Brentwood Grand Prix, or Things that go bump in the pack.

We came back from Midnight Madness at 5 am, then up and in the car at 7 am to watch my friend Joe race at the Brentwood Grand Prix. I was pretty excited because I had never been to a race before, Dave was less excited – something about sleep I think.

The Brentwood Grand Prix was held on San Vincente blvd. which made a perfect 2.2 mile loop for them. It was a little lower then where I usually do my Thursday night rides (omg, those false flats!) but in a good spot not just for the race but to watch the riders warm up on the hill and back.

Joe had asked us to attend so that we could take pictures. This _seemed_ like an easy request but turned out to be much harder than we thought. His race (cat 3 mens, 33+) was at a much faster clip then the others we saw before and after. There was no coasting round the turn and they were shoulder to shoulder thru much of it. During the entire hour race (one frickin’ hour at top speeds!), we were only able to see him once and missed him in the camera frame.

There were 125 cyclists in this race, that sat at 30+ mph through most of it. During the final lap, speeds increased … Joe was at 38.6 when the cyclist in front of him clipped his wheel while looking for a hole in the group. Joe went endo, 30 riders went down and we celebrated by spending the day at the E.R.. Seems a broken clavicle was the trophy.

For the gear heads in the group, the bike that took a major owie is a Red Trek Madone 5.5. It is recovering nicely from what I hear.

More fun than you can shake a light stick at.

Another event to add to my reoccurring annual treks is the San Diego Midnight Madness ride. This year it was the same night as Cool Breeze. I opted not to start at one end of Southern California in the morning and head to the other in the evening, but now that I am a veteran of Midnight Madness, I just might do it next year.

I honesty thought to myself, “its a Saturday night in San Diego, it’ll be a cute little ride with like 20 people.” Man, was I wrong! About 1,000 riders showed. Between 8 pm registration time and the midnight start there were vendors, contests and just all around good fun.

Taking pics in the dark with a cell phone is not the easiest thing to do, but I was able to get a pic of the tandem couple who actually built a bed on the bike, dressed up as bride and groom with a just married sign. Her bouquet actually lit up! In case you were wondering, they’ve been married 37 years, so 20 miles on a tandem must be a snap.

Other costumes were Popeye and Olive Oil, the Disco Duo on a tandem with afros on their helmets, bubble machine and you guessed it, rotating disco ball. Let’s not forget the folks in pajamas with lights or the really unattractive man in a dress with tassels.

Quote of the Day

Courage to start and willingness to keep everlasting at it are the requisites for success.

— Alonzo Newton Benn