Happy Birthday... you don't have cancer...yet...we think...

So I turned 31 years old today and as the title states, I don't have (the) cancer.  I've had a few suspicious moles taken off of my back in the past 6 months or so.  Let me tell you it is a lot of fun having about an inch long/ half inch wide lenticular patch of skin removed just to find out if your mole is cancerous.  Then again, having full blown cancer is no walk in the park. The labs came back and there were more "abnormal" cells than the lab would like, but it was not a definitive diagnosis of cancer.  My dermatologist told me "I don't think you are going to die, but we'd like to track you for changes." So I get to see him every six months. 

In other news, JP and Julie, friends from bling-blinghamton, got married this weekend.  It was a blast catching up with the old crew.  We shared memories of the good old days, like the time that we put JP's head thru the wall (see it was true Sophia).

H-town...

This past saturday marked my return to racing.  It was the district championship crit in Hagerstown.  The course was fantastic, one technical turn, a short rise, and a headwind/false-flat drag to the line made me feel like I was back in the midwest for the summer long crit fest that is racing in the Chicago area.

The plan was to keep things together so that our sprinter Shane Kline could go for the win.  Things were aggressive early  and we had one or two guys sitting on every move.  My job was to chaperone Shane and help him move up if needed. Additionally I would lend an hand if tings got messy up front.  Here is a shot of me bringing Clay across to a break midway thru the race.  I look a bit chubby, and am suffering into the headwind.

Late in the race two Harleys and Ramon rolled off unmarked.  The gap was opening and I tried to drag Rick across.  I got within a few seconds, but could not get there.  Fortunately Rick is a hoss and was able to make the junction.  The bad news that along with Rick, I took two guys from the teams already up the road leaving Rick to do battle with three Harleys and two Artemis guys.  Yet again, we ended up stacking the odds against one of our best riders.  Rick managed to get 4th place which is nothing short of superhuman.  Shane did his job and took the field sprint for 7th.

Rick used to race pro for Navigators, and though that was a few years back he still shows that most pros are a notch above even the best amateurs.  A prime example of this occurred at the Cascade Cycling Classic this past weekend.

Yes, that is Chris Horner giving another rider a "lift" to the mountain top finish.  Click here to see more photos and a description of the above event.  I think my favorite picture is the shot with another group coming to the finish.  I'd be pissed to find out that someone literally carried another rider up the climb and handily beat me.

Ughhhhh....

So it has been some time since I've posted, but I've been busy attending various wedding and bachelor party functions. The weekend of June 28th I was in lovely Rockland County, NY for JP's bachelor party. Ro-Ro works at a camp for children with mental disabilities and he was able to secure the venue for our shenanigans before the kiddies showed up. We had a mobile keg of beer and were set to have some fun.

Things went pretty much as expected.  Lots of booze was consumed, pong and flippy-cup games ensued, Shultz passed out and got sharpied, and JP vomited.  A solid performance all around.  It was a blast to catch up with the friends that I left on the east coast during my Illinois years.  

This past weekend (4th of July) I was back in the Midwest for (sober) Craig's bachelor party and wedding.  The B-party started off with some poolside beers 5 mins after I arrived at the hotel, nice.  Then we cruised to Naperville in a limo bumpin "beam me up".  We met up with the bachelorette party and had a fantastic time.

The wedding was a great time too.  Mandy (the bride) was a picture of beauty and the ceremony was really well put together.  Craig is a lucky man as Mandy is the total package, smart, caring, beautiful, funny, and has a smile that will knock you out.   The picture does not do these two justice.

More bike racing this weekend. Till then toodles.

Ohio recap...

The last stage of the tour of Ohio was the exact opposite of last years final criterium stage which ended in a bunch sprint.  The 50 mile circuit race had us scheduled for 4 loops on rolling country roads and then 10 laps of a 1.3 mile finishing circuit with a big climb and a technical descent.

Things started off as expected, Inferno let a group roll off the front to protect the sprint jersey.  With one big loop to go the weather took a turn for the worse.  Wind, rain, hail, lightening, you name it.  At one point the cross winds were strong enough to blow Bennett off the road and he is probably 185 lbs, our flyweight Chong managed to keep it upright by drafting off of my billboard ass.

The run back into town was pretty uneventful.  We did our best to escort Chris to the front so that he could be on the pointy end of the race when we hit the finishing circuits.  I think that the guys executed perfectly, and we looked like we had a clear purpose in the race.  Th finishing circuits were a right bitch.  they started with a short paved incline that took a slight left-hand bend onto a super steep brick climb.  It was not quite snake alley, but close.  The climb was followed by a false flat/rolling descent and finished with a super steep bumpy concrete downhill with a 180 degree turn at the base. 

I cracked pretty hard the first time up the climb, but toughed it out to finish in the top 50.  I actually felt better as the race went on, but whatever.

Overall the guys rode pretty well, with Chris being the most consistent.  He ended up 16th overall and 3rd in the collegiate standings.

John Rowley managed to hold on to his Cat 3 jersey, and Le TSK was second in the collegiate and points competition.  It was really great to race with these guys again.

After the race, we had Pizza and some beer.  Tank, Lemur and I ventured out to THE bar in Granville for a few more drinks.  Upon arrival, Bennett and a few friends of his stumbled out.  Me being the jackass that I am threatened Bennett with bodily harm, and fisticuffs nearly ensued. I "boxed" his ears a few times and even threw a leg kick at his head thinking that we were just screwing around.  He then grabbed my head and came away with my hat.  Walking away from me he refuses to give my hat back and is swearing at me.  I now realize that he didn't recognize me and I'm flat out lucky that he didn't flat out punch my lights out.  After calling him by name a few times he realized it was me and the hat and hugs were exchanged.

The trip back to MD was uneventful (other than a detour to krispy kreme, and cute waitstaff at Panera).