Time

Who is this good looking couple? Yeah, I do feel naked without the goat.

I remember reading in an Ensign a quote from Thomas S. Monson. He wrote, "It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much, he who gives time gives more, but he who gives of himself gives all (December 2003)." This has been the story of this week. I have been giving a lot of myself this week to others. I cannot say that it all has been for others, it just seems that a lot has been.

I have swam with Cassie a few times this week. This is hard work and great for the entire body. She really liked it as well. Craig and I went to the Pack Meeting this week. We topped it all off with a wedding and reception yesterday. Thanks to Bob and Mel and the McBride family, the wedding and reception was great and top notch. The atmosphere, food, music, events were all great. It is always good to see family. Although I belong to the PSSG (Putnam Spouse Support Group), there was no need to call my sponsor for aid in this outing. Thanks for a great day in San Diego!!

This week is full of preparation for the May 13th ride. I am mentally ready and by weeks end, I will be physically ready to go. Steps on the road towards the STP and the HHH. This is not a news flash but just an update for all that might not be in touch with Pop culture, Hammer retired some time ago. Hammer time on the other hand, means something else.

Keep posted for more fun and taunting.

Hammer Time

May 13th is fast approaching, all I can say is "Hammer Time!" Time to step it up a notch because I'm 2L2Q.

All you pretenders and player haters, step off!

Out.

The Norwegian Grade

In the area, there is this famous hill. Like most hills, it has a name, the Norwegain Grade. Why is it called this? I do not know. I need to ride with some locals and get the scoop. Now, this is no Alpe d'Huez or Mt. Ventoux but it is tough, a little over a mile long and between 7 and 9 percent grade. I had to change course today. I had planned to ride Balcom Canyon but I got a flat going out and I only had one tube. I did not want to get stuck in the middle of no where trying to tell Christine how to get me a tube. I was somewhat disappointed because I had been thinking of this climb all week. In spinning class, I was envisioning me summitting this climb. I had the mental picture. Yet, sometimes the right and responsible thing is not aligned with visions and dreams. I did the prudent thing. Okay, enough justification of why not. And NO, for all of you haters out there, I was not scared nor afraid. Just give me the lumps now, I can here them already.

Anyway, so I settled for the Norwegian Grade. It was a nice little climb that after I settled in to a cadence and breathing, it was done. I had to be home by 10 AM so I cut it short. I was out 2 1/2 hours. If I had not gotten in so late last night from Hollister, I might have been able to get up earlier and ride longer but there is always next week. I thought a little picture of me after the ride would be nice. The pounds are slowly coming off!! YEEEESSS! Jesse... now Jerome... Where is Morris Day and the Time now? Anyone know?

I can see why JD liked San Jose. It is so green and beautiful. I liked the area. I could see a lot of potential rides while I was out there. Granted, I was in the plant all day long and did not get to tour anything except the 101 and some other state highways to and from the airport and plant but it was a nice area. Excellent choice!

I post this picture because Cassie definitely has some of my traits. She likes the self portrait/picture. Way to go Idaho!!

She definitely is growing up to fast. Where is that little girl who would say La La La Wuv? She definitely is Daddy's little girl. I love you Cassie!

Let's Go Spurs

It is almost that time of year when the Spurs doubters start writing that they can't win it all due to the team chemistry, lack of offense, Duncan's absence in big games, and all of the other negative aspects that analysts think they see. Then, SA proves them all wrong. Let's go Spurs!!

It's been three days of spin, ride, spin. Tomorrow, I'll be on the bike again for about two hours. The ride was nice yesterday morning. It felt good to tie in the spin class with the road hours. My legs are a bit tired and worn but I can rest on Friday while I am in Hollister. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and I can get in some hours on the bike on Saturday morning. Balcolm Canyon looks quite a good challenge. I will let all know how it goes. Four weeks till the Conejo Valley Century. I will have a good idea where I am at after this ride.

