Day 2 of 2 hour rides

I guess 2day was my 2-fer, of sorts; my 2nd day of 2hr rides... although 2day was more like 2.5hrs (2:22:45), but who's counting? (Aside from me, that is.)

I got another 43.59mi in today, mostly along the coast before the rains began to arrive. I first left the house without my arm warmers, but had to turn around and get them as the temp began to drop as soon as I rolled out the door. The winds were beginning to pick up and the temp was dropping, but the tunes were playing and the legs were turning. Yesterday's ride just never felt quite right, with the hear rate too high and the lungs not feeling all that lung-ish. Today was not a 180 degree reversal, but it was a big difference- even riding solo in the wind.

Yesterday, I just never felt like I was getting things to "click", but today was different. The wind was a real battle at times, but overall I felt so much better and more fluid. The pedals didn't feel like they were fighting me and I felt like I was able to sustain power longer, though I still felt like an old-fat-outta-shape-guy when going uphill. At more than 200lbs, it's clear that I am not in my earlier mountain goat shape of (many) years past. BUT... it was good to feel like I was giving power to the pedals from the base of the climb to the top of it... well, mostly.

The best feeling was that I was able to recover from a less than stellar day yesterday and ride a lot better today. That gives me hope. Maybe, just maybe, I can return to some level of fitness this year. Not feeling completely like crap has me considering racing at one of the local crits- which I have won in the past- on February 7th, 2 days after returning from a week long trip to Nevada, where I will be riding while working. It might be a great way to test how far off the back I am, compared to all those who have been training hard all winter. Luckily, I know the course really well and have a good record of placings there, so I can ride the race more on brains than legs... if I focus. However, sadly, it's a 50 minute race (which I am not prepared for) and it's a 1/2/3/4 field... which means it's gonna be damned fast!

We'll see...

I spent part of the day working with my daughter on a school "Biomimicry" project for Science Night. It's an inventor's project, where you are only limited by imagination and not reality. The assignment was to "invent" something that mimics nature, but does not necessarily have to be "good for the environment"... but is not allowed to be destructive or gross. Easy enough! So, Punkin created Robo Turtle; it's a mechanical turtle that patrols the forest at National or State parks eating litter and transforming it into toys for kids that can't buy their own. The shell is made of solar panels that supply power and recharge a master battery. When it is full, it returns to the home base to be emptied and then returns to look for more litter. It also has sensors to alert the Rangers if there are forest fires. This way, less privileged kids can have free toys, the rangers can concentrate on real work and the parks can stay clean and trash free! (Is it any wonder why I love this kid?)

Tim

On a roll(ers) still...

Today was another very busy day, of course, especially after being out of the office the past two days. The highlight of the day was having a "working lunch" with Lance Camisasca and Chad Battistone of Lifeboat Events. Sure, getting to have sushi for lunch was a big part of it, but I sincerely enjoyed the lunch that Jill Hamilton (Haro MTB/ Adult Brand Manager) and I got to have with Lance and Chad. It is the people you meet and get to know in this industry that make all the difference. Truly. The sushi was good, but best part of all was the conversation... and we all know that I live for conversations.

Since today was such a busy day and I had to leave the office early to get Masidaughter 1.0 from school, there was no lunchtime ride. This meant hitting the rollers tonight, which I haven't done- apparently- in a couple months because I was suffering like a pig! The short 45 minutes that I managed to survive was anything but pretty. The first 10min were bad and I really had to talk myself into staying on the rollers and getting the ride done. My goal going outside tonight was 40min... hoping I'd go to 45, which I did. So, small victory... of sorts. Riding the fixed, I was able to lay down the following- 46:11, 19.0av/ 39.0mx MPH, 14.68mi, 86av/ 178mx RPM, 125av/ 162mx HR. Nothing spectacular, by any means. The first 40+min were pretty easy and I kept things as smooth as I could. Spinning 46x16, holding a cadence of 90RPM was the goal, but I was just short of it. I finished up with one good hard effort and seated sprint... then I rolled up and down the street for a few minutes to cool down a bit. The legs were stiff and heavy at first and finished stiff and slightly less heavy feeling... but it was a good starting point and momentum keeper.

Some stupid stats; weighed 210.6 before the ride and 209.6 after, quads 25" and calves 17.5".

