mirror fun

mirror fun
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Last night we went to Matt and Beth's Wedding at the American Visionary Art Museum/Joy America Cafe. We had a great time and enjoyed several beverages since our trip home was all of 3 blocks. The photo was taken in front of one of those distorted mirrors that they have at the museum. It was one of those nights.

Thor was having a sleepover at Grandma's house. This was his first night away from us and that was rough, but I retrieved him first thing in the morning because we were missing him. He and Grandma had a great time...it was us parents that had it rough. 8-)

I was hurting pretty good this morning and a late night slice from Maria D's had my stomach doing all kinds of crazy stuff. I suited up anyway and rode my bike up to Poly High School for BBC's Back To School Crit. Hung over is no condition for bike racing, but when you can ride to the race ya gotta do it. I needed the training and I wanted to support BBC.

The plan was to sit in all race and try to avoid getting dropped. After I was forced to dismount over the bars when a crash came my way I decided to start attacking to minimize my time in the squirrelly pack.

I bridged up to 3 guys going for a prime and kept rolling with 2 of them since we had a little gap. The quartering wind on the back side of the course made it tough, but we built a small gap and stayed out front for 4 laps, during which I grabbed a prime.

After we were caught I managed to slot in near the front and spent several laps recovering. More attacks came and went until a solo guy countered and got a gap quickly. He stayed out there for a while with no real chasing pressure.

As the field eased up riders from the back started jockeying for position in order to move up. This led to all kinds of sketch so I jumped on the back side to escape the mayhem.

Coming across the line a prime was announced and the lone leader was in sight. I bridged to him and asked if he had anything left to keep going. He said he did, but needed to recover for a bit. He offered to pull once we got to the rise leading to the finishing straight.

I drove it into the wind and suffered since I had just put in a big effort to bridge, but I kept my head down pedaled. Once through the last corner I slid over to let him pull through, but he was gapped and hurting.

I was pretty much done, but dug a little more to grab the prime before the field swallowed me up.

After a few more laps I was recovered and thinking about the finish. Bernie attacked with 2 to go, which fired up the field and got things single-file in pursuit.

I got behind two strong sprinters and hoped they would find a way up front. We were making progress, but got blocked and had to slow just a bit. At that point, if you weren't already in the top 10 there was not much point in taking big risks to mix it up so I sat up and rolled it to the line in 23rd.

Dave nabbed 4th and is just a couple of points shy of his upgrade to cat 3. He started the year as a 5 so that's pretty impressive. Ryan might have been top 10, which would put him one away from his upgrade.

At the start I was feeling pretty ill, so I was happy that I was able to get in a couple of breaks and grab two primes. BBC did it up right with the primes too....I got a Giro Atmos helmet and a gift certificate at Joe's Bike Shop. Sometimes prime-hunting is the way to go...especially if you aren't down with the field sprint.

My fitness is on the right track for 'cross, but there's a ways to go and the early races will be a shock to the system.

Thor at 4 months, photoshop, & bike racing

Thor close up b&w watercolor
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Thor had his 4 month doctor's appointment today, which meant 4 shots 8-( but he is doing very well.

The stats...

15 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile)
26 inches (88th percentile)
pooping daily
smiling and giggling constantly

And he's sleeping 10 hours a night!

We are soooo in love.

I just bought photoshop and can already tell that I'm going to have a lot of fun with it.

I really dig the black & white watercolor effect on the above photo.

I raced my bike last last night (first time since May at the JHU Druid Hill training series. I got in my intervals and had a fun time, though the racing was very negative. Everyone felt a need to chase down everything immediately and then just sit on the wheel.

I mean, if you're going to chase down an attack why not take a pull or 2 to try to make something stick?

In any event, it was good training & I badly needed some interval work to prepare for 'cross. I'll be back out the next few Tuesdays.

Good night.

Bordeaux Chateau

Bordeaux Chateau
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Here's a cool shot of a Chateau in Bordeaux. We found this place during a ride on our 2003 Tour de France trip. Notice the two riders heading up the dirt path to the Chateau. That day's ride was incredible. The weather was perfect and after several hard days in the Pyrenees I felt trés forte on the rolling roads of Bordeaux.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeer

It's Friday and I'm ready for a beer, but this'll have to do for now.

Check out this link to a very cool Cecil B. Demille-ish ad for Carlton Draught Beer.

http://www.bigad.com.au/

Or click on the title of this post.

Weekend plans...

Tonight: Beer (maybe 2!), carryout and a movie on the chesterfield (that's Virginian for super-comfy couch)

Saturday: Road ride, then el salto for a margarita and grub......mmmmm el salto, my favorite Wendy's converted into a cheap Mexican joint!!! I already know what I'm getting...jumbo margarita frozen w/salt, cheese dip, guacamole, & a burrito con azada w/chicken. Damn, with all the talk of booze and mexican food this is starting to sound like a post from fatmarc's blog.

Sunday: mtb ride & new recipe night on sunday...still on the grilled fish theme.

There will also be a lot of Thor-time all weekend long...it's the best.

On Monday I'll be up before the crack of dawn to catch a train for a quick trip to NYC for what promises to be a long day.

I'm getting hungry. Time to grab lunch.

nutz

Should I expect funny looks if I wear a cup under my cycling shorts?

Yesterday evening I got out for a ride at Avalon with Sean. We rode a steady pace and punched it on a few of the shorter climbs making for a nice ride. I felt pretty good for most of the ride, but at the start of one of the rocky climbs we got to chatting and I stopped paying attention.

I rode right into a rock and went over the bars (going uphill), but only after slamming into my stem in the worst possible place. Needless to say I was doubled over moaning for a few minutes before climbing back on. After that I was pretty sloppy on the rocks as I was afraid of another impact. At least we have Thor already in case I did any permanent damage to the fellas. 8-)