Monkey Grinding

Enjoyed a nice 2 hour road ride dodging Black Friday traffic (sorry about that wrong turn Mike) and walkers with Mike, gRant, Jen, and Little Westy G. gRant had him bundled up and vacuum sealed in his chariot behind the rattle can. Westin handled all the Crackberry business calls and shouted "venga venga venga" up the climbs.

Getting gear together for tomorrow's slog to Monkey Bell. Three other idiot -er... hardcore riders- are going along to keep me company. Geared up the faithful Black Death to 34x17. With the 2.35 knobby tires that gearing ought to make the back country road stretches a bit more bearable, but it'll hurt a little in the leaf strewn hills and hollers of Monkey Bell. I'll just count it as low RPM training like some of the other enduronuts out there are currently doing in their training.

Structured training. I wish I could, usually for me it ends up sucking all the fun out of riding my bike. I prefer the more off the cuff approach like thinking up some location that I enjoy and riding my bike there. That's my sweet spot training, my Long Slow Distance training. For speed/interval training I just go out on a ride with Mike, oldGreg, gRant or Jeffy and we sprint each other at random times just to try to hurt the other guy. No structure, no real rules, usually not even playing fair. It usually kicks my tail pretty good. And then for the tempo training, that's pretty much every ride I do when I have no one else to ride along with me and I start feeling slow and out of shape.

Around Weds or Thursday I'll start dreaming up a ride based on who has a free day or two over the weekend. Sometimes I'll gain inspiration from Mike, such as our Dale Hollow trek or even tomorrow's MB haul. Emails will swirl and flood inboxes around the city, one or two of those lucky few will respond and the wheels get set in motion. I still have a few slots open if you dream of being consistently solid with overwhelmingly sub par results all season long too. Order now!

GobbleGobbleGobble

Fear not, no Swanson's Hungryman dinners were harmed for today's dinner. Are all of you bored of your family time already? Tired of watching the Titan's stick it to the Lions? Trytophan coma kicking in and you're here for stimulating stories to keep you awake until after the dessert tray comes out? Sad that Dicky is riding 50 miles then calling the Pie on the cell phone and begging for a ride and hasn't updated his blog?

H. worked last night, slept all day today, then headed off for work tonight (schedule to repeat tomorrow and Saturday) so while I thank you all for the e-vites to hang out with you and your weird relatives, I wanted to be around for the 2 hours H. had between sleep and work and cooked us up a little meal to celebrate the Holiday. Lemon pepper and ginger teriyaki seared Salmon, brown rice, and cracked peppercorn squash, onions, and red peppers round out the meal followed by a couple slices of pumpkin pie.

To continue the traditions of the American public, I decided to get a head start on that whole Black Friday freak scene. Luckily I didn't have to leave the house, just logged in and did a lil' shopping over at the Swiftwick store. I got my order confirmation from Swiftwick International, LLC and am now anxiously awaiting my order of 12's, compression and merino.

Being a trauma nurse, H. is on her feet a lot during her 12 hour shifts. She normally wears one of her 3 pair of 12's. She has 2 of the original wools and one pair of the second gen ole's. She didn't have a pair to wear last night so she wore some of her DirtSweatandGears Swiftwicks. While they are comfy, she noticed a ridge in her shin when taking her boots off from cleaning barn stalls this morning after her shift at work. Her legs had swollen from being on her feet all night, they were also a bit sore. She said she'll not work without the compression socks again. Being a sucker, er... nice guy, I ordered her up a few more pair. I'm not just your average turkey, I took advantage of the short checkout lines and got me a few pair too. Just in time for winter.

Who says little men catchin' big air can't also rock the tall socks?
photo of Chris "Airsaggo" Cooper by Cornfed via Chris Cooper's camera

Gorgeous day out today, I hope some of you were able to get out for a spin on the bikes. I snuck out for a little spin on the road bike today. Plenty of rollers, some hills, and a little recon of some potential secret squirrel action.

