And the Crits Keep Coming (Doug)

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

Inspiring words from the Swedish legends, for sure.

Now for some housekeeping matters. First off, Brian...put...down...the laptop. I mean really. Blowing off an hour of work to post some news is one thing, but you're on freaking vacation at the beach! I realize having the Time Pro guys here for the weekend was exciting, but we'll all be here to hear about it when you get back, I swear. Now put down the ibook, jump on the single speed, and head to the Salty Dog for some crappy tourist food and some cold beer. Secondly, I thought I VETOED the contest, no? What happened to creative input? "Destined to fail" is an understatement, and like I said, if you really want to take that special someone to lunch (you know who I mean), just ask. Putting that person on the spot, and asking them to post for all to see isn't cool. What if he's embarrassed?

OK, my lack of influence on this site and Brian's mancrushes notwithstanding, this really was a great weekend. Brian covered most of Friday and Saturday, but I'll add my take on the Time Pro Team visit for the two big Criterium races hosted by Louisville this weekend. Speaking of a lack of influence, mine couldn't have been more evident than on Friday night when we tried to schmooze a table for Adam and his Time Pro teammates at a very crowded Ramsi's Cafe. Me, Alison, and my visiting friends had just finished eating and were on our way out, so we tried to "give our table" to the Team, despite hordes of people waiting in the wings like vultures. When that didn't work, we tried explaining, and then begging, all to no avail, and if it wasn't for the races on Saturday and Sunday, I think they might still be waiting to be seated. I guess the "Washington" I slipped the host didn't earn them any favor either. Props to Alison for hanging with me and the ladies from Columbus all night on Friday, and even more props for getting up Saturday, taking the kids, and heading to Cincinnati without me so that I could hang out and watch the NRC Pro race downtown on Saturday evening. Toyota United, the Time Pro Team, and the local team from Texas Roadhouse team put on a show as Brian mentioned. With one lap to go, the Roadhouse team looked to have it well under control, with about 5 or 6 lapped riders leading out for their 3 lead lap riders (of 6 total riders on the lead lap who had re-joined the main field after lapping it). Behind that group sat a couple of Toyota United and Team Inferno riders (each with at least one lead out racer and one lead lap rider), and then about 11th or 12th back in line, Nick Frey was hanging on Adam's wheel, looking for a slingshot. As they came around the final turn for the finish, the Toyota United rider and the Texas Roadhouse rider had busted out about a 10 yard lead -- the Toyota rider won the eventual sprint to the line -- but in third, with a great sprint to the line, was Nick from the Time Pro team. It was a really cool finish, and I'm glad I was able to stay to see it. Even more exiting, I'm sure, was Sunday's Norton Commons crit, where Adam won. I really wish I could've seen that one, but alas, I had my own exercise to do. GREAT JOB ADAM and NICK! For more details, check out the Time Pro blog and/or Adam's Cycle-Smart blog . Adam posted a really great account of both races and of the weekend on his blog.

I'll save my triathlon results for the next post. I know, you can't wait...