Blessed

So there are times when I wander around every corner looking for something, maybe hoping to find something, then I see a mirror or a reflection or maybe it was a handicapped person at the post office and I think.. thank the lucky stars that for some reason, in some way, there is someone looking out for me along this short journey called life.

My friends and family are supporters, they have been along for the ride since the beginning. Its had its ups and downs, but in the end, I feel blessed- not in a religious way, I threw that out of the window when I had the chance a bucket of years ago.

I just feel that things always work out for me the way I want them to. I also have a way of making them come around to my way of thinking. Clearly its not that I'm the smartest, or have the highest IQ, its just that I use the skills that I have.

I realized that I had certain skills along time ago. That got me thru school starting with grade K.

I'm not one of those bullshit managers who says" maintain your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses" . Thats just crap! No wonder why middle management gets the ax, they're ass kissin sissys.

I'm of my own school of thought " screw your weaknesses, exploit your strengths to the fullest and you will reach your true potential"

...its like a hybrid bicycle. It sucks on the road and sucks on the dirt.

The key to life is......do what you like best, do your best, and happiness will follow.

Mission accomplished!

Its always happy on the home front when we are winning races. Tracey racked up a ton this weekend. Her legs are tired from stepping up to the top step on the podium all weekend. Now we are getting a little more focused on the track when we talk about racing. Since she is a big shot now and got her Cat 1 upgrade, the crits are more of an annoyance.

This weekend stats:
8:00 started working on bikes and packing the car
11:00 Raced 5 minutes for 4th place (I needed to get in the top 5 to qualify)
3:00 home to prep for dinner
4:00 drive to Morgan hill to look at cork flooring...now more confused then ever.
5:45 water the neighbors garden and pick some fruit and veggies with Tracey & Nicky (cute little Pucci lookin dress)
6:00 dinner started I fall off the little red wagon and share a fav beer from Belgium with the Queen of Proman
6:01 open first bottle of vino
7:00 call Hooptie to come over for dinner w/us-he accepts
8:00 dinner time Roasted pork studded with garlic and coated with lavender, corn, tomatoe salad, asparagus and roasted potatoes.
9:00 listen to Nick's stories about friends in the past who grew the kind, Hooptie was in his element.
10pm I say good night, T Ford manages to stay up until 11pm with Nick & Hooptie (now I know why he is on BPG, I wonder if they give free pot cards to the team as part of the package????)

Sunday
4:30am alarm goes off
5:00 Departure for Esparto
7:20 Arrival in parking lot of Esparto
7:59 Mattis starts in with "is that bike legal"
8:00:30 start TT
8:10 Realize that the srm isn't working well, so is this a hole I'm going to have to dig myself out of..???
8:39:18 finish TT with a time of 38:48
9:00 Start thinking its lunchtime and dreaming of a burrito
12:00 Plug into gps in car-nearest In and Out.
1:00 Mow lawn
1:20 Fall asleep on the fancy float ass naked in the pool
3:00 Tracey home from track with like 15 gold medals (she is on to something here)
3:10 Beer time!
3:15 Another 45 min nap, this time inside with shorts on
5:00 Second beer ( Thanks to Coats droping off a couple of cool and rather large beers from Belgium) not only do they have a 8.5% kick they are supersize) yummy!
6:00 Tracey gets pretty and picks a cool place for dinner
6:15 She gets a margarita and is loaded in ten minutes
Then some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thank god for rest days on Monday!

BAWLK, BAWLK, BAWLK

I'm guilty of being a dunce. When Hernando asked me to do a little holding hands in the Madison I jumped in with the left brain and said yes. After mucho regrets I'm pulling the plug. The problem is I'm not really chicken shit, I'm not really afraid, nothing is ever going to happen to me..RIGHT? I'm just plain dim. You know sometimes when you have a good idea and the lights go bright...its happened to me once or twice maybe...but really, in my gut I still want to do the Madison or maybe just race with OV...I think its 40/60.

on this one I just can't or maybe don't want to hear all the I told you so's.

Regretfully,

Any way all is well on the wagon ...Day 4. The headache stopped & the sleepless first night stopped but each day I walk by the wine room in the garage and say.....rather drool.... of one more week....you can make it! This training is tough..last night I almost cracked, I do sell wine for a living and a glass or three every day is no big deal. I like saying never trust a skinny chef or a wine Importer that doesn't drink his own wine...but never, never trust a skinny wine importer that cooks:)

My three favorite food groups are Pete's coffee, beer and vino..oh yhea I forgot about any potato that's fried with salt, vinegar, or BBQ artificial flavoring..

