Holy Crap

So, I finally have a bit of time to ride, and I get sick. It could be from riding and running on E, but I didn't go out and hammer or anything. Who knows. The worst thing is, it is almost 60, and I will be stuck inside for the second day in a row. I feel good enough to maybe get on the rollers and sweat some of this junk out a bit, but seriously: who wants to ride the rollers when it is 60 out (aside from TJ, who probably thinks it is too cold).

A lot to say

Prelude: Well, where do I begin? It has been a few ticks, but things are not all that different. School is constanly keeping me busy; anytime I am not working on school, I am caught up working on our house. Both of which are coming along quite nicely. Riding has been scarace (well, compared to what I am used to). Running and lifting are still a staple in my weekly exercise routine. We haven't ventured far from home lately, other than heading to R-town for a day.5 for Turkey Day, which I might add was lovely.

Since I began this post on the 26th of November, I felt it appropriate to finish just over a month later. I have a few other pictures I would like to share with the millions of you out there, but this should be a good start. I was going to attempt to make this look super clean, and organized (such is my life), but I thought instead you could choose your own adventure. So, in no order what-so-ever (sorry, but at least you get to stare at a new template!)



This is a ginourmous resturant in the Valley, known as the Emperorer's Place (or something like that). It has every kind of Asian-influenced food you could imagine. It isn't super authentic (as if I know what authentic tastes like), but it sure hit the spot that day.

This is a ginourmous kid who used to ride bikes a lot, but now thinks that if he thinks about bikes, he can stay fit...wrong!



This is what your floor looks like before you install ceramic tile. Yes, I am a remodeling master now (with the help of my fater and K's father)

Parker is enjoying a little somethign I picked up for him in the anatomy lab...just kidding, but that would be a site!

Paola is still alive and kicking. She recieved many great Christmas gifts, and to keep par she snubbed them all off...except for Da Bird. Thomas introduced me to it a year ago, and no kitty should be without.

Parker is rummaging through his stocking like a bank robber. He grabbed the femur-sized treat from the get-go, and hasn't put it down since.

Sink your fridge into a wall, gain a million square feet (or so it seems). This is one of the nearly finished pictures of our kitchen.

In the begining, there was one word that could describe our kitchen...unfunctional (non-functuax). This is a picture from before we even purchased the home, and K is thinking "my idiot husband better be right about this remodel idea"

We found some interesting things along the way. The chimney was a small set-back, but in the end, it was defeated and put back into the wall. We almost kept it exposed, but it didn't go with the rest of the home. Bummer!

New appliances are neat! New everything is really neat! We even have a dishwasher now. My first one in a long time.

This is almost the same view as the picture above featuring my lovely wife. Notice a difference?

So, here is the quick fridge story...we stole a closet from the adjacent room, closed up a pantry, and put the fride in the wall...this left a door frame in my office from the old closet which now = a book case. Pretty cheech, huh? The old pantry will provide a larger closet for the office, and the rest is history.

I realize what you are saying...we aren't 100% done. Well, BACK OFF!!! The backsplash, base boards and final touches on paint are in the making.

Final prep stages for the fridge. I can't describe the anguish that circulated throughout the household during the project...but is was well worth the time and effort.

I am pretty certain this pic has been posted a time or two already, but this was square one. The first task in opening the room up. Plaster and wood lathes = a hyge pain in the A$$.


Here is that book case I was telling you about. Pretty niffty huh? This is where I put my books. Novel thought, huh?

When we moved in, we had this beautiful fireplace...but no way to make a fire. So, I began rubbing two sticks together, and a few months later, this is what I came up with.

You see, cycling and construction can get along just fine. Seriously, I think the cycling cap/demo crew thing could catch on. It kept crap out of my hair and dust out o the top of my glasses. You can even wear it if you are painting.

Other than all of that, I made it through my first trimester at Logan. That is good. I am looking forward to the next. I have managed to ride a bit here and there, in fact, I got out today and noticed something a bit peculiar...my heart rate was higher than my power output; looks like someone has a lot of work to do.

