lateral release

snowed 5-6" and was still coming down hard at last report at Cannon. another powder day with me still in pajamas at 930a... which isn't so bad, but would like to get something done besides eat cookies. have 3 new storm doors to install, might tackle one of those, then beers at the shop (western cycle) this afternoon while i wrench on the ellsworth. it's been sitting idle for way too long, time to get re-acquainted. a ride in Lynn w/Andy and Barry isn't the most mellow way to get re-acquainted as those guys take some pretty gnarly lines, but it's more fun to be challenged than not!

but, bigger fish to fry this morning, Jenn's knee-surgery consult is at 11a, we're both pretty anxious to get the scoop. the procedure is called a lateral release, which seems to be standard, but if screwed-up or PT not done religiously, the knee could end-up worse than before, but done correctly and PT adhered to, jenn should be back-out running before summer. pretty wild.

may take today as an easy day, with 30min run/30min spin, but we'll see. like to take it as the legs let me and if they say spin, i'll keep on spinning.

balmy

45-50min run in the Fells w/bronte on the white trail, temps in high 40's w/drizzle, then spinned on the indoor trainer for 75-80mins, 1-legged drills, 10min LT. bummed it's been raining in the mtns, here it's downright balmy. ice is 99% melted in the woods, rain is supposed to blow-out for 24hrs, just enough to squeeze-in a ride in Lynn on sat morning w/andy and barry. riding the squishy bike for the first time since july/aug. back hasn't been happy, strained it a bit jumping-down the moguls yesterday, need the squish back in my life. more importantly, gonna mtbike for the first time in almost a month!

first day on the deck

conditions at cannon were really solid for this time of year. good powdah on the sides of main trails, 80% open when they opened Taft and Hardscrabbles at 1230-1p. hiked-up mittersill twice, snow over there was great the first time up, still decent 2nd time down. the tops of small trees were really sticking-up through the snow. pretty cool scene, one of those times i wish i had a digital camera. it was also good to ride with my old friend dr mike. he taught me how to board 6+ years ago at cannon...

it's been a good wk so far for training efforts. big rains coming here and up north next couple days, looks like the boarding is on hold for a week or two.

had a really enjoyable trip to Georgia to see the family for xmas, good to see everyone. been a nice holiday so far, awesome to have the whole week like this to do whatever.

change of plans

constant rain on 25th/26th, didn't go to ski hill, but got solid ride in on indoor yesterday, then 45min run in the Fells with Bronte followed by another 90mins on indoor today. legs burned on today's spin, hadn't run then ridden in some time. of course, since i didn't roll to cannon today, it snowed 6-8" last night when they expected 1-2". hit that up tomorrow... nice to get some good efforts in this wk, unexpected, sets things up for some longer rides next wk... but bummed to miss today's light powdah.

xmas with the fam!

went for a 90' min ride with my pops yesterday. sunny, high in the 50's, another ride planned for today. the roads here in northern georgia are pimp! constant rolling hills with good wide shoulders. got a good final "prep" phase week in, another planned for next week w/lots of boarding. am looking fwd to ramping-up to longer endurance rides after New Year's, but for now am eating and drinking as much crap as humanly possible. gotta love the holidays!

thinking about what races to focus on next year. am really intrigued about doing an unsupported epic vs TransRockies or TransAlps. if you're gonna go epic, why not go all the way?

saw Narnia yesterday with the whole crew (minus my pops, he always sneaks-out of stuff like that!), pretty good family friendly flick for the little ones. my 5 and 7 year-old nieces really enjoyed it. it was also nice to keep the tradition going of seeing a movie w/my mom at xmas and even better that we could share the tradition w/the little ones this year.

it's almost xmas! the nieces are bouncing-off the walls, but it's hard to blame 'em when santa's coming in less than 24hrs!

