Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Holiday Consumption Corruption.

Holidays are a pain. Both parents live around the corner from each other and one set of my wife's G-rents live less than 20 mins from there. To add to the demand of personal presence i have multiple friends engaging in long trips to the Asian continent just after the 25th; one left Sunday, another yesterday, and the last one today. 2 are going to Iraq and one to India. At this point in time both places have proven fatal. Anyway, on top of the demand of visiting friends and family, there is the added demand of consuming alcohol to make these visits more entertaining or maybe just to get us all through. Regardless though last night was one of the the former, and karma is reminding me that alcohol is fun's credit card, you pay for it later. I'm not a big drinker (not to say i wouldn't like to be if it weren't for all those health risks). And with cycling season quickly approaching (tomorrow is January), the alcohol intake will have to subside. I blame it on the holidays.

On top of increased alcohol %'s in drinks was a decrease in exercise time, and more importantly riding time. I got on the bike once last week and it was for a short jolly ride the neighborhood for 45mins. I couldn't find the means necessary to wear a helmet therefor causing my caution and concern. I did however get out and run 4 times, totaling somewhere around 20 miles. One day was only like 2 miles and that's being generous. Like i said before, the reason for the running, is traveling.

Last night i didn't feel like riding on the rollers when i got home and so i just left the house in the dark. Did some laps around a large loop in our neighborhood with a few intervals just to see how my legs were feeling....they weren't feeling good. A week off the bike (basically) and my legs were terrible. I was happy just to be riding though. I also rode in this morning after two nights of 5 hours or less sleep and a hangover. I thought i was going to vomit a few times. I was also brushed (literally) by an SUV. I tried to chase them down, but they caught the light we were approaching. Idiots.

Thank goodness the Holidays are over after tonight. I might go ride downtown DC tomorrow just for fun. Depends on the wifey-poo and what her plans are.

The bike I'm getting in a couple weeks...

Monday, December 22, 2008

Lace 'em up

I just had a good week on the bike last week (190miles). Thats good for me right now, specially considering we had weather advisories all last week. I put in another 50+ miles on Saturday. I was aiming for 60 but i got out of the house a little late, 30 mins to be exact. I finished the 50 miles just under 2:40. So i was happy. It was a fun ride. Details in a minute...

Well with Christmas being this week, that means it will be hard to convince my wife to let me go roll around for a few hours on certain days...also with a little holiday trip on the weekend, just long enough that i need to be able to get out and work out, and just short enough that i can't justify bringing the bike. And i imagine there will be a couple days like today where i have to run errands on my lunch break, which means no commuting via bicycle and my rollers are at my parents. So what shall i do....i guess i will do something i vowed never to do again. Run.
I found my running shoes yesterday (and they are @sics, because the only real running shoes are @sics). I'm going to go out for a run tonight. I just hope i don't injure myself. I'm actually looking forward to it, because of all the riding, which is usually just commuting. It gets mentally tiring and a change is good. So if all goes well i shall bring my shoes with me on holiday.

Epic Saturday Ride
Saturday morning i woke up at 6 because i was going to ride to my buddy's(Pete) place about 22 miles away and then go for an hour with him and then meet up Ben at 830 and head to work (A-1 Shop). Well like usual, things don't go as planned. I left at 645 and got there at 8, we left and rode for about 15mins and turned around and headed back towards Ben's. We passed a hand full of other cyclists which is weird because this time of the year a hand full is about how many i see a month. Anyway, on our way back one of the cyclists turned around and chased us down. It was a little odd because i knew who he was, that doesn't happen often. You can find his blog here. We started to chat and he said he would join us for a little while. So we were up to 3 riders and about to pick up Ben. I love riding in groups. So much fun. So we turned onto Ben's street and we were cruising along just fine when a squirrel bolts out in front of us from the left, which isn't the first time i've had a run in with a dumb rodent like that. Well i think this one was an ultra idiot because instead of me just running him over which i was poised to do, he paused for a half a milisecond and then lunged forward right into my spokes, subsequently whipping him counter clockwise into my front fork...and then somehow ricocheting out and into my crank...i looked back and saw his leg twitching in the air. Its not the sight i was wanted...

Like i said we arrived at the shop just under 2:40. Along the way Ben tried multiple track stands, one of the many screw off things we do on our rides, which are composed of tons of fun. Pete and District Cycling peeled off much earlier and returned home.

So yes i killed a squirrel. i felt bad.

For my wife's christmas present she is getting two kittens.
James i know you're not a fan of cats, but my wife is, so...yeah.

i'm excited to go running tonight!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Bosses Desk...

A little much right?

He's from Minnesota if you didn't gather that.
Also, i'm really not a master of mspaint, but i did figure out how to make text 3-D which is cool. The result is in the previous post...the before is-
I definitely like mine better.

adios for the weekend! Go Philly!

BONK

I took a new route this morning and i was super excited because for the past few weeks I've completely sucked at cycling and i found that my cleats were maladjusted so i basically pedaling from the middle of my foot. My cycling skills not only suck in the dept of speed and endurance but also maintenance and style (including riding position).

Regardless though, i was hopeful that this could cure my inability to hold a decent pace. So i proceeded forward this morning excited only to continue my slothfulness. I kept pushing forward harder and i took a new road (Catharpin) because it adds a few extra miles onto my route and its less travel by cars. I was feeling strong on all the little hills i climbed but overall i just couldn't hack it. Finally i made another attempt to bolt up a small short climb and right at the top i died. I went gasping for air and i slowed to a running pace. I gained a slight increase in speed but i bonked. I am very familiar with the feeling. At first i thought maybe it was that little climb? But no, every time i thought i could gather momentum, my body reminded me of its lack of energy.

My diet lately has been one of frugality (wow that's actually a word...weird). My diet includes things like chicken salads, black beans and rice with chicken, a light burrito (not eating the whole thing), turkey subs, turkey sandwiches, whole grain cereal, occasionally a few fig newtons or triscuts, and lots of water. I'm still losing weight and I'm thinking my riding performance is a result of my change in diet a little while back. Maybe i should cool it on shedding pounds. I've lost 35lbs since i started this blog. that's a lot. I'm below 180 in the nude, about 180 or 183 fully clothed.
(I'm becoming masterful with mspaint)

Today is my office's Secret Santa day. I got my immediate boss which he's easy. I think he literally has 30 black bears on his desk (I'll take a picture to prove it)...its kind of unbelievable unless you see it. It might even be 34 but i can't remember if that's counting the pictures around too.
Anyway, everyone in the office is playing Christmas music, its awesome. I'm not though. Still switching between Fiona Apple and Bon Iver (which coincidentally means Good Winter so its kind of Christmas music?). Bon Iver will always remind me of a wild Monday...pretty awesome day and Dan and Darryl have proof on their phone and they weren't even there. go figure.

