Fort Richie and Work

These photos are great. I believe the Sheldon Church Ruins are among the best American artifacts of archeaology that are still standing ...period. Circa 1845 this church remains are in the little lowcountry indian area of Yemessee SC.( hope I spelled it right...great area ) The parish was burned by the Brits during the Revolutionary war and again by the Federalists in the Civil war. Restored in the thirties and awesome today.(tombs all around in very well loved shape ) I went to college interested in architecture but settled on landscaping...maybe I will at least get a associates in varied interests...?
Fort Richie is a very interesting place and the cascade, Md. location is very nice and inspires me to get my 27 ft. RV up there to ride some nice miles and fish. The hills look great for riding and there seems to be plenty for liz and the Bear dog to do as far as hiking and stream romping. Very nice to get to an area soo close and yet soo seemingly far removed.
Liz and I collected some spanish moss from the road trip to SC, NC, And Georgia and I gathered some road rash as memorabilia. Also those darn mosquitos are ravenous bout that time. Ya"ll see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button...I liked that movie and it sorta seems to have some ties to my life in a weird way...you figger.
That race though was ok but it is tiring to ride among the power struggle that is MABRA and their battle for supremacy. The position is not new in that I have never been on the ruling team. Now there is two teams that are the obvious ones to win and the rest gather the scraps. If I were to say which is stronger I would say it is Harley Davidson...this is hopefully not a statement that is overstating the obvious though. Both are pretty stacked with contenders. I dont mind the dynamics because I figger whatever dont kill you...
Work is to be spoken of also.. The gentleman who is the VP of the team NCVC has contracted our landscaping services and I am ever soo gratefull. I grew up very close to Westlawn dr. where his house is. I was happy to do work around the old stomping grounds. It is also rewarding to bring back a garden and a flower bed from overgrown to renewed and a new license on life. I enjoy landscaping and also the satisfaction of providing smiles and good views without the pain of the glimpse at the wallet...or soo I hope. I am indebted to the cycling community in at least two ways...I get some income and I get some life lessons in humility. We all procure the best from each other and sometimes the worst also...but its in the decision of its partition and ramification that the strong flourish.

Final Speed Week Report

The Spartanburg race was another hairy event full of bumping,shouting, and some crashes. It is hair raising and nervewracking stuff. The last ten came along after hitting the pit for a wheel. I was riding well but the field was very active in the last five and the speed was starting to wear me some. Around two left and I was far enough up front but at one to go there was a serious acceleration and so a hole opened up in front of me and I was on Frank Traviesos wheel at 3 turns to go and he was last nights winner. I was just hoping to stay with him but he punched it on the back stretch and that was all I saw of him. The last two turns were dealt with ok because the race was strung out but I got 36th and Frank got 29th utilizing his powerfull kick but he was also caught off guard by the last lap split . The Dilworth crit was a course that I knew was not gonna work 4 me. The hill at the one end ran all the way up the backside to the start/stop. The race began and I was getting passed on every ascent to the finish...I knew this was gonna be tough. The rain began and the turn at the bottom thers was a crash midfield. The split caused a frantic effort in the second half and I was pegged and I knew it was over as I pushed it to the point where I decided to simply ride by my own. Naturally the group in front of me eased at the top and I tried to close the gap just because I had gotten some recovery. It was to no avail but I did get real close. So I rode solo and some came from behind some came from the front and it was a sort of hodge podge of individuals as I simply kept a steady determined pace. I was not trying to hammer but just go steady and try to finish upright. Riders came and were either dropped by my or simply pulled out. There were many riders who crashed or droped out or both. I was lapped...I was soaking..I was interested in only staying upright and finishing. Todays race was going to determine if I would finish the series and the future was looking like I was gonna skip the 5 h r. To Ga. And then drive11 hrs back monday...anyway ...the field came through of like 35 guys out of the start of maybe 120..who knows but the field was greatly diminished. I got out of the way but did a few laps in 5his group. The corner was done badly by many and the braking and sprinting made it much more difficult then my line solo...so that's the way I ended up finishing.. Solo except for a Jittery guy who sprinted around me after riding my wheel the last lap..I was wondering if he was gonna pull such a heroic move

