5.29.2007

sike

no teeth pulled today. i'm a little miffed as when i called to set up the appt i specifically asked if i needed a consultation... they said no. i had all my xrays, doctors note, etc. so instead of getting my teeth pulled i had to sit and watch a video for 20 minutes and then have a guy repeat what i just watched! and then sign a bunch of papers. how annoying! i purposely set up that appt for today so it didn't interfere with anything, etc. so now my appt is saturday at 10am. it was that or july. i hate the dentist even more now. my whole weekend is effed and i'll miss the palos picnic. i'm trying to figureo out where my bad karma came from.
i just hate when you try to do something and specifically try to head problems off at the start and you still get screwed.

5.28.2007

an end

pretty good weekend. time with the kids and family, chores, riding, more riding. tomorrow my good times will come to an end when i hit the oral surgeon for some teeth pulling.

5.26.2007

first group ride

paved to racoon alley to the mesa to the outer leg to the outer leg of the outer loop to the outer loop to sublime down to racoon alley up the roots and into garden grove. if you've ridden there you know exactly what we rode and how much fun we had. after cruising out of the singletrack i headed home to grab the kids. john, jeremey, jerry, lori and dave made their way out to swallow cliff. i had a great time. friends, singletrack and guitar hero. can't wait to do it again.
check out jeremey's blog and pics for more on the day.
tomorrow i don't know what's going on. we were going to ride... but with all the rain, who knows. monday is for sure... 10am with more friends.

5.25.2007

family size pizzas

remember next time you might order one... don't eat half... you may not be able to fall asleep, like ever.

DONE

i bonked raking.
just ordered a family size pizza.

no ridin'

we've only been raking. finish the outer leg and garden grove and done.
hopefully i'll be able to get in plenty of riding this weekend.
my hip hurts, my hands hurt and my feet hurt from riding in my flexy vans and the singlespeed.
i woke up to my back screaming.
but it's worth it. the trails will be mint in a few hours.

5.23.2007

graduation day




























casey graduated preschool today. she's come a long way as far as participating in the programs. mid-year at her tea party she bursted out into tears she was so shy and nervous. today she sang and motioned to all songs except one. that one sucked anyway. she went up and got her diploma and even stopped to smile before going back to her seat (of course i missed the posed smile, damn digitals).


















i was super proud of her!

5.22.2007

raking



















finished raking the outer loop tonight. outer leg and garden grove are left. more raking and cleaning up the trails thursday, friday and hopefully by saturday it's go time.

humdrum tuesday

casey has been having a super rough couple weeks. yesterday on the way home from her soccer game she took a header right onto the pavement. thankfully we are helmet nazis and she came away with a scraped finger and some asphalt burn on her lower cheek and chin. she was a trooper though. cried for a minute and got right back up and wanted to race john.
tomorrow is graduation day for the 5 year old. that should be fun. her end of year picnic is on friday at the park right by our house. nice day off for me.
the mesa needs more raking. i'd like to make it out there this evening. i'm hoping the cicadas aren't ready to join me yet.

5.21.2007

back at it

wors #2 yesterday. my first race for the year. i felt better than i thought i would, but it definitely pointed out something i already knew, i need to ride more to get some fitness and speed back. i have no power. i was stuck in the singletrack because of it and not because i couldn't handle it. i actually was pretty happy that i had retapped my skills.
the course was way awesome. great mountain bike course... climbs, technical singletrack, rock garden, off camber sections... just awesome. i never went down and i only walked a couple times. once because i just couldn't make it up and a few times because of other riders. i did hit a tree though...














you can see where its swollen, it's black and blue on the underside. my shoulder looks similar. it only bothers me if i'm holding zoe or hit something (duh). it was the last lap on the big o singletrack right before the wishbone log crossing... i hit the big tree on the left! it knocked me a bit off track and made for an awkward log crossing but that was it. i didn't even think i had a mark, until i finished. welcome to the season.

john hung in there with less than ideal conditions. people were dropping like flies out there!













thanks for the pics rusty!

wausau is up in the air for us. to be honest i'm not looking forward to a marathon course. i'm a singletrack junkie and would prefer to do something that had more of that. maybe go ride kettle that weekend and then do the 12 hour race the following weekend? we'll see. so much could happen before then. we still have memorial day weekend to think about.

and thanks to jeremey for the killer parking spot and to lisa and chris for helping to get my late ass registered.

