Matt White has skills

For most of us cross is over, but this video makes me want to max the credit card and get over to Belgium and race a few more times. He's almost as smooth as Keller. Anybody wanna go?

Early Out

Perfect ski, I had a commute that couldn't have been better. Touring skis, fresh snow and a narrow trail. The best part was I did it solo without a stop other than to shed a layer, better trails better skis to come. A perfect way to get in on the last day of work b4 another long weekend. I came around a corner on the trail to see a 175 lb beast in the middle of the trail up a small rise, not real sure if it was a bear waking up for a snack (me?!) mid-hibernation or a stray yeti-like dog out for a morning stroll, I greeted him from a distance and made sure he knew I was there, he didn't want to be off the trail anymore than I did, I slowly skied up to him and passed him as I accelerated away I got to see that it was a really big dog, not a bear and he was old and hobbled, I wanted to make friends but I needed all my fingers and blood too. I moved on down the trail, bad ski for batteries, the iPod and the camera were dead, I had more stuff to hear in the woods. They were so quiet though, not much sound at all, my breathing and a few squirrels getting some breakfast, I like that, silent sports at their best. I wish I had pics to show how amazing it was, no camera though. After how blown out I feel from a 90 minute ski I know I have some work to do b4 I'm ready for the Commando Run. I'll Need to ski to and from work a few times to get the time in for that tour. The body needs more winter work April isn't too far off. Goals like the Commando Run are ones that are going to make me fitter for the first races, after that it all falls together into long rides some with gears and some without. Ready? I can eat and drink a beer without guilt tonight, I did my work and the weekend holds more of the same. Stay out of the way, town is way too crowded, explore some new trails and avoid main street at all costs. A night tour or two, no chance of seeing anyone then. Maybe I'll see the yeti-dog again. I got one photo off before the camera died, here is the trail early on more near the start.

Quiet

I feel more tired the less I do, I think institutional life is the key for me. Less is making me tired(er) than more. The bikes are there, the skis are there I need to be out there. Food isn't filling the void, only activity can replace the vacuity, I fall asleep and I want more sleep. It's time, the break is over, it didn't last too long, I need to be outside, I'll run, ski, ride or whatever. The snowboard was fun the other day, fast and grippy snow made me feel like a surfer again, variable speeds and more than a few hard frontside turns put a smile on my face. I could do more of that, maybe I'll walk up the hill and fool around, poach a lift ride or two. Winter is here, shhhhhh.

Post Xmas

I made it through, the highest of commercial holidays was surprisingly mellow. A good little ski in the morning after gift time and then a nice day with family. Somehow town isn't loaded to the gills, three of us got out on the hill yesterday and didn't wait in stupid lift lines too long or get hit by errant southerners. Wow, a good xmas in the mountains. I rode my snowboard and it was beautiful aside from the 60km/h winds coming off the peaks that scare the crap out of you. The snow was good and the runs were uncrowded. The chairs swinging in the gusts wasn't the most comfortable thing, reminded me of my first trip to a big ski area in high school, we have warmer clothes now, that made it easier. Now with New Years so close I get to plan the longer efforts, bike or skis, long is all that matters for the first block.

Xmas

Remember to keep the Christ in Christmas. I haven't read the bible but somebody did to help all of us sinners learn just how wrong we are and how right (and righteous) they are. Whatever this is some funny shit. I bet Leviticus was a blast, he had some problems too, I think.

• 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians? 2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? 3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. 4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them? 5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? 6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination? 7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle- room here? 8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die? 9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves? 10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

Mormons

This was too good to not grab and post. Ridetrash is an underrated site. Go there and enjoy the good news.

a%

I think I'll have some new skis in the next week or so, lightweight touring gear to replace the 8 year stuff that we manged to cook 5 years ago, glide? What's that? Smooth? Not on those old battered Madshus the new stuff will be flowy for a while, I hope. Anybody need some used nordic gear? Guaranteed to make you get a workout. I'm all about covering real estate this winter, not short tours but longer stuff that challenges the effort. 18 inches since yesterday, Denver got even more than that, they were so hammered it closed down the whole Front Range. Nobody rides their new rigs outside until mid week, xmas bikes. The most nightime of any day in the Northern Hemisphere, the day isn't shorter, it's just got less daylight. The stoolstice is important, we only get more daylight from here.

