Nothing New Here...

Monday was a regular Monday; got to work, come home to supper, play some ball with Ian at SBU, Ian and I scare the daylights out of Deb and Marla while they were walking at the gym (that was funny!), catch a little Monday evening basketball on the tube, and call it a day. I did play an 1:30hrs of basketball at lunch which will be my regular day off the bike and active recovery.

Tuesday was chilly out so at lunch I jumped on the trainer for 1:15hrs while I watched Serrogate (OK for trainer, not good for everyday rental). Kept it fairly light with a couple mixes of bigger gear play; feeling pretty good. Tuesday evening was Ian's basketball practice and other than that not much happened out of the ordinary (which is nice).

Wednesday was another routine day, but I did manage to slip out early afternoon and grab a 2hr ride before it turned dark. As I raced the sun home the temps were really falling. Not looking forward to the next couple of days if the forecasts are correct - ice/snow/cold (single digit cold).

Riding is going pretty good and I feel way ahead of where I was this time last year even though I am keeping the effort levels way down. My plan is to use spring mountain biking to sharpen my handling skills and build a solid base (and do well in Sport/Cat 2 races). I would like to be flying in May and June for a handful of crits in KC, Tulsa, and STL. Take a couple easy months and then hit it super hard for 'cross in the fall/winter. While the Blue is in the shop I have done all my rides on the mtb (trainer time is on the tandem) and that is working out good. Waiting to hear from the mechanics in Georgia as to the status on my rig... compared to my mtb it will feel like I am flying when I get to ride it again.

Ira, Jake, and I are looking to do a fun urban orienteering/trivia (I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it's fun) race in SGF this Saturday evening, but will have to play it by ear as the temps are 20* for the day and 5* at night and this thing starts after dark (7-9pm). We have done this the last three years (Ira and I the first year and Jake and I the last two) and while it is technically a 'race' it is more of a fun event around MSU and the downtown area (lots of running). None of us are to hip to cruising around in near single digit temps so we'll have to see if we go.

On a different note: While not a huge change in day to day I am starting to subtly bring around a bit of a shift in the outlook and prospective I have on life and the people/events with which I spend my time. I have let some influences impact my thought processes that led to nothingness/waisted energy so I am limiting those and moving toward those that support/nourish a healthy lifestyle and outlook. I have a handful of friends and resources with whom I need to reconnect/strengthen my ties as well as some acquaintances that I would like to get to know more. Like I said not a huge shift, but a needed one.

Is it just me or does Nancy Pelosi (doesn't matter which side of the isle you sit) make you want to smack her '24/7 botox'ed' look off her face. I always have to turn off the video to Obama's addresses to the nation and simply listen as she is so freak'in distracting.

Weekend (part 2)

It is sometimes hard to have serious conversations in our house...



Sunday morning came with some early core work and then off to church. After services we all went over to the high school to attend Jake's Academic Honors Banquet. Deb and I are fortunate to have two intelligent well rounded kids and we stress the importance of higher learning just as I do with athletic advancement. I will admit the 'academic' functions were new to me as I didn't see too many of these (at least from the inside) growing up; my brother on the other hand... It's good to see Jake's core group of friends all in attendance (along with a large portion of the cross country team). Ran across Dale at the ceremony (his daughter Mary was honored as well) and we decided on an afternoon ride.

Dale and I met around 3pm and cruised southeast of Bolivar for 2hrs. The temps we in the low 40s, but the windchill had it feeling in the low 30s (if not lower than that). We found more evidence of the road damage the recent ice and snow inflicted; the county road crews have their work cut out this spring. The below video does not fully show the massive ruts and chaos on this semi chip-n-seal/gravel road (and yes, Dale did hit me with his bike then didn't wait up he just kept pedaling and I had to chase him down).



