Victory! I made it to mid-life

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
>Theodore Roosevelt

It's the last day which I can ever really call myself 38, and tomorrow is the 1st day of my 40th year.. so where did 39 go?

Thinking about the next three months of warming weather, I got excited about the possibility of doing three round trips per week, to work and back (Tues/Wed/Thurs) and doing one way trips Monday and Friday. Weather permitting, this is a total of 208 miles, and this doesn't include the weekend. Of course this doesnt account for the occasional Wednesday night Ninigret race- how would I make that happen? Probably by driving home Wednesday nights and driving to work Thursday mornings. Or I can skip Ninigret and do my own thing, or go to Wompatuck.. Last spring Tobi S. came over to me after Ninigret one night and pointed at my saddle, "How's that working out for you?" I wasn't sure what he meant at first. Oh yeah.. my saddle's nose is pointed down a few degrees. "I haven't changed it in years, and my junk doesn't get numb anymore." The other day I foolishly messed with my saddle, setting it more (but not quite) level and raising it a few millimeters. On the increased height, I have no issues. I think it was the correct turn of the dial.. but leveling off the saddle was a mistake. After 20 minutes I am so completely numb that I can be castrated and not ever know it. Stick to what you know.. Looking at the shoes I'm now wearing.. it's hard to believe I've been wearing them since July 2005?? I guess that's the best possible advertising that DMT can ever hope to have, because 5 years of riding [for me] is about 25,000 miles.. If I could find some new old stock I'd buy them again, but the stuff on the market now is so featherlight.. (I like the Mavics and the Sidi Ergo2s) that these are tank-like in comparison. I get to drive to Fairfield CT tomorrow for a mandatory Pre-bid meeting.. at 2:30.. not exactly where I want to be on a Friday afternoon on my birthday. I'm expecting to make the trip to Wells Ave on Sunday to see if these guns can still go fast after such a long winter. Maybe I'll ride there and back, or go early and do a team ride in the area beforehand. I was a hit last night on the ride home with my green arm warmers. People like that you make an effort. and I'm about as Irish as a sishkebab. Had the shirt too, at work. Sadly, it never occurred to me that I should imbibe some beer or spirits. We didn't have any at the house anyway.. and it's not usually something I crave.. drinking that is.. One thing about commuting by bike- it sure is easy to forget that your wallet is still in your backpack and discover it after a 1/2 hour drive to Officemax where you went to buy a new toner cartridge for your laser printer last night. Yeah that was me.. but I was with my boy and so it doesn't matter. He was totally FLYING at Goddard Park the other day. Dropped mommy and I like two sacks of potatoes. Rick Newhouse Crit has a kid's race.. maybe we should go to Ninigret and practice a few laps. I don't want him to pull a 'Murat' and take himself out in that first sharp corner. Thanks for reading.