Tour thoughts, recent happenings in Longmont.

The tour is over and I think I was left expecting a little more. I didn't watch any of it on tv as we no longer have cable, but I did follow the days online as much as possible. I think the most exciting thing was seeing Mark Cavendish dominate the sprints and his close battle with Hushovd for the green jersey.
The mountains seemed to be blah. It was more like everyone was watching everyone else waiting for someone to make a move rather than making a move. In the end, it was a few mountain stages and the time trial that made the difference. But I find myself wishing for a Marco Pantani type rider who may not be so great at the time trials to come into the mountain stages and just blow it up. Just attack and go for broke, knowing that he would loose time in the TT and needed to make up several minutes in the mountains.
Lance did really well. If he had been the team leader, he may well have had win number eight under his belt. Now it sounds like him and Contador are squabbling and calling each other names and so on. And there is also Greg Lemond, who again had to get himself in the news by saying that Contador's riding was impossible for an unassisted rider. You may remember he made some remarks about Armstrong possibly doping a few years back which led to Trek discontinuing their business relationship with him.
But he did the math. I have read other's evaluations of his math and said his findings were inaccurate, and that the top few riders of that stage would have also had impossible numbers if you used the Lemond formula.
Last week I took the exhaust off of my motorcycle and cleaned all the rust off and resprayed it with some high temp black spray paint. Here is what it looks like now.
Alot better in my opinion. The only other thing I think I will do at this point is replace the shift lever as it is bent. I also possibly invented a drink while doing this work. Into a blender : 2 oz tequila, 2 ice cubes, 9-10 frozen strawberries, and enough orange juice to bring the liquid line up to 12 oz. Blend until smooth. It is so far unnamed, but be careful with them as they are strong and go down quite easy. They are also fruity and pink, so if you are a guy you may not want to drink these in public or around people you don't know well or want to impress (definitely a nono for work parties).
And speaking of my motorcycle, it shit the bed again on Friday. I did some errands and all seemed fine. When I left for work, I made it about a mile before things felt strange - I gave it throttle and it didn't respond, then did respond, then didn't respond, and then died at a red light. I couldn't get it to start and pulled over to the side of the road. I knew I was getting low on gas so I switched to the reserve tank but that didn't do anything. So I parked it behind a business and caught the bus in. Fortunately, I was still in Longmont so I had only a short walk to the nearest bus stop though I was still late to work.
On my way home I got off the bus where it was parked and pushed it over to the gas station and put a gallon in. That did nothing, so I started pushing it home. I was able to get it most of the way, but had to call Katie to come give me a hand to get it up the last part of the hill. It has not started since then. It turns over sometimes, and it sounds like it is sparking, but it will not run. Tomorrow I am going to take it to the local Buell dealer, which is around 25 miles away. I will either rent a trailer from Uhaul and/or am waiting to hear from a coworker whose roommate has a truck and motorcycle ramp I may be able to borrow.
I like the bike. It is a fun ride and definitely a good learner bike, but I am already looking forward to the day when I can sell it and get something nicer, faster, and more reliable. I really like alot of Buell's bikes looks and engineering and think I may purchase another. I really believe my problems with this one have been coincidence. Anyway, whatever happens my troubles are sure to provide inspiration for saving money over the fall and winter.
Or?
I haven't taken any pictures of our climbing wall in awhile. Here is how it is looking now.
As you can see we have amassed quite the collection of holds (notice the lightbulbs)! I would say we have somewhere around 250 holds. Though I do wish we had some vertical space to make the walls taller, it is still great to just be able to walk out to the garage to get in an hour or two of training. I feel like I have been climbing alot stronger lately and have done a few problems at the gym I have seen others who I consider better than me not be able to do. Of course there is always something harder and someone stronger (unless your initals are dw, dg, cs, pr, or of course THE fn). I have still been having a hard time getting on the bike. I am not sure what the problem is. Maybe I burnt myself out too early in the season. I feel little to no motivation to ride, which sucks because in a week and a half I will be heading to Colorado Springs for a 50 miler with Scott and company. I told myself I would go on a ride today. I would leave at 2. Then at 3. Then at 4. Now it is 5:15 and I have yet to leave, and it looks like we have the daily evening thunderstorms rolling in. I would say I will get the trainer out, but I think I would be lying.
And to end the day, here are some dog pictures. I was trying to get a dog's eye view of him in the first one, but every time I would squat down he would walk over to try to lick me. I tried to get a few action shots, but he didn't seem too interested in playing fetch at that time. He is doing really well!

