I finished Fitchburg at the back of the train, swinging my red lantern. It was my first stage race--four consecutive days of challenging courses--and my first time in a field stacked with top-tier competitors from around the country. I finished.
I did not race well, stylishly, or competitively. I stayed with the field as long as I could each day, and then when I gave up on myself and got dropped, I completed the race to make the time cut and be allowed to race the next day. But I hope that finishing this time is a step towards competing next time, or the time after. I may never drive the engine of a high speed train, but I'd like to move up to a more comfortable car.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Triumph of Cupcakes
I almost gave up on my dreams in Home Depot. Equipped with some sketches and a handy friend, I had come with a lofty plan to construct a bike rack that could carry six dozen cupcakes. Their plywood saw was out of order, no one could tell me where to find and 8-gauge locking pin, they didn't have the right kind of hinges, I had only one day for this project–and I was really hungry. Overwhelmed and defeated, I weighed my options: sit down on the floor to rock back and forth crying beneath the buzz of neon lights and the judgmental eyes of strangers, or go home empty handed to eat pizza and take a nap. My friend looked also on the verge of meltdown. Yet somehow, against the odds, we gathered our strength and triumphed.
Could my dreamy sketches of a cupcake bike become a reality? What if I was wasting all that time and money on a foolish idea? So what if I was! Sawing plywood in my livingroom, turning an old mop handle into an umbrella holder, taking turns drinking beer and screwing down hinges, I dared to beleive it could work.
Days later I was pulling the last of 14-dozen cupcakes out of the oven, frantically frosting as I prepared to debut my cupcake business at the downtown bike race and then AS220's fundraiser ball. I baked in a bikini and apron to bear the blistering heat.
The cupcake bike's maiden voyage terrified me more that the most competative and technical criterium I've raced. If I let the back heavy bike wheely or tip as gravity wished it to, days of labor and six dozen cupcakes could scatter into mush on the pavement. Now I understood why vending bikes are invariably three-wheeled or front-loading (but not homemade fro $60). Miraculously, with my roommate guiding me through traffic, we made it across downtown to set up at he bike race.
It worked. I sold dozens of cupcakes at both events, glad I didn't let Home Depot defeat me, and that I followed through on my foolish idea.
Could my dreamy sketches of a cupcake bike become a reality? What if I was wasting all that time and money on a foolish idea? So what if I was! Sawing plywood in my livingroom, turning an old mop handle into an umbrella holder, taking turns drinking beer and screwing down hinges, I dared to beleive it could work.
Days later I was pulling the last of 14-dozen cupcakes out of the oven, frantically frosting as I prepared to debut my cupcake business at the downtown bike race and then AS220's fundraiser ball. I baked in a bikini and apron to bear the blistering heat.
The cupcake bike's maiden voyage terrified me more that the most competative and technical criterium I've raced. If I let the back heavy bike wheely or tip as gravity wished it to, days of labor and six dozen cupcakes could scatter into mush on the pavement. Now I understood why vending bikes are invariably three-wheeled or front-loading (but not homemade fro $60). Miraculously, with my roommate guiding me through traffic, we made it across downtown to set up at he bike race.
It worked. I sold dozens of cupcakes at both events, glad I didn't let Home Depot defeat me, and that I followed through on my foolish idea.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Win Some, Lose Most
Because road racing is hard, and takes discipline and experience to do well, it is rewarding; however, sometimes it is simply frustrating. At those times I wonder if it's sick to put oneself through the rigors of training and stresses of competing, if it's worthwhile to push other passions and responsibilities to the backburner to pursue sport.
My season started in early April. I raced timidly at Turtle Pond and finished not last. The next weekend, I went all the way to upstate New York to race 10 miles of Battenkill (a 55 mile course) before quitting because of breathing problems. A third weekend offered two chances to compete, Sturbridge and Palmer. At Sturbridge I felt stronger and more confident, but dropped and broke my chain in the first of four laps.
With nothing to lose I rode more agressively at Palmer; I attacked early, but didn't have it in me to stay away alone for nearly fourty more miles. I sprinted well and finished 3rd! That's not winning, but my best finish ever in a road race, and enough to renew my optimism. It' worthwhile.
My season started in early April. I raced timidly at Turtle Pond and finished not last. The next weekend, I went all the way to upstate New York to race 10 miles of Battenkill (a 55 mile course) before quitting because of breathing problems. A third weekend offered two chances to compete, Sturbridge and Palmer. At Sturbridge I felt stronger and more confident, but dropped and broke my chain in the first of four laps.
With nothing to lose I rode more agressively at Palmer; I attacked early, but didn't have it in me to stay away alone for nearly fourty more miles. I sprinted well and finished 3rd! That's not winning, but my best finish ever in a road race, and enough to renew my optimism. It' worthwhile.
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