1st Post into the Indifferent Conundrum

It's taken me a while to start an ongoing narrative. I feel I'm doing my part in terms of technology. I have a blackberry, I have a Facebook infatuation, I use a macbook pro, and I have a powertap on my bicycle. For those who are not cycling inclined a powertap is a bicycle computer that measures the amount of torque you are putting onto the spokes. Then a wireless sensor picks up the RPM and with these two output numbers voila a watt is produced and the computer screen reads the amount of power you are putting out at a given time. It looks something like this:


Anyway getting back to my story. So I've always felt as if I have been connected to the world but there must have been a piece of the puzzle missing because I didn't have a blog. I suppose there are a million and one reasons to start writing a blog. I'm not about to pontificate and try to justify my reasons at this poist. Even getting a powertap at times seems overkill in terms of training technology but this realization and the technological benefits for training surpass my stubbornness.

Now back up to speed. I have recently decided to become a Police Officer or State Trooper. I'm not sure which one yet because it all decides upon location, where I get an offer, ETC...Last Friday I drove from my girlfriend's house in NJ to take the Delaware State written and physical fitness test. The written part was not as difficult as I had imagined. The questions ranged from different police situations, memorization, and what they call a "Life Questionnaire". This part of the test is suppose to gauge your motivation, dedication, and integrity. They are the same type of questions human resource people ask you when your going for a corporate job. If it was up to me I would get rid of these exams. I would base entrance into the academy from a resume and past experiences. Then once they get to the academy I'm sure the officers there will easily be able to weed out the unmotivated and weak minded.


The physical fitness test was a bit too easy. Since I have started my competitive cycling career I haven't had much desire to run. Sure on some warm fall days it's great to get out there for a run and enjoy the scenery at a much slower pace, but I just love the bike way too much. The test consisted of doing as many sit ups then push ups you could complete in one minute or less respectively. I did 61 situps and 51 pushups. After about a 60 second break they were already yelling for us to line up on the track for the 1.5 mile run. I could barely life my arms! The 1.5 mile run was held at the University of Delaware's indoor track. It was hot and the air was dry but I managed to run around 9 minutes. I went out way too fast but still lapped everyone in the group at least 3 times. Hopefully the instructors took a mental note of who I was.

After taking a Police Exam your score is put on the eligibility list where you are picked based on the score you received. I'm not the best test taker so fortunately many Police Departments are combining your exam score, physical fitness score, and oral interview score.

While I had to take an entrance exam for the Military it was not the deciding factor if you were going to become a solider or not. After you passed a lengthy medical exam you were shipped off to basic training. Within the first three weeks the people who couldn't hack the drill sergeants mocking remarks were sent home, back into civilian life.

My main goal once I do become a Police Officer is to get into a specialized Police unit; K9, SWAT, or Narcotics. Currently I've applied to the NYPD, Delaware State Police, Connecticut Police Department, and on Tuesday I'll be going to an orientation for the City of Wilmington Police Department. I'll keep everyone updated.

Aside from pursing my professional career my training is going well for next season. My coach has me doing a lot of base training right now so I'm strong once April rolls around. My first goal of the season is to place well at Tour of the Battenkill. I had a horrible crash their last year so you could say I'm looking for a bit of closure! My crash was recorded on a tiny camera he had on his bike during the race. It even made it to bicycling.com! Check out the CRASH.

I'm also going to be racing on a new team based out of NYC. The actual name and sponsors have not been announced yet so I'll keep you posted.

I'm spending the rest of this week with my girlfriend Maija at her place in NJ before I head home to the Island. Over the Xmas break I'll be walking dogs for some extra cash, and training my butt off. I'm hoping by then I'll have a better picture or at least a narrowed view of which department I want to work for. But, then again this process can take anywhere from six months to a year.

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