Sheryl Crow & Lance Armstrong

Halloween 2005

What's your motivation???

Yesterday, I was lazy coming off the feast that all future feasts will be compared to. Besides having a slight hangover from 6 wine courses each with a top-off, I was not feeling to motivated to chamois up and head out into the cold steady rain that has enveloped Seattle. I guess it is only October and it was my 30th b-day, so I can't feel too guilty.

Nevertheless, I do have to get motivated to start piling on the base mileage in the wet though. I saw this Graham Watson poster of Lance training for the '99 Tour just after recovering from cancer. It will serve as my motivation this winter, because training in Seattle during the months of November and December (and January and February for that matter) looks exactly like that. The line below the picture reads, "I rode, and I rode, and I rode. I rode like I had never ridden, punishing my body up and down every hill I could find....I rode when no one else would ride." That is the discipline that I will strive to emulate.

Lance and Sheryl Halloween photos will be posted soon.

Blue Star

Flying Pumpkin, 3-0, & Dinner

I am no longer a twenty something. As I enter my third decade of being me, I will celebrate by doing all the things I enjoy most. Ride and eat a good meal with SLR.

I started the day with a long ride on the 'cross bike. No real training agenda, just riding because I love to be on a bicycle. Riding with visions of racing up and down the street when I was kid, with the wind in my hair, and jumping curbs because its fun to get air. The "Flying Pumpkin" is a beautiful machine. Fast and light. The weather was perfect. I ended up putting about three hours in the saddle. People passing by must have wondered why the guy on an orange bike was smiling so wide.

After the ride, its on to the evening's festivities. SLR and I are indulging in a feast of epic proportions. 9 courses each with specific wine pairings (hopefully I burned enough calories on my ride to deserve such a meal). The Herb Farm (www.theherbfarm) is reputedly one of the best restaurants in the Seattle area, so what better occasion to give it a try. Being that it's Halloween weekend, the dinner is also a costume contest. I'm going as Mellow Johnny, i.e. Lance Armstrong, and SLR will be Sheryl Crow with guitar and huge faux rock on her finger. I will post pictures of the dynamic duo tomorrow.

It's time to head to dinner. It is going to be quite a night. How do I know? There is a huge rainbow out our back window.

Life is like fine wine, it keeps getting better with age.

Blue Star

Training Again and More Sponsorship Proposals.

I have finally completely recovered from the bug that was keeping me laid up. I slept 20+ hours this weekend and came out the other side feeling fresh and ready to roll.

Training the last few days has been a few hours on the trainer getting my legs back under me. It's surprising how fast fitness evaporates. I was struggling to push small watts for a couple of hours. I'm thankful for the iPod so I didn't have to listen to my heavy breathing. I've also hit the gym a couple of times. Squats hurt! All for the pursuit of more watts.

Got a few more sponsorship proposal out. I really hope putting them together is worth the effort. I learned that Ellsworth is running their program through local dealers this year. This may help in getting the support of a new shop given that Olympic Sports had more debt than assets and shuttered the joint.

That's all for now from the rainy Emerald City.

Blue Star

Back in the saddle...

The fog of sickness lifted this afternoon. It was like a light switch flipped and my head was clear and my sore throat eased.

Having suffered through cabin fever yesterday, I rewarded myself with a short spin around the neighborhood on the 'cross bike after work. I hit a few short sections of singletrack, did some run ups, then called it quits before I over exerted myself. I'm excited to get back on track with my training schedule. Big base rides are just around the corner.

I ended up getting three sponsorship proposals together yesterday. It took longer than I thought to come up with tailored cover letters for each sponsor. Hopefully, my hard work on my resume pays off. My fingers are crossed.

Blue Star

Riding the couch to sponsorship...

The only riding I'm doing is the couch. I'm still stuck here alone trying to get over this bug. Not much to do besides surf the net, channel hop, and stare at the wall. Boring.

I am hoping I will get motivated to crank out some cover letters for my race resume. Most bike companies require submissions in the next few weeks. I have visions of many supportive sponsors for next year. Ellsworth again stepped up. Hopefully some others will follow. The budget for a full year of bike gear, food, and travel is spendy. Any little bit helps.

Blue Star out.

Sick Boy

No bikes for me so far this week. It all started Saturday afternoon when I started to feel a little strange. Nevertheless, I went to the gym for some leg work. I came home exhausted and still haven't recovered. I've awoke every morning since with a coarse sore throat, a pounding headache, and achy joints. Skipped my big John Wayne Trail ride on Sunday.

It doesn't surprise me. I get sick every fall and SLR was feeling under the weather too. She probably gave me whatever she had. The one good thing about being sick now is that it is only October. Plenty of time to feel better and still get in some big base miles, although I may no longer have my 'cross form I was carrying earlier in the month.

That's all from the "green" couch.

Blue Star

Control

I wanted to train. I needed a ride. But I couldn't muster the motivation to chamois up. I was mentally spent from my day in the trenches. The thing that bothers me about missing my ride is that it was not under my control. Someone else's agenda dictated whether I had the mental energy to ride the bike today. I believe that having the control to dictate the events in one's life is a significant component to happiness. Take control.

Blue Star

Welcome to my blog. I will use this space as a creative outlet to spin yarns about my cycling lifestyle. I will endeavor to post daily (maybe weekly) updates. Hopefully, some people will find my musings mildly entertaining. I expect at least my family will tune in every once in awhile.

With that introduction, we are off.

Get out and ride.

Blue Star