Stacked Up

Got out to the Beech late tonight and by the time I helped Jay put on his new rear brake, I was thinking about not hitting the trail. Joe talked me into it. So I put on the masher, mounted the light and started the pedal strokes. About 1/3 of the way through I had to turn on the HID in the singletrack. As the natural light disappeared, I was feeling better and better and was probably having my best lap of the year out there. Then, out of no where my bike came to a dead stop. I went forward so quickly that all I remember was the "ooommmphh" sound that I made as I came to a dead stop on the ground. If Jay had a seismograph at his house, I'm pretty sure it would have registered the impact. I've been through that spot well over a hundred times and have never had an issue. Never saw the rock that got me. I may have laid there a minute, it may have been five minutes. I started moving when I realized that the mosquitoes were actually bothering me. My limbs were functioning. It took a bit to untangle myself from the niner that lay on top of me. Dirty and bruised, I got up and finished my lap. Couldn't put my forearm on the armrest on the way home because it feels and looks like I'm hiding the top 1/4 of a baseball just below my elbow. I'm sure it will turn pretty colors. Can't wait until next week.

Ready for a ride

Who is that masked kid?

I been thinkin'...

Protein and carbs. Easy protein and carbs for the 24hrs in Wausau. Was thinking eggs. Good protein. Hard boil them and bring them along. Don't want to waste time peeling them. Could pickle them. Have time to do that. No shell. Open the jar and slam one down.

Carbs? Hmmm.... would be nice to have them in a premixed container.

I think it's settled...

Pickled eggs and Schlitz it is.

Happy Monday all y'all!

Cherry Pickin'

1st lap tonight was bad.... really bad.... helmet denting bad. Was having huge trouble on one of the climbs. Then looked down and realized that I was in the big ring. Between poor choices of lines and rubbing elbows/forearms with trees, I was ready to pack it in after one lap.

Got back to the car and took off my helmet. Looked around at the perfect conditions and the sandhill cranes flying over head and decided to do something about how I was feeling.

It was time to get my flow back on. I replaced my brain bucket and clipped in. I then headed out to the trail and picked my favorite section of the lap and did it over and over and over and over and over. Started to trust in the Schwalbes again. Found the right lines again. Picked the right gears again. Finished up and got back to the 'baru and found my head energized and my legs drained.

Love me dat feelin'.

Just a Trim

Hit the Beech tonight with a few others to cut back the overgrowth. Conditions have been great for vegetation and it was time to cut grass and and trim the brush. A few places look like a highway, but a couple of weeks from now the trails will be pree-mo.

My ride tonight was a mixed bag. I'm looking at rocks and roots and hitting them. Not my normal lines at all. If'n I don't correct this problem, the weekend at the end of July is going to be a long one.

6 hours for the man today... out at noon. Install a hitch on Julie's car this afternoon. Sneak in a quick pave on the genius. Head to Downer for the pro race with high primes and competition for them. All the while trying to not run particular types of individuals off the road because CB has me worked up.

Happy Saturday all y'all.

Three Words About Tonight's Effort

Ride, Sally, ride.

With age comes... wisdom?

That certainly wasn't the case yesterday. My legs aren't bothering me today which means all of my issues yesterday were cause by my own stupidity. Forgetting to eat!? I know, you look at me and it looks like I've never missed a meal. I was so geeked up to get out of work and get up to the starting point that I just wasn't thinking. Causing myself the world of hurt that I did was utterly ridiculous , inexcusable, etc. Lesson learned. Beech tomorrow night. Only question that I have to answer tomorrow morning is what to put on top of the car in the morning... single rigid or geared squish.

My How Things Change

These are pictures of my new truck and my new German Shorthaired Pointer.

Dear Josh,

Sorry that Chris has not been updating his blog so that you can keep up with what's happening. We've been too busy biking, skiing and enjoying food and drink.

Buckets

Pouring tonight so the indoor class certainly seemed to be the way to go. Yoga, 20-minute warm-up and a 40 minute ride with wind ups and sprints at the 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 minute marks followed by some slow, slow turning of the 53x12 at the end.

I've noticed two things recently. My heart rate seems to be recovering much better now. Nice to see the graph drop off on the backside of an effort. And, my legs are starting to turn quicker. I know that I'll never have a top cadence like many people have, but it has been years since I've been able to pump the pistons over 160rpm like I did tonight. Hit 166. Maybe on Saturday I'll be able to eek out 170.

Still thinking about doing the crit on Sunday. We'll see.

Oh yeah, pretty much nailed the fit on the new roadie but new shoes and saddle had me hurtin' a bit.

17 Days...

and this d-bag is out of here and heading to AZ and NM for some non-indoor saddle time. Wasn't sure that I was going to be able to swing it. But, thanks to Cheapoair.com I was able to score roundtrip for $268. Just need to get the dos Niner cleaned up and shipped within the next few days. I'm going to ship it plenty early this year in case fedex decides to ship it to AZ via CA again.

Yoga

Wondering if there is a sequence that goes downward dog to plank to corpse. I really could have used that one last night.

Thanks for the help little man.

Can I get a little help here?

Decisions, Decisions

I was just at a bar that had 30+ tappers. It's been a long time since I've been somewhere like that... let alone on a weeknight. Tomorrow could be a long, long day.

On a completely different note, curling rocks! I may have found a new sport to fill the void that no longer playing hockey has left.

Pick a Phrase

Decent day at work. Well... no real complaints anyway. A training session that ended early. Relaxed drive to my spin location. 30 minutes of yoga. 90 minutes on the trainer. Home in time for bedtime story. A dog that is turning the corner behavior-wise. Time with my wife/best-friend. In bed at a reasonable hour and a good night's sleep.

Life is good.

or

Just livin' the dream.

Happy for Good Chamois

Almost two hours on the trainer yesterday. The time actually went by quickly. Nine other people surrounding you doing the same thing certainly helps. Hope all these hours transfer well to road and trail in the future.

Gittin' Antsy for April

Course Profile

Does this make me a redneck?

Brrrrr

It was 6 degrees when I left work tonight. There is a bright side... it was 11 degrees warmer than when I left for work.