I Am Now a White Sox Fan

The Tossers may be too much for baseball fans to handle...

...but not too much for Ryder
Today, Ryder is 6 months old & to celebrate we bought him 4 shots, because all good Tosser fans take shots on special occassions. Actually, we took him to the doctor yesterday so he could get the rest of his vaccinations. The poor dude got 4 shots, two in each thigh, & a blood sample taken from his big toe. He was none too happy. The doctor says his motor skills are advanced for his age. It shan’t be long before he’s crawling. I long for the day when we can wrestle.

Wednesday Night
The rain on Monday & Tuesday made the traction for Wednesday night ride perfect. Tom Bielaszka, Jeremy Templeman, Chris Hoyt, Trevor, Johnson, Steelman Steve, Bike Shop Matt & I left my garage at 6:30 & headed toward Crafton Hills. Going up was typical of Crafton; long & gradual. Since we opted to do an out & back, ripping down from the top was pretty sweet. You couldn’t ask for better conditions & if I wasn’t so lazy, I’d have photos as proof. On the way up, Johnson, Bielaszka and Trevor kicked the hell out of each other; however the rest of us chose to ride at winter-speed. We were all back in my garage just before 8:30 & Trevor, Johnson, Bike Shop Matt & Steelman Steve even went Casa Maya afterwards for dinner. I’m thinking Lower or Upper Workout next Wednesday & if we can, let’s roll closer to 6:15.

This is what my ride to work looked like this morning, only worse. I don't care what the calendar says. My freezing body tells me winter is here.

Road or Mountain?
Despite the fact that I had iceberg lettuce, two pumpkin beers & mint/cream Oreos for dinner last night, I’ve been pining over next year’s Sea Otter Classic for some reason. Maybe it’s because the weather around here lately reminds me of riding in Monterey or maybe it’s because I had a dream about the epic event. Nevertheless, I’m already trying to decide whether I’ll contest the road or mountain bike events. Last year I chose road & entered Sunday’s MTB race just for fun. Next year won’t be as easy of a decision. I won’t be able to do both because the MTB stage race starts on the same day as the road racing. If I race the dirt, it will probably be my one & only chance to race with an actual knight, Sir Bart Brentjens. Of course, they seem to knight everyone these days, so the prestige of being knighted is beginning to dwindle. Hell, they even knighted Elton John, Michael Caine & Bill Gates a few years ago. I knew a dude who worked at a golf course & he caddied for Sir Bill once. He said Gates only tipped him a couple of bucks after 18 holes. Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Sea Otter. For now, (today) let’s say I’ll race the mountain bike & leave the road bike at home.

Finally, a worthy cause...

"New sh%# has come to light."

Dear Matthew Freeman,

The following request to change your NORBA category has been approved and processed by USA Cycling.
Member: Matthew Freeman
License: Cross Country Racer
Request to change category from Semipro to Pro

Anyone got an EPO hook up? Kidding, of course. Although I won’t be so far off the back of the Pro field if I had a few extra red blood cells. Still kidding. I guess my near top 10 finishes at Schweitzer & Brian Head & my 7th STXC at Mammoth convinced someone at USA Cycling. That & James tells me that they called Longo as a character witness. Thanks Larry. I owe you drinks.

Frankly, until last night, I didn’t know how I felt about this upgrade. Ironically, it’s a humbling turn of events. I mean, at least as a Semi-pro, I had a chance, but now I have no chance in hell. Then I talked to James last night & he shot some adrenaline into me with his words of encouragement. “Dude, you’re a professional athlete now! That’s awesome. You should be happy.” If anything at all, at least Ryder will be able to say that his Dad competed against Olympians, World Champions, Tour contenders & maybe even Armstrong, who I’d be willing to bet will show his face at a NORBA Nat’l when the boredom of retirement sets in. Possibly the best part of this whole deal is that at the NCS races, I won’t have to race on Fridays anymore. That alone is incentive enough to upgrade.

I guess now I should start weighing all my food, sleeping in an altitude tent, (or at the very least sleeping up in Big Bear for a week leading up to an event), riding the trainer for 5-hour stint, hire a massage therapist & invest in some syringes. Still kidding.


Random…
Nathan bought a condo in Grand Terrace, but instead of taking up residence in GT, he’s decided to take on the role of a slumlord. He’ll stay in Muscoy & rent the condo out. Consider it an investment.

Warning: If you consider yourself moderately intelligent, don’t even bother reading this: My coworkers go crazy over this dude. I can’t figure out if he is serious or if it’s all a fruity European joke. Anyway, here it is and you didn’t read about Gunther here, if you know what I mean.

No Warning needed here. Although you may not see this atrocity in our area much, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening all over the United States. It kind of makes you wonder just how “Free” the “Land of the Free” really is. Help!


Things I See On the Way to Work


Cage Park is on Main Street in Highgrove. At one time the once flourishing park was home to singing birds, bunny rabbits & squirrels. Legend has it that contaminants from the K&N Chrome Shop & local power plant forced its closure. Now the only birds at Cage Park are crows, the bunny rabbits have 2 heads & the squirrels carry rabies instead of acorns. Yet, as I pedal by the barricaded grounds on my way to work, my obsession with what now resides on the other side of the fence grows stronger every day. I'm haunted by Cage Park, but like a teenage girl in a Friday the 13th horror flick, I am undaunted by its threatening state & may soon go explore.

The ridiculousness that is vanity license plates entertain me (with disgust) while on my way to work. Here's one to be proud of.

Hey, Hey, Hey!

Save the Oranges

My million dollar patio cover project went nowhere this weekend. Actually, it wasn’t until this weekend that we discovered it was going to be a million dollar patio cover project. Instead, I planted 4 dwarf Washington Navel orange tress at $19.99 a pop. While I was at Lowe’s, buying the trees, some old dude commended me for buying orange trees. He said, “We have to keep our orange trees in Redlands.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my house was built on a recently destroyed orange grove.

Meanwhile, I was single-handedly trying to save the citrus heritage of Redlands/Mentone from land developers, Sean Donovan, Chris Heinrich, the Stephenson brothers & a couple of other dudes parked at my place & did a morning shuttle run of the Santa Ana River Trail from Poop Out back to my place. Once I was over the sticker shock of the patio cover, I went out & did Lower Workout, plus some, with Templeman. The recent fire through the Mill Creek area has made the upper wash trail look & feel like you’re riding on the moon. I recommend we roll Crafton this Wednesday night.

