Musings

It's mid-summer and I've been absent both the trails and the blog for a while. I dragged the bike all the way to Lake George this weekend and didn't make the time to ride between hiking, storms, and weddings. Did get to talk with someone about participating (potentially) in a 24 hour race as a team, which would be a fun challenge to try. Right now I am looking at jobs, which would require a change in venue, and therefore riding partners and places. This leaves me with mixed emotions but I am putting the cart before the horse and should settle down to take one day at a time.

Speaking of settling down and taking one day at a time, I did a quick recalculation of the total mileage for the year and I am around 720 right now. Not a blockbuster year for some but a great one for me so far. I am on pace to break the all time record for a calendar year (1000 set back in 2003 or 4) but need to keep going to be able to do this. The majority of these miles are coming from my commuting which has kept me in decent shape but not entirely race ready. Have to see if I can carve out time for the Farmall series. I will miss the race tomorrow but would like to be able to make the other two. On top of that, I raced my first xc 5k since high school last Thursday. Crossed the line in 24:18 which isn't too bad - ran a sub 7 min first mile which was a little fast. There are three more races in that series so I will have to see if I can improve.

One last thing - about that energy crisis. I have noticed people complaining about the cost of gas, etc. but not necessarily driving their cars differently. Being on a bike much of the time in the city, I get a chance to observe how people drive and it's amazing how people floor it at green/getting going from a stop sign, and wait to the last second to get off the gas and onto the brakes instead of coasting. Making subtle changes in driving habits would improve way their mileage (and thus their fuel expenses). But alas, I am but a lowly road hazard they have to speed around that would be better smeared on the front of a H3 - what do I know.