What exactly am I currently hating today...
My BLOG, I hate it, IT SUCKS....
I need to get off my butt and make it even more interesting........
Anybody ever take a week of for Mental Repair.... Seems like I am about to do this....
Im CURRENTLY exploring my options.
I am thinking of a two tree tour next week....
What is a two tree tour, well, I make a route, based on anyone offering two trees in their backyard for me to camp at.... ride for 5 days.... have fun.... I guess.....
Just brainstorming at the moment....
Laters,
LOS
PS: I HATE YOUR FACE...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
ThE ShOw MuSt Go On!
Stay tuned and check back for some CFiTT related news.
There is a blog up, that I will be directing you too that will give out all the related updates.
For now, news and updates continuing, it looks like I will NOT be able to do the Great Divide Race or the Tour Divide.
I dont see this being financially possible with my current situation, and I am NOT going to beg for money.
Thats all for today,
Check back later for updates,
LOS
There is a blog up, that I will be directing you too that will give out all the related updates.
For now, news and updates continuing, it looks like I will NOT be able to do the Great Divide Race or the Tour Divide.
I dont see this being financially possible with my current situation, and I am NOT going to beg for money.
Thats all for today,
Check back later for updates,
LOS
Friday, June 26, 2009
ItS CoMpLiCaTeD FoLkS
Dont Pity me.
Dont be sad for me.
Feel free to pick at me about it, but risk a punch in the mouth at your own expense.
But Warrior Princess is moving away to a far off place.
And I understand.
As spiritual beings that we both are, she has a calling and a need that is the only calling and need higher then the need of the person you love, your family.
So she is moving on in that direction.
Who knows what the future holds for her and I, but I can tell you this, whatever it is, its complicated.
I love her, she loves me, this has not changed, but other things need attention.
I will go on, I will continue and so will she, and if our paths do cross again, they will, if they dont, they wont.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am a person who walks a walk and talks the talk and I feel that its good that I speak on what is going on, and give a final elaboration and closure to the drama I have experienced over the past couple of weeks.
I wish her the best of fortune and the creators blessings on the path she has chosen, she can go, knowing that I will always have a place for her in my heart, and a place for her to rest her head at in my home
Wish her luck everyone and keep her in your prayers as she was and remains a blessing in my life, who gave me and taught me so much and made me the powerhouse and athlete I am today,
Laters,
LOS
Dont be sad for me.
Feel free to pick at me about it, but risk a punch in the mouth at your own expense.
But Warrior Princess is moving away to a far off place.
And I understand.
As spiritual beings that we both are, she has a calling and a need that is the only calling and need higher then the need of the person you love, your family.
So she is moving on in that direction.
Who knows what the future holds for her and I, but I can tell you this, whatever it is, its complicated.
I love her, she loves me, this has not changed, but other things need attention.
I will go on, I will continue and so will she, and if our paths do cross again, they will, if they dont, they wont.
Why am I telling you this? Because I am a person who walks a walk and talks the talk and I feel that its good that I speak on what is going on, and give a final elaboration and closure to the drama I have experienced over the past couple of weeks.
I wish her the best of fortune and the creators blessings on the path she has chosen, she can go, knowing that I will always have a place for her in my heart, and a place for her to rest her head at in my home
Wish her luck everyone and keep her in your prayers as she was and remains a blessing in my life, who gave me and taught me so much and made me the powerhouse and athlete I am today,
Laters,
LOS
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
SoRRy FoR the DraMatiX
Its been a very drama filled 24 hours.
I'm really getting good at the sleep deprivation thing.
For now, the Blog will live on. For now, I will limp along, only feeling half as bad as I did earlier today.
Sometimes in life, its tough, the situations we end up in.
Sometimes in life, you have to make tough choices to fix the situations.
Sometimes that situation involves elements that cannot be changed and the only way to obtain change is to actively seek it.
Have I done a good job of camouflaging what happened to me over the past 24?
Probably have, I'm a pretty good wordsmith.
I'm OK for now, well see how it all pans out,
Laters,
LOS
I'm really getting good at the sleep deprivation thing.
For now, the Blog will live on. For now, I will limp along, only feeling half as bad as I did earlier today.
Sometimes in life, its tough, the situations we end up in.
Sometimes in life, you have to make tough choices to fix the situations.
Sometimes that situation involves elements that cannot be changed and the only way to obtain change is to actively seek it.
Have I done a good job of camouflaging what happened to me over the past 24?
Probably have, I'm a pretty good wordsmith.
I'm OK for now, well see how it all pans out,
Laters,
LOS
....................................
Sometimes. Its hard to see what path god has laid in front of us.
For me its one of those times.
I may not be around for awhile. Or this Blog may just end up disappearing in the end.
As everything has a beginning, it so as well does have an end....
Laters,
LOS
For me its one of those times.
I may not be around for awhile. Or this Blog may just end up disappearing in the end.
As everything has a beginning, it so as well does have an end....
Laters,
LOS
Sunday, June 21, 2009
DaddY dAy SoLsTiCe Tour suCcEss!
Laters,
LOs
DaddY daY SolStIce ToUr
Saturday, June 20, 2009
GiFt & ThE CuRsE
I am a huge believer in Sociobiological aspects in direct relation to certain aspects of Human behavior.
In short, I believe I carry certain Gifts and certain curses in my genetic make up.
The Taino, the people who first met Columbus, the same people who are the Indigenous people of BoriKen aka Puerto Rico, were very kind. In fact, when they met Columbus, Columbus threw trial and error managed to ask them who were they?
They responded, "TainO", which means "we are good people".
I am a good person. Generous, Righteous. I share willingly and offer myself wholeheartedly to help out my fellow man. This Gift can also be a curse.
With this Gift comes certain perks, and certain dangers. Too often people think that just cause you are polite and nice and generous, that you are weak. Please dont mistaken my politeness for weakness.
This Gift will sometimes gain you many friends, notoriety, schwag, etc.
These things go hadn in hand. The Gift, being generous, begets good positive energy, and the return is the "perks".
But this gift is also a curse. Thus the reason, my ancestors exist as a fragment of the complete identity of another entire cultural group. Recognizing my ancestors at times was a jig saw puzzle of opening my eyes and looking deep into the land where I lived and seeing the Taino still did exist hidden deep within the existing population.
Peanut Butter Jelly with a Baseball BAT.
Laters,
LOS
PS: Bikepack dAddy day solstice tour is gonna kick off, check for video post, and regular tomfoolery.
In short, I believe I carry certain Gifts and certain curses in my genetic make up.
The Taino, the people who first met Columbus, the same people who are the Indigenous people of BoriKen aka Puerto Rico, were very kind. In fact, when they met Columbus, Columbus threw trial and error managed to ask them who were they?
They responded, "TainO", which means "we are good people".
