happy halloween.

i woke up this morning at about 6:32am and promptly was quite awake.
it was raher refreshing to brush my teeth, but i made the mistake of trying too drink some OJ shortly thereafter. yowzers!

after making sure my son roscoe had been fed and hydrated, i headed off, with a skip in my step, to work for the man!

...

it was a rather uneventful day as it was not jeans day, nor bagel day in the office.
oh well.
i called the little guy a few times, and sent him too emails before i realized he was not working today.
i had been quite rather hoping to see him in the elevator and ask him about the weather.
for lunch sarah had prepared a P&J, a banana, and a box of juicy juice in the fruit punch flavor.
it was quite refreshing. sarah is really great.
i would probably die if she wasn't always taking care of me. she'll even wipe my ass when nessasary! but that is because i am awesome.

...

this is where i like to sneek in some information about sports that are not cycling.
it is because i need to reaffirm my maleness after having sarah help me shave my legs.
i like to talk about college football, hockey, and occasionally nascar.
i like the 19 in nascar, beyond that i don't really know two much. it is because i have a short attention span, and cannot focus on anything for more than a few seconds.
it is rather amazing i can write blog entries that are this long considering. but i can do it because i am awesome.

...

(dis)

i bet you never gave two shits where the name (dis)pencer came from.

i'm gonna tell you anyway.

the parenthesis were my idea.


although i've always liked this one better, you know - artistically, it's just not as good of a nickname...



all i need now is a bad ass, yet corny themesong.

i'm thinking "flirtin' with disaster" by molly hatchett.

that should do the trick.

unfocused.

powerhorn is a hard race.
almost too hard.

last year i couldn't finish, so i had two goals this year.
1. finish.
2. have a super start.

two for two. but it wasn't pretty.

i had a good start, and got in the mud in the top few spots. managed to hang out in the front group of 4 during the first two laps.

from then on out i was on damage control. trying to limit my losses.
after about a hundred more laps it was finally over, i had finished.

i even got to sprint it out at the line with some dude who oviously didn't know who he was messing with.

in related news;

somebody tell me why is mn cx not in the maxxis midwest cx cup?
we got an ok series right? seems organized...

and how come madison, chicago and iowa get on cyclocrossworld, but there's no mention of mcf events?

don't we pay a pr person/company?

nothing but trouble.

from the get go things were looking bad at the 2nd annual mill city cx, hosted by the hub cycling league in powderhorn park. minneapolis' only "true" ghetto cx race!

as we rolled up to the scene, dodging crackheads and warring gangs crossfire, we noticed a large amount of caution tape in the park. our fears were soon put to rest though, it was not a crime scene after all... it was the cross race!

things started to go downhill again though with the realization that some other event must have been scheduled in the park that day as well, because peace coffee, burnsville subaru, pizza luce, giant bicycles, surly, red bull, and scion were all setting up almost right on top of the course!

then the minneapolis fire dept showed up. i didn't see the fire, but it was probably one of the nearby crack dens... they must have been rookies because they ended up getting a bunch of water all over part of the course! i though maybe no one would want to race in the torrid conditions, but i guess over 200 people registered anyway. go figure.

to my knowledge no one fell in the mud. although there were 3 drive-by shootings, 4 car-jackings, and 2 arrests by uscf officials for soliciting prostitution. (thanks alan... jeez).

here are some photos.

i know what you're thinking, "what a physco! who would bring a $150 digital camera into the ghetto!?"
well that's how much i care. sometimes risks have to be taken, like riding through mud at a cx race.


[caption: "where's the fire? what a bunch of retards."]



[caption: "dag was one of the early drive-by victims. get well soon."]


[caption: sick boy might have thought that his presence at the race was monumental after his public decrying of the mud, and assurance that he would not attend. but the crowd, yawning in the background, seemed unimpressed.]



