FINAL FOUR

Whose it gonna be in the final? Prediction: OSU v. UCLA, because that's what my lady has in her bracket. And that's what it is going to be (and because I don't know if I could handle another OSU v. Florida final for a National Championship). Go Buckeyes!

ELLIOT GOULD CALLED...

And he wants his glasses back.

So Pruitt was in NYC getting his east coast education at an eyewear convention and brought these back for me (no they are not the latest in the Axley line). Apparantly he thinks I will be vacationing in Palm Springs sometime soon. He claims he wanted to get a pair that was big enough to protect my elbow. I think these will do the trick. Thanks P-Dog.

RACING!

So I saw my surgeon last Friday for my 8 week post-surgery check up. He looked at the film and told me that everything was healing up nicely, so much in fact that you could not even see where the fracture was anymore. He said that with most people he would have been worried about the elbow freezing up (you know, since I have busted it 2x in 5 months) but whatever I was doing seemed to be doing the trick. Furthermore, he said he was giving me the go ahead to do pretty much anything that would not result in any further trauma to the elbow (for at least the next 4 weeks).

So, my mind working the way it does, I thought to myself: "72 mile Pro 1-2 road race in Sequim Sunday on flat to rolling terrain in the rain shadow, buy a big Lacrosse elbow pad to wear....sounds like just what the doctor ordered."

Yep, I did my first race of the 2007 season yesterday and let me tell you, it was fantastic. The rain shadow phenomenon held true to form and I lined up with 40 or so other hopefuls for 72 miles of duking it out on the roads of Sequim. And, if I do say so myself, I would give myself a passing grade. I made it to the finish with the main bunch, contributed here and there, hell, I even made it into the first major move of the day sitting shotgun with a couple of HB guys, a couple of Wines guys, a couple of First Rate guys (OAD included) and a single Garage dude. Some young buck First Rate kid tried to get me to work to which I simply pointed to my giant Lacrosse elbow pad I was sporting, shook my head no and replied that this was exactly my 7th day riding on the road since January, what did he have to worry about? (note to First Rate Young Buck, since there were 2 of you FR guys, 2 Wines guys including Strangelove and 2 HB guys, even if I had been logging Pro-Tour miles I would have sat on that move, I have no idea what that Garage guy was thinking....). But I digress, the point is I got to race and it was, dare I say it again, fantastic. I am definitely lacking in the punch department (who am I kidding, I have always been lacking in that department) and the long hard effort department isn't there either. But I got through it and now I have 70+ race miles in my legs. I am starting behind all of you that have been racing but you know what that means....I am fresher.

So look out. P-Stache is back and coming at you like a spider monkey!

WOW! Down 17 at the half, the Buckeyes come back and beat Tenn. to advance to the Elite8! OSU (85) Tenn (84)

"All life is a pecking order and you might as well find out where it is that you peck" - Frank DeFord

Have a listen here. It is an older link that goes nicely with the last post.

EAST COAST SCHOOL YARD BULLY:

I was reading an article about The Sopranos and a quote from Sopranos creator David Chase struck me as right on the money. He was talking about the writers he had assembled for the first season and how he fired almost every writer on the show when his or her first draft came in: "We had writers from Iowa, California, you name it, and they just didn't seem to get this East Coast, schoolyard-bully thing, this level of verbal abuse. And savagery. It's called 'breaking balls' and it's what guys in Jersey and New York do." (from Vanity Fair, April 2007)

Now as most of you know (unless you live in a cave), I am from Ohio, not exactly East Coast, but east, and more east than Midwest. Plus my best friends who I grew up racing with are English, and I think they wrote the book on ball breaking with no mercy. Our crew in Columbus was especially merciless, if you did not have a thick skin you would be left sniffling in the corner, crying for your mommy (and filling out this report). And I bet we paled in comparison to those from further east than we.

Even a hardened pro who hailed from Portland and who found himself staying in Columbus for a few weeks commented on how ruthless we were when it came to busting balls.

