things. stuff. whatever. bored. busy.

let's see. hmmm... nothing new. but still felt the need to update my blog.
no new bike parts if you can believe that. still lusting the dt 240 ss bolt on hub and that's about it. i also want to build a new wheelset. dt 190 hubs laced to some stans rims. but in reality i have to get my mac fixed. the h thing and no return is driving me mad.
the 190 hubs are mad expensive and probably aren't worth the price difference compared to the 240. but my mind doesn't work that way.
i still need to buy a calendar to put all the race dates on there. people's weddings, etc to make sure they don't conflict with any races. better to break the news to them now rather than later. or maybe there is still time for them to move their date.
i guess i hadn't shared that my mom had a breast cancer scare. she had to have some outpatient surgery for a biopsy, but everything came back benign. huge weight lifted off all our shoulders.
tattoo is two weeks from today. seems so far away. casey has bmx friday and saturday. john will be riding the tour this sunday. hopefully i can get some form of riding in myself.
i miss my bikes. two of them need some major love. i tried visiting with them but its hard with a 1 year old. she ends up putting her head by the chainring or almost gets her fingers caught in places she may lose them. never fails.

bmx wii and pizza

casey had a blast at the bmx camp today. in her group it was her and 3 others including keegan.



she has 5 more hours of it tomorrow. john said it was awesome to see her progress.



she mastered both feet on the pedals while standing in the gates and then pedaling her ass off after it drops. i'm so glad she's having fun!



when they got back jeremey, jerry and mackenzie were hanging out playing wii. it was fun to hang out with some bike racer geeks again. we ordered some pizzas, talked bikes, first races and wii.

bmx

we hit bmx practice last night. you could tell casey was tired. her and john just headed back to the track this morning for a clinic. i wasn't going to sign her up. but when i heard 6 year old morgan did and it did wonders for her confidence we decided to have her take part. if casey is half the rider of morgan i'll be stoked!
as for me and zoe... we have a wreck of a house to clean. i really feel she should clean herself, she created at the very least half the mess.

turned on

a friend sent me this link today. his local trails. i'm mega-jealous. looks to be my favorite kinda riding. i can't wait til the trails are rideable again. i wish i could obsess about something else at this time of year. i've tried, everything fails.

the weekend

my knee is finally starting to look like a knee again. i tried to get a pic but none of the photos even showed a bruise. i have bruises/one big bruise from the top of my knee to just past the middle of my shin. my whole knee area is super tender. luckily it doesn't impair my ability to ride a bike. although riding in tights yesterday, the fabric kept snagging the scab. shoulda worn a band aid.
friday night we hit bmx with casey. she actually asks to go. we were going to actually hit the race on saturday... but a stem snafu and a birthday party kept us away. sunday john hit the tour da chicago while i sat at home doing nothing but web surfing, kid entertaining and coffee drinking. my day didn't change much other than changing clothes and heading out for a ride. which wasn't awesome, but great to be out anyway. my tube came popping out of my tire. i always have a seatbag on my road bike with a co2, etc. but not today! so i limped home in hopes of having no tube explosions. i quick got the tire fixed and went back out. but i could never warm up. i was frozen.
the day ended with zoe falling asleep downstairs, casey up way past her bed-time and john and i sucked into the end of the chamber of secrets. we really need to get to bed earlier. i'm super tired today.

yawn

man. things have been pretty lame around here lately.
nothing new. no new bikes so far this year. we are pretty set. maybe some new parts here n there. bmx tonight. birthday party tomorrow. what else?
hmmm... i need to sell stuff. really. like really get motivated to do it.
look fork, easton road fork, redline micro mini, ultegra 9 speed, stems, handlebars, ziggurat frame and more. i really need to organize.

i was just putting together a race calendar. it irks me that the close indiana races are the same dates as some of the closer wors races. on may 4th weekend we have iola, ft. custer, the pamba mtb fest and the dino race. lame. all 4 are fucking bad ass courses.

yeah, that feeling

i haven't been on a ride since dec 15th. i busted out today. 62 degrees. i was overdressed. it felt great. i forgot how great.
it ended crappy. i slid out turning a corner and came down on my right knee blowing out my swobo knickers. boo. i was more pissed about that. my knee looks like a grapefruit. as long as i can pedal tomorrow, who cares.

snow.

if i had a mountain up the road i wouldn't care. if it didn't turn to ice i probably wouldn't care.
trails were good. now i'm not so sure. i'm waiting for someone to give a report.
my back is hurting again. call to the chiro is in my future.
i'm pretty exhausted and am not looking forward to being back at work. its been nice being at home with the kids.

