Hi Guys

holy fucking shit i'm sucking at web logging lately.

priority has been not this anywhere near where it needs to be.

But that's okay. I'm writing now, waiting for garlic to slowly turn golden brown in the butter for the from scratch mac and cheese, yeah yeah pasta, change it up eh? dietary confusion, we're humans and shit. Also okay to have them things in the evening after a day with low insulin spikes.

Also - can't wait. in 20 years the WHO is going to label Insulin as the most carcinogenic compound ever discovered.

Suck it you sugar lovers, it is dumb and makes you fat and sit. But if you're moderately healthy you can indulge a bit in the evening when your body can handle it appropriately.  But first thing? Ugh.

NO THAT WASN'T JUDGEMENT.

I might be an asshole but i care deeply about my friends and only want the best, it is kind of a problem.

Nationals opened up, haven't reg'd yet. Will do that somepoint.

I did plan out the next couple weeks with racing. But what the fuck am I going to do between NBX and Nationals? We need a Christmas/New Year/holy week race series in MD/DC/VA leading up to Ashville. don't we fatmarc?  MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE i need extrinsic motivation.

Nanoscape stuff is moving along, I'm out a few prints since last time I mentioned it, and I've discovered a good way to ship all but a couple of them, $7 priority. so. i need to figure out how to do a web page thing and or maybe just set up a pay pal thing and put it on the facebook page or something. They are not the massive high cost large format prints that are up at Firefly Bicycles, but they aren't bad and are me and are cool and support the GeWilli.

I have a good handle on the next collection, actually, honestly, super excited about it.

The picture factory has been super busy - rotations are transition and the grad students are all clamoring for new training and it is crazy, and there's been a few extra hours spent working with my little brother, and life. So little sitting down and writing.

But oddly it is all working.

Couple notes about racing CX.

Those heckles and stuff. You know, if you've been doing it for a while, there are people who are really good at motivating you and getting you to focus on the right things and there are people who despite intending and wanting to do the opposite totally burst your balloon and luff every sail you've set. Bobby Stine is one of those who always says the right thing that clicks and helps and is additively benificial. Solobreak? Don't tell him but he's good too, and I have to say getting is post race eval of the course before I race is so amazingly brilliant, I hate that now we're backed up into the same time slot.

I'm talking about those points specifically about Fruitlands. Gary and John fucking out did themselves there. If you missed it you're an idiot, or you had better find a goddamngoodexcuse, because that was awesome.

Positive. focused. moving forward.

i'll admit to something soon, probably after tomorrow.

But also Saturday, we do the whole Plymouth thing. Which, let me tell you. Plymouth has HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE emotional ties for me on so many levels. For example 2007: that asshole jersey pro wearing the Sachs kit? Well I finally met that d'bad I'd been racing and trading places with for a year inside the school at the old Plymouth North HS. You know who he is.
Also the only time I shared a ride with Tatar he goes and separates his shoulder trying to hop the single barrier at Plymouth North, I drive him hom. It is also the place where MLFN and I carpooled together and after dropping Mark off my youngest said "He's my favorite Mark." Plymouth has always sort of wound up being the point in my season where i've hit peak fitness before fading, but this year is different (swapping with NoHo).

Plymouth is also the place where my best friend flew in to race that weekend. His wife gave him a 40th b-day present of a airplane ticket and races with me. We hung out, it was f'n awesome. We had a f'n blast.

The next year I was introduced to some sassy sharp MIT girl with Bottom Bracket issues...

point being every year has been crazy significant. Heck if my BB30 bearings had not failed one year I might have had a chance at beating Mottram for the sprint for 3rd or 4th.

it is where we learned from paul curley that cones are just a suggestion.

As much of an antithesis of a location/course/vibe, it kind of almost IS the essence of CX for me.

Strange how much that place is linked to everything.

And it is this weekend.

Not NoHo, kind of the opposite. The place where I've almost killed someone, the place where i discovered that not-drinking and not-eating is bad, calories are calories and not replacing them because you're used to drinking them, the place where I've left my car at the race overnight, the searching for lost keys, it is the one that I want to have Plymouth like vibes but don't. And guess what. They are swapped.

This year. Such a struggle. Would have better to have Cinci CX switch weekends than NoHo. Seriously. But I'm not in charge and that's a good thing.

I'm curious as to what the schedule change brings to the table. I can't make it to NoHo this year. Too far, the obligations that were there but possible to fullfill and make it to Plymouth are impossible to make work for NoHo...  so.. we'll see.

But hey, even my bad races this year have been awesome because I was racing people, and really...  who cares if we are racing for 1st or racing that guy you've never beaten for 50th place.

The essence of competitiong, the motivation to do our best.

My training has not been quite what I had envisioned this year but it also has been more intune with what I can do. It means I'm no where near where I was when I spent a summer riding with Becca, but all given I'm not that far off and hey does anything matter other than Nationals? Yes. the answer is yes other things matter.

BUT - huge relief, i've figured out where I'm going to use 15 of my 20 vacation days over the next three months. AND the spring promises to offer a hugely rewarding replacement to CX so hopefully i can push off the depressed slump.

Things aren't bad, and honestly they are pretty good. Need to leverage Goldberg and Snyder and see about doing a low residency thing, that would be icing on the fucking cake of awesome.

I love what I do and I'm good at it, but sometimes I do wonder...

Life...

it is really fucked up eh?

Plymouth this weekend? really? Time Change? at least I'm local for my little brother's 40th birthday party. I'm actually stoked about the two presents I bought him. I super suck at figuring out presents for people but I think maybe these are pretty awesome.

McMaster-Carr FTW!

Dinner is almost ready, time to switch focus and pull back...

back to what's occupied me for weeks

for the better...

life...

and hugs are the best, have to say best hug this season has been from Andy Huff at PVD. I would love to challenge everyone to beat his hug, because hugs are the best thing besides water filtered through a brewery.

heddwch
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