the weekend

the wedding was okay. food wasn't that great but it did it's job.
saturday was the chirpractor/napropathy guy. it was cool. nice lower back massage.
no adjustment yet. my muscles on my left side are super tight so he wanted to loosen those guys up before doing anything else. it's still sore (and to the touch now from the "massage") but at least i can tie my shoes and change zoe's diaper.
no rides on saturday. lots of errands and stuff.
we built john's ferrous on saturday. it's very sweet. i'm jealous.
sunday i went for a ride. if you want to call it that. i sucked! but at least i was out. 20 miles solo on the eriksen. i changed my post to the ti thinking it might "give" a little more... but now i don't feel like i set it up perfect. i think the seat is a little low.
the wind was brutal on the way to the trails but once i hit the trees it was beautiful. almost a little hot. the smell in the woods was of hot fallen leaves. i've been wheezy. i wonder if there is anything i can even do this time of year or what?
i'm not going to think about it. looks like rain.

friday and ...

i'm getting out of here in like 10 minutes.
rush home and get showered and dressed for a wedding.
i'd really like to do fall color fest but i have a chiropractor appointment tomorrow to hopefully get cracked into shape.
ride at some point. before or after?
sunday is open...
chores, kids, rides, errands... maybe go to breakfast.
there's a pamba race sunday...

crispy wheezes

i rode tonight real quick. 14 pavement miles. it was chilly. i remembered my shuffle which was amazing.
the cooler air made me wheeze a little. hard to catch my breath. i told myself it was because i was hungry. sounds dumb, but anything for it not to be a sign of things to come.
ups called today and said they were making a delivery on thursday between 8am and 7pm... if somebody isn't here to sign it gets sent back. f*ckers.

home early

zoe has a croupe-like cough. took her to the doc to make sure nothing was in her lungs. i have asthma and am super sensitive to anything related to breathing and coughing. i know its better to be safe than sorry.
she's only got a head cold. i figured as much but i wanted to be sure. and besides when you go in they always tell you what they can take- like children's benadryl allergy and give you the dosage. if you go to the store to get it and ask for the doseage the pharmacist says talk to your doctor. if you call your doctor, they say we have to see them.
ride tonight? it's john's night. maybe he'll be back early? if not, i'll bust a light out.
a few errands tonight. thinking about it john may be too excited to ride... hal
o 3 came out today and he pre-ordered it.
not only is he a bike geek, he's a video game nerd. he made fun of himself last night because he was watching the countdown for the release of halo 3.
i took the time to really stretch my back. it helped a lot. but i still think i need to do something about it.
edit: maybe i won't be going for a ride. i just looked at the radar. yikes!

my back kills

i'm guessing my chair at work is aggravating it. i wasn't able to bend down and change zoe this morning but it loosened up later. then i got to work. it was painful at work. my back was constantly on my mind as i felt it twinge all day.
no ride tonight. responsibility made me go to the store and then come home and pay bills since i didn't do it this weekend.
i'm in panic mode. i need to get out and ride. summer is gone and the snow and cold will be here before we know it. yes, i know you can ride in the cold and snow, but it's not my favorite.
bike building this weekend hopefully. i think i miss it. i usually have built something new again by now.
i think i sold the lemond. i'm kind of bummed as i don't need to get rid of it at this point. my wheels have long since been paid for which was my original reason for selling it. but at the same time, the offer is there, so i'll take it. maybe i'll get a frame for myself and build a 1x9. i just got a noir ss carbon crank with carbon guard and i have wheels (cranks and wheels are always the hard part (expensive) part). everything else is easy and/or here already. i know exactly what i want. it's just a matter of being able to get it. i hate being obsessive sometimes.