Christmas was good to us. I recieved two gifts that completely oppose eachother. K got me a wine/beer distilling kit, and for our "together home type gift" Santa brought us a Total Gym. Expect pics of that, plus some other goodies I failed to catch up on.

I am going to try and bein a new rule. No more "catching up". Hopefully, I will just update the darn thing more. If I don't, just consider whatever you missed as something that never happened. I am sick of typing, so here you go...the moment you have all been waiting for. Hope you enjoyed!

18 Days and counting

That is how long since I have even sat on a bicycle. By far my longest break ever. I have been running and lifting a bit, but my life has been mostly consumed by school. I will pick up my bike again tomorrow or Thursday, and plan on taking my new secret training tool up to Columbia on Friday night, in hopes of finishing in time for a ride on Saturday with the BoCoMO crew.

Life is good in STL. Things with school have been amazing, but incredibly busy as well. I have put in a lot of time and effort so far, and the benefits are beginning to come. My understanding of the material has increased exponentially over the past few weeks, and I finally feel comfortable in my daily agenda. Things I have learned so far:
1) Piriformis syndrome could be much worse for athletes when the sciatic nerve perforates the muscle.
2) Next time you are cutting up dead bodies, be sure to put a bit of menthol/eucalyptus ointment on your upperlip...no one wants to have their upperlip smell like a cadaver lab.
3) Before you purchase a salad for 38 cents and ounce, be sure you understand the amount of ruffage you are getting yourself into...you may just end up with an 8 dollar salad (no meat included!)
4) I fit right in around here: everyone is walking around in the halls changing for their respective labs without breaking stride. Next semester, the first day of Logan Basic, we all get to moon each other to get over the funny butt joke (I will never get over that, it will always be humorous) and to top it off, the motto for the adjustment is "don't squeeze the peach". For further explanation, research the Logan Basic Technique.

On a more serious note, I really am enjoying what I am doing. I can't explain the amount of material I have learned, and can not wait to help those who allow me to offer help to them.

It hasn't been all work. K and I got down to Branson last weekend with her family for a relaxing day.5 get-away. We had a really kickin' condo overlooking Tannycomo (Bendel, we could have crossed paths) and spent Saturday at SDC. Now, I am not the biggest fan of amusement parks, but it was such a nice day, it was difficult to not enjoy the time relaxing. K and I bought a really cool print from a native artist to Web City...look for it around Christmas time. It was good to get away, and put school on the back burner for the first time. On our way back home, we stopped by a farm in Newburg, just a few minutes west of Rolla. The dentist that cleaned my teeth growing up runs Greenwood Farms , and just may end up being our source for all of our meats, dairy, eggs and so forth. They have a very beautiful, serine farm on 300+ acres full of pasture and foliage. We were able to meet with some of the other family members involved, and they seem to have wonderful souls. I highly recommend checking them out if you are interested in those particular eating habits. They do deliveries all over the place, including but not limited to STL, Columbia, Minnesota (no Micah, I am not joking) and of course Rolla.


Watch out BoCoMO, here I come!

Quickie

I have been busier than I can explain on paper...7-14 hours per day at school, not much time to do anything but think about school. I have been running a bit, doing some lifting, and I am nearing my "break" off the bike. This is the first year I have not had to pull myself off the saddle on like the 9th day off, simply because it is just one less thing to think about, so it was easy to avoid. I recieved a package from Micah yesterday with the second gen Poprad. Cyclocross is on the horizon.

Side note, I recieved a call from Tyrone yesterday...he will be riding with me and the rest of the guys on Mercy. I am super excited TJ, way to go. Meanwhile, TJ is down in Austin working with K-Liv, dialing his body in. Miss you Teej.

To all the BoCoMO crew, I miss you too, and we will reunite soon...7 days to be exact.

