1st Day: In The Books

Got hooked up with my membership at Paramount Athletic Club today at lunch then went back this evening to get my first day strength training in. Hit all the machines I wanted to except the chest press. I also got in 40 minutes of Stair Master. I'm already feeling some soreness. Tomorrow will be some spinning in da basement.

Saw a dude at the gym that looks like a skinny younger version of Bon Jovi. Of course his girl friend looked JUST like him. Hmmmm.

This Cross race would have been so freaking fun!

Hope you all had a good Halloween. I missed Trick or Treat. (thankfully) B-Man got dressed up to hand out candy...



When I got home I asked him if he wanted to go Trick or Treating for candy, he just says "Nooooooo" and goes back to playing with his trains. Nice.

Wifey had a great story. She's passing out candy and a mother comes up on the porch smoking a cigarette, pushing a stroller with a baby in it and holding the hand of another kid. Wifey gives the kid a treat and the mother, whilst puffing on cigarette, says- "What about the baby?" So Wifey is forced to give a small baby candy. Jeeezus. People have no freaking shame.

When I pulled up from the gym the neighborhood looked like L.A. after the Rodney King riots. It was nuts. All for free candy. Fire trucks should have busted out the water cannons.

That's all I got. Time for bed. I can't believe it's only 9:25. Eeesh. I'm such an Old-Head.

Later.

Sunday R & R: Yum-O

After yesterday's 3 hour spin I just hung out with Papa-M, B-Man today and adding to my winter layer by eating some bad ass homemade Pizza rolls my sister cooked up. "Yum-O" as R. Ray would say.

Going to gym at lunch tomorrow and sign up and then will return in evening to start my AA phase of training. Oct. 31st = 2006!!! F*** Yeah!!! This is my first forray into "gym culture" so I'm sure I'll have some stories.

Goals for 06 are going to be:

1. Build more muscular endurance and extend my lactic theshold.
   
2. Do more races, both endurance and XC, using XC races as a training tool to try to get faster.
3. Improve my night riding skills by, you guessed it DOING more night riding
4. Try to stay healthier while maintaining my weight. Last year I lost around 10 lbs over winter but I was sick ALL the time. So I'm adjusting my diet, eating good fats, lean proteins from chicken, turkey, egg whites, learn red meat, whole grains and taking a multi vitamin.
   
5. Do more outside when possible even if I'm forced to ride the rail trail.
   
6. Stay mentaly focused through the winter and the season. I'd like to do some reading up on sports phsychology to help stay focused throughout my training and the races too.
7. Hit the box more than once in 2006.
   
8. Have fun. It's only bike racing. Missing a day riding or training won't kill my efforts. When it comes down to it I'm just riding my bike. For a long time... and it freaking rocks!

Tomorrow is Trick or Treat in White Oak. It's just nuts! I think they bus kids in from other parts of town just to swarm on our neighorhood. We gave out 3 HUGE bags of candy last year in under and hour. There was almost an angry mob when we ran out. This year it's raisins, apples and pieces of whole wheat bread. Little bastards. The slimming down of White Oak's youth starts at 1147. Yeah right! If I did that my tires would be sliced by morning.

Later.

Saturday P.M. Post

Went to the local rail trail today to get some time on the bike outside. Not a fan of the R.T. but it's pretty easy to just spin at tempo without testosterone getting the better of me. I mean who gets off on blowing by the "golden agers"?? It was supposed to warm up to near 60 but not sure it ever got over 50. With the wind coming off the river it felt like 40. Ended up riding for 3 hours and went 50 miles.

I tried to use my iPod but I have f*cked up ears or something. Unless I still on the trainer the ear buds ALWAYS fall out. So I just stuck it in my jersey and forgot about it.
Disappointed 'cause the WORST part of riding bike paths like the rail trail is the unending boredom. Oh well.

Watched Off Road to Athens last night. What a great movie! It's done so freaking well. It's a must see for anyone into XC racing. It was cool to see racers like J. Bishop who I raced against down in Davis, WV this year (to which he beat me by like 2 hours! Hey dude gets paid... ha!) and Sue Haywood who I rode with at one of the Dirt Rag "Punk Enduro" races a few years ago before she even raced for Trek) compete for Olympic spots. Makes our community seem so small.

Adam Craig comes off like a really cool guy. He has a great outlook and attitude. As does Mary McConnelough. These two personalities remind you of why you got into the sport to begin with (all the riders do, but these two stand out for me). Just nice down to earth people who just happen to be SUPER freaking fast on a mountain bike. They make you want to ride.