appliances

the washing machine was not working intermittently. it'd get to the rinse cycle and just stop. you could eventually get it to drain but it was a pain in the ass to do laundry. it finally got to the point of doing it all the time. i did some ordered a timer just before christmas eve. they said delivery would be this past thursday. of course it didn't show up. i emailed twice and tried to call... but after being on hold for over 20 minutes i hung up.
desperate for underwear i either had to deal with our machine or run over to my research and it could've been suds lock or new timer. to have a guy come out, min it was 150 plus whatever parts would be needed. we didn't pay that much for the washer, so we opted to order the timer. googling the problem, seemed that was our best bet. i parents. i asked john if he was in desperate need of anything washed. he showed me he was wearing his "last resort" pair. so i grabbed a bunch and hoped for the best.
it washed no problem. i chanced a second load, then a third, fourth, fifth. it is still going strong. wtf? was it suds lock, or will my timer problem rear its ugly head? my gram does our laundry when she's here, i wonder if she's been using too much soap?
anyway, doesn't matter. i caught up on the laundry, still have a couple loads left and i'm done, well not done. when is the laundry ever done?
now we have to buy a dishwasher. that crapped out a couple months ago. i miss it.
and then a new keyboard or whatever for the macbook. can't find the battery charger for the sd750. and then my date with harlan is coming fast.
i need to sell some bike stuff...

what's happening?

not much going on with the Gattos.
Christmas was fun. busy, but fun.
it was a greay year with the girls. casey's in the swing of it and you could just see the excitement in her leading up to it. zoe is a character. she is very animated.
we all received lots of neat stuff. from video games to tees to cool underwear.
it's been fun watching the girls play together now that zoe is getting older. they can play up in casey's room for hours. they fight now too. zoe is pretty physical.
i kinda took the week off of work. mostly just checking email and falling behind. but it shouldn't be too bad when i get back into the office.
its supposed to snow tomorrow. i hope we don't get too much, i'm ready to ride.

blog reading

i've been blog reading in between availability checks at work. it's amazing how many people are "down". (i just came out of a funk) i hope everyone starts to feel better soon.
the weather is depressing for me, but i'm too busy to enjoy it, even if it weren't nasty right now anyway. spring will be here before we know it!

what a weekend

bmx friday. mars scavenger hunt and party saturday. drive home after midnight in a snow storm. star wars exhibit on sunday. we're exhausted. hopefully more details later.

bmx night

we took casey to hobart tonight for some bmx action. she'd never been and frank had mentioned he was taking keegan last week, so we decided to hit the track today.
it was just as i expected, she was freaked out and nervous for the first hour we were there. john took her just to the end of the course, the rhythm section, and had her ride that a few times. she warmed up pretty quick and soon was over at the gates.
by the end of the night she was pro. you could see the competitiveness come out in her. it was real exciting. nice to be around bikes again.
she made friends with 6 year old morgan, who was killing it out there! she rocked. i hope casey will work to that good.
i can't believe how much she's grown since we've gotten that bike. i remember not being able to get the seat low enough, and now the bike is too small. she's ready for a mini now. but first we'll probably just swap the bar out... unless anybody that reads this is interested in the micro mini? i plan on selling that and getting her a new one. really, its just an excuse to go bike shopping. i don't need or want anything so why not want it for her?

so much to do

i started xmas shopping in october. i think i started too early. i kept putting it off thinking, well i already started. i have a lot to do between now and next weekend. and of course i don't have the weekend to do it. but that's cool.
i'll be partying it up on saturday. then sunday we're taking casey to see the star wars exhibit.
the lemond leaves the basement this weekend to a good home. christmas will be here next weekend for the most part. new years. before i know it, it'll be feb and i'll get my tattoo. and then it'll be sea otter and wors opener. i'll wonder where the time has gone.
time seemed to go so much slower as a kid. now it seems to go by so fast. it should remind me to enjoy it. its so cliche, but life is too short to not. there wil always be hurdles but life is what you make of it. you can choose to be miserable or happy. sometimes being happy can be the harder choice.

i miss my apple

the mac does everything except let me type o, i, u, l and enter. bummer. i'll give it another day or so and then i'm ordering the keyboard.
i don't do anything on my mac that i can't do on my pc... but when i'm at home using it i'm mainly playing with photos or on the web. my pc graphics can't touch the mac. not even close.
its monday morning, well afternoon at this point, and i'm sitting at my kitchen table waiting for the directv guy to leave. i hate directv.

fuck an apple

and screw mac. i'm so mad right now.
apple's protection plan only covers their screw ups? lame. waste of money for a protection plan that doesn't cover what you might screw up. it should be labeled as an extended warranty.
i need to read fine print better i guess.
edit: i've cooled off since. heat of the moment post. really its only a computer. my fault that the computer is in need of service- zoe threw my dunkin donuts cup at the computer and the 2 sips that were left went through the keys. none of my keys work (well okay i, c, y and q work and u sticks). i'm letting it dry out and/or will try an external keyboard and see what happens. if that doesn't work i'll have to take them up on their $300 minimum repair after i purchased what i thought was a protection plan. my ignorance i guess. but the customer service person was a dick... i'm totally a nice honest person just looking for some help or advice. sometimes i hate that i'm nice and honest. i need to work on being a bitchy liar.

it's snowing right now. casey's last competition is saturday. i'll miss the ladies ride on saturday which is a bummer, but at least its a good reason. sunday is the last chicago cross race. maybe i'll make it out there. i haven't been to spectate a cross race since last year. very weird.

