Welcome to “Fantasy Island,” with a side of “Survivor.”
A couple fantasies should get voted off the island after tonight’s Democratic “debate.”
I steeled myself for the ordeal yesterday by riding the New Mexico Touring Society’s Frost Road Loop, which was something of a spin down Memory Lane. It includes a few bits from the old state road championships circuit, where in 1991 Your Humble Narrator took second in the Masters 35 race after a late crash took out all of the serious contenders save for Laurence Malone (yes, that Laurence Malone).
Yesterday I finished first, Laurence Malone being elsewhere, along with everyone else. I’m still waiting for my gold medal, bouquet, and podium ceremony, though.
My take on the Frost Road Loop was a 40-mile round trip from El Rancho Pendejo, with a couple thousand feet of vertical gain, and it made for a nice change of pace from my usual rides, though NM 14 is under construction through much of Cedar Crest, the Old Route 66 shoulder was slathered in debris and gravel past Zuzax and Tijeras, and the wind — de wind, boss, de wind! — was much in evidence on the homebound leg because I got the traditional late start.
I think we had a little pollen-and-smoke action going on, too, because the snotlocker and eyeballs were grumbling a bit afterward. Not as much as they will be tonight, though. This “debate” is liable to be hard on the nose, eyes and ears.
Mad Blog Media 
That bad wind coming out of the TV tonight will be far worse than anything even New Mexico can dish out.
I read somewhere that Beelzebozo wants to live-tweet this hot mess, too. So the computer won’t be a safe space either.
Democratic candidate debate? I think I will take a pass. Sounds like…….
You do realize, Pat, how long it is going to take for me to clean the coffee spatter off my computer monitor at work?
The sniping at Biden is making me think of a circular firing squad. I know last year there were complaints the adults at the DNC decided their nominee should be Billary way too soon, but is this the reverse?
Warm here in Italy too, we took a leisurely (even more in the heat) ride around the hilltowns for 40 kms or so, then stopped for lunch here http://www.laroccadicamagna.com/ with just 10 kms afterward to get back to the resort. Tomorrow I think we’ll put bikes on the car and head to the mountains to ride around a bit followed by another epic lunch. Tough work, but someone’s gotta do it!
I wonder if there’s a white tablecloth/cloth napkin/gourmet type restaurant anywhere in the USA that would welcome sweaty cyclists for lunch?
Amen, Larry. I know Joe is too conservative for many, too old for some, and too establishment for a lot of the young-uns, but too much fratricide will give us four more years of The Orange Disaster. Dems have to concentrate on a message that will play in Peoria rather than on Twitter and stop eating their own.
Next week I allegedly go half time for a while and then into retirement. Time to get back in shape again with those spare hours.
Retirement? Good for you!
Gonna half-step it for a while? Sounds like the way to go. Ease into it like a fat man getting into a hot tub.
Its weird. I’ve been wearing this damn hat for over forty years. Kinda scary taking it off and putting it in the box of memorabilia.
I hear ya. I did my first paid work as a cartoonist for my high school newspaper in … 1970? Cartooned for college newspapers (three), plus a couple of undergrounds, and then boom: I got that first daily-newspaper job in 1974, but wouldn’t be a gen-u-wine Ink-Stained Wretch® until I graduated from college in ’77.
So, call it 42 years. Where’s my gold watch, motherfuckers?
In an election cycle where it would be reasonable to think that the disaster sitting in the WH could be defeated easily, and now that the few reasonable folks among us have taken notice – what do the donks do?
They do the crowd source candidacy thing and are all hugs and stuff until the debates begin and then the knives come out. All of it is meat for the other side.
Just wanted to check in with a follow-up on the Tour of America’s Dairyland stage 6 in Janesville.
Justin Poulson won the Men’s Pro Men’s and Harriet Owen the Pro Women’s. Racing was delayed an hour due to rain, but a good time was had by all.
Per the Janesville Gazette, racers were reporting faster than expected laps due to the abundance of lap primes. Reportedly the total amount donated by local businesses and distributed to racers as lap payouts was $25,000. Supposedly the most ever given away in any one day USA Cycling event.
Katie Compton was racing, and kicking ass throughout, finishing 27th overall. She led most of the race, pocketing a cool $3500 before she dropped off. Clearly more interested in the payday than the placement.
I don’t have the overall race leaders to report, but I do know that England’s Harriet Owen won three stages, and has been sporting the coveted Cow Spotted leader’s jersey for a few days now.
The eight turn layout made for highly challenging racing, and better accessibility to the spectators. There were a few places where your place yourself to see both the river crossovers as well as most of one end of the “dog bone” layout. The uncommon shape was necessitated by bridge construction, but the consensus (mine limited sample size- highly scientific) was that they should keep it for next year.
The promoters and locals ran a first class event. Lot’s of amenities, food and music, to go with the easy access to the course and the racers. There were several truck sized jumbotrons, and the PA was ubiquitous. They showed a polished, well planned event that reflected well on out little community. I’m quite proud.
(And several of the racers were saying that if that kind of prize money is available in coming years, everybody is gonna want to know where Janesville is…)
Well done, Janesville! Food and music, challenging course, easy spectator access, and big bucks for the grunts.
What a shame none of the cycling press is covering it. They’re all focused on Euro road racing.
You can get some deets from the race organization here.
Now, if they would just brings back the Vuelta de Bisbee. I miss doing neutral support.