Amendment 48

In the upcoming election there are some critical decisions to be made that can and will affect reproductive rights here in Colorado as well as nationally. In Colorado we have the proposed Amendment 48 (http://www.prochoicecolorado.org/ballotwatch.shtml) that will define what a person is and nationally we have two presidential candidates with different views on abortion. Given one of these two men will most likely appoint one (if not more) members to the Supreme Court their view on abortion is critical

For a little background let me tell you (as many of you may know) I have one son, seven years old. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “when are you having another?” or “about time for number two”. Well the fact is the absence of a second child isn’t from lack of effort. We’ve been trying for five years to have a second child with (obviously) no luck. I’d say we are a stable, loving family that has done a good (and at times great) job raising our son and would likely be no different if we had a second child.

Given our struggles to get pregnant V2 there may be a thought from some that I (and my wife) would have a perspective of being strongly pro-life; however, when you’ve struggled trying to get pregnant there is some underlying fear that if you do conceive your “tricking” of mother nature may end up causing serious issues for the mother or child. Spending time and money on attempting to get pregnant you have to understand and accept certain risks. Some of those risks very well could mean a decision between life and death for the mother. They could mean the choice of terminating a pregnancy that realistically (without extensive medical assistance) would have been unviable, or would potentially have a child born with severe medical issues.

My wife and I accept these risks with every doctor’s appointment, prescription and (unfortunately) miscarriage. We both cherish life and would never choose an abortion given our struggles in most circumstances. I do feel however, that by defining a person in the way it is defined for Amendment 48 or by at all restricting a woman’s (and man’s as it should be a two person decision in many cases) right to choose we put many lives (both literally and figuratively) at risk.

Amendment 48 will effect reproductive efforts in the medical field, may limit (prohibit) popular forms of birth control, and may severally jeopardize the life of a pregnant mother. It is an effort to enforce another persons moral views on medical events.

As Obama has said, we as a nation may not agree on a woman’s right to choose but we can all agree to educate and limit unwanted pregnancies. Let’s focus our attention on education and allow families and doctors (and religion if that is your choice) guide each of us on the medical decisions we need to make. If I were in a situation where I had to decide between saving my wife or an unborn child we’ve struggled for years to have I don’t know how I would come to a choice, but a choice is what I would want. Please vote No on 48 and Yes for Obama.

Bike Racing

I think I’ve mentioned before that fall is when cyclists tend to sit back and contemplate racing. Every year I hear a few people mention they are going to up their training and racing schedule for the next year. Every year I hear a few people ponder why they race and if they will continue to race. From this group, every year, about half race again and half don’t.

I’ve never fallen into the second group, never will. I like racing too much. I know I’m never going to win a lot of bike races (hell I’d be happy to win another since the first and last win was in 2004) but I know I’ll race every year. For a long time the question I’d ponder was between the MSC (or CORPS back in the day) or Winter Park. Sometimes I’d concentrate on one or the other, a couple years no series concentration just racing some of both. For 2009 though, I’m thinking there will be some big changes.

I’m still going to race and I’m still going to race on the dirt, I’m just going to take a new focus. This year instead of spending time on regular cross country races I’m going long. Reduced schedule of races, but probably about the same number of miles raced. Right now the plan I’m hatching involves two 50 mile races and (hopefully) the Leadville 100 (assuming I get a start spot). These new races will give me a change of pace from the racing, more family time on the weekends and I think suit my riding style better (assuming I can get a handle on the race nutrition for the long events). I’m still developing the entire plan; including pondering an endurance racing coach, but I don’t really need to start training until December so I’ve got a few weeks to get everything figured out.

For this weekend though a few short rides are on the schedule.

Presidential Economic Plans - A Fighter or Actual Ideas

I keep reading stories on the upcoming election and one of the big things undecided voters keep asking for is specifics on how each candidate is going to help them. Today both campaigns promised new plans and ideas on the economy. From CNN the McCain campaign had this to say:

Earlier Monday, McCain delivered a speech that a senior aide predicted would "begin a turnaround for the campaign."
On the new tone, the aide said the campaign decided to go "back to basics" with McCain on what he can offer.
McCain told voters Monday that they should elect him because "what America needs in this hour is a fighter."
"I will fight to take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last. I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it," McCain said at a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Word from the McCain campaign over the weekend had been that he would announce several economic proposals beginning today in the effort to turn around the campaign. Instead it appears Senator McCain has told America nothing more than the fact that we need a fighter.

Obama on the other hand delivered a speech on economic policy and outlined multiple points including:

Tax credits for companies creating jobs in the US
Eliminating penalties for 2008/2009 on withdrawals from 401k plans
A freeze on foreclosures for people acting in “good faith”

Obama’s plan is designed (according to his campaign) “to immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners”.

Clearly the economy is on everybody’s mind and an 11% increase in the stock market today is not “stabilizing” by any stretch of the imagination. I would use the term volatile. At least one candidate is actually providing details on what they want to do (though I will say McCain did outline his mortgage plan).

Can either of these guys really help the economic situation? Not single-handed, but without a comprehensive plan, besides being a fighter we won’t see any improvement.
Check out more details at the links below:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/13/campaign.wrap/index.html

The Blog

I’ve been pondering the blog a lot recently (hence the new look), what it is for, why I do it etc. It started as a way to discuss cycling and I’m pretty sure it will always do that since cycling is such an integral part of my life. Recently it has taken on more of a political focus, which I like. It might piss some people off, but really I’ve been political since I started the goal of increasing awareness on global warming. I’m a liberal and I admit it. Hell I think Obama is a conservative to be honest, but I’ll still vote for him. Maybe I could write some on my views of politics versus religion; in a lot of ways people I feel the government should address many issues a lot of church going folks feel church/religion should address. Education is another issue I keep thinking of writing about, it gets more important as Seamus gets older, which brings me to another topic I should write more about; family.

Now I’m not going to sit here and tell people I’m going to start writing about all these things cause the reality is I may not. I will say I’m planning on branching out on the writing. Less cycling, more on other topics.

So let me tell you the biggest joy of my week, in some ways it ties all the “new” subjects together. I bought Seamus “Where the Sidewalk Ends” this week, he’d mentioned it a couple of times over last weekend. I ran into Adrienne walking back from the bookstore at lunch, her thought was it would be a great Christmas present (true) but I decided to give it to him that day anyway. When I got home from work I gave him the book as he sat watching tv. He immediately stopped watching whatever was on and started reading us poems as I cooked. He must have read for 30 minutes straight, talking about the poems, laughing at the pictures (and learning) it was fun.

Cyclo-Cross #4

Raced cross again today and this time in true cross weather. It was wet, cold, some rain/drizzle and mud in a few sections of the course. As to the course, well let us just say I’ve seen better. The finish was a run through sand, who has ever heard of a running finish in cyclo-cross? Also there was a ton of twisty single track. It was fun but didn’t make for great racing. Maybe I should have brought the mountain bike instead.

I ended up starting in the back row of a 60+ field and my result shows that great start position. Ended up in 36th, which all things considered wasn’t bad but clearly not very good. Given the weather I was surprised with the number of racers but I guess that is the show now. It is strange to see the different approaches to cross too. I’m using it to stay motivated and in shape until a winter break (probably starting after the first weekend in November) others are just now getting their cross game on and are getting fast. For me this is the only “effort” of the week and all other rides are short and slow, with the results beginning to show that. I may ramp up the training until the races on November 1/2 since they are part of the DBC Boulder Cup races. Big crowds, great courses make it fun to try and go fast.

I’ve been working on updating the blog too. Seemed to be getting a little stale so here it is. Adrienne said it looks generic, I prefer simple, but it is a change. Maybe if I get more motivation I’ll do some more changes.

Next up though is figuring out racing for next year. I don’t think I’m going to run a team again as I have a little too much going on and to be honest parts were a pain in the ass. I was thinking about joining another team, but have to admit racing for somebody besides Pedal Pushers doesn’t seem right. Jason and company have always treated me right so maybe I’ll go solo again and wear his shop kit (it is looking pimp these days, all black and orange). I’ll figure that out in a week or two. I also need to figure out what races to concentrate on, Winter Park, the road or endurance races, the idea of Leadville 100 is interesting, just need a lot of prep work to make finishing it realistic.

For now though it’s time to relax and help Seamus with homework.

On Friday morning I watched George Bush tell the American people to not act in fear with the stock market to quote directly from his speech,

“Good morning. Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market -- much of it driven by uncertainty and fear. This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being” http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081010.html

And while I agree that much of the recent downturn of the global stock market is a result of fear I must ask how that fear was perpetuated? Could it be George Bush himself? Let’s not forget his statements urging America to support the economic package his team created to help with the liquidity crisis? Again his own words speak volumes.
U.S. President George W. Bush, saying "our entire economy is in danger," urged Congress to approve his administration's $700 billion bailout proposal.
"We're in the midst of a serious financial crisis, and the federal government is responding with decisive actions," Bush said in a televised address Wednesday night from the White House.
Bush pointed out that the collapse of several major lenders was rooted in the subprime mortgage market that thrived over the past decade.
He said passage of the $700 billion bailout proposal was needed to restore confidence in the market.
"I'm a strong believer in free enterprise, so my natural instinct is to oppose government intervention," he said. But "these are not normal circumstances. The market is not functioning properly. There has been a widespread loss of confidence. From CNN www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/24/bush.bailout/index.html
The heart of Bush’s speech on the 25th, it seems was to scare people into supporting his plan. Ultimately people supported it, but the fear Bush pushed has continued to prevail and the economy is paying the price. I’m sorry but you can’t have it both ways Mr. President. You can’t scare people to support your policy and then 15 days later tell them fear is the reason for the stock market problems.
Had Bush described with logic and intelligence why the economic bailout was beneficial to every American (not just as many perceived Wall Street investment banks) perhaps the stock market would have been more stable. Instead of scaring people into supporting policy, educate people on policy and get the same result. In the end Bush has reaped exactly what he sowed on September 25th, a large set of investors scared about the economy. Had he acted as a leader he would have had a bailout package and people who felt confident that the economy would turn around.
To be honest I fully supported the package put together. Was it/is it perfect? No, but it addressed the critical issues allowing banks to have confidence to loan money. This is a good thing as it gets houses built, loans for buying houses, improvements to business done in a timely fashion. The plan was not the problem, how it was marketed was the problem and we now are dealing with that poor marketing with the stock market everyday.

