What does one do to break in the new year? Party Hard? Ride Hard? Well, I've got these friends who thought it would be cool to blast out a 100 mile road ride on New Years Day. I'm thinkin, "THAT is a friggin' GREAT idea!!". So I plan to meet them at 9am on the 1st. ONE PROBLEM: These friggin' senior citizens decide they should move it to 7:30am!! What the?!! Man, I'm no early bird! I would have to wake around 6am to get there that early! Also, I had plans to hit Jared's place to party in the New Year the night before.
Something had to give, so I bailed on the 7:30am meeting and told them that I would try and catch them for the second half...
New Year's eve was a blast: partyin at the Stangle's place with Francine and my bro Kelly, making pizzas with Jared, Jay, and Travis, and sippin sweet tea vodka while Jared danced around like a madman. Needless to say - I was up late... hit the sack around 2:30am.
When I awoke on the frigid new year morning, I saw that it was 10am and 25 degrees outside. OUCH!! It's been a LONG time since I braved that kind of temperature on a road bike.
The Early Birds: Kevin Cox, Scott Davis, and Todd Green
These guys somehow mustered up the strength to start riding in the bitter cold at 7:30am. I'll likely never be that guy, but I'm definitely impressed with the dedication fellas. Although-- I did hear that somebody was scared...
I got my stuff together, bundled up, and hit the road at a bright and early 11:30am - and by the way, it was still 25 degrees when I left the house. Since the Early Birds had a 4 hour head start, I knew I was too late to catch them for the second half. I still headed that direction, though, because things have a way of working out... About 6 miles in, I stopped to rip off my face mask that was making me sweat like Richard Simmons to the oldies (err HipHop).
While I was stopped, I called Kev-man to find out the Early Birds were already about 60 miles in. I was still too far away, and we knew we'd likely not catch up since we both were headed west. I kept on chuggin and reached the west end near Kev's house about 20 minutes later. Up ahead of me, I see three "roadies" rollin' up and hear a "Paulito? Is that you?" Somehow, the ice crystals had converged. The Early Birds were just rollin from Kev's house for the last 40, so I was able to jump in on the New Year's group ride! We headed west on River Road, looped north to Broad St., and then back to Kev's house - a chilly 38 miles.
I was only around 55 miles into the ride, while these guys had 100 finished. Luckily, I was still invited to an awesome breakfast with Kevin, Scott, and Todd: french toast casserole, bacon, fresh squeezed OJ, and coffee!! Thanks Kevin and Tanner for the grub!!
I headed home and finished the day with 70 miles under my belt for a new year opener! Good Times! My only setback: dry eye from the freezing wind left me with blurred vision in my right eye for a few hours.
HOKIE FOOTBALL - DROPPIN IT LIKE IT'S HOT
Now, let me drop some praise to the Viginia Tech football team for figuring out what they needed to figure out. After the UVA game, the Hokies were sent to the ACC Championship vs. Boston College for the second year in a row. BC put the beat down on Tech during the regular season, so I didn't know what to expect. Hokies take 'em to the WOODSHED, making Virginia Tech the ACC Champs for a second straight year!
Next- Hokies go to the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. VT with a 9(W) and 4(L) record, set up to bang out 60 minutes against Cincinatti, who had an 11(W) and 2(L) record. Cincy showed up strong for the first drive, scoring a touchdown with ease. Then Hokies showed up to tell Cincy players and fans that they should head back to Ohio where they are safe.
Cincy would be shut down for the remainder of the game and VT worked it like . Final- VT 20 Cincy 7. The Hokies deliver Beamer's FIRST BCS Bowl WIN! That's what I'm talkin' about!
