Oh What a Night..........

Day after my B-Day, whew! G&I went to Wildlife Prairie Park to become "one" with the critters. I have spent the last 3 out of 4 birthdays out there, hanging with my little friends.

The Badgers were A-WOL, as their home was being remodeled. The Badgers have a pretty tight building union, so my company was not invited to bid on the project.

This is as close to a badger as we got. Oh well. If I know the Badger Construction Company, they'll be over budget & behind schedule, so I'll see them later in the fall.

We then "slithered" over to see the snakes, turtles, frogs & salamanders. I got to see a bunch of my turtle relatives that I haven't seen for a little bit. We chewed on some crickets & lettuce.

Here's Ol Uncle Spotty. He still remembers me from my hatchling days.

Of course, we HAD to take the train ride through the park. It was really nice.

The infamous "Elkmobile"

What would life be if you didn't get photographed next to this rig?

G made me blond cupcakes with chocolate frosting, complete with dinosaur sparkles for my birthday cake

She also got me a new pair of Crocs, complete with SpongeBob, Gary, 4-Leaf Clover & a Turtle Gibbet

Great Birthday!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Yes. Today is the day. My Birthday. This will mark 38 of them, falling on the same day in June since 1971 (my 1st birthday)

Here's what my fantasy birthday cake looks like! Pretty cool huh?

I used to not make a big deal about birthdays, and I really don't now, although when you think about it, one of these days I wont have a birthday anymore.

Been doing lots of racing lately. Getting ready for Proctor criteriums this Sunday, which is also the Illinois State Championships. New posting soon!

Winfield Part Deux

My teammate, Rico Suave sent this pic over to me from the Winfield Criterium a couple of weeks ago. This is at the base of the hill. I am nestled in like a little baby, enjoying the pain of going up that stupid thing 22 times!

Rico got 3rd place that day, awesome job!

Fried Turtles & Hero's

Tour De Winghaven, O'Fallon, MO. Sunday June 8th, 2008.

I was there believe it or not, racing in the 3/4's event. This was an awesome, well run event. A 3 mile closed circuit of fast, of which we completed 10 laps (30 miles) in 1:08 minutes.

Do the math, it was a quickie. Here's the kicker. It was 95 degrees, 30+ mph. winds and a heat index of over 110. Needless to say that was not the best combination for a partially out of shape, slightly overweight & getting back into racing turtle. Thank God for my combination of good looks & junk yard dog attitude, or I may have been one of the many who did not finish.

We started off with 136 riders in the race. Yes, you read that correctly, 136! HOLY COW! Didn't matter, as I used to say, that's nothing, as I only have to beat 135 of them, easy stuff.

Well, I didn't beat 135 of them, only 111 of them, as I took 25th place. Not too bad, but will be better next time, I promise. There was some fried turtle on the menu that evening for sure.

This guy. Recognize him? Well it's my cycling hero. Some background: He's 40 something, doesn't really train, or have a training program, except racing. Has a beautiful wife & three adorable children, runs his own business, works his tail off, sneaks off to races (mainly to train he says), and crushes them into the ground.

Robert raced Winghaven as well, doing the Masters race just before mine, taking 5th as our teammate Clark won the event with Roberts assistance, and THEN races the 25 lap (75 mile) Pro event that afternoon (in the 1 billion degree heat) and finishes 32nd out of 130+ starters. Man, can I have a small blood transfusion from you?

I'm "OK" You're "OK"

I know, it's been a little while. I have been doing "stuff", like racing.

Recap: Did Memorial Day weekend races like I used to do, ie: Muscatine & Rock Island. Had an asthma attack at Muscatine and had to pull out. Raced Rock Island the next day, finished with the field, which is "OK" for now. Decided to do the 1,2,3 30+ race immediately after the 3's race, probably a mistake so close to each other. Made it to the mid point, and got popped off the back, on the back stretch trying to hold a wheel at 35 mph that could not be done by myself. It happens. Went solo until the officials pulled me. I can't remember the last time I got "pulled" from a race, but I am "OK" with that right now. I know I am giving 110%, and if that doesn't make it, I can do no more.

Last weekend was the ABR National Championships in Winfield, IL. LONG downhill finish, LONG backstretch with a "sprinters hill". This hill does not suit The Turtle, especially repeating it 22 times. Here I am at the start line, after receiving instructions from Uncle Gary. The race was fast, hard & I finished mid-field. That was "OK". My teammate, Rico Suave got 3rd place, which was pretty cool in itself.

The rest of the Team Mack Crew was in full effect. Races were hard, we took plenty of podium spots, and we all lived to race another day. Here's what turn number 1 looked like, it was a fast one!















Shot of The Turtle, my "girlfriend" (as G says) Robert, Rico Suave & Uncle Gary after the races!

















Robert's daughter raced in the junior event. Congratulations on the podium spot & a really nice medal!

All in all, I am "OK" right now with the progress. Need some more training, some more races, and some more fun, and it's all coming together, and I am "OK" with that.

Thanks to Ms. Rebecca & Paul Shilling for the photos. It's really tough taking photo shots while you're racing.