Brian Dziewa has an opinion.

Presidential platform

2011-11-24T08:36:00.001-06:00

I have so much to be thankful for today. Consequently, I decided I would lay out my platform for a presidential run. This is how I would START (emphasis added).
Right now the top marginal tax bracket is 35% for every dollar over 379,150. I would start by adding two (2) new marginal brackets: (1) 38% at $600,000; and, 41% at $1mm. Those rates look high, but remember it is marginal so your effective tax rate will not be that high.
Then I would take the EXTRA (emphasis added) money brought in by the new rates and do one of two things: (1) pay down the debt; and, (2) buy dollars. The importance of paying down the debt is obvious. Buying back dollars may be less obvious to most people. By buying dollars off the market it raises the value of the dollar by lowering supply. The higher value of the dollar will make prices on imported lower and hopefully help regular folk with everyday purchases. This could also spark more investment in dollars and the USA which would obviously grow the economy.
One of the problems is that I just don't trust the folks in Washington to spend the money appropriately. It would probably be spent on pork and other things and the increase in taxes would be in vain.
However, it would be a start.

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Dad

2010-09-22T07:32:00.000-05:00

Five years ago my heart broke. I still remember when my mom woke me up. I still remember meeting my brother at the top of the stairs to let him know what was happening. I remember hearing the toughest man I know cry. I remember it felt like someone had put a pallet of bricks that weighed a ton on my shoulders. It still feels like yesterday, yet it seems like a lifetime ago.
So much has happened since then: I got big NRC results and went pro; Mary got married; I got married; Ann graduated Mizzou(!); Isabelle was born; and, Robert grew a goatee. I look back and realize how much he missed, but I know he was there for all of it.
As time has passed I have been able to look back and not just re-live the sadness, but I remember the good times. I know that in 22 years my dad and I had more great times than most people have in a lifetime! All the road trips and long rides were great. The stupid arguments that I look back at and laugh. My dad was a great man and a perfect role model. If more people could live with the values my dad had this world would be a better place.

One of the funniest stories I have about my dad involves shaving cream. Whenever we went to a bike race my dad would never bring shaving cream, he figured I would bring it. Well, I use shaving gel, my dad knew I used gel. Yet, every single trip he would use my gel and complain about how it "clogged" his blade! Every single time it was the same! He would use the gel and complain about it! He knew I used gel, it drove me nuts! Finally, after two years he started to bring cream. I imagine I will do that sort of thing to irritate my kids, but it just drive me crazy.

Lastly, happy birthday Johnny!

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NFL dopers

2010-05-12T11:50:00.001-05:00

So Brian Cushing got popped for drugs last September. Then he was allowed to play his WHOLE rookie year and won the defensive rookie of the year! Now you have writers saying it is a bad idea to re-vote because "it opens pandora's box". I'm sorry but sports writers are hypocrites. This guy played his whole season during his appeal and then won the award, had the test come out right away he would have been suspended and missed part of the year and not been eligible to win. What a joke and the writers who vote for him again should be shot. It is exactly as my brother in-law said, the NFL gets a pass on doping.
It just bothers me so much, that all this guy will lose is a quarter of his huge salary and that's it.
He will be right back at this year and morons will say that nothing should be done.
I just hope they set an example, otherwise cheaters will continue to win.

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Mother's day

2010-05-10T08:06:00.001-05:00

Truth be told I haven't been home on mother's day in years. I was always at a bike race or as it is now I live up in Chicago. However one of my best memories in life came on mother's day in 2006. I was at the Joe Martin Stage Race and I needed a big result to justify my contiued full-time cycling. In the first stage on Friday I felt like my lungs were closing on Mt. Gaylor and was cramping on the run in to the finish. Then on Saturday's morning stage I was cramping again and just really down on myself thinking my form was crap. Then in the time trial that afternoon I poured all the emotion of losing my dad and all the stress of doubt and I pulled out a top ten. So going into Sunday's crit (Mother's day) I was top ten and I had never finished the crit with the front group so I was nervous.
At the start I got a call up to the line a d from there I fought to never be more than twenty guys back. Anytime I would get swarmed I would jump and move up to the front, I would battle guys for wheels, I just never gave up. Then I remember comi g through the finish with one to go the crowd was so loud I couldn't believe it, I got chills knowing I was about to get my biggest result ever. After the finish I circled to the van and I called my mom and I remember I just sobbed while I talked to her. I was so sad and happy to have done what I did. I remember I made my cry on the phone and it was just such a happy day. I will never forget that mother's day.

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Medicinal Marijuana

2010-05-06T08:30:00.001-05:00

There was an article in the tribune about Medicinal pot and whether there is scientific proof that it helps or not yesterday. It is pertinent because Illinois is considering making it legal for medicinal purpose. The catch 22 of it all is that they can't really do research to test it in the US, however they are doing it in BC so we'll see the results.
In my own life I have seen firsthand the benefits of using the drug. As some of you know my dad had cancer and the cancer started as a squamous cell tumor on his tongue. So they did surgery to remove part of his tongue and the lymph nodes in his neck. After the surgery they did radiation on his face and neck to make sure the got it all (they didn't, but that's another story for another day). Just so you all know having radiation on your face and neck is God-awful because it basically turns the whole inside of your mouth into an aphthous ulcer, i.e. a canker sore. Now we have all had a canker sore and we all know how uncomfortable eating can be with one, now imagine it is your whole freaking mouth. That would making eating suck. So after nearly six weeks of not eating my dad's stomach was FUBAR! This lead to the ultimate double edged sword, his stomach was a nightmare because he hadn't eaten solid food in so long, but he didn't want to eat because his stomach was bad. So the doctor gave him medical marijuana, however it was not in weed form, it was in pill form. It really helped my dad, it made him hungry enough to eat and thus overcome the stomach. Having lived through this I could never say absolutely no to people who want this.
The problem is that marijuana has been so demonized in the US that it seems inherently evil. I mean we are the country that banned alcohol with a constitutional ammendment. It's our Puritan roots as a country that led us down this path, also I am pretty sure the cotton lobby helped with this too.
I am not opposed to the purple sticky punch as long there is a breathalyzer like test to bust people if they are driving stoned. People use the gateway drug crap, but that is not true. You could say that booze is a gateway drug too. In anything in life there is probably going to be a normal disribution in the results and 99.7% of people would fall within three standard deviations of the extent to which they would take it. So as always there would be outliers and those people would have problems, but there are alcoholics, gambling addicts and various other addictions that are bad too. So I say that is no excuse.
Lastly, wouldn't the taxation of it help with our current fiscal crisis? Make the tax double what it is for cigarettes or alcohol and pay down the debt. I guess in the end nothing will really change, but as far as using it medically I think it works for at least condition.

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Vernon Hills

2010-05-02T19:45:00.001-05:00

Today was the Vernon Hills Grand Prix and I was somewhat reluctant about my form since I have barely raced this year. However, being the old man helping the young guys has it's advantages in such situations. Last year I got second at this race to Ryan Freund and since he's my teammate now I don't have to worry about him.
At the meeting we decided I would cover everything early so the other guys could loosen up. I had no idea early would mean from the gun. I forgot how bad that can hurt, at one point my face was tingling from either lack of oxygen or lactic acid, not sure which. From there on I tried to stay at the front and help the guys. Once a group got away it was pretty easy just policing the front and preventing guys from bridging. In the Waylon won out of a group of six with Will taking third. I realized how little race speed I had on the last lap when everyone started sprinting for nothing and I went out the back. It was a great day, I love racing and seeing the young guys win, it is really fun.

On a side note there is a really annoying trend in racing these days: promoters not putting directions on their fliers, or anywhere for that matter. For today there was just an address for the high school by the course. So obviously we all just put it in google maps, mapquest, our smart phones or gps units and we go. Oh wait, those directions take you to a closed road, which is no big deal if you have a gps and can navigate your way to he race, but the organizer knows the road will be closed! So organizers, just some simple directions to help avoid the roadblocks would be nice. That is all.

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The Draft

2010-04-23T06:33:00.000-05:00

Last night was the first round of the NFL draft, and as usual it did not disappoint. I was real intent until the Bills pick, then I had a conference call with the team and I had to build my new grill. Really quick observations about the draft: Rams drafted Bradford out of peer pressure, Suh is the best player in the class, and the Raiders... Are still the raiders.
For my Buffalo Bills the C.J. Spiller pick was odd. We desperately need a tackle, and thanks to the aforementioned Raiders there was one left. I think Spiller will be a great weapon, but unless we are running the wishbone with Spiller, Lynch and Freddie at QB I don't know how it helps. I do think it signals the end of Lynch's career as a Bill.
Now my conspiracy theory for my beloved Bills is coming to fruition. After I saw that we can probably win four games at best and then with the "dream team" picking Spiller I knew the cogs were in motion. The Bills got a guy who is exciting but we are going to be terrible and get the first pick in 2011. Now we all know that when the league gets a new CBA there is going to be a rookie salary cap. Thus, the Bills will draft their franchise QB and not have to pay him $60M. Thus we will build a franchise with a number one QB and CJ and Freddie.
Just watch, it's going to happen.

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Do you understand the spread?

2010-02-02T12:48:00.003-06:00

The thing I love most about sports is the spread. Not because I gamble, but because of the controversy the spread always brings up. Now for full disclosure my dream job would be to be the head of a sports book in Vegas. It is my perfect combo, math and sports, and I digress.
So back to my main point, the spread. The spread isn't a prediction on who will win, it is a number that makes sure the house always wins. You set the number at such a level the people are enticed to bet equally on both sides. For example in 2006 the early line in the Steelers vs Seahawks was 4 points and so many people bet so much on the Steelers, because they were so much better than Seattle, that the line had to be raised to 4.5.
For this year the first line on the game was 4 points in favor of the Colts, with the sports books thinking that would draw equal betting. However, lots of people think the Colts can cover 4 so they raised it to 4.5 and it got as high as 5.5. It leveled there because at 5.5 enough people bet the Saints to cover the bets on the Colts and equalibrium was reached. Now with the news that Dwight Freeney may not play the line has come down to 5, thus people are betting more on the Saints so the books had to bring down the line to get people to put money on the Colts again.
So in conclusion, the line is not a prediction, it is an integral part of an equation to ensure the house always wins. So go bet on the Saints or Colts and hope they cover!

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Pre-game prognostication

2010-01-24T12:38:00.000-06:00

So after record high ratings last week I think this week will be just as fruitful for the NFL.
In the AFC I have a feeling you will see a terribly officiated game favoring Indy. Why? The league wants Peyton in the super bowl and I think the refs will help that today just as they did last week.
In the NFC I think it is win-win for the league, they either get old man Favre or Drew Brees to go against Peyton. I think the saints will hold serve and win today. So of course we will get two weeks to hear what Archie Manning thinks.
So let's get ready for some football!!!!!

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First time

2010-01-23T22:35:00.001-06:00

So no matter how old you get there always firsts in life and tomorrow will be a first for me. It will be my first indoor race, on a trainer. ABD, my new ream, puts on indoor time trials every year so I am going to go "race" tomorrow. Sure I have only done 12.5 hours outdoors his year, but it's go time.
I love racing and training hard. The last few winters I have gone through down times where I question racing, but then I put in a little block of training and I am reeled back in. It should be illegal for cycling to be so engrossing, but that is why I can never leave. So that is why I do my first "race" tomorrow.

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Brett Favre

2009-10-07T23:04:00.002-05:00

So I was watching the very entertaining Monday Night Football game and the announcer can't help but say how "heroic" Brett Favre was the night after his dad died. Ok, I have to say Horse Shit! I normally don't swear on this but that is horse shit! I am not one to define or proclaim heroism, but I had to tell my little brother on the stairs at 6:3O in the morning that he needed to say goodbye to my dad because he was going to die, and he did about two hours later. I had to call my dad's best friend and tell him my dad died, this man was a freaking Navy SEAL and I had to hear his reaction. I claim nothing, I am not a hero, I am not a great man, I did what I had to do. Brett Favre got to put it all out of his mind and play a game, people can say what they want, but I know because I did the USPRO road race the day of my Nana's funeral and the race let me forget about what was going on. So I am so sick of this shit, I am sorry Favre's dad died, but he is not a hero, nor was he ever, so the media needs to get over it.
He is old and selfish, very talented, but very selfish and people need to get over it.

Week 4 Live!

2009-10-04T15:58:00.002-05:00

So I am going to do live updates while I watch my hapless Bills struggle at Miami. We start with 8:50 left in the second quarter.
-First play of the drive we hit T.O. deep down the left sideline for 39 yards and then on the next two plays we run it up the middle in the redzone and get stuffed, finally settling for a field goal. Your qb just made a great throw, let him keep at it!

-So everyone knows, I exercise during the game, sort of. I do the following:
Offense: Defense:
Incomplete pass = 5 push ups Complete Pass = 5 sit ups
3rd down failure= 10 push ups First down = 10 sit ups
Turnover = 20 push ups Score = 20 sit ups

And then any combination of the two, so if the other team scores with a pass I do 25. I tell you by the end of the game not only do I want the Bills to win I just don't want to have to do anymore.

-Our team sucks. We just let them go right down the field and score on fourth and goal from eight inches out.

-How can a guy accept millions of dollars and suck as much as Trent Edwards does?
-People criticize T.O. for getting angry but when your offense looks like ours how can any competitor not get angry. Our coach and players should be pissed!

