Grattan.......

....was a blast again last night! 47-ish miles in 2 hours-and-a-bit. No crashes, despite the very occassional drizzle. No drama. Congrats to fellow-Velo A.V.W. who f-i-n-a-l-l-y scored a well-deserved victory w/ a perfect move as we all jockeyed for the sprint.

Nice move, man, nice move.

M2 was 5th, I was 10th...........it was fun.

You know - I think it'd be cool if everyone did a race at least once. Now...I'm NOT one of those "Racing is cooler than everything else" guys, really I'm not. Most of my buds don't and, let' s face it, why wouldja?
It costs money
It hurts...sometimes a lot.
You can get crashed and bust bike and/or body parts.
You might suck....in public no less.

Still.............there's a poetry and a music and a vibe in that paceline that I don't think you can get anywhere else. The pack has a sound and a look that 's kinda special and at least once a race I find myself grinnin' and thinking to myself "Man, this is just SO COOL!" The sight of 50-75 brightly-clad racers pounding through the s-turns @ 25-28 mph is not something that you're gonna see on Tuesday night, y'know? The sound of 100-150 high-pressure tires whippin' through that hairpin @ the bottom of the hill........ditto. The feeling that you get when we hear the bell that means "1 lap to go" and you realize that you have a little something left and it's time to plan your move.....it's a good feeling!

We are way lucky to have the Grattan Series around here. For something like 28 years Skip and Diane have been runnin' races out there N.E. of GR. It's the best way to try road racing that I've ever seen and if you have a notion to check it out...........stop in and let's chat about it, 'kay?

Like I said...'tis a hoot.

It's great for this boy 'cuz @ this point in my cycling life it scratches my road race itch completely. If there was no Grattan Series I'd be tempted to waste a few Sundays a summer drivin' over to the other side of the state to have my ass handed to me by strangers. I ain't got time for that, y'know? The Grattan Series gives me a chance to race every week - it's (kinda) close by - it's cheap - it's pretty safe - it's competitive w/out being depressingly cut-throat.........what more couldja ask for?

(Well...besides a better leadout from M2, that is!)

You might wanna check it out sometime huh?

MC Out

By the way...........I want to offer my heart-felt congrats to everyone in the shop's orbit that's either a new parent, expecting or both! It seems like there's a major child-birth epidemic goin' on around here........(careful Jasker!).........and it's pretty fun to watch! So congrats to Scott, Krisanne and Miles, Chris, Dawn and Ella, Ted, Sarah and Hazel, Dan, Amanda and Riley, Marshall and Marci, Doez and Mel, the Pierces, Aaron, Renee and Levi, and any one else out there in the same boat!