The Sign of the Clan

It's here....the new "look" of the insiders on the team. Our insignia...our tartan plaid, our flag, whatever you want to call it, it's US!

Scientologists have nothing on Tau Alpha Delta.

You can order team stuff at www.cafepress.com/bikelove. This gear is for everyone who knows the team, a rider, and/or wears the jersey. So all you people who bought jerseys that are now in France or OZ or Connecticut, IL, NY etc, you are already part of the clan so at the very least, you need a sticker for your car.

Can't wait to give my Dad the sticker for his truck. I want to see how long it takes before someone asks him "What IS that?"

Our secret society, for those of you new to the blog, belongs to the Church of the Sunday Ride and we worship summer. Beyond that we like milk, beer, wine and chocolate and a good steak now and then.

Questions? Don't ask.

Eikey, thanks for doing such a nice job on the logo! See y'all soon.
dq

Heather Represents in Parker & Cult Status

I was checking the results of the Parker Omnium and Heather did well. She took 4th in the TT and placed top 10 overall with good results in the crit and road race. Way to go Heather! Tell us how it went--we need to hear!!

So the cult idea is coming along nicely. The R&D department has come up with a logo and we're researching items on cafe press. We should have the store up by the end of the week and we'll post the url here on the blog. Anyone who has a jersey or knows one of us is part of the cult. We'll show you the secret handshake when we see you.

I'm having team withdrawal and with no one around to stop me, I got a horse. Here we are getting aquainted last week. I'm hopeful that by spending time in a horse saddle I might heal up my shoulder. Here's to keeping it hoof side down.
d q

Kill the Wabbit....and other general news

Howdy!
In the absence of meaningful presence of my teammates I have taken up rabbit hunting. This morning's hunt was a near success. We chased 8 bunnies, Gabby ate the entrails of something then rolled in something else. By dog standards it was a gold star morning.

One would thing chasing rabbits is a rather dull sport but au contraire. The last bunch we chased scattered and one was close enough to Gabby that she was running full on at it whilst on her leash. There's only one thing to do when a dog is running to the end of her 15ft leash; start running or risk popping a shoulder socket when the dog runs out of leash. I started running and had enough momentum that when Gabby hit the end of the leash she pulled me forward. I was mid-stride and did an arabesque that Trisher, you'd of been proud of. I had good leg extension with one arm forward, poop bag waving high.

I gave myself a 9 on that one.

So, on team news, Lala is working hard in Boise. She says hi to everyone. Betsy is prepping for knee surgery--send her good vibes. Anna caught something and is recovering. Knowning Anna its chicken pox? Anna never gets just a regular old flu--it's usually something the rest of us had when we were 8. Anner, I miss seeing you at the coffee shop. Get better! Nat cat, Rachel and I raced last weekend in a wet, chilly local race. We made a break happen and Rachel and Nat were in it, but so was Kristin and Candace (Aaron's). They didn't want two of us in there so they attacked and Rachel was a casualty. She was in between the lead group and our chasing group and I did a stupid thing. It was cold and our group had a lot of newer riders who weren't sure about chasing. The pace dropped and in order to keep warm I went to the front and pulled for two laps. At the top of the hill I saw Rachel. Crap! I sat up but it was too late--another rider pulled up the rest of the way and Rachel was back in the fold. Sorry 'bout that Eikes. We weren't sprinting for anything as the money was up the road so I sat on an IS Corp leadout and tried to help a cat 4 rider. Not sure what happened to her in the end but I finished 5th, Rachel right behind me.

After the race I stayed to corner guard and watch Jordan duke it out for the Wis. Cup Title. He was 5 points behind the leader and it was a great race to watch. I was pinning down the corner with none other than Jamie and Julie T! We had a great time catching up. Jamie and JT look fantastic and said hi to everyone.

I think Heather is doing well back in Eagle, ID. And Mama Couch and Mama Schmitt are both well and happy. Trish has a new job. She's teaching science. I'm betting the Aussie kids are a little easier to handle than those in the Denver Public Schools?? good luck Trisher... and everyone else, send news!!

Tennis Shoe bling & Scientology

I forgot to mention that after Monday's race, Natalie and I visited a shoe store that had the funkiest tennis shoes I've ever seen. There was bling everywhere and who knew that PUMA was making shoes still?