-New thought! The Bills coaching staff needs to be over-hauled. We need to hire Brian Billick as head coach, Mike Shannohan as offensive coordinator, and Ted Cotrell as Defensive coordinator. You can keep Bobby April for Special teams because he is pretty good. My God, with all the great/Super Bowl winning coaches out there and we have to put up with this CRAP!

-345 sit up and 140 push ups. We suck
-Finally a freaking touchdown
-Hey maybe next week we can give Cleveland their first win.

Done! We suck.

The Week That Wasn't.

2009-09-29T09:23:00.002-05:00

Oh man Sunday was brutal. There were some good games, some upsets and then there was the Bills. The early games were pretty good this week. You had Brett Favre revert to "Gun Slinger Brett" and go "Brett Favre" on the 49ers with an amazing last second play. Before that the Jags upset the Texans and the Jets took care of the Titans, in a game where the Jets wore N.Y. Titans uniforms. As much as it pains me to say it, this is the year for the Jets. The Dolphins lost Pennington for the year, Tom Brady looks scared and of course the Bills are the Bills.
There were two really good late games, and then there was our game. The Bears and Seahawks fought to the end in a close game and the Bengals came from behind to beat the Steelers in a fantastic finish. While those two games were going on the Bills were just looking sad. Our defense played really well against an explosive offense, holding Drew Brees to 16-29 for 172 yards. If you had told me early in the week that our defense would do that I would say we win. However our offense looked like a bunch of girls, it reminded me of the pathetic Blizzard game at Cleveland where all we did was run up the middle the whole game and lost 8-0. In the second quarter the Bills hold the Saints and when they punt Roscoe fumbles the ball and the Saints get a field goal, right after that I sent a text to my brother saying that we just lost the game.
Then in the fourth quarter down 17-7 with seven minutes left we punt it on fourth and short and of course the Saints get a field and the game was over. It sucks becuase our defense played so well until the last eight minutes or so, but there have only been two defenses ever that you could depend on like that for a full game and they were the '85 Bears and the Super Bowl Ravens, neither of which is the Bills. To make matters worse the Football God's cursed us more because in the game McKelvin broke his leg and is out indefinitely and Donte Whitner hurt his thumb and has to have surgery, so we are now down three starters on defense. I have feeling Whitner might have played his last game as a Bill. He will miss a lot of time and is on a contract year. If he doesn't play the rest of the year the Bills won't pay him a ton and he will think he should be payed like Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu, so we will just waive good-bye now.

On a side note that USC player dropping the bar with 275lbs on his throat while benching is scary. Thank God he is alive and in stable condition, but my goodness that is scary. Keep him in your prayers.

NFL Week 2 recap

2009-09-23T10:51:00.003-05:00

Since I am a homer I will talk my Buffalo Bills first. It was great to win after pissing away a win at New England, up by 11 with three minutes to go and a chance to beat the pats for the first time in six years, oh well. I was very happy and excited as the Bills jumped out 14-0 early in the first quarter but then towards the end with the opportunity to start the blow-out the Bills took their foot off the Bucs throats and settled for a field go. From there the Bills tried to give the game back to the Bucs, especiailly when T.O. reverted back to Butterfingers on a gimme deep ball that he could have taken to the house. However, in the fourth quarter Trent found T.O. with a beautiful deep ball that put the game out of reach as T.O. got his first touchdown as a Bill.
As happy as I was with the win I am disturbed because the Bucs committed so many stupid penalties that helped the Bills, on one Bills drive in the second quarter they had 45 yards worth of penalties and we had to settle for three points.
The Bills defense will get their biggest test yet this Sunday when the Drew "touchdown machine" Brees and the Saints come to Buffalo. I think our speed at corner with McGee, McKelvin and Corner match up well with their receivers, but over the first two games the Bill have shown a complete inability to defend a tight-end deep down the middle. This will be a problem because the Saints have one of the best in Shockey. Hopefully our corners can handle man-to-man so the safeties can give the linebackers more help with the tight-ends. As always I will root for my team with passion and I will yell, cuss, jump up and down and of course, I will do my push-ups and sit-ups during the game.

As far as the NFL goes no team has really taken control this season and shown power. The Ravens are 2-0 but to let KC stay in the game at HOME on opening day with a backup QB is inexcuseable for a team with the title of best in the league. The Giants hae been getting lucky and no one else stands out. The Colts struggled with a bad Jaguars team, even though their win at Miami was impressive and anytime you have Peyton Manning you have a chance. I will say this though, the Rams are the worst team in the NFL. They need to stick the ball in Jackson's belly 30-40 times a game and ride him to wins. However, I don't think they can even do that so St. Louis you better start thinking about whether you want Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford. The other thing is the Broncos, people are like, "oh Josh McDaniel is good" they haven't beaten anyone. The Bengals are average at best and the Browns suck, Mangini could be the worst coach in the league. The only thing that makes the Browns better than Rams is that they have QB's who can play in the NFL. Having said this the Bills will probably cough one up to the Browns as usual. Lastly, what the hell are the Raiders thinking? JaMarcus Russell is terrible, he has only completed ~30% of his passes, I mean I called it when he came out of LSU, he is totally overrated, he has a canon but he is terrible. How long can you leave him in their, I don't know.

We'll see what happens this week, as always it will be a fun NFL Sunday.

New Bikes For Kids

2009-03-11T20:59:00.002-05:00

So my buddy Lee, with whom I work, started a charity to help get new bikes for needy kids. You can view the site here. It is a really good cause and my buddy started the charity because he realized that all the nice stuff he got for his kids he wanted other kids to get new bikes. So he got this all fired up and it is new but it is totally legal. If you like bikes and kids and just want to help them have the chance to ride a new bike then donate the money.

On another note, the weather is tough on me. When we had that string of like four to five weeks of less than 25 degrees I got used to it and it really didn't bother me that much. However, then we get a few weeks of nice weather and suddenly it gets cold and it is hard to deal with. I think it is all mental. I have to toughen up a little again.

The Little things

2009-03-07T19:10:00.002-06:00

So you know in the movies how something will happen and the character will instantly have a flashback to something? Well I had one of those moments yesterday at the fish fry at my church. I had been sick most of the week so I didn't want to serve food, but I was going to help set up. During set up we were getting the beer table ready and I was talking to the guy who tapped the keg and in that instant I could smell the beer on his breath and that combined with frying fish brought on the flashback. It took me back to all the many evenings I would sit at the table and talk to my dad after he had been at work all day. It reminded me of this because I can remember he had the smell of frying fish with the beer he had just drank on his breath. Ah the memories, then I got a little sad and then I got over it and kept setting up.

So on another note the Bills signed Terrell Owens. I think it could be a good thing, I think he realizes this might be his last chance in the NFL so maybe he will be good. I hope so...

Tour of California

2009-02-18T19:26:00.002-06:00

So far watching the race has been pretty entertaining. I feel bad for them slogging it out in the rain and cold. It looks miserable but the racing has been exciting. One thing that bothers me is that the USPRO champ doesn't wear the stars and bars. I mean if I was national champ I would want 10 jerseys so that way I could wear it every single time I rode my bike. It would be a huge honour for me and it is especially bad considering how many different kits their team wore last year. Oh well, no respect.

This Ain't Camp!!!

2009-02-09T22:21:00.002-06:00

That quote from Karl Stover before L'Abitibi. Except it was camp. This past weekend I went to Fort Smith, Arkansas for the Mercy cycling team camp. It was a ton of fun, I got to do a lot of riding outside with a ton of climbing. I really noticed my lack of miles and my extra weight. We did this brutal ride to talimena with like 8000 feet of climbing over 70 miles and I was like I would have loved that 17 pounds ago. Also, the fact that I was throwing down with the young guys the day before took it out of me. We have a really good team with some really good young guys, it should be fun. It was nice to get to catch up with Hector and I got to room with Bill Marshall. Of course he had a cold and didn't tell me until the second day, but I think I am ok.

Then on the drive home I felt like I was driving a race car up I-55 because I was flying by people at a whopping 72mph. I guess because it was midnight and the speed limit is 65mph people didn't want to drive fast. Again as I have complained about multiple times, the left lane is not for cruising it is for passing, pass then get out of the way. It drives me crazy when people just sit there, I mean I really want to bump them and if I had a big truck with a cattle guard on the front I would. I know that you think going five over the speed limit entitles you to sit there, but guess what, it doesn't!

So just get over!

The Weight Game

2009-02-03T20:51:00.002-06:00

The other day I was on Cyclingnews and I was reading an article by Bobby Julich about cyclists and winter weight gain/loss. It was a really good article and I would put a link, but I can't find the article. He was talking about how cyclists can become so obsessed with their weight that they develop eating disorders and they never think they are skinny enough. I know exactly how this is because that is what happened to me. The extent to which it went is my daemon in my closet and I think only Lori and one of my buddies, who I told when I was drunk, know the truth and that is how it will stay. I will leave the skeletons alone. Suffice to say I had issues, in January of 2005 I got down to 137.5 pounds and there were days I thought I was fat. I weighed myself twice a day every day and counted every calorie I ate. I became so obsessed the year summer before when I got dropped at Toona on the climbs and I thought it was my weight, so I dropped 15 pounds over 3 months and thought I was good. It didn't help my cause any that on my first shootout that year I dropped guys like John Lieswyn and Justin England going up Madera Canyon. So I kept myself super skinny all year and I had a terrible year.
That off-season Thomas convinced me that if I don't have any energy I will suck and that I had to eat. So I started to eat and I consumed enough fat and protein to feed two people for a week. In doing so I raced most of 2006 about four pounds heavier and I had a great year. In part because of the weight and in part because of the good food and consumption. I was still weighing myself twice a day though and never really thought I was skinny enough, but my desire to get results and my intelligence prevailed.
It wasn't until after the 2007 season that I said I have to stop getting on the scale so much. It worked I went three months where I only weighed myself once and I had cracked my addiction on the scale. Now I probably weigh myself monthly, but I still don't think I am skinny enough, I mean I weigh 155 pounds, which is almost 20 pounds more, but when my wife hits me in the stomach it doesn't hurt because I have abs and I can do 30+ push ups and I don't get sick all the time, so it is better. I have always said cyclists are sick in the head. So if you are ever wondering about your weight just remember to not get too obsessed because once you start downt the path to the darkside you can never come back.
I guess I should mention that I was fat as a kid and hated it and that probably leads to some of my issues.
Lastly my left eye has been twitching constantly lately, it is weird.

Two collared shirts popped?

2009-01-29T15:25:00.002-06:00

So the end of the world is near, it has to be. I was going through the newspaper this morning and in the JC Penny ad there is a kid wearing two polo shirts layered and both the collars are popped. At first I thought this look was just a d-bag look, but if it has made it's way to a JC Penny ad then it must be worse than I originally thought. What next an under-shirt with a long-sleeved t-shirt with two polo shirst collar popped with another t-shirt over it? The end is near if that is cool. I mean the only thing worse is a t-shirt over a collared button down shirt, acutally that is only second worse, two polos popped is way worse. It makes me sick. I mean for stores that is great because polos aren't cheap and then you have to buy twice as many, maybe the stores are driving the trend to drive up profits, I never thought of that. I guess it is a profitable choice, but then again so is selling weed but good, honest people don't do that. So I guess JC Penny would be rolling in his grave at this one. God Bless America!

I would follow you into the mists of avalon if that's what you mean.

2009-01-26T19:40:00.003-06:00

"You don't see many black quarterbacks in the NFL." This was a direct quote from my wonderful wife during one of the NFL playoff games. I have thought about this subject before, I mean it comes up every so often when they talk about black coaches in the league and I finally think I have an answer. However it is only my opinion, it isn't racist or anything, it is just what I think.
First of all this past season nine black quarterbacks started a game in the NFL (it might only be eight I can't remember if Leftwich started a game for the steelers) all of them for different teams, meaning 9/32. Historically Warren Moon was the first consistent black starter and arguably the best. Vick had no weapons, McNabb's best year was the year he had T.O., and Culpepper had a couple awesome years with Randy Moss and Chris Carter.
I think the issue is athleticism. That is guys like Vick, McNabb, Jamarcus Russell and Vince Young are so athletic that it hinders them. That is when the pass rush is coming and the pocket is collapsing and their first and second option are covered they can bolt and gain 40 yards, or at least get the first down. Where as guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning (arguably two of the best ever, Brady being the better of the two) have to stay in the pocket and find their fifth option the fullback because athletically they are so inferior to guys like Vick (not to say they aren't great, but that is how good Vick and Young are). They have to learn to survive by honing their skills, where as sometimes I think black QB's can run so they do run. They don't have to learn to depend on their skills as a QB because they can just run away from everyone. So in a nutshell that is what I think. I could go further but it would be boring.

Today I saw my son use a bicycle as a weapon...

2009-01-20T20:55:00.002-06:00

Lately electronics have really been hacking me off. A month ago Lori's computer got a trojan virus. She got it right after she purchased and downloaded a renewal for her trend antivirus stuff. So for a month I have been calling them and then emailing and after the third time they asked for a hijackthis report I called in furious. so they were supposed to call me within 48 hours, that was four days ago (96 hours if you're counting). I just got off the phone with them and they say they will call at 6pm tomorrow. If not I am making them send me a $200 check and I am taking it to Best buy.
On top of that Saturday my Xbox 360 stopped working, it froze up. No red ring of death though. So I got the thing Christmas of 2007, never opened it until April, played it twice then it stayed in the box until I got up here in October. So effectively I have been using it for three and a half months and it stops. When I called they were like it is our of warranty and wanted me to pay $100 for it to be fixed. Instantly I was like hell no and I asked for a manager then the guy was like your warranty just expired so I can extend it. I really kind of wish I had gotten a ps3 for the blue-ray player and they don't always fall apart. At least getting it fixed will add a year to my warranty.

