Season debut…
Well it was quite the week and weekend with lots of ups and downs. Thursday I got in a nice and easy ride before the rain. Didn’t do much else. Friday was a day off, played some basketball and everything in the morning then took it easy. After work, Jess and I headed to the Benchwarmers movie, I really liked it and recommend it highly! It was funny had a reasonably ok storyline and did I mention it was hilarious? It just goes to show that if you put Reggie Jackson in a movie, it is awesome, no matter if OJ is in it or not. While leaving the movie, I turned my phone back on and noticed 3 missed calls. Never a good thing when all 3 are from the same numbers (Mom & Dad Cell) so I called them right away. Unfortunately the news was bad as my grandpa collapsed a few hours earlier and was rushed in for some emergency surgery. When I spoke with my mom at 6pm she basically said right now it looked about 50:50 for survival. His heart and lungs basically gave up at the same time and he has had a long history of heart trouble. Well it was a long evening to say the least. Jess and I went to Dotty’s (we will likely go there a lot less with the Fudd opening today) for a good meal and then came home and watched TV and waited. Finally I decided to get some sleep, but a restless half hour ensued until I got a call. My mom called back and said that he was doing ok, actually the best he could be considering the circumstances. They did an angiogram and were going to do an angioplasty but the heart stoppage wasn’t due to blockage, instead it was just a weak heart. They are installing (not sure on the correct term, maybe implanting would be better) a pace maker and some other thing (one of those things that they use to shock someone who’s heart stops.) His heart will probably only run about 30% as well now but if his heart stops or has a big flutter there will be machines in him to get him going. He said he has a lot of living to do and isn’t done being a grandpa or great grandpa. My grandpa is a fighter, he probably should have died a few times so far, so he should be up and at em again soon! Anyways, the phone call from my mom (and then the Beav) was a huge relief and I was able to sleep.
Saturday AM, 2-1/2 hours of basketball. Unfortunately when I got home are already ailing boxer was feeling worse and worse. So no bike ride, instead a $150 swing to the vets office with pee sample in hand. They weren’t able to pinpoint what was wrong, only able to eliminate the two bad things it could be so that is good. We got some antibiotics but I am not sure they are helping. I have until tomorrow to determine if they work or not. Anyways, I got home and new we were going to babysit Jess’ boss’ son (who is 4) in a few hours and Jess was off wedding dress shopping with her mom. So I went on a huge cleaning binge and our whole top floor (except for a couple rooms) are immaculate! Dusting, mopping, vacuuming, organizing, sweeping, etc, no stone was left unturned. Not sure how long it will last but at one point our house was mostly clean. Babysitting was fun, just hung out at the park most of the time since he was only with us for a couple of house. Saturday night=dodgeball! We played well and had a great time. We finished mid-pack to get us a probable 6th place final standing (top 5 = money though.) It was a fun season. We also (since the tourney was at Pooleys) got to watch the hockey game! UW=National Champions. My friend pointed out that this is 3 for the academic year for UW (Cross Country and Women’s Hockey being the other two.)
Sunday I woke up kind of sore and was debating crit racing or not. I read the paper and watched a movie and a half and cleaned my bike. At 11am I told Jess I was going to race so we went down there (about 3 miles) and got ready. Unfortunately I got in line to sign up at 11:20 and it wasn’t until noon when I was registered. Fortunately for me, the racing was a half hour behind. I got in a brief warm-up and we were off. My racing tactics were poor. I was 4th to last in the first corner, by the second corner I was in 1st with about a 15 yard lead. I spent the next lap fading to the back of the pack again, when I decided I want to be up front after almost getting taken out by another rider I kind of know. I hustled back up towards the front held it for a half of a lap and back to the back again. I tried it a third time but then the pace sped up for a couple laps as people were getting ansy. Finally about lap 5 or 6 I was cooked and on the tailwind hill I got dropped. Myself and two other riders got together and just rode for a while. Finally it appeared that the ref was going to let us get back in the race (yippee!) so I idled on the back side of the course and waited for the pack. I felt infinitely better and had no problem hanging in this time as the pack got shredded down to about 30 riders. We rode around a couple more laps and I see Jerry attack. I desperately wanted to help and Kelson and I tried to get to the front. Kelson though never made it, and in turn I never made it either (I couldn’t do it myself and Kelson tried to get us both up there.) Jerry got caught with about a lap and a half to go. I see Hertz at the front but at this point I just wanted to finish with the group as I didn’t think I could help much with a sprint even if I could get up there. So I sat it and took it easy until the final corner and got up to 21st position by the line. Jerry sprinted and got nipped by 3 people for 5th place (he was probably 3 inches from 3rd place and maybe another foot to 2nd. Hertz got 11th place after trashing a rear wheel in the sprint. I was happy, of course I wish I didn’t have to lose a lap early but I feel that with a little better pre-race and more strategy I could’ve been a player, so I’ve learned for next time. I also am not sure about my place, I know back in the day I looked up the rules (1994) and a single or a small group of riders could be lapped once without penalty and still be eligible for a sprint but couldn’t help with breakaways or anything. It doesn’t really matter, next time I’ll just have to do better and stick it out. We stayed and watched the next race, where Jerry raced again (it’s for old men…you know those that are 7 or more days older than me) and he got 4th (couldn’t have been more than 2” from 2nd, guh) in a huge field (had to be 80 riders big.) I then went home, hot tubbed, napped, went to JT Whitneys for dinner and then watched some TV and some video footage that Jess shot of the race.