It was also a hoot/sad to see Filip Meirhaege going on about fairness etc. knowing how he got busted for EPO that year. It was also funny to see the riders reactions to him being busted. Some had parties to celebrate!

I also have made a pledge to myself never to bitch about the cash I layout for racing again. Seeing and hearing these racers talk about some PROS who have to deliver pizzas and work in gas stations to get money to race is a real eye opener. It's tough all over and very few are getting free rides. So my pie hole is officially closed on that subject.

Later. Hope you all are getting some weekend miles in.

Sat. A.M. Post...

Not much going on. Quick post while B-Man is in "time out" for throwing Gordon the train. Doh!

Gonna hit the local rail trail for a some low key hours today. Might try riding with iPodious today since these rides can be SERIOUSLY boring. But I'm outside rather than on the trainer. Would rather be on real dirt, but it rained ALL week, so that's a no go and the one area that drains well is PA Game Land and 'tis hunting season and I do NOT need "plugged" as they say.

Found a gym yesterday. MUCH cheaper with the stuff I want and I can "freeze" the membership up to 3 months when riding season starts in full swing. Stopping today or Mon. to sign up. I hope to start the AA Phase on Monday eve if possible. Now I'm scared that the Power Lifter guy from the 1st gym is gonna crush me to dust when he finds out I joined another gym.

Got/watched Off Road To Athens last night. Great stuff. Longer review to follow.

B-Man has apologized and said "sorry" for throwing Gordon so "time out" is officially over.

Time to get my chamois then my freak on.

Later.

Beans, Beans, The Uber Tasty Fruit...

Continued cold, damp weather had me on the trainer for an hour to burn some calories and stay active tonight. Had a nice little workout. Sometimes I worry that I'm on the trainer too much right now but then I figure I don't put in the huge days that some guys can so some extra time in the saddle won't kill me. Plus right now I'm just trying to keep my aerobic fitness up so I can get more into training in the coming weeks. Not like I was doing cough-up-lunch intervals.

I plan to start my strength training next week. Went to the Gym today and talk to the manager... A HUGE power lifter named D.J.. The dude could have crushed me with his bare hands. Not sure If I can swing the membership or not. Nice digs though and they have all the machines I need. Might try it out on Sat.

Tried these today...



Now I'm not saying they're all that they claim to be as far as "energy boost" but they freaking ROCK!!!! I had the orange and it was like a juicy freaking orange exploding. VERY good. I can DEFINITELY see these becoming part of my pit food. Little bit of Vitamin C, E, and potassium as well. Rock on Jelly Belly! As soon as I ate them it made me think of Lodi Farms this year when John B. hooked me up with some fresh orange slices as I went out around lap 10. Good times.... good times.

Moving to new work digs tomorrow. Now windows. No ventillation. Everybody's sick all the time... FAN-TAS-TIC!!!

Cooking up some J-Man Oven Fries and Turkey & Spinach Sandwiches tonight so I gotz to go tend to my fire.

Later.

Daft Punk Is Playing At My House... My House...

Not much going on today. Did an hour on the trainer spinning in a gear JUST hard enought to feel a little exertion whilst listening to some Daft Punk I aquired via the internet.


Scene From "Technologic" video by Daft Punk

Didn't have time to stop at the gym. Might stop at lunch tomorrow. Hope it's not too much ca-sheesh or I'll just have to hole up in the basement like last year and get it done on my stuff. (why does the phrase "Get it done on my stuff" sound perverted?)

It appears I will not be fired from my job (is that good or bad?) and will be going (against my will) to our Turtle Crick (sic) office to work as the Classified Dept. artist. I just have to focus on the fact that it's more bonus jing and more bonus jing means races and parts can be paid for without dipping into the regular pays or Visa.

Watched Extras on HBO tonight. It stars Ricky Gervais from The Office (the original outstanding British version NOT the sub-par U.S. version). Good stuff. HBO is hands down the best network on cable. The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Deadwood, Rome and now Extras. All I need is HBO yet I have to pay for all the other crap-ola. Oh well.

Later.

2nd Tuesday Post About NOTHING A'Tall

Got word tonight that my pre-ordered copy of Off Road To Athens is shipping this week.

Some areas around Pgh. got 6" of snow today. Eeeesh!!! Looks like I'll be riding the trainer again tomorrow. Hope to find out some info about gym too.