Walterboro

Soo the fourth speed week race has come and gone and I was able to get in the money. The race was more 2 my liking in that the backside was more open and long therefore allowing time to close gaps and reshuffle b4 going into another funnel. I was 30 th place ...last in the money and ecstatic. I have been having a tuff time with this series and I am gratefull to have been some sort of a factor at least in my mind. The protest period passed and I collected the 55 clams and left. Later talking to Mark Light he said I was listed as 31 st and I was surprised. I am on my way to Spartanburg and I did see online that I am indeed slotted at 31st with a 44 th overall in the series...in the team overall I am 18 th and Rock racing is 19 th...obviously the one guy Cesar or sumpin did only one or two events as opposed 2 my 4 events but the bike rack will overlook this glaring point count detail just cause it will never happen again most likely...Well.. oh how bout details on the race ? Well it was nice bc it was less technical and I felt like I was breathing easier and mo capable to stay on wheels and to continue to pedal after people would grab breaks thus enabling upward movement into the front ...a crucial element if you want to be anywhere near the front at the end where the ramp in speed is prohibitive of place change by much if any. So if they want to get my payout back b cof a mistake f. Then oh well but I did wait for protest period to end and they did give me the check...anyway I have been getting stronger but the weight for has not dropped 4 s@it which makes me wonder if every scale I get on is simply trying 2 piss me off. Last year I was able to start at 185 and drop through the 170s and settle just under 170 most of the time..now I am steady at 180 and frustrated..I ain't going on jenny craig and just need more miles I figger ?

Two down in the South

Well I guess I gotta post sumpin bout first cuppla days of the speed week series. Tom Buzas was right bout the Athens crowd and the drinking but his warning bout possible beer bottles being thrown on the course did not happen thankfully. There was a massive crowd and many were consuming and getting their swerve on. Good time for all there cept a professor that day did kill his wife and two others earlier thus a manhunt was in progress just off the course. Not fun for them...serious stuff. Unlike racing which is fun n games right. So yeah ...stacked field and there was a stunt moto guy doing trix 4 the crowd so much delay with call ups n shennanigans. Nervous waiting. The race starts and two corners in a crash causes a chase which was a great beginning...the race seemed to stretch out to a vanishing point with it being dark and a 150 rider field. I moved up some and got passed some. The counter read 43 and starting to feel it. At around 35 I was thinking at least get to the 20s fore bagging it. I was caught behind a rider down and went into his rear wheel and tried to hop but only went over the bars ...so I got a scratch on the nose and restarted with like 15 others. Down into the 20 sumpin lap to go I was closing small gaps and they were serious efforts. The teens went by and I was just counting each lap as a victory and just telling myself to do one more...7 to go and I was last guy ..at round 4 to go I moved up a lil and rode Evan Faders wheel awhile cause he was not hopping out the saddle on the backside climb and his wheel was less stressfull to follow... 2 laps left and speed really pamped up and more gaps 2 close...bell lap and I hopped around some spent guys and realized a tiny gap had opened up and I was no longer in the field sprint but I finished 56th and I finished. Historic Roswell was fast and narrow but we had daylight and smaller crowd. The last stretch was out of the saddle out the corner every time and narrow backside was lot of bunching up. Perfect for teams to set up moves and block. The race went by faster though and I was able to ride big name wheels and stay closer t the action. The cramps came and went. I got to 5 laps left and movad up more. At what I thought was. 2 to go I was in perfect position and at the mistaken bell I shot by many and would have had a topt en in the field sprint. But after crossing the line I was astonished the race kept pedalling on...a guy beside me asked me wasn't that the last lap? I was shocked but realized some error was made as I was being passed on both sides...the real last lap on the backside was madness and much bumping and pushing...very nervewracking but out of the last corner and out the saddle. I tried to give it another push but it was weak and I landed 54th I believe...oh and yesterdays crash messed with frnt deraileur so it fell to small ring in middle of race causins some tension and words. I worked it out last night at the room in Beaufort and today is the race I look forward to the most down here cause this town is where I really started to train 4 racing and where I livad and went to college. Hello Beaufort . Alaskan crab legs last night and hopefully good race legs tonight !

