Man alive I love intervals. I got to do those short intervals on Diablo today at lunchtime. The plan called for 10 three minute pieces just below race rate. They're not so hard that your eyeballs cross and you can't stand the pain, but as the numbers pile up, jiggers they get tough. And I love that. Those three minutes are all mine. As I pedal, all I think about is that I'll never get those three minutes back, so I'd better make them count. And they're short, so go man go. All alone with no one to push me beyond the planned zones or to limit me from going hard enough, it's times like these that make me love riding my bike. Of course I'm bummed to hear that one of the strong dudes (in a cat 4 kind of way )on the Sierra Nevada team fell off his bike and broke his hip. He'd been animating some races recently and I had visions of sucking his wheel in a break some day. You hear crap like that and bowling and beer and chewing tobacco starts to sound damn good. As the Griffociraptor reports, the guy is already planning his comeback so I should keep training. With workouts like the one I had today, I think I will.

Let's reach into the mail bag:

Dear Johnny-
We here at EMC would just like to ask you where you learned to ride your bike. Putting it as nicely as we can, you suck! Gianni and MerkeleyMike

Hey Guys-
Thanks for writing in. Sorry about the "bob and weave" routine out there at MercoLane. I drank a six pack of Rolling Rock (which I call Rolling Wreck) before the race. Thought I was riding as straight as possible. But you don't get the nickname: The Pinballing Pegasaurus for nothing. Other names I've been called: Dr. Sketchy and Sir Brakealot. Hope to improve this weekend. As for the rest of you, you might want to find a different place in the peloton. I'm only a Cat 4 after all. Hey Mike, I enjoyed talking to you during the race. I was about to tell you how my skiing was the week before, but when I turned to continue our conversation, it was a different EMC guy next to me. Perhaps he was also the one that took issue with my riding "style" or lack there of.

Dear Johnny-
Here on the farm, we'd just like to get your input on what to name our two new pigs. You're so creative, we just had to ask. Clare Carver and Brian Marcy

Hey Clare and Brian-
Great to hear from you. I've enjoyed your blog site a lot. Anyway, our mutual friend Perry Plattus is the only cop we know. I'd suggest you name one of your pigs Perry and the other one Plattus in honor of him. Going with Ham and Bacon or whatever is a bit cliche, even for rednecks down home on the farm. My two cents anyway.


That's all I have time for today folks. Hope you are well.

Johnny GoFast