Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Slip, sliding away...
Disclaimer: I hereby apologize for any damage which my bike and I may have inflicted upon the trails this morning. It was not done with any malicious intent. It was done for the sake of enjoyment and entertainment. Portions of this blog or disclaimer may not be used without the express written consent of this blog author.
I've pondered all day trying to figure out what to title this post. I've also tried to come up with a way to eloquently describe the riding conditions at the Cove this morning. I can try to put it into words, and I hope that my readers can get an idea of what I'm saying. Paula, Laura and I met at 10 this morning for a ride at the Cove. I had ridden Christmas Day and knew that the trails were muddy. I'm not sure what you'd call the weather that I woke to. It was like a heavy dew?!? I don't know. Weird, 60 degrees on December 28th? We're all going to die of some dreaded plague at this rate. Don't get me wrong, I like 60's; but I like them when it's appropriate. I want my winter in winter, spring in spring, etc.
Anyway. We set out to ride our normal course - Songbird, Arrowhead, Schoolhouse, Little Bell, Forest (I agree with Brian now, nothing Enchanted about it), Comet. Songbird was the first hint that it was going to be a slick ride. The muck has gotten muckier since Christmas Day. It was much like trying to pedal through well peanut butter (thanks for that comparison Paula). Many times back wheels were sliding off the trail or into ruts. There were many mud puddles to splash through. Soon the tires were packed with mud thereby creating an even less traction. It was actually pretty funny, but added much resistance to pedaling. If you ride a bike trainer, you know how you can pedal sometimes and the back wheel slips over the roller. Imagine doing that over and over again as you inch uphill.
Paula was out on her maiden voyage on Clarence (a new, Gary Fisher Rig 29'er SS - congrats!) so pictures were take before, during and after the ride. I've sent them to her, so that she can show off her new ride. I had to stop at one point because I bottomed out the front shock again. So I took a few pictures before tinkering with the Reba in hopes of having it function halfway correctly. It sucks when you can't go over obstacles or trust that it's going to work in a turn. I guess I should have just brought my SS, but I didn't feel like I could do very well on it in the mud. Alas , it was another reserved ride down Songbird and an agonizing, slow and annoying ride up Arrowhead for me. I was growing more and more frustrated with my bike, but I wasn't going to ruin the entire day. I tried a log hop - CLANK CLANK, ow my hands. Tried a creek crossing - CLANK, stop. Decided to walk to the rest of the creek crossings. I waded right through one with my new shoes - dry feet! YAY! I tinkered with the shock again and clanked my way down Arrowhead - not much fun with barely any front suspension. Maybe I'll go buy a rigid fork - at least I can't screw that up. Argh - that's what's most irritating about the shock. I didn't do anything to cause this! It was fine one day then 12 days later it's barely functional. WTH?!?!?
So we had a great ride - Paula was showing some skills - jumping logs, catching air, pitching the bike left/right/left with ease. She looked very comfortable on her new ride. After riding the creek crossings on Songbird, and nearly soaking myself completely on the last one, we had to get up the mucky, hill to the end. This was like riding in wet cement. Once we crossed onto Little Bell I was tempted to try some logs, but decided against it as I didn't want to damage the guts of the fork. It's probably as bad as it's going to get, but why risk it. Decided to ride out by Forest and Comet. I think it was Forest where we really got sucked into some thinck mud. I put my bike in granny gear and spun my bike wheel like a station wagon going up an icy hill. I was literally laughing as I rode then found myself hoping Laura wasn't directly behind me. OOPS. I think it was also on Forest that we found the unexpected mudholes filled with water. We eased our way through them then guilt began to set in about riding on the trails when they are so wet. By now we'd been riding a while. We exited by Comet - which used to be a good trail. I hate this one section now as it's such a mess - no good line and mud ruts. Then, there is this place where they tried to improve the trail but really made it worse. Just don't like it right now, but it still beats the fireroad.
Anyway really enjoyed being out and about today. It was good to have people to ride with. Thanks for riding P & L. Hopefully we can have more regular rides now that the holidays are over. Anyway, ride was fun, mud was good - tastes gross, less filling. I had to stop at the local car wash on the way home to rid Ritchey of his extra coating. I couldn't stand to see it anymore. NO, I DID NOT SPRAY DIRECTLY ON THE BIKE, so don't worry there. Hopefully he dries out ok. I'll check on him tomorrow after work.
Good night. =)
I've pondered all day trying to figure out what to title this post. I've also tried to come up with a way to eloquently describe the riding conditions at the Cove this morning. I can try to put it into words, and I hope that my readers can get an idea of what I'm saying. Paula, Laura and I met at 10 this morning for a ride at the Cove. I had ridden Christmas Day and knew that the trails were muddy. I'm not sure what you'd call the weather that I woke to. It was like a heavy dew?!? I don't know. Weird, 60 degrees on December 28th? We're all going to die of some dreaded plague at this rate. Don't get me wrong, I like 60's; but I like them when it's appropriate. I want my winter in winter, spring in spring, etc.
Anyway. We set out to ride our normal course - Songbird, Arrowhead, Schoolhouse, Little Bell, Forest (I agree with Brian now, nothing Enchanted about it), Comet. Songbird was the first hint that it was going to be a slick ride. The muck has gotten muckier since Christmas Day. It was much like trying to pedal through well peanut butter (thanks for that comparison Paula). Many times back wheels were sliding off the trail or into ruts. There were many mud puddles to splash through. Soon the tires were packed with mud thereby creating an even less traction. It was actually pretty funny, but added much resistance to pedaling. If you ride a bike trainer, you know how you can pedal sometimes and the back wheel slips over the roller. Imagine doing that over and over again as you inch uphill.
Paula was out on her maiden voyage on Clarence (a new, Gary Fisher Rig 29'er SS - congrats!) so pictures were take before, during and after the ride. I've sent them to her, so that she can show off her new ride. I had to stop at one point because I bottomed out the front shock again. So I took a few pictures before tinkering with the Reba in hopes of having it function halfway correctly. It sucks when you can't go over obstacles or trust that it's going to work in a turn. I guess I should have just brought my SS, but I didn't feel like I could do very well on it in the mud. Alas , it was another reserved ride down Songbird and an agonizing, slow and annoying ride up Arrowhead for me. I was growing more and more frustrated with my bike, but I wasn't going to ruin the entire day. I tried a log hop - CLANK CLANK, ow my hands. Tried a creek crossing - CLANK, stop. Decided to walk to the rest of the creek crossings. I waded right through one with my new shoes - dry feet! YAY! I tinkered with the shock again and clanked my way down Arrowhead - not much fun with barely any front suspension. Maybe I'll go buy a rigid fork - at least I can't screw that up. Argh - that's what's most irritating about the shock. I didn't do anything to cause this! It was fine one day then 12 days later it's barely functional. WTH?!?!?
So we had a great ride - Paula was showing some skills - jumping logs, catching air, pitching the bike left/right/left with ease. She looked very comfortable on her new ride. After riding the creek crossings on Songbird, and nearly soaking myself completely on the last one, we had to get up the mucky, hill to the end. This was like riding in wet cement. Once we crossed onto Little Bell I was tempted to try some logs, but decided against it as I didn't want to damage the guts of the fork. It's probably as bad as it's going to get, but why risk it. Decided to ride out by Forest and Comet. I think it was Forest where we really got sucked into some thinck mud. I put my bike in granny gear and spun my bike wheel like a station wagon going up an icy hill. I was literally laughing as I rode then found myself hoping Laura wasn't directly behind me. OOPS. I think it was also on Forest that we found the unexpected mudholes filled with water. We eased our way through them then guilt began to set in about riding on the trails when they are so wet. By now we'd been riding a while. We exited by Comet - which used to be a good trail. I hate this one section now as it's such a mess - no good line and mud ruts. Then, there is this place where they tried to improve the trail but really made it worse. Just don't like it right now, but it still beats the fireroad.
Anyway really enjoyed being out and about today. It was good to have people to ride with. Thanks for riding P & L. Hopefully we can have more regular rides now that the holidays are over. Anyway, ride was fun, mud was good - tastes gross, less filling. I had to stop at the local car wash on the way home to rid Ritchey of his extra coating. I couldn't stand to see it anymore. NO, I DID NOT SPRAY DIRECTLY ON THE BIKE, so don't worry there. Hopefully he dries out ok. I'll check on him tomorrow after work.
Good night. =)
Saturday, December 27, 2008
It's no wonder we don't know how to dress....
For those non-locals who read my blog, these two cities are separated by about 50 miles. I love finding goofs on the internet and signs....
Thursday, December 25, 2008
It's 56°F on Christmas Day. What to do? GO RIDE!
After opening presents, eating breakfast, playing with the new Wii Fit, I headed out to Carvin's Cove for a nice solo bike ride.I had a suspicion that the gates at the boat dock would be locked when I arrived, but I hoped that I could just find a spot to pull off to the side of the road. Sure enough there's a nice off road spot just down from the no parking sign. HA! I noticed two other cars parked in similar fashion, so I felt relatively safe leaving mine there on the roadside. I didn't figure a cop was going to drive 2.5 miles down a dead-end road on Christmas without a purpose, so I parked. I got out and was preparing to ride when another biker exited the Cove. I greeted him as he pedaled off up the road. I got my stuff out, decided what to wear and headed out down the fireroad. I was cruising right along trying to figure out what if any adjustments needed to be made to my cleat placement (the right one needs to be moved back slightly, I think). I was comfortable riding today, so I didn't mess with them.
Once I got to Schoolhouse, I decided to get rid of my jacket, so I stuffed it into itself and rode on. Everything that was frozen a few weeks ago was good and thawed today. The rain recently created some good mud holes. You could feel the tires getting sucked in and of course there were some very slick spots. I literally spun the back tire on a few occassions as I pedaled up and over stuff. I can tell I've not ridden in a while. My energy level and cardio is poor. My zeal for obstacles is not what it was in September. I got to the first water crossing on Schoolhouse and did great despite my front fork bottoming out. I continued on and rode fairly well on Schoolhouse. I did see one other biker near the picnic table. As I exited Little Bell a while later, I saw two more bikers.
I rode part of Forest, but it was very muddy and icky that I decided to skip the second half and take the fireroad to Songbird. Songbird is a nice trail when it's dry, but if it's wet like today it's a PITA. The mud just sucks you in and it feels like you're doing twice as much work. None the less I was having a ball. It's been a long time since I rode Songbird. I had to put my foot down in the water on the crossing near the log, but since I have these excellent shoes, my feet stayed dry and warm. I stopped at the rocks to take a few pictures. On the zoomy, downhill I pretty much just took my time and enjoyed being out. I was afraid to push the bike too fast with the slick trails and the questionnable fork.
After finishing up Songbird, I didn't think it was a good idea to try Arrowhead with the trail conditions, my crappy endurance and the bike troubles, so I took Little Bell and Schoolhouse back to the fireroad. I ended up stopping near the picnic table on Schoolhouse and putting air into my shock. I guess that's what I'll have to do for now. I need to take it to the shop soon and let them deal with it yet again. I'm glad I can singlehandedly keep them in business.
