unfortunate event
this is getting ridiculous. i always have all this cool stuff to say and think i could be throwing out some great blog entries and then i just run out of time. i need a voice recognition computer so i can just talk when i think of something and...voila...post to the blog. however, this week has unfortunately provided the necessity for a post due to losing a great member of the Utah cycling community.
i got the news about Bill Corliss saturday night and it was very upsetting to both me and Dona. i met Bill shortly after i started the cyclocross season back in 2002. he was always friendly, super excited about cycling, and easy going. when he told me he was in his late 40s i couldn't believe it. over the past 3 road seasons, it was a rare tuesday night that you didn't see Bill pumping up his tires in the Barbacoa parking lot getting ready to race. Bill was always genuine and made sure to take the time to say hello and ask how things were going. i enjoyed many a long ride up on the Park City nationals course with him in the group. after the first Park City nationals, Dona and I sat and ate dinner and drank a few glasses of wine with Bill and his wife Deb as our kids all played. it was a lasting impression for both us on what great people they are. it was painful to hear the news and think of the pain of Deb and their son Jordan. keep them in your thoughts and prayers. i know Bill will be in my thoughts every time i prepare for the tuesday night race. i wish he would have been out with us racing this past saturday...
so...i know Bill would want us all to stay excited about cycling. i have just the thing. Hell of the North(Salt Lake) is this saturday. apparently, the organizers are concerned with fans on the course this saturday and they have instituted a new set of rules in addition to the flag code (don't wave flags in front of the riders), but they have now added four other rules:
1. Don't push the riders--as much as i might ask for a push going down the dirt section, don't do it--unless it's Freebairn offering to push me!
2. Stay behind the fences (or cords) and if there aren't any, stay on the side of the road--please respect the fact that there will be many in the cat1/2 field that will have a hard time staying on the road since Aaron will be killing it and blowing the legs off of everyone...be ready to jump out of the way if a rider can't crash into a barrier and is headed for you!
3. Respect road traffic regulations--it's tough to watch the race only from one vantage point...driving through the newly fenced and no trespassing marked security areas of the airport could get you into some trouble.
4. Don't step onto the parcours until the green flag has passed. (a UCI commissaire and two police motorcycles will accompany the green flag car)--you never know if a rider who just won't give up will be rallying behind the official vehicles.
there you have it. i'm not sure if the Hell of the North(Salt Lake) organizers have posted this on the website. i just happened to be rummaging through Christian's garbage looking for salvagable Campy Record parts now that he's retired from racing and i found the draft shown above. i give him 6 months of racing retirement and then he'll be trying to break into my garage to get all those parts back.