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#might not make full sense bc i’m still mid working out i’m on the bike rn 💀
birthofvcnus · 3 years
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hey,, can i ask about your process of making moodboards? like how to get started? and from where to find pictures? is taking pictures from pinterest considered as stealing?
how to get started:
i would simply suggest that you browse through aesthetic pictures of whatever concept/character you wish to make a moodboard for until you find a picture that really sparks your creativity/interest and from that point on you continue browsing until you find eight other pictures that match your desired color scheme/concept !!!! that’s what i do, and most importantly: don’t be afraid to start over or adjust colors/saturation/lighting to your liking also be patient with yourself because it can honestly be a long process, sometimes it takes me weeks to finish one moodboard 💀 when that happens i usually save the pictures i have so far in a different album on my phone and make other moodboards until i find things that are to my liking for the one i was originally making
where to find pictures:
pinterest, weheartit, tumblr, favim, google images: a lot of sites have plenty of good aesthetic pictures !!!!! you can choose the one(s) you’re most comfortable with when it comes to searching/tagging/etc !!!!
stealing/rights to pics:
always check for captions/watermarks for the words “don’t repost”, it’ll be mentioned if the person does not want you to use the picture, and if there’s nothing you should be good because a lot of pictures are posted with the intentions of being used in aesthetic boards 😬 basically make sure you respect op’s wishes and to not use pictures that you aren’t allowed to repost, there are a lot of aesthetic pictures so you can probably find something similar/of the same vibe that you’re allowed to use if you really liked the content
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martinlawless · 5 years
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Full Gas Winter Crit, Cat 2/3
Lee Valley Velopark, Cat 2/3, Saturday 5 January 2019
So I’m back down to Lee Valley. I get there early, but have no problem fettling to fill my time. I remove my second bottle cage: to save a few aero watts, but really just to look more pro. I spend a lot of time deciding what to wear. It’s 2.5 degrees C. Real-feel hovering above zero. But it doesn’t feel too bad. I think it’s because the air is dry and there’s little wind. So I opt for full bibs, cheap fake light Castelli overshoes, clingy undervest, No-Rain arm warmers, Cheap light gloves under my mitts and one of those skull cap things under the helmet. I’ve yet to race and feel the cold: as we’re simply working so hard. So always try and avoid overdoing it.
Other lubrication routines apply: chamois cream, generous Deep Heat application (utterly irrelevant for the muscles, but the strong smell is so evocative of racing that it gets the mind and adrenaline going), and a bit of pain relief gel at the base of the spine - the tension hurts my back, especially if I’m not stretching enough).
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I sign in and notice I’m the second oldest of the 30 riders in this Cat 2/3 race. By quite some way! There’s only a few born in the 70s. I let out a little sigh and wonder if I really should be doing more Masters racing. But I resolve to crack-on and going for it among the yoof. This race for me is a chance to keep in the habit of putting a number on my back and see where I am among my mostly Cat 2 friends. The last 2/3 crit I’d done was just about precisely two years ago. I had a shocker, the power demands were enormous, our average was 27mph+, and I had to console myself that albeit I was the last to cross the line in 37th and a good quarter lap off the bunch, 7-8 others behind me had DNFd.
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I’ve got into a habit of trying to ride for 20 minutes as a warm-up. Based on what we do at Welwyn race training. I’ve got big gloves on and my winter coat, riding around in the small ring. My other routine is with 10 mins to go, get off the bike and go back into the warm registration room, to not lose the warm-up warmth and to do a few stretches to feel a bit more supple and reactive.
I wait until I hear the whistle to gather up and join the back of the group. There’s four from Rock & Road, so they’ll have a plan. Everyone seems to know each other pretty well and I recognise a few riders too.
We’re off. Before the start, the Commissaire had mumbled something about a crash just before, or last week, or something, on the southern bend, so we’d be cutting that bit out today and instead shooting east from the furthest west hairpin in a straight line. I quite enjoy this variation on the usual course. We’re going anti-clockwise, my favourite direction.
This feels like a ‘proper’ race, and not just a simple blast, with the group big enough to cause dynamics with wind and cornering and breaks happening that could stick. As well as there being strategies and plans clearly being played out: co-riders whispering to each other and such.
I resolve to stick in to the top 10 and not get silly or carried away. If there was a break, I planned to let it go. I’m way off any max wattage required to make an effective breakaway, unless it was a big group.
I’m enjoying myself. It’s a relief. I had wondered if I’d struggle like I did in my previous 2/3. But I can feel I’m on form and quite capable. I have a good sense of wind direction and my nous on positioning is better than ever. All the same, be under no illusion: this race is rapid, fast changing and demanding. I can remember no other time where I have never looked down at my speedo for such a long time. I’m having to work out the race dynamic so much, there’s no time to flinch and take my eye off the ball. I realise this when I look over my shoulder on a straight and my contact lenses nearly fall out as my eyes are so dry. I’ve had this happen before and it’s about being really wide-eyed and not blinking enough: like a frightened rabbit. It’s 25 minutes into the race when I first look at my computer. We’re half way through the race and have averaged 25.4mph. Precisely the sort of average I’d anticipated. Pretty tasty for this time of year and cold.
I think about preserving my powers a bit. I find myself on the front and loll around uninterested in this spot. I spend a good lap quite far up the top of the group, while Rock & Road launch deliberate constant breaks and can feel the burn. So sit back in the bunch for a while.
At one point, I made it on to the back of a decent looking big break, but it lasted, oooh… 10 seconds? Nothing was going to stick.
The five laps to go board goes up and there’s that sense of anticipation in the group. We keep it pretty tasty, but we all know this is a bunch sprint. Two to go and it’s still steady. Bell lap: and we’re off. My plan was to go long. I was flying up the mini hill after the Pringle every lap, and used this to give me a boost to mid bunch. It’s hard to see where the action is and how it will play out but as we crank it into overdrive on the final lump, I see the sheltered left side remains fairly open so go there for my sprint. The bunch is very ‘flat’ and there is no noticeable ‘arrow shape’ to this sprint. We sort of hold our places in the peloton til the last five seconds where I seem to gain ground. But, going deeper would be sketchy and I just will never be reckless in such situations. We flash over the line as a tight group. I’m 13th and 0.16 seconds off 10th and a BC point, and 0.75 seconds off winning. I really love transponders in races, they provide amazing data.
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I’m delighted with my form. On reflection, I should have buried myself on the mini-hill and taken my chances on the far line. But that might have come to nothing.
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I unpin and change to meet up with my family who are seeing Salford City play the Orient just over a mile from the circuit. Very strange: almost as soon as I leave Lee Valley I get ill with a super quick hitting virus. Faster than anything I’ve ever known. Fully-fit to bed ridden in just a few hours. I think it’s probably got something to do with how much a virus can attack when your immune system is low after a race. I should take more vitamin tablets after a race and/or eat an apple.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2057210948
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