Tomorrow morning is the rescheduled doctor visit for my wife and I. Her first US doctor visit and our first visit with the doctor who will- hopefully- be delivering our daughter... Masidaughter 2.0. We're excited, of course, and a little apprehensive... but we're more excited than not. I have to admit that it's awfully "cute" to watch my 5' wife slowly adapt to being pregnant with the child of a 6'3", 200+lb bike nerd. She's got a slight "waddle" now (and she'd kill me if she read this) and is just beginning to strain to sit down or stand up... but she's still in the pool at the YMCA every single morning. She looks as fit as ever... just a LOT rounder in the middle.

I will leave you with this, since it played on my iPod tonight during my roller ride and is one of my all-time favorites...


Rock on!

Tim

Last race of the year...

Tonight was the last race of the year on our velodrome- or as some call it, the "ghettodrome", due to its overall need for some sprucing up. This year, I think I have managed 3-4 races on the track, with the last being in June or July. After a month off the bike altogether thanks to all the recent travels, riding for a week did not exactly give me the freshest legs imaginable. Still, it was a great night and I really did enjoy being out on the oval with all my racing friends again.


Tonight was another little milestone; my daughter's first time watching me race since the terrible crash last year. Nearly since the minute I got back on a bike and began to ride again, she's been asking when we were going to the track so she could see me race again. All summer, she's been asking and has been really bummed out when I have gone to race without her. So tonight, after I picked her up from school, we headed to the track.

I won't lie- I was a little nervous about having her there and it certainly brought out the much more cautious side of me. I kept thinking, "not in front of her again". Luckily, there were no crashes at all tonight and she had another young girl to run around and play with all night as well. Needless to say, she was a happy 8 year old girl.


It would be easy, as a total starry-eyed dreamer Pisces, to sit here and try to analyze this desire of hers to see me race again; she needed to have closure, she needed to see her daddy get back and complete the journey of recovery, she needed to get over her own fear of what might happen. I don't know the answer and maybe I never will, but I know one thing- she had fun at the track again.



As for the racing... well, it would be a great story to say that I was able to get back on the bike after a month on the road with travels and kick ass. Well, this ain't Hollywood and I'm not Leonardo DiCaprio... sadly. BUT... I did have a great time with some really crappy legs.

1st race was 5 lap Scratch to "seed" for second event- I got second place and advanced.

2nd race with a Miss and Out... and I was out on the first lap. I've never liked the event!

3rd race was a 20 lap Points race and I scored points on the first and second laps... then dropped WAY back to second chase group. Not sure where I finally finished.

In the end, I had fun and I got to share it with my daughter; sometimes life is very good.


Tim
PS- Those Reynolds wheels were awesome! More in-depth report to follow... eventually.

Sunday mixed bag

My girlfriend left for home last night and I took my daughter to her mom's today until next week, so today meant returning to being Sologuy again. This morning was spent with my daughter and breakfast at IHOP. After I took her back to her "other home" (as she always calls it), I shaved my furry legs and drug my fat ass out for the first ride in two weeks since the Lake Mead ride during Outdoor Demo. Between the show itself and then the follow-up afterwards, the past two weeks meant no riding... and I can feel it. Now that the show is over and I don't have any travel for a few weeks, I'm looking forward to riding as much as possible between now and Outdoor Demo East.

This is why people move to San Diego; beautiful blue skies and warm weather in October.

The Shadow rides with me all the time. He likes the new Scandium frame as much as I do too...

Downtown San Diego from across the bay, coming back from Point Loma.

The two weeks off the bike have not made me any fitter or any thinner- that's for sure- but it still felt great to get out for a short ride and loosen the legs up a little. My flexibility in my back is really terrible right now, as I really need to see a chiropractor now that my neck is healed up enough. My neck is sore lately too, so I need to work on regaining range of motion there as well. The plus is that my knee doesn't hurt at all when I ride. My legs seem to be recovering better than I feared- it's the rest of my body that appears to be taking longer. All in all though, I'm ahead of the schedule as far as riding goes and need to just relax a little and let the healing continue without pushing myself to "train" through the winter to be ready to race again in January. I mean... I'm lucky to be alive and not paralyzed from the crash that only happened on April 29th. I need to relax and just let my body do its thing. Really... I do.

Ok, time to hop on my SoulVille and get my grocery shopping done so I can cook my dinner. I'll be back with more Virtual Tradeshow and more random pics from Interbike.

Tim

Weekends are made for riding bikes...