Dropped Dale off at his ranch and snagged another 30 minutes. I dressed just right with the exception of not enough foot coverage and by the time I hit the house my feet were totally numb. It was a solid 'first week' back on the bike as I ended up with 13hrs of ride time. Looking forward to continue this throughout the winter weeks as deposits in the 'ride bank' now will pay off in April and May. The below is a picture I took on the way back home. It is not as vibrant in this image as I saw in real-time, but it was incredible and I thought worth sharing.

Walked in the door (trying to thaw out my feet) and there was Ian ready to hit the gym for some basketball. By now everyone has realized he and I spend a ton of time shooting and dribbling at the gym and it is driven by this 8yr old who understands (already) that practice and time in the gym is the only thing that will make him better. I DO NOT DRAG HIM TO THE GYM, as Deb will attest he is begging and begging to go (and often more than once a day); I am not shying him away from it in any manner, but it is all him.

After returning from the gym the entire Jones crew headed over to the Kemp's for a movie night - Princess Bride on their new projection TV. I have no idea the dimensions of the picture, but it has to be over 80" (huge). We always have a great time with them.

Back home and everyone hit the hay. Good weekend for all.

On a different subject: Is there any doubt why the UCI banned the Dugast Diablo?!?!?!? Although it might keep spectators just a tad back further... Hoping JP continues with his form and Nys puts on an old fashioned butt whoop'in this weekend at Tabor.

Weekend (part 1)

Deb, Ian, and I hit the gym Thursday evening and the below clip is an example of a kid racking up his 10,000hrs. Jake was off hanging some tin on a barn with a local farmer all evening.

Starting to get into a Friday Ride routine and I'm liking it. Waited until mid-afternoon (warm as it was going to get) and headed out for a couple hours with my brother and Dale west of town. Always fun to hit the roads with Jim as he is progressing with every ride and seems to really like getting out. We all parted ways after 1:45hrs and I decided to keep it cruising and ended up with 3hrs.

Got home, ate, and headed with the family to watch BHS boys basketball. Jake spent the night with a friend. Ian had a buddy spend the night and after getting them to bed it was time for COD MW2. I crawled into bed around 2am.

Deb has taught me the fine art of Saturday morning sleep-in and this morning we both snoozed well after 9am (I could get used to this). A little coffee and pancakes for the crew had our morning starting off good. Helped out with a little house cleaning and then hit my man-shop for some bike maintenance and clean up. Dale and I planned to ride around 2pm, but heavy rains up a halt to that so I jumped on the trainer for 1:30hrs and watched a horrible movie (The Other Man). Cleaned up, grabbed some chow, and went to watch SBU basketball with Deb and Ian. Jake passed as he had several friends over for a movie evening. SBU got beat (again).

Thought I Saw...

...Stijn Devolder out on the cold rainy backroads of Polk County at lunch today. He would be the one in shorts, cycling cap, ls jersey, light gloves, embro'ed legs (SPF 60) and killing it Euro Style.

Speaking of such, following the TDUnder and no surprise to see HTC picking up where they left off. Can't wait for the spring pro cycling to hit northwestern Europe...

After such a solid ride yesterday I didn't want to go back to the rollers/trainer so I donned the thermal skinsuit, rain pants and cape, and booties and got out in the 35f rain for a 1:15hr spin east of Bodunklivar.

The rain is supposed to clear tonight so I'm looking to get another ride at noon for a couple hours with Dale. Not sure what is on tap for Saturday, but would like to get in 3+hrs and then a couple on Sunday.

Crazy how bad the roads here in Polk are falling apart with the ice and snow we recently had. Just when I thought they paved about all the good roads the 'cross gods have smiled and busted them up the way I like em - almost back to gravel.

Ian and I hit the gym for over an hour yesterday evening and imagine we'll head back again tonight. Got home yesterday to see Deb killing it on the trainer (atta' girl).

Blue Competition Cycles should have received my rig today so I am hoping to hear from them soon as to the next step. So far everyone I have delt with has been incredibly quick to contact and willing to expedite (always good to see a company stand behind a product).

