24 Hours

It is that time of year I always sign myself up to do something crazy. Last year, my first adventure race. This year, a 24 hour mt. bike race. I have done one before but on a 5-person team 15 years ago. At least I won't be racing the same bike! I had a Giant Iguana back then and now have a 12/13 year old Barracuda. Luckily a friend had given me a RockShok (back in the day) so I have front suspension. "Goodness gracious sakes alive!" My damn bike still exists and for cheap.

Anyways, in March of this year, Jen asks if I want to do a 24 hour duo with her in September. I immediately answered - "Are you crazy?!" I barely ride my mt. bike and when I do, I am slow and fall off often. And duo? I knew I wasn't that crazy. I asked her to keep looking for someone else. Later in the season, I started to soften but for a four person. Down to the wire, we pull together a team with an old pro (Team Alloy Nipples) that race 24 Hours of Canaan in the mid-1990s. In 1993, not only was 24 Hours of Canaan my first 24 hours race but it was my first mt bike race ever. They don't have results archived (don't think the internet existed back then!) but I have a tee-shirt to prove I had race. he, he.

Our cool name is all about our sponsor, Team Lupine Lights. As my one friend says, "Once you go Lupine, you won't go back..everything else is just a candle."

So I woke at 5 am this morning to finish up last minute laundry, collect recharged batteries, clean up videos, organizing errands for Brad while I work as I don't have enough bike food, etc. Wish me luck because I am a nut about biking.

Teddy Atlas

I love the Olympics. It gets me into sport, period. Brad has been watching the boxing. I think the Olympic boxing is the way the sport should be. I am all about that head gear and huge boxing gloves. Teddy Atlas is hard core. I love watching his little demonstrations about how the players box. Makes me want to join Nye's Kickboxing & Boxing Gym right down the street from me.

Back in the day with the fun banter on the PA cycling listserv, Bill Laudien promoted a boxing match between Andrew Albright and Brian Trdina at Nye's. Intelligent guys beating the crap out of each other. (Ready, Trdina is intelligent, not just a smart ass with the mouth.) It was an amazing event. Everyone met at our house for drinks. We all walked down to the gym to watch about 3 rounds of boxing. Trdina trained for the event and it showed. Boxing is so hard. No wonder the guys just hang on each other after awhile. Boxing can bring out the aggression in the spectators, too. Or maybe it was the drinks.



Now back to the Olympics with Synchro Swimming and the Women's Table Tennis Finals. Ooo, maybe just table tennis. Wow, Synchro is just too much to watch.

Starry Eyed Surprise - Grandview Grand Prix 2008

What bike racing should be all about - good times, friends and a fast, sufferfest.



PRO 1/2/3

PLACE          LAST              FIRST         TEAM
1              SNOW              Jason         Team Mera/Wendy's
2              LEA               Bobby         Rite Aid PRO
3              DEWALD            Ryan          Battley HARLEY-DAVIDSON/Sonoma
4              BABIK             Jared         Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
5              FADER             Evan          Battley HARLEY-DAVIDSON/Sonoma
6              GRECU             Stefan        Team Independence/Keswick Cycle
7              WARNO             Mark          The Bike Lane
8              NORTON            Rick          LSV/Kelly Benefit Strategies
9              BENITeZ           Ramon         Artemis
10             MILLER            Michael       Team Alliance Environmental
11             BELOVELL          Gregory       Santinos
12             MUELLER           Jacob         Guys Racing
13             Opria             George        Evolution
14             BLAKE             Russell       Monstr Health Cycling Team
15             GAUNT             Elliot        Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
16             MURRAY            Glenn         Lateral Stress Velo
17             FOUCHE            Brian         AVC/Team Hagerstown-Washington Co
18             KUHL              Chris         Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
19             GAUNT             Elliot        Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
20             SANDBERG          Colin         Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
21             BLACK             David         ERA Cycling
22             FERGUSON          Greg          Hershey Cancer Institute-GPOA-Cannondale
23             STAMP             A.t.          Hincapie/Coca-Cola Cycling p/b Barkley
24             YOUNG             Chad          Monster Health cycling
25             BILLET            Frederick     Team Alliance Environmental
26             COY               Graham
27             TOTARO            Charles       Human Zoom
28             zimmerman         Zachary       Charmcity Cycling
29             FELPEL            Zac           Team Allaince Environmental
30             CONSORTO          Christopher   Lees McRea Cycling
31             WULFKUHLE         Andrew        C3-Sollay.com
32             GERBER            Keith         Human Zoom
33             LAST NAME         FIRST NAME    TEAM
34             BALL              Richard       Watchung Wheelmen/High Gear Cyclery

The Ice Cream Truck

Drinking on the back porch watching Brad work on his bikes, I yammered away about my fantabulous Monday at work. In the far off distance, I could hear the ice cream truck. I think I can hear the damn thing in my sleep. I get all excited when the ice cream truck is in town and Brad knows even before I start running for money.

"NO!" Didn't you hear it?! They are playing "Jingle Bells". We listened and laughed. Then I disappear, listening to see if the ice cream truck will be coming up my street. I cannot go chasing it down as I have done before. I listen for the jingle to get louder.

Brad finds me at the truck with a sprinkled cone, yelling at me that I can't eat that - we did not eat dinner yet.

Hmm. I am sitting here typing away and he does not see the cone anymore. It was melting and as I ran through the house to take a picture of the cone, ice cream and sprinkles falling everywhere. Smeges cleaned up the sprinkles. Brilliant. There goes my dinner.