carpediemracing 

I tried to get there to time the Red Trolley Crit on the last Sunday, fly out Mon or Tue, depending on airfare cost/availability. I'd arrive 2-3 Wed before that.

With Junior (who is 3 - I didn't go in 2012 because the Missus was enormously pregnant in Jan, he was born early March) I think the trip will not happen in a while. It may, though, depending on what happens with work (I'm looking for a job) and her schedule. Thing is that she's a CPA so it gets busy right around that time. It may be that I go with Junior but I don't know how that would work out, probably not super well from a cycling point of view. It may be that I do a 3-5 day trip during the week and do 6 hours a day or something nutty.

My friend there (the dad) was my best man, leadout man, shop manager, and general life advisor. He was also my Interbike connection, both when I worked a booth for a vendor as well as when I worked for InterbikeTV. He's still heavily in the bike biz. He met his wife through my shop. The two kids grew up with me visiting every year for a couple-few weeks.

I think the house is a mile from the high school because we walked to the strip mall opposite the intersection, and that was after a long day on the bike. We went for sushi across the street from the high school, there was a frozen yogurt place there for a bit, a little post office, etc etc.

carpediemracing 

If he wants to help then you should take him up on it. You can learn a lot, and so will he.

I learned tons when I had my first leadout man MikeH. MikeH was way more experienced, stronger, but didn't have the same top end as me. We did lead outs at SUNY Purchase Tues Night Sprints and we'd clean up. MikeH would generally hit about 38-39 mph, launching me into the sprint with just 3-5 guys that would have a chance to beat me. One guy ALWAYS beat me (Eric Min, co-founder of Zwift) because he could beat me in either the jump or the sprint (I could only match one or the other, not both). We would do 10-15 sprints every Tues, try to do the same in races. I never won a race May-Aug but I placed inside the top 6 numerous times. It got to the point where guys would roll up to me before a race and ask if MikeH was there, and if I had other teammates. Virtually the whole Cat 3 team worked for me if it came down to a sprint, sometimes I had teammates inadvertently battling each other to lead me out. In some races I had 4-5-6 guys working for me, mostly everyone would chase and then MikeH would try to launch me.

In 2010 I earned enough points to upgrade to 2 by June or so. I told my friend and teammate that I didn't feel ready to upgrade but that I'd upgrade at the end of the year because we wanted to start a family (and I assumed I'd never be able to upgrade to 2 again). I planned on basically not racing once the Missus was pregnant so mentally I was prepared not to be competitive at all in 2011. I went into 2011 in very poor shape and the Missus wasn't pregnant until toward the end of the season - it was August when we traded in my 350Z for a 4 door Golf to match our sister car Jetta Sportswagen.

Therefore in 2010 I tried my best to help my Cat 3 teammate. I learned a lot, basically that I misdirected my efforts and should have been a bit more of a Renshaw vs a Voigt. Renshaw always had Cav on his wheel once they get near the finale. Voigt is more a teammate that does monster efforts at the front but not with the teammate directly on his wheel. I assumed my teammate would be able to finagle his way through a field but in fact when guys were marking me he had a hard time getting up to me. A lot of guys were marking me because of my placings and single win.

If I'd been more of a Renshaw I think my teammate would have learned more, I'd have learned more, and it'd have been more fun. MikeH was definitely a Renshaw. For those BFers that watched me slither through gaps at Limerock and Walnut Hill, I learned that following MikeH when he was doing the same to get us to the front in the last lap or so of a crit.

Here I am playing Voigt. I never succeeded in playing Renshaw for my teammate.

topflightpro

My team has a clear policy on this to avoid any issues - All prize money is split evenly among everyone at the starting line. Now, people do not have to take the money if they don't feel they did anything to earn it, but it is on them to not accept it.

I like this perspective as it removes any potential animosity and helps to encourage everyone to work as a team.

gsteinb

Sold my house. Buyer paid list, but need us out in 45 days. Went to buy the house we wanted and it went to contract the day before. We're now in full scramble trying to find a place we want to live and doesn't bury us. Haven't really slept this week. I'm still hitting my numbers, though needing to grab my other bike from up north to sort out my new position issues. I have designs on grabbing a leader's jersey this weekend, but really need to harness the stress and lack of sleep into a **** ton unit of anger energy for pedal turning.

big john

If anyne can do that, I think you can.

Good luck finding a new place. The ex wife and I went through a similar deal in 2000 and ended up in a crappy apartment for 3 weeks. She said it was like a bad vacation.

furiousferret

Where am I going to crash the next time I'm in Jersey?


Good luck.