runnin' w/rob

Met Rob at 645 (sunrise at 710) for an hour run in the Fells. He'd put sheet metal screws in his shoes for traction while i fell about a dozen times, trails are insanely icy. As we finished-up i say to rob, "thanks for running slow with me", his response, "no problem." that dude cracks me up - and put a wicked hurting on a brutha. my back and legs are cooked. haven't run for an hour straight since last year's Jay 60 when my tire decided to disintigrate 25miles in.

goal is to hit 10 hours this week (should be able to get two, 2hr rides laid-down while in georgia with the fam, 55 degrees tom and sunny! Nothing too intense, just good solid rides w/my pops. my folks are real generous come the holidays, but man, riding w/my dad, seeing him get into shape is a pretty awesome present. that goes for my mom, sister and bro-in-law too. my sister weighs less now than she did in 8th grade and has been running 5k's, my bro-in-law is down to a 33" waist, jenn's brother has lost a ton of weight, looks great, the whole family got crazy-fit - it's awesome! i bet we'll spend an extra 10 xmas together becuase of it (is that a good thing!?, just kidding mom). the only thing that's tough right now on the fitness front is jenn's knee. surgery is imminent, doctor consult next friday, but her PT says she will be running by June. it'll be here in a flash... but no Jay Challenge marathon repeat for her next yr, but i bet by next fall she's running 8-10milers again.

Next week could be tough to get the hours in w/2-4 days of boarding planned, will have to hit-up the indoor in the early mornings. nice thing is that legs really respond well if i ride before boarding. am also psyched to do some hiking if snow conditions warrant it. the weather dudes are saying we could get a full-blown winter storm w/some sleet on xmas eve, then snow-showers everyday next week. the boarding is looking real sweet if this storm stays snow/sleet and doesn't go rain on us. folks are saying it's been the best decemeber in a long time, i'm really looking fwd to enjoying the tail-end of it. come-on snow...

i did wimp-out and skip the planned bike commute this morning, was crazy-late from the run and feeling pretty beat. was out w/dr mike and andy last night for a few pints, good times, but left me a little short on go-go juice, the double espresso i just threw-back is helping - see another in my future.

EPA invents battery-less hybrid system / Pres Bush is a sack of shit

Read about it here. They claim it will cost $600 to be mass produced/installed vs current battery technology which costs $3000+ and has made hybrids very unattractive to consumers. Pretty wild stuff. Important to note that this technology has come-about through legislation passed during Clinton's stint in office. I guess it's not ok to get a blow-job in the Oval office, but lieing about why we're at war and the subsequent deaths and casulaties is ok. Oh yeah, it's also ok to spy on american citizens w/o the Judicial branch ok'ing it, even in the secret courts that are legal. Bush's administration would like us to believe that losing certain rights is ok if we're to "beat the bad guys." A famous quote sums-up my objections (taken from drunkcyclist this a.m.):

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B Franklin

Patriot Act anyone? Illegal wiretaps put in action w/o the consent of the Judiciary? Who is this despot that is not governing our country, but ruling it?

"I believe farther that this [new government under the Constitution] is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other." - B Franklin

No Alaskan drilling for now...

This article says it all. I have a feeling it will get passed eventually, but for now, one of the last unspoiled U.S. wildernesses remains as it should - unspoiled.

Johnny? How Could You?

Johnny Damon has sold his baseball soul to the devil in a "secret" 52m, 4yr deal with the Yankees. Hold-on a second i have to go throw-up ...

First the Sox let Theo go, now they f' the goat on Damon. How in the hell do you lose the best lead-off man in the game!? Fire the two new incompetent GM's and get Theo's ass back in the big-man's chair. And fire Larry Luccino while you're at it, as he must have been Christmas shopping for Ortiz's new gold teeth when this deal went down. WTF? With the acquisition of Beckett and the possible elimination of "Mannie moments" for Tejada's consistency, i thought we were looking pretty good. At least we're finally cutting Millar's whining arse.

And to answer Dr. Mike's comment below, i've been training hard for the Highland Games all winter!:

what race to do in 2006?

ripped today! feels good to be back in full-training mode. really good. now i just need the 2006 schedule to come together...

ahead of schedule

Felt good on the ride home last night, legs opened-up a bit, got me motivated to do a couple 10min LT's on the indoor before light upper-body/core strength work. Last year I didn't move into daily rides or LT work until late jan, am way ahead for 2006.