I am a good person. Generous, Righteous. I share willingly and offer myself wholeheartedly to help out my fellow man. This Gift can also be a curse.
With this Gift comes certain perks, and certain dangers. Too often people think that just cause you are polite and nice and generous, that you are weak. Please dont mistaken my politeness for weakness.
This Gift will sometimes gain you many friends, notoriety, schwag, etc.
These things go hadn in hand. The Gift, being generous, begets good positive energy, and the return is the "perks".
But this gift is also a curse. Thus the reason, my ancestors exist as a fragment of the complete identity of another entire cultural group. Recognizing my ancestors at times was a jig saw puzzle of opening my eyes and looking deep into the land where I lived and seeing the Taino still did exist hidden deep within the existing population.
Peanut Butter Jelly with a Baseball BAT.
Laters,
LOS
PS: Bikepack dAddy day solstice tour is gonna kick off, check for video post, and regular tomfoolery.
Friday, June 19, 2009
ThE OffiCiaL DaDDy DaY WeekenD
I actually already celebrated with my family.
We did it the first weekend of the month. The Bird went to Mexico on the 9th, and she is not here this weekend, so we accelerated the holiday.
Lil NK has his Basketball Season opener on Saturday at 5pm. As part of my preparation for my future endeavors and adventures I am practicing riding late and sleeping short and rising quick. That being the case I plan to after the game and dropping the boys off, to pack up the bike for a little overnight Bike pack trip.
I plan to cruise over to Little Econ forest, camp out, then ride trails and paths over to Lake mary some 30 or 40 miles away on Sunday. Eat breakfast and such, then do another 20 miles to my mothers to pick up the Truck that had its window repaired on this last Tuesday.
A little 70 ish mile adventure, just me, myself and I. Should be fun.
Happy DAddy Day to all the Daddies out there.
Remember, we are an IMPORTANT part of the Family Unit, so enjoy your day and your time and celebrate your FAtherhood!!!
Laters,
LOS
We did it the first weekend of the month. The Bird went to Mexico on the 9th, and she is not here this weekend, so we accelerated the holiday.
Lil NK has his Basketball Season opener on Saturday at 5pm. As part of my preparation for my future endeavors and adventures I am practicing riding late and sleeping short and rising quick. That being the case I plan to after the game and dropping the boys off, to pack up the bike for a little overnight Bike pack trip.
I plan to cruise over to Little Econ forest, camp out, then ride trails and paths over to Lake mary some 30 or 40 miles away on Sunday. Eat breakfast and such, then do another 20 miles to my mothers to pick up the Truck that had its window repaired on this last Tuesday.
A little 70 ish mile adventure, just me, myself and I. Should be fun.
Happy DAddy Day to all the Daddies out there.
Remember, we are an IMPORTANT part of the Family Unit, so enjoy your day and your time and celebrate your FAtherhood!!!
Laters,
LOS
Thursday, June 18, 2009
ItS my FaVoRiTe...
I love the rain season. For a minute I didn't think it was gonna come. I actually was worried. But I love watching a storm form in the distance, then roll threw rumbling and shaking the windows. Lightning cracking the sky and flashing in all directions. I love how it breaks the heat and everything instantly gets 20 degrees cooler. As a kid, there was many a time I got trapped by the storm and had to huddle under some foreign roof waiting for the turbulent thunder system to pass.
I know some of you dislike it, ruins your plans for a ride, but its a season and it does not last forever. Eventually, the season will change and the excessive dryness will return, but for now, I will enjoy the joys and relief that the benevolent rainstorms bring.
Laters,
LOS
I know some of you dislike it, ruins your plans for a ride, but its a season and it does not last forever. Eventually, the season will change and the excessive dryness will return, but for now, I will enjoy the joys and relief that the benevolent rainstorms bring.
Laters,
LOS
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
WHat DiD U PuT In ThEm FeeDBaGs!!
I am not the worlds first primal athlete, but I consider myself to be 98% primal most of the time.
What does that mean? It means I try to eat whole and natural every chance I get. No preservatives, chemicals, additives, etc...
So what did I take to eat with me or what was my nutritional plan for my Ride around the Big Lake?
Well I can tell you, that my biggest mistake was drifting into that 2% range by having some Fried Potatoes. What I should have done for Lunch was a baked potato, the meat and that's it. Regardless, what did I eat before lunch.
Well my strategy for Saturday actually started a couple of weeks before the ride. I intentionally fattened myself up about 10 extra lbs. That's right, I like to burn fat when I run long and I sometimes fatten myself up for events. It actually took awhile to retool my system to burn the fat instead of going for quick carbs, but it works better, FOR ME. Ever since I leaned out, I can do a pinch test on my stomach and tell how much I got extra and if I am running out.(dead serious I can) Sometimes its 10 sometimes its 5, depends on the length of the event.
SO, the night before I hit Publix.
I bought:
3 Organic Kiwi's
1 pack of Natural colby jack cheese
1 package full of Organic Strawberries
1 pack of True North Almond Clusters
1 pack of the New Natural Planters Dark Chocolate Trail Mix
1 Large BAr of Organic 70% Dark Chocolate
5 pack of Nut-Tritious mixed nuts, individual sized.
The cheese and Strawberries I ate the morning of the ride. At the first regroup spot I shared the Dark Chocolate bar with everyone. The Almond Clusters I ate while riding, the Nut Tritious packets I ate when we waited for others to regroup, same with the Kiwi's. I never got to the trail mix and I never finished the Almond Clusters nor the mixed nuts, cause of LUNCH.
Anyhow, I had enough food to make it to the end. Next time I will make better choices when it comes to eating the restaurant food. But take note, in that list, no gels, no magic powders or concoctions. Im not preaching, its my choice to eat the way I eat, I just wanted to share what I consumed before I went off my primal plan and then got sick.
O well, its all in the past now,
Laters,
LOS
PS: I stepped on the scale and I am back down to the weight that I was at before I started prepping for this ride, I burned 10lbs over that one day.
What does that mean? It means I try to eat whole and natural every chance I get. No preservatives, chemicals, additives, etc...
So what did I take to eat with me or what was my nutritional plan for my Ride around the Big Lake?
Well I can tell you, that my biggest mistake was drifting into that 2% range by having some Fried Potatoes. What I should have done for Lunch was a baked potato, the meat and that's it. Regardless, what did I eat before lunch.
Well my strategy for Saturday actually started a couple of weeks before the ride. I intentionally fattened myself up about 10 extra lbs. That's right, I like to burn fat when I run long and I sometimes fatten myself up for events. It actually took awhile to retool my system to burn the fat instead of going for quick carbs, but it works better, FOR ME. Ever since I leaned out, I can do a pinch test on my stomach and tell how much I got extra and if I am running out.(dead serious I can) Sometimes its 10 sometimes its 5, depends on the length of the event.