Anyone have a right DA, or Ultegra (2nd 9spd gen) lying 'round I could take off your hands? If so, email me

This is where I have been hiding

To my surprise, school will not be as demanding as I presumed. Don't get me wrong, it will be a straight kick to the giblets (thanks for the verbiage Luke) however, I don't have to be in class nearly as much as I thought. I will probably still be on campus, but at least I can leave the "lair of learning" and go to the library or something. Labs begin next week, so I believe things will hit the fan.

Things are different in STL. I figured I had a pretty good idea of what people would be like around here; I guess not everyone wears lycra and puts more miles on their bike than their car a year. Let me tell you a little story. Classes were cancelled today due to a power outage...wait a second. My rein at MU was the better part of 5 years, and I can't remember one time a power outage, snow and ice storm, hurricane, or any other natural/unnatural disaster happened. Point being, when you wake up at 5am, and drive 20 minutes to learn something you have invested a bunch of money into (well, borrowed a bunch of money to invest into), you feel a bit cheated. I tucked my tail and traveled back home. After a bit of shopping (I had to pick up some pencils and what not) I came home to a very depressed puppy. We haven't gotten Parker out as much as we normally do so he has been a bit of a crab-ass. The problem is, none of the parks around here have a leash-free zone. Ok, no problem, surly there is a dog park near by. Oh yeah, there are several...all of which cost at a minimum of 50 bucks because we aren't residents of the particular sector of town (residents are required to pay 20-30 bucks). Now, I understand that someone has to take care of the grounds, mow, repair fence, ect; but seriously, Columbia has a great dog park, and it is totally free. Well, there is one completely free, non-discriminatory (towards residence) dog park closer than Columbia (not by much), in Wentzville. Parker looked so upset, we rocked it down 70 to get his play on. We were alone when we arrived, and it looked like it was going to be a long soccer match between he and I. Over the course of the next hour, a few more dogs showed up. Two hours in, there was an army of dogs out there. The problem: the owners. Sure, there were some nice people, and I am sure that most of them meant well. There was one woman who just couldn't seem to keep her opinions to herself. To me, opinions are something I keep to myself, until someone asks for it (or, if I feel so compelled to give it, which is a rare case). This woman commented on the dogs she thought were ugly, stupid, breeds with bad breath and so on all the while her beautiful Redbone Coonhound (he really was a pretty dog) played by himself and the other dogs. Don't get me wrong, the dogs are supposed to play together, but I typically enjoy playing with the other dogs, and my dog while he is playing with other dogs. Another woman was fresh off the shacker list. Enough said. Most everyone else was kind, and easy to get along with. Sorry for the rant, I just don't understand the way some people think.

K and I rolled around the airport earlier this week. It was good to get out with her. She really enjoyed the ride too. We saw several F-15's I think (I am no fighter jet-buff, but I think that is the name). Riding comes in waves. Next week, I will begin riding to class hopefully. I need to finish my track wheels so I can roll on the SC to class...painful.

Back to School

I began my journey at Logan yesterday: it will not be one without familiar faces however, as my home-town buddy Cam and friend from MU Carrie have found their way to this epic adventure. Holly crap though, the room we were in yesterday was freezing...now I know how my wife feels every day of the week. I will have an arsenal of long-sleeved accessories to complete my remainding of the summer wardrobe.

My body is still recouping a bit from Gateway, but I think things are on the up. I have not attempted to ride to school this week, but I believe I will begin that next. Hopefully, I don't have to lug 80 #'s worth of books to Chesterfield everyday...we shall see.

I received a refreshing phone call from Thomas last evening; I had already locked myself in the office to begin reading the plethora of material Logan has to offer. I think yesterday I realized we were not in Columbia any longer, as I am usually surrounded by several people that I have been in school with for the past several years. This was a sad awakening, however, I am sure this time next year things will feel comfortable. We met way too many good people in Columbia...maybe the two cities will grow so much in the next year or so that STL and Columbia will be considered the same: we will have a light rail system that could have my bike and I on the eastern fronts of a Big Tree in about a half hour.

Not much else going on. Parker loves his yard, and the kitty enjoys life just a touch more when he is outside. Look back for some weekend bicycling adventures, as every ride is an exploration!

