I went with my little brother to watch his team mates do a race in Salinas. They are the ones in the bright green helmets and amazingly colorful jerseys sporting blue, pink, and green. The Ritte team did an amazing and entertaining job. They seemed to have a lot of fun. I am proud to say that his entire team dominated the field and took first and third place in the race. It was really fun watching these passionate young men do what they do best, cycling. ...
The gramophone screams like a banshee Discontented and hungry it wails Like wind bursting in the bubbled windows That grows pregnant under the pressure, pushing outward Until the smash and clatter of glass raining down Disturbs the cold stark night air Like the nightingale’s melancholy melody for a blind poet Which rings like the rattle used to quiet The piercing shriek of a baby’s newborn whimper Which sounds like a siren Rattling in the ear drum like a stormy sea That tried to fit into a seashell too small And not strong enough to hold the raging waters Of the ocean on a twisted cloudy day Swirled with the salty wind of an ocean breeze Until the grey casts over all things Leaving only a faint line to distinguish The two worlds of above and below A gull’s cry shatters the horizon With the force of a jarring catastrophe That leaves the world jolted and trembling Waiting in that horrible suspense Of a world untrusted and unstable Tremble trifling tower You will fall inevitably Is the whispered wind’s prayer That plays with the hair of widows Sitting in attics looking out small windows Into a small empty world Crying silent tears that hit the ground like sledgehammers Signaling defeat on the dark day We cling together in the deafening storm Hugging tight and promising to never let go Even though time is loosening our grips even as we speak We cannot weather this storm Not this time This cacophony of chaos will tear us apart There you are sitting across this dark precipice And I here nursing the sickly wail Of a cracked gramophone Trying to screech out the song of you and I That was never meant to be
A shadow sits folded in on itself At the bottom of this dark hole Like a love note, written But never sent from its dark resting place Amongst the cobwebs and spinster spiders Weaving their lives from the fantasy Of gossamer thin lies Lies that build walls thicker than the fortified Walls which streak upwards like skyscrapers Surrounding this bent and hollow shadow Sitting at the bottom of this dripping well That has become her home Wretched and empty Hunched and alone she sits Like a broken marionette doll Beautiful once, but thrown away Her strings have been clipped As she fell down this hole Now she must learn to move on her own This limbs so heavy and graceless That have never belonged to her At the bottom of everything Clouds of cold air escape her barely parted lips Breathing life into this desolate place Reaching with the awkward limbs Of a bird not yet learned how to fly She feels blindly with her head held down And her eyes closed Finger tips glancing the damp walls of her prison Gliding along the rough edges of bricks Laid by careless and callous hands Not the hands of decent men Her decent hands feel the gripping edges Of stone sharp enough to draw blood But dull enough to deny hope This landscape of craters across the well’s face Are beheld like Braille under her delicate fingertips until Cringing like the legs of spider Stumbling across unwanted prey Her fingers curl and unfold again Touching gently the obstacle encountered At arms length away With eyes not seeing she understands Her fingers tracing the smooth contours Contrasted against the rough stone walls Of the petals of a plant, a vine Curling its way upwards toward sunshine She feels the twisted outline of the vine’s body As it arches upward, bending, twisting Manipulating its way up the coarse walls Of a well too deep for human souls to be released The shadow lifts its head slowly Facing upward like the crawling vine Looking without seeing with dull grey eyes She can feel the faint and distant kisses Left by the rain that fell far above Disappearing before it made ground She breathes in the moment, almost alive She reaches with her other blind hand Out, upwards, stretching to touch the rain But like the climbing vine It never quite finds its way
Oil on water Slick as the night As the morning tries to wash The darkness from your face It clings with the desperate fervor Of child to mother As a hand slides from the grasp Of one person To another And is gone This strange moment of fluidity As worlds barely touching Eyes barely meeting Only to glance away Converge Only to float silently away It is there, wrapped in this Tight tourniquet of fog That holds us closer Than a final embrace Between to people who know They will never meet again The moment before all is lost Standing at the edge of this precipice Solitary in this mist Permeable yet dividing I am lost Left behind by that evanescent flicker Of worlds stopping for a brief moment Reaching out to one another Knowing there is reason to stand still But feeling the push and pull Of a world that never knows how to stop This winding of a clock The count Of one, two, three, four Finds its way of rhyme Even as the world begins to slide Here I am still standing Not knowing the words to say Not knowing how to scream I stand in this silent emptiness Watching you recede from me
