Halloween.

Well. I just need to say something. Not important...

BUT, as always, due to a total lack of ideas or motivation, I have failed at procuring a costume. Mostly due to the fact that I don't feel right about trashing my clothes, and I waited too long to procure others.

SO, I'll just do what's easy. Scary, to boot.

See you at Red Barn.

when life gives you apples...

I made applesauce last night. Seemed to work. That's what happens when you buy a bag of the wrong apples...oops, but it worked out.

I'd like to thank Margaret. Couldn't have done it without her. I still don't really know how to work the kitchen. I pretend.

touchy subjects and riding in the dark...

First off...

Apple (computer) has donated $100k to fight "Prop 8". (another one of those attempts by government to ban same sex marriages in California). So, kudos to Apple. Buy a Mac.

Also. Levi Strauss has donated $25k. Word. Good thing I wear Levis. right now, actually...but I'm using a Dell.

A lot of money has been donated for and against this proposal. Something to the tune of a lot of millions. Don't want to google it right now, though... The Mormons are leading the monetary fight for the revision. Go figure... The best part is, very few of the donaters (?) have any financial interest in this. It's all moral. That's pretty rad.

Yeah.

Also. I rode bikes tonight for a few hours. It was fun. It was dark. It wasn't too cold.

It was nice. Not as fun as racing, but WAY cheaper...

I agree with the Italians, and not just because my Grandpas last name was Bonnini.

Today ( I think) the ACCPI (what that stands for I do not know...Something Italian Professional Sporting Folk or some such business) wrote to Pat McQuaid saying that the Italian committee calls for LIFETIME BANS of all riders tested positive for the dopes.

Now that is some Italian I can stand behind!

Let's do it! I guess all it took was The Cricket to retire. He was really standing in the way. Not to say that he was doped up, because I really have to believe that anyone would know better....Obviously not the case judging by the months after this years tour.

I agree. But not only lifetime bans to cyclists, but you have to hit it in the Sponsors pocket as well. That would go a long way in either alienating potential sponsors (or, more likely) more cycling-interested sponsors that really want to clean up the sport, and are willing to take a risk to see it get there.

Only time would tell. Either way. I'm sure nothing will happen.

On the other hand...People make mistakes. I know that. Everyone does. It's a very touchy situation. Is it fair to ruin a riders livelihood because he or she did what they felt necessary to compete at that level? Who's to say? The Italians? Me? The UCI?

I can't be certain...

Ruckus Components is THE MAN!

In a good way, not a bad way.

He's gonna do this for us. Hell yes to (as of yet) unofficial sponsor.

CHECK IT! and only 30 grams!

High Five Bicycles update again.

Hey folks. Thanks for following the progress. Progress is, that we've got two cross frames in the world! One out in Portland, and another in Milwaukee!

That's good news.

Shawn (guy behind Ruckus Components is the one with the High Five out in Portland.

This is what he did with it.

And then he proceeded to do THIS with it.


and THIS is what he had to say about it.

"holy balls i love the high-five and those wheels. fuck man, totally awesome"
"also it is so crazy light I was flying through barriers"

"Late last night I finished building up my new cyclocross racing bike. It is a High-Five frame/fork courtesy of Jason Prudhom and High-Five cycles. The rest of the build is either parts I made or parts off my road bike.

The crankset is a FSA-SLK with big beefy external bearings on the bottom bracket and a single 42t chainring and a custom Ruckus Components chainguard.

The wheels are also courtesy of High-Five cycles and are a deep section carbon fiber tubular wheel with Grifo Challenges glued on them (courtesy of Ben’s Cycle and Fitness).

The brakes are custom Ruckus Components carbon fiber brakes.

The stem/handlebars/brifters are from my road bike and a Ritchey WCS stem, Bontrager Race Lite bars, Shimano Ultegra brifters.

