This was a big weekend, all around, for sports. First, the Cyclocross World Championships. And then the Superbowl.
I love watching cross, even if it has to be just on the internet. They do a pretty great job of getting the cameras situated around the course so you can see all the action.
The Elite race was pretty predictable. I picked the top three, in the correct order. It wasn’t that hard. But, I do believe Wout Van Aert when he said he had the legs to compete for the win. He had a bunch of bad luck and maybe rushed it a bit trying to get back up to the front.
I’m not sure about having barriers that you can bunny hop. I thought part of the sport was mandatory dismounts. Mathieu van der Poel won the race, not because he could jump the barriers, but it did allow him some breathing room where he could ride the rest of the course within himself.
The women’s race was super exciting. I didn’t pick the podium in that race. I got two out of three, but not in the correct order. I figured Marianne Vos would just do what she does and smear everyone. Maybe a little too slick for her, I don’t know. Maybe her hamstring being hurt?
Anyway, Pauline Ferrand Prevot was a deserving winner. It is funny how the reining World Champion on the road, in women’s racing, can double up and win the Cyclocross Worlds. It isn’t that uncommon with Marianne Vos doing it a few times too. That would be a real exception for the men. Maybe Stybar? Or Van Der Poel when he gets older? Pascal Richard, a Swiss rider I road with a whole season when I was living in Switzerland, won Cyclocross Worlds and the Olympic Games in Atlanta. That was a good doubling up. Not in the same year, though.
Now, the Superbowl. I’ve already stated that I’m not a huge football fan. But, come on, that play calling by Seattle on the goal line was regoddamndiculous. They had 3 more downs to run it, what, 2 yards, with the maybe the best running back in the NFL, Marshawn Lynch . What was that all about?
I didn’t have any favorite, but I guess I was for Seattle since I’m in Seattle and there would have been some craziness on the streets. I’m not sure Seattle deserved to be on the goal line. That catch by Kearse was pretty lucky, so in reality, it should have been 4th and long instead of 1st and goal.
Walking around downtown Seattle last night, after the game, it was a morgue. Really a lot of pretty unhappy drunk people. This town is super depressed, rightfully so. They had that game won and blew it. For football, that was a pretty good sporting event to watch.
It is supposed to rain the whole next week here in Seattle. It is raining pretty hard right now. I took Trudi around yesterday for a couple hours, just touring the city. It was wet, but not really raining. I think it usually clears for a few hours sometime during the day. Today it looks like it might be okay after 1 pm.
It is still sketchy riding around here. Lots of paint on the roads. Manhole covers, remnants of leaves. That isn’t even taking into consideration the cars, pedestrians and other cyclist. If I lived here, I would be falling all the time for sure. Hopefully I can manage to be safe the next few days.
REGODDAMNEDDICULOUS!!!
I remember Tim Johnson’s Aussie teammates giving him a hard time when he said that the crit course near DC was going to be crazy crowded and sketchy. They joked that, unlike cross, sometimes you have to race with the field less than a klick away from you. Then one of them asked,” How do you guys decide the podium each week… rock, paper, scissors?” I’m probably no more a cross fan than I am a football fan, but even I could make a guess at two of the three on the worlds podium.
At least Richard Sherman finally shut up
Does it ever NOT rain in Seattle? I think I’d rather die than live somewhere like that.
737 fuselages come in one piece from Wichita KS. The rest of the components get added at the Renton plant, then fly over the hill to Seattle for delivery to the customer.
It’s more of a mist. It doesn’t accumulate to that much but y, it’s all winter long. Houston, Texas gets way more rain per year. Many cities do.
Due to the layout of the rail system, the 737’s come thru KC on their way west to Washington from Witchita. I have seen a lot of them on the tracks on the east of 169 Hwy, north of the downtown airport.
And at 42 737’s per month (2 per work day), you probably see a lot of them roll through KC
One of these derailed on the BNSF in Montana (I think) not too long ago, putting fuselages in the canyon. There are some photos which are pretty amazing. Needless to say, hull loss…