lunch date

with this guy. probably some kick ass pasta or mexican. but whatever he decides it will be kick ass.

a week later

no rides to post of. no exercise to speak of. i'm getting sloth-like and must do something to get out of this feeling lazy funk.
i walked in my door friday night after saying good bye to julie, ryder and saige and didn't leave til this morning for work. we all just hung out. we sang and danced with the girls. we played guitar hero and lost planet. i surfed the web for everything and nothing. saturday night we were looking forward to watching the blackhawks play. casey was even in her jersey, but having directv the winter storm effed with the signal. oh well. it worked out fine, i finally saw little miss sunshine and laughed throughout. good movie. unfortunately john missed it while trying to sleep off a migraine that started on friday night. sunday i watched the bears lose. i'm glad i don't care about football, i would've been pissed off.
this week i hope to get some form of exercise to feel alive again and get some christmas shopping done. i hate last minute shopping.

unblog

i've only ridden once since last post with the girls in mke which was fun. other than that, i've got nothing going on but work, kids and stuff.
i have no desire for a new bike, i didn't think that could ever happen, i may have to check myself into a hospital or something. the walt, eriksen, cross check, steamroller and moots have satisfied my bike needs for now. yeah, there are some parts out there that i want... namely a dt swiss bolt on ss hub. but other than that, nothing really. well okay, the ferrous still has a spot in my heart, but i don't see me getting one anytime soon if ever.
my thoughts have been mostly on tattoos. finding inspiration for filler.
thoughts of unclutter, dumpsters and christmas lists. family and friends.

dermal pigmentation

i've thought about tattoos for awhile now. i got my first when i was 18 and have always wanted more, just really didn't know what.
i've been thinking about it a lot the past few months. doing a lot of research on what i really wanted.
it's easy to focus on something else when not lusting after another bike or part. i'm pretty content with the bikes i have. i don't remember the last time i felt this way, i'm not sure if i ever did (i hope it doesn't last). while being satisfied with my bikes i need to focus on something else. that something else is what i'm doing to my left arm.
i got my tara mcpherson piece done tonight. more done in february- the custom artwork. i can't wait, but i can.
i was reading a forum somewhere and one of the posters said he was thinking of getting his ink removed because tattoos were becoming so mainstream. whatever. i think its great.
girls ride tomorrow at the mke river trails. should be fun. hopefully the rain holds off.
i really should've looked at my bike. last ride it was making all kinds of noises. hopefully they were just dirty bike noises.
it's gamer night tonight... john has friends and their kids over. it was a nightmare trying to put zoe asleep, she knew there were kids having fun while she was forced to go to bed. i finished surfing the internet... again. i'll probably finish im'ing my sis and go to bed.

mke river trails

john and i made the 90 minute drive up to the mke river trails.
we met up near the pick and save to a group of people. bender, james lalonde, goat, lori, amy, bubba, meghan, a couple people i didn't know, and marty! jeremey had mentioned that bender was bringing some hayes dudes. i thought, i wonder if he'll bring marty? i kind of thought no as i still was gathering some parts for him. but there he was. it was good to see him and ride with him.
we headed out on the trails with bender, goad, james and john leading and then me. a big gap formed, duh. as i watched them in the distance i thought, wtf. i came here to ride my bike not race against the men's elite field. so i used the root steps i messed up on as an excuse to get to the back of the pack where the riders were. phew.
i love riding, especially this time of year. i love talking to people, making fun of them riding, making fun of myself when i screw up.
the ride was good. i didn't crash on the ground once, but i did hit a tree. just lost concentration which out there means not respecting the trail. there were a few things i'd like to try again. never having ridden there before you'd turn a corner onto something you weren't expecting in the least. i look forward to my next ride out there.

the color purple

i've noticed that lately i've been attracted to the color purple. thinking about the rig i had. and then shopping yesterday i looked at myself and the kids... zoe had purple crocs, purple sweatshirt, casey had on a purple vest and i was wearing purple shoes with a purple crumpler bag.

hilariously offended

casey jumped in the shower with me today. as she was cleaning me with the poofy thing she said "mom, its just like washing a whale."

food fest

we arrived at st. xavier a bit early. better than late i suppose. casey's team ended up in 2nd place. they were a little sloppy probably from only having one practice this past week. they have fun regardless what place they come in.
the competition was ahead of schedule which kinda sucked because there was so much downtime. they couldn't speed it up as there were set times for awards and team arrivals. i ate so much while i was there. i had a few pieces of candy, finished up casey's yogurt, a cheeseburger and a yogurt waffle cone. not to mention the mountain dew and a few stolen nachos.
all my sister's teams did very well. One of them bringing home grand champion.
got home, made a pizza, watched some football. john made a fire.
he was asleep by like 7. i put the girls to bed and went to sleep about 9:30 out of sheer boredom.
i'm finding today its hard to get motivated.