SO, the night before I hit Publix.
I bought:
3 Organic Kiwi's
1 pack of Natural colby jack cheese
1 package full of Organic Strawberries
1 pack of True North Almond Clusters
1 pack of the New Natural Planters Dark Chocolate Trail Mix
1 Large BAr of Organic 70% Dark Chocolate
5 pack of Nut-Tritious mixed nuts, individual sized.
The cheese and Strawberries I ate the morning of the ride. At the first regroup spot I shared the Dark Chocolate bar with everyone. The Almond Clusters I ate while riding, the Nut Tritious packets I ate when we waited for others to regroup, same with the Kiwi's. I never got to the trail mix and I never finished the Almond Clusters nor the mixed nuts, cause of LUNCH.
Anyhow, I had enough food to make it to the end. Next time I will make better choices when it comes to eating the restaurant food. But take note, in that list, no gels, no magic powders or concoctions. Im not preaching, its my choice to eat the way I eat, I just wanted to share what I consumed before I went off my primal plan and then got sick.
O well, its all in the past now,
Laters,
LOS
PS: I stepped on the scale and I am back down to the weight that I was at before I started prepping for this ride, I burned 10lbs over that one day.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
ShAkEdOWn
Ok, some side notes from the Big O, what I will use, what I wanna do different.I like the 2 x 9 with a 12 - 27 rear cassette. Seemed very well suited to my style of riding. I had to learn though when shifting to the middle ring to work my front Derailleur close to my middle ring with the grip shift so it would act as a chain guide in the rough stuff.
I love the aero bars! If your gonna be riding lots of straight dirt or pavement, the aero bars do help.
I love my mountain feedbags, very versatile, as a matter of fact, I felt my pack strategy was spot on, probably the same packing I will do for the CFiTT, probably a lil lighter and more refuel spots.
The place where I had my Etrex mounted was not working for me. I need to find a good stem mount for that thing so that it can be functional and practical with the Aero Bars on.
That being said, I have been asking around how they would handle a 180 mile straight effort and getting some interesting answers.
My focus for the next couple of weeks is preparation for my shot, I am working on doing everything I can to be as prepared as possible.
That is all, Now the some pics I borrowed from FE, I decided to put up all the shots I liked the most.
Laters,
LOS
Monday, June 15, 2009
BiG O....My NeMeSiS
I heard that word more than once this weekend.....
Man, if there is such thing as bad luck, well I experienced it.
As we rolled out of town in my Vehicle, I forgot to strap down the rear wheel of my tire. Hit a particular cool whoopty whoop section on the Turnpike which caused my bike to raise up and over and take out my rear glass on my car.
Scared the crap out of Rob and I, but we backtracked back to his house and switched everything around. Whatever is all I could say, its a $310 repair, yay!!!
Eventually we make it to Okeechobee, find a mexican restaurant, grab food, Bill and Kevin Hoover show up to join in the pre ride day festivities and not long after Jonathan showed up.
The plans to stealth camp were laid to waste by the sheer fact that we didnt know what the locals would be like, and you know what they say about things that go bump in the night. Let's just say we didnt want to become anyones Idea of something to bump at night, we opted to accept Bill's offer for floor space. I was super cool with the concept and after I emerged from the bathroom, Bill apparently felt the need to ONE UP himself and offered me his double bed and he slept with his son. I really felt it was entirely too generous, but didnt put up much of a fight either and Rob joined in on the other half of the bed that felt as hard as the floor. Jonathan grabbed some floor space and I gave him my sleeping bag to help him stay warm.
The sleep was deep but brief and without much fuss, everyone got up and got ready and we rolled out. I admittedly had a score to settle and got right to work. I was on the pedal and the bars from jump putting down a steady pace. We checked out the new docks, rolled off the pavement into the dirt, all the while continuing to put a steady pace down. Eventually you could see the hints of dawn coming and I suggested that we stop and observe the sun rising over the lake.
At that point, rob had found a sweet spot to do this at, and his GPS said it would take us to the lakes edge. We rolled parallel to the canal, but never quite made it, and just stopped at a good spot and observed the sun rise, then got rolling again. The miles were clicking away and it all seemed alot easier then the first time I did it.
I was not only out to seek revenge on this gigantic lake, but I was also out to do a shakedown ride for my CFITT exploring the set up and the new gear combo. I was in love with the gear combo but did notice some skipping while pacing with Jonathan threw the tall bumpy grassy area. Maybe its the chain???
Anyhow, we tried a store for coffee, no dice, we continued on and made the next stop and scored snacks and coffee, good times.
We kept the pace up and going and eventually, conditions got hotter and we had a really long stop at the moorehaven campground while we waited to regroup and I basically took a bath fromm the faucet.
Once we regrouped we rode on, made Clewiston, at this point, the heat was getting good and we were all refilling on water at each spot. We rode on, and finally made Belle Glade, only to find out a section was closed for construction, we took the road into town and found a restaurant to eat at.
Up to this point, I was having an extremely good ride. Considering this was my third ride of the month, I was in as top a form as I could be. I ordered, some jack cheese, grilled chicken sandwich, with Fries. I thought it was just meat and fries, but it turned out to be a sandwich. I would later regret this choice.
Immediately aftef I left I didnt feel right. Then we hit the nap spot, I took a short but brief rest, and then everyone kind of left before I could catch them. I honestly didnt even try to catch them cause I didnt feel I had the energy. Symptom number one Lethargic.
Then, When we finally made Port Mayaka, I let the group know that I really needed to rest. My body just kept telling me to lay down. I did, and that is when we made an epic mistake. We realized that there was no water for the next 20 miles. There actually was a bar, and some houses, but at that point we didnt know that. They wanted to go ahead and get water as we were all low, I told them, I am going to ride. I kept riding, they sped off, in fact everyone sped off. The Lathargic feeling came on stronger than ever. I stopped in the shade. I was HOT and Sleepy.
Then I dry heaved like two times, experienced the single worst stomach pain I have ever experienced, felt like someone stabbed me with a sword threw my gut, and I started throwing up. I did that for a couple of minutes. Got tired of smelling it, decided to move down aways from it. I laid down again, was getting tired of laying in the sand and gettting bit by mosquitos and ants crawling on me. I figured this is what hell must be like.
I drank some water, and the vomit came up again.... Fantastic, the chunks were flying. After the final session of release, I got up and felt suprisingly chipper. I felt strong again and decided, well let me get going again. It was at that point that I realized it must have been the food, and at that point I made the connection, last time I felt like this after a meal was on the spring love bike tour with the bird, and I had Fries that day too??? And I did it again, after talking to the bird the next day she suggested it was the Grease that they fried the fries in. Mental note, next time, baked potato. Regardless, I got on the bike, the temp was cool, and I had 16.5 miles left. I was going good, I looked at my GPS and I was steady rolling at 16mph for miles and miles when I saw the Rob Roberts pull up. I stopped to speak to him.