tater bake

my start sucked and my finish sucked. the middle was pretty good.
i was 5th from last up the start climb. passed a few people and then hung my head low as i tried to climb like i'm capable of for the first part of the course but it just wasn't coming to me. i did eventually work my ass off that lap and it showed as i grabbed onto the train of the lead sport girls by the end of the lap. i knew i'd lose them at the start climb because i had given so much already just to find them. i figured i'd recover a bit and catch them again. and then i decided to eat. i still can't eat on a bike during a race. i even bought a gu bottle but it's on my desk at work. anyway. it was the perfect place to eat had i been able to open it. i tried and tried. couldn't get it open and then a couple girls passed me. wtf. i suck. so i chased with gu packet hanging out of my mouth. i decided one more try to get it open, couldn't, so tucked it back in my shorts as now there definitely wasn't an opportunity to eat it. i had to dig to catch people again. i was cursing myself for awhile. i finally got it open but wasn't able to drink for a few, so i had a gu glob stuck in my throat.
i saw a few sport women which gave me a little bit of rush to grab on. i did. passed a couple but was feeling my efforts. i was tired. i dreaded the start of my last lap. my back was starting to act up a bit. i tried to ignore it, which i could for the most part unless i had to really push, which for me was on the steeper climbs. i made the mistake of thinking that walking up the steep climb there i wouldn't lose much time and i'd be able to stretch my back. sucky move. i wanted a do over.
i knew i'd catch a couple girls on the last sections of singletrack as i had on every lap and would hopefully hold it for the finish... that is UNTIL my cheer pack exploded into my mouth and went in my lungs (i suck at eating on a bike). i felt like i was drowning for a second. i couldn't breath and then i started coughing violently. i had never coughed that hard before... it just kept coming. i couldn't even see i was coughing so hard. after that happened i knew i wouldn't catch anybody. there wasn't enough trail left. it didn't keep me from trying but i was slightly deflated that i was taken out by something so dumb. i would've rather crashed or flatted... i think.
anyway, like i said, sucky start and finish, but the middle was good. i did some cool stuff for myself and learned a few things as well (some of which i learned already).
coming back from so far back in the pack at the start and then catching the lead (i think there were a couple girls still ahead of them but still) was awesome. i felt really good about that. my starts are never good, but they are never that bad as it was today. i wasn't able to hold it after i caught the pack, but am pretty satisfied considering i ride maybe 15 miles a week. i rode more aggressively to pass people than i ever had so i was happy about that as well. i was able to dig a few times on my second and third laps- i just wasn't able to hold it. i didn't finish thinking i could've pushed harder here or there... i gave it my all today. (i finished thinking i'm a moron who needs to learn how to eat on a bike) i'd like to think if i had a good night's sleep on saturday (or even friday) maybe my start would've been better. but at the same time if my start was better i wouldn't of had that feel good moment of catching the train. hopefully some day i'll be able to ride with the train once i've caught it instead of thinking about going to the side of the trail and dying if only for 5 minutes.
i had hoped to hit the top 10 today and missed it by just over 20 seconds.
i'm still coughing from that pack. at least it was easy to open.

sram news

zipp.

the small things

i just found out the shop i used to work at is the industry 9 service center for our area. sweet.
2 hours to drive into work this a.m. lame. sitting in the car doesn't agree with my back. in fact that's when it's the worst. the aleve is a dream right now though compared to advil.
the eriksen is what i would describe as a mullet. all business up front with the easton wheel and a party in the back with the orange i9.
edit: i'm not bringing my wheel to the shop. one of the guys said they didn't have the special i9 tool. you mean like a park spoke wrench? no thanks. i don't want my wheel to be their guinea pig.

bent

i have been riding bikes since i was a kid. cycling has been a lifestyle for years now.
in all my years of racing and riding i have never broken a bike part or had to send it for repair.
looking at my xray 800s wrong does not count. and my sid lockout not locking out doesn't count either, pure sucks.
i didn't pack my bike to ride after work tonight. i planned on hitting the road with my mtb or road bike. but then beth called and wanted to ride. the plan was bring our lights start at the mesa and then hit the paved loop and call it a night. sweet.
we hit the mesa in style. beth on her white and pink blur and me on my eriksen.
we rode the mesa to the outer loop and then the outer leg of the outer loop. i figured we'd hop back onto the mesa at the short cut and bypass all the more "dangerous" stuff as it was super dark. well since i talk too much i missed the short cut. we were so passed it, it wasn't worth going back. i should've known the ride wasn't going to end well when i hit my chainring on mike's log bridge. i've never done that. my mind wasn't really on riding. i was thinking about where beth was, doing wheelies and trying to aim my light to find deer eyeballs so i could see them glow. like grow up already. i was a bit ahead of beth on the other side of the grand canyon... there's a small little- i guess i would describe it as a super mini double. i usually lift my front wheel and my rear wheel just dips in the jump and my front wheel comes down the backside. i was going faster than i thought i was and when i hit this i think i hit the brakes (there's a slight turn as well) and started to wash out straight into a tree. my I9 wheel and the stupid tree hit head on. i think i bailed at perfect time to not get hurt but not so perfect as it seems i still drove the front wheel into the tree. get up, dust my self off. i knew something gave as it wasn't very harsh. i was hoping that it was my fork. but it wasn't. it was my wheel. as luck would have it this was the one night i didn't have my multi-tool in my back pocket. i always have it with me during a race, a 2 mile ride, a group ride. and i didn't have it. my stem was cocked a bit to the right and i couldn't get it moved over. we were pretty much at the furthest point of getting the heck out of there. i had a knocking up front. since i had discs, the wheel was rideable but i wasn't sure what the knocking was. i was 99% sure my headset was loose but i wasn't certain. so it was a lame ride back.
my back has been super irritated so riding with the stem crooked seemed to irritate my right lower back by my hip area.
i was trying not to be super bummed. i mean i just played chicken with a tree and lost and worse case scenario is i have to send my wheel back to i9 for a new rim.
i am in no way complaining about i9. just bad luck and bad riding.
john said i could borrow his easton wheels if i needed to, so the eriksen will ride on- just not as orange.

