Quad 'cross mechanicals

So the first real race for me was yesterday over at Middlesex Community College in Bedford. Nice to be local, and it was my favorite kind of riding--sloppy and muddy, the way 'cross should be. We had an awesome showing of MRC'rs there, including Mr. Lowry who was getting married later in the day (dude, that is true dedication!!). Steen, Cort, two Todds (only one raced....dude, c'MON), Ric, Rob, Coley, GD, GFG, Jim, Bill, others I'm surely leaving out....a great crew nonetheless. However, in a way that must have been a good foreshadow to today's financial "news"....there were too many mechanical failures for the good guys....

1. Right in front of me, Bill rolled a tire.

2. Same race, I blew out a chain and had to run half the last lap, instantly losing 15 places.

3. Jim broke his saddle on lap 2 and had to race on one cheek.

4. Cort rolled a tire...he was sitting second wheel looking REALLY comfortable, then when I saw him again he was about 7th and on Todd's bike.

5. And not to be outdone, Rich somehow managed to rip a hole in his skinsuit in a place that 'cross racers don't want to rip holes.

This was a fun course and definitely local for me (I love races that are 20 minutes from home).

Well, the season has definitely kicked off. I was pretty pleased with how I was going for the most part. I'm pretty sure that Ric and I were sitting in the top 20 or so going in to the bell lap. I hit the gas on the straightaway and felt like I could pick off another guy or two before the finish. I had heard some unsettling clickety clicks when shifting and said a few quick prayers that the crappy shifting was due to the mud and not a chain ready to blow.....

Ah well...it's bike racing and this stuff happens. Important for me that I felt good in the 3/4 masters and I'm psyched for the season. Bike maintenance tonight and Wrentham on Wednesday!! Let's prayer for more rain!!!

The politics of the book bag...

So I have a wonderful, amazing, delightful seven year old daughter. Her name is Meghan and she is one of the four most beautiful things in my world. One of the most interesting (and frankly hysterical) aspects of being a Dad is paying attention to the things that pop up in everyday life that other folks would likely consider white noise.

Just such a thing is going on now. I am calling it the 'politics of the book bag'. Meghan, like most kids her age, are 'required' these days to lug more crap to school on a daily basis than I ever was. Therefore, she has a book bag big enough for her to sleep in. But it's a couple of years old and just isn't cool anymore. Now her buddies are lugging around sling bags or messenger bags (HA! I used a messenger bag when I was managing a bike shop 10 years in Minneapolis to carry my crap to work everyday...maybe Dad is more hip than he gets credit for...). Being a bit of a gear head, I am certainly sypathetic to Meghan's plight. She's lucky there I guess--she wants what she wants and I know the feeling.

And since Grammy is subsidizing the effort, she may as well be the coolest kid if she can. So after putting about 250 miles on the VW going from store to store (REI, EMS, Hiltons, Bean, you name it, I've been there) to gather a collection of bags for Meghan to judge (there's less pressure on Project Runway I swear to god...."LL Bean Classic Messenger; you're OUT!" Can't you just hear Heidi Klum banishing that poor thing to the return counter???) she's settled on the Timbuk2 Classic below. Have to admit, it's a pretty cool bag for a 2nd grader. Now if I just get her off the training wheels.....

Thuggery

Well, just got the photo CD from 24 Hours of Great Glen and there are some beauties....here's the goods...great, great time and I'd like to get one (if not more) MRC teams for next year.

One of me on the last lap....completely destroyed (and no more remotely clean MRC gear left to wear...)

Now BBJ, in full effect

Here's Art, enjoying the bling factor...

And last but not least, el Capitan, Giant Frame Guy, the engineer (even has the WPI jersey to prove it....