For mom.

I was watching some of the A Christmas Story marathon the other day and thinking. The movie is about an adult looking back on Christmas memories and remembering the time leading up to receiving the best gift he ever got. I started thinking about the best present I ever got, and this is it...

It was the first pirate ship that Lego produced, the Black Seas Barracuda. I can't remember the specifics that we see in the movie. I am not even sure what year I got this. From what I can find out, this set was released in 1989, and I imagine I got it for Christmas that year.
What made this present so memorable was not the time around it, but the present itself. I remember when I was younger and really into Legos, all I ever wanted for my birthday or Christmas was a big Lego set. I particularly liked the castles and the pirates. I would get a few smaller sets throughout the year, but the expense of the larger sets relegated them strictly to holidays only.
I must have seen this set in the store or in the brochures that Lego included with every set. It was big and spectacular. At the time, I still believed in Santa, and when this showed up under the tree on Christmas day, I was sure a miracle had happened.
I was so beyond happy. I spent hours building the set. My thumbs would always get sore from snapping those little blocks together. But when everything was said and done, it was worth it. I spent the rest of the day playing with the pirate ship, maybe doing pirates versus castles. If I could have slept with it and not broken it or hurt myself, I would have.
I loved this thing. It had so much attention to detail. The anchor that you could really drop and reel back in. The monkey. The pirate captain with a peg leg and a hook. The treasure chest with pieces of gold. And maybe the best thing, the cannons that really fired. Perfect for tormenting your sister.
I remember looking at the Lego catalogue, thinking it was funny that the oldest age recommended was 18 for their Technic sets. I found that funny, because I loved Legos so much, I couldn't imagine outgrowing them. I wondered what I would do once I was 18. Was there some law preventing me from buying sets I was too old for?
As it turned out, all that worry was for naught. I think I got my last Lego set in 1995. It was a motorcycle from the Technic line. It might have been by then, but if not shortly after that every Lego set I had was disassembled and back in the box in my parents' basement.
It is sad to think about now. The things that I loved so much, played with day in and day out for years, and was absolutely sure that I would never get tired of sitting in a box and gathering dust. I guess it is all part of the march towards adulthood. I don't even have my favorite stuffed animal with me anymore. He is also back at my parents' house. The things that were once essential to my life got left behind. But I still remember them, think back to those days, and smile.

"and don't think about the past...

a little water came, now we floatin' on everything"
I never would have thought I would find meaning in a song by Birdman and or Lil Wayne. Undoubtedly, they are both very talented individuals (LW especially), but most of their songs deal with sex, money, cars, and drugs. Which is alright to listen to, and have great beats, but not words to live life by.
Anyway, yesterday I was feeling pretty bummed at work, thinking about the past. The day before I found one of the cards from my senior thesis exhibition, and was reminded that I graduated college six years ago. Yesterday I was thinking about my job. I have been doing what is essentially the same job for that long plus a few years.
Where I am at now is ok, and I am making decent money, but I definitely didn't need a college education to get myself there. This made me think about past jobs, and I feel fortunate and sad to feel that since my first job in the industry, they have all gone downhill. Sure I have made friends and I do basically like what I do, but my first boss was the one who really taught me everything I know. He is the only person who has really made me want to come to work and do a better job than I did the day before. He really made me care, and I felt like I was really part of something there.
And while I do care about every job I have had since, I just don't feel as personally invested and engaged as I did there. While I am liked at all my jobs, I don't think of myself as irreplaceable. Yeah, people would miss me, but there would be someone else could do the job. But there I felt like I was a vital part of the machinery, and if I were to leave, things would suffer.
Unfortunately, that job ended when the business went into banruptcy and it was bought by someone else. It opened again under the same name, with many of the same people, but things weren't the same there. I did end up quitting there after a year, but now looking back, I wish I had stayed there and talked about the problems I had with the people who could solve them. I feel like I ran away from something. I wish I hadn't done that.
Anyway, to two guys - Shazad Khan and Mike Daley - thanks. You taught me all I need to know about the industry and all there is to being a good and hard worker. I really miss you guys.
I feel like life is pretty good now, but at the same time I do think about the past occasionally and feel like I am sinking.

One week.