Ryder got invited to his first birthday party this Sunday. Alison Zercher’s daughter, Avery, turned a year old. According to Denise, Ryder fell asleep toward the end of the birthday bash. Yep, I’d say he’s my kid: Cheery & vibrant in the morn & sleepy & grumpy as the day wares on.

Steelman Steve McKovich made his return to riding on Sunday, after recently getting his contractor’s license. It was a short-lived comeback because it began raining about 20 miles in. Lucky for me, we were nearly complete with Green Spot when it started to drizzle so I wasn’t far from the dry comfort of my house. A couple hours later when I was out running errands, I saw Turner off the bike & out for a run even though it was raining. Sicko.

It has continued to rain off & on ever since. Denise still managed to take Sala out for a run this morning. They came back a wet mess; mostly from sweat.

Random…
Apparently, the weekend road rides won’t be leaving from GFE starting next Saturday. Little known fact: GFE isn’t GFE anymore & it hasn’t been for a while. I never noticed. As long as they were pouring me an occasional free cup of hot coffee, I was happy. Now we’ll be leaving from Stell Coffee on Barton Rd. & Alabama. Don’t ask why. Just be there.

Childhood alcoholism. Don't take it lightly. The billboard near work that used to read, “Childhood Obesity. Don’t take it lightly” is now a Miller Light billboard.

Speaking of the decadence that is alcohol, I took a trip to BevMo yesterday & walked away with a Shipyard Chamberlain Pale Ale named after great Union Civil War General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Excellent. I drank it last night while using the electric circular saw to build my awesome new sawhorse bike stand. I know what you’re thinking: Electric tools, alcohol – not a good idea. Relax, it was only 22 oz. Unlike Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, whose men often exchanged gunfire with Chamberlain's in the early part of the war, I still have two hands. Too bad Shipyard doesn't brew a William Tecumseh Sherman beer; one sip & it would knock you on your ass, burn down your house, tear up your railroads & leave you naked in the streets. I could go on about Sherman forever...

Can we get a NORBA NCS schedule please? A tentative schedule was rumored to be floating around Mammoth last month, but nothing official yet. Come on! I got family vactions to plan.

All dressed up & ready to party.

Eye Eye, Captain!

No respect.

The Forgotten Child

Sala hasn't been gettin' the love she once got. On the other hand (paw), she's got a California King to sleep on now, so who's complaining.

Holy crap! says Ryder. Have you heard the newest Explosions in the Sky CD? It'll blow your mind! (Thanks Loren). During lunch I took a trip to Mad Platter & took possesion of The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place, by Explosions in the Sky & The Valley of the Shadow of Death by The Tossers. Holy crap! They're both mind-blowing. Explosions... is all insturmental, kind of like Mogwai. I first heard them on the Friday Night Lights movie & most recently on Loren's iPod. I'm convinced. The Tossers, who have been one of my favorites for the last 3 years are a 7-piece from Chicago of Irish descent; as rowdy & raw as ever. So, of course I had to stop by the liquor store on the way home to celebrate my new Tossers LP.

TGIF

Tomorrow at 7:30 AM, I've got a bunch of lads from Orange County coming over to ride Santa Ana River Trail from South Fork & I don't think I'll be joining them. Gotta get some stuff done around the house & the planned ride is at least a 3.5 hour expedition. I've only got 2.5 to spare & for some reason I've been craving Oak Glen. Maybe it's because I want to sleep in for a change. Maybe it's because apple season is in swing. Maybe it's because Oak Glen represents everything good in life. Or maybe it's just because I can hammer it out in 2.5 hours. Regardless, tomorrow I'm destined for Los Rios Ranch.

What a Difference a Week Makes

The MTB season has been over less than 7 days & already everthing has changed. James has been riding the trainer up in Big Bear (already?). However, currently he's in Atlanta hanging out with Maigh & he'll soon be headed to one of the Carolina's for his Grandfather's 90th. I imagine Loren is holding down the fort on Silvertip. Meanwhile, Josh is MIA, although that's not uncommon for the Great Northwesterner during football season. Johnson has been on vacation, but I think he's back in action because he sent me an email tonight. And I'm tied up with SEMA until the second week of November. About the only thing normal is that Sean has arranged a SART ride tomorrow, hence the onslaught of dudes I'm expecting at my house tomorrow morning. Watch out for the Motor City Madman

Email from Joey regarding the Wednesday Night MTB Rides

"Are bicycles provided or is it BYOB? Your answer determines if I show. Love, Uncle Joey
PS: I don't have your Minor Threat CD."

Dear Joey,

First of all, do I look like a bike shop? Of course it's Bring Your Own Bike. Why would I be supplying everyone with bikes? Secondly, you're not my Uncle Joey. You're Ryder's Uncle Joey. You're my Brother-in-law. I think all this Uncle stuff has gone to your head. And finally, I don't actually think you took my Minor Threat CD. I'm pretty sure I know who took it. I'm just trying to give them, yet another chance to come clean. Anyway, see you Wednesday. Love, Brother-in-law Matt.

P.S. How was the walk-through? Meredith said you left a lot of blue masking tape.

There's always room for another Brian Head photo.

Did I mention how bad-ass this Explosions in the Sky CD is?

Quote: "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." - Ernest Hemingway

Bob is Beautiful

Just when I was about to throw the remote at the TV last night, Ryder & I ran across Bob Dylan: No Direction Home, A Martin Scorsese Picture on PBS’ American Masters. Holy crap! Marty Scorsese gets it done. There was a grip of previously unreleased film footage & interviews with Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez & Pete Seeger. The film focuses on Dylan up to 1966, but spends a lot of time detailing the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when the man went electric. Holy crap! I don’t care what anyone says about the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, the MC5 or the New York Dolls; punk rock started in ’65 when Bob went electric. It was hilarious, all those folkies are at this festival to celebrate peace & love, but when Dylan came out with a band, sans an acoustic guitar, they booed him. Freaking hypocrites. Meanwhile, back stage Seeger is threatening to take an axe to the electrical equipment because Dylan’s set wasn’t folkie enough. Bob only played a few songs that night, but in his shows that followed he kept playing electric despite much criticism from everyone. And the entire time he’s loving it. That my friends is punk rock. Holy crap!

