On the road

I got back on the road tonight for a good 22+ little ride. It finally got hot here and I felt right at home in the 90+ degree heat. The legs get loose quicker and I can get on it. The ride was a little steady state and some hill work, nothing like the Hogg's Hamilton but a good way to get the heart pumping and the legs working.

Just a little shout out to the Hogg. Good luck on the right this weekend. I wish I could be there with you to pull that hill. It is an incredible ride. This is where the song "Jealousy" starts. On the side of the road for the TdF. WOW!! You go guy!! Take some pics for the rest of us stay in the U.S. guys. Drink a cold one for us too, but not too many.

Eight weeks to go to the HHH. It is definitely on...

Pain come sooner for me, only three to the STP. Thanks to Yoda for the prayers. Maybe a Mass for me would help as well.

All tied up in Knotts

It was a fun day at Knott's Berry Farm yesterday. I can remember when we lived in El Paso, watching cable channel KTLA, and seeing the ads for Knott's Berry Farm. I want to go but we never were close to living in LA. Yesterday, the mythical land was brought into reality. Really, it was just like Fiesta Texas. It even has several of the same rides. The Boomerang and the Scream. They might have been slightly different but not by much. We went and saw a couple of shows as well. It was a good day for the family. The best ride was the Xcelerator. It went from 0 to 82 in 2.3 seconds. Then it looped up and over, coming straight down on the backside. When you come out of your seat at the top before going down, it gets you a bit in the stomach. Yet, again, it was similar to the Poltergeist at Fiesta Texas but the Xcelerator was just a bit shorter of a ride. Check out the link to Beecher Street for the pictures. Christine posted them last night.

Just a note about training on the bike, there are 9 weeks till the Triple H. This is the prime training time for preparation. Heart and competitiveness are vital charateristics of competition. If you don't have them, then more than likely you are not competing. You are just mosying along, smelling the flowers, chasing butterflies, hugging trees, and any destination will do. In reading one of Lance's books, he mentions a race he was in. He felt prepared but when it came time to go, he did not have the top end to hang. He could tell by all of the information that was being gathered, watts and heart rate, that he was at the upper limit of his ability to push. In this case, his best was not good enough to win. So what did he do? He went back and trained harder in order to raise the bar. For me, the Mt. Hamilton ride was a "raising the bar" event. It was tough, both mentally and physically. There are definitely times when "mosying" is acceptable. We all need stress relief but in the back of the mind there is the overarching goal looming there, pricking your conscience to get out there and prepare. Don't ignore the prodings. These last nine weeks are all we've got between just eating the food or eating the food and "yeah, I'll take the check! Let me conclude this portion with a Lance quote, "This is my body. And I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass six hours a day. What are you on?"

Finally, there is three weeks till the STP. 204 miles of fun. I am in the final preparation stages for this ride, riding almost every day trying to complete my preparation. I feel good about the ride. I have planned a long ride for this weekend. Christine is going to Utah for a wedding of one of our nieces. I plan on celebrating the first day of the TdF with 125 miles of my own, with a 50 mile kicker the next day. I know I can do it. These rides are more for the confidence than anything else. The bikes knows the way. I have just got to push it to get there. Finally, one last Lance quotes for the day, "Once someone asked me what pleasure I got out of riding my bike for so long. 'Pleasure?' I asked. 'I don't understand the question. I didn't do it for pleasure. I did it for pain'."

Pain is the sign of weakness leaving the body (I've got a lot of weakness leaving the body these days). Gotta love the pain!!

A few thoughts about bicycles

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia. ~H.G. Wells

In reading these quotes, Lance was right. It is not about the bike.

(To respond to JD. Yes, JD, that little green hill does not do the 4200' of climbing on Mt. Hamilton justice.)

Not for the faint hearted

Here is the partial elevation for the Mt. Hamilton ride. For some reason, my GPS did not record the first twenty or so miles of the ride. It did get the last thirty so you can see at least the downhill portion. It goes from a height of 4200 feet to 170 feet. Even sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for several hours on the way home could not ruin the ride. If the Hogg continues to ride Mt. Hamilton, even a portion of the ride, I am in trouble in August. Ooh well, to ride with good friends is worth even losing and having to buy some Mexican food.

Today was some recovery riding with the kids. We went up Wood Ranch Hill and rode on some of the trials. It was Craig's first time up the hills and we had a good time with Cassie showing us the way. The mountain bike is fun to ride but it is not meant for the road. It is a steel monster to ride. Tomorrow, back to the training for the STP.

Mt. Hamilton

The first eight miles were nice and easy, just a nice warm up to get the legs loose and ready for the day ahead. Then we turned right and up the hill we went, some 4,200+ feet worth of climbing over 19 miles, over 2000+ feet was up the last seven miles. I will post the route when I get back to LA and download the information. It took 2 hrs 35 minutes to get up to the top and then only 1 hr 30 minutes to get back down. The down was great; it just hurt the hands to continually pull on the brakes. After a while, I was hoping for some hill or flat to just not have to pull on the brakes! Check out this website to see the top of Mt. Hamilton, http://mthamilton.ucolick.org/. It has a cam and you can see the road we came up and the other hills we came over to get there. As JD has described, there are two "prehills" before the last climb. The first is okay just long. The second is steeper but not as long. The last one is the seven miles to the top. It took an hour to get up this hill. It was a good ride and what I needed to get ready for the STP. JD did me right. It was a good ride. It was good to be riding with him again. I am sure we will have many more opportunities to do it again.

