Low Battery

Still in recovery mode after the Whitmores Super Cross Cup...

There was supposed to be a Cyclo-Cross World Cup in the US this year, on the usual dates for Whitmores, and while the the World Cup fell through (shocker) it still meant that New York's biggest cross race had to move dates from early October to late November. And what that really meant is that instead of a beautiful crisp fall weekend in the Hamptons we were treated to a howling winter wind fest. Saturdays race was so windy everything blew over, including the finish line arch...

With it being so windy, and being set up on a paved parking area I couldn't put up the tent sidewalls. Not getting to be bubble boy this weekend meant I froze my butt off. Both days I started out fully charged, with every bit of clothing I had on, and just got colder and colder as the heat ran out of me. Naturally my fingers were the worst. I started the day with half gloves so I could type, but quickly abandoned that idea. So I just mashed away with the full gloves and hoped it came out right. I'd hand a sheet of results to the officials (scoring out of the car), and they'd hand me back one all marked up with the corrections. It was like high school math class all over again. Eventually we'd get it correct and post em, but hoo boy was it rough for a while there.

Just before the start of the elite races on Saturday a familiar face* poked her head under the tent and said:
"Hi, remember me? John's wife? I was wondering, Would you like a coffee?"
I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Turns out Mrs. MoveItFred and her family were running a bake sale at the race. Five minutes later I had a steaming cup of coffee and all was right with the world again. Ten minutes later The Big Guy, Chief Referee Dave Miller realized that I had a cup of coffee and he didn't. Ooops. Karma paid me back for that one on Sunday though, when I got to the Orient Point Ferry at 6:01, just in time to watch the 6:00 boat sail away without me...

MoveItFred and his bake sale beneficiary

*It's well known (I hope) that I can't remember people's names to save my life. Which is kind of understandable when I deal with 4-600 people every weekend. But it means a whole lot of "Oh Hi there.... uh, uh, uh buddy/man/dude/person....." goes on when I talk to people.

Outta My Yard You Damn Kids!!

The neighborhood kids came over to play in the yard last week...



I don't know what's funnier- the fact that my back yard is on VeloNews, or that somebody in Georgia texted Mega to tell us about it because he recognized our yard. Too bad Powers didn't get the audio working- the commentary was hilarious.

Some Real History at Foggy Bottom

A little non bike racing for a moment. Mid-week I took a quick* trip down to Washington DC to see my brother graduate into the US State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. It made me incredibly proud to see my brother attain a goal he's wanted for so long. It was true proof that hard work and perseverance pays off.

The ceremony was held in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Harry S Truman Building, aka Foggy Bottom. You've probably seen the room on TV when they sign treaties and stuff- so it's a really big deal to be holding something there. Despite my status as a dorky socialist vegan bike racer from the Happy Valley, I managed to pass the background check (they really did one!) and they let me in the building.

While waiting for the ceremony to start we mingled in the reception rooms, surrounded by millions and millions of dollars worth of historical antiques. My dad the auctioneer was flipping out at all the stuff they had in these rooms- from clocks to highboys to rugs. It was swank. Having grown up around auctions, I wasn't as impressed until I saw this:
That's Benjamin Franklin's desk from the Treaty of Paris, and in the case on top is a part of the Treaty. Even for a vegan socialist bike racer, to see a part of the document that ended the Revolutionary War is pretty powerful stuff. Growing up you learn to place a lot of emphasis on the Declaration of Independence, and rightly so- but this is the document that says "we did it"- that the 13 Colonies are free, sovereign and independent. It's sort of the other bookend to the Declaration in a way. It was kind of a fitting thing for the day- the end of a long arduous process, and the beginning of something great.

Congratulations Chris. You earned it.


*Quick except for the Beltway. 2+ hours to drive 30 miles? OMG.

Best Intentions

So I started the 'History' post with the best intentions. I wanted to talk about how cool it was to still be doing the CSI, and how much it means to me that everyone comes out and races or helps or both.... but damn if that race didn't make me tired and I fell asleep while trying to work on it.

Sorry about that.

Highland Park was a blast as usual- it's kind of funny to look at the parallels between the Rutgers kids and the old UMass crew. I hope Craig and Mark are still going with cross twenty years from now...

History

Just now getting caught up after the CSI- getting the truck unpacked and getting the gear cleaned up and reorganized. Which is nice since I have to be repacked and in NJ by Saturday.... At this point I don't even know how many if the 18 editions of the Cycle-Smart International I've worked at- from being part of the crew back in the mid 90's, to being one of the 3 partners in Pioneer when we did our first double weekend at UMass to owning Pioneer, providing all the course equipment, and laying out the new courses at our current home in Look Park. It's crazy to think about having done this for so long- it seems like it was just a few years ago I was living in the Clubhouse on Olive St in Northampton just getting my feet wet in this stuff.