TheKillerPenguin

Dude, that's huge. That's also daunting, but I'm sure you'll pull something off.

Congrats; take it out on the race plebes.

TheKillerPenguin

Car insurance is like the only industry I know of that penalizes you for loyalty. My plan has gotten a lot more expensive than it was when I first signed up a year ago; by cancelling it and signing up for the same exact plan with the same exact options and with the same company I'm going to save $300/yr. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills?!?!

carpediemracing 

We stayed in a small apartment for a year. Was a great thing for us, allowed us to really take time looking for a place to live, saved us a ton of money, etc. We couldn't find a place prior to that and we'd sold the house we were living in (my house). Plus the Missus was working up here, 90 minutes from the old house, and I was working from home. Half the mortgage, virtually no utilities (the unit was super warm in the winter I think because we were between two units - we barely used any heat and each apartment had a separate oil furnace), etc.

Change always seems stressful when it's happening but it seems like it usually works out for the better. All the best in the upcoming 45 days and beyond.

carpediemracing 

It's like any auto renewal thing (cable, phone, etc). Introductory/bait/special offers at the beginning, then regular prices after.

Also, you might be a better driver. Getting older helps at this point as well, although you may not have crossed a cusp.

grolby

Good grief. "We should really get this fridge fixed," became "it'll be $500 to get this fridge fixed," became "**** it, we're buying a new fridge." So we spent $800 last night, which was fun. Hashtag home ownership.

Not the descriptive phrase I would use (well except maybe for the cops using said techniques), but whatever.

grolby

Congrats/good luck.

TheKillerPenguin

No speeding tickets since 2007 (my cop spidey sense got better ), one car accident in 2004 that was ruled 100% other driver's fault, introductory price only lasted the first 6 months and the price was bumped again for this 3rd insured period for like, no reason??? Also they're not even tacking on an introductory discount with the new plan, because they only allow one per customer and I already got mine. So I'm just like, wtf.

Other news: Mad Max is coming, and I'm BEYOND stoked. I also bet none of those doom buggies are insured.

TheKillerPenguin

Actually now I'm wondering if it's based on my credit score, because it was TERRIBLE when I signed up for coverage. So maybe this means I can like, get a credit card (finally), and get back to ruining my good family name in a Visa sponsored tornado of hookers and crack. Assuming the brothel and dealers are on the level and use Square.

carpediemracing 

I'm alone in the house and someone flushed a toilet. Not a cat. Not a person, at least not in this house. I investigated. They're cleaning out the sewers out in the street (and all the engine/pump noises were similar to the landscaping guys who are also out there). Apparently their vacuum truck thing pulled the water out of the toilet that I assume is closest to the sewer outlet. With no water in the J trap I could smell the sewer pipe stuff. I went around and flushed every toilet, ran every sink, so any J traps get filled with water again.

carpediemracing 

It's all a mystery.

That's a quote from "Planes: Fire and Rescue"

JohnKScott

Yeow...stressful. Good luck!

JohnKScott

Saw this about a forum Alum that some of us along the way have his wheels (I still have them on my bike). Pretty cool for him.

East Dundee to be stop for bike race - Elgin Courier-News

Flatballer

That's extremely dangerous. You'd think they'd be a little more careful than that. People have died from sewer gas explosions.

Best of luck finding a great place gsteinb.

I've got heartburn every day trying to work out a possible huge move. We're looking to move back up to PA near my wife's family. Need to somehow coordinate finding me a job, selling this house, and buying another house. Luckily the places I want to work are all within an hour or so of her family, and we have their blessing to live with them for a little while in the interrim, which my wife would love. All scary.

My job is so extremely specialized (probably less than 500 people in the country who do what I do) that it's hard to find a new job, especially as good as what I have.

himespau 

I hear ya. A lot of our planned repair/rennovations for this year went on hold when our AC didn't start up last week when it was supposed to. $5-600 to recharge the system plus either $150 for a can of stopleak (not recommended) or $250 to try finding the leak (with no guarantees) quickly became a new AC and furnace coil. At least I'm hoping for smaller utility bills.

Edonis13

lol.

Ygduf

Did you sell because of the construction you mentioned like, a year ago? Or something else?

gsteinb

partly. mostly we don't like our neighbors or neighborhood, or the river that can flood. I've been here 15 years and need a change.

TheKillerPenguin

Beacon doesn't suck!

Just saying.

globecanvas

Beacon sucks! Hipsters and commuters. The Gunks can't be beat though!*




* especially if you are a hippie, rock climbing bum, cyclist, or all three, and don't want one of those stupid job things where you work for the man and he's all hassling you about coming in to work on such and such a day at some particular time, so lame.