SAY WHAT?

An old mail, a new post....

2009-01-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Way back on April 9th 2008 I sent out this email to everybody in my contacts list. I spit it out because the the feelings described are real. Last week I was looking for it on my computer and I couldn't find it. I realized when I sent it I was using our old laptop, the one that crashed and died. I figured, well, it's lost forever. The other day a friend of mine forwarded it back to me out of the blue.

I'm thinking that it came back to me in such a strange way because somebody needed to read it who may look at this blog page. After all it is a much larger outlet than my contact list.

My new ride, 09 Superfly. Freaking amazing!

Every so often in our lives we have those moments when everything just clicks. In that very moment there is absolutely nothing wrong, everything is in its place and you are completely at peace with your self. You never know when these moments are going to happen but when they do you’re overcome with an almost eerie oneness with your self.

I had one of those moments today. As you may already suspect, for me it happened on my Mountain Bike. I didn’t ride any special place or explore a new trail. I have been there many times. Right from the car my head was full of random thoughts and life questions. I had a reasonably good day at work and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I rode to the trail head taking it easy, and yes I do know how to take it easy! It took about 15 minutes to get to there and I was feeling well rested. What happened next was amazing.

It was like when the first tread of my front tire that hit the dirt I was in another place. Almost instantly, I was able to hear my every heart beat in my head and feel every breath come in and out of my body. I could see everything with a clarity that was so vibrant and sharp. I swear I could count the tinny yellow pedals on the tops of the trail side flowers. All the colors stood out like never before. Every part of my bike felt like it was connected to my nervous system. With every shift I could hear each click of the shifters as the tiny internal parts pulled on the cables. The feel of the grips and brake levers never felt so right. I didn’t have to even think, everything just seamed to happen like second nature.

I was never working hard or breathing heavy. I felt every roll of sweat and at times I would see a drop fall and hit the dirt. I mean I could actually see it all the way down, almost like in slow motion. My legs spun freely and my shoes never felt more comfortable. I was in total peace with the earth. The light breeze had a little chill to it but was silent. I could only hear the birds and hidden creatures in the bushes. I did see two snakes but I wasn’t startled at all. The first one was a baby Rattler and the other a simple Gopher snake. Each one was within inches of my tires sunning it’s self on the road. I had the overwhelming feeling that they welcomed me into their environment.

When the trail started to go downward things got even better. As well as not having a single thought in my head for the last 20 min’s or so I was ripping down the trail like never before. The terrain was dry and loose on top. The kind of stuff that will slam you in a second if you’re not on you “A” game, believe me I know! I was glued to the ground. The bike didn’t make a single noise. No chain slap, no freewheel zing nothing at all. Then slowly I could start to hear the tires. Kind of a ripping sound as they clawed into the ground and shot me out the corners. Every lean I made was spot on. Each pull of the brakes had just the right amount of pressure, it was amazing!!!!!

Everything seamed to happen just for me. Was it because I hadn’t been on my Mountain Bike for just over two weeks nor did I really experience something special. All the way home I had a new feeling of self worth. I took the side streets and looked at everything. I looked at every person and wondered if they had ever felt like I did at that moment. I was so scared to loose this feeling. It’s slowly wearing off as I ease back into the common realities of life. Bills, taxes, work friends and opinions. I have been left with a bit of ease though. I’m calm and relaxed. When I picked up my cat I could tell he noticed a change in me. I have heard that animals notice people’s personalities better than other people. If he’s OK with this new me that it can’t be that bad.
Will I wake up feeling the same way in the morning? I hope so. Should I think of this feeling as often as I can so I can apply it to everyday life? I will do my best. What did I learn from it? I learned that we all have that special place inside that can take us away from it all. If we learn how to control it, we will be unstoppable…..

Adam Hart
Give to those who need it and teach the takers how to give.

2008-12-29T18:39:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine told me that during early morning workouts he always felt like he was running towards the sun to get warm. During the last few weeks of freezing my butt off in the gas station I think of this often. In doing so I started to take pictures of the sun rise with my cell phone.

Yup, I work in a gas station and look forward to the sunrise everyday. Sure I would rather see it from a trail but it's still great even so.

2008-12-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like a cycling crash test dummy . I hope that none of my crashing adventures ever include any of my friends

I crash often and for some reason I keep getting back on. I guess it all boils down to I just love to ride my bike. I have not touched a mountain bike now for a month and it hurts pretty bad. I've been shelling out the road miles getting ready for the 09 season of endurance racing. Oh did I also mention the fact that it's freaking freezing outside! I'm allergic to the cold. I start shaking all over and get the overwhelming urge to pile on the clothes. It's a horrific sight. Go ahead call me a wimp....

All I have to say is that this next season I will complete all three races at the 12 hours of Temecula in one piece! Leadville is going to be done in less than 10 hours and the AMC is going to once again be the greatest event I have ever taken part in! If you do only one race this next season, this has to be it!

Only 6 more months to June!

2008-12-25T23:05:00.000-08:00

SUSHI :) As much as I can get!

2008-12-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

I have always liked Sushi but for what ever reason lately I have been eating tones of it! 4 times in the last three weeks. When I sit at the table I just can't seam to stop. When you think about it Sushi is the ultimate food. When you are growing up our parents tell you not to play with your food. When eating Sushi you get to do so with sticks! Then you dip in different color sauces that drip off each roll and you shove the whole thing in your mouth. Really, I have not noticed anybody cutting a piece in half any time I have gone to my favorite Sushi hole in Redlands, Ocean Blue. Your parents would be so disappointed..

If you know me you are aware that I'm a bit of an odd ball, I notice everything around me. Tonite I noticed that many of the patrons had a bit of a hard time stretching their mouths around their Sushi rolls. It's especially amusing to see a roll crash land on the table and you can see the look in the persons eyes that says, does the 5 second rule apply here?

Sushi teaches you patience and how to handle things with care. If you attack your Sushi you deform your chosen roll making it hard to keep it in the sticks. You must use a delicate hand and a smooth motion at the wrist. Loading it with lets say Soy sauce, makes it heavier so even greater care must be taken. It's a lot of work but worth it.

Now stuffing it in your mouth, this takes skill. I tried to do the Python thing and disconnect my jaws but I failed miserably. I noticed some folks cock their head to one side so to make the angle of their mouth just right. What can I say, I have more fun eating the stuff than any other food.

It's time to ride again!!!

2008-11-29T08:12:00.000-08:00

The knee is good, well pretty good and next week I start my base miles. 15 hours is what I have on the roster. Of course with sun tucking under the mountains by 5:00pm it's a bit of a challenge cause I didn't get off work till 1:30 everyday. The rest is top secret!

It all works out tho. I will keep my road bike at Big Chris's house in Redlands. I'll rush over there everyday after work, get changed, pump the tires and hit the road. I'll have just enough time to squeeze in 2 hours. Friday will bring in 5 hours and Saturday will be the only day I will toss my leg over Mr. Black.

This time of the year is great cause I can ride a bike every day, eat like a pig and drop pounds all at the same time. Now really, what more could you want than that? It's a little different than what I have been doing the last two weeks. I have been on a bike 3 times and you guessed it, eating like a pig! I've plumped up a bit and the endurance has gone south!

I also learned a valuable lesson. Always pack your jersey with enough calories to last you all day when you are on your mountain bike. Especially when you hear the words, it should only be a 3 hour ride.... Ummmm no, Try 5 hours. None the less, the dirt adventure opened me up to new trails that I will be using quite a bit in the months to come and ended with a beer and 3 chicken burritos at a table of friends, Joy, Greg, Trevor and Trevors brother Troy.

2008-11-22T09:27:00.000-08:00

First day back on the bike, it was freaking great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only an hour, but freaking great!!!!!!!!!

When I sit around all day......

2008-11-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's clear as a bell outside and I'm layed up on the couch. AHHHHHHHH! Here is what I have done so far.

7:00am, watched a boxing match on HBO. This is the first time I have ever actually watched a boxing match and I wasn't impressed. These two dudes pounded the hell out of each other for 12 rounds into a couple of bloody wads of flesh. Yeah they are in great shape and I can see where the fighters have to be skilled to survive but damn! A human body can only take so much abuse. The interviews of the fighters was pretty entertaining tho. I thought I had a hard time getting my thoughts across clearly. But hey, if this is the fighters passion I say more power to them, I don't have to understand it.

8:30am, Son of a B*&#h what was in one of my 4 big cups of coffee? I was flipping threw the channels and for some reason I landed on the movie Hairspray!!!!! I have avoided this movie like a low carb diet and now here I am, watching the damn thing. I have no intrest in watching a musical. I hate musicals! Well let me tell you something, that movie rocks! It has it all. Smashing racial lines, lessons of equality and relationships. Oh dang, I'm sounding like a chick! What was in that coffee?? I must also note, Queen Latifah is hot!!

9:52am, Caught the last of Real Time with Bill Maher. Have you ever watched this show. It's funny as hell. Today's guess were Ashton Kutcher and Newsweek editor Jon Meacham. There was also some crazy Republican chick from Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who stated that John McCain ran a strong campaign. Ashton was dead on in his views. You gotta watch this episode online Click Here

10:26am, pooped another 800mg Ibuprofen. and picked up the clicker. You know why there is nothing on the T.V. at 10:26am in the morning on Sunday? Because your supposed to be outside doing shit, not sitting on the couch with a computer on your lap repeatedly telling your dog NO when he trys to eat the rocking chair leg. I feel like eating everything in the frig. Oh look, 27 dresses is on. A chick flick but a good one. I'm going to the cupboard. No way, check it out! Footloose is just starting too. I'm so watching it...

This movie reminds me of the time I had to secretly dance in the dark in fear that my town preacher would catch me and kick my ass for it. My favorite part of this flick is when the kid does the Pop and Lock routine during the "Big Dance". He does it pretty good for a kid that grew up in a town where dancing was illegal up intill that afternoon. To see this awesome sight, click here

One thing does bother me about this movie tho. Is it about the fight to have the dance or is it about the dance. The whole time it's, we should be able to express our self's with dance and it doesn't make us evil teenagers. Then at the end of the movie you see all but 3 min's of the Big Dance!

12:34pm, I have proven that you can survive a day on many cups of coffee, organic pancakes from a can, Tostitos chip and salsa. My chosen brew today is one that comes from my French Press. I think this is the strongest way to make coffee, or at least the funnest anyway. You get to smash a lump of coffee grinds into the bottom of a jar full of boiling hot water. Sounds like a good time to me when your all locked up in the house. The second large cup is better than the first because you get some of the grinds in your cup that make the taste and potency even stronger. Oh yeah!

UNO, now that's a game for the ages. There is skill involved in this game you know. If you haven't gotten hip to it I'm not going to tell you cause you never know, I may play you one day and you will be going down my friend. Uno by your self, now that's a fast game. I can slap those cards down so quick they start to smoke!! Of course you can't go for points like this but it only takes me 1 min and 24 seconds to burn threw a deck. Damn this knee, I need to be freeeeeee!

There are fires all over California right now. T.V. stations have interrupted there normally scheduled programs to cover the fires. All except channels 2 CBS & 11 Fox. Why, cause it's Football season of course. We can't let something like all of California being on fire take away from Sunday football. Second best thing, channel 7 ABC, it's Nascar baby, Lap after lap. Lets look at the other big fish channel 4 NBC. It's PGA golf time, oh wait, no it's not! It's fire coverage. How did PGA Golf get bumped to cover the fire? What about all the painted bare chested crazy golf fans to do? The Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay PGA tournament was to be the tournament of the season.... NOOOOOOO. Golf, it just doesn't get the respect it deserves. but seriously, I know what it's like to stare a wild fire in it's face. In 2007 we had huge flame right outside our condo door. I really feel for these folks who are going threw this and I wish them luck and safety.

1:17pm, my cat C.J. has been sleeping next to me all day. He snores, loudly. If you plug his nose he starts to snore out of his mouth, strange cat. He doesn't seam to want to wake up.

2:05pm, I just seen pictures of Ben and Jen's new little girl Eva. She's totally amazing! Popped another 800mg Ibuprofen. I'm done. This is my last update for today. If you have working knees today I hope that you put them to good use, preferably on a bike.

Oh and one more thing. I was just emailed this little bit of truth. And I wnated to share it with you.

My 10.5 laps of three 12 hours of Temecula

2008-11-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

First race of the 12 hours of Temecula, January 2008. I got super sick. Did 60 miles and barfed my guts out and had to go home. 6 laps

Second race of the 12 hours of Temecula, June 2008. I was leading the race into the 4th lap and I was feeling stronger than ever. I crashed and snapped my right brake reservoir, bent my rear hanger and put 3 kinks in my chain. My day was done. 3.5 laps

Third race of the 12 hours of Temecula, November 2008 (today). I crashed right at the end of the first lap. I was running strong and looking forward to a great day. No such luck! I dislocated my right knee. As luck would have it, it didn't hurt a bit because of the served nerve path due to two prior knee surgeries. Oh wait, is that really luck? I planned to being off the bike for a while anyway and then start training for next season. 1 lap

First race of the 2009 season, the 12 hours of Temecula, January 2009. I'm going to kill that
b!#&h

Big news for all of us XC Racers!!!!

2008-11-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

2009 Mountain Bike Category Changes FAQ

Why are the mountain bike ability categories changing in 2009?

In an effort to create a more competitive atmosphere for mountain biking, USA Cycling and the NORBA Board of Trustees (BOT) have developed a new categorization system for mountain biking which will be introduced in the 2009 season.

This change is the result of over two years of thought, analysis, and discussion by the NORBA BOT, USAC staff, and many people connected with the sport. The goals of the new categorization system are to strengthen the pro ranks and increase the competitiveness of the amateur categories.

The new categories will be Pro, 1, 2, and 3. Classes (age groups) will be included within all of the categories except Pro.