It will always puzzle me how so musicians can hear someone as genius as Dylan & still produce the crap that they do. Have they no pride? One of the coolest stories I’ve ever heard was about the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson & the first time he heard Sgt. Pepper’s. I’ve probably told this story before. Wilson thought Sgt. Pepper’s was so good & so ahead of its time & so much better than anything that the Beach Boys had produced that for an entire year, Wilson went into a deep depression & seclusion. He finally came out of it & the Beach Boys produced Pet Sounds, which is regarded as one of the best rock & roll albums of all time. The point is, Wilson had enough integrity to not just put out something crappy after hearing Sgt. Pepper’s.

I heard a similar story about the drummer of A Perfect Circle after he heard the newest Tool album. He thought the percussion was so good & so much better than his own work that he went into a depression. I sometimes used to feel that way when I wrote for a living. I’d read one of Scott Rousseau’s Cycle News pieces & get frustrated & depressed because I felt it was so much better than what I was currently writing. Not only was he good, he was fast. No one could whip out a print-day editorial with substance like Rousseau. He is by far the best moto-journalist in the business. When that guy goes, generations from now, the dirt track (and motorcycle world for that matter), is going to mourn like Laker fans did the passing of Chick Hearn. Anyway, I digress. If more musicians, writers, directors & artists in general had a little more pride like Brian Wilson & weren’t just trying to get richer, then I wouldn’t be tempted to throw my remote at the TV in the first place. And regardless of his dwindling voice, Bob is bad-ass. After that comes Shane MacGowan. No one else can hold a candle to either of them except for maybe Paul Simon (hey, The Only Living Boy in New York is full of classic angst). I could go on forever about Bob & Shane…

Wednesday It Is!
The popular consensus for the weekly mountain bike night ride seems to be hump day. Here’s what I’m thinking; we roll from my warm & well-lit garage in Mentone between 6:15 & 6:30 pm. You can park in the street, use the hose for water & the more hygienic of the group can even use the bathroom if require. From there we have a choice of about 5 rides like Crafton, Upper Workout, Lower Workout, up the Wash & the Dam Ride. The pace should be casual & stopping & breaks should be at a minimum so we’re not out past my bedtime. Starting next Wednesday, October 19. If you want to go & need directions to my house email at freemanrace@sbcglobal.net


Random…

I’m officially pack-fill. I’ve been granted my Category 2 license.

My Dane Cook CD isn’t going to return itself.

...neither is my long-lost Minor Threat CD

Jeremy Templeman was kind enough to find me a mascot for the blog. Here he is:

That's what I'm saying.

Quote: “A bicycle ride is a flight from sadness.” – James E. Starrs, The Noiseless Tenor

That's a Wrap

My long season finally came to an end on Sunday at the completion of the Fall Classic. Whew! It all started way back in January at the Nelson’s Landing Road Race, which I won by the way. Nearly 9 months of racing later & I’m ready to watch football on the weekends; at least until November rolls around & then it’s again time for long base miles. Back to the Fall Classic: I managed a 7th regardless of coming home from work early on Friday because I felt like I was going to vomit. Not sure what that was all about, but 4 hours spent in bed that day fixed me up. I’m not saying I didn’t feel like throwing up again during the race, because I felt horrible, but I am saying that the rest fixed me up good enough to mow the lawn & walk all over Point Loma on Saturday (more on that later). Back to the Fall Classic: I started slow & began coming on about 10 minutes into it until I got stuck behind some slower guys going down 1E01. I got complacent instead of trying to get around them on the treacherous single track & by the time we had dropped down onto the road heading back up the mountain to the 5 Bitches, it was too late. I let the race play itself out without getting involved.

Loren got involved in a big way. He & Paul Friewald traded the lead toward the end, but Paul made it to the mouth of Fall Line first, which pretty much decided that contest. Still, Loren should be proud of a close second. James ended up 6th with contact lense/chain/suspension problems. The Pro class was a barn burner. The top 5 finishers crossed the line within a minute of one another (so I was told).

I owe Denise, Ryder, Greg Johnson, Cyclery USA, Denise’s dad (Steve) for watching Sala and K&N; 9 months of thanks for helping out, putting up with me & for days off this year. Congrats & thanks to travel partners Josh, James, Loren & Sean for good company, good racing & money saved. And I can’t say enough about the van…

Year 5
Denise & I celebrated 5 years of matrimony on Saturday. Instead of spending massive amounts of cash on a weekend away, we chose to take Ryder down to Cabrillo National Monument at Point Loma so he could get yet another stamp in his National Parks Passport. The little dude is less than 6 months old & he’s already been to Cedar Breaks, Zion, Saguaro & now Cabrillo. After checking out the lighthouse & some of the other stuff in the park we had dinner in SeaPort Village. Although the Salmon was top-notch, it probably didn’t help my cause at the Fall Classic; something more carb-filled would have been a better option. Ryder appeared to enjoy himself all day.

Posing for pictures is serious business.

Ryder & I tandem sky diving over the Pacific Ocean.

Packers 52, Saints 3 – Days of yore are back.

What’s Next?
Now that the season is finally over, I can finally build a patio cover, plant some trees, alphabetize the CD’s, put new music on the iPOD, put up some shelves in the garage, construct a climbing wall & paint the fence. I feel like I’m forgetting something.

Random…

In conjunction with K&N’s IndyCar® sponsorship, the IRL brought out their Fan Experience circus to K&N last Thursday. They cooked us tri-tip, chicken, corn on the cob & a ton of other stuff. As usual, I ate too much.

If he read my blog, Nigel Hill would probably hate it. Apparently he likes James’ blog because it’s usually filled with photos & no ramblings. I, on the other hand ramble.

Here's something you don't see every day.

Things got a little out of hand at the IRL Fan Experience. An unnamed co-worker broke a chair. Not World Wrestling Federation style. More like I ate too much tri-tip & chicken style.

Quote: “Sometimes I wish my brain didn’t think so much.” – Julie Wofford, explaining why the thought of hot dogs being made prevents her from eating them.

What Ryder Won't Be Dressed As For Halloween

This is why kids are so screwed up these days; because their parents dress them in get-ups like this.

Remember...

Days of Yore

More Days of Yore

Two Score Ago Yore

Oh and four? The Horror!

Tucson Bicycle Classic

$80 a tank!

Ryder got a new hat at the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center. He'll have to grow into it.


Some of the park's Cholla Cactus brought back painful memories of Laughlin Hare Scrambles.

