I got a new light a few weeks ago. It's one of those new cayetye opticubes, the light has the bluish glow of the high dollar HID systems but it was only the price of a few lunches. I'm don't really think it would be so good for mtb in the woods but for my commute it's perfect! I have my oldschool vistalight on the back, which I have had a few over the years. It reminds me of when I moved to the great state of pennsyltucky to rehab knee surgery and I got my first road bike in about 8 years, I couldn't get off the thing, all I wanted to do was ride and it was always ready to go, I got that bike in late summer of 1994, it was an ugly cannondale crit bike that offered no suppleness. I think about those rides with my friends who didn't have knee surgery a few months prior and were very fit while I was working through certain toxins from a winter working at the ski area and a fair bit of enjoying life. We would meet up and ride and I was so out of shape I'd hang on to the back of three of them for as long as I could. We would do the "hill ride" which was up and down the hills that form the valley for the delaware river, pretty good little steeps and at a pace not real comfortable for me. All while trying to get in before dark. I remember being dropped on the climbs near dark and still being 20-25 kilometers from home. I rolled through a covered bridge one time after dark and I had no light other than my vista tail light, in the darkness of the bridge the light shook apart on the floorboards of the 150 year old bridge. In the dark I'm scrambling around trying to gather the 5 or 6 parts that make up the light so I can get home without being hit on the sort-of major road I needed to take with out a shoulder. I somehow found all of the parts in the dark and put it back together and started my solo trip home. Once I was on the main road I would speed up whenever I had a car coming up behind me and use his lights to see if there were any potholes or roadkill to avoid. This went on for about 12 kilometers on the one road and then another 5 kilometers on another less busy road. Doing this for the better part of an hour got me home ok, a bit cold, a bit freaked out (I'm afraid of the dark) and very tired. That hot plate of food never tasted so good! Enjoy your day, ride if at all possible...

I didn't ride much today. I was tired, and I wanted to get home to see Beckham, he was sick all day. His fever was making him cranky all day. Nothing really cool happened today, I had a drawn out meeting all afternoon, then home. I hope tomorrow is more exciting. Like I said last week, a day without a ride isn't really a day. Shaubie is getting through a big career deal right now and hopefully it'll all be better soon. When life isn't what you want it to be for people you care about you just want to change it for them. Whatever it takes. Number 1, Shaubie or Beckham, I feel like I can always change their world for the better.

Somedays I just feel lucky, I didn't have reason to be in a good mood other than I was happy to be at work with good people. I got out on a ride did a little bit of work and thought about how great it is to have good bike paths that allow us to ride without the hassle of the missiles buzzing us every three seconds. I know I should probably ride the mtb but I wasn't too keen on it because of my propensity for falling these days, granted it's only been twice and one wasn't even my fault but I'm sick of scabs. I got home and number one and I went for a little ride around the neighborhood, it was pretty cool we played ball (I brought the chuck-it) and he pooed. Again I was looking around the Valley that I live in and was thankful of the string of decisions I have made that got me to this point. I could go back and figure each one and what the opposite would have brought. Mostly the choices involved quality of life, and the choices made were never sure-things. I have never been a gambler but I guess in some ways I took chances that even a Vegas loser wouldn't have. Luck was with me! Beckham was a blast to hang out with last night, he was so happy when he and Shaubie got home, he laughed at me the way he always does and then I fed him the beloved bananas, I got some too! He was thrilled to eat his favorite food. Then we made a home-cooked pizza with chicken and veggies that kicked ass. Great Dinner!

Boreas

We did a really cool ride on cross bikes today. All the way up and over Boreas Pass. It's a dirt road most of the way from town. The view was amazing! Kind of alpine tundra looking stuff. Riding in a mental fog because I still felt crappy from sunday's race. I didn't ride monday and I was pissed off about the crash I took and generally whiny. So the first half hour was pretty miserable and then we kind of settled into a groove, quiet, just Travis and me turning over the dirt road to the summit, a few little efforts to have it be some kind of workout but mostly steady. When we reached the top and went over we had a stiff tail wind that pushed us down the other side quickly. and then my rear tire started slipping...psssss flat. Changing a flat tire in a 40mph wind isn't fun. Finally I got it pumped up to pressure and we started back towards home. The ride home had no more flats but my body never really felt good the whole day kind of achy and cold. Then I picked up Beckham and we did the grocery run and then went home to read and nap. He was so good in the grocery, just the two of us speeding up and down the aisles, talking to each other about cereal and bananas, mmmm cereal. I finally got a nap!!! It was amazing. The rest of the afternoon was good we hung out and got stuff ready for Shaubie to come home. She made us this amazing dinner; great salad with seared ahi and Tim brought good bread, good food. I feel much better now!

Lost in Japan

We went to see "Lost in Translation" tonight. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a longtime. I was remembering how I felt when I arrived in Nagoya, Japan as a kid as a summer exchange student. I was 15 and pretty immature. They show Bill Murray going through Tokyo and with all of the neon lights and Japanese chracters in neon scripts it shows just how overwhelmed he is by all of the visual stimulation. Kind of like the the time Flanders visits Vegas with Homer. I remember being really lost, the culture shock for me was instantaneous. I wanted to welcome the opportunity of a lifetime but instead I spent two or three days missing home before I got it all together and really got into being in Japan. I finally felt really good about the whole experience when I would wake early and get on a great townie bike with a 3 speed hub and ride around the city. See a pattern here? I'd get up at about 5.30 and get on the bike and go around the city of Nagoya exploring. I never really got lost because I knew how to get home from the huge TV tower in the middle of the city. I would ride through the center city shopping area and then go through the business district and see all of the people going to work. The train stations were great, they had bike racks outside that were full with about 300 bikes, all really cool townies like the one I was lucky to ride. I never felt so at ease my whole adolescence except when I was riding a bike. The palaces were really cool too, I'd spend a ton of time riding around the plazas near them and marvel at the architecture. And then when I got home, the family grandmother would make me french toast...odd, but really good, without fail every morning there it was. Looking back now I realize that that was the most time I ever spent in a city, and I actually liked it!

