Just Another Blog

Just an Update to waste time!

2009-03-22T17:54:00.002-06:00

I just thought about this blog and i'm sure no one reads it anymore, but why not vent a little on it.

I haven't ridden my bike in over 2 years. I have also lost the one person that I love the most in the world. She has moved on to better things and I have been left behind. That happened about 8 months ago. The past 8 months have been life changing and very hard. I never thought it would come to this, but it did. Hopefully things will all work for the best in the end. I have started to ride again over the past couple of weeks, but hours will be hard to come by with work. I am teaching at my old high school (P.E). Nice to be making some money now!

It is spring and time for newness!!

2007-07-16T04:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the boys did well in the U-23 crit. Phil was off the front many times throughout the race covering moves as well as Guy. The crit was fast and there wouldn't be any moves going off the front for very long. It came down to a field sprint at the end. Dave and Guy were right in the mix at the end coming in 11th and 13th.

Elite race in Five hours. Time to drink some more water and have a cup of joe.

Yours Truly...

Race update

2007-07-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

I'm here in Seven Springs just hanging out at the moment. There has been a lot of that lately. The boys did well in the U23 Road Race on Friday. Guy was showing his form, climbing with the best of them to finish up 12th and Phil was up there in 34th. A break got away and Slipstream just couldn't quite get it back in time. The time trial was yesterday and Guy threw down again, this time pulling out a top ten finishing up in 9th place after holding the fastest time for a little while. Phil also had a solid ride coming in 14th. Chris and I also raced the TT yesterday in the rain. We both had decent rides coming in 19th and 22nd. Chris is showing some late season form, so that should be good signs for Toona in a week.

The U 23 guys race tomorrow for the crit national championship. I think we truely have a good shot at taking that title home with us. We've got some fast finishers on the team and guys that can ride well out of a break so it will be fun to watch. Monday is the Elite Road day and then we'll head back to Kutztown. I'll get and update on the crit tomorrow.

Yours Truly...

Nats 07

2007-07-11T06:27:00.000-06:00

It's time once again for the national championships to begin. The U-23 boys launch off tomorrow for the road race. We only have Phil and Guy for the road race, but I'm confident in both of the them to pull out some good results. Sounds like we have some condos right on the road course so that should be pretty nice accomidations.

Kutztown has been nothin but hot for the past couple of days. If you don't sit perfectly still infront of a fan you will most likely start to sweat instantly.

It's time for one more cup of joe and then it's time to get out of here. Wish us luck in Seven Springs.

Yours Truly...

Droppin' Like Flies

2007-07-09T16:09:00.000-06:00

Well I guess you can tell when the season of racing starts to catch up with riders. We are down a couple of guys in a matter of days. Fitchburg took Dave down with a back injury that he is still dealing with and then a couple of days ago our youngest rider Andy came up with a hernia. He left today to head to Kuhl's house for a flight out of Harrisburg tomorrow to get surgery at home. I hope he heals fast.

Other that the loss of a couple of team members, things have been going ok. I'm still trying to fully recover from the double race day on Saturday. I think I'm going to take the day off tomorrow. Friday is the big day for the TT so I want to be well rested. The heat has finally hit the east for sure. The house has been unbearably hot for the past couple of days. I think only a couple of more days of mid 90's and then it's supposed to cool back off a little bit.

Here are some pics of the cubical I have for a room. It works out well though to have my own space. Oh yeah, It's so small, that's my walk in closet.

Yours Truly...

NYC

2007-07-08T05:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was another action packed day of racing. The weekend started out by driving up to New York City on Friday and we crashed in Baz's one bedroom apartment in Manhattan. We got the 4 am wake up to get ready to race in Central Park at 6 am. I didn't sleep too well from 2:30 am on so it was nice to get up. We raced the Louis Maltease where we had some decent rides but it was a team race and we didn't finish up too well as a team. We were done racing by 7:45 am or so, cooled down a bit and then headed back to Baz's for some bagels and then bolted back to Kutztown. The drive from the city is about 2 hours, so it isn't too bad. We got back and rested up as much as possible before we were off on the racing train again town to West Chester for the Iron Hill Crit. Same status on that race as well. It was a super fast 1 K course that was in the dark for most of the race. I'm feeling it this morning, but hopefully that last effort will set things up nice for Nationals.

Speaking of Nats, we are heading out on Wed. to check things out for the TT and Road Race. Here's a pic from Time Square out of the UBuild It sprinter van.

Yours Truly...

Blackout 07

2007-07-03T08:52:00.000-06:00

We made it back from Fitchburg late on Sunday night. I think it was around 2 am as a matter of fact. Not much went on yesterday, just unloaded the sprinter van that was packed to the gills with bikes bags trainers ect...

Last night was a little interesting though. I went to bed as usual around 10 and was laying there and the lights on Main St. flickered only for a couple of seconds and then everything was fine. A couple of minutes later the power went off totally and stayed off. I was sweating like crazy so I decided to get up and investigate what was up. I went down stairs and found Guy already out on the street along with the entire town. The power was out all over town. We walked down the street to the flashing lights of a cop car and asked what was up. As he was putting down cones to block the cross street he said that someone hit a power pole. We decided to walk up the street to check it out and sure enough a power pole was bent over slightly, but there was no car in sight. Looked like a hit and run. The power stayed off for about another hour and then came back on. Big excitement in Kutztown, that's for sure.

Time to do some much needed laundry.

Yours Truly...

Race Update

2007-06-30T05:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the second stage here at Fitchburg and we had yet another good day for the team. Everyone was really active during the race and had to be with the multiple splits that would occur in the race each lap. Phil was in a two man break for many laps and we had Guy finish super strong in the stage for 4th place. We also had Dave in the top 10 as well. Things are going well and hopefully we can keep it up for today.

Yours Truly...

Fitchburg TT

2007-06-29T05:25:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday was the Fitchburg TT that was yet again different for this year. The course was pretty tough with most of the race being a gradual uphill with some short quick descents in the middle and then mostly down hill for the last mile or so. Guy had a great ride and ended up in 7th for the stage. BIG congrats to him, he is riding really well right now and hopefully we can keep him up there for the GC. Everyone else seems to be riding well so it should be a good week.

We don't race until 4 again today so there will just be some rest for most of the day and then try to wake the legs up later on this afternoon. I'll try to get some results up tonight with a short update.

Yours Truly...

More Crits

2007-06-25T15:44:00.000-06:00

Well, we've made it past the crit season for a little while. Rochester was another great race though. I think that is one of my favorite races of the year. Bottom line in that one is Navigators. Everyone seemed to be riding well, but the camera messed up for the finish so 13th through 50 something has the placing of 13th. I don't know what will happen with that or if it'll get fixed.

Yesterday was another big money crit in Providence where Guy and Gavi got into the break that lasted for 40 laps of a 50 lap race. Dave finished up in the money, but no other great results to speak of. Fitchburg starts of Thursday so we are hanging out at Gavi's apt. on the other side of the George Washington Bridge in NJ. We rode across it this morning and then into Central Park for the ride today. It's hard to believe that humans cam make those buildings and bridges. One more day in the City and then it's up to Mass. I promise to get bateries tonight for the camera. I know a blog with no photos is lame.

Yours Truly...

Resting Up

2007-06-21T13:57:00.000-06:00

Today has been classified as a rest day. Yesterday was the cracking point. I only got in about 3 hours and hit the point of no return. The legs and mind just weren't in it and I've hit the point were I just feel totally depleated. So which leads me to the conclusion that it's time to take a little rest. That was the original plan up until Rochester, but the rest is going to be a little more serious. Hopefully all the training with some rest will play out like I had hoped it would for the next up coming month of racing. Time to put the legs back up!

Yours Truly...

2007-06-20T08:46:00.000-06:00

Not too much has been going on lately. Just hanging out in the house trying to stay cool. Yesterday was extremely hot. Sitting in the house was just enough to keep a steady stream of sweat on the forehead. It rained last night so that cooled things off a good bit for today.