I immediately tell Rob, "I am going to finish".
Rob says, "no your gonna hurt yourself", and I said "seriously I feel fine, Im good, I been riding good, Im going".
Reluctantly, Rob says "Well I got some sugar if you need it?" . I turn down the snickers, and I accept to take a sip of Gatorade. That small sip, had me feeling nauseous about a mile later and brought all the old feelings back, I knew that I was not ready to consume again, but I tried, next time Listen better to the body.
With a sad, sad overall body expression I cleaned up, and packed up, and got in the car and slept the whole way back to Rob's. Got up, got my stuff together and went home, depressed. Spent a good part of Sunday depressed till the Bird explained to me what the culprit was, fried freaking food!
I am super bummed about it. Twice I have failed and this time I only had 8.5 miles left, how awful. The first 90 miles I rode like a world class champion, my pace was strong steady and fast. I had it all together, I was drinking, I was eating, I was doing the right thing. The last 30 miles, not so much, from now on going forward I know to stay away from the fries or anything fried. After going Primal a year ago, I see that my body has no tolerance for greasy food, I should know better, and Now I DO know better.
When I go back, which will probably be soon, LOL, I am going clockwise and I am not riding between 12 pm and 7pm, its just too damn hot...
Laters,
LOS
PS: I still feel like a failure... O the triumphs and the defeats, they both teach you lessons. Not many people can say they were laid up throwing up for an hour and still got back on the bike and soldiered on, so I give myself some Endurance props for that one!
SHRED!
Check out the pics and another P.O.V. on the ride here! I got some great pics of my guns gleaming!! LMAO!!
Man, if there is such thing as bad luck, well I experienced it.
As we rolled out of town in my Vehicle, I forgot to strap down the rear wheel of my tire. Hit a particular cool whoopty whoop section on the Turnpike which caused my bike to raise up and over and take out my rear glass on my car.
Scared the crap out of Rob and I, but we backtracked back to his house and switched everything around. Whatever is all I could say, its a $310 repair, yay!!!
Eventually we make it to Okeechobee, find a mexican restaurant, grab food, Bill and Kevin Hoover show up to join in the pre ride day festivities and not long after Jonathan showed up.
The plans to stealth camp were laid to waste by the sheer fact that we didnt know what the locals would be like, and you know what they say about things that go bump in the night. Let's just say we didnt want to become anyones Idea of something to bump at night, we opted to accept Bill's offer for floor space. I was super cool with the concept and after I emerged from the bathroom, Bill apparently felt the need to ONE UP himself and offered me his double bed and he slept with his son. I really felt it was entirely too generous, but didnt put up much of a fight either and Rob joined in on the other half of the bed that felt as hard as the floor. Jonathan grabbed some floor space and I gave him my sleeping bag to help him stay warm.
The sleep was deep but brief and without much fuss, everyone got up and got ready and we rolled out. I admittedly had a score to settle and got right to work. I was on the pedal and the bars from jump putting down a steady pace. We checked out the new docks, rolled off the pavement into the dirt, all the while continuing to put a steady pace down. Eventually you could see the hints of dawn coming and I suggested that we stop and observe the sun rising over the lake.
At that point, rob had found a sweet spot to do this at, and his GPS said it would take us to the lakes edge. We rolled parallel to the canal, but never quite made it, and just stopped at a good spot and observed the sun rise, then got rolling again. The miles were clicking away and it all seemed alot easier then the first time I did it.
I was not only out to seek revenge on this gigantic lake, but I was also out to do a shakedown ride for my CFITT exploring the set up and the new gear combo. I was in love with the gear combo but did notice some skipping while pacing with Jonathan threw the tall bumpy grassy area. Maybe its the chain???
Anyhow, we tried a store for coffee, no dice, we continued on and made the next stop and scored snacks and coffee, good times.
We kept the pace up and going and eventually, conditions got hotter and we had a really long stop at the moorehaven campground while we waited to regroup and I basically took a bath fromm the faucet.
Once we regrouped we rode on, made Clewiston, at this point, the heat was getting good and we were all refilling on water at each spot. We rode on, and finally made Belle Glade, only to find out a section was closed for construction, we took the road into town and found a restaurant to eat at.
Up to this point, I was having an extremely good ride. Considering this was my third ride of the month, I was in as top a form as I could be. I ordered, some jack cheese, grilled chicken sandwich, with Fries. I thought it was just meat and fries, but it turned out to be a sandwich. I would later regret this choice.
Immediately aftef I left I didnt feel right. Then we hit the nap spot, I took a short but brief rest, and then everyone kind of left before I could catch them. I honestly didnt even try to catch them cause I didnt feel I had the energy. Symptom number one Lethargic.
Then, When we finally made Port Mayaka, I let the group know that I really needed to rest. My body just kept telling me to lay down. I did, and that is when we made an epic mistake. We realized that there was no water for the next 20 miles. There actually was a bar, and some houses, but at that point we didnt know that. They wanted to go ahead and get water as we were all low, I told them, I am going to ride. I kept riding, they sped off, in fact everyone sped off. The Lathargic feeling came on stronger than ever. I stopped in the shade. I was HOT and Sleepy.
Then I dry heaved like two times, experienced the single worst stomach pain I have ever experienced, felt like someone stabbed me with a sword threw my gut, and I started throwing up. I did that for a couple of minutes. Got tired of smelling it, decided to move down aways from it. I laid down again, was getting tired of laying in the sand and gettting bit by mosquitos and ants crawling on me. I figured this is what hell must be like.
I drank some water, and the vomit came up again.... Fantastic, the chunks were flying. After the final session of release, I got up and felt suprisingly chipper. I felt strong again and decided, well let me get going again. It was at that point that I realized it must have been the food, and at that point I made the connection, last time I felt like this after a meal was on the spring love bike tour with the bird, and I had Fries that day too??? And I did it again, after talking to the bird the next day she suggested it was the Grease that they fried the fries in. Mental note, next time, baked potato. Regardless, I got on the bike, the temp was cool, and I had 16.5 miles left. I was going good, I looked at my GPS and I was steady rolling at 16mph for miles and miles when I saw the Rob Roberts pull up. I stopped to speak to him.
I immediately tell Rob, "I am going to finish".
Rob says, "no your gonna hurt yourself", and I said "seriously I feel fine, Im good, I been riding good, Im going".
Reluctantly, Rob says "Well I got some sugar if you need it?" . I turn down the snickers, and I accept to take a sip of Gatorade. That small sip, had me feeling nauseous about a mile later and brought all the old feelings back, I knew that I was not ready to consume again, but I tried, next time Listen better to the body.
