CrossVegas

This was the year I wasn't going to go, but there was an award and there was Vegas Cross.

Last night was Vegas Cross. What a wicked little course they made up. I didn't see a spot of rest on that course. I was happy to be cheering and not racing. The cheering was good.





Lyne Besette and Katie Compton battled it out in the women's race. Eventually, Lyne pulled ahead on the run up and stayed away for the win. I heard Lyne spent the summer on the track working on her power by the way.

Nash and Gould were a few behind them and a small chase group containing Wendy Simms, Mary McC and a few others hammered behind. We watched as Shelly and Rachel bridged up to this chase. Rachel fell off eventually, but Shelly hung on for an awesome finish.

Meanwhile the crowds were growing as Interbike workers and watchers made their way over from the strip. It was finally dark enough for Michael to change into the skinsuit. I wouldn't let him wear it in the daytime because that would just be wrong.







The men's race was super fun to watch because a group of about 10 battled at the front of the race. Each lap lost one, until it was finally down to Trebone, Page, some Swiss dude, and the crowd favorite, Wicks. Trebone, Wicks and Page were all agressive and alternating attacks so when Trebone and the Swiss dude got away on the last lap, it looked like Swissie's day, but Trebone took the win and looked pretty stoked about it. Winning in front of hundreds of a thousand or so people has got to be a rush.

But the real drama of the race was happening in the back. Their race over, didn't mean the suffering was. But, if they paid attention, they could score some pizza, beer or even cash. Adam Craig managed to snag a slice of pizza and was seen half a lap later making his way around the course with his hands off the bars happily eating the slice to the crazy cheers of fans.







Marian, Michael and I had a super fun time. My cheering voice still hurts. And I woke up this morning and almost tripped over the wigs and sunglasses. Ouch.

Ravenous

Oh man..for like, the past week or so, I have been soooo hungry. Crazy hungry. I could totally eat over one pound of food right now.

Our cats, they always act like each time they are being fed just might be the last time. I am starting to understand how they feel.

Hun-Gree

I hope its the synthroid kicking in...otherwise I better start brushing up on my sprint.

I was hunGREE tonight after the points race too. But this time there were no brownies or cookies. But there were Cola Clif Blocks and so I ate a package of those and then felt a little ill about it. I was hoping they would remind me of gummi colas....but they were too mushy and sugary. And they weren't cookies.

Tonight was my last points race. I was sort of sad. I have a love/hate relationship with these little points races. I hate them before, and love them afterward. The love is enough to keep me coming back each week. The hate doesn't kick in until right before the start. I swear, each time, while I am on the boards, I tell myself I will only race a few laps.

But I get sucked in each time and whirr whirr whirr....its suddenly only 10 laps to go and I might as well finish the thing and get my Clif Blocks.

I didn't have a single spaz moment tonight (Unless you count me almost leaving afterwards without my bike - I don't) Natasha and I keyed off each other tonight and that was super fun. Attack, counter attack. It didn't earn me too many points, but I felt like I was able to set up Natasha a couple of times. Or at least make the boys work a little. I loved when she attacked. I hated when it was my turn.



But I did score some points (I think) and so that was nice. But bestest of all was that I scored a helmet. Larry said I won a helmet for most consistent in the series. I guess its like a perfect attendance award, or maybe..egads the sportsmanship award (I was always winning those in high school instead of the mvpish ones). But yay! I won a helmet.

I wonder if its a space balls helmet? Oh, I hope so.

(a super duper thank you to Larry Nolan for giving up his Thursday nights to run these. Low key and great workouts. I'm going to miss my silly track pals so I hope I see them at some cross races soon. And I hope they bring cookies.)

Points and Potluck

My group here at work loves themselves some potluck. I love potluck too. Where else do you get such a crazy mix of foods on one plate?

Yesterday's potluck included the usuals like spinach dip, meatballs in a crock pot, and weird pasta salads you would never make at home, but it also had chili colorado, spring rolls, kahlua pork, and cheesecake.

And then there was the fruit salad that I kept going back for and getting pad thai instead.

And it was with this eccletic brew packed in my belly that I hit last night's points race.

Talk about a perfect storm.

Last's nights points race was a blast. Larry shuffled up the groups a little and kicked some folks out of the Cs. That was nice. It led to a more evenly matched group and we all had a chance to slice and dice.

