Giddy up!

I know I just said that I'm a woos and I start falling asleep after a beer. I bought a sampler pack from new Belgium tonight and just went to put those bad boys in the fridge and every once in a while, they throw something different into the mix. Today is one of those times. Apparently this is an ale beer that is mixed with a hint of lemon peel and a bit of espresso thrown in for guys like me. Very subtle but oh so good and I scored 3 of them in the pack so things might get ugly tonight.

New Years eve

Never been a huge fan of New Years eve parties. Too many people out there struggle with driving enough as it is. When you go throwing alcohol into the mix it just gets worse. Not too much going on up here tonight. With this nice weather, I've been getting some killer rides in and I'm pretty much whooped by 9 anyways (not all that different than when I'm not riding). Heather signed up for Netflix and we got 3 movies yesterday so that's what's up for tonight. Well....at least 1 of them before I start nodding off. For me...drinking just one beer makes it even worse. I'm like an old man. It's pretty pathetic really. Hope everyone has a good time tonight and please....be safe.

finally

Bodhi lost his first tooth today. This is great because it means that he's right about 4 months. I checked the bottom ones this morning and 2 were really loose and after our walk, 1 was gone. In other news...he pooped in the back of my Jeep on the way to our walk. I keep all my fishing gear in the back. Made for an interesting clean up.

Bags under my eyes

This showed up today. It's a really nice quick release saddle bag that's even sporting a Ghisallo logo. It's also got a place to put a pump and a blinkie. Thanks Tim.

As promised

Well I got out in the beautiful 50ish degree weather today for a swell road ride. The next mission was twofold: tire out the dogs and find that rock structure I spoke of yesterday. This is the creek that runs into Rampart Reservoir. It's in full effect.



This is Heather and 2 obnoxious dogs. Dharma (left) is about to be 7 years old. Bodhi (right) is round about 4 months old. He should not be that big.


Now.....ladies and gentlemen.....I present to you.......the rock. The sad thing about this rock is that it is literally out the back door. I ride by this rock quite a bit during the summer. Never noticed it. I'm always in the zone. I'll never be able to not look at it again and it will probably result in a crash or two.


I have been to the top of the mountain....and it is good.

I've never done this before but....if you can guess the name of the rock I will send you something that is not worthy of the news. Mind you...I do not know if this rock is really named anything. However...when Heather and I saw it...we both said the same thing and that's the name. Good luck.

P.S. If I can connect you in any way with another website where the name of this rock has been revealed...you're hatin' it.

Cool site.

I just found this guy's website and have now spent several hours (wasted is not the right term) reading some of his stories. From what I can gather, his site documents some of his life's experiences and it also contains a write up from his father and one from his Grandmother. So far I have been most interested in a story that appears to be his Grandmothers from 1944. What a woman. This lady and a female friend of hers traveled from Buffalo to New Orleans and back by bike and steamboat. It truly is an inspiring story and makes me think of the time I spent on the CT. I wanna go ride now. Check it out when you have some time. Grandma's story is the link at the bottom of the page.

Snore

He is...hands down...the noisiest dog I have ever heard...and this is nothing. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think I'm going to have kill someone or, at the very least, fight like I've never fought before because I fear someone or something is in my house. I only wish computers had a way to allow others to experience the pungent odor that routinely wofts out of his butt on a daily basis. I assure you it is nothing short of violent.

