Called out... ok, I give.

Rick DeMoan called me out that my sorry excuse for a blog had gone from plain old boring to being worthy of an afternoon nap- which is where I rate watching golf (nothing put's my to sleep like watching people walk around a well-groomed lawn). That's ok, Rick, I deserve it (although if you'd called me out in the comments section at least it might have sparked some lively commentary). But I routinely violate the two rules of proper blogging: 1) stay focused and 2) update often, so here's the deal.

Normally I'll write about cycling, but the whole cycling thing ain't working out for me right now. As many of you know, life happens. Last season started out great, then came the hernia. I hobbled through the end of the season, then more important things came up through the Fall and Winter. Then just as I finally started hit my stride last month, the car accident. Whatever I did to my ribs kept me off the bike for about 3 weeks, but I started hiking. Then I decided to jog up and down the mountain on Sunday... and ripped apart my legs to the point I can hardly walk. Why is it that running down a mountain rips apart your legs like that?

So, here's where I'm at. All that time and energy that went into training? I'd like to think it's going into cognition: work, reading, writing- sorry, just not blog writing, and social commentary is definitely outside the scope of this blog (an article in the month's Atlantic, Is Google Making Us Stoopid? , confirmed my need to unplug a little more too). Cameron and I are also working on a few big projects right now, including a couple of books, so that's good.

So, until I start riding regularly again, or I have something entertaining to write, or I hear requests for a 29-year old's rambling about the good, bad and ugly life out here in L.A. ... I got nothing.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Quite possibly the best and most important book I've ever heard.

Up until now the top picks were Lolita, Sons and Lovers, To Kill a Mockingbird ... but ... Gabriel Garcia Marquez... wow.

100 Years of Solitude was similar to Sons and Lovers in that it took me a long time to get into it (I must have started it and restarted it four or five times over the past three years), but once I hit page 70 it was this beautiful, tragic story that just kept building momentum, carried along by the weight of Marquez's masterful storytelling. The last 80 pages took me two weeks to finish because the story could only end one way, and I didn't want it to end. And that's exactly how I felt at the end Sons and Lovers- I just didn't want it to end.

A reviewer from the NY Times wrote in his initial review of the book in 1970 that he thought 100 Years of Solitude should be required reading for the entire human race after the Book of Genesis, and I'd agree. Marquez reminds us of the lessons we've learned throughout our lives without being preachy or paternizing, but rather showing them to us through a kalediscope that separates the lessons into an eternity of mezmerizing reflections and refractions of experiences and emotions that every human being has experienced.

Business as usual at the Nature Valley Grand Prix

http://www.velonews.com/article/77439

Now something good: the ABD and ABD/GEARGRINDER riders

I know some of this is old news, but I still feel all warm and fuzzy inside about it. Head on over to www.ABDcycling.com and check out the results pages, news blog and reports blog for updates from the past few weekends.

First up, major props to the ABD crew that pulled off the Midwest's biggest three-day Masters' series and turned around four days later to put together our biggest and smoothest running Winfield Criterium Weekend ever- over 675 riders in two days! And then to top it off, ABD'ers had some great results in the hometown races with New Kids on the ABD Block Sebastian Grinstein winning the Cat 5 men under 40, Gabe Looker taking the Cat 3's and Rob White scoring the win for the ABD/GEARGRINDER squad in the Cat 1/2 race!

Then this past weekend, in keeping with the "hometown" results theme, the ABD Multisport squad tore it up at the Batavia Triathlon & Duathlon, which is literally out the front door of the Prairie Path Cycles-Batavia store. Props to Kim Malmquist, the first female duathlete across the line, Scott Pahl for taking his age group and Gretchen DeMong for taking the silver in her age group!

And on a final note, although it's an "out of area" event, it's very noteworthy that Gabe Looker and Ron Bridal took 2nd and 3rd at Sunday's brutally hot Tour de Winghaven.

Since I'm to0 far away to do it (back in LA now), I hope all the ABD'ers give each other a well-deserved pat on the back.