This morning got-off to a good start with a 30min run w/Bronte-dog on some real icey trails - solid plate glass, see a wooly mammoth frozen under your boots icy. Wore my hiking boots and took it cautiously, cruised 2.5-3m in 25-30mins, felt good to mix it up. Had to pull the plug on a run last wk due to back still acting-up, but it's feeling better now. Been running the stairs at work w/the bike - today was first day I made it to top w/o breaking into a walk. Legs are coming along.

Cannon is finally opening-up from top to bottom this wknd. I can't f'ing wait to get-up there. Of course, the only major storm on tap is looking like shit, a wintery mix on xmas day, about the worst thing possible. It'll immediately be followed by an arctic blast which will freeze the wet snow solid, just in time for my week off. I remember heading to Cannon early one season after such a storm w/my bro-in-law Chris. The ticket saleswoman told us not to buy a lift ticket, but we scoofed, "don't you know who we are? We're new england riders, a little ice just keeps ya' on your toes, ya know?" she apparently did not know who we were and just shook her head. 15mins later Chris and I found ourselves encamped on the only snow-covered mogul on top of a large wall of blue ice that must have been 24" thick. Holy shit. Can't ever remember being scared at the mtn before. We'd been traversing across the hill when we encountered the ice and slid out-of-control off the traverse and onto the miracle mogul. It was wicked. We probably hung-out for 10-15mins desperately looking for escape. Finally, we sucked it up just let 'er go, sliding at warp speed down the ice face, no worse for wear at the bottom, but definitely done for the day… lesson learned, when the 50-something local tells you it's bad, believe 'em.

ovah

saturday's annual holiday party was solid. the wknd began with andy rolling-over friday afternoon to "help" put our new front door in. basically, he did the work and i handed him tools, held stuff and fetched fresh beers from the fridge. it was pretty freaky to bang the door frame out with temps in the high 20's outside, but it went smooth and the door looks awesome - as does the mahogany stairs/porch Matt is building - nice improvements to the crib. what does this have to do with riding? Not much, besides keeping me from it! Didn't ride fri-sun, but was back online this morning, temps in the 20's, same for whole week, am pysched for this great December weather!

back to the party, huge props to our buddy dr mike for taking care of so much shit on sat/sun. cooked the annual xmas slab of meat (14lbs of tasty dead animal), saved me from myself when i spazzed-out at jenn for "breaking" the garbage disposal, which wasn't broken at all, nor jenn's fault by mine, and helped clean everything up on sunday. as usual, he's the man. was also real solid to see our friend josh who's lived abroad and in cali for too many years. one funny mofo.

few days of work here, then down to georgia to see the fam on thursday night. this week's goal is to get a couple good outside power/strength efforts in w/ 30-60' indoor trainer work/day. in georgia can go to Jeff Sr's plush gym which is nice benefit of himing getting into the riding scene. ride the spinning bike, lift, then run on the spongy track for 20-30mins... or better yet, score J Sr's riding buddy's extra bike and head-out for a couple hours with my dad (temps in the low 50's!). considering how hard j sr works, it's pretty amazing he's made the life change and become a cyclist. before the strength and spinning began, things were sliding for him pysically, even the golf game suffered. couple months ago he shot in the mid seventies. Viva la cycling! Riding behind him and seeing these big 'ole calves is pretty wild.

tis the season

well, tomorrow night is the big xmas party. been sprucing the joint up. andy's rolling-over to 121 fern later, we're slapping a new front door in before the party. this could go horribly wrong, but shouldn't if we keep our heads out of the beer stash. it's tough when there are cases and cases in the basement. gritty's, tremont, seadog, you hear what i'm saying. dr mike is rollin' over after dinna, many beers will not live to see sunrise.

