Best Choices, Ballz & Random (again)

A ride didn't happen today, and I'm cool with that. I had some plumbing issues and needed to run around looking for 75 year old parts that don't exist in 2008. Thus a NEW sink/faucet will be installed in the poop room soon. Oh well.

Today I KNOW I made the right choice not racing. My back just would NOT loosen up today. I tried all my normal stretching, ice, Tylenol, etc. The only thing that made it somewhat OK was some half hearted massaging from Wifey. Harder. Harder! HHHHHARDDDDER!! I need to get to a chiropractor next week for sure.

I worked my ass off today. I did more work being "off" than I do when I work. So much in fact that Wifey suggested I become a "house husband". Sad part is, she's NOT entirely joking. I told her to work on getting promoted and then we'll talk. ;) I did clean some sports drink, vomit, sweat, oil, grease, Power Gel, etc., off the Campeon today. Then I took it for a ride around the block. Oddly (and thankfully) my back does not hurt at all ON the bike. WTF?? I want to get some miles in the next 3 days on the road, and then really hope to have a chiropractor/doctor/witch doctor/priest/witch/wizard/hooker look at my back next week.

For tonight I decided to utilize the ULTIMATE in muscle relaxers.... Yep, good old DFH Indian Brown Ale (AKA "The Best Beer In The World") 7.2% off malty/hoppy goodness from the great state of Delaware. Does anyone else forget that Delaware is actually a state? Sometimes I just think of it as a suburb of Philly.

Side note: I love the cool max Ts that many promoters give out at racers now. They rock. BUT, you can really only wear them when it's REALLY warm out. It got chilly here this evening and the headlights are full on!! Thank God there are no new born babies in the area, or I would have one trying to suckle a "moob". Damn. Can I get some HEAT here???? For Christopher's sake!!!

So after a day of endless house stuff, hanging with B-Man, and crying over not racing, it was time to get my Ballz on. Yep... TURKEY BALL FRIDAY! Hell yeah, mother f*cker (I love getting all gangsta on your asses 'n shit). Could it be that I might be too much of a pasty white bike geek to pull that off??? Yeah, you're right, forget that "gangsta" shit.

I thought more today about why I love the Giro more than the prom queen that is the Tour de France. As I mentioned yesterday, much of it has to do with the Italian love of cycling. To me the French look at the Tour too "black and white". The Tour always turns into this "political" sort of race. Often it seems the riders are competing against the Tour organization as much as they're competing against each other and the race route.

Example: during this year's Giro, Stage 6 was shortened by 33K at the riders requests due to some pretty severe earlier stages. The Giro peeps seemed to comply without much hassle. The Tour de France peeps on the other hand would have been SUPER dicks about it. I could see them saying "shorten it 33K?? F*ck you! NOW we're lengthening it 60K!!! You lycra clad scum!".

It just seems to me that the Giro designs a hard route, but in the end, respects the beauty of the sport too much to sacrifice the riders health and sanity in the same way that the Tour de France folks would. Then again, I'm just a mountain biker, who road rides so as to burn beer calories and not make a complete and utter fool of himself out on the trails. What the f*ck do I know??

Time for my ballz and another beer. Good luck to the folks racing the 4 hour in the suburbs of Philly tomorrow.

Maybe I'm super immature (I know I am),
but this pic is just too much...

I'M SPENT!

Later.