Ryder continues to be an awesome traveler. He just goes with the flow. Wherever Denise & I take him, he doesn't seem to care. Six-plus hours in the van on the way out there didn't phase him a bit. He even sat through a 15-minute slide show at the Saguaro Nat'l Park Visitor's Center without causing a fuss. In 3 days, the only time he came undone was during Saturday night's dinner at Bennigan's, which leads me to this observation: Where are all the Tex Mex Restaurants in Tucson? I thought we'd be eatting good when we were there, but fine food was slim pickin's. We even went looking around U of A & only found a little Italian place called Magpie's. It turned out to be good food, but Denise & I couldn't help but think we were definately missing part of Tucson. We left unimpressed.

Quote: “Don’t sit there. There are ants.” – A girl to her friends at the Waffle House in Tucson. Upon hearing that, I looked down to check our booth for ants. To my horror, I saw a cockroach instead of ants. We immediately got up & left without eating, thus ending Denise’s first Waffle House experience.

Stage 1: 4-mile Time Trial

At the San Diego Omnium TT, earlier this year, I went out way too hard & blew apart toward the end, so in Tucson, I decided to start conservative. Bad idea, especially in a short 4-mile TT. My obvious lack of TT'ing practice & experience lent itself to a 50-second deficit on General Classification when it was all over. "Okay," I thought. I still have two days of racing to make that up.

Stage 2: 84-mile Road Race

Confidence that I could make up 50 seconds on the race leader dwindled a bit when I hit a massive Tucson pot hole & punctured my rear tubular just 4 miles into the road race. Luckily we had a follow vehicle & I got a quick wheel change thanks to race personel. The decisive climb of the race was in Saguaro Nat'l Park through Gate's Pass. The road tilted up to 12% near the summit & we were to complete the climb four times. On the first 21 mile lap we blew the field apart on the climb, so I knew the race would be decided at Gate's Pass even though there was still about a 4 mile rolling decsent to the finish.

I got in a 9-man break on the third trip up Gate's Pass. The only problem, the race leader was also in the break, so the chances of gaining time on him began to look slim. Suprisingly, the break worked well together & we quickly gained about a 4-minute gap on the rest of the field. Just as we were heading toward the climb on the final lap, someone in the break clipped one of a handful of cones on the course & I ran over its base giving me yet another rear flat. I couldn't believe my bad luck; 5 miles from the finish. I got another wheel from the support vehicle, but the damage was already done. In the 30 seconds that it took me to get a wheel change, I had taken myself out of a possible stage win. I tried like hell to catch back on, but because we were nearing the finsih, the pace was high. It's amazing how much time you can loose & how much slower you travel when you're out on your own. I ended up loosing over 2 minutes in just 5 miles. I still finished the stage in 9th & kept the rest of the field about 2 minutes behind me, but it was apparent that gaining the time time I needed to move higher than 8th in GC was going to be tough.

Stage 3: 39-mile Circuit Race

This will be quick. On Sunday it was hot & windy, so we did 7 laps around the 5.5-mile course as a small group. A lot of dudes had dropped out on Saturday so we were down to about 20 riders. There was nothing inside me that wanted or could try & move higher than 8th in GC. Due to Saturday's puncture, I was over 2 minutes out of 7th, so I just swallowed my pride & kept it together for the final sprint (which I didn't contest).

I'm pretty disappointed in how the weekend played out & even though the flat tire ruined my chances of a higher GC finish, the bad TT was probably a bigger blow. My body is tired. The highlight of the weekend was spending time with Ryder & Denise, who were troopers. Sitting around the heat of the Arizona desert for 3 days isn't my idea of a swinging time.

Fall Classic this weekend...

For Whom the Bark Tolls

It's come to this. Yesterday Denise got home from work & under the door was a note from the people who reside cattycorner from us. According to our neighbors, Sala barks all day, which I find hard to believe because when I come home from work or from a ride, she's usually sound asleep in the back yard. Because I want to be a good neighbor I drove down to Pet Co. last night and dumped 80 bucks on the PetSafe Bark Control Collar. Denise was none too happy, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

Here is the part where I talk about my issues with said neighbor: From my second story bedroom window I can see him & his wife sit on their back patio. They're in their 30's. She usually reads or talks on the phone, ignoring him, while he sits there & smokes either a cigar or a clove. Whatever he's smoking, I can smell the stench from my backyard. I'm thinking about putting a note under his door to let him know that my family & I are inhaling his second-hand smoke from our back yard. Here's my theory on this guy, based on his looks, the way he dresses, his moderately long hair, his clove/cigar smoking habit & the fact that he is apparently home during the day. I've seen his wife wearing scrubs so she's obviously in the medical profession, makes good money & is probably supporting her husband, who is an English Professor type suffering the evils of humanity. This self-loathing intellect is personally & emotionally burdened with penning the next great American novel & is using his lack of ideas, creativity & motivation as an excuse to punish my dog. Since this guy won't face the reality that he'll never get published, outside of a letter to the editor of the Redlands Daily Facts, Sala gets a nice little shock to the neck every time she barks at the workers next door landscaping the other neighbor's backyard.

Now Sala is destine to develop an even greater psychoneurosis due to the shocker collar even though this wannabe Hemingway is: (A) Likely to wake up from his egotistical fantasy & focus on the reality of life, only after his wife finally decides to leave this sulking soul for a guy she met at the gym; OR (B) The most popular for these types; Falls deep into alcoholism, takes a bunch of pills & dies a lonely death having only published one of those, "Fill in the useless subject for Dummies" books.

Ryder & the alleged source of writer's block.

NPR, FEMA & EPO

Yesterday during my 16-mile, 45 minute drive to work I heard 2 blog-worthy news pieces on NPR. The first story was about the death of Don Adams. During the first report, the reporter stated that Get Smart ran for 4 seasons. Because it takes me so damn long to get to work, I often get to hear the news recycled. In the second report, the reporters stated that Get Smart ran for 5 seasons. NPR, inaccurate? NPR, make a mistake on something as trivial as the lifespan of a sitcom? My sensitive English Professor neighbor's earth has just caved in around him. Turns out, Don Adams spoke to Agent 99 using his shoe telephone for a total of 5 seasons.

