Ride the Ridge

Brownie crits are back, Tue/Th worlds have returned, Ride the Ridge MTB race on Sunday at BRS, and sunshine, sunshine, sunshine: Earlysville is the new California. Maybe someone will seize the opportunity and put a taco stand in Earlysville where the market used to be. Maybe have a truing stand out front, self-service style. Sell some surfboards. Not require shirt or shoes.

Or, more realistically, maybe we can just go one more year without a crazy redneck in a Chevy running a cyclist down on Earlysville Rd. I'd take that.

But let's focus. Ride the Ridge. Sunday. Online registration ends at 8 AM Friday morning, for some reason, so get your act together and get on the roster. $20, racers. It's cheap, gnarly, and purely for the glory - like your mom. Get excited about that.

Lots of bad air being spouted on the interwebs these days about health care reform. What's right, what's wrong, who should pay for it, blah blah blah. It's a very big deal. I had an idea about the state of free speech on the internet as it relates to Health Care reform, here goes:

Before you are allowed to post/tweet/instant message/flame/spout off something narcissistic/ crude/intolerant/hateful/narrow-minded or otherwise harsh on your facebook account/blog/Wiki/Voicemail/ Twitter/email or other public forum, you must first go to Blue Ridge School and ride a lap on the Ride The Ridge course. The whole thing, including bearhole, not just the short course. Then and only then will you be permitted to notify the world publicly (and yet safely veiled by the secrecy of the internet) of what the hell you think America and Americans need. This preemptive action will, by itself, solve the health care crisis; we'll have a fitter, happier, slightly bloodier, singletrack buzzed populace that no longer really needs or cares about health care (although they might need a stitch or two) but could go for a dip in the lake and a cold beer.

That's all I get, though. One thought. Hopefully by Sunday afternoon I'll have three more if all goes well, but until then I'll practice what I preach.

Let's move on.