New Beginnings

My Grandfather, Alfred Consorto Died when I was very young. I was only 11 at the time. But I can still remember going to his house and sitting in his room as he told me stories about his life. I don’t remember the stories anymore however much I would like to remember them. He was a very large man, having worked concrete for the majority of his life. While he spoke to me, he smoked his cigars and played big band music on an old record player in the corner. He would tell me that I would grow up and do great things one day. He used to go though this photo album with me and explain the pictures even though at the time, I don’t believe I could have possibly understood the meaning of all of it in the larger scope. I all but thought that it was gone forever, but then going though some old things I found it. I don’t usually consider myself a sentimental person. In fact at times I go out of my way to avoid people and items, however this is different, enjoy.

Closer

New Team...

Small up-grades...
Oh ya this is a subtle setup…

Capital G

So it is Christmas… this time of the year the women in the house seem to catch the Martha Stewart virus and decorate like the shit is really important. Seriously, my sister had her husband, make the front of the house visible from space and it blinks in succession to music. It’s a little scary. I haven’t been home for “all” of this in about 5 years. Normally, I would find somewhere to hide for the gearing up of Christmas. Oh well, if people can survive jumping out of a plane, surviving this would only be a little less extreme.

Oh ya H. B. is the man.. These are real and they are beautiful.

In other news I have been confronted by two teams for road and both look very attractive I have never been in a situation like this before nor have I ever agreed and planed on racing a full road season before. So to some degree I have no idea what I am getting into. The two teams are Allied Milk and Guys Bikes. I have known the allied milk team for a long time and they are very nice people and they get amazing deals from sponsors. Guys Bikes on the other hand is very large and has a great network of racers that can be helpful for moving up to my goals. So its either parts and clothing, or an almost guaranty that someone else from the team will be at the race. Granted I am only a 3 on the road but I don’t think that that will stand long if I am still here. Hopefully, I will find something significant before March.

Classical Gas

So I was looking around the garage and I looked at my trainer. Yes, the sad pestilence that like mosquito’s come once a year and suck the life right out of you. It was battered and in places rusting a little. So I figured screw it I am repainting it.

I started with a 40 grit flapper on a hand grinder then threw it into the sand blaster to take it down to metal. Well, the sand blaster had a small issue, it had a contaminate in the sand creating a small electrostatic discharge. So as I worked was continually shocked on the arm. So I put a jacket on and figured that should be enough insulation. Well, unfortunately the machine I was using had a large latch at crotch level so, ya. It needed to ground out and decided to take the path of least resistance a.k.a. my left ball. I screamed like a little girl in a room with a bunch of wielders in it. I got some real funny looks and they went along on there business. I took off the jacket and took it in the arm. So this is the result of the base coats.

I am not sure if I will paint it with a top coat. If I do I am thinking a pearl white?

New road shoes

My dog Bella is tired of helping out…

Big Empty

The Whitmore cross race signals basically the end of my cross season. I had an excellent time in long island despite the really “really” difficult races. The first day the wind just destroyed me, I was in the second group for the first 3 laps and made the mistake of allowing my self to get stuck in the 40+ mph wind a quite literally got blown back off the chase group. Plus I will admit I just didn’t feel comfortable. I still had descent races finishing 27 the first day and 24 the second, in the money of a UCI 1 race just not deep enough for my satisfaction.
I will not be competing in Kansas this year. This has been a tepid first season racing at this level for me, at some points the fun factor started to wear thin. This is partially do to my currant condition, lack of support and affective planning on my part. Sometimes providing support to those you love pulls away from what you love. I admittedly have been lazy in my efforts to move on in some aspects of life, mainly to accommodate this part of my life. What role cycling will play in my life is yet to be seen and is solely dependent on the opportunities that I will be presented with, and the help and support of friends.

Ask anyone that is successful with work or life why they are so successful and they will tell you that they enjoy what they do. Well for anyone that has been living in a shoebox for the last 3months the economy really sucks and unless you are planning to work for McDonald's jobs are tight. So substitute teaching is a quick and painless fix with no set schedule. I am still broke as shit but it works for entry fees and gas. I have started an online course to prep for the Praxis and from there I will try grad school and get on the course to a bona fide degree and legit job. A few friends think that I should go to dental school however I don’t want to deal with people and I have no zeal for the subject. In fact I was board thru animal biology, I find ecology and plant biology much more interesting and more difficult. So right now my new goals are to change my current condition move on and find a purpose. I truly want to believe that I am more that a pest in the intricate machine of the world. As long as there is a purpose it is much easier to complete a task.

Show Me How to Live

So ya, my blue helmet is a little messed up I can still use it but I think that some of my brain cells may still have some use. So I got an awesome new helmet and I look even more like a Smurf than before all I need now are the white gloves.

I had a descent weekend racing, not great, but in the money both days 12th at Fair hill and 8th at the Kelly benefits race. I have to give a huge thanks to Marc and Jan for standing in the pit for me it’s comforting to know that I have friends that will help me out.

Chad bunny hopping the logs...