The Presidential Election

The presidential election continues to heat up, Palin making claims about Obama hanging out with terrorists, ads on how many times Obama voted for tax increases and a general negative view from the Republicans.

The good news is that Obama is sitting around and letting McCain dictate the campaign. Today he released a web site that deals with McCain’s actions in the savings and loan crisis of the 80’s. There are some scary parallels between that economic crisis and the current liquidity crisis. Please take a few minutes to read, view and consider at http://www.keatingeconomics.com/

Over the weekend, John McCain's top adviser announced their plan to stop engaging in a debate over the economy and "turn the page" to more direct, personal attacks on Barack Obama.

In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, they want to change the subject from the central question of this election. Perhaps because the policies McCain supported these past eight years and wants to continue are pretty hard to defend.

But it's not just McCain's role in the current crisis that they're avoiding. The backward economic philosophy and culture of corruption that helped create the current crisis are looking more and more like the other major financial crisis of our time.

During the savings and loan crisis of the late '80s and early '90s, McCain's political favors and aggressive support for deregulation put him at the center of the fall of Lincoln Savings and Loan, one of the largest in the country. More than 23,000 investors lost their savings. Overall, the savings and loan crisis required the federal government to bail out the savings of hundreds of thousands of families and ultimately cost American taxpayers $124 billion.

Sound familiar?

In that crisis, John McCain and his political patron, Charles Keating, played central roles that ultimately landed Keating in jail for fraud and McCain in front of the Senate Ethics Committee. The McCain campaign has tried to avoid talking about the scandal, but with so many parallels to the current crisis, McCain's Keating history is relevant and voters deserve to know the facts -- and see for themselves the pattern of poor judgment by John McCain.

Cross part 3

Well the cross race yesterday hurt. Didn’t finish near as well as I had wanted and still not sure what happened. The whole family went up to the race in Frisco to watch and then go check out the fall colors. Before enjoying the family time 45 minutes of pain in cross.
Got in a good warm-up as I expected the race to be fast from the start and have learned that getting a good start is key to having a good cross race. We started on a climb and when the gun went I didn’t.

The whole race was a cruel duality, when I rode as hard as the legs wanted to go I couldn’t breath, when I went at a comfortable (for a race) pace breathing wise the legs didn’t feel like they were under any pressure. Finally I had to settle in to a pace where I could breathe and rode a steady pace from there. I finished up in 21st, one place out of points for the cyclo-cross series. This seriously sucks as those points are key to getting a good call-up at races and therefore a good starting place.

After the race we went to Breckenridge for lunch and to check out trees changing colors. We drove up part of the Firecracker 50 course to the Sallie Barber mine. Seamus thought the abandon mine was pretty cool. We found some rocks and ore to take to school as he is studying rocks and minerals (I never did anything that in-depth in 2nd grade). The view from the mine is pretty incredible. I’ve never really stopped and looked when I’ve ridden or raced up there so it was fun to have time to enjoy the scenery.

Credit Crisis

The current liquidity crisis in America (otherwise, and poorly named, the Wall Street bailout) is an issue that should concern everyone. By not passing legislation to lessen the impact of our dried up credit market every American faces day to day impact. The biggest problem, in my view with the bill in front of Congress is not what is included/excluded but the fact that our elected officials have neglected to properly explain the impact to voters.

With no money to lend from large investment banks the smaller local banks are less able to loan money. These smaller banks are the mainstay of local businesses, loaning money to the new small business, loaning money for a home equity loan, loaning money to purchase a car. With the current limited liquidity in America credit is harder to come by. People can’t buy a new washer and drier, people can’t get a new (or used) car to get to work, and we are being impacted.

Ok, so you say I don’t need to buy anything this still doesn’t impact me. This is again a misunderstanding of how the financial markets impact each of us. With less money to loan credit card companies will start to reduce credit limit, this lessened credit has a direct impact on everybody’s credit score. A lower credit score impacts insurance rates. Even a small increase in your personal car and homeowners/renters insurance will be a noticeable impact. If we do not act to address the credit issues now very soon all of us will be impacted.

Congress, specifically the House, acted poorly on Monday. The purpose of elected officials is to put the good of the many above the good of a few. On Monday the House showed it was more concerned with the perception of local voters, not the impact not passing legislation would have on the entire country. While the current legislation may not be perfect it is better than not acting at all. On Monday the stock market lost $1 trillion far more than the budgeted $700 billion to help the credit crisis. Before assuming the only people who will benefit from this package are wealthy CEOs take the time to read and investigate how less credit (money to borrow/loan) will affect you. Then take the time to demand that your elected officials in Washington educate themselves on the issues as well and act on behalf of the country, not on behalf of their needing to be re-elected.

Crossing x 2

Second cross race of the year and I moved up one spot from the first to finish 9th. Not bad, but a little bummed out cause I think I could have done better on the course. After a recovery week, then fighting a cold this week training has been minimal so I lacked race speed but was running in 5-7 until something happened to the bike.

With 3 1/2 laps to go the chain kept jumping and shifting around in all gears but the 25. Went from having 18 gears to pick from down to 2 the 38x25 or the 46x25. Given the course the 38x25 was key on the big climb, but man I wanted a bigger gear on the flats and power sections. I dropped a few spots but hung in to race well and finish 9th. After the race I found a huge sagebrush weed wrapped in the cogs, pulled it out and the gears worked fine. Now I wonder if I should have gotten off the bike and looked during the race. I might have been able to get the gearing going, but may have lost more places then I did with a two-speed.

Oh well, there is always next weekend which promises to be more cross like, or at least cool since it is in Frisco instead of down in Denver. A little rain or snow would be fun, but doesn't look like that is going to happen yet.

Debate

Trying to look at last night’s presidential debate from an objective perspective I think both McCain and Obama showed intelligence, perspective and concern. Neither looked bad, no mistakes and both proved themselves capable of defending their thoughts. I’m sure partisans on both sides will say one of the two clearly won/lost the debate but I didn’t see that. I saw two men who both very ably could handle the job of president.

So how or why make a choice? Well here is what I saw:

• McCain does clearly have more experience especially with foreign policy
• McCain has a world view that is very strict/rigid, things such as it is wrong of Obama to say he (or senior members of his administration) would meet without pre-conditions leaders of rogue nations
• McCain clearly feels our military strength and safety are critical at this time

• Obama was clearer in his plans, multiple times he laid at 3 and 4 point plans of what he would do. Did he give full details? No, but given the limited time to speak that is to be expected
• Obama was willing to admit when he was wrong (the outcome of the surge) and when McCain was right
• Obama talked about the future and how we need to change internally as a nation as well as externally (how others perceive the U.S.) in order to be successful

The most noticeable difference to me was how McCain addressed Obama, especially on Iraq and Georgia. McCain very much talked down to Obama, calling him naive and inexperienced. When Obama disagreed with McCain he attempted to do so in a more cordial manner, for example saying that 10 days ago McCain had said the economy was fundamentally sound, which was clearly wrong. Obama didn’t call McCain naive or inexperienced or lacking in knowledge because of this he just stated the facts.

This difference in how McCain and Obama handled themselves speaks very clearly to their styles of leadership and how they will proceed. We have had eight years of leadership with very clear black and white views on issues (Iraq is a rogue nation we must attack), “Mission Accomplished”, a lack of willingness to talk to Iran, North Korea etc. without first meeting our demands. Where has this style of leadership gotten us? A war in Iraq that was based on misinformation (outright lies about weapons of mass destruction), a standing in the international community that has fallen dramatically and internally a nation that is very split, everything is either blue or red (there is no middle ground).

After watching McCain last nigh it was very clear to me this is the same style of leadership he utilizes and will employ as president. Obama on the other hand was very open to looking at options and trying to resolve issues through digging into them. For example, McCain said he would consider a spending freeze due to the economic crisis. Obama said while he might consider one, a better method would be to look at programs and cut what can be cut in some, add to others, but really look at the budget and make changes where needed. When it comes to spending there are no clear cut answers (we can’t spend any more anywhere) there needs to be an understanding and issues addressed on a basis of what is critical.

McCain through out the campaign has said he has and will reach across party lines to improve the country, yet last night he at no times showed where or how he would do that. Obama through the course of the evening gave examples where he would work with many others (across party lines or international borders) to resolve problems. Seems to me I’d rather have a person willing to admit they need to work with others to make a better life then a person who is condescending and acts superior. A good leader knows how to motivate, negotiate, work with others and communicate to succeed. Obama displayed his abilities on those skills are more refined and natural.