Now it is Fuddruckers Monday! 5:30-6 is the estimated arrival time. Of course on Fudd’s big day I find out about a possible legend in the making at TGI Fridays. From 1993-1998 Fridays was my favorite restaurant. They’ve went way downhill since, changing the things I like and going all Atkins. Can this win me back?
Nascar Update: Retired Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell is ready to go truckin: After racing late-model stock cars in Lakeland, Fl, for a number of years and a handful of starts in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup series, Greenwell will likely make his debut in the Truck series May 27 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Ohio. Greenwell, who started racing stock cars in 1999 in Florida, will compete in three other events for Green Light Racing, Inc., after its driver, Bobby Hamilton Jr., left to substitute for his father, 2004 Truck champion Bobby Hamilton, who is battling cancer. Greenwell will race at Memphis Motorsports Park, July 15; Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 4, and in the Sylvania 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Sept. 16. Greenwell, who played 12 seasons for the Red Sox, will test at a short-track in North Carolina early in May and again at Mansfield before attempting to make the field for the Mansfield 250.
Well it was quite the week and weekend with lots of ups and downs. Thursday I got in a nice and easy ride before the rain. Didn’t do much else. Friday was a day off, played some basketball and everything in the morning then took it easy. After work, Jess and I headed to the Benchwarmers movie, I really liked it and recommend it highly! It was funny had a reasonably ok storyline and did I mention it was hilarious? It just goes to show that if you put Reggie Jackson in a movie, it is awesome, no matter if OJ is in it or not. While leaving the movie, I turned my phone back on and noticed 3 missed calls. Never a good thing when all 3 are from the same numbers (Mom & Dad Cell) so I called them right away. Unfortunately the news was bad as my grandpa collapsed a few hours earlier and was rushed in for some emergency surgery. When I spoke with my mom at 6pm she basically said right now it looked about 50:50 for survival. His heart and lungs basically gave up at the same time and he has had a long history of heart trouble. Well it was a long evening to say the least. Jess and I went to Dotty’s (we will likely go there a lot less with the Fudd opening today) for a good meal and then came home and watched TV and waited. Finally I decided to get some sleep, but a restless half hour ensued until I got a call. My mom called back and said that he was doing ok, actually the best he could be considering the circumstances. They did an angiogram and were going to do an angioplasty but the heart stoppage wasn’t due to blockage, instead it was just a weak heart. They are installing (not sure on the correct term, maybe implanting would be better) a pace maker and some other thing (one of those things that they use to shock someone who’s heart stops.) His heart will probably only run about 30% as well now but if his heart stops or has a big flutter there will be machines in him to get him going. He said he has a lot of living to do and isn’t done being a grandpa or great grandpa. My grandpa is a fighter, he probably should have died a few times so far, so he should be up and at em again soon! Anyways, the phone call from my mom (and then the Beav) was a huge relief and I was able to sleep.
