protein

i lost count at around 6, the bugs were big and juicy. cool for september. i wonder if the fox i see eat bugs? i guess they'll eat whatever comes along. nice abbreviated ride with shaubie.

today

the legs want to be relaxed. i can't get around that feeling, loaded, bloated. more food, mmmmmm food. that time of year for the cold and the work, rest and food.

season

i forgot to put on the handlebar light today, i wish i had the night vision of a raccoon. to be able to spy out the littlest bit of threat or food in the pitch black would help a lot with my trip in to work. sometimes it's like i'm riding by braille. i like it. the octopus is slowing waking up from his summer sleep. i see little bits of promise coming out. i hope more comes soon. i can feel it in the air, octopus season.

better

good practice yesterday, the legs felt ok, i was able to maintain pace for three laps. even hurt a little bit too. skills seem good, no major issues there. cross is here, i'm rolling into the season with the goal of states and nats as the major efforts, nothing too important to eclipse those.

subtle wake up at about 2.45 to help b with a wet bed melted into a great block of rain assisted sleep. no wonder he wet the bed, it poured all night, i nearly wet the bed too.

physics

wheels, according to centripedal (sp?) force want to keep rolling. but throw in rain, hail, & 40 km/h cross/headwinds and you have a different story. like my ride today. it hurt to ride into that shit and then when i flipped and got going 50k/hr up hill towards home i was very wet and cold. work abbreviated but i got some done anyway. hail hurts.

extrasuperaction

now it's on the other side of night, can't sleep past 5.30, wtf? i need to figure this out. i have a new extra super action show to listen to, that makes it better. punk rock in the morning, good day. check 'em out , you'll like it.

interference

i was out in the woods this morning, first one since the crash over two weeks ago, good solid ride, pretty short but it turned out to be a good day. i just don't get it on some of my favorite trails people knock down obstacles but create bigger ones down the line. odd. not my place really, it just bothers me. not my trails, just my fun. drivers seem too close to the yellow line in my opinion, i don't drive a ton these days but it bothers me when i see it. the road is plenty wide, stay away from the yellow line, no shoulder traffic; runners or cyclists to avoid, drive in the middle of the fucking lane. i was freaked out b/c a guy had the wheels of his piece of shit dodge pick up across the yellow by about 3 feet on a turn today on the dam road, with the whole family in the car, i was freaked out that i couldn't move farther away from him. love those big 'merican pick ups.

balance

today i saw two foxes fighting with a house cat on my way to work. i don't know who won. it was pretty cool, the foxes were chasing the cat out of the woods and the cat was fighting them off and running away at the same time. i didn't interfere, really didn't see it as my place, the cat was in the woods. balance in nature. last night i didn't have a ton of time to do my work on the bike, i got in 40 minutes of good harder tempo before i had to pull the plug and get home to pick up B. of that 40 i had nearly 30 at a good enough pace to call it training instead of just rolling. i was ready to stop, the pace was plenty, it was time to go home. more balance.

dry roads

today wasn't nearly as dark as yesterday, the light rain that fell over night and the clouds that may have been obscuring the moon made the wet trip dark yesterday. today was different, moon and dry roads. and one asshole driver, wtf? i'm getting it together. i know that it'll take some time. i'm still recovering more from my night of little sleep than the intervals. odd how sensitive the system is.

ready?

i feel pretty good after the weekend's racing. not that i was successful, but i know what i need to do to arrive in Providence in form, motivated and in shape. i have a program and with good rest and smart decisions b/t now and then will bring me there in shape. it relaxes me. here's the work, now get it done.

pillows

if i lay a certain way on my really nice pillow (not the crappy hug pillow) i can hear my pulse in my ear. i think it's the weird little appendage that sticks out midway up the ear. remember the poe story the tell tale heart? my once monthly bout of no sleep, spears of light go thru my head, preventing rest and getting sharp imaginary pains inside my brain way behind my eyes. no real explanation other than i need sleep but just can't find it. i'm tired, i want to be there but i can't go. the light reminds me of a fluorescent bulb that's opaque, except silent. no noise. it's beautiful in it's own way, if it didn't keep me awake i'd really like it.