With a sad, sad overall body expression I cleaned up, and packed up, and got in the car and slept the whole way back to Rob's. Got up, got my stuff together and went home, depressed. Spent a good part of Sunday depressed till the Bird explained to me what the culprit was, fried freaking food!
I am super bummed about it. Twice I have failed and this time I only had 8.5 miles left, how awful. The first 90 miles I rode like a world class champion, my pace was strong steady and fast. I had it all together, I was drinking, I was eating, I was doing the right thing. The last 30 miles, not so much, from now on going forward I know to stay away from the fries or anything fried. After going Primal a year ago, I see that my body has no tolerance for greasy food, I should know better, and Now I DO know better.
When I go back, which will probably be soon, LOL, I am going clockwise and I am not riding between 12 pm and 7pm, its just too damn hot...
Laters,
LOS
PS: I still feel like a failure... O the triumphs and the defeats, they both teach you lessons. Not many people can say they were laid up throwing up for an hour and still got back on the bike and soldiered on, so I give myself some Endurance props for that one!
SHRED!
Check out the pics and another P.O.V. on the ride here! I got some great pics of my guns gleaming!! LMAO!!
Monday, June 08, 2009
ChaSiNg TaIL
Ya, I am a happily married man, happily, but for the past two weeks I have been chasing PUSSY kitten all over my house.
It started on a Tuesday, or it could have been just any day, Lil Naked Indian called and ask if he could bring a kitten home.
Now the Clan had made a pact, no more cats, cause we have lost like four of them. To either predators or animal control, I'm speculating cause we really don't know.
I said yes, and I should not have, cause as a Clan we had agreed n o more kittens.
For three days this kitten was hiding under Lil NK's bed and it would not come out. SO, I got the fire in my soul that it was time to resolve this issue. After an exhausting chase, the cat, climbed in a hole I had cut in the wall to check on a possible water leak.
And for three days this cat holed him self up like Geronimo hiding from the Calvary. All night he would Meow, in the walls. I had no Idea what I would do.
Well Mrs. Trebor Strebor suggested that I hide in the shower, wait for the Kitten to come out, then cover up the hole. SO, for 20 minutes I stood in the shower, frozen, waiting for the kitten to emerge from the wall. He did, I pounced covered up the wall, Lil Kitten figured out what was up and took off. Once I repaired the hole, I had to hunt him down in the house and grab her when a fight ensued.
I have never seen a Kitten with so much fight in them. She scratched me, bit me, made me bleed, not before I got her into a box with water, litter and food. I put the box in the garage, cut a couple of air holes in it and left it for the night.
Checked the box in the morning, only to discover she had chewed a hole in the box and had escaped. I thought the cat was gone, out the garage when Kai and Gabe went on their morning commute to school. But NO, Lil NK spotted her and the chase was on again. I caught her, and returned her to the room.
The problem with the cat at this point, is that since it was so baby, it did not know exactly where to pee and poo. So she required training, and after several days of pooing and peeing up Lil NK's room I decided I needed to take over.
Phase 1 was socializing her to the rest of the family and making sure she doesn't hide from us. CHECK
Phase 2 teach her to pee and poo in the right spot.
So after we tried to put litter inn the spot she liked to have accidents in, she moved her accidents to another location. So we got a small cage, and decided we would try to restrict her area so she would poo in the right spot. Cats unlike some humans don't like to poo and pee where they eat. That didn't work as she spent a whole hour shaking the cage and acting crazy, beating her face into the cage trying to get out and getting cat litter all over the cage and her food.
SO, I decided to just lock her in the bathroom, cover up all the corners with obstacles, thus restricting her space, but not as confined as a cage. Reports are in that she has so far successfully pooed and peed in the right spot twice.
If she continues at this pace, maybe on Wednesday we can letter her roam the house free this time. Also, since I broke the agreement and invited another kitten in our lives, I plan on getting this one Micro chipped so we don't lose it like we lost the other ones. Plan is as well to keep her strictly indoors to not have to put her at risk from whatever jabberwocky is taking our cats when they go out doors.
Chasing tail, at my age, who woulda thunk it!!!
Laters,
LOS
It started on a Tuesday, or it could have been just any day, Lil Naked Indian called and ask if he could bring a kitten home.
Now the Clan had made a pact, no more cats, cause we have lost like four of them. To either predators or animal control, I'm speculating cause we really don't know.
I said yes, and I should not have, cause as a Clan we had agreed n o more kittens.
For three days this kitten was hiding under Lil NK's bed and it would not come out. SO, I got the fire in my soul that it was time to resolve this issue. After an exhausting chase, the cat, climbed in a hole I had cut in the wall to check on a possible water leak.
And for three days this cat holed him self up like Geronimo hiding from the Calvary. All night he would Meow, in the walls. I had no Idea what I would do.
Well Mrs. Trebor Strebor suggested that I hide in the shower, wait for the Kitten to come out, then cover up the hole. SO, for 20 minutes I stood in the shower, frozen, waiting for the kitten to emerge from the wall. He did, I pounced covered up the wall, Lil Kitten figured out what was up and took off. Once I repaired the hole, I had to hunt him down in the house and grab her when a fight ensued.
I have never seen a Kitten with so much fight in them. She scratched me, bit me, made me bleed, not before I got her into a box with water, litter and food. I put the box in the garage, cut a couple of air holes in it and left it for the night.
Checked the box in the morning, only to discover she had chewed a hole in the box and had escaped. I thought the cat was gone, out the garage when Kai and Gabe went on their morning commute to school. But NO, Lil NK spotted her and the chase was on again. I caught her, and returned her to the room.
The problem with the cat at this point, is that since it was so baby, it did not know exactly where to pee and poo. So she required training, and after several days of pooing and peeing up Lil NK's room I decided I needed to take over.
Phase 1 was socializing her to the rest of the family and making sure she doesn't hide from us. CHECK
Phase 2 teach her to pee and poo in the right spot.
So after we tried to put litter inn the spot she liked to have accidents in, she moved her accidents to another location. So we got a small cage, and decided we would try to restrict her area so she would poo in the right spot. Cats unlike some humans don't like to poo and pee where they eat. That didn't work as she spent a whole hour shaking the cage and acting crazy, beating her face into the cage trying to get out and getting cat litter all over the cage and her food.
SO, I decided to just lock her in the bathroom, cover up all the corners with obstacles, thus restricting her space, but not as confined as a cage. Reports are in that she has so far successfully pooed and peed in the right spot twice.
If she continues at this pace, maybe on Wednesday we can letter her roam the house free this time. Also, since I broke the agreement and invited another kitten in our lives, I plan on getting this one Micro chipped so we don't lose it like we lost the other ones. Plan is as well to keep her strictly indoors to not have to put her at risk from whatever jabberwocky is taking our cats when they go out doors.