I'm walking a fine line of being fired at work. Apparently I REALLY jacked the wrong people off by voicing my displeasure with my new asingment. Pardon my French but FUCK'EM. If they fire me I get 6 month of training in whilst on unemployment. HA! I'd love to just tell'em to go to hell and walk out, but with a wife and kid I just can't to that. So it looks like I need to become one with the auto peeps.

I've learned from this mess to trust NO ONE in MANAGMENT.... EVER! No matter HOW MUCH THEY ACT LIKE THEY ARE YOUR FRIEND they are only concerned about themselves, making more money, covering their ass and coming up with new names for Sales Reps such as our latest.... NETWORK CONSULTANT... Jeeezusss!!! Must have picked that one up at some rah-rah bullshit-feel-good seminar.

Pilot light went out in my 50 year old boiler tonight. Took me an hour and 3 phone calls to Papa-M to figure that bad boy out. Wondered why my nips went solid as soon as I walked in the door tonight.

Later.

UG!

Took B-Man to D.Care this a.m. 34 Degrees, Rain/SNOW!!! Mix... F! October 25th- 1st sign of snow.

No ride tonight. Hanging with the B-Man while wifey teaches at community college.

I'm becoming obsessed with cereal. Today it was a blend of Special K/Granola/Special K Vanilla Almond topped with Vanilla GNC Soy Protein and Skim Milk. Mmmmmm.
Twice last week I even chose not to cook and had cereal instead.

Last ad that I worked on yesterday before I went home was for a Constipation Study at some hospital. Maybe those folks should just eat my cereal mix or my Mexican food?

Time to go sling some art.

Can You Go Cross-Town? Can You Do The Bird?

It rained for the 4th day in a row today. Pissed down all day and never got above 45 degrees, so as you can imagine I spent an hour in the basement getting some spinning in. Looking in to maybe getting a gym membership in a week or so, but I have to wait and see how my job is gonna play out.

Speeking of my job, I sent an e-mail to my managers today basically crying like a little school girl and begging them to let me stay in the Retail Ad Department. I'm sure I'll have no chance. Do you know out of the entire Pgh. Trib Advertising Department I'm 99.9% sure I've been there the longest. Since 1992!!! Yikes! I guess I'm not what some would call "career motivated".

PRODUCT REVIEW:
$9.99 slippers from Target. Super warm and super comfy. Like walking on air. You got cold tootzez? Get 'em! I'm just kidding. Just so freaking bored. They are good slipper though. Where's my pipe and Fez?

My man DK and his wifey Double-K survived Wilma in one piece. Good news.

Whatever happened to Sniglets?

Later.

Sunday Spin With Todd Zilla

After yesterday's bone chilling ride outside I opted to do and hour on the trainer this a.m. before I headed out to Papa-M's with the B-Man. Good workout. Listened to the new Grandaddy E.P. "Excerpts From The Diary of Todd Zilla" that I downloaded from the iTunes Store on Saturday.


Grandaddy is one of my faves. I dig'em the most.

The weeks weather does NOT look promising for post work rides. Speaking of work I need to figure something out there. As each day goes by I get more frustrated that my position will be changing. So freaky. I'll probably make more jing and DON'T want to do it. Remember cash isn't everything, you have to like what you do at least little bit. Might throw down a "I've been working here 14 years-give me what I want" ultimatum. Hey, at least if I get fired I'll have more time to ride! Sweet!

Later. I'm gonna go climb into the Bell Jar.

"We'll expose all the bicyclists
who are really D.U.I. students,
who can't drive their car"
-F*ck The Valley Fudge,
Grandaddy

Microdermabrasion- Western PA Style

It was 45 degrees, foggy, and raining this a.m. So WHY in the world was out riding my bike on the local Rail Trail?? I guess because the road would have been way too cold, the trails would have been too muddy and the trainer would have been too boring for a Saturday in October. Ssssssssssso. I hit the Rail Trail with my Titus HCR. I immediately regretted my descision as rain and a cold wind pelted me in the face. But I rode for 1.5 hours anyway. Riding these trails is only one step above riding inside to me. flat limestone paths that never challenge you, so you have to challenge yourself with standing sprints, and a variety of gears. Felt good to be outside though.

I was alone on the trails except for 3 or 4 kids with a mom type (odd group, dressed badly for such a day in drenched cotton sweat pants and shirts, jeans and helmets on so cock-eyed that the only thing it would have protected is their left ears. Also saw a couple of those freay runner who no matter how freaking cold it is still wear the little silk runners shorts ("Hooters Shorts"). Eeesh They weigh like 120 lbs. How are they not FREEZING??