Here's a little something for Tommy J (I like J Fallon's humor):

Hump Day Ride

Had a sick little man at home yesterday so opted for a day off from fitness. After basketball practice (Ian stayed home) Deb and I watched SBU beat on MO Western; pretty boring game and we came back early.

Today I hit the office early so I could grab some extra time at lunch. Everything went as planned and at 11:30 I was out of there and on my rig. Temps were high 40's with a stiff breeze (kind of coolish) straight out of the west. Stayed off the 'major' roads (Crusty, I know, its a realitve term) and opted for the one's Mother Nature beat on during the latest snow and ice. Rode down to Stockton Lake (headwind), north a little (crosswind), then to reap the tailwind I sailed home. Ended up hitting the door right at 2hrs for what was a solid tempo (for this time of year).

Rain is on the way (at least it is forecasted) along with a dive in temps for the weekend. Going to try to get another hour outside tomorrw if the rain holds off; if not then a spin on the trainer.

Ian was back at school today and is dying to get to the gym tonight after dinner so guess where I am heading in an hour or so...

Jake's leg/ankle appears to have healed up as he has continued the mileage with his crew everyday this week. With the trail race his last week's mileage was over 50; better him than me.

MLK Day...

...means the markets are closed and the office is also - play day! The boys weren't so lucky as they are already making up 'snow days'. I got up with the boys, fed and scooted them off to school (great now that Jake drops off his little bro), then back to bed for me. Deb and I woke up later (much later); she headed off to a hair salon appointment while I boxed up and mailed off the Blue for warranty work (cracked seat tube). I knocked out a couple other errands before grabbing Ian some lunch and surprising him at school. About midway through the chow he got pretty sick at his stomach. Turns out there is a bug going through his school so we were out of there.

Dropped him off to Deb then I got outside on the bike (mtb with slicks will work fine until the Blue returns). 3:10hrs cruise on the back roads in great weather felt sweet; nothing hard, just steady cruise. Legs felt really good after Sunday's mud-fest.

Back to the casa to find Deb whipped up some home made chicken pot pie (awesome).

Jake cruised an easy 4 miles at practice today and his leg/knee was giving him some fits from his fall Sunday. Hoping it passes quickly and he is back up to speed soon.

The rest of the evening is low key and back to the grind tomorrow.

Friday Girlfriend is Back and Memphis Rain

Big weekend (three-day) with tons of activity so let's hop right to it...

Friday I dropped into work early in anticipation of sweet afternoon weather and a date with my Friday Mistress (love me Friday rides). Things worked out as planned and at noon I was off for two hours. It was pretty nice weather, but I quickly found out the moisture in the air had it feeling much cooler than the temp showed as I rolled out for two miles only to return and wrap up another layer. Good ride.



Deb and I left work a little early in the afternoon as Ian received recognition for getting straight A's for his first semester in 3rd grade. Very proud of the little man.

Immediately after the program we shot down Hwy 13 to get to Ian's basketball game. The kids played tough, but took a their first 'L' of the session. Afterwards we (my mom, dad, bro, both nieces, and grandma) snagged some eats then it was back to Bolivar.

Ian spent the night with a friend as he didn't make the trip to Memphis with us due to him having another ball game on Saturday. He was staying with a teammate until Saturday afternoon when he hit a birthday party then it was over to Uncle Jim's for the rest of the weekend. Jim's daughters and wife were gone for the weekend so he was looking forward to catching all the football games with Eball. The two of them really like each other and it's fun to watch.

The rest of Friday evening was spent packing... until I heard COD MW2 calling and before you know it Jake and I went to bed around 2am. I didn't mention yet that we had a 5:45am wake up call in order to get on the road by 6:15am. I was a hurting unit when the alarm went off (sigh).