Chasing tail, at my age, who woulda thunk it!!!
Laters,
LOS
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
VeNtS OpeNem UP!!
I feel like venting. I know I do that sometimes on here. But this time its like kinda serious.
Early in the year I had two kick ass bikes built up.
My Mamasita was a 27speed piece of mastery and I had my fixie war machine.
One day while cruising and popular social networking site, I got an message. This message was referring to a thread on a forum about buying a particular bike and how I should not buy it, etc, etc. I responded that I was not planning on buying it, (too much money) and that I was trying to get a frame sponsor for my Great Divide Ride.
Well back and forth the conversation went, and I was given the suggestion to submit a proposal. I did, was told it was good, was told I would get a frame and long story short it never happened.
Now, little ole naive me, I went ahead and based on this Intel, and build up the dream fixie, took apart the war machine and the geared bike.
Now fast forward nearly 5 months later, I am in the process of rebuilding the Black to Gearey, although now it has a better fork and brakes, and rebuilding the war machine back into a single speed. NO free frame, and after this interaction, no desire to send any proposal to get a bike frame. I figure I will raise and save money and just buy another mamasita before the race since the bike has done nothing but treat me well.
Am I bitter about what happened. In away I refuse to be, I have been dealing with sponsors and representing for 10 years and admittedly I am spoiled by the attention I get from my sponsors who I can call and speak to and they take care of me as if I was a PRO, when in fact I am an average guy trying to create his own dream reality.
Do I want to talk bad about this company, absolutely not, I think they got good product and make good bikes and I KNOW the individual in question has way more going on then to worry about me and my needs, thus the reason in the end, I am not taking what happened personal.
Will I ever deal with them again? Who knows.... Probably not.
If anyone wants to have their frame ridden in the GDR, and have their bike ridden and tested in extreme conditions, drop me a line. If not, I will ride my Mamasita from one border to the next.
In life, we cannot ever let anyone, whether its intentional or accidental, take away our dreams. In the end Im sure what happened was not intentional, or who knows, maybe there is someone out there, jealous of my reality, plotting my sabotage. Regardless, I am known for enduring and overcoming, as my ancestors have done for 600 years, I will continue to follow in their steps.
Laters,
LOS
Early in the year I had two kick ass bikes built up.
My Mamasita was a 27speed piece of mastery and I had my fixie war machine.
One day while cruising and popular social networking site, I got an message. This message was referring to a thread on a forum about buying a particular bike and how I should not buy it, etc, etc. I responded that I was not planning on buying it, (too much money) and that I was trying to get a frame sponsor for my Great Divide Ride.
Well back and forth the conversation went, and I was given the suggestion to submit a proposal. I did, was told it was good, was told I would get a frame and long story short it never happened.
Now, little ole naive me, I went ahead and based on this Intel, and build up the dream fixie, took apart the war machine and the geared bike.
Now fast forward nearly 5 months later, I am in the process of rebuilding the Black to Gearey, although now it has a better fork and brakes, and rebuilding the war machine back into a single speed. NO free frame, and after this interaction, no desire to send any proposal to get a bike frame. I figure I will raise and save money and just buy another mamasita before the race since the bike has done nothing but treat me well.
Am I bitter about what happened. In away I refuse to be, I have been dealing with sponsors and representing for 10 years and admittedly I am spoiled by the attention I get from my sponsors who I can call and speak to and they take care of me as if I was a PRO, when in fact I am an average guy trying to create his own dream reality.
Do I want to talk bad about this company, absolutely not, I think they got good product and make good bikes and I KNOW the individual in question has way more going on then to worry about me and my needs, thus the reason in the end, I am not taking what happened personal.
Will I ever deal with them again? Who knows.... Probably not.
If anyone wants to have their frame ridden in the GDR, and have their bike ridden and tested in extreme conditions, drop me a line. If not, I will ride my Mamasita from one border to the next.
In life, we cannot ever let anyone, whether its intentional or accidental, take away our dreams. In the end Im sure what happened was not intentional, or who knows, maybe there is someone out there, jealous of my reality, plotting my sabotage. Regardless, I am known for enduring and overcoming, as my ancestors have done for 600 years, I will continue to follow in their steps.
Laters,
LOS
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
SSSssSSSuNnnnDay
We got up, feeling a little fatigued still from the previous days deprivation.
We got going quick, hit a place for breakfast and Latte's and as usual I was late. Man this has not been the weekend to be on time, O well.
Rob and Dawn were amicable as always and so nice and polite. We got suited up, I got my cross bike ready, and we rolled out.
Clermont is a different world, and if I were ever to buy another house it would probably be there. Lots of hills, lots of climbing, lots of fun. The route was hilly till we hit a dirt road, that was unrideable with my skinny cross tires. I had to walk some, and when I did ride, it was taking every bit of my effort to keep the bike moving. Eventually we hopped a fence and hiked up to the roadway and started the long road to dirt section. It actually was not a bad ride and not long before I spotted a church and went for a refuel on water.
The entire weekend I never really got "HOT". The sun was bright and it was shining, but I didnt think it was HOT anytime this weekend, at times I thought the weather was absolutely perfect. We refueled, kept riding, nice backroads, barely a car passing us by and we came up on a Moto Rider Broke down on the side of the road.
I stopped and asked him if he needed help. He explained his kick stand came off and the bike just shut down and he could not get it to go in gear. Rob, being the mechanical genius he is, noticed a magnetic switch. We asked him to zip tie the kick stand on to see if it would fix it, no dice. Then the man pulls out his Iphone, only to find out, it didnt have bars in that place. I pulled out my IPHONE KILLER and let him use it to make a call. He got help, told us the Van Fleet trail crossin was right there an we were on our way. We checked the Van Fleet map, then started hitting the dirt. Again, for like 2 or 3 miles the dirt was fine for fatties, but not so good for my cross tires, I shifted into my 28 ring up front and did my best to pace and keep Rob in sight. We eventually hit some old limestone road and that was the condition of the road for miles. Eventually, a man drove up and asked us if we had seen a broke down vehicle, we said no. Rode up about two more miles and found a flipped over SUV being recovered via tow ropes and pick up trucks from a drainage creek on the forest road side.
At this point we were traversing what is know as the Ritch Loam Tract(sp), we came out to pavement and then saw a ranger station with a tall look out tower. We stopped, looked at the maps, got some of the hiking trail maps and as we did this we were surrounded by stray dogs. Hungry looking stray dogs, One of which followed us till the end of the road were we came out on SR 50. The only problem was, we feared he would get hit.
I saw a sign that said Little River Recreation area, we had 1.5 miles to go to be done, but It was along 50 and we didnt want the dog to get killed. So I suggested we ride to the park and have the girls pick us up there, well after a couple of miles turned arouond and went back to 50 and Rob figured out away to get him back across the road and back towards his buddies.
