Thursday, November 24, 2005

Ditch Detour

(at left, Steve, Paul and unidentified Pilgrim grace the annual T-day ride. Photo by BJ Samuel)

Great 48-mile ride today without the usual T-day bluster. Brent took a little detour into a Pungo ditch where cool deep water, mud and Spartina cushioned the fall. Everyone around him stayed upright, and his bike opted not to go in ditch so it stayed dry. Conte's sag was right there to scoop up him and bike, so blowing heater dried him out. I am thankful he swam up so quickly and could laugh about it.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Gilmer, stop calling

Speaking of Groundhog Day, Gilmer must think he's being funny calling me every Thursday pretending that he does not know I have school that night. He leaves messages about who all is going to be on the Thursday night mountain bike ride in Chesapeake, the sushi they are eating afterward. "We'll see you out there," he always says. John even made the coolest video of the ride last week. It's enough that I sit in a chair every Thursday that does not face a window while they are having fun, but I don't need to be reminded every week.

More Political Cycling

Someone was kind enough to tell me that President Bush mountain biked with Chinese Olympic hopefuls yesterday. They rode the 2008 Beijing Olympic race course. Must be nice.

We had our own brand of politics happening at the
VCA annual meeting in Richmond yesterday. Bill C said the meeting reminds him of Groundhog Day and I couldn't agree more. When else can you exhaust topics such as wearing (or not wearing) particular jerseys, whether a person becomes a "master" at age 30 or age 35, or whether or not expensive plants are the same as cash prizes? I wouldn't miss it for anything.

Friday, November 11, 2005

VA Politics Part 2

Everyone found out Virginia's current governor Mark Warner is a cyclist when he crashed over the summer. Governor elect Tim Kaine is also a cyclist. They have both advocated for safer roads in the past. We oughta get them out on a Pungo ride and I bet suddenly funding for shoulders will be pushed through. The roads seem more narrow than ever out there.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Hair Trade Agreement

I am already hearing wagers about racing "next year." One interesting date is March 19, 2006. Guy appears confident in his ability to beat "all women" in time trials, and Girl was quick to remind him that she edged him out in one time trial this year by 20 seconds. Guy vowed for this never to happen again, so Girl jumped in with a bet. If Girl has a better time trial March 19, Guy has to shave his legs, and if Guy has a better time trial, Girl has to cut her hair. That appears skewed to me since the shave will improve Guy's legs whereas cutting this particular Girl's hair seems tragic. I said to Girl's Friend, how could you let her do this, and all Girl's Friend could say is, I am not worried, she's going to win. Girl promised the hair would be donated to Locks of Love so it would not be a total loss. Such confidence, where do I get some? "Before" pictures posted here later if the two agree!

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Can I Get a Witness?

I think I know what it feels like to be thrown out a window. I clipped a pedal on a stump going full speed at Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge Sunday and was thrown so hard to the ground I was helpless. I have 2 bruises on each leg, one on my back, a smushed finger and 2 tweaked arms from a single fall.

I bring all this up because I did what any respectable mountain biker would do. I got up and kept going. But it really wasn't that simple. I couldn't move at first, probably because of internal organ shift. I even allowed 2 competitors, Jean and Paula, to stop briefly for me. That's such bad form. You always say, "Go on" when people ask "Are you ok" because they are racing, yet I had no choice. However, Steve, the race organizer, suddenly appeared on the scene as he monitored the 5-mile course. (Come to think of it, I wonder if he was trying to keep up with us girls.) Anyway, he helped me and I told Jean and Paula to "go on."

I was immobile long enough to call it a day, but I knew some teammates would be in the crowd eventually, cheering on me and several others who were racing this fall classic. Make no mistake, I kept going for me, but there is something great in knowing there would be witnesses to my struggle. I flashed back to childhood when my parents would come to my softball and basketball games and my friend would say hers would never come and I barely understood why that mattered. Now, I wonder if I wouldn't be racing a bike today if they hadn't come.

I caught sight (and
sounds) of the gang on my 3rd of 5 laps. They saw me out there recovering the best I could from setbacks. To them that would be the important thing. I am grateful that Bob, BJ, Laura, Art, Sally, Carol and Shirley took the time to cheer for us that day. And thanks for the beer.

Find more about this awesome race on
John's Blog.