The 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon

I'm officially signed up for the Walt Disney World Marathon. The race is being held on Jan 11th, 2009 at Walt Disney World, Florida. My training for the 26.2 mile run started few months ago but was unfortunatley cut short due to a minor bike accident. I have been undecided as to my participation since the accident. I've been thinking a lot about it lately and I've decided to give it a shot. It's sure to be the most physically challenging thing I've ever done but it's one of those things I've always wanted to do.

It's not just the lack of training that will be working against me though. I'm planning on participating in a 50 mile endurance mountain bike ride (The WT 50) on Jan 10th, the day before the marathon. Not only will I be short on my training but I'll be starting the race fresh out of an exhausting endurance ride. I've decided that I'll probably end up running only half (13.1 miles) of it and walking the rest. I know I could run a half marathon right now. I'ts the whole marathon that scares me. By reducing the number of running miles I've made my goal seem more attainable.

Wish me luck!!!

Click here to see the course map.

This event has now been added this to my event schedule. Stay tuned for results.

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New World Record!

I've set a new World Record! I know, I can't believe it either. On Sunday, Dec 14th I rode 40 miles at Boyette. "How is this a world record?", you might ask. Well, You're in luck. I'm going to tell you. Never before in the history of the world have I ridden 40 miles, so that makes it a world record. Isn't that great?!? Now if you'll excuse me I have the Guinness Book of world Records on the phone for verification and then I'm due at the studio for a photo shoot.

All kidding aside, I really did ride 40 miles at Boyette on Sunday. I hadn't been able to ride my bike for almost 4 weeks due to a frame failure. After getting the new frame Friday afternoon I headed out for a 10 mile ride with Luis. I hadn't had time to "dial in" the bike yet so Luis had quite a few suggestions for me including the seat fore/aft adjustment and fork adjustments.

Putting all the adjustments off until late Saturday night I headed out to the garage at about 11:00pm. I slid the seat back a bit, set the sag according to FOX's suggestions, adjusted my specialized ergonomic grips, and swapped the cleats on my shoes to get more float.

We hit the trails at 8:00am Sunday morning. Everything was moving along smoothly until I came up to a sharp turn and tried clipping out. Apparently the difficulty required to clip out increases when the cleats are swapped to provide more float. Who knew? Needless to say I didn't get clipped out soon enough. This mistake resulted in my left cheek giving the ground a big ol smooch.

About 10 miles into the ride my spokes picked up a stick. I glanced down for a split second to check it out. The instant I raised my head my left shoulder slammed into the remains of a fallen yet trimmed tree. This instantaneously thew me to the ground. My arms went sliding into a palmetto bush, my upper right leg met a broken branch, and my shin rode up some part of the bike (Not sure what part). This was quite a painful and bloody experience (see slide show for the blood). Luckily nothing too serious happened. I hopped back on the bike, caught up with everyone else and continued the ride.

We rode quite a bit of the quadrants and unfortunately during the longest section I started having blood sugar issues. I was right on Wayne's tire and I didn't want to loose the group. At the same time I knew I wasn't going to make it to the end of the section without eating anything. I decided I was going to attempt to retrieve the Cliff bar that was in the rear pocket of my Jersey. After several attempts and a few close calls I managed to get it. I took a few bites and things started to come back into focus again. Crisis averted!

The rest of the ride went without incident. I even had a pleasant surprise waiting for me up our return to the parking lot...BEER.

A Few Notes:

• I need to figure out how to get food in front of me and readily available. I can't afford blood sugar issues on the trail.
• I had a lot of chafing from my "form fitting" shorts. Get some chamois butter.
• Even with the ergonomic grips my hands were still going numb. Ask around and see what others are doing for this.

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The New Ride

I'm a bit late posting this as I got the new ride on Friday. So, without further delay...Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with my greatest plesure that I present the newly redesigned, 1hp, 2009 Gary Fisher Pargon. 

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One piece at a TIME

My TIME Atac XS Carbons came in last night.

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New Element Found

New Element Found

 Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest

 element  yet known to science.

 The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25

 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant

 deputy neutrons,  giving it an atomic mass of 312.

 These 312 particles are held together by forces called

 morons, which  are surrounded by vast quantities of

 lepton-like particles called peons.

 Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however,

 it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with

 which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium

 can cause a reaction that  would normally take less than a

 second, to take from 4 days to 4 years  to complete.

 Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years. It does

 not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a

 portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons

 exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will

 actually increase over time, since each reorganization will

 cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes..

 This characteristic of morons promotion leads some

 scientists to  believe that Governmentium is formed whenever

 morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical

 quantity is referred to as critical morass.

 When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes

 Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy

 as Governmentium, since it  has half as many peons but twice

 as many morons.

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Almost there

It's now officially been over 3 weeks since I lost my bike due to frame failure. I've posted several times about frustrations and concerns that I've had regarding the new G2 geometry being used with a standard 38mm offset fork as well as the headset oversight. You'll notice that I've removed those posts and I'll explain why later.

I've spoken at great lengths with Paul from Ryder Bikes as well as a few people from Trek Bicycle Corporation about my frustrations and concerns. I made my argument and Trek made their argument, but I believe it was Paul's feedback that ultimately helped us come to an agreement. After all was said and done I was very impressed with how both Ryder Bikes and Trek handled the situation. I may not be very happy about the length of time I've been unable to ride but I'm very happy knowing that my LBS and OEM have my back.

Taking into consideration the manner in which this situation was ultimately handled I decided to remove the posts in which I stated my concerns and frustrations. I am a Fisher fan through and through and they definitely took care of me. Heck, I'm a riding billboard for them. Look at my tattoos. The first one is obviously the Gary Fisher logo. The second is tire tread from a Bontrager Jones XR 29er tire. The third is the "Man's Best Friend" guy that comes on a sticker located under the front derailleur of their bikes.

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Curtlo goes Big Tyme

Big Tyme isn't just a name for this guy. It's a description. No really, he's 6'11. I grew up with him in Spokane and I remember when I was a lot taller than he was. That didn't last long though. He shot past me his softmore year of high school and yes, he plays basketball. Ballin aint the only thing he does though. He enjoys long walks on remote hiking trails, romantic candle lit dinners, and mountaing biking. That's right, mountain biking.Unfortunatley for him there aren't many bikes that fit too well. What is a GIANT to do?, you might ask. I'll tell you what a GIANGANTIC 6'11 dude does for a bike. He does what any other GIANT 6'11 mountain biker would do. He ordered a custom built Curtlo. Now he just had to hurry up and wait. 

Big Tyme just started a new blog. Check it out. There isn't much there yet but once he gets his curtlo I'm sure he'll be filling it up quick.

http://bigtymerider.blogspot.com/

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Thanksgiving Beercation

My 2008 thanksgiving vacation was spent up in snowy Erie, Pa. Theresa, Tam, and I kicked off our beercation with a - that's right - a beer. We hit up the margarita bar at the airport for a 7:00 am Sam Adams. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the trip. The first item of business upon arriving in Erie was to...that's right..crack a beer. After visiting with some friends we headed over to Theresa's family's house and...yup...cracked another beer.

As much as I would love to say that it was all about the beer, it really wasn't. The beer played a big role but the main focus of the trip was family. We spent most of the time hanging with Theresa's family with the occasional escape to friends houses.

The last day of vacation I was talked into cross country skiing. I wasn't sold on the idea at first as I had never before been skiing. After a moment of weakness I agreed and got clipped into the two waxed sticks of death. The trail head was located on a very small yet terrifying hill. I managed to glide right down before taking off on the nicely groomed trails. After stumbling around for a few hours we headed back to the lodge for a break and a...you guessed it...a beer. With a little liquid courage in me I headed back out to get a few good falls and some new bruises in before calling it quits. What a blast. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely not mountain biking, but, it was a good substitute considering the circumstances. Below is a slide show of the trip. Enjoy.

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29, Single, and Rigid

29, Single, and Rigid. No, this isn't about a single 29 year old porn star. It's about a bike. Not just any bike though. It's about a fully rigid single speed 29er, a Walt Works to be exact. Last night (20-Nov-09) was my first experience on one and I must say, I'm in love. After cracking my Paragon frame I've been in need of a loaner until the replacement frame comes in. I've been itching to take a single speed 29er for a spin and fortunately there are enough single speed 29er advocates out there that I was able to secure one for a ride.

The bike was custom made for a guy who is about the same height as me but weighs more than I. Needless to say there wasn't a lot of  shock absorption with my weight bearing down on the rigid fork. Also contributing to the ultra bumpy ride was the tire pressure. I didn't even think to check it until we were about half way though the ride. It was WAY to high for me. Yet another reminder that the bike belongs to someone a bit heavier than I am. It seemed to be a pretty slow turning bike too. I'm not sure if that's just they way it was designed or if it was just me getting used to a different geometry.

