May 2008 Archives

First off, I came across this blog by way of gamjams.net: The Bike Widow I am not sure who she is, but she shares what all of our wonderful spouses are definitely thinking! Her blog's first post had both myself and my wife laughing our butts off! Going to Home Depot and coming back with a new bike, that's something I would die for doing but "the husband" somehow survives! Definitely worth a read so check it out... the site is added to my RSS feed so hopefully she will continue with her entertaining posts.
On a separate topic similar to The Bike Widow's posts... I traded in my '04 Toyota Tundra this weekend. I loved this Truck! It was reliable, was comfortable, and was spacious but the escalating gas prices had me doing some research. Finally I seriously started to consider getting rid of it. On the way home from work on Friday I decided it would be fun to test drive the subject of my research, a Mini Cooper. 30+ miles to the gallon, a few dollars less on a car payment, and a car that was fun to drive. I figured that no harm would come from getting in this puny little car and taking a test drive. There was no way in hell I would like something that small.
Boy was I wrong.... I got in it, hit the Start button and took off down the road. Only a couple of miles in to the test drive I was prompted to send a text message saying "SAAAAAAWEEEEEET!". That was sent to my darling wife Amber as I was on the first test drive in a non-"S" model. She knows me and sent back a simple "Cool" thinking there was no way I would actually buy the car. Then came the "S"! Oh my god, it was fun! I hadn't had fun driving for years! I called her and said I was on the way to pick her up so I could bring her to the dealership so we could take one home!
We are now the proud owners of a brand spanking new '08 Mini Cooper S! Originally I had been looking at the Clubman but after test driving and comparing sizes the standard Cooper was fine. The extra 10 inches just was not enough to warrant the extra cost. Instead we used a little of that extra on options like going from the standard to the "S" and the Premium package.
That leads me on to Saturday night and Sunday....
Seeing as we now had a fuel efficient vehicle I decided that I shoud head up to Carytown Bicycle Company's Go Fast Turn Left race at Southside Speedway. Saturday night we loaded up the car and were actually surprised at how much you could actually get in the car. Sunday morning I didnt want to get out of bed and I felt TIRED!!!! It was one of those mornings that if it was a group ride I would have gone back to bed. I got up anyways and loaded the bikes on the rack that was loaned to us from the Cravens. We hit the road to Richmond, or should I say Midlothian, and after a very enjoable ride arrived in time to see the first track race of the morning.
I did the Cat 5 race as my first race and managed to come in at 14th. It's a points place, so I am content, but wish I could have done better. For some reason I just didn't have it for the sprint. Maybe it was the break away that I "thought" might stick early in the race or possibly the fact that stress from work has worn me down... I just didnt have the ummph to kick it up in the end. Even though I wasnt feeling strong at least I did feel like I had some decent control of my bike.
This race had to be the absolute worst race I have been in for people that cant control their bikes! On a positive note at least I know now that if you see someone with their number upside down, let them be. Keep your mouth shut, dont help them turn it around, let them be. That way it's easier to spot them on the track!
If they have baggy shorts, stay the way the hell away from them!!!!! Unless they are a white blond junior named Christian on the Fat Frogs Team. This race was HAIRY!!!
At one point I had a person riding on my hip trying to push me in to the rumble strips. I looked at him and told him to move. He kept pushing. Yelled at him. He stayed there. Finally I flicked my elbow. He freaked out, over reacted, went right and ran his front wheel in to the rear skewer of the rider next to him. He lost a few spokes and surprisingly enough there was not a complete disaster. After 25 laps Matt Keane ended up taking the sprint and winning. The same Matt that took won the Hill Climb Championship at Wintergreen. Go figure, a guy that climb mountains winning crits! Go Matt! The Fat Frogs team had a great showing overall with I believe 6 of the top 15 places being Frogs!
It was a great weekend and tomorrow it's back to the real world.... boy do I need to do some more training!