Fixed

The road bike was getting too much time, I was spending too much time cleaning it every night. I decided that since we are in another wet cycle I would go for the fixy. No half of hour of washing the bike in the evening. I got on the fixy before it started raining but fully dressed for the weather; baggies, knees, rain jacket, warm gloves and a ziplock for the iPod. Good little group for tuesday worlds and good work in the rain. No concern for worn parts, just good cold/wet work, 50k worth. The ziplock worked out just fine, no crashing of the iPod, no water in the bag. I also managed not to crash. I love the rain.

Recovery

After a rough day sunday in the road race and then a rough trip home through multiple monsoons I was ready for a break. Monday lacked the full rest I needed but now I feel ok. This Sunday will be fun. Firecracker 50, 4 and a half hours of singletrack and stiff ups and down. I'm ready mentally but we'll see if the body is ready for a 50 mile epic race. That will require some pretty good recovery! Friends need help sometimes, cars breakdown, tow companies screw you, rides are needed, it's good to help out old friends with a ride out of a jam. Not a big deal but very appreciated. Ride in the rain today.

I rode some of the usual stuff today, maybe it's my new motivation to ride all bikes, but I just felt really comfortable. Riding in all conditions really helps the skills. I just watch and learn. New rain and good tire choice allowed me to use the whole 14 inches of singletrack. I had the drift nailed. It felt so cool going into corners and letting off the brakes and drifting through the apex, hooking up before going off trail. I love to ride bikes. Have a good night.

Alien

Listening to music piped into my place of work got me thinking, how can we be the only advanced life form in the universe. And I use advanced with an asterisk. Bush, bin Laden well, you get the picture, less advanced for sure. The song was Journey's rock classic "Wheel in the Sky." It made me think of a famous work of fiction that is cause for much carnage, The Bible, the story of Ezekiel, who "saw the wheel." Not being a biblical scholar with just sunday dogma pounded into my head as a kid I remember the more entertaining stories. We cannot be alone. Sleep well.

Visit

I went to that place yesterday. You know the one, where everything is labored and your body, well, your whole system is on the verge of shut down. I hadn't been there in a while, decided it was time to go back. Whether I was welcome there or not I'm still not sure. Though I hope to get back there sometime soon. I like going there, it's been an important place for me to go nearly my whole adult life, though I wasn't welcome there yesterday. I like the idea of seeing the old friends, seeing what it is that makes my head go. I like the subtle dulling, the intense focus the dulling brings about. It all fades into a blur outside that little scope, tunnel-vision. The thoughts fade into the blur and the scope narrows when it gets more intense, no room for error, no room for distraction. I like going there, it makes me feel good to be alive and dead when it's over. I just wasn't allowed in yesterday. When it was over I was crestfallen, I left before it was done, I could have stayed on the outside but if I can't be right in the middle (front) I don't really want to be there.

Hail hurts, a lot. I thought that by the time I got out yesterday I was going to stay pretty dry. Nope. It was good anyway, cleared the junk from sunday's Vail ride. Not too much junk in there. Sunday was amazing, great ride over the pass, still my most favorite ride of all. Not too far, about 130k.

Big

I just saw a guy with the biggest ears ever. They were odd, veiny sorts with big flat areas like those of some that were steamed flat. Sort of like Dumbo meets the drycleaners.

Lag

The fatigue and malaise I felt yesterday has evolved into a stiff little headache the lingers just above my sinus area. Last night as I put the bikes back together I was swearing the 400 pound gorilla that dented and did a great job scratching my downtube. Thinwall aluminum doesn't like sharp impacts from hub axles. Not good. Good sleep last night, Thursday night really kicked me to the curb, three hours sleep doesn't work. I'm getting it back slowly, no epic on Sunday. I planned on doing the CT to Denver but I'm too tired. Maybe a simple road ride to get in some miles.

Vultures

I saw a turkey vulture yesterday. We had stopped on our ride to fix something and when I heard the whoosh of his wings I looked up in the trees and there he was gliding through the air to a branch. Then I smelled it; rotting, pungent, acrid air wafting of the decomposing carcass of a deer. Yuck! He was having breakfast. Mmmmmmm rotting flesh! The trip in today was gorgeous, dark blue gunmetal skies over sharply defined peaks, I love the solstice! Rolling through the trails and town to work made me appreciate the decisions we make and the sacrifices we stomach.

Rainy Training Crit

It's weird to get to another part of the world and show up for their weeknight worlds. Tonight was a bit like a kermesse, pouring rain and crappy pavement. Riders all over the place, dogging it through the corners, a bit slippery. Bridging gaps to nowhere. Nobody really rode that much better than the other, I followed wheels and then turned on the gas near the end to close a gap and go. Good legs. No real red zone work just solid tempo. Fun stuff in the rain.

