crazy - i love it.

1.28.2008 part duex

ok - i totally forgot that the sun goes down at like 11 am so the punch out a 5 o'clock made me realize that I will be finishing my commute via car lights....and then rain...and all matter of road slop to say the least. I had the blinky lights on the back and the tunes rollin'. the ski trails - which are a must for me to get home - had been melting in the pseudo - summer day thus making it really tough to ride on - seeing that some spots I sunk right to the axles. Once at the dam, I was home free and soaked to the bone.

To do rides like these builds a bit of character and a good frame of reference for those questionable days to come. If I can ride in 35 deg and rain/ice and road sand and salt - I guess there isnt much excuse later on when it is 60, 70 some degrees. Now, I see on the weather bug that we are going to sub 15 either tomorrow or wed...I will have to calculate my desire factor on this one. That is almost dangerous if you are not prepared and I know I dont have adequate clothing for 30 miles in that

1.28.2008 15 miles for the ride in.

the ride in - on the jukebox - various songs from sum41, soundgarden, nirvana, puddle of mudd, alan jackson and some techno rave song that I'm sure would sound really cool live in a club - but that's another story.


30deg when I left - 80% humidity - 10 mph wind - come on - this is Jan? I was blessed with the gift of watching the sun crest the eastern horizon en route. So the ride in was a victory and I'm sure I will suffer if I do this when the weather drops once again but for now I will commute and love it. I have to get some miles in early - for no real reason other than I hate going to the gas station and watching my belly grow while I dump more petrol into the tank of the beast when I could have ridden in.

Despite the warm temp this morning - the Coon Rapids Dam managed to pull off another brisk crossing. Well, it is rather exposed, the wind channeling down the river has had a chance to cool down - alot - and when it whisks up and over the dam - it was literally snowing ice shards of river water on the left side of my body....so - above freezing ride yet I was almost frost bitten by crossing the damn dam.

Coffee at Caribou - weird looks - a couple of thumbs up - good to be alive.

work

30 miles and runnin...

Yeah! The first official commute of the 2008 season...so I guess it's on. I now have the bug more than ever - freedom from the trainer. Not bad out - I know - it wasn't sub zero riding like some of our regional heroes but still it was chilly - low 20's. It was cold enough to freeze up the Gatorade. The trails to work were okay - the streets we clean and b/c I ran low pressure they were manageable. The only tricky part was after crossing the Coon Rapids Dam and heading south - all trails were groomed for the ski people and they were slick. Making my way up the levy or hill south of the 610 bridge into Coon Rapids was not easy but no dismount needed and no wipe outs. Stopped into Dunn Bros for some tasty brew and it was packed and I was there looking like a knob. Into work I went and the ride home was wonderful - the sun was out. With a quick stop at Trailhead to unfreeze the water bottle - I was racing home to the warm shower. 30 miles all in all with the single rat bike - what a day and what freedom.

leg up

Plan - to commute to work tomorrow. I hate having to work on weekends but in this case it is for very good reasons....to keep my job. lol. Not really. Seeing that I can have a later start - the weather should be better - low 20's. 15 miles to work - 15 back...takin' the rat bike for the tour de Ice and praying to the Lord God Almighty the the bike stays vertical.

I will report on the success of the ride.


ac

more cold weather riding

had the chance to ride today...inside. Okay, i know there is some virtue in riding inside. it is time on the bike vs time not on the bike. I get it. reading through LaLondes virtuous blog entries, I noticed he takes it a bit more serious... read here ... Well, he aint the champ of Cheq for nuthin.

I was granted a TH gift card from my sister in law for Christmas and today it was spent - new cold weather full gloves. I had to try them out so into the garage for more riding. I have a heater in the garage but I had to keep it off - and had to keep the jacket on. Watched the Incredibles wilst spinning - great movie...it cracks me up. I couldnt help but think about outdoors so from now on at least a ride a week outside - snow or whatever.

I agree with Neil - it seems that everyone is a bit serious this year. This is good - why not take your desire seriously? Just remember - Hemi is rollin on the rollers right now - no matter what time it is. he didnt earn that name for sluffing with chips n salsa on the sofa.

My new approach this year is to follow in Wonderboy's steps and honestly ride to work as much as humanly possible. I am not confident in reaching his goal but to come close would be a great asset to riding and to the pocket book as we climb the gas price ladder.

thats it -

ac

two days in a row...

well - tonight was an easy LSD to the movie - National Treasure. No beer this time however. 1.5 hours of headphones and chase scenes and my bike. Gotta love it.

where did the days go?

I was going through some mail today that should have been gone through about 2 months ago - you know that pile, we all have one. If you don't - take this opportunity to NOT chime in and tell me how organized your life is. Anyhoo, in this pile of pay this, buy that, don't forget these...was the pic from Marathon Foto - Cheq 40. hmmm......September....not that long ago really but it marked the time I really stopped biking on a regular basis. Spin class here and there and a whole lot of working long hours. My zeal had quickly faded to find time to hurt myself.