Rolling

Winter work for inside sports, the outside sports are bit nicer right now, ski and ski some more, tune that engine it only gets bigger. Big news out soon.

Buy

Is the similarity between Santa Claus and Uncle Sam a little too similar. Good stuff. This was stolen from the kitten factory. Read and learn what's up. New stuff in the pipeline. More windshield.

System

The more I learn about the system the more I regret not getting in sooner. It's not hard, I just never knew where the door was. The tricks are there for the taking and the result comes out on it's own. Feeding the urge to make it better helps find the door. Look deeper and get to the place you want. The break has lost it's appeal, I want to do more, buy my nordic pass, get to the gym for a bit of winter work and get out for the long days. Jan 1 is the real beginning, right now it's skiing with the family and getting next year's program up off the ground. Spy photos before the year's end. The pieces do fit and I have the order in my head, now it just needs to be in the legs.

Gluco

Two days of different cross country skiing has my shoulders and low back in a twist today. listening to Tommy Guerrero on npr yesterday reminded me to take glucosamine. Cyclists get bones like birds if they aren't careful. I will run more this winter and skiing isn't about to build up bone density. Run and take shark cartilidge is my solution. Injured riders are a liability. Being fast later means being slow now.

ski

two days of skiing, the break lasted a week, i was getting tired just walking around, the tables are even again, skated yesterday, toured today with the kid in the sled. it was harder than some of the races. stiff climbs make the sled even heavier. math time; sled 20lbs, kid 35lbs=55lbs add in drag associated a sled, i gather another few lbs worth=hard work. perfect for the start of the winter work. game on. new stuff this week, change makes me happy.

stumble

clumsy is how i feel, the legs are loaded and the head is foggy as a scene from american werewolf in london. i see the break as a good thing but maybe i do crave the structure, should I have joined the army? how well could that have ended? i think that i need to sleep this week off and then get it all together to be quiet for a few months. ready as i'll be for the season of cold and snow and 6 hour days on the bike sprinkled with ski tours lasting nearly that long, classic in the trees, two hour commute on skis! i'm lucky, life is good.

Blur

Cross was a blur of good days and great days. Nothing too awful except for two days. I'll take that season anyday. Now I see that the winter silent work is here and the best part of the winter season is coming. Get your work done. Big news soon.

This is from breck, the third or fourth weekend of racing, I think my vision was so clear that day that this picture is the exact opposite of how I felt, going so hard that everything cleared up in my head/eyes/legs, not that I wasn't ready to throw up. I was. 

Break.

I have sleep in my eyes still, it's been four days since the last race and I'm still tired. Maybe cross is harder than I think. Food doesn't seem to be an issue, I'm eating like a hungry hippo. I feel empty, I wake up more tired than when I went in.

Next

I think the season being over has renewed my interest in the off season, I know that sounds stupid but bike racing is hard, people show up to race, some win, some don't and the guy crossing line is finished. Simple enough, no? Well, with the season being over I get to do what regular do all year; eat wings, drink an extra beer, holy shit I stayed up late last night! That was cool, I felt like an adult, we ate dinner at 9.30 and didn't stress about it. What a decadent lifestyle, this whole adult thing. I get too into the bike racer-monk life that I forget the sweet taste of life outside two wheels. Not that I'm this pious budha in training but the off season however short it is makes me feel uneasy. I like the structure, almost like a veal without the pen keeping it's muscles(flesh) supple, I like being on a tightrope between fit and sick, this time of year it's; hey whatever you want. I never stray from food at any point in the season, I did forego bearclaws for cross season, they kept giving me rot-gut so I stopped. On account of my super-furnace my weight doesn't switch up a whole lot. I should try to rest more and see if I can get into a pseudo-hibernation coma, how cool would that be a like a bear or a trout for two weeks, rest and relax in a vegetative state only waking to eat and evacuate. That is the rest I need all year, or maybe all the time. I want to put on a few pounds, maybe I'll switch to gravy in my coffee instead of half&half. And put sour cream in my sandwiches and mayonnaise, I could deep fry eggs and bacon for breakfast and... Silent sports are here, as soon as the body is done being sore from a season of racing. I'll get out and ski and run and snowboard. Base starts in two weeks, nothing too fast or hard. Time out there doing whatever it is. Get slow for a few months so I can get fast later in '07. Big things for next year, stay tuned.