and i ran

not too far or too hard but i ran. some sprints, great leaves right now too. i have been off the mtb for almost two weeks b/c of my hip, so to get out in the woods and see the aspens in their golden goodness made the morning perfect. running is good, simplicity.

mild

i survived the first weekend of racing, saturday was ok, good ride, smart. i didn't make many mistakes, good skills nothing too bad. sunday was a better course, better than i thought it was last week. i rode well till i hit a small rock and double flatted just after the pit. packed it in with only two to go. not much i could do, stupid to ride a whole lap on new wheels in an early race. it felt sort of good to get the first sharp efforts out of the way. i really haven't gone that hard since portland. what is that 9 months? the bike felt good, sharp. the tires were great, my mistake. the new season is on and i feel good about the steady build to providence in a little less than 3 months.

too soon

cross practice yesterday wasn't the best idea. the two courses for the weekend are ok, i hate to say it but they just aren't that great. that's probably more a product of my hip still being jacked than of the courses themselves. i'm pretty sore today, maybe i'll bunnyhop in favor of trying to get on and of the bike without hurting it more. riding is fine, i can even dig a bit and go hard but the rest of it sucks. i wish i had another few weeks before the start of the season, two races and then i get to sit up and rest to recover further.

0915#2

blue water, but lots of ghosts today. it seemed that every shadow chased me a little bit this morning. i know my paranoia is only that, but it really freaks me out as i roll in and the light's beam isn't enough to allay my fears. sometimes it's easier to go in without any lights, no shadows just holes in the darkness, especially lately with no moon to illuminate the morning. the octopus will light his inky path, more like a darker glowstick to follow.

it's here

it's here, time to gather up all of the extra crap that clogs the flow and put it away. the one thing that really matters athletically this year is on. cross arrives this weekend and doesn't stop until a cold weekend at a park in providence rhode island december 11. the air feels very cross like right now too, probably in the twenties on the way in today. snow/hail/rain on the ride yesterday, it's here. as soon as the hip clears up i'll run once a week, do intervals on foot, warmer that way.

annoyed

i got a phone call today from a telemarketer looking for money for the police. we give every time the environmental lobby knocks on the door, this guy wouldn't take no for an answer. it was truly impressive how well he followed his script for each negative answer i gave him. it was as though i was on a training tape and he was to move on to the next line to get money out of me. finally i said a polite no thank you for the third time and hung up on him. without insulting him or the police for bothering me for money. i pay my parking tickets most of the time. i got chased by a dog on my ride this afternoon, he started to run down the hill towards me and as i pedaled up the hill i said to him "stay away from me" grabbing my water bottle and ready to spray him and then huck it at him, big friggin' german shepherd looking dog. wtf?! keep your dog off the god damn streets. good day.

cooking

i am feeling better, overdoing it this past weekend maybe was a good thing to get in the training while recovering from my spill. it still hurts to walk, but riding is ok. the bikes aren't 100% ready, but i hope to have one good for this weekend. two races on the first weekend of cross i know will pay off later on.

i found this pic on a disk that's been in the camera a while, i like the light and what i remember from that day. post firecracker 50:

my mac and blogger don't really get along, my limited knowledge of html prohibits better formatted posts from home. i can only do so much. oh well, nobody pays,

jra

i think i got a little lucky yesterday aftrnoon, just a little, i could have been hurt more, but i got off light, i guess. just rolling down the trail and all of a sudden i was supermaning, not the best landing though. i guess that'll happen once in a while. i still don't know what i hit, i looked but saw nothing. luckily i was riding with a friend who after our 30 minute hike (i couldn't ride for a while) then descent into the 'hood was able to stitch me up. just sore and stupid now, it'll be just road bike and rest for a few days, we'll see what it all does for the cross races next weekend, maybe, maybe not.

odd

i feel a sense of pride when i get the honor of this kind of thing. cyclocrossworld has helped us out, thanks for the props.

blowfish

i feel like a blowfish today. sort of heavy and loaded, maybe bloated too. riding in i was oddly at ease with the darkness, it feels good. i have new stuff to wear, i'm warmer and my eyes are adjusting to winter mode, feeling for the soft shoulder before i get to it, keeping my wheels tracking clean. the clouds are getting lit from underneath, as soon as the moon rises and the clouds roll in for fall i'll get to see the octopus' work. i can only imagine what color the ink will be.