temps were downright balmy this morning at 32-33, but the ice and 50mph gusts were too nasty for a safe ride - totally insane to be out there. talking about insane, saw a currier bust a crazy-line through traffic on a fixey last night (while using his nextel) - was awed, some of those dudes can really rip - and take huge risks. whatever gets ya' going. i'm sure that same dude is out there today, it's his job, while i was warm at home, spinning-away while watching the news, drinking da' java. life is good. but a part of me will always want to be riding for a living. sometimes it's 100%, sometimes 30%, but it's always there.

why does my back still hurt!?
may have to rest.
can't let this drag-out.
rest is a slow death.
just want to ride.

sleet and procrastination

another fine cold morning, really enjoying the commute with the sun shining the way it has. i figure, if it's "warm" enough to board, it's warm enough to ride. but, sleet/heavy rain, temps warming to 32 for tomorrow. the morning ride will be brutal, but it's supposed to blow-out by afternoon, literally. winds from the east (headwind) at 15-20 steady, gusting to who knows what... sounds like an indoor trainer day. come spring, i'll head-out in that crap to toughen-up, but for now, would rather not get sick. just need to fix that ancient 7-speed chain on the indoor trainer bike tonight. it's been repaired about 6 times, making it 6 links too short, but i'm too cheap to replace the drivetrain until it really, really, really needs it (i.e. completely unridable).

talking about repairs left undone, my used commuter's (GT Avalanche) front rings were so beat when i bought it for nothing, only had use of the big ring and was missing a few rear cogs, so rode on it everyday in the same gear. i kinda like the singlespeed push off the line, really grinding-down to get moving, legs slowing picking-up speed like the screws of a ship...

anyway, finally got around to replacing the drivetrain on my commuter a couple weeks ago, kinda. the cranks and bb are sitting on my basement floor, covered in stain and pieces of mahogany (been riding jenn's commuter). the salt and road poop really gets into everything - it weathers some pretty gnarly crap - really need to get that bike put back together... what's funny is that the only reason i bought the GT for commuting was the disc brakes, which ended-up being a horrible decision. disc brakes might seem like a good idea for city riding, some quick-stopping action when in trouble, but there is so much oil on the roadway that the pads become contaminated after only a couple rain storms... have some v-brakes to swap-out, i'm guessing i'll get around to that by Spring... maybe i should just try harder to master the fixey and ride that sucka' around. that's one way to avoid bike maintenance...

cold is good

back in action, rode to work this morning. 6-7 degrees, but a bluebird day with not a breath of wind, a real nice morning ride. there's still a lot of ice on the side of roadways where the cars park, have to stay focused as this is the narrow lane of "safety" (if you don't include the danger of being doored). usually i stare at the sideview mirrors and through the rear glass of parked cars in an effort to see heads in the driver seat, give me a head's-up on whether someone might pop-open a door, but usually when you get it, it's out of nowhere. wham! anyway, i digress, really enjoyed the ride into work this morning. riding year-round really makes-up for being inside an office the rest of the time. not that my office is a bad place to be, can't complain, we got some pretty cool digs here.

used this face protector stuff today (Photoderm Max) for the first time - protects the face from wind, sun, etc. jenn's been trying to get me to use it for a couple years now - as i end-up with frostbite on the cheeks/nose at least once a season... expensive, though.

Can't wait for those -10 degree days. bring it on!

i thought this was something jenn took, but it turns-out it was the photographer her design dept outsources to... anyway, i dug it:

2006 season planning

10 degrees this morning. I skipped the commute. Totally wimped-out. Went to ride the indoor so I wouldn't feel guilty and the chain broke about 30secs into it - my motivation broke with it.

Last 2 months i've been chillin', spent one month riding epics, no bike commuting, 3 even 4 days off in a row, then 2 wks ago started the commute again, riding 4-5days/wk, some strength work, but it's all unfocused. Nothing motivates me more than visualizing being on the course, but i need a course, an event, to visualize. don't want to force or rush the season planning, prefer to the let the options permeate for a bit, then grab the race that keeps percolating to the surface for the big A race of the season. last year i was considering TransRockies, but my partner bailed for fiscal reasons, so focused on 24 of A's, Dalton MA instead - close to home, good strong field and awesome course. With that penciled-in and paid for by jan 1st, I'd wake-up in the morning, think about the 2mile steady climb on every lap of the Dalton course and get my ass on the trainer. This year I'm starting training a full month earlier than last, but have no goal to focus on - yet - so training hasn't been up-to-par.

