Hi All,

I kind of dislike this time of year from a cycling perspective. With everything going on, cycling sometimes has to take a back seat. Another personal defect that I can't seem to shake is that just when I'm busiest, I find something else to pile on to my time burdens. This time it's a complete remodel of our 2nd full bath and a partial remodel of our 1/2 bath. Doh!

So after 2 weeks of reasonable base training, this week already took a hit as I had to miss going to the velodrome last night and I may miss tomorrow night. C'est la vie?

AJ, that fixie hub is a first for me too. I'm wondering what the manufacturer claims as the advantage over the traditional threaded cog (other than eliminating the need for a chain whip).

AzTR, I'll see you at the race. Our race team sponsor wants me to get as many team members as possible to go.

During last year's race they had an online poll regarding the age groupings. Last year they had 40+ and 50+. They were asking if the racers wanted them to change to 45+ and 55+. I voted for the 50+ option (to maximize the number of potential teammates) but the last time I was able to check, the 55+ option was way ahead.

Anyway, the 2012 web page (http://www.wmrc.org/vos2012) seems to indicate that they will keep the same breakdowns as last year. As I recall, you are under 60. If so, I'll see you in the peloton. If not, I'll see you around. I just hope that next year's 50+ is about the same speed as this year's. The 40+ field ended up being way too fast for me.

Sara, a clubmate sent an email to our membership through our email server (Yahoo! Group) and in describing the video he wrote, "I immediately thought of Cleave explaining this to a work associate at Boeing." Great.