broken bike

crash replacement cost 1900 $ not sure if that is a reduced price or just the same as to buy new with a nice name....lame deal and trek will never get my money again...bammas. I thought they would ask for 500 $ or sumpin reasonable. I like the Giant and it performed well today.
Columbia is always a great workout and nice and wide so it is a user friendly course. I got a forty $ dollar prime in the 35 plus and 8 th place which landed 25 $...the prime was at three to go and I kept going hoping to get a split going but to no avail. I was riding relentlessly in the 123 just to get my fitness up for the upcoming speed week series and to try to reel back the move up the road but blocking by dc velo and LSV proved to be too much ..oh and also Immediate mortgage. Harley was left out for the second day in a row...pretty unusual but the large majority is up at battenkill so thus an explanation for that. Hipp and Fuentes proved though that they do pretty well as the smaller contingent and Dave got fifth I believe in the 123 with much work put in and three up the road...no lame sprinter sitting in for them today. Josh had a great weekend with a fifth or fourth ? yesterday ( plus they won ) and a win today...and at their own race which is always nice. He spoiled the two LSV guys efforts to counter him and the stronger guy won.

Ready or Not ( photo #1 worried #2 resigned )

Well...so I have been remiss in my duty to put a post up ? This post is about the future and present. Presently I am still trying to get this new bike fit for me. The new bike has this ( Giant advanced TCR ) ...has this seatpost that has to be cut at your desired height. The hacksawing of the frame for me required about 15 or 16 measurements of the same distance ..( old seat height on Madonne ) compared to the new frame where the cut should be made..once the clamp is inserted into the cut seat mast it adds 1 and a half in. so this compounded my nervous measurements and multiple checks before I actually cut the damn thing. Old school and not wanting to screw up made for a very nervous build for me. Busy week it has been and really struggling with the juggling of bills, overdrafts, and job supervising and estimating..plus registering for events . Riding was not accomplished at all besides down the street and back up after the bike was assembled around ten pm.
Thus the post title....ready or not. Olly olly in come free. Is it too late to post a photo of the broken frame of three races back or four ? maybe.. but I still might get around to it...bad mojo dough. I am going down to Speed week in Ga. and S Carolina and N Carolina. I went to college In SC and my bro lives in NC so I will have a somewhat nearby base camp. Good to get away.. Syn fit crit today was sorta frustrating bc the race split in half and it was too many DC Velo guys up there and too many Richmond Pro. So none of them would work if a split went from the break on the pretense that they didnt have to. If left behind and chasing.. none of them would work to bridge on the pretense that they did not have to. The two Battley riders( Hipp and Fuentes ) were outnumbered but they played their cards well and maybe won the group sprint for third, but they could not contain the race like usual after multiple moves went and came back...some I was in and some I helped bridge. Maybe around ten laps left, J. Meidhoff went away and was never seen again..a few laps later a Richmond Pro went off solo also and was gone up the road...too much looking around and too much team tactics. Thats of course if neither of those teams were yours. But the group sprint was fast and there was Ken Young and Craig Dodson and Josh and Immediate had Githens and Pete Custer and the two harley sprinters and Van Dessel and kelly and and and ,...you get the picture. I got fourteenth..I got some bills paid..I got some work lined up..READY OR NOT...going down south..but there is Columbia menana..ciao. (Dog in shot was in Dupont circle.. guys name in photo is Spencer.)

OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW TWO

Fuck ...the time for me is never good to buy a new bike ...but now is the time. I could post a photo and maybe I will, but imagine a frame broken in half along the down tube and also another complete break just below the top tube down the head tube. The new one will be a Giant advanced sls or sumpin its cool...the bike.. and the price 4 me is sweet...much less than the crash replacement from trek....soo ...bout last weekends racing ? life is tough and so is racing thats why I do it..it keeps me reminded of the basics...stay upright...stay humble...and be nice and kick ass. I try, at least, to do all of the above. See you on the course of life ... :)