A little bit of softball

When they asked me to play, I was a little bit weary. My shoulder still doesn't feel all that great but I decide to go and play anyway. I mentioned I wanted to play first base to conserve the shoulder. They agreed and the contract was signed. Well, it didn't happen that way. I showed up and felt good warming up. They asked me where I wanted to play. I said first base; I ended up in left center. It all worked out. We ended up winning 13-12 with an almost three up three down last inning to perserve the win. I have a couple nice cracks. On a regulation ballpark, they'd been out. Heck, they cleared the lights. We are talking "The Natural" type of pokes. The first one surprised them. The second one they were playing behind the lights and it was a deep out. At least the runner moved over. It was nice to play.

Anyway, it was wet Saturday so I took the boys on a drive to find this 20% grade of a hill. It was a steep hill. It is a four mile climb with the last mile plus being tremendously steep. The good thing was not too many cars around. I want to ride it this Saturday. It should work out if I can get up early enough and get going. It is almost a 60 mile ride. If I am out by 6 AM, I should be back before 10 AM. We play softball again next Saturday.

Spin class was a lot more muscle tension today. It felt good. I cranked up the resistance and felt it today. The spin instructor did not like to stay on her bike. She kept getting down, adjusting the fans, adjusting her bike, looking at this card. She didn't look like she wanted to work that hard this morning. During the cool down, she is putting the unused spin bikes away and straightening up. Maybe she had somewhere to go. Maybe I can get trained and be an early morning spin instructor. Yeah, that's the ticket. I can work out and get paid for it. Here we go. Maybe at least I can get the club membership comp'ed. Now we are talking. Anyway, with my modified work schedule this week, I will be able to get a couple hours on the bike tomorrow. Nice!!

Just Spinning

The rain brought some enlightenment this week to my ride preparation. Christine had mentioned to me about this spinning class at the health club. I told her no thanks. I'll just spin on the road or on one of these exercise bikes after I swim. My parade got rained upon on Wednesday. I usually get some time on the bike on Wednesday. Since it was raining, I decided to go to the spinning class. We got there earlier than the class so I could spin and loosen the legs up a bit. The class was difficult but worth it. It pushed me to work a bit harder than I had done on my own interval training on the bike. Plus, it was fun. The music is loud and the room almost dark with some twenty other people suffering in the same way. Thursday, both Christine and I took a rest day. Friday I went back to the club, swam for 20 minutes, and then hit the spinning class. It was a different instructor and she pushed harder than the one on Wednesday. After I got done, I am asking myself, "How am I going to ride tomorrow?" Well, I did. I put 50 miles on the bike yesterday. I rode out to Camarillo and back. Some hills early but not a lot late. The ride was real beautiful from Camarillo back to Simi. Green hills, groves of trees, homes on the hill, and horse properties. It was all very soothing. In all, just a little bit over three hours of riding. The legs felt good and strong. There were moments before I got loose that I felt I should just turn and go home. I didn't. The interesting thing was I felt I got stronger as I rode on, punctuating the day climbing the hill up First Street in the biggest gear to date. The spinning class' tendency to stand while riding helped get up a lot of the hills and helped pull through the day.

On a note to Christine's idea to join the class, in this month's Bicycling magazine, it mentions how several riders took spinning interval training a saw some good improvements in strength and explosiveness. Well, here I go. I will continue to swim and spin while tieing in the endurance rides to all of the cardio work. I should be ready to ride the century here in May and really start to put some miles on the bike in preparing for the STP in July. 204+ in one day is the goal and will help boost confidence to roll into August.

I am looking forward to going to Tacoma this week. I do not have a lot of time to visit family but at least I will get to see them for a little while.

About the picture, just a little inspiration. Look at his face, then look at the faces of his teammates and others. He is in control and in the zone. If you've never been there, you don't understand. That look on his face tells a huge story while offering inspiration. If he can suffer like that, I can too!

High School Pictures

I was looking back at some old photos. I found two very memorable ones of both Yoda and JD in high school. Oooh when we were young and our hair was ............ a mullet. Check out the hair and the glasses!!! JD was on his game this day! Hey K, was he always this good looking?

Then there was those times when we had to call on a high power to get us out of some jams. No, it wasn't our parents. It was Guido. He got us sprung. He had the major hook up. Hey Yoda (or Bubba Joe as we called you then), remember this night when we had our mug shots taken? One too many shots of Mr. Cuervo. Love that hair and beware of that glare from the forehead!!