The second piece on NPR I heard was a phone interview with a representitive of FEMA regarding Hurricans Rita & Katrina. I won't get deep into the details of the interview, but I will say that the interviewee was as qualified to represent FEMA as the Motor City Madman (Ted Nugent) is qualified to represent PITA (thanks Brett). He failed to answer most of the questions, chose not to answer others & was unaware of his agency's policies & procedures. The impression that the interview left on me is this: Fend for yourself (and your family, of course). Go to the grocery store, stock up on food, supplies, coffee & freeze-dried icecream & don't rely on any government agency, local or federal, to rescue you in case of a disaster. FEMA can't even save themselves from a disasters NPR interview.

And finally, EPO. - I don't know Chris Sheppard, nor have I ever raced against him, but this wouldn't be much of a bicycle blog if I didn't at least acknowledge the Canadian's recent EPO positive drug test. Actually, I wasn't going to touch the topic until I ran across his written apology; blah, blah, blah. Read it if you want, but having read it myself, I wouldn't waste your valuable time. Let me sum up his excuses for his apparent "one-time" EPO usage. He's in the twilight of his career, he got hit by a car while training last year & to expedite his fitness & rehab he starts using EPO. The B.S. continues when he talks about how passionate he is about mountain bike racing & how sorry he is that he cheated his family, friends & most of all fellow racers. Boo hoo Sheppard. Just because you're a factory-sponsored racer doesn't mean that you have more passion for the sport or for racing than any other Pro or Semi-pro guy. Try working a full-time job & trying to keep the fitness to race at an elite level. If an injury & a little emotional distress is a legitimate excuse for performance enhancing drug use, then where do I sign? Does he have any idea how much emotional distress guys like him cause me? After a race, looking at their finish times, doing the math & realizing how far off their pace I really am. Now, that's emotional distress. Forget Sheppard's apology letter. Check out this instead.

On a much lighter note...

Ryder is now eating cereal & sweet potatoe baby food. He's spending today with his Grandma Cindy & Granddad, who recently returned from their vacation on the northern California coast.

Who has my Dane Cook CD & DVD? Come clean.

Any suggestions on what I should be for Halloween this year?

Luke & Jackie sent this picture of Evan & Brandon taken during a tour of the local fire station.

Ryder can sit up on his own for a short time before falling over. From the couch, we watched Monday Night Football together. The second game in the MNF double-header was the Redskins vs. the Cowboys. I explained to Ryder that a Redskin is a derogatory term for a Native American & a Cowboy is a person who often robbed Native American's cattle, horses, property & innocence, if not flat-out murdered them. I don't beleive my little lesson made much of an impact because the Redskins defeated the Cowboys 14-13.


On Labor Day, after riding to Idyllwild, I took Ryder to his first bar. We (as in Turner, Country, Dodson & Hoyt) watched college football and replinished our carbo-depleated bodies by knocking back a few. What kind of place allows a newborn to belly up at the bar? Charles Jewel's on the corner of State & Orange.


While we were in Mammoth, Country, Dodson & I went to Vons to stock up on food. I bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's Marsha Marsha Marshmallow. Get this: Those dudes actually thought I bought a pint for all of us to share. Light weights.


Staged next to Jamie Goldstein, I patiently waited for my call-up before the XC race in Mammoth. I waited & waited & it never happened. What the heck? I finish 6th in the NCS & I don't get a call-up for the National Championship? Somebody screwed up. How many times has that bold statement been directed at NORBA? Anway, I had to start near the back and, well, you know the rest.


Quote: "You don't keep running after you've caught the bus." - Sensitive Colleague Dave Shushereba, after I revealed that after nearly 5 years of marriage, I'm yet to take Denise on a Honeymoon.

U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships: Saturday & Sunday

The Pita Pit welcomed us with open arms & an open cash regisiter. Photo courtesy of Country Jimmy

Continued...

After Friday’s horrible performance, I saw no need to take the starting line less than 24 hours later to contest the Single Speed race. What I needed was good rest & single speed racing is to rest as Vin Diesel is to acting. I slept in as long as possible & then road down to the Base Camp Café with Country Jimmy & Loren. It was our second breakfast in as many days at the modest café and Country was its advocate due to the help; a rock climber chick to be more specific. On Friday Country took one look at her and said, “That chick is a climber.” Turns out he was right & they exchanged information about local climbing spots. By listening, I learned that trad means traditional climbing & a Gumby is someone like me, who doesn’t know what he’s doing on the rock.

On Saturday Country was out of luck. The B-team was waiting tables at Base Camp. Our B-teamer was a little Australian guy with a fo-hawk. We named him Frodo & demanded refills of coffee through mental telepathy as if we were Gandalf. Skipping ahead to Sunday morning, Country’s climber chick was back, but I didn’t care because no matter how many times I asked for warm pancake syrup, I was denied. Another favorite eating spot for our stay in Mammoth was the Pita Pit, located in the village. I ate three pitas in the period of two days. I’m currently shaking, sweating & twitching due to pita withdraws.

We finally made it to the venue in time to watch Longo suffer through his XC race with bike issues. Johnny O’Mara was racing at the same time. This year he stuck it to Scott Fifield by 5 minutes, putting a nail in the coffin of that drama. Justice! The highlight of the morning had to be Perry Paolini’s trailside commentary. Actually, it was more like over-enthusiastic cheering for his friends & teammates. Perry didn’t have much of a voice left by the time it was all over, but it inspired us to get a little louder too. Around 2 PM Country, Loren, Jamie Goldstein, a Bicycle John’s chick & I did a spin around the race course just for fun. Until the Short Track occurred, that was the best part of Mammoth: an easy spin with your buddies (and some chick I didn't know).

Just as I was stationing myself at the gangliest piece of downhill single-track to watch Greg Johnson tear it up, Johnson himself rode up & presented me with the finger: A broken finger to be exact. In the crash, he had slammed his head off the ground, but his middle left finger had taken the brunt of the damage. The unlucky southpaw spent the rest of the afternoon in the hospital, but I’ve since talked to him & he’s managed a road ride so he’s healing fast.

Short Track consists of 20 minutes plus 3 laps, so there’s not much to say other than I got 7th place. With a few laps to go I was sitting in 5th trying to bridge up to the four guys ahead of me, but I tried too hard, cracked & let two guys go by. I’ll take 7th, because I don’t consider myself a Short Track racer. Loren crashed the hell out of himself around the second lap & has the cuts & broken handlebar to prove it. Country finished just outside the top ten. For the Pro Short Track we grabbed some well deserved beers & positioned ourselves at the highest point of the course, taking the Perry Paolini approach to cheering. We yelled & screamed at Sean, Amon & everyone else whether we knew them or not. We even got some laughs out of the suffering souls. During my Short Track race, there were some similar characters in the same spot & whenever I came by, my tongue was hanging out. They nicknamed me Hanger, so on each and every lap, they’d screamed, “Go Hanger!” Good times. Other than the drive home, the weekend was over.