5.15.2007

race bike

no ride tonight. thunderstorms hit hard. i guess it was a good thing as i really really need to get the spot ready for sunday.
i'm being more responsible than usual and not saving it for saturday night. i went to start it and realized i needed a few parts i don't have here (surprise) and those parts that are needed are stopping me from finishing with what i do have. not to mention i don't feel like dealing with oil at the moment. annoyed at myself for not really thinking it through before today. some of it though is just because i want it a certain way, not that i need it. the bike could've been raced as is. i'm just not used to a boingy fork and i would appreciate the lockout. i take that back a little, the cables and housing are well overdue for a change. the rear hesitates... i seriously think it still has the cables and housing it was initially built with. no wait, 2nd, the cable was stainless.
i really would like to get out to geneva on saturday to pre-ride. that would be awesome. i need to hire a traveling babysitter. like a nanny for races. that would be cool. go up on saturday with this nanny person and pre-ride, hange out in the hotel and race the next day. and then i'd have to hire a dog sitter for the weekends we are away. i think i need a higher paying job.

5.14.2007

there were dressed up alligators














casey still has a fever. we are monitoring her for a couple days, if she still has it she needs to have tests run. poor kid.
i hit the mesa tonight. alone again. i need friends. anyway, i had a much better time of it than last night. i must've been more tired than i thought. i'm still horribly out of shape but it was a lot more fun today. i was glad to get ejected off the bike yesterday. i don't know why but i seem to ride so much better once i get the first crash out of the way. i guess i need to realize it doesn't hurt.












zoe's ear infections, crusty eyes and nose seem to have cleared up. i finally seem to be coming around. i still don't have my voice back but at least i'm not coughing up a lung and can breath... my infected tooth isn't causing me too much trouble either. john has an appt tomorrow to see if his cough is anything other than just nagging.

another effer

i typed a long post last night... like a post so long people probably wouldn't even read and it's gone. where'd it go? irritating. a short recap... friday night sucked, saturday was okay and sunday was uneventful.
edit: found the post. i put it in my bike page. duh.

5.13.2007

what did you think about last ride?