I really like to cook, chopping vegetables and stuff really relaxes me. I don't know why, but it is kind of theraputic for me. Then I get to eat it and I like to eat.

Championship Sunday

2009-01-18T21:18:00.002-06:00

Man those two games were good today. Surprisingly the Cardinals/Eagles game was great. I am thoroughly impressed with Larry Fitzgerald and how good he is. And exactly as I thought the Ravens/Steelers game was a vicously hard-hitting game. Let's just all hope Willis McGahee is ok.

So just to climb up on my box, the Eagles have been to FIVE championship games in the last eight years and are only one and four. People criticize the Bills for losing four super bowls, but the the eagles lost four championship games. That means they couldn't even get to the big game. That is worse. Anyways, it was a good day of football. I think the super bowl should be interesting.
A stout defense against a really efficient offense, should be fun.

We will never tire, never falter, never fail.

2009-01-15T23:40:00.002-06:00

So the President, W, gave his farewell speech tonight. I didn't catch it live, I had to watch it online and I thought it was good. I think I will really miss W, I really like him as a leader. I am sure that a lot of my sentiment comes from my patriotism and the feelings I got listening to his stirring speeches following the attacks of 9/11. Also I think I really like him because every time he talks it sounds like he actually gives a shit about the the U.S.A. and not about what is doing what is popular or what is easy. Like a parent who has to discipline their kid for doing something wrong, the kid is mad and resentful of the parent, but the parent does it because they know it is what's best for the kid and because they love them.
I think that is what bothers me most about the president elect, to me he seems like he just wants to do what is on his agenda and he just doesn't seem to be a real patriot, but we'll see. It is like the parent who won't discipline their kid because they want the kid to think they are cool. Leaders are elected to lead and do what's best, just like parents have to do what's best and what is right.
Bush might not be popular but he had the balls to stand up for what he believed and not to bend or waiver on his convictions and I think that is what we need out of the leader of the free world. I pray that Obama is not what I think he is, I pray he doesn't fatally wound this country, but only time will tell. I mean appointing a head of the treasury who just chose to not pay taxes for four years is a good start...

Mark McGwire joke

2009-01-13T10:43:00.002-06:00

So again Mark "Big Mac" McGwire didn't get into the major joke, i mean major league hall of fame, in fact he only got 21% of the vote when he needed 75% to get in. To me this is the biggest joke out there. Mark McGwire should have been a first ballot hall of famer. Yes there was the steroid question, but no proof. Furthermore, baseball was dying, it was flat-lining and the doctor was looking at his watch to call time of death and from the shadows came Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa who resuscitated baseball and brought it back to life. They SAVED baseball in that great summer of homerun madness, but all these holier than though baseball writers don't agree. These writers should really look back and realize how much money they have made because of these two and how they saved the game. If they hadn't had that summer and the game became meaningless these guys would have no reason to write columns or books or anything, but then a few years later these guys are so SELF-RIGHTOUS that they forget what made them. It would be if all of a sudden Trek started an anti-Lance campaign after he made them what they are.
The baseball hall of fame is a joke because pompous arrogant never-was jealous writers are the ones making the decisions. We should all boycott anything written by anyone with a vote until McGwire is in.
Man this makes me mad.

More Snow!

2009-01-12T23:15:00.002-06:00

So it's official, Chicago is no longer the windy city, but rather the city that global warming forgot about. I think we have gotten at least 14 inches in the last seven days, they clear it pretty well, but it just keeps coming and coming. Oh well, what can you do?

So today I was at the store and this lady has her son in the cart. First she stops in the main isle and leaves the kid while she goes halfway down the isle. Then the kid starts trying to climb out and he isn't big enough to do it safely. So I am standing there watching this kid, waiting for him to fall, not because I like to see kids get hurt but because when he falls I figure I can maybe try to catch him. All the while I am thinking why the heck did this woman just walk away form her kid and leave him to fall? I guess to each their own.

Greatest Athlete in the world?

2009-01-08T12:13:00.002-06:00

So the other morning I was watching ESPN's first take like I usually and on the first and 10 segment Skip Bayless and the other person were debating a comment LeBron James said. Lebron said that he thought Lance Armstrong was the greatest athlete in the world. Skip and the other person disagreed saying that Lebron is probably one of the greatest athletes in the world and went on to criticize LA and cycling saying it isn't that hard. Which anyone who has ever had to ride crammed into a 150 rider pack at their limit, or someone who has railed a corner at 30mph cross-eyed, or someone who puts their wheel in the one-inch space on the edge of the road at 34mph to stay in the echelon without crashing knows that cycling is not easy. We get a bad rap because all we do is "ride a bike". Sure there is skill, but different skills than hitting a fast ball or holding a round ball while you run four steps to the hoop. But what defines a great athlete, I mean if it is pure skill then you would say ball sport players as the best, if it is pure fitness you would plug everyone in and do VO2 max tests and LT tests and there would be a definite answer and cross-country skiers would probably top the charts. If you wanted to combine both you would probably end up with soccer players or boxers(or some form of fighting).
The truth is there is no "greatest athlete" in the world because no one can be an NBA and ride the tour de france, everyone specializes to an extent the your own personal bias dictates who is the best. A friend of mine once told me that a relative of his once said, "if Kobe Bryant took two months off to train for it he could win the tour de France." That truly is one of the funniest things i have ever heard, and the most ludicris for that matter, but it shows the ingnorance of people. I think endurance athletes could more easily and quickly transition to skill sport athletes. Hypothetically if Kobe wanted to do the Tour and he had the Endurance engine/genetics for it, it would still take him two to three years to lose the 50 or so pounds he would need to drop, while gaining the strength and endurance he needed to finish ONE pro bike race, let alone a pro tour race in Europe. Could Lance put on pads and go catch passes from Peyton Manning? Probably, he isn't built take all the hits, but if he just slides all the time like the Rams receivers always did he would be fine.
And that my friends is all i have to say about that.

Learn to Drive!

2009-01-07T22:43:00.002-06:00

So the way people drive in Chicago is killing me. First off they drive so cut-throat and aggressively most of the time, then they see one flake of snow and they FREAK OUT! They go from driving way too fast to way too slow, like 20mph below, but then there is a guy who is going to 20 over and flies by you and is going to cause a crash. It is almost like they can't compensate for the conditions and have to go to the complete opposite. I just don't get it.

Tomorrow night is the college football "BCS National Championship" game. I put it in quotes because can you really say it is the title game when Texas, Utah and USC all have a reasonable claim to be there. It is really joke, but it is all about money and I wish the university presidents would just say that instead of saying it is about the "student athletes". I guess there is so much money involved that they will never change. What can you do?

Back to It.

2009-01-04T22:58:00.004-06:00

So it has been a long time since I posted. I mean a really long time, I mean super long. Why? I just didn't want to. Sorry. I feel like it can be a fun thing.
So this happened:

And this happened:

And then the Bills started 5-1 and ended 7-9 in one of the biggest collapses of all time in the NFL, but at least we didn't blow a three game lead with three to go (Denver). Finally the playoffs have come and even though the Bills are AGAIN not in it for the ninth straight year, but who's bitter? So I think this weekend could be one of the best weekends of playoff football ever. The San Diego at Pittsburgh game and the Baltimore at Tennessee games are going to be awesome. I feel bad for whoever wins the Ravens/Titans game because those two teams are going to beat the snot out of each other and the winner is going to be beat up going into the championship game. In the NFC you have the super hot eagles against the reigning champs. The Cardinal/Panther game will probably be OK, but I just think Carolina is too physical. So that is my NFL take. Come back for more on almost everything.

Sam's

2008-05-04T22:56:00.002-05:00

Today I went to St. Louis with my mom and brother and we had to go to Sam's to get some stuff. We needed credit card paper, duct tape, computer paper, comet and such for Long Johns then we need bulk candy for the wedding and I needed Cliff bars. Now as I walk around I see that for things such as what we bought, and toilet paper and other things Sam's is really good, but it is amazing the bulk you can buy some crap in. However, if you like cliff bars there is nowhere you can buy them cheaper, it is great.

On another note gas is expensive, but there is no real good fix. I mean people on both sides of the isle want to fix it because it is an election year, but neither will do what is necessary to fix it. Dems need to let the oil companies drill in more places and Reps need to get rid of the federal tax breaks that the oil companies get to help reduce the national debt which would help the dollar which would help lower the price. Alas, what can you do except buy some lube and go get gas.

On a final note, we have Joe Martin this week and I really like Joe Martin, This will be for sure the 10th time I have done it, maybe the 11th. I can't for the life of me recall if I did it in 1998. I just really like the race because I have a lot of good memories of traveling there with my dad.

Hermann race

2008-04-21T23:31:00.002-05:00

So some of you may have heard about the drama and some of you may have not. Anyways, yesterday at Hermann, Terry, Austin and I smashed the race and had a 3 minute lead after a lap and then we caught the cat fives and when we passed them the and official deemed that when we passed the five's wheel car we were too far to the left on the yellow line and the chief official DQ'd us. There has been a lot of drama since and I just want to say that it is over and it has been dealt with.

I think our team was so mad because we SMASHED the field so bad, I mean we were standing and arguing with an official for eight minutes before the field came and that was 30 miles in to the race. We would have finished first through third and won the KOM and Austin would have won the overall, but alas someone made a judgement call and it didn't go in our favor.

I lost my cool a little, but I have since apologized to those people and I will apologize to them in person the next time I see them, but as far as our team is concerned it is settled and we'll move on. I only wish that there had been more clarification at the time, but more so that my teammates and I hadn't lost our cool, but when you have just been riding flat our for 30 miles and are told you are done, the adrenaline gets the best of you. I only hope that the people will realize we are sorry and forgive us.

Writing on the wall

2008-04-16T09:33:00.003-05:00

So the writing is really on the wall and as much as it pains my heart to say I just don't know how much longer the Bills will be in Buffalo for. I say this because yesterday it was made known that the game the we will play in Toronto will be the dolphins game in DECEMBER! Are you freaking kidding me? That is the biggest Bills home game of the year and we totally lose the home-field advantage of playing them in Buffalo in December. It is a joke and really bad. The week before the Bills play the 49ers at home and that game could easily be in Toronto, but no they had to take the most important home game to the Fans of western New York and move it to Freaking Canada. Words can not describe...

The first win of the year

2008-04-13T22:40:00.003-05:00

So after a rough time at Redlands our team raced yesterday at Tilles Park. It was cold and the course is flat with NO corners, but we were all ready to race. I attacked flat out from the gun and was off the front for a couple of laps with Nate Rice from Big Shark. Then we got caught and in a perfect counter-attack Nolan went off the front with Justin from Big Shark. They got out to 40 or so seconds and I thought the race was over. Then some big gun time trialists took the front and slowly brought it back after about 40 minutes of racing. So right when we catch them I attacked and Terry and I took turns going for about 15 minutes, but nothing was going. So with about five minutes plus six laps to go I said to myself, "I"ll attack one more time then I am saving it for a field sprint to help Terry." So I attack on the backside and I look back and the field is splintering and no one is there. So I just put my head down and went solo for nine laps and won solo. It was really gratifying for me because with no corners or hills the last nine laps was basically me vs.the field to see who could go faster.
I think the coolest thing about the day was that my mom got to see me win. She has never seen me win a race so I am glad that she got to see it.
So I celebrated with Custard with Lori and then just took it easy.

The Redlands trip was fun and relaxing because I didn't have to be on edge every night if I didn't go good. Also, it was a trip at our host house because Jack was a retired school teacher who liked to talk to us and he had a sweet husky. The thing that sucked was the neighbors dogs that would bark constantly, especially when you walked by the windows of the house. We also got to show Nolan the Pacific Ocean which he had never seen.

Beyond that I still really hate Kansas.

Rough day

2008-02-26T21:53:00.002-06:00

I did Froze toes Sunday, it wasn't pretty. I think that having been sick for two weeks really took it out of my legs. Oh well, the sensations were good, the power was good, I just didn't have the endurance. It'll be there. You guys should buy my stuff HERE

I hope that this winter ends soon.

that V Day

2008-02-15T23:01:00.002-06:00

So February 14 is my Dad's birthday, he would have been 52 this year. Therefore, Lori and I haven't really done anything the past couple of years because I don't want to. Someday we will.

so that little cold i wrote about ended up being worse because I still have it. I think I picked something up last Thursday when I was at the doctor for my wrist. Ironic, I go for a broken bone and i get sick. I hope I can shake it soon though. Not a lot is happening here. Lori and I went and bought her a new car yesterday. It is a Toyota Solera, it is nice and we got a good price, too bad it's a toyota. I'm just kidding, it is really nice for her first new car, she was happy. The ice is almost gone so I am happy, hopefully my health will be back in time. Stay warm people.

Way to get 'er done Farmington

2008-02-12T22:04:00.002-06:00

So the Farmington road crews did a phenomenal job clearing the roads after this storm. I mean they waited until there was already three inches of ice before they even got the plows out. The snow started at like 8am yesterday and it was 1pm before the crews got out. I suppose it isn't a big deal because because I came down with a slight head cold on Saturday night. After two really good nights of sleep I am just about back to 100%. I don't really mind because this way I won't do too much after a cold, but at the same time it will probably be Monday before I can get outdoors. Also, it sucks because it kills business, it's like when people in town hear snow they freak out. What can you do? That's all I got.