Something I failed to mention was this last week, during my rides, Christine got out with me for an hour. I was so happy to have her riding with me. It was for a little over an hour but it is a start. I hope to continue to coax her to get on the bike. She has been at spin class now a couple of time. Who knows, she might be the next Jedi on the bike!!

Ride in the hills

Ivan Basso was looking good in the Giro. That is an amazing race. Incredible climbs, heat, pain, suffering, and Basso looked in great shape. I wonder if he can hold on to his conditioning till and through the Tour. Time will tell. Only three more weeks till it starts.

It has been a good week on the bike so far, having ridden every day this week so far. A couple of days were good low intensity days followed by today of a lot of hills at high intensity. I had not ridden Erbes and Westlake in a while. It was a different day on the bike. I was a couple of gear higher than I had been before on those hills. It felt good. When I got home, I got on the scale. Yes, another five pounds down. Sub 200 is not too far away. In the immortal words of Morris Day, "YYYYYEEEEEEEESS."

I'd like to thank the Miami Heat for winning a couple of games to make it a series.

Finally, Ben is out of the hospital and the spin is he'll be back for the start of the season. Let's go Steelers. You know he is important when the team is 27-4 when he has started a game in the last two years.

Tomorrow we will travel to San Jose and hang with the Dunfords. It looks to be a good weekend of riding. It is always good to ride with good friends. I am looking forward to it.

You might have won a Super Bowl...

But you still aren't that smart if you don't wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. Pittsburgh was looking good again this season, not having lost too many players to free agency and picking up some good prospects in the draft. One of the key components of a championship team in the NFL is the quarterback. Without Big Ben last year, we don't make the playoffs. Well, we might not be making the playoffs this year. ESPN is reporting Big Ben has been in an accident where he wasn't wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle. Supposedly, he went headfirst into a windshield of the car that was involved in the accident. Why wouldn't you wear a helmet? Ben plays a game where 300+ pound defensive linemen are trying to take his head off but he wears a helmet. Yet, while riding a motorcycle he all of the sudden has a big "S" on his chest. Things on the road weigh considerablely more than these linemen and hurt a lot more. Maybe he didn't like to mess up his hair, whatever hair he had. For whatever reason, the option of not wearing a helmet should not be an option. Afterall that has happened with professional athletes with motorcycles, their use should be banned by an explicit line item in the contract. Let me look on the bright side, we still are the defending Super Bowl champions, all season long regardless if we make the playoffs or not!! Come on Ben. Just say "Pop!"

Ride with Cassie

What a day today! It started at 4:30 AM with a ride to work to open up the building and make sure the shapes team came in. At about 5:30 AM, it was back to the house. I tried to get motivated to ride but fell asleep and didn't wake up till Cassie dumped some clothes on my bed at 9. I finally got up and got the bikes ready. We hit the hills today and did some mountain biking. It was fun but more difficult than I had thought. She had to push the bike a little bit but it was fun. Just me and her out there riding in the shrubs and overgrowth. Then it was off to buy food for the week and get a piece of pizza for lunch. We got home and played a bit of Madden. I barely beat Cassie. I know I am in trouble when my daughter gives me a go on a video game. Football at that!!. Anyway, we watched a bit of TV and then it was off to a double header softball game. We lost the first one 8-7 but beat up the other team in the second, 18-3. It was stopped in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out. Mercy rule. My shoulder is a bit sore but it felt good throwing. I whipped one from the fence to second with only minor pain. After getting home, Cassie and I made some Caesar salad with some mango and shrimp pasta. We topped it off with a little pudding. Now it is just time to relax. I got to say, today was a good day. It could have been better but I know Christine is doing the right thing.

I got lost in a couple World Cup games today as well. I watched the second and third games today. I found a new way to watch soccer. Record the games and then watch them in fast forward. During the time the ball is not in the mid-field, I play the game in order to catch all of the more exciting parts. It was fun to watch. It really is a beautiful game. Let's hope the U.S. plays well on Monday. I want to see the game. Maybe I'll camp out in the office to watch it on my laptop. Then again, I can just Tivo it and watch it later. Let's go U.S.A.

Time to go to bed...

Commencement Address for all soon-to-be Graduates

I found this at espn.com and thought to post it here for all of you future graduates. There is some good advice here. It is interesting to note that commencement speakers are now being drawn from athletics rather than politics or business. Here's what a commencement speech from an athlete would look like. Words to live by ... yeah ...

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2006:
Watch the Suns' dance team.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, the Suns' dance team would be it. The long-term benefits of watching attractive, scantily clad women gyrate have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice is no more reliable than the Houston Texans' draft board. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until you're retired and see a feature piece about your career on ESPN Classic. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and realize in a way you can't grasp now how much bulk you added to your frame by using steroids. Your testicles will be smaller than you can imagine.