Revised USA Cycling Mountain Bike Categories (being introduced in 2009)

Pro: The highest ability category for both men and women in mountain bike racing. All mountain bike professional racers must meet the upgrading requirements, as outlined in the USA Cycling Rulebook.

Cat 1 (current Expert and Semi-pro): Racing skills, strength, race experience, and stamina have reached an exceptional level; racing is very competitive. Riders must have a racing age of at least 15 to race as a Category 1 in the endurance disciplines.

Cat 2 (current Sport): Racing reflects improved skills, strength, race experience, and stamina. A rider must advance to Cat 1 after placing in the top five in five races.

Cat 3 (current Beginner): Racing is for the entry-level rider. Racers have limited racing experience and have a lower fitness and skill level than in Category 2. After placing in the top five in five races, a Cat 3 racer must advance to Cat 2.

How will riders be converted from their current ability category to the numerical category?

Semi-pro Riders currently categorized as Semi-pro may choose Category 1 or Pro during the 2009 season. Semi-pro riders will be offered the automatic upgrade to Pro during the 2009 licensing period December 1, 2008 to November 30, 2009. An annual license (domestic if Category 1 or international if Pro) must be purchased during this time period. If an annual license is not purchased in 2009 and the Semi-pro rider does not choose Category 1 or Pro, they will automatically default to Category 1 beginning December 1, 2010 and will need to go through the regular upgrading procedures for Pro categorization.

Expert Riders currently categorized as Expert will automatically be converted to a Category 1.

Sport Riders currently categorized as Sport will automatically be converted to a Category 2.

Beginner Riders currently categorized as Beginner will automatically be converted to a Category 3.

2009 Mountain Bike Category Changes FAQ

When will the new categories be displayed in my USA Cycling online account and on my license?

The new categories will be converted on December 1, 2008, the first day of 2009 annual license renewals. If a rider wishes to downgrade or upgrade, they may do so through their USA Cycling online membership account. The numerical categories will be listed on a rider’s license when it’s renewed.

What about the licensing?

Pro riders = international (UCI) Category 1 = domestic (USAC-MTB) or international (UCI) if competing overseas Licensing for the Category 2 and 3 riders will be announced once they are finalized.

Will the numerical categories be combined (i.e. Cat 1/2/3) like Road, without age-groups?

Age-groups will be offered within each category, based on the number of riders at an event. Promoters do have the option of combining categories, if fewer than five riders register for a category within the same age class.

As outlined in the 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Rulebook, under the "Mixing of Classes in MTB Races": 1C4 (a): If fewer than five riders register for a category within the same age class, they may be required to race with the next highest category within the same age class. USA Cycling encourages promoters to make their best effort to split out awards and prizes for combined categories. For example, if fewer than five Master Category 2 riders register, they may be combined with the Master Category 1 riders, but they should still be awarded prizes for their category.

What about the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships?

The 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championship disciplines, categories, and age-groups have been revised with the new category system.

The 2009 qualification period started August 1, 2008 and will end July 13, 2009. Riders qualifying between August 1, 2008 and November 30, 2008 will be qualified based on the conversions (i.e. if a rider qualifies in Expert, then they would be qualified to compete in Category 1 for the 2009 USAC-MTB National Championships). If a rider upgrades during the season (i.e. a rider qualifies as Sport/Category 2, then upgrades to Expert/Category 1, they would compete in Category 1).

Equality!!

2008-11-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

This just in.... By popular vote of the the people, all bald people or mostly bald people of wich will be determined by none bald people will now have restrictions to when they can be scene in public. The vote was close, 52% to 48%, the people have spoken!

Bald people may only be allowed to shop for food, clothes, house hold supplies and anything else that me be acquired by the rest of us between specially selected hours of the nite. These hours will be from 10pm to 2am. The baldies will not be able to shop at the same places as the rest of the superior people with the ability to grow hair. People who can grow hair care not to be associated with the lesser kind. It's not that they don't like the smoothies, they just don't want to have to be around them or allow them to shop a the same places. They are afraid to have to tell their kids of baldness and how even tho it's natural and just how these people are, it's viewed as wrong!

For years bald people have tried to hide their lack of hair with wigs, hair growth drugs and comb overs. Often times even with all the attempts to cover their baldness they have been passed by for promotions or employment in the work place. It has become one of those things that have been out in the open but not ever really excepted. The general population seams like they accept it but behind closed doors they make fun of or talk crap about the baldies.

In an attempt to suppress them but in a way that looks fair, A.K.A a vote of the people, it has been passed for the betterment of the majority to hide the follicly challenged. Now "normal" folks can go on in their day without the uncomfortable feeling of being around people who don't look just like them.

This is not abuse of democracy but a shining example of how it can rid the nation of those we don't like or understand. It makes it easy for the rest of us to live comfortably with blinders. We're so excited to see what comes next! Restrictions on height, ratio of males to females in a city, race mixing, who can attend what sporting events ect..... What a great time we live in where we can take rights away and be discriminating to others just by voting on it!

72 hours,many wordrobe changes and pictures that one day will cost me an election

2008-11-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

This last weekend went by so fast it felt like 30 seconds instead of three days. I have said things and written things in my life that have offended, disappointed, angered, shocked, amazed, and sometimes left my self thinking, why did I just put my foot in my mouth again? None of witch was ever done to purposely hurt anybodies feelings. This last weekend I kept all my words in check and nothing but joy spilled out of my mouth. I was the Best man in my brothers Ryan and Luis's wedding. I had no idea what I was going to say but I had to make sure it wasn't going to be one of those foot in my mouth experiences! The big day was on Nov. 1st so naturally the rehearsal dinner was the night before, Halloween.... It was freaking great! A huge dinner prepared by a hired chef and one hell of a costume party afterwards just for the wedding party.

The place, approx 4,000 square foot single story mansion in Palm Springs. Bright white walls with great artwork were all around us and during the day nothing but natural lighting from the floor to selling windows and the Japanese rock garden in the center of the house. I would never want a place this huge but it sure was a great party pad. 6 bedrooms and bathrooms and a ketchen that I could spend a week in cooking all my favorite foods in. The livingroom alone was larger than my first appartment.

The costume party lasted till the wee hours of the morning and I hadn't consumed that much alcohole in quite some time. Surprisingly enough I didn't even have the slightest hangover the next morning. I think this is actually a bad thing cause it shows my recent drinking habbits have built up quite the resistance to the ill effects of C2H5OH wich of course as we all know it is alcohol.

The next morning we had a huge breakfast and then had turn the Holloween party pad into the wedding party pad. This was quite a bit of work but it was rewarded by a plung in the pool under the 90* Plam Springs sun. I ate all day and could feel any chance of doing well in the up comming 12 HOurs of Temecula slipping away. Just this thought alone had me a little freaked so I hit the brakes for a little while. Um, yeh, right... no really, I did.... nope....

As I was getting ready for the eavning hoopla A.K.A the wedding, I was thinking of what it was I was going to say. I not only had to make it sound worthy of holding the title Best Man, it had to be from the heart. A few of you my remember my nerve racking public speaking blunder that I was tricked into taking part in during a Loma Linda city councle meeting. I don't think they ever got the stink out of that place cause I bombed it pretty bad. So I was thinking of making it heart filled and sappy, then I was handed a shot of Patron. I really admire both of these guys and what ever I said I wanted them to remember it forever, then I was hand another shot of Patron. Dam it man, that stuff was on fire but at the same time it left you wanting more!

I was ready and all suited up before anybody else and I was walking around talking to my self. It went kind of like this.

I have known Ryan for 10 years and Luis for almost 4 and, I drank a glass of Merlot...

These two men have influenced me in ways that they are not even aware of, another glass gone...

This it truly an amazing day and an amazing time in all of our lives, what,,, oh you don't want to have a shot of Patron by your self, come here, i'm your man

Dang it, where was I? Screw it, I'll shoot from the hip.

I looked down the hallway and noticed that almost all of the guest were here and I needed to start mingling with them. I knew most of them so blending in wasn't really all that hard. I usually have trouble with large unfamiliar crowds, I'm a shy one you know.

The moment was finally here and the wedding party was on the move. It was truly an amazing moment in my life to be part of this occasion and to see my brothers have that look of happiness in there faces is something I will take with me everywhere I go for the rest of my life. Surprisingly I didn't skip a beat and I pulled my part off rather well.

An hour after the ceremony I had to pull the head cocktail lady to the side and let her know that if she didn't start handing out the special wine for my big speech in the next 5 min's I was going to loose my ability to connect sentences. Shortly after my request everybody had a glass of hand made Honey Meed wine from our Aunt Marys bee farm in northern California. Ahhh, what have I done? Every body's eyes were on me and it was go time. I was great! I spoke from the heart and it flowed flawlessly. I wish I remember everything I said but all I know was that for the next half hour teary eyed people were coming up to me telling me what a good job I did. Now, it was party time! And I must also mention that there was the craziest Monkey in a party dress and silver furr coat making it's way around the crowed.

It's hot is Palm Springs and I was in a freaking suit! I hate to wear pants with a passion let alone a freaking tie and jacket. I had made this comment to my cousin Jason and he suggested we needed to go swimming. Now at the time I thought it was the best idea I had ever heard in my life, it just made total sense. The next thing I knew we were in a few pairs of trunks and making our way down the hallway threw the crowed of cocktail dresses and black ties. Wait, let me hit the glass of wine real quick.... Splash! It was quite the site i'm sure. So much that Bobby, our friendly ink artist stripped down to his boxers and ripped off a huge cannon ball.

Now i'm not one for dancing but for some reason when your soaking wet in your swim trunks a t a black tie affair you can really get your grove on! I'm going to sign up for the show So You Think You can Dance after I finish this post.

There was no way I was getting back into that freaking suit so a good old pair of shorts and a T-Shirt were going to have to do. Another thing happened that was a bit surprising too. I found out how totally comfortable a large shag bathroom rug could be when your wrapped up in it passed out at the foot of the master bathroom sink! Many other things happened that nite including, um, no never mind. You will have to ask me in person if you ever see me again. I have already printed too much.

Ya know were all just lines laying on the universe of plad. Some of us are the thick bold lines and some of us are the tiny thin type. No matter what, were all cut from the same cloth and shoud treat each other as such....

2008-10-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

For as long as people were able to communicate they have been trying to get each others attention. We are always seeing advertisements or articles that make us laugh or sometimes just think, who came up with this crap? Here are a few of those adds. The first one starts in our own 909. I mean really, has Golf become such a hard game you need a GPS to get around the course?

Highs and Lows

2008-10-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

It has occurred to me that when you don't pay as much attention to your dog as it's used to getting it tells you. He doesn't do this verbally, he eats your lawn and covers him self in mud. Well his little outburst was noted and extra playtime has been able to correct this outlandish behavior. I really had the last laugh tho when I tossed his butt into the tub for deep cleaning. Now why dogs can't be as independant as cats, I will never know.

Lazy Alexander.....and sock monkey

C.J. and C.J.

This week I was able to log in 11 hours and 39 min's on the bike. Most of this was on the road on my trusty old Lemond Zurich but the fun stuff was on my Superfly. Friday morning I started at the Ranger Station on Bryant and hwy 38 in our local San Bernardino mountains. From there I headed up the hwy to Loch Leven, the Santa Anna river trail for some great singletrack, to middle control fire road, to Seven Oaks, up Glass Raod, back to Hwy 38, to Southfork camp ground, back on the Santa Anna river trail, back over Glass Road, more of the Santa Anna river trail, back and to and up Middle Control fire road to hwy 38, back to Loch Leven and finally, back to my car at the Ranger Station. The whole rid took me 5 hours and 39 min's. It's amazing how almost six hours in the woods alone can jack around with your head. I stopped a few times to refuel and talk to a few otter riders I met on the trail but other than that I was pedaling away.

Check out the colors in Loch Leven, amazing!

The views heading back from Southfork seamed to last forever!

I dang near hit this fallen tree coming around a corner.

The Bark Betal really sucks ass. There are trees like this all over our mountains..

The rides over and I had nothing but food on the brain at this point.

It was truly a great week for riding. The weather was great, the air didn't hurt your lungs, too much and the dirt was like glue threw ever corner.

After my ride it was time go shopping cause quite frankly, the cupboards at my house were bare. Fresh and Easy is where we landed and for the most part it was pretty awesome. Most of the food is organic and stocked daily and the prices were not all that bad. A pretty good alliterative to the big chain stores or heading into Redlands to Trader Joe's. I will admit tho, if a Trader Joe's were closer to us we would do most of our shopping there. I didn't like bagging my own food at Fresh and easy, I guess I'm a snob that way.

One thing I did find at Fresh and Easy that was an eye Popper was a huge, just made Chicken burrito. It looked like it was going to taste like a million bucks! This morning I packed it for lunch and all I could think about was shoving that thing in my mouth. I never leave my lunch in the brake room frig at work because it just gets smashed around. But today, I place my beloved chicken burrito in the employee buffet box because I was concerned that the preservative free ingredients would go bad with out keeping cool. I left it there at 4:40am and at 9:50am when I went to retrieve it, IT WAS GONE!!!!! Some bastard stole my burrito! Ugh, I was and still am so pissed off! What kind of Jerk does it take to go out of their way and steal somebodies lunch, at work for that matter? I looked into the trash and there it was. The thin cardboard that once held my burrito in place in it's recycled plastic wrap. It still had rice and small chunks of my chicken on it.

So above the trash can on the bulletin board in the brake room I made this little flyer. People are already starting to talk about it and I hope that before too long the evil doer will be reviled.

I will end this post with a possitive note. When I cam into work today I was amazed to see the price of gas in my station. When I left work on Thursday afternoon it was $3:05 and now it was $2:75. All day long I was hearing members say, is this the right price or is it just listed wrong?

I came accross this list today and it was like somebody pulled all these thoughts and questions out of my head!

2008-10-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

Only in America ......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way tothe back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy peoplecan buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America.....do people order double cheeseburgers, largefries, and a diet coke.

