5 Races, 8 Days

Tomorrow ends my streak of 5 races in 8 days. After a dry spell and going for over 2 weeks without racing I decided to make up for it. The schedule called for a circuit race Tuesday night (4/6) at PIR, a crit in Hood River Thursday night, collegiate road race in Walla Walla on Saturday, a collegiate circuit race on Sunday and another circuit race at PIR the following Tuesday (tomorrow, 4/13). I'll just give a quick recap of each race and throw in what pictures I have.

you know you're a biker when...

Ok, so instead of another list of generalizing remarks about cyclists, shaved legs and going "long and hard" I simply offer a picture, more proof that my Dad and I are obsessed with bikes

the Christmas Vibrator

Yeah, I said it.

Ok, so my grandma is in town the entire time I'm back in Walla Walla. Given the combination of her being from the mid-west, using hearing aids and 87 there's bound to be a few misunderstandings.

There's a ton of these stories that I could tell but I'll only burden you with the best one for now. My mom was out shopping and decided it would be a good idea to get my grandma (my dad's mom) one of those vibrating/back massaging pads you put in a chair. (you know what I'm talking about right?). Anyway, she really liked it and everything but she was talking to my dad's sister today and said "Gary and Helen got me a vibrator for Christmas..." All this time I'm sitting right across the table from her and my dad is sitting to my left. It was all I could do to keep from laughing right there. Anyway, whenever my dad or I sit down in the chair where that pad/massager/vibrator is we try and make it sound as...well, you know...as possible. Oh, the joys of old people...

There's a few more stories to tell like the "getting to first base" and "shorts" story but I'll save those for another time...maybe

the life of a redneck (Eastern Washington version)

On my ride today I was reminded of the cast difference between Portland and the "other" side of the mountains. Portland, the city of Subaru Outbacks and Toyota Prius, liberals, bikes, PBR and fit people stands in start contrast to "hick-town Walla Walla" and it's truck-loving, gun-toting, conservative people. This hit me when I got passed by a Fork truck proudly displaying a "McCain-Palin" sticker. Now, I don't have anything against this but it's been a while since I've seen one of those sticker, especially in Portland. Another reminder of this was when we went to pick up a Christmas tree today. Seriously, we drove half a mile through town like this (picture below) and it was considered perfectly normal. My dad's comment when we got out of the van "hey look, it's an air freshener! We may have a hard time hanging it from the rear view mirror though..."

Sometimes a ride is just what you need

Ok, so I spent almost the entire day stumbling around the house attempting to recover from yesterday. It got to the point where I couldn't walk in a straight line because I was so sore and my muscles were screaming at me. Of course the last thing I wanted to do was go ride my bike, yet I did anyway.

The first 8 miles or so were, let's just say, incredibly uncomfortable. Then again I'm riding with my Dad so I know that if I turn around I'm not going to hear the end of it. I stuck it out and by the end of the ride I felt awesome. True, my legs haven't forgiven me for running yesterday but rolling into the driveway during a perfect sunset (sorry, didn't get a picture) seemed to help them forget a little.

Anyway, we're celebrating Thanksgiving today because my Mom had to work yesterday so it's off to clean up, make the last of the food and eat way too much of it! Happy (second) Thanksgiving everyone! (by the way, BOO, Black Friday)

give me a 45 minute cyclocross race over a 5k run any day!

Just to give you a little background, my last run was on May 2nd when I ran a timed mile just for kicks before starting , the run before that was a 5k fun run in Eugene on January 3rd. So, when I got a call from Bowe (a high school friend I ran cross country with) last night just as I rolled into town asking me if I wanted to do the 5k Turkey Trot this morning I will admit I was a little hesitant. After some thought I decided, "why not, what's the worst that can happen?" My cyclocross season is probably over (more on that later, I'm still working that out) so what do I have to lose? I was planning on doing some running in the off season to work on my cardio and endurance levels so I figured a fun run was a good way to start that.

WRONG.

Me being a cyclist much more so than a runner decided to use embrocation for this race so I showed up in actual running shorts and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. On the other hand, I was warmer than those pansies in their fancy running tights and thermal layers.

Anyway, the race went alright. I don't know how I did as far as time but I was in the top 12 for sure so considering my running past I feel like I did pretty well. Then again I kind of forgot that running doesn't really hurt during the race, it kicks you in the a** afterwards.

That's where I am right now. Walking isn't going so well and I doubt it's going to get better as the day progresses. So much for a ride today...

I guess it just goes to reinforce that I should be thankful that I have the ability and resources to race bikes.

Alright, enough about my legs, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and enjoy the few days rest. I know the MEs need it, these coming weeks are going to be hell.