Again thinking about TransRockies. Last year's potential partner, Nathan Smith, a stronger rider than myself, has committed to the 7-day challenge. However, this year, I'm the one afraid of the costs. A lot going-on right now, lots of work being done on our crib so we can flip it for some big Benjamins, then bang-up to Beverly on the North Shore where we'll settle-in for a while… and I don't want to settle for something less than what we want when we move. Found a real nice area, 1mile from beaches, adjacent to miles of conservation land and great riding/trail running, blocks from a commuter rail stop, about a 16-18 mile bike commute to the city… just want to get a house that we don't need a shoe-horn to get in and out of.

SO, all that being said, the race that keeps percolating to the surface is the 24 hour Nationals. Need to read some forums/blogs on the course design to make sure it jives with my style of riding, from what Jeff K mentioned, it was a fast one, which really isn't advantageous to a technical new england rider… certainly haven't taken TransRockies off the table.

Oh yeah, they released the new EFTA schedule, looking good, lots of changes, a couple Maine Mountain Bike Association races in there to replace the ones we lost to Root66 and underattendance... Bradbury Mtn race in early June, it's gonna be a technically challenging mudfest - can't wait! I'm not big into the NORBA scene, which is Root66 for us in NE... EFTA donates all proceeds (when there are any) to local charities vs NORBA which supposedly goes to rider development, etc… more like into the pockets of the hundreds of administrative staff that make USA Cycling whir along in a cloud of bureaucracy... but i end-up buying a license every year anyway, doing my part.

What would be really great is if EFTA snagged the 3 or 4 marathon distance events hosted in New England / New York and created a 4 race Northeast marathon title... that'd be wicked.

busy wknd

It's almost Christmas, which means it's time to go into sleep deprivation mode to get our house in order for our annual holiday party. The weather couldn't have been any worse on Friday, as we had planned to stain the rest of the mahogany for the new porch, then get going on it. Instead we managed to get the wood inside from the heavy rain (and then stacked it for drying), then we huddled inside like frightened children while it snowed 7-8" in about 90mins, with thunder and lightening flying about. Wild stuff. made for a good excuse for andy to come-over on the subway as his route home was "impassable" according to traffic reports. got our heads into a case of tasty brews.

Saturday was a bluebird day, but no snowboarding for me again this wknd. Woke-up early and stained a few hundred feet of boards w/our carpenter Matt. While we were staining in the basement, the door slid shut w/o us noticing. About 20mins later i go to pick-up a board and just about passed-out. i look at matt, and he mutters, "we need some fresh air." we literally crawled outside on our bellys, both of us totally out of it. damn nasty buzz. lost about 2million brain cells. leaves me with about 4 functioning ones - only need 2 to get my "real" job done, so i'm all good for now.

Squeezed-in some indoor trainer time in-between painting and the like. big gear session as usual for this time of year. 2mins hard, 3mins medium hard for 45mins with warm-up cool-down thrown-in there. getting 'er done.

andy's been riding on the indoor. says he doesn't want to lose his "summer" legs this winter. right-on! i think he got sold on the indoor last wk when he rode for an hour before a mtb night ride - and then just destroyed the trails w/warm legs. the indoor is great for that - i use it to warm-up/cool-down all season... it's the looming 2-4hr sessions i'm dreading just a bit. i did invest in a new saddle for the indoor, nice addition.

can't wait till dec 27th when i finally get to hit the slopes (for 4 straight days!). yeah, yeah! but have got a lot of xmas shopping, smiling, drinking, cleaning, etc before those 4 easy-going days come-around. can't wait.

first snow

it's coming-down pretty good now. cyclocross nationals starts today in providence, it's gonna be a wild ride. wish i could get-down there and watch some of the action tomorrow (men's elite championsips at 3p), but promised Jenn i'd look at houses in Beverly. yep, we're thinking of blowing this popsicle stand, get out butts back-up to the north shore where the good trails are! beverly's a pretty decent gig, on the ocean, but also adjacent to miles and miles of conservation land that stretches all the way to Gloucester - it's not unusual to be riding unmarked trails for 7-8hrs and not see another soul. and the trails are right under everyone's noses, but no one knows about them... and you won't find them on a map, either.

