Goings On

Susan hit an errant squirrel on a Sunday spin 2 weeks ago. The injured was somewhat mobile but in bad shape. Susan said call Peta. I was impressed with their response. Two women arrived, titles and credentials a blur, but they had the know-how to euthanize our squirrel on the spot once they determined he had internal injuries. Susan cried for the little one, I cried that people were willing to assist an animal often considered a pest on a Sunday. They took him away in towels and left kind words. Ethical for sure.

My childhood is cluttered with major poison ivy events. I grew up in Roanoke, VA where poison ivy stalks skin and sure had it out for mine. My dad would buy me useless Calamine Lotion and sit up with me when my rash was at its sleepless peak, and we’d talk about when he was a kid, dead presidents, what distinguishes the material from the spiritual, stuff like that.




Times they have a-changed. As I pre-rode the X-Terra mountain bike race course in Richmond Sunday, I brushed up with a bit of ivy bordering the single track. I have seen commercials for prevention meds, so I checked out what could keep me from sleepless nights. There is now a whole line of products that promise to remove poison ivy oils before a rash even breaks out. I could have spent up to $40 but opted for the $10 brand since the exposure had been minimal. No rash, zzzz.






The 10th annual Amphibious Assault race was another success this past Saturday. Ann emailed me calling “FOUL” after she saw this picture of the women’s 40+ race. She said I was obviously trying to grab her—even when I look at it, I can’t figure out what I was doing at the time. Guess that’s why there are rules about hands staying on bars. Very fun race. (photo and lots others of all races in John's gallery.)

The Pendleton A race is a weekly Tuesday night showdown between Tripower, the Red team, Bike Zone team, Northend, the Blue team, Hilton Cycling, Fat Frogs and scattered individuals. This past week, I counted a dozen breakaways before it all merged into a field sprint. The Tripower Chrabot brother instigated the most breaks and the Snow Valley Chrabot brother won the sprint. (photo by BJ Samuel.)

Kev may look like a dog (Hosang's words) but he slides like a cat. He slid out on the last turn (turned left but went right as Marc would say) of the race but showed no signs of even landing on his butt or legs.

Nice Beacon article on Eric Alger, local firefighter who is also avid cyclist, published last week. He has served as volunteer EMT at a few of our cycling events. I have not seen him in a while come to think of it. (photo by Staci Dennis, Virginia Beach Beacon, 06/11/06.)