Big weekend or block I guess you could say. We head up to Rochester to race Saturday for a night crit and then head to Providence the next day for a crit Sunday evening. The only problem with that is that Providence is 6 hours from Rochester and Rochester wont be over until 10:30 at night. Anyway, after Providence we stay in the northeast up until Fitchburg. Should be fun.

Yours Truly...

Hershey Park

2007-06-13T06:06:00.000-06:00

On Monday the entire crew from the house went to Hershey park to get in some roller coasters and some relaxing time, but that didn't really happen. We walked about 5 miles and it seemed like everyone was just a bit sluggish, but it was still a good time. The park was good with a combination of coasters and water rides that just don't get you a little wet, but soaked.

Yesterday was just a couple hour ride scouting out my ride for today and a movie later in the day. Me and Loren went and saw Shrek 3. It was pretty good and funny, but maybe just a little too much tacky funny stuff. Anyway, I'm not a very good movie critic so I'll leave it at that.

Big day today with a double day ending it with the Derby tonight, should be fun.

Yours Truly...

Tour of High Bridge

2007-06-11T18:17:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we headed over to New Jersey to do the Tour of High Bridge, road race. It really wasn't much of a road race, but more of a circuit race. It was a 3.3 mile lap and we did 11 or 12 laps (I don't really remember). The course was pretty cool, with a steep pitch that had you grinding gears, a bit of flat, and then it kicked up again. The descent off of the climb was really rough with fresh patch jobs to try and make it better, but I think that usually makes it worse. The rest of the course was rolling and wooded so it made the race fun.

From the gun Guy went and got a good gap instantly and held it for a lap and a half before team member Robbie G. bridged up and the rest of the field soon after that. There were multiple attacks that were going left and right and we always had at least 2 Sakonnet guys in every one of the moves. I think it was on lap 3 that Phil and I found ourselves in a move with 3 other guys and got a good gap. We all started to work well together and the gap stayed around 40 seconds for the most part. On the last lap Phil rode like a champ attacking at every lull in the pace. Roger Aspholm attacked and I followed not realizing we had a good gap with about 700 Meters to go and then I came around him in the finish. It was a good day for us with the guys in the field patrolling every move that tried to go. Phil came in for 5th and Guy took 2nd in the field sprint for 11th. Thanks to all of those guys. Hopefully there will be more updates like this in the next up coming weeks.

Yours Truly...

Reading Crit

2007-06-08T04:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the Reading crit and things went well. The GUTT came through with a 2nd place in the sprint. This kid can really lay one heck of a sprint down. Hopefully someone can climb up on the top spot soon.

I'm still debating whether to go up to New Britain, CT for a crit tomorrow or just stay in Kutztown and get another long day of training in.

I think Loren and me are going to head to Hershey Park on Monday with the rest of the crew here in the house. That should be a good time if it's not too crowded.

Yours Truly...

Big Day

2007-06-06T04:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a huge day. It started out at 6:45am on the bike for a four hour ride to be back by 11am to start getting ready to pick up Loren from the airport. The ride was sweet. I stayed in the hills the whole time and stayed twisted around half the time, but it all worked out. So, I made it back picked loren up, drove back to the place and took a nap. Then woke up and went on another ride to complete the double day. Got back from that ride and made some grubb and then headed out again in search of an air matress from Loren. In the process of matress hunting, we ended up in Allentown and at the Wegmans. This place was the best food store i've ever seen. They had anything that you could imagine. I'll make the trip back to allentown for sure. We then came back and crashed.

It finally cooled off a little here in PA so that makes the place a little more comfortable. Today is just some openers and rest for the race tomorrow in Reading. Should be a good training day tomorrow with Reading being about 15 miles away. Ride there, race, ride back should do the trick. Wish us luck!!

Yours Truly...

Lancaster Crit

2007-06-04T05:47:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was the Lancaster crit for the amateurs and then the road race for the pros. It started to rain just as they blew the horn for our race. Within the first 10 laps there had to have been 40 crashes. The roads were unbelievably slick. It wasn't even like we were going real hard into the corners and guys wheels were just coming out from underneath them. Luckily no one on the team had any major mishaps except Phil. Everyone rode really well. We had 4 guys in the break in the last 15 laps or so and Dave G. took 5th and 1st in the U-23 catagory.

It's been raining ever since it started yesterday and is supposed to rain most of the day today. I had a rest day planned today and I think it might work out nice. I'm starting to feel the racing in training so I thought today would be a good day to take some rest.

Loren flies in tomorrow around noon, so I'll have to resume the riding tomorrow and make it a double day. I love the double days.

Yours Truly...

Summer Time

2007-06-01T06:20:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was one of the hottest days so far. The bank sign was reading 95 by noon. Guptill and I got out for a good ride yesterday just checking out all the roads and trying not to get to twisted around. We got a little discombobulated a couple of times, but it all worked out in the end.

Looks like Loren isn't starting work until June 18th so she might me coming to Kutztown for a little while in the near future. That would be pretty cool.

Congrats to Joey Thompson, he seems to be riding pretty strong at Mt. Hood right now. Keep it up!

The rest of the boys did the T-Town crit lastnight and it sounds like they did pretty good. Alright that's all I've got for now.

Yours Truly...

Good Racin'

2007-05-31T05:41:00.000-06:00

Well, we got in some more good racing yesterday in New Jersey. It was a crazy crit course with 8 turns in it and was a bit hairy sometimes, but better than I thought it would be. We had 3 guys place in the money so that was good. The field was pretty stacked with Navigators, Colavita, and Rite Aid all bringing full squads.

The next race is in Lancaster PA on Sunday. I think we could pull out a win there, because we have to do the 1-2 amateur crit. Everyone is riding really well so it should be a good race.

Not much else going on right now just training and trying to keep cool as the summer time heat starts to kick in. My camera is dead so I'm going to get some new bats. to put some kutztown pics up.

Yours Truly...

Mt. Hood Results

2007-05-30T06:19:00.000-06:00

Check out the Mt. Hood results from the prologue yesterday. Some guy from california giant killed it, beating O'neal by 12 seconds over a three mile course. O'neal said he was in his 58x11 most of the time and averaged 518 watts and this guy still crushed him. I don't know all about the 58x11, but that is still crazy.

We head back to New Jersey today for some more crit racing. The plan is to head out with some of the Colavita guys this morning for a little spin because the race doesn't start until later this evening. It's pretty cool to see tons of pro riders here in this little town in PA. Wish us luck tonight.

Yours Truly...

Come Back

2007-05-29T05:55:00.000-06:00

Lets see, I think the best thing to write is that I have had some serious knee trouble that had me sidelined for about 4 1/2 weeks. I've been back on the bike for a little over 2 weeks. I'm in Kutztown PA again and the team house is a little better than last year. Did tour of somerville yesterday with the boys and I felt like the team raced well. No big results but everyone was aggressive all day. The first race back was a little rough, but I hope to gain some fitness back before Nationals.

Internet is a little weak here, but I'll try to start updating more.

Yours Truly...

Warning!!! Long Post

2007-04-07T07:34:00.000-06:00

Here it goes. When i got back from Redlands it was time for a little rest after a 4 week racing block in California. The weather here was awsome. It was almost hot at some points. What better way to start of a little rest than with some fishing. We had a good couple of days with some giant crappie's. Talk about some good groceries! I had to waiste some time fishing because turkey season didn't open until the 31st of March so i had some time to kill.

The opening day of Turkey season i went out with my dad. We got out to the spot we were hunting before daylight and set up. I started to get light out and the turks started talkin. We listened to them for a long time gobblin their heads off and could never call one up close enough. My dad had to be in Atlanta by noon so he headed out of the woods a little early and i stayed in for a bit longer with no success. I finally came back to the house around 10:30 am and was going to do a little shopping, drove by the feild we were just hunting in and it stood full of turks. So i turned the car around and headed back into the woods. On the way out to the spot 4 jake's (Young males) ran in front of me so I took a shot. I missed and went on out to where i was going. Got out to the feild and sat for a while calling, but nothing happened. I went back to the house, rode for a while, went to the store and then headed back out to the woods for the third time to try my luck. By this time it was about 3:30 in the afternoon. I got out to the field and set up. I called a couple of times, nothing. About 30 min later called some more and then all of the sudden 2 big toms come walking into the field. I called to them and they acted like they didn't hear me, so i called a little louder. After a little louder calling that got their attention and they slowed down. Next thing i know jakes start coming into the field right toward me. This got the toms attention and they started headin my way. They didn't want the jakes to have first cracks at the ladies. So the toms slowly make their way right to me as i called to them. They were standing right next to each other and i blasted. Got 2 in one shot!!! Dang, can't beat that!

