Simple as

Simple as that.

Like all good things

As if on cue, I managed to destroy my only pair of this year's team bibs just before my planned final race of the season, the Lost River Classic. The team did a great job hosting the race, and I won't pretend to take any of the credit for its success. Also, big up to "sig." for a well-earned top ten.

My first impulse is to call this season a disappointment. I felt my form improving coming out of the collegiate season, and I anticipated at least a few strong results over the summer. In the end, the only results I'll even happily claim are 10th, 15th, and 20th place finishes at Poolesville, Washington County RR, and Reston, respectively. This season wasn't a disappointment; it was an important learning experience. And for those who don't understand, and ask, "did you have fun?" Short answer, yes, long answer, of course not.

I've got good sensations about my medium-term future in bike racing, especially when it comes to being a part of a team, rather than simply wearing a team's kit when I ride and race. DoJ doesn't just mean Department of Justice.

In the meantime, I've got other things to finish off. In four weeks, I'll be finished with my last requirement in my MA program. Somehow, I totally lucked out, and my last course is War & Conflict in Africa. Being in class is like rubbing my face in a bowl of candy while intravenously consuming pistachio pudding. Absolutely euphoric. If you work for an organization that has even as much as a finger in this field, please, please hire me.

Listening to Neon Bible. Praying the road rash goes away before my one week off-season is over.

Sen. Byrd

This morning, I found myself in the gallery of the United States Senate. On any other day, this would be an uneventful experience. The old adage goes, "if you see two Representatives on the floor of the House, that's one more than usual; if you see two Senators on the floor of the Senate, that's two more than usual." Not today. From ten to four, the Senate held its first lying in repose ceremony in over fifty years.

Robert Byrd was a man of many--often changing--hats. He was a damn good fiddle player, dedicated historian, passionate friend, and reformed racist. This morning, the late Senator was also the reason the old adage was broken. As I sat in the gallery, I saw Senators new, old, retired, and voted out of office, waiting in a receiving line to greet the Byrd family. I'm thankful that my experience with funerals is very limited, but in that experience, I've never seen such a joyous bunch commemorate the passing of a friend, colleague, and family patriarch. The Senators in line were patiently joking around with one another, no doubt sharing their own stories about the Dean of the Senate. The prevailing emotion for the Byrd clan was also joy; they seemed to be there to celebrate their fallen patriarch, having completed the mourning process during the Senator's last days, weeks, and months. It was a beautiful and surreal moment, and I'm confident I'll never experience anything like it again.

Go out and do things--even if you find out they're the wrong things down the road--that bring people to celebrate your life once it's over. Bike racing is wonderful and rewarding, and might give us a few minutes or hours of purpose every day, but it's important to find the things that hold meaning and give purpose to those around and after you. Find those things. Do them.

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mailed-by		craigslist.org

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Playing catch up

School's been done for a few weeks now, but I've been busy. Playing catch up on fitness after being dropped at Kelly Cup, unpacking after the move, applying for jobs, and working more at the new part-time job.

Also, and more importantly, please let this post serve as a reminder that I will be riding for an NCVC or MABRA-composite team at the Tour of the Bahamas next January. You want to be on that team too.

Listening to Drunk Girls on the new LCD album. Drunk girls know that love is an astronaut; it comes back but it's never the same.

Poolesville RR: just like grad school

"Survival mode." It sounded like Nick had to burn a match just to say it.

"Yeh," I barked. "Just like grad school," gasping, tongue out, searching for oxygen. "All you can do is survive."

We both did a little more than survive Poolesville; Nick took 24th and I took 10th of 74 registered riders. It was a tough course, but the final kms proved something that I already knew too well--I've got the legs to earn results, but I still lack the nerves. The field shattered slowly in the last 3-4k. "Disintegrated" may even be a better word. I had to move up about 20 wheels in those final stretches to earn my first top ten in an NCVC kit. Sam H. of Carytown Bike Co/VCU took a hard-fought and smart win. The warmest of congratulations to him. I hope to put that '3' sticker on my USAC license before he applies his '2' decal.

Had I been in better position before the gaps started forming, I would have certainly finished higher, and not in no man's land between two groups of five. These are the lessons. I look forward to the ToWC TT for that very reason. It's a chance to show off my legs (and guts) without my frail nerves to get in the way.

And just as I did Poolesville, it looks like I've survived grad school. I was among five thousand over-educated (and likely still unemployed or under-employed) kids to sit on the Mall yesterday while Dave Brubeck and Michelle Obama told us how to change the world. And dammit if they didn't convince me to apply for about six do-gooder jobs this morning. Aside, hire me.

Packing up my apartment, enjoying a dirty mojito recovery shake, and listening to Cudi and Vampire Weekend.

and now for something completely different

My brain has been wholly occupied by school for the last 3 weeks. No longer. I submitted my last final an hour ago, and now I'm ready to focus on a whole host of other things: moving, getting a "real" job (hire me), and figuring out how to get results in these damn bike races. I don't want to be a four any longer than I have to be. Too sketchy.

I've had my head buried in my laptop for the last three weeks, so I don't really know what's going on in pro bike racing or anything else in the world. Thus, no poignant social commentary. Check back next week.

For now, I'm listening to Congratulations by MGMT. The new album is cool--kinda like heady beach music. More importantly, I'm graduating in two weeks.