Easy week (thanksgiving), groupies, down w/ the sickness

This weekend was off of racing. So I took this week easy for training. No intensity, extra day off, you know all the luxuries of being a half-assed amateur bike racer.


 Thursday of course was Thanksgiving. Lindsay and I made the trip up to my parent's house for the obligitory meal and to hang out with our nieces. They're good girls and are a lot of fun to be around.

nice change from the sick action photos normally found on this lame action-packed blog

Saturday I woke up with that 'I'm getting sick' feeling; scratchy throat, little cough, sneezing, stuffy head...I started hitting the hot tea and echinacea hard. My immune system has been rock-solid this season and I was hoping it would hold on for another few weeks. But there's no fighting it when it hits.
I had planned to do the Sunday group ride (or groupie as I like to call it) with the Bakehouse group. I wasn't sure how it wold go with a cold hampering me, but it was a nice day so figured I'd go and ride whatever pace I felt good with. If that meant getting dropped, whatever. It turns out I did get dropped. But because I got a flat! I actually had really good legs and was feeling pretty good. I was on the front on the causeway climb when I felt/saw my rear tire going down. I had flatted on a short ride Friday and had missed a tiny piece of brown glass that was still in the tire. I told the group to go on (I absolutely hate having a group wait for me). It's an out/back ride, so I would just get it fixed, ride on and catch the group on the return route.

Bakehouse groupie hitting 446

I ended up riding considerably harder than I wanted to because I was on my own for ~30min. So I assumed I'd have an "easy" ride back in being able to sit in. But the group decided the way back would be the harder section of the out/back. So as the group started splitting I was trying to play fair and gradually bring the group back to the splinterers in front, rather than making fast/quick efforts to move up. But the group straggled anyway, so it was just 4 of us for a good portion of the way back. It was a good solid ride and I'm glad I went. Like I said, it was harder than I wanted to ride with a cold, but I don't feel any worse off for having done it, so I guess that means it was a good thing.

I had some TV to watch when I got back as the Formula 1 season closer in Brazil was on. The world championship was to be determined at this race; down to the wire. The weather conditions wee crazy going form rain, to dry, to drizzle, to rain, to drizzle, etc. They must have pitted for tires (tyres) like 10times! Young German Sebastian Vettel ended up wining his third (consecutive) world title. That's a big deal. Only two other people in history have won three in a row. I have a ton of admiration for those guys. I can't imagine how difficult to would be to drive a car that fast for that amount of time making no mistakes. It's like CX: 100% form gun to tape, and no mistakes. And if you do make a mistake, you have to be able to recover from it quickly. Good stuff.

This weekend is the classic Indiana CX race at Brookside Park. This race has been run longer than I have been into CX. But I've done it every year since I started into the CX. It features those famed "Brookside stairs." It is a venue on the less fortunate side of Indy (read: in the ghetto) and as such the famed steps deteriorate more every year. I'm wondering if this will be the year the trip up the stairs will take a different route to avoid the steps that are falling apart. We will see I guess, right?

Three races left in OVCX series. It's coming down. Hopefully I can kick this cold. I am definitely not down with the sickness. (btw: I didn't know who sang this song, and I think these guys are a bunch of pussies. But I used it anyway) I don't know which is worse down with the sickness, or Down With Disease. Actually I do: it has to be The Sickness. Those guys suck.
Lates.

Here's some Slayer for putting  you through all the above BS. My apologies.