One Year

This blog was intended to be solely a repository for my race reports...not for musings about the world we live in and life in general. However, I will take one brief digression before returning you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Today marks my official one-year anniversary of post-bar exam freedom. On July 29 & 30, 2008 I sat for (and passed!) the Illinois bar exam. It was the worst two days of my life since I had sat for (and passed!) the Washington state bar exam exactly 10 years before.

Needless to say, the rigorous study schedule put a major crimp in my riding. I lost an entire season of training and racing thanks to that test, which caused my poor legs to atrophy. My body suffered, in general. Some people are stress eaters, but I am the exact opposite. During the 4 months of studying, I pretty much lived on plain oatmeal, peas, tomatoes, and cottage cheese. My weight averaged in the low 140s, occasionally dropping into the high 130s...probably not all that healthy for a 6'1" man.

As soon as the exam was over, however, I was, as Aerosmith says, "back in the saddle again." Those first few rides were a humbling experience! Case in point: on my first post-exam "freedom ride," my brother dropped me on a highway overpass. I vowed vengeance then and there.

So, in this past calendar year, I have ridden 3,700 miles and raced 18 times. I now average a good race-weight of 150, and I know that I'm in better shape at 35 than I was at 25. I'm posting up the best racing results of my career, but just haven't managed to get the sprint or the "killer instinct" to start landing myself into the top 5. But stay tuned...