Despite the fact that the ride beat the crap out of me I had a great time. I'm definitely more interested in getting a single speed 29er. However, I have yet to decide weather to go fully rigid or not.  

(I have to give credit to treadlight for the title of this post. I stole it from his SWAMP forum signature. Sorry TL but it was so fitting!)

 

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My Bike

• Frame: Monocoque carbon, G2 29" Geometry
• Fork: Fox F80RL 29, 80mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 51mm offset crown, air spring, external rebound & lockout
• Headset: Cane Creek ZS6
• Crank: Shimano XT FC-M770
• Pedals: Time Atac XS Carbon
• Front Derailleur: Simano XT
• Rear Derailleur: SRAM X9
• Shifters: SRAM X9
• Cassette: SRAM PG950 9 speed
• Front Weel: Bontrager Race Disc 29
• Rear Wheel: Bontrager Race Disc 29
• Front Tire: Bontrager Jones XR 29x2.25"
• Rear Tire: WTB Nano Raptor 29x2.1"
• Front Brake: Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc
• Rear Brake: Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc
• Handlebar: Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep OS
• Stem: Bontrager Select OS 7d
• Saddle: Specialized Avatar Gel 143
  
• Seat Post: Thomson Elite 27.2 x 410mm 16mm SB
• Computer: Cateye Micro Wireless
  

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Cracked

I just found a crack on my 07 fisher paragon frame. I've heard about them cracking, I just didn't think it would ever happen to mine. I just hope that Gary Fisher replaces it. I can't afford a new bike!

This is really going to put a damper on my training. I'm not really sure what I'll do while waiting for the replacement.

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First 25

I completed my first 25 mile training ride on Saturday morning (15-Nov-08) at Santos. My initial plan was to get 30 - 40 miles in with a 10 - 12 mph pace, however, the pace was set at around 14 to 15 mph right out of the gate. Needkes to say I didn't quite get 30 - 40 miles. I quickly realized that I couldn't maintain that pace for long. Fortunately the group didn't mind waiting for me to catch up. It was probably the most tiring training ride to date. Riding with guys of that caliber (specifically Luis) will defiantly force me to improve my skills, speed, and endurance. 

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Santos Sunday

Sunday was a long and tiring day. Not one of those dreaded long and tiring days though. It was more like a whole day of being a kid on Christmas eve. Excitement!!! This wasn’t excitement from Santa’s presents though, this excitement was from Santos’ presents! Yep, that’s right, I went to Santos! This was my first trip there and It couldn’t have been better. I was in great company with Luis, Kevin and Wayne. The weather, probably in the mid 70s, was absolutely perfect and the humidity was low. We rode a good range of yellow (easy), blue (intermediate), and red (hard) trails.

My day started fairly early with the alarm clock sounding at 5:30 am. I got out of bed, showered, ate some breakfast, and loaded up the bike and gear then headed over to Luis’ house. Apparently Kevin had been so excited that he forgot to set his alarm clock back for DS and showed up at Luis’ an hour early. Needless to say he was ready to hit the road by the time I got there. I transferred my gear and bike to Luis’ truck and we were on the Interstate by 7:10. With a short stop off to pick up Wayne we were in the Santos parking lot by 9:00 and hammering down the trails by 9:30. We started out on some yellow trails (easy), working our way to some blue trails (intermediate), and then on to some red trails (difficult). I was impressed with the seemingly endless miles of single track out there. 

We rode most of our warm miles up on blue trails but a majority of the 18+ miles we got in that day were done on the red trails. I was quite obviously the weakest of the 4 riders but I managed to do ok, especially considering that this was my first trip to Santos and I wasn’t familiar with the trails. The guys were great about it though. They would wait for me after each difficult section at which time we would all discuss any difficulties we had or didn’t have. They would also give me pointers on things that might help me through areas I was having trouble with. It was a great learning experience for me. 

After the ride we loaded up the truck and headed straight to Sonny’s for some southern style home cookin. I, of course, had the fried cat fish! Mmmm! During the drive home we were stuck in some pretty nasty traffic but we managed to stay sane through most of it (I was asleep). I rolled into the drive way around 7:00 pm. 

What a day!