So this weekend Masidaughter and I had a great time together. I spent time working with her on riding her bike- she's got a bike that is actually now too small for her, so I'll need to get cracking there. But I pulled the training wheels off, along with the pedals, and had her using it like a push bike- it's a great way to get a feel for the balance of the bike. She gave it a good try, but it didn't click on the first try today. We'll try again the next weekend she is with me- she said she wants to... and that's promising.


Masidaughter wasn't the only one to get go on a bike ride though... I got a little pedaling action going too!



I hope your weekend brought you as many smiles as mine did.

Tim

Why isn't it Friday yet?

This is one of "those weeks". Been super busy all week; catalog pressures are still high- working on final edit of the copy I finished writing Sunday night, have important meetings tomorrow and Friday with our most important VIP's, been dealing with doctors and insurance and I have Masidaughter this week (though that's a highlight).

The catalog copy needs a final edit and then is done. After this hectic week, I'll also write the short bullets of spec highlights that accompany the photos of each bike model. I also have to work with my Product Manager and the creative folks to lay out the way I want the spec pages to read. All of the bikes have been photographed though and that is a big deal.

Our VIP's are here this week, for meetings that start Thursday. It's always a stressful time because it;s just always stressful when you go over all those budget things and talk about financial performance over the past fiscal year, etc. I am NOT a number person- anybody who knows me can vouch for that- so this stuff is painful for me. However, after the number part of things, I get to cut loose and talk about my goals and vision for the brand and what I hope we can attempt to accomplish in the coming fiscal year. It's a stressful presentation, but I love what I do and the product that will either keep me employed or get me fired, so I get pretty worked up in the meetings.

Got my blood drawn yesterday and my INR values are finally where they want them to be, so I actually don't need to see them for another blood test for 4 weeks! Woohoo! I'm happy about that. But I also find out that my referral information and other things have been getting mailed to an address I haven't lived in for 14 years. Also found out my neck x-rays didn't get ordered. Had to cancel my follow-up appointment with my neurologist because of the x-rays. But now I'm getting the x-rays next week. My crutches are bruising the hell out of me and are making me very cranky. Plus tonight, cleaning and re-dressing the Bionic Thumb, I moved the pin again... and nearly barfed and then passed out. I managed not to... but it was close, especially after watching it bubble like crazy when I poured hydrogen peroxide on it. Ugh...

The doodlebug is with me this week, which certainly improves my outlook on life, but it does add an extra layer of stress in my current condition. She's on summer vacation, so this week she is going to camp at the YMCA. It's swimming camp, so she's in heaven because she loves to be in the water. It just means very busy mornings getting her and I both ready for work and then that mad dash out the door. But... at night she is like a tranquilizer and I can feel a lot of stress just falling away.

Ok, tomorrow is another big day so I'm off to bed. Wish you all well.

Tim

Ramblin, ramblin man...

Yesterday was Father's Day and I only realized that Saturday at my nephew's birthday, as I still though this was May... because I've been trapped in a timewarp for the past 7 weeks.

Masidaughter and I spent the afternoon together at my mom's place, where she splashed in the pool and was generally very happy. It made for a very mellow and relaxing day. Nothing big, nothing stressful... just time in the water for her and a little time in the shade outside for me.

Back at my desk- finally!

Today was my first day back in the office since the crash. Tomorrow (6/17) will mark 7 weeks since the crash. Wow. WOW! I got up and tried to get out the door matching my normal schedule, but it was hard... but I managed to get to the office only about 5 minutes late (which is early for me). I hate driving, but I admit that it felt good to get my mobility and freedom back.

I managed to make it through an entire day too- I only had to go lie down on the couch in the art department twice and elevate my leg to get the swelling to go down. I only got one headache that required ibuprofen and I didn't have the sudden critical need to nap. In other words... I MADE IT!

Aside from the joy of making it back to work, I also had the great pleasure of looking at those new sample bikes finally. Oh man... these are some really gorgeous bikes. I almost pity the other bike companies out there... almost... (wink). I gotta say, the new Dura Ace 7900 group is growing on me more and more all the time. I wasn't crazy about the cranks at first, but...

And yes, as always, I'll leak a few spy shots to you later... promise.

I got a all from Brad Pitt's people... they wanna talk...

On the way home, I stopped in the neighborhood and got my first haircut in 3 months... and now feel a little less grotesque. Between all the leg and facial hair AND a truly unkempt head, I've been losing my mind. So today marks a nice milestone; first day back in the office and a new haircut! It was a good day...

(I'll talk about the cool goodies that were waiting for me next post...)