What's my point? My point is that I think they raise them up soft out here on the left coast, the place where they are thinking about banning booing at high school sporting events and have banned playing tag at school, and the further east you go, the thicker your epidermal layer needs to be. Ask anyone who lives here and who hails from anywhere from Chicago east and I bet they will agree. Hell you should have heard the shit storm that kicked up on my own team when I busted some balls of my own team mates for not showing up for my cross race last November. You would have thought I said something against their mothers, their daughters and kicked their dogs all at the same time. My advice: get a little more aggressive, call your best friend an "a--hole", bust a ball or two and enjoy it. It doesn't mean you're a bad person, it just means that you are can dish it out and, more importantly, you can take it.

So I am training on the road again and that means I will need my pre and post training recovery drinks. Here they are:

Pre-ride Vitamin E.

Post-ride Vitamin G.

So, ride a lot, eat a lot, sleep a lot. And, remember my vitamins. That is my training mantra.

THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME:
And it has prompted me to link to Coach Curly's blog because it is pretty damn funny as well. Bravo Curly, Bravo.

Notice the sweet Seigler frame that Pruitt is riding. Nice. I heard that you can get those at Seigler Sports, now located in Bremerton, WA.

THE TIME LINE:

This was taken Jan. 24, 5 days after I broke my elbow again. I rigged some old Scott Drop-In bars so that I could rest my giant Fiddler Crab arm in a somewhat elevated position. I was due for surgery, again, in 2 days. This was my rig for at least 2 weeks following my surgery. The smile is forced. Joy is not my friend.

This was taken a couple of weeks ago when I was in LA. I am riding my buddy Harm's trainer on his patio, enjoying some sun and warm weather....on the trainer. As if I need anything else for Harm to make fun of me for. This is 5 weeks post-surgery. The splint (in BRI colors might I add) is removable and what I wore once I could put some more weight on the arm. The smile is not so forced in this one.

This one was taken yesterday. And no the smile is not forced, for I am on the road again. It was 60 degrees, sunny and I got to ride my bike on the road, for the third day in a row. 7 weeks post surgery (don't tell my surgeon, even though I am wearing a padded brace on my elbow). Hallelujah! The surgeon did not seem as conservative with this injury as he was with the last although I am not sure he would be psyched to know I am riding already. I did 50 miles, it was fantastic!

And note to those in the Seattle Cycling community that were paying attention to this time line, what should you take from this? That I was training. So beware. I am going to get all jacked up on Mountain Dew and come at you all like a spider monkey. You have been warned.

AN IMAGE YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE

A buddy of mine puts together training videos for fire departments. He used our house in one. This is a scene you definitely don't want to see in real life (and no I don't mean all the dandelions in the yard or the fact that we need new siding). Check it: House on Fire

BINGO ANYONE?

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

The organization that oversees high school sports in the state of Washington is considering banning booing at games. Next thing you know they will start calling the losing team the "2nd Place Winner". I have said it before, and I will say it again, people around here are over-sensitive, passive-aggressive sissies. This proves it. Now go fill out the Hurt Feelings Report.

I love it when 2 posts dove tail into each other.

SHE DID IT!

My lady completed her very first marathon Sunday in LA. The photo is of the camera phone variety taken of her at mile 19. She came in a hair over her time-goal but I am giving it to her considering she came down with some sort of sinus infection the day before we flew there. Ugh. You train for 6 months for an event and catch something 4 days before it. I had a lot of fun cheering her on from various locations throughout the marathon. I don't even like running across the street let alone running 26.2 (her wrist GPS said that it was actually 26.39 by the way).

File This Report:

It has been mentioned in the past that I might not be sensitive enough to people's feelings. If anyone is of this opinion (Pruitt), I encourage you to fill this out and submit. Thank you.

LA BABY!

Me and my lady just flew into LA last night. You see, my lady is running the LA Marathon on Sunday. Me, I don't even like to break into a brisk walk. It's why I ride bikes, too lazy.

Anyway, we're here and I am smiling already. I was driving the rental car on The 405 (yes, it is THE 405) last night doing 75 mph...and I was not the fastest car on the road. Fantastic. Drivers in Seattle would have a heart attack down here. Pruitt...this means you.

On a side note: Andrew McD from WOW was on our flight to LA in route to Australia with his wife and little dude. Andrew got his Silca pump on in his carry on. Not his Silca frame pump...his Silca track pump. Good job security. Make me take my shoes off and let the dude with the steel blunt object get on the plane. The baby was just a clever distraction.