Getting Autumn underway

This week marks the start of post-Summer activities. A new season of basketball starts tomorrow and I'll be doing my first cyclocross race of the year on Sunday, if my licence arrives.

Basketball should be enjoyable again this time. I like the people I play with and I hope I can contribute. My co-worker, Victor, might also come out for a few games. We're normally a little short on players so we'll need a little help from a guy who's definitely not short on height. Victor and I are also not short on excess mass so we could both use the exercise. Victor claims to have played at a high level back in the CCCP so we'll see if he can shake the rust off. I didn't play at a very high level and it's about two years and counting for me and the rust shaking.

Sunday will be my first cyclocross race of the season and my first race in a long time. Since I last raced, my training has included doing nothing and eating cake. I've also bulked up by about 10 kg but this isn't football and I'm not worried about being pushed around by other large men so this extra weight is not going to help my performance. If you watch le Tour, you'd know that riders my height usually weigh about 25 kg less than I do. Lance Armstrong is just a smidgen taller than me and he was fairly heavy at 70 kg. I do believe I'm a sprinter and not a climber like Lance. My favourite rider is the great sprinter, Erik Zabel. He's also about my height and 70 kg. Ying says she'll come out to cheer on Sunday and I've made sure she won't be disappointed watching me tour around at the back. If I hadn't been doing my cycling commute to work, which is about the length I expect to race, I'd probably have to put her on the bike for a lap while I recover. Anyway, my goal on Sunday is to be last in the easiest category there is. I assure you there will be rejoicing should I exceed my goal and come second-last. I hope to post some photos from the race as Ying will be my official photographer so long as Julie isn't fussy during the race. If there are others around whom I know, I'll try and get some pictures of them too.