taco'ed?

not quite. but close. my I9 is in the er hopefully being repaired but right now hope's all i have. it's a pretty bad hop.
damn tree.

ride?

i haven't ridden since sunday. i didn't bring my bike to work today as i ran out of time. evenings are hectic with getting home when i do, homework, dinner, baths and getting kids into bed. then it's clean up dinner, kids clothes ready for tomorrow, etc. i didn't have time to get my clothes and bike together as i was exhausted. bummer. other nights i just don't go to bed until well after i should. i'm hoping to make it home in time to get out even if it's only for a short while. i'd even ride my road bike.
in more exciting news the new stuff from twin six is up. i'm excited. just in time for my need to always buy clothes this time of year.

my back

ouch. i have one of those velcro disposable heat things on it today. hopefully this will loosen it up a bit. not that i enjoy touching my toes but i miss being able to do it. i hate hurting anything, but the back is the worst! i have no idea what i did. age?
friday and saturday were pretty mellow with john being gone. the kids and i went to the park on saturday and then went to the patio for dinner. casey has been talking about eating there for awhile now. i had ridden with brad out at palos earlier. it was cold! jersey, arm warmers, knickers and a vest. i never wanted to strip any of it off.
sunday i headed out to the mesa with gina. it was a fun ride. chatted and rode. i think i kicked up every stick out on the trail. the little albert's are super aggressive and wanted to grab everything. i have my next tires picked out but availablity is sucky at best, at least for the 26".
i am half way through a whole bag of swedish fish right now. i vote that these little red gems are pretty much the best candy ever.

see eff tee eff

cheq the 40 results.
effin' cool.

aunt n uncle again

julie (john's sis) n doug had a baby girl this afternoon. no name yet. i can't wait to know what her name is and see pics.
they were convinced they were having a boy so it makes it even a little bit more of a surprise.
sucks they are in california.

nighttime stealing my daylight

i met beth on kean around 6pm or so. we started riding with lights attached out on the canal trail. fumbled our way around a bit but found our way. one detour out to lagrange set our bearings straight and we continued on for a mellow evening into dark ride. we chatted, debated on where we were. went the wrong way a couple times. it was fun. i know palos pretty well but there are still some areas where i get confused. these are the grey areas.
we made our way to pretty little trail up burrito hill. we ran into a couple of guys at the entrance of out n back that scared the crap out of us. we scared the crap out of them too. we must have all thought "busted" at the same time. said hey for a minute or so, turned our lights on and headed down gravity cavity to the canal to head on back to kean.
we were stuck in the fisherman's lot before the canal trail for a bit as the tree cop was hanging out in the parking lot. all we could do was pee and hope he left soon. it wasn't long and we were on our way. reminiscing about the time we were on this huge group ride out at swallow cliff riding all the illegal singletrack and practically running into the forest preserve cops. we all ran into each other to stop before we exited the trail. stan, beth and a few others took off as john, tony, matt, myself and a couple others waited it out. we ended up turning around and just rode the same way we came and laughed about those "other guys" freaking out.
we made it back to kean and stan and the others hadn't made it back yet. a few minutes later we heard them all yelling at each other coming out of the trails itching like mad. they rode through everything and anything to escape the tree cops. i don't think i'll ever forget that. stan always makes things interesting.
anyway, we continued on the canal trail... when you first get on by the fisherman's lot there's an opening off to the left that has a huge view of the slough. it was a beautiful time of night to just happen to look across. i wish i had the camera and talent to capture that moment.
a bunch of chit chat, sticker bushes and downed logs later we made it back to our cars promising ourselves we'd do this every week until the weather made it impossible. i hope i keep that promise.