A fender would have been great on the front and rear today. The muddy limestone coming up off my front tire blasted me continuosly in the face, it was like getting Microdermabrasion. And the rooster tail coming up the back was like a getting a cold water & sand enema. So fresh. So clean. So rubbed raw!

Number of houses seen that acually incorporated Steelers logos etc, as part of the homes structure: 5.

Off to John Harvard's with Wifey tonight whilst B-Man gets his choo-choo on at Papa O'Leary's house.

Later. Still getting my core temp up with some java.

No Ride Friday and Other Dross

No ride tonight. Hope to get some miles in via the road or some spinning on the Rail Trail to get some outside saddle time in.

Work (kinda) sucks: The good news is I still have a job and will be working only like 4 miles from home at our Turtle Creek (pronounced "crick", if you're from Pgh.) office. The bad new is that I'm now a Classified Department artist (automotive, realestate etc.,) and I pretty much HHHHHHHHHHHHHATE both of those. The current Class. artist has been assigned to Retail at another office and he's equaly unhappy about working for Retail so maybe it won't happen.

So it looks as if even though I didn't lose my job, I STILL need to look for another 'cause I'm not doing Automotive layouts for too long.

Oh well feecus happen. Bring on the Beer and Mexicana de la Mahokey.

Later.

Being Skinny, Living Phat and Choo-Choos....

Singletrack ride had to be aborted today due to the B-Man being a bit under the weather and It being a last minute decision on whether he would go to Papa-O's tonight or not. He did, so I was still able to squeeze in an hour on the trainer to shed some calories. Then I put 'em all back in with some whole wheat pasta with red and black beans, some E.V.O.O. (olive oil), couple dashes of kosher salt and parm cheese. Mmmm. Good for you AND your colon.

The weather turned to shit with a bullet today. From high 60s and low 70s to low 50s. Yikes! Gonna be wet this weekend too. Might put in some easy miles and long hours via the rail trail on the HCR on Saturday.

Looks like Wilma is heading right for D.K. and Double-K. I recomended that he take his new Trek road bike out in the hurricane and see what kind of tail wind he could get. He had other ideas that involved him taking his pants off and letting high winds "work" for him... hmmmm strange folks down in F.L.A.. NOT saying it didn't sound like a good idea.

Later. Gotz to fetch the B-Man and his little nose of snot.

Choo-Choo? James? Henry?.... Fast! Whoooosh!

Shaping Up 2006

Did an easy spin for an hour on the trainer after last nights all out on single track. Just spun at 90-100 rpm listening to the new Franz Ferdinand on the iPod. Good stuff. I'll be hitting the single track at Boyce again tomorrow before the weather gets nasty on the weekend. I should take El Santo out to make sure the drivetrain is meshing up, but I've been having a blast on my Titus HCR (The Silver God Of Speed). HA!

Got 2006 mapped out in Periodization form up to next Sept. Of course you can't follow all the time, but it will help to have a plan. Still need to estimate hours, something that's hard to do with a wife/kid/job/house/PA weather, etc., but I'll git'r done. Hope to race more next year and include some 6 hour races.

Gotta go it's getting late and I'm spent from crime fighting.

Later.

I Want To Be A Nacho Man

Took Titus to Boyce post work and did a supa-fast 1:12/12.5 mile loop. Felt great. Weather was nipply so I wore a base tee that helped a lot. Saw a stinky dead ground hog and and a bunch of deer hiding from the hunters. I alway feel bad when I spook them 'cause I don't want them thinking I'm one of the bad guys. I just want to use their woods for a couple hours and be on my way. I have NEVER seen Boyce this dry. It's the buffest hard pack I've ever been on right now. Last year it was a mud fest ALL year.

Got the word on the South Park trails today, open till 11, so I MUST get some recon in for night riding there till the weather turns to feecus.

Big meeting at work on Friday a.m. Supposed to be a bunch of "changes" supposedly I'm unafected. Let's hope. The only thing I hate more than my job is LOOKING for a new one. Then again D.K. is pretty happy on the dole. Right?

Sign at T. Bell: "I Want To Be A NACHO Man" very poor.

Saw that at Sonic you can get Tater Tots with Nacho Cheese and Chili on them. Could they come up with a MORE white trash idea? I betcha they have tuna casserole with mashed up potato chips on top.

