From Dad back in Minnesota:
OK, this is my first blogging experience! Winter has finally arrived in MN - the highs this week end are supposed to be zero with lows around -12. We plan to hang out alot in our new room with the Vermont Castings stove fired up. Pen was sick all last week end with chemo side effects, but she recovered and went in for more yesterday! We are hoping to get out of here around March 1 and down to Paradise, but some things have to fall in line. The latest possible glitch is some very sad news for us. Our beloved Sammy stopped eating because he couldn't keep his food down and John Hotvet (can you believe that name) told us his kidneys are failing. Village Animal is keeping him during the day giving him fluids intraveniously but it will only buy us some time with this wonderful, loving creature. So we are bummed out grieving the loss of part of our family. DBB

CHANGE OF PLANS

I got the message from my coworker that "Fox News will be coming up on Friday....they want to do a story on us, and specifically, a story about Valentine's Getaways". I said "Friday??" - Yup, Friday. So, after considering the fact that my ski trip would cost a year's salary if I still went - since I'd likely get clipped for bailing on a PR piece that has innumerable revenue potential - I made the call to the boyz informing them of my plan to bail out. I don't own a TV, I don't watch TV, and I don't even enjoy TV (except for sports)......but, our clientele watch TV - so you gots to do what you gots to do, ya know?!

So, in lieu of losing out on a ski-trip, I have constructed a plan that comes in a close 2nd in terms of having a hecka' lotta' fun whilst accommodating the obvious responsibility. Plan B starts by taking advantage of the 6+ inches of new snow we have today and going snowboarding all-day tomorrow. Quick change of clothes and shower, then down to work for a few hours to catch up. The next day? Same thing. Friday - well, work with the film crew of course in the AM and then maybe back to the mountain for the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday will be spent road cycling in the 55 degree verde valley - about an hour south.

SO - I'm excited about Plan B - despite the fact that I will miss out on some great new terrain in Utah. Do you see any moping around here? Heck no - I'm gonna go check my board and make sure I do a quick tuneup before tomorrow's adventure begins when the lifts open at 9:00am.

CB

Hella hella busy weekend

Well its over...my annual owner's meeting at the resort is in the books. Squirty/D and I got to spend one short day together yesterday, and it was super mellow. We went ice skating in the afternoon, and Lyza is now working on trying to skate backwards. That cracks me up! She has been doing great on skates as this is now her 2nd season on them. Lyza's birth mother will take care of her this week, so I am a free man to....

NOW I turn my attention to a ski trip to Utah this weekend. Park City to be precise. Brighton, Cottonwood Canyon, Deer Valley and Snowbird. 3.5 days of snowboarding + night boarding from 4pm until 9pm. I'm going to go until my legs just cave in. We have 10 guys squeezing into a condo for 8 that is right at the base of the Wasatch range in Park City. I'll give you the full report on Sunday night or Monday AM.

BLOWN OPPORTUNITY

I left work at 3pm yesterday with my Scalpel, and met a buddy along the way for a nice 2-hour shred through the Sedona slickrock. His front tire was flat, so we stopped at the shop on the way to the trailhead for a quick burst of compressed air. My old pal Dave Cichan was there, and we caught up for a bit, but we were soon OFF so we could get in plenty of ride time. At the trailhead, the bikes came down off the rack, and Aaron's is rattling when it hits the ground. Turns out - all four of his crankarm bolts are gone - completely gone with the exception of one threaded nut that was holding the two outer chainrings on. Someone had been messing with his bike. So back we go to the shop, and Dave finds four replacement bolts to hold Aaron over for the ride. 30 minutes later we're back at the trailhead - quick change, and off. Not 100 yards down the trail, I hear a massive "CRUNCH" behind me. Aaron says "Dude....I'm done". I turn around, and his derailleur is snapped in half, and his has a broken chain.

Aaron has a handbuilt $3,000 Titus Racer X, and someone, SOMEONE was messing with his bike either when it was on his roof rack, or parked outside a coffeeshop. These types of things don't even happen when you have a horrific crash - especially the missing crankbolts.