Riding has been going so, so. Took some rest like i said and know trying to get some good miles in before Virgina. Sorry for such a long post

Yours Truly...

Bad Luck

2007-03-26T08:24:00.000-06:00

Well the Redlands classic is officially over. Yesterday wasn't too bad except for a little bad luck. It started out with a flat with about 5 to go on a very hard course. Got back up to the group just in time for the climb again to see Phil Zijeck attacking. Got into the main peleton and was ready to just finish up the day and on the last lap coming back into town with about 7 K to go my chain decided to break. I coasted for as long as possible and then just had to pull over and ask the moto if Mavic would bring me a spair bike because mavic was no where to be found. He called into the Comesaire and they said to just bring me down. In the end I got picked up with 5 K to the line and the officials were nice enough to give me the time of the group that i was in.

I'm a little disapointed in myself for not getting the job done. The goal was to pick up some NRC points, but I fell 6 spots short. The group that i was in had about 10 or 11 riders ahead of me on GC, but thought that attacking them wouldn't look good and they would have just laughed at me if i did and my chain broke a lap latter. I don't know, it's a taugh-e. Alright enough of that. The California trip is officially over and i have a flight back to Tennessee today. It will be nice to be home. It's always perfect back home this time of year and the Turkeys are gobblin.

Yours Truly...

Oak Glen

2007-03-24T07:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterdays race was Oak Glen and man is it a tough one. The climb doesn't seem that steep driving it, but I felt like I was standing still yesterday. I was hoping for a little better finish, but there is still a lot of racing left to go. Maybe I can crack the top 40 in the GC to pick up some NRC points.

Congrats to Corey Collier. He had a great race yesterday. He is killing it right now.

Late start today, not until 3:30.

Yours Truly...

Pics

2007-03-21T09:06:00.000-06:00

Well it's Wed. morning and it feels like we should be racing today, but we still have another day to recon the TT course. The weather has taken a turn for the worse, but i think it's supposed to be nice by tomorrow and stay that way for the rest of the racing days. Low 70's and sunny, can't beat that.

Here are some shots from last week> along with some of the stuff from the primes last weekend

Yours Truly...

Relands

2007-03-20T17:58:00.000-06:00

We made the trip down to Redlands today. LA was unreal. You couldn't even see anything because of all of the polution. Should be fun to race in. Did a couple of laps on the last days road race. That course is crazy with all of the turns. It's like a 5 mile crit. Alright, maybe another update later if the host house has wireless. We can't go there until 6 so we're just waisting time.

Yours Truly...

Crossed Fingers

2007-03-19T12:19:00.000-06:00

Well, it's yet another Monday and that means taking it easy. Did the Sequioa Classic TT and then did the cat 2 crit. Did the 2's crit to try and pick up the last 2 points in order to get the 1 upgrade. I ended up second, so the next step is talking to the upgrade man and my bro is already on that. Hopefully I'll find out today. Picked up some decent money and about $400 in Primes. I'll put some pics up of the goodie bags i picked up. That's it for now.

Yours Truly...

Visalia

2007-03-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

This post has been unbelievable. First we are staying with a host family here at the race and they have a sweet place with a huge backyard, swimming pool, dogs, food, but no wireless, so we walked around the house for a while yesterday and Guy found some wireless out on the back deck. I tried for an hour lastnight to get these pics up, but they just wouldn't upload so i finally got them up this morning.

Check out the results from the race in Chile that Guptill is at. Looks like some good guy there with names like Mancabo in there. Good luck man!

Pre ride the TT course for tomorrows race. It sounds like a hard one with some climbing in the first 5 K and the last 5K (Out and back).

Yours Truly...

Picture Post

2007-03-13T21:31:00.000-06:00

This was in the first hour of my trip back home to Tennessee a couple of weeks ago on the way down through ABQ.

Blooms from the street we live on in Cali

A little bit smoggy, but not too bad.

More to come, Maybe?

Yours Truly...

2007-03-12T19:42:00.000-06:00

Finished up the Central Valley Classic yesterday with a hard crit in the Tower District of Downtown Fresno. There was a 180 in the course in which every person at the race was standing to watch the carnage. There was quite a few crashes and they were all in the 180. The Time Trial the day before was one of the worst that I have ever done, that is both mentally and physically. I wasn't there in either of those categories and I think it was more mental than anything. Oh well, it's early in the season and hopefully these past couple of races with get the legs in shape. But now it's time for a little R & R.

Congrats to Guy who rode really well in the road race and had a smokin time trial that got him 25th on GC and held it through the crit. Not to bad for a kid that's 19.

We now have 4 guys staying at the Sharkey's (the family friends in Cali). They seem to be ok with it. I don't think they mind because they used to have 3 kids running around the house and now everyone has moved on, so I think they might be enjoying us, I hope. Anyway, still no wireless at the house, so were at the local bread shop pirating. I've got some good pics of cherry blossoms to put up and hopefully some good shots from rides this week.

Yours Trully...

Road Course Pain

2007-03-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

Guptill and I headed out about an hour away from Fresno today to check out the new road course that's set up for the Central Valley Classic this year. I only have one word for it "hard". I didn't expect it to be as tough as it was. The climbs keep going and the decents aren't even easy. They have all kinds of rough places in it and pot holes. It's just as taxing going down as going up. It should be a really interesting race that's for sure. We did 2 laps today that came out to just under 70 miles and the race is 3 laps. Friday will be a long one that's for sure. Not much else going on. Both of the people that I'm staying with are sick and I'm starting to feel the scratchy throat as of tonight, so it's E-mergen C's and tea for me. Wish me no sickness!!!

Yours Truly...

California

2007-03-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

Made it out to California on this past Thursday and did the Merced Crit and Road race this past weekend. I'm Staying with my dad's old highschool buddy here in Fresno. Not too shaby. The race went decent enough. Nothing to write home about, but maybe it will get some fitness going.

Come to find out that the Colavita squad is staying about a mile and half from me, so that will be nice to get out on some rides with those guys soon. Next week is the CVC here in Frenso so that will be nice to be able to hang here and not have to travel too far for the races.

I don't have any wireless here, but I'm going to try to find some to post some pics of the trees that are blooming here.

Yours Truly...

Airport Update

2007-03-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's a classic "Its been a while". The time home was ok. Got sick after the drive back from Durango. Typicall rest week cold. Over it now and I'm in the airport heading west to California for the month. Alright it's a short one, hopefully I'll keep her updated daily.

Yours Truly...

New Rig

2007-02-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

The race ended up going well. Kuhl ended up finishing 6th overall and I pulled out the 8th overall. The weekend of racing was good with some good efforts.

Got the new bike ready to rock today while I was packing. The car is totally packed to the max. It's snowing right now, so maybe the roads will be ok in the morning. I'm going to try to be out of the house be 5am, we'll see. Check out the new ride.

Yours Truly...

Race Update

2007-02-18T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here goes a short update from the racing down here in Arizona. The TT went ok with 14th for myself and Kuhl was 16th.

The road race ended up being a really hard race because of the wind. From mile 2 there was a severe cross wind, we went to the front and instantly were in a group of 12 guys driving it for 2 1/2 laps and then that group split into 4 other guys and myself for another 1/2 a lap or so. By the time the field caught us there was only about 35 guys left. Chris rode great with some KOM bonuses added to his name. That should put him up there in the GC. By the end we were in a group of about 20 coming to the line. We haven't seen results, but we think that Chris was about 8th on the stage and I was about 14th or 15th.

