Hello Everyone,

I’ve sufficiently thawed out from the New Year’s Day Ride and am now able to type again and unleash my witty prose and amazing humility on an unsuspecting world. Now where were we?

Ok, so I took at stab at the New Year’s Day Ride. Lotsa fun as I wrote of here

but what was even more fun was the comment debate about the merits of such a ride on my training and the adverse effect on my upcoming race season. I found it especially amusing as seemingly well meaning anonymous posters would lament the negative effect on my ability to train afterwards. Uh, fellas, I’m a Cat. 4, regular joe racer, looking to do this for fun and amusement. Does anyone really think that riding 100 miles in January will cost me anything? Ok, I may be 19th and not 17th during a Prospect Park Sprint in July, but I chalk that up more to pizza and Ding Dongs than riding 100 in January. The closest thing I’ll ever get to fame from all of this is sharing hard drive space on Andy Shen’s computer with creepy photos of him posing lasciviously with his Sportsmanship Award.

Regardless and back to the training – I didn’t ride for several days after the century as work/life stuff occupied my time and I considered the rest to be well-timed. I did a steps series on Saturday and then rode 50 miles on Sunday. The Sunday ride was enjoyable as Schmalz and I met several TOA’s at the Bridge and we headed north to Nyack. It was good to see everyone out on the road and the weather was generally pleasant – a bit chilly and damp but not too bad. The only sketchy part was the descent down to Stateline as ice had formed on the roadway. I soon flatted and had the joy of Schmalz’s witty commentary as I was my usual all thumbs. After my 15 minute rear tire change I promptly rode 40 yards and flatted again (note to self – pull huge chunk of glass out of tire next time). Rubber is a cruel mistress.

I hope that everyone is enjoying the weather. On Tuesday I was practically getting on-bike text messages from friends who took the day off to ride. I’m still green with jealousy, but hey, they missed a heckuva New Year’s Day Ride, I tell ya!

If you want serious discussion of weight, aerodynamics and wheels skip bike racing and go directly to the land of the Pinewood Derby. For those unfamiliar with or banned from the Boy Scouts, the Pinewood Derby is an annual event in which scouts take chunks of wood and fashion them into 5 oz. racing machines. In reality, that last sentence should read ‘the parents of scouts; not just scouts. Tonight myself and three other dads sequestered ourselves in a drafty garage filled with saws and other cutting equipment to ‘help’ our sons create their cars. Keep in mind that ‘help’ means to a) point out a general shape, b) choose a paint color and c) find the Wii and stay out of Dad’s way. For several hours we sawed, hammered, painted, cursed and otherwise fashioned our son’s submissions into wooden blocks of future glory (full disclosure – Wild Bill, Pinewood Derby Executive Engineer, did all the tough stuff. I sanded and added witty commentary – I think he was thisclose at one point to putting my head into the vise). Orange Crush (#1 son) and Fear The Turtle (#2 son) are drying as I type this. The Pinewood Derby is like a CRCA CPK race – lotta attitude, competition is fierce, and dashed hopes and dreams are all tied into funny clothing – c’mon, who wears a neckerchief nowadays. More news to follow – Race is Friday night. There is no truth to the rumor that Alex Rodriguez (not the one from the Yankees, but the classy one who isn’t a whiner, well not too much) has been hired to direct the Pinewood Derby.

Speaking of public competition, the world can rest easy in the knowledge that I WILL NOT be participating in the next roller races to be held on January 24th. I’ll pause as you weep, gnash your teeth and rent your clothing………I decided to pass as the December 4th festival of public crashing and placing last in the qualifiers (beat you to it, Schmalz) is more than enough ego lashing for me (for a little while). I may go and scream along but that’s about it. Yet, I do encourage anyone who has the cojones to give it a try to go for it. It was pretty exhilarating having the entire room screaming in your ear as you tried to stay upright and, hopefully, win. Good, good stuff….

In closing, thanks again to Charlie I. for the quality work that he does on our undeserving behalf – in one week he passed along the information that FBF will be available again next year and also the tentative Kissena race schedule. He releases just enough info to whet our appetites and keep us riding through the winter. Thank You, Charlie!

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.