Vote

Well as much as I hate to not vote on election day it isn't going to happen. I love the process of voting on election day, long lines, and cold November weather. I love making a pot of chili for dinner and watching results come in. This year though I have to vote early and eat dinner alone (or without anyone who I can bitch to about the election).

A trip to New York is always a few days of craziness and long hours. A trip the week of the election, given the current financial crisis could be entertaining at least.

Vote early is the option this year.

It’s hard to compile my thoughts on the last seven days (or seven years) in the financial industry, trying to figure out what (if anything) these events mean to most people day to day. I’ve just started reading a book Hot, Flat and Crowded which deals with global warming, an economic environment that allows easy entry/exit to business no matter your location or background and the growing population on Earth.

To say that these three components have had an effect on the financial market recently might be a grasp, but in some ways not. More of us make a living the brings us to the middle class (or perceived middle class); we all want more (more Ipods, blackberry’s, access at our finger tips etc.). This has created a mass consumerism, not just in the US but globally and therefore has created a greed that has allowed for sub prime loans, business decisions based on keeping the customer happy (versus taking care of the customer). How many home loans shouldn’t have been made? How many were made to make someone a little richer, to make Bear/Lehman/AIG/Merrill/Countrywide/Who is next more money? Would we (the human race) been better off making a few less people homeowners, saying no to a few loans, doing a little less shopping after 9/11? Remember George W. Bush recommending to the American public to (this is a paraphrase) spend to show we weren’t afraid in the aftermath of 9/11.

So onwards, policy was set that created a consumer society both in the US and global that has increased demand on energy resources and resources in general. Are we now seeing the effects? A global economic crisis, a situation where global energy demand increase 10% a year and there is no firm renewable energy source to meet these needs.

Is the world in crisis? Will our plague be that of energy and overcrowding? Can we do anything about the energy crisis? Does the next President care? I don’t know, but make sure you ask and press the issue.

And now for cycling news

Just when everyone thought all I was going to do is bitch about politics, bike racing resumes. The first cyclo-cross race of the year was last Saturday. After debating between cross and the final mountain bike race of the year I opted for cross, a shorter drive, and racing an untested bike.

After getting a new road bike earlier this year I had the chance to put some much nicer parts on my cross bike that use to adorn the old road bike. Switching out 12 year old mid range mountain bike parts for 8 year old high end (ultegra) road parts made a huge difference in bike weight. The only concern was, I finished putting the bike together Thursday, didn't ride Friday (great prep for a race) and race the bike Saturday. Surprise, surprise the bike rode pretty well. I wish the brakes would have had a little better action (cost me a little time in the corners) but overall was happy.

The race started fast but I settled into the top 10 and was feeling good. Moved between 5th and 13th through the race, but mostly 8-10. I had a lot of problems with getting back on and in the clips and that cost me a few seconds each lap and probably a few spots overall. The course was fast with a super steep and slick downhill section and some good climbs that you could run or ride. On the last run-up I made up about 10 seconds I passed a guy right at the top, but once again couldn't clip in and lost ground to him quickly. Ended up about 5 seconds down on him in 10th place. Not bad and felt good through the race. Considering I rode a new(ish) bike, hadn't practiced any cross skills, nor run at all I'm happy.

Today I did some cross practice after work. Amazing how 15-20 attempts to clip in quickly helps improve the skills. Couple more weeks and I may even feel comfortable on the cross course.

books

I will slightly retract my comments on Palin wanting to ban books as upon further research I can't confirm she requested specific books to be banned. There does seem to be agreement that she "asked librarian Mary Ellen Baker if she would be all right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so. Baker's reply was that she would definitely not be all right with it. When questioned about this Palin called her inquiries rhetorical and simply part of a policy discussion with a department head "about understanding and following administration agendas." for the entire article go to this no-partisian site http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/palin-banned-books.htm.

The heart of the question is does a politician (any elected official) have the right to censor what I think, read, write etc.? I think most of us agree they don't (with the possible exception of national security). Should an elected official even ask this rhetorically, I would venture they shouldn't for the perception might be one of unintended influence over the matter (which we have seen in other Palin cases). I am not saying Palin has used her position in either case to influence the situation; however, I am saying there is a clear perception by many people that she has and that is not acceptable (for her or any other elected official or person in power, dare we bring up Enron). Will she continue this type of action from a higher office? I don't know, but it is worth considering before voting.

Environmental Voting

So on to the facts, at least as I see them. If you don’t vote for the environment in this election you are more foolish then when you cast your first (or if really stupid second) vote for George W Bush. How can a single issue so define the election, well consider these facts: carbon output is at an all time high causing major changes to our environment; we are at war with a country that had no weapons, no terrorists only oil, our economy is tanking again and the VP candidate for one part has the oil industry wrapped around her finger as governor of Alaska.

If you take the time to vote to improve the environment (and not just at the presidential level but local and state as well) you may well help solve all these concerns. The easy view is voting for pro-environment candidates and the positive impact on global warming (human impact on the environment), I’ll save this topic until later. How will pro-environment candidates help national defense? How will pro-environment candidates help the economy? Well take a look.

How will pro-environment candidates help national defense? The less our need for oil, foreign or domestic, the less pressure we have to protect those interests. For the sake of argument assume for now we can’t live without our cars; however, if we demand (and quickly) higher fuel efficiency, and alternative fuel sources that are here today (hybrid, biodiesel, corn/plant based) we lessen our need for oil. We this reduced usage of oil for autos will allow a more self-sufficient production of heating oil as well. Other sources of power which are even more beneficial as they are renewable include wind, solar and hydro-electric. Currently all these sources of power are utilized in the US; however, the relatively minimal amount of use keeps costs high. With a pro-environmental government is place subsidies can be put in place to create more “alternative” power generation systems; thus reducing our need for foreign and domestic oil for heating. This creates the multiple benefits of a cleaner/healthier environment, a production system for energy that is more domestically focused (which creates sticky/non-transferable jobs) and deals with the cold hard fact that oil will be depleted at some point. Maybe not in our lifetime, or even our children’s lifetime but at some point.

I’ve purposely not touched on natural gas here, the primary reason being a knowledge level so low I can’t speak on it; however, any option that is clean burning energy and lessens our dependence on other nations to power us seems like an option worth looking into.

How will pro-environment candidates help national defense? As mentioned above the more energy we create on our own domestically the less the impact of unstable governments, coups, and other international events will have on our energy costs and needs to protect our “sources”. The US imports 70% of its oil, that means we have a substantial stake any time one (or multiple) of our suppliers is feuding, mad at us or dealing with a man-made or natural disaster. Do I feel the US has a duty to help protect the world from injustice? Yes, of course we do and should. We should protect those being invaded or forced into another way of life without choice; however, we should do this not because of our personal interests (oil) but because it is the right thing to do. This is no different than providing health care to all Americans; we should do it because it is the right thing to do. With less reliance on foreign oil through a sound environmental policy and creation of alternative and renewable energy sources we can truly act on behalf of the oppressed, not on behalf of our oil suppliers.

Finally an environmentally friendly president will help what is clearly a weak economy. Jobs created to find alternative and renewable energy sources will need the brains of American works to find the sources and develop the best way to harness the power. Then we will need to build facilities that harness that power (wind turbines for example) and perform on-going maintenance. All of these new “Green” jobs will be created in America and will stick in America because the natural sources are abundant and available for use here. The person that builds and maintains a wind turbine in Wyoming will spend the money in Wyoming creating a more stable domestic economy.

A sound environmental policy will protect our global environment, protect our national defense and create a sound economy. Visit sites such as T Boone Pickens to find out more and vote for a candidate who will look at alternative solutions (http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php)

Keep em coming

Well after a period of no posts, the election may get me rolling, I just read this:

Obama also took on McCain’s inner circle Saturday, saying the presence of former lobbyists at the highest tier of his campaign makes him incapable of meeting his pledge to shut down special interest influence.

“Suddenly, he’s the change agent,” Obama said of McCain. “He says, ‘I’m going to tell those lobbyists that their days in Washington are over.’ Who’s he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman who’s one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell all the folks who are running his campaign who are the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?

“Who is it that he’s going to tell that change is coming?” Obama asked. “I mean, come on, they must think you’re stupid!”

Read the full article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080906/pl_politico/13205

I've got to say I guy who has been in congress 20+ years, voted with the president 90% + of the time and selects a VP who loves congressional funds doesn't really seem to be as independent as he makes himself out to be.

It's Time

Alright it is time. I’ve been away from blogging for longer than I wanted, but so be it. I’ve been planning and thinking about what to say here, watching both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. While it would be false to say I was an undecided voter, I felt it important to listen to both parties before discussing the election. After watching way too many hours of TV it is time to express some thoughts here.

First, why the hell would McCain select Palin? This is a woman who has tried to ban books, force the termination of a former brother in law, hired consultants to bring more money per capita into her hometown and now Alaska then any other state, supports an abstinence policy for teens (that one really worked for her personally) and worked to reduce special education funding in Alaska (prior to the birth of her newest child). Well I’ve got to say if McCain is a man of change how can he rightly select a person who works as well with the lobbyists as Palin, I really don’t know. Anyway read more about her at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check and http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1320417.aspx

Now on to the reality of the election, people vote for the President not the Vice-President, so the strange choice of Palin aside what is going on in this process. McCain has wanted to and will keep us in a war until there is “victory”. My first question is what is victory, I haven’t heard this defined. At my job when we have a project we clearly define how that will be measured, i.e. software will be developed and deployed by x date, save x amount of time and improve quality by x. If we meet these goals we have victory. How exactly do we define victory in Iraq? One of his goals is to get Al Qaeda out of Iraq; however, many reports indicate that Al Qaeda was not in Iraq until the US invasion, which brings us to the real question I have: Is this a war we should have ever started? My stance is since there were no weapons of mass destruction, no threat from Iraq on America and nothing but manufactured reasons to go into Iraq in the first place we probably should not be there in the first place. So let’s get out as quick as possible and focus on real issues.

