I can smell it...

Let me first start by saying that this blog is a work in progress. I like the idea of having one but rarely do I spend the time to update it. Nuff said!

Can you smell it? I can. The days are getting shorter, school is back for most kids (Robert) and the evenings and early morning are nice and cool. This signals the sign of three of my favorite things. These are in no particular order. 1. Fall. This is my favorite time of year. I like summer but can do without all the heat and humidity. The air smells fresher and the leaves start changing. This is a great time of year. 2. Cyclocross. Cyclocross you ask? What is that? Cyclocross is the coolest of cycling disiplines. It starts in the fall and continues in Europe until mid January. You race a road type bicycle that is built to a little "beefier" specs in parks, trails and on roads. The race is timed, normally 30 minutes for beginners to 1 hour for the pros. It is a race against your bike handling skills, the weather and how well you can mount and dismount your bike over obstacles such as "the barriers" and stairs and steep hillsides. Those that race "cross" travel to different states to race the best venue and see how different teams and clubs set up courses. If you are a cycling fan and live in Indiana or Southern Ohio I suggest you try the OVCX Series or if you are in Northeast or Central Ohio try the Team Lake Effect Series in Cleveland. For TLE this is their 11th year holding the series and it is shapping up to be one of the best with races at Wendy Park (Whiskey Island) in CLeveland, Kent State University and other cool locations. To see the complete series listing go to http://www.teamlakeeffect.com/. With all that said this brings me to my number 3. THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES FOOTBALL. When people find out I root for the Buckeyes the first question is "did you go to Ohio State?" The answer is no. Nancy and I really started following the Buckeyes when Tressel became their head coach. He was the coach and AD at Youngstown State when Nancy and I were there and we got to know him from different things we were both in. He is a great coach and a great guy. There is nothing better than rolling into Columbus on a Saturday morning with a car full of tables, grills, beer (don't tell anyone), a football to toss around, maybe some corn hole and more food than you can eat in a few hours. You start seeing others come into the lots and you hear "O-H" and someone else replies "I-O". Folks it doesn't get any better than that. To finish off the year we attend the annual "Ohio State vs. that team up north party" held annually in Cleveland and hosted by our old doctor from Madison, Dr. Joe. The day starts in the icy cold morning with a Scarlet and Grey touch football game, followed by kegs and eggs and a live band and then we perform the traditional "Script Ohio" and then watch our Buckeyes kick some team up north butt! Amy and Steve are now hooked on this party as well (sister and brother-in-law) and can't wait for it again this year.

So that's it in a nutshell. I have plans to race almost every weekend starting Sept. 13th in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Kentucky. I will update this blog with the happenings of those races and all the other useless stuff that nobody really cares about.

Out for now but I will be back!