eggs

my day started out okay and then ended crappy.
rushed to buy some webkinz or something for mia's party.
picked up something from reese too as my sister's back is out.
got lost on the way to the theater. finally found the theater, dropped the kids off.
my sis and i went to lunch and then went to the gym to clean egg off of all the windows.
apparently one of the girls boyfriends thought it would be funny to egg their gym. "what's the big deal, it's not like they had to clean it, the janitors will". what is it with kids these days? fucking losers. the egg was caked on pretty good. they also left cartons and unthrown eggs on the ground in front of the entrance. probably 2-3 dozen eggs. two of steph's cheerleaders came out to help us. we were only able to get the reachable windows done. we also needed something stronger to break through the egg funk.
zoe ate dirt and created the smelliest diaper known to man while we were there.
came home and waited and waited and eventually ordered a pizza. casey bath, bed and wake up early and get to st xavier probably late.
at least we gain an hour of sleep tonight. i sure need it.

bike work

i have so many projects going on, yet i don't have all the necessaries to finish any of them. and it's all little stupid stuff... its driving me CRAZY!
i can finish the surly if i could find cassette spacers for a single speed or a chainguard and keeper to make it a 1x10. the road bike needs carbon brake pads. my spot has brake replacements but i'm lacking the longer hose for the rear brake.. my eriksen needs new grips that i haven't ordered yet. and then the steamroller... i'm too lazy to pull it out (it's buried in the bike "aisle") to put a handlebar back on it.
my next purchase will be a singlespeed rim brake 700c wheelset. cool but inexpensive.
i still can't believe i don't have enough cassette spacers...

always changing

the plan this weekend was hit milwaukee cross on saturday and casey's comp on sunday.
i just found out casey's friend has a party to see the bee movie tomorrow. bummer. so i can't go. i was almost done changing the cross check from grocery getter to a bike i could race on (hopefully tonight). not to mention i haven't been to one this year. are there any good movies out? we were thinking about possibly seeing one while the kids were at the party.

Happy Birthday John!

it's john's birthday today. he hates his birthday and will probably hate this post.

great fun

left work a bit early. went out trick or treating with my sis, bro in law, mom, john, casey, zoe, reese, audrey and met up with tony and josh. the weather was perfect. walking zoe over to my mom's she fell out of the wagon twice. poor kid.
we ended the evening with some pizza from beggar's (yum) and went home where the kids passed out from exhaustion.
there is so much candy here its disgusting.

gettin' ready

♥♥♥ BOO ♥♥♥

i only rode 4 miles yesterday... when forgetting to take my inhaler hit me. i was freaked out riding by myself anyway. real creepy.
casey is super stoked its halloween today. she has pretty much been talking about it all year. she's padmé from star wars. zoe is yoda. i'll hopefully get some good pics tonight.

procrastinating pack rats

john and i have pretty much ignored our house for 2 years now. we put hardwood floors in feb 05. we had to tear some railings down and still haven't put them back up. our basement is full of clutter and junk. not even fun junk.
our attic is full. you can't even walk into the office or kids rooms there is so much stuff.
i need to get a dumpster to make room. i remembered to make the call when i hadn't decided to get one for sure and now that i've decided we need one for sure, i keep forgetting to call!
to start i'm going through the clothes. i just filled over 6 garbage bags full of clothes to give to goodwill. i haven't even hit the cycling clothes yet. tons of good jerseys i don't think i wore more than once. socks. i plan on getting rid of everything i haven't worn in a year and maybe then some. and then when the new twin six jerseys hit, i'll get rid of more.
i used to not be able to part with anything. it was usually practically new. but i like new things. i like keeping it fresh. i never wear things i keep just in case. the last two years or so i get the urge to purge. it's that time of year.
now i just need to work on the shoe thing. i have a real hard time parting with shoes.
once we purge the basement and attic (and garage- yikes) the clutter upstairs and the other rooms will have a home.
the weather looks to be sweet tomorrow. 66 and sunny. i probably won't get a chance to enjoy it, but who knows, maybe i'll need to go home early. wednesday is halloween. casey is super stoked. she can't wait to dress up. sunday brings another competition at st. xavier college. another big one. at least its close.

ride n cheer

packed friday night for the first gal's ride. i had to leave at 6:early to be there on time.
thoughts of leaving my family for a day, friends and music filled my mind on the 2 hour drive.
it was a bit chilly, but not as cold as i had thought it would be.
i pulled into the lot and regina was hanging out. the rest of the girls slowly pulled in. amelia, angela, soni, sonia, brittany, christine, lori, amy, claire...
we all headed out overdressed. some of us stripped at the first bench.
blue to connector to emma and back.
i fell once. i don't even remember. i just sunk in some sand in a turn. when i was sitting on the ground i almost laughed out loud. i just toppled over.
the trails were in good shape. lots of leaves. big holes of water. some i thought you'd get lost if you rode through them.
i had a really good time. it was nice riding with people who weren't way above or below your own skill level. the pace was good. sometimes fast, sometimes perfect and sometimes easy.
i've ridden the connector once before. this was my second time on it. i didn't know what was different to be honest? perhaps if i rode it more before they changed it, i might've picked up on it.
afterwards bunch of us stayed for a small picnic. amy d joined us. good times. i look forward to more rides.
saturday evening had me bummed for a bit but then we started on john's costume and that cheered me up.
drawing question marks over his tight bod was a pretty good time. when he took the unitard off we had to wash all the question marks off his skin.
sunday i left around 10:30 for the competition already getting over the fact i was missing halloween cross. it was pretty boring. i wished i had given john the camera as i 'm sure his pics would've been way more fun.
it was in a small high school gym with one bathroom for a ton of women. casey's team took first. she was a bit of a crank today. afterwards my mom took me to get a belated birthday present, so that was fun.