So - with the daylight getting longer - not by much - and the dvd player working in the garage - I took on the dreaded spinning to Invincible tonight. Great movie - highly recommend it to anyone. I have been out once a week on the real road for 13 miles a ride...but somehow i dont see it taking the same physical effect. Mentally - it is like Christmas morning every time I get the wind in my face but the sloth like feeling is going to have to be overcome and beaten.

I know - I know .... I aint gonna be a pro rider...heck, I dont see myself as even being a crowd favorite on a sign prime but the fitness aspect is driving me nuts. I love the bike - I love the road - I love the hum of the tires and friends that I enjoy all these things with but I also enjoy being in shape - feeling good when I sleep and wake up - knowing I will keep this ticker going for a while longer. There have been darker days in my life that have brought me through some very questionable, illegal activity in my past but nothing can even come close to the rush you get when you are rippin' across 144, leading out a pace line, falling back in place and rotating back in lead - the team - the collective effort - the solo victory. Better yet that awe inspiring feeling of claiming the personal victory of cresting Ramsey Hill to the tune of golf claps from passer by's...for those that do that hill - pat yourself on the back. It takes a lot to get up the dang hill - especially at the end of that ride.

So this is about the time I get on my virtuous cycling rampage - plucking out the grandiose reasons why everyone should bike and why those that think its weird should move to Siberia. Just had to share and get it off my chest...for the 3 readers of the blog. LOL.

enjoy the week.


andy

i am now turning into Erik Speaks...

A Fox, a Wolf and a Whole Lot of Bull

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made it out...

once again - the weather was perfect. Too soft for riding on the snowmobile trails - hit the road on the mt bike single. 13 miles - sloppy - perfect. ran low pressure on the mt bike - which really helps in this snow. I checked HR from time to time and sat most of the time about in the 160's for the 13 miles...i dont have a monitor but checked on the fly. being out of shape from the summer really stinks - i am making it a goal to get my three outdoor rides in each week. I will also get on the ski's a bit later on.

enjoy this weather - may it continue to thaw up until may.

andy

drummer

okay - a bit different for me - in my usual extended quest for the latest youtube vid....and I call it the youtube vortex - much like the appletini vortex - I get lost quickly. why the drummer? I played drums from the sixth grade to the end of college - not great by any means but could hold my own. I loved it - it was a cool part of my life...now I just annoy people at work by playing on the desk and of course while singing into the steering wheel, the dash board is now my set.

One of the best out there, and there is a saying that drummers are a dime a dozen, is JoJo Mayer. Technique is outstanding, speed is blazing, control is tough to understand. he can and does double for the late buddy rich - this solo is simple in that it isnt showy at all but to a drummer - you will watch it over and over wondering how he does it. google vid or you tube jojo mayer on your next trip into the wormhole - his band is called Nerve.

startin all over again...

Well, the 07 year is over - official...and glad to say it's gone. I am a rather fool-hardy optimus - I like to think that things are always green - good and that there is good in everyone just waiting to be pulled out of their souls - kicking and screaming at times. But for me - 07 started shaky and was filled with less than happy moments - lots o stress. Not so much in the biking world but everything else. I look back at what made me scared the most, and it scares me all over again - never and I say NEVER wanting to go back or relive that time in my life. Now - being the optimus , I can say and I do say God is good and there are more times to thank God than to worry but as humans - we always tend to remember the tough and forget the good.

When all that is precious to you is held in front of you - out of your control - you tend to freak out. Loosing control is generally not a good thing but sometimes it is needed to remember what God can do, is doing and will do when it happens again. So bitter sweet is my mood - looking forward I am excited for 08...a bit smarter, a bit more watchful, a bit more gutsy to push some limits. I am not one for resolutions - i know what I need to do - that list would be too long. One day at time, min by min with my kids and wife, moment by moment with the King ( not Elvis ).

There is freedom in the start of a new race - the anticipation of what will come is exciting. Shoot, I got my new Bluedog cycle jersey ready for the season - it is pretty cool...that's exciting. So 2008 is here and so are my friends. I am rather lucky, fortunate and blessed - I know I dont deserve them but I am glad that God has seen fit to give them anyway.