I really enjoyed the beautiful day today. I love the Cove, I love my bike despite it's issues and I really love my new shoes! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas - I'm going to go enjoy the rest of it, so I can go back to work tomorrow! BYE!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Finally, a patrol ride. =)
Well two months since my last bike patrol, I finally found my way back to Mill Mountain. I feel terrible for my lack of activity recently, but I've been so busy with work, call, the holidays, family stuff and going to the gym. When the weather has been nice enough to ride, I've had something else planned; and when I've had time to ride, the weather has been crappy. I have a new bike light that has yet to be used and I am anxiously awaiting new shoes to keep my toes toasty. I hope that 2009 will allow me more time to ride.
I headed out this morning despite the rain last night. I parked at Riversedge then headed up Mill Mtn via Walnut Ave and Sylvan. I took my time and was quickly forced into Granny gear due to my lack of riding time. Monument Trail is covered in leaves. Wet, soggy leaves. I didn't do so bad on riding it, but did stop on a few occassions to rest. No need to rush or risk injury. I couldn't ride any faster if I wanted too. Glad it's December and not time for racing! I slipped on a tree root near the top of the trail and nearly crashed, but luckily did not. Enjoyed the downhill part (carefully) then headed to the Star by way of Ridgeline Trail. Again, slowly ascended the trail. Rode the right hand switchback easily. Once I got to the end of the singletrack, the grassy area sucked. There was more mud to suck you in.
Stopped at the overlook to take a few pictures then took a nature break before heading back down. Went down the old road where I passed two ladies out walking with a dog. It was a curly-haired retriever. Pretty cool looking dog, very friendly - I'd never seen this breed before. I headed out Big Sunny where I stopped to take the following picture - one of these days I'd like to catch one of the helicopters inbound from this spot. It was funny today because I could see my car in the distance.
After getting rolling again, I felt really good on the bike. Took Big Sunny to Riser. Riser to Ridgeline. As I descended Ridgeline, I knew I had a problem with my fork. It kept "topping" out - metal on metal - bang, bang, bang. UGH - I forgot to check the fork since it's been so friggin cold. I stopped a few times along Ridgeline to move stuff off of the trail. My back wheel slid out and was nearly beside me one time. It was cool to catch the bike and stay upright again. Once I got to the road at the end of Ridgeline, I flipped the bike over to adjust the rebound rate to turtle and then locked the shock out for the rest of my ride. Locking it out was good and bad. It kept it from banging its guts together, but I think it messed the lock out up again as it doesn't work at all now.
Anyway - rode down Woodthrush and took the new Virginia Pine as far as it goes. Ran across evidence of paintballers then found them a short while later. They were having fun. As I got to the "end" I turned around and headed back up. If I had had a paintball gun I could have wiped out the last guy as I could see him creeping around the trees. Virginia Pine is a nice trail with some nice features along it's way. I need to figure out where it comes out as I had no clue. I turned around and went back the way I came. Once back on Woodthrush I tried to keep my weight back and off of the fork to prevent causing further damage. I crossed both of the bridges safely. The second is new to me and is very nice. Not nearly as dangerous at the first.
Finished my ride by taking the Roanoke River Greenway back to the parking lot. It was cold and windy along side the river. It had been strange on the mountain as on Monument I barely noticed the wind. As I crossed the road onto Ridgeline the first time the wind was vicious. At the Star it wasn't too bad, but the old road, Big Sunny and Riser it was windy. Woodthrush not so much. Weird.
Once I got home, I tried fixing the shock outside. I added air to + and - ends. It created a rigid fork?!?!? I ended up putting the bike away until I could shower then bring it inside. I re-aired the shock completely per the recommendations for my weight. It seems to have it's bounce back, but now as I said above the lockout doesn't work at all again. SIGH - this is the second time the lockout has quit working. Oh well, at least I got to ride and at least Ritchey is bouncy again for now.
I headed out this morning despite the rain last night. I parked at Riversedge then headed up Mill Mtn via Walnut Ave and Sylvan. I took my time and was quickly forced into Granny gear due to my lack of riding time. Monument Trail is covered in leaves. Wet, soggy leaves. I didn't do so bad on riding it, but did stop on a few occassions to rest. No need to rush or risk injury. I couldn't ride any faster if I wanted too. Glad it's December and not time for racing! I slipped on a tree root near the top of the trail and nearly crashed, but luckily did not. Enjoyed the downhill part (carefully) then headed to the Star by way of Ridgeline Trail. Again, slowly ascended the trail. Rode the right hand switchback easily. Once I got to the end of the singletrack, the grassy area sucked. There was more mud to suck you in.
Stopped at the overlook to take a few pictures then took a nature break before heading back down. Went down the old road where I passed two ladies out walking with a dog. It was a curly-haired retriever. Pretty cool looking dog, very friendly - I'd never seen this breed before. I headed out Big Sunny where I stopped to take the following picture - one of these days I'd like to catch one of the helicopters inbound from this spot. It was funny today because I could see my car in the distance.
After getting rolling again, I felt really good on the bike. Took Big Sunny to Riser. Riser to Ridgeline. As I descended Ridgeline, I knew I had a problem with my fork. It kept "topping" out - metal on metal - bang, bang, bang. UGH - I forgot to check the fork since it's been so friggin cold. I stopped a few times along Ridgeline to move stuff off of the trail. My back wheel slid out and was nearly beside me one time. It was cool to catch the bike and stay upright again. Once I got to the road at the end of Ridgeline, I flipped the bike over to adjust the rebound rate to turtle and then locked the shock out for the rest of my ride. Locking it out was good and bad. It kept it from banging its guts together, but I think it messed the lock out up again as it doesn't work at all now.
Anyway - rode down Woodthrush and took the new Virginia Pine as far as it goes. Ran across evidence of paintballers then found them a short while later. They were having fun. As I got to the "end" I turned around and headed back up. If I had had a paintball gun I could have wiped out the last guy as I could see him creeping around the trees. Virginia Pine is a nice trail with some nice features along it's way. I need to figure out where it comes out as I had no clue. I turned around and went back the way I came. Once back on Woodthrush I tried to keep my weight back and off of the fork to prevent causing further damage. I crossed both of the bridges safely. The second is new to me and is very nice. Not nearly as dangerous at the first.
Finished my ride by taking the Roanoke River Greenway back to the parking lot. It was cold and windy along side the river. It had been strange on the mountain as on Monument I barely noticed the wind. As I crossed the road onto Ridgeline the first time the wind was vicious. At the Star it wasn't too bad, but the old road, Big Sunny and Riser it was windy. Woodthrush not so much. Weird.
Once I got home, I tried fixing the shock outside. I added air to + and - ends. It created a rigid fork?!?!? I ended up putting the bike away until I could shower then bring it inside. I re-aired the shock completely per the recommendations for my weight. It seems to have it's bounce back, but now as I said above the lockout doesn't work at all again. SIGH - this is the second time the lockout has quit working. Oh well, at least I got to ride and at least Ritchey is bouncy again for now.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
What was I thinking???
The first training session at the gym every week is "leg" day, so I'm not quite sure what got into me tonight. Maybe it was the guilt from the tons of food I ate all weekend. Maybe it was the rain or maybe I've just lost my friggin mind. I went to the gym early and decided to run on the dreadmill, yes I call it the dreadmill. I had plenty of time, so I started off with a casual walk/jog. Decided to run a bit, so off I went. Run, run, run. Slowed down, walked for a bit, then run, run, run, run, run. I was actually enjoying the music in my iPod and was distracted watching something on Oprah. I thought I'd run for twenty minutes then go do something else like the elliptical or rowing machine, but I felt good at twenty so I kept going. At thirty minutes, I noticed I was doing pretty good mileage wise. Still feeling froggy, I decided to finish out a 5k which is 3.1 miles. Towards the end of it, I was running almost all out. I ended up finishing the run in 40:25 which is slower than I used to run, but it felt damn good for not having run in a long time and especially not running that long on the dreadmill. I am typically slower on the dreadmill than outdoors, so I felt really good about my effort.
Once I stretched out some post run, it was time to get tortured. Of course, we had to do some squats and pop squats. This was soon followed by leg extensions done as 21's. Moved from there to "pulsed, walking lunges" with a 20# barbell. I was dying!!! Anyway, the rest of the workout went great. I love the gym. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Have a good night. Perhaps Ritchey's tires will meet dirt/mud and gravel again this weekend. I'm liking the proximity to the boatdock now. =)
Once I stretched out some post run, it was time to get tortured. Of course, we had to do some squats and pop squats. This was soon followed by leg extensions done as 21's. Moved from there to "pulsed, walking lunges" with a 20# barbell. I was dying!!! Anyway, the rest of the workout went great. I love the gym. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Have a good night. Perhaps Ritchey's tires will meet dirt/mud and gravel again this weekend. I'm liking the proximity to the boatdock now. =)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
ACK!
Ok, so I overslept today - was really tired. Woke up with a sore throat which eventually went away. For those two reasons I decided to skip my ride today. I did go outside and put up the rest of my Christmas decorations then took my dog for a walk. I also decided to spend more money on me! If I can keep my feet warm, I'm willing to ride all winter. I've tried various layers and types of socks and shoe covers between last winter and thusfar this year. I decided to just bite the bullet and invest in some winter riding shoes. Now I know people like Michigan and her friend Oldmanandhisbike, who's blog I also follow are probably laughing their asses off at me. The Virginia girl has to buy shoes to tolerate the mild winter here. Sorry folks, but I get cold feet in the middle of the summer. It's horrible and alters my mood substantially. I've discovered marvelously warm Gore Windstopper Gloves and Jackets that keep me cozy, so now I've got a new item on the way.
Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX. We shall see how they work out for my pedal popsicles.
Pearl Izumi Barrier GTX. We shall see how they work out for my pedal popsicles.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
So what if it's 29°F, I've got time to ride!!!
I hurried out to the Cove this morning to sneak in a ride. Went to the boat dock side of the Cove since time wasn't too free today. I had just enough time to sneak in a short ride. I am really glad it's December because it was almost difficult at times today! Not technical wise, but pedaling wise. I've been off the bike for a while and cardio on ellipticals, treadmills and the bike trainer are just not the same. Anyway, I really enjoyed my jaunt from the boat dock to the picnic table on Schoolhouse and back. I got in about 9 miles of riding in about 1hr 15minutes. Took some pictures while out today. It was funny as there was ice in places and a lot of frozen mud. Saw a few deer, but no other wildlife. Only encountered one other human. He was hiking in as I was leaving. It was cold enough today that the security dude only came to the door to look at my pass. I didn't get out either. I just held it up to the window. HA! I guess he had more sense than me. I am going to try to get a patrol ride in tomorrow on Mill Mtn. Time will be limited too as we're going to Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg for a Christmas program.
I've decided my next bike accessory will be boots of some type for riding. I was comfortable today with the exception of my toes being ice cubes. I had on regular bike socks with wool socks over top.
