Trying To Keep Life Simple
A new post! Wow, it's hard to grasp how fast the summer is going by. Here's a quick recap of recent GRIPPED FILMS events...
Picking up from the last entry, I left Iowa and returned to DC for a couple short days before the Baltimore screening. Odd side note, I almost went to college at the Maryland College Institute of Art but ended up in Ohio instead. So it was kinda fun for me to be there with my latest painting so to speak. The venue was great and the crowds rolled in. Chris surprised me by taking the mic during my introduction on stage and gave me a shout-out for making the movie then presented me with a custom "24 Solo" bottle of wine. I was floored. It was one of the more rewarding moments of the film tour. Chris is first class. He is currently stomping in the BC Stage Race - keep updated at www.velonews.com I think next year Poz and I may tackle that one!
Chris signs for the local fans. If anyone has any photos from this event, please send 'em to me.
Shortly after the Balto screening my trusty "Hell-Cam" operater arrived in town for a visit from Denver. Nick and I scored a good road ride in before leaving, just under 100 miles in 95° heat which found me severely cramping at mile 86. Nick was quite proud of having kept his gearing "In the dog" for the entire ride. We would have gone for more miles but I was limping badly on the way back. Looks like I've got a lot of training to do before this year's Shenandoah 100 ( http://www.mountaintouring.com ).
Thought you might enjoy the juxtaposition here. Nick did.
I didn't mind taking a few days off and driving up to Rochester. I forget sometimes how beautiful that area is in the Summer - lot of rolling green hills (which helps explain why I hate to see land butchered by development - there's so much left in Upstate NY that you get to see the beauty of land without homes).
The weather was amazing, you don't usually equate good weather with Rochester - summer is typically 2 months of bad sledding.
Big thanks to my family for helping spread the word. Especially to my Dad (in the photo) who distributed posters to over 40 locations and send 35 letters to my alma matter, RIT. 'Ol Pop is a one-man-PR-wrecking-crew!
The hometown crowd turned out in droves. There were only a few seats left as we raffled off goods from some of the local shops. Big thanks to Scott, Towpath Bike and the Victor Mt. Bike club for creating the only legal place to mt. bike in Rochester.
Things are starting to look up in my hometown thanks to these guys.
A couple days after the screening I had my second road crit - the Saturn Twillight Invitational. This is one of the only crits on the pro tour and it made me proud to see the crowds of Rochester pack the course. I raced with the Cat 5 crew before the pros. The field was solid as about 50 hacks made their way around the 8-turn course. There were a couple of wild crashes I was lucky to avoid and the race came down to a sprint that I started with 2 turns to go, meaning I started one turn too early...
I got edged out by local Pete Kocher at the line but was pretty surprised and happy with a 2nd place. Then the pros went and I got to see what real bike racing is like.
With a field over 150 deep, these guys were at the rivet the entire race. A group of 6 attacked early and actually bridged up to the tail of the peloton half way thru the race! I was going hoarse yelling so much for them. In the end the organizers pulled the peloton and let the 6 do 2 more laps to duke it out. Navigators came thru for the 2nd year. It was estimated that the spectators numbered over 35,000 - and this in Rochester!!! I was super proud of my home down to see that much support from what are normally just football or hockey fans. I'm going back next year for sure.
My buddy Dave was looking better and with the recent news that his Dad is a match for a kidney transplant, Dave had plenty to smile about. It's not often one gets to see a lumberjack in a tux - but for his buddy "Stumpy's" wedding Dave cleaned up his act and put on his best GQ-face...
Soon after leaving Rochester I had to fly out again. This time to the country of Alabama. "Rocket City" is the locals name for Decatur due to the production of missles for our military. As you can expect the propaganda at the airport was thick. I snapped some photos for you to enjoy...
Uhhh, Bush shares a vision with Kennedy? Ummm, yea. Right.
They make you feel guilty for not supporting the war.
Any war.
EVERY WAR!!!!
Needless to say it was hot. Needless to say there were lots of monster trucks with monster rednecks behind the wheel. I tried to pick up some local culture by reading the newspaper and came across this gem - nothing says "I am origninal" more than paying by the letter for your wedding proposal. But hey, you gotta give points for trying right?
NOT.
I am now happily back in Virginia and trying to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in months. Many of them recently married or showing off new babies. It's amazing how fast life goes by. I even got to head out on a group ride with Poz yesterday only to have my new bike snap loudly 3 minutes into the ride. So much for a fun 4th!
Luckily I have a connection or two with the fine folks at TREK so I should be back to racing soon.
This shot from my buddy Martin who came to the Wakefield races last week (he has a special filter that makes me look faster than I am).
So now that you've wasted at least 30 minutes of your employers time, I'll leave you with a bit of "Jason-Wisdom"
Keep life simple
Untill next week...