Nobody beats me in the kitchen

2008-02-02T20:23:00.000-06:00

So I am typing this(which is a pain with my cast on) while watching Under Siege 2 and I realized that Steven Seagal's character is totally awesome. He kicks all the bad guys' butts and he doesn't even sweat at all. He kills all the bad guys while exhibiting no emotion and being as cool as a cucumber. I wish I was that cool.

So I rode in Columbia again today, last Sunday I broke Butthead but today I just wanted to get in a long ride. There like four flats in the first two hours because of the crap on the roads and the wind blowing over the snow made it seem a lot colder than it reaaly was, but it was a good day. I enjoyed it.

So it is time for Super Bowl predictions, I think the Pats will win, but I don't know if they'll cover the spread, 12 points is a lot. I think the Pats will be mad after all this video stuff coming out this week and the timing of it all. We'll see what happens.

The One take wonder

2008-01-29T22:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I had to record a new radio commercial for Long Johns and just like always I read the text once, walked in there and did it in one take. I always do it in one take unless Ann is there and she usually throws off the timing or messes up. I love her but she isn't a one take wonder.

Today I went out and when I left it was 62 degrees and I was riding with no arm warmers or gloves and I was enjoying the sun and somehow I seemed to be riding around the edge of the storm, then after 2.5 hours the temperature started to tank and by the time I got home it was 30 degrees. It sucked because my feet were wet from water on the road and I was just cold. I didn't help that flatted, couldn't pump my tire very well and then flatted 5 minutes from home.

I just hope it is warmer tomorrow.

The Verdict is in

2008-01-26T16:20:00.000-06:00

That verdict is that riding with a cast sucks. Also, I don't know if I mentioned it but I am left-handed and that is the one with the cast. So life is fun, BUT it could be worse.
Everyone should check out this auction it will help the team and it will help charities as well. The wheels you can win are the same wheels that we'll be racing on all year. It is a win-win.
Man I like Cold-Stone ice cream, they should sponsor me because I eat it so much and yet I am not fat. I love ice cream. I hope that tommorow I can do five hours, it will be fun.

DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-23T22:05:00.000-06:00

So the smile belies my irritation. I am just glad I made through work last night. I told the doctor I was going to ride with it and he told me he figured that so he wrapped the cast to support riding. That is all I got.

Stupid Ice

2008-01-23T00:16:00.000-06:00

So I go out for a ride today and it had sleeted over night, but I didn't think it would be too bad so I went for it. I had to be a little ginger through some corners, but it was ok. I went on some back roads that I really like that go through knoblich, yes the place is called Knoblich, and I was having a good ride when about an hour in something bad happend. I come up to a "T" in the road that has a stop sign, is slightly downhill and completely white. I knew the second I hit the breaks I was going down, but I had to stop because falling is better than getting t-boned by a car, but man I went down hard. On my left side, it was a harder fall than when I crashed in China. So I get going again and a mile later I am looking at my powertap and my wheels just come flying out from under me and I am on the ground on my right side. Needless to say at this point I am cracked and I just decided to go home. My wrist was really sore and as I type this it is swollen and I might go have it looked at tommorow, I don't think working 8 hours tonight helped it though. At one point I couldn't put boxes of food in bags because of the angle it pressured my wrist. I mean it only hurts when I move it or use, but I can type and I could do some things with it so maybe it isn't broken, probably just sprained.
Otherwise all I can say is the Original Bacon Double cheeseburger with ketchup and mustard added at A&W is awesome. That's all I got.

Anyone think Brady is faking it or hamming it for the cameras?

It's been a while

2008-01-22T00:19:00.000-06:00

So I haven't updated in a really long time and that is due to a combination of more important things taking up my time, i.e. spending time with Lori, training and working. In the little spare time I have had I just haven't wanted to update. Sorry.

So a lot has happened. First off, I am riding for THF Racing which is Dan Schmatz's new team. It is a really good mix of young guys and experienced guys and I think we'll be really good and I hope to have a lot of fun again on the bike. However if you get a chance you should go to Dan's blog and read the comments on the blog "What cracks me" because it is funny to hear Butthead and Mike Jones internet argue. As a dude who knows Butthead pretty well and spent a good chunk of time with Mike last year it is pretty funny. I think they would actually get along really well if they ever met.

So anyways, I have just been riding and working. Lori and I went to Chicago to visit Mary and Taylor and I ate and drank more beer than I have in a long time. Goose Island is really good beer. Oh, to clarify I drank like 6 beers over three days. I did however eat, even though my very good friend Sue Walters said I looked to skinny which just adds fuel to Lori's fire because she always say I am too skinny. It's weird because I don't think so. Here is a really cool picture of Lori and I in front of Wrigley.

I love what the sign says. We aren't Cubs fans but my sister timed it really well.

So I hate the Dolphins and therefore I am cheering for the Patriots to go 19-0 so that the best team ever and the dolphins will never be mentioned together again.

That is all.

Blessed boy

2007-12-14T22:02:00.000-06:00

So I have known for a long time that I am really blessed and I have a lot to be thankful for. I mean I have a great family with the best parents I could have ever wanted and wonderful sibblings. I have an amazing fiance, great friends, good health and the ability to do what I love, race bikes. However, after turning 25 this past Monday, that's right the big quarter century, I have realized that I am blessed with something else, my youthful looks. It started on my brother's birthday when we were at Applebees and I had on a Farmington Knights t-shirt and our waiter asked me if I was playing in the game, i.e. he thought I was in high school. Then at the sports banquet my mom and I were sitting at a table eating and this lady asked me if I played J.V. or Varsity, which implies that I could be as young as 16! Then today at work this lady and her mom came in to eat and their total was like $13.02 and as the lady was digging for two cents I made a joke about giving her my two cents. We all laughed and I commented on how lame that joke was, but my dad would have liked it(right Richard?). Then the lady said to her mom, "Teenagers these days." I just cracked up and I told them that I am six years removed from being a teenager and they were like, "No, you are like 18 or 19" and I was like 25 and they couldn't believe it. So I suppose when I am older I will like it and I don't mind it now, I guess I am just blessed.

I am stoked because the Bills hold their destiny in their hands because if they win they will be in the driver seat for the final playoff spot, so this weekend is super important. Anyways I hope it doesn't snow because I am cracked on the trainer, but we'll see. If you want to buy me a Christmas present Lori and I are registered at, Target, Macys, and Linens 'n Things.

Right now we are sitting here at the table with my uncle Jon Moss and we are drinking and playing Yahtzee. Good times.

Tigers got hosed

2007-12-03T20:24:00.001-06:00

Man Mizzou got hosed by the BCS. One team in the top ten did NOT get in to a BCS bowl and it was Mizzou. Two teams that were ranked lower And Mizzou beat got in to BCS games, Illinois and KU. I mean Mizzou is ranked 6th in the BCS and Kansas is ranked 8th and Illinois is 13th. KU played NOBODY and by NOBODY I mean nobody, their strength of schedule is over 100 and Mizzou is in the 20's. I can understand Illinois a little because the Rose bowl always wants a Big 10 vs. Pac 10 match-up, but the Orange Bowl picking ku over Mizzou is a joke.

At least the Bills won.

Awesome ride

2007-11-28T20:14:00.000-06:00

So today I did an awesome ride. It was great out there. there were over 8000 feet of climbing and probably 15 miles of gravel. There was a 20% gravel climb that they just put new rock on and I had to get off and run for a little bit. The ride was almost six hours and it was so much fun. It was windy and I was really smoked at the end but it was great.

I hate hospitals, I had to go to one yesterday because my brother had to have a little surgery to have a cyst on his tailbone removed. Apparently it is pretty common because the two surgeries before my bro were for the same thing. He is fine, he will just miss the rest of the week of school because he can't really sit down. That brother of mine is one tough cookie.

The Big 12 title game is this week and it is pretty exciting that Mizzou is in it. I remember 11 years ago when we went to the inaugural Big 12 title game and saw Texas upset Nebraska. It was really cool. I hope that Mizzou wins.

Want some fries?

2007-11-26T20:20:00.000-06:00

This is hilarious. My sister Ann and brother in-law Taylor were singing it all weekend and whenever I would sing it Lori would hit me because she didn't like it.

Now try to get that one out of your head.

Jock stomping the jayhawks

2007-11-25T21:13:00.000-06:00

So last night was pretty exciting to see Mizzou beat ku and win the Big 12 north. The game was a lot closer at the end than it should have been because of some HORRIBLE officiating. However, we won and it was a good game. My brother in-law (wow that is weird to type) who is from Columbia was so nervous, I mean I was excited, but I imagine he was in the same position as we were the first time Buffalo went to a big game. I just hope that Mizzou isn't next in the list of number 1 teams to lose this year, but we'll see.

On another note I have to give a shout out to my boy Mike Weiss because he has helped me out so much lately. His shop Big Shark Bicycles is my current foot sponsor. Some people say he is stingy, but I think he is a good guy.

That is all, I hope Butthead's son takes after him because he is funny and the world needs another. Hey Butthead, Brian is a really good name.

She was ugly as a stick, but I loved her.

2007-11-11T18:58:00.000-06:00

So the Bills won an UGLY game today against the dolphins. I hate the dolphins, their quarterbacks name is Cleo, I mean he should have just been a boy named Sue. So the Bills were down 10 to 2 going into the fourth quarter, yeah 10 to 2. This isn't baseball. Then in the fourth quarter the Bills outscored the fish 11 to 0 and we won 13 to 10. Man, we were sweating, but anytime you beat the dolphins it is a good day.

So I have to give a congratulations to Butthead, because he is going to be a Daddy. Even though he has had four months to tell me, but he hasn't, I will forgive him and say congratulations. I like how I had to find out when his wife was talking about how Butthead won't bunny-hop anything because he doesn't want to risk it with a baby on the way. So congratulations and thanks for not telling me dude.

That is all that I have for now.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

So today is Halloween and I didn't get to do anything too cool, but I worked from 11 to 7 today. I have some really fond memories from Halloween, like when we lived in Littleton and there was a freaking blizzard while we were out. Then there were all the good ones in St. Charles where my dad, and sisters (Mary and Ann) would go out in our neighborhood and my dad would pull the wagon with a cooler full of beer while we were gathering tons of candy. Then Ann would get tired and she would get in the wagon. It was so fun. It's the little things like that that I really miss about my dad. I can't wait to walk around with a wagon with a cooler full of beer while my kids trick or treat, actually I can wait, like 10 years, but when that day comes I'll sure think about my dad. So don't rot your teeth out on candy.

Another great weekend!

2007-10-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

Man it was another great weekend. The Tigers won on Saturday, the Bills won and the fish lost on Sunday and the Sox swept to the world series title. I mean some people lived their whole lives and died without ever seeing their beloved Sox win a World Series and now we have seen them win two in four years. Unreal, I just hope I see the Bills win a Super Bowl someday soon. I'm sure my dad would be happy the Sox won again.

Go Sox!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-28T09:26:00.001-05:00

So I have to take back EVERYTHING bad I have ever said about Dice-K. I mean I knew he would lose last night and he didn't. Yeah he gave up a couple runs before he came out, but he also got a two run single. That means the Sox are one win away from the title. Even if they lose tonight they got Lights out Beckett going in game five. Hopefully they can close it out tonight.

Today they got the Giants and Dolphins playing in London and I heard that the players were complaining about the flight. SUCK IT UP! You get paid millions of dollars, deal with the travel, shut your mouth and play the game.

It's really nice to ride again except my pedals. My speedplays blew up on Tuesday. I know I have crashed on the right one a couple of times, but the LEFT one blew up. It is so irritating because I have only had the things since the first of April and then you subtract the four weeks I didn't train and that means the pedals only lasted six months. I guess the CSC guys probably get new pedals after every race.
I got in a good ride with T.J. and his dad yesterday and then we went to the football game. It was fun even though Mizzou let ISU stay a little close, but we won.

That is all. Go Bills, Go Sox!

I love google maps

2007-10-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

Google maps is the coolest thing ever. I used google maps to find a new road to ride on Wednesday. I have done the first half of the ride before, but the last half was new and really fun. It was a narrow back road that went up and down constantly. There was no traffic and it was really quiet out there under the canopy of trees with their changing leaves. This time of year is so beautiful in Missouri out in the hills with all the different color leaves, it kind of reminds you of how beautiful cycling is at whatever level you do it at. Now there are two problems with back roads like the ones I trained on:
1) Dogs
2) People who don't take kindly to your types 'round d'em parts

Luckily I didn't have a problem with the latter, but I did have an encounter with the former. So I am on the back narrow road with a ton of steep little hills and I come up to this hill that looks really steep. It was actually the steepest sustained hill I have ever been on in Missouri, I mean it was steep. So I start going up the hill and there is a little crappy trailer/house and my garmin is saying 20% and it is about to get steeper when all of a sudden a pit bull comes charging out at me. So I start sprinting up this steep hill into a headwind and of course the dog is catching me, so I am swerving and yelling at the dog to intimidate it and finally it gives up, but only after a 1000+ watt effort on my third day of riding. Of course then I go around the corner and the hill keeps going up and I was gassed from the sprint on only my third day training. I think as the season gets closer it would be like doing my own "Eddy" hill sprints, but for now I will just get some serious mace and hose the little son of a gun next time. Oh well at least it was Richard's dog Tater chasing me in a princess costume.