Tim
PS- I wore the SockGuy Dummy socks today too... thanks to my great friends there.

More news and whatnot...

Let me see- where did I leave off? Hmmm...

Friday was my big day with my GP Doc to discuss moving forward with my injuries and treatment, etc. 1st topic was my blood test results from Thursday; my "INR" (a test to see how long it takes your blood to form a clot) readings are targeted to be between 2 and 3. My test results came back as a little over a 4... meaning that my blood is currently too thin to form a clot in a reasonable amount of time. It also means that I get bruises by even thinking about bumping something- I now have a slight black eye again on the left because I was rubbing my eye after getting something in it. Great! So with that news, we lowered my medication amount a lot (like I didn't take any for two days) and I'll be getting tested again soon. Oh yeah- and I'm supposed to keep an eye on any unusual bleeding... um... yeah.

2nd order of business was the whole orthopedic doctor nightmare. Once again, I was being told I should just go back to the original surgeon, but that would end up taking me longer to get treatment (ie removal of the pin in my thumb), so my Doc got me a referral that day to another ortho (who, as I later found out when I got home and tried to get an appointment, is leaving on vacation for 2 weeks). BUT... the ball is at least finally rolling. FINALLY. But it does sound like the other possible ortho option might work and I should be able to get the pin removed soon... hopefully.

Best news of all though; my Doc told me to just go buy a soft collar, rather than waiting for the approval to show up in the mail. So I did! Mom went out and got me a new soft neck collar and I am now no longer suffering with the hard plastic cervical collar that was giving me such terrible headaches from the the plastic in the back rubbing my head all day long. This also means that I can now legally drive again! And... I DID! Today, after my family get-together, I drove my sister's car home with her. I now have a slight headache from wearing the new collar all day today, but this is from the fact I haven't been using the muscles in my neck to support my head for the past 6 weeks. The muscles are sore, but they'll get better. And in another 2-3 weeks, I won't need a collar at all. YAY!

So now, I am hopefully just one appointment away from getting the pin in my thumb removed and having some more x-rays/ MRI's done on my knee and elbow. This might finally represent a great step towards moving forward with my life. Monday, when I return to the office, I'll actually be able to drive my own car. It's not like riding one of my many wonderful bikes, but it is one really huge step towards recovery... and I'm very excited.

Today was another fun day for me because it was the birthday for two of my nephews; my two sisters had their sons on the same day, just one year apart. Today Jack is 2 and Gianluca is 1. Masidaughter and I went off to my sister Sara's house for a great day by the pool- filled with sun, food and fun. With the past few weeks I've had- today was a welcome event.

Masidaughter in her birthday party dress...

Gianluca- 1yr old today.

Jackson- 2yrs old today.

Masidaughter- out of the pool just long enough to experience a birthday cake sugar high.

Happiness is a pool full of happy children!

We had an excellent day today. The nephews were quite happy and the pool was always full of laughter... exactly the kind of day I needed.

Tim

She's 7 now.

It's hard for me to believe that Masidaughter turned 7 years old at 6:34Am yesterday. It seems like just yesterday that I was able to cradle her tiny head in my palm and her feet would barely reach my elbow.



They really do actually grow up much faster than you think. These 7 years have gone by so fast! She's gone from riding in her trailer to riding on her Trail-A-Bike behind me. The next step is the removal of training wheels and a whole new world of fear and excitement for me. First grade is wrapping up now and soon she'll be in second grade and then college.

Sometimes when I look at her, the world seems impossibly big and frightening and other times it seems full of hope and endless possibilities. Her brother will be 16 in October and he bounces through the world like most boys do- a few scrapes here and there, but he gets back up and jumps back in. My daughter is the same way, but I admit the cliched daddy fears of a father for a daughter. I'm not saying it's right, but it's still there.

For now, I'm content to simply watch her grow. Tomorrow I'll go back to being terrified. But for now... she's 7 now and fills her daddy's heart with great love and pride.

Happy birthday, baby girl.

Tim

That's a wrap!

So the weekend is done now. Came and went without much sound or fury, but it was a good one just the same.

Went for a nice ride both Saturday and Sunday with Masibestfriend. Both days the pace was nice and painless. Since neither of us have had the chance to ride a whole lot the past couple weeks, it was nice to get out and just log some miles and talk. Due to my schedule and my geography, relative to my teammates, I spend the bulk of my training time alone... so riding with my "brother from another mother" is always something of a special occasion.

