Westside Update

late night update! wi-fi has been spotty so I'll get these pics up now. Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, I'll fix them later.

So much for posting every day. My pirated wi-fi has been out for a few days (what's up BARB@HOME? Let's keep that router turned on) and I've been too busy drinking, racing and schmoozing to take many pictures anyway but here are a few.

This is the only picture I took on Friday. I guess it's sometime during the opening alleycat, which I happened to win. More out of luck than speed I assure you. I was sucking wind and falling off the back halfway through but I kept going and everybody else made routing mistakes so I ended up first. Ah, the glory, it's been too long. I won a sweet Raleigh jacket courtesy of Matt Case, and of course the respect of my peers.
I intended to forgo the Strip Club Classic in favor of water and sleep but of course I got talked into "just one beer" and ended up riding to the Dancin' Bare, Magic Gardens and Union Jack's. Each seemed progressively weirder, or maybe it was just me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for naked girls, but the strip club milieu just doesn't do it for me. I heard that Cowboy "won" by getting dancers signatures at all the bars and several that weren't on the list. That makes Team WRECK 2 for 2 so far.
I skipped the early Saturday events, opting for sleeping in, time at the dog park, catching up on the New Yorker, 4 liters of water and one of gatorade, two large meals, both featuring bacon, and a short nap. I still didn't feel quite right by dusk but I ventured to the Mill House anyway.

I got there just in time for the foosball tournament. Dabby and I played well in the first round then got utterly destroyed by Spence and Timmy.

They may not have been playing under the Team WRECK banner but I still consider it a W. 3 for 3.

I'm not sure who introduced the Stare Down as an event this year but it was a crowd favorite for sure. I didn't see the final match but I'm guessing Bjorn won. His style was intimidating to say the least.
Sorry Chas, I thought you were just practicing. No flash photography!

At midnight we rode to the Burnside skate park for Beefa's Hell of the Southeast Criterium. At this point I handed my camera to Johnny, so the rest of these photos were taken by him.

There's that Boston confidence.

View from the ramp.


What am I smiling about?

Dabby and Sharky at the start.


A sketchy corner. In fact the whole course was sketchy, there was even a crash on the neutral lap. Train tracks, curbs, parking lots, cobblestones and drunken spectators were just some of the hazards. I wasn't exactly in race shape at this point in the evening and quickly fell off the back. I'm not sure who won but Drew said he got second. TW represent! Unfortunately the scene at the finish line quickly devolved into chaos. Beefa and Zak had words over how the race was run and ended up scuffling a little. No pictures of that, unfortunately. C Murder also got into it with some drunk girl who wandered out into the course at a bad time. Of course I felt compelled to try to mediate both disputes and ended up getting everyone to apologize but I don't think they really meant it. When we got back to the Mill House we heard there had been a big fight there while we were gone. Why do I hang out with these knuckleheads? Ah well, two more days to go.