Quick apalogy

sorry if your bowser brings this entry up as crappy as mine does.

Guess who's back?

So, it has been a carbon half-life since I have posted to this ignorant html puzzle, but here it goes:

Since I have last tuned you in, I have moved, became a plumber (yes, I have a workers crack, but you can only find it on my wife ;), an electrician, a carpenter, erected a fence, cleared under-brush, taken a tree down, organized, arranged--and rearranged the house, and driven back and fourth to Columbia enough to make my head spin in circles. During this crazy time, I even managed to portray a bike racer of some form.

Dating back, I missed Tour of KC, because that was the big move weekend. I attended Downers and was unable to race the Pro-Am because I was a bone-head and didn't register...not to self, bike racing must be gaining popularity, or all the Cat 3's in the country have began doping, so now the 1-2 field is flooded. I did race in the 2's event, and had a good ride; alas, the story for this race is similar to last. Good rides do not always elect good results. The elite guys raced well, and Chad earned a spot on the podium (5th) among some of the fastest finishers in the country. Another weekend off between Downers and Gateway sent me to the river for the first time in almost 6 years. Definitely a good break. Gateway was fast and difficult as usual. We had a strong presence, rode well, but unfortunately we didn't come up with the stuff this year. Cagel was resting in 3rd after the new Washington Ave event, and 4th after the Giro. Jensen broke off early, and after several tireless efforts by the team, it was too late. Chad ended up 4th or 5th overall I believe.

Going into detail about the last month would require me to write something equivalent in length to the Encyclopedia Britannica (remember hearing about those as a kid?) so I will spare your eyes and just post some pics. I do want to give several thanks to nearly everyone K and I know for helping us with everything from moving, to providing host housing, to assisting with odd jobs around the new home. Rather than providing a lengthy list, I will just thank you again, as you all well know who you are. We are quite fortunate to have such a great support circle.

I wish I had taken some more before-during-after photos of this process, but here is what I have...in not particular order or fashion.


This is Chad on the podium at Nationals. Congrats Chad

Brad Huff is the first cyclist to ever win an Elite Crit Championship, immediately followed by a Professional Crit Championship. Way to go Chuck!

Yard before

More Before

After

And after that

I have a soccer hooligan living in my back yard...for those of you who don't know, soccer is Parker's favorite sport. He actually has the ball in his mouth.

This is the best I have ever looked at U-city...wait, that is because this was taken only seconds after we began the race.

I look fast with little white-light lines coming off my body.

I will make a valiant attempt to update this more regularly. However, I do begin school on Thursday, which will give me much to speak of, but little time to speak it. I hope this made my 7 or so readers happy.

6 hours for an hour

Doesn't seem like a fair trade, huh? Actually, I had a great time over the weekend heading down to Springpatch with Tyrone. We haven't had a good ol'fashioned road trip like that in a while, and I at least had a good time. The racing was hot, but I felt pretty good. We were able to make some things happen, and come up with some decent results by the end of the race. TJ rode well in both races (at least he spent 1/3 of his day racing). It was good to catch up with some of the guys on the team, and hang with them as well.

Krista and I are busy this week and next finalizing everything on our home. Finally, here are some pics of our new dwelling.








So far the only projects we have planned are a full kitchen overhaul, a patio, and first and foremost, a fence for ParkerAside from that, we are nearly packed and ready to roll.

State TT Bust

There was nearly an interaction with some cops down at the State TT, however, I was not a part of that particular bust...I was refering to the bust-of-a time I rode. Grant it, the wind played a huge factor, and nearly everyone's time was much higher than last year, I still felt pretty bad about my performance. Not that I did myself any favors; the lack of consistent training, the debotury the evening before, and the night before that, and the two evenings before that one...

Yeah, so needless to say, not my idea of a good ride. However, we did put on my idea of a good gay-rodge sale. K and I cleaned house, and put some serious scrilla in the bank. We have attempted to blow this cash in several ways already, and thoughts are still brewing; hopefully, we can resist all of our temtations, and put the money into our kitchen.