As we were leaving the course we passed the Scientology place which was having an open house. Nat wanted to go in and I tried to beg off but she talked me into it. In a word: creepy. Two words...creepy cult. While Nat was filling out the information sheet I was checking out the cult jewelry. Apparently you can buy a ring with the insignia that indicates you are "one of them."

Natalie caught me making faces and she made one and I had to walk away or bust out laughing. We were introduced to a schmarmy guy who was going to show us around. I managed to get Natalie out of there before they tried to take us on a tour. I got some literature which is the most god-awful "writing" in the history of the world. How anyone could suspend even low human intelligence to believe that crap is beyond me.

I'm going to start a cult. The TAD cult. We'll have greek letters on our clothing to signify we're "one of us." Our church will be the Sunday ride and we'll worship summer. Maybe I can get some celebrities to join?

til soon, dq

Sleepless in Saint Louie...

Only sleepless because we had so dang much fun. Last weekend was Gateway cup and it was 10x more fun than the last time I went (2002). The weather was reasonable..temps in the 80s and sunny. I swore off going to that race years ago when the temps were consistently over 100.

there were a LOT of highlights from the trip. Me, Rachel and Nat cat taking on the regional riders and wound up taking 2nd overall in the Omnium (would of had first but Nat didn't get in until day 2). The racing was interesting and we had some really good leadout practice.

Racing in the dark on Friday night was ok. I didn't panic or die and while I still don't like nighttime racing, I'm less scrrrd of it. Rachel and I walked around the course and handed out bells to the spectators who were happy to have someone to cheer for. Nothing like hearing your name being called to make you feel at home! There were some elaborate sidewalk picnics going on and a LOT of adult beverage quaffing. I think St. Louis can compete with Philly for race fans.

We didn't get back to the hotel until 1am on Friday night. The diet coke I had to shake off the effects of a long drive kept me up most of the night so I wasn't able to finish the Saturday race but Rachel led out Nat who took 2nd to Kelly Benjamin in a long, uphill sprint.

Sunday's race was in the Italian neighborhood and we got ourselves a cheering section full of drunk guys. They were great and cheered every lap.
We aimed to keep the race together so we could lead out Nat so me and Rachel covered attacks. With less than 2 laps to go the three of us were together and I got to the front and starting bringing up the pace. We went past the start/finish all lined up and around the back. I made it until half way up the hill with Rachel shouting encouragement to me. She took over and got Nat around the corner but unfortunately for Eikes, some rider wiped out on the last turn, taking a few people with her. Eikes fell on the same side she'd hit a week earlier. She was a trooper though. A few more scrapes and soreness but she was taking it in stride. From the last turn Nat had a long downhill sprint and she was in the lead 50 feet from the finish. She was sprinting out of the saddle in the middle of the road and the other rider came over from the side and bodychecked Nat. We protested the finish but no official was at the finish line (nice, eh?). O well. That's racing. We knew we had a good finish so we celebrated anyway.

We stayed to thank our cheering section and then helped Troy break downt he cannondale tent. We are getting really good at breaking down the tent. Nat is the flag stripper, Eikes is the tent hugger and I'm the tent bagger. Im' not sure what was a harder workout--breaking down the tent or sprinting?? Either way, it was fantastic to have Troy's support. He kept our bikes running smoove.

We went back to the hotel where we had a lovely dinner and passed out about 10.

Monday we raced in U-City and we ran the same game plan; keep it together and set up for a field sprint. Me and Eikes were patrolling the front well and I knew Rachel was hurting but she was working hard anyway. The pack stayed together until two to go when a rider jumped off the front. I was mid pack, working to get a certain barnacle off of Nat's wheel when the rider went. I thought Kenda would chase and they didn't so I went after the rider. I wasn't sure if I could pull her in and still lead out Nat so I went with a moderately hard pull for longer distance to cover ground and keep Nat in position. Nat wound up sprinting from too far out and while the lone rider was within 5 feet of being caught, Nat got nipped on the line after a beautiful in the saddle sprint. She was on the podium and we continue to fine tune our teamwork. A great weekend. Wayyy too much fun and we wished that everyone else was there with us. Next year~