My title pictures will change but the style will stay the same. I took some silly pictures of Zack in Micheal's last week. they make me smile. i hope they do the same for you.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Da Da da DAAAAAAAA

Before:
After:
The changes are pretty obvious...Handlebars and brakes. I also replaced the tires with Specialized Armadillo's, i added Light and Motion Headlight and a crazy blinky tail-light.
I need to work on it a little bit. I work at the bike shop Saturday, so I'll have a bit of time then.

I found a new love...
As some of you know, I'm an unofficial Netflix promoter, a Redbox whore, and from time to time in moments of desperation i visit blockbuster and keep the movie until they threaten my credit card with an overpriced amount in exchange. Well thanks to Darryl I've discovered borrowing movies from the local library which has a decent selection. Last night they didn't have any good movies in, BUT they had some decent CD's in...one of which was Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine:
With the Library being void of a good selection at that time i proceeded over to the nearest redbox and picked up Traitor, staring Don Cheadle and Guy Pierce among others. Rottentomatoes appears to be always correct in their "Consensus" which stated:
Despite another reliable performance from Don Cheadle, Traitor suffers from too many cliches and an unfocused narrative.
I would say that's nearly 100% true of Traitor.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Sick day...

today I'm taking a break from making bombs at Lockheed. I'm playing hooky. Except i still got up pretty early, so that i could meet Ben on his ride into work.

It was pretty brutal out. I got out on the bypass and there was a nice big head wind, which means until i see Ben and get to turn around its all into the wind for me. We passed each other around 14.5 miles out, so i did a U-E (how do you type that out?). The difference in effort-to-result was astounding...went from like 15-17 mph to 27-29. ugh. Unfortunately i can't pedal that fast because of my lacking more than one gear ratio and its a small one at that. Anyhow, Ben and i screwed around taking turns leaving each other in the dust, though with his bigger gear and the nice tail wind we had, he had a much bigger advantage. It was definitely fun though.

We got to the bike shop and since i had WAY overdressed, i pulled everything off and grabbed a water bottle and left. I was freezing for a bit but it was much better than before when i was sweating like a pig. Its currently super nice outside despite the wind. So i was out in shorts and a jersey...no arm warmers, no knee warmers, no shoe covers, etc. So nice, except for the wind. I went back into the wind after a couple miles and that remained until the last 2 miles which had its share of nasty gusts for crosswinds.

It ended with 50 miles at around 2:45 maybe 2:40. My time on the comp didn't reset, only miles did. But i know about how long i rode yesterday.

I need to do that once or so a week. That was only my second time riding that far (first time on single speed). I feel happy.

Leaving here shortly (one to pick up my winter gear that i left at the shop) and two, to go to my buddies place so we can start our journey to Philly to see Bon Iver!
To hear his music, you can visit here- http://hypem.com/artist/bon+iver

You should have come Darryl...I'll buy you a t-shirt.

Friday, December 12, 2008

FAIL-winter woes

Last night was pretty brutal. I almost got naked right inside my front door just to get out of my wet clothes.
There is a section of my commute where i pass a ton of cars every night due to traffic. When i approached that section last night i found it difficult to be able to see since the water on the goggles mixed with their brake lights caused an odd red glare rendering me basically blind.
If they wrote a book about it that would be the cover. But like the goggles I'm sure it would fail as well. Just like the movie about the actual Novel did.

With that said, the Bears won last night. I almost put money on it but i didn't which i think I'm happy about it because there was a 3 point spread and i was considering betting on the spread until i saw NO's past losses and point differences in those losses. But games I'm putting money on...Titans to beat their 3.5 point spread. SEA to beat their 2.5 point spread. AZ to beat their 3 point spread. Should be good "investments".



I'm ready for the sun to stay around a bit longer. I'm sick and tired of riding in the dark.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Fall's weather shuffle

Again, fall has changed its mind and the weather overnight (literally). I went to bed with it being somewhere around 60 degrees last night. I was immensely excited about getting up and onto the bike, but like Christmas morning in the south i walked outside to find the weather not how i hoped it would be, which was also like Christmas morning in the south...high 30's and pouring rain.
Luckily last night i dropped by the bike shop to chat it up with the guys and see if we sold any bikes. Anyway, while i was there i bought a pair of leg warmers. These are just ANY leg warmers, they are special(ized), they have thermal fabric on the front side to help with warmth as leg warmers should. Well due to the rain i soaked all the way through and while undressing for a quick shower i noticed that my legs had a cool red/white wave design down them from the leg warmers thermal portion. The white being where the thermalness was and red being where it was not. It was like Moses was walking from my knee cap down to my ankle via my shin.

The shuffle thing has started to get old. i find myself skipping a lot of stuff. Mostly because i find that Blood Brothers followed by Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan just doesn't work. I need something between the two. Also, i believe this just leaves me craving Radiohead.

Its about time to go get wet again. The temp since i checked it this morning at 10 has only risen two degrees...41 F.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Confused as a turkey on a warm almost winter day.

Just to clarify-I'm not using those exact pair of safety goggles. I'm using the pair i have for when i am sawing wood to keep splinters out of my eye balls like the good carpenter Jesus said...that part about wood in the eyes?

Today i awoke to freak weather. In the midst of all my complaining we've received 50+ degree weather. I walked outside and immediately started sweating in my sweater, go figure. Well being that winter isn't for another 11 days I'm not surprised because i learned from none other than Lewis Black that fall doesn't know what to do with itself. Fall is the season of identity crisis.
Also recently it seems the days i choose not to ride are the best to ride. like today. i actually could have worn shorts. I doubt i would have though. My wife has stated that during the winter time she'd like me not to shave my legs during winter. which to me ends somewhere in Feb. So i stopped shaving about a week ago. My wife caught on to the vanity behind shaving and is also tired of my legs feeling like porcupines. I also stopped shaving my face, which wouldn't be news had people known that i actually started (back in July?). Anyway, after leaving the other day and it was below 20 i figured i could use a beard for a couple months. I look forward to shaving both my legs and face again mostly out of vanity.