Tomorrow another quick and painful road ride with 8Ball and gRant (if we can rouse him out of his house and off the Crackberry long enough) in the morning. Saturday grand plans to ride from 8's house out to MB, ride MB, then ride home. MTB SS gearing and knobbies + hilly unfamiliar redneck laden country roads + mid 30 degree temps with 30% chance of showers = guaranteed good time.

Late Addition: Ordered my Mis-bits. It's worth purchasing something just for the pleasure of reading the text of each step. Gotta love the honesty provided:

Oh and a serious thank you for shopping with us. Rest assured, you supported the right people, every dime of this money will be used on our personal bling-speeds or beer, mostly beer.

Misfittin' in

Since Saturday I've had 11 inquiries about a little bike-co.-that-could called Misfit Psycles. I am considering ordering up a bike just to tote around so when people ask me I can send them out on a ride. All you Vassago kids here in Nashie would probably wish you'd asked about them sooner. I read an mtbr thread that implied the Misfit DiSSent is the most 26 feelin' 29'er out there. Sounds like a bike for me eh? Well except for the 29" wheels. But I digress. I almost pulled the trigger but I'm not sure if I have to buy Chinese Democracy before I order or if I have to send in 5 UPC symbols along with 3 easy payments of $99.99.

I have no affiliations (aside from an occasional online jab or two) nor collect loonies for pimpin' Misfit gear. Despite wishing I could hate him, I have been ultra impressed with the mind behind the curtain, though I won't say that out loud for fear of ruining his image faster than boy porn pictures on the internet. I plan on ordering up a few bars to try out. I think the NUbar might be perfect for me to correct the shoulder blade winging I have going on. H.'s titec h-bar will probably get replaced by a FU2bar, as the h-bar is useless with gears and levers (non-integrated). Reedly, Cooper, and you bmx/dirt jumpers should check out their new Nummers frame. I might order one just to have a 26" wheeled Misfit (You know I don't buy into the emperor's new clothes, plus it's steel baby). Anyway, help keep Canada's doors open, buy Misfit.

In other news, I've rediscovered my love of programming. I've been working with technologies I haven't been able to work with since '03. I got moved from what I loved and into debugging and on-site client support as the product went from new coding to maintenance mode till '06 where I ended up in a tight fitting Actionscript box with little variety. I don't think I was put there, I think I just ended up walking into it and not realizing it probably didn't have to be that way. Lately I've gotten back into database design, back-end server object programming, client side AJAX, and some graphical design. Being ADD and slightly hyperactive, it keeps me entertained and I remember why I used to love this so much. I was as addicted to programming and creating new things as many are hooked on video games. I rarely was without a computer. I had gotten to where I tried to avoid the computer. Then I allowed some words to affect me more than they should have. The confidence is slowly coming back. The addiction to finding a better way has returned strong as ever, as has the curiosity for finding out "what else?". It's nice to actually smile while on the computer again.

Oh, I found out my beloved dead camera is $90 cheaper than it was when I got it, which means I might be able to get a replacement soon. I miss my photos. I really miss the 2 years of lost photos, but I tell myself it's just like a fire. I got out for a mountain bike ride today with some friends. It felt like spring outside, sun was warm, the air dry. Perfect day to ride. I'm planning on getting a good ride in tomorrow. H. has to work tonight and tomorrow so it'll be just me, but I have to repair the roof before I can go play. If I go. I find it hard to get out to just ride. When I commuted I had to ride and had destinations. Now it just feels aimless, but I'd better suck it up if I plan on riding Snake. Meh...

Looking forward to the Swanson's Hungryman dinner tomorrow.

Chess Pie Sinker

Up early and out to the barn to turn out the horses and clean the stalls. H. was on her way home from a night of work with Jeanie and Mike not too far behind her. Destination LBL today and I was stoked. I've been looking forward to it all week and yesterday's cold, leafy ride just had me even more excited. North/South trail for the boys while the gals drove up to the North Welcome Center for some Canal Loop action. The Canal Loop is like a mini-Tsali. Super fun and twisty roller coaster action.

