Thwok

Was thrilled to find that Wimbledon has an official poet who is a genius. This is the best piece of writing about sport that I've ever seen. Now, if we can get him to come to the Portsmith crit this summer....

Matt Harvey's second Wimbledon poem: Thwok!


thwok

a game in the life

bounce bounce bounce bounce
thwackety wackety zingety ping
hittety backety pingety zang
wack, thwok, thwack, pok, ,
thwikety, thwekity, thwokity, thwakity
cover the court with alarming alacrity
smackety dink, smackety dink
boshety bashity crotchety crashety
up loops a lob with a teasing temerity
leaps in the air in defiance of gravity
puts it away with a savage severity
coupled with suavity
nice
15-love
(reaches for towel with a certain serenity)

bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce
thwack, thwok, plak, plok
come to the nettety
bit of a liberty
quickly regrettety
up goes a lobbity
hoppety skippety
awkwardly backwardly
slippety trippety
tumble & sprawl
audible gasps…
15-all
(opponent asks how is he?
courtesy, nice to see
getting up gingerly
brushity thighsity
all, if you’re asking me
bit big-girls-blousity)

bounce bounce bounce
whack, thwok, plik, plok
into the corner, then down the linety
chasety downity, whackety backety
all on the runnity, crossety courtety
dropety vollety – quality, quality…
… oh I say what impossible gettery
no, umpirical rulery – nottety uppity –
oooh – doesn’t look happety
back to the baseline
muttery muttery muttery muttery
30-15

bounce, bounce, bounce,
thwacketty OUT
bounce, bounce, bounce,
thwacketty BLEEP
2nd serve
bounce, bounce, bounce,
thwacketty – slappity
thwackety thumpity
dinkety-clinkety, gruntity-thumpity
clinkety
thump!
30-all
fistety pumpety, fistety pumpety COME ON!

quiet please
bounce, bounce, bounce,
thwacketty thwoketty
bashetty boshetty
clashety closhety
OUT!
what?
lookaty linety, lookaty line-judge
line judge nodity
wearily query
umpire upholdery, indicate inchery
insult to injury
give line-judge scrutiny
face full of mutiny,
40-30
back to the baseline
through gritted teethery
muttery mutiny mutiny muttery

bounce bounce bounce
thwak, thwok, thwak, plok
thwakety plik, thwoketty plak
to-ity fro-ity fro-ity to-ity
slowity quickety quickety slowity
turnety headety, headety turnity
leftety rightety leftety rightety
seems like we’ve been here a bloomin eternity
rightety leftety rightety leftety
topety spinnety, backhandy slicety
lookety watchety, scratchety bottity
fabulous forehand, backhandy slicety
furious forehand, savagely slicety
fearsome ferocity, vicious velocity
bilious backhand – blasted so blistery…
…half a mile out but that line judge is history
OOOWWWWWWWWT!

GAME
new balls please

June 2010

Had some great times on the bike this spring. A trip to beautiful Battenkill to race on the well packed dirt while enjoying views of the hills a quiet gully transformed by maple syrup collection tubes into a scene from Blue Man Group.

Joining Time and Suzanne in Vermont to celebrate Tim's birthday by riding 6 gaps. We saw a moose while coming down Lincoln Gap, enjoyed the challenge of a sweaty lung-busting climb up Lincoln Gap, downed some chocolate milk, sped along the long straight roads of the valleys, then ran out of gas with darkness closing in. Thanks to Susanne and Patrick for the concern, pick-up, and CAKE for Tim's birthday. We DID make it over that last gap after all. Had a wonderfully sunny spin with Susanne the next day.

Another trip to Vermont for challenging climbs and team bonding at the Killington Stage Race.

Come June, I've been a bit of a sluggy mood. First weekend of June we headed out to Philly for the very exciting and challenging Liberty Classic Race. My fitness seemed to have picked up after the end of the semester (thank goodness) and I made it over the climb on the 4th lap in contact with the field, yea! Coming down through the town in Manayunk, I felt that the bike was very unstable when I sprinted on it after a turn. A few pedals strokes, then a major blow to the head. I was out of the race after becoming quite disoriented, breaking my glasses, and damaging my shoulder to the point where I couldn't hold onto the bike. A later examination of the bicycle revealed that the front wheel had been changed out (I do not remember this). Front wheel had a destroyed tire, so it looks as though the tire may have blown in or coming out of the turn. I suppose that I'm fortunate not to have caused others to crash or done any more damage to myself.

After a few days, pain in the shoulder subsided to the point where I could dress myself and ride on the hoods. I decided to go ahead and head out to the Nature Valley Race in Minnesota as planned. This is a very tough race with many of the best American women there to push the pace. I really needed to be at 100% to race there and unfortunately I wasn't because the shoulder continued to be very tender and sore. I made it through the time trial - what a course!- there is serious climb for the last half mile! but confidence was down when my shoulder throbbed when I took a few turns on the descent heading back to the start. Also, I got spanked in the time trial, which although not unexpected, was a blow to the old ego. That night I lined up for a crit in St. Paul. I failed to come through with the aggression and confidence required in such a race to take the corners fast and ride very close to others. Within a lap I had slid to a very bad spot and had to focus to move up in an urgent way. Too late! There was a crash ahead of me and I got separated from the field. I ended up chasing with a group of four but we did not go fast enough to avoid getting pulled early in the race. No more racing for us and 3 others :(

I headed out to watch the last race of Nature Valley, the crit in Stillwater. That was a sight to see (and given the state of my shoulder, much better to watch from the sidelines). The race is laps of a very hard course. Each lap requires climbing up a steep hill, and a very fast corner at the bottom of the hill. After just a few laps, the wheat had been separated from the chaff and the pros were already out of sight of the amateurs. Everyone really slowed down on the hill so we got to see each rider in detail. The fitness of the top riders was truly amazing. It was incredible to see that some of the riders managed to bridge up from the 2nd group to the 1st when everyone looked to be riding full out. With 3 laps to go, there was an impressive attack at the top of the hill and Evelyn Stevens took off to eventually pull over 10 seconds away from the front group in her final drive up the hill.

I'm hoping that my shoulder will recover soon. It doesn't seem to make sense to try any more racing until I can use it normally again. In the meantime, I feel low on motivation for training and highly motivated to enjoy ice cream season. I put on my uniform yesterday and it fit like a sausage casing. This is not a good state of affairs.