Later. My 'taters are done.

Monday: Rest Day

Taking a day off from riding today. Legs needed it. Work was kinda of a pain. Need to layout a 20 page and 16 page tab by the end of the week. Should be some nice bonus jing to keep the folks over at Chase Visa off my back though, so I can't complain too much.

Looks like Adam survived a night of vomit out in Moab to put up 9 tough laps. Way to tough it out. As I've said before, vomit is NEVER good. His race report should be up soon.

Still trying to piece together my training hours for the winter into spring. I have a complete record of last year since I keep all my stats over at trainingpeaks.com, but since I want to kick it up a notch, not overtrain and focus on my weaknesses- it's a lot to figure out., especially with a family and a full time job. Still fun a shit though. Ya dig?

Time to get the B-Man down and watch Rome on HBO.

Later.

Spanked.

Today's ride spanked me hard, and not in a good way.

The "Road Huss" hit me hard today. Tart!

Hit the road today after yesterday's 2.5 hour mountain bike ride. It was sunny and 53 degrees when I started so I straped on the arm warmers but I should have had a base layer too. A cold wind was blowing contantly and hard the whole ride. Since my legs felt like they were filled with dog poo and I was freezing I decided that if I made it to 1:10 I would surpass this weeks time goal and could feel good with myself. So I spun most of the ride in my 39 and called it quits at 1:17 or so. It only ever warmed up to 56 and the sun went away for good by the time I got home.

Why is it when I'm struggling out there on the road I feel like every car that passes me is looking at me and thinking "Jeeezus look at that dude, you'd think if he's gonna dress in all that spandex he'd know how to ride that bike". Oh well.

Hope you all had a good weekend and got some miles in.

Later. Now it's time see if I can spanked in a good way. I'm kidding! Eeeesh.

Perfect.

What a perfect ride. Temps in the high 60s, bright sun and fast, dry trails. Took the Titus HCR to Boyce Park and did 23.75 miles of single track riding in 2:30. The new XT crank rocks. Nice and stiff. I feel it's much stiffer than the old Race Face I had. I think I lost a few grams of weight too. By the end I was starting to feel the lack of training I've had due to illness, etc. so not racing this weekend was probably a good call, but as a Zen ride it was perfect.

Not much on tap tonight. Right now I'm flipping back in forth between the PSU game, the ND game and the Food Network. I have NO ideas what this says about my personality other than it must be a tad wacked.

Gonna cook up some sphincter burning Mexican tonight and enjoy my first Sierra Nevadas of the week.

Now it's time to check on what's happening at Moab.

Later.

So many choices... & Signs From Ride Gods

Spent the whole evening at Tom's last night getting my bikes in shape. Titus has a new cassette, chain and XT crank and El Santo go a new cassette. So now I need to decide which bike is gonna do today's ride. Hmmmmm. Since I hope to be out on the dirt a while, I think I'll go with El Santo. But I have been digging getting back on my hard tail. THIS IS TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!!

Gonna head over to Boyce for some multi hour, multi lap, single track riding. Hope to get 2+ hours in. Should be sweet conditions.

The Ride Gods have spoken: Since I got my crank for Titus I started getting anxious to race and thought it might be cool to get up at 4 a.m. on Sunday and drive out towards Gettysburg for Iron Cross. So I went to check the web site for directions etc., and KA-PUT their server was all jacked up, ALL DAY! I needed to register on Bike Reg (which was fine) by 5 p.m. But the more I thought about it I took this as another sign that I just was NOT meant to go to this race. Along with my Race Face crank busting in half, getting sick , devloping an ear infection, and now not being able to access the directions to the race I said "f#ck it", the Ride Gods have spoken. So let it be written... blah, blah, blah...

If you're interested in cyclocross racing at all or just want to see what it's all about check out these video clips from team Hup United. Fat Marc had mentioned this team on his Blog and being a neb-shit I checked out their site. Pretty cool stuff


Check it out.

I've only ever done CX on my hard tail, but I'm hoping next year to try more if possible. There's a night CX race here next week that might be cool.

Time to go ride. Post more later.

Crank It Up!

Got my XT crank today. Sweet! It's so sexy.


Nice smooth lines compared to the "industrial" looking Race Face stuff I had/have.

Going over Tom's to work on both drive trains tomorrow. Crank/Cassette/Chain on Titus and Cassette/Chain on El Santo. Should be shifting smooth. Just in time for winter!