[caption: hollywood found it relativly easy to score a decent rock in the immediate area, and proceeded to excel on the course with an average heartrate of 236 bpm. this may also explain some erratic riding that took out paul from the hub. even in his state hwood was all class and turned back to check on his fallen competitor.]

world champs.

hoy and bos show the kids that even if you only have three letters in your last name, you can still be world champion.


trackstanding...


sprinting...

tainter says he can get these guys to come race at blaine.
bob told tainter to take a flying fuck.
don offered to take them out to a game of american (aka real) football.
they politely declined.
super rookie told don to take him.
don told super rookie to drop dead.
skibby sez wee wee wee all the way home.

*none of this is based on actual facts.

untitled.

"you know what time it is."

it wasn't a question.

i didn't even really get a chance to see who said it before there was a pretty good sized matte black handgun in my face.

it's right about then i feel this fucked up relief/fear mix, because i know i only have five bucks on me. i try to only carry enough to get me out of a pinch when i'm out lurking.

the gun gets cocked. a few cars pass down the otherwise dark side street.
time to start moving, or doing something. shit.
"man... i only got five dollars, but it's yours man." i say, as casually as i can.

just ten minutes ago i was on north avenue. near humboldt.
hood up. criminal intent. nerves of steel.

a jewel osco grocery bag holds a few cans of rusto.
the spot is a good one. it's darkened by shadows now, but in the daylight you can't miss it.

he took my fiver. looked down the street past me, and said "alright. keep walking."

so pro.

when it's over, you got this little adreniline rush. it pushes through veins and into limbs and brains.

it's almost the same as when the hiss of the can starts and you can't look around for the cops anymore.
you are committed.

i was on the way home. the bars were still open, and i could hear the patrons on the corner the whole time.
i walked past them after. another night on the beat.

i don't believe in karma. i am not surprised that our paths crossed. i am not upset about it either.
the rest of the walk is filled with memories of getting chased and beaten by the police, and images of that gun that i was on the wrong end of.

all just doing their jobs.

is it wrong to prefer the gun? higher risk maybe, but in the end everything is so simple.






*some of the details may have been changed to protect the guilty.

not fabolous

fabolous got shot.

he'll make it, though.

usgpcx.

2006 New Gloucester Cross Race, Day 1

i found this along with many others on the wah blog.
good find!

apparently portland and europe arn't the only places with mud...

(watch for the failed attempt at bunnyhopping a massive log).

whoopdefuckingdoo.

race report:

long, hard, dumb.

30th out of about 5 million starters.

the only plus was no flats this year... i had 2 last year.

i always hate boom isle.



not a happy face. (skinnyski.com)

my winter crit training.

gp 500 250 125 motogp

rossi is the shit.

awol.

you all read this right?

that is some fucking bravery. this woman walked off the base, hitch hiked from texas back to minnesota, and (after waiting just long enough for it to be an offical awol) turned herself in.

risking 8 years in the clink, because they were trying to get her killed. or worse, let her be responsible for fellow soldiers getting killed because she didn't know what the fuck she was doing... some may disagree, but i don't give a flying fuck. she has balls of steel.

this is the part in the program where i give a shout to Hasan Akbar.

speaking of... has anyone out there seen sir, no sir?
it was playing during the film festival in minneapolis, and it's a documentery about soldiers in vietnam resisting the war. people who went there willingly, and after being there and seeing the reality of the situation... took action.

it's pretty good. not too much hippieness.
the coup has a song on the soundtrack too.

trailer.

riot.

hot off the press, the red star tries to figure it out

the yankee terrorists. fuck armstrong.

in terror news today;

apperently the enemy has infiltrated further than we had thought.
the yankees are against us... whats next?

the real question that the media is avoiding is:

"how come that building didn't fall down"?

i guess they build a hell of a condo out there... not like the shit that keeps popping up in the twin cities...


in cycling news today, the best quote in quite some time;

"The end of Ullrich is morally (correct); one will quickly forget about him, as one has quickly forgotten Armstrong."