So - bottom line....We both fanagled the hard-to-come-by time off from work, drove down to Sedona, rode for 100 yards, walked 100 yards, and ended up HERE to finish the epic adventure. After the Oak Creek Amber went down, the bike ride didn't seem like such a wasted effort. We're headed to the Wasatch Range outside of Park City, UT next week - so this will be a distant memory in about a week. 3 days of snowboarding in the 3000 vertical foot canyons of Park City is just what I need.

C-B

An excellent race...not on a bike this time.

I've got a crush on Nancy Pelosi. Why not? Anyone who slows down the Prez rules in my book.

I cannot wait for the Democratic Primary race to really get going over the course of 2007 and into 2008. Seems as though we have some huge names in the hopper especially if Give 'em Hellary Clinton and Barack Obama face off.

Every pundit has already chimed in with the opinion that Hillary, while immensely popular with liberal Dems, would get crushed in an Electoral College vote - essentially making her a questionable at best choice for the Dem ticket because she may be 'unelectable'. This is aside from, AND because of the fact that she is a woman. Then we also have Obama who is getting tagged as "inexperienced", and questions about his supposed 'Muslim shaping' are already hitting the press.

I think all of that means squat because......... the bottom line is that Hillary and Barack are not white males. Nobody needs a histpry lesson to know that or the past 200+ years we have had white males serving in the Prez and VP roles, and if you think that will change in 2008 then you are in the minority.

Personally, I am really very torn on what I feel is the real issue..... That is: Do we (the Dems) nominate an "electable" candidate who by the very definition of the term "electable" is a white male moderate democrat with just another pretty face (read: John Edwards-type), or do we nominate a candidate that really fulfills our expectations - yet he/she is deemed unelectable. I don't know the answer to this yet, despite having spent a lot of time in politically-riddled situations via work and volunteer organizations.

I am also very curious to see how the efforts of this guy pan out. I don't know much about him, but the more I read, the more I want to read.

In the meantime, let the chessplay begin, and I hope that at least on the Dem side of the ticket, the campaigning is clean, and for the party's progress - not for individual agendas (yeah, right?!).

Painting....another room! With l'artiste Lyza B joining in!

The Gym

After a 1-year absence, I have decided to hit the weights for my upper body again. Why? Because I'm weak. My arms have shriveled into cyclist arms. Muscle tone? Zero. Strength? OK - but not good. So I ambled on over to the gym last week twice. The first day I took it reaaaaally easy, and was rewarded with little soreness. The second time, I let 'er rip, feeling strong the first time back. I totally overdid it, and have had to take a 2-day break. I can barely get my dress shirt on due to shredding what is left of my pectorals and triceps. But ya know what? I feel pretty psyched to get back into this. One aspect that I like about this is that I go around 9pm - after I put Lyza to bed - so the place is quiet and I can get a lot done in around an hour. I have realistic goals, and its also some solid "quiet time" for myself. I'm like most Gen -X gym rats, I don't talk to anyone unless I have to, I wear headphones, and I'm selfishly into my routine. Hey - that's what works for me.

The biggest reason I'm back in the gym is because I don't feel as self-confident when I'm feeling physically weak. Also, turning 39 didn't mean much to me mentally, but after playing in the snow a couple of weeks ago, using muscles I haven't used in a while - I was like a gimpy old man.

So, my ultimate goal is to stay at the same weight of 190 so I don't lose any speed on the bike this summer, and to just feel better about the fact that if I'm in better overall shape I can play any sport any day and feel OK. The Men's A-level racquetball league starts in 3 weeks, and I WILL be ready to tear those punk b*tches up....

What a weekend... First, it snowed about a foot 'round here, and we took most of Saturday off to go x-country skiing at the Flagstaff Nordic Center just up the road from our house. It was a great day, with cold conditions, fast snow, and few people. I ended up doing as much skate-skiing (OK - that's not me, but you get the style, right?) as my legs would allow, and D, in true D fashion, plugged away relentlessly in the classic format. We ended up doing about 10K, and we were ready for a hot tub and a relaxing evening.