Tally

I'm over the let down of Saturday. I need to get my shit together for the next season. Put all of my ski stuff in the right pack for skinning up and nordic stuff in order to suffer on the trails. the excitement is growing, I still need a few more days of doing nothing, I like that when I stop sleeping I'll know it's time to do something. Maybe eat some chicken wings, drink an extra few beers, eat the food I avoid whne it counts. I haven't had a bearclaw since 'cross started. The tally is done on the season over 12,200 k, 460 hours-done. Good year, about 12 single day wins with two series wins as well. Cool things to come for next year, new stuff to roll around on, new tics off the list. Stay tuned. This is from last week at Morrison-Red Rocks Elem. School, a better day, much better day than Saturday. You are only as good as your last result-right? No, wrong.

state

First mechanicals of the year were in yesterday's race. I got through 31 races and nothing till yesterday. It happens. Fun course, super muddy and not the roll thru kind, the kind that sticks to everything, soupy heavy slow stuff, great for the skill riders bad for the speedsters without mud technique. Without the mechanicals I think I had a shot but today they all came thick and fast. I go into the break tired and ready to do nothing for a few weeks. Winter is here, time to ski.

How I would do it...

Unfunny

Apparently Michael Richards tirade of N-Bombs helped sales of Season 7 of Seinfeld true, no such thing as bad press. Now other comedians are saying they too will boycott the use of the N-word? WTF? Unfunny-ness for holidays. I think I'll boycott the middle finger for a while as a show solidarity to anyone who has ever been offended by anyone. Maybe I could stop swearing too, nothing but "darnit", and "aw crud", I wouldn't want to offend. I really can't see people going to a comedy club and getting offended by anything? What did they think they were going to see The Wiggles? Let it go, it wasn't funny, at best offensive but to let it get to this point, public apologies so audience members can get paid for having their feelings hurt? Too far.

11 or is it 12

Rest and openers this week, then it's all done, I think three weeks of not much will do the trick, but I probably will stop sleeping by next thursday. Usually it takes about four days of nothing before I need less rest and less down time. Even after season. Yesterday was fun, I didn't have the urge to attack until two or three to go, I rode into the mindset instead of going out with the intention of getting away. Instead of using skills to get away I got to use them to stay close. I could give up little gaps on certain parts of the course, knowing I could hopefully get them back on the next techy bit or bunnyhop. My tires weren't soft enough to rail the off camber parts, my bobble on the last lap was a bit hectic, I thought I was going to get jumped, my attack had scored me enough time to cruise in without worry. Lots of great results this year, all the work and planning for cross has paid off, bikes have been perfect all year. Daisuke raced the same bike I won on to take second in the Cat 4 race, the bars slipped for him, sorry Daisuke! The course took a lot out of me and the bike, I guess.

Sabbath

There is about an hour of racing left in my season. Yesterday was good, lots of snow, slippy, narrow, off camber with a barrier near the top of a hill that I could bunny hop. It didn't decide the race but I did hop it every lap. 9? I think we did about that many laps. Another tricky little drop into a ditch that you could ride, most of the guys weren't. With the hop and the ditch it gave me a little break. Two of us were off the front I followed for a few laps to see what the tricky parts were. Mitch fell with 2.5 laps left and i tried a little attack, short-lived before he and Karl recaught me. Karl had a bad start and was moving up. Karl attacked at the start of the last lap I got around him going into the ditchnailed the ride up the other side and gassed it across to the bunny hop with enough of s gap the little slip on the last bit of off camber didn't matter, 20 seconds in hand, one race left in the season. I have been enjoying 2 below lately. When I left town to go to the race yesterday it was -9, close enough.