I work 40 hours a week at a desk and i have the same 20 albums on our database basically since i started working here 3 1/2 years ago and I've become relatively sick of all the same music. I found an awesome button on my media player...SHUFFLE! So one second I'm listening to Blood Brothers or Fugazi and the next second I'm listening to Sigur Ros or Bob Dylan. Its odd but cool. The next best thing would be to have a nice voice in between each song saying the weather and traffic or something about world news. But that would take away from my Internet surfing.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

New Equipment

I have finally grown tired of literally crying every ride back and forth to work. And since i'm low on cash i'm using these...
They work great.

Leaving the office now...

Monday, December 8, 2008

Waiting on the Sun...

My day at work is usually broken up by a few small things like
I also occasionally visit CNN but nothing cool is happening there...

This morning was freezing. My seat somehow last week moved back and tilted a bit down. I had achieved a riding position i liked only to lose where is was in a week. I also need to fix my computer.

We finally got snow here in Nova. Wasn't much but nice enough. I unfortunately was not on my bike but in the movie theater seeing the new Bond movie. If i can't be on the bike, the next best place is in the theater. I LOVE movies.

I've been feeling like crap on the bike for about a month now, but Ben chalks it up to it being cold outside. My performance has dropped, not terribly but enough to notice. I've never ridden in such freezing temps so this is a new experience. On top of the cold, is the dark. I dread getting on my bike to go home at night. Just about every night i get a brush from a car or two. Agitating and honestly-a tad bit scary.

I'll be happy once it warms up and the sun hangs around longer.

I have new equipment to buy now. This morning it was below 20. Way too cold. I still rode but i have to get some nicer gloves.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

German Computers and Killer Frost.

As i left my house yesterday i did the usual things like packing my back pack, strategically pack my cell phone, wallet and keys in certain pockets, suit up, reset my computer, lock the door, clip in and roll out. I was running late that morning so i did those things in a very speedy manner and also because i was running late, i took the very short route to work (7.5 miles). Well the past couple rides I've been feeling much stronger and in turn, faster, and that particular morning i think i had a tailwind to boot. With all this in mind, i was moving along quite well after already putting a mile or so behind me, specially since i immediately head straight up hill leaving my neighborhood for this route. I glance down to see just how "well" i was moving along, the only thing was my computer was flashing an unusual German word. Confused and annoyed i tried pushing all 3 buttons in different sequences and patterns only to find more German words and being that i slept my way through High School German (and pulled large scale pranks...)i couldn't hardly understand any of the simple words that represent things such as -clock, hour, etc.
(That is not my bike...also if you look closely you can see a cut and paste of grass to cover up the stupid brake)

I still need to fix my bike computer...

Today i had a doctor's appointment to check out my "pre-cancer" and see what steps i need to take to insure i don't develop a actual case of cancer. But alas, i woke up at 7:25 after turning off my commuter alarm at 6:30 thinking my other alarm would wake me (which it did not). Well waking up at 7:25 wouldn't be so bad if my appointment wasn't at 7:30. So i basically got up and just got into the car. To add to my being late there was a nice inch of "frost" on my windshield that i had to scrape off, so i got off as much needed to be safe and roared down the road, only to crest that hill and face the sun and a now glazed over windshield rendering me blind. Unused to being blind in a vehicle i panicked and eventually came to a stop and cleared my windshield in the spot that somehow developed ice on it after removing it.

After almost wrecking because of frost, i arrived at the hospital only about 15 mins late...not too bad. Then i showed up signed in and the lady said she had no idea who i was...great. She phoned two other skin doc's and one said "yeah he's supposed to be here", which "here" is across town. So not only was i late but i was at the wrong freaking building. ugh.

All of that preventing me from riding my bike today. i almost drove home on my lunch break just to ride it back and forth. but i didn't. I'm not that hardcore.

Also, congrads to Darryl for winning the football pool.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Bon Iver Dec 15th

Ka-CHOW!

quick updates-
  • My basement is still f-ed up unless of course you happen to be the swamp thing in which case i doubt the mold will have any negative effect on you.
  • A trip has just hit the planning committee for Jan 2010.This trip will include things like-
    • Adirondacks in the dead of winter
    • Dan, myself, Ben, maybe Darryl?
    • XC Ski's
    • Jack Daniels or Johnny Walker (black label cause we're cheap)
    • And probably a snowman or too as a result of the previously mentioned items or just because i act like i'm 12
  • I've invented a new game to play since i started taking vitamins a few weeks ago-How many cups of water do i have to consume to get my piss clear? The answer is still unknown.
  • I am attending the Bon Iver show in Philly on Dec 15th
I was successful last week in convincing Ben to come see our new little loop for riding, which turned into who can drop who and i started it. I also have a smaller gear ratio and therefor I am quicker off the jump, but on one side of the loop there was a huge tailwind that once we got around, Ben would come booking by me and my legs were whipping around uncontrollably and i was going a mere 31 mph while he stilled pulled away. I would catch him on the slight rise into the head wind, lose him for about 1/8-1/4 mile and then back to the tailwind...ugh. Good fun.

I'm attempting to bring my bike on its first family vacation. We'll be in NJ for about 4 days right after Christmas and there's no way i'm taking a whole 4 days off the bike at this point (unless of course i happen to be on the AT with a couple buddies). So far i told my wife i'm bringing the bike and she said she didn't think there'd be time, which i countered easily. No response after that. SUCCESS! its not over till i'm on my bike in NJ though.

At this point with December already here and i'm not scheduled at the bike for a while and i'm in the negative for my racing bike, i have to be rethinking exactly what bike i'm going to purchase. With that said i'm a tad happy, because if i had the cash i probably would buy the TCR Advanced 1
But alas, i dont have the cash to buy that super sweet bicycle. And the reason for my slight delight is because i don't think i really deserve that bike yet. Its been a very long time since i raced a road bike and its been NEVER since i raced one in a real sanctioned race. So presenting my new goal a more appropriate bike for my CAT 5 adventures this spring/summer...the TCA Alliance 1
Come time to make the purchase i might for TCR Alliance 0 but we'll see come Feb. after i've sold everything i own except my wife.

I was really hoping to have at least sram rival on my bike but beggars can't be choosers as they say...