Only in America.....do banks leave both doors open and then chain thepens to the counters.

Only in America.....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars inthe driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America......do we buy hot do gs in packages of ten and bunsin packages of eight.

Only in America.....do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braillelettering.

EVER WONDER ...
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don't you ever see the headline 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?

Why is 'abbreviated' such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do 'practice'?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashingliquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Whydon't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

2008-10-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Every so often I see something or meet someone who inspires me to be better or do better. Today while I waited for my brakes to be installed on the Super Honda, I asked myself, what do those people or things do that draw my attention to them in such admiration?

Overcoming great odds and making a difference in other peoples lives are things done by those who inspire me. World changing events that better the way people live and except each other in everyday life get my blood pumping and wanting to be part of the movement. Positive thinkers and true good doers that help without excepting any kind of payback give me a sense of hope, knowing that there are people out there that really care. Solid listeners that even tho they may not understand completely what your talking about, give you the attention you need to get threw it.

Little kids that no matter how many times they get it wrong, they do it over and over again. They keep going because of true character and spirit, they haven't learned the words can't, no and give up yet. And of course the ones who keep those thoughts far away from their minds.

I'm a horrible student in all respects, but teachers inspire me. They put in countless hours for little pay and in some cases little respect. Often times buying classroom supplies with there own money and working off the clock at home to get lesson plans together for the coming week. All of this to teach our kids the skills they need to be successful. Selfless and giving.

Anybody that has a disability and doesn't skip a beat! I have meet many people in my lifetime with what society labels as, having a disability. I have been out run by a kid with no legs, out swam by a guy with one arm and out cycled up and over the local hills by a guy with his arm strapped to his chest! I have met people who live their lives in wheelchairs and can hardly use there arms and legs who have become community leaders and positive role models for people of all abilities. Inspiring, yeh I think so.

Do you remember your first time?

2008-10-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

I was on my rode bike today and as I passed all the people sitting in their cars I noticed something. Just about none of the people I saw seamed to be having as much fun as I was. I had my tunes and as long as I kept my speed at a moderate pace I had air conditioning. It wasn't costing me much at all to pedal, just what it cost to fill my bottles and I also had plenty of snacks.

I wonder how many people out there have forgotten the feeling a bicycle can give them?. People grow up and start doing different things and gain new interest forgeting of the times when all they needed was a bike to make them happy. I can remember waking up in the morning and only wanting a day to go by where my friends and I could ride all day and not get a flat. I rode my bike to school and checked on it between every class. During the summer months I would leave the house and not come back till dark, on my bike the whole time. When I would break a part and have to resort to getting around on my feet I would go nuts! I can remember sitting on a curb watching the neighborhood kids ride by when I had a flat tire. My dad would make me try and patch my old tubes, instilling a work ethic he would say. They were the kind of patches you would have to burn on the glue, do you remember those. So many times I would stick my fingers to a still damaged tube. Finaly after lots of begging I would get a few dollars tossed my way and off to TG&Y I would go to buy a tube. Damn it if the screw drivers I used to install the tube would puncture the new tube!!!!! I started to steal them. I know this was bad but I had to ride my bike!!!!

I tought my self how to ride a bike. After countless hours of my dad yelling at me as he let go of the rear of the seat and I would take a face plant to the street, every time!! The Huffy Pro Lightning, as seen in this picture, was my first bike. One day while my dad was sitting in front of the T.V. I snuck my bike out of the garrage and walked it down the street. The corner house had a short but steep driveway with a chain link fence at the top. I walked the bike to the top, got on holding the fence, looked for cars and I let go! I did this several times crashing at the end of the driveway! Then it happened, I stayed up! As I started to slow down I remembered I needed to pedal to keep things going. I couldn't believe it. I rode circles in front of the house yelling for my dad to come out nad see me in action. Finally after what seamed like hours my dad came to the door. I remember it like it was yesterday, he said, " that's great Adam, go up the street and get your brother". For a second my feelings were hurt cause he didn't see the greatness that I have learned on my own. But who cares, I was riding a bike, I was riding a Pro Lightning!!!!

My brother was up a the top of Leroy street in San bernardino. He was 6 blocks up at the BMX track with his friends. I was so egar to have him see what I could do. When I finally got to the top of the long hill known as Leroy street, I waited for him at the starting gates of the track. He rolled up and asked if I had pushed my bike all the way up the hill. Dang it man, can I ever get some respect!!!! I told him that I rode all the way up and he didn't even believe I could ride my bike. What happened next I will never forget. He told me that if I could really ride my bike then I had to do a lap on the track. YOU GOT IT BIG BROTHER WHO I SO DESPERATELY WANTED TO IMPRESS!!! The starting line of the track dropped straight into a steep decent and right into a set of double jumps. I wasn't scared a all because I had just seen the movie RAD and I knew how to ride because of it. Can you say OUCH!! I flew out of the gate and down the hill, whoosh! I came to the bottom of the first jump and zipped off the top. I thought, I really can see my house from here! The flight felt like it lasted forever. I had the bike leaned on it's side in a table top fashion and I was looking pretty bitchen. Now one thing I didn't learn from the movie was how to land. Sure fear came over me as I realized this and then SMACK! I landed on the edge of the next jump on my hip still in the table top position. I never felt pain like this before and I thought I was going to die. As I came to from being knocked out I remember hearing my brother screaming to me, " that was great till you EFFED it up dork". I crawled off to the side of the track and layed there curled up next to my bike and the other kids ride by like I wasn't even there. From that day on I was hooked!

Today I still crash quite a bit and I learn a little more every time. I blame getting my first car on my lack of riding skills today. I didn't touch a bike for a little over 6 years and my bike just hug there in my room on a rack. No it wasn't my Huffy, it was an all steel Trek 560 with a white and yellow fade paint job. Later on I would sell my Trek to fund a Nitrous System for my car, Damn it where was the guidance in my house?

2008-10-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well, 7Th out of 11.... I'll take it! This was my result after last Sundays race in Big Bear. Not exactly the best result a racer can get but it is what it is. As always, the Fly handled awesome and made me a proud owner for sure. This bike totally rocks and I can't wait to use it again on November 15Th at the 12 hours of Temecula. This is the race I have been waiting for and unless I crash again (this is very likely for me to do) I will go home with a podium spot.

The plan, 11 laps. How I do it, Top Secret! 11 laps is quite a goal seeing as how I have yet to complete 9 laps in Temecula but hey, you have to aim high right? We will see, we will see....

2008-10-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

I went to bed feeling kind of sick and woke up worse! When I came home from work today I felt like dog poo and had the energy of a brick. It figures that my body decided to go south the day after I paid for this Sundays race.Things could be worse I suppose.
After along nap brought on by some cold medicine I started poking around the Internet. I don't know how I started looking at the different signs in the world but I rather enjoyed it and here are few of my favorites.

I wish I could breath threw my nose right now and walk without my legs shaking.....

2008-10-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

There are two more races for me this season and I'm as ready as I can be. The Fall Classic on Oct 12th in Big Bear and the 12 Hours of Temecula on Nov. 15th. I have not raced sense the AMC and I have been chomping at the bit to toe the line again. I havn't raced as much as I wanted to this year but I have a couple hands full of races I plan on racing next season. I have found that the longer races suit me better than anything ellse. I think it's because the tension is lower and I don't constantly have other racers around me. I'm a sucker when it comes to others pushing the pace and then I explode. In the longer races I feel like i'm in more control and I can concentrate on keeping the calories and electrolites at steady levels. Or it can be that I'm just a little lazy and really hard efforts in shorter races kill me. Who knows?

2008-10-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

Now I can't say exactly where I was when I created this master piece but it was today, between the hours of 5am and 1:30pm. I spewed this little doodle out of my head with a vision of creating something great. The picture on the top is the rough draft. It took several hours to get the lines right and the angles looking somewhat decent. It involved countless eraser strokes and tip sharpening with my pocket knife. I was rudely interrupted several times by, we will call them patrons, but I finally got it done.

After I was happy with the rough draft I loaded it into a computer that happen to be close by, for fine tuning. This brings us to picture number two. Now in this picture the lines are cleaner and the color is a bit sharper but I think it lacks the feel of the original. Funny how sometimes you can think you got it just right but when you try to make it make it better, you realize you should have left well enough alone.

Today I hit up the local hills of Loma Linda at Hulda Crooks Park. I rode out with my newly rebuilt fork and up to Jedi I went. On the way there I could notice a major difference in the way the fork felt. It was was smoother than it was when I got it new. Could this be so? Well as soon as I hit the dirt, it was! Who would have thought that a quick rebuild by the magic hands of Eddie at Redlands Cyclery could make my Fox work better than new!!!!If I had one more hand I would give Eddi 3 big thumbs up on this one.

The dirt was fast and the air was chill making for a great ride. I could only ride for an hour and it was time well spent. I hadn't been there in almost a year or so and I miss being so close being able to ride it when ever I want. I only have one hill to ride in Beaumont and it's boring as hell. I'm thinking a move someplace closer to trails is in order.

2008-10-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

So I had 5 whole days off the bike and I was feeling like a champ, for the most part. Ride one back my wheels and my fork seal blew on my mountain bike and for the rest of my decent I was squirmy mermy down Loch Leven. Why I didn't hit the deck is beyond me. Never the less I was happy to be back on a bike and it was feeling pretty great. Today after work I took my wounded fork over to Redlands Cyclery where Eddi took hold of it for a while and gave it back good as new. As it turns out, there is some maintenance involved with having a high end Fox Fork. Actually, every 40 hours of riding the fork needs new seals and oil. I'm now setting aside my spare change to flip the bill for the next time.

Today also landed me ride number two. It was on the road and it was a little scary. Over here in Beaumont, I had a head wind no matter what direction I went. Well unless you count the side winds that kept taking a hold of my front wheel. It was like the wind gods were upset with me and they just wanted to push me into every pothole or car they could find. Who cares, I was on ride number two.

It was also day number two back at work and yes the members were still crazy! I don't know what it is that makes people think that just because they have a Costco card they can be total assholes! Why should it ever come as a shock to people when you ask them not to smoke in a gas station, or turn off their engine, or not to cut in line or my favorite one of the day, write an email in your car on your laptop after you just finished filling your tank! Move to the parking lot JERK!!!!!

$17.45 Chalupa

2008-09-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today I was guarding the gas station as usual from wrong doers and I was called over to a customers car. The lady inside was waving her arms back and forth like she was fighting off a swarm of killer bees. I walked over to her car and she was crying and her dog with a cast on it's leg was barking like mad!

This elderly lady had forgotten her wallet at home and was on her way to take fluffy to the vet for a post dog vs. car accident visit. She frantically grabbed my hand and started to yell that she was on empty and had to get to the vet!

I looked in her car at the fuel gauge and it was on a quarter tank. Now to us that's gas for days. For her it was the end of the world and a sure sign that she was going to run out of gas and be stranded and left for dead on the side of the road. I had her pull up to the next dispenser and I filled her tank. I guess I do have a soft spot in my heart after all for crying old ladies. She tried to pay me in cash, (we only take plastic at my station) I told her not to worry about it and try and have a nice day and get to the vet.

Later in the day the old lady pulled up and said she had a surprise for me. She handed me a Chalupa! I told her she didn't have to do that and her reply was, well if you don't eat it give it to somebody and they will love me for it. I guess my fellow attendant Roy loves me now because I gave it to him. I hope he liked that Chalupa cause later on when I gave it some thought it cost me $17.45.

The Zen of Sarcasm

2008-09-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and leaky tire.

3. Its always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

4. Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

5. Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

8. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes

9. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

10. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

11. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably a wise investment.

12. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

13. Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield.

14. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

15. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.

16. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

17. Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

18. There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.

19. Generally speaking, you aren't learning much when your lips are moving.

20. Experience is so mething you don't get until just after you need it.

21. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

22. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative> on the same night

Bottles,Thumbs and spiders. Oh and one cool ass dog!

2008-09-08T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well lets see, what has been going on in my life as of late? Over the last few months I have acquired quite the taste for wine. Dark thick headed beers are still my favorites but seeing as how in the last week 4 bottles of wine have disappeared behind my lips I think I may have a problem.

As you can plainly see I like a variety but the reds do seam to go down a bit easier. One thing I must say is a bit confusing to me is the need for all the different types of wine. I'm not even going to attempt to spell a single one of them cause they're all in different languages and I have a hard enough time spelling words from my own. The (better wines) even have some kind of point system. It seams a 90pt. wine is high on the list of the good ones per the guy at the local BevMo. As he went into detail I grabbed what was on sale and headed to the checkout. I think he may still be talking because he sure did like to hear him self spill his knowledge of fermented grapes.

Today started off kind of crazy. I got up at my usual time of 3:13am and started my morning. Well actually, I wake up at this time but I tend to get out of bed around 3:47am. Any case, I ironed a shirt and turned on the computer. I wanted to get out an Email before I made my 14min drive to work. I hate the long commute but it pays the bills. Most days i'm out the door by 4:19am, not the case today. As I butchered the English language in my Email I noticed the clock on the cable box said 4:25 DANG IT!!!! I was going to be late. I hit send and ran to the bedroom to get some undies and socks. DANG IT!!!!!! I was clean out of each. It looked like I was wearing my boxers, usually reserved for bed time duties only. My manhood usually doesn't hang free but I was in a hurry. SOCKS, oh man I I needed socks.. Oh, in my gear bag I had a clean pair. I threw everything on, grabbed a cycling kit, Heed, Endurolytes and a bag of microwave rice for lunch and I headed for the door. I did have to take a few moments to put my shoes on in the car cause I had left them there from the day before. Remembering this secret shoe location alone made my brain start to melt...

