Choices

It is all about wording. Sometimes you come across something stated so well by somebody else that there is nothing left to do but quote.

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?” To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked. I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?

David Sedaris offered up his thoughts on the upcoming election in this week's New Yorker in his usual, witty way. He didn't name any names when talking about undecided voters and the choice available but it doesn't take much guess work to determine where he stands.

I have friends that cover the spectrum when it comes to political views. The logic behind various peoples' leanings never ceases to amaze me though. I like to think that my set of peers is fairly well read and educated, enlightened, critical thinkers, etc. Every once one of the friends with views that differ from mine says something that shocks and amazes me not because the opinion is different but because of that on which it is based. Going beyond party politics, do people really have a hard time trying to figure out what somebody really stands for? Can they not distinguish the significant trade offs that are made when you support somebody simply because they are "conservative"?

These choices have an impact on daily life to a certain extent, but sometimes it is very hard to see what the consequences are. Everybody was pretty happy when economic times were good and they focused on the humor that can be found in the stupidity of our elected officials. Economic activity as of late suggest maybe we were all asleep at the wheel. People have a tendency to question government regulation and view it in the cross hairs of socialistic tendencies. What about Federal Deposit Insurance? That's a pretty good idea right? What would happen if we deregulated something like the meat industry . . .

Not My Game

Let's start with the skills session on Friday that never happened. I never made it to the park to play with the mountain bike and get some coaching on my dismounts and remounts. I did get in some cross training though and a short ride on the townie bike with a few stops here and there for beer and pizza. You have to fuel up properly to race your best . . . and the winner for best comedic cross performance goes to . . . Scott and John were nice enough to start the bets early on how I would do. John had a six-pack on me to win, Scott expressed his doubts very loudly and clearly.

I took a closer look at the mountain bike on Saturday morning and got out to the park just to practice a little bit before the race, using the tips I got from John and Scott the night before. Turns out I have some pretty beefy tires on the bike, 2.1 knobbies translates to a tire that is wide, very, very wide, providing good grip on the trail, but a lot of rolling resistance. That resistance gets much higher when your wheels flex and the tire rubs the chainstays, which mine did anytime I put the power to the pedals. I did some calling around to see who had what and if I could make any race day changes. In the end, I decided that equipment really wouldn't be too much of a limiting factor.

Once out at Xilinx and registered, there was no turning back for sure. I said a few quick hellos to some friends, got laughed at by many for racing cross and racing Cat 4 at that, and hit the course for some warming up. They have been staging riders for the start in order of points standings and race registration so at the start I was a good eight rows back with 105 starters total.

I underestimated the effort required at the start and didn't get past as many guys as I should have before we hit the first dirt section. I passed when I had the chance, getting by some guys based on power only to lose positions due to lack of skill on dismounts and remounts. A few laps in, I got to the point where there really wasn't anybody close behind me and I was able to close in on those in front of me. On to the good parts! Here I am "showcasing my skills" at what I found to be the toughest set of barriers:


They were on a reasonably steep hill with a loose, off camber approach. By the end of the race, the mountain bike started feeling really heavy. But all in all, it was a lovely day to be out on the bike doing something different.


It was amusing how a lot of guys would back off on the road sections. I made up all sorts of ground there and then tried to recover on the downhill sections where I had to brake anyways. I ended the day with all of my skin, no broken bike parts, no broken ego, I did no harm to myself or others (except the guy who ran into me and fell over), and finished in 11th place. Dave Towle summed it up best by saying, "I saw some 7-8 year olds out here racing with more panache and class than you today."

Thanks to all the friends and teammates who came out to support and taunt me. Dejan was out with his son and his camera taking pictures. Check out his photo album. I have joked around already about doing another cross race, but on a cross bike and with a little more skills practice under my belt. I don't make any promises though.

This Should Be Good . . .

In the past couple weeks, there has been some joking around about me potentially jumping in a cyclocross race as opposed to being an innocent bystander. I poo-pooed the idea since I lack experience and skill, blah, blah, blah. Then I noticed that my ACA license says I am a Cat 4 for cross . . . game on!

I will be racing on the old Moots which has been long ignored since getting into the whole road racing scene. I've been spending some much time on the road training as opposed to dinking around on the trail, I wouldn't be surprised if the bike throws me off out of spite and/or jealousy. So far as I know the tires hold air and the bike shifts. I need to put some air in the fork so it isn't super spongy and make sure I can still lock it out as necessary.

The lead up to the race might be the most amusing part. I am getting some pointers from Scott this afternoon. He will have been to happy hour already so I can only hope he will be brown bagging it in the park, telling me to "ride with the fear" or some other such nonsense. I have gotten tips from people already ranging from "wear a cup for the remounts because you are going to be awful at it" to "maybe you should wear some waterwings and any other padding you can to protect you from yourself and others" . . . good times and thank everybody, real helpful.

If you are in the neighborhood of Xilinx tomorrow come check out the race.

