Back to the pain...

After yesterdays fun jaunt home on the SS CX, today I needed to turn it up a little. For those who haven't experienced cyclocross its 60 minutes of absolute hell, pain like nothing else. Its pretty cool. To put things in perspective, the U.S. Gov't elected to use waterboarding at Gitmo as cyclocross was deemed cruel and unusual and couldn't be defended at the Hague. Really, I read that on the Internet, some guys blog.



But all joking aside, today I felt like hell before even going out and putting myself thru hell...for some reason lately I find myself awake around 2am with no hope of getting back to sleep, usually until about 4am, when my alarm goes off at 5am....I know whaaaa!



As I ride out to the trails thru downtown I think to myself, I will just spin....so I cross the old railroad bridge and drop down onto the single track and slowly start ramping the effort up. A long section of this trail is fluff thanks to some fires they had a few months ago, graded up by CDF dozers. At least they followed the old trail path....for some reason it just hasn't been compacting at all, then I see why...

Seems the folks from CalExpo are taking their harness racing horses out on these trails since they are no longer single track...so picture two people in the trailer, since I have no idea what its called, and two more horses running behind it! Pretty interesting to say the least....and they actually smiled and said hi....

So after slogging through the mile or so of 4inch fluff, it hardens up a bit and I start flying along the trails, pop out next to Campus Commons golf course, cross over the river at Slac State and continue up the trails towards Rancho. These trails are always empty, well except for today when I actually came head on with two other CX riders...I yelled at them to get off the trails, they happily reciprocated and we laughed as we squeaked passed each other....

Somewhere in Rancho I turned around and tried to negative split the ride out riding up onto and then back off the levy each time the trail snaked out to it...ouch! Holding this effort was brutal with the last bit of dirt culminating with a ride up onto the secondary levy in gravel a few inches deep... just about killed me....once at the top the lactic acid makes me want to cry but the pain eases with each pedal stroke and they just keep feeling better. I did receive some funny looks from the couple out walking their dogs, I guess they were taken aback by the snot all over my face and my gasping for breath with druel flying about. Doesn't everyone experience that on a regular basis?

Back onto C street I decide I am going to spin my 42x17 as fast as I can from 28th street to 10th street....a different burn all together...So I get back to the office, yes it was a 1.5 hour lunch today, and make my way back to my desk, after showering, with a smile on my face.

Yes I was happy I rode, duh, but happier that I tortured myself when all I really wanted to do was kick back and "rest." Lack of sleep is my nemesis and I am still trying to get over the "wussification" I was exposed to for years... of course I don't want to get sick but "resting" every time I am tired isn't going to get me to the front of any races...

As for the "wussification" statement, if you are reading this it doesn't refer to you :)

The road home is paved with dirt...

Well I finally pulled off the whole nine yards yesterday commute-wise...door to door on the CX bike from 10th and I in Sacaramento to the park-n-ride in El Dorado Hills, thats EDH for the snotty folk reading this. My goal was to see just how much I could ride on dirt on what is a 42 mile ride on the road, bike trail and surface streets.

My first assumption is that the dirt is the same mileage as the road, its probably a little longer (considering the route I took, maybe 2 miles at the most). Of that 42 miles, I was on pavement 8.4 miles. Not bad. Now several miles is the DG trail along the paved bike trail, but it is dirt nonetheless.

As I leave downtown Sacramento I can quickly hop on some double track and single track for several miles to the Watt Avenue undercrossing, then I am on DG and fire road along the American River Parkway to Goethe Park (Opps, lets be PC, thats "River Bend" park now, don't want to offend anyone) where I am forced to ride the pavement in order to ride the bridge over the river. Then we ride single track, gravel and dirt access roads to the Fish Hatchery at Hazel, and hop on single track all the way to the Rodeo Grounds....then we are forced onto pavement for a few miles before climbing up to Dyke 8, sorry again, en lieu of offending its now "Folsom Point, formerly known as Dyke 8"...ride around Lake, well Puddle Folsom, to Browns Ravine where again its on pavement for 1.4 miles until we ride along New York Creek in EDH (see above snotty reference) to the EDH CSD and have to finish out the last 2.2 nmiles on pavement...

