1st weekend of racing this yr...

Grandview GP and Allntown Sportsfest. Grandview was a nice, shady course, and my legs felt like lead. I stayed with the pack for about 5 of the 10 laps, then fell off the back. No "go" in the legs. Maybe it was the fact that 1) my training ride on thurs was cut short by a snapped chain or 2) I had no training ride on fri. Or both. Whatever. 19th out of 22 starters. Yay me.
The sportsfest found me having better legs but this yr it seemed to be much faster than last yrs snail-like pace. I stayed with the pack the whole time but wound up 17th (missd 16th by a gnat's pube). Stoopid tactics. I kept gaining ground on the hill by the start/finish line, then fell back a bit on the flat. WTF was up with that? Loss of 10ish lbs, maybe? Who knows. All in all I'm OK with it; starting intervals again and I'll race again Aug 16th, hopefully a bit fitter and faster.

Meet Ralphie

He's a 34 lb 1 1/2 yr old chow mix with a severe case of skittishness. He is really warming up to Chelsea and Sarah and is gradually coming around to me. After a near miss with adopting another shiba, we found him at Molly's Place, a really cool shelter. It is great to rescue a dog; I wish we could have taken more home. He's really sweet and wants to play with the cats but they're scared to death of him. Zoe is her usual grumpy self; it's going to take a while for her to get used to him; he just wants to play.

Various and assundry things. Or whatever...

Today was a beautiful day in central PA.
I am actually feeling REALLY strong on teh bike. (This is setting myself up for major dissappointment, I'm sure).
I love doggies. All kinds. Well. Check that. Not too fond of chihuahuas.
I look stylin' euro-pro in my new HUP kit and Diadora shoes.

Good bye silly little dog..

On Sunday, Sam and I were going to go to Lowes to get some more pavers and stone to finish under the deck. We hoped in the car, pulled out, and I felt a bump under the wheel. I glance out the side mirror and see Sasha, our youngest Shiba, flailing around and then falling to the ground. She had apparently been under the car and I ran over her. Frantic call to the vet and we get ready to take her there. She was laying on the back seat as I waited for the girls, and it was there that she left us. I still feel like shit. Sam and Sarah are taking it pretty hard; especially Sarah; she's so sensitive. It's a huge hole in our life cut out. I even think the cats miss her; Zoe isn't the same either. She was the eternal puppy; 5 yrs old and still goofy.
I suppose we'll look to get a rescue dog, preferably a Shiba, in a while. But for now it hurts too much.

Wow. It's been a while.

The girls are home from school. Nice to have company around the house before I go to work. (Besides the pets!) Just finished my series of intervals for now. I'll start again in early August. For now it's a rest week and then just riding and keeping up the intensity. July 27th will be my 1st race (Allentown sports fest crit) this yr. Can't wait. In the meantime I'm going to do some longer rides (hopefully) and just enjoy the girls being home. Man, I'll be teaching Chelsea to drive next month!
Mike G finally has my HUP kit. Guess I'll get it next time he's up this way. I just saw 184.5 on the scale this am. 1st time in I don't know how many yrs I've been below 185. I'd like to get down to about 180 by cross season. Should be real lean at that weight. Maybe I'll even do better this yr? Who knows......
Since redd Rose races has gone belly up, there aren't raelly many races (crits) around this yr, but I should be able to get 3-4 in before cross season. I'd like to place top 10 in the sports fest. Then I'll ask for an upgrade so I can race master's races and really get my ass kicked.

Ok. Time to help out a good cause

Dave Hickey, an avid cyclist and cancer survivor, is, like me, a frequent poster on RoadBike Review message boards. He is one hairy sob. What first started as a joke has turned into a full-blown fund raiser for cancer research going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Dave is going to shave his hairy gams on June 28th. The goal was $200. As I write this it's @ $310 and climbing. If you are like me, you know MANY who have been affected by this killer. While times are a little tight with the price of everything going up, still try to help out. Anything is appreciated. All procedes are tax deductable and you get a receipt on the spot. Donating only takes a few minutes.
kthxby!

Bicycle errand boy today.

Today is my day to take it easy. 2 weeks of intervals and my legs are SORE. Had to get my hair cut and get some more coffee and the sun finally came out today so it was on the Gitane and off I went. It took me 15 minutes to get to Houser's house of hair (10 or so by car, wtf??), wore my nylon cargo shorts over my bike shorts so as not to raise any more eyebrows. Got done there in 20 minutes or so and then headed off past Cedar Cliff over to Sugar Mama's for some beans. Took a while but finally got a pound each of reg and decaf. Yumm. Headed home and after all was said and done, it took me about 1.5 hrs. Driving would have shaved off maybe 10-15 minutes. Almost 11 miles, so that's 1/2 gal of gas saved, and at this point,, that's almost 2 bucks. I'll be doing more of this. Plus my legs are feeling much better now after that fairly easy spin.