U-Turn

Get to one place look around, hang around visit with a few people and turn around. Does that sound like your life? It certainly is mine. It has an odd appeal. I actually like it b/c I get out of my element for a while and then return just as fast to it. No matter where you are or what you do, there it is. Whose job really differs from this? Perhaps a shepherd. Not much else. I got to enjoy more nice roads today with my lovely wife. Great road riding with no traffuc. I never grow tired of the bicycle for conveyance and seeing the world. Though I do grow tired.

Blue Potato

Busy days. Eating up lots of time. No posts. I hate it when I don't get in the routine. Weird for me. I need a daily fix; ride, write, ride, be happy. Pretty simple equation. Today will be better, simpler.

Buon giorno

I had one of those rides yesterday, it was warm and sunny, I had music with me, the path was empty and I didn't feel like I had stumps for legs. I thought that after sunday the legs would be dead. Great to ride solo when you just want to go slow and enjoy a ride. I love the path when it's like that. I feel so lucky.

Blazing Arrow

As I sit here in what passes for hot in Summit County going over what was an epic yesterday. A great ride with a new friend and some old ones to Vail to have a coffee. When the phone rings and Shaubie and I have an emergency visit to the Hospital for a swollen eye on Little B. It turns out it was a mild infection in the lid and not the eye itself but it was the one we had surgery on last week. Luckily Shaubie made the call and we saw both doctors and got the meds to help eradicate the infection. After and hour plus at the hospital we went by the City Park Crit, 5 minutes from hospital and I decided to race. 4 hours in the saddle already and I was about to line up ready for really good work, going for a few primes and mixing it up. The number one sandbagger went away solo. I sat in a while and when they offered a field prime I went for it and realized my broken cleat wasn't too good for safe sprinting. So I sat up and rolled in. A great day of training, to ride Vail Pass and then get into one of my favorite races for a spell of work. A hectic day for sure but the most important thing is that Beckham is fine and recovering well this morning from a day in the car. Enjoy summer, it's here.

Mess

I made a mess of it. I tried to pull away a select group, but put myself in the red. I could barely make it up to the leaders before it shattered on the upper slopes. I got there but not before Jeff and Kevin were strong and smart, had a good gap and forced me to chase around the 5 guys that separated us. Stupid mistake! On another day I would have been attacking in the last k and getting there first. Too much ground, I ran out of race. Third on the day and second in the age group. Oh well, good work and I know I can get there if I'm smart-er.

Tools

If I was going to build a house I would bring the right tools. Not that I know how to build a house but I do know that without the right tools you're not as efficient. I wanted to ride a cross bike for the hill climb today, the promoters had a problem with this. WTF! I guess it's easier to make one rule to relegate one rider than to run the risk of the other riders getting beaten by someone who has the right tool for the job. I still think I have a shot at the win but the IF would rock this course. It's all dirt road, nothing too steep, perfect for a cross machine. Oh well, I'll ride as best I can. And I know it will be fun!

I'm a little confused with today's news. All the stuff going with the CIA and the Whitehouse and Iraq. I know Bush is an idiot and I know he needs to go but what kind of message are we sending the rest of the world by having him in the hotseat? Does the rest of the world believe he is in charge. I suppose we are led to think this but it's Cheney who makes the decisions, in my opinion. What good is a president who is basically a figurehead? Well, an ineffective one. What about gas prices, conspiracy? All of a sudden come october the price will fall and Bush/Cheney get 4 more years? Not likely, the American public won't get fooled twice. This isn't my usual topic but I have been thinking about the whole thing lately and we need a new administration. Bad.

Food

I forgot to mention the sheer quantity of junk food I ate on my way home after last nights ride. I had a bit of a hunger knock, stopped at 7-11 and bought: a Starbucks 16 oz Frappacino Drink, a Reeses Big Cup, and a big apple fritter donut. mmmmmm fat! I felt instantly nauseous!Perfect to stave off hunger. I got home an hour later with such rot-gut that I barely choke down two bowls of the wonderful white bean tomato chicken pasta that Shaubie had ready after my shower. It was good, I only lacked a Pepsi for my post-ride feast. Today is good, more of the pasta and no junk to make up for the mess I made of yesterday's mid-ride snack.

Tuesday Worlds

No crashes tonight, a good group and a few who liked going up. No real work until Keystone then on Montezuma Road it started, Brett started pushing and the two of us worked well to make it two, trading pulls all the way to the top, He sat up before the end, letting me through to the top alone. Good climb, the legs were good, lungs need some help. Nice spin home from there, little bits of work, the form is in there somewhere, just need some polishing.