Heebee-geebies

Heber fairgrounds cyclo-cross yesterday. Rumors had been predicting 10 inches of snow, etc, and the snow storm at the house suggested the fear-mongers might be right, but as usual they were not.

Weather in Heber was dry, if cold and windy. The cold wasn't an issue after the racing started.

I raced in the Master A group this week, and it was a lot more fun than the B's. This picture shows the start. I started in the back row again since I didn't expect to be battling for victory. It took about 10 minutes to reel in Bob and a few other guys. Spent about 30-40 minutes riding with a guy named Gary who is racing for Ski Utah. I was faster than him on the runs and the twisties, but he had more speed in the fast flats, especially the back straight headed into the stiff wind. Seemed to me like I was a little faster overall, but we were pretty evenly matched and it was tough racing.

With a few laps to go we caught and passed Mike Kracht and one other guy, putting us in about 6th and 7th. We were all riding in a group of 4 when I caught the marking ribbon with my handlebars (the wind was blowing it into a big arc across the course). I went down and took out the guy behind me, his bike flipping up and landing on me. Damp grass is a pretty soft landing pad and I don't think either of us was hurt, but Gary and Mike rode on and I had to chase to catch back up. I did get back up to them early in the last lap, but I was too tired at that point to get by and make it stick. Fun racing.

Friday night we went to the Pillings deportation party (my name for it). The party was well attended -- the Pillings have many close friends here. I'm a big believer in the "American Dream", but there is something seriously wrong when a family like this is forced to quit their job and leave the country. Americans should be disgusted by a congress that continuously fails to solve the big problems they are responsible for. For how many years do we allow problems like medicare, health-care, social security, immigration, financial reform and global warming continue to get worse, all regulated, asphyxiated or exacerbated by out-dated legislation, while we battle for control using ridiculous proxy issues like flag burning, abortion, sex in the white-house, spies who get "outed", lobbiest gifts and executive compensation? I don't mind if we are all discussing the important issues and have a hard time agreeing on what to do or not do, but the campaigns are focused on the garbage. Even our local State Representative race has been infused with tricks over substance.

I know, none of this is new. Sorry for the rant. I generally try to keep politics out of my cycling blogging. For me personally, Bp's ouster is a real blow. I'm not one that maintains a lot of close relationships and I'm not particularly expressive about personal issues, but I feel like I've lost my best friend.