Jester of the Mountain

This weekend was quite delightful to to point that I can barely walk up the stairs to my room. There was much mountain climbing, awesome downhills and possibly to many bike races for my massively large lungs to handle. But there is one thing that I want to discuss first: Jester of the Mountain.
As part of the circuit race this weekend, there was a mildly epic hill climb for the last leg of the race. Those that made it to the top first were considered to be the King of the Mountain. They got a fancy jersey and all of the glory that comes with it. But for me, this is some thing that I will never achieve, so I have resigned my self to being the Jester of the Mountain. I have some notes on this, and why I have labeled my self this:

1. I was dead last in the circuit. I completed it, but dead last.
2. I spend more time doing paper work for the Drexel team than I do riding Clifford.
3. I caused John Frey to do a double take while looking at the photo results. I really need to get a copy of that. 

Let it be known if any one else wants the title, they must let me beat them to the top of some hill, on the condition that they actually make it to the top without stopping. If my out of shape ass can do it, any one can.

Now on to the exciting moments from the weekend as seen and documented by the apparently appointed dictator of the team:

• I-95 on a Friday night is really the best way to go to CT, especially hitting the Washington Bridge around 9pm. I just remind everyone to make sure that they have cash on hand to pay the tolls. It felt like we were in the Kingston Trio song "M.T.A." and we were never going to get off the highway at any time.
• When planning on going on an over night trip with bikes and someone is going to join you at your final location, make sure you have a spot on the bike rack for them, and a place to put their stuff in the car. The person might not like it that you leave their stuff in CT.
• Make sure to charge the GPS unit. Better yet, need to get some sort of massive battery pack for it. That will work.
• Statements overheard while riding in races and from the side lines:
• "Guys, it is a prime lap. We have to go faster" -Men's CII field
• "Why is everyone riding so fast? This isn't a race. We all have to get to the same place." -Men's DI field
• Nick popped a wheelie just after the 5th turn in the crit on Sunday just after changing gears. It was pretty cool. I just won't want to be around him if it had gone wrong.
• The Drexel men made a strong presence in the DI field this weekend. Having 4-5 people making an attempt to make it around the course is just awesome, and I hope that we have more people make it out over the last two weeks of racing.
• Brent and Nick rode in the CI field this weekend. They did a great job, and since I wasn't riding with them, I will let them tell their stories about those races.
• Fitting 8 people into a really small hotel room does prove to be an interesting feat. I think that there were some laws broken, but everyone for the most part slept pretty well. I think.
• I'm not a leaping gazelle as someone stated at the ITT start line. I'm more of a new born baby giraffe. Just saying. I hope to some day to be a leaping gazelle.
• Helping other team mates around the course also helps yourself to keep going.
• To all ECCCers: Draft behind me. It is the biggest break during a race you will ever get. Ask most of my teammates and riding friends.

Some notes on my riding:

• Need to figure out this whole gearing thing. Apparently I'm partying in the front and something is going on in the back. Not sure what, but it is being influenced by the front.
• Need to work on the whole cardiovascular thing also. Man was I winded half way through most of the races that I was in this weekend.
• Need to fix all of the small stupid mechanical things wrong with my bike. The clicking that is coming from, while helps me keep pace to the songs that I sing in my head while riding, is starting to get a bit annoying.
• I think that it is time to invest in a bike fitting. A proper one, what ever that means.

Well this concludes my first blog entry in a really long time. With two more racing weekends coming up, I hope to meet more people, race better and get more riding in once I find my bike. It was lost in transport.

Happy Riding.