Quick recap: Friday, we pulled some gay-rodge sale business. Quick ride, and a pile of margarita's later, I was told I was in rare form by my sister-in-law.

Saturday--more gayness, but the cash kept falling into our laps. The only major thing we did not manage to get rid of was the infamous "Colorado Dining Table". See a much older post (probably from my original blog) for details on that one. Anyway, if you need a big-ass table with four chairs, 40 bucks takes the crown. That afternoon, Jason and I Freestyle Urban Crossed around campus and downtown. Good times indeed. We went over to Butthead's that night for a good old-fashioned BBQ. This aided the drunkeness we already started at Rio Grande. Soon after arriving, Jason and I bolted, only to go downtown and scale Jesse Hall again. We searched for more tunnels, but no dice. Maybe next time.

No hangover on Sunday, but things could have been much nicer for the race. I guess you really do reap what you soe.

Now, I am not one to tell stories

So, I was thinking to myself the other day--"self, you haven't spoke with your Canadian friend lately". So, I do my usual searching of the web for race results before E-mailing my northern commarad; this is what I ran across---

Angela Naeth Second to Olympian Gillian Kornell

At the Oliver Sprint Triathlon this weekend, Elitewave's Angela Naeth had an outstanding race - finishing 6th overall in the 156 athlete field (men and women included) and second overall among elite women. The women's race was won by Gilliam Kornell who raced for Canada at the Athens Olympics. Naeth finished a mere 11 seconds behind Kornell after closing the gap on the bike - riding nearly 2 minutes faster than Kornell on the 20km course in order to make up for a lackluster swim. This is the second podium race of the year for Naeth who now looks forward to the National Triathlon Championships in Brampton, Ontario.
Oliver Sprint Triathlon Results

June 4, 2006
Angela Naeth Defends Title at Hinton Triathlon
For the second straight year, Angela Naeth of Prince George, BC won the Hinton Triatlon. Along the way, Naeth nearly clinched the course record for the Olympic Distance comeptition in 2:07. Naeth was also second place overall among the men and women competiting.


So, it seems as if the Kanuk is ripping up the place in Canadia. Good job Ange, keep up the good work.

While my results aren't nearly as impressive, I managed to get over to STL this past weekend for the Tour de Soulard; this is usually a premire STL event,
capitalizing on Bastile Day in a Historic French district downtown.
The heat kept many at home, as the 1-2 field only brought 35 racers.
The race is usually as fast as it is technical, and with 10 corners, hundreds of spectators, beer-handups for all, and a break nearly always finds it's way clear
of the field. Java and I have been the local Mercy representation and
with two battling the likes of 8-10, it is usually an uphill battle. Good thing Brian can climb. Finally, about 25 minutes in, Brian found his way in an established move, with 8 other riders. He attacked the break, and solo'ed for the next 20 minutes or so, only to be caught just before laps. Mesa had three in the break,
and sent one of their ringers, Jeff Schroetlin up the road for the
win...I believe Josh Carter took second, Joe Hill Third, and our boy
4th. Just before the lap cards began to roll over, they called for the
"pass the hat preme". This is typically the preme you want at an STL
race. I made my way to a good position, then fought through the tough
finishing corners only to take on Mike Lanyon in a full out
drag race...I got him at the line, taking the meager 18 dollar prize
(yup, wrong preme this time...but hey, that was good for a 1/2 tank of
gas). Both of us completely blew our steam, and retired from the race
with 4 to go.

My brother Tim hosted a post-race BBQ at his apartment on turn number two. We had a pile of family, a handful of friends, and enough cats and dogs to make a Disney movie. Good food, good fun.

Afterwords, K, Parker and I rolled over to our new home, and little P took his first little pee in his new yard. We took some measurements of the rooms, and the yard, and rolled it back to BoCoMO.

Tight pants tonight, and State TT is right around the corner.

