Fun day at the Fair!

Wow! Hey the Polk County fair is where it's at! Clean grounds, open spaces which make for great elbow room, and good variety make this an interesting place to visit if you like county fairs. I'll be there all day Friday giving massages, and then I'm off to Chisago Lakes for the Triathlon. I hope my hands hold up!

A tree fell in the woods...

A tree fell in my woods today, and I heard it. I have yet to go out and look at it, but it definitely happened, and since someone was around to hear it, it did make a sound. I have an ear-witness!

Hope to see some of you at the upcoming Polk County Fair and the Chisago Lakes Triathlon!

DQ's and other tough calls

So it's REI night at the track. Everyone's a little keyed up by the size of the crowd, and I mean everyone. Luckily, no injuries that I know of, although there were many opportunities. First notable one I saw was in the Keirin final, when Donimator was DQ'd for not putting himself in harms' way to catch the motor, as he was in the '1' slot. Two fairly seasoned veterans were in front of him, and most would say either of them could have been mistaken for a motor-sucking wanna-be all the way through turn one. I would not fault Don for keeping his nose out from under those two until the backstretch for safety reasons alone, since taking the wheel of the motor before then would mean passing on the left of two riders in the turn, before anyone was really up to speed. Not worth the risk of having someone come down on top of you with a serving of spoke spaghetti. But Don was DQ'd. The saga will continue, as Don filed a formal protest.

Later that same evening, in the glorious Madison, I experienced a flashback to last July, when I was hooked by a rider moving uptrack without a shoulder check. (Said rider, by the way, drew an obvious 'oooh' from the crowd this night with his patented stiff-armed split-second swing uptrack. I did not notice whether a shoulder check was given, but it is physically more difficult to a) turn the head when stiff arming the bars, and b) avoid unsafe and uncontrollable body lean while pulling up.) But back to the Madison. This time, I figured out a way to freeze this behavior, and was warned for 'profanity.' Hmph. I don't have a problem with the call, as the squirrelly rider was warned as well, and I am generally not a fan of profanity, but it got me thinking. The profane words I used probably saved a crash, and the word we are supposed to use (which I yelled loudly before the profanity) had absolutely no good effect, and may have even instigated the problem, quite possibly because it sounds so much like another profane word. The suggested word is 'stick.' Take a guess what some guys (mostly squirrelly, inexperienced kids with more speed than sense) do when they hear this word behind them, uttered by someone who has most likely lost all saliva necessary to form the 's' sound! Maybe they figure they should hook that jerk behind them who is calling them names! Anyway, it doesn't work often enough, and another reason I suggest we use another word is because I guarantee this one has the same effect on the kids in the stands who are turning to their parents asking why the racers are calling each other that nasty word. Suggestions? It needs to be one-syllable, and not start with 's.' Let's start a revolution, and keep track racing safe!

Inspiration

Way to go, Landis! I'll remember those two stages for years. It was funny to see Bob Roll practically at a loss for words...'Unbelievable' was about all he could say about Floyd's comeback from bonkville.

Where's my Phonak jersey....

rain!

I hopped on the bike this morning thinking about breakfast, and the free pancakes on Wednesday deal at a local Embers. And just after I got back home, a steady, soaking rain began. I saw the last hour of tour coverage on OLN. Some days you wonder if the timing gets any better! Sounds like the birds like the rain. Their whistles seem a little wetter and livelier. I can hear them through the windows of my cupola. Life in the dome is good.

Talent at the track

In the past, most people at the velodrome were there to race. In the past couple of years, the fanbase has increased enough to outnumber the racers. And if that wasn't enough, now there are rumors that some of the fans are not there to watch racing, but are showing up for a glimpse of the kid who can juggle while riding the rollers! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would say 'No, they come to watch the Madisons,' but there he was, entertaining the crowd with witty banter and dazzling dexterity. But I think we should keep the Madison, just in case .

Core strength, Landis, Giro Femminile

I will be teaching a couple of hip flexor stretches at the velodrome next Thursday before racing starts. Hopefully, it will be easier than after the racing, as the mosquitos are taking back the night! I firmly believe that most low back pain cyclists experience is from compression of the lumbar vertebrae, usually caused by a tight iliopsoas. We just don't get the chance to extend our hips in this sport, and train all you want, if you aren't 'balancing your core muscles,' strength will suffer!

I know how Landis feels. Although when I missed a time trial start several years ago, it wasn't a flat tire, it was my mindless extended roller session that delayed my arrival to the start by two minutes. UGH So in a way, maybe I don't know how he feels, but we all like to identify with these guys, don't we?

I saw that Rochelle Gilmore came in over a minute behind the pack in stage 2 of the women's Giro today. Coverage stated she was involved in some some kind of crash. What luck. I heard about Rochelle's recent string of crashes as I worked with her during her participation in the NVGP last month; I hope I never have to race with a fractured tailbone!