Mr. Brightside:
-D's last day here is on 7/27
-We're scaling back and getting ride of this - I'm all about carbon emission reduction, and I might even get one of these
-Squirty goes back to school on 8/16 (month out)
-It has actually rained here 4 of the last 5 days
-I am ready to rage on the racquetball court tomorrow
-My singlespeed continues to be the rockstar bike - ZERO, zippo, nada, zilch repairs/flats/ other than two new sets of brake pads since October and more than 1000 miles on the original tires.

Mr. Bitter:
-Squirty is having some anxiety about going back and forth from parent to parent....I KNEW this was coming soon.
-I'm feeling the effects of pushing a big gear, and I need to drop to a 32x19. It's just a pride thing - nothing more.
-For the first time this year, riding a bike feels like a chore - an effort - it truly is time for a couple months off after Durango on 8/4.

Oh there's more, but at least you know what's in my cabeza today.

I pretty much suck right now....

Racquetball tore up my calves and core muscles so bad that I haven't been on a bike in 4 going on 5 days. Flat out - I can't push the pedals. Then I do recover some today, so I go for a night ride and I get maybe 3/4 of a mile from my house and have a mechanical. Back home, fix it in the garage, and do you think I'm motivated to get back out? Fu&k no.

R-ball again this Thursday, and no - I'm not quitting. I'm also not quitting the Durango race in a few weeks. F'n quitters suck, and I've quit enough stuff to know that it just makes me feel like a sack o' shit for doing it. I can get my shwerve back tomorrow....I think so anyway. Into work at 6am and home on my bike by 3pm. Yeah - now that sounds like some healing tonic.

I'm Back..

Back on the racquetball court that is. It's been nearly one year to the day that I last played - and now I realize how much I missed that sport. I joined a league, and showed up last night with a lot of energy, but that was about it. My body has morphed into a cycling-specific shell of its former self, and I was hurtin'. We play two matches per week, and my first one was with probably the 4th best player in a 10 person league. I fared pretty well in the first game, and took the win - at the expense of shaky legs, and cramping hips. I kind of tanked the second game once I got behind, and saved myself for the tie-breaker game which I won 11-2. I walked off the court with crampy, tight, and twitchy leg/hip/back muscles. Fortunately, my second match was against a very intermediate player so I was able to just keep the ball in play and let him make mistakes for an easy 15-5, 15-3 match win.

I can't believe how out of balance I am. Yeah, I can ride a bike, but Jesus - ask me to do anything else and I'll be as sore as you can imagine the next day. The good news is that this is a 1x per week league, so by the third week I should start to feel good again. I'm kind of trying to get a jump start on the fall/winter leagues and tournaments since I am ready to give bike riding a rest after the August 4th event in Durango.

So, I'm undefeated so far - I think I'll just bask in that glory for now. Next week I'll be playing one of the top 2 guys, and unless I pull one out of my a**, I'll probably lose a couple of games.

I have some big rides planned this weekend which I'm excited about. Lyza B is around all weekend and next week, so that's cool. D might be leaving her post soon - so big transtions in the Bosselhousehold.

Hey - have a good weekend - and your PIC o the Day for Friday!

So this is what your face looks like if you have a 29% approval rating? If you were a football player and 29% of the coaches thought you should play - then you would ride the bench. If I had a 29% approval rating at work, I would be fired. If you received 29% of a vote, you would lose.

So tell me - why are 1 out of every 4 Americans still saying he's doing a good job? Another question, why has it taken so long to GET to a 29% approval rating. I love his most recent power play where he's placed a gag order on the proceedings to investigate the fired US attorneys. Good times in the Black House.

I can't wait for 2008 - actually, January 20th 2009 to be precise.

More importantly, I can't wait until Saturday, August 4th.....Durango, here I come!

Where do I start? What a great weekend. Photo #1 is D with 1/2 of a Clif bar in her trap...we were on the uphill side of a long, hard ride in the Dixie National Forest in southern Utah.

Photo #2 is of the bird sanctuary outside of our room in Boulder, UT. Sweet serenity for me.

Photo #3 is my wasted face after I don't know how many miles of climbing and descending - I was even more tired than I looked, but it was a good tired - you know - the kind that makes you want to eat a 2 pound burrito, and vomit at the same time. Yeah, that good kind of tired. I bet I could have placed 5th in that Coney Island hot dog eating contest after that ride, but I would have taken top honors in the vomit volume contest.

Photo #4 is the top of the pass heading down then towards Capitol Reef National Park. We started climbing at 6,400 feet - and 11 miles later - VOILA! 9,600 feet. The 8% grades hurt me, but D said "I just can't go that slow" and pedaled on past me to take the KOM points at the top...grrrr.

Photo #5 is the new dawgg - Bodhi. I named him after this guy because he's 3-toned and he's kinda small, but D liked the name and decided that it meant this. I agreed to meet in the middle since I'm about as spiritual as your next door Agnostic, and D is into the yoga stuff. It's all good. He's a great dog, and a hella fun to have around with our old dog Jamocha.

#6 is Lyza after a hard day of playing. You could say she falls asleep like this about every night.

#7 is D and Lyza re-enacting a rat that they chased out of our kitchen. A rat you say? Yeah - I said the same damn thing. We live in a city with about 7% humidity year round - and I can count the field mice I have seen in the forest after a rain. Turns out, it was a neighbor's pet. Lyza and D scared it so bad, we think it had a heart attack on the front lawn and died in a pool of sprinkler water less then 1/16" deep. Kinda tragic really....but the re-enactment cracked me up.

Shit! 4 weeks until Durango. I better keep on keepin' on. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances and I'm in pretty good shape right now. I may look like crap, but I can ride kinda fast for 3-4 hours. I hope you're having a great summer - this one has been memorable so far for us.

NIGHT MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDING

Probably one of my favorite things to do. I had a chance to get out tonight for a couple of hours in pitch black. No moon until the last 5 minutes of the ride, as it crept over the eastern side of Mount Elden. If you have ridden at night you know that all you can focus on is what is 2-10 feet in front of your front wheel. I find it is very relaxing, as it limits your senses, slows you down a click or two, and really lets you listen to your heartbeat, your breathing, and of course - wildlife.

A few years back I was on a solo night ride in Sedona. As I came around a corner, I practically ran over a couple sleeping on the trail. It scared me just as much as them. Lately, the only things I run across are branches breaking from critters running for cover from my high beam, an occasional reflection from an animal's eye - which always raises the ol' heart rate, and every now and then I get to see city lights from the passes in the mountains.

I wouldn't have won any races tonight at my steady pace up the 2000 climb - up and over Mount Elden, but damn if I didn't just absolutely LOVE being out there. I mean honestly, if I got clipped tomorrow, my 'last ride' would have been a good one to end on. 16 miles, all singletrack, and not a soul around.

Time for bed - up early, and off to Utah for the weekend. I can't f'n wait to hike in and around the rivers, and road ride up the passes for 3 days. We're going here - where we got married last summer. Woo hoo! Have a safe 4th weekend...

Rode the new Lefty....loved it. It's as plush as my couch, and tracks like a beast. The problem is that it's hooked up to a bike with 26" wheels.

I love my Rig again. More on the weekend soon....