The work

I hadn't really counted on the ride home last night having much quality to it, but in the end it did. Seldom updated but a good read when he gets around to it, fast kids make me work. Legs felt soooo much better after our climb-heavy commute. nothing like an extra 15 k of hills to finish off the day. Whatever it was it helped. Rolling home with a pack full of dirty clothes made it that much better. In the early 90s there was a training aid that was a weight that you strapped to the bottom bracket/down tube junction of an mtb that was called the Pig Iron I never used one, it weighed a few pounds, I can only imagine what it did to the handling of the bike. The trick was to use it as resistance training but why not run heavy wire bead tyres or some other means to add resistance but that is probably why they only lasted a season or two. That is what I feel like when 70% of my rides are with a 5-15 pound pack.

Yet

Part of my commute when I ride the paved path takes me around the backside of a hospital and medical office building, when I see someone standing out back finishing their cigarette I chuckle. How can you administer or facilitate the medical process in any way and maintain some shred of credibility while harboring a habit like that? It's like a heroin addict running a methadone clinic. Anyway, I feel a change in the air, autumn isn't far away, I can smell the barriers and maybe a hint of some mud, perhaps Portland mud or maybe East Coast mud. Either way it will be good, how could it not?

A or B

I don't think I'm type A or really type B, is it fair to categorize everything? I enjoy order and avoid excessive clutter, giving away stuff that is not used. But I don't usually have it all arranged so it's exactly where it needs to be. Getting the bike stuff together is pretty easy, I know where that stuff is rarely is anything missing. I guess after 15 years more or less of racing it's on autopilot, Old stuff is kicked to the curb and the usable stuff stays. Maybe new bins to organize the stuff by season, hey, there's a great idea for a weekend project put it all together. The little gears in my head make up for the lack of them on my bike. The pieces fit and clear up the clutter. After seeing the order in my head I need less order outside of it. Illy making my morning better, the pictures in my head clearing the path.

Clean

New pictures fill my head as I push through the meat of summer. The legs are responding well but being sick for almost a month hurts the head. Maybe get a good sweat going tomorrow and show a clean set of wheels. The best is showing through, efficiency and focus... The fewest mistakes takes over the faster legs. Power to the pedals and proper set up. Fresh rubber to take up one more variable, do the math, prime numbers are much more pleasant than not. Too many not under control, this is one more I can.

Wet

The rain all night and then the break just after dawn was long enough to wonder if I should ride the road bike, the trails take a beating if too many hit them on wet days. Crappy sandy soil. Got out the cross bike with fenders, rolled across the worms avoiding their flood. The more I get out on a different the bike the more I like the variety of a different bike. The more Carbon I ride the more lively my steel bikes feel. The other day I had a bus driver stop me and ask about my bike. I know I live in an odd place where all the bus drivers aren't like Ralph Kramden but how cool is that? He asked about the right bike; a Ferrous a nice rigid fork and the right tyre set up. Now I just need a superfly. Magic gear to come.

Sabbath

Climbing for almost an hour and my ears popped, I don't know how much vertical but if the ears popped, I must have gained a fair bit. I could roll off a litany of trail names that would make sense to about 4 people who read this. The point is I got out and rode for a few hours, all by myself. I only stopped to air up, pee and shoot photos. At one point I was a little freaked out, I could swear a mountain lion was watching me, every light beige tree or shadow was a puma figuring if I was going to be a meal. The trails had little bit of fresh rain on them making hero dirt. Better out than in, work to be done.

Today is today

The fog was thicker in my head than on the path, light rain over the worms. Better out than in. The pedals turn themselves sometimes and others not, rolling on the wet path today got me here with a lot more effort than usual, loaded and foggy. New music compliments of Rocco, turning up the new stuff from Coconut Records brings a smile and a few extra K out of the legs. Watch the video here and go out and buy it. iTunes has it, easy.

Unlimited

Sometimes the puzzle fits on the first try and the keys unlock the little rooms to get you into the big room. Rolling the descents too fast but with a touch of control, no hand pump compliments of Ergon! Rolling rigid on 15 minute descents at 50 km/h shouldn't feel that good. Thanks to the big gear rolling with geared guys was easier than it should be, just getting to that place was easier, after I got there it was simple, leave it there and don't look back.The Ferrous brought much love out there. The clock is ticking on the season, mine has been pretty amazing, support goes a long way thanks to all the big ones who have made it happen; most obviously Fisher - Bontrager and Ergon, always helping the ride be the focus, not ever having any concerns with the equipment. Racing the bike, not wondering where/if/when the ghosts are going to come out. Hiding in plain site outside the limit.

Get out much?

Geez, when was the last time VDB saw a girl? A little starstruck are you there buddy?!

huh?

I thought I saw a bear or at least an enormous elk today, it was probably two miles away up a hillside, as i rolled down the path somewhat fast. Maybe, maybe not. The sick is gone, I think but now I am constantly warm, the furnace is on over drive. Test tonight to see how well the body recovered from a fortnight of sick. Lots of up and more across 32:17 maybe will get me there faster.