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Lesson Learned

While watching TV a few months back a commercial for one of those reality “caught on film” shows caught my attention. The slow motion clip was of a downhill racer who’s bike simply came apart as he was flying down a hill. He bit it hard and the bike tumbled the rest of the way down the hill. This incident probably could have been avoided had the rider simply inspected the bike before he began his decent. I have recently learned this very valuable lesson for myself. Fortunately my lesson didn’t end in the destruction of my bike and a trip to the hospital in the ambulance.

During my last couple rides I had been experiencing a few creaks, squeaks, groans, and component malfunctions. I’ve listed a couple of the symptoms below along with my reasoning for dismissing them.

• Creaking noise coming from the bottom bracket - I simply attributed this to typical wear and tear and figured it would soon need replacing. After all, the bike is a year and a half old.
• Chain skipping / Auto shifting. I’ve never been very talented when it comes to the adjustment of rear derailleurs. Assuming that I had incorrectly adjusted it I just kept on pedaling.
• Difficulty getting clipped out – I’ve been having issues with the SPD type clip and muddy conditions lately. The trails were wet during my last ride and I just figured my pedals and clips were getting packed with mud and clay.

After having so much trouble with the chain skipping / auto shifting I decided to take another look at the rear derailleur. Reading the step by step adjustment procedure on www.parktool.com I began re-adjusting the rear derailleur. After a few turns of the adjustment screws and barrel adjuster I was confident that the derailleur issue was solved, however, during my adjustment tutorial I had noticed that the pedal felt “wobbly”. Looking into this strange finding I noticed that a few pieces of the pedal were missing. Specifically the nut that secures the outer edge of the platform to the inner portion of the pedal. Technically the pedal can still be used but I don’t think it’s a good idea to have exposed parts so I purchased a new pair.

The next day I was planning on going for a short ride around the hood just to get some miles in. Since my new pedals weren’t in yet I decided I was going to borrow my wife’s pedals. While trying to take my old busted pedals off I noticed that my crank was loose! It was so loose that could slide it back and forth through the bottom bracket. I quickly decided to cancel my ride and work on the Bike…again. I threw it up on the stand, took the crank off, and inspected everything for damage. Fortunately there was none. I re-greased everything and re-assembled it. With a few turns of the crank I verified that it was now tight, however, it revealed another issue. The rear derailleur adjustment was off again.

It was then that I realized that all of these issues could have been avoided had I simply done a little routine maintenance. The bottom bracket noise was a result of the loose crank. The rear derailleur auto shifting was due to the side to side sliding motion of the crank. My issues with clipping out were due to my broke pedal. Yes, I felt really stupid after this epiphany!

I need to start paying more attention to every creak, squeak, groan, and component malfunction. However small they may be, they are all symptoms that need to be addressed as soon as they present themselves. I need to start thinking of my bike as a person. When my wife starts displaying symptoms of a cold or a flu we make sure she goes to the Dr. When she falls and sprains her ankle we make sure that we address the issue whether it’s just icing it or having a Dr take a look. If these issues aren’t addressed she could end up with serious permanent damage. Things aren’t very different when it comes to my bike. Fortunately nothing had to be damaged for me to learn my lesson, especially me!

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Night Rides

I had the opportunity to join in on one of the SWAMP night rides last night (30-Oct-08). It’s been well over 6 ½ years since my last night ride in Washington. I had forgotten how much fun they are. Things were a bit different up there though. I had the added excitement of snow during the winter months. Not only was I unaware of obstacles until they right in front of me, I was also slightly out of control thanks to the snow. My night riding experience isn’t just limited to off-road trials though. I used to commute by bike a lot. My trip from home to school and from work to home was typically in the dark.

I used a  handle bar mounted Cygolite (Not sure of the model though). It wasn’t the best light out there but it got the job done. Unfortunately the light was sold with the bike when I moved down here. Paragonman was nice enough to lend me his Niterider Enduro for last night’s ride. It was my first experience with a helmet mounted light. I liked it! I’m thinking of picking one of up at jensonusa.com on close out.

A few details about the ride:

• Pace: 10-11 mph
  
• Distance: ~16 Miles
  
• Time: ~2 hrs
  

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First of Many

I joined a few guys from the SWAMP group Yesterday (28-Oct-08) out at Boyette for a ride. I am considering it the first of many endurance training rides. The guys I rode with are all training for 50 mile events coming up in Jan. I’m signed up for Croom 50 (14-Feb-09) and am hoping to get into Ididaride (31-Jan-09). Both of which are 50 mile events. Check out my tentative event schedule in the right hand collum.