new stuff

i never realize how worked my cycling gear is until i get into the new stuff, wearing new shorts and legwarmers or whatever it is i'm lucky enough to get feels like a holiday. the pad isn't crushed beyond recognition, the legwarmers have an odd, supportive feel to them, maybe i should try cross dressing? hmmmmmm. i have always liked the feel of legwarmers, how far is that from stockings? not very. another topic, more therapy. it's the same with the bikes when you put on new cables or a fresh set of tires, the bike feels brand new, simple maintenance goes a long way. i feel like a pro when it all feels new and comfy, like i somehow did something right to get to this point.

edit

waiting around playing with the kid before ride time i came across this one on the gnome's website (www.onespeeder.com) pretty interesting: Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. i must be the exception, i read so slow that i do see every letter, maybe it's that idiot genius thing i have. regardless pretty cool stuff. i am getting more anal retentive as i live each day.

river

when we go to the river there are a few spots along the way we go to. luckily all are pretty safe. b likes it no matter where we go. the narrow bit under the willows is cool because he and number one can go in the water a little bit as it is slow this time of year and i know he won't be swept away. the rocks are my job to find, he throws them. the river dumps out into a pond that we throw a ball for number one to chase in there, sitting on the side of the pond b cheers for his brother chasing the ball and then asks me to get him rocks the throw in the meantime. pretty fun, can't think of any better way to spend an afternoon.

i got out early yesterday and from that point on it was like a vacation. i got home earlier than normal by about 2 hours but it was unreal. i hung out with b, we threw rocks in the river, tossed the ball for number one and really didn't let anyone or anything get to me. i really would not work if i could. big shock there, the shiftless guy saying he'd stay home if he could. who wouldn't want to not have to work? maybe volunteer at a hippy non-profit a few hours a week. some cause i could believe in and not get pissed off at the idiots running the place. oh wait, critical assholes like me are always second guessing other people's decisions. i don't regularly say i could do whatever better, just that i don't agree that the decision was in the best interest of all parties involved. it's a hell of a lot easier to call bullshit than to offer a solution. i feel comfortable in my judgmental role in life. it's simple to do from a distance, that way my hands don't get dirty. on the odd occasion i get a chance offer a solution, i will, in fact i think my ideas are better than the alternative, but i like being able to offer them criticism and then the solution if i think it good enough to share. for instance:

new orleans this week. why didn't fema and the other aid agencies address the problem before the hurricane? everytime a storm starts getting close npr would run a story listing the many problems with the levee systems and pumping issues the city would have if even a category 2 storm were to hit. now a category 5 rolls thru and hammerfucks the whole region. hmmmmmm, an issue that was maybe worth fixing? no. the $230 million dollar bridge to nowhere in alaska, becasue louisiana doesn't have a senior senator. i don't know all of the ins and outs of senatorial law, but isn't highway money for federal roads seemingly just as green in the south as it is in the far north? could this have helped soften the blow? maybe improve a road or two that were major escape routes from a city that sits below sea level? no there i go again not offering solutions. only criticising from here.

well, more problems than i know what to do with. i find it darkly funny that solutions are so close and simple but the powers aren't interested in them. that little bridge to a city of 500, or is it 50? is more important than a easing a path for millions of potentially displaced residents of an area in the crosshairs of one hurricane after another.

bad move

i saw the result of a cyclist running into a semi yesterday. i left work to get some lunch at the grocery store (a treat to go out for lunch) as i was riding back with my sandwich the flagger for the perpetual construction project was crying as she said "don't go over there!" really creeped me out. i saw a blanket over the person and her wheel sticking up off the ground. i don't really know if she died but i was pretty freaked out the rest of the day. as the day rolled on i heard what may have happened, she tried to go across without checking to see if there was enough room or she tried to outrun the truck thru the intersection. big mistake. i was about a minute or two in front of her on my over and as i was going back the police or ambulance hadn't arrived yet, not that it would have happened right in front of me, but that it was so close to my trip thru the same intersection. after work i got out on the path for a nice mellow road spin, i was careful at all of the intersections. no real work just a bit to turn the legs. not feeling too good about the pull i got on sunday skating in aspen, i should be over it by now, i'm not.