scooter girls and hugs

quick 13

the drive home has been surreal this week. i've been getting home at 5:40. its amazing the difference between getting home before 6 and after 6. last night i beat everyone home and headed out for a quick 13. it was super windy but man was it great to be outside. i don't think i could've dressed more perfect. knickers, two upper layers with a windvest, wool socks. i could've used some toe covers though. riding into the wind the piggies got a little chilly.
saturday ride at kettle. dare i say they took the rain out of the forecast?
sunday isn't looking so fun. a suprise added competition for casey. kind of bummed as i was hoping to hit washington park with the kids all halloweened out.

the drive home

listening to the radio as i drove bos to the train station i heard blah blah blah wide open blah blah blah. i thought to myself the damn ryan is open. it sure as hell was! took me less than 40 minutes to get home (usually an hour and 20)... but having to hit the bank and the grocery store i was actually in the house about 6:30 or so. woo freakin HOO dammit. hopefully the inbound opens soon. i'm not counting on tomorrow. but soon.

funk

i'm in a funk today. i feel really tired and bummed. i'm super bored and lazy at work. i have plenty to do but just not motivated.
i'll leave here and by the time i get home it'll be dark. not to mention i need to go to the grocery store and bank after work. bleh.
i have bike stuff to do but just am not motivated to do it. remount wheel, finish casey's fisher, cross bike (but i guess i need parts for that) and they all need to be washed.
at least i have a ride at kettle to look forward to on saturday, provided the weather cooperates.

good times

we spent all day in peoria for casey's competition. she ended up 2nd out of 7 teams. it was a super long day but at least it ended on a good note. she stayed with reese overnight in the hotel room and swam til she couldn't swim anymore so i hear.
i wanted to try my hand at cross this weekend. but i didn't know if wanted to try it because i couldn't. there was no way i could go to janesville with john today because someone had to be here for casey to get back. i didn't want to ask anyone to take the kids again for 8 hours while i tried cross. as it was i already had to ask my gram to watch zoe for an hour or so.
woke up sunday not sure if i'd be going to the poker ride. not sure how that's fair, but whatever. i called my gram to see if she'd watch zoe for an hour or so. she said no problem. i had to leave at 9, but john wouldn't have to leave til, i was thinking 11 or so.
i left for the poker ride on an empty stomach. i had only eaten a piece of toast. when will i learn. anyway got there and helped set up a bit, took some registrations, got dressed and everyone started milling around to leave.
the lots at palos were packed. everywhere. i think everyone that owned a mountain bike was out there today.
i couldn't decide if i wanted to do the fast or intermediate ride. i saw people i knew in the intermediate ride and nobody i knew in the fast ride. then i saw tony, ed, stan, rick and ryan in the fast ride. ha, i can hang with them so i wandered over. i knew the intermediate was going to be on the slow side. which i don't mind, but its definitely more fun riding slower with people you actually hang out with.
the ride started. at times the pace was probably like a sport women's race and at times slower. but it was fun and i felt the burn more than a few times. it took awhile to adjust to riding rigid again as well as the 29er not to mention the singlespeed.
the route we went couldn't have been more perfect.
by the time we hit 3 ravines i was tired and hungry (i had a gel, but we were almost done, or at least i would be i had to get zoe). the rigid felt very well, rigid. i didn't even stop sweating and i was on my way to pick up zoe.
grabbed us some lunch, casey joined us and we headed back out to the ride. what else were we gonna do? it was too nice to hang out in the house.
it wasn't what i expected. the people i thought would still be there weren't. but that changed as i got into a different groove and casey started playing the games. she won the bike limbo. it was so cool. she was so excited. the crowd would go wild when she went under on her micro mini redline. she won easily of course. she got a new seatbag to match her new fisher.
she's still stoked.
we headed home around 5:30 or so and hit up the plush horse to get ice cream... for dinner. mint chip in chocolate sprinkled cones. yum. i think it was the first time zoe had ice cream.

quickly

no birthday celebration as casey had a "pep rally". so no cake*, but i did get my gifts. i was too lucky (spoiled).
i told the fam i wanted to hit breakfast on saturday morning for my birthday breakfast as i've been dying for a strawberry waffle.
after that, peoria. then sunday the poker ride for me and probably cross for john. but things change.
no matter what happens hopefully i'll have some fun stuff to post.