A pile of randomness

I have a pile of pictures that I haven't put into circulation yet...so, in no particular order here they are. This pic is a tribute to my boy Titus.

We caught this scalliwag scoping out our burgers in Margaritaville. Our B&B was a bust, so we found other places to hang while in Afton MN

K and I in Margaritaville aka Run A Muck. This was a fun back yard BBQ with a carribean theme that would even make the Coral Reefers jealous. Brock, you would have loved it. JB 24/7

This is Micah and I.

This is me stunt doubling for the previous scene. See, even though we are hundreds of miles apart, we still get cameos on my blog.

Me, looking like a complete homosexual, at the Mall of America...personally, I liked Ikea better; that is kind of a gay statement. Notice my "comfotable shoes"?

This is what happens when you spend too much time at the Mall...Jason gets peed on, Dillon gets naked, drug around the rest of the mall, then passes out only seconds before we have to wake him up to put him in his car seat. Poor little feller.

You would never guess, but I think I found my calling...in the limbo. Yep, that's right, I am done bike racing. I am shooting for the low-riding event in the 2008 Olympics, in Bejing...Schwing!

This was one family portarit too cute to pass up...yes J and A, we will be sure to make a copy of this one for you.

If the first one wasn't enough to make your stomach turn, check this one out with Mom and son. Little Dill-weed has some sweet moves!

Oh yeah, we saw these two people in the middle of the room making a big thing to do...I think it was their wedding reception or something. Micah and Sarah threw a stand up event. The first stage BBQ set the tone for the week, and things just kept getting better. I couldn't be happier for you two.

Look at those three pimps...just strutting their stuff. Damn we looked good.


Ok, I am done with the pics...now on to business.

K and I made and offer on the house and they took our contract. I am hesitant to put the pics up of the house, becasue last time I did that, everything got all jacked up. So, after things develop a bit further, there will more about the home and the area. So, more on that later. The other side of this good news is that K and I don't have to go to STL 2-3 times per week anymore. I have been able to pick up where I left off with riding and training and I think I may be able to salvage the fitness I had before all of life went crazy.

I made a special guest appearance at Tight Pants...no one was excited except Thomas. It was a good time. The great thing about that ride is, you ride out, go hard for a bit, and ride back, and before you know it, you have 45-60 miles under your belt without even thinking about it. I have been running a bit still, and things don't hurt so bad now. I got out on the TT bike tonight, and actually didn't feel horrible. I don't expect any miracles next Saturday, but I hope to at least put up a decent time.

I think I may convert the SC over to a track bike before the move. I have never been on the velodrome, but it seems like it would be a good time.

A special thanks goes out to my Mom, who has been up here the past few days helping K and I get things in line. We have a great support crew (her parents were up the previous week doing the same deeds). Thanks again!

That is about it, I am less than two months away from starting school, so my reign in Columbia is coming to a close.

I ran again yesterday

For those of you who have trouble counting, or keeping track of things, that means I have ran twice in the last month. I am starting slowly but surely to get my "running legs" under me, so I can do the Chicago half marathon. Once school begins, I will not have the time to go out and ride everyday, so running is almost a necessary evil. Yes, I still ride my bike, and I am planning on racing through Gateway (and hopefully the Mercy Classic), but I figured if I didn't at least get over the painful beginning of running, it would take way too long.

Which by the way, my legs are freaking destroyed from yesterday. I figured a quick spin on the TT bike would loosen them up; I was unpleasantly surprised. This afternoon will bring one of my world famous core workouts.

Bang...happy 4th! I have the opportunity to work today, so I will be taking full advantage of that--yeah...on another note, K and I have been doing some serious house hunting. Our tenative last day in BoCoMO is July 31st. I will probably have to drive back for 3-4 days out of the week and work...in which case, I need to stay with someone; any takers?

So, that is really it. Eat, drink, and blow the crap out of things today.