I gotta stop.. its 8:20am and I haven't even had breakfast.

Hump Day on Santa Teresa

I humped and pumped, huffed and puffed until I finished my whole athlete homework. Today was the final exam, I passed...almost passed out. I don't ask any questions, just do the work..Dario is just about the only person I listen too.

The lungs were burning as the legs were churning and I was wearing and seeing stars.

Now I want me some Rainbow Stripes

i splurged...not on a bike either.

I've been thinking of how to justify that iphone since it came out... I finally figured it out.!

My ipod is broke, my new treo is f-ed up, and I want to listen to some music this weekend when I'm riding my bike on a trainer at the track and Esparto.

This thing is so cool and looks so fancy I'm afraid to touch it.

This should solve the weekly "discussion" with Tracey about me always having my phone when I ride:)

Specialized Transition= Awsome TT bike

This is one bad ass TT rig. It was lust at first sight and I'm looking forward to the stage rehearsal this weekend at Esparto. The guys at Specialized have really been very, very supportive. Sam, Coats, Chris D-man - D creator of many cool things set me up on this proto type and Don Langster (world champ) has been hooking me up left right and center..bikes for the track, Zippy wheels, bearings, helmet, etc. Shit I wish he drank, I'm not sure what to get him for all his help over the past two weeks.(Thanks Don!) Its taken me a while to get my camara out and snap a couple of pics of this stealthy ride.

It's the first TT bike that handles like a road bike, no detail has been missed..SRM cable guide, brakes, and shifter cables are all internally guided. The rear brake is under mounted and from the back this bike seems to look like a blade of grass. Its so comfortable, I've been riding it every day and when I'm in a group I notice that when we start rolling down hill I stop pedaling, everyone else needs to pump the thighs around just to keep up. Am I worthy? I don't know but this thing is one awsome TT ride and I'm having fun.

Mergers and Acquisitions on the horizon....

We are alive mom's. Things around here have been buzzing away with the house and it seems things are starting to turn the corner and head down progress lane. I've been dealing with noisy neighbors, shopping for floors, computers, team stuff, selling liquid vino oh yhea and an occasional bike ride with my new stealth TT rig that's AWSOME!

I went and did the local weekend slugfest this past weekend to have a little extra motivation to make me go hard. I stopped by my favorite little Canadian's house for a pancake and bar tape. As a result, we missed the start of the group ride, no problemo...we caught the group in no time. I was hoping that little fire plug would of followed me so I had some company when I went off the front and got all the sprinter points, after all I'm a sprinter since I won the Masters crit. Funny actually its the only Master's crit I've won in a couple of years.

I was soooo happy not do do the Minden thing this year and stay home.


Anyway, -NEWS FLASH---Bagboys getting recycled. Bummer!
That little furry Pasco made me green with envy of the brotherhood he put together over the years.
It was pretty impressive- he was able to find both talented riders before they knew they were talented and he did pick a few cherries too..

I guess Roger Bennet is the one that first came to mind, he had a funny ponytail but man...that guy on two wheels after a couple of months of the Stahl ride could hand out some ass whoopin...and is always a nice guy, complements always flowin all sappy.

And Taz, that guy just looks like he is trying to rip off the pedals of every bike he rides. Track, road, TT...just pure power...

cherries too..
Hernando & Polson. Ok, OK, Hernando has done a lot more then any of us on and off the bike. That's why both you and I are here right???? Plus the trackies are getting a lesson in how to ride a bike, rather then just waiting for the fast twitch fibers to kick in. I've said it before, crit racing has changed around these parts for the better due to Hernando in my opinion (which is usually crap, except in this case). The sprinters like Laberge, Clark (where has he gone?), Nolan...etc who would use their teams or just wait it out, now have to be on guard and if they want the glory hole
they can't just wait until the last corner on the last lap.

Polson, crap man - pre Safeway I really don't remember him winning races every weekend. Hernando must have put somthin in his chamois or was it that silly glitter??? I want that stuff sent to a lab!
The first year the conjoined twins were together, they went to town and kicked everyone's asses.

Blah, blah, blah...

I really like most of these guys in Black and the AMD squad too..

I'm really bummed that I won't be racing more of the Cal Cup to give them a proper send off due to the track & worlds thing. Ah well I guess all good things must come to an end...or is it a new beginning????