Nice indoor workout tonight. Just trying to maintain my weight right now and keep the legs moving. I'm still trying to figure out my training for 2006. It's a bit harder, because most books and what not are geared towards XC. Marathon XC and Solo racing is obviously different so I need to adjust. What I did last season worked ok, but I need to kick it up if I want to competitive (and I do). If anyone has any suggestions I'd love some input. I'd also like to do more races next year so I need to plan for that.

Huge Solo field out in Moab this weekend. The winner is gonna take home some SERIOUS jing. Good luck Adam!

Later.

Good Thing My Life Is Not a Reality TV Show

No ride tonight. Was gonna spin on trainer but I said ballz to that and killed 15 minutes mowing around the dead spots on my lawn. Nothing very exciting going on. Ahhh the mundane.

Hang out with B-Man for a while, make some baked chicken and then watch Rome with Wifey on HBO.

I better race soon or S. Chamois is gonna go belly-up.

I leave you with this. My boss REALLY needs to do the "double flush" and she refuses. Enter me looking at her rear exited Wendy's Triple Burger every F-ing afternoon.

Life is good.

Later

Ahhhh Fresh Air!

Finally got some trail time in. Felt SSSSSSSSSSSo good to be outside riding. Trails were nice an tacky, and the temps were cool enough for arm warmers but warm enought not to be nipply. Only had time for a 1:20 ride so I could be out of the park by night. Riding at Boyce Park after dark is a "no-no" and can result in fine/bike confiscation etc., We used to ride there all the time at night and just lay low from the 5-Oh but then they started getting real pissy a few years ago.

There were sign up at the park 'ARCHERY HUNT IN PROGRESS". Real nice. That's all I need is an arrow stuck in my ass.

Looks like my crank etc. is en route from Maine. SWEET! Still probably not doing Iron Cross. I would have to register by Midnight tomorrow, then hope that the crank install goes fine and shifts good. I would also be looking at leaving for the race at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday to avoid camping/hotel. DOH! Oh well. Feecus happens. But you never know.

Looks like Jeff Kerkove won over in Japan. COOL! How 'bout he did like 42 laps. WHAT!!! I would go INSANE! I get sick of seeing the same shit after 11 laps let alone 42! Yikes!

Oh well, that's all I got. Time to try to fight some crime.

Later.

Superstar DJ.... Here We Go!

Last week is behind me (except for some continued fluid in my ear). I feel good and am anxious to get outside. I was gonna take tonight off but opted to do some steady high cadence spinning on the trainer. Knowing that I plan on doing a quick 1:15 mountain bike ride tomorrow, I kept my RPMs around 92 - 102 and the resistance low to medium. Since my HR monitor is kaput and is no more I've been going on time and perceived effort. Good workout though. Felt refreshing in that good sweaty, disgusting sort of way.

Had a good mix going on the iPod tonight:


Mix is for you J.B.

Cooked up some Chili tonight. The first batch of the fall. Mmmm 'twas good. Nothing gourmet or anything. No time for that shit, plus we're talking about chili.

Here it is:

Chop:
1 large red bell pepper
1 large green bell pepper
1 large onion

In large non-stick pot saute 1/2lb. of Ground Round (adding peppers near the middle of the fry and onions near the end, cook till meat is browned and peppers tender)

Add:
2 cans of chili beans
1 can black beans (rinsed, get all that black shit off of 'em)
1 can tomato soup
1 can diced tomatoes
Large amounts of chili powder (to taste)
Pinch of Kosher Salt, and black pepper
1 or 4 dashes of red pepper flakes (to taste)
If you have any open salsa I like to toss in a few spoon fulls to spice it up.

Simmer through and serve it up. Lots of good protein and fiber. I like thick chili, if you like thinner chili add a cup of water and mix through. I've also been known to make this with Morningstar Farms Burger Crumbles to avoid the cholesterol of beef.

Alright, recipe time is over.

Later.

For The Love of God, Let This Week End!!!!

I will be extremely glad to start a new week tomorrow. This week I rode a record low 3.5 hours!!! (inside!), I had my eye seal shut with goo oozing out of me, developed an ear infection that has left me with continued blocked hearing in my left ear, and I was able to watch the weather go from sunny and 85 to rainy, and 50. So goodbye week of October 3 thru 9. Off with you! I hope you choke on your own vomit.

