Room 112 in Mad City

Back in Mad City. It's raining. I am getting hammered over at slowtwitch.com for things out of my control. I haven't run in two days, my back hurts, and my personal pan pizza at the Pizza Hut 'Bistro' across the street from the hotel tasted like play dough. I am wondering what else can go south.

On the sunny side of the street (!), I found an article in the Madison edition of the Onion, that pretty much sums up my reason for being here for IM Moo Deux, It is a peppy recap of all the national 'zines take on Mad City with the author's local insider notes afterwards as a postscript. Number Three on the list (of five) is Outside Magazine's 2007 selection of them as Best Road Biking Town. To which author Chris Connolly adds his cogent comments: "Dirty Secret: While Madison is certainly bike friendly, what a lot of the evaluators don't know is that since 100 percent of Madison's roads are under construction 100 percent of the time, cyclists rarely enjoy a smooth ride."

Boys and Girls, I am here to tell ya that Mr. Connolly has nailed that one! My camera was shakin so bad on the last part of the 112 miles a year ago that I thought everything from f-stops to gold fillings would end up on the street. And that is why I am back, armed with new technology in the form of camera cushions and shutter speed settings to try it again. Moo take 2. All we need is a five hour break from this nastiness on Sunday.

Also, in case you haven't yet caught the drift, I am a big believer in omens, random cosmic input and all things paranormal, so when I checked into the Super 8 (the HDV was booked) this evening and was given the card for room number 112, I knew it would bode well for Sunday.