The North/South trail is one of my favorite local-ish trails. 34 miles, point-to-point with ripping flowy fun the entire time. Yeah a few tough loose rocky climbs but well worth it for the payoff. It was super leafy which kinda sucks, but then at the same time makes it a lot more fun. You never know if that pile of leaves hides a rock, a root, a drop, or is just a pile of leaves. The deep leafy goodness allows you to overcook and drift turns too. Muchos funnos.

Dinner served up from Patti's 1880's Settlement, which was my first en devour there as I'm usually a Miss Scarlett's kinda guy. The food was great, wait was kinda long due to a party of 26 ahead of us, and the lights and knick knack shops were frightening. Took me back to childhood shopping trips. Oh, 17 deserts, mile high pies (like Neimbergs), and scrumptios Chess Pie Sinker: Chess Pie with coffee ice cream drizzled in caramel. Yeah our 3 hour and 16 minute ride time with just water and a powerbar smoothie barely kept an even calorie in/out count for the day, but damn it was worth it.

Big Tools

What better way to spend a 13 degree morning than standing out in the cold with old and new friends alike (old really refers to friends whom I've known a while, not just Big Poppy)? SORBA posted a workday at a trail that I've never really ridden a lot but have been frequenting more since the move to North Nashville. I had Dickman (not to be confused with mandick or dickyman) in my head "if you ride on trails, work on trails".


We opened up a sweet new re-route that BC's David Hardin had flagged to bypass a badly rutted and water collecting area just after the moguls. Some hard workers showed up today and we made quick work of it. I was mainly there for satirical wit and commentary, but found it too much fun diggin' in the dirt to not chip in with some labor. We opened a good bit of trail which included a fair amount of benching. After a late lunch break at Chilli's, OldGreg and I went back for a spin. Despite being freshly cut and raked (not even tamped), the new section rode really well. It has nice flow to it and adds a little spice to the West side.

Thanks to Big Poppy for the photos.

it ain't me...

i ain't no fortunate one*

If ever I am told I can only step foot into a single bar for the rest of time, that bar will probably be Roberts**. I miss the Radio, but it's sad departure only makes this hypothetical decision easier.

No matter what your mood or current situation, you can't help but have a good time at Roberts. Throw a leg over a stool at the bar, order a PBR tallboy (or Shiner, Fat Tire, Yazoo Dos or Pale), a cheeseburger with sweet potato fries, and kick up yer' cycling cleats to some Don Kelley Band. Catch one of Johnny Cash's own touring band members slapping bass up front and a new 23 year old wonderkind guitarist. Magic.

I'm slowly getting over my sinus infection. I've enjoyed only a single ride outside in the past week. Luckily it was 43 degrees, windy, wet pavement, and spitting rain. I've just not felt like riding for a few weeks now. It took one sentence from someone close to slap me out of my stupor and it woke me up. I don't know about you, but it feels so good feeling good again.

The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;

* court ordered obligatory link to Misfit Psycles Corp's best damn bike I've never thrown a leg over.
** their fried mushrooms are best when ordered from the balcony.

A Fiend in need, is no friend indeed

The first time I met Peter, it was after I won my 12th consecutive Winter WOW Enduro and back before his weird obsession with boy porn. This was back before it was the big time cool event it is now. Back then Peter put the event on by himself. He raced, he promoted, and he podium girled. Please don't let this happen. The corporation coffers are running thin. Please buy some of his crap and help prevent his Miss Phit Homely Podium Girl routine from seeing light of day ever again. Maybe too, if we all buy a Nubar or two, he can afford some quality boy porn instead of cheap internet imitation knock-offs.

Remember, all prices Canadian so feel free to send Monopoly money and wooden nickels, he'll never know the difference.