10.28.07

Ever see that scene in Being John Malkovich in which John Malkovich enters his own consciousness and upon looking out through his eyes sees that everyone has the same face as him and are saying ‘Malkovich’ over and over again? Well, I had that today with Lisa Force from NYVelocity. No less than three times I thought I passed Lisa on the road. Once when I was heading with the Rocket Ride down to Englewood, again when I was with Organic passing the police station on 9W and one last time entering the door of Bunbury’s in Piermont. By the way – neither time was it Lisa.

Now before one of you passes this along to Lisa and she wonders why some guy is seeing her everywhere please reinforce to her that I’m a (relatively) well-adjusted happily married father of three and that I don’t think she’s stalkerrific. I save my stalking efforts (and subsequent restraining orders and court appearances) for washed up racers of which Lisa clearly is not.

Ok, now that’s out of the way – good ride today…Bit over 60 miles in total. I had a chance to bust out the new Craft cycling gear…booties, base layer, wind jacket, and lobsterclaw gloves. I couldn’t find the wool cap so I went with a cheap older lid that I bought at the Philly Marathon Exhibition tent (Philly best known as the Marathon in which I lost a tooth at Mile 16 – thanks, Jimernin for carrying it home for me). I thought I’d overheat but the stuff breathes well. When the weather grew warmer my body seemed to equalize well and I never felt stuffy.

Schmalz and I left Ridgewood at 7 AM and headed towards Nyack. Nice chat along the way about such manly topics as which American Girls dolls our daughters crave (Depression Era Kit for his and new doll 70’s girl Julia Albright for my Boo). Dan attempted to show me some bike handling skills that involved holding your rump in place and shaking the front of the bike. The goal was to help me to corner better in crits. He showed and explained it really well. On my third attempt I almost shot off into the woods (unbeknownst to Schmalz) and decided to table that particular skills for the time being. In Tappan the mightiness rose to the fore as Dan snapped his chain. He had a chain tool at the ready and fixed it in 9 minutes flat. We were going to head to Nyack to catch the Rocket Ride down to Englewood but detoured a bit south with the goal of meeting it head on and joining in the fun. Making the left onto 501 we made it all the way into Nyack before the ride rolled by.

Jumped into the ride and rode their coattails into Englewood. Dan broke for home (An American Girl just won’t wait) and I climbed up the Palisades. There I bumped into the TOA contingent of Cheech, Davey, Doug, Mike, Paul, and The Mitch. The cross and headwinds were strong on the 9W and this part wasn’t fun. It was a struggle to hold a solid (not hammering) pace. I wish I could report on the Stateline Sprint but I have no idea who won as I was way, way, way in the back. I was time pressed and asked if the stop could be at Bunbury’s and not the Spoon and all agreed (thanks, guys). We had some good food, laughs (Dave Healy is still my God) and discussed the possibility of a jaunt to France to watch the tour and the climb up Alpe D’Huez in July. I called it 25 to 75% against at this time.

After Bunbury’s the TOA six headed into the hardpack trail and there I took their leave. The basic route home was followed. I was tired and my legs were sore – I chalk that up to a lack of regular training (my left leg has been keeping me from running) and irregular (read: high) food consumption lately. The cold and the wind was still blowing hard, but the riding was good and the sun was shining.

Bottom line – great ride with good friends and a lotta fun. That’s all I ask for.

Ride data here – http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4318048