We had four women in the group and I think we were by far the animators of that race. Jen loves to attack, Julie has wicked sprint speed and vision, and Natasha (in her first track event ever) can lay down the suffer!

It was also the first time I got to race with a teammate and I think thats why it was so much more fun for me. I love me some potluck and I love me some teammates. I got to sit in while Natasha was in one of her several attacks. I got to yell at her to "hit it!" and she did. I tried to protect her side during the sprints so it was harder for others to go around. It added a whole new layer of learning and doing.

I had big improvement at this race, not just in point scoring which is nice and sort of the point of the points race and all, but in being aware. I am slowly losing that crazy go fast tunnel vision and starting to be able to see around and behind me. I don't know that I want to see these things because sometimes they freak me out, but I am certainly more aware.

And I am spazzing less, although I did have my one spaz moment last night. But it was because someone came out of the pole lane into me during a sprint (a big dangerous no no) and so I think my spaz was justified. I just wish my spazz cries were more like a vicious bark and less like a wounded animal. Eeeeek!



SO anyway, we are going around and around in the points race and I am not spazzing and Natasha and I are scoring and some dude in a white jersey is chasing everything down and Julie is a sprinting phenom and Jen just wants to get away and we are all basically kicking ass, when the potluck starts making an appearance at about 20 to go.

By 15 to go I was tasting the pad thai, but disaster struck when the chili colorado made an appearance at about 10 to go. I made a huge effort at 3 to go and I thought I was going to display the potluck menu for all of Hellyer and had no choice but to back off. I was disappointed to not be in the mix on the last lap, but such is the potluck price I suppose.

It was all okay in the end though, because I won some of Jen's fabulous chocolate chip cookies and nothing calms the chirps like cookies and beer.

And I think I wanna race cross this year.

Where all the blogs at?

Eeek. I've been too swamped in stupid kitchen stuff to blog. How lame is that?

Lunches spent at home improvement stores looking at stuff like I know what I am looking at when really I haven't a clue. And measuring, measuring, measuring. Its a good thing I've been practicing on my quads (holding still at 62cm by the way). And websearching for appliances and stuff.

Its all really quite mundane. And when I think about it too much, so irrelevant. What with the war drums beating, and people malnourished, and ozone depleting, and human rights violated, and life so short and fleeting...worrying about the fly shit in the pepper details of a kitchen when I don't even cook seems so...wrong.

So, should I get a 33" or a 36" fridge?

Oh yeah, and I scored 2 points last Thursday.

Random Thursdayness

holy moley where did the week go?

So, the Vuelta has started. Does anyone care? I would care if they would go up AngryLou again. So far though, I don't care. I just checked results, and I don't even know who the guys is that is leading it.

I think Flandria went to the Vuelta so I checked her blog for some insight or rah rah...but she crumbled it while she is away. Huh? No fair. Blogging is only good for a couple of things, and one of them is being able to travel vicariously through them.

At least I can go visit the Aussie Kewpie Dolls.

We have a roach coach that visits our office parking lot every morning and afternoon. It "honks" its squacky music horn right by my window. The morning horn is Reveille and the afternoon is the Theme from the Godfather. The Godfather one always cracks me up because its such a serious song to be tooting for tacos. The biggest indignity a song could face is to be a roach coach horn song.

Pavarotti died today (or yesterday). That makes me sad. I grew up listening to opera, but don't much listen to it now. Still, it can move me to tears, and Pavarotti was one of those who could. Opera is seldom made into a roach coach horn song.

I got a nasty case of Track Hack last Saturday. Yep, during the Saturday beginner session. It was the Aussie Pursuit. I usually get passed pretty quickly in this event, but this time I was one of the last three. Let me tell you, it sucks to be one of the last three because by that time, nothing is going to happen quickly and suffering is guaranteed. Even if it is the Saturday beginner session. Thank god Maurice finally caught me. Poor Natasha though was left to suffer for 4 more laps. Anyhoo, I got that copper taste in my mouth and about 5 minutes later was caughing and aspirating and generally spazzing out.

Track hack is not pretty.

So I am a little worried about doing Larry's points race sufferama tonight. The air here smells like burning trees and its thick with smoke from the Lick fire. Poor Coe, talk about a re ote and difficult place to fight a fire. Seems some fella at a place called "Booze Lake" started a trash can fire. 20,000 acres later....

Oh, its track time already. Gotta run.