In Keeping with the baby theme...

Here's a great video that I saw quite a while ago, but it is all of the sudden much, much more appropriate.
WARNING: those of you who are weak of stomach, proceed with caution!

Being a Dad...by the numbers

I have recently entered into the realm of fatherhood. My daughter, Reese, was born on the thirteenth of April, two thousand and seven. How's it been going?...I'll give you the numbers:

8 - number of pounds Reese weighed
13 - number of ounces Reese weighed in addition to the 8 lbs.
21.5 - number of inches long Reese was at birth
2 - number of hours I slept on the day Reese was born
3 - number of hours I slept the day after Reese was born
4 - number of times I've been spit up on in the past 2 weeks
8 - numbers of hours spent on the bike in the past 2 weeks
252 - number of hours spent staring at Reese in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of episodes of 'Live with Regis & Kelly' I've watched while on vacation in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of times we've filled our Diaper Genie II
0 - number of times I've prepared a home cooked meal since Reese's arrival
5,000 - number of congratulatory emails, text messages, phone calls, visits and gifts we've received in the past 2 weeks (THANKS)
10 - number of trips to pick up take out in the past 2 weeks.
24 - number of different onesies/pajamas Reese has worn in the past 2 weeks
50 - number of time per day I wash/sanatize my hands
10 - number of fingers and toes (each) on Reese (long monkey toes at that)
24 - number of years before Reese will be allowed to date.

Fans of Team cycle Logic...

...if you'd like to show your support for the only cat 4-5 cycling team from the Ocala/Gainesville area in a manner other than shaving our logo into your chest hair, this is for you.

For a limited time only, I will be taking orders for custom team Cycle Logic cycling caps (see image below). One size fits all, unless your head is the size and shape of a watermelon, and designed by our favorite designer for custom cycling apparel, 5count (toot! toot!)

At a cost of only $10.00 per cap, how could you say no to such an offer. Deadline to place orders is April 15th (just like your tax-deadline). For those of you wishing to order more than a dozen hats, please call our 5count offices at 1-800-I-LUV-CAPS*note: if you think that the aforementioned telephone number will really work, you're an idiot, furthermore, if you want a dozen or more Cycle Logic cycling caps, you may have a whole other set of issues that need to be dealt with, in which case you should call 1-800-IM-AN-IDIOT


I know that there are those of you out there on a lifelong pursuit to look more "Euro"...if that's you, then email Cycle Logic Cap orders and specify how many of these custom designed cycling caps you'd like. Be sure to include your name, phone number and mailing address for shipment.

Once you've contacted Cycle Logic Cap orders, an email will be sent to you with payment info. Shipping and handling charges have been included in the cost of each cap.

Act Now! Time is running out!

What's with Hamilton?

After the first two stages of Tyler Hamilton's first ever pro-tour event, Tirreno-Adriatico, he's sitting one spot out of the Lantern Rouge! I know that there have only been stages for the sprinters, but homeboy lost almost 22 minutes in stage two alone (161 out of 167 finishers were within 8'51" of the stage winner).

Has he bitten off more than he can chew, or will Tyler rise out of the ashes on stage 6 when the stage ends with the road tilting upwards?

If you ask me, this is the beginning of the end. R.I.P.

Insert funny caption here.

Photo ©: Fotoreporter Sirotti

Spoiled...

...as in, we may be some of the most spoiled sports fans in the country! To the outside observer, or even to the inside fanatic, it seems like all the Gators do is win championships. SEC championships, National Championships, football, basketball...we are steam rolling everyone!

There is some intense Gator mojo going around right now and I don't ever want it to stop, but ultimately it will and the Gator Nation will call for somebody's head with a fire[fill in name].com site all because we finish a season without another championship.

But screw all that, this Gator fan is living in the moment and loving every minute of it!!!

GO GATORS!!!

photo by US Presswire

More Cycle Logic Apparel...

Due to the overwhelming demand by those of you with lil' ones who are wanting to show their support for the good ole Orange and Grey, your prayers have been answered. Just added to the 5count cafepress store are new infant T-shirt "onesies" complete with the Cycle Logic logo.

Don't be the last one on your block to own a piece of Cycle Logic apparel, act now, supplies are running out!
***supplies aren't really running out, Cycle Logic apparel will be around longer than cockroaches, it just sounded more official.

Takin' the new ride for a spin...

So I've recently added a new stead to the stables. The ebay bargain of all bargains, a 1-year old Cannondale six-13 that had only been used as a demo bike at a bike shop in Maine. Due to the beatings that I've subjected the ol' Ridley to the past couple of years, it was time for a fresh start with fully-functioning componentry.

The Ridley will remain in my possession, but merely as a second-string training bike (once I replace the rear shifter/brake lever...If anyone has an Ultegra 10-spd replacement, let me know). So I got the Six-13 built up on Saturday night and thought I'd break him in on the GCC ride Sunday morning. In addition to needing bonding time with my new ride, I needed some more serious saddle-time with an impending charity century ride coming up this weekend.

