Random Thoughts

I have to thank all the people who cheered me on during the season, whether it was the usual random assortment of folks littering the local cross courses mid-race, or people who picked me up on the long dark mid-week afternoons between races, when the bitter little aspects of last week's race seem larger than the joy of it, and the challenge and nerves of the next week's race loom. I couldn't do it without my cross friends; and I wouldn't do it without you.

_____________________________________

The Rig is up and running. I took it for a shake-down ride at Hains late this afternoon. It's a Kona Major One single speed cross frame. If you're going to be one... you should be a Major One, I guess.

I took all the gear of the Crosscheck and just swapped it over. There will be some upgrades in the near future, not least of which will be some gold handlebar tape. Full fenders will go on in a day or three, and we're going to probably build up a White Industries rear wheel on a Mavic CXP 33 rim, for some light & speedy hoop action. In case you're wondering about the spec, the crank is an old Ultegra with a track ring, the cog is surly, and the tires are the wretched but durable Armadillos in a 700x28. Hard tires notwithstanding, It rides as sweet as you'd expect a thin-wall scandium tubing frame to ride. Very sweet.

_____________________________________

Nobody has fallen as far, as fast, as Tiger Woods. Even Icarus is off somewhere on Olympus shaking his head and going, "damn, dude." The extent of his extramarital cheating is epic. And I don't mean that in the "wow, that 45 minute race was epic." I mean, epic as in Homer could have written a book about it and the book would be longer than the (ahem) Trojan War itself.

On the one hand, it's not shocking. He's a billionaire celebrity, and unlike most all the other billionaire celebrities, he's not 50, geeky, wrinkled, ugly, and weird. So naturally he'd have an opportunity or 300 million to cheat. But he did it with a Playboy calendar collection worth of women - most of whom are proving to be much more indiscreet and venal than the characters on Gossip Girl. Cheating usually shows bad judgment; cheating when you have *so much* to lose shows world class bad judgment. Cheating with women that even America's Second Most Famous Hooker thinks are being immoral and uncouth? That's like the Grand Slam of bad judgment. Tiger apparently doesn't do anything the amateurish way.

Boy, do I feel bad for his kids and wife though. I will admit to a sick desire to see Jesper Parnevik confront him over it though. Tiger's wife, you see, is the Parnevik's former nanny, and a close friend of the Parneviks, and Jesper is known for wearing funny hats, and being really testy.

_____________________________________