Eventually the girls came. I had sun burn on my farmers tan areas, cramps were setting in, my left pinky was numb, I had all kinds of issues. I didnt feel so good, ate food, felt a little better, but the Bird had to drive us home after dinner, Drank 3 32 0z glasses of water, and I was still not where I needed to be with my hydration. In fact I was so bad off, that Monday I stayed home from work. My legs are a little sore, But I feel fine today, Monday, I ended up needing the day to recover and rehydrate. The penalties of poor planning.
The Moustache bars may go, I may give them another chance and see if I like em or if it was just a fluke of the ride. As well, my current tire set up on the cross is fine for hardpack, but not for exploratory rides, exploratory rides require 42c or bigger. Good to know for the future, cause that means for the Big O and the CFiTT I will be gearing up the Black Beauty to 27 gears to help put down a good time.
Unfortunately, it looks like the 20th I will not be able to do my CFiTT attempt and may have to push it to July as that is opening day for Little Naked Indians' Baskteball season and I think there are times, that you need to prioritize. I think instead, maybe me and my 9 year old will go bikepacking the Naked Indian trail instead.
Laters,
LOS
We got going quick, hit a place for breakfast and Latte's and as usual I was late. Man this has not been the weekend to be on time, O well.
Rob and Dawn were amicable as always and so nice and polite. We got suited up, I got my cross bike ready, and we rolled out.
Clermont is a different world, and if I were ever to buy another house it would probably be there. Lots of hills, lots of climbing, lots of fun. The route was hilly till we hit a dirt road, that was unrideable with my skinny cross tires. I had to walk some, and when I did ride, it was taking every bit of my effort to keep the bike moving. Eventually we hopped a fence and hiked up to the roadway and started the long road to dirt section. It actually was not a bad ride and not long before I spotted a church and went for a refuel on water.
The entire weekend I never really got "HOT". The sun was bright and it was shining, but I didnt think it was HOT anytime this weekend, at times I thought the weather was absolutely perfect. We refueled, kept riding, nice backroads, barely a car passing us by and we came up on a Moto Rider Broke down on the side of the road.
I stopped and asked him if he needed help. He explained his kick stand came off and the bike just shut down and he could not get it to go in gear. Rob, being the mechanical genius he is, noticed a magnetic switch. We asked him to zip tie the kick stand on to see if it would fix it, no dice. Then the man pulls out his Iphone, only to find out, it didnt have bars in that place. I pulled out my IPHONE KILLER and let him use it to make a call. He got help, told us the Van Fleet trail crossin was right there an we were on our way. We checked the Van Fleet map, then started hitting the dirt. Again, for like 2 or 3 miles the dirt was fine for fatties, but not so good for my cross tires, I shifted into my 28 ring up front and did my best to pace and keep Rob in sight. We eventually hit some old limestone road and that was the condition of the road for miles. Eventually, a man drove up and asked us if we had seen a broke down vehicle, we said no. Rode up about two more miles and found a flipped over SUV being recovered via tow ropes and pick up trucks from a drainage creek on the forest road side.
At this point we were traversing what is know as the Ritch Loam Tract(sp), we came out to pavement and then saw a ranger station with a tall look out tower. We stopped, looked at the maps, got some of the hiking trail maps and as we did this we were surrounded by stray dogs. Hungry looking stray dogs, One of which followed us till the end of the road were we came out on SR 50. The only problem was, we feared he would get hit.
I saw a sign that said Little River Recreation area, we had 1.5 miles to go to be done, but It was along 50 and we didnt want the dog to get killed. So I suggested we ride to the park and have the girls pick us up there, well after a couple of miles turned arouond and went back to 50 and Rob figured out away to get him back across the road and back towards his buddies.
Eventually the girls came. I had sun burn on my farmers tan areas, cramps were setting in, my left pinky was numb, I had all kinds of issues. I didnt feel so good, ate food, felt a little better, but the Bird had to drive us home after dinner, Drank 3 32 0z glasses of water, and I was still not where I needed to be with my hydration. In fact I was so bad off, that Monday I stayed home from work. My legs are a little sore, But I feel fine today, Monday, I ended up needing the day to recover and rehydrate. The penalties of poor planning.
The Moustache bars may go, I may give them another chance and see if I like em or if it was just a fluke of the ride. As well, my current tire set up on the cross is fine for hardpack, but not for exploratory rides, exploratory rides require 42c or bigger. Good to know for the future, cause that means for the Big O and the CFiTT I will be gearing up the Black Beauty to 27 gears to help put down a good time.
Unfortunately, it looks like the 20th I will not be able to do my CFiTT attempt and may have to push it to July as that is opening day for Little Naked Indians' Baskteball season and I think there are times, that you need to prioritize. I think instead, maybe me and my 9 year old will go bikepacking the Naked Indian trail instead.
Laters,
LOS
Monday, June 01, 2009
SaTurrDaYyY
In this world of crazy, crazy, Saturdays are a nice way to escape. I had been planning to do a ride with the Birdy. Gave her options...
Shall we go on a roadie tour....
Shall we go on a one day bikepacking trip in the ONF....
Shall we go do the Spirit Tree Ride in Croom.....
After Careful consideration she opted for Option 3 Croom Spirit Tree ride.
Like always I like to Stack my chips, and set it all up for fun and adventure and make it into a weekend ChOCk full of fun. So the plan was to make Croom at 10am and get suited up and hit the trail for 4 or 5 hours then head to my Friends house in Apopka for a fun evening and chillin.
Well, the day before, the Bird and I didnt eat much.. The morning off, we barely ate enough to top ourselves off, but still went out and did our thing. Its funny, cause I am probably the most awful person to make plans with. I had planned to be there at 10am, and meet up with SEVERAL people. Well, we were there after 10, saw our friends from BADDR, then Met up with JOSH, aka Catman from the Forum. Now Josh, had never seen Croom, and I wrote him a diatribical response on the forum about how cool Croom was. Well, the Bird and I, took off out of the parking lot into that first downhill section. Mind you, I dont know how to Navigate Croom well myself, but I did have a route loaded on to my Etrex, so I was not too concerned. After about 6 miles of riding and some slight bushwacking we found the spirit tree.
I immediately noticed that there was Garbage everywhere, I picked it up, squished the cans, and loaded it all up in my Osprey 22 pack. So for the rest of the ride, I indeed rode with a backpack full of garbage.
Paintboy showed up, out of nowhere which its always cool to be in the middle of the woods and see a familiar face. We hung out a little longer and then hauled ass, as to which Paintboy gave us a course correction for future referance.
I then thought, that since we had successfully finished the first find, that I wanted him to see one of the highest points in the forest. What I call the Enormous Sandy Hill. Now the Sandy hill, has a cool wicked switch back climb on the front side, and a ridiculous steep dirt climb on the other. Last time I rode threw that spot with MK, I didnt make the climb. I wanted revenge.