Saturday AM, 2-1/2 hours of basketball. Unfortunately when I got home are already ailing boxer was feeling worse and worse. So no bike ride, instead a $150 swing to the vets office with pee sample in hand. They weren’t able to pinpoint what was wrong, only able to eliminate the two bad things it could be so that is good. We got some antibiotics but I am not sure they are helping. I have until tomorrow to determine if they work or not. Anyways, I got home and new we were going to babysit Jess’ boss’ son (who is 4) in a few hours and Jess was off wedding dress shopping with her mom. So I went on a huge cleaning binge and our whole top floor (except for a couple rooms) are immaculate! Dusting, mopping, vacuuming, organizing, sweeping, etc, no stone was left unturned. Not sure how long it will last but at one point our house was mostly clean. Babysitting was fun, just hung out at the park most of the time since he was only with us for a couple of house. Saturday night=dodgeball! We played well and had a great time. We finished mid-pack to get us a probable 6th place final standing (top 5 = money though.) It was a fun season. We also (since the tourney was at Pooleys) got to watch the hockey game! UW=National Champions. My friend pointed out that this is 3 for the academic year for UW (Cross Country and Women’s Hockey being the other two.)
Sunday I woke up kind of sore and was debating crit racing or not. I read the paper and watched a movie and a half and cleaned my bike. At 11am I told Jess I was going to race so we went down there (about 3 miles) and got ready. Unfortunately I got in line to sign up at 11:20 and it wasn’t until noon when I was registered. Fortunately for me, the racing was a half hour behind. I got in a brief warm-up and we were off. My racing tactics were poor. I was 4th to last in the first corner, by the second corner I was in 1st with about a 15 yard lead. I spent the next lap fading to the back of the pack again, when I decided I want to be up front after almost getting taken out by another rider I kind of know. I hustled back up towards the front held it for a half of a lap and back to the back again. I tried it a third time but then the pace sped up for a couple laps as people were getting ansy. Finally about lap 5 or 6 I was cooked and on the tailwind hill I got dropped. Myself and two other riders got together and just rode for a while. Finally it appeared that the ref was going to let us get back in the race (yippee!) so I idled on the back side of the course and waited for the pack. I felt infinitely better and had no problem hanging in this time as the pack got shredded down to about 30 riders. We rode around a couple more laps and I see Jerry attack. I desperately wanted to help and Kelson and I tried to get to the front. Kelson though never made it, and in turn I never made it either (I couldn’t do it myself and Kelson tried to get us both up there.) Jerry got caught with about a lap and a half to go. I see Hertz at the front but at this point I just wanted to finish with the group as I didn’t think I could help much with a sprint even if I could get up there. So I sat it and took it easy until the final corner and got up to 21st position by the line. Jerry sprinted and got nipped by 3 people for 5th place (he was probably 3 inches from 3rd place and maybe another foot to 2nd. Hertz got 11th place after trashing a rear wheel in the sprint. I was happy, of course I wish I didn’t have to lose a lap early but I feel that with a little better pre-race and more strategy I could’ve been a player, so I’ve learned for next time. I also am not sure about my place, I know back in the day I looked up the rules (1994) and a single or a small group of riders could be lapped once without penalty and still be eligible for a sprint but couldn’t help with breakaways or anything. It doesn’t really matter, next time I’ll just have to do better and stick it out. We stayed and watched the next race, where Jerry raced again (it’s for old men…you know those that are 7 or more days older than me) and he got 4th (couldn’t have been more than 2” from 2nd, guh) in a huge field (had to be 80 riders big.) I then went home, hot tubbed, napped, went to JT Whitneys for dinner and then watched some TV and some video footage that Jess shot of the race.
Now it is Fuddruckers Monday! 5:30-6 is the estimated arrival time. Of course on Fudd’s big day I find out about a possible legend in the making at TGI Fridays. From 1993-1998 Fridays was my favorite restaurant. They’ve went way downhill since, changing the things I like and going all Atkins. Can this win me back?
Nascar Update: Retired Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell is ready to go truckin: After racing late-model stock cars in Lakeland, Fl, for a number of years and a handful of starts in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup series, Greenwell will likely make his debut in the Truck series May 27 at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Ohio. Greenwell, who started racing stock cars in 1999 in Florida, will compete in three other events for Green Light Racing, Inc., after its driver, Bobby Hamilton Jr., left to substitute for his father, 2004 Truck champion Bobby Hamilton, who is battling cancer. Greenwell will race at Memphis Motorsports Park, July 15; Indianapolis Raceway Park, Aug. 4, and in the Sylvania 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Sept. 16. Greenwell, who played 12 seasons for the Red Sox, will test at a short-track in North Carolina early in May and again at Mansfield before attempting to make the field for the Mansfield 250.
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