In case you missed it on the CNN ticker, I've just been picked to be a member of the Bike Magazine Dream Team for the 24 Hours of Temecula this weekend. The Dream Team is basically a Real World concept applied to a five-person 24-hour racing team. Take five complete strangers, throw them together for 24 hours of physically and mentally challenging competition, stir the pot a little here and there, and watch the sparks fly. I think they're hoping for Big Brother meets Jerry Springer.

Here comes da' Cannonball	Sweep goes public	Glory days

I'm not really into the whole confrontation thing, but this seems like interesting fodder for the blog. I've told my Dad and he intends to come for the entire race, so that should create all the conflict the boys at Bike could hope for. JB is also going to come along for her second bike race weekend in as many weeks. Poor JB, she's a trooper.

Sweep the Leg, Johnny! is going to be ridin' suckers down this weekend from SoCal to NoCal. In the north, Romulus is going to be shooting for a Sport class top-10 finish on the tough track in Angwin. He did very well there last year (See April 25, 2004: The Napa Valley Dirt Classic) and should be a major factor in this year's 35-39 age bracket.

I feel a little bad about not going with Romulus to the Angwin race, but this Dream Team thing is an interesting opportunity. For one thing, entry, camping, and food costs are covered, so that makes it appealing right there. Then there's the whole Real World aspect. I'm interested to see how they "massage" the team dynamic, which, as I mentioned, should be good for Sweep the Blog. Finally, if I'm going to purport to be a bellwether for grass-roots cycling, I need to be in the mix, rubbing shoulders with the rank and file. Romulus and I are going to regroup next week and do some crushin' at The Lemurian in Shasta.

Supposedly, there's going to be some coverage of the Dream Team thing on Bike Magazine's web site over the weekend, so if you're interested check it out.