When in Rome...DNF GACX race 4

I've been pretty lucky with my cyclocross races, i haven't crashed much and i haven't had a flat in a few years...knock on wood. Today made up for lost time. The course in Rome took advantage of the only hill in the area...the Levee along the river. We went up and down the hill several times and even road along the side for some up and down off camber on grass....oh joy. I made it almost through the first lap when i hit one of the sharp down hill grass off-camber turn, rolled my front tire off the rim, the wheel dug in, i flipped over the side of the bike and the guy behind me came crashing into my bike and got tangled up in it. I jumped up to get going and realized their was a bunch of grass and dirt in between the tire and rim where it rolled, my handle bars were about 70 degrees out of wack and my right shifter was messed up. I didn't want to try and force the handlebars straight with my carbon steer tube, so i had to call it a day. Next race i'll carry a multi-tool. Live and learn. I should have some nice bruises on my calves tomorrow.

On a positive note...nothing was broken on the bike.

This is right after the start....i didn't make it this far again, where the guy is re-mounting his bike is right about where i crashed the next time around.


The first time up the hill you could ride it easy, then there was a u-turn back down and another u-turn back up, I opted to run since it was just as fast, and different muscles...litte did i know my race would be over in about 30 seconds. Not finishing sucks!!! I think i might put a mtn bike in the pits next time.

JUST ONCE, I WOULD LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE I LIKE,

not just picking what i consider to be the lesser of two evils. It hasn't happened yet, may never happen. The problem is, when a candidate tries to please everybody...they really can't say anything. They speak in generalities and never on specifics. They also make tons of promises that they know they can't deliver on. Kind of like when you interview/accept a new job, they tell you all sorts of great things that you will be doing, and changes the company is in the process of making....only expect 20-30% of that to happen. Even though that may overly optomistic, it is usally about right.

Now we just wait and see what "CHANGES" are made and if they are good ones or bad ones. I wish there had been a candidate pushing the Fair Tax. It just doesn't get any better than that. You get all of your income and only pay taxes on what you spend, plus the government sends you a prebate each month to cover the taxes you would pay on the necessaties. Everybody wins, the poor don't pay taxes and people who don't normally pay taxes would (paying under the table, drug dealers etc) would actually end up paying taxes. Pretty sweet huh? But if we didn't have Taxes to fight about...political races would probably be dull and what would all the lobiest and IRS agents do? Oh well.

GACX Race #3, pushing it to the limit

The third race of the GACX was this past sunday. It was a beautiful day, much warmer than it was the week before. The course was a bit different from last year, they put a HUGE!! spiral of Dumb right next to the start finish, then added a steep climb through the woods, two sets of barriers and one sandy run-up with a log at the bottom. Very long laps, we only did 5 in my race.

After the race i checked my HRM to see what the Heart was doing during the race. For 49 minutes i average 171 bpm with a max of 182 bpm. I would say i was going pretty hard. I finished 7th out of 20. Not too bad, but it sure would be nice to be able to hang with the front guys.

Here are some pics that sara took. I figured Mark would appreciate them since i made an effort to smile for the camera. Also i didn't want to look cooked again.

Getting ready for Cyclocross race 2

It's been a month since the first race of the Georgia series. there was a race two weeks ago, but it was down in Savannah and with the new house, the budget wouldn't allow it. There are 6 more races in the series so my november weekends are full.

I'm excited even though i'm just a mid pack hack, I love to race and push myself really hard. I can never push myself as hard when i am just out for a ride. Bring on the pain.

I was hoping this weekend would be really cold and give me that cyclocross feel, but it looks like the weather is warming up slightly. The masters race rolls off at 10 am so at least it will still be a little cold and maybe even a little slick with dew.

I realized that the UCI world Cyclocross Championships are being held in the one place i have been to watch a pro race before. I went to Belgium in 2003 for work and convinced Luc to take me the 30km to the cyclocross race. It was right at freezing and dry as a bone. But the beer and frites warmed me up.

I took some pics of it, they aren't very good, but maybe they can prove i was there. Look at all those people freezing their butts off to watch cyclocross.

Cyclocross has Begun - Back to my Midpack ways

The Georgia Cross series kicked off yesterday, it looks like i'm right where i left last year. I'm in the no man's land between the really fast guys and everyone else. I did have one guy that i fought with during the race. I dropped my chain during the run-up and he was able to get a good bit of distance on me, I caught back up with 2 laps to go, but he pulled away on the last lap. I guess i was tired from chasing. Oh well, 8th out of 18.
Here are some pics of me sporting the Orange Cartecay kit.

Moving and Training

Friday is the big day, Sara and I become home owners once again. The excitement is building. After 14 months in an apartment we will be free!!! Free to do all of the moving. Free to do Yardwork. Free to repaint the rooms that Sara doesn't like the color. Free.....oh well, it will a nice place to live.

I'm trying to get into shape for cyclo-cross. It's been a strange year for me and i feel like it is Feb. and not September in relation to my fitness. We shall see, maybe all of the fast guys got slower or decided to bail on cross....could happen...

I've talked a few friends into trying cyclocross this year, it should be interesting. Hopefully they will enjoy it as much as i do. they already ride a good bit so it won't be like trying to talk someone who has never even drank to try cocaine, it's more like talking a coke head into stepping up to heroin. Just try it once...come on....everyone else is doing it...next thing you know all you can think about is your dismount and re-mount, tubular vs clincher, Dekonic vs Duvel, trying to remember how to set up Cantis.

The sad thing is there is no re-hab....unless your just a big wuss and stop riding. but that would be crazy talk.

What's it been...like a month or something

Phew...finally back in Georgia and taking the time for a little update:

First...I'm 98% recovered from surgery. A quick note, anytime they have to cut through the skin, don't think of it as minor surgery. (I'm going to try and avoid all types of surgery in the future if i can)

Second...Just got back from a trip to California for my friend Justin's wedding. We stretched it to 10 days and saw basically all of my and sara's family that live in California plus all of my high school friends that i still keep in touch with. Went to Yosemite, Napa, Sanoma, Monterey, Cambria, Orange county. Great trip....now it's time to start training for cyclocross so i can keep my mid pack status.

Third.... we are under contract on a new house in Jasper GA. After Sept. 30th we should have lots of room for people to stay when they come to visit. Make your reservations early.

Fourth....last time i checked my Ferratin level was down to 81...I'm going today to have it checked today. If i'm below 50 i might get to wait until Oct. to bleed again.

I'll aim to try to keep my blog more up to date.