Our group ended riding a total of about 12.5 miles. It was mostly intermediate trails at an average pace of 10-11 mph. They pushed me to ride harder and faster than I’m currently used to. The last time I had a ride like that was 6 ½ years ago during my Washington days. One of my main goals in hooking up with a group like this was to have them push me. I really think it’s the only way I’m going to get better. There were a total of 4 in our group. There were typicall two in front of me and one behind me. The rider behind me was there to make sure someone was there in case of an accident and also to make sure I didn’t get lost as this was only my second trip  out to Boyette.

Here is the route we took (At least I think it’s the route we took)

• Loch Ness
  
• Bridge
  
• Upper Loch Ness
  
• Gator Pit
  
• Golf Cart
  
• Pandemonium (I rode the upper portion)
  
• Sidewinder
  
• SWAMP Thing
  
• Garry’s Loop? (Not sure if we actually went this one or not)
  
• Woods Trail
  
• East Meadow
  
• Spur
  
• Spider Berm
  
• Randy’s Trail
  
• West Meadow
  
• Baby Nessie
• Inner Loch Ness

As I stated above, this was only my second time out on these trails so I was a bit disoriented most of the time. I pieced together the route based off the signs I saw and the conversations we had during the ride.

I know there are a lot of things I need to work on right now but there were a few that stood out during this ride.

• Speed fluctuations - I noticed that I was surging and then slowing down any time there was an incline. I need to work on keeping a consistent speed or at least keeping my speed up on inclines.
  
• Leg strength – My legs are pretty weak right now. My quads were getting really weak and burning pretty bad towards the end of the ride. I think strengthening my legs will help significantly with speed fluctuations. I will be able to more easily power my way up inclines.
  
• Control – I felt a bit out of control on the ride. There are quite a few tight technical spots out there and I found myself getting a bit unstable around them. Control will come with time though. I haven’t been riding much lately so I’m sure those skills are just a bit rusty.
  
• Picking my lines – I have a tendency to take drops without choosing a line first. This isn’t much of an issue for me on the drop but more so on the inclines. I usually end up taking a line that is much more difficult to get up on.
  
• Hydration – Although  I didn’t notice any hydration issues during the ride I felt very dehydrated a few hours after the ride and into the next morning. I hardly drank any liquid during the ride. I also need to look into some sort of an additive for my camelback to help with hydration.
  

All in all I think it was a great ride. Not just emotionally but physically as well. I’ve been itching to get out and ride with people that can really push me and help train me for the endurance rides and I think I’m off to a good start.

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And the verdict is...

It's been a little over a month since I cracked my ankle during a fall at Boyette. I had my followup appointment with the ankle Dr the other day. I've been worried because it seems to swell pretty bad anytime I'm on it for more than an hour. There isn't any pain, just swelling. The past week I've been helping my sister-in-law re-do the shower walls in her bathroom and the ankle tends to look more like a baseball than an ankle by the end of the day.

Anyways, the verdict is...Everything looks just fine. He said the swelling will be there for a couple of months but not to worry about it. He ordered me up some physical therapy to make sure that it's back to 100% for the next spill I take. Now I'll have to find another excuse to be lazy. This one was so convenient. I suppose I better start getting some long rides in if I'm going to ride Croom in a descent amount of time.

As a  result of this incident I've decided to change out my pedals as soon as I get the $ for a new pair. I'm currently riding shimano PD M545s. I like em because they have a platform around the clip which allows me to keep my footing if I'm not clipped in. I suppose I need to learn to get clipped in quicker. I originally considered one of the Crank Brother's Egg Beaters but I wasn't sure, so I posted a topic on the SWAMP club forums asking "what pedals have the best mud shedding capabilities?". Who would have known that pedals would be so controversial!?! It was an

interesting topic to say the least. After much debate, I've decided on the Time ATAC XS pedals. I know there is a lot of disagreement regarding the mud shedding capabilities of these pedals but I'm going to give them a shot anyways. I've always had trouble with the SPD type pedals and I didn't want to spend the $ ona new set to have the same old issues.

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Bout Time!

