Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Tagged?

Tagged eh? Took me a while to figure out what that meant...Also took me a while to pick up a computer since my finals ended (111 new messages on my lawschool email, yikes!). Anyway, five interesting things? Well, here it goes...

1) I know that I was only 11, but by familial extension I can claim status of a political refugee. The Czech communist party believed my mother's family was very misbehaved...

2) I didn't pick up triathlon and cycling until 2001 (Thanks N.). Though I ran and occasionally mountain biked, I was a climbing fool. One year I entered a climbing competition in Colorado and just CRUSHED my competition in the Advanced category. I have never been on like that in my life...Ever! I mean I crushed them...And then when I turned in my score card, the event director said...You crushed them, enough sandbagging for you, you're not done, get out there and climb with Elite/Pro's. Instead of on top of the podium with the group I always competed against, I finished second to last. The guy who won was Tommy Caldwell...at the time the top competition climber in the U.S.

3) I never thought that I would take 137 bodies, 69 vehicles and $20,000,000 dollars in equipment to invade a sovereign country half way around the globe...and bring it all safely back.

4) I went from a comfortable lazy existence of 6.5 hours/day, 183 days/year (perfect for training) to being a full time student with no income (at the age of 36). Have I lost my mind?

5) I live next to a cursed house. The first year we had a swat standoff as our reclusive neighbor was threatening to shoot himself. Shortly thereafter, a different set of tenants had flash bombs thrown into the house through the windows as part of a drug raid. Last night a drunk driver crashed into it while being pursued by the police. We do NOT live in a bad neighborhood.

Extra Credit:
6) I have an unreasonable fear of mechanized penguins with flapping wings and flashing eyes. I remember the abomination was as tall as I was...Frightening. My parents thought my frantic attempts at escape were amusing.

I tag Bones, Jeff in a Speedo, Muffin, Skoshi, and Cody.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

NMCX2007_2103


NMCX2007_2103
Originally uploaded by mudmaid1007
Riding to my glorious 16th place at the NM State champs in the B's. GRRRR!
Thanks mudmaid for photo!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

A Random Update

Just finished Crim Law final...A sordid tale of murdered cats, manslaughtered toll booth operators, reckless drivers, cyanide dealing hardwarestoremen, malicious birdwatchers and sibling rivalry. Certainly kept me entertained for 3.5 hours. Three more to go.

Pictures from Night Cross and State Cross Champs are coming. N. was kind enough take some in the freezing cold, but alas, we still haven't joined the 21st Century and 35mm needs time to develop.

How did states go? 16th out of 46 and had fun...Not a bad day in the office. Advice for aspiring crossers? Keep track of the lap count...If you start sprinting on the NEXT to the last lap it is really hard to be fast on the last one. (BTW: Morissey, some may know his wife from triathlon, is the state champ...again...)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Winter Wonderland Psychocross

Saturday Night...Thermal undershirt, thermal longsleeve, jersey, armwarmers, bibs, tights, two pairs of wool socks, bike gloves, ski gloves, balaclava, skull cap...Ok, now I was willing to exit the confines of the warm cosy, womb like confines of my truck. Fifty minutes till start time and 21 degrees...What the hell was I thinking. I exited the truck and immediately returned to put my super-warm Pearl Izumi jacket courtesy of Skoshi...And then, still cold, shivered over to the registration table to give the maniacally grinning Scott Hubbard my $17.00 and racing license. Then I jumped on the bike and rode a few laps to preview the course and warm up. Let me tell you, you do not warm up in 20 degree weather. The preview was worth it however. Despite Jamie's heroics in lighting the course with industrial floodlights, there was an icy section of single track through the woods that had nothing but the full moon (beautiful, but not conducive to high speed racing), and a barrier section that I didn't see until my buddy Eric who was in front got a mouthful of gravel and handle bars. The packed ice and snow also made handling a bit "interesting".

The race itself felt like Europe (If I knew what Europe felt like). It was just a blur of stinging cold air, camera flashes, cowbells and hoots and hollers...Absolutely amazing. I think that I turned in one of my better efforts after a bad start, but the grand plan was to warm-up in the B race and then go for cash in the A's. Since there were only 16 A's registered, and since the money went twenty places deep....Well....

Anyway, my plan fell apart as soon as I entered the Tove Shere Hospitality Suite & Warming Tent and began to thaw out. Every extremity imaginable flooded with fresh blood that until then was pooled to preserve vital organs, and I collapsed in a blubbering heap of pain. By now the temps dropped down to 16, and no way was I going out there...Not even for all of five bucks. Game over.

Photos to come. Law finals...two weeks. Panic sets in...But first...NM Cyclocross Championships...Sunday Morning, December 2nd...Hyder Park....Six blocks South of Nob Hill, between Welsley and Richmond. Will also have itty-bitty kids race and Bump & Thump (think demolition derby on cross bikes).

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

It's Movie Time

Racing with the Prince (artist formerly known as?) at US Grand Prix of Cyclocross.
http://www.cyclofile.com/2007/11/mercer-cup-usgp-cyclocross-nj.html

...And now, for some local New Mexico action. That had to hurt...Yeah, stretch those legs boy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3hLXmZzuZc

I did the same thing that very day, but on the first barrier. Sadly, no video...So, you just have to settle for Brad.