It is the economy stupid as Bill Clinton was found of saying. Obama wants to raise taxes; McCain believes the economy is sound. Well looking at the credit crisis, unemployment (now over 6% and at a 5 year high) seems to me the economy isn’t sound (I won’t mention the budget deficit the current administration has created to help make the economy sound). Do I want my taxes increased? Hell no, and it seems like under Obama’s plans my direct taxes wouldn’t (yea I’ll see increased costs in goods because of corporate taxes) but that may not be true. In either case, government isn’t about the good of an individual (me) it is about the good of the nation, so if some tax increases help the nation balance the budget, improve job prospects, improve education etc. I’m all for it.

After watching the conventions it seems that the primary choices are a self-centric no taxes view versus a common good for all tax increases aren’t all bad and a choice on is the nation in need of military protection from (insert the nation here) or not? I believe Obama can clearly address the economic needs better than McCain (for he mentioned the economy which was barely a blip in the RNC) and as for protecting the nation, isn’t communication our first line of defense? Talk to our enemies and figure out the common ground. As Obama said in his acceptance speech:

"We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common efforts."

Barack Obama

We may not agree on everything, but we can and should try to find where we agree and move forward from there. Please think about these issues when voting, please vote, and please encourage your friends to vote.

SLACKER

Well, it has been awhile. Maybe I’ll write more often. Maybe I’ll write about Wall-E and Politics still. Maybe I’ll write about races.

I did get some new tires, Conti Vertical Pros (or something like that). They seem pretty sweet, especially on tight corners, hook up and give some much needed confidence. Rode them twice and will race them on Saturday. Maybe a full report on the tires later.

OK, Wall-e; it’s a movie about mega corporation and lazy ass Americans. Everyone communicates through video screens, lives in space, doesn’t walk/exercise or even look at each other. Strange, but since seeing the movie I got a blackberry and now it is even more striking. It is really nice to actually talk to people. Today, through various electronic forms of communication I was talking to three people at work not getting anything solved. Picked up the phone (it was a day off so I couldn’t just walk over and talk to them face to face) and figured out the problems. The moral (and not very hidden) of Wall-e is that our culture is becoming very unaware of its own actions/inactions and doesn’t know how to communicate without electronic intervention (this blog for example).

Lay down the drugs kids. Try picking up the phone and talking to someone. Comments on todays blog will only be taken in person or via phone. Give me a call 303 357 0872.

Kids

I’ve got three topics I want to blog about, but who knows what we’ll get covered before I get bored. Parenting, Wall-E the movie, and politics. Somehow they are all interrelated to me right now, but here goes nothing.

For those of you who know Seamus this may not come as a surprise, but he is not a very athletic kid. The truth is he has my genetic make-up, not the athletic skills of his mother’s family. He’s kind of slow, not the most coordinated and at this point in his life not overly interested in sports. Sure I ride and race bikes all the time, but the honest truth is I’m not very athletic either. Welcome to the reality that nature plays a huge part in ones life Seamus.

So anyway the other day at the summer camp he is going to they had the Olympics. Not surprising Seamus didn’t do well compared to other kids, someone called him a loser and last night he was saying “I’m going to Loserville tomorrow”. As a parent this is a pretty tough thing to hear and try to tell a 7 year old he is not a loser just because of where he finished in a race. I’m not going to lie to him either and say it doesn’t matter, or we’re all winners (I hate teams/organizations where everyone is a winner/MVP), but I also don’t want my son thinking he is a loser. At 7 my son will go to a zoo and sketch animals in a notebook, capturing details most people would miss. He spends hours building and creating items he’s seen at museums or read about and has now started cooking dinners. Trying to draw a connection between these activities and not being a loser is nearly impossible in the mind of a 7 year old.

I also tried to explain that while I don’t win bike races and frequently finish near the back I don’t consider myself a loser, nor do most of the people I race against. At the last race I did the first person to come up to me was the winner of the race, asking me how I felt, how I did etc. He came up to me before Ade and Seamus. I tried to tell Seamus that a true winner doesn’t make fun of anybody who competes, anybody who is trying as really anybody but the winner is a loser.

Put Seamus in a cook-off against those kids he’ll add some cumin, cayenne pepper and a little cilantro and out-cook most of those kid’s mothers. Does that make them losers? Well no it just means they have a different area of talent.

Signing up to be a parent is tough. Dealing with my kid thinking he is a loser sucks, just because he runs a little slower. Some of the happiest memories I’ll ever have will be of Seamus on a chair adding spices to a meal and testing the flavor, sticking his big toes and thumbs up when the flavor is just right, giving the meal four thumbs up. Now I just need to figure out how to convince Seamus that his cooking makes him a winner.

Road Trip

Man I’ve been in hiding for a little bit. Took off on a family vacation on the 29th with the first stop a race in Winter Park. I’m not going to say the race went bad, but you can google results if you want and understand why there is no need for a race report.

Hoped in the car right after and headed to Steamboat for two days. Great weather a cool hike to Fish Creek Falls, way to much good food and relaxing. Got in the car Tuesday morning to head to SLC. Got to town in late afternoon and punched out a 2:00 ride up Mill Creek Canyon. This is one of the best rides around, 10 miles of climbing on a great road, minimal traffic and a sweet downhill as a reward. Special props on Mill Creek, I got married at a place about ½ way up 11 years ago so I always like the ride. Drank some drinks back at the family’s house after and was up at 6:00 riding Mill Creek again.

Family reunion started the next day at Snowbird, calling for more hours on the bike this time all dirt and hard rides. The big news though; riding the mechanical bull at Snowbird. PBR here I come. That big bull has nothing on this city boy.

After 10 days out of work I’m back to the real world and ready for more time off. Damn, maybe I should train so I don’t have to be embarrassed by my results.

Gas

I've been thinking a lot about gas (and of course the price). Today the formerly elusive $50 tank hit me. I remember in 2000 when I had my first $25 fill-up, just after buying a new car (with a much larger tank than the old) and freaking out. Now a $30 fill-up would be nice.

I'm pretty lucky as we clearly don't fill-up as much as many people. During the week I ride to work (or sometimes in the morning carpool in with Ade) but nearly always ride home. Sure there are those days I have to drive, or want to drive (like to go mountain biking before/after work), but those are about once every 2-3 weeks. But still our primary car gets filled-up about every 10-14 days and the cost sucks.

When I've been thinking about gas, I start to blame us, collectively; the U.S. In 2001 my company looked into "outsourcing" jobs to India, as did many others. We ended up with our own staff in Bangkok, but the fact is big businesses desire to cut labor costs has come back to bite us again. India (and other places, China, Thailand etc.) have had huge economic influxes; creating a middle class that can afford cars and therefore needs gas. This money flowing into developing nations in many cases is the direct result of job cuts in the U.S. and causes a double economic problem in the U.S., job loss and now increased gas/food/materials prices because of the supply and demand of oil/gas.

I've had the opportunity and privilege to work with many people in India over the past three years and know that the jobs they have are great for the individuals and extended families. I would never dismiss or do away with the benefits of a global economy as the benefits out-weigh the negatives (gas prices, employment concerns) in my mind. I do think that big business does need to look beyond the short term cost savings (labor) and look at long term cost implications (gas prices) before making moves. We do live in a global economy and a choice here affects the world economy on many levels.

So for now I'll keep riding my bike to work (as many friends and co-workers in India do) to help reduce the demand for gas.

Rock Racing

No, not the team (though those kits are by far the best) I'm talking Rock and Roll and racing. The first race of the Winter Park series was on Saturday, the local hill climb, 5.5 miles from the bast to the top of Mary Jane - 9,000 feet to 11,000+ feet all on service road, parts of it pretty steep.

We went off with 21+ guys (there were 21 finishers and at least one DNF). Per the script Kelly took off at the start, only this year he only finished 4th (unlike last year where he won damn near everything). I settled in towards the middle and was feeling good. Passed some people, got passed, passed some people, got passed but overall stayed pretty good position. Coming to the top I knew I was having (for me) a good day...I could see three guys within striking distance and wanted to make the effort to pass. I made it past one with about 3/4 mile to go and had two more in my sights when I was done. The guy I passed caught me and the other two pulled away. Finished in 14th less than a minute out of 11th and less than 2 minutes out of a top 10. All in all I was happy, feeling like I'm making progress and can pull out a "competative top 10" this year (versus a top 10 against a small/weak field).

Rode for another hour after the race with Kelly, some dirt/mud mostly road. After headed back to Denver for some Rock...The Drive by Truckers and some PBR...nothing like finishing off a day with load rock and roll live. First we saw a local band The Knew (drummer for the band works for me). They were solid and fun, drew a good crowd and played at a place with $2 PBR. Headed over to the main stage to catch DBT. I've never seen them live and gotta say it was fun. Southern Rock, the band drinking Jack on stage, chain smoking and dropping F Bombs; rock and roll the way it was suppose to be. After seeing DBT live I can only say I like them more

Remember the Ride

As a cyclist I've ridden close to, if not more then,100,000 miles. I've been on thousands of rides and ridden with hundreds (or more) of people. Most of my rides have been focused on racing or training for racing. Yet, being very honest there are very few races or rides I remember. Sure I can look back in training logs and see where I rode, how far and with who; but what rides do I remember?

