The Manchester Youth Program is now part of the Buckeye Football Conference. Nobody is really sure why they did this (although there is some speculation that the fact that the program was always near the bottom of the Suburban Youth League in wins was a contributing factor), but I’m not privy to the information on that one. The official reason given is that the BFC is “just a better fit for our community and our players”. Of course, if you go by the glowing reviews of the people associated with the program you’re left with the feeling that the BFC is just one step away from curing cancer and discovering free energy…..which they’ll have to finish up after the football season.

In this league, the 5th and 6th graders are grouped on to what they call “B Division”. If Alex plays in this organization next year (the middle school is an alternative option), he will be in “A Division”. The 3rd and 4th graders play in “C Division”.

Big difference between the leagues is that there is no weight limit in the BFC. So Alex may find himself lined up across from a 180lb Defensive End. But wait, they say! Anyone over 120lbs isn’t allowed to play in the backfield. So I guess that the upside of this is that when our kids get flattened the person flattening them will have a stripe on his helmet and will most likely not be holding on to a football when he does it.

The other difference is that there will be two games on Saturdays - there will be a Varsity game first, and a Junior Varsity game second. I have no idea where Alex will be playing, but given the fact that these are the same coaches who grudgingly put him in for a play here and a play there two years back, I would guess JV. There is also a possibility that Alex will play in both games - there are rules that limit the playing time in this league; for example, if you play a skill position in the Varsity game you cannot play a skill position in the JV game. They are all supposed to play for at least 3 quarters, but that can be spread between both games. At this point I’m mildly optimistic, but still skeptical. Rules are great on paper, but following them is a whole different matter.

Sorry for the cynicism, but it’s hard to not think that we’re going to simply see a continuation of the problems we have experienced over the last five years again this year. The one plus I see is that Alex is virtually guaranteed to get more playing time than he ever has before; in fact, I would wager that he tops his 2006 playing time in the first half of the first game.

That being said, Alex would love for you to come down and see him play. We have 6 home games and 2 away games this year; home games are at Lockhart field off Nimisila. Away games are as marked.

As always, please let me know if you need directions or if you have questions.

All games begin at noon, unless otherwise noted.

• 23-Aug-2008 Green Black (Scrimmage / 11:30 AM Start)
• 30-Aug-2008 Tallmadge White
• 06-Sep-2008 Northwest Gray
• 13-Sep-2008 Ellet Orange
• 20-Sep-2008 @Springfield Red
• 27-Sep-2008 @Ellet Black
• 04-Oct-2008 Green Black
• 11-Oct-2008 Tallmadge Gold

Over on the left we have a shot of Todd at lunch during the MS150 this year. See how happy Todd looks? That’s about how well the ride went for us this year. Oh, we both finished the century (which was our plan from the start), but it was much more painful than either of us thought it was going to be.

From the start, this year didn’t seem like it was going to be a good year. Dave and Lindsey are getting married in less than two weeks. so they were unable to ride. James bailed on us after telling us he was going to ride up at the Cleveland Clinic during Dave’s hospital stay. It was more of a “stealth bail” since I never actually had a conversation with him about it….it was marked more by a deafening silence coming from his corner of the Internet in the weeks leading up to the ride.  Todd rode James a bit at Dave’s bachelor party about it, but I pretty much stayed out of that since I was still a bit pissed off and didn’t want to deal with it.

I know, I know. You all told me that I was being foolish with my thoughts that he would ride….and I told you that this time was different. I’m here to state plainly that I’m a dumbass. I admit it. Next time I fall for the “I’m going to ride” gambit just point me back here.

So this year Team Psychotic Pineapples was down to two members; well, technically one member, since I don’t think that they ever managed to get Todd attached to the team correctly. In fact, the entire organization of the event seemed off this year for some reason - I don’t know if the downturn in the economy is causing the problem or if it’s deeper than that, but the level of support and communication from the local chapter was fairly bad this year.

Once we were on the road things didn’t get any better - I had problems with my front tire for about 20-30 miles in the middle of the ride that slowed me to a crawl and had me carrying the bike for a mile. I’d probably still be carrying the bike if it wasn’t for a pair of riders from Costa Rica who stopped and helped me reseat the tire (a feat which the wrench at the previous rest stop had failed at for some reason) and got me on my way. That was - by the way - the bright part of the day, and one of the few moments I was praising my fellow riders rather than muttering about them under my breath.

Todd didn’t have the wheel troubles I did, but he ran into the same issues I was having with the bike traffic. Now, I’m firmly for cyclists rights, christ I even have the “Share the Road” license plate on the Wrangler. I take time to educate friends and family how to handle themselves around cyclists when the topic comes up. That being said, there were people on the road with Todd and I on Saturday that should not have been there. I know - they’re doing this all for charity, and I admire them for that. Unfortunately, when a bunch of unexperienced cyclists decide to ride 4 or 5 abreast down a 55 mph state route, the danger level they pose to themselves, other riders, and the drivers is ridiculously high. And as someone who rides on the roads on a regular basis, I have to add that riding like a dipshit goes a long way towards making motorists hate all cyclists.

It wasn’t all bad - I’m nearing my goal of $1,000 raised for MS, which is the reason why we do this. I got to spent time with Todd which is always entertaining, and I managed to nail a 100 mile ride (well, it was technically 99 riding and 1 walking, but I would argue that it’s harder to walk than ride so it’s even more impressive) for only the second time in my riding career.

That being said, we’re seriously talking about doing things differently next year; I don’t think any of us want to give this up, but I think we are going to evaluate ways to make it a bit easier from both a logistical and a mental health perspective.