The Monster

In what may be the final weekend of my "vacation" in Austin, I got to witness some absolute fabulous racing. My friend Mike came down to visit this weekend and it happened to be the weekend of the AT&T Downtown Criterium .

The women heated things up with some very fast sprinters and some nasty crashes. These girls are tough, and Kelly Benjamin did not disappoint! She came home with the goods narrowly beating Tina Pic. My friend Jen Purcell also raced. She is such a natural talent, I love watching her race! She crashed, got back in, reeled in breakaway single handedly for the Colavita Pros (two laps on the front), and still finished very, very respectably in this stacked field. Jen is my hero!

Then it was time for the mens race. I new this race was going to be fast because the start list had several pros and local amatuers on the list. Then, I realized Rock Racing, had a full squad here including Tyler Hamilton, Kayle Leogrande, and sprint ace Rahsaan Bahati. They were also a major sponsor of the event. The Toyota United Pro Cycling Team showed up with non other than Henk Vogels, Ivan Dominguez, and "support riders" Hilton Clark, Chris Wherry, Caleb Manion and more. Then as we are watching the womens race. I see local heroes Pat McCarty (Dallas) and Kristian House cruising around. These are only to name a few. Colivita had guys here, Jittery Joes, its a full on Pro Race! Top it off with amatuer teams like Mercy, Healthcoach, and San Jose, and you have a glass full of pain, no, no, a barrell full of pain. I have never wanted to race so bad, but man was I glad to be watching!

The mens race was so fast. It didn't seem aggressive, but I think it was because the speed never dropped below 30mph. Stefan spent some time off the front, to pick up a prime and act as an annoying nat buzzing around the pros ears! Pat looked good but a late crash spoiled his plans (I think) for a late solo move. Not to worry though, Kristian House picked up the slack and attacked with five to go gaining 20 seconds fast! One lap later, six Toyota guys had a train going for Ivan and they picked up House with only two to go. As you see on Velonews though, Colivita spoiled the party!

Today, Mike and I stumbled upon more crit racing and stayed to watch. I am going to cut to the chase. Less pros, more exciting race! Holey Crap. Rock Racing showed up in full, two buses, three escalades... Not long after the start and a few break attempts. Stefan forces a group of four off the front, including non-other than Tyler Hamilton, Ian Dille, and a the Single Jittery Joes guy, who had just gotten back in after a nice crash. These guys got thirty seconds fast and with Rock Racing and Mercy blocking, all the break saw was stars in the daylight! The only team chasing was San Jose. If there is such a thing as a crit course for Stefan, this was the one. A long climb after the sharp turn, and temperatures in the upper nineties. Towards the end, this break was killing eachother. Stefan would attack all the way up the hill, Jittery Joes would counter, then Tyler would counter, then Stefan again! Ohhhh what pain! Stefan came up with (I think) one of the biggest victories in his career outsprinting his three breakaway companions. Spectacular! Not many people can say they have beat one of the best cyclists in the world! Definitley visit Stefans blog, this guy has raced every single weekend since late April. When most guys would be at home cooked, or burned out, Stefan adds another V to his Resume! Way to go Dude! Thanks for an exciting race.

As a final note: Tyler Hamilton has always been a hero of mine, because its hard for a nice guy to do well in bike racing, and he has done some very amazing things. Cycling is a rough mean sport. He proves that never EVER quitting will take you farther than anyone can imagine, and somewhere only you can dream of. He never quit with broken bones, he never quit in fighting for his innocence, and he never quit living his dream as a bike racer. I don't know if he ever doped or cheated, no one will except for him. But I think that there is no way anybody can do what he has done unless their heart was clear. So Tyler, its great to see you back racing. Maybe someday I can learn something from you about never quitting. I hope we see you around for a couple more years! And seriously, talk to Mr. Ball and see if he would offer Stefan a contract!

Rice Rocket 3e8

I can chalk up another fun and new event. I am sure everyone remembers rollerderby. Its a sport that was huge in the 70s , and as most things from the 70s, its getting popular again. Last night I went to watch the girls from Austin lay the smack down(literally)! A freind of Malindas hooked us up with some free tickets. Its hard to explain rollerderby. Its like a combination of track cycling, hockey roller speed skating, and girls that are tougher than anybody I know. I am not even going to try to explain the rules. But I do know that Rice Rocket, number 3 e(to the power of) 8 is one bad ass chick! She skates for the Hotrod Honeys. I wonder what my rollerderby name would be if I was a cute tough girl. Feel free to enlighten me with your ideas. For hints on name and number choices check out the website!

My night ride wasn't as fun this time however. For one, my crotch was on fire due to my 100K ride that morning. Then, as I was almost up to speed I stood on the pedals and my foot slipped out. I promptly racked myself on the top tube, mostly lost control and rolled up onto a sidewalk via a ramp (thank god) and then across some grass and off the curb on the other side. I was mad when stopped and proceeded in trying to rip the plastic cage of my pedal, to no success. Oh well, maybe I should have drank a couple of lonestar beers at the derby... lesson learned!