Uniquely unUnique

Tomorrow, Nov.1 is the opening of the 2008 Trans Rockies registration. Nov.1 will also most likely be the closing of the Trans Rockies as well, since the race caps at 300 teams and demand is high.  I could be easily talked into doing it again... 

Don't you think we should have some January 'cross races? Someone get on that

stallion

This weekend, Steevo and Dieter traveled with Ed Kralldiggler and his handy mechanic.  Ed decided recently to start a team and sponsor Chris Horner for 'cross.  In a matter of a few weeks the team has kits ordered, money in the back, a mechanic, and bikes for some.  I wish I was on a team that organized!  I'm lucky to have a few good tubulars from last season, some $10 pedals from Tig, and a bike thats not even a year old yet (cry me a river).

Anyway, we all spent way too much time talking about Horner, his non-amazing 'cross skills and all related topics.   See  Horner (no surprise) is strong like an ox, but corners like a cardboard box.  The running joke of the weekend was how many dérailleur hangers do they have available, how much time to re-glue tubulars and re-tape bars (all of which he needed after his first two days racing)?  The cool thing about Horner is that he'll fully admit to being a suckass at anything technical.  Every time I've spent racing with him there's been multiple crashes, fuck ups and the like.  So i've dubbed him The Wild Horse. 

Wish Ed good luck!

On Louisville

Seemed like a cool town. Best espresso Dieter ever did taste from Heine coffee.  Pretty good food, although slim on breakfast places.  Frankford Ave was sweet, thanks Lord Mayhew.  The race venue was alright, old golf course soon-to-be a cyclocross training facility of sorts.  Good terrain for 'cross, especially when the river floods and changes everything.  Dieter didn't make the flight for saturday's race, although his spirit was alive and well for a few early laps.  Starting directly behind the stars+bars has a way of propelling one into the mix directly. But Dieter came prepared on Sunday, which is his competitive trend for October.  A few laps in, Mr. Official is calling out places, and there I am, sitting 10th. Dang. HOLY DANG.  And I only felt about 2% over my head.  The difficult part about the USGP's:  one mistake, bobble/dab/crash means 5-7 spots you lose immediately.  We (myerson, kabush, Sheppard) were freaking flying around.  Its kinda like being in some Velonews dream, racing with these dudes you usually read about. Anyway, over my 185 heart rate I think 'we have got to have a huge gap going this fast' only to look back and see literally 10 guys about 2 seconds back.  If this were a MAC race, it'd be game over at those speeds.  It was hard and nerve racking.

Anyway, the much anticipated Dieter-Myerson Weekly Match Sprint, which the tattooed vegan touted as his chance to 'exact revenge upon,' was looking to be another fun shit-talk fest. Until Dieter couldn't hang with Mr.Pro group (kabush, McCormick, Shriver)(holy shit, i'm racing against these guys?).

But!

In the dim light that had become my last-lap hypoxic tunnel of pain- riding solo watching a chase group gain on me at an uncanny rate, I see that Myerson is taking some time on the turf, just before the pit.  He had a material concern, which he addressed by sliding out and rolling a tubular.  To me in the normal selfish, self absorbed cyclist style think immediately 'he just wants to sprint me...'  Since Dieter is being paid off by several dozen people who strongly dislike him every time i win our little, Dieter isn't about to soft pedal to let him catch on.  Unfortunately, Dieter kept the gap of 2 seconds over the remaining several hundred meters to the finish, No sprint was necessary.  yay. 13th...my best ever national calibre placing.

My car, the god fearing yuppie Volvotron now has a name (thanks to the Sirius 80's channel):
rdl Speedwagon.
every time I'm on the way home, all I have to say "its time to bring this ship into shore" 

Poison ivy head

I feel like elephant boy today.  Luckily it doesn't itch too much. This just sucks.  Highlights=rash.

How many

Fire leaf

I woke up today and my eye is really swollen.  Somewhere, somehow those 3-pronged leafy bastards got on me, and got me pretty good.  Eye, neck, forehead, and, ugh...down there.  Thats weird. I didn't get any plant head this weekend.  Its probably on a pair of gloves, and i'll be in perpetual PI rash for the remainder of the year.
I should be training now, paying my dues, but the rain has come, and this blog is begging to be updated.  And my balls, i mean neck, itch.

Another bad thing happened today.  My newest selection of coffee beans, from some vague grocery around here, turns out to have a subtle scent of FLAVORED COFFEE.

gasp.

This calls for a beheading.  Never! EVER! should dieter's lips come in contact with that vile, man made concoction that takes a perfectly yummy bean of coffee and add some nasty flavor. Hear me:  NEVER!
So I bought another pound of French Roast that seems legit.  Thank god we exploit poor folks down south so that we can have as much (and even flavored) coffee.

Tomorrow begins another epic drive into the Mid West for another epic racing event. 

Mike and I got chased by a couple of dogs today. One of them was a brown wrinkly thing, the kind people spend tons of dough on, presumably because they're 'cute'.  I looked this mongrel in the eyes and taunted him through the invisible fence 'you sure are an ugly fucker'

A funny thing happened on the way...again

Driving to Southampton, I had to pee. From the LI expressway to the 2 lane road into Southampton there was quite a backup of traffic.  Sitting, waiting.  Having to pee worse.  Of course i've been here before: the bladder is huge, stretched from countless driving sessions and infrequent stops.  Here I am, each drop of pee dripping from my belly to my bladder is another --gulp--ugh--i really have to stop. I can't stop, the traffic is crawling and I'd feel weird pulling over only to have 100 Hamptonites watching (out of shear boredom) me wee wee in the trees.  I scramble my hand to the backseat for empty bottles.  I find two 9 once, single serving Aquafina type bottles.  I know this bladder packs some volume, so i doubt that two will handle this stream.  Plus! the opening is mini.  tiny. Even for the smallest of shrunken, pee-needing weiners, hitting this opening is like hitting the bullseye during drunken darts.