The rides I remember are the unexpected rides with friends, people who don't race, people who I slow down to ride with. I've spent a lot of time riding over nearly 25 years (I got addicted to this sport young) and over that time there are only a few rides I really remember. A cold ride in the fall, probably in 83 with my dad to Morrison. At the time it seemed epic, now just an ordinary ride. But I remember it was cold, windy and the hill on Old Kipling was huge.

I also remember a ride on Easter of 85, with an old friend, a friend of my parents, who took me out to Cherry Creek after a neighborhood Easter brunch. I found out today he has Leukemia, and that ride and many others with him stick out in my mind. At 14 going on a ride with a family friend was fun. Over the years I'd unexpectedly bump into him and ride. Always I'd slow down. Always he'd tell me to go ahead and do my "planned ride". But always I'd slow down and ride. Somewhere along the way this person stopped being my parents friend and became mine. He gave me a job when it was needed (more than once), he (and his wife) bought Ade and I a great wedding present, they hosted a wedding party for us in Denver after being married in SLC because not everyone from Denver could make it, they bought us a present (I still know exactly what it was) when Seamus was born. The rides didn't make us friends, but I'll always remember laps in Washington Park, talking, enjoying a slower pace, enjoying riding with a friend, enjoying riding.

Riding a bike has always been part of me, but now I look back and wonder why? Was it because so many people I knew rode and enjoyed it? Was it because of the friendships? Was it because people like this rode and were/are important in other parts of my life. Where does the bike riding end and life begin?

All I know was upon hearing he had leukemia I was happy. Happy for every unexpected ride with him. Happy for always knowing riding with a friend was more important than the plan. Happy to remember all his bikes (a black Eddy, a titanium Sampson) and his yellow Skid Lid. Happy for showing me (and many others) how to make the world a better place through activism and day to day actions. Happy for my "uncle".

Disease may have him now, but I'll never forget any of the rides with him.

Growing

I planted a vegtable garden earlier this year. There were a couple of reasons I decided to try, one was the environmental benefit of growing my own organic food, locally. The average fruit or vegtable consumed in the US travels 1500 miles. That is a lot of carbon put off into the environment. The second reason was growing a garden seemed like a fun little project. If it works fresh tomatoes, lettuce etc. any night of the week.

Some of the food I planted had already been started; tomatoes and peppers; everything else was from seed; carrot ts,broccoli, squash, pumpkin (for carving in the fall), lettuce, onions and mint. Today we were checking out the garden and surprisingly things are actually growing. Small tomatoes are forming, mini-peppers are appearing and the lettuce, squash, broccoli and carrots are taking off. I guess now it is a sit and wait time with the garden. Hope for some rain (and sprinkler water), no hail, good sunlight, no rabbits or other pests and in a few weeks I can pick a salad 10 minutes before eating.

It seems so simple, plant some seeds and a few months later you have food. But there is a lot of luck in growing food too. We've had a few hard and heavy rain storms over the past few weeks. Luckily no hail at this point. You can plan, plant, organize and prepare for the garden, a bike race, protecting the environment or whatever you wish, but without a little luck the hard work isn't going to matter.

But it is the challenges, the things that don't work that are fun and cause personal growth. My onions really aren't doing anything. Not sure why. Maybe they don't have enough water, maybe not enough sun, maybe the soil in the far corner of the garden isn't very good. It is just like racing, why haven't I been fast, will training/riding a different way help or hurt, have I hit my limit or can I go further. For riding I can try switching the plan mid-season (as I just have done) and check the results. The onions may have to wait until next year. But taking what I have now and keeping track of it and analysing it will let me change and improve going forward. Because the onions don't grow this year I'll learn and grow for next year.

Why?

Sometimes you have to ask why? Why do I get up at strange hours to ride my bike? Why do I carry wet wipes in my backpack? Do they really help reduce the sweat smell after riding in to work? Why do I update my blog? Why are most of my blogs about riding? Why do I care about global warming and the environment? Why do I think Hillary has handled her defeat like a 2 year old?

Sometimes you have to answer the why's as well. I love riding, and know early is the time to ride. Don't really care much if I smell after riding, but I do think the wet wipes help. The blog, I don't know on that. The environment, well because we do have an impact and even little changes can make a difference ( a quick example, shipping of goods. The heavier the shipment the more fuel it takes to ship; therefore the more carbon released. Consider buying goods that have taken this into account. One of my new favorite brands of drinks is Honest Tea, great tasting, all organic (less methane and carbon in growing the ingredients) and shipped in lighter weight easily recyclable plastic bottles. Check them out at www.honesttea.com)so look for companies making the small changes.

Why do I think Hillary is acting like a 2 year old, well she lost. Maybe she has more popular votes, maybe not (caucus states are impossible to accurately count, Michigan was a debacle)but either way she doesn't have the delegates. Admit defeat, step aside and work to help Obama win. We don't need more time in a war that was suppose to protect us from weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist.

I strongly supported Hillary until last night. I voted for Nader in 2000, maybe I will again.

City Park

I raced yesterday at the closest race of the year (well tied for since I raced there earlier), the famed City Park Crit. This race has been held at City Park in Denver for 37 years, gotta be one of the longest running races in the country. I don't hit up road races much, and crits (especially dead flat ones) are even more rare; however, I couldn't pass up the race this year.

The course is 5 blocks from where I grew up (and my parents still live) and a 15 minute ride from the house. And for whatever reason this season I've been riding a lot of miles at City Park. It isn't the greastest place to put in laps, but it works. So Sunday morning I got ready and rode over to the race. Left the house 70 minutes before the start which is super nice. We had a huge field of 92 racers on a tight, technical and fast course. For a guy who doesn't spend a lot of time on crit courses this was not ideal, but I wanted a hard effort so got ready to start.

From the gun the race was fast, single file most of the time. Every time I looked at my computer I saw 26+mph, sections of the park I ride at 22-23 were being ridden at 30 in the race. Given my technical skills on the road I hung towards the back and clawed my way on to the field every time someone got dropped. I kept expecting the pace to slow, as usually after 5-10 minutes of racing the pace slows. Yesterday though there was no slowing down, just a fast course all day. Hanging in the pack was fun though and the speed on the road can't be matched. I hung in till the last lap when I took it easy through the last couple of corners, no reason to crash going for 30th. Ended up 49th, middle of the pack (kinda, since only 52 finished without being lapped). Through the race riders were falling off by ones and twos until just over half the field finished.

After the race I saw we averaged 26.3 mph for 45 minutes, I guess I got the hard work in I wanted.

I'd vote for a cyclist any day

To build on the last post, we often vote for a person/people with charm, charisma, money, and a personality that is interesting in two minute sound bites. But do those characteristics really prove a person is capable of leading? Sometimes yes; sometimes no. In my mind, disagree if you like, there are two types of leaders: those who lead by inspiring; those who lead by example.

I think those who lead by inspiring, someone like Obama, have charm, charisma, and an interesting two minute personality. This is not to say Obama doesn't have more substance; just that given what we know of him (a speech at the 2004 convention as a rookie senate candidate and this campaign) it really is a two minute sound bite.

Hillary (and McCain and Dodd for that matter) have a little more history and move from the sound bite candidate to leading by example a little more with each person. So what does this have to do with voting for a cyclist? Well there really are no flash in the pan, sound bite cyclists. It takes years of training, suffering, work, failure and training to reach the highest levels. Each racing cyclist has a different highest level. I will never be a pro or even a semi-pro, with some luck and a lot of hard work maybe a middle of the pack expert. Others will be a sport rider for ever, others a top level pro. What I know though is at any of these levels, if a person has worked to reach their potential as a cyclist they know how to work hard, lead by example, dedicate themselves to a cause they believe in.

Riding four hours in a Colorado winter, four hours in 100 degree heat, racing full out for 2+ hours isn't easy. Cyclists know (to quote Phil Levine) What Work Is.

Each time I go out on the bike I feel refreshed, I solve problems, I work hard and dedicate myself for the pure enjoyment of riding. Cycling is to hard to particpate in for only the money and fame (even if you are Lance), I just wish politics had that same problem.

Today was Work

Most times, for me, riding the bike isn't work. Today it was. Just a short ride home, an easy spin, not hard riding, not training. Using the bike for a very utilitarian purpose was all, but the entire ride was work.

It could have been the cold, wet weather; it could have been being tired after some fun, fast riding on the weekend; it could have been work actually carried over onto the bike; it could have been music I listened to during the day; it could have been articles I read today. I'm not sure but it was work.

I bought the new James McMurtry album, Just Us Kids, today. JM is a working man. A singer/songwriter who writes from the heart, from the earth. To paraphrase he's not an overly friendly outgoing guy and there isn't a lot of love in his life. But the stores he tells are real and make you think about how life isn't as easy as we might like. So anyway I bought the album and was listening all day at work (five listens already) and checked out his website. I found a couple articles JM wrote on the election process. One of the articles really got to me (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-mcmurty/obama-euphoria_b_90724.html) not because of his choice to vote for Hillary, but for his take on Obama and Hillary.