In other cycling news...
Stephan Shumacher has been indited with more reasons why his wins shouldnt count in the 08 Tour. Recent findings show that he was racing under false pretenses (and i'm not talking about doping), i'm talking about him being a complete woman. no offense to women of course...

Also, a 15 year old nearly ran away with the MARBAcross series final. He will now face a stringent series of doping tests.
just to clarify that is Stephanie Schumacher

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Miles for Breakfast, Salads for Lunch, Intervals for Dinner

I finally had a good idea.

Ben and I are going to start doing interval workouts here in the business park twice a week. We shall commence this Saturday morning around 9 am. As i write this blog i'm trying to convince Ben to roll over here at five to check it out with me.

Its a one mile loop
It has minimal traffic. There is one stop sign we would use as a yield on the top left of the loop. The intersection on the bottom right side is only for traffic traveling counter clockwise.

Anyway, on top of interval workouts there i figured its a good place to add another 5-10 miles each day.

Anything else i should be doing to train?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

One Last Mention...

Every time i hear the opening track to Viva La Vida i think of Frou Frou, and more than that i think of that mind consuming song Let Go.
Despite having that one resembling quality to the Frou Frou album and the song Let Go i would say Viva La Vida is an album in stark contrast. While i thoroughly enjoyed and still enjoy the song Let Go for its incredible pop sensibilities i wouldn't say that it has depth nor does the album it hails from. This is something my friend and i disagree on, he seems to think Coldplay's 4th effort at making music "lacks depth". Now instead of arguing with him which is something we do often but remain friends, i decided to one up him and blog it and save the arguing for later or not at all (remember my friend, this is all in fun). This allows for some disconnect.

Viva La Vida songs are stuffed full of "depth" with complex rhythms, cool layering, interesting sounds, and their typical pop credibility. I would venture to say that even Johnny Greenwood wishes he'd thought of some of the cool textures and weird sounds present at times (see middle of Track 4 for example 1 of 2). I think i even heard a time signature change in the best track of the album Death and All His Friends, but i was too lazy to sit and count and I'm not musically talented enough to definitively say it was or wasn't, but regardless it was cool.

Though I praise this album i remain a Coldplay critic. Mostly because while they make good music most of the time, i think it would sound better coming from the bands they are copying. We covered Track 1 already. Track 2, 5, & 9 might as well say U2 for Artist. A toned down version of Arcade Fire is heard in Track 3. I also think Thom Yorke & Co. helped Chris out writing Track 4, 6 and 10. To Coldplay's credit they own the title track (Track 7), its Clocks with violins. Also, for a while i convinced Track 8 was written by Billy Joel.
And as for their complex rhythms, it really not supposed to be plural. Because for about 5 of the songs they use the same rhythm.

i think i just ruined the album for myself. yep i did.

I have yet to see a day as nasty as the one in the picture, but i saw plenty of black ice again today. My new Light & Motion is supposed to arrive at the shop tomorrow, so I'll probably take a short route home and stop by the shop. My new handlebars and brakes are arriving too, so i don't have to ride bullhorns all stretched out anymore...thank God. This way i don't almost run off the road once or twice a night.




ride to work.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Winter Cycling and Viva La Vida=a decent album

Well after buying Viva La Vida (and we'll leave the title at that...) by Coldplay, i was very pleasantly surprised to find it was a superb album.I liked Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head. Both good albums in their own respect. But again i think X&Y was pure diabolical crap. Not even pop friendly. After giving Coldplay another shot, i gave X&Y another shot but it failed...It seems they have only one good song on there, which being that its the second single released from that album, it was played out like reruns of Friends.

So giving Coldplay the benefit of the doubt, why the bad Junior album...Well it would seem that the only variable is the producer, which we know to have a profound effect on album's outcome as seen in bands such as ATDI, Incubus, The Mars Volta, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and anyone who chooses to work with Rick Ruben. The First two albums were produced by a guy named Ken Nelson who apparently knows good music, while X&Y was produced by Danton Supple who doesn't know good music. And Coldplay's latest effort is produced by the well known genious by the name Brian Eno. Mr. Eno could only help in the musical dept, because Coldplay still escaped the studio in these ridiculous get-ups...
They look like they were extra's from the movie The Patriot about to betray their homeland fighting alongside Mel Gibson...may God help them...and their sensibilities of style because Eno has failed them.

On a different note...
I've discovered a great comic series called Yehuda Moon
I implore everyone to subscribe to this. Though it may help if you are a cycling enthusiast and/or work in a bike shop.

Also, i've seen the first signs of black ice and snow on my morning commute. agh. I also suffered from a cold burn this morning. I was wearing shoe covers and knee warmers amongst my other cold weather gear. But this left only my face and a portion of my shins exposed to the icy wind. I got to work and the reddened part of my legs were noticably swollen and aching. I dont know the exact temperature except some would say it was "F-ing Cold", which is just about as accurate as you can get. It was snowing a tad this afternoon.

This is my first real winter cycling, being that in Alabama was the only time i rode year-round and the coldest it got there was MAYBE 40. And 40 is just about perfect in my opinion for riding...maybe 45.

But then again, i would love to feel like Andy Hampsten, even if its only in my mind...

Monday, November 17, 2008

Chris Martin <3's = signs.

Mid week last week i got sick. Just woke up one morning and it felt like someone had crapped in my skull. Now despite my efforts to become well, I've gotten worse. Now i am hacking away. I didn't ride yesterday or today. Yesterday was a rest day but today it was i couldn't justify getting ready just to ride 7 miles to work. The reason for the 7 was, because i woke up late since i stayed up to watch the Redskin offense squander another game.

I'm currently listening to Bush's Golden State because of the alphabetical order on my windows media player. I haven't heard this album in a while. Gaven Rossdale hasn't done anything interesting since...
In a few minutes i think I'm going to go buy Coldplay's new album. Any objections? I find Chris Martin to be slightly annoying in his antics, but i don't know him personally so that's an unfair judgment.
That picture is also a little unfair but oh well...I am still buying their cd's, in fact once i buy this one, i believe I'll own everything they released. But to their credit X&Y was the only one that was complete crap and even that has a couple good songs.

Our A-1 Cycling team is generating a small amount of interest. We are looking for a company to redo our jersey's because the last bunch just don't look cool plus we need shorts and stuff. We also have a race we are organizing this coming April at Old Dominion Race Track. It will be a series of track events. I might try and have fun with it.

Bon Iver Dec 1 Philadelphia.

