Tour of Missouri, Stage 6

this weekend i took a couple days off to watch to ToM. denny had an idea to ride out to the schluersburg and then head back to st. charles for the finish. we met denny, dave, and brian at creve couer park to head out. let me just say after not riding the last two weeks and cashing out my legs playing hockey the day before i was in no shape to do a ride like these guys wanted to do. as we headed out we hit some nice big climbs that woke up the legs. as we got to the base of schluersburg my legs were in full cramp mode and just barely made it up. as i road i saw plenty of familiar faces from the local racing scene.

we waited around for about an hour before the first break of 11 riders came up the hill. you could just see these guys suffering. a few minutes later the main group came across. i made out hincapie and vandevelde in the top 10 just cruising up the climb. a few minutes later one sole tecos rider came through. i was inspired by everyone cheering this guy on and i had hoped he would make it back to the peleton. riding another 50 miles by yourself in these hills is not something i would wish upon anyone. i didn't know if he'd make it to the group or make the time cut, but i believe he was the tecos rider the dropped out of the race.

after they passed it was time to head back. we were down to three now since denny was going home with his wife. believe me, i was so close to heading back with him. i decided since i took the day off i might as well ride back. we took a combination of roads and the katy trail to get back. we timed it perfect and arrived about 15 minutes before the finish. cavendish completed the hat trick and missourian brad huff pulled off a 3rd place. we got in about 77 miles and got to see some real bike racers. excellent day!

New member of the family....

I started writing this the other night at work, while on my lunch break of course. A few updates to it since then.

It's been almost two years since my last husky, "stanley", passed away and have been wanting another one for the past several months. Bailey needs a partner in crime also so last Thursday I found one on craigslist. I tried the pounds and the Husky rescues with no luck, and to be honest, it's just easier to get one from a local breeder. Some rescues want to do a complete background check and find out all about you before they allow you to adopt a husky. It's funny how I ended up with this pup. I found an ad a couple weeks ago and called the breeder, but he was already taken. Now fast forward to Thursday and I'm trying to find this female puppy ad that I had seen the previous day. I ended up finding someone selling a male husky, which is what I wanted, so I called and found out they were 15 minutes from me. I drove there and picked him up that night. It dawned on me later that he was the same one that I had originally called for the week before. It turned out the previous owners had bitten off more then they could chew and only had him for a week. He's a great little dog, typical husky, drama queen, and a thinker. Housebreaking is a bitch, but I'm confident he'll come around in the next couple weeks. I named him "skates".



Now as for racing, I haven't ridden since the Wash Ave crit, and to be honest I really haven't had a desire. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon on Friday and was basically told to rest it. So that is what I'm doing. I've got another appointment on Wedensday for some prolotherapy, basically reinjecting your own plasma to speed recovery. It's been a long season and I've put in a lot of miles. I've needed a break and so I guess my break is maybe just ending the season a little earlier then I wanted to.



I've been getting the bug to lace up the skates again after a long break. I haven't skated since I hoisted the BHL cup in April of 2007.

Now, as for an update, yesterday I had my PRP shots in both ankles. It hurt like a bitch, needles probing all over your ankles is not fun. This morning my left ankle is in serious pain and hurts to walk on it. I'm hoping it gets better by tonight since it's our first game down at Brentwood.

As for Skates, I've now had him for a full week and he's made great progress. He went to work with me this past week. He was great, he sat in my office and was pretty much perfect. He laid around a lot and slept. In fact while typing this he actually barked at the door to go out. Bailey is feeling a little more comfortable with him too.

Tomorrow there is a race down in Jeff City, but seeing how I haven't ridden since Gateway, and my ankles being sore, I really don't see it happening.