March 28th, Washington Park:

Barack Obama came to Portland today. I was in the nosebleeds:

It was an exciting event, and I no longer have any doubt where my primary vote is going on May 20. I didn't really anyway, but it was great to see him in person and really affirm that choice. It's not at all difficult to imagine this man leading this country, and it's certainly inspiring to see so many people this excited about a political candidate. I felt like I was at a rock concert. Adrienne, like most other normal people, couldn't get away at 9:30am on a Friday, so unfortunately I was there alone. But like myself, quite a lot of people had arrived by bicycle, which is always encouraging to see. I wonder if there'd be that many bikes at a McCain rally?

Beyond all of the uplifting generalities, of which there was no shortage, Obama also spent a lot of time on relatively specific policy proposals during his address. Some highlights were increased teacher pay and standards, a college credit in exchange for post-graduation community service, and a strict cap on carbon emissions. I'm not sure if that's new to his stump speeches, but it certainly goes against the 'all style, no substance' accusation that's been used so frequently. I'd also read 'The Audacity of Hope' in late 2006, so it came as little surprise to me that the man is not as shallow as some would have us think.

The introduction was given by New Mexico Governor and former Presidential candidate Bill Richardson. Richardson formally endorsed Obama at the event, which is no small fact given that he was both the UN Ambassador and Secretary of Energy under Bill Clinton. Here's a grainy photo of Richardson and Obama on stage:

As for bike racing, I don't have a lot to report. I won't be going to Redlands, as per the team's decision. That's disappointing, but I certainly understand that race starts need to be spread around a bit among the riders. Significantly more disappointing is the fact that we were not invited to the Tour of Georgia this year. I won't editorialize on that, but it does leave a huge hole in my spring. At this point, I don't know when I'll be racing next. That's a hard spot to be in as an athlete.

Otherwise, training has been going well. I've been a little slow to find my legs again after being sick, but I'm starting to come back around now. I did a ride up to the snow line on Wildcat Mountain yesterday on my own, and I did the same on Larch Mountain last week with Jason Sager. Here's a photo from Larch:

That's enough for now. Look for me at some races around the northwest in the coming weeks.

Oh man, was I ever sick this week. I felt a little off the whole time I was in California, like I was on the verge of coming down with something, and I still felt right on the brink after getting home. But it hit me hard on Thursday. 102 degree fever, chills, coughing, runny nose. Not fun. Thankfully, Adrienne's great at playing nurse and extremely tolerant of my whininess as well. And let me tell you, I sure can whine.

But against my better judgment, and the advice of Coach Jeannette, I decided to go out and do the first Banana Belt road race this morning. I'd managed to convince myself that I was mostly healthy again (I was not), and I also have a fair bit of nostalgia for those races. I've done at least one race out there every year since I started racing on the road in 2000, and this weekend was going to be my only chance this year. Plus, an old teammate of mine from Broadmark, Tyler Thompson, drove up from Southern Oregon and stayed on our pullout couch last night, and I didn't want to make him go out there alone.

All bad excuses for a bad decision. Regardless, I somehow managed to find myself in the winning break. But I really didn't have the motivation or the energy to try to win, so I decided I'd try to lead out Evan Elken in the sprint. I figured he'd pay me back with a beer sometime. But to my complete disbelief, I ended up watching as 16 year old Jacob Rathe first pulled side-by-side with Evan, then started to pull away. And he held on! I knew the kid was good, but that was amazing. Sixteen years old and outsprinting The Head. The rest of us clearly have cause to be very, very afraid as he gets older and, inevitably, faster.

On another note, I just finished re-reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises a couple of nights ago. It'd been a good seven years or so since I read it last, and a passage that I only vaguely remembered really jumped out at me this time. The main character, Jake Barnes, is in San Sebastian and the riders competing in the Tour du Pays Basque end up at the same hotel for a night. Somehow, the description of the riders and the sport seems so perfect, even still. Here's part of it:

In the dining-room, at one side, there was a long table of bicycle-riders, eating with their trainers and managers. [...] They all spoke in slang at the long table and there were many private jokes and some jokes at the far end were not that were not repeated when the girls asked to hear them. [...] The bicycle-riders drank much wine, and were burned and browned by the sun. They did not take the race seriously except among themselves. They had raced among themselves so often that it did not make much difference who won. Especially in a foreign country. The money could be arranged.