Gritty Shins.

Interesting title, thankfully I didn't misspell it. Erich and I hit up a city loop followed by a lap around Salem Lake. At the tail end of the city loop, my blinkie had had enough jostling about, so it jumped ship. It suffered a rather inhumane end as it was hit by a car going the opposite direction. Game Over. Through Old Salem.

When we got to the greenway to head out to Salem Lake, it quickly became apparent that the bugs were having tons of fun flying into our eyes. There must have been a hatch going in the creek because it was like riding through a snow storm. Curtis had made mention of this in the past having taken his wife on a ride there in an even such as this. Needless to say, he was unable to get her to repeat the ride. After having made it through the gauntlet of gnats, the rabbits started coming out of the woodwork. Ridiculous, you'd have thought they were protecting the Holy Grail with how they were throwing themselves at Erich's wheel.

Once we got to the lake, the bug and bunny problem stopped, but alas, a theme had begun. Far be it from the gods of cycling to stop this theme, the final plague came in the form of frogs. There were tons of them, not quite as numerous as the gnats, but more numerous than the rabbits. I was witness to one giving itself in the fight to defeat Erich. Erich's wake of destruction on the frog was a tough sight to see, but you don't mess with "The Wrench" and hope to come out looking like you did. By the time we made it back to pavement I was expecting to have yetis and chupacabras start after us next. At one point I thought about uttering, "we can't stop here, this is bat country," but I didn't want to give Erich pause.

We rode back up through downtown, passing Krankies and all the downtown restaurants. On back to chez Grant and E anounces...I'm baking cookies tonight. Awesome.

An Open Letter:

To the pony-tailed jerk that wrecked the field tonight at Wilkesboro; thanks chief, that was awesome. Covering your stupidity with a lie about blowing out was pretty impressive as well. You half-wheeled, which caused you to blow out. I was right behind you, and to keep from running over your face, I fishtailed and blew out as well. I hope you don't mind that a few people behind you ran into you as you laid on the ground. I hated to see that they went down, but there was some satisfaction in that they likely ran into you. I'm sorry if I sound harsh, it's just that when stupidity causes damage to man and machine, and then lies fly trying to absolve you, I can't help but feel you got what you deserve.
Your friend,
That Guy

p.s. Honestly, I am glad you are okay, hopefully you will learn from your mistake. seriously.

p.p.s You will recieve a bill shortly to pay for the following. If you choose not to pony up, Erich the Wrench and Mitch Two Fists will gladly pay a visit...it's in your hands now, ponytail.

Off Road 55k5k5k

Yes, that's the real title. I woke up early this morning with a wild idea, ride 55 kilometers at Dark Mountain, followed by running a 5k...hopefully with 5k feet of climbing.




There was no real training idea behind this, just some arbitrary numbers for the heck of it. In the heat, everything just seemed so much harder. I drank five bottles of water, a 32 ounce powerade, and ate a gel and six shot blocks. I definitely could have used more calories, but couldn't force myself to eat anymore than that. With just that much food in my stomach, the heat made me feel like it wanted to make a second appearance.

Mushroom

The 5k of running after the mountain bike ride was way harder than the ride itself. After already having expended so much energy, my legs felt like they were on the verge of cramping (especially my hamstrings) for the entire run. I was unbelievably slow, but I expected as much after having spent more than three hours on the bike by this point.
Post ride/Pre run legs

Tomorrow's recovery ride will have to be just that, a recovery ride. Usually, things get fast at the end, but I will have to take it easy. I think that often, but the lure of going fast and trying to outsprint (ineffectively) against friends proves too much motivation for me to fight.

Salisbury Crit!

Lisa and I got up early this morning to get ready for a big day for the both of us. After the obligatory AM espresso, we were out the door and on the way to Jomeokee Park for the United States Marine Corps Mud Run 5k. I was tagging along to act as the photographer for her first race. The idea was brought up by one of her classmates in PT school, so about seven of them signed up. It looked like a ridiculous amount of fun, so, obviously next year I must participate...I have already set a lofty goal for myself. She had a blast, and I was definitely proud to see her working hard and having fun!


After her race, I ran back home to get my things and head to Salisbury for the NC state crit championships. My teammate Alex was there, we got warmed up and toed the line.

My positioning at the start was less than ideal, but usually I am able to work my way up pretty quickly. Everyone at this race looked pretty fit and strong, so it was a little bit intimidating....


The course was a six turn downtown crit, so the places to pass were few and far between. Everyone towards the back of the pack was having to hit the brakes then stand to sprint to catch the lead riders, I quickly grew tired of not carrying my speed through the corners and forced myself up beyond mid pack. Once there, I was able to maintain speed better through the corners and found myself suffering less. Only slightly less, as the temperature was upwards of 92 degrees.

Alex was working hard at the front chasing down breaks and trying to protect me when we were near each other. He's always so willing to help me out in these crits. Speaking of helping out, his girl, Morgan was there to man the cameras and be a general encouragement. Thanks!

About six laps to go, and a bomb dropped on the field. We had dwindled from around 30 riders to 21, the rest had gotten pulled. Things split up further and there were about 18 left on the final lap.

I had good positioning going into turns three and four. Through turn five, someone attacked, and myself and one other lost off the jump and allowed a small gap to open up. To turn six and we were still about 15 yards off the back, I sprinted to try to close it, and catch back into the crew for the final sprint, but no dice. 8th place, slightly disappointed, was hoping for top five, but still pretty decent for my first city crit.

Commuting

Commuting is a great way to start and end a day, definitely. It always strikes me how big of a deal people make it at school though. It's as if working out, especially cycling, is totally alien. Riding home gives me time to clear my head, which is good, because as of late, I've been growing more and more impatient and frustrated with some things. Realisitically, it's a great job, and the teaching portion of "teaching" is great, sometimes the other junk is just that, junk.

Tonight, I'm hitting up the Dash downtown to catch some A baseball. Tomorrow, it's on for the State Championship Crits in Salisbury. If you're out there, say, "hey!"


As an aside, I saw this snake the other night in front of my house, he was pretty sizeable, maybe about 3.5 to 4 feet long.

The Night of our Discontent

Not a quiet night last night at the household. At about 3 AM, whilst dreaming away of unicorns, yetis, and the such I awake to a big ruckus. To me it sounded like breaking glass, so of course I assume someone is breaking in to the house. As I start for the bedroom door I grab the BBFK (bedside big friggin' knife) and go tearing out of the bedroom to confront said burglar. No one to be found. What caused the noise? Everything seems legit, so I check the last place, our bathroom. Our suction cup shower mirror had relieved itself of duty, apparently the stress was too much so it jumped. Mystery solved. BUT...the story continues... As I head back into the bathroom the creature of the four legged variety that lives with us was requesting to pee on the lawn. So, I let her out. She was perched atop the stairs on our back deck surveying the lawn when she spots something. She must have hit about one of the eight or nine steps we have as she took off like you wouldn't believe. Once I got my wits about me, I saw that she was chasing this little guy

After two quick rounds of the backyard, the tell-tale shriek of Thumper cried out in the night. Game over all in about fifteen seconds. It's hard to believe this creature is a Ghostface Killah.

Dixie

Dixie again tonight, small field, able to manage second. Even with the small field the average was 24mph, definitely a quick pace set since by the fifth or sixth lap there were only four left on the lead lap. Dude on some 808's soloed to victory by taking off on the third or fourth lap left. Fun night riding the bike!