Marc Madiot, team manager of the Francaise des Jeux.
Speaking to L'Equipe after Paris-Tours.

take that.

goals.

these were my goals at the beginning of the season.

1) Qualify for Nationals again, but actually go this time!

2) Upgrade to Cat 2 by the end of the season.

Upgrading to Cat 3 on the road would be nice also, I think it'll happen.

some happened, some didn't.
first, i did not qualify for nationals. but some new rules, and monster competition made it way harder than last year. all told, i am pretty happy with how things went. i killed my pr (personal record) in the 200m and ran a 12.5 sick. i murdered my kilo time and did a 1:12 this year. and finally i slayed my pursuit time as well.

second goal was achieved. and quicker than i thought too. my off season work really took me places this year. it was really a good feeling being able to feel in control of cat 3 races. last year it was all i could do to hold on to the ass end of the group. not to mention winning some races. sweet.

the step up to cat 2 was a learning experience. i came out of the gates trying to show them i meant biz. got a 2nd and a couple fourths, before my form started to fade at the end of the season. it gives me alot of hope for next season... and some extra drive to keep on the ball this winter.

goal 3. i have the minimum requirements to cat up, but i still think it lack alot of skills/experience (in crits especially) too be a good 3. road races i am not worried about. i am thinking i'll spend the first few races of next year as a 4, and see from there...

another goal i could have listed was to get better at cyclocross. thats been going my way so far too.
i never finished a B race last year, this year i've got a 14th, a 17th, and an 11th.

anyway i feel like i had a pretty good summer, even if i had to try to qualify for nats in the cat2's about 2 weeks after i upgraded. oh well. i saved up enough cash to actually go too. (something else i didn't think i could do)!

who want's some vegan ice cream?

the anarchists are coming... aren't they?

maybe. but not until 2008.


minneapolis is a fantastic pick for the gop convention in '08. and not from my point of view.
from theirs.


minneapolis has a very strong lefty political scene and history. but it is a small scene.
minneapolis also has a strong and violent police force, who are not afraid of committing crimes or covering up facts with a very thin veil of lies that for some reason floats in "liberal" minneapolis.
plus minneapolis is so out of the way, it'll really make those radicals from around the country work to get here.


in reality, we aren't so liberal here as we used to be. we used to be a economy based on farming, mining, logging, and other man's man work. unions were strong. workers were proud.


now we got a little money, moved away from all that "dirty hands" kind of work, but still fancy ourselves liberal. we vote dfl right? what more do you need to do?


well, voting has never been enough. we have lost our "fightin' spirit", and the gop knows we will be pissy that they are here, but not pissy enough to tear down their convention.
we may come out and sing, light some candles, chant some chants... but a black bloc?
probably not. not a scary one anyway.


well, i'll still do my part. but i'm not singing any fucking peace songs.

Grumpy's/LGR

so the team is in full effect. we have sponsors, cash rolling in, sick jersey design, and quality riders. we will be flossing on masi bikes.


title sponsor grumpy's is super awesome, and really supportive of us. moose & sadie's cafe is also super cool. they are both making this team possible.


one of our main goals is to create a strong and competetive women's team, and to get them in the nvgp in '08 for sure, if not '07. the women on board so far are awesome and it looks like they are going to be a serious force to be reckoned with next season. watch out ladies!


another goal is shaking the dust out of the mcf, and trying to help breathe some new life into the racing scene. super rookie threw the gauntlet down for us a the last mcf meeting, and we will continue to work on creating better racing in mn. we are looking at hosting a cx race next fall, and the state champs tt. and probably a track night as well. how's that for a splash?


we'll have a website soon, so look for that.

want more info? email me.
gospencergo at gmail.


oh yeah. we're gonna win stuporbowl too.

things i said i would never do.

well, fuck.

here we are.

and here i will remain. i am quite sure that this will become my new prison.

welcome.