"working" from home today. get to go down in the basement and stain another couple hundred sq feet of mahogany... then a ride in the Fells. F the snow. it'll just make it a better strength workout. i think.

don't drink Saint Gootz by Magic Hat unless you want to punish yourself. a german weiss winter wheat? nasty. (i did manage to get all 6 down my gullet, but it took 3 days and a bit of willpower).

do drink Gila Monster's Amber Lager from Steinhaus Brewing in MN! So clean. So tasty. Those six beers disappeared in seconds. Or so it seemed. tried to google it and came-up pretty empty. only available at Trader Joes (cheap, all natural eats, no high fructose corn syrup in their products) in these here parts.

I guess it's time to stop dinking-off. where's my shovel?

cold-as

yesterday morning, i was so pleased to be riding outside. but, as always, then there's the night ride home. 25-30mph wind from the nw - headwind - with gusts over 40, temps in the low 20's. the wind wasn't so bad that it'd push me to a stop when riding downhill, but pretty damn close. i was naseaus from the effort by the time i reached home - frozen solid in light winter clothes... that's the trouble with the winter commute. if it's 3 degrees in the morning, but sunny, it's no big deal, it's a pleasure to be out on the bike, but once darkness falls, the same temps are just plain miserable. that being said, i really enjoyed the ride in again this morning, about 15 degrees, light wind, clear blue skies.

big snowstorm en route tomorrow. time to get those studded tires mounted. just like early storms last year, the nor'easter is tracking over the coast - so tons of snow here and none at the ski hill. aghhh! haven't been out on the board yet this season. aghhh!

jenn and i then worked in the basement for a few hours last night, staining boards for a new porch. it's way behind schedule now and temps are too cold to stain outside, so jenn and i got to enjoy the fumes trapped in the basement. purple haze.

big 'ole sub sandwich

every day on my way to the organic, good-for-you grocery store's deli counter for lunch, i pass Harry O's Pizza. Nice guy owns the place, makes a mean meatball sandwich, but only carries white bread sub rolls. after going to harry o's everyday for almost 2 years, i didn't want to bail w/o asking if he'd consider some wheat rolls. harry replies in a pained italian accent, "what? you don't like our bread?" he pauses, says to his wife and son that also work there, "you hear that, he doesn't like our bread!? we get it fresh, just a couple blocks away, it's delicious, what isn't there to like?" they ignore him. he goes on... I leave and head to the organic food store and everyday since have had to scurry-by his front window with my head down. guilt wells-up. a nice, local businessman, working 6-days a week, sunrise to sunset, 365 days/yr and i go to the grocey chain... i'm a bastard.

close one

almost killed a currier this morning. we both a red light, both had a "walk" symbol, a green light for bikers when in the city... a while ago, i read a news article about a cyclist charged with manslaughter for hitting a pedestrian in a crosswalk. so i always stop/pause at reds before the crosswalk, especially if traffic is thick and my view of the entire crosswalk obscured. as i was just getting moving, he came hauling-out from between thick traffic from the right. my head was down as i pushed gears to get going into the headwind, had already looked to the right, cars were waiting for green, safe to go. as i churned, heard softly at first, "excuse me, excuseme, jesus-JESUS, OHFUCK!" - i got on the brakes just in time, he swerved just enough to his right, we missed each other by millimeters, no helmet for the currier of course, on a fixey, pushing a huge gear hard and fast with the crosswind... what was freaky was how polite he was. would have felt pretty awful if he'd hit my front wheel. it would have been wicked ugly.