I fret back and forth, Bite my fingers for a moment Hide it by tilting my face away Look, look away Tilt my head this way and that Frame my face with worried fingers Supporting my chin on my hand Purse my lips, bite my lip Look back again —Mom! Like a thunder clap It brings me back again The clouds over my face part I smile half-heartedly I have to go She looks up at me with an odd look Lurking in her stormy grey eyes They are her father’s So much like her father I begin to bite my nails again Flick my eyes off towards the window Throwing my attention across the room So I don’t have to look at her Question looming in those haunting eyes A light but insistent tug on my dress Brings me back I look down and smile Half heartedly You are going to have so much fun I place my shaking hand on the top of her head Feeling her feathery hair Trace my finger along the red ribbon twisted Among the feathers of her hair So soft and smooth So much fun I mutter to myself as my attention drifts away again –the bus the honk hits me like a slap to the face I wince slightly Clawing to bring me back to her to here I really have to go now She reaches up with her little hands and turns The door knob slowly and with effort I place my hand over hers Helping her open the door that is too big for her I feel the softness of her unmarred hands I wonder if she feels the bones of my fingers The sadness etched lines of my hands It swings open She runs out the door Like a clumsy fawn Her back pack shifting back and forth The monster in front of the house waits Taking her away from me I hover at the doorway Unwilling to leave the threshold But unwilling to let her go –Wait! A desperate yell Bursts from my breaking heart She stops and looks back at me That question still hiding in her eyes I hesitate for only a moment And depart from the sanctuary Running down the little walkway On legs atrophied with sorrow I stop before her She says nothing Just looks up at me with stormy eyes Innocent and curious I grab the end of the red ribbon Which had come undone on her escape from the house I kneel in front of her And tie the ribbon with foolish hands That shake even as I smile Half-heartedly And look into her eyes I smooth her hair when I am finished Put my hands whittled away with grief On her small shoulders Let out a sigh That wanted to be a scream And watch As she faintly smiles and turns away The monster honks again Taking her away from me I slowly stand as the bus drives away Leaving me on the shores of my sorrow Alone With half a heart.
Gabe has raced CCCX enough now that he’s really starting to like the race. Last weekend he managed a very respectable fourth place, and today he was perfectly positioned going into the finish and pulled out second place! It was a strong sprint, and enough to beat everyone except a very strong VOS rider. I think the new kit helped a bit.
Gabe has waited patiently for his Castelli team kit for so long its almost driven him crazy. He’s kept hoping it would show up for the next race, and that day has finally arrived. Here’s the proud junior sporting his new bold colors for Ritte Elite U23 Development. Looking good Gabe!
It’s so nice to have a great, local road race right in our area, and I think Gabe is starting to really enjoy the course. He kept his position pretty well coming into the finish, though the winner had quite a burst of speed to finish cleanly in front of everyone. Gabe pushed hard all the way to the end to take fourth place. Gabe also raced in a small juniors field and took first, but he’s definitely proud of his fourth and is looking good with his medal. ...
After a few flats in a row plus changing tires and tubes, it’s time to use a spare wheel for today’s Dinuba criterium. Gabe’s racing with his teammates Bryan and Sam, and right from the start Sam and another guy take off in a breakaway. Sam looks really strong the whole time and takes it strongly at the line for an awesome win. Nice job boys! Gabe decides to skip the Juniors race, while Sam and Bryan head right back out for more racing. Jack and Reese put in lots of attacks the whole time, but the boys do an awesome job countering every single move. The legs unfortunately aren’t able to pull off another win, but a great effort for a 5th and 6th. ...
Gabe and a few of his teammates are here for one of Gabe’s favorite races, Pine Flat road race. It’s great having Stu here with the team, including Matt, Alex, Bryan, and Sam. This is also a must do race for Gabe’s friend Ryan. Hey Stu, stop hiding behind that bike! Alex heads off in the Pro/1/2 field, Matt in the 3s, Gabe and the rest in the 4s. Cool to see the Ritte team here too. ...