Today is the Crit in downtown. Should be fun and then it's back to Durango. The weather has been great. Yesterday was 83 degrees according to the news. I'm a little red today.

Yours Truly...

Double Day X2

2007-02-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days have turned into double days. Yesterday morning I cruised out with Guptill through the valley on the TT bike and then we all went back out around 4pm for another round. Today was a trip up to Purgatory for a transition ride. Man was it cold up there, it was 27 by the time I turned around. Came back and got some food and some rest, then went out for the Time trial that Dave Hagen puts on. I'm feeling pretty tierd after 3 weeks of Tansition , it will be nice to get down to AZ for some good weather and some racing, then it's a rest week at home.

Guptill's Colavita kits are looking pretty good. I'll get some pics tomorrow and put'm up.

Happy Valentines Day Shell!!

Yours Truly...

Eagles

2007-02-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Got a good ride in yesterday with Shriver down to Aztec again. We spotted 3 bald eagles on the ride. These things are huge. Shriver seems to be doing good, look out he's done more training than ever.

Woke up this morning to some heavy snow that has just recently turned into rain. There was supposed to be a training race today leaving from Bread, but that was scratched. Hopefully it will let up for a couple of hours. Not much else to report, I think I'll start packing up my stuff for the trip back to Tennessee since the weather isn't great. Oh yeah, Guy let me know how it's going in Belize!

Yours Truly...

Finally

2007-02-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

It took a little while, but I finally got the TT bike up and running. I'm thinking about taking it out today after the ride to get a feel for it. Here's a few pics of the rig. I'm thinking about taking my dura-ace cranks and bottom bracket off of the road bike and putting them on. That wont be until the new bikes get here. It should be here by next week some time.

Yours Truly...

No camera

2007-02-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wish I would have had my camera on the ride today. I went down to Aztec, NM and on the way down I spotted a Bald Eagle. Oh will maybe next time. The weather has been great here. Looks like there might be a little chance of snow and rain moving in, but maybe it won't be too bad.

Transition is kicking my butt if I haven't already said that. The big gear, little gear is not joke. Only a few more sessions and then it's off to Pheonix. Got a recovery day tomorrow and the plan is to get the TT bike out on the road by the end of the day. We'll see?

Yours Truly...

TT Set up

2007-02-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

Not too much going on in Durango. Time is flying by. The first race of the season is a little over a week away. Chris came over today to help me out with the set up of the new TT bike. It's a good thing he was here or I would still be trying to put the shifters back together. It's not quite ready to rock, but it should be in the next couple of days.Here's a shot of the new edition to Unit 5. The name is Nyko and she is learning the ropes in the house.

Yours Truly...

Back to Durango

2007-02-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Made it back to Durango last night around 10:30. Did the shootout yesterday and then made the drive. It was a great day yesterday with temps in the mid 60's and it is supposed to get up into the 80's by mid week. Man what i'd give to be able to stay a little longer. I think the high is supposed to be in the 40's here in D Town so that's better than it's been.

What do you think Guy's doing by himself down in Tucson?

Fruits and Veggies

2007-02-01T18:19:00.000-07:00

The weather hasn't been as expected here in Tucson. My past two transition rides have been in the rain. The weather is about to change though, just about the time that I leave.

Looks like the plan is to move back home after Valley of the Sun. It works out well because I will just be starting a rest week by then, that will help for the 2 day drive. I'm going to miss V day with Loren, but maybe we can extend the date a little. Maybe she still loves me.

Check out Guys new "Secret" to get those fruits and veggies in and still have those strawberry milkshake poptarts. It goes something like this: Half a class of V8 tomato juice, mixed with half Odwala super fruit. Mix it together and you have all of your daily servings in one glass. Check the color of this stuff out

Yours Truly...

Count down

2007-01-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Only a few more days here in Tucson. Today was another great day though. The weather was perfect with the temps in the mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky. Today was the last rest before the next training block starts. I rode down to campus and back which only turns out to be a little over an hour. Got back and took in some rays by the pool and then took a walk through the subdivision next to us to get a shot of the purple cactus. Wish me luck in the first transition ride tomorrow.

Yours Truly...

Cross Worlds

2007-01-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Just got done watching the live updates off of Velonews to see Page attack time after time. He got the silver, that's awsome!!! 3 silver medals out of 4 events. This is a short one,

Yours Truly...

Shoot Out!

2007-01-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

What better way to end the week of recovery after base miles than to do the legendary Shoot Out. Good times no doubt. Went all the way out to Medera Canyon. The best part about the ride is that you are home with 5 hours in and taking a nap by 2pm because the thing starts at 7:30am.

The entire crew headed to town to meet up with Todd and Meg at Bison and Witches to have the special, Half a sandwich and soup in a bread bowl. That's only been the third time out while here in Tucson and it was great.

Guptill and Caleb are heading back to D-Town tomorrow so it going to be just me and Guy for the next week or so. Should be fun.

Yours Truly...

The Grey Wolf!!

2007-01-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I headed down to the University Starbucks to sit around for a while and who did we see, non other than the Grey Wolf himself. We have heard a lot about this guy, but never talked to him. We did today though. He is a character. He had us lift his bike and the thing can't weigh more than 13 pounds. He makes all of his own clothes if you can't tell from the pics.

Yours Truly...

The B line

2007-01-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday: Good ride with Guptill out to the base of Lemon, lunch, hot tub, nap, trip to the Sunflower market for some good groceries and then a night out with Phil Zajicek and his girl friend Karen. Really nice group of people. Karen's brothers own a couple of cool places on 4th street in Tucson. We ate at the B line, some of the best burritos around.

It's super windy right now and it's only 8:30am. They're calling for 20-30mph winds today. Oh well, at least it's warm.

Yours Truly...

So it Begins

2007-01-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started the rest week and what better way to start it off than with a trip to the hot tub and a little time in the sunshine. After that it was a nap and oh yeah lots of Calories. Took a little walk-about around the area and tested out the Zoom on the camera, not bad. Check out Caleb's rear end baby before he went out for a ride yesterday. The pic doesn't do it justice, I think he had every piece of clothing in those back pockets. Maybe that's where he puts his rocket. "The Pocket Rocket"!
Yours Truly...

That's all she wrote

2007-01-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

Today was to last day of the base training. Tomorrow is a rest day for sure. Weather was still a little cool , but not too bad. Lemon was closed today because of the snow. The Sheriffs had the road blocked at the very bottom. They told us that they had to bring down 18 people off the mountain last night.

Check out Fairly's blog. We finaly talked him into updating again.

Yours Truly...

AZ Snow

2007-01-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots of the snow tonight. Check out the size of these pizza pie slices. We ordered a small and could barely finish it.

What the heck??

2007-01-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

Man what a day on the bike. Bottom line, Guptill and I headed out for a ride with Bergman and Colby and got about 2 hours into the ride and decided to alter our route do to rain. Colby pealed, so the rest of us headed out for another 3.5 hour loop. We made a stop about 1.5 hours from the house to get a bite and the temp was 53 degrees on my watch. We didn't stay long because the weather was starting to look bad. What was supposed to be a tail wind back into town turned into a head wind with the incoming storm. The rain started to come down and the temp started to drop and drop it did. Long story short we got rained on for the last hour or so and the temp dropped from 53 to 35degrees by the time we got back home. We were even seeing some snow flakes in the last 10 minutes or so. Man I haven't been that cold all year and wasn't expecting to get that cold in Tucson!! My fingers are still cold! Anyway, one more day of base. There might be another update in a couple of hours. I think we are going to go down to campus to catch the rest of the Colt vs. New England game.

Yours Truly...

Coffee Shop Ride

2007-01-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days have been pretty good down here in Tucson. Got in some solid rides with a 6 hour ride including a double trip up Lemon, not all the way, and a near 6 hour ride with Guy yesterday up to Medera Canyon. Today was more of a rest day with the ride starting out heading down to Starbucks for a cup of Joe. It took a while to get motivated again to head back out. To finish up the ride Guptill and I headed down the bike path for a while to check it out, not too bad, it just follows a wash through the city. Here are some pics on the way down to Starbucks. The weather was a little threatening but it didn't rain until we got home.

