Sick World full of Crazy people

My neighbor knocked on my door tonight. He is a nice quiet guy, i've talked to him about cycling several times but we have never managed to ride together. He works second shift and rides his bike to work everyday, even in the dead of winter. When I answerd the door, i noticed his right eye was bruised and swollen. He said he wanted to warn me that he had been jumped by three guys while riding his bike through Jasper.
He was coming back into town on Old Hwy 5, inside the city limits near the Citgo station when a truck with three guys in it yelled something at him. I think he said they yelled the standard "get off the road" maybe with some more colorful words. He yelled back at them that they needed to give him at least 3 feet when they pass. Aparently having a cyclist explain laws/rules to these guys set them off and one of them ran at him and punched him. He fought back and then the other guys jumped out of the truck. My neighbor tried to use the first guy as a shield to block the punches from the others. I'm assuming that someone from the gas station chased them off. They stomped on his bike wheel and took off. He was able to get a partial on the plate and the clerk said that the survelence camera may have cought it. He called the police and filed a report, hopefully they catch the bastards.
Makes you wonder what these people are thinking. I try not to yell back at people when i ride...but i fail miserably. It must be the adrenalin, you feel the wind of a car coming to close and you automatically stick your arm up in the "what the hell was that gesture" (i have managed to avoid the giving the finger). Apparently even that gesture or a friendly reminder of the rules is enough to set people off.
Be careful out there!!!

RVV packet arrived today...it's official

Got my packet today...the number for my handlebar, my punch card so i can get my certificate at the end (and a free water bottle), basic instructions with emergency phone numbers, voucher for a lottery ticket (get timmy to pick that up), and my bus pass from Ninove to Bruges.

One exciting bit is that there will be a drop point halfway through the ride that we can leave a change of clothes, extra food or whatever...bonus! One week from tomorrow we leave... I can't wait.

Hill Training for Flanders and a New Camera!!!

I'm training in the mountains for Flanders...does that make sense??? Probably not, but what are my options, I live in the friggin mountains! Yeah they aren't huge Mountains, but i know of several 5-8 mile climbs with 12-20% grades around here, and the rest of the roads are rolling. Not many Flanderish roads for me to practice long flat miles. When i was living in Belgium for those few short months my afternoon rides were mostly along the canals. Flat as a pancake, the only hills were bridges or the headwind. I'm pretty sure that i will be sore after the RVV tourist version, hopefully the weather will be okay. I'm fine with cold, but cold and wet will really suck, i'm packing clothes for either condition and we'll see what we get.

I bought a new camera with the proceeds from a bike sale. I bought a Nikon D40. After using Kevin's camera at some cross races in 2006, i've been thinking about getting one. They just work soooo much better than the point and shoot cameras. I should get some good pics from the RVV.

1 week from tomorrow i fly out....woo-hoo Bring on the beer and frites!!!

The Excitement Builds....I sure hope my legs are up for 160 miles

3 weeks from Wednesday is the departure date. I just can't wait. I've been fighting a slowly progressing cold for the past week or so. At least that is what i am blaming for my "wooden" legs. At least it is daylight savings and i can get many miles in after work. I guess i also need to get a couple of 100+ mile days in prior to my trip.

The weather wasn't cooperating this past weekend, I had all day saturday to do what i wanted.(Ride) Shortly after Sara left for her fun filled day of testing, the snow started to fall along with the temps....what the...where did the 60 degree days go damn them!!!! So i headed to the bike room to organize and ride the trainer (damn that sucks) I did get a bunch of stuff done so that is a good thing. I would have rather gone for a multi hour ride and had to walk over wheels and tires in the bike room tho.

Russell raced the enduro event yesterday at Camp Hilbert, looks like i will be wheel sucking in Belgium.

Jayson and Jenn's New Little Germ Factory

After Vegas i traveled west to visit an old high school friend in California. Jayson and his wife Jennifer downloaded their new Germ factory 3 months ago. Grace is a very sweet, mellow little baby. She didn't cry much, and she even sleeps through the night. Lucky for Jay and Jenn that they are both home to get into the swing of things. Their world turns upside down next week when Jenn goes back to work. Good Luck guys!

DAM

I spent most of last week in Vegas for a trade show. One afternoon we left a little early and drove the 30 miles to the Hoover dam. We went on the dam tour with our dam guide and saw all of the dam sights. I can check this off of my dam list now.