Gettin' Political

I made the mistake of watching the debate last night even though I really had no desire to watch. I very quickly lost interest when McCain showed that his debate technique of choice would be the "Your mom! I'm John McCain, folks!" approach. He avoided talking about his own positions and instead took relatively inane cheap shots at Obama based more on character than substance. For example:

McCain began the debate by accusing his rival of waging class warfare by advocating tax increases designed to “spread the wealth around.” The Democratic nominee denied the allegation and countered that he favors tax reductions for 95% of all Americans. “Nobody likes taxes,” Obama said in an exchange early in the debate. “But ultimately we’ve got to pay for the core investments” necessary for the economy. “If nobody likes taxes, let’s not raise anybody’s, OK?” McCain retorted with a laugh.

One Down

One trainer ride down, only 93 more to go until the start of the 2009 season (I totally made that number up). I created many obstacles and distractions to test my resolve and will to ride the trainer. I overcame them all, got in my hour workout, and did some serious sweating to the 80s. My entertainment of choice for some reason always ends up being the Retro-Pop station on Comcast. It is good for keeping my TADD, trainer attention deficit disorder, under control with new songs and accompanying information coming up every few minutes.


I had to leap this obstacle to get to the trainer last night. There had been talk of golfing yesterday afternoon, getting in a quick nine at Harvard Gulch, followed by a quick Hoegaarden at Bistro One. It was decided that the weather was not conducive to golf so we went straight to happy hour. Over rousing philosophical conversation, pints . . . er, 1/2 liters were consumed. That's a big, frosty glass of icy, cold goodness.

The weather is actually looking up for this weekend. I plan on getting out for another long ride in the hills to check out the remainder of the fall colors. Hopefully I'll be riding with Mike, who I haven't ridden with in forever and a day. He's just getting back from some masters' racing in Majorca so riding with him will be punishment as usual, but the good kind. Subtract at least one ride from the trainer total above . . .

Harvest Moon

Tonight is the first full moon of the season (since the autumnal equinox) making it the harvest moon. I saw the moon rise last night around 7:00 in the evening and it had the seasonal orange tint to it. This morning as I was returning from my walk with Dempsey, the moon was setting behind the mountains as the sun was rising in the east. Good times . . .


Today will be my first afternoon trainer workout. It is time to get back to some intensity and start thinking about building towards next year. I have had plenty of fun cross training and floating in the realm of only sort of training for the past few weeks. It isn't like I have been off the bike all together, but it sure seems that way sometimes.

I had some good cross training yesterday, running with Dempsey after work. I figured out the trick to keeping him moving (besides putting a raw steak in my pants) during a run longer than five minutes. It is all about gaits . . . he seems to like the trot the best, but at a Dempsey canter (lope for you western riders) he keeps up much better. It is all a matter of getting him to the right gait. If he were a horse, it would be all about leg pressure (or a kick for you western riders), but since he's a dog he gets a light tug on the leash and some encouragement. Kicking him would probably elicit some stares and phone calls.

I also rode over to Wash Park for some evening tennis with my sister. She's been getting better with lessons and playing has been pretty amusing. I brought my "A" game last night, if I even have one, and hit some nice shots and some great serves. It sure will be sad returning to the basement as my primary source of exercise.

Grilling and Disbelief

Sunday marked the return of the oh so stylish and classy Miller Highlife Grill to the Colorado Cyclocross scene. The grill means many things to many people . . . greatest, dumb thesis statement overused by students everywhere by the way . . . for some it was heat on a cold, damp day, for others it is opportunity. Some people are simply awed by what can be accomplished with such a simple tool. Ah the many wonders afforded by flame.


The grill has seen some pretty stout action in the past and my world of charcoal grilling has stretched from meats to baking, from beer bread and bananas foster to nothing but hot flame.


You can see my look of disbelief mirroring the disbelief of others who were shocked (and awed) by the fact that Matt and I were grilling tater tots. Tots have been done successfully many a time and they come out mighty fine with a nice smokey flavor and good crunch. The other items in view are some nicely warmed sauerkraut and some Hebrew National dogs. You can't tell from the look on Matt's face, but he ran from my house to Bear Creek Lake Park which ended up being a hair over 15 miles. I need to check my house carefully to see what he stole causing him to run like that.

Having made its triumphant return, the grill will likely travel more often now. I need to do some digging and see what my next masterpiece will be. I would like to stretch the limits a bit further this year and really test the true potential of simple charcoal. My response to "You can grill _______?!?!" is rapidly becoming "YOU can't?!?!"

I got out on Saturday in the cold and wet for a three hour cruiser of a ride with Scott and others. The further west we went, the wetter it got, so we turned back at the mouth of Deer Creek Canyon and made the loop of Highlands Ranch. Scott was in full cruise mode, so I was dinking around in the 53x13 (read big, big gear) just grinding away, getting my own workout in. I was successful in avoiding the trainer for another day, but I think this week is the week for getting re-acclimated to the basement.