I finally had a chance to hit the trails last weekend. I've been unable to ride for the past month due to a cracked ankle and a nasty cold. Sunday morning Curt and I headed up to Alafia. We warmed up on Sand Pine and then rode Rock Garden, North Creek, and Bridges. The ankle felt good. It was a bit swollen afterwards but that was about it. I was most concerned with the "clipping out" motion as this seems to utilize some muscles and tendons that are still quite sore. I left my pedals pretty loose so I didn't run into any issues. The other issue concerning me was my cardio. I haven't done anything cardio wise in about a month so I was prepared to be completely out of shape. To my surprise I was actually able to maintian a descent pace. I did stop here and there to rest but overall I think my cardio is still fairly descent. Now it's back to the usual schedule of one or two week day rides and one weekend ride. All I need now is a light for the bike as it's starting to get dark earlier.

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My Riding Goals

Since I've just recently decided that I want to get serious about my riding I figure I should publish a list of goals. Hopefully some of you will help me keep on track. Here is a list of things I would like to accomplish within the next year.

• Participate in my first SWAMP event - I don't think the riding classes count. I need to go on a group ride and participate in some of the other events. I would love to go to the AFTF but unfortunately we didn't make it in. I'll be sure to make it next year though. 
• Start riding with more experienced riders - I have been riding with riders that don't challenge me. I need to start riding with people that can challenge me. 
• Improve my climbing skills - My climbing skills leave a bit to be desired. They have improved in the last couple moths but they still aren't where they need to be. 
• Improve my carido - This is a big one. If I ride any difficult or intermediate trails I get very winded very easily when I get to the "technical" parts of the trail. I can't let this happen if I decide to take a difficult trail at the Croom 50. Riding cardio seems to be completely different than running cardio for me.
• Complete IDIDARIDE - I want to complete the entire thing...just not in last place.
• Complete Croom 50 - I wan to complete all 50 miles without killing myself. Oh yeah...and I don't want to finish in last place.
• Find more endurance rides / events - I would like to give Dauset a shot next year. Probably only the 6 hour though.

This is just a quick list of things I would like to accomplish with the next year. I'm sure I'll be updating this as I go along. If anyone thinks something is missing please let me know.

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Figures...

Just about the time my ankle is getting healed up enough to ride I get hit with a nasty cold. It's pretty much knocked me on my ass. I missed work yesterday and still feel like crap today. I was planning on hitting up Boyette this weekend but I'm not sure I'll be up for it now. If I do go it'll have to be easy going. Not only is this effecting my riding but it's also hit my marathon training pretty hard. I was planning on following a training program that would get me up to speed enough to run the entire thing. My chances of that are pretty slim now. I was able to complete a half marathon earlier this year without any training but 13 miles doesn't even compare to 26. I think I'd kill myself trying it without any training. 

Maybe I'll just forget about the marathon and put running on the back burner for now. I have some riding goals that I'd like to meet this year anyways...well...maybe not this year but within a year. Then again...the running might help me reach some of my riding goals. 

What do y'all think? I'm signed up for the Disney Marathon on Jan, 11th 2009. Should I continue training for it and try to finish it? Or should I just forget about it and concentrate on riding?

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Damn this kankle...

It's been 3 weeks to the day since my little spill at Boyette and I'm going stir crazy. I've only ridden on roads and on shell trails since. I would love more than anything to go tear up some trails at Alafia but I have a feeling I'd screw my self up more than I already have. My kankle seems to swell up like a balloon every time I spend more than 20 minutes on it. I've never broken or cracked a bone before so I don't really know how much I can push it. I'm planning on doing IDIARIDE and Croom 50 early next year. It's going to take a lot of riding to get me in shape for these as I have never really done anything like it before. Theresa and I did the Croom 35 last year and almost died. I realized that if I'm going to do the 50 miler I'm going to have to get a whole lot of riding in before then. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the doc says. One more week...

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I Had A Dream...

I had a dream...not a vision type dream though. I was definitely asleep when I had this dream. It was a very strong and memorable one. So strong in fact that It has prompted me to do something a bit extreme. It has prompted me to get another tattoo. A bit strange, I know, but it was so vivid and stuck with me for days. I still can’t get it out of my head.  

In this dream I found myself with a tattoo on my elbow. I had never seen this image before but there it was, a permanent branding on my arm. Where did it come from? Who did it? Why did they do it? I was asking myself all these questions. Despite my cofusion the dream went on for a while and I seemed to forget about the new strange symbol on my elbow…until I had an epiphany and realized that I had received it from some sort of  “being” after I had been “Taken”, if you know what I mean. These events weren’t a part of the dream but rather understood. Once this epiphany hit me I was rather "freaked out". I woke up with the image burned into my vision.