So now I'm in the car and almost to the frontage road and DANG IT!!!! I forgot my belt and wallet. Now I was on a one way street and the nearest point in the island to turn around was at least 800 feet away. If I went that rout it would have been 1600 to get right back where I was at that moment. I was now going to be cutting it close clocking in for sure and I had no choice in what to do next. I hit it in reverse and headed back to my neighborhood gates. I must have hit at least 30mph cause when I spun the wheel to the left smoke cam off the front tires as the front end swung around and I felt like Michel Knight from the 80's!

When I got back into my driveway I jumped out of the driver seat like a man on a mission. OOOOUCH!!!!! Before my feet hit the ground the super Honda's door shut all the way and my right thumb was caught in the door jam. I was stuck to the car! To make matters worse I was in a rather twisted position and it hurt like hell to turn around with my left hand and open the door. It felt like my hand was going to explode with every throb.

I made it to work with 2 seconds to spare before I would be considered late. 5:02:58. We have a 3 min window and another 2 seconds and I would have destroyed that scarless record. Upon returning to my super Honda for my morning comp shop I was attacked in the parking lot. When I opened my door a huge freaking spider came down from the roof of my car in an attempt to eat off my face. Well, he was actually the size of an dime and he probably just wanted to hang out and chat. None the less, it freaked me out and I knocked it to the ground. I'm Sacha bad ass sometimes I know...

After my daily ride I came home and worked with Stanley on his tricks. He is now 5 months and two weeks old. I wish I could learn at the rate he does. Look and see for your self.

He's a great gog but I think he wants to be a firefighter. Over the last few days I have come home the hose in the back yard drug out to one end or the other. I think I going to take him to Crafton Hills the next time they are doing hose drills. This way he can learn how to do it right and with any luck he will also lean how to put the damn thing back.

That's all I got for now. Tuesday nite it's hill nite in Redlands and once again I will attend. I was involved in a bit of a helmet cracker last tuesday nite. I just got word the crashee is doing fine and rode her bike a few days later.I plan on keeping a low profile none the less.

First time on a trail without a bike in years!!!!

2008-09-01T10:35:00.001-07:00

Sunday after work Chris and I took Kelly and Stanley to Loch Leven for a hike. It would be the longest hike, or time on his paws, that Stanley would ever experience. The day before Stanley was introduced to his cousins Tao and Abby and it went pretty well so a bit of sensory overload from the great outdoors seamed in order.

If you have ever been to Lock Leven you know that there are two rather large dogs that own the land. Usually they allow you to gain entrance to the trail with the payment of powerabr. When they seen Stanley they treated him like one of their own and became great friends. Teddy, the yellow Lab walked with us the whole way. Stanley was a bit pissed off that I wouldn't let him off the leash but he dealt with it pretty well. He's still pretty small at 5 months and the last thing I needed to explain to his mother was how he was carried off to the woods by a large hungry cat!!

I will brag a bit when I let you know that at only 5 months he sits, lays down, stays, shakes either paw on request and when I walk him he stays right by my side. Of course he still does the other 5 month old dog things too. Digs holes in the back yard, eats plants, destroys food and water bowls and mangles any toy he gets in seconds flat! And those damn puppy needle like teeth freaking hurt! He's great and I can't wait till I can start taking him to the races.

Me the AMC my Superefly and 4 days of good pain! THANK YOU PERRY BURTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

So as you have reading in my last few post I have been getting ready for the AMC. Yes, I'm talking about the American Mountain Classic, a 4 day stage race at Brian Head in the Utah mountains. SO it's come and gone and I will say this, it was hands down the greatest sporting event I have ever had the pleasure of being part of.

I had never been to Brain Head before and I was in complete amazement in what I saw around me. The colors, the mountains, the wild life and of course the people. If I wasn't so much against the snow I would want to live there for sure. I stayed in a one bedroom condo all by my self and it would serve as my refueling station for 4 days. I consumed more food in the time I was there than I would in a normal week back at home. A 10 pound bag of potato's, 12 microwaveable bags of rice, 9 chicken breast and a wealth of recovery drinks from Hammer Nutrition along with a bottle of Endurolytes and Anti Fatigues. This condo would also serve as the cleaning and repair for my trusty Superfly. Alot of people helped me get to the AMC and I was hell bent on making good on their investments.

The four stages included a 6 mile Prolouge, 55 mile course with 5,000 feet of elevation gain, 55 mile course with a 11,00 peak and on the last day, two loops of the NMBS series filal course in Brian Head. On this day the Dark Hallow trail turned me into a man! I could go into great detail but unless you experience it, you wouldn't understand. In short, it's the scariest trail I have ever been on!

Goiong into day 4 I was in third place and I was ready for a fight. The number one racer in my group was a Cat 1 road racer. I tried like hell to catch him on day two but He had already gaped me by quite a bit so my focus was now on the #2 spot. No this isn't giving up, it's knowing your competition and making the best of reality, that dude was way stronger than me and now 2nd place became first place for me and the rest of my class.
The loop started with a 13% grade climb for roughly two miles and we had to do this loop twice. I sat back and let the group go. My plan was to have the smartest race ever and use the first lap to get my motor reved up and attack on the second loop. It worked like a charm. In the middle of the loop there was an aide station that lead us to a long, steep fire road, about 3 miles long. This is that place I was going to put the hammer down.

I already passed one competitor to get in the third place position in lap one and I was putting distance on him. At the fire road aid station I met up with the guy who was in the #2 spot and it was time to make my move. I took in 3 gels, a bottle of Heed, 5 Endurolytes and two Anti Fatugies. I layed everything on the table and at the same time kept everything in control. I kept it the middle ring and the second from the top cog for the most part. When the terrain would flatten just a little bit, I would either go to the 3rd down cog or go to the big ring and the #5 cog standing up and get into a singlespeed type of rhythm standing on the pedals.

For the rest of the race nobody passed me, not on a climb or a down hill, not even on that scary ass Dark Hallow. I knew I had second locked up and it was head down and a steady spin at the cranks all the way to the end. I thought of my self as an endurance athlete for quite a while. It wasn't till the completion of the AMC I realized that now, after crossing the line, I was true to the label.

I finished the 4 days in 2nd place in my division. Day one 3rd place, Day two 2nd place, Day three 3rd place and day four 2nd place..... This race has changed me and made me overcome some fears. I'm a better athlete for it, a better mountain biker for it and a better person with a higher sense of self worth. Next year I will win my class. Not just because I will be better prepared and in better shape but also because this race makes you want to improve and push your self to your limits. This race has opened my limits to an even further line and next year I'm going to pass that line..

Complete results

2008-08-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

The dog has been walked, the Honda is packed and I'm clean and shaved. I'm ready to race. In the morning I will leave the house at 5am and head to Utah. I'm looking forward to the experience but I must say I will probably drive my self crazy all alone with my thoughts. I have no idea what to expect this weekend other than I will be on my bike for most of it and loving every second of it.

I will not miss getting up at 3:33 every day to get ready for work. Nore will I miss all the issues that always seam to raise up while i'm patrolling the islands. Sir I need you to put out that cigarette, or sir you need to shut off your engine, or sir did you not realize that all those people you zoomed by are in line. Or how about, sir your card isn't working because we don't take the EBT card. I also wont be sitting on the steps of my rented space looking into the clear Utah sky thinking, I sure miss all the smog.

I had a bit of a panic today. I had to locate a headset for the Fly. It seams that when I hit that dude in Leadville Co. I destroyed the cups and bearings of my factory headset. I didn't notice this during the rest of the race but I did notice it when Art and I went for a ride the other day. I found my parts and had them installed and everything is back to normal. Well, actually, I will have to ride my Fly for a bit to see if the head tube was jacked up too. Hopefully things will hold together for the weekend. I don't regret stopping for that dude but I wish I could send him the bill for the repairs to my Fly.

I will finally see a bit of the Olympics tonite that don't have anything to do with swimming. I like Michel Phelps but man, can wee see or hear of something ells. I'm looking forward to the debut of BMX. I never raced BMX but I do like to watch it. These athletes rocket from one end of the track to the other in blistering speed and beat the hell out of each other at the sane time. And lets not forget the crashes! Now I know all about crashing so I can really identify with these folks when they bounce off the dirt at speed. Man, I hope I don't crash this weekend, we will see....

I hope the palce i'm staying in this weekend has a T.V. Ive been home alone now for a few hours and I'm bord out of my freaking head!!! I thught about taking this computer but with my history something will happen to it for sure. Then Leslie will kill me and then I couldn't ride bikes anymore, that would suck!

Beards, bikes and food

2008-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

So I have let the whiskers on my face get a little on the long side and I have gotten mixed reviews. I have been told it makes me look older, scary, dirty, like a homeless person and my personal favorite, what the hell is that on your face??? Now that i'm thinking of it, I haven't heard one good thing about it from anybody.

The other nite at dinner I did find one fan of my beard. They said nothing, just walked up and licked my face, that single action made my beard worth it. Unconditional love from a stranger and all I had to do was show up with a harry face. Sweet!

Leslie and I made our way up to the local mountains and rode bikes with our friends Kelly and Ryan. Ryan's parents have a cabin up near Jeinks Lake and for the last half of our day we rode bikes, ate like pigs and drank like, well, drunks.... It was great fun. In all we only rode about an hour but it was a welcomed change to my normal grind of zooming heart rates and one the edge of death single tracks.

Next Wednesday morning I head out to Utah for the AMC. I'm ready as I can be and I so can't wait to be back up in the fresh air. Last week in Co. at the Leadville 100 I was exposed to the cleanest air and now i'm spoiled for life. I liked it so much I would even be willing to try a winter up there to see if I could make it our new home. Back on the home front that idea was vetoed in seconds flat. Sometimes I get a little excited and need to be put in check. I mean really, I can't stand the cold air coming out of the freezer in the kitchen.

Utah should be a blast. A funny change of events have taken place on the road to Utah.

Free entry to race and living in the car for 4 days

Free entry and a studio apartment for 4 days

Free entry, studio apartment splitting cost with Big Chris

Free entry, one bedroom apartment splitting cost with Big Chris and Mom

Free entry, one bedroom apartment, Mom and Big Chris backing out and me paying for food and fuel

Free entry, one bedroom apartment and now passably having Art splitting cost.... Maybe

Man this trip is already becoming quite the adventure and I havent even boght the forst tank of gas yet. All I know is that when I toe the line on the 21st it's going to be GO TIME!!

Blog 1 of 2 today. Pic's of what I seen in Co.

2008-08-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

12,600 feet, Dave slaying Lance, thin air and great friends

2008-08-11T21:15:00.001-07:00

So it was the trip I had been waiting for. Willie, Haoi and I hit the road early Thursday morning and headed for Leadville Co. From Redlands Ca. Leadville, a super small town way up in the sky, 10,200 feet to be exact! Here Willie and I took place in the Leadville 100 race across the sky. This is a super steep mountain bike race that climbs 14,000 in total elevation gain and peaks out at 12,600 feet. When your up this high the air is thin and your head pounds. We were not alone though, we were two of a thousand other racers. There was a 12 hour cut off time to complete this race and about 400 people didn’t complete it.

It all started at 6:30am and it was freaking cold! We had driven over 13 hours to get here and now it was game time. Sitting in the crowed shoulder to shoulder and bike to bike I remember thinking that maybe I was a little over dressed. I had on leg warmers, arm warmers, my bibs, a Spider Nordic Ski Racing pull over (THANK YOU J.K.) and a ninja mask. I was freezing on the starting line but I was concerned that once I got going I would warm up and cook to death. This never happened. A few times I had to stop to remove the Spider and arm warmers but I was fine and comfortable. As I looked around I could see that there were many others dressed like me and a few that you would think were getting ready to climb Mt. Everest. To each his own I suppose.

There were all different types of bikes in the huddle. Carbon, Ti, Aluminum, Steel, hardtail and full suspension you name it, it was there. I even noticed a few tandem teams and one dude was on a fixed gear. Yes, it was a bit of a freak fest and I felt right at home. I looked up and noticed that there was 1 min left on the clock to start time and I was thinking, man, I’m totally going to ride my mountain bike for 100 miles with 1000 people up to 12,600 feet and back, I am crazy! I had trained since last March for this and now it was all coming to a head. I was ready and not even a bit nervous. I came with mission, complete the task at had in 10 hours or less. As the clock ticked down I swear I could hear every tick.

BANG!!! The shotgun went off and so did we! It was like a heard of cattle leaving intersection of 6th and Harrison. At first the pace was a quick one that settled into a cool steady 20mph or so. I was shaking and I could hardly hold my bars straight. I knew it I warm up as soon as we started to climb, and the climb couldn’t start any sooner. We were all plotting our lines and trying to keep from hitting each others bars. It was a mob seen for sure. There were of course the types that zipped by at full speed and of course there were the overly cautious and a whole slew of other types. I just sat in and started to try and regulate my heart rate. I averaged 144bpm the entire race and only topped out at 167bpm. Not bad for not ever being above 10,000 feet before other than once, and that time I was in the whole before the gun even went off.

The first few climbs were not too bad and I was passing quite a few people. I was feeling kind of studly so I backed off. There was no way I was going to blow up today and waste all my time I had invested. I settled in and spun. The course was mostly fire roads with a bit of single track and paved roads. Some of these paved roads were super steep and a blast to fly down. I must have hit 45mph easily! A few really techy sections that had zero room for error that begged you to pin it and stay off the brakes. You could see all kinds of abilities in the field. Men and Women, young and old. Two guys had cast on their hands and our very own Willie Stewart was on site too, known to us as One Armed Willie.

