fresh snow

I skied for a whole hour, it started to snow about 3 p.m. or so and by the time I was skiing it was 5 and there already were a few inches on the trail. I decided to forego music and instead ski solo in the fresh snow. Listening to it beneath my skis and the snow falling all around me made for a perfect ski. The tempo was slow and working on my skills was the goal, every time I got gassed I would just back off and control my pace to and focus more on technique. four laps on the green loop the first pretty fast the second really bad and slow, then the third and fourth laps were just technique/tempo. For me it was the ski equivalent of a long-steady-distance ride. I can sometimes find that place and cruise, the place i go to on a long climb on the mtb, knowing the reward is in the climb.

on the way up

I got out for a good little, I mean little, nordic session today. about 35 minutes and that was it. Not skiing for a week and a half cost me what little gains I made. Fresh snow over night had the trails slow, and even slower for me as I hadn't skied in 10 days. It's still there, just buried under the cowbeds. Amazing how that little effort can keep the ghosts away another day. I really like how it works, a little effort and bam, nothing is really lost, especially if your first real effort that matters is 8 months out. Cross worlds were today, Sven Nijs finally won his Elite title, the course looked rippin' fun, sort of like our day at Xlinx over thanksgiving weekend. Americans fared well, for Americans that is, two guys in the top 20; Page in 14th and Treefarm in 15th. I wonder what the finish would look like if they took out all the dopers?

Week

A whole week since the cold grabbed me and hasn't really let go. It centers on the upper respiratory phlegm center. Is that bad? The good thing is that I know the food we've been eating is helping, good salads with lots of colors and great veggies too. 9 hours of sleep last night and I really think I'm on track. Lucky for me every morning I get to ride the single across the ice. It makes whatever is lurking in my chest seem less of a big deal. It all is less of a big deal when I get on the bike. Funny how that works, you get on a toy and it all melts away. Been reading a lot lately on the drugs situation in our sport, mattdecanio.com I wish theses guys could realize that they get paid to ride a toy, basic transportation, a simple machine meant to get around small villages and pick up groceries, not demean the noble bicycle but we are lucky to enjoy this simple machine (some more simple than others) why ruin the races with drugs? Being clean is the way it should be not the exception. Greed.

Food

Something about eating the way I should mkes me feel better. Good fish tonight and a salad with lots of colors, good lettuce and veggies with lots tasty treats, that and seared yellow fin. Amazing stuff. My stomach gets to process good raw veggies and a wonderful piece of fish. Weird how that works, I feel less tired now than I did an hour ago and the body responds so well to good stuff. Food the way I want it to be, a meandering trip in tomorrow finally feel the love coming back, no more sickness, no more short rides. Actually ride the bike, what an idea! 42 and cloudy/snowy for Sunday in Denver, might be tough to get in the time, chamois time-needed.

Central

The cold has settled in and won't leave. For whatever reason it's living in my throat, which makes for cool coughing noises that produce pretty colored phlegm. I wonder if my fever is higher than I think on account of all the weird thoughts I'm having. Maybe I'm losing it? It's fun to let the mind wander, not too far though. I'm wondering if my bike misses me, since the sickness set in I've had less contact, it knows that I treat it pretty well, always well lubed and clean. I just miss the meandering trips home instead of the straight line to avoid exposure to more cold germs. The guys over at blue collar mtb were talking about proper clothing for surviving winter, I think the best stuff is a proper zip-t shirt warm enough for a two or three layer set up and a soft shell or good windbreaker with a good base layer against the skin. For the legs a good set of tights and a nice pair of Nema shorts. That works for me down to about 10-15 below zero. Oh, the hands? $15 snowmobile mitts that mount on the handlebars. Check out the mitts Enough gear talk, I'm bored now.

Half time

Jon Stewart said it best, last week was the official half-way point of the W presidency, four more years of American emperialism, who's next? Syria, no. My bet is on Iran, that would make a nice three in a row. God it must be fun to only hear the good new out of Iraq (he must not hear that much) I just hope somebody wakes that dumb shit up one day and makes him realize what a fine mess he's made.

Attitude

I'm working on the main character for a book, he's a bit like me but more in the negative direction than I usually I am. When I finally get off my ass and write the damn book he'll probably start off with an introduction like this:

I've tried to overcome my bad attitude. Now instead I accept and embrace it. Screw it. What am I going to do, change? I'm way too old to do that. I'll just need to work with who I am and use it to my advantage, I just have such a hardtime buyin g into all the bullshit, amazing I made it this far.I try to have that good attitude and roll with it but it just shows up. I like to let it run and write down what comes out of my rants that go off inside my head. It's a lot of fun to listen to the rational and not-so-rational sides of brain fight over the ideas. Maybe some day it'll all fade into middle age, no I'm this way for life. I believe that there is a good story in there, as long the story involves a misanthropic main character who fails to see the good in anything after a while and who constantly lets the sarcasm in his own head run his world.

I don't know maybe a story about a guy who wants to write a story, plenty of those out there huh? Oh well, none have been from my viewpoint, not that that's a good thing. it's just a different point of view.

Window

I haven't seen the ink of the Octopus in a long time. I miss the way it made me feel. The sky hides the snow that refuses to visit. We look for it every day but the sun always wins. Maybe not always but more often than not. I tried to talk about the way the secret made the sun hide the moon and keep the snow away. Walking down the street the ghost kept quiet about his secret, he didn't understand what it was like to be lost. Going to the supermarket everyday because the free samples and the warmth inside get the blood flowing. Why live here if you're that cold? There are far better places to live if you lack good shelter. Oh well, some people like more of a challenge. There are ways around it all, cheating is the next step, wherever you go there are cheaters. They're everywhere. No matter what area you choose, sport, regular work, politics, it's right there, just scratch the surface. Bullshit is a way of life for a lot of them. I should have padded my resume, I could have looked into a little help, but no. I tried to find it the other way. I found it the way I wanted to, just not as far down the road as I wanted. The end of the road is the top of the hill. Better to get there without help, better to get there and not have to look back with worry, just look back and laugh. Ha, ha, ha.

Phlegm

My cold faded yesterday. A lot of water and Emer-gen C got me out of the woods. The temps in Denver have been high all week, with good weather and a lot of phlegm to get rid of I thought what better way than to do 3 hours in the heat. A big group for the starbucks ride that should have been faster going up Lookout but never really got fast on the front, I know this because I was climbing with the leaders. I kept a nice 20k nordic pace, not on the rivet but not soft pedaling either, it's about a 10 kilometer climb. Good legs, but not too much work either. The first hour I heaved up a lot of cookie batter. It just kept loosening and needed to get out. As tired as three hours made me it did kick the rest of the cold out of me, now I just feel tired.

Cold

It started to show up around mid day yesterday, by the time I was off work I was looking for a ride home. I got home (rode the bike, no ride to be had) and collapsed into the couch. By 7.40 pm I was in bed, waking up a few times to blow my runny nose and clear the throat of phlegm. Getting up for work wasn't a trouble as B was up too. One of the big bosses thought I sounded like crap and said I shouldn't be at work if I was under the weather. So by 8.30 I was out and trying to get calories in. Feed a cold right? Well, so far success on that front. Good drugs, or pseudo-drugs to help out; Emergen-C and Cold-EZE really help, zinc and C are the bomb, they alone got me a two hour nap. Now it's back to shoving food in my head. I really want to get back out on the nor-dick boards but with the 35-45 degree weather I know the snow sucks, maybe in a week or so we'll get snow and fix everything. A break is good instead of ruining my skis on stumps and rocks poking through.