Picking up from the last entry, I left Iowa and returned to DC for a couple short days before the Baltimore screening. Odd side note, I almost went to college at the Maryland College Institute of Art but ended up in Ohio instead. So it was kinda fun for me to be there with my latest painting so to speak. The venue was great and the crowds rolled in. Chris surprised me by taking the mic during my introduction on stage and gave me a shout-out for making the movie then presented me with a custom "24 Solo" bottle of wine. I was floored. It was one of the more rewarding moments of the film tour. Chris is first class. He is currently stomping in the BC Stage Race - keep updated at www.velonews.com I think next year Poz and I may tackle that one!
Chris signs for the local fans. If anyone has any photos from this event, please send 'em to me.
Shortly after the Balto screening my trusty "Hell-Cam" operater arrived in town for a visit from Denver. Nick and I scored a good road ride in before leaving, just under 100 miles in 95° heat which found me severely cramping at mile 86. Nick was quite proud of having kept his gearing "In the dog" for the entire ride. We would have gone for more miles but I was limping badly on the way back. Looks like I've got a lot of training to do before this year's Shenandoah 100 ( http://www.mountaintouring.com ).
Thought you might enjoy the juxtaposition here. Nick did.
I didn't mind taking a few days off and driving up to Rochester. I forget sometimes how beautiful that area is in the Summer - lot of rolling green hills (which helps explain why I hate to see land butchered by development - there's so much left in Upstate NY that you get to see the beauty of land without homes).
The weather was amazing, you don't usually equate good weather with Rochester - summer is typically 2 months of bad sledding.
Big thanks to my family for helping spread the word. Especially to my Dad (in the photo) who distributed posters to over 40 locations and send 35 letters to my alma matter, RIT. 'Ol Pop is a one-man-PR-wrecking-crew!
The hometown crowd turned out in droves. There were only a few seats left as we raffled off goods from some of the local shops. Big thanks to Scott, Towpath Bike and the Victor Mt. Bike club for creating the only legal place to mt. bike in Rochester.
Things are starting to look up in my hometown thanks to these guys.
A couple days after the screening I had my second road crit - the Saturn Twillight Invitational. This is one of the only crits on the pro tour and it made me proud to see the crowds of Rochester pack the course. I raced with the Cat 5 crew before the pros. The field was solid as about 50 hacks made their way around the 8-turn course. There were a couple of wild crashes I was lucky to avoid and the race came down to a sprint that I started with 2 turns to go, meaning I started one turn too early...
I got edged out by local Pete Kocher at the line but was pretty surprised and happy with a 2nd place. Then the pros went and I got to see what real bike racing is like.
With a field over 150 deep, these guys were at the rivet the entire race. A group of 6 attacked early and actually bridged up to the tail of the peloton half way thru the race! I was going hoarse yelling so much for them. In the end the organizers pulled the peloton and let the 6 do 2 more laps to duke it out. Navigators came thru for the 2nd year. It was estimated that the spectators numbered over 35,000 - and this in Rochester!!! I was super proud of my home down to see that much support from what are normally just football or hockey fans. I'm going back next year for sure.
My buddy Dave was looking better and with the recent news that his Dad is a match for a kidney transplant, Dave had plenty to smile about. It's not often one gets to see a lumberjack in a tux - but for his buddy "Stumpy's" wedding Dave cleaned up his act and put on his best GQ-face...
Soon after leaving Rochester I had to fly out again. This time to the country of Alabama. "Rocket City" is the locals name for Decatur due to the production of missles for our military. As you can expect the propaganda at the airport was thick. I snapped some photos for you to enjoy...
Uhhh, Bush shares a vision with Kennedy? Ummm, yea. Right.
They make you feel guilty for not supporting the war.
Any war.
EVERY WAR!!!!
Needless to say it was hot. Needless to say there were lots of monster trucks with monster rednecks behind the wheel. I tried to pick up some local culture by reading the newspaper and came across this gem - nothing says "I am origninal" more than paying by the letter for your wedding proposal. But hey, you gotta give points for trying right?
NOT.
I am now happily back in Virginia and trying to reconnect with friends I haven't seen in months. Many of them recently married or showing off new babies. It's amazing how fast life goes by. I even got to head out on a group ride with Poz yesterday only to have my new bike snap loudly 3 minutes into the ride. So much for a fun 4th!
Luckily I have a connection or two with the fine folks at TREK so I should be back to racing soon.
This shot from my buddy Martin who came to the Wakefield races last week (he has a special filter that makes me look faster than I am).
So now that you've wasted at least 30 minutes of your employers time, I'll leave you with a bit of "Jason-Wisdom"
Keep life simple
Untill next week...
1 Comments:
Dave in a TUX! WOW!
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