I ran yesterday

that is all

Busy times

A lot has been going on lately, and bike racing has not made the long list of things to do. I took Memorial Day weekend off for the first time since I began the sport, which was a bit odd to say the least. My cousin and former bike racing phenom Jason got married over the weekend in St. Louis; K and I went up early to check out some homes. So, after we got done looking at the set from the Boyz N Da Hood, Don't Be A Menace To South Central, and any other ghetto gangster movie out there, K and I finally got down to business...on our own. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will have good news regarding our new living arrangements.

Back on the bike this week in full swing has been tiring. Next week, I have the opportunity to participate in a study by one of my mentors, Dr. Pamela Hinton on the long term effect of non-load bearing exercise on bone density. I am excited to get a DEXA scan, to check out not only my bone density, but my tubbiness, and to see if I have any strutural discrepencies...more on that later.

I should have more soon, so stay tuned.

JMSR Wrap UP

To say the race down in Fayetteville was tough would be quite an understatement. 230+ riders began Joe Martin on Friday afternoon and by the end of the weekend, approximately 30 had survived the entire weekend (those thirty finished in the front group of the crit)! I unfortunately was not one of the 30, but my team mate Brian was...in fact, here are some other numbers that are important to Brian; 2--this is the number indicating he was the second-placed amateur overall; 10--this Brian's GC placing; 8:53--that's how long it took Brian to climb a 6.8% grade over 2.5 miles. Needless to say, Java is breaking out! Congrats!

The weekend was a tough one for me. The races have a bunch of climbing, and when surrounded by such a stellar field, I am not much of a climber. I finished about 40 minutes down on Friday eve, just barely inside the time cut, and pulled out of Saturday's stage after getting dropped 50 miles in.

Friday went a little something like this. A group of 5, one of which was Luke, rolled off the front from the whistle. The pace was pretty chill, and there wasn't much climbing in the beginning. A few hills and several crashes later, the race had heated up a bit, and the race was on. Coming into a small town just before the big climb of the day (Mt. Gaylor, 10 miles of climbing, 80 miles into a 110 mile road race), a huge crash had me on the brakes, and nearly on the ground. I was able to avoid the crash, at the cost of chasing back onto the field up a somewhat steep climb. I made my way back on, but as the climb kicked up, accelerations had me dangling off the back once again. I chased all the way into Mountainburg, which is the host town of Gaylor. I had just meandered my way through the caravan as Gaylor began to take it's toll on my legs. I was able to make up some ground, but I could never fully catch back on to the group (as other racers were falling off the pace left and right). I got to the top, grabbed a banana, my first water of the day, and another gatorade (I now despise gatorade) and began my long solo TT back to the finish. Coming into town, I had lost steam and motivation; at first, it hurt to go slow, so I kept going hard...then, everything began to hurt. I was hungry, out of water, couldn't stomach anymore sugar, and nearly defeated. A group of guys (two of which were my team mates) rolled up behind and gave me a whistle to hop on the train...a free ride home. Thank the lord. Later that evening, about an hour .5 after the finish, I saw my arch nemesis (orange gatorade) again, flying out of my mouth from the deep crypts of my empty belly. I couldn't eat for hours. Finally, my body came around, I inhaled a burrito, a sandwich, some fruit and cereal; I was satisfied. Good news for the day...team mate Chad took 7th!--Round one survived

The next morning came early (5:30 am to eat) for our 8 am start. The race was hard for me from the get-go, and my hamstrings were so tight, you would think I had a come-along attached to my pelvis (for those of you non-rednecks, a come-along is a portable winch-like object that is used when constructing barbed-wire fences...how many hyphenated words do you think I can use in one sentence). So, a long story short, I made it up the big climb two out of three times with the group, and didn't have a 40 mile chase left in my legs. I was fried. I came back to the fee zone with my tail tucked between my legs in defeat--Round 2 KO for JMSR

Round three brought me to Rolla, for my first Mother's day appearance in longer than I am willing to admit. Mom, thanks for being so supportive of my cycling, it was great to get to spend time with you one the one day our country cares to recognize the person who has probably sacrificed the most for each and every one of us. I met up with K, then we spent time with each family throughout the rest of the weekend.