Well i hope this sickness fades quickly because it really takes a toll on my cycling ability and life in general. But mostly i lack energy on a bike. I think this is going to be a cold winter. Its never this cold this early in the year here. I didn't turn the heat on yesterday night and when we got up this morning is was edging close to 50 degrees INSIDE my house. Outside it was below freezing.

adios.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Day Off and the end for Poptarts

Since i work with the gov't i got yesterday off. It wasn't given as a holiday, but my boss said we weren't going to be doing anything because our customers weren't going to be in their offices, so i stayed home or at least stayed away from the office.

Despite having the day off i woke up at 630 just like most days. Before an hour could pass i was on my bike in below freezing weather heading to meet Ben some 20 miles away. I was trying to take it easy so when i got to his house and we rode back the exact same way i came, that i could do a sufficient amount of pulling instead of just sitting in his massive draft. Though taking it easy might just be harder than suffering immensely later. Its hard not to push that extra bit to sit around 25mph on flats, because cruising at 25 is fun, and i also love to blow up hills as hard as a i can. Anyhow, i still restrained myself as much as possible to take it easy for the first 20. So i got there just at an hour and coincidentally he was walking out his door as i was riding up. Now that we were riding together i thought maybe we could turn it up a notch and haul back towards Manassas, which we did. We said maybe 4 things to each other within the first few miles and after that all we did was switch pacing. It ended up being a great ride, just a bit over 20 mph for 43 miles. I was happy. The only problem riding a single speed is on downhills you don't get to go as fast, and where as they might be a slight recovery spot, on a single speed its not. I dread them more because now i have to control my legs whipping around the crank wicked fast. agh.

The rest of my day went like this...
  • Went to the bike shop to say hello and pick up a couple things, ended up helping Ben with the rush of costumers that came in for about an hour...
  • Went shopping for some stuff for my wife
  • Picked up Hell Boy 2 and frozen pizza's
  • Played Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Los Vegas on PS3
  • Did dishes and laundry
  • napped
It was a good day.

I eat Poptarts every morning for some silly reason. I know its one of the many things that are bad for you, but yeah thats my breakfast. ew. Anyway, i've officially burned out on them and won't be buying them for a couple more years. yuck. i'm wondering what i should do for breakfast now...cereal-no, eggs and toast-no, hmm....ideas?

Monday, November 10, 2008

DNF

DNF stands for many things...
  • Digital Noise Filters
  • Disjunctive normal form in boolean logic
  • Duke Nukem Forever, a yet to be released computer game notable for its extremely long development
  • "Did not finish" in racing parlance
  • Digital National Framework
  • Domain Name Forum
  • Dynamic Network Factory
  • "Do Not Fragment" bit sometimes used in packet switching.
  • "Did not find" - a term used in Geocaching to indicate that a cache was not found.
  • Dungeon & Fighter, a Korean multiplayer PC beat 'em up video game.
But of that unnecessarily informative list, the only one that matters to me is "Did Not Finish".

My wife and i got to the race with 2 hours till my start time. I figured i would try to ride the course and get a glimpse and get my legs warm too. But after arriving i chickened out after seeing all the awesome looking racers there...feeling a bit self-conscious. We decided to go for a walk, register, and go sit in the car a bit longer. Around 9 i got dressed, Darryl showed up, the Enduro's took off for their 5 hour ridiculous-a-thon.

I was feeling very confident in my abilities as a cyclist, we lined up our bikes, and then i was feeling very confident in my abilities as a runner. So as the lady counted down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...i sprinted. I got to the bikes 2nd out of like 40 people and then i was 10th all of a sudden because i suck at clipping into my eggbeaters. But yet redemption! I was 3rd into the woods i believe. I found it easy to go cruising past everyone on the gravel road leading up to the woods. Once in the woods, i re-thought exactly why i was doing this race, and i couldn't think of a good reason. I also thought, "man i should have pre-rode this course" in-between all these realizations are groups of irrationally put together expletives.

So i was hanging on, following these two dudes that were just booking through the woods. The ground felt slippery because of all the leaves mixed with my poor handling skills resulted in my fear, which came to fruition minutes later. We approached this quick sharp downhill with a S-turn to boot, also at the bottom right before you jolt up is a VERY narrow bridge, that knowing me, i could very well miss altogether. I flipped out in my mind and then my handlebars went sideways on the S-turn and i went over which resulted in the 3 people immediately behind to wreck as well and the remaining 30 some people behind them to brake and stop which no doubt probably caused a small collision on the up hill right before my embarrassing S-turn fiasco. At that point i let pretty much everyone roll by.

I chased a few people down and was beginning to hope again and had some fun on a few whoops and then i saw a great jump approaching quickly, so i did the natural thing and pulled up as i went off the drop off and when i landed all hell broke loose. My right hand popped off the bars and then the bars caught a tree and i got launched. As i was getting up i saw some other racers coming down the hill and i got my bike of their way, hopped on and just hoped to finish the race altogether.

The first half of the course was technical and the second half very flat and fast, lots of room to open it up which i did. So after getting passed by a couple 12 yr olds right before the finish, i was thinking "all i have to do is make it through the technical portion and i'm golden" . The word "finish" became my mantra. I came up on the last difficult section, which was about 5 steep switchbacks. I loved anything uphill because i could blast through it and pass everyone; downhills were a complete 360 from that. So as i'm "blasting" up the switchbacks excited to get cruising and stretch my legs out, my chain blows off....

I had been having problems with my Rear Derailleur jumping around on the middle cogs. The chain broke at the master link (which i doubt i'll ever use again) and i'm guessing due to the jumping around, the master link got caught on a tooth weird and just separated. I walked out of the woods and was excited to watch Darryl finish. Darryl took 10 mins off his first lap which is awesome but no official results yet. I'm encouraging Darryl to continue to race MTB. I think he'll do quite well. As opposed to me, who shall never race MTB again, and maybe not even ride.

(don't mind the text from the pic...)Ben and i are preparing to train a ton together this winter/spring. I found a killer hill (12% to 16% grade) about 20 miles from my house. So on a 40 mile ride with a giant in the middle should be a decent couple times a week ride, on top of my 54 miles back and forth to work. Ben also bought a scooter a couple years ago for speed training which i think we can find time to use now. I know Ben is big into sprinting...and more power to him (literally) but i'll stick to losing weight and and cruising up hills. We also just got approved to run races at Old Dominion Speedway. It will be ITT's and track events and maybe we can get in a (2 man ) TTT. That would be cool. Anyway, that will be great also.

