Monday, September 28, 2009

Things Can Only Go Up From Here





Luck to change... I hope
So far my cyclocross season has run into some bad luck on and off the bike. During my first cross race I managed to roll over a large pine cone hidden in some grass, which sent me over the bars and onto my knee. I jumped back on the bike and started to pedal, but the knee was already the size of the Good Year Blimp, so I had to settle with a DNS. See Video


The following weekend I raced at the LARPD in Livermore and was blindsided on the first lap and the collision caused my rear derailleur to break from the frame and again I was out of commission.
Last week I was in Union Square with Z - fell down some stairs and ended up rolling my ankle and falling onto this couple sitting in front of me. Luckily, the ice cream missed her head and landed in front of them. It hurt so much I had to limp into a local parking garage and recover without an audience. Now the good news.

Brian at Big Swingin' Cycles (http://www.bigswingincycles.com/) has decided to help me out for the 2009/2010 cyclocross season. This is my favorite shop in San Francisco and the mechanics are a good group of guys. Brian has always been supportive of local racing and it will be a pleasure to roll with the Big Swingin' logo on my frame. Dave is my mechanic at the shop and does excellent work on cyclocross bikes. Also, Big Swingin' will be hosting the Lion of Fairfax Cyclocross race on October 17th - it's a great course and a cool atmosphere. Racing in the A's is going to be challenging this year, but I hope to make several top-10 appearances throughout the season.

One last thing...
I would like to thank Brian Bruckner, Dave at Big Swingin', Ritchey Bicycle Components, TRP and Angelo DiGiovine for the support. Next on the calendar --> BASPS #1 McLaren Park 10/04/2009 McLaren Park, San Francisco


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Silence

Do people still blog?

Why did I create my original blog?

These are some of the questions which cross my mind as I sit here at my workstation. It's been a long time since my last update and the Facebook application has taken over as the best place to post your thoughts and random updates. The Facebook application has been quite entertaining and I find myself posting random things as well and about 80-90% is bullshit. Anyway, I would be a hypocrite if I posted bad things about Facebook - it's fun to read about peoples lives while sitting on the toilet in the basement level bathroom at work. This might be too much information for some of my readers (if any exist), but the visit to the bathroom in basement has become a daily ritual. Some of my best ideas were born in the bathroom downstairs and there is something about the temperature and silence which keeps me coming back each day. Enough about the basement bathroom - on to the meat and potatoes of this entry.

The past 8 months have been a lesson in life and love. There has been a great deal of sacrifice in my personal and professional life and bike racing was put on hold during this time. My miles dipped into the reserve tank and my cyclocross season was obsolete. But through all this I learned about my partner (Zsofia) and how the bike is really just a bike.

Anyway, back to my original questions.

Do people still blog?

Yes and it takes a hell of a lot more time without the "status update" button

and

Why did I create this blog?

To look back on who I was and where I'm going.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Rollin' Low



Here is an image from the Bay Area Super Prestige (# 3) Night Race. This was the first time a cross race was held at night in the Bay Area and the venue managed to pull in quite a few spectators. The course was held at Sierra Point along HWY 101 and the stadium lights could be seen as far as Candle Stick Point. Tom Simpson and the people at Pilarcitos Cyclosports managed to build a compact course full of tight turns and bumpy terrain. Placed in the middle of the lap was a table top packed with spectators cheering and the sound of cowbells - this was the best part of the course. The 2008 Cyclocross season did not go as planned, but I met my personal goals for the year and will come back next season with fresh gear, fresh legs and a stronger desire to race.


Friday, December 19, 2008

It's A Girl!



Ladies and Gentlemen... I present Lea(h) Moskovits (and her proud papa)

Born on December 18th (2008) in Redwood City, CA

She weighed in at 6lbs 13ounces

Congratulations to the Moskovits family :)


Monday, December 15, 2008

12 - Fifteen - MMVIII


LOOK (no pun intended)... it's time to return to my roots and throw the leg over the mountain bike in 2009. Zsofia and I visited the Headlands over the weekend and I could not stop looking at the tacky trails and beautiful scenery in the distance.

The image above is the bike I might race this spring and summer - let's cross the fingers.


The last 3 months have been loaded with monumental transitions at home, work and with my bike racing. Z moved back to San Francisco in September and things have been excellent in the relationship department.
What else? The cyclocross campaign for 2008 did not go as planned, but I got to race 4 events at the Elite level and was happy with my results considering the LACK OF TRAINING - which is the last thing worth blogging about. Work and the winter elements have made it hard to train and there needs to be some balance in the near future. Last year I was single and had the time to ride at all hours of the night or morning, but reality has kicked in and it's time to adjust accordingly to be prepared for the road season.

Here are a few positive things going on in my life...

My mother just purchased a new Specialized Vienna 1 and will be commuting to work on Caltrain in the near future. She was experiencing some health issues over the past few months and decided to take control of things by adding more physical activity to her daily schedule - I'm very proud of her.


My father is going to start riding with my mother on the weekends - RIGHT, DAD?


Work has become EXTREMELY challenging, but it continues to keep my mind fresh and things interesting.

My brother found a band on Craigslist and has already done a few concerts with them - the music sounds great.

My cousin is going to graduate from her nursing program in January and has been interning at several places.


Sonia and Ralph tied the knot.

Zsofi's sister is going to give birth to a baby girl in the next few days.


For those who read my blog - I apologize for not keeping things up to date. Stay tuned for more and please feel free to leave any comments.


Thanks for reading.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cross and Dressing


Yes... I'm wearing a dress in the picture.

This week I went to the DFL race in Golden Gate Park to break in my 2008/09 cyclocross season with good friends and good cross dressing. The course was an excellent combination of sand, gravel, single track and steep run-ups. My form was in question since I recently completed my first road season and I wanted to make sure I was not burnt out - this was not the case. My body and mind went ballistic during the race as the cross specific pain kicked in during the 3rd lap. Overall, I feel this cross season is going to be a great learning experience and a bigger challenge. It will be an honor to race against the best pros in the United States and I plan on learning everything I can from observation. There are no big plans for the season, but it would be nice to break the top 20 in the Super Prestige Series.

Thanks for reading