Onward and upward - this is going to be a great ride.


ac

A Couple of Close Calls

Well, close call in the good sense...sad sense... As I enjoyed the day and all that was electronic - video games with the kids - I had a couple of trips outside to clean the roof edges, snowball fight ( ice chucks rather ), brush off the drive way....I had to squeak by the rear of the car to get out of the garage - brushing up against my bike * close call number one*. My heart skipped a bit - like a murmur or extra beat - I found myself as in the movie Gladiator - in Alysium riding in green pastures with the sun about my face. Glancing over in my 2 sec daydream I saw the unmistakable smile of Crazy Legs, the pat of the back by Mark Connell, Neil's perfect jokes for all occasions...need I go on? My daughter walked over as there I was wedged in on the side of the car with my left hand resting on the front wheel of my bike.

the second close call came when we were heading out to meet Tina after her work at TGIF for Davids birthday. I saw a cyclist...riding past the front door of Lifetime fitness as if to thumb his/her nose at indoor training. I was at the stop sign right by Holiday gas station -you all know of where I speak - flashing back to 90 deg days, the humidity, the friendship, the getting in trouble for being out on a ride for the 5th time that week.

These close calls were a wake up call - get out and ride. Get out and ski. Get out and walk alone in the park, the street heck the back yard. GET OUT. This time of year is odd - it can force many to retreat to nothing-ness and well I will go nuts. I am glad for the close calls as it reminded me of all that is Holy and right in this world.

see ya'll on the road.

ac

Perma-Frost

That is what my toes feel like. I got to ride today - FINALLY. On with the cold gear, out on the fresh snow - single speed mania lives on. 13 miles through hard pack, drifts, plowed berms...slow going and difficult but a blast. I cued up the Harry Connick Jr Christmas Music and away I went.

It was good to get out - man, it has been tooooooo long. the old bike still rides well - still too small. I may have to retire the rat...wait, nevermind. That bike will go to the grave with me.

Enjoy the holiday season, Merry Christmas!


Andy

the physics of weight loss

I was curious as to how I was going to shave off the few pounds I have put on this winter...well, I suppose it is for the better. Having the pounds keeps you a touch warmer this time of year. So, when I was grabbing the extra flab - and its not really flab - I said " how am I going to drop 10 pounds"? Well, there was this little thing called stomach flu that has been running around the schools and I was the last in the family to get it. It was amazing - the dynamic shift that overcame my body in a matter of hours. Between all the activity, there was a mass exedous that had me amazed. I lost just over 9 pounds in 7 hours....the wrong weight however...but man...a gallon plus of fluid. That can be dangerous - doing some research at 4:30 am had me looking up fatalities due to flu.

So the second I could hold stuff down I was all about water, pedialyte and soft foods. by the way, the target brand pedialyte isnt that bad at all. of course, I am used to Gatorade endurance so it brought me to a place of comfort...on a bike.

Good thing it was a 12 hour ordeal - so tonight I had incredible potato soup, dinner rolls and watched the Bourne Ultimatum. Good flick.

sorry for the details - we're all adults.


andy

Washington DC

Always a pretty cool town...great to visit...deadly to stay. It has a pretty high death rate. Sights seen - Washington monument, Capitol, near the White House ( complete with snipers on the roof ), ol' Abe, Korean War / Vietnam war memorial, Holocaust museum ( that was scary) and ended with the Air and Space Museum...all in 4 hours on foot...my calf muscles hurt.... that places ooozzzesss in history - you can almost feel it surround you as walk the streets - especially the Ford Theater and the place where Lincoln died.

Glad to be home to sub freezing temps - it was mid 50's in DC and everyone was cold - I was in short sleeves.

Going back to D.C.

Kinda excited here - going to DC for the annual trip for work. Prior to last years trip - it was 1982 when I was last in D.C. with my parents. Funny thing was that I had chicken pox about mid road trip that year. Boy did that suck. Sitting in the back seat with my older sister - yuck - with chicken pox - double yuck - on the road straight through to D.C. - and my mom smoked - infinite yuck. Last year - airplane and cocktails on the flight - a much better method of travel. I do love the road trip however. Seeing the country from the road - the ability to get out and look about - priceless to say the least. I do have fond memories of visiting Civil War sights back in the 80's - we went to Gettysburg PA and walked the fields and that was an impressive feeling.

Last year was really cool - we only had 2 days so we tried to pick the best things to do in that amount of time. Due to the nature of my job, we opted to hit some of the memorials of wars since past. The WWII memorial is pretty neat and of course the Vietnam Memorial was stunning. You can see where chalk or conte crayons marked the black marble where family members etched the memory of loved ones onto paper. I had the chance to talk with some vets that were there - and a few cried hugging my neck. That was a moment I wont forget.

Another moment I wont forget was the trip in the 80's when Reagan was in the White House. We had taken a tour as a family and when we were going from room to room, we heard what sounded like a herd of wingtips scuffling down the hallway - it was distracting to say the least. We were in the Lincoln room or something like that and all of a sudden the man himself stuck his head in and said " Howdy folks! Welcome to the White House! I hope you like what I've done to the place. Enjoy your stay!" R.Reagan impressed even a youngster with his smile a mile wide - my parents who hated the guy were also impressed.

