always bet the farm.

"Treefarm" Trebon. Surprise. Good for him, he's been consistent and strong all season. Always impressive to watch, too, when him and Wicks roll around the PDX races it's surreal. Three steps, six barriers, and they're gone again. But Paige, now, what a ride. That has to be one of the best performances ever put up in American 'cross. Winning would have been some sort of cinderalla story crap, and hey, who really expected that, but 2nd is just plain astounding. Dude's got the complete package. Two months off of racing with torn ligaments and whatnot (and freaking surgery), and he rolls in on the podium. Dude's a stud. Read all about it here. Dang. 3-1 says he finishes ahead of Trebon at the world's. Any takers?
And Compton - she's a total stud too. Anyone who wins that race three times in a row has got some big ones. I like the fact that she's been kind of the sleeper in women's cross for a few years, just showing up to win the jersey then going back to tandem racing. She's stayed off the big pro radar, mostly, quietly proving that shes the strongest, and racing paralympic tandems - talk about selfless, and talk about an athlete. That's what it is, folks, pure, unadulterated athleticism. You don't see that much in cycling. Katie Compton - the real deal. Love it.

Someday maybe I'll actually practice enough at 'cross to be able to race the X-Crusade in a respectable manner. It's a beautiful sport, and the strongest and cleanest rider always wins. Not like road racing, where all these tactics come into play. It's like a technical TT, which is why I love it. There's no doubt who's the best at the end of the day. Alright, there's my new year's resolution: ride the new Xbike offroad enough to get comfortable and skilled enough to hang mid-pack with the A's this year. I'm certainly strong enough (I think), just need to learn to keep it upright.

Cold and clear is back. It's kind of nice, if only there weren't ice at the top of every little hill. It makes riding both cleaner, warmer, and more boring since the rideable loops get somewhat dimminished. But, I can take out the race bike, so maybe I should do some power testing before leaving for Christmas. It's about time - it's been close to 3 weeks since I did a 20'TT. 348W last time, and improving - this coming season could be a good one.

The TT won't be today tho - it's 27F and freaking snowing. I thought I lived in western Oregon? WTF?

link dump:
wtf?now we're treating americans like terrorists? again? no wonder we're losing.
lovely. how 'bout another 20 for insolence?
gotta get me one of these
and a set of these for the new 'cross bike (god that's gonna be sweet) and a red set for the race bike (all black and silver, black carbon wheels, getting red bar tape and red tiso bits... ooooo)

and I'm out.