The Big Boys of Cross

Today got off to a good start by watching the live webcast of the 1st Super Prestige cyclocross race this morning on http://www.vt4.be/. I'm a little rusty with my Flemish, but I got the gist of the proceedings. The course was dry and fast and the racing good. All is right in the world as Sven Nys easily won a three up sprint with Vantornout and Albert (Sven is 5 for 5 on the season). It was really interesting to watch the entire race and see how the racing unfolds at the highest level. There was some tactics, but it's still basically dill it from the start and hang on.

The course looked like a blast to ride. 90% grass with lots of turns, some elevation change, a deep sand pit and a couple of stair run ups. The more I see Euro cross courses, the more Heber fits the bill. I think this week's venue in Ogden has potential to be very good. The cross race Eric's helping to put on in Magna will have a very Euro-like course.

Yesterday's snow showed up today. To be honest, I'm glad it held off. I didn't have to clean my bikes at all and I had no mechanical issues. Looks like this week will be warm and dry. I guess that's OK. I'm sure we'll have plenty opportunities to battle in the mud later this year.

On a non-cycling note, I'm looking forward to having the family all together this weekend. It's fall break at USU, so the girls will be home. It's always good to have all of us together.

Finally, it's good bike racing keeps me fit. I'm going to need to work until I'm 75. My 401k is down 31.5% this year. Compared to some others I know, I'd doing rather well. It will all come back, but not anytime soon. After large crashes, the market has historically stayed a Bear market for years. In fact, there's some research that suggests the market has more falling to do. The Price Earnings ratio of the entire market is below its historical average, but no where near historical lows. Not good news. However, if you had some serious cash, now is the time to invest. Currently, 1 in 10 stocks have a market value LESS than the company's cash on hand. Craziness.