First things, first.....

If you are a Massachusetts registered voter, PLEASE vote yes on question 3. If you know a Mass. resident, please spread the word. Vote to approve the Greyhound protection act, ending dog racing in Massachusetts forever. Even if you are not a "dog person" or an "animal lover", dog racing is a cruel and abusive sport, which has no place in a civilized society.



Just a couple quick bicycle related updates; Lynn and I survived Highland MTB park with out any serious injuries. First a big thanks to Mike F. for letting Lynn and I ride his high zoot big $$$ bikes down a steep rocky mountain. Down hill, freeride, dirt jumping and "pump tracks" are all new to me. I felt like a have never ridden a bicycle before, I always thought that I had a decent set of bike handling skills, not any longer! Watching Mike F. "style" every jump, clearing all the gaps in the "Sherwood Forest" was worth the trip. Adam S. also joined us, there is NOTHING this man cannot do on a bicycle, everything from Pro crit. races to dirt jumping, wow! Mike I.? He won the silver medal at nationals for downhill, nuff said.
We had a great time, I highly recommend Highland!

The Dirt Demo (interbike east) was a blast, Almost the entire P. bike crew was in attendance. We rode everything from high end commuter bikes, cheap city bikes (pictured) to the latest super squishy mountain bikes. Which did I like the most? I honestly don't know. High tech "gizmo" mtbs leave me cold, I like simple light weight hard tail mountain bikes. On the otherhand there was something I liked about every bicycle. Lynn loved the BMC carbon full suspension cross country race bike. We attended the industry after party, then headed into town for dinner and beers. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend the day.

Look what I found

Look what I found on the interweb! This is my old car! I purchased it from the original owner in 1991, over the next twelve years,I turned it in to a "full tilt" tarmac rally car. My focus changed from racing cars to bicycles, so I sold the GTI to a mechanic who worked with me at the dealership. He in turn sold it again and I lost track of the car, but heard random reports that it was destroyed in a rollover crash. I feel a bit conflicted about seeing the car in action with some stranger behind the wheel. I spent an unconcievable amount of time building, tuning,racinig and rebuilding this car. I realize it is just an object, but it represents a little more than a 1/4 of my lifetime. There were many cars, but this red GTI should have been a keeper.

Hijinx & Highland Mountain

Adam S., Mike F., Mike I., Zack, Lynn and I are LL headed to Highland Mountain Bike park early Saturday Morning. Watch this space for updates and pics.

Then: Interbike announced it will host its first annual Interbike Outdoor Demo East Tuesday, October 21 to Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Roger Williams Park in Providence, R.I.

Sunday? MTB riding early then, off to Brookline MA for Swedish car day @ the museum of transportaion, Woo Hoo!

Lots of days off, 'cross racing, mtb riding, friends and beer! October = FUN!!!

Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester, New Shoes

Lynn, showing off her fancy new Italian shoes. Prada? Yeah right!


Saturday Lynn, Lyons, Jay and myself, loaded up for an early morning trip up to Goucester. We enjoyed a quiet sunrise drive up to the North Shore. We were nervous, but played it cool. My race was first, after registration as we rode the course, other riders were slipping and sliding in the wet grass. We were beginning to feel confident.

My starting position was in the second to the last row, in a 100+ field. My plan was to sprint hard, gain the best position possible before entering the tape. This worked fairly well as I swam upstream, though the center of the pack. Once into the first tape sections all bets were off, I concentrated on late apexing(sp) the corners, shutting the door on as many riders as possible. Once into the top twenty, the field seemed to thin out. Then it was over, on the down hill section after the barriers, a rider in front of me high sided. I pulled up on the bars, there was no time, I drilled my front wheel into his back, blowing over the bars, knocking the wind out of me. Some spectator told me that I was okay, I believed him. I got back on, can't catch my breath. I finish the lap...but not the race.

Lynn's starting position was better, but not great. It's very encouraging to see a 60+ woman's 3/4 field at a 'cross race, or any race for that matter. The officials still can't seem to give the women their own race. The woman's race was sandwiched between the older juniors and younger juniors. The first group were to ride one more lap than the woman. When the laps cards shown 2 to go, that meant 1 to go for the woman?!?! Needles to say the race results are FUBAR! I'm convinced Lynn completed one extra lap and was scored accordingly. For the first three laps, she was riding a couple of spots outside of the top twenty. The results showed acknowledged lapped riders in the top ten. Frustrating! It was still a wonderful day of bike racing, friend, dogs, beer and splendid New England landscapes! Things could be worse!

"Berlin Express Arrives in Paris"

Artist-Len Krenzler


This image depicts an actual event: "In the spring of 1944, Bill Overstreet of the famous 357th FG was hot on the tail of a German ME109G. The pilot of the 109 flew right over Paris where German anti-aircraft artillery was heavy, probably in hopes they would solve his problem by eliminating Bill and his P51C named the “Berlin Express”."

Here is the encounter described in Bill's own words:

"I had followed this 109 from the bombers when most of the German fighters left. We had a running dogfight and I got some hits about 1500 feet, He then led me over Paris where Many guns were aimed at me. As soon as he was disabled, I ducked down just over the river (smaller target for the Germans ). Followed the river until I was away from Paris." - Bill

When asked what was around the tower at the time, Bill said, “I'm not sure, I was a little busy.”

I find the pilot's heroism and humility incredible, but in all honesty, can you imagine?

echos of eco-cross

Early, Sunday am, Lynn headed off to East Falmouth for The 6th Annual Corner Cycle Coonamessett Eco-Cross. This event is one of her favorites, the course rewards technical skills, plus the venue is at a gorgeous farm! Lynn was able to get off a strong start and fought hard to hold her position, securing second spot on the podium. She was also very happy to share the podium with another local racer, Giulia Righi.

Gloucester on Saturday!