Hopefully the Sox can close it out in 4 so I don't have to sweat too much.

What a weekend

2007-10-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

So the Bills won, the Dolphins lost, and Red Sox are going to the World Series! Oh yeah the Tigers won too. What a great weekend for sports.
I started riding again today and go figure it was cold and rainy, perfect for a two hour ride to get things going.

The Princess factor

2007-10-19T11:47:00.000-05:00

Collin Cowherd on T.O.
"He can be a princess at times."

You think? Really? It is amazing how much princess factor exists in sports. You would think that athletes would be this tough group, but there is this sense of entitlement that a lot of guys have that can only be called the princess factor. It is quite annoying. I will tell you one guy who for sure has no princess factor in him and that is Matty Rice. You are tough as nails Matty. Also, that Jeff Garcia seems pretty tough and blue collar to me.

I bought some new cranks for my bike yesterday and they are shiny. I like shiny.

another day

2007-10-18T01:14:00.000-05:00

So there is not a lot special going on these days. I have been trying to detox my body a little after all the beer I drank last week and crap I ate. It is nice to eat healthy again. I'll get back to training next week which should be fun. I just love riding my bike and I just want to have doing it.
So I got more ebay auctions, check them out HERE

Tomorrow I get to go visit Lori and it will be fun to get to hang out with her as always. I hope the Bills can win, that would be fun.

Mary's big day

2007-10-14T20:13:00.000-05:00

So we finally had the first big wedding in the family. My big sister Mary got married on Saturday and here are some photos pictures from the prenuptial dinner and the wedding day.

It was a fun and exciting weekend with a touch of insanity to top it all off. I had fun and I think everyone else did and I am glad to have Taylor in the family now.

Heartbreaker

2007-10-11T00:08:00.000-05:00

Oh my God the Bills are killing me. TWICE, TWICE we have lost on a last second field goal at home when we were ahead for most of the game. Tony Romeo threw FIVE interceptions and lost a fumble and we still couldn't win. It made me a little sick to my stomach to watch.
I guess the fact that Robert and I got to see my alma mater Mizzou pound Nebraska made the weekend alright, it sucked to only get to see Lori for like an hour, but it was better than nothing. We sat on the field and it was the loudest I had ever heard Faurot field. Here is a picture that shows how close we were.

The players are right freaking behind us. It was pretty cool, I mean we couldn't see the other end of the field very well, but our feet were literally get on the turf. Robert loved it. We tailgated before the game and it was ok, not like being in Buffalo with the Dziewa crew, but there was beer. It was so hot I couldn't drink my beer fast enough for it to not get warm.
I hope the Red Sox can get to and win another world series, that would be good. Otherwise, I got big sister Mary's wedding this weekend, it should be an awesome three day party. I'll post some pics of me in my penguin suit. Take it easy everyone.

Hard work

2007-10-04T09:18:00.000-05:00

So far I have been enjoying my offseason which has consisted of working 30+ hours a week at Long Johns. I don't mind so much, I think that hard work is good for people, it is good for the soul. I don't mind getting back there and cooking and sweating and then scrubbing the floors and cleaning everything, hard work is good for people. I think too many people have lost the importance of hard work and I think it is especially problem for young people now, they have no real work ethic because their parents don't want them to work, they want them to "concentrate on school", HA. Anyways so that is what I've been doing.
Check out my ebay auctions and bid if you want them.
Jelly Belly Summer Jersey and Track Suit
Jelly Belly Skinsuit
National Team Skinsuit
National Team Track Suit

It is all some nice stuff and there will be more. Thanks for reading.

The offseason

2007-09-28T11:59:00.000-05:00

So my offseason has gotten off to a busy start. My mom went out of town Sunday and I had to work Monday through Thursday and get my brother to school and feed him. I don't mind helping out or doing stuff with my bro it just made for a busy few days. Yesterday I came up to Columbia to visit Lori and we went to Mexican food for dinner with Annie-face and Matt(my sister's boyfriend). However this time Ann and I didn't drink ridiculous amounts of margaritas as on the 23rd of August. That night I drank almost 100 ounces of margaritas, of course it was the night my Nana died, but it was way too much and I was reliving my dinner later that night and reliving everything inside me the next morning. It was dumb and I payed for it hardcore. So anyways last night I enjoyed two Pacificos and that was it. I don't have much planned for the next few weeks other than Robert and I going to the MU-Nebraska game next week and Mary getting hitched the next week.
Maybe the Bills can finally win this week. We'll see.

For Butthead

2007-09-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is how you start the offseason isn't it Butthead? The cake was good. Then there is this for good measure.

I just don't understand

2007-09-20T19:54:00.001-05:00

So here is the deal, Nike has this new commercial that I really like a lot. It is a football commercial and it has the song from the movie "Last of the Mohicans" and I really like the commercial a lot. Especially because at the end it says in text "Leave Nothing". The thing I hate, is that the first player they is Shawn Merriman, DOPER, that is not heresay he got BUSTED, he served a FOUR game suspension, that is 1/4 of the season for cheating. The guy gets popped and people are talking about how he could be the defensive player of the year. So now that Floyd has come out to be guilty, the media is going to crucify him and cycling, but they are all going to talk about how great Merriman is after this weekend. I just think it is a double standard. That is all.

I just want to say that I am really glad Huff is ok after his ugly crash.

Tour of MO

2007-09-18T20:39:00.001-05:00

So the Tour of Missouri is over and I am smashed. The other day I had to run up the stairs to get my phone and I was totally out of breath and gased at the top of the stairs. I am just exhausted from the season and the Tour. The tour was really cool and the crowds were awesome. I am so excited that the race was such a big hit, it is really good for the state and for racing. I will do one more race Saturday in Ste. Genevieve that should be fun and hopefully I can end my year on a fun/good note. I really just want to have racing before the year ends.

Now my soapbox, I am so sick of American guys, especially guys wearing stars and stripes that don't take their helmet off during the national anthem. I don't care what your politics are, show some respect. There are a bunch of American guys who don't take of their helmets for the song, I mean if you are not American it doesn't really matter, but if you are you should show respect. That is all for now.

I ain't no stinking Jayhawk

2007-09-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

I did a live radio interview on 610AM sports radio out of Kansas City and towards the end of the interview the guy had the audacity to call me a "rock chalk jayhawk" and I was like I am not a jockstrap jayhawk, I am the furthest from it. It was a fun interview other than that. That's all.

Nats and Tour of Missouri

2007-09-07T14:02:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since posted, sorry. I have been busy. So road nationals didn't go at all how I wanted. I started to cramp at the bottom of the climb the second time and I was done. It sucked. So I had to drive the team car home for the tour of Missouri and while I was on I-55 heading up to Farmington there was a truck behind me videotaping the car. It was really funny.

I am pretty excited to do the Tour of Missouri, I have done a ton of newspaper interviews and yesterday I did an interview with Y98 in St. Louis and today I am going to do one with a sports talk station in KC. It is pretty fun. I am in Columbia right now just hanging out with Lori and relaxing before the race. Tonight I am taking her out for her birthday, because of course her birthday is Tuesday, the first day of the race. So we'll go to one of our favorite places in Columbia, Flat Branch, we like the pretzel.

On another subject the greatest time of the year just started yesterday. That is righ, FOOTBALL SEASON. I love football, I love the NFL, of course my Bills have been crap for about seven years now, but I still love watching football. It is just so much fun, and I have all the memories of going to sports bars when I was a kid to watch games with my dad. Those were the days.

Well I have to get ready for a radio interview. I'll give an update after the race.

Less heat finally

2007-08-19T20:37:00.000-05:00

I was glad that the heat finally let off a little today. Wednesday I was doing a five hour ride and the temperature was up to 104 plus humidity so the last hour and a half I just cracked and I drank 11.5 bottles. I had to stop at a church in the middle of nowhere to wet my jersey and head just to make it home. Today I did the same five hour ride and I think it was 15 degrees cooler and it was so much nicer. I didn't crack horribly in the heat and actually got a good ride in. So I was riding today and I stopped in Lesterville for some bottles and the lady who I always talk to asked me if all the training makes races easier. So I thought about it and it definitely doesn't. No matter how well you are going if you are at the front you suffer. If you are going really well then you just go faster when you are suffering. There is always pain in racing unless...
Apparently I got 28th last night in the Pro am crit and I wasn't even in Chicago. It was weird to not race Downers this weekend because I have done it for four years in a row. Oh well it sounded like a crash fest. I should be going good for nationals which will be nice.

China Pics plus some

2007-08-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

This town was a dump. Nice view, but I wanted to throw up the whole time I was there.

Golf and the state Crit.

The Heat

2007-08-07T16:03:00.000-05:00

It is hot out here. I did six hours and I had to leave at 6:45am and it was still really hot when I got home. I guess that's what happens when there is an excessive heat warning. I drank 11 bottles during the ride and I was totally gross with salt when I got home. It was nice to get in a good long ride finanlly.
So Sunday was the state crit and I just don't think I am strong enough for 37 to 1 yet. I had a huge bullseye on my back and I wasn't super smart. Actually I just didn't realize that Jensen was in the break so I didn't chase. In the end I made a big effort with one lap to go and I got off the front and ended up 9th.

That is all. I have a good week of training and then I will race again this weekend.

Finally an update

2007-08-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

So I am finally updating after a long time off. I have been home for a week and a half, but I haven't updated until now. The reason I haven't updated is because since I have been back I have spent all my time Lori. If I'm not sleeping or riding I have been with her. It took me almost the whole week after the race to feel normal due to horrible travel arrangements, then I think Thomas and I had me go too hard Tuesday and that made my legs hurt for a couple of days.
So China, the race was hard. It was a UCI 2.HC at high altitude. I finished lantern rouge for the race, but I finished a nine day race. I was proud of myself for being smart with my efforts because if I had gone too hard I would have blown up completely and had no chance of helping my team or finishing.
Stage 4 was probably the worst day of my racing life. The day started well because I was able to cover attacks like crazy for 60km, but then got tired and was sitting in waiting for the climb when the rain started. I was just going to go up the climb with the grupetto to be smart, but I didn't get my cold rain gear. So at the top I started shivering. Then on the descent I crashed (3 of my teammates crashed in the same spot) and shivered for 1 whole hour. My eyes were rolling back in my head because I was so cold and I ended up dead last because I went so slow on the downhill after my crash. I actually got off my bike at one point to quit, but no one would pick me up so I just rode to the finish. Then two days later I get in the break for two hours. It is amazing how quickly this sport can change. So I finished, and my stomach didn't get too messed up, I mean I couldn't really eat a lot the last four days of the race, and had a stomach ache a couple of nights, but no diarrhea. However when I got home on Wednesday it took until Saturday before I didn't get stomach aches after eating.
So I am home in the greatest country in the world and I am glad to be back. The race was great training and a really cool experience. I'll put photos up soon. That is all.

Robots in Disguise

2007-07-06T22:37:00.000-05:00

Lori and I saw Transformers on the 4th of July and I have to say it was awesome. I really enjoyed it, I mean big machine fighting and stuff blowing up, it had everything you could want. Then we watched fireworks at Faurot field and they were pretty lame for a town as big as Columbia, I thought that the fireworks in Farmington two years ago were better. After the fireworks as we drove back to Lori's my leg was throbbing. This prompted me to make a doctors appointment because when your leg starts hurting worse 10 days after the wreck it usually isn't good. So I went to the doctor today and I had my leg x-rayed and thankfully nothing is broken. However I do have a strained MCL which is why I have been limping since Stillwater. So the doctor gave me a knee brace to wear while I'm walking around and I'll tape my knee tomorrow when I train just for support. So hopefully the MCL will be ok by next friday when Quinghai starts, otherwise it will just hurt. I can tough it out.
The Tour starts tomorrow so I imagine it will just be another opportunity for riders to get hosed. Anyways, hopefully know one gets popped.

Hard day

2007-07-03T16:26:00.000-05:00

So it has been a while since I updated, but not a lot is going on. I am still limping on my left leg from my crash in Minnesota. I talk to my team doctor and it is probably just a soft tissue injury that will take time to heal and I'll just have to ride through it.
The Bird and I did the Proctor Cycling classic this past weekend. It was pretty unmemorable. Just good training. Unfortunately a girl was killed in the women's Cat 4 race. She was only 24 and new to cycling and it really is a tragedy. I love bike racing but I am not willing to die for it or doing it. It is just really sad and I feel really bad for her family and teammates.

On the training front Thomas had me do probably the hardest workout I have ever done since I've been a bike racer. It probably wouldn't have seemed so hard if it were 20 degrees cooler, but it was hot. Truthfully the air temperature wasn't that hot, but the sun was hot and the route I was on was up and down and the road temperature was hot. It was also humid so I was just drenched with sweat for most of the ride. I don't mind hard days in the heat, but it is hard on the body.

So Lori and I are going to see Die Hard tonight and I am excited, I remember watching the original with my dad. They are just fun action movies that you don't have to think too much at and you get to see stuff blowing up. Gotta love it.