Not bad if I do say so myself.....I had to pat myself on the back today!

Tears of JOY...

You know that feeling you get,when your path crosses with someone you care about deeply, and you haven't seen each other in a while? Or maybe you see that girl you were infatuated with in high school, and you still get that nervous feeling in your stomach?

Well that happened to me this morning. I was meeting a beautiful girl, one that I hadn't seen in way too long. My stomach was full of butterflies, and the anticipation was killing me. When I saw her, it was like we had never been apart. It was truly amazing! Now she is back with me, by my side,

here she was on a cold winter ride in February '08

We had been separated since Friday night, for reasons I would rather not go into. I don't think I could hold it together long enough to type the whole story....

ALAS, a happy ending!

p.s. Chris, you have obsession issues!

Taking what your given...

This weekend was full of soccer and every other physical activity you can picture a 4 and 6 year old doing...I guess I am very lucky in that way, my kids are as active as me, sometimes a lot more active than me!! I was raised to lead by example and so far I think I am doing a good job. Now don't get me wrong, I have a lot to work on, but I was raised respect for others, ESPECIALLY your elders, give 110% in school then play (in that order) and most importantly be happy - and what I have learned is that is MY responsibility.

I see so many kids that are over weight and just plain lazy....I just can't wrap my mind around that because my kids are INSANE energy-wise and love being outdoors, playing soccer, biking, riding their scooters, gymnastics every second of the day...I could go on.

A good example is at the gym Sunday, I rode the bike for about 70 minutes. The kids room is HUGE and full of video games, jungle gyms and basketball courts all indoors....each time I return the girls working always comment on how Cam and Annika are always playing on the courts while most of the others are on the video games. Don't get me wrong, I will be playing xbox tonight, but like everything else in the world....MODERATION!

For me being healthy is happy....seeing my kids healthy and happy makes me even happier...

I guess I just hope for all these parents and obese children that they figure out whats healthy...its sad.

With that said, get off your butt and go play with your kids!!!! Too tired, thats what Monster is for...believe me!!!!

...watch out for the angry squirrel, I hear he struck again!!

AHH the wildlife...

...so I discovered some new single track, well new to me, between Howe Ave and Watt on the S. side of the American River. Really fun and twisting single track teeming with wildlife...and I do mean TEEMING.

So I am cruising through a section deep in the trees with tall grass on either side enjoying the twists and curves when suddenly I get a nice warm fuzzy sensation on my left calf as I am pedaling! I was reminded of Phil, was it he snuggling between my legs like he does at night at the foot of my bed? How did he get from Marja's house out to the trails? Wow, what a smart dog, what a fit dog to come all this way to find me....

Well I look down to see my trust worthy dog and what do I see? Freaking Rocky the squirrel spread eagled between my water bottles squeaking like mad trying to figure out what to do....I just about screamed like a little girl waiting for Rocky to bite me. Finally, when I stop pedaling and he figures it out, he jumps clear. I'll hand it to Rocky, he jumped clear of my front and rear wheel avoiding decapitation, but all I could think about was the rabies shots I was gonna need after Rocky bites me out of frustration!!

Too damn funny! Shortly after that I just about run over Wile E. Coyote as he is trotting down the trail, I am running stealth with no chain-slap...and a few minutes after that its Wile E.'s little brother I almost hit - Phil? No, not Phil!

So I make my way home, go pick up some Chinese food for Mar and I (Tues/Thurs are her ridiculous days) and enjoy some tasty food. I grab my fortune cookie as soon as I am done of course and wtf??

Looking forward to a 3hour cross ride manana in the dark before work...any takers?

Illusion...

So anyone pick up on the illusion? (hint below in last post)

Take what I can get...

Friday was "cocktail day" in the Cole household....no, not what you are thinking....Annika was up for her kindergarten shots including a flu shot (that was 5 total, she's a stud) and Cam and I were on tap for a flu shot.