Friday, November 16, 2007



A fun crosser pic from 06...I'm riding my old nag of a converted MTB...My first ever cross race.


...Yes there is usually sand...


...But it only hurts for an hour.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

It is done...Almost.

Waddled over to the start line on Sunday, tired and sore, not fast...Still, rode smooth, had no crashes, one minor bobble in the stream crossing (cold, wet, muddy...typical cross stuff) and rode my way into 10th place...Got my one point.

Wednesday, turned in my open memo, done with Legal Research, Reasoning and Writing. Went out for a training ride and then drank lots of beer afterwards...Now I realize that I have other classes. Well, back to the salt mine.

Saturday's Race is at Rio Bravo Park. There is a big hill in the middle of the field from which you can watch the entire race...Fun! Sunday's race is at Dennis Chavez Park; tons of steep climbing with deep grass there...not fun...painful. That's it, except for State Champs no more cross for another year...Back to triathlon.

...And yes, I still say the Silverman types are special kind of sick...Cross hurts, but only for an hour.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Crashy McCrasherstein.

300 meters...four crashes. Yep that is new one for me...They weren't even the technical ones, the ones where you try to ride something really hard and keep coming off. Nope, definitely nothing like that. Today was the first day of Los Vecinos weekend in Tijeras, an annual cyclocross extravaganza that is just as much fun to watch as it is to race. So there I am on the second to the last lap, and I'm about to catch a group of riders and make it a race. Well, I focus on the guy at the end of the group, went into a tricky (not hard) chicane, clipped a pedal and went down. Remounted, hit the next very easy chicane, and went down again. Then, I managed to do it again on a gravel patch, and then again when I missed a line and hit a rut. For good measure I managed to repeat the trick one more time 50 meters before the finish in a hard turn on some grass. That is five crashes, and all onto my left shin...There is no skin there now. Tomorrow I'll try it again...Hope to keep dermatological damage to minimum.

Oh, and thanks to NMCross for the coffee and cookies and hot chocolate and bagels and burritos and orange juice and donuts...Wait, are they trying to make everyone else fat and slow? I'll ask when I waddle to the start line tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Of Grass and Closed Memos

I'm a little addled today...Called on twice in two classes, a citation test and 14 page closed memo on long arm jurisdiction and implied warranties yesterday. On Sunday I actually decided that my entire memo was junk and started over, and then on Monday I turned in my rough, instead of final, draft on accident...That was an uncomfortable office visit (turned out "o.k." in the end). I must say that sometimes I wonder about my choice to abandon my seven hour days, 183 days a year at subsistence salary. Right now it sounds pretty damn good. Anyway, six weeks left this semester.

Saturday, before agonizing about the memo I raced NMCX#4 at Wildflower Park (Balloon Fiesta Park). I dreaded this race as I remembered last year when I had a touch of the flu. It was sleeting, the course was all wet, deep grass (except for the sandpit) with lots of climbing (90' per lap), and I struggled to finish second from last. Well, it wasn't so bad. Yes, the climbing was still there, and the grass was deep, but that is where the similarities ended. First of all, the weather was great and I wasn't sick. It got even better when Steve at the Bike Coop incorporated about 500m of drainage ditch into the course, and the crab apple minefield on the climb was absent this year. This was a wild, fun course.

We started in a mass sprint up the concrete ditch to a 90 degree exit out of the ditch, into the grass and then rode a fast grassy down hill for quarter mile to a swooping 180 degree dismount section. From then we attacked the main deep grass ascent that was infested with giant crab apples last year. Went over barriers, and then we entered some fantastic grassy chicanes where you could just tear into the corners unless you went down (I didn't, but a few did). The course then took you through the sand pit in two directions, followed by more grass chicanes and a fun dive back into the drainage ditch. Fantastic!

Anyway, the field was big (34) and the start was a cluster, but uncharacteristically I managed to hit the first turn out of the ditch in the middle of the pack and spent the rest of the event contesting 9th and 10th places with six other rider. Unfortunately this one, for the second week in a row, turned into a bike race. Those HURT. In the end I finished 14th, not enough for points, but I was never out of contention, finished in an uphill sprint, and I'll take a top 50% finish in a cross race any day (at least until I improve). One final thought...I was outsprinted in the end by a 14 year-old...I guess that I need to shed some of those post IM (distance) pounds.

PS-Cross is the most fun you will ever have on a bike...Where are the outlaws? www.nmcross.com

PPS-Oh, and I just picked up my next memo assignment...and this one is "open". Can you say 756 citation hits? Oh joy of joys!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Barrier_UpOver_01


Barrier_UpOver_01
Originally uploaded by mudmaid1007
Oh yeah, that's me...graceful...graceful I say.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Gee law school, errrr...I mean cross is fun.