*i did stop at portillos today and ordered a piece of their chocolate cake. casey and i shared.

10.17.1973

i was born at 2:09am.
i'm on a mission to get cake today.
barely any orange inbound on the dan ryan today. now if they just finish the ramp from 57 we'll get to see if all this construction was worth it.

useless thoughts

i went outside for lunch today essentially to think about how i wanted to build the crosscheck. like what stem, bar, crank, post, saddle, bartape, etc. i forgot to think about all those things. instead i thought about the weekend.
friday night we have an engagement party for john's cousins. saturday we head down to peoria for casey's competition, sunday is a cross race and the palos poker ride.

bru n boo

a long beechwood report

i had heard about the beechwood race the first year they put it on. it was 2 years ago and i was sick. bummed i couldn't take part in something that i knew would be a blast. a fun race on trails i've never been on, how could it not?
last year i had just had zoe and wasn't feeling the most fit (after racing it finally, the shape i was in last year i'm not sure i could've done one lap).
fast forward to 2007. i totally forgot about this race until brittany posted a comment on regina's blog. once i saw that comment i made it a goal to be there no matter what.
i had originally planned on doing 2 laps and of course john would do the 4. we could bring the kids. i then found out all the gals were racing the 3 laps, which i really would have liked to have done anyway. casey ended up sleeping at reese's house and my gram volunteered to take zoe.
it was nice to not have to leave at the buttcrack of dawn to make the 11am start for the 2 lapper.
beechwood is in the middle of nowhere. we took a couple wrong turns but made it with plenty of time to chat, pre-register and even warm up a bit.
my bike is in dire need of a tune up. new cables and housing along with a bottom bracket service. pre-riding made me realize how long it had been since either had been done. my guess is i'll get all that done along with the industry nine wheel put back up front, polish her up and retire her for the year. i'm thinking the walt will get the call from now on.
the weather was unbelievable. i thought i'd be racing in an undershirt, jersey, arm warmers, kneekers and wool socks. at race time i was in a single jersey and short. nice. it was perfect, i mean PERFECT weather for racing. i never got super sweaty and was never chilled.
anyway, there were 5 of us ladies- lori, brittany, meghan, i think her name was gabriela? and myself. they started us 3 lap people with the 4 lappers.
shot gun start. we're off. neutral roll out, which is really good for me. lori was gone never to be seen again. i was at one point in second in the start (how could this be). it didn't last long. i was passed by brittany and the other girl right away. i didn't see britanny for awhile, but i saw gabriela on the parts of the course that went back on itself.
my first lap had me feeling pretty slow especially not knowing or having any clue what was ahead. i was bunched with people at the start and ended up having to dismount a couple sections. the log drop was just that, a log drop. for some reason i had it in my mind that it was more of a logover. i popped over it a little unsure of what was going to happen. no problem and i was off.
i was trying to stay with bubba but he dropped me very early on.
i don't remember much of the first lap other than i thought it was a lot of climbing. grass climbing that reminded me of kewaunee but steeper and i think a bit more interesting. a couple singletrack climbs with switchbacks. one section on every lap got me everytime. the first time i went in my bar end grabbed a small tree and tossed me high and knocked me back down almost over the edge. then i had to foot scoot it around the really tight switchback. at the exit i saw gabriela ahead. it gave me confidence to see her and a bit of satisfaction that this might actual be a race. i ended up catching her on the last section of singletrack with the rock garden. i heard the superfans yelling and knew something good and probably dangerous was coming. i started picking my way through rocks, saw gabriela standing there?, passed her down into the rock garden. i was going a little too fast and not knowing the line had to slow it down a bit and had to put my foot down. i regained control and exited to start my second lap.
i saw bubba on the sidelines with a mechanical, i though he had a flat tire. at the time i passed him i didn't even think to ask if he needed anything. i thought about it when i hit the singletrack, sorry bubba.
the second lap had me enjoying the singletrack a lot more. i knew what was coming and i had my 1 lap warm up. the climbs seemed a lot easier. i had to walk one spot every lap. there was like a loose dirt climb with rocks. i just never found the line. no biggee. i tried to keep up my pace. i knew gabriela was behind me and so was meghan, not to mention maybe i could catch brittany. and if lori had a mechanical (not so far fetched ;)), well then anything could happen.
dropped the log okay on my second lap. saw gabriela a couple times. and saw glimpses of brittany.
going into the singletrack with the tight switchback i came in too high and almost went off the side again, wtf. note to self don't come in so hot next time.
i ate fine. drank fine. but wished i had made two bottles of electrolyte replacement instead of one. i could feel my left leg getting "that feeling". i made sure i sucked down plenty of water and just was super conscious of my pedaling stroke. i saw brittany a couple of times and less of gabriela. not saying she was that far behind, i just didn't see her. i missed the rock garden big time on the second lap. i overthought it and came in too far left. i should've reminded myself that they were little rocks and i had really big tires and wheels. i still loved the section leading into it and coming out of it. that's my favorite kind of riding. reminded me of blue mound a bit.
came out to the start finish area and waited for my bottle. thanks amy. off i went. i knew brittany was right up ahead. i figured lori was long gone. had no idea where meghan or gabriela were. i knew meghan could be a creeper and had no idea about gabriela. i just kept riding.
i was for some reason thinking that when i pulled through on my second lap to start my third i wouldn't see the 4 lappers. about a 1/2 mile later i was like, wait, i will see them. i then made it my goal to not let john catch me. there was a part of me that would've liked it because i could've said hi.
i felt like i was getting closer to brittany. i seemed to see her a lot more. i just stayed patient and rode my race. crossing the small road up into the singletrack to climb i passed her at the top as we were both gasping for air. i had to remind myself to pay attention. after that climb i was pretty redlined and you come around a switchback with a loose turn to a downhill. i could see her in spots and after awhile i didn't. soon after starts a lot of up and down. as i turned the corner to hit the climb, i dropped my chain. fucking great. i'm going to get passed because i lost my chain. luckily it went right on and i didn't miss a beat.
i could feel the elite riders coming. first up was ron. he passed me on the long climbing section. i followed him down and then up that really long uphill after the downhill and he was gone. a bit later bender passed me followed by carlos. i knew melcher was coming as i saw him when i glanced back earlier. as luck would have it, the timing couldn't have been less perfect. the exact moment where he was to pass was the entrance to the tight switchback singletrack (the one i cheesed on my first two laps). instead of redeeming myself i hit the brakes and let him go in before me. i wouldn't want him stuck behind me in there no matter how short it was.
after the double steepish climb the hard parts for me were over.
i hit the rock garden singletrack and was excited i was almost done. i cleaned everything in there including the rock garden and big ringed it to the finish waiting for people to jump up screaming yelling go, go go, like brittany or meghan or gabriela were right on my tail. luckily for me nobody got excited and i finished in 2nd place. brittany rolled in shortly after, then gabriela.
my whole body felt like it was going to cramp and i was getting cold. i cursed myself for not making another electrolyte bottle. but in reality that was a long race distance with the climbing for me. i was happy to have finished strong.
while back in the truck they announced meghan and bubba's finish. they rode together. how freakin' awesome is that! i hope casey and zoe want to ride and race their bikes with me.
john isn't sure how he finished. we think maybe 6th?
we both had an awesome time. thanks to the beechwood dudes and to everyone else who helped for taking the time to put this on. it truly was a fantastic day. we'll be back again next year.