I figured on a nice 3 hour 60+ mile stroll through the beautiful countrysides of north Alachua county. But what I got was a 90 mile epic that took us all the way north to Watermelon Park! You have to realize that my arse hasn't seen more than 2.5 contiguous hours on the bike since last september, that's a long time ago! So me and my new bike weren't really ready for the 4.5 hours, but the 100 miles next weekend aren't going to be any better so what the heck.

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, sunny and cool with some northerly wind that I could've done without, but all in all, not a bad day to be out on the bike. We were moving right along with some initial members of the group turning off for a shorter option.

About 35 miles into our ride I reached for a drink but wasn't prepared for the tension with which my new bottle cages held my water bottles. Needless to say, the bottle went flying and I quickly pulled a u-turn to retrieve my drinking vessel notifying my ride companions that I'd catch back on but to slow it down just a bit. Normally, even with my "early-season fitness", I'd grab my bottle and bridge back to the group without too much trouble...but on this day, my white water bottle went camouflage by rolling into a pile of like-colored gravel on the side of the road. The red top, which would've given it's location away, had shot off like a bottle rocket when it was run over. After close to 3 minutes of rolling around looking for my fallen soldier, I found both parts and headed off in an effort to reconnect with the group.

I knew that they were a good bit up the road, so I dosed my effort over the hilly, wind-swept terrain. After a couple of miles of chasing, it became apparent to me that my only hope was that the group would slow to a snails pace and allow me to catch back on. I would later find out that two guys had actually dropped off the back to pace me back to the bunch, but when I didn't immediately start back in pursuit of the group, they assumed that I had turned around and headed for home. Little did they know that I was hanging about a half-mile off the back!

I eventually lost all visual contact with the carrot that dangled in front of me when we went through some very "back-woods/deliverence" style roads littered with turns and tree canopies. Thank god for the little green arrows painted on the road for the Santa Fe Century (the route that we were following), otherwise the next time you would've seen my face it would've be on the back of a milk carton.

Following my 15 mile time trial I finally arrived at the rest stop in Watermelon park just a few minutes behind the group. I was greeted with surprised looks and guilty comments like, "Were you off the back that WHOLE time?" It wasn't their fault though, I blame the tension on my water bottle cage and the ellusiveness of my stupid bottle. It was good training nonetheless and I did enjoy the scenery.

With the amount of matches burned during my chase, I knew I would need to conserve any remaining energy if I was to make it back to town with the group. Thankfully a tailwind accompanied us home and the 25 mph pace was sustainable from within the comfort of the pack.

I peeled off from the group to take a more direct route home once we were within about 15 miles or so. Even with my easy rolling pace home, I could feel the efforts of the day and the 4.5+ hours in the saddle. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I was completely spent! A shower, quick bowl of pasta and a three hour nap was all that I could muster for the remainder of my weekend. Now I can live in fear all week long knowing that I'll be repeating the process this Saturday at the Take Stock in Children's 4th Annual Scholarship Ride.

It's Official...

I'm not in "Race Shape"!

The newly formed Cycle Logic team was represented last weekend with entrants in the Juniors 10-12, Masters 35+, Cat 5, and Cat 4 races. Unfortunately, with Roger Montes winning the road race the week before, we were left with no place to go but down.

There were 5 of us in the very fast, very aggressive 4's race. I was able to hold on, hang in and suffer for the entire race, but never did get a chance to get comfortable. I was in a perpetual fight to advance my position in the field and I'm pretty sure I lost that fight. On the downhill back-stretch where I should've moved up, sat in and relaxed...I was instead fighting to just stay on wheels as the group flew down the street in the near-30 mph-range!

The idea was to work for Roger in the sprint, but I couldn't even work myself into the front half of the field. With the realization that I was worthless to my team, I saw an opportunity to get to the front of the field while we were rolling up to the S/F line with three laps to go. I went up the left side pretty fast, frustrated from 30 minutes of fighting at the back. The group had slowed significantly, probably conserving for the inevitable bunch sprint to come in just a few laps. As I got towards the front, I made a split-second decision to jump off of the front and go solo in an attempt to pick the pace back up. Those of you that know me know that this was a futile decision, but 30 seconds off the front was better than withering at the back for the remaining laps.

In the end, I'm pretty sure nothing was really gained by my solo flyer other than the simple reassurance that I need to get a lot better before I can really be a factor in the race. The team got some great exposure with our new kits and we got plenty of questions about the team throughout the weekend. We still had a great time and we'll work out getting better results in the races to come.

Team Cycle Logic...