nothing to see here

zoe has not been the happy sleeper for i would say the past week. 7:30 we put her in her crib and she falls asleep. sometimes she'll cry or whine for a few but always falls asleep within 10 minutes. not so the past week. 7:30 has become hell.
i put her down and she stands in her crib and cries and cries and cries. last night she went down at about 7:30 only to wake up at 9 or so and would not go back to sleep. growth spurt? teeth? i dunno. i'm tired and frustrated though.
it was cold waking up this morning. i walked outside to leave and had to go back in for a jacket.
my back still is achy from sunday. it's been on the edge of achy for awhile now. i think it's my stem. i may bring it up a spacer. i've always known i need a longer stem but it was so fun with the 90. however when it comes to racing and pushing hard i feel the need to be stetched out a bit more. i almost got stuck in my position as i tried to get off the bike after sunday.
john leaves for the fat tire fest this weekend friday morning. i'm sort of jealous but not really. moreso just bummed i'll be without him for the whole weekend.

meltdown

i don't think there could have been a more perfect day to race than yesterday.
low 70s and the sun out in full force. in the trees it was nice and cool. out in the sun it was warm, but felt good.
i wanted to get to the race pretty early. i wanted to hang out for awhile before having to get ready to race. owning an xbox 360 and having 3 kids doesn't really allow this.

my start was typical of any other start. i try not to blow myself up as it takes me a real long time to recover. instead of having us go straight up the grass hill we rode across the bottom of it, straight up around a bush-tree thing, back down and back up on the singletrack in the middle of the hill. ugghhh. brutal. i was stil breathing hard as we rode around the parking lot ready to drop into gravity cavity.
i don't think i've ever ridden gravity cavity as fast as i did on that first lap... ever.
i could see mitch just up ahead as i came off of one day trail. he was climbing up ho chi minh. i didn't see him again until turf 1. as i was coming down the second ravine i saw the yellow things which i thought were leaves. they hit me pretty hard. for a second i was like wow the wind is blowing really hard here for those leaves to be hitting me that hard... but then i realized after i heard everyone yelling that they were bees (really they were wasps). climbing out the second ravine was just as brutal as i remembered it... but even more so in a race. there's just something about racing that makes things hurt just a bit more.
up to psychopath, down psychopath to turf 1. we were flying. there was a bit of a back up in turf. this is where i caught on to mitch. the majority of turf is really difficult to pass on especially with a train of people.
the train broke up at the exit of turf onto the kinda paved road. where mitch disappeared. climb climb climb. down to stairsteps... wait a minute no stairsteps- reroute. up to the gravel and down to badass hill. this is some of the most technical multi-use path i've ever ridden really. back up to green grassy and headed out for another lap. nothing that eventful really. it was just fun. ran into the wasps again, but luckily never stung. traded places with some guys a few times. it was nice racing with people. it's very rare that i'm not by myself. the grass hill was a bitch. i was totally up for another lap though! next year provided my mom is up for taking the kids again.



i even had a fan club after the race. i'm guessing these guys have never ridden with a girl who mountain bikes? i had to break their hearts and tell them i was married with kids. fran asked if they wanted my autograph. it was kind of embarrassing for me really.



watching the expert race was very exciting actually. there were a couple places to go see them without getting on the race course. seeing ben come through with jeremey on his wheel in the first lap was pretty exciting. i think i knew everyone in the top 10! it was cool being able to yell everyone's name as they sped by.
ben was leading at the start of lap 2. kevin was leading at the start of lap 3. and then jeremey finished it off to come in for the win. mike, chris, frank, john, mark, jerry and adam came in shortly after. most excellent racing.
total bummer that half the women's expert field was taken out by the wasps. kaitlynn had them stuck in her jersey and helmet. poor holly was stung on the lip and forehead. upon running into her i didn't have to ask what happened. her lip was enormous. and then lori with her flat and bent rim (she really needs to learn how to ride smoother).

CAMBr put on an excellent event. even more amazing was it was their first time putting on a race. the weather put it over the top. props to CAMBr, all the volunteers and sponsors who made the race what it was- AWESOME! everyone is already talking about next year.

