Escape
So we made it out of Florida, six hours or so ahead of Ernesto. The irony is that despite the constant talk about impending storm doom while in Florida, not a drop of rain fell on us in two days there. Then we get to New York and, you guessed it, it was raining. Still a little damp, but for the first time in three days I have a tiny window of free time so I'm going to pull myself away from the computer and go for a run in Central Park.

Ernie on Our Tails
Cuvaison winemaker Steve Rogstad and I have an 11:29 flight out of Miami to New York this morning. About that time, the leading edge ("leading edge" -- such a TV weather guy term) of Tropical Storm-Maybe Hurricane Ernesto will be reaching Miami-Dade County. Will we get out before the deluge or get stuck to wait it out at the airport? Only time will tell, he intoned. Yesterday was strange; we tried to go about our business of meeting with wine writers, but most of them were getting ready for the storm, so they canceled. Driving around South Florida, we learned to avoid the right lane on wide boulevards -- that's where the gas lines out of the filling stations were snaking, blocking traffic.

Sunday Ride
We got out yesterday and rode 100 miles (OK, 98.8). Infospigot tells the tale well, although he understates his role in pulling my sorry ass most of the way. Meanwhile, the evidence suggests that while we rode, Sam Thompson rested. He deserved a day off. After all, he'd run a marathon every day from July 1 through August 19. Check it out.

Old News, New Package
I guess for The New York Times it's not a story until they write it. Still, the piece in Sunday's paper on wine ratings goes not a millimeter past a dozen other such pieces I've read in the past half-dozen years. Its stunning conclusion: The 100-point scoring system used by publications and retailers is little more than a marketing tool, a crude one at that, and subject to at the very least the appearance of manipulation for profit. Duh.

UPDATE: Geez, and they even make the palette/palate mistake: "It is easy to start an argument in the wine industry by positing that many wine makers fashion wines to please the palettes of Mr. Parker, Mr. Laube and other high-profile critics." If I had a pallet of wine for every time I've seen palette confused for palate....

Worth Buying?
I've had my picture snapped by those race-photo companies at, oh, maybe 15 or 20 events. But I've never bought a picture -- usually because I've looked like a big dork. But this year at Vineman, a couple of the run shots (they also had bike and emerging-from-the-water swim shots) seemed OK. Here's my favorite. What do you think?

Ready to Ride
August 20 Tour of Napa, your pitfalls are on notice!

'Out There'
Good story about the trickiness of open-water swimming. Story mentions that open-water swimming will become an Olympic event but, frustratingly, gives no details. However, another piece does. (It's a 10K. Whoa.)

Numbers
Pretty cool -- a site that pulls together racing results for the masses of runners, cyclers, swimmers out there (and, of course, those of us who do all three in one day). It doesn't capture everything, and the results get real sketchy when you go back to '04 and earlier. But I bet they'll improve it as time goes on. Check it out.

(Noticed after posting this that you must register to see the results...)