Ok, done with that week. I was forced to the stationary trainer and weight bench again today due to CONTINUED ear infection and sub 50 degree a.m. temps. Had I not been sick I would have been outside, but last year I was sick way too much and do NOT want to go through that in fall/winter of '05/'06.

Looks like Iron Cross is officially OFF my schedule. I'll get to that race some day. But with only 3.5 hours of training this week, sickness and STILL no crank for Titus (It's been back ordered since last Monday!) I just don't see it happening.

Congrats to Ernesto (Sologoat) looks like he won AGAIN in Georgia this weekend. Dude is just UNreal! I just can't comprehend the AMOUNT of races he does. My body just would not let me do that. I guess that's what separates the Pros from the "Shleps" like me.

Why do I love peanut butter so freakin much? And who the F cares?

Later.

You Could Have It So Much Better

Kind of a wasted Saturday. Woke up still rocking the ear infection so I thought it best to not go out on the road in cool temps and rain. Probably a good move since I planned on doing an hour on the trainer and struggled to get to the half hour mark.

This is a hard time of year for me to stay motivated. My race season is over and there's no use going extreme hard core on the training right now and risk burn out by January. Still trying to develop a training plan for this year. I need to sit down and go over (all) my weaknesses, research how to strengthen them, then get moving.

Random: What does it say about me that on my computer's desk top is a downloaded PDF chart that compares the benefits of brown rice vs. white rice? Issues.

Going to John Harvard's tonight with wifey to fluge, the home to catch a few minutes of PSU vs. OSU then to bed by 9:45 or so. What happened to the days of coming in at 3:00 a.m., sleeping till noon, then riding? They're gone. Probably best.

Later.

Fax Machine Anthems (Get Your Damn Hands Up)

Not much going on. Have 85-90% hearing back in the left ear and my eye is all better. So I'm itching to ride. I only have 2 hours of (indoor) riding in this week. Hope to get out tomorrow. Had a warm fuzzy feeling tonight on the way home from work. It was raining, I'm sitting at a red light and I see two kids around 8 or 9 years old are peddling like mad on their bikes like crazy with rain jackets and helmets on, sporting huge smiles. Hope I can think of this the next time I wuss out on a ride because it's raining.

I'm getting mega jealous of some of my Bikeman.com teammates. The North East/New England area is a hot bed of Cyclocross and they're ALLL geeked up for the season. Wish I wouldn't have let my steel Jamis CX go to shit. Of course Pittsburgh doesn't have too many CX races in the area like they do up there. I still would love a Salsa
Las Cruces. Maybe next year....



Just chillin' watching the Sox vs. Sox game.

Have a good weekend.

Later

WADA U.C.I. Gonna Do?

Well, I took my pus-filled eye and deaf left ear to the doctor this a.m. and it appears that I cooked myself up a bad-ass ear infection. Nice, what am I, 9 months old? For Godssssssake. But I got hooked up with some Antibiotics and hope to hear in stereo by Friday a.m.

I'm going stay off the bike COMPLETELY till Saturday and then hit the road if the weather cooperates. Today it was 85 and sunny and it's supposed to be 58 and raining on Saturday. Nice!

Still no crank yet. Between the crank and illness. Iron Cross next Sunday does NOT look good.

Anyway. Go ride for me PLEASE. Time for Mexican de la Jason.

Memories..... misty blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, memories....

Later.

UGGGGGG! Good Grief!

Short post.

1. My left eye is oozing pus. SWEET!
2. My left ear feels like it's stuffed with cotton. SWEET!
3. I rode the trainer again last night.
4. I'm off to the doctors in 2 minutes. I should start getting a discount.

Later.

Riding Inside Sick (Now THIS is LIVING!)

Woke up still feeling like shit again. A hot shower, orange tea, and the intense odor that comes with changing B-Man's diaper woke me up and got me going ok though. So it was back to work. Went early so I could drop the Bread Truck (our Element) off for it's state inspection (due in August, DOH!) and stop at Starbucks to worship the God Of Java.

Started gradually feeling better through the day. Not great but good enough to do an hour on the trainer with some weights and crunches thrown in. I felt suprisingly good for feeling like shit. (If that makes sense). Should be better by weekend (I hope).

How cool is it that Jeff Kerkove is racing in Japan? Damn cool. What an adventure. Good luck Jeff!

Stuff I Dig:

Smartwool Socks...


Must be black. No option here. My feet are very Goth. That and they always at least "look" clean.