I've decided my next bike accessory will be boots of some type for riding. I was comfortable today with the exception of my toes being ice cubes. I had on regular bike socks with wool socks over top.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Christmas Meme
This came from Blue Country Magic, who borrowed it from RoanokeRNR, who invited people to take it. I thought it looked like fun so here goes....
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Depends on the item and the purpose. I've been known to wrap some stuff in some evil ways! MUH HA HA!
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial - trees should remain in nature not my living room. Too many are wasted each year.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Around the first week of December.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Week after Christmas, but definitely by Jan 1st.
5. Do you like egg nog?
No, good grief - I'm the most picky eater on earth.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably a bicycle or Elmo, not the modern red dude, but a monkey which was my favorite childhood toy.
7. Hardest person to buy for?
My Mom - she buys everything before you have a chance.
8. Easiest person to buy for?
My Dad - he doesn't ever want anything.
9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes.
10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Oh probably a few email ones this year.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
None really. Most are given for a good reason and you should be grateful to receive anything.
12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Frosty - until he melts away...
13. When do you start shopping?
Uh...mid December if then
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I don't think so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Did you miss the part where I said I'm picky?
16. Lights on the tree?
For sure! I like colored lights and white lights. Depends on my mood.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
O' Holy Night & Joy to the World, traditional; Santa Train by Patty Loveless, more recently; Mariah Carey's Christmas album is my favorite
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
At home. I work in healthcare, so time off to travel is nearly impossible. Also, all of my family is local.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Probably not...
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning unless I have to work then we've done Christmas Eve or later Christmas Day
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
That it gets shoved down your throat before Thanksgiving is even acknowledged, and that it is has gotten to be so commercialized.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I used to do a tree of all Hallmark Miniature Ornaments.
24. Favorite Christmas memory?
Oh I don't know... I loved being a kid on Christmas morning and unwrapping presents with my brother then heading to Washington DC to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousins.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Oh wow, that's a deep question - I'd like to see the economy improve, people not to lose their jobs, a cure for cancer... ... ...
Ok, now that I did this, who else will do a list?!?! Come on, let's see if we can spread Christmas thoughts this way. =)
HO HO HO!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Depends on the item and the purpose. I've been known to wrap some stuff in some evil ways! MUH HA HA!
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial - trees should remain in nature not my living room. Too many are wasted each year.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Around the first week of December.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Week after Christmas, but definitely by Jan 1st.
5. Do you like egg nog?
No, good grief - I'm the most picky eater on earth.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Probably a bicycle or Elmo, not the modern red dude, but a monkey which was my favorite childhood toy.
7. Hardest person to buy for?
My Mom - she buys everything before you have a chance.
8. Easiest person to buy for?
My Dad - he doesn't ever want anything.
9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes.
10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Oh probably a few email ones this year.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
None really. Most are given for a good reason and you should be grateful to receive anything.
12. Favorite Christmas movie?
Frosty - until he melts away...
13. When do you start shopping?
Uh...mid December if then
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I don't think so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Did you miss the part where I said I'm picky?
16. Lights on the tree?
For sure! I like colored lights and white lights. Depends on my mood.
17. Favorite Christmas song?
O' Holy Night & Joy to the World, traditional; Santa Train by Patty Loveless, more recently; Mariah Carey's Christmas album is my favorite
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
At home. I work in healthcare, so time off to travel is nearly impossible. Also, all of my family is local.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Probably not...
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning unless I have to work then we've done Christmas Eve or later Christmas Day
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
That it gets shoved down your throat before Thanksgiving is even acknowledged, and that it is has gotten to be so commercialized.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I used to do a tree of all Hallmark Miniature Ornaments.
24. Favorite Christmas memory?
Oh I don't know... I loved being a kid on Christmas morning and unwrapping presents with my brother then heading to Washington DC to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousins.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Oh wow, that's a deep question - I'd like to see the economy improve, people not to lose their jobs, a cure for cancer... ... ...
Ok, now that I did this, who else will do a list?!?! Come on, let's see if we can spread Christmas thoughts this way. =)
HO HO HO!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Ritchey is a jinx...
Recall the last time I took Ritchey to work with me thinking I might get in a ride. Well today, I was to work 7-330p and purposefully scheduled my gym day on Tuesday. I was hoping to get out on time, and get in an hour ride before sunset. The only glitch is that I was on call. As luck would have it, for only the 2nd time in 2 years, I got called in. Well, as it was I never left the building. 16 straight hours of work. BAH Humbug. So now, I've arrived home, Ritchey will spend a 2nd night in the Jeep - I'm too tired to pull him out and put him away. I have to go to bed soon, as I get to go back to work in a mere 8 hours... YAWN!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Brrrrrrrr....
Not adjusting to the cold well at all this year. Two Christmas parades in two nights. Friday's (Salem) was about 33 degrees. No wind where I was, but it was a damp 33 degrees. I need to try to ride soon, but no rush. The holidays have me pretty busy, but maybe soon I'll sneak out on the bike. I should look very similar to how I did tonight:
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Don't ever give up... It's Jimmy V Week on ESPN 12/3-12/9
Inspirational man right here folks: Jim Valvano. Visit the homepage of his foundation for cancer research.
You Mother... nature
Why does it have to be windy or raining every friggin weekend??? Especially this Sunday. This was going to be my day to ride. We'll see if the forecast changes...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Planning ahead...
Ok, so not getting to ride so much this month is starting to affect my brain. I've now begun plotting ride ideas, options, goals etc for 2009.
First up will be a Mountain Cross Series in February 2009. Why not? I can't completely die in the middle of winter. This will be a new format for me, and to make it a bit more challenging for me, I'm considering racing this series on Copper, my single speed. WHAT? Yea, why not? It's got a lighter frame and it's a shorter frame, so getting off and getting it over the barriers should be a tad easier than with Ritchey. This means I need to just ride my bike, and I need to get out and go to the local park or somewhere and start figuring out this quick dismount etc. I'll add that to my list of many things to do.
Next, I've been thinking about the road rides that I essentially ended my riding "season" with a few weeks back. As you may recall I rode ~50 miles through Bradshaw one Sunday followed by a 40-mile ride on the Parkway the next. I really did enjoy these. There was just something rewarding about covering that much distance using only my power - no gasoline, no car etc. It was a sense of accomplishment that I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk, well brag about. I'm looking forward to more long rides in 2009 including a metric century (~63 miles) and a full 100-mile road ride. I'd love to be able to do this ride, but I'm not sure I'll be up to 63 miles on the terrain of the Parkway around Floyd by then. Plus, I'm not sure about my race schedule for next year yet (see next paragraph). Oddly enough, I wouldn't mind trying a long distance end-to-end, multi-day road ride, but let me ponder that thought for a while.
Having mentioned racing brings me to mountain bike racing. I'm not sure I liked having the Derailler Series split up after all. It seemed like the season drug on forever. With that said, I'm not planning to do the MW Race this year. The course there is horrible, the volunteers this year were awful and they screwed up the entire thing by misdirecting the racers. They don't deserve to have a race, so I'm not wasting my time to go there again. I'm also not planning to ride the PoMo again. I did it the first year just to say I did it. It was a great accomplishment. This past year, I'm improved my time greatly without trying real hard. I was just there to finish. This in my opinion just isn't a mountain bike race. I will just go watch this year. I'm 50/50 on whether I want to go back to Danville to race. It's a long drive for a race that I've not enjoyed for two years now. I'll have to get back to you on that. That leaves 3 Derailler races - Bedford and Lynchburg.
Regarding Bedford, I love Falling Creek and I want to continue to support Kenny Palmer. He's a great person and has done great work there. I will definitely race there and/or Montvale should he have races there. Lynchburg, I have unfinished business at Peaks View Park. I've been in three Derailler races there now, and I'm just downright angry at the place. It's a fun place to ride; but when it comes to racing, it seems to kick my ass every year. The first year as a beginner was just hard. The second year as beginner again, I broke my derailleur; and last year, my first race in sport class, I was out of my league. I want to go there and have a good race. The other race in Lynchburg is on Candler's Mountain. Given the huge area to ride and the varying degrees of difficulty, this place is probably the hardest course of all. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my race this year even with all that transpired; but I really want to go do that again and get back before the finish line is dismantled. 4 and 1/2 hours after starting then I didn't even get to cross the finish line was hugely disappointing. I do hope they have this race again, but I do hope they learned some valuable lessons from their mistakes.
Ok so that leaves me with three races. Three leaves me a race short of being counted in the Series standings, so that may bring Danville back into play. I guess it will depend on how many races they have this year. I'll figure out series participation once a schedule of events is set. Anyway, I also want to do the Carvin's Cove race in 2009. I missed it last year because I was out of town. I might have to consider going to Greensboro again and maybe another race in North Carolina. It would also be interesting to see if I could wander into a road race in 2009, but I highly doubt that would happen. Those chicks are just wicked fast.
Who knows? It will all depend on life, work, money, etc. I'm just daydreaming now. =)
First up will be a Mountain Cross Series in February 2009. Why not? I can't completely die in the middle of winter. This will be a new format for me, and to make it a bit more challenging for me, I'm considering racing this series on Copper, my single speed. WHAT? Yea, why not? It's got a lighter frame and it's a shorter frame, so getting off and getting it over the barriers should be a tad easier than with Ritchey. This means I need to just ride my bike, and I need to get out and go to the local park or somewhere and start figuring out this quick dismount etc. I'll add that to my list of many things to do.
Next, I've been thinking about the road rides that I essentially ended my riding "season" with a few weeks back. As you may recall I rode ~50 miles through Bradshaw one Sunday followed by a 40-mile ride on the Parkway the next. I really did enjoy these. There was just something rewarding about covering that much distance using only my power - no gasoline, no car etc. It was a sense of accomplishment that I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk, well brag about. I'm looking forward to more long rides in 2009 including a metric century (~63 miles) and a full 100-mile road ride. I'd love to be able to do this ride, but I'm not sure I'll be up to 63 miles on the terrain of the Parkway around Floyd by then. Plus, I'm not sure about my race schedule for next year yet (see next paragraph). Oddly enough, I wouldn't mind trying a long distance end-to-end, multi-day road ride, but let me ponder that thought for a while.
Having mentioned racing brings me to mountain bike racing. I'm not sure I liked having the Derailler Series split up after all. It seemed like the season drug on forever. With that said, I'm not planning to do the MW Race this year. The course there is horrible, the volunteers this year were awful and they screwed up the entire thing by misdirecting the racers. They don't deserve to have a race, so I'm not wasting my time to go there again. I'm also not planning to ride the PoMo again. I did it the first year just to say I did it. It was a great accomplishment. This past year, I'm improved my time greatly without trying real hard. I was just there to finish. This in my opinion just isn't a mountain bike race. I will just go watch this year. I'm 50/50 on whether I want to go back to Danville to race. It's a long drive for a race that I've not enjoyed for two years now. I'll have to get back to you on that. That leaves 3 Derailler races - Bedford and Lynchburg.