Back To Reality

The Tuesday night ride was nothing to blog about. Josh & Chris Hoyt (Carina Home-less) came out. Josh & Jeannie are driving up to Oregon this weekend to watch the Ducks play & Hoyt is moving from Big Bear down to Redlands for the winter. Eric Riser was out spinning around getting ready for Everest Challenge this weekend. Good luck Eric. Country James & Loren were also in town, but didn’t do the ride. They were picking up their friend Sarah at the airport & then went by Jersey’s for dinner. Apparently Mad Cash hooked them up.

Denise’s Great Uncle Bud & Aunt Jerry were visiting from Austin so we went to dinner with them on Wednesday night. Coincidentally I had a Great Uncle Bud too, but he only had one leg. Anyway, since we were going to do dinner in the evening, I got up early & rode Lower Workout. It was in pretty good shape with the exception of some rain ruts. The Fish Creek (I think that’s what it’s called) Santa Ana River crossing was a problem however & I had to wade through ice cold water at 7 AM to get through it. Instead of taking the Wash Trail home, I opted for Hwy 38 in order to get home faster and dry my feet. That evening, dinner was cool. I had never met Bud & Jerry before. Bud is a retired professor from UT & both of them are nationally ranked tennis players in their age division. We’re hoping to visit them in Austin next year.

Random… and a Rant

Speaking of Austin, Loren Dodson is leaving Big Bear to return back to Austin. He’ll probably spend the winter training with Lance or something. Before leaving, he suggested I lay off the ice cream. Not a chance.

Ryder has two bottom teeth coming in! I can’t wait until he bites me.

This is why things don’t get accomplished: There was a Santa Ana River Trail (SART) meeting at the Redlands Airport while we were gone. It was to discuss the completion & continuation of the SART from Mentone to Riverside (which is paved complete from Corona to Newport Beach). They also discussed Rails to Trails, which would take some of the inactive railroad tracks in the Inland Empire & turn them into paved walking, running & bike trails. Many cities & communities in the U.S. have adopted Rails to Trails. It gives kids, families, cyclists, runners, etc. a place to exercise, play & travel without having to worry about traffic. They rip out the railroad tracks (like my hero General Sherman) & lay asphalt down. Here’s where I get pissed (pardon my French, but I’m pissed): A woman, who will remain nameless, suggested that these trails should not be paved & should be dirt so mountain bikers can enjoy them. WHAT THE HELL? Can mountain bikers not ride on pavement too? Talk about being given an inch and wanting to take a mile. It is stupid suggestions like this that prevent projects from getting accomplished. I see this at work all the freaking time. Has this woman considered the cost associated with the upkeep on a dirt trail that will travel through a city? Does she not have miles & miles of single-track SART to ride from Mentone way up into the San Bernardino Mountains? We’re talking about an area that has virtually no federally funded trails of any kind & she wants to gum up the works by suggesting they be dirt. What about the roadies, stroller pushers, BMX kids, skate boarders, recumbent riders & elderly? So, instead of continuing the SART from my backyard to Riverside so EVERYONE can enjoy it, they’ll probably fight over whether it should be dirt or paved for the next five years. Of course I got all my information from the Redlands Daily Facts, so none of this may be accurate, but if it turns out to be true, I will weep for poor Ryder, who won’t get the opportunity to ride his tricycle from Jazz & Java to Redlands Cyclery because some mountain bike woman wouldn’t compromise. People like her prevent the World from harmony

Dodson & I were just happy to be done with Friday's XC race. Photo robbed from Country Jimmy.


Ice wahter & Foosball at the Clock Tower the night before Short Track (okay, we had a drink or two). Photo jacked from Country Jimmy



Country Jimmy, Me & Kevin Smallmen (Left to right) bridging up to the lead group during Sunday's Short Track. Photo lifted from Country Jimmy



Loren's second get-off of the weekend was the most costly. Not only did the crash break his handlebar in half, it probably cost him a top 10 finish. Photo, who cares.

U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships: Wednesday - Friday

Country James Williams (story later), Loren Dodson, Sean Donovan & I left for Mammoth from my place about 6 PM on Wednesday. We made it as far as Big Pine, or maybe Independence, before our stomachs needed food. I can’t even remember what I had for dinner, but I do remember that the little 24-hour diner was out of baked potatoes so Sean had ice cream & apple pie for dinner. Oh, and a Sam Adams Light.

We rolled into Mammoth around 12:30 AM. As we were trying to find our condo, Loren spotted another van parked in our complex that he dubbed, “Cooler than my van.” I should have thrown him out immediately, but I was more interested in getting sleep & it was a pretty cool van. The next day Loren tried to make good when he complimented my black steel wheels & said that he wants to get something similar for his truck. Sure Loren. Whatever.

When we woke up later that morning to get James out the door in time for his 8 AM Marathon start, we discovered that our condo was under construction. Actually, it wasn’t our condo. It was this Velo Sport chick’s named Mandy, who James knows. She was kind enough to let us crash on the floor, so when we arrived earlier that morning, we hadn’t turned on the lights in fear of waking the other sleeping patrons. With all of us sleeping on the floor & construction plans written all over the unplastered walls symbolic of graffiti, I felt like we were a bunch of transients squatting an abandoned New York City building, junkie style. We would later find our own condo, although we owe thanks to Mandy, Jimmy, John, Helen & Art for letting us invade their privacy for a short time.

Longo called James up to the line as Country James Williams & so a nickname was born. Personally, I prefer Free Wheelin’ James Williams, but I don’t have the audience that the Lawn Lizard has, so something tells me Country is more willing to stick than Free Wheelin’. Country’s Marathon was going well until he sliced a tire & had to patch it with a gel packet. A second flat sent him back even further & he would have had to abandon had it not been for Manny Prado, who floated Country a tube after the second flat. The determined duo finished the 66-mile Marathon 9th & 10th. Former Olympian Travis Brown won earning what was probably his umpteenth stars & stripes jersey.