I don't care what either candidate would do in the event of an emergency phone call in the White House at 3 a.m. They might do right, they might do wrong. No head of state can keep his or her population safe, if they could, there'd be no bus bombings in Israel. I'm concerned with the average. Which one of them is going to make the right decision, on a full range of issues, most of the time? Which one of them is better at making deals, which one of them is going to work harder?

I've stayed away from overt politics, but it is getting to a point where each of us must voice our thoughts. I've supported Hillary for awhile (since Chris Dodd dropped out) and I've decided I don't give a shit about pledged delegates or who has won what state. I care about "the average". I care about who can do the best for me, for Ade, for you, and mostly for Seamus. The Democrats have built a process with "super delegates" to help decide. Really this is no different than the Electoral College. Give the people some voice, but allow an educated/elite few power to override fools. As JM said, "I kept remembering a quote, "Euphoria spreads across the face of our nation like the broad grin of an idiot." well I want to make sure the super delegates stem the tide of euphoria with Obama and stop the idiots votes from counting.

This all was surfacing on the ride home, no wonder it was work today. But riding the bike is like that sometime. Some days the bike is just average, it's about taking care of getting home from work; it's about saving a few bucks on gas; it's about knowing your transportation is reliable and will get you to and from where you need to go; it's about knowing how to fix the problem with your transportation, not needing to take it to someone else to fix the problem; it's about the utilitarian purposes of the bike. Today the bike was like politics. I didn't want or need the flashy, expensive bike that people look at; ask questions about; are impressed with; I need the bike for the simple average purposes. Was I glad to have a nice bike to do the average with? Hell yes, the bike was the super delegate, doing it's job to take care of the average and to make sure we don't make another huge mistake.

Think about why you support your candidate. If it is more than hype, great stay with it. If not think about taking care of the day to day, making sure we are looking at issues and taking care of today and tomorrow. If after thinking about it your mind has changed from February (or whenever your primary was) let the super delegates know so they can vote accordingly.

And should our next president be awaken at 3:00am because of an emergancy I hope they have James McMurtry's number at hand. I have a feeling he has made a few hard life choices at 3:00am and lives up to them every day. I just hope our next president can do the same.

Daddy's an Idiot

Daddy's an Idiot,Daddy's an Idiot,Daddy's an Idiot,Daddy's an Idiot. No better way to walk into the house than to have your six your old screaming that, to bad in this case it was true. Got up this morning before Seamus was awake, left the house to ride the mountain bike. Stop, get coffee, drive, pull into the parking lot, pull out bag, grab jersey, hat helmet, shorts, shoes. Oh no we have a problem here. Left shoe, good. Right shoe, shit! Old road shoe. Ok maybe this can still work, right? At least I have a left and right shoe. Nope, this won't work. Remember idiot you switched all pedals this winter that shoe is at least three years old. It will fit an old bike but not this one.

Pack every up and drive home. Walk in, Ade and Seamus still in PJ's wondering what I'm doing home. Well, daddy's an idiot.

Colorado

Why has Colorado, or at least the front range, decided to part with the rest of the nation when it comes to bike to work day? Most (if not all) of the rest of the country held bike to work day last week. Not here in good old Colorado, ours is June 25, a full six weeks later.

Sure there is the weather excuse (it can, and does, snow in May) but that is lame since we have afternoon thunderstorms all June. I guess we just want to be different. Why do I bring this up? Well for a hippie bike rider, bike to work day is a big event. You get praised (once a year) for riding your bike and maybe (if you are lucky) you can get a few other people to ride and help the environment.

This year I am coordinating BTWD at my work and helping promote multiple events in the neighborhood. Why put this much time into BTWD when chances are it won't create more commuters? I really don't know, but if we reduce our collective carbon footprint one day by getting people to ride or get one more regular commuter out of the work than my hippie side is happy. No need to mention the fact I like riding my bike (ok love would be more accurate) and want to have other people participate and enjoy the benefits of riding.

If you're in Denver check out the team website www.racinggreenmtb.com in the next few days for details on our events. One will be June 15, a planning session and Q&A on how and why to take part in BTWD and the second event will be on June 25, BTWD, with a guided ride to downtown from Stapleton and Happy Hour for BTWD participants at SouthEnders.

15th

That's where I finished up on Saturday, not a good result at all. After every race there is a period of evaluation. What did I do good (finished, consistent), what did I do bad (slow start, cramping) what can I improve (general speed, ability to stick with leaders early). Based on those evaluations, as a racer, you make choices. I've been using a coach for almost a year again. Following the program and making strides in some fitness area, but overall not a huge gain when it comes to speed in racing.

This is not to say the program doesn't work, just to say I need to get faster and the program is more about metered changes. The two people I know who have had the best results the past two seasons (and in reality great results on an very large scale basis) don't use coaches, don't use power meters, don't use heart rate monitors, hell they don't even have computers on their bikes. One of these two took the overall last year at WP in expert with 3 or 4 wins, the other has won 4 race as a cat 3 this year (including 2 in a row). What does this mean? Not sure, but they both go out and ride on feel. Ride hard and fast if that is how they feel. Slow and steady if that is how they feel. Drink a 6 pack if that is how they feel. Enjoy riding and racing, cause that is how they feel.

I got rid of my coach yesterday. Rode for 2 hours, mostly hard. Rode for 2 hours today, every time I saw another rider, no matter where or their skill level, I pegged it to catch them. I'm giving this ride by feel a try for a period. Train hard, train easy? No, just ride how I feel. Tomorrow I'm going out in the morning. It may be big ring the entire time, may be small ring, probably around 2 hours before work. But if I don't feel like it I'll take it easy and just ride to work. I can always ride hard another day.

A Real Race

Battle the Bear, my least favorite race of the year. Why? Well the course is fairly flat (though a new climb this year made for a more interesting course), no trees and somehow always hot. The good news about the race is that it is nearly in Denver, only about 20 minutes from home so BTB always is on the calendar.

Thus far this season, training or racing I havdn't ridden in any weather with temps above the mid-60's; however, all week prior the weather promised high 70's+ for the race. With no hot miles, no tan and a course that has no shade and radiates heat I was ready for BTB. They started nearly all the Experts at one time so there was no telling who I was actually racing, but the pace seemed high so I let myself fall back and ride my own temp. For the first two laps I saw very few people, nobody passed me and I didn't really pass until the end of the second lap. On the third lap the heat and distance started to show and people begin to appear in front of me. I passed 4-5 people prior to the climb. On the bottom of the climb I saw Rob 200 meters in front and yelled at him. See we had a 6 pack on the line so I figured harassment might help. "Hey Rob you want that beer pretty bad?" He looked back and kept pedaling, passed two guys and looked strong. I kept my pace and passed the same two guys, Rob was still close. As we neared the 2nd to last rise Rob was within 50 meters and I thought I'd grab him. We rolled along very close, passing one more person. On the last rise Hank (from Nathrop) and a teammate of his were in front of Rob and I. Rob passed at the top of the last climb and took off. I cramped at the top of the climb and couldn't pass. Trying to stay up with those three for the last mile or so was hard, and no distance was made up or lost after the downhill from the last climb.

Tally for the race: 2:15 minutes; 3 laps all at 45 minutes even; 4 water bottles; 4 gels, cramps at the end; lost 6 pack to Rob. Now I just need to find out where I finished.

Racing (Kinda0

I was leaving the office yesterday to ride home, right as I was getting on the bike in front of the office a guy I work with who lives a block from me was walking out of the office. He offered a 6 pack to the winner, I took him up on the bet. It's just over 7 miles straight home, take into account walking to a parking lot, lights etc. and my ability to always see a green light (or maybe I just don't understand how lights work) it was an easy race.

About 20 minutes later I was on the phone...tonight I have beer. Another benefit of commuting by bike.

My Mind

I've had a lot going on recently, causing my mind to jump, wander and forget. I put together a community fun ride for my team. Time was spent figuring out routes, putting together information on bike safety, bike riding tips for commuting and (cause I'm a hippy) how riding the bike and other simple changes can lessen environmental impact. Add to that working with my sponsors on the ride (helping to prompt them), getting people to help (huge thanks to those that did) and getting prizes to people who showed up (and yes, some actually did) I spent most of my free time for three weeks on the ride.

Oh yea, did I mention I was still training 12+ hours a week. I also added some time to that 12 hours by making an effort to actually ride the mountain bike on a mountain since in the first race I sucked, due in large part to no (ok three) mountain bike rides since September of 2007. Hopefully the riding in the dirt helps, though this morning I stacked it up good, going through a section with a 1.5 then 3 foot drop in(s) I decided to crash off the side of the trail, down an embankment about 10 feet. The rear wheel somehow came out of the bike, der hanger bent, knee swollen and bruised and in general sore. The good news is tomorrow is a road ride, the bad news is 4:30 am wake up call if I want to get in my miles. Sly Fox is giving DH lessons now, I think I'll sign up when I'm in SLC in July. I can't think of a better way to spend a day then riding trails with Sly Fox.

Oh yea, did I mention work? Well I can't say very much, mostly I avoid work on the blog. Right now though there is a lot going on...all I can say here is glad I'm only being requested to provide information cause dealing with lawyers all day is a pain.

Oh yea, did I mention I got lucky? No, not that way (ok kinda), yesterday was Mother's Day and I'm lucky cause my wife (ade) and mother to my son (again ade) is great. The community ride, it was on Mother's day...she went out, rode the course, helped me put together stuff, watched our son, and was great about it all. Another bike ride on Mother's Day and she had fun. I've been married 10+ years and a father 6+ years and am lucky every day that I have a wife (and more importantly a friend) who supports me and lets me have my passions too. Not sure what having a family means to you, but to me a wife who is there to help me and support me and let me have my own passions and times is great. Thanks Ade.

