Priorities

I blew off racing 'cross the past two weeks. Not because I was tired, injured, or had a broken bike. Nah, one weekend it was to ride 96 miles, the other to go to the wedding of a long-time friend to his lovely lady. Then I raced yesterday, had an acceptable result, and did Myoplex shots.

The 96 mile ride was a repeat of the Double Loop, a ride/"race" organized by my favorite artist-cum-cyclists in Chicagoland, the Ten Speed Heroes. It was a long day on the bike, but the weather cooperated with mild winds and lots of sunshine. I was hoping for rain and mud, but y'know, now after the fact, it would have been a pretty miserable six hours on the bike if it had precipitated.

I love riding in miserable conditions. You're in a war of sorts with the elements and your sole task is to slog through to the last mile without giving up and taking shelter in a train station or coffeeshop. Most of the time, though, I'm quite happy to have a day where I don't have to wash sand out of my mouth and launder my cycling clothing 10 times before it's no longer stained grey.

The Double Loop Part II had none of that. In short, me and Troy Simeone drove the pace hard in a group with Isaiah Jay and Kevin Clark. Troy attacked at the end for the win; I came in second. We barbecued after and I ate what was quite possibly the most delicious cheeseburger ever.

The next weekend was to Cincinnati for 28 hours to see my friend Pete Fosco exit the realm of bachelorhood and marry the sweet Heather Alley. I sweated on some of my favorite people, ate way too much cheese, and made ridiculous faces.

Next morning, I got in an easy ride on the Schwinn Prelude I was selling to my brother, wearing an oversized helmet, t-shirt, soccer shorts, sneakers, and with a fanny pack holding my tools and phone. Basically, I was dressed like a Fred and it was fantastic. No team kit, no lycra, dressed as how I used to ride back in 2004 when I first got into cycling. Lycra has a certain purpose and is suitable for the sport, but being without felt great. If I saw a kitted-out rider, I would've chased them down and tried to pass them on a hill, but none were to be seen.

Yesterday, raced in Woodstock. 29th out of a field of 50. My start was crap -- at the get go, the race funneled down to single file and I was stuck as the front line riders took off on a clear course. I crashed in the second lap taking a corner too hot, and two guys passed me, one of which was Cliff Golz from Pony Shop. Oh, Dave Moyer passed me right around then, too, but I expected that.

And then I spent the next three laps about 15 seconds back from Dave, 10 seconds back from Cliff, and 10 seconds ahead of David Dokko. The course was a blast with lots of power sections and climbing. There were also a few nice ess-curves to lean into, but nothing outright technical.

This weekend, it's to Ohio for Thanksgiving. Tonight after work, I'm going to Columbus to visit Ian. Then tomorrow afternoon, to the grandparents. Back to Cincinnati on Friday, and back to Chicago Sunday. Sunday afternoon I'm racing the Ohio State Cyclocross Championships. I came second in this race a few years back -- I have no illusions that I'll probably end up somewhere in the teens or twenties this go-round.

Other notes:

Le Ramrod is going in for its yearly overhaul. The end of 'cross season means that the snow will be here soon, which means that it makes more sense to ride a bike that has clearance for good fenders and muck.

I spent a little money and got lots of bike.

I'm looking forward to eating way too much food. You should, too.