Don't worry about your contract. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to win a Super Bowl by starting Peyton Manning at quarterback. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your mind. Leave them to your agent, attorney, accountant, financial advisor and personal assistant. That's why you have them.

Do one groupie every year who scares you.

Sing. Don't be reckless and put it on an album, though. And don't trust people who tell you to do so. It will suck.

Endorse. Don't waste your time on practice. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The season is long and, in the end, we're talking about practice. We're talking about practice, man. We're talking about practice.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you can succeed in doing this, you're probably Barry Bonds.

Keep your old fan mail. Throw away your old paternity suits.

Stretch. Especially if you're in any way related to Ken Griffey, Jr.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your signing bonus. The most interesting athletes I know blew $20 million on a house. Some of the most interesting I know blew $40 million on a yacht.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone and you're stuck playing DH.

Maybe you'll get traded, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll be an All-Star, maybe you won't.

Maybe you'll win a title, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken after the most inconsequential tackles like Ray Lewis. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. That's what sports radio is for.

Enjoy your body. Abuse it every way you can. Don't be afraid to go out all night and don't listen to people who disapprove of your doing so. They're just jealous.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but on "Dancing with the Stars" after failing to catch on as a fifth receiver with the Broncos.
Read the playbook, but don't bother following the plays. Your coaches will never know how to utilize your talents properly.

Do not read sports columnists. They will only make you stupid.

Get to know your fans. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your posse members. They're the best link to your stash and the people most likely to lie for you under oath.

Understand that teammates come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to keep them on your side, because the older you get, the more you'll need them to help you convince management that you're still worth keeping around.

Play in New York City once, as long as it's not for the Knicks. Play in Northern California once, but leave before you're linked to BALCO.
Travel. The NBA doesn't call it.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Agents will cheat. Owners will lie. You, too, will get cut. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, agents were forthright, owners were generous and players didn't hold out for larger contracts.

Hold out for a larger contract.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll be in a players union. Maybe you'll have a long-term, guaranteed contract. But if you play in the NFL, both of those are pretty much worthless.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 you'll have to hold a press conference to deny rumors about your sexual preferences just like Mike Piazza did.
Be careful which steroids you buy, but be patient with those who supply them. Steroids are a kind of performance-enhancing drug. Dispensing them is a way of fishing an inferior athlete from the disposal, wiping him off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling him for more than he's worth.

But trust me on the Suns' dance team.

Don't be afraid

I was reading last night about the RAGBRAI and the Furnace Creek 508. These both can be done. Wouldn't it be fun to do either one? I have heard of a trek down the California coast but have not been able to find it online as of yet. It is only a matter of time. Or, we just make our own. Yeah, that's the ticket. I'd like to do 500+ miles in a week or even 48 hours.

I rode the bike to work today. The goal is to do it all of the time and only drive when there is a reason to do so. I guess the high gas prices and the need to remain cost conscience has driven me here but it will do me good. It get another thirty minutes a day on the bike plus I can leave from work to start a ride and take a little longer to get home. This is going to be fun. Now I can sit in my office and be tortured all day looking at my bike. I know I want to ride but can't. All in time.

I attached this picture to give me motivation. Just ride, baby and don't be afraid to step outside the comfort zone.

The Next Big Event ... maybe in 2008

Just a note to my cycling friends, we should form a team and do this in a couple of years, maybe 2008. It is in the furnace of suffering and the fight for a common goal where many a great bond is strengthen. This would be an extremely hot furnace!

Take a look at this link, www.the508.com.

Christine asked me what was next. Last year it was a century, this year a double, maybe next year the 508!!!

A few notes

It has been a busy day. I got up at 5:30 AM and hit the road by 6. About 40 miles later I was back at home, a nice 2 1/2 hour ride of easy spinning. Then it was time to get ready for the hike with the Webelos. I think I have found my World Cup partner here in Simi. Christian is one of the boys dad. He works for Magellan and is from Munchen (Munich). Then it was time to shower, run to Walmart and get some last minute items, pack, make a lunch, and meet at 11 AM. We hiked for three hours, finding three geocaches and placing one of our own. Then it was off to the beach for three hours, dinner at Chipotle, and then back to the beach for some football and sunset. We finally got back to the house after 9 PM. It has been a busy one but a very fun one.

It has been a good week on the bike. I only missed riding on Tuesday this week. I felt strong and good. Time is all I need to get ready for the next bike ride in Seattle.

I just wanted to post some random pictures I thought were worth while seeing. One is the Steelers with Bush 43. Yeah, the Steelers won the NFL Championship this year and they are my team. Now that this is out of the way, time to get on with defending the championship!!

Also, check out this bike. Ya gotta like the rims. I wonder how light they are? Maybe I should get a pair to see how they ride. Wait a minute, I saw this guy today at the beach. He was in a T-Mobile jersey and a pink helmet. The hair still was sticking through the helmet. This must be Coolio's cousin.