Nathrop

I'm not going to say much about the race in Nathrop today other than sand and hard. It was my first mountain bike race of the year and I feel it now. Results will come later, mostly because the only thing I know is I finished and beat Hank from RMR. Don't know Hank at all and the only reason I know I beat him is because for 4 laps we were close at the start/finish and I heard people cheering for him.

Hank, if you're out there good race, had I a literal minute to spare I would have talked with you. However, the reality is I never even stopped after the race. I crossed the finish line, filled a bottle with water and hammered back to the car. Why? well somethings are more important than bike races and today my older sister (finally) graduated from college. So what does this have to do with racing? Well what was going to be a relaxing weekend with the family turned into a 8 hour speed run for a race. I left Denver at 8:30, hit Nathrop in time to register at 11, lined up at 12:06, finished at 2:30, got to the car at 2:43, was on the road by 2:50, home by 5:10 and at my sisters graduation 1/2 way across town at 6. She was thinking I was still going to be in Nathrop for the race weekend and broke down in tears when I showed up. Like I said, sometime racing isn't the most important thing.

I will say I felt strong, especially on the flats and climbs. The downhill sucked, maybe I should ride in dirt once in a while. But (and this is without knowing results) for the first time in expert I felt like I was racing. There were a few people passing me, I passed a few people. A lot of back and forth. Maybe we were battling for the last few places (I really don't know) but at least we were battling. In the past I haven't had a lot of action around me in expert, so it was nice to have Hank and a few others near.

At this point it has been a long, hard day. I'm going to bed.

New Link

So those of us who blog all have ways to track who hits our site and from where. There is always a sense of pride when a new site provides a link, so thanks to Flahute Steve in Utah. For those in the know I have a special spot in my heart for Utah (and cycling), my wife was raised in Sandy and is the older sister to one of the most famous retired racers ever from Utah (first person besides Sly Fox who knows the racer will get a prize next time I hit Utah).

I'm embarking on a strange trip this year as I am running a team for the first time. But unlike many others I'm not limiting myself to just getting money for a few racers; I'm working to let people know about their environmental impact (yea you can call it global warming if you want) and how riding the bike can reduce that impact.

I don't want to change your politics, just provide a little background and start some thoughts on changing each of our lifestyles (and yes I'm trying to change mine every day).

Kick back and enjoy the site. Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Flahute for the link.

I'm Back

Really I haven't been missing, just not blogging. Maybe people will come back to the site if I actually have something new posted. Lots of news...Racing Green MTB (the team) is ready for action. Kits are in and being distributed, roster is full of a good group of guys (and riders), and we (ok mostly me) are preparing our first community outreach (www.racinggreenmtb.com for more info). The community outreach is rides for all abilities in the Stapleton neighborhood. The rides have a two-fold purpose: get people riding and enjoying bikes and teach people about how to lessen their environmental impact through riding and other changes. I'm hoping we get a few people to turn out for the ride (May 11).

The local monthly newspaper is putting in a blurb about the ride and even took some pictures to go along with the announcement. Since the ride is on Mother's day it is being billed as a Mother's Day ride. The newspaper wanted to know if I knew any mother/kids who would particpate and use them for the photos. Good thing I have a built in modeling crew with Ade and Shay. I'll post a link when the paper comes out.

Rolling a lot of miles on the bike, which I must say got a lot easier as I picked up a new Cannondale road bike (from www.pedalpusherscyclery.com of course). Jason, Gavin and Chandler have me on two sweet new rides for the year, now I just hope I can do them justice. For once I can thank George W for something, since I'm spending the tax rebate early for the new road bike. One good thing in eight years isn't bad (right?). Ok, we'll forget why I was able to get the bike and just ride.

Strange Happening

So I mentioned a few weeks ago the purchase of a gecko in our house. Seemingly not a big deal, but since we got the gecko something strange has happened, I can't get up and ride ealy any more. Why is this strange? Well geckos are nocturnal, and it seems that since we've purchased one I've become more nocturnal. Most of my riding during the week is now coming at night when everyone else in the house is asleep, not early in the morning when the day is just starting.

I've been getting up at 4:30-5:00 am to ride for 5-6 years so this sudden change is kind of a shock to the system. The only logical reason for the change (that I can think of) is because of the lizard.

Pedal Pushers Cyclery

PLEASE JOIN RACING GREEN MTB SPONSOR PEDAL PUSHERS CYCLERY FOR A SPECIAL EVENT WITH OLYMPIC LONG TEAM MEMBER GEORGIA GOULD.

Mountain Bike Night at PPC - Wednesday March 19th

6pm - Slideshow for Summit Junior Cycling Camps (Day and Overnight Mountain Bike Camps for ages 8-18 based out of Keystone, CO)
6:45pm - 8pm - Q & A with Georgia Gould and her coach Ben Ollett - Come meet Georgia and hear all about the ins and outs of preparing for the Olympics and the upcoming mtb season! Come with questions!

Fitness

This time of the year major strides can be made in fitness in short periods of time. Today I rode up Lookout (pretty much my fitness test climb), knocked 2 minutes off my time from 4 weeks ago. Not my fastest time ever up the climb, but respectable, especially coming towards the end of a big 3 week training cycle. 15 hours each week the past 2 weeks and on track for a 3rd 15 hour week in a row. This is about as much as I ever do, so clocking a fast time on Lookout 38 hours into a 45 hour cycle is pretty good.

Maybe we'll see what Saturday brings to really test the legs.

Long rides, snow and wind

In the past week I have finally gotten in some solid miles on the bike. Last Wednesday I put in 4.5 hours with good climbing and steady effort. Saturday I snuck in 2.5 and Sunday was 3 hours, but a hard 3 hours. The weather forecast was for lite snow until 2:00pm, when there was no snow for a few hours at noon I figured I was safe. Took out the road bike and started riding, after about 45 minutes a few flurries but not enough to cause me to turn around. After about 1.5 hours it started snowing, and I mean hard. I was at least an hour from home and the snow was coming down, roads getting wet and not ideal riding conditions.

I did have lots of wet weather gear with me so I didn't get cold or wet and rode through snow for about an hour. Finally it let up and I figured I'd sneak in a few more miles. This turned into a bad choice as I ended up flatting and having to change a tire in the cold just as it was starting to snow again. Ended up riding for 3 hours with about 1.5 of it in some level of snow. Hopefully the hard work yesterday will pay off in races this year.

Today I went out with the intention of riding for 4-5 hours after work (I left early since it was/is a holiday and I was technically "off"). Headed out to Golden to ride Lookout mountain with a fierce wind coming from the west. I averaged 12 mph out to Golden and started out Lookout, climbed for about 15 minutes before turning around. I was literally scared I would be blown off the road with the wind. Found out on the news wind gusts were up to 50mph in that part of town. I still managed to ride for 4 hours, just mostly on flat roads with a good cross or tail wind.

These rides should help come the race season and at least make me feel like I'm HTFU.

Dreams

I keep having a strange dream, I'm on my road bike and the handle bars are shifting around. One hard yank on the brake hoods and the bars go back into place.

I wish I knew what this dream was trying to tell me, at least I checked the stem and everything is good.

Ice and Cold = 3 hour ride

The weather has been a little rough for riding, but when I have any choice a ride outside, even in the cold/ice/snow beats the trainer. Yesterday I headed east of Denver on the Orbea for 2 hours, it was cold and windy, but the roads were clear and the ride was good. For a 2 hour road ride on the mountain bike the Orbea felt great. Thus far the only downer of the bike is all of its miles have been paved. Hopefully the weather will let up enough so that I can give it a proper ride in the dirt. Once that happens I'll give a full review, until then I'll leave you with smooth and light.

Today I wanted a 3 hour ride, so figured the road bike was the ticket. Bad choice by me to head south as I hit lots of ice (maybe since it was 12 when I left I should have known). Didn't get in the hard efforts I wanted but it was still a good ride. Yea, I had to go slow on the ice sections but a few minutes of slow riding beats 1.5 hours on the trainer.

I'm off to the east coast tomorrow, catch you later.

Orbea

So I got my new racing rig the other day. It looks nice and I assume it rides nice too, but thus far it has a total of 30 minutes in a frigid commute to work on it. Nothing else. I've tried to leave work early two days in a row to get in some miles, but alas it is Saturday morning and I'm actually in the office waiting to test an application that has been down for 2 days. What does this mean? No riding the new bike. Hell, maybe no riding at all today. I do have a picture to keep me sane though.

Can you say new bike

I got my new bike on Tuesday, the Orbea Oiz. Pretty sweet full suspension in the mold of the c-dale scalpel, now all I've got to do is actually ride it. Riding time has been limited lately because of a lot of stuff going on. I'm getting in minimal hours but trying to get in all the "work" (intervals) that I need to get in shape. Been riding about 1 to 1.5 hours max and doing a lot of tempo (high end aerobic) work. The weather should be nice this weekend so hopefully can get in some solid time outside.

Good news on the team front, we picked up a cash money sponsor, SouthEnders, a new coffee shop in the neighborhood. I met with the owners (Mel and Nancy) on Monday and they are great people. They want to create a community focused business to give the people who live in my area a true neighborhood joint. Coffee in the morning, sandwiches at noon and a wine/beer menu at night. Visit them at www.southenders.com for more details.