On the road and met Diane and Thomas (Diane's 17yr old son) around 7am and then we all hit it to Memphis. 5 hour drive went fast as the conversation was good. Met up with the rest of the SGF (John & Cynthia, Beau, Mia, and Cliff) and Branson (Dathan, Kendell, and Jay & Terry) at Rendezvous Ribs for lunch. Pretty good stuff, but not as good as I expected; all in all still worth hitting it if in the area. Interesting entry in an alley and not on a main road. ***The below pic is what was left of a rib/shoulder plate with hot bbq sauce and probably the best coleslaw I ever had***



Checked into hotel; Deb and Jake grabbed a nap while Diane, Thomas, and I went to packet pickup. A quick scan looked like the trails were in decent shape with not too much moisture. That ended pretty quickly as it started raining (and turns out it didn't stop until 5 minutes before race start). Back to the hotel for some major relaxation/napping until dinner.

The crew headed over to Milanos, a great pizza and pasta dive in Millington, for a huge grub fest. Like last year, I ordered a size too large of the stuffed meat pizza, but did my best to put a dent in it (left overs for after the race was the plan). After stuffing ourselves it was back to the hotel for a little tube (Yes Man is always fun to watch); Jake and Deb had stopped earlier at a Walgreens for some stuff and so Jake reaches in the room's fridge and pulled out a carton of chocolate ice cream and three plastic spoons (pic below)... eating again. It was still raining when we turned out the lights.



Not too early of a wake up as the event didn't start until 8:30am. Grabbed a quick breakfast of the hotel, kitted up (running wise that is), and off to the start... still raining.




Tough to figure out what to wear as it was mid-40s and raining. 5 minutes before the start it stopped raining so a quick drop of the rain top and I was on the line for what was to be a slip-n-slide fest. I worried about Jake breaking something as he hasn't done much running (off-road that is) in super muddy and slick conditions. I reminded him several times that we were there for a training/fun run and he agreed (although is 'fun' pace is not too much fun for me usually), but we both wanted to be at the front when going down a steep section of stairs about 400 meters into the event.

So the gun goes off and we quickly get to the front, make our way down the stairs in the lead, and settle into a comfortable pace. A couple fast characters go by, but to our surprise we were clipping right along near the front while going at a realitively easy pace (he and I were chatting it up for the first couple of miles). Since the course is 99% single track dirt (not chat or gravel, but dirt) it was mud-central and standing water everwhere (kind of fun). A couple miles in and Jake rolls his ankle in a big slide and he is in quite a bit of pain. He keeps going, but it favoring it quite a bit and is hard to put a lot of pressure on it while doing downhill; not good for the conditions of the day. We kick back the pace a some, but keep cruising along. I felt bad for him as it was going to be a long morning on a bad peg and he was looking forward to a solid tempo run and he was on a good day prior to the injury.

Deb was able to catch us at a couple spots which is always fun. She always had a huge smile for us with lots of cheering. Outside of 16.3 miles of the worst running conditions I ever seen it was a fun morning with 'the boy'. He and I had several laughs and thoroughly enjoyed the time together. With about 3 miles to go Jake took a hard spill and hurt his leg/knee pretty bad. After a little 'walk it out' time we made our way to the finish. I was on a pretty good day (even it you don't take into consideration I hadn't ran enough to properly prepare for the event) and would have liked to see how it would have gone with the injuries. Either way I had another 'one of my best times' doing one of my favorite things with one of my favorite people - simply can't beat that combination.

All the SGF and Branson folks had solid runs so count on us back for 2011.

Headed back to the hotel, showered up (and ate the rest of the pizza), then hit the road back to MO and home.

Picked up Ian around 7:30pm from my brother and turns out they stayed up Saturday night until 1:45am playing MLB (Ian says he was up 3-1 in the series). We all missed the little fella.

Got home, unpacked, and soon there after everyone crashed for the evening.

Another solid weekend of fun and more importantly quality time for Deb and I with Jake. We only have a couple years left with him and we are trying to squeeze all we can every chance we can.

Already looking forward to SwampStomper 2011...

***Disclaimer - I am still working on the Bean's video settings so be patient as I know the clips are much blurrier than normal***