Nature Valley

2007-06-26T21:10:00.001-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Not a lot new has happened. I went to Nature Valley and did what I could to help the team, which meant I suffered. Then on the final day in Stillwater with the really steep hill, I was hanging in there really well and with three or four to go I decided to crash myself again. I came out of the last corner off the downhill with too much speed and I couldn't straighten the bike up and I slammed the hay in front of the barriers and flipped over the bars and I landed on my butt. Walking has been difficult, but riding is fine. So as I was sitting in medical tent Chris Baldwin comes up to me and starts yelling at me for crashing. I guess he crashed over my bike. I mean, when someone causes me to crash I get mad, but I didn't dive him, I was in front of him and if I was going too fast(which I was) he should have felt it. I mean I was laying right next to the curb, but I have no idea where my bike was. It might have caused him to go down. I mean bottome line is I made a mistake with my speed, I didn't dive anyone or anything really dumb, I just went too fast and I couldn't straighten the bike up. Oh well that is racing. No one got hurt, except my pride. Now I am just getting ready for China, it should be fun.

Omerta?

2007-06-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

So I finally have to say something about all the crap going on in cycling. I write this as I sit at my lovely fiancee Lori's apartment, but it has to be said. So apparently there is this code in the Euro peleton called "Omerta", which comes from some Italian mafia term meaning "don't snitch". So you have all these guys who may know what dudes are doing, but they can't talk because they will never find another job. I mean it is a good thing when someone says that someone is doping, it cleans up the sport, but then guys think you are a snitch and they don't want you around. I mean it is a slippery slope, if all you have is your word against their word then you can develop a Salem witch trial situation or a McCarthyism Red Scare type situation where people just instantly assume you are guilty if someone says your name. So I mean the people would have to have some evidence, like photos or something otherwise it could easily turn into a witch hunt. The same thing is going on in baseball, where the commissioner wants to force Jason Giambi to testify about what he knows, but if he does talk he alienates himself from other players even though he could help his sport. I think it is all total crap. At our restaurant if someone steals from us I would expect another employee that sees them to tell us, I mean there is nothing wrong with telling when someone is stealing right? Why isn't doping the same? Why can't say, "Hey this guy's cheating." People don't want to be associated with cheaters and thieves, because if a co-worker of mine was stealing I would let someone know because I don't want to be associated with it. However the doping thing is different and I don't really understand why. I mean you can't have a situation where people just start dragging the sport through the mud saying all this bad stuff, but you have to help keep the sport clean.

I guess I am just sick of cycling being portrayed in such a bad light when other sports, like baseball are just as bad if not worse. Don't even get me started on the NFL, I mean I love football, it is my favorite sport to watch, but those guys know when they are getting tested. Oh well, people don't really want to know what is going on in major sports, but in cycling they make a big deal about it.
So that is my rant. Sorry.

Winghaven

2007-06-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the Tour de Winghaven. It was a cool race, because the town shut down all the streets on the 3 mile loop so there was no traffic. I was impressed, the course was too easy for anything to happen. If there had been a crosswind along the interstate the race might have split, but there wasn't and it wasn't 90 degrees like it was supposed to be. I tried getting in a bunch of moves, but none of them worked. It was really easy sitting in, but really hard off the front, destined for a field sprint I just kept trying to get in moves. It sucked that my legs were flat from all the training during the week. Oh well, I want to be good for Nature Valley and when I go to China. Oh yeah I am doing the nine day stage race in China called the tour of Quinghai lakes. It should be fun racing at 12000 feet.
I hope the legs are good next week at Nature Valley.

Nice Day In The Sauna

2007-06-07T16:33:00.000-05:00

It was hot today, and in Missouri there is the humidity so it is like a sauna out there. So not only are you hot, but your body just dumps sweat when you go up a hill or stop for a second. Luckily there was 15mph wind with over 22mph gusts and that kept me cool, except in the tailwind where I was just sweating like crazy. I don't really mind the sauna type conditions because it really makes dudes suffer, I just have to carry a lot of fluids. I mean I drank ~7 bottles in a four hour ride and i probably could have drank more. Oh well, I was sweaty, stinky and salty when I got home and that was not a big deal.
So I just watched Curt Schilling lose a no-hitter with two outs in the 9th inning. That sucks, but the BoSox won.
So thanks to Thomas I have found the greatest new ride food ever. It is pita bread full of Nutella and banana, it tastes good and it is easy to eat. I am glad Thomas told me about that.
Otherwise, I read that my teammate Mike Jones is hanging it up after this year, that's a shame because he is a fun dude.
That is all that is going on.

Back Home

2007-06-04T19:30:00.000-05:00

I am back in good old Farmington after a few days in Columbia. I really like being in Columbia because I like spending as much time as possible with Lori. Also, I get to ride with people I like to ride with. Saturday I did a four ride with a 2.5 hour tempo workout and Butthead rode with me. It was fun to chat with him and make him suffer. Then on Sunday I rode with Butthead again, Thomas and Kevin. I like riding with people sometimes because then I can talk to real people and not just myself. It was another good four hour ride with like 4000 feet of climbing. I think a lot of people are going to be caught off guard with how hilly the tour of Missouri will be, and the stage to Columbia will be really hard.
One of the best things about Columbia is that I can get really good food and really good ice cream. On top of the ice cream my lovely fiancee made cupcakes, I like cupcakes. So I didn't race, but I got two really good rides in and I have a really hard ride on tap for tomorrow. It should be fun.

Leg shaving

2007-05-31T20:10:00.000-05:00

So I am kind of anal about keeping my legs shaved, I mean I think I shave a lot more than a lot of the other guys I know. The reason I shave so much is because after two days I have a beard on my legs and they are gross. Therefore I pretty much shave every other day. Well because of my wounds I hadn't shaved my legs since Friday, which basically meant I had to get the trimmers out first(not really). I do have to say it is nice to be clean shaven again. Anyways, I noticed when I was shaving that my wound on my hip bone is right where all my excess skin(I have a bunch because I used to be fat, used to be?) bunches up when I am not completely upright. So I think this wound is going to take forever to heal do to the fact of where it is. Oh well.
So I finally got back on the bike after three days off and I am glad to say that my leg doesn't hurt anymore, a little sore, but it doesn't hurt. Seeing as how I couldn't bend it Sunday that is a good thing.
Right now I am in Columbia with my awesome Fiancee Lori. We had some Shakespeares Pizza and now we are going to get our favorite, Cold Stone. Take it easy folks.

Return to the Snake

2007-05-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

I remember back when I was 9 years old my dad drove me up to Burlington, Iowa to watch him race the Snake Alley Criterium. That year the course made a hard left on to the Snake and the the entire cat 3 field crashed. Ever since then I have loved the Snake, and it is a big weekend in Midwest racing. The first time I ever raced the Snake was in 2000 when I won the junior and cat 4 race on the same day. It took me until 2004 to go good again when I got an ok 11th there and then after two years off I went back this year. It is just a cool race that is brutally hard with 20 trips up the Snake then down the technical backside.
This year I got to start on the front row with Byrd and some other fast guys. The race started out fast and for like four laps Brian Jensen and Steve Tilford took turns attacking up the Snake and wearing the field out. I just stayed up there and followed their attacks. Then in the flats Byrd attacked and Jensen followed, so did Adam Bergman. On the uphill right before the Snake Byrd dropped his chain and had to get off his bike, so I went to the front and went hard up the Snake and bridged to Jensen and Bergman. I rode with those guys for a while, being dumb pulling too long in to the wind. With about 6 laps to go I got dropped on the Snake and had to ride the rest of the way by myself, though I didn't lose too much time over those laps, I was hurting. I was really annoyed at myself at first for doing to much work and getting dropped, but after a few beers I realized that I am really happy with third at Snake Alley. It was also really cool for me because Robert, Ann and Lori were there watching the race.
So after a hard day I didn't have great legs at Melon City and it took me a while to get going. Finally after about 25 of 40 laps I started to feel alright. I don't remember how many laps were left, but Jensen got off the front with a few guys and on the hill I was towards the front and I saw Bergman go so I jumped and I was chasing him really hard and we had a gap. I was about three bike lengths behind him at the right hand turn at the top of the hill and I didn't even brake, I wanted to close the gap. I was fine until i tried to start pedaling when I put my right pedal on the ground and went down fast. I was probably doing close to 25mph when I crash and I slid a little until my bike slammed in to the curb. My left foot was still in the pedal and therefore my left quad absorbed the whole blow. People were trying to get me up but I couldn't unclip my foot because my left leg wouldn't move. A dude grabbed my foot and unclipped it for me, and everyone was trying to get me going again, but I knew that I was done for the day. When I got up I could barely stand on my leg. The wounds on my right hip and by my pelvis were of little concern. I haven't felt pain like that since I broke my scapula. My leg hurt so bad I couldn't believe it. Of course I crashed right in front of Lori, Robert and Ann and Robert was over there in a flash, he grabbed my bike and took it over by their chairs and then was back looking after me. He's a trooper that's for sure. Lori was over there too, she was worried that I might have broken something because of the pain(she does x-rays for a living deals with broken people all the time), but the EMT checked it out and he didn't think anything was broken and I was able to move my foot in a way that wouldn't be possible if I broke my femur. So after I limped over to the car Thomas(my coach) stretched me out and that really helped with the pain. The muscles just seized up so bad from the blow of the bike slamming the curb, but the worst part is that if I hadn't crashed I know Bergman and I could have made it up to the leaders and there would have been a chance for the win. I am not saying I would have won, but at least I would have been racing for the win and not writhing in pain on a bench in Muscatine, Iowa. That's bike racing, I was due for a rest week this week after four weeks of hard training, so I won't be missing any hard training. Thankfully my leg isn't really bothering me anymore today, I don't know if I'll race this weekend though because I have taken the past few days off to heal. That is all I got, I will put up some pics when I get them.

The day after

2007-05-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

So I was looking on the local message board and apparently there was controversy about whether or not I could win the state championship because I am not Jelly Belly. It is funny because there was a big deal made about it, but everyone just misread the rule. The state championship wasn't high on my priority list, but I needed a win, just to win.
I love bike racing and I want to have fun.

Thunder and Lightning strike again

2007-05-21T08:03:00.000-05:00

So first I have to say awesome job to my teammates for winning the final stage and the overall of Tri-Peaks, I wish I could have been there to help, but I had the wedding yesterday. So instead I did the Missouri State Road Race on the Hellbender course in Newburg, MO. Last year I was mad at myself for the way I lost the state RR in Columbia and I wasn't going to let that happend again. Thomas didn't really let me rest much after Joe Martin, because we gotta keep it going, getting strong, so my legs were a little tired at the beginning. Then for the first few miles everyone followed me, but after like five for six miles some guys trickled up the road and jumped out of the group and there were like 12 or 15 of us. I went right to the front when I saw the gap and I drove it because the break had the right numbers from the right teams. At the end of the first lap there were only eight of us and we had four minutes at the feed zone. Most of the other guys were getting tired on the second and final lap so I just kept going to the front to keep everything going. On the hill about 15 miles from the end I went hard and dropped everyone, but one 16 year old kid named Austin Allison was somewhat close. At first I just went because I wanted to win solo, but then I wasn't putting a ton of ground into him so I figured I would wait because I knew if he was with me we wouldn't get caught, but if he was with the chasers they might catch me. So we worked and this kid was strong going pull for pull all the way until I attacked with half mile left and came is solo. I was really impressed with Austin. I was really happy to win the state road race even though it was just the state road race. It has been almost two years since I won and you have to have that taste in your mouth every once in a while. So I was glad that I went and I got a great workout and a win out of the trip. My brother(Thunder) was there and he was pumped and my buddy Mike came to help feed so it was a cool day. Now I have to go to work and then ride.

The penguin suit.

2007-05-19T21:21:00.000-05:00

So today my best friend Kenneth got married. I was in the wedding and it was cool to be there for him. Last night we had a rehearsal and then afterwards we went to Kenneth's for dinner. I four pieces of fried chicken and it was good, I don't eat fried chicken hardly ever so I enjoyed it very much. Then this morning after getting up at 6:30am to ride for three hours I went over to Kenneth's with all the guys and I ate more fried chicken for lunch, just one piece today. Then we all got on our penguin super-hero suits and went to the church. Nothing eventful happened and I got to hang out with my other best-friend John a bunch and it was really fun. Here is a picture of John(left), Kenneth the groom(middle) and me before the wedding.

A sharp looking trio we are. I am really glad to have such good friends and I was really glad to be there for him on such a big day in his life. I wish Kenneth and Savanna the best of luck in their lives and I hope they have many healthy offspring.

