Omni-Update

Hi. Long time huh? I'm sitting here at my computer following the live updates of the USPRO Road Championships. About 60k remain, and I figured a blog entry would be a pleasant way to pass the time between updates...

I'll start this entry off by saying that my season is over. The awesome-looking $6,000 circuit race in San Diego was canceled, and who's going to drive to nor-cal for a $200 road race? There might be a track race or two thrown in there, but i'm already embracing the off-season....by looking for a job. I'm not looking for a "take over the world" type of position, just something that offers some cash, part time, and the flexibility (and convenience) of being able to ride the bike to work.

But First...

A Photo:
The NEW bike. It came in on thursday. It's classy, huh? It's the first "new" bike I've ever ridden. "New" because everything but the frame is used as hell, but hey. You'll notice there isn't a front derailleur...Cannondale upped the seattube diameter on the Caad8 to 35mm....so my 32mm front derailleur won't work. It looks good without it though, and I did a nice 3 hour ride with it yesterday: I can shift down from the big ring with my hands, but have to dismount to shift back up...and the chain comes off when the road gets bumpy. The ride is great! Stiff and "not smooth" at all, but that's precisely how I like it! Aka: Lively. The wheels are borrowed (of course), and I'll lose quite a few style points when I put the cxp33s back on, but ah well. And...I've never used that much seatpost before....I think Cannondale changed the geometry as well...maybe a slightly sloping top tube?

To be quite honest, I'm hoping this bike doesn't see too many miles. What am I getting at? Next year. New Team. New Bike. New Hopes. Nothing to report on that front yet, but we'll see. "Selling Myself" isn't my specialty, riding fast is...but I need to do lots of the former to get something going for next year....How I loathe this aspect of our sport.

From Bikes to Brats (we're goin random...):
These guys were on the course at Sheboygan. Definitely not a big enough gut to warrant full-credibility, but I think I saw at least 3 sober people buy a brat and enjoy it. Manny had one and liked it, so gut or not, he wins! So excited for the foto, too!

Back to bikes...40k to go now. Pate, Leipheimer, Hincapie, and Caldwell. Go Pate!

From a Del Taco somewhere deep in the Inland Empire. The implied "caution" is a bit higher with cleats on...for sure.


Cal Poly Pomona. I ride there when I don't feel like doing hills. It's about 4 hours round trip...lots of traffic lights, poor roads......but...the koi pond on their campus is terrific! Worth the trip every time, and I snuck in some koi food this time. I really like the little blue/red/black one near the center of the 2nd photo.

My own koi...I have 7 of them in a much smaller pond than at Cal Poly. The one pictured is of the Ginrin Orenji variety, and I picked him up really cheap...he'll definitely grow to be a handsome chap. I love the white accents on his underside and fins. The guy to his left....not sure of what type he is (possible Doitsu Shusui...though he's too dark), but he's a good guy as well and we love him. Like most cyclists, eating is their #1 pastime.

Okay...that's it for this one. More deviations from cycling in future entries....so depending on who you are, check back more often, or check back again in January....heh.