Nov 30, 2007
Nov 19, 2007
Oct 30, 2007
Sep 9, 2007
Aerodynamic Children Of The Corn
World Championship 60k 4 Man Team Time Trial Race date: 2007-09-09
Utica,Il
Four Racers,who barely know each other,decide at a XXX team meeting to ride together in the annual four man team time trial in Utica,Il
They practice a couple of times,getting used to working together,they enjoy an espresso and conversation up at a Highland Park coffee shop waiting for fellow triple X'rs on consecutive saturdays and finally there are adjustments made to their machines making them more aerodynamic....
Trial day...
Alarm goes off..after restless sleep of visualizing every scenario of the ttt.
I make a pot of coffee,eat breakfast and recheck my gear and bike for the hundredth time
and head out the door to wait for my ride...
It's 6:15am....Brian is exactly on time,I load my bike on the roof of his car...
We make our way to corn....Utica,Il
I call Jacques to see if he and Chris are on their way.....Affirmative
We pass cars full of guys with expensive bikes on their roofs...
I wave...they wave
We pull up to ....what looks like a fancy bike show in a rural parking lot...
Brian and I look around slack jawed and shaking our heads in awe at
the herd of $7000.00 bikes...
I sheepishly pull my crit bike with no aero adaptations off of Brians car..
A bevvy of other XXX teams are there
The vibe is great...
I'm nervous
We check in,get our number....61...I pin it
get dressed and we warm up...
Its Time..
We line up..
10 seconds,5,4,3,2,1
we're off...with the best intentions,high on competitive juices
and fighting our way thru the prairie winds
As a team and as individuals this is our
first team trial....
We make a few mistakes,I make the lions share of them...
Feeling strong,I'm much too eager early,I'm sure I cost us a rider
and nearly myself as I found out the last 10 miles at max heart rate,staring
at Jacques and Brian's rear wheels,yelling gap 3 or 4 times,praying for the mercy of the finish line...
Somehow thru the insane pain in my body,I'm able to internally laugh at the insults
Jacques is screaming at me,pushing me to give every single ounce of effort
I have left....which I do...
nothing is left on the course,and I mean...nothing...not a drop
Getting to know these 3 guys I normally would just greet with a smile
at races or XXX team rides was amazing...I discovered these
are people of integrity,humor and warmth...these are my my friends
Within that hour and a half...we became a unit,like a seal team operation.
Four people suffering,enduring and succeeding for the same cause...
Aug 18, 2007
Feb 18, 2007
THE DENVER YOU DON'T KNOW
When America thinks Denver... They think about the lovely Rocky Mountains,Omelets,and maybe the dreaded Boot,But these preconceived notions about most Denver-ites being nature loving,active outdoorsy Treehugger types who swill Microbrew while driving fancy trustafarian financed 4WD's must be addressed.I myself thought this was the case from a half a dozen trips here before I moved to the Cap-Hill area of Denver.
My first Awakening to the"Darker" side of Denver happened when a good friend(a Colorado Native)invited me to an "Art Opening"at a really kick ass little clothing store on S.Broadway.I was happy to see folks with Art Damage(nice ink) and rowdy sences of humor,unlike my early introduction to Denvers Ultra PC "politically active"set(yawn).Free beer and snacks were abundant and quality mixed media pieces graced the walls for extremely reasonable prices.I met good people,had solid coversations and laughed more than I had since leaving Chicago..If this would have been the completion of my evening..I would have been a happy camper....
but no..
I was invited to a bar just down the street...to play some pool and have a nightcap.As we are getting ID'd I begin to take notice of the clientel in this establishment...a blend of Sturgis rally meets saggy pant wearin Skate/SnowRats sprinkled with a few skinbirds and Rockabilly dudes.Nothing new right.....wrong...,As I'm racking up the first game of pool I notice the band setting up on stage hanging their banner entitled"Nicaraguan Death Squad"...I'm thinking...hmmm interesting,I hear the drummer warming up with shit hot double bass riffs and the energy starts to pick up in the bar...its palpable...the guitar player is setting up his full stack of amplification,He plugs in and rips a couple low chunks and a wee-dah-lee or two and this giant bearded subhuman walks by me,shaking the floor from his Sasquatch like weight mumbling something like"Oh ..It's On".....I'm thinking"what the fuck is going on here?!?!,I'm supposed to be in laid back Denver".....wrong....."Nicaraguan Death Squad" starts playing their first song,Strait Up Death Metal and the place goes up for grabs they have two "singers"the first does the patented low death growl and the other would scream like a banshee.
If you know me,you know I prefer my heavy on the Punk side but this was a spectacle to behold as they ripped out song after song while a giant 20 man wrestling match broke out all the way on the the sidewalk...
Fucking fantastic I say...what a suprise,a true-ly great night
weeks pass......
I had to see and feel more....I hear that Slayer is coming thru town and I lightly mention it in passing to my friend who invited me out for that eye opening night.....and to my suprise He scores free tickets and in the VIP section to boot,above the blood,puke and carnage not but 40 feet from the stage and what do you know...a sold out sweat box filled with a swirling pit of 5000 metalmaniacs.....Slayer was as tight as any jazz band I've ever seen....seriously
Its just nice to know that inbetween my mountain snowboard trips,epic bike rides,coffee house reads and organic Boulder visits I can get a little dirty if I want too............now.....I need a nap
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