"Drive fast, take chances, and pass on the right." - Bill Crites, 1940-2008

Happy New Year anyway

So, I just got done reading in National Geographic Adventure about how after ascending Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary dedicated much of his life to building schools and hospitals in Nepal. Now it’s got me thinking; maybe tomorrow I’ll go climb Oak Glen and afterward dedicate most of my life to building schools and hospitals in Yucaipa and Beaumont. Oh, wait, that’s impossible. There’s no undeveloped land left in Yucaipa and Beaumont.

I miss the good old days.

You'll have to excuse me.

I used to be my own biggest fan

I realize that my dedication to this bike racing bag may seem ridiculous to most, especially since I’m not making a living at it. Those not in the know will probably never know or understand why I, or those in the know, do it. Sometimes I don’t even know or understand. It’s just what I do. The first time I took the starting line for any kind of event was in 1985 and not a year has gone by that I haven’t taken the starting line a number of times on either a motorcycle or bicycle.

The last time I paid attention to how many races I started in a year was back in the mid 90s, and that was because in District 37 motorcycle races, they determine your ranking by your best 20 races (that's a sh*t ton of tires, BTW). But last night at a Team Redlands meeting Scott Manning asked how many races I did this year and I couldn’t answer.

This morning I started counting and I came up with 37. Unless I missed any, that’s about a day short of two grand tours. Only a couple of those 37 include “sitting in” and that doesn’t take into account the Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday rides that are sometimes as hard as, or even harder than an actual race. Based on how I’ve felt in the last month or so, I guess it’s safe to say that I have less than 37 matches to burn in my match book.

There were road races...

short track and super-d races...

cyclocross races...


cross country races...


single-speed races...


and a lot time in the garage.

And even though winning a Single-speed National, finishing on the podium at a Super-D National, and racing against Olympians, World Champions and a 7-time TdF winner were all highlights, none of them compared to the races where Ryder was on the sideline yelling at the top of his little lungs, "Go Daddy!" Those were some of the races where I posted horrible results, but his cheers still made me feel like a winner.

What's a guy gotta do around here to get some results?

A couple of Februarys ago I sat in the feed zone after getting shot out the back of the Boulevard Road Race with two laps to go. Because Boulevard happened a week prior to the Tour of California, the 90 mile race turned out to be the last day of training camp for many of the major domestic teams who had set up shop for a week in the mild climate of the San Diego area. Despite the firepower, I should have been able to just hang in there and fake it, but I didn't.

There were many DNFs that day so at least I wasn’t alone. On one side of me sat Kayle Leogrande. He had the same bewildered look on his face as me; the look that says both, “What the hell went wrong?” and “What the hell could I have done different?” Kayle and I, who had done a fair amount of riding together that winter, discussed those very same questions with one another before parting ways.

Eventually, on the silent drive home with Denise and Ryder, I chalked it up to “just one of those days” and convinced myself that I’d find my fitness as the year progressed. Kayle must have chalked his bad day up to something else and convinced himself that it would take more than just riding his bike to get the results he desired. As you will see from the saga that later unfolded, today’s news comes as no surprise…

http://www.velonews.com/article/85515/leogrande-suspended

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/dec08/dec02news2

I guess there’s only one thing left to do and that’s to make light of the situation courtesy of another dirty doper, Riccardo Ricco. Click here for a good time.

Meanwhile, I'm out busting my ass in the snow...

It gets deeper.