"We are The Police and we are back"

The Police, '07

The Police. They've reunited. Rumors circulated for months, and it became official at the Grammy's last night. I'm happily not alone in my ecstasy at this reunion. Rumor is that they'll play coachella...if this is the case...I might have to start selling stuff. It's wonderful that they've got tour dates comin up, and probably at least one "The Police Live in '07" DVD...but as a longtime fan, what I'd want more than ANYTHING is a new album. C'mon boys...And check out Andy Summers!! he's 10 years older than either Sting or Stuart, but has hardly aged!


Bike Racing:

Just one race on the calendar for me. Was going to go up north for a big $ crit, but the weather was erratic, so stayed here, where the weather was even more erratic. Sunday was the Brea Roger Milikan Memorial Crit. In the morning, it was pouring and dark. An hour or so later, it was sunny. This cycle repeated itself intermittently, but we ended up having perfect race conditions. This race always draws a huge field, and this year, despite the "chance of rain," was no different. 100 starters maybe? Some good names. Ivan Dominguez, Kyle Gritters, Couple other Toyota-Uniteds, some full socal-squads, and all the other scenesters.

I had no teammates on the day, but it wasn't a bother on a course like this. Little chance of anything getting away...it's too fast. I got to the race with about 20 minutes to the start. Rode from my car to the start as a warmup (at least 200 meters), and we were off. Smooth and fast. No threatening moves, until Chris Valenzuela and Ivan Dominguez slipped off the front. They got almost 30 ticks, and would be the biggest break of the day. Hi-Tec-Bikes-Fish...or whatever they're called...did a bang up job in bringing the break back by themselves. There were plenty of other "complete teams" who didn't do a lick of work in bringing this move back...way to show your strength, boys...

So as expected, a bunch sprint was in the cards. 5 laps to go sounded. Legs are fine, unscathed by lactic acid, by anything. I was riding with Health Net's Kyle Gritters during the "5 to go" period. Studying him, in some respects, to see what type of lines a top crit guy like him takes during the last stages of a crit. As expected, he was calm and collected. Also, he was never on the inside. Always on the outside, where it's easier to move forward, and he stayed in that "sweet spot" about 10 wheels deep, just floating there, with me in tow. So into the bell lap, it's Toyota, Toyota, Dominguez, Gritters, Tony Cruz, and Aram. In that order. Legs still perfect, thinking about the sprint and nothing else.

In the last lap of a Pro/1/2 crit, you'd think it'd be insane, out-of-control madness. It's actually quite the opposite. At the front, it's a really controlled and calm atmosphere. And it's always the same guys up there. You know how they ride, and while bumping and the occasional tap is common, 95% of the time nothing erratic happens (unless Bahati's racing...). It comes down to strength, not "lets see how stupid we can be". Sure, all the "crazy out of control" guys are doing their thing -in the back...usually. On this day, one of these guys managed to slip beyond his known realm and into the front. To be more specific...he did not slip...he plowed...and to be even more specific not "into the front" but into me. Yeah. Game over. The funny thing is, just before the guy smashed into me, I heard a faint "Aram!!!". I'm very fortunate to have stayed upright. And Captain Smooth? He finished in the top-5. A result (and subsequent cash) that wouldn't have been bad to have, and just seconds earlier were an absolute formality.

I was a bit steamed after the race, and I apologize to anyone who might have heard me vent the frustration afterwards. It's just a shit feeling to have good form, and miss out because of another's mistake. The guy was profusely apologetic afterward, saying "I had nowhere to go", and then came with the classic "that's racing". But guy: if you'd been following the wheel in front of you like everyone else, there's no way you could [almost perpendicularly] plow into someone on a straightaway (!!!) like that. No way. Enjoy the result of your life and the smooth rep that's come with it...

I'm over it. Looks like it's all crits for me this month...won't be going to Valley of the Sun because of a wedding on Saturday night. Ah well.

What would Sting do?