For those of you who are not believers in the flu shot, I never was until last year, when I had what the doctor called "the flu," it was more like death but I wouldn't die, I just had to endure it. I had a fever for a week, I was dressed in fleece head to toe under a heavy down comforter for the whole time, then the fever broke and said fleece and comforter was sopped...I changed my bedding (um, no I didn't wet myself) and went to bed with a smile...by morning temp was back up over 100 (my normal body temp is 96.9)...my back was on fire, etc.. I know, WHAAAA!

The moral of the story, everyone I know who had the flu shot never got the flu...the few that were w/o the flu shot joined my hell. I am a believer now!

At any rate, I took the day off for the event. No, I don't like needles all that much, but it was a great excuse to go ride. After the kids were at school I got home and hopped on the CX bike and headed up the rail-trail to Placerville, I'd say 95% single track. Fun CX ride with a couple long run-ups for kicks! It twists along an old rail line between Sac and Pville so the average grade is about 5% up to Camino, with the ups and downs along the actual rail it adds up quick. So after busting your hump to get above Pville, its a ripping ride back down to Cameron Park. Probably a 25 minute negative split.... rear end got soft again, and yes by Saturday a.m. when I walked by the CX hanging in the garage it was FLAT....AGAIN...thanks SCHTEVE!

Finally signs of Fall along the trail, this is the only portion where you have to deal with "train-track-gravel"...most of the trail twists and turns on single track following the general cut of the tracks.Just below Pville, we have to cross the Weber Creek ravine on the old bridge..a wee bit bumpy riding the old ties. Notice the deflection of my wheel in the below picture!

After the ride I quickly headed down to grab the munchkin heads and get our shots...we were in the doctors room waiting for our shots and Cam and Annika were arguing over who was more brave and who would go first...Ah, naivety... So Cam gets up first, sees the needle and gets upset...when he was done he hops down and tells Annika it didn't hurt and they laughed! Me next, needles in general will always make me nervous but when all is said and done its no biggee.

Now Annika's turn, my little girl was terrified, this nurse walks up and sets down two handfuls of needles, shit I was freaked out! Finally she mellows a bit to say she wants them in the arm like Cam and I, so she sits up and then starts to cry. She NEVER moves a muscle though as the nurse puts 3 in her right arm, walks around me to put 2 in her left arm...I then asked Annika, "you ready" and she screams "just do it, get it done!"...and I say, "your done"...she never knew what hit her! She stopped crying looked at the band aides and said that didn't hurt! Guess you have to be a dad to appreciate that one! Of course she walked out of the office holding both arms completely still, making sure not to move them. She spent the rest of the night at the gymnastics gym tumbling for 4 hours! My arm still hurts though, :(

Saturday:

Soccer was great, Cam's team actually exploded the last 10 minutes of the game after spending the first 3/4 of the game playing very timid! It was nice to see!! They looked great and had so much fun, thats what makes it worth it!

After the game Marja and I headed to Arnold for her Dad's 60th, great party...For those of you who do not know Arnold, its close to the Bear Valley Ski Resort and many Bay Area folk have cabins there for summer and winter play. Like most areas, the locals depend on the revenue from the "weekenders" but most have a really hard time with them "taking over" their town. On the road back to Marja's parents place was this one home, I really can't figure out if it is a Bay Area Vacation home, or a local....but the landscaping gives you a hint:

You tell me...look closely!















On a lighter note, for those of you who don't know, we are dog people....so this was extra cool to us....Marja thinks we need one for my DeSalvo, matching Ti of course, she took this photo driving home from UCD on Friday:

How Chris rides CX...Seattle style

Seattle CX...Chris

October in California...

Well its been a great week in Cali....cool ride in the ravine Sunday, back around 90 the past two days. Marja and I had a great ride Sunday in the ravine, well at least I did...I think Marja may have had her first "character building" ride, after a long full week with grad school and all I think her body was tired, thats what happens to kids when they get over tired! (I'll pay for that!)


We did see some cuddily wildlife, right on the trail. I wanted to help the little guy out so I tried to remove him from the middle of the single track, just enjoying the sun in everyones way, a lot like an equestrian, but this little guy didn't yell and scream like an equestrian!