Regarding Bedford, I love Falling Creek and I want to continue to support Kenny Palmer. He's a great person and has done great work there. I will definitely race there and/or Montvale should he have races there. Lynchburg, I have unfinished business at Peaks View Park. I've been in three Derailler races there now, and I'm just downright angry at the place. It's a fun place to ride; but when it comes to racing, it seems to kick my ass every year. The first year as a beginner was just hard. The second year as beginner again, I broke my derailleur; and last year, my first race in sport class, I was out of my league. I want to go there and have a good race. The other race in Lynchburg is on Candler's Mountain. Given the huge area to ride and the varying degrees of difficulty, this place is probably the hardest course of all. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my race this year even with all that transpired; but I really want to go do that again and get back before the finish line is dismantled. 4 and 1/2 hours after starting then I didn't even get to cross the finish line was hugely disappointing. I do hope they have this race again, but I do hope they learned some valuable lessons from their mistakes.
Ok so that leaves me with three races. Three leaves me a race short of being counted in the Series standings, so that may bring Danville back into play. I guess it will depend on how many races they have this year. I'll figure out series participation once a schedule of events is set. Anyway, I also want to do the Carvin's Cove race in 2009. I missed it last year because I was out of town. I might have to consider going to Greensboro again and maybe another race in North Carolina. It would also be interesting to see if I could wander into a road race in 2009, but I highly doubt that would happen. Those chicks are just wicked fast.
Who knows? It will all depend on life, work, money, etc. I'm just daydreaming now. =)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Finally...
YAY!!! I finally got to go ride my mountain bike! I invited a bunch of people to meet at Falling Creek Park in Bedford for a group ride. It ended up being me and my three Amigos from Lynchburg. We rode for a good two plus hours meandering all around the trails there. I never really rode all that fast today; it's been a long time since I had ridden, so I was very tentative on some things. I was able to successfully ride a log triangle and hop a few logs. I did have to walk a couple of times. All in all a great day. As we were packing up to leave, we ran into three other people we knew. They said they had been trying to find us all day. Seems they got there thirty minutes after we left the parking lot! Doah! They had enjoyed a fun ride, so all was well. We did stand and chat for a while. I'm very happy with all that I got to do this weekend. I will be a in a much better mood now. =)That's all for now. Have a good week everyone!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Making Candy...
What's a girl to do when she can't go ride? Make something. I decided last year that I wanted to make hard candy to give as gifts this Christmas. I think I saw or helped with this one time when I was a kid. I recruited my mom and dad to help me since they've both made it in the past. Following instructions is easy, and as it turns out making candy is no harder than anything else I've done. It's like chemistry lab without the report. YAY! Here's the picture essay... Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
YAY, I got out... written by Ritchey the bike.
i finalLy goT out of thE traiLer! iT was cHillY whEn Jen rOuSted mE frOm mY SluMber tHen sHe StuCktEd mE oN tHe JeEp aNd oFf we Went. i wAS sO ExCiTed tHaT I wAs gOiNg to SeE dIrt aGaIn. WEll we zOomEd down 581 - I wAs GetTiNg rEalLy haPpy beCausE I cOUld See Mill Mtn. ThEn jEn Did tH unThiNkaBle, shE TUrnEd inTo thE cAriLion CrAzy CaR pArKiNg plACe. She Got oTU ANd lEFt mE hANgIng thErE to sTAre ovEr tHe WAll aT rIVERSedge. I noTICced at The daY weNt aloNG thAt the sun nEVer CaMe out, THe glOOmy, yUCky cLOudS huNg arOUnd alL dAy. i Had a feELing Jen wAsn't GOing to TAke mE to tHe diRT pAth. imAGine my SUprise wHen shE cAme ouT at 430 and we wEnt up The moUntAin. it waS so cHiLly and DaMp fEelIng. i wAs coLd and cOuld peEr thrOugH the bAck WIndoW to sEe THe thERmoMeter in The cAR. As we cREAsTed the mountAIn the tEMPeraTure was 33°F and it was gETTing daRKer by tHe mINute. I sAw jEn on THe phONe anD i kNew I wOUldn'T see the diRt pAth tONighT. i was RIgHt, she wEnt hOme; BUt tHen she tOok me to diNeer at LOgAn's then i gOt to go To the mALl for a sTop thEn to a Few otHEr stoRes. aROund abOut 845, jen tOOk Me hOme. shE toOK me oFf of tHE JEep and aPOlogIzed foR NoT goINg for A rIDe. I cAn't rEAlly blAMe heR thOUGh - it wAs cOlD aNd yUCky. SHe diD taKe mE on a QUick sPINn aroUNd the YARd, bUt by NOw my ShOcKs weRE stIFf, my FRaMe waS biTTer cOLd. i WAs reADy to GO hIDe wiTh Copper and Lizzy. I crAwLed bAcK in the TRAiLer anD weNt bACk to sLEep. mAYbe suNDAy wILl enD up BeIng nICe and i CAn go plaY in tHe diRT in bEDford wIh tHoSE bIkeS FRom LyNChBuRG. YAWN, nighty night.
Signed: RiTcHeY
Signed: RiTcHeY
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Addendum
Last night, as my night wore on at the gym, it rapidly crossed my mind that I needed to add two more categories to the list of people to watch at the gym.
First we have the Buddy Lees. These are the folks who for whatever reason are afraid to spend $8 at Wally World to buy a pair of shorts to wear to the gym. Yes, boys and girls, as you may have figured out from the name Buddy Lee's come to the gym decked out in denim baby!!! YEA! I personally can't think of a more chaffing material, so I can't quite understand putting yourself through the torture of wearing blue jeans in the gym. Also falling into this category are those who work out in their work clothes. Yup, saw a dude tonight in his Dickies and his knit shirt complete with the collar and company logo.
The second new category would be the spaghetti lifters. These are those attendees who have absolutely no idea what they are doing. You will be able to see them fairly easily because they look absolutely ridiculous. The extremities are going all over the place. If you remember the Toy Story days, think of Woody when he would move around or better yet, see this for an example.
OR....
OR....
Well this last one just cracks me up...."uni-directional bonding strip..." HA HA HA!!!
Anyway, how about that snow this morning. I could have sworn my calendar said NOVEMBER... I give up on the weather...
First we have the Buddy Lees. These are the folks who for whatever reason are afraid to spend $8 at Wally World to buy a pair of shorts to wear to the gym. Yes, boys and girls, as you may have figured out from the name Buddy Lee's come to the gym decked out in denim baby!!! YEA! I personally can't think of a more chaffing material, so I can't quite understand putting yourself through the torture of wearing blue jeans in the gym. Also falling into this category are those who work out in their work clothes. Yup, saw a dude tonight in his Dickies and his knit shirt complete with the collar and company logo.
The second new category would be the spaghetti lifters. These are those attendees who have absolutely no idea what they are doing. You will be able to see them fairly easily because they look absolutely ridiculous. The extremities are going all over the place. If you remember the Toy Story days, think of Woody when he would move around or better yet, see this for an example.
OR....
OR....
Well this last one just cracks me up...."uni-directional bonding strip..." HA HA HA!!!
Anyway, how about that snow this morning. I could have sworn my calendar said NOVEMBER... I give up on the weather...
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Seriously, is this a joke?
Can I please have one day where I can actually stand to be outside? I so wanted to go ride my bike this morning. When I woke up this morning, I could hear the wind roaring outside my windows. I thought it would calm down a bit and I could ride anyway. Well, I did wait a little while, but the wind never calmed enough for me to get enthusiastic enough for a shorter ride. I decided to head to the gym for a Cardio Coach workout. I did this same workout last Monday on the elliptical, but today I would use one of the RPM bikes. I changed into bike clothes, threw some warm clothes over top and headed out.
I did the Cardio Coach thing, which took about 45 minutes then continued to ride for an additional 15 minutes, so an hour on the spin bike would have to do today. The scenery sucked, but I did watch a few people. I've always enjoyed people watching. In fact, some nights at the gym it becomes a terrible distraction.
There are many types to watch. Today featured the wandering people who seemed to have attention deficit. I swear this one girl with a basketball walked by the RPM room a half a dozen times. Then there was the older dude with the tube socks pulled all the way up. Same deal, back and forth. Now granted there is a water fountain outside of the door, but one why wouldn't you bring a bottle with you and two, if you drink that much water in a short amount of time, perhaps you should have hydrated before coming to the gym.
Next, there are the clueless wanderers. These are the people who are just wandering to and from or in and out of rooms without any regards to what is going on around them. I encounter this quite a bit as some nights, I'm having to do exercises which take me the length of the gym etc. They crack me up. The eyes are looking at you, but for some reason the synapse isn't functioning to carry the message to the brain. GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. For example the other night, I'm doing this drill and this chick walks right in front of me. I reached out grabbed her and said look out. It nearly scared the pee out of her. HELLO!?!?! Today's ditzel brain walked right into me as I exited the RPM room. I guess he was parched and his dehyrdration had begun to induce blindness. DUH! Hopefully, these cheese doodles don't walk out into traffic like they do inside of the gym.
The third group of people to watch are the regulars. This includes, "Squeeky." He is a dude that is about 5'4" tall and talks constantly in his annoying, squeeky, nasally voice. The kicker is I think he talks so loud because he's trying to talk over the music that's playing in his headphones. Hey dumbass, we can hear you, SHUT UP. He obviously has an insecurity issue because he is constantly blubbering on about the stupidest stuff. Even the people he's with start looking at him like Dude, please. He also falls into the next category - those who can't lift what they are trying to lift. He's famous for banging the machines together. CLANK CLANK CLANK or dropping the weights THUD. It irks the fire out of the trainers and others in the gym. His form sucks, and he's lifting too much hence the inability to keep the noise down.
This leads me to my last group of people - these people are about as useful as garden gnomes. You will find them leaning, sitting or standing at or on a particular machine. They aren't using it and probably have no intention of doing so, but by God they want to look good standing there. Oriental Mullet is a prime example. Asian dude with a mullet who habitually just leans on the equipment and when you ask if he's using it he says, "no I'm just standing here." Well dorkface, if you want to just stand there, don't admit it. Geez. I guess the cell phone talkers fall into this category as well. A visit doesn't go by where you don't see at least one person talking on the phone while running, pedaling or otherwise engaging in some sort of exercise. My answer to this is if you can speak in a full sentence you are not working hard enough to get squat out of your time. Hang up and leave the phone in the car. Damn people. Isn't life intrusive enough lately, can't you spend one hour at the gym with out the phone?
Ok, so this post went all over the place, but seriously, is this all a big joke or what?
I did the Cardio Coach thing, which took about 45 minutes then continued to ride for an additional 15 minutes, so an hour on the spin bike would have to do today. The scenery sucked, but I did watch a few people. I've always enjoyed people watching. In fact, some nights at the gym it becomes a terrible distraction.
