another flogging

so i thought i'd try my luck again at bike racing. this time it was a couse in downtown golden: techincal course with eight turns and very slight rises. on my warm up, i felt a bit tight and lacking in leg strength and lung capacity, but figured i try my old warm up techinque of blowing myself out, then recovering a bit and spinning and then hitting the start line. hitting the start line, the 'gun' goes off and 2.5 laps later, i find myself trailing off the back of the pack wondering if maybe they will ease up a bit so i can chase back on. um... no. it's over. no chasing back on, just slowly drifting away. of course, i keep 'racing' since i paid the dollars and rarely do you get a closed course to ride on with people clapping even though you are ridiculously off the pace. it was also nice because the course double backs on itself so it was pretty cool to see the pack ride by as you head the opposite direction.

so now i'm at an impass... wondering if i should hang it up and enjoy the trailer rides, or keep plugging along. i didn't hit the trainer last night, but plan on doing it either tonight or tomorrow night. i'll probably keep going... it's been two years since i've raced a full season... i can't really consider this racing, but i'm at least lining up... without making a big dent in the budget... so come sunday, we'll see how things go at city park.

wedding dream

i had my first wedding dream this morning. not much dreaming about the actual ceremony, but a reflection of the ceremony while having a good time meeting some new people at the reception. while looking back on the ceremony, it seemed as if the priest was a bit emotionally detached and i think he skipped over a few sections. not sure exactly what sections of the wedding... but something was definitely missing. anyway... had a fun time at the reception; sat down and chatted with someone random who reminded me of 'shuffles' but wasn't. Then, the dream went on to some random amusement park/ complex where p and i were looking for an exit that i've used in a previous dream to get out of. the only thing was, i couldn't find it. each turn and set of stairs lead to something different. after beginning to ascend a ladder, i realized that this lead to a reoccuring dream i had many years ago. and when we climbed back down to the platform, a security guard that was an old acquaintence confronted us as to why we were where we were and actually wanted to throw down. lewd comments were hurled at us, but i kept my cool for it was infantile to start up a fight. and once we left his presense, the dream had ended.
i got up, got ready for work, and pedaled on in to the refinery.

a quick flogging

i've been wanting to start my racing season for about two months now... except each time i feel like i'm ready to adorn the monkey clothes and get on the start line, i end up with a cold. finally this weekend i was virus free and decided to roll up to the coal miner's crit in lousiville. boy was that a mistake. popped on lap number 1. ugly. i guess trying to race off-the-couch doesn't work for me...

grumble grumble grumble

today is a day that i should have just kept riding the bike along the bike path, past this stinky refinery, and headed downtown the long way for a cup of coffee and a treat. sit around in my monkey suit until i felt like i should really show up for work.

biking in the rain?

so i rode my bike into work today. it's overcast, maybe 40 degrees outside and good chance of rain. i get into the office and change into my dress blues. on the way back to the desk, i have this conversation

h: so what's the weather like outside
me: a bit chilly, overcast, feels like rain
h: what is the chance of rain today?
me: doesn't matter
h: you are going to care when you're soaking wet on the way home
me: eh... not really... it's just rain... and as long as the power isn't out at home and the water is running, doesn't matter.

it still amazes me that people think you're crazy for riding your bike to work when there is a chance of rain. it's just rain... unless you're the wicked witch of the east.