4/15 Season Opener

Darin Marhanka, Casting a long shadow

The season opener was a good night of racing for our team. Last years leader, Marhanka, was dependably ruthless -- he won the the miss-and-out, gave Erskine a good run in the scratch for 2nd, and then secured his win while making me look good in the points race (and a 2nd overall for me). Josh was great in the miss-and-out, he just kept it pinned, and he and Kevin were just throwing it down all night -- I don't think our opponents ever had the opportunity to mount a serious attack all night (hell, it kept me cracked the whole night. It was a decent field. We knew we couldn't let Sperry or Langford have any rope, Darin would take care of Erskinewhich should be getting better when Joey or Jacob show up, and once Jason joins us I'm sure the racing will be even faster. I was also exceptionally impressed by last years B group champion, Chris Emory -- expect him to take some coups in the races to come.

B's -- Probably the fastest B's race I've seen in a long time. Everyone riding nose to tail, on the rivet. Gideon Stitt (Clemson), Chris Otahall (Young Blood), and Aaron Renner (Velosports) in a savage knife fight, with young gun Gideon the last man standing. These guys are all legitimate A's and the other B's should be proud of their performance: they definitely didn't roll over and everyone raced hard.

C's -- Several years back when I was looking at places we might relocate to, I remember looking at the Mellowdrome website several years back and thinking to myself, "gosh, I'd feel self-conscious riding in a skin suit and my carbon wheels at that track..." Well, times have changed -- the C's look fast and ride fast -- none of this timid riding for them. Maybe we should get them a bumper sticker that says, "when in doubt, attack" Marshall Hance from Probikes was unbeatable in a sprint, but OJ from Carolina Fatz was quick and strong for second. And of course we all cheered Lesli Meadows (Velosports?) to a 3rd place finish.

Results of 2008 season Read more!

Housing Development Theory

I was on a great ride out near Fletcher during Spring break and we got around to chatting about housing developments and subdivisions. Scott from ABRC told me a great theory made by his wife, "Housing developments are named after the things that were destroyed to make the development"

So the next time you see a sign like "Willow Springs" or "Mountain Laurel", think about what used to be there.... Read more!