 I can’t explain the symbol so I drew a few samples of it (Above). I’m going to have my favorite tattoo artist, Tony, put it right on my elbow, just like in the dream. Hey, I never claimed to be normal.

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I fell...finally!

I still remember my first mtb spill. I was riding my GT XCR 4000 on beacon hill in Spokane, Wa. The trail was pretty loose from the motor bikes. My friend Nick and I came flying around a corner and my rear tire slipped out from under me. I slid off the trail and came to a stop when my bike it a rock, actually it was my rear derailleur that hit the rock. I was fine but my bike was pretty messed up. Fortunatley I was able to bend the rear derailleur back into place so I could ride out. That was over 8 years ago and I haven't fallen since...until the other day.I had mapped out a route of intermediate trails at Boyette Scrub Preserve and decided that I was going to go for a long ride...alone (mistake #1). I rode the 2 mile service rode to the trail head and began my route. I rode Inner Loch Ness, West Meadow, Randy's Trail, Gator Pit, Golf Cart, Mt. Boyette, and Canyon. The initial plan was to ride only the intermediate trails, but, when I came across the North Abyss, a "black diamond" trail, I just couldn't help myself. I had to try it (mistake #2). Don't worry though, I made it through with out so much as a scratch. The problem with taking the North Abyss was that it completely wore me out. This should have been an obvious sign to head back to the truck.I, however, decided to make mistake #3 and finish my pre-determined route of intermediate trails. I was most of the way through Sidewinder when I noticed a bunch of branches laying in the middle of the trial and a temporary trail leading out to the service road. I simply figured that some tree branches had fallen there. I proceeded to ride around them (mistake #4) and on to SWAMP Thing. I later discovered that the tree branches were supposed to be a sign that the trail was in bad shape and should be closed. It's a warning system of sorts that mountain bikers use to warn other riders. SWAMP Thing truned out to be full of mud and frustrated me even more. I was getting really weak and the mud just made things worse. I rode down a hill picking up some speed only to have it taken from me when I hit the patch of mud at the bottom. I lost so much momentum that I came to a complete stop half way up the other side. I tried clipping out but there was so much Mud packed into my pedals and shoes that my foot didn't budge. I'm sure you can image what happened next - I fell! Threre was about a 3 foot support wall holding the trail in place. Beyond that there were trees, shrubs and more mud. I encountered them all...with my foot still clipped in. My ankle twisted and turned as I slid down the hill. It eventually clipped out but the damage was already done. I thought I had broken it. Fortunatley it wasn't. I still had to get back up the hill and out of the park. That was another couple miles! Needless to say it was pretty swollen and bruised the next day

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Photos

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About Me

I'm not going to give the typical life story that you find on most "About Me" pages. Instead, I'll list some interesting random fact about me that many people don't know.

• I was born in Helena, Mt.
• I've been a bicycle fanatic my entire life.
• I played the trombone for 7 years.
• Canada is the only other country I've been to.
• I didn't get carded on my 21st birthday.
• I commute to work on my bicycle 12 miles each way.
• I have an A.A.S. in Fluid Power Technology.
• I was introduced to my wive, Theresa, by her father.
• I sit in a cubicle at work.
• I wear size 14 shoes.
• I worked for a veterinarian, daycare, and a restaurant while I was in High School.
• I have 4 tattoos.
• I still have all 4 of my wisdom teeth.
• I was sitting next to my Father in law-to-be when he passed away.
• I can't grow a beard.
• I almost lost the tip of my middle finger on my left hand when I was a kid.
• I have rock hard teeth.
• I sleep with a C.P.A.P. machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure).
• I despise Microsoft Windows.
• I have ridiculously high arches.
• I really don't care for the beach.
• I pay my respects to each and every dead animal I see on the side of the road.
• In high school I was 6'4" and only weighed 150 lbs. Today I'm the same height but weight 223 lbs.

Keep checking back. I'll add more every once in a while.

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Events & Results

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My Goals

Short term goals

• Complete my first off road mtb century.
  
• Participate in Fools Gold.
• Complete a solo 12 hr mtb race.
• Finish a half marathon in under 2 hrs.
  
• Run an entire Marathon.
  
• Complete Disney's Goofy Run and a Half Challenge.
  
• Complete in my first Triathlon.
  

Long term goals

• Complete an ultra marathon.
  
• Complete an Iron Man.
  
• Complete a solo 24 hr mtb race.

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My Training Log

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