another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults

May is so far disappointing. Too many hands-jammed-in-pockets days. Too many desperate, last-minute grinds to work, splashed in the gutter by cars worth more than the houses I grew up in. These have not been fine weeks to be a time-stretched track sprinter. Exactly 1.5 track workouts in May have escaped the weather, work destroyed one sprint night and moisture the second, Thursday track has been nothing but pursuits, and PIR is the highlight of my month, but still only batting .500. A touch of stress to top things off and my Colorado life of predictable training routine is no more.

Go from 20 hours a week of sitting in a desk chair on youtube, waiting for customers to wander in to 40 a week on your feet and things change in a big way. Not ideal in the least, but necessity is the mother of retail jobs. It seems 2 years of delay, delay and deferrment makes Sallie Mae a heinous wench, and all that travel and groceries on credit cards have piled up quick. The bills are paid, but only just. No grand adventures in sight.

Bring on the benevolent sun! Open up! I need some flying efforts to wring the stress out of my bones. A few max speed burns to clear my head. I need to smell some sunscreen and forget to drink enough water. A day of sweat instead of mildew and tension.

Meanwhile. In a hollowed out volcano somewhere sits a gathering of white-haired has-been bureaucrats who fancy themselves wizards. The letters "UCI" were struck into a granite arch on the volcano many years ago. Seems these de-evolutionary masters have decided that track racing in 2012 is not worth a relevant Olympic program. First the pursuit and madison, now only one rider per nation for the sprints and kierin, and an 8 person sprint tourney.
Strategy: make track cycling unwatchable, claim low tv ratings in order to spend velodrome money on more swimming seats in RIO. Doom and gloom these days on the international side as attendance records are set every dry week at Alpenrose.

On the literal home front, the photo library on my computer has shifted quite a bit. A while since any sightseeing, hotel rooms or poorly lit track interior shots. These days it's friends, laughter, family. Illustrations of epic low-lit stories. Silver city lights and Jenny's smiling face. Who can complain.