Tour of the Battenkill--"America's Queen of the Classics"

Signed up for Cat. 4 in the Battenkill race.  Looks like they will be sending out a total of three fields of 125 Cat 4's, so mine will be a large peloton.  I hear that over 1000 are signed up already (All cat 4 fields sold out in 7 minutes) and by race day there should be 1500 racers.  Here's what it looks like:

April 10 is very early for me to be racing, but Battenkill is a unique event in the race calendar.  At 62 miles it is one of the longest races (most are less than 40 miles).  Also, the weather can be pretty grim and the 15 miles of dirt roads make it unlike anything else you'd see in the US.  The race was originally called the Battenkill Roubaix, a reference to the brutal spring classic Paris Roubaix.  Can't explain the attraction of doign this race but it is definitely going to be a big motivator over the winter.

So hopefully I can keep the spare tire at bay this winter and be ready to go for this American Spring Classic!

The Copenhagen Wheel

Here is a very cool new invention from the folks over at MIT.  It is a motorized rear wheel that will fit into a standard bike frame without modification.  Basically, it is intended to give you a little gas going up and over the hills.  What is great about it is that it uses your energy from pedaling and braking to charge the motor.  Also, it hooks up to a smart phone and gives you feedback on speed, calroies burned, etc.  This will allow folks just starting out on the bike and who may not be in the best shape to get on the bike and go.  Very cool!

Landry's Holiday Party

Tonight is the Landry's Holiday Party at Washington Square Tavern.  See you there!

NPR Piece on LA Road Rage Trial

A very interesting piece from the NPR Web site:

Bicycling magazine called it "the road rage incident heard 'round the cycling world."


A driver in Los Angeles was recently convicted of using his car as a weapon against two cyclists. And the case is focusing attention on the often uneasy relationship between motorists and bicyclists who have to share the road.

It happened last year on the Fourth of July, on a steep, narrow road in L.A.'s Mandeville Canyon. Cyclists Christian Stoehr and Ron Peterson were riding side by side when a doctor who lived in the neighborhood came up from behind in a sedan....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120457877&ps=cprs

Props from the Newton Tab

Ok, some shameless self promotion here; this from a press release that went to my hometown paper, the Newton Tab:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/lifestyle/celebrations/x215404549

Attorney leaders of Massachusetts Bar Association named


More than one dozen attorneys who live in MetroWest have been appointed by Massachusetts Bar Association President Valerie A. Yarashus as chairmen of several of the association’s sections for 2009-10. Their terms began Sept. 1. They include the following Newton residents:

John B. DiSciullo, a partner at Mitchell & DeSimone in Boston, is co-chairman of the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section...He has been recognized in Boston magazine as a Massachusetts Rising Star and Massachusetts Super Lawyer every year since 2005.