The race was going great until after aid station #2. It was in the beginning of a large fire road that was completely flat. I got my fuel and off I went. I was drinking and cruising about 15-20mph and closing in on the guy in front of me. I got within about 6 feet of him and I was getting ready to say, bitchen day hugh, to the guy I was about to pass. Then all of the sudden out of the blue, the guys front tire slid out from under him and he was going down, HARD!!!!! His face gripped the ground and his body rolled over his neck. I tried to hit the brakes and avoid him but there was nothing I could do, I ran right into him and his bike. I flipped over the bars and hammered my left hip on the ground. I looked back to if he was ok and he was lying in the road. His face was full of blood and he was out cold! He started to shake and moan and the blood just kept coming. I tried comforting him telling him to lay still and that help was on the way. Amazingly many other riders just went on by saying things like, get that bike out of the road, move out of the way and look out!!!! None of these fuckers were stopping!!!!!!
I was yelling for help and finally I starred one dude down and demanded for him to go get help at the aid station. Off he went. A few moments later two doctors stopped and jumped into action. These two guys went from racers to doctors in seconds. They checked vitals on the now half way conscious racer and started to ask him questions. I think he said his name way Jerry and he thought he was in, well, he didn’t know. He was jacked up and from the looks of his chin he chipped the bone. In all I spent 15 min’s with Jerry and the one doctor that stayed behind. The guy that went to get the medics came back by to tell us that help was on the way. With an ok from the doctor I went on my way too.

Oddly enough the thin air that I wasn’t even close to use to didn’t seam to bother me at all, well not till 11,100 feet to 12,600 at the summit. My lungs were fine but my head was hosting a bunch of angry monkeys with drums in it. POUND POUND POUND went my head but I didn’t even care because this was my special day and I wasn’t going to let something as small as throbbing paine between my ears bother me. Up near the top we all, well, not Lance or Dave, had to hike your bikes up what seamed to be the rockiest, ruttiest hill on the planet. The lead racers were flashing by at what looked to be mock speed. I was eagerly waiting my turn to do the same.

Up at the top it was cold but nice. The aid station like the ones before, was completely stocked with all the goodies. Coke, brownies, cookies, PBJ, ham and cheese, Poweraide, gels, and plenty of people that wanted to hold your bike for you while you refuel. I didn’t see a single person at an aide station that wasn’t buzzing around looking to help somebody out, it was great! I had not seen this behavior sense my triathlon days.
Now to read about or hear about this race some people may think it’s just an out and back, up a hill and down the hill affair. Ummmm, no. It’s like this:

Start at 10,200 feet
Go down to 8,800 feet
Back up to 10,500 feet
Go down to 9,800 feet
Back up to 11,600 feet
Down to 9,800 feet
Go back up to 12,600 feet
Then turn around and go back to square one.

All those cool bitchen down hills you rode just a while ago that you loved because they were so long, well now you have to go back up them. Wow, you don’t realize how steep they are till you have to go back up the other way. It’s like a roller coaster you peddle on for 10 hours.
One the way down one of the rockiest down hills it started to rain. It wasn’t just raining; it was poring down in sheets. At first I thought to stop and put on my Spider. It wasn’t really that cold outside so I said screw it and decided to try and make up some time. I had mud and tinny rocks flying all over the place! In my face, up my nose, even in my teeth, I just kept on going as hard as I could. It was down hill and I really needed to turn back the clock if possable. Soon the dirt turned to pavement and the rain was falling even harder. I could hardly see so my glasses went in my pocket. I hate the rain, but for what ever reason I hadn’t felt this good on a bike ever! As the rain started to stop the road wet on to the steep side of things. I felt great and just motored along.

At the top of the paved road I was faced with more rain and tones of mud. I looked like a pig that had spent all day rolling around in it‘s pen. There was also an aid station at this point of the race back to town and it had plenty of chicken broth on hand. Oh…. the salt content of this wonderful stuff saved me from cramps for sure.

For the next few hours it was ride, hike, ride, and hike. And then finally the last decent and the words from a traffic volunteer I will never forget, “c’mon man, it’s less than a mile to the end” It was like I had my batteries recharged….. I hit it hard and I was now seeing the finish line. It was clear I wasn’t going to make my goal of 10 hours but I still felt like I had done something great! 10:20 by my watch. I haven’t seen any actual results yet but even if it’s give or take 10 second or so, I’m happy. I have such a respect for this race now. Everything I have read couldn’t really describe what I had experienced. I can't wait to do it again!!!!

2008-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

S.C.A.Q.M.D Who are these folks you may ask. Well, they are a bunch of thieves. They come up with all kinds of rules that they say are in place to help the air quality in So. Cal. I can see why some rules are needed and some of them are even pretty good. But mostly, they are set up to make business owners pay outrageous fees and even crazier fines if you don't comply. Hum, sounds like the local mob business program. You know the kind, pay us for protection and you will go unharmed. Don't pay us and we close you down!

These assholes like to rough up gas stations all the time. Surprise, pop inspection. Oddly enough they always find something wrong. That sticker is an inch to high or to low, that hose is to close to the ground, there is a gram of dirt in a spill bucket etc etc. Up till two weeks ago I was allowed to change my own hoses, nozzles and breakaways. I had to go to an all day class to get S.C.A.Q.M.D certified. This class cost our company quite a bit seeing as how all of the So. Cal Costcos had to send two gas station employees. I was in a room with over 30 of us. Better yet, the guy teaching us didn't even know what the hell he was doing.

I came into work one day a few weeks ago and opened my Email. First one I checked stated that we are no longer allowed to change hoses, breakaways, and nozzles per, you guessed it, the S.C.A.Q.M.D. They feel that we need another certification to do these things. This Cert cost a crap load of money per person with several hours of class work and one shot to pass the test. It has a 75% fail rate. The techs that come to service our station sometimes fail it even. They are saying that there is to much fuel present that can harm the atmosphere when the parts in mention are changed. For some reason having this cert must make the fuel less dangerous. Funny thing is we can still change our own filters in the dispensers and perform weekly nozzle test. Each of these let more raw fuel into the air than changing a hose, nozzle or breakaway. I hate these self governing punks! They only answer to them selves and do what ever they want. EXTORTION!!!!

So i'm allowed to spill gas into one of these buckets if the nozzle fails, but it's cool cause the SCAQMD says it's ok. I also get to fill each of these bags with fuel vapor and then release it into the atmosphere. But don't let me touch a broken nozzle oh nooo. I have to call a service tech and wait a few days till one shows up costing my station $5,000.00 a day in sales.

Adam 1 Verizon 0

2008-08-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

No real big news today other than I beat Verizon at there own game! Yeah Boyyyy!!!! Today while talking to Willie ---->http://medicallychallenged.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/willie-stewart-vs-lance-armstrong-or-reason-117-why-im-going-to-be-a-physiatrist/ my phone took a dump. No warning other that a crackle in the speaker. I went over to the Verizon store to get the phone replaced. I have only had this phone 4 months and it just stop working, not cool! In the past I have destroyed phones by stepping on them, riding over them on my bike, sinking them in a water filled sink while hand washing a pair of short while the phone was in my pocket etc etc.... But this time my friends, it was not my fault.

It turns out they don't make this phone anymore. WTF, I just got it and it's already outdated. I could see what was coming. The lady behind the counter kept having to go and talk to the manager to see what they could do. HOW ABOUT GIVING ME A NEW EFFING PHONE!!!!It's not my fault the dam thing broke. First she came at me with, we no longer have this phone Mr. Hart. But your in luck. For a small upgrade charge you can have a better phone. Before she even spit the words out of her mouth I sent her back to the Mgrs office. NO DEAL!!!! Then she comes back with, sorry for the wait Mr. Hart we can give you one of these two phones. Now I don't need all the new cool hip stuff you can get in a phone today, But the two phones she showed me were nothing more than a step above a wireless roroty phones. She was showing me downgraded phones. WTF! How does this make things better. It's like a car sales person trying to sell you on a 1970 Datsin B210 over your new Element. I Don't think so!!! I sent her running back to fetch me a manager.

Well the bastards wouldn't come out of their cave. They did give her the OK to give me the Options of two other phones. Both phones, way better than what I already have, NO CHARGE!!! Now why did they not just do that in the first place? Because they are trained to fuck you over friends!!! Now, if I could only figure out how to use all this new crap on this phone. I know I don't need any of it but maybe one day it could mean the difference between life and death. Chris and his 13 year old daughter come back from vacation in a few days. I'm sure the kiddo can show me how to use it.

Smart Car, Umm no!

2008-07-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

Five satr safety rating from the IIHS? Is this for the car it's self cause from this video any occupants look like they would be wishing they were dead! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

I hate this freaking car! It's useless. With three cylinders and a top speed of 90mph they have no business in the U.S. People drive crazy here especially in Ca. Have you seen one of these things shaking down the Hwy, it's nuts? When these cars are in a crash they are done. I'm sure the insurance companies love this so they can charge you an arm and leg assuming you have any left after a crash..

Performance

Maximum speed
90 mph
Acceleration 0–60 mph
12.8 sec

Fuel consumption*

City/highway (mpg)
40/45 (EPA 2007); 33/41 (EPA 2008)

http://www.smartusa.com/smart-car-technical-specifications.aspx

BIG FREAKING WHOOP!!!! So you mean to tell me your willing to sacrifice legroom, passenger space and safety for a few more miles per gallon? Not me my friend! There are plenty of other cars you don't have to be on a waiting list for that you can buy that have great mileage and plenty of space and have a 4-5 star safety rating. How much of a trend chasing tight ass can you really be?

In ways this car is like the Hummer in reverse. People bought the Hummer cause they wanted to be cool no matter how crappy the mileage and how unreliable it is. Hey i'm cool and had nothing ells better to spend my money on. I'm feeding the machine and to stupid to realize it! ( to see the machine click on the link below) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/

Now, it's man gas is expensive and I will act like an ass and buy the tinest car I can as long as it's advertised to be cool and hip no matter how unsafe and lame it is. I'm now driving one very small by product of the way the machine has let us down. (click on the link below to see one of many huge examples of how the machine is letting us down)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRuHfcMIxMfw&refer=home

What Luck!!!!!

2008-07-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

So after my Fontana XC race on the 30th of March I began training for the Leadville 100 in Colorado. 10,000 feet to just under 12,600 feet in 50 miles and then back down again. Lots of long rides and a tone of XC events ignored. I'v had fun logging in all those miles and I have learned quite a lot. I learned that the folks of Beaumont love to drive up along side of you while your on your bike and tell you how fast your going. 4 different time this has happened and I laugh every time. Your also sure to see a horse or two using the bike lane and you also run into the droppings left behind. Yup, it happened too. http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/merchant.ihtml?id=1425&step=2

After I sent off the check/lottery entry to Leadville it was announced that Team Big Bear and Sho Air were putting on a 4 day stage race in Brian Head Utah. It will take place a week and a few days after Leadville and was excited to take part in this event too. Ouch! The price tag killed me. Yup, that race was over before it started for me. I continued to train for Leadville but every day I was thinking of Brian Head. None the less I was still very excited to race in Colorado and eger to get there. http://www.americanmountainclassic.com/Home_Page.html

Last Friday I was in the bike shop talking to Master Bicycle Mechanic Ben Parks and in walked fellow Team PossAbilities member Perry Burtch. Perry had signed up for Brian Head and was looking forward to going. Then Perry got the best news ever!!!!! His wife and daughter were finally coming home to the United States from Africa where they currently live!! Perry has been trying to bring his family here for over a year and now his dream is coming true. All of us that know Perry are very happy for him and can't wait to meet his wife and baby girl.

During our conversation of Perry's big day he told me that he wasn't going to be going to Brian Head because that was the time that his family was going to arrive. Then he asked me to race in his place!!! What, no way, are you serious, are the words that flew out of my mouth! First the kick ass news that his family was finally coming home and now this!!! At first I told him that there was now way I could pay him for his spot. He just smiled and said not to worry about it. Wow!!!!! THANK YOU PERRY!!!!!!!!!!

So now I not only to get to race Leavville and crush my lungs, I get to race in Brian Head and crush them again. And it get better folks. I was fully prepared to live in my car in the Brian Head resort parking lot because funds are scarce. Heck, I was going to be doing something I love so a few days in the car were a small trade off. However, when mom caught wind of this she booked me a room and wouldn't take no for an answer. I tried to turn it down and she wouldn't hear of it! So now I got a room to boot as well as 4 days of racing. THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!!!!!

Today I rode my bike

2008-07-18T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well what ells am I going to do. Oh wait, I worked in my back yard like a farmer for 3 hours.

Survived on 20%

2008-07-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

2008-07-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

On the 12 of July Leslie and I celebrated our 10Th year of coexistence. We headed down to San Diego where we stayed in a nice hotel, ate like pigs including at 5 Star restaurant, raced go carts again and looked at all the cool sea life in the Scrips aquarium. It was quit the journey and we had a great time. In old town we ate at probably the best Mexican restaurant in the world, well this side of the border anyway and then we hit the streets for some shopping. We also went to the History of music Museum by Lego Land and I think we spent the most of our time there playing the interments. Actually neither one of us play but that was OK cause they were all hooked up to headphones so nobody ells could hear us.

The aquarium was pretty cool too. We were able to touch some of the sea life and as well as see many different types of sharks and shark food, the smaller fish that is...

Leslie spotted out this fast looking little two seater in the parking lot as we were getting ready to leave Old Town. It was called a T-Rex and was powered by what looked to be a 1100cc street bike engine. All I know is that it was way smaller than Leslie's Honda Fit and the entire body was made out of carbon fiber. Oh how I would like to get my hands on this thing one day!!!!

I can't remember when the last time I had a good race was but I will let this picture speak for it's self. It was the shortest race I ever had at Rim Nordic or anywhere ells for that matter. I would say maybe 150 to 200 feet or so.

One this is for sure, I'm happy this happened here and not in a few weeks at Leadville. I'm going to go threw this bike with a fine tooth comb on Thursday and replace anything that looks just the slightest worn.

I'm asking that you all send a little white light or MOJO or good luck or Karma or what ever it is you believe in my way in the weeks to come. I need all the help I can get for Leadville. Oh oh Oh i'm feeling it already!!!!! Keep it coming y'all!!!!

Snooze buttons, flat tires and running over a Ho!

