purty bike

Anyone want to see a beautiful piece of engineering and craftsmanship? Putting this work of art on 2 dimensions doesn't do it justice but it's the best I can do unless you set up an appointment for me to bring it to your living room.
Do you have any idea what this means? It means that no matter how fast (or slow) I go in Moscow, there will be one certainty: I'm gonna look gooooooood. And as slippery as this thing looks to the wind, I'm guessing that it will help nudge me a little further to the "fast" side.
I owe a great deal of thanks to Mark and Glen for making this frame go from Italy to my doorstep in less than 3 weeks. Plus, if all goes well, I will be riding prototype 180 SRAM track cranks and the lastest Easton has in aerobar technology. Oh yeah, and a wicked fast Bell aero helmet. Sheesh. No excuses, eh? That's the way I like it. These guys came through HUGE for me. I feel a little uncomfortable about all this hustle bustle on my account, but I don't think they'll fire me if I don't podium....will they??? If so, I guess I've always got pizza delivery to fall back on. That's comforting.
I head to LA on Tuesday for a week of much needed time of going in circles. I think I will be spending a little less time in the donut shops this time around. I'm actually looking forward to hanging out with some of the cyclists whom I met at the first track camp. I'm finding out that pro cyclists aren't all bad. We're just a little "disconnected" from reality for the most part. As long as I don't start spending my free time sitting in coffee shops browsing cycling forums with my laptop while polishing off my 4th "specialty coffee" - there's still hope for me.
Thanks for reading.

"STUDMUFN"

So, now that I'm delivering pies again, I tend to spend a lot of time staring at the bumper in front of me. And being Boulder, there is no shortage of opinionated bumper stickers. Democrats and bumper stickers go hand in hand don't they? Anyway, I want to know what the funniest bumper sticker or vanity license plate that you've ever seen is. Thinking back, my favorite vanity plate has to be "msanthrp" which I took to mean "I really don't like you people". I was laughing to myself the rest of the night trying to deliver pizzas when I saw that one a couple of years ago. Recently, I just saw a hispanic driver in a big truck with the license plate "miburro". I thought that one was pretty good too. One bumper sticker that I get a kick out of is "visualize whirled peas". Another one, though political was still witty, was "Bush/Cheney for 1984" during the 2004 election campaign. Sooooo, I'd like to hear some more good ones if you can think of any.

Cycling news: not much new with me. Just training and working for the most part. Though I am going through one of those streaks where I have some sort of mechanical every other time I ride. Kind of annoying but can be fun to play the "what will it be this time?" game. From the rumor mill: This week the U.S. National team sent out a few riders to Japan to represent the U.S. for the Tour de Okinawa - a one-day 200k race. USAC footed the bill for all the expenses (travelling, food, etc.) aaannnndddd the men missed their start for the race. Big whoops.

isn't Halloween over?

I had a blast watching the cyclocross races this past weekend. As Joe pointed out during one of the races, "it sure is fun being a spectator and not a racer". I don't want to get tooo used to it though. Cyclocross is a great mix of skills, fitness, and toughness. I'm determined to try it next year if I actually get a bike - but I've been using that line for 2 years now. Here are some of my "costumes" from the past week:
supporting Ben and Andy Jacques-Maynes at the races. Ben was 7th and Andy 9th in Saturday's race vs. the best in the country. photo courtesy of D-Mac.
I'll be dressing up like this quite a bit in the next few weeks. A glimpse into the glamorous lifestyle of a pro cyclist. Eat it Dave Towle! (no pun intended)








some race photos:
Megan (in the middle) battling up the hill during Sunday's race. Nice backdrop, eh?











Ben doing his thang ahead of Geoff Kabush in Saturday's race.







Colby MF Pearce mounting his steed







the "who's who" startline from left: Todd Wells (defending National Champ), Chris Horner (in red), Ryan Trebon (series leader, also he's 6'6"), Andy J-M, Tim Johnson, and Ben J-M.

Scary Spectacles

Took part in a less traditional form of Halloween celebration last night. Had a nice run through the Pearl Street Mall donning nothing but a pumpkin while there were hundreds of people still out and about. I'm trying to incorporate more cross training in my program this year. You may not realize this, but pumpkins really tire your neck out when trying to run with one on your head. I just can't shake the WXC from my blood.
This is a momentus weekend in the Denver/Boulder area. First off, the Nuggets have their home opener on Fri. night against the Timberwolves. I'm going to see them start their glorious championship year first hand. Also, Longmont and Boulder are hosting the Crank Bros Cyclocross Series this Sat. and Sun. Ben Jacques Maynes (2007 teammate) and all the other cyclocross stars will be coming to town this weekend for some top level racing. Bring your cowbells and drinks of choice for a festive and exciting afternoon!
Local updates: Betts' Boulder High cross country teams finished 13th and 16th at the state meet this past weekend while Kenny and Sara's Salida team finished 22nd in their first appearance (ever?). Both have young teams and are getting better every year. Also, Logan finished 10th and 11th at the Collegiate DII Mtn Bike Nationals in short track and cross country while Scott Stewart finished 4th at the DI Nationals for cross country. Very cool.
Logan at Collegiate Nationals equiped with pink cast
















Here, Knife (pronounced cuh-niff) sports his getup for the festivities.