I am very excited to race on the road. I'll leave the MTB to Darryl.

(pics and results soon to come!)

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Christmas in NOV

I gave my buddy Ben a ride home from the bike shop yesterday and he was showing me all his bikes and what not and then he asked if i wanted any winter gear for riding, which of course i do.
He gave me:
  • Arm Warmers
  • Knee Warmers
  • Shoe Covers
They are all in descent condition too. And he already let me use his old winter jacket.

Today i feel like crap. Worse than yesterday or the day before.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Pedro Sanchez or....

Convict Colony

I love Queen. I wish Freddie Mercury was still around...an amazing singer. Killer Queen is a fantastic song. Who doesn't love Somebody to Love? and if you aren't sold there, there is always Bicycle Race which for me seals the deal.

I've been flopping around about 5 CD's lately which include a very odd mix...

  • Plans by Death Cab For Cutie
  • Queen Greatest Hits
  • Self Titled by One Day as a Lion
  • Niggy Tadust by Saul Williams
  • Hide Nothing by FSF
Its weird to see Plans on there. I'm a little embarrassed about that one. But its one of those nostalgia things...

Yesterday night was like a Nike commercial again w/rain, darkness, and me on a bike. I burned it up again. I avg crap mph on the way in and i turned it up 1.5 mph on the avg mph for the day, so to do that over the same distance I'd have to be really hauling.

I decided to give my legs a rest today and let them recover after being on that track bike, pushing that one gear up and down and all around. Tomorrow I'll be back at it hard and Friday too. Saturday take it easy but still ride, and Sunday is the MTB race. I'm excited.

Buy a newspaper and save it for someone in 30 years. I have one from today and one from when Obama won the primaries. yes...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

uh huh.

Had a great ride last night, then stayed up late to watch the Redskins lose...

Got up around 545 to get to the poll by 6. Luckily the poll is on my bike route, not only that but its literally around the corner. Then after voting proceeded to have a miserable morning riding in. I dont know if it was the lack of food in my stomach, the lack of sleep i got last night, or i just suck at cycling, but i couldn't get my bike up to speed. The ride home should suck too, being that i've already fallen asleep at my desk twice, once in my dream i fell off my bike and woke up at my desk.

Race is 5 days away.

that's all folks. go vote.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Hello Legs, Goodbye Light.

Well after saying Friday morning that my legs were sucking everything that was possible to suck, i started my ride home around 415 and found my legs not doing that terrible. The weather was as nice as its been in a long time, so i took advantage of it and decided to investigate a new route for myself. I have to "investigate" because i end up running into a lot of gravel/dirt roads. Anyway, i found that my new route had some of the nicest rodes I've ridden on in a long time.

Super sweet roads + my legs were doing well + there was great weather=happiness.

Saturday on my way into the bike shop i did more investigating on new parts of that route which i found a gravel/dirt road, i know my way around but i would have had to back track a ton so i didn't, but connected with my "new route" later on, which proved to be very cool. My legs felt great and it was so beautiful out, i felt like someone from a fall catalog of a cheap bike ad magazine.
With Fall here and Daylight savings having come and gone, this presents a problem for me as a commuter. Light. I think the most depressing thing is being stuck in an office during the only daylight hours, not to mention the safety issue of riding day in and day out through darkness on major roads. There are already a terrible number of a-holes that think cutting it close is going to keep me off the road, so add the darkness factor...ugh. On top of that, getting up at 630 to get out the door ASAP to get good miles in, is near impossible for me. I do it, but i don't like it. I will continue in this manner until the earth shifts its rotation and allows for an earlier morning light. The worst thing about all of this, is that we aren't into the darkest of it all yet.
Obama will be here in Manassas tonight. I will regret not going, but doors opening at 5pm and not starting it until 9pm, plus the Skins are on tonight, and i don't like large crowds of people. Its a big combo of things i don't enjoy. I imagine it would be like going to see Bob Dylan live...i did it, but did not enjoy it. I will however mix it up with those ridiculous crowds to vote tomorrow.

adios.

Friday, October 31, 2008

And here it is...

There is the awesome track bike of mine. I bought it a couple nights ago. Its all Dura-Ace w/Look Keo Sprint pedals. I'm planning on changing the handlebars to drop style, but until i get enough cash i will roll pursuit. Its right at 16lbs and super fast. I love it. Of course cutting 16lbs off of a bike (MTB vs. Track Bike) really helps. I hated lugging that MTB around, its not so bad in the woods but on pavement you feel like you should be going faster...and you should.

I hear today is Free Burrito Day at Chipotle. I'm waiting 30 mins and calling my local Chipotle to make sure of this. The rule is you have to dress like a burrito to get a free burrito, so i brought my aluminum foil with me today. I'm excited.

The race is in 8 days? or 9...either way, its soon. My legs feel like total crap, and there is a great reason for that. I didnt have a bike to ride. eh. I'm just hoping by race day my legs are feeling a little bit better, because right now they are totally sucking. I'm going to try and bust out some big miles tomorrow before work and on the way home. Sunday i might hit a trail or two, we'll see. Maybe two big mile days in a row and then regular on Mon-Wed, Thurs big miles again, Fri and Sat regular, Sunday race. i dont know. i've forgotten how to train, its been so long. After this race i'm just going to focus on two big mile days a week.

adios.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Halloween and Election Day

Ashamedly i took today off the bike. After being off a bike for nearly 7 days and then two ridiculously hard days right after, my legs are fried. I know, i suck. One day this week i was going to drive, to take care of some errands, so i figured today was as good as any, plus i didn't sleep good. I did, however, get up at the right time to go, but after staring outside for a good 5 mins decided to go back to bed for a bit longer and make the drive.

Friday is Halloween. I was raised not to participate on that day, to which some of you might say...wtf? But yes tis true. This year though, it has been my wife's goal to convince my parents to hand out candy. She is definitely ambitious. I think she may have succeeded though, surprisingly enough. Anyway, with all her enthusiasm and excitement over dressing up like funny things (i'm debating The World or Captain Planet) i am definitely going to be stuck at home handing out candy to annoying little kids. Now, i wasn't opposed to this previously until i found out there is going to be a free screening of Shaun of the Dead at the Arlington Cinema Drafthouse, which happens to be about my favorite place to go EVER, not to mention Shaun of the Dead is hilarious.
Even the poster is hilarious. Simon Pegg is just really really funny.