So this year we go for work and play I guess. I will have to forgo the Loon Party but to pass up an all expenses paid trip to DC would be foolish.


andy

Badger?

Well, I am guessing that taking that much time away from the bike takes that much away from your fitness - more than I thought.

I have been dying to get out on the bike - I mean that literally. My work has got me tied up about 55 hours a week or more for the last month. Dont get me wrong - I am happy to be working, especially in this employment climate but if one does not take the time to throw some effort in the direction of "brain breathing" you will go nuts.

So with that comes the weekly call for valiant soldiers of the bike to harness up their stead and head on out for the Saturday battle. Neils call to valor is in the form of pre-riding the CX course out near fletcher. I am game...at least my mind is. My body was giving me red flags of warning. So 8 am I am up for the morning brew and a bagel. The kids are milling around downstairs with legos and other cool stuff. I am frustrated in my attempts to even find my cycling gear - has it been that long that I dont know where my riding gear is? yup - it has been.

okay - between sips of Dunn Bros and cream cheese bagels - i gather what is needed for cool temps. One step outside and I realize that winter is upon us and I am not ready. hmmmm. which bike? dry ground so I am thinking blue thunder - nope ... two flats...man, has it been that long that I didnt remember the flats? Okay, bianchi....nope I left that at the shop. Single speed rat bike - not a chance when the others are riding road bikes - plus i still have nightmares from Cheq 40. What else? my wifes Bridgestone MB3 - 3 inches too small but a nice bike - all set with gears...gears? so a quick call to neil that I am running behind and a switch of pedals and minor adjustments. Now...my helmet - where is that thing? geez - i should have just crawled back into bed with my wife at this point...nope - I am biking dang-it. retro helmet - retro bike with a wide saddle - that hurt by way after 30 miles.....and to the shop I roll with the road slicks and ipod.

I am 10 mins late and Hemi and American flyer are poised for a cruise out of town - hemi...great. the man that gets stronger in the winter and destroys us in the summer. a few more adjustments and off we go. I was fine out to fletcher but i was noticing that small frame geometry makes a negative impact for a tall guy. I wasnt really spent - i was happy that my lungs and heart fitness was still good - I had to mechanical advantage on this small bike. I really had no advantage when my chain broke heading out there....with one mighty call to JayT - he was at the road side in 5 mins with a chain tool - he is my new hero. and in a flash he fixed my bike and vanished into the cold horizon with his trusty buick. He gets the Pit Stop award - heck the most team oriented guy in our group and he held that title today with pride and he wasnt even on the bike.

I fell off the back most of the ride - i had the ipod so I was fine - small pedal stroke - no speed - i felt bad for the guys. I split off at territorial and headed up the west side of elm creek - by the time i got home the temp dropped it seemed and I started to bonk. once inside I found the Blue Moon (3) and two hotdogs - a bag of carrots and a snickers bar. I was satisfied and buzzed. warm shower and a nap - then a day at the mall with the family. I say a good day - at least I got out.

oh - badger? we came across what looked like a badger in the road - it was reduced to the height of about 1/4 inches and neil looks back and says with curiosity...."badger?". it seemed really fun at the time.
andy

Reminded of the frailty of Life...

It never ceases to stun me...the loss of life I mean. It seems so artificial these days with all the acting on TV or the laize faire reporting of killing, death murder. Well, it seems this way to me as it really doesn't hit home that much -until a day ago. How close to we come to the inevitable every day? I dont want to stop and think about it but it is good to realize that our lives are held in a very delicate balance from the Almighty. I am not afraid of what will happen to me - I am confident beyond a shadow of a doubt my fate once my heart stops working - I am not being cocky here just confident. ( for more information read the Bible and go to Church )

Saturday morning I woke up to a near perfect day - warm....the day off....the sun was out....the bike was ready the night before complete with water bottles filled ready for the Jay 100K. Then the call came in from mother in law - Tina's uncle had fallen down some stairs the night prior and they found him a few hours later. The fall knocked him out and I guess the way he landed, it cut off his breathing - they did CPR and he was on life support and was brain dead. Just like that it was over - and this morning they took him off life support.

Whenever I hear of a family member or someone I know that passes on - it think good and hard about how I am living my life. Are the things I am focusing on things that will matter for a lifetime? Am I doing that which is good and honorable to the Lord? (see Neils excerpts on this)

So....when I look back on the weeks prior - and I say that I am bummed cuz I didnt get to bike at all - I know that I can say that I encouraged my kids, help in cub scouts, taught in Sunday School, preached in Jr Church, made dinner for the family, prayed with my kids every night...you get the idea. This weekend was a reminder and wake up call that tomorrow or even the next 5 mins are not guaranteed and what we do NOW is important.

hope to hit the bike though this week - it is the best therapy.


andy