Today's project

I love working around the house and I usually always have several projects going on during the Christmas break. Today I installed lights under the kitchen cabinets. I was amazed at how much of a pain it was to put these things on and have the wiring look clean (you can be 100% sure that my OCD was flaming like a pack of hemorrhoids). You have to take each light all the way apart before you can mount a cup under the cabinet and then re-assemble the light once the cup is in place. These lights are very small and the screws are tiny. Working upside down and sometimes laying on the counter to do this was frustrating. At one point, I lost focus and made an error that could have been incredibly serious. Normally, my attention to detail on jobs around the house, on the bike, or the Jeep is very good but...I'm still counting my blessings. I'm ashamed to admit this but, I was trimming a chord and grabbed the side cutters (some folks call em dikes but...I'm PC) and as soon as that cutter hit the hot wire through the insulation...things got spicy. Right away I knew what I did and was incredibly embarassed. Thankfully I use good tools and they had nice insulation on the handles or I might not be here. It only tripped a breaker so I lucked out there too. Coulda been ugly. Unfortunately my next project also involves electricity. Supposed to be 50 tomorrow though so I may take a day off and go ride outside instead of being in the garage. I'm also hoping to take Bodhi on a hike. Word on the street is that there is a very interesting rock formation nearby and I am very eager to see if I can find it. If it's as good as I hear...you'll definitely be seeing some pics of it.

Training

This is the first video I've tried with the new camera so I know it aint headin' to Sundance. Bodhi's training is coming along nicely as you can see. The only problem is that it is requiring a decent amount of Pupperonis to get him motivated. He did 20 minutes tonight at a huge 1.3 mph and then Dharma got in a session of her own. I got in a ride on the trainer after they finished up. Now we're gonna sit down and watch the UFC fights. Really looking forward to watching the Rampage/Silva fight.

Ya know...it might be easier for me to just drink beer all summer and try to catch a new state record trout. Decisions decisions.

I am definitely going to try to finish the CTR this August. But after a lot of thought...I'm not sure what else I wanna shoot for. I've considered quite a few things. Cross country mountain bike racing doesn't really interest me any more. At my best, I was a mediocre cat 3 on the road. I know I never earned one point towards a 2 upgrade. As a cat 3, you're getting your ass handed to you by 2's and 1's at a lot of races. Even at the smaller races that do have a 3's only race, you're in there with enough dudes that are legitimate 2's that they make it quite difficult. I never knew what I was doing and rode like a mountain biker and always wasted more energy than probably anyone else in the field (unless there were other bonehead mtbers there too). It truly is a pleasure to watch someone like Dan ride a crit. He is the most non-chalant guy before the race. No warm up. No stretch. Just sits there. He starts mid-pack and then works his way up through the field at key moments and he's never in a hurry. I think back to when we were both 4's and I'm gonna guess (never really asked him) that he was just stronger than most of the riders b/c I don't believe it was just natural talent. I'm also gonna guess that now he doesn't have to rely on his fitness quite as much (not to say that a 1/2 race is easy by any means) because he knows how to race intelligently. Mentally, I feel tougher than I was when I raced years ago. I'm much more patient. I've got more time and I've got some tremendous resources that I think would be willing to help me out. This is the reason I think I have decided to devote the majority of this year riding crits and road races. I enjoyed crits but it was not unusual for me to get mad at myself when things weren't going my way. It's quite easy to pull the plug in a crit too. At Gateway Cup this year, I raced/finished all 4 crits and I never did that before. I did one crit before getting on the plane too so I had no more education than before. I may get embarassed but I don't think so.

The new frame that's coming will provide a bit of inspiration for me. It's gorgeous and I have to thank Ghisallo Sports for making this happen with Cannondale. I'm super excited to get it and build it up. Here it is:

This is the one she wanted.

I do not know anything about those white glasses that ended up on my table......somehow. But DAMN!!!!!! They are comfortable.

Oh and I'm waiting on word as to whether or not I can release a photo of said frame. Standby.

This gift that Heather got me will be the most important piece of equipment for any overnight trips on the horizon. It is a coffee steeper. It's basically a plastic spoon that has a lid on it. You load it full of your favorite tea, coffee or cappuccino and stir it around a mug of hot water. I used to be a coffee snob and only drank the finest of beans. After years of stomach issues I pretty much narrowed the cause of those pains to be high acidity levels in coffee beans. I drink anywhere from 1 to 2 pots of coffee a day. I'm not a snob anymore because there is only one type of coffee that I have found that wont upset me. The problem is that I can't find that type anywhere. When I don't have coffee I get brutal headaches so this will really make trips more enjoyable.



