epic comic book coming soon...

I'm taking advantage of this week's lull in riding and working on my photoshop project due Wednesday. I have to make a comic strip using multiple layers, filters and blending techniques. Last night, I hung a neon green sheet on my wall and it works very well as a makeshift green-screen. I want this project to kick ass because the last one was pretty lame.

It's nice to obsess on something other than cycling right now. When I get time, that dumb squirrel on top of this blog is going to get a make-over.

Shout Out:

"Hey kids, don't do drugs!"

It's a puzzle... put the pieces in place.

I purchased my racing license today. I have the money set aside for my share of the hotel expense for VOS. A new stem is waiting for me at Millcreek which will put my road fit where it needs to be. In South Jordan, I have a bunch of Maxxis tires and tubes that need to be picked up. I'm finishing off a nice recovery week and getting the hang of photoshop. Most of the pieces are coming together nicely.

Yesterday's ride was nice. I certainly held back when exerting myself would have been more destructive than rewarding. My legs were pretty tight and fatigued, completely lacking any spring or sprightliness. It was nice, so i just took in the warm (40degrees), sunny day.

I got an amazing massage today from Shayna. My legs feel much better and all the knots are out of my back. I decided that I'll make massage a constant part of my training regiment.

A few thoughts

It's funny when you think that 40 degrees feels balmy outside.

A cheap substitute for GU is a flask of chocolate syrup and honey.

Tall head tubes are a pain in the... well... nothing i guess. But inconvenient when you're trying to duplicate your race fit.

Somebody should make a frame with a dual wielding machine gun top-tube.

Never bed down with Sasquatch.

28hrs45min

Twenty-eight hours and 45 minutes: The longest week I have done on a bike to date. I set out today to complete another century and came close. In the end, I was barely able to pedal up 4800 south. It felt like somebody had thrown a monkey wrench into the gears that used to churn my legs and I was spent.

I'm really thankful for everybody's support. I was riding the trainer all afternoon on saturday (11am-5pm), and Anthony came into my room around 2:30 with a cup of coffee. He asked how long I would be riding, so I told him until five. He came back in at 4:30 to tell me I only had thirty minutes left. Then he said, "you're the fastest in the world. It would be cool if you raced and beat Lance Armstrong and you were like... ha ha. Wouldn't that be funny?" My little brother really looks up to me and I can't understand why sometimes but I think it's really rad having a fan.

I'm really trying to find a level of fitness that I haven't had before. I owe it to so many people. I want to represent my team well. I want to be successful and when I don't have the legs; I want to help my teammates be successful. I'm surrounded by good people and I want to give something back. I really appreciate Mike Hanseen and the Millcreek Bicycles Crew. I'm pretty blessed to have been able to spend two years working with such awesome people.

The next week is a rest/recovery week. I'm planning on spending some time with my long-lost friends and getting very acquainted with photoshop. Maybe I'll take Anthony on a ride along the Parkway.

Wanna whack a Poodle?

I'm beginning to obsess. I went for a ride this afternoon hoping to repeat my century ride earlier this week, and ended up pulling the plug three hours into it. I had tired legs and the saddle was chafing me weird. I ended up going home, eating some food, and chillin'.

I hit the road again at 8:00pm and went for a 2.5 hour bike ride. On the way home, without fail, that stupid dog chased me in hooper. I threw a frozen waterbottle at it then stopped. I turned around and chased him back, then scoured the ground and eventually found my water bottle. I want to get a really long, heavy frame pump and stick a nail in it. When dogs chase me, WHACK! Right in the fucking face!

In more animal friendly news, the time trial bike been completely overhauled. I let the brakes and derailleurs soak in a coffee can full of degreaser, then replaced the cables and housing. I put the 56T "business" ring back on . It'll "git 'r'done."

101.33

VOS is closing in on me and I'm getting my longest week of the year underway. Today I woke up to a snowstorm and decided to hop on the trainer. I got the bike set up but couldn't ride. I ate a pancake and the sky cleared up. So, I decided I would ride my 90 minutes of tempo outside. The roads were slushy but it was warm and I ended up deciding to take advantage of the clean air and sunshine. My feet were soaked and frozen, but I was able to ride a century today. 101.33 miles! In January! In Northern Utah!

I'm feeling that I can do very well at VOS.

Lazy days

Hard time getting motivated to do anything today. Recovery days usually hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted to do 90 minutes of active recovery (spinning around on the bike, maybe a walk, something...) but ended up lying around the house all day.

Yesterday was spent snowshoeing, napping and night riding.

Saturday was a drawn-out reintroduction to climbing.

Bicycle Commuting Rant

To the fat sack of shit driving the dodge neon: I'm going to find you and gut you. Not really but I hate lousy drivers that either are too oblivious to notice bikes, or have a skewed sense that they are solely entitled the entire road. How cool would it be to put that same fat sack of shit on a bicycle with 1" tires and deafen him with a horn while he tries to get around a bus or pile of snow in the road?

Team Bike!