Sunday involved putting a second coat of paint in our bedroom, and scraping more wall-paper off of the guest bedroom. I am determined to have this finished by mid-February as we have some guests rolling into town. Lord knows how long Uncle Stevie will stay....could be a few days, could be a few years. We would like it to be years of course. Seriously, wouldn't it be fun to have Stevie out here? Lyza could crawl all over him, Jamocha could steal his vitamins, and we'd probably have a great time. We'll see - he's gonna' check out some land west of Flagstaff, so - you never know. Maybe we can find him a 5-acre plot with a Buddhist shrine on it, a well, and a small shanty with a twin mattress. That's all he needs.

More pictures later....

CB

The Blue Ninja

Halloween, 2006 - Squirty B starring as the Blue Ninja. I had to publish this pic because all of her girl friends were dressed in some shade of pink - not this girl.

I love this kid - she's a riot. Rough and tumble, all boy, but as sensitive as they come. She's at her Mom's this week, and of course I miss her. BUT - it gives me time to recharge the batteries because when she comes back, there isn't a moment of rest. I would consider myself an older parent - having had Lyza when I was 34. My hat goes off to anyone who gets started on this path in their late 30's and beyond.

Mr Bush -

OK, so 20,000 new troops are on order from Amazon.com (it must seem that easy to get them), and you're standing there telling me that the additional troops will help solve this massive problem that you created? The only success that US troops have had with regards to actually controlling an Iraqi city involved a) a much smaller and less militant northern Iraq city and b) having one soldier for every 4 residents in that city. That would mean 150,000 more troops to mathematically control Baghdad - not counting the escalated level of resistance and fortified enemies there. Now that's impossible, unless you want to re-instate a draft.

To think that Clinton got more heat for "I did not have sexual relations with Miss Lewinski".

24 Hours of Payson - AKA the Payson Stampede

Well Bozzelbloggers - here is the first stab at finishing a 24 hour solo mountain bike race. First weekend in May, warm but not hot. This is what I would call an easy course - less than 2000 feet of climbing per lap, all on dirt dual-track (aka Jeep Roads). My mind might go numb from the monotony, but at least I have only a small chance of getting hurt at 3am since the course is not technical. Necessary Items:
-MP3 player
-plenty of nutrition
-Support (ie of the female kind - aka my girl D)
-Clear head
-Strong legs

I don't think it will be physically hard - I have done one 12 hour effort before, and I was in good shape after that on a similar course.

The training started on Dec 31st. I snuck in a 1.5 hour ride today on my "lunch hour" - hey, I'm paying for it...I came in at 7am and I won't be leaving until 6pm. My tires sucked, I have a creak in my bottom bracket - probably from riding on wet roads last week - but I felt pretty good considering its January. Average heart rate was somewhere around 155. That's a little high, but hey, it was about 55 degrees and I forgot my arm/leg warmers, so I had to stay warm somehow.

CB

John McCain

He is one of the frontrunners for the GOP ticket in the '08 election. I have seen him make a political progression from Independent to moderate Republican since he lost his bid in '00, properly situating himself to be a frontrunner in the 2008 GOP primary. He spoke today about supporting our Prez's new stance on Iraq - adding 20K plus troops.

McCain has said, for as long as I can remember, that we either fully commit to Iraq, or get the h*ll out. I remember a speech he gave last winter that is probably a heck of a lot like the one that our Prez will give tomorrow night.

The problem here is that our Prez is a year (or two or three) late on his new stance, and about 3 trillion $ in the hole + thousands of lives sacrificed for......

My point is about McCain though. Here he is about 15 months ahead of campaigning for the GOP ticket talking about 'doing what he feels is right'. He could easily get on the moderate/Dem side of the fence and oppose our Prez - which would likely catapault him into a very popular position with moderate conservatives, Dems and Independents - giving him a huge edge in a popular vote contest. BUT.... it might not even get him out of the Republican primary.