The dogs definitely got the most gifts. Toys. Greenies. Gourmet dog treats.


A roandom photo of our fireplace. I don't have any of it when we first bought this place but it was butt ugly. That is my prized and autographed (by Pitt, Skerritt, and Redford) poster by the way.


Moulding is in and that job's done.

That's about it. Heather and I usually put money into the house for projects during our time off from work this time of year. This year we also decided to exchange a gift though. She scored a Bulova watch and a new set of Sony headphones for her iPod and I got some money to help pay for a sexy new frame that was ordered a bit ago. More on that goodness in a bit.

Watermelon Socks

My friend Adam's wife, Mary, has been working hard on a CD for a while now and it is finally done. I just received 2 copies of it in the mail this morning. She has an amazing voice. The CD has 12 children's songs on it as well as some instrumental pieces. The songs feature the voices of their 2 daughters (Maya and Morgan) as well as the voices of her sisters 3 girls. Check it out. If you have little ones, they might enjoy it and some of the songs are educational. Congratulations Mary!!

2009 CTR

Looks like the date has been pretty much set as August 2 at 6 a.m. There appears to be some debating as to the route now. Obviously all of the designated wilderness areas will still be avoided. The first segment up for discussion is #7. This one takes you over the Ten Mile Range from Breckenridge to Copper Mountain. This year we detoured around it and passed through Frisco. The mileage is the same either way (roughly 12 miles) but I've heard that both the climb and the descent are quite steep so I wouldn't expect there to be much riding.

Stefan may also have us ride segments 22 and 23 this year. These both flirt with the Continental Divide for a distance of about 30 miles and substantial amounts of hike a bike. Not sure how I feel about this. I don't know that I see much point in adding the section that goes from Breck to CM. 22 and 23 would probably be really pretty but if the weather doesn't cooperate it could be very dangerous up that high and exposed for that long. Probably the biggest issue with 22 and 23 is the fact that it makes a trip into Lake City really tough to justify and that means that the racers will have to be very strategic about their food pretty much from Buena Vista all the way into Silverton and that's a long stretch. You can get some things from a small store at Princeton Hot Springs but it's not gonna be a true meal by any means. Quickly glancing at the guidebook, it looks like about 200 miles of complete solitude from the last store by the hot springs until you roll into Silverton. It'd be a real biotch if something like.....oh.....say a rear hub....were to give up the ghost.

Dogs

Bodhi has been really sick lately. He's had a bout with diarrhea that we're just now getting a handle on. It was nothing crazy like Giardia or anything but just the normal bacteria that dogs have in their systems. He just had too many of the bad ones. Normally larger dogs can cope with it but the little ones sometimes have trouble. A bit of yogurt and about 3 days of meds and he's solid as a rock. This dog has been to the vet more times than I count. To be honest, I wasn't sure that this was a good time for another pup with grad school and all but I really like him and I'm so glad we decided to do it. Although he is proving to be way more difficult than Dharma every was....it's worth it. When we brought him home he was 12 lbs. Even with all the intestinal issues he's had, he tipped the scales at 25 a few days ago. Everyone told me when we first got him that he wasn't gonna be big. I disagreed and wont be surprised if he ends up being close to 80. He still has all of his baby teeth (fronts and molars). Typically they lose their fronts right at 4 months so I'm ball parkin' his age at somewhere around there.



BIG TROUBLE.


Despite how this looks, Bodhi is NOT pooping.

Projects

I love working around the house. It seems that we are running out of udates to make in this house though. When we bought it, there was some killer linoleum on the landing and in the laundry room. So today I finished installing some Pergo flooring. I love this stuff. Here's what it looked like after I stripped the moulding off.



In progress.