***pics stolen from mg, ben and the cambr page

take three

i had an rx filled on a pair of frames from oakley the other day.
i have another pair of oakley frames here from years ago that were actually filled by oakley.
i picked up the new ones today and they aren't as crisp as the old ones.
i wonder if it's because it's not actually an oakley lens (they have killer lenses) or if my rx is wrong?

no kent

katie just emailed me... she had some health issues that are delaying their trip.
they won't be able to come down on sunday to palos. she's not even sure she'll be able to race at all.
all you folks up at sunburst be sure to say hi to them as they think they'll make it to kewaskum, considering it's practically his mom's backyard. i'm sure they'll be hard to miss- 3 people on eriksen's would stick out like a sore thumb to me anyway.

bomb the mosquitos

wednesday night is my typical night to ride. my night to not worry about what the kids are having for dinner.
i busted out of work a little earlier than usual with feltz. we headed to palos as he wanted to pre-ride the course. then i figured we'd head out to stonehenge and depending on time hit cemetary hill or old country lane. i was figuring cemetary hill as it's shorter but one can hope.
sitting in the E we were coming up on damon on 55 and the skies let loose with the biggest water drops i've seen in quite some time. it was very strange. the skies were filled with the scary grey clouds with the big white puffy ones. after the big rain drops the skies stopped and it just appeared grey. i didn't even realize there was rain in the forecast.
we were determined to ride regardless. my thoughts were it didn't rain long enough to get through the trees.
we got to the new staging area where it was a bit wet. adam and i got dressed and headed out for a loop of the course.
the staging area singletrack was dry. sweet. headed up towards gravity cavity after tightening my air cartridge on my seatpost.
i'm beginning to think that i dislike my jones xr tires on my 26". i love them on my 29er. i always feel like my front tire is going to wash. i need to find a new high volume xc tire. anyway one day trail was a bit damp but nothing crazy.
then we hit three ravines. talk about slick. i had just put 30#s of pressure (i usually run 26 or so) so my tires were sliding off roots and weren't instilling the best of confidence. 3 ravines is so packed down that the rain wasn't absorbed into the trail. it was just sitting on top making even the slightest off cambr section slick as snot. i was starting to get frustrated. my tires (and skill) weren't allowing me to even climb out of the first and third ravines. that's how bad it was. i ended up stopping and letting some air out my tires (should've down that 2 ravines sooner) and i got a bit more confidence. but semi slicks wouldn't be my tire of choice if this is what conditions would be like for race day.
while riding 3 ravines we ran into mike kelsall. i heard him yell trail as he was floating through the ravine. we ended up riding and chatting with him for the remainer of the ride.
having stopped a couple times it became apparent that the mosquitos were out in full force. i was in shock at how bad they were. buzzing in your ear. it was super annoying. luckily we didn't have to stop much.
we headed up towards psychopath. the beginning flatter section was pretty wet. mike said earlier it was like a river, the water was flowing down it so fast. you could tell it was already starting to dry, though still far from dry.
our bikes and bodies were a mess by this point. it wasn't really muddy just real splashy.
turf 1 turned out to be decent only slick in spots. this one part of the trails sweeps right and i just kind of two wheel drifted not in a good way to the trees. no harm. just started pedaling agan. we climbed up the road to stairsteps to bad ass hill. i think i climbed bad ass hill in record time for me. it actually seemed kinda short.
out in the parking lot we decided to ride up green grassy and head out towards stone henge. back down the staging area singletrack and slid out a bit where i crashed last wednesday. whoa.
i led adam and mike all the way out past 95th and 104th. i let mike go through ahead of me to a log crossing. i'm not afraid of log crossings at all, but this one sometimes has the build up branches out of place. too many people have gone down pretty hard there. mike took it to the right which is actually more of a jump instead of a ride over and slowly endoed. he was okay. he took the lead after that.
we started heading towards cemetary hill. i hadn't been this way in a long time. i started to remember bits and pieces of it as we continued on. we came across these kids on the trail. it was sort of weird, their body language, etc. 3 of the kids turned away to not look at us as we rode by. strange. as we came to the exit of the trail there was a set of bones- like bigger bones- set up with bits n pieces of car tail lights? wtf? kids.
next up was cemetary hill. it's a pretty steep rutted out illegal hill. i started up it and started laughing for some reason and lost all momentum. had to stop and walk. big mistake. the mosquitos found me. HOLY CRAP! they were dive bombing me, attacking from all points. i must have had 50 on me at one point with what seemed like hundreds more waiting to land. they were on my ears, in my ears, on my face, arms, legs, etc. it was madness! i couldn't get up the trail fast enough. i wanted to scream. i finally made it up and i couldn't get away fast enough. i'm pretty sure i was redlined after climbing that hill and trying to get the eff out.
back to the parking lot. i lost my air cartridge somewhere along the way. bummer.
headed on home. it was a good ride.