The seatpost is the original OEM seatpost, which will probably be the only part I would ever really legitimately change because changing that alone drops more than half a pound. And when you are forced to run with your bike on your back, weight matters.

The rear derailleur is a Shimano XT shadow. I am really excited to be using this derailleur, it is a fairly light mountain bike derailluer (238 grams) with high spring tension. Also since it is a Shadow series it sits more underneath the chainstay and doesn’t stick out past the rear wheel quick release (very useful when crashing). Aesthetically it is nice because with the rear derailleur cable/housing running straight down the seat stay it goes directly into the derailleur, no silly loops here folks.

Overall it weighs in just over 17 lbs which is pretty impressive considering I have a really heavy seatpost, my unused left brifter, and my LOOK pedals still on there. By far the lightest bike I have ever owned, even my road bike weighed in around 21 lbs and that had road tires on it.

Today I took it out for the Monday lawyer ride. I put on an easy 30 mile (it is a recovery day after all) of good climbs and fast descents with tight turns. It handled marvelously, I was able to hang on the climbs with that 42:27 gearing, I think because it is lighter and a stiffer frame. The bike also handled all the speed bumps better than my steel/carbon road bike. The tracking on it is tight so that will need some getting used to, but it was my first ride after all."


He sent me a list of weights, which I will try to find and post. All said and done, if he likes it as much as I like my road frame, he'll be a happy camper.

Want one? $750 for the one he has. 55 top tube. 7005 front w/ carbon rear end/full carbon fork, and headset.

$550 for the same fork and headset, with an all 7005 frame. Same angles. Same everything. No carbon.

Shipping/paint included.

I have the geometry charts in a .pdf, but have NO idea how to post a .pdf onto my blog...

Will continue to update progress regarding High Five Bicycles on here, until I have enough to start a new site for it.

UPDATED WITH WEIGHTS

"frame/uncut fork/headset 4.40 lbs
frame/fork/headset/seatpost/wheels/tires/cassette 9.90 lbs
seatpost 0.9 lbs

apparently i can't find my numbers on the frame individual frame weight, yet
other info
ruckus guards 30 grams
ruckus brakes 160 grams for a full bikes worth, with hardware"

If anyone is looking for sweet chainring guards, this is the guy to talk to. I can put you in touch. Also, as soon as he'll send me a set of those brakes, i'll review those on here!

Warning to all MPLS cyclists.

Turns out that the police are "cracking down" on some statute that is suppose to "protect cyclists".

Basically, what is happening, is that in downtown, they are pulling over and ticketing cyclists riding without a front light. Now, granted, it is illegal to ride without a light in the dark. Now that it's getting dark earlier, it affects more people.

I guess 4 people got popped just last night.

Go buy a light. Seriously. (I should take my own advice)...

It isn't a light fine, either. $190. That's right. One hundred and ninety dollars. Not fucking cheap! That's a WHOLE LOTTA light!

Do it. For me. And for your wallet.

Our Healthcare system is just silly.

Hello. Me again. More complaining.

Today I called my health care provider to make sure that the Catscan and Petscan I have scheduled for the 23rd will be covered under my insurance policy. I was informed that not only would they NOT be covered (which wasn't terribly surprising) I was also informed that NONE of the hospital visits related to my cancer will be covered. Since I was diagnosed at the end of July, and my coverage didn't start until Aug 1, it's a pre-existing condition. Which wouldn't have terribly surprised me either, save for the fact that I called the HCP on Sept 19th (when I got all of my enrollment package info and ID numbers and what-not) to ask them if I was going to be covered for these visits/surgery that I had either scheduled, or already done. I was told an emphatic yes. I would be covered and I didn't have to worry about it. Turns out I should have taken the name of the employee down, because today I got the "I don't know who you talked to, but that's not true" card played. Not a whole I can do from where I am sitting, I think, but we'll just wait and see what happens.