Personally, when something this small coils up and starts trying to bite me....It freaks me out! Needless to say we left him alone as the only sticks lying around were poison oak branches....I let him be.

Monday was spent playing on the CX along the American River trails for about 3 hours before grabbing the munchkins from school! Cameron discovered that Phil's talent, other than being a complete moron, is soccer! Cameron wants him to play on his team this weekend:I rode in this a.m. on the CX, can't really figure out why so many people have issue with riding a SS CX bike on the DG along the bike trail. The good news is riding home I will be on the trails where they can't be bothered by me! Its just amazing how many people concern themselves with what other people are doing, and if its not what they are doing, "How Dare they be different!!"

Its amazing. This morning I passed (thats coming and going) 26 people on the trail, I always say "hello" or "good morning"...3 responded with a smile on their face, not a peep from the 23 others. Personally, I love to ride and am happy whenever I am on a bike so I have a really hard time trying to figure out why others riding seem so unhappy. And yes, I am going to say it, the club road riders are the most disgruntled of them all. I will not mention the Sac Wheelmen or any other club like the Bike Hikers, but give me a break guys and gals....HAVE SOME FUN and SMILE!!!!! Don't bitch at me for ridng my "road bike" in the dirt.....

First of all its not a road bike.

Second of all, why do you care?

Its legal, I am not in your way, so why not just enjoy the ride? At least you guys are riding and caring about your health... but why not smile and be happy others love what you love, the BIKE.

...bad influence

He goes by the name of Schteve.....nice guy.

His answer to life, "custom"....and frankly I have to agree....

Then he spoke of flats. Now I flat too.

Damn Schteve and his "custom" mantra!

I suggested to a friend, "Custom CX"

..."of what?" he asked

"ti" I respond, "duh"

Now I want custom CX too...(w/o all that shifty dohicky stuff)

Damn Schteve!

October cruising...

Looking to go for a long ride today on the SS...Marja insists on coming, but with school and TA work piled up mile high I advised her not to...but thats where I stop, the girl will do what the girl will do! Thats what I love about her! She is almost as good justifying this ride as Chris and I used to be to play Xbox en lieu of riding....I said ALMOST

Chris is racing CX in Seattle, Scott in LA, so I am feeling a bit in a funk! I could have raced CX in Livernmore yesterday, but in my tiredness I came up with 15 really good reasons (see comment above re: Xbox) not to make the drive...as usual I am kicking myself in the a$$ for it.

Last night UC Davis ran over S. Utah in football. Great to see the folks, have some tasty Indian food pre-game and hang out on campus...brought back a lot of good memories of Lacrosse, beer and good times. The new stadium, moment of silence for Toomie, was great and the crowd was excellent. Great to see UCD stepping up to their D-I status ... About halfway through the game Marja says to me, "...its so weird to see you like this, when you used to look like that?" She was referring to my football size/weight at UCD, 205lbs...

Football days...

today.....
Okay, so I still weigh more than the "Chicken" here and probably make in a year what each of these guys was last fined by their "teams," but I am riding under 180lbs.... If you can name the player in the pic above, I will buy you a beer.

Off to the ravine!

...a good morning

Here's how the day started...

...need I say more?

To cross or not to cross

"...the happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything they have..."

Good news yesterday: Cameron continues his run of "Aced" spelling and math tests to 4 weeks and Annika is nailing her back-hand-springs with a spotter - she's 4.

The bad news, I almost missed my ride with Scott and even worse Marja had to miss it due to school.

Between her grad program, the classes she is a TA for and work, she is one busy chica. So I told her I would ride twice as much to make up for her lack of riding. For some reason that didn't have the desired effect I thought it would?

Marja w/ her "perma-smile" on the bike

So on to CX, with everyone occupied Saturday I might be heading to Livermore for some CX racing....the only problem is my DeSalvo misses me so I might take her out in Auburn for 4 or 5 hours.....the tough decisions, I tell you. Thinking Auburn over CX cause my legs are tired from running with Dawn "Hear Me Roar" Infurna-Bean Wednesday in the ravine...She's a stud. I have to hand it to her though, I miss running the trails in the ravine and Marja and I cannot wait to hit them with Maddie and Phil once it cools off enough!