On a more serious note, I got in 24 laps in 20 minutes today in the pool It felt good and I am getting better. Heck, in another couple weeks I could be up to half a mile. I was in the pool for about 15 minutes when this girl jumped in. She was the all star. She was doing 4 to my 2. Too bad I don't have an ego or the lungs, or I would have been embarrassed!! Anyway, enjoy the photos.

Those darn pedals

4:30 AM came earlier this morning. The time change really doesn't help when getting up early. I got into bed around 9 PM to try and sleep. I was able to close my eyes and get to sleep but still, the body was not ready to get up and get going. Yesterday, I cleaned my chain, sproket, and bike. The bike got a good lube as well. I could here it saying "Thank you" when I was done. It was time for it. Anyway, it was a nice tempo ride. I rode 35 minutes of tempo and then hammered it home. I got out to the other side of Simi faster than I have ever before. The whole turn took 75 minutes rather than the usual 80 to 85. The legs felt strong and I felt fast. I have lost another half pound. I expect to keep this up for a while. After only one week of swimming, I can feel it helping already. I am pumped to go swimming again tomorrow. I have about 6 weeks to the years first century. It will be punishing with all of the hills. I plan on hitting some of the hills this weekend and putting some hours on the bike. I need to be at 150 miles per week by the 17th of April. I am going to struggle next week being out of town but we'll see. If the hotel has a stationary bike, I will be all over it.

Anyway, as I was coming into the keypad for the gate to enter the code, I am trying to decide whether to unclip or not. It is dark out still and the keypad is approaches faster than I anticipate. Next thing I know, I have fallen into the bushes on the keypad's island. I bonk my knee on the top tube and slam my chest into my handle bars. My head lands gently in a small flowered bush. I got up quickly and try to shake it off. It did not feel good. Both my legs have small scrapes and my head hurt most of the day. I could only laugh at myself as I got up and pedaled home. Surprisingly, I did not scream nor did I use any foul language. Wow! I wish I had the video tape to show it here on the blog so all could get a laugh but oh well, maybe next time.

Well, I am excited to have JD moving out this way. At least we can get together and hit some hills every once in a while. There are centuries all over California. Maybe I can get him to ride in Death Valley in October!! Just one question, who is the Lucha Libre wrestler in the picture? Is that the California Dreamer? I admit, I don't get the connection. I hope Yoda and JD get out for a ride. Upper Balcones is beautiful this time of year, plus it is a nice challenge. Good riding and may the force be with you.

MS Walk Saturday

I was ready to ride on Saturday morning before the walk but the weather did not cooperate. It stopped raining about 3:30 AM and the streets were too wet to get out and ride. The drainage system is nothing like in San Antonio. This is probably a sympton of not having substantial rain throughout the year. A heavy rain for the locals is only a light rain in Alamo Town. The water just does not get off of the road. By 10 AM, the time of the MS Walk start, everything was pretty much dry. The walk was fun with a lot of people participating. We all wore our Milgard shirts and had a good time. Later in the day, we went and played some tennis as well. Cassie and Craig are getting better.

I had to work a bit on the bike. The new tires I bought would not seat right on the rim. I kept getting this bump in the tire. Actually, it was an indention because the tire would seat too deep. After working with the tires and rims for about an hour, I finally got them right. I had to hurry since I was going to Conference. I still made it one time with Christine's help. We wash my car and she was nice enough to dry it for me. She loves me. Conference was great. Some very inspiring words were spoken by our leaders. Love one another, avoid speaking ill of others, work towards the End, value your membership, serve, and so much more. The meeting finished and I felt renewed and reinvigorated.

Christine and I had talked about going out to eat. I met her at the Wood Ranch BBQ. Several of her friends had told her it was the best around. We thought we'd try it. It was okay. After having the worst BBQ in Texas, it is hard to have anything else. I miss the cream corn, the sauce, the turkey, etc. I need to open a Rudy's here in CA. If only to satisfy my BBQ appetite. Ooh well, I'll have to do it on my own to get good BBQ. Anyway, Christine and I had a great time. The atmosphere was perfect. We talked and just hung out. A good way to end the week.