It just figures that just when things were starting to look up regarding all of this, it all just gets silly and back to dumb. What am I paying this insurance for? Just in case something ELSE happens to me this year, after cancer and an appendectomy? I don't foresee that happening, but it would pretty much make sense if something did happen.

So, I was told that NOTHING related to my cancer will be covered for 12 months. Which doesn't help me at all with making sure that it's gone, and follow up visits for skin checks/etc. Pretty sweet system we have here!

Not only that, but for all intensive purposes, my situation is one that either I pay for insurance and do less things like race and see a movie every now and then, or I don't have insurance and am fucked when something happens. It's a GREAT system.

I think it is amazing that somehow in the last 5 months I have amassed hospital bills totaling more than Margaret and my combined pre-tax income last year.

Yeah! That's amazing!

And she's leaving for Puerto Rico tomorrow at 4:30 am, and I work this evening, so I'll see her for about an hour, if I had to guess. Pretty good day I'm having, huh. But seriously, I'm really excited for her. This is a very good opportunity to have some fun (night kayaking!!?) and learn and meet some of her future colleagues. It's amazing. Just jealous, that's all.

I think I'm done. Someone should make a documentary about me. It'd be boring, though...

what a trip.

No, not Spencers trip to sunny west coast. Maybe the trip out to Ham Lake, and then out to Hudson. Almost like night and day.

Ham Lake sucked for me. Got a front row start. Proceeded to prove myself incredibly unworthy of such placement. I got shot out the back of right away. Proceeded to ride like I was hungover, not holding lines and not having any power. Finished the race, 23rd overall our of 74 or so and 15th in the category (at least until Byrnes gets put in the results.) It sucked. Was NOT happy with that performance.

SO, in Hudson, I made sure it wouldn't happen again. Felt better. Warmed up. Pre rode. Lined up. In the back. I didn't deserve a front row start after yesterdays showing, so I decided I'd start where I belonged. Got hung up in all of the bottleneck action you'd expect when you start where I did. Rookie took a super holeshot and led it around a lap. Very good showing, Tim. That was cool to see. I settled in somewhere. Not really sure how far back. Behind Mario. Behind pretty much everyone I knew. Again (there's a theme here) about midway or a bit before, I turn to pick people off mode. One at a time. Pretty soon Ezra is yelling at me about how I'm moving up well. Heard LG, TC, Bekah, Jake, Linda, Jordan, and a few other unidentified voices hollering at me. That was nice. Two laps to go, I set to get this guy on a yellow bike (which I did) and Eric (smallhead) which I did not. I wanted to get on his wheel, figuring I could outsprint him to the line, but he made it through the rock puddle WAY cleaner than I could ever hope to and got away. Didn't get caught by Kolyn, though. That guy really turns it on towards the end of a race.

I finished in 7th. Which I was happy with, considering placement. And it's nice to have that as an excuse. Whoever that dude on the singlespeed Fisher mountain bike was... Holy shit! I still want to know who you are!

Veganism.

I don't know why, but I've been more interested in this lately. By lately I mean the last two days or so...I don't know why, but I got super lax and have been eating a ton of honey...I don't know how I feel about it. Sure, I can justify it, but when it comes down to it, it's just excuses. I shouldn't eat honey. I don't think I'm going to anymore...at least for a little while.

I think a lot of it has to do with the backlash that happened when Oprah went vegan for a few weeks a bit ago...She did it to lose weight, she has personal chefs and a lot of means to make veganism super easy for her. BUT, what she also did, was make it seem super unattainable for "Joe the plumber (and the rest of "average" america...)". When someone super high profile goes vegan (or jumps on any other "fad" for that matter), it's easy to discount it as "hard" or "expensive", and sure, while she may have all sorts of fancy meals cooked for her, with a ton of expensive ingredients, it's hardly necessary. When it's all said and done, I know that she opened more eyes than she turned away, but it's hard to support someone in her quest to become less obese at the hands of a temporary lifestyle change.