There are many types to watch. Today featured the wandering people who seemed to have attention deficit. I swear this one girl with a basketball walked by the RPM room a half a dozen times. Then there was the older dude with the tube socks pulled all the way up. Same deal, back and forth. Now granted there is a water fountain outside of the door, but one why wouldn't you bring a bottle with you and two, if you drink that much water in a short amount of time, perhaps you should have hydrated before coming to the gym.
Next, there are the clueless wanderers. These are the people who are just wandering to and from or in and out of rooms without any regards to what is going on around them. I encounter this quite a bit as some nights, I'm having to do exercises which take me the length of the gym etc. They crack me up. The eyes are looking at you, but for some reason the synapse isn't functioning to carry the message to the brain. GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. For example the other night, I'm doing this drill and this chick walks right in front of me. I reached out grabbed her and said look out. It nearly scared the pee out of her. HELLO!?!?! Today's ditzel brain walked right into me as I exited the RPM room. I guess he was parched and his dehyrdration had begun to induce blindness. DUH! Hopefully, these cheese doodles don't walk out into traffic like they do inside of the gym.
The third group of people to watch are the regulars. This includes, "Squeeky." He is a dude that is about 5'4" tall and talks constantly in his annoying, squeeky, nasally voice. The kicker is I think he talks so loud because he's trying to talk over the music that's playing in his headphones. Hey dumbass, we can hear you, SHUT UP. He obviously has an insecurity issue because he is constantly blubbering on about the stupidest stuff. Even the people he's with start looking at him like Dude, please. He also falls into the next category - those who can't lift what they are trying to lift. He's famous for banging the machines together. CLANK CLANK CLANK or dropping the weights THUD. It irks the fire out of the trainers and others in the gym. His form sucks, and he's lifting too much hence the inability to keep the noise down.
This leads me to my last group of people - these people are about as useful as garden gnomes. You will find them leaning, sitting or standing at or on a particular machine. They aren't using it and probably have no intention of doing so, but by God they want to look good standing there. Oriental Mullet is a prime example. Asian dude with a mullet who habitually just leans on the equipment and when you ask if he's using it he says, "no I'm just standing here." Well dorkface, if you want to just stand there, don't admit it. Geez. I guess the cell phone talkers fall into this category as well. A visit doesn't go by where you don't see at least one person talking on the phone while running, pedaling or otherwise engaging in some sort of exercise. My answer to this is if you can speak in a full sentence you are not working hard enough to get squat out of your time. Hang up and leave the phone in the car. Damn people. Isn't life intrusive enough lately, can't you spend one hour at the gym with out the phone?
Ok, so this post went all over the place, but seriously, is this all a big joke or what?
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Bored and missing riding.
Ritchey came inside to visit last night. Said he was tired of being out in the trailer, his frame was cold, his tires are deflated right along with my hopes of riding this week. I tried to cheer him up by adding a light to the handlebars. He perked up some, but I need to get the tire pump to inflate his ego. I'll do that later. For now, he'll just rest beside the file cabinet.
Sergei doesn't like Ritchey. He acts all weird when the bike is inside. Strangest thing I've ever seen. How can a dog be jealous of an inanimate object? I don't know. I mean Ritchey doesn't get to sleep in the bed.
And one more rambling thought. I like socks. Especially silly bike socks. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Here's a sampling of my collection. Not all were present at the time of photograph.
Can you tell I'm bored? Can you tell I want to go for a ride? SIGH. Back to the gym tonight though - YAY!
Sergei doesn't like Ritchey. He acts all weird when the bike is inside. Strangest thing I've ever seen. How can a dog be jealous of an inanimate object? I don't know. I mean Ritchey doesn't get to sleep in the bed.
And one more rambling thought. I like socks. Especially silly bike socks. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Here's a sampling of my collection. Not all were present at the time of photograph.
Can you tell I'm bored? Can you tell I want to go for a ride? SIGH. Back to the gym tonight though - YAY!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
I'm back, now what...
Seems while I was gone the weather decided to take a decidedly crappy turn. Not sure what this week will entail for riding. I am going to the gym on Monday and Wednesday as usual. I'm scheduled to work until 5 this week, but for the last few weeks the 5 o-clock person has been later and later leaving. I'd like to get a patrol ride in one evening after work, and it looks like it will have to be Tuesday or Friday. If possible, I'd like to hit the Thursday night Explore Park ride so I can whine, complain and hold up the entire group. I'm not sure what will transpire this week. I need to check the weather forecast for next weekend. I'd like to get in a long ride again. This time it would have to be on Saturday. I am attending a good friend's baby shower on Sunday. Maybe I can do a patrol ride on Sunday morning if weather permits. We'll see. I'm too tired to think or care about it at the moment. YAWN. Why does driving on cloudy days make ya so tired???
Anyway, back to riding soon. =)
Oh and by the way, I'm glad I'm a Hokie at heart. The Vols really sucked. The band put on a better show.
Anyway, back to riding soon. =)
Oh and by the way, I'm glad I'm a Hokie at heart. The Vols really sucked. The band put on a better show.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Light up my life...
Hey! Thanks for putting up with my political straying this week. Obviously I'm excited at the result. I will be wandering out of town for the next 4 days - yes again. Once I return, hopefully I can get into a routine of riding in the dark, continuing with the gym and getting some longer rides in on the weekends. Speaking of riding in the dark, I have a light - it's a Nite-rider Trail Rat. I'd really like a 2nd light to brighten things up and a bit and could use some recommendations. I've heard that HID lights are the way to go, but at $300 to start and $75 for replacement bulbs, I'm not quite sure I want to go there. So readers, help me out here. What do you have, what do you use, etc etc. Help!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Encore
So what did I do to get in a bike ride this weekend? I know that I won't get to ride for at least a week. I have plans Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Going out of town Thursday through Sunday, so no bikey for me for at least 7 or 8 days.I headed out this morning at 10:24 on a quest to follow up my 52-mile ride from last Sunday. I don't know why, but for some reason I felt compelled to follow it up with another long ride. I don't know who I'm trying to impress or why I feel like I have something to prove. Determination does strange things to people. Besides that, I really enjoyed telling people that I rode 52 miles last Sunday. The looks on their faces were like, "huh?" "Why?" "Are you nuts?" I did receive several kudos from fellow riders including our department's medical director. He was happy for me as he knew how badly I wanted to achieve this goal.
I could have went mountainbiking today, but I didn't try to organize or plan it; and I really didn't feel like loading all that stuff in my car to go ride by myself. Sure I could have called people at the last minute, but then I could just get up whenever and head out on my road bike without much hassle at all. There will be more time for mountainbiking anyway. It's easier to dress to ride mountainbikes when it's cold. My jacked up layers don't look so dorky in the woods.
I left my house and headed over to Plantation Road. From there, I headed downtown to climb Mill Mountain. It was beautiful riding up MM and out to the Parkway. The leaves have peaked now, so it's going to start looking ugly soon. I decided to ride out the Parkway to Mountain Pass Road. I had asked Tim where the Parkway intersected Mtn Pass. I couldn't remember ever having seen this. He said it was the first bridge after passing 460. I drove out Mtn Pass Friday night to preview this route. I discovered that I didn't know where they intersected because I always turn and go out Laymantown Road to 460. Anyway, I enjoyed the Parkway a lot. I actually saw many deer and saw three horses cross on the horse trail. I had to stop near Explore Park to put my knee warmers on. I was getting cold - I really wish I had had my shoe covers. While I was putting the warmers I saw three bikers come from the Explore Park spur and head down the Parkway in the same direction I was going. I stretched, drank some Gatorade then headed on out. I acutally caught the third guy in the group close to Rt 24. I was proud to be able to say "on your left." Hee hee. =)
I was having a good ride, but I was getting hungry - not a good sign. A lesson to me huh? I got to 460 and started to bonk pretty bad. I actually stopped on the road side to try to eat some HammerGel to see if that would help me survive. I rode on to the first bridge I came to. Found the path on the left, walked down to the road and started riding again. Something didn't look right. I didn't think the path looked this way Friday night, and soon enough I saw a road sign that said, "Rainbow Forest Drive." UGH... This was the wrong road. I rode a bit more second guessing myself. None of this was familiar to me. I thought about calling my Dad to come get me in my Jeep, but hell I didn't know where I was. So, I headed back to the Parkway and continued out it, hoping to find Mountain Pass Road.
Sure enough, Moutain Pass Road is the second bridge from 460 and the path was just as it appeared Friday night. I did alright at first on Mtn Pass then it decided to kick my ass. I kicked my chain off and soon after I started to lose patience with this road. It was a lot steeper in places that I realized. I ended up walking up the switchback section. Once I got rolling again, I faired much better. Although the hunger was horrible! I got to Rt 11 and decided to ride straight back to my house rather than going off on some other backroads. I could have stopped at one of the stores and got a snack, but I was already running close on time. Instead, I just gulped more gatorade and rode on. I kept a pretty steady cadence for a while despite the bumpiness of the road. Once I got near the huge intersection, I sat up and paid careful attention to all that surrounds it. I almost got smushed by a tractor trailer truck. I called him an asshole and gave him a dirty look as I rode by to the stoplight. Once I cleared the intersection I felt much safer and continued on my quest to get home. As it turns out Rt 11 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most people gave me plenty of room and I was able to negotiate safely home.
I ended up riding 40 miles in right at 3 hours. I was starving so bad that my legs and hands were shaking when I got home. I immediately went and fixed two peanut butter sandwiches and devoured them. I am very pleased with my ride today. I wish I could have handled Mtn Pass a bit better, but I'd never ridden my bike on it, so it was harder than I thought it would be. The Parkway was great today. The traffic wasn't bad at all up there today. I do need to anticipate my rides a bit more and prepare by eating accordingly. This week's ride was harder than last week. I think there was more climbing involved and it definitely is harder riding solo. All in all a good effort. 92 miles total on the road bike for the last two Sundays isn't bad huh? =) YAY ME!
The ride route can be found here.
Distance: 40.17 miles
Time: 3:00:04
Avg Speed: 13.4 mph (max 35.6 mph)
Avg HR: 129 bpm (max 159 bpm)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Fun while Volunteering
Saturday night I helped Josh and Gina with the Into the Darkness run. I was stationed at about the three mile mark and my job was to direct runners down hill towards the finish. After all of the runners passed my spot, I was to ride back out the way they came in making sure that no one was hurt, injured or otherwise stranded on the trail.
As darkness began to fall on my little spot in the woods, I began to hear gunfire nearby. I guess hunters wait until dark to fire off their guns. It was kind of spooky! I was texting with a friend of mine when Josh rode up. He said that he had forgot the tape at the entrance to the Endurance loop. He asked that I rip down some tape from my spot and take it back out. I had already ridden the beginner loop, intermediate trail, endurance loop (backwards in prep for my night ride) and outer loop prior to "officially" being there. I quickly hooked up my light, took the tape and headed up the jeep road (had already ridden down it twice). It didn't take me nearly as long as I remembered from past rides and soon was on the intermediate trail. I arrived at the intersection and had enough tape to successfully block the trail appropriately. Next, back to my little spot in the woods and back down the jeep trail. (That's three times.)
