Michelob Ultra Glenwood Directions

It looks like our server done said no to people trying to open the flier. So here are directions:
Course description: Race starts at Empire Pizza. 6 mile route with a few punchy climbs. Course description & profiles can be found at http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/wa/glenwood/918127223077110365.

Traffic directions should be modified for folks to come up Pine Rd and stay off Sidney in the direction of the race as much as possible:

Directions to Start: Parking will be in large lot at south end of Port Orchard Airport (Port Orchard, WA 98367) 1/2 mile south of registration at Empire Pizza. From North or South on I-5 to Tacoma then HWY 16 to exit 20; proceed 1/3 mile west on Burley Olalla Rd. Left turn (south) on Bethel Burley Rd. After 1 mile turn right (west) on Pine Rd. for 1.7 miles to Sidney Rd. Right turn onto Sidney Rd for 1/2 mile then left to the south parking area at P.O. Airport. Caution for races in progress when coming & going on Sidney Rd. Ferry voyagers: Southworth take Sedgwick Rd (7 miles) to HWY 16 then left (south) to exit 20; and then as above. From Bremerton follow HWY 3 through Gorst to HWY 16 then south to exit 20, then as above.

True That

Refering to Senate Reform, TPM makes a comment that really hits home:



Of course the applies to consulting as well.

That wasn't throwing you under the bus...

It's amazing how vested some people are in never admitting they made a mistake. I had an exhausting conversation at work because one person said something in frustration. When they were called on it, rather than just saying "I said this, but didn't mean it" the person is doubling down on claiming they never said it to begin with and I am lying about what they said.

It's exhausting and I don't understand the end game. Both of us know the person said it. Sure, it's he said / she said everywhere else but they need me to get their job done and now they're burning that bridge. And for what? Like I said, simply saying "I didn't mean this" is easy. And there really isn't any practical consequence to that.

Strange.

My fat rolls are not happy

My comeback to racing is strictly local racing but that doesn't mean I shouldn't reinvent myself as a waif! To that end I've dropped 10 pounds over the last month. And it must show because people now feel like telling me if I only dropped another 10 I'd be fast! Of course, everyone whose offering advise on how to loose more weight faster.. I think I'm pretty much up against the maximum weight lose per week that I am confortable with.

Proud

I wanted to take a moment from my relentless bitching to say that I am proud of the reaction to Kenny Williams decision to race Seward Park last Thursday while serving a two-year suspension for using an Anabolic Agent (AKA Steroids).

Opinions varied about whether we should invest time into the issue, how to reacte, etc. I believe we can all have good faith differences of opinion. Ultimately, however, we owe Kenny nothing. He broke trust with us and it's incumbent on him to make amends not the other way around. Maybe that sucks, but that's why you aren't supposed to break the rules. Because doing so has bad outcomes.

It's hard to stand up and say "no!" in situations like this; there is a lot of social pressure to keep quiet because you aren't sure what others will think (that's different from honestly differing on how to handle the situation) of you. AS a community that didn't happen. People voiced opinions (even if the opinion was I think you're wrong).

Good work.

Feeling Groovy

I like racing my bike. It's true and a night like last night reminds me of that. Because last night was trully a slog for me at Pacific Raceways. It wasn't the Seattle mist that got to me; that's my preferred racing weather. It wasn't the course: I like going down the escape route (note to Rory: we know the road is rough! we've done it like 1million times!).

I just felt blah all night long. I had no snap and felt maybe 80% of the week before. It didn't help that me rear wheel was rubbing against my frame for half the race but that wasn't the issue.

And yet I'd go down and do that same race again cause I like racing.

Kick-ass: Kids Killing People is Teh Bomb!

In line with my apparent belief that you are all a bunch of unethical jerks, I'd like to point out that I also can't bring myself to reward Mark Millar by paying to see Kick-Ass. By all accounts Millar intends his work to be satire. I am not an English major or professional writer. I don't know the technical explanation for why this isn't really satire, but I am sure there is one.

Bottom line, Millar's work, regardless of his intention, glorifies bad behaviour from kid's killing without remorse to tacitly approving of rape. Again, he may not intend for that to be the message but he consistently protrays these activities as acceptable and glamorous.

I think that's wrong.

Learn something new everyday

Today I learned that a lot of people are pissed off that Kenny is racing Seward. Including me! Some are considering sending letters to cyclingnews.com and velonews.com about it. Not me! But I am pretty sure if those got printed USADA would notice.