I commend her for doing it, but I don't think it should be treated so temporarily. It worked. She lost weight. WHY would she go back to eating animals?

While veganism can seem hard and expensive, it sure as hell doesn't have to be. It doesn't even have to be more than occasionally inconvenient. Sure, it can be hard to find something to eat in restaurants when you're out with non-vegan people that don't really care, but it seems to me that a lot of people are very sympathetic to dietary choices...And for good reason. No one wants to be a tyrant.

It's usually possible to find something to eat on any menu. Rarely is it more expensive than meat-laden dishes. May not be as tasty, but, if you go to the right places, which are not hard to find, you can eat just as well as if you ate meat.

I've heard all of the excuses, but they're all vanity excuses. Dietary familiarity with food that has been eaten for an entire life, if not for generations. It is SO easy to avoid harming animals for the sake of your comfort. It's just silly.

People get defensive when veganism is brought up. A lot of people make smart remarks about how it's good that vegans don't eat meat, because that means more meat for the non-vegans. That is just assanine. Or, dismissing vegans as "feminine". Which is just too far from valid that it's just annoying. Everyone has their own excuses.

I would like to challenge people to try veganism, just for ONE week. What have you got to really lose? Some weight and general fatigue after eating? What are you worried about? Decreased athletic perfomance? Tony Gonzales (chiefs tight endhas adopted a vegan diet. So has the Little Guy..So have I. Brendan Brazier, (pro triathlete)Desmond Howard (nfl-er. won heismann a few year back)Bill Pearl (4 time Mr. Universe) Stan Price (world bench press record holder) Sixto Linares (world record holder, 24 hour triathlon) Chris Campbell (olympic wrestling champion)...

I think that is a fairly impressive list. And there's more. You can still dominate your sport on a vegan diet.

Is it health Benefits? read the INTRODUCTION of THE CHINA STUDY. Just the introduction. Then get back to me.

try veganism for a while. you might like it.

Just don't give me the "french fries and plain potato chips" crap...While yes, it's vegan, that's just stupid and obviously not going to help you feel better.

Basically, do this.

Eat cereal for breakfast (tip. rice and almond milks are better than soy milk). Not hard. Or a Bagel. (what on it? peanut butter. jelly. tofutti makes a delicious soy cream cheese) I tend to eat a big bowl of granola.

Lunch? Falafel? Pizza from Luce? Vietnamese hoagie from Jasmine deli? Not into eating out? Put some vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper, cucumber, etc) on some bread with mustard and pepper... Easy. what do you usually eat for lunch? I usually just bring peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home.

Dinner? Tons of options. Take a tortilla shell, put it in a pan, put some beans (refried or black...use high quality beans without lard in the refried ones) squash, peppers, onions, avocado, and salsa. Fold it in half and cook it until its hot and eat it. Delicious. OR, use a pita, put some tomato sauce on it, and then cut up some olives, mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots and garlic. Maybe pineapple, if you're into that. Salt and Pepper to taste, bake @ 400degrees until brown...

There are other options that are easier still.

Like snacks? Matt's fig newtons are delicious. Nuts are great (in small amounts. Stick to almonds and cashews. Peanuts not so much... big fan of brazil nuts). Green beans with sea salt. Clif bars!

that was easy. AND notice, I didn't even MENTION tofu until now. No "fake" meats or substitutes. All things that are handy and cheap.

Yeah. Just giving people some options. It'll help you drop a few unneeded pounds, you'll probably tone up, and you'll feel a lot better.

And if you REALLY think you're not getting enough protein, look at the labels. You're fine. If you're still worried, eat a builder bar. That's more than enough on the day right there.

(if you doubt me, again, read the intro to THE CHINA STUDY).

I'll stop there. But seriously, don't be so bull headed. Keep the option open. If you have questions, ask. It isn't hard at all.

debate thoughts...

Well, the best quote of the evening, as far as I'm concerned, goes to Moderator Bob (Schieffer- journalist).

