Cap City Cyclists

Our brand spankin' new cycling team is off and running, err, spinning. I don't quite remember how or why we thought we should form a team to bike the Valero MS 150 but we did and there's no stopping us now!

Team rides have already started, individual training is going strong and the "please, please, please sponsor us" letters are starting to show up in the mailbox of every business associate any of us have had the pleasure of working with/drinking with/running with and/or biking with...hell, we can add sleeping with/eating with/taking incriminating photos with to the list as well. Pretty much anyone we can claim even a remote relationship or alliance to can and will be hit up to fund the budget. And then we'll ask companies we don't know for money, too. There's got to be someone out there that wants to see a start up team of misfit riders do something big like this, right? And it is for a good cause, with the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society reaping the rewards.

I'm worried, as usual. I want our riders to have a terrific experience and have as many creature comforts as possible. I'll rest easier knowing we have money in the bank account to pay for our team tent, cots, tables, chairs, food, beverages, jerseys & tee shirts, etc etc etc.

I don't own a road bike, so I'm in charge of the details. I'm recruiting SAG Hags and planning, planning, planning. The overnight camp is Beeville, which does not appear to have an abundance of restaurants that cater. I'm hoping to get the go ahead from the Valero folks to bring a grill. I can grill beef, turkey and veggie burgers or possibly fajitas for the riders as they arrive, hungry, hot and tired. In the morning I can use it to make breakfast tacos. I don't want our team to wait until the food provided by the event is served. I'm hoping for the best with our budget, which seems impossibly large. And we simply have to order jerseys by August or run a risk of not being ready in time. I found one online source, Jeksports, that offers lower cost semi-custom jerseys for teams of 4 or more entered into any MS 150.

Meanwhile, the team is becoming a cohesive unit, despite having beginner riders alongside experienced ones. We're forging ahead, believing we can do this and do it well. We're just not going to believe we can't, and that means we'll make it on sheer stubborness and will power alone, if nothing else.

"The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."

~Dale Carnegie~

The Real World

I saw in the news today that a Real World cast member from the current season was arrested for biting her boyfriend. She bit him repeatedly, because she was angry when he wouldn't let her in his house. Ummm, yeah. I wouldn't let her in, either.

I remember when the Real World was less a voyeuristic "who's hooking up with which cast mate" reality blurred by fine editing show and more of one that actually had drama beyond binge drinking. I guess my one and only love affair with the Real World would be season 3 with Pedro, Judd, Pam, Puck and Rachel. I was so enamored with Pedro that when he died in 1994 I was truly saddened, knowing the world lost a passionate voice in the fight against AIDS.

I was sickly fascinated with Puck, the way one is engrossed completely by a television show about massive tumors or how everyone slows down to look for blood on the road at the site of a bad car accident. Puck was disgusting and self-serving, never apologetic and always looking out for his own best interests. I hated him but couldn't stop watching. I felt the same way about Rachel, who had obvious chemistry with Puck.

Judd and Pam were my other favorites. When the season was over, the friendship between Judd and Pedro stayed strong, as did the one with Pam. By the time Judd published his memoir "Pedro & Me: Friendship, Loss and What I Learned" he also realized that his friendship with Pam was much more than a passing fancy. Who can't love it that a Real Worlder makes one of his housemates his life partner? Add to it that Judd's graphic novel & cartoon animation career is in full bloom, as is Pam's medical career. Wowsa. And here I am, blogging from my clerk job. Now that's irony. Oh, not to belittle my job. I'm a litigation assistant, which basically means I'm a well-paid clerk.

Who do you miss from the Real World?

Hincapie Happiness

A few more pics for you to enjoy.

Fickle Following for Tour de France

Where's the hype? Where's the excitement? Where's the support, Austin? Lance retires and we turn our backs on the Tour--is that how it goes? There's been relatively little TDF talk around town so I'm sending a shout out to all my girlfriends and gayfriends. The American Hottie, George Hincapie, took the yellow jersey for the first time in his career yesterday. C'mon, Austin! Let's get Hincapie Happy. The man is gorgeous and American. What could be more fun than pissing off the cycling world one more time by cheering yet another Yank to victory?

In other TDF news, officials announced they'll no longer give out giant green cardboard hands to fans during the final stages of flat rides. Norwegian Thor Hushorvd crashed yesterday during the finish sprint when his shoulder brushed against a fan's giant hand. News reports say his "bloody gash" was stitched up at the hospital. I'd feel awful if my gigantic cheering gear caused a cyclist to crash and burn. Perhaps the tour officials need to rethink the use of cardboard crowd giveaways completely, not just in the final stages.