Road U2

It has been a fun week so far. All it seems I have been doing is riding and getting ready to move. I have rode each day this week except Wednesday. I needed the rest. My legs felt really heavy on Tuesday. I have been riding all of my favorite rides this week while listening to my new MP3 player. Today was especially inspirational. I made it up Scenic Loop in less than 40 minutes. A personal best time, all to the sound of U2. It again was almost surreal during the ride. Here is U2 playing in my ears and the beautiful South Texas scenery of the hill country passing me by. I plan on riding 50+ miles tomorrow and Saturday. Castroville is tomorrow and Boerne is Saturday. I pull out of SA on Sunday morning with the family soon to follow after. There is still some painting, sorting, and a few last minute items to do but basically we are ready to go.

Back on the Bike, with Santa

After recovering from being sick and then in California for four days, it was good to get back on the bike. I rode the stairmaster two days in Cali. It felt good and when I got out of the saddle to peddle, it felt identical to the stairmaster. At least I had the opportunity to get some cardio in and get back slowly into the riding after being sick. Babcock was open so I rode the 25 mile loop. It is a good combination of hills and flats. It felt good. Today was terribly windy. One of those days that with the wind it was 30+ MPH without peddling hard and barely 10 MPH into the wind. Another two hours on the bike today, with the wind, I stayed flat and it felt good. I just let the wind determine the intervals.

I finally have seen some movement on the scale. The last two times on the scale, I have put down 2 pounds to 218. If I can keep this up, 210 or lower will be easy to attain.

It looks like Pittsburgh will get into the playoffs. Here we go Steelers!

Sick

There has been no riding for the last few days. I got sick on Friday and am only now recovering. The flu really sucks, for the lack of a better term. We are currently in Califas looking for a home. Last night, we had a nice dinner at the ocean. It was great with the waves, the smell of salty ocean water, and the food. It just feels right. In a week the packers show up to start moving us this way. The truck arrives on Thursday.

And by the way, the Vikings were the next team to feel the wrath of the Steelers, 18-3. Two more games and we are in the playoffs. The only problem, how much will be left to compete. Working so much harder this earlier might leave the team with little in the tank. We can only wait and see. First things first, we have to qualify for it. This week, the Browns.

U2...

Riding to U2 was great! It was too cold to ride outside so I stayed in. I put on my U2 DVD and rode. Before I knew it, I had ridden for over 45 minutes. It was great. Singing and riding. I didn't even feel the pain. It kept my mind off of everything else.

Today was my last day at work. It was an odd day, leaving a place where I learned so much about management and people. So many people expressed sadness in seeing me go. The rest who were rude or dealt with it differently can continue to deal with it differently. I didn't want a lot of fanfare or extravegance in my departure so there wasn't any but not even a thank you after working for seven plus years. Maybe I should have said thank you and just moved on but I am being stubborn as well. Time will heal all wounds.

Wind and cold

I decided to get on the road last night. It ended up being cold and windy all the way around the loop. My final heart rate was 153. Yeah, it was windy. It was a cross wind and that is not fun trying to keep the bike upright with cars whizzing past. I got it done. Three days in a row this week. Tonight I hook up with Mr. Carmichael again for some pain and suffering, just not for hill climbing repeats.

Chris does it again

Hill climbing was the order of the day last night. From my previous attempts to do the work out, I noticed the riders would elevate their front tire higher with wood blocks. I decided to do the same with the ladder. I raised my front wheel an additional 6". It was most painful. I did the workout and then rode for another 20 minutes after. It really put the screws to me. It makes a difference raising the front wheel. Tonight should be an hour of easy, recovery riding. My legs were still tired this morning from the time last night. It just goes to show that I still have much room for improvement.

On another note, Bennett took a beating last night. I finally figured out a defensive strategy to get to him. My offense was mediocre but did the job. 24-6 was the final. It feels good to be on the winning side again after two consecutive losses. My all-time record needs some help, I am still only 9-11. Hey, I'm ranked 4569th. That is a start!!

Get on the Bus!!

"The field was soft and the snow was thick and the footing was iffy, but to Bettis these were perfect conditions in which to ply his trade. Bettis is the NFL's No. 5 career rusher, but this season he has been serving as a backup, as a change-of-pace for starter Willie Parker. But in a game that screamed for a snow-plow instead of a sports car, Bettis churned out two touchdowns and 101 yards rushing to help the Steelers win a game and right themselves at least temporarily in a season that has three more ultra-competitive weekends to go." (Bob Labriola, steelers.com)

"He was classic Jerome Bettis. [It was] a great field for him today. He is what he is. He’s a warrior. He’s such a powerful runner. I can’t say enough about him and what he means to this team." (Coach Bill Cowher on Jerome Bettis)

What more can you say.

Way to go Steelers!!

Cielo Vista

The last time I rode Cielo Vista, my dad and I were preparing for the Rides for the Roses. It was the Monday before the ride and I used it to cap off our couple of weeks of preparation. When I rode over the Jens' house yesterday morning, I was thinking of a easy ride, something flat and fast. I hadn't been up Scenic Loop on a bike in a while and when Jens mentioned it, what the heck, let's ride. I rode it the best I probably ever have ridden it. In fact, my gearing was higher than it has ever been but so was my heart rate although it didn't feel that way. We spun for over two hours. The only thing was I didn't bring any food with me and when we finished, I knew I had not brought any food. I didn't bonk on the ride. I bonked after the ride. It is that empty feeling in your stomach that feels like a drain sucking the last bit of water out of the tub, searching for every last bit to go down.