So back to work, I have to remind myself, "work to live"...cause come COB today Scott, Marja and I are back on the bike for a friday afternoon tromp around the lake on the CX bikes...

With no soccer for Cam Saturday, that means I get to sleep in (which means maybe 7am) and then ride Auburn before the UC Davis football game with my parents tomorrow night..Go Ags!

"Chubby Rookie"

So many don't know the significance of the name "chubby-rookie." Let me see if I can do it justice...

I was riding the CX bike on the trails along the American River Bike trail, yes the "legal" ones, one beautiful day. As I approach the Goethe Bridge (oops, sorry that's non-PC, the "River Bend Bridge") I had to pop up on the paved trail. Shortly after a man with a woman drafting him pass me so I hop on to take advantage of the tow and eat.....well, as I do so, the woman begins to frantically wave her hand at me. Wow, she's actually pointing out an obstacle or object on the trail....but nothing. I slowly get in her draft to eat when she turns to me and says, "I said on your left not hop on my f*&%ing wheel!"

Well, seeing as I love roadies so much I asked her what her problem was, meanwhile, said friend she was drafting coasts back and says, "You hop on my girlfriends wheel again I'm gonna kick your a$$!!!!" He then challenges me to a race, to prove himself I guess, this is where it got really comical, "Come on chubby, what do you got rookie! Come on chubby-rookie, lets go!!!!" What are we 12? Since then that name has sort of stuck on me.

The beauty of this story, he is Sacramento's self-proclaimed ambassador for cycling, a certain columnist for a certain Sacramento newspaper, "...I try to hammer away at the idea that we need to be good ambassadors for our sport...we should try to win over some friends by being good cycling citizens. .." No names, but he rides a red De Rosa fixed gear. But I digress, maybe he was having a bad day. And again about a week or so later my friend Dave got the same wave from the same man/woman drafting duo...man they have a lot of bad days!?

"Don't draft dude!! Or I will kick your booty!!"

Return to Stans....

Well Chris.....I am back on the Stans train, woke this a.m. to ride the CX to work and my rear was flat....see, in California-Cross we ride star-thistle and sand pits, we don't get rain and mud for our cross races, unfortunately... at least not for a while.... Time to hit Scott up for more Stans insight and guidance.

CA-CX Racing

So it begins...

Marja dropping the hammer

Well, with another cross season starting up I thought I'd start posting my trivial babble to go along with it. The "Crimson Chin?" Well, this was from a digger on the "Couch" outside Whiskeytown in the Spring...

Riding the CX tonight along the river, all LEGAL trails of course. After the mother of all bonks last night (as Linda would say, "I was practicing my bonk") riding the CX from Cameron Park up the rail-trail to the El Dorado Trail in P-ville to Camino....I thought I'd play a little suicide with the "woodland creatures" along the river between "Camp Hoover" and mile marker 16 and back along the Sac River. Follow that up with a run with Marja and the mutts after she gets back from lab and I should sleep like a baby tonight.

Marja, Maddie and Phil...Phil has A.D.D.

Then of course tomorrow, for some strange reason, we are running with Dawn Super-Human Infurna-Bean from the Dam overlook to "No-Hands" then up Stage Coach and back to the overlook thru town.... good times, something different then pedaling for a change!

One last comment for the day...it has to do with Stan's and CX. Now Scott runs it with no issues, I personally blew my rear tire off after a flying mount preriding probably because I didn' get the strip right (my fat butt had NOTHING to do with it).....and then there is Chris up in Seattle...he noticed his rear burping everytime he hit the saddle while practicing his mount last week. Dead set on racing Crosstoberfest on Stans, he insisted he could make it work despite my experience and my opinion to throw a tube in. Result:


















YES that is Chris' BUTT....about the same size as my 6 yr old's oddly enough. Blew the rear tire on a turn...on asphalt...ouch!!!