i don't even bother to mention all the little stuff that happens everyday. llike folks dialing cell phones and swerving out of lane, into mine, but there's a car to the other side of me, where to go... people throwing their car-doors wide open... basic, heads-up riding takes care of it, can never not pay full attention. the one time my head is down, i almost get myself and a currier killed. foolish.

that being said, perfect day today. yesterday's snow never came, sun is out, temps in the high 20's / low 30's. damn glad to be riding on the road vs the indoor.

it's an overcast tues in boston. sweet.

bumped into ryan trebon's new blog: http://www.ryantrebon.blog.com/ - gonna be a good battle at nationals w/him and jon page. almost worth going to see. wonder if he'll keep bloggin' once back in the states.

think i saw the sun over the wknd in memphis, but can't be certain. sure as fuck haven't seen it here in boston for a while. not too bad of a ride this morning. temps little below freezing, super-comfortable in marmot windshirt and a short sleeve cap base layer. hit-up the indoor before riding to work. been pushing bigger and bigger gears more comfortably since early fall. nice to see measurable improvements.

night ride this thursday. will have been over 2 weeks since last night ride. too long, especially considering how mild the temps have been. even though i complain about the weather here, it's not as bad as it is for a lot of other folks. been reading this blog: http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/ - makes me feel like a whiner!

big ass beer to go

first ride w/snow on the pavement today, temps in the high 20's. felt pretty good considering what i did to myself over the wknd. 2 days in memphis on beale st - good times. zoof, mike, chris and i basically drank beers all day, had many laughs and found salvation from completely debilitating hangovers in the "big ass beers to go" sold all about. after drinking guinness and such all day, the 24oz coors lites were refreshing, like drinking beer flavored seltzer water - put some fluids back in our guts. friday was kinda dead on beale, too cold to stand outside, but with a marathon finishing on beale saturday morning, then a stones concert at the fedex center that night, warmer temps, there was a really good fun-loving crowd roaming the streets - all with big ass beers. bumped into a dude from our hometown we hadn't seen in 12-13 years and talked to all sorts of folks. some of them had to be told to shove-off, but most were worth meeting.

didn't see any live music, but it kept finding us. anyone that knows zoof, knows that he has to be in control of the music while on a bender - it's how he finds spiritual happiness. we (he) quickly found a satellite jukebox to keep his chi harmonious - and camped-out at that bar for the next 36hrs with a break at a Denney's and 5-6hrs of sleep thrown-in for good measure. by 8am, zoof was calling for our "pussy asses" to get out of bed and down to beale. i wouldn't eat again until 2pm on sunday, just all beer. dragged my feet enough that the first wasn't poured till a little after 11 on sat... and the last at 1a. big ass beer to go please. not for a while for this guy. while it was fun to roll old-school for the wknd, see andy off berore he ships-out, it would have been awesome to have gotten these guys on the ski hill in vail, pushed ourselves pysically during the day, then gone out at night - or at least i wouldn't feel like such a piece today if i had gotten some efforts in!

had a good week of power work last wk, more of the same this week. adding-in plyometrics and stairs more consistently. still haven't committed to a gym. never have found joy in one - and there's something to be said for using only your body to strengthen your body. my old college xc coach was ex-CIA and helped create the training program for SEALS back in vietnam era. he was a bad-ass of unexplainable nature and his strength training regimen is what i use to this day. push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, dips, plyometrics - and a heavy dose of hard efforts. will it make me the best endurance rider? nope, but even if i took drugs and did everything "by the book" i still wouldn't be, so who cares. it's all about what works - and what you find joy in doing.

back is still not even close to 100%. was hoping this past wknd off the bike would help. if it doesn't improve to 85-90% by dec 15 i'm going to hit some massage, maybe chiro. don't want to get into a position of having it be jan 15-feb 1st and unable to do the 4-6hr rides that are necessary at that point in my training calendar, better to rest now/over holidays if necessary...