Joe Martin

2007-05-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated for a while, I didn't bring my computer to Joe Martin and then when I got back Lori was home and I didn't feel like sitting on my computer to type one, sorry. I have been going to Joe Martin since 1997 when my dad took me for the first time and I have gone every year except 2003 (I was in Spain). I started the trip by staying at Richard's house on Thursday night, thanks Richard. The Bird stayed too and it was really good to hang out with Richard, even though his dog is mean. I think it bit me five times just for talking to Richard, it is like a really mean possessive high school girlfriend. So the Bird and I drove the two hours from Springfield to Fayetteville for the opening 110 mile road race. The race was good, a break got off really early and 40 miles in the gap is 11 minutes. So the Bird and I went to the front with two Health Nets and two Toyotas and the six of us rode the rest of the stage. We rode on the front to Gaylor and then I came back to the front halfway up the climb and then we rotated over the top untill 3 miles to go, that is about 67 miles on the front. It was really fun being up there working all day, it was hard though. The funniest thing of the day was when toward the end the Abercrombie guys wanted to help work for the sprint, but instead of just getting in with the guys who had been working all day they rode completely into the headwind to get up to the front just to get in the line. It was funny how much energy they wasted that they didn't have to. It ended well for us because the Cando got third behind two toyotas.
Saturday morning was hard because I hardly slept after finishing at 6:30pm and waking up at 5am. So my legs were crap and halfway through the first lap I got in a six man group but no one would work. A little later Jeansen and a Caico guy attacked and when Tim Johnson went I jumped and had to work really hard to get across to the group. I was in that four man group suffering, cramping and just hating life for a little over an hour with those four guys. Apparently because of the headwind Friday wasn't really hard unless you were on the front all day so the guys I was with were fresh and I was just hurting. We got caught at the beginning of the third lap and I was hurting. I went back to the car because I was bonking and I got a coke. I couldn't get back on right away because of the wind and I was just hurting and I just figured I would ride it in solo and not miss the time cut. Then Drew yelled at me to get in the cars, so I got in the cars and drank some coke and gatorade and ate some sport beans and gels and just tried to get some energy back. On a big downhill a few miles later I got back in then field, but a few miles later we passed the women and the field accelerated and I went right out the back in to the cars where I sat for a minute then I moved back up to the front. Then at the feed zone everyone accelerated and I went to the cars again and moved back up again. Then I just suffered to the finish where Brice Jones got second.
Saturday evening we had the TT, I got 11th last year and I ended up 10th overall. This year I didn't know what to expect because my legs were jacked up. I warmed up really easy and then I went hard up the hills, I rode five seconds slower than last year and I ended up 30th and not 11th. It was a lot faster. I was just glad to ride a sub nine minute time after all the work on Friday and Saturday morning.
I was a little worried about Sunday's crit because I was pretty wrecked and it is a hard crit, but I got a good night sleep and my legs didn't hurt too much Sunday morning. My job in the crit was to attack early and help Alex or Brice if they got in the break. I attacked on the second lap and it went no where then I countered a move that Alex was in and I was away for a little bit in a group of five or so. It was hard in the break and right after we got caught I attacked again. By that point I was blown and I just slowly started to drift backwards and I got pulled with three to go. The heat and attacking took the last little bit of my energy from my body, but I was attacking and it was hard.
Overall I was happy with the weekend. My legs were smoked when I got home sunday night, but by Tuesday the legs were ready to go again.
My boy Kenneth is getting married tomorrow and that is why I am not at Tri-Peaks but I would have liked to have been there because they made it hillier and harder this year and I have good legs. Oh well. Thanks for reading this mini-novel.

Jim Inglebright Rules

2007-05-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Since my last update I have gone to California, toured the Jelly Belly Factory, rode a trainer in front of the factory to raise money, rode the tour de cure 100 mile, flew home and did a Tuesday night crit.
Cody, Byrd, Powers and I flew to Sacrament last Friday and we went directly to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, California. When we got there we went on the floor factory tour. I'm not talking about the tour everyone gets to go on, we got to go check out all the machines and we followed the beans from beginning to end. They don't have any computers involved with the flavoring it is all done my hand and by touch, it is a little bit like art.

That is a crapload of beans. I loved the factory, tasting the beans and stuff. This next picture is a bunch of anchovy beans, i tried them, they were gross. I mean I love anchovy pizza and anchovies in stuff, but not anchovy Jelly Bellys. They are for Bertie botts for Harry Potter. Here is a photo

Then on Saturday I got up and did an awesome four hour ride up the Napa Valley, it was so beautiful and the scenery was awesome. I went up this 3 mile climb up to a dead end, it was the coolest climb I have ever done, the road was one lane wide it was totally tree covered and it was steep. It was great. That afternoon we had to set up and ride trainers in front of the Jelly Belly store to raise money for the Tour de Cure. It was cool trying to get people to donate while being kitted up on a trainer, I have to admit Powers was better at getting money than I was. Then afterwards we got to go through the Jelly Belly store with a basket and fill it with whatever we wanted. I won't lie, I took total advantage of it and I got Lori and my family stuff, plus I got myself some stuff. I got a sweet Jim Inglebright shirt. Here are some photos from in the factory.

They love Ronald Reagan at Jelly Belly, one because he is pretty much responsible for making them what they are. When he was President Jelly Belly was 77 weeks behind because of how busy they got. Also, because they are Republicans. They also love the Arnold.

Regardless of what you think of politicians, these are really cool pictures made out of beans.
Sunday was pretty low key, just 100 mile ride for charity, Byrd and I flew through it and got'er done. It was a good ride on a sunny hot day day. That was all that happened that day.
Monday was the big deal day, the Jelly Belly Celebrity golf tournament. We didn't get to play, we had to sit there and hand out sport beans and bottles at a couple of the holes. However they did introduce us during the celebrity introductions and we got to go up with all the former NFL guys and other famous people. That was when we met Jim, he is the NASCAR driver for Jelly Belly, he does some west coast stuff and doesn't even do it full-time anymore, but he is cool. After the tournament we were hanging with him in the club house and that guy is so funny, he went and heckled Jelly Belly's rodeo guy and his gal and we joked around with Herm (the owner of the company) about how we both need haircuts. It was cool.

This is me on one of the sweet JB motorcycles.
Then at the dinner auction Jim won the auction to ride in the JB car at next years Tour of Cali, except he said he wanted to drive the car if he won, so watch out Danny. It was just a fun night.
The next morning Cody and I got a limo ride to the airport and home we went. I went straight from the airport at 4:30 to the Tuesday night crit in St. Louis, I had to start building my bike in the car. It finished when I got there and I even had time to warm up a little. It was fun and a good workout. Well I got to Joe Martin next, thanks for reading this excessively long blog.

Rainy tempo

2007-05-02T19:27:00.000-05:00

Not a lot has happened since my last post. I have recovered from Georgia and I am back to training hard. I had a hard interval day yesterday, then today I did 3 hours of tempo riding. I did it on this sweet new loop that Lori's dad told me I could try. I went down to Ste. Genevieve and then home. It was a four hour ride with like no traffic and it was really hilly. I went by a ton of wineries and up a ton of awesome hills. It was a really good workout. I leave tomorrow to go to Napa Valley for the Tour de Cure and the Jelly Belly golf tournament. It should be a fun time. I don't think I'll bring my computer, but if I can get on the internet I'll update while out there or when I get back.

Good Friends

2007-04-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

So a lot of you all probably know by now, but I got the big DQ from Georgia. It was kind of one of those wrong place at the wrong time deals. I was with 7 guys and I had just pulled so I was at the back and the front four guys jumped in to the caravan. The two Priority guys I was behind didn't follow so a gap opened and I couldn't jump that far. Then the two guys went right to their car and grabbed on to it, panicked because I didn't want to end up alone and too tired to remember that my team car was behind me, I grabbed on for like five seconds. The car didn't even have time to accelerate, but the officials saw it and I got the axe. One of the other riders complained about it on his blog but there were guys, him included, hanging on to cars on the first climb. Of course the officials didn't say anything so I still had to climb Brasstown, which was the hardest climb I have ever done. At the steepest part a person would push you and the second they stopped it felt like you hit your brakes. I know that I haven't really performed well at the Tour of California or Georgia, but I feel really fortunate to have raced the two hardest races in the US, it was a great learning experience and it will help me a lot.
Saturday Thomas and Curt got to Georgia and I was pretty bummed, so the three of us went for a ride at the big rock park in the middle of Atlanta where the stage finished.

This is Thomas in front of the big rock, that is a big rock.

Here I am in my national team gear.

The guys could tell I was bummed so we left the park before the finish of the race and headed back to the hotel for some food. We got these awesome burgers at a nice joint for $5, it was a good deal. Then on the way across the street to the hotel I suggested to the guys that we just start driving back to St. Louis and I'd pay for the hotel. They needed a hotel for that night and I wasn't supposed to fly back until Monday, and they could tell I just wanted to get home. So the same day they got to Georgia they turned around and left with me. What good friends, it was a good road trip that really raised my spirits. It wasn't too big of a deal to drive because my travel day would have been six or more hours on Monday so 9 hours driving wasn't too bad. We had a fun road trip and I was glad to have a road trip with my friends.

I have to go to the tour de cure and Jelly Belly golf tournament next week, but for this week I am resting and I am glad that Lori is coming home tomorrow. I'll be glad to finally get to spend some time with my fiancee.

Four days down

2007-04-19T16:18:00.000-05:00

So as most of you probably know by now, 13 guys got 29 minutes on the field yesterday. So back in the pack it was pretty uneventful for most of the day. I was trying to get in breaks early and then the break went and we raced super fast for a little over an hour and then everyone sat up. It was hard until the break went, then at one point before the third KOM we were riding double paceline at the front of the pack in a UCI race. That is just tactics though. However, at the end one rider didn't like the fact that our team went up front rotated a little and won the field sprint. Normally sprinting the gruppetto is not something you do, but when it is the peleton and there are still seven money places out there it is ok. The person who said it is just upset because his team got shut out. That is why you wait until you calm down and are relaxed before you start running your mouth.

Today was the tt, I sucked. My legs were junk and the course was hard. Tomorrow is going to be super hard and it will be fun to race up Brasstown Bald. Thomas and Curt are supposed to come down so we'll see what happens.

georgia update

2007-04-17T21:31:00.000-05:00

So far two days have past and it hasn't been the best for me. I think after two hard days I have the bike dialed. The past two days my legs have payed for being in the wrong position. Hopefully tomorrow with the right position I will have some legs for the climbing stage. Overall I don't feel too bad, and I hope to get in a break or something tomorrow. We'll see, I'm just glad to be racing here. Thanks for reading.

I hate delays

2007-04-14T12:24:00.000-05:00

You know, I am really sick of delays at airports. I was supposed to leave Charlotte for Atlanta at 1:55, but no it is delayed until 3:25. I always seem to have rough travel for big races. I mean I didn't have to run or anything, but the flight from St. Louis to Charlotte was so rough I thought about changing my ticket home and buying it myself so that I wouldn't have to fly US Airways. I mean I hate the plane drops like 2 feet then jumps back up, it just makes me too uneasy. Nothing like preparing for the second biggest race in the US with a long day at the airport. I am starting to sound like the Byrd. On a lighter note I finally got some Cold Stone ice cream for the first time in a while. The fiancee and I went on Thursday night, I love ice cream. I think I love ice cream more than I love palm trees. I guess the other positive is that the airport has free internet. Well hopefully I get to Atlanta soon and I'll keep y'all updated from Georgia.

Going to Dixie

2007-04-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

So I got a call this morning and I'll be heading to the Tour of Georgia with the U.S. National team. Unfortunately Brent Bookwalter broke his leg today in Europe so I am taking his spot. At least Jelly Belly will get two guys in the race (Nick is also on the team) even though the team wasn't invited. I fly down there Saturday and it should be fun.

Good News and Good Legs

2007-04-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

So for all of you who I should have called and told I am sorry, but I have good news. On Monday (4/2/07) I proposed to Lori and she said yes. That's right I am engaged. Here is a photo of Lori and I after becoming engaged.

I knew she would say yes, but I am really happy that she said yes. So now only a week later there is talk of wedding planning and what not.

This past weekend was the U.S. Open at Richmond. I finally got some good legs and fitness and rode well. The race started at 8am and I didn't sleep well and had to wake up at 5am so I was tired. On top of it all it was only 30 degrees and snowing really hard, the trees and grass were totally white and on the drive it was near white-out conditions. It was so nasty I didn't want to start, especially because I didn't have anything warm for my head. I fixed the head problem with a knee warmer (thanks for the idea Byrd) over a cycling cap, it did the job. The first half hour was so miserable because of the snow then rain, but then the sun started to come out and the snow and rain stopped. Not only that but I had some legs, my job was to cover everthing I could for the 65 miles to the circuits and that is what I did. I was staying at the front covering every attack that I could and I was even double covering. This was the first time I could do it all year, that is stay at the front and cover a lot of attacks. I covered at least 20 attacks. Then about 50 miles in I was recovering and a break of 12 or so got away that we missed and the Byrd and I were rotating with three Toyota guys to pull it back. It took about 10 minutes and I was suffering from covering all the attacks and it hurt, but it got the job done. When we got to the circuits I was blown and got dropped the first time up Libby hill. I pulled the plug after the first lap, the cold totally took out of me and I was totally smoked. Everyone was pretty smoked and Alex ended up ninth.
After the race I had a 7:30 flight and didn't get to St. Louis until 10:25 and home to Farmington until 12:10 or so. I was awake for 20 hours and I am still tired. I was glad to be a key part for my team in a big race. I am also super glad that my fitness is coming and that Lori is my fiancee. It is nice to have a lot of good news in my life.

The Track meet and Hillsboro

2007-04-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry for my lack of updates, but my mom was out of town this week so I had to take care of my brother and Lori was in town, so I didn't have a lot of free time. Oh well, if you want dirt call me.
Before I start the update I have to tell this story. Today when I was riding I was like five minutes from home and I see these two kids riding their bikes (no helmets, their parents must no love them) and they saw me coming. They both did u-turns and started going the same direction as me, then the little kid starts taking me to the curb and their was a mini-van parked on the side of the road. So I unclip from my awesome new speedplay pedal and I kicked the kid in the head without a helmet so he couldn't put me in the curb... I mean I said,"whoa!" and he moved over. Then I told the other kid that he should wear a helmet because he could crash and die. It was interesting.