Yours Truly...

Last week

2007-01-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday started the last week of the base miles. What better way to start the week off than riding with a good group. We rolled out around 10:30 from one of the local bike shop with a solid group consisting of Bergman, Colby, Valencourt, Guptill, myself and a couple of the NERAC guys. We had the great idea of heading out to Sonoita which is about 50 miles out of Tucson and then turning around and coming back. We got about 25 miles from Sonoita and decided to flip it and do another loop. The wind was crazy. We were doing 12mph into this terrible head/cross wind. We took a right turn to head toward helmet peak instead. We made the turn and instantly had a crazy tail wind that sent us cruising at 35mph on rollers. Anyway, got in a good 5:45 yesterday. Hopefully the same today. I think the plan is Lemon, but maybe not all the way to the top. They say it's going to only be 39 degrees up there for the high.

Yours Truly...

Rest Day

2007-01-15T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today was a rest day and so what better way to start the day than with a cup of coffee and some Everything bagels and lox. The entire crew was supposed to go, but Caleb and Guy were catching up on some beauty sleep. Guptill and I waited around until about 8am and couldn't waite any longer. We had to leave them behind.

Next Guptill and I headed up the road from our place to check out a hiking trail. Some hiking trail it was. Basically it was between two gated communities and they didn't want anyone in. After we got a little farther into the hills, we just kind of made our own trail.

To cap the day off, I got to drop around two hundo on some desperately needed bike parts. Chain, Chain ring, break pads, Cassett, pedal inserts, shifter cables man that was too much money to be spending. Last big week up base starts tomorrow.

Yours Truly...

Mega Press

2007-01-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

Not much else going on here in Tucson other than a lot of riding and some good coffee drinking. Check out this French Press LeeRo got for me. Notice the paper towels in the background to give an idea of how big this thing is. This thing is 56 oz. The next is Guptill whipping up some sick breakfast.

I think the ride plan today is up to Kit Peak. From here that should be a 7 hour ride. I don't think i'll be going all the way, but i wouldn't mind a good 6.

Yours Truly...

Mt. Lemon on the hind tire

2007-01-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Check out Cory pulling the wheelie all the way up Mt. Lemon. As you can see we were only at mile Zero when he flatted with no tube or patch kit so he decided to just ride the hind tire the entire way up. Picture courteousy of Guptill.

Yours Truly...

Pics From Training Camp

2007-01-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Kuhl guy requested some pics of the training camp that we took. We stayed in a room that looked over a lake that was full of Gators. Notice the banana that is hanging out of this gators mouth. I don't know where he found that. Enjoy!

Big Talk

2007-01-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Day two in Tucson was just as good as day one. Did a good 5.5 hour ride with Mr. East. We found a sweet dirt road with a smokin tail wind. We averaged close to 28 mph for a couple of miles.

The talk has already started here in the place. Guy says that he will take Caleb any day of the week going up Gate Pass and Caleb says that he will take that challenge any time. I don't know when the race is going to happen, but be sure that the results will only be found here. I'll even put on their power files. Anyway, it's time for bed to get rested up for yet another big day. Here's a couple of picks that i took while at home from a sweet climb right by the house.

Yours Truly...

Tucson

2007-01-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I've updated the sight, but I've been a little busy. Not really!! Just been getting some good training in. Just got back from Gainesville, FL. It was a great training camp. Flew back to Durango yesterday and got right into the car with Guptill and we pulled the late night drive to Tucson. We got in around 1am and went straight to bed.

The place we are staying in down here is really nice. I would have to say that is the nicest place that i have ever stayed in while in Tucson. Usually it's the nasty cheap places that we stay at. We have a full house with Cory, Ben, Caleb, Guy, Andy and myself. It is only a one bedroom, but the bedroom is huge and the living area is big too. Cory and Ben are leaving in a couple of days so we will be down to the original 4 by around Friday. The weather was nice today with a great ride up Mt. Lemon for the first ride in Tucson. Here are some picks of the place.

Yours Truly...

Settling in

2006-12-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty crazy past week or so. A quick recap goes something like this: Picked up Loren on last wednesday while her parents came on the flight before her for a good suprise, my dad and brother got to D-Town on Thurs., Mom on Friday, Graduation on Sat., parents fly out on Sunday, me and loren along with her parents fly out on monday. It looks like we got lucky and got out of Colorado when we did with all of that white stuff flying.

It's been nice back here. The temps have been in the 60's most of the days, not typical for this time of year. Today is a different story though. They are saying it's going to rain all day and it's already been raining all night. That's the way it goes back east.

The riding has been going well. Got in two 5 hour days back to back and today i think i'll suffer through a couple of hours in the rain. It's close to 50 degrees so it shouldn't be too bad. I did a great ride the other day with some mountain dirt roads. These roads are some of the hardest i've done. Straight up and straight back down. I double flatted, but it was still a good ride. Alright this post is getting too long. I got a camera and I-pod for graduation, so there will finally be some pics going up soon. Here's some from this trip to D-Town.

Yours Truly...

Fenders

2006-12-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

Man, Guptill got me a pair of fenders before he left and they couldn't have come at a better time. Yesterday was a bit sloppy. Lee Ro and I headed out the valley around 11am to some snow packed roads. By the time we were coming back it was just wet. The fenders worked great. The feet got a little wet, but other than that I was dry for the most part.

I've got a final today at 2:15 and one tomorrow morning at 9:45am and then that's it! Loren gets in around 1 tomorrow so that will be nice. Looks like it's going to be nice for the next couple of days. I think there calling for some 50's toward the end of the week.

Ricky Bobby comes out today, I can't waite to watch it!

Yours Truly...

Sunday Football

2006-12-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well the semester is quickly winding down. The last day of regular classes were on Friday. Only 3 more days left until I'm home free from school. Graduation is on Saturday, with Loren flying in on Wednesday, Pops and by bro coming on Thursday and my mom coming on Friday. It's going to be a great week.

Guptill and Kelly left yesterday morning on there way to Denver for a couple of days before flying back to NY. Thanks to both of them for some sweet Christmas gifts.

Finished up the first week of base with an hour ride today. We sat at Bread till almost 11 am just drinking coffee and eating scones. I hope the hours stay easy to come by. Now I'm trying to get motivated to write some of the last papers that I have due next week, while watching some NFL. I think I better get started.

Yours Truly...

Base Time

2006-12-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

I started some base miles this week. Started on monday with a good 2.5 hr ride. It's great to be back on the bike with a little structure. The weather is starting to warm up a little bit. Yesterdays ride was perfect. Went out to Vallecito Dam with Showtime and then did a half valley. Shriver had on the new I-Bike power meter on the old GT. That things kind of weird. It factors in wind speed, altitude, and a bunch of other stuff to determine wattage. I don't know how accurate it is, but it seems pretty cool.

Only a couple more days of regular classes and then a couple of finals. I only have one actual final test, but the rest of the classes I just have to show up. Not too bad. Time is flying by so fast now days. I can't really believe that it's almost over.

Sounds like the plan is to go home for the Holidays and then go straight to Gainesville Fl for a 5 day Skt. training camp. That should be a good time getting to know the new guys on the team and getting some good miles in. After that on the 8th of Jan. I'll come straight back to D-Town for the night and then head to Tucson with Andy the next day. We'll stay down there for the month of Jan. and come back the begining of Feb. Can't waite!

Yours Truly...

Poster Pres.

2006-12-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening was the final poster presentation that I have been working on for last year. It felt really good to get that part done. I had Dr. Brooks evaluate me. I didn't even know he was evaluating me at firts. I thought he was just talking to me about my poster because he really didn't read very much of it. Anyway, it went well, I think?

I went out yesterday and bought a nice shirt, tie, pants and shoes. I had to look spiffy for the presentation. Looks like I'm good to go for the next couple of years with the dress up stuff.

The weather around here has been pretty chilly. That storm that has gone all the way across the country is putting down a chill in the air. It should warm up soon.