i wanna

race beechwood (how many laps?), watch cross and go to the WORS banquet if only for the ride at standing rocks. i need to come up with a plan. talk to my other half. everything is far away it seems.
it's our anniversary today.

edit: bummer. sunday's cross race is out. wors banquet is out. we's got kid's stuff going on.

ferrous

©rusty rules

john raced the ferrous 29 this sunday. he loved it.

sheboygan

saturday we loaded up and headed up to sheboygan to pre-ride. pretty uneventful. it was great riding with dano and lori though. my kind of pre-riders, more talking and less riding. i rode the elite course. i've never done it before. the turn was fine on pre-ride but i'm guessing during a race it would be hard redlined and all. but the pucker thing? perhaps people talking about how scary it is for years had numbed me to its difficulty.
we had a pretty kickass weekend planned with the kids. we were staying at the blue harbor resort in sheboygan with a whole cast of characters. jeremey, gage, mitch, bryan, dion, their daughter hayden, vanessa, brad, their sons drake and troy, barb, jerry and mackenzie. it was a blast. we were at the water park all day. walking up and downstairs. barb and i joked that we had an excuse if we finished poorly. our legs were tired from going up and down the stairs for the slides like 20 times.
after the water we did a group dinner thing. way too much food. but it was nice.
more water park, guitar hero and then bed.
i was relieved that it was going to be warm. i always have a problem at sheboygan with the crisp cool air, being sick, allergies and then throw asthma into the mix. but i always have a good time.
sunday was to be no different as far as good times are concerned. thanks to dano for vip parking we pulled right in with no fuss and i started getting dressed right away. registered and then went to get the bike ready. i decided against the flask and instead taped the gels to my toptube all dork style. number plate, electrolyte pills, etc. waited forever for our start. i had changed my seatpost last week thinking that a little more movement would help my back (even though my back doesn't hurt from riding or getting slammed). ever since i swapped it i haven't felt right on the bike. the whole race i felt like i was pushing against my bar. nothing to impede me, but just bothersome. i can barely move my left arm today, but i think that is mainly due to chasing and carrying zoe. anyway, the race started. i was sitting more towards the back of the pack. not being called up and being a lame starter can do that. but at least i never lost touch with some of the girls. the fast starters had a nice gap going into the prime. i was hoping to not lose too much time in the singletrack. i ended up catching a good train of girls at the switchback section. each time i came to this section during the race i thought of dano and him telling me this section was his.
the first lap is a blur. as usual i had a tough time recovering and every hard effort had me struggling to get oxygen, not asthma struggle, like hyperventilate struggle. my body felt numb. traded places a few times. i had no idea what place i was in. creek crossing was fine (that lap). the evil root spot, a rider came to a complete stop in front of me and i went over the bars. bummer. i lost a spot but i don't think i lost that much time. it was more irritating. got back up and chased the girl who had just passed me. i hate the first lap. i thought i was going to die. i passed her at the log jump, she bypassed it and i didn't... then i almost lost it in that left turn as i was coming in way too hot. i felt like a rookie. i was redlined and sloppy.
the equalizer was uneventful. i was still trying to settle in. maybe made it a quarter of the way up and then ran. on the bike and off for lap 2.
my plan was to eat on the road at the start area. this didn't happen. i was mouth wide open trying to take as much air as possible. trying to recover and settle in (yes, this takes me a long time). i finally started to settle coming out of the woods into the prime area. ripped the clif shot off my toptube, sucked it down and drank some water. sweet. uneventful, just as it should be. i know i passed a few girls on the second lap. i was sloppy in the singletrack on my second lap. i still had thoughts of dying on parts of the course. caught riders were starting to become a factor. one guy in particular... we kept trading places and when he'd pass me, he'd fall. it never failed. so i gave it all i had