These are THEEEEE most comfy socks you can wear. I have 2 pair that have lasted about 3 years. They keep your tootzies warm when it's cool and cool when it's warm. I treasure these socks so much they are worn only for races and special "zen" rides. They are pricey, about $13.00 retail, but don't be a sucka. Look for 'em at places like Sierra Trading Post where you can find 'em for $7.95. They make a cycling specific sock, but I prefer the mini-crew style. It's a tad bit thicker I think.

OK, that's all I got. Taking my snotty nose to bed.

Later.

Called In Sick (Part II)

I bailed on work today. Felt like I got hit by a truck this a.m. and ached like a bitch. So knowing I had nothing on my desk to do and a pocket full of sick days.... I'm home. Drinking coffee popping decongestants and watching Dodgeball... AGAIN!

Might mount up some new sneaks on my Trek road bike if I get some energy later. Gonna strap on the LAST of my Maxxis Xephyrs. I didn't even get these bad boys through sponsorship. Found 'em on close out two years ago for like $6 so I bought up like 3 pair. I absolutely LOVE these tires! You might not want to race them but for training... Da Best.



I would say more about them but I don't wann jinx how good they've been for me. They don't make the Xephyrs anymore but some stuff real close. I used 25c for W-PA's rough roads.

Gonna go eat 2nd breakfast and take nap 2. Should I watch Dodgeball again? Hmmm.

Later

Called In Sick...

Woke up with a full body ache today. Everything hurt. Dammmmn. Then a couple coughs that produced some hard green nuggets of sick told me that there would be NO ride today. Been fighting what I thought was allergies for a few days, but today's ache and coughing told me to sit today out and take care of myself. Finished the week with 2 hours less then I planned but oh well, feecus happens. Better now than when hard core training starts up. I really don't feel THAT bad so I'm hoping a day or two or rest with liquids, and some Emergen-C will kick the sick in the junk.

Need to order my crank n'at tomorrow so I can get the mountain bikes rollin. If Ican get my cranks, and get my ass feeling better, I still might do Iron Cross. Lots or roadies on CX bikes, but oh well. Still a sweet 60+ mile ride on some new terrain.

Watched Starsky and Hutch last night (again) and Dodge Ball. Damn these movies are dumb, but STILL make me laugh like an damn idiot. Just proves my theory that every year I get just a little dumber. WIthOUT a doubt. (I think Wifey concurs).

Later.

Saturday: In With A Snot Rocket

Woke up this a.m. to find the B-Man lodged between me and Wifey clutching "Gordon the Choo-Choo". Apparently he woke up in the early a.m. and JoErin brought him into bed with us. Something comforting about waking up and having him in my face going "Daddy... Choo-Chooo... Gordon.... Wreck... Boom ". Oh well enough mush.

So I got my ass up around 7:30 and downed some free bad-ass java one our sales-reps gave me for doing some extra shit for a client of his last week. It was some sort of Jamaican Hairy Nut or Hazel Nut, I couldn't read the writing on the bag. I like to think it was Hazel Nut. Either way the shit rocked.

On my way to my road ride launching pad I went through Wilkinsburg. If you're not familiar with Pittsburgh this is pretty much the high crime area of the 'Burgh. Had to wait for the Wilkinsburg High homecoming parade to go through. Let's just say there were several pimped out cars with spinner hauling some mean ass looking homecoming girls with tatoos. Yikes!

Hard to believe 10 miles into my ride I would reach the complete opposite of Wilkinsburg and be in the middle of "hicksville" laying low to avoid an errant arrow in the ass from a drunk hunter (archery started today).

Got 39 miles/2:08 in. Went with no pack for one of the few times this year on my road bike. What a difference. Felt like I lost 10 lbs.!! Hit a bunch of big ass hills and felt pretty good considering I'm a little under the weather with an allergy or head cold.

Pre-Ordered my Off-Road To Athens DVD yesterday so as to get the free shipping. I CAN NOT WAIT to see this DVD. Order one today!...


Staying in tonight with Wifey. Neither one of us are feeling 100% so I'm gonna make up some Turkey Sausage Whole Wheat Pasta with some super amounts of garlic, red peppers, low fat Mozzerella and Olive Oil. MMmmmmmm. Wash it down with a couple of Pale Ales to get the garlic fuzz off the tongue and then keep an eye to the sky for the Bat Signal. Chick-Chicka-Bow-Bow....

Might hit the road again tomorrow if I'm feeling ok.

Hope you all are getting some miles in.

Later.