Once safely back in my spot, I sat down and continued to text asking my buddy who by now was at Explore to text me the # of runners and when they started. I knew my flashlight didn't have the freshest of batteries so I didn't want to waste it. I anticipated (and pretty close) that the first runners would get to me in about 20 minutes or so. Yup. It was pretty cool to see them. At first I could see them way down below as they began to snake up the trail. Then I could see them for a good bit until they got to the jeep road. I cheered them on and warned of the hill. I heard my coworker's wife as she called out obstacles to the group that trailed her. We exchanged mutual "Hey Jen's." Several of the runners asked if I was the 3 mile marker, and I told them I was the closest thing they were going to get. I guess Josh had told them that I was out there. =) Many of them thanked me. I tried to cheer them and encouraged them as much as I could.
After awhile the herd thinned out and the last two ladies were like, "we're having a blast, but we're last!" I said, "you're here and that's all that matters! Great Job!" After they passed I texted my friend, waited about 5 minutes then headed back. The ride out was a hoot. I haven't ridden in the dark since last fall, so I took my time. I also got to enjoy the stuff Josh had put out on the trail. Lighted skulls, a talking skull and many light sticks. He really does a great job with this race. I might just have to try running it next year. Oh yea, on my way down the intermediate trail, my light came unplugged. Nothing like sudden darkness to make you hit the brakes. Then try hooking the damn thing back up in the dark!!! Fixed it, went on. It came unplugged again after the bridge. I got it fixed again and switched it from my backpack to my jersey pocket. HA HA HA! It gets really dark out there! WOOOOOO!!!
I had a blast!!! To top the evening, I got to see a friend from LGH that I haven't seen since I left - he was one of my best friends there at night, so it was awesome to get to talk to him again finally. He won his age group, as did Jen. Jen's sister placed in her age group as well. All in all a successful evening!!! YAY!!!
As darkness began to fall on my little spot in the woods, I began to hear gunfire nearby. I guess hunters wait until dark to fire off their guns. It was kind of spooky! I was texting with a friend of mine when Josh rode up. He said that he had forgot the tape at the entrance to the Endurance loop. He asked that I rip down some tape from my spot and take it back out. I had already ridden the beginner loop, intermediate trail, endurance loop (backwards in prep for my night ride) and outer loop prior to "officially" being there. I quickly hooked up my light, took the tape and headed up the jeep road (had already ridden down it twice). It didn't take me nearly as long as I remembered from past rides and soon was on the intermediate trail. I arrived at the intersection and had enough tape to successfully block the trail appropriately. Next, back to my little spot in the woods and back down the jeep trail. (That's three times.)
Once safely back in my spot, I sat down and continued to text asking my buddy who by now was at Explore to text me the # of runners and when they started. I knew my flashlight didn't have the freshest of batteries so I didn't want to waste it. I anticipated (and pretty close) that the first runners would get to me in about 20 minutes or so. Yup. It was pretty cool to see them. At first I could see them way down below as they began to snake up the trail. Then I could see them for a good bit until they got to the jeep road. I cheered them on and warned of the hill. I heard my coworker's wife as she called out obstacles to the group that trailed her. We exchanged mutual "Hey Jen's." Several of the runners asked if I was the 3 mile marker, and I told them I was the closest thing they were going to get. I guess Josh had told them that I was out there. =) Many of them thanked me. I tried to cheer them and encouraged them as much as I could.
After awhile the herd thinned out and the last two ladies were like, "we're having a blast, but we're last!" I said, "you're here and that's all that matters! Great Job!" After they passed I texted my friend, waited about 5 minutes then headed back. The ride out was a hoot. I haven't ridden in the dark since last fall, so I took my time. I also got to enjoy the stuff Josh had put out on the trail. Lighted skulls, a talking skull and many light sticks. He really does a great job with this race. I might just have to try running it next year. Oh yea, on my way down the intermediate trail, my light came unplugged. Nothing like sudden darkness to make you hit the brakes. Then try hooking the damn thing back up in the dark!!! Fixed it, went on. It came unplugged again after the bridge. I got it fixed again and switched it from my backpack to my jersey pocket. HA HA HA! It gets really dark out there! WOOOOOO!!!
I had a blast!!! To top the evening, I got to see a friend from LGH that I haven't seen since I left - he was one of my best friends there at night, so it was awesome to get to talk to him again finally. He won his age group, as did Jen. Jen's sister placed in her age group as well. All in all a successful evening!!! YAY!!!
Beautiful.
It is an absolutely gorgeous day today. I've spent half of it so far inside working on stuff because I'll be out of town next weekend. I'm getting ready to leave and head to the Explore Park so that I can ride my bike some prior to helping out with the Into the Darkness 4 mile trail run. I'll be hiding out in the woods as a course marshall then backtracking the course after the last runner comes through my checkpoint to ensure everyone has safely made it. This of course means I'll get to ride my bike in the dark!!! My light is charged so hopefully I can safely traverse the Endurance Loop and Intermediate bike trails. I'm sure it will be fine.
If I'm still feeling froggy tomorrow morning, I've mapped out an approximately 40 mile road ride to go try. It would be awesome to follow up my 52 miles last week with a 40 this week. We'll see. I'd love to be able to keep this up on the weekends, but I'm thinking the weather will win eventually. I've not ridden my mountain bike in over a week, so I'm keeping this blog post short so that I can get outside sooner! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!! Happy November to ya!
Later.
If I'm still feeling froggy tomorrow morning, I've mapped out an approximately 40 mile road ride to go try. It would be awesome to follow up my 52 miles last week with a 40 this week. We'll see. I'd love to be able to keep this up on the weekends, but I'm thinking the weather will win eventually. I've not ridden my mountain bike in over a week, so I'm keeping this blog post short so that I can get outside sooner! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!! Happy November to ya!
Later.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
This is....
how your supporters or your handlers make you look really stupid? Joe? Joe?
Oh well, we're all Joe the Plumbers - YEE HAW!!!
Oh well, we're all Joe the Plumbers - YEE HAW!!!
I wanna ride my bicycle.....
It's been a long week. I so enjoyed my ride Sunday, but haven't been able to ride since. Working until 5pm this week. Been to the gym twice, so that's a good fill in, but nothing is the same as fat tires on dirt. SIGH. Is it Friday yet?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
50mile ride review
I've been looking forward to trying this again for a long time. With all the races I tried this summer, the time I've spent on my mountain bike, my travels, my job and call schedule; it has been difficult to find the right time. What better day than a year out from my first attempt? I watched the weather forecast all week hoping it wouldn't rain, that it wouldn't be windy and that it wouldn't been too cold. I got a pretty good day. It was beautiful out today! I left my house around 930 to meet Tim at 10. I thought I was going to be overdressed: undershirt, jersey, arm warmers, shorts, knee warmers, shoe covers and my yellow Gore windstopper jacket. I was rather colorful too, but at least I was warm. Seems like I chose my clothes wisely - I only removed the jacket during the ride. At times, I wish I had left it on. The shadey parts were cool as was the brief headwind.
Strange encounters weren't unusual on this ride either. About 1.5 miles from my house, a squirrel ran from the right side of the road, under my bike just behind my front wheel. Once I arrived at the statue at Hanging Rock, I enjoyed a nice conversation with a non-local about the Battlefield trail and encouraged him to go see it as he seemed interested in the historical signs around the statue. As Tim and I headed out Bradshaw, this kid on some sort of old mini-bike came zipping past us. Tim took off after him and ended up catching him. He would say later on that the kid freaked out and started to slow down when he realized Tim had caught him. It was funny to sit back and watch this. Later on on Bradshaw, I dropped my Hammer Gel and had to stop for it. Then I got distracted looking at something off to my right, rode right off the road into the grass. I managed to keep the bike under control and was quickly back onto the pavement. Tim laughed and reminded me that I wasn't mountain biking, but did credit my save to my mtb skills. We saw some pretty houses along Bradshaw - there are at least 3 or 4 log cabin like houses being built. They are pretty sweet looking! In the Glenvar area, there were some people who looked to be setting up to sell stuff out of their car. There was a kid, I hope, that was dressed up like a cow - udders and all. After arriving back in Salem, we decided to ride down Main Street. Around the area of Advance Auto there was a truck stopped in the road with it's axle broken. A few blocks up near Member One, there had been a wreck so there were police and fire vehicles. Since the "Punkin Festival," was planned for the Farmer's Market; we did get to see several tykes dressed up. I guess that was the end of the oddities.
Tim and I split up near Longwood Park since we live on opposite sides of town. I headed up Kessler Mill Road. I was getting tired and now riding alone was going to be more difficult. I did alright going up Kessler Mill though hunger had started to set it. I kept chugging along and had decided to forego Loch Haven Road as I wasn't sure I'd make it up the two climbs. I headed down Cove to Wood Haven to Valley Pointe. There is a gradual incline on Wood Haven that I sort of had forgotten about. This is where my back started to spasm (OW). I stood and stretched as I continued on. Arriving at Peters Creek Road, I had to stop for the light so I stretched while waiting for a break in traffic then headed across to Thirlane to make my "Airport Loop." They've paved most of this road now, so it's pretty good to ride on. My concrete laden quads were not happy with me, nor was I happy with them. I really had to cheer myself on to get around the road. I reached the 50 mile mark right before I got Valley View Blvd (3:20ish). At this point, I decided to ride the rest of the way home at a cool down pace. I was so excited to have accomplished this goal. I am glad that I got to achieve it with Tim. He's been an awesome friend for so many years. I hope to do another 50 mile ride - we'll see if I can do it in 2008.
New goal: Metric Century - 100km; 63 miles. The last 8 miles were torture yesterday with the back spasms and aching quads, so if I continue to work on strengthening and longer rides off and on road then I should be able to manage this goal. I know we kept the ride slow and mangeable yesterday, but I've decided that steady is the way to go for me. I'm not too good at this fast/slow, up tempo/low tempo stuff right now. I guess that means interval training over the winter months. Anyway, going to the gym Monday, taking Tuesday off this week, gym Wednesday then hopefully I can ride Thursday after work.
Meanwhile, HAPPY FALL YA'LL!
New goal: Metric Century - 100km; 63 miles. The last 8 miles were torture yesterday with the back spasms and aching quads, so if I continue to work on strengthening and longer rides off and on road then I should be able to manage this goal. I know we kept the ride slow and mangeable yesterday, but I've decided that steady is the way to go for me. I'm not too good at this fast/slow, up tempo/low tempo stuff right now. I guess that means interval training over the winter months. Anyway, going to the gym Monday, taking Tuesday off this week, gym Wednesday then hopefully I can ride Thursday after work.
Meanwhile, HAPPY FALL YA'LL!
Distance 52.15 miles
Time 3:32:55Avg Speed 14.7 mph (max 33.8 mph)
Avg HR 142 bpm (max 167 bpm)YAY!!! I did it!!! 50 miles on the road bike!!! =)
I'm so excited!!! I'll definitely blog about this ride, but it will be a bit later before I have time to type it all. Here's proof:
Friday, October 24, 2008
My ramblings about colder weather.
