Something Else To Look Forward To

Right about now, everyone (your humble Presidente included) seems quite preoccupied with the results of today's voting. All around Connecticut and in every city, town, village, and unincorporated exurb across this great land, Americans tonight will gather round the old transistor radio and wait with bated breath, hearts pounding with the heady rush that can only come from witnessing democracy in action, to find out, once and for all, if seventeen-year-olds who will turn eighteen by the day of the general election will be granted the right to vote in Connecticut primaries. But friends, there is another exciting contest before us, a contest in which every candidate - indeed, every American - will be a winner. I refer, of course, to The Eel, the exciting on-road/off-road race on Saturday afternoon.

Will there be prizes? You bet your electors! Our very good friends at Xootr have donated one of their Crossracks as a prize. Here's what the Crossrack looks like in action, carrying lots and lots of groceries:



There will also be a cash prize, the quantity of which will be determined by the number of entrants, the results of the election, and the prime rate. There may be other prizes too, depending on what we can rustle up. (Manhattan Portage, you sudden non-returner of e-mails, I am looking at you!)

Naturally, I will be riding the Swift Folder that they gave me, the excellent folding properties of which will facilitate my Rosie Ruiz-style competition plan: I will have a confederate meet me somewhere along the course, I will fold the Xootr up and throw it in the trunk, and my accomplice will ferry me farther along the route, ensuring that I finish third behind Brendan and that other crazy-fast dude who is a teetotaler and whose name now escapes me.

Just in case I am required actually to pilot the bicycle over any rough terrain, I have switched handlebars to ensure more control and general toughness:



Scared yet? You should be.