Oh yeah...so much easier with 2 dogs when they think that Duct tape, a pencil, some foam, scissors, and flooring are toys.


Just needs moulding and quarter round.

8.1%

Someone I work celebrated her 40th birthday last week. This was gift. An ounce for each year of her life on Earth.

Buy my hammock

You will sleep like never before under the stars.

Food in the yard???????

Let's devote some time to this one. It is not uncommon during the spring and fall when the bears are super hungry to see loads of trash cans all througout our fair city ransacked. It's irresponsible. I love the fact that Telluride and Crested Butte and other mountain towns make it a point to utilize bear proof trash containers not only in town but that they also require residents to do so and they cite the ones that don't. I've considered having my students write persuasive letters to the city about this issue but I can see where I'd get a talking to about it. One of the things I like best about living up here is the fact that I see so much wildlife right in the front yard. That's greatly impacted by everyone's actions though. Nuasance bears are created by the actions of us. My neighbor not only throws his scrap food in the front yard but he also keeps his trash on the front porch in a plastic bag. Use the friggin' garage and put the trash out the morning of pick up, get creative and make a secure location for the trash cans or invest in bear proof ones for cryin' out loud.

I think I'm feeling frisky today. Time to go walk my dogs and terrorize the town folk.

Bad owners suck

There's this guy that lives up the street from us who walks his collie every day off leash. He talks on his cell phone and the dog just roams as far as 100 yards away from him. The dog comes in everyone's yard and poops, and marks it's territory and of course he never picks anything up. He usually hangs out in my neighbors yard for up 20 minutes because my neighbor puts all scrap food out in his front yard for the bears and foxes to eat (an entirely different issue that's probably worthy of some attention). Anyway...I called the guy on it a few days ago when I came home to let mine out and had to wait until he walked back down the street to get the collie. I mean...if I were to let out my dogs out off leash it would be irresponsible. They could chase something, get hit by a car, etc. They could also get pissed that his dog is in our yard and go to investigate. If things got aggressive, it'd be my fault. Again...if the tables were turned I'd probably get a citation (and should). Few things make me as frustrated as bad dog owners and parents.

I came home to let the dogs out at lunch and found what appeared to be a frame box on my front porch. I opened it up and was delighted to find a really cool Orbea Lobular. I first saw this frame when I went back to STL for Gateway Cup. Dan Schmatz was riding it and although I did consider stealing it from him while he was in the midst of changing, I reconsidered. I'm pretty sure I remember getting my ass kicked by Dan back in the high school wrestling days and it wasn't a good time. Besides...it was damn hot that day. Too hot for fist to cuffs.

Dan retired from BMC last year and I was pretty excited to have his frame built up as my spare bike. It's kind of like those thoroughbred horses that retire to a farm after winning some prestigious derby races. That thing was gonna spend the rest of it's days on liesurely rides in the mountains and taking in all the fresh air that life has to offer. I'd talk to it and generally just frolic about on it. After being put through it's paces by him, this was gonna be a picnic. However...I'm afraid it was not to be. It's just a bit too small. Top tube is 54 and I really gotsta stretch myself out on a 56. I'm not happy about this at all. Dan...I'll call ya when/if I find my phone again.

long cold night

Bodhi was sick as a dog with the squirts last night. I had to let him out every 45 minutes or so and let him take care of business. As a result I didn't sleep a wink. The temps last night were a stupid minus something in the teens and each trip out was at least a five minute investment. Round about 2:30 in the morning, Dharma starts crying. She's gotta go now. I'm telling you straight...I've never before witnessed anything quite so brutal as what came out of my own pride and joy. I made 4 trips home from work today to let them both out and then cooked up a little white rice for them both. I'm currently waiting for it to do its thang. Could be worse though...Bodhi was the only one to have an accident in the house and I suspected he might so I left him out of his crate today and in the laundry room. So no training on the treadmill tonight but I did feed the Bodhster on the treadmill (non-moving of course). No pics and......you're welcome for it.