2008-07-09T20:57:00.001-07:00

So alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. It went off again and I hit the button again. Finally I opened my eyes with only 20 minutes to make my lunch, iron my shirt and head for the door. To my surprise I jumped into the Super Honda right on time like I didn't even over slept. As I rolled out of the driveway I noticed a kinda dragging sound coming from the front of the car. I thought at first it was the brakes but I hadn't even touched them yet. I got out and ventured to the front of my trusty auto to only find a flat tire. Here I was in the dimly lit streets of my neighborhood at 4:22am with a flat tire. I hit it in super speed cause I haven't been late to work in like 4 years or so and I wasn't going to start now.

When I retrieved my spare tire I noticed something was missing, my tools. WTF!!!! This car is only a year and a half old and there are nor freaking spare tire tools. FLASH, I run into the house to get Leslie's keys. She has recently gotten a Honda too and I knew the tools would be the same. I also grabbed a garden Ho from the garage to chock the rear tire. So I jammed the Ho under the rear tire and started to jack up the S.H. PHUK!!!! I parked kinda close to the curb so instead of spinning the tools freely and raising the S.H. I had to remove the tools every half turn and reset them to jack up the car.

When everything was back together again I ran Lesli's car keys back into the house, shut the garage door and fired it up! Off to work I was. Now I had never driven with a spare tire before and let me tell you, it sucks ass. It's loud, squirmy and just embarrassing to drive. I clocked in 9 min's late and the thought of retiring with a perfect attendance record was gone.

Later I realized that I hadn't put my Ho away. I called Leslie to have her remove it from the street so she wouldn't run it over when she left for work. Well I guess I beat her to it cause when I got home the Ho was dead! I had flattened that sucker when I drove off!

I'm back and ready for Leadville

2008-07-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

So I got my grove back today. If you have read my last few instalments I was without my Fly for almost 3 weeks and I was to only ride my Lemond. I love my Lemond but if I had to choose one bike, it would be a mountian bike for sure. Today was my 3rd ride sence the 15th of June when I dropped my bike off at the shop. Last Saturday I went on a lenghty ride with Joy,Matt, Trevor and matt's brother in law or cousin or, well I cant remember his name to be exact. Over the last month I have met 3 of his cycling family and they all have name that start with "J" , never the less they are all pretty cool.

Todays ride is when I actualy felt solid on a mountain bike again. After work I parked at the Ranger station on Bryant street in Yucaipa, climbed to Loch Leven, did both loops of single track/Santa Ana River Trail, back up to the HWY via Middle Control and back down Loch Leven and ending back at the ranger station. I kept a comfortable pace anddrank like a fish cause it was freaking hot!!!! It took me 2 hours and 29 minuits. Every turn stuck to the trail and my breathing never got out of control. It was so good that I had to log on and tell you all about it right away. I even still have dirt stuck to the sun screen on my legs.

A month from today I will be on my way to Colorado for the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race. It basicaly starts at 10,000 feet and it's 50 miles up to just under 13,000 feet. http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/merchant.ihtml?id=1425&step=2 Yes, my lungs and head are going to burst and I can't wait to get there to do it either....

Dirt never tased so good, really, it was in my mouth!

2008-07-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Toady I was once again back on the dirt with my Fly!!! I had been separated from my love sense the 15ht of last month due to a few broken parts. But that is all behind me now so I went for a ride. Before I left the house I converted my tires to tubeless. I'm a little sick of the whole flat tire thing as of late and this was the remedy. I tried jacking up the air pressure with the tubes and yeah it worked but, I could feel my spine shrinking every ride. BANG BANG BANG, this was the feeling with all that air in the rear tire.

My now noodley arms were getting a good beat down too. So tubeless was the next step. Surprisingly, my tires aired right up with the absence of tubes. It looked like I had made the right choice.

On the trail it became evident really soon that I needed more air in the front tire. Without the tube things were a little squirmy. As a result, I got to taste the earth as it would be in the forest on a hot Thursday morning in July. Now this little snack could also be because I hadn't found one section of trail that wasn't super loose. Or it could be because I haven't been on a mountain bike in almost 3 weeks. Heck, maybe it was a combination of all 3. You know what, I don't care either. I was on my mountain bike and that's all I ever really wanted.

So far being 33 isn't that bad either. I didn't think it would be much different that any other year but I did notice one thing. I weighed my self the other day and I was 185.5lbs. The age on the scale was still set for me at 32 years old. I adjusted it to 33 years old and got in it again. Son of a bitch, I now weighed 185.8lbs! I guess 33 weighs more than 32. Oh fuck it anyway if anything it's just funny. I also seen a license plate frame that described me pretty well. If I hadn't talked to the owner of it I probably would have stolen it when they went to park in my parking lot at work.

So here is how it went down, my B Day that is.

2008-06-28T07:17:00.001-07:00

My first breakfast of the day. I had looked forward to a long mountain bike ride today but my bike wasn't ready in time. So, now it was off to Idllwild. I have become a bit of a Hammer junkie. So far it's the only stuff that seams to really work for me. Well at least that's what I have been telling my self. Free stuff of any kind usually does the trick too.

Big Chris and I get an early start leaving my house at 5:30am. It was getting warm fast and we were able to head up HWY243 before we started to melt. It kinda sucked that the HWY was in the process of getting resurfaced. There were tiny rocks all over the road but, there were no potholes or crack. I guess it was give and take. It was looking to be a rather good climb. I still can't decide what ride was better, Onyx or Idllwild.

The Diamond Zen Center. I will return here shortly. This sign was at the top of a really long road that went way down in the valley. I could see it ended at quite an amazing structure with ponds and gardens. I thought of heading down there but I really didn't want to add any more climbing to the day.

Almost there!

So it seams that there is a natural spring on HWY243. The water comes trickling threw the rocks and out a pipe that has been shoved into the side of the mountain. I was going to fill my bottles till I seen the sign that said, WATER NOT TESTED BOIL FOR 15 MIN'S. I headed on to the next ranger station.

Now I didn't see any people swinging a hula hoop but from the looks of this sign my chances were pretty good. Next time I will make it a point to locate one of these hoop hippin folks and ask for a lesson.

Yet just a little closer!

Now I was happy to see something that actually said Idyllwild on it. I had been climbing for a while and I was beginning to loose interest. Then I cam across this sign. Notice how it says OPEN SPACE at the bottom of the sign. So why in the hell would they ask you to pay to see it???? Is it really so natural to pay to see nature? Damn it if I only had my Mountain Bike. I have never had to pay to see open spaces on my knobby tired bike.

Made it! Yup I had to drop into this little town then climb my way back down hill. UGH!

I didn't even see this little lake till i was headed back down the hill, it was that small. A quick picture and i was gone. Leslie had breakfast #2 waiting for me and I was starting to get hungery

Here in Beaumont you can run into a horse in the bike lane at any given moment!

So the cycling portion of the day was over and I felt like I could eat for the rest of the day!

And so there it was! The grubb I had been waiting for. Leslie had made Chris and I French Toast, Soyrizo and eggs and had plenty of fruit on hand too. I could hardly wait to eat long enough to take this picture!

Track side in the 909. Leslie and I headed off to the K1 Speed indoor go cart track in and it was a freaking blast! Yes folks, she beat me and she beat me bad! Passed me in seconds in the first lap and put me into the wall in one of the last turns in the last lap lapping me in the process!! I think she found her calling!!!

After the big race it was time for a nice cold one. We hit up the local Jamba Juice and I drowned my sadness in a huge fruity drink that gave me one hell of a brain freeze.

After countless snacks it was time to yet eat again. I was actually pretty hungry and all I wanted was to sink my teeth into a huge greasy burger. I sure got my wish. I love this place, endless fries, loads of beer and wine at your finger tips and burgers so tall I have to sometimes dislocate my jaw to chomp on one. I don't eat like this often but I am in my happy place when I do!

Last stop was the movies. We seen that Zohan flick, it was ok. I was expecting more but the real eye opener was this hot pair of shoes I spotted in the candy line. I don't know what the hell somebody was thinking when they made these shoes but, obviously somebody ells was looking for a pair just like them.

Giving away 365 days

2008-06-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow I will be a year older. That's right at 10:15am I will be 33 years old. I don't feel old or even really know what that means. Sure my hair is getting thinner and I hear a few more creeks when I get out of bed in the morning but I don't think it's due to age. I have done quite a lot in my life so far but no where near what I plan to have completed by the time I check out of this place.

One thing that will suck ass tomorrow is that I am being forced to ride my road bike instead of my beloved Superfly. I didn't hear from the shop so I guess my part didn't come in. I had quite a ride planned and I was going to take some cool pictures in a few spots I planned on stopping at. But no, this will not happen. Damn it!!!!!!

I will now ride my trusty Lemond up and over Oak Glen and then head over to the Oaks. Not exactally the epic ride I had planned but it sure will be fun as hell coming back down. Still none the less, it sucks ass!

I have decided to do something in celebration of my 33rd year here on earth. For the next 365 days I will give something away to a complete stranger every day. Sometimes I will extend this gift to a friend but mostly to those I don't know. The way I see it I have everything I need in life. Sure I have my ups and downs but in all, I have it all. So what are you going to give away you may be asking? I have no idea! All I know is that from the time the sun rises to the time it falls I will have plenty of time to find somebody that needs something. It will be my lengthy birthday gift to others. Every week I plan on posting a list of the things I gave away on this blog. So stay tuned cause I think it could get really interesting.

The most disgusting thig I have seen in a while!!!!!

2008-06-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

So I was in the men's room at work and I was already pretty irritated. Men, you know what I'm talking about, the damn whistler!!! For some reason some guys get the overwhelming urge to whistle when they are in a public restroom. The tunes are nothing that you have ever heard before, just random tones that say hey look at me, i'm a whistling Jackass! I'm not sure if this kind of thing happens in the ladies room but I can tell you this, it irritates the hell out of me. I don't know why, but it does!

So I finish up my business and head over to the sink to wash my hands. Just so happens the whistler is done too and is also heading over to wash his hands as well, or should I say rinse them off. I only notice his brief splash under the sink because he was still whistling and I just wanted to remove his lips from his face. I keep pleasant tho and reach for a paper towel. In sync with his random tunes the whistler dries his hands in unison with ever toot.

I let him go to the trash can to toss his paper towel first in an attempt to get him out of my sight as soon as passable. Now stick with me here folks I will be as descriptive as I can. The whistler walks over to the trash can and is making a new tone for every step and body movement. Right step---Whissssstle, Left step---Whhhhhistle, right hand comes up in an overhead motion to toss the wet paper towel in the trash----Whhhhiiiisssstlllesss and release! Amazingly he made it but just barley cause in hit the wall and the edge of the trash can and finally in the can. He whistles a few more quick tones and then his head cocks to the left and in a quick high pitch he zeros in on it!!!!! He notices that next to the trash can leaning against the wall is a small dust pan and corn broom. We use this to sweep up the small pieces of trash in the bathroom and to clean the inside of the urinals. These little brooms are pretty stiff and make getting the corners of the urinals a snap to clean.

He seamed to be rather happy to see these items like he found a small future. What he did next was unreal! He leaned over, snapped a strand off the corn broom, cleaned it off with his dirty fingers and started to freaking clean his teeth with one end of it!!! Son of a Bitch I could not believe my eyes! He was going to town with that strand and I don't think he missed a singe tooth. Grooooss man, what the hell was this dude thinking!!! I have seen some gross shit at work before but I think this takes the cake!

8443' and a puppy too!!!!

2008-06-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

So today was a good day. Willie and I road our bikes up a little hill in your back yard. I wanted to put some long seat time in on my Superfly but it was still sitting in the shop waiting for replacement parts. I had no other choice but to toss a leg over my road bike. Our destination, Onyx Summit. 8443 feet up in the sky in our very own San Bernardino mountains. It was 104 degrees in the valley and at least a cool 80 degrees up in the trees. We got a late start leaving Willies house at 9:45am so we got to feel both ends of the heat, freaking hot and hot! I had never rode up there before and it was a bit of an eye opener. Every turn I was looking for that damn sign that would mark the end of the climb. The very long climb that seamed like it took for ever!!!! I felt great the whole time and didn't skip a beat, thanks Hammer super juice.

I plan on doing this ride two more times before I leave for our Leadvill 100 trip in August. So if you want to join in, just drop me a line.

We finally got to bring Stanley home. He's already getting bigger and getting a personality of his own. So far he's only had a few accidents in the house but hey, he's a baby and these things happen right. The outside kennel wasn't working either, so I took it down. Now he has free run of the back yard and he's much happier. We take him for his secondary shots in the morning and then it will be time for leash training.

My 12hrs.... well 3 and a half, of Temecula

2008-06-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is. I just can't seam to get a break lately when it comes to racing. Something always goes wrong. It's either I either start off feeling great and then I start feeling like crudd, my bike brakes or I crash! Yesterday I was feeling great, better than ever! I was railing the corners and climbing like a champ. I had my nutrition down and was motoring along without a hitch. The course was changing drastically every lap because it was so loose and dry. The same corner never look the same from lap to lap but it was fun as hell anyway. I was 15 min's up over my class and it really looked like I was going to have one of those long over due GREAT DAYS! Near the top of the ridge down hill I was slinging around a corner and WOOSH, I was going down. As a result of my crash I had broken my rear brake cyclider in half. I had also put a huge kink in my chain causing and automatic transmission. My day was done! I spent the rest of my 12 hrs eating and talking to friends. I'm on the hunt for another 12hour to do in the near future so if you hear of anything, please let me know. I made haveonly made it 3 and half laps but once again I learned a lot and am better prepaired for the next one...

2008-06-12T16:34:00.001-07:00

So this is it. These fine products are what will consist of my nutritional intake on this coming Saturdays 12 hours of Temecula. Yummy isn't it. I plan to complete 10 laps of just over 11 miles each. This is going to be yet another test of my fitness and brain power. You see I am fit but I seam to have this problem of racing like a Jackass!