We went out to eat with Jens and Kristen latter in the afternoon. It was fun and we really enjoyed the company. They are such good friends. It is already difficult thinking of what is going to happen over the next few weeks without it really happening. Good people are hard to find. Good people that "fit" are even more difficult. After dinner, Christine and I had a good time shopping for the kids for Christmas. I think we got almost everything. Just some stocking stuffers and few items is what is left to do. Tomorrow is the day. "What would you do if you didn't fear!"

Lastly, Chicago is in Pittsburgh today. It is time for the Steelers to get it done. Let's go!

Spin the pain away

Hitting the road can be a fun thing. Just not when you have a bunch of good people that you have to leave. I am having a hard time with this venture. I am have really made some good friends here. Friends that I want to be here for a while, not just tomorrow. The miles and hours spent with Jens on the bike, at each others home, eating out, taking care of kids, etc. Mark and all of his stuff from work and the eating out, the Madden online, and the sports blowouts. Wow! It is hard. Driving to work today was not easy. I know there is time but oh so little time remains. The only thing that helps is to get on the bike and ride. Make it hurt till there is nothing left but me, the bike, and the pain. When the pains subsides, then all there is left is me. It is all coming together so quickly. A trip to Cally on the 19th, movers the last week of the year, and the drive out. All this in the next three weeks. It will be difficult to go but I am sure that within a matter of time, we will be back to Texas. It is home. I have ridden the road in the picture. It was a few weeks before last years Hotter 'N Hell. It was the most difficult ride I have done so far. It was really windy, the hills were intense, the weather humid, and no shoulder to speak of to ride on. We almost got into a fight. Memories. I hope that soon enough grass will grow under my feet and I can stay planted.

New torture routine

I have found a new way to torture myself on the trainer. In the latest Bicycling magazine, it speaks of ways to improve your workout onthe trainer. I tried some of those ways last night. I started in the lowest gear and gradually went up in gears, riding in each for five minutes. I started in the middle ring in front. I went up seven gears. Then clicked to the big ring, down three in back, and then moved up the gears again. The last three big gears were painful. I was sweating terrifically. Before I did the last and biggest gear, I rode five minutes in a small gear. Also, I only did 3 to 4 minutes in the last three gears. After this, I just rode the final ten minutes easy to cool down. During the cool down, I did some one legged pedaling, 30 seconds a side. It is not as easy as you think but I can see the reason to do them. It really helps on the pedaling motion, working all of the leg. The average heart rate was 135 for the 80 minutes. I like this workout. The heart rate gradually raised until maxing out at about 154. It reminded me of the workout I used to do in the wee hours of the morning at Ft. Polk when Big Joe and I would meet at the gym at 5 AM to lift and do cardio. The stair climber had a fat burning workout that would slowly raise the intensity over the forty minutes. Big Joe, another good friend.

Seachickens romp!

This is how football is supposed to be played, in the elements. There is no rain outs or snow outs in football. We play the game. Seattle took it to the Eagles last night. Three defensive touchdowns and almost a fourth. Wow!! All in the snow in Philly. I am sad to see the Eagles take it like this on the chin. I like Andy Reid. I even rooted for them in last years Super Bowl but the time has come to rethink the team. TO is not coming back. I wouldn't bring him back either. Seattle, if it can keep the intensity, has a chance to win its first playoff game since something like 1984. Remember Curt Warner, Jim Zorn, and Steve Largent. Come on Seachickens! I have to root for somebody. The Steelers need help to get into the playoffs.

On a cycling front, I got on the bike for a weekly warmup last night. It has gotten cold here again. Okay, no more comments. I have been riding to say the least. More to come tonight.

Rain

Saturday morning started out with decent weather. I'd seen it display thundershowers in the forecast but looked outside and saw nothing. So, I started to ride. The next thing I notice is that I am all wet and the roads are getting wet as well. Pretty soon, I am out an hour and I am sliding all over the place. I turned around and started for home. It was not good when I slid to a stop at an intersection. Lucky for me there was only one car and they were paying attention. The rides continue to go well and I am making progress towards the 200+ mile goal. This week I am raising the amount of time on the bike each night to at least 1 hr 15 minutes with a three hour ride on Saturday. This will give me over 9 hours on the bike for the week. If I can keep this up through the holidays I will be well on the way to being prepared for July.

On another note, the Steelers decided to take themselves out of the playoff picture. It will be interesting to see how the season ends. It is still possible to be 11-5 in four weeks but after losing three straight games, that does not seem likely. We need to get on the bus and ride it to the end of the line. Let's go Steelers!!

Trainer Days

Since riding on Monday night, all it has been is in the garage. Nothing unusual or abnormal. Just sitting and spinning.

The big news is we got an offer on the home. It is nice but there are still many hurdles to get over but at least we have a buyer. We know that we are being watched over and taken care of. Our prayers are being answered.