Today, I spun around with Tyrone in the morning and worked of course. This week is recover and recoup for Tri Peaks...More thrills, spills, and hills to come.

The week before the weeks before

This week marks the true kick off of the season. It is full throttle from here on out. We travel to Arkansas for the next two weeks for Joe Martin and Tri Peaks respectively. Then, there is Memorial Day weekend, which I will not be attending due to a wedding. I may acutally be able to sneak up for the last two days. The next weekend is the Tulsa Tough Crit series, followed by our State RR, then off to Minnesota for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. That is just the next month. So, that means I have the potential to race my bike 23 times before the 17th of June!
This pic of me from last year's race is depictive of where I spent most of my time.

This year, expect to see me here...only, in front of the guy in the funny yellow and blue kit. Ok, that probably won't happen; but as a team, we hope to pick up a stage win!

The weather has been doing funny things around here. They say it is going to rain, but instead it is sunny, 75, and hardly any wind. Missouri truly is predictably unpredictable.

Bike riding this week has been good. I missed Tight Pants Tuesday this week, due to the weekend; it actually worked out better that way anyway, because I didn't get away from Walt's in time to roll out there. Every day this week is pretty chill. I may get behind the car later today or tomorrow, but things will be on the creep.

I haven't yet decided if I should leave Thursday after work, and get as far as my eyes will allow me (traveling down to Arkansas), or wake up at the butt-crack and roll down Friday morn. The Friday stage takes off at 1:45pm...anyone from BoCoMO need a travel partner?

As of tomorrow, K and I will have been married for 11 months. Kind of crazy how time flies when you are having fun. We are looking around for a place to stay and celebrate while we are up in Minnesota. Micah was kind enough to toss us a few suggestions. Today is pretty much the deadline for that decision, so more on that later.

On another note, Java took 28th at the Tour de Gila. He also took 27th on the hardest stage, the Gila Monster, as one of the top amateurs. Way to go B!

A tribute to Tucson

Well, Jason had to bring it up, so here are a few pics from our trip to the SW last winter.

This is me, eccentric as can be. This was the first thing I interacted with in Oklahoma...or was it New Mexico??? Who knows, but I tried my hardest to come up with a scheme to lift this ape out of the back of the truck, and into our trailer.

Our sleeping arrangements were not the best, as you can tell, wall-to-wall with beds is something prisioners don't even have to deal with (they just keep thoughts like this in their heads for the lonely days). Jason had his Nintendo 64 Super Sonic Game Cube Spy Bot X-Playstation 7 Gigga-what with him to keep him occupied and avoid...


Situations like this one. 11 dudes under one roof, with three total rooms (that includes the living/kitchen area!) is never a grand idea; but it was cheap. I am not sure that there is anything appropriate on the TV, but with the way TJ is bouncing around on that ball, I highly doubt the program is rated "G".


This was the only means of a bathroom Tucson had to offer. You can see our model Jason here performing the number 1 in a most outstanding way. Notice the excited catcti in the background?


Most evenings were spent in the living area, chilling out amoungst all the testosterone. Actually, a few of the guys managed to escape some of the drama. Ben would frequent StarF#*!$ to read and relax. I spent a lot of time sitting out by the pool, and wondering around, and Matt would just dissapear for hours on in ever so often.


This one time, we rolled down to Tombstone to ride from the OK Corral to Nogales Mexico. It took us through the town of Bisbee, which also hosts quite a stage race (Vuelta de Bisbee) later on in the year.

After crossing the border, and making it back into the states in one piece, we ran into these buckaroos and had ourselves a good old fashioned show-down...yeah, those are real cowboys alright.

This picture is just wierd...I will let your imagination take over from here.....


Ok, back to reality.

So, sorry about the recap, but I just found all of my pics from down there. Expect more to come. I rode this morning; hard. Hard enough to make me want to puke up my coffee...but I kept it down. I am not racing this weekend, due to all of the travels in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to being at the house, with K, the kitty, and Parker. More soon-