I don't have cable. And with the up coming election day being less than a week away i need a place to watch it. My family's house is a no no, mostly because i don't want to hear ignorant comments about Obama. Also, my in-law's house is a no no for the same reason. They are presenting election coverage at the Alrington Cinema Drafthouse, which is cool, but i just envision a brawl (Politics+Alcohol=Brawl). I might try and attend that, but it might be hard to get a seat considering the importance of the event. We'll see.
AAANNNDDD i just realized, i'm working that night at the bike shop. So no Drafthouse for me.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Canari Parachute...I mean Training Jacket.

I felt like a big complainer this morning .1 miles into my ride. Yesterday's "huge head wind" was merely a gentle breeze in comparison with this morning. You would have thought a hurricane was passing through being outside this morning...just utterly ridiculous. It literally felt like a 10 year old kid had a rope tied to my seat post and was being dragged behind me. I was almost blown to a stop a couple of times.

On top of dragging a little kid around i was wearing my new Canari Training Jacket:
Basically it provides a proper amount of resistance for the purpose of strength training. I think its highly effective. In reality though, i think my jacket was customized for someone with the build of Popeye, because it fits pretty nice in the body but the arms on my jacket are enormous. I believe its time for a new jacket and one that won't double as a parachute.

Though there was something positive during the ride. It was the large open road that put the wind at my back. It only lasts about a mile or more but its blissful. The silence of turning out of the wind is soothing and the feeling of a tailwind is certainly amazing. I started turning the pedals over at a fantastic rate, and slowly a school bus started to catch me. Just as it did i jumped across the lanes and sat behind it and the little middle schoolers piled up at the rear window staring in amazement...or making fun of me. Soon the effects of the previous windy 10 miles wore on me and i lost steam, cross back to the right hand lane and slowed a bit. Best part of a terrible ride...and totally worth it.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Switching to Fall Albums and MTB's

Saturday was a crappy raining day here in NoVa (like the car). I spent it at the bike shop which is always pretty cool and i got to replace the drive-train to my MTB like i had previously said i would. I ended up buying a new Front Derailleur and not buying the Rear Shifter. If i didn't get a discount then i would have put as much money into the bike as it originally cost. haha. As Darryl had asked,"Are you polishing a turd?" Yes, yes i am.

It is now a fully functional turd though. I rode it into work this morning taking the long(er) route. Its not actually that long. This morning i almost gave in to not getting out of bed, but then i reminded myself of Sunday morning getting up at 830 to go ride some trails only to find out that the only time that i could sell a couple items from Craigslist was around 930-10, which was soon enough that i couldn't roll out (literally) and just long enough that it would prevent me from riding after the fact because of an early lunch date with my parents back in their neck of the woods. eh. So i couldn't have a repeat after being off the bike for almost a whole week, specially since the race is in 2 weeks.

Good news is in the last two weeks with so much inconsistent riding i only gained a couple pounds. I've been so hungry though. i weighed in this morning at 188.

This morning had to have been one of the worst rides I've had in a long time. There was a GIANT head wind and it was about 60% of the ride and nasty crosswinds that felt like head winds for about 20% of the time.

With that said, the ride home hopefully will be much nicer, plus there are some trails i'm planning to hit on the way. A typical review says something along the lines of "these trails blow" and "dirty old men do nasty things here". So if no one hears from me after today...


Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness reminds me of fall. I love musical nostalgia.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Solved: MTB and maybe more!

I just got back from the shop to collect the paycheck.

I bought an entry level Crankset w/bottom bracket and a 9spd Deore Cassette, and I'm hoping the freewheel won't be a big problem. Tomorrow i'll probably just go ahead and replace the Rear Shifter w/ a Deore Shifter. Its all entry level from what i know, but i know so little about MTB. Anyway, It will get me back on a bike and get me through the race in 2 weeks. And after that i might try and sell it.

Also, finally i have a buyer for the Cannondale. I just hope there is no flaking involved.

A1-Shop Cycling Team and the Maniacal CAT

I don't know if its coincidence or because of my ambition, but everyone in our shop is now talking about racing. From before i started working there thats all i talk about when it comes to bikes. But at this point everyone in the shop (except myself) are very interested in racing track and most are interested in racing road. The track thing is because of Ben, who has been racing track for quite some time. But i think throwing together a group for riding road would be great. It would be a little odd though because i can't imagine there are many teams racing CAT5...haha. Though we would only need "10 mass starts" and we could get that hopefully by June. But then again i could be talking out my ass because I've never done this before. Regardless the prospect of having a couple of friends in a group would be fantastic. Ben is already a Cat4 and he said probably a Cat3, but he just hasn't upgraded. I just hope every race isn't going to be a Crit. Those don't sound like fun to me, plus I'm not the best sprinter in any type of race, running or biking, and I'm not really trying to grow elephant legs either, I'm happy with my build and my abilities. I do want to lose 20 or 30lbs more. 20 i know i can do and 30...If i did 20 that would put me at 170. 5'11 170. Darryl said everyone will be asking me if I'm sick...whatever. I still have a bunch of fat to shed. I'm already down 25 lbs. and i don't even think I've lost half of my being overweight.

I'm probably going to go Veg again to cut off the extra weight...maybe in January till August. Or maybe just red meat because last time i did that i looked sick after 9 months...

Update on Bike Situation-
  • Cannondale wont sell, so i have a couple options...
    • Post it for parts on craigslist
      • sell the frame
      • see who can be the 1st from the shop to get the frame on the shop roof
    • Sell it to the shop ($100)
    • Sell it AT the shop
  • Mountain bike needs parts...
    • Cassette
    • Crank and Bottom Bracket
  • Ti Bike
    • haha
  • Track Bike
    • still for sale, but only to me, i took it off the floor!
I'm also selling my vintage Chrome Dyno with the white (plastic) rims. I could maybe get a $100 for it. My 2nd bike ever, the first got run over.

On top of that if you haven't heard Levi Leipheimer was riding this past Sunday where i was doing my night rides by my parents house. Instead of riding with Levi, i was embarrassing myself on my MTB.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Off the bike and onto the 3rd job.

Again.

Once again I'm bike-less. I hate it completely. I have my stamina up pretty well and i'm off a bike again for a nice 2 to 3 days. This is not assisting my developing a good base for racing or training hard for that matter. Luckily its a long winter and hopefully by mid-Nov i'll be hard core on a bike, that track bike specifically.