I also learned that if a cyclist serving a suspension for doping races an unsanctioned race USADA considers that cause to either restart the ban or else convert it to a life-time ban. And they won't send him a warning first either.

If Kenny is done with racing in USACycling races then it doesn't matter. On the otherhand, if he was serious about seeking redemption someone might want to suggest to him that manning up and serving the suspension is the way to go.

F&^%. Give me his phone number and I'll even do it for you.

Not Just for IT anymore

You know, Scrum works in traditional businesses like home remodeling too. I'd be interested to see how well a home remodeling company that adopted Agile / Scrum Project Management would rate in terms of customer satisfaction.

Kenny Fail

If it's true Kenny raced Seward Park last night I guess it shows he's sorry for absolutely nothing. My only regret is I wasn't there to tell him to shove it up his ass.

Michelob Ultra Grand Prix is coming!

I am not going to tell you what to do. But you should really pre-register for the Michelob Ultra Grand Prix May 1st. Word on the street is that the entry level categories have been filling up across the board. We won't have the capacity to add races to accomodate any excess riders and I'd hate to see people turned away.

Exploding legs

What's worse than seeing a leadout go perfect and then the final rider exploding spectacularly and ruining the great leadout from his team-mate and hanging his sprinter out to dry? Being the guys who explodes spectacularly. And then having to ride home with said sprinter.

Sorry guys!

And if anyone finds those missing chunks of my legs down at P-R please send them to me!

And kudos to Martin on an angry move with two to go. Nice; almost pulled it off.

Speaking of hooking...

I take no sides in Bahati v. UHC but this in the comments was awesome:

Bahati's not an ass. He's a ninja! He disabled a highend racing machine clipping along at 30+mph with a pair of sunglasses. Dude has mad ninja skills!!

Read more: http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/04/news/rahsaan-bahati-unitedhealthcare-crashed-me-at-dana-point_111493#ixzz0l1fcMpht

Ethical hooking or just an asshole?

Over the course of my cycling journey I have hooked or been hooked riders in the finish. I've closed down the chase and I've done my best to slow down the other riders contending against a team-mate for the win.

I understand this is debatable. I fall on the side that it is ok as long as it's not aggressive enough to cause a decent bike handler to crash.

However it is not cool to hook riders in the finish when you are sitting at the back. No one there is impacting the race: your actions don't help your team-mates. And unlike the finish, wear a few riders are contending, you are doing it *in traffic* putting multiple riders at risk.

This happened at Volunteer Park and it still pisses me off. First, because the rider did it three times in the last lap, nearly causing two crashes at the back. Second because he admitted he did it on purpose. But as importantly, third, because his logic was he had the strong position and if we could we shouldn't be moved off our line.

New flash asshole: we moved because if we had held our lines *you* would have crashed. And frankly, I don't care about that. But the guys behind you would have too. And that is incool. But so noted and next time I'll let you learn the hard way.

Don't you love me baby?

Clicking through the links in my blog role I can't help but notice several should be removed since they violate my "update at least once a month" rule. But, you know, the real problem here is that they've all started posting on Facebook instead.

Is Blogging dead? Or is it just on hiatus until Facebook finally implodes?

I always found most blogging to be rather self-indulgent. I mean, who really cares about what happens in my life other than my close friends? But now I feel like this facebook thing is elitist! Like, hey, how come Old as Dirt will tell us he ate oatmeal for breakfast over facebook? Only his friends will know of his love for Mueslix mixed yogurts and 560 mile solo bike rides because he's to elitist to post on blogs anymore.

Damnit, I am just going to complain no matter what you do. Which, of course, is the real purpose of blogs so maybe it just means we are all happier now.

Let's Talk About The Weather

It's Volunteer Park day and once again the weather is looking great! What's up with that? Not complainin'. Maybe we should schedule Volunteer for earlier in the year so the sun comes out a tad sooner.

Wet and Cold, Cold and wet

That was yesterday. This is today. I expect the same.

Startled Panther's of the World Unite

Cause I am bringing pain & suffering upon myself at PR tonight. I may share some with The B-Snyde if he shows up.

I noticed the August calendar is pretty light. If I ran the Ronde Ohop in August would the cross guys show up?

Wet, with a chance of more wet: Seward Park Opening day.

In case you weren't there: it was wet. I just now dried out. Highlights? Jamie in his Carrera Retro kit and Ian soloing for 3 laps to win. Apparently he lost track of the race and thought the prime was a last lap bell. Sucks to be you!

I didn't see Mick in the race, which may have been because it was so wet I couldn't see anything but dirt.