Don't you hate it when life intrudes on your race weekend?

My last race of the year, ALEXANDRIA and I hadn't even considered it all week because of work. Night before, I dragged myself home from a hell week. Well, there's racing tomorrow. But my mind was elsewhere, as was most of my TEAM. Vacations, kids back college, the honeydew lists, sloth, slowness, and the consumption of buttered rolls kept our team to just three. Well, Chairman Fred and myself, plus THE IP, that's "The International Playboy" Ted Pablo - who is not even on our team until next year...extra points for THE IP

Back to the race: At the start NO TED. Here he comes, 2 hour drive from Cleveland and he arrives AFTER the scheduled start. Boys boys, please let this man dress and line up proper. Thank you

First lap, and if you've raced the Welsh Hills you know there is a screaming downhill into a mean left turn. Fred and I previewed it in warm up. THE IP didn't. We also saw that there was plenty of gravel in the downhill roadway....none of which IP saw. I tried to tell him about the downhill as we neared...but

My next task was to convince the leaders to sit up and wait for the guy who drove 2 hours only to crash on the first lap. They agreed, Fred dropped back to pace him back into the race, as I chatted about how the Tour de France would have been different if Alberto had only waited for Andy...la-dee-da.

The race progressed and I kept thinking about work. Damn, I have to remember to copy this file and transcribe that conversation. Halfway through the race and I sat up. Just sat up and pulled over. Who was I kidding, my heart wasn't in it.

...and the season ends with a whimper.