I'm The Best

I did the Rosebowl ride today. Haven't shaved the legs in two weeks. I strategically chose the ugliest combination of bibs/jersey I had...My classic LMC bibs from last year and my retro PDM long-sleeve jersey. Classic. The LMC jersey is mainly green, with some yellow and black. The PDM is mostly white with blue and red, and the sleeves only go up to the middle of my forearm. Classic. One day I'll get a new digital camera (the old one was lost ages ago, and i've not replaced it), and all this filth I write about will be a bit easier to visualize. So yeah, the unmatched clothes, the unshaved legs...I still don't think I pulled off the "nope. I'm definitely not fast" look well. The shoes/helmet/glasses messed it up. Ah well. The truth is, the bibs/jersey are the last of my clean cycling clothes, so that's how it went down. What a dull sequence. Geez. Sorry to have wasted your time with that. and that.

So yeah, the bowl was fun. My second one of the year. Dave won it handily last week, and I managed to win this glorious March 9th edition. The Rosebowl training ride/race only happens 100 times per year, so every victory is special. Gah, I remember years ago though, where just sitting in required great effort, and I'd pat myself on the back if I could complete 8 out of the 10 laps clinging to the back of the group. Maybe it was just much faster back then? Who knows? It's appropriately nicknamed "The Festival of Freds" (Haag, 2003), but every now and then, some pro comes out and makes it interesting.

Paragraph 3. My post-race routine usually involves a long drive home, lots of eating, and lots of "so, how'd you do?"s. On this particular sunday, the answer was "8th". I've long ago given up explaining details and circumstances of races to people who aren't racers or riders themselves. After a nod of acknowledgement, the next question is ALWAYS: "Out of how many?". I don't know if I'm alone in saying this, but the size of the field is not indicative of how difficult a race is or how credible a particular rider's result is. For instance, if I finish 19th in an NRC (national calendar) event with 100 racers, it's a way bigger deal [to me] than finishing 5th at Ontario #4.2 with 150+ racers. So, to solve this annoying dilemma, I'm going to do the following. Anytime anyone asks "Out of how many??", i'm gonna say the same number as my placing.

Hypothetically then:

"Hey Aram"
"Hii"

"How'd you do?!"
"Ended up 8th"

"Out of how many?!"
"Eight" (shrug)

Sounds stupid, and it is, but it'll be great once I win a race.

Allright, this is much too long for a blog entry huh? This has been a pleasant waste of time.

OH! Big BIG news. It is with a great sense of pride and honor that I announce that I have been selected to be on the "links" section of Brent Bookwalter's blog site. It's a pretty big deal. If you don't know Brent, check out his site. He wins lots of races, and most of the time, doesn't even use both his legs to do so. He can out-dance anyone, and trains only when it's 28 degrees or lower out.