Wednesday, December 19, 2007

You're news source?

This just in on Yahoo!'s landing page:

'Study: Divorced parents do just as good as married couples'

Really? Really!?! Just as good, hunh?

Monday, December 10, 2007

effective against, sensitive toward, or counteracting more than one toxin, microorganism, or antigen

Guess what word in the following description of the Look 586 the title of this post defines.
  • "With a high degree of polyvalence, cyclists with prompt legs and looking for performance will find a choice mount with it."
Double whammy! Buy a Look frameset and also get an advanced, infection-fighting, medical technology. Why didn't Cannondale think of that?

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Sunday, Rainy Sunday

Went to sleep Saturday night pretty pumped about the first long, social winter ride of the 'off' season. Woke up at least four times in the middle of the night to sounds of car wheels on a very wet Wisconsin Ave. 6:30AM rolled around and the scent of coffee (I love the delay brew feature!!) woke me once more. Stepped out onto the still wet balcony and knew my nancy gene was about to take over. I quickly ceded and sent out the APB text: 'Looking a bit too wet 4 my blood.' I knew I'd catch some flack. Like clockwork, the requisite insults and taunts rolled in. 'Wimp.' 'Nancy.' 'Made of sugar?' It's a good thing I can take a friendly ribbing, 'cause it seems like cyclists, at least the friendly and easy-going ones, are prone to laying it on...thick-like.

And so I settled in for a lazy Sunday. Groceries, egg sandwiches, some minor cleaning, catching up on Netflix, catching up on Top Chef, a trip to the post office, and other household projects took center stage. The option of hitting the trainer still loomed, but I opted out. Plus, SVR is pretty deep in the flu locker, so I had to also tend to her needs.

The biggest accomplishment of this rare Sunday off was hanging the three most recent additions to the Gallerie de Walenander. The 780 s.f. (on a humid day) condo has few advantages. One big plus is that there's little room for too many major home projects. A big day working around the house involves hanging a painting or two and vaccuming the baseboards! Needless to say, we took possession of the latest pieces (two more Calders and a Sharir) from FAAG about a month ago and they've been stacked precariously at the back of the couch ever since. If Brian at FAAG knew, he'd have our heads! With minimal bickering and unanimous agreement on placement, the walls in the dining corner and bedroom are now adequately arted out.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

When 'flat out' isn't good enough

Much like last year, 'cross season ended with a bust. Rather, 'cross season ended with a buRst. Burst rear tube.

Without Nationals on the race schedule, I looked to Reston as my final race this season. I rode there last year to a pretty unimpressive finish, but totally dug the course. And Reston's also the first place I watched a 'cross race, so there's that. Special place.

Arrived to the site with the bearded one in tow. Weather was ripe for 'cross. Nice nip in the air and overcast skies. Was feeling pretty good with my fitness but also knew I wouldn't be in contention for much with the MABRA 'A' crue racing down a category at the MAC event.

Things took a turn for the worse when I noticed I left my lucky charm back at the ranch. The pig has protected during a lot of close calls. Given a crash at a 'cross race generally doesn't yield major mechanical dysfunction or serious bodily injury, I held out hope I might get through the race, sans pig, without any bad luck. I was even running a new chain watcher and tightened down the crank arm that nearly fell off at Taneytown, so I thought I'd at least be immune from dropping or chain or, worse still, an entire crank!

The pig chillin'...2.4 style

Pre-rode once and liked the changes to the course. Lined up third row. Was, for once, not shivering or nervous at the start. Gun went off and...par for the course, I couldn't find my friggin' pedal. Clearly something to work on for next season. Watched the strong guys ride away. Lost all sorts of position, but felt strong on the power sections. Cutting to the chase...3/4 of the way through the first lap, I flatted out back. Game over. Season over. Story over.

Overall, this 'cross season was a bit of a joke for me. No results, save a 6th at DCCX. I didn't put much effort into training for the sport this year, so I'm not surprised by the disappointments. At this point, I am looking forward to some social winter riding and also keeping fingers crossed re: an upgrade to the 'III' ranks.