Sunday.......

I have been feeling sick and fighting to stay afloat with the house, work, and getting ready to go to Kenya (more on that later), so I wasn’t really thinking I would do the cross race last Sunday out at Woodward Park. In fact I was very close to just saying forget cross and selling my cross bike to remove the distraction. Well, anybody that knows me would understand that as soon as I was out there it was no turning back and I pinned a number on and went for it.

60 minutes of pure pain, suffering, dust, and mud holes of glorious goodness. It was fun and definitely recharged my batteries. It was great for me but the really cool thing was that Tracy got out there and lined up.

It was a big deal considering that it was pretty darn close to a year to the day that she walked for the first time after her accident. She looked great out there. I could tell she was nervous. I knew what a big deal it was to line up for the first time after the last year and a half of recovering, but I just kicked her in the butt and said go warm up….

Don’t know if all ya’ll know about cross racing but it is very demanding on the body. Ride as hard as you can on dirt, gravel, over loose sand and dust, through mud holes and then run up steep hills carrying your bike. Then you have to jump off and carry your bike over 18-inch tall barriers, then navigate sharp off camber turns and tricky, twisting descents with your heart rate pegged at threshold. Super hard physically and mentally. You either love it or hate it. So with that in mind, this was a good test of Tracy’s body, and she passed. Of course she was sore and tired, but her body and, more importantly, her hip handled it very well.

By the way did I mention that she won the women’s race? Stud. So there is another one this weekend and we will be out there again. So, if you get the inkling, come check it out.

Details at http://www.homegrowncross.com/

Later

Crazy Kids

Reed put those glasses back!!!!!

Doping

Ok,

So, to answer that question. I don't think every cyclist that wins a pro race is a doper, but when there are surprising amazing feats of strength out of somebody that usually or historically hasn't been that strong, then you have to wonder. That was the case with Ricco, and Schumacher, and to a certain extent Kohl.....

Back in the 90s that wasn't the case because everybody was doping, but now it is not that case. I have to truly believe that the sport is way cleaner now than in the past. I need to believe that, because I love this sport and have been following it for over 20 plus years. It is the only thing I follow closely.

The anti-doping advocates are out there. Pros are pissed that people keep screwing things up for everybody else. Now every time a positive comes in, a sponsor leaves or coverage gets pulled. That is not good for anybody, and not good for signing contracts. Anyway.....refining by fire, you burn away the crap to get back to the true metal, the Gold....

Schumacher

Once Again.....

If it sounds too good to be true. It probably is..........