I'm finally getting the hang of this bike racing thing again this year. It always takes me a few races before I start to see any of the front of the pack. Last weekend 5 of the other Smurfs (Quaker City Wheelmen have an amazingly smurfy kit) and I lined up in Mount Holly NJ for an action packed race complete with hill, tight corners and fun fun fun. I ended up missing the key breakaway by just a few meters. Two riders had gotten away early in the race, and I had gotten into a group of guys who were briding up to the leaders at about 15 miles to go. Unfortunately for me, the hill came up at just the wrong time and something, no everything started hurting really badly on the short climb. I got gapped and never caught back on. The picture above is my last view of the winning move. Maybe next time.

I've been meaning to fill in on the rest of our California trip with some photos of Pete and some insights on why the Bay Area is so ridiculously expensive. But instead I will grace you with the South Park version of myself. I think that it's reasonably accurate as a representation.