New Week; Fresh Start

Hey, it's Monday tomorrow. That means it's a whole new chance to screw up your diet, training plan, or job! It's a whole new chance to do well, too, and for the most part, the choice is in your hands.

There will be ups and downs, I'm thinking. Some people are getting an early start on screwing up, piling on the race refs about one a them things what just happens, only it happened to occur at Poolesville on Saturday. After a couple threads beating up on the head ref, mainly calling on her to explain herself and criticizing her for not doing so, she weighed in a couple minutes ago to apologize for not responding via email because her power's been out.

Whoops.

I guess that gaffe counsels toward a little forebearance.

On the other hand, maybe forebearance isn't going to be your best friend all the time this week. Pax Velo did a great job of re-establishing the excellent Leonardstown Crit, and the town very kindly permitted the race (yay!) but some asshole(s) decided to throw tacks in one of the corners, causing multiple crashes (boo!).

Bryan Vaughn managed to capture some great video of Keck Baker hitting the tacks and going down, using a "Homicide: Life on the Street" style spinning camera move to capture all the action. That Bryan sure knows how to suffer for his art...

Leonardtown Crash from Bryan Vaughan on Vimeo.

Not sure I'd have any forebearance on hand, if I caught somebody throwing down tacks in the corner during a bike race. I might reach into the cupboard and find a small can of whoopass though...

Crazy days.

I'm going to get this week off to a good start though. The first step was to find some good fuel for tomorrow's morning ride.

Grilled Pork Loin; Mixed Veggies

If you look and that and think "that looks tasty," you're thinking right. It was. I coated the pork loin with a rub of garlic and celery salt, chili powder and paprika. A little garlic salt and paprika on the veggies, and some chopped potatoes with skins on (miked then browned in a tablespoon of olive oil) topped it off. I think it was Rousseau who defined the good life as a joint of beef and a glass of good wine at night; grilled pork loin is an able substitute for the beef. The pork loins themselves are magic. We've taken to buying a whole loin in the cryovac from Giant when it goes on sale. You get about 10 pounds for $15. Thanks to the magic of Henckels knives, we cut it into 18 inch thick chops and a "roast," though how you can call something as lean as a pork loin a "roast"... anyhow it provides the meat for 7 dinners for $15. We seal up little 3-chop bags using one of those vacuum sealer things, and the meat keeps just fine for up to 6 months in the freezer. Not bad, and damned yummy in fact. You shouldn't eat tons of pork all the time but I think we do chops about once a week, and I usually grill them, incinerating most of the fat on the grill. In addition to my little rub, simple marinades of orange juice, rosemary and garlic or lemon and garlic work wonders. Steam some veggies in the microwave and it's a quick, cheap dinner.

Now I'm about to clean the drivetrain on the Giant, adjust the brakes, and get ready for the ride in the AM. Looks like some rain is coming later in the day, and maybe there's going to be some rain Tuesday. Doesn't matter to me though... I'm already plotting how I'll work my rides in. Can't wait to meet the week.


Don't forget the National Ride of Silence on Wednesday. The "registration" for the cost-free event opens at 6:30 at Hains, and the ride rolls at 7:00.