Gee, I was going to add a comment, but then I realized that hey, I can actually write a post...Anyway, law school is a blast...10lbs case books, 12 page memos, pointless research, authorities (sources) and procedures "oozing and ruling us from the grave of medievalism"...Oh yeah, you have to love it. Just finished ungraded midterms, and although I received feedback on only one out of four exams, we were informed that it was for our own good, and at least I didn't get the dreaded "invitation" to visit with the professor as result.

Cross season started little over two weeks ago and my happiness is proportional to the bruises, bumps and scrapes I am currently sporting. At the first Tuesday night race I missed the preride and the invisible culvert in the farmer's field, you know, the field where you can bury yourself at 20 mph...Until you hit the culvert...That was interesting. So was the 15 meter portage through the Rio Grande, a thoughtful touch by the organizer. That night, other than relaxing with my beloved torts book, me and N. spent the evening counting contusions. A couple days later me and N. went climbing in AZ, which was GREAT FUN, but due to vertical grace developed over 18 months of climbing inactivity, I did nothing to regenerate lost skin.

Returned to Abq. drove support for the James Quinn memorial ride (tragic, but his whole family along with eight police vehicles and around 300 cyclists attended) which I spent in the company of 83 year-old Gus the Pig Farmer whose pacemaker was acting up (fascinating guy...really), washed the Rio Grande mud off the bike and got ready for NMCX #1 at Journal Pavilion. Race day morning I pulled into the parking lot and started slobbering as soon as I saw the course. Lots of pavement, little sand, a hard run-up and beautiful chicanes through the grass soccer fields. Then I heard..."Hey, there are soccer games going on!" And just like that, my fantasy cross course turned into the "Tour de Sand Pit" (after they rerouted everything). Anyway, I started out well (that means in last place for me) and steadily worked my way through the field for about half a lap until an excitable junior I was about to pass dove past me in a sandy corner, went down, and I along with several others piled right into him. Race over, rode in circles some more in the sand, fell over a couple of times, finished 17th out of 26 in the B's. At least I was not last.

NMCX#2 was at Girard Strip Park. No, not THAT kind of strip park, but a narrow quarter mile long strip of deep grass. Can you believe that they put a mile long course on this thing? Yep, after a leMans start, you rode really hard for 50 yards, 180 degree turn, ride really hard for 20 yards, 180 degree turn, ride really hard, 180 degree turn, ride really hard, 180 degree turn, run over barriers, ride really hard, 180 degree turn.....You get the drift...I loved it, and despite losing a place in a crash on the last lap and my left lung somewhere on the course, I scored my first top 10 of the year. NMCX#3 Tomorrow.

NMCX#3 returned to the Journal Pavilion/Mesa del Sol. Remembering "Tour de Sand Pit" 1.0, I was a bit leery of Tour de Sand Pit 2.0. What a pleasant surprise when I saw the course! Long straights on packed dirt with only a few deep sand sections made for a FAST circuit...That is if it wasn't for the wind. As one of the local strong men observed, "You could not help but ride hard into the wind. If you didn't, you would just stop and tip over. That wind bit like a rabid hooker trying to get an extra five dollar tip." Ok, I didn't get the analogy either, but it sure was windy and cold. But hey, it is an outdoor sport so I was planning to enjoy the balmy 40 degrees when the wind was at the back. I took the start in better position than usual and hit the first corner in 14th place. By the end of the first lap I was in 10th and sat there for the next forty minutes. Then it got fun...I caught Eric the 9th place guy, and he immediately glued himself to my wheel. I dragged him around the first half of the last lap, when we were caught by another guy. I sucked his wheel until the first barrier section where he stopped, and I ended up out of the barriers at the front of the group. Now we were riding full on into the wind on a quarter mile, exposed, flat stretch...And I was dragging both of them. "No way", I thought. I stopped pedaling and they stopped pedaling, I even tried the trick of waiving them through, but they still would not pass! "Pass me damn you!" I screamed in my head, but no, unless we wanted to collect more riders I would have to ride. I accelerated, and opened a gap which I maintained until the last long run-up 300m before the finish. Now this is a long run-up, and I have what could be referred to as legs that are on the short side. This uncommon crosser affliction does not help when sprinting uphill with a bike on your back. (If I knew how to use damn blogger, I could post a most ungainly photo to demonstrate) I remounted, looked behind me...And holy crap! They were right there! I look ahead...And holy crap! 8th place is only 10 yards in front! All the sudden I was not just riding circles in a sand pit...This was a bike race! How did that happen? I buried the pedals and never caught 8th, but didn't get caught either, though we all finished within a second of each other. Two top tens in a weekend...I'll take that. Oh, and by the way, If anyone saw my right lung somewhere out there, I'd like it back.

Next week, NMCX#4 Wildflower Park...A course I would not wish on my worst enemy...But friends are "ok". The grass there is DEEP.

See you in a few months...T

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Introduction to Road Rash

So I've been meaning to do this for a while, but due to a multitude of excuses I've put off and off and off...Anyway, after a summer of travel, no work, one Ironman distance race and three days before starting law school, I finally decided to start a blog.
Here you will be able to track (or I will anyway) my adventures (or misadventures) in law, triathlon, cycling and general life. It may be interesting as BIG changes loom, so stay tuned.