Is he or isn't he - speaking from the heart. I think he is just because his stance has not changed on Iraq. I would have voted for McCain in 2000 if he had won the primary, and I'm a hella' lot more left than right. We could 'shoulda, woulda, coulda' all day about "what if Bush lost again in 2000 (you know he lost, right?! I sure hope you know that). I just know Iraq wouldn't be nearly the clusterf*ck it is now.

I don't even want to hear Bush talk tomorrow night. I can get all the 'waxing nostalgic', cliche's, and rhetoric I need from the books on my night stand.

BALANCE - I spend a lot of time working on creating a definition of this word that works for me. Based on Webster's definition, I see a lot of people who are out of balance. The range from highly respected professionals, to world-class athletes, to bums on the corner. I don't think balance is important to a lot of people, rather, its easier to strive to be great at one thing, surrounding yourself with peers who praise your successes and support your quest towards expertise.

For me, balance is the daily battle to provide for my family, grow my relationships with D and Squirty, keep myself in good physical/mental condition, and keep in touch with family and friends. What seems to fall out of balance more often than not is the priority of my physical and mental health.

There are two phrases I don't have any tolerance for. 1.) "I don't have time" 2.) "That is unacceptable" I'll address #2 some other time. What people really mean when they utter #1 is "That is not a priority for me". #1 really comes down to part of the daily balance of our lives.

A new work week starts tomorrow, and I'm ready to make another run at balancing my life. As any Minnesotan says "It could be worse". Yeah - it could. I'm middle-class, educated, and my family is in great health. These are good times indeed. Balance - my definition? I'm still working on that.

CB

Oh yes - here is my favorite George Carlin rule for 2007.

New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear "27 months." "He's two" will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

I only write about this because I am surrounded by elitist moms even in my liberal, crunchy town of Flagstaff. You can find them at local playgrounds, and its usually the short-haired moms with a sporty sweatsuit that doesn't cover up as much as it should - and she is just DYING to talk about her little Jimmy.

I'm off to Phoenix for a company dinner - until tomorrow my Bloggians...

A miracle happened today. I left work to pick up Lyza, and the simple version of the story is that she ended up going home with a friend and I got a call to "pick her up in a couple of hours". You have GOT to be kidding me....My work clothes were on the floor, who knows where the wallet ended up, the cell phone could have fallen in the toilet, I wouldn't have cared. The road warrior clothes were on in 9 minutes and I went on a fantastic road ride up towards the local ski resort. I took it super easy, and just savored the time, the warm sun, and the feeling of getting back on the road so early in the year. There was a point on the ride, when all I could hear was my breathing, and the sound of the rubber on the road - everything else was completely still - no cars, nothing.

So I flip around and am still just crusing home - staying in my target range of 135bpm to 150bpm. The point at this time of the year is SLOW rides to build an endurance base. This 20 mile ride was falling into form until....this old codger

He passed me on the flats just getting back into town. I'm 39, I have a family, I am not competing today, and that is exactly what went through my mind when he went by with a shit-eating smirk. Whatever - I was riding my pace and I was happy as could be until.....

He made a left onto the same road that goes back to my house - a 12% gradient for about 250 yards. I was about 100 yards behind him, and I saw him struggling out of the corner off my eye and I honed in on him like an F-16 targeting device. When I blew past him I didn't say a word, and I brushed his shoulder for good measure. SO I'm still a Type-A when it comes to competition. Screw that little sweet quiet ride, there was fresh meat on the road to catch and kill! Who did I get this from? Dad? Mom? Steve? Dana? Lyza?

Signed,

Jerk Bosselmann

This is why I love to ride. This is what keeps me young at heart. As a Dad, this was one of my proudest moments of 2006. Lyza has had the best time with her little Specialized bike - and despite several crashes, she remains relatively fearless.

Her attitude about riding is centered on fun. She has no concept of training, or of riding ever becoming a chore. I'm going to take that to heart this year as I prepare for a 24 hour solo ride in June or July. Event name/date/time TBA. This blog is resolution free - but I wanted to at least get that goal down so everyone can hold me to it.

VOILA!