I headed to Stuttgart to do a little urban exploration. Stuttgart was quite lively for a Monday but also quite chilly as the wind was blowing pretty good. One of the numerous parks called our name and we had my traditional baguette with käse(cheese), not a bag-get. We found a nice cafe called, "Coffee Bar." It was the most american cafe I have seen here in Europe. They had 3 sizes, S,M,L for drinks with both take-away(paper cups) and in-house versions. My cappuccino was quite delicious. Good convo as well =)

So the wetter today was a little dicey. It seemed warmer than yesterday but after I started the morning with a proper bowl of muesli and a little brot mit nutella und banana I was forced to ride the trainer downstairs because of the schnee(snow). The schnee continued throughout the day but it was off and on. Kristi and I braved the elements and made our way around a nice forested trail near by. Then wir laufen(we walked) to Backnang Zentrum(center) and had a kaffee mit kuchen. We split the kuchen(cake a la rhubarb style) along with sehr gut convo.

The trail presented both mental and physical challenges along the way. We took part in a few. It was a good effort as we opted for the Black Course which presented us with the greatest elevation gains and the longest distance, 4,8km.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate without any schnee tomorrow so I can get out and ride. The plan is to visit the Mercedes Benz Museum in Bad Cannstadt which is suppose to be spectacular. The architectual design from the outside is quite impressive. And I would expect a museum with the Mercedes logo headlining it would serve up quite an experience. Pictures will be posted and the event will be blogged.

First race is this Saturday. Its a training race so not a lot of pressure but I treat every race seriously, and I am planning for a good result. The battle with Black Lung and Mallorcan Fatigue is shifting to my gain.

Chow,
Matthew

Immersion Blender Envy

2009-03-24T04:37:00.002-06:00

Being a foodie...I had to share this pic from the Winnendon Krankhaus(hospital). I was and still am quite envious of such a beautiful piece of kitchen toolery.

Photos with Kristi and Cracksauce =)

2009-03-23T15:43:00.002-06:00