Sunday, April 20, 2008

Raining red



Been raining red in these parts. BJ hit the floor on a wet Casey Crit course in Newport News today. Very sorry to hear that she broke her collar bone. This so-called "diamonds in the rough" photo by Bob shows her attention to form and fashion even in the Riverside ER!










Jerry poses for Kevin after suffering a puncture wound during the Twisted Tire Mtb race near Ashland. When Jerry went down, his brake lever impaled him. It's a terrific irony since Jerry so rarely even uses brakes. He also landed in the ER where they stictched him up.

The course was oozoing with mud and became less of a competition and more of a survival of brake pads, deraillers and mental faculties.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Help!

I have been a bad blogger as they say. But I have been working on a post that I can't seem to complete. I am exploring the idea that rider identity may be connected to speed and performance. Help by answering any or all of these questions:



1--Do you perform significantly better or worse in competitions than you used to? Why?
2--Does poor and/or good race or ride performance affect your personal relationships or job performance ?
3--How do you measure a "great" training ride when you are riding with at least 2 other people?
4--If you had a week to work with a promising junior in a bike camp, what would be the theme(s) of your sessions?


These are not trick questions, no hidden agenda. I seriously want to know some views and your answers will not be exploited. Special something for those who answer! You can also send an email bikevoice[at]cox.net

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

This Saturday!

This is a must do: "Give me Liberty or Give me Tax" alley cat this Saturday. The cross dressing and scavenger hunting may sound foreign to mainstream cyclists, but I went into my first alley cat last month with an open mind and had a blast! It is as much a thinking sport as crit racing, involves pacing like time trials, the navigation skills of adventure racing and the manuvering of mt bike racing. Wes has published the sites to visit (Liberty Tax locations in Norfolk) so if you do not know Norfolk very well, you can study in advance!

Portraiture







I am a struggling photographer. I just can't seem to "see" things if that makes any sense. I worked on an extensive journalism project many years ago. I burned up so much film and messed up so many images in the darkroom that the project manager gave me the "photo editor" position since in the process of making so many mistakes, I had gained the most experience (according to him anyway).

Enter digital camera. I burn up the rechargable batteries with my many takes, but I am finally beginning to capture what I like to think is subject personality or essence once every 50 or so shots. Above are some recent ones.

1--McTempest and Carol 2--Trey and Tim 3--Sharon after knee surgery 4--Alley Cat ferry ride 5--Mike's temperamental mt bike 6--Chuck and BJ