Supposed to be colder than snot all week and they're calling for tons of snow but I think they're full of crap. It's too cold to snow. I'm goin through firewood like a locomotive goes through coal I tell ya.

I've about kicked this cold/flu or whatever it is and just in time for a batch of storms that are supposed to last through the week and dump as much as a few feet on us from what the weather folks say but you know how that goes. The dogs are good but the little guy just has soooo much energy and when I'm sick or the weather isn't good, it makes it really hard to exercise him and then he's a complete lunatic. So....I scanned Craigslist today and came up with a possible solution. I found a super nice treadmill that some lady wanted to unload for $75. I had no idea that treadmills went for as much as one with incline and all the bells and whistles does. It's probably going to take some time to get him comfortable with it. He's a little shy around it now. Dharma got right on it and walked but she's not really the problem. Obviously I'd rather walk him outside but there are times when it's either not possible and there are also times when even a four mile walk/run has zero effect on him. I truly believe that when a dog is tired it's much easier to train them and they are just happier. My plan is to slowly introduce him to it. Today we just sat on it and ate Pupperoni's. Then we turned it on and sat next to it while eating more treats. That was enough for today. hopefully in a week or so I'll be able to supervise him on it while I sit and read a book. It might lead to more moments like this after a recent run.



This thing inclines and counts calories and tells heart rate but it does not fold up but I can't complain. I got so much fire wood that it takes up half a bay anyway so no biggie. I don't think it's been used more than a few times. And no.....we're not looking to start a dog ring I could care less about my dogs being strong I just need them to be happy/balanced.

Gorgeous weather this weekend and both of us were sick. I felt better Saturday so I got dog walking duty and then I cut more fire wood. Sunday the tables were turned so she did the walking but I still went out and cut the rest of the wood and cleaned up the mess. I didn't get one bike ride in. The phone rang this morning and my buddy Scott was going to see what the trout were up to but I had to decline. That's about all I got. Both dogs are doing well.


Heather got the decorations up so that Bodhi could start chewing on the lights and ornaments.


Sometimes both the dogs actually get tired of playing.



Bodhi sleeps with his tongue out sometimes and he snores like a freigh train ALL THE TIME.

The Jerk Store called...

they're running out of me.

Possibly on the radar.

I spoke with Heather about really focusing on the National Ultra Endurance series this year but the races are simply too far away and I'd have to fly. I still owe her a honeymoon so that aint happnin' right now. She fully supports my riding, and fishing, and other quirks, but this was a stretch. The Breck 100 is the only race that's near to me but it's about a week before the CTR and that concerns me. So it looks like my main objective for 2009 will be the CTR again but this has me thinking. I'd have to take Friday and Monday off work and just plan on being done Monday. I'd have to back at work on Tuesday which would suck b/c I know I'd be wrecked. Things that will make it not happen:
1. If my bike's not ready (getting a major overhaul over the winter and it's gotta be reliably ready).
2. I'd have to fly b/c I'll lo$e too much time driving and I have no clue about those logistics.
3. There are probably snakes on that trail and they WILL get killed.
4. Last night Bodhi took a dump in my closet and it made for an interesting clean up. This has nothing to do with the decision but I'm still trying to forget the smell.
5. There was another issue I was concerned with but I can't recall it this early.

ebay

I love ebay. I could spend hours (and sometimes do) looking around on ebay at all the stuff. I'm a huge Paul Newman and Robert Redford fan. I'm still super bummed about Newman's passing. Last year I was able to come across an autographed movie poster from A River Run's Through It. It's signed by Redford, Pitt, and Skerrit and I had it framed in old barn wood and it hangs above the mantle. Tonight I ran across some really cool Newman memorabilia. Any photo that's autographed by him is selling for at least 400. I found a 9 ball that was signed by Paul at the Indy race in 2006 and it's at 1,250. I wish I had 1200 laying around.