French Broad Cycling Classic Pics...

This is me before my race started and before my crash.... all smiles... ignorance truly is bliss!

It turned to this...after the crash (notice the road rash on leg and nursing of the left pinky finger!)

My favorites of Rob from the weekend...

This smile still makes me melt! ahhhhhhh...

The aftermath...

Haven't had much time to post lately...so today I'm posting a link to a blog I routinely read and a recent post that I enjoyed. I am frequently sickened by the way the majority of americans "choose" their idols and denigrate those that are not their "choice". I've watched the "questionable" attacks, read the hub-bub and still, I find myself liking Contador. Maybe it's the spread that I've read in months past in Cycle Sport about him, or maybe it's that he's quietly come back from illness to race without pomp and circumstance, without all the hype -- maybe it's the lack of hype in general I find refreshing....no global cause, just a poor, skinny kid who likes to race his bike and races it well.... but regardless, I enjoyed this post and maybe you will also (even if you don't share my opinions)...

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2009/07/alberto-contador-you-may-not-know.html

Greenville Spinners Time Trial pics...

Failed to post these a few weeks back… just a couple of pics of Rob and the two youngest…. It’s clearly more fun to catch grasshoppers than to watch someone time trial!

French Broad Cycling Classic...

Well I’m typing almost with two hands and that should be ‘nuff said about how my weekend went.

We traveled this weekend to Asheville, NC to race in the French Broad Classic. I planned (only slightly under duress) to do the time-trial and I willingly planned to do the crit….I was going to leave the climbing road race to Rob.

My only goal for the weekend was to not come home with a DNF. This was my first time trial effort and truthfully, I really had no desire to do it. I haven’t worked on it, prepared for it, have nothing “aero” in equipment, hadn’t really worked on body positioning, etc… I didn’t come in last, or even next to last… so I am pleased. This time trial was strictly for experience. I took 18th out of 20th…and yes, my speed was slow, but probably the fastest average for me (with a lovely head wind to boot)… 19.5 mph…. hopefully I can only go up from there.

The crit… ahh the crit…solo crash in the fourth corner of the first lap (yours truly). No one else was involved, I high-sided (which was a new term to me, that I now know more about than I care to know) I have lovely road rash down left arm, left hand, left leg, left butt (my shower walls have never heard such profanity)…. No, I won’t be posting pics…I never enjoy seeing crash pics, so I’m not posting any either. I did finish the race… all 30 minutes of it still left after the crash…and surprisingly, I did not come in last place… next to last…I’ll take it… I destroyed an engagement ring in the process, (though we did find the stone on the course afterwards), roughed up the bike a bit…and definitely roughed up the body…. It could have been much, much worse… so I’m not going to complain about my 17/18th spot. I’m glad no one else was hurt, that I was able to finish and that Rob is always prepared with the best first aid kit money can buy. He’s such a good boy.

Rob’s results…29th out of 69th overall in the Omnium… not too shabby….mine, 17th out of 18th…granted, my upcoming triathlon has been put on hold, as this body, cannot touch a pool… and as Rob likes to say, “it is, what it is”. Race pics to follow.

All the latest...

I suppose after weeks and weeks of hardly posting, a “catch up” is in order. I’ve been busy and have been spreading myself thin between multiple sports….again. Only this time, I’ve brought swimming into the picture as well. I’m toying with doing a triathlon in August, the whole shebang this time, unlike my previous one where I was simply the “runner/hobbler”.

I learned to swim years ago. To this day, my mother is still petrified of water, never learned to swim and because of her fear, made it a point to put us in lessons at a very small age. Then, later, all those months at summer day camp and all those PE classes at Bob Jones kept me pounding out laps and hating swimming. I don’t enjoy it. Rob is trying to redirect my thinking of swimming so that I’ll actually enjoy it (like he does). He views it as fun, relaxing, therapeutic even. I don’t…so I’m obstinate. I’ll do 25 meters or 50 and stop. I then get scolded because as he says “you aren’t even out of breath, there is nothing keeping you from stringing together laps other than you just refuse”…My problem is…I don’t FEEL like a good swimmer, never have. I was taught that the amount of laps completed was all that mattered…not to enjoy them, or make them efficient….just beat them out. Subsequently, I kick too hard, obsess about completing another lap, do something funky with my legs when I’m trying NOT to kick too hard and it all falls to pieces from there.

It’s funny that this time last year, he was trying to get me on a bike and he tells me (though, of course I don’t remember it like this) that I acted much the same, refusing to get on my bike, refusing to even pedal…he literally would have to yell at me to get me going….and now, compared to swimming, my bike feels like my comfy security blanket…an old, comforting, friend.

Speaking of old friends, this past Saturday was my first “big ride” and among the group of riders was an old friend (Kirk). I spent much of my youth experiencing Kirk’s shenanigans. We spent years in the same school, playing the clarinet in band together, attending the same church/youth group and even traveling out of the country for a summer mission trip together. Ohhhh the stories I could tell! Instead, I’ll just say it was cool to ride with him all these years later, all grown up, both with families, etc…

We rode this weekend to Saluda with a great group that I’m not really worthy of riding with…but they were taking it easy…Steve Baker, Sam Smith, Hank, Matt, Kirk Flinte and of course my duly betrothed….and another POA guy that I don’t know..(SORRY!) I had never ridden 60 miles before and had never before ridden with a group of that caliber. Clearly, it was an easy day for them and I so I was able to hang on until the bottom of the climb, then I settled in and took my sweet time. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to ride in a non-sketchy group, where I could chat, enjoy the ride, the scenery etc…. it will make my ride tomorrow at Donaldson with less experienced riders (me included) seem all the worse, I’m sure! It was most interesting navigating through Saluda’s coon dog festival….carrying our bikes out down the rail road tracks to get back out of town, etc. but a great time all around. My legs seem to have bounced back nicely, and that makes me happy.

This week I’m looking forward to another week of multi-sport activities and perhaps another lesson in crit racing and the fine art of “getting dropped”.