New Cross Rides and The Countdown

Again, time has lapsed since my last entry. Lame. I know.

After much wrench throwing, cursing and frustration, my training bike is finally built. I took the maiden voyage last night and did some “120 meter grass sprints”.

One word: money.

A few observations-
1) Every time I cursed Specialized for a poor design or layout . . .it was solely due to my lack of mechanical skilz! (Sorry Dad, 5 years of mechanical engineering school and yes I still don’t ‘see it’ like an engineer). The bike is tight . . .nice cable layouts, killer tube shapes and literally PERFEECT geometry for me.

2) The fork . . .I admit it, I was skeptical. Again, it’s money.

3) The seatpost . . . a bit heavier than my standard issue Thomson but luscious over the bumpy terrain. It is a keeper.

4) Cornering and Accelerating . . . as tight as can be. Literally, it felt as sweet as my road bike in a crit.

5) Appearance . . .let’s just say I better be as fast as the bike looks. (Photos to be posted as soon as I get my shit together.)

So Cross workout No. 2 tonight at the famed Remich Park. We have a good circuit there with many options and an ever growing group of sufferers. Not sure if “sufferers” is a word, but is sums up our cross workouts. Painful to say the least. Tonight could be even worse than normal with the “Indian summer” conditions. What IS Indian summer? Doesn’t seem very PC.

The Countdown
Bermuda is a week away. I am so stoked that I really need to forget about it for a few days and stay mellow. Traveling for a big race is one of my favorite things to do and this is by far the most “exotic” race to date. It will be hard to beat Binghamton, NY (hardee har har) but we will see. Hopefully I won’t crash motor-pacing behind a scooter or worse yet crash a scooter!

Passport: still not here yet. This will indeed be the root of my demise if it doens show up soon!