KATSUMI 0 GROIN PULL 1

So I went to the surgeon and she did some poking tests and made me cough and other things and she said "This is not a Hernia, but a groin Pull."

Yes! No surgery! My brother who has had two extensive open heart surgery gave me some advice last weekend. He was like "Oh Dude, surgery is the best, you don't feel anything, you get to lie around all day afterwards watching TV or playing videogames and everyone brings you presents. Don't worry about it."

Well, still 6 weeks of active rest. I can ride my bike and jog around but not the lethal combination of 15MPH + Dismount + 40CM barriers + Remount.

I want to thank everyone for their caring wishes and yes, I will be back next year with a vengence, and these wheels that I just picked up for $250....

HERNIA 0 KATSUMI 1

Cantoooon

I was able to find my way to Canton, my favorite race ever, to go cheer on some good friends and some teammates. Same as last year, it was windy. Damn windy.

It is always a bit weird to show up at a race and not race. You know that you are there to do something, but you are not sure what.

It was cool to hang out Tom N and to get to know him better. Next year, he should make a really strong B-racer. I also encouraged him to buy a full custom Ti bike before next year.

Although going to a race to watch is not as exciting as racing in one, it is still amazing to cher and taunt your good friends as they plunge down into the moist well of agony and pain.

While there, I got to hang out with all my good teammates, Oscar, and many of the Quad and Cambridge guys.

Below please find some pictures. I find that some of them give me motion sickness, so do not look at them for too long.

I think these are the most interesting of the set. None of them will be clear crisp and what not. I don't think I would be justifying the pain, the intensity and energy of this race if I could show positively clear and crisp pictures.

This one is of the Young Josh. He is doing what the truckers call, "Putting the Hammer Down". I like to call it, "Putting the Jamner Down"

Here he is again, casually running up the hill.

Here is PVB in the omnious looking black helmet. Every time he rode by the crowd could smell the 7 pints of belgian beer being evaporated from his skin and orfices.



Matt flying over the barriers. He was taunted by the crowd to bunnyhop them, but he did it his way to a strong third place.

Intensity.

Bunny hopping through the traffic.

Zank...

Zank Bunny hoping. I like this picture because it is not completely in focus. Sometimes it is difficult to capture so much energy on film.

Craig from Cambridge Cross team. A good dude.

Jamner, too fast to capture on film.


Ziemba and friends.

Kenny from Team Z killing it.

And ofcourse, the crowd favorite, MurphMonkey.

Game Over...

Just came back from the doctors, off to the surgeons on tuesday. A once spectacular season has come to an abrupt end.

Diagnosis: Sports Hernia
Treatment: Surgery

Scary stuff.

SPORTS HERNIA....? Or just bruised boys...

Last week while riding the road bike for a couple of hours, I felt this strange compressing feeling in my left almond. I thought it may be the new bibs that I was wearing so I just rode it out.

Two days later it still is sensitive and my lower left abdomin hurts when I bend forward. I did some web surfing on the World Wide Web and I think it may be something called Sports Hernia? I am going to the doctor today to have it checked out. Have any of my loyal readers (I know there is at least 4 of you out there) have experienced this affliction? It feels like there is pressure all the time where there should not be. I first experienced it when I was doing hill workouts a month ago and went into it too hard without warming up enough, I rested for a week and it went away.

It does not seem to affect just riding around as I found out last night, but I have this dull aching pressure all of the time there.

Gloucester!

There must be a worm hole somewhere between CT and MA because there is no way my friend Chris and Elizabeth could have left Brooklyn at 5PM on a friday and have arrived at my house, Gin and tonic in hand, by ten PM. There is no fricking way it is possible. On thursday it took me 1 hour to get from Cambridge to Brookline for Naked Steve's birthday party. That is like 4 miles at most.

Anyways, so friday night, we chatted a bit, drank some beers, which I spilled all over my leg, and we strategized for the next day.

Fast forward to saturday....we get to the venue at around 11 AM, chill out, hand out and say hi to characters like Daab, PVB, ZANKS, Cary, Rosey and C.Greg and many others.