After that I managed to find some of the pits and even the "freeride" area. Broke my chain, but fixed it super quick, we kept going and I started growing concerned. I know the Birdy had not had a ride in a long time and we were riding a good steady pace with lots and lots of rolling terrain. Lots of LONG ups. I recognized this place. We were going what I was perceiving to be backwards. Wow, it sure seemed like it went up hill so much more this time. Anyways I was digging it, and I was in the rhythym but the route had become rather challenging.
We made Bailout 12, descended to Bailout8, and shortly after 8 we jumped on Nobleton Road. I dont mind a good Forest road route, I prefer that to road riding everytime. So I got on there, rode up, circled back, saw Treadlight and FE, continued riding, we were just hustling on down that road, after 25 miles of relatively break free riding, we were ready for a break. I did the road climb up Tucker Hill, and as I did it, I Visualized the early morning finish of the the CFiTT, so I took to hammering up that climb time trial style. Tucked my arms in, found a steady rhythym, nothing but smooth steady strong spin. Its one of the biggest self induced rushes you can manifest on yourself, a good heart in the throat, stomach panting effort. Sat down under the shaded tree, caught my breath and went down to get the bird up the hill.
Birdy had decided she needed to walk it off when we reunited at the bottom of the hill. And I decided to just roll up and down this sucker a couple of times to visit with the Bird. I came across Marcel, it was nice to see him, he looked really fast. We chatted as we reclimbed that road again and then I backtracked one more time to push the bird as she pedaled up the hilll. (hint to Dads looking to coach your kids in off road riding. You have to learn the skill of riding next to your child as they ride and possibly, ride one handed and push them at the same time, it takes practice)
I pushed her about 200 feet, the road finally leveled out and we made it to the car to begin the repair work.
She had run out of water a while back on Nobleton Road, but we scored some water from TL and kept the ride alive all the way to the end. Josh kicked ass the whole way, dood didnt even eat for 3 hours or more, he is machine, I think Croom may have a new believer.
It was awesome as always riding with the wife.
We spent the rest of the day recovering. Had to take a little rest stop break. The night before I slept barely 3 hours chasing a loose kitten around my house all night. So I not only had a food deficit, but a water deficit as well.
We eventually reached my friends house at 7pm and spent the night, eating, chatting and watched Role Models on the TV. (Funny Film)
Got to bed early for SUuuuUUuuNNNNDay.......
ToBeCoNt...
Shall we go on a roadie tour....
Shall we go on a one day bikepacking trip in the ONF....
Shall we go do the Spirit Tree Ride in Croom.....
After Careful consideration she opted for Option 3 Croom Spirit Tree ride.
Like always I like to Stack my chips, and set it all up for fun and adventure and make it into a weekend ChOCk full of fun. So the plan was to make Croom at 10am and get suited up and hit the trail for 4 or 5 hours then head to my Friends house in Apopka for a fun evening and chillin.
Well, the day before, the Bird and I didnt eat much.. The morning off, we barely ate enough to top ourselves off, but still went out and did our thing. Its funny, cause I am probably the most awful person to make plans with. I had planned to be there at 10am, and meet up with SEVERAL people. Well, we were there after 10, saw our friends from BADDR, then Met up with JOSH, aka Catman from the Forum. Now Josh, had never seen Croom, and I wrote him a diatribical response on the forum about how cool Croom was. Well, the Bird and I, took off out of the parking lot into that first downhill section. Mind you, I dont know how to Navigate Croom well myself, but I did have a route loaded on to my Etrex, so I was not too concerned. After about 6 miles of riding and some slight bushwacking we found the spirit tree.
I immediately noticed that there was Garbage everywhere, I picked it up, squished the cans, and loaded it all up in my Osprey 22 pack. So for the rest of the ride, I indeed rode with a backpack full of garbage.
Paintboy showed up, out of nowhere which its always cool to be in the middle of the woods and see a familiar face. We hung out a little longer and then hauled ass, as to which Paintboy gave us a course correction for future referance.
I then thought, that since we had successfully finished the first find, that I wanted him to see one of the highest points in the forest. What I call the Enormous Sandy Hill. Now the Sandy hill, has a cool wicked switch back climb on the front side, and a ridiculous steep dirt climb on the other. Last time I rode threw that spot with MK, I didnt make the climb. I wanted revenge.
After that I managed to find some of the pits and even the "freeride" area. Broke my chain, but fixed it super quick, we kept going and I started growing concerned. I know the Birdy had not had a ride in a long time and we were riding a good steady pace with lots and lots of rolling terrain. Lots of LONG ups. I recognized this place. We were going what I was perceiving to be backwards. Wow, it sure seemed like it went up hill so much more this time. Anyways I was digging it, and I was in the rhythym but the route had become rather challenging.
We made Bailout 12, descended to Bailout8, and shortly after 8 we jumped on Nobleton Road. I dont mind a good Forest road route, I prefer that to road riding everytime. So I got on there, rode up, circled back, saw Treadlight and FE, continued riding, we were just hustling on down that road, after 25 miles of relatively break free riding, we were ready for a break. I did the road climb up Tucker Hill, and as I did it, I Visualized the early morning finish of the the CFiTT, so I took to hammering up that climb time trial style. Tucked my arms in, found a steady rhythym, nothing but smooth steady strong spin. Its one of the biggest self induced rushes you can manifest on yourself, a good heart in the throat, stomach panting effort. Sat down under the shaded tree, caught my breath and went down to get the bird up the hill.
Birdy had decided she needed to walk it off when we reunited at the bottom of the hill. And I decided to just roll up and down this sucker a couple of times to visit with the Bird. I came across Marcel, it was nice to see him, he looked really fast. We chatted as we reclimbed that road again and then I backtracked one more time to push the bird as she pedaled up the hilll. (hint to Dads looking to coach your kids in off road riding. You have to learn the skill of riding next to your child as they ride and possibly, ride one handed and push them at the same time, it takes practice)
I pushed her about 200 feet, the road finally leveled out and we made it to the car to begin the repair work.
She had run out of water a while back on Nobleton Road, but we scored some water from TL and kept the ride alive all the way to the end. Josh kicked ass the whole way, dood didnt even eat for 3 hours or more, he is machine, I think Croom may have a new believer.
It was awesome as always riding with the wife.
We spent the rest of the day recovering. Had to take a little rest stop break. The night before I slept barely 3 hours chasing a loose kitten around my house all night. So I not only had a food deficit, but a water deficit as well.
We eventually reached my friends house at 7pm and spent the night, eating, chatting and watched Role Models on the TV. (Funny Film)
Got to bed early for SUuuuUUuuNNNNDay.......
ToBeCoNt...
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