Trying

The cross race wasn't my best. Usually I can avoid problems from other riders and deal with self-created ones. Not yesterday. Near the end of the first lap I was brought down on the road by someone who was either way too pegged to know what they were doing or just plain stupid. My race was one of spending time at the back of the 1st half instead somewhere in the top 5 where I thought I should be on this kind of course. The loop was a ton of fun, two separate road sections and a bunch of cool features that made you always think about the best line. The real training I have been doing hopefully will come out in the next couple of weeks. I felt good overall, the crash was a shitty way to start the race. Lucky for me I was able to get a fresh bike and try to move up and win my group. I never thought "oh shit, I crashed, I 'll quit" I was motivated to move up as much as possible and get around fading riders and push up. The damage wasn't too bad, I re-opened the cuts from a few weeks ago, and got a little spot of new road rash, I was fortunate to not have more! I hope to get up where I belong at the next one. Beckham wasn't a fan of us going out to dinner after the race. He was really pissed off the whole time were at Mongolian BBQ, and I was off, both bowls I made kind of sucked! I tried to go with the stuff I like and have made in the past but it just wasn't very good. We had to leave early b/c of B, he was that pissed!

Yesterday we rode Vail Pass, I did a good block of work and then on the second half up from Copper I was totally flat. Travis had slowed early on and I waited for him at Copper not knowing we were going all the way up, so I stopped put on my knee warmers, peed and then he goes by me and keeps going up through Copper. Oh well, work is good, I reeled him in and had nothing left. I struggled up the last bits not real happy with myself for not eating enough all day. The legs were dead, it felt like that cross race a few weeks ago. Luckily the wind was forgiving coming home, tail wind to Breck! Jackson and Beckham amaze me everyday, they are so cute together. Last night when I got home he was eating his Bananas and drinking some juice from a bottle, when I tried some he thought it was the most perplexing thing ever. He couldn't figure out why I would be eating his bananas and drinking his juice, then it was just funny, he'd laugh each time I took some and look at my reaction to eating his food. I was so tired and run down last night I thought I was getting sick, a great meal of Salmon, Risotto and Salad didn't change it, I went to bed at 8 and read awhile before going to sleep. "Under the Banner of Heaven" is just weird, I guess all religions are wacky but to read about mormons in this way is helping me realize that brainwashing occurs more easily the less educated you are, the more education you have the more savvy the Bishops, Priests, Clerics need to be. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you forbid your congregation from watching television, surfing the net, or reading books and magazines that you don't want them to have an alternate point of view. Keep them in the dark and you have greater control over them. The more outside input the better the pitch needs to be. Similar to how North Korea has no internet access for any citizens, they can only watch state run television channels and listen to state run radio. Enough political crap, I try not to use this forum as a soapbox for my own political views, rather a written view of my life. Maybe someday I could add photos.

I try not to whine, my problems are far less significant than others. Today I am going to ride my bike like it's the last day of the season, because, well it could be. It could snow and be over with in a day. Not that snow is a bad thing but it just puts certain fun things on the back burner for a bit. I'll still get to do my 10 minute commute on a bicycle, I'm just not sure which one is best. I want it to be the fixy but riding down the hill in the dark (5.30am) on an icy road may not be the best idea. I guess the skills will come fast and sure if I ride that one all winter, maybe a cross tire would do the trick? I wish it was a longer ride, just as I'm waking and enjoying the ride it's over. Sleep is good too at this hour I don't really need an hour long ride. The rides last fall with the elk and the rain were great, I never minded riding in when the weather wasn't dry. I also like to get a bit muddy when riding, mud isn't bad on a bike, you get to wash it later and spend time tuning and re-lubing to make sure your stuff works. When you are coming to a job you like the commute is never as bad as one you don't like. Such as the year before, I was miserable riding in because the job sucked, the thought of having to see those people at the end of my ride made the ride way too short! Not that it got better after I was there, I used my head, knowing I got to see Shaubie at lunch and I could ride again after work and get home to see number 1. Seeing Jackson at home we would go for a run on the trails and he would be thrilled, bounding after me and the running through the creeks. He just turned 5 and hasn't lost any of it. Now that the snow is almost here it is his favorite season, he'll swim all day but give him the chance to play in the snow and he won't want to come inside for hours.

Today kind of sucked I thought I was getting out early but I didn't even get to ride an hour, a day without an hour isn't really even a day. Good dinner at Giampietro's, seafood pasta from heaven. more tomorrow, I'll have a point I'm sure...

Flats and Rolls

Real training is good for me. I actually feel like an athlete, not a racer on sunday but a real racing cyclist. Yesterday we tried to do a cross ride but Todd kept flatting, he's much smoother in the club than on a cross bike. He needs to ride more on the rough stuff and a little less on the road to learn skills to smooth out the bumps. 4 of us riding and he has all the flats, none for me, Tim or Evan. Finally we sent him home and rode for about 40 minutes without stopping. Today we motorpaced, not a ton of time but a solid little block of work. 35-45 miles an hour without really slowing except to turn around. good stuff! I had a fun afternoon with Beckham, we played and then B tried to roll over, after trying for about 30 minutes he naped a while then finally got over. Then tonight he rolled over three times in 5 minutes. I don't get it, the more tired he is the easier it is. Or something like that? Joel won another mtb race, he needs to race regular sport, the clydesdales aren't fast enough for him...