My Semi-Pro XC race started at 11 AM on Friday morning & before I give you the race report, let me say this; the course was awesome. The 6 mile loop started with a massive dirt road climb before heading into miles of false flat single-track, more dirt roads, the 7 Bridges trail & ended with a gnarly, rocky descent back to the Canyon Lodge start/finish area. We were slated to complete 4 laps, & after pre-riding the day before, Loren & I predicted each lap would take about 30 minutes at race speed. Our prediction was close & that’s the only prediction we were close on. I silently predicted I’d do well, especially after pre-riding. It was my kind of course & I’ve been riding well. Ha! Not on this day.

This is a fact. The first 5 to 10 minutes of any mountain bike race will have you feeling like you’re going to vomit. Normally that feeling of nausea passes. The suffering never goes away; it just becomes more bearable if all goes as planned, trained & in my case predicted. Like I said before, my predictions were wrong & I felt like I was going to vomit for the entire two-plus hours instead of just the first 5 to 10 minutes. After pulling out of the Snowmass NCS prematurely last year, only to discover that the group I was riding with would later prevail & finish in the top 10, I vowed never to abandon a mountain bike race again. I nearly quit several times, but as I continued, I began to pass other dudes that had cracked. I completed four laps in the 20-something position; a poorer result than last year’s National Championships. Few competitions can support the excuses that lamely follow a poor performance, but I do believe mountain bike racing is a sport that warrants post-race excuses. Take my excuses for instance: I started too fast, went anaerobic right off the bat & my over-trained body refused to recover from its anaerobic state. Good times.

Loren faired better than I, but just barely. Around the half way point he was in 4th, then 9th & then he speared a tree head first & fell back to 23rd. His consolation prize was a badly scraped knee & forearm, but it looked damn cool. Regardless, he should be proud of his ride. Later that day, Sean flatted out of the Pro race when he found a nail in the middle of nowhere. I thought I was the only one who had that kind of luck. It’s happen to me twice in Big Bear. Anyway, flats were a common theme in Mammoth this year due to the sharp rocks on the course.

To be continued… Greg Johnson's middle finger, Froto at Base Camp Cafe, the wholesome goodness of the Pita Pit & Short Track redemption.

Random...

I posted a bunch of new photos on Ryder's blog

Congrats to Chris & Cindy Gardner, who tied the knot in Redlands last Friday night.

Congrats to Jeremy & Irene Templeman, who tied the knot in San Jacinto last Saturday night.

Fresh from her runner-up finish at the World 24-Hour Race in Canada, Monique Sawicki also competed in Thursday's Marathon. Monique finished second to Gretchen Reeves, who didn't have 24-hours of racing in her legs less than two weeks prior. Monique is hard core. On Saturday, her & husband Ron hiked Mt. Whitney with old riding buddies Byron Pettibone & Ron Burian.

Missing In Action: Mark Foist

La Chupa Cabra Captured!

This Just In: Billions ride bicycles, but only one man has captured La Chupa Cabra. Finally, I can sleep.

Teach Your Children Well
I'm trying to decide which one of these I'm going to buy for Ryder. Or maybe I should just collect them all.

Last Weekend
Both days Greg Johnson, Trevor & I were up at the crack-0-dawn to ride. On Saturday we left from my house and did Crafton, then spun over to GFE for coffee. At 10:30 Trevor & I met Jeremy Templeman, from work, at Hulda Crooks. We did about an hour or so in the Loma Linda desert showing Templeman the tricks of the MTB trade. He's fairly new to the area & to riding, but did well for a guy who spends his days behind an Apple G5.

On Sunday we met in Angeles Oaks &, well see the photos below...

I DIG THE RIG! Greg Johnson gave up his Rig, a Gary Fisher single speed, so I could ride it last weekend. I spent half the day Saturday & all day Sunday riding in one gear. I take back all those vicious things I've said about single speeders over the years. I'm even going to race it in the single speed race at Mammoth. Ouch, my knees.


My digi-cam replacement is much appreciated, but it doesn't quite get the job done for action shots. Nevertheless, this shot of Greg Johnson looks like some sort of artsy Gary Fisher advertisement.

Apparently the camera is faster than Trevor. Ahh, just kidding.

I sure wish I had a Garmin Forerunner 301 w/Heart Monitor like Johnson so I could have down-loaded Sunday's ride. Maybe if the United States Postal Service knew how to track a package, I would have a Garmin Forrunner 301 w/Heart Monitor. The posties have apparently lost it. Newman.

A Note From Lauren

Hey Freeman, It's LOREN, not Lauren. Good thing you don't ride like you spell.

Random...

This guy at work named Yuri who is visiting from Holland drinks a gallon of milk a day, straight from the container.

Canadian Chris Shepard tested positive for EPO in both the A & B samples. I'm sure that will be the talk of Mammoth.

Bob Peppler is leaving Redlands to take a job in Washington D.C. working for Homeland Secrity. I'll miss coffee & rides with Bob. I wonder who will take over the Redlands Classic?

The Governor of CalEfornyah, Arnold Schwarzenegger, came to work on Monday to do one of those town hall question & answer deals. I sat in the audience, but he only took about five questions from the audience & the entire thing was centered around voting yes on Propisitions 74, 76 & 77. I refused to shake his hand because I kept thinking about his sex scene with Jamie Lee Curtis in that cinematic embarassment True Lies & it grossed me out. Who knows where that hand has been?

James, LOREN, Sean & I leave for Mammoth in the van this evening. James is racing the Marathon on Thursday morning at 8 AM, so it will most likely be a pedal to the metal drive up 395. Wish us luck.

Quote: "I ride for passion. Cycling is too hard to do just for the money." - Two-time Mountain Bike Olympic Gold Medalist Paola Pezzo.

I've been busy as hell lately, so posts have been scarce. I wrote the following on Tuesday, but never got around to posting it, so here goes the OLD NEWS:

Sunday
Instead of getting up to ride on Sunday morning Denise, Ryder & I went out to breakfast at McDuffs. I had a spinach omelet & Denise had a waffle. Ryder had the usual. The food was good, but beware: McDuffs only takes cash. What’s up with that? Are we not in the 21st century? I own, a computer, a cell phone, a digital camera, an iPod & I recently purchased the Garmin Forerunner 301 GPS on EBay (which is yet to arrive) & an eating establishment in downtown Redlands can’t process a debit or credit card. So, I took the walk of shame over to the nearest bank & left Denise & Ryder as collateral.