I have been trying to get myself motivated to get out for a longer road ride, but it hasn't been happening. On Wednesday I was able to get out for some mountain biking. I did Picture Rock and Wild Turkey trails. I was thinking about riding over to Hall Ranch as well, but again I just didn't feel like it and I wasn't sure I would have enough water, as my ride took me a bit less than 2 hours and I had consumed over two quarts.
It is definitely hot during the days here. There is low humidity compared to the east coast and Missouri, so it doesn't feel too bad, but it is still noticeable, particularly when exercising. A nice thing about riding is that with the altitude change, the temperature really cools off. When I stopped to eat at the lookout, it felt very comfortable.
I have been climbing alot lately which is good. I am thinking about adding a 60 degree panel to our home wall set up. When we built the walls, we joined E-Grips' first dibs program. For forty dollars (shipping included) you get a set of new and exclusive holds every month. Alot of the sets go on to retail for 50 bucks or more plus shipping, so it seems like a good deal. In eight months we have gotten 80 holds which works out to four bucks per hold. That might seem like alot, but that is relatively cheap. I find most companies have prices around 7 dollars per hold and up.
Once I found a job, I started buying holds as well, trying to spend 40-50 a month. Usually I will look at Nicros' website, as they run monthly specials. This month SoIll was having a sale so I ended up spending a little more and getting the lightbulbs.
The large hold is one of the more difficult holds I have encountered at the gym, so it will be nice to have at home to practice on. The bulbs are completely smooth so you really have to rely on proper hand placement and pinch power to be able to hold on. Anyway, with all the holds, we now have some that are in a box and getting swapped out periodically. We would have enough to get another wall somewhat populated, I am just not sure if it is worth it. But I think I could build the whole thing for a little over 100 which isn't so bad really.
I have also gotten some new climbing shoes - Mad Rock Demons (not pictured). I will probably write up a full review in a bit, but I have to say they are incredible. The rubber is super sticky and they fit me well and are very comfortable. They carried over all the good things from the Super Loco, my previous shoe, and vastly improved on the things I didn't like in that shoe.

walker, rmnp, new bike.

Had a busy few days here. As some of you know I have been looking for a motorcycle for a bit now. I have wanted one forever. I remember taking my mom with me to look at some when I was still in high school. It has only taken me ten years to actually get on with it. I guess most of that time I have lived in places where it would have been totally unnecessary or hadn't had the money or time or whatever. I am finally living in place where I will use it alot and I do have the money and time.
I saw an ad on craigslist for a 2001 Buell Blast that had some damage. I got in touch with the guy and went to see it. He answered all my questions and went over the bike with me and told me what was broken and fixed and so forth. I felt he was being very honest as the only sign of damage really is a bent shift lever. I test rode and it felt good so I made him an offer that he accepted. I was able to purchase insurance that evening and register and title the bike the next morning and went to pick it up after that. I took 36 and Nelson home from Boulder so I could get on some twistier roads.

The decals are the logo of Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works advanced development program. I think they give it some personality. I am glad things worked out how they did and I ended up with this over the Ninja 250. I feel it is a bit nicer and when I want to upgrade to something bigger, I should be able to sell it for very close to what I paid for it. I am going to get some high temp paint and sand the rust of the exhaust and repaint that shortly.
On Tuesday I went to Walker Ranch and rode my mountain bike for the first time in a month and a half. I was thinking all of my road riding would have helped my fitness, but I was wrong. I felt like I was going to die! I also did the loop CCW which is the harder way in my opinion. Still it only took me an hour and seven minutes with a few short rests. Which isn't too bad. I did have a lack of confidence on some of the trickier sections, which was kind of frustrating.
On Wednesday after I picked up the bike we headed up to RMNP for some bouldering. It started raining shortly after we got there which was kind of a bummer. Also I only brought my new shoes, Mad Rock Demons, which really hurt for doing slabby stuff. After the rain stopped the mosquitos came out. We got chewed up and decided to move up to the Wild Basin boulder.
We climbed here a bit but it wasn't long before the mosquitos found us again. We decided to call it a day at that point.

And here are some pictures of our doggie. He is doing really well with us and turning into a real dog finally! We just have to get him to walk with us on a leash. He loves playing fetch and being out in the yard. When we first got him he wouldn't stay out there unless one of us stayed out with him. I am glad he is coming along and realizing that he can trust people again. It is great to come home and see how excited he is to see us. He doesn't much of a tail, but he does the full body wag. Pretty cute.