its late. i don't even wanna ride. i wish it were earlier. shut up and ride at least you get to go. why did i ride this (walt)? oh yeah, it's new and the spot needs work. i think i'm gonna be hot (wearing a long sleeve and vest). these voler shorts are way better than my verge. my saddle feels low. glass bottle by the curb... ooh hope if it punctures the stans works. where are all these cars coming from. why did i ride my single, this is way undergeared for the road. you'll be fine once you get out to the mesa. i'm tired. maybe i should go back and get my road bike... nah. my knee feels better on this bike, i wonder if the longer spindle on my spot is making my knee hurt. hmmm... i think my post slipped. (look down) maybe not. there's my mom. should i stop and say hi... only if she sees me. i feel sort of relieved she doesn't see me but bad at the same time. i wonder if tony is home. maybe he's getting ready for a ride and i'll have company. doubt it. it's mother's day. i should have called beth. nah, i bet she already went for a ride. wow i'm only going 11mph. i don't feel like spinning any harder. am i just lazy or tired? i know i'm out of shape but can spin faster than this. nah. why? hurry cross the street no cars. i wonder if i know those people? no, they are on comfort bikes. why do slow songs keep coming on my shuffle? maybe that's my problem. there's the trail. i wonder if the cicadas are out yet? no, i would've seen them already. maybe i'll run into a couple... i hope not. this stream crossing is really fucked up. i'm still amazed at how much water damage. we really need to cut this branch out... wow it's dried up even from friday out here. i'm tired. i'm gaining more confidence riding offroad though. fuck, i almost went off the wrong way. what's up with that. wow, it is the 29er wheel that allows me to get through that creek. dammit i didn't even make it half way up that hill. i'm sweaty... i'm going this way (sublime). wow this is in good condition. wtf. why do i keep pulling on one side on the walt (i went down after crossing a log). i hope there wasn't any poison ivy down there. okay concentrate here comes another log. maybe you aren't paying attention. this bike steers quick. it reacts to everything. is that good or bad? i think i just need to get used to it. give yourself a little break you haven't been offroad longer than 10 miles since sheboygan... so... wow this trail is hard on a 29er. i like it. i need to get this down. i accelerate really fast and am not used to it... and then it's not as nimble compared to my spot. but it's still awesome. i wonder what gear i'd run at palos? wow, that jump sucked. kinda scary. was it out of practice or the 29er? overanalyzing? just concentrate. fuck, i hope i get that turn and roots next time. fuck. oh my god it's like that log wasn't even there. that was cool. where's the trail? lazy eye... i like this song. teeter totter. i forgot about that. i'm doing it. no problem! rock garden. whoa... i almost went down in that turn. wtf? i seem to when the front hits something in a turn i feel like i'm going down. am i just being a wuss, a learning curve? who cares just pay attention. WOW, that's a big log crossing on a slight incline in a turn... can i even do that? i don't care. maybe next time. where's the trail? i love the mesa. i bet i can make it up rachael's log on a 29er. maybe i'll do it when i'm with someone. i'm tired. my hub feels like it's dragging. there are stan's sticks everywhere. this is fun. i forgot to tell people that the grand canyon is eroding toward the trail. i wonder if they know. i should fix that rut. (going into his bridge) bryan's rock. i wonder if he knows we call this bryan rock? okay log crossing you pulled too hard right last time you went over this. no problem. wow this bike accelerates so fucking fast. i need to get some skills to handle it like it deserves. i love these roots. they make me think everytime. this corner is muddy. i wonder if i can do that log ride. nah. rainbow bridge. squeeze between the trees. who keeps raking that trail? fuckers. whoa... you pulled too hard right again. wtf. smooth smooth smooth. i'm tired. my back is killing me. what will geneva bring? my back is gonna take me out. i'm gonna suck. who cares. i wonder how bad i'll suck? i hope i'm not last. i think i'll care if i'm last. there's a shitload of deer out here. i wonder if there are any coyotes? wow this dried up a lot. this log is so easy on a 29er. i can't believe how different this looks here. i'm going over our bridge... hold breath. phew. YES. got that out of my system. fuck this climb is hard. breath breath. this is fucking rooty. i feel like i'm gonna hit that tree with my elbow. i wonder where that tree comes up on tony? should i keep going? hmmm... yeah. i love this section. i love hammering over the raised roots. heh heh... siwinski was right... there's the go around for that tree down in the ravine. it wasn't raked here but you can totally see the trail. oh yeah, be careful grand canyon's ledge is at the edge of the trail now. i wonder if they'll reroute it. that one section is real dangerous. fucking thorns. i should head back it's getting dark. i'm tired. my hub feels like it's dragging. i need to stretch my back. my back is gonna be the death of me. oh my god i can't even straighten out. i think my post slipped. yeah, i think it slipped a little. maybe that's why my back hurts more than before?
thoughts of more of the same filled my brain as i headed back home. i was exhuasted and my back was killing me. i was talking to jeremey (after his iola post) about all the different thoughts that race through your mind while riding.
i'm still recovering from being sick (the whole family is). i also have this tooth infection dragging me down. vicadin had to put me to sleep for two nights in a row. i think the antibiotic has killed it enough now that it doesn't hurt near as much. may 29th i get a bunch of teeth pulled... i made sure it was after geneva and not near a weekend.
i hope all you moms had a great day... to those of you that read my blog and have a mom, i hope you made her feel special and appreciated.
casey has soccer tomorrow. hopefully she'll have more fun than she's had the past two games.

5.08.2007

em effer

still sick. lost my voice. when i talk its as if my signal is fading in and out. add a toothache. it feels like my heart is trying to beat itself out of my rear molar. dentist tomorrow. i'm getting irritated and impatient.

5.06.2007

when are we gonna be there?

i'd like to apologize to my parents for ever uttering this phrase.

5.02.2007

twenty 9












my house ain't no photo studio. but you get the idea. more detailed shots soon.
20.4 lbs without trying. my ti eggs and ultimates would bring it under 20 lbs.

it's 1:29am

and this is zoe...














i'm tired. i wish she was. she's sick and doped up on pediacare and motrin...

5.01.2007

zoe carbon zoe














teaser