I tend to go out to fast and burn up in a billion pieces. THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!!!! I am to race poor to do it again. I have the plan and damn it I'm going to stick to it, no matter how slow it makes me feel. You racers know what I'm talking about. All you other folks just think of this, you have to learn how to go slow in order to go fast......

And to think some of you thought I was kiddig! Some of my cusomers are nuts!

2008-06-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=6197076 <<<<---Click me! Ok folks look at this shit! this is the kind of stuff I see all day working at the pumps! It's freaking GAS people. As lame as this whole thing is, it does however give me an endless supply of laughter while on the clock. Just yesterday I witnessed a man hit the car in front of him in line in front of a dispenser, put it in reverse and nearly cut me into with his open door. Oh did I mention he was trying to get out of his car while it was rolling away in reverse!! Yes gas is freaking expensive but it's like that everywhere in California!!!! I like to save money too but who doesn't. You know it's bad when you sit in line for 30 min's on a motorcycle to save money on gas. I would rather spend my time paying $4.00 a tank more across the street and doing something better with the rest of my day. Of course if you need a good laugh come sit in my line and watch all the people freak out over the other people in line!

Also please note, you are no safer in the store either. This is a special Costco Nome who we lock up at nite and have stock our shelves in the early morning hours.

2008-06-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

So it's been a tough past couple of weeks. We lost a great member to our family, Leslie's grandpa "Duke". Hands down, one of the greatest people I will ever know has passed onto a new journey. From Duke I learned many things. I always thought I was one to live outside of the box and seek out new things. It wasn't till I met Duke and his life long companion Sherly I seen a real example of this hands on. Together they traveled all over the globe seeing all those things most of us only read about. I only knew Duke for 10 years and every time I saw him I was impressed with his stories and freaking amazing photographs. He could capture images in his lens that were down right awe inspiring! He treated everybody with respect and equality. He helped to shape the lives of young people his whole life and at the age of 83 never stopped giving. I strive to be a little more like him every day. I loved that man and I will miss him forever.

This last weekend I raced in Santa Barbara as I mentioned in my last post. Well plain and simple, I got my ass handed to me!!!! It was warm outside and I was feeling pretty good. I had a good first two laps and then WHACK!!! Like flipping a light switch, I had no power at all. I was cramping and turning square strokes at the cranks. I finished 9th out of 12. Yup, that bad. So what! I was there to have a great time and that I did. The descents were supper bumpy and the dirt stuck to my sunscreen like a coat of spray paint. As usual the Fly hung on every corner. I leaned it and it stuck. I just had zero power to make it climb. I know all the mistakes I made so it was a learning experience indeed. Hopefully soon I will stop learning and start performing. In due time I guess.

After the race Leslie and I had to make a mandatory stop. I did the unthinkable. Now that I think about it, only a few of you have ever known me to the very thing I did! I pounded not one but TWO IN-N-OUT cheeseburgers and a order of fries!!!!!! I even washed it down with a strawberry shake!!!! I was so freaking hungry I completed the task in less than 10 min's.

We also made an additional living space in our house in preparation to the home coming of our new pup. Stanly the Manly. He will go by Stanly and he will be the king of the neighborhood. We are going to pick him up on Sunday after we get off work and I can't freaking wait!!! I had to make sure his training cage was comfy and had plenty of room. I know he won't escape, it took me like an hour to find my way out of here.

25lbs ago!

2008-06-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

I started racing, well ridding mountain bikes back in 2005. Before that I was in the triathlon seen ripping apart my knees. When I was racing Tri I thought I was super fit. I could run mile repeats in 5 Min's and I swam like a fish.

Today while looking in a box in the garage I found a picture of my first Mountain bike race. I noticed something, I was a big dude. Or am I still a big dude? I feel light and fast but I felt that way then too.. As I thought about it more my first idea was to stop eating. Well that's just not going to work because I love food way to much! Yea the lighter you are the faster you are, but at what cost? Today I weighed in at 185lbs. For me it's a real bitch to stay here. I remember at the end of 2006 I got down to 175lbs trying to beat Eric. We were racing Sport class!!!! Hello, what was I thinking?

Over the last few years I have learned quite a bit about training right and I have so much more to learn still. I'm still aware of my weight but now I look back on my good days. On these good

days I wasn't 175lbs. I don't stress on what I eat as much as I did back then. Bottom line I'm going to be competitive no matter what. When my front wheel is on the line and gun goes off I'm going to have a smart race and not one that starts with the hunger shakes.

I'm racing in Santa Barbara this weekend and I have one thing to say. Those feather weights better watch out!!!! LOL

A small glimps of the lame stuff I hear all day in the station!

2008-05-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

I just drove here on fumes all the way from Yucaipa. I thought I was going to run out of gas for sure. I passed station after station to get here.

I used this card here yesterday. (Sam’s Card in hand) What do you mean, aren’t you guys the same?

All you guys do all day is stand around and do nothing. (seconds later) Hey, my card will not work, can I use yours?

This God damn machine will not work!!!!! (Sir you have to enter your PIN number. Well that’s stupid!!!)

Member 1 cuts off member 2 to get to a dispenser. They start to argue and cuss at each other. Member 1 gets out of his car and walks over to the dispenser in question. He lies on the ground in front of it and states, if he’s not next than nobody is getting gas at that dispenser!

Why don’t you sell Diesel? (tell them it doesn’t sell well enough to compete with the truck stops.)
Well that sucks, if I had a diesel truck I would be pissed!

If you keep raising the price of gas it’s going to cost more to fill my tank!

Are you just out here sniffing gas?

Hell the price should be $4.00 a gallon to keep people off their cell phones. If they stop paying their bill then maybe they can afford gas!

We are being ripped off by the A-Rabs!!!! Even if we do have enough of our own oil supplies in Alaska we still need to get rid of all of those A-Rabs!!!

Go inside of your little box over there and lower the price of gas for us hard working folks and raise it for the rich folks!

If I pump it real slow and shake it, it will last longer! (talking about to fuel as they put it in the tank)

(Member comes in every other day.) I fucking hate coming here for gas, you’re not even that much cheaper than the guy down the street. (I ask, then why do you come here?) Because you’re the cheapest in town!

What the hell is wrong with this thing! Why isn’t it working! (Its cause you have to hit the grade button)

I just sprayed that pink stuff on my wind shield, where’s your squeegee? (Container clearly marked, NOT FOR MEMBER USE, DO NOT USE!!)

(member pulls in the wrong way, there are 12 different signs saying not to do so) “Where the hell does it say do not enter?”

(Cone set in front of broken pump) “Does this pump work?”

“Excuse me Sir! Do you work here?”(I wear a yellow vest and have a Costco name tag)

I thought you weren’t allowed to talk on your cell phone while pumping gas? Can‘t you blow this place up like that? (Ma’am if that were true, I wouldn’t be alive!)

Environmentalist, they are the reason for the gas price being so high. If they would let us drill in Alaska instead of worrying about the spotted Mud Duck we could use our own oil!! Fucking Environmentalist!!!!

(Members car is on top of two of my cones) How was I supposed to know the dispenser was out of order? (Well sir the two cones you ran over, the 4’ tall sign you drove by, the yellow bags over the nozzle and the out of order sign were pretty strong clues……) Well I didn’t see any of that!

I just came from Vegas and the gas was no higher than $3.43 a gallon. You know something else, the casinos give you gas credits because they know you have to spend a lot in gas to get there. ( Now I would think that an Empire designed to take your money would think up a way like this to make you feel better about saving pennies on the dollar when buying there gas. Then they herd you to a table or slot machine and take three times of what you just saved on gas away from you!)

“Hey Attendant! I thought you were supposed to be 18 to work here!” (I turn 33 June 27th, thanks)

What do you mean you don’t take Visa!?! I have been using the same card here for the past ten years!(Dumb ass )

Well I used my Discover card here yesterday.(Brother of dumb ass 1)

I don’t understand how you could allow someone to use their phone while pumping gas. That’s like somebody putting a gun to your head. (If I had a gun it wouldn’t be pointed at my head)

I saw on Myth Busters that just by wearing a radio in a gas station, you can explode. (Same guys that said that by shooting a bullet up in the air, it wouldn’t come back down with lethal velocity.)

These damn prices are way too high!!(While pumping gas into his 5.7L V8 Tundra)

Freaking Bush! “someone needs to shoot that motherfucker”

Member comes over to me on one of the islands and tells me, “how I’m I supposed to know what line I’m going to pull into if everyone crowds up the first islands!” as she leaves her vehicle unattended inline.

Why is your station down? You sure did pick a fine time to EFF up my day.

Not open till 2:00pm, if my car runs out of gas your going to push me to the Arco.

You’re not allowed to do this test during business hours, open your station right now!!!!

Every time I go to this pump my car doesn’t work! (Stop coming to this dispenser) No. it’s the closest on to the entry of the gas station!

Pictures in my pocket!

2008-05-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

S0 today I was thinking Of all the pictures in my cell phone. I was thinking how they are of such random stuff and if they really were worth this time it took to take them. I have over 200 of them you know. So below are a few that I have takin over the yeras. I have so many more and I planed on putting all of them up but you know what, that's a lot of freaking work!

Budds, Dirt and dumb people!!

2008-05-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

So as I may have mentioned before, I work in a gas station. Strange things happen when working in such a place. You see all kinds of different folks from all around. Thursday as I was sweeping my station in an attempt to clean up after the messy ones and I heard a shreek! ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME SERVICE OR WHAT!!!!!!! At first I thought it was going to be a disabled person who thinks they own the gas station attendant, but no! This dude was sitting in his car flinging his card around in a large circle like fashion, his face was bright red. Now I did see him sitting in his car for a while when I was sweeping. He appeared to be enjoying his coffee and reading the paper. I was waiting for another member to get pissed at him for doing so, so I didn't say anything to him. Oh no, he wanted me to run over to him and pump his gas. Now where in the hell did he get off! This B#$%H even told me to make it snappy! Snappy, yeah, your freaking neck, ASS! As I walked over to his car to give him a lesson in manors, I noticed his license plate. This dude was from Oregon! In Oregon folks don't pump their gas. They are waited on hand and foot when they pull in to a gas station. Not here pal.

As he tried to hand me his card I just looked at him and asked him if he was disabled and in need of assistance. He snarled and said, NO! Still trying to give me his card by pointing it at me. I asked him if he knew what sate he was in. His face turned redder and he showed me his teeth. I swear I thought he was going to bite me. It was even better when he got out of his car and didn't even know how to get our dispensers going. Of course then I was all to happy to help him. That's what I do, I'm a teacher. I help those in need, even when they need help from them selves.

Memorial Day. Oh what a freaking great day. I rode Loch Leven, Singletrack, 2N10 and back down Loch Leven. I have done this ride many many times over the years. This time it was AMAZING. I met up with Veeze and Robert in the parking lot of Loch Leven at 8:45am. It was super cold and kinda wet, so what we were going to ride our mountain bikes. Robert is the dude responsible for me to toss a leg over the knobbies. I started ridding with him and Team B.S. back in 2003 or so. We have gone all over and crashed all over. I owe most of my happiness today to Robert for getting me off the road. Veeze is also a Team B.S. Member and local Simi-Pro Endurance racer. I actually knew him back before he even thought of owning a bike back when he and my brother used to hang out. Small world if you ask me.

The trails were freaking perfect. If you could think of the one thing that makes you happy and make it 10 times better than it ever has been, that's what it was like. The single track flowed with ease like melted butter making it's way down to the bottom of a bucket of popcorn. The dirt was spot on and grippy to the maxx. It was great. I hadn't rode with these dudes in quite a while so that alone helped to make the day as good as it was. I can only hope so much time doesn't pass before we all ride together again.

Were going to be parents!!! Well we already have two cats so I guess we already are. But now we are going to put a puppy in the mixx. It's a Husky, lab, retriever and something els mix. We will be bringing it home in two weeks and I can't freaking wait. It's going to be so cool to have a trail dog and another pet to come home to. We haven't come up with a name yet, well not one we agree on yet anyway. For the longest time growing up I thought my name was, damn it what were you thinking. So I guess we better come up with something quick so he doesn't get any identity issues.

Back to the station. Today I had everything closed down for testing. No, nothing is wrong with my gas. Just Bi-Yearly testing. Now some people, no matter how hard you try can't understand it when you tell them and show them the station is closed. I heard it all today. "If you don't let me buy gas now you are going to have to push my car down the street to the Arco", Well you picked a fine time time to fuck up my day", "You guys suck, what time will you be open today?", "Blah Blah Blah, you guys are always shutting it down when ever I need gas", "What am I supposed to do now, sit here and wait".... I could go on and on. Give me a freaking break man. Yes gas is expensive, yes I understand you came here just for gas and yes I understand you have no life and live only to come to my station and spend your hard earned government subsidized income check on my gas. I have zero control when the permits are due!

Even with the the signs I had people trying to buy gas today. Driving around my barricades and under my caution tape. What is wrong with your people. Go suck down a hot dog a the food court and call it a day, it's not the end of the world!!!

I hate the cold! I hate the rain! I love to ride my bike!

2008-05-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

So yesterday the rain gods decided to let loos on us and destroy our Thursday nite Crit! This was particularly bad because I so needed to ride my bike. Sure it was a road bike but it is a necessary evil in order to be fast on the dirt! I decided to just suck it up and park it on the couch. I thought for a second, wait I can ride my trainer! Then I remembered that for some reason it had spontaneously exploded last weekend at Firestone! Damn it, what a pisser! Then I thought, hey I will do a killer leg workout on my huge Blue ball. Nope, last time I did that it felt was to easy so I worked hard at it. I payed for that one for the next 4 days. My quads were SHOT! So yes once again the couch looked like a good idea.