It's getting colder, but all is well though peeps. I've reformatted my iPod and have now added some workouts that I found online that I can use with a Spin cycle at the gym. I can't wait to try one - maybe tomorrow, but probably next week since I'm hoping to do the 50 miler on Sunday. Here's the website: Cardio Coach. I'm listening to one of them as I type. Sounds like good intervals to me. I also have to rearrange my basement once it's too cold for the road bike outside and stick it back in the trainer so that I have access to my Spinervals and Carmichael Training Systems DVD's. I'm hoping that over the colder months to continue to ride my mountain bike two maybe three times a week - one or two shorter rides after work and on Mill Mountain or with the group at Explore Park. The other perhaps a long ride on the weekends at Carvins Cove, Bedford or Lynchburg. I'll definitely spend a lot of time focusing on core strengthening, weight training and cardio at the gym.
In terms of racing, I'm done for 2008. I had originally thought I'd race the Rowdy Dawg on Sunday, but honestly I'm not at all motivated to do that. I'm ready to just have some fun while riding. I think you have to have the right attitude to go race, and I just don't have it right now. I know that Kenny is going to have a mountaincross race series in the Bedford parks next February, so that will likely go on my calendar as something to try. I will assess some more 2009 racing goals after the first of the year.
Ok, it's bedtime. Have a fun weekend everyone!
In terms of racing, I'm done for 2008. I had originally thought I'd race the Rowdy Dawg on Sunday, but honestly I'm not at all motivated to do that. I'm ready to just have some fun while riding. I think you have to have the right attitude to go race, and I just don't have it right now. I know that Kenny is going to have a mountaincross race series in the Bedford parks next February, so that will likely go on my calendar as something to try. I will assess some more 2009 racing goals after the first of the year.
Ok, it's bedtime. Have a fun weekend everyone!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Nuttin'
Not much going on this week other than work, which is driving us all crazy. Stupid rules have now been established - first they banned Crocs because of the holes in them, and now we're not allowed to have drinks or food in our work area. This really sucks as most days if we get time to eat it's like 10 minutes. Typically we eat while we work. If we want a drink of water or a snack we have to go to our break room which amounts to little more than a walk in closet. Whatever! We have figured out a nice hiding spot for our drinks, but you still feel like an adolescent sneaking off to drink alcohol. HA!
Other than work, I've been to the gym twice this week - both times were very rewarding and reinforced to me how much I really enjoy going. I did ride twice this week. Both times on Mill Mountain. Monday was an unexpected surprise as I had the day off to run errands post PA-trip. My errands included the DMV for a new license. This was the shock of the day as I got in and out of there in 15 minutes. I then rode Tuesday after work, but that ride got cut short because I got cold in the wind. BRRRRR. The weather really took a change huh? Oh well, I'll adjust to it soon enough - I have now located my cooler weather bike clothes and I have a new pair of Gore Windstopper gloves to try. Not sure they are entirely needed yet.
I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. Even with that, I've got a ton of stuff to do here still. I'm not sure what I'll be doing Saturday as they are calling for 2 inches of rain between Friday night and Saturday. I was planning to go campaign for Obama some more, and probably will. Especially since there is a new satellite office near my house. Sunday, I'm hoping to go for a long ride ride with my buddy Tim. 50 miles is the goal and I think the plan is to ride out Bradshaw Rd. If I ride from home and meet up with him at Hanging Rock, I could end up with nearly 60 miles. I believe this weekend is the anniversary of my first attempt at 50 miles last year. I know it was the same weekend as the Folklife Festival at Ferrum College.
Anyway, I plan to take my camera along for the ride Sunday to document some of the scenery. Not sure I'll blog again until after that, so you'll have to enjoy this post for now. Have fun everyone! Good luck to those who are racing the Rowdy Dawg on Sunday. I'm just done with racing this year. Don't have the competitive spirit to go race, hence the leisurely road ride. =)
Other than work, I've been to the gym twice this week - both times were very rewarding and reinforced to me how much I really enjoy going. I did ride twice this week. Both times on Mill Mountain. Monday was an unexpected surprise as I had the day off to run errands post PA-trip. My errands included the DMV for a new license. This was the shock of the day as I got in and out of there in 15 minutes. I then rode Tuesday after work, but that ride got cut short because I got cold in the wind. BRRRRR. The weather really took a change huh? Oh well, I'll adjust to it soon enough - I have now located my cooler weather bike clothes and I have a new pair of Gore Windstopper gloves to try. Not sure they are entirely needed yet.
I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. Even with that, I've got a ton of stuff to do here still. I'm not sure what I'll be doing Saturday as they are calling for 2 inches of rain between Friday night and Saturday. I was planning to go campaign for Obama some more, and probably will. Especially since there is a new satellite office near my house. Sunday, I'm hoping to go for a long ride ride with my buddy Tim. 50 miles is the goal and I think the plan is to ride out Bradshaw Rd. If I ride from home and meet up with him at Hanging Rock, I could end up with nearly 60 miles. I believe this weekend is the anniversary of my first attempt at 50 miles last year. I know it was the same weekend as the Folklife Festival at Ferrum College.
Anyway, I plan to take my camera along for the ride Sunday to document some of the scenery. Not sure I'll blog again until after that, so you'll have to enjoy this post for now. Have fun everyone! Good luck to those who are racing the Rowdy Dawg on Sunday. I'm just done with racing this year. Don't have the competitive spirit to go race, hence the leisurely road ride. =)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
In Pennsylvania...
Beautiful weather - getting colder. I brought two bikes - rode the SS around the campground a bit but got stuck in some pea gravel and gave up. Tomorrow, I hope to go for a road ride. It's gonna be chilly. Glad I brought some tights. Other than that, I've eaten, shopped, eaten, shopped... Well you get the point. I'll have to buckle down when I get home and hammer away at the gym and when possible on bike. I heard it poured rain today at home, so I'm glad I'm not there. I'm disappointed that I missed Barack! It was funny to see the Roanoke Civic Center on the local news here and on CNN. GO BARACK!!! Ok, time to fix my bed and go to sleep. =)
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Continuing the story...
Ok so I got downtown to the Market area around 315. I decided to park in the Elmwood Park garage for simplicity's sake. I walked down to the Market area and had to weave my way around sidewalk and road closures to get to my reporting place. Once there, I got my volunteer tag and met Ryan, my captain. Ryan, myself and three others were responsible for the ADA visitors to the Rally. First we had to mark their rows so that no one would take their seats. Then we had to monitor our line for those without obvious disability and shuttle those folks across the street to the regular line. We were told not to let anyone in our line who didn't have a cane, a walker or wheelchair. Soon our line would be full and we could take no one else. After a while, we were able to escort the guests to their seats and make sure that they were situated. Another volunteer was a runner and went back and forth from Cornerstone restaurant with a water pitcher and water for the guests.
Before the event started we had to keep a 4 foot aisle between the ADA guests and the standing people. I suppose this is some sort of ADA regulation. I asked folks around me to back up and most obliged without complaint. The one person who seemed bothered by our request to move was a city councilman. His name shall remain absent from this blog. I got my head bit off by another voluteer who was felt ultraspecial I guess because he was helping said councilman. Whatever, I love how people are really important when it's convenient for them. Anyway, I quickly forgot about Councilman Twit and went back to talking to the ordinary people who were in attendance. I ended up going to get a roll of police tape and tied it from the fence to a trash can to remind people to keep the aisle open. For the most part it worked quite well. Not sure why no one else thought to do this.
People were generally receptive to what we asked them to do, and they were all very excited at the prospects of seeing President Clinton up close and personal. I took gobs of pictures on my camera and at times took some for a guest who was shorter than I. I pretty much had an unobstructed view the entire event. I think the funniest part was when Ryan came around to say that the standing visitors would be leaving first then the ADA folks. Once the President finished speaking and descended from the stage to meet the crowd, the organization of the event went to hell quickly. People pushed forward to meet him. The folks who stayed in the ADA section or waited it out just a bit got to meet him as well because before he left he doubled back down to their section. I must admit I stood on some chairs taking the pictures you see then I walked across a row so that I could have a chance to shake his hand. Which I did get to do. He was very cool and spoke to everyone as he went down the line. He had one of his secret service agents take his picture with one lady. I thought that was rather funny.
It was so cool to see him and even cooler to shake his hand! President Clinton does seem to enjoy speaking to crowds and seems to enjoy meeting people even more. I could care less about his personal indiscretions while he was in office. What is important to me and makes him a special person to me is that he helped this country tremendously. The economy was in a whole lot better shape under him. Unemployment rates were low. Programs like Welfare to Work encouraged people to get jobs in order to receive government assistance. College was affordable and made more so by the Hope Scholarship program that he started. He started initiatives to ensure children had access to healthcare and educational opportunities. The government seemed more responsible, more approachabl,e and we weren't fighting wars. His ability to communicate articulately is awesome. You didn't dread hearing him give a speech, you didn't dread knowing that he was interacting with leaders of foreign nations. There was hope with Clinton in office. Right now there is dispair with Bush. Yes I sound like a political ad, but that's because I'm tired of the 8 years of crap under W. I'm voting for Obama - I feel like he's got better ideas and he's got the energy and intelligence to make our country great again.
I'll step off my soapbox now. This blog will resume being a biking blog soon.
Before the event started we had to keep a 4 foot aisle between the ADA guests and the standing people. I suppose this is some sort of ADA regulation. I asked folks around me to back up and most obliged without complaint. The one person who seemed bothered by our request to move was a city councilman. His name shall remain absent from this blog. I got my head bit off by another voluteer who was felt ultraspecial I guess because he was helping said councilman. Whatever, I love how people are really important when it's convenient for them. Anyway, I quickly forgot about Councilman Twit and went back to talking to the ordinary people who were in attendance. I ended up going to get a roll of police tape and tied it from the fence to a trash can to remind people to keep the aisle open. For the most part it worked quite well. Not sure why no one else thought to do this.
People were generally receptive to what we asked them to do, and they were all very excited at the prospects of seeing President Clinton up close and personal. I took gobs of pictures on my camera and at times took some for a guest who was shorter than I. I pretty much had an unobstructed view the entire event. I think the funniest part was when Ryan came around to say that the standing visitors would be leaving first then the ADA folks. Once the President finished speaking and descended from the stage to meet the crowd, the organization of the event went to hell quickly. People pushed forward to meet him. The folks who stayed in the ADA section or waited it out just a bit got to meet him as well because before he left he doubled back down to their section. I must admit I stood on some chairs taking the pictures you see then I walked across a row so that I could have a chance to shake his hand. Which I did get to do. He was very cool and spoke to everyone as he went down the line. He had one of his secret service agents take his picture with one lady. I thought that was rather funny.