He is wise enough to inform us that "we import 60% of our foreign oil."...Something tells me that isn't quite the whole truth...He was making a point about how in Reagan's day, we imported something like 13% of our oil, and that every president since Reagan (Reagan included) said that we need to reduce that dependency.

That made me happy, so Moderator Bob gets the "DERP" from me...But don't worry...Obama gets one, too...

he said that "we need to enforce unfair trade policies."...It's true...He said it. I think he was thrown off by McCains use of the word "cockamamie" though...( I didn't know how to spell that, thank god for the squiggly lines that tell me I did something wrong...)

All in all I'm glad I watched it. Although I wish Obama had not even dignified the question of "Why is Biden more capable a president than Palin...you know...if something were to...uhhh...happen..."

I pretty much think that Obama spent too much time on that answer, when a simple "Seriously? Are you serious? Did you just ask that?" would have sufficed.

Yay. Politics are fun!

me? an irrelevant joke? please!

So, after little guy has been telling me to watch this for MONTHS, I finally did it. And you should too!

It's called Yacht Rock.

Basically, many of you probably know my affinity for sweet late 70's and 80's jams...This is a sketch TV show based in that era.

Basically, I can't say enough good. There is 11 episodes. each approximately 4 minutes long.

watch them all...

do it.

http://www.channel101.com/shows/show.php?show_id=152

"recovery" rides, rain, and failing.

Well. I'd like to say that I was tough enough to go do a ride out in the rain...and, I did get out, but it wasn't for me...

Margaret forgot to bring clothes for yoga. So, I brought her some. But, in doing so, I get to say that I did a reminder (due to a few hills that I actually put some effort into going up, I can't call it recover, just reminding my legs what they should do) ride for an hour today. So that was nice, aside from getting really wet and mostly cold.

Took a shower, changed and went to work...Where I promptly got a soy latte. Which is against the rules...but they're my rules, and I'll break them as I see fit. I told myself that I was going to not drink anything but tea and water until it got warm again. I did well for a month. But, today I lost it. Was it worth it? not really. BUT, what's done is done, and now I need to go catch back up with that wagon. It's still in sight, and not even too far up the road.

That's all. Oh, and, since I keep seeing those dumb billboards lately, What did YOU do for your marriage today?

-jason

Theo wirth is a mountain bike trail.

Well. I felt good going into this race. I felt good at the line. I got a second row start thanks to some pals from Q. Got a good top 15 or so start. Proceeded to pretty much stack it into the second barrier. People in front of me going slower than me, and I didn't want to take my hands off the brakes and run into them (which meant I couldn't pick my bike up by the top tube to get it high enough to clear the barriers.) Back wheel hit hard and threw my chain off. If was any other lap, I wouldn't have lost so damn many spots, but the race had just started, adn there were about 90 people behind me. I got passed by about 30 of them, if I had to guess.

Got back on, readjusted and turned on "pick people off" mode. It worked. I finished just behind the guys I usually beat. Which isn't so bad. I'm happy with how I rode, minus an extreme lack of HP in the straightaways. I'll take it, though, This course was too rooty and choppy for cross bikes. Which isn't to say it wasn't fun. It was a blast, but there wasn't much flow. It was all sections. Lots of barriers, though, so that was refreshing. Too many cross races nowadays forget about barriers. No run up today, though. Can't tell if that was a blessing or not. It would have been stupid hard with a run up..

In other news, Jake won the cat 3's. That's amazing! Patty won the Elite mens! Something bad happened to Dewey, and Doug cracked hard. It was a pretty tense race, for a while!

Margaret dropped her chain twice and it got all tangled once...she got lapped before she could get it back on...(She proceeded to carry her bike around the course and Chuck-team sponsor/BEHIND BARS-fixed it for her! How's THAT for service!) Then she sat on the Lindas ( a lap down) until the end of the race. Which is both bad and good. She may have finished in last, but it means that she can ride with the big girls. Barring mechanicals! and THAT is awesome!

