Two down, many to go

Goddamn Americans. Don't get me wrong here - I'm no commie/terrorist/pinko/whatever. I love America, was born here, live here, and until recently had never left the friendly shores of the red, white, and blue. I'm referring strictly to American Crit Trash (ACT).

If America weren't such a cycling ignorant nation (referring to the non-racers, etc., of course) we'd have more road races. This would mean more climbs, which would benefit little guys like me. Unfortunately, we can only get 9/10 of a mile of a weekend deserted industrial park closed for our races. Perfect for ACT. Thus, most races end up being:

right turn * 4 * (n)laps + sprint = win

Great if you weigh 185 lbs. Not great if you weigh 135 lbs.

So, for a reader's digest version of the events: Race 1 - 10th wheel going into corner 2 on the last lap. Crash in front of me. After locking up the back wheel and sliding through the corner to avoid said crash and sprinting to catch on to the group that made it through unscathed, I had nothing left and coast through for a 17th place finish.

Race 2 - Launched a couple teammates off for primes. Good. Came through the last corner 5th or 6th wheel. Good. Got passed by many in the sprint. Bad. Rolled across the line 17th. Bad.

So, to sum it all up: Two races, two 17th place finishes, no success. Screw you, ACT sprinters. Let's see how you do this weekend in the hills.

Pain

Well, I had to take today off to recover from my first cycling "injury" in 10 years. I put injury in quotes because it's really more of an annoyance than anything else. I got a bit of tendonitis on the inside of my left ankle. I first noticed it Saturday and rode through it Sunday, seeing as how Monday is my usual day off the bike. I was hoping to wake up Tuesday morning to a pain free ankle.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. So, after mentally wrestling with myself when I should have been working today I decided to take the day off the bike. I realize one day doesn't make or break a season, but with my OCD tendencies towards the bike it is hard to convince myself of that. Let's just hope that it feels better tomorrow... when I'll do twice as long to make up for the missed day. OCD be damned.

Cold! and windy!

Dammit. Allow me to bitch and whine for a bit. Now, not only is it cold, but it's windy too. It was 36 when I left my house for Como this morning. By the time we hit the descent on Dump, it had to be blowing at leas 25 mph. I pulled off the wrong side when trying to get off the front of the group, and had to sprint to catch back on... downhill! Anyhow, I would have had a decent finish in the sprint to the end if some jackasses hadn't sat up right in front of me. I hope they were paid well to block, 'cause they couldn't have done a better job. Jackasses.

Anyhow, one week till the first race day in 9 years. I'm looking forward to it. Expectations are mixed. I feel fairly strong, but it might take a couple weeks to remember where to be when in these things called crits. When the road races come around, I'll really feel like a racer again.

We'll miss ya, BP

Having grown up in a family that loved racing of any kind, there was always plenty of NASCAR on the tube each Sunday. Today, NASCAR lost one of its heroes. Benny Parsons was a great driver, a tremendous announcer, and most importantly, by all accounts an even better human being.

Back! And cold!

Ahh... back to reality! After a week in Mexico and a week in the mountains, it's time to return to real life. I'm not looking forward to work, but I am looking forward to a real bike again. Vacations are cool, but hotel stationary trainers are not.

Anyhow, now that I'm home, the weather has suddenly started to suck. Really. The alarm went off this morning and as I was eating my bagel, I thought I'd check the weather. Weather.com tells me that it's 24 degrees outside... and it feels like 16 because of some wind. I live in California, dammit! Why is it below freezing?!? So, because I'm a giant wuss and hate the cold, I'll be skipping the group ride today and heading out on my own once it warms up a bit.

T-minus two weeks until the first race in nine years.


Finally, you may have seen this before, but it still amazes me when I see it.