The End of an Era

Silliman isn't usually all that sentimental, but he is today. RIP Ted Kennedy.

Sure we still have the King of the Filibuster, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, but being that he is both older than dirt and was late to the civil rights party, he's really a horse of a different color.

I won't make any grand statements for good or ill concerning politicians, but I will say that this morning I am feeling nostalgic for a bygone, Modernist sensibility concerning politics and world affairs. For all of their short-sightedness and failings of one kind and another, the so-called greatest generation approached civic life with a sincerity that not only preceded, but optimistically failed to anticipate today's universal irony. The baby-boomers had different causes, different priorities, but dammit they could still believe in something without cracking a smile or rolling their eyes.

Obama's easy skill as an orator and effortless and inspirational command of a room give me hope, but I have to wonder how long it will be before we have only leaders who have never known either true hope nor true struggle. I wonder what kind of a country we will live in when we are governed entirely by the children of comfort and privilege, by the generations that know no history and live entirely in the taken-for-granted present.

Today, in honor of Ted Kennedy and those who went on before him, I want to do something in analog; in black and white.

-n

Li'l Somethin' for The Kids

No races this past weekend, 'cross season just around the corner, and only two of the hardest races of the year (GMSR and Univest) between now and then. Lots of training, monstrously hard Euro-pro workouts, low cadence work, speedwork, swimming, campfires, novels, it's been a good week.

In other news, I seem to have gotten a teaching job. Adjunct instructor of college composition, that's me.

For inspirational purposes, I offer my favorite 'cross video. I thought this song was awesome before it was put to this purpose, now I see its true brilliance come to life.

Diggin' the Dog Days

It's Monday again, I'm behind in blogging, but life is pretty good. Today instead of doing bike things I am cleaning my apartment and heading up to Saratoga to go to the horsey races. I have lived my entire life within 45 minutes of the track, one way or another, and I have never been. Poor me with my conscientious, Bohemian parents...never any mainstream fun. But today I shall sweat and bet, and hoot and holler from the cheap seats. I'm psyched!

My latest column is up over on Embrocation Cycling Journal, hope y'all like it. While you're there I highly recommend also taking a look at Jeremy Dunn's latest, which includes a hilarious video, truly worth it.

I have a teammate or two who are on me to update the team site, and rightly so. This past weekend we acquitted ourselves admirably taking 2nd, 3rd and 6th at the Capital Region Road Race on Saturday, and then winning the Fall River Crit, plus taking 4th, 5th and 1oth in Eastern Mass on Sunday. Not only are we the nicest elite amateur team in bike racing, we throw down pretty hard, too. Full reports from this weekend, plus recent history dating all the way back to Montreal-Quebec will appear on the team's website this week. Look forward to it, it will be good reading.

-n

New Column at Embrocation Cycling Journal

My new, bi-weekly column is now live and online over on Embrocation Cycling Journal. Check it out, it's a great magazine, both online and in print.

And that's it for now, busy day. Later this week I'll have details from Montreal-Quebec and some exciting news about the upcoming cyclocross season. For now I'll just say I'm going to be riding some pretty bikes.

-n

Canoes, Quebec, and Late Summer Recalibration

I'm still overdue on my complete Tour De Quebec race report over on the team site. It's coming up today, I promise.

Post TDQ, I took three days off the bike, then headed to Ontario with Char for some light bikin' and quality hang time with her parents. That was followed by another 4 days off the bike that included a marvelous journey deep into the wilds of the St. Regis canoe wilderness with Charmaine. The mosquitoes were the size of my fist, it rained, there were goblins, I carried a canoe on my head for 5k, we ate many marshmallows. Pictures to follow.

This past week I got back to training, putting in a big block of 24 hours and ~410 miles or so from Friday through Thursday. My ass is pretty thoroughly kicked but my legs feel like a bike racer's again--which is to say that they hurt.

The hurt leggies probably owe more to the fact that I raced La Classique Louis Garneau yesterday, aka Montreal-Quebec, which was 154 miles of rainy bike riding. It was a great race, I flatted 3 times and made it back to the group each time, which was an adventure in itself. We had good luck, then bad, and only put one rider in the money. I did win the field sprint (good news!) but it was for 26th place (bad news..). C'est la vie. Driving home alone from Quebec city took a looooooong time.

Today I play catch up and get another job application out to another Community College. Hopefully I'll be gettin' my teach on come September. If I don't get hired somewhere it's going to have to be substitute teaching, I think. We'll see.

Race reports and more thoughts to follow.

-n