the race season has begun

you'd never know just buy looking at these photos

[well, the discerning eye could tell: note that chad and i are wearing helmets],

but the cycling season has begun here in central iowa.

and i couldn't be happier about it.

i know: we had a delightful winter, and i was able to ride thousands of outdoors miles without heavy winter clothing after my little stint in the hospital. but there's just something about those long, dreary days--outside riding notwithstanding--that sucks.

for me, it's seasonal affective disorder, and it's getting progressively worse. sad, combined with my chronic narcolepsy [which includes a healthy dose of add and dyslexia, to boot], would be enough to make me a hypochondriac, if they were imaginery disorders.

thankfully, they're not [i'm not crazy].

and thankfully, they're not particularly dibilitating.

more of a pain in the ass.

but i wonder if i can get a handicap parking tag?

i could fall asleep walking from my car to the whatever.

i have fallen asleep riding my bike before.

but that's another story.

i'm here to write about cycling, and racing, in particular.

chad vandelune, in action in the first all9yards.com gravel road race, march 10.

the mostly reverend, cutting through a sloppy corner, ahead of longtime cyclist scott campbell, of oskaloosa, also during the march 10 gravel and slop race. it only looks like i'm moving slow.

the team, and lane anderson in particular, has put together another great program of races this season. and i'm really happy to be riding for this bunch of folks, again. the team is sponsoring races--road and off-road--from march through, what, october, november? and LOTS of them. it features almost everything bike races should have: 1] lots of them; 2] nearby; 3] tough courses, no pussy-footing shit; 4] low-key production; 5] really top-notch competition; 6] free beer [not all of them, but enough of them]; 7] all season long [none of this "i'm taking a month off" shit]; 8] scenic venues. what are they lacking? big cash prizes. but you know what? after racing, and not racing, during times when the races held are these stupid 20 to 40 minute four-corner crits that cost $20-40 for the privilege, or road races are 20 miles long, these 60 mile grinders in mud and snow [what will next week hold? who cares! everyone who has done them agree they are killer fucking races, and just what are needed] and the up-coming 80 mile march road race the 31st, followed by a hilly criterium at the state fairgrounds which WILL become as notorious as snake alley [if they let us hold it long enough] is just what is needed to repair central iowa's reputation as a hot bed of REAL bicycle racing. it used to be, you know. every weekend, it seemed, there was a road race and a criterium somewhere in iowa. and all9yards is working to bring that back.

the wise bike racer will do as many of these races as possible.

so will the really good ones, too.

i hope to see many of you there.