Farewell Hairy Legs

This week is "that" week. First race is this weekend. So...I need to change my chain, rewrap my bars after a grimy winter (uh, on the rollers), change my cleats, change my brake pads, and of course......shave my legs. Sigh. This is an unnatural act for an Italian. Might as well shave my tongue. And, until Snapper lawnmower systems goes into the shaving razor business, my legs are razor decimators. Yes, I'm talking about the subject no one wants to talk about nor hear. Took me two or three seasons to discover that my wife's Venus 3-blade was about the only thing that would do the job without hacking up my legs. And, in the process, I destroy one blade per shaving. Hell, I wouldn't even shave at all if it weren't for the hellacious experience I had cleaning and dressing a wound after a wreck. So, yeah, it's worth it.

So after my week of body and bike tune-up, it's up to PA to do Union Grove. My field will have 35+ (1/2/3), 2/3, and U19 2/3 peeps. Right now there's a whopping total of 24 dudes signed up. The less experienced would give a quick "pfffffffft" thinking that such a number makes a race easier. I beg to differ. Last season, I appeared at only two venues. One of them was Dawg Days - an easier course there isn't. The field was about 20 guys. Guys like Hutch, Hoover, Osborne, etc. Think this sprinter could simply sit in and hide? Ha. I spent the entire race bridging and covering attacks, in that case to simply not get dropped. So my point is that I imagine this rolling 50-miler should still be plenty challenging. As of now, I know I definitely have at least 24th place locked! :)

This week also starts a ritual: the Tuesday Night Championships. For me, that takes the form of the Wakefield ride. Glory to those who hang with the A group for the whole ride. It's a great ride to hone the crit fitness and skills since there's a billion turns over the course of 25 miles. It's also a constant attack ride with lots of sprint points. Great race training all around....and sometimes fun too. ;)

So spring is here gli pisani and now it starts. Congrats to those that did well at Vint Hill. I imagine I'll see most of you at Walkersville and then Tysons. Ciao.

Avanti.