Dave got 4th in the elite race, on a singlespeed. and bunnyhopped one of the barriers every lap!

GO TEAM. (both LG and Dis flatted. Dis did his best super rookie impression. It was great)

everybody is a critic.

Too often does someone write an amazing book, only to have some douchebag make it into a bad movie. Well, it happened again...

Chuck Pahlaniuk wrote a good book a few years ago. Hell, he wrote a ton of them...One of them got turned into a pretty good movie. Not this time.

Choke.

It's not that it was a terrible movie. It was just backwards. Don't go see it. Read the book. MAYBE see it when it comes out on DVD. Might be worth it then. You can always go to the bathroom, or make a sandwich without pausing it and not miss anything. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't TOTAL garbage. But it wasn't very good.

my 2cents.

more days in the life.

I don't really have much to say, aside from some teammates hooking me up with cheap bike parts to build a pair of tubular wheels. That's all sorts of rad. Here's hoping I can get them together. Probably not before sunday....We'll see...

In other news, I have been with Margaret for almost 2 years now. Seems like it's been a lot longer than that, on one hand, but on the other, time has kinda flown. Who knows...Years get shorter as you get older. I'm convinced. So, that's something neat. Movies and dinner tonight. Hopefully something else interesting on Tuesday.

Speaking of Tuesday. A very good friend is coming to town for a few days. She's arriving Tuesday. Another one of those silly vegan folks...Good kids to know. She's coming from New York. Aside from NOT being New York, How else is Minneapolis better? We'll see what she wants to do...MN has nothing to prove.

Margaret is leaving to go to Puerto Rico pretty in a week or so. That's a bit scary. That's a long way away, and for almost a week, to boot. Question about that. Since PR is basically the US, does that mean that cell phones work down there? T-mobile has this silly "never roaming" thing...I shouldn't count on her phone being able to work, should I?

What else is new? Sitting out Twine Ball this week, in favor of saving money and not breaking things. Will definitely be at Wirth, though. Getting excited about it.

I think the dogs need to go out. I'll wrap this up.

Good night, God Bless.
-Jason

I can't win.

Last night, somehow, I managed to dent the hell out of my REAR race x lite rim. Now it matches the front (that I destroyed 2 or so weeks ago) wheel and my rear derailleur.

Now I'm left with only my D/A wheels (16 spokes). probably not the best cross wheels. Just when I was getting optimistic about my luck turning around...Figures.

Is it '09 yet?

something resembling a training routine has formed...

saturday - race
sunday - race
monday - 3 or 4 laps at wirth. some recoverin' some hot laps
tuesday - team cross practice. mostly barriers and starts
wednesday - hard grass ride. hour and a half or two. Powerfest?

Thurdsay and Friday are pretty much off days, but I want to change that to friday being a recovery ride/one (just one. no sets) HARD interval day.

we'll see if I can do it. Today was 4 laps, and half a short loop. Getting better at turning, but not as good as the mountain bikers out there. I know where my weak spots are, and I'm working on them, though. Fell off my bike today. Just like Margaret did in practice a few weeks ago. Just moving not the right speed, and landing off the back of the saddle and on the tire. I was almost stopped, so i didn't get hurt, just fell over...Smooth.

Back is still sore as hell. Might have to get myself addicted to Motrin or something...

YEAH! bikes!

Hudson.

Let me start by saying that i consider today a victory. I didn't win the race, BUT, I did succeed in NOT blowing anything on my bike up. I started on my bike. I ended on my bike, and I didn't even end up on the ground. THAT, my friends is a win.