The weather was pretty bad, rain, wind, hail and yes even in May, snow! I couldn't believe it either. Hell, we are in California man!!! When I woke up the next morning(today) I got the word from down the hill that yes it was cold but the trails should be nice. So armed with this information I loaded up the Super Honda and off I went. I needed to do a workout that tested my power, like I was with the Crit. I decided to do a dirt time trial using the Crafton Hills College fire road. I spun to the the fire road from Redlands at an easy pace. I got to the dirt and an overwhelming sense of joy came over me. I love to ride my bike!!!!!! It was cold and a bit drizzly. You know that I love something if I'm willing to step out in the cold to do it. I freaking hate the rain, the cold and winter all together!!But if it meant riding my bike then today, I love those things too. At the top of the long climb it was super windy and raining very hard! I had to remove my clear lensed glasses and squint my eyes to keep the mud out. The rain was so thick I couldn't keep my glasses clean. I pushed on because I was in my happy place, on my bike! I got to the top faster than I ever had before. Old fastest time 22 Min's new fastest time 20 Min's.

After my ride another good thing happened. I took a new comer to Mountain Biking for a ride. I don't exactly have a good track record in town when it comes time to show the ropes to the new guys. I took a guy out last year and he fell about 20' off a rocky cliff. He was ok but shortly after he stopped talking to me. Another friend of mine gets hurt almost every time we ride together. It's never my fault but when the story gets out it's always the same thing, you shouldn't have gone riding with Adam. Well my friends, the curse is broken! Today I took John for his first ride. Upon contacting the local Trek Rep I was able to get John an 08 Fisher Paragon 29er. John is 6'4" and the bike he was on fit him like a glove. At 21" it's the biggest 29er he could get. He did great. I was still full of mud from the TT and now we were getting rained on, a lot. We shoved on and I felt like I was being given a free shower. We were at Hulda Crooks and the mud there is like melted marsh mellows. It sticks to everything!

See here, before and after. He's still in one piece!

After my rides I was happy to get out of my soaking wet cycling clothes and put on some cotton! I dropped John off, who by the way had a great time, and wet to get some fuel for my tummy. I went to Kool Catus Cafe and had my usual. Chicken burrito, beans and rice. This really hit the spot for sure. In this picture I am standing next to Carol and in the background is Jerry. These two ladies have been feeding me for years. One time when I check my bank account online it showed that 40% of my checkcard purchases were made right here. Now that's a lot of beans POOF!

I could eat here all day long!

Thoughts, stickers and a man dressed in blue

2008-05-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

On my way into work today I was thinking, what can I look for today to show all of you that will be at least a little bit interesting. Then I remembered, I have the best job in the world and anything I show them they will be appreciate and jealous of!! Yeah, right! LOL

I set out to locate all the different types of stickers I see on cars all day. I will say that all the NOTW stickers out number all the others by 10 to 1. Oddly, the folks in the cars with these stickers are usually the ones I have most of my gas station issues with, how strange is that? So I only took pictures of a few of those. I did this of course in between all my small battles of witt and lameness with the everyday gas purchaser. Now I do have a large pool of great customers too. When they come in we usually spend our small amount of time together looking at all the customers that have all the issues, the ones that make us scratch our heads and laugh.

The above pictures show these kinds of people, a way to proud parent, the town that has one of my favorite singletracks, a person who no matter what stands by the side of a killer, two narrow minded and guided lost souls, a guy who is proud of his daughter, a bug lover and one that sees people as equals. Mix and match as you please.

This sharp looking dude is Rague. He keeps the peace in the parking lot and works like 23 days in a row. Don't let his soft blues fool you, if you get out of line he will give you a death punch and send you to meet your maker!

Now this bugs the crap out of me! How do some of these peoples homes look. When I see people snatch a receipt that was left hanging in the dispenser and place it on the top I loose it. Sometimes they even drop it straight on the floor. I do love calling them out throw. I run over quickly and rapidly say, oh let me assist you! I grab the trash and slam dunk it in the trash can that is less than 4' away. I then look at them and with a rather scary smile on my face and I say, whole cow , it really does fit in the trash can. And to think you must have thought it was to big! Sometimes it freaks them out and other times they get mad. In the end I had a moment of fun calling them out and I also kept that receipt from ending up in the bushes or the storm drain!

One thing about my job I can't figure out is peoples allegiance to my station. They will sit in line sometimes for 20 min's with their engines on, in the heat so they can save a dollar on a tank of gas. Sure in some cases it's worth it when we are .10 cents less per gallon and you have an RV. But even then, if you can afford the upkeep and payment of an RV you have cash to burn anyway.

All of these people saved money today, but got a sunburn on their left arms waiting in line for cheap gas!!!

My favorite RV logo!

Remember yesterday when I was talking about the broken dispensers. They had been broken for 4 days and we were waiting for parts. When the tech got there, he had the wrong parts. Cool thing was he went back and got the right parts. Uncool thing, after he installed them and left, they broke again. This is one of our trusty Techs. He was hunting down the right part. Strange how he found the right parts in about 10 min's when it only took 4 days to locate the wrong parts.

A day in the gas station life!

2008-05-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

So this is where my work day begins. As you can see the large stack of mailbox's are just that, large! Better yet they were not tall enough so they recently decided to raise them on a platform about a foot and a half. They may have been thinking of me when they did this because I'm almost 6'3" and my box is on the far right third from the bottom. Well actually it didn't really help much at all but it is rather funny to watch our one manager who's is hardly 5' tall try and get his mail one spot from the top. LOL That big white box on the ground in front of the mailbox stack is actually a step stool!!!

You may have also noticed the stapler in my box. I also added a picture of it up close to show you my anti theft idea. I labeled it, Don't be a Donkey and this is not your stapler!!!! These things tend to disappear in the office. I figured if anything a would be stapler thief would leave my stapler alone not wanting to be a donkey or at least feeling sorry for me having to go to such drastic measures to preserve the right to my stapler. <----I think that was a huge run on sentence...

My next stop after my comp shop(getting other gas stations prices)I head to my little strip of square footage in the parking lot. Better known as the Data Hut. In this little 4'x5' section of Costco property I am the King! All the electronic and sensing equipment are kept in this small castle of mine. It has an A/C to keep everything cool but in the winter it can get do freaking cold outside that it's warmer in the Data Hut. Small price to pay 3 months out of the year to be able to write my own schedule and stay invisible to the OTHERS. I have everything I need to survive in here for a month. There is even an underground passage that leads to the local singletrack. I can tell you this because without the secret knock and the proper DNA sample, you can't access this secret door.

Ok, here is an issue with the gas station. Both of these displays are from Toyota Tacomas. Each guy was pissed when he left and they both seamed to blame me. Now I'm clocked in so I have to kinda bite my toung. I told the guy on the left, "Dude, gas has been expenive for years and we all knew it was going to just get worse. You have paper plates on this truck so you must have just bought it, dugh" The guy on the right, I just looked at nad shook my head because he was talking a mile a second in spanish waving his receipt in my face. I wish I spoke spanish in situations like this so I could tell him, dude, are there seatbelts for all 5 of those people you have cramed in the cab of your truck?

I gave this lady a high five and pumped her gas!!

Now this little fucker made me scream like a little bitch! I'm sweeping along still half asleep and, AHHHH! Look at the size of that freaking spider!!! Note: I swear for a milla second it was alive and lunged at me. I even poked it with a stick to make sure it was dead, I mean fake. I then placed it in a dispenser that was low on paper and watched as another employee opened the door later. He jumped but was rahter silent, I'm such a bitch! HA HA

Yes, even with visual aides, 15 people tried to use these dispensers today. WTF! I mean really, come on people, how freaking hard is it to understand. No, this does not mean that all the rear pumps in the station are not working, no this does not mean you have to back in to use this island and no, this does not mean if you get out of your car and walk over to me and ask what time they will be open they will magically fix them selves because you are in a hurry!!!!! The best one of all is this guy who repeatedly swiped his card in the reader trying to get it to work. He got super pissed when I let him do this for about 8 Min's and two other people drove around him to the forward pumps. Hell, there wasn't even power turned on to this dispenser!!!

And even still, a few of you may think I do nothing all day. Just take a good look at this picture. Notice how I am guarding the broken dispenser from stupid members. I had to put my self in the line of fire to protect these orange cones from being flattened by soccer moms and old people who shouldn't be driving.

I'm like one of those British guards looking straight ahead while at the same time protecting members from them selves. It's not everybody who can wear a reflective yellow vest with such skill and coolness!!! Not many people know this but the side burns actually help to keep my balance on an 8 hour shift.

Ready!!! ACTION! This is the hardest thing I have to do all day. The cheep fuckers who complain about the price of gas the most are almost always the ones to overfill and spill it on the ground! Quickly with the speed of a three legged cat in a pack of wolves I jump into action. I grab my pink super juice and a scrubber wand and head into action! Many people think the super juice is for their windows. I have written in LARGE black letters, NOT FOR WINDOWS all over this container. So when I see them spray it on their windshields I don't tell them anything. Soon enough they ask for a paper towel. You know, I never seam to have one around at that very moment... How strange is that?

I have been driving no faster than 70mph to save money due to the cost of gas. On my way home everyday I count how many people fly by me shredding dollar bills out of there tailpipes. Today 24 people went by me doing at least 90mph. I look at this as complete waste of fuel and money, not to mention dangerous. Those of you who really know Me are yelling hypocrite! In my younger days I had a few cars that went well over 130mph, and often too. But I'm OLDER now and just a little smarter. And at the tune of $65.00 per tank 4 times a month it stays on 70mph.

The one who gets the Mr. Fast pant award today is this guy with a load of mattresses in the back. He was going at least 80mph and the wind hitting the front of those mattresses was making the front of his truck want to jump off the ground. What a freaking JACKASS!!!!!

I had to get out!

2008-05-20T18:43:00.001-07:00

So it was apparent today when I was at work for only a few moments, I needed to get the hell out of there. If it wasn't for having to pay bills and a Mortgage I would so rather just ride my bike all day. I would not even have to race really, just ride. No, I take it back, I would have to race at least once a month. I guess it's just in my blood. Damn if I could only make money at it.

I'm nowhere good enough at the moment to do such things but who knows, maybe one day. Hey a guy can dream can't he??

Between crazy employees and the crazier customers, I had to go. I went on a really slow ride up at Loch Leven. Nothing special to most folks but this is one of my prime thinking spots. I think it's like almost 3 miles or so to the top from the parking lot. It's all broken up rocks, lizards, snakes and tones of bushes. I'm allergic to a few of these bushes so if you are ever up there with me this is when I look like I have a worm up my butt when I'm ridding. I'm squirming around on the bike trying to avoid those rash giving plants.

I was feeling pretty good and motored on up to the top. It was calm and peaceful but the sounds from my stomach were telling me I had to get some food. Now Loch Leven is either good to you on the way down or down right scary. It was one of those scary days. The kind of days that remind me why I shouldn't ride a mountain bike alone in the woods. It seamed every turn wanted to slam me down on the ground. I had many close calls but managed to stay up. I don't know if I was able to stay up because my skills have improved or just the sure fear that if I go down I would become food for the nite creatures. I was also thinking about the fact that I couldn't afford to replace this carbon frame should I crush it on a rock. Hell, the bike isn't exact ally paid for so it would be like buying two at once! OUCH, that would suck balls!

When the little trip came to an end I had to let loose in a plate full of pasta and some Red Rocket Ale. It was a fine end to another solo rid (it's how I roll ). I still need to get the fly out of the back of the Super Honda and wash my kit. Of course I could leave it in there and ride again tomorrow after work. Seeing as how at the end of my road ride yesterday, my rear tire decided to come apart right down the street from my house. I could get another one after work but it makes for a good excuse to ride the dirt again.

My first post!

2008-05-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

So in all reality I will probably not keep this blog up very often. I have much more better things to do like, wash the car, mow the lawn, feed the cats and most importantly, ride my bike!!!! A few friends of mine have blogs and I read them often. Sometimes I wonder what I would write down if I had a blog. In my every day life I'm a bit of a Jackass, but in only the nicest way. I tend to tell people what I really think and this can sometimes get me in a bit of trouble.

I work in a gas station so I see many lame people all day long. Folks will drive way out of their way to save a freaking penny! I hear it all thew time. " Oh man, I must have passed like 30 gas stations to get here" I like to think it's really because people like to drive out of their way to come and see me. I also get the folks that no matter how you approch them they are going to have a bad day no matter what! They come in just so they can give me or one of my employees crap! Funny how when this happens their pump just shuts off. Well actually it's failer is due to one of us pulling the plug from our switch board. I love this part of my job!

We also get the jerks that, want to leave their engines on, smoke, cut people off, call me names and try to push their weight around because to them I am a low life gas station attendent. These folks have the pump shut off too. The fun thing is I do it right in front of them and tell them to get the hell on! The looks on their faces is priceless!

Also like my friends with Blogs, I race mountain bikes. Someitmes I brake them more than I ride them but I guess that's just how it is. I like the pain and the feeling of completeing something that at times makes me want to barf and give in. This picture here was taken this year at the Fontana National #1. I was having the race of my freaking life and, BANG!!! My rear tire exploded. Well, you win some and you loose some. Never the less I had a great day. You just got to take the hand that was delt to you and keep on truckin!

Last week I raced in North Santa Barbara Co. It was freaking Hot and well, freaking HOT! I came accross in 7th and was happy not to have any bike issues. The next day as I was going over my bike I noticed that I was missing a chainring bolt and all the others were loose. It's amazing that everything held together!

I will let you know at this time I'm a cat lover. This is Alexander and he will kick your ass!!! He's off the street and I think I was a I.E. South Side Vatto Loco Cat Pack! As you can see from the picture he has a squint in his eyes that is always watching my back. I actuallity, he will warm up to anybody with food. He can often times bite you without notice and in the next second be puring on your lap. He's a bit of a head case and is full of emotional issues. I think he sniffed paint while he lived on the street. The first nite we had him he jumped on my lap, stole my prok chop and took a beating with Lesli's shoe. Nothing but love for our kitties.