It was so cool to see him and even cooler to shake his hand! President Clinton does seem to enjoy speaking to crowds and seems to enjoy meeting people even more. I could care less about his personal indiscretions while he was in office. What is important to me and makes him a special person to me is that he helped this country tremendously. The economy was in a whole lot better shape under him. Unemployment rates were low. Programs like Welfare to Work encouraged people to get jobs in order to receive government assistance. College was affordable and made more so by the Hope Scholarship program that he started. He started initiatives to ensure children had access to healthcare and educational opportunities. The government seemed more responsible, more approachabl,e and we weren't fighting wars. His ability to communicate articulately is awesome. You didn't dread hearing him give a speech, you didn't dread knowing that he was interacting with leaders of foreign nations. There was hope with Clinton in office. Right now there is dispair with Bush. Yes I sound like a political ad, but that's because I'm tired of the 8 years of crap under W. I'm voting for Obama - I feel like he's got better ideas and he's got the energy and intelligence to make our country great again.
I'll step off my soapbox now. This blog will resume being a biking blog soon.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Crazy Weekend
As you've probably gathered from my previous two posts, I had a very interesting weekend. Saturday, I knew I had to get stuff done for my trip and just done in general. I got up and gave a half hearted attempt to clean up the house. I was to be at the MLK Jr Statue downtown at 3pm to go door-to-door for the Obama campaign. When I arrived, I met a couple of guys who have been working for the campaign here for 4 months. Neither were from Roanoke originally, so they seemed excited to meet local people. I also got to meet one of the advance press people for the campaign. It seems her job is to be on site a day or two ahead of speakers such as President Clinton, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden etc. She's kind of the liason between the campaign and the local organizers and planners. She mentioned that they needed volunteers to help with the Clinton Event that was upcoming on Sunday. I had already thought about trying to get downtown to see him, but volunteering to work the event would guarantee me at least entry into the event if not more. So I agreed to be at HQ at 7pm for a meeting of volunteers.
I went door-to-door for 2.5 hours meeting people or leaving literature at their homes about the candidates (Obama, Warner and Rasoul). After I walked like 6 or 7 blocks, all I had left were some apartments. I elected not to go there by myself and returned to the MLK Statue where I met up with the campaign staffers again. I shared my experiences and my tally sheet with them and told them I'd try to be back by 7. I had to go meet my Mom and get supplies from Walmart for our trip. I blew through Walmart like my feet were on fire. At 655, I left Bonsack to get back to Campbell Ave. I arrived there around 710 for the organizational meeting. During the meeting, volunteers were split up into teams. I volunteered for the ADA team. Since I'm used to working with patients, I figured it wouldn't be so bad to help them at this event.
I wanted to stay longer, but remembered as my stomach was growling that I hadn't eaten all day plus I still had some other errands to run. So I left and headed home. I picked up my Mom and we headed out again. This time to look for something at the Salem Walmart that the other didn't have and to drop by a Walgreens. I did finally get to eat then to both stores. I think we got home around 10pm.
So on Sunday, the trainers from the gym were hosting a picnic at 1pm for us, "trainees." I wanted to ride my bike as well. I headed out on my Single Speed for a ride around the neighborhood streets. After riding for 7 miles or so, I was at Preston Park, so I headed over the empty basketball courts to practice some "slow drills" as I call them. I do a few things.
1. Ride as slow as you can down the sidelines. Try to keep a wheel on the sideline.
2. Track stands at the foul line or in the midcourt circle.
3. Practice riding in a circle in the midcourt circle.
I can track stand on my SS for about 10 seconds (standing, less sitting). Slow riding is a challenge, but I'm getting better at it. And riding in circles in the circles should help me with switchbacks. I can ride more times going to the left than the right (15-8). I ride as many times as I can before getting too dizzy. My goal is to not ride outside of the circle. It's fun, try it.
Anyway, after my ride, I headed home to fix some baked mac&cheese for the picnic. For some reason it didn't want to cook right and I wound up being 10 minutes late to the picnic. HA! Oh well, this turned out to be a fun time. I hung out with some other chickys from the gym and my trainer of course. We all had a great time. I left the picnic at 250p because I was cold and wanted to get a jacket before heading to the Clinton Event. I had to be there at 345p.
I drove by my house, grabbed a jacket and then went downtown. TO BE CONTINUED... I need to do some other things.
I went door-to-door for 2.5 hours meeting people or leaving literature at their homes about the candidates (Obama, Warner and Rasoul). After I walked like 6 or 7 blocks, all I had left were some apartments. I elected not to go there by myself and returned to the MLK Statue where I met up with the campaign staffers again. I shared my experiences and my tally sheet with them and told them I'd try to be back by 7. I had to go meet my Mom and get supplies from Walmart for our trip. I blew through Walmart like my feet were on fire. At 655, I left Bonsack to get back to Campbell Ave. I arrived there around 710 for the organizational meeting. During the meeting, volunteers were split up into teams. I volunteered for the ADA team. Since I'm used to working with patients, I figured it wouldn't be so bad to help them at this event.
I wanted to stay longer, but remembered as my stomach was growling that I hadn't eaten all day plus I still had some other errands to run. So I left and headed home. I picked up my Mom and we headed out again. This time to look for something at the Salem Walmart that the other didn't have and to drop by a Walgreens. I did finally get to eat then to both stores. I think we got home around 10pm.
So on Sunday, the trainers from the gym were hosting a picnic at 1pm for us, "trainees." I wanted to ride my bike as well. I headed out on my Single Speed for a ride around the neighborhood streets. After riding for 7 miles or so, I was at Preston Park, so I headed over the empty basketball courts to practice some "slow drills" as I call them. I do a few things.
1. Ride as slow as you can down the sidelines. Try to keep a wheel on the sideline.
2. Track stands at the foul line or in the midcourt circle.
3. Practice riding in a circle in the midcourt circle.
I can track stand on my SS for about 10 seconds (standing, less sitting). Slow riding is a challenge, but I'm getting better at it. And riding in circles in the circles should help me with switchbacks. I can ride more times going to the left than the right (15-8). I ride as many times as I can before getting too dizzy. My goal is to not ride outside of the circle. It's fun, try it.
Anyway, after my ride, I headed home to fix some baked mac&cheese for the picnic. For some reason it didn't want to cook right and I wound up being 10 minutes late to the picnic. HA! Oh well, this turned out to be a fun time. I hung out with some other chickys from the gym and my trainer of course. We all had a great time. I left the picnic at 250p because I was cold and wanted to get a jacket before heading to the Clinton Event. I had to be there at 345p.
I drove by my house, grabbed a jacket and then went downtown. TO BE CONTINUED... I need to do some other things.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Busy Weekend...
Topped off by getting to shake President Clinton's hand!!! I'll have to blog more later. Here's a picture from this evening's rally!!! I promise to put more on line as soon as I have time.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
OW. My legs hurt.
Let's see when last we met, I was mulling over having cleaned my bikes. Yay! What's the rest of the week been like? Well, work has been so annoying. I feel like I work in a prison this week. We've got every cabinet, door etc locked. It's been worse than anything I've ever seen. State and Federal inspections are so much fun. Drives me up the wall. I've been calling myself Prisoner#97321973 all week. I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday, I don't think I could take another frickin day of it.
So you see, it's been a weird week. Tuesday, I did a patrol ride on Mill Mountain right after work. It was fun enough, but I would like to have ridden longer and with other people. My legs were still tired from PoMo. I could feel it when I was climbing. There is a new trail being built on MM, it's going to be a nice addition to the system. It's called Virginia Pine. I helped with it a few weeks ago (the day the world was introduced to Sarah Palin, yikes!). Anyway the trail now has this neat section of turns that I look forward to riding. I just felt tired and lacked the oomph factor. Regardless, I still rode 8 miles or so.
Wednesday was back to the gym. We've got several goals now. 1. Increase Cardio, 2. Do a perfect squat (I have issues w/ form - I can lift a bunch of weight, but my knees buckle, 3. Continue strengthening the core and upper body. My torture Wednesday was legs. Let's see I did squats on this one machine - 100lbs. Supersetted those with walking lunges and jumping jacks. Then we moved on to some other stuff that kicked up the cardio a notch. We did some leg flexion stuff with weight (70lbs) supersetting with another variation on squats. The we did some UFC Squats which were dreadfully hurtful. Of course there were some other exercises tossed in among all of that. The result today is two very, very sore and stiff legs...what to do????
Of course, I'm on call tonight so leaving to ride a bike isn't a good idea. Instead, I went straight to the gym after work and used one of the cycling class bikes to do a 45 minute workout. I wasn't as disciplined as the last time, so I didn't really have a routine to share. I was sweating like a pig, so if that's any indication of progress, I did really good. It was very hard to ride today - soreness eased up some, but man did it hurt to do the harder settings. OUCH!
Tomorrow, my dad is taking my car for some work. He's dropping me and my road bike off at work so I can ride home. I'd ride it to work except I'd have to leave home at 6:15 or so and it's too dark for my liking at that hour. Riding home should be fun!!! Of course, I have the gym at 7pm. HA HA HA. My legs are going to die! Will be walking quite a bit on Saturday and hopefully will find time to ride Sunday morning.
All of this and I still need to plan for my trip out of town. YIKES! Gotta go, laundry needs shifting. =)
So you see, it's been a weird week. Tuesday, I did a patrol ride on Mill Mountain right after work. It was fun enough, but I would like to have ridden longer and with other people. My legs were still tired from PoMo. I could feel it when I was climbing. There is a new trail being built on MM, it's going to be a nice addition to the system. It's called Virginia Pine. I helped with it a few weeks ago (the day the world was introduced to Sarah Palin, yikes!). Anyway the trail now has this neat section of turns that I look forward to riding. I just felt tired and lacked the oomph factor. Regardless, I still rode 8 miles or so.
Wednesday was back to the gym. We've got several goals now. 1. Increase Cardio, 2. Do a perfect squat (I have issues w/ form - I can lift a bunch of weight, but my knees buckle, 3. Continue strengthening the core and upper body. My torture Wednesday was legs. Let's see I did squats on this one machine - 100lbs. Supersetted those with walking lunges and jumping jacks. Then we moved on to some other stuff that kicked up the cardio a notch. We did some leg flexion stuff with weight (70lbs) supersetting with another variation on squats. The we did some UFC Squats which were dreadfully hurtful. Of course there were some other exercises tossed in among all of that. The result today is two very, very sore and stiff legs...what to do????
Of course, I'm on call tonight so leaving to ride a bike isn't a good idea. Instead, I went straight to the gym after work and used one of the cycling class bikes to do a 45 minute workout. I wasn't as disciplined as the last time, so I didn't really have a routine to share. I was sweating like a pig, so if that's any indication of progress, I did really good. It was very hard to ride today - soreness eased up some, but man did it hurt to do the harder settings. OUCH!
Tomorrow, my dad is taking my car for some work. He's dropping me and my road bike off at work so I can ride home. I'd ride it to work except I'd have to leave home at 6:15 or so and it's too dark for my liking at that hour. Riding home should be fun!!! Of course, I have the gym at 7pm. HA HA HA. My legs are going to die! Will be walking quite a bit on Saturday and hopefully will find time to ride Sunday morning.
All of this and I still need to plan for my trip out of town. YIKES! Gotta go, laundry needs shifting. =)
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