Time to get ready for some school time.

Yours Truly...

Home Stretch

2006-11-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a trip home for Thanksgiving! I wish I could recap that entire trip, but I know that would be way too much to be reading. I can sum it up pretty well with: plenty of food, family, Loren and BIG Bucks! It was a great trip.

The weather back home was great and then I come back to D-Town and the snow starts dumping. I think it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow. I know the temps are about to drop pretty low. Anyway, I can't waite to start officially training. It has been way to long since I've been obligated to the bike.

I printed off my senior seminar poster today. That's a load off. The presentation is on Thursday to present publicly. It's definitely the home stretch in school. Only 8 more days of classes. Im going to try and get some pictures up from the trip home. Stay tuned.

Yours Truly...

I've got Nothin

2006-11-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

I just finished my last paper that is due before i head home for break. It kind of feels good or I should say it would feel really good if the break was going to be 100% relaxing. I still have a ton to do before the break is over, but it's ok. Not much longer.

I don't know what's wrong with me? I finally have the chance to do a little more riding that I was when I was at the high school everyday, but i just don't have the motiviation i guess. I used to be able to go out no problem in years past, and get 2 or 3 hours by myself, but now I'm just slacking. I hope that it is just school. Alright enough of that. Getting home for a bit will help i think, that with not even looking at the bike for 7 days. I should be ready to throw down when i get back. I can't waite to get some structure. Maybe that's what's wrong.

Wow that was a lame post, but that's all I've got!

Yours Truly...

Snow Day

2006-11-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Where did this weather come from? Woke up this morning to some overcast skies. Headed to class like usual and by the time I got out of my first class at 9:25am the snow was coming down. Went to the next class and the snow was still coming down after that one. Rode home and got soaked. The bike froze by the time I got home. Saw Guptill out on his first base ride, with a really frozen bike.

Cross race yesterday was pretty cool. T. Brown, Joey t. and Snyder were the big guns there. Farmer, from the Sports club was handing out 20 dollar primes left and right. He was literally handing them out. T. Brown took the race with Joey coming in second and Snyder coming in close behind for 3rd.

Well, it's time to meet my group for a presentation tomorrow. I think it still might be snowing!!

Yours Truly...

State Champ

2006-11-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Colorado State Championship Cross race and it was on the Fort Lewis College campus. The course was pretty sweet, me and Guptill took a lap on the course with our road bikes after some help setting the course up. Made it to the venue around 8:10am and left around 5:30pm. It was a long day,but it was fun.

The elite race was the highlight of the day. There was a good size field with top names like Todd and Troy Wells, Matt Shriver, Anthony Colby, Joey T, Adam Snyder, the list goes on... It started out super fast with Troy controlling the front for the first half of the race. There as tons of attacking. A little over half way through, Todd and Shriver got a gap over Troy and Joey. They were off the front for a lap and then all of the sudden Shriver was alone! Shriver came through, Troy came through, Joey came through, still no Todd. Finally Todd came through, got a bike change and started storming back. By the end Todd had caught Joey and Troy and then proceeded to drop them and start to bridge to Shriver, but by that time it was too late the race was over. Congrats to Shriver for taking the win.

It snowed a bit last night. It looks like it might clear up for a good MTB ride later on today. One more week until Thanksgiving break!

Yours Truly...

Killin Time

2006-11-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

Not too much has been going on lately. I've just had a lot of work. There is always plenty to do with Education Classes and Senior Sem. I've been riding the Mountain bike for the past couple of days. It's just too much fun right now.

Time is flying by. We only have about a week left of school before we depart for thanksgiving break. I can't waite!! Well I said there wasn't much going on. Enjoy the weather.

Yours Truly...

Take me Home!

2006-11-06T06:55:00.000-07:00

Just bought a plane ticket home yesterday. I'm really excited about that. Sat. to Sat., that should be a nice vacation. My dad had a shot on a nice buck this weekend, but missed it. He has had some bad luck with muzzleloaders.

Congrats to the Cross racers from D-Town that headed to Boulder. Congrats to Joey T for taking the U-23 title both days.

Yesterday was some sweet mountain biking with Kuhl, Caleb, LeeRo, Guptill and myself. First we did some loops out in the gulch that were awsome and then headed toward the colorado trail via the Sailing Hawks bone crusher. Hit the colorado trail and then did some good riding behind the text center and some Test Tracks. Man what a ride.

Well, I've got to go turn in some papers and pray for some good grades.

Yours Truly...

Pilates

2006-11-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Had a pretty good day today. Got up, had the pancakes and coffee. Then headed up to capus to work on my data for my senior seminar project. Got home around 10:15am to see Guptill, Lee, Wherry and Bowman heading out for a ride. I got suited up and did the valley backward to meet up with them. We finished to valley, up and over campus and then a Wildcat dirt road loop, dropping Bowman off at Durango West. After that, I took a short nap and then headed to the gym for a workout and then for a pilates class. The class wasn't too hard, but I'm sure it could be harder.

Good luck to the boys heading to Boulder for the GPs this weekend. It sounds like all the big dogs will be there. As for me it's homework city. But I think I'll take tonight off with some relaxation. Yeah that's what I'll do!

Yours Truly...

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

It definitly feels like a Halloween day. Mid fifties maybe sixty, windy and brisk. We have a bowl of mini Snickers just in case we have any little ones (or big ones) come by.

I found tickets to go home for Thanksgiving for pretty cheap, but I don't know if I'll make it home. It would be great to get home and see Loren and the family and this time of year is prime time to be hunting Whitetail bucks. Thanksgiving is always great back home anyway. I doubt it will happen though.

Congrats to Matty Showtime for a top five in Boulder last weekend and the Bear was top 10. There is a big cross race up there again this weekend. It should be a good one. Maybe someone will beat Tree Farm. I don't know though, he is killing it right now. Anyway, everyone be carefull tonight.

Yours Truly...

MTB

2006-10-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Unit #5 went of some good MTB rides this weekend, that's for sure. Yesterday we hit most of the trails in the Gulch. It ended up being almost a 4 hours ride. Today we just did a shorter Colorado trail loop. We saw Dickey Dub out running. He was on his way down as we were going up.

Congrats to my bro. He's a new dad, to a young boy, as of last night. Not bad, one boy and one girl. Good luck to everyone up in Boulder.

Yours Truly...

Jake the Snake

2006-10-26T19:04:00.000-06:00

My Brother just left me a comment that his long time dog has died. "Jake" was a BIG Doberman Pinscher and a really cool dog. Sorry to hear the loss big man.

Did a run today and then headed up to the college to play some b-ball. The game was pretty uneventful. For some reason I had a bad attitude. Maybe I was just in a bad mood. I need to start playing more often that's for sure.

Tonight is Serious Texas Smoked Turkey leg. Guptill is out right now picking some up for him and Leero. I know that would be good! MMMMM! Alright I got nothin else.

Yours Truly...

Cold and Rainy

2006-10-25T20:59:00.000-06:00

Went to Serious Texas last night for some tacos. I forgot how good those things are. Woke up this morning to wet roads and sprinkles. The weather was wierd all day. Guptill and me had a plan to ride at 4 when he got out of work. We headed out and it wasn't raining, but shortly there after it started to. We went up the cliffs climb, then a fire house. It rained the entire time up the climb so we were wet by the first 30 minutes of the ride. It stoped for a while and then kicked up again with some good hail, lightning and wind. We got back at dark and the temps were already down to 39. It was more like December and January riding rather than Oct. It always feels good to come home to a good hot shower and some warm cloths after the ride. That's all for now.

Yours Truly...

Short One

2006-10-24T07:45:00.001-06:00

Well, it finally came through. Guptill is going to be sporting the Colavita kit next year. Congrats, its about time. Also the FLC Mtb team brought home yet another collegiate title. Nice job team.

Went out the valley on Sunday thinking of hitting up Shalona, but then the dirt road off to the right up to Missionary Ridge caught my eye. Man I didn't realize how long that road goes up. I went 12 miles to the top where there was a fork in the road. I flipped it there, but man it was a good ride. I saw tons of hunters camped up there. Seems like a good place to hunt. If you really want to kill something, the best place to go is in the valley. To bad its private land. Its time to get another cup of joe and watch some more CNN.