Later that morning I wanted to spend some money & not on paying a lawn guy, so I went to Lowe’s & bought an electric lawnmower & edger. I know what you’re thinking, “An electric lawn mower? Who buys an electric lawn mower?” I felt the same way until recently. In fact, when I was a kid, the German people next door to us, Gerta & Walter, had an electric lawn mower & I thought it the most bizarre thing I’d ever witnessed. Somewhere between grade school adolescence & teenage adolescence I realized a number of things when it came to mowing the lawn: 1. I hate mowing the lawn; 2. I hate when I go to mow the lawn with a gas mower & I realize I’m out of gas & then an hour chore turns into an even bigger pain in the ass because now I have to drive to the gas station and pay $3.00 a gallon; 3. Half the time, a gas mower won’t start on the first or 9th pull & an hour chore turns into a two hour chore shaking out the air filter, checking the spark plug, draining out the old gas and/or cleaning the gunk from the carburetor; 4. I hate changing the oil in anything, much less something as primitive as a gas mower. By purchasing an electric mower I only have to deal with one of these problems & that is the fact that I hate to mow the lawn. Now I drag an extension chord behind me when I mow. So what. Does that make me weird? Does that make me less of a man? Maybe, but until Ryder is old enough to mow the lawn, I’m sticking with an electric mower. In its first use, my electric lawn mower did the trick because on Monday as my ride mates pulled into my driveway Lauren said something like, “Look at that lawn. I just wanna lay in it.”

Ride to Idyllwild
6 Hours
110 Miles
7,500 ft. of Climbing
100-degree weather
Conclusion: Too little, too late. I’m skipping Everest Challenge. I should have been doing rides like this for the last month in preparation instead of collecting junk miles riding to & from work. Maybe I’ll go to the Tucson Bicycle Classic instead.

The ride itself was fun & the company was good. About a dozen of us did the whole deal. Some of the band of idiots that went included Josh Underwood, James Williams, Chris Hoyt, Lauren Dodson, Craig Turner, Andy Padila, Eric Riser, Richard Barnes, Tom Gardner, Rick (his last name escapes me) & some Citrus Valley Velo dude. So, if you see any of these guys out on the road, tip your hat because it was a death march & they all made it. We made it back, hosed off on my front lawn (apparently Mentone pulls water from the Rockies because that water is ice cold) & went to Charles Jewel’s (Chuck’s Nuts) for a late lunch. Ryder joined me, James, Turner, Lauren & Hoyt at the bar as we sucked down a few well-deserved drinks & a $10 cheese burger.

And still, some how I mustered up enough energy to make a fine dinner Sunday night.

New News:

Tuesday Night
"Maybe today will make for a more laid back Sunset ride." That's what Turner said over post-ride beers at Chuck's Nuts on Labor Day after the Idyllwild slog. He must have been dilapidated from dehydration or something when he said it because when Tuesday night rolled around it was Turner who was stickin' it to us. Josh rebounded nicely from a bought of near heat exhaustion to come out & partake in getting an ass-kicking from Turner. I made a last-ditch effort at the end of the third lap & attacked the punisher, but it was symbolic of Custard's attack at Little Big Horn. It ended in my own peronsal disaster as he covered my feable effort & soloed to the top. No doubt, he was returning the favor from last week. After the ride, we parted ways & Turner asked, "You coming to crit on Thursday night." I said, "Yes."
I'm such a sucker.

Random…

The quality of my last two mountain bike rides have been nothing to blog about, but I did have an encounter with a bobcat while riding up Old Hwy 38 on Sunday

How’s this for news just one week after the occurance of this country’s biggest natural disasteer? The Transporter 2 debuted in theaters over Labor Day weekend & made more money in three days than the original Transporter’s entire stint in the theater, which just proves my theory that Americans are getting dumber.

Check out the Cycling News photo of nice guy Longo with his polar opposite.

Brett & I are having a contest to see who can find the cheapest hair cut. I got an $8 cut yesterday at Denny's Barber Shop in Grand Terrace, but then he found a $6 bargin somewhere in Canyon Crest. Rumor is that there's a $5 trim somewhere around State St.

Josh & James take a load off in Idyllwild.


Before towing us from the top of Idyllwild to Banning, Turner rests his legs.


Proof.

Crit practice is tonight (and the Raiders are on TV tonight).

Let's Get Some Tacos

Ryder & I went to the parent's house last night for tacos while Denise was at Cindy's pseudo bachlorette party. The tacos were good, the dogs were bad (with the exception of Shilo) & Ryder got a little fussy as the night progressed. He was pretty tired by the time we left. Earlier in the evening, I got some photos using a replacement digi-cam thanks to Denise's mom.

Ryder & his Aunt Meredith, who by the way is NOT a regular reader of this blog.

When Mollie barks, Ryder laughs.

Great Grandma Joyce filling in for Denise.

BEING HELD DOWN BY THE WOMAN

The Real James Williams came down from Big Bear yesterday to do a road ride before picking up Lauren at the airport. Originally we had planned an easy spin, but we ended up doning the whole RBC ride & almost ended up doing time. Half way into the ride, after making the left off of LaSeirra on to Victoria (I think that's the street name), James & I are both riding on the front with the usual suspects; Norm, Scott Cochran, Zuke & even Scott McAfee. We're all taking pulls & all of a sudden I look back & James & I have a huge gap on the other 50 or so dudes behind us, which is unusual for a couple of climbers on such a flat stretch of road. What I didn't see was the cop car to our left, but within a few seconds she made her presence known when she got on her loud speaker & according to James, said something like, "This is not an organized race. Fall back to your group. I've been following you since LaSeirra." That's what James heard. I heard, "The south will rise again." Despite what she said, her presence explained our two-man break. Apparently she had already warned the back of pack, so the two of us sat up. Too bad because moments before she shattered our glory, I had looked down at my computure & we were carrying a pace of over 30 mph. The rest of the ride went as usual. It hurt.

No blog written by a 20- or 30-something would be complete without a coffee reference every now & then, so here's mine. After the ride, I bought a bag of coffee beans at GFE. It's called IE something another & the cool part is that its roasted in Mentone, right around the corner from my house on Crafton. I'm supporting the local economy & supporting my addiction at the same time. By the way, GFE was giving free coffee & ice tea to all bike people yesterday.

Denise & I are going to breakfast this morning. Then I'll go for a mtb ride & she'll continue to prepare for the school year that starts Tuesday. I can see Morton Peak fire look out from the office window of my house. It looks nice & clear up there. That may be where I'm headed...