H1N1 Flu

I am pretty sure the whole H1N1 flu thing has only caught on in Iowa as it was Tom Vilsack that wanted everyone to start calling it something other than the swine flu because then people think something is wrong with all the pork in the stores. Anyway, there was a case of H1N1 flu reported here at Notre Dame and I have since contracted it and became the second US death. Yeah, I'm writing to you from beyond the grave and the only reason I am not resting in peace is because I need to spread the word on how dangerous the H1N1 flu is. I didn't get as much press because I wasnt the first (which is crap), but I guess thats how news works. Oh well.

Really, though, I wish this whole swine flu thing would die down. Its just the flu. It poses the same dangers as the flu I managed not to get this winter (and instead, I succumbed to the swine flu...yay). The H1N1 flu thing is getting as hold as the whole ND inviting Obama to speak at graduation. I understand everyone's arguments and where people have their panties in a bunch. Good, academic discussion about it is good - nay, it is welcomed - but when I have crazy activists moving from the vatican to South Bend just so they can hire a biplane to fly around campus with a pro-life banner 5 hours a day and parade around campus with baby strollers with cabbage patch kids doused in ketchup....really? Please, let's move on...the only way you are going to get it changed is by talking to the administration, not by hauling fake dead babies around campus.

Anyway, enough ranting. Here's what I put on the B2U/WOB blog about the Winona Race...

"Yesterday I threw down in a local 65 mile RR so that I could represent the B2U/WOB shops here in Indiana. After the performance I am positive people will be making the trip to Iowa to patronize the shops. Anyway, the field of about 40 guys had some good teams in it - Texas Road House, Alderfer Bergen (the team is stacked with a lot of dudes from my collegiate conference and Indiana University...IU has a wealth of fast dudes), and some guys from the Bissel club team. The field also had some solo guys that had been hauling me around the midwest during the collegiate season. I didn't have high hopes going in, being that I was flying solo, but a guy can't win if he doesn't try.

To spare everyone the gory details, a break went from the field early in the race, and then halfway through the race a chase group, including me, took off from the field. The chase of 10 was powered by the Bissel and Road House teams. We (and by we, I mean them) shut the gap down from 2 minutes to about 30 seconds, and then the cat and mousing/fireworks started to happen. Bissel and Road House ended up getting guys up the road, along with a few crazy strong guys from other teams. That left me to chase the last 5 miles with 6 guys on my wheel. No one would work with me since they had teammates up the road or were "too tired", and I didn't want to sit up as it would let a lot of guys get back into the race, potentially pushing me out of the money. So, I put the hammer down and hauled into the finish. Somehow (perhaps by the grace of all performance enhancing drugs I've been injecting?) I rode 5 of the guys off my wheel before the finished. That left one Road House guy on my wheel that routinely houses me at collegiate races. I opened up my sprint late since it seemed he wasn't going to come around until I went. The powersticks almost came through, as I was edged out by only half a wheel (when I was expecting to get absolutely wasted) for 8th place.

All things considered, I'll take an 8th place. It felt really good, especially riding everyone off my wheel the last five miles. It made me feel like I was good or something. Next up Joe Martin...woo hoo!"

PS I really didnt die from the H1N1 flu.....

Last tale of pain, ciff notes style, and some other stuff

See this? This is me dishing out the pain on "the snake." Mike Moritz was kind enough to catch me ripping up the hill (I mean, its kind of hard to miss me, Im huge and obeeeeese). Seeing good 'ole Bryan in the picture means that I must've worked my way up to the front, which I guess is quite the task considering I started in the last row...87th position or some crap like that. I continued my assualt up the course and eventually made my way up to the very, very front. I rode almost half the race in either first, second, or third position. It was great - I could feel the snake alley victory within my chubby fingers. I could go with the skinny dudes up the hill, and then with gravity on my side, I could pull away on the downhill. I had the plan, the last lap I was just going to keep contact up the hill, and once we were on pavement again, I was going to let the fat take over and ride off into the throngs of people for my biggest victory yet. Right before the penultimate time up the snake, though, fate threw a large stick into my wheels. The stick didn't break any spokes, though, it gave me a flat tire. Damn. So, I'm standing at the bottom of the hill yelling for a wheel, anything, as the 2 leaders ride way from me. Im screeeaaaming for a wheel, eyeing the dude with zipps next to me, eyeing the open pro to the left of him, anything! Then, out of no where, Nick comes running with his bike! "Take my bike dude" he yelled. I told him to switch the wheels (since I was afraid i was going to trash it on a downhill...i know, im so lammmee). After a super quick wheel change (the whole thing mightve taken 30 seconds) im back and riding. By this point, though, I had dropped to maybe 8th or 9th position. I pick up Bryan on my next lap and I ride in after he blows by me in the sprint. 7th or 8th...whatever I got there, totally not bad, at all. But soooooooo close to awesomeness.....It just all came spiraling downward so fast...and then I cried, a lot. Ok, no I didn't, but you couldn't blame me if i did, could you?

Anyway, I've been crazy busy the past two months with riding and working and schooling and everything. Hit up a lot of collegiate races - I would've thrown down some race reports if anything interesting happened, but the only interesting this is that I got dropped from every road race and I was off the front of every crit for about 15 minutes in a very promising move, only to get reeled in at the end and place somewhere in the back. The college races were tough this year, 40-60 guys every race, super fast, and little recovery. It was balls to the wall for almost the entire race. There were some good dudes in those races, and while it sucks to get dropped, it can only help racing against the quality of people I raced with this spring. It can only make a guy better. I was probably more excited to watch Jenn race and do well (she's this close to getting a win, I can feel it), and watch Nate and a few of the other guys on the team get better throughout the season.

Im stoked for Iowa City this weekend. I'll be rocking the 1/2 race, so hopefully some good things will come of that. I'll be rocking a new team, which I'm super stoked about. I can't wait to race with all the guys from B2u/WOB - we look sweet, which is by far the most important thing, and we should be putting up some W's this year. Maybe Ill post something afterwards...you know, sooner than two months after this post.