Finally...we have a ratified contract

Geez, that took some patience but the deal is done.  Barring any unforeseen calamities (home inspection and appraisal) it looks good to close on Sept. 29.  We’re very excited.  Now the fun begins!

 

Here are some photos:

Home buying saga continues

Well, we don't have an "official" contract, yet. We signed all of the formal contracts on Saturday and submitted to the Seller. Our understanding is that there was a death in the family, so the seller hasn't responded. They did take the house off the market, so that counts for something. But still. We need this thing closed to get the rest of the show moving. It looks like closing will be Sept 29.

Igda and I had a pretty relaxing weekend. We really just took it easy and hung out. Watched "Gran Torino" with Clint Eastwood and "17 Again" (very funny movie actually). I didn't touch the bike. BUT I did put new cleats and my new Spiuk shoes if that counts for anything.

The new diet starts tomorrow!!!! This is part 1 of my plan for taking it up a notch in 2010. I'm really interested to see how low I can go and still feel strong.

Locked out!

What a day! Igda and I head out the door to begin our day of home searching and we lock ourselves out of the house. Yes, very stupid AND expensive! I look at her. She looks at me. I realize we're in deep doo-doo without even asking. So I ask anyway - just to confirm what I already know. Locked out! Thank god I had my phone with me. Googled a locksmith and he arrived in about 20 mins and took another 5 mins to open the door. I wrote a check for $208 and we were off for the day.

A little bummed. Someone put an offer on a house we really liked. I'm wondering if this little tax credit situation isn't creating some artificial demand? It will be interesting to see what housing does after Dec 1.

The home search

Igda and I are going to be really busy the next few weeks looking for a home to buy.   It’s only been a week so far and we are already somewhat tired of it.  But the show must go on.  We’re going to be looking around DC this weekend.  We found a townhome this week in Alexandria which we really liked and it appeared to be priced fairly.

 

So, I have no idea what the heck I’m going to do with the remainder of my cycling season.   Honestly, I’m finding it a bit hard to get motivated to do the hard stuff right now.  Who knows?  Things may change.  

 

Millersburg Recap

Igda and I had a nice weekend. She's a trooper for going to these races with me and putting up with my mood swings along the way. She's always very supportive.

Millersburg is a quiet little town about 25 miles north of Harrisburg. It's about a 3 hour drive from home.

Here are some pics:




Pre-Race:


Pretty Sunrise on Sunday:


Start of the Road Race:


I'm sort of tuckered out for a full on race recap, so I'll keep it brief. I placed 3rd in the TT. Good to know I can still TT well without really focusing on it the last month or so. Room for improvement for sure. Hats off to my teammate Michael for destroying everyone and taking 1st. I made a little money to pay for gas.

A few clips from Igda's friend Sam:



The Crit race followed the TT a few hours later. A hard, fun course which was really selective. My teammate, Tom, got me where I needed to be coming off the final climb toward the front, but I just did a poor job holding my position down the descent. I was upset with myself afterward since I knew this was a crucial spot before the race even started. You just don't get second chances in bike racing. I guess it was a small victory to finish the select group. I picked up a few more GC points.

The Road Race. Honestly, the course just wasn't selective enough. As a team, we tried to be active and attack the race, but it just didn't pan out for one reason or another. We got our moneys worth, though. Again, I'm thinking my "survival instinct" took over toward the finish and I just didn't have the gumption to fight for the right position leading up to the turn into the finish which was more important than the final sprint for a top 10. Finished 22nd. Just out of GC points for the race. I ended up 12th in the GC for stage race. Maybe by next year I'll grow a set of balls and make sure my disability and health insurance premiums are in force beforehand.

Bottom line: A wonderful race weekend. The town and volunteers REALLY go out of their way to put this event on. Hopefully this race will continue to grow because it's a must do event.

Millersburg 3/4 Criterium Video

Igda went with me to the Tour de Millersburg this past weekend. A super fun, organized stage race in a great little town up in PA. I'll write more later but for now I'm posting up a video from the Saturday afternoon criterium race. It was a really tough, fast race. My teammate, Tom, flatted during the time trial in the morning. He had some pent up frustration to get out and was just crushing it...and many in the field. Which was also good for our team since we didn't want a break going.

**The first 2/3 of video is shot coming down a sweeping descent which led to two more quick turns into the finish. This descent came AFTER a ~1/3 mile climb which shelled guys when we blazed up it 18 times.

Tour de Millersburg 3/4 criterium 08/15/2009 from Peter Warner on Vimeo.

Some Pics

Here's some pics Igda's good friend, Sam - Check our her photos HERE, shot:
Coming to the line:




A Win!


The Podium:


My first Podium kiss:



My second Podium kiss:



Our Baltimore trip (a little late in posting):

540 Cat 4 race...tons of fun

I'm posting up video now, but I will add my other thoughts at some point today. In short, fun course (18 laps/22 miles). I got some great guys to be in a break with. Everyone worked hard and well together. I was lucky enough to get the win at the end. Igda got a little excited at the end and forgot she had the camera in her hand. Too funny

540 Cat 4 Race from Peter Warner on Vimeo.

OK, I have a few minutes to jot down some more thoughts. I planned on doing the 4 race and the 4 35+ race back to back. For the 4 race, I really wanted to race hard. Attack until I couldn't anymore. I started the race hard and realized after a few laps, I'd need to just keep hitting that little hill really hard to wear some folks down and hopefully get some guys off the front with me. The course is fast, so it really is the only place to get some separation. I told Grayson (Bikerack) that I was going hard after the prime lap. But nobody really went for it, so I waited until the next time at the hill and punched it again. With Grayson on my wheel and two young NCVC's coming as well, I thought this was it. Everyone jumped in full bore and did a great job working it. It didn't hurt that Bikerack and NCVC had quite a few guys in the field to disrupt the chase. They did a good job of it. I'd guess the field gave up with about 5 or 6 to go and we rolled pretty steady. I just waited patiently on the last lap and had enough pop in the legs to take the sprint. It's always a blast trying to stick a break.

My teammate Brian got some vid of the finish (check out Emi in the background- awesome!)

540 Cycling Crit Series #3, Cat 4 from Brian on Vimeo.

For the 35+ 4 race, I just decided to use it as good sprint practice and go for the primes. I got two of them and Grayson got one. I won a few RoadID gift certificates. I ended up 6th in the end. I just got too lazy at the end and had poor positioning. Thanks 540 for putting this on. It was well run and a nice course.

Real Madrid rocks

Just a quick update. Igda, Emi and I went to the DC United vs Real Madrid soccer game this afternoon. It was really cool. Umm, yeah, the skill level of the Real Madrid player's is pretty incredible. It's amazing to watch them pass, dribble and work together. Mad SKILZ! Oh, I spray painted Emi's head! Awesome!

Here's some quick photo's. We had some pretty sweet seats. All 3 RM goals were at our end. Just a bit sad Christiano only played the first half:

Lancaster TT- a nice change in weather

Tour of Lancaster Time Trial Start/Finish from Peter Warner on Vimeo.

Lancaster weekend photos & vids

Here's a grab bag of photos:

Road Race:







Scenes from around the area:

















Time Trial:






Crit Race:












Here are some short video clips: