Month: August 2007

Fire Cancels Ketchup Crit

Posted on by turbocycling

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/143424.html

Seriously… Is my gaming season over or what?  It ain’t looking good.

I think I’m gonna have to go into race promotion, but then I have to be able to do my own races…

That is not a slag on the promoters.  I know they can’t stop the fire.  After all, “Only you can prevent forest fires”.  Yeah, you!  I just meant I want to race more. 

Please Don’t Call it Chi-Town…

Posted on by turbocycling

I am back, baby.  Outside of being on my feet all day, the Chicago trip was a good time.  I love travelling, but coming home is the best part.  Even better if you don’t have to work the next day.  No such luck.

Some stuff:

What’s that smell?  Chicago has had like 5 years worth of rain in the past two weeks.  An unfortunate side effect is when they get too much rain, the sewers dump raw sewage (known in some circles as crap) into Lake Michigan.  All the beaches were closed and they stopped the kids tri from going in.  When it comes to the rest, “the show must go on!!”.

There are a lot of hot tri chicks.  Just so I don’t come off sexist, hot guys too.  You know, like me.

Definitely some interesting bike positions in the tri crowd.  And some hot bikes.

I had fun hanging out by myself in the evenings.  Having young kids, I am pretty much never alone, so I enjoyed it.  My hotel was nice, but with nothing close I would walk a mile for meals.  I love my family, but it was so relaxing just to do things on my own.

Rode the stationary bike in the evenings in full kit.  I think I just out-geeked the tri-geeks.  Did I mention it was a recumbent stationary bike?

Lots of other stuff I’ll catch up on later.  Or not.

An Update of Sorts…

Posted on by turbocycling

I have decided I am not going to complain anymore about working the triathlon in Chicago this weekend.  Realizing I could be selling widgets in any exhibition hall, talking bike crap to athletes is really not so bad.  Please note that this does not mean that I won’t complain once I’m back.  I make no guarantees of my having a good time!!  And I’m still bummed to miss San Pete.

On that note, I don’t know what the remainder of the season holds.  We were on the verge of doing a stage race in Puerto Rico, but it conflictted with the Lotoja (no, I won’t be there, but most of the gang will) and travel arrangements weren’t finalized in time.  I should probably be  glad I didn’t make it to crit nats.; although looking at the results,  you always think what if.  The fact that there was a crash in each of the last four turns doesn’t make it sound all that fun.  As previously mentioned, the big Parker crit was cancelled.  However, there is the vague notion of a big crit in Ketchum, Idaho in a couple weeks, but you’d think if a $10K race were actually on, there’d be a flyer or something by now.  I am still entertaining the possibilty of the big crit in Vegas (baby), but without some good racing to get fast, that’ll be tough.  Plus, I have to get in!  And I am trying to squeeze as much out of summer as possible and fit a camping trip to Zion and Bryce in September.

On a side note, the ‘cross bike is put together and ready to throw down!!  Or fall down.  Took it out for the maiden voyage on Sunday, but didn’t shred any trail as I had the sleeping beauties in the rickshaw.

Wait, wait, someone just sent me the link to the flyer for Ketchum!!  Okay, I guess there is one.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yeah, ‘cross.  Should be fun. 

Missed Tour de Gap last weekend.  Maybe next year.  Climbed Mt. Timp on Saturday.  It was cold and rainy.  The wind chill was 35 on top, which is cold when you are used to 100 degrees every day.   Hurt my knee on the way down and had to hobble for the last couple hours.  Seriously felt like someone was jabbing me with a knife on the worst sections, but I made it.  Now I have a pimp limp. 

Horner- the King of Soundbites…

Posted on by turbocycling

from cyclingnews.com:

“Because Lance wants to get out of the sport he is going to unemploy half of his team. Personal opinion again, but that has to be the biggest bullshit story I have ever read!”

“It’s always been that way in America, same with races,” he continued. “A good race leaves, another comes around. If you took the races from when I started riding, and you add all these good races, you would have this stacked calendar that would be so incredible — I wouldn’t even go to Europe! Can you imagine doing California, Dupont, Thrift Drug, First Union, Georgia, West Virginia, Utah and now Missouri? What would you need to go to Europe for? The reason why I am in Europe is that I don’t want to go to races like Valley of the Sun! I don’t want my wheel going over the yellow like, being DQ’d and not even told until after winning the race. Those are the kind of races I don’t want to do, where you are completely unappreciated by the people putting the race on.”

“Now it’s justifiable to say that I am worth this much more. If one team won’t offer you what you are worth then you go somewhere else. There are a bunch of different teams out there where I could be happy.”

I like a fella that will speak his mind.  Plus, he says everything I try to say about Valley of the Scum.

Knight Rider

Posted on by turbocycling

Managed to make the commute in this morning.  That’s 4 weeks in a row, I believe.  4 weeks of 1 day/week, that is.  I had to really kick myself in the pants to get out the door though.  It was not light enough to turn off the lights until after point of the mountain.  It’s still warm in the mornings though, although I’m sure that’ll pass within a couple weeks. 

I wish my bike had a light like Kit.  That would be tight yo.