This whole week was fun because Lori was home. I spent the whole time trying to recover from Redlands and train a little. Thursday I went to Robert's middle school track meet, it brought back good memories. When I was in 7th grade I threw the shot and discus at one meet because I was fat and slow. My brother didn't want to run so he throws, he needs to work on his technique because he throws the shot-put more than he pushes it. If he got his whole body behind the show he could do some damage. I bet if they just saw who could throw the thing the farthest he would win. Then to all the throwers disamay, they had to run the 800m. The 800m is a hard race, because it is two really hard laps, I mean running the 800m is harder than the prologue at Tour of Cali by like 8. For those of you who don't know my brother he has the heart heart of a lion but the build of a bear. He is just like his big brother and dad, he will go out and compete as hard as he knows he should even if he doesn't have the fitness, and then he will blow completely and want to puke. Robert went out really fast, because again like his brother and dad he has the competitive gene in his blood and he will alway fight. Then after one lap he blew up so bad he barely could finish. He was a true fighter, he didn't have the fitness but he went out there and gave it his all, I love the kid.
Robert at the start then at the finish.

It was fun. I will have video up soon.

So then there was the race on Saturday. The Hillsboro Roubaix is one of the best races all year in St. Louis, because there a lot of guys from the midwest that do it so the race is fast and hard. I have never finished the race in contention either due to bad luck (last year) or bad legs. So five miles in the Byrd (my teammate Bryce Mead) and his teammate from last year Reid Mumford (Kelly Benefits) gutter it and drill it, those two guys, myself plus three more made the group. We bridged up to three guys and when we caught them they wouldn't work. So Byrd, Reid, and myself were working with Brian Jeanson, Bill Stolte and Andrew Crater. A lap and a half in to the race Crater attacked and Byrd went with him, I don't have any gas when Jeanson went and I ended up in the third group of three. The Byrd is recovering from his crash in Redlands which required seven staples and he got dropped and then pulled out of the race. Then a chase group caught my group and no one would work so the remnants of the pack caught us. The group was like 20+ guys or so and it split and regrouped a coupld times over the last two laps. Then with about 5 miles to go to told my buddy Todd that would should attack right before we turned into the crosswind and drill it. We did and we got away in a group of six and we worked to the finish. Right before the last hill with under two miles to go Todd attacked and I wasn't going to chase him and then I just followed some guys and I was blown and I ended up 9th. I was happy with that considering all the work I did and that the early break was so hard with the speed and wind. I think in a little over 30 miles we put 3 minutes into the field before we started attacking each other. I like racing hard.
This week we have the U.S. Open in Richmond, it should be fun. Until next time...

The Baj

2007-03-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

So we won Redlands. The Baj and The Cando went out Sunday and took the bull by the horns and won the race. It was really cool to see Baj win not only because it is our team, but because I know he's a guy who has just busted his balls and raced clean. We won Redlands, beat everyone and didn't get into Georgia, their loss. So congratulations to the Baj.

It was a pretty brutal week for me, I just don't have the fitness I need right now, but it is ok. I just have to keep suffering and try to do what I can for my team while my fitness comes along. Redlands is just a hard race, the road race Friday was dangerous and hard. The last two days were tougher than snot though. Oh well, it's Redlands and we won.

The night after the race was pretty fun and a little wild. We ate In and Out Double cheeseburgers and they were good. Then we went to a bar and they had Fish and Chips and you know that I love some fish. Then Jones didn't want fish and chips so I went bought him a burrito, but he didn't eat it all. What a jerk! Just playing Jones. So we all celebrated and had some drinks and we all ended up at the Canyon Trail bar and grill which is pretty much the coolest club anywhere.

Next up I have Richmond and I think my fitness will be a lot better. I am looking forward to the race and getting some fitness. sorry i haven't updated a lot lately but we didn't have internet access at the host house so I couldn't update. That is al for now.

Lazy days

2007-03-21T10:56:00.000-05:00

So we haven't been in doing much lately. Yesterday we went and talked to a 3rd grade class, it was pretty cool. The kids had a lot of cool questions and they were excited for Jelly Bellys. At the end they all wanted something autographed, two kids had us sign their helmets. Then we went and rode around town and campus.
Right now it is raining and cold so I don't know what we are going to do for a ride, we might preview some courses or something. I just hope it stops raining. The prologue is tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

Thank God for Helmets

2007-03-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

This past weekend at San Dimas Mike Jones and I reminded ourselves, and everyone for that matter, why we always wear helmets.

That crack on the right side shows why you always wear a helmet. So there was a tangle up in the top 15 and then I see Mike laying on the ground and I can't stop, so I plow into his bike. Luckily his HEAD broke most of the fall for my legs, but the my shoulder and head hit the ground really hard. Mike and I were both dazed fromt the blows to our head. We got up and had to race the last 3.5 laps to make the time cut. The day before in the TT we had three guys in the top 20 and then in that same crash Bird and Nick went down too. It really sucked because Mike Jones was top 10 the day and had a time bonus and was in a postion to get a podium overall. Not only that but before the crash Mike was in two man break that he double flatted out of. It was just a day of bad luck for our team, I guess the only good things out of the day were that we were very aggressive and Nick got the KOM.
The next day in the crit Bird and Jones got in a break that stayed away and Jones ended up 5th after doing a lot of work. It was good team weekend but a horrible luck weekend.

Then today we find out that we are not in Georgia. Why you ask? Oh well, that's how it goes. My internet access is kind of limited out here but we have to go talk to some kids at a school tomorrow and that should be fun. Then we start Redlands Thursday.

I love palm trees.

I hate running

2007-03-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had to travel out here to Carlsbad for the races. The travel day wasn't all too bad I suppose. Curt and I went for a cold ride in the morning after realizing last night that my training bike is broken. The down tube has cracks like it got slammed on really hard when I was bringing it home from camp. Then my flight from STL to Chicago left 15 minutes late for no reason, but we landed only 10 minutes late in Chicago, which gave me 30 minutes to get to my next flight. Then the captain said they didn't have a gate ready for us and we had to wait 15 or 20 minutes. By the time I got off the plane I had 15 minutes to get to my flight. Only problem was that I was at terminal F and I had to get to Terminal C. I didn't know how often the shuttle would run so I didn't want to risk missing my flight while on the shuttle, so I started running. I was running fast with my backpack and laptop, as fast as I could weaving in and out of the people. It was a full on 10 minute run and when I got to the plane I was dripping with sweat. I was almost the last guy on the plane and I was sweating so bad and on top of it all I had the middle seat, YUCK.
The dude next to me was a little squirrely, After they brought us pretzels I ate mine and put my empty bag and napkin on my tray table and then he put his trash on my tray table, his was down, but he was reading so he put his trash on my tray. Then he ATE CRUMBS off my tray, I was blown away that he ate Crumbs off my tray. It was just too funny to say anything. Oh well.
I was just happy to make it to Cali on time and just relax. I ended the day with some Rubios Fish Tacos. They are pretty good, the fish isn't as good as the fish at my Long John Silvers/A&W conveniently located in Maple Valley, but it was good for a fish taco.
I race at 3:04:30 Pacific time today. Uphill tt. I'll fill y'all in.

Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns...

2007-03-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

Back to work. So I worked the past two nights. I don't mind working sometimes, it gives me something to do and I feel like things go smoother when I am there and that helps my mom out and my mom helps me so it is a one hand washing the other type thing. The only thing that makes it hard is when I dish up the food I have to stand there and look at it and all the food at my Long John Silvers/A&W conveniently located in Maple Valley looks so delicious. I have to really use my self-control to not just eat a ton of food. I have been eating that food since I have had teeth, but I never get tired of it. It is the best food in the world.
The Sabres just scored an empty net goal with 6 seconds left to tie the Penguins, awesome.

It is that time of year again, important races and the NCAA tournament. I am pretty excited going in to these races because I am healthy and riding pretty good. I like the tournament because for a few years I have had a little online tourney challenge with my brother and uncle and this year my mom and sisters got in on the action. My mom made some crazy picks, but I still love her. Then there is my brother, he picked Duke to win it all. Back story: My dad always rooted for Duke because Coach K is Polish, as are we, and my dad always liked the fact that none of his players had tattoos all over and they generally weren't at all thugs. So my brother clings to this hope that Duke will win, I don't think they can, they have had a bad year, but you never know with an experienced coach. It is just fun to see how good you can guess and it is similar to being a stock analyst, you just have to guess intelligently and hope you get lucky.

I fly out to Cali on Thursday, I have a long day of travel which should be fun. I will go up to my boy Curt's again tomorrow night so that I can ride Thursday morning. That is all.

Then we shall fight in the shade.

2007-03-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

So last night I saw 300 with Lori and it was probably the coolest movie I have ever seen. I love the whole story of the Spartans and the sweet sword fighting and spear fighting. It was really cool, I don't think Lori liked all the head decapitations and gore, but I liked it.
So I haven't been up to much lately, I did some motorpacing on Saturday and it was really fast. My sister Ann does the driving and she does and awesome job especially for someone who doesn't race. I didn't even have to yell too much or give the go faster or slower sign too much. I like motorpacing because it is fast and hard.
I hope everyone is getting their brackets ready. This year is really tough becuase there are a lot of good teams out there and it is hard to decide. I always have a pool with my brother and uncle and I invited my sisters. My uncle won last year, and I hope to win this year. We'll see.
I fly out to Carlsbad on Thursday for San Dimas and then Redlands. It was really nice to get in a week of solid training and to be healthy. I am excited.

Some boy funk...

2007-03-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

So apparantly girls have some extra smell glands that can smell something they call "boy". I don't know what it is, but every girl on earth can smell it. It is weird, I mean when guys talk about smelling girls it is usually their perfume or something in their hair, not just girl. Oh well.

So I did a Taum Sauk ride today, which I haven't done for a long time. The weather was really nice and it was a great day for five hours. So I just barely made it to my stop in Lesterville before they closed the little gas station/restaurant. The lady who I think owns the joint is so nice and I talk to her a lot because I have been out there a lot since November. I like to stop there to help them out because I think they are sucking some wind after the Taum Sauk resevior broke a little over a year ago. The town of Lesterville is kind of dependent on the income from people coming to the Black River to go floating, the flood made the water brown and nasty and no one wanted to float there. To add to this I think it is a shame that the tour of Missouri is not coming to this part of the state because if the race is supposed to show off the state they are skipping a part that has tons of state parks and so much beauty. I think the race is missing out.

One final note, my bro is going to Columbia tomorrow to watch the Farmington Knightettes play in the state basketball final four, so I hope they do good so that my brother is happy.

Beautiful Weather

2007-03-05T17:16:00.000-06:00

So right now I am in Columbia enjoying the company of my spectacular, amazing girlfriend Lori. I am also enjoying the unusualy nice March weather and being healthy. I have San Dimas in two weeks and then Redlands the next week, I am pumped to race in California with 100% health. It will be a fun time, as I have done both races two years ago, but this time I will be much faster.

So now I have to go on my soapbox. I am a huge NFL fan, a diehard Buffalo Bills fan my entire life, I went to bars in kindergarten with my dad to watch football and I just love the NFL, it is the greatest league in the world. EXCEPT when the 49ers give Nate Clements an eight year $80million contract. I mean, I am not really sad to see him go, because he is NOT worth that kind of money at all. I mean I guess that I was watching a differnt NFL for the past two years because I just kept watching this guy get burned when it counted and then some dude on ESPN says he is the number one free-agent out there? Are you serious? What a joke. I mean he is good, but he sucked for two years. Anyways, I guess that all those "experts" are "experts" for a reason, or maybe they just got lucky, but he'll be average in San Fran, just like Winfield was/is with his BIG contract in Minnesota. That is all for my rant.
I am probably going to eat Cold Stone tonight. Thanks for reading.

Nice day for a bike ride

2007-03-01T19:55:00.000-06:00

So it was nice to go out for a ride in Missouri, it had been almost a month since I have ridden on my rodes. I got out yesterday and today and the weather was gorgeous. Then since my ride today the temperature has dropped like 30 degrees, I guess there is a wicked front coming down from the North. Oh well, I don't mind when the weather is in the mid 30's, it is the 20's that are a little bit tougher. I am almost back to 100% health so I would like to get back there before the 30's on Saturday. I am just so glad to feel better, because I am sick of feeling like crap, it gets old. So my mom is in Omaha with my nana who had surgery and they got 12 inches of snow. My uncle was telling me about the idiots trying to get around in the snow, he was born and raised in Buffalo like my dad and he didn't even want to be out.
Tomorrow I'll get a couple of hours in and Robert and I will go over to Long Johns to get some delicious fish for dinner and to hang out if they need help at work. Hopefully something exciting will happen tomorrow. Or else I'll eat, sleep, train and drink tea like every other day.

Charity Mix

2007-02-27T20:20:00.000-06:00

So I am totally glad to be back home, I just want to feel better. Doc told my I might have stuffiness because I have been using the nasal spray for too many days.
But anyways, I want all you guys to go check out www.charitymix.com. It is a site that our team is involved with (I put a link under sponsors). Anyways the site has the playlists for a bunch of athletes and the way it works is anytime you download song from the site through itunes 5 cents goes to charity. The songs still cost 99 cents but a little bit goes to charity. I chose the prostate cancer charity for the money from my lists because it was the only cancer one. Just go through all the teams and pick the songs you want because it is for a good cause. Here's a tip though, open up your itunes first, it works better.

I also decided that hate white sinks and I will never have one in my house, or I won't have black pots and pans because I always mark up the sink and have to scrub it off and my mom yells at me.

On another note, I need to sell my tt bike if anyone is interested let me know and I'll send you all the details.