We'll be starting some training rides from SouthEnders soon, feel free to join us once day/time are set. I've got someone finalizing jersey's this weekend and can hopefully post pictures soon.

There are still spots open on the team, if you are interested let me know.

Also I've created a web site for the team www.racinggreenmtb.com, still a rough site and very much in progress but I'll keep working on it over the next few weeks.

A new Post?

I keep thinking I have a "profound" post in me, something on politics, cause I'm still bitter about Iowa, though NH is almost ok with me. But the reality is right now I don't have the brain to write (or is is right) the thoughts.

We did get a new baby today. No not the kind we've been trying for, but a lizard. Seamus' first pet. It's nocturnal, which means my 6 year old will now be a creature of the night.

Tomorrow big miles I hope. The first LookOut ride of the year. Always painful but the climb is somehow honest and reveling in more than a physical sense. I hope there isn't ice on the top.

Definitions

As a cyclist how do I (or any of us) define ourselves? I road over 6,000 miles in 2007 most of those 5,500+ on a road bike (or at least on the road), yet I don’t consider myself a roadie. I am a mountain biker. Why do I classify myself as a type of rider when, in reality, I spend very minimal amounts of time participating in that sport?

I enjoy road rides; I even enjoy road races so it’s not as if being a roadie is all bad. The past few weeks I’ve been spending hours at a time riding on the farm roads east of Denver. Rolling hills, minimal traffic, a few cows, and lots of beer cans on the side of the road. These have been some of the most fun and peaceful rides I’ve done in years. These solo rides, and I mean solo since cars rarely pass and I only go through one town once outside of Denver, have gotten me thinking about why I define myself as a mountain biker. So far I’ve not come up with anything concrete. Sure I race the mountain bike more, but that alone shouldn’t define me. For a long time I thought it was the solitude of mountain biking, but then I realized the road rides I’d been on were more isolated and independent than most mountain bike rides.

Maybe it is the challenge of a mountain bike ride, the fact that the same trail can (and does) present different challenges each time it is ridden. A section I can ride cleanly today may pose more problems than expected tomorrow. Cleaning a section I’ve never made before on a ride is unique and a source of (selfish) pride. On the road bike the challenges are minimal; on the mountain bike they are omnipresent. A challenge allows me to explore my limits and motivates me. Creates learning opportunities that aren’t always available, maybe those opportunities are what make me thrive and cause me to define myself as a mountain biker.

Oil's at $100

So oil hits an all-time high today. Tomorrow the Presidential campaign begins its official tally. Obesity is at an all-time high. Damn it's good to live in America.

Seriously I love politics, for those who don't know me you'll get a taste over the next 10 months. I'm a bleeding heart liberal whose candidate of choice will probably say game over on Friday. I hate the money in politics, right now it is not about who can best lead the country but who has the money to buy votes. The best candidates (in both parties) will be lucky to pull in 10% of the votes in the Iowa cacuses tomorrow, won't get in more money and will go home. On the other hand people pulling in 15-25% of the vote aren't the best candidates but will get elected.

The good news though is I can save you money and help your health with my liberal green ways. I've been preaching using the bike as a form of commuting for (at least) a year. Maybe with oil at $100 a barrell more people will consider it. The benefits are huge: Save Money on Gas, Save Money on Doctor/Medicine, Feel Healthier, Help the Environment. Cliff Bar has the 2 mile challenge, trying to get people to cut the short drives of 2 miles or less. These use a huge amount of fuel (green house gas) and take as long or longer than biking with time spent finding parking etc.

I know it is the dead of winter but try to cut out one trip in the car this week. Take your bike to the weekend coffee shop trip or breakfast, the gas savings alone will almost cover the cost of the coffee.

2007

Twelve months ago I started my effort to Race Green in 2007, with goals of trying to raise awareness about global warming, present some ideas and ways to reduce individual impact on the environment and raise some money for the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that works with business, government and science to “find practical environmental solutions”. So after a year how did I do (being this is the time for 2007 in review posts on the web)?

Here are some stats that may give you an idea of my work. I rode my bike 6,000+ miles in the year. Of those miles about 2,000 were commuting miles, that is miles many people would have driven. I rode through January of 2007 when Denver streets were ice packed for weeks on end because of blizzards. During that time I had fenders on and rode on major streets which had less ice and obstacles. This clearly helped the environment as “Cutting a 20 mile trip out of your schedule each week can reduce your global warming pollution by more than 1,200 pounds a year and save you over $100 in gas expenses.” (Environmental defense web site) I also switched grocery bags from plastic to reusable canvas. I figure I used at least 5 plastic bags a week so a net savings of 250 bags. It takes an equivalent amount of energy to produce 14 plastic bags as it does to drive a mile, so some carbon reduction there too.

I also went out and tried to do more than change my personal lifestyle during the year. I met with staff from Congresswoman Diana DeGette’s office on behalf of the League of Conservation Voters, I went to a local school and discussed Earth Day and what each student could do to lessen there impact (including a portion on riding their bikes and bike safety). Finally I raised over $1,000 for Environmental Defense.

Overall I’d say it was a good year. In 2008 I’m going to keep it going. I’m starting a full team for racing and environmental awareness. The team is going to promote riding and the multiple benefits bike riding provides (health benefits and environmental benefits). I’ve already got an after-school program lined up at my son’s school to get kids out riding their bikes and hopefully more will come. I’ll still be out racing and trying to get fast too. Though riding fast and winning are tougher to accomplish then raising awareness the racing is fun.

Anyway don’t leave just because 2007 is over, I’m keeping things going, maybe a slightly different path but still going.

BIKE FOR SALE: A shameless plug for my bike YETI ASR Large I've got it for sale...drop me a comment if you're interested

Post Grad Reading Level

So I was checking out SLY's blog the other day and it had a link to tell you the reading level of your blog, well I must be a genius because mine came back as Post Grad reading level. For the few of you who actually read my blog consider yourselves highly educated people. I guess I should work on dumbing down my content, make the reading level a little easier. I assume if I did that more people would visit the site and I’d get more comments.

Cash Advance Loans

All I’ve got to say is this feature has got to be inaccurate.

Base Training with Eddy

Base miles, finally a chance to ride more outside. Today it was cold (30ish) and some wet roads from snow yesterday, but 2.5 hours outside in the cold is better than any time inside so I went out.

East of Denver is a little town called Watkins, one of my favorite rides for 2-3 hours of base miles. Roads quickly turn into farm roads, little traffic and rollers the whole way, in general a pleasant ride. But one problem, farm roads mean farms. Farms mean farm dogs. So today as I was spinning along I catch an object coming from my right and hear the growling of a mean a$$ looking dog trying to catch me for an afternoon snack. Just like in the scene from American Flyers where Kevin Costner takes his brother training with Eddy, this dog is on me. I sprint as hard as possible, look down and still see the dog right there, shift to the 12 (remember this is early season base training I shouldn't be in the 12) and give it another kick. Finally I get away from the dog, not sure how but glad he didn't get me for an afternoon snack.

When I lived in Iowa I road some with the Des Moines Cycling Club, one guy carried a little gun (pistol) to take care of dogs like these, which seemed more rampant in Iowa than in Denver. Not sure that was the best solution to the problem, but then again we never did extra sprints either.

Wow, Out of Circulation

I've been missing for awhile so here is a quick rundown:

Thanksgiving - stabbed by my sister in the eye (with her fingernail) couldn't see for a week
New York City - Business trip, cool town but I can only handle it for a few days
December - Cold and snowy way too many miles riding in the basement of the trainer
Work - time for writing reviews, man that sucks

The good news is I'm riding some and work should taper off soon.

On another note, the presidential primaries/cacuses start soon. If you are at all serious about the direction America is going look a little deeper than the famed candidates. I'm a hippie liberal who wants an eco-friendly candidate. I've been donating money to two people Chris Dodd http://chrisdodd.com/ and Joe Biden http://www.joebiden.com/home. I hope giving these guys a little will allow them to keep their voices in the debate. Seriously I don't care who you vote for, but make sure you listen to all the voices out there, give a little money to the lesser known candidates to help them as in many cases they have the best ideas and best potential to change.

Racing

I spend a lot of time reading other cycling blogs, there are way too many out there to mention, but this time of the year I see a theme: why? how long? what is the reward? Some of these guys will post about not knowing how much longer they'll race, why they race etc. Each year about 50% of the people who post about why don't race the next year. Burn out I guess.

There are two kinds of bike racers (really bikers in general) those who ride the bike because it is fun and those who ride the bike because they love it. Often times it is difficult to tell the difference between the two. I'd venture to say many people thought Lance Armstrong loved the bike, but I think he thought it was fun. He did it (really) well and for a long time. He trained in terrible conditions, but it seems now he isn't riding any more. That to me is a guy who thought it was fun (and also knew it was hard).

I fall into the love it group. How long will I race? Till the day I die. I may not be very good. Hell I savour mid-pack finishes if they were an improvement over last year, but I also savour riding home from work, in the dark winter, with snow falling. For me riding is more than proving I can finish a race, or finish a race faster than someone else. To me riding is, well in so many ways, me. I define myself as a father, a husband and a biker. Strangely I've been a biker longer than the other two but those are the three things that matter.

Me I'll race next week, next year and until I can't race any longer. For now I'm hoping for some snow, so I can ride home from work in the dark with the snowflakes dancing off my lights.