Big announcement

That’s right Jess and I are having another baby, which means Grant will soon be a big brother.  Our first pregnancy was very calculated and deliberate, this one was totally unexpected, but not unwelcome. Jess had a check-up today and everything is looking good, so I think it is more “real” for both of us now. The baby is due the first week of April, which means that Grant will be 3 years older than baby.

Kevin has already been giving me a hard time about the challenges of having two kids, i.e. less time for cycling, TV, etc. Luckily I have a pretty amazing and flexible wife when it comes to helping me balance family time with work and personal goals, but I know it’s going to be a challenge. I look at it this way, now I’ll have three people to cheer me on at the end of a race.

Texas Time Trials

So my last race of the season is coming up next weekend. It is the Texas Time Trials in Cleburne. I will be competing in the UMCA North American 100 Mile Championship. This is a 100 mile time trial, which means no drafting, on a 20 mile, hilly loop.  Since there is no drafting allowed, I broke-down and got a pair of aero bars for my bike from FWCycling. Aero handlebars allow the rider to sit lower on the bike and with a narrower, more aerodynamic upper body cross section. As viewed from the front, the rider’s body is narrower than having the arms spread out to normal drop handlebars.  This is critical since 90% of your energy goes towards combatting wind resistance when you are riding at speed.

I’ve been riding them for the past week, including a spin with Kevin D on Sunday. They still feel a little awkward, but they definitely improve performance. Seems like I can easily ride 2 mph faster at the same level of effort. However, I’m a little worried that my body won’t be able to handle 100 miles in the aero position (I already have l and neck issues that prevent me from doing any kind of weight-lifting, basketball or any activity that involves raising your arms over your head). But on the bright-side, Jess and I are leaving that next week for some R&R in Maui. There are worse places that I could nurse a sore neck/shoulder.

This is also an unsupported ride. So I will need to literally have an ice chest at the side of the road to stop and get new water bottles, food, etc. which really eats up ride time. Therefore, I’m shooting to finish the 100 miles in under 5 hours

Interesting use of social networking . . . but this isn’t an endorsement yet.

So I got an update on my LinkedIn account and there was a very interesting question posted (LinkedIn allows you to post questions to people in your network).  Presidential candidate Barack Obama posed the question, “How can the next president help better help small business and entrepreneurs thrive?” I thought this was a great way to tap into social networking in order to get people (voters) thinking about the issues and to generate some interest in his campaign. It got me to click on Barack’s profile, where there is info on his campaign, etc. (see screen shot above). Nice to see a candidate intelligently-leveraging a technology/service I use everyday.

Should LSU be #1 . . . will we lose Les Miles to Michigan?

 

 As most of my friends/family/co-workers know, I am a die-hard LSU football fan. I have no fewer than six pieces of LSU memorablilia hangin in my office. So after LSU’s very impressive performance last weekend versus a very good Virginia Tech team, I thought I would comment on the case for LSU to be ranked #1.  

Right now it’s No. 1 USC and No. 2 LSU – or should it be the other way around? – going into the third week of the season. Assuming USC (1-0) proves itself at No. 14 Nebraska (2-0) on Saturday after its average performance in the opener against Idaho, the debate could rage on for several weeks, if not the whole season.

Pre-season polls aside, LSU is clearly No. 1 based on what ‘s happened on the field. The Tigers were awesome in dismantling No. 18 Virginia Tech, 48-7, and have outscored their opponents 93-7 after two games. The fact USC remained No. 1 after a bye week in which the Tigers put on one of the best performance’s in LSU foootball history just shows you how illogical the polls really are early in the season.

The question now is can USC look as dominating as LSU against a good Nebraska team this week, a team that could be on the rise under coach Bill Callahan and that features former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller?

If they don’t, then I think it’s time to make LSU No. 1 and USC No. 2 – assuming LSU dismantles Middle Tenn. on Saturday (Note: Middle Tenn played respectable against a very good Louisville team).

So life is good right now for Tiger fans . . . right? Well, maybe not. I will be very interested in the Michigan-Notre Dame game this weekend. Why? Another Michigan loss would only add fuel to the fire that is LSU coach Les Miles is potentially leaving LSU at the end of the season to take over the Michigan job. Miles, a Michigan alum rumored to be a candidate to succeed the suddenly embattled Lloyd Carr, actually has a clause in his contract that lets him leave LSU for the Michigan job; although, he must pay a $1.25MM penalty to do so and void his LSU contract. 

 

But I’m not going to let that get me down, it’s just too painful. I still haven’t gotten over Nick Saban/Satan leaving us for the Miami job – only to come back and take the Alabama job (I won’t be happy unless we beat them by 50 in Tuscaloosa).