I knew the pouring rain and tough singletrack section would make it a race that doesn't suit me. It didn't. Got SUPER muddy again this year. Worse than last. So that sucked, although it was crazy fun. An easy 100' sand trap beach run through with a barrier at the end made life pretty much suck. I was able to move up in it, though. A lot of tight muddy (deep) corners, a few beach crossings, and that was enough to make me loose ground. That's ok. I beat most of the people I wanted to beat, and even walked away with some prizes again today (tire levers and some pedros lube)! I didn't even get first mustache, though...Boo on that. Anyhow, after yesterdays loose corner fest, I just gave it all I could. I could feel my legs were heavy after the race and ride home yesterday, but my back didn't hurt nearly as bad. Which was awesome.

I finished 7th overall and 5th in the 3's. Not too bad. Teammate Jake won the 3's. 2nd overall. Rich kept me honest all day again today.

In the Ladies 4 race, It wasn't super contested. Mary (from Time...employment, not factory team...) kept the first lap or so interesting, and then Margaret pretty much just rode away from her. And the rest of the Ladies in the race. Won by a pretty good margin. I'm super happy for her and proud of her. Her bike did well in todays slop, it'll be good for just about anything. She's a trooper. But now she's a 3. It'll be fun. She'll do great. As long as she does it with a smile. I'm not worried.

LG and Spencer get my bad luck award for shitty days. Spencer messed up his rear brake trying to slow down, and then broke his derailleur hanger on the last lap. LG flatted a tubie, also on the last lap...I thought Jake was going to die in the A's, but he kept it together and finished. Proud of him for that.

And watching Bjorn light it up was awesome, as always!

Racing in NOT Orono.

Wasn't totally sure what the plan was today. Turned out Margaret got the call to be an official! So, that was cool. It was nice to know she was there, even if she couldn't really hang out.

A race. Little guy got the holeshot! Didn't want it, though, so Doug took it. He and Hareland fought it out for a few laps, and then Dewey have him a try. Dewey was able to pass Doug, but we think Doug was playing with him...Doug won. Not a big surprise, I reckon. Little guy dropped his chain a ton. New bike blues...Spencer didn't make good on his threats of Madison fitness.

B race. My race. Lined up next to Super Rookie and Cleary. Good times. Ridley guy got the holeshot. And won the race. He's old, though, so it doesn't matter to me. I was riding with Atherton and a few others...Which was going well, until I rolled my tire. Yeah, I ride clinchers...That was strange. Couldn't figure out what happened. I got off the bike, tried to unhook my brake, thinking that i broke a spoke or somehting and could just keep riding. Then I noticed that it wasn't broken, just that my tire was not all the way on. LG told me to get on his bike...I thought about it for about a second, and then got on and kept racing! LG and dis helped out a TON by fixing my tire, and reinstalling the brake pad i apparently lost... Did a lap on LG's bike and made up ground. They told me my bike was ready. I got around to the pit and we did the worst exchange in...i dunno. it was bad, though.I got on the right bike, and was back off to the races, though. Kept moving up and feeling ok, minus the SUPER sore lower back cross thing...I caught a group of 5 or 6. Mario, Rich, and some others...I rode with them through the BMX part of the course, and then gave it all I had to get around them (2 to go) and get a gap. It worked. I stayed away from them and turned my attention to catching Atherton (again) and teammate Byrnes. Never did it. Finished 12th overall and 7th in the Cat 3's. I'll take it. Too many LOOSE turns for me.

Hudson Tomorrow. That'll be fun! Oh, and thanks to a lot of people for yelling at me. I heard Margaret, although she was supposed to be working. Casper, Jimmer, The Team...I don't remember. Nate and Mario both were encouraging me while I was racing. I love Cross. So much fun! Oh, and I blew a kiss at Steve (Haugh) as I crossed the line, because he was SURE I wouldn't finish on the lead lap. Yep. A success!

Oh, and Margot, I never talked to you after the race, but I sure hope your bike worked well. And thanks to Ray for getting me involved in that can 'o worms!

And Aric and Patty...SWEET JUMPS!

Here's to rain!