The race started pretty unremarkably. I think life is completely different when you start on the front row. There was no pushing, shoving, or any of that shenanigans that you see when you start 5 rows back. The view is clear and all is calm around you. I equate it to how good looking people or very wealthy people have such better chances at succeeding in life than say, the average joe who has to gouge eyes and kick balls to get ahead.

We had a clean entry off the pavement and into the dirt paths I was not really super intimidated by the pace. But as soon as we hit the open road again, dudes were passing with so much force that some reynolds numbers were reached and a turbulent cloud formed in front of me which slowed me down to no degree. I rode the first lap in 26th, the second in 40th, and just maintained my position until lap 5 when I dropped my chain between the chain guard and the frame. It just would not come out. I wasted about a minute as I desperately watched 30 guys pass me as I started to cry and the crowd tried to console me by yelling go Zac!.

I rode with fury for the last two laps and caught about 7-8 people on the advice of a little friend sitting on a rock. I thankfully put in a good sprint and shattered a soul of an ECV guy for 70th place.

Bad news:70th place.

Good news: The winner beat me by 11 minutes at nationals. But this time, only by 5 minutes. Also, there were over 20 guys within a minute from me. I will train super hard next week and come back as the Mexecutioner.

On Saturday night we all went out to the North End for dinner and ate some delicious pizzas and drank Gin and Tonics at home until I passed out.

SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNDAAAYyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Exactly at 1:20PM on sunday, as men were digging deep into their 401K of pain, I was practicing my Hatian barrier move.

Contrary to popular belief, the correct tire pressure to ride over Chris's spine was 28PSI in the front and 30 PSI in the rear.

12 Laps To Go...

This weekend I took trip into Cooperstown NY to race what I think may be the coolest race I have ever done...Roughly 3400 miles away from Brussels sits the Ommegang Belgian Brewery, nestled deep in the countryside of upstate NY(Maybe it is not exactly upstate). As we pulled in to the gravel driveway and saw all of the Belgian flags hanging as we drove through the large archway connecting the two buildings, I decided that from this moment on, I will dedicate myself to a higher being so that I may persuade the crew from the Boston area to make this religious journey, much similar to what the characters in the movie "kingdom of heaven" had done.

The atmosphere was super mellow and will be the complete opposite of Gloucester this weekend. It was a bit strange to go to a race and not see any familiar faces.

There was only one race for the young men, and it was the Open Men's race. The coolest part of the race was that they started the race with not a whistle, but by uncorking one of their fresh ales.

I have never raced 60 minutes before so I didn't kill myself at the start. I was in about 30th place through lap 1-6, and something happened where I just kept maintaining a nice steady pace but dudes all around me were getting shattered. It may have been the super steep, but climb-able, hill, or the twisty bumpy descent, or having to go thourgh the beer garden 12 times. I clawed up to 13th place. I knew I was doing well since the announcer gave me no love during the first 6 laps, but gave me good loving after I started to make up some time.

I am a bit nervous for Gloucester, but I think as soon as the racing starts, all will be well, the strong riders will come to the front, and I will suffer to stay in top 50.

Fall in New England

Last night around six, I took off the eggbeaters off my DeSalvo and put on some platform pedals so that my friend Naked Steve and I could go ride some cross. We rode all over Cambridge and had a hot cocoa in Davis and just watched the locals hustle off to watch the game at the Joshua Tree. Afterwards we went to Ace Wheelworks to check out some MTN bikes. All in all a very peaceful evening. Naked Steve has never been on a real cross bike before and was just trying to rip through every corner.

When I think of fall, I can't help but think of this poem I read while a young Lower at Phillips Andover Academy...

Márgarét, áre you grieving

Over Goldengrove unleaving?

Leáves líke the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?

Ah! ás the heart grows older

It will come to such sights colder

By and by, nor spare a sigh

Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;

And yet you will weep and know why.

Now no matter, child, the name:

Sórrow's spríngs áre the same.

Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed

What heart heard of, ghost guessed:

It is the blight man was born for,

It is Margaret you mourn for.

Let us enjoy the next two months of cyclocross season with friends and family.