Desert Days, and on a more important note

After the odd rainy day here in Phoenix yesterday, today looks to be a nice, dry, sunny 58 degrees. I believe that’s the kind of day that calls for a long lunch with a bike ride after a morning’s work.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the foremost thing on my mind since the moment I woke up. Today marks one year since Rosa’s dad passed away. We miss you, Jeff.

Stabbed in the Back

UPDATE: I have removed the beginning of this post as I brought what should have been private conversations here into my public forum.

...

Having said that, the situation says that much more about the ABD Elite Team roster taking shape for 2009. As of right now our guys are basically racing for free because they know what it means to be a part of the cycling community, how to win bike races, and do it with integrity. Our bike industry sponsors (especially PPC) know that too and we owe them big for taking care of the team next year.

E-Mail of the Day

I’m not one to share correspondence because it’s usually catty and will get you in trouble, but this one from an ABD event participant is a gem:

Will you have more fans at Winfield?
Last year during my first TT, I did not have a fan blowing any air into my face to cool me. As a result, within 3 minutes of my start, the sweat was just pouring down.
I was more prepared at my second attempt a few weeks later.
See you in a few weeks!
If, like me, you immediately thought “fans” meant spectators then you understand what makes this so special- if not, read it again with that in mind.

I was just one more convulsion away from spitting coffee all over my laptop.

Makes Me Thirsty

Everyone should see this little gem that Luke over at Chicago Bike Racing discovered:

Say it ain't so...

I’ll admit that Rock Racing hasn’t always been my favorite squad, but I hope there isn’t much to the recent VeloNews story about the companies financial woes.

Rock’s combination of Southern California flashiness, roster spots taken up by convicted dopers, and a fleet of Escalades really doesn’t do it for me (as much as I loved Cipo’s return). However, there are definitely plenty of hard working bike racers on the team and I admire Michael Ball’s ambition to sign as many out-of-work riders as he could this winter. For a while there I was joking with an out-of-work pro that it seemed Ball would just sponsor the whole American racing scene.

If something really bad happens though, then I say Michael Ball and Stein Bagger should be chained to Computrainers and forced to race for our entertainment for the rest of their lives, a la Triplets of Belleville.

Pro/Am Madness

The recently released 2009 US continental Teams’ roster list is a topic worthy of the SNL Weekend Update’s “Really?” and “OMG, Are you serious?” departments.

Names like Pipp, Clarke and Wherry are nowhere to be found... “Really?”

Then there’s the recently announced Rock Racing club team including Mike Creed, Chris Baldwin, Cesar Grajales and Rashan Bahati... “Oh My God, are you serious?“

I wonder if they’ll be lining up at Elite Nationals with the rest of us....

Back Again

        If it’s true that I’m my own boss I really should have fired my ass at this whole blogging thing by now. A span of over two months with nary a peep is completely unacceptable. But you know what? I’m the boss of this here blog and since I’ve been a little busy I’m going to give myself another chance.

“Busy with what?”, you may ask. Well, since you may have asked, I’ve been filling my days with:

• moving into the new apartment 
  
• planning a wedding (actually 1 wedding & 2 receptions)
  
• race directing the Fall Fling (even raced a stage)
  
• a trip to Phoenix (bridal shower #2)
  
• ran a Cannonball Film Festival at the Studio (sooooo awesome)
  
• negotiating with riders for the 2009 ABD Elite roster (can’t wait to announce this)
  
• negotiating sponsorships in a down economy (our industry sponsors are stepping up big)
  
• playing catch-up after being hired back at ABD full-time (happy to be back in the bosom of my cycling family)
  
• trip to Chicago (PPC, ABD and other various meetings)
  
• and did I mention helping to plan a wedding? (I can’t really even take that much credit as Rosa is rocking away at planning the majority of this party)
  

        So now I’m on a plane back to Burbank and I have to admit there are things going on in here that reinforce while LA is a special place. I can see two people on their laptops typing away in Final Draft on what could be the next great indie flick or summer blockbuster. There’s a tattoo artist on a laptop working on his website. Another guy appears to be running some music mixing program, and then I know I’ve seen the tall redhead sitting behind me in a movie. Los Angeles is definitely the land of dreams.

        But having said all that about LA, I can definitely identify with something Christian Vandevelde said last night during his appearance at the ICA awards banquet. Steve Thordarson, founder of SmartCycling and my first coach, asked Christian what kept him grounded through all the ups and downs of his career. Christian said, “I just remember who I am and where I came from. That’s one of the main reasons I moved back to Chicago”. No doubt about it, Chicago is good people.