I called on the phone to make me a query,

I checked my email from noon to ten-thirty

I paced and I shook and I twitched, what a sight

And tried to be patient, to wait for my bike

On friday, a day that I woke all damn sick,

I drove up to millcreek to pick it up quick

"You worked here before, assemble yourself"

So I jumped with glee, a mechanical elf

I opened the box and to my surprise

A bike with white and red candy cane lines

Christmas had passed, but seemed to come twice

I know Santa had thought I could hardly be nice

The team bike sparkled and I asked it her name

She said it was Claire and at once I came

So I hopped aboard and we rode to the moon

And she slept in my bed, together we spooned

Today we woke early to go for a ride

Despite treacherous cold and the snow outside

We rode up trappers loop, we gracefully climbed

again and again for about seven times...

Then I was tired and she started to groan

"But Claire I'm exhausted and want to go home"

"I guess its alright," she calmly replied,

"As long as you never ride me inside"

...And, that's the story of how i got my team bike. Apparently, I'm never allowed to ride it on rollers in the basement or it will kill me while I'm descending.

Maybe if I lie enough, I too can win a Nobel Prize

I rode tempo today and jogged. The air was clean but it was so cold it burned my lungs. It was 21 degrees when I left for my ride! Someone should arrest Al Gore for lying to the entire fucking world about global warming. It's abnormally cold all across the country, meanwhile he's flying his jet around, driving SUV's and living in a huge mansion while simultaneously preaching the need to consume less! The whole idea of carbon credits is pretty similar, in my opinion, to when the Catholic church was selling Indulgences. If insanity shall be the norm, then maybe i can sell Al Gore my carbon credits for all my bicycle commuting. Then he can use those credits to burn tires in his back yard or drive his SUV or fly in his jet.

Tempo and Tempura

I woke up at six o'clock this morning because terrorists hijacked my dream and I couldn't get back to sleep. This afternoon I began tempo work on the Time Trial bike. I got home then went jogging (I'm pretty sure I looked retarded and awkward because that's how I felt).

I'm pretty amped on riding 41/2 hours tomorrow. My new layering system (three pairs of socks, shoes, wool sock, windproof bootie, then neoprene bootie) keeps the toes from falling off.

One of my favorite things in the world is fire. I love bonfires. We had a decent little campfire tonight then went and got some sushi at this new place in Clinton. The sushi was pretty good. The place wasn't very busy, so the service was incredible.

Shout out:

Check out Hibachi House in Clinton (across the street from walmart next to Lowes)- Awesome sushi

"Squirrel's Magical Adventure Storybook for Kids!"

Once upon a time, there lived a Squirrel named Squirrely. Squirrelly liked to ride his bicycle from tree to tree collecting nuts in his cheeks. One day, while riding his bike, squirrel ran into a magical homeless box troll. The troll smelled of urine and booze, but told Squirrelly of a magical place called Suburbiana.

“Suburbiana is a mystical realm where one can find abundant food with little nutritious value, travel vast distances without walking, and where girl pants are fashionable for all." The homeless box troll began to wet himself then fell asleep. (They tend to fall asleep easily this time of year)

Squirrelly decided to go. “A life with no danger would be fantastic,” he said to himself. So he began to ride and ride. He rode past the river. He rode through the woods. He rode through the snow. He was close enough to smell the exhaust fumes of Suburbania when…

Suddenly a trio of Ninja Dolphins Jumped out and began to kick Squirrelly's ass. He picked up his bike and ran away screaming and crying; a little beaten and raped. "How will I ever get past them?" Squirrelly thought. "They have wet blow holes and I have is a cheek full of magical nuts"

Squirrelly was overpowered, so he decided to use his head to passive-agressively deal with the dolphins. He began hatching plans. When the dolphins fell asleep, Squirrelly plugged their blowholes with some of his Acorns; suffocating them. He ground their lifeless bodies into "Chicken of the Sea" and left them for the wolves.

Squirrelly eventually found his way to Suburbiana. He couldn't get a job because of all the mexicans. He couldn't get laid because he didn't have a big truck. And he couldn't find a pair of girl pants that didn't make his tail look fat and frumpy. His hopes dashed, he decided to take his bike and go back to his tree. He slept warm and cozy the rest of the winter, eating nuts and questionable tuna. The END

Easy Ridin' Sundays

Sundays are the perfect days for chillaxin' on the bike. 70% of the population is at church and 50% of the population is hung over; so hardly anyone's on the road. I had some awesome coffee, washed the grime and shit off of my bike from yesterday, then rode to the island.

This winter has been pretty mellow. It was cold for a spell, but not bad so far. I've been bundling up and riding. Since September, I've only been riding my TT bike. I'm looking forward to getting my team bike soon. I'm excited about the prospect of summer. But, right now i got to take it a day at a time. I'm trying to stay focused on my goals...going outside and riding is a huge part of that.

Yesterday, Ben and I rode to Crystal Hot springs. got 90 miles and almost 5 hrs in!

Happy New Year