Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Population 50k, it was one of the largest US cities 70 years ago, though it hasn't grown much since then. It's now a regular in Playboy magazine's list of the 10 worst party cities in America. A native Sheboygan told me that the big things here are chairs, churches, and children. If that makes the place sound too dreary, check out these signs.

The race today was 45 laps on a .7 mile course. 4 corners, some of them a little choppy, and with a slight rise before turn 4. Our race in the 4s was about 80 minutes long.

Things went mostly well. 2 weeks of racing has taken a toll on my tires, and I've started developing bare patches in the rear. I flatted about halfway in, ran across the course and got a nice 404 out of the pit. I got a free lap, a mighty push start from the SRAM guy, and was back in business. On the last lap I thought I'd try something new and went to the front just before turn 1. A little old polish guy bumped and wiggled his way around me on turn 2, and someone swung out from the pack and nearly knocked me over just before turn 3. After that I was mentally out of the race, and threw down an under-powered sprint for 25th.

I found out later that the old polish guy, 50 something years old and something of a hazardous mystery in the 4s races, was the Polish national road champion for 2 years in the early 70s. Since then he's moved to Canada, suffered a heart attack, and now has 3 stents in his chest keeping his pipes open. He's not so hot on the Engrish and he moves around people by bumping them into submission, but I think its pretty cool to have him around and I find it endlessly amusing that a stout little old guy is picking up all the primes and serving all of us youngins in the finish. He probably only pays 25 cents to ride the bus.