Both days were ridden at a nice, mellow pace but we did hit a few hills along the way and also rode a little "tempo" in a few spots... just because. As is always the case too, when we get together to ride, we do poke each other a little... but just a little. I have to say that it is nice to see him getting stronger all the time. He's getting closer to being officially ready to be my leadout man. The next phase is going to be working on the 2-man team time trial. Then he'll be a Flying Squirrel!

The Masidaughter had a great weekend with her mother and played all day at the beach today... which is her favorite place on earth. She LOVES the beach and the water and is a true child of the sun. I picked her up today and she was glowing from her day at the beach. She got a little pink from the sun, so a little Aloe lotion should do the trick. She's sleeping now... snoring loudly from her exhaustion. Her brother, Masison, is looking like a shaggy almost-sixteen-year-old... which totally freaks me out. I mean... 16? 16! I'm just not ready... NOT READY. But he's a great young man and I know I have little to worry about... but I do anyway. Ugh...

If all goes well and I can get organized enough to manage my time and prepare in advance (which is always a bit suspect), I'm going to try to get to the track and race again this week. Masidaughter loves going to the track and has been asking when we can go again (another reason why I love her so much). Squirrel is my Team Director and dropped off a new long sleeve skinsuit this weekend, so I have a little added motivation to get out and race.

I'm not sure if it is a good or bad thing that we have a new weight bench at work now. My boss, Joe Hawk, has allowed us to create a little fitness center in the warehouse- "Average Joe's"... straight out of Dodge Ball. It currently consists of just a very nice weight bench, a bunch of weights and several dumbbells and curl bars. But... the bench also includes a very simple leg extension apparatus... which spells trouble for me. Given the chance, if I could, I'd move my desk down to the fitness area now. I am totally addicted to leg extensions. I am powerless to resist the allure of sitting down and popping off a couple quick sets of extensions any time I am down in the warehouse... or have a free moment. A guy I used to have some serious sprint races against, and who once rode for the National team, told me that "old sprinters never die, they just lift more weights". I thought it was kinda stupid at the time, but now I identify with it far more than I'd like to. I'm either going to have some massive quads soon, or I'm going to shoot my knee caps across the warehouse and have to use a walker. Not sure which is in my future yet. Thank God we don't have an incline leg press!

Tomorrow morning is the beginning of yet another week of much business. I hope you all enjoyed your weekends as much as I tried to. Here's to Monday delivering a mercifully easy week!

Tim

Earth Day 2008

Today was the local celebration of Earth Day- though it is officially on 4/22 (Tuesday).

Masidaughter and I rode the bike to the park today to participate in the Earth Day parade at Balboa Park with her school again this year. Needless to say, the levels of cuteness were off the charts and could not possibly be measured.

The Princess traded in her crown for some face paint- which she did herself- so she could be a tiger today... even though the school's "official" agenda was saving the oceans (it was hilarious hearing her scream "save the oceans" from behind me, all the while dressed like a tiger).


Tim

Easter Goodness...

Today was Easter, if you were not aware. I'm not a particularly "religious" man, not in the traditional sense at least, but I do give thanks on days like today; the weather was beautiful, I was with my daughter, we went for a bike ride, I spent time with my family, I gave thanks for love, I took my first ride in my new team clothing and I ate some very delicious foods (which meant I took a second ride on my rollers this evening to burn some calories). All in all, if there truly is a God- he smiled on me and my family today. For that, I am beyond thankful.

Masidaughter posing happily with her favorite new friend... which makes Masidad exceedingly happy!

Oh yeah... super cool new team kit for the year! A very big kudos to the Blue Squirrel for another fantastic kit design. It's a kick ass kit and I hope to get fit enough to make it go fast this year.

A nice cool pic of the two of us in the middle of downtown San Diego. I asked Masidaughter if she wanted to go home, or if she wanted to head through downtown and keep riding... she opted to keep riding. My heart is still skipping...

It was a really beautiful day today and the Bay was the perfect backdrop for the cutest co-pilot in town.

It's a good thing she has a sense of humor- she'll need it with me as her father.

I just had to do the generic team rider shot... I couldn't pass it up. Dig the kickass team cap too!

There was an Easter egg hunt for the kids...

... and one of the kids got older...

... but he can still blow out candles!

In the end, it was a great day.

I hope that your Easter/ Sunday/ weekend was equally enjoyable and that you had a little something to be happy about too.

Tim