...unveiled
Many of you in the local Gainesville cycling community have heard the rumors of a newly formed Cat 4/5 team based right here in beautiful north central Florida. Some of you may have seen the mysterious "Cycle Logic" team name appear on early season result sheets. But until now, nobody really knew what a Cycle Logic team member looked like.

Well now's as good-a-time as any since we just got our historical first team win with Roger Montes placing first in last weekends Race for Humanity road race in the hills of San Antonio, Florida.

Roger jumped onto the top-step of the podium less that 24-hrs after we received the rush shipment of team apparel. Until now we've been racing incognito, disguised as GCC members, Santos team members and an array of random jersey-clad unattached riders. Now that we've got an identity, the cat is out of the bag...and what a well-designed Orange and Gray cat it is! As the design sponsor for the team, the identity and kit was laid out and designed by the creative staff right here at 5count. Our other generous sponsors include:

UF & Shands Sports Performance Center
Busby Cabinets
Quality Banner Co.
The Marotta Foundation
Pittman & Son Pest Control
RLP Landscaping
GU Energy gel
Performance Parts Inc
All About Bugs & Critters pest control
Coast to Coast Jewelry and Coin
Streetrod Productions
Paqco Inc.
State Farm Agent, Barbara Young

The Cycle Logic team is primarily a category 4 and 5 team with members racing in woman's, juniors and masters categories as well. Our emphasis is not necessarily on winning as much as it is on enjoying the camaraderie of our teammates while participating in the sport we all love. Sure we plan on being compititve at the races, but not at the expense of having fun!

Cycle Logic currently consists of close to twenty members, not all of which are "racing" members, and plans to grow the team over the coming years by adding category 3 racers to our roster. In addition to Roger Montes' win last weekend, members of team Cycle Logic have race palmares which include many Cat 4&5 podium finishes from the Florida racing calendar, the reigning Cat 5 State road race champion, a reigning state mountain biking champion, National Down Hill masters champion, and multiple top ten finishes from the 2004 woman's U23 nationals.

Keep your eyes out for Cycle Logic on the roads and in the results.

The Cycle Logic team kit for 2007...designed by 5count

Question, comments, sponsorship interest? Contact Team Cycle Logic

Just like in the movies...

photo by: TOM McCARTHY/Special to The Sun
contributed by: Chris Brew

[Saturday] Ben played in the final home game for GHS. He was allowed to start in what was going to be a ceremonial nod for him and his struggle. He didn't think he'd last more than a few minutes, but ended up playing about 15 minutes. He played real well I thought, didn't look like he had missed much since his last game almost two years ago. But then he came out to a huge ovation. At half time there was a little ceremony on the field for all of the seniors and their parents. It was a beautiful day, bright sun and a bunch of people came out to cheer Ben on. TV20 was there doing a story on him as well as the Gainesville Sun.

We all thought Ben was done for the day when he ended up going back in for the last seven minutes or so of the game. And . ...BEN SCORES..... Yes, it was unbelievable!! They made a good run up the side, Ben drifted towards the front of the goal, someone crossed it to him and he smacked it, bounced it off a defender and into the back of the net. The place erupted. They were down 3-1 at that point so it turned into a respectable game.
It was a glorious end to a glorious day for Ben!

Read the Gainesville Sun story here

CONGRATULATIONS BEN!

GATORS 41 OSU 14
'nuf said

D-Day!

Tonight is the night where the Gators will honor 100 years of football at the University of Florida by winning it's second National Championship in football.

5count's prediction:
The Buckeyes can't knock the rust off quick enough to stop the healthy and rested Gators from going up by two scores early. Ohio will regain their composure in the second half, but the damage will have already been done...
Gators hold on down the stretch to win 27-24.

More photos from the Italy trip...

In an earlier post I gave you all a link for a slideshow that contained a plethra of photos from my trip to Italy this past summer. Missing from that slideshow were shots taken on my rides up Alp D'Huez and the Passo di Stelvio. I've just recently gotten some missing photos from my travel/cycling companion, Rodrigo, and figured I'd show a few of them to you here...enjoy!


This was taken at the top of Alp D'Huez in front of the actual finish line from the Alp D'Huez stage of this past years Tour de France.


Here I am pausing for a photo during the decent of Alp D'Huez. The little town in the background is Bourge d'Oisans, where the climb starts.


Rodrigo and I were excited about our Alp D'Huez accomplishment as shown by our poop-eating grins. We left immediately after this photo on a marathon trek all the way back to Bellagio, Italy where we ended up sleeping in the van due to our late arrival at our bed & breakfast.


This is the highest passable point in all of Europe, the Passo di Stelvio at 2,758 meters above sea level. It was about 70 degrees farenheit and sunny at the bottom...here at the top (which is the border between Italy and Switzerland) is was in the 20's and snowing.


Here I am during the decent of the Passo di Stelvio.


This is a view looking down on one section of the route to the top of the Stelvio. There were parts that kicked up to 14% on this section.