crap

i forgot a sport bra.

blah blah blah

work was sucky today. i'm still backed up from my vacation. not only that, i'm filling in for efrain who is in taiwan. so now i have trek oe on my ass.
no ride today. it was john's night and he didn't take advantage. my night tomorrow. i need to get my shit in order now (don't forget your gloves).
hopefully there will be people out there to ride with. it's getting darker earlier which is always a bummer. which reminds me, i need to pack my light.
i've really got nothing.
zoe has a horrible diaper rash, casey didn't win any drama queen awards tonight, john's shoulder is feeling better and my contacts suck lately. that's about it going on in the gatto's house.
looks like kent from kent eriksen cycles will be down for the palos race this weekend with his wife katie lindquist (a 24 solo world champion) and friend andy. pretty cool. i'll get to meet them in person. when you get a custom frame done by a small builder it's almost like they become a sort of friend. for those of you who don't know who kent is he is the founder of moots and the maker of my killer ti mtb frame. he's in the mountain bike hall of fame. they'll be in wisconsin visiting his family (right by kewaskum incidentily), they are choosing to drive down to palos instead. then they'll head out up to what seems like canada for the cheq fat tire fest.
til tomorrow.

labor day weekend

friday night i did a night ride with beth. it was nice to be out especially when i couldn't hit the group ride on saturday. i had a lot of errands to do anyway (on saturday) that i would have kicked myself later for not doing because i would have blown them off to ride.
saturday night my cousin lisa had a killer labor day weekend party. dj and everything. she has the perfect yard for that sort of thing. it'll be more fun for us when zoe is older. but no rush.
sunday late morning i headed out to palos to do a loop. i didn't have time for anything else and i needed to do something! i lost my smith sliders out there somewhere so i'm kinda bummed. i'd like to get a pair of glasses before this weekend.
sunday night was marie's wedding. marie and i grew up together. we lived directly across the street from each other for over 13 years. we don't hang out or talk much anymore, our interests aren't very close at all, but we will always be great friends. i'm very happy for her to finally have found her man.
i really don't like getting dressed up. i don't mind the dress so much as the shoes. i hate dress shoes. there aren't really any dress shoes that i think are cute really, nor any that i find comfortable. they just aren't me. looking around at the majority of the chicks at the wedding receptions sunday night- why do we even bother? more than half of the chicks were running around shoeless!
we didn't get home too late so that was cool.
the wedding was okay. i was sort of bummed my sister couldn't make it. reese sunday exhibited signs of an asthma attack. she's allergic to cats and lisa had cats. steph and eric decided to take her to urgent care because they were getting a little nervous. they figured she'd be given a nebulizer treatment and be on their way. not so. apparently reese has full blown pneumonia in both lungs! poor kid. she's still in the hospital but is crazed with energy ready to get out. i'm confident she'll be released tomorrow.
monday we had a group ride planned at palos. a bunch of peeps from wisconsin headed down to pre-ride the course and enjoy many of the other trails palos has to offer. we had a good group- jeremey, jerry, lori, regina, her husband bill, bob, john, brad, chris, paul and myself. there was one other dude who tagged along but i don't know who he was. we rode a hair under 20 miles in about 2 and half hours. not bad for 14 people and stopping many times to make sure we were all good (one being a long stop where john fixed his hanger and everyone else peed and got food). i had a really good time (although i really missed my smiths (and gloves), it was dusty out there!). i hope everyone else did as well. i wanted to ride longer and to my surprise i still felt like i had a ton of life in me. i really wanted john to say let's go out for some more, but in reality i was sort of relieved he was done. a little guilt was starting to set in and i wanted to get the kids a bit before on time for a change. amazing that it was my first big group ride since october of 2005.
with all the mountainbike rides going on and pre-riding happening there were a few bumps n bruises. palos is two way traffic. i've never had a problem out there. but with the race going in the opposite direction of how most people ride out there, there was bound to be some trouble. nothing serious thankfully but john had a pretty good one. on saturday while out pre-riding the course he happened upon 2 other riders all going pretty fast. john and another rider hit head on riding one day trail. john was ejected and landed underneath the second rider's chainring. the picture doesn't do it justice really.



back to work tomorrow. i usually don't care but i have so much work backed up that i'm sort of dreading it. hopefully i'll be able to get some mtb time in. the mesa needs some recon. i'd like to get in there and clean it up a bit.