Tour of Ohio, more and etcetera...

To borrow from my father, I've been "busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest" as of late. SO much has been going on lately that it has been impossible for me to keep up with it all. I've been in it deep... really deep.

I spent nearly the entire week last week locked away in an empty office, sitting in the near dark with my iPod earphones jammed deep into my head, away from my desk and phone so that I could finish writing all of the catalog copy for the next edition of the Masi catalog. It is my hope that we will end up with an even better product than we had last year (this year), which was universally received as our best yet. God/ Budha/ Alah/ Wood Fairy Princess willing... this one will be better. I know I feel damned good about the new products coming (seriously people, you have NO idea how good this stuff is going to be), so I hope that the energy and passion and all around Masi love comes through in the catalog.

On top of the catalog, we also wrapped up a killer new ad that will be coming out in VeloNews soon, so keep your eyes open for that. Hint; it is supposed to be located on the inside back cover... It is a great ad and I am super happy with how it came out, especially considering the short amount of time it got done in. Like, a couple days... thanks Rick!

Speaking of Rick... he's the poor schmoe who has been stuck with doing all of my ads as well as the Masi graphics and catalog. I'm sure he's rethinking his employment with us right now. Anyway, he and I have been wrapping up the last lingering bits of this and that on the Masi graphics for the new bikes as well. Needless to say, after lots of hard work, things are looking mighty, mighty good. I'm pretty darned stoked...

And speaking of stoked... the Tour of Ohio wrapped up over the weekend and the boys came up with the goods again- big time. Marco Aledia won the final stage, bookending his ToO with stage wins. He also took the green sprinter's jersey for the second year in a row. Mark Hekman maintained his control over the race and came out with the overall win and one stage win. Josh "Chunder" Englund got away with 3rd overall and a stage win as well. Timmy Swain held on to his KOM jersey also. This means that the team took 4 of the 6 stages, three of the classification jerseys and the overall win. Not too freakin' shabby. Way to go guys- the Masiguy is super proud of you all!

*Special accolades to Jimmy MacDonald- "Jimmy Mac"- who was involved in a nasty looking crash during the final stage of the race. Things looked pretty bad when he went down, but he says he's feeling fine and that, "girls are lovin all the facial road rash"... AWESOME! Here's the kicker... the poor boy just graduated high school and is only 18 years old and was racing the entire week in a major regional stage race. I mean... damn!

Blair Fraley took a bunch more great photos (many of which will likely be seen in the new catalog, on the corporate website and who knows where else) and a few of'em are here for you viewing pleasure....

Marco Aledia and Jimmy Mac.

Jimmy Mac railing a turn.

This is SUCH a catalog shot; Hekman leading the pack, Marco on his wheel and Ryan Rish sitting on.

All three jerseys in the pack! Nice!

There's more, but I gotta save something for later...

Last but not least (ok, kinda least), the Tour DAY France is starting in just a few weeks. That means that the yearly ritual of me trying to cover each stage with my own spin on things is ready to start again. This also means that I'll be flailing about trying to make it happen and stay on top of things. It won't be easy, but I'm gonna give it a go. This year, I'm trying to cover all three Grand Tours, so I've got the TdF and then Vuelta a Espana to go. Last year, I had the help of my lovely assistant Jessi- Bitch Kittie- Pacetti. The Cub Reporter was in France during the race and provided daily insights from behind the wall of media hacks and rabid tifosi. This year... I'm not sure what I'm doing. I haven't even talked to the Kittie yet to see if she wants to play again this year. Maybe she will, maybe she won't... but, something will be happening. Actually, if you're gonna already be in France for the race and want to be a guest commentator with me, drop me a line and let me know- tjackson(at)masibikes(dot)com. There's a pair of socks in it for you... especially if you can send good photos.

So that's it for tonight my friends. I need to let the grey matter cool down to a simmer, rather than slow boil. Tomorrow is a new day... and I still have a boatload of work ahead of me. C'est la vie!

Tim