Johnny Frites: Three times in one month

Most of the impetus to write this blog centered on the local racing scene and my somewhat half-hearted involvement in the fringes of the fringe. I've been reading race accounts for a couple of years now, vicariously enjoying the scene through the eyes of people I don't really know but have gotten to know, some through riding and racing and some through reading their writing. Dabbling here and there in a few road races and crits the last 4 years to justify the existence of my USAC license (almost wrote USCF) and jumping wholeheartedly into cyclocross so I don't feel guilty about NOT putting in a base these past 2 months--"my season starts in September, see".

This past Sunday was the Proteus race in College Park. Two months ago it sounded like a grand idea--a 'cross race in February kinda shakes things up a bit and gave me something to shoot for. The weeks melded into one another this past January, with lots of fam in town during Christmas, house remodeling ongoing, work prospects dwindling, and this inauguration thing happening--the bike really has been an afterthought recently. It's hard to sustain the intensity required to train on a road bike year round, especially when life gets in the way. I don't know how some of my peers do it, but they manage somehow.

So on Saturday night when I was getting the bike ready, I realized that I had been on the bike as many times in January as I had gone to Caps games--three. I thought better of entering the race and went to support my clubmates (we're not a team, really), two of whom were trying cyclocross for the first time. A bunch of us were there with cowbells and we made a lot of noise "and etcetera". I think we've got two new converts. So I'll swing my leg over my ride soon enough and get back into the routine...no need to force it now.

Swinging legs over the boards is another thing altogether. I got Row B seats next to the Caps penalty box for all three of these games, opportunities that I could not pass up. I happened to be at the right place at the right time, with a friend who knows a friend who gets these tickets at a ridiculous discount, so ridiculous that I don't want to touch the golden goose. From this vantage point one can truly appreciate just how big, how fast, and how skilled these athletes really are. From this proximity I watched their eyes and could see how their skates interfaced with the ice surface--these are skills that I can't really fathom. You just can't see these nuances on TV or from seats that I would typically pay for.