to try and get past him which left me hurting. if you ride sidi shoes then you know that sometimes, if not all the time, when you ride you have to retighten them. i didn't. my left foot was super loose. when i hit the creek crossing my foot flew out of the pedal as my front tire fell off the rock. i was suspended on the up part of the creek exit. stalled for what seemed like forever. ahhhh. but whatever. a girl passe me though (i think the gal i passed at the log jump). she was an age grouper too. she probably thought i need to get away from this girl, she sucks in the singletrack. the guy who kept falling got ahead of me after my dumb creek effort. he fell in front of me again.
i remember passing people but can't remember if it was my 2nd or 3rd lap?
i was getting low on water. i didn't have a hand up as john had it rough at the truck with the kids. i wish i had known or made other arrangements... i was almost out of water and still had a 3rd lap. luckily i saw amy. she was a lifesaver. i gave her the workout of her life as she went to get me water. yes. thanks girl!
i made it up the equalizer on my second lap. well pretty much. i wasn't hurting or struggling at all, in fact i was surprised at how easy it felt, but right at the smoking guy there were 4 riders all bunched and i had to clip out. but in my mind i made it and that's all that mattered to me.
headed out for my 3rd lap. everything was good. i felt good. i had no idea what place i was in other than top 10. i ate in the same spot as my 2nd lap uneventfully. i knew i had an age grouper right in front of me. i got into the single track behind a guy. i wanted to pass so bad. it was hard being patient. right when we came out to cross the road he said go get her and i was off. i don't remember where i passed her, but i know soon after coming into the roots downhill i saw a flash of orange and white. i wasn't sure if it was brittany or her teammate. i just raced my race and eventually caught up to her after the gravel climb (it was brittany). after the gravel climb to me the hard parts were over. i didn't dread the equalizer as i did in years past. it didn't seem steep this year. anyway, i tried to pass in a shitty spot.(sorry brittany i suck at passing and am trying to learn to be safe yet aggressive) i was able to catch and pass and yelled for her to grab on going towards the underpass. i never looked back (or i'd fall). i thought i saw a girl on the equalizer and wanted to obviously grab another spot. i didn't even make it half way up. i chased what i thought was a girl, but turned out to be a sport guy. looking at results, i probably did see a girl but mixed her and the guy up after coming off the hill. oh well. i finished 5th overall and 3rd in age and was more than happy with that. bummer it was the last race just when i got this eating thing down.

boogers suck

still trying to feel better. at least today i feel like moving. no plans as of yet for today.
john will be gone all day. after work he's going to eric's house to help him replace brake pads on his truck. sounds like mad fun. i should make some dinner plans or something fun with the girls. or maybe go get casey a bike lock. she wanted to ride her bike to school today and we didn't have a lock for her. the new york chain we have is overkill.
chiro tomorrow morning. pack for sheboygan. hopefully the rain holds off and i don't have to switch tires.
and since you obviously have some free time go order your twin six goods. don't forget to add this. if you read this blog, you know yer a nerd.

for all you cool people

twin six is having another 4-day sale. it starts thursday 10/4. get the goods while you can. i don't think i'll have any problems getting the free shipping...

sick

the official sneeze happened about 5 minutes ago. my throat hurts. i feel like crap.
i just want to go home and put my head down. i hope i feel better for the weekend.
couldn't it wait a week?

22.44

that'll be lower by the end of the week. pretty impressive for this steel frame.
fisher ferrous 29
bontrager carbon switchblade
dt 190 hubs laced to stans arch rims with some dt super comps
ust python tires
bontrager race x lite stem
bontrager big sweep bar
king pewter headset
juicy ultimate brakes 160f 140r
x.o twist shifter
bontrager grips
bontrager race x lite post
bontrager kick ass saddle
noir cranks with spot guard
salsa 34t ring
n gear chain stop
pc 990 cassette
pc 991 hp chain
roach chainstay guard
crank bros pedals

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.