The reason i'm bike-less is because:
  1. No money for the track bike. No one will buy my Cannondale. I thought 450 was a decent price...maybe 350?
  2. Mountain Bike is a P.O.S and needs a new drive train, its got a partially new one but i need to replace the crank, bottom bracket, and cassette at the very least. I could use a new wheel and and freewheel
  3. Cannondale doesn't fit.
I get paid Friday from the bike shop so i can replace the drive train on the MTB which is good because i have a race in two weeks that I'm going to suck in but at least i'll be able to completely blame that on myself rather than my bike.

Anyone want to buy used campy chorus parts? I'm going to post them on craigslist this week hopefully get some cash for that track bike.

I also just posted old car speakers, a mini keg (haha), an armoire, and other stuff....i'm turning it into a 3rd job.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Blacking Out the Friction

The mornings have recently been tinted with a bit of frost covering most of everything, leaving the rest of the day to recover to a very breezy cool, requiring things such as caps, sweaters, coats, scarves, and/or vests and if your Ben Gibbard from DCFC it might require "long johns under slacks for blustery days". I played Transatlanticism yesterday, which i haven't done in a long time, mostly because i find The Photo Album to be a superior album, but also because i outplayed the CD sometime a while back. Anyway, i found the combo of being dressed in a coat, the cold outdoors, and Transatlanticism to be strangely nostalgic in a very good way.

After being beaten two days in a row by my bike(s), today has started well. I rode the track bike into work today and it went fantastic. I took the short route for the first time in a very long time because i was on a new bike and i don't have a light system hooked up yet. But it was a good time to test the bike on a steep hill, being that there is a nice short steep hill towards the end of the route. I guess my fitness has drastically improved over the past 2 months because i would no longer say that's a nice short steep hill, more like an inconvenient bump. I was also on a single speed bike. So that made my morning a little brighter. There are some bigger hills on the longer route so we'll see how i fair come tomorrow or the next day, should be fun regardless...

Yesterday i decided to review trails for the upcoming MTB race in Richmond after i had received a brutal beating in Fountainhead, which I'm still suffering from. I'm still waiting to see if the thick portion of grease/dirt that is lodged under my skin will give me an infection. Also, my left arm has been rendered useless after landing on it multiple times. Anyway, I looked over the trail maps, Youtube videos, and reviews from www.singletrack.com and Poor Farms seems to pail in comparison to Fountainhead as far as difficulty. While leaving Fountainhead Sunday, Darryl and i figured a more technical course would benefit him and greatly decrease my chances of doing well. But i guess that's what happens when someone who rides road instead of MTB-ing. I would love to do really really well but i would also like to see Darryl do excellent too. Maybe i can improve my handling between now and then...any suggestions?
Anyhow i made this for Darryl...
Maybe I'm a weenie...but I'm no mountain biker.

Monday, October 20, 2008

New Bikes, Old Bikes, Flats, Wrecks, and New Parts (that dont work on steep ascents.)

With all the disappointing results of working on my older bikes i kind of gave up hope on riding them ever again and i shall be buying this Giant come spring. Now i probably don't deserve this bike because my fitness and skill are on the average side, but i shall earn it. Currently my Cannondale is for sale on Craiglist, and i'll be using that money plus some other money ito buy a track bike for winter strength training/commuting (because my strength sucks). Its a Cannondale CAAD9 with full dura-ace parts and Look Keo pedals and pursuit style handlebars. I'm going to switch out the handlebars with drop style, and throw a couple brake levers for the purpose of places to rest my hands. I'll take a picture of the bike tonight. Its a super sweet looking ride.

In other news-my old Ti frame has been relinquished all its accessories and parts...yes even the bottom bracket cup. So in other words the bike is now just a frame. I took it all apart on Saturday and then two of my coworkers got the cup out yesterday morning. I'm either going to try and sell it or just give it to one of them because he wanted it. I had already given away my old carbon fork to a coworker for his track bike...i warned him of the shattering possibilities...i mean it is old. good luck

Saturday i tried riding the track bike into work with my boss there, which he does pretty much everyday. Like i discussed before, i can hang with him but i don't know what would happen if he had gears or if i was on track bike. That day we were to find out...BUT i got a flat on mile 8 or 9. I was pissed at first but the winds were so strong that day and my legs weren't feeling too hot. Oh, and the flat wouldn't have mattered had i remembered my flat kit that i left on the couch or if Ben hadn't run out of tubes the following day. So i was left with a phone waiting for a ride.

Sunday, i got to try out my tricked out MTB. At the bike shop, we had thrown a ton of old, used XT components on it and i was excited. I also recently got my eggbeaters and new shoes, so i was no longer sporting the rat-traps and Asics. First time on the trails using all my new junk = very excited. We got to Fountainhead just after sunrise and the parking lot was already half full...weird. It was about 40 degrees so we layered up and hit the trail. As usual i took the lead and went blazing down the first run and then promptly wrecked going up the first incline. I almost shoulder checked a tree on a fun swoop that almost became a very unfun swoop. I wrecked on another up going over a giant log and lodged a rock in my palm, found my gloves 10 mins later in my jacket pocket. Later down the trail after a nice long run i made a little jump and the track went down left hard and i went straight hit a log weird and also went down left hard on my head...my helmet works well and didn't even crack. Darryl and i both wrecked in the rock garden...he wrecked only because i did. sorry. Another downhill i lost my bike underneath some how and the crank went into my leg, thankfully due to knee re-constructive surgery i have a dead spot on my shin and thats where it hit, so i didn't notice the pain, but the blood running down my leg i noticed. Darryl took a picture right after, but i look like a newbie tool, so I'll refrain from posting it. I wrecked a few more times since my *new-used* shifters would stick and change gears on me on the steep ascents and i was struggling to escape from my pedals due to my lack of experience with them. I'm really hoping this isn't a preview to the race in Richmond next month. My technical/handling skills are equal to that of a 5 year old. My upper body strength was something to be desired too, i could hardly hold the handlebars down so much of the trail because of how many stupid roots were there. It was a rough trip. But i did ride down Shock-A-Billy hill, i hadn't done that before.



2 days of bad riding and this morning it was below freezing and i dont YET have the gear to ride in such weather. So i was stuck driving in.

By the way, we are back in our house now.