Phew.  Its go time. 
Belt is off
Two open 9 ounce bottles at the ready (caps off)
Pants open
undies down
driving (well, inching along) with left knee as i raise my ass up so piss doesn't spill out as i try to hit the target.
6 ounces
7 ounces
8 ounces
NEXT BOTTLE
This is where go time goes wrong.  The bottle swap requires the hydraulic pinch.
So i'm driving 10mph with my left knee, ass up off the seat, dropping off one full bottle to pick up another. Left hand has the pinch duty.

Something goes awry in the impending 3 seconds. Left hand abandons post. 

All of the sudden, an artesian well springs up betwix me legs.  It was like the pee was making a mad dash for freedom...all over the steering wheel, on the instrument panel, soaking my shorts. Left hand panics, grabs steering wheel, then fumbles for the pinch.  I crush the brake pedal, the lids to the bottle disappear as the full bottle nearly, but not quite tips over.

Once order is restored, two bottles are full (and uncapped), one pair of shorts is soaked and one steering wheel has gotten itself a sterile cleaning.

i give up.

MAB.07

I'm enamored at the autumn weather today, yesterday, the day before.  Driving to the races was nearly as sweet as seeing the entire crew again.  Funny, its nearly the end of October, and its the first time i've seen most of the MAC heads.  It wasn't sweet that the satellite radio decided to play 'ACQUIRING SIGNAL' all weekend instead of gay house music or Stern or Faction.  Forced to listen to normal radio islike getting pushed around by that popular kid at school who was really into Dave Matthews Band and had the stickers on his jeep to prove it.

So racing...its going pretty damned well at the moment.  Whatever i didn't do last year, or did improperly or was worrying about, that must be all gone this season.  This feels really good.  For the record: if you bet against me (Auer! McDaniel!) when AFHM and me are in sprint, you will lose your money.  This time, Dieter got a little brash just as he was passing by that holey fellow...'YOU WANT SOME??'  I haven't done the scream-at-opponent- during-sprint for a few years, and it sure feels fine to do it to him.  afterwards he claimed it was hard for him not to laugh at the taunt. 

Also for the record: second time in two weeks that Tilford enabled me to win the group we were in.  Last saturday he crashed into Schouten (pronounced scout-en), and I took advantage.  Sunday he tripped/bobbled on the barriers in the finale, helping me get behind AFHM.  Lots of you heard/saw all the stuff happening in our little group:  elbows, swearing/yelling (myerson to tilford "didn't your mother love you enough as a child?"), cutting off, etc.  I thought it was super fun-good racing, angry over-ego'd pros, loud crowd, and many Dieter supporters.  That sure does help!

Gallagher is the man..very cool to have him in the 'hood now. He's got a baby coming any day now, so we may not see him much. The dude's been starting in the back sans UCI points, and killing it to be in the top 10 by the end of lap 1. dang. Kraus had the bad luck, on a drop-dead weekend for UCI points.  He called it his national championship-like weekend: do or die.  With the World Cup on sunday, all points get regenerated now so everything from last year is gone.  He needs more jewpower, somebody send him some. fedex.  Zane was bummed about that too.  These guys may get an invite to THE SHOJO TRIPLE BUSTER UCI CYCLOCROSS POINTS EXTRAVAGANZA.

Milla is gone rock climbing all week out in cawlifornia, out of phone and innernet range.   She's pretty much awesome: up and out to go camping and rock climbing for a week with a bunch of strangers.

I'll be applying to art school soon.  Industrial design, specifically.  Over the past few months the school sites are in my favorites, admissions pages are bookmarked, timelines, portfolios, resumes, recommendations... The task seems daunting.  And more daunting b/c i have hefty insecurity about my ability in this field--am i creative enough? why can't i draw? will i lose my mind?  where will i get $30,000?

But this is necessary; I'll push through these reservations because working as I have for the last 8 years, albeit casual and suitable for a cycling lifestyle, is boring, uncreative and not growing my mind much at all.  Putting dots on a map sure sounds like fun and all...

Wouter, the namesake of my new Batavus, is quite an eye catcher.  His generator produces a hefty candlepower for the front and rear lights.  He's equipped with 3 speeds, which took me a few days to realize shifting is opposite from a dérailleur- you stop pedaling and then the gear changes.  When you stand up on the pedals, you stand straight up-nothing like i've experienced before on a bike.  Hands near your waist, standing straight and proud.  Camilla said it looked as though I was standing on the front of a ship, crashing through the sea.  Speaking of her hotness, did you know that one can buy a 10megapixel, RAW format digicam for less than $400?

I have not spent more than 3 days in one place in weeks.  vegas - SC - Center Valley - bklyn -  Hamptons -  Cinci -  CV - bklyn.  Fun/exhausting, but worth it.
Atleast I'm not sucking as much as last year.  So i've got that going for me, which is nice.