Yours Truly...

Short One

2006-10-24T07:45:00.000-06:00

Weekend News

2006-10-22T09:22:00.000-06:00

First I have to give a big congrats to the FLC team at Nationals in Angel Fire. Alex Hagman walks away with two jerseys. The other boys rode really well too. Way to throw down. Next on the list is Shriver Cross. Thompson is riding well to take the win yesterday over Colby.

After the cross race Lee, Chris K, Caleb F, and I went out for a good ride ride. Went up the new Million Dollar Climb off of Florida to start things off. The land is supposed to be going for a million dollars per lot. 31/2 miles to the top and going easy is about 30 minutes. Then we went out for the Texas Creek dirt roads.

Sounds like most everyone went out the new martini bar last night, but I opted to stay home and get some rest. Looks like todays going to be some homework, football and a little run in the Gulch.

Yours Truly...

Everyones Pro

2006-10-20T19:45:00.000-06:00

Man it's great to see. Shriver to Jittery Joes, Guptill being looked at by Jelly Belly and Colavita, Mr. Caleb Fairly to the new revamped VMG team, and just in, David Wiswell to NERAC Outdoorlight. Congrats to all.

There are no good hunting stories. Saw plenty of Mule Deer, but no elk. I need more practice at this elk hunting. Rode with Shriver yesterday. I was good to chat with him for a while.

Kelly and Andy are in San Fran right now. Kelly is running the marathon tomorrow. Good luck Kelly. I only have 14 more hours of field study left to go. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it, but it looks like I'm going to be done by next week. Maybe I can start riding again after i'm done with the hours. I wonder how the FLC team did at Nats today? Good luck tomorrow and good luck to the crossers back east.

Yours Truly...

Another Chance

2006-10-17T20:47:00.000-06:00

Got he gun and kill tags from Crawford late this evening. This will give me another chance to get out in the woods. I wents tonight for about and hour, but it was uneventfull again. There is a lot of snow about 12 miles up Junction Creek. Hopefully the Snow will be driving some of the elk down from the high country. The season closes tomorrow. Not much else going on, I'll report if I get anything tomorrow and hopefully there will be pics.

Yours Truly...

No Meat

2006-10-15T21:23:00.000-06:00

Well, the weekend didn't end with any great hunting stories. Friday evening, Sage and I drove up Junction Creek, pitched the tent and set up camp. After that we had about 2 hours of light so we headed out to do some scouting. Didn't see too much sign, but we did ride around in the truck and saw 3 elk. We were pretty excited about that and figured that the next day would be successfull. The weather was perfect when we went to bed. There were so many stars they looked like they were touching each other. Around about 5am, the icing started, and then around 6am it turned to a steady rain. It rained for most of the day. We did a lot of walking and had no luck. We didn't even see any. It was a little disapointing. It was still nice to stalk the woods thinking there may be a chance to get a shot off.

Was going to go back out today, but things didn't work out with Sage making it into town. Crawford is going out Monday and Tuesday. Maybe he'll have some luck. I don't know if the first season goes until next weekend, but i hope so. It would be nice to have another chance. Anyway, hiked Animas Mt. today with Guptill and just made it back before the rain. It sure is raining a lot around here.

Yours Truly...

Big Elk?

2006-10-12T20:31:00.000-06:00

Man, is it finally going to happen? Got a call from Crawford today and it looks like me and his boy Sage are heading up to do some Elk hunting this weekend. I've been waiting for this for 4 years now. I'm out of control excited. I hope we get something. It would be nice to have Crawford there too but he has to go to the races this weekend. It sounds like we'll hike in 4 or 5 miles and set up camp tomorrow and then hunt Sat. and Sun. The weather looks like it's going to be perfect. I hope to have some good photos of a big bull by the end of the weekend. Wish us luck.

Yours Truly...

Bike Riding?

2006-10-10T21:53:00.000-06:00

Today was the first time I have ridden my bike in about a week. What's a better way than to do some Tuesday Worlds. It was a Valley and a half tonight. The days are getting shorter and so are the amount of people showing up. It was good to see the Bear and Big Wells out there. It was a typical day today with school and what not.

Here are some more pics from the Ouray ride courtesy of Guptill.
The 8 am start (Left)Bottom: Into Ouray

Pics

2006-10-08T12:54:00.000-06:00

Me and Leero at the base of Engineer taking in the views. Thanks to Guptill for the pics off of his sweet phone. There will be more to come from the previous Ouray ride.

Today was the Durango Double D, Marathon and Half. Kelly smoked it and ran under 2 hours for the half. Nice!! Not much else going to today except for some cycling on Versus (aka OLN). Your Truly...

Here's the shot from the base of Engineer.

Rain

2006-10-07T20:25:00.001-06:00

Yesterday started as usual. Got up, went to my first class and then came home. I got home around 9:45 am and the rain started shortly after. Lee had already been wanting to go on a run, so we said we would if the rain stopped at all. Around 3:30 the rain stopped and that was our chance. We walked down to the end of the drive way and made up our minds to do the 4 miles instead of the 2 mile out and back. It wasn't looking too good storm wise, but we started anyway. About half way into the run it came a boomer. Driving wind and rain, lightening crashing all around, man what were we thinking. Made it back, showered up, sat around for a couple of more hours and then went to see The Departed. Not a bad movie, a little twisted.

Today consisted of a couple cups of coffee, CNN and the daily internet surf. We made up our minds to do a good hike, so we parked at the base of Coal Bank and hiked up to the base of Engineer. Weather was spotty at times, but not bad. We hit Kat's burgers and custard for some burgers and fries. Guptill is going to email me some pics so I'll throw them up tomorrow. Half marathon tomorrow for Kelly. Good luck. Yours Truly...

Rain

2006-10-07T20:25:00.000-06:00

Happy B days Dude!

2006-10-06T07:28:00.000-06:00

Today is Loren's dads birthday. Man there are a lot of birthdays in October. Yesterdays presentation went well, it think, I hope. Finished up my last day of testing too. Things are just ticking off. No school for the durango school system so that means I have a little break today. Got an email from Crawford yesterday about going hunting for some elk. I hope things work out. I've been wanting to do some hunting here for the past 4 years.

Good luck too all the Crossers going to Mass. today. We have a big showing from Durango. Todd, Troy, Snyder, anyone else? Looks like the the weather is going to be perfect back east for these boys. We lost all that good weather here. It rained almost all day yesterday and it's going to rain for the next couple of days. Oh well, the mountain bike is in order for those conditions. Well, gotta go to class. Yours Truly...

Busy

2006-10-05T07:05:00.000-06:00

The past couple of days have been close to normanl, Busy! I got out for another MTB ride on Tuesday with Mr. Guptill. Good times, but I took the bike back to Shriver right after the ride. Last night was one of those night where I come home, eat a little something and then stay in my room all night working on homework. I have a 20min presentation this morning on HGH. Wish me luck. I don't feel too good about the quality, but it's too late now.

Last night Guptill gave the house a call from the T. Danielson party a little tipsy. Kelly talked Lee into going out. I went to bed and the next think I know I here LeeRo kind of thrashing around in the kitchen at 12:50. Big night I guess. Maybe I'll get the scoop this morning in a bit. Well, it's time to practice my presentation. Yours Truly...

Colorado Trail Roost'n

2006-10-02T09:39:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first time on a mountain bike in almost a year. It was great. Borrowed Dicky Dubs mountain bike, but he doen't know it yet. Thanks man. It's a full suspension. It was my first time on one and if i ever get another mountain bike, it's going to be a full. Me and Leero went out on the Colorado Trail in the morning and then went back out with Guptill and Nick later on in the evening. We didn't get back until dark. I stinks that it gets dark at 7:15 now days huh.

Anyway, this should be my last week of testing for my research in Senior Sem. That will be nice to get home at a decent hour (3:45), instead of 6 or 6:30. I can't believe it's already Oct. Time is flying. Speaking of Oct., Happy Birthday to my bro Josh. Wow, your getting old!!

