It was a busy night. There was a bike race fundraiser at the velodrome, so we went to that. Sara had been looking for a place to donate money to the NYC police and firefighters' widows and orphans fund, and that's what they were raising money for.

It was really cool. The bike races they have at a velodrome are for fixed-gear bikes. One gear, no brakes, no coasting. They literally can't coast. And the velodrome is really cool. The turns are banked at what looks like 45-60 degrees. Really high. And speed and centrifugal force keep the racers on the track.

Deb and Jake rode their bikes over. Sara and I took a car. I took pictures. There were several short races, and then the evening culminated with a 75-lap race (15 miles).

Do these shorts make my ass look fat?

Cool, huh? And Sara had a pretty interesting night. But I'll let her tell you about that.

We finally headed home. Our next door neighbor Stanley was having his birthday party, so I stopped by to hang out there for a while. I met his mother, who is a real sweetie ...

... and his sisters, some neices and a nephew, and a bunch of his friends. All very nice. Enjoyed watching three of the women doing the Electric Slide (or is it Electric Glide?) on the enclosed side porch.

Deb dropped in for a few minutes and left to go to bed. I finally went home around 12:30. I woke up again at 2 a.m., went outside to have a smoke, and saw Stan's party breaking up and everybody heading for home.

So yeah, it was a busy night. I'm supposed to go to an open house for the mayoral candidate who we support now. I really feel like taking a nap.