Yours Truly...

Silverton

2006-09-30T17:58:00.000-06:00

Well, today we went for it again. Me and lee did a Silverton and back. The day was beautiful. I was in jersey, shorts, and arm warmers for most of the days with the arm warmers down on the passes. I know I keep saying it, but the leaves are amazing. They are in full blown fall color. If you were in the woods on a cloudy day you would think the sun was shinning. The yellow is unbelievable. I flatted on the way down Molas on the way back, but no big deal. Guptill gets back tonight from Vegas, lucky. The plan is for an epic on the MTB's if I can find one. I'm hoping to use the Bear's.

Opted out of the 5k this morning. Just wasn't feeling it. I was more into riding than running. I think we made a good choice. It's not too often you get to go through the passes on the last day of September in shorts and jersey. Enjoy the weather while it lasts. Yours Truly...

Camera?

2006-09-29T19:32:00.000-06:00

Man, I wish I had a good camera. The colors of the trees around town are amazing. The weather has also been great. Mid to upper 70's in the last week of September, you can't beat that. I think Lee and I are going big again tomorrow. 5k in the morning and then a Silverton and back? We'll see. I think Silverton will happen, but the 5 k is questionable.

Short post. Maybe there will be more to talk about after tomorrow. Yours Truly...

Worlds

2006-09-27T09:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the Durango Wheel Club group ride championships. Lee, Caleb, and myself showed up, but didn't want to pay the $25 so we just jumped in despite one of the older guys telling us we would change the dynamics of the race. The ride went up old Shalona and then the sprint was a the Fort Lewis sign on Hwy 550. Coming back in the valley it was about 9 guys strong including the Sakonnet boys getting ready to sprint when there was a crash. Poor Jared went down and that was it. Everyone in the group turned around to make sure he was alright. The next group on the road pulled up a couple of minutes later and the race was a scratch. Jared got up and rode it in. No one sprinted. It was still a fun ride. There is still 2 more events including a TT on Thurs. and a RR up Coal Bank on Sat. I don't think I'll be attending those.

I think me and lee are going to do another running race this weekend. It sounds like there is a 5K up on campus for some charity event. Lee is getting ready to take the title for the Turkey trot in Durango.

Yours Truly...

Big Weekend

2006-09-26T07:27:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was huge. First on Saterday Lee, Andy, Caleb and me started out for Ouray, CO. We started out at 8 am. It was really cold at 8. All was going well untill we summited Coal Bank. Caleb flipped it there and the word is he hitch hiked back to Durango. So onward we went into Silverton. Man that was the coldest I've been in a long time. It took us about 10 minutes to finaly warm up and off we went starting up Red Mountain. Guptill decided that he would only go to the top of Red Mountain and then head back to Durango. So that left me and Lee to drop down into Ouray. I thought the drop would be quick, but it wasn't. First of all its close to an 11 mile drop and on the way down LeeRo flatted. Made it to town, got a scone and then headed back home. Man that was a long ride. Guptill did it yesterday by himself and said it is 146 miles. Not bad for going over 3 different 11,000 feet passes.

Then on Sunday, the Unit 5 crew went up to Animas Mountain and did the trail run race. 6.6 miles. Up to the top and then back down. I'm still feeling it in the legs. Kelly hurt her foot, hopefully it isn't broken. The doc says it might be a stress fracture, but can't really tell until she runs on it again. Anyway, that's all for now.

Yours Truly...

Runnin

2006-09-21T20:05:00.000-06:00

Started my testing yesterday for Senior sem. It's good to get that going. I don't feel so far behind now. Starting testing has made the days really, really long now. Oh well.

Did a sweet run to Bread with the entire crew from Unit 5. Kelly is really going good. She was putting the boys in the hurt locker. It was a 5 mile run I think. I'll be feeling that in the morning. The plan is to ride to Ouray and back on Sat. Looks like the weather might hold up. There will be pics and an update after that one for sure. I think we might watch the new Jack Ass movie after the ride. Good luck to the MTBrs this weekend.

Yours Truly...

Cruise Control

2006-09-18T20:32:00.000-06:00

It's gotten to that point. It seems like every semester, I get all worked up for school and all of the things that have to get done. I always seem to hit that point where you kind of stop stressing so much and just get it done. No doubt there is plenty of stress, but you just learn to deal with it better I guess.

Did the Texas Creek ride with Shriver, Guptill, and the boys from Israel. It was a great ride. The dirt roads were in great shape. We had a tuck fest on the way back down Edgemont. Guptill pimped us. It was a little cool out, but it was a beautiful day, no clouds, just beautiful. The leaves are really turning around here. I love this time of year!! I wish I had a camera to add some photos. Oh well.

Yours Truly...

Hangin out

2006-09-16T12:21:00.000-06:00

Went to Falconburgs lastnight to meet up with some of the Durango cycling crew. The Bear, Adigga, Showtime Shriver, T-dub and Meg was there. They were all having a few drinks, but I sat there and listened to all of the great talk of who's riding for who and Shrivers Police stories since his roomate is a cop in D-town.

Today has been pretty uneventfull. I still don't feel very good so I've been just hangin out in the house. Seems like a nice day, but a little on the windy side. Oh yeah I ment to report on all of the deer and Turkeys i saw the other night on my ride. I saw at least 25 mule deer and about 15 turks. Man I miss being home this time of year. I think bow season for deer opens up next weekend at home in Tennessee. I saw a guy in the Burger King parking lot yesterday with the head of a big mule deer still in velvet. Looked to be about a 10 pointer. Nice one! Oh well, I'm just rambling.

Yours Truly...

Friday!!

2006-09-15T20:31:00.000-06:00

Made it to yet another Friday. The weeks are going by pretty fast with staying so busy. Got in a good ride yesterday, but got caught out in the rain for the last half of the ride. I woke up this morning with a head cold. Classic!!! Maybe it'll go away quick.

LeeRo and Caleb are at Parker right now. I wonder how it's goin. They are both riding well right now so hopefully they will get some good results.

It's starting to look like Fall around Durango. The leaves are starting to change and you can feel the crisp air moving in. I think they are calling for Rain/Snow next weekend. I could do without that.

Yours Truly...
I wonder if Gerts still runnin?

Slammed

2006-09-12T20:31:00.000-06:00

It sure has been a while since I've updated this thing. As of right now it has just been school wide open. I have classes from 8-12:30 every day and then have to go straight down to the high school till 3:45 to do practicum for my education classes(120hrs). It's like a full time job. I still have research for senior seminar too. If anyone wants to be in the study let me know as soon as possible, i need subjects!!!

Just got back from Univest Grand Prix yesterday after some awfull flights out of Philly and Denver. The race went ok. Not what i was hoping for, but it was ok. It was the last race of the season though. Now it's time to focus on school. This is the last semester. More updates to come, I promiss. Yours Truly...
Here's a shot from Univest

Dog Days

2006-08-03T15:32:00.000-06:00

Man it sure is the dog days of summer. It's just flat out hot here in Tennessee. Went up to the river this morning and had a good morning trout fishing. I kept 3 for bait and caught about 10 total. At about 10am i headed down river to fish for some big rock fish, but had no luck. I know they are in the river, i just have to find them.

Have a local race this weekend in Nashville. TT, RR, and Crit. Should be fun. Hopefully things will go alright. After that I'm headed to the big water to catch some sharks or whatever else that will stretch my string. It's the annual trip to Florida with Loren's family. It's always a blast.

Toona

2006-07-31T05:48:00.000-06:00

Went to the tour de toona this past week. I thought it would be good and it did go ok for the first couple of stages. The 3rd stage didn't go so well. Long story short, it was hot and there wasn't enough liquid going in. Lost lots of time and dug a deep hole with the body. Loren came and helped out and did a great job. If she wouldn't of came with us we wouldn't have even made it to the third stage. Anyway, made it back home to Tennessee late lastnight. Rock Fish are in the river now and its time to start gettin my string stretched. Yours truly....